USA > Wisconsin > Wisconsin, its story and biography, 1848-1913, Volumr VI > Part 1
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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01076 9252
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
http://www.archive.org/details/wisconsinitsstor06ushe
WISCONSIN
ITS STORY AND BIOGRAPHY
1848-1913
BY
ELLIS BAKER USHER
President Wisconsin Archaeological Society; Member of the American Historical Association, The Mississippi Valley Historical Association, The Wisconsin State Histor- ical Society and the Amer- ican Political Science Association
VOLUME VI
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO AND NEW YORK
1914
COPYRIGHT, 1914 BY
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING CO.
1219063
Sauthem -$ 2350
Laurence w. Halsey
JUDGE LAWRENCE WOODRUFF HALSEY was born at the ancestral home of the family in Southampton, Long Island, New York, which was founded by Thomas Halsey in the year 1640, the birth of the subject occurring on January 8, 1841. He is the son of Captain Abraham and Eliza Augusta (Woodruff) Halsey. At home in private schools Law- rence Woodruff Halsey received his early education. He was still quite young when he gave evidence of an unusual penchant for books and study, and before he was five years of age, he could read. In October, 1846, he accompanied an uncle, James T. Pierson, to his home in Crystal Lake, Illinois. It may be noted that the only means of travel from New York to Chicago at that time was by steamboat to Albany, by canal to Buffalo, and steamboat to Chicago. Reared among pioneers, he attended the common schools and the Crystal Lake Academy and later prepared for college, attending in 1860 the Batavia Institute at Batavia, Illinois. Prior to his graduation from that institution he taught school for a short time. His home life upon the farm as a boy was attended by the usual farm labor, but he was not deterred from his intention to secure an education, and he thus prepared himself for college, despite many interruptions. He was recognized as a lad as an unusual student and was a general favorite in school and out, and a leader in all boyish activities. In the singing schools, so popular in his youth in the village districts, he easily showed musical talent and derived a genuine pleasure from his work in that department of social life. He was, in fact, a most versatile young man, and being handy with tools, at one time assisted in a series of local surveys. It was in this latter service, it may be said, that he earned the money that made it possible for him to enter the Ann Arbor high school in the fall of 1860, where he was further pre- pared for the University. In that year he also attended some of the lectures of the higher institution, but it was not until October, 1861, that he matriculated in the University of Michigan and began his studies of letters and science. In 1863 Mr. Halsey entered the law school, in addition to his law course, taking some literary work in the University. He remained through the summer vacation and devoted himself assiduously to study. In that year he became clerk and student in the office of ex-Senator Alpheus Felch, later in the office of John N. Gott, and in May, 1864, he entered the office of Judge Olney Hawkins, where he remained through the summer, until December, 1864. At that time he prepared two theses, one on the subject of "Taxation" and another on "Banking," both of which were awarded honorable mention and gained him permission to leave the University until commencement time. He spent that winter in Chicago, where
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he was engaged as clerk in the office of P. L. Sherman, and continued until June, when he returned to the University, there to receive his degree of Bachelor of Laws. At Chicago he founded and organized the Moot Court of Debate. While at the University he was an im- portant factor in many of the activities of the college. He was an officer in the University Battalion and was commander of the High School Company in 1860-61, most of which enlisted in the volunteer army, in which two of his brothers served with distinction, one perishing in the service of his country and the other being severely wounded. Mr. Halsey's father insisted that he remain at school and finish his studies and laid such stress upon his demands that the son acquiesced, although he felt very keenly the inability to join his brothers in action. Mr. Halsey was chairman of the school literary society, and in January, 1861, he joined the Adelphi Society and con- tinued active therein until the close of his college career. He was the founder and first president of the Jeffersonian Society and was an acknowledged leader in public debates. He was honored in being chosen to preside at the general exercises and inauguration held in the new law building in 1864. In addition to these several societies and clubs in which he held membership, Mr. Halsey, on February 25, 1863, became a Free and Accepted Mason. He was graduated with the law class of 1865, and on March 30th of the same year was ad- mitted to practice in the state of Michigan at the Washtenaw bar, before Judge Lawrence. Soon after, he returned to Crystal Lake, Illinois, where he had been reared in the home of his uncle, and in May set out to find a suitable location in which to establish himself in practice. He eventually settled at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and there on June 12, 1865, he formed a partnership with Col. H. B. Jackson, the firm being known as Jackson & Halsey. They built up a large practice in the city and conducted many cases of state-wide impor- tance, their business being a successful and representative one in the city. After twelve years spent in practice in Oshkosh, Mr. Halsey removed to Milwaukee, and here in January, 1877, he became a co- partner in the firm of Johnson, Rietbrock & Halsey, which association continued until in 1888, when the elevation of Hon. D. H. Johnson to the bench caused a break in their business relations. For a time thereafter the firm existed as Rietbrock & Halsey, until Mr. Halsey was appointed to succeed Judge Johnson on the bench. In addition to its extensive practice their firm acquired large tracts of land in Marathon, Wood and Price counties, where they conducted an im- portant colonization project, causing the entire district to be settled with energetic and ambitious farmers. There they built and operated lumber and flour mills and a railroad, peopling the wilderness with sturdy men and women, and they established the village of Athens in the township of Halsey. It is an undeniable fact that the success
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and prosperity of these ventures were in a large measure due to the efforts and the business ability of Mr. Halsey, who gave generously of his time and attention to the furtherance of the best interests of the community, and in every way contributed to its ultimate success.
Mr. Halsey was appointed counsel for the city of Milwaukee and as first assistant city attorney filled the office from April, 1898, until July 28, 1900, at which time he was appointed by Governor Scofield Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit, comprising the city and county of Milwaukee, to succeed Judge Johnson, as mentioned previously. At the spring election in 1901 he received the unanimous endorsement of the Milwaukee County Bar and was elected by an overwhelming majority to fill the unexpired term, and at the end of that term, once more the single choice of the bar, he was elected for the full term of six years, expiring in 1912. In April, 1911, he was re-elected for an- other term, to expire in January, 1918, at which election he received a majority of fifteen thousand, after having conducted his own cam- paign.
While it is a fact that Judge Halsey has never aspired to political position, he has nevertheless held high offices in the public service, and he has always been keenly interested in the various civic and political activities of his city, and has held the position of an esteemed and valued adviser wherever he has been found. At the University, while in pursuit of his education, he was always a participant in the more important college affairs, and as a debater of unusual ability and a member of the leading debating societies, he was active in bringing noted men to the University to lecture on various occasions. While at Oshkosh, Judge Halsey was a leader in many activities of a civic nature and did much for the improvement and prosperity of that city. He was while there elected as a school director at large and served for a number of years in that capacity, and as a member of that board brought about the establishment of the graded school system which now prevails in the city. He has ever since manifested a keen interest in public school education, and has been an influence for good in educational matters in Milwaukee, as well as in Oshkosh.
Politically Judge Halsey has been a consistent Democrat, whose advice and guidance has frequently been sought by leaders in that party, and his opinions have been much valned and of a considerable influence in the shaping of local politics. In addition to his pro- fessional work Judge Halsey has contributed liberally to the editorial columns of the Oshkosh Democrat and later the Oshkosh Times, his comments on political and civic matters awakening more than local discussion. He was an influential figure in the affairs of the Wiscon- sin National Guard for thirty years, and he with others organized the Light Horse Squadron, in which he served as an officer for the first few years. He was largely instrumental in the work of erecting the
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fine stone Armory in Milwaukee in 1885, which was long the home of Troop A, the light battery and several companies of the National Guard. The Judge later negotiated the purchase of the present site of thirty acres, and the sale to the city of the Broadway Armory. He was instrumental in the building of the new Armory and Barracks of the Light Horse Squadron Armory. He has been president of the Light Horse Squadron Armory Association since its incorporation and was also an important factor in the creating of new infantry com- panies, in one of which is an honorary life member.
Judge Halsey has long been a member of the American Bar As- sociation of Wisconsin and State Bar Association, and of the Mil- waukee Bar Association, as well as of the Wisconsin Historical Society and many other societies. A Christian gentleman of a high type, he has long held membership in the Protestant Episcopal church, in which he has manifested an abiding interest. He was a vestryman of Trinity church at Oshkosh and for thirty years was a member of St. Paul's Episcopal church in this city, and has been a vestryman of St. Mark's. In addition he was appointed Chancellor of the Diocese of Milwaukee, which office he has held for many years, and he has been for a long period president of the board of St. John's Home for Old People. He has frequently represented his parish in the diocesan councils and has been active in Christian work outside of his own church.
Judge Halsey from his youth has been the possessor of a fine voice, and from being a leader in the singing school in his boyhood has reached prominence as a member of various choral societies, and with his wife, who has an excellent musical training, was a member of choirs and choruses in Oshkosh. After coming to Milwaukee they joined the Arion and Cecilian clubs in 1877, and Judge Halsey is still an honorary member of the Arion Club, as well as of the Liedertafel and Milwaukee Musical Societies. As chairman of the executive com- mittee of these societies he was a prime mover in bringing about the building of a great hall for conventions and concerts, called the Auditorium.
Judge Halsey became a Mason while attending the University of Michigan, as has already been noted, and he has attained a high de- gree in that old and time honored fraternity. He was long the Secretary in the Oshkosh lodge and is now a member of Wisconsin Lodge, No. 13, A. F. & A. M., and Wisconsin Commandery, No. 1, of the Knights Templar. In 1871 he was admitted to the Order of the Knights of Pythias, in which he has been a prominent member and he has been honored with the highest offices in that order, being Past Grand Chancellor and Past Supreme Representative, and a leading factor in the Uniform Rank, bringing this body to great efficiency and numerical strength as Brigadier General of the Wisconsin Bri-
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gade. He has for some years past been Judge Advocate General of the National Body, Military Department of the Knights of Pythias, and has been in many ways a tower of strength to the order. Since 1880 he has been Trustee of the Wisconsin Grand Lodge.
On December 26, 1866, Judge Halsey was united in marriage to Miss Mary Louisa Loveridge, the daughter of Edwin Dexter Love- ridge, M. D., and his wife, Susannah Bodine Pierson. Four children were born to Judge and Mrs. Halsey, two only having survived, Louisa K. Halsey, who was married November 6th, 1889, to Philo C. Darrow, of Western Springs, Illinois, and Pierson L. Halsey, who was educated at Cornell University and graduated in June, 1896, in the law department of Wisconsin University and became a member of the firm of Rietbrock & Halsey for some years. He is now residing on a stock farm at Athens, Wisconsin.
Mrs. Halsey lost her life in a wreck on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, near Maysville, Kentucky, on May 22, 1907, in which acci- dent the Judge also was severely injured. Mrs. Halsey was a woman of the finest traits of mind and heart, widely known and well beloved. She was a woman of superior education and culture and always played a prominent part in the civic, patriotic and educational clubs and societies in Milwaukee, as well as being a leader in church and benevolent work. In addition to a marked literary ability, which made her popular in the best club circles of the city, she was a talented musician, and with her husband was a member of many of the best Choral Clubs of Oshkosh and Milwaukee during her lifetime. Her home life was characterized by the most ideal conditions, and she was known for a devoted wife and mother, tender, gracious and kindly in all the relations of life, and in every way a noble and ex- emplary woman. Her death came as a great shock to the city and was deeply deplored in the circles in which she had been wont to move.
Judge Halsey, it should be stated, is one of the founders of the Wisconsin Savings Loan and Building Association, of which he is first vice-president. He is also a member of the University of Michigan Alumni Association of Wisconsin, and is chairman of the Scholarship Endowment Committee.
The Judge is still active and interested in every phase of civic life and in affairs of state and national import. It is not too much to say at this point that few, if indeed any, men in the city of Milwaukee have been more actively allied with and more deeply interested in the civic, patriotic and political organizations of the city and in its social, philanthropic and religious affairs than has Judge Halsey. Through- out his long and busy career he has been widely esteemed and highly respected for his many excellent qualities, his splendid achievements, his scholarly attainments, his practical wisdom, and his brilliant
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record as the presiding judge of the circuit court as a fitting climax to his more than exemplary public career.
WILLIAM F. PETERMAN. As president of the Peterman Brothers Company, general merchants at Merrill, in Lincoln county, as second vice president of the German-American State Bank of Merrill, and as president of the Merrill Knitting Company, a new industry established in 1912 with a capital stock of $15,000.00, but which has since been increased to $30,000.00, William F. Peterman is now one of the fore- most business men and citizens of Lincoln county. He has lived in this county for thirty years, grew up to manhood here, started out without capital, and is strictly a self-made man, having through his integrity and demonstrated industry placed himself in positions of recognized leadership in the business and civic affairs of his locality.
William F. Peterman is a native of Germany, born April 12, 1872, a son of August and Johanna Peterman. In 1883, when he was eleven year old, the family immigrated to America, and from New York City came direct to Merrill, Wisconsin. His father was an industrious working man, and bore a respected name during his residence in Merrill, where both he and his wife died. William F. Peterman had attended school in Germany, and after coming to Wisconsin was a student for two terms in the Merrill public schools, and thus familiar- ized himself with the English language, and completed his equipment for a business career. His school days were over when he was a little past thirteen years old, and at that time he secured his first regular employment as a boy worker in a saw mill. Later for a year and a half he had experience in a sash and door factory, and then began delivering groceries for the firm of R. A. Wiley & Company. The three years of his employment with the grocery firm gave him a prac- tical knowledge of that business and with that experience he joined F. A. Hanover & Son in buying out Mr. Wiley's establishment. He continued a member of the new firm about one year, and then in 1893 established what is now the large general store of Peterman Brothers. The stock of this partnership was first displayed in what is now Fowler's drug store on east Main Street. In 1900 their store was burned but the partners quickly resumed business, and then moved to a portion of their present store corner at Main and Popular Streets. In 1909 they acquired the adjoining building to the west and now have an elegant store in their own building. The Peterman building has a frontage of eighty-two feet, with a depth of one hundred and twenty feet facing on Main Street, and also with entrance on Popu- lar Street. The German-American Bank, of which Mr. Peterman is vice president occupies the corner room of the Peterman Building, but all the rest of the ground floor is occupied by the business of Peterman Brothers. This building is a two-story brick structure, and
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the upper floors are occupied by offices. Immediately back of the store building is a warehouse forty by twenty feet, used to supplement the requirements for space in the main store. The Peterman Brothers conduct one of the two largest mercantile establishments in Lincoln county. Established in 1893, it was conducted as a flourishing part- nership between the three Peterman Brothers, until 1912, and in that year was incorporated under its present name of Peterman Brothers Company, with Mr. William F. Peterman president, Mr. A. E. Peter- man vice president, and R. J. Peterman as secretary and treasurer. The capital stock of the company is $25,000.00.
William F. Peterman, as a business man who has been known to the people of Lincoln county since he was a boy has long been promi- nent in local affairs outside of his private business. In 1910 he became a member of the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors, and for two years, 1911-12, served as chairman of the board. He has served three different terms as alderman from the Seventh Ward, the first time in 1898.
In 1894 Mr. Peterman was married to Minnie Hackbart of Merrill. They are the parents of four children; Harry, Elsie, William and Neton. The church connection of Mr. Peterman and family is with the Evangelical denomination, and he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Knights of the Maccabees.
AUG. J. BRAUN. In November, 1912, the people of Lincoln county placed the management of county finances under the care of a popular young citizen, who was reared in Merrill and has been known to the people of this vicinity all his life. Aug. J. Braun is more than a popular citizen. His integrity and proficiency have been demonstrated in many ways, and he has given a good account of himself in every relation of trust and business.
Aug. J. Braun took up his duties as county treasurer on Jannary 6, 1913, succeeding the late W. E. Whitney in that office. Mr. Braun was born in Germany, January 3, 1882, a son of August and Dorothy Braun. When he was an infant, the parents came to America, his father having preceded the rest of the family, and found a home for them in Merrill. From here he sent back to Germany for the mother and chil- dren, and they followed on and joined him in Merrill. The children who came with the mother were Ang. J. and a younger brother William L. Braun. Thus Mr. Braun from his earliest recollection was reared in Merrill, and attended the public schools up to the eighth grade, after which he was a student in the German schools for some time. His father is still actively identified with the city, being a local druggist. The mother is deceased.
After leaving school Mr. Braun worked in the A. H. Stange Sash &
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Door Factory for a year and a half. Since that time he has been con- nected with various stores in Merrill as clerk and delivery man. By practical experience he is thoroughly familiar with the lumber industry of Northern Wisconsin, and is also an efficient business man.
In September, 1910, Mr. Braun married Miss Eleanor Hulda Wais of Merrill.
GEORGE CURTIS MANSFIELD. Industries which supply the vital neces- sities of human life among many thousands of people and over wide areas are seldom of quick growth. They have roots usually in the steady industry and enterprise of a single individual, whose lifetime is often in- sufficient for their full development and a succession of corporate form carries on and expands the institution through its most flourishing stages. This has been true of a Wisconsin industry, one especially typical of the state, and one of the largest in the country, supplying the products of local dairies to thousands of consumers-the George C. Mansfield Company of Milwaukee. The business originated more than forty years ago, was developed on a profitable scale, but it remained for the sons of the founder to bring it to its present proportions. The following articles represent an attempt to describe the main features in the careers of the individuals engaged, and the substantial facts concerning the industry itself.
The late George Curtis Mansfield was a descendant of one of the old American families. The environment of the New England fathers was calculated to bring out and develop all that was sturdy and vigorous in both mind and body, and their descendants continue to manifest the traits of character which enabled them to survive the hardships they were compelled to endure, and which rendered prosperity possible in the face of the most discouraging conditions. George C. Mansfield was one of the early residents of the state of Wisconsin, and in his old home town of Johnson Creek he will long be remembered as a foremost citizen in every enterprise and movement affecting the growth and prosperity of this little village.
Mr. Mansfield was born May 26, 1837, at Lowell, Middlesex county, Mass., a son of George Mansfield. He received an ordinary public school education, and as a youth began his business career with the firm of Burr Brothers & Company of Boston. In March, 1856, he came to Wis- consin, and located in Johnson Creek. In the following year he went to Janesville, where he worked with his father, who had established a barrel factory at that point. In March 1860, again taking up his resi- dence at Johnson Creek, he was from that time forward actively identi- fied with the development of the locality. His first venture was a grocery store, later he became owner of a barrel stave factory, a business which grew to large proportions. Later he embarked in the dairy busi- ness, then in its infancy in Wisconsin, and from that time until his death
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was a decided factor in its growth. He was a well known figure on South Water street, Chicago, where he was accounted in his time the heaviest shipper of dairy goods to the East. He has been sadly missed from the village of Johnson Creek, where he had been ever ready to help and im- prove the community in every way. That this is one of the flourishing Wisconsin towns today may be accredited to Mr. Mansfield's activity. Every local improvement bears the impress of his personality. He was ever ready to assist along educational lines, and the present school system owes, if not its origin, its present efficiency to him. For years he served as postmaster, railroad agent, and express agent, established Mansfield's Bank, the only financial institution in the town, and was known as John- son Creek's most useful citizen. He never took any active part in public affairs in the direction of politics, nor did he covet personal prefer- ment, but was at all times willing to give both his means and time to the principles and nominees of the Republican party. His success in business extended beyond the borders of the state, and he had interests in the oil fields of Beaumont, Texas. His work in founding and devel- oping the great George C. Mansfield Company alone entitles him to a leading place among organizing geniuses of his day. In the offices of the Company in Milwaukee hangs a large portrait of George C. Mans- field, and alongside are the pictures of his sons who now conduct the business. Mr. Mansfield did not live to reap a full measure of success from his labors, dying October 13, 1901, sincerely mourned by all who had known him. The funeral was in charge of the Waterton Masonic Lodge, of which he had been a valued member for many years.
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