Men of Progress. Wisconsin. (pages 285-316) A selected list of
biographical sketches and portraits of the leaders in business,
professional and official life. Together with short notes on the
history and character of Wisconsin.

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Page 285 continued

KUOLT, Albert E., secretary of the city board of health, is the son of
Anton Kuolt, a fresco painter, and Anna Blessing, and was born in
Utica, New York, January 26th, 1867, but came, with his parents, to
Milwaukee, in 1869, and has made the city his home ever since. He was
educated in the schools of the Second ward, and took a course in a
business college, which, with his practical experience in business
affairs, fitted him for the position which he how occupies, and the
duties of which the discharges with much satisfaction to all those
having business with the department. After leaving school, he learned
the printer's trade, and for a time was a compositor on one of the city
papers. In 1888 he became connected with J. P. Goelz & Co., wholesale
cigar dealers, for which firm he traveled five years, meeting with
marked success. He then resigned and accepted a position

Page 286

[image: ALBERT E. KUOLT.]

in the office of the secretary of state, as assistant book-keeper. This
position he resigned April 1st, 1895, to accept the office he now
holds.

He is a working Republican and has been a member of the Republican
county committee for six years, and also chairman of the Second ward
committee, in both of which positions he has rendered his party
efficient and honorable service.

He is a Knight of Pythias and past chancellor of the order.

BROWN, Belno Addison, M. D., a resident of Milwaukee, is the son of
Isaac Addison Brown, a retired grain merchant of Kalamazoo, Michigan,
and Mary Ann Brown. Isaac Addison Brown was born in 1816 on his
father's estate, of over one thousand acres, on the slopes and in the
valleys of the Green mountain in Plymouth, Windsor county, Vermont. The
grandfather, Israel Putnam Brown, was a man of great influence and
respectability in the community where he lived. Adam Brown, the great-
grandfather of Dr. Brown, was a Scotch sea captain, born in Glasgow, and 
connected with the Browns of that city, a mercantile and sea-faring 
family, for generations more or less engaged in the naval or commercial 
shipping of the country, as shown by the family crest, a ship under full 
sail, with the Latin inscription "Caute et Sedulo" (zealous, but 
cautious), adopted according to family traditions, because of a brave 
marine exploit performed by an ancestral worthy against the pirates who 
infested the seas at that time. Dr. Brown's grandmother on his father's 
side was Sally Briggs, daughter of Asia Briggs, of an old New England 
family, whose ancestors came from England on the ship "Fortune," in 
1621. The great-grandmother was Priscilla Putnam, a member of the family 
made notable by the illustrious deeds of Gen. Israel Putnam of 
revolutionary fame. His mother, Mary Ann Brown, was the daughter of 
Elijah Brown and Sally Sawyer Preston, and was born in 1817, on her 
father's picturesque farm in the Au Sable valley amid the Adirondack 
mountains. His grandfather, Elijah Brown, was a prosperous farmer, and 
for many years a country squire. His grandmother, Sally Sawyer Preston, 
came of an old New England family whose forefather, Edmund Preston, came 
from London, England, on the ship "Christian" in 1653. Dr. Brown is of 
English and Scotch extraction, but, for generations, his ancestor have 
been American born, intellectually, morally and financially, among the 
foremost of those who have founded the institutions of the country and 
insured its present prosperity.

Dr. Brown was born August 13th, 1846, at Proctorsville, Windsor county,
Vermont, and his early education was received at the public school of
his native village. When sixteen years of age his parents removed from
Proctorsville, Vermont, to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where they now reside,
in independent circumstances. Dr. Brown is a graduate of Milton
College, Wisconsin, with the degree of Sc. R.; analumnus of Nashotah
Theological Seminary, with the degree of B. D., and also a Ph. D. of

Page 287

Windsor College, Maryland. In addition to his collegiate education, he
spent some time in study and travel in Europe. At twenty-six years of
age he entered the ministry of the church, and was ordained deacon and
priest by the late Bishop McCoskry of Michigan. He was then transferred
to the diocese of Massachusetts, and placed in charge of a parish in
the busy manufacturing city of Lawrence. Here he remained for nearly
ten years, gaining the respect and affection of his people, among whom
he is still most pleasantly remembered. Dr. Brown, having decided to
take up the study of medicine, entered the medical department of the
University of Michigan, and graduated in 1886 with the degree of M. D.
Four years later he returned to the university and took a special
course on the diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, under the
personal tuition of Prof. Flemming Carrow, a surgeon of great skill and
reputation as an operator and teacher. He also received the degrees of
M. D. and C. M. from Trinity University, Toronto, Canada. In addition
to his special course just mentioned, he has spent some time as a
student in various hospitals in the country, pursuing his studies in
ophthalmology and otology. In 1891 Dr. Brown took up his residence in
Milwaukee, opening an office for the practice of his specialty at 201
Grand avenue, where he still remains. Upon the inauguration of the
Milwaukee Medical College and School of Dentistry, Dr. Brown was
elected professor of ophthalmology and otology by the directors, and
secretary by the faculty, which positions he still holds. As a teacher
he is clear and forcible in his methods, popular in manner, and the
course in his special department is said to be excelled by few, if any,
colleges in the country. The doctor also holds the post of oculist and
aurist in Trinity hospital, aural surgeon to the Milwaukee Free
Dispensary, and instructor in the Trinity Training School for Nurses.

In politics Dr. Brown is independent, but thoroughly American in all
his opinions, and

[image: BELNO ADDISON BROWN.]

loyal to the traditions and institutions of his native land. He is a
member of the collegiate society of the Delta Phi and the Wisconsin
State Medical society. He has never married, his family consisting only
of his adopted son, Dr. Thomas Addison Berwick, and himself.

COON, John Williams, M. D., registrar of vital statistics on the board
of health, is a native of Tustin, Waushara county, Wisconsin, where he
was born on the 5th of September, 1860. He is the son of David Coon, a
farmer, who was born in New York, but came to Wisconsin in 1854. He
enlisted in Company A of the Thirty-sixth Wisconsin infantry, on the
26th of February, 1864, was taken prisoner at Ream's Station, and died
at Salisbury, North Carolina, in November of the same year. Dr. Coon's
mother, Isabel Hall Coon, was born in Ohio, and is still living with
her son in Milwaukee.

Dr. Coon's education was received in the common schools of his native
county of Waushara, and his interest in public education, which was
pronounced when he reached man

Page 288

[image: JOHN WILLIAMS COON.]

hood, was doubtless due, in a measure, to his knowledge of its benefits
derived from his experience under it. From the age of twelve years to
eighteen he attended school winters and worked on the farm in summer.
He afterwards taught in district and high schools in Waushara county
for three years, at the end of which time he went to Berlin, Wisconsin,
where he entered the drug store of Dr. N. M. Dodron, as clerk and
medical student. Here he remained until 1882, when he went to
Philadelphia and entered Jefferson Medical College, receiving
instruction from such eminent men as S. D. Gross, the nestor of
American surgery; the elder Pancoast, J. M. Da Costa, Roberts Bartholow
and other equally eminent teachers. From this institution he received
his diploma in 1884, and began the practice of his profession in
Montello, Wisconsin, in 1884, remaining there three years, when he
removed to Tomahawk, Wisconsin. Here he continued in practice four
years, when he removed to Milwaukee, where he was in general practice
until April, 1895, at which time he received the appointment of
registrar of vital statistics. Into the work of this office
he has entered with no little energy and enthusiasm, introducing new
and improved methods of registration, particularly as to births and
marriages; and reforming the system of indexing, so that immediate
reference can be had to any report made to the department. Properly
kept the records of this office may prove of great practical value in
many ways; and Dr. Coon appears to be especially qualified for the
proper discharge of his duties.

Dr. Coon has always been a Republican, and cast his first vote for the
lamented Garfield, for president. He was superintendent of schools when
a resident of Tomahawk, and, by his energy and intelligence, built up
the school system of that place, and was largely instrumental in
securing the erection there of one of the finest school buildings in
Northern Wisconsin.

He is a member of the American Medical association, the Wisconsin State
Medical society and the Milwaukee Medical society.

He was married June 25th, 1890, to Jennie E. Macomber of New Lisbon,
Wisconsin, and they have two sons, Royal Mead and Harold Macomber.

CATE, George W., a resident of Stevens Point, and for twenty-one years
judge of the Seventh judicial circuit, was born in Montpelier, Vermont,
on the 17th of September, 1823. His grandfather served through the
revolutionary struggle, and his father, Isaac Cate, was a non-
commissioned officer in the United States army during the second war
with Great Britain. Mr. Cate's mother's maiden name was Clarissa
McKnight, a lady of substantial family in Vermont.

Young Cate had the usual experience of farmer's boys of that time,
alternating between farm work in summer and attendance upon the
district school in winter, until he was seventeen years of age, when he
left school and began the study of law under Lucius B. Peck of
Montpelier, paying his expenses the while with the money earned by
teaching school. At the age of twenty-one years he

Page 289

was admitted to the bar, and in 1845, he came to Wisconsin, and
settling at Plover, Portage county, in 1848, immediately began the
practice of his profession. After remaining there two years he removed
to Stevens Point, where he has ever since resided. In 1850 he was
elected district attorney, and served two years. In 1851 he was elected
to the lower house of the state legislature, and re-elected in the
following year was defeated for speaker of the house by one vote, and
he was selected as one of the managers in the impeachment trial of
Judge Hubbell of the Second judicial circuit. This was one of the great
trials in the history of Wisconsin, and though Hubbell was acquitted,
the trial created intense excitement throughout the northwest. On the
4th of June, 1854, Mr. Cate took his seat upon the bench of the Seventh
judicial circuit, to which he had been elected, and held the position
continuously until the 4th of March, 1875, when he resigned and became
a member of the United States house of representatives, for the Eighth
district. He took a prominent place among the new members of that body,
and was conspicuous for his opposition to the appointment of the
electoral commission to canvass the votes in the presidential election
when Hayes and Tilden were the candidates. The ground of his opposition
was that the power to count the votes was delegated to the two houses,
and the appointment of a commission was not only an unwarranted
interference with the duties of congress, but was unwise and impolite.
Judge Cate, at the outbreak of the civil war, was what was termed a war
Democrat, believing in upholding the national administration so long as
its power was assailed by armed force. He voted for Lincoln in 1864,
and for Grant four years later. Since 1868 he has acted steadily with
his party. Upon retiring from congress, Judge Cate devoted himself to
the practice of his profession, in which he has always maintained a
standing for great ability, for a comprehensive knowledge of law and
its principles, and the honorable course in practice

[image: GEORGE W. CATE.]

which marks the career of really great lawyers.

Judge Cate was married on the 24th of October, 1850, to Miss Levara S.
Brown of Stevens Point, and they have had eight children, six of whom
are still living.

He has taken great interest in that portion of the state where he
lives; has written interestingly for local publications concerning the
early settlement of the region and its history, and has done much for
its industrial development and its social and educational progress. He
has been a member of the official board of visitors of the state
university, regent of the normal school, and in many other ways has
served the public interests. An effort was made last fall to draw him
again into politics, but, refusing for a time, he finally accepted the
nomination for congress on the Democratic ticket and also presidental
elector-at-large. He was defeated, however, probably not much to his
regret, for he is more of a lawyer than a politician.

He is the senior member of the law firm of Cate, Sanborn, Lamoreux &
Park of Stevens Point.

Page 290

[image: JOHN SAMUEL ROESELER.]

ROESELER, John Samuel, a resident of Prairie du Sac, and superintendent
of schools of Sauk County, was born in Lomira. Dodge county, November
25th, 1859. His parents are natives of German, but came to this country
in 1854, the year they were married, and settled on a small farm in the
heavy timber in Dodge county. His father, Frederick W. A. Roeseler,
having but little money left after reaching the state, hired out to
work for farmers and in a stone quarry, at ten dollars per month. In
1864 he was drafted into the army, and served through the war in the
Third Wisconsin infantry. Returning after the war he followed farming,
but never owned more than forty-five acres of land, and on this he
owned $600 when he sold it in 1891. He was a very strong man and a hard
worker, but his liberality to others prevented him from getting ahead
financially. He advanced money to enable relatives to come to this
country, most of which he borrowed at ten per cent interest. He was a
religious man, and for many years class leader in the German
Evangelical association. John S. Roeseler's mother was Johanna Caroline
Klaetsch. She was the eldest of the six children, who were left orphans 
when she was only thirteen, and had much of the care of her brothers and 
sisters. She was the foremost scholar in the school which she attended, 
and was often called on to assist in teaching the younger children. She 
was skillful with her needle and shears, could spin and weave, and was 
an expert in all household duties. Besides doing the housework she 
worked on the farm, sheared the sheep, spun the wool, dyed the yarn, 
wove it into cloth, cut and made it into garments for the family without 
any assistance from tailor or seamstress. But this was not all--she did 
much of this kind of work for her neighbors, and that without 
compensation. All this sewing was done by hand. She also wove cloth for 
others, for which she received a moderate compensation. Some of the 
appliances which she used in the weaving were made by her. She was 
active in church work, and a faithful and intelligent Sabbath school 
teacher. She was the teacher of her children both in morals and the 
rudiments of an education. She had them recite to her while she was 
doing the housework, and taught them to read and speak naturally and 
correctly, and to articulate distinctly, and this was before they went 
to school. No vulgar or profane language was ever tolerated, and the 
lessons of honesty and integrity were impressed by precept and example 
and enforced by proverb or object lesson in such a way that they have 
never been forgotten. It is not surprising that her son says of her that 
she was the greatest teacher he has ever known. Nor is it surprising 
that the son of such a mother should become a successful teacher 
himself. She is worthy to be classed with the mothers of classic 
history.

After such a home training, young Roeseler was prepared to make the
most of his educational opportunities. The district school in his
neighborhood was in a log house, and teachers and appliances were of a
similarly cheap character. Several winters he attended a neighboring
school of a better character,

Page 291

working out of school hours for this board. But these schools had far
less influence in forming the boy's character and scholarly tastes than
the training of his mother. After leaving the district school he taught
for five years, and then began his preparation for a liberal course of
study at Northwestern College at Naperville, Ill., which he entered and
where he did part of the work of the freshman year. Upon leaving that
institution he ranked among the foremost of his class. On entering the
University of Wisconsin he was given credit for the work done at
Naperville, and he was admitted to the sophomore class; completed the
full course in three years and one term, was graduated in 1888 with
general and special honors, and was chosen one of the representatives
of his class at commencement. The faculty conferred upon him one of the
first four fellowship ever given by the university. In his senior year
he was one of the joint debaters, representing the Hesperian society.
In his junior year he was one of the editors of the second university
annual. He was also one of the editors of the Aegis and one year
president of the Aegis association. It is a fine tribute to the
democratic character of the university when he says that though he was
one of the poorest of the students, working his own way, without
wealthy or influential friends, he received everything that the
university had to confer, simply winning it through honest work. As a
fellow he remained at the university two years, serving one year as
librarian and the other as tutor. After leaving the university he was
principal of the Sauk City High School for four years and one term;
when, in 1894, he was elected superintendent of schools of Sauk county
without opposition, and re-elected in 1896 by a large majority. As
superintendent he has been active, zealous and thoroughly progressive
in his work; has introduced many important features in his methods of
administering his office calculated to help his teachers to a more
efficient and intelligent performance of their duties. He has introduced 
many innovations which cannot fail to result greatly to the promotion of 
popular education. Among the studies in which teachers are urged to 
perfect themselves are local geography, history and government, social, 
industrial and commercial questions and methods, and things relating to 
every-day life.

Mr. Roeseler is a Republican, but had never been a candidate for or
held an office prior to the one he now holds--that of superintendent of
schools, and this was conferred without his seeking and in face of his
remonstrance. Both his nominations were made by acclamation. He was a
delegate to the county and state conventions in 1896.

He is a member of the Wisconsin Academy of Arts and Sciences, the
Wisconsin Teachers' association, the Modern Woodmen of America, and is
a Mason, belonging to the Blue Lodge, chapter and commandery, and has
been senior deacon, junior warden and master. He belongs to the German
Evangelical association.

Mr. Roeseler was married in June, 1889, to Miss Sarah Fritsche of
Lomira, Dodge county, and they have two children--a boy and a girl, who
are taught to speak both and German and English.

MEAD, Lewis Henry, a stirring man and good lawyer of Shell Lake,
Washburn county, comes of New England ancestry through both parents, as
their names indicate. His father, W. P. Mead, a farmer in South Dakota,
is a native of Vermont, and his mother, who was Julia Morrill, is a
native of Maine. The families of both came west, and settled in Dane
county, near Marshall, in 1845, where L. H. Mead was born on the 26th
of September, 1853. He received a common school education, but much of
his time was spent in working on a farm until he was nineteen years of
age, when he lost his right hand in a threshing machine. Realizing that
he must seek some other way of making a living besides manual labor, he
set about preparing himself for a profession. Securing a place where he
could do

Page 292

[image: LEWIS HENRY MEAD.]

work sufficient to pay for his board, he went to school until he got a
certificate authorizing him to teach a district school. This employment
he followed for four years, meanwhile studying at night to improve his
scholarship and fit him for higher work. He then taught two years in
the graded schools of Waterloo, which was followed by two years'
teaching in the high school at Columbus. Meantime he had learned to
write with his left hand, and his penmanship is a model for most men
who have the use of their right hand. Having thus saved a little money
he went to Madison, took a course in law in the university, and at the
same time studied in a law office there, and was admitted to the bar
upon examination before Judge Alva Stewart, November 27th, 1882.
Locating in Shell Lake, he began the practice of his profession, and
such ability did he show that on the 13th of June, 1883, or only about
six months after his admission to the bar, he was appointed county
judge of Washburn county. This position he held by election and re-
election until January 4th, 1897, when he resigned to accept the office
of district attorney, to which he had been elected the previous
November. Judge Mead was elected to the assembly in 1889 and re-elected
in 1891. In this legislative position Judge Mead's service was
intelligent and conservative and such as to commend him to the
favorable consideration of all those familiar with the legislation of
those sessions.

Judge Mead's parents and grandparents on both sides were Democrats, but
he has always been a Republican, and was taken an active part in every
campaign since 1882. He is now an influential member of the Republican
state central committee, and of the executive committee of that
organization. At the session of the assembly in 1891, Judge Mead
received the Republican vote for speaker, but as the Democrats had a
majority in the house, he was not elected. He has attended as a
delegate every Republican state convention since 1882 save one, which
is a marked evidence of his popularity in his party. He has also been a
member of many local conventions.

Judge Mead belongs only to the Odd Fellows, in which order he is a
member of every branch, was grand master from June, 1895, to June,
1896, when he was elected grand representative for two years. He was
also a member of the Sovereign Grand Rapids Lodge that meet at Dallas,
Texas, in September, 1896.

On September 14th, 1887, Judge Mead was married to Eva S. Todd of Lodi,
Wisconsin. She is the daughter of M. F. Todd, a Universalist minister,
who died in 1888, and who had preached many years in the southern part
of the state. They have no children.

Judge Mead is eminently a public-spirited man, and has interested
himself in educational matters, having long been a member of the school
board and given his influence and support to whatever tends to
educational and social progress. He was a member of the committee that
was preparing for the semi-centennial celebration of the admission of
Wisconsin into the Union. Few men have overcome so many obstacles to
progress and risen to so much of usefulness and influence as Judge
Mead.

Page 293

MILBRATII, Charles W., city treasurer, is a thorough Milwaukeean,
having been born in the city in 1848, and having spent his whole life
within its limits. He received his education in the Milwaukee public
schools, where he doubtless gained not only the knowledge which fitted
him for the intelligent discharge of the duties of his very responsible
office, but where he imbibed the principles that make him a courteous
and popular official. Upon leaving school he entered the real estate
office of Rogers & Becher, as clerk, and there remained for a number of
years, gaining a thorough knowledge of that business, and of business
methods generally; so when he came, in 1872, to take up the business
for himself, he was prepared to enter upon it with intelligence and
with fair prospects of success, which have been fully realized in the
intervening years. The business is now conducted under the firm name of
the C. W. Milbrath company, of which he is president.

Mr. Milbrath has been identified with the Republican party for many
years, and has served it long and well, from a sense of duty rather
than from a lively sense of honors and profit to come therefrom. He has
served the Twelfth ward in the city council two terms, the first from
1875 to 1878, and again from 1884 to 1887, and during that service
gained a reputation for ability and a conscientious discharge of the
duties of the position. Nothing was heard of him as one who was looking
out for opportunities for promoting his individual interests at public
expense, or the neglect of public interests. In 1892 he was elected to
the assembly from the Eighth ward, and was instrumental in securing the
passage of the bill relating to street improvements in the city of
Milwaukee, which opened the way for the construction of better and more
durable pavements, something which the city has long needed, and for
the lack of which it has suffered great inconvenience, and a loss in
public estimation.

In 1894 Mr. Milbrath received the Republican nomination for city
treasurer by acclamation,

[image: CHARLES W. MILBRATH.]

and was elected by a very large majority. In the spring of 1896 he was
nominated for re-election, and this time also without opposition, and
he is now serving his second term. He was elected by the largest
plurality received by any one on the ticket. Testimonials such as these
to a man's ability and integrity in the discharge of official duties
are not often received, and are the best evidence which any one can
have that he is approved by the people, whose servant be is, and whose
interests he has had in charge.

WHITE, Moses James, medical superintendent of the Milwaukee Hospital
for the Insane, resides in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and is the son of
Moses White, M. D., who was born in the north of Ireland of a family of
physician (three brothers being of that profession), and who was a
practicing physician in Hartford, Connecticut, up to the time of his
death, in 1865. The mother of the subject of this sketch is Scotch-
Irish by birth. Doctor White (a biographical sketch of whom can be
found in a work entitled "Physicians

Page 294

[image: MOSES JAMES WHITE.]

and Surgeons of America," edited by Irving A. Watson, M. D., Concord,
New Hampshire), was born at Hartford, Conn., February 28, 1860, and was
educated at the high school in his native city, in the academic course
in Princeton University, and the scientific course in La Fayette
College, Easton, Pennsylvania. He began the study of medicine in 1881,
under Doctors Horace S. Fuller and Robert B. Talbot of Hartford, and
attended three courses of lectures in the medical department of the
University of the City of New York, from which he was graduated in
March, 1884. He was a member of the Chiosophic society while at
Princeton, and also of the Chi Phi fraternity.

Dr. White began the practice of his profession, in May, 1884, by taking
the position of junior assistant physician in the New York City Asylum
for the Insane (now known as the Manhattan State Hospital for the
Insane), and in due time was advanced to the position of senior
assistant, which he held until January, 1887, when he received the
appointment of assistant superintendent of the Milwaukee Hospital for
the Insane, which post he held until June of the following year, when he 
was appointed superintendent of that institution, the office which he 
now holds.

Dr. White's intelligent and faithful performance of the arduous and
responsible duties of his office have given very general satisfaction
and secured him a prominent place in his profession. He has always
advocated and carried out in his hospital, the principle of occupation
as a means of treatment. He has devised an appliance for the
instantaneous and simultaneous release of inmates of asylums in case of
fire or panic, which is operated by means of electricity, and which has
been in use in the Milwaukee hospital since 1889. This appliance has
received favorable mention in scientific journals. Among other valuable
improvements introduced by him into the hospital, is the substitution
of heavy plate glass for wire screens, the congregate diningroom for
patients, the establishment of a training school for attendants, and
the substitution of electric lamps in patients' rooms, controlled by a
switch outside the door, in place of oil lamps, thus greatly decreasing
the danger from fire.

Dr. White has always been a Democrat on national questions, but in 
local elections has voted for those candidates who appeared to be best
qualified for the positions for which they were named, regardless of
their political creed. He has never held or sought political office.
This year he classes himself among what are called gold, or honest
money Democrats. He is a member of the Milwaukee club, of the Kilbourn
Lodge and Chapter of Free Masons, the American Medico-Psychological
association, the New York Medico-Legal society, Wisconsin State Medical
society, and also of a number of state and local societies and
associations. He is the author of a number of papers upon subjects
relating to his professional work, which were read before the Wisconsin
State Medical society and other organizations, and published in their
reports and in The American Journal of Insanity. The titles of the
papers alluded to

Page 295

are, "The Value of Systematic Occupation in the Treatment of the
Insane," Amusements as an Important Factor in the Treatment of
Insanity," Adjuncts to Medial Treatment in Hospitals for the Insane,"
"Electric Door Opening System," "Provision for the Insane Awaiting
Commitment," "Prevention of Insanity." Dr. White is clinical lecturer
on insanity for the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Dr. White is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church. He was
married on the 17th of February, 1886, to Miss Lizzie Ella Lownes of
New York City, and they have two children, Reginald James and Marjorie
White.

ISENRING, Fred G., sheriff of Milwaukee county, and a resident of
Whitefish Bay, is the son of Gallus and Minnie Zetteler Isenring, who
were of French-Huguenot descent, the former a native of St. Gall,
Switzerland, where he received a common school education; the latter a
native of Rottendam, Holland, where she had the advantages of a
collegiate education, embracing the Dutch, French, German and English
languages. They came to this country in 1843, locating in Milwaukee
county, where Mr. Isenring engaged in farming, and where he still
resides.

Fred. G. Isenring was born in Milwaukee county, April 1st, 1854, and
was educated in the Milwaukee public schools, and in the Spencerian
Business College. He has also had the education that comes from a
rather wide and varied business experience in private and public
affairs.

He has always been an ardent Republican and prominent in local
politics. He was elected justice of the peace in 1880, was in the
United States government mail service from 1880 to 1884, was a member
of the state assembly from 1884 to 1886, and in the year last named was
elected to the state senate from on of the Milwaukee districts. Upon
the organization of the new village of Whitefish Bay he was elected
president, and twice re-elected. He

[image: FRED, G. ISENRING.]

was elected a member of the board of supervisors of Milwaukee county
for four terms, for two of which he was chosen chairman of the board.
In the fall of 1896 he was elected sheriff of the county, and the
duties of that office he is now discharging. Mr. Isenring is at present
member of the village board of Whitefish Bay, of its school board and
of its board of health.

Mr. Isenring is a Mason, a member of the H. O. D. S., and was brought
up in the faith of the Dutch Reformed church.

He was married, in 1875, to Hepworth S. Chandlers, and two children,
Hepworth B. and Mamie alice, were born to them. Mrs. Isenring died
November 15th, 1894, and Mr. Isenring was married again, January 25th,
1897, to Addie E. Dreyer.

He was a member of the Wisconsin National Guard from 1868 to 1890, and
of the cadets for three years. He was also treasurer of the Washington
Guards for three years, and successively held the offices of second
lieutenant, first lieutenant and captain of the Juneau Guards, and is
an honorary member of the Sheridan Guards.

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[image: RALPH PERCY PERRY.]

PERRY, Ralph Percy, a lawyer and business man of Reedsburg, was born in
Reedsburg, Wis., June 22nd, 1859, the son of Oliver H. and Mary J.
McCloud Perry. Oliver H. Perry was a merchant in Reedsburg from 1848 to
the fall of 1880, when he was elected sheriff of Sauk county. He was a
man of the strictest integrity and of the highest character. Though a
good business man, he did not accumulate property, having a large
family and not caring to resort to the methods by which property is too
often made. Mr. Perry's ancestors came from New Hampshire into Essex
county, N. Y., early in the present century. Abijah Perry and Captain
Josiah Brown, the paternal and maternal grandfathers of Oliver H.
Perry, both served in the Revolutionary army, the latter with
distinction as an officer. On R. P. Perry's mother's side the ancestors
were Scotch, who settled, at an early day, among the Berkshire hills of
Massachusetts.

R. P. Perry left school at the age of fifteen years, and, a year after,
entered the law office of Hon. J. W. Lusk, a prominent attorney of
Reedsburg. He was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty, and three 
years later became a partner with his preceptor, which partnership 
continued for three years, when the senior member removed to St. Paul. 
In the fall of 1884, Mr. Perry was elected district attorney of Sauk 
county, which office he resigned, within a year, to take charge of two 
large estates. In 1887 he was placed in charge of the Reedsburg bank, 
and also assisted in the reorganization of the Reedsburg Woolen Mill 
company, and since that time has been actively engaged with the affairs 
of these corporations, being now president of both.

In politics Mr. Perry is not especially active, but he is a Republican
and his votes and influences are always on the side of that party. He
is a member of the Wisconsin Society of the Sons of the American
Revolution, and of the Wisconsin consistory. In religion he is a
Presbyterian, being a member of that church.

He was married, in 1883, to Miss Helen S. Neely of Platteville. Mr. and
Mrs. Perry have three daughters--Edna M., Mildred R. and Katharine N.
Perry.

GUDEX, Dr. Valentine A., residing at 819 Third street, Milwaukee, is
the son of John Gudex, who settled in Barton, Washington county,
Wisconsin, in 1847, near what was then an Indian village. There he
lived until one year prior to his death, September 5th, 1896, having
seen the country develop from a wilderness into a fruitful and thickly
settled region. He married Wilhelmina Mample in 1850, and they made
their home in a little clearing in the forest, and there they lived an
almost isolated life, for some years, before they enjoyed anything
approaching social pleasures or the comforts that now abound in almost
every community. Here Dr. Gudex was born on the 27th of April, 1865,
and here he attended the little country school, gaining his first
knowledge of the great world of thoughts and things. Having completed
the meager

Page 297

curriculum of this primitive school, he attended successively the
school at West Bend, Oshkosh Normal School and the Northern Indiana
College. He was also under the private tutorship of some of the leading
educators of the country. Subsequently, he took the course of study in
the Chicago College of Dental Surgery (dental department of the Lake
Forest University), and graduated therefrom in 1888, with the degree of
D. D. S. He attended one course at Rush Medical College, and completed
his medical education at the Milwaukee Medical College in 1895,
graduating with the degree of M. D. He also received from the same
institution, a year later, the degree of C. M.

He has always been a resident of Wisconsin, and is thoroughly
identified with its development and material progress. As a boy he
learned to do all kinds of work on the farm, and in this occupation
earned his first dollar. Alternately working and attending school, he
finally secured a teacher's certificate. From his earnings as teacher
and from his farm labor, he paid for his professional education. He
located in Milwaukee in 1888, and began the practice of dentistry,
which he continued until 1895. He then practiced medicine for a year,
when he resumed the practice of dentistry, specializing on diseases of
the mouth, nose and throat. In 1895 he was appointed lecturer on
bacteriology in the Milwaukee Medical College, and in the following
year professor of that branch in the same institution. He has
experimented extensively in that field, and made some noteworthy
contributions to medical literature.

He has always been a Republican; has served as member of the ward
committee, and has done some effective work for the party. He received
the appointment of school commissioner for the Thirteenth ward in 1895,
and takes a lively interest in the public schools.

He is a member of the American Medical association, Practitioners'
society of Milwaukee, American Dental association, Wisconsin State
Dental society, and Leeuwenhoek society,

[image: DR. VALENTINE A. GUDEX.]

which latter honored him with a fellowship. He is examining physician
to the Knights of the Maccabees, Knights of Pythias and Independent
Order of Foresters. He is also oral surgeon to the Milwaukee county
hospital, and lecturer on bacteriology in the Milwaukee County Hospital
Training School.

He is a member of Trinity Evangelical church. He married Louisa
Machleith in 1888, and has two children, Arthur and Junius.

RICHTER, August E., county judge of Fond du Lac county, is the son of
German parents, and was born in the province of Saxony, Germany,
February 8th, 1853. His father, August Richter, and his mother, whose
maiden name was Ernestine Sophia Klaebe, came to this country in 1855,
stopping for a short time in Milwaukee, then taking up their residence
in Cedarburg, whence they removed a few years later to Fond du Lac,
which has since been the family home. The mother died October 22nd,
1892. The son's education was received in the public schools of Fond du
Lac. At the age of eighteen he

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[image: AUGUST E. RICHTER.]

became a clerk in the drug store of J. C. Huber of Fond du Lac, in
which position he remained for ten years, a trusted and faithful
employee. In 1882, when twenty-nine years of age, he received the
nomination, in the Republican county convention, for clerk of the
circuit court for Fond du Lac county, and was elected by a handsome
majority, although the county usually gave a Democratic majority of
several hundred. While occupying this office he gave his leisure hours
to the study of law, the profession of which he had long desired to
enter. With such ardor did he prosecute his studies in this direction
that he was examined for admission to the bar in January, 1885, and
creditably passed the test. He immediately began practice, and by close
application to the various phases of the profession and a thorough
study of the cases committed to him, he steadily extended his business,
and became known as a good counselor and faithful and successful in the
conduct of cases. In 1889 he was nominated by the Republican convention
for county judge, his opponent being F. F. Duffy, ex-district attorney,
and a popular Democrat. Notwithstanding this and the fact that the 
county had generally returned a Democratic plurality, Mr. Richter was 
elected by 870 majority. As his term drew to a close, he received a non-
partisan call to become a candidate for re- election, and was chosen 
without opposition. In the spring of 1897, he had the unanimous 
nomination of the Republican convention, and the practical endorsement 
of the Democrats by their failure to nominate any one against him; and 
was re-elected for the third term by a unanimous vote. These facts are 
mentioned, not with any political purpose in view, but simply to show 
the standing of Judge Richter among his fellow citizens. Upright in all 
his relations with his fellow men, he has gained their confidence both 
in his ability and honesty, and is regarded as a progressive and useful 
citizen.

Judge Richter is a Republican, but not a partisan; he believes in the
principles of his party, and considers it his duty to promote those
principles whenever he honestly can.

He belongs to a number of clubs and societies, and is unmarried.

FROEDE, Albert, who resides at No. 23 Center street, Milwaukee, is the
son of Charles Froede, sergeant of Company E, Thirty-second regiment of
illinois volunteer infantry in the war of the rebellion. He served from
beginning of the struggle to the end, and died at Little Rock,
Arkansas, while on his way home after his honorable discharge from the
service. Mr. Froede's mother, Louisa Froede's mother, Louisa Froede,
remained a widow seven years after the death of her first husband, when
she married Henry Rehm.

Mr. Froede was born in Chicago, state of Illinois, on the 19th day of
November, 1857. His education was obtained principally from the public
schools of Milwaukee, which he attended from his sixth to his twelfth
year, after which he went to work in the cigar factory of Russell &
Roth, where he was engaged for a year in stripping leaf tobacco. At the

Page 299

end of that time he applied for and obtained the position of messenger
boy in the office of the Western Union Telegraph company, which he held
for one year, faithfully and satisfactorily performing all the duties
assigned him. At the end of this service he returned to the cigar
factory, and learned the trade of cigar-making, which he followed for
three years. Having saved a little money he entered Dr. Beyer's
Commercial College, in which he pursued a thorough course of book-
keeping; and, upon graduating therefrom, applied for the position of
copyist in the office of the clerk of the probate court, to which he
was soon appointed. Gottlieb Engle was the clerk then, but, upon his
resignation some time thereafter, he was succeeded by J. G. Donnelly.
Several years thereafter, the office of register in probate was created
be special act of the legislature, and Judge Mann appointed Mr.
Donnelly thereto, and Mr. Froede was made his assistant. After he had
held this position for some ten years, the office register in probate
becoming vacant through Mr. Donnelly's resignation. Judge Mann, holding
that civil service as in order, appointed Mr. Froede to the vacant
office upon his producing a certificate signed by all the justices of
the supreme court of the state as to his qualifications therefor. The
hours not demanded by the business of his office, Mr. Froede spent in
the study of the law, and this study, together with the experience
gained in his office of the application of legal principles and
methods, fitted him for the practice of this profession, and he passed
the required examination and was admitted to the bar in December, 1895.

Mr. Froede came to this state in 1862, and earned his first dollar,
when ten years of age, in Michael Wehr's barber shop, where he was
employed to take care of the boller used in heating water for bathing.
His Saturdays and Sunday mornings were employed in this way.

In politics Mr. Froede says that heretofore he has been a Democrat. He
is a member of

[image: ALBERT FROEDE.]

the National Union, Heptosophs, Druids. He was at one time second
speaker of the North Side Turnverein, and speaker for three terms of
the Humboldt Turnverein.

Mr. Froede was married on the 25th of January, 1884, to Lena Dierkens,
and they have five children--Albert, Emily, Elsie, Ferdinand and
Herbert.

DOERFLER, Christofer Agnostus, one of the rising lawyers of Milwaukee,
is the son of Christofer Adam Conrad Doerfler, who was by occupation a
tanner. He was born in Germany in 1812, and came to this country in
1836, settling in Frederick, Maryland, where he lived until 1846, when
he removed to Milwaukee, being of the early settlers on the south side,
on what was then known as Walker's point addition, and one of the first
tanners to pursue his calling in the city. While living in Frederick,
he knew Barbara Fritchie, made famous in Whittier's poem.

His mother's maiden name was Withelmine Schotte, who came to this
country from Germany in 1846, settling in Milwaukee, where

Page 300

[image: CHRISTOPER AGNOSTUS DOERFLER]

she continued to reside until her death on the 15th of November, 1896.
M. Doerfler says there was nothing remarkable about his ancestry on
either side; they were persevering, diligent, strictly honest, and
belonged to the so-called middle class of society.

C. A. Doerfler was born in Milwaukee on the 2nd of March, 1862, and
received his early education in the eighth district school, from which
he was graduated in 1873. He then entered the Milwaukee high school,
pursuing the full four years' course and receiving its diploma. He also
took a year's course in the old Milwaukee normal school, and graduated
from that institution. Three years of teaching in the Sixth district
primary school followed, in which he earned sufficient to give him a
two year's course in the law department of the state university, from
which he graduated in 1885. The year following he opened a law office
in a rare room on National avenue, where he practiced for on year, 
during which he says his "clientage was neither numerous nor lucrative." 
The next year he had an office on Reed street, with practically the same 
result. In 1889, however, John Toohey, district attorney, appointed him 
his assistant, and that position he held for two years, at the end of 
which time he entered into partnership with John Toohey and John L. 
Gilmore for the practice of law, the firm being known as Toohey, 
Doerfler & Gilmore. This firm was dissolved in the spring of 1893, and 
since that time he has conducted the business alone at 105 Grand avenue, 
and it has assumed large proportions. He has, for the last eleven years, 
devoted his time to building up his business, and has sacrificed, he 
says, nearly all pleasures of life thereto. He has succeeded, however, 
to his "utmost satisfaction," and this is the height of his ambition in 
that direction.

For obvious reasons he has no "war record," but is devoted to the cause
of the Union and the Republican party; although he has never sought
office, has never been a candidate therefor, and has no ambition in
that respect. He is not a member of any club, society or church, and is
not a believer in them. He has never married.

CARSON, William Henry, D.D.S., is the son of William N. and Margaret,
nee Tiernan, Carson, the former of Scotch and the later of Irish
descent. The father left home at an early age, and "followed the sea"
for a time, and then, in 1845, settled on a farm in Ohio. He became
quite eminent in this business, and very successful. He was a Democrat
in politics until 1860, when he voted for Lincoln for president. He is
still living on his farm at the age of seventy-four. He has had eleven
children, and in the twilight of his life finds in their society his
chief enjoyment.

Dr. Carson was born in Bloomfield, Ohio, on the 20th of May, 1854. He
attended the district school near his home, and then took up the study
of dentistry at the age of twenty, in Cadiz, Ohio. It is greatly to his
credit that he earned the money with which he gained his professional
education, and this self-dependence is, no doubt, one of the secrets of
the

Page 301

success which has marked his pursuit of his profession. He began
practice, after two years' study, and continued it for one year, when,
feeling the need of a more complete preparation for his work, he took a
two years' course in the Philadelphia Dental College. He then went into
partnership with his preceptor, and practiced with him three years,
after which he took another course at the same college, and received
its diploma in 1881. Returning to Cadiz, Ohio, he resumed practice 
there, which he continued for four years. Meantime, he married a lady
from Dodgeville, Wisconsin, Miss Libbie Stephens. But her health was
not good in Ohio, and friends persuaded him to take her back to her old
home in Dodgeville. There he opened an office in 1885, and secured a
profitable practice. But he was anxious for a large field, and in
September, 1888, he removed to Milwaukee, where he entered upon the
practice of his profession, securing at once a remunerative business
which has steadily grown until it is now one of the best in the city.

Dr. Carson is a Republican, and cast his first presidential vote for
Hayes, although he had previously voted for him for governor. He is not
a partisan merely, but one who looks into all political questions, and
votes for what he deems best as a national policy.

He is a member of the Wisconsin State Dental society, of which he was
president in 1888, and is now secretary. He is a member of the state
board of dental examiners, to which position he was appointed by
Governor Upham, and at the recent session of the board in Madison he
was elected its secretary. He was at one time professor of dentistry in
the Milwaukee Medical and Dental College, but resigned to take the
position of secretary of the board of dental examiners.

He is a member of the Recreation club, is a Mason and has been since
1883; is a Knight Templar and a past master of Wisconsin Lodge, No. 13;
past high priest of Kilbourn Chapter, No. 1; present grand captain of
the hosts of the Grand Chapter of Wisconsin.

[image: WILLIAM HENRY CARSON.]

He is a Presbyterian in religion, and a member of Calvary Presbyterian
church.

He was married in January, 1883, to Miss Elizabeth Stephens of
Dodgeville, Wisconsin, daughter of Col. Thos. Stephens of the Second
Wisconsin cavalry, who, previous to the war of the rebellion, served in
the queen of England's life guards, was called "Little Tom," although
he was over six feet in height and weighed 240 pounds, and had a
national reputation as a swordsman. Dr. and Mrs. Carson have four
bright children--two boys and two girls, Archibald Blaine, Margaret
Wood, William Eugene and Elizabeth Mary.

ROHRDANZ, Robert William, M. D., county physician for the south side,
is of German descent, the son of John and Anna Rohrdanz, and was born
in the Third ward of Milwaukee, on the 8th of March, 1868. He attended
the Tenth ward public school, from which he graduated at the head of
his class when but thirteen years of age. He then entered the East Side
High School, and graduated from it in 1885, at the age of seventeen
years.

Page 302

[image: ROBERT WILLIAM ROHRDANZ.]

He was anxious to continue his studies, but did not have the means
therefor; and so he secured the position of book-keeper in Hansen's
Empire Fur factory. He received a good salary, and in three years has
saved enough to enable him to prepare for a professional life. He took
up the study of medicine with Dr. Senn on June 1st, 1889, at the age of
twenty-one. In the fall of that year he entered Rush Medical College,
Chicago, and at the close of the winter course he went to the
University of Wisconsin, where he spent three months in the
bacteriological laboratory. During the summer of 1890 he served as
intern in the Milwaukee county hospital. In the fall he returned to
Rush Medical College, from which he was graduated in April, 1891.
Immediately thereafter he secured a place in Milwaukee county hospital
as assistant physician. This place he held until 1892, when he resigned
it and became assistant physician in Dr. McBride's sanitarium in
Wauwatosa, where he remained until October following. These hospital
experiences were admirable preparation for private practice, which he
was anxious to enter; but he felt the need of still further
preparation, and, so, in the fall of 1892, he went to Philadephia, and
took a post graduate course in the medical department of the University
of Pennsylvania, from which he received a diploma in May, 1893, ranking
as third in a class of some two hundred, his average in his studies
being 96.5 in a possible 100.

Returning to Milwaukee, he opened an office for private practice at 387
Eleventh avenue, where he may now be found.

His first earnings as a boy were received as carrier for The Evening
Wisconsin, where many another boy, who has since risen to importance,
received his. He has always been obliged to reply upon his own
resources, but he is, doubtless, the stronger man and the more skillful
physical for that reason. That which costs a struggle to attain is not
only more highly prized when gained, but more useful to him who wins
it.

Dr. Rohrdanz was appointed county physician for the south side by the
board of supervisors in 1895, and reappointed in 1896.

He is a member of the Independent Order of Old Fellows, and a Knight of
Pythias.

BLACKSTOCK, Thomas M.--Among the many men whose careers are sketched in
this volume, there is probably not one who is more truly a "man of
progress," or who is better entitled to the designation "self-made"
than he whose name heads this article. Others may have more culture, a
wider experience, a profounder knowledge of the great questions of
statesmanship and sociology, but few, if any, are more plentifully
endowed with plain, common sense, or have a keener insight into the
practical affairs of life. Mr. Blackstock is of Scotch-Irish descent,
and was born in Belfast, Ulster county, Ireland, in 1835, the son of
Thomas Blackstock, a linen weaver, and of Sarah Martin Blackstock. He
never attended a day school, and his only education, outside of that
which he gained by private study and observation, was obtained in a
Sunday school

Page 303

when a boy in his native land; and that he made good use of these
opportunities is shown by his general intelligence as well as by his
strong moral character.

Mr. Blackstock came to Wisconsin in 1849, when fourteen years of age,
and made his home in Sheboygan. His first employment was that of chore
boy in a hotel. A year thereafter he went into the drug store of Dr.
Brown in Sheboygan, where he remained for some six years, gaining a
thorough knowledge of the drug business. As an evidence of the
thoroughly practical character of the man, he was, upon coming of age,
appointed superintendent of the Sheboygan and Fond du Lac plank road,
and it may be that while in this position he gained his first
impression of the need and industrial importance of good wagon roads,
of which he is one of the most intelligent and earnest advocates. At
the age of thirty he engaged in the drug business, continuing in it for
some twelve years, and making a success of it, as he has of everything
he has undertaken. In 1877 Mr. Blackstock went into the chair
manufacturing business, which developed into the Phoenix Chair company,
one of the largest institutions of the kind in the country. Of this
company he is the president, general manager and owner of a majority of
the stock. It is the principal industrial establishment of the
beautiful city of Sheboygan, and furnishes employment to hundreds of
industrious citizens. He is president of the Sheboygan Loan and
building association, and of the County Agricultural society.

Mr. Blackstock has been a Republican since the organization of the
party; voted for its first candidate for president, John C. Fremont,
and for all its candidates on the general ticket since, except that in
1872 he voted for horace Greeley. He was for seven years member of the
city council and mayor for three terms. He was a member of the
legislature in 1869-70, and president of the Sheboygan school board for
three years. In 1894 he was widely mentioned in the Republican journals
of the

[image: THOMAS M. BLACKSTOCK.]

state as a suitable person for the Republican nomination for governor,
and received a considerable number of votes in convention for the
nomination.

In the fall of 1860, Mr. Blackstock was married to Bridget Denn; but
they have no children.

JONES, Burr W., a resident of Madison, one of the leading members of
the Madison bar, and an ex-member of congress, was born March 9th,
1846, in the town of Union, Rock county, Wis., near the present village
of Evansville, the son of William Jones, a native of Pennsylvania, who
was married and came to Wisconsin in 1845, settled on a farm in the
town of Union, Rock county, in 1846, and died in 1855. Burr W. Jones'
mother, Sarah M. Prentice before marriage, was born in Genesee county,
New York, in 1825. After the death of her husband, she married Levi
Leonard, one of the earliest settlers in Rock county. They are still
living in Evansville. On his father's side Mr. Jones is of Welsh
descent, although his grandfather was born in Scotland, but came to
Wisconsin at an early

Page 304

[image: BURR W. JONES]

day, The ancestors of his mother came from England, and several members
of the family were in the Revolutionary war.

Mr. Jones had the usual experience of country boys of attending the
district school in winters and working on the farm in summers, and
later had the opportunity, by walking two miles, of attending the
Evansville Seminary several terms, and there made such preparation as
he could for college. He taught school several winters and in this way
earned part of the money to defray the expenses of a college course. He
entered the state university in 1866, taking the classical course;
worked on the farm during his vacations to assist in paying his
expenses, and graduated in 1870, with one of the honors of his class.
During his university course he was a member of the Hesperian society,
and participated in two of the public joint debates. After his
graduation from the literary course, he entered the law department, at
the same time studying in the offices of John D. Gurnee and Wm. F.
Vilas. He graduated from this department in 1871, being the
representative of his class at commencement. He began the practice of 
his profession, at Portage in the winter of 1871-2, but was soon 
afterward offered a partnership with Judge A. S. Sanborn, and, in the 
spring, returned to Madison. In the fall of 1872 he was elected district 
attorney of Dane county on the Democratic ticket, was re-elected in 
1874, but declined to be a candidate for a third term. Afterward, he 
was, for several years, city attorney of Madison. His partnership with 
Judge Sanborn was dissolved in 1873. Then followed successively 
partnerships with A. C. Parkinson, F. J. Lamb and E. Ray Stevens, the 
latter being still in existence.

Although Mr. Jones has always devoted himself to his profession, he has
taken an active interest in public affairs. His first political
speeches were in the Greeley campaign of 1872, and he has ever since
been in demand in political campaigns, and has given such time to his
party as could be spared from his professional duties. In the fall of
1882, while trying a case in a distant county, he was notified by
telegram that he had been nominated as the Democratic candidate for
congress in the Third district, the nomination being wholly unsought
and unexpected. Although there seemed then little prospect of success,
as the campaign progressed the prospects brightened and the situation
was made more favorable for the young candidate by the fact that a
bitter struggle was waging in the Republican camp between the rival
candidates--E. W. Keyes and Geo C. Hazelton. As the contest progressed
toward the close it became apparent that Mr. Jones would be the victor,
and he was elected by more than 1,300 votes over the combined vote of
both his opponents. It was one of those "tidal wave" years, which have
become such a feature of American politics. The same year G. L.
Woodward and John Winans, Democrats, were also elected to congress from
strong Republican districts. Mr. Jones was nominated for reelection in
1884, and, although he ran largely ahead of his ticket, he was defeated
by the Republican candidate, Mr. La Follette, and the

Page 305

district which had not before been lost to the Republicans for many
years was regained by them. During his term in congress, Mr. Jones had
an opportunity for much more active service than new members usually
have. He was second on the important committee on war claims; and, as
the chairman, Judge Geddes of Ohio, was in feeble health much of the
time, and unable to perform the duties of chairman, such
responsibilities were thrown upon Mr. Jones that he often participated
in the debates and had charge of important business. During his service
in congress he was in accord with his party on the questions of tariff,
revenue and finance, and especially has been identified with the
movement for the reform of the civil service. On leaving congress he
continued his professional work, declining opportunities for political
preferment, but rendering his party service in its campaigns. In 1892
he was temporary and permanent chairman of the Democratic state
convention, in Milwaukee, and, in his address, indicated the lines on
which the campaign should be conducted; and, in the two years
following, he was a member of the state central committee. In the
campaign of 1896, he, in common with many other Democrats, declined to
follow the leadership of Bryan, and refused acquiescence in the
doctrines of the Chicago convention. He attended the Milwaukee
convention which close delegates to the Indianapolis National
Democratic convention, was selected one of those delegates, and was the
one chosen to present the name of Gen. Bragg to the convention as
candidate for president. This he did in an appropriate and impressive
speech.

In 1885 he was elected one of the professors in the law school of the
Wisconsin state university, and still holds that position, his subjects
being evidence, public corporations and domestic relations. He is the
author of a work on the law of evidence, which has met with much favor
in the profession, and has had an extended sale. His law practice has
been extensive, embracing the various
branches of the profession, including railroad land-grant questions
before the courts and the departments at Washington. He has also of
late conducted much litigation for and against municipalities and
private corporations.

Mr. Jones was married in December, 1873, to Olive I. Hoyt, daughter of
Lansing W. Hoyt, an old resident of Madison and former treasurer of
Dane county. They had one child--a daughter, Marion Burr Jones, aged
thirteen years.

Mr. Jones was recently appointed by Gov. Scofield one of a commission
for a revision or unification of the tax laws, and is chairman of the
commission.

DEVOS, William H., state senator from the Sixth senatorial district, is
a native of Milwaukee, though of Holland ancestry, his father coming to
America from Holland in 1844, and to Milwaukee the following year, when
but twenty-three years of age. Wm. H. Devos was educated in the public
schools of Milwaukee and in the Spencerian Business College.

After leaving school he became manager of his father's business, and
continued in that capacity until 1895, when the business was closed
out, and Mr. Devos formed a co-partnership with E. F. Whitnall, and
embarked in the business of handling coal and building material, and
this the firm is still carrying on.

In the spring of 1894 Mr. Devos was nominated by the Republicans of the
Ninth Ward for alderman, and elected by a handsome majority. In the
spring of 1896 he was renominated, but failed of re-election.

In the fall of 1896 he received the republican nomination for state
senator in the Sixth senatorial district, comprising the Ninth, Tenth,
Nineteenth and Twentieth wards, and was elected by a plurality of 1883
over Mr. Hotellet, his fusion opponent.

Mr. Devos, though a young man and new to the business of legislation,
has made a creditable record in the senate. Attentive,

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[image: WILLIAM H. DEVOS]

alert, having a proper regard for the duties and responsibilities of
his position, realizing that the first duty of a law-maker is a careful
study of the principles upon which all law should be based, and a
familiarity with the subjects involved. He is in the way to become a
useful and conservative legislator.

FARR, William Mattocks, M. D., although comparatively a young man, is
one of the oldest physicians in years of practice in the city of
Kenosha. He is of New England stock--the son of Asahel and Martha
(Wheeler) Farr, and was born in Peacham, Vermont, November 23rd, 1833.
His mother, Martha Jackson Wheeler, is a descendant of Jeremiah Wheeler
of Concord, New Hampshire, who was born in 1747, and died October 17th,
1827. In the History of Concord, by W. Bouton, appears this passage:
"We, the subscribers, do hereby solemnly engage and promise, that we
will, to the utmost of our power, at the risque of our lives and
fortunes, with arms, oppose the hostile proceedings of the British
fleets and armies against the united
American colonies." Among other names signed to this is Jeremiah
Wheeler, Jeremiah's first wife was Keziah Blanchard, born in Hollis,
March 26th, 1747, died August 12th, 1789. Keziah Blanchard was the
daughter of Benjamin and Keziah (Hastings) Blanchard. Benjamin
Blanchard was in Captain John Goffe's company of Col. Nathaniel Mason's
regiment, raised for the Crown Point expedition in 1776. Benjamin and
Keziah Wheeler had seven children; the seventh one, William, who was
born July 5th, 1782, and died in December, 1851, married twice, the
second time to Rhoda Skeele, in 1827, at Peacham, Vermont. "William
Wheeler was a very prominent man from the time he came to the place. He
served in various town offices, was captain of a militia company that
went to Portland during the war of 1812, and was afterwards colonel of
his regiment." His wife, Rhoda Skeele, a highly educated and refined
lady, was a descendant of the famous Webster family. Ephraim Webster
was a descendant of Thomas Webster of England, who settled in New
Hampshire about 1636, and came to Hampton about 1636. Although the
Webster family came from England they are of Scotish descent.

Ephraim Webster was born at Bradford, New Hampshire, May 24th, 1730,
and was married to Phebe Tucker, December 20th, 1750. They had seven
children.

Phebe Webster, daughter of Ephraim Webster and Phebe (Tucker) Webster,
married John Skeele, and came to Peachman, Vermont, from Salisbury, New
Hampshire, in 1773. They had four sons and seven daughters. One of the
daughters was Rhoda Skeele, who married Col. William Wheeler. Daniel
Webster, the American statesman, was a relative of Mrs. Col. William
Wheeler, and often visited at her home. William Almon Wheeler,
nineteenth vice-president of the United States, is a descendant of the
same family of Wheelers as Col. William Wheeler.

The Wheeler family is on English origin, and some of its members
belonged to the aristocracy.

Page 307

Sir Charles Wheeler was appointed captain-general of the Caribbee
islands. In 1693 Sir Francis Wheeler put into Boston to recruit. The
Wheelers were in and around London, England, for four hundred years.
From 1620 to 1650 there were many families of the name who came from
England to this country.

Asahel Farr was born in Waterford, Vermont, October 10th, 1820, grew to
manhood in his native state, and after receiving his primary education
in the common schools, he taught school, and worked hard to earn money
to enter the medical department of Dartmouth College, Hanover, New
Hampshire, from which he was graduated in 1846. After receiving his
diploma he commenced the practice of medicine in East St. Johnsbury,
Vermont; but in 1847 removed to Peacham, Vermont, where he subsequently
married Miss Martha Jackson Wheeler, who was also a native of Vermont.
Like many other young and ambitious men, he believed the west afforded
better opportunities for advancement, and, therefore, in 1854,
emigrated to Wisconsin, and located in Kenosha, where he continued to
reside until his death, engaged in the practice of his profession. He
was a fine surgeon and an able physician. While his time was well taken
up in his practice, like every other good man and patriotic citizen, he
gave some attention to political matters. Prior to the war for the
Union, he was a Democrat, but when the states of the south attempted to
overthrow the general government, he united with the party that stood
for the defense of the Union, and was ever afterward a Republican. He
was elected mayor of Kenosha in 1859-1863 1871-1872 and 1877 or 1878.
In 1873 he was elected and served one term in the general assembly of
the state, and in 1876 and 1877 was in the state senate, and performed
his duties with an intelligent, faithful and conscientious regard for
the interests of his constituents. He was also president of the board
of education of Kenosha for several years. In 1878 his wife died,
leaving three

[image: WILLIAM MATTOCKS FARR.]

children--Albert L. Farr, now a practicing physician in Chicago;
William M., our subject, and Martha, wife of Col. James R. Nutting of
Davenport, Iowa.

Subsequently, Dr. Asahel Farr married Mrs. Emma Marr Durfee of
Waukegan, Illinois.

Mrs. Martha Wheeler Farr was educated at Newburry Seminary, and was a
woman of unusual energy and mental attainments; she was a consistent
member of the Congregational church, to which her husband also
belonged. Dr. A. Farr was a member of the Masonic Fraternity, a good
business man, and took part in many of the business enterprises of his
adopted city, doing all in his power to advance its interests. He was,
for years, local surgeon of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway
company. He died on the 13th of June, 1887, leaving many friends.

Dr. A. Farr's parents were Alphens and Sibyl (Farr) Farr. His
grandparents were Asahel Farr and Jacob Farr, both of Chesterfield,
Massachusetts. At the time of his parent's marriage they were not aware
that they were both descendants of George Farr, a shipbuilder, who came
from England to the colonies

Page 308

in 1620. Dr Jacob Farr of Eau Clair, Wisconsin, and Edwin J. Farr of
Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, are cousins of Dr. A. Farr.

William Mattocks Farr, the subject of this sketch, was but a few months
old when his parents removed to Kenosha, and there he has spent almost
his entire life. He was brought up to work; although his parents kept
three or four servants, he had certain manual duties to attend to 
daily, and was no allowed to call upon the servants to do anything for
him. He was also taught the true nobility of labor, and had it
thoroughly impressed upon him by his mother, that any honest labor was
ennobling. The first money ever earned by him was for taking care of
the Congregational church, for which he received two dollars per week.
This position he sought and obtained after gaining his father's
relucant consent thereto. His father, at that time, was a rich man.

Dr. W. M Farr was educated at the Kenosha High School and at Robert
College. His professional education was received at the Chicago Medical
College, from which he received his degree in 1878. Besides having a
large private practice, he is the local surgeon of the Chicago &
Northwestern railway. He is very popular among his fellow citizens; has
been a member of the city school board, three times mayor of the city,
accepting the office, not for the honor of it, but because he thought
he could, by so doing, promote local interest, which he has in many
ways succeeded in doing. He was the first mayor in the state to call
upon the state board of arbitration to settle a strike, and the board
was successful in its efforts. Dr. Farr is a Republican in politics;
and as to religion, he is very practical and popular member of the
Episcopal church.

In Chicago, July 17th, Dr. Wm. M. Farr was united in marriage to
Beatrice Isabella Keith, a native of Illinois, though of Scotch
descent, her parents being natives of Scotland. Six children have been
born to them--Irving K., who died in his second year; Edna Wheeler, 
Malcolm Douglas, Reginald Hadley, William Mattocks, Jr., Constance 
Irene. Mrs. Beatrice Isabella Farr is a relative, on her mother's side, 
of George Smith, the banker and founder of the Marine bank of Milwaukee. 
Her father's brother, Alexander Keith, a Scotch clergyman, was born at 
Keith Hall, Aberdeenshire. A sketch of his life may be found in the 
supplement to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Mrs. B. I. Farr was seven years a student of Ferry Hall, Lake Forest,
Illinois, and finished her education at St. John's school, New York
City. Dr. Irving, nephew of Washington Irving, was principal of St.
John's school, since removed to Sunnyside. Mrs. Farr is active in
church, social and home work, and is beloved by all who know her.

Dr. Farr was appointed aid on Gov. Scotfield's staff with the rank of
colonel.

TEXTOR, Clinton, a resident of Medford and county judge of Taylor
county, is the son of John Textor, formerly a farmer in the town of
Lake, Milwaukee county, where he located about 1856. He never took any
active part in political affairs, but held a few local offices. He is
now retired from business and lives in Milwaukee. The maiden name of
Mrs. Textor's mother was Elizabeth Thomas, a native of Germany, but the
only one of the family that came to this country. She died December
14th, 1894, from the effects of a shock received upon hearing of the
death of her son, Judge Henry Textor of Washburn, Wis., which occurred
suddenly on the 7th of November, 1894. Mr. Textor's grandfather, father
and three uncles immigrated to this country, from Germany, in 1852, his
father and grandfather coming to Milwaukee, the others remaining in New
York.

Mr. Textor was born in Milwaukee on the 4th of October, 1856. His early
education was received in the public schools of the town of Lake, and
after that he was a student in the high school of the village of Bay
View, now 2 part of Milwaukee, from which he

Page 309

graduated in 1878. The following fall he entered the law department of
the state university, and graduated therefrom in the class of 1880.
While attending the law school he also studied in the law office of
Vilas & Bryant, at Madison. After graduation he entered into
partnership with James Hickox for the practice of law, but it lasted
only a short time, and he then did clerical work in the law office of
Wm. H. Ebbitts, and afterward in the office of Markham & Noyes, where
he remained until October, 1883, when he took up his residence in
Medford, and began the practice of law, in which he has continued up to
the present time. In 1886 the law firm of Corning & Textor was formed,
which lasted less than two years. Since then he has practiced alone. He
is also president of the Medford Brewing company.

Mr. Textor is, and always has been a Democrat in politics, and was a
candidate of that party for district attorney of Taylor county in 1884,
but was defeated by George W. Adams. In the spring of 1885 he was a
candidate for the office of county judge, and was elected, was re-
elected in 1889, and in 1893. In 1884 he was elected justice of the
peace and held the office for five years. In 1890 he was the Democrat
candidate for the legislative assembly from the district composed of
the counties of Taylor, Lincoln and Langlade, and was elected by about
1,300 majority. He was a candidate for re-election in 1892, but was
defeated by his Republican opponent, the district having been changed
in the apportionment to embrace the counties of Taylor, Price and
Oneida. He has been twice elected mayor of Medford, but was defeated
when standing for a second re-election in 1895, because of having
enforced some laws and ordinances obnoxious to certain elements of the
community. He was, in April, 1896, elected alderman, and that office he
now holds.

Mr. Textor is a member of but one society or order, and that is the
Order of the Knights of the Maccabees. He says that his religious
education was neglected, that he was never in

[image: CLINTON TEXTOR.]

a church until he was about eighteen years old. Now, however, he is a
member of the Unitarian church, the teachings of which come nearest to
his belief.

He was married October 4th, 1888, at Appleton, to Marguerite Jeannette
Kenney of that place, and they have two children--Clinton Kenny and
Henry Bayard.

BRETT, Benjamin Cyrus, M. D., for more than twenty years a prominent
physician of Green Bay, and assistant surgeon of the Twenty-first
Wisconsin infantry during the civil way, was born in Strong, Franklin
county, Maine, August 23rd, 1835. His parents were Cyrus H. and Mary
Hunter Brett. Ancestors of the former were among those who came to this
country in the historic Mayflower, while of the latter the ancestor
were Scotch-Irish. Dr. Brett's education was acquired at the district
and high schools of his native towns, and at Phillips and Augusta
(Maine) Academies. His medical training was received at Bowdoin and
Dartmouth Colleges, from the latter of which he graduated

Page 310

[image: BENJAMIN CYRUS BRETT.]

in 1860. From some months following, he served as intern in Demilt
Dispensary, New York City, and, in 1861, came to Wisconsin, locating in
Highland, Iowa county. In the fall of 1862 he enlisted in the Union
army, was commissioned assistant surgeon of the Twenty-first Wisconsin
infantry, and in January, 1865, was promoted to surgeon in the
Seventeenth Wisconsin infantry, but did not muster in. As assistant
surgeon, Dr. Brett was with the Army of the Cumberland, under Gen.
Rosenerans, at the battle of Stone River, where he was captured and
released, and the battle of Chickamauga. He served under Gen. Thomas
and Gen. Grant, and was afterward with Gen. Sherman, participating in
all his battles from Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain to the sea. After
the war Dr. Brett returned to the practice of his profession, opening
an office in Brodhead, Wis., where he remained for seven years. In
July, 1872, he removed to Green Bay, and has continued in the active
practice of medicine and surgery there up to the present time.


Dr. Brett has been a thorough Republican from the first, and always
ready to aid in the success of his party in all honorable ways. He 
filled the office of United States marine hospital surgeon at Green Bay 
during the administration of President Harrison, and was president of 
the board of examining surgeons there for eight years prior to 1893, and 
has been reappointed under the administration of President McKinley.

He is a member of the American Medical association, ex-president of the
Wisconsin State Medical society, ex-president of the Fox River Valley
Medical society, and of the Brown County Medical society. He is surgeon
of the T. O. Howe Post of the Grand Army of the Republican, member of
the Wisconsin Commandery of the Loyal Legion, is also a Royal Arch
Mason, and a member of the Presbyterian church.

Dr. Brett was married, in 1861, to Lucy W. Eastman of Hallowell, Maine,
and their surviving children are Annie E., Dr. Fred. N. and Jennie M.
Brett. The doctor has now for partner in the practice of his
profession, his son, Dr. F. N. Brett, and is health officer of Green
Bay, which position he has held for the past twenty years--a striking
testimonal to his skill as a physician and his fidelity and wisdom as
an official.

CARPENTER, Paul Dillingham, who resides at 120 Prospect avenue,
Milwaukee, is the son of the late Matthew Hale Carpenter. His father
was one of the most distinguished and brilliant lawyers of the United
States, and one of the foremost orators and debaters that ever held
seats in the national senate. He was senator from Wisconsin from 1869
to 1875, and from 1879 to his death in 1881. Mr. Carpenter's mother is
Caroline Dillingham Carpenter, the daughter of Paul Dillingham, who was
twice governor of Vermont, and twice representative in congress from
that state. She is also the sister of Wm. P. Dillingham, who was once
governor of Vermont. On the father's side Paul Carpenter is descended
from William Carpenter, who came

Page 311

to America in the ship Bevis, in 1638. William Carpenter, a son of the
immigrant of that name, held important offices in Massachusetts colony,
and was a man of character and influence. On his mother's side he is
the descendant of John Dillingham, who came to America with the
Winthrop colony in 1630, and he, too, was prominent in establishing the
principles of free government. John Dillingham, the great-great-
grandfather of Paul Carpenter, was a soldier under Gen. Wolfe in the
campaign against Quebec, and fell with his commander in that memorable
struggle, which practically ended the French rule on this continent.

Paul Dillingham Carpenter was born in Milwaukee on the 26th of January,
1867. His education was received at private schools in Milwaukee and
Washington, at the Milwaukee high school and from private tutors. He
spent a part of one year at the Columbia Law School in New York City.
After that he studied law in the office of Quarles. Spence & Quarles of
Milwaukee. Having been admitted to the bar he opened a law office in
Milwaukee, July 1st, 1892. For one year, from May 1st, 1894, he had for
partner Franz C. Eschweiler, under the firm name of Eschweiler &
Carpenter. Since the termination of this partnership he has conducted
the business alone. His most important case is that relating to the
assignment of F. T. Day, through the success of which Day's assignee
will lose the greater part of claims against clients, amounting to more
than one hundred and sixty thousand dollars.

Mr. Carpenter has generally been identified with the Republican party,
being president of the Republican club of Milwaukee in 1888. In the
campaign two years later he opposed the Hennett law and the Republican
ticket. In the campaign of 1892 and 1896 he made a few speeches for the
Republican party and candidates.

He is a member of the college society of Phi Delta Phi, Milwaukee club,
Wisconsin Society of Sons of the American Revolution--of

[image: PAUL DILLINGHAM CARPENTER.]

which he was for several years treasurer--Columbus club of Chicago, and
Catholic club of New York. He was at one time chairman of the committee
on public opinion of the Columbian league, and he is a member of the
Roman Catholic church.

On the 25th of November, 1891, he was married to Emma W. Falk, daughter
of the late Franz Falk, a prominent brewer, and they have two children,
Agnes M. and Matthew A. Carpenter.

VON BAUMBACH, Moritz Wilhelm Herman, once city treasurer of Milwaukee,
and for many years connected with the banking business of the city is
the son of Ludwig von Baumbach, a descendant of an old and noble German
family, who entered the German army, as a lieutenant, when but fourteen
years of age, and participated in the war against the first Napoleon.
At the conclusion of peace he resigned his commission as captain and
retired to his estates. Later he became prominent in the political
struggles of the country, and was elected a member of the provincial
parliament. In 1848 he became

Page 312

[image: MORITZ WILHELM HERMAN VON BAUMBACH.]

president of the chamber of deputies of Hesse, and was elected a member
of the first German parliament holding its sessions at Frankfort-on-
the-Main. Being a strong adherent of constitutional monarchy, and
holding very liberal views, he became discouraged at the prospects for
liberal government, sold his estates and migrated, in 1849, to the
United States, settling first on a farm near Elyria, Ohio. In 1857 he
removed to Milwaukee, whither his sons had preceded him. He was
appointed consul of the German empire in that city, and held the
position until the reorganization of the consular service in 1876. He
died in 1883. He is remembered by the older citizens as a man of fine
presence and military bearing, and a high sense of personal honor and
integrity. His wife, mother of Moritz von Baumbach, was Wilhelmine von
Schenk, only daughter of Lieutenant-General von Schenk, a distinguished
cavalry officer in the wars with Napoleon the First. She died in
Milwaukee on the 3rd of May, 1869.

Moritz von Baumbach was born in Hesse Cassel, Prussia, on the 13th of
January, 1834. His early education was received from private tutors; 
and, afterwards, he entered successively the gymnasiums at Rinteln and 
Hersfeld. Coming to this country with his parents in 1849, he worked on 
his father's farm in Ohio, then became a clerk in a mercantile 
establishment in Cleveland, afterwards in Elyria, Ohio, and later in New 
York City. In the spring of 1856 he took up his residence in Milwaukee, 
and in 1859, when but twenty-five years of age, he was elected city 
treasurer, which office he held for one term. In 1861 he opened a 
banking and foreign exchange office, which he conducted very 
successfully until 1870, when he transferred the business to the German 
Exchange bank, and was elected its first president. His health becoming 
impaired, he resigned the presidency of the bank in 1875, and confined 
his labors to his private affairs and to the duties of his consular 
office. Having fully recovered his health, he, in 1880, went into the 
First National bank as manager of the foreign exchange department. This 
position he held for three years, when he resigned it and took the same 
department in the Merchants' Exchange bank. Upon the consolidation of 
this bank with the First National, he continued in the same capacity 
under the new organization.

Mr. von Baumbach has held numerous consular offices--was appointed
consul for Austria-Hungary, in 1866, and for several German states; and
when the German empire was established he was appointed its vice-consul
in Milwaukee. After the reorganization of the German consular service,
the consulate was abolished, and the German government now appoints to
those positions only its own citizens, taken from the foreign office,
after having passed the required examination. He now represents the
German government in Milwaukee as consular agent.

The political record of Mr. von Baumbach is one which shows him to be a
thoughtful, conscientious citizen. During our civil war he was what was
termed a war Democrat that is a Democrat who believed in sustaining

Page 313

the government in a vigorous prosecution of the war; and, since that
time he has generally acted with the Democratic party on national
questions; but believes, however, in providing sufficient revenue for
all needs of the government by moderate tariff legislation; and he also
believes in a sound and stable currency. He did not vote with his party
during the recent election.

In religion he is a Protestant, though he is not a member of any
church.

Mr. von Baumbach was married, in 1863, to Anna Le Saulnier, and has
five children--three sons, William, Herman and Charles; and two
daughters, Isabella and Hilda--all living.

BUXTON, Henry Luther, one of the younger members of the Milwaukee bar,
was born in Brant, Erie county, New York, on the 7th of December, 1853,
but came with his parents to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in April, 1859. Here
he attended the ward and high schools, completing their courses with
credit, and entering with enthusiasm upon the study of the law. After
some time spent in office duty he became a student in the law
department of Columbia College, New York City, from which he graduated
in the spring of 1877. Returning to his home in Oshkosh, he formed a
partnership for the practice of law with Moses Hooper of that city,
which continued for two years. Not long after he removed to Milwaukee
and opened an office in the city for the practice of his profession,
and has steadily continued in the occupation ever since. Well versed in
the law, attentive to the interest of his clients, quietly and
industriously performing all of his professional duties, he has
maintained a creditable standing at the bar and is a progressive
citizen.

In politics he is a Republican, but has not been especially conspicuous
in the counsels of the party, although he has the ability for efficient
work in political campaigns if he chose to exercise it in that
direction. He is not a member of any club or society or

[image: HENRY LUTHER BUXTON.]

church. On the 12th of May, 1883, he was married to Ida J. Jones, but
they have no children.

Luther Buxton, H. L. Buxton's father, is a physician and surgeon, was a
member of the New York legislature in 1853-4, and also represented
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in the legislature of 1869-70. H. L. Buxton's
mother's maiden name was Sarah F. Wells, and the families were both of
English descent, but the grandfather Buxton fought for the freedom of
the colonies in the war of the revolution.

KIDD, Edward I., state bank examiner, was born in Millville, Grant
county, Wisconsin, May 10th, 1845, and he has always been a resident of
the state. His educational privileges did not extend beyond those
furnished by the public school and a partial academic course, for
before he had reached manhood, he enlisted, August 9th, 1862, in the
Union army, and was assigned to the Twenty-fifth regiment, Wisconsin
volunteers, Col. Rusk commanding. He served in all the campaigns of the
regiment, including the siege of Vicksburg,

Page 314

[image: EDWARD I. KIDD.]

the operations about Atlanta, Sherman's march to the sea, and north
through the Carolinas to Washington. Returning home to Millville after
the close of the war, he engaged in business, was elected to various
local offices, among which was member of the board of supervisors of
Grant county, which he held for fifteen years. He was a member of the
legislature in 1880. 1881 and 1883; and was a member of the state
senate for two successive terms--from 1885 to 1891. He was chairman of
the joint committee on claims in 1885, 1887 and 1889, and was the
author of a number of important measures both in the assembly and the
senate; and, during all his legislative service, he was among the most
influential members, because always careful, attentive to his duties
and always well informed as to the scope of the measures proposed and
their probable effect if they should become laws.

In 1889 he removed from Millville to Prairie du Chien, where he has
been engaged in the banking business. Since his residence in Prairie du
Chien he has been chairman of the board of supervisors of Crawford
county, and in other ways his fellow citizens have shown their 
confidence in his ability and integrity. The legislature of 1895 enacted 
a law providing for an examiner of state and private banks, and Governor 
Upham very properly appointed Mr. Kidd to the office, concluding that 
his long and varied legislative experience, his careful methods and 
conservative views, and his well-known integrity, as well as his 
familiarity with the bank business, fitted him, in an unusual degree, 
for the discharge of the responsible duties of examiner. This position 
he still holds, and to the discharge of its duties he has devoted much 
time and care. Probably the best evidence of his fitness for any public 
position to which he may aspire is the fact that his fellow citizens who 
know him best have so frequently conferred official honors upon him. 
Public affairs have always had an interest for him, and he has made them 
a subject for careful and profound study.

He is a zealous Republican because he believes in the principles and
policy of the party, and he has done much work for their promulgation.

YOUNG, William Henry, a resident of Oconto, Wisconsin, and
superintendent of the Holt Lumber company of that city, was born in
Woodville, Wilkinson county, Mississippi, on the 11th of August, 1845.
His father, Uriah Young, was a native of New River, Louisiana, and a
farmer and lumberman by occupation. His mother, Lucretia, nee Prewitt,
was born in Mississippi, and the families on both sides were native
Americans for many generations, and participated patriotically in the
struggle for the independence of the country and for the establishing
of free institutions. When William was a mere boy, the family moved to
Greensburg, St. Helena parish, Louisiana, where the boy received in the
local schools a limited education. As soon as he was old enough for
work he assisted his father on the farm and in the saw mill what time
could be spared from school. When some fourteen years of age he had the
misfortune

Page 315

to lose both his parents, and thenceforth had to make his own way in
the world. His father, though born and reared in the south, was a
strong Union man, and the son's sympathies followed those of his
father. Arrived at the age for military duty, he determined to enlist
in the Union army, and the Fourth Wisconsin cavalry being at that time
in the vicinity of his home, he enlisted in it on the 3rd of November,
1863, and served with it in the Department of the Gulf during the
remainder of the war. When mustered out of service he ranked as first
lieutenant. The regiment was furnished transportation to Madison, and
this young hero, feeling that thenceforth his lot was with the men who
saved the Union, came to Wisconsin.

Having saved from his pay a little ready money, he went to Chicago and
took a course in a commercial college, at the end of which time he made
his way to Oconto, where many of his army comrades resided. Arriving
there in November, 1866, he obtained employment with the lumber firm of
holt & Balcome, at thirty dollars per month, at scaling logs, as night
watchman, and as time-keeper; and in the employ of this company he
remained for nineteen years. In 1887 the firm was dissolved, and the
Holt Lumber company was formed, to continue the business of the firm to
which it succeeded. Mr. Young was promoted to the position of
superintendent, which he has held to the present time--a very emphatic
testimonial to his ability and integrity in business affairs. This
company cuts some thirty million feet of lumber annually, and all this
immense business is directly under Mr. Young's supervision. Mr. Young
is also vice-president of the Oconto National bank.

Mr. Young has always been a Republican, and as such was a member of the
legislature in 1885. He was also chairman of the Republican county
committee for four years, has been a member of several state
conventions, and generally active in the political affairs of his part
of the state. At present he is a member of Gov. Scofield's staff, with
the rank of

[image: WILLIAM HENRY YOUNG.]

colonel. He was for fourteen years a member of the city council of
Oconto, six of which he was major. His long service in this position is
evidence that he was a wise and useful public servant.

He was married at Oconto, January 1st, 1872, to Ellen E. Russell. They
have one daughter, Ina, who is a graduate of Lake Forest University.
The family attend the Presbyterian church.

WOLKE, George, superintendent and general agent of the metropolitan
Life Insurance company for the district of Milwaukee, was born in
Westenholz, Westfahlen, Germany, on the 14th of December, 1862. His
father, Johann Herman Wolke, was a hotelkeeper, grocer and baker in a
little country village in Germany, where he died inn 1872, at the age
of forty-six years. Joseph Wolke, a brother of the subject of this
sketch, succeeded to the father's business, and is still carrying it
on. The mother, Maria Anna, nee Schroeder, died in 1882, when fifty-
four years of age.

George Wolke was educated in the public

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[image: GEORGE WOLKE.]

schools of his native Germany, and, at the age of eighteen years,
turned his face toward this "land of promise," arriving here in 1881,
and locating in St. Charles county, Missouri, where he worked on a farm
for three years. In 1884 he left farm work, and, going to St. Louis,
learned the trade of cabinet-maker. He was next employed, for three
years, as salesman in a furniture store; and, at the end of this time,
he was offered and accepted an agency for the Metropolitan Life
Insurance company in St. Louis. At the end of a year, having filled the
position to the satisfaction of his employers, he was promoted to the
place of assistant superintendent, the duties of which he performed
with such faithfulness and ability that he received another promotion,
being appointed, in 1892, superintendent for the company for the
district of Peoria, Illinois, having full charge of the company's
business in that locality, involving the work of some fifty agents. His
management here was so satisfactory that, after four years, he was
again promoted to the still larger field of Milwaukee, which includes,
in addition to Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha; and his position is that
of superintendent and general agent, in which he has the direction or
control of nine assistant superintendents and over fifty men. This is a
rapid advance; and involving as it does great responsibilities, it is
evidence of the possession on Mr. Wolke's part of business abilities
quite unusual, and even extraordinary, for one not bred to the peculiar
duties which this office involves.

Mr. Wolke is a member of but one society, and that is the Wisconsin
Association of Life Underwriters. In religion Mr. Wolke is a Catholic.

He was married September 15th, 1888, to Augusta Abaus of St. Louis, but
they have no children.

End Part 10