USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume II > Part 16
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FERDINAND SCHLESINGER.
Interest in the history of Milwaukee is heightened by reason of the thrilling chap- ter contributed thereto in the life record of Ferdinand Schlesinger, who, coming to America a poor boy, achieved victory after victory in the business world through his unaided efforts. Industry and determination constituted his basic qualities and per- severance and the recognition and the utilization of opportunities led him to the goal- of success. He saw and made use of opportunities which others passed heedlessly by. He combined seemingly diverse elements into a united and harmonious whole and at all times he so directed his business affairs that he seemed to have accomplished at any one point in his career the possibility for successful accomplishment at that point.
Mr. Schlesinger was born in Germany, February 21, 1851, and after enjoying the advantages afforded in the schools of that country he sought his fortune in the new world, when a youth of eighteen years. From the eastern coast he at once made his way to Wisconsin, settling in Kilbourn, Columbia county, and here his liberal educa- tion was put to good account as a teacher, particularly of German and French languages. He felt, however, that the business world offered much broader opportunities for attaining success and he removed from Kilbourn to Milwaukee, where he undertook the manufacture of harvesting machines.
With his characteristic thoroughness Mr. Schlesinger began studying everything that had to do with the building of the machines and his attention was drawn to the iron deposits of the upper peninsula of Michigan. He was one of the first to realize their value and he made investment in a number of mines in that section. From that time forward he figured most prominently in the development of the natural resources in that part of the state and he became an officer in a number of corporations of national scope. In 1904 he was instrumental in organizing the Milwaukee Coke & Gas Company, of which he became the president, and four years later he purchased the plant and business of the Northwestern Iron Company at Mayville, Dodge county, Wisconsin, becoming president of the corporation on its reorganization and continuing as its chief executive officer to the time of his demise. Moreover, his sound business judgment and well formulated plans led to the rapid and substantial growth of the business, for his cooperation at all times seemed to spell success for any enterprise with which he became associated. He was one of the leading stockholders in the Newport Mining Company of Ironwood, Michigan, and was elected its president, and he became a director of the Boomer Coal & Coke Company, controlling valuable prop- erties at Boomer, West Virginia. He was also a director of the Detroit Iron & Steel Company of Detroit, Michigan, and he was at the head of the Northwestern Iron Company, the Milwaukee Coke & Gas Company, the Steel Tube Company of America and the Newport Chemical Company. In fact his influence and his activities were dominating factors in the control of many business enterprises of such extent as to be regarded as national in their scope and influence. He found the keenest pleasure in formulating, planning and developing business projects and at all times his enterprises
FERDINAND SCHLESINGER
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were of a character that contributed to public prosperity as well as to individual advancement.
In 1876 Mr. Schlesinger was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Stern, a native of Milwaukee and a representative of one of the pioneer families of the city. They be- came parents of two sons and a daughter: Armin A., Henry J. and Mrs. Myron T. Maclaren, all residents of Milwaukee.
Mr. Schlesinger, with practically no indication of ill health, passed away suddenly when en route to California on the 3d of January, 1921. His loss was keenly felt in the Athletic, University and other clubs in which he held membership, in the Uni- tarian church, to which he and his wife belonged, in business circles where he had for many years been a dominant figure, and especially in his own home, for his devotion to the welfare of his wife and children was ever one of his marked characteristics. He had remained throughout life a man of broad sympathies and of liberal culture. He kept in touch with the best that literature offered and was a patron of the other arts. His broad reading and study constantly enriched his mind and association with him meant expansion and elevation. One phase of his career that made his name known and honored was his liberality, especially to charitable and benevolent institu- tions. As his wealth increased there was no good work done in the name of charity or religion that sought his aid in vain. He was constantly extending a helping hand and there are many who have reason to bless him for his kindly assistance. In every field of endeavor and phase of life to which he turned his attention Ferdinand Schles- inger gained success and Milwaukee has placed him high on the roll of her honored men.
ZACHARA T. MERRILL.
Zachara T. Merrill, who passed away on the 14th of September, 1918. was well known as a representative business man of Milwaukee and had an extensive circle of friends in this city. His birth here occurred on the 9th of April, 1847, his parents being William P. and Elizabeth ( Harris) Merrill. The former, born in South Berwick. Maine, March 26, 1816, came to Milwaukee in 1836, when a young man of twenty years, and soon afterward was married, his wife being also numbered among the pioneer resi- dents of this city. William P. Merrill took up a claim of one hundred and sixty acres of government land, a part of which is now included within the limits of Layton park on the south side. He was identified with agricultural pursuits for a number of years and contributed to the early development and improvement of this section of the state. He belonged to the old Pioneer Club and became one of the first members of the Old Settlers Club.
Zachara T. Merrill acquired his education in the public schools and in Markham Academy and in early manhood became connected with law and abstract business of the firm of Kendrick, Merrill & Brand. Following his marriage he removed to Cold- water, Michigan, where for seven years he was engaged in the lumber business, but on the expiration of that period returned to Milwaukee, where he turned his attention to real estate dealing, to which he devoted his remaining days, and in connection therewith managed his father's estate. He handled much important property in Mil- waukee and negotiated many realty transfers. He had a large clientage that made his business one of substantial proportions and a gratifying source of revenue. At other times different business interests claimed the attention of Mr. Merrill, who in 1884 formed a partnership with Frank P. Wilbur for the conduct of a business in cement work and introduced the first soft cement sidewalks in the city, these being as perfect today as when laid. He also organized the Lake Shore Stone Company, of which he was vice president, continuing to fill that position to the time of his demise.
On the 26th of November, 1878, Mr. Merrill was married to Miss Anna M. Parker, a daughter of Edwin R. and Mary M. (Butts) Parker, who came to Milwaukee about 1873 from Syracuse, New York, the father being employed by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. To Mr. and Mrs. Merrill were born a son and a daughter: Wil- liam E., who is now engaged in the bond business in Milwaukee; and Maud M., the wife of H. H. Balding, also of this city. The son was a lieutenant of Company F, Three Hundred and Eleventh Ammunition Train of the Eighty-sixth Division, and served throughout the entire period of America's connection with the World war.
Mr. Merrill was for many years a member of the Knights of Pythias and also belonged to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Milwaukee Country Club and the Town Club. He long ranked as one of Milwaukee's leading business men and enjoyed the affectionate regard and high esteem of all who knew him to the day of his death. During the last ten years of his life he resided in Chicago on account of his health, but directed his large business interests here and was again and again a visitor to his native city. He always attended the meetings of the Old Settlers Club, never missing the annual Washington banquet throughout the entire period of his connection
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with that organization. He was a most progressive business man, a loyal citizen, a faithful friend and an affectionate husband and father, and the admirable traits of his character were many. He found the keenest pleasure in his later years in meeting with the early settlers of Milwaukee and recalling events of the pioneer times when the conditions of villagehood prevailed in what is now one of the great metropolitan cen- ters of the upper Mississippi valley.
JACKSON BLOODGOOD KEMPER.
The position of Jackson Bloodgood Kemper as a member of the law firm of Bloodgood, Kemper & Bloodgood, one of the most prominent firms of the Milwaukee bar, at once establishes his standing as a lawyer. Moreover, he is a representative of one of the old and honored families of the state and in person, talent and position he is a worthy scion of his race. His birth occurred Jannary 25, 1865, in Nashotah, Waukesha county, Wisconsin, his parents being the Rev. Lewis A. and Anna (Blood- good) Kemper. The ancestral line is traced back to the great-great-grandfather who came from Germany in 1740 and founded the Kemper family in the new world. His son, Daniel Kemper, served with the American army during the Revolutionary war and later became a member of the Society of the Cincinnati, which drew its membership only from those who had served as officers in the struggle for independence. He was the father of the Rt. Rev. Jackson Kemper, a distinguished divine of the Protestant Episcopal church, who at the time of his death was serving as bishop of the diocese of Wisconsin and who did much to mold the history of the Episcopal church in this state. It was in his honor that Kemper Hall, a girls' boarding school of Kenosha, Wisconsin, was named. He had a younger brother, Daniel R. Kemper, who was one of a company of young men that in 1805 went to South America for the purpose of tender- ing their aid in winning independence for Venezuela, but they were captured by Spanish forces and were shot as a result of their patriotic devotion to the cause of freedom and liberty. Within a recent date, however, the citizens of Venezuela have erected a fine bronze monument to the memory of these gallant young Americans.
Rev. Lewis A. Kemper, D. D., son of Bishop Kemper and father of Jackson B. Kemper of this review, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 19, 1829, and also, dedicating his life to the work of the ministry, became one of the leading . Episcopal clergymen of Wisconsin. He was also prominently connected with edu- cational interests and for thirty years was professor of Hebrew and Greek in the Nashotah Theological Seminary, where his splendid qualifications and his broad sym- pathy won for him the love and honor of all of the students as well as the members of the faculty of that institution. . In later years he also served as rector of Zion Episcopal church at Oconomowoc. He was a graduate of Columbia University of the class of 1849 and after taking holy orders concentrated his attention and labors largely upon Wisconsin, participating in the various activities of the church and serving on the diocesan standing committee, while frequently he was a delegate to the general conventions of the church throughout the United States. In 1874 he was mentioned for the bishopric and had he become a candidate would undoubtedly have been chosen for that high office. He passed from this life April 27, 1886, at Oconomowoc, Wiscon- sin. In tracing the ancestry of J. B. Kemper in the maternal line it is found that he is a descendant in the eighth generation of Francis Bloodgood, who in 1658 left his home in Amsterdam, Holland, and settled at Flushing, Long Island. His name was originally spelled Francois Bloetgoet, but was Anglicized after his removal to the United States.
Well descended and well bred, reared in an atmosphere of liberal culture and refinement, the record of Jackson B. Kemper is one which reflects credit and honor upon the ancestral history, for while turning from the ministry to the law he has gained notable prominence in this field, his name being carved high on the keystone of the legal arch. After attending Racine College at Racine, Wisconsin, where he was graduated in 1884, the degrees of Bachelor and Master of Arts being conferred upon him, he took up the study of law in 1886 under the direction of his uncle, Francis Bloodgood, of Milwaukee, and passed the required examination which secured him admission to the bar in 1888. He then entered into partnership with his uncle and cousin under the firm style of Bloodgood, Bloodgood & Kemper and when in 1893 they were joined by William J. Turner, later a distinguished jurist of Milwaukee, the style of Turner, Bloodgood & Kemper was assumed. When in 1896 Judge Turner retired from the partnership they were joined by Wheeler P. Bloodgood, son of the senior partner under the present firm name of Bloodgood, Kemper & Bloodgood. Like his associates Mr. Kemper has argued many cases and lost but few. No one better knows the necessity for thorough preparation and no one more industriously prepares his cases and briefs. His course in the courtroom is characterized by a calmness and dignity that indicates reserve strength. His handling of his cases is always full,
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JACKSON B. KEMPER
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comprehensive and accurate; his analysis of the fact is clear and exhaustive; he sees without effort the relation and dependence of the fact and so proves them as to enable him to throw their combined force upon the point they tend to prove. He has been entrusted with much important legal business. He represented the trustees of the estate of the late Hon. Harrison Ludington, former governor of Wisconsin, in the cases brought for the construction of the will of the governor and he was also retained as representative of the trustees of the estate in the subsequent litigation with the widow of Governor Ludington. He likewise figured as attorney in cases growing out of the bank failure in Milwaukee occasioned by the panic of 1893 and the rising since the passing of the present national bankruptcy laws. Few attorneys have made a more lasting impression upon the bar of the state than has Mr. Kemper.
On the 3d of March, 1891, Mr. Kemper was married to Miss Luella Greer, daughter of William T. Greer, a well known resident of Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Kemper occupy an enviable social position, and he is identified with a number of the leading clubs of the city, including the Milwaukee, University, Milwaukee Country and Town Clubs. Both he and his wife are faithful members and active workers in the Protestant Episcopal church, and along strictly professional lines his membership is with the Milwaukee County and Wisconsin State Bar Associations. In politics he has always been a republican but not an office seeker, yet there is no phase of progressive and beneficial citizenship that does not receive his endorsement and cooperation. His entire course reflects credit and honor upon an untarnished family name that has long been regarded as a synonym of intellectual worth and moral progress in Wiscon- sin.
GEORGE E. BALLHORN.
George E. Ballhorn, attorney at law, court commissioner, and recently appointed general counsel for the Association of Commerce, is recognized as one of the ablest corporation lawyers of Milwaukee. Gifted by nature with strong mentality, he has used his talents wisely and well, so that he finds ready and correct solution for the intricate and involved problems of jurisprudence. Mr. Ballhorn is a native son of Wisconsin, his birth having occurred at Cascade, May 25, 1875, his parents being Frederick and Margaretha (Miller) Ballhorn, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father came to America in 1852, and the mother crossed the Atlantic in 1860, their marriage being celebrated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1862. At the close of the Civil war they came to Wisconsin, settling in Cascade, where they experienced the hardships of pioneer life. The father was a village harness maker, carrying on business along that line until death ended his labors. The mother is still living.
George E. Ballhorn was educated in the country schools to the age of fifteen years, when he came to Milwaukee to earn a living, working as a clerk in a grocery store for a few months. He then entered the law office of Turner & Timlin, both of whom afterward became judges. He studied law under their direction until 1896, when he was admitted to the har. He had no means with which to pursue a college course and with others he organized what was known as the Milwaukee Law Class, which later developed into the Milwaukee Law School and was subsequently taken over by the Marquette University, becoming the law department of that educational institution, Marquette afterward conferred upon Mr. Ballhorn and others who organized the original class, the honorary degree of Bachelor of Laws. In 1898 Mr. Ballhorn was appointed assistant city attorney and filled the position for eight years. He afterward entered into a partnership with General Joseph B. Doe, which connection continued until 1919. In 1914 he was elected president of the Milwaukee Bar Association, and in 1916 he was appointed commissioner of the state circuit court, and has also been acting as special master of the United States court. Thus various honors have come to him in the line of his profession-honors which have been a recognition of his professional skill and ability.
During the World war Mr. Ballhorn served with the rank of major in the office of the judge advocate general at Washington, D. C., being connected first with the division of military justice and later acting as special counsel to the board of contract adjustment. In his practice he has specialized on commercial and corporation law, winning a large and notable clientage in this regard, and since February, 1920, he has been general counsel of the Milwaukee Association of Commerce. He belongs to the Milwaukee, Wisconsin State and American Bar Associations and steadily has advanced step by step until he stands today in the front rank among the leading lawyers of his adopted city.
In 1898 Mr. Ballhorn was married to Miss Clara E. Weilep of Milwaukee, and they became the parents of two children. Clara W. and Margaret E. The wife and mother passed away in 1903, and in 1905 Mr. Ballhorn wedded Meta B. Bruemmer of Kewaunee, Wisconsin, a daughter of Judge Louis Bruemmer, and they have one son,
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George, Jr. Mr. Ballhorn is a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club and also of the City Club. A resident of Milwaukee from the age of fifteen years and dependent upon his own resources for a living since that time, he stands today among the honored and representative residents of the city and his life record is of inspirational value, showing what can be accomplished through personal effort intelligently directed.
OSCAR FREDERICK STOTZER.
The word Rotarian has come to stand as a synonym for progress and enterprise in business. The organization has taken definite forward steps in the development of trade and trade relations and in various other fields and the men at the head of the various bodies have usually been men of definite purpose, of large vision and of un- failing energy. Oscar Frederick Stotzer has every reason to be thus classed. He is prominently known as the president of the Rotary Club of Milwaukee and is also the secretary of the Statzer Granite Company of Wisconsin and president of the J. H. Anderson Monument Company of Chicago. Born in Portage, Wisconsin, on the 29th of August, 1884, he is a son of Samuel and Anna (Rohrer) Stotzer, both of whom were natives of Switzerland, whence they came to the United States in childhood, settling in Chicago. Following the Chicago fire they removed to Portage, Wisconsin, where the father established business under the name of the Stotzer Granite Company in 1876, remaining an active factor in the world's work to the time of his demise in 1904, when the two sons, Oscar F. and Rudolph G., took over the business, enlarged it and subsequently removed their headquarters to Milwaukee in 1913.
Oscar F. Stotzer received liberal educational opportunities and is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin of the class of 1907. His business training was received under his father's direction and at the latter's death he hecame one of the partners in the enterprise and has continued active in its management since. As stated, the business was removed to Milwaukee in 1913 and here the company has a large show- room at No. 723 to 727 Grand avenue. They also have factories in Milwaukee, Columbus and Portage, Wisconsin, and confine their attention to the business of mann- facturing monuments. They are the largest exclusive producers of monumental works west of Barre, Vermont, which is the granite center of the world. They have built up a very large business, covering the northwest and their patronage is continually growing. On the 1st of January, 1921, Oscar F. Stotzer became president of the J. H. Anderson Monument Company of Chicago, also the R. Hanson Granite Company of Chicago and in 1912 he became secretary of the Stotzer Granite Company. During the comparatively few years in which he has engaged in business in Milwaukee he has become very widely and favorably known and is regarded as a valuable asset to the commercial circles of the city.
On the 7th of October, 1908, Mr. Stotzer was united in marriage to Miss Marguerite Stevens, a granddaughter of Colonel George Stevens, one of the pioneers of Milwaukee, having at one time a wholesale grocery business on what is now West Water street and Grand avenue. He was a soldier of the Civil war and was killed on the battle field of Gettysburg. Mr. and Mrs. Stotzer have two children: Jean Elizabeth and Stevens Samuel. Throughout the period of his residence in Milwaukee, Mr. Stotzer has manifested the keenest interest in its welfare and progress and was elected president of the Rotary Club on the 10th of May, 1921. He is alert to any idea or opportunity for the introduction of further progressive methods in connection with that organization and already has justified the faith of his supporters in placing him in the position. He is likewise well known as a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the City Club and is prominent in Masonic circles, belonging to Wisconsin Commandery, K. T., and to the Scottish Rite bodies and also to Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine. Early in his career he recognized the fact that a modern phil- osopher has tersely stated that "Opportunity is universal not local. It depends not upon a map hut upon a time-table." He has used his talents wisely and well and with him each day has marked off a full-faithed attempt to know more and to grow more.
ARTHUR NYE McGEOCH.
Among those who are actively contributing to the development and progress of West Allis is Arthur Nye McGeoch, who is condneting a real estate and insurance agency and has won a liberal clientage. His efforts have been a potent force in the development and improvement of the town and as the years have passed he has nego- tiated many important realty transfers. He was born in Milwaukee, April 19, 1869, and is a son of Peter and Catharine Ellen (Harvey) McGeoch. The father was born
OSCAR F. STOTZER
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in London, England, during a temporary sojourn of his parents in that city, they, however, being from Wigtown in Wigtownshire, Scotland. In 1851 William McGeoch, the grandfather, came to the United States with his family and settled in Waterloo, Jefferson county, Wisconsin. Peter McGeoch hecoming a resident of that place, there engaged in shipping grain to Milwaukee and became a well known commission mer- chant of Wisconsin, building up a business of extensive and gratifying proportions in connection with the grain trade. He became a member of the Milwaukee Board of Trade, and also of the Chicago Board of Trade, and was one of the active factors in the business life of this state to the time of his death, which occurred in November. 1895. He had for several years survived his wife, who passed away in 1888.
Arthur McGeoch was educated in the Markham Academy and in Harvard Univer- sity, from which he was graduated on the completion of a classical course in 1891. He later became a law student at Harvard and won his professional degree upon gradua- tion with the class of 1894. He had been admitted to the bar the previous year and for a time was in the office of the law firm of Winkler, Flanders, Smith, Bottum & Vilas. remaining there for about a year. His father's death prevented the continuance of his law work, for it was necessary that he take charge of his father's business and he thus hecame interested in financial affairs as a stock and bond broker, with member- ship in the New York Stock Exchange and also on the Chicago Board of Trade, He continued in the business until 1905, when he removed to West Allis to develop his real estate holdings here, handling only his own property. He located the Allis- Chalmers Company in this district when the business was still being carried on as the E. P. Allis Company in 1901. He has located nearly all of the large plants in West Allis and has heen instrumental in building up the city, which now has a population of about seventeen thousand. He has erected between fifty and sixty houses each year and has owned hetween six and seven hundred acres of land, constituting the site on which the city now stands. In a word, his is the largest real estate concern in this section and he has developed a business of most satisfactory and gratifying propor- tions. In fact, credit must be given Mr. McGeoch for placing West Allis on the map. It was a wooded district when he began the development of the city which is now a thriving municipality of business and manufacturing interests, containing many large and important industrial plants. It was entirely through his efforts that West Allis was chosen as the site for these important business enterprises. He has developed several hundred acres of his own property into attractive residential districts, adorned with new and modern homes, many of which he has financed in the building.
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