History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume III, Part 16

Author: Bruce, William George, 1856-1949; Currey, J. Seymour (Josiah Seymour), b. 1844
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 912

USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume III > Part 16

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In 1899 Mr. Herman was married to Miss Martha Stroebel of Liberty Grove, Wisconsin. His military record consists of service as a member of Company E, Fourth Wisconsin National Guard. During the World war he took a very active part in the various lines of war work, in the sale of Liberty bonds and War Savings Stamps and in the support of the Red Cross. By reason of the substantial worth of his work he received honorable mention, having had charge of the war committees in his territory. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, also of the Knights of Pythias and the United Commercial Travelers. In Masonry he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and has also crossed the sands of the desert to Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine.

FREDERICK WILLIAM KOENEKE.

Milwaukee numbers among her prominent citizens, Frederick William Koeneke, local manager of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, with headquarters at 486-96 Market street. He has been a resident of the United States since he was six years of age, at which time he came to this country from Hanover, Germany, where his birth occurred on the 19th of February, 1856. The parents of Mr. Koeneke were Christopher and Dora (Huebing) Koeneke, both of whom have passed away. The father was born in Hanover, Germany, and there grew to manhood, engaging as a millwright there until 1862, when he came to the United States with his wife and son, Frederick Wil- liam. He located at Reedsburg, Wisconsin, and purchased a farm, which he operated with substantial success. He was a man interested in all matters pertaining to the public welfare and could always be counted upon to do his share in the promotion of any movement for furthering the development and improvement of the community in which he made his home. He was a devout Lutheran and was always an official in that church. His death in 1868 came as a severe blow to his many friends and the com- munity lost a representative citizen. His widow was likewise born in Hanover, Ger- many, a daughter of Fred Huebing who came to this country in later life and engaged in farming in Reedsburg, removing to that locality soon after the Koenekes settled there. Mrs. Kocneke survived her husband for a number of years, her demise occurring in 1921.

Frederick William Koeneke is indebted to the public schools of Reedsburg for his education and after graduating from the high school there with the class of 1873, he removed to Milwaukee, where he accepted a position as clerk with the J. P. Kissinger Company until 1881. He won constant promotion in that connection and in 1881 was active as shipping clerk. In that year, however, he resigned his position and entered the employ of the James E. Patton Company as clerk, later became shipping clerk and subsequently salesman. In April, 1907, he was made manager and has held that position ever since. In April, 1913, the company was consolidated with the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. Mr. Koeneke has charge of the Wisconsin and upper Michigan territory.

On the 21st of January, 1877, Mr. Koeneke was united in marriage to Miss Annie

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Gohres, a daughter of Gerhardt Gohres, a manufacturer of implements at Watertown, Wisconsin, where Mrs. Koeneke was born. Mr. Gohres was a native of Cohlenz, Ger- many. and located in Wisconsin in 1870, his death occurring three years later. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Koeneke three children have been born: William, Frank Edward, and Adella. William Koeneke, who was a member of the Milwaukee police force for seventeen years, is now associated with the Chain Belt Company of Milwaukee and for some time before becoming associated with this company was connected with the Allis-Chalmers Company. He married Miss Emma Kuntz of Milwaukee and they have become parents of three children: LeRoy, Margaret and Lorraine, the latter being the wife of Frank Smith of Milwaukee and an employe of the Allis-Chalmers Company; Frank Edward Koeneke is in the sales department of his father's office. He married Selma Kemp of Milwaukee and they have one child, Ralph C., who is in the engineering department of the Richardson-Phenix Company; Adella, the youngest member of the family and the only daughter, is the wife of William G. Linderman of Milwaukee, who is superintendent of the Ozone Company of America.

Since attaining his majority Mr. Koeneke has been a stanch supporter of the republican party but has neither sought nor desired public office as a reward for party fealty. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church and fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, belonging to Prospect Lodge. He is likewise a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Milwaukee Association of Commerce and the Calumet Club. Mr. Koeneke has a highly developed artistic sense and is interested in everything of an artistic nature. He finds recreation in playing billiards, in which game he is proficient and be is also fond of hunting and of various outdoor sports. Mr. Koeneke has excellent ability as an organizer, forms his plans readily and is de- termined in their execution. This enables him to conquer obstacles which deter many a man and it has been one of the salient features in his success.

WALTER J. BEINERT.

Walter J. Beinert, the secretary of the Brunlieb & Wing Company, automobile experts of Milwaukee, was born November 1, 1882, in the town of Main, Wisconsin, his parents being John and Elizabeth Beinert who were natives of Germany. Crossing the Atlantic, the father settled first at Scranton, Pennsylvania, in early life and about 1870 came to Wisconsin. He was a clergyman, devoting his efforts to the work of the church, and his influence was of no restricted order.

Walter J. Beinert largely acquired his education at Ripon and at Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, his parents living at various places in this state because of the itinerant custom of the ministry. When his textbooks were put aside Walter J. Beinert took up the business of bookkeeping and later he became the cashier for the Wallace & Smith Company of Milwaukee, with which he remained for twenty years. On the 9th of August, 1919, he entered into a partnership relation that led to the organization of the Brunlieb & Wing Company, of which he is the secretary, with Mr. Wing as the president and Mr. Brunlieb as the treasurer. Their business is that of automobile experts. They handle oils. gas and all kinds of accessories, do painting and enameling and every kind of repairing, and they also maintain a storage department. The business is being rapidly developed along substantial lines and has already reached a creditable figure.

In 1907 Mr. Beinert was married to Miss Anna Henning, a daughter of Henry Henning of Milwaukee and they have many friends in this city, where they have long made their home.

JAMES STANLEY THOMAS, M. D.

Dr. James Stanley Thomas, a prominent and popular young physician of Mil- waukee, specializing in surgery, gynecology and obstetrics, was born in Ironton, Ohio. April 7, 1883, and is a son of James Thomas, who died at the age of twenty-nine years, when the Doctor was but a year old. The father was superintendent in a steel mill at Ironton, Ohio, occupying this responsible position at the time of his death. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Christine Strobel, passed away in 1921.

Dr. Thomas was reared at Ironton, Ohio, pursning his education in the public schools of that city and in Crook Academy there. He afterward spent two years as a student in the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, after which he completed his preparation for a professional career in the Northwestern University Medical College of Chicago, from which he was graduated with the M. D. degree in 1907. He later spent six months as interne in the Chicago Lying-In Hospital and subsequently became interne in the Milwaukee County Hospital, with which he was thus connected for a

WALTER J. BEINERT

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year, and was later on the surgical staff of the Shaw Hospital at Hihhing, Minnesota, for three years. Dr. Thomas then entered upon the practice of medicine independently in Milwaukee, confining his attention to surgery, gynecology and obstetrics. He is now a member of the faculty of the Marquette Medical College and was formerly on the faculty of the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons before it became a part of the Marquette Medical College, his connection with this institution covering a period of ten years, during which he has lectured on gynecology. He is now serving on the staff of the Milwaukee County Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital and the Milwaukee Maternity Hospital and he is also consulting surgeon at St. Mary's Hospital in Water- town, Wisconsin. He belongs to the Milwaukee County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society, the Wisconsin Surgical Society and the American Medical Asso- ciation.

On the 6th of October, 1909, Dr. Thomas was married at Hibbing, Minnesota, to Miss Edna Richards and they have become parents of two sons, James Richard and Alfred William, aged eight and five years, respectively. Dr. Thomas is fond of boxing and outdoor sports, particularly tennis and football. He is a Master Mason, having joined the order at the age of twenty-one years, and has always been a loyal follower of the teachings and purposes of the craft. His social qualities make for popularity wherever he is known and although not yet forty years of age he is regarded as one of the foremost physicians and surgeons of Milwaukee, having made steady advance- ment throughout his professional career until his position is one of leadership.

ANTHONY VAN PIETERSOM.

Milwaukee numbers among her native sons Anthony Van Pietersom, who since 1906 has been secretary and treasurer of Klau-Van Pietersom-Dunlap, Inc., an adver- tising concern. His birth occurred on the 28th of May, 1874, a son of Anthony and Anna ( Marr) Van Pietersom, the former passing away on January 26, 1916. The father was a native of Holland, born in Amsterdam, and came to the United States with his parents when four years of age. He engaged in cigar manufacturing and won more than a substantial success along that line. The Van Pietersoms occupied prom- inent places in Holland's history for many years and were a family of considerable wealth. The grandfather, also named Anthony, came with his family to the United States in 1853 and after residing in New York for some time located in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, removing from there to Milwaukee. He was a veteran of the Civil war having served throughout that conflict in the Union army. Mrs. Van Pietersom was born in Germany and she is now living in Milwaukee. She came to this country from her native land with her parents when but a child.

In the acquirement of an education Anthony Van Pietersom attended the public schools of Milwaukee and after graduating from the East Division high school enrolled in the Spencerian Business College and later in the Milwaukee Business College where he completed a course along general commercial lines. From the age of eighteen to twenty years he was professor in business training and accounting in the latter in- stitution and subsequently resigned to accept a position as accountant with a whole- sale honse, where he was associated for ten years. Mr. Van Pietersom was quick to take advantage of his opportunities and for some years before leaving that concern was active as general manager. For the following one and one-half years he was asso- ciated with the Johnson Service Company in the contract department and was offered the New York office but refused. On the 1st of June, 1906. he founded his present business with Gustav W. Klan, under the firm name of Klau & Van Pietersom. Two years later Wallis F. Dunlap was admitted to the firm and the business was in- corporated as the Klau-Van Pietersom Company, which name was changed five years later to its present style of Klau-Van Pietersom-Dunlap, Inc. Mr. Klau is chief executive of the corporation, Mr. Van Pietersom is secretary and treasurer and Mr. Dunlap is vice president. The business has achieved a national reputation in adver- tising circles and they place the advertising of some of the largest concerns in Mil- waukee, among them being: The Allis-Chalmers Company, the Cutler-Hammer Manu- facturing Company; the Everwear Hosiery Company; the Evinrude Motor Company; the Harley-Davidson Motor Company; the Milwaukee Motor Products Company; the Nunn, Bush & Weldon Shoe Company and the Robert A. Johnston Company. Outside of Milwaukee the company also has the patronage of nationally known concerns,

On the 29th of October, 1910, occurred the marriage of Mr. Van Pietersom to Miss Margaret Besnah of Oshkosh. Mrs. Van Pietersom is well known in the musical and literary eireles of Milwaukee and is also prominent in the club and social circles of the city.

Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Van Pietersom has been a stanch supporter of the republican party and although he has neither sought nor desired publie office he has been active in local affairs. His religious faith is that

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of the Calvary Presbyterian church and fraternally he is a Mason, belonging to Inde- pendence Lodge, No. 80, A. F. & A. M., in which he has held various chairs; Wiscon- sin Chapter, No. 7, R. A. M .: Ivanhoe Commandery, Knights Templars, No. 24; Wis- consin Council, No. 4; and Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is captain of one of the patrols and has taken the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite. Socially he is a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the Wisconsin Club and as a man always interested in any movement for the improvement of the general welfare, holds membership in the Association of Commerce. Mr. Van Pietersom is musically inclined and he is a pianist of no little ability. He is likewise interested in literature and has done considerable writing for school work in the past. His advertising copy is of the very highest grade. For recreation Mr. Van Pietersom turns to motoring and he is also fond of all outdoor sports. Mr. Van Pietersom has always adhered to high and honorable principles in his business dealings and in all of the relations of life he has commanded the confidence and respect of all with whom he has come into contact. He deserves much credit for what he has accomplished and the success he has achieved and the position he has attained are the reward of his earnest and well directed labors. Mr. and Mrs. Van Pietersom reside at 703 Marietta avenuc.

HON. LOUIS A. FONS.

Hon. Louis A. Fons, engaged in the real estate, insurance and loan business in Milwaukee, as president of the firm of Fons & Company, belongs to that class of men who owe their success to the recognition and utilization of opportunities which others have heedlessly passed by. Determined and energetic, he has always persisted in the pursuit of his purpose, allowing no obstacles or difficulties to bar his path if they could be overcome by earnest and energetic effort, and to these qualities may be at- tributed his gratifying success. He was born in Milwaukee, August 25, 1878, and is a son of Frank and Mary ( Piszczek ) Fons, natives of Poland. They came to Milwaukee in 1871 and in 1875 the father found employment as a blacksmith with the Wisconsin Malleable Iron Company, and to this day remains an active worker in this foundry.

Louis A. Fons pursued his early education in the parochial schools of his native city, attending to the age of thirteen years, when he started out in the business world as an office boy in connection with a real estate and insurance firm. He has continued in the same line of business, with which he has thoroughly acquainted himself in every particular. 1n 1899, when twenty-one years of age, he embarked in business with his employer, Wawrzyniakowski, by purchasing a half interest in the business. In 1918 he acquired M. I. Wawrzyniakowski's interest, in 1919 he acquired M. J. Drozewski's interest and in 1920 he purchased the shares of Frank J. Gapinski, and has since conducted the business with his four brothers, under the firm style of Fons & Company. Louis A. Fons became manager in 1901 and was elected president at the time the business was incorporated in 1910. His brother, Frank S. Fons, associated with the undertaking since 1901, is now vice president of the company. Edward H. Fons has been secretary since his return from France in 1919. He enlisted as a volunteer in Company K, One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Regiment, served on the Texas border in 1916, went to France in 1917 and was there on active duty until the close of the war. Following his return he became associated with his four brothers in the business. The company enjoys an extensive patronage, its clients today numbering about six thousand. In this connection Louis A. Fons handles important realty transfers and the insurance and loan departments of his business are also profitable sources of revenue. He is the secretary of the National Sav- ings & Loan Association, having assets of three million five hundred and fifty thousand dollars, representing largely the savings of wage earners. The Association furnishes money for building purposes and thus has assisted many a man with small means in gaining a home of his own where he could not have done so had it been necessary for him to furnish sufficient capital so that a mortgage loan could be negotiated for the difference. According to the methods of the company with which Mr. Fons is identified, the wage earner is able to pay a small amount weekly, bi- weekly or monthly and thus in the course of years gains clear title to his property. In 1916 Mr. Fons organized the Berthelet Pipe & Supply Company, of which he has since been the secretary. He is likewise a director of the Juneau Investment Company and was its secretary for the first five years of its existence. He also organized the

Central State Bank, located at Second and Mitchell streets. He has displayed keen sagacity in regard to business opportunities and affairs and whatever he has under- taken has been carried forward to successful completion.

Mr. Fons has also left the impress of his individuality upon the legislative history of the state. From 1918 until 1920 he represented the eighth district of Wisconsin in the state senate and while a member thereof gave most thoughtful and earnest con- sideration to all the vital questions which came up for settlement. He also was

HON. LOUIS A. FONS

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instrumental in securing the passage of a number of bills relative to building and loan associations and a bill for the regulation of the liability insurance rate by the state. He was a very active and prominent member of the senate. He also conducts one of the largest business agencies in steamship tickets in Milwaukee, while his building operations have been very extensive, especially in the years preceding the World war, resulting in the erection in 1916 of about eighty houses, while in other years his building operations have included from twenty to forty homes.

On the 23d of September, 1902, Mr. Fons was married to Miss Cecelia Sonnenberg of Milwaukee, and they have become parents of four children: Leonard C., a student at Campion College; Aloys E., a student in Marquette Academy; Esther Louise; and Louis Robert.

Mr. Fons was connected with all of the drives during the progress of the World war, and has always stood for advancement and benefit in all public affairs. He is a member of several fraternities, belongs to the Polish National Alliance, to the Polish Association of America, to the Catholic Order of Foresters, to the Knights of Columbus, to the Modern Woodmen of America and to the Equitable Fraternal Union. He was a prominent figure in semi-professional baseball and organized the successful Kosciuszko Baseball Club of Lake Shore League, of which he remained the manager for seven years. In politics he has always been a stanch republican, was a member of the republican state central committee and was elected a delegate to the national republican convention in 1916. He has long been actively interested in political problems, keeping well informed on all the vital questions of the day, and his position is that of a most progressive citizen.

Moreover, Mr. Fons deserves much credit for what he has accomplished in a busi- ness way. He had only three hundred dollars in cash when he started out in business for himself. This he had saved from his earnings at baseball and the wages obtained through evening work. He was employed for a time by the A. O. Smith Corporation and by the Milwaukee Fire Insurance Company during the daytime, and worked in the evenings for M. J. Wawrzyniakowski in the real estate office. He continued his studies through a correspondence school in preparation for a business career and has never had a dollar of assistance from anyone-not even his parents-since he started out on his own account when a youth in his teens. Steadily he has worked his way upward through his own efforts, and industry has constituted the key which has unlocked for him the portals of success.

THEO. ERNST.

Theo. Ernst, president of the Theo. Ernst Co., insurance, real estate and invest- ments of Milwaukee. started out in the business world as a stenographer and has gradually advanced until today he is at the head of a substantial business and is recog- mized as one of the leading insurance and real estate dealers of the city. His birth occurred on a farm near Freistadt, Wisconsin, September 22, 1883, his parents being Herman and Wilhelmina Ernst, who were natives of Germany, whence they came to the United States in 1850, settling on the farm where the birth of their son Theodore occurred. There they remained for about twenty years, after which they took up their abode in Milwaukee, the father living retired until his death, which occurred December 23, 1911. His widow is yet a resident of the Cream city.

Theo. Ernst was educated in the public schools and a business college, taking up a course of shorthand in the latter institution. He became a stenographer in the Rubin & Zabel law office, in which he was employed for about four years and then gained experience which qualified him for his present business by obtaining a position in the insurance office of Henry Gollusch, with whom he also continued for four years. While in that office he gained his first practical knowledge of the insurance and real estate business and at length, actuated by a laudable ambition to make his labors more directly benefit himself, he resigned his position to establish an insurance and real estate office of his own. This was in 1908 and through the intervening period he has continued an active factor in real estate, insurance and investment circles, now having a large clientele. He also became one of the organizers and directors of the Keystone Building & Loan Association and was active in the organization of the Mil- waukee Commercial Bank in June, 1919, at which time he was elected to the directorate. His business interests are thus broad in scope and important in character and his activity, determination and farsightedness have been salient features in the attainment of a gratifying success.

On the 14th of May, 1908, Mr. Ernst was married to Miss Lillian Mueller of Mil- waukee, and they have one daughter, June Dorothy, now five years of age. Mr. Ernst is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and member of Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He has served in various offices in his lodge, being a past master of Henry L. Palmer Lodge, No. 301, A. F. & A. M., of which he became a charter mem- ber. Ile is likewise a past high priest of Henry L. Palmer Chapter, No. 87, R. A. M.,

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and a trustee of Henry L. Palmer Commandery, K. T. He has thus attained high rank in both the York and Scottish Rites and has always been a worthy follower of the teachings and purposes of the craft. He belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, also to the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Khorassan. He finds his recreation in manly outdoor sports but allows nothing to interfere with the faithful performance of his business duties. He has made rapid progress in his chosen field and is regarded as one of the prominent young insurance and real estate dealers of the city.

ALBERT BLATZ, JR.

Albert Blatz, Jr., general manager for the Standard Separator Company of Mil- wankee, was born in this city July 24, 1886, his parents being Albert C. and Emma (Kletzsch) Blatz. He was educated in what is now the Milwaukee University School and in the East Side high school, while later he matriculated in the University of. Wisconsin and was graduated therefrom in' 1908 with the degrees of B. S. E. E. Fol- lowing the completion of his college course he was employed by the Val Blatz Brew- ing Company and also by the United States Brewing Company of Chicago as supervising engineer, continuing to act in this capacity until January 1, 1920. He then associated himself with the American Metal Parts Manufacturing Company, of which he is now the president. On the Ist of March, 1920, Mr. Blatz became general manager of the Standard Separator Company, engaged in the manufacture of cream separators, which aro power driven either by gas or electricity. The company also handles farm lighting plants, garden tractors and conducts a nonferrous metal foundry and does general machine shop work. The plant was erected in 1914 and occupies a building one hun- dred and fifty by two hundred and forty feet. Their goods are sold all over the world and their foreign trade is equal to their American sales.

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History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume III, Part 16

Author: Bruce, William George, 1856-1949; Currey, J. Seymour (Josiah Seymour), b. 1844 Publication date: 1922 Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 912

Author: Bruce, William George, 1856-1949; Currey, J. Seymour (Josiah Seymour), b. 1844
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 912