USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume II > Part 84
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ambition has characterized him in his later years since starting in business for him- self, and the position to which he has attained is most creditahle, indicating what can be accomplished when there is a will to dare and to do.
HARRY ABRAMS.
Harry Abrams, a well known representative of real estate activity in Milwaukee, was born in this city, July 5, 1887, his parents being David and Fredericka ( Meissner) Abrams, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father was born in 1852 and came alone to the United States when a youth of eighteen years, making his way across the country to Milwaukee, where he has since resided. He engaged in business at No. 45 Juneau avenue, then called Division street, remaining in that locality for many years, but after long connection with merchandising he is now living retired at No. 698 Stowell avenue. His wife came to the United States with her mother and brothers in the year 1848, and they, too, settled in Milwaukee. Her father was Abraham Meiss- ner, and both the Meissner and Abrams families became well known in this city. Mrs. Fredericka Abrams passed away December 6, 1920.
Harry Abrams obtained a public school education, continuing his studies to the age of fourteen years, when he started out to make his own way in the world. He initiated his business career as a messenger boy with the street car company and after a little time became an employe of the Journal. Later he was with the old Free Press in the advertising department and thus steadily worked his way upward. When nine- teen years of age he was employed as a traveling salesman by the Milwaukee Tack Company of this city, selling to the local trade and also throughout the state of Wis- consin. He continued with that firm for seven years in a sales capacity and in 1914 turned his attention to the real estate business, in which he has since been engaged, never having a partner save that for some time his brother, Benjamin B. Abrams, has been interested with him in the business. He specializes in handling business prop- erty and has been the leading factor in procuring leases in the down town section. He has intimate knowledge of the property on the market, is most accurate in his valuations and has gained a very large clientage that makes his business one of very profitable propositions.
In politics Mr. Abrams is not a member of any party and has never been a candi- date for office. He belongs to Temple Emanu-El of Milwaukee and has membership in Harmony Lodge, Free Sons of Israel, of which he is vice president. He likewise belongs to the Elks Lodge, No. 41, of Milwaukee and to Gilead Lodge of the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith, of which he has served as vice president. He is likewise a member of the City Club and is interested in all that has to do with public progress and improve- ment here. He is fond of all manly outdoor sports, principally motoring, golf and base- ball, and to these he turns for recreation when his business activities permit, but the latter make heavy demand upon his time.
WILLIAM J. HERRMANN.
William J. Herrmann, secretary, treasurer and manager of the E. A. Bouer Paper Company of Milwaukee, has been identified with this business since attaining the age of fifteen years. Accepting a minor position when but a youth, he has since steadily worked his way upward to one of executive control and administrative direction. A native of Milwaukee, he was born July 4, 1885, and is a son of William J. and Lydia (Jaeggin) Herrmann, who were natives of Switzerland and became residents of Wis- consin in 1875. Here the father engaged with the George Brumder Printing Company, having previously learned the printer's trade, and with that house he continued to the time of his death, which occurred in September, 1915.
William J. Herrmann obtained his education in the graded schools of Milwaukee and when a lad of fifteen years he made his initial step in the business world in order to provide for his own support. He became an errand boy in the employ of E. A. Bouer and in that connection worked his way steadily upward by reason of his ability, his diligence and his faithfulness until he was made manager of the business at the time of the death of Mr. Bouer in March, 1915. The E. A. Bouer Company was organized in 1905 and the present officers of the concern are as follows: Mrs. Bouer, president; . Mrs. Herbert Brumder, vice president; and William J. Herrmann, secretary, treasurer and manager. Through the intervening period he has done much to direct the activi- ties and broaden the scope of the enterprise and today the paper company is one of the foremost in its line in this section of the state.
In 1910 Mr. Herrmann was united in marriage to Miss Clara Wenninger, a daugh-
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ter of George Wenninger, a pioneer real estate dealer, who died in the year 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Herrmann have become parents of one child, Ruth.
Mr. Herrmann is a thirty-second degree Mason, a member of Wisconsin Consistory, Ivanhoe Commandery and the Mystic Shrine, and he also belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is likewise well known in club circles, having member- ship in the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the City Club and the Kiwanis Club. Both Mr. and Mrs. Herrmann are widely and favorably known here and their circle of friends is an ex- tensive one. Mr. Herrmann has long been recognized as a forceful and resourceful business man. There have been no esoteric phases in his career, and though he started out in life in a most humble capacity, he has worked his way steadily upward through intermediate positions until he occupies a position of prominence in connection with the paper trade of this part of the state. There is no phase of the business with which he is not thoroughly familiar and his progressive spirit is manifest in the continued success of the undertaking.
CARL WILLIAM MOEBIUS.
A prominent business man, and one who knows him well, said of Carl William Moebius: "He has shown that he is made of the right stuff." Actuated by a most progressive spirit and a high sense of business honor and integrity, Mr. Moebius has developed an enterprise of large proportions, now successfully conducted under the name of the Moebius Printing Company and today classed with the leading business interests of Milwaukee. Taking charge of the enterprise when there were but three employes, he has developed the business to one of extensive proportions and has at all times kept abreast with the highest standards of the printing business.
Mr. Moebius is a native of New York city. He was born September 26, 1888, his parents being Paul R. and Johanna (Daub) Moebius, both natives of Germany. Dur- ing the early boyhood of their son, Carl W., they removed with the family to Mil- waukee and he acquired his education in the public schools of this city. In 1902, however, when a youth of fourteen years, he put aside his textbooks and entered a printing office as errand boy, thus making his initial step in the business world. For three years he was in the employ of the Westlake, Dela Hunt & Smith. Printing Com- pany, during which period he eagerly availed himself of every opportunity to learn the trade and promote his efficiency. He then resigned his position, having in the interim reached the position 'of journeyman, although according to the rules of the printers' union, five years must be spent in attaining that point. Entering the employ of the Meyer-Rotier Printing Company, he there mastered the finer points and more artistic details of the work and continued with the company at intervals for about five years. When not associated with that house he had charge of the printing plant of The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company and also of the plant of the Tanisch Printing Company. Ambitious to engage in business on his own account, he felt that the time was ripe in 1911 and opened a small printing establishment on the fourth floor of the Manhattan building in association with his uncle, Edward J. King, under the firm name of the Moebius-King Printing Company. His uncle was a silent partner in the business, living in Hakodate, Japan. Mr. Moebius faced the situation with new hope and courage when his first customer came to him and it was not long before satisfied patrons were proving an excellent advertisement for the new enter- prise. At the end of two years the business was only large enough to require the services of three men but was steadily growing and Mr. Moebius purchased the in- terest of Mr. King, thus becoming sole owner, after which he carried on his interests under the name of the Moebius Printing Company. At all times he has been actuated by a spirit of progressiveness and his keen business ability has resulted in the steady growth of the enterprise. After a time it was necessary to secure larger quarters and today the Moebius Printing Company has over ten thousand square feet in the Man- hattan building and is furnishing employment to more than sixty people. Moreover. the business shows a steady growth each year and numbers its patrons in many sections of the United States. The company specializes in the highest class of artistic color printing and advertising literature and its work is the last word in highly developed production of this character. Something of the continued development of the business is further indicated in the fact that when the company was organized its capital stock was twenty-five hundred dollars and today is capitalized for one hundred ยท and fifty thousand dollars. During the first year the volume of business reached the two thousand dollar mark, while the income of the company today is more than two hundred and fifty thousand dollars annually. The plant includes the latest and most highly developed printing machinery to be found in the country and the question of the comfort of the employes is particularly stressed thereby bringing the corps of workers to the point of greatest efficiency.
Mr. Moebius' family consists of his wife, who was formerly Miss Erna A. Rudy
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CARL W. MOEBIUS
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of San Antonio, Texas, and three sons: Carl William, Jr., Frank Robert and Howard Edward. Since attaining his majority Mr. Moebius has always given his political support to the republican party, while fraternally he is connected with the Kenwood Lodge of Masons and Columbia Lodge No. 11 of the Knights of Pythias. In club circles in Milwaukee he is also widely and prominently known, having membership in the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Pewaukee Yacht Club, Ozaukee Golf Club and the Elks Club. He also belongs to the Kiwanis Club and to the Association of Commerce. He occupies a position of prominence and leadership in trade circles and in 1920 was hon- ored with the presidency of the Graphic Arts Bureau of Milwaukee, while at the present he is a director of the Milwaukee Typothetae and treasurer of the Employing Printers Association of Milwaukee. Since his eighteenth year he has at intervals served as a member of the board of directors of the Turnverein of Milwaukee and has held other offices in that organization. He has won first prize for all-around apparatus and athletic work, having gained the victory nine different times while participating in tri-state and state meets. In addition to all of his other activities he is an officer and director of the Nonbreakable Button Company of America.
Without special advantages at the outset of his career Mr. Moebius has made continuous advancement since starting out in the business world and from each new experience he has learned the lesson therein contained. His broadening capabili- ties and powers have brought him to an enviable position as a representative of one of the most important business interests of Milwaukee.
LUDWIG ELSAS.
Ludwig Elsas, president of the Milwaukee Apparel Company, is conducting busi- ness on the second floor of the Boston Store and is a progressive, alert and enterprising merchant. He was born in Hamburg, Germany, February 15, 1873. His father, Adolph L. Elsas, also a native of Hamburg, filled the office of city auctioneer of Hamburg, while his elder brother, Theodor Elsas, is now serving in that capacity. The business was founded in 1869, and is one of the largest in Germany. The father died in the year 1886. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Fanny Behrens, was also a native of Hamburg and a daughter of Ludwig Behrens. Her death occurred in 1901.
Ludwig Elsas obtained his early education in private schools, the Stiftungs Schule, founded in 1815, in which his grandfather, Ludwig Behrens, was the first pupil. After his textbooks were put aside he worked in a banking house in Hamburg and in 1890 he came with relatives to the United States, landing at New York, where he remained for a quarter of a century. He has always been connected with the wholesale trade in the ready-to-wear line of women's clothing. In 1915 he became a partner of Herman Katz in the Milwaukee Apparel Company, which is the ready-to-wear department of the Boston Store. In 1918 he purchased the interest of his partner in the business and became president of the company, which handles women's, misses' and children's ready-to-wear clothing. The company carries an extensive and carefully selected stock and its reasonable prices and the progressive business methods which it followed have gained for it a substantial and gratifying patronage.
On the 6th of September, 1903, Mr. Elsas was married to Miss Emilie Severin, a daughter of Phillip Severin of New York, who was born in Hamburg and became a wholesale clothier of the eastern metropolis .. The birth of Mrs. Elsas occurred in New York. In religious faith Mr. Elsas is a Christian Scientist, His political allegiance is given to the republican party but he never takes active part in campaign work. He belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, to the Wisconsin Club and to the Blue Mound Country Club. A love of music has always been one of his marked characteristics. He began to study music in his sixth year and kept it up until he left school. He continues it for his own pleasure and his knowledge of the art enables him to enjoy many fine musical performances. His success is due entirely to his own labors. Enter- prise and industry have constituted the basis of his advancement and at all times he is actuated by a progressive spirit that establishes him in the front rank among the houses and departments of this character in Milwaukee.
ARTHUR N. BLANCHARD.
Many interests and enterprises have entered into the development of Milwaukee along industrial and commercial lines, making the city one of the important industrial centers of the country. Each legitimate business of this character is a valuable asset, extending the trade relations and promoting the outside commercial connections. Mr. Blanchard is well known as the president of the Milwaukee Metal Working Company, his establishment being at 382 to 388 Clinton street. Success has come to him as the re-
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sult of close application, persistency of purpose and earnest endeavor. He was born in Milwaukee, January 7, 1873, and is a son of Charles L. and Martha J. (Wright) Blanch- ard, both of whom were of American birth, the father born in Massachusetts and the mother in the state of New York. Mr. Blanchard came to Milwaukee in 1857 and the Wright family moved there in the same year. The grandfather, Joseph Wright, was asso- ciated with the Plankintons in the soap and tallow business. Charles L. Blanchard served as a soldier in the Civil war, becoming a member of the Fortieth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, enlisting in 1864, when but eighteen years of age. He afterward served as a teller in the old Mitchell Bank for many years and has been treasurer of the Standard Paper Company since 1883.
Arthur N. Blanchard was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee and after his school days were over was employed along different lines for several years. For a time he was with the Northwestern Iron Company at Mayville, Wisconsin, and later became a representative of the Heinn Company, his association with that firm covering a period of five years. In 1901 be organized the Milwaukee Metal Working Company, opening his plant in the Montgomery building. In the spring of 1917 be removed to the present location, where the company has since built up an extensive business. Mr. Blanchard incorporated his interests in 1901 with a capital stock of five thousand dollars, the first officers being: S. A. Bean, president; H. Winkenwerder, vice president; D. B. Swartz, secretary; and Arthur N. Blanchard, treasurer. The present officers are: Arthur N. Blanchard, president and treasurer; C. Winkenwerder, vice president; and A. G. Lechmaier, secretary. The company manufactures a large line, including many kinds of small machinery, automobile parts and accessories. It employs normally about fifty men and there is an excellent market for its output. During the World war the plant was devoted about ninety per cent to war work, making parts for naval gun mounts.
In June, 1908, Mr. Blanchard was united in marriage to Miss Mary Finn of Mil- waukee. He belongs to the Milwaukee Association of Commerce, thus manifesting his keen interest in the development of the city along business and civic lines. He is also a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club and has many friends here.
CONRAD SCHMITT.
Conrad Schmitt, interior decorator of Milwaukee, was born April 20, 1867, in Menomonee, Waukesha county, Wisconsin. His parents were Conrad and Cecelia (Hennes) Schmitt, the former a native of Bavaria, while the latter was born in the city of Bonn, on the Rhine. Coming to Wisconsin in 1851 the father settled in Waukesha county, where he engaged in agricultural and mercantile pursuits and also filled the office of town treasurer in Menomonee for several terms.
His son, Conrad Schmitt, of this review, acquired his early education in parochial schools and afterward attended the Spencerian College of Milwaukee. He also studied art under private tutors in this city, of which he became a resident when a youth of fourteen years. He served an apprenticeship in applied arts under Adolph Loeffler, and the first practical work he did was on the courthouse in 1885. Six years later, or in 1891, he removed to Wausau, Wisconsin, where he established himself in business as an interior decorator, remaining at that place until 1895, when he returned to Mil- waukee. Here he organized a company known as the Associated Artists, of which he was manager and vice president, continuing in active connection therewith for seven and a half years. In 1896 he organized his present firm, which was incorporated in 1909 under the name of Conrad Schmitt Company, owners of the Conrad Schmitt Studios. This firm had the contract for decorating the Milwaukee Public Library and Museum, also St. John's cathedral and the Davidson Theatre and they have done the interior decorating and furnishing of some of the finest residences in Milwaukee and other cities of the middle west. In connection with the mural decorating of public buildings and churches their work is known throughout the entire country and one of their important contracts was the decorating of St. Mary's cathedral in Winnipeg, Canada. Their record is quite remarkable in view of the fact that they never enter into competition with other firms.
In 1889 Mr. Schmitt was married to Miss Mary Hemmi, a daughter of Christian Hemmi, of Newburg, Washington county. They are now parents of three sons: Rupert, who is secretary and treasurer of the company; Alphons, who is vice president; and Edward, who is second vice president of the company, the three sons being thus associated with their father in the business of interior decorating and furnishing.
Mr. Schmitt belongs to the Catholic church and is a member of the Knights of Columbus. For many years he was identified with the Milwaukee Athletic Club but is not connected therewith at the present time. His business and its allied interests have constantly made greater and greater demands upon his time and energy. The building now occupied by the firm is situated at 1707 Grand avenue. It was designed
CONRAD SCHMITT
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and erected by Mr. Schmitt in 1911 and now stands as one of the monuments to Milwaukee's architectural adornment. He and his sons have made numerous trips to Enrope in connection with research work, visiting Rome, Florence, Paris, Munich and other art centers. It has been this research work and comprehensive study abroad that have placed them in advance of many other firms of similar character in the United States. Patrons visit them from all parts of the country and it is said their studios bring more people here than some of the large manufacturing establishments. Mr. Schmitt has one of the most extensive art libraries in the United States, covering all branches of mural and decorative art. He was instrumental in organizing the Society of Decorators in Milwaukee. He is also a charter member of the National Association of Decorative Arts and Industries. From the age of fourteen years he has been dependent entirely upon his own resources. At the start he earned but two dollars per week and worked sixty-eight hours out of the week. He is, indeed, a self-made man and in the early days when starting on his first job on the courthouse he walked twelve miles from his father's home in a heavy snow storm to keep his promise to his employer who never forgot his faithfulness. He worked under Becker of St. Louis and Jurgenson of Milwaukee and has made steady advancement since starting out inde- pendently. From a business of twenty thousand dollars per year at the start his patronage has increased until his annual business now amounts to over two hundred thousand dollars. Many of his employes have been with him for long periods and are drawing large salaries, for he believes in paying them well and having at all times dependable help. In fact his position and his business attitude places him in a posi- tion of leadership among the interior decorators of the Mississippi valley.
EDWARD WHITON SPENCER.
Edward Whiton Spencer, well known lawyer, author, and educator, new president of the Spencerian Business College of Milwaukee, has along the lines indicated made valuable contribution to the world's work and his life record is a credit to the history of the family. His father, Robert C. Spencer, won fame in the educational field and through authorship, and was equally prominently and widely known as a citizen and as a philanthropist, constantly extending a helping hand where aid was needed. He was born June 24, 1829, in Ashtabula county, Ohio, and had reached the age of almost eighty-seveu years when he departed this life in Milwaukee, January 10, 1916. He had become a resident of this city when he left the Union army in 1863, and here he founded the Spencerian Business College, of which he remained the directing head until his death, more than a half century later. He was the eldest son of Platt R. Spencer, originator of the Spencerian system of penmanship and he labored in connection with his father and brothers to perfect the system and to disseminate a knowledge thereof throughout the country. Moreover, he was a pioneer in the field of higher commercial training in the colleges and the universities of the country and was an advocate of manual training in the public schools. The Spencerian Business College of Milwaukee became one of the strongest and most valuable educational institutions, and yet his labors in the educational field were of a very broad, varied and beneficial character. He was associated with Professor Alexander Graham in promoting the public day schools for the deaf and many regard this as his most brilliant and lasting contribution to educational achievement. He was a member of the National Commercial Teachers' Federation from its organization and served for several years as its president and upon its most important committees, never being absent from its meetings. It was through attendance at the last meeting of the Federation in December, 1915, that his death was doubtless hastened. He was long known as a most clear and forceful speaker, who took an active interest in politics, although he was never but once a candidate for office, when he was made the republican candidate for congress. He served as a member of the Milwaukee school hoard and was also a charter member of the Wisconsin Humane Society. He married Ellen Whiton, a niece of Edward V. Whiton, first chief justice of Wisconsin. She was a woman of liberal culture and refinement, numbered among the first alumnae of Mt. Holyoke College. Later she became a teacher in the high schools of Racine, Wis- consin, under the late Colonel John McMynn. She was always keenly interested in her husband's endeavors in the educational field, and was to him truly a companion and helpmate. She survived him for but a brief period, passing away on the 13th of February, 1916, scarcely more than a month after his demise.
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