USA > Wisconsin > Brown County > History of Brown County, Wisconsin, past and present, Volume II > Part 11
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Constant Dequaine of this review is one of a family of five children. He was educated in the district schools near Red River and was graduated from the Oshkosh Normal School in 1908. For two years afterward he taught school at Red River and was for one year and four months a teacher
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at Champion. At the end of that time he resigned to accept the position of cashier of the New Franken State Bank. He assumed his duties Jan- uary 23, 1912, and has already given evidence of ability and efficiency. Mr. Dequaine devotes part of his time to life and fire insurance. He is still in the beginning of his career. He has made but few changes in his occupation during the course of his active life and these have advanced his interests, showing the quality of his business acumen and his knowledge of local conditions. There is no reason to believe that his future progress will come more slowly than his past advancement and he is therefore on the road to prominence and success.
WILLIAM B. MORAND.
There are but few living today who have any recollection of the Mexican ' war, while the number of those who actively participated in its battles is still less and to this distinguished body belongs William B. Morand, the oldest citizen of Green Bay. He again responded to the call of the nation's chief for volunteers in the '6os by valiantly donning the blue and going to the front in defense of the country's flag. A native of the state of New York, his birth occurred in Orange county on the 8th of January, 1822, his parents being William and Margaret ( Beggerton) Morand. The parents were both natives of Ireland, whence they emigrated to the United States in 1820, locating in Goshen, Orange county, New York. There the father, who was a miller, followed his trade until he passed away in 1844 at the age of fifty-six years. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Morand numbered two, our subject and a sister who died at the age of eighteen years.
Born and reared on a farm, the early energies of William B. Morand were directed along agricultural lines. He followed farming until he enlisted in the army in 1846 for the war with Mexico. He remained in the service for five years, first under General Taylor's command and later under that of General Scott, who took charge of their division at Vera Cruz. He participated in many of the notable skirmishes and battles of the war and was wounded on two different occasions by the enemy's bullets. At the close of the hostilities his regiment was sent to Mackinac Island. where they were mustered out. Upon receiving his discharge, Mr. Morand came to Green Bay, locating here in 1851, and engaged in the hotel business on Pearl street, his hostelry being known as the Travelers' Home. Later he founded a hotel on Broadway, now known as the Huffman Hotel. Ile next built a fine hotel on the west side known as the Fort Howard, which he conducted until his retirement. Agricultural pursuits also claimed his atten- tion at this time, and as he was a very industrious man of foresight and good business judgment he met with more than an average degree of success. Although he was long identified with the active business life of the city, he has for about thirty years been living retired. He went to the front in 1864 as a member of Company A. Fourteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, under the command of General Grant. llis period of service cov-
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ered a year, at the expiration of which time he was discharged at Madison, this state.
In 1851 Mr. Morand was married to Miss Bridget Early, a native of Ireland, who emigrated to the United States with her parents, who located on Mackinac Island. Of this union there were born five children: Peter, a traveling missionary in the United States, who is now deceased; Edward, a resident of Colorado, who married Mamie Cavanaugh and has three chil- dren ; Mary, the deceased wife of J. Nolan and the mother of three children ; John, who was killed in Cuba during the Spanish war; and Katie, who married P. Hart of Seattle, Washington, and has four children.
Mr. Morand was reared in the Roman Catholic faith and is a charter member of the first church of that denomination erected in Green Bay, as was also Mrs. Morand. He is one of the honored members of T. O. Howe Post, No. 124, of the Grand Army of the Republic, and his alle- giance in matters politic he accords to the democratic party. His active connection with municipal affairs, was confined to two years' service as an . officer on the police force many years ago. Mr. Morand has many inter- esting reminiscences to relate of his experience in the army and of the pioneer days in Wisconsin, which when he located here more than sixty years ago was called the frontier. He has been an interested observer of the development of Green Bay, which was little more than a settlement when he came here and is now one of the thriving commercial centers of the state. Time has wrought many changes during the intervening years and among his present acquaintances there are but few he knew in the old days or have any recollection of the events in the early history of the city. Mr. Morand lives on Hubbard street, where for thirty years he has made his home.
JAMES V. MICKSCH.
A few years ago an exquisitely clean baker wagon driven by a foreign looking man who always seemed busy and intent upon his occupation was a familiar sight in the streets of Green Bay. Today James V. Micksch is the owner of one of the largest wholesale and retail bakery establish- ments in that city. The natives of Austria seem to be natural bakers. Whenever a little Bohemian shop opens its doors even on an obscure street in an American city it is almost sure to be successful and prosperous within a short time. This success is based on the good quality of their product and to a large extent upon the industry and honorable business methods of the owners of the shops. A man of this sort is James V. Micksch, who now has his large bakery at No. 1265 Main street, Green Bay. He is a native of Austria, his birth occurring in Romanov, Bohemia, May 13, 1868. His parents were James V. and Annie Micksch, also natives of Austria, who never left their native country. The father's death occurred in December, 1893, but the mother and her three sisters are still living in Romanov. Our subject has a brother, Antone C., who is engaged in the
J. V. MICKSCH
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bakery business in Cleveland, Ohio, and another brother, Ernest Frank, who is learning the same business with Antone in Cleveland. The latter was brought to America by our subject when fourteen years of age and was given a chance to attend the public schools of Green Bay. In 19IL he went to Cleveland, where he is now located.
James V. Micksch received his education in the German schools of his native province and early learned the miller's and baker's trades. When he became proficient in these occupations he left Europe and came to America in 1888. He landed in Baltimore, Maryland, and proceeded at once to Shawano, Wisconsin, where he made his home with relatives for a short time. After three weeks he went to Menominee, Michigan, and obtained work at farming and lumbering in which he continued until 1889. In that year he returned to Shawano and later went to Manitowoc. He had not much money at this time and was obliged to take up any work which he found to do. He spent the summer at Manitowoc, driving a pop wagon. At the end of the season he went to Gibson township, Mani- towoc county, where he ran a grist-mill for a year, but the next summer found him again at Manitowoc, where he drove a pop wagon during the tourist season. At the end of that time he came to Green Bay and worked for a short time for the Murphy Lumber Company and also spent four montlis as a carpenter. During the next seven years he was employed as a flour packer for the J. H. Ebeling Milling Company and only abandoned that occupation to start in business for himself. His first bakery was operated on an extremely small scale, employing one baker and economiz- ing by delivering his own goods to his customers. The fine quality of the bread, cakes and other products for which most Bohemian bakers are noted distinguished the output of the little shop from the beginning. As his goods became known his reputation and business increased, the market for his product enlarged yearly and the little bakery grew year by year to its present large proportions. At the present time he employs sixteen people and sometimes more in the various branches of his business. He keeps seven bakers constantly occupied, runs three large delivery wagons and employs four clerks in his wholesale store. The magnificent new plant which has recently been erected is one of the best equipped modern bakeries in Green Bay. Electrical baking appliances of the most approved sort are installed and the sanitary arrangements are unequalled in this part of Wisconsin. After the completion of his new bakery Mr. Mickschi began an advertising campaign to push the sale of his "Butter Krust" bread. It has proven a great success and is now being shipped and used over a large area. It is the result of much scientific study by expert bakers for over twenty-five years, is most sanitary and the ten cent loaves are all carefully wrapped for shipping. Mr. Micksch conducts a general grocery business in connection with the sale of his bakery products. His bakery covers a lot one hundred and six by one hundred and six feet, reaching from Main to Cedar streets, and his residence is just opposite on Cedar street. Mr. Micksch has been extremely successful and his success is the outcome of his own energy and enterprise. He made the most of every opportunity and has carved out for himself an honorable and worthy
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career, being prominent in the city in which he resides as an honest business man and a public-spirited citizen.
On July 15, 1890, Mr. Mickschi was married in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, to Miss Anna Kasperek, a daughter of Frank and Barbara Kasperek, pioneer residents of Brown county. The father died in 1902 and was buried in Woodlawn cemetery. His wife is now residing with her daughter. the wife of the subject of this sketch. To Mr. and Mrs. Micksch five children have been born: Frank J., who is now assisting his father in the bakery business; Libby M., a clerk in her father's store; Anna, who lives at home : James V., Jr., a student in the public schools of Green Bay ; and Lillian, who is also attending school. The family residence is at No. 1261 Cedar street, a pleasant and hospitable home which Mr. Micksch has recently entirely remodeled.
Mr. Micksch has other business interests in Green Bay, being a director of the Farmers Exchange Bank and also on the board of the Green Bay Canning Company. Politically he is a republican but takes no very active part in public affairs, preferring to concentrate his attention upon his growing business. He holds membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and in the Bohemian Slavonic Benevolent Society. He is also prominent in the Green Bay Brewers Benevolent Association and takes a great interest in the affairs of the local Turn Verein. Mr. Micksch has a powerful personality and the mental and moral qualities which enabled him to conquer the difficulties incident to a new life in a new country, held back by strange customs and a foreign language, and to rise from a humble and obscure position to an honored and respected place among his fellow citizens.
JAMES HENRY ELMORE.
James Henry Elmore, the present postmaster of Green Bay, is one of the most prominent and widely known citizens of this place, having been a resident of that city since 1862. He was born in Mukwonago, this state, January 6, 1843, and is a son of Andrew E. and Mary (Field) Elmore. The Elmore family was one of the old and influential families of England, and an evidence of its prominence in that country is found in the fact that in their honor was named Elmore street in London. The family was founded in America by three brothers, one of whom settled in New York, another in Connecticut and the third in South Carolina. One of the more prominent members of the family was the treasurer of the Southern Con- federacy.
Andrew Elmore, the father of our subject, came from Mukwonago, Wisconsin, and settled in Green Bay in 1864. He was one of the founders of the Dousman & Elmore Elevator and was among the influential pioneers of Green Bay, being instrumental in bringing to this city the line of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway. He devoted forty years of his life to the advancement of charitable institutions, was the president of the Wisconsin
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state board of charities and at one time was president of the national con- ference of charities. To him belonged the distinction of having presented to Wisconsin the proposition to make the insane wards of the state, and for their protection he established suitable buildings in which they should be cared for. He was a loyal and lifelong republican, prominent in the coun- cils of that party, and he served as a member of the legislature of Wiseon- sin. His life was characterized by unwavering integrity in all his business dealings and he was in every way one of the respected and highly esteemed citizens of Wisconsin. Although a member of the bar he did not engage in active practice. He left an estate of which the subject of this review has since been administrator. He died in January, 1906, at the advanced age of ninety-two years. His wife died in 1892, and they are buried in Woodlawn cemetery. To Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Elmore four children were born : Phebe, who is residing on the old homestead; Augusta P., who died in January, 1906: Mary, who passed away in June, 1907; and James H., the subject of this sketch. Augusta and Mary are buried in Woodlawn cem- etery beside their parents.
James H. Elmore was reared in his parents' home and received his early education at Mukwonago and East Troy. Later he was a student in Racine College until sixteen years of age. After putting aside his text- books he clerked in his father's store and some time later obtained a posi- tion as reporter for a newspaper at Madison. He came to Green Bay. August 10, 1862, and worked for the Dousman & Elmore Elevator Com- pany. That firm had a line of lake boats and were dealers in various products. In later years David M. Kelly purchased the interest of Mr. Dousman in the elevator company and at that time the subject of this review became a member of the firm and as general manager, continued with the company until 1878, at which time the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company bought the entire business. During the years of 1877 and 1878 he spent considerable time in traveling and became interested in various occupations outside of this state. He spent two summers in New York, was in the Black Hills and Arizona for a time and for one year lived at Crystal Falls, Michigan, being superintendent of the Crystal Falls Iron Company. On returning to Green Bay in 1884 he was appointed receiver of the Strong Bank, the affairs of which were badly mixed, but under his efficient management things were so satisfactorily adjusted as to bring to him the highest praise from the judge of the court and all others concerned. His successful handling of this trust led to his selection and appointment at various times as assignee of different estates. During his business career Mr. Elmore has also been interested in cedar timber and has been adminis- trator of his father's estate since the latter's death. At the outbreak of the Civil war he organized and drilled for service two companies, both of which later were mustered into service. He has been captain of the militia of the Green Bay Light Guards.
Mr. Elmore was united in marriage in Green Bay on the 19th of January, 1876, to Miss Leola Chapman, a daughter of Colonel William and Anne Chapman. Her father, who was a colonel in the United States regular army. died in 1887. and her mother passed away some years previously.
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They were buried in Woodlawn cemetery. To Mr. and Mrs. Elmore one son was born, William Chapman, who is wire chief of the Wisconsin Tele- phone Company, with headquarters at Appleton.
Since attaining his majority Mr. Elmore has affiliated with the republican party and was elected the first mayor of Fort Howard in 1873, at the time of the organization of that city. In 1890 he was elected mayor of Green Bay, having the distinction of being the first mayor of the united cities of Fort Howard and Green Bay, and he has frequently been reelected several times without opposition. During his administration many of the municipal improvements which have made Green Bay so conspicuous as a city were made, including the extension of paving, several miles of sewer, the rebuilding of old and the erection of new bridges, the reorganization of the fire department along the lines most modern in equipment and the erection of a fine new high school. He was appointed by the state board of regents as official visitor to the State University at Madison and in that capacity served for several terms. On the 4th of June, 1912, he assumed the duties of postmaster of Green Bay and is now filling that office in a most creditable and acceptable manner. He is a charter member of the Benevo- lent Protective Order of Elks at Green Bay and has served as exalted ruler of his lodge. He is also a prominent member of the Masonic order and is the only man in the city who has ever been elected eminent commander of the commandery and refused to serve. It will thus be seen that he has attained prominence in business, social and political circles and it is safe to say that no man in the city is held in higher esteem than James H. Elmore.
RIGHT REV. JOSEPH J. FOX, D. D.
Right Rev. Joseph J. Fox, D. D., bishop of Green Bay, was born in the city of Green Bay, August 2, 1855, of Paul and Frances ( Bartel) Fox. who were among the first German settlers in Brown county, arriving about 1840. Bishop Fox received his primary education in the local Catho- lic school, at the time the only one of its kind in the county. His classical studies were made in St. Francis Seminary of Milwaukee from 1870 until 1875, and in the latter year he went to the American College, Louvain, . Belgium, where he attended the famous university and after completing the theological course was ordained to the priesthood on the 7th of June, 1879. Returning home the same year he was appointed to the church at New Franken, but after only eight months was called by Bishop Kraut- bauer to St. John's church of Green Bay. While pastor of the latter church until May, 1883, he acted as secretary to Bishop Krautbauer and opened a parish school for St. John's in the old Cathedral building on Madison street, in which he had been baptized, confirmed and made his first communion. In May, 1883, at his own request, he was relieved of the pastorate at St. John's and appointed to Our Lady of Lourdes church at Marinette, Wisconsin, where he remained for eleven years, during which the church was decorated and furnished throughout and a new six-room
BISHOP J. J. FOX
THE WAY PUBLICAARI
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schoolhouse built. In 1894 he was appointed by Bishop Messmer, now archbishop of Milwaukee, to the vicar generalship and called back to Green Bay on the 15th of August of that year. Besides his duties as vicar gen- eral he was given charge of St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum then located on the corner of Crooks and Webster streets of Green Bay, and under his care in less than two years the magnificent St. Joseph's Orphan Home on the banks of the Fox river, between Green Bay and De Pere, was erected and paid for, thanks to the generosity of priests and people. An average of two hundred orphans per year find a good home, receive spiritual and bodily care and a good education under the guidance of the good Sisters de Notre Dame in St. Joseph's Home. In 1898 Vicar General Fox was made a domestic prelate by Pope Leo XIII with the title of monsignore, the first one to receive this honor in the diocese of Green Bay.
When in 1904 Bishop Messmer was promoted to the see of Milwaukee. Bishop Fox was appointed his successor by Pope Pius X. May 18, 1904. is the date of the brief of appointment, and he was consecrated fifth bishop of Green Bay on July 25, 1904. He enjoys the singular honor of being bishop of the church in which he was baptized and received his early Christian instructions.
H. S. ELDRED.
H. S. Eldred is a resident of Milwaukee, but his interests are by 110 means limited by the boundaries of that city. He has been a judicious inves- tor in business affairs in various sections of the state and a number of the now thriving towns and cities of Wisconsin have benefited by the conduct of his interests in their midst. He is president of the Citizens National Bank of Green Bay, but operates elsewhere along industrial, commercial and financial lines. He is widely known in Green Bay, where he lived for a number of years and where he was married. Social and business interests frequently call him back here and he has a very wide and favorable acquain- tance in city and county.
Mr. Eldred was born in Milwaukee, November 22, 1851, and is a son of Anson and Frances Mary (Ladue) Eldred. His father came to Wisconsin in 1848, settling in Milwaukee county. He was a pioneer lumberman of Wisconsin, building and operating mills at Stiles, Oconto, Little Suamico and Green Bay. He died January 14, 1895, in Milwaukee.
H. S. Eldred pursued his education in the schools of the city, where lie now makes his home, being there graduated from the Milwaukee Academy with the class of 1869. His college course was pursued at Dartmouth, where he won the Bachelor of Arts degree, graduating with the class of 1874. Returning from college he entered his father's business. He came to Green Bay in 1879, where he operated the mills there until 1894, when they were sold to the Diamond Match Company. He thus figured promi- nently in the industrial activity of the city and established his position as an enterprising, progressive and successful business man. He still has exten-
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sive interests throughout the state, being president of the Kiel ( Wis.) State Bank and financially interested in other enterprises, besides the Citizens National Bank of Green Bay, of which he has been the president since 1892.
On the 5th of October, 1881, Mr. Eldred was married in Green Bay to Miss Clara Strong, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Strong, the father a pioneer banker of Green Bay and the president of The Strong Bank. Mr. Eldred holds membership in the City Club, the Town Club and the Univer- sity Club of Milwaukee. He resides at No. 2 Waverly place, in a beautiful residence section and from there superintends his business interests, which bring him into close contact with industrial and financial progress in the state.
Mr. and Mrs. Eldred have two children: Anson, who was graduated from Williams College in 1910 and is now connected with the firm of Hum- mel & Downing Company, fibre box manufacturers ; and Irene Frances, who is the wife of Grant T. Stephenson and resides at Wells, Michigan.
CAPTAIN PRESTON F. TIIRALL.
The situation of Green Bay affords excellent opportunity for those who wish to engage in shipbuilding or navigation, in which connection Captain Preston F. Thrall has become well known as the head of the Thrall Steam- ship Company, which since 1901 has had its headquarters at the foot of Harvey street. Forty-four years have come and gone since he arrived in this city, being then a young man of twenty-four years.
His birth occurred at Brockville, Canada, on the 29th of May. 1844, and his ancestors, who were of English lineage, had resided in this country for several generations. His parents were Friend and Betsy Thrall. The father, who was a native of New York, engaged in the manufacture of furs for many years and spent his last days in Green Bay, where he passed away October 19. 1888, having for only about two months survived his wife. who died in August of the same year. They were laid to rest in Pickett Station cemetery near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where also lie buried their two children, Horace and Stella.
Captain Thrall was a young lad when the family removed to Oshkosh and in the public schools of that city he pursued his education until he reached the age of eighteen years, when he sought and obtained employ- ment in a shingle mill. He worked in that manner through the summer months and in the winter seasons assisted his father in the fur business until 1868, when he came to Green Bay and formed a partnership in the tug business, starting with a single boat. Meeting with success, the firm built a number of tug and freight boats and subsequently Captain Thrall became sole proprietor of the business. He finally sold out and formed the Green Bay Vessel Company, the name being afterward changed to the Thrall Steamboat Company. They are the owners of The Orion, which carries iron ore to eastern lake ports and returns with coal to different ports on
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