USA > Michigan > Monroe County > History of Monroe County, Michigan : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests Volume II > Part 24
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committee. In 1900 he was a delegate to the national convention at Kansas City which nominated William J. Bryan.
Mr. Weier and family reside at 158 Monroe street. He was married in 1902 to Miss Cecelia M. Leib, daughter of Frank and Mary (Schaub) Leib, her father being one of the old and respected citizens of Monroe. Mr. and Mrs. Weier are the parents of five children : Coletta M., Her- bert F., Francis A., William R. and Roland G.
CHARLES R. OSGOOD. The present superintendent of the Municipal Lighting Plant of Monroe is a man of broad experience in the general field of engineering, and has been able to bring this municipal industry to a high state of efficiency.
Charles R. Osgood is a native of Ohio, born in the city of Columbus, July 21, 1868. His parents were Elijah R. and Rachel (Giddings) Os- good, his father having for many years been engaged in business in Columbus.
He was educated first in the Columbus public schools and also in the private school of Professor Schlessenger, one of the noted mining engineers of the time. On leaving school he was employed for some time on public works in the states of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and later at Dayton, Ohio. In 1903 he was one of the engineers engaged by the Detroit & Toledo Construction Company, and was appointed electrical engineer on the thirty-five miles of road connecting those two cities. After completing this undertaking he was engaged as superintendent of the Municipal Lighting Plant at Monroe, where his previous experience in similar works in other cities has resulted in sub- stantial benefit to the city and citizens. The general management of the lighting plant is in the hands of the board of public works.
Mr. Osgood married, in 1894, Miss Florence A. Taft, and they are the parents of three children, Susan, Gladys and Robert R. Mrs. Os- good was born in New York and is a daughter of Lorenzo P. Taft. Mr. Osgood is a Mason, being affiliated with Monroe Lodge No. 27, A. F. & A. M., and Monroe Chapter No. 22, R. A. M.
WALTER A. MEIER. One of the substantial and well ordered insti- tutions that contributes to the commercial and financial stability of Monroe county is the Monroe State Savings Bank, and in his native city the standing of Walter A. Meier is well indicated by the fact that he is the able and popular incumbent of the office of cashier of this sub- stantial bank.
The Monroe State Savings Bank was organized in 1905 and was incorporated with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars, its surplus fund being now six thousand dollars and its function including a gen- eral commercial banking business in addition to those of the savings department. The personnel of the executive corps of the institution at the present time is as here noted : Dr. Lewis C. Knapp, president ; John P. Bronson, vice-president; Walter A. Meier, cashier; and Addis E. Dunbar, assistant cashier.
Walter Anton Meier was born in the city of Monroe on the 26th of January, 1881, and is recognized as one of the representative young
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business men of his native county, within which his circle of friends is coincident with that of his acquaintances. He is the eldest of the six sons of Frederick W. and Elizabeth (Munch) Meier, both of whom were likewise born and reared in Monroe county, where the respective fam- ilies were founded in the pioneer days. On other pages of this work appears a sketch of the career of Frederick W. Meier, and thus further data concerning the family history are not demanded in the present con- nection. He whose name initiates this article duly availed himself of the advantages of the excellent public schools of his native city, and after completing the curriculum of the high school he entered the literary or academic department of the University of Michigan, in which he con- tinued his studies for two years. He then became associated in the man- agement of his father's mercantile establishment, devoted to books, sta- tionery and wall paper, and finally he became a clerical executive in the banking establishment of B. Dansard & Son, one of the pioneer financial institutions of Monroe. He resigned this position in 1905 to accept that of assistant cashier in the newly organized Monroe State Savings Bank, and in the following year he was promoted to his present office, that of cashier, his advancement having been the merited reward for efficient service and a recognition of his excellent executive ability. He is also a member of the directorate of the bank and to his earnest and progressive efforts has been due much of the popularity of the institution, which now holds high rank among the banking houses of Monroe county. Mr. Meier takes a lively interest in all that touches the welfare of his native city and county and while he has never had any ambition to enter the arena of practical politics he is aligned as a stanch supporter of the Republican party.
On the 20th of April, 1909, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Meier to Miss Margaret Bronson, daughter of John P. Bronson, who is one of the representative business men and honored and influential citizens of Monroe, where he is vice-president of the State Savings Bank, as already noted, and also treasurer of the Boehme & Rauch Company. Mr. and Mrs. Meier are popular factors in the social activ- ities of their home city and their attractive residence is known for its gracious hospitality.
FREDERICK W. MEIER. The representative business man and sterling citizen to whom this sketch is dedicated has been a resident of Monroe county from the days of his infancy and for nearly half a century has been actively identified with business interests in the city of Monroe, where he has long been proprietor of a well equipped establishment de- voted to the sale of books, stationery, wall paper, etc. He has achieved substantial success through earnest and well directed effort and has or- dered his course upon the highest plane of integrity and honor, so that he has secure vantage ground in the confidence and esteem of the community which has long been his home and in the welfare of which he has main- tained a deep and abiding interest.
Mr. Meier was born in the kingdom of Hanover, Germany, on the 27th of January, 1852, and is a son of August and Marie Christiana (Euberdick) Meier, who immigrated to the United States in 1855, when
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the subject of this review was about two years of age. Soon after land- ing in the port of New York City the parents came to Monroe county, Michigan, and here the father worked on a farm in Monroe township. He was a miller by trade and was specially skilled in this line, so that he found profitable employment at his trade. He was employed for a number of years in the old Waldorf mill, which was operated by water power and which was situated a mile west of the village on the River Raisin, which is in the adjoining county of Washtenaw. Later he was identified with the operations of mills in the city of Monroe, and in one of the same he finally became an interested principal. He was an industrious and enterprising business man, a loyal citizen and he ever retained the inviolable confidence of all who knew him. He was summoned to the life eternal in 1895, at the age of sixty-six years, and his devoted wife passed away in 1888, at the age of sixty-five years, both having been zealous members of the German Lutheran church. Of their children six sons and three daughters are now living.
Frederick W. Meier, whose name initiates this article, gained his early educational discipline in the parochial school of the German Lu- theran church in Monroe and he later continued his studies under the preceptorship of John Davis, one of the able teachers of the county at that time and a citizen whose name is held in lasting honor in this com- munity, where he served as justice of the peace for many years. After leaving school Mr. Meier found employment as a clerk in the book and stationery store of the late Isaac Lewis, with whom he remained nearly twenty years, at the expiration of which he purchased the business of his honored employer. During the long intervening years he has suc- cessfully continued the enterprise, which he kept up to the highest stand- ard in the matter of appointments and comprehensiveness of stock, and the business now takes precedence of all others of the kind in the city, the trade controlled being of substantial and representative char- acter. The store of Mr. Meier is twenty by one hundred feet in dimen- sions, modern in its facilities and furnishings, and admirably equipped with full lines of books of all kinds, stationery for commercial and pri- vate use and all grades of wall paper. Mr. Meier is known as one of the substantial and influential representatives of mercantile interests in Monroe, is liberal and progressive as a citizen and holds the inviolable confidence and esteem of the community which has been the stage of his protracted and well directed endeavors as a business man. In politics, though never manifesting aught of desire for public office, he is a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, and his religious views are in harmony with the tenets of the German Lutheran church, in whose faith he was reared.
On the 5th of May, 1880, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Meier to Miss Eliza Munch, who was born and reared in Monroe county, where her father, the late Antone Munch, settled many years ago, the major part of his active career having been devoted to bakery and con- fectionery. Mr. and Mrs. Meier have nine children, namely: Walter A., Bertha, Julius, Adelia, Laura, Frederick, Robert, Oswald and Nor- man. Walter A., the eldest son, is cashier of the Monroe State Savings Bank and is individually mentioned on other pages of this work; Bertha
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is the wife of Fred O. Southworth, and they reside at Monroe, Michi- gan; Julius is engaged in the book and stationery business with his father, at Monroe, Michigan, and the other children remain at the parental home.
EDWARD G. J. LAUER. A native son of the city of Monroe, who has here marked the passing years with large and worthy achievement as a business man and who holds secure vantage place in popular confidence and esteem is Edward George Joseph Lauer, who is here engaged in the retail dry-goods trade and whose establishment is metropolitan in all appointments and in every department of service, one of the largest and most important concerns of the kind in southern Michigan. His success has been almost phenomenal and is the direct result of his self-confidence, ability, aggressive policies and fine initiative powers. He began his independent career with virtually no capitalistic resources, but his character and ability proved adequate reinforcement and he has gained prestige as one of the leading merchants and influential citizens of the city and county that have ever represented his home. His close attention to business has not prevented him from showing a loyal and insistent interest in all that concerns the general welfare of the community, and he has been signally progressive and public-spirited in civic affairs, the while he has not only served his home city as alder- man, but also as mayor for two terms-official preferments which well indicate the confidence and esteem reposed in him by the community. Further interest attaches to a consideration of his career by reason of the fact that he is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Monroe county, with whose history the name has been identified for nearly seventy years.
Mr. Lauer was born in the city of Monroe on the 20th of February, 1858, and is a son of Sebastian and Phillipine (Seitz) Lauer, the former of whom was born at Landshausen, in the grand duchy of Baden, Ger- many, on the 9th of February, 1820, and the latter of whom was born at Wachenheim, kingdom of Bavaria, on the 11th of May, 1826, she having been a girl at the time of the family immigration to America and her parents having established their home in Monroe, Michigan, in 1837, the year in which the state was admitted to the Union. Sebastian Lauer was reared and educated in his native land and in 1841, about the time of attaining his legal majority, he came to the United States. In 1843 he came to Monroe, Michigan. On the 1st of June, 1846, he engaged in the boot and shoe business, in partnership with his brother-in-law, Emanuel Yeager, and this alliance continued until his death, which occurred on the 19th of July, 1860, at which time he was but forty-two years of age. It is interesting to record that the enterprise with which he was thus identified has been continued at the same location during the long intervening years, and it is now conducted under the firm name of Ed G. J. Lauer. Sebastian Lauer was a man of high principles, distinctive energy and excellent business ability. He was held in high esteem in Monroe county and his death was a loss to the business community. He espoused the cause of the Democratic party. His wife survived him by more than twenty years and was summoned to the life eternal on the 17th of August,
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1883, secure in the affectionate regard of all who had come within the sphere of her gentle influence. She is survived by three children : Lucia, who is the wife of J. F. Wagner, of Monroe; Emanuel S., who is now engaged in dry-goods business at Petersburg, Michigan; and Edward G. J., of this review, who is the youngest of the number.
Edward G. J. Lauer was but two years of age at the time of his father's death, and his devoted mother, with small resources at her command, reared her children with earnest solicitude, though she was unable to give them the educational advantage which she desired. Mr. Lauer gained his rudimentary education in the parochial school of Emanuel Lutheran church, Monroe, and after three years in this school he entered, at the age of nine years, the public schools of his native city, where he continued his studies for the ensuing five years. At the early age of fourteen years he turned from his studies to aid in the support of his loved and devoted mother, and it has remained a matter of deep gratification to him that he was able to accord to her filial care and affection until she passed to the life eternal, at the age of fifty-seven years. At the age noted he secured employment in the local mercantile establishment of Gouverneur Morris, and at the beginning his salary was summed up in the princely stipend of seven dollars a month, neither board nor clothing being included. He remained in the employ of Mr. Morris until the spring of 1877, when he became a clerk in the dry-goods establishment of J. M. Bulkley, with whom he remained until the spring of 1881, when his employer removed to Manistee, this state. Con- cerning the advancement of Mr. Lauer in independent business enter- prise, a succinct account has been previously published and from the same the following pertinent quotations are taken :
"Having by close application acquired a thorough knowledge of the dry-goods business during his nine years' clerkship, Mr. Lauer conceived the idea that Monroe could sustain a metropolitan dry-goods establish- ment, and with this thought in mind he made, on the 1st of May, 1881 his initial effort, the result of which has shown that he has a peculiar adaptation to and talent for his chosen occupation. After renting the store at 25 Front street, Mr. Lauer went to New York City, where, with no capital and with but little backing other than his experience in the business and the good wishes of his many friends in Monroe, he formed the acquaintance of John H. Reed, of the large wholesale dry-goods house of Bates, Reed & Cooley. To Mr. Reed he frankly stated the cir- cumstances in which he was placed and the condition of business in Monroe, after which he gave a brief outline of what he expected to accomplish. His manly bearing and honorable attitude soon gained to him the warm friendship of Mr. Reed, who, requiring no other references than his own practical judgment of men, offered Mr. Lauer all the credit he might need in starting his business venture. Returning to Monroe, Mr. Lauer began business with a small stock of fine and well selected goods, and in harmony with his convictions as to correct business policies, he instituted a system of judicious advertising, by means of which he announced to the public what he had in stock and that he was offering bargains in his line of merchandise. He carefully lived up to all statements appearing in his advertisements and as he already had
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the confidence and good will of the community, by reason of long acquaintance, his trade grew apace, and before the close of the first year such inroads had been made upon his small stock that he was compelled incidentally to fill a large portion of his shelving with empty boxes, to make a showing. He had visited the eastern markets several times and had there made the best possible selections of staple goods and novelties to meet the demands of an appreciative patronage, and he has constantly made it his study and his policy to keep on hand only fresh, desirable and salable goods, and to give to his patrons a selection from as large and varied a line as could be found in the leading stores of the kind in the neighboring cities of Detroit and Toledo. This was a high ambition and by some was originally considered presumptuous, but the years have fully demonstrated the wisdom of the progressive policy adopted by Mr. Lauer."
The rapid increase in the trade of the establishment soon compelled Mr. Lauer to enlarge his quarters, and finally he brought into requisition the two entire store rooms at 23 and 25 Front street. The rooms were remodeled and redecorated and at this location the business was con- tinued with ever increasing success until 1897, when Mr. Lauer erected his present fine building at 23-25 East Front street. This structure is a substantial building of three stories and is thirty-six by one hundred and fifty feet in lateral dimensions. For the accommodation of the mammoth business now controlled by the concern, three floors and basement of this building are utilized, and the establishment is thor- oughly metropolitan in all respects-one that would be creditable to cities many times the population of Monroe. He now retains in his employ in the Monroe store a corps of twenty clerks and office assistants, and he is known as one of the most progressive and successful merchants in southern Michigan. In all measures and enterprises tending to advance the best interests of the community he is ever ready to lend his influence and liberal support, and his affection for Monroe is fortified by appreciation of the fact that here he has found opportunity for winning his way to the goal of large success, with incidental popularity which he prizes above all else. He has been considerate and thoughtful in his association with his employes and thus they are bound to him by the closest of ties and give him zealous cooperation in the furtherance of the great enterprise of which he is the head. In 1887 Mr. Lauer opened a branch establishment at Petersburg, this county, and placed the same in charge of his elder brother, Emanuel S. Lauer, who likewise is known as one of the enterprising and substantial business men of the county. The branch store controls a large and prosperous trade and the enterprise proves a valuable adjunct to the main establishment, as there is concentrated a trade that was formerly disseminated in various villages in which only much inferior service could be given. Mr. Lauer was also president of the Monroe Stove Company until sold, which repre- sents one of the important industrial enterprises of the city and county, and is the owner of valuable realty in his home city, including his store building and an attractive modern residence.
In politics Mr. Lauer accords a stanch allegiance to the Democratic party and while he has had no desire to enter the arena of practical
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politics he has contributed his quota to the furtherance of the party cause and in a local way has shown the deepest interest in public affairs. From 1885 to 1888 he served as a member of the city board of education, and he was again the incumbent of this office from 1894 to 1896, inclusive, having been president of the board during this latter term. In 1888 he was elected alderman from the Second ward, notwithstanding that the same gives a large normal Republican majority, and he held the office of alderman for a total of two years. In 1894 he was signally honored by his native city in being elected its mayor, and the popular estimate placed upon his careful and progressive administration was shown in his being chosen as his own successor in the office, so that he served two consecutive terms of one year each. Mr. Lauer has been for many years a valued member of the Arbeiter Unterstuetzung Verein and he and his family hold membership in Trinity Episcopal church, to the various departments of whose work he is a liberal contributor. Concerning this sterling citizen and representative business man of Monroe the following appreciative estimate has been given by one familiar with his life and labors and the same is worthy of reproduction in this article : "As an example of a self-made man, rising from the humblest walks in life, by his own unaided energy and pushing qualities, to the enviable position of one of the representative business men of southern Michigan, Mr. Lauer has shown in a most remarkable manner what may be accom- plished by earnest application, sterling integrity of purpose and honest dealings, and he well merits the high estimate placed upon him by the community which has ever represented his home."
The home life of Mr. Lauer has been one of ideal order and in this article it is consistent to give only the concrete data concerning this chapter in the history of his long and useful career. On the 3d of January, 1882, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Matilda Finzel, who was born and reared in Monroe and who is a daughter of George F. and Wilhelmina (Stoeckert) Finzel, the former of whom was for many years engaged in the hardware business in Monroe-a successful, influential and highly honored citizen, now retired, and the latter deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Lauer have four daughters, Eleanore, Bertha, Marguerite and Irene and one son Raymond.
WILLIAM F. ACKER, M. D. Engaged in the successful practice of his profession in his native city of Monroe, Dr. Acker is recognized as one of the able, progressive and essentially representative physicians and surgeons of the county and is thus well entitled to consideration in this publication. Further consistency to such recognition is given by the fact that he is a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of the county. His paternal grandparents, Leonard and Margaret (Rew) Acker, were natives of Germany, where they were reared and educated and where their marriage was solemnized. Upon coming to the United States they remained for a time in Rhode Island and thence came to Monroe county, Michigan, where the grandfather secured land and devel- oped a productive farm. He was one of the honored pioneers of the county and both he and his wife continued to maintain their home here, the father still living in Monroe, the mother having died in Monroe,
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November 14, 1912. William P. Acker, father of the Doctor, was born in Monroe and in this city he was long engaged in the work of the blacksmith trade,-a substantial citizen who commanded unqualified popular esteem. William P. Acker married Miss Margaret Hehl, who likewise was born and reared in Monroe county, a representative of one of the well known pioneer families of this section of the state.
Dr. William F. Acker is indebted to the public schools of Monroe for his early educational discipline and was graduated in the high school as a member of the class of 1897. Thereafter he began the study of medicine under private preceptorship and finally he entered the Detroit Medical College, in which excellent institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1901 and from which he received his coveted degree of Doctor of Medicine. Thereafter he gained valuable clinical experience by serving as interne in Harper Hospital, one of the best in the city of Detroit, until 1903, when he opened an office in Monroe, where he has since continued in active general practice and where he has built up a professional business of substantial and repre- sentative order. He is a member of the Monroe county Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society, the Mississippi Valley Medical Society and the American Medical Association. In politics the Doctor is a staunch Republican and as a citizen he is liberal, progressive and public-spirited. He is a member of the Zion Lutheran church.
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