USA > Wisconsin > Brown County > History of Brown County, Wisconsin, past and present, Volume II > Part 33
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he still holds. He resigned his office as president to take up his duties as manager, to which have been lately added those of secretary and treas- urer. He is vice-president of the Farmers Exchange Bank and is also a director in that institution.
On March 10, 1876, Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Christine Christensen, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Christensen. pioneer settlers of Brown county. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are the par- ents of three children: Anna, a graduate of the Green Bay high school and also of the Oshkosh Normal School; Samuel, part owner of the Johnson Fish Cimpany; and A. L. The family residence is at No. 1303 Cherry street and is a center of hospitality for the many friends of J. S. Johnson and his family.
Mr. Johnson takes very little part in local politics. He gives his allegi- ance to the republican party but prefers to devote his attention to his business affairs, which are of an absorbing nature. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, is prominent in the affairs of the Ansgar Society, and is deeply interested in the Green Bay Commer- cial Club. In the course of his business career Mr. Johnson has gained for himself a reputation for honesty and fair dealing in all his commercial affairs. He has many friends in Green Bay and his life has been an example of true manhood and loyal citizenship.
DENNISON WHEELOCK.
Dennison Wheelock is one of the highly respected citizens of De Pere, where he is successfully engaged in the general practice of law. He was born June 14, 1871, on the Oneida Reservation in Brown county, Wisconsin, and is a son of James A. and Sophie Wheelock. His parents were Oneida Indians and born on the Oneida Indian Reservation in New York state. When the government moved the Oneida Indians to Wisconsin, they were among the members of their tribe which settled on the reservation in Brown county, Wisconsin.
Dennison Wheelock was reared in his parents home and at the age of fourteen years, in 1885, entered the Carlisle Indian School at Carlisle, Penn- sylvania, where he completed the required course of studies and was gradu- ated from that institution with the class of 1890. While a student there he was a major of a battalion and after his graduation he was engaged as the leader of the Carlisle Indian School Band, to which he gave his entire at- tention for seven or eight years. He spent ten years in the government em- ploy as financial clerk of the school and in that capacity he traveled through- out the United States, gathering pupils and visiting the different Indian res- ervations for the benefit of the school. In 1907 he severed his connection with that institution and took up the study of law under John R. Miller. who was an attorney connected with the Dickinson School of Law of Car- lisle, Pennsylvania. In July, 1911, he was admitted to the bar of Wisconsin
DENNISON WHEELOCK
THE NAY ,ICH PUBLIC LIBRARY
AUTOR, LENAX AND TILDER FOUNDATIONA.
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by the supreme court of the state and immediately began the general prac- tice of law at De Pere, where he has since continued to reside.
Mr. Wheelock was united in marriage in 1894, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to Aliss Lonise La Chapelle, a Chippewa Indian maiden of Minnesota, and they have become the parents of two children: Edmund W., born in 1896; and Louise, born in 1903. To Mr. Wheelock great credit is due for his achievements in the pursuit of knowledge and for the distinction of having successfully pursued his law course and received admission to the Wiscon- sin bar as an authorized and accredited attorney. His experience as a stu- dent and later as a government agent traveling throughout the country brought him in contact with all classes of people and served also to broaden his general knowledge.
A. L. THOMAS.
A. L. Thomas is one of Green Bay's successful men and has gained his present prominent position by his own efforts and energy. He came to America from his native country, Belgium, and built up his career here, despite the difficulties of mastering a new language and becom- ing accustomed to foreign ways, and he has gained his present position in the commercial world of Green Bay by his qualities of broad intelli- gence and well directed ambition. He is now sole owner of the Thomas Produce Company, located at 163 North Pearl street, Green Bay.
A. L. Thomas was born in Antwerp, September 25, 1867, and is a son of Francis and Hattie Borm Thomas, both of whom died in their native country and are buried there. Their son received his education in the public schools of Antwerp and crossed the Atlantic to America in 1887. He landed in New York city and came immediately to Fayette, Michigan, where he entered a country school for the purpose of learn- ing the English language. He later worked in a blast furnace in Fayette for six months, and at the end of that period went to Seattle, Washing- ton, where he was employed in a sawmill. In the same year he went to Oregon and located at Oswego, where he again entered a public school for the purpose of continuing his study of the English language. When he had attained a certain degree of proficiency in this tongue he took a position as clerk in a general store in Oswego where he remained until :893. All during this period he pursued his studies as a pupil in the night school. After a short stay in Chicago, Illinois, during the World's Columbian Exposition, he came to Green Bay and obtained a position in a clothing store in this city. He remained in that line of activity only a short time, and, finding his duties distasteful, he left the clothing busi- ness to enter the employ of A. L. Platten, who was then operating a produce company, After three years of activity in the employ of Mr. Platten he started in business for himself along a similar line. He established a produce business, selling direct from the producer to the consumer in carload lots. In 1897 his success justified his opening a
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little office on Walnut street, and here his business increased to such an extent that he was obliged to enlarge his capacity and in 1912 moved his business to its present location at 163 North Pearl street. He is now erecting in connection with his offices, one of the finest warehouses in the state of Wisconsin. This is to be complete and modern in every detail and is an important addition to industrial architecture in Green Bay.
On the 18th of November, 1898, Mr. Thomas was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie M. Keene, of Chicago, Illinois, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Keene, who are now residents of Ireland. To Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have been born five children, Francis J., Edith J., Wilbur MI .. Elizabeth and Lincoln. The family resides at 117 North Maple street in a beautiful home which Mr. Thomas erected in 1902.
Politically, Mr. Thomas is a progressive and is a firm believer in the policies of that organization. He is a member of the Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks and takes an active interest in the affairs of that body. He is one of the prominent business men of Green Bay at the present time and has carved out his career from humble beginnings by hard work and dominating ambition, and has gained for himself during the period of his activity in America, an important place in industrial circles.
PHILIP SHERIDAN.
Wisconsin has ever been known for the high rank of her bench and bar and among the representatives of the legal profession in Green Bay who have won success and distinction as conservitors of the rights and liberties, the life and privileges of the people, is numbered Philip Sheridan, now practicing as a member of the firm of Sheridan, Evans & Merrill. This firm was organized in 1910 and has its offices in the Sheridan build- ing. The senior partner has engaged in practice continuously since 1894 and has developed powers that enable him to successfully cope with many intricate legal problems. He was born at Fort Howard, now a part of Green Bay, September 28, 1870, a son of Peter and Mary Sheri- dan. The family is of Irish lineage and was founded in America by Pat- rick Sheridan, the grandfather, who came to the United States in 1825. The father, Peter Sheridan, engaged in mining and in 1865 removed from Buffalo, New York, to Green Bay, where he continued to make his home throughout his remaining days. In his political views he was a democrat and served as supervisor and as chairman of the board for the town of Florence. He died in 1894 at the age of fifty-seven years, having for some time survived his wife who passed away in 1883, at the age of thirty-five years. Both are buried in Fort Howard cemetery.
The public and parochial schools afforded Philip Sheridan his educa- tional privileges to the time he reached the age of thirteen years. He afterward attended the Sacred Heart College at Watertown, Wisconsin, for two years, and when a youth of sixteen began assisting his father
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in his lumber and mining interests in Michigan and Wisconsin. His time was thus passed for six years. He next entered the law school of the Wisconsin University and was graduated in 1894, on which occasion he won his LL.B. degree. He then formed a partnership with W. L. Evans and began practicing. Almost from the outset he was successful, his growing clientage soon bringing him a profitable business. He pre- pares his cases very carefully, systematically and thoroughly and is there- fore prepared for defense as well as for attack when he appears in the court room. His knowledge of law is comprehensive and exact and in the citation of principle or precedent he is seldom if ever in error. In 1905 he erected the Sheridan building in which the firm now has offices, and in addition he is the secretary of the Murphy Land Company.
On the 21st of October, 1898, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Mr. Sheridan was united in marriage to Miss Louise Meyers, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Meyers, old residents of Kenosha. Mr. and Mrs. Sheri- dan reside at No. 216 South Jefferson street, Green Bay, and are members of St. Patrick's Catholic church. Ile also holds membership with the Knights of Columbus and his political allegiance is given to the demo- cratic party which in 1898 made him a nominee for congress. He is a member of the Kellogg public library board and is a public-spirited citizen, interested in all that pertains to the welfare and progress of the community and to its substantial upbuilding. That he made wise choice in his selection of a profession is evidenced by the success which he has attained. He has a large clientage and his work in the courts has won him high encomiums, showing him to have comprehensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence, together with analytical power that enables him to readily understand each phase of the case and its rela- tions to the points at law.
VICTOR I. MINAHAN.
No man can be an active and successful lawyer in whom the quali- ties of public spirit and ambition are not present. The legal profession calls for energy, enterprise and a mind, capable of mastering details. The career of Victor I. Minahan is an example of the value of these virtues in the study of jurisprudence. He is a member of the firm of Minahan & Minahan, with offices at 202 Minahan building, where he has been practicing since 1900. He was born at Chilton, Calumet county, Wisconsin, June 2, 1877, and is a son of William B. and Mary Minahan. His father was a native of Ireland, coming to America with his parents in 1840. They settled on a farm in New York state, where William B. Minahan remained until 1860. In this year he came to Calumet county. Wisconsin, and engaged in the occupation of farming for some time. He was prominent in local affairs, was superintendent of schools for some time and a firm adherent of the republican party. He died in 1906 when he was seventy-three years old, having survived his wife for three years.
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Victor I. Minahan entered the public schools of Oshkosh at the usual age, spent four years in the normal school at Stevens Point, and gradu- ated in 1897 from that institution. He entered the law department of the Wisconsin State University and received his degree of LL.B. from that institution in 1900. He immediately came to Green Bay where he practiced law alone for five years. In 1905 he entered into partnership with E. R. Minahan under the name of Minahan & Minahan which is today one of the most prominent law firms of this city and county. Victor I. Minahan has given his qualities -- undoubted ability, strict integrity, energy and capacity for hard work-to the building up of a legal practice and his success since the first year in Green Bay has been rapid and brilliant. He has many interests outside of his profession and they have made him well known in business circles of this city. He is vice president of the Minahan Building Company of which his brother. J. R. Minahan, is president. He was responsible for the erection of the Minahan building, the largest office structure in the city of Green Bay. in which the law firm with which Victor I. Minahan is connected, has its offices. He is a director of the Bank of Green Bay and is connected with the Godfredson Brothers Company.
Politically he is a democrat, and fraternally is a member of the Benevo- lent Protective Order of Elks, and is prominent in the affairs of the Royal Arcanum. His home is at 202 North Jefferson avenue and his friends in Green Bay are numbered among its most prominent and impor- tant citizens. Mr. Minahan is among the most promising of the rising young lawyers of this city and in his twelve years of legal practice has made a record remarkable for its brilliancy and success.
MADS CHRISTENSEN.
Mads Christensen is proprietor of a fine farm of seventy-three acres in New Denmark and has brought it from a raw and uncultivated state to a highly improved and developed condition. He has labored earnestly to accomplish his success and well deserves the prosperity which has crowned his efforts. He was born in Denmark in 1860, a son of Christ and Carrie Johanna Madsen. He came to America in 1881 and settled immediately in New Denmark. For some time he worked in the employ of others, saving his money until he was able to purchase land of his own. When he had acquired a sufficient sum he bought seventy-three acres covered with stumps and timber. He cleared the property and got it into condition for cultivation, erecting barns, granaries and other out- buildings, and by working steadily has made it a modern and up-to-date agricultural enterprise.
In 1897 Mr. Christensen was united in marriage to Miss Christiana Larsen, a daughter of Hans Larsen, a native of Denmark. Mrs. Christen- sen was born in New Denmark, in Brown county, and remained at home until her marriage. She and her husband have four children, Anna. Henry,
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Winfred and Nellie, all of whom are members of the Danish Lutheran church.
Mr. Christensen is independent in his political views, voting always for the man whom he considers best fitted for the position. He has won success by steadily adhering to high business standards and by keeping pace with the modern advancement of agricultural methods, while his industry and integrity entitle him to rank among the representative citizens of his community.
PETER KROUSE.
Peter Krouse is a Civil war veteran and at one time was an active busi- ness man in Green Bay, but is now living retired. He was born on the 15th of October, 1842, in Schwarzburg, Germany, a son of Frederick Krouse, who was born in 1812 and died in the year 1892. The father came to America in 1852, making the trip by way of the great lakes from Buffalo to Green Bay. He was one of the first settlers in this section where he followed the mason's and stone-cutter's trade for some time. Eventually, however, he turned his attention to farming in Suamico, Brown county, Wisconsin, where he remained until his demise. His family num- bered eight children of whom five are living.
Peter Krouse had limited educational opportunities in Germany and attended school for only one year after coming to America. He was only in his tenth year when the family crossed the Atlantic to the new world and when but a young lad he secured employment in connection with the lumber business, his task being that of a "riverman jack" until he reached the age of nineteen years. The Civil war was then in progress and his patriotic spirit was aroused by the attempt of the south to overthrow the Union. He enlisted as a member of Company H, Twelfth Wisconsin Regiment, called the Green Bay Company, for a term of three years and on the expiration of that period reenlisted at Natchez, Mississippi, for three years more or until the close of the war. He was appointed Second corporal on May 15, 1865, and served under Generals Grant and Sherman and went with the latter from Atlanta to the sea. He was also present at the time of General Lee's surrender at Appamattox and later he par- ticipated in the grand review at Washington, when the victorious Union troops marched through the streets of the capital city amid the cheering thousands which lined Pennsylvania avenue. Prior to the war Jefferson Davis, afterward president of the southern confederacy, was at one time stationed, with the rank of lieutenant, at Fort Howard.
On the 19th of July, 1865, Mr. Krouse was mustered out and with a most creditable military record returned to his home. About that time he married and engaged in general work and later when he had saved a sufficient sum from his earnings he opened a general mercantile business which he conducted at Suamico, Brown county, for fourteen years. He then came to Green Bay and was in the hotel business until 1888 as pro-
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prietor of the Hoffman House. Subsequently he conducted the Broad- way Hotel for two years and then put aside business cares, living retired for five years. On the expiration of that period he opened a restaurant which he managed for seven years and then sold out to his son. He has since lived retired, enjoying the rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves, for from early boyhood he had been an active worker, always industrious, diligent and determined, winning through his persistent, earn- est labor the success which is now his.
In 1867 Mr. Krouse was united in marriage to Miss Calista H. Petti- bone, who was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1842, a daughter of Norman and Susan (Whitman) Pettibone. The wife died April 12, 1908. She had become the mother of three sons: Fred; Grant, living in Green Bay; and William, who is vice president of the Banking System of Minneapolis. He married Birdie Toye and they have one son, Rush. Mr. and Mrs. Krouse also reared an adopted daughter, Libby, who became a member of their household at the age of six years. She is now the wife of J. Barnes, of Duluth, Minnesota, and they have one child, Harry.
Mr. Krouse became a member of the Methodist church in 1868 and from that date until now has been a faithful adherent of this denomination. He belongs to Howe Post, G. A. R., and is interested in all that pertains to the welfare of his old army comrades. He has held some local offices including that of town assessor for one term, treasurer for three years and clerk of the school board for three years. He was also postmaster for seven years at Suamico, Brown county, resigning at the end of that time. Wherever it is possible for him to promote the welfare and upbuilding of his city and county he has given his indorsement and cooperation in all matters of public moment he displays the same spirit of loyal citizen- ship which he manifested when following the flag on the battlefields of the south.
JOHN CHAMBERS.
John Chambers, an agriculturist residing on section 27, Suamico town- ship, has lived in this county continuously for the past forty-five years and is now the owner of four hundred and eighteen acres of land here. He makes a specialty of potatoes and dairy products and is the largest grower of potatoes in Brown county. His birth occurred in Ireland on the 15th of April. 1842, his parents being John and Margaret ( Fitzgerald) Chambers. who were likewise natives of that country. The father, an agriculturist by occupation, passed away in 1853, having for one year survived the mother, whose demise occurred in 1852. Their children were six in number, namely : James, William, Thomas, John, Mary and Anne.
John Chambers attended the common schools of his native land until twelve years of age and during the following six years worked at farm labor. When a youth of eighteen he crossed the Atlantic to the United States and made his way to Massachusetts, in which state he remained for
MR. AND MRS. JOHN CHAMBERS
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seven years. In 1867 he came to Brown county, Wisconsin, and was here employed in sawmills for four years. On the expiration of that period he took up his abode on a farm of eighty acres which he had purchased in Suamico township and turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits. As time passed and his financial resources increased, owing to his untiring industry and able management, he extended the boundaries of his place by additional purchase until it now embraces four hundred and eighteen acres. One hundred and forty acres thereof are under a high state of cultivation. As above stated, he is the largest grower of potatoes in the county, averaging from one hundred and seventy-five to two hundred and fifty bushels to the acre. On his place are forty-five head of cattle, seven horses and from eighteen to thirty hogs. He makes a specialty of potatoes and dairy products and sells in the local markets at Green Bay. He is a stockholder in the Howard Creamery and the McCartney National Bank of Green Bay and has long enjoyed an enviable reputation as one of the prosperous and respected citizens of the community.
On the 15th of July, 1869, at Green Bay, Mr. Chambers wedded Miss Mary A. McKay, who was born in Fort Howard, now West Green Bay, May 25, 1855. a daughter of Hugh and Maria ( Falin) Mckay, of that city. Her father, who was an agriculturist by occupation, served four years in the Civil war and being captured was confined in Libby prison for some time. Our subject and his wife have the following children : James, Lucy, John, William, Thomas, Michael, Margaret, George, Agnes, Frank, Joseph, Fred and Clara.
Mr. Chambers exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the democracy, believing firmly in the principles of that party. He is a devout communicant of the Catholic church and also belongs to the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin. Coming to the new world when still but a youth, he eagerly availed himself of the opportunities offered in a land unhampered by caste or class and has so prospered that now in the evening of life he enjoys many comforts and even luxuries.
MITCHEL R. NEJEDLO.
Mitchel R. Nejedlo was the founder and is the proprietor of the Bay Beach Hotel, a well-kept hostelry, presenting all the attractive features found in the higher class summer hotels. This alone would entitle him to be ranked with the representative business men of Green Bay, but other facts in his life are also worthy of consideration. It was he who first developed Bay Beach, the beautiful and well-known summer resort on Green Bay. Moreover, he is one of the older settlers of this part of the state. His birth occurred in Cooperstown, June 6, 1865. His father, John Nejedlo, was born near Prague, Bohemia, and died in 1896, at the age of seventy-eight years. He came to America single and located on a small claim near Manitowoc, Wisconsin, where he engaged in farming for a number of years. Later he became a partner in the ownership and opera- Vol. II-18
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tion of a steam gristmill, which was one of the first of the kind in this part of the state. It was located at Cooperstown and there he remained until he sold out, after which he removed to Door county, Wisconsin, where he carried on farming for several years. In 1872 he removed to Green Bay, where he practically lived retired until his death. His political support was given to the republican party and he held several local offices, including those of town clerk and town treasurer. For a long period he was thus connected with positions of public trust, to which he was ever found faithful. In his boyhood days he had studied for the priesthood but gave this up for his chosen life occupation. He married Miss Bar- bara Wesley, whose father, John Wesley, was a farmer of Kewaunee county, Wisconsin. In the family of John and Barbara Nejedlo were nine children : John, a prosperous farmer, living in Montpelier, Wisconsin ; Louis E., of Bay View Beach, Wisconsin; Zaph A., who for thirty years was with the Northwestern Railroad Company at Green Bay; Frank ; Mitchel R., Godfrey J., a merchant of Green Bay; Albert, who is in partnership with his brother Godfrey; Joseph, a pressman living in Chicago; and James, a traveling salesman living in Green Bay.
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