History of Marathon County, Wisconsin and representative citizens, Part 79

Author: Marchetti, Louis. cn
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1042

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Mr. Chesak was married September 24, 1889, to Miss Tena Hurt, a daughter of Frank Hurt, of Iowa, and at death she left two children: George J. and Helen A. The second marriage of Mr. Chesak was to

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Miss Emily E. Penegor, who was born in Michigan, a daughter of Jere- miah Penegor, and they have one daughter, Dorothy. In his political sentiments Mr. Chesak is a republican. For six years he served in the office of a notary public and has always been a dependable, conscientious citizen. He is identified with the National Fraternal League, the F. O. E., the Beavers and the Polish National Alliance, while, with his family he belongs to the Roman Catholic church.

GUSTAVE E. KOPPLIN, one of the representative men of the town of Stettin, for many years a satisfactory public official and the owner of 280 acres of fine land in section 10, lives eleven miles northwest of Wausau, this being known as the Basswood Grove Farm. He was born in the town of Stettin, Marathon county, Wis., March 16, 1869, and is a son of Frederick and Caroline (Kiepke) Kopplin.

The parents of Mr. Kopplin were born, reared and married in Ger- many and the oldest of their six children was born there, the two sur- vivors both living in the town of Stettin. A cabinetmaker by trade, Frederick Kopplin worked at the same for one year after reaching Mil- waukee, Wis., and as he was skilled in all kinds of fine carpenter work could, no doubt, have provided well for his family in that way in the course of time but he was anxious to own land and in 1857 settled on eighty acres, in section 15, in the town of Stettin, this land being now the property of Herman Kopplin. There were very few Indians yet re- maining although then the country was mainly unsettled. There Fred- erick Kopplin engaged in farming during his active years and on that place both he and wife died, she in 1890, when aged sixty-one years. He was of more robust constitution and lived to be eighty-six years old, dying in 1910 and their burial was in the Stettin Cemetery Associ- ation ground. They were excellent people, worthy of remembrance and were members of the Evangelical Lutheran church.

With his brothers and sisters, Gustave E. Kopplin attended the pub- lic schools in the town of Stettin and afterward took a full business course in a commercial college at Wausau. He made farming and stock raising his choice of occupation and has followed the same in his native town. He has cleared thirty acres of the farm on which he lives and put up all the substantial buildings and after purchasing his other land also made improvements on that. He devotes his summers to his land and his winters mainly to lumbering.

Mr. Kopplin was married November 21, 1895, to Miss Elise Wen-

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dorff, a daughter of Albert Wendorff, and they have had eight children : Else, an infant son deceased; Hertha, Florence and Emma, twins ; Frank- lin, Elise and Gilbert. Mr. Kopplin and his family belong to the Evangel- ical Lutheran church, of which he is president. He is interested in the Stettin Insurance Company and is a stockholder in other enterprises. In politics a republican, Mr. Kopplin has very often been selected by his party and fellow citizens for public office, and has served as school director of District No. 6, three terms as assessor and twelve terms as constable. He belongs to the local singing society "Eintracht."

HERMAN A. WENDORFF, who has acceptably filled the office of town clerk of the town of Stettin since 1897 and owns a fine farm of 160 acres, situated in section 16, six miles northeast of Marathon City, was born in the town of Stettin, Marathon county, Wis., July 1, 1869, and is a son of Albert and Wilhelmina (Grade) Wendorff. Albert Wendorff and wife were born and went to school in Germany but came to America unmarried, their wedding taking place in the United States, and they had four sons and four daughters born to them, four of these being resi- dents of Marathon county.

Herman A. Wendorff attended the public schools in the town of Stettin and also the Wausau city schools for a few terms and thus pre- pared himself for teaching school. He taught six terms in the town of Stettin, two terms in Rib Falls and two terms in the town of Berlin and fulfilled every expectation as a teacher. During this period he was looking to the future and purchased first a tract of forty acres, for which he paid $1,000, and subsequently an eighty-acre tract, paying $2,000 for this land, all in one body. As soon as he owned his land he began to desire to improve it and remodeling of the buildings and erect- ing of new ones followed until both his ideas of taste 'and his demands for convenience were satisfied and comfort assured. He carries on general farming and raises high grade Guernsey cattle, keeping twenty- five head. Mr. Wendorff has always been a wideawake, industrious, enterprising man of business and has so directed his life and affairs that he has won the esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens. He is a republican in politics and for several years has been serving as health officer, and has served in other capacities such as justice of the peace and has also been the official crop reporter. He is a member of the Stettin Insurance Company.

Mr. Wendorff was married April 22, 1896, to Miss Emelia Lod-

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holz, who was born in the town of Stettin, March 2, 1875, a daughter of George and Minnie (Judes) Lodholz. Both parents of Mrs. Wendorff were born in Germany but they were married in America and they had nine children, eight of whom are living and seven of these reside in Marathon county. Mr. and Mrs. Lodholz are both deceased, the latter dying when aged fifty-three years and the former when aged seventy-two years and their burial was in the town of Stettin. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Wendorff: Hugo, Martha, Alice and Susan, all of whom are being carefully reared and given every possible advan- tage. The family belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran church, of which Mr. Wendorff is secretary. He has always been musically inclined and is president of the local German Singing Society, "Eintracht."

JOSEPH RIPCZINSKE, who has been a resident of Marathon county for thirty-eight years and has been engaged in the fire insurance, real estate and steamship agency business at Wausau since April, 1890, was born in Germany, May 26, 1860, and accompanied his parents, Joseph and Wilhelmina Ripczinske, to America. The family home was established at Minneapolis, Minn.

In 1875 Joseph Ripczinske left Minnesota and came to Marathon county and learned the milling business with a brother-in-law, who had a mill at Rib Falls. From there he came to Wausau and worked in the Herchenbach, now the McEachron mill, until he was twenty-three years of age, becoming foreman there. For the next five years he was engaged in the manufacturing of soda water and after discontinuing that line, in 1890, embarked in his present business. He represents nine of the old line fire insurance companies and handles both city and coun- try real estate. He has always been active and interested as a citizen and is now serving in his third term as a member of the public library board. . ...

In 1887 Mr. Repczinske was married to Miss Catherine Sherman, who died in 1897, survived by two children: Raymond, who is a resi- dent of Denver, Colo., and John. His second union was with Mrs. Annie C. (Goldhammer) Young, and they have five children: Catherine, Clarinda, Marie, Joseph and Annie. Mr. Repczinske and family are mem- bers of the Roman Catholic church and fraternally he is identified with the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin.

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CHARLES REINHART, one of the representative citizens of the town of Wausau, serving as town treasurer, resides five and one-half mile northeast of Wausau, on a well improved farm of forty acres and owns additionally a tract of eighty acres lying north of his home farm. He was born in the town of Wausau, in Marathon county, Wis., Janu- ary 9, 1859, and is a son of Martin and Amelia (Stolze) Reinhart.

Martin Reinhart was born in Germany and reached the United States when a young man. He was an early pioneer in Rock county, where he secured work by the day and being very industrious soon accumulated enough capital to encourage him to venture on farming. He rented land for a few years in Rock county, in the meanwhile buying a yoke of oxen and a wagon and when he came with this outfit to Marathon county he found his few neighbors much interested as his was the first farm wagon ever brought to the town of Wausau. He located one-half mile east of his son's present farm and lived there during the rest of his life, which extended to eighty-two years. He married Amelia Stolze, who was born in Germany and was brought to America when twelve years old. She survived until October, 1912, when aged seventy-six years. Of their eight children there are five still living: Irving, George, Laura, Walter and Charles, all residing in the town of Wausau except Walter, who lives in Montana.

All the school advantages that Charles Reinhart enjoyed in boyhood, he secured in the town of Wausau but they were few. Times were hard, books were scarce, and his services were needed by his father on the home farm and he was only ten years old when he was put to work haul- ing logs. Subsequently he learned the carpenter trade and, with his many activities, Mr. Reinhart has always been a very busy man. He has lived on his smaller farm for about twenty-five years and not only put up all of his own substantial buildings but a number of those all through this section, working at his trade largely until 1909, since when he has given more attention to his farming.

Mr. Reinhart was married first to Miss Anna Hackbarth, and they had two children: Edward and Lena. His second marriage was to Miss Mollie Hinkelmann, and they have three children : Esther, Nora and Harvey. In politics Mr. Reinhart has always been a democrat. In 1892 he was elected town treasurer and served four years and in the spring of 1912 was again elected to this office, previously having served three terms as school clerk. Mr. Reinhart and family belong to the Lutheran church.

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HENRY SCHUBRING, general farmer and well known citizen of the town of Wausau, who resides on his eighty acres situated six miles northeast of Wausau, was born on the old home place in 1877, and is a son of William Schubring, who, for many years was a highly respected farmer of this town. He was born in Germany and came from there to the United States when nineteen years of age, and when he reached Wisconsin he settled on the farm on which he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring July 10, 1904. He married Barbara Dick, who was also of German parentage, and they became the parents of eight children, Henry being the second in order of birth.

After his school days Henry Schubring assisted in the work on the home farm and remained with his parents until he located on eighty acres received from his father and continued there until May 18, 1911, when he came to his present place, this being the old Rheinhart farm. Although he did not find it necessary to replace any of the buildings, he remodeled many of them and did other improving, taking pride in making this one of the best kept and most attractive properties on this road. Under his excellent methods his land proves very productive and Mr. Schubring is numbered with the town's prosperous citizens.

In June, 1904, Mr. Schubring was married to Miss Lillie Harding, who was born in Marathon county, a daughter of Daniel and Minnie (Web- ber) Harding. Daniel Harding was a son of Valentine Harding and they came to Marathon county very early, from Illinois, and were among the pioneer millwrights, and Daniel Harding was also a farmer. He mar- ried Minnie Webber, who was born in Germany and she survived him and was married second to John Heckbarth. To her first marriage wife of Mr. Schubring. Three children were born to her second mar- riage. Mr. and Mrs. Schubring have two interesting little daughters: Gertrude, who was born April 18, 1905; and Eleanor, who was born January 25, 1911. The family and all its connections belong to the Lutheran church, of which Mr. Schubring is treasurer. In politics he does his own thinking and casts his vote for the candidate he feels sure is able and honest, without regard to party.

O. GEORGE SCHILLING, vice president and superintendent of the Wausau Novelty Company, at Wausau, Wis., has been associated with this business enterprise since it was founded, eighteen years ago, all this time having been superintendent of the business, and for two years he has been vice president of the company. Mr. Schilling was born

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in Saxony, Germany, October 25, 1862, and is a son of Frederick and Christina Schilling.

In 1866, when O. George Schilling was four years old, his parents came to America and found a home at Plymouth, in Sheboygan county, Wis., where his father opened a cooper shop. They lived there for nine years and then moved to Menasha, Wis. In the public schools Mr. Schilling secured his education and then served an apprenticeship to the cabinetmaking trade and afterward went into the general mill business, with which he was practically identified all the time prior to coming to Wausau, in December, 1892. Mr. Schilling is regarded as one of the far-sighted business men of the city and in addition to looking after the interests above mentioned, is one of the directors of the Wausau Build- ing, Loan and Investment Company.

Mr. Schilling married Miss Leah Bedell, of Wausau, and they have one daughter, Gladys. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen.

CARL A. ZEMKE, who is serving both as town clerk and as school clerk, of the town of Wausau, belongs to one of the old and respected families of this section and lives on his farm of eighty acres, situated three and one-half miles east of Wausau. He was born January 27, 1881, on the old Zemke homestead in Marathon county, and is a son of John G. Zemke and Christianna (Hansel) Zemke.

John Gottleib Zemke came to the United States with his parents, in 1858, locating first at Watertown, Wis. He worked as a laborer in various places all through this section until 1861 when he came to Mara- thon county and settled on 120 acres of land in the town of Wausau, clearing and improving the same and as long as he felt able continued to carry on his farm industries, since when he has lived with a son, being now in his seventy-seventh year. Many changes have been brought about in farming methods during his lifetime and he is yet interested al- though no longer making any personal experiments. He married a lady in 1864, who also was born in Germany and accompanied her brothers and sisters to the United States while young, and ten children were born to them, namely: Mrs. John Marquardt ; Mrs. Frank Tress, of the town of Texas; Herman; Mrs. Charles Schuetz, deceased; Carl A .; Fred ; Lewis; and Amelia and Ida, both of whom died young.

Carl A. Zemke attended school in boyhood as opportunity offered and afterward worked around saw mills and made himself generally useful

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until he bought a farm and then turned his attention to an agricultural life. He settled on that farm, five miles east from Wausau, in 1900, and resided there for four years and then came to his present place which he afterward greatly improved. He built a new barn and practically rebuilt the house and made all his surroundings comfortable and well adapted to the demands made by his farm industries.

Mr. Zemke married Miss Frances Sternberg, a daughter of Gustave Sternberg, proprietor of the Park Hotel at Wausau. They belong to the Lutheran church and as Mr. Zemke is musical he assists in the church choir. Although an independent voter he was chosen by his fellow citizens as a dependable man in the office of town clerk in the election of 1912, and reelected in 1913, and does his full duty irrespective of any political interests.

JOSEPH BURGER, one of the best known residents of the town of Wausau, who has resided on his present well improved farm of 120 acres, situated five miles northeast of Wausau, for the past thirty-seven years, was born near Detroit, Mich., in 1851, and is the eldest son of Mathias and Anna (Wirtz) Burger.

Mathias Burger was born in Germany and from there came to the United States when aged twenty years, locating at Detroit, Mich., where he followed the shoemaking trade. On September 29, 1858 he moved to the town of Wien, Marathon county, Wis., and followed farming until 1898, when he removed to Marathon City, where he lived for four years, his death occurring there at the age of eighty-two years, his son George purchasing his farm. He was married to Anna Wirtz, who was also born in Germany and was twelve years old when she accompanied her parents to the United States, living first at Parkersburg, Va., and after- ward coming to Detroit, Mich., where she was married. Her death took place in 1909, when she had reached her seventy-ninth year. She was the wise, careful and beloved mother of a family of eight children, namely: Joseph; Jacob, living in Marathon county: Mrs. John Kane; Mrs. Anna Hershfeld, living at La Crosse. Wis .; George, residing at Edgar : Mrs. D. P. King, living at Edgar; Peter, living at Chattanooga, Tenn .; and Anton, living at Tomahawk, Wis.

Joseph Burger attended the district schools in his native section and afterward, for ten terms, taught school and made a very good record as a teacher. In 1875 he bought his farm, on which he moved in the spring of 1876, and has continued to live here. He has sixty acres of

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his land cleared, has made many improvements in the way of building, and carries on general farming and stock raising, displaying excellent judgment in his operations and consequently meeting with very satis- factory results.

Mr. Burger was married to Miss Paulina Mathie, a daughter of Jo- seph and Magdalen Mathie. Joseph Mathie came to New York from Würtemberg, Germany, and for nine years engaged there in cabinet- making. In 1861 he moved to Marathon county and lived on his farm in the town of Wausau until his death at the age of eighty-one years. He married Magdalena Heller, who died here when aged sixty-eight years and they had six children: Joseph, who died when aged thirty-seven years; Louise, who lives on the old home place; Charles, who died at the age of thirty-two years; Paulina, who is the wife of Mr. Burger; and two children who died in infancy. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Burger: Hubert, formerly town clerk, married Selma Prahl, and they have had the following children: James; Laura, who married Walter Manecke; and Lawrence, Isabel and Esther. The entire family belongs to the Catholic church. In politics Mr. Burger is an independent voter but he is looked upon as so reliable a citizen that he has been kept continuously in public office ever since he became a resident of the town.

EMIL R. HOHMANN, senior member of the firm of Hohmann & Kuntz, hardware merchants at No. 116 Scott street, Wausau, is one of the old hardware men here, having been in the business for a quarter of a century. He was born in 1866, in Germany, and was four years old when his parents brought him to the United States, they settling in Milwaukee Wis., where his father, F. Hohmann, followed the mason .

trade. Six years afterward the family moved to Wausau.

From the age of ten to fifteen years, Emil R. Hohman attended school at Wausau and then went to Chicago, where he remained five years dur- ing which time he learned the upholstering trade. After coming back to Wausau he entered the employ of R. Baumann and continued with him for thirteen years, then went into partnership with William Kuc- kuk, the firm during its existence of four yars being Kuckuk & Hoh- mann, his location being at present place, but for eight years afterward was in business for himself on Clinton street, west side. On January I, 1912, he bought the stock and store of William Kuckuk, with whom he

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had formerly been in partnership and returned to the old stand, having B. E. Kuntz as his present partner.

Mr. Hohmann married Miss Emma Marquardt, of Wausau, and they have four children : Irene, Elmer, Adelbert and Harold. He is identified fraternally with the Owls and the Modern Woodmen.

CHARLES E. TURNER, president of the Wausau Box and Iumber Company at Wausau and interested also in other directions pertaining to the civic and material welfare of the city as well as to his personal concerns, was born at Port Atkinson, Jefferson county, Wis., January 6, 1855, and is a son of George Francis and Mary Wilcox Turner.

George Francis Turner was born in Hamilton county, N. Y., and died at Port Atkinson in 1884, when aged seventy-two years. He led an agricultural life after coming to Wisconsin sometime in the forties. He married Mary Wilcox who was born also in Hamilton county and died at Port Atkinson, in her sixty-eighth year. They had the following children : Nellie, who is deceased ; George and Nettie, both of whom died young; Mary, who is the wife of George Whiting of Markesan, Wis .; Carrie A., who is the wife of Albert Fletcher of Elgin, Ill .; Fred B., who is a resident of Oskaloosa, Iowa; and Charles E., who was the fifth of the family in order of birth.

Charles E. Turner attended the district schools and the Jefferson Liberal Institute at Jefferson, Wis., and was twenty years old when he put his books aside and started into business as an apiarist, for which he had been preparing for four years. On a farm in Jefferson county he continued in the culture of bees and production of honey until 1881 and when he retired from this industry owned 400 swarms of bees, for three years having been engaged in the business at Dancy, in Marathon county. Mr. Turner then entered the employ of Segelke, Kolhaus & Co., mill op- erators at La Crosse, Wis., as store manager and bookkeeper and con- tinued until October, 1888, at which time he came to Wausau where he. became general manager for Parcher-J. and A. Stewart, lumbermen. He remained with the above firm until August, 1892, when the Wausau Box and Lumber Company was organized, of which he was one of the incorporators, becoming president, with C. V. Bardine as vice president and W. B. Scholfield as secretary and treasurer. In 1898 Mr. Turner and Mr. Scholfield purchased the entire business and they have continued together ever since. The capital involved is $100,000 and the product is knockdown boxes. box shooks and crates, shipments being made

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to all parts of the United States and to Mexico, employment being af- forded some 135 operatives, about 13,000,000 feet of lumber being con- sumed annually. The plant is representative of one of the strongest business concerns of Wausau. Mr. Turner is a stockholder and one of the directors in the First National Bank at Wausau, is president of the Public Library board and for a number of years has served as a member of the water commission, his influence having been considerable in pro- moting the establishing of the city's public utilities. Since 1896 Mr. Turner has been identified with the democratic party.

In March, 1893, Mr. Turner was married to Miss Georgianna Gam- ble, daughter of William Gamble, of Wausau, and they have four chil- dren: Wells E., who is a student at Beloit; Grace Adelaide, who is a student in the Wausau High School; and Charles and George F. Mr. Turner is a member of the Universalist church, and is a director of the Wausau Club. Fraternally he is a Mason.

KURT A. BEYREIS, clerk of the courts of Marathon county, a popular and efficient public official, was born in the village of Udersle- bin, Germany, October 29, 1873, and is a son of Charles and Emelie (Lehman) Beyreis. In 1882 the Beyreis family came to Marathon county and ever since have been identified with this section. Prior to the Civil War, however, Charles Beyreis, the father, had emigrated to . America and for three years of this war he was a soldier in the Federal service, a member of a New York infantry regiment. After the war he returned to Germany and married there and remained until after the birth of four of his nine children, all of whom survive: Edward, who lives in Marathon county ; Bertha, who is the wife of Frank Feldbruegg, of this county; Annie, who is the wife of Philip Conrad of Rib Lake, Wisconsin; Kurt A .; Richard, who lives in Marathon county ; Charles, who lives in Wausau; Lena, who is the wife of Louis Hall, of this county; Emma, who is the wife of John M. Hein, of Marathon county ; and Fred, who is a resident of Clark county. The mother of the above family died in January, 1912, but the father survives and resides at Dorchester, Wisconsin ; for thirty years having been a farmer in Marathon county.

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History of Marathon County, Wisconsin and representative citizens, Part 79

Author: Marchetti, Louis. cn Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago : Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1042

Author: Marchetti, Louis. cn
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1042