USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume II > Part 72
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In 1894 Mr. Kiefer was united in marriage to Miss Anastasia J. Rooney of Mil- waukee. She was a daughter of Patrick Rooney, a prominent contractor, who put in the foundations for the state capitol and the old Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company building.
ALOIS L. KIEFER
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Fraternally Mr. Kiefer is identified with the Elks, and he likewise has membership in the Milwaukee Athletic and Milwaukee Gun Clubs. He stands as a stalwart champ. ion for all those interests which make for the uplift of the individual and the benefit of the community, his aid and influence being always on the side of right and progress. His inherent business sagacity and executive ability have insured the success of the company which has grown so extensively and solidly, and he is known by his many friends to be a man of genuine personal worth and a citizen who is ever loyal to the best interests of the community.
CHARLES W. REEDER.
Charles W. Reeder, attorney at law, with the firm of Upham, Black, Russell & Richard- son, one of the most prominent firms connected with the Milwaukee bar, was born in Janesville, Wisconsin, April 14, 1877, his parents being William H. and Mary ( Wilcox) Reeder. The father, a native of New York, has made his home in Wisconsin from early boyhood, having come to this state with his parents, who settled near Janesville. Mrs. William H. Reeder is a native of Wisconsin, having been born and reared near Janesville, where she and her husband still make their home, Mr. Reeder being now a retired farmer.
Charles W. Reeder was educated in the district schools and in the Janesville high school and in preparation for a professional career took up the study of law in the office and under the direction of Hon. John M. Whitehead of Janesville, with whom he continued until taking the bar examination in 1900. Licensed to practice, he after- ward became a member of the firm of Noland, Adams & Reeder, with offices in Janes- ville and Beloit, Wisconsin, practicing in that connection for four years. He continned in practice in Janesville altogether for eleven years and in November, 1911, came to Milwaukee, entering into active association with the firm of Cary, Upham & Black. The firm style has since been changed to Upham, Black, Russell & Richardson and Mr. Reeder still continues with tbem. He is a lawyer of recognized ability, thorough and painstaking in the preparation of his cases, strong in argument and clear and logical in his reasoning.
On the 2d of October, 1902, in Janesville, Mr. Reeder was married to Miss Grace Ward, a daughter of D. C. Ward of Janesville, who was a prominent contractor and builder there and a representative of one of the old and distinguished families of that place. Mrs. Reeder died in 1907, leaving a daughter, Isabelle, now nineteen years of age. On the 19th of June, 1912, Mr. Reeder was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Maud Ward Gallaher, a sister of his first wife. By the second marriago there is a daughter, Ruth, seven years of age.
In addition to his residence property in Milwaukee, Mr. Reeder owns a farm on which he spends much of his leisure time, finding pleasure and recreation as well as profit in directing the further development and improvement of the place. He also derives great enjoyment from reading and music, turning to these for recreation. While residing at Janesville he served as justice of the peace for seven years but otherwise has never held office, always preferring to concentrate his efforts and atten- tion upon his professional interests and duties. He was a member of the legal ad- visory board during the World war and also a member of Company D of the First Regiment of Wisconsin Guards. He was active in his district in the eighteenth ward in connection with the sale of Liberty bonds, War Savings Stamps and the Red Cross drives. Fraternally he is a Mason, having membership in Kenwood Lodge No. 303, F. & A. M., of which he is a trustee and a past master. He also belongs to Ivanhoe Commandery, K. T. His religious faith is indicated in his membership in the West- minster Presbyterian church and his entire life is gnided in harmony with its teach- ings. Along strictly professional lines his connection is with the Milwaukee Bar Asso- ciation and the American Bar Association and he enjoys the high regard of his colleagnes and contemporarles in the profession.
WALTER WILLIAM RAY.
Milwaukee numbers among her representative business men, Walter William Ray, president and treasurer of the Maxwell-Ray Company, which is devoted to Manu- facturing and retailing house furnishings. A native of Pana, Illinois, he was born on the 17th of September, 1877, and is a son of Samnel B. and Margaret (Keyes) Ray, both still living and making their home at 735 Maryland avenue, Milwaukee. The father is now vice president of the Maxwell-Ray Company and is widely known throughout the state as an educator. He was born in New Philadelphia, Ohio, and has spent the greater part of his life in educational work, having been dean of Carroll
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College at Waukesha, Wisconsin, for thirty-five years. He has been a deep student of child nature and has done considerable writing along that line. He retired from his connection with the college in 1919 and now takes but little part in business affairs save as his connection with the Maxwell-Ray Company requires. Mrs. Ray was born in Springfield, Illinois.
Circumstances offered Walter William Ray splendid educational advantages and after receiving his early education in private schools and through private tutoring, he entered the elementary department of Carroll College and in due time the college proper, from which institution he was graduated in 1896. For three years he attended the University of Wisconsin and subsequently, in 1899, made his initial step into the husiness world. He hecame a salesman in the carpet and drapery house of Stark Brothers and remained with that concern until they went out of business in 1904. He then bought an interest in the business of Maxwell & Stillman, and in 1911 the name of the firm was changed to the Maxwell-Ray Company with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars. He was made secretary, treasurer and general manager of the company and he has been a dominant factor in its continued success. A retail business is carried on hy the concern and they deal exclusively in decorating and furnishing, handling a high quality of merchandise, much of which is made by them. The manufacturing plant, located at Reed street and National avenue, is a separate institution owned by the same company. One hundred and fifty employes are needed to handle the business in a competent and satisfactory manner and not only does their business cover the United States but they export to foreign countries. They primarily manufactured lamps and mirrors, in which line they were pioneers, and they are also now extensively engaged in the manufacture of furniture of the highest quality. The house is the most extensive of its kind in the state.
On the 16th of August, 1905, Mr. Ray was united in marriage to Miss Clara Till- man, of Milwaukee, whose father won prominence as a hat manufacturer. Two chil- dren have been born to their union: Bernice and Ruth, both of whom are attending the Milwaukee public schools.
Since attaining his majority Mr. Ray has been a supporter of the republican party but has never been very active along political lines. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ray are consistent members of the Immanuel Presbyterian church, and he is socially known as a member of the University Club, of which organization he is one of the earlier members, and the Milwaukee Athletic Club. As a man interested in the progress and development of the community in which he resides, he is a leader in the affairs of the Association of Commerce, which he serves on various committees. In the line of his husiness he belongs to the Arts and Trades Club of New York. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ray are lovers of music, both heing splendid pianists and the latter studied with Mrs. Norman Hoffman at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. Mr. Ray is a devotee of the great sport-golf-but his idea of true happiness in ontdoor life is farming. He and his wife reside at 592 Maryland avenue, and their home is always open to their many friends.
DOUGLAS LORNE MACDOWELL.
Douglas Lorne MacDowell, president of the Marvel Clutch Company, president of the Drop-A-Line Automatic Copy Holder Company and a leading and representative business man of Milwaukee, has through these connections been closely associated with important manufacturing and commercial interests of the city. What he purposes he accomplishes. His plans are always carefully formulated and promptly executed and his energy and determination have enabled him to overcome all difficulties and obstacles in his path. Mr. MacDowell was born on his father's farm at St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, May 5, 1879. He is a. son of John H. MacDowell and a grandson of John and Mary MacDowell. who removed from the state of New York to Ontario. He suffered shipwreck while crossing the lake, was landed on the Canadian side and took up his abode there. His son, John H. MacDowell, now living in Milwaukee, was also born in St. Thomas, Ontario, and was for many years actively engaged in farming, but is now living retired. He was a man of considerable prominence in Ontario, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits and also took up merchandising, which he followed in Canada and later in Milwaukee. In 1889 he removed to this city and for some time was identified with mercantile interests and with the lumher trade. He married Melvina Minor, who also survives. She, too, was born in St. Thomas and is a daughter of George Minor of Ontario. She had three uncles of the name of Harvey, two of whom were members of parliament at different times and thus she represents a family that has in large measure left its impress upon the history of that country. Her mother was a Harvey, the family heing of Irish descent.
Douglas L. MacDowell pursned his early education in the public schools of St. Thomas and continued his studies in the public schools of Milwaukee and in the East
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Side high school, after which he entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. When his college days were over he turned his attention to the steamboat freighting business, in connection with the Canada Atlantic Transit Company, with which he was associated for nine years, first as clerk but subsequently rose to the position of assistant chief clerk. He afterward spent a year in the life insurance business and then hecame interested in the Drop-A-Line Copy Holder Company, of which he was elected president in 1914. This company manufactures and sells the copy holder which is shipped to all parts of the world. In 1917 Mr. MacDowell also organized the Marvel Clutch Company, of which he became president. This company manufactures friction clutches, couplings and hangers and general power transmission devices and finds its market in the middle west. The clutch meets every requirement of the times and the mechanism has reached a high point of perfection. The other officers of this company are: C. J. Nelson, vice president, and F. T. Smith, secretary and treasurer. The com- pany is meeting with substantial success, as is the Drop-A-Line Company, whose spe- cialty is a most efficient device. It can be used on any style desk and operates from the keyboard. It can be mechanically fixed on either side or back of any typewriter in one minute and automatically points out or follows the lines or notes to be copied or tran- scribed from notebook, form letter, report sheets, or other copy.
On the 10th of September, 1913, Mr. MacDowell was married to Miss Adele Wirth, a daughter of Leopold Wirth, of the Milwaukee Vinegar Company. He was born in Germany and came to Milwaukee in his boyhood days, here spending the remainder of his life.
Mr. MacDowell has never been active in politics except through his contributions to campaign funds. He normally gives his support to the republican party but the honors and emoluments of office have never had attraction for him. He belongs to the Wis- consin Club and he finds much of his recreation in music, being a pianist of considerable skill. His family played in public and he studied with the best teachers in New York and Milwaukee. Mr. MacDowell has produced musical selections which have been pub- lished and Mrs. MacDowell also possesses much musical and artistic talent, having been educated at the Milwaukee Downer College. Mr. MacDowell also has keen appreciation for the best in literature and art and is interested in outdoor athletics. These con- stitute the nature of his relaxation and the manner in which he spends his leisure hours. As a business man he is adaptable, energetic, persistent and thorough, ac- complishing what he undertakes and holding to high standards of service to the public, recognizing that satisfied patrons are the best advertisement.
JOHN ARTHUR WILSON.
John Arthur Wilson, chief chemist with the tanning concern of A. F. Gallun & Sons Company in Milwaukee, and accounted an eminent figure in scientific circles, was born in Chicago, August 16, 1890, his parents being Ernest C., and Amy F. (Christian ) Wilson, the former a native of the state of New York and the latter of England. After living in Chicago for a considerable period Ernest C. Wilson brought his family to Milwaukee in 1900, and here he engaged in the printing business.
John Arthur Wilson attended the grammar schools of Chicago and Milwaukee, and afterward devoted four years to the printing trade in Milwaukee. He later pur- sued high school studies in Baltimore, in St. Louis and in Newark, New Jersey, and also spent one year as a student at New York University. In 1912 he returned to Milwaukee and became identified with the chemistry department of the firm of A. F. Gallun & Sons Company and in 1914 was sent by his firm to the University of Leeds, England, to study under Professor Procter, regarded as the most eminent leather chemist in the world. During the second year of his sojourn abroad Mr. Wilson was made a member of the faculty and assistant to Professor Procter. In 1916 he returned to Milwaukee and again took his place with the firm of A. F. Gallun & Sons Company. The following year-1917-he became chief chemist, which position he still fills. He is today one of the distinguished chemists of the country and has written about fifty scientific papers, which have been translated into foreign languages and published in scientific journals throughout the world, while at the present time he has in prepara- tion a book entitled "The Chemistry of Leather Manufacture," which is to be one of the important series of American Chemical Society Monographs. He has also written many articles in collaboration with Professor Procter and others on colloid chemistry.
Mr. Wilson is now vice president of the American Chemical Society and is chairman of the leather division thereof. In 1920 he was chairman of the Milwaukee section of the American Chemical Society and is now consulting chemist of the Milwaukee sewerage commission, directing all of the chemical research work on the new sewage disposal plant.
In 1912 Mr. Wilson was married to Miss Wynnaretta Cain, only daughter of Jesse H. and Amelia J. (Hicks) Cain of Newark, New Jersey. They have become parents of
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one child, Wynnaretta, named for her mother. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are members of the Episcopal church and politically give their support to the republican party. He is a young man who has attained a notable position in scientific circles and what he has already accomplished indicates that his future career will be well worth watching. He has hecome the coworker of the world's most eminent chemists, and his comprehensive studies enable him to speak with authority upon many of the most intricate and involved problems relating to the science.
GEORGE FRENCH MOSS.
Among the enterprises of Milwaukee which are being successfully conducted and contributed to the city's material growth and prosperity as well as to individual success is the large industrial concern of the Western States Envelope Company, of which George French Moss is president and treasurer. Mr. Moss was born in Chicago, Illinois, on the 29th of March, 1871, a son of George White and Hannah M. (French) Moss, the former a native of England and the latter of Illinois. The grandfather of Mr. Moss, George B. Moss, was born in England and in later life came to the United States, locating in Batavia, Illinois. He won prominence as a miller and for some years was an active member of the Chicago Board of Trade. He was likewise successful in the paper manufacturing business in Batavia, and taking an active interest in the develop- ment and improvement of the community, served in many local offices. George B. Moss was also a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal church, devoting much of his life to the work of the church and to effort toward making his community a better place in which to live. His death, which occurred in 1873, came as a severe hlow to his many friends. His son. George White Moss, was born in Worcestershire, England, June 3, 1846, and was but three years of age when in 1849 he was brought hy his parents to this country, the family home being established in Batavia, Illinois. About 1866 he removed to Chicago, where he became identified with the paper supply business, and in 1870 became associated with the J. W. Butler Paper Company, of which he was made treasurer in 1885, continuing to hold that position until his death and contributing in large measure to the success of the business, which still remains one of the important factors in the paper trade of that city. He was active in all religious and social uplift work, heing a member of the Methodist church, and he established Gads Hill Social Center at Chicago. For many years he was connected with the Lincoln Street Metho- dist Episcopal church and for more than thirty years served as superintendent of the Sunday school. His labors were indeed far-reaching and effective, constituting a most potent force for good, and his memory remains as an inspiration and a blessed bene- diction to all who knew him. His demise occurred in 1903, when he was fifty-seven years of age. His widow. who makes her home at Evanston, Illinois, is a native of Jerseyville, that state, born April 3, 1846, and a daughter of Josiah and Dolly ( Adams) French, being descended from fine old Massachusetts families in both the paternal and maternal lines. Her father was horn in Salisbury, Massachusetts, in 1813, of Puritan stock dating back over two hundred years, and attended one of the first temperance meetings in the United States, the gathering being held at Faneuil Hall, the historical market-house, containing a hall for public assemblies, in Boston, Massachusetts. Be- fore and during the Civil war his sympathies were with the north and he assisted the refugees in their escape through the underground railway. At the age of nineteen years he left New England and removed to Alton, Illinois, while later he established his home in Jerseyville and some years following his marriage removed with his family to Bloomingdale, Illinois. It was at Jerseyville that he married Dolly Adams, a native of Ohio and a descendant of the John Adams family of Massachusetts.
George French Moss pursued his education in the Chicago public schools and was graduated from the West Division high school with the class of 1891. He then removed to Milwaukee and through the following eighteen years worked for the Standard Paper Company as a salesman, likewise becoming a small stockholder in the concern. In May, 1909, he disposed of his interest in that company and purchased his present interest in the Western States Envelope Company, which was then but one year old and of which he became vice president and treasurer, in which dual official capacity he served most satisfactorily for a period of six years. At the end of that time he be- came president and treasurer and has since so served, the business having grown to extensive proportions under his able management. It was hut a small concern when Mr. Moss became connected with it but its growth has been continuous, substantial and rapid. Twelve years ago the business occupied two upper floors at Nos. 311 and 313 East Water street, while today the plant has forty-three thousand square feet of floor space at Ferry and South Water streets. The company manufactures commercial and advertising envelopes and one of the important features in the business is the develop- ing of the system of printing envelopes flat before folding. The trade of the company
GEORGE F. MOSS
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is now international, for their output is to some extent exported, while a mammoth business has been built up throughout various sections of this country.
On the 5th of August, 1897, Mr. Moss was united in marriage to Josephine Elizabeth Bearman, a daughter of Joseph Bearman of Milwaukee. Her father was a native of Baden. Germany, and came to Milwaukee as a young unmarried man some time after the year 1850. He was a tailor by trade and achieved a substantial measure of success in that connection. He was also a local preacher in the First German Methodist Episcopal church. His demise occurred in 1911. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Elizabeth Baltes, was born in Coblenz, Germany, in 1841 and was brought by her parents to Wisconsin in 1843. Her father, George Baltes, lived for years on Pros- pect avenue in Milwaukee, near where the Christian Science church now stands. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Moss two children have been born. Pearl Elizabeth, born January 1, 1899, was married in November, 1919, to Harold Shirley Knowlton and they have become the parents of two children, Harold Ray and Shirley Elizabeth. George Bearman, the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Jloss, was born May 29, 1902, and is now a student in Carroll College at Waukesha, Wisconsin. Mr. Knowlton served his country gallantly in the World war and was in active service with the Marines in France for twenty-seven months, during which time he participated in the battle of Chateau Thierry, where the Americans, thrown into the break in the French lines, turned the tide of battle. forcing the Germans into a retreat that was never stopped until they had crossed the Rhine. He was also in the engagement at Belleau Wood and others of the World war, during which time he received the Croix de Guerre and various citations. Fraternally Mr. Moss is identified with the Masons, having membership in Wauwa- tosa Lodge, and his club connections are with the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Rotary Club and the Association of Commerce. In the last named he is chairman of the com- mittee for the Badger State Advancement Association of the Blind. Mr. Moss has been a member of the Methodist church throughout his entire life. In Milwaukee he has been connected with the Washington Avenue Methodist Episcopal church, now the Wesley church, and for the last twenty-two years with the Kingsley Methodist Episco- pal church, of which he is a trustee, chief usher and one of the teachers in the Sunday school. He has always given much of his time and effort to church work and, like his forebears, his labors have been practical and far-reaching in this connection. He has sought most earnestly to instill into the minds of the young those principles which shall serve to form noble character and stimulate to the highest in action. Mr. Moss has ever maintained a well balanced relation between his religious work and his busi- ness life, to which a man must necessarily devote much of his attention, and in the de- partment in which he has chosen to concentrate his energies Mr. Moss has made con- tinuous progress nor has he ever sacrificed to success the high ideals which he holds as a man and as a citizen.
JOHN S. KANEY.
John S. Kaney is a native son of Wisconsin, his birth having occurred in the town of Washington, Sauk county, December 5, 1869, his parents being Patrick and Rose (Croal) Kaney, both of whom were natives of Ireland, their marriage being celebrated, however, in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Mrs. Kaney crossed the Atlantic with her parents during her girlhood days and Patrick Kaney came to the new world in company with his brother, James. Both were natives of County Leitrim, Ireland, but their acquaintance did not begin until they had come to the United States. Through- out his life Patrick Kaney followed the occupation of farming, first finding employment in the state of New York, while in 1854 he visited Sauk county, Wisconsin, and estab- lished his home there the following year. He secured a government claim of one hundred and twenty acres and while developing his farm experienced all of the hard- ships and privations of pioneer life. He succeeded in bringing his land under a high state of cultivation, however, and in the course of years his well tilled fields returned to him a gratifying annual income. About two years prior to his demise he sold the old farm home and he and his wife spent their remaining days with their son, Joseph, in Richland county. Mrs. Kaney passed away at the age of seventy-eight years, while the death of Mr. Kaney occurred October 21, 1901, when he had reached the notable age of ninety-two years. His wife's death occurred on the 26th of December, 1908. They were the parents of four sons and four daughters, and all of the daughters became Sisters of Charity. James F., the eldest of the sons, owns and occupies a well improved farm near Lyndon, Juneau county; Hannah belongs to the Order of St. Vincent de Paul in New York city; Catherine is a sister at Mount St. Vincent, New York, as is also Rose; Patrick H. makes his home in Wagner, South Dakota; Joseph M. is a retired farmer, living at Richland Center; John S. is the next of the family; and Nellie is a sister at St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum in Brooklyn, New York. All were born on the old family homestead in Sauk county, with the exception of
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