USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume II > Part 52
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In his political views Mr. Buckner was always a democrat and one who closely studied the vital problems and issues of the country, never lightly regarding the duties of citizenship but at all times fully meeting his obligations in relation to the public welfare. He was a Knight Templar Mason, loyal to the teachings and purposes of the craft, and both he and his wife were consistent members of the Christian church. He found his greatest happiness at his own fireside, and his joy in ministering to the mem- bers of his own household. He was kindly and generous to others as well and was continually extending a helping hand where aid was needed. Of him it might well be said,
"His life was gentle. And the elements so mixed in him that nature might stand up and say to all the world, 'This was a man.'"
He left to his family the priceless heritage of an untarnished name and an example which should serve as an inspiration to all who knew him, while to the world he left a splendid legacy in his sons who have carried on his work, adding new luster to an untarnished family name.
SAMUEL OWEN BUCKNER.
Samuel Owen Buckner, of Milwaukee, inspector of agencies for the New York Life Insurance Company, was born in Wellington, Lafayette county, Missouri, April 30, 1862. the second in order of birth in the family of Walker and Margaret Ann (Tully) Buck- ner, who are mentioned at length on another page of this work, in which connection the ancestral record is also given. Samuel O. Buckner was a youth of eighteen when his parents removed from Missouri to Milwaukee. In the meantime he had acquired
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SAMUEL O. BUCKNER
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his education in private schools of the former state and when his textbooks were put aside he entered upon active association with the insurance business by serving as office boy in his father's establishment. With the thoroughness and earnestness that has always characterized his career he gained knowledge of the business and was en- trusted with duties of increasing importance as the years passed on, so that in April. 1886, when his brother, Thomas A., became a solicitor for the company, Samuel O. Buckner succeeded him in a clerical position in the father's office. Each year chron- icled increasing ability on his part and in 1894 he succeeded his father in charge of the Wisconsin business of the New York Life and now has supervision over the interests of this corporation in a district extending from Lake Michigan into the far Canadian northwest. For more than a third of a century he has been continuously associated with this corporation and not only has charge of the Wisconsin branch of the business but also supervises the work done in the general offices of the company in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota; in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and in Winnipeg, Canada. He is a man of splendid executive power and large administrative qualities. He has thoroughly acquainted himself with every phase of the business from its minor details to the great principles upon which the organization has been built. His management of the interests entrusted to him has constituted a valuable contribution to the success of the company, which indeed owes much of its growth to the labors of the various representatives of the Buckner family.
It was on the 21st of November, 1894, that Samuel Owen Buckner was united in marriage to Miss Zaidee Eddy Withington, whose birth occurred in Grand Rapids, Michigan, July 1, 1876, her parents being James and Kate (Eddy) Withington. Her father, who was born in Muscatine, lowa, in 1854, engaged in the wholesale lumber business at Big Rapids, Michigan, to the time of his death, which occurred in 1887, and for a considerable period he also had important lumber interests in St. Louis, Missouri. His wife, whom he wedded in 1874, was born and reared in St. Louis, being a daughter of Joseph Eddy, for many years a prominent wholesale merchant there. Mrs. Buckner largely spent her girlhood days in Washington, D. C., where she was a pupil in a private boarding school and for two years after completing her education she resided in Chicago and then accompanied her mother to Milwaukee, since which time she has been a resident of this city, long occupying a prominent position in social circles here. Mr. and Mrs. Buckner have become parents of a daughter, Margaret Tully, who was graduated from the Milwaukee-Downer College in 1914.
Mr. Buckner and his wife are members of the Plymouth Congregational church, in which he is serving as a trustee. He belongs to the Town and City Clubs, and Fox Point Country Chib, and his interest in furthering Milwaukee's material development is shown in his connection with the Association of Commerce. His further interest in the moral progress of the city is manifest in his identification with the Young Men's Christian Association and in fact he gives his aid and support to every good work done in the name of charity or religion. Moreover, he has added much .to higher ideals in the city through his efforts as member and president of the Milwaukee Art Institute. There is perhaps no man who has contributed so largely to the upbuilding of this organization as Mr. Buckner, who was called to the presidency in February, 1911, just a year after the society was formed. Under his guidance the membership of the society has increased manifold and he has put forth most effective and earnest labor in furthering the high ideals of the Milwaukee Art Institute, which now claims a membership of one thousand and which is fast developing an institute that rivals many of the art centers of the larger cities. On September 23, 1919, Mr. Buckner presented to the permanent collection of the institute twenty-five of the choicest paint- ings taken from his private collection, including works by artists from the Spanish, French, Dutch and American schools. He had previously presented five paintings to the permanent collection, making a total of thirty which are designated as The Samuel O. Buckner Collection. Mr. Buckner is a trustee of the Layton Art Gallery and the Layton School of Art. He is likewise a lover of literature and has produced several little poetic gems which show his ability in this direction as well as his optimistic philosophy of life. A number of his verses were used in different drives during the World war and while space prevents an extended use of these the historian may be permitted to quote a little poem which indicates most clearly a guiding motive of his entire career.
Do IT RIGHT. "If you have a thing to do- Do it Right; Stick at it till you're through- Do it Right; Give good and honest work, It pays to never shirk- Do it Right.
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Whether working fast or slow- Do it Right; Don't do things just for show- Do them Right; If things go wrong don't cry, Just all the harder try -- Do it Right.
If wealth you would acquire- Do it Right; If to fame you would aspire- Do it Right; Shun ill-gotten gain, Strive for an honored name- Do it Right."
CHARLES CURTIS JACOBUS.
Charles Curtis Jacobus, a building contractor of Milwaukee, specializing in con- crete work and also identified with banking and building and loan interests, was born in Bloomfield, New Jersey, on the 19th of December, 1864, and is a son of Elias and Virginia (Reynolds) Jacobus. Some years prior to this date the parents had established their home in Oregon, Wisconsin, settling about ten miles south of Madison, where the father was engaged in the contracting business. At the outbreak of the Civil war he responded to the country's call for troops, joining the Eighth Wis- consin Regiment, with which he served throughout the period of hostilities and during his absence at the front Mrs. Jacobus returned to the old home at Bloomfield, New Jersey, where the birth of their son Charles occurred. When the war was over and the country no longer needed the services of Elias Jacobus he returned with his family to his home in Oregon, Wisconsin, so that the youthful days of Charles C. Jacobus were there passed. He attended the graded and high schools of Oregon until he had completed the course by graduation and in 1890 he left that village, becoming a resident of Wauwatosa, a suburb of Milwaukee. Association with his father awakened his interest in the contracting business and the assistance which he rendered his father brought him considerable practical knowledge of the work. It was natural therefore that he should turn to this line in choosing a life vocation and throughout most of his business career he has been a contractor, specializing in concrete work and erecting some of the largest manufacturing plants of Milwaukee. Thoroughly familiar with every phase of the business he has so directed his efforts that his labors have been a source of the city's development and improvement as well as a source of individual success. Aside from his activity as a contractor he is well known in financial and business circles as a director of the First National Bank of Wauwatosa and also of the Wauwatosa Building & Loan Association.
In 1890 Mr. Jacobus was united in marriage to Miss Adelia Viola Minahan of Chilton, Wisconsin, who passed away in the year 1916 leaving two sons: Garrett, who is the president of the Wauwatosa Fuel & Supply Company; and Delwin, who is now pursuing his education in the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
In his political views Mr. Jacobus has always been a republican and a stalwart partisan, taking an active interest in the councils of the party and doing not a little to shape its course locally. In 1902 he was elected to the county board of supervisors and has since served continuously in that position, with the exception of a two-year period, his various reelections indicating how ably and faithfully he has discharged the duties of the office. In 1911, when the state aid highway law was enacted, Mr. Jacobus was chosen chairman of the county road and bridge committee of Milwaukee county and has also served in that position to the present time. This committee was instrumental in building the famous system of concrete highways, covering two hundred miles in Milwaukee county and as a result of the splendid work done in this connection the United States office of public roads cited Milwaukee county as the foremost ex- ample of a community that built a high class highway system out of the proceeds of its taxes without incurring indebtedness. No county in the United States has better public roads than Milwaukee county and experts from all parts of the country visit the district to study the county methods of handling highway problems.
While important business and official duties have made heavy demands upon the time and energy of Mr. Jacobus, he has yet found opportunity for enjoyment along various lines and is keenly appreciative of the social amenities of life. In this phase of his character is found the root of his various lodge and club connections. He belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, to the Knights of Pythias, to the Modern Woodmen of America, the Germania Lodge and the Milwaukee Athletic
CHARLES C. JACOBUS
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HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
Cinb. His fellow members of these orders entertain for him the highest regard, while the general public accords to him that measure of high respect which is always indi- cative of sterling worth and capability on the part of the individual.
J. H. FIEBING.
J. H. Fiebing, engaged in chemical manufacturing in Milwaukee, has developed expert skill in this connection and his thoroughness, determination and enterprise have constituted the basic principles upon which he has built his success. Born in this city on the 15th of July, 1865, he is a son of Otto and Bella (Dyckhoff) Fiebing, both of whom were natives of Germany and are deceased. The father arrived in Milwaukee in the year 1848. He was a notary public and for many years filled the office of justice of the peace, rendering fair and impartial decisions which were the means of continuing him in this position of public honor and trust.
J. H. Fiebing at the usual age became a pupil in the public schools of Milwaukee and afterward went abroad, becoming a university student in Germany, where he remained from 1881 until 1887. Thus, liberal training well qualified him for the prac- tical and responsible duties of life. He was graduated from the chemical department of the teclinical university at Hanover, Germany, and when he had thus finished his studies he returned to his native city. Here he entered the employ of Pfister & Vogel Leather Company, with whom he remained for ten years in the chemical department, and in 1897 he established the present plant of the Fiebing Chemical Company, now located at No. 238 Reed street. Here he has since conducted business as a chemical manufacturer and his patronage has steadily increased until his business is one of the important enterprises of the kind in the city.
In 1887 Mr. Fiebing was united in marriage to Miss Marie Thiele, a daughter of August Thiele of Hanover, Germany, and they are now the parents of four children: Bella, who is the wife of A. F. Meyer of Milwaukee; Gertrude, the wife of Dr. Arthur Knauf of Sheboygan, Wisconsin; Otto, who is manager of the Northern Woodenware Company at Crandon, Wisconsin; and Anita, who resides with her parents. Otto was a soldier of the World war, serving in the base hospital and at the officers training camp, whereby he won the rank of second lieutenant.
Mr. Fiebing is a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club. He is widely known in this city, where practically his entire life has been passed, save for the period which he spent in study in Germany. He has labored diligently and persistently and has made each day to mark off a full-faithed attempt to know more and to grow more. Thus he has steadily advanced in business and as a chemical manufacturer is today widely and prominently known. .
EDWIN A. REDDEMAN.
Active in solving the problems of finance necessary in the successful conduct of a banking institution at the present day, Edwin A. Reddeman is cashier of the National Bank of Commerce of Milwaukee. To this position he has worked his way steadily upward, winning promotion as the result of the development of his powers and his loyalty to the interests which he has represented. Milwaukee is his native city and his natal day was the 9th of December, 1875, his parents being Liebrecht T. and Sophia ( Albrecht) Reddeman, both of whom were natives of Germany. They became resi- dents of Milwaukee, however, about 1860 and the father engaged in business as a building contractor, specializing in interior woodwork. Later he turned his attention to farming and concentrated his time and effort upon agricultural pursuits in his later years, his death occurring in 1918, when he was seventy-eight years of age.
Edwin A. Reddeman was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee and after leaving high school secured a position as messenger in the West Side Bank of Milwaukee, working withont pay for a month and a half. His employers, however, were convinced of his capability, faithfulness and willingness to work and he was then placed on the pay roll, while from time to time he won promotion, becoming paying teller and after- ward receiving teller of that hank. On the organization of the National Bank of Commerce in 1893 he was appointed paying teller and afterward was made assistant cashier, while in 1910 he was advanced to the position of cashier and has continued to serve in this capacity. He has spent his business life in connection with banking and step by step has advanced from messenger boy until now, after twenty-two years of service, he is occupying a position of large responsibility as cashier of one of the strong financial institutions of his native city.
On the 12th of June, 1902, Mr. Reddeman was married to Miss Lillian I. McLean of Milwaukee, and they have become parents of two children, Elizabeth and Marion.
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Mr. Reddeman took a helpful part in all war activities and was a member of the bankers committee. He is prominently known in the Knights of Pythias, being chan- cellor commander of Garfield Lodge, No. 83, K. P., which is the largest lodge of this organization in the state. He is also connected with the Dramatic Order of the Knights of Khorassan and in club circles is widely known, being a member of the Milwaukee Athletic, Wisconsin, City and Optimists Clubs, all of which claim him as one of their popular representatives.
EMERY L. WALKER.
Emery L. Walker has since 1917 filled the vice presidency of the Kieckhefer Con- tainer Company of Milwaukee, with which he has been identified for the past six years. His birth occurred in Weston, Oregon, on the 12th of November, 1878, his parents being Jesse and Ella (Mays) Walker, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of Oregon. By occupation the father was a farmer.
Emery L. Walker began his education in the public schools of Tacoma, Washing- ton, and subsequently pursued a course in mechanical engineering at Cornell University, from which he received the degree of M. E. upon his graduation with the class of 1902. He then became an apprentice with the Baldwin Locomotive Works and had gradually advanced to the position of engineer of the plant when he severed his connection with the concern in 1910. In that year he became eastern manager of the Carnation Products Company, with headquarters in Berlin, Wisconsin, thus continuing until 1913, while during the two succeeding years he acted as production manager of the firm of Hale & Kilborn of Philadelphia, manufacturing car seats, automobile bodies, etc. In 1915 he came to Milwaukee as general superintendent of the Kieckhefer Box Company and two years later was chosen vice president of the Kieckhefer Container Company.
On the 28th of December, 1899, Mr. Walker married Miss Mabelle C. Scott of Bareilly, India, and they have three children: Elizabeth Mays, Katharine Alice and Virginia Louise. The family residence is at No. 62 Center street in Wauwatosa. Mr. Walker is a Mason, being a member of Wauwatosa Lodge, No. 267, A. F. & A. M., and he also belongs to the Kappa Sigma and Sigma Xi, two Greek letter fraternities. He is like- wise a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the New York Railroad Club, the Wisconsin Club and the Mil- waukee Athletic Club. He enjoys an enviable position in both business and social circles of his adopted city, the number of his friends having constantly grown as the circle of his acquaintance has broadened.
FREDERICK A. KRAFT, M. D.
Dr. Frederick A. Kraft, physician and surgeon, specializing on nervous and mental diseases, was born in Austria, January 20, 1871, and remained a resident of that country to the age of sixteen years, spending his youthful days in the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Kraft. The mother died when he was a lad of but nine years and the father, who was an accountant, came to the new world about 1887, settling in Mil- waukee, where his remaining days were passed, his death occurring in 1920. In the family were two sons and a daughter, namely: Frederick A., of this review; Eugene, a lithographer; and Victoria, a governess.
Dr. Frederick A. Kraft attended school in Vienna ere accompanying his father to the new world and he completed his academic education in Boston and in Springfield, Masachusetts. He afterward became a medical student in the Barnes Medical College of St. Louis, Missouri, and was there graduated with the M. D. degree as a member of the class of 1894. For a year he was an interne in the St. Louis City Hospital and gained thereby the broad, varied and valuable experience which hospital practice brings.
In 1895 Dr. Kraft came to Milwaukee, where he has since made his home and has throughout the intervening period continued in the active practice of medicine save for two trips which he made to remote parts of the globe, going to Alaska in 1900 and to Berlin in 1914. He was in the German capital when the World war broke out and immediately returned to this country. He had served as health commissioner of Milwaukee from 1910 until 1914 but for the past fifteen years has largely confined his private practice to mental and nervous diseases. He has developed his power along these lines to a high degree of efficiency and he is the possessor of a fine private library containing over two thousand volumes, including many which cover the range of science and of general literature outside the path of his profession.
Dr. Kraft has been married twice. His first wife died in 1909, leaving two chil- dren, Janet and Louis, the former now married. In 1913 Dr. Kraft wedded Elizabeth
DR. FREDERICK A. KRAFT
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Tegge of Milwaukee and in the social circles of the city they occupy an enviable posi- tion. Dr. Kraft is a Royal Arch and Council Mason and is a loyal follower of the teachings and purposes of the craft. He is fond of taking long motor trips and is a devotee of the highest forms of the dramatic art, greatly enjoying the performances of the legitimate stage. One of his interests is in the collection of postage stamps and he has one of the best collections to be found in this country, consisting of over thirty thousand stamps, which represent the work of twenty-two years. He is now president of the Milwaukee Philatelic Society. His interests are broad and varied and his ex- tensive library indicates how closely he is in touch with the world's history along the lines of scientific and literary development.
JOHN M. NIVEN.
John M. Niven, first assistant city attorney of Milwaukee, was born in New Lon- don, this state, November 14, 1879, a son of Dr. James K. and Laura (Jeffers) Niven. The father was a native of Glasgow, Scotland, while the mother's birth occurred in the state of New York. The former came to Wisconsin in 1871, settling in Waupaca county, where he was married. He was a physician and for many years practiced in Ironwood, Michigan. In early life he had taken up the profession of teaching but desired to broaden the scope of his labors by engaging in medical practice and to this end attended the Rush Medical College at Chicago, from which in due course of time he was graduated, thus initiating a successful professional career. He died in 1902.
John M. Niven obtained a country school education in Waupaca county and con- tinued his studies in the high school at Ironwood, Michigan, and later became a student in the University of Wisconsin and won his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1900. He pursued his law course in the State University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and won his LL. B. degree in 1903, after which he was admitted to the Michigan bar and in the same year to the Wisconsin bar. He then located for practice in Milwaukee and for one year was in the office of Edwin S. Mack. He was afterward alone in his pro- fessional work until 1907 when he formed a partnership with Charles L. Aarons, under the firm style of Aarons & Niven, this association being maintained until September, 1919, when Mr. Niven was appointed first assistant city attorney of Milwaukee and withdrew from the partnership. He belongs to the Milwaukee, the Wisconsin and the American Bar Associations.
Mr. Niven has been married twice. In 1904 he wedded Ethel Evans, who passed away in 1910, leaving a son, James K. In 1917 he married again, his second union being with Eunice Detienne of Milwaukee.
During the World war Mr. Niven was very busy through Masonic activities among the service men and he assisted in organizing the sixteenth ward council of defense, of which he was the first president.
Mr. Niven belongs to Phi Beta Kappa, an honorary college fraternity, also to the Kappa Sigma fraternity. He is likewise a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Old Settlers' Club and the Kiwanis Club, of which he is the president. In Masonry he has attained high rank as a member of Wisconsin Consistory and of Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine, while of Kilbourn Lodge, No. 3, F. & A. M., he is a past master. He is likewise a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and a life member of the St. Andrew's Society. In all these associations are indicated the rules which govern his conduct and the principles which have guided him in every relation of life. His career is as an open book which all may read. The record is one which will bear the light of close investigation and scrutiny and Mr. Niven has made for himself a creditable name and place in a profession where advancement depends entirely upon individual merit and capability.
RAE F. BELL.
Rae F. Bell, an enterprising and representative young business man of Milwaukee, has been officially connected with the Kieckhefer Container Company for the past two years in the dual capacity of secretary and treasurer. He was born at Bonus, Illinois, on the 19th of April, 1887, a son of Raleigh M. and Julia Ann (Winkler) Bell, who are natives of Ohio and Illinois, respectively. They are now residents of Madison, Wisconsin, where the father is identified with manufacturing interests.
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