USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume II > Part 4
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On the 10th of November, 1881, Mr. Quartes was married to Miss Emma W. Thiers, a daughter of David B. Thiers, of Kenosha, and they became parents of four children: Louis and Charles B., lawyers; Henry C., in the bond business; and Ethel, the wife of L. O. French.
The family circle was broken by the hand of death when Mr. Quarles passed away in Milwaukee, April 8, 1908. There were many reasons that caused his death to be regarded as a calamity to the city in which he had long made his home. He had greatly influenced public thought and action, and his efforts and influence were always on the side of progress and improvement. In politics he was ever a stalwart republican and from time to time was active in the campaign. In 1897 he was chosen a school director and later was unanimously elected president of the board. His genial nature and kindly spirit made him a most popular member of the Milwaukee, Deutscher, Country, Uni- versity and Milwaukee Yacht Clubs, and he belonged also to the Wisconsin Humane Society, in which connection he did great good. He was a lover of scientific research and gathered a most valuable and interesting collection of mineralogical and archaeo- logical specimens.
A contemporary writer said of him: "By his death Milwaukee loses its most brilliant legal practitioner and a man who for several years has been unanimously accorded the foremost position at the Wisconsin bar. His fame was not confined to his city and state but among attorneys all over the country. He was well known and recognized as a lawyer of ability and strength. Mr. Quarles added to his great ability as a lawyer a profound scholarship and a wide knowledge of current affairs, which made him remark- able outside his professional work, to which the greater portion of his time was devoted. The labor question was one in which he was deeply interested, as in many other econom- ical and political subjects and at various times he has addressed different civic societies and other gatherings on phases of the industrial problem. His views were well defined and logical on these matters and his utterances were always regarded as those of one who thoroughly understood his subjects. Personally, Mr. Quarles was one of the most genial and lovable of men and he numbered as his friends all who were brought in contact with him. He had a keen, incisive wit, a kindly humor and a suave and affable manner which won the hearts of his associates and many young lawyers are indebted to him for wise advice and counsel on difficult points. Even in the midst of the im- portant litigation which engaged his time, he was never too busy to receive a visitor with cordiality and the newspaper man who went to him for information was always treated considerately, frankly and with a genial kindness that was wonderfully pleas- ant. In court Mr. Quarles was always courteous and his keen wit found frequent expression even in the dullest of cases. He was always ready for an encounter of wits and few of his brother lawyers cared to engage him in a tilt of that kind. In physical appearance Mr. Quarles corresponded to his intellectual make-up. Frail of physique he was nevertheless possessed of a nervous energy which enabled him to perform an almost miraculous amount of work and in the court room his restlessness was one of his marked peculiarities. His keenly intellectual face and his brilliant eyes made him a man who would be observed even by a stranger in the court room even before he spoke."
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The life and character of Charles Quarles were as clear as the sunrise. No man came in contact with him hut speedily appreciated him at his true worth and knew he was a man who not only cherished the high ideal of duty but who lived up to it. He constantly labored for the right, and from his earliest youth he devoted a large portion of his time to the service of others. He was not an idle sentimentalist hut a worker. He was at the head of an extensive law practice, which he managed successfully, yet it was his rule to set apart some time each day for the labors of love to which he was so devoted. His friends will miss him, hut the memory of his great and beautiful life, of his sincerity and simplicity, will not he forgotten.
RT. REV. MSGR. DAVID J. O'HEARN.
Rt. Rev. Msgr. David J. O'Hearn, a distinguished representative of the Catholic priesthood in Wisconsin, now in charge of St. John's cathedral in Milwaukee, was born in this city March 27, 1867, a son of, Thomas and Ellen (Keogh) O'Hearn, the former born in St. Johns, Newfoundland, and the latter in Wexford, Ireland. His maternal grandfather came to Milwaukee in 1847 and his mother arrived in 1854. Both parents are now dead.
Msgr. O'Hearn acquired his early education in St. John's Cathedral school, was graduated with the class of 1882, afterward attended St. Francis Seminary, was ordained to the priesthood November 24, 1889, and later became a student in the Catholic University of Washington, D. C., in which he pursued postgraduate work, remaining there for three years. On his return to Milwaukee, he was appointed as assistant to Father Keogh, his uncle, who was pastor of St. John's cathedral, of which Msgr. O'Hearn now has charge. He acted as assistant until 1898, when he went to Rome, spending three years in the Eternal City and pursuing a course in the Gregorian University which won him the degree of Doctor of Canonical Law in 1901. After an extended trip to Asia Minor, Palestine and Egypt he returned to his native land and in Milwaukee was again appointed assistant in St. John's cathedral, where he con- tinued until 1905. In that year he received the appointment from Archbishop Messmer to the professionship of canonical law and church history in St. Francis Seminary, filling the position for fifteen years and also occupying the chairs of Christian archae- ology, the Life of Christ and Italian. On the 1st of May, 1920, Msgr. O'Hearn was appointed pastor of St. John's cathedral by Archbishop Messmer, this being the church in which he was baptized, made his first confession, received his first Holy Communion, was confirmed, ordained, and in which he also said his first mass. On the 4th of October, 1921, on the occasion of the celebration of Archbishop Messmer's golden jubilee in the priesthood, Msgr. O'Hearn, in company with Msgr. Bernard G. Traudt and Msgr. Boleslaus E. Goral, was invested with the monsignorship, to which dignity he had had been raised hy Benedict XV. The work of the church has been carried steadily forward under the direction of Msgr. O'Hearn, who during the past year has raised eighty thousand dollars for the improvement of the church building and charity work. Besides this the various church activities have been well organized, thus insnring a bright ontlook for the future of St. John's cathedral.
WILLIAM COOPER SARGENT.
William Cooper Sargent, whose splendid business ability brought him to a position of prominence, calling him to a place that demanded exceptional executive force and administrative power, was long known in commercial circles as the secretary of the Chain Belt Company. The story of his life is an interesting one, owing to his steady rise and the methods that he pursued.
Mr. Sargent was born in Troy, New York, February 2, 1849, and passed away on the 5th of Fehrnary, 1922, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, his remains being laid to rest in St. Paul. . His parents were Leonard R. and Sarah ( Downing) Sargent. The Sargent family traces its ancestry back through eight generations to early Puritans. Early settlement was made by representatives of the name at Malden, Massachusetts, and at Everett, that state, and later they were in Connecticut and Vermont. Leonard R. Sargent was born at Fort Ann, New York, while his wife was a native of Bristol, Pennsylvania, and it was at the latter place that William C. Sargent pursued his education, his father having removed to Bristol with his family that he might execute a contract which had been awarded him as civil engineer.
After leaving school William C. Sargent entered a wholesale drug house in Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, and was there employed for several years. In 1872 he resigned and went to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he became a partner in the firm of DeCou, Corlies & Sargent. Their business was the manufacture of doors, sash and blinds and they conducted a profitable enterprise until 1873, when during the widespread financial panic and the hard times that followed the firm failed. Mr. Sargent then became pur-
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WILLIAM C. SARGENT
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HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
chasing agent for the St. Paul Harvester Works, in which C. W. Le Valley was a partner. Mr. Le Valley was an intimate friend of Mr. Sargent and in later years upon his removal to Milwaukee, where he organized the Chain Belt Company, Mr. Sargent was made secretary of the company and acted also as Mr. Le Valley's confidential advisor. It was largely through his efforts that they established their agencies all over the United States and also in France, India, Japan and various points in South America. Mr. Sargent continued to act as secretary until his death, and his sound business judgment and his ready discrimination between the essential and the non- essential in all business affairs were potent elements in the attainment of the success of tho company.
In 1873 Mr. Sargent returned to his native city and there married Miss Adele Packer a daughter of Albert and Elizabeth (Morgan) Packer, representatives of an old and highly respected family of Bristol, Pennsylvania, who trace their ancestry hack through many generations, the family being one of distinction in that section of the country. To Mr. and Mrs. Sargent were horn six children, five of whom are living. Caroline. the eldest, is the wife of William E. Walter of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Helen is the wife of William R. Langford of St. Paul, Minnesota. Leonard R., a repre- sentative of the fifth generation to bear the name of Leonard, is a captain in the United States navy. He was graduated from Annapolis, and during the World war was stationed at Panama, in charge of land and sea forces, guarding the Panama canal. He is now commander of the Destroyer Squadron Five, on the Flagship Birmingham. Howard H. is a graduate of Harvard and a resident of St. Paul, Minnesota. Julian D., a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, also resides in St. Paul.
Mr. Sargent was a member of the Minnesota Club and of the Milwaukee Athletic Cluh. He was a man of great popularity, his social qualities winning him the friend- ship and kindly regard of all who knew him. He possessed a most sympathetic nature and was constantly extending a helping hand. He possessed considerable poetic talent and was the author of much creditable verse. His splendid business powers, too, made him known throughout the country, and when he passed away floral pieces and letters of condolence were received from all parts of the United States. His life left its im- press upon all who knew him, so that the news of his demise carried with it a sense of personal bereavement into many homes. He stood as a splendid type of American manhood and citizenship, honored and respected by all and most of all where he was best known.
ERWIN FOERSTER.
Through the steps of an orderly progression Erwin Foerster has hecome the first vice president of the William Frankfurth Hardware Company of Milwaukee. For fifty-five years he has been identified with the hardware trade and his thorough knowledge of the business and his unfaltering enterprise have long been important factors in the successful conduct of the institution of which he is now one of the chief officials. He was born in Huckeswagen, Rhineland, Germany, January 26, 1851, his parents being Franz and Caroline ( Hiesfeldt) Foerster. The father was a haker and confectioner in Germany, but believing that the opportunities of the new world were greater he came to America in 1869, settling in Chicago, where both he and his wife passed away.
Erwin Foerster was educated in the schools of his native country to his fifteenth year and in 1866 came to America, making his way to Chicago, where he secured employment as errand hoy in a wholesale hardware store. He continued to occupy that position for three years and then went to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he also spent three years in the same line of business. In 1875 he came to Milwaukee and entered the retail hardware establishment of William Frankfurth & Company, who the same year opened a wholesale department, Mr. Foerster becoming the first sales- man sent out from the wholesale section. He traveled for a year and then was called in from the road to become assistant buyer of the house, a position which he filled for many years. In 1885 the retail department was separated from the wholesale and removed to 120 Clybourn street. It was at this time that Mr. Foerster was taken into the firm as secretary and treasurer, a position which he continued to occupy nntil 1917, when he was elected the first vice president. Thus from a humble position he has steadily worked his way upward. The errand boy of a half century ago is today one of the chief executives in a large commercial enterprise and his fifty-five years experience in the hardware trade have constituted an important factor in making the business of the William Frankfurth Hardware Company one of eminent success.
In 1875, the year of his arrival in Milwaukee, Mr. Foerster was married to Miss Sophia Emily Hottinger of Chicago, and they have become the parents of three sons, who are all living: Otto H., a physician, located in Milwaukee; Oscar Erwin, who is with the William Frankfurth Hardware Company; and Harry R., also a physician of this city. The two brothers who have entered the medical profession are now practicing together as dermatology specialists.
Mr. Foerster is a member of the Athletic Club, also of the Wisconsin Club of
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HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
Milwaukee aud occupies an enviable position in the club and social circles, just as he does in business connections. A laudable ambition brought him out of his native land that he might enjoy the broader chances of the new world and since that time each day has marked off a full-faithed attempt to know more and to grow more. He early recognized the fact that success depends not upon environment, but upon the individual and the use which he makes of his time and with a clear understanding of this fact Erwin Foerster has progressed year by year until his name is high on the roll of the leading merchants of his adopted city.
JOHN HUEGIN PUELICHER.
John Huegin Puelicher, president of the Marshall & Ilsley Bank of Milwaukee, has also been most prominently and actively identified with those organizations which are looking to the improvement of banking conditions for the purpose of rendering greater efficiency in service to the public, as well as the upbuilding of the entire banking sys- tem of the country. He has been an executive officer in many such organizations and is today chairman of the trade acceptance committee of the Wisconsin Bankers Asso- ciation and second vice president of the American Bankers Association. So compre- hensive has been his study of financial problems and so broad his experience in the field of banking that his opinions are largely accepted as authority upon the questions relative to many phases of the banking business. His record is an interesting one to his fellow townsmen, not only by reason of what he has accomplished but also owing to the fact that he is a native son of Milwaukee, his birth having occurred December 26, 1869. His father, John Puelicher, was a tanner by trade and came to America in 1848 with his father, Peter Puelicher, who took part in the German Revolution in 1848, and who crossed the Atlantic from Muenster, Maifeldt, Coblenz, Germany, and settled at Newburgh, New York. John Puelicher was married to Miss Mary Huegin, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, born January 29, 1848. She was educated in Milwaukee. Her father, Peter Huegin, came from Basel, Switzerland.
It was in the public schools of Milwaukee that John H. Puelicher obtained his education and he started out in the business world as assistant in a carpet store, while subsequently he was employed as a clerk in a shoe store and later became entry clerk in a wholesale millinery house. In 1885 he entered the employ of the Wisconsin Marine & Fire Insurance Company Bank, thus initiating the banking experience that has brought him step by step to a point of leadership in financial circles not only of his city and state hut of the country as well. His identification with the Marshall & Ilsley Bank dates from 1893, when he became discount clerk. Thoroughness has ever characterized him in all the relations of life and this quality, combined with his ready adaptability, enabled him to work his way steadily upward. In 1905 he was made assistant cashier of the bank and the following year was promoted to the cashiership. In 1914 the duties of vice president were added to those of cashier and in 1920 he was elected to the presidency of the institution. He has long been an active directing force in the bank, largely shaping its policy and contributing to its growth by reason of his farsighted vision, his comprehensive study of business conditions and the care with which he has safeguarded the interests of depositors. While efficiently performing the services that have devolved upon him in his various official connections with the Marshall & Ilsley Bank, he has also recognized the needs and the opportunities for organized effort in behalf of banking, bringing about a uniformity in system and method and at the same time seeking a solution for all the complex and intricate prob- lems that arise in connection with the business. This understanding on the part of Mr. Puelicher led in 1902 to the founding of the Milwaukee Chapter of the American Institute of Banking, of which he was the vice president in 1902, and president the following year. In 1905 he became secretary of the Wisconsin Bankers Associa- tion, occupying the position until 1908, and in the latter year he was elected to the vice presidency and made first chairman of the executive council of the American Institute of Banking, as well as its first representative on the executive council of the American Bankers Association. In 1916-17 Mr. Puelicher was one of the organizers and the first president of the State Bank Section of the American Bankers Association and from 1917 until 1920 was chairman of the Federal Reserve Campaign Committee of the American Bankers Association, while in 1919 he served as vice president of the Mil- waukee Clearing House Association. In the following year he was made chairman of the trade acceptance committee and a member of the agricultural committee of the Wisconsin Bankers Association. The same year he became a member of the special railroad committee of the American Bankers Association, was elected the second vice president of the American Bankers Association and made chairman of its educational committee. It was also in 1920 that he became a member of the Clearing House com- mittee of the Milwaukee Clearing House Association.
On the 29th of August, 1892, in Milwaukee, Mr. Puelicher was married to Miss
JOHN H. PUELICHER
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HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
Matilda Siefert, a daughter of H. O. Siefert, and their children are Gertrude, Albert. Elsa and Dorothy. The son married Almira Asmus Mr. Puelicher is well known in club circles, having membership in the Milwaukee Club, the Milwaukee Athletic ('lub, the Robert Morris Club, the American Philatelic Society, the ('ity ('lub of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Association of Commerce, the Chamber of Commerce and the Milwaukee Art Institute. These membership relations indicate most elearly the nature of his interests, his active support of projects for the public welfare and the high ideals which govern him in his personal relations. Outside of the field of banking he has rendered much valuable public service, having from 1907 until 1911 heen a member of the Mil- waukee school board and its president during the last year. In 1907 he also became president of the. Greater Milwaukee Association and in 1910 was elected to the presi- dency of the Association for Publie Play and Social Education. In the same year he was made a trustee of the Milwaukee Public Library and a trustee of the Milwaukee Public Museum. In 1917 he served on the Wisconsin Liberty Loan executive com- mittee and in the same year was made state director of War Savings for Wisconsin. In 1919 he was made government director of savings for the Seventh Federal Reserve District and in that year became a trustee of the Milwaukee-Downer College and of Marquette University. He has also acted as treasurer of many philanthropic campaigns and is constantly extending a helping hand where aid is needed for the individual or for the community at large.
AUGUST H. VOGEL.
Many corporate interests have felt the stimulus of the sound judgment of August H. Vogel and profited by his cooperation. He is now connected with a number of the important business interests of the city and since 1888 has been one of the executive officers of the Pfister & Vogel Leather Company, acting throughout this entire period, covering a third of a century, as secretary, general manager and vice president. Mr. Vogel is a native son, having been born in Milwaukee, December 16, 1862. His parents, Frederick and Auguste Vogel, were natives of Germany and emigrated to the new world in 1846. Frederick Vogel, Sr., was associated with Guido Pfister in founding the present Pfister & Vogel Leather Company, thus establishing one of the important productive industries of the city. He was likewise active and prominent in public affairs, serving as a member of the common council in 1856, while from 1874 until 1876 he represented his district in the general assembly.
Spending his youthful days under the parental roof, August H. Vogel attended the Milwaukee University School and was a student in the Milwaukee high school until 1878. He continued his education in the Adams Academy from 1879 until 1881 and in 1882 matriculated in Harvard University, where he pursued a four years' course, winning the Bachelor of Arts degree upon graduation with the class of 1886. Returning at once to Milwaukee, he entered the banking business in connection with the Merchants Exchange Bank, of which he was an employe until 1888. In the latter year he became actively associated with the business of which his father was one of the founders and which from the beginning has been conducted under the name of the Pfister & Vogel Leather Company. Through the intervening period of thirty- three years August H. Vogel has been the secretary, general manager and vice president of the company and his thorough knowledge of every phase and branch of the business has enabled him to so direct his labors as to make the understaking one of substantial success. As the years have passed he has extended his efforts into various other fields and is now a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the vice president and a director of the Savings & Investment Association of Milwaukee, the vice presi- dent and a director of the Johnson Service Company of Milwaukee, vice president and director of the Western Leather Company, vice president and director of the Eagle- Ottawa Leather Company of Chicago, Illinois, and a stockholder in still other concerns. His judgment is sound, his discrimination keen and he readily recognizes and utilizes the opportunity that comes through the constant changes which occur in business life.
On the 16th of February, 1892, in Milwaukee, Mr. Vogel was married to Miss Anita Hansen, daughter of Theodor L. Hansen of this city. Their children are six in number : August H., who wedded Virginia Cumner; Theodore F., who married Kathryn James; Hugo C .; Rudolph E .; Elizabeth A .; and Anita. The religious faith of the family is that of St. James Episcopal church, in which Mr. Vogel is serving as senior warden, and he is also identified with various church activities, being president of the Martha Washington Home and president of St. John's Home.
In his political views Mr. Vogel has always been a stalwart republican, and while never an office seeker, he has done much efficient public service as the occasion and need have arisen. He served as a member of the Milwaukee County Council of Defense in 1917 and 1918 and was regional advisor of the resources and conversion section of the war industries board. He acted as chairman during the first Liberty
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Loan campaign and as a member of the executive committee during the second, third and fourth Liberty Loan campaigns. He is now a trustee of the Milwaukee Citizens Bureau of Municipal Efficiency and his deep interest in educational advancement is shown in his service as a trustee of the Milwaukee-Downer College and trustee of the Milwaukee University School. He also enjoys the pleasures and companionships of club life and has membership in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, University, Milwaukee Country, Chenequa Country and Pine Lake Yacht Clubs. The interests and activities of his life are varied, making his a well balanced character, and his most effective work has ever been done on the side of public progress and improvement as well as in the advancement of business interests.
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