USA > Wisconsin > Brown County > History of Brown County, Wisconsin, past and present, Volume II > Part 4
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Mr. Tayler was married in Green Bay, June 27, 1889, to Miss Eleanor J. Richardson, a daughter of George and Susan Richardson, the former a pion- eer resident of Fort Howard and its postmaster for a number of years. Joseph H. Tayler and his wife became the parents of two children : George R., who died in infancy, in 1892, and is buried in the Fort Howard cemetery : and Eleanor K., a student at the Green Bay high school. Mr. Tayler resides with his family at No. 300 South Broadway and his home is an attractive and hospitable meeting place for his many friends. He performs his duties in all his lines of activity faithfully and conscientiously, and is prominent and successful because his qualities of mind and heart merit prosperity and esteem.
PETER J. SCHAUER.
Peter J. Schauer, part owner of the furniture and undertaking busi- ness of Schauer & Schumacher, has been prominently identified with busi- ness interests in Green Bay for many years. He is a native of Brown county, having been born in the township of Scott, May 22, 1867. His parents were Melchoir and Clara Schauer. The father came from Ba- varia, Germany, in 1845 and settled in the woods in Scott township, where he farmed and also operated a sawmill and a general store, and held the position of postmaster to the end of his life. He died July 26, 1909, at the age of eighty years, having survived his wife since 1893. She died
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HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY
when she was sixty-three years of age and both are buried in the New Franken cemetery.
l'eter J. Schauer acquired his early education in the schools of Scott township. His educational opportunities were extremely limited. He laid aside his text books at the age of eleven years and even during the short period when he was attending school he was obliged to work during the summer months. At an extremely early age he assisted in work on the farm and when he was twelve years old was put at the labor of mowing grass. He remained with his parents until he was twenty-five years of age, learning during this period all the details of practical farm life and saving the money which he earned with the view of later engaging in a business on his own account. In 1892, in partnership with his brother, he invested his savings in a flour mill at New Franken and this he operated for two years. Ile and his brother sold out in order to purchase the Frei- man Hotel at Green Bay, which they conducted for two years and subse- quently sold. At that time Peter J. Schauer bought the old homestead upon which his father had farmed for so many years and this he culti- vated until he came to Green Bay. He bought the timber land adjoining the city and engaged in the occupation of logging for one winter. At the end of that time he opened a furniture store at No. 1240 Main street and from the first was extremely successful. In September, 1908, he moved to his present location and four years after, in 1912, took as a partner in his enterprise Arthur Schumacher. They are now carrying on an extensive furniture and undertaking business at No. 114 North Washington street, under the firm name of Schauer & Schumacher.
On January 16, 1894, at Green Bay, Mr. Schauer was united in mar- riage to Miss Annie Kramer, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arsenius Kra- mer, of Kewaunee, Wisconsin, and they have two children : Clara, now a student at the academy at Green Bay; and Regina, who is attending the parochial school in the same city. Their residence .is at No. 123 South Madison avenue and is a center of hospitality for the many friends of the family. In his political views Mr. Schauer is a democrat. He takes an active interest in public affairs and served as under-sheriff in 1897 and 1898. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church and active in the affairs of the Knights of Columbus. He has built up his business from a humble beginning to its present large proportions, thereby displaying sound judgment and enterprise, and his cooperation with progressive pub- lic movements indicates his loyalty to the city.
EDWARD W. JANSSEN.
Edward W. Janssen, filling the office of city clerk at De Pere, was born in West De Pere, February 26, 1887. His father, William Janssen, was born in Galderland, Holland, October 8, 1844, and in his youthful days became a resident of Little Chute, Wisconsin. In the summer months he worked at farm labor and in the winter seasons was employed in the
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HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY
lumber camps to the time of his marriage, after which he engaged in farming on his own account for two years. He then entered the hotel business at Little Chute and a year and a half later removed to West De Pere, where he conducted a saloon and also acted as purchasing agent for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company. Subsequently he disposed of his saloon business and thereafter engaged in general mer- chandising until 1907. During that period he removed to Sampson, Wis- consin, where he carried on general merchandising and farming. In Feb- ruary. 1908, he retired from farm life, now making his home at Mosling, Oconto county. He married Wilhelmina Geenan, who was born in Free- dom, Wisconsin, in March, 1854. They were the parents of twelve chil- dren.
E. W. Janssen attended parochial schools until thirteen years of age and for three years pursued his studies at St. Norbert's College, graduating with the class of 1903. Later he engaged in clerking in his father's store and was thus identified with mercantile interests until 1911, when he was elected to his present position as city clerk of De Pere. He is also secretary of the De Pere Water Commission and manifests the interest of a public- spirited citizen in all that pertains to the general welfare and upbuilding of the community. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party and he is one of the active workers in its ranks.
On the 13th of October, 1910, Mr. Janssen was married to Miss Cath- erine Carroll, a native of Chilton, Wisconsin, and a daughter of James and Catherine (Finnegan) Carroll, the former a stockman. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Janssen has been born a son James William, now a year old. Mr. Janssen was reared in the Catholic faith and is a communicant of St. Boni- face church. He also holds membership with the Catholic Order of For- esters. He has a wide acquaintance in his section of the county, where his entire life has been passed and his friends are many.
ARTHUR M. NORGAARD.
Arthur M. Norgaard is conducting a ladies' tailoring establishment in the Minahan building, Green Bay. He is of Danish birth, his natal year being 1883. His parents were Hans P. and Marie ( Mathiesen) Norgaard, in whose home he spent his boyhood and youth, pursuing his education and afterward learning the tailor's trade in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. He comes of a family long connected with that line of business, both his father and grandfather having been tailors. He was but eighteen years of age when he crossed the Atlantic to the new world, hoping to find bet- ter business opportunities on this side of the water. He therefore sailed in 1901 for the United States and made his way to Chicago, where he was employed at his trade until 1908. He then came to Green Bay and opened his present business, conducting the only strictly ladies' tailoring estab- lishment in the city. Excellent workmanship in style, fit and finish is
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HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY
guaranteed, and his patronage has steadily grown until his business is now one of the important undertakings of the city.
In 1911 Mr. Norgaard was united in marriage to Miss Irene Pickard, of Green Bay, and they have gained many friends here. Mr. Norgaard be- longs to Washington Lodge, No. 21, F. & A. M., and is an exemplary rep- resentative of the craft. A young man, he has made an excellent record in business circles, nor has he ever had occasion to regret his determina- tion to come to the new world for here he has found the opportunities which he sought, and in their utilization has worked his way upward, be- ing now at the head of a business which by reason of its continuous growth, has become one of the profitable enterprises of the city.
WILLIAM JUSTIN FISK.
The career of William Justin Fisk was one of continued success lead- ing to honorable retirement in his later years. He made wise use of time, talent and opportunities and yet he did not concentrate his efforts upon business to the exclusion of all else, taking at all times an active and help- ful part in the moral advancement of the community and meeting as well his obligations of citizenship by his activity in politics.
He was born in Brunswick, Ohio, in 1833, and his life record covered the intervening years to the ist of March, 1909, when he passed away at Green Bay. His parents, Joel S. and Charlotte (Green) Fisk, were both natives of the state of New York. The father came to Wisconsin in 1835, made his way to Sheboygan and thence traveled on foot to Green Bay. In the same way he went to Chicago, after which he returned to the east and brought his family to Green Bay in 1836, becoming one of the first settlers in this part of the state. Wisconsin was then tinder territorial rule. Large sections of the state were still inhabited by Indians, the forests stood in their primeval strength, few roads had been laid out and the work of de- velopment and improvement seemed scarcely begun. Mr. Fisk, how- ever, became an active factor in the substantial development of the dis- trict in which he took up his abode. He established a general store in Green Bay and for many years was a prominent factor in mercantile and lumbering interests. In 1848 he was elected register of deeds in the land office at Green Bay and he it was who platted the city of Fort Howard, now a part of Green Bay. For a considerable time he served as postmaster and in other ways was active and helpful in the upbuilding of this part of the state. He died in 1876, having for only six weeks survived his wife.
William Justin Fisk, their eldest son, was educated in the schools of Green Bay and his first regular employment was in the Green Bay land office which he entered in 1848 when he was only fifteen years of age. He made the map for the reservation of lands for the improvement of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. At sixteen years of age he made his first invest- ment in real estate, purchasing with money which he had earned a farm of one hundred and twenty acres. When eighteen years of age he went to
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HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY
Appleton to attend college there, having accumulated sufficient money for that purpose. Two years later he returned to Green Bay and operated a mill on Duck Creek, manufacturing shingles. He carried on business along that line until 1862, when he sold out and commenced to supply the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company with ties, timbers, etc., doing business under his own name until 1877, when he admitted his sons, Wil- bur D. and Harry W., to a partnership under the firm style of W. D. Fisk & Company. The firm continued until 1897, at which time the father retired from active business. From early youth he seemed to recognize and util- ize opportunities that others passed heedlessly by, and he also displayed ability in coordinating seemingly diverse elements into a harmonious whole. The more complex the business problem the more he rejoiced in its solution, and he never hesitated in the accomplishment of a purpose until the end was achieved. From time to time he extended his efforts into other fields and became particularly well known in banking circles. In 1865 he was chosen one of the directors of the First National Bank of Green Bay and in 1870 was elected president of the City National Bank, which position he filled until 1874, when that bank was merged into the Kellogg National Bank, and he became vice president. He served as its second executive officer until 1891, when he was chosen president, which position he filled until 1902, when he retired from the presidency but con- tinued to act as a director. His sagacity was keen, his judgment sound, his enterprise unfaltering, and thus he advanced far beyond the majority of his fellows in the conduct of his business affairs.
On the 8th of January, 1855, Mr. Fisk was united in marriage to Miss Mary J. Driggs, of Fond du Lac, who died April 7, 1903. They had four sons of whom the second born, Frank S., died in 1881. The three surviv- ing sons are Wilbur D., Harry W. and G. Wallace. Wilbur D. Fisk, born September 10, 1856, married Miss Eva Cornell of Valentine, Nebraska, who died in 1903. They resided in Green Bay and had two children, Hiram and Mary. Wilbur D. Fisk is president of the Fisk Land & Lum- ber Company and also a director of the Kellogg National Bank. For three terms he served as treasurer of Fort Howard. Harry W. Fisk, born March 9. 1866, is vice president of the Fisk Land & Lumber Com- pany and a director of the McCartney National Bank. He was employed in the bank for one year and for eleven years was connected with the pur- chasing department of the Northwestern Railroad at Green Bay. For the following eight years he was secretary and bookkeeper of the Green Bay Light & Power Company, now the Green Bay Gas & Electric Company. He was married at Chico, California, to Miss Amy V. Howland, and with their three children, Elsie, Howland and Bessie, they reside in Green Bay. G. Wallace Fisk born March 8, 1868, was married at Green Lake Wiscon- sin, to Miss Margaret Doty, and they have two children, Earl and Ruth. The youngest brother was connected with the Kellogg National Bank for seventeen years but is now the secretary of the Fisk Land & Lumber Com- pany and proprietor of the Fisk Insurance Agency. The three brothers under the firm style of Fisk Brothers, deal extensively in real-estate mort- gages and are one of the most prominent firms of the kind in this part of
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HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY
the state. Having lost his first wife W. J. Fisk was married again Novem- ber 21, 1904, to Miss Hattie Trowel of Milwaukee. He died March I, 1909, and a life of usefulness and activity was thus ended.
In politics he had been a stalwart supporter of the republican party and from 1862 to 1865 had served as postmaster of Fort Howard. Higher political honors awaited him, however, for in 1875 he was elected a mem- ber of the Wisconsin assembly and served until 1878. He was chairman of the railroad committee when the famous Greiner-Petters railway law was repealed. He stood at all times for those improvements which he deemed of greatest value to the commonwealth at large and was equally strong in his opposition of any measure which he believed would be detri- mental to the state. Fraternally he was well known as a prominent Mason. holding membership in Washington Lodge, No. 21, F. & A. M .; Warren Chapter, No. 8, R. A. M .; and Palestine Commandery, No. 20, K. T. That he was interested in the moral progress of the community was a fact that found tangible evidence in his gift of a fine building to the Young Men's Christian Association of Green Bay. He stood at all times for those forces, movements, interests and influences which work for the material, intellectual, social, political and moral progress of the race. His position was never an equivocal one and his support of any measure indicated to his fellow townsmen that it was worthy of being indorsed.
NICHOLAS JOSEPH MONAHAN.
Nicholas Joseph Monahan has the distinction of being the first muni- cipal judge of Brown county, which office he has filled since the Ist of May, 1904. He was born in Morrison township, this county, July 20, 1870, and is a son of Michael and Mary ( Finnegan ) Monahan. His father was born in Ireland in 1826 and was a lad of sixteen years when he came to New York. In 1854 he came to Wisconsin and for many years was actively engaged in farming in Morrison township, Brown county, where he has since made his home, having now, in 1912, reached the advanced age of eighty-six years. His wife was born in Milwaukee, this state, in 1838 and died in January, 1905, at the age of sixty-seven years. They became the parents of fourteen children, nine sons and five daughters, ten of whom are still living.
The public schools of Brown county afforded Nicholas J. Monahan his early educational opportunities. This was supplemented by a course in the Oshkosh Normal School, after which he taught for three years in the schools of Brown county and then entered the University of Wisconsin, graduating from the law department in June, 1896. In September of that year he com- menced the practice of law in all its branches in Green Bay, his ability along legal lines being apparent from the beginning. He is particularly well versed in his chosen profession and it was not long before he built up a large and distinctively representative clientage. He was found true to every trust re-
nicholas & monahan.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIENARY -
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HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY
posed in him and was well fitted for the responsible position of municipal judge, to which office he was elected in April, 1904. He has shown himself particularly well qualified for the solution of the intricate problems which come for adjustment before such a judge. His great diplomacy in handling the cases of the younger transgressors of the law has counted for much and has resulted in the reformation of many a beginner in crime, where a less considerate court would have branded the youth with eternal disgrace and made of him an habitual offender.
In politics Mr. Monahan is a democrat and is a firm believer in the prin- ciples of his party. He is a member of St. John's Roman Catholic church of Green Bay and is also connected with the Knights of Columbus, the Benev- olent Protective Order of Elks and the Royal Arcanum. His home is at No. 432 South Adams street.
FRANK CRABB.
Frank Crabb, who is serving as trustee of the Brown county insane asylum, is essentially a public-spirited citizen, interested in the develop- ment of De Pere where he has spent his entire life, and ready to do his best in promoting its welfare. He was born here, May 8, 1862, and is a son of Philip and Catherine ( Tillman) Crabb, natives of Belgium. His father was born near Brussels and came to America in early manhood, settling in Green Bay. He farmed in the vicinity of that city until 1867. when he removed to De Pere and engaged in general merchandising until his death, which occurred in 1879. He and his wife were among the early settlers of Wisconsin and were witnesses of much of the growth and de- velopment of that state. They were members of the Roman Catholic church. After the death of his first wife the father of our subject was again married, his second union being with Miss Gertrude Sanders, a member of an old Holland family and a daughter of Martin Sanders, a well known shoemaker of De Pere. By this marriage were born four children.
Frank Crabb was educated in the public schools of his native city. After his father's death he inherited the business and conducted the store upon the same site for five years. He later conducted a saloon at De Pere and is numbered among the pioneers in the retail liquor business, having a record of twenty-seven years' activity at one location. His business ability is of a high order and has combined with his industry and integrity to hasten his success. The place survived the great De Pere fire which oc- curred on April 23. 1882, and has been continuously prosperous. Mr. Crabb, however, does not allow his attention to be absorbed by one line of activity for his interests are broad in scope and separately effective. He is a stockholder in various enterprises which directly or indirectly influence the growth and development of De Pere and is in all respects an enter- prising, progressive and substantial citizen.
Vol II-3
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HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY
Mr. Crabb married Miss Alice Van der Hyden, a daughter of John and Dora (Manders) Van der Hyden, early settlers of De Pere. To Mr. and Mrs. Crabb have been born seven children, four of whom are still living : Cecelia, who married H. Peters, a general merchant in De Pere; Philip A., who married Mayme Hoff, and who is residing in De Pere with his wife and two children; Theresa, who lives at home; and George A., who is associated in business with his father.
Mr. Crabb was reared in the Roman Catholic church and is a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters. He is a democrat and one of the active workers in the interests of his party. Ile served as a delegate to numerous conventions and was for ten years a member of the county board, doing at that time the same useful, energetic and constructive work which marks his present position as trustee of the county insane asylum, in which capacity he has been serving since 1910. All interests which tend to promote the public welfare receive his indorsement and support and he is numbered among the progressive residents of his city.
EDGAR L. BRUNETTE.
For three generations members of the Brunette family have lived in Brown county and have been active forces in its business and agricultural development. The present representative, Edgar L. Brunette, is living re- tired in De Pere after many years of activity in the carpentering and con- tracting business. He was born in Fort Howard, December 30, 1858, and is a son of John and Philinda (Snider) Brunette. The grandfather of our subject, Dominick Brunette, came to Green Bay, Wisconsin, with his parents when he was a child and spent his entire life in Brown county. His son, the father of the subject of this review, was born in what was then called Tank's addition, in 1827, and is the oldest living white man, born in Brown county. As a boy he followed farming and he continued this occupation until 1850, when he moved to Grand Rapids and there was engaged for many years as a pilot on a boat which carried lumber to the Mississippi river. He married Miss Philinda Snider, a native of Oneida county, New York. She died in 1909, at the age of seventy-seven years. Mr. and Mrs. John Brunette became the parents of seven children : Franklin S., a contractor in Green Bay; Edgar L., of this review ; Charles R., who has passed away ; Seraphim F., of Chicago; Elmer M., of Green Bay; Alida, the wife of John Garrow, of Tacoma, Washington ; and Wal- ter H., who is connected with the street car company in Green Bay.
After completing his education in the public schools of his native sec- tion Edgar L. Brunette learned the carpentering and contracting business and then went to Milwaukee, where for eight years he had charge of the building and remodeling done by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- road. In this connection he worked upon all the depots along the line and did a great deal of other important construction work. He spent the next eighteen years in private business in Milwaukee, where he gained wide
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HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY
recognition as an able and acute business man. He finally retired and moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he has since resided. He is still interested in the carpentering and contracting business but has given up active work for a time.
Mr. Brunette married Miss Celia Gillette, a daughter of Charles and Matilda (Van Camp) Gillette, the former a farmer in New York, his na- tive state. Mr. and Mrs. Brunette have three children: Earl. V., who is nineteen years of age and a student in college; Alton Byron, aged seven- teen, who attends the De Pere high school; and Evelyn, aged fourteen. Mr. Brunette belongs to the Methodist church and his family are also ad- herents of this religion. He belongs to the National Fraternal League in Green Bay and to the Order of Moose. He is giving a large part of his time and attention to duties in connection with the Waubenukgua Country Club near De Pere. Mr. Brunette is recognized as a man of resourceful business ability, careful in his plans and determined and resolute in their execution. His retirement is well deserved, for it has been won by per- severing and well directed labor in the past.
JOHN STECKART, JR.
John Steckart, Jr., was on April 1, 1912, by popular vote elected to the office of mayor of De Pere and in the exercise of that office is now fully meeting the expectations of his constituency. He is one of the members of the well known firm of John Steckart Sons' Company, butchers and meat dealers in De Pere. He was born in De Pere, August 29, 1875, and is a son of John and Mary (Kellner) Steckart. The father came to the United States at a very early age and settled first in Milwaukee, from which place he removed to Green Bay, where he worked for a Mr. Hagemeister in the meat business. He later moved to De Pere and there established himself in the butcher and meat business. He has been alderman of De Pere for several terms and is now a director in the National Bank of De Pere, a director in the De Pere Electric Light & Power Company, and also a director in the J. P. Dousman Milling Company.
John Steckart, Jr., was reared at home and received his early educa- tion in the public schools of De Pere, later pursuing a complete course at the Green Bay Business College. At the age of seventeen years he started in life for himself as an employe of his father in the latter's meat shop. In 1907, in company with his brother William he took over his father's business and the two brothers have since conducted it as the John Steckart Sons' Company. The firm does a meat and stock-shipping business and in addition to that interest they own and operate six hundred acres of land.
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