USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume II > Part 40
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On the 16th of July, 1908, Mr. Grau was married to Miss Abbie Marie Wendell, now deceased. Following her death he was married on the 13th of April, 1913, to Gertrude Anna Ziegler, a daughter of the late Theodore Ziegler of the George Ziegler Company of Milwaukee. His children are: Rosalie Christine Grau, Philip Ziegler Grau, and Joseph August Grau.
In his political views Mr. Grau is an independent republican but while he usually supports the principles of the party he does not consider himself bound to party ties. He has done much important public service, having been a member of the Board of County Visitors of Cook County, Chicago, and Secretary of the Wilmette Guard at Wilmette, Illinois, a citizens' organization, in which capacity he served during the war period. He belongs to Georgetown Chapter of the Delta Chi fraternity and in religious faith he is a Roman Catholic, being a meniber of St. Robert's parish at Shorewood, a suburb of Milwaukee, and an honorary member of Holy Name Society of St. Thomas Aquinas parish of Milwaukee. He likewise belongs to the Catholic University of America alumni, to the Georgetown University alumni, to the Marquette University alumni, and is an honorary member of the Economics Club of the Robert A. Johnston School of Economics of Marquette University, as well as an honorary member of the Commerce Club of Marquette University. His name is on the list of active members in the Milwaukee Athletic Club. That he is a man of scholarly attainments is gathered forth between the lines of this review. He ever studies broadly, thinks deeply, and
Coppin if 1920 Moffett
PHIL A. GRAU
Vol. II-25
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keeps abreast with men of learning throughout America on all those subjects which are of vital interest in relation to economic conditions and his opinions have had far-reaching influence in this connection.
CARL HERZFELD.
Carl Herzfeld, vice president and general manager of the Herzfeld-Phillipson Company, owners of the Boston Store in Milwaukee, was born January 22, 1866, in Bielefeld, Westphalia, Germany, his parents being Philip and Emma Herzfeld. In the acquirement of his education he attended the schools of his native city, pursuing a course in the Gymnasium there. He was a youth of seventeen years when he left his native country to become a resident of the United States, arriving on the 1st of September, 1883.
Making his way westward to Decatur, Michigan, Mr. Herzfeld worked in a small dry goods store there owned by Charles Schuster, until January 28, 1889, when he came to Milwaukee. The next day he entered the employ of Ed Schuster & Com- pany, with whom he continued for fourteen years, or until the 1st of January, 1903. Determined to start his own business Mr. Herzfeld looked about him for other fields of labor. He had flattering offers from men of large means who gave him the chance of establishing a business in the east but Mr. Herzfeld had great faith in Milwaukee and decided to remain. Accordingly, the Herzfeld-Phillipson Company was organized in 1902. The company started by renting space for a few depart- ments in the Boston Store and gradually took over others until in the second year of its existence it had eighteen departments and finally on the 1st of October, 1906, took over the entire store, which it reorganized with Nat Stone as president, Carl Herzfeld as vice president and general manager, A. L. Stone as treasurer and R. Phillipson as secretary. The firm also took over the Milwaukee Boston Store Cor- poration as a holding company for the real estate, with Nat Stone as president, Jake Stone as treasurer and Carl Herzfeld as secretary. The Boston Store was established in 1900, at which time it occupied a ground space of but one hundred and fifty by one hundred and sixty-two feet. Something of the growth of the business can be realized when it is stated that the buildings now cover more than twelve acres of floor space. Additional room has gradually been acquired and new buildings have replaced the old ones. When Mr. Herzfeld took charge as general manager, in which position he remains, he adopted a policy for the store that was expressed in the words "fair, square and liberal." This policy has since been followed in con- neetion with every detail of the business and is the foundation of the present great success attained by the company. The growth of the business has its root in truth and fact. More and more the company has enjoyed the confidence of the public and by reason thereof its trade has constantly expanded. Some years ago Mr. Herzfeld wrote a booklet called, Code of Truth in Advertising, and this little volume was founded upon his practical experience. It has been printed in its third edition and has by request been sent to all parts of the world. In this little booklet Mr. Herz- feld maintains the imperative necessity of a strict adherence to a policy of truthful advertising, for he has ever followed the course of "telling the truth and nothing but the truth." In a foreword of the book he said to his buyers: "In presenting to you this code of truth, we desire to call your attention to the fact that it is greatly due to the use and careful application of these terms that our business has made such remarkable progress. We have endeavored to build our business on a solid foundation and are now more than ever determined not to deviate from our well defined course. In using comparative price advertising as one of our prin- ciples, we have succeeded in gaining the fullest confidence of the public. To give greater strength to this principle we have transposed these terms into tangible form, so that you may at no time be at a loss as to the proper application." In that Mr. Herzfeld speaks of many terms which are commonly used by merchants in advertising and tells how and when these terms can be legitimately used, so that there shall be no misrepresentation of any goods. Without reprinting the entire booklet its substance can be probably summed up in one short sentence, "Tell the public the facts only." Mr. Herzfeld makes every department manager live up to this motto of the house. There is no camouflage attached to any of the articles on sale in the Boston Store, nor is there any misrepresentation allowed in the adver- tising columns and the employe who ventures upon any other path than that of strict truth does not remain long with the establishment. The store is today one of the leading commercial enterprises of the city and in the conduct of its interests the broader spirit of the new century finds expression.
Mr. Herzfeld, like many others, immigrated to this country with only a limited knowledge of the English language but unlike most of those who have crossed the Atlantic it was acknowledged that in six months' time he had mastered the native
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tongue of the American people and today it would be hard to find one who more fluently expresses his meaning in English. His career has been remarkable and his success is well merited.
On the 14th of July, 1895, Mr. Herzfeld was married to Miss Helena Phillipson, who was born in Altona, Germany, and they have two sons: Hans Martin, one of the merchandise managers of the Boston Store, who married Charlotte Patek; and Richard Philip, also connected with the store as a department manager, and who in February, 1922, married Ethel Ann Davis.
Mr. Herzfeld is a Master Mason and he belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Wisconsin Club, the City Club, the Chenequa Country Club, Milwaukee Yacht Club and several others. He is a director of the Association of Commerce and for six years was a director of the National Retail Dry Goods Association. He was also the organizer of the junior chapter of the Association of Commerce. He has been instrumental in having passed many ordinances for the betterment of the city and was one of the men who worked for the placing of traffic police on the streets. Both of his sons enlisted during the war, one in the army, the other in the navy, and Mr. Herzfeld himself was appointed state merchant representative for the food administration and devoted a large part of his time to his duties in that connection. One of the most prominent residents of Milwaukee, speaking of Mr. Herzfeld said, "He stands head and shoulders above most and is entitled to a prominent place in history." Not seeking honor but simply endeavoring to do his duty and manage his interests according to high ethical standards of commerce, prominence has come to him and prosperity has followed all his undertakings.
IGNATIUS CZERWINSKI.
Ignatius Czerwinski, prominent in connection with the real estate business of Milwaukee and in Polish-American circles, was born in Lnbasz, in the province of Posen, Poland, February 1, 1858, his parents being Frank and Felicia W. Czerwinski. His father emigrated to the United States in 1852 and making his way to California, attracted by the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast, he spent five years in that section of the country and then returned to Poland. He continued to reside in his native country for another period of ten years and then came to America with his family.
Ignatius Czerwinski began his education in the schools of Poland and afterward attended St. Gall's School in Milwaukee. He started out in the business world as a clerk in the general store conducted by the firm of Kroeger Brothers, with whom he remained for a period of fourteen years, but ambitious to engage in business on his own account he carefully saved his earnings until his industry and economy enabled him to establish a store of this character for himself. He continued in the business for a considerable period meeting with success and later he turned his attention to the real estate business. He has since negotiated many important property transfers and has built up a large clientage in this connection. What he undertakes he accomplishes for he is a man of firm purpose and earnest determination and overcomes all obstacles and difficulties by persistent effort.
In 1886 Mr. Czerwinski was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Zabczynska and to them have been born four children: Irene, Edward, Adrian and Marie. The military record of Mr. Czerwinski covers twelve years' service in the state militia as a member of the Wisconsin National Guard. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party and he has filled some positions of public honor and trust. For two years he was clerk of the circuit court and for eight years he filled the office of police and fire commissioner. He also served as a member of local draft board for Division No. 8 for the city of Milwaukee during the World war. He is very prominent in Polish circles, having marked influence over men of his own nationality and is well fitted for the position of leadership which he fills, as his life is guided by high standards of business and of citizenship. If such men were always the controlling factor among the foreign born there would be no question as to the conversion to real Americanization as the years pass by.
EDWARD H. GRABER.
Milwaukee county has become one of the great leather centers of the country and various business enterprises have contributed to the result. Among these is the Forsyth Leather Company of Wauwatosa, of which Edward H. Graber is the treasurer and manager. In all that he undertakes he displays keen business ability, executive force and undaunted enterprise. He was born in Buffalo, New York, November 26, 1872, and
IGNATIUS CZERWINSKI
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is a son of John and Augusta (Reidel) Graber, both of whom were natives of Germany and were brought to America by their respective parents in their infancy, their families settling in Buffalo, New York. John Graber became a tanner by trade, following the business throughout his life. He passed away in Freeport, Illinois, at the age of eighty- two years. His wife died at the age of eighty-three.
Edward H. Graber was largely educated in the schools of Lindsay, Ontario, and while there residing he also learned the tanner's trade under the direction of his brother, John. In 1892 he went to Chicago and was associated with the George Osborne Standard Tanning Company for ahout two years. In 1895 he came to Milwaukee and obtained a position with Alhert Trostel & Company, tanners, with whom he spent eighteen months, and then entered the employ of the Herman Zorlaut Company. After some time spent with that concern he became identified with the Wilder-Manning Tanning Company, which was afterwards changed to the Wilder Tanning Company at Waukegan, Illinois. At that time the business was a very small concern, capitalized for fifty thousand dollars, and assuming control Mr. Graber introduced most progressive methods that greatly developed the business. Something of the growth is indicated in the fact that the capital stock was increased to three hundred thousand dollars, and Mr. Graber has held most of the official positions from that of superintendent to manager. He was with the concern for eighteen years, or until the business was sold in July, 1917, when he became associated with the Forsyth Leather Company of Milwaukee, of which he was made manager, and in 1919 he was elected treasurer. This company manufactures the patent and also upper leather, and in normal times employs one hundred and sixty people. Its product is sold all over the country and is exported to foreign lands as well. Mr. Graber is also a director of the First National Bank of Wauwatosa.
In his home relations Mr. Graber has always been pleasantly situated. He first married Katharine Bevers and to them was born a daughter, Edna. The wife and mother passed away in 1908, and in 1915 Mr. Graber was married to Martha Knaack of Princeton, Wisconsin, and they now occupy an attractive home in Wauwatosa.
Mr. Graber belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and he is also a thirty-second degree Mason. He likewise has membership in Waukegan Commandery, No. 12, K. T., and in Medinah Temple of the Mystic Shrine in Chicago, while his Scottish Rite degrees were taken in Milwaukee Consistory. He is a loyal follower of the teach- ings and purposes of Masonry and exemplifies in his life the beneficent spirit of the craft. In his business career he has manifested many sterling qualities, whereby he has worked his way steadily upward from a humble position to one of prominence and affluence in leather circles.
FREDERICK VOGEL, SR.
No history of Milwaukee would be complete without extended reference to Frederick Vogel, Sr., who was the promoter of one of the most extensive productive industries of the city, a business that is now furnishing employment to ahout three thousand people under the name of the Pfister & Vogel Leather Company. The business has been in existence for seventy-four years, having heen established in March, 1847, and through an extended period, Frederick Vogel was a directing force in shaping the development, promoting the growth and extending the activity of this mammoth concern, Emerson said, "an institution is nothing more than the lengthened shadow of a man," and in this vast enterprise is seen the tangible result of the energy, determination, farsighted- ness and keen business ability of Frederick Vogel.
A native of Germany, he was born in Kirchheim, in the province of Wurtemberg. May 6, 1823, and was the youngest son of Jacob and Elizabeth Vogel, also natives of that country. He acquired his education in the schools of Germany and when his student days were over began learning the tanner's trade, which he followed for a number of years, acquiring large familiarity with every branch of the business.
At length, feeling that better business opportunities might be secured in America. Mr. Vogel came to the new world, leaving home when twenty-three years of age and reaching New York in July, 1846. After a few weeks spent in the eastern metropolis, he continued his westward journey to Buffalo, New York, and there secured employment in a small tannery owned by his cousin, his duties being the buying of hides and skins and the sale of leather. Business trips often took him to Chicago and Milwaukee and the opportunities offered in the latter city led him to the determination to make it his place of residence. He carried out this resolution in 1847 and in the following year became associated with Guido Pfister in the tannery business. They built a small tan- nery on the Menominee river, and this constituted the initial step in the development of the great enterprise now carried on under the name of the Pfister & Vogel Leather Company. The leather produced in the first tannery was sold by Guido Pfister through- the Buffalo Leather Company, a little shop of which he was sole proprietor. Two years
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later each of the men bought an interest in the concern of the other, and in 1853 the leather store became a partnership affair. Four years later the two men merged their interests completely and took charge of the leather industry of Milwaukee, then repre- sented by the Vogel tannery. Steadily their patronage grew, and in 1872 the business was incorporated with a capital stock of two hundred thousand dollars. Today the company owns one of the most immense plants in Milwaukee and has branches in all the leather centers of the world, doing business amounting to millions annually. They have two offices in England, one in London and the other in Northampton, and also have offices in Paris, Frankfort and Rome, and agencies in all other important indus- trial centers of Europe. Their selling offices in America now number ten. The activity of the founders of this business made Milwaukee one of the leading leather manufactur- ing centers of the world. From time to time their plant has been enlarged until they now have five different tanneries and a patent leather finishing plant. At the Menom- inee tannery calf, veals and kip leathers are tanned. The Island tannery situated across the river, manufactures the Pevee kid and glove horse leather, and the Pleasant street tannery and another tannery on the Milwaukee river, tan harness and other vegetable tanned leathers. The large variety of leathers tanned, including nearly all kinds of upper leather, hemlock, union and chrome sole, harness and glove leather, makes it possible to manufacture each hide received into the kind of leather for which it is best suited. This insures a high quality and uniformity in each line difficult to obtain otherwise. The calfskins, goatskins, cowhides and horsehides tanned are not only from domestic sources, hut from the markets of Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. In fact the hides are brought from every section of the globe, and the finished product finds its way into almost every country in the universe. Frederick Vogel, Sr., was long a moving spirit in the development of this great enterprise and always stood for the highest and best in production and also in the treatment rendered to employes. Today the Pfister & Vogel Company has a staff of nurses and physicians, and maintains its own hospitals, and one seeking employment must pass a thorough physical examination before being entered on the roll. The present officers of the Pfister & Vogel Leather Company are: Fred Vogel, Jr., president; Charles F. Pfister, vice president; August H. Vogel, second vice president; August C. Helmholz, treasurer; Carl Meier, secretary; and Fred A. Vogel, general manager. The father, Frederick Vogel, Sr., remained an active factor in the management and expansion of the business until called to his final rest, and the great enterprise largely stands as a monument to his ability and progressiveness.
On the 13th of March, 1850, Mr. Vogel was married to Mrs. August Dresshel and they became the parents of seven children, of whom three daughters and two sons are living. The husband and father departed this life October 24, 1892, when in the sixty- ninth year of his age, passing away when on a return voyage from Europe, being a passenger on the steamer Lahn. His remains were brought back to Milwaukee for inter- ment, and his death was the occasion of deep and widespread regret for he had become a most valued citizen of Milwaukee, where his friends were legion.
His political support was ever given to the republican party, and he was elected on its ticket as a member of the common council in 1856, while in 1873 he was called upon to represent his district in the state legislature. He cooperated heartily in all plans and measures for the public good, and his characteristic progressiveness was mani- fest in all public relations as well as in connection with his private business interests. What Mr. Vogel did for Milwaukee can scarcely be over-estimated, and the worth of his work should place his name high on the roll of those who have been the real founders and promoters of the city's greatness.
JOHN PETER MOE.
John Peter Moe, who for twenty-seven years was actively and prominently con- nected with the lumber interests of Milwaukee, continuing in the business to the time of his death, was born in the beautiful city of Throndhjem, Norway, July 22, 1863, his parents being J. P. and Sophia Moc, who were also natives of the land of the midnight sun. In the schools of his native city John P. Moe pursued his studies until graduated with honors at the age of thirteen years. He afterward spent one year in attendance at a private English school. His father was largely interested in maritime and com- mercial enterprises, and it was but natural that John P. Moe should turn his attention in the same direction. When a youth of fifteen years he obtained a position as check clerk with Brodkerb & Company, agents for his father's maritime interests. After six months he was transferred to the commercial branch of his father's business, acting in the capacity of bookkeeper, and while thus engaged he was frequently brought in contact with Americans and American interests. Acquiring much knowledge concern- ing this land and its opportunities he became imbued with the desire to try his fortune on this side of the Atlantic. The desire ripened into determination and on the 17th
JOHN P. MOE
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of March, 1880, he left his native country and landed in New York city after a stormy voyage of three weeks.
Mr. Moe continued in the eastern metropolis, however, for but a brief period and then started westward, going first to Muskegon, Michigan, where he made his initial step in connection with the line of business which was to claim his attention through- out his remaining days. It was in November, 1889, that he entered the employ of Louis Sands of Manistee, Michigan, as assistant bookkeeper, and in 1892 he was ad- vanced to the position of superintendent, while in 1893 he was promoted to the office of general manager of all of the extensive interests owned by Louis Sands. Mr. Moe continued to act in that responsible position until July, 1896, at which date he estab- lished a Inmberyard in Milwaukee for Mr. Sands. In 1904 the Sands Lumber Company was incorporated with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars all paid in and the following officers: Louis Sands, president; R. W. Smith, vice president; and John Peter Moe, secretary and treasurer. At a subsequent date Mr. Moe purchased the interests of Messrs. Sands and Smith and conducted the lumber business independently from that time until his death. For twenty-seven years he was closely associated with the lumber industry in this section of the country and in Milwaukee made for himself a most creditable place in business circles, conducting one of the splendidly equipped lumberyards of the city, while his methods in trade were such as commended him to the confidence and support of the general public. Mr. Moe was thoroughly familiar with every phase and branch of the lumber trade, and his progressiveness and enter- prise, combined with his thorough reliability, won for him the respect and confidence of all.
On the 12th of July. 1891, Mr Moe was married to Miss Amanda C. Eastman, a daughter of Gustave and Anna (Parson) Eastman, who were natives of Eskilstuna, Sweden. They became the parents of seven children: Charlotte; Reidun, who is now the wife of Rev. Gustave Stearns; Grace; Alice; John; Blanche and Virginia,
Mr. Moe found his greatest happiness in contributing to the welfare and comfort of his family and rejoiced in his success by reason of the fact that it enabled him to surround the members of his household with all of the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. Death parted the family circle when, on the 21st of May, 1916, Mr. Moe passed away. He was a consistent member of the Lutheran Church of our Savior, and his life was actuated by high and honorable principles. He was an exemplary follower of the Masonic fraternity, being identified with various bodies of the order, and politically he was a republican. His position upon any vital question was never an equivocal one. He stood loyally in support of what he believed to be right and never felt the least regret for the fact that he severed home ties in his native land and came to the new world. America found in him a progressive citizen and one who was ever faithful to the interests of his adopted country. He used wisely the chances for his individual advancement and at the same time he never neglected his public duties in the slightest degree.
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