USA > Wisconsin > Fond du Lac County > Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, past and present, Volume II > Part 35
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On September 3, 1884, Mr. Yorty was united in marriage to Miss Ida Jenkin- son, a daughter of Robert and Lucy (O'Connor) Jenkinson, the former a native of Montreal, Canada, where he was born October 16, 1833, and the latter of Jefferson county, New York, where her birth occurred on July 22, 1838. Mr. Jenkinson is of Irish, French and English ancestry and followed farming for a number of years. He is numbered among the pioneer settlers in Metomen town- ship, his residence in that section dating from July, 1845, in which year he lo- cated on a farm five miles west of Brandon. His father was also an early settler in Fond du Lac county and in 1852 served as sheriff and two years later was elected county treasurer. Mrs. Yorty's parents left their farm in 1867 and came to Brandon, where they are today residing. In their family were five children : Ida, the wife of our subject; Jasper, who died when he was six months old; Clarence, who passed away in 1885, when he was twenty-four years of age; Mary, who died in 1883, at the age of seventeen; and Nettie, who lives at home and is engaged with her sister in newspaper work. Mrs. Yorty upon the death of her husband came to the village of Brandon, where she is now making her home with her parents. She is one of the most highly esteemed women in the village and her popularity is founded on distinct ability. She has used in her capable operation of the Brandon Times a business discrimination and judicious knowledge of modern commercial methods which make her a constructive and important factor in local development. The paper of which she is now the editor and publisher is the only journal of its kind in Brandon. It was estab- lished in 1865 by George M. West, now a newspaper man of Panama City, Flor- ida. In 1871 the paper was published by M. C. Short, who had previously been engaged in journalistic work at Waupun. Mr. Short conducted the enterprise until his death, which occurred in 1894, and in that year Mrs. Yorty's first con- nection with journalistic work was established. She managed it in the interests of Mrs. Short and for three years was remarkably successful in its conduct. The paper was then sold to Roy Wolverton from whom Mrs. Yorty purchased his interests. She engaged in this line of occupation in partnership with her mother, Mrs. Lucy Jenkinson, and has during the period of her connection with it made it one of the influential and important organs in the county. It is a weekly paper of four pages, eighteen by twenty-four inches, and runs seven columns of news to the page. Mrs. Yorty has the true newspaper instinct. She conducts her enterprise ably and systematically and is successful not only from an editorial point of view but also in a business way. In 1900 she took the United States census for the village of Brandon and the townships of Metomen and Alto and in 1910 she acted in the same capacity in Metomen and Brandon townships. She is a member of the Congregational church of Brandon and her parents are the only living charter members of that organization.
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In his political views Mr. Yorty was always a consistent republican and was a man who took an intelligent interest in public affairs, although he was not an office seeker. He was prominent in the Masonic order, holding membership in Brandon Lodge, F. & A. M. His character was marked by an innate honor and integrity, by industry and enterprise and these qualities influenced his career and molded his destiny.
JOHN E. JOHNSON.
John E. Johnson has given his energies and activities since 1904 to the lum- ber, contracting and building business in Brandon, Wisconsin, and has attained success in that line resulting from his knowledge of commercial conditions and his honorable methods of dealing. He is a native son of Fond du Lac county, having been born in Alto township, July 5, 1873, and. is a son of John H. and Christina (Christensen) Johnson, both natives of Sjaeland, Denmark, where the father's birth occurred on February 5, 1838, and the mother's on July 3, 1837. John H. Johnson came to the United States when he was twenty-two years of age and located in Alto township, where he worked in various occupa- tions which would yield him an income. In 1864 he purchased forty acres of land in the same section, to which he added at various times until he owned one hundred and sixty acres in a highly improved and developed state. He sold his property a short time ago to his eldest son and purchased one hundred and forty acres in Metomen township. In 1892 he retired and moved to the village of Brandon, where he now resides. His wife left her native country in 1861 and located immediately in Alto township, where one year later her mar- riage occurred. She is now residing with her husband in the village of Brandon. While John H. Johnson was a resident of Alto township he took an active interest in educational affairs and for several years did able work as treasurer of the school board.
John E. Johnson remained with his parents until he was twenty-two years of age. He attended the district schools and also took a course in the Brandon high school. He learned the carpenter's trade and followed that occupation in California, where he remained for three years and a half. When he returned he settled in Chicago and six months later came to Brandon, where he purchased from J. W. Wheeler the lumber business which the latter was at that time oper- ating. To this Mr. Johnson has now added contracting and building and is one of the best known business men in the city. His increasing patronage is a grati- fying evidence of his advancing prosperity. His fellow citizens recognize him as a successful man whose active interest in the development of his business is a valuable municipal asset.
In 1897 Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Ella Paine, a daughter of Henry and Mary Paine. The father was born in Maine in 1838 and came to Fond du Lac county with his parents. They located on a farm in Spring- vale township, where he learned the carpenter's trade and to this he later added contracting and building. As a boy he learned the cigarmaker's trade which he followed for some time. He served on the village board of Brandon for sev- eral years. He was popular on account of his genial and generous character- istics and his friends were numbered among the representative citizens of his district. He died in Brandon in 1908. His wife was a native of Canada, where her birth occurred in 1848. She came to Wisconsin with her parents who located on a farm in Springvale township. At present she is making her home with her daughter, who lives in California. To Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have been born three children: Roland Lester, who was born June 16, 1901; Ella Grace, whose birth occurred in September, 1904, in Pomona, California ; and Raymond
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Harris, who was born in Brandon, Wisconsin, in September, 1907. Mrs. John- son has been a resident of Wisconsin for a number of years. She is a graduate of the Brandon high school and later took a business course in a college at Fond du Lac. She taught school in Alto township for one term and is a broadly educated and charming woman. She and her husband are members of the Methodist church.
On political questions Mr. Johnson votes for the man whom he considers best qualified for the office and is at present serving on the village board. He is a member of the Masonic order and belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is also active in the affairs of the Good Templars. He is one of the stockholders in the Brandon Telephone Company and is always interested in local enterprises. His business success is a direct result of centralized energy and an alert mind combined with an intelligent grasp of local conditions. His prosperity and the methods by which he has attained it make him a representa- tive business man, capable and efficient and of unquestioned integrity.
WILLIAM CHARLES REINIG.
Mr. Reinig is heavily interested in various business enterprises in Fond du Lac. He is the president of the Fond du Lac Malt & Grain Company and one of the directors of the Coles Savings Bank and also the president of the Crescent Motor Company which was incorporated in this city in 1910, with a capital of twenty thousand dollars. The present office and place of business of this com- pany is located at 56 to 60 North Main street. He maintains his residence at No. 137 East Division street, this city. Mr. Reinig was born in Rochester, New York, October 4, 1865, and is the son of John and Rosa (Hartmann) Reinig. His parents both were natives of Germany, his father of Hesse-Darm- stadt, and his mother of Alsace-Lorraine. To Mr. and Mrs. Reinig two children were born: William C. and Emma E.
The parental grandparent of William C. Reinig was Phillip Reinig whose wife was Anna Reinig, of the same name but not a relative, both natives of Germany, who many years ago passed away in the fatherland. His maternal grandparents were Frederick and Hannah (Laengricht) Hartmann.
John Reinig, who was the father of the subject of this review, received his education in Germany and, as a boy of fourteen years, emigrated to America, making his residence in New York state at Utica, New York city and Rochester respectively. Here in the Empire state he grew to maturity and during his early manhood became an apprenticed tinner, continuing his occupation in this line until he became a proficient master of his trade, which he followed until about 1890. In the spring of 1866 he removed to Wisconsin and located in the city of Fond du Lac. Here he established himself in the stove and tin business, to which he continued to give his attention until 1890. He then organized the Fond du Lac Malt & Grain Company and was identified with this business enterprise as owner and proprietor until the time of his death which occurred as a result of an accident occasioned by a fall from the roof of his house, on June 22, 1905, from the effects of which he died two days later, on the 24th of that month at the age of sixty-nine years and ten days. He was a member of the Evangelical church and his wife of the Lutheran church of this city.
William C. Reinig has been a resident of Fond du Lac since a child of six months, a period covering nearly forty-seven years. He received his early educa- tion in the parochial and public schools of that city and in early manhood he learned the trade of the tinsmith and at the age of eighteen he was engaged in the employ of a wholesale stove concern for three years in the city of Chicago. He then returned to Fond du Lac where he remained for three successive years and
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then became an employe of a wholesale hardware concern in Milwaukee, continu- ing his relation with this house for a period of three years, after which he returned to Fond du Lac and accepted the position of secretary and treasurer of the Fond du Lac Malt & Grain Company. Later he was elected to the responsible position of president of this large business concern, which has an authorized capitalization of one hundred thousand dollars, having been incorporated in 1890.
Mr. Reinig was united in wedlock to Miss Clara Kliefoth, on the 18th day of April, 1906. Mrs. Reinig is the daughter of William and Caroline (Buchen) Kliefoth. To Mr. and Mrs. Reinig two children have been born: Emma Clara and William C., Jr. Mr. Reinig attends the Congregational church and his wife the Catholic church of this city. He is a member of the Fountain Lodge, No. 26, F. & A. M., and also a member of the Elks. In politics Mr. Reinig is an en- thusiastic and loyal member of the republican party. Mr. Reinig is a man of great energy, being possessed with many attractive qualities. Whatever he undertakes in business or in a social way, he is never known to rest until he has accomplished his undertaking. His personal relation with large business affairs of late years has brought him in contact with many of the representative business men of his state and county, and being still in the midst of a successful business career, he has many years of useful opportunities awaiting him in the future.
FRANK W. ROOT.
Frank W. Root is one of the substantial agriculturists of Fond du Lac town- ship, where he owns three hundred and thirty acres of land, located on section 31. He is very diligent and enterprising and is making marked progress in the improvement and cultivation of his place, which is rapidly developing into one of the model farms of the county. His birth occurred in the town of Forest, this county, on the 19th of January, 1856, his parents being Sylvester and Mary (Newman) Root. They were both natives of St. Lawrence county, New York, the father's birth having there occurred in 1820. When he was twenty-five he came west, locating in Fond du Lac county, where for many years he was en- gaged in farming, his death here occurring in 1895, at the age of seventy-five. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Root numbered nine, as follows: Martha, the wife of Stephen Patrick, of Fond du Lac, by whom she has had two children ; George, a farmer, who married Emma Gibson, and is the father of five chil- dren; Newman, who died at the age of twenty-four years; Amelia, the wife of A. F. Ward, who is engaged in the railroad insurance business at Fond du Lac, and the mother of one child; Frank W., our subject; Sylvester, a farmer, who married Julia Hargrave by whom he has eight children; Loren, a traveling sales- man, who was married in Illinois and has had two children; and two children who died in infancy.
Reared in the country Frank W. Root passed his boyhood and youth very much as other farmer lads, acquiring his education in the district schools which he attended until he was sixteen years of age. He was already quite familiar with the duties of the agriculturist and for two years thereafter he continued to assist his father. At the expiration of that time he left home and went to work on the farm he now owns. He has led a life of intelligently directed energy and activity and has prospered in his undertakings. He bought his place in 1894, and during the intervening years has made extensive improvements, in- cluding the erection of some new buildings and the remodeling and repairing of the old ones. He has installed various modern conveniences about the house and barns and he has an equipment which contains every appliance or imple- ment essential to the agriculturist. He is a very practical man, as is evidenced
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by his progressive and systematic methods, everything about his farm mani- festing the exercise of competent supervision and capable management in the direction of its operation. In connection with his farming he engages in dairy- ing and has eighty head of cattle and ten horses.
At Fond du Lac on the 22d of September, 1882, Mr. Root was married to Miss Carrie Arthur, a daughter of DeWitt and Louisa Arthur, the father a well known farmer of Fond du Lac township. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Root is as follows: Arthur, Alvin, Ella, Wilbur and Elmer. They are all living at home, the sons ably assisting their father about the farm.
Mr. Root gives his political support to the prohibition party, thus voicing his attitude on the temperance question. He served for ten years each as road supervisor and school director, discharging his duties with efficiency, as is evi- denced by the length of his term of office. The family manifest their religious faith through their affiliation with the Methodist Episcopal church. Ever since starting out in life, Mr. Root has been entirely dependent upon his own re- sources, and such success as he has achieved is the result of his earnest and persistent efforts. He is a man of commendable methods and high principles and is accorded the esteem and respect of his fellow townsmen.
EDWARD ERDMAN.
Edward Erdman, one of the prosperous and enterprising general farmers, stock-raisers and dairymen of Springvale township, was born in Marquette county, Wisconsin, January 1, 1879. He is a son of John and Wilhelmina (Wicher) Erdman, natives of Germany. The father was born May 30, 1838, and spent his childhood and youth in his native land. He was married in Ger- many and came to the United States in 1870, locating in Marquette county, Wis- consin, where he worked as a farm laborer for a short time. He later purchased eighty acres of land in the same county, which he operated and improved and which he afterward sold in order to purchase another tract of one hundred and sixty acres, upon which he is now residing.
Edward Erdman attended the district schools of his native county and be- gan active life for himself when he was thirteen years of age, obtaining em- ployment at that time as a monthly farm laborer and giving his father part of his wages until he was twenty-one years of age. In 1903 he rented one hun- hundred and sixty acres of land and remained upon his property for two years, carrying on general farming and stock-raising. He then went to Ripon, where he rented a farm on shares, coming after four years to Springvale township. Here he rented the Ernst Wohlschlegel farm and upon this he now resides. He car- ries on agriculture along modern and progressive lines. He is an extensive stock-raiser, dealing in high-grade cattle and horses, and operates a dairy which is an important source of income to him. He has thirteen head of graded Hol- stein cows for dairying purposes and the products of this branch of his enter- prise find a ready sale in the Wisconsin markets.
On October 3, 1904, Edward Erdman was united in marriage to Miss Mary Kilbright, a daughter of James and Amanda (Akers) Kilbright. Her father was born in New York state in 1849 and is of Irish ancestry. He came to Mar- quette county, Wisconsin, where he followed farming for a number of years, later obtaining employment in a stone quarry. He was engaged in this line of work at the time of his death, which occurred in 1904. He was killed by an accident in the quarries. His wife was born in Syracuse, Indiana, in 1855 and comes of German and Irish stock. She died at Montello, Wisconsin, at the resi- dence of her son Mike. Mr. and Mrs. Erdman are the parents of six children : Mary, born June 3, 1905 ; Irene, born March 21, 1907 ; Levi Edward and Amanda
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Emeline, twins, born January 28, 1908; Elsie, born April 4, 1910; and Alma born July 4, 19II.
In his political views Mr. Erdman is republican and belongs to the progressive branch of that party. He is a member of the Lutheran church of Rosendale and his wife is an adherent of the Roman Catholic religion. His labors have been constructive and have had practical results. He understands the elements of farming, having gained his knowledge by personal experience at an early stage in his career, and upon his efficiency, he has built up a distinct and substantial success.
FRED MILTON MOORE.
Fred Milton Moore resides at No. 261 East Division street, in Fond du Lac, his native city, his birth having occurred December 16, 1870. His parents were Marquis De Lafayette and S. Elida (Thatcher) Moore, natives of Massachu- setts and New Hampshire, respectively.
Fred Milton Moore spent his entire life in Fond du Lac and after acquiring his preliminary education in the public schools attended the State University of Wisconsin. He is now assistant secretary of the Moore & Galloway Lum- ber Company and the president of the Fond du Lac Lumber Company, being thus associated with the industry that for many years has been the foremost source of revenue for this section of the state.
On October 4, 1899, Mr. Moore was married to Miss Josephine Lessie Parker, a daughter of Elijah and Lessie Parker, who were early settlers of De Pere, Wisconsin. In their family were two children, the elder being a son, Bart L. Mr. and Mrs. Moore have three children, Margaret Page, Helen Parker. and one who died in infancy.
Mr. Moore belongs to Fidelity Lodge, No. 19, K. P., and to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, while in politics he is an independent republican. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
JOHN O'BRIEN.
Enterprising and progressive in his business affairs, John O'Brien, the pro- prietor of a general mercantile store in Eden, has by the exercise of those quali- ties won a prominent place for himself in mercantile circles of this community. He was born in Fond du Lac on the 22d of June, 1863, and as the name in- dicates is of Irish descent. His father, Patrick O'Brien, was born in Ireland in 1829 and in 1851 he came to the United States, settling first in Medina, New York. In 1856 he came west to Wisconsin, taking up his abode in Fond du Lac, and while a resident of that city he worked for the Northwestern Railroad Com- pany. In 1873, however, he took up his abode on a farm which he had previously purchased, and to its development he devoted the remaining years of his life. When it came into his possession the place bore few marks of improvement but he set resolutely to work to convert the land into fertile fields and erected all of the buildings with which it is now equipped. He added many improvements and it was not long before he had brought it under a good state of cultivation. That farm remained his home until his death, which occurred in 1902, and with . his passing the community lost one of its well known and highly respected citizens. During his residence in New York he had met and married Miss Mary Fitzgibbons, who was born in Ireland in 1832 and came to the United States
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with her mother and brothers. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Patrick O'Brien were born eight children, of whom six are living.
John O'Brien spent the first ten years of his life in the city of Fond du Lac and then went with his parents to the farm which afterward remained the family abode. His education, which had been begun in the city schools, was continued in the country schools near his father's home, and he remained a pupil therein until about seventeen years of age. He then entered Mann's Com- mercial College of Fond du Lac but at the end of three years was compelled to leave school and return home, as he was the eldest in the family and his as- sistance was needed in the operation of the home farm. He remained with his father until the latter's death, after which he took charge of the farm, continu- ing in its active operation until 1909. In 1906, however, he had purchased a general store in the village of Eden, in the conduct of which he is now busily engaged, beside looking after his farm. In 1909 he turned over the manage- ment of the home farm of three hundred and eighty acres to hired help and has since that time given his undivided attention to his mercantile interests.
In 1906 Mr. O'Brien was united in marriage to Miss Katherine Mahoney, a daughter of James Mahoney, of Eden, who came to Fond du Lac county in 1846. To this union four children were born, of whom three are living, Mary Katherine, John T. and Helen Elizabeth. James Patrick, the first born, died in 1907 in infancy. In politics Mr. O'Brien is a democrat, but he has never sought to figure in public life, his interests centering in his home and business. He is a man of business capacity and possesses a spirit of enterprise and progress which, guided by sound common sense, has brought him to a position of prominence among the successful and representative men of Eden. Attractive personal qualities have made him popular with a large circle of friends, and he is uni- versally respected and esteemed.
WILLIE T. RUNALS.
Willie T. Runals, who retired from business life in 1889, had previous to this time been a prominent figure in many connections in the city of Ripon. Al- though he has given up the management of his extensive business his influence is still felt in the commercial circles of the city. He is a director in the German National Bank and takes an intelligent interest in the commercial progress of the community. He was born on the 15th of September, 1849, in Metomen township, and is a son of Edmund L. and Dorlescia (Avery) Runals. Edmund L. Runals, came with his family to Wisconsin and settled in Metomen, in the" early '40s. He bought a farm which he managed for many years and also engaged in the practice of law. When he sold his land he moved to Ripon where he followed the legal profession until his death in 1888. In his political affiliations he was a stanch republican.
Willie T. Runals was educated in the public schools of Ripon, left the local high school in 1868 and immediately apprenticed himself to the printer's trade and remained in this occupation for seven years. His first employer was A. T. Glaze with whom he remained for two years. He later entered the employ of George W. Peck and was for one year identified with the Daily Democrat, a New York publication. He spent two and one half years in Chicago in the manu- facturing business and then returned to Ripon and engaged in the carriage busi- ness for five years but severed his connection with the same to take charge of a farm in Green Lake county. This land he operated and improved for nine years and in 1889 he returned to Ripon, retiring from active life. He is yet a prominent figure in the financial affairs of the city, being a director in the Ger- man National Bank, one of the largest institutions of its kind in Ripon. He
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