USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume II > Part 13
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Mr. Freschl was united in marriage to Miss Rose Alexander, a native of Mississippi, and they became parents of the following named: Edward, who is now president of the Holeproof Hosiery Company; William W., who is vice president; Max A., who is superintendent; and a daughter, Mrs. Henry Gattman. Mrs. Freschl survives her husband and makes her home in Milwaukee. The death of Mr. Freschl occurred in 1911 and was the occasion of deep regret to his many friends and to his employes who had long been associated with him. He was well known and popular in various local organizations. Milwaukee claimed him as one of her valued citizens and leading manufacturers and all who knew him entertained for him the warmest regard.
EDWARD FRESCHL.
Edward Freschl, president of the Holeproof Hosiery Company, one of the im- portant manufacturing enterprises of Milwaukee, was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, January 26, 1877, his parents being Carl and Rose ( Alexander) Freschl, the former a native of Austria, while the latter was born in Mississippi. Edward Freschl was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee, in the Germau-English Academy, in the East Side high school and in the University of Wisconsin. He graduated from the state institution in 1899 and immediately engaged in the business established by his father, of which L. Heilbronner was secretary, and which was ultimately developed into what is now known as the Holeproof Hosiery Company. The business was estab- lished on a small scale, Mr. Freschl himself looking after the shipping, bookkeeping, advertising and selling ends of the business. In fact he did most all of the office work that was to be done, but steadily the patronage of the house has increased until today the company occupies a half block, having four buildings six stories in height and employing about thirteen hundred people in the Milwaukee establishment and branch plants. They manufacture about three thousand dozen pairs of hose per day, guaran- teed in quality, and the goods find a sale in all parts of the world. The company always stands back of its guarantee and the value of the hosiery is everywhere recognized. The excellent quality has been the foundation of the success of the company and added to this have been the progressive business methods, sound judg- ment and unfaltering enterprise of the men in charge. The present officers are: Edward Freschl, president; William W. Freschl, vice president; L. Heilbronner, secre- tary and treasurer, who has been connected with the company since 1884 and is now a large stockholder; and M. A. Freschl, superintendent.
On the 26th of July, 1906, Mr. Freschl was married to Miss Gertrude Newelt of Atlanta, Georgia, and they have become parents of three children: Lisbeth, Ann and
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Edward, who are with their parents at 481 Terrace avenue, the attractive family resi- deuce. Mr. Freschl is a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club and also belongs to the Wisconsin Club, the City Club and the Woodmont Country Club. That he has not confined his interests and activities solely to business affairs is indicated by the ex- cellent service he has done as a member of the board of education and as a trustee of Mount Sinai Hospital. His interest in public welfare has indeed been manifest in many tangible ways, making him a valued and representative citizen.
JUDGE LAWRENCE WOODRUFF HALSEY.
The history of Judge Lawrence Woodruff Halsey is the record of an exemplary life. He has now attained the venerable age of eighty-one, as rich in honors and successes as in years. He has made his labors count for good iu behalf of his fellow- men at every point in his career and it is almost impossible to stress one line of his activity as more important or serviceable to mankind than other lines. He has not only figured as. an eminent representative of the Wisconsin bar, but also as one of the prominent Masous of the state, as a promoter of musical interests in the city and as a cooperant factor in many events which have shaped the anuals of the common wealth.
Judge Halsey was born at Southampton, Long Island, New York, on the 8th of January, 1841. He first saw the light of day in the old ancestral home which was there founded by Thomas Halsey in the year 1640. His parents were Captain Abraham and Eliza Augusta (Woodruff) Halsey, and while spending his youth under the parental roof he mastered the elementary branches of learning through study in private schools. He early manifested a love of books and could read before he was five years of age. In October, 1846, he accompanied an uncle, James T. Pierson, to his home in Crystal Lake, Illinois, the journey being made by steamboat from New York to Albany, by canal to Buffalo and then by steamboat to Chicago. In this then pioneer district of the west the future jurist attended the common schools and continued his studies in the Crystal Lake Academy, while later he prepared for college and in 1860 became a student in Batavia Institute at Batavia, Illinois. He was also a teacher for a short time before completing his course at Batavia. His youthful experiences were those of the farm bred boy, but his labors in the fields were not allowed to inter- fere with the acquirement of his education and despite many interruptions he pre- pared for college. While of a studious nature he also enjoyed boyish activities and is said to have been a general favorite in school and out. He possessed an excellent voice and was popular in the singing schools, so common in that day. Industry, too, found its place in his makeup and was manifest in the ability which he displayed with tools when assisting iu local survey work. It was money that he earned in that way that enabled him to become a pupil in the high school at Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the fall of 1860, and thus continue his preparation for university work. While thus pursuing his studies he attended some of the lectures at the university but it was not until October, 1861, that he matriculated there, taking up the study of letters and of science. In 1863 he became a law student at Ann Arbor and at the same time continued some of his literary work in the university. He remained through the summer vacation, applying himself earnestly to his study, and later in the year 1863 he became a law clerk and student in the office and under the direction of ex- Senator Alpheus Felch. He next entered the law office of John N. Gott and in May, 1864, resumed his reading under the direction of Judge Olney Hawkins, with whom he remained until December, 1864. While thus engaged he prepared a thesis on taxa- tion and another on banking, both of which received honorable mention and gained him permission to leave the university until commencement time. Accordingly he spent the winter in Chicago occupying a clerical position in the law office of P. L. Sherman until March, when he returned to the university for graduation, winning the Bachelor of Law degree at that time. While in Chicago he founded and organized the Moot Court of Debate. During his student days in the Michigan University he took an active part in many college events and interests, became an officer in the University Battalion and was commander of the High School Company in 1860-61, most of this company enlisting for service in the Union army during the Civil war, in which two of his brothers served with distinction, one being severely wounded, while the other laid down his life on the altar of his country. Judge Halsey's father, however, insisted that this sou should remain in school and complete his studies, and although he acquiesced to parental authority he greatly regretted his inability to go to the front. He was made chairman of the School Literary Society and in Janu- ary, 1861, joined the Adelphi Society, with which he was connected till his college days were ended. He also became organizer and first president of the Jeffersonian Society and his ability in public debates was widely recognized. He was honored by being chosen to preside at the general exercises and inauguration held in the new
LAWRENCE W. HALSEY
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law building in 1864. Following his graduation from the law department of the Michigan University in 1865, Judge Halsey was admitted to practice at the Michigan bar on the 30th of March, of that year, before Judge Lawrence of the circuit court of Washtenaw county.
After a visit at Crystal Lake, Illinois, in the home of his uncle, by whom he had been reared, Judge Halsey started out to seek a favorable location and took up his abode in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where on the 12th of June, 1865, he entered into partnership with Colonel H. B. Jackson, under the firm style of Jackson & Halsey. They soon gained a large clientage of an important character and, in fact, conducted many cases of statewide importance. Twelve years were spent by Judge Halsey in Oshkosh, after which he removed to Milwaukee and on January 12, 1877, he became a partner in the firm of Johnson, Rietbrock & Halsey, which thus existed until 1888, when Hon. D. H. Johnson was elevated to the bench and the firm then became Riet- brock & Halsey, a partnership that existed until Mr. Halsey became Judge Johnson's successor on the bench.
Not only did the law firm win prominence in the trial of cases before the court and as counselors in important business matters but also entered actively into busi- ness affairs of the state by acquiring large tracts of land in Marathon, Wood and Price counties, where they conducted an important colonization project, leading to the settlement of the district by a substantial class of ambitious and energetic farmers. They built and operated lumber and flour mills and also constructed a railroad, followed by the establishment of the village of Athens in Halsey township. The efforts of Mr. Halsey were in marked measure responsible for the success of the undertaking. He likewise became, in 1895, one of the founders of the Wisconsin Savings Loan and Building Association, of which he was elected the first vice president and still holds that office.
It was in the early days of his professional career that Judge Halsey was married, December 26, 1866, to Miss Mary Louisa Loveridge, a daughter of Dr. Edwin Dexter and Susannah Bodine (Pierson) Loveridge. Four children were born of this marriage, but only one is living: Louisa K., who on the 6th of November, 1889, became the wife of Philo C. Darrow of Western Springs, Illinois. Pierson L., who was educated at Cornell University and was graduated from the law department of the Wisconsin University in June, 1896, after which he became a member of the firm of Rietbrock & Halsey, but located on a stock farm at Athens, Wisconsin, in 1910, and on July 18, 1914, met a tragic death at the hands of a maniac, who at once committed suicide by shooting himself. Mrs. Halsey met a tragic death in a railroad wreck on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway near Maysville, Kentucky, May 22, 1907, on which occa- sion Judge Halsey also sustained severe injuries. She was a lady of liberal education and culture, prominent in the social circles of Milwaukee and active in support of many civic, patriotic and educational interests, as well as a recognized leader in church and benevolent work. She likewise possessed musical talent of a high order and with her husband was a member of a number of the leading choral clubs and societies of Oshkosh and Milwaukee. The natural musical talent of Judge Halsey was developed until he was recognized as the possessor of a fine voice and not only became a leader in the singing schools of his boyhood, but also in later years a prominent member of various musical organizations. In 1877 he and his wife joined the Arion and Cecilian Clubs and the judge remains an honorary member of the former as well as of the Liedertafel and Milwaukee Musical Societies. He acted as chairman of the executive committee of these societies and was largely instrumental in bringing about the erection of the Auditorium, a great hall for conventions and concerts.
It was during his student days in the Michigan University that Judge Halsey joined the Masonic fraternity, February 25, 1862, and for a long period he was secre- tary of Oshkosh Lodge, while later he became a member of Wisconsin Lodge, No. 13, A. F. & A. M., of Milwaukee, and of Wisconsin Commandery, No. 1, K. T. In 1871 he joined the Knights of Pythias and has been honored with the highest offices in that order, being a past grand chancellor and past supreme representative and also a lead- ing factor in the Uniform Rank, bringing this body to great efficiency and numerical strength as brigadier general of the Wisconsin Brigade. For some years he was judge advocate general of the national body of the military department of the Knights of Pythias and for many years after 1880 was a trustee of the Wisconsin Grand Lodge. He belongs to the University of Michigan Alumni Association of Wisconsin and was chair- man of its scholarship endowment committee. Politically he has always been a stal- wart democrat, who without aspiration for office has been a recognized leader in party ranks. He has frequently contributed to the editorial columns of the Oshkosh Demo- crat and the Oshkosh Times and his writings always awakened wide attention. While not an office seeker he has ever been keenly interested in civic matters and has sup- ported all those interests which are a matter of civic virtue and of civic pride. In many ways he has contributed to the educational development of the state. The only political offices that he has filled have been in the direct path of his profession. In April, 1888, he was appointed counsel for the city of Milwaukee and as first assistant
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city attorney continued to serve until July 28, 1900, when Governor Schofield named him judge of the second judicial circuit, comprising the city and county of Milwaukee, to succeed his former law partner Judge Johnson. The Milwaukee County Bar unanimously endorsed him for the position at the spring election in 1901 and by an overwhelming majority he was called to fill out the unexpired term and again became the single choice of the har for the position to which he was elected for the full term of six years in 1906. In April, 1911, he was once more reelected, this time receiving a majority of fifteen thousand; and again reelected in 1917, for the term ending Janu- ary 1, 1924. His record as a judge has heen in entire harmony with his record as a man and as a lawyer, distinguished by unfaltering fidelity to duty and by a masterful grasp of every problem presented for solution. The fairness and impartiality of his rnlings have been hased upon the equity of the case and a comprehensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence with ability accurately to apply these principles. As a jurist he ranks with the ablest representatives of the Wisconsin bar.
With military interests Judge Halsey has also been connected. For thirty years he was an influential factor in the Wisconsin National Guard and was associated with others in the organization of the Light Horse Squadron, of which he was an officer for several years. His instrumentality in the work of erecting the fine stone armory in Milwaukee in 1885 was widely acknowledged and later he negotiated the purchase of a site of thirty acres for the present armory and the sale to the city of the Broad- way Armory. He did much toward the erecting of the new armory and barracks of the Light Horse Squadron, was president of the Light Horse Squadron Armory Associa- tion from its incorporation and continues in such office. He was likewise an important factor in the creation of new infantry companies, in one of which he was made an honorary life member. He belongs to the Wisconsin Historical Society and many other organizations, including his professional connections with the Milwaukee, Wis- consin State and American Bar Associations. He has long been identified with the Protestant Episcopal church, serving as one of the vestrymen of Trinity church in Oshkosh and later as vestryman in St. Mark's in Milwaukee. He was appointed chancellor of the diocese of Milwaukee, filling the position for many years, and for an extended period was president of the board of St. John's Home for Old People. No good work done in the name of charity or religion has sought his aid in vain. No plan or project for the city's upbuilding and improvement has been refused his cooperation and support. His life has at all times been purposeful and resultant and the influence of his labors for good is immeasurable. Milwaukee and the state ac- knowledge their indebtedness to him for his active and efficient cooperation in much that has meant material, intellectual, social and moral progress in the commonwealth.
LOUIS FRANCIS JERMAIN, M. D.
Dr. Louis Francis Jermain is a distinguished physician, concentrating his atten- tion upon consultation practice in internal medicine and diagnosis. He was born October 10, 1867, at Meeme, Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, a son of George and Laura (Simon) Jermain, the former a native of Switzerland, while the latter was born in Malmedy, on the border of Belgium and Germany. The paternal grandfather was an attache to the consulate in Berne, Switzerland. His son George came to the United States and settled in Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, where he became widely known as a contractor and builder of mills, erecting many of the mills in that section of the state. He was a democrat in his political faith and active in local politics. A man of prominence in his community, he did not a little toward shaping public thought and action. To him and his wife were born ten children. The parents are hoth deceased.
Dr. Jermain obtained his early education in the public schools of his native county and in the normal school, fitting himself for the profession of teaching, which he fol- lowed for seven years. But he regarded this merely as an initial step to other pro- fessional labor, for he decided to study medicine and entered the Northwestern Uni- versity in Chicago, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1894. Since then he has devoted his attention to medical practice in Milwaukee and is a specialist in internal medicine and diagnosis and at the present writing is president of the Milwaukee Clinic. He now confines his attention outside of the educational field to consultation practice in internal medicine and diagnosis and has the largest practice of this character in Wisconsin, extending over the entire state. He has been a medical educator since 1894 and has always been greatly interested in this branch of professional activity. It was through his influence that the Marqnette School of Medicine was organized in 1913 and throughout the intervening period he has heen dean of the institution. He was assistant commissioner of health for the city of Mil- waukee from 1898 until 1910, or for a period of twelve years. He was professor of internal medicine in the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons from 1895 until 1905 and has been professor of internal medicine in the Marquette University
DR. LOUIS F. JERMAIN
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from the latter year to the present. He has been a frequent contributor to medical journals and has read many most interesting and valuable papers before different medical societies. He is also the author of the section on diseases of the lungs in Ticke's Practice of Medicine, which is just being published. In addition to serving as assistant commissioner of health of Milwaukee he has held various offices in the dif- ferent medical bodies to which he belongs. He has membership in the Milwaukee County Medical Society, of which he was president in 1909-10; in the Milwaukee Medical Society, of which he was president in 1912; the State Medical Society of Wisconsin, of which he was president in 1916; and is also a member of the American Medical Asso- ciation and the American College of Physicians. He acted as chairman of the Medical Advisory Board, No. 3, of the county of Milwaukee, in draft examinations during the World war and as contract surgeon of the United States to the Students Army Train- ing Corps and also chairman of the board classifying all physicians of the state of Wisconsin for military service.
In Milwaukee, on the 26th of June, 1894, Dr. Jermain was married to Miss Rose Barth, a daughter of Paul and Theresa Barth, residents of Louisville, Kentucky. The children of this marriage are: Teresa, now the wife of Raymond Jaekels, assistant city attorney of Milwaukee; William M., a senior student of medicine in the Marquette School of Medicine: and Angeline. The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and Dr. Jermain has membership with the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin. In politics he has always maintained an inde- pendent course, voting sometimes with the democratic and sometimes with the repub- lican party, as his judgment has dictated. He is well known in club circles, having membership in the City Club, University Club, Calumet Club, Athletic Club and the Old Settlers Club. He is appreciative of the social amenities of life and his personal char- acteristics make for popularity wherever he is known. His attention, however, is chiefly confined to his professional duties, which are of growing importance, until he stands today as a most eminent representative of the profession in Wisconsin, con- stantly called into consultation with the leading physicians and surgeons of the state.
J. H. STAPHER.
J. H. Stapher, who made for himself a creditable position in the commercial circles of Milwaukee as a dealer in typewriter supplies, continued in the business to the time of his demise, which occurred on the 7th of August, 1921. He was then but a comparatively young man, his birth having occurred in New Hampton, Iowa, in 1878. His parents were Chrisjohn and Johannah ( Hoffmaster) Stapher, the former a native of Germany, while the latter was born near Hartford, Wisconsin. The father was brought to the new world by his parents when but nine years of age, the family settling in Milwaukee. The grandfather was without financial resources at the time of his arrival but manifested unfaltering diligence and industry and prior to his death had acquired a goodly fortune. Chrisjohn Stapher early learned the worth of industry and determination as factors in the attainment of prosperity. Soon after reaching his majority he was married and removed to Iowa, where he purchased considerable land, and through the natural rise in property values he be- came a man of wealth. He led a busy life in the care, cultivation and development of his farms and the management of his property interests and at his death he was able to leave a fine farm to each of his ten children.
J. H. Stapher obtained his early education in the public schools of his native state and was also for a short time a student in a business school. He possessed in large measure that quality which for want of a better term has been called com- mercial sense. He was about nineteen years of age when he left the parental roof, not liking farm life nor possessing the physical strength and endurance necessary to the work of the fields. He turned his attention to salesmanship and soon proved very successful in work of that character. He was therefore active along mercantile lines throughout his remaining days. He came to Milwaukee in 1916 as representative of the KeeLox typewriter supply house and his ability soon won him promotion to the position of manager of the Milwaukee branch. He continued to act in that capacity until 1918, when he resigned and established business of a similar character on his own account, continuing to deal in typewriter supplies until his demise, since which time the business has been carried on by his wife, who was his associate and assistant in the enterprise from the beginning and is thoroughly familiar with every phase of the trade.
It was in 1915 that Mr. Stapher was married to Miss Melevelle Baird, a daughter of Adam and Amy Helen ( Huggon) Baird, who were natives of Canada. Mr. Stapher was a republican in his political views and attended the First Baptist church. His sterling worth of character won him the high respect of all who knew him, and those who came within the close circle of his acquaintance were glad to call him friend. Vol. 11-9
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As a result of carefully directed effort he had built up a splendid husiness. He was never a member of any clubs, preferring to spend his evenings at home when this was possible. A largely ideal relationship existed between Mr. and Mrs. Stapher, who was her husband's active assistant in business and who since his demise has given proof of splendid executive ability and marked enterprise in the further de- velopment of the business, of which she is now the head.
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