USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume II > Part 33
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86
Rohert Wittig was educated in St. Mary's School, pursuing his studies to the age of fourteen years, or until 1890, when he went into the office of R. G. Dun & Company at Milwaukee as messenger hoy. Since that time he has worked his way up through the various positions, winning promotion after promotion as the result of his industry and developing power until in 1908 he was made general manager. He has now been with the company for thirty years and his is a notable record, inasmuch as he has never been associated with any other company during the entire period of his business career. Under his management the business of the corporation has grown to be enor- mous and as the result of his activities a number of offices have been opened in his district, including those at Green Bay, Madison, Oshkosh, Racine and Sheboygan, Wis- consin, and Menominee, Michigan. The headquarters of the parent concern vouch for the statement that the Milwaukee office is one of the most efficient of any which represents them in the territory throughout the United States. There is no detail of the business with which Mr. Wittig is not familiar and its important principles and purposes are largely the outgrowth of his well defined plans and unfaltering enterprise.
On the 17th of October, 1900, Mr. Wittig was married to Miss Lillian Hilgenherg of Milwaukee, and they have become the parents of six children: Urban R. and Roland A., who are now attending Campion College; Robert E .; Laurence M. L .; John A .; and Dorothy Ann.
During the war Mr. Wittig was a captain in the first Red Cross drive, being chairman of Group 26. He received a certificate of honorable mention for his patriotic activities in all the drives and was placed on the quota committee after heing group chairman. He devoted much of his time to patriotic service throughout the war period. He is president of the Knights of Columbus Institute, is a member of the Rotary Club, of which he is the vice president, is a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Wisconsin Club, the Milwaukee Association of Commerce and the Credit Men's Association. He is thus identified with organizations of a purely social nature, show- ing his appreciation of the social amenities of life, and at the same time he has membership in some of the strong organizations that have to do with the city's welfare and the advancement of business interests in general. His insight is keen, his judg- ment sound and his enterprise has been an important element in promoting the pur- poses of these societies.
OTTO T. SALICK.
Otto T. Salick, engaged in the real estate and insurance business and widely known as the president of the North Avenue Advancement Association, was born in Water- town, Wisconsin, April 10, 1877, a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Hepp) Salick, both of whom were natives of Germany, whence they came to the United States in youth. They cast in their lot with the pioneer settlers of Milwaukee, where the father first engaged in business as a watchmaker and jeweler. He afterward removed to Water- town, Wisconsin, and there conducted a jewelry business to the time of his death. Both he and his wife have passed away.
316
HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
Otto T. Salick was educated in the public and parochial schools of Watertown and also attended Marquette University of Milwaukee. When his school days were over he started out in the business world and was employed in various capacities. Later he engaged in the real estate business and has built up an extensive trade in this connection at No. 3610 North avenue. His residence in Milwaukee dates from 1895 and through the intervening period he has steadily forged to the front in husi- ness circles in this city. He has negotiated many important realty transfers and through his activity has contributed in considerable measure to the improvement and progress of the northern section. He also has a well organized insurance department and was one of the founders of the North Avenue Advancement Association, which was formed in March, 1919, and has steadily grown, having on its list of members the leading business and professional men of this section of the city. Mr. Salick has taken a most deep and helpful interest in the movement and the purposes under- lying the society and recently contributed to the North Avenue Star a most inter- esting article setting forth the history of North avenue and the development of this section of the city.
In 1902 Mr. Salick was married to Miss Mary Reiter of Milwaukee, and they have become the parents of eight children: Olive, fifteen years of age; Florence, aged thirteen; Frances, eleven; Dorothy, nine; John, seven; Genevieve, four; Ralph; three; and Robert, two.
Through the field of political activity Mr. Salick has also done much for Mil- waukee's benefit and progress. In 1903 he was appointed assessor of the twenty-second ward, holding the office until 1912, or for a period of nine years. During this time he was also a member of the board of review. Any project or plan put forward for the benefit and upbuilding of the city receives his endorsement and loyal and active support.
JAMES CHARLES PINNEY.
The upbuilding of a great educational institution like Marquette University has resulted from the combined efforts of men who are an acknowledged authority in their chosen field of instruction. It has always been the purpose of the university to secure the highest possible service in the educational field and among those who have con- tributed to the well deserved reputation of the school is James Charles Pinney, dean of the College of Engineering.
He is a native son of Wisconsin, having been born in Sturgeon Bay, October 17, 1882. His father, James C. Pinney, who passed away on the 17th of March, 1915, was born in Ohio, near Cleveland, and was a son of Silas Pinney, who was also a native of the Buckeye state and a shoemaker by trade. James C. Pinney, Sr., removed from Ohio to Wisconsin immediately after the Civil war, in which he had served for three years as a member of the Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was a surveyor by profession and filled the office of county surveyor of Door county, Wisconsin, for a period of. twenty years. His dominant qualities made him a natural leader of men and at all times he kept well informed on the vital questions and issues of the day. He was deeply interested in politics but never sought nor desired the honors and emolu- ments of office save for his service as county surveyor. He was a home man, loving his family and his own fireside, and he always preferred to spend his time in the com- panionship of his wife and children. He married Abigail Hannan, who was born in Ontario, Canada. Her parents removed to Wisconsin just prior to the Civil war, settling on a farm near De Pere. The death of Mrs. Pinney occurred March 25, 1909.
James C. Pinney, Jr., had attended the public schools of Sturgeon Bay for but a year when his parents removed to Fargo, North Dakota, and there he continued as a public school pupil until graduated from the Fargo high school with the class of 1901. He next became a student in the Fargo College and won his Bachelor of Arts degree upon graduation with the class of 1905. For three years afterward, or until the fall of 1908, he filled the position of assistant engineer with the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad and with the Great Northern, acting in that capacity with the latter road until January, 1908, after which he was in the city engineer's office at Fargo until the following October. He next entered the University of Wisconsin as a student in the engineering department and was graduated in 1910 with the C. E. degree. He afterward spent a few months in county survey work in Door county and for two years he was in charge of structural engineering at the Marquette University. From the 12th of May; 1912, until October, 1917, he was superintendent of bridges and public buildings for Milwaukee and since the latter date has been dean of the College of Engineering of Marquette University The South View Hospital was built under his supervision while he was connected with the city engineering office and also the Buffalo street Bascule bridge and the Oneida street Bascule bridge. After leaving the employ of the city as engineer he was retained to design the North avenue viaduct, now under
JAMES C. PINNEY
319
HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
course of construction. He likewise designed the Scott street bridge in Fond du Lac, which is a concrete arch bridge. His engineering work has heen of a most important character, calling for expert service, and he today enjoys a most enviable reputation in the line of his chosen profession.
ยท
On the 28th of June, 1911, Mr. Pinney was married to Miss Kathryn I. Blackburn, a daughter of Matthew Blackburn of Rochester, Wisconsin, who was born in England and was brought to the United States by his parents in his childhood days. He became a farmer by occupation and devoted his life to that calling, passing away in 1896. Mr. and Mrs. Pinney have one child, Charles Bartlett, who was horn September 7, 1912. In politics Mr. Pinney has always maintained an independent course, voting according to the dictates of his judgment without regard to party ties and never has he sought public office. He has membership in the Baptist church at Fargo, North Dakota. He belongs to the Elks lodge, No. 46, of Milwaukee, is a member of the City Club and is serving on its committee on public utilities. He belongs to the Kiwanis Club and is a member of its committee on civic affairs. He also is identified with many technical and scientific organizations, including the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Western Society of Engineers, the American Association of Engineers, the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education and is a fellow of the American Geographical Society, a member of the Engineers Society of Milwaukee and past presi- dent of the Engineers Society of Wisconsin. His wife is a lady of most artistic taste and talent, skilled in china painting and in water colors. Their home is a center of culture and refinement, its good cheer and its high ideals making it most attractive to those who recognize that the keenest enjoyment in life comes from intellectual stimulus.
CHARLES GAGE TRAPHAGEN.
Charles Gage Traphagen is president and general manager of the Time Insurance Company of Milwaukee, which has built up a business of extensive and substantial proportions. He has closely studied every phase of the business, formulates his plans carefully and carries them forward to successful completion. A native of Sparta, Wisconsin, his birth occurred there May 10, 1861, his parents being William and Emeline ( Brady) Traphagen. William Traphagen passed away in 1884, after having lived a most successful and useful life and gained prominence as a building contractor in hoth New York and Wisconsin. It was about the year 1850 that he took up his abode in the latter state. Emeline (Brady) Traphagen, who was a native of New York city, passed away in 1893, having survived her husband for almost a decade. The paternal grandfather of our subject, Peter Traphagen, was born in 1779 and was a son of Henry and Margaret ( Wanamaker ) Traphagen.
In the acquirement of an education Charles Gage Traphagen attended the public schools of Sparta, Wisconsin, until he was ten years of age, when he removed with the family to New York city and there attended school until he was twelve. At that time the family removed to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and he entered the high school there, in due time enrolling in the normal school and completing his studies in the required time. In 1882 the family again moved, this time going to St. Paul, and there Mr. Traphagen became associated with R. G. Dun & Company as assistant manager. He remained in that connection until 1886, when he was transferred to Duluth, Minnesota, as manager of the district comprising northern Wisconsin and Minnesota for the same firm. In April, 1918, after thirty-six years of continnous service, he resigned to become actively connected with the Time Insurance Company of Milwaukee, of which company he had been a director and vice president for a period of years, succeeding to his present official position upon the death of Jerome O. Paddock, president of the company and father-in-law of our subject. Mr. Paddock founded the business in 1896 and conducted it for some years under the name of the Time Indemnity Company, which was succeeded by the present company in 1910. It is the oldest stock company chartered by the state of Wisconsin to do an exclusive accident and health business and it has yearly paid a claim on every fourth policy holder. Over one million dollars in claims have been paid to policyholders or their beneficiaries. Records show that the Time Insurance Company collected over one-fifth of the accident and health pre- miums collected by all companies in Wisconsin in 1920 and sixty thousand dollars more in premiums than its nearest competitor; also that the company collected eighty- five thousand dollars more than the other four Wisconsin stock companies combined and two hundred and thirty-seven thousand two hundred and sixty-one dollars more than the Wisconsin assessment companies combined, or within fifty-two thousand dollars of the combined other ten Wisconsin companies.
On the 17th of June, 1896, occurred the marriage of Mr. Traphagen and Miss Nelsona L. Paddock, a danghter of the. late Jerome O. Paddock, who was born in Essex county, New York, in 1844. His entire life was spent in the conduct of the
320
HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
insurance business and he was one of the pioneers in that field. The Paddock family are of honored English descent.
Mr. Traphagen gives his political endorsement to the republican party. His re- ligious faith is indicated by his membership in St. Paul's Episcopal church of Mil- waukee and both he and his wife are prominent and consistent members of that denomination. While residing in Duluth, Mr. Traphagen served as vestryman of the Trinity cathedral. He is fond of golf and motoring and maintains membership in several clubs. During the war both Mr. and Mrs. Traphagen gave generously of their time and money to various phases of war work, being most prominent in the Red Cross. Mr. Traphagen is accounted one of the energetic, prosperous and capable business men of Milwaukee, a stanch supporter of all worthy and beneficial move- ments. Mr. and Mrs. Traphagen reside at 367 Prospect avenne. They have one son, Arthur D. Traphagen, residing in Duluth, Minnesota, where he is engaged in the insurance business.
EMIL HARLOW OTT.
Emil Harlow Ott, president of the William Steinmeyer Company, having the largest grocery house of the state, was born September 29, 1860, in Monroe, Wisconsin. His father, John C. Ott, whose birth occurred in Switzerland in 1824, attended the Zurich University in his native land and coming to the new world settled at Monroe, Wiscon- sin, in 1847. There he followed merchandising and later became a merchant of Madison, conducting a small grocery store in the capital city until 1892, when he re- tired from business at the age of sixty-eight years and passed away at the age of seventy-eight. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Catherine Deggler, was born in the beautiful city of Luzerne, Switzerland, and died when her son Emil H. was but eight years of age.
Emil H. Ott was a pupil in the public schools to his sixteenth year, completing the work of the eighth grade. Leaving home in order to earn his living he came to Milwaukee on the 8th of August, 1877. He was first employed in Blair & Pearsons', a china and glassware store, but after six months entered the grocery store of Bauer & Steinmeyer in the position of errand boy at a salary of four dollars and a half per week. Subsequently he was made cash boy, afterward became clerk and in turn book- keeper and foreman. As he advanced he received a certain interest in the profits of the concern and subsequently became a member of the firm. His business career started when he was seventeen years of age. He has always acknowledged the greatest in- debtedness to his former employer and partner William Steinmeyer, who was the founder of the present business and a man most highly esteemed and respected by all who knew him. He set a noble example of business integrity and enterprise and possessed a contagious enthusiasm which inspired all with whom he came into con- tact. He began business in Milwaukee immediately after his return from the Civil war, in 1864, having served for three years and retiring with the rank of captain in the Twenty-sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment. No man ever had a greater in- fluence over the life of Mr. Ott than Mr. Steinmeyer, whose personality and principles were an inspiration, calling forth courage and perseverance on the part of those in his employ. The development of splendid qualities on the part of Mr. Ott has brought him to the position which he now occupies and he has ever gladly given due credit to the stimulating influence and example of Mr. Steinmeyer. However, he must have had within himself the qualities that responded to the influence of the employer. As the years passed his powers developed and he gained a position of prominence in Milwau- kee's business circles, a position that he has never forfeited. He has long been ready for any emergency and any opportunity that has presented and making wise use of his time and talents has steadily advanced to a point of leadership in the commercial circles of the city.
On the 14th of March, 1886, in Milwaukee, Mr. Ott was united in marriage to Miss Ida Steinmeyer, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Steinmeyer, who came to Milwau- kee in 1848 and 1850, respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Ott are parents of three sons, all of whom are members of the Steinmeyer Company and thus associated with their father in business. The eldest, Irving W., married Sophie Luedke, a daughter of August F. Luedke; Walter S., the second son, wedded Louisa F. Frank, a daughter of Dr. Louis Frank; the youngest, Harvey L., is still at home.
Mr. Ott is president of the Manufacturers' Home, which company he organized and financed, as he has made other propositions that have influenced general prosperity in this city. His political allegiance is given to the republican party when state and national questions are involved but in municipal elections he votes for the best man or the candidate that shows the most efficiency, regardless of his political affiliations. Mr. Ott has never sought nor held public office save that of member of the board of directors of the Auditorium. He belongs to the Wisconsin, Calumet and Milwaukee
EMIL H. OTT
Vol. 11-21
323
HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
Athletic Clubs, also to the City Club and in all has a life membership. His record constitutes an example which others may well follow, showing what can be accomplished when there is a will to dare to do. Starting in the position of errand boy at a salary of four dollars and half per week, he has worked his way steadily upward, advancing step by step until he is now the chief executive officer of the business which he entered in the humble capacity indicated. Neither has he gained success at the sacrifice of the nobler qualities of manhood, his many sterling traits being attested by all who know him.
ROBERT HENRY HACKNEY.
Robert Henry Hackney, organizer and promoter of the Pressed Steel Tank Com- pany of West Allis and a man of broad experience and high professional attainments, was born in Milwaukee, August 6, 1870. His father, Clement Hackney, was a native of Warrington, England, his birth having occurred on the 16th of May, 1848. He was brought to the United States in 1851 by his parents and after his school days were over he became a machinist and locomotive engineer. He was connected with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, also with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad and with the Union Pacific Railroad in various capacities in the mechanical department and was superintendent of machinery and rolling stock with the Union Pacific Railroad. He acted as district manager for the Pressed Steel Car Company of Chicago for ten years prior to his death, which occurred in January, 1901. His wife, who hore the maiden name of Mary Stuart, was born in Chicago, Illinois, Novem- ber 12, 1849.
Robert H. Hackney pursued his preparatory education in the Milwaukee Academy, from which he was graduated in June, 1889. He afterward received the degrees of Bachelor of Science and Mechanical Engineer from the University of Wisconsin in 1893 and initiated his business career by service as a draftsman through a period of three years. He was afterward made shop foreman, thus acting for two years, at the end of which time he was promoted to the superintendency of the Joliet works of the Pressed Steel Car Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and con- tinued in that position for three years. He next engaged in business in Milwaukee in 1901 by purchasing the Seamless Structural Company's assets and then organized the Pressed Steel Tank Company, a Wisconsin corporation. He has since remained at the head of this business, carefully directing its growth and development, and today has one of the important productive industries of the city. His capabilities cover a wide range and the soundness of his judgment in business affairs is indicated in the fact that has been made a director of the Merchants & Manufacturers As- sociation of Milwaukee and is a director of the Metal Trades Association of this city.
On the 20th of June, 1900, in Marshfield, Wisconsin, Mr. Hackney was married to Miss Mary Connor, a daughter of Robert Connor of Auburndale, Wisconsin, who was extensively engaged in lumbering, in banking business and in other interests in Wood county but is now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Hackney have been born three children: Mary, Clement and Ruth. Mr. Hackney and his wife are members of the Grand Avenue Congregational church and he is interested in many of those forces and agencies which make for the benefit of the community and for the public welfare. He is a director of the Milwaukee Country Day School and of several clubs. He belongs to the Milwaukee Club, Milwaukee Athletic Club, Wisconsin Club, Mil- waukee Country Club, Rotary Club and the Mid-Day Club of Chicago. His interests are broad and varied. He considers nothing foreign to himself that concerns the welfare of his fellowmen and his activities are an element of public progress along many lines.
GUSTAV A. REUSS.
The name of Reuss has been associated with the Marshall & Ilsley Bank of Mil- waukee for two-thirds of a century and he whose name introduces this review, now the bank's vice president, entered the institution in 1885 as messenger boy, working his way upward through intermediate positions to the second place of executive power. He is a native son of Milwaukee, his birth having occurred May 11, 1868, his parents being Gustav and Emma (Lackner) Reuss. The father was born in Stuttgart, in the kingdom of Wuerttemberg, Germany, May 31, 1834, and acquired his education at the Real Schule, initiating his business career when fourteen years of age by becoming an apprentice in a dry goods house. In 1853 he emigrated to America, landing in New York in the month of September and finding employment in the law office of Cutter & Hoffman, then well known attorneys, the junior partner being
324
HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
attorney general of the state of New York and one of the leading criminal lawyers there. Gustav Reuss had been employed in that law office for two years, when in 1855 Samuel Marshall passed through the eastern metropolis on his way to Europe. He wanted a young man to take charge of the foreign business of Marshall & Ilsley, bankers of Milwaukee, their institution being then located at the southeast corner of East Water and Huron streets. The position was offered to Mr. Reuss, who ac- cepted, and in October, 1855, he arrived in Milwaukee, and from that time to the day of his death he was connected with the banking institution in one capacity or another. He was admitted to a partnership in 1866 and when in 1880 the firm was incorporated as a state bank he was chosen assistant cashier. Following the retire- ment of Mr. Marshall he was elected to the vice presidency and upon the death of the president, Charles F. Ilsley, in 1904, Mr. Reuss was chosen to fill the vacant position. He continued to occupy the office for three years and then resigned to spend his remaining days in well earned rest, after sixty years devoted to banking in this city. He remained, however, one of the directors of the bank, taking pleasure in visiting the office every day to chat with his old associates and keep in touch with the business direction of the bank, up to the time of his demise in October, 1916. Mr. Reuss never took an active part in politics but represented the sixth ward in the common council in the early '80s. He cast his first vote in 1856 for John C. Fremont and was usually a loyal advocate of republican principles, but at times voted independently, according to the dictates of his judgment. He was always fond of travel and visited every section of the continent from Mexico to Alaska and every European country, together with Egypt and Palestine. Extensive reading and a fair knowledge of the leading European languages enabled him to derive much enjoyment from his travels. He was ever a man of a retiring disposition and domestic hahits. In his younger days he took pleasure in gardening and many of his friends will re- member his cosy home on Sixth street with its shady trees, well kept lawn and lovely flower beds. .
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.