USA > Wisconsin > Brown County > History of Brown County, Wisconsin, past and present, Volume II > Part 14
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municipal life and he has already become an influencing force in the com- mercial expansion of Green Bay. He is a member of the board of edu- cation of the city and has held the office since July, 1910. He is also a member of Lodge No. 259, B. P. O. E., of Green Bay.
In 1905 Mr. Walter was united in marriage to Miss Jessie Messenger, of Green Bay, who died October 22, 1907, leaving a son, John, now five years of age. Mr. Walter is well versed in his business and though still a young man he has exhibited a shrewd and discriminating business sense and energy, unfaltering ambition and powerful determination, which promises well for larger success in the future.
PETER CHRISTMAN.
Industry and determination are necessary factors in business or profes- sional success. It is due to their possession, as vital forces in his character, that Peter Christman owes his present position in commercial circles of Green Bay. He is the proprietor of one of the large general department stores of that city, located at 1100 and 1102 Main street, where his busi- ness has been carried on since October, 1907.
Peter Christman is a native of Wisconsin, having been born at Manitowoc Rapids in this state, June 7, 1858. His parents were John A. and Annie M. Christman. His father came from Germany in 1854 and settled on a farm near Manitowoc. The land was undeveloped and he was obliged to clear the timber and erect buildings. He made shingles by hand to facilitate the work and eventually engaged in the cultivation of the soil. He died in 1877 at the age of sixty-four years, his wife surviving him until 1901, when her death occurred in her seventy-fifth year. They are buried side by side at the Allouez cemetery.
The parochial schools of his native city afforded Peter Christman his early educational opportunities. When his family had removed to Green Bay, he entered the local business college, an institution founded by A. C. Blackman, and completed the commercial course at the age of fourteen years. He immediately accepted a position as clerk in a business conducted by D. WV. Britton and later had charge of a store for the Astor Planing Mill, in which connection he continued for one year. He followed the occupation of house painting for the next fifteen years and then, in partnership with A. Dubois, started in his present line of activity. They founded a grocery and dry-goods business on a small scale. They located their store at the corner of Main and Webster streets and their success, though gradual, was continuous. Their original quarters at length became too small to accommo- clate their growing trade, and in 1895 the enterprise was moved to its pres- ent location at the corner of Main and Tenth streets, which is a modern two-story building, covering a floor space of fifty-three feet by ninety feet, and is one of the most up-to-date and enterprising mercantile establish- ments in Green Bay. The partnership with Mr. Dubois was continued until 1907. when it was dissolved. and Peter Christman has carried on the busi-
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ness independently since that time. Although the active interest of his life is given to his grocery and dry-goods business, which was the foundation of his fortune, yet he by no means confines his energies to the one line. He is a firm believer in the industrial and commercial future of Green Bay and always invests his capital in local enterprises. He is president of the Paper Novelty Company, organized for the purpose of manufacturing crepe paper and paper napkins. Hle is a stockholder in the Bank of Green Bay and the Badger Casualty Company. He has a keen business instinct and his capacity for judging the merits of a new enterprise, his shrewdness in invest- ment and his power of discrimination have brought him a comfortable for- tune, which he always uses to promote the municipal development of his city. During his career as a merchant, however, he not only confined his ener- getic faculties to the mercantile business but is also interested in several meritorious inventions which he himself devised, viz. : a mechanical move- ment, a store-goods package lifter ; and several deep well pumps, one of which has a quadruple delivery. His cooperation is eagerly sought in busi- ness circles and his keen mind makes his opinion of great weight.
On October 29, 1889, Mr. Christman was married in Green Bay to Miss Appolonia Bins, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Bins, the former a pioneer farmer of Humboldt, Wisconsin. They are the parents of ten chil- dren: Rose K., who is a clerk in her father's dry-goods store; John J., a graduate of St. Norbert's college at De Pere, Wisconsin, and now book- keeper for a fish company in his native city ; Peter J., Jr., associated with his father in the grocery and dry-goods business ; Frederick W., bookkeeper for the Bank of Green Bay; Agnes S., Hilda, Marie, George, Evelyn and Norbert, all of whom are living at home. The family residence is at 1108 Cherry street.
Mr. Christman takes very little active part in politics. He is entirely non-partisan, keeping his views and ideas independent of party lines. He has never sought public office, preferring to devote his energies and attention to the development of the large business of which he is the head. He is a mem- ber of the Roman Catholic church and active in the affairs of the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin. He has many friends in Green Bay who look upon his growing business success as the well deserved reward of early effort and well directed energy.
JULIUS SPEERSCHNEIDER.
No history of the pioneer settlement and later upbuilding of Brown county would be complete without mention of Julius Speerschneider, one of the most prominent, substantial and representative farmers of Scott township. He is operating a fine modern farm of two hundred and twenty acres, a tract of land upon which he turned the first furrow thirty-two years ago, and since that time the work of cultivation has been steadily carried forward along lines of progress and the excellent condition of the farm is direct evidence of the value of the care and labor which have been be-
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stowed upon it. Mr. Speerschneider was born in what was then known as Tanktown, Brown county, May 26, 1854. His father, August Speerschnei- der, was a native of Germany, born in Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, in June, 1831. When he was eighteen years of age he came alone to the United States and settled in Wisconsin in 1849. For some time he worked upon various farms, receiving for his labors eight dollars per month. Later he went to Mashie Mill and was employed there a short time but finally returned to Scott township, where he took up one hundred and sixty acres of unim- proved land, which he brought to a high state of cultivation. Before this time he obtained employment as the operator of the ferry across Fox river owned by Mr. Wheelock and for six years he divided his attention between running the boats and making improvements upon his farm. He cleared the land and in 1860 definitely established his residence upon this property and there resided until his death on May 5, 1910. He was twice married. His first wife was Miss Carolina Risch, a daughter of Peter Risch and a native of Germany. She died in 1868, leaving six children, and in the fol- lowing year August Speerschneider wedded Miss Philipine Brenner, who is still living.
Born in this section in early times, Julius Speerschneider's childhood was spent amidst scenes of pioneer development. In the winter time he went to a little log schoolhouse and in the summers aided his father in the arduous work of clearing and cultivating. He remained at home until he was twenty-two and then began his independent career. He went to Green Bay and worked in various capacities in the city for three or four years. During this time he purchased eighty acres of wild land in Scott township and when he had partly paid for this property left Green Bay and made his home on rented land while building a little log cabin upon his farm. When the new home was completed Mr. Speerschneider moved into it and began the work which has gradually brought him success and prominence as a general agriculturist. Acre by acre the land was brought under the plow and planted and soon abundant harvests rewarded the owner's care and labor. Gradually good buildings were erected and a fine modern residence replaced the original log cabin. Mr. Speerschneider fenced his fields, installed modern machinery and neglected nothing which would make his farm a model enterprise. He has never abandoned the work of further development but is constantly mak- ing improvements and changes and has become known throughout the dis- trict as a most progressive and able agriculturist. For some time he was treasurer of the New Century Creamery Company and at the present time is serving as treasurer and trustee of the Pleasant Hill Cemetery Association.
In 1880 Mr. Speerschneider married Miss Emmaline Anschutz, a daugh- ter of August Anschutz, a pioneer in the settlement of Brown county. Mr. and Mrs. Speerschneider became the parents of eight children. Emma has passed away. John was killed in November. 1906. He was a student at the university at Madison and drowned while diving into the swimming tank in the gymnasium. He had almost completed a course in butter making. having intended to make this his future occupation. Lillian has also passed away. The other children born to Mr. and Mrs. Speerschneider are Fred- erick A., Julius, Jr., Robert, Amanda and Arthur. The family belong to the
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German Lutheran church. No man has done more steady, progressive work in agricultural development than has Julius Speerschneider and his success is well merited, for it has come by reason of well directed energy and labor. The evidences of prosperity about his farm are also proofs of the ability of the man who operates the property and who in every way is a successful agriculturist and an upright and straightforward citizen. In politics he is a democrat.
JOHN C. FOGARTY.
One of the most prominent industries of Brown county and one which has done much to make it the prosperous section which it is today is that of paper manufacture, and one of the most prominent firms engaged in this line of work is the Northern Paper Mills. Its general manager is John C. Fogarty, a man whose power of organization and talent for directing sub- ordinates have made him successful in a responsible position. Although he has been in Green Bay for only nine years he is recognized today as one of the leading factors in its industrial development. He has held his present position since 1909. Mr. Fogarty was born at New Marlboro, Massachu- setts, August 27, 1865, a son of William and Ellen (Ahern) Fogarty. The first representative of the family in this country was John Fogarty, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, who came to America from Ireland in 1780. He gave valuable aid to the American army during the War of 1812, bringing supplies and ammunition to the soldiers in his little thirty-eight ton boat. The first John Fogarty returned to his native country after the War of 1812 and here his son, the grandfather of our subject was born and here he remained until 1842, when he crossed the Atlantic to Amer- ica. The first John Fogarty had been a fisherman by trade but his son fol- lowed the occupation of paper making in which trade his son, the father of our subject, engaged also. John C. Fogarty, of this review, grew up in the business, learning its details and thoroughly mastering everything connected with it. The family was represented during the Civil war by the father of our subject, who fought from 1861 until 1865 as a member of the Forty- ninth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. At the close of the war he was honorably discharged. He now resides at Wilberham, Massachusetts, hav- ing survived his wife since 1877. She is buried at Lee, Massachusetts.
At the usual age John C. Fogarty entered the public schools of Wilber- ham and spent a short time as a student in the local high school, which he left at the age of fourteen years to become assistant to his father in the paper-making business. He remained in this connection for three years, and then came to Wisconsin, settling first in Nennah, where he obtained a position, running a paper machine, which he filled for six years. This early work along lines of his present activity was invaluable to Mr. Fogarty as it gave him the practical working knowledge of the details of the business and made him a master workman in his trade. His efficiency was soon recog- nized by an offer of a foremanship with the George A. Whiting Paper Manu-
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JOHN C. FOGARTY
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBAZIY
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facturing Company at Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and this position he held for five years, showing the talent for organization and ability to control men which distinguishes him in his present capacity. He was foreman for the Niagara Falls Paper Company which is now called the International Paper Company for twelve years, after which he returned to Nekoosa, Wis- consin, as superintendent for the Nekoosa Paper Company. After five years in this connection he resigned his position and came to Green Bay as superintendent of the Northern Paper Mills. His advancement with this firm came rapidly. His work as superintendent was recognized as effective and important by his superiors and in 1909 it was rewarded by his election to the office of general manager, which position he now fills. He is a promi- nent figure in industrial circles in Green Bay, especially along the line of business with which he has been identified all of his life. He holds the office of president and is a director of the Aster Paper Company and is also a di- rector of the Northern Company.
Politically Mr. Fogarty keeps himself absolutely independent of party lines. He votes for the men whom he considers best fitted for the posi- tion and for the policies which he deems most worthy. He is a de- voted member of St. Patrick's church and has given his allegiance to the Roman Catholic religion all during his life, being a firm believer in its tenets and doctrines.
On November 20, 1888, Mr. Fogarty was united in marriage to Miss Jo- sephine Moore, of Appleton, Wisconsin, a daughter of Roderick and Mar- garet (Rinkel) Moore, the former a pioneer pulp maker of Wisconsin. Our subject and his wife became the parents of eleven children, two of whom died in infancy. The others are: George, who died at the age of thirteen years and who was buried at Fort Howard cemetery; William, who is a student at the University of Wisconsin; Margaret, a teacher in St. Mary's Academy at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin ; Catherine, Josephine and Eliza- beth, all students of St. Joseph's Academy ; and John C., Jr., Frances and James, who are attending the public schools of Green Bay .. The family resi- dence is at 619 South Quincy street and is one of the hospitable homes of Green Bay. Mr. Fogarty numbers among his friends the most promi- nent citizens of this city and his genial manner and his open-hearted hos- pitality make every acquaintance a friend.
ARTHUR L. CANNARD.
Arthur L. Cannard, serving as cashier of the Farmers Exchange Bank at No. 1252 Main street, Green Bay, is one of the many energetic young men of that city. who have risen by their own efforts from minor positions in their present lines of business to responsible offices. Mr. Cannard began his banking career as a messenger and has risen in three years to the po- sition of cashier in one of the most influential banks of Green Bay. He was born in Cavour, South Dakota. July 4, 1886, a son of J. J. and Adolpha Can- nard. The father was a native of Brown county and beyond the short time Vol. II-8
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which he spent as a farmer in South Dakota, spent his entire life in the lum- ber business in Wisconsin. In his family were seven children: Julia, who married John Renmaster, a dry-goods clerk in Green Bay; Arthur L .; Ada, residing at home ; and Walter, Jennie, Minnie and Madeline, all of whom are students in the Green Bay high school.
Arthur L. Cannard received his early education in Cavour, South Dakota, leaving the public schools for business college, from which he was graduated at the age of eighteen years. He immediately became identified with the Farmers Exchange Bank, of which he is the present cashier. His first po- sition with this institution was as bank messenger. He worked his way up rapidly from messenger to bookkeeper, then became teller, then assistant cashier and finally cashier, to which office he was elected in 1909, three years after his first identification with the bank.
Mr. Cannard makes his home at the family residence, No. 820 Irwin ave- nue, in Green Bay. He is a stanch republican and interested in progressive political affairs, although he never seeks office for himself. He belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, with which organization he has been connected for some time. He is a member of the Catholic church and holds membership in St. Peter and Paul's Society, affiliated with that re- ligion, and is interested in all church affairs. Mr. Cannard has his business life before him. He is at the present time only twenty-six years of age and has already gained a position in banking circles which might well be envied by a man twice his age. The future of any city is largely in the hands of its young men and in Arthur L. Cannard Green Bay has a worthy type of pro- gressive and enterprising business man who promises to play an important part in its future commercial and financial life.
ALBERT ZAKOWSKI.
Albert Zakowski, a representative and prosperous agriculturist of Su- amico township, is the owner of a farm of one hundred and twenty acres on section 22. His birth occurred in German Poland on the 4th of April, 1861, his parents being Baltarzar and Aggie (Contoski) Zakowski, natives of the same place. The father, who was born in 1820 and followed farming through- out his entire business career, passed away in 1878. The mother, whose natal year was 1818, was called to her final rest in 1882. Unto them were born ten children, as follows: Peter, Anton, Albert, Frank, Joseph, Pauline, Annie, Sophia, Rosie and Ida.
Albert Zakowski attended school in his native country until fifteen years of age and then began learning the tailor's trade. At the end of three years he returned to the parental roof and assisted his father in the operation of the home farm until 1881. In that year, as a young man of twenty, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States and made his way to Chicago, Illinois, where he remained for one year. Subsequently he spent two years as a farm hand in that state and on the expiration of that period came to Wisconsin, settling on a tract of forty acres in Glenmore township, this
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county, which he purchased from the government. In 1901 he disposed of that property and took up his abode in Suamico township, purchasing the farm of one hundred and twenty acres which he has since operated. He raises hay, corn, oats, potatoes and cabbage and makes a specialty of dairy products, selling in the local market. On his place are twelve cows, three horses and five hogs. In the pursuit of agriculture he follows modern meth- ods, utilizing the latest improved machinery to facilitate the work of the fields, and his labors are attended with excellent results.
On the 19th of May, 1884, in the township of Eaton, Mr. Zakowski was united in marriage to Miss Katie Vineecski, her father being Albert Vineecski, a farmer of German Poland. Our subject and his wife have nine children, as follows: Stanley, who wedded Miss Paula Trafki and is a machinist re- siding in Milwaukee ; Mary, who gave her hand in marriage to Leo Mielzarck, a machinist of Milwaukee, by whom she has two children-Frank and Emil ; Julia, who has one child, Mary, and is the wife of Michael Nowazyk, a fisherman of Suamico: Verona, who gave her hand in marriage to Walter Dombroski, a farmer of Snamico : John ; Albert : 1da ; Henry ; and Frank.
In politics Mr. Zakowski is a republican, loyally supporting the men and measures of that party at the polls. ITis religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Catholic church at Flintville. Coming to the United States in early manhood, he found the opportunities which he sought and in their utilization has won a place among the substantial and esteemed citizens of his community.
RALPH M. CARTER, M. D.
Dr. Ralph M. Carter is one of the most prominent of the younger phy- sicians of Green Bay. He has been practicing medicine in this city since July, 1910, and during the short period of his activity has gained a repu- tation for careful work along surgical lines. He was born in Decatur, Illinois, March 3. 1884, and is a son of J. W. and Idora J. Carter. The father was born in Sullivan, Illinois, from which city he removed to Decatur, where he is following the business of a coal merchant. The family is of English origin and has been founded in America for many generations, its first represen- tative settling in Virginia about the year 1630.
Dr. Carter received his primary education in the public schools of De- catur and was graduated from the high school of that city in 1900. He received his B. A. degree from the University of Illinois in 1905 and was graduated in medicine with the degree of M. D. from Rush Medical Col- lege, of Chicago, in 1908. He spent the period between March, 1908, and December of the same year, as interne in the Dunning Insane Asylum, and remained for two years, from December, 1908, to June, 1910. in the Cook County Hospital in Chicago as house physician, and during the month of June, 1910, was house physician at Hinton, West Virginia. The experience which he gained in these different capacities has been a valuable asset to him in his active life as a physician and it has combined with his thorough
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knowledge of his profession and his undoubted ability to make him one of the most competent members in Green Bay today. He came to this city in 1910 and established his office at 1255 Main street, where he has a large and constantly increasing practice.
Dr. Carter is affiliated with many of the societies connected with his profession and is prominent in the Illinois State Medical Society, the Brown County Medical Association, the Fox River Valley Medical Society and the Wisconsin Medical Association. He also holds membership in the Sigma Nu and the Phi Rho Sigma fraternities and is prominent in the affairs of the Monami Club. He lives at the Sherwood Hotel, in Green Bay, and has gained many warm friends during his short period of residence in this city. His career up to the present time has been distinguished by broad ideas of personal service and by a high standard of medical ethics. His life has just begun but his future, judged by his present point of attainment, will be marked by conspicuous success in his chosen field.
SAMUEL H. CADY.
Samuel H. Cady, an attorney at law of Green Bay, is a native of Sauk county, Wisconsin, born February 4, 1870. His family is of English origin and the ancestry is traced back to Nicholas Cady, who came to the new world in 1646. Several members of the family were in the American troops during the Revolutionary war. William C. Cady, the father of our subject, removed from the Berkshire hills of Massachusetts to Wisconsin in 1848 and settled on a farm near Baraboo in 1850. He was a prominent democratic leader of his district and held various offices through a period of thirty- seven years. He died April 29, 1911, at the age of eighty-nine years, and, was buried near the old homestead. His widow, Mrs. Emogen Cady, still survives.
Samuel H. Cady acquired his primary education in Baraboo and was graduated from the high school with the class of 1891. He then entered the University of Wisconsin and won his Bachelor of Letters degree upon gradu- ation in 1895. In 1897 he was graduated from the law department of the same institution and then came to Green Bay, where he entered into part- nership with his brother F. C. Cady. This partnership was maintained until July. 1902, after which Samuel H. Cady practiced alone until 1905, when he was joined by Max H. Strehlow under the firm style of Cady & Strehlow. In 1907 they were joined by Lynn D. Jaseph and then was organized the present firm of Cady, Strehlow & Jaseph. Since coming to Green Bay Mr. Cady has enjoyed gratifying success. He soon demonstrated his ability to handle intricate law problems, and as the years have passed by his client- age has grown in volume and importance, placing him among the foremost lawyers of the city. He has also won for himself a prominent position in financial circles, having been connected with banking interests in Green Bay and elsewhere. He was one of the organizers of the Farmers and Traders Bank at Wrightstown, Wisconsin, of the First National Bank of Seymour,
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