USA > Wisconsin > Eau Claire County > History of Eau Claire county, Wisconsin, past and present; including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county > Part 72
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At the end of this time some of his early deficiencies in edu- cational equipment were remedied, and he was better prepared to take up the future responsibilities of life. Returning to his native state of Massachusetts he there made application for position in the United States armory at Springfield. Three years later he received word that the place was open for him. One of the most interesting facts of biography comes from a study of those inci- dental causes which defleet a career from one ehannel to another. Hlad Mr. Ingram accepted the place in the armory his life and its accomplishments would have made an entirely different story. As it was in the three-year interval he had changed his mind, and aceordingly refused the offer of a position in the government armory. Thus in 1847. having returned to New York, he entered
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the employ of Harris & Bronson Lumber Company, whose enter- prise was located in the vicinity of Lake Pharaoh, in Warren county. During the winter months he received wages of twelve dollars a month, and in the summer while working in the mill got thirteen dollars a month. That was his practical introduc- tion to the business which he closely followed upwards of half a century. and with which, both in its pioneer and its modern phases, there is probably no better informed man in Wisconsin today. Later he took entire charge of the company's mill, and assisted in building a mill for the firm of Fox & Englin, on the Rideau Canal in Canada. About the same time be built and operated mills on the Morra river, near Bellville, in Canada. Returning to his former employers, Harris & Bronson, he built and operated a mill for them at Ottawa, Canada, and soon gained a reputation as a lumberman thoroughly qualified in all depart- ments of the business, and possessed of unusual foresight and skill and thoroughly reliable. For this reason he was the re- cipient of many excellent offers, and among them came an offer from the firm of Gilmour & Company, of Ottawa, Canada, the largest lumber concern in the world at that time. This firm offered him four thousand dollars a year, with house rent, horses, and other incidentals furnished, and he accepted and for several years worked for that company. During this time he remodeled several of their large mills and had entire charge of the manu- facturing end of the business, from the handling of the saw logs direct from the river and booms to the perfection of the finished lumber.
It was while with the firm of Gilmour & Company that Mr. Ingram first contributed an invention which did much to facilitate lumber manufacture. This was his invention of the gang edger, a deviee that has been of greater benefit to the lumber business than any other single invention. However, it was characteristic of the man that he did not patent his invention, merely putting it to practical use in various mills of which he was superintend- ent, and also in a number of Wisconsin mills. Some time later a man named Paul applied for a patent on the edger, and the patent was granted to his heirs. However, it was proved that the edger had been invented and had been introduced and was in regu- lar use in a number of mills, and its real author was Mr. Ingram. whose invention had been practically stolen by the man Paul. Thus the Paul heirs were never able to collect any royalties on the invention.
Having in the meantime accumulated considerable means of
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his own, Mr. Ingram, in 1856, determined to go into business on his own account. The old firm of Gilmour & Company offered him six thousand dollars a year to remain, but he saw too much in the future as an independent operator and declined the liberal offer. In 1857 he established the firm of Doyle, Ingram & Ken- nedy. This firm began lumbering in the Chippewa Valley of Wis- consin, and soon afterwards opened up a large tract of timber, rafted it down the river, and established a lumber yard at Wa- basha, Minnesota, and also one at Dubuque, lowa. At the lat- ter place they built a saw mill. In 1861 their mill at Eau Claire was destroyed at a total loss of fifty thousand dollars. In 1862 Mr. Doyle retired from the firm and two years later two of his employes were given a one-eighth interest to be paid out of the share of their profits. The firm then became Ingram, Kennedy & Company. In 1865 this firm built the steamer Silas Wright, and condueted the largest part of the trading between Reeds Landing to Eau Claire.
About this time Mr. Ingram devised the system of lighters which enabled the company's boats to ascend the river while other boats of less draft had to remain down stream. This invention he had patented in 1867. Later the boat with its appliance was taken south and operated on the Arkansas river, though still later purchased by H. T. Rumsey, of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, who put on a line of boats, planned and operated after the Ingram deviee.
In 1880 Mr. Ingram organized the Charles Horton Lumber Company. of Winona. Minnesota. The following year Mr. Ken- nedy sold his interests in all the enterprises to Messrs. Dulaney & MeVeigh, and the Empire Lumber Company was then estab- lished with a capital of eight hundred thousand dollars, absorb- ing the interests of the former Ingram, Kennedy & Company. The Dubuque business was also incorporated about that time as the Standard Lumber Company, with five hundred thousand dol- lars capital. Mr. Ingram became president of the Standard Com- pany, and president of the Wabasha Lumber Company. In 1883 he organized the Rice Lake Lumber Company, with a capital of six hundred thousand dollars, and was its president. He was also vice president of the Chippewa Valley Lumber & Boom Com- pany, a large coneern with a capital of one million dollars. Among other important business connections, he was president of the Eau Claire National Bank and the Union National Bank, was a director in the Hudson Saw Mill, president of the old Eau Claire Water Works Company. president of the Fort Scott Lumber Company, and treasurer of the Anthracite Coal Company. of
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Alberta, Canada, a concern with a capital stock of over one mil- lion dollars.
With such a record of remarkable business achievements, and with the generous accumulations which naturally have flowed from his great undertakings, Mr. Ingram has always shown a lively sense of his responsibilities in managing and caring for these large industrial resources and his personal wealth. He has been liberal in many ways, and charity and public wealth in many forms have benefited from his influence and generous as- sistance. He is a member of the board of trustees of the state committee of the Congregational church. He belongs to the Young Men's Christian Association at Eau Claire, and is a direc- tor in the Ripon College. A number of years ago he built the Ingram block in Eau Claire, one of the finest office buildings of Wisconsin. He was the prime mover and gave twenty thousand dollars as a fund towards the construction of the Y. M. C. A. building at Eau Claire. Though his own church is the Congrega- tional, he has always been liberal in his donations to all religions, and benevolent and charitable works. He gives freely, and yet with such unostentation that no one has ever known the full extent of his philanthropy.
On December 11, 1851, Mr. Ingram married Miss Cornelia E. Pierce, of Lake George, who died in 1911. Of their children, Charles is deceased, Erskine is a member of the Ingram Company, and Miriam is the wife of Dr. E. S. Hayes. Mr. Ingram, in his earlier years, was equal to bearing burdens with any of his asso- ciates and competitors, and still retains much of the ruggedness which was characteristic of him when he was active in the woods and on the rivers. For many years he has been a leader among men. In his control has been vested the direction of millions of dollars in resources, and his dominant mind and forcefulness have never failed to preserve the principal intact and increase the investment many fold. Although now past eighty-four years of age, with a record of achievements and success such as could be aseribed to few Wisconsin men, Mr. Ingram is still an active man, and is still a vital force in Wisconsin's industrial affairs. He has that kindliness born of close contact with the hardships of nature and from long experience with mankind. His fortune was made at a time when the successful man was both strong in body and mind. He had to possess the practical ability covering all the varied life of the woods and the rivers. Mr. Ingram, in his earlier day, conld skillfully ride a log down a foaming current, knew how to get the lumber out of the woods, how to get it
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safely to the mill, and many days and nights were spent out in the open among the woods and about the lumber camps. Ile ate beans and baeon along with his men and when it was necessary he could put his shoulder side by side and hold up his share the equal of any lumber jack in his crew. In addition to the many other concerns with which Mr. Ingram has been associated, as already mentioned, he has taken part in both business and public movements of only less importanee, and deserves properly to stand among the builders and pioneers of Eau Claire and vieinity.
Carl G. Johnson, commercial photographer and engraver of Ean Claire, was born in Sweden, May 6, 1873, the son of Peter and Mary Johnson, who came to the United States with their family in 1883 and located in Wisconsin, where the father secured employment as teamster for the Eau Claire Lumber Company, a position he held until his death in 1890, at the age of forty-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were the parents of two children- Carl G. and Selma, the wife of Frank Swan.
Carl G. Grew to manhood in Ean Claire and was educated in the public schools. ITis first employment was with the Ean Claire Book & Stationery Company, with whom he was connected for twelve years, and while there took up the art of wood engraving, later adding halftone and copper plate work. He was for years employed as engraver in the Leader office and in 1908 established his present business of photo engraving and commercial photog- raphy, and is one of the best known men in his line in north- western Wisconsin.
On June 16, 1898, Mr. Johnson married Miss Esther, daughter of John Mallgren, of St. Peter, Minn., and they have two children -- Marion and Doris.
Hans E. Johnson,* a member of the firm of Allen-Johnson Company, general mnsie dealers of Ean Claire, was born in Christiania, Norway, Jannary 6, 1877, and is one of a family of nine children, five of whom grew to maturity, born to HIalvor and Christiana (Thorestenson) Johnson. Besides our subjeet, the others are Elmer II., a machinist ; Dora, wife of Harold Hanson ; Frank P., a piano tuner, and Joseph, wife of Albert Petrick. The parents eame to the United States in 1883 and settled in Eau Claire, where the father, who was a shoemaker by trade, has since been in the employ of the A. A. Cutter Shoe Manufacturing Com- pany.
Coming to Ean Claire when six years of age, Hans E. grew up in the city, attending the public sehools. He started out in life as a messenger hoy for the Western Union Telegraph Company,
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serving in that capacity for one year. He then became clerk for one year, and in 1892 entered the music store of E. W. Allen as clerk, remaining thus employed until 1899, then went to Chi- cago and for two years was employed as piano tuner for the Straube Piano Company. In 1901 he returned to Eau Claire and worked for Mr. Allen as piano tuner and clerk until 1906, when associated with Mr. James E. Allen he purchased the business of E. W. Allen, which has been successfully carried on since that time under the name of the Allen-Johnson Company.
Mr. Johnson married, May 25, 1905, Catherine Horan, daugh - ter of Thomas and Theressa (Redmond) lloran. Mr. Johnson is generally popular in the business and social circles of Eau Claire and is a member of the Fraternal Reserved Association of Oshkoslı.
John W. Johnson,* a well-to-do farmer and resident of Bruns- wick township, Eau Claire county, was born in Minneapolis, Minn., March 11, 1871, the son of Louis and Carolina Johnson. In 1866, while still a young man, the father emigrated from Sweden to America and settled at Minneapolis with his wife and one child, who were born in Sweden. He was a bridge builder by occupation and was in the employ of the Chicago & North Western and also the Milwaukee & St. Paul railroads, and while thus employed met an accidental death in 1872 and was buried at Minneapolis. He was married at Carlstead, Sweden, to Miss Carolina Johnson, and they became the parents of four children, as follows: Ingabangh and Annie are residents of Minneapolis ; John W., our subject, and Christieann, who married Tey Telef- son and resides at Mount Ilorel, Wis. After the death of her husband, the mother married G. P. Tingom and moved to Dane county, Wisconsin, where she died in 1908 at the age of 66 years. By this second marriage she became the mother of three chil- dren : Peter, a resident of Minneapolis; Andrew and Edward, who are deceased.
John W. moved to Dane county with his mother when a young boy and there received his education in the public schools and worked on a farm until 19 years of age, when he went to Madison and served a three years' apprenticeship in the machine shops located there. He then followed the machinists' trade for twenty-two years, during which time he acted as overseer and foreman, having under his direction at times large bodies of men. In the spring of 1913 he came to Eau Claire county, locat- ing in the town of Brunswick, where he purchased the John
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Whittle farm of 140 acres and is now ( 1914) engaged in general farming and stock raising, making a specialty of Holstein cattle.
In 1899 Mr. Johnson married Rose Amble, who was born in Norway, the daughter of John Amble. To Mr. and Mrs. John- son have been born four children, of whom two are now living, viz. : Harold and Ragnheld, while Ruth and Edward are deceased.
Paul Johnson, a native son of Norway, was born December 21, 1862. Ile attended the common schools of his country, and in 1882. came to the United States and located in Eau Claire, where for thirteen years he was engaged in lumbering. In 1893 he opened a saloon on Water street and has since been engaged there in business, a period of twenty-one years. Ilis father, whose name was Joseph Johnson, and his wife, mother of Paul, were both born in Norway, where they reared their family and spent their entire lives, both being now deceased.
Mr. Paul Johnson has two brothers in Norway : Hans and Ollie, and one brother, Sever, and one sister, Mrs. Louis Haugen, living in Eau Claire. He married Miss Anna Olson, of Ean Claire, and they had four children: Jean Orrin; Ida, born No- vember 6, 1892, and died November 7, 1892; Ida Marie, and Agnes Pauline. Religiously, Mr. Johnson is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran Church and fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Sons of Norway.
Albert B. Jones, agent of the Chieago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, Eau Claire, was born in Fayetteville, Onondaga county, New York, December 18, 1856, the son of Evan T. and Catherine (Williams) Jones, both natives of Wales. The father, who was a miller and millwright by trade, eame to the United States in 1843 and located at Hartford, Oneida county, New York, where he engaged at milling, which he followed during the greater part of his life. He came to Wisconsin in 1857, loeating at Neenah, where, with John R. Davis, Sr., he operated the old Winnebago flouring mill until 1866. He then went to Fall River, in Colum- bia county, and with a younger brother, William, engaged in the same business under the firm name of Jones Brothers, which was continued until 1875. He was an expert stone dresser for grinding, and for the next fifteen years, until his retirement in 1890, followed his specialty or stone-dressing expert. He came to Eau Claire in the last named year and resided here until his death in 1912 at the age of 80 years. He reared a family of four children, all of whom are now (1914) living, viz .: Jennie, who is the wife of Thomas C. Lewis and resides at Federa. So. Dak .;
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Mamie, the wife of Fred Knowlton, of Eau Claire; Albert B., the subject of this sketch, and Herbert E., of Wabasha, Minn.
Albert B. Jones, when only one year old, in 1857, came to Wisconsin with his parents and grew to manhood in this state, receiving his education in the public schools. He later learned telegraphy and began his life as telegraph operator in the em- ploy of the Chieago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company in 1873. He followed this line of work until 1878, when he was assigned to office work, becoming cashier for the company at Wabasha, Minn., a position he held until 1882. He then came to Eau Claire, where he has since held the responsible position as agent for the same company for the period of thirty-two years, a record which in itself speaks volumes for his executive ability and the manly and upright manner in which he has handled the company's affairs.
Mr. Jones was married May 24, 1883, to Miss Ida, daughter of William O. and Mary (Knowlton) Chesebro, of Lime Springs, Iowa. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Jones, viz .: Mollie ; Roswell C., a telegrapher at Missoula, Mont .; Richard S., a pharmacist of Eau Claire; Roger E., who is agent for the Western Express Company in Ashland, Wis., and Albert B., Jr., a student. Mrs. Jones died in 1898 and Mr. Jones was later married to Mrs. Rose A. (Hendershott) Burgar, widow of Milo P. Burgar, of Eau Claire. Mr. Jones affiliates with the Presby- terian Church and fraternally is a Royal Arch Mason.
Horace William Jones,* who has lived in Eau Claire, Wis., for nearly half a century, is one of that class of enterprising men who have not only witnessed, but who have also had an important part in the work of transforming the country from a state of comparative wilderness to its present high place among the banner counties of the state. Ile was born in Chautauqua eounty, New York, Jannary 19, 1849, the son of Harry Sherman and Elizabeth (Bain) Jones. Ilis father was a native of New England, came to Wisconsin and was among the pioneers of Dunn eounty, locating in the town of Spring Brook, adjoining Eau Claire county, in 1859. On April 1, 1865, he eame to Eau Claire county with his family and settled on the farm in Union township, which is now owned by our subject. He cleared and improved a part of it, and in later life moved to the city of Eau Claire, where he died at the age of 83 years. He and his wife lived to celebrate their golden wedding and reared a family of five children, viz .: Cynthia, Henry M., Louisa, Horace W. and Mary A. Cynthia married Charles Gose and Louisa married
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James Minor. With the exception of one year, Mr. Jones has resided on the old homestead since 1865, which comprises 150 acres. He has always carried on general farming and dairying and for many years has been considered one of the most pros- perous farmers of the community and an influential and wide- awake citizen. He has been lavish in his expenditures of time, labor and money in improving his farm, remodeling and erecting commodious and substantial buildings and supplying modern appliances and equipment, so that his is in reality one of the most desirable and attractive homesteads in the county.
Mr. Jones has filled various offices of trust and for the past eight years has held the office of assessor for the town of Union. IIe is a Republican in polities and fraternally is a member of Germania Lodge, No. 49, Knights of Pythias. In November, 1873, he married Rosedell Phillips, and they were the parents of four children, as follows: Bessie, who married Arthur Churchill, is deceased ; Mande, now Mrs. Knute Anderson : Florence, mar- ried William Seibert. and Roy Jones.
Elbridge G. Jordan, for eight successive years justice of the peace in Eau Claire, was born in Freeport, Cumberland county, Maine, July 26, 1841, a son of William and Mary (Brown) Jordan, both natives of the state of Maine. He was reared to manhood and educated in the common schools of his home state and served three years' apprenticeship at the blacksmith trade at Sangersville, Maine. At the breaking out of the Civil War he enlisted as a private in Company L. First Maine cavalry, and served as veterinary horseshoer, and after five months' service was taken from the army by his father. On July 22, 1862, he re-enlisted as a private in Company B, 1st Maine heavy artillery, was promoted to corporal in 1864, and on May 9 of the same year was transferred to the navy as ordinary seaman on the gunboat "Pontiac," and after a service of three years he was honorably discharged June 3, 1865. On April 16, 1866, lie arrived at Ean Claire, where he has since resided. He worked at his trade as a journeyman until 1868 and then embarked in business for himself, in which he continued until 1901, since which time he has worked off and on at the carpenter and painting business.
On September 9, 1866, he married Miss Kate, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Colloton) Brennan, natives of Ireland, who came to the United States in 1854 and to Ean Claire county in 1861, settling on a farm in the town of Union. By this marriage there were nine children, viz .: William T .: Hattie M., deceased
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wife of Harry Gilpatrick; Mande, wife of William Thompson ; Ida, wife of Samuel Crowley; Charles E., Arthur C .; Pearl G., wife of Levi Peterson; George and Elbridge C. Mrs. Jordan is a member of the Baptist Church and the Ladies of the G. A. R .. Circle No. 24, Colonel Bartlett Post. Mr. Jordan is a member of Eagle Post, No. 52, G. A. R., of which he was commander in 1912. He has served as justice of the peace since 1905 and in the spring of 1913 was re-elected for a term of two years. In polities he is a Democrat.
James T. Joyce, of Ean Claire, is vice-president of the Union National Bank and active in business circles in the Chippewa valley. A native of Eau Claire, Mr. Joyce is bound to this sec- tion by ties of birth and he feels the tie a very close one. Hc was born on April 9, 1862, a son of Pierce and Mary T. (Galvin) Joyce, both of whom were born in Ireland. The father was born in the county of Carlow in 1826 and came to this country ini 1857. HIe made the journey by sailing ship, landing in the eity of New York. He drifted from the American metropolis up to Quebec, also traveling by sailing vessel, and from Quebec he wandered west and finally located in Portage county, Wisconsin. In 1859 he came to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and here engaged in the Im- bering business for a time. Ile then went into the butchering business and later was engaged in the hotel business for a num- ber of years, until his retirement from active life. He was promi- nent in the city and served as alderman for a number of years, being a Democrat in his politieal affiliations. Mr. Joyce die:l October 9, 1907, but his wife yet survives him and is a resident of Eau Claire. They were the parents of seven children, of which number five are living today.
James T. Joyce grew up in Ean Claire, receiving his educa- tion in the grammar and high schools of that city. At the age of eighteen he entered the Bank of Eau Claire. He gradually worked his way up, winning promotion through hard and con- scientious work, until he had reached the post of eashier. He took this position in 1897 and held it until 1906, when he became vice-president of the Union National Bank of Eau Claire, an office which he is now holding. In 1906 he was one of the men who conceived and organized the Union National Bank of Eau Claire, and the Union Savings Bank of Eau Claire. He is at present a director in both banks. Ile was also one of the organ- izers of the Union Mortgage Loan Company. Mr. Joyce is a man of many interests, much of his time being given to his
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lumber and timber interests, and to the various manufacturing concerns with which he is connected.
Among the organizations in which he is one of the executive officers may be mentioned the following: The Chippewa Valley Casualty Company, which was incorporated in 1902, and of which he is president ; The Davis Falls Land Company, incorporated in 1904, of which he is vice-president; The Eau Claire Dells Im- provement Company, of which he is vice-president and which was incorporated in 1879; the Eau Claire Savings Loan and Building Association, which was incorporated in 1877 and of which he is treasurer. This long list of responsible positions proves far better than could a long string of words the ability and executive force that Mr. Joyce possesses. Mr. Joyee, it may also be said, served in 1911 and 1912 as president of the Wis- consin Bankers' Association.
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