USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume II > Part 45
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In 1885 Mr. Momsen was married to Miss Mary Louise Groth, a native of Germany, and they have become parents of three children: Walter P., who is with the Fischer Furniture Company; Richard P., an attorney now located in Rio Janeiro, Brazil; and Viola Louise, the wife of Walter G. Meyer, assistant manager and secretary of the W. H. Pipkorn Company of Milwaukee.
Mr. Momsen is a member of the Wisconsin Club, also of the Calumet Club and the Milwaukee Athletic Club of which he served as president in 1887, when the dues were but three dollars per year. He is likewise a member of the Old Settlers Club and is identified with the Elks, the Eagles, the A. L. A. and with the National Union. His progressive spirit is manifest in his active interest in everything that pertains to the welfare and upbuilding of the city and the maintenance of high civic standards.
WILLIAM KOLLOGE.
William Kolloge, president of the Kolloge Hardware Company of Milwaukee, has in- troduced into the business of which he is the head, a spirit of steady expansion and development that has resulted in making it one of the important enterprises of this character in the city. What he has accomplished represents the fit utilization of his powers and talents and his labors at all times have heen wisely directed. Born in Milwaukee on the 22d of August, 1882, he is a son of Henry and Elise ( Roepke) Kolloge. the former a native of Germany, while the latter was born in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. It was about the year 1857 that the father crossed the Atlantic and became a resident of Milwaukee, where later he engaged in the hardware business as a member of the firm of Hilgendorf, Kolloge & Company, located at No. 303 Third street. There he engaged in business for thirty-seven years, becoming one of the forceful and representa- tive merchants of the city and retiring only a short time before his death, which occurred July 19, 1913.
William Kolloge obtained his education in the public schools of this city and received his initial business training by entering his father's store, starting at the age of seventeen years. There he continued until he reached the age of thirty-two, when
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he and his brother, Herman F. Kolloge, organized the Kolloge Hardware Company and established business at 367 Third street. They began with a small retail store and their business has steadily increased and developed throughout the intervening years until they now have a large trade with the contractors and factories, making theirs one of the important enterprises of this character in the city.
In 1906 Mr. Kolloge was married to Miss Pauline Schlinsock, a daughter of Captain G. and Anna (Hoffman) Schlinsock. They have become parents of five children; Thelma, William, Lorna, Herbert and Alva. The religious faith of the family is indicated in their membership in the Trinity Lutheran church. Mr. Kolloge is also identified with the Association of Commerce and is in hearty sympathy with the plans and purposes of that organization to develop and extend the trade relations of the city and to maintain high standards of municipal service and of civic progress. He likewise belongs to the Builders & Traders Exchange. In politics he is a republican of the liberal type, voting for the principles of the party at national elections but casting an independent ballot at local elections if his judgment dictates this to be the wiser course. He has never been an aspirant for public office, preferring always to concentrate his efforts and attention upon his business affairs, and the thoroughness and capability with which he has managed his interests in association with his brother have led to the attainment of substantial prosperity.
WILLIAM WHEELER COLEMAN.
William Wheeler Coleman, president of the Bucyrus Company of South Milwaukee, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, November 21, 1873, and is a son of William W. and Ellen Gibbons (Hiss) Coleman, who were also natives of Maryland, where their ancestors had lived through several generations. The father was a banker of Baltimore for many years, associated with the Farmers & Planters Bank as one of its officials. He died in 1890, having for some time survived his wife, who passed away in 1878.
William Wheeler Coleman was educated in public and private schools of Maryland and after completing his studies in Baltimore entered the Lehigh University of Penn- sylvania, from which he was graduated as a metallurgical engineer in the class of 1895. He entered the employ of the Bethlehem Iron Company, now the Bethlehem Steel Company, with which he remained for a time, and later was with the Crucible Steel Company of America at Clairton, Pennsylvania. He was afterward with the Latrobe Steel Coupler Company at Melrose Park, Illinois, and in September, 1905, became identified with the Bucyrus Company, being elected to the presidency in 1911. This company is engaged in the manufacture of excavating machinery, including all kinds of dredges, steam, gas and electric shovels, drag lines, railway wrecking cranes, spreader plows, trench excavators, castings and forgings.
Mr. Coleman was married June 20, 1899, to Alice Frazier of South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and they have a danghter, Isabel. Mr. Coleman belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Milwaukee Club, the Milwaukee Country Club and other clubs of this city and also has membership in the University Club of Chicago and the University Club of New York. During the war with Germany he was active in several war agencies and in 1918 went to Washington, D. C., as assistant to the chief of ordnance in charge of Artillery and Accessories.
WILLIAM MARTIN WOLFF.
William Martin Wolff, resident manager at Milwaukee for Wisconsin, for the Fidelity & Deposit Company of Maryland, of Baltimore, that state, has occupied this position for a period of six years and his long association with the insurance and surety business, indicates mest clearly the record which he has made for capability, fidelity and progressiveness. A native of Minnesota, he was born in Winona, Jnne 7, 1878. His father. John F. Wolff. who passed away in January, 1919, was born in Germany and was a son of William Wolff, who was also a native of that country and on coming to the United States took up his abode in Milwaukee about 1874. John F. Wolff was a youth of eighteen years when he accompanied his parents on their emigra- tion to the new world and for a long period conducted business under the name of the Red Star Soap Company in this city. He married Emilie Fiebrantz, who is still living in Milwaukee and whose birth occurred near this city. Her father was August Fie- brantz, who was engaged in the flour and feed business in Milwaukee and owned a farm near the city on the Green Bay road-property that is still in possession of the family. He was born in Germany and came to the United States in the '50s. To Mr. and Mrs. John F. Wolff were born two sons, the brother of William M. being Arthur C. Wolff, who was a sergeant in the ordnance department during the World war and
WILLIAM M. WOLFF
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was on active duty for fourteen months. He is now living in Milwaukee and is a mem- ber of the firm of Lupinski & Wolff, contractors and builders.
William M. Wolff obtained his early education in the public schools of Milwaukee, passing through consecutive grades to the East Side high school and putting aside his textbooks at the age of seventeen years in order to make his initial step in the business world. At that time he entered the law office of Sylvester, Scheiber, Riley & Orth, with whom he studied for two years, and later he became private secretary to Charles F. Pfister, with whom he remained for two years, having in the meantime studied stenography in an evening school. His next position was with the firm of Meyst, Pammel & Lukens, general agents for the Milwaukee Casualty Company, whom he represented as office manager. Two years later the agency was sold to Roger L. Merrill, and Mr. Wolff continued with Mr. Merrill as assistant manager until August, 1915, when he was appointed manager for the Fidelity & Deposit Company of Mary- land. He had since represented the latter corporation at Milwaukee and is a promi- nent figure in financial circles of the city. His capability and thorough reliability are recognized as salient features in his career. He is also a director of the Citizens Build- ing & Loan Association.
On the 15th of July, 1902, Mr. Wolff was married to Miss Grace Rivers. Her father is Alexander Rivers, superintendent of the paint shops of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company. He was born in Wisconsin and passed away in January, 1919. Mr. and Mrs. Wolff have one daughter, Deane, who is now a pupil in the public schools of this city.
Mr. Wolff belongs to the Association of Commerce and is serving on its member- ship committee. He also belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, to the Wisconsin Club, the City Club and to the Ozaukee Country Golf Club. His career has ever been marked by steady progress, and step by step he has advanced until he now occupies a prominent position in the business circles of the city, especially in connection with financial and investment interests.
ANTHONY J. LUKASZEWSKI.
Anthony J. Lukaszewski, business manager of the Nowiny Polskie, the Polish daily of Milwaukee, was born in Poland, June 2, 1882, and is a son of Joseph and Mary (Kaczmarek ) Lukaszewski, who were likewise natives of that country and came to America in 1892. For a year they were residents of Manistee, Michigan, and then came to Milwaukee, where the father still resides. The mother has departed this life.
Anthony J. Lukaszewski attended school in Poland for three years and after arriving in Milwaukee was a student in St. Josaphat parochial school, while in 1904 he was graduated from Marquette University with the Bachelor of Arts degree. Liberal educa- tional opportunities thus well qualified him for life's practical and responsible duties. In early manhood he devoted six and a half years to life insurance business as representative of the Prudential Insurance Company, in the positions of auditor, inspec- tor, etc. His connection with the Nowiny Polskie dates from 1913, at which time he took charge of the advertising department and in 1918 he was made manager of the paper, which is a daily publication with a circulation of about ten thousand. Under his management the paper has made steady and notable progress in its advertising, in its circulation and in other ways. In fact it has prospered beyond the expectation of Mr. Lukaszewski and the owners of the publication. His labors have been of a most practical character and results have been thoroughly gratifying.
In 1906 Mr. Lukaszewski was united in marriage to Miss Sophia Bieganski, who died in 1916, leaving six children: Anthony, Rose, Bernard, Lucy, Boleslaus and Helen. On the 7th of August, 1917, Mr. Lukaszewski was again married, his second union being with Miss Agnes Kubacki of Milwaukee, and their children are two in number: Leon and Martha.
Mr. Lukaszewski is a member of the Advertisers Club and also of the Milwaukee Association of Commerce. He is likewise president of the Polish Opera Club, the only organization of its kind in the country. He is a lover of the stage and theatrical interests and has taken part in various amateur performances. Moreover, he does a great deal of public speaking and is particularly well known in this connection among the Polish people. During the World war period he was constantly husy addressing audiences in both English and Polish, speaking in all the large shops concerning the vital questions and issues of the hour. He also served on the reception committee greeting the returning soldiers and arranged receptions for visiting Frenchmen and the men of high rank coming to the United States from allied countries. He belongs to the Equitable Fraternal Union and to the Polish National Alliance and the Polish Association of America. He is deeply interested in the welfare and progress of the land of his birth and at the same time has ever displayed the utmost loyalty to the land of his adoption. He keeps in touch with all the vital questions and issues of the day
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and is especially active in supporting those measures and projects which promise benefit and progress for his adopted city. His ability has largely been used for public benefit as well as for individual advancement and he is today widely known in journalistic circles.
ROBERT L. COOLEY.
Robert L. Cooley, a prominent educator and one of the founders of the Milwaukee Vocational School which is today one of the largest of the kind in the country, was born at Fredonia, Ozaukee county, Wisconsin, in 1869. His early educational training was received in the village graded school and eventually he completed a course of study at Waubeka, after which he obtained a certificate to teach in 1886. He then taught in a country school for two winter terms and when not thus engaged his attention was given to work on farms and in factories. He was at all times am- bitious to improve his own education, however, and he eagerly utilized every oppor- tunity in that direction. For one year he was a student in the Oshkosh State Normal School, which he left in order to teach in a graded school at Newburg, Washington county. He thus augmented his financial resources, after which he returned to the Normal School and was graduated with the class of 1894. In the same year he accepted the position of assistant in the high school at Oconto, Wisconsin, and in the following year he became city superintendent of schools and principal of the high school at that place, there remaining until 1903, when he came to Milwaukee as principal of the school at Eighteenth and Cedar streets. He was afterward transferred to the school at Ninth and Ring streets, where he served until November, 1912, when he became the director of vocational schools, which at that time were being inaugurated under the law passed in 1911. Work under this law was not started until November, 1912, when the local board of industrial education elected Mr. Cooley as its first director and in this position he has continued. He has gained fame and prominence as an educator and especially as one of the founders and promoters of the Milwaukee Vo- cational School, which is today one of the largest of the country and one of the best equipped, while its system of instruction is most thorough and comprehensive.
On the 1st of September, 1898, Mr. Cooley was united in marriage to Miss Carrie S. Ide, a daughter of the Rev. George H. Ide, pastor of the Grand Avenue Congregational church of this city. They have two children: Katherine Ide, born January 5, 1905; and Margaret Ide, born September 14, 1909. Mr. and Mrs. Cooley occupy a very en- viable position, especially in those social circles where true worth and intelligence are accepted as a passport to good society.
RUPERT A. NOURSE.
Rupert A. Nourse is a prominent figure in industrial circles of Milwaukee as the vice president and general manager of The Stowell Company, having been identified with that concern and its predecessor for the past seventeen years. His birth occurred in Hallock, Peoria county, Illinois, on the 10th of December, 1873, his parents being Morris Alonzo and Sara (Prentiss) Nourse. The father served in the Civil war as a member of the Forty-sixth Illinois Infantry. In the paternal line the ancestry is traced back to Francis and Rebecca Nourse, who emigrated from Yarmouth, England, to Salem, Massachusetts, in 1638. Rebecca Nourse suffered martyrdom during the witchcraft delu- sion in Salem in 1692. She was one of the prominent martyrs of that time and a monument was erected to her memory in Salem with an epitaph written by John Green- leaf Whittier. The family has an honorable military record, representatives of the name having participated in the Revolutionary war, the War of 1812 and the Civil war. On the maternal side Rupert A. Nourse is a descendant of "Mad Anthony" Wayne, the dis- tinguished American general. The maternal ancestors settled in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1642.
R. A. Nourse supplemented his early educational training by a course of study in Drake University of Des Moines, Iowa, from which institution he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts as a member of the class of 1895. During the two succeeding years he pursued postgraduate work at the University of Chicago. His attention was first devoted to the profession of teaching and from 1896 until 1899 he served as superintendent of public schools at Keswick, Iowa, where he organized the public school system, added a high school and also erected new buildings, his efforts proving a potent factor in the development of the educational interests of the town. The years 1900 and 1901 were given to instruction as assistant professor of Latin in Drake University. It was in 1901 that he first became identified with industrial inter- ests, embarking in business as a manufacturer of door hangers at Racine, Wisconsin. Three years later he disposed of this business to the Stowell Manufacturing & Foundry
ROBERT L. COOLEY
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Company of South Milwaukee, with which concern and its successors, The Stowell Company, he has been associated in various capacities to the present time. He served as secretary prior to being made vice president and general manager, his present official position.
The business now conducted under the name of The Stowell Company, founders and manufacturers, was organized in 1886, in Milwaukee, by S. H. and E. Y. Moore as the Moore Manufacturing & Foundry Company and the factory was located in the Menominee valley. In the early '90s the plant was removed to South Milwaukee, where the manufacture of hardware specialties, such as barn door hangers and rail, elevator door fixtures, tackle blocks, hot air registers, etc., was continued. In 1896 the Hon. John M. Stowell, one of the founders of Filer & Stowell and one-time mayor of Mil- waukee, purchased the business and changed the name to the Stowell Manufacturing & Foundry Company. The corporation continued the manufacture of the same lines, and also did contract work in grey iron castings. In 1899 a malleable iron foundry was added and some new hardware specialities introduced, such as malleable clevises, malleable shoe lasts and stands, wagon and carriage malleable hardware. In 1901 the concern increased its holdings with a second malleable foundry and the specialty lines continued with the addition of link belt chain, hay tools and some other agricultural specialties. In 1904 the Midland Iron Works of Racine, Wisconsin, was purchased and its line of automatic fire door equipment, barn door, warehouse and railroad hangers became a part of The Stowell Company's output. The molders' strike came in 1906 and the company was crippled for some time, being required to build up an entirely new foundry organization. This, however, was accomplished and the financial panic of 1907 was successfully weathered. In 1908 the Hon. John M. Stowell died and his son-in-law, the late Charles E. Sammond, who had for many years been manager, was made presi- dent. During the depression of 1913 and 1914 a reorganization was planned and a new corporation known as The Stowell Company took over the properties in 1916. The new company discontinued many of the specialty lines that had previously been manufactured and confined its operations largely to malleable hardware, malleable clevises, shoe lasts and stands and link belt chain. During the war the plant was listed as a one hundred per cent plant, manufacturing only those lines which the war industries board listed as essential to the successful prosecution of the war. In Novem- ber, 1919, the land and buildings of the Pelton Steel Company, located on Chicago road and Elliott place in Milwaukee, were purchased, and in 1921 the Pelton Steel Company was absorbed. The buildings were remodeled, new ones added and the plant made into a factory for the production of malleable iron castings. This was called The Stowell Company Plant, No. 2.
Under normal conditions The Stowell Company employs from six hundred to seven hundred men. It is a member of the American Malleable Castings Association and is listed by this association as a manufacturer of certified malleable castings. Only those plants are so listed which continuously in their daily process produce material which is in accord with the requirements of the American Society for Testing Materials. The principal products of The Stowell Company are malleable iron castings, grey iron castings, electric steel castings, brass castings, link helt chain, malleable clevises and malleable hardware. The following are the officers and directors: Fred W. Rogers, president; Rupert A. Nourse, vice president and general manager; Thomas E. Ward, secretary and manager of purchases and sales; Henry J. Van Beek, treasurer; and Fred Vogel, Jr., William H. Schuchardt, Fred L. Sivyer and T. H. Spence, additional directors.
Besides his identification with The Stowell Company, Mr. Nourse is the president of the Midland Company of South Milwaukee, manufacturers of saddlery hardware, automobile accessories and wrought chain. He is likewise a member of the board of directors of the Line Material Company of South Milwaukee, manufacturers of outdoor lighting material. The important and extensive business interests of Mr. Nourse are capably conducted. Tireless energy, keen perception, honesty of purpose, a genius for devising the right thing at the right time, joined to everyday common sense, guided by resistless will power, are the chief characteristics of the man.
On the 27th of August, 1896, in Des Moines, Iowa, Mr. Nourse was united in marriage to Miss Arma Jones, a daughter of Isaac Jones, who was a member of the Third Iowa Cavalry during the Civil war. She is a graduate of Drake University of Des Moines, Iowa, which conferred upon her the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1895, and in 1896 she acted as principal of the high school at Brooklyn, lowa. By her marriage she has become the mother of a daughter and two sons, namely: Clair Prentiss, Evelyn and Robert. The first named, who was graduated from Cornell University with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1919, served in the United States navy during the World war and is now secretary and treasurer of the Midland Company of South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On the 9th of July, 1920, he wedded Miss Florence Silvernail of Corydon, Iowa.
Mr. Nourse takes an active and helpful interest in the city's moral advancement as chairman of the board of trustees of the Park and Prospect Christian church and as a
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member of the board of directors of the Wisconsin Christian Missionary Association and of the Young Men's Christian Association. He is a popular member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, and is well known in both business and social circles of this city, where his position is that of a leading manufacturer and foremost citizen.
ROBERT C. FREIHUBE.
Robert C. Freihube, a hardware merchant whose enterprise, diligence and de- termination have been the basic elements of a well merited success, was born in the town of Menomonee, Waukesha county, Wisconsin, July 11, 1870, a son of Traugott and Wilhelmina (Liebers) Freihube, both of whom were natives of Germany but came to America with their respective parents when quite small. The paternal grandfather, Christian Freihube, was a pioneer of Milwaukee who arrived in this city before its incorporation. He devoted his life to the occupation of farming and Traugott Freihube also concentrated his efforts and attention upon agricultural pursuits throughout his life. Both he and his wife are deceased.
Robert C. Freihube pursued his education in the public schools and afterward began clerking in a grocery store, being thus employed for several years. He was later with the National Enameling & Stamping Company for a number of years and was in the employ of the Frankfurth Hardware Company for some time. He was also associated with Gimbel Brothers and then began business on his own account in 1902, at Twenty-fourth and Walnut streets as a member of the Weinsheimer Hardware Com- pany. In 1911 a removal was made to North avenue and Thirty-fifth street and three years later the business was established at its present location-3815 North avenue, where Mr. Freihube now has a large stock of hardware and merchandise. His business has reached extensive and gratifying proportions and his entire career has been characterized by an energy and determination that carries him steadily forward to success.
In 1894 Mr. Freihube was married to Miss Louise Zarling of Milwaukee, and they have become parents of four children: Beatrice, Gerhardt, Robert C. and Ruth. Mr. Freihube has throughout his life manifested a most public-spirited interest in the general welfare and in many ways has contributed to progress and improvement in the city. He was the second president of the Milwaukee Zoological Society and was instrumental in bringing the first animals to the Zoo. He has taken great interest in upbuilding the Zoo, making it a point of educative interest for young and old. He has likewise served as a member of the executive board of the mayor's advisory board for three years. He organized the first advancement association that was on North avenue and has been a member of many of its important committees, serving at the present time as chairman of its legislative committee. He belongs to the American Luther Association and is very active in religious work, serving now as chairman of the finance committee of the southeast district of the Wisconsin synod. Mr. Freihube is one of the best known business men on North avenue and one of the most highly esteemed residents of that section of the city. His work has indeed been of usefulness and benefit along many lines, and while actuated by the laudable am- bition of attaining success in business, he has never allowed this to monopolize his time and attention to the exclusion of other interests but has recognized the oppor- tunity to be of assistance in public matters and has ever contributed to the progress and improvement of the city, his labors being ever of a tangible character, productive of substantial and valuable results.
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