USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume II > Part 65
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In 1897 Mr. Mulhaney was married to Miss Catharine G. Corbett, and they have four children: Kathleen, who is a trained nurse; J. Arthur; Thomas O. and Elizabeth. Mr. Mulhaney is a communicant of the Catholic church and he belongs to the Catholic Order of Foresters, being secretary of Saint Rose Court, No. 84, for a period of twenty years.
OTTO J. SCHOENLEBER.
Otto J. Schoenleber, prominent Milwaukee manufacturer, who has also been closely associated with the development of the city along musical and literary lines and with its educational interests as a member of the school board, was equally active in his support of American interests through the period of the World war. Mr. Schoenleber was born in Kilbourntown, now a part of Milwaukee, October 16, 1858, his parents being Adolph and Margaretha (Kuhnmuench) Schoenleber, who were among the early residents of this city, coming to the new world from Baden, Germany. The father was born at Tauberbischofheim, June 16, 1825, while the mother's birth occurred at Wer- bach, January 18, 1826. In early life Adolph Schoenleber served an apprenticeship to the cabinetmaking trade and afterward worked as a journeyman in his native country, Switzerland and France. He was numbered among those patriotic young men who sought to keep Baden from Prussian dominance, following in the leadership of such men as Carl Schurz, Friederich Hecker, Gustav Struwe and Robert Blum. Prussian militarism, however, dominated in the struggle which occurred and among the political revolutionists of that period many were forced to flee from their country. This number included Adolph Schoenleber, then a young man of twenty-three years, who sought a home in "the land of the free." Milwaukee welcomed him as a pioneer citizeu and never had reason to regret it. Since that time the family has figured prominently and honorably in the city, doing much to shape business activity and progress along many lines. Mr. Schoenleber decided to engage in cabinetmaking and with the limited capital that he had hitherto saved from his earnings he formed a partnership with Melchior Deckert and leased a vacant lot from Byron Kilbourn, who at that time was the largest property holder on the west side of the city and in fact promoted that district. On the lot which they acquired the partners erected a two-story building in which they carried on business until 1854, when the partnership was dissolved and Mr. Schoenleber purchased from Byron Kilbourn the lot at No. 293 Third street. There he established a retail furniture and undertaking business, after erecting a substantial store building upon his acquired vacant property. At that time Milwaukee had no rail- road connection with the outside world and Adolph Schoenleber had made the trip to this city from New York entirely by water. With the building of the first railroad
OTTO J. SCHOENLEBER
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in 1854 Mr. Schoenleber foresaw the development and growth of the city and made judicious investments in real estate, acquiring property that advanced steadily in value, and in other connections he became one of the substantial business men.
Otto J. Schoenleber supplemented his early educational advantages by study in St. Gall's Academy and afterward attended Wulkow's Business College, thereby quali- fying for life's practical and responsible duties. He also gave much time to reading and study, acquainting himself with the best in literature and in music. His father's desire that he should learn a trade led him to take up cabinetmaking under his father's direction and he completed a four years' apprenticeship, afterward working for some time at the trade in which he had become an expert. In 1886 the father retired from the retail furniture business but the son continued as a furniture merchant of Milwaukee for eight years thereafter and also conducted a wholesale desk manu- facturing business. In 1894, however, he withdrew from both lines and organized the Ambrosia Chocolate Company, which has developed into one of the important busi- ness interests of the city. At that time all chocolate and cocoa were made in the east and it required much courage and keen business foresight and progressiveness to undertake the manufacture of chocolate and cocoa directly from the cocoa bean. There were many difficulties and obstacles to be encountered in winning trade in this section of the country, but Mr. Schoenleber possessed unfaltering perseverance, courage and energy and today is in control of the business that not only extends throughout the United States, but to many parts of Canada and to various foreign countries as well. In the factory are now employed a large force of skilled chocolate makers. The plant includes a six-story building with a floor space of fifty-six thousand square feet. All raw material is imported direct from the plantations of the West Indies, South America, Africa and the islands of Ceylon and Java. In the conduct of the business the company utilizes four carloads of cocoa beans per week and hundreds of barrels of sugar, together with many hundreds of pounds of vanilla beans. Success has at- tended the efforts of the promoter of the business until he is now at the head of a mammoth concern, the growth of its trade being attributable to the splendid quality of the products which he mannfactures-for who in all the length and breadth of this land is not familiar with the Ambrosia chocolates?
On the 12th of July, 1887, Mr. Schoenleber was married to Miss Emma Theede, a native of Milwaukee, and they hecame parents of three daughters: Marie, a graduate of the Milwaukee Normal School; Gretchen, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin; and Louise, who completed a general science course in the State University. While Mr. Schoenleber enjoys travel and has had opportunity to indulge his taste in this direction, he has always made Milwaukee his home and has centered his interests here, for aside from his connection with the great chocolate manufacturing business he has long been on the board of directors of the West Side Bank, of which he was one of the founders.
Fraternally Mr. Schoenleber is connected with Aurora Lodge, No. 30, F. & A. M., having long been a loyal follower of the teachings of the craft. He has always been interested in literature and his reading has been wide and comprehensive. He has greatly enjoyed the study of dialects and is himself the writer of a number of humor- ous plays, poems and letters. Moreover, from 1902 until 1907 he served as the Mil- waukee correspondent of the International Confectioner of New York, the largest trade paper of its kind, and his letters and reports were always read with much interest. He has been identified as a supporting member with the Milwaukee Musical Society and he served as president of the Milwaukee Liederkranz in 1890, having for many years been a member of this organization. He likewise has membership with the Merchants and Manufacturers Association, the American Chocolate Manufacturers Association, the Old Settlers Club and the Wisconsin Club. He has done much im- portant committee work in connection with the Merchants and Manufacturers Associa- tion and in 1909 he was chosen president by the association for the Milwaukee home- coming committee, an organization composed of the heads of the prominent civic bodies and municipal organizations of the city. With the aid of this committee he arranged the first home-coming festival held in Milwaukee through the week of August 2 to 7. He did a prodigious amount of work in making the festival one of notable success, giving his undivided time and attention to the task for several months and donating largely of his means in that connection. A fund of twenty-six thousand dollars was raised for decorations, for pageants and other form of entertainments and a great naval battle was held on Lake Michigan. While the festival was most attractive in every particular and was enjoyed by thousands of Milwaukeeans it is to the credit of the president and committee that when all expenses were met abont one- fourth of the amount collected remained and this was returned pro rata to the con- tributors. In 1907 Mr. Schoenleber was made a member of the Milwaukee Auditorium board that raised the necessary funds for a modern convention hall to replace the old exposition building that had been destroyed by fire the preceding spring. Mr. Schoenleber had been a member of a similar committee for the old building a quarter of a century before and he did effective work in securing funds for the new auditorium,
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which was to have been opened during home-coming week, but because of unavoidable delays in building operations was not ready until September. In November, 1912, Mr. Schoeuleber was elected a member of the governing board of the Milwaukee Auditorium Association, and served as president from 1915 until 1918. For six years, from 1891 until 1897, Mr. Schoenleber was a member of the school board, during which period he introduced many improvements into the school system of the city. He was instru- mental in promoting a resolution to create and erect the present west side high school and he established the annual Arbor Day exercises of the public schools, with the idea of promoting a love for trees and plants in the minds of the young people of the city. During the World war he was appointed by Governor Philipp and served as a member of the local draft board of the second ward. In fact he did everything in his power to aid the government in the successful prosecution of the war and his cooperation was considered a valuable factor in the support of many projects which upheld Ameri- can interests and furthered the welfare and success of the troops in camp and field.
It is a recognized fact that no interest of public benefit or of civic pride seeks the aid of Mr. Schoenleber in vain. He gives most generously to all plans and measures for the general good and he stands as a splendid type of those enterprising and progressive citizens who have been Milwaukee's real builders and promoters. He is a representative of one of the oldest and most honored pioneer families of the city, the name of Schoenleber figuring in connection with the commercial progress and steady advancement since 1848 and throughout the long years of his connection with Mil- waukee, Mr. Schoenleber has ever displayed a conscientious regard for what is best in the exercise of human activity.
JOHN T. KELLY.
John T. Kelly, a self-educated and self-made man, rose to prominence among the leading representatives of the Milwaukee bar. He was born in Corning, New York, in 1854, a son of John and Margaret Kelly, who were natives of Ireland. Crossing the Atlantic, they made their way westward in 1868 and settled upon a farm in Marquette county, Wisconsin.
John T. Kelly spent his boyhood on the farm with his parents, taking an active part in the ardnous task of clearing and cultivating the land, planting and harvesting the crops. In 1871 his father went north to the pineries and John T. Kelly accompanied him there, working at skidding logs. He was only seventeen years of age at the time. For three years he continued to work in that connection and in the meantime pursued his education with the assistance of his mother, also utilizing his opportunity of attending school through the summer seasons. Throughout his life he remained a student of men and events, learning many valuable lessons in the school of experience. By the time that he had reached the age of nineteen years he had so thoroughly educated himself that he earned a teacher's certificate and taught men five or six years older than himself. Subsequently he taught in Fond du Lac and Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and he further continued his own educational training by becoming a student in the State Normal School at Oskosh, from which he was graduated in 1880. He afterward went to the Pio Nono College in St. Francis, where he taught for five years. Eventually he became a student in the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1888, on the completion of a law course, after which he was admitted to the bar in the same year.
Mr. Kelly located immediately in Milwaukee, where he continued in the active practice of law until 1906. He was then elected city attorney, retaining that position until 1910, when he resumed the private practice of his profession and continued an active and capable member of the bar to the time of his demise. He was connected with the Milwaukee Bar Association and enjoyed the high regard and good will of his professional colleagues and contemporaries.
In 1892 Mr. Kelly was united in marriage to Miss Jane McMillan, a daughter of John and Mary McMillan of Madison, Wisconsin, and they became the parents of . a son and a daughter: Esther, who is now the wife of Raymond Bill of New Rochelle, New York; and John T., of Milwaukee, who served in the World war as second lieutenant.
Mr. Kelly was a lifelong republican and always took an active interest in the work of the party, doing everything to promote its growth and insure its success. He likewise took an active interest in all that pertained to the betterment and the up- building of the city in general and he was highly respected and esteemed by those who knew him. His religious faith was that of the Catholic church and he belonged to the Catholic Order of Foresters, to the Ancient Order of Hibernians and to the Knights of Columbus. He was likewise connected with the Milwaukee Athletic Club and with the Merchants & Manufacturers Association and for three years he was a member of the Auditorium governing board. All that had to do with public progress
JOHN T. KELLY
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and improvement elicited his support and attention and his labors were so wisely and carefully directed that his work constituted a strong force in the city's improvement and development. He passed away on the 5th of December, 1915, when sixty-one years of age.
WILLIAM F. NACKIE.
William F. Nackie, who has been the president of the W. F. Nackie Paper Company since the business was organized and incorporated a decade ago, is thus at the head of a successful jobbing enterprise of extensive proportions. Milwaukee is proud to number him among her native sons, his birth having occurred on the 24th of October, 1873. His parents, John and Elizabeth Nackie, who were born on the border between Germany and Holland, arrived in this city about the year 1855. The father, who de- voted his attention to merchandising here, has passed away, but the mother is still living and has heen a resident of Milwaukee for two-thirds of a century, being well known and highly esteemed throughout the city.
William F. Nackie obtained his education in parochial schools and in Marquette College and after putting aside his textbooks was employed as office boy in a law office for a year. At the end of that time he made his initial step in the paper business as an employe of the Standard Paper Company of Milwaukee, with which he remained for a period of twenty-four years, his long retention in the service of this concern being unmistakable proof of his capability and fidelity. On the 11th of November, 1911, feeling that his capital and experience justified the step, he embarked in the paper business on his own account at No. 347 Broadway, organizing and incorporating the firin of W. F. Nackie & Company, of which he has remained at the head. The building now occupied by the concern is located at Nos. 340 to 346 Jefferson street and was com- pleted in May, 1921. It is a three-story brick structure, ninety-five by one hundred and twenty feet, modern in every particular. The firm of W. F. Nackie & Company con- ducts a jobbing business exclusively and as its head Mr. Nackie has built up an enter- prise of large and gratifying proportions, the trade having steadily grown under his capable management and control. He is also the vice president of the Nezum Electro- typing Company and is widely recognized as one of the substantial and representative business men of the city.
On the 5th of October, 1899, Mr. Nackie was united in marriage to Miss Anna Reinkendorf of Milwaukee and they have become parents of two children, Louise and William F. Mr. Nackie belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the Rotary Club and is a popular and highly esteemed resident of the city in which his life has been spent. He took an active part in all the war drives during the recent conflict with Germany and has ever manifested the utmost loyalty to his country, while in the city of his nativity he has supported all measures and movements instituted to promote municipal advancement and progress.
DAVID H. DAVIES.
David H. Davies is a man who has ever regarded a public office as a public trust and it is therefore to be expected that he is giving most efficient service in his position as chairman of the board of administration of Milwaukee county. He has never lightly regarded his responsibilities in this connection and the county is being greatly benefited by the service which he is rendering in office. Mr. Davies came to America from Wales, his birth having occurred in Llanelly, June 27, 1871, his parents being Thomas and Sophia (Hunton) Davies, who were natives of Wales and came to Mil- waukee in 1885. The father was a steel worker and followed that business in order to provide for the support of his family.
David H. Davies obtained his education in the Milwaukee public schools and afterward entered the employ of the Western Union Telegraph Company as a messenger boy. He worked his way upward in different positions until he became a telegrapher, but realizing that there was no future for him in that business he gave it up and entered the employ of the John Pynchon Coal Company as an office clerk and road salesman, thus serving for about two years. He afterward turned his attention to the laundry business, in which he engaged for twelve years and on the expiration of that period he sold out to Huebsch Laundry Company, now one of the largest in the city. He afterward became state treasury agent and for seven years occupied that posi- tion through appointment of Governor Davidson and two reappointments. In 1915 he was elected to the board of administration, of which he was president for three suc- cessive terms, retiring from office July 1, 1921. He did much in the way of improve ment for all the county institutions. He constantly watched for opportunities whereby
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he might advance the public interests in the care of the institutions that came under his control and he maintained the highest standards of service in this connection.
On the 29th of May, 1893, Mr. Davies was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Tal- madge of Milwaukee, a daughter of the late Samuel W. Talmadge, a prominent resident of the city. To Mr. and Mrs. Davies have been born two children: Lynn E., who is one of the instructors in Armour Institute at Chicago; and Alice, now a student in the University of Wisconsin.
Mr. Davies is well known through fraternal connections. He belongs to the Masons and the Knights of Pythias and is also a member of the Elks Club and the City Club. He has taken a deep interest in civic affairs and his cooperation can at all times be counted upon to further any plan or movement for the general good. His religious faith is that of the Kenwood Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is one of the trustees. While his life has been given to public service for a number of years he has also recognized his duties and obligations to his family and to himself in his wise investments in several business concerns which have also featured as factors in the city's development and improvement. Those who know him, and he has many friends, esteem him highly as a man of genuine public worth, while his personal traits have gained for him the kindly regard, confidence and goodwill of all with whom he has been brought into contact.
CLARENCE RUDOLPH FALK.
In various connections Clarence Rudolph Falk figures prominently as a factor in shaping the history of Milwaukee, having long been identified with civic and business interests here. He is well known as the vice president of the Falk Corporation, a large industrial concern engaged in the manufacture of high-class machinery and railroad supplies. Moreover, he is a member of a family that was established in Mil- waukee almost three-quarters of a century ago, the family name figuring most con- spicuously and honorably in connection with the annals of the city and state. Clarence R. Falk was born in Milwaukee, November 27, 1869, a son of Franz and Louise (Wahl) Falk, the former a pioneer brewer of Milwaukee who established his home here in 1848. Both parents are deceased, the father having passed away August 5, 1882, while the mother's death occurred on the 13th of August, 1898.
Clarence R. Falk enjoyed liberal educational advantages in his youth and after beginning his studies in the local schools was taken to Germany when about nine years of age, continuing his training in that country at Frankfort-on-Main. On again coming to Milwaukee he was prepared for Harvard under private tutorship and follow- ing the completion of the regular classical course was graduated within the classic walls of that old, time-honored institution, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1893. He then spent a year as a student in the Harvard Law School, after which he returned to Milwaukee to take charge of the savings department in the Wisconsin National Bank. Several years later he resigned that position and in company with Rudolph Nunnemacher of this city spent eighteen months in a leisurely journey around the world. In this connection a contemporary biographer has written: "By nature and training Mr. Falk was fitted for observation differing from the common type of globe-trotter, and his interesting and often piquant experiences and views were detailed in a number of letters which are preserved in the files of the Evening Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Journal. His itinerary, after leaving San Francisco, included Hawaii, Japan, China, Manchuria, Singapore and the Malay Peninsula, Java, India, Ceylon, Egypt, the Holy Land, Constantinople and Russia. At Moscow he witnessed the corona- tion of the czar. He also spent considerable time in western Europe."
After once more returning to his native city Mr. Falk did some original work as dramatic critic for one of the daily papers, while subsequently he was identified with the Cloos Electrical Eugineering Company and later with the brokerage firm of Tracy & Company. It was in 1901 that he first became associated with the Falk Corporation, working his way upward through the various departments of the plant, eventually becoming works manager. In 1914 he was made one of the vice presidents of the company, which in the meantime had become an enterprise of large extent and im- portance, and to its growth and success his efforts have long been a notable contribut- ing factor. The business was organized in 1895 by his brother, Herman W. Falk, who has remained the president.
During the World war Mr. Falk put aside all personal and business considerations that he might be free to devote his entire time to the government service. In 1916 he was among those farsighted, patriotic citizens who attended the training camp at Plattsburg, New York, remaining there until late in October of that year. On the 1st of February, 1917, he was made a captain in the quartermaster department of the Reserve Corps, U. S. A., and assigned to duty at the quartermaster depot at Jefferson- ville, Indiana, in charge of purchases there. Early in 1918 he was transferred to
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the ordnance department at Washington and assigned to the trench warfare section, in charge of design and production of three and four inch Stokes mortars. In con- nection with this work he spent about three months at the Rock Island arsenal. This assignment held until he was honorably discharged on the 13th of December, 1918, with the commission of major in the Reserve Corps of the Ordnance Department, U. S. A.
On the 14th of May, 1901, Mr. Falk was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Sawyer of Milwaukee, a daughter of James and Arabella ( Wood) Sawyer. They now have three children: Louise, Margaret and Nancy. The family home is an attractive residence at 419 Terrace avenue.
Mr. Falk is well known in the social and club life of this city, belonging to the Milwaukee Country Club, the Milwaukee Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Uni- versity Club, the Press Club, the Town Club, the Fox Point Club and the local Harvard Club, of which he has served as president, and also the Harvard Club of New York. While at Harvard University he became a member of the Alpha Delta Phi, the Delta Kappa Epsilon, the Hasty Pudding Club and the Institute of 1770. He likewise has membership in the State Historical Society and he was formerly president of the Metal Trades Association of Milwaukee, while at the present writing he is president of the Chicago Orchestral Association of this city. Mr. Falk is likewise a member of the American Legion, which he assisted in organizing in Wisconsin, personally aiding in securing the money necessary to finance the work. He also belongs to the Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States. In the spring of 1921 Mr. Falk accom- panied by his wife and three daughters made an extended tour through Europe, visiting the following countries: Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Belgium, France and England. While in the war area, they visited all the principal battle fields of France and Belgium. A man of marked capability along various lines, his career has been a most interesting one and his record well deserves a place in the annals of Milwaukee as that of one of her honored native sons.
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