USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume II > Part 69
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enabling him to work his way steadily upward and today he occupies an enviable posi- tion in the commercial circles of his city.
On the 15th of July, 1900, Mr. Steiner was married to Miss Rosina Weiss, a daugh- ter of Wenzel Weiss of Milwaukee, who was born in Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Steiner have become parents of six sons: Albin M., who is now associated with his father in business, was married February 14, 1922, to Marie Rossmiller of Milwaukee; Joseph G. is also associated with his father in the wholesale grocery trade; Arthur is a pupil in the Riverside high school; Raymond M. is attending the St. Francis school; Gilbert N. is likewise a pupil in the St. Francis school; and Lloyd C. completes the family. The eldest son pursued his education in Marquette Academy and he is well known here as a member of the Elks.
Mr. Steiner has membership with the Knights of Columbus, which indicates his Catholicism, his membership being in St. Francis parish. He has never been active in politics but has ever been a lifelong republican. He enjoys fishing and outdoor sports and has a summer home at Pewaukee lake. He finds great pleasure in touring in his motor car and his greatest happiness is found in the companionship of his family. In disposition he is modest and retiring but is classed with the substantial business men of the city. His contemporaries in trade circles here entertain for him high regard. He belongs to the Wisconsin Wholesale Grocers' Association and he was also one of the organizers of the Milwaukee Produce and Fruit Exchange. His entire course has been marked by the steady progress which results from capability, fidelity and earnest purpose and his success is indeed well deserved.
WILLIAM BERGER.
Entering the business circles of Milwaukee in 1879, when a youth of eighteen years, William Berger was thereafter closely associated with the commercial development of the city to the time of his death, which occurred more than forty years later. There are few men whose lives are crowned with the honor and respect which was universally accorded him. This was due to the fact that through the long years of his connection with Milwaukee's history his was of unblemished character. With him success in life was reached by sterling qualities of mind and a heart true to every manly principle. He never deviated from what his judgment would indicate to be right and honorable between his fellowmen and himself. He never swerved from the path of duty, and when at length his life's lahors were ended it was with the deepest regret that his countless friends heard the news of his passing.
William Berger was born in Milwaukee, December 28, 1861, and died at Miami, Florida, February 25, 1922. His parents were Herman and Catherine (Crass) Berger, both of whom were natives of Germany, whence they came to Milwaukee, hoth arriving in the year 1853. The father was born in 1841 and the mother in 1844, so that their childhood days were largely passed in Milwaukee and they became closely identified with the interests of the city. After reaching man's estate Herman Berger conducted a retail dry goods business on Division street, now Juneau avenue, there continuing from 1870 until 1876. He afterward conducted a feather business at No. 319 Third street from 1879 until 1883 and in the latter year became senior partner in the Berger & Penner Company, manufacturers of bedding at Nos. 63 to 67 Huron street, continuing in that connection until 1884. In the latter year he became the organizer of a husi- ness conducted under the firm style of Herman Berger & Son at Nos. 347-349 East Water street. The plant was there conducted by Herman Berger to the time of his death in 1886 and was devoted to the manufacture of hedding, constituting the nucleus of the business which was so long carried on by his son, William Berger. The mother died in 1920.
William Berger was educated in Engelman's school, now the Milwaukee University School, from which he was graduated with the class of 1875 and in the Milwaukee Academy, in which he completed his course in 1877. He started out in the business world as a salesman in the wholesale dry goods house of Storm & Hill, with whom he remained from 1879 until 1883, and in the latter year he became associated with his father in the bedding manufacturing firm of Herman Berger & Son, a connection that was maintained until the father's death in 1886. William Berger afterward changed the name to the Berger Bedding Company, and in 1889 they removed to new and larger quarters at Nos. 529-531 Market street. The business steadily developed and expanded, and in 1900 the company doubled its capacity by occupying the six-story building at Nos. 525-527 Market street. In 1901 they broadened the scope of their output by the establishment of a furniture department and thus the business gradually grew and expanded, becoming one of the foremost productive industries of the city. In 1907 William Berger erected the six-story building at Nos. 392 to 404 Florida street and changed the name to William Berger & Company. Each year marked a steady advance in the business as the result of his capable management, his keen discernment
WILLIAM BERGER
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HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
and his indefatigable energy. In 1919 he established a retail division, and he remained as sole owner of the business-now one of mammoth proportions-until his death in 1922. The establishment had been developed until it had become one of the important productive industries of the city, devoted extensively to the manufacture of furniture, bedding and rugs. Mr. Berger also became a director in the National Bank of Com- merce, and in 1906 he was elected to the vice presidency of the Association of Com- merce, then called the Merchants and Manufacturers Association.
In 1887 William Berger was united in marriage to Miss Mathilda Wagner, a daughter of Julius G. Wagner, who was born in 1834 and died in 1908. He came to Milwaukee in 1855 and with the passing years developed a large bridge building busi- ness under the name of the J. G. Wagner Company, which later became the Milwaukee Bridge & Iron Works. About 1900 he sold his interest to the American Bridge Com- pany, having in the meantime won substantial success as the result of his close appli- cation and capability. In 1859 he wedded Miss Marie Seidel, and they became parents of two daughters: Mrs. Berger and Mrs. William Froedtert; and one son, Richard G. Wagner who is living in New York. Mr. and Mrs Berger had but one child, Walter J., mentioned at length on another page of this work.
While of German descent Mr. Berger was a native born American, and his entire interests ever centered in the land of his birth. When the World war involved America he purchased government bonds to the extent of his ability and gave largely to the Red Cross. He had no sympathy with the hyphenated American and felt that there could be no divided allegiance. He immediately consented to the enlistment of his only son in 1917, and throughout his entire life he adhered to those principles and plans which he believed would be of greatest benefit in the upbuilding of the com- munity, the commonwealth and the country.
His political endorsement was always given to the republican party, and fraternally he was a Mason of high rank. He was initiated into Lafayette Lodge, No. 265, A. F. & A. M., at Milwaukee in June, 1896, becoming a Master Mason on completing the work of the blue lodge, while in 1897 he joined Calumet Chapter, No. 73, R. A. M., and Ivan- hoe Commandery, No. 24, K. T., in the same year. He likewise became a member of the Red Cross of Constantine, took the Temple degrees and the degree of Malta in 1897 and on the 29th of April, of that year, attained the thirty-second degree of Scottish Rite Masonry in the consistory. In 1884 he was associated with William Dernehl and Ferd Hinrichs in founding the Calumet Club, of which he became the first president. He was a member of the Wisconsin Club from 1886 until his demise and at various times was a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Blue Mound Country Club, the Milwaukee Country Club and the Milwaukee Yacht Club.
In every relation of life Mr. Berger measured up to high standards. He was prominent among the business men, who for many years have been closely identified with the history of the city. He possessed untiring energy, quick perception and formed his plans readily, showing marked determination in their execution. His close application to business and his excellent management brought to him the high degree of prosperity which was his. It is true that he became interested in a business already established but in controlling and enlarging such an enterprise many a man of even considerable resolute purpose, courage and industry would have failed. Mr. Berger, however, demonstrated the truth of the saying that success is not the result of genius but the outcome of clear judgment and experience. In every relation of life he com- manded the confidence, goodwill and high regard of all who knew him, and his example is indeed one worthy of emulation.
WILLIAM BEVERIDGE.
Since 1906 William Beveridge has been one of the owners of the H. H. West Com- pany, associated with J. J. Perkins, its president. He is vice president of the company, which under the present management has increased its business to extensive propor- tions, and it is the largest house of its kind in the city, being located at 386 East Water street. The stock consists of the finest grade of stationery and office supplies and both a retail and mail order business is carried on.
Scotland claims William Beveridge as a native son, his birth having occurred in Kirkcaldy on the 24th of March, 1877. His ancestors were residents of that community for generations and were prominent and well known throughout the country. Archi- bald Beveridge, his father, was a native of that town also, where he gained recognition as a successful lithographer and his passing, in 1891, lost to the community a most valuable citizen. The mother of William Beveridge, Janet Thompson Beveridge, is still living and makes her home in Milwaukee with her son. She was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and came to this country soon after the death of her husband.
William Beveridge was afforded an education in the public schools of his birthplace until he was fifteen years of age, when he put his textbooks aside and went to work in
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his father's office. Hearing of the vast opportunities being offered in the new world, in 1893 he came to the United States accompanied by his mother and two brothers and sisters aud after landing in New York came immediately to Milwaukee. He soon ob- tained employment and for three years worked as general clerk in the store of H. Niedecken Company, stationers. He then became associated with the H. H. West Com- pany as clerk and his ability and conscientious performance of every duty assigned him won him constant promotion. From clerk to city salesman and thence to traveling salesman for the same company he rose in orderly progression and in 1906, determining to enter the business on his own account, Mr. Beveridge and James J. Perkins bought the stock of the company, becoming its owners. Mr. Perkins is president and treasurer, Mr. Beveridge, vice president, and August Hunn, secretary. At the time the company was purchased the capital stock was twenty-five thousand dollars and now it is five hundred thousand.
On the 30th of June, 1899, occurred the marriage of William Beveridge and Miss Edith L. Mathews, a daughter of S. S. Mathews, a well known minister. He held many pastorates for the Congregational church in Boston, in which place he was born and later served his church in Milwaukee for some time. He returned to Boston, however, later in life and there passed away in 1911. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Beveridge one child, Janet, has been born. She is attending Hillcrest school at Beaver Dam.
Although Mr. Beveridge gives his allegiance to the republican party and keeps in- formed on all the questions and issues of the day, he has never been active along that line, neither desiring nor seeking political preferment as a reward for party fealty. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Congregational church and in a social way he is connected with the Milwaukee Athletic Club, of which he was vice president in 1914 and 1915, the Blue Mound Country Club, the Rotary Club and St. Andrews Society. Although the greater part of his time and energy is devoted to his business affairs, he is a lover of outdoor sports and a golf enthusiast in particular. He is also fond of fishing and those two sports form the greatest part of his diversions. Since an early age Mr. Beveridge has been in the business world on his own account and he has learned his lessons in the hard school of experience. He brought with him the hardiness and tenacity of his ancestors and in every undertaking he won a substantial amount of success. He has risen to prominence in the business circles of Milwaukee and surrounding vicinity, where he is recognized as a self-made man and held in high esteem. Mr. and Mrs. Beveridge reside at 1369 Lake drive.
OSWALD H. ULBRICHT.
Oswald H. Ulbricht, manager of the General Agency Company of Milwaukee and secretary of the Master Builders' Association of Wisconsin, also editor of The Builders' Bulletin, which is owned and published by the Master Builders' Association, was born September 12, 1858, in the city which is still his home, representing one of the old and honored families here. His father, Oswald Ulbricht, was born in Saxony, Germany, and came to the United States in 1851, settling first in Poughkeepsie, New York, while subsequently he removed to Wabash, Indiana, and thence came to Mil- waukee in 1855. He engaged in the wholesale tobacco business at Wells and West Water streets and was one of the representative business men of that period. His father was John Ulbricht, who engaged in the manufacture of flour in Saxony. The mother of Oswald H. Ulbricht bore the maiden name of Dorothea Freitag and was born in Brandenburg, Germany, in 1834, coming to the United States on a sailing vessel which was six weeks in making the voyage. Her father was Henry Freitag, who took his family to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and there spent his remaining days. While in Germany he had been a boundary and dike inspector. The daughter Dorothea was but nineteen years of age at the time the family crossed the Atlantic and a few years later she became the wife of Oswald Ulbricht, Sr. For many years they resided in Milwaukee, the father's death occurring in 1903, while Mrs. Ulbricht passed away in 1920.
Their son, Oswald H. Ulbricht, was educated in the Milwaukee public schools and pursued evening courses in the Spencerian Business College. He started out in the business world as an employe of the Emil Kiewert Company, wholesale dealer in wine, as assistant in the office, where he remained for seven years, advancing to the position of assistant bookkeeper. He afterward became head bookkeeper for the Geuder- Paeschke-Frey Company and remained with that house for five years. He was next associated with Henry Buestrin under the name of the Buestrin Construction Company and thus entered the field of general contracting in Milwaukee. For twelve years he was closely associated with the business, at the end of which time he disposed of his interest and became manager of the lumberyard of the Forster Lumber Company, with which he remained for six years. During the past eighteen years he has been asso- ciated with various companies, each change marking an advanced step in his business
OSWALD H. ULBRICHT
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career, and at the same time he has always maintained his interest in the Buestrin Construction Company. In 1912, in company with others, he organized the Master Builders' Association of Wisconsin, of which he became secretary, a position that he still fills. In 1915 he was active in organizing the Builders Mutual Casualty Company of Wisconsin, of which he is at the present time resident manager. In March, 1921, the Master Carpenters Quantity Survey Bureau was organized and Mr. Ulbricht was made one of its directors and trustees and also manager of the bureau. In these positions he still continues. His activities cover a broad scope. In 1912, in connection with the Master Builders' Association, he established The Builders' Bulletin, a thirty- two page Association magazine which is issued monthly and of which he is editor. The paper has a circulation of twenty-five hundred copies. Mr. Ulbricht is likewise manager of the Milwaukee office of the General Agency Company, which includes general agents for Legal Reserve Mutual companies, the workmen's compensation, fire, automobile and other companies. In 1887 the Builders & Traders Exchange of Milwaukee was formed, Mr. Ulbricht being instrumental in its organiza- tion, at which time he was elected secretary. He has also been an official, save for slight intervals, of the Master Carpenters Association of Milwaukee since 1886. It will thus be seen that he is called to leadership in connection with all organizations with which he is identified. His plans are thoughtfully and readily formed and promptly executed in every connection and his labors have been directly resultant in accomplishing the purposes for which the different companies and organizations, with which he is identified stand.
On the 21st of October, 1882, Mr. Ulbricht was married to Miss Angusta F. Buestrin, a daughter of his partner, Henry Buestrin, a native of Germany, who throughout his life in Milwaukee engaged in the contracting business and here passed away February 21, 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Ulbricht have become parents of five children: Lydia, now the wife of Herbert A. Losse, a dealer in general merchandise of Milwaukee, is the mother of three sons. Elsa E. is one of the supervisors of art of the Milwaukee State Normal School. Eugene F., of Waukesha, is engaged in general merchandising. He was a member of the United States army during the World war, serving as a first sergeant in the artillery branch. Guido R. Ulbricht, the next member of the family, now engaged in the automobile accessories and battery business at West Allis, married Ruth Bloor of that place and has one daughter. Guido R. was engaged in army work during the World war. Roland O., who is now associated with his father in business, was a first sergeant in the aviation service.
Mr. Ulbricht has always voted with the republican party but has never been an office seeker. He has ever kept well informed on the leading problems and issues of the day but has never desired to become a leader in politics nor fill political office. He is, however, closely associated with the management of many important interests. Aside from his identification with the Master Builders' Association of Wisconsin, he is a member of the Master Carpenters Association of Milwaukee, belongs to the City Club and to the Milwaukee Mnsical Society. For thirty years he has been identified with the last named and is now one of its honorary members. He is also a life mem- ber of the Wisconsin Players, of which his daughter Elsa has now been the president for five years. His love of music and art has ever been one of his pronounced characteristics and he has done everything in his power to further development in the city along these cultural lines. For recreation he turns to bowling, of which he has been a devotee for many years. Twenty-eight years ago he erected the residence at 249 Twenty-eighth street which he still occupies. His life has been one of in- tense and intelligently directed activity productive of results, and while furthering his individual interests he has also contributed in large measure to the welfare, pros- perity and progress of the city in which he makes his home.
EDWIN M. BASSLER.
Edwin M. Bassler, expert mechanical engineer, who is now vice president and the chief engineer of the Bayley Manufacturing Company of Milwaukee, was born in Millersburg, Pennsylvania, April 9, 1868, his parents being J. F. and Angela ( Miller ) Bassler. The father served as a captain of the Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry in the Civil war.
In the public schools of his native city and of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Edwin M. Bassler pursued his education, passing through consecutive grades until he had com- pleted a high school course. He started out in the business world as a call boy for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad at Aurora, Illinois, and was thus employed from 1885 until 1888. His mechanical skill and ingenuity were early manifest and, con- centrating his efforts along this line, he has developed expert power. For ten years he was an erector of machinery and thereafter engaged in selling machinery in Chicago until 1913.
Vol. 11-43
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In the spring of the latter year Mr. Bassler with two partners purchased the busi- ness of the Bayley Manufacturing Company at Milwaukee and has since been engaged in the manufacture of heating, ventilating and drying apparatus. Mr. Bassler is vice president and chief engineer of the company and the success of the undertaking is at- tributable in no small measure to his efforts and his capability. The company has taken out patents on blowers, blast furnace gas burners, pneumatic ash conveyors, hay and grain dryers. steam boilers, rope dam, powdered coal burners, electric welders, massage apparatus and steam radiators. The inventive genius of Mr. Bassler has been a potent force in the attainment of his success. He has always been keenly interested in things mechanical and has studied most broadly along that line, delving deep into the science of mechanics and combining therewith broad practical experience which has resulted in the production of many valuable inventions now in general use and the attainment of a gratifying measure of success in connection with the conduct of the business of the company of which he is now second executive officer.
In Chicago, Illinois, in August. 1891, Mr. Bassler was united in marriage to Miss Katharine O'Connell, now deceased, who was a daughter of M. O'Connell. For his second wife he chose Roxy Hannah Weston, a daughter of O. L. Weston. He now has one son, Edwin M. Bassler, who married Esther Spranger.
Mr. Bassler and his wife attend the Presbyterian church, and fraternally he is con- nected with the Masons, loyally following the teachings and purposes of the craft. He has membership in the Americus Club of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and he belongs also to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In politics he has always been a republican since age conferred upon him the right of franchise, but he does not seek nor desire office and has never been an aspirant for political preferment. On the con- trary he has concentrated his efforts and attention upon his business affairs, wisely utilizing his time, his talents and his opportunities, and today he is a prominent and well known figure in the manufacturing circles of Milwaukee.
EMANUEL A. WURSTER.
Emanuel A. Wurster has been continuously identified with the Falk Company of Milwaukee since its organization twenty-seven years ago, holding the official position of secretary and treasurer of this important concern, which is one of the largest engaged in the manufacture of steel products in the northwest. His birth occurred in Buffalo, New York, on the 11th of March, 1861, his parents being Gottlieb Martin and Rosena Kathrina Wurster, both of whom were born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in the year 1819. It was in 1848 that they crossed the Atlantic to the United States and took up their abode in Buffalo, New York, where the father won well merited success in the milling business. They became the parents of nine children, but all died in infancy, with the exception of Emanuel A.
Mr. Wurster of this review obtained his early education in the public schools of his native city and when a lad of thirteen was sent west to Watertown, Wisconsin, to continue his studies in Northwestern College there. After returning to Buffalo he pursued a course in the Spencer Business College and in 1880 came back to Wisconsin, establishing his permanent residence in Milwaukee. Here he was first employed as bookkeeper by the firm of A. Gunther & Company and subsequently became associated with the Franz Falk Brewing Company and its successors, the Falk, Jung & Borchert Brewing Company and Pabst Brewing Company, working his way steadily upward through various positions of continually increasing importance and responsibility. In 1894, having now gained a position as one of the substantial and capable young business men of the city, he severed his connection with the brewing industry and joined Herman W. Falk in the organization of the Falk Manufacturing Company, for the manufacture of steel products. Mr. Wurster became secretary and treasurer and has served in the dual capacity under the subsequent reorganization and changes of title of the corporation to the Falk Company. His efforts have contributed in no in- considerable degree to the steady growth and prosperity of this important concern and he has long been numbered among the prominent representatives of manufactur- ing and commercial interests in Milwaukee.
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