History of Marathon County, Wisconsin and representative citizens, Part 86

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

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On June 14, 1909, Mr. Weinfeld was married to Miss Johanna Stern, of Chicago, Ill. He has long been prominent in the Elks and for three con- secutive terms served as exalted ruler of Wausau Lodge, No. 248. B. P. O. E.

FRANK GASSNER, who owns 120 acres of fine land situated in the town of Marathon and has a one-half interest in 200 acres mainly timber- land in partnership with Joseph Stieber, has been a resident of Marathon county since he was fourteen years of age. He was born in Gilmore town-

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ship, Adams county, Ill., October 4, 1863, and is a son of Michael and Josepha (Baen) Gassner.

Michael Gassner was born in Austria and was a man of fine education. He came to the United States and to Illinois, leaving his first wife, who fol- lowed three years afterward and was shipwrecked on the voyage, but was rescued and later died at Quincy, Ill. Some years afterward Michael was married secondly at Quincy, to Josepha Baen, who was born in Bavaria, Germany, and died in Adams county, Ill., at the age of forty-four years. About eighteen months afterward Mr. Gassner with his five children, three of whom are now deceased, moved to Marathon county, settling in the neigh- borhood of Marathon City, where he secured three 40-acre tracts, and his death occurred on his first tract of forty acres, three miles east of Marathon City. He was then sixty-nine years old and his burial was in the St. Mary's cemetery. He was both a faithful Catholic and liberal in his church support, helping to erect the second Catholic church at Marathon City. He was so upright a man that he was universally respected and his fellow citi- zens elected him to positions of responsibility. He served two terms as school treasurer of the town of Marathon.

Frank Gassner obtained all his schooling in Adams county and after coming to Wisconsin assisted his father for a year and then went into the lumber regions and continued until he was twenty-six years old, when he settled on the farm on which he yet resides, which lies two and three-fourth miles east of Marathon City. He has fifty acres of his land cleared and has made all the improvements here and during the summer time attends to his crops, but in the winters engages to some extent in logging. He is also interested in the dairy business at Marathon City, is a stockholder in the Central Creamery Company, of which he was president for two terms, and is a stockholder in the Farmers Produce Company, a charter member and president of the first Marathon City Company.

Mr. Gassner was married October 12, 1886, to Miss Anna Stieber, who was born in Baden, Germany, a daughter of Joseph and Caroline (Hulda- baugh) Stieber, who came from Germany and settled first at Two Rivers, Manitowoc county, Wis., for one year and then moved to the town of Mara- thon in Marathon county, where they lived at the time of death, the mother being aged forty-two years and the father seventy-five years. They were members of St. Mary's Catholic church. To Mr. and Mrs. Gassner the following children were born: Justiana, wife of John Heil, Jr. ; and Eulalea, Anthony, Frank and Richard. The family all belong to St. Mary's Catholic church. Mr. Gassner is a member of the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin

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and of the A. S. of E. He is a lifelong democrat, a loyal party man and has served his town one term as supervisor, twenty-one years as school clerk and sixteen years as town treasurer.

OSCAR A. LEUBNER, who is a prominent and substantial citizen of Wausau, Wis., active in both business and political circles, is proprietor of a large livery and sales stable and probably does more business in this line than any other liveryman in the county. He was born at Manitowoc, Wis., December 27, 1877, and is a son of Alfred and Rose Leubner, the latter of whom died in 1905.

Oscar A. Leubner was reared at Manitowoc, attended school there and began to learn the drug business. In 1893 the family moved to Wausau and here the father embarked in business as a florist but later, on account of ill health, sold out to Mr. Phillipp and then he and his son started into the livery business, Oscar A., for two years previously having been a druggist for Dr. Taugher, at Marathon City. The partnership continued until 1910, when Oscar A. Leubner purchased his father's interest in the livery and sales stables and has fine and commodious quarters at Nos. 307-309 Fourth street, which the firm purchased and took possession of in 1904. The busi- ness was started in what was known as the Edee barn, on the corner of Forest and Second streets, where it was carried on for seven years before removal to its present location. Mr. Luebner keeps at least twenty-five horses on hand and has suitable equipments of all kinds, including a funeral car. He has additional business interests, being a stockholder in both the First National and the Marathon County banks at Wausau.

Mr. Leubner was married in 1901 to Miss Martha Kramrath of this city and they have one son, Lloyd. Active and interested at all times in the welfare of his home city, Mr. Leubner enjoys a large measure of public con- fidence and in the spring of 1912 was elected alderman in the First Ward, on the non-partisan ticket. He is identified with the fraternal order of the Modern Woodmen.

JULIUS WEINKE, a well known and highly respected citizen of the town of Stettin, a prosperous farmer owning 160 acres of valuable land lying in sections 28. 29 and 33, lives four miles northeast of Marathon City. He was born in Germany, March 8, 1852, and is a son of Fred and Anstein (Fritz) Weinke. When sixteen years of age he accompanied his father. brother and two sisters to America, his mother dying in Germany when aged forty years. The father brought his family to Marathon county, Wis., and

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secured eighty acres of land in section 29, all of which was then covered by heavy timber. He cut down the first tree ever felled here and to his first purchase later added forty acres more. After his active years were over he retired to the home of his son-in-law, William Buttke, and there passed away in his eighty-sixth year. He was a worthy member of the Lutheran church.

Julius Weinke knew only the German language when he came to Mara- thon county, but he soon acquired the English tongue by conversation with others. When he was twenty-five years of age he married Miss Augusta Erdmann, a native of Germany, and they settled in section 29, town of Stettin, on a farm of eighty acres, which he improved and afterward added to his possessions. He bought eighty and forty more acres in sections 28 and 29, and in 1901 bought eighty acres in sections 28 and 33 already improved and since 1902 has lived on his farm in section 33, where he has improved the buildings. He has been a lifelong democrat and has the confidence of his fellow citizens, who have often chosen him to serve in public office. He was town clerk three years and for seven years was chairman of the town board. He has been one of the charter members of the Stettin Mutual Fire Insurance Company. To Mr. and Mrs. Weinke the following children were born: William, a resident of Wausau, who married Elizabeth Zunker ; Matilda, the wife of Carl Zunker, residing in the town of Stettin; Julius C., who manages his father's farm; Otto, who resides in Wausau; Edwin, who is in the blacksmith business at Little Chicago; Bernard, residing at home, and a daughter who died at the age of one year. The family belongs to the Lutheran church, of which Mr. Weinke has been a trustee for seventeen years, and over twenty years school district clerk in said town.

T. J. SCHOTT, secretary and treasurer of the Wausau Iron Works, at Wausau, has been one of its officials since the establishing of the business, June 15, 1908, in which year he came to this city. He was born in Mani- towoc county, Wis., August 27, 1878, and was reared on a farm until the age of fourteen years.

After leaving home, Mr. Schott went to school in the city of Milwaukee for two years, having previously had but meager opportunities. He then became interested along the line of structural iron work and for ten years worked in a foundry at Appleton, Wis. In association with Messrs. A. C. Heinzen and W. H. Timm he organized the Appleton Steam Boiler and Manufacturing Company, which title was later changed to the Northern Boiler and Structural Iron Works. and . in 1907 a branch was started at

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Wausau. In 1908 the present company was organized with F. W. Krause as president ; C. H. W. Wegner as vice-president; T. J. Schott as secretary and treasurer, and A. C. Heinzen as general manager. Employment is afforded on an average to about 100 men, the output being structural steel for bridges and other buildings. Modern building has demonstrated the demand for structural steel in the last few years as never before and a pros- perous future stretches out for such well financed and ably managed concerns as the Wausau Iron Works.

Mr. Schott was married to Miss Florentine Musch, of Waupaca county, Wis., and they have two sons, Norman and Wilbur. While essentially a business man, Mr. Schott is not by any means unmindful of the duties of citizenship which are among the acknowledged responsibilities of those who lead in the business world.

GUST SCHNEIDER, who was born at Granville, Milwaukee county, WVis., May 26, 1857, has been assessor of the village of Edgar for eight years and owns thirty acres of land here. He is a son of John C. and Mary Schneider, natives of Germany. John C. Schneider was eleven years old when he accompanied his parents to Milwaukee, Wis., and his wife came with her parents when nine years old. They grew up in Milwaukee county and were married there and afterward settled five miles northwest of Mil- waukee. They had eleven children, seven of the family still living. John C. Schneider died in Milwaukee county when aged seventy-six years, his wife passing away at about the same age and they were buried in the ceme- tery at Granville. They were members of the Lutheran church. He was a well known man, served in political offices for years, was an auctioneer as well as farmer and was agent for the Germantown Insurance Company.

Gust Schneider attended the common and high schools and remained with his father until he was twenty-one years old, when he came to Marathon county and with his older brother, Christian, bought several tracts of timber land of J. M. Smith. For seven years he lived there with his brother and then married Miss Mary Duerstein, a daughter of Jacob Duerstein, of Mara- thon City. Mrs. Schneider died when their two children, Agnes and Julia, were aged two and four years respectively. His second marriage was to Miss Huldah Bahr, a daughter of Fred Bahr, of the town of Wein, and five children were born to this marriage: Huldah, Cora, Arthur, Regina and Ervin. After his first marriage Mr. Schneider lived in the town of Wein and then sold his farm to Michael Abraham and in 1901 moved to Edgar, where he has since lived. He is a member of the Lutheran church, in which

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he has long been an official. In politics he is an independent republican. For twenty-two years he was assessor of the town of Wein and town chair- man for two years and for two years was a justice of the peace. For about thirty years Mr. Schneider has also been an auctioneer.

PARIS O. MEANS, whose important business interests at Wausau, Wis., place him among the representative men of the city, has resided here for thirty-one years. He is president of the Wausau Ice and Fuel Company and also of the Wausau Canning Company, the latter being one of the great industries of this section. He was born at Burnham, Waldo county, Me., February 27, 1857, and is a son of Luther and Adeline (Nelson) Means.

In 1882 the Means family came to Wisconsin and settled on a farm in the town of Weston, near Schofield, Marathon county. There the father of Mr. Means died in 1895. The mother survived him for two years, her death occurring at the home of her son, Paris O. Means, at Wausau. They were highly respected people, both coming of sturdy old New England stock.

Paris O. Means came to Wisconsin in 1876 and worked at the lumber business at Stevens Point, where he continued for six years and then was in the dairy business with his brother, the late George R. Means, who died in 1894, in the town of Weston. In June, 1888, he became a resident of Wau- sau, where for twenty-five years he has been identified with the ice business. He has been with the Wausau Canning Company since 1907, being presi- dent of the same. He is also identified with the Wausau Ice and Fuel Com- pany, was one of the incorporators of the same and has been president since 1908.

In 1887, at Wausau, Mr. Means was married to Miss Lutie L. Single, a daughter of Thomas and Harriet (Dexter) Single. Thomas Single was one of the pioneer settlers of Wausau. After his death Mrs. Single mar- ried D. B. Baker. She was born in Vermont eighty-one years ago and came to Wausau in 1849. She is one of the city's venerable and much esteemed residents. Mr. and Mrs. Means have three children: Zelda Jen- nie, Grace Esther and Gertrude Harriet. While Mr. Means is by no con- struction a politician, he is active as a citizen and for ten years the voters of the Fourth Ward testified to their confidence in him by electing him supervisor. He is identified with the Masonic fraternity-Wausau Lodge, No. 130; Wausau Chapter, No. 51, R. A. M .; and St. Omer Commandery, No. 19, K. T. He and his family attend the Episcopal church.

PARIS O. MEANS

EDWARD J. RADANDT

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EDWARD J. RADANDT, who is president of the E. J. Radandt Furni- ture Company of Wausau, with quarters at Nos. 202-204 Scott street, estab- lished this business in 1909 and is one of the city's enterprising and pros- pering business men. He was born December 11, 1878, at Kilbourn, Wis., and is a son of Fred and Minnie Radandt.

Edward J. Radandt was reared and attended the public schools in his native place and was eighteen years of age when he came to Wausau and began to work in the furniture store of his brother-in-law, Charles Helke, with whom he remained for two years. For the following ten years he was engaged in a furniture store at Milwaukee, going from there to Chicago and after seven years in that busy place returned to Wausau, where the family owned considerable real estate. Although Mr. Radandt's father never lived at Wausau, he had invested in property, and his uncle, Frank E. Radandt, who died at Wausau, February 13, 1912, and had lived in this city about eight years, also left considerable real estate here. Thus, when Mr. Radandt returned to Wausau he had command of plenty of capital and bought his present building. He started with the quarters afforded at No. 202, but very soon found his trade expanding so rapidly that more space was needed and at the present he occupies the entire space in both buildings. His stock includes furniture and carpets and all kinds of house furnishings except stoves.

Mr. Radandt married Miss Anna Hollihan, of Caledonia, Minn., and they have two children: Edward Thomas and Margaret Jane. The family attends St. Stephen's church.

MARK G. BELLIS, the president of the Bellis Hotel Company, is a young man, coming to Wausau with his parents in 1873. He graduated with honor from the Wausau High School and then acted as bookkeeper for the Bellis Hotel, which had assumed large proportions by this time. He might be named as the founder of the baseball sport in Wausau, he being the first to organize a club, and play with such amateurs as Rev. Hagemann, C. V. Bardeen and other professional men, until the play had become popular and a permanent club was organized at Wausau. It was through his efforts mainly that Wausau entered into the state league with Illinois and later with Minnesota and Illinois again, having a professional team for over ten years, and he is now again the president of the Wausau team, nicknamed "Lumber Jacks." Thoroughly devoted to clean sport, he is one of the most popular men of Wausau and also an adept with rod and line, an expert in luring the subtle trout from the depths of the creek. As a member of the noble fra-

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ternity of Elks he has taken a prominent part in the varied entertainments staged by this order. But not only in recreations is he found in the fore- most ranks, but in everything appertaining to the welfare of the city he takes a prominent part. As a citizen he has the courage of his convictions and has always acted with the Democratic party in state and national affairs. As a landlord he has no superior and this city is justly proud of the Bellis Hotel with its excellent accommodations. Mark G. Bellis was born in the city of Berlin, Wis., a son of George F. Bellis and his wife, Mary Jane (Young), on the 14th day of September, 1862, and became manager of the Bellis Hotel Company in 1898, when it incorporated, and has been its presi- dent since the death of his father, George F. Bellis, in December, 1905. On September 13, 1903, he was married to Miss Alberta Schoonover, of Osh- kosh, Wis., and two children were born to them: Margaret and Mary Jane.

RUFUS P. MANSON, whose death on February 21, 1897, deprived Wausau of one of its most useful and prominent citizens, was born at Jack- son, N. H., in the year 1830. At the age of twenty-one, or in 1851, he came to Wausau entirely alone and his subsequent success in life was attained solely through his own efforts. After arriving here he at once became inter- ested in the lumber industry, in which he continued until his death, being a very successful business man. He served the county and city in public office, being sheriff of Marathon county about the time of the Civil war, also in other county offices at different times, and was several times elected mayor of Wausau. A record of his administration may be found in con- nection with the history of Wausau in another part of this volume. He married Catherine Nicolls, who was born in Canada and came to Wausau with .Peter St. Arnston and wife. She survived her husband but five months, her death taking place July 5, 1897. She was the mother of twelve children, of whom John N., subject of a special sketch, is the eldest of the six survivors.

C. O. FULLER, M. D., physician and surgeon at Stratford, Wis., was born July 29, 1873, at Seymour. Outagamie county, Wis., a son of A. G. and Mary A. Fuller, old residents of Seymour. C. O. Fuller attended the common and high school at Seymour and was graduated with the class of 1901 from the Milwaukee Medical College. He began the practice of his pro- fession at Merton, where he remained for ten months, removing then to Fenwood in Marathon county and four months later coming to Stratford. He owns 120 acres of land in sections 17 and 18, town of Emmet, thirty

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acres of which are improved with good buildings. He is a member of the county and state medical associations. He handles his own drugs, as there is no drug store in the town. Dr. Fuller married Miss Jennie McCoy, who was born at Appleton, Wis., and they have had four children: Gladys, Alfred, Donovan and Robert, the last named living only twenty-six days.

GUSTAV A. OSSWALD,* one of the leading business men of the west side of Wausau, Wis., proprietor of a delicatessen, confectionery and gro- cery store handling fancy groceries, with quarters at No. 310 First avenue, South, was born in this city, May 20, 1869, and is a son of Christian and Elizabeth Osswald, both of whom are now deceased.

In some measure, Gustav A. Osswald grew up in this business, as his father was a baker and also conducted a grocery store, and in his boyhood, when not at school, he assisted in the store as a clerk. Later he worked for three years at the plumbing trade, but in 1898, he, in partnership with his brother, J. F. Osswald, established the present store and conducted it together until 1902, when Gustav A. bought his brother's interest and has carried it on alone ever since. While this is a large and important interest it is by no means the only one which claims Mr. Osswald's time and capital, other enterprises in which he is concerned being the Sun Publishing Company of this city, of which he is president, and the Palace Clothing Company, also of Wausau, of which he is treasurer. He is active as a citizen, is interested particularly in the west side, and is a member of the board of water com- missioners.

Mr. Osswald married Miss Matilda Schmidt, of Oshkosh, Wis., and they have two children. Harry and Esther. They are members of St. Stephen's Evangelical Lutheran church. His fraternal connections are numerous and he is a popular member of the Modern Woodmen of America, the Equit- able Fraternal Union, the Germania, the Eagles and the Owls. He is one of the city's wideawake and progressive men, and his energy and foresight are made use of not only to advance his own fortunes, but also to promote the welfare and substantial advancement of his city.

JOHN W. KREUTZER,* owner of the old Kreutzer homestead, con- taining 160 acres, situated in Marathon county, and one of the leading stock- holders of the Athens Creamery Company, was born at Grafton, Ozaukee county, Wis., and is a son of Andrew Kreutzer, an early settler in this section.

After his school days John W. Kreutzer gave his father assistance on

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the home farm until he was twenty-one years of age, when he went into the horse business and continued to be extensively interested in the same for fifteen years, when he purchased the old homestead and here carries on both general farming and dairying, mainly the latter, having Guernsey stock.

On February 23, 1898, Mr. Kreutzer was married to Miss Marie Fred- erick, who was born in Washington county. a daughter of Ferdinand and Henrietta (Grindeman ) Frederick. After Mrs. Kreutzer's parents came from Germany they settled as farmers in Washington county. Wis., where the mother still lives, but the father is deceased. They had the following children: August. Ferdinand. John, William, Bertha, deceased. Helen. Frederica. deceased, and Marie. To Mr. and Mrs. Kreutzer three chil- dren were born: Alfred. John and Helen. The family belongs to the Lu- theran church. A Republican in politics, Mr. Kreutzer has been recognized by his party as a man in whom to repose confidence, and at different times has had tendered him important local offices. He has served two years as county supervisor and three terms on the village board. He belongs to the M. W. A. at Athens.

GUSTAV A. THIELKE, M. D., physician and surgeon, at Wausau, a specialist in diseases of women and children, was born at Hullsburg, Dodge county, Wis., May 22. 1875. and is a son of August and Margaret (Huels) Thielke.

The parents of Dr. Thielke were born in Germany and came to the United States about the time of the Civil War, settling at Theresa, in Dodge county, Wis. The father started a potash factory there and engaged in the business for ten years and then moved to Huelsburg, where he started a brewery and embarked also in the mercantile business and continued until 1898, at which time he moved to Mayville. In 1906 in the city of New York, on his return from a trip to Europe, he was accidentally asphyxiated. The mother of Dr. Thielke died in 1903. at Wausau, her age being sixty- eight years, while that of the father was seventy-six years. Their family consisted of four sons and five daughters: August, who has been a hard- ware merchant at Mayville for the last twenty-five years, died at Mayville October 14, 1912; John, who, for the past fifteen years has been in partner- ship, now continues business with his older brother at Mayville; Herman, who is in the lumber busines at Mayville: Gustav A .; Amelia, who is the wife of Charles Justman, president of the Hail and Cyclone Insurance Com- pany of Juneau, Wis., and a former county treasurer; Barbara, who is the wife of Louis Portz, who is in the malting business at Hartford, Wis .; Mary,

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who is the wife of William Ringle, cashier of the Mayville State Bank; Augusta, who is the wife of Hon. John Ringle, mayor of Wausau, president of the Ringle Brick Company and vice president of the First National Bank of Wausau; Emma, who is unmarried; and Clara, who is the wife of Otto Mueller, who is in the jewelry business at Wausau.

After graduating from the Mayville High School, in 1895, Gustav A. Thielke entered Parsons' Horological Institute, where he took a preparatory course and in 1898 became a student in the University of Michigan, in 1899 entering the medical department of Marquette University at Milwaukee, where he was graduated in 1903. He also was graduated in 1896 for the Parsons' Horological Institute, located at Peoria, Ill., and in 1897 from the Eye and Ear Infirmary in the University of Michigan, his course of study gradually leading him farther and farther until his final graduation in 1903. after which he established himself at Wausau. He is a member of the Marathon County Medical Society, the Wisconsin Medical Society and the American Medical Association. For the past six years he has been city physician of Wausau, is examining physician for the Old Line Life Insur- ance Company of Milwaukee and the Central Life of Iowa and also of Ger- mania Lodge of the E. F. U.

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History of Marathon County, Wisconsin and representative citizens, Part 86

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