>ALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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YALE'VNIVERSITY ' L I B RA R,Y ?

WISCONSIN ITS STORY AND BIOGRAPHY
1848-1913

BY
ELLIS BAKER USHER
President "Wisconsin Archaeological Society ; Member of the American
Historical Association, The Mississippi Valley Historical
Association, The Wisconsin State Histor
ical Society and the Amer
ican Political Science
Association

VOLUME V

THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK
1914

Copyright, 1914
BY
The Lewis Publishing Co.

James E. Kernan, who is widely known to the grain trade through
out the Northwest, has steadily worked his way upward in his chosen
field of endeavor to a position where his influence is felt in every
department of one of the" greatest industries the country has produced.
As chairman of the Grain and Warehouse Commission, at Superior, he
is the active directing head of that authoritative body which has been
directly responsible for the promotion of numerous movements and
much legislation of a beneficial nature, and among his associates he
is recognized as a man thoroughly capable of discharging the duties of
his office. Mr. Kernan is a native of the East, having been born in Rock-
ville, Connecticut, January 2, 1853, and, is a son of Eugene" and Marie
(Broghan) Kernan.
Eugene Kernan was born in County Clare, Ireland, in 1825, and
on reaching his majority emigrated to the United States on a sailing
vessel, landing at New York City. Not long thereafter he drifted to
Roekville, Connecticut, where he secured employment in a woolen mill as
a wool washer or scourer, but in 1858 turned his face toward the West
and eventually located at Hudson, Wisconsin. Here he became one of
the pioneer farmers of St. Croix county, and continued to be engaged in
agricultural pursuits up to the time of his death, in 1880, when he was
fifty-five years of age. He was a Democrat in politics, but was a farmer,.
not a politician, and never cared for public preferment. Mr. Kernan-.
was married in Connecticut to Miss Marie Broghan, who was born in
County Meath, Ireland, and she survived her husband some years, passing-
away in 1893, when she was seventy-one years of age. They were the-
parents of nine children, of whom James E. was the oldest, and of these-
four still survive.
James E. Kernan was five years of age when he accompanied his
parents to Wisconsin, and his education was secured during the winter
months in the district school which was two miles from his home. Like
other farmers ' sons of his day, he assisted in the work of the homestead
during the summer months, being thoroughly trained in the various sub
jects necessary to the knowledge of a successful farmer. On attaining his:
majority he embarked upon his career as an agriculturist in St. Croix:
county, but two years later engaged in the grain business at River Palls,.
Wisconsin, and was so engaged there until 1878. In that year Mr.
Kernan went to Odebolt, Sac county, Iowa, where he spent one year in
farming, and following this returned to Wisconsin and passed another
twelve months in tilling the soil. Mr. Kernan then went to Crookston,
Minnesota, and farmed for another year, and then located in North Da
kota, where, until 1908, he had extensive grain and farming interests. In:
1029

1030 HISTORY OP WISCONSIN
the meantime, in 1900, he had come to Superior, Wisconsin, as a grain
inspector, and in February, 1909, was appointed a member of the Grain
and Warehouse Commission, subsequently being elected chairman of that
body, a position he has continued to hold. He has identified himself with
movements for the public welfare, and in every way has shown himself
an earnest, progressive and public-spirited citizen. In political matters,
he supports Republican principles and candidates, and his fraternal con
nection is with the Independent Order of Foresters.
Mr. Kernan was married November 29, 1871, to Miss Ellen Kelly,
who was born in Racine, Wisconsin, and to this union there have been
born four sons, namely : James A., George C, Eugene E. and Roscoe F.
Elbert Everett Howland. The principal hardware establishment
of the city of Merrill in Lincoln county is the E. E. Howland Hardware
Store at 1006 East Maine street.' This store contains the largest and most
complete line of hardware supplies in the county, and its proprietor
is a man of long and thorough experience in the business, uses judgment
in the selection of his stock, and has made a study of the wants of local
trade, which enables him to satisfy its demands in every department of
its business. Mr. Howland has been identified with the hardware trade
in Merrill since 1903. In that year he and Olaf Norland established a
hardware stock at 908 East Maine street. A year and a half later Mr.
Norland retired from the firm of Norland & Howland, and the junior
member then made a partnership with Harry Hurd, and continued busi
ness under that association as Howland & Hurd until 1910. Mr. Hurd
then retired from the firm and since that time Mr. Howland has been
in business alone. In 1912 at 1006 East Maine street Mr. Howland
erected a substantial business block, built of pressed brick, and his store
has since had its quarters there. This business block gives an imposing
front to the business district of Merrill, and is considered one of the best
business structures in the city. It has a frontage of thirty feet, is one
hundred and ten feet in depth, and has two stories and basement. The
second floor was partly finished for offices, but Mr. Howland has found
that he already needs much of that space and has used it for a ware-
room. In the rear of the store is a tinshop to supply all the demands
of his trade in that line. His stock of hardware is complete in every
department, and he also carries a complete stock of fishing tackle and
sporting goods, which is a very important part of his trade.
Elbert Everett Howland was born on a farm near Rutland, in Dane
county, Wisconsin, October 29, 1877, a son of Samuel S. and Oretta W.
(Osborn) Howland. His father, a Canadian by birth and a farmer by
occupation, was twice married, and the Merrill hardware merchant is
the youngest of his second family of children. The father moved to
Wisconsin in 1848, about the time the territory became a state, and for

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1031
many years was one of the substantial farmers and influential citizens
of Dane county. His death occurred when his youngest child Elbert was
six years old.
Mr. Howland had the advantages of the county schools of Dane
county up to the time he was about thirteen years of age. His mother
then moved to Stoughton, Wisconsin, and there he finished his education
in the high schools and the Stoughton business college. When ready to
take up the practical duties of life on his own account, he entered the
Stoughton flour mills, learned the miller's occupation, and followed the
trade continuously for eight years. During the last three years he was
head miller of the Stoughton, mills. Though his success presaged a
successful career in that line, he chose another field, and in partnership
with Olaf Norland, also of Stoughton came to Merrill, and established
the hardware business, with what success has already been related.
Mr. Howland on April 12, 1899, married Miss Aletha W. Strommen
of Stoughton, a daughter of Gunder Strommen. Four children have
been born to their marriage as follows : Gerald, Giles, Lillian and Ruth.
Fraternally Mr. Howland is affiliated with the Equitable Fraternal
Union, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Knights of Pythias.
David Livingston. In the death of David Livingston in 1910, the
city of Merrill lost its foremost merchant, and one of the enterprising
and public spirited citizens who have done much in the past twenty
years to promote both the business and civic prosperity of the com
munity. The late Mr. Livingston had come to Merrill in 1890 from
Chicago and bought from S. Heineman his mercantile establishment,
which still is conducted under the name of Livingston. The late Mr.
Livingston possessed that talent for merchandising which is not altogether
the result of training, and all his earlier experiences and preparations
were such as to increase his resourcefulness and success as a merchant.
David Livingston was born in Chicago, Illinois, July 3, 1858, a son of
Isaac Livingston. His early boyhood was spent in his native city, and
from the local schools he entered practical life as an employe in the
general offices of the Chicago & Alton Railroad Company at Chicago.
When still a young man he went west and spent four years in California.
Returning to Chicago, he established himself in the retail grocery busi
ness and successfully followed that line until his removal to Wisconsin.
In 1890 he bought the Heineman general store at Merrill, moved his
family there and was a resident of the city until his death. In 1892,
with his brother Samuel and his brother-in-law, Charles Livingston,
(David Livingston married a Miss Livingston, but not a relative), bought
out the general store of Heineman Brothers at Wausau. Thereafter the
Livingston interests conducted both establishments with much success,
although Mr. David Livingston continued in charge of the Merrill store.

1032 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
After his death in 1910 the Wausau store was sold to the Winkleman
Company. The Livingston family still own the building at Wausau in
which the business is conducted, and it is the finest business block in
Wausau. The Livingston building at Merrill, in which the Livingston
Department Store is located, is also the largest and best built structure
of its kind in Merrill. The store occupies all the floor space, and is an
up to date and well equipped -department store, including groceries,
shoes, dry goods, clothing and men's furnishing departments, ladies'
ready to wear department, and also carpets and other house furnishings.
About thirty clerks are employed in the establishment, and the annual
volume of business easily ranks this cqncern as one of the largest in
northern Wisconsin.
After the death of David Livingston, the business was incorporated
as a stock company, with his son Cliff Livingston as president, Mrs.
Jennie, widow of David Livingston, vice president, and S. S. Stein as
secretary and treasurer. Cliff Livingston and S. S. Stein are actively
engaged in the management of the store, i
The three children of the late David Livingston and wife are : Sid
ney, who is living on a ranch in Pasco, Washington; Clifford R., and
Isabelle. Clifford R. Livingston was born in Chicago, March 18, 1889, and was
about one year old when the parents moved to Merrill. He grew up in
this city, attended the public schools, and for three years was a student
in the Shattuck Military Academy at Faribault, Minnesota. With his
education completed he returned to Merrill, and entered his father's
store, where he worked through all the various departments, and thor
oughly trained himself for the responsibilities which have since de
volved upon him as president of the company.
Mr. E. S. Stein, secretary and treasurer of the company, was born
in Milwaukee, and his father was a successful photographer of that
city. W. S. Henry. Among the old and substantial banking institutions
of Wisconsin, is the Jefferson County Bank of Jefferson, which was
founded in 1855, and whose continuous existence and practically unin
terrupted prosperity for more than half a century gives it special dis
tinction among the banking houses of the state. W. S. Henry, who has
been cashier of this bank since 1911, has. been in the banking business
practically all his life, and his father was a well known banker of Jeffer
son county.
W. S. Henry was born at Jefferson, Wisconsin, July 2, 1862, a
son of Yale and Sarah (Sayer) Henry, both of whom were natives of
New York state, and of old American families. Yale Henry came to

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1033
Wisconsin in 1841, was one of the pioneer settlers of Jefferson county,
and near the little village of Jefferson took up a tract of wild land, in
the improvement and cultivation of which he endured all the labors and
hardships of frontier life. A man of great energy and splendid business
judgment, he won for himself a worthy success, and was for years
reeognized as one of the most substantial citizens of the county. Besides
reclaiming a valuable farm from the wilderness, he was closely identified
with important business enterprises. On the organization of the Farmers
& Merchants Bank of Jefferson in 1873, he was chosen president, and
wisely guided the destinies of that bank for nearly a quarter of a century,
until the end of his own life. From 1870 until 1885, he also did a large
business in the buying and shipping of grain and hops, and perhaps to
no other individual was the development of the hop-growing industry in
that county more due. His name is found on the list of those who or
ganized and gave liberally and generously to the Liberal Institute at
Jefferson, in its day one of the best educational centers in the southern
part of the state. Up to 1886 Mr. Yale Henry lived on the old homstead
farm, then moved to Jefferson City, and lived there secure in the regard
of all who knew him until his death on January 10, 1896. His wife, who
had cheerfully borne with him the pioneer labors of his early residence
in Wisconsin, died in 1872. The senior Henry joined the Republican
party at its organization, and voted consistently for its candidates until
his death. He was a member of the Universalist church and fraternally
was affiliated with Jefferson Lodge No. 9, A. F. & A. M., and Jefferson
Lodge No. 29, I. 0. 0. F. Of his eight children only three are now
living. Mr. W. S. Henry grew up in Jefferson county and had the full ad
vantages of the local schools until he had reached his majority. At the
same time he had spent all his vacations in assisting to run the home
farm, and remained in the country until 1881. In 1888 Mr. Henry
entered the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Jefferson as clerk, and two
years later was promoted to the position of assistant cashier. He con
tinued one of the officials in that bank during the remainder of his
father's life, and for some years afterwards, and resigned in 1911 to
take the cashiership of the Jefferson County Bank. The Jefferson County
Bank was founded in 1855, and now bases its operations upon a capital
stock of $75,000, fully paid in. Its surplus fund is $15,000 ; its banking
house with furniture and fixtures, is valued at $7,500 ; and its deposits
at the close of year 1913 were approximately $425,000. The executive
officials are : Warren H. Porter, president ; J. W. Puerner, vice presi
dent; W. S. Henry, cashier; M. Beck, assistant cashier; and Roy Puerner,
teller. Mr. Henry is also a director in the Wisconsin Manufacturing
Company, one of the leading industrial enterprises of Jefferson county,
vice president of the R. Heger Malt and Brewing Company, and is in
terested in various other business concerns in that locality.

1034 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
In politics he has chosen differently from his father, and has long
been a loyal worker in behalf of the Democracy. Several times he has
served as delegate to the Wisconsin state convention and was a delegate
to the 'national convention in 1896 at St. Louis. A progressive and broad
minded citizen, he served as mayor of Jefferson from 1900 to 1906, and
again from 1908 to 1910. His administration of municipal affairs was
careful and effective, and under him the city made substantial advance
ment especially in its permanent improvement. Mr. Henry was reared
in the faith of the Protestant Episcopal church, and attends and gives
his liberal support to its work. Mrs. Henry is a communicant of the
same church. His fraternal affiliations are with the lodge and chapter
of Masonry, and he and his family are in the leading social activities
of Jefferson.
On November 26, 1882, Mr. Henry married Miss Jessie M. Harris, of
Fond du Lac. Of their four children three are living, Sarah, Lulu and
Robert Kirkland.
Lucius K. Baker. One of the greatest industries in the northwest is
the lumber industry. Among the men conspicuous in the development of
this industry is Lucius K. Baker of Ashland. His start as a lumberman
was made in western Michigan, nearly forty years ago and his home has
been at Ashland for the past twenty years.
Lucius K. Baker was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, August 16, 1855.
His father, Edward P. Baker, a native of New York state, when a young
man moved to Kellogsville, in Ashtabula county, Ohio, where for many
years he operated a tannery and leather business.
Edward P. Baker married Pauline Bloss, a native of Ohio. Their
two children were Lucius and Edward B., the latter dying at the age
of thirty-four. Mr. L. K. Baker had a common school education in Ashtabula county,
and also in Grand River Institute in Austinburg, Ohio. In 1876 he went
to Ludington, Michigan, in the employ of E. B. Ward, who was succeeded
by Thomas R. Lyon, (Agent) where he remained until 1896. In 1896
he came to Wisconsin and has been a permanent resident of Ashland
since. In 1893 Mr. Baker with Mr. Stearns, J. W. Gary and J. S. Woodruff
organized the J. S. Stearns Lumber Company of Which he was made
secretary and treasurer. In 1907, Mr. Baker, in company with Mr.
Gary and Mr. Woodruff purchased the interests of Mr. Stearns, and Mr.
Baker was made president of the new company. The company is still
among the large manufacturers in northern Wisconsin, operating large
lumber plants at Odanah and Washburn, also the Ashland, Odanah &
Marengo Railway Company. The company is one of the best known and
most successful in the state.
In addition to his Odanah interests he is president of the Baker

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1035
Lumber Company at Terrell, Arkansas. He is also largely interested
in, and a director of the following companies: Scott & Howe Lumber
Company of Ironwood, Michigan; the Northern National Bank of Ash
land, Wisconsin; and the McCarroll Lumber Company of Hammond,
Louisiana ; the Lyon Cypress Lumber Company of Gary, Louisiana ; the
Mellen Lumber Company of Mellen, Wisconsin; The Ellisson Lumber
Company of Madison, Wisconsin ;. the Lyon, Gary & Company of Chi
cago ; the Bagdad Land & Lumber Company of Bagdad, Florida, and the
Wausau Accident & Insurance Company.
He was mayor of the city of Ludington, Michigan, for one term,
and also president of the school board of the same city for a term or
more. His political affiliations are with the Republican party. Fra
ternally he is a Mason, having membership in the Ashland Commandery
of the Knights Templar.
Mr. Baker was married June 26, 1882, to May C. Foster of Ludington,
Michigan. Mrs. Baker died in 1893. Mr. Baker has one daughter,
Helen, who resides with him at Ashland.
Frank W. Houghton. An active member of the Wisconsin bar since
1879, Mr. Houghton was engaged in the practice of his profession at
Oshkosh for twenty years, and since that time has maintained his resi
dence and professional headquarters in the city of Milwaukee, where
he is senior member of the firm of Houghton, Neelen & Houghton. Mr.
Houghton has been dependent upon his own resources from the time he
was a lad of eight years, and his life has been one of earnest and con
stant endeavor.
Frank Wilbur Houghton was born at Adams Basin, Monroe county,
New York, on the 21st of December, 1849, and is a son of Reuben B. and
Ruth Ann (Ring) Houghton. The father was born in Massachusetts
and the mother was a native of New Hampshire. Both passed the closing
years of their lives at Adams Basin, Monroe county, New York, the
father having been a farmer by vocation and also a manufacturer of
grain-cradles in the early days when these primitive implements were
in common use. Lieutenant William Ring, an uncle of the mother of
Frank W. Houghton, was a valiant soldier in the war of the Revolu
tion, and served under General Ethan Allen in the capture of Fort
Ticonderoga. Mr. Houghton's rudimentary education was obtained in a district
school in his native place, and he himself earned the means by which
he was enabled to carry forward his intellectual training. He was
eighteen years of age when he came to Wisconsin, and by hard work
he earned sufficient money to justify his matriculation in Lawrence
College, at Appleton, this state. In this institution he completed the
classical course and was graduated as a member of the class of the
Centennial year, 1876, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. For several

1036 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
years he devoted more or less time to teaching in the public schools, and
thus defrayed a considerable part of his college expenses and also those
of the maintenance of himself and his young wife while he was preparing
himself for his chosen profession. Mrs. Houghton had in every possible
way aided and encouraged him in his plans. He began reading law in
a private way and while thus engaged was principal of the high school
at Wausau. Later he continued his technical studies at Milwaukee, in
the office of Carpenter & Smiths, leading members of the bar of the
state. From the office of this firm Mr. Houghton was admitted to the
bar on the 4th of September, 1879. In the following April he opened
an office at Oshkosh, where he eventually became one of the leaders at
the bar of that county.
On the 1st of July, 1900, Mr. Houghton removed from Oshkosh to
Milwaukee, where he formed a partnership with Neele B. Neelen, under
the firm name of Houghton & Neelen. In September, 1909, his eldest
son, Albert B., was admitted to the firm, the title of which has since
been Houghton, Neelen & Houghton.
During his many years of active practice Mr. Houghton has appeared
in connection with many important litigations, and has practiced in all
of the courts, from that of justice of the peace to the supreme court of
the United States. He is a Republican in politics and has been since
casting his first presidential ballot, which was for Ulysses S. Grant in
1872. He has been affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fel
lows since 1877 ; the Knights of Pythias since 1883 ; and the Masonic
Fraternity since 1905. In the last mentioned order he holds membership
in Damascus Lodge No. 290, F. & A. M. ; Kilbourn Chapter No. 9,
R. and S. M. ; Ivanhoe Commandery, Knights Templar ; and Wisconsin
Consistory, S. P. R. S.
At ,the home of the bride 's parents, at Weyauwega, Waupaca county,
Wisconsin, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Houghton to Miss Mary
Julia Balch, who had been his classmate in Lawrence College. She was
born at Weyauwega, Wisconsin, January 21, 1855, and is a daughter of
Albert V. and Sarah (Parmalee) Balch, honored pioneers of Wisconsin.
Representatives of both the Balch and Parmalee families were patriot
soldiers in the Continental army in the War of the Revolution. To Mr.
and Mrs. Houghton were born five children, all of whom are living except
Frank Wilbur, Jr., who passed away on the 13th of November,. 1897, at
the age of thirteen years; Laura Madge remains at the parental home;
Mary Ruth is the wife of George A. Cierry and they reside in Ironwood,
Michigan; Albert B. is associated with his father in the. practice of law,
as previously noted; and Harry Abner is a traveling salesman whose
residence is at Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.
George Ott. Among the industries which have contributed to the
prominence of La Crosse as a manufacturing center, none hold greater

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1037
prestige than that of B. Ott & Sons, Inc., manufacturers of all kinds of
machinery, an enterprise that has grown from small beginnings into
one of the leading concerns of its kind in the northwest. The president
of this company, George Ott, who with his brothers is carrying on the
work begun by their father, is a man of consummate business ability,
whose entire career has been spent in the line in which he is now en
gaged, although aside from his business interests he has found time to
devote himself to the various activities which go to make for good citizen
ship. Mr. Ott was born June 21, 1862, in La Crosse, and is a son of
Benedict and Theresa Ott, natives of Germany.
Benedict Ott was eight years of age when he accompanied his parents
to the United States, the family locating in Milwaukee, where his father
followed marble cutting up to the time of his death. In 1856 Benedict
Ott left his home in Milwaukee and went to Dubuque, Iowa, where he
spent a short time and was married, after which he came up the river
to La Crosse. When permanently settled, he accepted a position as fore
man with the firm of Paul & Leach, machinists, who subsequently sold
their business to E. C. and E. G. Smith, and which later became Thornley
& James. He remained with them until October, 1879. In that year he
entered into a co-partnership with a Mr. Thornley, under the firm title
of Thornley & Ott, and this association continued ten years, when Mr.
Ott bought his partner's interest. The firm of B. Ott & Sons was estab
lished in 1890, when the sons were taken into partnership by their
father, and so continued until the death of Mr. Ott in 1908. It has been
said that the beginning of civilization is the discovery of some useful
arts, by which men acquire property, comforts or luxuries. The neces
sity or desire of preserving them leads to laws and social institutions.
In reality, the origin, as well as the progress and improvement of civil
society, is founded on. mechanical and chemical inventions, and in re
viewing the circumstances of Mr. Ott's career, it is found that his was
a life passed for the most part in the invention and development of
some of the most useful articles which have been the means of saving
labor in late years. It is to Mr. Ott that the world is indebted for the
original ideas that resulted in the perfection of the famous McCormick
self-binding and reaping machines. Having conceived the idea of such
a machine, Mr. Ott was without funds to develop his invention, and
finally sold his interest therein for the sum of $500, thus sacrificing the
fame that would have come to him as the inventor of this great labor-
saving device, and the financial emoluments, which would have probably
amounted into the millions. His fertile mind, however, did not stop at
this, for he subsequently took out patents and manufactured many useful
articles which are in general use today, specification of which is made
impossible by the limits assigned to this review. One, however, is de
serving of special mention, the i(B. Ott Cutter," used in tanneries
throughout the country. Mr. Ott was a Democrat during the great part

1038 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN /
of his life, but in his latter years became a Republican. He was always
interested in anything that affected his adopted city in any way, assisted
other earnest and hard-working men in promulgating and forwarding
movements for the benefit of the community, and for some years served
as alderman of the Third Ward. His death lost the city one of its best
and most public-spirited citizens. He and his wife were the parents of
nine children, of whom the following survive : John J., George, William,
Ida, Fred and Gust.
In 1909 the firm of B. Ott & Sons was reorganized and incorporated,
although the original name was retained, the officers at this time being :
George Ott, president ; John J. Ott, vice president ; Fred Ott, secretary ;
and Gust Ott, treasurer. The firm manufactures all kinds of machinery
and parts, and also maintains a department for the repairing of machin
ery, and the trade has extended over a wide territory.
George Ott attended the public schools until reaching his eighteenth
year, at which time he entered the molding establishment of John James
& Company, in whose employ he continued several years. His next con
nection was with a La Crosse milling concern, and he was so engaged
until becoming connected with the firm of B. Ott & Sons, the manage
ment of which now receives the greater part of his attention. Mr. Ott
is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and of the Fraternal
Reserve Association. He holds membership also in the Governors Guard
Association, having served as first lieutenant of Company B, Third
Regiment, Wisconsin National Guard for nineteen years. When he can
lay aside the multitudinous cares of business life, he takes his family
on a fishing excursion to French Island, on the Mississippi river, and
seldom returns without some excellent trophies which have fallen to
his skill with the rod.
On February 12, 1885, Mr. Ott was married at La Crosse to Miss
Louisa Thoolens, and they had four children, all of whom died in
infancy. Benjamin C. Willson. About thirty years ago the two Willson
brothers were running a drug store at Edgerton, Wisconsin, carrying
the usual stock of goods to be found in a store of that kind. Both the
proprietors were young men possessed of the spirit of twentieth century
enterprise and were constantly alert for opportunities and methods
which would broaden and establish their business on a distinctive scale.
Out of that prescription drug store, bought by Benjamin C. and Dexter
I. Willson, in 1882, has been developed through their united efforts, one
of the important manufacturing concerns of Edgerton known as the
Willson Bros. Monarch Laboratory, of which Benjamin C. Willson is
now the sole proprietor. The manufacturing and general business of
the company are now conducted in a large factory and office building,

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1039
and the Monarch Laboratory's varied lines of pharmaceutical prepara
tions is now distributed in nearly every state of the union. The pro-
duets have a national reputation and demand, and have travelling and
local representatives in a majority of the states.
Benjamin C. Willson, who has shown remarkable energy and capac
ity for business, was born at Newton, New Jersey, on September 7,
1862, a son of Samuel I. and Arabelle (Roe) Willson, both natives of
New Jersey. His mother was descended from one of the old American
families of Mayflower ancestry. His father having died in the east,
Benjamin Willson and his brother Dexter I. came west with their
mother in 1876, locating, first at Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. From there
they removed to Edgerton in Rock county. In 1878 Benjamin C.
Willson became a clerk in the drug store of M. Croft, at Edgerton,
and that wras his first experience in the line along which his enterprise
has subsequently developed. After becoming a clerk he studied phar
macy, passed the State Pharmaceutical Board examination in 1882 at
the age of twenty, and then he and his brother bought the store from
Mr. Croft, and began business * under the firm name of Willson Bros.
In 1910 Dexter I. Willson died, and Benjamin bought his interest from
the estate, though the business is still conducted under the old name
of Willson Bros.
At the present time the Monarch Laboratory, evolved from the
small drug business of 1882, is one of the largest organizations of its
kind in Wisconsin. Its special lines of manufacture are the Monarch
Remedies, pure flavoring extracts and the ground spices, perfumes,
soaps, toilet articles, and a complete line of veterinary remedies. Every
product of the Monarch laboratory is manufactured with special care,
and goes to the trade with reputation of Willson Brothers behind it.
Benjamin C. Willson is a member of the State Pharmaceutical Asso
ciation, and has fraternal membership with Edgerton Lodge No. 69,
A. F. & A. M., is a charter member of the Edgerton Camp of the
Modern Woodmen of America ; in politics is a Democrat, and his church
home is the Congregational. In 1882 he married Miss Matia Rogers, of
Milton Junction, Wisconsin. At her death in 1899 she left three chil
dren : R. Earl, who died at the age of thirteen ; Mabel, wife of Dr.
A. T. Shearer, of Edgerton; and Madge, who lives at home. Mr. Will-
son's present wife was Miss Edith Conrad, of Algona, Iowa.
Joseph Dillon. A veteran of the Spanish-American war with the
Wisconsin Troops, Joseph Dillon is well known in the city of Racine,
Where he is a newspaper man and engaged in the printing business.
He was born in Mt. Pleasant, Racine county, August 8, 1876, a son
of Chester E. and Emma (De Groat) Dillon. His parents were both
born in New York State, and his father was for many years one of the

1040 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
substantial farmers in Racine county. It was on the old farm that
Joseph Dillon grew up, had his education in the local schools, and about
thirteen years ago moved with the family to the city of Racine. After
leaving school Mr. Dillon found employment with the Chicago, Mil
waukee & St. Paul Railroad, and was for about three years in railway
service. At the beginning of the Spanish-American War he was given
a commission as first lieutenant in the First Wisconsin Volunteers, and
made a record as a soldier of which he may well be proud. After the
war he took up newspaper work and was identified with that profession
for five years. He then established a printing office in Racine, and now
conducts a first-class establishment, with facilities for all kinds of work,
and with a large and prosperous business. Mr. Dillon is a member of
the Methodist church, is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Spanish-American
War Veterans.
Terrence McKone. One of the best known citizens of Oshkosh was
the late Terrence McKone, whose death occurred October 24, 1911, at the
age of fifty-four. His home had been in Oshkosh for forty-five years,
and from a beginning in comparative poverty and obscurity he had
advanced to important official responsibilities in the community, and
was also successful as a business man. He had a host of friends and
acquaintances in and about Oshkosh and his loss was regarded as that of
a leading citizen.
Terrence McKone was born in county Cavan, Ireland, March 17,
1857. When ten years old he came to America and lived in Oshkosh the
rest of his life. He early found employment at the Sawyer Sawmill,
now a part of the Paine Lumber Company's plant, and while at work
earning his living was also attending school in the W. W. Daggit
Business College. On April 14, 1876, the college granted him a diploma
of proficiency as a single and double entry bookkeeper. His work soon
led him into the grocery trade, and after following out his interests
in that line he was employed for six years as a mail carrier, and in
that work became familiarly known to a greater portion of the people
of Oshkosh. For a number of years Mr. McKone was identified with
the real estate business in Oshkosh, and in 1890 was first elected to the
office of Alderman from the Fifth ward. He continued as an able
member of the common council for seven years, and also held the office
of constable. Governor George W. Peck subsequently appointed Mr.
McKone state deputy treasury agent, with Winnebago county as his
district, and he continued to hold that office under the administrations
of Governors M. LaFollette and James 0. Davidson, resigning in 1910
on account of his poor health.

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1041
Mr. McKone 's home at the time of his death was at 675 Algoma
street. On September 14, 1887, he married in Germantown, Wisconsin,
Miss Mary Trenwith, a daughter of Henry Trenwith, who came from
county Cork, Ireland, and settled on a farm in Wisconsin where he
spent the remainder of his life-. -Surviving the late Terrence McKone
are his widow and three sons, as follows : James H. McKone, a member
of the Oshkosh Fire department; Leo J. McKone, who is now in the
coal and wood business; and Francis T. McKone, connected with the
Paine Lumber Company of Oshkosh.
Alfred L. Cary. Prominent among those who have left definite and
worthy impress upon the history of jurisprudence in Wisconsin and who
have long held high prestige at the bar of this state stands the well known
and honored citizen and veteran lawyer whose name initiates this para
graph and who is still engaged in the active practice of his profession in
the city of Milwaukee, where he is the senior member of the representa
tive and distinguished law firm of Cary, Upham & Black. Mr. Cary is
not only a man of high intellectual and professional attainments, with a
record of admirable achievement in his chosen vocation, but he has also
stood exponent of the most loyal and liberal citizenship and has so guided
and governed his life as to merit and receive the unqualified confidence
and respect of his fellow men. Concerning the family history further
data appear in the memoir dedicated to his revered uncle, the late John
W. Cary, on other pages of this publication, and it may be stated in a
preliminary way that he was intimately associated with his uncle, who
was one of the foremost of the representatives of the Wisconsin bar in
the pioneer days and up to the time of his death.
Alfred L. Cary is a scion of families that were founded in New
England, that cradle of much of our national history, in the colonial
days, and he himself claims the fine old Empire state of the Union as
the place of his nativity. He was born at Sterling, Cayuga county,
New York, on the 23d of July, 1835, and is a son of Nathaniel C. and
Sophia (Eaton) Cary, the former a native of Shoreham, Addison county,
Vermont, and the latter of Mansfield, Tolland county, Connecticut. The
parents came to Wisconsin in 1879 and here passed the residue of their
lives — folk of sterling character and high ideals. The father was a
wagonmaker by trade and he followed this vocation during the greater
part of his active career, though he lived virtually retired after his re
moval to Wisconsin, both he and his wife having passed the closing
period of their long and useful lives in the city of Racine.
In his native town Alfred L. Cary acquired his preliminary educa
tional discipline, which was effectively supplemented by the pursuance of
higher academic studies in an academy at Auburn, New York, and a
seminary at Fulton, that state. He came to Wisconsin in 1853 alone, and

1042 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
in this state he had the privilege of continuing his educational work in
the high school at Racine, the principal of the same at that time having
been Professor John G. McMynn, who was one of the distinguished and
honored educators of Wisconsin and who served at one time as state
superintendent of schools.
In May, 1858, shortly before attaining his twenty-third birthday an
niversary, Mr. Cary initiated the work of preparing himself for the
profession in which he was destined to gain much of precedence and
distinction. At Racine he entered the law offices of his uncle, John W.
Cary, under whose able and earnest preceptorship he continued his tech
nical studies until he proved himself eligible for and was admitted to the
bar of the state, upon examination before a committee appointed by
the circuit court of Milwaukee county. Early in January of the preced
ing year he had accompanied his ancle on the latter 's removal to Mil
waukee, where the uncle became senior member of the law firm of Cary
& Pratt. In the office of this strong and popular firm Alfred L. Cary held
a clerical position until 1864, and in the meanwhile he gained practical
and valuable experience. In the year last mentioned the original part
nership was dissolved and an alliance wasN formed between John W. and
Alfred L. Cary, Jed P. C. Cottrili having later been admitted to the
firm, the large and important business of which was thereafter con
ducted under the title of Carys & Cottrili until 1874, when John W.
Cary, the senior • member, withdrew to become general solicitor for the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company. The two remaining
principals of the firm continued their association, under the name of
Cottrill & Cary, until 1879, and in the meanwhile Alfred L. Cary, of
this review, assumed the position of general solicitor for the Mil
waukee, Lake Shore & Western Railway Company, an incumbency
which he retained until the company 's line and business were sold to the
Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company in 1893. Mr. Cary handled
the legal affairs of the railroad with utmost discrimination and success
and in this and other connections appeared in many important litiga
tions, through the medium of which his professional reputation was
signally furthered.
In August, 1893, Judge Jenkins, of the United States circuit court for
the eastern district, appointed Mr. Cary special master on the litigation
pending in that court for the foreclosure of the mortgages given by the
Northern Pacific Railway Company. The suit thus brought was the
primary case of the series of auxiliary suits that were brought in othei
states and, covering the entire length of the line of the Northern Pacific.
The mortgages had been given by this railroad company to the Farmers'
Loan & Trust Company of New York city. There were three mortgages
involved in the initial proceedings with which Mr. Cary was identified,
and Thomas F. Oakes, Henry C. Payne and Henry C. Rouse were ap
pointed receivers for the Northern Pacific Company. Mr. Cary's duties

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1043
in this connection appertained specially to the passing of the accounts
of the receivers and to the hearing of various claims and litigations which
were referred to him by the court. The mortgages involved aggregated
many millions of dollars, and the judgment for deficiencies as allowed
by Mr. Cary amounted to over $100,000,000. He eventually effected
the sale of Northern Pacific railway and land grants, under the pro
visions of the decree entered by the. court, and the Northern Pacific Rail
way Company of the present time holds its title through the deed given
by Mr. Cary as special master in connection with the litigations that had
taken place.
In the special service which he had thus performed Mr. Cary had
incidentally gained prestige as one of the most versatile and resourceful
members of the Wisconsin bar, with a reputation that was of national
order. In 1894 he formed a professional partnership with John B. Fish,
and in 1897 Horace A. J. Upham and William Edward Black were ad
mitted to the firm. This noteworthy alliance continued until the death
of Mr. Fish, in August, 1900, since which time the important and repre
sentative law business has been conducted under the firm name of Cary,
Upham & Black, all three principals in this well known firm being in
dividually represented in this publication. The personnel of the firm has
made it one of the foremost of the kind in the middle west, and its mem
bers exemplify the highest ethics and ideals of the profession which they
have dignified and honored.
Though subordinating all else to the demands of his exacting pro
fession, Mr. Cary is essentially broadminded, progressive and public-
spirited in his civic attitude, and, as may well be inferred, he has at all
times been found thoroughly fortified in his convictions and opinions
concerning matters of economic and governmental polity. He continued
to support the cause of the Democratic party until the first nomination
of Bryan for the presidency, when his sincere convictions impelled him
to transfer his allegiance to the Republican party, with which he has
since continued to be identified. In 1872 he served as a member of
the common council of Milwaukee, and in the following year he was
given further manifestation of popular confidence and esteem, in that he
was elected to represent Milwaukee county in the state legislature, in
which he proved a most loyal and valued member of the assembly or
lower house. Mr. Cary is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and is
a charter member of the Milwaukee Club, of which representative or
ganization he served as president for six years. He is also identified
with the Milwaukee Country Club and the Fox Point Club, and in the
city and state that have represented his home from his youth to the
present his circle of friends is coincident with that of his acquaintances.
He is one of the venerable and distinguished members of the Wiscon
sin bar.
On the 6th of September, 1864, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.

1044 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Cary to Miss Harriet M. Van Slyek, daughter of Jesse M. and Nancy
(McHinch) Van Slyck, who were honored pioneers of Milwaukee. Mr.
and Mrs. Cary have four children: Robert J., Walter, Harriet S. and
Irving B.
Theobald Otjen's twelve years of service in Congress made him
well known, both in State and National affairs; Milwaukeeans, — his
neighbors — have always known and respected him for his kindliness,
honesty and ability, and his willing and untiring efforts for the bet
terment of their city. The history of his life is a list of successful
accomplishments for the public good. His has been the type of citizen
ship which never hesitates to sacrifice private interests for the general
welfare, and whether in local civic work, or as a member of Congress,
Mr. Otjen has always shown a true devotion and loyalty to all that would
result in the public good.
Theobald Otjen was born in West China, St. Claire county, Mich
igan, on October 27th, 1851, and is the son of John C. and Dorothea
(Schreiner) Otjen. Both parents were born in Germany. John C. Otjen
came to the United States in 1827, located first in Baltimore, Maryland,
then moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and still later to Michigan. In Balti
more and in Cincinnati the father followed his trade as cabinet maker,
an art which he had thoroughly mastered in his native land. In Mich
igan his career was devoted to farming, and he spent his remaining days
in that vocation.
Theobald Otjen was educated in the Marine City Academy, located
at Marine City, Michigan, and at a private school in Detroit, Michigan,
conducted by Prof. P. M. Patterson. In 1870 Mr. Otjen came to Mil
waukee, being then nineteen years of age. While here he worked as a
foreman in the Rolling Mills. In 1872 he entered the law department
of the University of Michigan, where he was graduated in the class of
1875, and received the degree of LL. B. The first two years of his
practice were spent in the City of Detroit, as a member of the firm of
Otjen and Rabeaut. Then in 1883 he came to Bay View, now a portion
of the City of Milwaukee, which city has since been his home. At Bay
View he commenced the practice of law, and in connection therewith
conducted a real estate and insurance business. The business thus started
has successfully continued since that date until the present time, and is
now conducted by Mr. Otjen and his elder son under the firm name of
Otjen & Otjen.
From 1885 to 1887 Mr. Otjen was attorney for the Village of Bay
View. He was village attorney for South Milwaukee when that munici
pality was first organized. In 1887 he was elected member of the Com
mon Council of the City of Milwaukee, and served seven years as such
member. His work there was of a kind that leaves a definite impression

c/aLt? .#^t*<_

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1045
on the city's history, as is illustrated by his work in connection with
the City Park System and the Library-Museum building.
While in the Council as Chairman of the Committee on Legislation,
Mr. Otjen secured the passage of the present Milwaukee Park Law.
Under that law was created the Park Board with the subsequent estab
lishment of Milwaukee's splendid system of parks, and under the pro
visions of that law have been created Lake, Riverside, Mitchell, Kosci
usko, Humboldt, and the other beautiful Milwaukee parks.
As a trustee of the Public Library and_Museum from 1887 to 1904,
he was a member of the committee that selected the plans for the new
library building. As Chairman of the Committee on Legislation of the
Common Council, he secured the passage of an act by the Legislature
authorizing the issuance of bonds for the erection of the new library
building. Thus much credit is due to Mr. Otjen for Milwaukee 's beauti
ful library.
His larger political career began in 1892, when he was nominated
by the Republican Party for Congress by acclamation. He was de
feated by Hon. J. L. Mitchell, later senator, the chief cause of his defeat
being due to the agitation over the ' ' Bennett Law, " as a result of which
a large number of foreign votes were transferred to the Democratic
side. However, in 1894 Mr. Otjen was elected and continued to serve
this State in the National Congress for twelve consecutive years, as a
member of the Fifty-fourth, Fifty-fifth, Fifty-sixth, Fifty-seventh, Fif
ty-eighth and Fifty-ninth Congresses. His successful industry in Con
gress brought much to Milwaukee. The Harbor of Refuge, the Light
House Supply Station and government aid to the Inner-Harbor Improve
ments indicate the nature of the advantages Mr. Otjen secured for Mil
waukee. During his term in office he secured more money for improve
ments in Milwaukee than any other representative from that City in the
National Congress. While in Congress he was appointed a member of
the Industrial Commission by Speaker Reed.
Since retiring from Congress Mr. Otjen followed his profession as a
lawyer, acted as director of the German American Bank, and has over
seen the management of many large estates and real estate undertakings,
but although much engrossed in his work, he has been liberal to the
public of his time, energy and ability. For the passed four year's he
has been president of the South Division Civic Association, the most
important organization of its kind, not only on the South Side, but of
the entire city. Its active membership now comprises nearly six hun
dred. Through its effective and systematic organization, it has accom
plished more substantial good for the city than any other civic body.
The Association has already a large record of practical performances,
and in no small degree must credit be given to its president for them.
Mr. Otjen 's election on March 9, 1913, to the office of president of the
South Side Realty Company was in recognition of his long association

1046 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
with real estate matters and general business in the southern section of
the city.
In fraternal affairs Mr. Otjen is affiliated with the various bodies in
Masonry, including Lake Lodge No. 189 F. and A. M., and Ivanhoe Com
mandery, Knights Templar. At the present time the home of the Lake
Lodge is one of the finest structures of its kind in the State, having cost
twenty-eight thousand dollars to complete. In the efforts and vigorous
campaign necessary to raise the funds for the erection of this building,
Mr. Otjen was a leader, and much credit is due him for the successful
outcome of the enterprise. He is also affiliated with the Royal Arcanum,
and supports among the churches, the Methodist. For some years he has
been trustee of Lawrence College, Appleton, Wisconsin.
On March 12th, 1879, Mr. Otjen married Miss Louise E. Heames,
daughter of Henry and Anna Matilda (Carpenter) Heames of Detroit,
Michigan. Their four children are : Henry H., Grave V., Fanny H.,
and Christian John.
Johh B. Heim. In the election of John B. Heim to the office of
mayor in 1912, the citizens of Madison honored a man whose record for
more than thirty years has been distinguished for a high degree of
public service and efficiency both in office and in private business. A
resident of this city for fifty-five years, he has witnessed and has been
an important factor in its upbuilding and the years of his life have been
marked by success and influence.
Mr. Heim was born in Rochester, New York, July 15, 1848. His
parents were Conrad and Anastasia (Aut) Heim. Both natives of Ger
many, the father was born at Unterleichtersbach, Bavaria, November1
1, 1821, and died in Madison, November 11, 1900, and the mother was
born at Heinsell, Hessia, September 23, 1822, and died May 27, 1865.
They were married at Rochester, New York, and of their ten children,
eight sons and two daughters, three sons and one daughter survive,
John B. being the eldest.
The late Conrad Heim, who was a well known citizen of Madison,
came to America in 1846, spending fifty-six days on a sailing vessel be
fore landing in New York. A tailor by trade, he engaged in that busi
ness at Rochester, until 1858, in which year he moved west and located
in the city of Madison, the date of his arrival here being April 22nd.
Up to 1863 he conducted both a general clothing and tailoring business,
then became cutter for the firm of S. Klauber & Company, until 1879,
when he retired and lived quietly the remainder of his long years. He
was a Democrat, a Catholic, and was one of the founders of the St.
Michael's Sick Benefit Society in this city.
During the first ten years of his life in Rochester, John B. Heim at
tended the German Catholic parochial school, and after the removal of
the family to Madison he completed his early education at the parochial

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1047
school of the Holy Redeemer German Catholic Church. On the twenty-
eighth of June, 1861, he began his vocational training as apprentice to
the book-binding trade with the firm of B. W. Suckow. In 1869 he be
came connected with the firm of William J. Park & Company at Madi
son. He rose to be manager of the book-binding department, and con
tinued in that position from April 12, 1871, to October 12, 1882.
In April, 1881, Mr. Heim, a Democrat, was elected as senior alder
man from the strongly Republican Second Ward. He was in the council
during an important period of municipal improvement, being an advocate
of municipal ownership and did valuable service as chairman of the
committee on construction of the city water works. October 12, 1882, he
was elected the first superintendent of the city water works, and held
that office for nearly seven years, until April 1, 1889, when he resigned
to enter into the plumbing business. The efficiency of the water service
in Madison was for many years due to Mr. Heim. By special request
he again assumed his position as superintendent on October 5, 1890, and
remained in charge of the plant up to January, 1911, when he finally
retired. Much that is permanently good in this branch of municipal
work is the result of the long and faithful superintendence of John B.
Heim. By petition of citizens, Mr. Heim became a candidate for the
office of mayor, and was elected April 4, 1912, for a term of two years.
September 8, 1874, Mr. Heim married Miss Mary E. Rickenbach.
Their happy union was terminated by her death on June 11. 1889. Of
their children, three daughters and one son, two are living, namely:
Katherine and Petronilla. Mr. Heim later married the sister of his first
wife, Miss Prudence Rickenbach. They are the parents of one daughter,
Marie. Mr. Heim is one of the prominent Catholics of Madison and the
state. For nearly twelve years, he was a trustee of the Holy Redeemer
Catholic church. He had charge of three bazaars conducted by this
church, the receipts from these totaling $14,396. He is secretary of St.
Mary's Hospital. For twenty-eight years he has been a member of St.
Michael's Benevolent Society, serving as secretary for six years, and
president since 1898. For seventeen years he was an executive officer o.f
the German Catholic Benevolent Association of the State of Wisconsin,
its president since 1908, and an executive officer of the national organiza
tion of the above association of the Unfted Stages. He was treasurer for
six or seven years and for four years served as president of the Catholic
Knights of Wisconsin, Branch No. 88, and is a charter member of Mad
ison Council No. 531, Knights of Columbus.
For fifty years he has been a member of the Volunteer Fire Engine
Company, No. 2, now known as Relief Association Madison No. 2, and
for forty years was its secretary. He was a fire fighter in the city dur
ing the years when protection depended entirely on the efforts of the
volunteer company. After the city introduced steam fire-engines, with

1048 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
*
& paid department, his company, No. 2, organized a sick-benefit society
with a membership of seventy. The fire company organization dated
from July 30, 1856, and when its service was no longer required for
fighting fire and its organization continued as a benefit society, it was
agreed, that no new members should be received. Thus death has been
depleting its ranks, so that now only eight members are left, and one of
them Avas among the original founders of the company. It was a notable
company in its time, and won many trophies at the tournaments. These
trophies and other paraphernalia are to be given to the State Historical
Society when the last member has passed away.
Mr. Heim has long been an authority on Water Works and general
municipal engineering. He has membership in the Wisconsin State
Engineering Society, and is a charter member of the Wisconsin Munici
pal League. Few men have had a longer and more practical experience
in the fire-protection and water-works service. He has been a member
of the American Water Works Association since 1893, and has served
in the offices of first, second and third vice president, having refused
the honor of president because of lack of time for its duties. He has
attended the association meetings at Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Atlanta,
Denver, Buffalo, Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, New York, Boston, Tor
onto, Canada, St. Louis and Richmond, Virginia, and has been on the
programs for addresses on such subjects as water mains, artesian wells,
water meters, meter rates, frozen mains, lowering of mains and general
water-work management. His services have been called in as appraiser
of water works at Sheboygan, Appleton, Waukesha, Monroe Portage and
other places, and he has officially inspected the plants at Fond du Lac,
-Jefferson, Evansville, Watertown, Oconomowoc, Stoughton, Avoca,
¦etc. As a specialist in water works engineering, Mr. Heim has also con
tributed to the world of invention. He is the patentee of the Heim
: Street Sprinkling Valve. Three hundred and eighteen cities of the United
: States and Canada, including some of the largest cities are now using
ihis invention. It has a demonstrated Value in eliminating repairs and
in saving of water, and its use is being rapidly extended to all cities.
Mr. Heim first applied his invention in Madison in 1903, and after its
successful trial, secured a patent and placed the valve on the market.
He also has patents on curb and. valve boxes for water works service.
Mr. Heim has been a promoter and factor for the general interest
of the city of Madison. He has either served as a member or as chair
man of committees to work to a successful end, always a leader, in what
ever enterprises he undertook or was entrusted to his care for the benefit
and pride of the city of Madison.
Otto J. Schoenleber. It would be an inadequate estimate of the
.qualities of enterprise, public spirit, literary discrimination and financial

' HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1049
abilities which have made him something more than a business man, to
name Otto J. Schoenleber only in connection with Ambrosia chocolates,
which are used all over the country. A man of versatile talents, he
has not been satisfied to alone build up a business which justifies the use
of the firm 's trade phrase, ' ' We Help to Make Milwaukee Famous, ' ' but
has entered public life as a supporter of those movements which have
helped to advance and develop his native city, while business, financial
and social circles have also attained distinction through his activities.
Mr. Schoenleber is a native Milwaukeean, having been born at No. 291
Third street, a section of the city which was then known as Kilbourn-
town, now the Second Ward, October 16, 1858. His parents, Adoph and
Margaretha (Kuhnmuench) Schoenleber were sturdy pioneers who
helped to build up this beautiful city on the shores of Lake Michigan,
and were . natives of Baden, Germany, the former having been born
at Tauberbischofheim, June 16, 1825, and the latter at Werbach, Jan
uary 18. 1826.
Adolph Schoenleber was apprenticed to the trade of cabinet maker
in his native city, and after completing his- term of service, traveled
as a journeyman all through the German states, Switzerland and France,
in order to improve himself in his chosen vocation. The political revolu
tion of 1848, led by such patriots as Carl Schurz, Friederich Hecker,
Gustav Striiwe and. Robert Blum, fighting to wrest Baden from the
Prussian dominance, drew into its ranks thousands of young men
inspired by these leaders, and when the revolution was finally subdued
by the stronger Prussian military the patriots were forced to flee from
their country. Many of these emigrated to the United States, and
among these came Adolph Schoenleber, then twenty-three years of age.
With the small capital which he had saved through thrift and industry
in his younger days, he decided to establish a cabinet-makea's shop, and
in partnership with one Melchior Deckert, leased a vacant lot from
Byron Kilbourn, the founder of the West Side and at that time the
largest holder of property in that part of the city. This place is now
known as 248 West Water street. On this lot Adolph Schoenleber and
his partner erected a two-story building, which served as a store-room,
manufactory and residence until 1854, when the partnership was dis
solved and Mr. Schoenleber purchased from the same Byron Kilbourn
the lot which is now known as 293 Third street, and erected thereon a
building- in which he conducted a retail furniture and undertaking busi
ness for many years. This property is still in the hands of the Schoen
leber family, who possess also an interesting memento of early days,
a lease written by Mr. Kilbourn to Mr. Schoenleber for the property
on West Water street. Milwaukee at that time was a small and thriving
city of about 10,000 inhabitants, without any railroad connections, and
the elder Schoenleber 's trip from New York to Milwaukee was made
entirely by water. It was in 1854 that the first railroad was built to

1050 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN l
Milwaukee, and the sturdy pioneers viewed the coming of the steel horse
with a great deal of enthusiasm. With keen foresight, and a firm faith
in the future of his adopted city, Adolph Schoenleber invested his earn
ings in real estate, and became one of the substantial business men of his
city. Otto J. Schoenleber attended the public and parochial schools, and
completed his education at St. Gall's Academy, located at that time on
the present site of the Terminal building. Later, he laid a foundation
for a business career by taking a course in Wulkow's Business College
of Milwaukee, an institution which has since been discontinued. At the
completion of his school years, however, Mr. Schoenleber did not give up
his studies, for he was an ambitious and studious lad, and constant
research and reading gave him a love of music and literature. His
father was a firm believer in the old adage, that to learn a trade was to
lay a golden foundation, and accordingly, under his tutorship, Otto J.
gained a knowledge of the occupation of cabinet-maker. For four years
he worked industriously as an apprentice and later as a fellowcraft cab
inet-maker, mastering all the fine details of this interesting work. In
1886 his father retired from the retail furniture business, and for eight
years after the elder man's death, his son was engaged in the same line
at No. 291-293 Third street, and also conducted a wholesale desk manu
factory at 331-333 Fifth street. In 1894 he retired from both of these
lines and organized and established the Ambrosia Chocolate Company,
in the premises formerly occupied by the Otto Desk Company, and this
being the present site of the large chocolate factory.
It was in this venture that Mr. Schoenleber evidenced his business
courage and implicit faith in his own ability, for it was a dangerous
undertaking to attempt to establish a demand for an article the manu
facture of Which had heretofore been confined to the East. This was the
initial venture of its kind in the state, the product being the manufac
ture of chocolate and cocoa directly from the cocoa bean. It was a
novelty that had not been known west of New York. The first years of
this enterprise were crowded with trials and tribulations in an effort to
introduce this product in the face of competition from the older and
wealthier firms which left no stone unturned in their hindrance of the
newcomer's business. The perseverance, indomitable wrill and persis
tent industry of the founder and manager, however, were sufficient to
overcome every obligation, and today the Ambrosia Chocolate Company
holds a recognized place among concerns which take a pride in the high
quality of their product and the trade of which extends all over the
Union, to the Canadian provinces, and to foreign countries. A large
force of skilled chocolate makers, both men and women, are employed in
the factory. The growth of the business has been almost phenomenal
in its rapidity, due to the high quality of its product, and its output has
doubled each year since its inception. The business is now housed in a

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1051
large six-story building, with a combined floor space of 36,000 ft. All of
its raw material is imported direct from the plantations in the West
Indies, from South America, from some of the German possessions in
Africa and from the islands of Ceylon and Java. The process of manu
facture, due to the improved machinery installed in this great plant,
is unique and interesting, and annually attracts many students and vis
itors, especially young men and women from the various colleges and
high schools, who recognize the health-giving qualities of chocolate and
cocoa and are interested to know from what and how they are made.
This company consumes on an average of two car-loads of cocoa beans
per week and in addition thousands of barrels of sugar and many hun
dreds of pounds of vanilla beans. Mr. Schoenleber reviews with a great
deal of pardonable pride the struggles and successes of the business
from its earliest days, and is delighted to show visitors the workings of
the enterprise which has been built up through his perseverance . and
well-directed effort.
When a young man, Mr. Schoenleber was quite active in political
matters, this having been one of his hobbies, especially during the first
campaign in which the Hon. Grover Cleveland was a candidate for pres
ident. He was then secretary and treasurer of the Second Ward Demo
cratic Club, and represented his district on the city and county commit
tees. Of late years he has grown more independent of party affiliations,
although he still sympathizes with the cause of Democracy, and classing
himself as an independent progressive Democrat, loyal to his party in
national affairs, but exercising his prerogative in local matters of sup
porting the candidate he deems best fitted for the office, regardless of
party lines. He has steadfastly refused to become a candidate for pub
lic office, although often importuned to do so by his many friends. In
1889 he accepted an appointment as school commissioner of the Second
Ward, an office which he has held uninterruptedly for six years. During
his term in that office he served as chairman of the executive and high
school committees and also as chairman of the committee on supplies.
He assisted in inaugurating many reforms in the method of conducting
the public schools. The establishment of the West Division High school,
the monster institution at Twenty-third and Prairie streets, was directly
due to his efforts, it being necessary for him to carry it against many
seemingly insurmountable obstacles. The custom of observing Arbor
Day in the public schools, which tends to inculcate in the youthful mind
a love of nature and a desire for the beautifying of school grounds and
parks, was an idea fostered and brought into its present observance by
the resolution of Mr. Schoenleber. The custom is still annually cele
brated by the planting of trees and shrubbery in the public school
grounds and in the public parks of the city.
Mr. Schoenleber is especially interested in vocal music and for many
years as an active singer. In 1890 he served as president of the Mil-

10,32 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
waukee Liederkranz for one term, and is still a passive member of this
organization, and of the Milwaukee Musical Society. He is identified
with the Merchants and- Manufacturers Association, the Old Settlers'
Club, the Jefferson Club, a political organization, and the American
Chocolate Manufacturers' Association, and usually represents his com
pany at their meetings, this, however, being merely a trade organiza
tion. As a member of the Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association
of Milwaukee, he has served on many of its important committees, dur
ing the past ten years. In 1909 this association chose Mr. Schoenleber
as president of the Milwaukee Home Coming Committee, an organiza
tion composed of the heads of the prominent civic bodies as well as
municipal organizations, and with the aid of this committee arranged
the first Home Coming Festival held in the city of Milwaukee, August
2nd to 7th of that year. This festival was pronounced by press and pub
lic as an unqualified success, but the work had been prodigious. For
four months Mr. Schoenleber gave his undivided time and attention as
loyal, public-spirited Milwaukeean, and donated largely of his means
in order that this venture might prove a success. A fund of $26,000
was collected from the citizens of Milwaukee, this being spent for dec
orations, for grand pageants showing the events in the city's history
from Indian days to the year 1909. A grand naval battle was held on
Lake Michigan, and great military displays, these being witnessed not
alone by thousands of Milwaukeeans but by visitors from every state
in the Union. The successful celebration brought many compliments
to its manager, and when all festivities were over and the bills paid, one-
fourth of the original subscriptions remained on hand and were returned
to the original subscribers. This was a new and unexpected feature in
connection with conducting affairs of a public nature, and one which
had never been heard of before, and was so pleasing to the citizens that
showers of compliments were bestowed upon the committee and espe
cially upon its president.
During the same year (1909) occurred the opening of the new Audi
torium, it having been the original intention to have this opening dur
ing Home Coming Week. Unfortunately, however, the contractors were
delayed and the opening did not take place until September. Mr.
Schoenleber has always taken a very active interest in all measures per
taining to the welfare of the city and for the promotion of its business
interests. In 1907 he served as a member of the Milwaukee Auditorium
Board, the committee of enterprising citizens who succeeded in raising
the necessary funds for Milwaukee 's modern convention hall, which was
erected to take the place of the old Exposition Building, which had been
destroyed by fire during the preceding spring. Mr. Schoenleber had
also served on a similar committee a quarter of a century before for the
erection of the old building. In November, 1912, he was elected a mem-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1053
ber of the governing- board of the Milwaukee Auditorium Association
and has served in that capacity to the present time.
Mr. Schoenleber 's particular hobby is the study of dialects, and,
being of a literary turn of mind, has produced a number of humorous
plays, poems, and letters, for the amusement of the public as well as of
his many friends. During the years 1902 to 1907 he served as the Mil
waukee correspondent for the International Confectioner, of New York,
the largest trade paper of its kind, and the letters and reports of the
Cream City trade were always read with a great deal of interest. His
literary work has been not only in the English language, but also in the
German, of the latter of which he has always been an industrious stu
dent. Fraternally, Mr. Schoenleber is a member of Aurora Lodge, No.
30, F. & A. M., with which he has been connected for many years, and
is a regular attendant at its meetings.
Mr. Schoenleber was one of the original organizers of the West Side
Bank, located at Third and Chestnut streets, one of the sound financial
institutions of the city, known for its conservatism and for its financial
success and prosperity. This institution was organized in 1893 and Mr.
Schoenleber has served on the -directing board for the past fifteen years,
acting as a member of the examining committee uninterruptedly. He is
one of the directors and second vice-president of the Milwaukee Western
Electric Railroad, a new interurban line about to be built from Milwau
kee to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.
On July 12, 1887, Mr. Schoenleber was united in marriage with Miss
Emma Theede, a native of Milwaukee. This union has been blessed
by the birth of three daughters: Marie, a graduate of the Milwaukee
Normal school, and at present a teacher in the Twentieth District school ;
Gretchen, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, and at present
teacher of history at the Wauwatosa High school; and Louise, a junior
at the University of Wisconsin, in the general science course. Mr.
Schoenleber plans to continue his residence here and to prosecute his
activities as owner and manager of the Ambrosia Chocolate Company
for another five years, and then devote his time to travel and study and
to assist in such public and civic duties as his time will permit. He is a
loyal "booster" of his native city, and, while admitting the beauties
and claims of other cities, he. believes that there is no city to compare
with the city of his birth, and of which the poet says :
"I came from fair Milwaukee,
Milwaukee on the Lake. ' '
Milo C. Jones. The designated province of this publication is such
that its principle in the treatment of its biographical department must
needs be exclusive rather than inclusive. In the presentation of the
brief reviews of the careers of the various representative citizens there

1054 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
is employed no critical analysis, nor is such demanded, but a resume of
genealogy and personal achievement is given in such manner as to
indicate all that is necessary for the purposes of such history. In thus
according consideration to Mr. Jones there are found many elements
which make the review specially interesting. He is a man who "has
done things," and he is to-day one of the substantial and progressive
business men of Jefferson county, even as he is a progressive and highly
esteemed citizen. He has had the initiative power to develop a unique
and wonderfully successful industrial enterprise and in connection with
the same to gain a reputation that far transcends the boundaries of his
home state. He is a native of Jefferson county and has ever maintained
his home within its borders. He is a scion of a family that was founded
in Wisconsin in the territorial epoch of its history and one whose name
has been prominently and worthily linked with the annals of develop
ment and progress in this favored commonwealth. He is a man of fine
intellectuality and broad and well fortified views, and his ability along
practical lines needs no further voucher than that afforded in the suc
cess which he has achieved. Mr. Jones is a native of Fort Atkinson,
a large part of which thriving little city is situated on land that was
originally a part of the farm obtained by his father from the govern
ment in the early pioneer days, and the family name has represented
potent influence in connection with the upbuilding of the city and the
civic and industrial development of this section of the state. Under
such conditions it may readily be understood that Mr. Jones is emi
nently entitled to specific recognition in this publication.
Milo C. Jones was born in the village of Fort Atkinson, Jefferson
county, Wisconsin, on the 14th of February, 1849, and, as previously
stated, this village was on a portion of the extensive landed estate which
his father had here acquired. He is a son of Milo and Sallie (Crane)
Jones, both of whom were born and reared at Richmond, Chittenden
county, Vermont, the respective families having been founded in New
England in the colonial era of our national history. Milo Jones was a
pioneer of pioneers in the section now known as the middle west, as he
came to this section of our great national domain at a time when it was
considered to be on the very frontier of civilization. In 1832, in the
capacity of surveyor in the employ of the United States government, he
came to the territory of Michigan and established his headquarters in
Detroit. He did a large amount of important civil engineering work
for the government and remained at Detroit until 1838, the year suc
ceeding the admission of Michigan to the Union. He then came to Wis
consin, within whose borders he had worked as a government surveyor,
and in Jefferson county he entered claim to government land. He
acquired about seven hundred acres, and within this tract a portion of
the city of Fort Atkinson is now included.
Milo Jones was a man of distinctive energy, circumspection and

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1055
ability, and he played a prominent part in connection with the devel
opment and upbuilding of the county in which he thus established his
home fully a decade before Wisconsin gained place as one' of the sover
eign states of the Union. He reclaimed much of his land to cultivation
and became one of the most progressive agriculturists, stock-growers and
dairymen of this section of the state, where he continued to reside until
his death, in 1893, at the venerable age of eighty-four years, his loved
and devoted wife, who had shared with him in the trials and vicissitudes
of pioneer life, having been summoned to eternal rest in 1871, she hav
ing been a consistent member of the Congregational church. Of their
eight children only four are now living, and one of the youngest, who
were twins, is he to whom this sketch is dedicated. Milo Jones was one
of those who took advanced ground in the developing of the dairy indus
try in Wisconsin, a line of enterprise .which has given the state national
prestige. He carried on in the later years of his life an extensive dairy
business, with an average herd of about sixty high-grade cows, and the
cheese and butter manufactured on his farm found ready demand at
the highest market prices, his annual shipments having reached large
volume. He also gave attention to the general raising of live stock,
and he was an extensive dealer in mixed stock. Through early advan
tages and effective self-discipline he gained a liberal education, his
character was the positive expression of a strong and loyal nature, and
thus he was well equipped for leadership in thought and action. He
took a lively interest in public affairs and, with naught of solicitation
on his part, he was called upon to serve in various important public
offices. He was a member of the second constitutional convention of
Wisconsin and wielded much influence in the formulating of the con
stitution adopted at that time. He was the first mayor of Fort Atkin
son and the growth and upbuilding of the city was a matter of great
interest and pride to him. The names of both himself and his noble
wife merit enduring place on the roster of the honored pioneers of
Wisconsin. Milo C. Jones was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm
and was favored in having the influences and associations of a home of
distinctive culture and refinement. He gained his early education in the
public schools of Fort Atkinson and at the age of seventeen years he
entered Beloit Academy, where he continued his studies two years. He
then entered the celebrated University of Michigan, where he was a
student a short time, and prior to this he had gained excellent knowl
edge, both technical and practical, of civil engineering work, under the
able direction of his- honored father. For a number of years he found
much requisition for his services in connection with surveying work.
He has continuously been identified with agricultural pursuits from the
days of his youth and of the original homestead farm he now owns a
tract of 220 acres, constituting one of the best improved and most val-

1056 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
uable farmsteads in this section of the state. He has maintained his
residence in Fort Atkinson since built. In connection with the widely
extended enterprise built up by Mr. Jones in the manufacturing of fine
old-time country sausage, his sales of which now extend to the most
diverse sections of the Union, no better description can, perhaps, be
given than through the reproduction of a most genial and pertinent
article that recently appeared in the little periodical known as Readable
Write-ups, under the title of ' ' Do it Right : ' '
' ' Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, is a pleasant place where there is neither
poverty nor riches. The town is tidy, homelike, and its population
seems made up of people who appreciate the fact that there are a few
simple virtues that can not safely be shelved, pigeonholed or waived.
In short, it is just like hundreds of other busy little centers of industry
and light, all through the middle west, — centers that every now and
then supply Chicago, Boston and New York with the Big Boys who do
things. "But when I think of Fort Atkinson I think of just one man, and
that man is Milo C. Jones. Jones is a farmer, plain, simple, unpreten
tious, healthy. Just why the strongest people get sick first I might here
explain if I had the time, but let it go at this, — rheumatism laid Jones
by the heels and suddenly. He was tied up in knots, and the pain-
devils in relays siezed him and danced at his bedside night and day.
Doctors were vain; baths were naught; specialists gave it up. Jones was
flat on his back, praying for death. So he lay for a year, — two years;
five; seven. Dragging, dull, dead years when only pain was supreme.
Jones saw his surplus money go — his farm was mortgaged. Jones
prayed for death, but as his prayers were not answered he tried another
tack. It was fall. The frost was on the pumpkin, the fodder in the
shock. The boys were butchering hogs. He thought that if he could
only taste sausage like that his mother made he would get well! He
would make sausage for his neighbors! He could not walk; he could
not use his hands, but he could think and he could show others how.
And so, on that bright October morning, just to humor him, the farm
hands carried him down to the kitchen. You know the rest. The man
got well! It wasn't exactly the sausage that cured him, — it was work,
ideas, an animating purpose. Jones does not run foot races nor chase
the pleasures of past years, for the moving finger writes and, having
writ, moves on, nor all your tears shall blot a line of it. But every day
for ten years Jones has been at work, and from supplying his neighbors
with dainty eatables, he has built up a family trade that covers the
entire United States.
"Jones is not rich, — not absurdly rich, but he has all the money he
needs. His little plant is a very model of sanitary and convenient per
fection. He raises his own pigs, or depends upon his neighbors for
supply. Every animal he himself inspects. Even our Semitic friends

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1057
do not draw the line at Jones ' little-pig sausages. Jones makes me think
of Dr. Maurice Burke, who was bowled over by fate and lost his feet,
and who then set to work cultivating his sky-piece. Jones achieved an
education in bed. Calamity gives heroism opportunity. Jones got on
good terms with Herbert Spencer, Balzac, Emerson, Thoreau, Tenny
son and the great men in art and literature. They came and ministered
to him. In any company Milo C. Jones would be a distinguished man.
His reserve, his kindliness, his appreciation, his honesty, his poise, his
sympathy, his knowledge, are unique. So, see what pain does for a man.
It gave Milo C. Jones an understanding mind and a receptive heart. It
also gave him business success. Great is the man who can cash in his
disabilities. Life supplies the lemons, — all we have to do is to furnish
the sugar."
In 1889-90 Mr. Jones manufactured his fine sausage in only sufficient
amount to supply a practically local demand. The fame of the product
grew apace, and from a modest inception, in the kitchen of the home,
there has been built up a business of great volume, the same extending
not only into the various states of the Union, but also into the Canadian
provinces. All sales and shipments are made direct to the consumer,
and who has once tasted the Jones farm sausage, toothsome, clean and
unrivaled, can not be satisfied with inferior products. Mr. Jones has
carried on judicious advertising through leading periodicals and through
other approved mediums, and it can not be doubted that his business
enterprise has done more to make Fort Atkinson known in the homes
throughout the land than has any other one industry here centered.
A man of well fortified opinions and broad views, Mr. Jones is essen
tially and emphatically loyal and progressive as a citizen, and he takes
specially deep interest in all that touches the welfare and advancement
of his native city and county, which are endeared to him by many hal
lowed memories and associations. He served two terms as city super
visor and as city treasurer for one year. His business is conducted
under the title of the Jones Dairy Farm, and is incorporated under the
laws of the state. He is president of the company ; his son Philip W. is
secretary, and his daughter Mary P. is vice-president. The manufactur
ing plant is a large building of three stories, with every facility and the
most perfect sanitary provisions. The business now requires the reten
tion of a large force of employes and is one of the important industrial
enterprises of Jefferson county.
Mr. Jones has for many years been aligned as a stalwart supporter
of the cause of the Republican party, but, with characteristic indepen
dence and firmness of conviction as to economic measures, he did not
approve the attitude of either the Republican or the Progressive party
in the national election of 1912, with the result that he cast his ballot
in support of the Democratic presidential candidate, Woodrow Wilson,
in whose ability and integrity of purpose1 he has the fullest confidence.

1058 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
He is affiliated with the Fort Atkinson Lodge of Knights of Pythias and
in his native county his circle of friends is limited only by that of his
acquaintances. *
On the 26th of October, 1870, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Jones to Miss Mary F. Cole, daughter of Ichabod and Sarah Cole, who
were at that time residents of the city of Jackson, Michigan, and in
whose home the marriage ceremony was performed. Mr. and Mrs. Jones
became the parents of three children, of whom two are living, — Philip
W., and Mary P., both of whom are associated with their father in busi
ness, as previously noted in this context.
John O'Donnell. For many years a Kenosha citizen and business
man, representing one of the pioneer families of that city, the late
John O'Donnell spent the greater part of his life in Kenosha, and was
actively identified with the retail coal trade. In fact, his last mortal
concern was some details of his business. His death occurred on Octo
ber 8, 1913, as a result of an accident, when he fell into the hold of a
coal barge at the O'Donnell docks. He was walking along one of the
beams of the boat, and losing his balance fell fifteen feet to the bottom,
his head striking on a heavy timber, and he never regained conscious
ness. In Kenosha Mr. O'Donnell secured a firm status as a successful
business man and loyal and progressive citizen. He passed a number of
years in the west in the pioneer times, and upon his return to Kenosha
took up retail coal dealing.
John O'Donnell was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, June 27,
1847, a son of Patrick and Deborah (Collins) O'Donnell. The O'Don-
nells came to America in 1849, and lived in Kenosha, where they were
among the early settlers. Patrick 0 'Donnell was for a number of years
connected with the flour and feed business in Kenosha, where he died
in 1894. John O'Donnell, the youngest of four children, had limited
educational opportunities in Kenosha, became a hard worker in boy
hood, and during his early career went west, following telegraphing, and
for several years was agent for the Overland Express, and was at one
time county clerk in Nevada. He also followed mining and prospect
ing in Nevada, and other western and northwestern states. In 1881, Mr.
O'Donnell, after all his young manhood spent in the west, returned to
Kenosha, and was thereafter identified with both business and civic
affairs. From 1884 to 1886 he held the office of city treasurer, and on
leaving that office started on a modest scale as a retail coal merchant.
For the first year or so he distributed only about five thousand tons of
coal a year among his customers, but the trade was developed until its
annual volume reached about twenty-five thousand tons. And in con
nection with his coal trade he also for the past two years handled lime,
cement, brick and building material, with his sons. . In politics Mr.

bc&vyi&L/

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1059
O 'Donnell was a Republican, and he and his family were communicants
of the Catholic church.
In 1879 he married Miss Mary 0 'Brien. They became the parents of
four sons and two daughters, and four of the children are still living.
Ray Palmer. Wisconsin men are now conspicuous in every large cen
ter of human affairs and in every field of enterprise. A native son from
an old family, a graduate of Wisconsin University with the class of
'01, and still loyal to his home state, Ray Palmer has already conferred
distinction on his commonwealth and alma mater by distinguished and
expert service in electrical engineering. His recent appointment as city
electrician and recently changed to Commissioner of Gas and Elec
tricity of Chicago was the more notable since it was a selection based
not on political expediency, but on capability and fitness. As was stated
in a recent issue of the "Electrical Review and Western Electrician,"
— "the office of city electrician places its incumbents at the head of the
municipal department of electricity, which has charge of the inspection
of all electrical wiring, takes care of the fire alarm and police telegraph
and of all public lighting, and looks, after any other matters of an elec
trical nature, with which the city is concerned. The department now
includes some four hundred offices and employes." The salary of the
present position is $8,000.
Ray Palmer was born in Sparta, Wisconsin, March 29, 1878, a son
of George Hageman and Mary Delemar (Canfield) Palmer. The family
was established in Wisconsin by the grandparents, Hageman and Mary
(Potter) Palmer, the former born in Johnstown, N. Y., in 1815, and
the latter in Yorkshire, England, in 1821. They located at Sparta among
the pioneers of 1856 and during the early days Hageman Palmer was
an extensive operator in timber lands and lumbering. His death oc
curred September 12, 1905, and his wife died August 23, 1894. The
paternal great-grandparents of Ray Palmer were David and Catherine
Palmer, the former was born in 1773 and died in 1848, and the latter,
born in 1776, died in 1856.
Hageman Palmer was the father of twelve children, the fourth of
whom was George Hageman Palmer, who was born in New York State
June 11, 1850. On June 17, 1876, he married Mary Delemar Canfield,
who was born in Falls Village, Conn., November 11, 1850, and died
September 3, 1901. Her father Edward Canfield, born in Salisbury,
Conn., in 1822, moved from Falls Village, Connecticut, to Sparta, Wis
consin, in 1855, making the journey before the construction of the rail
roads to Wisconsin, and traveling from Chicago by ox-team to Sparta.
Edward Canfield built one of the first flour mills in Wisconsin, and be
came a prominent business man and citizen in that locality, among other
interests having been closely identified with banking affairs there. He
married Abigail Goodwin, born in 1830, and both died in Sparta, Wis.,
Vol. V— 3

1060 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
the former on October 12, 1889, and the latter April 27, 1907. They had
a family of ten children, among whom Mary Delemar Canfield was the
third. She was a cultured and educated woman, a graduate of Ripon
College. George Hageman Palmer was educated in the public schools
at Sparta, and his first occupation was farming and stock raising. Later
the range of his operations extended to the breeding, buying and selling
of live stock and he became well known in this business. Since 1895 he
has lived retired in Sparta. The senior Palmer is affiliated with the Odd
Fellows, and in politics is a Democrat. Three children were born to
George Hageman and Mary Delemar Palmer, namely: Edward H., Ray,
and Bessie A.
Mr. Ray Palmer has had an active and varied career, with much
practical accomplishment to his credit, as a young man of thirty-five.
His studies in the public schools of Sparta were completed, with gradu
ation from the high school in 1897. In the following fall he entered the
University of Wisconsin, where his studies were early directed along
scientific and technical lines. In May, 1898, he was one of the University
men to enlist for service in the Spanish American war, joining Company
L of the Third Wisconsin Volunteers. He was corporal in his company
and received his honorable discharge in September, 1898, by cablegram
from the Secretary of War, Mr. Alger, while at Coamo in Porto Rico.
This discharge was in the nature of a special permission granted in order
that the young soldier might return to the University and not lose a
year's time from his studies. At that time, as will be remembered, hos
tilities were ended in Cuba and Porto Rico. Mr. Palmer was graduated
from the University of Wisconsin, with the class of 1901. On the eleventh
of December in the same year he was united in marriage with Miss
Daisy Wentworth, who was born in Milwaukee, a daughter of Dr. Charles
Chester and Annie (Llewellyn) Wentworth. The father, a native of
Milwaukee, was one of the old settlers and a prominent man in his
profession of dentistry in the state of Wisconsin, having served as a
member of the State Board of Dental Examiners for several years. To
their marriage three children have been born : Chester W., Delemar, and
Ray Jr. - Mr. Palmer is a member of the Wisconsin Society of Chicago,
of the Kappa Sigma college fraternity, and the City Club.
As an electrical engineer, Ray Palmer began his career with the
well known engineering and contracting firm of J. G. White & Com
pany, in whose services he was assistant superintendent in the in
stallation of street lighting in New York City. One year was spent
in that work, after which the company sent him to London as one
of its engineers in that city. With three years' experience in Eng
land he returned home and took a place as electrical engineer for
the Union Traction Company in Chicago, a company that controlled
the bulk of the traction lines on the north side of the city, property which
has since been incorporated in the ownership of the Chicago Railways

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1061
Company. In 1906 Mr. Palmer resigned from the Union Traction Com
pany, and opened offices as a consulting electrical engineer in both Chi
cago and Milwaukee. His active practice continued mitil his appoint
ment as city electrician of Chicago. This appointment was made by
Mayor Harrison in the spring of 1912, and was based neither on per
sonal favoritism nor on politics, but on the thorough qualifications of
Mr. Palmer for the post. Besides his work as consulting engineer in
connection with the traction companies, Mr. Palmer had added to his
reputation through his services as an electrolysis expert in the employ
of the city. Quoting again from the "Electrical Review and Western
Electrician," with reference to his special experience and qualification,
before he became head of the department of electricity, "Mr. Palmer
had already gained recognition as a specialist in problems concerning
electrolysis, and perhaps his most notable work for the city up to the
present time has been in connection with securing adequate protection
of water pipes and the like from the destructive effects of stray electric
currents. His activity in this direction caused him to meet arguments
of some of the best engineering ability to be obtained and his method of
handling the matter showed him to be master of the subject in hand.
This was a piece of work which was given considerable prominence in the
Technical Press at the time the electrolysis ordinance framed by him
was pending before the city council last summer (1912). He has also
been very active in carrying out improvements in the lighting of the
streets of Chicago, and in efforts to secure changes in and additions to
the city fire alarm system." Mr. Palmer had been in office only a few
weeks when the new ordinance came before the city council requiring
the traction companies to install a system, which had been* in practical
use by foreign cities, and which would materially reduce the damage
done by electrolysis. The ordinance was adopted by the Chicago council
in July, 1912, after a contest which had been going on for months, and
which, in the .words of the local press at the time was ' ' Regarded as a
sweeping victory for Ray Palmer, who has been city electrician less than
six months, and who made the fight for the ordinance practically single-
handed. ' '
Mr. Palmer's services to the city of Chicago have been important in
many other ways; largely under his supervision was conducted an in
vestigation of the business records of the Commonwealth Edison Com
pany for the purpose of obtaining information by which the city might
fix fair and reasonable maximum electric rates to the private consumers
of electricity in the city. His report, made in May, 1913, recommended
the reduction of electric lighting rates to the extent of over six hundred
thousand dollars a year. Mr. Palmer has also been vigilant in looking
after violations of the electrolysis ordinance, has vigorously pushed the
extension of the city's public lighting system from power derived from
the sanitary canal, as a result of which thousands of high-power electric

1062 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
lights are being installed in various parts of the city to replace the old
and flickering gas lamps, and many improvements are being made in
the electric fire^larm system. Lately he has been called into consulta
tion by the municipal authorities of Philadelphia to help solve their
lighting problem.
Mr. Palmer has membership in various engineering societies, includ
ing the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, the Electric
Club, and the Western Society of Engineers. As to some of his per
sonal characteristics, this brief article concerning one of Wisconsin's
able young men will be concluded with the following estimate taken
from the journal already twice quoted: — "It may be well said of
him further that he is a public official who does not allow any exag
gerated notions of the dignity of his position to interfere with his
helping any person whom it is his place and opportunity to assist.
It is an asset of no mean value to the public. He impresses one
as being peculiarly fitted by temperament, as well as by professional
training for the duties of the responsible office which he holds."
The Milwaukee Auditorium. One of the finest commercial and
civic assets of the city of Milwaukee is the auditorium. No one institu
tion or establishment has done more in recent years to concentrate and
maintain the reputation of Milwaukee as a commercial center than this
splendid building. The large commercial organizations of every prom
inent American city have recognized the imperative necessity of provid
ing such a meeting place and building which would serve not only for
the entertainment of all local organizations, but also of the many visit
ing conventions which every progressive city must invite and provide
for in the course of a year.* Aside from its practical utility as a great
commercial and civic center, the Auditorium also represents a monu
ment to the liberality and the co-operation of Milwaukeeans, and in its
construction the real quality of local public spirit was best tested. A
descriptive account of the Auditorium in its inception and construc
tion has already been deemed necessary by the governing board of the
Auditorium, and from the handsome publication issuedvunder the aus
pices of the governing board, the following paragraphs of description
are adapted in order to afford a reliable history of the institution for
this permanent'history of the state.
The beginning of the enterprise came on July 28, 1903, when a com
mittee of business men was appointed by the Merchants & Manufactur
ers Association to consider the general subject. Up to that time the old
Exposition Building had served in a more or less inadequate way the
general purpose of a convention and assembly hall. This Exposition
building was destroyed by fire on June 4, 1905. Thus there was thrust
upon the business and civic community the absolute necessity of a new
structure. The conditions which confronted the so-called committee on

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1063
convention hall were somewhat complicated. A portion of the site
occupied by the old Exposition Building had originally been deeded
to the city by Byron Kilbourn, an early pioneer, upon the condition
that the same be used for market purposes. The balance of the site
belonged to the city. The Exposition Building had been erected by
private subscription, and had been conducted without profit, and in the
interest of the community as a whole. The first step was to establish
the legal status of the site question, and it was found that the city could
not be dispossessed of the site provided it was used for public purposes.
It was also a difficult proposition to erect a convention hall such as was
needed involving an expense upwards of half a million dollars. The
solution of the difficulty, it was believed, could be found in some
arrangement by which the municipality and the public could join hands
in providing the necessary means. A measure was framed under the
direction of the committee, and enacted into law by the legislature in
June, 1905, authorizing "cities of the first class to provide for the
erection and maintenance of auditorium and music halls by co-operat
ing with private associations or corporations." It was resolved to raise
the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars by private subscrip
tion and ask the municipality to vote an equal sum, thus providing a
total building fund of five hundred thousand dollars. A campaign
committee consisting of twenty active citizens was chosen to secure the
subscription fund, which was completed by the fall of 1906. The bond
issue, providing for the city's portion of the fund was voted, and the
common council perfected the jointure with the so-called Auditorium
Company, which had been organized in the meantime, and which rep
resented the citizens who had subscribed to the private fund. The law
under which the jointure was made provided that the construction,
maintenance, and management of the auditorium should be entrusted
to five directors representing the private corporation, and six city
officials, representing the municipality, constituting a governing board
of eleven members.
The campaign for subscriptions to the Auditorium Fund was under
taken by the first Auditorium Committee, the members of which had
been appointed in July, 1905. Those first called upon were the leading
merchants and manufacturers, and those generally known as public
spirited citizens. Their responses were as generous as could have been
expected, but it soon was proved that the scope of operations must be
enlarged. After something more than seventy thousand dollars had
been obtained, it proved more difficult every day to secure further funds.
A cessation of labors then ensued, and active work was not resumed
until the reorganization of the Auditorium Committee early in 1906.
This new committee represented as far as possible the several commer
cial, industrial and civic bodies of the. city. The plan as taken up by the
new committee was to widen the scope of the subscription effort and

1064 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
invade practically every section of the city. Squads of solicitors thus
invaded the residence district as well as the commercial and industrial
centers, meetings were held in the different wards, and every legitimate
method was followed to stimulate and arouse enthusiasm for the cam
paign. The formal opening of the new campaign began on June 28,
and from that day forward the history of the daily efforts and successes
was made matter of public announcement through the press and other
wise until the subscription fund had grown from the first stated amount
to the coveted sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
After much discussion the site of the old Exposition Building was
adopted as the most available one, and prizes were then offered in order
to secure the competition of leading architects all over the country, four
prizes, ranging from one thousand dollars to two hundred and fifty
dollars being offered for the architect plan in order of merit. After
these matters had been settled there ensued a series of legal complica
tions involving the title to the site. As already mentioned, the original
site had been deeded by a pioneer on the condition that the same should
be used for market purposes.
When the old Exposition Building had been erected, the heirs to the
pioneer donor had brought suit for ejectment, but the Supreme Court
ruled in favor of the city on the ground that the Exposition Building
was already constructed and that it served partially at least for market
purposes. The course of the litigation through the different years can
not be discussed here, but it is of interest to know that the committee
for the building of the auditorium exercised every precaution and safe
guard possible before entering upon the work of construction. A bill
was introduced and passed in the state legislature clearing away most
of the difficulties, but in August, 1908, after construction had been
undertaken the heirs of the donor of the tract brought suit for the pos
session of the premises. Judge W. J. Turner in November, 1908,
decided that the Auditorium Board and the city were in lawful posses
sion, and from that decision an appeal was made to the Supreme Court.
In spite of these various legal and financial complications, the work of
construction went forward steadily, and the original plans have long
since been carried out, resulting in the magnificent building which now
constitutes so important a factor in Milwaukee's greatness as a city.
On August 1, 1908, the corner-stone of the Auditorium building was
laid, and about one year later, in the closing days of September, 1909,
extended dedication ceremonies marked the completion and opening of
the great'building. The cost of the building itself was $513,944.55, while
the furnishings cost $38,031.58, making a total of $551,976.13. The
location of the Auditorium is an entire square between Fifth and Sixth,
Cedar and State streets. It is readily accessible from all railway sta
tions, and street car lines pass its main entrance. The Auditorium is
the nucleus for the projected civic center of the city of Milwaukee.

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1065
The possibilities of the Auditorium may be better understood when it
is stated that the seating capacity of the Auditorium proper is ten
thousand people, with an arena, providing for exhibition space and
other purposes, two hundred and twenty-five feet long and one hundred
feet wide. The building comprises two wings, the west wing containing
the main auditorium, while the annex or east wing contains smaller halls
named after Milwaukee's most prominent pioneer and generous citizens,
as follows : Juneau, Walker, Kilbourn, Engelmann, and Plankinton
Halls. In planning the Auditorium it was designed to provide a build
ing which would serve satisfactorily for the most diversified uses; one
that would readily adapt itself to meet all the possible requirements for
large and small conventions, industrial exhibitions, mass concerts, pub
lic meetings, religious service, grand balls, horse shows, etc. Accord
ingly it may be used either as one monster hall, furnishing all accom
modations that may be required for any purpose, or of being divided
into smaller halls, each one of which is complete in itself and has all
desirable conveniences. It is so arranged that as many as seven distinct
and separate meetings may be held at one and the same time without any
inconvenience or interference. The six smaller halls in the annex each
have a seating capacity of from three hundred to twelve hundred.
Since the opening of the Auditorium, it has been used for the follow
ing purposes: 1912 1911 1910
Industrial Exhibits  180 193 57
Conventions  78 87 35
Meetings  152 134 188
Lectures  12 23 13
Concerts and Dances  139 99 44
Circus  1 12 8
Miscellaneous  50 46 13

612 594 358
Such were the facilities and services afforded that they called forth
enthusiastic appreciation from the officials of the different affairs con
cerned, and there is no doubt that the Milwaukee Auditorium affords
superior facilities for conventions to those of any other city in America.
Something has been said concerning the composite nature of the gov
erning board, made up partly of city officials and partly from the private
auditorium corporation. At the present writing, the members of this
governing board are as follows: William George Bruce, president;
Charles E. Sammond, vice president ; Louis M. Kotecki, secretary;
Joseph P. Carney, treasurer; Gerhard A. Bading, mayor; Daniel W.
Hoan, city attorney; Oliver C. Fuller; Alvin P. Kletzsch; Otto J.
Schoenleber; E. W. Windfelder, president of the museum; and J. G.

1066 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Flanders, president of the library. The executive committee is com
posed of William George Bruce, chairman, Gerhard A. Bading, Joseph
P. Carney, Alvin P. Kletzsch, E. W. Windfelder. Joseph C. Grieb is
manager. Joseph Charles Grieb. Manager of the Milwaukee Auditorium
since its opening, Joseph Charles Grieb, through his enterprise and
energy, has had much to do with the remarkable place which the
structure fills in the commercial and civic activities of the city.
Mr. Grieb was born in Milwaukee, January 30, 1869, a son of the
late George H. Grieb, and Elizabeth (Habes) Grieb. Both parents are
now deceased and are buried in the Trinity cemetery in Milwaukee. His
father was a pioneer grocer, one of the early settlers of the south side
of Milwaukee, where for many years he conducted a grocery at Park and
Grove streets. The senior Grieb was born at Meppen, Hanover, Ger
many, December 10, 1819, and in his native land worked as a postal
messenger, driving a mail coach there. In 1836, coming to America,
at the age of seventeen, he located in Milwaukee, where he was employed
by a wholesale grocery house, driving a team, until he was later able
to buy a team of his own, and then started in business for himself on
the south side, opening a small stock of groceries. He established this
business in 1859, and conducted it until his death, which occurred
December 19, 1896. In Milwaukee, on November 28, 1849, George H.
Grieb was married to Miss Elizabeth Habes. She was born in the King
dom of Luxemburg, on December 19, 1828. When she was about thir
teen years old she came to America with her mother, and during their
first year in America the mother died and left three daughters, Mrs.
Grieb being the oldest had a hard struggle during her girlhood and
bravely bore her responsibilities as head of the little family, not only
providing for herself, but also for her younger sisters. Mrs. Grieb died
at Milwaukee, August 29, 1904. Both parents were strict members of
the Holy Trinity church, the church being within a block of their old
home. There were six boys and three girls in the family, of whom two
girls and five boys are still living, all of them in Milwaukee : Henry L. ;
Mary, deceased; George, deceased; Katheryn; Frank X. ; Anna; Edward
F., a real estate man; Joseph C. ; and William A., a stock broker. All
the children were born in Milwaukee and received their education chiefly
in this city. The older sons were educated in a monastery at Fond
du Lac.
Mr. Joseph C. Grieb attended the Holy Trinity parochial school and
Marquette College of Milwaukee, now the Marquette University. He
prepared for business life further by attendance at the Spencerian
Business College of Milwaukee, also taking a special course in McDon
ald's Business College. His first regular employment was as a sten
ographer in the West Milwaukee shops of the Chicago, Milwaukee &

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1067
St. Paul Railroad. He remained there fourteen years, and rose to the
position of chief clerk. From there he branched out independently,
buying an interest in the C. W. Fischer Furniture Company at 219-223
Second street. He was in that business two years, retaining the old
firm name, after which he sold out, and the firm is still in existence,
doing business at the same number under the same firm name. From the
furniture trade Mr. Grieb turned to the real estate and manufacturing
business. He manufactured picture frames and mirrors, and his enter
prise was carried on under the name of the Milwaukee Art Specialty
Company, with a shop on the south side on Reed street. After a year
and a half he made up his mind that he did not know much about the
manufacturing business, and permanently retired from that line.
Having throughout this period actively identified himself with local
business organizations and interests, he was regarded as a most happy
choice for the office of assistant secretary of the Milwaukee Auditorium
Company, to which place he was elected November 19, 1906. On Feb
ruary 13, 1908, he was elected manager of the Auditorium, and more
than anyone else has had the executive direction of this great civic insti
tution. Mr. Grieb is a member of the Merchants & Manufacturers Associa
tion, the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Milwaukee Automobile Club, The
Arioh Musical Club, Press Club, has membership in the St. Rose Cath
olic church, and is in close and enthusiastic touch with all local activities.
On September 12, 1895, in St. Joseph's church of Milwaukee was
solemnized the marriage of Mr. Grieb with Miss Margaret Forster,
daughter of the late George Forster, a prominent lumberman of Mil
waukee during his day. Mr. Forster died on October 11, 1891, while
Mrs. Grieb 's mother is living at the age of eighty-five. Mrs. Grieb was
born in Milwaukee, was educated in St. Joseph's parochial school, and
the Notre Dame Convent at South Bend, Indiana, where the sisters of
Mr. Grieb were also partly educated. The three children of Mr. and
Mrs. Grieb are : Marion Isabella, George Forster and Margaret Forster,
all of whom were born in Milwaukee. The family residence is at '3404
Cedar street.
Hon. Clark L. Hood, member of the Wisconsin State Legislature,
has gained distinction in a profession where advancement depends en
tirely upon individual merit. Well versed in the learning of his profession
and with a deep knowledge of nature and the springs of human conduct,
with great shrewdness, sagacity and tact, he was in the courts of La
Crosse a power and influence as a criminal lawyer, and in his legis
lative office his duties have been discharged with a deep sense of high
ideals and a conscientious regard for the interests of his constituents.
Mr. Hood was born June 23, 1847, at Hancock, Delaware county, New
York and is a son of William and Nancy (Appley) Hood, natives of

1068 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
the Empire State, the former of whom, a lumberman and farmer, died
in May, 1870, and the latter in 1874.
Clark L. Hood secured his education in the Delaware Literary
Institute at Franklin, in Delaware county, wholly unaided, and when
but sixteen years of age, in 1863, enlisted for service in the Union army
during the Civil war, as a member of Company M, First New York
Veteran Cavalry. With this organization he served to the close of the
war, when he received his honorable discharge, and at that time took
up the study of law in the offices of Hotchkiss & Seymour, at Bingham
ton, New York. On being admitted to the bar he took up the practice
of his profession in La Crosse, and almost immediately met with a
gratifying recognition of his ability. In 1869 he formed a professional
partnership with M. P. Wing, but since 1871 has been engaged in prac
tice alone. Mr. Hood's reputation as a criminal lawyer is state-wide,
his connection with a number of notable cases having given him an envi
able reputation in this line of jurisprudence. As an orator, he stands
second to none practicing before the La Crosse courts, where his com
prehension and knowledge of the law is manifest and his application of
legal principles demonstrates the wide range of his professional acquire
ments. He has been an effective stump speaker in behalf of the Demo
cratic party, with which he has been connected since 1872, and has par
ticipated in numerous hard-fought campaigns, where his services have
been of inestimable value to the Democratic organization. His public
speaking, however, has not been confined to political matters, for his
speech at the dedication of the Losey Memorial Arqh was considered
a masterly tribute to that well-known philanthropist while his ad
dress, "Henry Ward Beecher in England," received favorable com
ment from press and public throughout this part of the country, and
his speech at the dedication of the soldiers' monument on Decoration
Day at La Crosse is said to have been among the best of its kind.
Mr. Hood has filled various positions of public trust and responsi
bility, in all of which he has manifested a conscientious desire to advance
the welfare of his city and its people. For three years he served La
Crosse as alderman, was city attorney for two years and district attor
ney for four years, and in 1911 was elected to the State Legislature,
where he is devoting himself to the elimination of some of the laws on
the statute books, believing that there has been too much law-making
and that our legislators have advocated too much paternalism. Aside
from the practice of his profession and the duties of public office, Mr.
Hood has devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits and to stock
raising, having until recently been the owner of two large farms.
Andrew H. Dahl. One of the best known men in the public life
of Wisconsin is the recent incumbent of the office of state treasurer,
Andrew H. Dahl, who on December 31, 1912, closed three terms or six

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1069
years of efficient service. Mr. Dahl is a resident of Westby, Vernon
county, where he has long been prosperously identified with business
and public affairs. In his public service as in his private business, his
guiding principle has long been a square deal for all and special priv
ileges to none, and the people of his home county and of the state at
large have repeatedly placed the seal of their approval upon his manner
of exemplifying this rule.
Mr. Dahl was born in Lewiston, Columbia county, Wisconsin, April
13, 1859, and is one of the leading representatives of the Norwegian-
American citizenship of this state. His parents, Michael H. and Eliz
abeth (Asbjornsen) Dahl, were both natives of Moi, Norway. The
father was born in 1801 and died in 1869, and the mother was born in
1815 and died in 1884. They were married in Moi, and of their children
the two living are Andrew H. and his sister Sarah, the widow of Ole
T. Westby. The mother subsequently married Jens A. Peterson, but; there
were no children from that union. The Dahl family, father and mother,
emigrated to America in 1852, and spent thirteen weeks .on the sailing
vessel which finally landed them in New York City. Going up the Hud
son, they continued their westward journey through the Erie Canal to
Buffalo, and thence on a steamer through the Great Lakes until their
arrival at Milwaukee. There the father bought a yoke of oxen and drove
overland to Lewiston in Columbia county. That was then a wilderness
region, and Michael Dahl should be credited with the pioneer work of
hewing a farm from the aboriginal conditions. After twelve years
residence there he sold his place, and, again with ox teams, migrated on
to Coon Prairie in Vernon county. There he bought a farm and spent
the rest of his active career in general agriculture. He was one of the
active members of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran church. Dur
ing the first years of his American residence he voted the Whig prin
ciples, but later joined the Republican party.
Andrew H. Dahl was reared to manhood on the home farms in
Columbia and Vernon counties, and had the inestimable advantage of
living in a good home characterized by industry, thrift and fine prin
ciples. He learned to work, and during the winter seasons attended the
common schools, and later the Viroqua high school and the Northwestern
Business University at Madison.
At the age of twenty-two he began his career in merchandising as
a clerk in a general store at Viroqua. After an experience of three and
a half years, he began on his own account in 1884, under the firm name
of Galstad & Dahl, the general merchandise and agricultural implement
business. In 1888 Mr. Dahl bought out his partner, and has since con
ducted the business with increasing prosperity under the name of A. H.
Dahl & Company.
Mr. Dahl has for many years interested himself in local government
and has been an active factor in Republican politics. He was a mem-

1070 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
ber of the Vernon county board of supervisors in 1896-97; was
trustee of the Vernon county asylum in 1897, serving nine years; was
elected president of the village board at Westby in 1898 and by re-
elections served four successive terms until 1902. In 1898 Mr. Dahl
became a member of the Wisconsin assembly from Vernon county.
He was three times re-elected, each time getting the nomination without
opposition, and it was his distinction to have first in the history of
Vernon county broken the long-established custom of giving a represen
tative but two terms in office. In the legislature he was on the com
mittee on education, was chairman of the committee on charitable and
penal institutions during 1905, and succeeded the late and revered
A. R. Hall of Dunn county as chairman of the committee on assess
ments and collections of taxes. The culmination of his political honors
came with his election to the office of state treasurer in 1906. He was
re-elected in 1908 and 1910, and gave the state as capable an adminis
tration of this important office as it has ever had. In 1912 he was
elected a delegate at large from Wisconsin to the National Republican
Convention held in Chicago. He supported the candidacy of Senator
Robert M. LaFollette for president.
Mr. Dahl is a member of the Lutheran church, and is affiliated with
the Sons of Norway. He was married on October 10, 1882, to Miss
Julia Vinje, who was born at Voss, Norway. Seven children have been
born to their marriage : Harry J., who married Nellie Riege, is a mem
ber of the firm of A. H. Dahl & Company at Westby; Elnora E. is the
wife of William F. Whitney, of Wenatchee, Washington; Chester T.
is also a member of A. H. Dahl & Company, and he and his brother
now have the entire management of this prosperous business; Lulu E.,
Alice I., Victor V., and Aad J. are the younger members of the home
circle. A. Arthur Guilbert. As an architect, Mr. Guilbert, has one of
the leading positions in his profession in Southern Wisconsin, and has
built up a large practice in Racine. He is head of the well known firm
of Guilbert & Funston, whose offices are in the Robinson Building. Mr.
Guilbert has spent most of his life in Racine, his parents having been
pioneers of this city, and since returning from college has been rapidly
making his way in professional achievements.
A. Arthur Guilbert was born in Racine in August, 1869, a son of
Albert W. and Celia M. (Perse) Guilbert. The father was also a
native of Racine, his parents have been pioneer settlers in this vicinity.
The father until 1904 was for many years in the employ of the J. I. Case
Threshing Machine Company. The mother passed away in Racine in
1906. Mr. Guilbert was educated in the common schools of his native city,
graduating from the high school, and then entering the Lehigh Uni

C(. c^^i^^

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1071
versity in the Engineering Department, afterwards taking special work
at University of Michigan, Armour Institute and Chicago Art Institute.
For a number of years Mr. Guilbert was connected with the J. I. Case
Threshing Machine Company, and from that well known concern entered
upon the active practice of his profession as an architect. He is well
known socially in Racine, and has a number of fraternal affiliations with
local orders. He is a member of Racine Lodge No. 18, A. F. & A. M. ;
Orient Chapter, R. A. M. ; Racine Commandery, No. 7, K. T., being also
affiliated with Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Milwaukee, and
a 32nd degree Mason. He is a member of the Elks Lodge No. 252, at
Racine. His clubs are the Somerset and the Racine Country Clubs. Mr.
Guilbert has a fine residence at 107 Eleventh Street, a home upon which
he has. bestowed much attention and his professional services, and it is
an attractive feature of this particular residence district, passing under
the name of "Green Gables."
In 1895 Mr. Guilbert married Miss Bessie Bull. Her father, Stephen
Bull, was one of the most prominent citizens of Racine, and was one of
the founders and promoters of the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Com
pany, an industry which has probably done more than any other to
build up Racine, as an industrial center, and a concern of which all
citizens of Racine have great reason to be proud as it is one of the
largest plants of its kind in the United States.
Mr. and Mrs. Guilbert are the parents of three children namely:
F. Warburton, now a student in Hill School, Pottstown, Pennsylvania ;
Gordon McKenzie, also in the Hill School and Ellen Kellogg.
Edwin B. Tuteur, M. D. Born and reared in Wisconsin, his father
being a retired business man of LaCrosse, Dr. Tuteur has for many
years held a prominent place among Chicago physicians, being espe
cially known as an authority on internal medicine.
Edwin B. Tuteur was born at LaCrosse, November 9, 1866, and -was
very liberally educated. After graduating from the LaCrosse high
school with the class of 1883 he entered the University of Cincinnati,
where he was graduated Ph. G. with the class of 1887. His medical
studies were pursued in Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia, where
he obtained his medical degree in 1890. Dr. Tuteur was resident physi
cian to Philadelphia Hospital in Philadelphia for two years. In 1892
he located in Chicago, where he has since given special attention to the
practice of diagnosis and internal medicine. He has spent considerable
time abroad in post-graduate and clinical work at Munich, Germany,
and at Vienna, Austria. He holds the position of consulting physi
cian to Daily News Sanitarium for children, was professor of medicine
in Loyola University; professor of gastro-internal diseases in the Illi
nois Medical College ; is attending physician to St. Luke's Hospital. Dr.
Tuteur is a former president of the Physicians' Club of Chicago, was

1072 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
formerly president of the Southern District Medical Society, is a mem
ber of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and
belongs to the Chicago Medical Society, The Illinois Medical Society
and the American Medical Association.
As one of the organizers in 1910 and since that time secretary of the
Valmora Industrial Sanatorium, Dr. Tuteur is one of the executive
officers of an institution, which, though perhaps not widely known to
the general public, is performing none-the-less efficient, splendid service
to mankind. It is one of the significant illustrations of the modern
attitude of commerce in its more helpful relations to social existence.
It indicates a disposition on the part of practical business in this twen
tieth century to aid in the amelioration of conditions against which
thousands of people as individuals must otherwise contend in vain.
The Valmora Industrial Sanatorium, incorporated under the laws of
Illinois, not for profit, has as its object to supply a suitable institution
for the care, maintenance, and treatment of persons in moderate cir
cumstances suffering from tuberculosis, unable to pay the usual rates
charged by private institutions. Only incipient cases and such mod
erately advanced cases as have fair prospects of recovery are received.
The Sanatorium is located at Watrous, New Mexico, in a beautiful val
ley, well protected from winds, and at an altitude of 6,000 feet above
the sea. The president of the organization is E. Fletcher Ingalls, M. D.,
and the board of officers and directors include men whose names are
national in business and the profession, the medical board containing
a number of the most eminent names in Chicago and American medi
cine and surgery. Patients to this sanatorium are received chiefly from
among the employes of members of the institution, the rates per week
to such patients being $10.00, while to others the rate is $12.00 per
week. Enrolled in the list of members are many of the largest mer
cantile and industrial corporations of Chicago, including several of
the great department stores, many of the firms in the wholesale district,
and a number of banks, manufacturing and other conspicuous concerns.
The parents of Dr. Tuteur were Isaac and Fanny (Berman) Tuteur.
The father was born at Rheinpfalz in Germany in 1829 and died in
1893 at the age of sixty-three years. The mother was born in Bavaria,
Germany, in 1836, and is now living in her seventy-seventh year. The
parents were married at Blairsville, Pennsylvania, and five of their
seven children are still living. The father came to America in 1849
when twenty years of age. He crossed on a sailing vessel which was
seventy-two days on the voyage, and finally landed him at New York
City. The mother came to this country at the age of sixteen years.
Isaac Tuteur first located at Blairsville, Pennsylvania, where he was in
the lumber business for about ten years, and then moved out to LaCrosse,
Wisconsin, where he was engaged in the wholesale liquor business up to
1889 at which time he retired. He was an active member and for a

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1073
number of years treasurer of the Lodge of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows at LaCrosse, and held office in other social organizations.
In politics he was a Democrat.
Dr. Tuteur married on February 21, 1892, Miss Emma Grossman,
who was born in Chicago, 111. They are the parents of one daughter
Frances Pauline. Dr. Tuteur has membership in the Chicago Athletic
Club, and the South Shore County Club. He is independent in politics
and usually voted as a Republican up to 1912, at which time he supported
President Wilson. During 1911 Dr. Tuteur with his family made an
extended tour abroad, visiting Africa, Italy, France, Austria, and Ger
many. Charles E. Vroman. Holding prestige as one of the able and re
sourceful members of the bar of the city of Chicago, Mr. Vroman there
shows his abiding interest in his native state by retaining active mem
bership in the Wisconsin Society, and prior to his removal to the great
western metropolis he had gained secure prestige in his professional
work in Wisconsin, as one of the leading members of the bar of the city
of Green Bay, whence he removed to Chicago in 1900. He is a repre
sentative of one of the stanch pioneer families of Wisconsin, with whose
history the name of Vroman has been worthily identified since the early
territorial epoch, and thus there is all of consistency in according to him
specific recognition in this publication.
Mr. Vroman was born on a pioneer farmstead in Fitchburg town
ship, Dane county, Wisconsin, about seven miles distant from Madison,
the beautiful capital city of the state, and the date of his nativity was
October 5, 1846. He is a son of William and Harriet (Field) Vroman,
the former a native of Madison county, New York, where he was born
in the year 1818. The father continued his residence in Wisconsin from
the pioneer days until his death, in 1886, and his widow now resides
at Madison, this state, at the venerable age of eighty-nine years (1913),
one of the noble women who have witnessed the development and up
building of the Badger commonwealth and one who has the affectionate
regard of all who have come within the benignant compass of her in
fluence. She was born in Durhamville, Oneida county, New York, in
1824 where her parents were early settlers. Of the two children of
William and Harriet (Field) Vroman, the elder is he whose name
initiates this review, and Josephine is the wife of Edward C. Mason,
of Madison, Wisconsin.
William Vroman was reared and educated in his native state and first
came to the territory of Wisconsin in the '30s. On account of the dis
turbed conditions incidental to the Black Hawk Indian war he returned
to New York state, where he remained until after his marriage. In 1843
he came with his wife to Wisconsin and they established their home on
an embryonic farm near Madison, in Fitchburg township, Dane county,

1074 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
He was one of the early settlers of that township, where he bravely set
himself to the herculean task of reclaiming a farm from the wilderness
and where he also developed a prosperous enterprise in building houses
for other pioneers. He was also one of the first contractors to engage
in building operations in Madison, the capital of the state. He con
tinued to reside on his farm until 1860, when he was elected treasurer
of Dane county, with official headquarters in Madison, the county seat;
in which place he established the family home in 1862. He gave a care
ful and effective administration of the fiscal affairs of the county and
continued to serve as, treasurer for four years. He established himself
in the lumber business in the little capital city, with various branch
yards at other points in the state, and in this field of enterprise he
built up a prosperous business, to which he continued to devote his
attention until the late 70 's, after which he lived virtually retired until
his death — an honored and influential citizen of the county in which he
was a sterling pioneer. Mr. Vroman was a man of distinct individual
ity and well fortified opinions and was an active and influential factor
in political affairs in his county. He originally gave his allegiance to
the Whig party but was a staunch supporter of the cause of the Repub
lican party from its inception until the close of his life. Though not for
mally identified with any religious body he was a regular attendant and
liberal supporter of the Congregational church, of which his widow
has been a devoted member for many years.
Charles E. Vroman gained his initial experience in connection with
the environment and operations of the pioneer farm on which he was
born, and his early educational advantages were those afforded in the
district schools of the locality and period. He was enabled to continue
his studies in the University of Wisconsin, in which he was a member
of the class of 1868, Ph. B., and he admirably fortified himself for his
chosen profession by a course in the Albany Law College, at Albany,
New York, in which he was graduated in 1869, and from which he re
ceived his well earned degree of Bachelor of Laws. He forthwith re
turned to Wisconsin and was admitted to its bar, and his first practical
work in his profession was performed in connection with the office of
the late Hon. William F. Vilas, of Madison, long one of the most distin
guished lawyers and influential citizens of the state. After being thus
associated with Senator Vilas for a few months Mr. Vroman became
deputy clerk of the circuit court for that county, and of this office he
continued the incumbent until the spring of 1870, when he removed to
Green Bay, Wisconsin, the judicial center of Brown county, where he
established himself in the active practice of his profession and became
associated with Linneus Sale, under the firm name of Vroman & Sale.
Through ability, discrimination, close application and integrity of pur
pose Mr. Vroman soon gained a prominent position at the bar of that
section of the state and for a period of more than a quarter of a century

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1075
was numbered among the leading lawyers of Green Bay, with a represen
tative clientage and with a business that involved his appearance in
connection with much important litigation. In 1890, with matured
powers and the distinctive precedence given by success, he formed
another professional alliance, under the title of Green, Vroman, Fair-
child, North & Parker, and of this representative law firm he continued
a member for a decade, at the expiration of which, on the 1st of May,
1900, he withdrew from partnership to establish his home in Chicago, in
which great metropolis he has found a broad and inviting field for his
professional endeavors and in which he has achieved definite success and
prestige. Upon removing to Chicago he became a member of the law
firm of Flower, Vroman & Musgrave, and on the 15th of November, 1900,
he was made assistant general solicitor for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St.
Paul Railroad Company, with headquarters in Chicago. To the duties
of this important position he gave the major part of his time and atten
tion until April 1, 1910, when he resumed the general practice of his
profession, in partnership with his son William P., and Fayette S.
Munro, and under the firm name of Vroman, Munro & Vroman. This
effective alliance continued until the death of William P. Vroman in
1911, and since that time the large and representative law business has
been continued under the title of Vroman & Munro.
In politics Mr. Vroman has ever been a stalwart advocate of the
principles and policies of the Republican party and while a resident of
his native state he was influential in public affairs. He served several
terms as city attorney of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and was for several
years the incumbent of the office of district attorney of Brown county.
At Green Bay he still maintains his affiliation with Washington Lodge,
No. 23, Free & Accepted Masons, and Green Bay Chapter of Royal
Arch Masons. At Madison, the capital of the state, he is a member of
the University Club and he is actively identified with the Wisconsin
State Historical Society, as well as the American Historical Associa
tion. He takes a deep interest in and is a valued member of the Wis
consin Society of Chicago, and in his home city is identified also with
the Union League Club, the University Club, and the City Club.
At the home of the bride's parents, in Sun Prairie, Dane county,
Wisconsin, on the 11th of May, 1871, was solemnized the marriage of
Mr. Vroman to Miss Emma R. Phillips, who was born and reared in
that county and who likewise is a representative of a pioneer family of
Wisconsin. Of the three children of Mr. and Mrs. Vroman the first, a
daughter, died in infancy. William P., who died in 1911, at the age
of thirty-two years, was at the time associated with his father in the
practice of law, as previously noted, and his career was cut short in the
very prime of his strbng and noble manhood, and to the severe grief of
a host of devoted friends and admirers. He was graduated in the law
department of the University of Wisconsin as a member of the class of

1076 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
1901, and had gained secure vantage ground in his chosen profession
when his death occurred, this being the severest of blows to his devoted
parents. John O, the surviving son, completed his technical education
in the University of Wisconsin and is now successfully engaged in the
work of his profession of civil and mechanical engineer, *with head
quarters in Chicago, where he still remains at the parental home.
Edward Yockey. The professional and executive powers of Mr.
Yockey have been effectually tested and found ample through his service
in his present official position, that of district attorney of Milwaukee
county, and he is numbered among the essentially representative mem
bers of the bar of his native state. His devotion to his profession has
been manifest alike in close application, deep appreciation of its re
sponsibilities and dignity, and careful observance of its unwritten eth
ical code, so that he naturally commands the unequivocal confidence and
esteem of his confreres at the bar.
Mr. Yockey is a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of Wis
consin, where his paternal grandparents established their home at an
early period in the history of this favored commonwealth. They immi
grated to Wisconsin from the state of New York and the family geneal
ogy indicates long and worthy connection with the annals of American
history. The district attorney of Milwaukee county was born in Dodge
county, this state, on the 16th of July, 1879, and is a son of William H.
and Ella (McHugh) Yockey, the former of whom was born in Mil
waukee, on the 2d of May, 1853, and the latter of whom was born at
Fond du Lac, this state, on the 12th of October, 1850. William H.
Yockey is a well known and valued locomotive engineer in the employ of
the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company, in the service of which
corporation he has been retained for more than thirty-five years, and he
is a man well known and highly esteemed in the state that long repre
sented his home. He was graduated in the engineering department of
Syracuse University, at Syracuse, New York, and in the earlier period
of his career he was identified with important railroad construction
work, including the building of the line between Ishpeming and Esca-
naba, Michigan. He and his wife now reside in the city of Escanaba,
Michigan, and he is one of its popular and public-spirited citizens. His
father, the late Nicholas Yockey, served as an officer in the Prussian
army and participated in the Franco-Prussian war. Mrs. Ella (Mc
Hugh) Yockey is a daughter of the late Patrick McHugh, who became
one of the honored and influential citizens of Fond du Lac county, and
who was one of the contractors who built the air line division of the
Northwestern Railroad between Fond du Lac and Milwaukee, besides
which he served as sergeant of the Fond du Lac Volunteers and repre
sented Wisconsin as a valiant soldier of the Union in the Civil war-,
he enlisted on the 30th of August, 1862, in Company E, Seventeenth

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1077
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, was wounded in battle on the 19th of
May, 1863, and continued in service until the close of the war, having
been mustered out on the 2d of June, 1865.
Edward Yockey is indebted to the public schools for his early edu
cational discipline and was graduated in the high school as Escanaba,
Michigan, as a member of the class of 1894, he having been about two
years of age at the time when the family home was established in that
city. He furthered his academic education by an effective course in the
Ohio Institute at Dayton, in which he was graduated in 1896. In
preparation for his chosen profession he entered the law department pf
the Notre Dame University at South Bend, Indiana, and in this institu
tion he was graduated as a member of the class of 1899 and with the
well earned degree. Thus admirably fortified for the vocation of his
choice, Mr. Yockey established his residence in Milwaukee, in which city
he has since been engaged in the active and successful practice of his
profession, his ability and sterling character having gained for him pres
tige of no equivocal order. He built up a substantial and representa
tive private practice and to the same he continued to give his attention
until his election to his present responsible office of district attorney of
Milwaukee county, in November, 1912. He assumed the duties of office
on the 6th of January, 1913, for the regular term of two years, and his
administration has already served as ample justification of the popular
support which gave to him this preferment.
Mr. Yockey has proved a veritable independent in the Wisconsin
camp of the Republican party and has given yeoman service in support
of the party cause. He has shown marked discrimination and ability
in the manoeuvering of political forces and served from 1910 to 1912,
inclusive, as chairman of the Republican county committee of Milwaukee
county, as well as chairman of the party's city committee in Milwaukee.
He was manager of the non-partisan campaign which resulted in the
election of Milwaukee 's present mayor, G. A. Bading, and it was largely
due to his efforts' that the non-partisan fusion forces was effected in this
municipal campaign. From 1908 to 1910 Mr. Yockey was a member of
the Republican State Central Committee for the Fourth congressional
district of the state. He is a valued member of the Milwaukee county
Bar Association and is also identified with the Wisconsin Bar Associa
tion. His name is found enrolled on the list of eligible bachelors in the
Wisconsin metropolis and this fact, it may be consistently said, does
not in the least militate against his popularity in social circles. He finds
his chief recreation in fishing and is an enthusiastic disciple of the
piscatorial art.
Nelson Norman Lampert, vice president of the Fort Dearborn
National Bank of Chicago is a native of Wisconsin, and has had a long
and successful career as a Chicago banker. On the organization of
the Wisconsin Society of Chicago he was honored with election as its

1078 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
first treasurer. Mr. Lampert was born at Newton in Vernon county,
Wisconsin, March 19, 1872. His parents were Bartholomew and Mary
(Stork) Lampert. The father, who was born at West Bend, in Wash
ington county, Wisconsin, died at the age of sixty-two. The mother
was also born at West Bend and is still living. On both sides the
family were established in Wisconsin during the pioneer era. The
Chicago banker was the oldest of six children, four of whom are liv
ing. Bartholomew Lampert became prominent in the Methodist min
istry, having been educated in a theological seminary in Ohio. He held
various charges in Wisconsin and Illinois and was a presiding elder in
the Chicago district at the time of his death. In politics he was always
a Republican. Nelson Norman Lampert came to Chicago with his parents at the
age of fourteen and was graduated from the Garfield grammar school.
In May, 1887, when a little more than fifteen years of age, he entered
the service of the Fort Dearborn National Bank as a messenger boy.
By earnest and faithful work he was promoted through all i the grades
leading up to the vice presidency, to which office he was elected in 1904,
when thirty-two years of age.
Mr. Lampert is a prominent figure in Chicago Masonic Circles. He
is past master of Garden City Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; past thrice illus
trious master of Tyrian Council R. & S. M. ; past commander of Apollo
Commandery No. 1 K. T., and in the Scottish Rite is a member of
Oriental Consistory and an honorary thirty-third degree Mason. In
December, 1907, he was unanimously elected illustrious potentate of
Medinah Temple of the Mystic Shrine.
Mr. Lampert is a member of the Banker's Club; of the Mid-Day
Club; the Hamilton Club; the Glen View Golf Club; the Chicago Ath
letic Association, of which he has served as treasurer; the Columbia
Yacht Club; the Union League Club; the South Shore Country Club.
His politics is Republican.
On June 28, 1910, Mr. Lampert married Miss Nettie Tuohy, who
was born at Woodstock, In McIIenry county, Illinois.
Robert Rom. In Milwaukee since pioneer times the Rom family have
been manufacturers and business men, producers not spenders of wealth,
making their enterprise a factor in community prosperity; have been
notable for normal yet spirited participation in the social and civic
affairs of their home city ; and all in all have been the sort of men and
women whose lives count for most in the substantial integrity of a city
or state. The founder of the family in Milwaukee was the late Andrew Rom.
It is not overstatement to say that his career was a distinctive con
tribution to the industrial and civic welfare of this city. Andrew Rom,
whose death occurred in Milwaukee September 14, 1897, was one of tho

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1079
founders of Milwaukee industry in the packing business, and had lived
in Milwaukee since 1849. He was seventy-eight years, nine months, and
twenty-three days of age when his death occured. He was born in
Regansburg, Bavaria, November 22, 1818. He left his native land dur
ing the political trouble that caused the departure of so many other
Germans who contended for liberty in the Fatherland and who subse
quently became estimable citizens in America. Immediately upon his
arrival in Milwaukee in 1849 Mr. Rom established a packing plant at
State and Third Streets, and retired in 1876 after a successful career.
He was the first butcher in Milwaukee to employ steam in the manu
facture of sausage. He was an associate of Cudahy, Plankinton, Lay-
ton and Armour. The late Mr. Rom was beyond military age when
the Civil war started, but gave his moral support to the war for the
preservation of the Union. He was a man of deep patriotic feelings,
though it was always difficult even for his family to secure any expression
of opinion or account of his life in the old country, and it appeared that
he always regretted the necessity of having to leave Germany in the
manner he did. Mr. Rom belonged to the West Side Old Settlers Club,
was a Mason, being one of the charter members of Kilbourn Lodge No.
3, F. & A. M., and also belonged to the old Turnverein of Milwaukee. He
belonged to Camp No. 2 of the Order of the Druids, under whose au
spices his funeral was held.
The late Andrew Rom was married in Milwaukee in 1852 to Miss
Marie Glaser of Milwaukee. They had been married forty-five years at
the time of his death, and she is still living in Milwaukee, having passed
her eighty-ninth birthday on March 12, 1913. She was born in Saxony.
Germany, March 12, 1824, and came across the ocean in a sailing vessel,
the late Mrs. Frederick Mayer, another pioneer woman of Milwaukee,
having been a fellow passenger on the same boat. The ship was ninety
days en route. Andrew Rom and wife were the parents of seven children,
two of whom are deceased and the five now living are as follows : Mrs.
Emma Hertting, who is the wife of Hugo Hertting of Milwaukee ; Robert.
Rom, whose career is sketched in following paragraphs; Bertha, wife
of Charles W. Nebel of Madison; Rosalie, wife of Walter Buschmann
of Milwaukee; and Emil, treasurer of the Robert Rom Company. All
the children were born at the old home in Milwaukee at 276 Third Street
and received their education in this city.
Robert Rom, who was born May 9, 1856, has proved a worthy suc
cessor of his father in business enterprise, being president of the Robert
Rom Company, one of the largest concerns of the state for plumbers,'
steam and gasfitters' supplies. Mr. Rom received his early education in
the -Second Ward School and the old German-English Academy, and also
the West Side School, from which he was graduated with the class of
May, 1870. On the very next day following his graduation he began
work for the late M. M. Leahy, who was the pioneer in Milwaukee in the

1080 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
business in which Robert Rom is chiefly engaged at the present time. The
Leahy establishment was at Broadway and Huron Streets. Mr. Leahy
sold out in 1871 to the floffman & Billings Manufacturing Company, and
Robert Rom went along with the rest of the plant to the new concern.
He continued there until 1878, when he went to the northern part of
the state and took up eighty acres of land in the town of Butternut,
Ashland county. His settlement there at the time, and under pioneer
conditions, gave him acquaintance with the Hon. Sam Fifield of Ashland,
who is one of the board of editors of this history of the state. In those
days all the German settlers in that vicinity were very much opposed to
Fifield. During the three years of his residence in Ashland county, Mr.
Rom held several minor offices in the township, and also took the national
census in 1880. Returning to Milwaukee in 1881, he resumed employ
ment with Hoffman & Billings Manufacturing Company, and was with
them until 1888. On March 9, 1889, Mr. Rom engaged in business for
himself, in a shop at 130 Second Street, just below the old Plankinton
House on Second Street. He set up as a jobber in plumbers' supplies
under the firm of Robert Rom & Company, and thus originated his busi
ness which has been conducted under that name for twenty-four years.
In 1892 the company was incorporated as the Robert Rom Company,
and continued in its original location until 1904 when they bought the
present grounds at 1023-1101' St. Paul Avenue. The trade of this com
pany extends over all the surrounding states, and their business has been
very successful. Mr. Rom is president, Mr. J. F. Wulf is vice president,
Mr. C. S. Waite is secretary, and Emil Rom is treasurer. Mr. Rom is
also president of the Steam Appliance Company, located at 245-255
Oregon Street, and manufacturers of high grade steam specialties, in
cluding various kinds of valves, oil separators, and a number of special
appliances extensively used by the general trade.
Mr. Rom has been a Democrat in National politics, though he has
not been rigid in his adherence to any one political party or creed. He
has membership in the old Horicon Shooting Club, and the Merchants &
Manufacturers Association of Milwaukee. 'On November 14, 1880, in
Butternut township, Ashland county, Mr. Rom married Miss Bertha
Tank, a daughter of August Tank and wife, who were pioneer settlers
in that section of the state and both now deceased. Mrs. Rom was born
in Germany and was six years of age when her parents came to Amer-
cia. She received her education in Milwaukee, where the family lived
previous to their removal into northern Wisconsin. Her parents died
and are buried in Ashland county. Mr. and Mrs. Rom have three sons :
Andrew J., at home; Walter B., secretary-treasurer of the Steam Ap
pliance Company; Daniel W., manager of the stock department of the
Robert Rom Company. All the sons were born and educated in Mil
waukee, and the two youngest are graduates of St. Johns Military School
at Delafield. The home of Mr. Rom and family is at Wauwatosa.

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1081
Christ H. Roepcke. A business man of Rhinelander who is also
prominent in local politics and one of the thoroughly representative men
of northern Wisconsin is Christ H. Roepcke, a harness manufacturer,
with his place of business at 135 South Stevens Street in Rhinelander.
Mr. Roepcke has been in business in Rhinelander since 1899, and has re
sided in that city since 1896. For the past six years he has served as
chairman of the County Republican Committee of Oneida county.
Born in Outagamie county, Wisconsin, on a farm, November 22,
1870, Mr. Roepcke is a son of Christ and Sophia (Lipsdorf) Roepcke.
Both parents were born near Berlin, Germany, were married there, and
on coming to America settled in Outagamie county, soon after the Amer
ican Civil war. There the father bought a farm, and there they spent
the remainder of their lives in the quiet and honorable vocation of farm
ing. The father died in the fall of 1893, and the mother in 1907.
Christ H. Roepcke was a farmer boy, and while assisting his father,
as his strength permitted in the work of the homestead, he also attended
country schools. Early in youth he acquired the harness-making trade
at Seymour, Wisconsin, and followed his trade in the city of Milwaukee
for four years. On coming to Rhinelander in 1896 he was employed for
three or four years in the sawmilling and lumbering industry. At the
end of that time he established his present business, and has built it up
to prosperous proportions and is not only proprietor of a growing con
cern, but has in the meantime acquired substantial interests in local
property. He is the owner of his business block which he erected in
the spring of 1910.
Mr. Roepcke takes an active part in local government as alderman
from the Sixth Ward and is now in his twelfth year of continuous ser
vice in that office. In the fall of 1891 Mr. Roepcke was married to Miss
Matilda Buetow, who was born in Germany, but was reared in Milwau
kee county, Wisconsin. Their three children are Myrtle, Harvey, and
Crystal. On Dorr Avenue is located the pleasant residence of Mr.
Roepcke and family, and besides his home he is the owner of forty acres
of land, all situated within the city limits of Rhinelander.
Solon D. Sutliff. The chief industry of Rhinelander since its
founding has been lumbering and the affiliated interests, and nearly
every citizen of prominence has been at some time or other actively
identified in some capacity with this occupation. Among the citizens
who are now carrying the chief responsibility of local manufacturing
and business is Solon D. Sutliff, secretary-treasurer and manager of the
Rhinelander Lumber and Coal Company, an important concern doing
a retail business in lumber, builders' supplies, coal, and other com
modities. The president of the company is A. 0. Jenne, the vice presi
dent is F. S. Robbins, while Mr. Sutliff is active manager and the chief
executive of the firm. The business was organized in 1908, and Mr.

1082 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Sutliff has been connected with it from the beginning. From the time
he was a boy Mr. Sutliff has had practical experience and more or less
identified with the lumber business.
His Wisconsin residence dates from 1889, in which year he came to
the state with his brother, A. E. Sutliff of Tomahawk. Mr. Sutliff be
came a resident of Rhinelander in 1904, and prior to the organization
of the present company was engaged in the jobbing lumber trade. He
came to Wisconsin from Newaygo, Michigan, where he was born on a
farm, October 16, 1864, a son of Calvin A. and Emily H. (Woodward)
Sutliff. His father was a farmer of Michigan.
The home farm in Michigan was the training ground and the center
of all his boyhood associations, and memories. He attended school there,
and at the age of twenty-four left home to take up his independent career
as a lumberman. His first occupation was driving logs down the Mus
kegon River, and he worked in logging camps, in the drives down the
river, in the mills, and in practically every department until he came to
Wisconsin. At Tomahawk, Wisconsin, he spent the first year in a saw
mill, then sealed logs in the woods during the winter, and from there
went to Woodboro, where he did office work for the George E. Wood
Lumber Company about fourteen years. With this varied and extensive
experience he came to Rhinelander, where he has occupied a position of
prominence in local business affairs.
In 1899, Mr. Sutliff married Nettie Wheelan, of Grand Rapids, Wis
consin, a daughter of Edward Wheelan. Mrs. Sutliff died in February,
1910. Their two boys are Wheelan and Robert. Fraternally Mr. Sut
liff is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Charles P. Crosby. Between father and son the Crosby name has
been closely identified with the lumber industry of Wisconsin for a
period of sixty years. The early operations under the name were from
headquarters at LaCrosse, while Mr. Charles P. Crosby, now lives and
has his business in Rhinelander, but as an operator in timber lands and
lumber manufacturing his interests extend to different parts of the state.
Mr. Crosby who has been a resident of Rhinelander since 1902, since
which year he has been in the hardwood lumber business at this point,
has manifested a great interest in public affairs, especially in those con
cerns and organizations which are of most importance to industrial and
civic development. He is president of the Oneida County Agricultural
Society, and at the present time is a member of the City Council from
the Fifth Ward.
Mr. Crosby was born in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, August 3, 1859, a son
of William W. and Mary (Pennell) Crosby. His father died at La
Crosse in 1893, and the mother in April, 1897. She was born in New
York State, while the father was a native of Massachusetts. Grand
father Crosby was a soldier in the Continental Army during the Revo-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1083
lutionary war, and some of the brothers of that soldier died in prison
during the war. William W. Crosby was major general of the State
Militia of Wisconsin in 1860. He was one of the pioneer settlers in the
southwestern part of the state, having located at LaCrosse in 1854, from
Springfield, Massachusetts. He became identified with lumbering in
connection with C. C. Hixon of LaCrosse, and they owned and operated
a sawmill together for several years. After that he was in business for
himself. He was an extensive logger, as well as a manufacturer.
Reared in LaCrosse, and receiving his education in local schools,
C. P. Crosby early became familiar with the lumber industry in all its
departments, and since 1883 has been in business for himself. He
operated a wholesale and retail lumber yard, and the planing mill, and
later built a sawmill at LaCrosse. In 1895 he moved to Wausau, and
some years later to Rhinelander. He has owned and operated sawmills
in Marathon and Rusk counties, and now operates several mills in
Shawano county. He deals in 'hardwood, hemlock and pine lumber in
wholesale quantities, and is one of the largest and best known lumber
operators in northern Wisconsin.
Mr. Crosby besides other relations with public affairs is now serving
as chairman of the Oneida County Democratic Committee. In 1887 at
LaCrosse, he was married to Sarah Armstrong of Galesburg, Illinois.
Her death occurred in 1896, leaving three children, Harold, Charles,
and Florence. In 1898, Mr. Crosby married Helen Wright, of Mil
waukee. Their two children are Marion and Elizabeth. Mr. Crosby is
active in the Congregational church of Rhinelander, being treasurer, a
trustee and deacon.
H. J. Westgate, M. D. Representing the best skill and training of
his profession, Dr. Westgate has made a successful record as physician
and surgeon, and since June 3, 1911, has been in practice at Rhine
lander in Oneida county. Previous to his location in Rhinelander, he
spent two years in practice at Ingram, in Rusk county. Dr. Westgate
well deserves all the success and honors which come to the successful
physician, and brought to his profession a well-seasoned experience in
other lines of work, an experience which developed him in many ways
useful to the practitioner of medicine. Dr. Westgate is a graduate of
the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons, now the medical
department of Marquette University of Milwaukee. His graduation was
with the class of 1909. Previous to graduating and while he was attend
ing college, he and his wife had charge of the college free dispensary.
Dr. Westgate is a native of Massachusetts, born in Worcester county,
on a farm, February 22, 1875. His parents were Fred E. and Eliza A.
(Riley) Westgate, who, when their son was six years old, moved out to
Wisconsin, locating on a farm in Manitowoc county, where they still
reside. It was in Manitowoc, on the home farm that Dr. Westgate re-

1084 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
ceived his first impressions of life, and while a boy attended the country
school and later the graded school of Mishicot. When he had finished
school his first occupation was as a school master, and for nine years he
taught in Manitowoc College. Then he got into the railway mail service
and spent another nine years in that work, his run being from Mil
waukee to Ashland. At that time he gave up his position as mail clerk
and attended the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons for one
year. On November 25, 1897, Dr. Westgate married Ida M. Levenhagen, of
Mishicot, Manitowoc county, a daughter of Charles and Frederica
(Schriever) Levenhagen. The two children of their marriage are Hugh
G. and Lucy M.
Dr. Westgate is affiliated with the Modern Brotherhood of America,
the Masonic Order, the Royal Neighbors, the Modern Woodmen of
America, the Mystic Workers, the Fraternal Reserve Association at
Oshkosh, and is examining physician for all the orders, and also for the
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Professionally his associations
are with the Oneida Forest and Vilas Counties Medical Society, the
Wisconsin State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
The doctor has a general line of medical and surgical practice, and is
held in high esteem both as a doctor and as a citizen.
Paul Gores. The present manager of the Congress Hotel of Chi
cago, one of the largest and best known hostelries of America, spent his
boyhood and youth in Wisconsin, and after working his way up to a
place of power in an Oshkosh bank, left to begin a career in Chicago
which has taken him from bookkeeper in the old Palmer House to active
head of the big establishment on Michigan Avenue.
Paul Gores was born in Wallersheim, Germany, March 1, 1861, a son
of Bernard and Anna (Dick) Gores, both natives of Germany. The
father was born near the city of Berlin in 1815, and died in 1898. The
mother's birthplace was near Cologne on the Rhine, where she was born
in 1821, and her death occurred in 1900. They were married in Ger
many, and were the parents of four children, two sons and two daughters,
three of whom are now living.
The third in the family, Paul Gores, was three years old when the
family came to America. His father in his younger days had been a
school teacher and then a farmer, and after coming to America located
at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where he was in the grocery business, until with
in a year and a half of his death, at which time he retired. He had mem
bership in the Roman Catholic Church, and in politics was a Democrat.
Paul Gores received his education in the common and high schools
of Oshkosh, and finished at Professor Daggett's business college in Osh
kosh. His first regular work was as messenger boy with the Union Na
tional Bank at Oshkosh, and he remained in the service of that institu-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1085
tion until he had been given the position of bookkeeper and still later
was made teller of the bank. In 1879 he resigned his position as teller
in the bank, came to Chicago, and found a place as bookkeeper with the
Palmer House. After four years with the hotel which at that time was
one of the most popular and best equipped in Chicago, he engaged with
Drake & Parker, who were then proprietors of the Grand Pacific Hotel.
He began with them as cashier and room clerk, and continued in that
capacity until they went out of business in 1895. He then became chief
clerk in the Auditorium Hotel Annex, as it was then known, and so con
tinued until 1910. In that year he was assistant manager of the opening
of the Blackstone Hotel, with which he remained a year and a half and
then went to the -Congress Hotel as manager.
.Mr. Gores is a member of the Hotel Men's Association, the Greeters
Club, the Chicago Athletic Club and in politics is an Independent. He
was married July 18, 1895, to Miss Elise Sievers, who was born in
Chicago. F. A. Hildebrand. As furniture dealer and undertaker, Mr. Hil
debrand in length of service, is the oldest at Rhinelander, where he has
been continuously in business since 1889. The town had been in exis
tence but a few years when he located here in 1886, and he has been both
a witness of and a worker for the advancement and welfare of his city.
Mr. Hildebrand established his present store in 1889. During the first
three years of his residence in Rhinelander he clerked in several of the
stores. F. A. Hildebrand was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, June 7, 1858,
grew up on a. farm in Winnebago county, and practically all his educa
tion was obtained in the district schools. His father was Joseph Hilde
brand, a native of Germany, where he married and early in the forties
came to America, and located in Wisconsin. He spent all his career as a
farmer. After his experience as a farm boy, Mr. Hildebrand moved to
Rhinelander in 1886. A little later he erected his store building on
South Brown Street, and since then has remodeled and added to the
building, until it is one of the best in the business district. He now has
a new frontage of twenty feet, and the depth of the building is one hun
dred and thirty feet, on a two hundred foot lot. It is a two-story
structure. In 1886 Mr. Hildebrand married Miss Mary McCabe, of Oshkosh.
Their five children are Hazel, Eva, John Leo, Francis and Joseph. The
family are communicants of the Catholic church, and Mr. Hildebrand
is at the present time serving as treasurer of the local church.
Edmund D. Minahan. Every profession has its leaders, men who
either tacitly or openly are recognized by their associates and the peo
ple in general as the ablest and most effective workers in their respec
tive lines. At Rhinelander in Oneida county, this place of pre-eminence
is assigned to Edmund D. Minahan, in the profession of law. Mr.

1086 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Minahan, whose offices are in the Merchants State Bank Building at
Rhinelander, has practiced law in that city since April 1, 1903, and
was admitted to the bar in the previous year. All his successes as a law
yer have been worthily won, and in many ways he has established him
self firmly in the profession in north Wisconsin.
Edmund D. Minahan is the product of a Wisconsin farm in Calu
met county, where he was born September 19, 1867, had an early coun
try training, and worked hard both with his hands and his brains to
perfect himself for the profession of his ambition. His parents were
Patrick and Elizabeth (Traynor) Minahan, and his father was one of
the early settlers of Wisconsin. Patrick Minahan was a man of superior
education, and in the early days taught school both in Calumet and
Sheboygan counties. During the period of the Civil war he enlisted in
Sheboygan county, and gave the service of a good soldier during the
war in the Union army. His death occurred in Calumet county in 1907,
in his seventieth year.
It was in Calumet county that Edmund D. Minahan spent his early
years, attended public school there, and after some years of farm and
other employment he prepared for teaching in the Oshkosh Normal
school. For several years he was connected with the public schools of
Calumet county, and then took up the study of law in the University
of Wisconsin. He was admitted to the bar in 1902, passing highest in
the bar examination of that year. Soon after locating in Rhinelander,
Mr. Minahan became associated in practice with Hon. John Barnes, now
a justice of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin. Mr. Barnes was for many
years identified with the Oneida county bar, until his elevation to the
bench. Mr. Minahan is now local attorney for the Soo Railroad Company at
Rhinelander and has a large general practice. He is a bachelor, has no
fraternal nor religious affiliations, and has not entered actively into
politics, having devoted himself strenuously and successfully to his
chosen profession.
C. A. Wixson. An important local industry in the city of Rhine
lander is the Rhinelander Lighting Company; of which C. A. Wixson
is secretary and treasurer. He is also secretary of the Rhinelander
Power Company, the offices of both concerns being located in the Rhine
lander Lighting Company's building on West Davenport street. Mr.
Wixson, who has had a long and successful experience in the operation
of public utility plants, has been secretary and treasurer of the Rhine
lander Lighting Company since January 1, 1898. At that date he and
Mr. E. A. Forbes, now president of the company, bought the plant from
the old Faust Electric Company, and have since operated the electric
light and power system of Rhinelander.
Mr. Wixson, who had spent the greater part of his life in the north-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1087
ern country of Michigan and Wisconsin, was born in Calmar, Iowa,
February 27, 1872, a son of Joseph T. and July E. (Van Camp) Wix
son. His father, who was a photographer by profession, is now deceased,
while the mother resides with her son, C. A. Wixson. When the latter
was a child, his parents moved to Michigan, and he spent his boyhood
days in Grand Haven and Escanaba, attending the public schools in
both places. Later he advanced bis education by attendance at the
Lawrence University at Appleton. His early business experience was
chieflly in northern Michigan, and he had lived at Gladstone, Michigan,
previous to his removal to Rhinelander.
On August 21, 1895, in Escanaba, Michigan, occurred the marriage
of Mr. Wixson to Miss Rosa A. Bishop. They are the parents of three
children : Marian M., Roselle A., and Maud A. Besides his other business
interests Mr. Wixson is a director in the First National Bank of Rhine
lander. Fraternally he has taken thirty-two degrees of Scottish Rite
Masonry, and is a member of the Mystic Shrine. His other fraternal
orders are the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Modern
Woodmen of America, and Knights of the Maccabees, and the Equitable
Fraternal Union.
Herman F. Anspach. Representing the staunch German stock that
has been prominently and worthily concerned in the development and
upbuilding of Wisconsin, Mr. Anspach has made a fine individual suc
cess as a practical business man, and is one of the leading merchants
of Neenah, Winnebago county. The large department store conducted
there under his name is a solid monument to an enterprise which began
when he was a boy, and which has been continued with increasing pros
perity up to the present time.
Herman F. Anspach was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, December
13, 1861, a son of Nicholas and Philopoena Anspach, both of whom were
born and reared in Germany. Nicholas Anspach in his native land
learned the barber's trade. While still young, in -1850, he emigrated
to America, and for some years lived in Milwaukee. When the son
Herman was ten years old, the family moved to Weyauwega in Wau
paca county. There Nicholas Anspach had a hotel, saloon and barber
shop, and developed an interest in other enterprises. He moved to San
Francisco, California, in 1895, where he followed the barber trade. The
family consisted of eight sons and one daughter, all of whom were edu
cated in the common schools, and all are still living.
The oldest of the children, Herman F. Anspach, left school in boy
hood, and at an early age took up the practical duties of life. His first
employment was in a hotel known as the Quiet House in Milwaukee,
this being followed by a clerkship in a music store and a grocery at
Racine, and after eighteen months he returned to Neenah. In 1879 Mr.
Anspach began an employment in the mercantile establishment of Alex-

1088 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
ander Billstein at Neenah. For twenty-two years his services were
devoted to this one firm. Starting in as an untried worker, he soon
proved his ability, and eventually was entrusted with the chief responr
sibilities of management in the business. In 1901 Mr. Anspach bought
from Mr. Billstein the stock and good will, and continued merchan
dising successfully at the old stand until 1910 when the store was
destroyed by fire. On September 19th of the same year Mr. Anspach
opened a stock of general merchandise in the old Neenah skating rink,
inaugurating the business with a fire sale. This great bargain sale con
tinued six months, with seventy-two clerks required to meet the demands
of the trade. Mr. Anspach then installed an entirely new stock of goods
covering all the various lines handled in the usual department store,
with the exception of groceries. The business grew by leaps and bounds,
and enjoyed a continuous growth and prosperity ever since. In the
fall of 1912, Mr. Anspach removed from the old rink building to a. fine
concrete building, especially erected for his business. The Anspach
Department Store has ground dimensions of forty-six by one hundred
and twelve feet, is absolutely fireproof, and three floors are devoted to the
stock and display of the business. This store is one of the largest of its
kind in Neenah and vicinity and its patronage is the result of many
years of continuous dealing with the community, and many people in
Neenah and vicinity have bought goods from Mr. Anspach through an
entire generation. In 1909 the business was incorporated with a capi
tal stock of twenty-five thousand dollars, Mr. Anspach being president
and treasurer, Mrs. H. F. Anspach vice president, and Henry B. Sanda
secretary. Under the headline, "A Model Structure," the Neenah Daily Times
in November, 1912, described the opening of the Anspach Department
Store, and the following contains some extracts from that article which
are deemed worthy of incorporation in this sketch: "On September 19,
1910, two years and two months ago, the old Kimberley Block, then
used by the Anspach Department Store, was totally destroyed by fire,
and today, in its place, Phoenix like, the mammoth building has arisen
from its ashes as. though by magie; one of the most up-to-date and
largest department store buildings in Wisconsin, the pride of the city
and a monument to the energy, business policy and enterprise of the
popular owner, Herman F. Anspach. With the construction of a fine
new building, and up-to-date merchandising methods, the firm is bound
to increase in scope and become a more powerful and altogether more
important factor in the commercial life of Neenah. The plans as care
fully carried out, render the building so constructed as to pattern after
the latest and most modern department stores of the large cities. Spe
cial care has been taken to make the building fireproof and hence it is
entirely constructed of re-inforced concrete and brick. From the base
ment to the roof fireproof construction prevails.

^^y^UtJp ^HLsC+jlTk

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1089
The display windows, all of heavy plate glass, are immense. On
the Commercial Street side the display windows have a combined length
of one hundred feet with nine big panes of glass, one for each display
of goods from each department. In the front there are forty-four feet
of windows, two large places for display, one on each side of a large
entrance. The Anspach building has three floors devoted to merchandising, the
main floor and the second floor used for the clothing and carpets and
house furnishings, while the "basement is taken up with hardware and
other goods, the main floor being reserved for the main department.
Concerning the career of Mr. Anspach the same paper said in part:
"Herman F. Anspach, head of the Anspach Department Store Com
pany, is regarded as one of the most enterprising business men of the
state. He first entered the employ of Alex Billstein, a prominent local
merchant. Later Alex Billstein entered partnership with his son Moses,
and the firm was known as the Alex Billstein Company. During the
time that he was employed by this concern Mr. Anspach acquired a
knowledge of the business, which was the foundation of what he has
since developed with remarkable success. It was in 1901 that he pur
chased the business of the Alex Billstein Company, which at that time
occupied the ground floor of the Kimberly Building, which also was the
old Anspach store. Under Mr. Anspach 's direction the business grew
yearly, and it was soon found necessary to occupy the entire second
floor. Mr. Anspach has been on one business corner since 1879, clerking
for the Billstein Company, later, leasing the property ; later buying it,
making thirty- three years he has been in that location. ' '
Mr. Anspach is essentially progressive as a citizen and takes a lively
interest in all the civic and material welfare of his home city. In poli
tics his attitude is independent, and his support is given to candidates
and measures needing the approval of his judgment, without reference
to partisan lines. Fraternally his affiliations are with Neenah Lodge
No. 61 A. F. & A. M. At Weyauwega, Mr. Anspach married Miss Mat-
tie Bronson. They are the parents of two children : Melvin and Marion
Anspach. General Louis Auer. Large of heart and large of mind, the late
General Louis Auer gave to his native city of Milwaukee the best of his
powers in the furtherance of its civic and material prosperity, and his
activities vitalized all with which they came in contact. He won new
prestige for a name that has been signally honored in the history of Mil
waukee from the pioneer days, and his achievements were large and defi
nite. He became the most extensive exponent of the real estate business
in Milwaukee and through his large and varied operations in this connec
tion, he did much to further the upbuilding and attractiveness of the city.
He was long one of the most prominent and influential figures in the

1090 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Wisconsin National Guard, in which he advanced to the office of quar
termaster general, and he was animated by lofty patriotism and high
civic ideals. By the very greatness and goodness of his nature he won
the unqualified esteem of all who knew him and the affectionate regard of
those who came within the immediate sphere of his influence. His circle
of friends was coincident with that of his acquaintances and in the Wis
consin metropolis few citizens were better known or held in more un
qualified popular regard. The entire community manifested its sense of
personal loss and bereavement when General Auer was summoned to the
life eternal, on the 15th of February, 1910, and in the community which
ever represented his home his name and memory shall be revered as long
as there remain those who knew him or had cognizance of his genial,
whole-souled, generous and unselfish character.
General Auer was born in Milwaukee on the 3d of October, 1857, and
thus he was fifty-two years of age at the time when he passed from the
stage of life's mortal endeavors. He was accorded excellent educational
advantages in his youth and became a man of broad mental ken and well
fortified opinions. Prior to entering upon details concerning his business
career it may be noted that from the time when, as a young man, he
became identified with the state militia, as a member of the Light Horse
Squadron, until his death General Auer continued to take a most vital
interest in the affairs of the Wisconsin National Guard, to the upbuilding
and advancement of which he contributed much and in the affairs of
which he was an honored and influential figure. In 1880, he became a
member of the Light Horse Squadron, now known as Troop A of the
Wisconsin National Guard, and in this gallant military body he rose
to the rank of first lieutenant under Captain George Schoeffel. This
command gained reputation as one of the finest volunteer cavalry organ
izations in the country, and this absolute priority was won not less
through the means of competitive contests than by reason of the ad
mirable personnel of its members. In 1886, Lieutenant Auer was pro
moted to the rank of major and placed in command of the four regi
ments known as the Fourth Battalion and later incorporated in the
First Wisconsin Infantry. He later became colonel of his command
and he retained this rank until the election of Hon. Geo. W. Peck
to the position of governor of the state, when Colonel Auer was
appointed by the governor to the position of quartermaster general
of the Wisconsin National Guard, an incumbency which he held until
the close of Governor Peck's term, in January, 1895. After his retire
ment from office General Auer did not abate his interest in the Wis
consin National Guard, and in its history his name has a conspicuous
and honored place.
As a youth General Auer initiated his active association with busi
ness affairs, by identifying himself with the real estate and insurance
enterprise that had been founded by his father in 1864. In 1877 he

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1091
was admitted to partnership in the business, under the title of Louis
Auer & Son, and he was twenty years" of age at the time when this al
liance was formed. After the death of his honored father he continued
the business under the original firm name noted, and concerning his
active and important operations in the field of enterprise the following
pertinent record has been given and is worthy of perpetuation in this
connection, with but slight paraphrase:
"Through his untiring energy, wide acquaintance and popularity
with all classes, General Auer built up a large and productive business.
One year ago he displayed an interesting phase of his character. He
caused to be erected an apartment building which has come to be known
as the 'Baby Flats.' He had heard of the difficulty experienced by fam
ilies with children in securing quarters in modern apartment houses. He
determined to start a new order of things by offering his tenants a bonus,
in the form of a month's rent, for every baby born in his buildings. He
became famous for his attitude on the baby question and there are today
in Milwaukee not a few children whose adyent was a source of some
pecuniary profit.
"General Auer was the most extensive real estate operator in Mil
waukee and was a valued member of the Milwaukee Real Estate Board,
by which his advice could always be safely and profitably followed. In
addition to all of the buildings in the block bounded by State, Four
teenth, Prairie and Fifteenth streets, General Auer was the owner
of about fifty other buildings, designed for residential purposes. The
Auditorium Court, which was in process of erection at the corner
of Ninth and State streets at the time of his death, he expected to
represent the highest fulfillment of his experience in the construc
tion of apartment buildings, and it contains one hundred and forty-
five apartments, with front and rear courts and entirely without air
shafts, every room having light and fresh air facilities. General
Auer expected the Auditorium Court to be the last building he
would construct and this it proved. Following its completion he con
templated retirement from active business. The Stuart and Eliza
beth flats, on Fourteenth street, between State and Prairie streets,
gave General Auer a reputation that far transcended the limitations of
his native state and brought to him the sobriquet of 'The Baby Flat
Landlord.' In these flats no expense was spared ir> making the floors
as noiseless as possible and to provide playgrounds, courts and every
other possible facility favorable for the rearing of children. In writing
to one of his tenants and granting a month's rent free because of the
arrival of a baby, General Auer wrote as follows : ' I should like a picture
of the little one for our album, "Babies of Auer Court." Believe me,
Yours for the Babies.' Persons who entered the office of General Auer
with the expectation of gaining special concessions because they had no
children, always found disappointment. He frequently expressed his
Vol. V— 5

1092 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
opposition to race suicide and this quotation was made of his statement
to the effect that there should be from five to seven children in every
family. ' '
The highest estimate was placed upon General Auer in his connection
with both social and public affairs, and, notwithstanding the manifold
cares and exactions of business, he always found time and opportunity,
especially in the days of his bachelorhood, for entertaining friends at his
"shack," which he had built oh the shores of Pewaukee lake and. which
later developed into the summer home of the family, the while it con
tinued a center of most gracious hospitality, even as has the beautiful
home in Milwaukee, with Mrs. Auer as its charming and popular chate
laine. At the "shack" the General delighted to surround himself with
friends and to engage in boating, sailing, fishing and other wholesome
outdoor sports, of which he was especially fond, and where he was al
ways surrounded1 by a kennel of the best hunting dogs of various blood,
having always twenty or more. in his kennel. At his "shack" there was
always a hearty welcome for any friend, whether he came early or late.
One of General Auer's passions was hunting, a sport in which his wife
was his constant companion during the last eight years of his life. His
"shack" was covered on the interior with trophies of his success in the
northern woods and out in the west. His collection of firearms was large
and select and included weapons of use in the hunting of every sort of
wild animal and game. Many were the good and wholesome stories told
at the house parties at the "shack" where, with a genial company, Gen
eral Auer presided as host, indefatigable in his efforts to make each
guest enjoy himself to the utmost. It was here before the big fireplace
that Eugene Field, Horace Fletcher and Julian Ralph spent many a
happy hour and night exchanging impossible fish stories. It was a
distinctive pleasure to him that he was thus able to dispense an unlim
ited hospitality, and he was at his best on such occasions. The Milwau
kee Press Club has reason to hold General Auer high in its remem
brance, for the occasions when he insisted on the club coming out to
his summer home for its annual outings. The memory of those days
lingers still in the minds of those who were given the privilege of
becoming the guests of General Auer under such beatific conditions.
He to whom this memoir is dedicated was insistently loyal and pub
lic-spirited, and his noble qualities of mind and heart found exemplifica
tion in all of the relations of life. Though not animated with desire for
public office he was ever willing to give ready co-operation in the support
of measures and enterprises projected for the good of his home city and
state and his political allegiance was accorded to the Democratic party.
When the original decisive action was taken for the improving and ex
tending of the public park system of Milwaukee General Auer was ap
pointed a member of the first board of park commissioners, of which
body he served for a time as secretary, the late Christian Wah, the late

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1093
John Bentley, and Calvin E. Lewis and Charles Manegold, Jr., having
been members of the board at that time. After giving seven years to
earnest and effective service as a member of this department of the mu
nicipal government General Auer retired from office. He was a zealous
worker in connection with every worthy civic movement and assumed
many heavy responsibilities in this connection, including the organiza
tion and management of civic and industrial parades pertinent to public
celebrations. He brought to bear the same vitality and enthusiasm that
characterized him in business and social life, and his last appearance as
marshal of a great civic and military parade was on the occasion of a
notable homecoming celebration in Milwaukee. He was a citizen-soldier
and a genial host. Few citizens of Milwaukee were better known, had
done more for the city or were more uniformly popular than this kindly
and noble man, and concerning him and his attitude the following
pertinent statements have been made :
"For a quarter of a century there was not a movement of any
civic importance and having for its object the advancement of Mil
waukee which he did not support heart and soul, giving his time and
energy freely and gladly to promote its success. General Auer's creed
was 'Milwaukee first.' He did not approve of buying outside of his
native city anything that could be purchased or manufactured here.
No matter what it was, he always bought it in Milwaukee rather than
in Chicago or New York, and this loyal and progressive policy he
urged upon others, in season and out. Though essentially liberal,
General Auer preferred to dispense his charities and benevolences in
a private way rather than to avoid this responsibility by giving dona
tions to institutions or organized charities. He was mindful of the
poor and needy and 'Remembered those who were forgotten.' On
many an occasion he left his desk at the appeal of some poor unfortu
nate, whom he aided in securing food, or work or other needed sup
port and encouragement, his heart being ever attuned to sympathy
and this being manifested in a direct and practical way, without osten
tation and with no thought that he was doing other than his simple
duty. By his example, advice, moral support and financial aid he
did much for others, and his memory is revered by many whom he
thus aided. At one time General Auer belonged to all of the repre
sentative clubs in Milwaukee but after his marriage his interests cen
tered in his home, the associations and relations of which were of the
ideal order. At the time of his death he held membership in Mil
waukee Lodge, No. 46, Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, The
Milwaukee Press Club and the Diana Club, of Horicon. His death
occurred only a few days prior to the fifteenth anniversary of his
marriage, and, attended by a vast concourse of sorrowing friends, his
remains were borne to their last resting place, in beautiful Calvary
cemetery."

1094 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
In New York city, at 137 Fifty-fifth street, on the 26th of February,
1895, was solemnized the marriage of General Auer to Miss Jane Hola-
han, a woman of culture and most gracious personality. Mrs. Auer
has attained to much distinction in the theatrical profession, under
the stage name of Jane Stuart, and she was playing a leading part
in the company of Richard Mansfield until a short time prior to her
marriage. She is a daughter of the late Hon. Maurice F. Holahan,
for a number of years President of the board of Public Improvement
of New York city and her veneral mother now resides with her in
the attractive home in Milwaukee, Mrs. Auer having been a valued
factor in the social activities of this city from the time of her mar
riage to the present. The wedding of General and Mrs. Auer was
one of the brilliant affairs of the season in the national metropolis and
was attended by about four hundred of the friends of the contracting
parties. The gathering included prominent members of both political
parties, including leading officials connected with the national, state
and municipal government, members of various business exchanges,
and representatives of the press, the medical, legal, theatrical and
other professions. Letters of congratulation were received from Presi
dent and Mrs. Cleveland, Secretary of War Lamont, Senator Murphy
of New York, and prominent members of congress. The bride received
a most cordial reception in Milwaukee and the city is now endeared
to her by many hallowed memories and associations. Her pleasant
home is at 283 Tenth street, where she resides with her two children,
Elizabeth and Stuart. The eldest son, Louis, was killed by a falling
tree at their country home at the age of six and one-half years; two
other children, Angela and Frank died in infancy.
Hon. Henry Allen Cooper. By his re-election in the November
elections of 1912 as representative in congress from the First District,
Henry Allen Cooper enters upon his eleventh consecutive term as a
member of the national house of representatives. His twenty years of
active service in Congress have been distinguished by a high order of
ability and statesmanlike judgment and his record has been marked by
disinterested work for the nation and for his constituents and state.
Mr. Cooper is by profession a lawyer, having been a member of the
Racine county bar for more than thirty years. Henry Allen Cooper,
who was born in Walworth county, Wisconsin, September 8, 1850, is
a representative of one of the early families of this county. His father
was Dr. Joel H. Cooper, of Burlington, Wisconsin. In the sketch of Dr.
Cooper, to be found elsewhere in this work, are given the many inter
esting details concerning the family history during its long association
with Racine county.
Mr. Cooper, who was the only son in a family of six children,
enjoyed fine educational advantages and was well, fitted for success,

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1095
whether in business or in professional life. After completing his course
in the high school at Burlington, he entered the Northwestern Univer
sity at Evanston, Illinois, where he was graduated in 1873. His ambi
tions having already included the law as his profession, he entered the
Union College of Law at Chicago where he was graduated LL. B. in
1875. On his admission to the bar in that year until 1879, he acquired
practical experience in connection with several law offices of Chicago.
In the latter year he entered a partnership with the late Judge C. A.
Brownson, at Burlington, where he may be said to have actually com
menced his professional career. The following year, 1880, he was elected
district attorney of Racine county, and since that year his home has
been in Racine. He was twice re-elected district attorney without oppo
sition. In 1884 he was a delegate to the National Republican Conven
tion in Chicago. He was elected to the state senate in 1886 and was the
author of the law which first established the Australian ballot system
in Wisconsin. In 1892 he came prominently before his party as its
choice for the nomination for Congress, and he made a successful cam
paign was and was first elected to Congress in the general election of that
year. Since that year every successive two years the First district has
shown a desire to have Mr. Cooper as their representative, and his work
in Congress has been so consistently in the interests of the national and
local welfare that there has never been any hesitation about his re-elec
tion, even in times when the success of his party over the state at large
has been doubtful. In 1908 he was a delegate at large from the state
to the National Republican Convention at Chicago. During 1886-7 Mr.
Cooper was a member of the Board of Education in Racine and so far
as his duties as a national legislator have permitted, has actively iden
tified himself with the local welfare.
Dr. I. D. Stbffen. One of the representative citizens of Antigo and
one who has taken a foremost place in the civic and social life of the city,
as well as gaining prominence in his profession and in financial circles
as well, is Dr. I. D. Steffen, practicing physician, of this city since 1887
and vice president of the Langlade National Bank of Antigo. Dr. Stef
fen came here fresh from his studies, having been graduated from Rush
Medical College in Chicago in February, 1887, and so well has he pros
pered that from the beginning Antigo has held him. His connection
with the Langlade National Bank began in 1901, first as a member of
the directorate of the bank, and in about 1907 he was elected vice
president. Prior to that, however, he had been a director and vice presi
dent of the First National Bank of Antigo, so that his connection with
banks and banking is one of long standing, and he is well versed in
finance and kindred subjects.
Dr. Steffen was born at Hortonville, Outagamie county, Wisconsin,
on December 17, 1855, and is a son of John and Applonia (Stark) Stef-

1096 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
fen, who came to Wisconsin from New York state in the spring of 1855.
They were farming people, and Dr. Steffen was raised on the home farm,
attending the country schools as a boy, and then entering Lawrence
University, and .graduating from that institution in 1879. Following
that training he taught for four years in Hortonville, Wisconsin. Dur
ing that time he was giving some attention to the study of medicine
with Dr. Hardacker of Hortonville, and he was able to save enough
money from his four years of teaching to put him through Rush Medical
College. In 1900 Dr. Steffen took a post graduate course in surgery and
medicine in the New York Post Graduate Medical School & Hospital,
in New York City, and he has in other ways prosecuted his studies,
keeping well abreast of the times in the advance of his profession, so
that his reputation has been enhanced with every passing year.
In 1884 Dr. Steffen was married to Miss Effie L. Nye of Horton
ville, Wisconsin, and to them have been born five children, named as
follows: Bernice E. ; Dr. Lyman A., who was graduated in medicine
from Rush Medical College on June 10, 1912, and who is now engaged
in practice in Virginia, Minnesota, but who is about to relinquish his
practice there and join his father in the profession in Antigo; Glyndon
F. ; Margaret ; and Richard D. Steffen.
Dr. Steffen has performed praiseworthy service for Antigo in the
mayor's chair, serving on three different occasions, — first in 1890, in
1899 and in 1900. He is a member of the Langlade County Medical
Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society and the American Medical
Association, as well as the American Association of Railway Surgeons.
He has been surgeon for the C. & N. W. Railroad for the past twenty-
one years, and is a member of the staff of the Antigo Hospital. In
fraternal circles he has membership in the Masons, and has served sev
eral years as Master of the Blue Lodge, and in the Chapter he is now
High Priest. He is also a member of the Ancient Accepted Scottish
Rite of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is one of the prominent men of the
city and with his family enjoys the high regard of the representative
people of the community.
William Eibel. Lumber is not the only product that comes from
the industrial center of Rhinelander. For a number of years the wood
pulp paper manufacturing has been growing in importance in northern
Wisconsin, and probably the largest single enterprise of Oneida county
is the Rhinelander Paper Company, which is one of the largest and
most modern paper mills in the entire state of Wisconsin. At the head
of this company, in the capacity of general manager, is a young man
who has been experienced and has become expert in every department
of paper manufacture, and is one of the ablest men in the business.
Mr. William Eibel has been identified with the paper, mill at Rhine
lander since 1904, having come here a few months after the mill was

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1097
opened as its superintendent and two years later was promoted to his
present responsible post as general manager. William Eibel was born
in Macgregor, Iowa, July 15, 1873, a son of William Eibel. When he
was about six years old the family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota,
where the son was reared and educated. In 1892 at the age of nineteen,
he was given employment by Mr. A. M.- Pride, in the latter 's paper mills
at Tomahawk, in Lincoln county, Wiseonsin, Mr. Pride had established
the mill in Tomahawk in 1890, and Mr. Eibel entered in a subordinate
capacity, having practically no experience in that industry at the time.
He proved diligent and an ambitious employe, interested himself in every
phase of the business and from one position to another he continued to
work and be promoted until the master of every branch of paper man
ufacture. He continued with the mill at Tomahawk until 1894, when he
moved to Rhinelander, where his services as manager and superinten
dent have been an important factor in making the Rhinelander paper
mills one of the most profitable industries of Oneida county. The com
pany employ in the mill from two hundred and fifty to three hundred
men, and the equipment of the plant is not excelled by any of the sim
ilar mills along the Wisconsin River. The officers of the Rhinelander
Paper Company are Mr. A. W. Brown, president; Mr. A. D. Daniels,
vice president; and Paul Browne, secretary.
In Tomahawk, Wisconsin, in 1905, Mr. Eibel married Miss Ruby
Brower. They have one son, Donald Eibel.
Clarence J. TeSelle. One of the coming members of the legal
profession in Langlade county is undeniably Clarence J. TeSelle, dis
trict attorney for the county, and junior member of the well known
law firm of Hay & TeSelle of which Henry Hay, whom Mr. TeSelle
succeeded in the office mentioned, is the other and senior member. Mr.
TeSelle was elected in the Autumn of 1912 on the Democratic ticket,
and thus far his service has been marked by ample evidence of superior
ability and a fine sense of public duty. A resident of Antigo only since
April, 1912, he had but recently located here when his nomination and
election to his office came, and the confidence that the public manifested
in him, taking him at his face value, has alr'eady been justified in no
uncertain terms.
Born at Sheboygan Falls, Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, on August
7, 1887, Mr. TeSelle is one of the youngest, if not, indeed, the youngest
district attorney serving in Wisconsin. He is a son of John and Cather
ine (Wismer) TeSelle. The father was born in Sheboygan Falls, She
boygan county, Wisconsin, as was also his father, the grandfather of the
subject, who was named John TeSelle, and it is thus established that the
family was among the earliest pioneer families to locate in Sheboygan
county. For many years John TeSelle, father of the subject, was occu
pied as a manufacturer of wagons, and he was a member of the director-

1098 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
ate of one of the leading banks of the county. He died in the town
where he was born and where he had spent his entire life in the year
1898. The mother still resides there.
Clarence TeSelle was reared in Sheboygan Falls, and there was
given the advantages of the public school training, finishing the curric
ulum of the high school in 1905. In the fall of that year he entered the
University of Wisconsin at Madison, and in 1909 was duly graduated
with the degree of A. B. In 1911 he was graduated from the law depart
ment of the University, when he received his B. L. degree, and the
remainder of that year the young man spent in traveling throughout
the west and south, looking out a location that he deemed especially
advantageous. The outcome of his search was that he returned to Wis
consin and settled in Antigo early in 1912, with what success and
advancement in his work has already been noted.
Mr. TeSelle has identified himself with other interests in Antigo and
as a stockholder of the Langlade Land & Loan Company is a member of
its directorate. The law firm with which he is identified conducts a
general practice, and its members are recognized as being among the
leading attorneys of the city and county. Mr. TeSelle takes 'his proper
place among the public spirited and progressive citizens of the com
munity, and as such is warmly regarded by the representative people
of the city.
John Plankinton. In studying a clean-cut, distinct character like
that of the late John Plankinton, who was with all consistency termed
Milwaukee's foremost citizen, there is slight need for indirection or
puzzling, for interpretation follows fact in a straight line of deriva
tion. His character was the positive expression of a strong and noble
nature and he was honored of men by very reason of his worth of
character as well as on account of his magnificent achievements as
one of the constructive workers of the world. His name looms large
in connection with the civic, industrial and commercial development
and upbuilding of Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin, and in a
work of the province assigned to the one at hand it is a matter of
imperative historical demand that within its pages be given an out
line of his career and a tribute to his memory. He established his
home in Milwaukee about four years prior to the admission of Wis
consin to statehood, and here his life was marked by splendid achieve
ment in the upbuilding of the city and state, the while his course was
guided and governed by the highest personal integrity and honor.
His career illustrated in a very marked degree the power of concen
trating the resources of the entire man and lifting them into the
sphere of high accomplishment; of supplementing brilliant natural
endowments by close application, tenacity of purpose and broad and
liberal views. He made of success not an accident but a logical result,

C^/^?v> ^Z&rsT-e S?r

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1099
and his name shall have enduring place on the roster of the honored
pioneers and distinguished citizens of the Badger state.
John Plankinton was born in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, on
the 11th of March, 1820, and he was a scion of one of the sterling
pioneer families of the historic old Keystone commonwealth. When
he was twelve years of age the family removed to the city of Pitts
burgh, and there he gained the major part of his early education in
the common schools. There he was reared to manhood and there his
marriage was solemnized. In 1844, when twenty-four years of age, he
came with his young wife and their one child, to Wisconsin and estab
lished his home in Milwaukee, where it had been his intention to
engage in business in partnership with another Pittsburgh young man
who had already located in the embryonic metropolis. When he
arrived he found that his prospective associate had made other arrange
ments, and, under these conditions he manifested the initiative, self-
reliance and fertility in expedients that so definitely marked his
entire business career, for he was soon found numbered among the
merchants of the thriving little western city. Here he invested his
small capital of four hundred dollars in a meat market, and through
his energy and fair dealings he soon built up a prosperous enterprise,
based upon the unqualified popular confidence and esteem which he
soon gained to himself in the community. Within a remarkably brief
period he was conducting the leading market of the town, and that
his success was distinctive is shown by the fact that his transactions
for the first year represented an aggregate of twelve thousand
dollars. ;. | j
In 1848 Mr. Plankinton witnessed with marked satisfaction the ad
mission of Wisconsin one of the sovereign states of the Union, and in
all the years of his future activities here he kept in touch with and
was a leader in civic and industrial development and advancement.
In 1850 Mr. Plankinton entered into partnership with Frederick Lay-
ton and in addition to continuing in the retail meat trade they initiated
operations in the packing of pork for the outside markets. The firm
of Plankinton & Layton continued operations until 1861, and at the
time of the dissolution of the partnership the concern conducted the
largest packing-house business in the entire west, Chicago at that
time having no similar enterprise of comparable extent and facilities.
In 1864 Mr. Plankinton formed a partnership with the late Philip D.
Armour, under the firm name of Plankinton & Armour, and they
built up a business of enormous volume, as gauged by the standards
of the day. They not only continued in the packing business at Mil
waukee but also organized and established the large packing houses
in Chicago and Kansas City, besides founding the extensive meat
exporting house of Armour, Plankinton & Company in New York city.
It was in association with Mr. Plankinton that Mr. Armour laid the

1100 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
foundation for his immense fortune and the basis of the great pack
ing industry which has made his name known throughout the civilized
world. Mr. Plankinton continued in the active control and supervision of
his gigantic business interests, which in the meanwhile had become
varied, until 1889, when impaired health compelled him to relax his
more onerous duties, and he thereafter lived virtually retired until
his death, which occurred in Milwaukee on the 29th of March, 1891.
Within the intervening two years he -had traveled extensively through
the west and passed considerable time in California, in the hope of
recuperating his physical energies. The perspective of years and the
comparison suggested by the bearing of many of the leading capital
ists of the present day, tend to give emphasis and distinction to the
unassuming and sterling character of John Plankinton, for the man
was ever greater than his temporal success, great though it was, and
he manifested a high sense of stewardship, besides retaining to the
last his steadfast integrity of purpose, his sincerity, honesty and unas
suming demeanor. He coveted success but scorned to gain it save
by worthy means; and his powers were such that he became one of
the leading capitalists of the west, the while he ever commanded the
respect of all classes and conditions of men, as he placed true values
upon his fellow men and had naught of bigotry or intolerance. It
is scarcely necessary to say that he possessed splendid business acumen
and mature judgment, or that his constructive and administrative
abilities were of the highest order. As indicative of his fine executive
powers may be given the following brief statements. When, in 1874,
the fortunes of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company
were at low ebb, Mr. Plankinton proposed to Hon. Alexander Mitchell,
another of the leading capitalists of Wisconsin, that they purchase
all of the capital stock of the road. Mr. Michell failed to manifest
equal prescience as to results and thev deal was not consummated.
Had it been carried through as suggested by Mr. Plankinton it would
have brought to him and Mr. Mitchell enormous wealth, as future
developments fully proved. Mr. Plankinton later became a member
of the directorate of this railroad company, and upon the death of its
president, Alexander Mitchell, he was prominently mentioned as the
latter 's successor.
The life of Mr. Plankinton was one of signal cleanness in thought,
word and deed, and he was intrinsically generous, considerate and
kindly, with naught of the pretentious arrogance assumed by many
of the multi-millionaires of the nation at that time, and the present.
He manifested an almost paternal interest in those in his employ, and
although he employed thousands of men he never had a strike among
them. He was easily accessible to any man who had a grievance and
was patient and judicious in the adjustment of such cases. He was

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1101
the chief pillar of Cavalry Presbyterian church, in Milwaukee, and
was a regular attendant of the same during the long years of his resi
dence in the city. He was tolerant in his religious views, as in other
relations of life, and was ever ready to lend a liberal support to other
denominations than that with which he was personally identified.
Difficult would it prove to attempt to enumerate within the com
pass of one brief article the manifold ways in which Mr. Plankinton
contributed to the progress and prosperity of Milwaukee, but it may
consistently be said that no other one man has done so much for the
general benefit of the Wisconsin metropolis. He was among the earli
est members of the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce and served as
its president in 1865. He became one of the city's most extensive
holders of real estate, much of which he improved with buildings of
the best type and in advance of conditions and demands then existing.
In this way he showed his unwavering confidence in the city's future
and he thus led the march of advancement with sure and unfaltering
steps. He erected in the city many large and substantial business
buildings, among which is the Plankinton Hotel, which was the first
modern hotel building in the city and which has long held a national
reputation. It is interesting to note that this building is to be razed
and a new one of the finest modern type is to be erected on the site,
the work being initiated in< the spring of 1913. The new structure
will continue to be known as the Plankinton and will be equipped for
hotel purposes. This improvement, is along the line which Mr. Plankin
ton himself would have undoubtedly followed had he lived to discern
present needs and conditions, and it is pleasing to note that so note
worthy and improvement is to be made by the Plankinton estate.
Mr. Plankinton was the virtual founder of the Milwaukee Exposi
tion building, and did much to make the annual expositions in the
same a success, as a vehicle for exploiting the advantages, resources
and industrial and commercial prestige of Milwaukee and the state at
large. During a period of twenty years this exposition building drew
thousands of visitors each year from all sections of Wisconsin, as
well as many from neighboring states. In this connection it may be
stated that when the work of constructing the huge exposition build
ing had made excellent advancement, the available funds became
exhausted and the work came to a standstill. This was in the month
of July and the exposition was advertised to open in September.
Under these exigent conditions Mr. Plankinton drew to the order of
the treasurer of the exposition corporation his personal check for
seventy thousand dollars, and it was through his generosity in this
way that it was made possible to complete the building and to open
the exposition on the 1st of September, as had been promised.
The following estimate is well worthy of reproduction in this con-

1102 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
nection, and in quoting from the original article only slight paraphrase
is indulged :
"Mr. Plankinton was one of those rare men in whom high mental
gifts were united with magnificent physical proportions. He stood
six feet two inches in height, straight as an arrow, with not a super
fluous pound of flesh. A most expressive and kindly face, always
clean shaved, with keen blue eyes, animated at times with a light of
beaming humor, he was a man of striking personality and one whose
fine bearing invariably attracted attention when he passed by, his
very appearance commanding the attention of those unknown to him
and to whom he was, perhaps, not known. The funeral of Mr. Plank
inton was a public demonstration in which all classes of citizens took
part, and on this occasion was shown in a most significant way the
love and esteem in which he was held in his home city. The funeral
was held on the 1st of April, 1891, and an entire community mourned.
The remains of the distinguished citizen were laid to rest in Forest
Home cemetery. Many were the words of honor and praise spoken
over the bier of the deceased, and the city united in paying a last
tribute to one who had richly merited the success which was his, and
also the unqualified confidence and esteem which were accorded to
him." One familiar with the various stages in the career of Mr. Plankin
ton has given the following admirable estimate :
"Almost half a century ago, when our town was a mere spot on
Lake Michigan's shore, there came here from- the land of William
Penn a young man of clear Quaker lineage, and fortified with a capital
comprising four hundred dollars and a character rich and pure as a
mine of virgin gold. That young Pittsburgh merchant has just passed
from us, amid a feeling of grief more deep and general than has ever
before moved our people. It could be no ordinary character which
has so deeply impressed itself in the public mind, nor could it be an
ordinary capability that raised unaided this almost penniless young
man to the highest pinnacle of mercantile prosperity and fame. Not
only in the home of his choice and of his life, not alone through the
length and breadth of our own land, but also in every mercantile center
of Europe John Plankinton 's name has stood for all there is of truth
fulness, honor and integrity among men. His name was a tower of
trust to the mercantile world around which almost illimitable con
fidence centered. Upon his bare word he could, in a day, get double
the amount of his wealth, whether in America or Europe. No per
son who knew him ever doubted his word. His most marked traits
of character were integrity, truthfulness and self-reliance. Demo
cratic in every fiber, he was essentially a man of the people, and a
person not knowing him might talk with him for hours and then
depart with no thought that he was a man of wealth. Easy of approach

^t^^^^v, V^£^j£~ZZ^^

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1103
and prudent of counsel, his opinions on business matters were often
sought and always carefully given. He had a deep and true appre
ciation of the dignity of labor, and always maintained that' our coun
try's prosperity rested on the steady and well directed employment of
our workingmen. No young man of the right stamp ever appealed
to him in vain for assistance, his motto being that every young man
who desired to work and to be useful ought to be encouraged and
assisted. He was always proud of any of his own men who progressed
in the world, and he never failed to encourage such persons, even by
definite and liberal pecuniary aid. So marked was this characteristic
in him that it became a proverb that 'John Plankinton was a lucky
man to work for.' It was neither luck nor chance but a deep sense
of appreciation on the part of a true and noble man. The genuine
simplicity of this great man's character makes it more difficult of
analysis, and it may be said that those whom he met or passed every
day knew almost as much about him as those with whom he was
intimately associated, so simple and candid was his nature and so
entirely free from complexity his character. A man of the highest
principles and ideals, of clear brain and of broad and comprehensive
sweep of mind, public-spirited in a marked degree, kind and consid
erate to those about him, John Plankinton will need neither bronze
statute, or marble bust, to preserve his memory in the city which owes
so much of its prosperity to him."
In 1840 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Plankinton to Miss
Elizabeth Bracken, who was born in the state of Delaware and who
was summoned to the life eternal in 1872. Of the issue of this mar
riage three children outlived infancy — William, Elizabeth and Hanna.
William, of whom a special biography will be found on another page,
being now dead, leaves Elizabeth the only living member of the
original family.
Miss Plankinton, who resides much of her time abroad, closely
resembles her venerated sire in temperament and personal looks. She
has endeared herself to the citizens of Milwaukee, her native city,
both by reason of her gracious personality, and her many public
benefactions, prominent among which are the Home for Working
Girls, on the East side of the city, and the fine Washington monument
on Grand avenue.
On the 17th day of March, 1874, Mr. Plankinton was married a
second time, the bride being Miss Annie Bradford, a descendant of
Governor Bradford of the old Plymouth Colony, a most estimable
woman in every respect. There was no issue of this marriage. Mrs.
Plankinton outlived her illustrious husband almost ten years.
William Plankinton. A resident of Milwaukee from the time of
his infancy until his death, William Plankinton here upheld most
effectively the prestige of a name that has been significantly promi-

1104 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
nent and distinguished in connection with the history of Wisconsin.
He was a son of John Plankinton, pioneer of Wisconsin, where he
established his home prior to the admission of the state to the Union ;
and a man whose influence permeated and vitalized the civic and
industrial development and upbuilding of the city of Milwaukee and
also of the state at large. John Plankinton was one of the most hon
ored and influential citizens and most substantial capitalists of Wis
consin, to whom a special memoir is dedicated on other pages of this
work, so that further review of the family history is not demanded
in the sketch here presented.
William Plankinton was born at Allegheny, Pennsylvania, on the
7th day of November, 1844, and was one of five children of John and
Elizabeth (Bracken) Plankinton. He was the elder of the two chil
dren who attained to years of maturity ; and his sister, Elizabeth, is
the only surviving representative of the immediate family. William
Plankinton was an infant at the time of his parents'' removal to
Wisconsin. He was reared to maturity in Milwaukee, and his early
educational advantages were those afforded in the common schools of
the pioneer city. He also pursued a course of higher academic study
in "Milwaukee College."
From his youth he was closely associated with his father's large
business, in which he became a partner at a very early age. He
proved a most able coadjutor of his honored father, their lives being
so close that the memoir of the father gives ample data concerning
their more important business relations.
William Plankinton early manifested those sterling traits of char
acter that so signally marked his illustrious father, and upon the lat
ter 's death he was well fortified for the carrying forward of the mani
fold enterprises of the great Plankinton estate. He showed distinc
tive judgment and facility in the projecting of new enterprises, and in
making proper use of the vast capitalistic resources at his command.
He organized and owned the extensive business conducted under the
title of the Western Portland Cement Company, at Yankton, South
Dakota. He also effected the organization of. the Johnson Electric
Service Company, which now controls one of the largest and most
important industrial enterprises in the United States. He .also founded
the Plankinton Electric Light & Power Company, a corporation doing
a very large business.
Upon the death of his father, on the 29th of March, 1891, William
Plankinton assumed the active management of the vast estate, as
trustee. Upon the death of Mrs. John Plankinton in 1901 he became
the sole trustee of the estate, under the provisions of his father's will.
The Plankinton estate is one of the largest in Wisconsin, its absolute
valuation not being known, and authoritative dictum is to the effect
that no estate in Wisconsin has been more carefully and effectively

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1105
managed. William Plankinton continued to be actively associated
with the management of the Plankinton meat packing business until
the death of his father in 1891. He soon afterward, owing to the
exigent demands placed upon him in the general administration of
the estate, leased the large packing plant.
He was for many years president and director of Johnson Electric
Service Company, previously mentioned, and he was a director of
the Milwaukee Cement Company, another large industrial institution.
He was a member of the directorate of the Fuller- Warren Company
engaged in the foundry and stove business in Milwaukee; and was
a valued trustee of the Layton Art Gallery, the Milwaukee Public
library, and the Milwaukee Museum. He also gave effective service as
a director of the Milwaukee Industrial Exposition Association, and
his labors in each of these connections were far from being perfunctory,
as he was essentially and insistently liberal, loyal and progressive as a
citizen, with deep appreciation of the city in which he passed his
entire life; and for the furtherance of whose welfare and progress
he contributed in most generous measure. He was one of the founders
of Calvary Presbyterian church, of which both he and his wife were
most zealous members, and of which he was one of the three original
trustees. Mr. Plankinton was a man of fine social instincts, and of
most genial and gracious personality. A character ever compelling
respect, he won friends in all classes, his attitude having ever been
thoroughly democratic, as was that of his father. He was a Repub
lican in his political allegiance. He was identified with the Milwaukee
Club, and the Old Settler's Club. One of the strong characteristics of
Mr. Plankinton as touching the practical affairs of life, was his implac
able antipathy to speculative business of any order. It is main
tained by those most familiar with his character and career, that at
no time did he ever permit himself to become in any way concerned
in grain or stock speculations; nor would he permit such indulgence
on the part of those in his employ, or associated with him in semi-
dependent relations. While he always demanded the most careful
and guarded methods and policies in the directing of the manifold
interests of the great estate controlled by him, he was generous and
warm of heart. He was ever ready to give of his time and means in
the aiding and encouraging of those who were worthy, and the many
persons in his employ looked upon him as a personal friend. Ilj was
his custom and one in which he found great pleasure, to see that every
employe received from him a substantial gift each Christmas. The
year prior to his death he was returning from abroad as the Christ
mas season approached. The vessel on which he had taken passage
was driven by storm out of its course, with the result that he was
unable to reach home by Christmas. On the day preceding this holi
day, his agent received from him a telegram instructirig him to see

1106 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
that the employes w.ere remembered in the customary manner, this
telegram having been sent from Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Mr. Plankinton lived a righteous and worthy life. He merited and
received the confidence and esteem of all who knew him. He was one
of Milwaukee's most honored citizens, as well as one of its most influ
ential business men. The entire community manifested its sense of
loss when he was summoned to the life • eternal, at his home in Mil
waukee, on the 29th of April, 1905.
On the 26th of April, 1876, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Plankinton to Miss Ella Woods, who was born in the city of Cincin
nati, Ohio, on the 22nd of July, 1844; and who survived her honored
husband by three years. She passed to the "land of the leal" on the
8th of September, 1908, her death leaving a void in the best social
activities of her home city, as well as in those of philanthropic and
benevolent order. She was a daughter of William Woods, who was
for many years one of the representative business men of Cincinnati.
Mrs. Plankinton, after graduation, was afforded the advantages of
extensive travel, both abroad and in her native land. She was specially
zealous and earnest in church work, and in the field of practical phil
anthropy. She took special interest in the Milwaukee Maternity
Hospital, in the Protestant Orphan Asylum, and the Busy Boys Club,
to all of which she gave much financial aid, and did much to support.
She was identified with various organized charities, and benevolences,
though the greater part of her service to those in affliction or distress
was given in a private way and with naught of ostentation or public
ity. It may consistently be said that she was one of those noble
women who go through life trailing the beautitudes and one who
would "do good by stealth and blush to find it fame." She has the
love of all who came within the immediate sphere of her gentle influence,
and her name will long be held in affectionate memory in Milwaukee.
For many years Mr. and Mrs. Plankinton maintained their abode in
the fine old Plankinton homestead, at the corner of Fifteenth Street
and Grand Avenue, but, owing to the encroachment of business, Mrs.
Plankinton gave up this homestead in the February prior to her death,
and removed to an attractive residence at 505 Terrace Avenue, where
her death occurred. Mr. and Mrs. Plankinton became the parents of
two sons, the older of whom, John, died in 1899 at the age of twenty-one
years. He was preparing himself for the medical profession, in which he
was gaining a distinctive prestige when his life was cut short. The death
of this splendid young man was a source of deepest grief to his
devoted parents; and to his surviving brother. Of the immediate
Plankinton family Milwaukee, the city in which the name has been
one of great prominence, can now claim but one representative, Wil
liam Woods Plankinton, second son of him whose name initiates this
memoir. W. Woods was a student in Yale University at the time of

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1107
his father's death, which compelled him to withdraw in his junior
year in order to assume control and direction of the large ancestral
estate. He has inherited much of the business acumen of his father
and grandfather, is handling the multifarious affairs of the great estate
with marked ability and discrimination, and is one of the representa
tive and popular men of his native city. He is married, and the center
of a happy family group, a devoted wife and two interesting children,
a boy and a girl.
Mr. Plankinton 's most marked characteristic was kindness of heart.
Milwaukee, nor any other city for that matter, never had a man of
deeper humane instinct than William Plankinton. In case of sickness
of any employe, whether an obscure waiter in his hotel, a domestic in
his household, or any other employe he was always first at the bed
side with his own physician, and gave personal attention to the case.
A single case will illustrate.
An engineer took sick and had to give up work. Mr. Plankinton
continued his full salary for over a year, and when all hope of recovery
was given up, he sent him and his wife to Waukesha, where he pro
vided them a small vstore and paid his full wages until he died. This
was only one of the many silent benefactions of William Plankinton.
It is safe to say, that no case of distress ever appealed to him in vain.
His death occurred somewhat suddenly and unexpectedly on April
29, 1905, and was a deep shock to all Milwaukee. He was regretted by
all, and mourned most sincerely by those who knew him best.
Anton J. Nowotny. Another of the pioneer citizens of Antigo and
of the county is Anton J. Nowotny, now serving his eighth consecutive
term in the office of clerk of the circuit court of Langlade county.
Mr. Nowotny was alected to his office on the Democratic ticket, and
his service has been one of a particularly worthy nature, amply justi
fying his continued return to the office. He has been resident here
since the winter of 1878-79, having come here at that time with his
widowed mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Nowotny, and som.e two years later
with her homesteading a forty acre tract in the town of Ackerly in
this county. After six months' continued residence there to make
good their claim, they came to Antigo, settling here at a time when
the extent of the buildings was represented by two log cabins. Mr.
Nowotny and his mother had the first lumber sawed in the mill at
Antigo, and with it they laid their floor scoop "shack." They came
here, it should be said, from Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Mr. Nowotny
was born in Milwaukee county, Wisconsin, on a small farm, on the 15th
of November, 1865, and is a son of Anton and Elizabeth Nowotny.
Anton Nowotny died in Manitowoc county in 1873, to which county
they had moved when the subject was a small child, and after the
death of the father the mother, with the subject and an older son, came

1108 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
to Antigo. The embryo town was then a dense wood, and gave little
promise of reaching its present fair state of urban life. Anton J. No
wotny was then some thirteen years old and he roughed it through the
years of 'his youth and early manhood. He performed all manner of
manual labor as a boy, serving as the janitor of the first school that
was built here, and he built fires and cut wood in the log school for the
sum of six dollars a month. He went to school a part of the time, it
should be said, and later he attended night school, still later attending
St. Francis Academy at Milwaukee. He was variously employed in
the saw mill in Antigo, and at one time was active in contracting for
the delivery of logs on the river. He also learned the trade of a cigar
maker, and for a time ran a cigar factory, but during hard times was
compelled to close out the business.. He then took a homestead in the
town of Elcha, on which he lived for about four years, and it was
then that he was elected clerk of the circuit court for Langlade county,
in which office he serves today.
In 1892 Mr. Nowotny was married to Theresa Boll, of Antigo, Wis
consin, and to them were born eight children, named as follows : Irwin ;
Clarence ; Mary ; Esther ; Lester ; Lloyd ; Glen and Dorothy. Esther
and Lester, it should be noted, are twins.
Mr. Nowotny is a member of the Roman Catholic church, as are the
members of his family, and he is fraternally affiliated with the Knights
of Columbus and the Catholic Order of Foresters, in the latter order
holding the rank of past chief ranger. Mr. Nowotny is one of the solid
and substantial property owners of the town, his holdings being mostly
in the nature of farm lands throughout the county.
Judge John W. Parsons. As county judge of Langlade county,
Judge Parsons has supervision over the affairs of a county in which he
and his family were among the earliest pioneer settlers more than thirty
years ago, and the courthouse, in which he has his office at Antigo,
stands on ground which when he first knew it, was indistinguishable
by any improvement of buildings from the rest of the wilderness
which covered this section of the state. Judge Parsons as a pioneer
has been closely identified with the material developments of Lan
glade county, and was first elected to the office of county judge in
1901. He is now serving his fourth consecutive term, having been
elected in the spring of 1913 for the extended term of six years.
Judge Parsons came to this county with his parents in 1879, be
fore Langlade county was formed and when its territory was yet
a part of Oconto county. His birth occurred on a farm in Niagara
county, New York, on February 11, 1861, and he is the son of Charles
and Johanna (Spearbreaker) Parsons. In 1864, when John W was
a child three years old, the family moved west, spending one year in
Michigan, then living in Winnebago county, Wisconsin, until 1868,

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1109
and then locating on a farm near Clintonville, in Waupaca county,
which continued to be the home of the family until 1879. John W.
Parsons was then about nineteen years old, and he went with his
parents to that portion of Oconto county which has since been made
Langlade county, and they all settled on a homestead of one hun
dred and sixty acres, in what is now the town of Polar, six miles
northeast of the present county seat of Antigo,. The only structure
that marked the site of the present city of Antigo at that time was a
small log shack. On their homestead in the town of Polar, the Par
sons put up a log cabin, and the father and sons set themselves to
the tremendous task of clearing out the timber and brush, and ex
posing a tract of land to the sun in preparation for further culti
vation. This old homestead has been in the Parsons family since
title was obtained to it from the government, and is now occupied
by Herman Parsons, a son of Judge Parsons and a grandson of
Charles and Johanna Parsons, who entered the homestead from the
government. The Parsons household was one of seven families that
constituted the pioneer colony in the town of Polar in what is now
Langlade county. Charles Parsons, the father of Judge Parsons,
died on January 11, 1907, at the age of seventy-two years, and his
wife passed away twelve days before, on December 31, 1906, at the
age of sixty-six. One of Judge Parsons' most prized possessions is
a picture of the old log house, their first home in Langlade county,
showing his father and mother sitting on the steps before that prim
itive home.
Judge Parsons grew up on farms in Winnebago and Waupaca
counties, and had such educational advantages as could be obtained
from the country schools in those localities in that time. He is
himself in every respect a pioneer of northern Wisconsin, and as
he was nearly a grown man when he arrived in Langlade county,
he took a man's part in the work and responsibilities incident to
pioneer existence. He has made a .successful record as a farmer,
and his ability in that direction and his well known integrity and
standing as a citizen were the facts that commended him to the
population of Langlade county for his present office.
Judge Parsons was married in Waupaca county, Wisconsin, when
but eighteen years of age, his marriage occurring on August 27,
1878, when Miss Amelia Schumann, a daughter of William Schu
mann, became his wife. The Schumann family was also one among
the pioneer colony of the town of Polar, in Langlade county, hav
ing arrived in 1880, and the parents of Mrs. Parsons having spent
the remainder of their lives there. Judge Parsons and his wife have
four children : Herman, who lives on the old homestead, married
Miss Lizzie Dieck, and they have children, Arthur, Roy and
Freda; Ella is the wife of John Tackline, of Antigo, and their chil-

1110 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
dren are Elsie, Harvey and Edna; Clara married John Utnehmer,
of Antigo, and is the mother of four children, Walter, Hattie, Oscar
and Reuben; George married Anna Krause, and is without issue.
Judge Parsons is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fel
lows and the Modern Woodmen of America, as well as the Order of
Beavers, and he and his faniily worship in the Evangelical Lutheran
church. Frank J. Finucane. One of the leaders in the legal fraternity of
Langlade county and one who has for years enjoyed the favor and
patronage of a generous clientele, is Frank J. Finucane, attorney-at-
law, and a citizen of the highest order. He has given a public service
that is well worthy of the name, in his legal capacity, while his work
in departments of civic welfare stands out in bold relief, in a notable
contradistinction to the non-activities of other men not less favorably
endowed in the way of talent. Mr. Finucane has practiced law in
Antigo since 1889. He came to this city in its early days, in 1885,
it may be stated for the sake of exactness, and he read law in the
offices of Thomas Lynch here. Later he entered the University of
Wisconsin and in 1889 was graduated from the law department, after
which he established himself here in practice and has since continued,
enjoying an unqualified success and winning a place for himself that
is in every way worthy of his efforts.
Born in Calumet county, Wisconsin, on a farm, on the 9th day
of October, 1859, Frank J. Finucane is a son of Andrew and Maria
(Cunningham) Finucane, early pioneers of Calumet county, to which
community they migrated in 1853, coming hence from Buffalo. Both
were natives of Ireland, born and reared there, and there they were
married. Andrew Finucane was a merchant in his native land, and
when he settled in Buffalo he engaged in the business, but his unfa-
miliarity with American methods was such as to result in his failure
in business. He lost everything in the financial wreck, and not being
sufficiently acquainted in business circles, he was unable to make
another start. He thereupon came to Calumet county with his little
family and took up a homestead there, continuing a resident of the
place until he died in 1884. His widow survived him until 1899.
Mr. Finucane was thus reared on the home farm, and he was able
to attend the high school at Chilton, Wisconsin, after which he began
teaching school in his effort to earn money to prosecute his further
studies. For five years he continued as a teacher, then came to An
tigo and acted as assistant principal of the high school for some time.
His college career followed, and when he had finished his studies
and gained admission to the bar, he saw no better field for his ener
gies and talents than Antigo and Langlade county. Mr. Finucane 's
career has been one of the quiet and unspectacular kind, but he has

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1111
nevertheless accomplished a deal in his profession in the years of his
activity here. He was Municipal Judge of Langlade county for four
years, and is distinguished further as being the first to serve under
the Municipal Judge Act, his service coming in the years from 1891
to 1895. Mr. Finucane was a member of the school board for many years,
and brought a high sense of duty to his work in that capacity. As
president of the Antigo Public Library Board since it was organized,
he has accomplished much in the best interests of the Library, and it
is conceded that the Antigo library is one of the biggest and finest in
northern Wisconsin. The library, indeed, is one of his favorite hob
bies, and the city has been fortunate in having enlisted his most
capable services in a work that means so much to the development
and growth of its educational spirit.
Mr. Finucane, it should be mentioned in speaking of his public
service, has acted as city attorney for two different terms, and in
that office he acquitted himself in a manner that was highly credit
able and indicative of his general character and integrity. He is a
member of the directorate of the Langlade National Bank, and attor
ney for the institution as well.
In 1893 Mr. Finucane was married in Antigo to Miss Mary Clarke,
the daughter of Eleanor Clarke, of Berlin, Wisconsin, and they have
two children, Grace and Francis. The family are members of the
Congregational church.
Few men in these parts may be mentioned who have taken a more
worthy part in the telling activities of the city than has Mr. Finucane,
and as one of the most public-spirited and conscientious citizens of the
city and county, he is justly entitled to some mention in a work par
taking of the nature and purpose of this publication.
Edward Cody. One of the leading merchants of Antigo and one
who will undoubtedly be the next postmaster of this city, is Edward
Cody, who has been engaged in the shoe business here most success
fully since 1899. Coming here at that time he bought out the interests
of John Dailey, and the business he thus gained control of is the
oldest in Antigo, established here in 1888 by a Mr. Buckman, who
sold it to Hon. John Dailey, then mayor of the city. Mr. Cody in
1899 came into ownership of the establishment. He came here from
Columbus, Ohio, and with little or no delay stepped into the owner
ship and management of one of the old and thriving business concerns
of the city, which has advanced in scope and importance with the
passing years, and takes rank today with the leading business houses
of the county.
Edward Cody was born in New Lexington, Perry county, Ohio, on
March 4, 1874, and is a son of Michael and Mary Cody. Michael

1112 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Cody was a railroad man, passing his life in that work. The subject
was reared in New Lexington and educated in the public schools,
and while still quite young engaged with his brother-in-law in a mer
cantile enterprise at Corning, Ohio. Later they went to Columbus,
and there Mr. Cody was identified with the grocery business, his
brother-in-law becoming concerned in the shoe business in Columbus.
In 1899 he gave up his grocery interests in Columbus, and coming to
Antigo, he grasped the opportunity to purchase the shoe business of
which he is now the sole owner and proprietor. His success here has
been the result of his excellent business methods, his splendid under
standing of the importance of system in the conduct of the enterprise,
and the manifestly high order of integrity that has characterized his
business intercourse all through his career.
Mr. Cody was married in 1902 in Antigo to Miss Nellie Anderson,
a daughter of A. H. Anderson, of Antigo, Wisconsin, who is one of
the genuine pioneers of Antigo, and a retired merchant and capitalist
of the place. Mr. Anderson is one of the best known and most highly
esteemed men in the city and county, and has played a conspicuous
part in the development and upbuilding of this city.
Mr. Cody is fraternally identified by his membership in the Benev
olent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Columbus, in the
latter order having served as Grand Knight of the Antigo Council, and
in the former society having served in all chairs in the local order.
He has membership in the Antigo Commercical Club and is a member
of its directorate. An active Democrat, Mr. Cody has always taken
a leading part in local politics, and he has served two terms as city
treasurer, while he is now and has been for the past two years chair
man of the Langlade County Central Committee. It is anticipated
and hoped by all that his appointment to the office of postmaster of
Antigo will be signed in the very near future.
Ferdinand A. W. Kieckhefer. Milwaukee has particular reason to
take pride in the extraordinarily successful career of F. A. W. Kieck
liefer, since he is a native son of the city, grew up here with only
such advantages as thousands of other youths in the city enjoyed,
started with no capital, did small things well before he attempted the
larger, and many years ago "arrived" in the current sense of having
attained an impregnable position among the ablest, most resourceful,
and richest directors of big business in his home city or state.
Mr. Kieckhefer has been reported as claiming that in business luck
is a fifty per cent factor, and that the other proportions in success
comprise twenty-five per cent of brains and twenty-five per cent of
common sense. If Mr. Kieckhefer had built his fortunes on specula
tive enterprises his analysis would be more convincing, as applied to
the particular case, but the fact is that the two great industries with

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1113
which his name is most familiarly associated are fundamentally and
structurally the result of the most substantial processes of business
development. His own career, like that of his business, has nothing
of the meteoric, and has been rather persistent than brilliant. Those
most familiar with his business life say that he has come up from the
rank and file because he possessed exceptional qualities as a business
builder and organizer, and his early training and the sheer force of
his inherent ability fitted him well for a captain's rank in the army
of industry. The following paragraphs contain a brief outline of the principal
events and moves in his career, and also introduce as interesting
material for Wisconsin history, the important fact about the two
monumental industries, conducted under his management as president.
Ferdinand A. W. Kieckhefer was born in Milwaukee, February 10,
1862. His parents were Carl and Justine Kieckhefer, who came to
Milwaukee in 1851. The business of the father was a contractor for
many years, after which he became a merchant. His death occurred
in 1905, and his widow is still living. They were always actively inter
ested in the Lutheran church.
When a boy among boys Ferdinand attended school in St. John's
Lutheran School, and later took a course in the Spencerian Business
College. He was with a wholesale millinery house for a time, and was
then clerk and cashier in the John Ritzlaff Wholesale Hardware Com
pany for five years. In 1872 he started for himself with a little hard
ware and tinware shop, located on Grand Avenue. In 1878 his brother
became associated with him under the firm name of F. Kieckhefer &
Brother, but after two years they sold their interests, and in 1880,
began the manufacturing of tinware.'
It is a significant and interesting fact concerning American in
dustry, which is now so colossal in its scope and resources, that many
of the greatest corporations in the country had their beginnings in
some humble shop and in many cases in out of the way places, and
under most unpretentious circumstances. At the present time the
National Enameling & Stamping Company is the world's largest
manufacturers of enameled and tin and aluminum and various wares
used in kitchen and for a great variety of purposes and as specialties
of manufacture. This large national corporation, of which Ferdinand
A. W. Kieckhefer is president has its various branches at Milwaukee,
New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore, New Orleans, Philadelphia,
and at Granite City, Illinois, the largest manufacturing plant of the
company being located in the last named city, which takes its name
from the industry. The most important constituent element of this
great industrial corporation was the manufacturing business built by
the Kieckhefer brothers, and beginning in a little shop in Milwaukee
a little more than thirty years ago. Within ten years after its begin-

1114 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
ning more than twelve hundred hands were employed in the Kieck
hefer 's factory, and the plant turned out a better grade and as much
if not more stamped tinware than any other establishment of the kind
in the country. In 1899 Mr: Kieckhefer took a prominent part in the
consolidation of various plants, including his own, which resulted in
the National Enameling & Stamping Company, now the largest tin
ware and enameled ware manufacturers in the world. Mr. Kieck
hefer has been president of the corporation and has full charge of
the Kieckhefer plant of the company. The main office of the business
in New York City is at 303-305 Fifth Avenue. Mr. Kieckhefer resides
in New York City as much as in Milwaukee, and is back and forth all
the time looking after the big business affairs centered in both cities.
The career of Mr. Kieckhefer is the more interesting for the fact
that he has applied his splendid business energy to industries which
are closely related to the simple needs of the people, and has always
been engaged in supplying high class products that have their homely,
daily uses in the American family. The tinware and enameling busi
ness has now for a number of years assumed the proportions of a
great national enterprise, and has therefore passed somewhat beyond
the horizon of Wisconsin interest. But the Edgewood farms, Inc. of
which Mr. Kieckhefer is president, is a Wisconsin institution pure and
simple, and one in which the citizens may take particular pride. The
Edgewood Farms are located at Pewaukee, Wisconsin. An entire
section of land is devoted to the uses of the business. It is one of the
finest dairies in the country and the regular herd consists of three
hundred cows, sixty being quartered in each stable.
A recent repqrt of the agricultural department of the Federal gov
ernment states that milk and cream together furnish fifteen per cent
of the total food of the average American family. People in all ages
and in all countries have never failed to appreciate the importance
of milk supply, but in recent years, through the progress of scientific
knowledge and through a better understanding of the actual condi
tions surrounding milk productions, more emphasis has been placed,
not only by the guardians of public health, but by those in authority in
the individual households upon the necessity of good milk, meaning
by that phrase not only a standard of wholesomeness and the proper
proportion of milk constituency, but also purity in a bacteriological
and in every other sense.
It is only a proper recognition of merit and of that splendid pub
lic spirit which consist in furnishing the best possible commodities to
the American consumer to affirm that the Edgewood Farms, while they
probably have their equals situated in different parts of the United
States, certainly have no superior as a productive center of sanitary
and wholesome milk. The one fundamental principle of Edgewood
Farms is cleanliness, a principle which is insisted upon from the

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1115
beginning to the end of each and every operation. The herd con
sisted of carefully selected dairy cattle, all of which are examined
critically as to their health and tested for tuberculosis before entering
the stable. This test and satisfactory guarantee precede the offering
of the products to the public. The cows are supplied with the very
best and most wholesome food, and nothing is fed to them but what
will produce the1 proper solids in the milks in the correct proportions.
The water which supplies the Edgewood Farms comes from a deep
artesian well, and is equal in quality to the Waukesha spring water.
In the handling of the cows during milking time the animals are
thoroughly groomed, including careful washing of the flanks, udders
and teats, and the milkers themselves are healthy men who make
milking a business and their sole occupation on the farm, and who
are dressed and maintain as scrupulous cleanliness as a nursemaid in
a hospital. From the cow the milk is conveyed to the dairy building,
and the temperature is almost immediately reduced from about one
hundred degrees to thirty-eight degrees. In fifteen minutes from the
time the milk leaves the cow it is bottled, sealed and placed in cold
storage ready for shipment. The milk produced at the Edgewood
Farms is certified milk, which costs more than the ordinary grade,
but is the most economical when one considers and understands the
infinite care and cleanliness which surround these productions. There
are a hundred interesting features about the Edgewood Farms, but a
detailed description of the plant would be too long for inclusion in
this place. Among other features of the equipment is a cow hospital,
and under a contract with the Milwaukee Milk Commission, the entire
establishment is constructed and controlled more rigidly than any
similar manufacturing enterprise in the country. Three-fourths of the
output of the Edgewood Farms is shipped to Chicago for distribution,
and the other fourth is sold in the city of Milwaukee. The force of
employes on the Edgewood farm number fifty-five, and the plant is
one which would well repay inspection, and is open to visitors at all
times. Mr. Kieckhefer was married May 13, 1875, to Miss Minnie Kuete-
meyer, daughter of Frederick and Minnie Kuetemeyer of Milwaukee.
Politically Mr. Kieckhefer is a Republican, but has never aspired to
any political activity. His clubs are the Milwaukee and the Deutscher
at Milwaukee. Otto P. Walch. Since January, 1903, Otto P. Walch has held the
position of cashier of the Langlade National Bank of Antigo, and he
has been connected with the bank in the capacity of assistant cashier
since it was organized in 1901, up to the time when he was promoted
to his present position. Prior to his identification with the Langlade
National Bank he was for thirteen years bookkeeper and teller for

1116 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
the Langlade County Bank, the predecessor of the Langlade National,
so that his affiliation with banks and banking is one of long standing,
and it is not too much to say that he is well versed in financical affairs
in their every aspect as a result of his long association with fiscal
institutions. Otto P. Walch lias been a resident of Antigo since 1886, when the
town was in its comparative infancy and was just beginning to give
promise of later development along its present status. Pie was born
on a farm in Holland, Brown county, Wisconsin, on November 8, 1874,
and is a son of John and Helen Walch. John Walch was a native son
of Germany and he came to America in childhood, settling almost
immediately in Wisconsin with his parents. The mother was born in
New York state, and after her marriage she and her husband took
up farming, in which he has been trained, and they moved to a farm
in Outgamie county, Wisconsin, when Otto P. Walch was four years
old. In 1886 they came to Antigo, and here the father died in the fall
of 1909. The mother still survives him.
Otto P. Walch attended the Antigo High school as a boy, and went
direct from the school room into the Langlade County Bank, where
he continued as bookkeeper ancb finally as teller for the period of thir
teen years. He was not yet fifteen years old when he assumed his
duties in the bank, and he has literally grown up in the banking busi
ness, in which he has displayed an especial aptitude and understand
ing in the management of fiscal affairs.
Mr. Walch was married in 1907 to Miss Jennie Jepsen, of Mari
nette, Wisconsin, a daughter of Jacob Jepsen, who is a "well known
hotel proprietor of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Walch have three
children : John, William and Catherine.
It should be mentioned here that Mr. Walch has served on the
Antigo school board, and that his was a valuablbe and well ordered
service in that capacity. For eight years prior to 1912 he was presi
dent of the board, and his interest in the educational affairs of the
town has added much to the advancement of the school system.
Mr. Walch is a Mason and is now serving his second year as Mas
ter of the Antigo Lodge No. 231, A. F. & A. M. He is also a member
of the Commandery, and has further fraternal affiliations in the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias.
Hon. William Reader, a member of the Wisconsin State Legis
lature for two consecutive terms, and elected from Langlade county
on the Republican ticket, has long been a power in Republican poli
tics in this county. He came to Antigo in 1882, in the year when the
town was being laid out, and here he has since resided, and in the
passing years has taken a particularly worthy part in the various
activities of the city. He has met with financial reverses at times,

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN , 1117
but has always come to the top in due season, and today is at the
height of his material success.
Born on a farm in Stockbridge, Calumet county, Wisconsin, Wil
liam Reader is the son of John and Bridget (Gormely) Reader, and
his birthday was May 16, 1864. The father, a native of England,
came to Green Bay, Wisconsin, when he was a child of seven years,
and the mother, born in Ireland, came to America at the age of two
years in company with her parents, who settled in Ohio. Later they
came to Wisconsin. They were married in Green Bay, in 185S, and
soon after settled in Calumet county, where they devoted themselves
to farming activities for the remainder of their days.
William Reader was reared on the farm of his parents, and he ¦
attended the country schools in his boyhood days, alternating his
studies with the work of the home farm, in which his father pro
vided him with a most excellent training, instilling into his young
mind habits of industry and thoroughness in his work that stood him
in excellent stead during his independent business life. In 1881
the young man went to Menominee, Michigan, then the seat of the
mammoth lumbering operations of the I. Stephenson Company, and he
worked in the lumber districts for about a year. In 1882 he came to
Antigo with his parents, and for some years he devoted himself to
the life of the woodsman, spending his winters in the camps, his
spring seasons in driving logs on the river, and his summers in farm
ing. This continued for a number of years, and then he settled on a
farm in the town of Peck, Langlade county. While there Mr. Reader
took his first active interest in politics, and was town chairman
of Peck for seven years. Pie resigned from the office- to become
Register of Deeds of Langlade county, an office he continued to hold
for eight years, when he was elected to the state legislative assembly
in 1909, his re-election following in 1911, his service in the second
term still continuing. He has given an excellent account of himself
in his legislative capacity, and amply justified the wisdom of his con
stituents in their choice of a representative.
Mr. Reader is a man who has seen something of the downs as
well as the ups of life, but he has always come up smiling, ready for
a new venture, and he has never failed to recoup his losses. In 1909
he engaged in the retail clothing business in Antigo, and after seven
teen disastrous months was forced to close his doors, taking a loss of
about $16,000. But he bravely took a position in the Market Square
Hotel, soon afterwards buying out the hostelry, which he is success
fully operating, and the citizens of Langlade county are rejoiced to
see "Billy" Reader again making good, for he has the hearty good
will and confidence of all who know him.
Mr. Reader was married in 1891 to Miss Mary McCabe, and they
have four children: George, John, Irena find Merritt. The second

1118 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
son, John, passed through an experience in the autumn of 1912 that
few men have ever had, and the wonder of it is that he lives to tell of
his miraculous escape from a sudden death. While working on a sur
vey, he with several companions being caught in an electric storm, took
refuge in a log cabin. The cabin was struck by lightning, one of the
men was killed instantly and John Reader was stripped of his shoes
and stockings, they being literally torn from him in shreds, while his
trousers were riddled to the knees. Aside from slight burns on his
feet, he suffered no injury from his phenomenal experience. Mr.
Reader still keeps the shoes and other wearing apparel as mementos
of the miracle.
Mr. Reader is a member of the Roman Catholic church, as are
others of the family, and he has fraternal affiliations with the Catholic
Order of Foresters and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He is a man
of kindly social instincts, possessing a high order of integrity and
character, and with his family, he enjoys the unalloyed confidence
and genuine esteem of the representative citizenship of the city and
county, where he has lived for the best part of his life.
John F. Albers, president of the Langlade National Bank of Antigo
and proprietor of the J. F. Albers Drug Company, has been a resident
of Antigo since 1890, when he came here and bought out a drug store
and established himself in business. He has since that time been con
tinuously and successfully engaged in the drug business, and has,
played a worthy part in the commercial activities of the city, as well
as taking a leading hand in the financial concerns of the city. He
helped in the organization of the Langlade National Bank in 1901 „
which is one of the thriving and well established ones of the county.
In 1908 Mr. Albers erected the building known as the Albers-Molle
Building, in which his store is quartered, and he has other property
interests in the city as well.
Mr. Albers was born in New Holstein, Calumet county, Wisconsin,
on September 7th, 1851, and is a son of John and Anna (Wiggers)
Albers. John Albers was for many years engaged in farming, and
was long occupied as county surveyor of Calumet county, Wisconsin.
He was a pioneer of the state from the days of 1848, coming from
Holstein, Germany, where he married. He died in 1893 and the wife
and mother survived until 1910, death claiming her in West Bend,
Washington county, this state.
John F. Albers was reared on the farm home of his parents, and in
early life gave some attention to farming, but followed surveying for
many years. He received his education in the University of Wiscon
sin, from which he was graduated in 1877, and his work in surveying
began then. He followed that line for about nine years, chiefly being
identified with railroad work, and in 1886 he moved to Wausau, Wis-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1119
consin, from Chicago, where he had beeen located for three years
previous. He started a drug store in Wausau in partnership with his
brother, W. W. Albers, state senator, and a little later he and his
brother bought out the Antigo store, which they operated together
for a year, when Mr. Albers bought out his brother, W. W. Albers.
Success has attended his activities in this enterprise, and the busi
ness is one of the thriving ones in Antigo today.
Mr. Albers was married in 1886 to Miss Ida Wright, of Appleton,
Wisconsin, and they have two children, Laurinda and John W. Albers.
In the line of his public service, it should be mentioned that Mr.
Albers served one year as mayor of Antigo, in 1893-94, and he has
been a member of the school board for fifteen years, where his inter
ests and energies have ever redounded to the best gopd of the edu
cational system of the city, and on which he has served as president
¦and as secretary. He also served one year as city superintendent "of
the schools, and did a most excellent work in his capacity as super
intendent. Public-spirited to a high degree, his life work in Antigo
has been one of the utmost value to the community, and his citizen
ship has been a worthy example to the present and future generations.
George A. Packard. Business man, banker and postmaster of Bay
field, George A. Packard has been identified with the community of
Bayfield for the past twenty years, and has lived in the state all his life.
His long experience in public affairs and business has won him the
respect and confidence of his fellow citizens and all his personal advance
ment has been the result of honest and solid worth.
George A. Packard was born at Stevens Point, Wisconsin, March
8, 1855, the oldest of seven children, whose parents were William H.
and Elizabeth Packard, the former native of the state of Massachusetts,
and the latter of Vermont. William G. Packard is one of the pioneers
of Wisconsin. His youth was spent in Massachusetts, and when he
started out for himself the west afforded him the field of opportunity.
On arriving in Wisconsin, he located in Stevens Point, in Portage
county, and there started to work at his trade of millwright, a vocation
which he had learned in Masschusetts. He helped to build some of the
mills in that vicinity and was naturally drawn from mechanical work
into the one leading industry of Wisconsin, that of lumbering. As an
expert in the driving of logs, and riverman, William H. Packard for
a number of years had few superiors, if any, along the Wisconsin
River. That was one of the most dangerous occupations connected with
lumbering, as all who are familiar with the industry know, and one of
the frequent accidents which befell the rivermen caused him the loss
of a leg in 1858. This misfortune instead of making him lose his ambi
tion, put new courage into his endeavors, though it changed the course
of his career. In the same year he was elected county treasurer of Port-

1120 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
age county, and gave an excellent administration of that office. In the
meantime his attention was turned to the study of law, and from the
time of his admission to the bar his achievements were of a progressive
order. In 1864 he was elected district attorney of Portage county,
holding that office several terms. His home was in Stevens Point, and
the later years of his life were spent in Bayfield county. In 1892 he
located in Washburn, where he practiced law and was one of the leading
citizens until his death at the age of sixty-one years. His widow is still
living, and six of their children are also alive.
George A. Packard was educated in his native town of Stevens
Point, but his schooling continued only until he was fourteen years
of age. His first regular position, obtained about that time, was in the
office of the county register of deeds at Stevens Point. His early busi
ness experience also comprised real estate and insurance in the same
city, but at the end of two years he entered the employ of R. A. Cook
& Company, which owned and operated the pioneer iron works at
Stevens Point, was one of the most successful industrial concerns in
that section, and in a short time Mr. Packard bought a half interest
in the business. Selling out in 1887 he took a position as bookkeeper
in the Sawyer & Company Bank at Hayward. His interest in public
affairs brought him the confidence of the people, and at the end of one
year as bookkeeper with the bank, the citizens of Sawyer county elected
him county treasurer. His term of office began in 1888, and was varied
by attention to other occupations, including two years of service as dep
uty sheriff and as proprietor of a livery business. For five years Mr.
Packard conducted one of the first-class livery establishments in Saw
yer county, and part of that time also had a store there. In 1892, Mr.
Packard opened a hardware store at Bayfield, and combined it later
with a drug store, all his mercantile enterprises proving very profitable.
Iij 1897, his business interests were sold, and in July of the following
year President McKinley signed his first commission as postmaster of
Bayfield. His incumbency of that office has continued to the present
time, and in fifteen years he has administered a constantly growing
office, both ,the rural free delivery and the parcel post having been
inaugurated during his term. In 1904 Mr. Packard assisted in the
organization of the First National Bank of Bayfield, becoming its vice
president, an office which he still holds.
In politics Mr. Packard is an active Republican, and fraternally his
association are with Bayfield Lodge No. 215, A. F. & A. M. On April
4, 1881, he married J. Fitch.
Nelson Albert Week. In a community where the main activities
and the industry that has helped to make it the great industrial center
that it is has been the lumber business in which Nelson Albert Week
takes a leading place and part. Th'e John Week Lumber Company,

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1121
of which Mr. Week is president, was organized in 1885, by the father
of the subject, John Week, concerning whom extended mention is
made in a later paragraph. The business then established has grown
apace with the passing years and is today the leading manufacturing
enterprise of its kind in Portage county. In addition to his connec
tion with this highly important concern, Mr. Week is identified with
numerous other enterprises, of both industrial and financial nature,
and he is held in universal esteem in the community, where he has
the confidence and good will of the entire populace.
Nelson Albert Week is the son of John and Gunild (Luras) Week.
He grew up on the home farm in Marathon county, where the family
moved soon after his birth, and there he attended the district schools.
He spent one year at Ripon College, and a year at Lawrence Univer
sity at Appleton, Wisconsin. He was still quite young when he began
working in the lumber woods- first as a cruiser, his duties being to
look over a given timber tract and bring back an estimate of the vari
ous kinds of standing timber thereon. When he was eighteen years
old he became "tailsman" on the raft plying on the river, and made
three trips, — twice to Quincy, and once to St. Louis, Missouri, the well
known "Big" Oliver Halvorsen being pilot on the raft. Those were
days of real education for Mr. Week, and in those early years he
gained an insight into the practical phases of lumbering that have
made it possible for him to stand at the head of this great enterprise.
Every branch of the business his wise father saw that he familiarized
himself with, for the elder man saw coming the day when he might
no longer be able to steer the craft of the business, and when he would
want a strong and able helper to lean upon. When he was twenty
years old, Mr. Week ran the engine at the mill on Big Eau Pleine
river. About 1880 he went to Iowa and there ran a lumber yard, and
coming back in 1881 was married on March 29th of that year, to Miss
Ida Youmans, a daughter of Jotham and Helen (Hill) Youmans. Mr.
and Mrs. Youmans it should be stated were pioneers of Portage
county. Following the marriage of Mr. Week and Ida Youmans, the
young couple returned to Iowa where he was engaged in operating
the lumber yard, but after a short time he sold out and joined the
family, who had then moved to Stevens Point, there becoming identi
fied in business with his father in the mill at that place. In 1884 the
present company was formed, as has already been stated, Nelson A.
Week being made president of the company, John A. Week, vice
president, and A. R. Week secretary and treasurer. In recent years, a
son of Nelson A. Week, having completed his university training, suc
ceeded his uncle, John A. Week, as vice president, that gentleman
having retired from the firm to identify himself with outside interests.
Besides being president of the John Week Lumber Company, a
task sufficiently big to occupy the whole time of the average man,

1122 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Mr. Week is a director in the Citizens' National Bank of Stevens
Point. He is a stock holder in the Coye Furniture Company, one of
the leading manufacturing enterprises of its kind in the state. And
besides controlling valuable real estate interests, he is interested in a
large ranch in Texas, of which his son is manager.
To Mr. and Mrs. Week were born the following children: John
Elmer, born in 1882 in Iowa, attended the public schools up to the age
of thirteen years, when he entered the Chicago Manual Training
School, and was graduated therefrom. He then entered Armour
Institute, from which he was graduated in 1902, with the degree
of Bachelor of Science and Electrical Engineering. He was bent
upon a .military career, and being promised an appointment by
Hon. John C. Spooner, he took his examination for entrance to West
Point, his standing being an excellent one, with a mark of 95%*, in
his physical tests. In the fall of 1902, while waiting for his appoint
ment to West Point, young Week in company with four class mates,
went to Mexico on a trip, and while there he was offered a 'flattering
position as engineer on an important engineering job being put
through. He accepted and was placed in charge of a large body of
men in the building of an electric line to the silver mines of Guana-
juata. In the same year while in pursuit of his duties, the young sol
dier of fortune was stabbed by two greasers, whom he had previously
discharged from the works, and his death resulted soon after. The
body of the unfortunate young man was brought to his home, and he
was buried at Stevens Point. Thus was ended in most untimely man
ner what gave promise of being an exceptionally brilliant career.
Harold J. Weeks, the second child, married Josephine Allen in
October, 1910, and they have one child, — Jeanne. They reside on the
ranch in Texas, already mentioned, having gone west in the hope of
recruiting his health. As a boy he attended the public and normal
schools, following the latter course with a year of manual training,
and he later entered St. John's Military School near Milwaukee. In
the autumn of 1903 he entered the University of Wisconsin at Madi
son. At the close of his college life in 1907, he became identified with
the John Week Lumber Company, and was elected vice president of
that concern. In his college days he was prominent as a member of
the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, as was also his older brother, John
Elmer. Nelson A. Week is what might be called a home man, for he is
decidedly domestic in his instincts, but he has done a great deal of
traveling in his time, usually, however, accompanied by his wife.
Together they traveled in Cuba prior to the Spanish-American war.
They have toured Europe, and in 1910 paid a visit to Honolulu and
the Sandwich Islands, spending a most delightful season in that unique
and attractive country.

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1123
Mr. Week is a Mason, of the Blue Lodge and Chapter at Stevens
Point, but has no other fraternal affiliations.
James Thompson. As distinguished from business men or politi
cians, a man versed in the laws of the country has ever been a recognized
power. He has been depended upon to conserve the best and perma
nent interests of the whole people, and without him and his practical
judgment, the efforts of the statesman and the industry of the business
man and the mechanic would prove futile. The reason is not far
to seek. The professional lawyer is never the creature of circumstances.
The profession is open to talent, and no definite prestige or success can
be attained save by indomitable energy, perseverance, patience and
strong mentality. In none of these essentials is James Thompson, of
the LaCrosse bar, lacking. For more than ten years he has been engaged
in a constantly increasing practice in this city, where his high attain
ments have won a satisfying recognition from his professional brethren
as well as from the public at large.
Mr. Thompson was born October 19, 1875, in Green county, Wiscon
sin, and is a son of Knut and Bergit (Bjornson) Thompson, natives of
Norway, who came to the United States in 1860 and located on a farm
near Stoughton, Wisconsin. Subsequently the family moved to the town
of York, Green county, and there the death of Knut Thompson occurred
in 1899. There were nine children in the family, eight of whom are
living. A twin brother of James, George Thompson, is also a well
known lawyer, and is now engaged in practice in the town of Ells
worth, Wisconsin.
Like all of his parents' children, James Thompson was given the
advantages of a good education, first attending the public schools until
reaching his sixteenth year and then becoming a student in the Stough
ton Academy. Following this he took an academic course in the State
University at Madison, where he was graduated with the degree of Bach
elor of Letters in 1899, and then became a student in the legal depart
ment of the University of Michigan, from which he received the degree of
Bachelor of Laws in 1901. Shortly thereafter, following a very creditable
examination, Mr. Thompson was admitted to the bar, and in 1902 came
to LaCrosse and engaged in the practice of his profession. It was not
long before Mr. Thompson won recognition in his chosen calling, and
since then he has gained an enviable position among his professional
brethren. His success has not been accidental, but has been well earned
and well deserved. Of strong, vigorous intellect, he has brought to legal
practice the reinforcement of wide and varied culture. His love of the
law and devotion to his profession have led him to a mastery of its
learning which busy lawyers rarely acquire. In politics a Republican,
he became the candidate of his party for the office of district attorney
in 1908, was elected in the same year, and his administration, which
Vol. v— 7

1124 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
lasted until 1913, was marked by excellent services to his community.
Mr. Thompson has shown some interest in fraternal work, being a mem
ber of LaCrosse Blue Lodge No. 45, Free and Accepted Masons, the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the
Modern Woodmen of America, and the Independent Order of Odd Fel
lows, in all of which he counts numerous friends. His religious affilia
tion is with the Lutheran church. All measures making for the advance
ment of his community's interests have found in him a hearty sup
porter, and he has at all times been a -stalwart friend of the cause of
education, morality and good government.
William Rowe. For upwards of thirty years, William Rowe has
been identified with the commercial and civic activities of Eau Claire,
contributing to the city's material progress and prosperity to an extent
equaled by few of his contemporaries. In the wholesale and retail
grocery trade he has long been one of the conspicuous figures, and has
been a factor in social and civic developments. Successful in his private
ventures, he has been chosen to take charge of various branches of work
calculated to be of benefit to the city and state, displaying, as a public
official, the same conscientious effort and untiring energy that have
brought him into such an eminent position in the business world.
William Rowe was a native of the state of Pennsylvania, born in
Luzerne county, December 29, 1850. His parents were Henry B. and
Lucinda C. (Biesecler) Rowe. The father was born in Strougesburg,
Pennsylvania, in 1826, and his death occurred in 1884. The mother,
who was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, October 5, 1829, is still
living in her eighty-fourth year, her home being in Eau Claire. The
parents were married in Luzerne county, and of their four children,
the three now living are as follows: William; Emma, wife of George
McDermod; and Isabella, wife of William Hayes. The one deceased
passed away when an infant. The father by trade was a carpenter
and joiner, and also a building contractor. In 1859 he came west and
located at Mondovie, in Buffalo county, Wisconsin, where he engaged
in the contracting and building business, and is one of the pioneer
farmers of that region, hewing a home out of the wilderness. When
the war came on he enlisted in Company D of the Eighteenth Wiscon
sin Infantry, and took part in many skirmishes and battles of the war
and was with Sherman on his march to the sea. He served out the full
time of his enlistment and was given an honorable discharge at the close
of the war in 1865. On his return to Wisconsin he once more resumed
farming and also established and conducted a store at Mondovie, under
the firm name of Darling and Rowe. Two years later he moved to Eau
Claire, where he engaged in the grocery business under the firm name
of Hume & Rowe. Subsequently he sold his interests in this firm to
Mr. Hume and was engaged in the retail grocery business on his own

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1125
account for a number of years. He finally retired and spent his last
days in the peace and comfort such as his service rendered the country
and his business activities entitled him to. He was affiliated with the
Grand Army of the Republic and the Ancient Order of United Work
men, and in politics was a Republican.
Mr. William Rowe was eight years old when the family came to
Wisconsin and he accordingly was reared and received most of his
education in this state. As a boy he attended the schools at Mondovie
in Buffalo county, and began his practical career as a wage-earner in
1869 when he wras given an opportunity to clerk in the general store of
W. H. Smith 'at Eau Claire. This was the beginning of more than forty
years active connection with business affairs in this city. In 1875 he
embarked in the retail grocery business on his own account, and con
tinued in that line until 1883. At that time he expanded his business
to a wholesale house under the title of Eau Claire Grocery Company.
He was chief executive of this company from 1892 to 1896, and since
then has been a director and manager of its sales force.
Mr. Rowe represented the third ward in the city council for one
term, and for a year and a half was a member of the school board. He
resigned the latter place in 1900 owing to his election to the office of
mayor in that year, and by re-election he served four consecutive terms
as mayor. Fraternally he is affiliated with Eau Claire Lodge No. 112,
A. F. & A. M., Eau Claire Chapter No. 36, R. A. M., and Eau Claire
Commandery No. 8, K. T. His politics is Republican.
On September 27, 1876, Mr Rowe married Miss Mary A. Raey, who
was a native of Canada. The four children born of their marriage are
as follows : Clarence H ; William A., who is a graduate from the Univer
sity of Wisconsin in the electrical engineering department and is now
practising his profession; Wilfred L., who graduated a civil engineer
from the University of Wisconsin with the class of 1907 ; and Gertrude,
who died in infancy.
Peter J. Smith. When we turn to the pages of a life such as Peter
J. Smith's, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, we can but feel that if a man
handicapped as he has been can make such a success of life, then some
of us, far better equipped for the battle of life, might accomplish some
thing. It only goes to prove that in a man's own character are to be
found the qualities that are the dominant factors in his success. Peter
J. Smith came to this country, a foreigner, poor, knowing little or
nothing of the language of the people, but determined that he, in this
land of opportunity, would make <i place for himself. He is now as
sistant postmaster of Eau Claire and is one of the best known men of
the city.
Born in Denmark, on the 22nd of August, 1867, Peter J. Smith is
the son of Danish parents, and grew up in the country of his birth. His

1126 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
father, James P. Smith, spent all his life in his native country, following
his trade as a tailor. He died a comparatively young man, at the age
of thirty-four, in 1878. His wife, Kirsten Smith, was thus left with the
care of their one son, Peter J.
The lad grew to manhood in Denmark, receiving his education in the
public schools of the country, and when he came of age he came to
America. This was in 1888, and he came directly to Wisconsin. He
decided that if he were to succeed in this country, he had first to learn
something of American methods of business. He therefore entered the
Eau Claire Business College in 1889, and when he had completed the
course there offered he was fairly well prepared for his career. He
first became an employee of the Northwestern Lumber Company as a
contractor. He was engaged in this way for "twelve years and then
became supreme secretary of the Scandinavian Workingmen 's Asso
ciation, an organization in which he had always been deeply interested.
In 1903 he received the appointment of bookkeeper to the secretary
of state, Walter Huser, at Madison, Wisconsin, and he held this posi
tion for a year, resigning to return to his former duties as secretary
of the Scandinavian Workingmen 's Association.
Mr. Smith has always manifested a healthy interest in local affairs
of a political nature, and has held numerous offices in the municipal
government. He represented the First Ward in the City Council from
1898 to 1899, and again served in 1900, 1901 and 1902, resigning from
the duties of his office in the latter year to assume the duties of his
position in the office of the secretary of state, as mentioned previously.
In 1907 he was appointed assistant postmaster of Eau Claire, under
Earle S. Welch, and he has served in this office continuously since that
time. In 1910 he was elected president of the Assistant Postmasters'
Association, serving one year in the office. Mr. Smith is a Republican
and has been a member of the Republican State Central Committee for
the Seventh Congressional District for four years.
The interest that Mr. Smith has displayed in the welfare of the
Scandinavian people of this country has taken much of his time, and
he has long been active along lines of endeavor that can not fail to
prove of benefit to his people. In 1908 he was elected to the office of
president of the Scandinavian Workingmen 's Association, in which he
had previously served as supreme secretary, and he was twice re-elected
to the office of president, his third term now being in progress. He is a
member of a number of other societies and associations of a fraternal
nature, and is popular and prominent with the Scandinavian people and
with the people of his adopted city as well, of whatever nationality.
On the 16th of February, 1888, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Mary
Larson, the marriage taking place in Denmark, where Mrs. Smith was
born. Five children, four of whom are living, were born of this union.
The eldest son, James Peter, lost his life in a railroad accident, when

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1127
he was sixteen years of age. The other children are Thomas, Castie
Mary, Martin A. and Adolph M. •
Mr. Smith's widowed mother is still living, and in 1900 he sent to
the old home for her to come to America, and she now makes her home
with her son.
Arthur Richard Barry was born in Waupaca, Waupaca county,
Wisconsin, on March 17, 1877, and is the son of Michael and Jeannette
(Sumner) Barry. The father was born in Queenstown, Ireland, and
the mother in Homer, Michigan, whence she came to Wisconsin in her
girlhood with her parents. The father came from his home in Erin
to Wisconsin in 1867 and settled in Waupaca county, and it was there
he met and married his wife. Later he moved to Phillips, Wisconsin,
where he was one of the first and foremost settlers of that community,
and where he has been engaged in the practice of law for the past
thirty-four years, and is still so occupied. The mother passed away at
the family home there on April 13, 1910.
Michael Barry has been a man of more than ordinary importance
and position and has held piactically every local office of any importance
in the town of Phillips, in addition to which he has been county treas
urer, district attorney, and has been in other ways active in the political
affairs of his section of the country. To Michael and Jeannette Barry
five children were born, all of whom are living with the exception of one
sister, Jessie Margaret, who died on November 14, 1909. As to the
others, Arthur Richard, the subject, and his sister, Mary J. Barry,
make their home in Milwaukee; John S. is a lawyer at Phillips, Wis
consin, associated with his father under the firm name of Barry & Barry,
and Gertrude resides at the family home in Phillips, Wisconsin. Of this
family Arthur Richard Barry alone was born in Waupaca, all the others
having been born at Phillips.
Arthur Richard Barry was educated in the public schools of Phil
lips, Wisconsin, and was graduated from the high school in the class
of 1893. He was also graduated from the Wisconsin Academy, a pre
paratory school at Madison, and later attended the University of Wis
consin at that point. He spent two years in that institution, then
entered the law department of the University of Minnesota and was
graduated from that school in the class of 1900. with the degree of
Bachelor of Laws. 'In 1900 Mr. Barry commenced practice and that
same year was elected district attorney of Price county, Wisconsin,
serving two terms in that office. He practiced law in association with
his father until 1907, under the firm name of Barry & Barry, and from
there he went with Thomas H. Gill, general attorney for the Wiscon
sin Central Railroad, with offices in Chicago, Illinois. He was in the
Chicago office for one year, when they established an office in the
Germania Building in Milwaukee in 1908, with the firm name of Gill,

1128 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Barry & Mahoney, and this partnership endured until June, 1912, when
Mr. Mahoney withdrew from the firm, which is now known as Gill
& Barry. Mr. Barry is a consistent Republican and he is a member of the
City, State and American Bar Associations. Fraternally, he is a mem
ber of the Masonic order and the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks, Lodge No. 46 of Milwaukee.
On May 2, 1901, Mr. Barry was married to Miss May Monroe,
daughter of Sidney H. Monroe of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Mr. Monroe
is an old soldier and a farmer of considerable prominence in Fond du
Lac, of which he is a pioneer. He married Margaret Hendry, who
died when Mrs. Barry was a small child. Mrs. Barry was born, reared
and educated in Fond du Lac, and after finishing the high school course
in her native city attended Ripon College. Mr. and Mrs. Barry have
three living children : Michael Richard, Margaret Jeannette, and Sidney
Ferris. Their second born child, Monroe Barry, died when he was one
year old. All four were born in Phillips, Wisconsin, where the family
lived for some years after the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Barry.
Otto 0. Wiegand. During thirty years of residence in Shawano
count}-, Mr. Wiegand has had a very busy career, has been identified
with various tiseful activities in the city, and in recent years his time
and services have been required in the public interests. He was a
member of the Legislature, session of 1891 and 1892. He is now the
efficient county clerk of Shawano county, in his second term, having
been elected on the Republican ticket, and taking office in January,
1911. He was reelected in November, 1912. Prior to that he acted
as deputy county clerk nine months during 1910, and before that
served as supervisor of assessments of Shawano county. He was first
appointed to that office by the tax commission in August, 1905, and
was formally elected by the county board of supervisors in 1907. Mr.
Wiegand has had his home in the city of Shawano since 1888, and in
the county since 1884.
His native place was Manitowoc, Wisconsin, where he was born on
a farm July 9, 1860, a son of Carl and Fredericka (Hamann) Wiegand,
both natives of Germany. The father, a substantial farmer who died
in 1871, came to America during the decades of the forties and located
in Wisconsin in 1848, the year in which the territory became a state.
His home was in Manitowoc county. The mother preceded her hus
band to Manitowoc county by a few months. She had married in
Germany Mr. Mortz Mavis, who died soon after they settled in Wis
consin, and she then married Mr. Wiegand. Her death occurred in
1895. Otto O. Wiegand spent his boyhood on the home farm in
Manitowoc county, getting his education in the country schools, and
also attending the Oshkosh Normal. His educational equipment fitted

frfrU)^

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1129
him for work as a teacher, and he was thus engaged for three years in
Manitowoc county and one year in Shawano county. During his resi
dence in Manitowoc county, he acquired an interest in a cheese factory
and in 1884 moved to Shawano county to establish a cheese factory
in the town of Washington. That venture did not prove a success,
and was abandoned after two seasons. For two seasons following Mr.
Wiegand conducted a sawmill and taught school one winter. Mov
ing into the city of Shawano he bought an interest in the Shawano
County Advocate, one of the well known local newspapers, and was
identified with its management and editorial control for ten years.
Selling out he went into the telephone business, establishing an inde
pendent line in Shawano county. He was manager of the Independ
ent Company for two years, at the end of which time he sold out and
resumed the .management of the Advocate for Mr. M. J. Wallrich. A
year later he went into the canning business, and was connected with
that work three years until his appointment as supervisor of assess
ments diverted him from private business to public affairs.
Mr. Wiegand has been twice married. In 1886 he married Miss
Anna Schultz of the town of Two Rivers in Manitowoc county. She
died in 1896 leaving two children, Edna and Oscar. In 1905 Mr.
Wiegand was united in marriage with Alberta Rueekert, of the town
of Washington, Shawano county. Their four children are : Ashley,
Grace, Alberta and Pearl. Fraternally Mr. Wiegand is affiliated with
the Knights of Pythias.
Frank Washburn Starbuck. The Racine Journal-News (known
as the Journal until January 1, 1912; at which time it took over the
Racine News) has been for forty years a paper of broad influence and
representing the best enterprise in modern newspaper facilities. Its
successful career throughout this period has been largely associated
with the name of Starbuck. Mr. Frank W. Starbuck, who has taken
a part in its management and conduct for forty years, and is presi
dent and editor of the Journal Printing Company, has directed the
best interests of this valuable newspaper ever since.
The Journal has been first of all a medium for the transmission of
news and the diffusion of publicity. At the same time it has been
consistently Republican in politics, though the editors have always
reserved the right to discuss public news of interest, whether in na
tional, state or municipal affairs, from an impartial standpoint. In
1874, at which date Mr. Starbuck first formed connection with the
Journal, the paper was a weekly, and about the same time steam
power was installed for the operation of the machinery of the plant,
and from that day to this, the Journal has always kept pace
with the steady gowth and development of the Twin City. The first
appearance of the daily issue of the Journal was on January 3, 1881,

1130 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
when a modest four-page six-column paper offered its news to the
public. Its headquarters were then over the Manufacturers National
Bank. The success of the daily was never in doubt, and it soon be
came necessary to remove the printing establishment and the home
of the Journal to the Old Belle City Hall; whence again in 1891 the
plant was removed to 328 Main Street, which had been purchased by
the company and remodeled into a completely modern newspaper
printing plant. That is still the home of the Journal.
In 1894 the daily was increased in size to an eight-page issue, and
subsequent improvements in the equipment included a perfecting
press, linotype machines and other equipment. At the same time the
editorial department was undergoing a continuous expansion, includ
ing a leased wire service and Associated Press reports. With these
specific items of advance, and with a constant improvement in the
spirit and enterprise of the paper, the Journal has for some years en
joyed the distinction of being one of the best edited and printed
papers in Wisconsin. Machinery of the most modern type has been
installed, including five Mergenthaler typesetting machines and Hoe
Web press so that an issue equal to that of many metropolitan dailies
can now be run off within a few hours. A number of the employees
in the mechanical department of the Journal office have served from
fifteen to twenty years, this fact of itself being a fine instance of the
loyalty which the managers of the paper have inspired- among their
employes. The Journal Printing Company was incorporated in 1886; Mr.
Frank W. Starbuck was chosen President of the company; the Vice
President is William Horlick; the Secretary and Treasurer is Frank
R. Starbuck. These officers were also directors. Mr. Griswold, also
a director, has been continuously identified with the Journal since
December, 1880. Mr. E. A. Tostevin, now of Mandan, N. D., officiated
as treasurer until 1909, having entered the service of this enterprise
in 1887. Mr. Frank R. Starbuck succeeded him as treasurer, having
been secretary of the company for ten years previously.
Frank Washburn Starbuck, the editor of the Journal and presi
dent of the company just named, was born in the city of Cincinnati,
Ohio, November 8, 1845. The newspaper business is almost hereditary
in this family, for his. father, Calvin W. Starbuck, was one of the
prominent newspaper men of Cincinnati, and at one time owner of
the Cincinnati Times, a paper which had a prominent part as a niolder
of public opinion during the period of the Civil war.
Frank W. Starbuck came to Racine in 1873. The immediate pur
pose of his coming to this city, being to recuperate his health. While
here he became connected with the Journal, which at that time was
edited and owned by Colonel W. L. Utley and his son Hamilton. On
the 1st of January, 1874, Mr. Starbuck bought half an interest in the

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1131
paper from Colonel Utley. Then a year later he bought the remain
ing interest from his son, Hamilton,. The latter still remained with
the Journal for some time, but on the discovery of gold in the Black
Hills of the Dakotas, with a number of associates, he left for those
fields. On his departure, Mr. Starbuck, who had previously been
associated largely with the business management of the paper, took
up the editorial duties, and has wielded the editorial pen ever since,
with only brief interruptions.
In 1875 Mr. Starbuck married Miss Mattie Raymond, who passed
away March 16, 1912. Mrs. Starbuck was a native of Racine, and the
daughter of the late Seneca Raymond. The four living children of
Mr. and Mrs. Starbuck are Helen, Marguerite, Genevieve and Frank.
The oldest daughter, however, Helen, was the child of Mr. Starbuck
by his former marriage to Miss Carrie Golden, of Cincinnati.
L. F. Shoemaker. On January 1, 1897, L. F. Shoemaker was elected
to the office of county clerk of Waupaca county, Wisconsin, and he
has retained that office through every consecutive election since that
time, a fact which is a more effective commentary upon the character
of his service than any wordy statement might be, however closely it
adhered to fact. Other public service, too, has marked his career in
this, the county of his birth, and with it all, he has carried on a farming
enterprise that is especially creditable. Mr. Shoemaker was born in
Waupaca county, Wisconsin, on March 27, 1856, his father's farm in
the town of Dayton being his birthplace, and he is a son of Frederick
and Jane (Lewis) Shoemaker. Born in 1826, Frederick Shoemaker is
a native of Alsace, then under French rule, and his wife is a
native of Wausau, New York. Frederick Shoemaker was twenty years
old when he came to America, and he first located in New York state,
there working on a farm, where he met and married his wife. After
marriage they came to Waupaca county, Wisconsin, and bought a farm
in the town of Dayton, where they passed the remaining days of their
lives. The father died there in 1896 at the age of seventy years, his
widow surviving him until five years later, death claiming her when
she was in the seventy-fifth year of her life. They were pioneers of
their section of the county, among the very first to establish homes in
Dayton, and they passed all their days on their farm there. They reared
four children: Lewis Frederick, of this review; Lucy, who married
A. R. Potts; Truman, and Corinne.
Lewis Frederick Shoemaker grew to manhood on the Dayton farm
of his parents, and he received his education in the district schools.
He was something of a scholar, and when he was seventeen years old
began teaching, a work in which he continued successfully until he was
about thirty-five years of age. He confined that part of his activities,
however, to the winter seasons, for he devoted his summers to farming,
and when he was at the age mentioned above, he took over a part of the

1132 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
old Shoemaker farm of his parents and thereafter devoted all his time
to farm life. Six years later, in 1897, he was elected to the office of
county clerk of Waupaca county, and is still the incumbent of that
office, as has been stated in an opening paragraph. Since that time he
has retained a residence in this city, renting the farm, instead of giving
his direct attention to its operation.
Mr. Shoemaker has had a part in many of the business enterprises
of this place, and was one of the organizers of the Rural Telephone
Company, of which he is now secretary. He is also a stockholder in
the Old National Bank of Waupaca. In addition to his service as county
clerk, he has given other valued service among which might be men
tioned his five years' incumbency of the office of town clerk, and chair
man of the town board for three years. He has been a member of the
Waupaca school board for several years, serving one term as president
of the board some years ago, and being again elected to that position in
May, 1913. His service on the board has been most praiseworthy, and
he has aided not a little in the matter of raising the standard of edu
cation in the city schools.
In 1890 Mr. Shoemaker was married to Ella E. Poland, the marriage
occurring on March 19th of that year. She is a daughter of Samuel
Poland, deceased, a pioneer of Dayton. Mr. and Mrs. Shoemaker have
two children : Laura M. and Frederick W. Shoemaker.
Few men in this city have a greater list of friends in the county
than has Mr. Shoemaker. A man of intense public spirit he has been
influential in an especially beneficial way in the city, and with his
family he enjoys a pleasing position in the community that represents
their home and the center of their activities.
Levi H. Pelton, M. D. There are few active Wisconsin physicians
who combine the experiences of the pioneer doctor with the modern rep
resentatives of the profession in a more interesting manner than Dr.
Pelton, who for forty years has been identified with medical practice
in Wisconsin, and since 1885, has held a high place both as a physician
and a citizen in Waupaca. Besides his individual career, Dr. Pelton
is a distinctive Wisconsin man, having been born in this state, and by
family ties is related to some of the oldest pioneer settlers.
Levi H. Pelton was born in Sheboygan county, town of Linden, in
a log house on July 10, 1848, that year being notable as the date at
which Wisconsin territory became a state of the union. His parents
were Russel and Eliza (Thompson) Pelton, Wisconsin pioneers. Russel
Pelton was born in Trumbull county, in the AVestern Reserve of Ohio.
Eliza, his wife, was born in Genesee county, New York. They grew up
in separate localities, and their paths did not unite until they reached
Wisconsin. Russel Pelton came to Wisconsin alone, while his wife came
with her mother and oldest brother by way of the great lakes to Mil-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1133
waukee, and thence by wagon followed a blazed trail inland. Some
years later Russel Pelton and Eliza Thompson were married and located
on a farm in Sheboygan county. The father moved from the farm in
the fall of 1885, to Waupaca, where he remained until his death at the
age of seventy-two in 1894. His widow survived him until 1903 when
she was eighty-one years of age. There were two children in the family,
the older being Dr. Pelton, and the younger Martha, wife of A. G.
Harmon, of the state of Washington.
The first sixteen years of his life Dr. Pelton spent on his father's
farm, and it was in the wholesome environment of the country that he
gained those impressions and experiences which are so vital in the per
fection of character. He had to be content with the educational op
portunities afforded by the country school, but he finished a high
school course at Plymouth. For some time after that he studied medi
cine at Plymouth, under the prectptorship of Dr. W. D. Moorehouse,
one of the leading physicians of that time. In the winter of 1871, he
entered Rush Medical College at Chicago, and during 1872-73 was a
student in the Bellevue Hospital Medical College of New York, from
which institution he graduated with the class of 1873 as a doctor of
medicine. Returning to his native state he took up his professional duties at
St. Cloud, in Fond du Lac county. From there he moved to Waldo in
Sheboygan county, in 1876, and six years later in 1882 established him
self at Sheboygan Falls. In the spring of 1885 he made his permanent
location at Waupaca, and has practiced here with continued success
for nearly thirty years. As already stated, during the many years of
his practice, Dr. Pelton has experienced all the hardships of the pioneer
physicians. Especially during his early years he attended a large
country practice and that was a number of years before the good
roads movement was inaugurated, and before the introduction of tele
phones, automobiles and other facilities which almost eliminate the
physical hardship from the routine of a physician's life. In the early
days the only method of reaching him was by personal messenger, and
he has often ridden post haste at the heels of some such messenger far
into the country, both day find night, and in all kinds of weather. Dr.
Pelton was one of the first to realize the advantages of the automobile
as an aid to the physician, and has longed owned and used a motor car.
In recent years much of his practice has been confined to office counsel,
and thus the hardships of his early practice are now only a memory.
Though he graduated from medical school forty years ago, Dr. Pelton
has ever been an eager student of medicine and surgery, and his ex
tensive library is as well stocked with the most recent acquisitions in
scientific literature as that of any among the more modern products of
medical colleges.
In August, 1873, Dr. Pelton married Kate Ellen Brown. Their

1134 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
marriage was celebrated at Plymouth, Wisconsin, and she died at
Waldo, Wisconsin, in 1880. On October 12, 1881, Dr. Pelton was united
in marriage with Julia A. Gordinier, at Sheboygan Falls. Mrs. Pelton
is a daughter of John and Julia Etta (Sibley) Gordinier, a remarkable
pioneer couple of Waupaca county, whose lives are briefly sketched in
following paragraphs. To Dr. and Mrs. Pelton were born two sons,
the elder child, Frank Russell, died aged five and one-half years; John
Gordinier Pelton graduated from the dental department of the North
western University in Chicago in the spring of 1912. On his gradua
tion, as a result of his exceptional work as an under-graduate, he was
appointed by the faculty as a demonstrator in the operation room at
the University. He also opened an office at 536 West Chicago Avenue
in Chicago, and has built up a very successful patronage in his line of
work. The University Faculty has recently renewed his contract as
demonstrator. Dr. John G. Pelton has many friends in Waupaca who
are interested in his success, and he was also very popular during
college days and prominent in his Greek Letter fraternity.
Dr. L. H. Pelton has been an active worker in connection with the
organized activities of his profession. He is a member of the AVisconsin
State Medical Association, of which he was president one year and vice
president for two years; at the present time he is serving his second
year as president of the Ninth Councilor District Medical Society, and
was for two years president of the Waupaca Medical Society; is also a
member of the American Medical Association. Besides his interest
in these societies, he has contributed a number of scientific papers and
reports to the various medical journals. Dr. Pelton formerly served
as health commissioner and city physician at Waupaca for ten years.
He is a member of the different branches of the Masonic Fraternity of
Waupaca. The doctor's well appointed offices are on the second floor
of the Old National Bank Building on Main Street, while his residence
is at 329 Jefferson Street.
John and Julia Etta (Sibley) Gordinier. The history of Wiscon
sin will best fulfill its purposes which preserves in enduring record the
largest number of careers of those noble men and women who as pioneers
laid the foundation of the solid prosperity and affluence which this
state has in recent years enjoyed as a harvest of their early toils and
hardships. Among such names most entitled to distinction in Waupaca
county are those of John and Julia Etta (Sibley) Gordinier. The
former is now deceased, but his widow, now in her ninety-first year, is
one of the most venerable women of the old-times, a survivor from that
early period, and with a mind stored with many pleasing reminiscences
of early days.
Julia Etta Sibley was born in Erie county, New York, May 1, 1823,
and was a daughter of Benjamin and Anna Sibley, both of old eastern

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1135
stock. Benjamin Sibley was for many years a farmer in Erie county,
New York. His wife came from Connecticut, in which state they were
married, and was a native of Wilmington. Her ancestors were early
cotton mill operators, and quite prosperous for their day and genera
tion. In 1847 Benjamin Sibley moved his family west, having sold his
farm in New York state, and followed his oldest daughter and second
son, Mary Ann and Charles, to Wisconsin. With his wife and two
children, Amanda and Clark, Benjamin Sibley made the western trip
by way of the great lakes, and eventually located in Sheboygan county.
Taking up a farm in the town of Linden, he lived there until his death
three years later in 1850, at the age of sixty-three years. His widow
survived and was eighty-five years of age at the time of her death
which occurred at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Mary Prentice, in
Sheboygan Falls, in 1875. In the family of Benjamin Sibley were six
children, mentioned as follows: Jonathan; Mary, who married W. H.
Prentice; Amanda, who became the wife of John Shadbolt; Julia Etta,
who married John Gordinier; Charles; and Clark. All these children
are now deceased except Mrs. Gordinier.
Mrs. Gordinier in her younger days lived in Erie county, New York,
on a farm. She received her education in the old-time county schools,
and was given further advantages in the Aurora Academy at Aurora,
New York, and select schools. Being fitted for work in educational
lines, she taught school seven terms in her home county, and also at
Buffalo. Her teaching was at Black Rock, on the Niagara River, then
a suburb, but now in the heart of the city of Buffalo. Her career as
a teacher came to an end, when on April 8, 1847, she was united in
marriage with John Gordinier. John Gordinier was born in Mont
gomery- county, New York, at Fultonville, and often referred to himself
at a "Mohawk Dutchman." Seven years after their marriage John
and Julia Gordinier came west by boat through the lakes, which was
then the popular route of western travel, and at Chicago changed boats
and finally landed in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Their first winter was
spent at Green Lake, and thence by wagon they proceeded to Waupaca
county. That was about the year 1855, and as those familiar with the
settlement of Waupaca county know, this region was then practically
in its wilderness condition. Mr. and Mrs. Gordinier bought forty acres
of land in the town of Lind, and subsequently they secured one hundred
and sixty acres at the regular government price. On the first purchase
stood a log house, and in that humble abode they began their career
as Waupaca County citizens.
The late John Gordinier was a man of exceptional enterprise as a
farmer and stock raiser. This section of the state is indebted to him
for introducing the first St. Lawrence stock horses, and also the first
high-grade Durham cattle and the Brahma strain of fowls. Not only
did he keep the best of stock on his own farm, but was very public

1136 HISTORY OF AVISCONSIN
spirited in this matter, and did much to induce others to follow his
example, and it may be said that AVaupaca county largely owing to that
influence has been for many years noted for the high quality of its
live stock.
John Gordinier continued to improve his land, and twice replaced
older buildings with a set of new and modern improvements. The land
and homestead continued under his ownership and possession until 1900
when it was sold.
The place of John Gordinier in Waupaca county was not only due
to his enterprise as a farmer and stockman, but he is also remembered
for his participation in public affairs. For two terms he served as
sheriff of the county, and of late years was poormaster. At that time
the county's insane were kept on the poor farm. It is said that while
Airs. Gordinier had charge of the poor farm cooking, the table rivaled
many of the first-class hotels.
John Gordinier died on the old farm on July 18th, 1903, in his
eighty-first year. After his death his widow came to AVaupaca, where
she now makes her home with her daughter and son-in-law, Dr. and
Airs. Pelton. Though at the age of ninety-one, her memory is still
keen, her eyesight and hearing good, and she is one of the beloved and
venerable women of the state. She is full of that keen wit which would
cause one to suspect her of Irish origin. She often refers in a joking
way to her former life in the county jail and county poor house.
To the marriage of John Gordinier and Julia Etta Sibley were
born six children: Lucas, who was killed by lightning at the age of
ten years; Julia, now the wife of Dr. L. H. Pelton; Charles S., who mar
ried Mary Meiklejohn, and is the father of one child, May, who is in
turn the wife of H. F. Steele, and has a child, Charles Gordon, who is
thus a great-grandson of Mrs. Gordinier; May, wife of E. B. Jeffers;
John, who died in 1877; and Hattie, who died in 1894 as Airs. J. W.
Hanford, of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Besides these children two died
in infancy, Anna and Morgan L.
John V. R. Lyman, M. D. For more than thirty years Dr. Lyman's
prominent and successful career as a surgeon has been identified with
the city of Eau Claire. His work has been largely in the field of sur
gery, in which his technical skill, broad experience, and extensive
training, both in the new and old world medical centers, have given
him a distinctive place, not only in his home city, but in the state.
There is perhaps no surgeon in Wisconsin who has kept so closely
abreast of the times, and who has so modified his individual methods
in accordance with the broader experience of the world's profession
as has Dr. Lyman.
John V. R. Lyman is a native of Wisconsin, born at Pepin in Pepin
county, June 13, 1857, a son of Timothy M. and Valeria (Rcinhard)

J0*>fi

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1137
Lyman. His father, who was a native of Massachusetts, born August
28, 1819, was a highly educated man, a graduate of Amherst College
in the class of 1840, and for many years a missionary and a minister
of the Congregational church. His missionary work began in 1853,
in Iowa, at Lansing, where his influence and activity made him a
power for good among the pioneer population in that vicinity. Two
or three years later, still pursuing his regular vocation as a mis
sionary, he moved to Pepin, Wisconsin, which was his home for a
number of years, and at the time of his death he was engaged in mis
sionary work at Bar Harbor, in the state of Maine. His death occurred
at Bar Harbor in 1883. His wife, who was born in Berks county,
Pennsylvania, died when a young woman of only thirty years. Two
sons were born to Timothy Lyman and wife, namely: William B.,
whose home is now in Boise, Idaho, and Dr. Lyman.
Dr. Lyman's early education was almost continuous and from the
elementary schools his training advanced in regular order until his
graduation prepared him for a professional career. At one time he was
a student in the Fort Madison Academy at Fort Madison, Iowa, and
from there entered the Rush Medical College of Chicago, an institu
tion which has graduated a large number of the ablest physicians and
surgeons in the middle west. Among the alumni of Rush Medical
College, Dr. Lyman's name will be found with the class of 1880, and
his subsequent career has added to the many distinctions won by the
graduates of that college. His home and center of practice have
been in Eau Claire since his graduation. The only interruption to his
regular work has been his numerous trips to the Old World to attend
the clinics in such centers as Berlin, Hamburg, Goettigen, Vienna, and
London. All his time has been devoted to the study and practice of
surgery. Dr. Lyman is surgeon at Eau Claire for the Chicago, St.
Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railroad and also for the Soo Line, a
position he has held for many years. He is also surgeon for the
Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire. His fraternal affiliations have
been with his brother practitioners, and the Masonic order and much
of his spare time has been given in connection with the various asso
ciations of which he is a member. Dr. Lyman is at the present writing
serving as president of the district Medical Society of Wisconsin, has
been president of the Wisconsin State Medical Society, is a member of
the Surgeons Association of the United States, and of the American
Medical Association. For a number of years, he was a member of the
Eau Claire Board of Health. His politics is Republican, but his pro
fession has demanded all his time and energy, and his public service
has been entirely within the limits of his special vocation.
At Eau Claire in 1881, Dr. Lyman married Maude Kepler. The
two children born to their marriage are : John V. R., Jr., now a resi
dent of New York City, and Valeria, who died in infancy. On
August 21, 1908, Dr. Lyman married Mary Sylvester of Minneapolis.
Their one son is Richard.

1138 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Henry I. AVeed. A resident of Wisconsin since his boyhood days,
Air. Weed has gained distinction and success as one of the representative
members of the bar of the state and for thirty years has been engaged
in the practice of his profession in the city of Oshkosh. He is a liberal
and progressive citizen and his character and services have been such
as to honor, his profession and the state that has been the stage of his
well directed endeavors. That he is firmly entrenched in popular con
fidence and esteem has been shown by his having been called to various
offices of distinctive public trust, including that of member of the state
senate. Mr. Weed claims the Empire state as the place of his nativity and in
the same commonwealth were born his parents, both families having
early been founded in that section of the Union. He was born in Liv
ingston county, New York, on the 10th of February, 1861, and is a
son of Seth H. and Nancy (Foland) Weed, the former of whom sacri
ficed his life while serving as a patriot soldier in the Civil war and the
latter of whom now resides in the home of her son Henry I., of this
review, she having attained to the venerable age of seventy-eight years,
in 1913. The father was a prosperous farmer in the state of New
York at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war, and he forthwith
tendered his services in defense of the Union, by enlisting as a member
of the First New York Dragoons. With this gallant command he pro
ceeded to the front and with the same he continued in active service
until the battle of the Wilderness was fought, and he was killed in this
sanguinary conflict.
After the close of the war Henry I. Weed, who was then a lad of
four years, came with his mother to Wisconsin, and he was reared to
manhood in Winnebago county, within which he has continued to reside
during the long intervening years, which have been marked by large
and worthy achievement on his part. Here he duly profited by the ad
vantages afforded in the public schools, and at the age of fifteen years
he entered Lawrence University, at Appleton, where he continued his
studies for three years, after which he was a student in the University
of Wisconsin, at Madison, a member of the class of 1882.
After leaving the university Mr. Weed began the study of law, under
the preceptorship of Gabriel Bouck, who was at that time one of the
leading lawyers of Oshkosh. He made rapid progress in his absorption
and assimilation of the involved science of jurisprudence and was ad
mitted to the bar of the state in 1883. He has been continuously
engaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Oshkosh, and his
success has been on a parity with his recognized ability as a versatile
advocate and well fortified counselor. His clientele has long been one
of representative order and he has been retained in connection with
a large amount of the important litigation in the courts of this section
of the state within the past quarter of a century.

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1139
Mr. Weed served as city attorney of Oshkosh from 1890 to 1895, and
represented his district in the state senate from 1898 to 1902. He was
a most active and valued working member of the upper house of the
state legislature and his influence was there effective in the fostering
of wise policies and measures. In 1896 he was the nominee of his
party for the office of attorney general of the state, but his defeat was
compassed by the normal political exigencies which carried victory to
the opposing party ticket. He has ever been arrayed as a stalwart ad
vocate of the principles of the Democratic party and has given effective
service in behalf of its cause. He served as a member of the military
staff of Governor Peck, with the rank of colonel. For eleven years Mr.
Weed was attorney for the Oshkosh Street Railway Company and he
has been for a number of years general counsel for the Wisconsin Na
tional Life Insurance Company, besides which he is legal representative
for other important corporations. Mr. Weed has been most active and
influential as a member of the Knights of Pythias, and he served as
grand chancellor of the Wisconsin grand lodge of this order in 1890-91.
In the Masonic fraternity his maximum affiliation is with the Oshkosh
commandery of Knights Templar, and he also holds membership in the
local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
On the 14th of June, 1905, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Weed
to Aliss Genevieve Budd, daughter of George H. Budd, a representa
tive citizen of Oshkosh, and she is a most popular factor in connection
with the leading social activities of her home city.
Edward F. Goes. One of the substantial business men and loyal
and progressive citizens of Milwaukee is Mr. Goes, who is vice president
of the Vilter Manufacturing Company, an important industrial con
cern of which adequate mention is made on other pages of this work,
in the sketch of the career of Theodore 0. Vilter, president of the com
pany. Mr. Goes is a native of the city that is now his home and is
a representative of one of its sterling pioneer families, though he
was but a boy when he accompanied his parents on their return to
Germany, the land of their birth, where he was reared and educated.
It is a matter of definite satisfaction to him that in his native city
he has been able to achieve through his own efforts a large degree of
success and inviolable popular esteem, and he is consistently to be
designated as one of the representative business men of the Wisconsin
metropolis. Edward F. Goes was born in Milwaukee on the 16th of November,
1858, and is a son of Frederick and Emma (Gerlach) Goes, both of
whom were born and reared in the kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, where
their marriage was solemnized and where they continued to reside
until 1850, when they came to America and numbered themselves as
members of the very appreciable German contingent in Milwaukee.
Vol. V— 8

1140 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Here Frederick Goes soon became one of the interested principals in
the Goes & Falk Brewing Company, with which he continued to be
actively identified until 1867, when he returned to Germany, in cem-
pany with his family, both he and his wife there passing the residue
of their lives, honored by all who knew them. Frederick Goes was born
in the year 1819 and died in the picturesque and historic city of Bam
berg, Bavaria, in March, 1893, his cherished and devoted wife being
summoned to the life eternal in 1898. Of their three sons George
W. is deceased, and Edward F. and Frederick are both residents of
Alilwaukee. He whose name initiates this review acquired his rudimentary edu
cation in Milwaukee and was about nine years of age at the time of
the family removal to Germany, where he received excellent educational
advantages, including those of the gymnasium, or high school, at Frank
fort. Thereafter he completed an effective engineering course in the
city of Munich, and in 1883, when twenty-four years of age, he returned
to America and established his home in Alilwaukee, the place of his
birth. Here he assumed a position as draftsman in the employ of the
Vilter Manufacturing Company, and within a short time he purchased
stock in the company, of which he has been vice president since 1898.
He has exerted much influence in the development and upbuilding of
the extensive and important enterprise with which he has been long
connected and is known as a business man of exceptional administrative
capacity, as well as one of impregnable integrity and marked conserva
tism. Pie has won a host of friends in his native city and state and
is liberal and public-spirited as a citizen. He is a valued and popular
member of the Deutscher Club and the' Milwaukee Athletic Club.
April 25, 1889, bore record of the marriage of Air. Goes to Aliss
Addie Schweitzer, who was born and reared in Alilwaukee and who is
a daughter of the late Joseph Schweitzer, one of the well known and
highly esteemed representatives of the pioneer German element in AVis-
consin. Mr. and Mrs. Goes have one son, Frederick T., now in Leland
Stanford, Jr., University, at Palo Alto, California. The son was born in
Alilwaukee and is a scion of the ^hird generation of the Goes family in
Wisconsin. Alex D. Sutton. The city of Rhinelander in Oneida county has
a history of about thirty years, and the first important industry which
did more than anything else to give the town a start was the Brown
Brothers Lumber Company. In the sawmill established by the company
at Rhinelander, Alexander D. Sutton became an employe on April, 1883,
and since that time has been continuously identified with the city, and
most of the time in an official capacity. He is now city treasurer of
Rhinelander, an office he has held since 1894, in which year the city was
incorporated. Mr. Sutton is also president of the Rhinelander School

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1141
Commission, having been a member of that body since 1896 and presi
dent since 1909. He is a well known and popular citizen, and has been
one of the factors in the improvement and growth of Rhinelander.
Born at Waterford, in Racine county, Wisconsin, August 6, 1*861,
Alex D. Sutton was one in the family of children born to John and
Mary Jane (Foote) Sutton. The mother was born in New York state
while the father was a native of England. They were married in Wis
consin, and John Sutton was a flour miller. The family located in
Portage county, Wisconsin, in 1871, and lived at Plover and at Stevens
Point for a number of years. John Sutton operated a flour mill at
Plover. The first practical experience of Alex D. Sutton after leaving school
was in the floor mill conducted by his father at Plover, and he continued
in that line for five years. After that he took the more open life of
the river, woods and saw mills, and became familiar with every phase of
the lumber industry of the north woods. From Stevens Point he went
to Rhinelander in 1883, as already stated, and continued as one of the
expert workmen in different departments of lumbering until he was
elected town treasurer of the town of Pelican. With the incorporation
of the city of Rhinelander, his office became that of city treasurer. For
five years, Mr. Sutton was in the employ of the Brown Brothers, being
in the logging camp as a scaler, during the winter, and working at the
saw mill during the summer, following that employment until his elec
tion as city treasurer. Since 1896-1897, Mr. Sutton has also been
superintendent of the Rhinelander Water Works, and he is president
of the fire and police board.
In 1884 occurred the marriage of Mr. Sutton to Lizzie C. Hanson,
of Shawano county, Wisconsin. Their four children are Walter, Flor
ence, Edna, and Harold. Fraternally Mr. Sutton is one of the leading
Masons in this section of the state, having taken thirty-two degrees of
the Scottish Rite, also the degrees of the York Rite including the Knights
Templar, and belongs to the Mystic Shrine. He is treasurer of the
Blue Lodge of Masons at Rhinelander.
E. R. Murphy, M. D. Throughout practically all his career as a
physician and surgeon, Mr. Murphy's practice has been in the extreme
northern section of Wisconsin. He is now located at Berlin, in Green
Lake county, with offices at Dr. De Voe's former location. Dr Murphy
began practice at Rhinelander in the spring of 1912, and prior to that
for eight years was located at Crandon, in Forest county. In the fall
of 1913 Dr. Murphy left Rhinelander to locate at Berlin, Wisconsin,
where he took over the practice of Charles A. De Voe, M. D., the doctor
firmly believing that there was an unusual opening at this point for a
surgeon as there had been a new hospital started there of late. The suc
cess of Dr. Murphy has been won on the basis of exceptional native tal-

1142 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
ent, and an unusually extensive training and equipment for his chosen
work, especially in surgery. He is a graduate of Marquette Medical Col
lege of Milwaukee, with the- class of 1903. After leaving medical college
he Was First Assistant at Milwaukee County Hospital during 1903-04,
where he received his surgical training. This was followed by six months
in the Germania Clinical Laboratory and then for six months he was in
research work at the Milwaukee Branch of the Summit Sanitarium.
While there most of his study and experience were connected with dis
eases of the thorax. With this extended equipment, Dr. Alurphy went to
Crandon, and engaged in practice there until locating at Rhinelander.
Dr. E. R. Alurphy was born in the city of Milwaukee, June 24, 1876,
a son of G. C. and Frances (Ferris) Murphy, both of whom still reside
in Alilwaukee. Dr. Murphy grew up in Milwaukee, had his early edu
cation in the public schools, and previous to entering medical college
was a student in St. John's Military Academy at Delafield, Wisconsin.
Dr. Alurphy gives most of his attention to surgery, and he has made
a record as a skillful and careful operator. He was a member of the
surgical staff of St. Mary's hospital in Rhinelander. He has member
ship in the Oneida county and the Wisconsin State Medical Societies,
and the American Medical Association.
In 1906 Dr. Murphy married Marie Cummings, of Chicago. Fra
ternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias.
Isaac H. Moulton. As president of the La Crosse Telephone Com
pany, I. H. Aloulton occupies a place of prominence in business circles
of this city, where he has been established since December, 1864. He
has had a long and varied business experience, and success has attended
his efforts throughout his career. A man of the most excellent busi
ness sense and possessing the worthiest traits of character, his life has
been one of significance to the city with which he has so long been
identified, and his position today in La Crosse is sure, and marred by
no element of disfavor.
I. H. Aloulton was born at Foxcroft, Piscataquis county, Maine,
on November 28, 1828, and there he attended the common schools in
his boyhood days, finishing his academic training at the Foxcroft
Academy. He was twenty-one years old when in 1849 he removed to
Salmon Falls, New Hampshire, where he was engaged as a clerk and
bookkeeper until 1852, when he went to New York City. He was
there engaged in a similar capacity, and after three years removed to
Providence, Rhode Island, and established a grocery business on his
own responsibility. He conducted the place for some eight months,
then disposed of the business and returned to Nashua, New Hamp
shire. In the spring of 1857 he went to St. Anthony Falls and opened
a, dry goods, and crockery business, but the financial crash of 1857
closed him out. The next year he ventured into the steamboating

(&JUta^f<>

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1143
business, which he continued in until the 1st of August, M69, when
he accepted the agency of the C. M. & St. P. Railway Company at La
Crosse. He continued thus until 1894, when he resigned. He was
appointed United States Surveyor at the port of delivery. La Crosse,
and he held the office for two years, in later years being re-appointed
and holding the same office for seven additional years. He served
under Grant's second administration and also served through Pres
ident Hayes' administration. In 1869 Mr. Moulton engaged in the
coal business in La Crosse, which he has conducted with all the success
from then until now. In 1895 he became connected with the Eureka
Chemical Manufacturing Company, in which he has continued to
maintain an active interest since that time. He was appointed Com
mercial Agent in August, 1912, for the Erie Railroad in this city,
and was one of the original promoters of the La Crosse Telephone
Company, and in 1895 was' made president of the concern, an office
which he has since maintained. In 1879 he became director of the
Oak Grove Cemetery, and for a number of years was a director
of the National Bank of La Crosse. His life has been a busy and
active one, and few, if any, worthy enterprises have been inaugurated
in La Crosse that have not felt his influence and his active connection
therewith. Mr. Moulton is well advanced in Alasonry, and became a Alaster
Mason on April 1, 1857, at Rising Sun Lodge, Nashua, New Hamp
shire. He took his Royal Arch degree at St. Anthony Falls, Min
nesota, now St. Paul, and his Knight Templar degree in La Crosse.
All his life Mr. Moulton has been a stanch Republican and has given
worthy support to the activities of that party. He has served his
city as alderman from the 4th ward, and his connection with munic
ipal politics has always resulted in the best good of the city. Air.
Moulton has been a member of the La Crosse Board of Trade for a
number of years.
On April 4, 1852, Mr. Moulton was married to Miss Hannah Max
well, the marriage taking place at Salmon Falls, New Hampshire.
Five children were born to them, — two of whom are living today:
Abbie M. Burton, the wife of Frank Burton of Milwaukee, and
Harriet E. Skinner, the wife of J. W. Skinner, of this city.
Gust Swedberg. Among the substantial citizens brought by the
lumber industry into northern Wisconsin and who have since remained
as important factors in different communities, is Gust Swedburg, present
city clerk of Rhinelander, and by his services probably more closely
identified with public affairs in that city than any other man. He is
now in his twelfth consecutive year as city clerk, having first taken up
the duties of that office in 1902. The city council appointed the clerks,
under the municipal law, up to 1911, and since that year the office has

1144 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
been an elective one. He was elected city clerk in 1911, and his services
in the position were again approved by local citizens in the spring of
1913. Air. Swedberg has been a resident of Rhinelander since 1891, em
ployed as a lumber grader until he took his present office. He also
served two years from 1900 to 1902 as deputy clerk of the circuit court
of Oneida county.
Gust Swedberg has been a resident of Wisconsin since 1891, coming
here from Big Rapids, Michigan, where he was a lumber grader, and
his early career was in the woods and about the lumber camps, and by
hard work and application he was advanced from the position of
a common laborer to one of the responsible places in the lumber in
dustry. Gust Swedberg was born in Sweden, September 1, 1869, a
son of John and Mary (Olson) Swedberg. His father, who was a
butcher, was killed by a bull, when the son Gust was a year and a half
old. The son was reared in Sweden, attended school there, and came
to America at the age of seventeen in 1886. From his early years he
has had to depend upon himself for his advancement and success, and
his prosperity is very creditable. He was employed at Big Rapids,
Michigan, from 1886 until he moved to Rhinelander.
The city clerkship is not the only important relation of Mr. Swed
berg to the community of Rhinelander. He is secretary of the board of
education, secretary of the board of review, of which he is now a
member, is a member and secretary of the Rhinelander Cemetery Com
mission, and secretary of the Rhinelander Board of Public Works.
In Rhinelander in 1893, Mr. Swedberg married Alma Nelson, who
died in March, 1911, leaving five children, as follows : George, Clarence,
Mildred, Carl and Chester. On June 13, 1912, Mr. Swedberg married
Anna Stywald, of Rhinelander. Their one child is > Vernon. Fra
ternally Air. Swedberg is affiliated with the Fraternal Order of Eagles,
is secretary of the local Fraternal Reserve Association, belongs to the
Modern Woodmen of America, and the S. H. & E. F. of A. He is a mem
ber of the Varden Singing Society of Rhinelander, and for twenty years
has been a member and secretary of the Swedish Lutheran church. Mr.
Swedberg 's home is at 1015 Mason street.
Hon. Sam S. Miller. One of the most successful members, of the
bar of northern Wisconsin, and one who has been in active practice for
forty years, Mr. Miller is now senior member of the law firm of Miller
& Reeves, of Rhinelander, in which city he has practiced for a quarter
of a century, and was one of the early members of the bar of Oneida
county. The junior member of the firm is Harry L. Reeves, who is now
city attorney for Rhinelander. The offices of this firm are in the First
National Bank Building, and Mr. Aliller is a director in the First Na
tional Bank and its attorney. Sam S. Miller was admitted to the bar

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1145
in Wisconsin in 1873, in the year of his graduation from the law de
partment from the University of Wisconsin.
The Miller family have lived in Wisconsin since it became a state,
and Air. Miller was born on a farm in Dane county near Christiana
on July 17, 1850. His parents were B. S. and Martha (Coon) Miller,
both of whom were natives of Aladison county, New York state, where
they were reared and married. They moved to Wisconsin in 1847,
locating on a farm in Dane county. The father, who was a cabinet
maker and joiner by trade, spent most of his active years and energies
on the Dane county farm. He then moved to AVausau in 1880, and
there worked at his trade for many years in the Curtis & Yale Sash.
Door & Blind Factory. Coming in 1911 on a visit to Rhinelander, he
one day wandered away from his son's home, and has never since been
heard of. He was eighty-seven years of age at the time, and it is sup
posed that he was drowned in the lake.
Sam S. Aliller is proud of the fact that he had a country rearing
and training, and grew up in the vigorous discipline of a farm, attend
ing the district schools every winter term. He finished his literary edu
cation in the Albion Academy, and then for several years taught rural
schools. During vacation he read law in law offices in Madison, and in
1873 Was graduated from the law department of the University. His
first practice as a lawyer was at Whitehall, in Trempealeau county, Wis
consin, where he was one of the successful and highly honored attorneys
until his removal to Rhinelander in 1887. Just prior to his removal
he served one term in the State Assembly, representing Trempealeau
county. Mr. Aliller has had, in addition to his successes as a lawyer,
many public honors. In 1890 he was elected district attorney of Oneida
county, taking offices in January, 1891. He served two terms. In
1898 he was again elected to that office and served until 1909. Each time
his election came on the Republican ticket. For several years Mr.
Miller served as secretary of the school board of the town of Pelican,
prior to the incorporation of the city of Rhinelander.
His first marriage in 1878 was to Anna Mosher, who died in 1899.
Her four children were: Elizabeth, a teacher in the schools at Seattle,
Washington; Florence, wife of Dr. L. T. Sidwell, of Glenwood, Iowa,
and they have one child, Margaret Elizabeth; Margaret, who died in
1904 at the age of ten years; and Anna M. In 1901 Mr. Miller was
united in marriage with Mary Oakey of Madison, Wisconsin. For sev
eral years she was a teacher in the schools at Sheboygan.
Charles Asmundsen. The present sheriff of Oneida county, Wis
consin, represents a family which has been identified with this state
for more than thirty years, and which in the years since coming strangers
to a strange land, its members have won substantial places in their
various communities, and have in several instances been honored with

1146 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
official position and responsibility. Charles Asmundsen was elected to
his office as sheriff in November, 1912, and took office on January 6,
1913, succeeding Charles S. Crofoot. Mr. Asmundsen was under-sheriff
to Sheriff Crofoot from January, 1911, to January, 1913. In 1901-02
he also served as under-sheriff to Former Sheriff Kelley. Sheriff As
mundsen has been a resident of Rhinelander since 1890. His first, em
ployment in this city was in a lumber yard. He worked for two or three
years as a sawyer in the woods, and then became a member of the local
police force, doing duty in that capacity five or six years. That was
followed by his service as under-sheriff to Mr. Kelley, and after that he
was again on the police force for one year. He then resigned and en
gaged in farming a quarter of a mile west of the city limits on the Cas-
son Road. At that place he owns a farm of eighty acres and was a pros
perous farmer citizen in that locality until his removal to the city to
take up his duties as under-sheriff in 1911.
Sheriff Asmundsen is a native of Norway, where he was born April
14, 1869, a son of Asmund and Andrea Asmundsen. In 1881 the family
all immigrated to America, settling on a farm six miles from Sturgeon
Bay in Dorr county, Wisconsin. The father and mother with five
brothers of Mr. Asmundsen, are still living in Dorr county. One of the
brothers, Al Asmundsen served as sheriff of Dorr county in 1911-12.
Charles Asmundsen was twelve years old when the family moved to
America, and he grew to manhood on the home farm in Dorr county,
where he spent about five years. With a practical education, and an
ambition to make a place for himself in the world, he then left home,
and found work in the lumber camps of upper Michigan, spending
about two years there. His next location was in Elcho, in Langlade
county, Wisconsin, where he was employed a couple of years in a veneer
factory. From Elcho he moved to Rhinelander, and has since been
closely identified with the local affairs of this community.
At Taylor, in Jackson county, AYisconsin, in 1893, Mr. Asmundsen
married Anna Amundsen, who was born in Jackson county, Wisconsin,
a daughter of Louis Amundsen, who with his wife was a native of Nor
way. To the marriage of Mr. Asmundsen and wife have been born nine
children as follows: Albin, Myrtle, Roy, Enoch, Cora, Dock, Eva, Edna,
who died at the age of six months; and the next child, the youngest,
was also named Edna. In politics Mr. Asmundsen is a progressive Re
publican. Hon. Webster E. Brown. Among the significant names in the lum
ber industry of northern Wisconsin, especially along the Wisconsin
River Valley, none has been more prominent during the last forty
years than that of Brown. The late Edward Dexter Brown was the
man whose energies and remarkable business ability first gave the name
its wide-spread importance in the state, and during his lifetime and since

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1147
his death his son has taken up and extended the various activities which
are familiarly associated, in the minds of all old-timers, with this name.
One of the sons of the late Dexter E. Brown is Hon. Webster E.
Brown of the firm of Brown Brothers Lumber Company at Rhinelander,
a member of other industrial and financial concerns, and a former con
gressman, serving as a member of the Fifty-seventh, Fifty-eighth and
Fifty-ninth Congresses, from 1901 to 1907. He was first sent to Wash
ington as representative of the Tenth Wisconsin Congressional District,
and while he was in the office the district was reorganized, and his be
came the Eleventh District.
Webster E. Brown was born in Peterboro, Madison county, New
York, July 16, 1851, a son of Edward Dexter and Helen M. (Anderson)
Brown. When Webster E. Brown was five years old the family moved
to Portage county, Wisconsin, locating on a farm near Stevens Point.
His father at once became identified with lumbering operations in that
section of the state, and from that time forward the name has always
been potent in lumber circles in Wisconsin. On the home farm in
Portage Webster E. Brown was reared until he was sixteen years of
age, and in the meantime attended the country schools. His education
was advanced by attendance for a year and a half at Lawrence Uni
versity, at Appleton, after which be entered the University of Wiscon
sin at Madison, and was graduated in the class of 1874.
Air. Brown has been actively connected with lumbering in all its
departments since 1875. In that year with his elder brother, A. W.
Brown he went into the business at Stevens Point, and in 1882 these two
brothers moved to Rhinelander, where their father had entered land
direct from the government, including the site of the present city of
Rhinelander. Their industrial plant established at Rhinelander was
one of the first and the most important of. local enterprises. Their
younger brother E. 0. Brown joined them in 1881, and since that time
the three brothers have been very extensively interested in lumbering,
banking, manufacturing, and other development work in northern
Wisconsin. During the early eighties, the Brown Brothers, then under the firm
name of E. D. Brown & Sons, established at Rhinelander, a private bank,
which in 1890 was incorporated under the name of the Merchants State
Bank, of which Mr. E. 0. Brown is now president, and of which Webster
E. Brown has been a director since its organization. Mr. Brown is
vice president and treasurer of the firm of Brown Brothers Lumber
Company, concerning whose operations more is said in the sketch of
Mr. A. W. Brown elsewhere in this work. Mr. Brown is a director in
the Rhinelander Refrigerator Company, a director in the Rhinelander
Paper Company, is president of the Rhinelander Power Company, presi
dent of the Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company, the headquarters
of which concern are in Wausau, Wisconsin.

1148 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
On December 26, 1877, at Lancaster, Wisconsin, Webster E. Brown
married Juliet D. Meyer, a daughter of Richard Aleyer. They are the
parents of five children: Ralph D., Edna M., Dorothy, Richard M., and
Allan C. Mr. Brown is a member of the Masonic Order, and throughout
his career since casting his first vote has been a stanch supporter of
the Republican party and. its basic principles.
August H. Stange. The career and personality of a strong man
are always interesting subjects of study. The scope of accomplish
ment by such men is almost unlimited, and it is a fascinating occu
pation to observe how far and in what directions an individual
possessing the innate qualifications that belong to real strength of
manhood will go. The city of Merrill has had such a man for the
past thirty years, in fact since Merrill was a frontier lumber camp.
A. H. Stange is a business man whose record would be creditable
not only as measured with his immediate contemporaries and asso
ciates, but in any group of men of accomplishment and great success.
Mr. Stange 's career is another proof that the circumstances of early
childhood and youth are never a condition to large and successful
achievement. In his own case, he was born near the city of Stettin,
Germany, October 10, 1852, and was the son of poor parents. His
father and mother were C. F. and Carolina Stange, who when their
son was about a year and a half old came to the United States and
located in Watertown, Wisconsin. The father was a laboring man,
and was unable to give his family more than the ordinary necessities
and comforts of life. The son thus grew up without any of the trim
mings of college education or of influential connection. His school
ing was limited to the common branches, and when little more than
a boy he began earning his own living. At Watertown he got his first
experience as a lumberman in a lumber yard and planing mill. At
the age of eighteen we find him in Racine as foreman of a sash and
door factory, planing mill and lumber yard. The years spent in
Racine were a valuable preparation for the larger field of operations
which opened to him when he came to Merrill.
Mr. Stange came to Merrill in 1881 in company with the late
Henry W. Wright, and soon after became a member of the Wright
Lumber Company. A few years later Mr. Stange started in business
under his own name, and in 1895, organized and incorporated the
A. H. Stange Company with a capital of two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars. This business now is the largest of its kind in the Wis
consin River Valley. The company manufactures, lumber, sash, doors,
blinds, boxes, etc., and its goods are sent not only all over the United
States and Canada, but there is a large export of its products to
foreign countries, principally to the British Isles and South Africa.
The saw mills have a capacity of over one hundred and fifty thousand

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1149
feet of lumber daily. About eleven hundred men are employed in
the company's mills, factories and logging camps. The monthly
payroll averages between thirty-eight and forty thousand dollars.
The Stange Company gets its raw material from land of their own,
and at this writing there is a sufficient supply to meet the demands
of their mills for many years to come. The company owns its own
logging railroad, and a complete equipment of the varied apparatus
needed in logging and lumber manufacture.
The upbuilding of such an industry as that just described and
outlined is not the result of chance. A mind capable of planning and
a will equal to the heavy responsibilities involved in materializing
ideas into results are necessary precedents to any such achievement.
No doubt thirty years ago Air. Stange had the vision and the ambi
tion which all these years of work have enabled him to realize.
Large and satisfying as the business of the A. H. Stange Company
is, that has by no means been the only avenue through which his
career has been worked out. In 1897 he was chiefly responsible
for the organization of the Lincoln County Bank at Merrill, an
institution of which he has since been president. This bank was
¦opened on August 1, 1897, with a capital stock of fifty thousand
dollars, and the capital has since been increased to one hundred
thousand dollars. AA'ith its large surplus and undivided profits, it
is one of the largest and most substantial financial institutions in
the Wisconsin River Valley. At the organization fifteen years ago
a* fine bank and office building was erected on Main Street, but the
increasing business caused the erection of a new building in 1912-13,
the new structure being devoted exclusively to banking purposes, and
is one of the best equipped banking houses in the state. Mr. Stange is
president of the E. W. Ellis Lumber Company of Grand Rapids,
Wisconsin, and president of the Mount Emily Timber Company of
LeGrande, Oregon. He is also interested in a number of other timber,
land and lumber companies, as well as banks.
Men who bear the largest and most complex responsibilities have
often been observed to perform a great variety of functions in civic
life with a minimum of worry and bluster. Men of small caliber
create much noise in attending to duties half as great and important.
Long known as one of Merrill's most public-spirited citizens, Mr.
Stange has again and again taken time from his business in order
to serve the public. He was mayor of the city four successive terms.
In fostering and supporting movements for the betterment of Merrill,
he has done as much, if not more, than any one man in the city. He
erected the beautiful Badger Opera House in 1907, an amusement
house that compares favorably with any in the country. In the same
year he built the magnificent Badger Hotel, one of the most modern
in the state. It is an evidence of his firm faith in the city's future

1150 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
that he founded these two institutions, for at this time Merrill has not
advanced sufficiently to support through normal patronage a theatre
and hotel of this size.
However, perhaps the finest memorial to his public spirit is beau
tiful "Stange Park," lying along the banks of the Prairie River. It
was named in his honor, the title having been adopted by popular
vote after many other names had been suggested. Stange Park
contains forty acres, donated to the city by Air. Stange. Within
its limits have been erected the handsome Merrill high school and the
T. B. Scott Free Public Library. The remainder of the park grounds
are used as a public playground.
He also gave the grounds and sufficient funds for the 'erection
and completion of the German Lutheran church, with all the fur
nishings, costing about thirty-five thousand dollars, one of the most
beautiful houses of worship in Merrill. He also gave the larger por
tion of funds necessary for the construction of a German school-
house, which cost more than fifteen thousand dollars. In this school
building Mr. Stange arranged that a large room should be set aside
and used as a free library, and soon after the completion of the
building, he donated a sum of money sufficient to stock the library
shelves with several thousand volumes of choice books.
While a resident of Racine, in February, 1874, Mr. Stange was
united in marriage with Miss Emily Aliller, a daughter of William
and Hattie Miller, natives of Germany. They have six children:
Hattie, Charles, Adelaide, August, Emily, and Lydia. Personally
Mr. Stange is a modest, unassuming man, very approachable and a
genial entertainer.
Dr. W. F. AIalone. The founder and proprietor of the Hanover
Hospital in Milwaukee is a AVisconsin man whose distinguished ability
in the field of medicine is too well recognized to require comment. Dur
ing a quarter century of professional activity, Dr. AIalone has accepted
the best opportunities for high and useful service and his career has
many distinctive records of achievements.
Dr. William F. Malone was born in the little village of Rochester
in Racine county, June 1, 1862. He is a son of Irish parents, Andrew
and Alary (Coleman) Malone, both natives of the city of Dublin, where
the father was born February 16, 1820. Within a week after their
marriage in 1844, they started for the United States, and first settled
in Canton, Massachusetts, where they lived about ten years. John Ma
lone, a brother of Andrew, also came to America at the same time and
located in Massachusetts. In 1855 the father and mother came west to
Rochester, Wisconsin, where they spent the greater part of their re
maining years. The mother died in Rochester, Wisconsin, February 3,
1888, and the father in Waukesha, January 15, 1897, while visiting his

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1151
son Dr. E. W. AIalone. The father was aged seventy-six years and ten
months. By trade he was a stone-mason, but for many years followed
the quiet pursuits of a farmer. After the death of his wife he spent
about nine years in the home of Dr. W. F. Malone, in Milwaukee.
There were six children in the family, of whom five are now living,
namely : Mary, the oldest, is the widow of Thomas Dowds, of Hastings,
Nebraska; Dr. Thomas C. is a physician and surgeon on National Ave
nue in Milwaukee; Rose, is deceased; Dr. E. W. is the leading physician
in Waukesha; Nellie, is the wife of Frank Ferguson of Chicago; and
Dr. W. F. is the youngest of the family.
Beginning his education in his home county, and from the first
schools entering Rochester Academy, Dr. AIalone, when sufficiently ad
vanced, began his career as a school teacher in his home county. At a
later time he taught in the State Industrial School in Waukesha. He
next became a student in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, now
the Medical Department of the University of Illinois, at Chicago, where
he was graduated with the physicians and surgeons degree in 1888.
In that year's graduating class, Dr. Malone was accorded the high honor
of the gold medal for proficiency in the work of the class.
Dr. Malone began his practice in the country district, spending two
years, and on June 6, 1890, established himself in Alilwaukee, where
he had an office and was in practice for three years. Few men in the
profession in the state have sought wider opportunities of observation
and training than Dr. Malone. After this initial period of practice in
Alilwaukee, he went abroad and spent eighteen months in the University
of Berlin and was also in the great medical center at Vienna. On his
return to this country he was an attendant at the lectures and clinics
in the Johns Hopkins University at Baltimore. This was followed by
another six months study in the Bellevue Hospital Medical College
in New York City.
After this extended post graduate training Dr. Malone returned to
Alilwaukee, where he established himself in practice as a surgeon and
gynecologist. Soon he accepted the chair of gynecology in the Mil
waukee Aledical College, and held that professorship and also the chair
of clinical gynecology from 1896 for five years. He then organized and
built the Hanover Hospital on the south side, and at the same time
organized the south side training school for nurses of Milwaukee. At
the present time Dr. Malone has twenty-one nurses in training, and also
has a home for the nurses. The Hanover Hospital, at the corner of
Madison and Hanover Streets, consisting of the hospital, the nurses
training school and quarters, is one of the best equipped institutions of
the kind in Wisconsin. The building cost Dr. AIalone more than one
hundred thousand dollars, and he has taken great pride not only in
its material facilities, but in keeping up the standards of its service
to the highest point. Dr. Malone belongs to the Milwaukee Medical So-

1152 - HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
ciety, the Milwaukee County Aledical Society, the Wisconsin State Aled-
ical Society, and the American Medical Association and also the Fox
River Valley Medical Society. He has no relations with clubs or
fraternities, and has found his recreations in his practice and in the
pleasures of his home. At his home he has a splendid private library of
five thousand volumes.
Dr. Malone was married April 30, 1901, in Milwaukee, to Miss Ade
laide M. Peck, a daughter of Henry Peck, one of the old settlers of
Waukesha county. Mrs. Malone way educated in Milwaukee, graduated
from the Whitewater State Normal and also the Milwaukee Normal,
and is a talented and accomplished woman. The home of the doctor
and wife adjoins the hospital, being at 324 Madison street. Dr. AIalone
has his office in the hospital -building, and also in the Caswell Block on
Grand Avenue.
Had Dr. Malone not chosen medicine as his field and gained such
important distinctions therein, he would nevertheless have deserved a
conspicuous place as one of Wisconsin's foremost farmers and stock
men. He is the owner of four hundred acres of land, situated ten miles
south of the city of Milwaukee, and conducts a fine dairy and creamery
establishment. His herd comprises sixty-five high grade Holsteins.
The prize winner of this herd is a cow which is by all odds the finest
specimen of her class west of the Alleghany Mountains. Dr. AIalone
paid two thousand dollars for this animal, and he also paid eleven
hundred dollars for one of her calves. The Burwood stock farm, as
his estate is called, is modern in every sense, and Dr. AIalone has intro
duced in its equipment the same sanitary facilities and standards which
he insists upon in his hospital. The entire place including the stables,
is lighted by electricity. Another feature of the Burwood farm, is a
chicken ranch, with a thousand chickens and also one hundred and fifty
thoroughbred Berkshire hogs. Dr. AIalone is recognized as having one
of the finest stock farms in all Wisconsin.
Carl Freschl. The enterprise of Alilwaukee manufacturers has
long been a familiar fact to the Am'erican public, and it is certain that
no one of that group of distinguished business builders was more suc
cessful in creating a household word out of his product than the late
Carl Freschl, founder of the Holeproof Hosiery Company. After Mr.
Freschl, with a singular appreciation of trade demand, and an equal'
faith in his own output, had established and begun the successful ex
ploitation of his business on its guarantee basis, the "holeproof idea"
was freely plagiarized and copied, but the pioneer, the originator, and
the most successful in the perfection of his goods, was Carl Freschl,
whose name is now recognized as a trade mark by hundreds of thous
ands. It was a great business achievement, and few greater, and no

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1153
more honorable successes in business have been known in commercial
annals. Carl Freschl, who had the distinction of being the pioneer manu
facturer of knit goods west of the Alleghanies, and who for nearly
thirty years was closely identified with the city of Alilwaukee, died at
his home in Milwaukee, November 24, 1911, at the age of sixty-nine
years. He was born in Prague, Austria. When twenty-six years of
age he immigrated to the United States, locating first at Manchester, New
Hampshire. From there he moved to Kalamazoo, Alichigan, where in
1872 he founded the Kalamazoo Knitting Works, that being the first
hosiery manufacturing plant established in the middle west. In 1882
his plant was moved to Milwaukee, where he continued the business
under the same name until 1904. In that year was established the Hole
proof Hosiery Company. Never before had manufacturers of hosiery
been able to guarantee satisfactorily their products, and it was Air.
Freschl's technical ability to put on the market an article which would
stand all the tests of wear, combined with his courage to take the public
into his confidence and issue an out and out guarantee, which caused
such a revolution in the hosiery business and which well accounts for
the remarkable success of the holeproof company. The idea of guar
anteeing his product was only a manifestation of his deep-seated hon
esty. During his years in business, the late Carl Freschl became widely
known and was not only admired by all who understood his pioneer
work, but was greatly beloved by those most intimately associated with
him. For the last four years of his life he was not actively engaged
in directing the affairs of the company, but the business has been con
tinued under the form in which he established it, his own sons having
the leading part in its management.
The Holeproof Hosiery Company has its chief factory and general
offices in Milwaukee, but also has offices in New York, Chicago, and on
the Pacific coast, and the extent of the business is indicated by its
foreign incorporations comprising the Holeproof Hosiery Company of
Canada, Limited, at London, and the Holeproof Hosiery Company at
Liverpool, England. Edward Freschl, the oldest son is now president
of the company, William W. Freschl is vice president, Max A. Freschl
is superintendent, while the secretary and treasurer is Mr. L. Heil-
bronner. The late Mr. Freschl was a member of Temple Emanu'El and was
well known and popular in various local organizations of the city.
Carl Freschl married Rose Alexander who survives him. Besides the
three sons there is one daughter, Airs. Henry Gattman.
General Charles King. Wisconsin must always honor her dis
tinguished soldier and author, General Charles King, whose fame as
an author is on a parity with his high reputation in the field of military

1154 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
science. He is essentially a man of the nation, but Wisconsin is for
tunate in claiming him as a citizen and as one who has distinguished
this commonwealth by his character and achievements.
The following paragraphs on his life and services are chiefly drawn
from an appreciative estimate written by Forrest Crissey, with some
modifications and additions, and quotations unless otherwise noted will
give credit to Mr. Crissey.
"First meetings with novelists are often disappointing. No such
disappointment, however, awaits any reader of General King's stories
who may be fortunate enough personally to meet the celebrated soldier-
novelist. The best traits of character in the bravest heroes whom he
has pictured in his marvelous stories of frontier chivalry are instantly
to be discerned in his face by the stranger who has lived with the heroes
of his creating. The military side of General King's character is so
dominant that it is difficult to realize, while in his presence, the fact
that he belongs to the literary cult. He looks like a soldier, and he is a
soldier. If anything can be added to this description by way of bringing
the personality more vividly before the eyes of the reader, it may be
said that the most stirring act of heroism described in any story he has
written is more than paralleled by his life as a soldier. The records.
have it that General King was born nearly seventy years ago, but there
is not a line in his countenance or his figure which would appear re
motely to confirm this statement. He is erect, active and alert. No
observant stranger who chanced to pass him upon the street would fail
to recognize him as a military man. He is today as fond of athletic
sports as when he was a leader of his associates in the stirring pastimes
into which he entered, with all the dash, energy, and devotion of a
potential soldier, when in training at West Point. ' '
It is scarcely possible to understand his individuality or to account
for the remarkable versatility of his gifts without a glance at the sturdy
American stock from which he is descendant. His great-grandfather,
Hon. Rufus King, was one of the first eminent statesmen representing
the state of l^ew York in the United States senate. This distinguished
ancestor was one of the signers of the Constitution of the United States,
and was a powerful figure in old English history of the old Empire
State. He was twice chosen United States minister to England, and was
accorded every high honor by his appreciative country. His grand
father Charles King was one of the earlier presidents of Columbia Col
lege, and was known as a man of bright scholarship and broad intel
lectual powers.
General Charles King was born at Albany, New York, on the 12th
of October, 1844, and is the son of General Rufus and Susan (Eliot)
King, both of whom were born in the state of New York and the latter
of whom was a descendant of John Eliot, the great Indian apostle in
America's early history. General Rufus King possessed in larger

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1155
measure the dominating qualities which have distinguished the son, as
he was both a military and intellectual leader, even as he was one
of the distinguished and honored pioneers of Wisconsin. General Rufus
King's rare qualifications "were recognized by his appointment as
minister to the pontifical states at Rome, a position demanding pe
culiar endowments of personal tact, poise and grace, together with a ripe
culture and a broad knowledge of affairs." Just as he was about to
assume the duties of this diplomatic post, the outbreak of the Civil war
deflected him from his course. He promptly resigned his position, re
turned to AVisconsin, assisted in the organization of the early volunteer
forces of the state, and became one of the first to receive from President
Lincoln appointment to the office of brigadier general. He gave valiant
and effective service in behalf of the union as the organizer of the famous
"Iron Brigade" of the Army of the Potomac, and later as a division
commander. Already for sixteen years, from 1845 to 1861, as editor
and publisher of the Alilwaukee Sentinel he had exerted powerful in
fluence in Wisconsin politics, and as an upholder of a united nation.
He passed the closing years of his life in New York City, and was long
survived by his devoted wife, who died in Switzerland in 1892. Their
names merit enduring place among the pioneers of Wisconsin.
General Charles King's first plunge into soldier life was made when
he was a lad of sixteen years. "He had been in New York City in
attendance at the preparatory or grammar school connected with Colum
bia College and had just passed examination admitting him to the lat
ter -institution when the whole country was thrilled by the echo of the
guns at Fort Sumter. Instantly his dreams of his college days were for
gotten and before another day had passed, after the Union troops had
begun to assemble in Washington, his soldier blood was bounding in his
veins and he was on his way to the capital city. There his father's old
friends from the Badger state were surprised to greet the face of the
boy in the camp of the Wisconsin volunteers. It was plain to these vet
erans that the lad had not come from idle curiosity for his drum-sticks
were in his hand and his finger itching to play the reveille. In spite of
extreme youth he was made 'mounted orderly' at brigade headquarters.
Early in his active career as a soldier he served as guide for General
Winfield Scott Hancock in Virginia. In the course of his service the
lad's ability was brought to the personal attention of President Lincoln
who gave his promise that the boy should be given a cadetship at West
Point. In pursuance of this pledge young King was sent to the United
States Military Academy in June, 1862. Two years later he was there
made first sergeant of Company B, and in 1865, he became adjutant of
the corps of cadets.
"An old companion has said of him that in those days of his train
ing he was distinguished by his sunny temper, and by the fact that,
contrary to the prevailing usages of the school, he never failed to have
Vol. V— 9

1156 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
a good word for the down-trodden ' plebe, ' besides which he hated math
ematics as ardently as he loved rollicking fun and reckless sport. It is
evident, however, that he must have mastered his dislike for mathe
matics as he was graduated with the rank of number twenty-two in a
class of more than forty members.
' ' Until September, 1866, King remained at West Point in the capacity
of instructor in artillery. He left this position to join light battery K
of the First Artillery stationed at New Orleans. His next remove was
to Fort Hamilton, in connection with battery C. Then he was recalled
to West Point to instruct future officers in the mysteries of horsemanship
and cavalry and artillery tactics. In 1871 he was appointed aide-de-camp
to General Emory, from which position he was transferred to Troop K
of the Fifth Cavalry, which was then being removed from Fort D. A.
Russell in Wyoming to Camp Hualpai, Arizona. This was an important
move and afforded him his introduction to the perils and hardships of
frontier Indian warfare. He was in command of Troop K, which did
heroic work against the Apaches, a tribe which sustained its reputation
for cruelty, cunning and courage. In these desperate encounters he dis
played the coolness and indifference to danger which have uniformly
characterized his entire military career.
' ' In the fight at Diamond Butte, May 25, 1874, his bravery was so con
spicuous that his recommendation for promotion to the rank of captain
was made by the commanding general. It was a marvel to his comrades
that he came out of one fight after another without a scratch, for no pri
vate in the ranks exposed himself more persistently to the enemy than
did the leader of Troop K. There were many doleful prophesies that
this exemption from Apache bullets could not continue indefinitely, and
the historic fight of Sunset Pass November 1, 1874, fulfilled these unhappy
predictions. In the midst of the encounter, Lieutenant King found him
self and Sergeant Bernard Taylor cut off from his troopers and the cen
ter of a wicked fire from the Apaches. It is not improbable that this
country would have missed one of its most entertaining and typically
American novelists, had not a naked savage, hiding behind a rock, sent
a well aimed bullet into the body of Lieutenant King. His right arm was
shattered and he gave peremptory order to Sergeant Taylor to leave him
to his fate and save himself. This command the plucky sergeant delib
erately refused to obey, and, standing over the body of his fallen lieu
tenant Taylor fought back the Apaches, until a detachment of troopers
came to the rescue. The wound healed sufficiently to permit General King
to engage in the celebrated Big Horn and Yellowstone expeditions, in
which he added materially to his laurels and wras rewarded by General
Wesley Merritt by appointment as adjutant of the regiment. A year
late»j in the fall of 1877, he was in the thick of the Nez Perce campaign,
and earlier had been called to the scene of the railroad riots in Council
Bluffs and Chicago.

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1157
His next experiences were in connection with the Bannock uprising.
This was followed by more severe mountain scouting in 1878. Next
year he had attained to the rank of captain and was in command of
Troop A. The old wound received at Sunset Pass, had in time, given
him constant and increasing trouble, and at length became so serious
that it compelled him to appear before the retiring board for permission
to relinquish his active military career. This petition was regretfully
complied with, and after his retirement from the service he returned
to his home in Wisconsin."
In the general orders issued from the office of the adjutant general
of Wisconsin, under date of January 15, 1897, in connection with the
application of Brigadier General Charles King to be placed on the re
tired list of the Wisconsin National Guard, is given the following
epitome of his military career:
"Brigadier General Charles King began his military career as a
marker in the First Regiment, Wisconsin State Militia, (Colonel Rufus
King) in 1856. He was drummer for the Milwaukee Light Guard (Com
pany A, First Regiment, Wisconsin State Militia) in 1859-60, and
mounted orderly King's (Iron) Brigade, Army of the Potomac in 1861
He was a private in Company A, Battalion of Cadets, West Point, 1862 ;
a corporal of Company B in 1863 ; a first sergeant in 1864 ; and adjutant
of the battalion in 1865. He became second lieutenant, First Regiment
Artillery, United States Army, 1866, and an instructor in artillery tac-
ics at West Point the same year. He commanded the Gatling Platoon,
Light Battery K, First Artillery, New Orleans riots, 1868; was acting
adjutant at Fort Hamilton, -March, 1869; instructor infantry, artillery
and cavalry tactics, West Point, 1869-71 ; first lieutenant, First Artillery,
1869. He was transferred at his own request, to Fifth Regiment Cav
alry, January, 1871, and became aide-de-camp to Major General Emory,
1871-74. In 1872-73, he was acting judge advocate and engineer officer,
Department of the Gulf, New Orleans, and engaged in suppression of
riots during that time. In 1874 he commanded a troop in the Apache
campaign in Arizona, and was engaged in actions at Diamond Butte,
Black Mesa and Sunset Pass until severely wounded. Brevet captain,
for gallant and distinguished conduct in action against hostile Indians,
May, 1874 (declined). In 1875 he was on leave, disabled by wounds,
but in 1876 he became adjutant Fifth Cavalry, and in the Sioux cam
paign was engaged with hostile Cheyennes at War Bonnet Creek, Wyom
ing, commanding advance guard, July 17, and in the combats aj; Slim
Buttes, Dakota, September 9 and 10. He was acting adjutant general
of Merritt 's cavalry in suppression of railway riots, 1877, and of Mer
ritt 's cavalry command (Third and Fifth Cavalry) in Nez Perce cam
paign, Wyoming and Montana, 1877. He was promoted captain Troop
A, Fifth Cavalry, May 1, 1879; placed on retired list, United States
Army, for 'disability resulting from wounds in line of duty,' June 14,

1158 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
1879. Professor of military science and tactics, University of Wisconsin,
1880-82 ; colonel and aide-de-camp to Governor Rusk, 1882-9, and to Gov
ernor Hoard 1889-91, and assistant inspector general Wisconsin Na
tional Guard, 1883-89. He commanded the Fourth Infantry, Wisconsin
National Guard, 1890-92, and was commandant of cadets, Michigan
Military Academy, while on three months' leave, 1892. In 1895 was ap
pointed adjutant general of the Wisconsin National Guard, retiring
January 4, 1897.
"In all his admirable work in connection with the Wisconsin Na
tional Guard, General King has brought into play the valuable experi
ence and ripe judgment gained from such a long and honorable career
in the service of his country, uniting with this such rare tact and dis
cretion in dealing with affairs and men that in every direction uniform
success has stamped his every effort. He has left an indelible imprint
upon the organized military forces of the state, an influence that has
had beneficial effect in every branch of the service. He has systematized
the work, expanded and perfected the plan of instruction, raised the dis
cipline to a high standard, and by his manliness and kindness won the
commendation of critics and the admiration and love of those who served
under him. ' '
Still more recently, in a time well remembered by the majority of
living Americans, General King was commander of Volunteer forces in
the Philippine Islands. Concerning this phase of his career the follow
ing brief record has been given. ' ' The outbreak of the war with Spain
in 1898 found him in better health than he had enjoyed for many years,
and stirred his soldier blood as deeply as did the first call for volunteers
in 1861. Alay 27th brought him his appointment as brigadier general
of volunteers. He was ordered, June 2, Lo report to General Merritt, in
San Francisco, and left for that city two days later, taking later depart
ure for the Philippines, where he commanded the men of the First Wash
ington, First California, and First Idaho Regiments. General King con
fesses that he was never so happy in his life as when leading these men
against the Filipinos. His only regret is that ill health compelled his
voluntary retirement in August, 1899. He commanded his forces with
consummate gallantry in the Philippine campaign, and was accorded the
highest recommendations for promotion to the rank of major general
•of volunteers." Since his retirement from the army, General King has continued to
maintain his home in Milwaukee, secure in the love and the admiration
of the entire state and known through America not less for his brilliant
military career than for his virile writings in the field of fiction. "While
he emphatically disavows all literary traditions and declares that his
labors in this field were inspired solely by the motive of 'making one
woman happy, ' and giving his son and daughters proper educational ad
vantages, which would be impossible by any other means within his com-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1159
mand, the strong human interests, the swift movement, and the delicate
sympathy and tender pathos of his stories are sufficient proof of the fact
that his work is done with a genuine heart interest, and not as a perfunc
tory task. 'Between the Lines' and 'The General's Double' are General
Kings's favorites of the scores of stories which he has given to the public.
His first story was 'Kitty's Conquest,' and was written in the '70s. This
was regarded by its author as a passing whim, a pastime to relieve the
monotony of an officer's life in a frontier post. This was published in
the United Service Magazine of Philadelphia, and immediately attracted
favorable attention. This initial story was followed in 1881 by the stir
ring romance first called 'Winning His Spurs,' but later issued in book
form as 'The Colonel's Daughter.' Then Mr. Alden, the venerable edi
tor of Harper's Magazine, reached out for the work of the young mili
tary novelist, and secured the charming stories, 'A War-Time Wooing,'
and 'Between the Lines.' "
Virtually all of the literary work of General King has been along
the line of experiences in army life, and he is still in command of his
forces in this field of work, — a domain in which he has gained high and
enduring reputation. Altogether his writings number over sixty, and
besides those already mentioned are the following: "Famous and Deci
sive Battles," "Alarion's Faith," "Captain Blake," "The Iron Brigade,"
"A Conquering Corps Badge," "Medal of Honor." His is a strong and
noble personality and in the twilight of his active career he may feel
assured that he is one to whom it has been given to approach more nearly
than the average person, the castle of his dreams, hopes and aspirations.
General King has membership in many social and military orders,
including the Loyal Legion, Army of the Potomac, Veterans and Indian
Wars, Foreign Wars, Army of the Philippines, etc. His clubs are the
Army and Navy at Washington, the United Service, the Delta Phi at
New York, the Milwaukee, and the Old Settlers at Milwaukee.
It is needless to say that the home life of General King has been one
of ideal character, and to him home has ever been a sanctuary, a place
loved and inviolable. On November 20, 1872, he married Miss Adelaide
Lavander Yorke, a daughter of Captain Louis S. Yorke, of Carroll
Parish, Louisiana. The glamour of romance attended the meeting and
mutual attraction of General and Mrs. King, and the passing of years
has done nothing to obliterate this, as they have been one in hope and
interest and have found their lives crowned with a goodly share of those
things which represent the highest and best in the scheme of human
existence. They have three surviving children : The eldest Carolyn M.,
married Doctor Donald Ross Maclntyre and with their children they
are residents of Gwinn, Michigan ; the next in age, Elinor Yorke, mar
ried Mr. Charles John Simeon of Cheltenham, England. The youngest,
Rufus, the only son, is a graduate of St. John's Military Academy at
Delafield, and of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, is now

1160 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
a distinguished young officer in our Navy, and in 1911 was united in
marriage to Miss Helen C. Crosby, youngest daughter of Mr. Warren
Jefferson Crosby of Norfolk, Virginia.
Marshall Cousins is the son of Henry and Louisa (Preston) Cous
ins, and has lived in Eau Claire all of his life for he was born in this
city. Henry Cousins was born in Mayville, Chautauqua county, New
York, in 1821, and in the early fifties he came west and settled in Wis
consin, at East Troy in Walworth county. He was a lawyer by profes
sion and after his admission to the Wisconsin bar, he was in active prac
tice in East Troy until 1858. At this time he was elected county clerk
and was consequently forced to move to the county seat. He lived in
Elkhorn, which was the county seat during his several terms as county
clerk and then came the Civil war. An enthusiastic believer that the
Union must be preserved and that the Confederacy was fighting for
wrong principles, Mr. Cousins was among the first to offer his services.
He raised a company of men and was elected captain of the company, but
the examining surgeon pronounced him disqualified and he was not able
to serve. After this disappointment he located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and
became a practicing lawyer once more. From then until the time of his
death, with the exception of a year and a half which he spent in Tucson,
Arizona, as register of government lands, he was one of the prominent
attorneys of Eau Claire. He held a number of public positions. For
several terms he was district attorney in Eau Claire and he also served
the city as alderman and supervisor. He was elected a member of the
state legislature and was re-elected several times. He married Louisa
Preston in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, and two children were born of this union,
Marshall Cousins and his sister, Mary, who is the wife of James T.
Joyce, vice-president of the Union National Bank of Eau Claire.
Mrs. Cousins, a daughter of Honorable Otis Preston, who was long
prominent in public affairs in Walworth county, was born in White
Pigeon, St. Joseph county, Michigan, and is still living. Air. Preston
was one of the organizers of the Walworth County Fair some sixty years
ago. This has developed, by degrees, into one of the great county fairs
of the country.
Mrs. Cousins, like her late husband, takes a deep interest in public
matters and is interested in the work of the charity organizations and
the Women's Club.
Henry Cousins died on the 25th of October, 1888, at sixty-seven years
of age. Marshall Cousins was educated in Eau Claire and at his father's death
took charge of the estate. At an early age he entered into the banking
business by accepting a position as collector with the Bank of Eau Claire,
of which bank Honorable Wm. A. Rust was then president. July 1st,

Qf^<o&

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1161
1906, the Bank of Eau Claire merged with the Chippewa Valley Bank
under the name of the Union National Bank. Mr. Cousins at this time is
cashier of this bank, the capital of which is $200,000.
He served with the Third Wisconsin Infantry, in the Spanish- Ameri
can War, participating in the Porto Rican campaign under General
Miles, and was wounded in the battle of Coamo. During the war he
served as a Battalion Adjutant, with rank of first Lieutenant. He is
now Regimental Adjutant with rank of Captain Third Infantry, under
Colonel Orlando Holway.
He served a term in the State Legislature and for many years, has
been a Fire and Police Commissioner. In politics he is a Republican
and reads the New York Sun. He is interested in a number of busi
ness enterprises, both in Wisconsin and other states. He is a stock
holder in several banking institutions.
Mr. Cousins is a member of the Eau Claire Lodge No. 112, Anciest
Free and Accepted Alasons; of Eau Claire Chapter No. 36, Royal Arch
Masons; Eau Claire Commandry No. 8, Knights Templars; of the Wis
consin Consistory. He is a member of Tripoli Temple, Ancient Arabic
Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; of the Knights of Pythias; of the
Order of Elks, having served in that organization as Treasurer for many
years. He is a member of the Hoo Hoos and. of the United Spanish War
Veterans. He is a charter member of the Eau Claire Club and now holds
position as secretary and treasurer.
William Torrance, of the firm of John Torrance & Son, he be
ing the son, has been identified with this business since 1877, when
his father assumed charge of the business of the old firm of Leech
& Paul, foundrymen of this city. In addition to his connection with
business activities of the place, Air. Torrance has taken an able and
prominent position in the municipal and civic workings of the city, and
his life has been one of the utmost value to his community. He is
the son of Scotch parents, and was born January 24, 1857, in Airdrie,
Kentucky, his parents being John and Isabella (Johnson) Torrance.
Concerning these worthy people, it may be said that John Tor
rance was the son of Gaven Torrance, and he was born in Lanarkshire,
Scotland, on January 1, 1833, and there received his education. In
Glasgow he learned the trade of a moulder, and in that city he worked
at his trade until 1852, when he emigrated to America and located
in Troy, New York. He remained in that city but six months, and
then went direct to Delhi, Delaware, where for six months he was
employed in the machine shops of the place. Returning to Troy at
the end of that time, he was for two years located in that city, after
which he went to Airdrie, Kentucky, and worked at his trade
until 1858. In that year he made his way to the middle west and
located in Houston county, Minnesota, but his stay there was a short

1162 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
one. In the spring of 1859 he located in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and
from then until now his family has been identified with the place.
He secured work in the foundry there operated by Leech & Paul,
and his ability in his work soon won for him a promotion to the
foremanship of the foundry, in which capacity he continued until
1863. In that year he started a foundry on his own responsibility,
locating at the foot of State street, and in association with Archibald
Gould, the firm name being Torrance & Gould. In 1865 the shop was
burned, the structure being a frame one, and the business was aban
doned. Mr. Torrance again entered the employment of Leech &
Paul, and subsequently worked with C. C. & E. G. Smith, and also
with Thornley & James. In 1877, in company with his son, he estab
lished the present business, knoAvn as John Torrance & Son, which,
guided for many years by the experience of the elder Torrance,
together with his most worthy business qualifications, reached a
place where it now ranks among the leading foundry and machine
shops in the city.
Mr. Torrance was married in Delhi, New York, January 3. 1852,
to Miss Isabella Johnson, the daughter of William and Mary Johnson,
and six children were born to them, named as follows : Isabella, Mary,
William, Nettie, John, Annie and May, the latter named being now
deceased, death claiming her in August, 1880. The mother died on
November 14, 1866, in Evansville, Indiana. In 1876, Mr. Torrance
crossed the Atlantic ocean for the third time, and while in Edinburgh
he was married to Miss Mary Gibson, nee Patterson, in May of that
year. Mr. Torrance died in 1897, a member of the Universalist
church and of the Masonic Order, in which he was affiliated with
the Knights Templar and other bodies.
William Torrance was the third child born to his parents. He
received a somewhat meager education in the schools of the commu
nity in which he was reared, and as a youth he served a full appren
ticeship in the foundry of Leech & Paul. When his father died, years
after having established the business of John Torrance & Son, Wil
liam Torrance carried on the foundry under the same name, and the
firm is still known by that honored title today.
Mr. Torrance is a man of considerable popularity in La Crosse,
and has been particularly active in public life. He is a Democrat
and has taken a live interest in the work of the party since he
reached the years of manhood. He has given worthy service to
La Crosse as an official of the highest order, serving first as alderman
from 1892 to 1898; as mayor of the city from 1903 to 1907, "and he has
also served for three years as supervisor. Again in 1911 he was
elected to the board of aldermen, and is now filling that office. He
was president of the Board of Trustees of the County Asylum for
six years, and in 1908 was appointed Police and Fire Commissioner

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1163
of the City of La Crosse, serving one term under the new law requir
ing five members instead of four. He was named as the fifth member
of the board now serving. Mr. Torrance was one of the organizers
of the La Crosse Bridge & Steel Company, also of the German- Amer
ican Bank, now merged with the Batavia National Bank, with both
of which he has been honorably and prominently connected.
Mr. Torrance is a member of the Universalist church, as was his
father before him, and since 1900 he has been a Mason of the thirty-
second degree. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America
and the Yeomen.
On September 7, 1885, Mr. Torrance was married in the city of
La Crosse to Miss Jennie Gibson. She died in 1894, leaving four
children, — William J., Nettie P., Bessie and Lillian. Mr. Torrance
was married a second time on June 9, 1908, when Miss Sarah Iola
McKown became bis wife, the marriage being celebrated at Flandreau,
South Dakota. Two children have been born of this latter union, —
Elizabeth and Meredith A.
Charles M. Upham. Since the pioneer days of Wisconsin the Upham
family has furnished some of the most notable figures in public and
commercial affairs of the state. To those familiar with political history
perhaps the name which would first come to mind would be that of
former Governor William H. Upham, soldier, manufacturer and
banker at Marshfield, since 1878, and Governor of Wisconsin from
1895 to 1897. Of a second generation of the same family is Frederick
AVilliam Upham, one of the foremost business men of Chicago, and a
national political leader. Concerning these men and other representa
tives of the family appropriate mention is made on other pages of this
work. For the present consideration is introduced the remarkable
career of Charles M. Upham, who for fifty-five years has been engaged
in business at Shawano, in Shawano county.
Only now and then is it given to men of affairs to celebrate the
semi-centennial of a business career which has been continuously cen
tered about one line of general activity, and in one place. Yet, in
1908, Charles M. Upham, amid the congratulations of associates and
the hundreds of his friends and admirers, entered upon the second half-
century of his career as a merchant, capitalist, banker, and leading
man of affairs at Shawano. In 1858 Charles M. Upham established a
small country store at Shawano, walking through the woods from New
London and hie goods went on a barge hauled by Indians. It was a
modest establishment in an old frame building, and from that year to
the present he has been continuously in the mercantile business at
Shawano, now fifty-five years. His enterprise has grown with the
increase of population and with the development of his own remark-

1164 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
able ability, and for a number of years Mr. Upham has been president
of the Upham-Russell Company, controlling half a dozen large stores
and business concerns in Shawano. The company has extensive real
estate interests in the city and adjacent counties, including several
thousand acres of hardwood lumber and cut-over land in northern
Wisconsin. Mr. Upham is president of the Upham Hardware Com
pany of Shawano, of the Hub Clothing Company, and for twenty years
was president of the First National Bank of Shawano, from its organ
ization until he retired. Concerning the origin of the business in
Shawano, and the progress of Mr. Upham 's business undertaking, a
few sentences taken from a -booklet issued at the time of the Semi
centennial in 1908 afford the proper setting and historical retrospect.
"It is a long look backward," to use the words of the article just
mentioned, "from the Shawano county which a stranger sees for the
first time today, with its fertile farms, modern farm houses and barns,
its school houses, churches and creameries dotting the landscape in
every direction to the wilderness of primeval forests absolutely un
broken except for the little settlement at Shawano, trodden only by
the foot of wild animals and the moccasined feet of the red men of the
forest, which was its appearance fifty years ago. And harder still is
it to imagine in the beautiful city of Shawano with its electric lights,
paved streets, beautiful homes and modern places of business, the
little village of scarce a hundred souls, nestling on the banks of Wolf
River, in 1858.
"Into this wilderness in the summer of that year came a boy of
twenty-one to start the pioneer store of Shawano county. It was an
up-hill fight, for Shawano county boasted no railroads or wagon roads
in those days, and he traveled the thirty-two miles from New London
on foot, following the Indian trails through the forest.
"His little stock of merchandise — a few groceries, a few provisions,
and a few, very few, dry goods, six hundred dollars in all — came by
water from New London on a barge poled by Indians. The receiving
of merchandise in those days was not the simple matter which it is
today. The nearest railroad was at Fond du Lac, one hundred miles
away, and mail was carried on horseback from Alenasha only once a
week. Goods ordered from the distant city took weeks to arrive.
But perseverance and pluck won, and from the modest beginning of
a six hundred dollar stock made by Charles Al. Upham in the little
store sixteen by eighteen feet in 1858, has arisen the mercantile house
of Upham & Russell Company, with its eighty thousan'd dollars worth
of stock and annual sales close to a quarter of a million dollars. As
the county and city have grown during the fifty years, so has the
growth of the business founded by Charles M. Upham in 1858 kept
pace with it."

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1165
Some other facts concerning the history and growth of the business
should be added. Associated with the founder of the business at
various times have been his brothers Nathan and Calvin Upham, and
in 1870 the co-partnership of Upham & Russell was formed, at which
time H. C. Russell and G. W. Gibbs entered the business. In 1884 the
partnership was merged into a corporation, the Upham & Russell Com
pany, with a capital stock of two hundred thousand dollars. In 1858
an old story and a half frame building with a covered porch in front
furnished floor space for the enterprise with two hundred and eighty-
eight square feet. By 1908 the total floor space occupied by the
general store, the meat market and the hay barn, the elevator and coal
sheds, clothing store and hardware department amounted to over fifty
thousand square feet. From the general store as founded and con
ducted for a number of years, several of the departments developed
until it became necessary to establish them on an independent and
individual basis. Thus the clothing department outgrew its space in
the general store, and in 1889 a separate store was provided. The
business continued to grow, and in 1904 the business was individually
incorporated with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars. The same
is true of the hardware department, which was first established in
1872 as a tinshop and a few stoves as the principal stock carried. Two
years later its business had grown so that a separate building was pro
vided and from a stock valued at a few hundred dollars, the business
in 1908 carried all kinds of hardware and implements to the value of
seventeen thousand dollars.
The founder and still the business head of this undertaking was
born in the state of Massachusetts, September 21, 1837, a son of Alvin
and Sarah (Derby) Upham, both of whom were natives of Massachu
setts. The younger son of the family was William H. Upham, the
former governor of Wisconsin. Mr. C. Al. Upham had a common school
education in his native state, and in 1852 the family moved to Niles,
Aliehigan. Here the father died, and the mother who had relatives at
Racine, Wisconsin, took her family to that city. Her relatives were
members of the Raymond family, among the earliest settlers of Racine,
Wisconsin. It was in the vicinity of Racine that the mother spent her
last years.
Charles M. Upham grew up to manhood in southern Wisconsin, and
his first business experience was at Weyauwega in Waupaca county,
where his brother Nathan had opened a store. A few years later they
determined to extend their business to Shawano, and it was for the
purpose of opening up the establishment that Charles M„ Upham
made the trip across country previously described.
In 1872 Mr. Upham married Julia Parsons, of Racine. Their two
children are Robert A., and Sarah B. Mr. Upham has been affiliated

1166 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
with the Masonic order for a great many years, and though he keeps
up his dues, seldom visits the lodge rooms any more. For a number of
years he had extensive building holdings in Marshfield, the home of
his brother, Governor Upham, but sold out his property there a few
years ago and practically all his interests are concentrated in Shawano
and vicinity.
Hon. John B. Simmons. The bar of Racine county has no abler nor
better known representative than John B. Simmons who for forty years
has been connected with his profession in this state and' who has practiced
continuously during this period, either in Walworth county or in Racine.
Mr. Simmons is the son of a lawyer who was for many years prominent
in practice in Lake Geneva, so that the name has been associated with
the legal profession in this state for well upwards of half a century.
John B. Simmons has not only been one of the most successful lawyers,
but has done important work as a contributor to legal literature. His
name appears on the title page of a work entitled "Simmons' Wisconsin
Digest," a large work of three volumes, which is to be found in almost
every law office in the state. This work in its general plan followed the
lines of a previous work executed by his father who was long known to
the profession as the author of the first Wisconsin Digest of practical
value. He exercised all the care and judgment of his legal mind in
the course of its preparation of the volumes and they are now regarded
as probably the most indispensable standard reference book on state
decisions to be found in Wisconsin. The publishers of the digest are
Callaghan & Company of Chicago.
Mr. Simmons, who is a senior member of the firm of Simmons &
Walker at Racine, was born at McHenry county, Illinois, October 26,
1851. His father, James Simmons, moved, from McHenry county to
Lake Geneva, Walworth county, Wisconsin, where for many years ue
was one of the most successful attorneys. James Simmons married
Catherine McCotter, who was born in the state of Vermont, where she
acquired her education.
His early education was obtained in the public schools of Elk
horn, Wisconsin, where he was graduated from the high school and then
entered his father's offices in Lake Geneva, where he read law and gained
considerable practical experience from observation of the profession and
clerical work in the office before his admission to the bar of the Circuit
Court at Elkhorn, in 1873. Mr. Simmons was associated with his father
in practice until 1896, in which year he formed a partnership with
Franklin J. Tyrrel of Lake Geneva. On the dissolution of this partner
ship in 1898 Mr. Simmons located at Racine, and for the past fifteen
years has been regarded as one of the leaders of the bar in this city.
Here he formed a partnership with H. A. Cooper, and Peter B. Nelson,
under the firm name of Cooper, Simmons & Nelson. First Mr. Cooper

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1167
and afterward Mr. Nelson retired from this partnership and Air. Ai. E.
Walker was taken into the firm, that change occurring in 1907. Since
then the firm has become Simmons & Walker, its present title, and these
two well known lawyers enjoy a large share of the business in the local
courts and office practice at Racine.
Mr. Simmons is attorney of the Commercial & Savings Bank at
Racine. He has had a prominent part in local affairs and always lends
his influence to any civic improvement and movements of philanthropic
or benevolent nature. He was formerly a mayor of Lake Geneva. In
1876 occurred his marriage to Miss Sarah B. Sturges, daughter of
George W. Sturges, one of the highly respected citizens of Lake Geneva.
Mr. and Airs. Simmons were the parents of two children, John E., a naval
architect in Chicago, and Katherine S., who is a graduate of the Racine
High School and of the University of Chicago, and is now the wife of
Ralph W. Bailey, of Waupaca, Wisconsin. Mr. Simmons and family
have their home at 1013 Lake Avenue.
Everaed L. Ainsworth. About forty years ago there came out from
the New England state of Vermont to Buffalo county, Wisconsin, a young
school teacher. He was one of the early educators in that section of
Wisconsin, and the work which he did there as a schoolmaster left an
impress and individual character which has not been effaced to the
present time. About thirty years ago he became connected with large
industrial affairs which occupied his attention and has been identified
with the lumber business up to the present time. He has been an official
of the American Immigration Company and one of the foremost business
men of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.
Everard L. Ainsworth was born at Roxbury, Vermont, May 20, 1854.
His parents were Luther and Betsy (Silsby) Ainsworth. There were
four children, two sons and two daughters, and all are living, Everard
being the second in order of birth. The father, who was born in Ver
mont, was one of the families of the old Green Mountain state, was a
farmer there and a prosperous and substantial man up to the time he
enlisted in the army, and rose to the rank of captain of Company H in
the Sixth Vermont Regiment. He was killed commanding his company
in the battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. His wife was born in Tioga
county, New York, and died in 1858.
Mr. Everard L. Ainsworth, who was thus left without the care of
parents when less than ten years of age, grew up in his native state,
attended the common school, and later the Vermont State Normal Col
lege. By his own efforts he had secured a fair education, and fitted him
self for a career as teacher. In 1874 coming west he located in Buffalo
county, Wisconsin, where he was engaged as a teacher up to 1882.
He then became an accountant with the Mississippi River Logging
Company, and his connection with this important corporation has con-

1168 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
tinued for a period of more than thirty years. During the last ten
years he has been assistant secretary and is one of the active officials in
its large business.
He also took part as one of the organizers of the American Immigra
tion Company, and has since been secretary of this corporation.
Mr. Ainsworth is a member of Chippewa Falls Lodge No. 176 A. F. &
A. M. of Chippewa Falls Chapter No. 46 R. A. M. and of Tancred Com
mandery No. 27 K. T., being one of the prominent Masons in this sec
tion of the state. In politics he is Republican.
On September 28, 1879, Mr. Ainsworth married Miss Eller Fuller,
who is a native of Vermont and a daughter of Stephen G. and Sarah
(Woodard) Fuller, both her parents having been born in Vermont. The
family circle of Mr. and Mrs. Ainsworth is comprised of the following
four children: Bessie, who is a teacher of latin in the high school at
Chippewa Falls; Mary, who is the wife of E. R. Fri'ssell; Charles, who is
connected with the Potlatch Lumber Company at Potlatch, Idaho, and
Edward, who is a student in the high school at Chippewa Falls.
Louis K. Luse. Among the native sons of Wisconsin who have con
ferred honor and dignity on the state of their birth is found Louis
K. Luse, senior member of the law firm of Luse, Powell & Luse, of
Superior, who has been a leading factor in public and professional life
and a citizen who has been loyal to every trust imposed in him. The
character of a community is judged by the world by that of its repre
sentative citizens, and yields its tributes of admiration and respect for
the genius, learning and labors of those whose works and actions con
stitute the record of the state's prosperity and pride. In the legal
profession, in the field of politics and in the circles of society, Mr. Luse
is esteemed for his ability and genuine worth, and it is, therefore, con
sistent that he be represented in a work of this nature.
Louis K. Luse was born in Dane county, Wisconsin, May 6, 1854,
and is a son of Andrew Jackson and Eleanor (Blachly) Luse, natives
of Ohio. Mr. Luse's parents were married in their native state, after
which, in 1846, they migrated to the Territory of Wisconsin, becoming
pioneer farming people of Dane county. Andrew J. Luse was a
preacher in the Disciples' Church, and during the Civil war was
active in recruiting men for the Union service, two of his sons wearing
the uniform: A. B., who was a member of the Fourth Wisconsin
Cavalry; and Heaton L., who belonged to an Illinois volunteer in
fantry regiment. Mr. Luse was a Republican in politics. He died at
the age of forty-eight years, in 1863, while his widow survived him for
a long period, and passed away in 1910, when in the ninety-fifth year
of her age. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom three
now survive, and Louis K. was the tenth in order of birth.

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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1169
Louis K. Luse was given excellent educational advantages, attend
ing the common schools and Albion Academy of Dane county, and the
law department of the University of Wisconsin. After his graduation
from the latter, in 1876, he first located at Stoughon, Wisconsin, where
in 1878 he was elected the first city clerk of that place. In the fol
lowing year he became a member of the Dane county board of super
visors, and in 1880 was sent as a representative to the General Assem
bly, in which he served one term. From 1887 to 1891 he acted in the
capacity of assistant attorney general of the state, and in June, 1895.
was again appointed to that office, but resigned the office six months later
to go to St. Paul, Alinnesota, as general attorney for the Chicago,
Minneapolis, St. Paul & Omaha Railroad, a position which he held for
four years. Mr. Luse next located in Madison, Wisconsin, where he
formed a professional partnership with Judge A. L. Sanborn, now
United States district judge at Madison, under the firm style of San
born, Luse & Powell, the firm having offices in Madison and Superior.
In 1904, with the retirement from the firm of Judge Sanborn, and the
admittance of Mr. Luse's son, the firm became Luse, Powell & Luse,
and as such it has continued to remain. This has become known as
one of the leading legal firms of Wisconsin, being attorneys for some
of Superior's principal enterprises, including the Soo Railroad, the
Wisconsin Central Railroad, the First National Bank and the Land &
River Company. Since coming to Superior Mr. Luse has served some
thing over one year as city attorney, but resigned on account of the
demands of his practice. He is a Republican in his political views.
Mr. Luse has a well-balanced and discerning mind, and none have a
higher ideal than his of what is due the clients whose cause he under
takes. He has taken rank among the best citizens of the progressive
city with which he has become identified, his professional and personal
excellencies having made him a leader of sagacity and worth.
Mr. Luse was married first, December 31, 1877, to Miss Ella.
Bartholomew, who was born in Lodi, Wisconsin, and who died July
12, 1900, having been the mother of two children: Claude Z., in prac-
. tice as a member of the firm of Luse, Powell & Luse, who married
Gertrude Baker, of St. Paul, Minnesota; and Katherine, at home.
Mr. Luse's second marriage occurred October 22, 1904, when he was
united with Miss Louise Sund, born in Stockholm, Sweden, October 12,
1879. Charles M. Archibald. A former sheriff and county treasurer of
Ashland county, the late Charles M. Archibald was well known in
that section of Wisconsin, had a large acquaintance and friendship
in different parts of the state, and his career was one of varied and
eventful activity. A special distinction attaches to Mrs. Archibald,

1170 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
his widow, in that she has succeeded her husband in the office of
county treasurer, and now holds that position by regular election,
being the only woman who has ever thus been honored in the state
of Wisconsin. Charles M. Archibald was born in Chicago, Illinois, July 2, 1864.
His father, James R. Archibald, was born in County Cavan, Ireland,
and the mother was likewise a native of Ireland. In 1868 the family left
Chicago and located in Minnesota, at Hokah, where Charles M. Archi
bald was reared and attended the common schools. When he was nine
teen years of age, leaving home, he entered the railroad service as a fire
man on the Wisconsin Central Railroad. With three years of experi
ence as a fireman, he was promoted to engineer, and continued
actively as a railroader until 1894. In that year, having been a resi
dent of Ashland for some time, he was elected sheriff of Ashland
county and served two years. During the great gold excitement
in the Klondike, he went to that region as a gold seeker and remaii ed
there until the fall of 1898. During the next four or five years he was
one of the operators in the oil fields of California. His return to
Ashland was in 1903, and in the following year he was elected county
treasurer. His term was for four years, and his faithful and efficient
administration was interrupted by his death on June 4, 1906. Mrs.
Archibald finished out his term until January 1, 1907, and then
continued to act as deputy county treasurer until the fall of 1911,
when she was regularly elected to the office. No other woman in the
state has been honored with choice to so important a position as
county treasurer. Of all the various incumbents of the office at
Ashland, none ever made a record of greater fidelity or more sys
tematic management of the county finances than Mrs. Archibald.
Mrs. Archibald was born at Hokah, Minnesota, September 28, 1867,
her maiden name being Nellie M. Brown. She and Air. Archibald
were married at Hokah, January 1, 1891, and four children were
born of this marriage, namely: Esther, Ruth, Helen, and Charles.
For eight years previous to her marriage she had taught in the public
schools and is a very capable business woman and very popular
in her home community. For the last twenty-two years she has been
an active member of the Presbyterian church.
Walter Kempster, M. D. The appointment in December, 1872, of
Walter Kempster as superintendent of the Hospital for the Insane at
Oshkosh brought to the state of Wisconsin one of the most eminent alien
ists and psychologists whose names and achievements have adorned the
history of American medicine during the last half century. Dr. Kemp
ster has for forty years been a resident of this state, and for that reason
Wisconsin may properly claim his citizenship and the credit of his many
distinguished services. But in truth Dr. Kempster 's rank as a physician

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1171
is among the world 's leaders, and in the profession his name is as familiar
in national and international circles as it is in his home state. One of the
greatest figures in the medical world have expressed the rank and appre
ciation of the services of Dr. Kempster in such manner as needs no com
ment nor amplification. The Venerable Noah S. Davis said that for
twenty-five years he had held a high rank among the more eminent
psychologists of our country. Another great authority in American
medicine spoke: "As an expert medical witness in court he has no
superior. He is an earnest, industrious student of men and affairs, kind-
hearted, true to his friends, fearless of his enemies, and dauntless in his
aims and undertakings. As a public debator he has few equals; as a
writer he is clear and pithy ; and as a citizen he is patriotic and public
spirited. He despises shams and charlatanry, and withal is a courteous
and affable gentleman."
Still another tribute speaks of him as for nearly thirty years occupy
ing a commanding position in America as an alienist, "and it is in this
particular department of medical science that he is best known to the
general public, as well as in the profession at large. As; health commis
sioner of the city of Milwaukee he showed himself equal to the handling
of great problems, in sanitary science, for during his term of office he
handled with consummate skill and success the greatest and most fatal
epidemic of smallpox that ever visited this city. ' ' As indicating the vast
resources and scope of his services, another eminent physician speaks of
him as "the first physician in the United States to make systematic
microscopic examinations of the brain of the insane, and to make of these
micro-photographs. ' ' He read a paper before the International Medical
Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1876, exhibiting these photo
graphs with a descriptive lecture that was regarded at the time a very
great contribution to the Pathology of Insanity. One year before this
meeting he had been requested by the officers of the International Medical
Congress to prepare the foregoing paper in order that the alienists in
attendance from all parts of the world might be made familiar with
pathology of insanity. This address was published in the volume of
Transactions. The photo-micrographs demonstrate perfectly the several microscopic
changes occuring in the various stages of degeneration; from the first
granular speck, denoting departure from the normal tissue, to the com
plete obliteration or destruction of the part involved. The examinations
of which these illustrations were the result, extended through a period
of seventeen years, during which time more than two hundred brains of
insane were thus examined, besides many of the lower animals. Summing
up the results of his observations, Dr. Kempster stated in his address
that it was necessary to appeal to the microscope for an explanation of
these mysterious phenomena which, under the name ' ' insanity, ' ' so long
have baffled the philosopher, theologian and physician; by means of
Vol. v— 1 o

1172 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
this instrument, the pathology of this dread disease would be revealed,
its character understood, and effective measures of treatment established.
The original slides and the photo-micrographs were exhibited to the
members of the Chicago Pathological Society in 1875 by Dr. Kempster,
and he was then made an honorary member, the first physician who had
received this distmction. It has been Dr, Kempster 's aim to demonstrate
by the study of pathology, that insanity is a symptom of diseased brain
tissue, and not a disturbance of the mental faculties independent of dis.-
ease, and his investigation, based upon his long experience demonstrates
this truth. As a result he has been an ardent advocate for the care of
the insane in hospitals, instead of confining them in houses of detention
or asylums. The results of his observations have been published from
time to time in medical journals, transactions of medical societies, etc.,
from 1869 down to the present date, his articles being the earliest con
tributions upon the subject made in the United States disclosing the
results of personal observations. He is entitled to credit as the first
American laborer in this important field.
Thus in a brief manner have been outlined the chief parts in the
career of this eminent Wisconsin physician. By the quality of his char
acter and service, no citizen of the state during the last quarter century
deserves a more distinctive place in this history. The history of his per
sonal career which follows is of high value in itself, as the biography of
an eminent man whose work has been on the highest frame of beneficent
activity. In particular is the biography a contribution to Wisconsin
history in that portion which details his work as health commissioner of
the city of Milwaukee, and in behalf of good government that portion of
this personal sketch might be well emphasized and repeated in every his
tory of this state or the city of Milwaukee.
Walter Kempster was born in London, England, May 25, 1841, a son
of Christopher and Charlotte (Treble) Kempster, and comes of an old
family of England, of Norman extraction. Authentic accounts of the
earliest ancestors extend back to the year 1180. Christopher Kempster,
the father, came to America with his family in 1848 and located in Syra
cuse, New York. By profession he was a botanist and horticulturist, and
he became well knowm in that line, and also made a name in other fields
of thought and endeavor. He identified himself promptly with the cause
of abolition of slavery, and was a personal associate in that work with
such men as Garrison, Phillips and others. He also devoted much time
to the advancement of the Young Men 's Christian Association, an organi
zation which was then in its infancy. Prison reform was then seldom
mentioned or thought of, and he was one of the most vigorous advocates
of reform of prison conditions, as well as one of the earliest in this
country. Seven years of age at the time the family came to America, and reared
in a home and environment which was vivified by such high principles

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN , 1173
and thought as were constantly present in the speech and action of his
father and intimate friends, Walter Kempster had every encourage
ment and incentive to higher undertakings and noble courses of life.
He heard the abolition addresses of the most famous of the Anti-slave
leaders of the times and when the war came on he was ready for the
service both on the grounds of patriotism and the cause of steadfast
devotion to the principles involved. He promptly put an end to his
preparation for college, and volunteered at the first call for three
months troops, becoming a private in Company H, Twelfth New York
Volunteer Infantry. The regiment reached Washington, D. O, May 13,
1861, and camped on the White House grounds, Company H being
located on the present site of the conservatories. While they were in
these grounds President Lincoln frequently talked with the soldiers,
and on one occasion approached young Kempster, who was of slender
build, and, placing his hand on the youth's head, said, "My boy, my
boy, what are you doing here? You should be at home. We don't want
such children as you here ; run in the house and play with my children. ' '
The sadness that overspread his grave countenance was but "the index
of what he knew to be in store for the volunteers. At the time Dr.
Kempster considered the remark as almost a reflection upon his quali
fications for the army. It is now remembered as a benediction.
On May 24, 1861, the Twelfth crossed the long bridge and encamped
on the soil of Virginia. Its chief work was in picketing the Potomac
river until the beginning of the Bull Run Campaign, when it became
part of the brigade under Col. I. B. Richardson. At the close of the
sharp skirmish at Blackburn's Ford on July 18, 1861, young Kempster,
who had already commenced to study medicine, was detailed on duty in
the hospital, and had the immediate charge of the wounded men. At
the battle of Bull Run the Richardson brigade covered the retreat from
Centerville, and soon after that first great disaster to Federal lines, Mr.
Kempster 's service expired. He was honorably mustered out and then
re-enlisted in the Tenth New York Cavalry in November, 1861, for
three years, receiving the appointment of hospital steward. He partici
pated in all the movements of the regiments until April, 1862, when he
was detailed for duty at Patterson Park General Hospital in Baltimore.
As assistant to the surgeon, Major R. W. Pease, he aided in organizing
this large hospital, at one time containing more than twelve hundred
beds, constantly filled with sick and wounded men. He was continu
ously on duty caring for the wounded and sick, until January, 1863,
when he applied to the Adjutant General of the United States Army to
be relieved from duty in the hospital that he might rejoin his regiment,
which was then in the field near Aquia Creek, Virginia, preparing for
the spring campaign. Thereafter he took part in all the engagements
of his regiment, near Fredericksburg, the Stoneman raid, and the fierce
cavalry battle at Brandy Station, June 9, 1863. Immediately after

1174 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
the battle of Brandy Station, Dr. Kempster was promoted to be
first lieutenant of Company D of his regiment, the commission bearing
date of June 9, 1863. He took part in the cavalry battles of Aldie, Mid-
dleburg, Upperville and the almost constant skirmishing necessary to
locate the several commands of the Confederate troops and ascertain
their destination; and long before they reached the historic field of
Gettysburg Pleasonton's cavalrymen knew that the Confederates were
aiming for that locality, and so advised General Hooker, then com
manding the army, but at the time the advice was disregarded. Dr.
Kempster was present during the terrible fighting at Gettysburg, and
in the engagements following, during Lee's retreat to Virginia. During
the time occupied in this campaign, the regiment was without its com
plement of surgeons, and Lieut. Kempster was called upon to care for
the sick and wounded as well as to perform his duties as first lieutenant.
Study and medical reading were kept up during field service, but as
books were bulky and could not be carried, successive chapters were
cut out and sent from home from time to time. While picketing with
his men On Hazel river, preliminary to the battle of Mine Run, he
received an injury which incapacitated him from performing full field
duty, and in consequence he resigned. During the period of con
valescence he completed his medical education at Albany Medical Col
lege and was graduated from Long Island College Hospital in June,
1864. He immediately re-entered the army as acting assistant surgeon
of the United States Army, being assigned to duty at Patterson Park
General Hospital in Baltimore. Soon afterwards he was promoted to
be executive officer and remained in active service until the close of the
war. After the war Dr. Kempster at once took up the study of nervous
and mental diseases, so that almost from the outset of his career his
attention has been directed to the field in which his ability has found its
greatest achievement. He received appointment as assistant superin
tendent of the New York State Hospital Asylum for Idiots at Syracuse,
where he remained during 1866-1867. In the autumn of 1867 he was
appointed assistant physician in the State Lunatic Asylum at Utica,
where he remained until 1873. During that time in 1867, he established
the first laboratory in any such institution in the United States for
the study of microscopic and macroscopic histology and pathology of
the brain. He was also associate editor of the American Journal of
Insanity, contributing to the Journal reports of cases, reviews and other
matter. In December, 1872, he received the appointment of superintendent
of the Northern Hospital for Insane near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where he
remained until 1887. During his twenty years experience among the
insane more than eleven thousand persons thus afflicted came under his
observation and care. Dr. Kempster was the first physician in the

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1175
United States to use carbolic acid internally for the treatment of dis
eases, the results being published in the American Journal of Medical
Sciences and in the United States Dispensatory. He was the first to
introduce and use in this country chloral as a sleep procuring agent,
and was the first to introduce hyoscyamine in the treatment of certain
forms of insanity. His investigations and experiments have been con
stant and profound from the very beginning of his professional career.
The history of the profession records the methods and details of many
of these experiments, but this sketch must merely record the important
results. Dr. Kempster made a notable record while superintendent of the
Hospital in Wisconsin. During the twenty years of his superintendency
there was not one instance of suicide, a death by violence, or serious
bodily injury to either the insane or officials. The laboratory estab
lished in the institutions was one of the best equipped in the United
States, if not in the world, being provided with every instrument neces
sary to the prosecution of such investigation. The reports of the higher
health and lower death rate in the institution attracted the attention of
the English Lunacy Commission, who sent one of their members to the
Northern Hospital for the Insane to investigate the methods pursued
there. Dr. Kempster has made many notable contributions to the literature
of medicine. Some of these articles which attained wide circulation
were as follows : ' ' Some of the Preventable Causes of Insanity ; " " Gen
eral Paresis of the Insane ; " " The Medical Jurisprudence of Insanity ; ' '
"The Care of the Chronic Insane;" "Mental Hygiene;" "Why Brains
Wear Out;" "The Pathology of Insanity," with reports of cases; "The
Character of the Diseased Tissues Found in the Brains of the Insane,"
illustrated by photo-micrographs. The annual report issued by
Dr. Kempster while superintendent of the Northern Hospital contained
much information concerning the history of insanity and its jurispru
dence. His resignation from the Northern Hospital was occasioned by
a complete change made by the legislature of the state in the manage
ment of the public institutions, including the hospitals for the insane.
This new law in Kempster 's opinion, imposed such conditions as to
lower the efficiency of the hospital and prevented the best standards
in the care and treatment of the insane.
As an expert in the Jurisprudence of Insanity, Dr. Kempster has
received distinguished recognition in America and abroad, Among the
important trials to which he has been summoned were those of Gen.
George W. Cole, charged with the killing of L. Harris Hiscock, in
Albany, New York in 1867; the trial of the assassin Guiteau, for the
murder of President Garfield, to which he was called as "medical
counsel" by the United States Government; and the trial of E. M.
Field at New York, as well as many others of importance. He was

1176 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
once summoned as a witness at a trial in Wales, and the character of
his expert testimony was such as to have an important effect on Eng
lish practice, and attracted attention all over the British world. At
the trial, Dr. J. Batty Tuke, the most eminent authority on insanity in
England, was enthusiastic in his remarks about the testimony, saying
"You have accomplished in thirty minutes what we have been trying
to do without success for twenty years, ' ' and he was also congratulated
by the court officials and attorneys. This was the first time in English
courts that the American method was used by the judge, and it was the
direct result of the testimony given by Dr. Kempster, as stated by Dr. J.
Batty Tuke, who was present at the trial, as well as by the lawyers
who conducted the case. This precedent established a distinct advance
in the trial of insane persons who had been accused of crime, and its
adoption was made the subject of favorable comment in English psy
chological journals and in the Continental press of the day.
Dr. Kempster is an associate author of a two-volume work on the
causes of emigration from Europe. In 1891 the United States Gov
ernment had appointed him to examine and report upon the causes of
emigration from Europe, with special reference to the exodus of the
Jews from Russia. With others he made a thorough investigation of
the whole subject, while traveling extensively in Russia and the other
European countries, and his investigations were the subject of the work
just mentioned. The report, full of interesting material, was trans
lated and republished in France and England, and copious extracts
from it found entrance into Russia, although the Russian government
"officially" prohibited the introduction of the report into that country.
After the completion of this report he was requested by the Secretary of
State, James G. Blaine, to undertake a second mission abroad for the
purpose of inquiring into the means employed by foreign governments
to check the introduction of cholera and other dangerous contagious
diseases into their dominions, and to prevent, if possible, any such dis
ease from being carried into the United States during the continuance of
the Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893, cholera being at that
time epidemic in parts of Europe. The inquiries took the investigators
over the routes usually traveled by former cholera epidemics, which
were carefully studied, and a map prepared. The examinations through
the Mediterranean and Asiatic countries disclosed the fact that there
was no quarantine worthy of the name at any of the far eastern places
where it was most needed, and from which cholera and the bubonic
plague spread over the earth. Following this investigation, a report
upon ' ' the International Dissemination of Cholera and Other Diseases, ' '
containing an account of the conditions seen, was published by the
United States Government in 1893. In this work was outlined a method
of international quarantine, which would prevent these dangerous dis
eases from spreading beyond the limits of those countries where they

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1177
originate. As a result, the methods of quarantine introduced for the
year 1893, prevented cholera from invading the United States during
that time, although the disease appeared in several of the European
ports where intending passengers to the Columbian Exposition were
detained, under the quarantine regulations imposed. No vessel could
unload passengers in the United States which did not have a clean ' ' bill
of health" from the American consul at the port of sailing, counter
signed by a surgeon detailed for that purpose, who was a member of
the United States Marine Hospital Service, and under the immediate
orders of the surgeon general of that corps.
In 1894 Dr. Kempster was nominated health commissioner by the
Mayor of Milwaukee, with the view of placing the health department
under Civil service rules. This appointment was immediately antago
nized by all the powers and elements of corrupt and inefficient citizen
ship. An epidemic of smallpox existed at this time, and the aldermen
who opposed civil service methods or any other methods but their own,
took every opportunity to obstruct and hinder the commissioner and
health department from taking proper and effective means to check the
spread of the disease. A few aldermen went so far as to publicly
harangue the people, inciting them to resist the orders of the health
commissioner in his attempts to carry out the plain, provisions of state
and municipal laws. Their acts and words resulted in mob violence,
which was openly commended by them, and which lasted several days,
during which time the health officers were violently attacked and forci
bly driven away from quarantined houses, through which the mobs
walked, thus causing a rapid spread of the epidemic, and seriously affect
ing the business interests of the city. These damagogues formed a com
bination in the council, obtained numerous injunctions, intended to pre
vent the proper care of smallpox patients, and began what they called
"impeachment" proceedings, resulting in a long so-called trial, which
lasted for several weeks before a "packed" committee of the common
council, some of the most active, outspoken and bitter opponents of
the commissioner being selected to "try" the case. The whole pro
ceeding was a farce, or worse. The most competent expert witnesses from
other cities, as well as from Milwaukee, gave testimony as to the value
of the system employed by the commissioner to check the spread of the
epidemic, but those gentlemen were dismissed with a sneer. The result
was a foregone conclusion even before the farce of a trial began, and the
committee of the common council reported in favor of removing the
commissioner from office, which report was speedily rushed through the
common council. Legal proceedings were at once commenced by the
commissioner for a review of the lawless acts of the common council, and
in furtherance of such proceedings he obtained an injunctional order
from the Superior Court, ordering and restraining the common council
from in any manner interefering with the commissioner in the discharge

1178 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
of his duties or molesting him in his office until the further order of the
court. Notwithstanding such injunction and order, and in open defiance
thereof, by direction of the common council and some city official, the
police forcibly ejected the commissioner from his office. In order to
defeat the ends of justice and prevent a renewal by the court of the
mo6k trial proceedings, every conceivable obstacle was interposed by the
common council that was possible, but to no avail; the circuit court
finally decided that the proceedings of the common council in attempting
the removal of the commissioner were unlawful, null and void, and that
the commissioner had been unjustly and illegally removed from his
office. Although the commissioner was excluded from his office by force,
for the space of one year, during which time it was occupied by another
person, selected by the common council, the Supreme Court of the state
affirmed the decisions of the lower court, whereupon Dr. Kempster
resumed charge of his office, and in an action brought therefor, which
was taken to the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, that court held that the
commissioner was entitled to the full salary for the entire time during
which he was unlawfully and forcibly dispossessed. Meanwhile the state
legislature passed a "civil service act" which provides that all employes
of the city must pass an examination held by the Civil Service Commis
sion, and this is now on a permanent basis.
Probably no single official experience in this state was more significant
than that of Dr. Kempster in the office of health commissioner in Mil
waukee. For that reason the details of his fight to retain office have been
properly reviewed at length. During his administration arrangements
were made for taking daily analysis of milk, and of the city water, these
improvements resulting in lowering the infant mortality. A laboratory
was provided for this purpose and the office of Analyst and Bacteriologist
created. For the first time in the history of the city the bakeries and
candy manufactories were regularly inspected and thoroughly cleaned.
All other sources of food supply were regularly inspected and supervised.
The result brought about a lower death rate for the entire city, and placed
Alilwaukee on a parallel with the healthiest cities of the United States.
Also during his term as health commissioner which continued until 1898,
was inaugurated a systematic inspection of the sanitary condition of the
schools. These investigations disclosed imperfect ventilation, and in sev
eral buildings the escape of sewer gas, defects which were at once cor
rected. A system of co-operation between the teaching force and the health
department was established, and this resulted in checking the spread of
contagious diseases, the correction of unwholesomeness, and was an
important factor in increasing the general health of the entire city. As
a municipal officer Dr. Kempster also advocated legislation for prevent
ing of unnecessary noises, for the abatement of the smoke nuisance, and
for prevention of a contaminated water supply, by proper disposition
of the sewage, which for years had been discharged into the lake within

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1179
a mile of the intake. His recommendations have since been verified and
adopted by a commission appointed for jthat purpose. He formulated
plans for the disposal of the city garbage and for a more perfect super
vision of all matters affecting the health of the citizens.
Dr. Kempster for a number of years was professor of mental dis
eases in the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons. He has
taken an active interest in school and literary affairs, and has delivered
several addresses on general literary topics, among which may be men
tioned: "A Study of the Mental Epidemics of the Middle Ages;"
"Was Hamlet Insane?" "Personal Experiences in the Dominions of
the Czar;" "Education in Russia;" memorial addresses on the occa
sion of the funeral exercises for President Garfield and President
McKinley; Memorial Day addresses; and among other contributions to
Civil war literature, he is author of "A History of the Cavalry of the
Army of the Potomac ; " a study which places many old facts in a new
light and is considered an actual addition to the literature and the sub
ject. Dr. Kempster has found delight and recreation in literary and
kindred pursuits, in spite of the activity which his professional work
has involved. He has devoted time and study to the collection of books
illustrating the origin and growth of printing and engraving, and has a
number of books, engravings and prints illustrating this subject, among
them being some of great rarity — such as Albrecht Duerer V" The
Knight, Death, and the Devil," "Melancholia," the series "The Life of
the Virgin," eighteen pieces, "The Sword Hilt," "St. Christopher,"
and others. His collection of engravings, and of coins which illustrate
the progress of coinage from about 700 B. C. and many specimens and
photographs illustrating anthropology, the development of the art, and
many kindred subjects, is probably the finest owned by any individual in
the state of Wisconsin. The doctor is enthusiastic on all matters per
taining to the history of the Civil war, and spent more than twenty
years in collecting material for his history of the "Cavalry in the
Army of the Potomac."
Dr. Kempster is a member of Wolcott Post, G. A. R. and of the Mili
tary Order of the Loyal Legion, of which he was elected commander in
1901. He also holds membership in the Society of the Army of the
Potomac and other military organizations. He is a member of the
American Medical Association and of numerous minor associations and
societies of the profession. He has served as president of the Wisconsin
Chapter of the Alpha Mu Pi Omega fraternity. He is affiliated with
Masonry, and with other benevolent and literary bodies.
On December 2, 1892, Dr. Kempster married Frances S. Fraser, of
Milwaukee, daughter of William Shillaber Saunders and Sarah (David).
Saunders, both of Massachusetts.

1180 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Colonel John G. Clark. The life and works of John G. Clark, long
a resident of Lancaster, Wisconsin, and identified with many of its most
worthy public enterprises all the years of his connection with the com
munity, are of such an order that a detailed account, were such avail
able must prove of the utmost interest to all who have any knowledge of
the man; but failing to present such a record, substitution is made of as
full and complete an account of his active career as may be had. Long
years of service in the legal profession have brought him honors in plenty,
and his public service has been of a quality and character such as to place
and hold him high in the esteem and regard of his fellows, who have long
recognized in him all those admirable qualities that make for the highest
type of citizenship and render the possessor a most genuine friend of the
people. His military career alone would have shed sufficient lustre upon
his life for one individual, but it is characteristic of the man that in what
ever field of activity he finds himself, there shall be employed the noblest
attributes of his nature. Born in Alorgan county, Illinois, on July 31,
1825, Colonel Clark is the son of Thomas Pye and Isabelle Clark, and it
is particularly fitting that in a sketch of this nature mention be made of
the parents and ancestry of the subject.
It may be said at the outset that the father of the subject bore the
patronymic of Pye at birth, and maintained that name until his mar
riage with Isabelle Clark, when by act of legislature, he assumed the name
of his wife, instead of following the usual custom. Thomas P. Clark, then,
was born in Pemberton near Wiggin, Lancashire, England, on June 26,
1781, and was but fifteen years old when he came to America in company
with an elder brother. He first stopped in Pennsylvania, working upon
a farm in summer and attending school in winter. Later he went to New
York City, then a budding metropolis, and entered the employ of a mer
cantile house, where he spent several years. Naturally a man of very
independent character, he decided to go into business on his own responsi
bility and fixed on Havana, Cuba, as the field for his future operations.
While enroute with his stock in trade, the ship was seized by pirates and
everything was lost except some fine silks which he was able to conceal
upon his person. The lives on the captured ship were spared and the
men were landed upon the island of Cuba. He spent several years fol
lowing his disaster clerking in a store at Havana, then returned to the
states, to Augusta, Georgia. It was there he married Isabella Clark, who
was born in that city on January 11, 1786. In 1822 they moved westward
stopping one winter in Tennessee, arriving the next year in Morgan coun
ty, Illinois, settling on a farm where the LancgWter attorney and public
man was born. Here he acquired a very large tract of land involving
himself very largely in debt for that purpose ; and then, when everything
was so promising, the panic of 1837 came and in the payment of his debts,
lands, personal property, everything was lost. The family then moved
to Missouri, locating near Marion College, in Marion county, in order

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1181
that the children of the family might have better educational advan
tages. The father was unusually well educated, considering the times
and opportunities, and he was ambitious that his four sons be similarly
or better equipped for their struggle with the world. Here followed
several uneventful years in which the senior Clark devoted himself to
agriculture in which he was always greatly interested and became a
local authority. But farming in a new country such as Illinois then was
without means of transportation or markets must necessarily grow irk
some to one of his restless energy, and it is in no wise surprising that
when the excitement caused by the discovery of gold in California
spread over the country he determined to go there. In 1850 he went
to New Orleans to fit out an expedition but in the midst of it was
stricken with cholera and died in the course of a few hours. The widowed
mother died in the same year. The children of these parents were as
follows: William, Thomas O, Charles I., and John G. The first born,
William, died in California of which state he was for many years a
resident. Thomas was educated for the medical profession, and is said
to have lost his life while serving as a surgeon in the Confederate army
which he joined under compulsion. Charles I. went to Texas in 1853
or 1854, and was there pressed into the Rebel service, although himself
a Union man in principle.
John G. Clark as a youth possessed that independence of spirit that
caused him to early seek his own maintainanee, and he began in a hum
ble way, taking employment as a day laborer. While yet under twenty,
he gave up work and entered Marion College, near the family home in
Missouri, and in September, 1845, entered Illinois College at Jackson
ville, Illinois, and two years later was graduated from that institution.
It is but fair to him to say that during his college career he further
manifested his naturally independent nature by discharging part of his
college expenses through performance of janitor work and teaching, but
when he was graduated he still owed a considerable part of his course
which he later paid with generous interest.
Returning to Missouri, he found that he could not earn a living
wage as a teacher and no other suitable labor presented itself. He
accordingly, in 1847, went to the lead regions of southwestern Wiscon
sin Which were then in a flourishing condition. After trying his hand
as a miner for two years, except during the winter months when he
taught school, he engaged himself to James E. Freeman, a government
surveyor, and departed with him and his men for the northern part of
the state of Wisconsin. Although he went out as a man of all work,
opportunity had nevertheless knocked at his door. Surveying northern
Wisconsin because of its numerous lakes and obstructions was difficult
work calling for a great deal of triangulation, and Freeman was greatly
pleased to avail himself of his knowledge of higher mathematics. Soon
Freeman placed in his hands a solar compass with the use and adjust-

1182 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
ment of which he directly became very expert and was then placed in
charge of a party. Such was the beginning of his career as a surveyor,
a calling which he followed for several years on his own account working
in Wisconsin, Alinnesota, Iowa and Missouri. In the course of this
work he encountered every hardship that could be imagined in con
nection with the wifderness work of this order. Twice in his surveying
experience did he winter in the near vicinity of Lake Superior, without
shelter beyond such as might be provided by a chance gathering of pine
boughs when quitting work for the night. These hardships came to be
lightly regarded by himself and his men, and it is undeniable that many
dormant qualities of good were fostered and brought into action by the
contact with rough and rugged nature in the wilderness in which
their duties called them. It is probable that Colonel Clark in his day as
surveyor explored and surveyed as much virgin territory as any man in
Wisconsin who might be named. He located a portion of the state line
between Alissouri and Iowa in 1852 and surveyed the adjacent lands, and
many other government contracts were carried out by him with zeal
and accuracy.
The public service of Colonel Clark began in 1853, when he was
appointed Deputy Clerk of the Circuit Court of Grant County. .In the
following year he was elected clerk of said court and succeeded himself
in 1856 and again in 1858. In 1860, so well had he acquitted himself
in his minor office, and so capable did he show nimself, he was the
choice of his party for state legislature, and he was still serving in that
office when all lesser interests became engulfed in the War of the Rebel
lion. It may be assumed that he was one of the first to offer himself to
Wisconsin and the Union. When the first call was made for volunteers
he went to Madison to enlist, expecting to become a member of the
second regiment of Wisconsin Infantry, but upon the earnest request of
the Governor who desired his services and had other plans in view for
him, he deferred enlisting at that time. He was not to be kept out
of the service very long, however, and on the 14th of June, 1861, he
was commissioned and went to the front as first Lieutenant and Quarter-
Master of the Fifth Wisconsin. In this capacity he passed through all
the experiences of his regiment from that time until May, 1863. He took
part in the Seven Days battles in June, 1862, in the battle of South
Mountain in the following September, and in the battle of Antietam a
few days later. He also participated in the battles along the Rappahan
nock in the following December, and in May, 1863, in the battle of
Fredericksburg at that sanguinary part of the field known as Marye's
Heights. In May, 1863, he was appointed by Secretary of War Stanton
to the post of Provost Marshal of the Third District of Wisconsin, with
the rank of Captain of Cavalry, headquarters at Prairie du Chien, an
office he continued to hold until February 19, 1865, when he was com
missioned Colonel of the Fiftieth Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, of

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1183
which he took immediate command with headquarters at Jefferson City,
Missouri. This regiment was scattered with other troops over some half
dozen counties and for a while Colonel Clark had command of all. In
July the Fiftieth Wisconsin was ordered to Fort Leavenworth and there
Colonel Clark came for the first time in actual personal touch with all
of his regiment, which had previously served in companies or sub
divisions wherever needed. Shortly after this he was sent with his
command to the upper Missouri to do service on the frontier, controlling
the Indians and performing other duty for which his men had not
enlisted and which they were loath to perform. All were anxious to
return to their respective vocations, and the colonel and his men felt
with every reason that an injustice had been done them. It is unde
niable, however, that the excellent standing of the regiment at hea'd-
quarters with regard to drilling, discipline, etc., was mainly responsi
ble for this state of affairs, and while the Colonel resented the unjusti
fiable continuance of duty on the part of his regiment, he was also
pardonably proud of the splendid reputation that had made such con
tinued duty desirable. However, he and his regiment were mustered
out June 19, 1866, and the irksome duties ended.
While clerk of the court, Colonel Clark had improved his leisure
time reading law and shortly prior to his enlistment had been admitted
to the Bar ; and in 1867, shortly after his return to civil life, he opened a
law office in Lancaster. Since that time he has been continuously
engaged in the practice of law in Grant county except for some four
years as Federal Judge of Oklahoma, to which office he had been
appointed by President Harrison. The opening up and settlement of
Oklahoma gave rise to many new and difficult questions of law and many
questions were carried for review to the supreme court of the United
States. Analysis of the decisions of the latter court will show that the
decisions of Judge Clark were invariably affirmed and upheld by the
highest court, a matter of justifiable pride and satisfaction to him.
For a number of years Colonel Clark served as mayor of Lancaster,
and also gave some years of service as chairman of the town and county
boards. While chairman of the town board the construction of the
railroad through this part of the state was carried on, and he at that
time was most active in the interests of the city, assuming responsibil
ities of a financial nature, it is said, that must have ruined him had
failure attended the plans of the railroad people. He is known to be
the practical builder of the first iron bridges and school houses that
have been erected in Grant county, and while mayor of the city of
Lancaster, he acted as chairman of the committee that secured, and
superintended the construction of one of the first and best county
asylums for the insane to be built in the country.
In 1874, Colonel Clark was a candidate for the nomination for
Congress by the Republican party, of which he was one of the organiz-

1184 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
ers in 1853 and 1854, and of which he has all his life been an active
member. Colonel Clark has distinguished himself by having held the office of
the Master of the Masonic Lodge, Lancaster Lodge No. 20, for fifteen
years, a most unusual record. He is a member of the G. A. R. and
has been a member of the Odd Fellows since 1861, and served that order
as Grand Master. He also served as Grand Representative to the Sov
ereign Grand Lodge for a number of years.
Colonel Clark was married February 19, 1852, to Minerva Ann
Pepper, the daughter of Plarvey Pepper of Mineral Point. Their two
children are Alice, now Mrs. Tiel, a resident of California, and William
Harvey, a resident of Oklahoma City. The Colonel and his faithful
wife make their home in the residence that has sheltered them for the
past sixty years in Lancaster.
Despite his long years of activity in varied business relations,
Colonel Clark is still hale and hearty, and is one of the men whom
Lancaster reckons with when important affairs are on foot in the com
munity. His position is as secure now as it was in the days of his
young manhood, and Lancaster honors and esteems him as one who has
contributed no small portion to the best activities of the city and
county. Louis G. Bohmrich. With offices in Suite 809 Wells building, Mr.
Bohmrich holds a place of definite prestige as one of the strong and
popular representatives of the bar of the city of Milwaukee, where he
controls a substantial practice of .important order. He is a man of
fine intellectual and professional attainments, has been an influential
factor in connection with political affairs in Wisconsin, and his sterling
character and genial personality have gained to him unqualified popu
larity. He has served in various offices of public trust and in 1900 was
the candidate of the Democratic party for the office of governor of Wis
consin, — a fact which indicates his status in the state of his adoption.
Mr. Bohmrich was born in the province of the Rhine, Germany, on
the 26th of October, 1855, and is a son of Joseph and Amalia (LeClair)
Bohmrich, who passed the closing years of their lives in 1895-1897, the
father having been a successful manufacturer of furniture and a citizen
of steadfast rectitude. He whose name initiates this review was afford
ed the advantages of the excellent educational institutions of his father
land, and in his collegiate course he gave special attention to the study
of physics and political economy. He was a student in a college at
Koenigsberg, Prussia, from 1875 to 1878, inclusive, and here made
particular 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 in 1885, in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, he became a

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1185
naturalized citizen of the United States. From 1880 until 1885 he held
the position of superintendent of the Cincinnati Warehouse & Malting
Company, and thereafter, with residence in New York city, he was
representative for the eastern states of the M. L. Pettit Malting Com
pany, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, until 1892, when he became superin
tendent of the company's business at its headquarters, in Kenosha. He
retained this position until 1895, and thereafter he was engaged in
active business as a general expert in grain and its products until June,
1897, in the meanwhile continuing his residence at Kenosha. He began
reading law under effective private preceptorship and finally entered
the Chicago College of Law, which is the law department of Lake For
est University. In this institution he was graduated as a member of
the class of 1897 and from the same he received his degree of Bachelor
of Laws. He was forthwith admitted to the Wisconsin bar and has
since been engaged in the active and successful practice of his profes
sion. He maintained his home at Kenosha until April, 1901, and had
in the meanwhile an office in" Milwaukee as well as that place. Since
the spring of 1901 he has resided in Milwaukee, and he is one of the
essentially representative members of the bar of the Wisconsin metro
polis, where he has been concerned with much important litigation
in the various courts and where he is legal representative of various
corporations and prominent individual interests. In 1897-8 he served
as city attorney of Kenosha, and by re-election he continued the incum
bent of this office during 1899-1900. In 1897 he received, through Gen
eral Fairchild, appointment as a member of the committee of one hun
dred, which had in charge the arrangements for the AYisconsin semi
centennial. From 1903 to 1906 Mr. Bohmrich was a member of the
directorate of the Merchants' & Manufacturers' Association of Mil
waukee. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Knights
of Pythias, and in his home city holds membership in the Deutscher
Club and the Milwaukee Athletic Club.
From the time of receiving the right of franchise in the land of his
adoption the Democratic party has numbered Mr. Bohmrich as one of
its stanch adherents, and he has been an active and effective exponent
of its principles and policies as well as an influential factor in its coun
cils in Wisconsin. In 1900 he was the candidate of his party for
governor of Wisconsin, and he made a most spirited canvass of the
state in the campaign of that year, his opponent having been Hon.
Robert M. La Follette, who was elected for his first gubernatorial
term. Mr. Bohmrich made a most excellent showing at the polls but
his defeat was compassed by normal political exigencies. In 1892
Mr. Bohmrich made, in the Democratic state convention, the speech
nominating Hon. George W,. Peck for governor, and it will be recalled
that in the ensuing election Mr. Peek was victorious. In 1911 Mr.
Bohmrich was appointed by Governor McGovern, a member of the

1186 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Wisconsin Perry's Victory centennial commission, and he has given
most effective service in this position.
In the primary election of 1906, when Francis E. McGovern was
defeated for renomination as district attorney of Alilwaukee county,
as the result of the manoeuvers of what was termed a combination of
the anti-graft-prosecution forces, Mr. Bohmrich made, at the Pabst
theater, the opening speech for AIcGovern in the latter 's independent
campaign for the office of district attorney, to which he was re-elected.
In November, 1912, Air. Bohmrich 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,
through which he had the privilege of casting his vote for President
Wilson in the electoral college.
Essentially broad-minded, liberal and public-spirited in his civil
attitude, Air. Bohmrich is ever ready to lend his influence and co-opera
tion in the furtherance of measures, enterprises and policies which he
believes for the best interests of his home city, county and state, and
through his character and services he has honored the commonwealth
in which he has long maintained his home and to which his loyalty is
unswerving. The family attends St. Alark's Episcopal church.
On the 12th of September, 1882, in Cincinnati, Ohio, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Bohmrich to Miss Elizabeth Knauber, who was
born and reared in that city and who is a daughter of Jacob and Eliza
beth Knauber. Air. Knauber came from Germany to the United States
in 1848 and became one of the prominent and successful representa
tives of the pork-packing industry in Cincinnati, where he built up an
extensive business, with which he continued to be actively identified
until 1890, after which he lived virtually retired until his death, which
occurred in 1911. His widow, who is eighty-nine years of age at the
time of this writing, in 1913, still resides in Cincinnati. Air. and Airs.
Bohmrich have three children — Mrs. Stella von Cotzhauerr, Mrs.
Brunhilda Kellogg, and Miss Louise, the last mentioned remaining at
the parental home.
Dr. Charles Edgar Albright, prominent in Milwaukee for many
years as a physician and later as a solicitor for the Northwestern
Mutual Life Insurance Company, was born in Darcyville, Tennessee,
on January 1, 1867. He is the son of George N. and Barbara (Thomp
son) Albright, both natives of North Carolina, but who spent the
greater part of their lives in Tennessee. The mother died in 1877
leaving a family of six children, five of whom are still living. The
father, at the outbreak of the Civil war enlisted in the Seventh North
Carolina Infantry of the Confederate Army, and he served in all the
battles of the war in which his regiment participated, including the first
battle of Bull Run and the Wilderness fight. At the former battle he

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN H87
came within a few yards of the guns of the Third Wisconsin. Near the
close of the war, Air. Albright was captured and remained for several
months a prisoner in the Federal prison at Johnson's Island in Lake
Erie, off the coast of Ohio. Previous to this he had been made a second
lieutenant, and as such was mustered out of the Confederate service.
Dr. Albright completed his preliminary training in the common
schools of his home, after which he entered Rush Medical College
where he graduated in medicine in the class of 1899. After two years
of practice as an interne in the Presbyterian hospital he became con
nected with the medical department of the Northwestern Mutual Life
Insurance Company at Alilwaukee, Wisconsin. He remained with the
company in his medical capacity until 1903, and then resigned to
spend one and one-half years in European travel and study. Upon
his return home Dr. Albright again entered the employ of the North
western Alutual Life, this time as a solicitor, and as such he has since
been actively engaged in and about Milwaukee. His success in this
line of work has been phenomenal, and he has within the year 1913
captured the company's first prize for the greatest volume of business
written, this being the seventh consecutive time that Dr. Albright has
carried off that honor.
With reference to the wonderful career of Dr. Albright in this
field of work, we here quote verbatim an article which appeared in a
Milwaukee publication in August, 1912, under the heading ' ' Wisconsin
Portraits," by Ellis B. Usher. The article follows: "When a man
beats a world's record, people sit up and look him over. When a Wis
consin man does it we feel the 'Rah Rah Rah' spirit rise within us for
the 'home' man. At the recent national meeting of the Northwestern
Mutual Life Insurance Company, it developed that Dr. C. E. Albright
had not only captured the Company's first prize for the seventh con
secutive time as the greatest writer of insurance, but he had distanced
the record of every insurance writer in the world, writing $1,850,750
of business in twelve months. This is a very wonderful achievement
in itself but the victory is more notable, in comparison with insurance
writing of former days, because it demonstrates that the men of great
business turn more and more to life insurance as an intelligent method
of protecting their commercial enterprises as well as their estates. And
this fact gives Dr. Albright his opportunity. He was educated in medi
cine, is an accomplished scholar and a man who has seen the world.
As a director of the Wisconsin National Bank and the Wisconsin Se
curities Company of Milwaukee and a stock holder in other financial
concerns, he is in constant contact with large commercial enterprises,
in short, an intelligent man of affairs, who talks life insurance to men
of large interests who appreciate expert advice. He gives them per
sonal service. The subject is never forced upon unwilling people. This
is his secret. The figures given represent the business done for the

1188 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Northwestern. The company's limit is $100,000 on a single life. Last
year he wrote one man for $600,000 so the surplus had to be placed
elsewhere, a suggestion of a still larger aggregate as his actual accom
plishment. Dr. Albright is an excellent illustration of the value and
the necessity of 'finding oneself in these days of specialization. The
winner in these days must be a specialist. He must know something
of value and know it better than anybody else.
Dr. Albright is a Mason of the thirty-second degree, and is promi
nent as a Shriner and in other branches of Masonry. He also belongs
to the Milwaukee Club, the Milwaukee Country Club, the Deutscher
Club, the Town Club, the University Club of Milwaukee, the Midday
and University clubs of Chicago, and the Union Club of Cleveland,
Ohio, and the Duquesne Club of Pittsburgh, and Union League Club,
New York. He is a Republican in his political faith and he and his
family are communicants of the Emanuel Presbyterian church.
On November 21, 1899, Dr. Albright was married to Aliss Laura
Uihlein, the daughter of Henry and Helena (Kreutzer) Uihlein, both
pioneer residents of Milwaukee. Mr. Uihlein has been president of the
Schlitz Brewing Company for many years and is prominent in other
business enterprises in this city.
Dr. and Airs. Albright have two daughters — Lorraine and Alarion,
and a son, David.
Peter Truax. In a lifetime of activities few men are able to
encompass so broad interests and such accumulations of material
prosperity as the late Peter Truax, of Eau Claire. Fifty-four years
of his life was spent at Eau Claire and vicinity, where he was one of
the pioneer lumbermen, the owner of a large property in lands and
industrial and financial concerns, and long regarded as one of the
most resourceful and enterprising factors in the business affairs of
the Chippewa Valley. Death came to him at his country residence
on Truax Prairie, near Eau Claire, on March 18, 1909. A brief out
line of his career is consistently a part of Wisconsin history, and no
citizen of Eau Claire more justly deserves such a permanent memorial.
Of eastern birth and family, Peter Truax was born in Steuben
county, New York, February 24, 1828, so that he was eighty-one
years of age when called by death. During his boyhood his parents
moved to Allegany county, New York, and it was in the schools of
New York State that Peter Truax received all the book education
which was granted him, and which was limited in accordance with
the facilities of all public education in his time. In 1853 the family
came west to Wisconsin, settling" in Walworth county. The father
of Peter Truax died in Eau Claire when more than one hundred
years of age. Peter Truax had four brothers, all now deceased,
namely : John Truax, of Menominee ; Nathan, also of Menominee ;

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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1189
David, of Eau Claire; and Joseph, whose home was at Eau Claire.
There were also three daughters, and the only one to survive the late
Peter Truax was Mrs. Wylie of Black Creek, New York. In 1855
Peter Truax moved to Eau Claire, and located on what later became
known as Truax Prairie. His energies were devoted chiefly to farm
ing until 1865, in which year he took up his residence in the town
of Eau Claire, and was identified with general merchandising until
1873. It was in keeping with his broad business capacity that his
interests were seldom confined to any one line. While farming and
merchandising occupied the earlier years of his residence in Wis
consin, it was at an early period of the great lumber industry in
this section of the state that his investments began in timber lands
and in the practical work of logging. Besides his large holdings of
timber lands, his investments comprised large amounts of real estate,
not only in Wisconsin but elsewhere. For several years before his
death, Peter Truax was estimated as one of Eau Claire's wealthy
men. Besides real estate in the cities of Superior and Eau Claire,
his interests extended to saw mill properties with the Cloquette
Lumber Company, and to stock in an electric railway in the state
of Idaho. One of the largest buildings in the early days of Eau Claire
was known as Music Hall, at the corner of Barstow and Kelsey streets,
a structure built by Mr. Truax. Many of the older residents recall the
theater on the top floor of that building. Subsequently the music hall
was replaced by the present Kahn-Truax Building. In Eau Claire
is located a fine residence erected by Mr. Truax some years before
his death, but it was little frequented by him since his preference
was for his country home on Truax Prairie, and it was at the latter
place that his death occurred. For a number of years his chief occu
pation and diversion was the raising of fine trotting horses at his
farm on Truax Prairie, and as a part of his farm he built- and main
tained the fine track, on which to exercise and develop his stock.
All over the state he was known as one of the most prominent figures
of trotting horses, and in his stables were to be found some of the
most valuable trotters in the country.
It would take many pages to describe in detail the business
career of Mr. Truax, but from what has been stated in preceding
paragraphs it will be seen that he was one of the most substantial
and one of the ablest business men of Wisconsin. The chief source
of his success lay in his own character. He possessed great foresight
and judgment in business affairs, and his acquisition of wealth was
due to his native ability to take advantage of opportunities. His
strong characteristics were his honesty, his shrewdness, his straight
forward disposition in all his dealings with others. There was in
the late Peter Truax no tendency to sacrifice his convictions of right
in behalf of his own personal advantage or of expediency. This is

1190 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
illustrated by his devotion to the cause of the Prohibition Party, of
which he was long one of the leaders in the state, and often allowed
his name to go on the ticket of that party, though he recognized that
he was only the leader of a forlorn hope. In every way his was a
type of citizenship which is of the greatest value to any community
or state. During his residence in Allegany county, New York, Peter Truax
was married September 23, 1852, to Miss Cordelia Avery. Mrs. Truax,
who survives her late husband, is one of the venerable pioneer women
of Northern Wisconsin, where her home ha*s been for more than fifty-
five years. It is by no means as a result of her many years of resi
dence in Eau Claire and vicinity that Mrs. Truax holds so high a place
in the esteem and affection of the people of this locality. In the
domain of practical charity it is doubtful if any other resident has
been so instant in giving and so steady in sustaining and upholding
the broad purposes and activities of benevolence. Of her immediate
aid to the poor and deserving, given in many cases, there can be
no record, and she would be the last to wish any memorial of her
unostentatious charity. In this respect it may be said that hers has
been a life "of many unremembered acts of kindness and of love."
In some special instances, however, her contributions are matters of
public knowledge. In the building of the handsome Young Men's
Christian Association Building at Eau Claire, her contribution
amounted to sixteen thousand dollars. To the churches and other
organized charities her purse has ever been open, and her resources may
be said to have largely built two church edifices in that city. She
is herself one of the very active workers in the First Congregational
Church of Eau Claire.
Charles E. McLenegan. A thorough academic training, a wide
and varied experience in dealing with educational institutions, an
inherent sympathy with the uninformed attitude of many people
toward books as educational tools and as friends, a faculty for bring
ing disassociated elements together in a common cause, and a sincere
appreciation of the library as a public institution — there are the qualifi
cations which have made Charles E. McLenegan 's administration as
librarian of the Alilwaukee Public Library one of the best the city has
known, while his unfailing courtesy, his infinite tact and the ability
to meet, all kinds of people under varying circumstances have resulted
in his universal popularity among those who have occasion to visit the
institution under his charge. Since young manhood, Air. McLenegan
has been associated with work of an educational nature, and his com
prehensive knowledge of human nature, gained through long years of
experience as a teacher, has aided him materially in discharging the
duties of his public position. Mr. McLenegan is a product of the farm,

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1191
having been born near Beloit, in Rock county, Wisconsin, January
23, 1858. He received his early education in the Beloit public schools,
and later attended Beloit and Racine Colleges, being graduated from
both institutions. On completing his collegiate course, he commenced
to read law, but shortly thereafter decided to engage in educational
work, and subsequently became an instructor in Racine College. He
later held a like position in Kenyon College, and then became head
master of Alarkham Academy, head of the English department, Alil
waukee High School, and of the same department in the Boys' High
school, Brooklyn, New York. At the time of the establishment of the
West Division High school, in Milwaukee, Mr. McLenegan returned
to this city to become its principal, and from 1893 held that position
until he was appointed to his present position, October 12; 1910. He
entered upon his duties on November 15th following.
Air. AlcLenegan possesses a personality enabling him to take his
proper part on public occasions, and business acumen fitting him to
plan and administer large projects. He has introduced a number of
innovations which have added to the efficiency of the technical machin
ery and credit is largely due to his efforts for the great power that the
Milwaukee Public Library has become.
Joseph P. Carney. Despite the fact that the preliminaries of the
most exciting national presidential campaign in years were in progress
the Milwaukee municipal election of April 2, 1912, attracted .more
general attention from press and people than any other political event
of the month. The previous Socialist administration in one of Ameri
ca's largest cities had been watched closely, and not without some
anxiety, and when the time came for a new decision by the local elect
orate the result was of more than ordinary significance in the nation.
On the non-partisan ticket which was successful at the polls and
turned the Socialists out of office, the candidate for the city treasurer-
ship, Joseph P. Carney, led all the other candidates in his majority,
and this too in the face of a concentrated attack from the opposing
forces. Mr. Carney proved himself an excellent campaigner, and
through his personal popularity and on his fine record as alderman in
previous administrations he received a vote of confidence such as has
seldom been given in Milwaukee elections. In the conduct of his office
Mr. Carney has aimed solely at the best interests of the city and the
people without regard to class* or faction, and every citizen receives
the same courtesy and privileges in this branch of municipal service.
A native of the city which has so justly honored him, Mr. Carney
was born on January 1, 1871, a son of James M. and Bridget Carney,
the former a native of Milwaukee and the latter of Ireland. His
father is an employe in the water department of Milwaukee. Joseph
P. Carney was a student of the ninth district public school, finishing

1192 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
there at the age of twelve in 1883, and then attended the East Division
high school one year,. His practical career began when he was thirteen,
at which time he was taken into employment in the editorial office of
the Milwaukee Journal, and he has long been identified with the typo
graphical trades in this city. After serving out his apprenticeship
as printer, he remained in the employ of the Journal for eight years,
and was foreman of the composing room on leaving that office. He
then went to the Daily News and had charge of the composing room
for that paper fourteen years.
Mr. Carney has been prominent in the civic and social life of his
home city for many years, and enjoys the esteem of all classes of
citizenship. At the age of eighteen he was mustered into the Wiscon
sin National Guard in Company G of the Fourth Infantry, was elected
first lieutenant and later captain of his company.
Politically he is a Democrat of the progressive type, believing in
the rights of the common people exercised through regular forms of
the constitution and statutes. His principles and his experience have
aligned him in absolute opposition to Socialism, and his record in pub
lic office is sufficient testimony on this point. At the April election
of 1908 he was chosen alderman-at-large for a term of four years, and
from this office entered upon his duties as city treasurer following his
triumph at the polls in 1912.
Mr. Carney has been a member of the Alilwaukee Typographical
Union for the past twenty -four years, representing the union for many
years in the Federated Trades Council, and was its delegate to the
International Typographical Union at Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. Car
ney and his family are communicants of the Catholic church and he is
a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters and the Ancient Order of
Hibernians. The Carney home in Alilwaukee is at 786 Fortieth street. His do
mestic life has been one of rare felicity, and in the modern generations
of Americans he has reason for particular pride in his large family of
children. He was married in this city on May 19, 1891, to Miss Frances
Kleiner, daughter of John and Alargaret Kleiner. Mrs. Carney has
always been devoted to home and family, and in the careful training
of her children has had little time and less inclination for the less
important activities of women in clubs and social affairs. Thirteen
children have come into their home circle, ten of whom are living,
namely: Joseph E., born November 30, 1893, now with the Sterling
Wheelbarrow Co. of West Allis ; Irene M., born June 30, 1895 ; Clarence
J., September 14, 1897 ; Roland H., February 13, 1899 ; James G., Jan
uary 17, 1902; Cyril G., Alay 27, 1903; Margaret F., September 25,
1904; Frances J., March 16, 1906; John H., February 8, 1908; William
C, April 7, 1911. The deceased children were: A son, stillborn, April
30, 1892 ; Florence, born September 9, 1896 ; and Carol G., born March

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1193
26, 1900. This is a fine household of strong and alert young folks, and
being trained for lives of usefulness and honor.
Burr W. Jones. For more than thirty years Burr W. Jones has
been an active member of the Wisconsin State bar, among whose dis
tinguished members, by his learning, industry, ability and character,
he has held a high rank, while he is no less valued in the community
as a liberal-minded and enterprising citizen. Mr. Jones, now one of
the three oldest practicing legists in Madison, was born at Evansville,
Rock county, Wisconsin, March 9, 1846, and is a son of William and
Sarah (Prentice) Jones, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the
latter of Ne^w York. Willliam Jones came to the territory of Wiscon
sin in 1845, and first located in Walworth county for a short time, then
removing as a pioneer to the vicinity of Evansville, in Rock county,
where he continued to reside until his death in 1855. After his death,
his widow married Levi Leonard, also an early settler of Rock county.
There were but two children in the family : Burr W., and a sister who
married A. J. Pettigrew and is now deceased.
The early education of Burr W. Jones was secured in the district
schools of his native locality, which he attended during the winter
terms, while spending the summer months in assisting his father in
the work of the home farm. He subsequently attended Evansville
Seminary, after leaving which he took up the vocation of teacher, in
which he proved himself capable and popular. But however competent
he was for the educator's vocation, he took it up only as a means of
securing the necessary pecuniary equipment with which to further his
education, and as a stepping-stone to the law, to which he aspired as
his permanent calling. Thus educating himself, he was twenty-five
years of age before he graduated from the law school, although he had
completed the classical course in the University of Wisconsin the year
previous, and had for classmates several men who have attained more
than ordinary eminence in the profession of law. After finishing his
law course, Mr. Jones entered the office of Col. Vilas for a short time,
but within the year opened an office of his own in Portage, soon there
after returning to Madison to enter the office of Judge Alden S. San
born, one of the pioneer lawyers of the state. This association lasted
only a short time and afterwards Mr. Jones practiced alone until 1874,
at which date he formed a partnership with Gen. A. C. Parkinson, and
later one with F. J. Lamb. He subsequently practiced alone for some
time, until forming his connection with Judge E. Ray Stevens, which
continued until the appointment of M. Stevens to the bench.
Mr. Jones has not entered very largely into political life, his affilia
tions with the Democratic party in a state formerly very largely Re
publican, as well as his own tastes, which are those of a scholarly gen
tleman, having probably combined to exclude him from positions in

1194 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
national political affairs which he is eminently fitted to occupy. How
ever, in 1872, at the very beginning of his political career, he was
elected district attorney on the Democratic ticket and reelected in
1874, and in 1882 he was sent to congress from what was then the
Third district, a Republican stronghold which was at the time indulg
ing in a party conflict. During his two years of service he demon
strated his ability to fill the position, but a union of the divided Re
publican forces prevented his return and substituted Robert Al. La-
Follette, although the fact that, he ran far ahead of his ticket spoke
for itself of his congressional record. In 1891 he was elected city
attorney and held the office for some time, and was also chairman of
the first state tax commission for 1897-8. He has served his own party
as chairman of the State Democratic convention in 1892 and as dele
gate to the Democratic National convention in 1896, and has repeatedly
declined to act upon similar occasions. He is an eloquent speaker,
and his services have always been in demand above his power to accept
for campaign work and other occasions when the persuasive voice of
the orator is needful. He has delivered addresses before various state
and county bar associations. Mr. Jones has chosen to place the empha
sis of his legal work along two lines — primarily, upon the legitimate
work of the attorney, and the laurels won in his legal battles, when
the ablest counsel of the Northwest have been arrayed against him
have been fairly obtained and well deserved, for his learning is exten
sive and accurate, his judgment in legal matters nearly infallible, and
his courtesy, under the most trying of circumstances, unfailing; sec
ondly — upon his work as a member of the faculty of the law school,
which position, as lecturer on Domestic Relations, and the law of
Evidence, he has filled most acceptably for more than twenty-five years.
In this connection he has produced a treatise on the law of Evidence
which has gone through several editions and is a standard authority.
Mr. Jones' legal attainments are of a solid rather than a showy nature.
He is thoroughly grounded in elementary principles, and possessed
of a fine discrimination in the application of legal precedents. While
he is a fluent speaker, his style is noticeable for purity and accurate
use of words. Unlike many, he did not abandon his classical studies
when he left college ; his literary tastes are those of the student, and
he frequently appears upon the programs of the Madison Literary
Club, of which he is a member. He also holds membership in the Uni
versity Club, and socially is widely known throughout the city. Mr.
Jones is very active in his habits, and a tireless worker. He is enthu
siastic in whatever engages his attention, and takes great interest in
the friends and attachments of his early life. With great confidence
in the growth and prosperity of Madison, he is a large property holder,
being one of the twenty-five heaviest tax payers in the city, and has
thus shared in the increase of values.

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1195
On December 4, 1873, Mr. Jones was married to Miss Olive Hoyt,
who was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and reared in Madison, daugh
ter of L. W. Hoyt, an early settler of Dane county, Wisconsin, and
sister of Frank W. Hoyt, a leading banker of Madison. She was a
charter member of the Woman 's Club, of which she was presiding
officer for some time, and was an active participant in the social life
of the city. Her death occurred April 19, 1906, leaving one daughter :
Alarion B., now the wife of Walter Al. Smith, librarian of the Univer
sity of Wisconsin, who has two daughters: Olive and Janet, and a son,
Burr. In 1908, Air. Jones was married to Katharine AlacDonald, a
native of Wisconsin, who is widely known in social circles of Madison
and prominent in educational work. Before her marriage she was
for many years Assistant Secretary of the State Library Commission,
and editor of the periodical publication of the American Library As
sociation. She is now a member of the Madison Library Board. The
family home is at No. 112 Langdon street.
Charles L. Kissling, Sr., Al. D. One of the distinguished early
physicians and surgeons of Milwaukee, the late Dr. Charles L. Kissling
was in practice in this city about twenty years, and was one of the
leading German-American physicians of Milwaukee during the period
including the decades of the fifties and sixties.
Charles L. Kissling, Sr., was born at Ulm, Wuertemberg, Germany,
Alarch 17, 1827. He was educated in the preparatory schools of Ulm,
and graduated in medicine from the University of Teubingen in Wuer
temberg. For several years he was an army surgeon in his native
province, and in 1851 came to the United States, and after landing at
New York went direct to Milwaukee, which was a young but vigor
ously growing town at that time. He allied himself with the best
circles of the little city, and continued to practice medicine there until
1871. On account of failing health he then returned to Germany with
his family, locating in the city of Stuttgart, the capital of Wuertemberg,
and never returned to America. He died at Stuttgart, February 12,
1878. In 1862 Dr. Kissling was commissioned by the government of
Wisconsin as examining surgeon for Milwaukee county in the general
order providing for a draft of the militia. He was a Democrat in
politics, was affiliated with Aurora Lodge of Masonry in Milwaukee,
and was also an active member of the German Musical Society.
Dr. Kissling married Miss Caroline Buehler in Germany before he
had come to America. In 1871 all the family returned to Germany,
where Mrs. Kissling died February 1, 1883. There were two children
in the family, Edwina, and Dr. Charles L., Jr. Edwina, who died in
Straasburg, Germany, December 1, 1890, was the wife of Col. Carl
Schwartz, who was an officer in the German army, and stationed at
Straasburg at the time. Both the children of the late Dr. Kissling, Sr.,

1196 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
¦were born in Milwaukee. Dr. Kissling, Sr., was a member of the school
board in Milwaukee during the years 1864^65-66-67-68.
Charles L. Kissling, Jr., M. D. A son of the pioneer Milwaukee
physician, whose career has been briefly outlined above, Dr. Charles
L. Kissling, Jr., is bound to Alilwaukee by the ties of nativity and by
the loyal affection which has come through his important professional
and civic relations with the city in later years.
He was born in Alilwaukee, February 14, 1859, was reared in the
city until twelve years of age, during which time he attended the pub
lic school in the Second ward, from 1865 to 1869, and the German-
English Academy from 1869 to 1871. In the latter year, as already
related, the father took his family to Germany, and there he continued
his studies in the schools of Stuttgart, and at Ulm, from 1871 to 1880.
Dr. Kissling is a product of the best university training of Europe,
and from 1880 to 1886, was a student in medicine and sciences at the
University of Munich, where he was graduated. During the following
year he was. in the hospitals in Munich, and in 1887, with his thorough
equipment he returned to his native city of Milwaukee, from which
he had been absent for sixteen years. Dr. Kissling has built up a large
practice and is regarded as one of the leading physicians and surgeons
of the city. During 1890 he returned to Germany, during the illness
of his sister, and remained there three months. His sister had also
for some time attended the school in the Second ward of Milwaukee,
In politics Dr. Kissling is a Republican. He has never been a poli
tician in the usual sense of the term, but has given some very valuable
service to his home city as a member of the board of education, of
which he has been a member for about eleven years. He was first
appointed a member of the board in 1900, serving until 1905. In 1907
he was elected by the people for the regular term of six years, and in
April, 1913, was again elected for another term of six years.
Dr. Kissling has membership in the Milwaukee County Medical
Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society, and American Medical
Association. He is affiliated with Aurora Lodge of Masons, to which
his father also belonged, and with Kilbourne Chapter, R. A. M., and
Wisconsin Commandery, K, T. He is a member of the board of the
German-English Teachers Seminary of Milwaukee.
Dr. Kissling married Miss Grace Gordon Forbes, of London, Eng
land where she was born and educated. Her father was the late Rev.
Granville Forbes, an Episcopal minister of London.
Carl C. Joys. Nearly sixty years ago, or in 1855, a young Nor
wegian sailor left the high seas to become a citizen of the United
States, but he chose his home along our great inland waters where
he could still follow the life of a mariner. The young seaman was

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1197
John Joys and his location was Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the interim
since then Milwaukee has taken its place as one of the largest cities
and marts along the Great Lakes, and the young man's name, as
years passed, became one of the best known and most prominent
in this city in connection with marine affairs. He has lately passed
from the scene of his long activity, but his sons, one of whom is
Carl C. Joys, our subject, are continuing the prominence of the fam
ily name in connection with this line of business.
Capt. John Joys was a native of Farsund, Norway, and in his youth
as a sailor before the mast he visited many of the great ports of the
world, becoming a cabin boy at the age of thirteen. He came to the
United States in 1855 and located at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where
he entered the merchant marine service on the Great Lakes that same
year. He rapidly worked his way upward and soon became a cap
tain. Later, in company with Frederick Layton and Edward Cole, he
built the schooner James Christy, of which he was captain several
years, and other craft under his charge during his lake career were
the schooners C. G. Breed, Waucoma and Alice B. Norris. He re
tired from the occupation of sailing master in 1875, in which year he
entered the firm of G. D. Norris & Company, ship chandlers. Later,
with his brother, Andrew M. Joys, he bought out the old firm and
established the firm of Joys Brothers to continue the ship chandlery
business. After a long identification with this line of business activ
ity he passed away at his home in Milwaukee May 23, 1910, at the age
of seventy-seven years. His funeral was conducted under the aus
pices of Excelsior Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he
was a member, as he was also of Wisconsin Commandery, No. 1,
Knights Templar, and a large concourse of marine men and other
friends paid respect to the passing of one of Milwaukee's pioneers
and worthy and esteemed men. Captain Joys wedded Christine
Gabrielson, who died in 1865, and who was a daughter of Samuel
Gabrielson, an old pioneer of Milwaukee, who died in 1907. Two
children were born to this union, Samuel, now deceased, he having
passed away May 8, 1900; and Carl C. Joys, the immediate subject
of this review. The father married, second, Emily Lund, and four
children were born of this union: Emma, deceased; John Joys, Jr.,
a resident of Milwaukee and now vice-president of the Joys Brothers
Company; Alma, who is now Mrs. Cyrus J. Williams and resides
in Los Angeles, California ; andt Elizabeth, deceased.
Carl C. Joys was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, February 11,
1860, and was educated in the public schools of this city. In 1875
he took employment in the grain commission house of H. B. Kellogg,
but in 1885 he quit the grain business and entered the marine busi
ness of the late Capt. David Vance. Two years later he became a
partner of Capt. Vance, when was established the Vance & Joys

1198 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Company, which is engaged in marine business as transportation
and vessel agents and of which Mr. Joys is now president. He is
also president of the David Vance Company, the province of which
is marine insurance. Mr. Joys has now been a member of the Mil
waukee Chamber of Commerce thirty years and he is also a member
of the Lake Carriers Association. He is not only numbered among the
prominent business men of this city, but he has also assumed other
responsibilities of citizenship in connection with its public life. In
1900 he served as a member of the city service commission, which
looks after the civil service part of the official force of this city, and
in 1911 he was made a member of the harbor commission, his term
extending to October, 1915. In politics he is a Republican, as a
staunch admirer of Senator La Follette, and at all times is an advo
cate of progress and civic betterment. Fraternally he is affiliated
with Excelsior Lodge, Free & Accepted Masons, Milwaukee, and
with Wisconsin Commandery, No. 1, Knights Templar, in this city.
On June 2, 1886, the same day of President Cleveland's marriage
to Miss Florence Folsom, Mr. Joys was united in marriage to Aliss
Josephine Saveland, daughter of Capt. Zach Saveland, who became a
pioneer settler in Milwaukee along in the early '40s and who died in
this city many years ago. Mrs. Joys was born and educated here
and passed away February 9, 1903. To this union was born two
children, Carl C. Joys, Jr., who is a graduate of the University of
Wisconsin and now resides in Pittsburg, Pa., and Florence, a grad
uate of Downer College, Alilwaukee. Mr. Joys resides at 358 Hanover
street and has spent all his life in this same ward in this city.
William L. Pieplow. There is special consistency in according in
this publication definite recognition of the character and services of
this well known and highly esteemed native son of Milwaukee, for
he has not only won success and prestige in connection with business
activities of importance but has also shown himself to be animated by
the highest of ideals in connection with civic affairs and has been defi
nitely influential in connection with educational matters in the state
that has ever represented his home. He is a young man of resolute
purpose, well defined convictions and progress spirit, and his high sense
of personal stewardship has been shown in many ways. Such loyal and
public-spirited citizens represent much in the community life, and it
is gratifying to present in this publication a brief review of the career
of Mr. Pieplow.
William L. Pieplow was born at Bay View, one of the most at
tractive residence sections of the city of Milwaukee, on the 12th of
April, 1876, and is a son of Charles and Caroline Pieplow, both of
whom were born in Mecklenburg, Germany, and both of whom passed
the closing period of their lives in Alilwaukee, where they established

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1199
their home many years ago and where both held secure place in pop
ular confidence and esteem. Charles Pieplow was a sailor on the high
seas as a young man and later became identified with navigation inter
ests on the Great Lakes. After his retirement from a seafaring life
he held for more than twenty years a position as foreman in the rolling
mills of the Illinois Steel Company at Bay View. Both he and his wife
were devout communicants of the Lutheran church and Airs. Pieplow
was for many years president of the Ladies' Aid Society of St. Lucas
Evangelical Lutheran church.
William L. Pieplow gained his early educational discipline in the
Lutheran parochial school and the public schools of Milwaukee and
supplemented this by effective course in a local business college. He
has known personal responsibility since his boyhood days, as he was
but fifteen years of age when he assumed a clerkship position in a
hardware store. It may also be noted that at the age of twelve years
he manifested his musical talent by becoming a cornet player in the
Bay View Band. In 1893 he became identified with the American
School Board Journal and for ten years he was its office manager and
associate editor: In this connection was fostered his deep and abiding
interest in educational affairs, and it is pleasing to be able to make
the following extracts from an appreciative estimate written by Wil
liam George Bruce, publisher of the periodical mentioned:
"I have had the opportunity of viewing the subject of this sketch
at a close range and to observe from time to time his development and
progress. When Pieplow came, some years ago, to the School Board
Journal, of which I am the publisher, he was fresh from a business
school and inexperienced in the ways of the world. But he realized
that he had much to learn, much to acquire, much to digest. He took
an accurate measurement of himself, threw all conceit to the winds
and applied himself with industry to his task. He not only became an
accurate accountant, a good correspondent, but he also mastered the
English language so as to make him a forceful writer on school admin
istrative topics. This in itself was an achievement. It not only meant
close application to duty but at the same time a broadening of vision
and a strengthening in general educational equipment. It required
a dogged determination to swing himself into a higher and broader
field of useful activity. Thus Mr. Pieplow succeeded in raising himself
from a mere office clerk into an editorial writer on school administra
tion of a higher order. During this time he also acquired proficiency
in executive labors.
"When Mr. Pieplow entered the school board he at once assumed
a commanding position. His familiarity with the subject of school
administration, together with the high aims and purposes with which
he was imbued and the unflinching attitude on all measures making
for the better schools, were soon recognized. When he went to the

1200 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
legislature to ask for the abolishment of a school board of which he
himself was a member it was freely predicted that he was doomed
to oblivion. Some of his closest friends were antagonistic to his efforts.
The progressive element to which he had allied himself and whose
most prominent exponent he had become, won its battle. Instead of
oblivion, new honors awaited him. The judges of the local courts, to
whom was assigned the task of creating a new school board, placed
Mr, Pieplow 's name first on the list of appointees. In the whole con
test he was a picturesque figure, at all times eloquent and forceful,
unselfish and bold.
"Mr. Pieplow holds a responsible position with the A. J. Lindemann
& Iloverson Company, where both his executive ability and educational
qualifications are brought into play. He is capable of much work,
solving intricate problems and surmounting difficult obstacles. Mr.
Pieplow is a fine type of the progressive young man of the day. Let us
have more just like him."
After his retirement from active association with the School Board
Journal Mr. Pieplow was for two years engaged in the monument busi
ness, with Charles Lohr and Edward Boyle. In 1905 he became the
advertising manager of the A. J. Lindemann & Hoverson Company,
and a short time later became the manager of the Arcadian Alalleable
Range Company. From his early youth Mr. Pieplow has manifested
deep and intelligent interest in governmental affairs, — national, state
and local, and he presided at big political campaign meetings before
he had attained to his legal majority. lie has been arrayed with the
progressive wing of the Republican party and has been a valued factor
in its activities in his native state. He has been a member of the Alil
waukee board of school directors since 1902, and was re-elected to this
important post in 1913, for another term of six years. He was presi
dent of the board in 1908-9 and this distinction was accorded him when
he was but thirty-two years of age, as a concrete expression of the
objective appreciation of his ability, loyalty and effective services.
His address in retiring from this office is a noteworthy contribution to
the educational history of the city and state, his having been the
fiftieth annual report of the affairs of the public-school system of Alil
waukee. Mr. Pieplow is a popular figure in the business and social
activities of his home city, is a director of the South Division Civic
Association, is president of the Security Loan & Building Association,
and is president of the Handel Choir, one of the representative musical
organizations of an intensely musical city. Both he and his wife are
zealous communicants of the Layton Park English Lutheran church.
On the 24th of April, 1901, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Pieplow to Miss Emilie Klingbeil, of Alilwaukee, and they have one
daughter, Erna, who was born May 6, 1903. )

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1201
Julius Goll. With the death of Julius Goll in 1896, Milwaukee
lost one of her most successful business men, a man who had been a
pioneer merchant in the city and whose business had grown from a
small affair to large proportions, in keeping with the growth of the city
itself. Mr. Goll showed throughout his business career, keen ability
along commercial lines and the strictest integrity and honesty, so that
his success was due, not only to his active and energetic handling of the
affairs of his company, but also to the splendid reputation which the
firm of Goll and Frank possessed, and which was due in no small meas
ure to his own personal efforts.
Julius Goll was born at Biberach, in the kingdom of Wurttemberg,
on the 16th of February, 1823. Biberach was at one time one of the
Free Cities of Germany, and has since grown to be a manufacturing
city of considerable importance, so that in the town of his birth Mr.
Goll was able to receive the training that aided in making him success
ful. After receiving a common school education, he became an appren
tice to Michel Friess, a dry goods merchant of the city and in his estab
lishment he learned the business from the ground up, and when his
apprenticeship was completed he was thoroughly equipped with knowl
edge that would make him a valuable employee to any dry goods mer
chant. After the completion of his apprenticeship Mr. Goll spent sev
eral years as a salesman in Paris and Lyons, France and in Muehlhausen.
Elsass. It was during this time that the western part of the United
States was being settled, and the wonderful stories of this land of
opportunity were drawing from Europe of the best that she had to give.
The tales he heard inspired Julius Goll with the desire to see this new
county, and even though it proved a fiction yet he would have gained
a greater knowledge of the world and of conditions than by staying at
home. This was typical of Mr. Goll to investigate things for himself
and not depend on others for information he should have obtained at
first hand. He therefore took passage on a sailing vessel bound for
New York in 1849.
Upon his arrival he found a position as salesman in a dry goods
store in the then famous business section. He only remained a short
time, however, the call of the west was still urgently ringing in his ears.
He first stopped, on his western journey at Holland, Michigan, but he
had not been there long before he was taken ill and had to go to a hos
pital in Chicago. When he had recovered a few weeks later, he began
to look about him for a new location and was attracted by the then
rapidly growing town of Milwaukee. It was at this time, in 1850, a
town of about twenty thousand inhabitants, many of whom were Ger
mans, and upon viewing the city, Mr. Goll was struck with its possibil
ities, not only from its advantageous location geographically, but also
from the class of people who were beginning to settle there perma
nently. Mr. Goll determined, consequently to establish a business in

1202 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
this city, and to make it a "large, prominent and popular dry-goods
establishment." He kept these three qualities in mind, intending that
it should be "prominent, on account of the amount and extent of its
business, and popular, by reason of its liberal, conscientious and straight
forward system of conducting its business. ' ' All through his career he
held to these ideals and carried them out.
He came to Milwaukee in 1850 and opened a small dry goods store
in partnership with Henry Stern, on East Water street. It was in
1852 that the firm of Goll and Frank had its beginnings, the business
being carried on in the same location, 447 East Water street, only the
first floor of the building being used for store purposes. The country
around Milwaukee began to become more thickly settled and the firm
of Goll and Frank found their business increasing. They soon had the
reputation of being industrious, capable and fair-dealing, and even at
that time they carried an unusually good line of goods. They not only
sold these in the store but owned a horse and wagon and sent a man
out on trips throughout the neighboring country, thus spreading their
reputation widely. Their trade had increased so much by 1855 that
they had to move into larger quarters and so rented a store at 463 East
Water street where they began to do a wholesale and retail dry goods
and notion business. In 1860 they moved into another store at 443
East Water street, and then came the outbreak of the Civil war, so dis
astrous to many business firms. Goll and Frank had the foresight to
realize conditions, and so in 1862 they sent one of their men to New
York and he bought heavily. Mr. Goll having been called to Europe
at this time joined him later and together they made even heavier invest
ments. This was a wise proceeding, for prices soared and they made
large profits, as well as establishing their credit with the eastern houses.
They were now recognized as one of the soundest business houses in the
western wholesale trade, and so rapidly did their wholesale business
grow that it was necessary to separate it from the retail, the latter being
transferred to the corner of Third and Prairie streets. The wholesale
business proved all that the firm could well handle and the retail busi
ness was discontinued after May 1, 1884.
The wholesale business in 1863 was moved to a larger store at 261-3
East Water street, which in 1872 was struck by lightning, and had to be
rebuilt, this being done on a larger scale. The building was added to
several times between this time and 1896, and in the latter year the erec
tion of the present modern building was begun. Covering an area of
one hundred and twenty feet by one hundred and forty feet, and seven
stories in height, it is one of the finest buildings in the city.
This new building was erected after the death of Mr. Goll, though
he had been in favor of its erection and probably had he lived would
have taken an active part in planning the new building. His health
began to fail in 1895 and although he gave up his business and went to

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1219
to in hopes of getting a start of a competitor must be eliminated in
order to maintain the standing that has heretofore been established by
our predecessors, and reach a still higher position among other busi
ness organizations."
On October 20, 1875, Mr. Bishop was married to Mary E. Graham,
of Alilwaukee. Her parents N. M. and Alary Louise (Foster) Graham,
were formerly residents of Port Byron, New York. Mrs. Graham's
brother, Jacob T.' Foster was colonel of the First Wisconsin Battery dur
ing the Civil war, and her son, Warren Al. Graham, enlisted in the First
Regiment, and was wounded in the battle of Falling Waters. He sub
sequently died in a hospital, and was the first soldier of the Civil war to
be buried in Alilwaukee, his funeral being conducted with military hon
ors. Air. and Airs. Bishop have two sons: Sidney H. Bishop, born
October 17, 1878, and Warren J. Bishop, born November 23, 1879, and
two daughters, Adelaide V. Bishop, born May 10, 1882, and Myrtle B.
Bishop, born December 17, 1885. The pleasant family residence is
situated at 904 Summit Avenue, Milwaukee.
Hon. Christian Widule of Milwaukee is an exceptionally fine ex
ample of that substantial class of foreign born Americans who become
not only model citizens of the United States, but also take leading posi
tions in vocational, civic and other important phases of our public life.
Unpretentious, but self-respecting; unofficious, but purposively deter
mined ; unobtrusive, but of thorough integrity, — this type of man forges
to the front almost unconsciously, through the sheer wholesomeness of
his character and its salutary effect on those about him.
Mr. Widule 's native country was the Province of Silesia, in Germany,
and in the community of Tarominitz, of that region, lived his parents,
Gottlieb and Johanna (Wiegenauke) Widule. They were both native
Germans, the father a tailor by trade. In their Silesian home, July 10,
1845, was born the son whom they named Christian, and who is the sub
ject of this review.
When the boy was four years of age, the Widule faniily emigrated to
the United States and became residents of Milwaukee. There the father
became an employe for the old Galena railroad, which he left to accept
an appointment as sexton for the Gruenhagen Cemetery, remaining in
the latter work until 1855. In that year he returned to the tailoring
business which he continued to follow in Milwaukee for the ensuing
twenty-three years, retiring in 1878. He lived with his son, Christian
until the close of his life at the age of seventy-two. He was the father of
two sons and two daughters, the daughters being now deceased. Gott
lieb Widule, Jr., brother of Christian Widule, is still living, a retired
merchant. He has three children, Geo. C. Widule, of the law firm of
Widule & Mensing; Louis G. Widule, county clerk of the Milwaukee
Co., and Lillian Widule residing with her father.
Vol. V— 13

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1220 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
During his boyhood years, the public and parochial schools of Mil
waukee contributed to the educational development of Christian Widule,
while early vocational experiments added their quota to the business
knowledge of the youth. Having left the schools at the age of fourteen
years to accept an apprenticeship at Garnera drug store, he received
during the term of his service there first fifty cents and later one dol
lar a week. He next acted as office boy for the Justice of the Peace, with
which work he combined some evening study, and also did billposting
in odd moments, to secure his tuition, and it was after a period of activ
ity thus spent that he was able to continue his studies and eventually
enter the drug business in a capacity decidedly more to his advantage
than that in which he had served in previous days. For five years he
was engaged in the work in connection with Henry Fess, Jr., and he
then formed a business relation with J. H. Fesch, also in the drug
business, so continuing for several years. After spending two years in
the city of St. Louis, and Brunswick, Missouri, Mr. Widule returned to
Milwaukee in 1868 and established a drug business of his own at the
corner of Seventh and Chestnut streets where it is still located. His
more than forty j'ears of activity in the business at that point have
gained for him a solid business reputation among the people of the
city, and his place, although he is no longer the active proprietor is
popular and prominent in its locality.
In the matter of public service, Mr. Widule has never been found
wanting. He has given freely of his time and talent in all capacities
to which the people have called him, and his service has been of a whole
some and genuine quality, reflecting in generous measure the many
excellent qualities that have characterized the man. He is a stanch
and true Republican and varied and significant have been the honors
that this party has placed upon him. He has been on many occasions a
delegate to party conventions, and he is especially proud of the fact that
he was a delegate to the convention that nominated Hon. William E.
Smith for Governor. In 1898 President McKinley appointed Mr. Widule
assistant postmaster of Milwaukee, which position he filled with such
marked ability that he was re-appointed to the same offiee in 1906, since
which time he has continued to hold the position. In 1876 Mr. Widule
was defeated when he was a candidate for the General Assembly, but
he was triumphantly elected to the office in 1878, serving one term. In
1886 he was elected to the office of state senator, and at the session of
the senate his splendid qualifications were found to fit him for the chair
man of the committee on education, and this committee reported favor
ably on the now famous statute, known as the Bennett Law.
On January 17, 1868, Mr. Widule was united in marriage with Miss
Emelia, daughter of Henry and Christine Huck, of Milwaukee. To
them were born a family of ten children, of which number six are now
living, having reached a most creditable maturity and attained estimable

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1221
positions in life. Emma is the wife of E. C. Meske ; Oscar C. is man
ager of the drug store established by his father; Mrs. Rosa Alessner;
William PL, a registered pharmacist, and recently appointed deputy
county clerk of Milwaukee county ; Anna is the wife of Theodore
Schaefer ; Charles resides in Pontiac, Michigan. On February 20, 1913,
the mother of these children was called by Death, her passing taking
place at the family home at 370 Twenty-first street, after an illness
extending over a period of three months. In the death of Airs. Widule
Milwaukee lost one of her oldest and best loved citizens, Mrs. Widule
having come to this city in 1851, when she was four years of age. She
was born in West Point, New York, in 1847, and accompanied her par
ents hither in the year mentioned above, her marriage to Air. Widule
taking place in 1868. For many years this kindly and open-hearted
woman was prominent in church and philanthropic work in Milwaukee,
and many, deeds of charity and beneficence have been accredited to her
by grateful souls whom she knew so well how to minister to in their
hours of need. She was long a member of Trinity Lutheran church,
and the many departments of that church with which she was promi
nently connected will long remember her and the worthy work she per
formed as a member of the church body. Besides her husband and six
children, she is survived by ten grandchildren.
Mr. Widule and his family are connected with the Trinity Lutheran
church, of which he has been a life-long member. For many years he
has been one of its valued officers and a member of its choir. The Con
cordia Young Men's Society of the church was organized with his
assistance many years ago, and now in his later years, the organization
has complimented his generous and able services in various capacities
of the church, — especially its musical interests, — by makmg him an hon
orary member of the society.
Of the secular organizations with which Mr. Widule is connected
may be noted the professional and political, including Milwaukee
Pharmaceutical Association and the Wisconsin Pharmaceutical Associa
tion of both of which he was at one time president; and the Post
masters' Association, of which he is now secretary-treasurer. He is
also connected with the West Side Club and the Milwaukee Alutual Aid
Society, of which he has been president for one term, having previously
served as its secretary-treasurer for seventeen years; and the Old Set
tlers' Club counts him as a highly esteemed member, as well as one
who is indeed an authority as to many of the earlier phases of life in
Milwaukee. Mr. Widule is a man who never does things by halves, his tempera
ment being that of a man, who, when he once sees where duty points,
moves in that direction, steadily and without hesitation. He shows
remarkable executive ability in supervising his many interests. His
drug business is now given into the care of his son, in order that his

1222 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
duties of assistant post-master may have the fullest attention. Cheerful
and courteous in the performance of all his duties, Christian Widule
is most highly regarded and genuinely respected by all who know him
because of his unfailingly upright and manly qualities. His home, so
recently bereft of that kindly spirit that made it a center of hearty and
happy social life, is located at 370 Twenty-first street. The home is now
presided over by the widowed daughter, Airs. Rosa Messner, and her four
children give cheer and brightness to the surroundings.
George Yule. The unique position of George Yule in Wisconsin
manufacturing centers has been the subject of much comment. "There
are a lot of men, in Kenosha," to quote one sentence from an article
in a Kenosha paper, published in July, 1913, "who have held posi
tions with the big industrial institutions of the city for a term of
twenty years, a smaller number have records of twenty-five years,
a few thirty years, and one or two fifty years, but George Yule, the
president of the Bain Wagon Company has probably the most notable
record of any man in the responsible position with a big manufactur
ing concern in this city. Today Mr. Yule rounded out his seventy-
first year in the employ of the Bain Wagon Company."
Throughout that period of time, more than threescore and ten
years, the usually allotted life-time of any individual, he was con
nected with one firm and its various successors in business. It is said
that on the day beginning the seventy-second year of service, Mr.
Yule was at his office as early as any of his employes, and seemed to
accept as a matter of course his continued service in the active direc
tion of the great corporation of which he has been for so many years
president. No happier tribute to this great industrial executive and brief
biography of his career can be found than the concise article written
by Mr. W. W. Strong of Kenosha, and published under the title
"Notable Wisconsin Citizens," in Municipality, in September, 1913.
In view of the decidedly unusual character and length of George
Yule's career, the magazine went outside its usual field of attention,
and devoted several pages to Mr. Strong's article. The sketch is
herewith presented in full:
"The ancient leader of Israel tells us that 'the days of our years
are three score and ten, but if by reason of strength they be four
score years, then is their strength but labor and sorrow.' Dr. Osier
in recent years has endorsed that idea and has declared that after a
man has reached the age of sixty years he is of no further use in the
world, and suggests that he be quietly chloroformed. Kenosha, how
ever, has a very active living exception to both of these theories in
the person of Mr. George Yule, the president of the Bain Wagon
Company of that city, who celebrated his seventy-first anniversary

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1223
as a wagon maker on the first day of July in this year. The occasion
was remembered by his associates in the office of the company, who
felicitated him upon his long business career. Mr. Yule declares that
he is not yet ready to retire from active service, but intends to con
tinue to make wagons for a good many years to come.
Mr. Yule was born in Rathen, near Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire,
Scotland, August 31, 1824, and is therefore eighty-nine years of age.
While a young lad in 1840 he came to America with his father, and
settled on a farm in the town of Somers, Kenosha county, at that
time part' of Racine county. In July, 1842, he began what was to
be his life work as a wagon maker in Southport (now Kenosha)
for the firm of Mitchell & Quarles. The last named member of the firm
was the father of the late Plon. J. V. Quarles, United States district
judge for the eastern district of Wisconsin. He continued in the
employ of this firm until 1852, when the late Edward Bain purchased
the business and began to make the Bain Wagon. Mr. Bain recog
nized the ability of Mr. Yule as a wagon maker and made him the
superintendent of his factory. Under Mr. Yule's management the
Bain factory soon became the leading industry of the town, and its
product earned for itself the reputation which it now maintains.
When the Bain Wagon Company was incorporated in 1882, it was
one of the largest manufactures in southeastern Wisconsin. Upon
the incorporation, Mr. Yule was elected vice president of the Com
pany, which office he held until the death of Edward Bain when he
was chosen to the presidency. Mr. Yule is, of course, a practical
wagon maker and has not yet forgotten his trade. Despite his age of
nearly ninety years, and contradicting the Osier theory, he still
retains his interest in the operative side of the industry and his desire
today is that the Bain wagon should maintain its reputation as it was
sixty-one years ago when he helped to establish it.
"Mr. Yule of late years has spent his winters in California, and
is enthusiastic over the climate of that state, but will admit that
sometimes they do have unusual weather there. When in Kenosha,
however, every day finds him at the office of the Bain Wagon Com
pany, and nearly every day he makes a tour of the great factory,
taking a keen interest in watching the operation of making wagons,
which was his own occupation for so many years. Many of the work
men now employed in the shops are the sons and grandsons of those
who worked at forge or bench with Mr. Yule, and for them he always
has a smile or a cheerful word.
"Although the wagon business is Mr. Yule's chief interest, he also
finds time for other matters. He is vice president of the First National
Bank, and also holds the same office in the Northwestern Loan and
.Trust Company, both of Kenosha, and as a director in both takes an
active interest in the operation of both institutions.

1224 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
"In 1896 when the Kenosha public library association was organ
ized Mr. Yule took great interest in its success and was the first to
make a liberal donation for the support and was a frequent contributor
until it was succeeded by the Gilbert M. Simmons Library in 1900.
In that year Hon. James Gorman, then mayor of the city, named Mr.
Yule one of the board of directors of the new library, and at the new.
organization of the board Mr. Yule was chosen vice president, which
office he has held continuously until the present time.
"While Mr. Yule does not play golf, he enjoys being part of a
gallery when a match between two good players is on. He has con
tributed liberally to the sport in his sons and grandsons, who have
a. wide acquaintance among the devotees of the 'ancient and honor
able game' all over the country. One of his grandsons, William H.
Yule, has been state champion of Wisconsin and another, Gordon
Yule, this year holds the title of champion of Yale. Every golf
player in Wisconsin knows the 'Yale Cup,' a very valuable trophy
which is contested for at the annual tournament of the Wisconsin
Golf Association by five-men teams representing the constitutent clubs
of the association, and many of the crack players of the state are
the proud possessors of the beautiful gold medals which are given to
each member of the winning team in this contest. The cup and gold
medals, together with an endowment for their perpetuation, are the
gifts of Mr. Yule.
"Although Mr. Yule is the owner of an automobile, he says he
only has it for his wife, but for himself he prefers his horse and buggy,
and nearly every day he may be seen driving his horse through the
streets of Kenosha, keeping himself posted on the many changes and
improvements which are daily taking place in the city which has
been his home for so many years.
"In politics Mr. Yule is a Republican and was one of the mem
bers of the first Fremont and Dayton Club when the Republican party
first came into existence. He is a Baptist in his religious connections
and has always been a liberal contributor to the First Baptist Church
of Kenosha, and to the activities of the church in general. Kenosha is
proud of this citizen. ' '
Some matters of personal and family history may very properly
be used to supplement the preceding article on Mr. George Yule. His
parents were Alexander and Margaret (Leeds) Yule. Alexander
was one of the early settlers in Somers township of Kenosha county,
became a large land owner and for many years farmed on an exten
sive scale. Born in Scotland and of old Scotch farming stock, Alex
ander Yule was the only one of his immediate family to come to
America. He was born four or five years before the close of the
eighteenth century, was married in his native land, and his first wife
died there in 1835. The eight children by that marriage were : Wil-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1225
liam, who died in Kenosha county at the age of seventy-six; James,
who died aged seventy-one ; Alexander, who died after a brief scholarly
career in Ireland; Beatrice, who married George Smith; John T., and
Cutes and Mary, who died in infancy. Mr. George Yule was fourth
in order of birth among these children. Alexander Yule married in
Scotland for his second wife Miss Jane Watson, and had eight chil
dren by that marriage. Alexander Yule brought his family to Amer
ica about 1840, and bought two hundred and fifty-seven acres of land
in the new country near Southport. His death occurred in 1871,
when seventy-six years of age, and his second wife died in 1896.
Mr. George Yule received all his schooling in Scotland, being six
teen years of age when he came to America. When he went to South-
port and found work with the Mitchel & Quarles Company in 1842,
that establishment had only a few employes, and the business Avas
conducted on a very' small scale. All parts of wagons were made by
hand, and the plant's annual capacity was from ten to fifteen wagons,
and a small number of plows, most of the wrork being that of repair
ing. The motto and life principle of Mr. Yule may be said to have
been that of hard work, and the results have been a generous pros
perity which, however, has been worthily won. He has been fortu
nate, in the possession of good health, and is said to have worked
twenty-five consecutive years without a day's vacation. Another
characteristic is his modest and unassuming demeanor, and he has
always been content to let his work speak for itself. As a matter of
fact this has been sufficient as a tribute to a more ambitious man,
since the great Bain Wagon Factory is an institution more in the na
ture of a monument to his individual character and ability than to any
other one man or group of men who have been associated with the
business in the past.
On January 1, 1848, at Kenosha, George Yule married Miss Kath
erine Mitchell, who was born in Fifeshire, Scotland, a daughter of
William Mitchell. To their marriage were born six children, namely,
Maria, who died in childhood; Louise, who married the late William
Hall ; Ada, who died in childhood ; George A., who was born in Kenosha
in 1858, has been connected with the Bain Wagon Company a number
of years, and is president of the Badger Brass Company, the first con
cern to manufacture acetylene automobile lamps; William L., also
identified with the Bain Wagon Company, and whose son is George
Gordon, previously mentioned ; and Harvey, who died young.
G. E. Spohn. Probably no educational institution in Madison has
a more practical relation to the business community and to the individual
welfare of many young men and women than the Capital City Com
mercial College, of which Mr. Spohn has been president since 1908.
It has been the aim of Mr. Spohn who has been identified with com-

1226 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
mercial education in Madison for more than ten years to make his
school as thoroughly equipped and as complete in every detail as any
commercial college in the state.
G. E. Spohn was born December 15, 1878, in Sutton, Clay county,
Nebraska. His parents were N. and Catherine (Burbach) Spohn, both
natives of Germany, the family coming to America in 1878, the parents
then having one child. They located at Sutton, where the father, who
was a butcher by trade, operated a retail meat business for six years.
From Nebraska he moved to Kansas where he was a farmer, and still
continues to cultivate Kansas Land. There were only two children in
the family.
Mr. G. E. Spohn up to his fifteenth year attended the public schools,
and then entered the Kansas State Normal School at Emporia, where he
was a student for three years. He was next in the Kansas Western Uni
versity at Salina, and during 1900 was a student in the AlcPherson
College at AlcPherson, Kansas. After a commercial course in the State
University of Kansas, in 1901, Mr. Spohn came to Madison, Wisconsin,
where he was a teacher in what was then known as the Northwestern
Business College. After two years as an inspector, during which he
demonstrated his thorough ability as an educator in this particular
field, he bought out the college, and in 1908 it was ¦ reorganized and
incorporated under the name of the Capital City Commercial College,
of which he has since been president. The other officers are E. AL
Douglas vice president and L. D. Atkinson, Secretary-Treasurer.
Mr. Spohn is a member of the First Baptist Church and is a Repub
lican in politics. He was married June 3, 1900, in Hillsboro, Kansas,
to Miss Julia A. Herbel, a daughter of Fred Herbel of that place. Their
three children are Ruby, Frances and George, Jr.
John James. The settlers in La Crosse who came here forty years
ago are largely gathered to their final rest. Among the venerable men
who until the last year or two have survived, as reminders of the small
beginnings and rapid growth of the city, was the late John James, whose
death occurred January 10, 1913. He came to Wisconsin in 1874, and
settled permanently in La Crosse and for a period of nearly forty
years took part in her busy industries and shared in her stimulating
life. When he passed away, crowned with years and with the fruits
of an industrious life, it was with an unsullied reputation for business
integrity and for fidelity to all the public, social and religious relations
that surround the citizen. Mr. James was born February 12, 1841, the
place of his nativity and nurture being the city of Shrewsbury, Eng
land, where he received his education. His parents were John and
Emma (Powell) James, and he was descended from Welsh-English
stock. On coming to the United States, in 1874, he at once settled in
La Crosse, where he purchased the foundry and machine shop of C. C. &

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1227
E. G. Smith, in partnership with a Mr. Thornely, under the firm style
of Thornely & James. In 1903 he disposed of Ms interests to his brother,
Alfred James, who is now conducting the business, and in December,
1912, retired from active pursuits on account of rapidly failing health.
He died after an illness of one month. Mr. James was prominent not
only in business and social circles, but was widely known as a church
worker. A local newspaper, in this connection, said in part at the time
of his death:
"From the time of his arrival in La Crosse, Mr. James was promi
nently associated with the First Congregational Church, having been
on the official board almost continuously. Bethany Mission, located in
the 1200 block on South Ninth street, was the Mecca to which Mr. James'
feet turned every Sabbath, if possible, since 1876. Into this mission he
brought the benison of his smiling countenance weekly through this long
stretch of years, winning the respect and love not only of countless
hundreds of children, but many scores of parents also, who came within
the sphere of his benign and happy influence. He has often gone to
Bethany in great feebleness in the last year but the place and the work
had a charm for him that was irresistible and such as is given to but few
to appreciate. He has lived to see his earlier scholars grow to man
hood and womanhood and their friendly greetings as he daily met them
through the later years, were a never-failing source of pleasure to him.
The value of his Chrisitan character cannot be measured by any earthly
standard. ' They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firma
ment, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever
and ever.'
"Mr. James was a man of sterling character. He possessed a kindly
disposition, was always cheerful and sacrificing, and commanded the
utmost respect and admiration from the many friends who had grown
to know and love him. He was a strong church member and an untiring
worker for many benevolences. In his business relations, he was hon
est and straightforward in all matters and by force of persevering efforts
forged to the front rank in his line in the Northwest." Air. James was
buried at Oak Grove Cemetery. Surviving him are a son, Frederic A.
James, of Detroit, Michigan, and four brothers, Joseph of Florence,
Colorado; William, of Shrewsbury, England, and Abram and Alfred
James, of La Crosse. Mrs. James passed away in 1908.
Alfred James, brother of John James, and for years his partner in
business, was born June 15, 1856, in Shrewsbury, England, and accom
panied his brother to the United States. He learned the machinist's
trade with his brother, of whose plant he was made superintendent in
1883, and continued in that capacity until 1903 when he took over the
enterprise and has since conducted it under the name of Alfred James.
He is a general jobber of foundry and machine shop supplies, dealing
largely with the smaller machine shops, and also making railroad iron

1228 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
and brass castings. The house has continuously supplied the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad with iron and brass castings from the
time the road was organized to the present time. Mr. James is a mem
ber of the Congregational church, of which he has been a liberal sup
porter for many years. For four years he has served as alderman of
La Crosse.
On December 9, 1880, Mr. James was married to Miss Jessie Wood
Spier, of La Crosse, and three sons have been born to this union : James
Spier, who is now a mining engineer and expert; Russel Wood, a grad
uate of Beloit College, and Burton Egbert, who is attending the La
Crosse High School.
Zeno M. Host's business career in Milwaukee dates only from 1895,
but within the short space of eighteen years he has attained a success
such as many men would regard as a triumph if accomplished through
a half century of assiduous effort. Establishing the Wisconsin Savings
Loan & Building Association when still but a youth, and at a time when
the keenness of business competition, particularly in this field; rendered
success practically impossible unless through the exercise of sound judg
ment, allied to a certain degree of venturesome determination, he has
secured financial independence and attained a reputation through so
ably directing the affairs of this institution as to have made it one of the
leading enterprises of its kind in the Cream City.
Zeno M. Host was born at Lyons, Walworth county, Wisconsin, July
1st, 1869, and is a son of Andrew J. and Josephine (Klingele) Host,
the former a native of Lyons, and the latter of Burlington, Racine
county, Wisconsin. The mother still survives and resides at No. 719 Astor
street, Milwaukee. The father died July 13, 1913. He was on the road
as a traveling representative of the wholesale grocery firms of A. Dahl-
man & Co. and Dahlman & Inbusch Company, of Alilwaukee, from
1882. There were five sons and three daughters in the family: Otto,
who is a resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Zeno M., of this review;
Airs. George Glassner, of Alilwaukee ; Mrs. Albert Kunz, widow of the
late Albert Kunz, of Milwaukee, who met his death in an automobile
accident in December, 1908 ; Ida, who died in September, 1900, and was
laid to rest in Calvary Cemetery, Milwaukee; Andrew J., a resident of
Alilwaukee; Clemens P., who has just received the appointment as state
fire marshal from Governor AIcGovern; and Raymond A., of Mil
waukee. All of these children were born at Lyons, Wisconsin, and
there Otto and Zeno Al. received their early education, later attending
the Milwaukee schools and the Spencerian Business College. The other
children were all educated in Milwaukee.
After completing his studies, Zeno Al. Host, who was an ambitious
and enterprising youth, started out to make his own way in the world,
and for one and one-half years was engaged at clerking and driving a

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1229
wagon for a retail grocer. He was then employed in a coal office from
his fifteenth to his twenty -first year, and for two years thereafter was
employed as bookkeeper by the National Building & Loan Association,
where he acquired much valuable experience. On leaving the employ
of this concern, April 16, 1895, Mr. Host organized the Wisconsin Sav
ings Loan & Building Association, which, as before stated has grown
to be one of the leading concerns of its kind in the city. Its eighteenth
annual statement, issued January 1, 1913, was as follows : Resources :
Loans on Real Estate, $732,120.12 ; Loans on Stock, $16,652.18 ; Interest
Due, $8,809.09 ; Fines Due, $1,515.41 ; Real Estate, $26,207.00 ;. Judg
ments, $5,779.34; Taxes, etc., advanced, $1,972.82; Furniture and Sta
tionery, $672.30 ; Discount Unearned, $887.17 ; Rent Due, $215.00 ; Cash
in Bank, $16,613.02; Cash in Office, $2,586.87; Total, $814,030.32.
Liabilities: Dues on Installment Stock, $438,210.50; Dues Paid in
Advance, $13,870.50; Fixed Dividend Stock, $93,500.00; Contingent
Fund, $1,475.33; Due Counsel, $125.05; Interest, etc., Paid in Advance,
$434.47 ; Incomplete Loans, $69,857.71 ; Alatured Stock (Dues, $10,350.00,
Profits, $4,650.00,) $15,000.00; Bills Payable, $92,700.00; Interest Ac
crued, $2,097.15; Dividend Account, $59,927.13; Undivided Profits, $26,-
832,48 ; Total, $814,030.32. A glance at the list of directors and officers
of this concern will give an idea of the responsible and influential busi
ness men who are behind it : Alvin P. Kletzsch, president, proprietor of
the Republican House; Lawrence Halsey, first vice-president, judge of
the Circuit Court; William George Bruce, second vice-president, secre
tary of the Alerchants and Alanufacturers Association; Hon. Francis E.
AIcGovern, governor State of Wisconsin; Dr. Mathew N. Federspiel,
orthodonist and oral surgeon ; Charlton D. Lisle, treasurer, general man
ager of the Eclipse Installment Company; Zeno Al. Host, secretary and
general agent, loans, investments, real estate and insurance. On April
1, 1896, less than one year after its organization, the company boasted of
assets of $12,087.73; by April 1, 1898, these had shown a rapid growth,
having reached $62,854.15; January 1, 1902 showed $100,183.27; Jan
uary 1, 1908, $268,687.08; January 1, 1911, $479,168.35; and January
1, 1913, $814,030.32. Since the organization of this company it has
paid to its members no less than $1,857,560.63. The association is mutual
in character, all members, borrowers and investors sharing alike in its
earnings, in proportion to their investment. The first offices of this con
cern were in the Alerrill Block, on Grand avenue, but subsequently they
were moved to the Alitchell building, in which they remained until April,
1913, when needing more commodious quarters, because of the phe
nomenal growth of business, the ground floor space at No. 253 Third
street was handsomely equipped, and this is the present location.
Mr. Host's rapid rise in the business world has come through no
happy circumstance or adventitious chance. His career has been marked
by constant industry, and although he has been ever alert to opportu-

1230 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
nity his transactions have been of a strictly legitimate nature, his stand
ing among his associates being that of a man who has ever respected the
most rigid integrity. From 1903 until 1907 he served in the capacity of
insurance commissioner. In political matters a Republican, he has for
some years been a non-resident member of the great organization of the
Grand Old Party, the Hamilton Club of Chicago. He is widely known
in fraternal circles, being past grand chancellor of the Knights of
Pythias and supreme representative of the Supreme Lodge at Louis
ville, Kentucky, in 1904, at New Orleans, Lousiana, in 1906, and at
Boston, Massachusetts, in 1908. In the Independent Order of Foresters
he was State treasurer for a number of years, and attended the Supreme
Lodge meetings at Los Angeles, California, in May, 1902, at Montreal,
Canada, in June, 1905, and at Toronto, Canada, in June, 1908. After
the failure of Elks Lodge No. 46, of Milwaukee, he was prominent in
its reorganization in 1894 and now holds membership card No. 1. He is
an enthusiastic fisherman, and with other prominent Alilwaukeeans
belongs to the Pelican Lake Fishing Club.
On July 14, 1891, Mr. Host was united in marriage with Aliss Anna
M. Weiss, who was born, reared and educated in Alilwaukee, daughter
of Philip and Barbara (Wuest) Weiss, pioneers of Wisconsin. Air.
Weiss for some years was the proprietor of a grocery store located on the
present site of Hackendahl's drug store, Jackson and Juneau streets, but
later became interested in horses, and met his death in an accident when
one of his animals ran away, in 1887. Mrs. Weiss survives her husband
and resides in Milwaukee. Two children have been born to Air. and Airs.
Host : Norma, a graduate of the East Side High school, class of 1910,
and now a student of the Milwaukee State Normal school ; and Zeno M.,
Jr., who is a member of the Class of 1914, East Side High school.
Rufus G. Deming. The mere incidental statement that Air. Deming
was born in Dane county, Wisconsin, in the year which marked the ad
mission of the state to the Union, gives adequate testimony to his being
a scion of one of the pioneer families of the county in which is situated
the fair capital city of the Badger commonwealth, so that particular
interest attaches to his career, especially by reason of the fact that he
still resides in Dane county and is one of its well known and highly
honored citizen. Mr. Deming was long and prominently identified with
educational affairs in Madison, where he was for many years asso
ciated in the ownership and practical conducting of the Northwestern
Business College, and he has at all times stood exponent of broad-
minded and progressive citizenship, besides being actuated by the
staunchest loyalty and appreciation of his native state, of whose mag
nificent development and upbuilding he has been a witness. He is now
the valued incumbent of a responsible clerical position in the office of

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1231
the state railroad commissioner of Wisconsin and in his native county
his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances.
In the township of Vienna, Dane county, Wisconsin, Rufus G. Dem
ing was born on the 10th of April, 1848, and thus he was ushered into
the world under the territorial regime in Wisconsin, which became one
of the sovereign -states of the Union on the 29th of the following month,
his birth having thus been virtually coincident with that of the state
itself. Mr. Deming is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Fisher) Dem
ing, the former of whom was born in Ohio, a representative of one of
the sterling pioneer families of that state, and the latter of whom
was born in the state of New York, their marriage having been solem
nized in Illinois. In 1847 Joseph Deming came to the territory of Wis
consin and obtained from the government a homestead of one hundred
and sixty acres of wild land, in Vienna township, Dane county, thus be
coming one of the early settlers of this now opulent and favored section
of the state. He reclaimed his land from the forest wilds and developed
one of the fine farms of Dane county, the while he did well his part
in the furtherance of civic and industrial development and progress
of a general order. He was a man of industry, energy and integrity,
of broad mental ken and of liberal views, and thus he wielded no slight
influence in connection with public affairs in the pioneer days of the
county, where he lived to view with satisfaction the latter period of
opulent prosperity and progress. He continued to reside on his origi
nal homestead until his death, which occurred in 1895, his loved and
devoted wife having preceded him to eternal rest by exactly eighteen
months, so that in death they were not long separated. Of their ten
children two sons and two daughters are now living, the subject of this
review having been the second in order of birth. Joseph Deming en
dured the full tension of the hardships and deprivations of the pioneer
era and both he and his wife so ordered their lives as to retain an
inviolable place in the esteem and good will of all who knew them,
both having been zealous members of the Alethodist church and he hav
ing been originally a Whig and later a Republican in his political
allegiance. His name merits enduring place on the roll of the honored
pioneers of Wisconsin and of the county in which he maintained his
home for nearly half a century. In the later years of his life he gave
most graphic and interesting reminiscences concerning conditions and
his personal experiences in the pioneer days, and reverted to the fact that
during the early period of his residence in Dane county Milwaukee
was the nearest market point of any considerable importance. By long
and tiresome overland journey he transported his wheat to that market,
and as the product commanded only thirty cents a bushel at the time.
he usually found himself in debt after he had procured the necessary
supplies in Milwaukee and returned with them to his home, as the sura
received for his wheat failed to meet the requirements.

1232 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Rufus G. Deming, whose names introduces this review, gained his
initial experiences under the conditions and influences of the pioneer
days, and his memory forms an indissoluble chain linking that forma
tive period with the splendid conditions and opportunities presented
in the same county in this twentieth century. He early began to assist
in the work of the home farm and thus learned to appreciate the dig
nity and value of honest toil and endeavor. He availed himself of
the advantages of the common schools of the locality and period and
continued to attend the same at somewhat irregular intervals until
he had attained to the age of twenty years, when he showed his ambitious
purpose and definite self-reliance by entering the University of Wiscon
sin. Through his own exertions he largely defrayed the expenses of
his collegiate course, and under such conditions his studies were not
carried forward in a definitely consecutive way. He was graduated
in the university as a member of the class of 1874 and received therefrom
the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He forthwith put his scholastic acquire
ments to practical test and utilization by turning his attention to the
pedagogic profession, as a representative of which he taught for two
years in the public schools of his native county. Pie then, in 1876, pur
chased an interest in the Northwestern Business College, in Aladison,
and in this excellent institution he had charge of the academic and pre
paratory departments during the first seventeen years. Henry Al. Wil-
mot was his partner in the conducting of the college from 1876 until
1880, and Mr. Wilmot then severed his connection with the institu
tion. Mr. Deming thereupon admitted to partnership John C. Proctor,
and the college was thereafter conducted most successfully by the firm
of Deming & Proctor until 1899. For the ensuing four years Air.
Deming carried forward the enterprise in an individual way and he
then, in 1903, sold the college, which is still continued as one of the val
ued educational institutions of the capital city and the upbuilding of
which to high standard was mainly due to the able and zealous efforts
of Mr. Deming. From 1903 to 1910 Air. Deming occupied himself prinr
cipally with effective service as an expert accountant, and in the latter
year, under the civil-service regulations, he received appointment to a
clerkship in the office of the state railroad commissioner of Wisconsin,
an incumbency which he has since retained, as a valued assistant in
directing the affairs of this important department of the governmental
service of the state.
In politics Mr. Deming has taken a course consistent with his earn
est convictions, and for the past fifteen years he has been an earnest
and purposeful supporter of the cause of the Prohibition party. He
has ever given his influence in support of measures and objects tending
to conserve the best interests of the community, along moral, intellec
tual and material lines, and his course has been guided and governed

c^^Z^^m^

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1233
by the highest principles of integrity and honor. Mr. and Mrs. Deming
attend the Congregational church.
On the 24th of August, 1884, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Deming to Miss Lucretia M. Randall, who was born in New York
state and whose parents were numbered among the honored pioneers
of Wisconsin, to which state they came from that of New York in the
year 1850. Airs. Deming completed her education in the University of
Wisconsin and was a successful and popular teacher in the public
schools for several years. Mr. and Mrs. Deming have three children,
whose names and respective dates of birth are here noted: Arthur O,
February 27, 1882; Rose E., November 15, 1885; and Edith M., July
8, 1890. Arthur C. Deming married Ida Gerer, of Dane county and re
sides in Madison. He is engaged as special helper to Prof. Chas. Leith of
the state university in the U. S. Geological survey. Rose E. resides at
home and is special stenographer for the geological professors of the
state of Wisconsin at, the university. Edith M. is married to William
Marks, of Town Bluffs, Wis. They reside at present in the city of
Madison, and have one son, named Philip Earl.
Alexander B. AIcDonell. For forty years a man of power and
broad influence in the business and civic activities of Chippewa Falls,
Mr. McDoriell represents that type of strong manhood which the great
lumber industry of Wisconsin did much to develop and present to the
citizenship of this great commonwealth. No other industry in Wiscon
sin has made quite such demands for vigorous, self-reliant and almost
perfect men in physical character and with executive and business
abilities to correspond, as lumbering, and this class of citizenship
has probably exercised a more potent influence on the economy and
social character of Wisconsin than any other group of Wisconsin
men. Mr. McDonell began his own career as a poor boy, became iden
tified with the work of the great lumber regions, rose from one position
to another until he became one of the large operators in northern
Wisconsin, and for the past twenty years has been president of one of
the largest banking institutions of Chippewa Falls.
Alexander B. McDonell is a native of Ontario, Canada, where he
was born April 17, 1840, a son of Angus and Marjory McDonell. His
mother died when he was seven years old, and at the age of fourteen
he was an orphan and had to confront the world on his own respon
sibility. The facilities of a country school were afforded him during
the winter terms, and during each summer he worked hard on the
farm. When he was eighteen years old he went into the lumber forests,
on the Ottawa river, where he made himself useful at a wage of $13.00
per month. Each winter for several successive years he returned to the
woods and farmed during the summer. Saginaw, Michigan, was then
the great center of the advancing lumber industry, and he was attracted

1234 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
to that mecca of lumbering in 1861, going into the woods for two suc
cessive seasons. Malaria finally drove him out of that territory, and he
moved to a less well known lumber district, at Defiance, Ohio, where he
was employed in getting out square oak timber, this timber being run
to Toledo on the canal. From 1866 until 1873 Mr. McDonell was in the
woods and on the river drives about Minneapolis. It was during this
latter experience that he first began to accumulate some money, and
when he left Afinneapolis in 1873 he possessed several thousand dollars
capital. In June, 1873, with the money saved from the earlier ventures,
Air. McDonell became a permanent resident of Chippewa Falls, Wiscon
sin. A few weeks later, at the opening of the logging season, he took
charge of Edward Rutledge's lumber camp at the south fork of Jump
river. Two years later he became connected with the Mississippi River
Logging Company, and had various responsibilities, being engaged in
the cutting of logs, in scaling and in charge of the drives on the river,
continuing in this way until 1881. He became associated with Thomas
Irvine of St. Paul in 1879, and the two partners bought a large amount
of pine timber lands, and engaged in logging as independent lumber
men. From that time on they were regarded as among the successful
lumbermen of northern Wisconsin, and continued their enterprise until
1894, at which time they sold out their remaining holdings at excel
lent advantage.
On retiring from active connection with the lumber business, Mr.
AIcDonell assisted in organizing the Lumbermen's National Bank of
Chippewa Falls and has ever since been president of this institution.
Pie is also a director in the Northern Lumber Company of Cloquet,
Alinnesota ; stockholder in the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company at Ta
coma, Washington ; has interests in the Eau Claire and Bow River Lum
ber Company at Eau Claire; the Calgary Water Company in Ontario,
Canada, and is identified with various other enterprises in Chippewa
Falls. Successful in business Mr. McDonell has also given his co-operation
and his means to the betterment of his home community. He has for
many years been an active Republican and during 1887-88 was Mayor
of Chippewa Falls. His administration is recalled as one marked by
substantial progress in this city. His name will probably be longest
identified with the city in the McDonell Memorial High School, which
he built in Chippewa Falls, and which is one of the notable Catholic
schools of northern Wisconsin, its educational administration being
such that its graduates go directly to college. The Notre Dame sisters
have charge of this school. Mr. McDonell is a member of St. Mary's
Catholic church in Chippewa Falls, and has been a generous contrib
utor to many charitable and religious undertakings. In later years he
has traveled extensively in Europe and elsewhere, and is a man of broad

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1235
and liberal views, and a charming and interesting social companion.
In 1881 Mr. McDonell married Miss Mary Eugenia 0 'Neil of Chip
pewa Falls. Her death occurred in 1892, and her four children were
Alexander A., Emily I., Donald H., and Robert R., all deceased but the
oldest child, Alexander A.
Henry AL Lewis, of Aladison, whose name occupies a conspicuous
place on the roll of Wisconsin's eminent lawyers, during more than
half a century's connection with the bar of the state has won and main
tained a reputation for ability that has given him just pre-eminence
among his professional brethren. In the law, as in every other walk
of life, success is largely the outcome of resolute purpose and unfalt
ering industry, — qualities which are possessed in a large degree by
Air. Lewis.
Mr. Lewis claims the old Green Alountain state as the place of his
nativity. He was born in Cornwall, ATermont, September 7, 1830, and
is a son of Alartin and Sophia (Russell) Lewis. The father was born
in Cornwall, Vermont, July 9, 1795, and he died in January, 1902. His
wife was born in Connecticut in 1789 and she passed to eternal rest
November 11, 1869. Martin Lewis was a farmer by occupation and in
the spring of 1846 he removed from his native state to the territory
of Wisconsin, locating in Burke township, Dane county. He was one of
the pioneer agriculturists of Wisconsin territory. In 1888 he settled
in Sparta, Wisconsin, where his demise occurred in 1902. He was
incumbent of a number of township offices during the latter years of his
lifetime and during the Civil war period was an ardent Abolitionist.
Subsequently he supported the Republican party. He and his wife
were devout members of the Congregational church in their religious
faith. Air. ahd Airs. Lewis were the parents of three children, namely :
Harriet T., who is deceased; Charles G., a resident of Sparta; and
Henry M., of this notice.
To the public schools of Cornwall, New Haven, Vermont, Henry Al.
Lewis is indebted for his preliminary educational training. He was
a lad of sixteen years of age when he accompanied his parents to Wis
consin and after completing the curriculum of the public schools of
Dane county he was matriculated as a student in the University of Wis
consin and after completing the curriculum of the public schools of
offices of the well known law firm of Vilass & Remington and later with
Collings, Smith & Keyes. He was admitted to the Wisconsin bar in
October, 1853, and for one year thereafter was engaged in the active
practice of law at Hudson, Wisconsin. In 1854 he came to Madison,
where he has since resided and where he has gained distinctive pres
tige as a brilliant and versatile lawyer. He has figured in many of the
important litigations of the state and federal courts and has held
numerous public offices of important trust and responsibility. In his

1236 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
political convictions he owns allegiance to the principles and policies
for which the Republican party stands sponsor. For one term he was
district attorney of the county, for four terms city alderman from the
Second ward, for fifteen years member of the Madison school board and
for three years its president and for some three or four years assistant
United States district attorney. In the year 1878 he was appointed
United States district attorney and he served in that capacity for
nearly nine years. In March, 1867, he was appointed collector of in
ternal revenue and he retained that incumbency until July 1, 1872.
In July, 1898, he was made referee in bankruptcy and he has held that
office during the long intervening years to the present time, in 1913.
He is affiliated with the Dane County and Wisconsin State Bar Societies
and with the American Bar Association. In the time-honored Masonic
order he is a valued and appreciative member of Madison Lodge, No. 5,
Ancient Free & Accepted Masons; Madison Chapter, No. 4, Royal Arch
Masons; and Robert McCoy Commandery No. 3. In the Benevolent
& Protective Order of Elks he is a member of Madison Lodge, No.
410. September 1, 1858, Mr. Lewis was united in marriage to Miss Char
lotte T, Clarke, who was born in , Carbondale, Pennsylvania. She
died August 16, 1864. This union was prolific of three daughters : Lottie
B., deceased; Jessie R. married Lloyd Skinner, residing in Madison;
and Sophia M. is the widow of H. E. Briggs; she lives in Madison.
Airs. Levis was a woman of most gracious personality and she was
deeply beloved by all who came within the sphere of her gentle
influence. Although well advanced in years, Mr. Lewis is still hale and hearty
and gives his. undivided attention to business affairs. As a man he is
thoroughly conscientious, of undoubted integrity, affable and courteous
in manner and he has a host of friends, with few, if any, enemies.
Hon. Aad John Vinje. There is a certain sameness in the careers
of American judges. With some exceptions the common type brings to
mind an ambitious and gifted youth, born, if not in penury, in humble
circumstances, struggling with ceaseless labor and self-denial to obtain
subsistence, while giving his thoughts to the acquisition of an academic
and usually a collegiate education. An interval of labor, not infre
quently in the school room, opens an entrance into professional schools.
A calling to the bar follows ; then comes a settlement in some growing
community, usually in the West or Middle West. The gaining of a
foothold in practice by slow and painful steps ensues ; and with moderate
success the founding of a home and family life results. After a few
years of more marked prosperity, a selection by the bar for judicial
honors is followed by popular ratification at the polls, and then comes
years of labor, of isolation, of anxious thought, of * conscientious devo-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1237
tion to the high calling, of which the highest praise is that of duty done.
The career of the Hon. Aad John Vinje has been no departure from
the ordinary type. He, too, struggled with limited means; he won
a liberal education by his own labor, and spent years in the school
room before he came to the bar. His admirable qualities were appre
ciated by his fellow practitioners, and after serving several appoint
ments with high ability was elected to the Supreme bench of the State
for a period of ten years. The highest encomium possible is that he has
proven himself worthy of the confidence reposed in him and that he has
been an able, impartial and learned judge.
Judge Vinje was born in Voss, Norway, November 10, 1857, and is
a son of John and Ingeborg (Klove) Vinje, natives of that country.
John Vinje was born in 1823, and died in 1859, having been the father
of five children, of whom two are living: Julia, the wife of Andrew
H. Dahl, state treasurer of AVisconsin; and Aad John. The widow, who
was born in 1824, was married to Al. K. Vinje, and died in 1901, having
had one daughter, Ellen, by her second marriage. Her husband still
survives her and make his home in ATarshall county, Iowa, being eighty-
three years of age.
Aad John Vinje was twelve years of age when he accompanied his
mother and step-father to the United States, the family settling in
Alarshall county, Iowa. During the winter of 1873-4 he attended Iowa
College, at Grinnell, Iowa, and in the winter of 1874-5 went to North
western University of Iowa, at Des Moines. He then spent several years
in teaching in the public schools of Iowa, but in the fall of 1878 came
to Madison and entered the literary department of the University of
Wisconsin, being graduated therefrom in 1884 and from the law depart
ment in 1887. He was assistant in the State Library from 1884 to 1888,
and assistant to the Supreme Court Reporter from 1888 to 1891. In
the latter year he entered upon the practice of his profession at Supe
rior, and August 10, 1895, was appointed judge of the Eleventh Judicial
Circuit of Wisconsin, holding the office until September 10, 1910, when
he was appointed Justice of the Supreme Court. On April 4, 1911,
he was elected for a term of ten years commencing the first Alonday
of January, 1912. Judge Vinje is known as a type of the scholarly
industry, as a profound thinker, and as an upright judge. He is a
Republican in his political views.
On June 5, 1886, Judge Vinje was married to Alice Idell Aliller,
who was born near Oregon, Wisconsin, and educated in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. Four children have been born to this union: Arthur
M., David R., Janet and Ethel. The family is connected with the
Unitarian church.
Judge John Barnes. Deep and accurate knowledge of law and
practice, native shrewdnes and anility, and unswerving integrity have

1238 HISTORY OF AYISCONSLN
made Judge John Barnes, of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, an ex
cellent lawyer and an admirable judge; high personal character, firm
religious convictions, a kind heart and a strong sense of duty, have
made him a valuable citizen. A most conscientious public servant,
his life guarded by high purpose and sincerity, his dignity and well-
balanced legal mind commend him to all who have anything to do with
the court, and his. sound reasoning and impartial decisions place him
in a foremost position among those who have won eminence on the Wis
consin bench. Judge Barnes is a native son of Wisconsin, having been
born in Manitowoc county, July 26, 1859, and is a son of John and
Alary (Butler) Barnes.
John Barnes, the father, was born in Kilkenny County, Ireland,
in 1814, and was there married to Mary Butler, born in the same
locality in 1822. Soon after their marriage they emigrated to Alont-
real, Canada, where they arrived after a journey of seven weeks on a
sailing vessel, and later they made removal to Lockport, New York,
from whence they came in 1858 to Alanitowoc county, Wisconsin. Here
Air. Barnes engaged in agricultural pursuits, which occupied the rest
of his life, his death occurring in 1881, when he was sixty-seven years
of age. His wife passed away in 1880, at the age of fifty-eight years.
The boyhood of Judge John Barnes was passed on his father's farm,
and his early education was secured in the district schools of Alanitowoc
county, following which he attended the Manitowoc High school and
the Oshkosh Normal school. He then took up the study of law in the
University of Wisconsin, where he was graduated in 1883, and com
menced practice in Alanitowoc, but in 1885 went to Rhinelander and
there carried on a general practice and served as a member of the
school board for several years. After serving as municipal judge of
Oneida county for four years, Judge Barnes was appointed a member
of the State Railroad Commission, but resigned therefrom in August,
1907, and in the following year was elected to the Supreme Bench of
the State. He is now serving his second term as a member of that
august body. Judge Barnes' mind is of the judicial order, and he would
in almost any community have been sought for to occupy a place upon
the bench. The high esteem in which he is held as a jurist amoug the
entire profession is the result of a combination of legal ability culture,
and incorruptible integritjT, with the dignified presence, absolute
courage and graceful urbanity which characterize all of his official
acts. His political support has always been given to the cause of
Democracy. He is a member of the county and state bar associations,
and fraternally he is interested in the work of Rhinelander Lodge,
B. P. 0. E., and Antigo Council, Knights of Columbus.
On July 26, 1887, Judge Barnes was married to Miss Julia A.
Koelzer, who was born in Rochester, New York, daughter of Peter J. and
Sarah (Doyle) Koelzer, the former a native of Germany and the latter

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1239
of Ireland, and both surviving. They came to Wisconsin in 1864,
settling in Alanitowoc county, later going to Antigo, Langlade county,
where Mr. Koelzer was engaged in a general merchandise business, and
finally removing to Rhinelander, Oneida county, where they live re
tired. Of their five children, Mrs. Barnes was the fourth in order of
birth. Judge and Airs. Barnes have had four children: Dorothy AL,
Beatrice F., Fayne J. and John, Jr. The pleasant family residence is
located at No. 104 Langdon street.
Charles C. Brown. For many years closely associated in business
with the late Z. G. Simmons and the successor of that splendid financier
and manufacturer in the presidency of the First National Bank of
Kenosha, Charles C. Brown has had what every one would consider
a most fortunate association and career. The facts are, however, that
he has won on his merit every promotion, and it is doubtful if any
man in Wisconsin stands more solidly on his own bottom than this
Kenosha banker. Few banks of Wisconsin have a longer history of
conservative and successful management than the First National Bank
of Kenosha. It originated as a state bank in 1852, and in the year
following the passage of the National Bank Act in 1863, the state in
stitution was reorganized and the charter for the national bank taken
out in 1864. The number of the charter was two hundred and twelve,
and that charter number has since been retained at subsequent renewals.
Throughout its existence the bank has been prosperous through having
an able directorate and exceptionally competent executive officials,
and has weathered all the financial storms safely. In June, 1913, the
aggregate resources of the First National Bank were approximately
$3,750,000. Its capital stock is $150,000, and the surplus fund of an
equal amount. Its total deposits aggregate over three and a quarter
million of dollars. The executive officers are Charles C. Brown, presi
dent; George Yule, vice president; and W. PI. Purnell, cashier. The
directors are all men of the highest prominence in local financial and
industrial affairs, and are : George Yule, C. C. Allen, Charles T. Jeffery,
Z. G. Simmons, Richard F. Howe, A. H. Lance, and Charles C.
Brown. The old State Bank, from which the First National Bank of Kenosha
developed, was organized two years before the birth of Charles C. Brown,
who has been closely connected with the executive direction of the bank
for more than twenty years and is now president. A Kenosha boy, born
Alay 20, 1854, Mr. Brown when young lost his father, and was obliged
to go to work for his own living and the support of his widowed mother.
He had some schooling, but aside from that never depended upon any
one but himself for assistance. At one time only one among hundreds,
so far as his relative position was concerned, he has achieved on merit,
the presidency of the largest bank in Kenosha county, and those who

1240 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
know say he has returned in business service and actual ability, a com
pensation equal to all the material prosperity he has won.
His parents were Charles C. and Katharine (Lampson) Brown.
His father was a native of Massachusetts and the mother of Vermont.
The senior Brown came to Kenosha county, in 1849, when Kenosha was
known as Southport. Mr. Brown grew up in Kenosha, attended the
common schools, and also an academy in Milwaukee; When his educa
tional opportunities were ended, he started out to make his own way
in the world, and his first position was as a clerk in the store of Rouse
Simmons for seven years. Then in partnership with Gilbert M. Sim
mons, under the firm name of Simmons & Brown, a general merchan
dise business was conducted for three years, at the end of which time
Air. Simmons sold out to Seth Doan, who had* been the pioneer merchant
of Southport. Doan & Brown continued in business for ten years. In
1890, after Mr. Brown had been chosen cashier of the First National
Bank of Kenosha, his mercantile interests were sold to William Fisher.
Air. Brown was cashier of the First National Bank until 1907, was vice
president until 1909, and then succeeded the late Z. G. Simmons, who
had been president of the bank for thirty-eight years.
From an early date in his business career, Mr. Brown was first a
valued assistant and later a trusted advisor and associate of Z. G.
Simmons. He sat by the side of that business, leader and worked with
him through two financial panics, and perhaps knew him better than
any other man. Mr. Brown was secretary of the great Simmons manu
facturing industry from 1907 for two years. Especially during the
later years of the senior Simmons these two business men were very
closely associated financially, morally and socially. The confidence dis
played by Mr. Simmons in his younger associate, has naturally been
manifested by the general business public, and it can be said that Mr.
Brown never abused this confidence in the slightest degree. He has
perhaps as many personal admirers as any banker in the state, and yet
he retains the modest and unassuming demeanor and quiet business
efficiency which have marked him since youth. Having made his own
way in the world, he appreciates many things that escape the notice of
men who have not had that experience, and while a thorough judge
of human nature and conservative in all his policies of banking, he has
at the same time proved a liberal and generous factor in his community.
On May 31, 1877, Mr. Brown married the daughter of his former
business associate, Miss Minnie Doan. They have one daughter, Edith
M. Brown.
Walter Dickson Corrigan has been engaged in the practice of
law since 1897. He has attained high rank in his profession through
his learning, industry, ability and character, while he is no less valued
in the community as a liberal-minded and enterprising citizen. Be-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1241
longing to that class of professional men who value their education the
more because it has been self-gained, his career since early boyhood
has been one of tireless industry and well-directed effort, finally result
ing m the attainment of well-deserved success. He is now a member of
the leading law firm of Glicksman, Gold & Corrigan.
Air. Corrigan is a native son of Wisconsin, having been born Decem
ber 28, 1875, in the town of Almond, Portage County. He is of Irish
and Scotch-English descent. He was reared to manhood on a Portage
County farm, by his grandfather, Walter Dickson, who had come as
a pioneer to Wisconsin in 1844, and his early education was secured
in the district schools of that vicinity. A youth of ambitious ideas,
he early decided upon the law as his life work, and with that end in
view, devoted himself assiduously to his tasks on the farm and as a
school teacher, to secure the necessary means with which _to secure
an education. After attending the high schools of Grand Rapids
and Almond, Wisconsin, Air. Corrigan entered the Iowa State College,
Ames, Iowa, and on graduation therefrom continued to pursue his
studies in Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, where he received
his law degree in 1896. At twenty-one years of age, he was admitted
to the bar and establish himself in practice in Waushara county.
Central Wisconsin was his field of endeavor until September 1, 1905,
when his advent in Milwaukee occurred. In October, 1906, he be
came general attorney for the Wisconsin Central Railway Company,
and November 1, 1908, was made general solicitor for that road, but
resigned his position May 1, 1909, to enter general practice as a member
of the firm of Glicksman, Gold & Corrigan, with which firm he has
ever since been connected. Mr. Corrigan 's inclinations have led him
to engage chiefly in what is known as trial work, and he has become
distinguished in this line throughout the Northwest. He was district
attorney of Waushara county from January, 1899, to January, 1901,
and assistant attorney general of Wisconsin from January, 1903, to
September 1, 1905, when he resigned to commence practice in Mil
waukee. He has had no amibition for mere office holding. Within
the last few years he has declined to be considered for several im
portant offices, including judgeships, and these declinations have come
when there was more than fair promise of success. He has, however,
been more or less active for years in giving such time as he could
spare to the movement in Wisconsin generally known as the Progres
sive Republican movement. He has been a member of the Republican
State Central Committee, and is a highly regarded and very effective
campaign speaker. He has, however, made all activities subservient
to his professional duties. He has been a member of the Odd Fellows
since 1897; the Masons since 1898, and the Elks since 1903. In the
matter of religion, to quote Mr. Corrigan 's own words: "Like unto
each and every man, I have my own religion. ' '

1242 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
He has a beautiful home on Whitefish Bay, suburban to Alilwaukee.
His business offices are at 625-630 Caswell Block.
William Wright Vincent. Holding prestige as one of the repre
sentative figures in the manufacturing and commercial circles of the
thriving city of Kenosha, Air. Vincent is here president of the A7incent-
Alward Company, which is the direct successor of the Windsor Spring
Company, the present corporate title having been adopted on the 1st
of January, 1913, and the substantial euteiprise conducted by the com
pany constituting a definite contribution to the industrial precedence
of the city and county of Kenosha. Mr. Vincent is a native son of the
county that now represents his home and is a scion of one of the ster
ling and well known pioneer families of this section of the state. He
has had ample experience in connection with manufacturing and com
mercial activities and his advancement to his present position stands in
evidence of his ability and well ordered endeavors. As one of the pro
gressive business men and loyal and public-spirited citizens of Kenosha
he is well entitled to specific recognition in this history of AVisconsin.
On the family homestead, in the west division of Kenosha, AVilliam
W. Vincent was born on the 20th of July, 1869, and he is a son of
William C. and Mary (Leach) Vincent, both of whom were born in
England. In 1856 William C. Vincent, who was then a, young man
and still a bachelor, severed the ties that bound him to his native land
and came to the United States, where he was1 assured of better oppor
tunities for the attaining of independence and prosperity through indiv
idual effort. He remained for a short period in the state of New York
and finally came to Wisconsin. He established his residence at South-
port, the little village which formed the nucleus of the present fine
city of Kenosha. He engaged in the manufacturing of matches, and
after conducting business in this line of industry for a period of about
six years he purchased a small farm on what is now the West side of
the city of Kenosha, where he turned his attention to market gardening.
He built up a prosperous enterprise, gained secure hold upon the con
fidence and esteem of the community and was known and honored as a
loyal citizen of ability and inviolable integrity. He continued to reside
on his homestead place until his death, which occurred in 1903, and
his wife still survives him, as do also all of their seven children. Air.
Vincent was a staunch Republican in his political proclivities, was affi
liated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was a con
sistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, with which his
widow also has long been identified as a devout communicant.
William W. Vincent, the immediate subject of this review, attended
the county schools of Kenosha until he had attained to the age of four
teen years, when he became a time-keeper and boarding contractor in
the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company,

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1243
with the service of which he continued to be thus identified for eight
een months. Thereafter he did contract work in ballast burning for
the Wabash Railroa4 and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, in
which connection he gained valuable business experience. At the age
of 21 years Mr. A^incen't entered upon an apprenticeship to the trade
of tool-making, in which he became an expert workman, and from 1896
to 1898 he held the position of chief engineer for the Simmons Alanu-
facturing Company, of Kenosha. In the latter year he was advanced
to the office of assistant general superintendent of that company. His
effective service in this capacity continued four years, at the expiration
of which he became general superintendent and second vice-president
of the corporation noted. This dual office he retained until 1912, when
he purchased the plant and business of the Windsor Spring Company,
engaged in the manufacturing of sanitary couches and all kinds of
springs. This company was organized in 1897, by F. C. Hannah,
Frank Chesley and B. F. Windsor, and after the death of Air. Windsor,
Air. Vincent assumed control of the enterprise, in which he became asso
ciated with Vaughn Lee Alward. The enterprise was thereafter con
tinued under the original title until the 1st of January, 1913, when the
name was changed to its present form, the Vincent-Alward Company,
Mr. Vincent being president and treasurer of the company and Air.
Alward holding the offices of vice-president and secretary. Under the
new regime, marked by most progressive policies, the business had been
significantly expanded in scope and importance, and Mr. Vincent has
secure vantage ground as one of the successful and representative busi
ness men of the city which has been his home during virtually his entire
life and in the civic and material prosperity of which he maintains a
most loyal interest. He is a member of the Kenosha Alanuf acturers '
Association and is a member of the directorate of the Merchants'
Savings Bank of Kenosha. He is also actively identified with the Em
ployers' Mutual Liability Insurance Company of Wisconsin, is a director
of the Wisconsin Young Men's Christian Association and is president of
the Kenosha association of this noble organization.
In politics Air. Vincent accords allegiance to the Republican party,
he has attained to the thirty second degree of the Ancient Accepted
Scottish Rite of Masonry, is affiliated with the Benevolent & Protective
Order of Elks, is actively concerned with the affairs of the Associated
Charities of Kenosha, where he also holds membership in the Big Sister
Association and the Automobile Club, besides which he is a member of
the Chicago Athletic Association, a representative organization in the
great western metropolis. Both he and his wife are communicants of
St. Matthew's church, Protestant Episcopal, in their home city, and
are popular factors in connection with the representative social activi
ties of the community.
On the 10th of January, 1900, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.

1244 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Vincent to Aliss Mary Alarguerite Vollmer, of Kenosha, and they have
three children, whose names, with respective dates of birth, are here
noted: Roger V., February 26, 1901; William W., Jr., June 6, 1906;
and Helen V., March 7, 1910.
Rev. Samuel William Herman Daib. A life of service, conspicuous
in its accomplishments, has been that of Rev. Daib of Merrill. Nearly
thirty years ago, a young recruit in the Lutheran ministry, he began
preaching, organizing, and performing the manifold tasks of the mis
sionary in the northern Wisconsin. Alany flourishing churches date
their beginning from the efforts of the devoted missionary. Then,
having proved his power in extending and building up the influence of
his church, he was called to the pastorate at Merrill, where he has lived
and ministered to his. people for a quarter of a century. At the pres
ent time as president of "the Wisconsin District of the German Evan
gelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and other States," that being
the official title of this Synod, Rev. Daib is one of the foremost church
men of his denomination in Wisconsin, and still full of vigor at the
zenith of his career, and with the prospect of many useful years before
him. Rev. Daib is pastor of the St. Johannes Evangelical Lutheran church
of Merrill, and has served as pastor of this organization since September,
1888. Samuel William Herman Daib was born in Berne township of
Fairfield county, Ohio, August 26, 1862, a son of Rev. J. L. and Elise
(Zelt) Daib. Rev. J. L. Daib was pastor of a Lutheran church in Berne
township of Fairfield county, and a short time after the birth of his
son Herman removed with his family to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where
he had accepted a call to a Lutheran church. The home of the family
was at Grand Rapids until 1870, when the father moved to Waupaca
county, Wisconsin, remaining there two years, then became pastor of a
Lutheran church in Oshkosh, and it was in Oshkosh that Herman Daib
received most of his early schooling, in the Trinity Lutheran Parochial
school. After finishing his preparatory course, he entered Concordia
College, a preparatory college for theological students, at Fort Wayne,
Indiana. While he was a student there his father accepted a call to a
Lutheran church in Indiana, and was identified with his pastoral duties
in Indiana, until 1892. Then on account of ill health he resigned from
his church at Friedheim, in Adams county, Indiana, and his death oc
curred at Fort Wayne, December 31, 1894.
Rev. Herman Daib had entered Concordia College at Fort Wayne,
in 1875, graduated in 1881, and then entered the Lutheran Theological
Seminary of St. Louis, where he was graduated in 1884. His first regu
lar work in the ministry was at Wittenberg, Wisconsin, where he took
charge of the missionary work over a large field extending up as far as
Ironwood, Michigan. His service included his supervision of eighteen

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1245
different missionary stations, most of which were organized under his
direction. As railroads in northern Wisconsin at the time gave very
inferior service for passenger business and none whatever on Sundays,
Rev. Daib was quite often a passenger on a hand-car and made use of his
"Tie-Pass." To reach the missionary stations, as far as 20 miles from
the railroad he had to travel horseback or foot-back. Thus in the days
which marked the climax of the great lumber industry of northern Wis
consin and Alichigan, he traveled through hundreds of miles of the
northern woods and put up with all the hardships and limited comforts
of that time and place.
At the end of three years as a missionary, Rev. Daib took charge
of the northern portion of his territory, and his headquarters became
Antigo. From there he received his call in 1888 to take charge of the
present church at Merrill. This place had been started as a mission in
1872, and was organized as a congregation in 1876. During its earlier
years the people worshipped in a frame structure at the extreme east
ern side of Merrill. In 1892 was built the present fine brick church
at the corner of Poplar and Third streets. The first parochial school-
house of this congregation was erected in 1883, at which time the con
gregation received Rev. Paul Lueke as their first resident pastor. In
1901 was built a fine brick parsonage adjoining the church on Third
Street and in 1903 a new modern parochial school. "St. Johannes"
congregation now has over seven hundred and fifty communicants,
while the parochial school has a staff of three teachers and two hundred
and fifteen pupils. In connection with the central church organization
are a number of auxiliary bodies, including the St. John's church band,
the Ladies' Aid Society, the Senior and Junior Young People's Society,
the Singing Choir under the direction of William E. Kammrath, one
of the parochial teachers.
The Wisconsin District of the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod
of Missouri, Ohio and other States of which Rev. Daib is president is
one of the largest districts in this organisation. It comprises one hun
dred and eighty-two pastors, two hundred and eighty-eight congrega
tions, besides seventy-seven mission stations. There are over 110,500
souls and 70,455 communicant members in this district. There are also
231 parochial schools and 10,410 school children.
In April, 1888, Rev. Daib was married to Hermine Dicke of Cecil,
Shawano county, Wisconsin, a daughter of the late Rev. P. H. Dicke,
a pioneer Lutheran minister of Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Daib are the
parents of five children, namely: Rev. Herbert Daib, pastor of the
Lutheran church at Hope, in North Dakota, and a graduate from the
St. Louis Theological Seminary in 1912; Kurt, a student at Concordia
College in Milwaukee; Eleanor; Margaret; and Walter.

1246 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Henry Haertel. Though a comparative newcomer in Stevens
Point, Henry Haertel has since he located here in business come to be
regarded as one of the business men of the community who are to be
reckoned with and who will make a place for himself in the ranks of the
prosperous and successful men of the city. He believes in the effi
cacy of printers' ink and knows that it "pays to advertise," and as a
man of wholesome and steadfast character and principles, is a valuable
addition to the community of his choice. As a manufacturer and dealer
in granite and marble monuments he is carrying on a thriving business
at the corner of Strongs avenue and Crooked Way, and his plant is
one of the busy spots in his locality. He has been located here since
1901. Henry Haertel was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 23, 1S74, and
he is a son of Henry Haertel, Sr., a native of Germany, who came to
the United States in early manhood with his wife, Augusta Haertel,
and one son. They located in Chicago, and there the head of the fam
ily followed stone cutting, later engaging in the monument business
on his own responsibility and continuing therein most successfully for
about thirty years. He did well enough in his business that in later
life he was able to retire from active work, and he is now residing in
Petoskey, Alichigan, with his wife. To them were born a large family,
thirteen children in all, of which number ten are yet living. The father
came of that thrifty class of Germans who believed in putting the youth
of the family to work as soon as it was practicable, and so it came about
that each of his sons learned the marble cutting trade under him, and
Aire of them are now conducting monument businesses of their own.
Henry Haertel, the immediate subject of this review, was the third
eldest of the living children of his parents. He spent the early part
of his life in Chicago, his birthplace, and was educated in the public
schools of that city to the age of 15. At that time, when the average
boy of the means his parents possessed is still at school, he began
working in his father's shop. , That was in the days when all the work
was being done by hand, prior to the days of pneumatic tools, and the
boy learned every detail of the business under the careful direction
of his father. After working thus for several years, he struck out for
himself, and for the next few years he worked at different places, gain
ing valuable experience in the business and at the same time seeing the
country. Pie visited in forty different states in the Union, traveling
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Gulf to the Lakes.
In 1901 Mr. Haertel came to Stevens Point, and here established
his present business. From the start it gave promise of being an ex
cellent success, and his expectations have-not been disappointed. In
1912 Mr. Haertel erected all new buildings and using all pneumatic tools
in the shop, he is prepared to execute all kinds of stone'work for con-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1247
struction and cemetery work of every description, including lettering in
English, German, Polish, French, etc.
Being a comparative stranger Air. Haertel has made it a point to
make known his business throughout this section of the state, and in
1912 he covered an area of some nine thousand miles in his automobile,
canvassing for future business. His business as a result of this judicious
advertising extends into nine different counties.
On Alay 2, 1903, Air. Haertel was married to Miss Elizabeth Gaetz,
a native daughter of Stevens Point, whose parents were early pioneers
of Portage county. The children born to Air. and Mrs. Haertel in
clude two living sons, Harold and George, and two who died in
infancy. Mr. Haertel is what might be called a home man. Being at the
works all day, he takes a great pleasure in devoting his evenings to
making the acquaintance of his little family, the home of which is
maintained at No. 342 Water street. He is a member of the Lutheran
church, and with his wife, is quite prominent in the city as they enjoy a
wide acquaintance, and a host of genial friends are theirs.
Frank L. Gilbert, present popular and efficient incumbent of the
office of collector of internal revenue for the Second district of Wiscon
sin, has gained a position of distinctive priority as one of the represen
tative members of the bar of the state and he has served with marked
credit in a number of official positions of important trust and respon
sibility. He has gained success and prestige through his own endeav
ors and thus the more honor is due him for his earnest labors in his
exacting profession and for the precedence he has gained in his chosen
vocation. A native son of the good old Badger state, Frank L. Gilbert was born
at Arena, Iowa county, Wisconsin, Alarch 3, 1864. He is a son of James
and Alary (Lynch) Gilbert, the former of whom was born in Greenwich
county, New York, in 1829, and the latter of "whom was a native of
Ireland. The father was educated in the common schools of his native
place and came to Wisconsin as a young man, locating in Arena, where
he was interested in stage lines. In 1863 he enlisted for service in the
Civil war as a member of the Thirty-third Regiment of Wisconsin Vol
unteers and later he was transferred to Company 0, Thirty-fifth Wis
consin Volunteer Infantry. He died in 1864 while in service. He was
a Republican in his political convictions and ever manifested a dee])
and sincere interest in community and national affairs. He and his
wife were the parents of three children, as follows: Alary B. is the wife
of Edgar Billington, of Arena, Wisconsin; William J. lost his life by
accident when thirteen years of age; and Frank L. is the immediate
subject of this review.

1248 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
After completing the course of studies required for graduation in
the Alazomanie high school, Mr. Gilbert entered the University of Wis
consin, in the law department of which institution he was graduated
as a member of the class of 1899, duly receiving the degree of Bach
elor of Laws. He initiated the active practice of his profession at Madi
son, entering into a partnership alliance with Russell Jackson. Sub
sequently the firm became that of Gilbert, Jackson & Ela and the same
controls an extensive and lucrative law clientage in Dane county. In
1902 Mr. Gilbert was honored by his fellow citizens with election to the
office of district attorney of Dane county and he was re-elected to that
position in 1904. In 1906 he was further honored by election to the
office of attorney general of Wisconsin, in which capacity he likewise
served two terms. July 27, 1911, he was appointed collector of inter
nal revenue for the Second district of AVisconsin and he is filling that
office at the present time, in 1912. In politics he is aligned as a stanch
supporter of the principles and policies for which the Republican party
stands sponsor and he has long been an active factor in the local councils
of that organization. He is one of the great lawyers of the Wisconsin
bar. Honorable in business, loyal in citizenship, charitable in thought,
kindly in action, true to every trust confided to his care, his life stands
for the highest type of christian manhood.
In connection with the work of his profession Air. Gilbert is affi
liated with the Dane County Bar Society and with the State Bar Associa
tion. In fraternal way he is connected with Knights of Columbus,
in which he has held the office of supreme deputy of Wisconsin ; and he
is likewise a member of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, the
Catholic Order of Foresters, the Woodmen of the World and the Alodern
Woodmen of America. In religious matters he is a devout communicant
of the Catholic church.
December 6, 1899, Mr. Gilbert married Miss Aiayme L. Kylen, who
was born in DeKalb, Illinois, and who is a daughter of Andrew H. and
Mary (Sawanson) Kylen. Air. and Mrs. Gilbert have no children.
Hon. John O'Day. Member of the Wisconsin General Assembly
from Lincoln county, now in his second term, Hon. John O'Day has
lived in Merrill since 1881, when he was distinguished chiefly as an
experienced worker in the lumber industry, but up to that point of
his career was only one among hundreds or thousands. The lumber
interests of Wisconsin have produced many able figures in the com
mercial and ciVtc activities of the state, and one of them is* John
O'Day, who for years has probably done as much as any other indi
vidual to uphold the prestige of Merrill as an industrial and business
center. John O'Day is a native of England, where he was born June 28,
1856, a son of Bartholomew and Mary (McNamira) O'Day. When

1

JOHN O'DAY

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1249
he was a baby nine months old, his parents immigrated to America,
and when he was four years old they located on a farm two and a
half miles from Grand Rapids, Wisconsin. It was on that farm that
John O'Day grew up and received the influences and training which
shaped his character and abilities for his varied accomplishments.
Both his parents died in Grand Rapids, the mother in April, 1883,
and the father in January, 1900. The country schools near his home
at Grand Rapids were the source of his education, and when still a
boy he took to the woods to earn his living. As a day laborer he
followed the trails and the lumber camps of northern Wisconsin
until 1881, and. then located at Merrill, which city has since been his
residence and headquarters. He came to Merrill to become foreman
for the T. B. Scott Lumber Company, but on arriving refused to accept
the proposition they made him and instead took up work as driver of
an ox team in the employ of that company. He did that kind of
work during the winter of 1881-82, and in the spring of 1882 the com
pany accepted his terms 'and made him foreman. Later he was pro
moted to the rank of walking boss, and filled that responsible position
thirteen years. Then in partnership with the late John Dailey of
Grand Rapids he bought the logging output of the T. B. Scott Lumber
Company and the firm of O'Day & Dailey became one of the live and
enterprising factors in the lumber business of Northern Wisconsin.
Its association and business were continued prosperously until 1908,
when the partnership was dissolved through the accidental death of
Mr. Dailey. Though his lumbering operations covered a large scope
of territory, Mr. O'Day made his home at Merrill through all these
years. In 1900 Mr. O'Day organized the Merrill Iron Works Com
pany, became president of that industry, owning practically all its
stock, and conducted it until the fall of 1912, when he sold out.
Both in business and in public affairs, Mr. O'Day has had a large
part in the history of Merrill during recent years. In 1907 he served
one term as mayor. He has been vice president and a director of the
Merrill Railway & Lighting Company, almost since the inception of
that company twenty years ago. He is vice president and a director
of the Grandfather Falls Paper Manufacturing Company of Merrill,
a large concern organized about 1905, and having a capital stock
of $400,000. He is a director in the Citizens National Bank of Merrill.
In 1882, Air. O'Day was married to Miss Mary Stillwell of Grand
Rapids, Wisconsin, a daughter of the late Oliver Stillwell. Their
three children are Ethel M., Guy W., and Leslie J. Mr. O'Day and
family are communicants of the Catholic church, he is active in the
order of Knights of Columbus, and up to January 1, 1913, served as
Grand Knight of the Merrill Lodge. In politics he is a loyal
Democrat.

1250 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
James C. Anckersen. The president of the Anckersen-Hansen Com
pany, wholesale grocers in the city of Oshkosh, has here maintained his
home since his boyhood days and in his sterling character and worthy
achievement he has proved himself not only a staunch scion of the Scan
dinavian element which has played a most important part in the develop
ment and upbuilding of Wisconsin but has also signally honored the state
in which his advancement has been the direct result of his own ability
and well directed endeavors. He was a lad of thirteen years at the time
of the family immigration to America and has continuously maintained
his home in Oshkosh during the intervening period of more than thirty
years. Here he has advanced from a position of subordinate order in a
local retail establishment to that of executive head of one of the most
important and prosperous commercial concerns of the city, so there are
manifold reasons for according to him special recognition in this publica
tion. In the most significant sense a representative business man and
loyal and progressive citizen of Oshkosh, Air. Anckersen is well known
and highly esteemed in the community that has long been his home
and he stands as a true type of the self-made man, — one who has had the
ability to grasp opportunities and to make the most of the same.
James C. Anckersen was born in Denmark, on the 29th of June, 1868,
and is a son of Christian' and Laura (Hansen) Anckersen, representa
tives of sterling old families of that fine nation of the far Norseland.
In his native land Christian Anckersen received excellent educational
advantages and there also he learned the trade of watchmaking, in which
he became a specially expert artisan. In 1881 he immigrated with his
family to the United States and established his residence in Oshkosh,
where he engaged in the work of his trade and finally developed a pros
perous jewelry business. His life was spared only a decade after he came
to America, and his death occurred in 1891. He had gained secure place
in the confidence and good will of the people of Oshkosh and was a man
whose life was ordered on a high plane of integrity and honor. His
wife did not long survive him, as she was summoned to the life eternal
in 1894, both having been zealous members of the Lutheran church. Of
their six children one son and six daughters living, and of the number
the subject of this review was the fourth in order of birth.
In the excellent schools of his native land James C. Anckersen gained
his early education and he was about thirteen years of age at the time
when the family set forth for America. His father's financial resources
at the time were very limited and the major part of the further educa
tion of the son came as the result of self-discipline and active association
with the practical affairs of life. Soon after the family home had been
established in Oshkosh he here obtained a position in the grocery store
of Voight & Wendorff, and his stipend was -set at the figure of two dol
lars a week. Later he worked for F. Herrmann. He rapidly acquired
facility in the English language and in business affairs he soon developed

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1251
distinctive ability. He was a youth of vigorous purpose and much am
bition, and thus his advancement was virtually assured. lie continued
in the employ of Mr. Herrmann for thirteen years and became a valued
and efficient salesman and executive.
In 1894 Mr. Anckersen initiated his independent business career by
opening a retail grocery. This he conducted successfully in an individual
way for two years, at the expiration of which, in 1896, he formed a part
nership with William H. St. John, with whom he was thereafter most
pleasingly associated in the same line of enterprise for a period of seven
years, the title of the firm having been Anckersen & St. John and the
business having eventually become one of the most substantial and flour
ishing of its kind in the city. At the expiration of the period noted
Air. Anckersen sold his interest in the business and thereafter he con
ducted in an individual way another retail grocery establishment until
he found that his resources justified him in expanding the field of his
operations by entering the wholesale grocery trade. In 1908 he became
associated with Fred W. Hansen in the organization of a stock com
pany for this purpose, and the same was duly incorporated under the
present title of the Anckersen-Hansen Company. The concern has a
large and well equipped establishment and the- same is one of the leading
commercial concerns of Oshkosh. A select and comprehensive stock is
"supplemented by the best of facilities in all departments, and the house
now controls an extensive and constantly expanding trade throughout
the territory normally tributary to Oshkosh as a distributing center.
Mr. Anckersen is president of the company and his wife holds the office
of vice-president. F. W. Hansen is secretary and treasurer and, like his
honored coadjutor, is one of the alert and representative business men
of Oshkosh. Mr. Anckersen takes a lively interest in all that touches the welfare
of his home city and is ever ready to lend his assistance in the support
of measures tending to advance its civic and material interests. Plis
political allegiance is given to the Republican party. He is affiliated with
the Danish Brotherhood, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and
the Associated United Commercial Travelers Association.
November 25, 1895, stands as the date of the marriage of Air. Ancker
sen to Miss Bertha Elser, of Oshkosh, who likewise was born in
Milwaukee. Mr. and Airs. Anckersen have two sons, Leo and Alvin.
Albert Gregory Zimmerman. The life of every man before the pub
lic possesses interest to his fellow-citizens, particularly if his abilities have
elevated him to honorable office in which he has displayed honest effort
and fidelity in the performance of its responsibilities. Pre-eminently is
this true when judicial position is involved, and especially is interest
excited when the subject is so well known and honored a man as the Hon.
Albert Gregory Zimmerman, county judge of Dane county, and a legist
Vol. v— 1 B

1252 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
and jurist who has at all times maintained the honor and dignity of the
Wisconsin bench and bar. Judge Zimmerman was born at Elgin, Fay
ette county, Iowa, July 23, 1862, and is a son of George and Henrietta
(Capp) Zimmerman.
The paternal grandparents of Judge Zimmerman, Joseph and Maria
Ann Zimmerman, came to this country during the early fifties and located
in Buffalo, New York. Their eldest son, George was born in the prov
ince of Bavaria, Germany, in 1836, and in young manhood drifted West
to Ohio, later to Illinois and Iowa, and then to Prairie du Chien, Wis
consin, where he followed his trade of wagon maker, and became a manu
facturer of carriages. Soon after his marriage he removed to Elgin,
Fayette county, Iowa. Soon after the war he came to Wisconsin where
he continued in the same business until 1905, that year marking his re
tirement from active business affairs, and he now makes his home at Mt.
Hope, Grant county, Wisconsin. During the Civil War, he enlisted in
Company H, of the Thirty-eighth Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry,
participating in all the engagements in which his regiment took part,
and being active in the Siege of Vicksburg, in the storming of Fort
Blakeley and in the taking of Mobile. He is a valued comrade of the local
post of the Grand Army of the Republic, and his political support has
ever been given to the Republican party. He married Henrietta Capp,
who was born in Prussia in 1840, and they have been the parents of two
daughters and five sons, of whom all but one survive. One son, Oscar S.,
enlisted in Company K, Third Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry,
during the Spanish- American War, and died in the service while his regi
ment was in Porto Rico.
Albert Gregory Zimmerman received his early education in the schools
of Grant county, Wisconsin, and at the age of seventeen years adopted the
profession of educator, passing the next ten years in alternately attend
ing and teaching in the public schools. He entered Valparaiso Univer
sity, Indiana, being graduated therefrom in 1885, when he organized the
high school at Bloomington, Grant county, Wisconsin, where he acted in
the capacity of principal until 1889. At that time, having, decided
upon a legal career, he became a student in the University of Wisconsin,
was graduated in law in 1890, and in that year formed a partnership
with Air. Roe, practicing under the firm name of Roe & Zimmerman for
a short period, when the firm became LaFollette, Harper, Roe & Zim
merman, and continued as such until 1894. Mr. Zimmerman then en
gaged in practice alone, and was so engaged in January, 1902, when
he became county judge of Dane county, an office he has continued to
fill with eminent ability to the present time. For some years he has
been attorney for the Western Union Telegraph Company in Western
Wisconsin, and for two years was president of the Wisconsin County
Judges Association. He has written a number of legal stories for law
and other magazines, and is said to be engaged in the preparation of

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1253
an extensive work on probate law and practice. .In 1888 Judge Zimmer
man became a member of Patch Grove Lodge, A. F. & A. M., in Grant
county, but later demitted, and is now connected with Madison Lodge
No. 5, and also holds membership in Madison Lodge No. 410, B. P. 0. E.
His political support is given to the Republican party.
Judge Zimmerman was married. August 17, 1892, to Miss Nell
Brown, who was born at Bloomington, Wisconsin, daughter of Daniel
F. and Clara (Brooks) Brown, the former a native of Ohio who died in
1905 at the age of seventy-six years, and the latter a native of New
Hampshire, died in 1913. Daniel F. Brown came to the territory of
Wisconsin in 1846 with his parents, locating at Patch Grove, Grant
county, where he resided until 1853. In that year he made the trip over
land to California, spending some nine or ten years in mining in the
West, and then returning to Grant county and engaging in the general
merchandise business, at Bloomington. He became one of the prominent
men of Grant county, and was widely known in political circles, serving
as chairman of the county board and in various other offices. He was
a Democrat after 1872, having formerly supported the principles of the
Republican party.
Judge Zimmerman has occupied a place of high credit and distinc
tion among the leaders of the legal profession, and he has been a con
spicuous and influential force as a leading citizen interested in the im
portant public movements of the day. The sound judgment, the well-
balanced judicial mind, the intellectual honesty and freedom from bias
which are required in a judge — these attributes have all been his and
have enabled him to maintain the best traditions of the judicial office,
John A. Kelly. Though he has passed virtually his entire life in
Wisconsin, this well known and representative attorney of law claims
the historic old "Hub" city as the place of his nativity. He is en
gaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Oconomowoc and
is one of the able and successful members of the bar of the state, even
as he is a citizen of utmost loyalty and progressiveness.
Mr. Kelly was born in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, on the 3d
of September, 1856, and is a son of Ferdinand and Elizabeth (McCurdy)
Kelly, both of whom were born in Ireland, representatives of staunch old
families of the fair Emerald Isle. Ferdinand Kelly was reared and
educated in his native land, whence he immigrated to America when
a young man, in 1850. He engaged in farming near the city of Boston,
where he remained until 1862, when he came to Wisconsin and num
bered himself among the pioneers of Waukesha county. He secured a
tract of land near the present village of Delafield, and there developed
a valuable farm, becoming one of the honored citizens and prosperous
agriculturists of that part of the county. He was a man of sterling
character and indefatigable industry, alert of mentality and animated

1254 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
by kindliness and consideration in his association with his fellow men,
both he and his devoted wife having at all times held inviolable place
in the confidence and esteem of all who knew them. They remained on
the old homestead fann until 1890, when they removed to Oconomowoc,
one of the attractive little cities of the county in which they had long
maintained their home, and there Ferdinand Kelly lived virtually retired
until his death, which occurred in 1910, his loved companion having
passed to the life eternal about a year previously, so that "in death
they were not long divided." Both were sincere and zealous com
municants of the Catholic church and in polities the father was a staunch
supporter of the cause of the Democratic party. Of the five children
one son and three daughters survive the honored parents, and of the
five John A., of this review, was the second in order of birth. Ferdinand
Kelly contributed his quota to the industrial and social development of
Waukesha county and his name merits a place on the roll of its sterling
pioneers, for he here lived and labored to goodly ends for a period of
nearly a half century.
Reared under the invigorating discipline of the home farm, John
A. Kelly gained his early educational discipline in the public schools
of the vicinity, and shortly before attaining to his legal majority he
entered Sacred Heart College, at Watertown, where he pursued higher
academic or literary studies for one year. He began the reading of law
under the effective preceptorship of Judge Rufus C. Hathaway, of
Oconomowoc, and through his close application and receptive mental
powers he made rapid advancement in his technical study, with the
result that he proved himself eligible for and was admitted to the bar
of the state in June, 1884. He forthwith engaged in active practice in
Oconomowoc, where he has continuously maintained his residence since
thus serving his professional novitiate and where he has gained distinct
precedence as a specially resourceful and versatile trial lawyer and well
equipped counselor. At the beginning of his professional career Air.
Kelly formed a partnership with Samuel Hammond, under the title of
Kelly & Hammond, and this alliance continued one year. For the en
suing year Mr. Kelly was associated in practice with Judge Edward W.
Hale, under the firm name of Kelly & Hale, and thereafter he was senior
member of the law firm of Kelly & Carswell until 1893, his coadjutor
having been Joseph Carswell. Since that year he has conducted an in
dividual professional business, and his practice has long been one of
important and representative order, in connection with which he has
appeared in many notable litigations in both the state and federal courts
of Wisconsin. A staunch and effective advocate of the principles of the Democratic
party, Mr. Kelly has given yeoman service in behalf of its cause and he
has been called upon to serve in various offices of local trust. From 1884
to 1886 inclusive, he was city clerk of Oconomowoc ; he has been a mem-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1255
ber of the city board of aldermen; he served eight years as justice of
the peace; and he is a court commissioner of said county at the time of
this writing. He takes a loyal interest in all that touches the welfare
of his home city and county and is essentially progressive and liberal
in his civic attitude. He is a member of the Waukesha County Bar
Association and the Wisconsin State Bar Association, and is at the
present time special attorney for the First National Bank of Oconomo
woc. Both he and his wife are earnest communicants of the Catholic
church. Mr. Kelly has been twice wedded, — first, in 1885, to Miss Anna
Dougherty, who died in 1898, and who is survived by no children. On
the 7th of November, 1900, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Kelly to
Miss Anna Hybers, and of their five children four are living, — Maria,
J., Elizabeth, Margaret B. and Thomas A.
Leonard W. Gay, though but in the prime of life, has been instru
mental, by his energy and initiative, in the construction of many resi
dences and business blocks in Madison, and in developing suburban
property, around Madison. Pie has also acquired for himself a reputation
for sagacity in land investments that extends his business relations to
many parts of the state. Mr. Gay is the eldest son of the late Alatthew
H. Gay, who came to this country from Stroud, England, in 1849 and
settled in Madison about the same time that his future wife Sarah Cath-
cart Story, born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, came to Madison
with her mother, Mrs. Beattie. Mr. Gay, Sr., and Mrs. Beattie both by
chance bought lots on University avenue, and built homes that stood for
half a century. It is on this same property where in 1855 his parents
were married and where he and his six brothers and sisters were brought
up that Mr. Leonard Gay has recently erected a business block. The
deeds to the lots given by, Chancellor Lathrop of the University are among
the heirlooms of the family.
Mr. Leonard Gay may therefore be literally said to have grown up
with the city. Altho for the first ten years of his young manhood, he
followed in'his father's footsteps as a merchant tailor, he built his first
house before he was twenty-one. In 1888 he married Aliss Kate Lyon,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel J. Lyon, by whom he has five sons.
One of his earliest enterprises was the redeeming of the marsh on the
eastern side of the city in connection with the making of Tenney Park.
One of the streets opened at this time by him bears the name of his sec
ond son Sidney, then a baby, now a recent graduate of the State LTni-
versity. In 1899, Mr. Gay published a new Atlas of Dane county, origi
nal surveys and plates for this work, being made under his supervision.
Mr. Gay is at the present time actively engaged in developing a number
of suburban properties. On what is known as Wingra on the old ' ' Mars-
ton" farm, which he acquired a few years ago, a veritable village has

1256 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
sprung up. The Monona Bay Subdivision is being built up with sub
stantial dwellings, and he is one of the controlling spirits in the Lake
Forest Land Company that is handling the former Vilas property across
Lake Wingra. A few years ago, he entered into partnership with Mr.
C. B. Chapman and among their joint enterprises is the erection of the
fine business block now in process of construction on the property of
the Capitol square which they have taken on a lease for 99 years, the
first lease of this sort drawn in Madison.
L. N. Anson. While Mr. Anson has for thirty years been a resident
of Merrill, and among this city's most enterprising and substantial
citizens, his business interests have been so extensive and widespread
as to entitle him to claim identity with the great Northwest. During
this time he has been connected with the lumber interests of several
States, and has been one of the most extensive manufacturers and
largest dealers in paper among the many enterprising men whose
vigor and energy have made that one of the leading industries of
Wisconsin. Mr. Anson was born in Portage county, Wisconsin, July
3, 1848, and is a son of Jesse and Maria (Sands) Anson.
Jesse Anson was born in New York, a descendant of a old New
England family, and at an early age was left an orphan. When still
a youth he came West to Illinois, where he met and married Maria
Sands, also a native of the Empire State, and, like her husband, a
descendant of one of the old Colonial families of New England. In
1843 they came to Wisconsin and located at Plover, where the re
mainder of their lives were spent, the father dying in 1894, well
advanced in years. During the Civil War he fought valiantly in a
Wisconsin volunteer regiment in the Union army, and ever showed
himself a patriotic and public-spirited citizen.
L. N. Anson was given a good practical education in the common
schools of Portage county, Wisconsin, but in March, 1865, laid aside
his studies to take up arms in the Union cause, as a private in the
Fifty-Second Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, with which
he served until the close of the war, in Missouri. He then returned
to his Portage county home, and soon after went to Chicago, where
he took a course in Bryant & Stratton's Business College. It was not
long thereafter that he received his introduction to the lumber busi
ness, and in 1883 he came to Merrill, Wisconsin, and formed a co
partnership with George F. Gilkey and John Landers, under the firm
style of Gilkey- Anson Company. The firm purchased a mill which
became one of the largest and best in the Northwest, but for the past
few years has not been in operation. The Grandfather Falls Paper
Mills, of which he is president, were located in Merrill in 1905, but
while the plant is situated here, the power is secured from Grand
father Falls. This is known as one of the largest enterprises of its kind

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1257
in the Wisconsin Valley, and has attained its prestige through the
keen foresight, business ability and intelligent management of its
directing head. The business qualities that are essential for the man
ager of so vast an enterprise are obvious. To push and energy, quick
ness to perceive opportunities and courage to grasp them and breadth
and comprehensiveness of mind, there must be added a capacity for
organization, as well as attention to detail, and in all of these qual
ities Mr. Anson excels. He has interested himself in various other
enterprises, one of which is the Anson, Gilkey & Hurd Company, of
Alerrill, one of the largest manufacturing plants of the Wisconsin
Valley, which employs 500 men in the manufacture of sash, doors
and windows. George Al. Anson, Mr. Anson's son, is president of this
enterprise. Amidst his active business life, Mr. Anson has found
time and manifested an inclination to perform all the duties of good
citizenship. As mayor of his adopted city, he gave his fellow-cit
izens an excellent and businesslike administration, and this was
duplicated by his son, George M. Anson, when he occupied the may
oralty chair.
On December 29, 1872, Mr. Anson was married to Miss Hannah
A. Meehan, who was born in Canada, and to this union there have
been born two children: George M. and Mary T.
Philip Fox, M. D. It is in connection with the sciences of medicine
and surgery that Dr. Philip Fox is best entitled to be remembered as
one of the benefactors of Madison, Wisconsin, a connection which has
continued here for a period covering more than thirty-six years. Dur
ing this time he has labored assiduously in the alleviation of the ills of
mankind, and even now, at an age when most men excuse themselves
from the activities of life, he faithfully gives his. time and thought and
work to the cause which enlisted the earliest sympathies of his boyhood
and the mature interest of his later life. Dr. Fox was born in LaGrange
county, Indiana, March 27, 1840, and is a son of George W. and Cath
erine (Keenan) Fox.
William M. Fox, the paternal grandfather of Dr. Fox, was born in
Ireland, and received his education in the schools of County Westmeath,
following which he engaged in the mercantile business in his native
locality. He was later engaged in general merchandising in the city of
Dublin, whence he came, during the early thirties, to the United States
on a sailing vessel. His first location was the city of Cleveland, Ohio,
from whence he moved to Indiana, and finally came to Wisconsin terri
tory and entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church, build
ing the first church of that faith in Madison, and ending his ministerial
career in the church at Wauwatosa, Milwaukee county, where his last
years were spent.
George W. Fox was born in County Westmeath, Ireland, in May,

1258 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
1820, and was a lad of fourteen years when he accompanied his mother
and the other children to America to join his father, who had preceded
them to this country. Arriving in New York City after a long voyage
on a sailing vessel, George W. Fox left the family in the metropolis,
while he and another young man started to go forward and meet his
father, who was coming to accompany the family across the country, but
in some way missed him, and finally was compelled to finish the journey
on foot to Indiana, where the family was united. George W. Fox com
pleted his education in the schools of Indiana, and engaged in the boot
and shoe business at Lexington, that state, but in 1843 made removal
to Dane county, Wisconsin, and engaged in farming in Fitchburg town
ship, there passing away in 1894, at the age of seventy-four years.
During the Civil war he maintained the stand of a War Democrat, but
after the close 'of that struggle became independent in his views and
attitude. His wife was born in Queens county, Ireland, in 1820, and
passed away in 1907, having been the mother of seven children, of whom
one died in infancy, and four of whom are now living, namely : Dr.
Philip ; Marie, the wife of P. J. Geraughty ; Catherine, the wife of Gar
rett Barry; and Adeline, the wife of Daniel Kiser.
Philip Fox received his early education in the district schools of
Wisconsin, dividing his time between securing his education and work
ing on the home farm, and subsequently went to a private school at
Sinsinawa, Grant county, Wisconsin. At this time he commenced reading
medicine in the office of his uncle, Dr. William H. Fox, of Fitchburg, and
eventually he entered Bellevue Hospital College, New York City, where
he was graduated with the class of 1863. From March to December of
that year he was engaged in practice at Fitchburg, and in the latter
month was appointed assistant surgeon in the Second Regiment, Wis
consin Volunteer Infantry, in the Union army, with which organization
he continued until July, 1904. Returning to Fitchburg, Dr. Fox became
associated with his uncle, this professional partnership continuing until
1870, when Dr. Fox removed to Janesville, Wisconsin. In December,
1876, he changed his field of endeavor to the city of Madison, and here he
has given the best years of his life to the care of a large and repre
sentative practice. This practice in Aladison has not been merely, local,
for the reputation that he has acquired for skill and learning has
brought patients from all the surrounding country to obtain the skilled
treatment that has not been available in the vicinity of their homes.
He has been regarded as a master in his profession, and not content
with the knowledge which his early study gave, he has kept his eyes
open to the progress of medicine and surgery and adopted every im
provement that the rapid advancement of the sciences has introduced.
Dr. Fox is a member of the Dane County Medical Society, the AViscon-
sin State Medical Society and the American Aledical Association, in the
work of all of which he takes an active and intelligent interest. His

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1259
acquaintance is large throughout the state, and he has hosts of friends
and well-wishers. Dr. Fox is a Democrat in politics, but his time has
been so devoted to his profession, that he has found no leisure for pub
lic life, nor has he desired personal preferment.
On September 6, 1866, Dr. Fox was married to Anna E. Reynolds,
who died in 1894, having been the mother of four children, as follows :
Dr. Philip R., a graduate of Rush Medical College, Chicago, and known
as a well known physician and surgeon in Madison; Anna O, who is
single and lives at home; Mary J., the wife of Carl Hilbert; and Dr.
George W., a prominent physician and surgeon of Alilwaukee.
Lyman Junius Nash was born at Shelby, Orleans county, New York,
January 18, 1845, a son of Francis and Catherine A^an Burgen (Curtis)
Nash, the former of whom was born in Spencertown, Columbia county,
New York, September 1, 1804, and the latter of whom was a native of
Berkshire county, Massachusetts, where her birth occurred November 9,
1818. The father was a farmer in New York state up to the year 1851
and was one of the men who helped construct the Erie canal. In 1851
the family home was established in Rock county, Wisconsin. There Mr.
Nash was reared to maturity under the invigorating influence of the
old homestead farm. He was six years of age at the time of his par
ents' removal to Wisconsin and after completing the curriculum of the
public schools of Rock county he attended Lawrence College, at Apple-
ton, Wisconsin, in which excellent institution he was graduated as a
member of the class of 1870. Prior to entering college he taught school
for two years and from 1870 to 1872 he was principal of the North
Side high school at Manitowoc. While filling the position of principal
he studied law during his spare moments under the able preceptorship
of E. B. Treat. In December, 1872, he was admitted to the Wisconsin
bar and for the ensuing thirty-seven years he was engaged in the active
practice of his profession at Manitowoc. His first public office was that
of justice of the peace at Manitowoc and for nine years he was. a mem
ber of the school board. He served his city as alderman from the Sixth
ward, was a member of the county board for one term, was a member
of the Wisconsin board of bar examiners for seven years, and for ten
years was president of the Manitowoc Public Library. On February
1, 1910, he was. appointed state revisor, with offices at the capitol in
Madison, and he is incumbent of that position at the present time, in
1912. In connection with his professional work Air. Nash is a member
of the American Bar Association and of the Wisconsin State Bar Asso
ciation, of which latter organization he was president for one term. In
a business way Mr. Nash is a member of the board of directors of the
Hamilton Manufacturing Company at Two Rivers, Wisconsin, a director
in several other corporations and for many years was a stockholder and
director in the National Bank at Alanitowoc.

1260 • HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
September 2, 1873, Mr. Nash was united in marriage to Miss Emma
Arathusa Guyles, who was born in Waukegan, Illinois, March 31, 1848,
and who is a daughter of John F. and Lydia A. (Bacon) Guyles, the
former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of New York. Mr. and
Airs. Nash have three children, as follows: Archie Lyman, Alice May
(Airs. Kirby White), and Francis John.
Mr. Nash thoroughly enjoys home life and takes great pleasure in
the society of his family and friends. He is always courteous, kindly
and affable and those who know him personally accord him the highest
esteem. His life has been exemplary in all respects and he has ever
supported those interests which are calculated to uplift and benefit
humanity, while his own high moral worth is deserving of the highest
commendation. Dr. Robert J. Walsh. A lifelong resident of the state of Wiscon
sin and a man whose business and professional career has made him
well known throughout many sections of Wisconsin and in different
parts of the west, Dr. Walsh has for some years had his residence at
Waupaca, and is president of the Roche-a-Cri Medical Company.
Robert J. Walsh was born ki Columbia county, Wisconsin, August
15, 1863, a son of Pat H. and Elizabeth (Ball) Walsh, who were among
the pioneers of Old Columbia county. The doctor grew up on a farm
in Columbia county, and took his education partly from the district
schools and partly from the Portage high schools. His first regular
vocation was that of school teacher, and for several terms he managed
a group of scholars in both Columbia and Adams counties. His profes
sional preparation was received in the University of Northern Indiana
at Valparaiso, where he was graduated in the class of 1893. After that
several years were spent on the road with a special line of drugs, and
he traveled in different sections of the west and had his residence in
different states. During a portion of the same time he owned and con
ducted a farm in Adams county, Wisconsin.
As a Democrat the doctor has been one of the party leaders for a
number of years, and in 1900 was a candidate in a strong Republican
district for the office of assemblyman, making a very flattering showing
in the race. During the same year, 1900, Dr. Walsh organized the
Roehe-a-Cri Medical Company, and has been president of this growing
concern ever since. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Modern Wood
men of America. For some time Dr. Walsh resided in North Dakota,
and was there at the time the old Dakota territory was divided and made
into two states, and he served as a delegate to the Constitutional Con
vention of North Dakota. He is a strong advocate of the Temperance
cause, and a man of influence both in his immediate community and
in the state.

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1261
W. J. Schade. Since 1910 W. J. Schade las been proprietor of the
Lancaster Sanitarium, which he founded here in that year, and he has
carried on a work that has been the means of relieving much of suf
fering in that time. The gymnasium which he conducts in conjunction
with the Sanitarium, is one of the best equipped of its kind in the coun
try and is a popular resort among all classes of people in the city who
realize that the secret of health and strength lies primarily in syste
matic exercise. His work is a highly coinmendatory one and deserves
mention in a publication of this order.
Prof. Schade was born on January 15, 1875, in Chicago, Illinois, and
is a son of John and Mata (Schretner) Schade, both natives of Germany.
The father came to America in 1862 and located in Chicago, where he
took up the work of a carpenter, in which he had been thoroughly trained
in his native land. Both parents ended their days in the city of Chicago,
where the subject was reared to years of manhood. A liberal elementary
education was given him as a boy, after which he began his independent
career as a clerk in a wholesale wall paper house. He continued with
them for eleven years, when he was taken ill and after resorting to every
approved treatment he was given up to die. He was later healed of
his infirmities, and he was so impressed with the possibilities existing in
the new treatment that he eventually withdrew from all other interests
and has since devoted himself to a form of treatment based upon that
employed in his own ease, the same meeting with the most unquali
fied success in his sanitarium.
The Lancaster Sanitarium is a modern institution, and in its opera
tion are employed all of the following methods : Thermotherapy ; Hydro-
Therapy; Electro-Therapy; Spondylotherapy ; Osteopathy; Chiropractic
and Massage. These treatments are applied to all chronic diseases due
to stagnant conditions and insufficient circulation, and the success that
Prof. Schade has already experienced in his work is ample evidence of
the efficiency of the remedy and the method of treatment. One of the
salient features of the treatment employed here is the Human Bake-
Oven, which embodies all the best features of the Turkish bath, and
avoids the disadvantages, such as the breathing of foul air in an air
tight compartment. The method employed with the Human Bake-Oven
provides an air-tight tank, into which the patient, after being robed in
Turkish bath robe, mittens and stockings, is placed upon a sliding table
and rolled into the tank, all but the head being then subjected to an
intense heat which may be increased to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. A pro
fuse but pleasant perspiration follows, driving germs from the blood and
destroying pain in the most agreeable manner. This Bake-Oven is
regarded as the height of perfection in the matter of applying heat to
the body for the relief of pain, a treatment that has for centuries been
regarded as a most efficient one in the relief of pain. Alodern science
has the crude methods of applying heated cloths, stones, etc., to the

1262 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
affected parts, and the water bag finally came to be recognized as the
boon of humanity, as it still is in many homes. The last word in scientific
methods of applying heat would seem to have been said, with the appear
ance of the Human Bake-Oven as employed in the Lancaster Sanitarium,
and there are to be found innumerable people willing to testify to the
relief they have obtained from sufferings long endured as a result of
Prof. Schade 's methods.
The gymnasium and physical culture school in the City Hall Build
ing, of which Prof. Schade is the physical director, is complete in all
its equipments. Some of the apparatus in a daily use there are as fol
lows; four double trapezes; four sets of rings; ten Whitley machines;
two climing ropes; a climbing pole; a fourteen foot angle ladder; a set
of eight ounce gloves; a jumping horse; a spring board; an eighteen
foot ring ; canvas floor ; a home trainer ; six dozen Indian clubs ; six dozen
small dumb bells ; six skipping ropes ; parallel bars ; horiontal bars ; two
platform bags; three top and bottom bags; one floor bag; one double
revolving ladder; one Ferriswheel; a half ton dumb bells, from one
pound to two hundred and thirty-eight pounds; shower baths, stomach
muscle machine, and many others of equal importance in a modern and
properly equipped gymnasium and school.
Many wonderful cures are reputed to have been wrought in Prof.
Schade 's sanitarium and his instruction in physical culture has been a
decided boon to the youth of Lancaster.
Prof. Schade is a graduate of the Alechano-Therapy College and
of the National Chiropractic College also. He is a member of the Chi
cago Athletic Club, of which he was an instructor prior to his coming
to Lancaster. He first visited this city as a guest, and his powers in
athletics being known, he was induced to remain and open a gymnasium.
He accordingly organized an athletic club in which he has continued ¦
to be the instructor, and later opened the Lancaster Sanitarium which
has had a wide patronage from the first.
R. A. Watkins. One of the best known and most successful law firms
of Lancaster and Grant county was that with which R. A. Watkins
was for years identified, and though the firm is no longer in exist
ence, owing to the death of several of its constituent members, Mr.
Watkins himself still carries on an extensive practice at Lancaster,
and, it should be mentioned, has been the longest at the bar of any
attorney now in active practice at the Grant county bar. Of other
attorneys who were his business partners, some mention will be made
in the following paragraphs. Born on a Grant county farm, January
15, 1853, Mr. R. A. Watkins is the son of Stephen D. and Florinda
(Hirst) Watkins. His father, a farmer by vocation, moved into Lan
caster in 1866, and there his life came to a close two years later. He
had settled in Ohio in 1837, when a youth of about sixteen years, hav-

<^tW£«<

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN . 1263
ing moved to that state from Vermont. He lived in Ohio eight years.
During the winter seasons he gave some time to the teaching of
country schools, and was long a prominent factor in the best activities
of his community. The ancestry is further traced back to Grandfather
Dr. John Watkins, who died in Windsor county, Vermont, in 1829,
and through great-grandfather, who was a soldier in the Revolution
ary war.
R. A. Watkins had a common school education as a boy, and such
higher education as was his- came entirely as the result of his own
efforts and his utilization of opportunity. At Lancaster he entered
the offices of Bushnell & Clark, and there studied law until admitted
to practice by Judge Mills in 1876.
He continued as a clerk with Bushnell & Clark for three years
longer, and then was invited to enter the firm. In July, 1882, Col.
John G. Clark withdrew from the firm, leaving its title Bushnell &
Watkins. Thus it continued until January 1, 1895, when Herbert L.
Moses became an associate. Since the death of Mr. Bushnell in 1909,
and the retirement of Mr. Aloses, Mr. Watkins has continued the
business in the same offices occupied by the firm for many previous
years. _ \
• Mr. Watkins has long upheld the principles of Democracy, and
has been a diligent worker for the best interests of that party, al
though never seeking public office at any time. His services to his
community have been rather of a more private nature, and his present
office of city attorney of Lancaster is perhaps the most important pub
lic place he has ever held.
Outside of his profession Mr. Watkins has seldom; ventured.
However, in 1901, when the Federal government opened the Kiowa,
Comanche and the Apache reservation in southwestern Oklahoma,
he attended the opening, secured a claim, and still owns the land,
which he has developed into a fine farm of considerable value. He
takes pride in the place since it represents his only country invest
ments. In 1881, Mr. Watkins was married at Lancaster to Miss Ellen M.
Clark, daughter of Charles I. Clark, and niece of Col. John G. Clark,
long and favorably known as one of the eminent members of the
Wisconsin bar, and whose career is sketched in other pages of this
work. Charles I. Clark was a resident of Texas at the time of the
Civil war, and was thrust unwillingly into the southern service. The
irony of faith was that he should lose his life as an unwilling partici
pant in the war under the southern flag, though death claimed him
before he had actually fought in any battle.
Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Watkins: Charles S.,
Ralph B., Margaret, Ellen, and John C. Both parents have long been
members of the Congregational church, and Mr. Watkins has given

1264 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
service as deacon and as secretary and treasurer of the society,
while for many years he served as superintendent of the Sunday
school, in wrhich he manifests a very enthusiastic and wholesome inter
est. The family is one that enjoys the highest esteem, and has a
wide circle of friends in Lancaster, and they participate in the best
social life of the city.
A. R. Bushnell. The life and service of the late A. R. Bushnell as
a leading member of the Wisconsin bar were of the highest order, and
Grant county will long cherish the memory of his personality, his
dignified character, and influential activity. He was for many years
identified in practice with Mr. R. A. Watkins, previously mentioned
and was the preceptor of that honored member of the Lancaster bar.
Allen R. Bushnell was born July 18, 1833, in Hartford, Trumbull
county, Ohio. His parents were farmers, and he was reared on the
old farm in Ohio. At the high school in Hartford he prepared for
college, entered Oberlin College, one of the leading schools of the
country, and finished his studies at Hiram College, an institution
specially well known because of its Alumni among the eminent public
men of the country, and also because James A. Garfield at. one time
president of the United States, was also president of old Hiram.
While a student in College, Mr. Bushnell largely paid his way by
teaching school in an occasional winter or summer term. In 1854,
he went to Wisconsin, taught in the vicinity of Platteville and in
Dodgeville studied law in the office of S. 0. Paine. Admitted to' the
bar in 1857, he first had his office at Platteville, and in 1860 was
elected to the office of district attorney of Grant county.
His career had only well began when the outbreak of the Civil war
deflected the interest of himself as it did those of hundreds of thou
sands of other young men, both north and south.
Resigning his office, in 1861, he assisted in raising the Platteville
Guards, went out as 1st lieutenant, and about a year later was given
his commission as captain in Company C of the Seventh Wisconsin
Regiment. The regiment was enlisted for three months service, and
then reenlisted for three years, and became a part of the famous Iron
Brigade. With that command, Captain Bushnell distinguished him
self as a brave and honored officer, loved and respected by his men,
and was in active service until resigning his commission in 1863 on
account of disability.
On the election of Hon. J. T. Mills of Lancaster to the position
of Circuit Judge in 1864, Captain Bushnell removed to Lancaster,.
took over Judge Alills' practice and for a time, again served as dis-
trict attorney and in 1867 took Col. John G. Clark into partnership
with him. In 1880 Mr. Watkins became a member of the firm which
continued under the name of Bushnell, Clark and Watkins, until the-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1265
withdrawal of Col. Clark in 1882. Mr. Bushnell continued as the
associate of Mr. Watkins and as head of the firm until his death on
March 29, 1909.
The late Mr. Bushnell was a man possessed of rare ability, as an
exponent of the law, and was always known as a safe and conscienti
ous counselor and enjoyed an extensive practice in the higher courts.
He gave valued public service as a member of the legislature, to
which he was elected in 1872, and for four years served as United
States District attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin by
appointment of President Cleveland. Mr. Bushnell was elected to the
United States Congress in 1890, defeating Hon. Robert M. LaFollette,
and served in the 52d Congress. He was not a candidate for reelection.
He was the first mayor of the city of Lancaster, assisted in the f orma-
" tion of its municipal government, and his work is also remembered
in connection with the Centennial Exposition at Lancaster. He was
a man highly honored and esteemed by his fellow men, and his posi
tion in Lancaster, as long as he lived there was one of dignity and
useful service.
Charles M. Gould, M. D. During the period of years in which Dr.
Charles M. Gould has been engaged in practice in the city of Superior,
he has been known not only for his skill and assiduity as a physician,
but as a tireless worker in its public movements. His professional pres
tige has been gained by none of the arts of the charlatan, nor
has it been sought in special lines of practice, although his extensive
education has embraced courses in various branches of medical science.
He has been content to follow the beaten track of physicians educated
in the highest science of the regular school, and who, loyal to its ethical
code, seek rather to merit recognition by their knowledge and skill than
to gain notoriety by which less meritorious practitioners frequently find
a short cut to public favor. Dr. Gould was born in Bridgeport, Con
necticut, March 18, 1849, and is a son of Nathan and Mary A. (Sawyer)
Gould. Nathan Gould was born at Greenfield, Franklin county, Connecti
cut, in 1819, and as a younger man removed to the city of Bridgeport,
where he was engaged in the clothing business until 1861. At that
time he came west to Lake City, Minnesota, where he continued to fol
low the clothing business, but later went back to Birmingham, Con
necticut. A short time later he returned to Minnesota, locating at North-
field, where his last years were spent, and there his death occurred in
February, 1912, when he had reached the remarkable age of ninety-three
years. He was for years a valued member of St. John's Lodge, A. F.
& A. M,, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and his political support was given
to Republican candidates and principles. Air. Gould was married to
Miss Alary A. Sawyer, who was born at Cornwall Bridge, Connecticut,

1266 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
and she died when their only child, Charles M., was less than three years
old. Charles Al. Gould was given the benefit of excellent educational
advantages in his youth, attending Hamilton University, Minnesota,
and Northwestern University, Illinois, and graduating from the medical
department of the latter institution with the class of 1882. At that time
he established himself in a general practice at River Falls, Wisconsin,
and there continued for ten years, in the meantime taking post-graduate
courses at New York City. In the fall of 1892 he came to Superior,
where he opened offices and engaged in a successful general practice
until 1902, when he removed to Tucson, Arizona, and spent about three
years in that State and California. He next visited Europe, taking
clinical courses at Vienna University and the University of London, and
on his return located in Alilwaukee, Wisconsin, where he engaged in '
the special practice of dermatology and pharmacology. In 1911 he
returned to Superior, where he has since carried on a large, general
practice, and has become known as one of this city's leading medical
representatives. On April 23, 1912, he was elected health commissioner,
a position he has since continued to occupy. Pie is a member of the
Douglas County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Aledical Society
and the American Medical Association. His fraternal connections in
clude a life membership in Damascus Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Mil
waukee, and he is also affiliated with Superior Chapter, R. A. AL, and
Alilwaukee Lodge No. 46, B. P. 0. E. He is not a politician, but has taken
interest in the success of the Republican party.
Dr. Gould was married to Mrs. Ida Andrews, nee Powell, a native of
St. Lawrence county, New York.
Joshua Hathaway. More than a decade prior to the admission of
Wisconsin to statehood Joshua Hathaway here established his home and
he left a large and beneficent impress upon the annals of the territory
and state with which he thus early identified himself as one of the
pioneer settlers of Milwaukee. His name figures conspicuously in the
history of this favored commonwealth and during the years of a long
and useful life he maintained the most secure place in popular con
fidence and esteem, as he was a man of distinctive ability, impregnable
integrity and high ideals, — a man well qualified to aid in the develop
ment and upbuilding of a great commonwealth. The names and deeds of
such sterling pioneers merit special consideration in all publications
touching the history of Wisconsin and it is gratifying to be able to
present in this work a review of the career and family record of him
to whom this memoir is dedicated.
Joshua Hathaway was born in Rome, Oneida county, New York, on
the 9th of November, 1810, and his death occurred at his home in Mil
waukee, Wisconsin, on the 4th of July, 1863. He was a son of Joshua

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN ' 1267
and Elizabeth (Lord) Hathaway. His father was born in Suffield, Con
necticut, August 13, 1761, and was a son of Simeon Hathaway, who
immigrated in an early day to Bennington, Vermont, where he became
one of the first settlers in the territory then designated as the Hamp
shire Grants. The founders of the American branch of the Hathaway
family were three brothers, Ephraim, Isaac and Jacob, who immigrated
from the west of England in 1670 and settled at Taunton, Massachusetts.
Joshua Hathaway, Sr., father of him whose name initiates this review
was a valiant soldier of the Continental forces in the war of the Revolu
tion, in which he and his six brothers fought side by side in the battle
of Bennington. He was a man of specially high intellectual attain
ments, having been graduated in Yale College and having adopted the
profession of law. In 1796 he removed to Fort Stanwix, New York, a
place now known as Rome, his marriage to Elizabeth Lord having been
solemnized in 1789. He became one of the most honored and influential
citizens of Oneida county, where he served many years on the bench of
the court of common pleas, besides which he held for thirty consecutive
years the office of postmaster of the village in which he had established
his home. He was a man of broad views and progressive ideas and was
one of the earnest supporters of the project of constructing the Erie
canal. To further the success of this important enterprise he assumed
an extensive contract for construction work, and at so low a figure did
he take this contract that his entire fortune was absorbed in its com
pletion. He continued his residence at Rome until his death, which
occurred December 8, 1836, and was one of the most honored pioneers of
the central part of the old Empire state.
Joshua Hathaway, subject of this memoir, was reared to adult age in
his native village and received excellent educational advantages in his
youth. He fitted himself for the practice of law and the profession of
civil engineer and as a representative of the latter vocation he entered
the service of the government and was sent, in 1834, to Wisconsin, which
was then a part of Michigan Territory. From Chicago he came by means
of one of the primitive lake vessels to Milwaukee, where he was met at
the docks by that honored pioneer, Solomon Juneau, who was one of
the few white settlers then residing in the future metropolis of Wiscon
sin. As a civil engineer Air. Hathaway surveyed a considerable part of
the territory now comprising the state of Wisconsin and he otherwise
entered fully into the spirit and interests of the pioneer community.
Much of his early surveying was in Ihe southern part of the state and
during the greater part of the ye;irs 1833 and 1834 he maintained his
headquarters in Chicago. Upon his arrival in Milwaukee he pitched his
tent upon the site of the present University building, at the corner of
Broadway and Mason street, and in a more substantial structure which
he there erected he continued to reside until 1836, when he built a simple
but comfortable residence on the same site. There he continued to main-
Vol. V— 1 6

1268 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
tain his home until his death. Through his professional work and his
judicious enterprise in the handling of real estate, in which he made
large investments, he accumulated a substantial fortune, as gauged by
the standards of his time, and he was known and valued as one of the
most liberal and public-spirited citizens of Milwaukee, as well as a man
whose integrity was on a parity with his exalted motives and marked
ability. Sincerity and affability marked him as a true gentleman of the
old school, and none knew him but to admire and esteem. Upon the
organization of the territorial government, in 1836, he was the first to
be honored with appointment to the office of district surveyor, a posi
tion of great responsibility in connection with the development of the
embryonic state, and his commission for this post bore date of July 8,
1836. Further evidence of the unqualified confidence reposed in Mr.
Hathaway was given in 1838, when he was appointed to the important
office of public administrator for Milwaukee county. This exacting posi
tion, compassing in its administrative duties the functions now exercized
by the judge of the probate court, were discharged by him with char
acteristic fidelity and discrimination and further expanded his beneficient
influence. He identified himself prominently and extensively with real-
estate speculative operation in Milwaukee and other lake counties, and
was specially conspicuous in connection with the upbuilding of the vil
lage of Kewaunee.
Mr. Hathaway was a man of mature judgment and unimpeachable
integrity in all of the relations of life. He was well fortified in legal
knowledge and was ever ready to lend his co-operation in the furtherance
of measures and enterprises projected for the general good of the com
munity. Genial and courtly, he enjoyed greatly the amenities of social
life and especially the association with other men of education and cul
ture. He made a close study of the natural resources of the state of his
adoption and was known as a geologist and botanist of no mean ability.
His office was a place of general resort for those seeking information
concerning lots, lands and taxes, and in this field he was a recognized
authority. The information which he was able to give was unobtainable
from any other source, and concerning his attitude in this connection the
following consistent statements have been written by one familiar with
his character and services: "Although he might be in the midst of the
most difficult problems connected with his business, or making drafts
for maps, in which he took a great delight, he always received you pleas
antly, answered your questions if he could, and if he could not you
might well despair of finding what you sought, for if you left his office
unenlightened you would be likely to remain so in so far as information
touching Milwaukee lands or lots was concerned."
During the latter years of his life Mr. Hathaway passed the winters
in Georgia, where he maintained an attractive residence and also owned
a considerable amount of other property, but his interests continued

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1269
to be centered in Milwaukee until his death, at the age of fifty-three
years. He was the close friend of the leading men of the pioneer epoch
in the history of the Wisconsin metropolis and his noble character gained
to him the friendship of all with whom he came in contact. In politics
Mr. Hathaway was a staunch and well fortified supporter of the princi
ples of the Democratic party, and his religious faith was originally
that of the Protestant Episcopal church, his, wife having been reared a
Presbyterian. In the early days in Milwaukee the little company of
those of the Episcopalian faith would assemble for worship and the
prescribed ritual as provided for the layman was read by Mr. Hathaway
before a regular clergyman had been procured. Mr. Hathaway was one
of organizers of St. Paul's Episcopal church and became a member
of its vestry, but eventually both he and his wife espoused the faith of
the Catholic church, the great mother of Christendom, in which they
became earnest and devout communicants of the parish of St. John's
cathedral, their conversion to Catholicism having taken place about the
year 1847 and all of their children having been reared in this faith. In
beautiful Calvary Cemetery, Milwaukee, rest the remains of both Mr. and
Mrs. Hathaway, whose names merit enduring place on the roll of the
honored pioneers of Wisconsin. It may be noted that on the maternal
side Mr. Hathaway was a descendant of John Haynes, who was not only
the first jrovernor of Connecticut but also a colonial governor of Alassa-
chusetts. In the city of Buffalo, New York, on the 10th of October, 1842, was
solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hathaway to Miss Ann Jennette Hatha
way, who was his second cousin and who was born in Vermont, Sep
tember 1, 1818, and who survived him by many years. Mrs. Hathaway
was summoned to the life eternal, at her home in Milwaukee, on the
25th of September, 1894, and her memory is revered by all who came
within the compass of her gentle and gracious influence. Concerning her
the following statements were published at the time of her death:
"Mrs. Ann Jennette Hathaway was a pioneer woman and one of
the last of a coterie of Milwaukee women who were notable for their
high character and womanly qualities during the years when the city
was developing from a small frontier town to metropolitan pretentions.
She was an exceptionally bright and capable woman, possessing the
noble characteristics that drew to her a wide circle of friends. She lived
in Milwaukee fifty-two years, having settled here in 1842, after her
marriage to Joshua Hathaway. Her husband was at first a surveyor,
afterward becoming a real-estate investor, and the rise in value of real
estate made him a wealthy man. For many years the family residence
was upon the corner where the University building now stands, but
afterward Mrs. Hathaway removed to a new home, at the corner of
Juneau avenue and Astor street, where she lived with her daughters and
sons until her death. She was naturally of a domestic and social dis-

1270 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
position and many old residents remembered her as the life of social
gatherings which she attended. In later life she remained a most
attractive woman, by reason of her friendliness and geniality. Upon
the death of her husband Mrs. Hathaway devoted herself to the man
agement of the important and complicated affairs of the estate, in which
connection she developed a marked talent for business details. She was a
daily visitor at the office of .her deceased husband until her sons reached
an age when they were able to relieve her of business responsibility,
when she gracefully retired to the duties of her home, which she always
made a center of hospitality. She was seventy-six years of age at the
time of her death."
Air. and Mrs. Hathaway became the parents of seven children, two
of whom died in infancy. The three surviving daughters, Mary L.,
Jeannette and Sarah B., still maintain their home in Milwaukee, where
they were born and reared. The surviving sons are Andrew A. and
John E., the former of whom was born in Milwaukee and the latter at
the winter home of the family, at Marietta, Georgia. These sons were
afforded the advantages of a good education. John E. Hathaway is the
executive head of the firm of J. E. Hathaway & Company, of Milwaukee,
contractors for public works, and he passes a considerable part of his
time in Milwaukee, though he now maintains his home at Easton, Talbot
county, Maryland, as does also the elder brother, Andrew A^ who is
there engaged in the real-estate business and also owns a fine farm of
three hundred acres in the immediate vicinity. Andrew A Hathaway
removed from Milwaukee to Maryland in 1903 but still retains important
interests in his native city, where he erected the Hathaway and the
Clement- Williams buildings, as well as the University building, which
is owned by the Hathaway estate and which occupies the site of the
old family homestead.
Hon Frank A. Ross. Among the members of the Wisconsin bench
who have risen to eminence during the past several years, Frank A.
Ross, judge of the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit of Wiscon
sin, has won approval of the bar and of litigants for their able and digni
fied manner in which he has upheld the best traditions of his high official
position. Judge Ross has been a member of the Wisconsin bar for more
than thirty years, and as both lawyer and jurist has ever deserved the
high regard and esteem in which he is universally held. He is a native of
Grundy county, Illinois, and was born March 24, 1856, a son of George
N. and Sarah A. (Hyatt) Ross.
George N. Ross was born in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, in
1827, and in 1845 traveled overland to Grundy county, Illinois, where
he settled down as a pioneer farmer. The gold rush to California
called Mr. Ross in 1850, and for three years he was engaged in prospect
ing and mining, but eventually returned to Grundy county, Illinois,

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1271
where he resumed his farming operations. In 1857 he brought his fam
ily to Pierce county, Wisconsm, where he resided for some time, later
came to Superior, and finally to Duluth, Minnesota, where his death
occurred March 9, 1889, at the age of seventy-one years. He was a
Republican in his political views, and for several years served as treas
urer of Prescott, Wisconsin. Mr. Ross married Sarah A. Hyatt, who
was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, and she died August 8, 1893,
when sixty-two years of age, having been the mother of five children, of
whom Frank A. was the second in order of birth.
Frank A. Ross was but an infant when brought to Pierce county by
his parents, and here he passed his boyhood, obtaining his early educa
tion in the public schools. Later, having decided upon the law as his
life work, he studied in the offices of White & Smith and J. S. White,
at Prescott, and passed a creditable examination before Judge Bundy
and an examining committee, being admitted to the bar at Ellsworth,
December 13, 1879. In 1880 J. S. White left for the West, and Mr. Ross
succeeded to his practice. On March 17, 1887, he came to Superior,
Wisconsin, and here practiced alone until October, 1888. At that time
he formed a partnership with W. D. Dwyer, under the firm style of
Ross & Dwyer, and in 1890, C. Smith, now judge of the Superior Court
of Douglas county, became a member of the firm. Two years later Louis
Hanitch and George J. Douglas were received into the partnership, but
during the spring of 1893 Mr. Smith was elected to the bench and Mr.
Douglas retired, and the firm became Ross, Dwyer & Hanitch. From
January 1, 1881, to January 1, 1887, Mr. Ross served as district attor
ney of Pierce county. When Superior became a village he was elected
its first member of the county board of supervisors. On September 12,
1910, he was appointed judge of the Circuit Court, and by election has
succeeded himself in office to the present time. He is one of the most
popular incumbents of judicial office that Douglas county has known,
and the fairness and impartiality of his decisions have never been ques
tioned. In 1892 Judge Ross was a delegate to the Republican National
Convention, and from 1898 until 1906 served as a member of the State
Board of Normal School Regents.
Judge Ross was married December 19, 1878, to Miss Henrietta
Viroque Newell, who died October 17, 1894, having been the mother of
six children : Leslie G. ; Myrtle P., who is the wife of Fred B. Tomp
kins; Mildred S., who is the wife of John A. Lonsdorf ; Wayne A., who
died April 25, 1911, at the age of twenty-three years; and two who died
in infancy. On June 18, 1896, Judge Ross was married to Carrie Blanche
Newell, a sister of his first wife.
Owen L. Jones. One of Waukesha's prominent young business
men is Owen L. Jones, the able cashier of the Farmers' State Bank. A
native of this county, Mr, Jones is very well known in Waukesha and

1272 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
its vicinity. He is of Welsh origin, the son of parents whose worthy
lives require somewhat detailed mention preUminary to the facts of the
subject's career.
William and Mary (Lewis) Jones were both born in North Wales
and were characteristic representatives of that earnest, unpretentious,
self-respecting and God-reverencing race. William Jones spent much
of his early life as a seaman. In 1872 he and his wife came, with the
five children who then constituted the second generation of the family,
to this land of broader opportunities for the latter. He chose as his
home the location at Genesee, Wisconsin, which was the subsequent resi
dence of his family. For one year William Jones worked in Genesee,
in the capacity of a laborer. At the end of that time he received an
appointment as First Quartermaster of the United States Revenue Cut
ter Andrew Johnson. From that time until 1897 he continued to serve
in that office of seamanship. In the last named year he retired from his
long succession of voyages and spent his remaining years at his farm in
Genesee township, where his life closed on December 10, 1905. He is
remembered with much respect and affection in the community which
knew him best, for his were the qualities of combined strength and gen
tleness thai awaken such esteem. He was a sincerely interested and
loyal member of the Presbyterian church and one of his deepest, truest
pleasures was the daily and continued perusal of the Book which reveals
so much of spiritual beauty to him who reads aright. Mary Lewis Jones,
the wife of his earthly years, still lives, in the peaceful sunset of her life,
having now attained the age of seventy-six years. Of the seven chil
dren who were born to William and Mary Jones, six are still living.
The youngest of these was born on August 1, 1881, and was named
Owen L.
The public schools of Genesee, Wisconsin, and St. John's Military
Academy at Delafield, Wisconsin, engaged the youthful attention of
Owen L. Jones until he had neared the age of twenty. He then studied
for one year in the department of Law in Marquette University. Hav
ing thus obtained a general and practical education fitting him for life's
activities, he spent two years in superintending affairs on his father's
agricultural property. While there, he received appointment as deputy
clerk of the Circuit Court, which he served for three years. At the
end of that time he and other men of business ability in Waukesha
county had formulated plans for the enterprise which now occupies Mr.
Jones' attention.
The Farmers' State Bank of Waukesha was established in November
of 1911 by the following founders: Messrs. John A. Rodgers, Robert L.
Holt, Thomas L. Jones, Dr. W. A. McFarlane and Owen L. Jones, with
a capital of $30,000 and a surplus of $6,000. The bank's official directory
is as follows: Mr. Rodgers, president; Mr. Holt, vice-president; Mr.
Jones, cashier; Verne E. DeRemer, assistant cashier; Messrs. Rodgers,

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1273
Holt, Milo Mickleston, John A. Becker, W. A. McFarlane, George A.
Jones, W. A. Foster, John L. Morris, D. W. Roberts, Peter Swart, Jr.,
and Henry L. Gitner, directors. Air. Foster resides on Rural Route
No. 4, and Air. Alorris on Route 8 ; and the other directors in Waukesha.
In the year of the bank's organization, Owen Jones entered upon the
duties of cashier for this commercial institution and has even since con
tinued to hold that position.
Air. Jones is a business man of that type of which a notable character
istic is close and careful attention to business, and his incumbency of
his important position is a matter for congratulation to both directors
and patrons of the bank. He holds membership in the Lodge, Chapter
and Council of the Masonic Order; his church connection is with the
Presbyterian of Waukesha; and his political affiliation with the Repub
lican party.
AIorris Fuller Fox. In the solid virtues of citizenship and in sub
stantial accomplishment in the field of business and civil affairs there
is probably no family more representative of the best in the life of this
state than that of Fox, of which the member named above is prominent
in financial circles, and is now a resident of the city of Alilwaukee. He
was for some years a resident of Chicago, and during 1912 was secretary
of the Wisconsin Society of Chicago, an organization of about seven hun
dred members who are prominent in their respective affairs in the city
of Chicago, and whose lives are creditable to the state of their origin.
Morris F. Fox is a native of Dane county, Wisconsin, having been
born in Fitchburg township on his father 's farm April 19, 1883. The Fox
family have been residents of Southern Wisconsin since 1841. The par
ents were Arthur O'Neill and Anna Alyra (Williams) Fox. The
father was born on a farm adjoining that upon which Morris F. first
saw the light of day, and the date of his birth was November 2, 1855.
The grandfather of Morris F. Fox was Dr. Wm. Herriman Fox, who was
born in County Westmeath, Ireland, and was one of the first settlers in
Dane county of Wisconsin territory and a signer of the state constitu
tion. The mother of Mr. Fox, a daughter of the late Chauncey L. Wil
liams, another pioneer of this state, was born in Madison December 10,
1859. She died March 5, 1912, and her marriage occurred June 14, 1882.
The seven children in the parents ' family were as follows : Morris Ful
ler ; Cornelia L., wife of Robert C. Brown of New York City ; Anna Myra ;
Catherine, wife of Samuel W. Burf ord of Hazel Green, Wisconsin ; Neill
Williams; Lucia Byrne; and Helen Williams, who died at the age of
five years.
Arthur 0. Fox, the father, spent his boyhood days on his father's
farm in Dane county, and was educated in the district schools. Subse
quently he attended a private school in Detroit, Michigan, and attended
the University of Wisconsin for three years with the class of 1876. It

1274 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
was somewhat unusual for a young college man of that time to devote
himself to farming, but it was to that occupation and to stock raising that
Mr. Arthur 0. Fox gave all his time and energy for a number of years.
His farm was the old homestead in Fitchburg township of Dane county,
comprising two hundred and sixty acres of land. To this estate he added
other lands in proportion to the success of his business, until he was
finally the owner of twelve hundred acres of land, and had a reputation
all over the United States of an importer and breeder of Shropshire
sheep. The college-trained farmer had gone far beyond all his contempo
raries in the success he had won in an industry which was not then
thought to require learning or high technical skill. The thoroughbred
bucks of his herd were sold throughout the west to the range sheepmen,
and at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893 he received over $1,000.00 in
cash prizes, besides many sweep-stakes medals on his sheep. He was also
almost equally well known as a breeder of fine cattle and horses. In
1895 he removed his home to Madison for the purpose of educating his
children in the city schools, and at that time he sold part of his farm.
On taking up his residence in the city, he became actively identified with
large enterprises there. He became associated with his brother-in-law,
Col. William F. Vilas, and organized the Northern Electrical Alanufac-
turing Company for the manufacture of electric motors and dynamos.
During the five years of his management, Mr. Fox advanced the output of
the factory so that it amounted to $2,000,000 in value per year, and it
was a very valuable plant when they sold it to the General Electric
Company. Mr. Fox also became one of the directors in the Bank of
Wisconsin, and is one of the directors in the Savings Loan and Trust
Company, and the Central Wisconsin Trust Company, all of Mg,dison.
Since disposing of his electrical interests he has given much attention
to real estate investments in the city of Madison, and is one of the largest
owners of property in that city. He is a member of the Madison Park
& Pleasure Drive Association, a member of the Madison Club, the Wis
consin Society of Chicago, the Union League Club of Chicago and is one
of the most ardent boosters of his home city of Madison. In politics
he is a Democrat.
Morris Fuller Fox during his boyhood attended the district schools
of Dane county, and also the village school at Oregon, completing his
public school education in the grammar and high school of Madison.
He subsequently entered the University of Wisconsm, and was graduated
in the class of 1904, being a member of the first class which graduated
in what is known as the School of Commerce of the University. On leav
ing college he entered the employ of the Nash Lumber Co. in Ashland
county, Wisconsin. After one year with this company, he became asso
ciated with his father in the real estate business at Aladison. For two
years he was busy with the varied interests of the property controlled
by his father, and in 1908 he and his father organized the Interstate

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1275
Light and Power Company of Galena, Illinois. The father became
president and Morris F. secretary of this company, and held those offices
until in 1910, when they sold out to H. M. Byllesby & Company of
Chicago, bankers and extensive owners and operators of Public Utilities.
At this point Mr. M. F. Fox became associated with the Byllesby organiza
tion and soon after was placed in charge of the financial operations of
H. M. Byllesby & Co. in Illinois, and was located in Chicago up to Janu
ary 1, 1913, at which date he assumed the same duties in Wisconsin,
and moved his residence to Milwaukee.
Mr. Fox is a member of the University Club of Milwaukee, The
Milwaukee Club, the University Club of Chicago and the Madison Club,
and is also a member of the Wisconsin Society of Chicago. Fraternally
he affiliates with Madison Lodge No. 5, A. F. & A. M., and with Madison
Chapter No. 4, R. A. M., and Psi Upsilon, College Fraternity. In politics
he is a Democrat.
He was married at Chicago June 4, 1910, to Aliss Lucy Ripley, a
niece and ward of Mr. J. J. Dau, a prominent wholesale merchant of
Chicago. Charles Krenzke. For the past fifteen years one of the rising attor
neys of the Racine bar has been Mr: Charles Krenzke, whose success as
a lawyer has been notable. Mr. Krenzke entered the practice of his
profession, through the avenue of hard work, in preparation and study.
Although of a family which has long been in comfortable circumstances,
and noted for their integrity, Mr. Krenzke himself began life princi
pally on his own account, and through his own industry and native
ability has won his way to his present prominence in the Racine bar.
Charles Krenzke was born in Racine March 2, 1871, and is a son of
August and Wilhelmina (Reinke) Krenzke, both of whom were natives
of Prussia, Germany. The paternal grandfather was named Friederich
Krenzke, who immigrated to America in 1870. In his native land he
had followed farming, and after coming to this country worked the farm
owned by his son, August, for some years. Subsequently, he removed
to Racine, and later to his son's farm in Milwaukee county, where he
died- at the age of eighty-eight years. The wife of this veteran f armer
was named Fredericka Kuehne, whose death occurred ten years earlier
than that of her husband, when she was sixty years of age. She and her
husband were the parents of five children. The paternal grandfather
had served as a soldier in the regular army of Germany.
August Krenzke, the father, who had followed the trade of wagon
maker in Germany, on coming to America in 1869, located at Racine,
where for fourteen years, up to 1883, he was in the employ of the Fish
Brothers Wagon Works. For a year or two he followed building and
contracting, after which he sold his residence in town, and located on his
farm in Caledonia township. He had purchased this land, consisting of

1276 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
fifty acres, some years before, and the old homestead is still owned by
Air. Krenzke, although for the past ten years, he has lived on a much
larger farm in Milwaukee county. August Krenzke married a daughter
of Carl and Sophia Reinke, both of whom are natives of Germany. Carl
Reinke had followed the occupation of shepherd, and his death occurred
in young manhood. His wife subsequently married William Lueckfeld,
who is now deceased though she still survives, being nearly eighty
years of age. August Krenzke and wife had the following children:
Charles ; August ; Louisa, the wife of George Stecher of Caledonia town
ship ; Friederich, also of Caledonia township ; George of Racine ; Leonard
of Oak Creek township, Milwaukee county; Wilhelmina, the wife of
Edward Berg of Oak Creek township; William (1) who died aged six
years; William (2) of Oak Creek township; and Edward, attending
school. Mr. and Mrs. August Krenzke are communicants of the Lutheran
church. Reared in Racine, where he remained until about fifteen years
of age, Charles Krenzke then began work upon the farm, receiving
monthly wages. His education was further continued in St. John's Lu
theran School, and he continued at farm labor until he was twenty-four
years of age. During his work on the farm, his spare time was spent
in the study of law, largely through correspondence law and business
schools, and for two winter seasons he attended the Racine Academy,
which was then conducted by W. W. Rowlands. A little later Mr. Row
lands having discontinued his school, took up the practice of law, and Mr.
Krenzke then followed him into his offices, as a lawyer, and studied law
under his direction, for two years. His admission to the bar of Racine,
occurred in 1897, and in the same year began his practice in this city,
at first in the office of John T. Wentworth, and then for one year with
Cooper, Simmons and Nelson. He then became a partner of Judge Max
W. Heck, which relationship continued for two years, or until Mr. Heck
was elected county judge, and took office, which was in January, 1902.
Since that time Mr. Krenzke has practiced independently.
On November 30, 1899, Mr. Krenzke married Aliss Ida Berg, a daugh
ter of Edward and Catherine (Seebach) Berg. To this marriage have
been born five children named Martha, Carl, Theodore R., Alfred, and
Walter. Mr. and Mrs. Krenzke are members of the Lutheran church.
His fraternal affiliations are with the Deutscher Maennerverein, and the
Concordia Jiinger Maennerverein. In politics he is a Democrat, and for
two years was assistant city attorney. The family residence is at 1948
North Michigan street, where Mr. Krenzke built an attractive home in the
fall of 1901
Lucius Boardman Donkle, M. D. Now a Chicago physician and
surgeon of high standing' and many successful connections, Dr. Donkle
is a native of Wisconsin, grew up and received most of his early
schooling in his home state near Madison, and belongs to a family

^k^L-SLs^

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1277
which for three generations has been identified with Wisconsin from
the early territorial period.
Lucius Boardman Donkle was born at Verona, in Dane county,
Wisconsm, on his father's farm, October 30, 1877. His parents were
Edward and Martha P. (White) Donkle. His father was born at
Wilkes-Barre, Mercer county, Pennsylvania, in 1833, and died in
Madison, Wisconsin, in 1902. The mother who was born in New
York state in 1840 is still living at her home in Aladison. The parents
were married in Wisconsin, and of their seven children five are living,
Dr. Donfcle being the youngest of the family. The father was a child
when the family moved out to the territory of Wisconsin, during the
decade of the thirties. Their journey was made overland with wagon
and ox teams, and having entered the wilderness of southern Wiscon
sin, Grandfather Donkle bought land in Dane county at one dollar
and a half per acre, being one of the first to establish a home in that
section, and take his share in the clearing of the wilderness. Grand
father Donkle spent his days as a farmer, and his son, the father of
Dr. Donkle succeeded to the same occupation. His boyhood years
were all spent on the farm, and afterwards he was associated with
his father, and on making a start for himself bought timber land,
and went through the identical toil and stress of developing a farm
which his father before him had undergone." The late Edward Donkle
became one of the most prosperous farmers and stock raisers of Dane
county. He was a lover of fine horses, and on his estate bred and
raised many fine animals. The old home of one hundred and sixty
acres is still in the family name. In 1893 the father retired from the
farm, and built a beautiful home in the capital city of Madison, where
he spent his last days. During the Civil war he went out from Wis
consin, as a soldier in Company K of the Forty-Second Wisconsin
Infantry, and did not return home until the war was over. He never
showed any inclination or aspiration for public office, but did much
in the quiet way of a private and industrious citizen. He was an
active member of the Baptist church, and assisted in the building and
establishment of three churches in Dane county. He served as deacon
in his home church for many years, and in matters of morality was a
strong temperance man. During his early life he voted the Whig
ticket, and afterwards supported the Republican party.
It was on his father's old farm in Dane county that Dr. Donkle
spent his boyhood, working during the summer and attending district
school during the winter. Later he was sent to the city schools in
Madison, and graduated from the high school with the class of 1898.
He took his preparatory work for medicine in the University of Wis
consin, and then attended the Illinois University, Medical Depart
ment in Chicago, where he was graduated M. D. in 1903. He was
elected to the honorary Scholarship Fraternity while at the University

1278 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
of Illinois in 1902. Twenty-two months were spent as an interne
in St. Alary 's hospital in Chicago, and in 1904 he opened his
office at 1558 Wabash Avenue, at which location he has been
known to his large circle of patrons and friends ever since.
For some time he was in partnership with Dr. William Hector, but
since 1904 has been associated with Dr. Hector. He is a member of
the surgical staff of St. Bernard's Hospital since the establishment of
that institution. Dr. Donkle has charge of the medical examining
board for the Chicago Private Chauffeurs Association, being also a
member of its board of trustees. His professional associations are
with the Chicago Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical Society,
the American Medical Association, the American Surgeons Associa
tion, and with the American Aledical Society at Vienna, Austria.
While in the University of AVisconsin, Dr. Donkle was a member of
the football team, and has been an interested follower of that sport
ever since. During the summer of 1910 he went abroad, taking post
graduate work at the great medical center of Vienna, specializing
in surgical pathology, and spent two months attending lectures, and
clinics in bone surgery under Professor Arthur L. Lane at London.
He also attended surgery clinics at Berlin, Paris and in Rome. Since
returning to Chicago in the summer of 1911, he has taken up his old
practice, and has given increasing attention to surgery in which
he ranks as one of the leaders in the city.
Dr. Donkle is affiliated with Golden Rule Lodge No. 324 A. F. &
A. Al. and is also a member of the Illinois Consistory, a thirty-second
degree Mason, and the Medinah Temple of the Mystic Shrine. In
politics he is a Republican. On November 29, 1910, Dr. Donkle mar
ried Francis Peterson, who was born at Butte Des Morts in Winne-
bago county, Wisconsin.
In connection with the career of Dr. Donkle should also be men
tioned that of his brother, Dr. Alfred Donkle, a young physician and
surgeon who was beginning a brilliant career when it was cut short
by death in 1904. Alfred Donkle was born in Wisconsin in 1870,
graduated from the University of Wisconsin with the class of 1897,
took his medical degree at the medical department of the University
of Illinois in 1902, and had already attained distinction in his pro
fession before death overtook him.
William McCleary Sherman. The sterling sons of New England
have lived up to the best traditions of the gracious section of our na
tional domain in which they were reared and have left indelible and
worthy impress upon the various other states of the Union. A scion
of the staunchest of New England colonial stock, the' late William
AlcCleary Sherman came to Wisconsin in 1867 and it was given him to
gain secure prestige as one of the representative business men and public-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1279
spirited citizens of Milwaukee, in which city he maintained his home for
many years and in which his name and memory are held in lasting-
honor. He was the father of Dr. Lewis Sherman, concerning whom
individual mention is made on other pages of this volume.
William AlcCleary Sherman was born at Rupert, Bennington county,
Vermont, on the 21st of October, 1822, and thus he was nearly seventy
years of age at the time when he was summoned to the life eternal, his
death having occurred on the 21st of January, 1891, at Thomasville,
Georgia, to which state he had gone for the benefit of his health. He
was a son of Sterling and James Sherman, representatives of families
that were founded in New England in the early colonial era. In both
lines were found noble patriots who gave valiant service as soldiers in
the war of the Revolution, even as the respective family names have stood
exponent of the best of citizenship in the "piping times of peace," as
one generation has followed another on to the stage of life's activities.
The parents of Mr. Sherman attained to venerable age and the father
devoted the major part of his active career to the great basic industry
of agriculture. He whose name initiates this memoir was afforded the advantages
of the common schools of his native county and his early experience was
that gained in connection with the work of the old homestead farm. He
continued to be actively identified with agricultural pursuits until 1865,
when he engaged in the general merchandise business and the manu
facturing of cotton, in the state of New York. In 1867 he left the
Empire state and came to Wisconsin, to establish his home in Milwaukee.
Here he engaged in the retail grocery business, for the prosecution of
which he formed a partnership with Charles J. Russell. The store of
the new firm was situated on Wisconsin street, and after a period of
three years Mr. Sherman became associated with his brother, Professor
S. S. Sherman, and the late Milo P. Jewett in the coffee and spice busi
ness, under the firm name of Jewett & Sherman. This enterprise proved
successful and rapidly expanded in scope, so that eventually a stock
company was formed for carrying forward the enterprise, which there
after was conducted under the title of the Jewett & Sherman Company.
William Mc. Sherman continued as a heavy stockholder of this represen
tative corporation until the time of his death, and for a number of years
prior thereto he had been president of the company. Through well
directed endeavors along normal lines of business he gained substan
tial success, and his name having ever been synonymous with integrity
and honor in all of the relations of life. He was a member of a family
of seven sons and three daughters, and of the number four are now
living, — Professor Sterling S. Sherman, who resides in the city of Chi
cago and who has attained to the patriarchal age of ninety-seven years,
in 1913 ; Jesse Sherman, who is a resident of Salem, New York ; and
Miss Mary Sherman, who died in Milwaukee in 1913. There are also

1280 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
deceased C. A., 0. B., H. 0., Enoch, Airs. Maria McNitt and Airs.
Murdock. Mr. Sherman was not only a careful and far-sighted business man
but was also one whose genial nature, buoyant optimism and unvarying
kindliness gained him friendships of inviolable order. He had an abiding
interest in his fellow men and was ever ready to "do good by stealth
and blush to find it fame. ' ' He gave support to well ordered measures
and objects for the general good of the community and his entire life
was guided and governed by the loftiest principles, while sympathy and
tolerance were marked attributes of his character.
Mr. Sherman became a member of the Christian or Disciples' church
when a young man and after a church of this denomination was founded
in Milwaukee he continued one of its most loyal adherents and generous
supporters during the residue of his life. He was the active elder of the
church and also served long and effectively as superintendent of its
Sunday school. He had the deepest affection for the children of the
school under his charge and twice each year he generously provided spe
cial entertainment for them, the greater part of the incidental expense
being defrayed by him and the annual Christmas observance and annual
picnic trip to the Wisconsin Soldiers' Home being thus guaranteed by
his liberalty. Both he and his wife were devoted church workers and
they gave the funds which made possible the erection of the Christian
church on the south side of Milwaukee, the same being known as the
Church of Christ and constituting a noble and enduring monument
to their memory. Mr. Sherman had well fortified opinions concerning
matters of economic and governmental import and gave allegiance to
the Republican party, with which he identified himself at the time of
its organization. On the 15th of February, 1843, in West Rupert, Bennington county,
Vermont, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Sherman to Aliss Hannah
M. Lewis, and she survived him by fifteen years, her death having oc
curred, in Milwaukee, on the 31st of July, 1907, at which time she was
eighty-seven years of age. She was a woman of gentle and gracious
personality and was loved by all who came within the sphere of her
influence. Of the four children the only one now living is Dr. Lewis
Sherman, who has long been one of the representative physicians of Alil
waukee and of whom specific mention is made on other pages of this
publication. Lewis Sherman, B. S., A. M., M. D. Engaged in the active prac
tice of his profession in the city of Alilwaukee for more than forty years,
Dr. Sherman has long held a position as one of the representative phy
sicians and surgeons of Wisconsin. As a citizen and as one of the expon
ents of his profession in the Wisconsin metropolis he is entitled to rec
ognition in this publication.

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1281
Dr. Sherman is a scion of staunch old colonial stock in New England,
that cradle of much of our national history, and he claims the old Green
Mountain state as the place of his nativity. He was born at Rupert,
Bennington, county, Vermont, on the 25th of November, 1843, and is a
son of William AlcCleary Sherman and Hannah (Lewis) Sherman, both
likewise natives of the same town of Rupert, where the former was born
in 1822 and the latter in 1823, both families having been founded in
New England in the early colonial epoch. The Doctor's great-great
grandfather, Reuben Noble, and also two great-grandfathers, Enoch
Sherman and Luke Noble, were found enrolled as patriot soldiers of
the Continental forces in the war of the Revolution, in which they went
forth from Massachusetts. Another of the great-grandfathers, Job Wil
liam Cleveland, likewise represented Massachusetts as a valiant soldier
of the Revolution, and through such worthy ancestral connections Dr.
Sherman is of distant kinship with the late General William T. Sherman
and the late Hon. Grover Cleveland, former president of the United
States. The Doctor is the only survivor of a family of four children
and further data concerning the family history are given in the memoir
dedicated to his honored father on other pages of this publication, his
parents having been residents of Wisconsin for a number of years prior
to their death.
In the common schools of his native state Dr. Sherman gained his
preliminary education and further scholastic progress was made through
his pursuance of his higher academic studies in an academy in Washing
ton county, New York, and in Union College, at Schenectady, from which
latter and historic institution he received in due time the degrees of
Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts. In furtherance of his well de
fined ambition he finally entered the, medical department of the Uni
versity of the City of New York, in which he completed the prescribed
technical course and in which he was graduated as a member of the class
of 1870, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
In that year Dr. Sherman, who was then a young man of twenty-six.
came to Wisconsin and established his residence in the city of Mil
waukee, which has continued to be the stage of his professional activities
- during the long intervening years. Earnest application and close study
have marked his professional work from the days of his youthful and
ambitious labors to the present day, when he stands as one of the leading
representatives of his chosen calling in the state of Wisconsin. He is
a member of the Milwaukee Academy of Medicine, and as an exponent
of the benignant school of Homeopathy he is actively identified with
its leading organizations, including the American Institute of Homeop
athy and the Wisconsin Homeopathic Medical Society. Dr. Sherman is
a man of advanced scientific proclivities and his study and investigation
have covered a wide field. His prominence in this domain is indicated
by his identification with the Wisconsin Natural History Society, the

1282 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Wisconsin Archaeological Society, the Wisconsin Academy of Science,
Arts and Letters, the Amercian Association for the Advancement of
Science, and the Wisconsin Alycological Society of which last mentioned
he is president. He is a member of the Wisconsin Historical Society.
He is a member of the pharmacopoeia committee of the American In
stitute of Homeopathy and his labors in this connection have been of value
to his professional confreres throughout the Union, as he personally
prepared a large part of the extensive data appearing in the authoritative
volume covering the field of Homeopathic pharmacopoeia. He has served
as president of the Wisconsin Homeopathic Medical Society and he has
the distinction of owning and conducting the only exclusive Homeopathic
pharmacy in Wisconsm, his well equipped establishment being located
at 448 Jackson street, Milwaukee.
Dr. Sherman has for many years given special attention to the study
of botany, and at his pharmacy he has a large and interesting collec
tion of botanical specimens, as well as of specific scientific publications.
A number of years ago he made a standing proposition to the effect that
he would present five dollars to any person who would bring to him
a plant growth, native to AVisconsin, which he would fail to identify
by name and when standing at an appreciable distance from the ob
ject. It is sufficient to say that, though many attempts were made, no
one succeeded in winning the money thus tendered, — a fact that vouches
for the broad and accurate knowledge of the Doctor in matters per
taining to the interesting science of botany. He has also given close
attention to conchology and mycology, and in these lines also he has
made a large and valuable collection of specimens. In the midst of the
manifold exactions of his professional and business activities he has
found time and opportunity to extend his reading and investigation
to wide limits, has contributed much to the periodical literature of his
profession and is the author of a valuable work entitled "Sherman's
Theraputics, " which has been translated into German and published
in that language, besides another, entitled "Handbook of Pronuncia
tion." In 1889 he erected the substantial, three-story building in which
his pharmacy is quartered. He erected the Vermont apartment build
ing, named in honor of his native state. This fine structure, modern in
design and equipment, is four stories in height, contains sixteen apart
ments, and is eligibly located on Mason street.
Dr. Sherman has been continuously concerned in maintaining a
Homeopathic pharmacy in Milwaukee since 1872 and in this enter
prise he was originally associated with the late Dr. J. S. Douglass,
who retired at the expiration of two years, by reason of his advanced
age. Since that time Dr. Sherman has conducted the pharmacy in
an individual way and has kept the same up to a high standard, his
professional offices also being maintained at his pharmacy, at 448
Jackson street. He is president of the Jewett & Sherman Company,

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1283
which is successfully engaged in the importing of teas, coffees and
spices and the manufacturing of baking powder, the headquarters of
the company being at 289-91 Broadway.
His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, he has
received the thirty-second degree in the Ancient . Accepted Scottish
Rite of the time-honored Alasonic fraternity.
In the year 1876 was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Sherman to
Miss Mary R. Tuttle, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, in which state she
was born and reared. Of this union have been born four children,
concerning whom brief data are given in conclusion of this review :
Miss Gertrude remains at the parental home; Leta was the next in
order of birth; Helen, who was formerly an able and popular instruct
or in the Milwaukee-Downer College, is now employed in connection
with the national pure-food department, in the city of Washington;
and Lewis, Jr., the only son, is treasurer of the Jewett & Sherman
Company, of which his father is president, as already noted in this
context. All of the children were afforded excellent educational ad
vantages, as is shown by the fact that all were graduated in the Uni
versity of Wisconsin. On the 26th of January, 1913, Lewis Sher
man, Jr., was united in marriage to Miss Erminie Rost, daughter of
Frank Rost, a representative citizen of Milwaukee. The marriage cere
mony was performed at St. James' church and the bridal tour of the
young couple comprised a journey around the world. The home of
Dr. Sherman is at 176 Mason street. Mrs. Sherman died in 1911.
W. H. Berray. Since 1897 postmaster at Wautoma, Mr. Berray ia
one of the veteran newspaper men of Waushara county and vicinity,
having learned the art preservative when a youth, and having been a
publisher and editor at Wautoma for over a quarter of a century. He
has likewise been a leader and influential factor in local affairs, both
through his paper and personally.
W. H. Berray, senior member of the firm of Berray & Holt, publish
ers of the Waushara Argus, a weekly newspaper issued at Wautoma,
was born December 15, 1864, in Wautoma, a son of W. H. Berray, who
was born in New York State and was a carpenter and builder by trade,
having located in Wautoma, Wisconsin, about 1860. His death occurred
in 1887. The senior Berray married Hannah Bartlett of New York
State. Of their three children one is deceased, W. H. is the third and
Oscar lives at Deadwood, South Dakota.
Mr. W. H. Berray received his education in the common schools of
Wautoma, grew up in the town and early became acquainted with the
printing trade and the newspaper business. In 1886 he bought an inter
est in the Waushara Argus, and in 1905 became a partner with Mr. Holt
in that enterprise. They conduct an up-to-date country newspaper,
keep its news columns clean and fresh, and maintain a vigorous editor-

1284 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
ial policy in behalf of good government and local improvement. Mr.
Berray was appointed postmaster at Wautoma, June 1, 1897, and has
served continuously in that office for the past sixteen years. He is a
supporter of the Republican party, and fraternally is well known in
Masonry, from the .Blue Lodge to the thirty-second degree of Scottish
Rite, also being a member of the Mystic Shrine.
On February 2, 1887, Mr. Berray married Sue A. Tennant of Wau
toma. Her father, Gilbert Tennant, was one of the early settlers of
Wautoma. James Wickham. As judge of the circuit court, James Wickham is
well known and liked through a large circle of acquaintances and friends.
A native son of Wisconsin he has spent all of his life within her borders
and has given much of his time outside of his profession as well as
within, to the: service of the state and her people. Possessed of scrupu
lous honesty and a fine sense of justice his friends and enemies unite in
declaring him one of the most competent men who has ever sat on the
circuit court bench in this district.
Judge Wickham comes by his ready wit and his ability to grasp a
situation honestly, for he is the son of Irish parents. His father, Pat
rick Wickham, and his mother, Catherine Quigley, were born in County-
Wexford, Ireland. Patrick Wickham came to this country as a young-
man and landed in New York City. Here he was married to Catherine
Quigley. They removed to Cleveland, Ohio, and later came west to
Whitewater, Wisconsin. They eventually settled on a farm in Rich
land county, Wisconsin, and here they spent the remainder of their
days, Mr. Wickham giving all his attention to the care of his farm. He
was a Democrat in politics and held a number of township offices. Both
Mr. Wickham and his wife died during the same year, 1894. They
became the parents of seven children, but of this number only two are
living, Thomas, who makes his home in Texas, and James, who was the
next to the youngest.
James Wickham was born in Richland county, Wisconsin, on the
31st of January, 1862. He spent his youth on the farm, living a healthy
existence, and growing up with a clear, strong mind as well as a strong
body. He received his elementary education in the common schools of
Richland county and in the Richland Center high school. He taught
school for fourteen months commencing at the age of 17 years, at a
salary of $22 per month. He afterwards matriculated at the Univer
sity of Wisconsin, entering the law department. He was graduated
from this institution in 1886 and soon after came to Eau Claire and
opened a law office. He soon had a flourishing practice and devoted his
time exclusively to this practice until the first of January, 1910, when'
he went on the bench as circuit judge of the 19th judicial circuit, hav-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1285
ing .been elected to this office in April, 1909. He had formed a partner
ship with Frank R. Farr, under the firm name of Wickham and Farr,
in June, 1889, and his election to the bench made it necessary to sever
this relationship. From 1898 to 1905, inclusive, v with the exception of the
year 1899 he held the office of city attorney of Eau Claire. His practice
at the bar consisted, principally, in the trial of contested cases in the
state and federal courts. His extensive practice, both in the trial courts
and in the appellate courts, particularly fitted him for the. position which
he now holds.
Judge Wickham has been twice married, his first wife being Ida Hos-
kin, a native of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. This marriage took place on the
10th of August, 1891, and four children were born of this union, as
follows: Arthur, William, Catherine, and Walter. Mrs. Ida Wickham
died on December 28th, 1904. Helen Koppelberger, a native of , Canada,
became the wife of Judge Wickham on the 28th of November, 1908.
Reinhart AIeyer. One of the prosperous industries which are giving
distinction to Alerrill as a manufacturing center is the R. AIeyer Box &
Veneer Factory, the proprietor of which is Reinhart Meyer,; for many
years identified with the agricultural activities of Lincoln comity, and
also prominent in civic and political affairs. Mr. Meyer has operated
the factory since 1909. It was established by his brother Emil Meyer
about 1904, and Reinhart bought the establishment several; years ago.
He employs about thirty men, and the output comprises cheese boxes,
fruit and other kinds of crates, and has a wide distribution over this
section of Wisconsin.
Mr. Reinhart Meyer has lived in Lincoln county since 1893, and his'
home was on a farm hf the town of. Corning until 1911, when he moved
to Merrill. His Wisconsin residence dates from 1891, andi he/iwsrked
on a farm in Dodge county for a year or two. He was born in Ger
many, February 1, 1874, a son of Herman and Amelia Meyer. His early
years were spent in his native land, where he acquired the substantial
education afforded to German children. When he was about seventeen
years old, he and his father came to America, and three months later
they were followed by the mother and another son. They came direct to
Dodge county, Wisconsin, where the son Reinhart found work on a
farm, and it was through the avenue of hard work at wages that Rein
hart Meyer got his start, and finally achieved independence. In 1893
the family all came to Lincoln county, settling on a farm in the town of
Scott. The father still lived there. For two seasons Reinhart AIeyer
worked on the farm in Dodge county, and during one winter attended
school. Three years after moving to Lincoln county, in the fall of 1896, Air.
Meyer married Louisa Meyer, a daughter of Gottleib Meyer, of the same
name, but no relationship. Her father was a farmer, and Reinhart Meyer

1286 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
was employed on the farm, and began married life there. When he took
charge the estate comprised only one hundred and sixty-eight acres of
land, and Mr. Meyer subsequently bought a section of six hundred and
forty acres, which he developed and made one of the best country estates
in Lincoln county. This farm was sold in December, 1911, and since
February, 1912, the family have had their home in Merrill. Mr. and
Mrs. AIeyer are the parents of four children, namely: Plattie, Walter,
Edna and Theodore.
Mr. Meyer was appointed by Governor McGovern as a delegate to
the second annual drainage congress to meet at New Orleans, but on
account of business was unable to attend. Of his public services it should
be mentioned that he served as chairman of the town of Corning prior
to his removal to Merrill. He is now representing the Sixth Ward in
the Merrill City council, and was a member of the Board of Public
Works, during 1912. He also gave service on the school board, and
as school clerk in the town of Corning for several years.
George Benjamin Miller was born in Alilwaukee, Wisconsin, Novem
ber 29, 1881, and is the son of Andrew Galbraith and Martha E. (Good
win) Miller, and the great-grandson of the late Judge Andrew Galbraith
Miller, who was appointed Associate Judge of the territory of Wiscon
sin in November, 1838, and who gave long and faithful service on the
bench of the eastern district of Wisconsin, resigning from his office in
1870, soon after which he passed away.
The father of the subject was born in Albany, New York, but was
reared and educated in Milwaukee, and here was admitted to the bar.
"Both the mother and father are living here at this writing, and the father
is engaged as attorney for the Northwestern Afutual Life Insurance
Company of Milwaukee.
George B. Miller was educated in the Milwaukee Public Schools, and
is a graduate of the East Division High School, class of 1901. His high
school training was followed by two years in Montana in the Crow In
dian Reservation where he was -employed as an irrigating engineer, after
which he returned to Milwaukee and identified himself with the real
estate business. He was connected with The Savings and Investment
Association when Mr. W. T. Durand was president of that concern.
Air. Durand was the leading insurance man in the city and had the lead
ing agency in Milwaukee when he died in 1909, and following his death
the subject took charge of the agency, combining it with the business
of James B. Leedom, who also has a sketch in this work, and continuing
the business under the present name of the W. T. Durand-Leedom
Agency, which is one of the strongest fire and casualty insurance firms
in Milwaukee. Mr. Miller is a member of the Town Club, the Milwaukee Athletic
Club and the City Club, and is prominent socially in the city. , He was

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1287
married on September 6, 1911, to Miss Inez F. Fuller, the daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Clyde Fuller of Milwaukee, one of the leading
bankers of Wisconsin. Mr. Fuller is represented in a biographical
sketch elsewhere in this work. The marriage of Mr. Miller and Miss
Fuller was solemnized on Wednesday evening, September 6, 1911, at
St. Paul's Episcopal Church. Mrs. Miller was born at Atlanta, Georgia,
but was educated in the east and in this city. One daughter has been
born to Mr. and Mrs. Miller, — Inez Elizabeth Miller. The family resi
dence is maintained at 855 Summit avenue.
Fred Oscar Hodson. One of the thoroughly representative young
business men of Stevens Point and of those who is fast making his way
to the front in the enterprises with which he is identified, is Fred Oscar
Hodson, manufacturer of ice-cream and the proprietor of the Stockton
Creamery at this place. Mr. Hodson comes of an old and honored pioneer
family, the name of Hodson having been known in this part of the state
for many years. Fred 0. Hodson is of Eastern birth, born in Penobscot
county, Maine, on May 14, 1865, and is a son of John N. and Laura
(Johnson) Hodson, of an old established family in that state. John N.
Hodson followed the lumber business in the east, rafting on the rivers
and in other activities with that industry. . His first wife died while they
were residents of Maine and for his second wife he married her sister,
Belle Johnson, then a resident of Minneapolis. From then until the close
of his life John N. Hodson was more or less associated with business
life in Portage county, Wisconsin.
Mr. Hodson first came to Stevens Point, having followed a half
brother, William Allen, to that place. William Allen was a pioneer
sawmill man and millwright, and he is still remembered by many of
the old settlers of these parts as a thrifty and competent workman. He
built mills all along the Plover river, and among the buildings that still
stand as a mark of his workmanship might be mentioned the Brown
Brothers' Mill at Rhinelander. In 1855 he built the house in which
Fred Oscar Hodson now lives, the same having seen a number of changes
and improvements, however, since that time. William Allen died in
1908 aged eighty-three years, and his daughter, Mrs. Rose Raymond,
the wife of Charles Raymond, is the only child of his who still lives here.
The others have settled in Michigan and there maintain their homes
and business activities. He came to the west in the early fifties, bringing
his family in 1853.
John N. Hodson, the father of Fred 0., of this review, worked for
many years under the supervision of his half-brother, Mr. Allen, and
he too is known for the mills he built all through this country. He is
now retired and lives at Roxbury, Massachusetts. He became the father
of two children. Fred Oscar Hodson is the child of his first marriage,

1288 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
and Genevieve, of the second union, is a teacher in a school for boys
at Cornwall, Connecticut.
Fred 0. Hodson was about ten years of age when he came west with
his father, Wisconsin being regarded as decidedly west by natives of
Maine, and though he had gone to school a little in Penobscot county, his
education was not added to very materially in Wisconsm. He gained
his education, such as it is, chiefly by observation and his association with
the lumber business added not a little to his mental equipment. After
the death of his mother he was practically an orphan, as his father's
extended absence in the wilds of the state left him much alone and with
out parental guidance of any sort. Reared for the most part in the homes
of relatives, young Hodson was still very young when he set out for
himself in life. For a while he worked on the farm for his uncle and
others, much as the average country youth of limited advantages has
done and will continue to do, and in 1890 he took employment with a
railroad, but before long returned to Portage county. Previous to that,
however, he had worked in the dairy business near Stevens Point, on the
dairy farm of M. E. Aieans, and there he had an insight into that enter
prise that clung to him through the years. In 1892, after his try at
railroad work, the young man engaged in business for himself as a milk
dealer, buying a herd of cattle from a local cattleman after a short
time. Two years later he sold his cattle, though he still continued
in the milk business as a dealer. In the early days he sold on an average
of three hundred and fifty quarts of milk daily. Today, he runs two
wagons and delivers some four hundred quarts per day. In 1901 he en
gaged in the ice cream business, and since that time he has devoted the
major part of his attention to that phase of his business, in which he
has been successful from the beginning. Straightforward business
methods and close attention to his own affairs have been the main elements
that have entered into his success, and he is now at the head of a very
promising business.
In 1912 Air. Hodson bought the creamery at Stockton, Wisconsin,
from B. L. AVard, and this department of his enterprise buys milk from
the farmers thereabouts to the extent of about $1,000 monthly.
In 1905 Air. Hodson bought his Water street residence, purchasing
the place from his father, who in his turn had bought it from William
Allen, his half brother, previously mentioned. This place Mr. Hod
son has remodeled and improved in many respects so that it is one of
the commodious and comfortable residences in the city.
Air. Hodson has been twice married. He was first married in 1893
to Miss Fannie Zellmar of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. She died on March 28,
1899, leaving one child, Verna Hodson. On December 1, 1905, he married
Mabel Scott, a daughter of Ellison G. Scott. Mr. Hodson is a member
of the Odd Fellows and of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is
not one who has ever taken an active interest in politics, but he has served

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1289
as an alderman from the Second ward, and he votes the Republican
ticket. As a business man, he is one of the up-to-date and progressive
order, and one who has made his own way, unaided and untaught, save
as he learned from that most reliable teacher, experience.
George Farnswortii Thompson, AL D. A native son of Wisconsin,
the son of an old pioneer in the lumber district of the northern half
of the state, and an alumnus of the State University, Dr. Thompson
is now regarded as one of the leading physicians and surgeons of the
city of Chicago, in which city all his practice has been performed.
George Farnsworth Thompson was born in Oconto county, Wis
consin, March 17, 1875, a son of Aloses C. and Margaret (Bellew)
Thompson. His father, who was born at Dexter, in Kennebec county,
Alaine, in 1834, and who died in 1912, spent his boyhood days on his
father's farm in Kennebec county, receiving a public school educa
tion until he was eighteen years of age. Being one of twelve chil
dren, he had to get out and hustle for himself at an early age, and in
-1852 went to Canada, where he lived for three years. In 1855 he
arrived at Alilwaukee, went to Green Bay, and in 1856 became one of
the pioneer settlers at Oconto in Oconto county. He was identified
with the Oconto Lumber Company, of which he rose to the position
of general superintendent, and forty years of his active career were
given to the management of that company's affairs. He was one of
the builders of, the first logging roads in the wilderness of Ocono
county, and was connected with practically every phase of the great
lumber business in that section of the state. He retired in 1900, and
spent the last twelve years in the peaceful enjoyment of a well spent
career. He never cared for public office, and in politics was in early
life a Whig and afterwards a Republican. In his section of Wisconsin
he was one of the strongest supporters of Abraham Lincoln. He was
married in Chicago in 1873 to Miss Bellew, who was born in Dundalk
County Louth, Ireland, in 1844, and is still living. There were three
children by their marriage: Dr. Thompson, Leola, wife of Dr. A. B.
Storm of Chicago, and May.
Dr. Thompson grew up in Oconto county, attended the grade and
high schools of Oconto city, and after graduation from high school
in 1892, entered the University of Wisconsin, and took his Bachelor
of Science degree there in 1896. During his- college career he had
determined upon the medical profession as his life work, and after
leaving college matriculated in the medical department of North
western University, and later became a student in the Rush Aledical
College of Chicago, graduating M. D. in 1899. For eighteen months
he was an interne in the Cook County Hospital, and then was engaged
in the general practice of medicine up to 1907 in Chicago. Since that
time he has devoted nearly all his attention to his special work as

1290 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
surgeon, and it is as a skillful surgeon that he is best known to the
profession. Dr. Thompson is serving as attending surgeon at Cook
County Hospital, and has held that position for the last ten years.
He is also attending surgeon to the West Side Hospital, a professor
of surgery in the medical department of the State University, is
professor of surgical gynecology in the Illinois Post Graduate Col
lege and is Chicago surgeon for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault
Ste. Marie Railway Company. Dr. Thompson has membership in the
Chicago Medical Society, the Illinois Medical Society, the Chicago
Surgical Society, the Railway Surgeons Association, and the Ameri
can Medical Association. During his career in Wisconsin University
he played half-back position on the Badger Football Team, and has been
an interested follower of the great college game ever since. In
politics the doctor is a Republican.
On June 11, 1902, Dr. Thompson married Irma Sturm, who was
born in Chicago, a daughter of Adolph Sturm, one of the pioneer
business men of that city. Her father died in 1911. Four daughters
were born to Dr. Thompson and wife : Dorothy Joan, Irma Beatrice,
Helen and Georgiana.
Emanuel E. A. Wurster. Probably no citizen of Alilwaukee has
won a more distinctive position in manufacturing and general commer
cial circles than Mr. Wurster, secretary and treasurer of the Falk Manu
facturing Company. He began his career something more than thirty
years ago as a bookkeeper for A. Gambler & Co. and became prominently
identified with Milwaukee in 1880. He was one of the organizers about
twenty years ago of the Falk Manufacturing Company, which has become
one of the largest concerns engaged in the manufacture of steel products
in the entire northwest.
Emanuel E. A. Wurster is a native of the city of Buffalo, New York,
where he was born March 11, 1861, a son of Gottlieb Martin and Rosena
Kathrine Wurster, both parents being natives of Wurtemberg, Germany.
The parents were both born in the year 1819, and in 1848 the father
and mother emigrated to America and located at Buffalo, where in a few
years by his industry and thrift he had risen to a position as one of
the most prominent millers. There were nine children in the family of
the parents, and all died in infancy with the exception of the Milwau
kee manufacturer, above named.
During his boyhood and youth he attended the public schools of
Buffalo, New York, and in 1874 was sent west to Watertown, Wisconsin,
to continue his education in the Northwestern University at that city.
He subsequently returned to his home city of Buffalo, and after a course
at Spencer Business College he returned in 1880 to Wisconsin to make
Milwaukee his permanent home, and in that city became associated with
the Franz Falk Brewing Company and its successors, Falk, Jung &

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1291
Borchert and Pabst Brewing Co., in which he used his abilities to such
advantage as to effectively promote the business welfare of the company
and at the same time to secure his own advancement through various
grades of responsibility. He was one of the competent and. independent
young business men of the city, in 1894, at which time he severed his
connection with the brewing company to start in business with Herman
W. Falk, organizing the Falk Manufacturing Company. Mr. Wurster
became secretary and treasurer and has retained those offices under
the subsequent^ reorganization and changes of title of the corporation
to the Falk Company. To Mr. Wurster 's enterprise and executive ability
are due many of the details of management and methods in business
administrations which have made the Falk Company preeminent in its
field over a large section of the United States.
Air. Wurster is prominent in both business and social circles of his
home city. He is an active member of the Merchants & Alanufacturers
Association; is a Scottish Rite Mason, with thirty-two degrees, and affil
iated with the Consistory and the Mystic Shrine; and has membership
in the Milwaukee Club, Deutscher Club, the Calumet Club, the Milwau
kee Athletic Club, and Blue Mound Country Club, while the church
connection of himself and family has been the St. James' Episcopal.
On February 19, 1891, Mr. Wurster married Miss Hattie Schultz,
of Watertown, Wisconsin, a daughter of Carl W. Schultz, who is a sub
stantial and well known merchant of that city. The two children of Mr.
and Mrs. Wurster are : Erwin G., who is a rising young attorney of Mil
waukee, and mentioned on other pages of this work; and Hattie S., who
is the wife of Charles D. Beaton, of Omaha, Nebraska. Both children
were born in Milwaukee. The residence of Mr. Wurster and family is
at 3207 Highland Boulevard.
George H. Allen. When the brass works were established at Kenosha
some years ago the new enterprise was considered as one of the most
important additions to the industrial activities of that city, and they
still rank high among those large concerns which have given Kenosha
such an eminent place among Wisconsin's industrial centers. Con
ducted for a number of years under the name of the Chicago Brass Com
pany, the business in 1912 was sold and merged with the American
Brass Company, and the business is now known as the Kenosha Branch
of the American Brass Company. Affiliated with the local company are
four or five other large concerns of national scope, notably the Ansonia
Brass & Copper Works at Ansonia, Connecticut, the Benedict and Burn
ham branch at Waterbury, Connecticut, the Coe Brass Works at Torring-
ton, Connecticut, the Coe Brass Branch at Ansonia, Connecticut, and the
Waterbury Brass Branch at Waterbury. At Kenosha are manufactured
brass, copper, bronze, and German silver in sheets, plates, rolls, wire,
rods, tubes, blanks and shells. Under the business corporation known

1292 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
as the Chicago Brass Company the officers were Charles F. Brooker,
president; John A. Coe, Jr., vice president; George H. Allen, treasurer;
and Clifford G. Hackett, secretary.
Air. George H. Allen, who is vice president of the American Brass
Company, Kenosha branch, was at one time a laborer in the factory of the
Coe Brass Company back in Connecticut. Many capable business execu
tives began their career in similar manner, but seldom does a man rise so
rapidly from the ranks of laborer to the higher honors and rewards of
business. George PI. Allen was born August 4, 1879, in New Alelford, Connec
ticut, a son of AVilliam and Caroline (Weaver) Allen. His parents were
born in Connecticut, where the family had been residents for several
generations. Up to his fifteenth year Mr. Allen received his education
in the common schools, and then started out to earn his own way. He
found a job in the mill of the Coe Brass Company, and after two years'
work was graduated from the mill into the business offices, taking a place
as a clerk for the Coe Brass Alanufacturing Company at Torrington.
He remained in that position for eight years, with increasing respon
sibilities and growing knowledge of every branch of the industry. In
1905 he was sent out on the road as a traveling salesman for the con
cern, and called on the trade and distributed goods in that way until
1908. In that year he was elected assistant treasurer and held that
position until 1912. In that year the Chicago Brass Company at Kenosha
was absorbed by the American Brass Company, and Mr. Allen took a
place in the Kenosha organization as treasurer, and later as vice president
in the larger corporation. Few men know the brass industry on all sides
and in every detail so thoroughly as Mr. Allen, and he has earned every
promotion granted him since he began his work in the mill.
Mr. Allen is a member of the Masonic Order, having affiliation with
the Blue Lodge in Waterbury, Connecticut, and with the Commandery
and Chapter at Kenosha. He is also a member of the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias. His politics is
Republican. Calvin Stewart. The part taken by Calvin Stewart in the affairs
of Kenosha and Kenosha county has been that of an able and conscien
tious lawyer, whose affiliations have always been straightforward and
honorable and who probably more than any other local attorney has
represented the interests of the "common people," often the poorer
classes, and his practice, which has been extensive and successful, has
brought him into connection with the middle-class, individuals rather than
with the large corporate and wealthy clientage. Mr. Stewart is one- of
the most popular members of the Kenosha bar, and has rendered many
important services through his professional activities.
Calvin Stewart entered the legal profession with an unusual equip-

PIISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1293
ment of experience in the field of manual toil and commercial affairs. He
was born February 22, 1868, on a farm in Clinton county, Michigan.
His' family soon afterwards moved to Ionia county in the same state,
where he was educated in the district schools. He also attended the
I. AL Pouchers' Business College and the M. A. Grayes' Literary Insti
tute. His parents, like most farmers, believed in educating their chil
dren in the arts of manual practice as well as through books, and he
accordingly early learned all the duties of farm life. He continued
at work on the home farm until he was eighteen years old, and then
earned his bread by the sweat of his brow in a foundry and car shop.
At the age of twenty-one he found a place on the road as a commercial
traveler, and during the four years of that occupation, he sold goods
in nearly all of the middle and western states.
In 1893 Air. Stewart began the study of law in the office of Ritchie
& Heck at Racine. He was admitted to practice before the supreme
court of Wisconsin February 18, 1896, and some time later was admitted
before the Federal Courts. For the past seventeen years he has been
in active practice in Wisconsin, and fully seventy-five per cent of his
civil practice has been representative of the poor. He understands the
hardworking people, and these members of society have always trusted
him implicitly, so that most of his business has been in handling their
cases. AVhile he is not opposed to corporations as an industrial necessity
and important asset in- commercial affairs, it has so happened that his
professional connections have always been entirely with individuals,
and he is therefore free from any possible taint of corporation con
trol or influence.
Mr. Stewart has for a number of years been active in Democratic
politics in his district. In 1904 he was nominated for congress, and in
that year when Judge Parker was the presidential candidate, although
the entire ticket was defeated, Mr. Stewart ran ahead of the presiden
tial nominee in, this district by nearly three thousand votes. In explana
tion of this vote it may be said that while his personal popularity was
undoubtedly a factor, the vote was rather due to the progressive prin
ciples for which Mr. Stewart has always stood. In 1910 he was again
the Democratic nominee for congress in his district, but on account of
the "twenty per cent" law, most of the counties had no county ticket.
In Kenosha county where there was a full county ticket in the field, Air.
Stewart carried the county for the first time in twenty years in favor of
a Democratic candidate, his plurality being nearly two hundred. In
1912 he was again successfnl as a candidate at the Democratic primaries,
and in the subsequent election decreased the majority of his opponent
from fourteen thousand to about five thousand.
Air. Stewart has his law offices at 252 Main street in Kenosha. He
is connected with various local organizations in his city, and through
his political activities, his name is well known through the first congres-

1294 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
sional district. Mr. Stewart married Miss Emma Werve, a daughter of
Alatthias Werve, who for so many years has been prominent in manu
facturing circles at Kenosha. ""-
Albert E. Buckmaster. The bar of Kenosha county has one of its
ablest members in Albert E. Buckmaster, who has practiced law in that
city for the past twenty years, made a record of special efficiency, while
district attorney, and has made high connections in his professional
activities. Like many successful lawyers, he entered his profession
through the avenue of teaching, from which occupation he derived the
means to continue his university education.
A native son of Wisconsin, born in Fayette, Lafayette county, Sep
tember 6, 1863, Albert E. Buckmaster is a son of Benjamin F. and Alfreda
(Cook) Buckmaster. His people were farmers, and it was on a farm
that Albert E. Buckmaster spent his youth, and thus had a wholesome
environment during the plastic period of his boyhood.' He attended the
district schools, and was graduated from the Darlington high school in
the class of 1881. For two years he was engaged in teaching, and then
entered the state university at Madison, where he was graduated in the
English classical course in 1889. After leaving the university he took
the principalship of the schools of West Salem, and continued as a teacher
for three years. In the meantime he had taken up the study of law at
the University, and gained a high standing in his law class work. He
was the first president of the Columbian Law Society. Admitted to the
bar in 1894, Mr. Buckmaster at once opened his office in Kenosha, and
has since been identified with the local bar. For a period of ten years
he was district attorney. He has been a member of the Soldiers' Relief
Commission for several years, and is on the board of directors of the
Young Men 's Christian Association. He is also a director in the Alasonic
Temple Association, and treasurer of its board, and for six years was
a member of the Board of Education of Kenosha.
On December 22, 1891, Mr. Buckmaster married Miss Nellie Stalker,
a daughter of Dr. H. J. and Ellen M. (MacNeill) Stalker, of Alauston,
Wisconsin. The three children born to them are : Ben, Dean and Bruce.
Mr. Buckmaster is affiliated with Kenosha Lodge No. 47, A. F. & A. Al.,
with Chapter No. 3, R. A. M., and Kenosha Commandery No. 30, Knights
Templar, and in politics is an active Republican.
Rev. Theodore B. Meyer. That St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church
of Racine is now one of the strongest and most efficient parishes of
the church in Wisconsin, is due primarily to the devoted services of
its pastors and more particularly to the Rev. Theodore B. Meyer.
The record of the parish during his seventeen years of pastoral super
vision, is sufficient evidence of Father Meyer's excellent ability as
pastor and church executive, but with these qualities, he also unites

^^^^u^^iV.^^^^ ££_

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1295
an equally important one of spiritual adviser to his people. Father
Meyer is a native of Racine county, and is one of the most public
spirited citizens of Racine, his interest and cooperations with the
material and civic improvements of this city, being none the less
because of his onerous duties as head of St. Mary 's Parish.
A brief sketch of Father Meyer's work in St. Mary's Parish, has
an appropriate place in this history of Wisconsin. Transferred to
Racine by Most Rev. Archbishop F. X. Katzer, Father Meyer came
to Racine in the second week of November, 1896. Local conditions
were not encouraging, and it was in consideration of Father Meyers'
previous successful experience as an upbuilder of backward church
communities that he was sent to Racine, where he had ample opportu
nity for the exercise of his administrative abilities. There was a
church debt of $7,500, while interest in the church societies and aux
iliary organizations was at a low ebb. Both the school and parish
houses needed repairs, and all conditions were in a non-progressive
state. With his characteristic enthusiasm and energy, and with the
encouragement afforded by his cordial welcome in the parish, Father
Meyer took hold of his work with vigor. He reorganized the old
societies, and founded new ones. On January 6, 1897, he changed the
Women's Sodality to a Christian Mothers' Association, under- the
direction of the church, an organization, which started out with a
membership of nearly 150, and grew rapidly. In May, 1897, was
founded the Sodality of the Immaculate Conception, which also grew
to successful membership. On St. Aloysuis' day, in 1897, was organ
ized the St. Aloysius Society. During July, 1898, the different church
societies, held a successful fair for raising money to discharge the
general debt, and the profits of about $2,500.00 did much to lessen
the parish obligations. In 1900 Father Meyer had the parish house
renovated, at an expense of $1,800, the entire house being equipped
with hot water heat, and other modern improvements. His attention
was then turned to the school house, which was in a very bad state
of disrepair. A meeting held in June, 1901, resolved to build an addi
tion, as well as repair the old building. This resolution was passed
unanimously, and the new building, commenced under plans made
by D. R. Davis. Louis Tharinger, carpenter, and John Siepler, mason,
were the contractors, and both of them deserve much credit in the
church annals, for the excellent manner in which they fulfilled their
obligations. It cost over $6,000 to make the improvements and addi
tion, and the work was completed in November. The dedication of
the remodeled building occurred on Thanksgiving Day, Rev. J. A.
Birkhauser, assisted by various priests of the city, having charge of
the ceremonies, and the day's events concluded with an entertain
ment and supper given in the building during the evening, this last
feature resulting in a considerable profit for the benefit of the church.

1296 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
St. Mary's church is located at the corner of Eighth street and Col
lege avenue, the school adjoining it on the south. In 1911 the parish
bought the two "Stone" lots adjoining the parsonage on the south,
and these in part are now being used as play grounds for the chil
dren of the parish school. As a result of seventeen years of faithful
service on the part of Father AIeyer, the parish buildings are all now
in excellent condition, and many other improvements than those
noted have been made. The parish congregation has courageously
assumed its heavy burden, and the parish is now one of the most
prosperous and contented in this state.
Theodore B. AIeyer was born in Caledonia, Racine county, Wis
consin, February 13th, 1853. His paternal grandfather was a native
of Kaltenborn, Germany, where he was a small farmer and miner,
his death coming as a result of an accident in a mine. His wife's
maiden name was Jungmann, and they reared a large family.
Peter AIeyer, father of the St. Mary's pastor was also born in
Kaltenborn the Rhine Province, Prussia, near the city of Trevs where
he was reared and received an excellent education. As a young man,
in 1845, he came to America, making his first location at Racine; that
was during the territorial period of Wisconsin's history, and he thus
became one of the pioneers in the development of the land. From
Racine, he soon afterward moved to Alilton Junction in Rock county,
where he began work as a farmer laborer. In 1847, he returned to
the Fatherland, and the following Spring came again to America,
this time, accompanied by his sisters Alary and Magdalene. In 1850
occurred his settlement in the western part of Caledonia township,
Racine county. With a farm of 80 acres, he was engaged in agricul
ture in that vicinity for many years, and subsequently established
and carried on a general store.
Peter Meyer, was among the founders of the St. Louis Roman
Catholic church at Caledonia. The movement which resulted in the
establishment of this parish began in 1850, and Peter Meyer and
wife were both charter members, and as long as they lived took an
active part in the work of the church. Mr. Meyer donated two acres
of land, from his farm, on Avhich the church edifice was built. A
man of unusual intelligence, and successful in business affairs, he
was also honored by positions of trust and responsibility in the com
munity, serving as towrn clerk, town treasurer, and supervisor. After
he had come to this country, and in the midst of the hard work, which
he had to perform in order to earn a living, he studied English at'
Milton, on the farm where he was employed, and subsequently taught
one of the first schools in Madison, and another term near that city.
Peter Meyer married Angeline Epper. She was born at Alersch,
Kreis Bittburg, Germany, a daughter of Jacob and Susan (Huss)
Epper. Jacob Epper, her father, came to America in 1848, and set-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1297
tied at Paris, Kenosha county, where he became a well known farmer.
His old homestead is still standing in that vicinity. Mrs. Jacob Epper
reached the advanced age of ninety-three years, and she and her
husband reared a large family. Their oldest son was a soldier in the
Prussian army, and was reputed to be the strongest man physically
in the army, at that time.
Of the thirteen children of Peter Meyer and wife, twelve of them
grew to maturity, ten of them married and nine had families. One
daughter, Sister Mary Jerome, has been for thirty-four years a mem
ber of the Dominican Convent at Racine. Two of the sons, John and
Peter, are residents of Milwaukee, the former being a teacher and
organist in St. Francis church, and the latter a merchant. The mother
passed away August 2, 1884, age fifty-four, while the father spent
many of his later years, with his son Father Meyer, and attained to
the great age of 90 years, passing away July 21, 1913.
The early life of Father AIeyer was spent in his native township of
Caledonia. The first Catholic school, in, the old parish, which his
father had been so active in founding, was opened in 1856, and he
was a student in that school from 1858 until 1865. Then in the fall
of 1868, he entered St. Francis' Seminary at Milwaukee, where he
continued his studies in preparation for the priesthood until June
24, 1887, at which date he was ordained to the priesthood by Arch
bishop Henni. His first pastoral service was in Oshkosh, where he
served as assistant to Father Reindl, at the St. Vincent de Paul church
from July, 1877, to December of the same year. Granville, in Mil
waukee county, was his next appointment, where he wras pastor of
St. Catherine's and St. Michael's from December 23, 1877, until Decem
ber, 1880. At the latter date, Archbishop Henni transferred him to
Wilson, Sheboygan county, to take charge of the churches of St.
George and St. Rose. His pastoral duties held him there until Septem
ber, 1887, and during that time he had his first opportunity of a
church builder, and executive. In 1884, he had the interior of both
churches beautifully decorated, and made repairs to the school houses
in both parishes. In 1886 he erected a fine parish house for St.
George's. A still more important field of work awaited Father Meyer at St.
Mary's in Saukville, Ozaukee county, Wisconsin, where he began his
work on September 16th, 1887, and continued his fruitful labors until
October, 1896. The parish,, when he took charge, was struggling
under a debt of $4,000, but under his efficient management, this was
soon liquidated. In 1891 the interior of the church was remodeled,
and ornamented with beautiful and substantial improvements. In
1896, the school building was enlarged, and though all of these im
provements required large expenditures, the parish was practically
free from debt when Father Meyer left it. He himself had collected

1298 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
$8,000 for the purposes of his work. During his nine years' stay at
Saukville, he had been able, in addition to the numerous burdens of
other duties to visit the entire parish at least five times.
On July 2, 1902, at Racine was celebrated the silver jubilee of
Father Meyer's entrance into the priesthood. It had not been his
intention to give any special observation to that event, but at the
insistence of his numerous friends, it was decided to hold appropriate
services, and the occasion became one of great festivities. More than
seventy priests, among them the vicars general of Milwaukee and
La Crosse, were in attendance at the ceremony. The members of
St. Mary's parish, in particular, vie with each other in showing
their appreciation of the worthy father, whose labors had done so
much to build up the parish, and to reconstruct its official and social
organizations. By their demonstrations on that day, they in reality
gave Father Meyer credit for the entire prosperity and flourishing
condition in which the parish was then found. A few months after
this celebration, on Father- Meyer 's personal account, occurred the
fiftieth anniversary of the founding of St. Mary's congregation. The
event was celebrated on Thanksgiving day of 1902, under the auspices
of Father Meyer. The Golden Jubilee ceremonies were very impres
sive and largely attended, and among the distinguished church digni
taries who lent their presence to the festival was Archbishop Katzer.
These festivals occurred more than ten years ago, and the promises
of continued prosperity then evidenced by so many important improve
ments have since been more than fulfilled, and it would now be pos
sible to point out even more substantial results of Father Meyer's
labors than were in evidence ten years ago, when he celebrated his
own Silver Jubilee.
Philip L. Spooner. Through his character and achievement Hon.
Philip Loring Spooner has conferred dignity and distinction upon the
state of Wisconsin, even as has his older brother, Hon. John Coit
Spooner, who gained national distinction through exalted service in the
United States senate and in other high offices of public trust and respon
sibility. He whose name initiates this review has long been one of the
most honored and influential citizens of Madison, the fair capital city
of Wisconsin, and he has contributed in most generous measure to its
civic and material progress and prosperity, even as he has given zealous
and effective services in offices of public trust, including that of mayor
of Madison and that of state insurance commissioner of Wisconsin,
of which post he was the first incumbent after the establishing of this
important office. Quiet and unassuming in manner, Mr. Spooner has
marked the passing years with large and worthy accomplishment, and
thus has given added laurels to family names that have been closely
and prominently identified with American history since the early colonial
epoch.

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1299
Air. Spooner was born at Lawrenceburg, judicial center of Dear
born county, Indiana, on the 13th of January, 1847, and he has been a
resident of Wisconsin since his boyhood days, his father having been
one of the most prominent and distinguished pioneer citizens of Aladison,
this state. Mr. Spooner is the second of the distinguished sons of Philip.
L. and Lydia (Coit) Spooner and bears the full patronymic of his hon
ored father. Pie is a scion of the staunchest of New England stock, and
his paternal great-grandfather, Philip Spooner, was a valiant soldier of
the Continental line in the war of the Revolution, as was also the ma
ternal great-grandfather, Colonel Samuel Coit, who commanded a regi
ment in the great struggle for national independence and who was known
as a fearless and aggressive soldier and officer, as well as a patriot of the
highest type. Representatives of both the Spooner and Coit families
likewise were found enrolled as gallant soldiers in the war of 1812, and
the two families have, in fact, given loyal soldiers to virtually every
war in which the nation has been involved. Hon. Roger Coit, grand
father of Mr. Spooner on the distaff side, was a distinguished and influen
tial citizen of Connecticut, and long maintained his residence at Plain-
field, Windham county, that state.
Judge Philip Loring Spooner, father of him whose name initiates
this review, gained high prestige as one of the leading members of the
bar of Wisconsin and was a prominent figure in that brilliant galaxy
of lawyers who made the bar of Aladison, the capital city, one of the
most eminent in the .northwest in the early days. He was a man of
exalted character and high intellectual and professional attainments,
so that he was a natural leader in sentiment and action, even as he com
manded at all times the unqualified confidence and esteem of his fel
low men. He had much to do with shaping and fortifying the early
governmental policies of Wisconsin and was called to various positions
of public trust, including that of judge on the bench of the circuit
court. He was summoned to the life eternal in 1887, at the age of
seventy-seven years, and in the circuit court of Dane county, in the
United States district court, and in the supreme court of the state
special proceedings marked the high appreciation of his character and
ability on the part of the bench and bar of the state, the while his home
community manifested a sincere sense of loss and bereavement when
he was thus called from the stage of life's activities, after having main
tained his residence in Madison for nearly thirty years. His wife sur
vived him by several years, and concerning their children the following
brief data are given: John O, former United States senator from Wis
consin, now resides in New York city; Philip L., of this review, was
the next in order of birth ; Roger C. is a resident of the city of Chicago ;
and Alary Coit is the wife of Dr. James W. Vance, of Aladison,
Wisconsin. Philip L. Spooner, to whom this sketch is dedicated, gained his rudi-

1300 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
mentary education in the schools of his native state and was a lad of
twelve years at the time of the family removal to Madison, Wisconsin,
where he has resided during the long intervening years and where he
was afforded the advantages of the public schools and also the Univer
sity of Wisconsin. In 1867 Mr. Spooner here engaged in the fire and
life insurance business and with this line of enterprise he continued to
be actively identified, as one of its leading representatives in the capital
city, until 1887. Upon the creation of the office of state insurance com
missioner, he was appointed as the first incumbent of the same, a pre
ferment which his character, ability and practical experience amply
justified. Mr. Spooner handled the affairs of the office with great cir
cumspection and efficiency and formulated the admirable policies which
have continued to dominate its administration to the present time. He
was reappointed in 1880 and when, by the action of the legislature, in
1881, it was made an elective office, Mr. Spooner was retained as insur
ance commissioner through the medium of popular vote. He gave a most
able and effective administration and his tenure of this important office
continued from April 1, 1878, to January 3, 1887.
Air. Spooner has long been known as one of the liberal and public-
spirited citizens of Aladison and his influence and co-operation have been
given in support of legitimate measures and enterprises projected for the
general good of the community. He represented the Fourth ward as a
member of the city council and served one term as mayor of the city,
in 1880-81, his careful and circumspect administration inuring greatly
to the benefit of the city.
For many years Air. Spooner was the dominating factor in connec
tion with street-railway affairs in Madison, as president and principal
stockholder of the Madison Traction Company, and his liberal policies
did much to bring this department of public-utility service up to- a high
standard. He has identified himself closely with other important enter
prises that have conserved the best interests of the capital city, and he
is now one of the substantial capitalists and most honored and influen
tial citizens of Madison. Well fortified in his opinions and distinct in
his individuality, Air. Spooner is significantly free from ostentation and
pursues the even tenor of. his way as a loyal and appreciative citizen
of the beautiful capital of Wisconsin, — a city in which his interests have
long been centered and in which his circle of friends is virtually coin
cident with that of his acquaintances. His generosity has been recently
shown in another emphatic and worthy manner; by his unsolicited gift
to his home city of a fine site for the proposed building of the Madison
Woman's Club.
Mr. Spooner has ever been unfaltering in his allegiance to the Re
publican party and has given yeoman service in behalf of its cause. He
is identified with various civic organizations of representative order and
is appreciative of the gracious social amenities of life, though he has

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1301
permitted his name to remain enrolled on the list of bachelors in the
capital city.
Charles E. Otto. The present sheriff of Shawano county, Mr. Otto
has been known to the citizens of that county since childhood, has been
recognized as an industrious, independent man of action, and few have
entered office in this county with so thorough a confidence on the part of
their supporters. Mr. Otto was elected sheriff in the fall of 1912 taking
office in January 6, 1913, succeeding Andrew F. Anderson. His elec
tion was on the Republican ticket. Mr. Otto has been a resident of Sha
wano county thirty-seven years, since childhood.
He was born at Appleton, Wisconsin, August 3, 1874, a son of Carl
F. and Libbie (LeBrun) Otto. His father was a native of Germany
and the mother of France. Charles E. Otto was three years old when
brought to America by his father, Carl Otto, who settled first in Alil
waukee, and later in Appleton. When Charles E. Otto was two years
of age, his parents moved to a homestead in the town of Herman, in
Shawano county, and it was on that place that the son grew to man
hood, attending district school, and by work on the farm getting a prac
tical training for his practical career.
On leaving school he engaged in lumbering and farming, worked
as a cruiser, and also did considerable logging on the Red River. In
1908 he moved to Whitcomb, in Shawano county, where he was manager
of the Whitcomb Lumber Company 's mill until elected sheriff. Air. Otto
provides a home for his father, and the mother died June 12, 1913. They
were* the parents of eleven children. Sheriff Otto was married May 11,
1907, to Annie Nussbaum, of Stevensville, Wisconsin. Their three chil
dren are Wilma, and Edwin and Earl, the last two being twins.
Frank A. Jaeckel. To his present office of county judge of Sha
wano county, in which he has served the people for eight years, Mr.
Jaeckel brought the spirit of disinterested service, long experience as
an educator, and editor and a broad knowledge of men and affairs.
The administration of the county's fiscal affairs has never been in better
hands than in those of Judge Jaeckel.
Frank A. Jaeckel has lived in Shawano county since his birth, though
his duties have at different times taken him away from this county for
several years at a time. He was born on a farm in the town of Belle
Plaine, Shawano county, June 3, 1866, a son of Fred and Henrietta
(Eckert) Jaeckel. His parents became residents of Shawano county
in the early fifties, and were among the earliest pioneers of this section.
Their birthplace was in Germany, and on coming to America, they first
located at Watertown, Wisconsin, but a few years later came to the
wilderness of Shawano county, and cleared out a farm from the woods
in the town of Belle Plaine. Both parents continued to make their

1302 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
home in Shawano county until about 1889, when they sold their farm
and spent their last years at the home of their daughter in Waupaca
county. Judge Jaeckel was reared on a farm, and had the wholesome environ
ment of the country during his youth. From the country schools he
entered the academy at Wittenberg, and also studied in the Teachers'
Seminary at Addison, Illinois. Graduating in 1888 he was for ten
years a teacher in the Lutheran parochial schools of St. Louis, Mis
souri. Returning to Wittenberg in Shawano county, he took charge of the
Orphans' Home for one year, at the end of which time the school was
abolished. He then became superintendent of the Lutheran Children's
Home at AVauwatosa, Wisconsm, and continued one year. In 1899 Judge
Jaeckel moved to Shawano to take charge of the Volksbote, now the
Volksbote-Wochenblatt, the most influential German newspaper in this
section of Wisconsin. He was the owner and editor of the journal until
his election as county judge in the spring of 1905. Since he took charge
of the office the regular term of county judge has been extended to six
years, and he was reelected for that length of time, and in the spring
of 1913 was again elected, for the regular term of six years beginning
January, 1914.
Judge Jaeckel was married July 10, 1892, to Miss Clara Taenzer of
St. Louis, Alissouri. Their four children are Walter, Hilda, Irma, and
Norma. Judge Jaeckel is active in the Lutheran church and a trustee
of the church at Shawano.
Albert II. Gustman. County treasurer of Shawano county, Air.
Gustman is now serving in his second term in that office. He was
elected on the Republican ticket in 1910, and was reelected in the fall
of 1912. For two years prior to his service as county treasurer, he was
supervisor of the First ward in Shawano. Mr. Gustman belongs to a
family which has been identified with Shawano county since 1880, and
has had an active business career since he reached manhood in this
county. Born in Germany, February 28, 1868, Albert H. Gustman was
the son of August and Albertina (Kroening) Gustman. In 1880 the
family made their journey across the ocean and settled in Shawano
county on a farm in the town of Westeott. There the father worked
industriously and lived a substantial man in the community until his
death in 1898. The mother passed away several years before.
A boy of twelve years when the family located in Shawano county,
Mr. Gustman had already received some educational advantages in his
native country, and continued 'here in the common schools, assisting in
the labors of the home farm. In 1898 he sold the farm and moved to the
city of Shawano. There up to the time of his election as county treasurer,
he was identified with different enterprises. He first bought a dray line
running it for several years. For four years he drove the United States

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1303
government stage to Keshena, in the Alenominee Indian Reservation.
His next undertaking was a restaurant and bakery, and he built that
up to a profitable enterprise and then sold out at the end of two years.
For the following year he conducted a furniture and undertaking estab
lishment, and on his election to his present office he sold out to h.is son-
in-law, who had previously been his partner, Mr. M. C. Karth.
Mr. Gustman was married at the age of twenty years in 1888 to
Miss Minnie Gottschalk, who was born in Germany and came to Shawano
county when a girl. Their two children are : Louisa, wife of M. C. Karth,
and the mother of four children, whose names are Paul, Fred, Marie
and Carl; William, who is married and lives in the state of California.
Mr. Gustman takes a prominent part in the St. Jacobi Lutheran church
at Shawano, and is an elder.
George W. Johnson. A substantial and ably managed institution
that has had large and definite influence in furthering the civic and
material progress and prosperity of the city of Oshkosh is the Osh
kosh Mutual Loan & Building Society, and this corporation is fortu
nate in having as one of its zealous and able executive officers
George W. Johnson, who is its secretary and whose administration
has been marked by due conservatism and most progressive and well
ordered policies. He is one of the popular citizens and representa
tive business men of Oshkosh and further interest attaches to his
career by reason of the fact that he is a native son of the Badger
state. On a farm near Waupun, Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, Mr.
Johnson was born on the 18th of October, 1851, and this date bears
evidence of his being a scion of one of the pioneer families of this
section of the state. He is a son of Eli and Angeline E. (Nichol)
Johnson, both of whom were born in the state of New York, where
they were reared and educated. In 1848 Eli Johnson came to Wis
consin and purchased a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of land
near the present thriving little city of Waupun. There he reclaimed a
productive farm and otherwise aided in the development and prog
ress of Fond du Lac county, where he became an honored and influ
ential citizen. He continued to reside on the old homestead until his
death, which occurred in 1879, and his wife long survived him. She
passed the closing years of her life in Waupun, where she died in
December, 1911. It is worthy of note that one of her aunts, a resident
of Wisconsin at the time of death, attained to the remarkable age of
one hundred and ten years. Eli Johnson was a man of impregnable
integrity and his life was one of earnest and consecutive endeavor.
He was tolerant and considerate in his association with his fellow
men and ever a close observer of the Golden Rlue, as was also his
devoted wife, both having been zealous members of the Freewill Bap-

1304 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
tist church and both having been mstant in kindly deeds. The names
of both merit enduring place on the roll of the honored pioneers of
Wisconsin. George W. Johnson was reared under the sturdy and invigorating
discipline of the pioneer farmstead and his preliminary educational
advantages were those afforded in the common schools of the locality
and period. That he made good use of these opportunities is shown
by the fact that when seventeen years of age he proved himself eligi
ble for pedagogic honors. As a means of furthering his own educa
tion he devoted two years to teaching in the district schools, and
thereafter he was a student in the Wisconsin State Normal School at
Oshkosh for a period of three years. Thereafter he continued as a
successful and popular teacher in the public schools of his native
state for a period of twelve years, within which he was for some time
an instructor in the village schools of Brooksville, Oconto county, and
Omro, Winnebago county. He gave special attention to the teaching
of bookkeeping, in which he had become an expert, and after aban
doning his work as a teacher he went to Ironwood, Michigan, the
judicial center of the county of the same name, where he was employed
as bookkeeper in a general merchandise establishment from 1887 to
1892. In 1893 Mr. Johnson established his home in Oshkosh, Winnebago
county, Wisconsin, and here held the position of bookkeeper for the
Choate-Hollister Furniture Company, one of the leading manufactur
ing concerns of the city, for four years. During the ensuing year
he was entry clerk in the offices of the Paine Lumber Company, of this
city, and in 1901 he assumed his present office of secretary of the
Oshkosh Mutual Loan & Building Society. When he assumed this
office the assets of the corporation were but forty-five thousand dol
lars, and it is mainly due to his discrimination, earnest application and
fine administrative ability that the business has been advanced to a
point where its assets are more than one hundred and sixty thou
sand dollars. The other members of the executive corps are as here
noted: J. Howard Jenkins, president; John Geiger, vice-president;
and Albert T. Hanzig, treasurer. The Oshkosh Mutual Loan & Build
ing Society is one of the strongest and most flourishing institutions
of the kind in the state and' it has exercised most important functions
in connection with the upbuilding of Oshkosh, where through its
agency many persons in moderate circumstances have been enabled to
secure comfortable and attractive homes. From an article written
by the president of the society are taken the .following pertinent
extracts :
"About twenty-five years ago Mr. Samuel P. Gary, who was deeply
interested in civic problems in Oshkosh, made a study of how to help
workingmen to secure their own homes, and he formulated a plan for

PIISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1305
an organization similar to the cooperative associations then in opera
tion in Philadelpha. The central idea was that a large, number of
small monthly payments could be loaned in a lump to build a home,
the contributors being secured by the mortgage held by the company.
Thus five hundred members paying two dollars each per month would
enable the company to loan every month to some deserving man a
thousand dollars for his new home.
"Mr. Gary interested in his plan a number of active business men
who were willing to invest some money in this enterprise, especially as
it was in the nature of a savings bank and would eventually pay them
a larger rate of interest than savings banks can afford. And so,
twenty-four years ago, the Oshkosh Mutual Loan & Building Society
was started in a small way. Mr. Gary was very insistent that the
rules should favor the borrower rather than the lender, and so they
remained today, a monument to the philanthropic impulses of the
founder. "Such institutions are naturally of slow growth, but little by lit
tle the society has grown, until today it has mortgage loans on im
proved city property amounting to about one hundred and fifty thou
sand dollars. Its real estate loans aggregate during the twenty-four
years about six hundred and ten thousand dollars, divided among
five hundred and twenty borrowers. Thus nearly half a million dol
lars have been repaid to the society through the maturing of loans,
and houses almost by the hundred have been built and are now owned
by satisfied clients. It is not the policy of the' society to make large
loans to a single individual; it leaves this to the capitalist or trust
company. —It aims to help the wage-earner and to encourage in him
the spirit of thrift, in fulfilling his monthly obligations to the society.
* * * After twenty years, and the lending of over six hundred
thousands dollars, the society does not possess an inch of land taken
under foreclosure, and has no loans which are not worth more than
the amount of the loan.
"Being a mutual society, every borrower is practically a stock
holder and has his say in the election of the board of directors. They
also participate in the profits of the society, being credited with such
rate of annual interest as is earned. As to the safety of the loan, it
is apparent that as soon as it is made it begins to be reduced by
monthly payments, and by just so much its value to the society
increases. "As a saving institution it has no superior, as back of the loan is
a first-class mortgage as security. The interest, instead of being paid
in cash, is added to the loan and helps to bring it to maturity sooner.
The earnings are very nearly six per cent and are likely to reach that
point before very long. Each share has a value of two hundred dol
lars when matured and calls for a payment of one dollar per month.

1306 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
In emergencies, such as sickness, death, failure of income, etc., the
money can he withdrawn upon due notice, together with accumulated
earnings. The society is well officered, well managed and very eco
nomically administered, — no salaries are paid except to the secretary.
It is operated under state law and is examined annually by a state
bank examiner. It is manifest that its sphere of influence is limited
only by its income, and so it solicits savings accounts as a means
toward this end."
In addition to his official duties with the . loan and building
society Mr. Johnson is secretary of the local organizations of the
Fraternal Reserve Association, the Independent Order of Foresters, the
National Protective League, and the Knights of the Modern Macca
bees. From 1906 to 1910 he had the distmction of being secretary of
the Wisconsin State Loan Association League, and he was formerly a
counselor of the United States League of Building & Loan Associa
tions, with which organization he is still actively identified. In poli
tics he accords allegiance to the Republican party, of which his father
likewise was a staunch adherent, and both he and his wife hold mem
bership in the Methodist church. It may be noted that Emory R.
Johnson, youngest brother of the subject of this review and a repre
sentative citizen of Philadelphia, this state, was appointed by Presi
dent AlcKinley as a member of the Nicaragua canal commission.
Mr. Johnson has been twice wedded. On the 30th of June, 1880,
he married Miss M. L. Hollister, daughter of Martin M. Hollister, of
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and she was summoned to the life eternal in 1894.
She is survived by two daughters: Edna E., who is the wife of J.
Ray JohnsOn, a resident of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and Mabel J., who is
the wife of Harry R. Field, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. On the 18th of
August, 1903, was solemnizejd, the marriage of Mr. Johnson to Miss
Carrie I. Smalley, of TFond du Lac, and no children have been born of
this union. Mrs. Johnson presides most graciously over the attractive
home and is a popular figure in the social life of the community.
Alvin M. Andrews. The present district attorney of Shawano
county, Air. Andrews is one of the able young members of the
Shawano bar, and represents a name which has been prominently iden
tified with practically the entire historical development of Shawano.
Sixty years have passed since his father as a pioneer first ventured into
the wilderness of Shawano county, and as the father was a man of
influence and ability in the early days, so the son has left his impress
on the community in modern times as a lawyer and official. Mr.
Andrews was. elected to his present office as district attorney in the fall
of 1909, taking office in January, 1910. Then in 1912 he was reelected
and began his second term in January, 1913. Mr. Andrews has practiced
law at Shawano since he was admitted to the bar in 1908. Born on a

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1307
farm six miles north of Shawano, in Shawano county, April 22, 1880,
he is a son of Hon. Orlin and Helen (Harris) Andrews, both now de
ceased. The father died in Shawano, Alarch 19, 1911, and the mother
died there July 6, 1912. Both were born in New York State, and the
father, Orlin Andrews is one of the very first permanent settlers in
Shawano county, the date of his coming being in the year 1854. Two
years later he returned to New York State, where he was married and
then brought his bride to this little settlement in the midst of the big
woods. Orlin Andrews was one of Shawano county's best known citi
zens. At various times he held important offices at Menominee Indian
Reservation in the northern part of the county. He also served as post
master at Shawano, and as court commissioner and for many years was
a justice of the peace. From the farm on which he first settled he moved
into Shawano about 1886. Mr. A. M. Andrews grew up and attended
the public schools in Shawano, subsequently taking a literary and busi
ness course at the Valparaiso University in Indiana. He has worked and
earned his own promotion in life and for several years was a stenographer
in law offices in Shawano. In 1905, he went to Washington, D. O, to
accept an appointment under the third assistant postmaster general and
during the three years of his residence at Washington he attended the
law department of the Georgetown University at Georgetown. In 1908
he returned to Wisconsin, passed the state bar examination and imme
diately thereafter opened his office for practice in Shawano.
In 1903, Mr. Andrews married Miss Berd Griswold, of Valparaiso,
Indiana. Their two children are Lloyd and Ruth. Mr. Andrews is
affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America. Outside of his official
duties as district attorney he looks after a growing general practice
in the local courts.
Henry W. Wright. For more than thirty years the name Wright
has been familiarly associated with lumber manufacturing in Merrill.
The death of Henry W. Wright, which occurred in his home at Aler-
rill, May 23, 1901, removed the founder and president of the industry
known as the H. W. Wright Lumber Company, but it has since con
tinued to prosper under the energetic management of his son.
One of the foremost business men of Wisconsin and of a pioneer
family which became identified with Wisconsin during territorial period,
Henry W. Wright was born at Racine, March 10, 1844. His parents
were Thomas W. and Angelina (Knowles) Wright, the former a native
of Manchester, England, and the latter of Onondaga Hollow, near
Syracuse, New York. They were married in the east and in 1838 moved
to the territory of Wisconsin, where they spent all their lives.
The late Henry W. Wright was reared at Racine, received his school
ing there, and was about seventeen years old when the war between the
states broke out. In 1862 his maternal uncle, Albert Knowles, who was a

1308 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
second lieutenant in Company K of the Seventh Missouri Artillery, came
to Racine on a visit. While there he used his influence to induce his
nephew to join his company, and thus Henry W. Wright went to Mis
souri and enlisted at Macon. Three months later the regiment was
sent to Independence, Alissouri, thence to Kansas City, to Sedalia, and
Springfield, and in that time he saw some very hard service and was
with the army for two and a half years. The Seventh Missouri Cavalry
was finally consolidated with the First Alissouri, and was thereafter
known as the First Missouri Cavalry. Mr. Wright was with Company
H of that organization, and was promoted to the rank of second lieu
tenant on February 22, 1865. He had been made sergeant major of
his regiment at Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where he spent the winter of
1863-64. His final discharge as second lieutenant of Company H, First
Missouri Cavalry, was granted May 30, 1865, a few weeks after Lee's
surrender. Among the engagements in which he participated were those
at Prairie Grove, and Fort Smith, Arkansas, in which Alajor General
Herron was commander ; he was also at Helena, Little Rock, Camden,
and other important points in the campaigns west of the Mississippi
River. After the war Mr. Wright returned to his home in Wisconsin,
and for three years was in the employ of the Western Union Railway
Company. He then became an accountant for Chauncey, Lathrop &
Company, and continued thus for two years. The following years were
spent as a bookkeeper for the J. I. Case Threshing Alachine Company at
Racine. With this varied experience he began business for himself as a
manufacturer of sash, doors, and blinds at Racine. On April 5, 1877,
President R. B. Hayes appointed him postmaster at Racine. He held
that office until October, 1880, at which time he gave up his interests at
Racine and moved to Alerrill, thus beginning the relationship of the
name with this important lumber center in the Wisconsin River Valley.
On arriving at Merrill he formed a partnership with Al. H. McCord in
a saw-mill enterprise. About a year later Mr. McCord diea, and the H.
W. Wright Lumber Company was then established. Under that name
the business has been conducted for more than thirty years, and has held
high rank among similar industries of its kind along the Wisconsin
River. The company's plant is modern in every way and has a capacity
for cutting about one hundred thousand lumber feet each day, and
employs about one hundred and twenty-five men. All varieties of lum
ber are manufactured, and the sash, door and blind factory is one of
the best in the state.
The late Mr. Wright was always a staunch Republican, and took
many degrees in the Masonic Order. On November 1, 1872, he married
Miss Carrie Buchan, a native of Dover, Racine county, Wisconsin, and
of Scotch ancestry. Many members of her family during the last two
centuries have been identified with the medical profession, both in this
country and abroad. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Wright were three in

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1309
number, namely : James A. ; Alfred II. ; and Nettie. The late Henry
W. Wright was always a public spirited citizen, was alive to the best
interests of his section, and did effective service, not only as an industrial
leader and manufacturer, but also took part in local affairs. He served
as a member of the county board of supervisors, as an alderman in
Racine, and was secretary of the building committee which supervised
the erection of the courthouse at Racine. Airs. H. W. Wright died on
February 7, 1912, having survived her husband nearly eleven years.
The oldest son of the late Henry W. Wright was one of the dis
tinguished public men of northern Wisconsin. Plonorable James A.
Wright who died in Merrill December 21, 1911, was a member of the
Wisconsin State Senate at the time of his death. He had been elected
first on the Republican ticket in 1904 at the age of thirty-one, and was
reelected in 1908. He was born in Racine in 1873, but was reared in
Merrill. At the time of his death he was serving as president of the
H. W. Wright Lumber Company, and as president of the Wisconsin
Lumber Company at Littell, Washington. He was a member of the
Loyal Legion. James A. Wright never married.
Alfred H. Wright, who now as president of the companies directs
the large manufacturing industries founded at Merrill by his father,
trained himself from boyhood for the large responsibilities that awaited
him, and is one of the most competent lumbermen of Wisconsin. While
always a busy man he has taken a prominent part in local civic affairs,
and has contributed much to the well being of Merrill's citizenship,
besides his service in directing one of the largest of home industries.
Alfred H. Wright was born in Racine, December 21, 1876. He
came to Merrill with his parents when a child, grew up here, attended
the public schools, and finished his education in the Beloit Academy.
During the vacation periods of school, and as soon as his education was
completed, he worked in the different departments of the H. W. Wright
Lumber Company, and in that way became familiar with every technical
detail of lumber manufacturing. He worked his way up on the basis of
merit, to responsible connection with the management of the company,
and eventually became vice president of both the Wright Lumber Com
pany of Merrill, and of the Wisconsin Lumber Company of Littell,
Washington, serving in those capacities until the death of his brother
James, whom he succeeded as president of both companies. From 1903
to 1912 he was located at Littell, Washington, directing the interests of
that company in that state. He returned to Merrill after the death of
his brother, and has since managed the business from this city. Mr.
Wright served as Mayor of Merrill during 1902-03, and was the young
est mayor the city ever had. He married Miss Edith W. Collins, a native
of Nebraska, who was living in Washington at the time of their mar
riage. Mr. Wright is affiliated with the Loyal Legion, with the Masonic
Order and with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

1310 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
The H. W.. Wright Lumber Company owns a fine farm of eight hun
dred and fifty-three acres in Vilas county, located on Trout Lake. This
farm has been a hobby of A. H. Wright and also of his late brother
James Wright. It was estabtablished by their father, and the boys became
very enthusiastic over its management, and used it for a summer home,
though it is by no means solely a pleasure resort, and has become a very
profitable enterprise, and illustrates the possibility of progressive agri
culture in this section of the state. Its improvements and general
situation make it one of the most beautiful farms in Wisconsin.
Edward Sommers. A prominent old-established real estate man of
Shawano, Edward Sommers has been identified with this city in a
successful and public spirited manner for a long period of years, and is
numbered among the citizens who have been instrumental in helping
promote the upbuilding and progress of the community. He now gives
all his time to his extensive business in abstracts, real estate, loans and
insurance. He has also been prominent in the public service, having
served from Shawano from 1906 to 1908 as Mayor and from 1878 to
1888 held the important office of registrar of deeds in the county. Air.
Sommers has been in the county since 1871, and he has been in the
abstract business since 1879.
Mr. Sommers was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, February 25, 1853,
a son of Charles Sommers. Both parents, are now deceased. Charles
Sommers was an early settler in Sheboygan county locating there in the
late forties, about the time Wisconsin became a state. He followed a
long career as a farmer.
On the home farm in Sheboygan county, Edward Sommers spent
the years of his youth, and had a country school education. He engaged
in the sawmill business as his first regular work, and was connected
with his brother William in operating a mill ten miles east of Shawano
in this county in the town of Hartland, conducting that enterprise from
1871 to 1874. In the latter year he moved to Shawano, and was pro
prietor of a hotel for some three or four years. His election to the
office of registrar of deeds gave him a broad knowledge and experience
in real estate titles, and he has been the best authority on abstracts and
real* estate ever since.
Mr. Sommers was married in 1874 to Miss Annie Lueke, of Shawano
county. Five children born to their marriage were Anna; Ida, wife of
J. C. Madler, who has one son Edward James Madler; Lima; Oscar and
Arthur, twins.
William J. Kershaw. Altogether worthy of special recognition in
this publication by reason of his high standing at the bar of his native
state and his distinctive loyalty and public spirit as a citizen, there are
other points which render a consideration of the personal and ancestral

A#d^

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1311
history of Air. Kershaw particularly interesting. He is a representa
tive in the agnatic line of sterling pioneer stock in Wisconsin and on
the marternal side may well be proud of the fact that he is a scion
of the fine aboriginal stock represented in the Menominee tribe of
Indians, one of the strongest and noblest of the Indian tribes in Wis
consin before the white man disputed dominion in this territory before
the white man disputed dominion in this territory and one that still
has a large and worthy representation within the borders of the state.
Of this historic tribe, second only to the Osage in point of wealth,
Mr. Kershaw was made a member in 1912, and concerning this matter
specific mention will be made in a later paragraph of this review.
William John Kershaw was born at Big Spring, Adams county,
Wisconsin, on the 12th of January, 1865, and is a son of William John-
and Alartha Mary (Corn) Kershaw, the former of whom was born in
County Antrim, Ireland, and the latter of whom was born in Wiscon
sin, a member of the Menominee tribe of Indians. Mrs. Kershaw was
a woman of much personal beauty and fine mentality and she and
other members of the family of which she was a representative exerted
large and benignant influence among the Indians of Wisconsin. This
was specially true of her aunt, Airs. Mary Walsworth, who was a pure-
blood Menominee and whose husband conducted a pioneer tavern or
hotel in Adams county. Alany Indians camped at regular intervals in
that vicinity, and thus it was a favorable point for the government
officials to meet the members of the Indian tribes in council. Mrs.
Walsworth frequently acted as interpreter and held the high regard
of both the Indians and the white settlers, as well as of the government
representatives. Reared and educated in his native land, William John Kershaw,
Sr., immigrated to American when a young man. After remaining
for a time in the city of Albany, New York, he came to Wisconsin,
and, as an agent for the government, he had occasion to deal with the
Indians at Big Spring, Adams county. Through his service in this
capacity he formed the acquaintance of the noble young woman who
eventually became his wife and to whom he paid the greatest devo
tion during the entire course of their ideal wedded life. Mr. Kershaw
was a man of excellent education and had prepared himself well for
the legal profession. After his marriage he was actively engaged in
the practice of law at Big Spring for a number of years and he became
a man of much prominence and influence in that section of the state,
where he was called upon to serve in various positions of public trust,
including that of district attorney of Adams county. This great
hearted, buoyant and loyal son of the Emerald Isle entered fully into
harmony with American customs and institutions and his loyalty to
the land of his adoption found no greater or nobler exemplification
than in his tendering his services in defense of the nation when its

1312 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
integrity was thrown into jeopardy by the secession of the southern
states. In October, 1861, in response to President Lincoln's first eall for
volunteers, William J. Kershaw, Sr., enlisted as a private in the Eight
eenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. He was soon made sergeant
major in his company and on the 14th of March, 1862, he was elected
and commissioned captain of Company K. The regiment was mustered
into the United States service and on the 30th of March, 1862, set
forth for Pittsburg Landing, at which point it arrived on the 5th of
the following month. On the morning after the arrival at the front
the Eighteenth Wisconsin, with absolutely no instruction in the manual
of arms and with the most meager experience in ordinary military
-tactics, was ordered to go forth and check the enemy's advance at
Shiloh. Concerning this gallant command Governor Harvey of Wis
consin gave the following estimate : ' ' Alany regiments may well covet
the impressions which the Eighteenth Wisconsin left of personal brav
ery, heroic daring and determined endurance." The regiment took
part in the siege of Corinth, which closely followed the battle of Shiloh,
and thereafter was encamped for some time at Corinth and Bolivar.
Captain Kershaw was an active and valiant participant in all of the
engagements in which his regiment was involved up to this time, but
on the 3d of September, 1862, he resigned- his commission and received
his honorable discharge. He returned to his home, where family
interests and important duties demanded his attention, but in the
spring of 1864 he again went to the front, as major of the Thirty-
seventh Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, to which office he wras com
missioned on the 10th of March. The first six companies of the regi
ment were mustered into service in the latter part of that month, and,
with Major Kershaw in command, left the state on the 28th of April, to
join the Army of the Potomac, in Virginia. The regiment distinguished
itself for intrepid gallantry in the engagements at Petersburg, on the
16th, 17th and 18th of June, 1864, and in the fight of the 17th Major
Kershaw was seriously wounded, — a musket ball having passed through
both of his legs. This injury practically incapacitated him for. further
service in the field and virtually ended his military career. Though
promoted to the office of lieutenant colonel, on the 27th of September,
1864, he was never mustered in with this rank, and on the 18th of
October, 1864, he resigned his commission as major and was granted
his honorable discharge. His military career is one that reflects endur
ing honor and distinction upon his name and memory. He united with
the Grand Army of the Republic at the time of its organization in Wis
consin and through his affiliation with this patriotic body he mani
fested his continued interest in his old comrades in arms.
After the close of his military career Colonel Kershaw returned
to Big Spring and resumed the practice of his profession, in which he

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1313
had already gained high reputation. In 1866 he was elected repre
sentative of Adams county in the assembly body of the state legis
lature, in which he served two consecutive terms. Immediately after
his retirement he was accorded further and distinguished evidence of
popular appreciation and confidence, in that, in 1868, he was elected
to the state senate, in which he most ably and zealously represented his
district in the legislative sessions of 1869 and 1870.
While still a member of the state senate Colonel Kershaw removed
with his family to Milwaukee, where he became associated with C.
J. Kershaw, in the salt, cement, plaster and lumber business, his part
ner, though of the same name, not having been a kinsman. The Colonel
was not yet to be permitted to retire from public service, for he was
elected again to the assembly of the legislature, in which he repre
sented Milwaukee county in the session of 1875, with characteristic
fidelity, discrimination and broad conception of public needs and
governmental policies. Thereafter he continued to give his attention
to his private business interests until his death, which occurred in 1883.
He was a man of sterling character and much ability, and he left a
distinct and benignant impress upon the history of his adopted state,
the while he ever commanded the unequivocal confidence and esteem of
all who knew him. He was a Republican in his political allegiance
and his religious faith was that of the Catholic church. His devoted
wife passed to the life eternal in 1865, shortly after the birth of her
son William John, Jr., whose name initiates this review. The oldest
sister, Kate Theresa Kershaw, single, is secretary to Judge Timlin.
The younger, Sybil Alban Kershaw, single, in New York, wras named
after Col. Alban, who was killed at the battle of Shiloh. The mother's
Indian family name was Waupanin (Corn) and her own name was
She-qua-na-quo-tok (Floating Cloud).
William J. Kershaw, Jr., gained his rudimentary . education in
the public schools of his native county, and this training was effect
ively supplemented by courses of study in St. Lawrence College, in
Fond du Lac county, and St. Francis Seminary, another excellent
Catholic institution, in Wisconsin county. After leaving the latter
school Mr. Kershaw passed two years in fhe west, within which he
found great pleasure and profit in his diverse wanderings and investi
gations. He traversed the beautiful and untrammeled country so
vividly described by Mrs. Helen Fitzgerald Sanders in her work enti
tled ' ' Trails Through Western Woods, ' ' and he also visited the Glacier
National Park, in Montana, long before this was made a national re
serve. He was in the great northwest earlier than was Colonel Roose
velt, and he gained his full quota of experience in connection with the
free and open life of the plains and mountains, as he found employ
ment in herding cattle, "roughed it" in true western style and found
zest and gratification in every experience. Mr. Kershaw and his wife

1314 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
visited the Glacier National Park in the summer of 1912, and he found
much satisfaction in recalling to Mrs. Kershaw the incidents and expe
riences of his early sojourn in the west, the while he was again cov
ering much of the same territory.
After his youthful exploits in the great northwest Mr. Kershaw re
turned to Wisconsin, and for one year he was employed in the lumber
camps of the northern part of the state, where he added another inter
esting chapter to the record of his varied career. His next decisive
action was to enter upon an apprenticeship to the machinist's trade, in
Milwaukee, but after becoming a skilled artisan in the line he deter
mined to fit himself for a broader sphere of activity and usefulness and
to prepare himself for the profession which had been honored by the
services of his father. He accordingly took up the study of law
in the office and under the preceptorship of the firm composed of
William C. Williams and August G. Weissert, of Milwaukee. He was
admitted to the bar of his native state in 1886 and his initial work
in his profession was as an employe of his former preceptor, Mr.
Weissert, with whom he continued to be associated until 1892, when
he became a member of the law firm of Eschweiler, Van Valkenburg
& Kershaw. This alliance continued until 1897, since which year Mr.
Kershaw has conducted an individual practice of important order,
with a representative clientage and with a reputation fortified by
many decisive victories in important legal contests. He has the high
regard of his professional confreres and is essentially worthy of
classification as one of the representative members of the bar of his
home city and state. He has been the architect of his own fortunes
and has proved himself a master of expedients, — resourceful, broad-
minded, energetic and aggressive. Mr. Kershaw is well known in his
native state and here has a host of loyal and valued friends. He is a
staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, both he and
his wife are communicants of the Catholic church, he is a member of
the Milwaukee County Bar Association, the Wisconsin Archaeological
Society, and the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and, as a son of a dis
tinguished officer of the Union in the Civil war he is eligible for and is
affiliated with the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United
States, an honor of which he is deeply appreciative. Mr. Kershaw main
tains his office headquarters in suite 29-32 Cawker building, and his
residence is on the west side of Alilwaukee near Wau.
On the 31st of March, 1893, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Kershaw to Miss Henrietta Schiller, daughter of Joseph and Emma
(Meyer) Schiller, of Milwaukee, in which city Mrs. Kershaw was
born and reared and in which she is a popular factor in social ac
tivities, as well as those of religious, charitable and educational
order. In conclusion of this review is given reproduction of interesting

HISTORY OF. WISCONSIN 1315
statements which appeared in the Milwaukee Journal of August
22, 1912 :
"William J. Kershaw, Milwaukee attorney, is to become a mem
ber of the Menominee tribe of Indians, who have their reservation
at Keshena, Wisconsin. A tribal council will convene at Keshena
September 4-6, when Mr. Kershaw will be officially adopted. His
mother was a full-blood Menominee and his father was an Irishman.
It had been the wish for some time of the head members of the tribe
to have Mr. Kershaw join. All actions of the council at the big meet
ing will be taken in the primitive Indian fashion and all matters dis
cussed in the Indian language. Besides the business to be transacted
there will be many entertainments offered for the three-day session,
including a game of lacrosse.
"The Menominee tribe is second only to the Osage in point of
wealth. There is at present the sum of three million five hundred
thousand dollars at Washington to be distributed to the members,
making about eight thousand dollars for each. They also have one
million five hundred thousand acres of standing timber."
It may be further said that the above mentioned ceremony of
formal adoption into the tribe of which his mother was a representa
tive was the most gratifying experience of Mr. Kershaw, and inci
dentally has fortified his admiration of the sterling qualities of the
Indians and his appreciation of their many exalted ideals. The occa
sion was marked alike by solemnity and by many interesting social
observances, and Mr. Kershaw, the recipient of distinguished honors
under the old tribal customs and ceremonies, was deeply impressed
and has not lacked in definite appreciation of the distinction thus
granted to him by those to whom he is allied in bonds of kinship, —
a relationship of which he may well be proud.
John 0. Moen. President of the First National Bank of Rhine
lander, vice president of the Wisconsin Veneer Company of Rhine
lander, and a director in the Rhinelander Refrigerator Company, John
0. Moen is one of the men of fine capabilities as organizers and busi
ness builders, who have been chiefly responsible for the making of an
industrial center at Rhinelander. Though the immediate city of Rhine
lander has been his home since 1906, Air. Moen has been prominently
identified with this section of the state since the fall of 1887, a period of
a quarter of a century. At that time he came into Oneida county, and
constructed a mill oh what is now known as Moen Lake, five miles east of
Rhinelander. He was engaged in the operation of that lumber mill for
thirteen years finally closing it out, and then for several years was inter
ested in timber lands and lumber operations in the south and west.
About 1900 he spent several months in Alabama, and during the suc
ceeding years he made several trips to Oregon looking over the timber

1316 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
lands. On his return to Wisconsin he bought an interest in the Wiscon
sin Veneer Company of Rhmelander, and his services have since become
factors in the other important local concerns above mentioned.
John 0. Moen, who was born in Norway, September 9, 1847, a son
of 0. T. and Gure Moen, both of whom died in their native country,
was reared and educated in his Norwegian home, and at the age of
nineteen set out for America, locating first in Portage county, Wis
consin. His residence and citizenship in this state has continued for a
period of more than forty years. Mr. Moen is a typical example of the
young foreign born men who come to America, relying entirely upon
the resources of brain and brawn and eventually achieving a place of
prominence in community and state. His first work in Wisconsm was
as a farm hand. He soon went into the woods and worked in the differ
ent operations of the logging camps, ran logs down the river for several
years, and finally reached Nelsonville in Portage county, where he found
employment under the late Jerome Nelson in a saw and grist mill. Air.
Moen paid a high tribute to his former employer Mr. Nelson, who was
indeed one of the ablest lumber men of his time, and to his helpful
influence and friendship for the young Norwegian, must be credited in
all fairness a large share of the latter 's advancement. He continued
an employe of Mr. Nelson, and practically a business associate with him
for eighteen years. It was with Mr. Nelson as a partner that he
came to Oneida county in 1887, and set up the mill on Moon Lake. In
1897, Mr. Nelson died and in his will appointed Mr. Moen administra
tor and trustee of his estate, which was closed up under the able man
agement of Mr. Moen. Jerome Nelson who was born in New York State
spent nearly a life time in the logging and lumber manufacturing indus
try of Wisconsin. He was a Civil war veteran, having served four
years in the Union army.
Mr. Moen married Mattie Iverson, who was born in Wisconsin.
Their three children are Hannah, wife of Henry Stoltenberg of Nelson
ville; Gunda, wife of Albert Lutz of Portage county, a farmer; and
Oscar. Hon. George Grimm. Judge of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit of Wis
consin since 1906, Judge Grimm has been a member of the Wisconsin Bar
for thirty years, made a successful record as a lawyer, and previous to
his elevation to the circuit bench was county judge of Jefferson county.
Judge Grimm resides in the city of Jefferson.
He represents one of the old families of Jefferson county, and was
born near the county seat of that name on September 11, 1859. His father
was Adam Grimm, a pioneer whose life was one of more than ordinary
character and attainment. He was born March 25, 1824, at Hohlen-
brunn, Bavaria, and emigrated to America in the early spring of 1849,
settling on a farm near Jefferson. His general activities were farming,

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1317
horticulture and bee-keeping. As an apiarist, Adam Grimm achieved
the reputation of being America's foremost bee-keeper. Jefferson county,
has always been noted for its product, and Adam Grimm gave it a new
distinction in this line. In later years, Adam Grimm in partnership
with Yale Henry founded the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Jefferson,
and served as its cashier until his death on April 10, 1876.
Adam Grimm was survived by his widow, and four daughters and
one son. His widow was Ann M. (Thoma) Grimm, who was born at
Grafenreuth, Bavaria, October 29, 1829, and died at Jefferson Novem
ber 6, 1893. The four daughters are as follows : Mrs. Charles Bullwinkel,
of Jefferson; Mrs. Carl Kuesterman, now deceased, whose home was at
Green Bay; Mrs. Herman Gieseler of Jamestown, North Dakota; and
Mrs. George J. Kispert of Jefferson.
George Grimm grew up in Jefferson county on a farm and was
well educated in the public and preparatory schools. Three years after
he had graduated from the law department of the University of Mich
igan in 1879 he adopted law as his regular profession. Since then his
home has been in the city of Jefferson. He represented his county in the
Wisconsm legislative assembly in 1887. In 1896 he was appointed county
judge of Jefferson county and continued to serve as county, judge with
out opposition until elected to the circuit bench in 1906. By reelection
his second term as circuit judge began in January, 1913. Judge Grimm
has made a notable record on the bench, and is today recognized as one
of the best equipped both by training and temperament among the
jurists of the state. Mr. Grimm has been a Republican all his adult
life, and in religion is a Christian Scientist. He is affiliated with the
Modern Woodmen of America, the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks, is a thirty-second degree Mason, and belongs to Tripoli Temple
of the Mystic Shrine.
Judge Grimm married Mariette Bullock, of Johnson's Creek, only
daughter of John D. Bullock and Mary (Currier) Bullock. John D.
Bullock, who was born at Ephratah, New York, August 5, 1836, came
to Wisconsin in 1861, served four terms as a member of the legislative
assembly, has been sheriff of Jefferson county and is now and has been
for many years special United States Revenue agent. Mary (Currier)
Bullock is a daughter of Rodney J. Currier who, in company with one
Andrew Lansing, made the first permanent settlement at what is now
the city of Jefferson, in the year 1836. Mrs. Bullock's great-grand
father was Major Richard Esselstyn of Claverack, New York, a commis
sioned officer in the Continental army, and who was a grandson of Mar
ten Cornelise von Yesselstein who came to this country from the city of
Yesselstein, Holland, in 1659. Judge Grimm and wife have four daugh
ters, and one son as follows: Meta M., born May 19, 1887, married M.
J. Lacey, a traveling sales agent for the Phoenix Horseshoe Company,
and their home is at Jefferson ; Laura C, born March 22, 1889 ; Hilda M.,

*

1318 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
born June 2, 1890, is the wife of E. J. Schafer, an insurance broker of
Chicago; Lorraine E., born June 1, 1893; and Roscoe, born January 4,
1906. Hon. Neal Brown. Lawyer, legislator, author, orator and man of
affairs, Neal Brown is a native of Wisconsin, has been a member of the
Marathon bar since 1880, has been an influential factor in the develop
ment of his home city of Wausau, and has served with distmction in both
branches of the legislature. Outside the boundaries of bis home state the
name of Neal Brown is associated with fine intellectual and professional
attainments. Mr. Brown was born in Jefferson county, Wisconsm. He is a son of
Thurlow Weed and Helen (Alward) Brown. Thurlow Weed Brown was
born in the city of Lockport, New York, received excellent educational
advantages in his native state, and in 1855 came to Wisconsin. He
numbered himself among the pioneers of Jefferson county, bought raw
land,~and reclaimed it, and the old homestead land continued the abiding
place of the family. He not only was one of the substantial farmers
of his day, but also wielded much influence in the shaping and directing
of public opinion and action in the pioneer period of Wisconsin history,
as he was a talented and successful newspaper man and identified with
practical journalism in Wisconsin until the time of his death.
Hon. Neal Brown spent his first nineteen years at the old home
farm in Jefferson county. Besides the advantages of the public schools,
he had those of a home of distinctive culture and refinement. At nine
teen he began the study of law under Hon. L. B. Caswell of Fort Atkin
son, Jefferson county, who had previously served as congressman from
that district. Mr. Brown finally entered the law department of the
University of Wisconsm, where he was graduated LL. B. in the class of
1880. Since his admission to the bar his residence has been at Wausau,
Marathon county. In office counsel and in civil and in criminal prac
tice, during more than thirty years of experience, Neal Brown has
enjoyed many of the best distinctions and rewards of the profession,
and stands second to none among local attorneys.
While never subordinating in the least the demands of his profession,
Mr. Brown has found time and opportunity to render services in offices
of public trust, and to aid materially in the advancement of civic and
industrial progress. He has been an extensive and successful dealer in
real estate and in investments, both on his own account, and as repre
sentative of other capitalists. He has become interested in many of the
important business enterprises of Wausau, and has made a reputation
for able handling in the promotion and organization of substantial con
cerns. He is at the present time a director of the Marathon Paper Mills
Company; president of the Great Northern Life Insurance Company;
vice president of each the Itasca Cedar Company, and the Winton Invest-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1319
ment Company; president of the Wausau Street Railroad Company;
and a director of the Wausau Sulphate Fiber Company. In the prac
tice of his profession, he is associated with L. A. Pradt, and F. W.
Genrich, under the firm name of Brown, Pradt & Genrich. He has also
been in partnership in the real estate business with C. S. Gilbert for
many years. Mr. Brown helped organize the Employers Mutual Lia
bility Company of Wisconsin, being a director and general counsel for
that company. He has served as president of the Wisconsin State
Bar Association.
In polities Mr. Brown has been found an able advocate of the Demo
cratic party. He represented Marathon county in the lower house of
the state legislature for one term. In 1892, he was elected a member of
the State Senate where his record was that of a broad-minded and dis
interested worker for the public welfare. He has twice been his party 's
nominee for the United States Senate. A man of unusual literary talent,
Neal Brown has gained more than local reputation as a writer and
lecturer. He is the author of an interesting volume entitled, "Critical
Confessions," a work showing not only a broad comprehension of his
tory and special appreciation of the records of American jurisprudence,
but also attractive literary flavor. Before the Fifty-Fourth Annual
Meeting of the Wisconsin Teachers' Association, Mr. Brown delivered a
timely address upon the subject "The People and the University."
February 4, 1901, he addressed the Milwaukee Bar Association, on
"John Marshall and His Time." February 17, 1904, in Milwaukee, he
delivered before .the State Bar Association, an address entitled "The
Foundation of Free Government." Before the Wisconsin Commandery
of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Mr.
Brown gave, at its meeting held in Milwaukee, February 7, 1912, a
patriotic address on "Abraham Lincoln." Before the legislature he
presented, in behalf of the water-power owners of the state, and argument
against the proposed legislation by the provisions of which the com
monwealth would claim ownership of the water-powers of the state.
Before the Congressional Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Brown pre
sented a splendid brief analyzing the relations of the paper industry
and the tariff. Paper manufacturing, it need not be mentioned, has
long been one of great importance in Wisconsin. His witty address on
"The Comedy of History" met a most favorable reception, as delivered
before a meeting of the Illinois Bar Association, at the Chicago Beach
Hotel in Chicago in 1902. The formal products of his scholarship and
his excursions into more popular fields of thought have always met with
favor, and his name is one frequently mentioned in the newspaper
world. Roy K. Dorr. District manager for The Northwestern Mutual Life
Insurance Company at Kenosha, Mr. Dorr has a place among the lead
ers in insurance circles in the state of Wisconsin.

1320 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Born in New London, Wisconsin, February 20, 1878, Roy K. Don-
is a son of B. F. and H. C. ( Chandler) Dorr. His mother was a native
of the state of New Hampshire, while the father was born in 1833 at
Lockport, New York, coming west with his mother and faniily in 1848,
the same year in which Wisconsin was admitted to the Union. Grand
father Gridley Dorr, who died in New York several years previously,
was born during the Revolutionary war. There were six children of
B. F. and H. C. Dorr, and the only two now living are Roy K. and
Mrs. Ruth D. Ralph of Green Bay.
When a boy, Roy K. Dorr attended the public schools in Antigo,
Wisconsin, being graduated from the Antigo High School in 1896.
Subsequently he took an academic course in Beloit, and for two and a
half years was a student at Beloit College. After considerable busi
ness experience, Mr. Dorr in 1912 was appointed district manager for
Kenosha County by The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company
of Milwaukee, and is now holding up his end at Kenosha with a large
record of annual business.
Mr. Dorr is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks, and at Beloit College was a member of the Wisconsin Gamma
Chapter of the Phi Kappa Psi. On June 11, 1910, he married Miss
Helen Thiers, a daughter of Edward and Mary Thiers. They are the
parents of one daughter, Mary Nicoll Dorr, born May 10, 1911.
Charles H. Grelle. The name of Grelle has always been associated
with the history of Prairie du Chien, and the present head of the
house, Charles H. Grelle, has well sustained the reputation of the
family for uprightness and strength of character. Mr. Grelle is pres
ident of one of the largest and most important financial institutions
in the city and in addition to this is interested in a number of impor
tant commercial enterprises, all of which give him a position of influ
ence in the business world. That he is always ready to aid any cause
which has as its object the betterment of conditions, is universally
conceded, and Mr. Grelle is not only respected for his business ability
but is widely liked for his personal characteristics and his public-spir-
itedness. The grandfather of Charles H. Grelle was born in France and
came to this country in 1855, locating in the city of New Orleans, at
the time a city strongly impregnated with French customs and ideals.
With him was his son, Charles Grelle, the father of Charles. They
remained in New Orleans for a time and then determined to locate
farther up the Mississippi. They came by boat as far as St. Louis
and here the mother and son remained while the father continued on
up the river by boat, his destination being St. Paul. When the boat
arrived at Prairie du Chien, the attractiveness of the surrounding
country and the very evident life that the little village showed, the

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1321
prospects for growth and the location of the town finally determined
Mr. Grelle to settle here, and so sending back to St. Louis for his wife
and son, he located permanently in Prairie du Chien and thus became
one of the pioneers of the place and of Crawford county. In France
he had learned the trade of cabinet making and was an expert at the
art, so he established himself in this business in the town and since
at this time all the furniture in use was made by hand he soon had all
the work he could attend to. Even in later years when machine made
furniture came into use he had a large number of customers, for
he was able to turn out furniture of a quality of workmanship that
could not be equaled by the factory made articles. He continued in
this business until his death and then his son took it up.
This son, Charles, was the only child, and after obtaining what
education he could in the primitive schools of the period he left
school at the age of seventeen and entered his father's shop. Here
after the death of the father he continued the cabinet making business
and was also engaged in the undertaking business. He was a Demo
crat in politics and was a prominent and public-spirited citizen. His
father before him had been interested in all public matters and had
served two terms as a member of the city council. Charles Grelle
was born in France and his wife, who was Caroline Stuckey, was
born in Crawford county, Wisconsin. Charles Grelle died in 1902
and his widow is still living at the age of sixty-seven. Eight chil
dren were born to this couple, of whom six are living.
Charles H. Grelle was born in Wauzeka, Crawford county, Wis
consin, on the 17th of February, 1867. He grew up in .Prairie du
Chien and received his education in his home city. He attended the
public schools until he had reached his thirteenth year and then he
was sent to the parochial schools for a time. In 1880 he attended
the Sacred Heart Academy in Prairie du Chien, but previous to this
time he had been at work. His first position, which he held until
1881, was as a clerk in a dry goods store of L. Case & Company. He
made so efficient a clerk that soon after he was made general manager
of the dry goods department of the above mentioned store. Having
earned both experience and money in the business, in 1891 he resigned
his position to go into the dry goods business for himself. He has
continued in this business up to the present time, though quite re
cently he transferred all his interest in the business to his brothers,
and the firm is now known as Grelle Brothers. This store is one of the
best stocked and best known establishments in the town and the
large trade which it enjoys has been built up in large measure through
the efforts of Mr. Grelle.
The electric lighting system of the city was originally begun by
Mr. Bayliss, but the capital at his disposal proved to be insufficient
to finance the undertaking and the company was almost, bankrupt when

1322 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Mr. Grelle stepped in and took matters in charge. He put the com
pany on a good solid financial basis and gave to the city its present
efficient lighting plant. The Prairie City Electric Company owns
one of the finest and most satisfactory plants in the northwest and
this is due in large measure to Air. Grelle. In 1904 he was elected
president of the company, the other officers being Mr. Poehler, who is
vice-president, Henry Otto, secretary and treasurer, and Fred L. Haupt,
superintendent. One of Mr. Grelle 's principal interests is the Bank of Prairie du
Chien, which was organized in 1889 by E. I. Kidd, a former bank
examiner of the state of Wisconsin. Mr. Grelle became a stockholder
and director of this institution in 1900 and with the death of Mr.
Kidd in 1907, Mr. Grelle was elected president of the bank. The other
officers are W. R. Graves, vice-president, Henry Otto, cashier, and
A. G. Kieser, assistant cashier. In addition to the officers of the bank
its board of directors includes J. S. Earll, 0. G. Munson and D. F.
Horsfall. The capital of the bank is $30,000 and the surplus is $30,000,
the deposits being over $633,000.
Mr. Grelle became vice-president of the Prairie City Canning
Company when the business was operating with a capital stock of
twenty-five thousand dollars. This company cans tomatoes and sauer
kraut exclusively and so lucrative has the business proved that in
1913 the capital was increased to fifty thousand dollars. It has proved
to be a valuable enterprise to the city, for a number of employes are
required for its operation.
Mr. Grelle was married on the 6th of July, 1893, at Prairie du
Chien, to Miss Gertrude E. Fredrich. Three sons have been born to
Mr. ahd Mrs. Grelle, as follows : Robert Charles, who was born June
21, 1897, and is at present in his third year in the Sacred Heart Acad
emy in Prairie du Chien; Lawrence Henry, whose birth occurred on
the 18th of September, 1899, and Edward C, born on May 27, 1900.
Kading & Kading. The law firm of Kading & Kading, with offices
in the Masonic Temple Building at Watertown, possesses not only the
distinction which comes to successful ability in that profession, but is
noteworthy as a union in professional relations of husband and wife,
and there are very few of such legal partnerships to be found any
where in the country. Air. Kading who recently retired from the office
of district attorney for Dodge county, is regarded as one of the ablest
members of the bar, while Mrs. Kading is likewise admirably trained
and has made a similar successful record in her chosen profession. Mrs.
Kading is circuit court commissioner of Dodge county, and one of the
few women who have achieved definite success in the practice of law in
Wisconsin. Charles A. Kading was born in the village of Lowell, Dodge county,

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1323
Wisconsm, January 14, 1874. His parents, Charles and Elizabeth
(Boggans) Kading, were born, reared and married in Germany, and
in 1866, set out for America, the land of opportunities. The sailing
vessel which bore them across the ocean was eleven weeks in making the
voyage, and landed them at New York City, July 3, 1866. Coming to
Wisconsin, where so many of their countrymen had' established homes,
they located in the town of Oak Groye, of Dodge county, and as poor
emigrants set to work to make a home and acquire some degree of sub
stantial prosperity. Charles Kading had very little money, and his first
employment was at farm labor. Hard working and thrifty, and with
the aid of his capable wife, he soon accumulated savings which were
invested in a little farm. The succeeding years saw a gradual increase
in the estate, and now for a long time he has been one of the sub
stantial land owners of Dodge county. He is now living practically
retired on the homestead, at the age of seventy-three years, and is one
of the well known and highly honored pioneer citizens of Dodge county.
His wife passed away in 1881, when her son Charles A. was seven years
old. Of the six children in the family, five sons and one daughter, four
sons are still living.
As a boy Charles A. Kading grew up on the Dodge county farm,
attended the district schools, at the same time learning valuable lessons
in industry and coming to appreciate the dignity of honest toil. At
the age of sixteen he entered the graded schools at Lowell, and after two
years was qualified for a teacher's certificate. He taught a district
school one year, and then continued his studies in the high school at
Horicon. All his work in those days was in line with a definite ambition
for a professional career, and during one summer he attended the Uni
versity of Wisconsin. Four years were spent as a teacher in the public
schools, and he then entered the law department of the Northern Indiana
Law School, now known as Valparaiso University. From that school
he was graduated with the class of 1900, and the well earned degree of
Bachelor of Laws. Admitted to the bar of his native state in the same
year, he has since been active and increasingly successful in his profes
sion. The year 1900 marked another important event in his career, when on
November 7, was celebrated at Milwaukee his marriage to Miss Elizabeth
Holste, adopted daughter of Henry Holste, a well known citizen of
Watertown. Mrs. Kading's parents, Julius and Freda (Maybauer)
Sommers, died when she was in infancy, and she was given the best of
educational advantages by her foster parents. She graduated from the
Watertown High School and was graduated in the law department of
Valparaiso University in the same class with her husband. While much
of her time has necessarily been taken up with the duties of home and
motherhood, she has in many cases proved herself exceptionally able as
attorney and counsellor, and has proved a valuable partner in the firm

1324 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
of Kading & Kading, which now enjoys a large clientage. Mrs. Kading
has served as circuit court commissioner for Dodge county since 1910.
Mr. Kading in 1906 was elected district attorney of Dodge county, and
gave six years of skillful and disinterested service in that office, his
term expiring in 1912. For seven years he was city attorney of Water-
town, where he and his wife have been in practice since their marriage
in November, 1900. In the fall of, 1912 he was nominated at the Septem
ber primary election for the office of attorney general for the state of
Wisconsin, and came very near being elected ; having materially cut down
the Republican majority.
Mr. and Mrs. Kading have one son, Charles Earl, born June 11,
1907. Mr. Kading gives a staunch support to the Democratic party, and
both he and his wife are popular members of social circles. Fraternally
his affiliations are with the Masonic Fraternity, the Knights of the
Modern Alaccabees, the Equitable Fraternal Union, the Modern Wood
men of America, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Knights of Pythias,
and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He and his wife both
have membership in the Dodge County Bar Association.
William C. Cowling. Success is the natural prerogative of such
valiant personalities as Mr. Cowling, who defrayed through his own
efforts the expense of his higher academic and his professional educa
tion and who has gained secure prestige as one of the able and repre
sentative members of the bar of his native state. He is engaged in the
active general practice of his profession in the city of Milwaukee, with
offices in the Wells Building.
Mr. Cowling was born in the city of Oshkosh, judicial center of
Winnebago county, Wisconsin, on the second of July, 1874, and is a son
of John and Mary E. Cowling. John Cowling established his home in
Wisconsin prior to the Civil war. In this great conflict he served as a
valiant soldier in Company C, Twenty-first Wisconsin Volunteer In
fantry, with which he participated in many of the important engage
ments of the prolonged struggle through which the integrity of the
nation was perpetuated.
To the public schools of his native city, William C. Cowling is
indebted for his early educational discipline and there he was gradu
ated in the high schools as a member of the class of 1891. Depending
upon his own exertions in his higher studies, he entered the University
of Minnesota. He earned his way through college by reporting for
various newspapers during the university sessions and by working in
factories during his vacation seasons. Tn 1895 Mr. Cowling assumed
the office of clerk of the municipal court of Oshkosh, Winnebago county,
and he retained this incumbency until 1899. He devised and estab
lished in this office an effective system of records, and the same has been
followed closely since his retirement from office, his resignation having

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1325
been entered two years prior to the expiration of his second term. In
the meanwhile he had taken up the study of law under effective private
preceptorship, and he was admitted to the bar of his native state. Upon
resigning his position as clerk of the municipal court at Oshkosh, Mr.
Cowling moved to Princeton, Green Lake county, where he engaged
in the practice of his profession and where he assumed occupancy of
the office formerly owned by Hon. James H. Davidson, member of con
gress from that district. He continued in the practice of law at Prince
ton from January 1, 1899, until June, 1901, when he returned to Osh
kosh and entered into a partnership with W. W. Quatermass, under the
firm name of Quatermass & Cowling. Air. Quatermass was at that time
district attorney of Winnebago county, and he found in Mr. Cowling
a most able and valuable coadjutor, their partnership alliance continu
ing until the death of Mr. Quatermass in March, 1903, and the firm
having controlled a substantial and representative practice.
At Oshkosh one of the important industrial and commercial centers
of Wisconsin, Mr. Cowling continued in the practice of his profession for
some years, since which time he has been numbered among the strong
and successful members of the Milwaukee bar. Here he had added
materially to his reputation as a resourceful and versatile advocate and
well fortified counsellor, and his clientage of one of essentially important
and representative order.
In politics Mr. Cowling has been found arrayed as a stalwart and
effective exponent of the principles and policies of the Republican party,
and he early became influential as a worker in the party cause. In
November, 1902, he was elected to represent the First District of Winne
bago in the assembly of the state legislature, and he made an excellent
record for zealous and well ordered efforts to promote wise legislation
and to represent fully the interests of his constitutents. In the session
of 1903 he was a member of the important judiciary committee of the
assembly, or lower house, and was chairman of the joint committee on
printing, besides holding membership on other committees. He retired
from the legislature in 1905, at the expiration of his term, and in the
same year assumed the office of city attorney of Oshkosh, of which
position he continued the alert and valued incumbent until 1909. Mr.
Cowling is a close observer of the ethical code of his profession and his
work in his chosen calling has been such as to dignify the same and gain
to him the confidence and esteem of his confreres at the bar. As a
citizen he is progressive and public spirited, and takes a lively interest
in all that concerns the welfare of his native state. In the Masonic
fraternity he has received the thirty-second degree of the Ancient
Accepted Scottish Rite and is affiliated with Wisconsin Sovereign Con
sistory, as he also is with the Tripoli Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of
the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in Milwaukee. He also holds member
ship in the Knights of Pythias.

1326 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Fossett A. Cotton. It is neither essential nor desirable that a
eulogy be offered in presenting a brief review of the life and works of
Fossett A. Cotton, President of the State Normal School of La Crosse,
for the character and quality of his service is apparent to all, and the
far-reaching influence that emanates from the life of a conscientious and
zealous master instructor such as he is a factor with which all thinking
people are familiar and appreciative, and which even unthinking peo
ple regard with the utmost respect. So it is that in this connection
specific attention is given to the actual facts of the life of Mr. Cotton,
with some mention of the institution with which he has been honorably
connected since March, 1909.
Born on May 1, 1862, in Johnson county, Indiana, he is a son of
Marion I. and Rachel Amanda (Wright) Cotton. The father was a
native of Kentucky who died in 1869, but the mother is still living, at
the advanced age of seventy-nine years. Marion I. Cotton was a farmer
and teacher by occupation, a member of the Christian church and an
elder in that body for many years. He was a man of excellent natural
qualities, who enjoyed a high standing in his community all his life,
brief though it was. Until he was twenty years old Fossett A. Cotton
was a student of the elementary branches, at which time he entered the
State Normal School at Terre Haute. He was graduated from the
Butler University at Indianapolis, with the degree of A. B., after
which he spent a year in study at the University of Chicago. His first
work along educational lines was as a teacher in the district, village
and town schools, advancing rapidly in the field of work for which he had
prepared himself. He was county superintendent of the schools of
Henry county, Indiana, and for six years was deputy state superin
tendent of public instruction of Indiana, and state superintendent of
public instruction for Indiana for another six years. While serving in
the latter office, his last salary was paid to him on the 15th of March,
1909, and on the 16th of March, in the same year, he entered upon his
duties as president of the State Normal School of La Crosse, Wiscon
sin. Though that institution is one of the younger ones in this section
of the country, having been established in 1909, the school has since
that time made rapid strides in the acquirement of the ability to confer
upon its students the best training and equipment possible to be fur
nished by a conscientious faculty of instructors, whose aim it is to make
the more efficient the work of the teachers, and to render them the more
skillful in the matter of imparting instruction in the most telling
manner. f
The State Normal School of La Crosse has been fortunate in its loca
tion, as well as in its choice of a president and faculty. Numerous
advantages accrue to the institution as a result of its excellent location
in a city of the character and general atmosphere of La Crosse. The
great natural beauty of the adjacent country provides a setting for the

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1327
school that might be long sought without being equaled. Grand Dad
Bluff, generally acknowledged to be perhaps the most attractive spot
along the entire length of the Mississippi river, is but a five minutes
walk from the Normal School, and from its summit, some five hundred
feet above the valley, may be seen the city, the La Crosse, Black and
Mississippi rivers, and the beautiful hills of Minnesota stretching for
miles along the river banks. Alany attractions of the city itself might
be ennumerated, but mention is omitted here of such. The school itself
is one of the great points of interest in La Crosse, and located on State
street, between Seventeenth and Eighteenth streets, presents a most
attractive appearance and occupies a space some two hundred feet
square. It has an auditorium with a seating capacity of one thousand
persons, a library furnished with several thousand carefully chosen
books, gymnasiums and baths for all, with every accessory of college life
known to the present day for the convenience of the individual student.
In addition to the regular yearly sessions, the summer term of six weeks
is provided for prospective teachers in the districts where normal grad
uates are not required, a provision of the legislature of 1909 being to
the effect that all prospective teachers must attend a professional school
for six weeks, and the Summer Normal Term provides thus for such
aspirants. The school has made most excellent progress under the management
of Mr. Cotton, and takes rank with the best of the older established
Normal schools in the Middle West, much of the credit for which is
undeniably due to the wise and efficient administration of Mr. Cotton
as president of the faculty, which includes some of the best known edu
cators to be found in the country.
James W. Murphy. Platteville, the judicial center of Grant county,
has its due quota of able and honored representatives of the legal pro
fession, and among the leading members of the bar of the county is
numbered Mr. Murphy, whose distinctive technical ability and sterling
attributes of character need no further, voucher than that afforded in the
definite success and prestige which are his in his chosen calling. He is
one of the loyal and public-spirited citizens of his native place and
here his popularity sets at naught any application of the scriptural
aphorism that "a prophet is not without honor save in his own coun
try." He is a scion of one of the honored pioneer families of Grant
county and thus this section of the state is endeared to him by many
gracious memories and associations.
James W. Murphy was born at Platteville, Wisconsin, on the 12th
of April, 1858, and is a son of William and Catherine (Sullivan)
Murphy, both of whom were born and reared in Ireland, where their
marriage was solemnized. In 1853 the parents, with their one child,
immigrated to the United States, and they numbered themselves among

1328 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
the pioneer settlers of Grant county, Wisconsin, where they passed the
residue of their lives and where they were known and honored for their
steadfast character and kindly and genial ways. They did not attain
to exalted position but their lives were guided and governed by the
highest principles of integrity and honor and they did well their part
in the world, so that their names merit perpetual place on the roll of the
worthy pioneers of Grant county.
To the public schools of his native county James W. Murphy is
indebted for his early educational advantages, and in the same he con
tinued his studies until he had attained to the age of fifteen years, after
which he attended the Wisconsin State Normal School in Platteville.
In the meanwhile he formulated definite plans for his future career and
his ambition was one of action, as it has continued to be during the
years of his practical career as one of the world's productive workers. In.
consonance with his ambition Mr. Murphy was matriculated in the law
department of the celebrated University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor,
and in this institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1880,
with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In the preceding year he had
been admitted to the bar of his native state, and after his graduation
he entered upon his professional novitiate in Platteville, where he has
continued in active practice during the long intervening period of more
than thirty years and where he has built up a large law business, with
impregnable reputation as a resourceful and versatile trial lawyer and
admirably fortified counselor. He has been concerned with much im
portant litigation in the various courts of this section of the state and
his distinctive success is the direct result of ability and earnest effort.
He has been shown many evidences of popular confidence and esteem, and
in this connection it may be noted that in 1882 he was elected city clerk
of Platteville, of which municipality he was chosen city attorney in 1884.
In 1886 he was elected United States district attorney, of which impor
tant office he continued the incumbent for two years and through his
effective service in which he signally advanced his professional reputa
tion. For two years he served as a member of the board of supervisors
of Grant county. In 1903 Mr. Murphy was elected mayor of Platte
ville, and so progressive, liberal and effective was his administration
that, through successive re-elections, he continued at the head of the
municipal government until 1906.
Strong in his convictions and opinions concerning matters of eco
nomic and governmental policy, Mr. Murphy has been an aggressive and
effective advocate of the principles and policies for which the Demo
cratic party stands sponsor, and his work in behalf of the cause has
covered many campaigns in his native state. In 1906 there came to
him high mark of popular confidence and esteem, in that he was elected
representative in Congress from Wisconsin. In the national legislature
he fully justified the popular choice which placed him in office, and his;

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1329
earnest labors inured greatly to the benefit of his home district and
state, the while his attitude was that of a broad-minded, sagacious and
loyal legislator.
Mr. Murphy and his wife are zealous communicants of the Catholic
church, in the faith of which they were reared, and he is affiliated with
the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Order of Foresters.
On the 16th of November, 1881, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Murphy to Miss Elizabeth Jones, and of their five children four are
living. General Frederick C. Winkler was born in Bremen, Germany, on
March 15, 1838, and is the son of Carl Winkler, who in the year 1842
emigrated to the United States and settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Here he opened a drug store and two years later, after having become
successfully established in business, he was joined by bis wife and
children, who had remained in the Fatherland while the husband and
father made a home for them across the seas.
Thus Frederick C. Winkler was educated in the public schools of
this city and received all the advantages the educational system of
the day was prepared to give him at that time. When he was eighteen
years old he began to study law in the office of H. L. Palmer, moving
to Madison when he was twenty and continuing his studies in the
offices of the law firm of Abbott, Gregory & Pinney. On April 19,
1859, he was admitted to the bar at Madison, whereupon he straightway
returned to Milwaukee and began his legal practice here. He met
with a pleasing degree of success from the first, and has in the passing
years gained a wide prominence in his profession, with the reputation
of a man learned in the law.
In 1862 Mr. Winkler felt called to offer his services to the Union
cause. His associates desired that he serve as captain of a company
which they proposed to raise, and he became Captain of Company B
of the Twenty-sixth Wisconsin Infantry, a German regiment which
was organized in Milwaukee and vicinity. This company of young
men was mustered into the regiment on September 17, 1862, and left
the state on the 6th of the following month, joining the Army of the
Potomac and spending the winter in drill, guard and picket duty.
The regiment participated in the battle of Chancellorsville on May 2,
1863, and was at Gettysburg from July 1st to 3d, Captain Winkler
at that time being attached to the staff of General Schurz. The regi
ment lost heavily in both engagements. In the latter both the lieu
tenant-colonel and major of the regiment were wounded, and Captain
Winkler became acting field officer. After the battle of Chickamauga,
on September 20th and 21st, the regiment Was sent with General
Hooker's forces from the Army of the Potomac to the relief of General
Rosecrans at Chattanooga. In the following November Colonel

1330 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Jacobs left the organization and from that time until the close of -the
war Captain Winkler was in command, and was advanced through
intervening grades to the rank of Colonel. The regiment under his
command took part in the battles of Missionary Ridge, in November,
1863, and the campaign into East Tennessee for the relief of Burnside
at Knoxville which followed it. In the spring of 1864, when General
Sherman organized his army for the invasion of Georgia, it became
a part of the Third Brigade, Third Division of the Twentieth Army
Corps, of which the command was given to General Hooker. Colonel
Winkler's regiment thenceforth took part in all of General Sherman's
campaigns, fought in many skirmishes and participated in every bat
tle. Perhaps the severest struggle of its experience was at Peachtree
Creek on July 20, 1864, of which action the official report of Colonel
Wood, then commander of the Brigade, contains the following:
"Where all behave well, it may be regarded as invidious to call atten
tion to individuals, yet it seems to me that I cannot discharge my
whole duty in this report without pointing out for especial commenda
tion the conduct of the Twenty-sixth Wisconsin Volunteers and its
brave and able commander. The position of this regiment in the line
was such that the brunt of the attack on this brigade fell upon it.
The brave, skillful and determined manner in which it met the attack,
rolled back the onset and pressed forward in a counter charge and
drove back the enemy, could not be excelled by the troops in this or
any other army, and is worthy of the highest commendation and
praise. It is to be hoped that such conduct will be held up as an
example for others and will meet its appropriate reward." (Annual
Report of Wisconsin Adjutant General for 1864, Page 80.)
The regiment marched with Sherman to the sea and from Savannah
through the Carolinas to Richmond, participating in hot fighting at
Averysboro and Bentonville. It took part in the Grand Review at
Washington, then proceeded to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it was
mustered out on June 28, 1865, Colonel Winkler being brevetted
Brigadier- General of Volunteers, "For Meritorious Service." In
further mention of the military career of General Winkler, it may be
said that General William Cogswell, of Massachusetts, then in com
mand of the brigade, in his final report to the War Department, men
tioned the Twenty-sixth as "one of the finest military organizations
in the service."
Before the command, of the regiment fell into his hands, Captain
Winkler, as he ranked then, gave a large measure of his time to duties
as judge advocate of many courts-martial, charged at times with the
trial of the most weighty offenses. In a number of cases, some five
or six in all, it became his duty to certify to headquarters sentences of
death; all but two of these were commuted. In the court of inquiry
to investigate certain criticisms of Major-General Carl Schurz and a

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1331
part of his command, contained in General Hooker's official report of
the night battle at Wauhatchie in Lookout Valley, Colonel Winkler
was, at the request of General Schurz, appointed his counsel, and as
a result of the inquiry, General Schurz and his subordinate, F. Heeker,
were "fully exonerated from the strictures contained in General
Hooker's report."
After the close of his military duties General Winkler resumed
the practice of his profession in Milwaukee, which he pursued with
marked industry for a period of fifty years. His practice has been
extensive in the Federal as well as state courts and he holds high rank
in the profession as a clear-headed, able lawyer. In the presentation of
cases he always aims to be fair, he is lucid in statement and forcible
in argument. The first case argued by him in the Supreme Court of
the state is reported in the 12th, and his last in the 146th volume of
Wisconsin Reports. The first was in 1860, the last in 1911.
A man of high moral integrity, he applied his principles to his
daily work, and none have been more zealous to maintain the highest
ethical standards of legal practice. He has worked in this direction
not only through his individual example, but also through the Wis
consin State and Milwaukee Bar Associations, of both of which he
has been president. He has also been a vice-president of the American
Bar Association.
For the past fifteen years General Winkler has given a large
portion of his time to the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Com
pany, being a trustee and a member of the finance and executive
committee of that company.
Politically General Winkler has always been a Republican, and
more or less active with his party in the city and the state. He has
given his support to every nominee of that party from Lincoln to Taft.
He has been a member of many state conventions and was a delegate
in the national conventions of 1880 and 1884. In the latter he became
acquainted with, Theodore Roosevelt, with whom he has been on terms
of personal friendship ever since. He was an early friend of Civil
Service Reform, .was one of several who drafted the Milwaukee Fire
and Police Commission law of 1885 and one of the first commissioners
appointed under the same. He is one of the council of the National
Civil Service Reform League and president of the Wisconsin League.
He is a member and supporter also of the "National Municipal Re
form League ' ' and other reformatory organizations. He is a man who
has won and retained the confidence and respect and esteem of a state
wide circle of friends and acquaintances, and few Wisconsin men have
had a more brilliant career either in the law or in military and civic
affairs. He still retains his office in the Pabst Building, and his resi
dence is at 131 Eleventh Street.
In 1864 General Winkler was married to Miss Frances M. Wight-
man, and six daughters and three sons have been born to their union.
Vol. v— 20

1332 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Joseph P. Evans. One of the well known attorneys of Prairie du
Chien is Joseph P. Evans, now city attorney, and former incumbent of
a number of important offices in the city and county in line with his pro
fession. He is a native son of Crawford county, this state, born in the
town of Clayton on March 4, 1868, and the son of W. H. and Alary
(Flannigan) Evans.
Concerning the parentage and ancestry of Air. Evans, it may be said
that the father was born in Virginia, and is the son of an old and well
known family of that state, while the mother was born in Ireland. Mr.
Evans, who was at one time district attorney of Crawford county, was
born on November 3, 1842, and is the son of Joseph and Mary (Hall)
Evans. He received good education in his boyhood home, and in 1860
he came to Clayton, in Crawford county, two years later enlisting as a
private in Company D of the Thirty-first Wisconsin Infantry. He
received a gunshot wound in a skirmish before Atlanta on July 30, 1864,
but continued in the service until the expiration of his term of enlist
ment. With his return to Clayton, he began the study of law and was
admitted to the bar in the Circuit Court at Prairie du Chien in May,
1873. Success attended his efforts from the initiation of his practice,
and in 1877 he was elected district attorney. He thereupon moved to
Prairie du Chien, in order that he might be more centrally located for
the efficient discharge of his duties, and he was the incumbent of that
office for four successive terms. He was elected on the Democratic
ticket to represent Crawford county in the General Assembly of 1873-4,
that service inaugurating his career in public office. He was married in
May, 1867, at Rising Sun, Wisconsin, to Mary J. Flannigan, and to them
were born seven children, of which number Joseph P. Evans of this
review is the eldest.
Up to his eleventh year Joseph Evans attended public schools, then
entered St. Gabriel's Parochial school where he continued until 1881, in
which year he entered Sacred Heart College. He was graduated from
that institution in the class of 1888, and his admission to the bar followed
in 1891. Mr. Evans commenced the active practice of his profession in
Prairie du Chien, in the same year in which he gained admission to the
bar, and he has here continued in practice since that time. He was city
clerk for two years, and in 1894 was elected to the office of city attor
ney, to which he was re-elected and is the present incumbent of the
office. He was circuit court commissioner for twelve years and in all
his years of public service has given a worthy account of his citizenship,
as well as of his ability in his profession.
On June 4, 1900, Mr. Evans was married to Miss C. Al. Barrett, and
to them four children have been born. Two of them are now living, —
James A., born March 27, 1900, and Joseph Philip, born Alarch 9, 1902.

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1333
Cornelius A. Harper, M. D. In no branch has medical science made
such tremendous strides as in its treatment of tuberculosis. Until within
the last several decades this once most dreaded of all diseases was
regarded as absolutely incurable and transmittable from one generation
to another. Innumerable homes have been desolated because of its
ravages ; many young hearts have been kept apart because of its terrors.
Now, however, the Great White Plague can be prevented by the patient
as well as the physician, and the fact that it is not an inherited disease
has been clearly demonstrated beyond the possibility of a doubt. So
interesting is the study of this disease, which presents itself in innu
merable forms, that many physicians are specializing with regard to it,
and among these eminent men of science, who have attained distinction
in this line, Dr. Cornelius A. Harper, of Madison, occupies a prominent
place. He is a native of Wisconsin, having been born at Hazel Green,
Grant county, February 20, 1864, and is a son of M. Allen and Hester
(Lewis) Harper.
M. Allen Harper was born in Pennsylvania, in 1812, and in 1847
came to the territory of Wisconsin, by way of the Ohio river, up the
Mississippi to the Le Fevre river (known as Galena river), by steam
boat, to Galena, Illinois, and then on the Hazel Green, Grant county,
where he engaged in farming. He was also one of the pioneers in the
lead mining industry, in which he was engaged for many years, but in
1885 retired from active life and removed to Madison, where his death
occurred at the age of seventy-three years. He was one of his com
munity's foremost citizens, and for a long period took an active part in
Republican politics. Mr. Harper's wife was born at Clarksburg, Vir
ginia, in 1828, and died in Madison in 1908, aged eighty years. They
were the parents of nine, children, of whom seven are living, Cornelius
A. being the seventh in order of birth.
Cornelius A. Harper spent his boyhood days on his father's farm
in Grant county, where he remained until he was twenty years of age,
and then turned his attention to school teaching, a vocation which he
followed for two years. At that time he entered the University of Wis
consin, where he was graduated in the class of 1889, with the degree of
B. S., and for one and one-half years taught high school. He next
entered Columbia University, Washington, D. O, now known as George
Washington University, and was graduated in the medical class of 1893,
with the degree of M. D. Subsequently, Dr. Harper took post-graduate
work in Howard University, Washington, D. O, and in 1894 located
in general practice in Madison. Although he is a general
practitioner, Dr. Harper has devoted a great deal of attention to
the treatment and cure of tuberculosis, and a number of successes
in complicated cases have given him a wide-spread reputation in this
field of medical science. Among his confreres he is known as an able
physician, who respects the unwritten ethics of the profession, and

1334 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
he is often called into consultation by his fellow-practitioners. He takes
an active and intelligent interest in the work of the various organiza
tions, holding membership in the Dane County Medical Society, the
Wisconsin State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, the
American Public Health Association and the National Tuberculosis
Association. He has been a member of the Wisconsin State Board of
Health since 1905, and at this time is secretary thereof, and is also a
member of the Wisconsin Tuberculosis Commission. A Republican,
always active in his party's work, in 1910 he was elected a member of
the State Assembly, of which body he is still a member. His fraternal
connection is with Hiram Lodge No. 4, A. F. & A. M.
On April 23, 1901, Dr. Harper was united in marriage with Miss
Elizabeth Bowman, who was born in Madison, Wisconsin, daughter of
John and Rose (Smith) Bowman, the former a native of New York
State and the latter of Massachusetts. There were four children in the
Bowman family, of whom three still survive, and of these Mrs. Harper
is the youngest.
Judge Arthur Loomis Sanborn. The Honorable Arthur Loomis
Sanborn, judge of the western district federal court of Wisconsin, has
long been prominent in leading legal and judicial circles. He has been
a resident of Wisconsin during all but seven of his sixty odd years,
although a New Yorker by birth. A descendant of New England fam
ilies of English origin, he represents in his paternal line of ancestry a
family whose three sons were among the sturdy New Hampshire colonists
of the seventeenth century, one of the three being Lieutenant John
Sanborn of the English army, a direct progenitor of Arthur Loomis
Sanborn. Among his maternal ancestors particularly notable is that
Admiral Blount, of the vigorous if primitive naval service of the cen
tury following the period of the Norman conquest. The Judge's father,
Simpson E. Sanborn (1821-1862) was a native of New Hampshire; and
the mother, Harriet Blount Sanborn (1823 — ) is a native of Lake
George, Vermont. They were married in St. Lawrence county, New
York, in 1850, and eight years later removed with their two little sons
to Lake Geneva, in Walworth county, Wisconsin. Here Simpson San
born engaged in the jewelry business during the remaining five years of
his life. His religious connection with the Methodist Episcopal church
and his political associations were those of the Whig and later of the
Republican party.
It was on November 17, 1850, seven years before the coming of Simp
son and Harriet Sanborn to Wisconsm that their first son, Arthur Loomis
Sanborn, was born, at Brasher Falls, a little village on the St. Regis river
in the northern part of St. Lawrence county, New York. The only other
child of the family was Eugene Sanborn, who grew to manhood and lived
to middle age, his death occurring in 1900. The educational advantages

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1335
of the two brothers were provided for by the common and high schools
of Lake Geneva. Having completed his studies and having lost his
father when a boy of twelve, Arthur Loomis Sanborn early entered upon
the responsibilities of manhood.
His active career began with his appointment, at the age of nineteen,
to the position of deputy register of deeds. He took up his residence in
Elkhorn, the county seat of Walworth county, on entering upon the
duties of this office. While holding it he industriously employed his
leisure time in reading law ; and, being admitted to the bar of the state,
he began his legal practice, still retaining his county position. His execu
tive ability was recognized in his being elected after a time to the office
of register of deeds, in which capacity he continued from January of
1875 until January of 1879. In 1880, seeking further proficiency in his
technical knowledge of the law, he pursued courses in the College of Law
of the University of Wisconsm, receiving that same year his degree of
Bachelor of Laws from the state institution. Having become a resident
of Madison, while in attendance at the University, Mr. Sanborn remained
there, becoming a partner of the Honorable S. U. Pinney, one of the
pioneer lawyers of Dane county. This partnership continued until 1892,
being necessarily -dissolved when Mr. Pinney was elected to the supreme
bench of the state. Mr. Sanborn then formed a partnership with John
C. Spooner. When that was discontinued, the legal firm of Sanborn,
Luse and Powell was organized. In 1902 Mr. Sanborn severed his asso
ciation with Messrs. Powell and Luse, in order to enter into professional
partnership with his son, John B. Sanborn. This firm existed until the
appointment of its senior partner to the federal bench in 1905,
In addition to his general practice as an attorney, Judge Sanborn
has held various positions of trust and responsibility. His unusual
legal insight led to an earnest desire for his services as a lecturer to the
law classes of the University, where he was a member of the legal
faculty from 1884 to 1888. From 1888 until 1904 he was a member of
the board of examiners for admission to the state bar. He was also for
several years an active and influential member of the Madison police and
fire commission. He is one of the authors of the Annotated Statutes of
the State of Wisconsin for 1889, and the Wisconsin Statutes of 1898,
and also of the Sanborn Supplement of 1906.
During the years of Judge Sanborn's legal and judicial activity a
fine family of children and grandchildren have grown up about him.
Almost from the beginning of his career of public service he has been
favored with the sympathy and companionship of Mrs. Sanborn, who
before her marriage was Miss Alice E. Golder, of Elkhorn, Wisconsin.
Her father, Isaac Golder, was a pioneer merchant of that place, to which
he had come from New York, which was the native state of both him
self and his wife, Sarah. Orleans county, in New York, was the birth
place of their daughter, Alice, the youngest of their family. Her mar-

1336 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
riage to Arthur Loomis Sanborn was solemnized in 1874 and they became
the parents of four children, three sons and one daughter. John Bell
Sanborn, now a leading lawyer of Madison, is the eldest and his promi
nence in Madison is such as to make necessary more extended comment
in another paragraph of this review. Katherine Sanborn became the
wife of Chauncey E. Blake, who is the law partner of John Bell San
born. Eugene Sanborn, who married Miss Helen Whitney, is a farmer
of Dane county, Wisconsin. Philip Sanborn, the youngest son, is now
a student of the University of Wisconsin. Judge Sanborn's grandchil
dren, of whom he is very proud, are six in number.
John Bell Sanborn, who inherited his father s interest in, and talent
for, the profession of law, is one of the leading barristers of Madison.
He was graduated from the literary courses of the University of Wiscon
sin in 1896 and received his degree of Bachelor of Laws from the same
institution in 1897. Two years of further advanced study brought him
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1899. He then spent one year
as a member of the faculty of American history in the University of
Ohio, at Columbus. In September of 1901 he became the junior partner
of a law firm, consisting of his father and himself. A year later he was
made a full partner, the firm name being Sanborn and Sanborn. This
association continued until 1905, when his father was made judge of
the Federal Court of the Western District. Since that time John B.
Sanborn has been a partner of his brother-in-law, Chauncey E. Blake,
the name of the firm being Sanborn and Blake. Mr. Sanborn married
Miss Gertrude Stillman, of Milwaukee.
Not only domestic, but social interests, as well, claim some of the
Judge's time. He is appreciative of organized recreation as well as of
organized work. His membership in associations for the latter purpose
include his connection with the Wisconsin Bar Association, the American
Bar Association and the Criminal Law Association. Among non-pro
fessional associations he belongs to the University Club, the Madison
Club, the Maple Bluff Golf Club, the Chicago Golf Club and the Hins
dale Golf Club. The great Scotch outdoor game is an especial favorite
with Judge Sanborn, who is also a lover of fine horses and a connoisseur
of the same. A warmly genial nature adds charm to his judicial dignity
and elicits an affection that is general as well as sincere among the
extensive public whom Mr. Sanborn served in his official capacity. That
he is the logical incumbent of his important office may be indicated by
a brief quotation from an issue of the Milwaukee Sentinel in 1905.
"Through the appointment of Mr. Sanborn, the district bench will
receive a valuable and conscientious accession. He is a man of highly
recognized legal ability, with a standing before the bench and bar that
will make his appointment most satisfactory. Senators Spooner and
Quarles, in recommending Mr. Sanborn as Judge Bunn's successor, have

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1337
closely followed the undoubted preferences of the great majority of the
members of the Wisconsin bar and to the general public as well. ' '
Judge Sanborn has no superior and possibly no equal on the bench of
Wisconsin in his knowledge of law. This qualification, coupled with his
keen, analytical mind and fair, impartial judgment, makes him a man
well fitted for the position and a worthy successor to the judges who
have preceded him on the Federal bench.
John Myers Olin. The title of John Myers Olin to a place among
the biographies of citizens of Madison rests upon the fact that during
the forty years he has been a resident of the city he has been connected
with its best interests in educational, professional and public life.
His career is unique for the length of its service, its varied character,
and for the rare personal disinterestedness which has at times surrendered
every personal ambition, every private interest, and labored without
ceasing for the welfare of his adopted city and its people. One of the
leading lawyers of the state, he is a member of the firm of Olin, Butler
& Crukeet, and was for the past two years president of the Wisconsin
Bar Association. Mr. Olin was born July 10, 1851, at Lexington, Rich
land county, Ohio, and is a son of Nathaniel G. and Phoebe (Roberts)
Olin, natives of Vermont, the former born at Shaftsbury and the latter
at Manchester, and both now deceased. There were five sons and six
daughters in the family, of whom four now survive.
John Myers Olin secured his early education in the district schools
of Richland county, the high school at Belleville, and Dailey 's Private
Academy, at Lexington. Entering Oberlin College, he remained in that
institution through the freshman year, and then entered the sophomore
class at Williams College, where he graduated with the class of 1873,
receiving the degree of A. B., and being selected as a member of the
Phi Beta Society. Three years later he received the, degree of A. M.
For one year after graduation, Mr. Olin was principal of the schools
of Mansfield, Ohio, and in August, 1874, was called to Madison, Wiscon
sin, by Dr. Bascom, of the University of Wisconsin. From September,
1874 until the close of the college year, in June, 1878, he was instructor
in Rhetoric and Oratory in the University of Wisconsin, and graduated
from the law department of that institution in 1879. At that time he
engaged in the practice of law in partnership with Lars J. Grinde, under
the firm name of Olin & Grinde, and his partnership with this gentle
man continued until Mr. Grinde 's death in December, 1881, Air. Olin
subsequently practicing alone until January 1, 1892. At that time he
formed a partnership with Harry L. Butler, under the firm style of
Olin & Butler, and in 1910 William R. Crukeet became a member of the
firm, at which time the name was changed to its present form.
In the fall of 1885,. Mr. Olin was selected as professor of Federal
Jurisprudence and of the Law of Sales in the college of law of Wiscon-

1338 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
sin University, holding this professorship until the close of the school
year of 1887. In June, 1894, he again became a member of the law
faculty and continued as such until his resignation in 1910 covering,
during this time, the subjects of Wills, Torts, and Real Property. A
large private practice and interests of large and varied nature have kept
Mr. Olin 's time greatly occupied, but still he has found leisure to devote
to work that has given him the title of "Father of the Park System."
In 1894 he was one of the organizers of the Madison Park and Pleasure
Drive Association, of which he was president for eighteen years, resign
ing in 1910. During this period he has given freely of his time, his ser
vice and his means in promoting movements calculated to benefit and
beautify the city. Since 1907 he has been a member of the board of
trustees of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Mil
waukee. Mr. Olin is a Republican in his political leanings, though it is
difficult to state that he belongs to any party. His religious associations
are with the Congregational church.
On June 14, 1880, Mr. Olin was married to Miss Helen M. Reming
ton, who was born in Baraboo, Wisconsin, daughter of Cyrus and Maria
(Train) Remington, the former a native of New York and the latter
of New Hampshire. Mrs. Olin is a graduate of the University of Wis
consin, class of 1876.
Col. Frank H. Putney is one of the substantial capitalists
of the beautiful little city of Waukesha, has been a most influential
factor in its development and upbuilding and is one of the most pro
gressive and public-spirited citizens of the state in which he has main
tained his home for many years and in which he is widely known and
honored. His career has been one of splendid achievement, as a sol
dier, citizen, lawyer, public official and man of affairs, and one of the
most consistent and important functions of the publication at hand
is to accord proper recognition to such representative men of Wiscon
sin as is this citizen of the metropolis and judicial center of Waukesha
county. Colonel Frank Howell Putney was born at Rockford, the capital
of Winnebago county, Illinois, on the 13th of October, 1841, and is the
only child of Captain Foskett M. and Clarissa (Howell) Putney, who
were honored pioneers of that state, as were they later of Wisconsin,
the father having gained his military title through seryice in the
trouble regarding the boundary line between Michigan and Ohio, and
the major part of his active career having been devoted to farming and
merchandising. Colonel Putney was a babe at the time of the family
removal from Illinois to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, prior to the admission
of the state to the Union, and in 1845, his father became a resident
of Prospect Hill, Waukesha county. Five years later, in 1850, removal
was made to the little village of Waukesha, and the parents continued

^^r^^g^^^^^P^TV^^^*-^^^

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1339
their residence in this county until their death, the father having
been a man of exalted character and marked ability.
The village schools of Waukesha afforded Colonel Putney adequate
educational advantages in a preliminary way, and thereafter he took a
course of study in the preparatory department of Carroll College, at
Waukesha. From 1855 to 1860 he attended the high school in Mil
waukee, and his youthful patriotism, which led him into the Union
ranks at the inception of the Civil war, deflected him from his original
plan of completing a collegiate course.
Colonel Putney was among the first of the loyal young men of Wis
consin to tender service in defense of the nation's integrity when the
Civil war was precipitated. In September, 1861, he enlisted as a
private in Company G, Twelfth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. His
company was commanded by Captain Howell and he served in this
company for three years. On the 1st of July, 1862, he was appointed
sergeant of his company, and on the 5th of January, 1864, he re-en
listed as a veteran, upon the expiration of his original term. On the
7th of the following month he was commissioned second lieutenant,
and as such he was mustered in on the 8th of September, in his former
regiment, which was reorganized at this time. The command had
been stationed at Lawrence, Kansas, in the early period of its service,
and later was in turn at Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth, that state.
In April, 1862, he was sent to Columbus, Kentucky, and in the sum
mer of that year proceeded to La Grange, Tennessee. Colonel Putney
participated in General Grant's memorable campaign in northern
Alississippi during the autumn and winter of 1862; thereafter was in
the command of General Sherman in the Atlanta campaign and in the
ever memorable march to the sea. He took part in the many engage
ments incidental to this campaign, including the siege of Savannah;
was thereafter identified with the campaign through the Carolinas,
and the final march from Raleigh, North Carolina, to Washington, D.
O, where he participated in the Grand Review of the victorious troops,
at the close of the war.
In October, 1864, Colonel Putney was detailed as acting adjutant
of his regiment, and he served in this capacity until April, 1865, when
he was detached from his regiment and assigned to duty as acting
assistant adjutant general on the staff of Colonel Cassius Fairchild,
who commanded a brigade. On the 22d of May, 1865, by order of
Major General F. P. Blair, Colonel Putney was assigned to duty as
brigade inspector on the staff of General Charles Ewing, command
ing the First Brigade, Third Division of the Seventeenth Army Corps,
and he continued in active service until the final mustering out of his
company and regiment, at Louisville, Kentucky, on the 16th of July,
1865. He was a gallant and faithful soldier and his record as a
defender of the Union cause during the long and weary period of the

1340 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
great conflict will ever reflect high honor upon his name and upon
the state which he represented.
After the close of his military career Colonel Putney returned to
Wisconsin and turned his attention to the study of law. He made
definite progress in his assimilation and absorption of the involved
science of jurisprudence and was admitted to the bar of the state in
1870. Thereafter he was engaged in the practice of his pro
fession at Waukesha until 1874, when he went to New York city,
where he gave his attention to newspaper work for a period of about
two years, at the expiration of which he returned to Wisconsin. In
1876 he was appointed private secretary to Governor Ludington, with
the rank of colonel, and in 1878 he was tendered and accepted the
position of assistant secretary of state, under Hans B. Warner. He
was reappointed in 1880 and while serving in this position he was
elected county judge of Waukesha county. He assumed his position
on the bench on the 1st of January, 1882, and remained the able and
popular incumbent of this judicial office for four years. In 1891 he
was appointed postmaster of Waukesha, under the administration of
President McKinley, and during his term of four years he gave a
most effective service, as he has ever done in all positions of public
trust to which he has been called.
It is scarcely necessary to say that Colonel Putney is admirably
fortified in his opinions concerning economic and governmental polity
and that he has been a stalwart of stalwarts in the ranks of the Repub
lican party, with the activities - of which in his home state he has been
closely identified. His interest in his old comrades of the Civil war
has been of the most enduring order, and he has been actively affiliated
with William B. Cushing Post, No. 19, Grand Army of the Republic,
in Waukesha, from the time of its organization. He served three
terms as commander of this post and has also held the office of adju
tant general of the Wisconsin Department of the Grand Army of the
Republic, besides which he is a companion of the first class in the
Wisconsin Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of
the United States. In ancient-craft Alasonry he is affiliated with
Waukesha -Lodge, No. 37, Free & Accepted Masons, and he has also
attained to the thirty-second degree in the Ancient Accepted Scottish
Rite, having also completed the circle of the York Rite. He is a com
municant of the Protestant Episcopal church.
Colonel Putney has shown distinctive ability in the promotion and
administration of business affairs of broad scope and importance, and
through his well ordered enterprise he has gained a substantial for
tune. He was one of the founders of the Waukesha Alineral Springs
Sanitarium, was formerly vice-president of the Waukesha National
Bank, and at one time was president of the Waukesha Malleable Iron
Company, each of which corporations benefited from his counsel and

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1341
progressive ideas. He is at the present time president of the Waukesha
Gas & Electric Company, and a stockholder in the Waukesha Realty
Company. He has shown an abiding interest in all that has touched
the welfare of his home city and his influence and co-operation have
been freely given in support of measures and enterprises tending to
further the civic and material prosperity of Waukesha and the state
at large. He is the owner of much valuable realty in his home city
and elsewhere, and now, after years of earnest and effective endeavor,
he is living virtually retired in his beautiful home in Waukesha.
E. Ray Stevens. Throughout his career and by reason of unim
peachable conduct and close observance of the unwritten code of pro
fessional ethics, gained the admiration and respect of his fellow mem
bers of the bar, in addition to which he commands a high place in the
confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens. For several years past he
has been judge of the Ninth Judicial, circuit of Wisconsin.
A native of Illinois, Judge Stevens was born at Barrington, Lake
county, that state, the date of his birth June 20, 1869. He is a
son of George B. and Frances Ellen (Kellogg) Stevens, both of whom
were born and reared in New York. The date of the father's birth
was July 8, 1825, and he died in 1903. Mrs. Stevens was born Octo
ber 30, 1838,, and her demise occurred in 1898. The early Stevens ances
tors in America were among the Dutch and English settlers of the Em
pire state and representatives of the name served in the Revolutionary
war and in the War of 1812. In early life George Stevens was a farmer
in New York and subsequently he engaged in the general merchandise
business in his native state. In the early '50s he came to the west and
settled in Lake county, Illinois, where he was identified with agricul
tural operations until 1877, when he located in Jefferson county, Wis
consin. Here he devoted his attention to farming for several years
and eventually retired to Janesville, where he passed away in 1903.
While in Lake county, Illinois, he was a member of the school board and
for a number of years was justice of the peace. In politics he was an
ardent Republican after the war and in a fraternal way he was a valued
member of the Masonic order. He and his "wife had one son, E. Ray,
the immediate subject of this review.
Judge Stevens was eight years of age at the time of his parents re
moval from Illinois to Wisconsin. He attended the public schools of
Koshkonong, in Jefferson county, and was graduated in the high school
of Janesville. In the fall of 1889 he was matriculated as a student in
the University of Wisconsin, in which institution he was graduated
as a member of the class of 1893 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts.
Two years later he completed the law course of his alma mater and the
degree of Bachelor of Laws was conferred upon him. It is worthy of

1342 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
note here that Judge Stevens furnished the funds for his college educa
tion with newspaper work.
In 1896 Judge Stevens became a law partner of Burr W. Jones and
the well known law firm of Jones and Stevens continued to do business
in Madison until 1903. In the. latter year, upon the election of Judge
Robert G. Siebecker to the Supreme bench of the state, Governor La-
Follette appointed Mr. Stevens to fill out the unexpired term of Judge
Siebecker as judge of the Ninth Judicial circuit. At the expiration of
that term, in 1908, Judge Stevens was regularly elected to fill that office
and he is incumbent of it at the present time, in 1912. In the legisla
tive session of 1901 he represented the First district of Dane county
in the Assembly and was the author of the so-called Stevens Primary
Election bill, which failed of passage. In politics the Judge is a Re
publican and in religious matters he is a zealous member of the Con
gregational church.
In 1908 Judge Stevens became one of the organizers of the Wis
consin Criminal Law Conference, of which he was president for two
terms. He was a member of the commissioners for the Promotion of
Uniformity of Legislation from Wisconsin for a number of years and
is affiliated with the Delta U College fraternity. In Masonic circles he
is a member of Madison Lodge, No. 5, Free & Accepted Alasons; Madi
son Chapter, No. 4, Royal Arch Masons; and Madison Council, Royal
& Select Masters.
June 23, 1898, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Stevens to
Miss Kate L. Sabin, a daughter of Henry Sabin, of the town of Windsor,
Wisconsin. Three children were born to Judge and Mrs. Stevens:
Ellen died at the age of ten years ; and Myron and Sabin are attending
school in Madison.
Emil Lenicheck. A representative member of the bar of his
native city, where he is also president and counsel of the Citizens
Abstract & Title Company, of which he was the organizer, Mr. Leni
check is one of those progressive and loyal citizens to whom it is a
pleasure to accord specific recognition in this history of Wisconsin, of
whose metropolis he is a most popular business man as well as an able
representative of his profession.
Emil Lenicheck was born in Milwaukee on the 29th of November,
1872, and is a son of Frank and Anna (Slaby) Lenicheck, both of
whom were born and reared in Bohemia, where their marriage was
solemnized and where they continued to reside until 1867, when they
immigrated to America and made Milwaukee their destination. The
father was a skilled mason and became a successful contractor in the
line of his trade. He was a man of ability and sterling character and
during the many years of his residence in Milwaukee he erected many
fine buildings and was otherwise prominent as a contractor and sub-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1343
stantial business man. He died in this city on the 19th of March, 1909,
secure in the high regard of all who knew him, and his devoted wife
preceded him to eternal rest, her death having occurred on the 18 th
of December, 1907. Of their children three sons and two daughters
attained to years of maturity and all of the number are living except
the eldest son, Joseph H., who died, in Denver, Colorado, on the 20th
of October, 1898. In politics the father gave his allegiance to the Re
publican party and he manifested a loyal interest in civic affairs as
well as in the promotion of the cause of the party with which he was
aligned. The public schools of Milwaukee afforded Emil Lenicheck his early
educational advantages and he also attended the Milwaukee Law School
and effectively prepared himself for the bar, to which he was admitted
in 1895. For some time he was the incumbent of a position in the law
office of Samuel Howard, and in connection with the abstract busi
ness conducted by Mr. Howard he gained a broad and accurate knowl
edge of this line of enterprise, especially in its application to Milwau
kee county. He later entered the employ of the Dupre Abstract Com
pany, and shortly after, he formed a partnership with his only sur
viving brother, Frank J., and engaged in the active practice of law in
Milwaukee, under the firm name of Lenicheck & Lenicheck, his brother
being at the present time a member of the well known law firm of
Lenicheck, Robinson, Fairchild & Boesel, of Milwaukee. In the autumn
of 1899 Emil Lenicheck and his brother dissolved partnership and the
former then became associated with the real-estate firm of Richter, Dick
& Reutemann, in charge of the firm's legal department. This alliance
continued about three years and Mr. Lenicheck then became assistant
secretary of the Milwaukee Abstract & Title Company, with which he
continued to be thus identified until 1904, when he severed the connec
tion and effected the organization of the Citizens Abstract & Title Com
pany, of which he has since been president and counsel, the offices of
the company being located at 109 Miller block, 112 Wisconsin street.
To the affairs of this company Mr. Lenicheck now gives virtually his
entire time and attention and through his technical knowledge, broad
experience and marked executive ability he has made the enterprise
most successful, the issuing of an abstract by this company being re
garded as an authoritative title. The files and records of the company
are being completed and systematically placed, so that the ' service is
prompt and reliable in every particular.
Mr. Lenicheck is aligned with the Republican party and while he
has been a zealous worker in its cause, he has manifested no predilection
for the honors or emoluments of public office. He is a member of the
directorate of the Milwaukee Savings Bank, one of the substantial and
popular financial institutions of the Wisconsin metropolis, and is affil
iated with the Equitable Fraternal Union.

1344 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
On the 23d of October, 1901, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Lenicheck to Miss Mildred L. Scheuber, who was born in Jefferson
county, this state, where her parents established their home in the
pioneer days. She is a daughter of Adolph and Henriette Scheuber,
both of whom were born in Germany and each of whom was about fif
teen years of age at the time when their respective parents immigrated
to America and established homes in Wisconsin, in the territorial days.
For a time Adolph Scheuber resided at Golden Lake, Jefferson county,
and he then removed to Jefferson county, where he and his wife main
tained their residence for many years, their home having been in the
village of Sullivan the greater part of the time. Mr. Scheuber was a
man of strong mentality and broad information, a citizen of sterling
character and one who ever commanded unqualified popular esteem.
He served for a long period as register of deeds of Jefferson county
and" also held the office of notary public. He gained a good knowledge
of fundamental law and his fairness and mature judgment, combined
with his broad information, made him a person of influence in his
community, especially in the early days, when he was called upon to
arbitrate difficulties and give counsel to his neighbors, who placed im
plicit confidence in his dictums. He and his wife passed the closing
years of their lives in Milwaukee, where he died on the 12th of April,
1892, and where Mrs. Scheuber was summoned to eternal rest on the
1st of February, 1903.
Mrs. Lenicheck was afforded excellent educational advantages, both
in Jefferson county and in Milwaukee. She was graduated from the
East Side high school of Milwaukee and also from the State Normal
School in this city, and prior to her marriage she had been for several
years a successful and popular teacher in the public schools. She
presides most graciously over the attractive family home, at 650
Twenty-eighth street, and three fine sons complete the ideal domestic
circle, Frank Adolph, Harold Adrian, and Herbert Clyde, all of whom
were born in Milwaukee.
John D. Termaat. One of the most important of the industrial enter
prises that are lending prestige to the city of Oshkosh as a manufactur
ing and commercial center is that conducted by the Termaat & Alonahan
Company, manufacturers of gasoline and kerosene engines. This is one
of the largest concerns of the kind in the Union, with a fine plant of the
best modern type, and from a modest inception the business has grown
to one of extensive ramifications, the while the products of the factory
constitute, through their superiority, the most effective agency for adver
tising and expanding the enterprise. Of this company Mr. Termaat is
president, and he has been a dominating force in the upbuilding of the
splendid business, — a man of ideas and ideals and one whose course has
been guided along most progressive lines and animated by the highest

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1345
principles of integrity and honor. He is one of the essentially representa
tive business men of Wisconsin, has achieved success through his own
well directed endeavors and is altogether worthy of specific recognition in
this publication. Mr. Termaat is a scion of the staunchest of Holland
Dutch stock and is himself a native of the fine old Netherlands. He was
born at Aalten, Holland, on the 12th of January, 1867, and is a repre
sentative of one of the honored and influential families of Holland, a
country to which the United States has owed much of her progress and
prosperity, from the earliest stage of development to the present time.
Air. Termaat was reared and educated in his native land and was seven
teen years of age when he came to America, locating in Wisconsin in
1892. He came to Oshkosh and became one of the promoters and organizers
of the Termaat & Monahan Company, which initiated the manufacturing
of gasoline and kerosene engines. Operations were instituted on a small
scale but the manifest superiority of the engines manufactured caused
the business to expand so rapidly that in 1895 it was found expedient to
incorporate the same under the laws of the state and under the present
title. Air. Termaat has served continuously as president of the company
and has proved a most discriminating and progressive executive, with L.
J. Monahan as his chief coadjutor, the latter holding the office of vice
president. The plant of the concern is well equipped and the products
of the same have found ready demand in all sections of the Union, besides
which a substantial export trade is now controlled, the annual business
having attained to an average aggregate of two hundred thousand dollars
and employment being given to a corps of more than one hundred opera
tives, many of whom are skilled artisans. The company manufacture all
sizes of gasoline engines and make a specialty of those for stationary and
marine use. From a bulletin recently issued by the company are taken
the following pertinent statements :
"The Termaat & Monahan Company have been building and manu
facturing gasoline engines for the past eighteen years and have one of the
largest and best equipped factories in' the United States for the manu
facture of this line of goods. Nothing but gasoline and kerosene engines
are built, and the designs are superior throughout. We build the engines
in their entirety, — from the drawing board to the shipping room. Our
foundry is one of the most modern in every detail, the castings being of
special quality for gas-engine work. Quality has always been a leading
element in all T & M products, the slogan T & M standing for quality at
all times. It means that each and every buyer of a T & Al engine will
receive honest treatment, with full guaranty. We build a number of
styles and types of gasoline engines and manufacture the hopper-cooled
engines in large quantities, each part being interchangeable, so that
repairs will fit without trouble, should any parts become broken, which is
not likely unless by accident of some kind. These engines are compact,
light in weight and powerful, besides presenting an extremely neat

1346 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
appearance. They are ready at all times to do any work within their
power. ' '
Mr. Termaat manifests a lively interest in all things that tend to
advance the civic and material welfare of his home city and is known as
one of its loyal and progressive business men. His political allegiance is
given to no specific party and he gives his support to men and measures
meeting the approval of his judgment, without reference to partisan
dictates. He is an appreciative and popular member of the Oshkosh lodge
of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Col. William J. Boyle. Milwaukee has been the home and head
quarters of many able railroad men of the country, and among these have
been none better known than Col. Boyle for a quarter of a century repre
senting the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, as general agent of
the passenger department. Col. Boyle has been in the active railroad serv
ice since 1868, a period that includes the most notable advances made
in the history of American railways and transportations. It may serve
the better to indicate the length of his service if the fact is recalled that
in 1868 the first transcontinental line of railway had not been com
pleted between the Mississippi Valley and the Pacific Coast, and trans
portation in nearly every state west of the Missouri river still depended
upon the wagon and pack horse. In the middle west and east, where
there was one mile of badly equipped railroad, there is now fifty miles
of the finest equipment and service known in the world.
Col. Boyle whose splendid services as commander of the states
troops during the calamities in the iron-range district of upper Wis
consin some years ago further serves to distinguish him in Wisconsin
citizenship, was born at Chatham, Ontario, August 10, 1846. His par
ents were John and Rebecca (Marsh) Boyle, substantial farming people
who lived and died at their home near Chatham, Ontario. The mother
was born in Toronto, and the father was also a native of Ontario.
William J. Boyle, after attending the schools in his native village at
the age of fourteen went to Detroit, where he entered the employ of
a large lake transportation company as clerk. A few years later he
returned to Ontario, locating at Dresden as a clerk for the same Detroit
company, and continued in this line of service until he took up railroad
ing in 1868. Since then he has been continually engaged in railroad work
and has had steady advancement and success. His first experience was
at Boone, Iowa, where he was cashier in the freight office of the North
western Railroad, a position he filled with credit until 1871, when he
was transferred to Cedar Rapids as ticket agent of the Burlington, Cedar
Rapids & Northern Railroad. Four years of efficient service in that
capacity was followed by a brief time of leisure and travel, and then on
May 1, 1875 he arrived in Milwaukee, where he began duties as assistant
ticket agent of the Northwestern Road. In the September following,

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1347
he was appointed freight contracting agent of the same railroad in
Alilwaukee, and a year later became Alilwaukee agent of the Blue Line,
and after a year returned to the Northwestern as city passenger agent.
The next change in his service occurred a few months later when he was
appointed general agent of the Blue Line on the Canadian Southern,
an important responsibility, which he carried until he joined the busi
ness department of the Chicago, Alilwaukee & St. Paul R. R. On Octo
ber 1, 1888, he was appointed general agent of the passenger depart
ment, in Alilwaukee, succeeding Mr. Ingersoll in that important office,
and he now has almost completed a record of a quarter century in this
position, the duties and scope of which have of course enlarged many
fold since he first took charge.
During the administration of Governor Peck, Col. Boyle was hon
ored by appointment to the governor's staff, a distinction which was
entirely unsought and entirely unexpected, since Mr. Boyle had always
been a Republican in politics, though never a partisan. Governor Upham
reappointed him, and it was during the Upham administration that the
opportunity came for General Boyle's valuable services. During the
suffering in Phillips and throughout the iron-range as a result of the
big fire and the miners' trouble, Col. Boyle had complete charge of
the State Aid Quarters and the distribution of funds and provisions,
clorhing and other supplies. He acted in fact as quarter-master gen
eral throughout the trouble. The official record duly audited, shows
that not a dollar was wasted or carelessly expended in that long siege,
although Col. Boyle was continually subject to importunity for assist
ance from hangers-on, as well as from the real sufferers, and it was with
consummate skill that he received and properly handled all applicants
and finally became understood that there was no use trying to bulldoze
Col. Boyle, and yet while a strict disciplinarian and refusing to be im
posed upon, he possessed the rare ability of never having neglected the
proper claims when rightfully entitled to the aid and help of the state de
partment. When Col. Boyle and his forces had finished their work in the
northern iron range, he was able to turn back to the state treasurery
about five thousand dollars of unused funds, and that money was sub
sequently distributed among several state charitable institutions. Gov
ernor Scofield honored Col. Boyle for the third time with appointment
as colonel on the staff. Since then he has held no political office and
has only taken the part of a good citizen and voter in political affairs.
Col. Boyle has for many years been well known in civic and social
circles in Milwaukee. He is a bachelor and for thirty-two years his home
was in the old Plankinton House, which is soon to come down to make
room for a large modern hotel. He left the Plankinton in 1907 and
now resides on Belleview Place. Col. Boyle has for many years pos
sessed one of the best private libraries in Milwaukee, and his taste for
books is one of varied accomplishments and interests in life. He is one
Vol. v— 21

1348 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
of the oldest members of the Merchants & Manufacturers Association
of Milwaukee, and also belongs to the Citizens Business League.
Although he has not owned any horses for the past ten years, Col. Boyle
was formerly credited with driving the handsomest and best carriage
teams in the state, and has always been a lover of fine horses.
Milo AIuckleston. One of Waukesha's able barristers of the
younger generation is Mr. Milo Muckleston. The energy and reserve
force for which Mr. Muckleston is noted, both physically and intel
lectually, are the heritage of the mingled Welsh and Scotch lineage of
which he is a product. His rather unusual surname is one distinguished
in Scotch tradition, with which legends of his father's progenitors are
intertwined. In his mother 's line, Milo Muckleston is a lineal descend
ant of that Cheirog Hughes, who was a conspicuous figure in the
national revolution of Wales and one with whom all students of Welsh
history are familiar. These two races were prominently represented
in the pioneer days of life in this part of the United States and the
grandparents of Mr. Muckleston were among the makers of Wiscon
sin, where they settled as early as 1840. Waukesha was the home of
John AIuckleston and his wife, Jane Davis AIuckleston, who gave to
the world four sons of fine physique and competent mind. All of
these are college graduates and all of them have exhibited athletic
prowess in marked degree.
One of the four sons of John and Jane Muckleston was named
Milo ; and it is he in whose honor this biography is offered. His birth
place was in this community to which he has ever since been loyal,
and the date of his nativity was April 8, 1877. For him was destined
the invaluable bequest of a good education. After his preliminary
study in the public schools of Waukesha, he pursued courses in St.
John's Military Academy at Delafield, in Carrol College at Waukesha
and in the University of Wisconsin. In the latter institution, he first
entered upon a special course, later registering in the College of Law.
The l^st-named stage of his education was deferred while he gave
three years' pedagogical service in the schools of Waukesha county.
In 1903 his period of preparation was complete and he was graduated
from our State University as a Bachelor of Laws.
Mr. Muckleston 's professional career is one for which sincere con
gratulation is due. He is a member of the law firm of Muckleston and
Thomas, which is one of good report in the courts of this county.
Milo Muckleston 's combined ability and geniality makes him not only
a worthy but an approachable counselor, in a perhaps unusual degree.
He was district attorney for four years of Waukesha county, and in
April, 1913, he was elected municipal judge which office he now fills.
Financial success early rewarded the young man, who has become
variously prominent in commercially important concerns of the city.

IAa^vULo °lA^uu-Q^

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1349
He is connected as a stock-holder with three of the banks of Waukesha
and is prominent as a director in the Farmers' State Bank; in the
Waukesha Motor Company he is also a director. He has furthermore
become connected with numerous fraternal organizations, including
the Masonic order, in which he has passed the thirty-second degree;
the Knights of Pythias ; the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Mr. Muckleston married in June, 1905, Aliss Mary J. Wilkins of
Waukesha, daughter of Joseph Wilkins, who came to Wisconsin from
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in an early day.
AIilton A. Sprague. President of the Northern State Bank of
Washburn, an institution which he organized eighteen years ago, Mil
ton A. Sprague has been identified with the lumber industry of the
west almost half a century, and during the greater part of this time his
home has been in Wisconsin.
Milton A. Sprague was born at Newark, Wayne county, New York,
October 29, 1843. His parents were Lowell and Hephzibah (Flint)
Sprague, both natives of New Hampshire. Lowell Sprague died at the
age of forty years, while his widow survived until sixty. Two of their
six children are still living, the sister of the Wisconsin banker being
Mary, wife of Peter G. Lamoreaux. Milton A. Sprague had a common
school education in New York State, lived there until he was seventeen,
and then went west to the state of Minnesota. At the age of twenty
his career as a lumberman got its first impetus in the northwest, in
Idaho. Four years later he returned to the middle west lbcating at
Osage in Mitchell county, Iowa, where several years were spent in the
lumber trade, and at Minneapolis he engaged in the manufacture of
lumber. His experience has covered all details of the business, not only
as a practical lumberman, but also in lumber dealing. From Minne
apolis, he transferred his operations to Barron county, Wisconsin, which
at that time was one of the largest centers of native timber in the state.
In the course of his lumbering and milling operations in that county, a
town was established which received the name of Sprague in his honor.
That was his home and the center of his business operations for about
ten years. In 1890 Mr. Sprague moved his business headquarters to
Washburn, and his home has been in that city since 1895. At the pres
ent time his business as a lumberman has been transferred to younger
hands, his son Monroe H. Sprague having taken the active manage
ment of the M. H. Sprague Lumber Company.
In 1895, the year in which his home was located in Washburn, Mr.
Sprague organized the Northern State Bank of Washburn, Wisconsin.
It has been chiefly due to his efficient administration of this bank, that
it quickly attained and has since been one of the strongest financial
institutions of the county. For many years Mr. Sprague was associated

1350 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
with the late H. C. Akeley of Aliuueapolis in the lumber trade, and
they did a large business dealing in timber lands.
Air. Sprague is a Alason, his lodge membership being at Osage, Iowa,
and he has taken the work in the York Rite up to the Knights Templar
degrees. His politics is Republican. Qn the first of December, 1875,
Mr. Sprague married Hattie H. Graves of Mitchell county, Iowa, where
she was born and reared. They are the parents of two children, Monroe
H., who has succeeded his father as active manager of the lumber busi
ness at AVashburn; and Aliss Alice.
Alvin PL Hulett. One of the oldest residents of Southern Wis
consin is Alvin H. Hulett, who now lives retired in the City of Racine.
In Kenosha and Racine counties, he has spent nearly seventy years of
his life, practically, since his birth. He was an honored soldier of the
Civil War, and after returning from the south engaged in farming and
mercantile business, and was for many years a livestock dealer and
shipper. Most of his career was passed in Kenosha county but for the
last twenty years he has been a resident of Racine where he is connected
with business affairs, though in latter years he has largely retired from
active supervision of business.
Alvin H. Hulett was born in Oswego county, New York on the
thirty-first of July, 1843. New York State was also the native home of
his parents, Cornelius and Mary (Montague) Hulett. When Alvin H.
was a few months old, they finally came west, and located in Kenosha
county, in the territory of Wisconsin. There the father contended with
pioneer conditions, and developed and improved a farm. For many
years he was engaged in general agriculture and stock raising. He was
also an auctioneer, and it was during a sale that he died suddenly. His
farm was situated in the townships of Paris and Brighton, Kenosha
county. Finally he sold his interest in that county and moved to Racine
county, where his death occurred in 1875. His wife survived him and
was eighty-seven years of age at the time of her death in 1907. During
the Civil war Mr. Hulett acted as a secret service man.
Mr. Alvin H. Hulett was reared on a farm, and largely amid the
circumstances and environments of a pioneer country, since Wisconsin
had only a small share of the facilities of civilization which it possesses
in later days. During the winter season he attended the district school
near his home, and early learned all of the varied occupations and hard
labor of the farm. He was twenty-one years of age, when, in August,
1864, he enlisted in Company H of the First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery.
The commanding officer of this regiment was Colonel Alesservi of
La Crosse. The regiment was sent into Virginia, where it was chiefly
employed in guarding points and stations already in possession of the
Union army. After one year of service, Mr. Hulett was honorably dis
charged in the fall of 1865, and then returned home to Racine county.

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1351
His independent farming career began in Brighton township, Kenosha
county, where he remained four years, at the end of which time he
became clerk in a general store. And for five years traveled as a shoe
salesman for John Beck of Racine. For seventeen years Kansasville,
Wisconsin, was his headquarters as a cattle and hog dealer, and shipper,
and during that time he was one of the most enterprising men in this
business in southeastern Wisconsin. Mr. Hulett in 1893 moved to
Racine, and since that time has given only a limited supervision to his
business interests. Besides his other relations with business, he is a
director of the Commercial and Savings Bank of Racine.
For a number of years he has been one of the influential Republicans,
although he has never aspired to any office, except where he could give
some specific service to the public welfare. He served a term as town
clerk of Brighton township. Fraternally, he is affiliated with Racine
Lodge No. 92, A. F. & A. M. ; Orient Chapter No. 12 R. A. AL ; and with
Governor Harvey Post No. 17 G. A. R.
In 1876 he was united in marriage with Miss Alice Asby of Racine, a
daughter of William and Alark (Clark) Asby, both of whom were old
residents of Racine county. The two children of their marriage are :
Roy G. of Racine; and Elsie Alay, wife of II. D. Williams of Racine.
Christopher C. Gittings is a native of Racine county, was reared
in this vicinity, and entered the legal profession after a thorough
apprenticeship and hard work, part of which was spent as a AVestern
pioneer homesteader. Besides a position of leadership in the bar, he
has enjoyed many public honors, as a former postmaster of Racine, and
has long been a prominent man in the Republican party of the county.
Christopher C. Gittings, whose father William Gittings, was one of
the early settlers of Racine county, was born in Caledonia township on
the 29th of October, 1862, and was reared on a farm until 16 years of
age. During that time he learned all the varied labor of the country
and acquired his education in the country schools. Subsequently, he
was a student in the Racine academy, where he was graduated in 1881.
Though at this early period in his life, the legal profession had
attracted him, and it was his ambition to enter the law, yet for some
years his energies were directed into another line. In 1883 he became
a homesteader on a claim in Faulk county, South Dakota, during the
territorial days of the Dakotas. His summers were spent in the hard
labors of a pioneer homestead, and during the winter seasons he taught
school in Racine county. Pie obtained a position of prominence among
the early settlers of Faulk county, and was honored as a delegate to one
of the first county Republican conventions in that section. It was by
means of this varied form of occupations that he advanced to mem
bership in the bar. He began reading law with the firm of Puller &
Fuller. While pursuing his studies, he spent a year in Racine college,

1352 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
and was finally admitted after examination to the bar in December,
1889. At the beginning of his practice in 1890, Mr. Gittings became asso
ciated with the well known law firm of Fuller & Fife, of Racine, con
tinuing that relationship until January 1891, at which time, a partner
ship was formed with Walter C. Palmer, and the firm of Palmer &
Gittings then established continued until January 1, 1914. This was
one of the strongest combinations of legal talent in the Racine bar and
was in existence for more than twenty years. In that time it had a
generous share in the higher class practice of the courts and office in
Racine county. Mr. Gittings is also interested in business affairs in
Racine, and is president of the Gold Medal Camp Furniture Company,
in which he owns a half interest, and he also owns farm lands in both
Racine county and South Dakota, having acquired the latter during
his early experiences as a homesteader in that state.
As a Republican, Mr. Gittings has been honored with various offices,
having served as city attorney for five years, was for many years a
member of the State Central Committee; a delegate to different State
conventions ; chairman of the Republican County Central Committee ;
Treasurer of the Republican State Central Committee, and for several
years held the office of Postmaster in Racine. His residence in Racine is
at 1303 Main Street, where he owns a fine home. On May 16, 1901, Mr.
Gittings married Miss Laura A. Jones, a daughter of Captain John W.
and Jane Jones. Mr. and Mrs. Gittings are members of the Plymouth
Congregational Church, in which he has served as Treasurer and Deacon.
His fraternal affiliations are with Racine Lodge Number 18, F. & A. Al.
and the Milwaukee Consistory and for many years he has been a mem
ber of Lodge No. 32, Knights of Pythias.
Gullick N. Risjord. As an example of what a man coming into
this country as a foreigner and stranger can accomplish if he has cour
age and the willingness to work, the life of Gullick N. Risjord, of Ash
land, Wisconsin, may give encouragement to others. He is one of the
best lawyers in this section of the state and has recently been elected
district judge, an office which he won through sheer weight of intellect
and ability. Possessed, as are so many of his countrymen, of a cool
head and keen logic that is capable of reaching the true inwardness of
a question his success as a lawyer has been undisputed from the very
beginning. Gullick N. Risjord was born in Norway on the 4th of December,
1866. His parents were Nels and Sonnef (Pollag) Risjord, both of
whom are now dead. Five children were born to Nels Risjord and his
wife, all of whom are alive, and of these children, Gullick Risjord was
the next to the eldest. He attended school in Norway until he was
eighteen years of age at which time he came to the United States and

&sf£~. L^ yj£^zK^<.

Sst^J

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1353
coming to live in Dane county, Wisconsin, continued to go to the com
mon schools there. Then thinking that he might go into business he
attended the Northwestern Business College at Madison for a time and
was also a student in the high school at Blackearth, Wisconsin. Being
prepared for entrance to the University, he now matriculated at the
University of Wisconsin, from which he was graduated with the class
of 1897, having taken the literary course. He then entered the law
department of the University of Minnesota and was graduated from
the department in 1900. He was older than the average student and
the acquisition of knowledge came harder to him but nothing could
discourage him. He was determined that he would have an educa
tion and that he would accomplish whatever he set out to do, and his
success has been due in no small measure to this characteristic in him,
that will not admit defeat. He located in Ashland, Wisconsin, as soon
as he was admitted to the bar, and was there successfully engaged in
general practice until his election as district judge in^the spring of
1911, taking his seat on the bench on the 1st of January, 1912.
Judge Risjord is a member of the Republican party and is a staunch
party worker. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
and is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
The judge was married on the 2nd of June, 1904, to Josephine
Quammen, who was born in Madison, Wisconsin. Two children have
been born to the judge and his wife, Norman and Isabella by name.
Baktholomew C. Thronson. For a period of nearly forty years Mr.
Thronson has been engaged in the furniture and undertaking busi
ness at Racine, being now one of the oldest, as well as one of the most
prosperous business men of this city. His own establishment is the
oldest concern of the kind in the city, and has been built up largely
through his own ability as a business man.
Bartholomew C. Thronson is a native of Norway, born in Porsgrund,
on July 3, 1860. His parents were Charles and Kersten Thronson
who were both natives of Norway, and subsequently immigrated to
America and became thrifty and sturdy settlers of Wisconsin. Charles
Thronson, the father, was by occupation a sailor, and for a number
of years was captain of an ocean going vessel. About 1867, he estab
lished his home at Racine, where he was engaged in the painters trade,
until two years before his death, which occurred February 20, 1904,
when he was eighty-two years of age. He was survived by his widow,
who also attained to advanced years. The family were members of
the Methodist church. The children were seven in number, and the
five who attained to adult age, are as follows: Louis, of Burlington,
Iowa, Christian and Bartholomew O, of Racine ; Dietrich of Dixon,
Illinois, and Caroline, wife of C. Johnson of Racine.
Coming to Racine when he was seven years of age, Bartholomew C.

1354 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Thronson grew up in this city, and attained most of his education in
the public schools. When he was a boy he began clerking in a furni
ture store, and it was through this avenue of experience and efforts
that he finally became independently established in business. His
career in connection with the business may be said to have begun in
1875, in which year, he first became connected with his present line
of business. Mr. Thronson is a graduate of the Cincinnati School of
Embalming, in 1883, and has taken other courses to prepare himself
for his profession. The business which he finally organized was known
as the Thronson-Hansen Furniture Co., of which Mr. Thronson was
president and manager until 1903, at which date he purchased the
entire establishment. He had one of the finest stores of the kind in
southern Wisconsin, and it so continued until it was burned in 1910.
Since which time he has given all of his time to undertaking, having
the most complete establishment of its kind in Wisconsin. Mr. Thron
son is a member of the Wisconsin State Undertakers Association, and
of the Wisconsin Furniture Association, and of the Racine Retail Mer
chants' Association. On September 29, 1881, Mr. Thronson married
Miss Ellen Gunderson, a daughter of Gouty and Betsy Gunderson.
They are the parents of four children: Edna J., Clarence J., Florence
and Arthur, the last two of whom passed away while children. Air.
Thronson is especially prominent in Alasonic Orders. He has attained
32 degrees in Masonic rites, and is affiliated with the Consistory of
Milwaukee, and is a member of Racine Lodge, No. 18, A. F. & A. Al. ;
Racine Commandery No. 7, K. T., and Tripoli Temple of the Mystic
Shrine. His other fraternal affiliations are with Racine Lodge, No. 32
Knights of Pythias ; Racine Lodge of Odd Fellows ; the Fraternal Aid
Association of Racine, and the Royal League. In politics he is a
Republican. Air. Thronson 's residence is at 1428 College Avenue, a
beautiful and attractive home, which was built by him in 1892.
Lucien S. Hanks. The banking interests of a community are neces
sarily among the most important, for financial stability must be the
foundation stone upon which all great enterprises are erected. The
men who control and conserve the money of corporation or country
must possess many qualities not requisite in the ordinary citizen and
among these, high commercial integrity, exceptional financial ability,
poise, judgment and foresight may be mentioned. Public confidence
must be with them, and this fact has been again and again demon
strated in the United States, when panics that even threatened the
stability of the Government have been averted by the wisdom, sagacity
and foresight of the men whose whole training has been along the line of
finance. A citizen who has been prominently connected with the bank
ing interests of Madison for many years and who has done much in the
effective upbuilding and improvement of the city along various addi-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1355
tional lines, is Lucien S. Hanks, president of the State Bank of Aladison.
Mr. Hanks was born in Plartford, Connecticut, May 8, 1838, and is a
son of Lucien B. and Mary D. (Dexter) Hanks, natives of Connecticut,
the former of whom died in 1890, at the age of eighty-two years, and the
latter in 1845.
Lucien S. Hanks received his education in the common and high
schools of Plartford, Connecticut, and the Mount Washington Collegiate
.Institution, in New York State. He came to Madison, Wisconsin, in
1860, accepting the position of teller in the State Bank, of which he was
made cashier in 1864, appointed vice-president in 1896, and subse
quently elected president of this institution, and still holds the office of
president. Through his eminent abilities he has augmented its useful
ness and is active in management of its affairs and has been of great
advantage to the institution. It is not alone in the field of finance, how
ever, that Air. Hanks has been prominently before the public, for he has
given of his best energies in public service, and the cause of education
and good citizenship. For something more than ten years he was a
regent of the University of Wisconsin, resigning only when he felt he
had done his full duty in that capacity, and at this time is treasurer and
one of the trustees of the Woodman Astronomical Library Funds,
treasurer and a member of the board of trustees of the AVisconsin State
Historical Society, and was vice-president of the board of commission
ers for the construction of the State Historical Library buildings. He
was a charter member of Madison Park and Pleasure Drive Associa
tion, and from the first has been one of its most liberal supporters. In
every enterprise having the object of advancing the city's interests
as its goal, Mr. Hanks takes a foremost part, while his private benevo
lences are large and the extent of his philanthropic work is known only
to himself. Mr. Hanks has supported Republican principles, but has
never been a politician, nor has he sought public preferment. He resides
in a handsome home at No. 216 Langdon street.
In 1867 Mr. Hanks was united in marriage with Miss Sybil Perkins,
ahd they have had three sons: Lucien M., Stanley C, and Marshall.
Colonel Horace Martin Seaman was born in Milwaukee on the
first day of October, 1864, ant is a son of Galen Benjamin Seaman and
Harriet Caroline (Martin) Seaman. Plis father was for many years
one of the representative members of the Milwaukee bar_ and resided
in that city .until a few years ago, when he removed to Daytona, Fla.
His mother, a daughter of Stoddard H. Martin one of Milwaukee 's first
settlers, died in 1880. After completing the curriculum of the high
school he was employed from 1882 until 1885 in the offices of the Chi
cago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, after which he served as local
office manager for the Washington Life Insurance Company until March,
1887, when he identified himself with the Seaman Abstract Company, of

1356 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
which his father was president. He was admitted to the bar in April
1893 and holds the degree of Bachelor of Laws from Marquette Univers
ity. He continued with the Seaman Abstract Company in an executive.
and advisory capacity until May 1, 1902, when he became secretary of
The Milwaukee Title Company and continued in tenure of this position
until August, 1903. On October 1, 1903, he effected the organization of
the Security Abstract and Title Company of which he became President
and Counsel and still holds said offices.
On May 3, 1886, Col. Seaman enlisted as a private in Co. "A," 4th
Infantry, Wisconsin National Guard, in which capacity he served dur
ing the labor riots at Bay View, in the same year. He passed in suc
cession through the grades of corporal, captain, major and lieutenant
colonel and in October, 1897, he was commissioned colonel of the
regiment. During the woodworkers ' strike in the City of Oshkosh, in June, 1898,
Col. Seaman had command of the state troops at that point. He was
mustered out of the state service on July 11, 1898, and on the 15th of
the same month was mustered into the United States service as colonel
of the Fourth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, enlisted for service in the
Spanish-American war.
During the Spanish- American War he was with his regiment first at
Camp Douglas and later at Camp Shipp, Anniston, Alabama, where his
regiment was assigned successively to the 3rd, 4th and 2nd Army
Corps, with which he continued until mustered out of the U. S. serv
ice at Anniston February 28, 1899.
On April 6, 1911, he was commissioned Colonel and Aide de camp
on the staff of Hon. Francis E. McGovern, Governor of Wisconsin which
position he now holds. Colonel Seaman is a member of the Wisconsin
Commandery of the Military Order of Foreign Wars of the U. S., in
which he served two terms as commander and of which he is now secre
tary; he is also a member of the Military Service Institution of the
U. S., and in 1912 was President of the Wisconsin Society and of Sons of
the American Revolution of which he had previously been secretary and
a member of the board of managers.
In the time honored Masonic fraternity his affiliations are as here
noted: La Fayette Lodge, No. 265, Free and Accepted Masons; Calu
met Chapter, No. 97, Royal Arch Masons; Wisconsin Commandery
No. 1, Knights Templar; Wisconsin Consistory, S. P. R. S., of the
Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite; and Tripoli Temple, Ancient Arabic
Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
At St. Paul's Church, on the 3rd of May, 1893, was solemnized the
marriage of Colonel Seaman to Miss Mary Alice Mooers, of this city.
John C. Dick. The rectitude, the optimism and the large and
definite achievement of the late John C. Dick gave him a place of promi-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1357
nence and influence in connection with the productive activities of life
and made him worthy of the unqualified confidence and esteem reposed
in him by his fellow men. He played a large and benignant part in
connection with the civic and material progress of Milwaukee, in which
city he maintained his home for more than sixty years and in which he
was summoned to the life eternal on the 19th of December, 1910, at
the patriarchal age of eighty-seven years, and known and honored as
one of the sterling pioneers of the Wisconsin metropolis. His char
acter was the positive expression of a strong and noble nature and the
story of his long and useful career offers both lesson and incentive. One
of the representative citizens of Milwaukee from his ambitious young
manhood till the time of his death, he left a definite impress upon its
history, and it is in justice due that this publication give place to a
tribute to his memory.
Born and reared in the kingdom* of Bavaria, Germany, and repre
senting in his character the best of the traditions of his fatherland, he
was one of those broadminded, self-reliant and ambitious young Ger
mans who assimilated rapidly and effectively into the citizenship of
our great American republic, to which his loyalty was of the most
intense type and in which he became an honored and valued citizen.
Mr. Dick was a vigorous young man of twenty-three years at the time
when he severed the ties that bound him to home and native land, to set
forth for the United States, which about that time was gaining a large
and sterling element of immigration from Germany. He landed in the
port of New York city in August, 1846, and remained in the national
metropolis about nine months, at the expiration of which he came to
Wisconsin, where many of his fellow countrymen had established homes.
He arrived in Milwaukee on the 13th of May, 1847, and this city con
tinued to be his place of residence thereafter until he was summoned
from the stage of life's mortal endeavors, in the fulness of years and
well earned honors. Soon after his arrival in Wisconsin Mr. Dick,
assumed a position as clerk for the pioneer firm of Jennings & Corn-
stock, the principals in which were Robert D. Jennings and Cicero and
Leander Comstock. He remained with this firm for a period of five
years, as a trusted and valued employe. A man of marked initiative
and executive ability and of great circumspection, he could not long
remain in a subordinate position, and early in his career in Milwaukee
he became prominently identified with the insurance business, as a
stockholder in the Milwaukee Mechanics' Insurance Company among
the first established in his home city. With this corporation he became
associated soon after its organization, in October, 1856, at which time it
was a small company operating on a modest scale under the mutual
form. On the 5th of October, 1857, he became a director of the com
pany, and of this position he continued the incumbent for more
than half a century, during which he was actively concerned in

1358 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
directing the policies and general affairs of the company, there
by contributing in large measure to the upbuilding of its extensive
and substantial business. He resigned from the directorate in 1909,
only a short time before the close of his life. He Avas vice-president of
the company for several years and from 1860 to 1871 was its general
agent, a position Avhich he had previously held for a time shortly after
identifying himself Avith the corporation. He also served Avith marked
discrimination as a member of its executive board and he continued
one of the most active and honored factors in the affairs of the same
after its reorganization as a stock company, in 1884.
Mr. Dick was one of the organizers of the Alilwaukee Fire Insur
ance Company and early became a member of its board of directors, a
position of which he was in tenure at the time of his death, besides
which he served for varying intervals as vice-president of the company.
At the time of his demise Mr. Dick held the distinction of being the
oldest notary public and also the oldest insurance agent in the matter
of continuous service in the entire state. He receiA^ed his original com
mission as notary public from GoA'ernor William A. Barstow, under
date of January 3, 1856, and thereafter he Avas reappointed to this office
by each successive governor of the state until the close of his life.
Mr. Dick placed high estimate upon the duties and privileges of
citizenship and manifested this in loyalty and earnest stewardship. His
political convictions Avere well fortified and led him to accord unequivocal
allegiance to the Democratic party, of Avhich he was a prominent repre
sentative in Mihvaukee for many years. In 1856-7 he was alderman
from the Second Avard, and in 1878 he represented his district in the
assembly, or lower house, of the state legislature. He Avas a stalwart in
the ranks of the Democratic party and as a man of clear and compre
hensive vision he Avas well informed in connection with matters of gov
ernmental and economic policy. He took the deepest interest in all
that concerned the well being of his home city, was liberal in his sup
port of measures and enterprises projected for the general good of the
community, and, as a pioneer of the state, he was familiar with its his
tory. It may be noted that he Avas one of the pallbearers at the funeral
of Solomon Juneau, the first settler of Mihvaukee.
Within the sixty-three years of his continuous residence in Alil
waukee Mr. Dick occupied only three houses, and- for forty-six years
he occupied the spacious and attractive old homestead Avhich he erected
at 279 Eighth street. In this home, long known as a center of most
gracious hospitality he continued to reside until his death. Six of his
grandsons officiated as the pallbearers at his funeral, and his remains
were laid to rest in beautiful Forest Home cemetery. He was identified
with various social organizations of representative order, including the
leading German societies in his home city.
Reverting to the scenes and conditions of the early life of Air. Dick,

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1359
it may be stated that he was born in Bavaria on the 12th of January,
1824, and that he was a son of AndreAV and Wilhelmina Dick, both of
whom passed their entire lives in their native land.
On the 12th of January, 1853, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Dick to Miss Alarguerita Salfner, who survives him, who celebrated her
eighty-second birthday anniversary in September, 1912. Pier gentle
personality and unfailing kindness have gained and retained to her the
affectionate regard of all Avho knew her. Also surviving him are eleven
of their thirteen children, namely : Mrs. Louis D. Biersach, Airs. Joseph
Clauder, Airs. Oscar A. Kropf, Mrs. Albert Plantzen, and Adolph O,
EdAvard C, Christian H., William G., Paul F., Gustave A., and Louis.
Edwin F. Carpenter. Since 1871 a member of the Wisconsin bar,
Air. Carpenter is one of the oldest practicing lawyers of Rock county
and the city of Janesville. He has been a resident of the state for more
than fifty years, having come here alone Avhen a young man, ahd having
been educated chiefly in the Wisconsin schools. He has enjoyed many
distinctions during his long practice, has served the public efficiently,
and is one of the honored men of Janesville.
Edwin F. Carpenter was born in the state of Vermont at Moretown,
in Washington county, Alay 12, 1845. He is the only survivor of ten
children born to Ira and Rhoda (Spofford) Carpenter. He was about
seventeen years old when he came out to Wisconsin, alone, and entered
upon his career without special influence or aid outside of his individual
ability. In his native state he had received a common school education, and 'on
reaching Wisconsin entered the Beloit Academy. After the academic
course he took the classical course in the Beloit college, he was graduated
in the class of 1870. In 1871, following a course of law reading, he was
admitted to the bar, and earned his first fees as a lawyer in independent
practice. In 1873 he became an associate in practice of J. B. Cassoday,
one of the eminent members of the older Wisconsin bar. This partner
ship continued until Air. Cassoday was elevated to the supreme bench
of the state, the firm being known as Cassoday & Carpenter. The
latter 's next association was with S. J. Todd, under the name of Todd
& Carpenter. After the dissolution of their partnership he was an
associate with Air. E. D. McGowen under the name of Carpenter &
McGowen, a relationship which continued until 1884. Subsequently
Mr. Carpenter was in practice by himself, and his name has been asso
ciated Avith a great mass of important litigations in the Rock county
bar and also in the higher courts. The firm name at this time is Car
penter & Carpenter.
For two terms Mr. Carpenter served as city attorney of Janesville.
He is circuit court commissioner of Rock county, for more than nine
teen years. In politics he has been a staunch Republican since the

1360 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
sixties. Mr. Carpenter married in Janesville, Miss Emma A. Tappin,
daughter of Thomas and Mary Jane Tappin. The two children born to
their marriage are as follows: Edwin Tappin, born September 2, 1875,
and Henry F., born October 11, 1879. Henry is a graduate of the high
school at Janesville, of the State University of Wisconsin and of the
Law School of Wisconsin.
Christian Wahl. A noble, earnest, philanthropic citizen Avas the
honored Wisconsin pioneer to whom this brief memoir is dedicated.
He came with his parents to this state when he was a young man and
here the family home was established prior to the admission of Wis
consin to the Union. He was a fine representative of that sturdy and
sterling German element which, has played a most important part in
the development and upbuilding of this favored commonwealth and
while he was ever appreciative of the traditions, achievements and
history of his German fatherland, he was intensely loyal to America
and to the nation's institutions, with a patriotism unexcelled by that
of any person of native birth. The life of Christian Wahl was an
eventful one, marked by many adventures and manifold experiences
in his earlier years, and by large and Avorthy achievements during
later years of close and influential associations Avith business- activities.
Though he lived for a term of years in Chicago, where he had business
interests, he ever looked upon Milwaukee as his home, and here he
resided for many years prior to his death, revered and loved by all
who kneAV him Avith aught of intimacy and honored as one of the repre
sentative pioneer citizens, as well as one of the most generous and
public spirited of the Wisconsin metropolis. He was seventy-tAvo
years of age at the time of his death, which occurred in Alihvaukee,
on the nineteenth of October, 1901. His exalted character and Avorthy
services render most consonant the tribute that it is possible to pay to
his memory in this history of the state that was long his home and the
center of his interests.
Christian Wahl was born at Pirmasenz, a town on the Vosges river,
in Rhenish Bavaria, Germany, on the 12th of February, 1829, and Avas
a son of Christian and Elizabeth Wahl, who were numbered among
the pioneers of Milwaukee county, Wisconsin, where they continued
to reside until their death. In his native land the subject of this
memoir was afforded most liberal educational advantages, which were
supplemented by a two years' course of study in the city of Paris.
In 1846, when seventeen years of age, Mr. Wahl accompanied his
parents on their immigration to the United States and they arrived in
Milwaukee in May of that year. The family settled on a farm in the
township of Lake, Milwaukee county, and there endured the full ten
sion of life on the virtual frontier, as Wisconsin was not admitted to
statehood until two years after the arrival of the Wahl family within

^CUrx^/frfJ^

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1361
its borders and Milwaukee was still but an embryonic city. Young
Christian Wahl, with characteristic energy and buoyancy of spirit,
did not flinch in the least from the arduous toil and endeavor inci
dental to the development of the pioneer farm, and in later years he
often reverted with words of deep appreciation to the conditions and
experiences of this period of his life. Frequently he and his father
found relaxation and diversion by walking from the home farm to
Milwaukee, five miles distant, for the purpose of attending the musical
gatherings through the medium of which was eventually evolved the
Milwaukee Musical Society of the present day.
The radical change that has been made by Mr. Wahl in leaving the
older civilization of his native land and forthwith becoming identified
with pioneer life in America doubtless quickened his spirit of adven
ture, which found definite exemplification at the time the gold excite
ment was still at its height in California. He was one of the hardy
and valiant young men who made the long weary journey across the
plains to the New Eldorado, in 1851, and he had his due quota of
experience in the quest for gold in the camps of the frontier. Remain
ing in California but a short time, he set forth for Australia, and, his
financial resources being limited, he worked his passage on a vessel
which finally landed at Sydney. Then he set sail for Melbourne, on
the ship "Baltimore," which was wrecked off Cape Howe, the extreme
northeast point of Australia, when it encountered a terrific storm. All
on board escaped in small boats, and after remaining for some time in
Melbourne, Mr. Wahl took passage for South America. He landed at
Callao, Peru, and thence proceeded to the headwaters of the Amazon
River, still in quest of the elusive gold. His success was of definitely
negative order and he gradually made his way back to New York
City, from which point he soon afterward returned to Milwaukee.
A short time thereafter he went to Chicago, where he became associated
with his brother Louis in the manufacturing of glue, and where they
built up a large and prosperous industry in this line. During the time
of the Franco-Prussian war, Mr. Wahl served as United States vice
consul in Berlin, Germany. While a resident of Chicago he served
several terms as a member of the city council and he was also a valued
member of its board of education. He was a representative business
man and honored and influential citizen of Chicago during the years
of his active business career in the western metropolis, and after dis
posing of his business to the late Philip D. Armour he returned to Mil
waukee, which city he had ever looked upon as his real home and to
whose every interest he was significantly loyal. Through his avcII
ordered endeavors he had accumulated a substantial fortune, and he
made judicious investments in capitalistic interests. During his long
period of residence in this city he was called upon to serve in various
positions of honor and trust, including that of member of the board

1362 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
of trustees of the Mihvaukee county insane asylum. His most en
thusiastic, liberal and constructive service was in connection with the
development of the park system of the city, as president of the board
of park commissioners, and relative to his efforts in this line more
specific mention Avill be made in later paragraphs. Mr. Wahl was a
man of fine mind, large heart, and high ideals. Himself gifted with
an unusually fine tenor voice and a talented singer, he was a connois
seur in music and a critical authority in judging the interpretations
of its highest form. His delightful home on Prospect Avenue, with
his devoted Avife as its gracious chatelaine, was known for its gener
ous and refined hospitality and was long a favored rendezvous for
the music-loving people of the city. Mr. Wahl manifested the deepest
interest in all pertaining to music and art, and was one of the most
liberal patrons of the same in Alilwaukee, Avhere he served at one time
as president of the Arion Club, a representative musical organization.
He was genial, considerate and kindly, was generous and charitable,
and ever ready to aid those in affliction or distress. He was one of the
originators of the annual charity balls in Milwaukee, through the
medium of Avhich from tAvo to three thousand dollars are turned over
to the cause of charity each year. He Avas always zealous in the for-
Avarding of movements for the civic and material advancement of his
home city, especially in the matter of making it a sanitary, healthful
and attractive place of residence. While president of the board of
park commissioners he practically superintended the details of con
struction and beautifying of the city parks, and his deep personal
interest gained to him the consistent designation of "father of parks."
It is said that he felt deeply the deplorable conditions of municipal
government which brought about his retirement from the board of
park commissioners several years prior to his death. But for his gen
erous contribution of time, talents and experience has not been denied
a due popular tribute of affection and honor. He was a useful, earnest
and noble citizen who for many years gave freely of his time and
wealth for the betterment of Milwaukee, especially in the providing
of pleasure resorts for the poor and the best of musical entertain
ments for the cultured and appreciative citizens. He enjoyed the
close friendship of a large number of the leading citizens of Milwau
kee, and in fact it may consistently be said that his circle of friends
was limited only by that of his acquaintances. He was, a Republican
in his political allegiance. The following quotation, from a Milwau
kee daily paper, is self-explanatory, and is well worthy of perpetua
tion in this more enduring vehicle:
"On July 11, 1903, at Lake Park, in the presence of a vast num
ber of people, the bust of Christian Wahl, 'Father of the Parks' was
unveiled by his grandson Cyril Gordon Weld, and was formally turned
over to the city. Lake Park was Christian Wahl's pride and glory;

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1363
it was there he labored early and late, in season and out of season,
to make it a model. The pavilion also was dedicated and formally
opened to the public at the same time. It stands upon the bank that
leads down to the shore of the lake, and from it may be had a magnifi-
cient view of the bay. The site Avas the one chosen by Mr. Wahl.
The building is classic in style of architecture, one hundred and forty-
five feet long by forty-five feet wide, and one story in height, with
basement on the lake side. Extending out from the main building
at the north and south ends are porticos, twenty-five by twenty-
five feet, the roof being supported by Ionic columns. These por
ticos, Avith the main building form a court, in the center of which
is the bronze bust of Christian Wahl, mounted on a granite block
about eight feet high. It is an excellent reproduction of the face
and features of the kindly old gentleman, as he is remembered by
those who Avere Avont to see him, day after day, making his way to
Lake Park, Avhere he spent a large portion of his time, giving per
sonal superintendence to the work that was being carried forward.
Some idea of Avhat he accomplished may be judged from the fact
that it Avas just tAvelve years from this time (July, 1903,) that Hon.
George W. Peck, then mayor of Milwaukee and later governor of the
state, signed the order Avhich enabled the park commissioners to make
the first payment on 'Luedemann's on the Lake,' then a beer-garden,
and farm, take possession and begin the Avork of transformation.
The inscription on the face of the granite pedestal is as follows: 'In
memory of Christian Wahl,_ born February 12, 1829 ; died October 19,
1901.' On the reverse side of the pedestal is this inscription: 'He
gave his ripest years and study to the parks. ReAvarded alone by
grateful remembrances. '
"Judge George H. Noyes made the presentation speech, the bust
remaining Avith the American flag. As Judge Noyes ceased speaking
Clauder's Alilitary Band struck up 'The Star Spangled Banner,'
while Cyril Gordon Weld, the grandson of Mr. Wahl, cut the cord
that held the national colors about the bust, and the flag fell, dis
closing the features of Christian Wahl. Immediately there Avas a
mighty cheer. The late President David Erdman of the park board
received the bust in behalf of himself and his associates. On this
occasion the Avidow of Mr. Wahl also presented to the park board,
through its president, a collection of large palm trees which Mr. Wahl
had assembled at great expense, and which had for a long period
been in the conservatory at Mitchell Park. This ended the cere
monies attending the unveiling of the bust of Christian Wahl, and the
formal opening of the Pavilion." More than one hundred of Mil-
Avaukee 's representative people contributed to the fund by which this
worthy memorial was procured for the park in which Mr. Wahl had
taken so deep an interest, and the bust and its inscription constitute

1364 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
an enduring tribute to an honored citizen. The street leading from
the southeast into Lake Park, spanning the ravines with the beautiful
"lion bridges" was named Wahl Avenue during his life time.
As a young man Mr. Wahl was united in marriage to Miss Antonie
Guenther, daughter of Dr. Johann George Guenther, who was a mem
ber of the first German Reichstag after the Revolution of 1848, and
became an exile. She was also a niece of the brilliant but ill-fated
revolutionist of 1848, Robert Blum, who was one of the leaders that
was shot. Airs. Wahl survived her husband by about eight years.
Three daughters blessed their union. The first, Agnes Elizabeth, is
the wife of L. W. Nieman, editor of the Milwaukee Journal, and the
subject of individual mention on other pages of this work. The
others are Mrs. Hedwig Wahl Weld, and Miss Use Guenther Wahl.
While they were born in this country, all three were educated abroad.
As a fitting close to this memoir is entered the following appreciative
tribute which appeared in a local paper at the time of the demise of
Mrs. Wahl :
"Mrs. Antonie Wahl, Avidow of Christian Wahl, died at her home
in this city December 3, 1909, and her death is mourned by a large
circle of friends. It is given to few persons to have so sweet a char
acter as that of Mrs. Wahl. Gentle, considerate and patient under
all circumstances, she won the affection of all who came within the
compass of her gracious influence. Her charity was widespread, and
she was tireless in her efforts to make life pleasant for others."
L. W. Nieman. To analyze another man's character and measure
his success is as hopeless an undertaking as to attempt to describe his
motives, and almost as likely to be unjust. No two human beings are
exactly alike, or think by exactly the same rules, however close their
communion or intimate their fellowship. No two men have just the
same ideal of success, and no two men see identically the same
phantoms, when they shrink at the thought of failure. In a biographi
cal sketch of a conspicuously successful man, there are, therefore,
many limitations imposed upon the writer that it is well for the
reader to bear in mind.
As the late Lute A. Taylor used to say, with his inimitable and
gratuitous stammer. — "We're n-none of us per-perf ect, " and Lucius
W. Nieman, the controlling spirit of the Milwaukee Journal, editorially
and financially is one of the last men to enjoy "guff" much less to
run after honors, whether deserved or not.
Mr. Nieman is one of the rare newspaper men who were born, not
made. Beginning as a "devil" at thirteen, he was soon at the case,
in the office of the Waukesha Freeman. Then "doing" Waukesha
correspondence for the Milwaukee Sentinel, he at once attracted atten
tion and was sent to Madison -by that paper to report a legislature,

-tf. ttTAZ

AZA^LJi^<~- j

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1365
and at twenty-one, in but six years, he had risen from the most humble
in a country printing office, to the position of managing editor of the
leading Wisconsin newspaper of the time.
When the Sentinel, a little later, passed into the hands of the late
Horace Rublee, Mr. Nieman had made so much of a reputation that
several tempting offers came to him from other large cities, and for
a short time he became connected with the St. Paul Dispatch. He was
strongly urged, by Governor Marshall to remain, backed by an out
right offer of a one-third interest in the paper, a very tempting offer
and an undoubted opportunity. But his ability chafed under limita
tions, so he came back to Milwaukee, and put all his small fortune into
a little, hopeless looking daily paper, that Michael Kraus and some
other Germans had attempted to launch in a newspaper field then
dominated completely by the other two English dalies.
There was a season when he had to tighten his belt between scanty
"eats" at the "Quiet House" Henry Wehr's, and other less known
lunch counters of those days. His one editorial assistant was the late
"Bob" Howard, and they often slept in the little office in the Herold
Building, where they worked. Work was about all either knew, for a
while, day or night. Things were moving rather slowly until the fate
ful Newhall House fire gave opportunity to show the town a real hus
tling neAvspaper. That event was so conspicuously well handled and
treated with such independence editorially that The Journal at once
stepped into a place of its own as a newspaper of enterprise and char
acter. But even then progress was slow, for the town was slow. No
daily newspaper in the city had any circulation as we now know the
word, and if one of The Journal's fast presses should be started up,
today, it would run off more papers before it could be stopped than
all the daily newspaper circulation of that day put together.
Barrie 's play, "What Every Woman Knows," has a heroine of-
whom her bachelor brother says: "She has that damned thing,
charm." What has been said indicates that we are trying to convey
some adequately accurate idea of a man who has a personality of con
trolling power. Such a personality as Mr. Nieman 's is not dominated
by a sordid success. It requires imagination to conceive of newspaper
opportunities and possibilities that have no present, existing counter
part, and then too, it requires a capacity, and force, and an ability for
persistent labor, that is a near neighbor of genius, to forge such dreams
into realities.
This was the sort of a young man who dared to put aside tempting
offers of large salaries, when he really needed the money, stake his
last dollar on his own judgment, and venture not only that but the
humiliation of what nine men out of ten thought certain failure. He
knew, even with his short experience, that he could do things that had
never been done before, and that is the measure of his career. Opportu-

1366 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
nity seems graciously to open its door, as an onlooker watches such
progress, but deep down inside, all know how laggard it is and how
creakingly it will act before any but a dominating personality. "Luck"
follows such a man because he is its master. Mr. Nieman 's birthday is
the thirteenth day of the month, which is another evidence that he is
not subject to the every day rules of superstitious and vagrant chance.
The Journal began its career as an independent, politically, but
lured by the sturdy Ioav tariff policy of President Cleveland and at
tracted by the high character and political purposes of the young men,
throughout the country, who flocked to Mr. Cleveland's support, The
Journal became a staunch helpmate of the Democratic national admin
istration, and a leader in the political change which swept over Wis
consin in the early nineties, a change which was a more complete over-
throAV of the Republican party than occurred in any other state that
had hitherto been Republican, and accomplished a practically clean
SAveep of state and federal officials.
It was the pride of the young men Avho were active in this achieve
ment that they did Avorthy things in a becoming Avay, and The Journal
had full share in the character as Avell as the measure of this political
transformation. In dealing Avith the Bennett LaAv, Avhere there Avas room for grave
political as Avell as social errors, by making an appeal to religious and
race prejudices, The Journal was most efficient in leading the fight for
the Democrats upon the broadest grounds of political, religious and per
sonal freedom of thought and action. It was especially entitled to credit
for creating an issue against a then moss-groAvn, but most debauching
custom of allowing state treasurers to pocket the interest on state
funds, with the result that the Democrats broke up the custom, and
in the courts, secured judgments for the restitution of nearly three-
quarters of a million of dollars to the state treasury.
Probably the most patriotic and useful effort of Mr. Nieman and
his neAvspaper, Avas their course, in 1896, when they espoused the hope
less cause of the Gold Democrats and threAv all the weight of The
Journal's large influence, at home and outside the state, to defeat the
free silver heresy, with a result, in the credit of which they justly
shared, that Wisconsin's majority against Bryan was the largest in
proportion to total vote in any state west of the Connecticut River.
The Journal and the Louisville Courier-Journal both suffered, seri
ously financially, for their courageous adherence to principle.
But Mr. Nieman saAv in a very discouraging situation, a neAV and
broader opportunity for The Journal, Avhich was immediately em
braced, and pinning faith to ideals rather than parties, to humanity
rather than politics, The Journal took a new lease of life, and went
forAvard Avith iicav energy, ever increasing influence and marvelous
success.

PIISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1367
During the Spanish-American War came the psychological moment
for The Journal to become a one cent paper. Its circulation at once
began to mount, until, within the current year, it has touched 90,000.
Such an achievement within thirty years, needs no eulogist. It is
neither a basis for false pride, nor a freak of momentary legerdemain.
It is, at bottom, on sound bed-rock, the expression of an intensely
earnest man, one who has, in a remarkable degree, that prescience
and intuition as to public feeling, and the conscience of the masses,
that some one has aptly called a "sixth sense."
In the merely- mechanical field of his life work he has had a regard
for details and a keen discrimination as to values, that have saved
The Journal's force much that elsewhere is lost motion and waste,
Mr. Nieman and The Journal are not susceptible of separate analysis.
He is The Journal, and The Journal is the expression of his personality.
It represents him in its every lineament.
Notwithstanding his unusual success in his unquestionable lead
ership, as the head of the greatest newspaper in Wisconsin, Mr. Nie
man is not only a modest but a retiring man. He has never sought,
but has rather shrunk from the limelight, personally. He has no use
for ' ' fireworks, ' ' any more than he has for useless or ineffective neAvs-
paper methods.
In his office, his employes know him. He takes advice -with the
shrewdness of a master, whenever it is good. He gives it with the per
sonal friendliness of a man who appreciates that a subordinate who
says "We" do things on The Journal, is worth much for which money
cannot pay. He encourages subordinates to improve their opportu
nities by letting them travel at the paper's expense whenever they
think they can learn a better way to do anything. He is, as he al
ways puts it — ' ' a believer in the kids, ' ' and he gives them every oppor
tunity to develop.
Mr. Nieman is a hard master only as he sets a strenuous example.
At his desk, oftentimes as early as 7 A. M., things hum all around
him. Capable of concentration and mental agility beyond most men,
people who serve him must be clear headed, exact and efficient.
After working at a four-cylindered engine's gait for five or six hours,
he eats a bite at his desk, and by 2 o'clock is off for the golf links,
where he plays just as hard until dinner time, as he worked in the
morning. He has always been interested in outdoor sports, and
beginning on the baseball field as a youngster, he has always been in
the first-class, whether it was base ball, tennis or golf. The result is
that today he is a hale, hearty middle aged man, with a clear eye and
a brawny arm, and a color that would put a hand in the harvest field
on his mettle.
His home life has large place in his existence. He married Novem
ber 28, 1900, Agnes Elizabeth Guenther Wahl, daughter of the late

1368 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Christian Wahl, one of Milwaukee's most public spirited citizens, who
as a result of his efforts to serve the public, personally as well as offi
cially, became known as the "father of Milwaukee's public park sys
tem." The married life of Mr. and Airs. Nieman -exemplifies the
camaraderie and mutual interest that befits a genuine and happy
household. Mrs. Nieman is his best friend and his almost constant
companion, as well as his devoted wife.
Back of this career of serious life and large accomplishment is a
beginning not all promising of future success. His father dying when
he was but two years old, Mr. Nieman was reared at Muckwonago,
Waukesha county, by his grandfather and grandmother Delamatter.
The grandfather, H. H. Delamatter, was of French descent, the name
having been corrupted from De la Matyr. His grandmother, whose
maiden name wras Susan Cuppernall, was from New England stock,
a native of Oneida county, New York, and both were pioneers in
Muckwonago. Of this grandmother Mr. Nieman has often been heard
by his friends to say : "If there is any good in me I owe it to her. ' '
Everybody who knew her speaks with kindness and great respect,
both of her ability and fine character.
Mr. Nieman 's father and an uncle on that side of the house were
early farmers in Sauk county, and Mr. Nieman was born in Bear
Creek, where the little stone farm house still stands.
Finally it may be said of Mr. Nieman that, although his early
opportunities for education were limited, in that as in all things
else, his unbounded energy and absorbing interest have led him to
drill his mind as few men are taught in schools, and even the accom
plishments of linguistics have not been neglected. He is a well-
rounded man, and although the picture here painted may seem to
have a serious, if not somber tone, that is but one side of him. He is
not only one of the most dependable friends, but he is a companion
for fun and folly. Perfectly natural, he has all the freshness of un
constrained and exuberant spirits Avhen among close companions.
This is, as was said at the outset, not an analysis of the man about
whom it is written. There is nothing about it intended to suggest
cold-blooded dissection, nor use of blue steel, nor any odor of anes
thetics. It is merely the impressions of Lucius W. Nieman 's character
and Avork, as one man, a friend, has known him and been impressed
by them.
Clarence E. Remer. One of the oldest and largest establishments
of Kenosha is the M. H. Pettit Malting Company, which began business
in 1857 with a capacity of fifty thousand bushels per year. It is now
the oldest malting plant in Wisconsin. In 1868 the old buildings were
torn down and replaced by new, and the capacity increased to three
hundred thousand bushels per year. The business was incorporated in

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1369
1885, and its annual capacity at the present time is five hundred thou
sand bushels. Mr. C. E. Remer, president and treasurer of the company,
is the general manager and has successfully directed the affairs of the
company since its incorporation. He is a member of the Chicago Board
of Trade and the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce, and makes his
selection of barley from these two points. The company use exclusively
the choicest barley, and turn out malt that is unrivaled for uniform
excellence. The malt houses of the most approved description, are pro
vided with the latest appliances and apparatus, machinery and kilns.
There are two elevators, eighty-four by sixty-eight, and eighty by forty
feet in dimensions, capable of storing five hundred thousand bushels of
grain. Through long continued experience and constant vigilance in
grading up the output, the reputation of this company is known among
all users of malt throughout America, and the output is marketed all
over the United States and also in old Mexico.
For more than thirty years identified with the M. H. Pettit Alalt-
ing Company, Clarence E. Remer has spent nearly all his life in Wis
consin, was formerly active in the grain business, and is one of the
most successful and public-spirited citizens of Kenosha. Mr. Remer
was born January 26, 1850, in Cayuga county, New York, a son of
Stephen Henry and Adeline (Tibbies) Remer. His father, who was
born in Connecticut in 1817, spent most of his life as a grocer. In 1854
he located in Elkhorn, Wisconsm, where he lived until his death on
December 16, 1860. He was the father of two children, the older being
Clarence E., and the younger Isabella, the deceased wife of John C. Al.
Kehlor. The mother of this family died in 1893, and she and other
members of the family were communicants of the Episcopal faith.
Clarence E. Remer grew up in Elkhorn. That city was his home
from 1854 until 1880. The public schools of the town supplied his
early educational advantages, and when ready for independent enter
prise he found work with Mr. John C. M. Kehlor, in the grain business.
In 1871, when he was twenty-one years old he bought out his employer,
and conducted affairs independently until 1880. In that year, having
leased his elevator, he went to Chicago with the intention of looking up
a wholesale flour business. Just at that juncture a flattering offer was
made by Al. H. Pettit & Company, and thus his career was diverted into
a new direction. Accepting the offer he moved to Kenosha, and thus
became identified with the malting business. Five years later when the
business was reorganized as a stock company, under the name of M.
H. Pettit Malting Company, Mr. Remer was made secretary and treas
urer. His efficiency and importance in connection with the business
steadily increased, and on September 15, 1902, he reached the position
of president and treasurer, and is also active manager. The malting
company employs about twenty-five persons in its local plant, and

1370 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
creates a large and profitable market for the producers of barley in this
vicinity. Mr. Remer was married in Kenosha to Miss Jessie E. Large. Their
home is at 746 Durkee avenue. By virtue of his descent from Lieutenant
Joseph Riggs of the Connecticut troops in the Revolutionary war, Air.
Remer has membership in the Society of the Sons of the American
Revolution. He is also a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason,
and is a charter member of Kenosha Lodge No. 750, B. P. 0. E. In
politics he is an active Republican.
Louis Leidiger. A large share of the manufacturing and general
commercial interests of the city of Merrill are comprehended under the
name of the Leidiger family, and its members are associated with the
management or financial control of several of the best known local
enterprises, including the Alerrill A^eneer Company, of Avhich Louis
Leidiger is president. Mr. Leidiger is also associated with the Leidiger
Brewing Company at Alerrill, of Avhich institution his father, Ernst
Leidiger, is president. Louis Leidiger is a breAver by profession, a
young man of enterprise and ability, AA'ho has been instrumental in
creating and carrying on much of the local enterprise in Alerrill. Louis
Leidiger has been a resident of Alerrill since June, 1896, at which time
the family Avas established here, haATing removed from Sturgeon Bay,
Wisconsin, where Louis Leidiger was born December 18, 1882. His
parents are Ernst and Amelia (Hendrick) Leidiger, concerning Avhom
a sketch appears on other pages of this work. Louis Leidiger received
most of his education in Sturgeon Bay, where he greAv up and was a
student in the public schools there until the fifth grade. Then the
family moved to Merrill where he continued his schooling until his
junior year in the high school. On leaving high school he entered the
business college at Appleton, Wisconsin, and in pursuance of his am
bition to enter the brewing profession he took a course in the Wahl-
Heinious Institute of Fermentology at Chicago, from which institute
he received a diploma as master breAver. Returning to Merrill he at
once became associated with his father in the brewing industry which
the latter had established and built up in that city.
In January, 1911, the Merrill Veneer Company was organized with
a capital stock of seventy-five thousand dollars. This company took
over the old Anson plant, located in the Sixth Ward, remodeled the
machinery and equipment, and has since developed a very important
industry, with a product which is distributed throughout Wisconsin
and other states. Mr. Louis Leidiger has been president of the com
pany since its organization, and also gives considerable of his time to
the operation of the brewery. Napoleon Des Rosier is vice president
and William Rung is secretary and treasurer and manager of the veneer

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1371
company. Their force of operatives comprises about seventy hands,
and their payroll is a considerable item in the local industrial assets.
Mr. Louis Leidiger was married in 1908 to Miss Josephine Duquette
of Wausau. They have one son, Ernst Gustav Leidiger, Jr. Mr.
Leidiger is affiliated with the fraternal Order of Eagles, the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks, and the Sons of Hermann.
Edward P. Bacon was born in the town of Reading, Steuben (now
Schuyler) county, New York, May 16, 1834, the eldest son of Joseph
F. and Matilda (Cowles) Bacon, of New England ancestry extending
back to the early colonization of that region. His paternal grand
father served as fife major in the Revolutionary Avar. His grand
parents removed to New York State in early life, settling in Steuben
county, and engaged in farming. His parents removed to Geneva, in
the same State, and the son at thirteen years of age commenced active
life, obtaining employment as errand boy in a general store in that
place, afterwards becoming clerk. Two years later, being desirous
of acquiring an education, he entered an academy at Brockport, NeAV
York, but was compelled to give up his studies after a few months,
and obtained employment in the principal store of the place. In
Alay, 1851, he entered upon railroad service, having secured a position
as freight and ticket clerk at Hornellsville, New York, on the NeAV
York & Erie Railroad, now known as the Erie Railway, it having just
been completed to Dunkirk, then its Avestern terminus. He remained
in the employ of that company in the freight department four years,
at different locations, the last year having been spent in New York
City as chief clerk in the general freight office. When the Michigan
Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad (now part of the Lake
Shore and Michigan Southern) was completed to Chicago, in 1855,
he was offered the position as head of the freight office of that com
pany in Chicago, which he accepted, believing that the West offered
greater opportunities for progress than his former field. The folloAv-
ing year the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad, now a division of
the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, Avas opened to Madison
and Janesville, Wisconsin, and he was induced to take charge of
the freight business of the Milwaukee station, at a material advance
in salary. He remained in the service of that company and its suc
cessor for a period of nine years, having been placed successively in
charge of the freight, passenger and accounting departments of the
road, turning them over, one after another, after having organized
them, to other hands. While in charge of the passenger department
he devised a case or rack for the convenient arrangement of coupon
tickets on sale, which has been in universal use in ticket offices of the
country up to the present time.
In 1865 he determined to engage in business for himself and

1372 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
formed a partnership Avith Lyman Everingham, under the firm name
of Bacon & Everingham, for carrying on a grain commission business,
Avhich was continued with success until 1874, when owing to impaired
health Mr. Bacon found it necessary to give up business for a time
and seek recuperation. After, a year, spent mostly in travel, his health
Avas fully restored and being precluded from resuming the grain
business within three years from his retirement, he obtained an inter
est in an established wholesale grocery business in Milwaukee, which
he carried on for two years under the firm name of Bacon, Goodrich
& Co. Preferring the grain business he resumed it in 1878, under the
firm name of E. P. Bacon & Co., which has been continued up to the
present time, having been organized as a corporation in 1908, under
the name of E. P. Bacon Company, now conducting business at
Chicago and Minneapolis as well as at Milwaukee.
Mr. Bacon has been a member of the Milwaukee Chamber of Com
merce since 1865, and has been influential in promoting needed reforms
in methods of conducting the grain trade of that market, from time
to time, during the long period of his membership. He served as a
member of the board of directors for ten years, from 1883 to 1893,
six years as director, two as vice president and two as president.
He has taken a leading part in securing an equalization of freight
rates on grain from interior points to Milwaukee as related to those in
effect in competing markets, which resulted in great benefit to that
market' and he was also active in securing the establishment of the
existing Railroad Commission of the State of Wisconsin. He was
appointed delegate to the National Board of Trade for several years
in succession and served as one of the vice presidents of that organi
zation from 1884 to 1889. He was frequently called upon to repre
sent the Chamber of Commerce at commercial conventions and also
to appear in its behalf before committees of Congress in respect to
pending legislation relating to commercial and financial affairs, in
cluding among others the free silver movement and the attempt to do
away with trading in agricultural products for future delivery, to
both of which the Chamber was strongly opposed.
Mr. Bacon has always taken an active interest in religious and
educational affairs and has devoted much of his energy and freely of
his means for their promotion. He was largely instrumental in the
early organization of the Young Men 's Christian Association in Alil
waukee in the year 1857, among the first organizations of its kind
established in this country, and served as its vice president for two
years, and later, in 1879 to 1881, as president. He has been a mem
ber of the board of trustees of Beloit College in this State since 1892
and served as vice president of the board from 1898 to 1908. He
established an endowment in 1894 for the purpose of aiding young
men of limited means, possessed of intellectual ability, in obtaining a

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1373
liberal education, the income of which with moderate self-help pro
vides for the maintenance of four students in the college course, con
tinuously, without reference to their purpose in life, and three con
tinuously in a theological course, at a seminary of their own choice,
one student being entered on each course every year ; the fund to be
administered by a committee composed of members of the board of
trustees and of' the faculty of Beloit College.
The most important work of a public nature in which Mr. Bacon
has taken an active part was in connection with the campaign inau
gurated in 1899 to secure national legislation for the regulation of
railway rates, by enlarging the powers of the Interstate Commerce
Commission, giving it authority to determine what rate shall be sub
stituted for one found upon full hearing to be unreasonable or dis
criminative, to be put into immediate effect and so to continue until
overruled by the courts. A conference of representatives of important
commercial organizations of the country was held at Chicago in
November of that year, for the purpose of promoting such legislation,
at Avhich a bill for the purpose previously prepared was approved.
The bill was introduced in Congress at the opening of the ensuing
session in December by Senator Cullom of Illinois. Mr. Bacon repre
sented the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce at this conference and
was made chairman of a committee appointed to advocate the passage
of the bill. Hearings on the bill were held by the Senate Committee
on Interstate Commerce, at irregular intervals, extending over a pe
riod of three months and it was finally reported to the Senate adversely
by the close vote of six to five. It was, however, placed on the calen
dar upon request of the chairman, but no action upon it was taken.
Interest in the effort to secure the legislation became intensified
and resulted in the calling of a convention which was held at St.
Louis on the 20th of November, 1900, known as the Interstate Com
merce Law Convention, at which a memorial to Congress was adopted
urging the passage of the bill, and the commercial organizations of
the country were recommended to send delegates to Washington at
the opening of the coming session to press the legislation. An execu
tive committee was appointed to carry on the work, of which Air.
Bacon was made chairman. It was found impracticable to obtain
action at that session, but considerable headway was made in develop
ing sentiment on the part of members of both houses of Congress in
favor of the legislation, and at the following session a stringent bill
prohibiting rebates and discriminations between shippers in any form,
known as the Elkins Bill, was enacted and became a law in February,
1903. This, however, did not confer upon the Interstate Commerce
Commission the power to revise rates sought by the commercial or
ganizations of the country, and a second Interstate Commerce LaAv
Convention was held at St. Louis in October, 1904, at which 170 such

1374 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
organizations, located in 28 different states, Avere represented by dele
gates, and a petition to Congress urging the speedy enactment of such
legislation was prepared and signed by the delegates of all the organi
zations represented. An executive committee was appointed to carry
out the purposes of the comrention, of which Mr. Bacon Avas again
made chairman.
Upon the assembling of Congress the following December hearings
were opened by the appropriate committees of the respective branches
on pending bills on the subject introduced is the preceding session,
Avhich resulted in the reporting of the bill knoAvn as the Esch-ToAvn-
send bill to the House on the 31st day of January, 1905, Avhich was
passed on the 9th of February by a vote of 326 to 17. The Senate
Committee failed to report the bill and was authorized by the Senate
to sit during the recess of Congress to consider the subject. Con
tinuous hearings Avere1 accordingly held in April and Alay which were
largely dominated by the railway interest. The committee failed to
come to an agreement on any measure for the purpose and so reported
to the Senate on its reassembling the folloAving December.
President Roosevelt, in his message to Congress at the opening of
the previous session, strongly urged empowering the Interstate Com
merce Commission to determine a reasonable rate to be substituted
for one found to be unreasonable after full hearing, to go into imme
diate effect and so continue until reversed by the courts. The bill
previously mentioned which passed the House ay as framed in pursu
ance of that recommendation and the Senate having failed to act
upon it, the advocates of the legislation deemed it necessary to bring
a decisive expression of public sentiment on the subject to bear upon
that body, and accordingly called a third Interstate Commerce Law
Convention, which Avas held in Chicago, October 26th and 27th, 1905,
consisting of delegates from 233 commercial organizations, located in
various parts of the country, who unanimously ratified the recom
mendation of the President and demanded the immediate enactment
of the legislation outlined. Air. Bacon Avas again made chairman of
the executive committee of the convention, and spent his entire time
in Washington during the ensuing session of Congress, as he had done
to a large extent at several preceding sessions, in impressing upon
individual senators and representatives the necessity of the legisla
tion with the co-operation of members of the executive committee and
representatives of commercial organizations.
In his message to Congress at the opening of the ensuing session
President Roosevelt reiterated his previous recommendation and a bill
carrying it into effect prepared by members of the Interstate Com
merce Commission was introduced in the House early in the session
by Representative Hepburn of Iowa, which was favorably reported
by unanimous vote of the committee on Interstate and Foreign Com-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1375
merce, and passed the House on the 8th of February, 1906, by a vote
of 346 to 7. It Avas referred by the Senate to the committee on Inter
state Commerce by which it was favorably reported by a bare majority
of one vote and was the subject of an extended debate, and after hav
ing been greatly enlarged in its scope was passed on the 18th of May
by the remarkable vote of 71 to 3. A committee of conference was
ordered Avhich came to an agreement after a long contest, and the
bill as amended Avas finally enacted into law on the 29th of June, 1906,
to go into effect sixty days thereafter. Thus came to a successful
issue, after a struggle of nearly seven years, one of the most far
reaching acts of legislation of recent years.
Mr. Bacon Avas married to Miss Emma Rogers Hobbs, of Paterson,
N. J., May 18th, 1858. Four children were born to them, the eldest
and the youngest, both daughters, being taken from them by death
early in the year 1879, within a few weeks of each other. Of the sur
viving children, Lilian, the elder, was married July 31, 1890, to Rollin
B. Mallory, a member of the Milwaukee bar. The younger, Frank
Rogers, after being employed seven years in his father's business,
engaged in an electrical manufacturing business at Milwaukee con
ducted under the name of the Cutler-Hammer Manufacturing Com
pany, of which he is president, which has developed into an extensive
and successful business. The father was remarried in 1895 to Mrs.
Ella C. Baird, daughter of John IT. Dey, of Pelham Alanor, New York,
John Brandt. The records of Lincoln county have never been
entrusted to more efficient care than to that of John Brandt now in his
fifth consecutive term as county clerk. Air. Brandt, who belongs to the
sturdy stock of the German-American, spent his earlier career in the
lumber industry of Wisconsin, performing almost every service from
the lumber camp to the factory of finished products. An accident that
deprived him of one hand terminated his progress in that direction, and
thus placed his ability at the service of the public, where it has been
welcomed by repeated election to his present office.
Air. Brandt Avas first elected county clerk of Lincoln county in 1904,
and at the expiration of each two-year term has been reelected, going
into office on the Democratic ticket, as one of the most popular mem
bers of that party in Lincoln county. Air. Brandt has been a resident
of Merrill since 1891. In Germany he was born December 7, 1875, a
son of John AAT. and Margaret (Hoven) Brandt. When a boy his
parents emigrated to America, settling first at Antigo, Wisconsin,
where the son John spent the first five years of his career in Wisconsin.
The father now owns a farm near Antigo, and also town property in
Antigo, where he makes his home. The mother died in 1890.
Part of the education given to John Brandt was obtained in Ger
many, and he also attended school after coming to Wisconsin. AVith

1376 HISTORY OF AVISCONSIN
the strength of boyish years he began working in the great lumber
woods about Antigo, and there is hardly a phase of the lumber business
with which he is not familiar. He spent some time in the chair factory
at Antigo. When he came to Merrill at the age of sixteen he was con
nected with the lumbering operations and the saw mills, and in the fall
of 1902 lost his right hand while working in a sawmill. He then became
mill foreman for the Gilkey-Anton Company, in their sawmill. After
two years of that employment he was elected and began his duties as
county clerk.
On September 11, 1901, Mr. Brandt married Miss Jessie Trudeau,
who was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, but was reared at Merrill.
Three children were born to their marriage, Leslie and Leroy being in
school, and Margaret, the second in order of birth, died at the age of
two years. Mr. Brandt affiliates with the Modern Woodmen of Amer
ica and the Eagles.
Gottlob Bossert. For a period covering half a century, the late
Gottlob Bossert was actively and closely identified with the commer
cial and social and institutional life of Milwaukee. During the larger
portion of his business career he served as secretary of the Pfister &
Vogel Leather Company. ¦ He was an extremely able and successful
business man, and it is especially noteworthy that he was always
willing to direct his ability and time to interests that lay outside
the immediate sphere of his own business, and he thus became an im
portant and public-spirited factor in much that concerned the broader
welfare of his home city.
The late Gottlob Bossert, who died at his home in Mihvaukee
January 25, 1911, was born in Tuebingen, Germany, May 20, 1826,
having been in his eighty-fifth year at his death. Until he was four
teen years old he attended public school in Germany, studying
French, Latin, German, arithmetic, reading and writing, and he also
had special instruction in English. In 1840 began his apprenticeship
in the mercantile business, in an establishment conducted by his
father and an uncle. In February, 1843, he attained a situation in a
wholesale house at Alannheim, first as assistant entry clerk, and sub
sequently as assistant bookkeeper. The serious illness of his father
recalled him to Tuebingen in October, 1845, and the death of his
father on May 18, 1846, obliged him to remain in Tuebingen, looking
after business affairs until September, 1848. When he left his native
city, it was his intention to go direct to the United States. Arriving
at Bremen, a position as bookkeeper was awaiting him, and he accepted
it, deferring his voyage to the New World for several years. In
October, 1851, he was again recalled to his native city for the purpose
of arranging some affairs connected with the partnership formerly
existing between his father and uncle. He anticipated that Avhen

k^A

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1377
matters were straightened out, the uncle would retire from active
participation in the business, and would turn over his interests to his
son and Mr. Bossert, so that the latter would thus have an opening
and opportunity to engage independently in business. "However,
the uncle finally determined, after the business had been inventoried
and arranged preparatory to a transfer, to remain in charge, and this
outcome proved the impetus which finally sent Mr. Bossert aAvay to
the United States.
During his residence in Bremen he had made the acquaintance of
parties who cheerfully gave him letters of recommendation and intro
duction to firms in New York City and elsewhere, and with these he
left Bremen on August 20, 1852, on the barque Herminie, Captain
Rasch commanding. The voyage was made without mishap, and he
landed in NeAV York harbor September 24, 1852, just thirty-five days
out from Bremen. Finding employment as assistant bookkeeper, he
became connected with a French exporting and importing house, the
Firmin Consinery & Company, at 28 South Williams Street. The
business of this firm was with England, France, the Orient, Smyrna,
South America and Buenos Ayres. While his position was helpful
to him in many ways, and gave him a valuable knowledge of Amer
ican institutions and business methods, it offered no promise of
further advancement, and after a time Mr. Bossert determined to
seek the opportunities offered further west. Accordingly in Sep
tember, 1856, he severed his connection with the firm and left for
Buffalo, New York. There his stay was but brief, after which he
went on to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and from there to Chicago. Early
in 1857, Mr. Bossert arrived in Milwaukee, and very quickly found
employment with Guido Pfister and Frederick Vogel. This was the
beginning of his business career in Milwaukee. Early in 1860 he
received an offer to enter a partnership with John Rudolphy in the
wholesale drug business of New York City. His acceptance of this
opportunity resulted in his absence from Milwaukee for about two
years. The financial depression existing just prior to the breaking
out of hostilities between north and south crippled New York com
merce, and Mr. Bossert 's business did not prove as successful as
anticipated. In the meantime he had remained in friendly correspondence with
Mr. Pfister, and when the proposition was made that he should return
to Milwaukee and again take employment under Mr. Pfister, he
accepted, and on May 1, 1862, left New York for Milwaukee. From
that forward, nearly fifty years, Mr. Bossert 's name was closely asso
ciated with that of Pfister in one of the most important of local
industries. In 1872 the Pfister & Vogel Company was organized, and
Mr. Bossert became a member of the organization, and secretary of
the company. In 1878 the number of directors Avas increased from

1378 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
three to five, and Fred Vogel, Jr., and Charles F. Pfister were added
to the board. The death of Guido Pfister occurred in February, 1889,
and that of the senior A^ogel in 1892. August H. Vogel and A. C.
Helmholz became directors in their stead. During all these years
Mr. Bossert retained his position with the firm as secretary and
director. During the many years between 1856, when he left his native
land, until his death, Mr. Bossert renewed his acquaintance with the
Fatherland three times. His first trip was made in 1866, when he
visited his mother, all his sisters and their husbands, a brother, an
aunt, on the paternal side, all of Avhom Avere then living. In 1868
he again went to Germany, this time in company with his oavu daugh-
er, Anna. His last trip abroad was made in the fall and winter of
1892-93, accompanied by his Avife, his son Henry, and his daughter
Charlotte. The family returned to America by way of Genoa in
April, 1893.
On June 5, 1857, Aliv Bossert married Miss Anna Maier of Ann
Arbor, Mich. To their union Avere born eight children, namely: Wil-
helmina, Clara, Anna, Fritz, Philip, Hugo, Henry, and Charlotte.
Airs. Bossert survived her husband about two years, dying February
10, 1913.
A well expressed tribute to the life and character and services of
the late Mr. Bossert was contained in an editorial of the Milwaukee
Sentinel, folloAving his death. It is herewith quoted:
' ' The death of Gottlob Bossert marks the passing of another of the
old-time residents of Alilwaukee, whose sturdy labors helped to lay
the foundations of the great city of today, and Avhose sterling Avorth,
complete integrity, and public-spirited citizenship made of them
models for the emulation of the younger generation.
"The cause of education loses a staunch friend and supporter in
Mr. Bossert. His interest in educational matters was actively ex
pressed through his efforts in behalf of the German-English Academy,
which institution benefited wisely by his Avise counsel and earnest
support. "Quiet, unpretentious, and lovable in his social and domestic rela
tions; sagacious, prudent, and honorable in business life, public-
spirited and loyal in his devotion to his adopted city, the long life of
Air. Bossert presents a Avorthy example to his fellow men."
Louis Fried. The live stock business as a commercial proposition
is like the grocery or any other except that it requires a keener judg
ment and a more persistent enterprise than almost any other line of
trade that might be mentioned. It is through this medium of provid
ing a market for the world's supply of live stock that Louis Fried of
Alerrill has given his active career, and there is no better dealer, espe-

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1379
cially in horses in the entire state of Wisconsin than Mr. Fried. He
is proprietor at Merrill of the Louis Fried Sales Stable. He has been
engaged in this business in Wisconsin since 1881, for the first ten years
in Stevens Point, and since 1891 in Merrill.
Louis Fried was born in Germany, January 3, 1861, a son of Daniel
and Adeline Fried. His father died in Germany, and the mother after
wards came to America, and lived in Milwaukee until her death. The
father in Germany was a cattle dealer, and his son Louis thus may be
said to have inherited the industry at which he has been so successful.
He worked with his father along that line of business, and at the same
time acquired a substantial education in his native land. When he
was twenty years old, in 1881, he crossed the Atlantic and first located at
Appleton, Wisconsin. While there he was employed for a short time
by his uncle Henry Hummel. He then went to Stevens Point where
he established himself in the horse business. During his residence in
Stevens Point Mr. Fried married Miss Sannchen Mandel, also a native
of Germany. Their two children are Hattie and Daniel.
Louis Fried has a large establishment and fine sales stables at Mer
rill, and deal exclusively in horses, cattle and mules. He does a con
siderable business in connection with the millionaire horse firm of Loeb
& Hummel of Chicago, probably the largest dealers in horses in the
United States. Mr. Fried is a kinsman to both the Loeb and Hummel
families. At Merrill he also sells buggies, wagons, sleighs, etc., but is
best known here and over the state as a horse dealer. Mr. Fried is
affiliated with the Masonic Order.
R. C. Ballstadt. When he had completed his education, Mr. Ball-
stadt determined to make himself a banker. The ablest financiers of
the country are men who' set out with similar ambitions, and under like
circumstances so far as individual capital was concerned. Not money
or influential friends, but integrity and industry and the possession of
a certain talent for financial matters are required for success in this
important branch of the world's business.
At the present time Mr. Ballstadt is cashier of the German-American
State Bank of Merrill, and has held that post since the bank 's organiza
tion in 1904. He took a prominent part in the organizing and establish
ment of the institution. The German-American bank is one of the
leading banks of the Wisconsin River Valley. The officers and directors
are all men well and favorably known in the community. F. J. Smith,
president of the bank, is one of Lincoln county's most prominent attor
neys, and at present is city attorney for Merrill. F. W. Kubasta, first
vice president of the bank and also postmaster at Merrill, is known
through Lincoln county as Merrill's leading insurance, real estate, loan
and abstractor. William F. Peterman, second vice-president, is a mem
ber of the successful mercantile firm of Peterman Brothers of Merrill.
The list of directors includes such well known men as Fred Hesterman,

1380 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
A. F. Lueck, Val. Henrich, Jr., William F. Neverman, and W. G.
Smith. This bank, while not the largest in Lincoln county, is certainly
one of the most prosperous. A glance over the bank's, statement shows
that the resources have increased from $81,931.52 in 1905 to $476,329.80
in 1913. Mr. R. C. Ballstadt was born near Manson, Iowa, on a farm, August
19, 1873, a son of Charles Ballstadt, a substantial farmer now living
retired at Manson. The son grew up on his father's farm,' attended
country school near his home, and in 1892 was graduated from the
Manson high school. After that he took a literary course at Cornell
College at Mount Vernon, Iowa, and finished his education with a busi
ness course in Fort Dodge, Iowa. With the conclusion of his school days
he entered the Calhoun County Bank at Manson, determined tp learn
the banking business from the ground up. He worked in practically
every capacity, and was finally made assistant cashier of the Calhoun
County Bank, remaining with that institution for some eght or nine
years. His next home was in Buffalo Center, Iowa, where for one year
he was cashier of the First National Bank. Then in 1904, in connec
tion -with the Union Investment Company of Minneapolis, he organized
the German-American State Bank of Merrill, and has since been a
director and cashier of this institution.
In 1900 Mr. Ballstadt married Miss Mathilda Gutz of Pomeroy, Iowa.
They have two children: Ellouise and Gretchen. Mr. Ballstadt and
family are members of the St. Johannes Evangelical Lutheran Church
of Merrill, and for several different years he has served as president of
the congregation. Although a comparative recent citizen of Merrill.
Air. Ballstadt has enthusiastically entered into the spirit of all com
munity life and undertakings, and is one of Merrill's leading citizens.
Hon. Joseph A. Emerich. The ability which is brought to the fore
front in an active business career, in large commercial transactions, and
the rapid changes and fluctuations of trade and finance, have proved in
practice as valuable in the management of the public affairs of a com
munity as that which comes from the exclusive study of laAv. The
accomplished merchant, banker or financier is more likely to take a
plain, common-sense view of the questions which arise and to be unem
barrassed by the quibbles and superfine distinctions of the lawyer, than
the man who has been trained in the school of precedent, authorities and
legal hairsplitting. To this class of business men belongs the Hon.
Joseph A. Emerich, whose signal services to his fellow-citizens as mayor
of Merrill are following a long and successful business career. Mr.
Emerich was born at Emerich P. O., town of Berlin, Marathon county,
Wisconsin, February 1, 1874, and is a son of Anton and Alary (Ludwig)
Emerich. His father was born at Richfield, Washington county, Wis
consin, and his mother in Germany, and both still survive and reside on
a farm in the town of Hamburg, Marathon county.

HISTORY OF WISCONSIN 1381
Joseph A. Emerich was reared to the work of the home farm and
secured his education in the country schools during the winter terms,
subsequently securing a position as clerk in a mercantile establishment
at Marathon. Succeeding this, he went to Wausau, where he was
employed in a bakery for a short period, and in 1892 came to Merrill
and was a grocer.'s clerk for one and one-half years. During this time
he had been thrifty and industrious and carefully saved his earnings,
with the result that in 1893 he was able to establish himself in a small
grocery business of his OAvn, to which he subsequently added a general
line of merchandise. He had advanced steadily in importance in the
business world, and is uoav the directing head of the mercantile firm of
Emerich & Staats, and president of the Merrill Woodenware Company,
organized in August, 1905, which prior to that time was the English
Manufacturing Company. This concern is engaged in the manufacture
of woodenware, tubs and pails, and employs on an average 150 men,
the trade extending all over the United States. He is a director in the
Lincoln County Bank of Merrill, and is interested in a number of other
enterprises. A self-made man in its truest and broadest sense, Mr.
Emerich has, by his own energy and untiring efforts, risen from the
humbler ranks of life to his present affluence and the proud distinction
of being one of the most universally respected and esteemed citizens of
Lincoln county. A gentleman of polished address, spotless in both pub
lic and private life, his personal character has stood and still stands
beyond the reach of any assailment, and it can be further fully said of
him that he has never intentionally made an enemy, nor lost a friend
except through death. He is serving as vice-president of the Merrill
Chamber of Commerce, is an honorary member of the German Veterans
Association, and is connected with the Blue Lodge of Masons, the Inde
pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America.
At all times taking a public-spirited welfare in his adopted city, he has
engaged more or less actively in public matters, and some fifteen years
ago was first elected to the city council as a representative of the Sixth
Ward. He continued to serve in that capacity for six years, at different
times, and in 1912 became the candidate of the Non-partisan ticket for
the mayoralty. He was elected to that office and took his seat May,
1912, and has since been giving his fellow-citizens a clean and business
like administration. He served two years on the school board and it
was practically through his efforts that the Sixth Ward school was built,
at a cost of $28,000. A friend of progress, he has introduced a number
of innovations and municipal reforms, and his handling of the city's
affairs has been of such a nature as to win him friends in all political
parties. In 1894 Mayor Emerich was married to Miss Annie Westphal, of
Merrill, and they have had six children: Lyndon, Irvin, Stanley, Irene,
Milton and Carlos.

1382 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
Richard B. Runke. The Lincoln county bar suffers none by com
parison with other counties of the state, and among its members one
whose record of practical success has won him distinction and leader
ship in the local profession is Richard B. Runke, who would be readily
named one of the first if not first. Mr. Runke grew up on a farm, in
northern Wisconsm, gained his Bachelor's degree in the State Univer
sity, and for ten years since admission to the bar has been working
industriously and with success. Richard B. Runke is now practicing at
Merrill, with offices at 402 West Maine Street. Besides his large law
practice he is president of the Lincoln Farm & Timber Company, of
which Thomas H. Ryan, formerly his law partner, but now practicing
at Wausau, is secretary and treasurer. He is also president of the Lin
coln County Normal School, having succeeded his former partner, Mr.
Ryan to the presidency of this training school when Mr. Ryan moved
to AVausau. Mr. Runke has been engaged in practice at Merrill since
1903, at which time he formed a partnership with Thomas H. Ryan,
and they maintained a prosperous association until 1912.
Mr. Runke was born on a farm in Kewaunee county, Wisconsin,
March 13, 1877, a son of Henry and Minnie (Bruemmer) Runke, both
of whom still reside on their farm in Kewaunee county. The father was
a native of Germany, emigrated to America, and located in Kewaunee
county, being then four years of age, his father having died in Ger
many. Richard B. Runke grew up in Kewaunee county, had the wholesome
environment of a farm, and attended country schools. His early am
bition was directed to professional life, and through his own efforts and
earnings he entered the University of Wisconsin at Madison, obtaining
entrance by examination, never having had the opportunity to prepare
through a High School. He was graduated there in the literary depart
ment in 1900 with the degree of Bachelor of Science and later entered
the law school in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, but did not
graduate in the law, finishing his reading by private study. He was
admitted to the Wisconsin bar in 1903 by examination and in the same
year located at Merrill, where bis success has been exceptional. Mr.
Runke does a general law business, but specializes in real estate law and
titles. In 1906 occurred his marriage to Miss Anna Peacock, of Argyle,
Wisconsin. They are the parents of three children: Glenn, Richard,
Ruth Jane and Robert. Mr. Runke has served as president of the pub
lic library board of Merrill, and fraternally is affiliated with the
Masonic Order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights
of Pythias, at this writing being chancellor commander of the local
lodge of Knights of Pythias. He is a member and an elder in the
Presbyterian church.