USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume II > Part 39
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
On the 30th of January, 1890, Mr. Gram was married to Miss Leonora Beyer, a daughter of Charles and Johanna ( Barthauer) Beyer, of Detroit. Mrs. Gram is a graduate of Meehan's School of Music of Detroit and possesses marked talent as a vocalist and instrumental performer, appearing frequently in public. Mr. and Mrs. Gram have become parents of five children: Viola, now the wife of Philip Dorr, of the Wetmore-Reamer Company of Milwaukee; Agnes, the wife of L. R. Smith, president of the A. O. Smith Company of Milwaukee: Gertrude, the wife of F. W. Magin, of the Industrial Controller Company of Milwaukee; and Dorothy and Lois, both of whom are high school pupils.
In aiding in shaping the policies of the National Association of Piano Merchants of America, Mr. Gram has for years been a most active and progressive factor. In 1916 he organized the Better Business Bureau of the Music Trade, whereby each dealer contributes a certain sum on each sale to be used to improve the general con- dition of the trade, so that it was only logical that he should be chosen its president in 1918. His opinions carry great weight with the trade by reason of his long ex- perience and notable success and few names are more widely known in musical circles than that of Edmund Gram. He is a man of fine personal appearance, of un- feigned cordiality, courteous and obliging, and his marked qualities have made for popularity throughout the entire period of his residence in Milwaukee. He is identified with all the leading musical societies of Milwaukee and is well known in club
376
HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
circles and other membership connections. He was one of the organizers of the Calnmet CInb and is a member of the Millioki Club, the Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association, the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Greater Milwaukee Association, the Chamber of Commerce, the Milwaukee Yacht Club and the Rotary Club, of which he is one of the oldest members. He is thus closely associated with many projects which touch the general interests of society and make for the development and upbuilding of the city.
OTIS G. TINDALL.
Otis G. Tindall, who was the president of the firm of Tindall, Kolbe & McDowell, wholesale dealers in tea and coffee in Milwaukee, was born in Chatsworth, Illinois, in 1877, a son of Charles and Margaret (Gorman ) Tindall. He was brought to Mil- waukee when a youth of thirteen years, or about 1890, and his early education, begun in the public schools of Chatsworth, was continued in the public schools of Milwaukee, while later he attended McDonald's Business College. He then engaged in bookkeeping for the firm of Smith, Thorndyke & Brown, wholesale grocers, and was later promoted to the position of credit man. He remained with that company until they went out of business, after which he established a wholesale tea and coffee honse on his own account as a member of the firm of Tindall, Kolbe & McDowell. Mr. Tindall became the president of the new organization and continued thus from its inception to the time of his death. Mr. McDowell is now president of the company, while Mrs. Tindall is filling the position of vice president. Mr. Tindall was a thoroughgoing, earnest, reliable and progressive business man. Close application and energy carried him forward to the goal of success, for from early life he realized the value of unremitting industry and perseverance as factors in the attainment of any object. Mr. Tindall was also the secretary of the Tea and Coffee Roasters Association, a position which indicated his high standing in trade circles.
In 1906 Mr. Tindall was united in marriage to Miss Evelyn Bullock, a daughter of J. C. and Hannah (Williams) Bullock, both of whom were natives of Wales and on coming to the United States settled in Milwaukee in 1867, the father being now engaged in the real estate business here. Mr. and Mrs. Tindall became the parents of two daughters: Mildred Elizabeth and Jane Margaret.
The family circle was broken by the hand of death when on the 21st of July, 1920, Mr. Tindall was called to the home beyond. He was a consistent and faithful mem- ber of the Grand Avenue Methodist Episcopal church and by reason of his well spent life left to his family the priceless heritage of an untarnished name. He was also a helpful follower of the Masonic fraternity, being a Thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and a member of Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine, and in his political connection was a republican. His interest in community affairs was never that of an office seeker, but he stood stanchly in support of the public welfare and aided various projects which were elements in public progress and improvement. His interest centered in his business, his family and his church. The one found him alert and energetic, ready for any emergency, while in the home he was a devoted and loving husband and father, and in the church was a consistent and faithful follower. His long connection with mercantile interests in Milwaukee made him widely known and as the years passed he gained the warm friendship of many with whom he was. brought in contact.
JACOB KORNELY.
Actuated by the progressive spirit which has been the dominant factor in the rapid and substantial upbuilding of the middle west, Jacob Kornely has steadily ad- vanced in his business career until he is today a forceful factor in the commercial and financial circles of the city. He is at the head of a large hardware establish- ment and he is also the president of the Excelsior Mutnal Building and Loan Asso- ciation. Wisconsin numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred on a farm near Francis Creek, in Manitowoc county, September 12, 1858, his parents being George and Theresa ( Presser) Kornely, who were natives of Germany and came to the United States in 1854, at which time they took np their abode in Manitowoc connty, spending their remaining days upon the farm which they there purchased and developed.
Jacob Kornely spent the period of his minority under the parental roof and dur- ing that time acquired his education in the district and parochial schools. He started out in the business world as a clerk in a hardware store in Milwaukee and was thus employed for a number of years, during which period, however, he cherished the hope:
OTIS G. TINDALL
379
HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
of ultimately engaging in business on his own account and bent his energies toward that end. At length his industry and economy had brought him sufficient capital to enable him to take the first step in that direction and in 1891 he opened a hardware store on Third street near the corner of North avenue. His place was a small store, but it enabled him to make the initial step and test his powers as a manager of a business. He soon proved that he was adequate to any demands made upon him and his trade steadily grew, so that his quarters were soon too small for his expanding business. Today he occupies a building thirty-five by one hundred and fifty feet and three stories in height, having one of the largest and best hardware establishments of Milwaukee, He carries everything that can be found in the line of shelf and heavy hardware and his business is now one of most gratifying proportions. He has won success by fair and honorable treatment of his patrons, by persistency of purpose and by close application-qualities which anyone might cultivate and which never fail to produce desired results, The business has been incorporated and is today carried on under the name of the J. Kornely Hardware Company, of which Mr. Kornely is the president. He is likewise the president of the Stove Dealers Supply Company, which was organized about eighteen years ago, and also a director of the Wisconsin Hardware Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Nor does this constitute the entire scope of his business activities, for he has become actively connected with the Excelsior Mutual Building and Loan Association, of which he is likewise the president. This association has entered upon the twelfth year of its existence under most favorable circumstances. It is capitalized for five million dollars and has fifty thousand shares of one hundred dollars each. It has in mortgage loans eight hnudred and sixty-six thousand, nine hundred dollars. Its business has been most wisely managed and has constituted a source of great helpfulness to many shareholders and borrowers.
In 1886 Mr. Kornely was married to Miss Theresa Metz, a daughter of William and Anna Metz of Milwaukee. They are now parents of five children: George V who has a hardware store at No. 1476 Green Bay avenue; Theresa, the wife of John Bendowske; Anna; Laura, the wife of Peter Theis, who is vice president of the J. Kornely Hardware Company; and Raymond C., who acts as secretary and treasurer of the concern.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and Mr. Kornely is treasurer of the Branch No. 89 of the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin, of which he became a charter member at Milwaukee. He is also a member and the president of the St. Bonaventure Benevolent Society. In politics he maintains an independent course. In 1895 he purchased property and built his present store and today the structure stands as a monument to his enterprise and business ability.
CORNELIUS JOSEPH CORCORAN, M. D.
Dr. Cornelius Joseph Corcoran, a physician and surgeon of Milwaukee, who largely concentrates his attention and activity upon industrial surgery, was born March 3, 1891, in the city which is still his home. He is the only son of Thomas M. Corcoran, a well known business man of Milwaukee, who for many years has been engaged in the wholesale and retail feed business, his present location being at No. 18 Jefferson street. He is also a native of this city and a son of Cornelius Joseph Corcoran, for whom Dr. Corcoran was named. The grandfather came from Limerick, Ireland, prior to the Civil war and cast in his lot with the early settlers of Milwaukee. He died in 189I, when his grandson and namesake was but six months old, he being eighty- four years of age at the time of his demise. Hon. Cornelius L. Corcoran, who is now president of the Milwaukee common council, is an uncle of Dr. Corcoran.
Having acquired his early education in St. John's parochial school, Dr. Corcoran was from 1908 until 1913 a pupil in the Marquette Medical College, which conferred upon him the M. D. degree at his graduation with the class of 1913. He was an interne in St. Mary's Hospital at Milwaukee for a year and since 1914 has been en- gaged in active private practice, save for the period of his service in the World war. He volunteered on the 1st of November, 1917, and was on duty at Camp Greenleaf, Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, for three months. He was then sent to the Roosevelt Hospital in New York city for special instruction in surgery and there also spent three months under Dr. Dowd, a distinguished New York surgeon, after which he was transferred to Camp Lee at Richmond, Virginia, where for three months he served on the surgical staff. He then joined Base Hospital, No. 45, at Richmond, Virginia, under the leader- ship of Dr. Stuart McGuire, and in July, 1917, was sent to France with this hospital unit, with which he served overseas until February, 1919, receiving his discharge at Camp Dix, New Jersey, in that month, With his return to Milwaukee he resumed the private practice of his profession and he is now on the visiting staff of St. Mary's Hospital, while his professional worth has gained for him the position of industrial surgeon to many Milwaukee concerns.
380
HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
On the 15th of October, 1919, Dr. Corcoran was married to Miss Dorothea Kalt, who was born and reared in Milwaukee and is a graduate of the Holy Angels Academy of this city. They are Roman Catholics in religious faith and Dr. Corcoran belongs to the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin. He is also a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club. He finds his chief recreation in fishing, hunting and handball and he is also fond of all outdoor sports.
MORTON DECKER.
The name of Morton Decker is inseparably associated with the dairy industry of the country. His last years were spent in Milwaukee, where in 1908 he established the Standard Cream Separator Company, but for long years before he had been associated with dairying and had come into prominence in this connection by reason of his important contributions to the business, with which he was associated to the time of his death.
Mr. Decker was born on a farm near Sparta, in Sussex county, New Jersey, on the 16th of July, 1859, his parents being John and Eliza (Strat) Decker. He acquired his education in the schools of Sparta, his youthful days being spent under the parental roof on the old home place. During his entire life he was identified with dairy interests, becoming a butter and cheese maker by trade. It is said that he was the first man in the United States to send milk to market in bottles, making shipments in this manner from the farm to New York city. In 1876 his father built a large creamery on the estate, hoping to win the cooperation of his sons in the conduct of this business and thus keep them upon the farm. Morton Decker remained with his father and became an active factor in the management and control of the business. He also studied the dairy industry from every possible standpoint and recognized its needs and its opportunities. In connection with the former he invented the Decker automatic cream separator, a great improvement upon the old hand separator, and it is the machine of his invention which the Standard Separator Company has been manufacturing in Milwaukee since the establishment of the business in 1908. Mr. Decker believed that this city would offer an excellent field, owing to the development of the great dairy industry in Wisconsin. Accordingly he removed to Milwaukee and in 1908 organized the company which has since been in existence. He remained as the executive head, filling the position of president and general manager, until Febru- ary prior to his demise, when he resigned but still continued as one of the directors of the company.
It was in 1884 that Mr. Decker was united in marriage to Miss Anna M. Lantz, a daughter of William and Mary (Savacool) Lantz. To this marriage were born a son and a daughter: Edith M., who is now the wife of Francis Norwood Bard, a resident of Highland Park, Illinois; and Leon M., who is living in Lincoln, Nebraska. The latter was married in 1917 to Miss Elizabeth Hays, a daughter of Samuel Hays of Boise, Idaho, and they have one son, Morton Decker, named for his grandfather. Leon M. Decker resides with his family at No. 1460 Washington street in Lincoln.
The death of Morton Decker occurred on the 10th of August, 1915, and in his passing, Milwaukee lost a representative and valued citizen. There was no one able to speak with greater authority concerning the dairy industry of the country and none in the city more closely associated with its development and the advancement of the standards of dairy service. At all times he was a most progressive business man and on coming to Milwaukee he established and promoted one of the important manu- facturing interests of the city. He was a thirty-second degree Mason and a loyal follower of the teachings and purposes of the craft.
GILBERT J. DAVELAAR.
Gilbert J. Davelaar, president of the Wauwatosa State Bank and attorney at law in Wauwatosa, was born in the city of Milwaukee, June 21, 1879, his parents being William and Minnie ( Kerpenstine) Davelaar, the former, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, while the latter was born in Milwaukee. The Davelaar family comes of Holland ancestry and was founded in America abont 1847 by Gerrit Davelaar, who settled at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The grandfather was a blacksmith by trade and after living in Pennsylvania for six years removed to Milwaukee in 1853. There he carried on business for a number of years. All of his sons save William, who was too young for active duty, served in the Union army during the Civil war. The grandfather in the maternal line was Gilbert Kerpenstine, who was also a blacksmith. He, in 1844, came direct from Holland to Kingston, New York, and in 1845 removed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and afterwards removed to Pullman, Illi-
MORTON DECKER
383
HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
nois, where he engaged in blacksmithing for a number of years. Later, however, he returned to Milwaukee, where his remaining days were passed. He, too, had a son, who was actively engaged in service during the Civil war.
William Davelaar, father of Gilbert J. Davelaar, was one of the early architects of Milwaukee and erected a large number of the first office buildings and churches of the city. Many monuments to his skill and handiwork are still standing, although he has been retired from the active practice of his profession for about ten years. He now makes his home in Wauwatosa and has an extensive circle of warm friends in this part of the state. To him and his wife were born three children: Dr. Garret W. Davelaar, who practices medicine in Wauwatosa and Milwaukee; Gilbert J., of this review; and Ella, the wife of Clarence Smeaton of Wauwatosa.
Gilbert J. Davelaar was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee and in the high school of Wauwatosa, from which he was graduated. In 1902 he completed a course of law in the University of Wisconsin and was admitted to practice with the LL. B. degree before the supreme court of the state in June, 1902. He then located for practice in Milwaukee, where he has remained continuously, and as the years have passed he has built up an extensive practice. For twelve years he filled the office of attorney for the town of Wauwatosa and for an equal period was village attorney of West Milwaukee, while for two years he has served as city attorney of Wauwatosa. Outside the path of his profession his efforts have been directed in the field of banking and in July, 1920, he was elected president of the Wauwatosa State Bank and is still filling this position.
On the 10th of July, 1906, Mr. Davelaar was married to Miss Elizabeth Eriksen of Wauwatosa, and they have become the parents of four children: Ernella who was born April 16, 1907; Ruth, who was born September 7, 1910; Gilbert, born January 7, 1916; and Sylvia, born February 1, 1918.
During the World war Mr. Davelaar acted as chairman of the Wauwatosa branch of the legal advisory board of Milwaukee county. He with others had charge of the school districts on all the war drives promoted by the government and in every pos- sible way assisted the country in maintaining the support of the army in the field. He has served on the Wauwatosa School Board, No. 6, for a number of years and is keenly interested in all that pertains in any way to the welfare and progress of the community.
LORENZ MASCHAUER.
Lorenz Maschauer, who for many years was prominently connected with the hardware trade of Milwaukee and during the last twenty-four years of his life was president of the Frankfurth Hardware Company, was born in Wildstein, near Eger, Bohemia, on the 31st of March, 1844, and was hut ten years of age when in 1854 he was brought by his parents to the new world. The family settled in Watertown, Wisconsin, and there the father died soon afterward. Lorenz Maschauer was the youngest in a family of six children, who accompanied their mother to Milwaukee soon after the father's demise.
In the schools of this city, therefore, Lorenz Maschauer pursued his education, becoming a student in the German-English Academy. After starting out in the business world he became identified with a brass and machinery foundry, but the work disagreed with him and in 1861 he entered the employ of the Frankfurth Hardware Company at Third and Chestnut streets. When twenty-one years of age, owing to impaired health, he gave up his position and spent two years in touring Europe. Rest and travel did much for him and with health greatly improved he returned to Milwaukee, where in 1885 he once more became identified with the Frankfurth Hardware Company as a partner and so continued until the death of Mr. Frankfurth in 1892, when Mr. Maschauer became the president of the company and remained as its executive head until his demise. With the exception of the period of two years spent abroad he was continuously identified with this house for fifty-five years and its success was attribut- able in large measure to his enterprise, his diligence, determination and careful man- agement. He was a prominent figure in the commercial circles of the city hy reason of his long association with the hardware trade and the success which he achieved in building up a business of extensive proportions. -
On the 16th of October. 1878, Mr. Maschauer was united in marriage to Miss Elise Hess, a daughter of Henry G. and Malvina (Timm) Hess, who were of German birth. They were married in their native land and crossed the Atlantic on a sailing vessel, being on the water for thirteen weeks. They cast in their lot with the early settlers of Milwaukee and here the father followed the wood turner's trade, which he had learned in his native land. To Mr. and Mrs. Maschauer were born three children, one of whom died in infancy, the others being Irma and Paula, the latter the wife of C. Oscar Riedel, a resident of Milwaukee, and the mother of one son, Oscar C.
384
HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
It was on the 23d of March, 1916, when almost seventy-two years of age, that Lorenz Maschauer was called to his final rest. His life was one of great activity and useful- ness and his memory is cherished by all those who were associated with him. He was a lifelong republican and he took the deepest interest in everything that he believed was of benefit to his adopted city. He served on the board of the German-English Academy, was a member of the Wisconsin Musical Society and held membership as well in the Wisconsin Club and the Old Settlers Club. His interests were thoroughly interwoven with those of the city and no plan or measure for public good failed to receive his endorsement and generous support. Identified with the mercantile interests of the city for fifty-five years, there was perhaps no merchant of Milwaukee more widely or more favorably known. His progressiveness was a feature in the city's upbuilding and his business affairs were at all times of a character that contribute to public prog- ress and prosperity as well as to individual success.
PHIL A. GRAU.
Phil A. Grau, attorney at law, and since the 15th of March, 1920, executive director of the Milwaukee Association of Commerce, was born October 25, 1881, in the city which is still his home, his parents being August M. and Christina (Klaus) Grau. His father is the president of the Red Star Compressed Yeast Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which is the successor of the National Distilling Company. His mother was a daughter of Philip Klaus, one of the pioneers of Green Bay, Wisconsin, who held the office of city treasurer there for many years.
Phil A. Grau obtained his early education in the private school conducted by Sarah E. Balis in Milwaukee and afterward matriculated in Marquette University, which conferred upon him the Bachelor of Arts degree at his graduation, with the class of 1900. His law course was pursued in Georgetown University at Washington, D. C., which conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts in 1901, that of Bachelor of Law in 1903, and Master of Law in 1904. He also studied economics under Dr. Charles P. Neill of the Catholic University at Washington. Having prepared for the bar, he entered upon the practice of law in the national capital and afterward practiced in Milwaukee. Fifteen years ago, however, he became interested in organization work and specialized later as counsel to trade organizations. He became general counsel for the Malsters' Bureau of Statistics and managing director of the American Furniture Manufacturers' Association. His splendid powers of organization and executive con- trol, combined with his initiative, have led, therefore, to his selection for the most important duty of this character and on the 15th of March, 1920, he accepted the position of exccutive director of the Milwaukee Association of Commerce, in which connection he is doing most effective work in furthering the interests and projects of this organization. For several years he was the editor of the Way Bill, the official bulletin of the Chicago Traffic Club. He has also been lecturer on civics and law at the School of Sociology in Loyola University of Chicago, of which the Rev. F. J. Sieden- berg, S. J., is dean. He is likewise the author of a volume entitled Sales Pep, and still others published under the titles of Which- The Employer Versus the Employe, or the Employer and the Employe; Labor's Opportunity; and Fallacy of the Closed Shop. His writings show wide research and investigation into economic conditions and into all those vital problems which figure most strongly in connection with labor and with business affairs of the present time.
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.