USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume II > Part 17
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On the 22d of December, 1897, Mr. McGeoch was married to Miss Caroline Bigelow of Milwaukee, and they have become parents of two children: Frank Gordon and Arthur N.
HON. DELBERT MILLER.
Hon. Delbert Miller, the efficient mayor of West Allis, whose administration of the city's affairs is characterized by a marked progressiveness and a definite public spirit, was born in Big Bend, Wisconsin, February 27, 1885, a son of Robert and Mary (Smith) Miller. The father was a native of the town of Muskego, Wisconsin, while the mother was born in Rome, New York. Removing to Milwaukee county about thirty years ago Robert Miller is now a resident of West Allis, where he is engaged in the hotel business.
Delbert Miller obtained a public school education in West Allis and after his text- books were put aside was engaged in the hotel business with his father for several years. Becoming interested in public affairs and political problems his devotion to the general good was recognized and he was elected to the Wisconsin general assembly in 1916, where he made so creditable a record by his stanch support of plans and measures for the general good that he was reelected in 1918, thus serving for two terms. He introduced for Milwaukee a bill to allow the city to take over the street railway interests, but this bill met with defeat. In 1917 Mr. Miller also served on the committee on public welfare of the general assembly and on the fish and game committee, while in 1919 he was made a member of the committee on finance. His fellow townsmen, appreciating his devotion to the general good, elected him mayor of West Allis in 1920, and he entered upon the duties of the position in the month of April. He has made an excellent official in every particular and in all the offices in which he has served. He is now giving to West Allis a businesslike and progressive administration and is making considerable headway in the improvement of the schools, which constitutes one line upon which he is concentrating is efforts. Mr. Miller is studying every problem that has to do with the welfare, progress, happiness and improvement of his fellow townsmen and has gone so thoroughly into every subject that his opinions are accepted as authority upon any municipal question which he dis- cusses. He has learned that the sum of two hundred thousand dollars will have to be Vol. 11 - 11
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spent to get an adequate supply of water for the city and he is bending his efforts now in that direction as one phase of his mayoralty service.
On the 17th of January, 1911, Mr. Miller was married to Miss Gertrude M. Gardner of Buffalo, New York. His social interests find expression in his membership in the Elks' Club and in the Owls' Club. He has always been a stalwart republican, active in behalf of the party, and although yet a young man he has brought about steady advancement that is widely recognized by the community. All fair-minded citizens attest the worth of his official service and recognize the fact that West Allis will be benefited at any time when Delbert Miller is in public office. His labors have already brought about splendid results and his fellow townsmen believe that much more will be accomplished ere the term of his office is closed.
JOHN T. HOFF.
John T. Hoff, engaged in ice manufacturing, has been a lifelong resident of Milwaukee, where his birth occurred July 26, 1854. His parents, Stephen and Catherine (Liginger) Hoff, were both of Bavarian birth and spent their early childhood along the Rhine in Germany. They came to Milwaukee about 1847. The father engaged in business as a contractor on public works until 1860, devoting his attention to railroad building and to other important contracts. During the Civil war period, however, he engaged in the grocery business, in which he continued for ten years and during that time he also filled the office of city assessor. About 1870 he again took up contract work, which he followed until 1877, when he retired from active business, spending his remaining days in the enjoyment of a well earned rest, his death occurring Novem- ber 5, 1880.
John T. Hoff obtained his early education in St. Mary's school and when but a youth began driving a grocery wagon, continuing in that employ until the early '70s. He also followed contracting in connection with the firm of Casper, Donohue & Hoff and remained in the general contracting business for some time and also during a part of that period engaged in handling natural ice. Steadily he advanced in a business way, owing to his thoroughness and persistency of purpose, and in 1903 he established an ice business on his own account. The contracting firm with which he was asso- ciated did a larger part of the paving on the east side of Milwaukee for many years but at length, feeling that there were still broader opportunities in the way of handling ice, he developed his present enterprise which has grown steadily. In 1921 he erected a plant for the manufacture of ice, equipped with all modern machinery and having a capacity of one hundred and ten tons per day. He has thus remained an active factor in business circles for an extended period. The ice plant now has a capacity of fifty thousand tons per year, and the company handles both natural and artificial ice. The business has reached most gratifying proportions.
In 1879 Mr. Hoff was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Schoenleber, a daughter of Adolph and Margaret Schoenleber, who became residents of Milwaukee at an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Hoff are the parents of eight children: Stephen, Adolph, Otto, John, Anna, Clara, Gertrude and Paul.
Mr. Hoff belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club and also to the Old Settlers Club. He has membership in Sts. Peter and Paul church and in his political belief he is a democrat, having supported that party throughout his entire life save at the last election when he cast his ballot for President Harding. This was characteristic of Mr. Hoff, who has ever remained true to his honest convictions, and neither fear nor favor can swerve him from a cause which he believes to be right.
WILLIAM GEORGE BRUCE.
The life's story of William George Bruce, like that of many Americans, is one of humble beginnings, cast amid discouraging circumstances and severe struggles. The eldest of a family of nine children, he was at the age of seven stricken with illness which confined him to his home for four years. At the age of eleven he at- tended school for one year, and then at the age of twelve, a palefaced boy, limping on crutches, he began the struggle for an existence. He was born March 17, 1856, on East Water street, near the southwest corner of Johnson street, within the shadows of the city hall, then a residence district. now covered by business blocks.
His grandfather, Frederick Bruce, who came on from New York, settled on this spot in 1842, with his wife and four sons, William, Augustus F., Martin F. and John. The grandparents died of the cholera in the late '40s. Their son William died in boyhood. While still a young man, Martin F. Bruce went south and located at Pensacola, Florida. This was before the Civil war. John went to California.
JOHN T. HOFF
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Augustus F., who later became the father of William George Bruce, remained in Milwaukee.
The grandfather had been an ocean sailor and upon his arrival in Milwaukee followed the ship carpenter and caulking trade. His sons, after sailing on the Great Lakes for a few years, became ship carpenters, a trade which they followed until the end of their days. Martin succeeded in building large drydocks at Bagdad and Pensacola, Florida, and at Mobile, Alabama. After his death the Bruce interests were concentrated at Pensacola, where the Bruce Dry Dock Company, owned by the descendants, is known as one of the most important on the Gulf of Mexico. John Bruce followed the ship building trade at San Francisco and Oakland, California, until his death.
When the elder Bruce came to Milwaukee with his family in 1842 his son Augustus was nine years of age. The latter frequently saw Solomon Juneau, the first permanent settler of Milwaukee, and trailed behind the Indians when these hore the remains of the great pioneer to his grave. He also used to tell his family how, while he was a hoy, he had the task of driving a cow which the family kept to pasture over in Kilbourntown, now known as the west side. One day, through boyish playfulness or neglect, he drove the cow into a swamp where she was drowned. The site of this swamp is now covered by the Milwaukee Auditorium, and William George Bruce, who has been a director of that institution since its erection, has humorously hoasted that "the Auditorium is a monument to my grandfather's COW."
In 1855 Augustus F. Bruce was married to Apollonia Becker, a native of Trier, Germany. Out of this marriage sprang four sons and five daughters, William George, Albert P., Augustus I., Martin P., Emma, Ida, Clara, Emily and Apollonia. Emma died at the age of fourteen. Ida became Mrs. Raymond Wolf, Clara hecame Mrs. Alonzo Fowle, Emily became Mrs. George Rinker, and Apollonia (Nina) be- came Mrs. Carl Marshall. Mrs. Rinker died in 1921.
As already stated, William George began the battle for an existence at the age of twelve. After working for a few weeks in a crockery shop and then for a month in a soda water factory, wiring bottle tops, he was apprenticed in a cigar factory. Here he became an adept at rolling cigars. His ambitions toward a more useful career, however, now became aroused. His mother became the inspiration. He attended an evening school and rose early in the morning to read and study and thus prepare for a better position.
At the age of fifteen his health broke once more and he spent two years at Mineral Point, Wisconsin, where he was employed in a cigar factory. The climate, however, and an occasional vacation on a nearby farm revived his health consider- ably. Then he traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, where he worked for seven months in a picture frame factory and attended night school. Upon his return to Milwaukee he entered a cigar factory once more and the Spencerian business night school.
When Editor E. A. Calkins of the Milwaukee Daily News located in the Luding- ton block, where the Pabst building is now located, wanted an office assistant, Robert C. Spencer, the head of the school, recommended young Bruce. "He is a studious boy and the best penman in a class of two hundred and fifty," said the schoolmaster.
This opened a new career for young Bruce. While he served as an accountant he soon became interested in reportorial and editorial work. After working here for six years he was employed in a similar capacity on the Milwaukee Sentinel. Here he remained for eleven years. During this time he became proficient as a writer, and while he served well in the business office, it became evident that his field was more along literary lines. The last six years of his connection with the Sentinel he directed the advertising service and acted as assistant business manager. Horace Rublee, the editor, frequently commented on Bruce's ability to think correctly and write well.
In 1891 he established the first publication in the United States devoted ex- clusively to school administration under the title of the American School Board Journal. This venture proved a highly successful one. At the end of twenty years he turned the enterprise over to his sons William C. and Frank Bruce, who enlarged the publication plant by the addition of the Industrial Arts Magazine, Hospital Progress, and a series of educational textbooks.
For several years Mr. Bruce turned his attention to civic work, serving for three years as city tax commissioner and later as the manager of the Association of Commerce. In 1920 he returned to his publishing business, which had been organ- ized into the Bruce Publishing Company with himself as its president.
His civic and political activities were manifold. While still a young man he was made the president of the Jackson Club and later was elected the head of the Jefferson Club, a time honored democratic organization. After two terms on the board of education and as tax commissioner, he hecame candidate for the mayor- alty but was defeated by a narrow margin. For ten years, beginning with 1896, he served as chairman of the democratic city and county committee, conducting a
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number of political campaigns. The organization, which had been run down and considerably weakened, was during his administration brought upon a new basis of prestige and influence.
When the project to provide the city with a large Auditorium was conceived, he laid out the plan of campaign and hecame a directive force in the same. He has been a director of the institution ever since its erection and for two years served as its president. He is now the vice president of the Auditorium governing board.
During the Chicago World's Fair he was the chairman of the educational exhibit committee for the Milwaukee school system and during the St. Lonis World's Fair he headed the Wisconsin State Educational Committee which had in charge both the university, high school and common school exhibits.
His leading public effort in recent years has been centered upon the champion- ship of a deep waterway to the sea. When the project of connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean was considered several years ago, he was one of the organizers of the St. Lawrence Tidewater Association and became one of its active directors. In 1919, when the state of Wisconsin was asked to participate in the movement, the legislature sent for Mr. Bruce and requested him to provide complete information as to the feasibility and desirability of the project, and the manner of
the state's identification with the same. When, in response to legislative action, the Wisconsin Deep Waterway Commission was created, Governor Philipp appointed William George Bruce as one of the three members of that body.
In July, 1921, when the International Joint Commission of the United States and Canada called a hearing at Milwaukee in order to ascertain Wisconsin's concern in the great deep waterway project, the duty of presenting the arguments fell upon Mr. Bruce. He presented a comprehensive brief on the subject and demonstrated the extent to which the agricultural, manufacturing and mining interests of the state were concerned in a direct outlet to the sea and to the ports of the world. Since 1910 Mr. Bruce has fought the illegal diversion of lake waters into the Chicago Drainage Canal, thereby lowering the levels of the lake waters and causing injury to the commerce of the Great Lakes. In 1912 he headed a delegation of lake city representatives which appeared before Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson. Again in 1916, when the entire Great Lakes region protested against the excess waters being legalized and representatives from forty-two cities and six states appeared before Secretary of War Baker, he was chosen chief spokesman. In each instance he received a decision favorable to the protection of the lake interests. In April, 1922, he was again chosen as the spokesman when a delegation of congressmen and city officials appeared before Secretary Weeks of the War Department in protest against the illegal diversion of lake waters. For some years Mr. Bruce has also served as a director of the National Rivers and Harbors Congress.
When the Harbor Commission was created he was chosen a member and made its chairman against his own protest. When several years later through legislative act it was transformed into a hoard with power to direct the construction of harbor work and administer port affairs, he was made its president, in which capacity he still serves. During his administration a comprehensive harbor scheme was devised which is designated by the United States government engineers to be the most progressive on the Great Lakes. The plan, when completed, will serve the water- borne commerce of Milwaukee for the next one hundred years. This task Mr. Bruce regards as his best contribution to the material progress and stability of his native city.
He has aside from his capacity as publisher and his civic labors been interested in other commercial and industrial enterprises, served as director in several of them and is at present a director of the American Exchange Bank.
His literary productions have been mainly in the field of political economy, including such subjects as taxation, social insurance, community promotion, national monetary system, foreign trade, etc., etc. He also constantly writes on school administrative topics. In 1920 he prepared a comprehensive work on "Commercial Organizations, Their Function, Operation and Service," now recognized as the first authoritative work on the subject. His latest contribution is the "History of Mil- waukee, City and Connty." Besides, he is bringing to completion this year a large volume entitled "The American School Taxation Problem."
As a public speaker Mr. Bruce has occupied a unique position in both the metropolis and the state. He has probably dealt with a larger variety of subjects than is usually assumed by men. His addresses are usually replete with instructive facts and statements and sound in conclusions. He speaks rapidly, in a spirited manner, and holds his audience to the end with the keenest attention and interest. His audiences have consisted of commercial and civic bodies throughout the state as well as of student bodies in colleges and schools.
On May 4, 1881, William George Bruce was married to Miss Monica Moehring, daughter of Conrad and Renatta Romana ( Buehler) Moehring. This marriage was blessed with three children. William Conrad, Frank Milton and Monica Marie. The
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two sons are associated with their father in the Bruce Publishing Company, the one serving as editor-in-chief, and the other as general business manager.
William George Bruce is known to the people of Wisconsin as an exponent of true advancement and as one who has worked unselfishly and incessantly in that direction. He is recognized as a highminded and constructive citizen who has not only been successful in his private undertakings but has also earnestly sought the progress of the metropolis and the state along economic, civic and social lines.
HON. GEORGE A. BOWMAN.
Hon. George A. Bowman, attorney at law, was born in Shelbyville, Illinois, May 29, 1890, and is a son of Dr. Jesse A. and Anna (Reiss) Bowman, both of whom are natives of Illinois, The maternal grandfather, Charles Reiss, was born near Leipsic, Germany, and with his wife came to America immediately after their marriage, settling in Shelbyville, Illinois, where he worked at the carpenter's trade. He was killed while trying to stop a runaway team when about seventy years of age. The grandfather in the paternal line was of Scotch-Irish descent and removed to Illinois from Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Jesse A. Bowman is a dentist who is conducting his office under the name of the People's Dentists in Milwaukee, where he has a liberal patronage.
George A. Bowman pursued his education in the public schools of Shelbyville, Illinois, completing the high school course, after which he attended Sparks Business College and then entered the Marquette Law School of Mitwaukee, from which he was
graduated in 1912. He had become a resident of this city in 1908 and has here remained. Following his admission to the bar in August, 1912, he entered at once upon active practice. He was one of only three out of a class of twenty-five students of the Marquette Law School that succeeded in passing the required examination whereby he secured a license to practice law. Mr. Bowman became associated with William L. Tibbs, special assistant district attorney, a partnership that was continued for two years, since which time he has practiced alone and is now located in the Patton building at Fifth and Grand avenne. As the years have passed his practice has steadily grown in volume and importance.
Into another field of activity Mr. Bowman has also directed his labors, for in 1918 he was elected a member of the general assembly and served for one term. While in the legislature he introduced a number of bills, some of which became laws. He introduced a resolution for a constitutional amendment providing for a majority vote of a jury and not requiring a unanimous vote-a provision that would prevent che man from holding up a jury. He also introduced a number of bills by request and did an important work against increasing the taxes. He stanchly supported all reso- lutions, bills and measures that he believed were beneficial to the commonwealth and to the country. He now devotes his entire time to law practice and to service as assistant manager of dental enterprises.
On the 30th of June, 1915. Mr. Bowman was married to Miss Edna Hunter of Shelby county, Illinois, and they have three children: William, George and Lavone. Mr. Bowman belongs to the Young Men's Christian Association and to the County Bar Association. The sterling worth of his character is widely recognized and wherever he is known his friends speak of him in terms of high regard.
JOHN W. KIECKHEFER.
John W. Kieckheter, president of the Kieckhefer Box Company, was born in Mil- waukee, December 3, 1886, and is a son of William H. and Louise (Schroeder) Kieck- hefer, who were also natives of this city. The grandparents came from Germany and settled in Milwaukee at a very early day, when the city was but a village on the western frontier. In fact, the maternal grandmother was born in Milwaukee. The grandfather in the maternal line was John Schroeder who established a business that is still carried on under the name of the Schroeder Lumber Company. The paternal grandfather, Charles Kieckhefer, was a retail merchant and came to Milwaukee about 1848. William H. Kieckhefer and his brother, Ferdinand, organized the Kieckhefer Brothers Company, manufacturers of tin and enameled ware and the business which they established is now one of the plants of the National Enameling Company, which has grown to be a very large concern. Thus William H. Kieckhefer was actively and prominently identified with the business development of the city for many years. He passed away in 1913, while his wife survived untit 1916. They were the parents of eight children, seven of whom are living: Robert J., who is president of the American Lace Paper Company of Milwaukee; Mrs. E. G. Wurster, whose husband is an attorney
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of this city; John W., of this review; Mrs. G. R. Seeger of St. Paul, Minnesota; William, Herbert and Walter, who are connected with their brother, John, in business.
In the German parochial schools of Milwaukee, John W. Kieckhefer began his edu- cation, which he later continued in the city high schools. In 1904 he joined his brother, Robert J., who was then with the Enterprise Box Company, and in 1906 the name was changed to the Kieckhefer Box Company. In the following year John W. Kieckhefer became the secretary of the company and in 1915 was elected to the presidency. The business has developed to one of substantial proportions and has been thoroughly organized and every department thoroughly systematized under the capable direction of the president and his official associates. He is also the president of the Kaukauna Pulp Company of Kaukauna, Wisconsin, which was organized in 1916 and of which he has since been the chief executive officer. In 1917 he organized the Kieckhefer Paper Company of Camden, New Jersey, of which he has since been the president, and in 1919 organized the Kieckhefer Box Company of Utah, which has a plant located at Ogden, and of this corporation he has likewise been the president from the begin- ning. The plant in Milwaukee covers twelve acres of land and manufactures wooden boxes, fibre and corrugated shipping containers. The company's products are sold all over the country and something of the volume of its business is indicated in the fact that it now has four hundred and eighty employes in the Milwaukee plant alone. During the World war Mr. Kieckhefer manufactured war materials for the govern- ment. The concern made paper cans for filling charges of large guns, and at Waukesha manufactured wooden boxes for ammunition. The Waukesha Company has since been dissolved. Throughout the war period Mr. Kieckhefer was chairman of the box manu- facturing group.
On the 20th of January, 1917, Mr. Kieckhefer was married to Miss Dorothy Hazel- wood of Milwaukee, and they have become parents of two children: Robert H. and Ida Louise. In his political views Mr. Kieckhefer is a republican, giving stalwart sup- port to the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He is a member of the Wisconsin Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the Milwaukee Association of Commerce, of which he is serving as one of the directors. In all things he manifests a public-spirited devotion to the general good, cooperating heartily in any plan or measure for the city's benefit and upbuilding or for the support of those interests which are a matter of civic virtne and of civic pride. In his business career he has made steady advancement and each forward step has brought him a broader outlook and wider opportunities, which he has eagerly utilized. Moreover, his activities have ever been of a character that have contributed to public progress as well as to individual prosperity, for the various corporations of which he is the head are important factors in the manufacturing and industrial development of the cities in which they are located.
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