USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume II > Part 27
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In his first paper, read nineteen years ago, he displayed rare vision when he prophesied that cupola metal with a tensile strength of forty-five thousand to fifty- five thousand pounds was possible, which could resist three thousand pounds hydraulic working pressure; and fittingly christened this metal semi-steel, which has proven to be the ideal cupola metal.
It was his process, or the result of Mclain's System, which taught the French government to make shells that were as easily produced as steel but which permitted greater fragmentation. Owing to the greater fragmentation, the semi-steel shell re- placed forged steel shells for land warfare.
Even our government recognized his ability, for on account of his knowledge of making semi-steel for high explosive shells, the ordnance department appointed him foundry expert to oversee the melting in foundries producing shells of semi-steel. He is a member of the American Foundrymen's Association and the Iron and Steel Institute of London, England.
Mr. McLain has been married twice. On the 10th of September, 1881, in Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania, he wedded Miss Annie O'Connell, of that city, who passed away in 1909, leaving a family of three children. Harry Chalmers McLain, assistant foreman for the Aetna Steel Castings Company of Lorain, Ohio, is following in the business footsteps of his father. He served overseas for nineteen months with the Eighty-first Ohio Infantry and went over the top eleven times without suffering a wound. Lucy and Margaret make their home in Cleveland, Ohio. For his second wife Mr. MeLain chose Miss Martha Henderson. of Milwaukee, whom he wedded in this city in 1910. In their delightful home at No. 4632 Blue Mound road they extend a cordial hospitality which is greatly enjoyed by their many friends. Mr. McLain holds membership in the Association of Commerce aud the Milwaukee Athletic Club, while fraternally he is identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias.
JAMES CURRIE.
For a period of forty-six years James Currie has figured in the business circles of Milwaukee as a florist and landscape gardener and is today at the head of a mammoth business that has been built up under the name of the Currie Brothers Company, of which he is the president. A native of Scotland, he was born in Fenwick, in Ayrshire, June 10, 1853, and is a son of James and Anna (Boyd) Currie, who were also natives of that place and have now passed away. The father was born July 3, 1827, and died October 29, 1905. He represented the family found in Ayrshire from the days of Wal- lace and Bruce in the thirteenth century and many representatives of the name still reside in Ayrshire, the Milwaukee family being the first to emigrate from the ancestral home. Mrs. Currie was a descendant of Lord Boyd, whose estate was confiscated because of his adherence to the cause of the Pretender, Prince Charles. "Lord Boyd, or Earl of Kilmarnock, was born in 1704, was taken prisoner at Culloden, tried for treason, and executed at the Tower of London, his being one of the last three execu- tions for political offences in the Tower; the other two were the Lords of Balmerino and Lovat, all convicted after the rebellion of 1745. The death of William Boyd, Earl of Kilmarnock, ended the title and the estates in the family. The old castle, called 'Dean Castle,' near Kilmarnock, in Ayrshire, is still standing and many relics of the earlier and more distinguished period have descended to Mrs. Currie." It was in the year 1886 that Mr. and Mrs. James Currie, Sr., came- to Milwaukee, following the arrival of their sons in this city. The former devoted his life to landscape gardening and floral culture and it was he who laid out the famous gardens of Sir Peter Coates on the banks of the Doon. He was greatly interested in beautifying Milwaukee, especially through the development of public parks. He belonged to St. Andrews' Society and to the Milwaukee Curling Club.
James Currie, whose name introduces this review, acquired his education in the public schools of Girvan and of Minnishant, in Ayrshire, and also attended the Ayr Academy, one of the oldest and most celebrated places of learning in Scotland. His home was within two miles of the quaint and historic birthplace of Robert Burns. It was in November, 1872, that James Currie crossed the Atlantic to the United States, being then a youth of nineteen years. He made his way to the home of relatives at Waltham, La Salle county, Illinois, where he remained for a short time and then came
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to Milwaukee in January, 1873. Here he was joined by his brother, William, in March, 1875, and the firm of Currie Brothers was organized in the same year. In 1878 they were joined by their brother, Adam, and in 1886 the father and other members of the family came to the new world. Through a period of forty-six years the business has been continuously carried on and was incorporated on the 12th of September, 1903, under the name of the Currie Brothers Company, with James Currie as president, and as seedsmen and florists they have built up a large reputation. Their business has been most prosperous and has extended to all parts of the country, particularly to the west. On the 1st of July, 1880, James Currie was appointed superintendent of Forest Home Cemetery and still occupies that position. On the 1st of June, 1911, he was appointed a member of the board of park commissioners in Milwaukee and has been president of the board for the past two years. In 1911 he was made a member of the county park commission of Milwaukee county and was elected president of that board in 1921. His labors have been most effective in promoting the beauty of the city through its park system, as well as through following his private business.
On the 3d of July, 1878, Mr. Currie was united in marriage in Milwaukee to Miss Jeannie A. Harper of this city, a daughter of William and Mary (Baxter) Harper, both deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Currie have become parents of four children: William Boyd, who married Beatrice Washburn and has three children, James W., Esther and Richard; Florence Baxter, at home; Alice Mary, the wife of Harold W. Drew and the mother of three children, Prentice James, Joan and Alan; and Jean Young, at home.
Mr. Currie has never sought to figure prominently in connection with politics but has always given stalwart support to the republican party at the polls. He belongs to the Calvary Presbyterian church, and on the 12th of November, 1894, was elected and became a member of Kilbourn Masonic Lodge of Milwaukee, of which he served as master in 1901. He was also elected a member of the St. Andrews' Society of Milwaukee, April 9, 1874, and through several years served in various offices of the society, being its president in 1891 and 1892. He likewise has membership in the City Club. His activities have always been on the side of progress, reform and improvement and his labors have at all times been far-reaching and resultant.
HON. EMANUEL LORENZ PHILIPP.
Upon the political and business history of Wisconsin the name of Hon. Emanuel Lorenz Philipp is indelibly stamped. Three times he has served as governor of the state, following incumbency in various minor positions, and for many years he has aided largely in molding public thought and opinion. His business record is equally notable, for, reared as a farm boy, early taking up school teaching, and later becoming a telegraph operator and train dispatcher, he has advanced step by step until he has become the president of the Union Refrigerator Transit Company, one of the leading enterprises of the kind in the country. Since his retirement from office he has become the head of the Mi Lola Cigar Company and at the same time supervises important farming interests, thus reverting to the occupation of his boyhood. There is perhaps no citizen of Wisconsin whose life indicates more clearly the possibilities for the at- tainment of honor and success than does that of Governor Philipp.
Wisconsin is proud to number him among her native sons. He was born in the town of Honey Creek, Sauk county, March 25, 1861, his parents being Luzi and Sabina (Ludwig) Philipp, who were natives of Zitzers, in the canton of Grisons, Switzerland, situated near the northern border of Italy. They were married in their native country and in 1849 came to the United States, landing at New York. They did not tarry on the eastern coast, however, but made their way at once across the country to Milwaukee, then a small village, whence they drove with ox team to Sauk City and became residents of Sauk county. In his youth the father had had varied experiences in northern Italy and in the land of the Alps, at one time serving as a member of the Pope's guard, under Pope Gregory, at Bologna and Naples. Following his arrival in the new world he took up the occupation of farming and when the country became involved in the Civil war he enlisted in 1862 in Company K, Twenty-sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and went to the front. In the battle of Chancellorsville he was wounded but soon rejoined his command and served until the close of hostilities. He was also keenly interested in the vital questions and political problems of the day, was a strong abolitionist prior to the Civil war and stanch supporter of Lincoln. He never sought nor desired political office, however, hut concentrated his attention upon farming in Sauk county until his death in 1892. His wife passed away in 1898.
Emanuel L. Philipp was the youngest of their family of three sons and a daughter. He was reared on a farm of eighty acres west of Sauk City, which his father purchased soon after the Civil war and which was originally covered with timber. Mr. Philipp performed his full share in the work of clearing and developing the land. His school training was received in the near-by district schools but throughout his
HON. EMANUEL L. PHILIPP
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life he has been an earnest student in the school of experience, in which he has learned many valuable lessons. From early yonth he was actuated by a laudable ambition that has ever prompted him to make the best possible nse of time, talents and oppor- tunities. When but eighteen years of age he became a district school teacher and his earnings enabled him later to pursue a course of study in the Bross School of Telegraphy, which constituted the initial step toward the high position which he won in railway circles. Within three years after completing his telegraphic course he was made a train dispatcher at Baraboo and afterward was transferred to Milwaukee, where he occupied the position of local contracting freight agent under John S. George. A little later he took charge of the Gould freight interests and for two years he occupied the position of freight traffic manager in connection with the Schlitz brewery. Lum- ber interests subsequently claimed his attention, for he built and managed a sawmill for the Uihleins and Captain Pabst, who were the owners of a large tract of timber in the Mississippi delta. While in the south he also founded the town in Tallahatchie county, Mississippi, which today bears the name of Philipp. The year 1897 brought him election to the office of president of the Union Refrigerator Transit Company, a St. Louis corporation, and in 1903 he became sole owner thereof, purchasing the property and organizing the Union Refrigerator Transit Company of Wisconsin. As president and manager of this corporation he has built up a business which stands as a monument to ability, thrift, industry, honesty and close application. Various other interests have also claimed his attention and profited by his cooperation, benefiting by the stimulus of his unfaltering activity and well defined plans. He owns a large stock farm near Hartford, Washington county, Wisconsin, and also has farm property in North Dakota. His place near Hartford is one of the model dairy farms of the county. He ships only cream from his dairy, the skimmed milk being fed to the hogs, and he makes a specialty of high-grade Berkshire and Poland China hogs. In 1919, while still filling the office of governor, he purchased from the August Kurz estate the cigar factory that mannfactures the celebrated Mi Lola cigars, and since his retirement from the position of chief executive he bas concentrated much of his attention upon the management and further development of this business.
The political activity of. E. L. Philipp has perhaps made him even more widely known than his business connections. He has always been a stanch supporter of the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and has long been a recognized party leader in the state. For four years he served as police and fire commissioner of Milwaukee and was reappointed to the office in July, 1913, by Mayor Bading, his first appointment coming from Mayor Rose in 1909. Upon the occasion of President Taft's visit to Milwaukee in 1912 he was entertained by Mr. Philipp as the recognized republican leader of the city. He had been a delegate to the national con- vention of his party which nominated Theodore Roosevelt for president and also again when William Howard Taft received the nomination in 1908. In 1914 Mr. Philipp for the first time became a nominee before the republican convention, for the other offices which he had filled were appointive. In that year he was named as candidate for gov- ernor and received the endorsement of the public at the polls, being elected by a good majority. That his administration was highly satisfactory to the public was indi- cated in his reelection in 1916 and again in 1918, so that for three terms he remained governor of the commonwealth, retiring from the office on the 3d of January, 1921, honored and respected by all and more particularly by those who most truly nnder- stood the work of the administration. A contemporary biographer has said of him in this connection: "Three times elected governor of his state, serving during the critical World war period, when executive ability combined with foresight and a determina- tion that justice should be done toward all, Governor Philipp's record of accomplishment stands out in bold relief. Wisconsin's record under his leadership is one that will go down in history as standing at the top of the list of all her sister states. Attention to details, which makes for the bigger and greater things, combined with honesty and truthfulness, has spelled success for him in all his undertakings. A power today in the business as well as political world, what greater inspiration can be given to a young man than to emulate the example set by this most remarkable character?"
On the 27th of October, 1887, Governor Philipp was married to Miss Bertha Schweke of Reedsburg, Wisconsin, a daughter of Diedrich and Bertha Schweke, who were natives of Germany and came to the new world in early life. Mr. Schweke was one of the California Argonauts of 1849 and for many years he conducted a mercantile establish- ment at Reedshurg. Governor and Mrs, Philipp have become parents of two daugh- ters and a son: Florence I., Josephine and Cyrus L. No comment need be made con- cerning the social standing of the family, for true worth has placed them in a position of prominence. Mr. Philipp is well known in fraternal and club circles, having mem- bership in Milwaukee Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Ivanhoe Commandery, K. T .; and Wiscon- sin Consistory, A. A. S. R. He also belongs to the Milwaukee Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Milwaukee Country Club and the Merchants and Manufacturers Association. His kindly nature found tangible expression in his service as president of the Wisconsin Humane Society. Governor Philipp is also known to the public
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through his writings, having in 1904 written and published, The Truth Abont Wiscon- sin Freight Rates, and in 1908, Political Reform in Wisconsin. His interest in edu- cational affairs is manifest through his regency of the Marquette University. Never seeking honor bnt simply attempting the faithful performance of his duties day by day, honors have been multiplied unto him and there is today no more distingnished citizen in Milwaukee than Emannel Lorenz Philipp, thrice elected governor of the commonwealth.
ALFRED J. KIECKHEFER.
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Success is constantly calling and opportunity points ont the way to the man whose eyes are open and whose senses are alert to the chances which the business world is constantly offering to the determined, the ambitions and the progressive. Possessing these qualities, Alfred J. Kieckhefer has steadily progressed in his business career until he is now assistant director general of the National Enameling Stamping Com- pany of Milwaukee. He was born in this city July 20, 1885, and has here passed his life. His parents were Ferdinand A. W. and Wilhelmine (Knetemeyer) Kieckhefer, who were also born in this city.
Their son, Alfred J., at the usual age became a public school pupil and, having mastered the branches of learning that constitute the public school curriculum, he entered the University of Wisconsin at Madison and spent two and a half years as a student in the mechanical engineering department. In 1908 he entered the office of the National Enameling & Stamping Company in a minor position and since that time has steadily worked his way upward, making it his purpose thoroughly to master every task assigned him and thus develop his powers and business capacity. In 1911 he was advanced to the position of assistant branch manager, having charge of the mann- facturing departments and subsequently he was appointed assistant director general of the manufacturing department, serving in this position of responsibility since 1918 to the entire satisfaction of the corporation which he represents. He now has charge of all the manufacturing in all the branches of the company. His father was one of the founders and organizers of this business, which has grown and developed into the largest enterprise of the kind in the United States, and throughout the period the name of Kieckhefer has been associated therewith and the labors of father and son have constituted important elements in the constant progress of the enterprise. In 1914 Alfred J. Kieckhefer was elected a director of the company, in which he also holds stock. He is likewise a director of the Morris F. Fox Company, a securities com- pany of Milwaukee, and is a director of the St. Louis Coke & Chemical Company of St. Louis, Missouri.
On the 9th of October, 1909, Mr. Kieckhefer was married to Miss Allison More of Sionx City. Iowa, and they have become parents of two children, Alfred John and James Ferdinand. Mr. Kieckhefer belongs to the Milwaukee Club, also to the Mil- waukee Athletic Club, Milwaukee Country Club, Wisconsin Club, Milwaukee Yacht Club and the Milwaukee Association of Commerce, and his cooperation can at all times be counted npon to further any plan or measure for the general good. He was active in all of the war drives in the city and his public-spirited citizenship has been again and again manifest in practical and tangible effort for the welfare of municipality, commonwealth and country.
WILLIAM JOHN KERSHAW.
William John Kershaw, attorney at law, who has continuously engaged in practice in Milwaukee since 1886, in which year he was admitted to the bar, was born at Big- spring, Adams county, Wisconsin, January 12, 1865, his parents being William John and Sheqnanaqnotok ( Wapamin) Kershaw, the mother an Indian woman of the Menom- inee tribe, her first name signifying "Floating Cloud" and her surname meaning "Corn." To this marriage there were born three children: Katharine, who is secretary to Judge Eschwiler of Madison; Sybil A .; and William J. The father, a lawyer by profession, came to Wisconsin from Troy, New York, about 1848. He represented the Menominee tribe in some of its treaty rights at Washington, D. C., prior to the Civil war and in this way met his wife. He practiced in Adams county, Wisconsin, and there filled the office of district attorney. He enlisted for service in the Civil war when hostilities were inangurated between the north and the south and went ont as captain of Company K, Eighteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, while later he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the Thirty-seventh Wisconsin Regiment. He served altogether for four years and was twice wounded, sustaining severe injuries at the battle of Petersburg, after which he was taken to the hospital, the war being ended
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ALFRED J. KIECKHEFER
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before he had sufficiently recovered to rejoin his command. He died at Kilbourn, Wis- consin, in 1883, while his wife passed away in 1865.
William John Kershaw was educated in the public schools and at an early age took up the study of law, thus following in his father's footsteps. He was admitted to the bar in 1886 and entered upon active practice in Milwaukee in 1892, after having been employed for a time in the office of Colonel A. G. Weissert. Through the inter- vening period of twenty-nine years he has practiced independently and has now a large clientage, while his devotion thereto has become proverbial. He displays great thoroughness and care in preparing his cases and marked ability in presenting his cause before the court. He belongs to the Milwaukee Bar Association, the Wisconsin State Bar Association and the American Bar Association.
In March, 1894, Mr. Kershaw was married to Miss Henrietta Schiller of Milwaukee, and they have an attractive home at 4634 Woodlawn court, its hospitality being greatly enjoyed by their many friends. Mr. Kershaw belongs to the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, also to the Eagles, the Elks, the Hibernians, and the Society of American Indians. Mr. Kershaw has for years made a close study of Indian law, acts of congress, and decisions of the supreme court pertaining to Indians, and is one of a number of men of Indian blood who has been instrumental in securing improved administration of the laws. He was appeal agent of the local draft board during the war, also one of the Four-Minute speakers and gave most of his time to war work, doing everything in his power to uphold Federal interests and to give the utmost support to the soldiers in camp and overseas.
HARRY R. McLOGAN.
Harry R. McLogan, attorney and court commissioner with offices at 105 Wells street, Milwaukee, was born in Chicago, Illinois, January 6, 1881, his parents being Patrick Henry and Elizabeth (McNally) McLogan, the former a native of Detroit, Michigan, while the latter was born in Dublin, Ireland, coming to this country in the '60s, at which time she became a resident of Chicago and there formed the acquaintance of Mr. McLogan, who sought her hand in marriage. The father was president of Typo- graphical Union, No. 16, and was buried in the lot of that organization in Calvary cemetery in Chicago. He was also at one time president of the Chicago Trades Assembly and president of the American Federation of Labor in 1883. In fact he was one. of the pioneers of the organized labor movement in this country. He testified before the United States senate on education in 1883, and at that time he had been a member of the Typographical Union for twenty-six years, or from 1857, and had been active in a great number of strikes. In his testimony he advocated an employers' liability act and also that children should be kept in school until eighteen years of age, the former having been enacted into law, while in many of the states compulsory education exists. In his presentation of his plea before the education committee he very clearly pre- sented the distinction between capital and labor. He always worked for the betterment . of labor throughout his life and did much effective work to improve conditions of the employe. In fact there were few who possessed a more intimate knowledge of labor questions and labor conditions in the entire country. Moreover, he strongly advocated compulsory education in order that children might become worthy citizens when age confers upon them the right and responsibility of franchise and of citizenship. He was himself a well educated man, speaking several languages, and he kept thoroughly informed concerning many of the vital problems and questions of the age. Both he and his wife were members of the Knights of Labor. He passed away in 1894 and working men thereby lost a most stanch and able champion.
Harry R. MeLogan was educated in the parochial and public schools of Chicago to the age of ten years, when he began work in a tin shop connected with the stock- yards of that city. He was afterward employed at different jobs until 1897, when he entered the service of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company, first as yard clerk, afterward as switchman and as yardmaster. He continued in the railroad employ until 1910. During this time he took up the study of law, to which he devoted his evening hours and became a student in Marquette University at Milwaukee, from which he was graduated with the LL. B. degree in 1910. He was then admitted to the bar in the same year, practicing in all the courts, including the United States supreme conrt. He it was who tested the constitutionality of the Wisconsin eugenic law, won in the lower courts, but defeated in the supreme court by a divided opinion of four to three. It was Mr. . McLogan who defended Congressman Cary in his contest for a seat in the house of representatives in 1914, and this is the first time that a congress- man has been seated unanimously. Mr. McLogan brought action against Victor L. Berger in the house of representatives, acting as attorney for Joseph P. Carney in 1918. This action was instituted under the theory that he was not eligible under section three of the fourteenth amendment of the United States constitution on the ground
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