USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume III > Part 27
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105
OSCAR LOEFFLER.
Oscar Loeffler came to Milwaukee in June, 1869, and has been closely associated with the business development and commercial enterprises of the city for about fifty years. Actuated by a laudable ambition, he has put forth every effort to attain success, and as the years have passed his labors have been crowned with gratifying results.
Mr. Loeffler is a native of Germany, his birth having occurred in the village of Boll, in the province of Hohenzollern. His father, Fridolin Loeffler, was born in Boll, near Hechingen, at the foot of the Hohenzollern castle, February 26, 1819, where his grandfather and his father had been school teachers; so he was born into their profession, as it were, and took it up. He was very successful as a teacher and retired after teaching for forty years. His importance was heightened by his rare quality to preserve a taste for further noble tasks for humanity. He was prominent in elevating agriculture and patricularly pomology. Standing amidst the people, he recognized their needs with a deep insight. In the revolutionary year 1848, he fearlessly joined those men who stood up for the alleviation of the people's burdens. As Hohenzollern, the principality, became a Prussian province shortly after, Mr. Loeffler was under suspicion for a while, but he sooned gained the full confidence of the new government. In all public questions concerning the life of the people, he was ever ready to take an active and leading part. His repeated election as a member of the Kommunallandtag, Sig- maringen, 1872-1891, showed the confidence the people placed in him. He served during nineteen consecutive legislative sessions until his death, which occurred on the 2d of February, 1891, having represented the interests of his constituents with rare prac-
250
HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
tical knowledge and decision. His whole life was devoted to unselfish work for his family, his school, his home community and his country. His wife, Maria Anna, sur- vived for a number of years, passing away in 1905.
Oscar Loeffler acquired his education in the public schools of Boll and in the high school of Hechingen, from which he was graduated with the class of 1869. The favorable reports which had reached him concerning the opportunities to be enjoyed in the new world, led bim at once to sever home ties and make his way to the United States. Crossing the country to Milwaukee, he spent three years in study and office work before he entered the employ of Goll & Frank, in 1872, whose business had been established in 1852. His original position was that of entry clerk, but he gradually worked his way upward by reason of his ability and fidelity until he was made book- keeper and cashier. In the year 1885 the business was incorporated, at which time Mr. Loeffler was elected secretary and treasurer, and through the intervening period of thirty-six years he has continued to serve in this dual office. He has acquainted himself with every phase of the business, and his energy and determination have won recognition. His standing in business circles is indicated by the fact that from 1892 until 1894 inclusive he was secretary of the Merchants Association of Milwaukee and for seven years served as one of its directors. Mr. Loeffler was one of the founders of the Milwaukee Association of Credit Men and served as a director of the National Association of Credit Men for many years.
On the 20th of January, 1881, Mr. Loeffler was married to Miss Julia Margaret Goll, a daughter of Julius Goll, the founder of the house of Goll & Frank. She was born, reared and educated in Milwaukee. There are four children: Frank G., who is connected with his father in business, married Gertrude Forster, a daughter of Charles G. Forster, of Milwaukee, and they now have one child, Virginia. Louise G., the second of the family, is the wife of Roy B. Sanborn of Evanston, Illinois, and they have one son, Frank Sanborn. Margaret Elsa is the wife of Arthur A. Frank of the Federal Rubber Company, at Cudahy, and they have three sons, Arthur, Robert and Kenneth. Oscar F., the youngest of the family, is with the Federal Rubber Company.
Since becoming a naturalized American citizen, Oscar Loeffler has generally given his support to the republican party at the polls but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. He belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club and to the Asso- ciation of Commerce. Anything that comes from the hand of nature is of interest to Oscar Loeffler, and he has been a close student of that great book which is constantly unfolding the plan and the history of the world. This tendency is undoubtedly due to the teachings of his father and to his early training in school in the beautiful Swabian valley.
FREDERICK J. KORTHALS, M. D.
Dr. Frederick J. Korthals, physician and surgeon of Milwaukee, in which city he was born November 22, 1888, is a son of Paul and Elizabeth ( Gerlach) Korthals, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father came to Milwaukee in 1867 and the mother arrived in this city with her parents when about nine years of age. Paul Korthals was a tailor by trade, following that business as a life work. He passed away in 1910, while his wife survived until 1916.
Dr. Korthals was educated in the public and high schools of Milwaukee and in the Normal School, while later he prepared for his profession as a student in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, now the Marquette University, from which he was graduated with the M. D. degree in 1914. He afterward acted as interne at the Buffalo Emergency Hospital at Buffalo, New York, for six months and was also interne in Trinity Hospital of Milwaukee for a similar period. He then entered upon the private practice of his profession in West Allis, where he remained for a year and in 1918 he joined the army, becoming a member of the Medical Corps, with a commission as lieutenant. He went overseas with Base Hospital, No. 109, and was attached to the French ambulance service. Later he was transferred to the First Division and went into Germany with that division, following the signing of the armistice, being located at Coblenz and in that vicinity. He was there assigned to medical hospital duties, caring for the sick and wounded soldiers. He remained abroad until September, 1919, or for almost a year after actual hostilities had ceased, and was on duty throughout the period. He was mustered out at Camp Grant, near Rockford, Illinois, and at once returned to Milwaukee. In May, 1920, he opened his office at his present location at No. 1028 Twenty-seventh street and has in the intervening period been accorded a liberal practice, which is steadily growing.
Dr. Korthals speaks German, French and English and his linguistic powers were of much value to him in his military service abroad. He belongs to the Phi Rho Sigma, a college fraternity, and is also a Mason and belongs to the Eastern Star. He likewise has membership with the Knights of Pythias, the Dramatic Order of the Knights of
DR. FREDERICK J. KORTHALS
253
HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
Khorassan, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Along strictly professional lines he is connected with the Milwaukee County and Wis- consin State Medical Societies and through the proceedings of these bodies keeps in touch with the trend of professional thought and progress.
RAYMOND JOSEPH WENKER, D. D. S., M. D.
In public opinion the professional honors that have come to Dr. Raymond Joseph Wenker are well deserved, for he is recognized throughout the state as a prominent member of the medical and dental professions. He was born on a farm near Clyman. Dodge county, Wisconsin, on the 3d of August, 1868, a son of Franklin Joseph and Caroline ( Bloomberg ) Wenker. The Wenker family has figured prominently in the history of the new and old worlds since the days of the Crusaders when a number of expeditions were undertaken by the Christians of Europe for the recovery of the Holy Land from the Mohammedans, the first expedition having occurred about 1095. The grandfather of Dr. Wenker. Sebastian Wenker, was a native of Alsace-Lorraine and came to the United States with his wife and family in 1842, locating in Wisconsin. Here he secured two hundred and fifteen acres of land direct from the government and, clearing it himself, remained thereon until his death. One of the ancestors of our subject, Joseph Wenker. was a well known portrait painter and his portrait of one of the popes won fame as a masterpiece.
The Wenker coat of arms is an item of a collection of "Coats of Arms of Historic Families" and a reproduction from an original of Baron Wenker of 1699. It certainly is an interesting and historic specimen of a family coat of arms, consisting of the shield, quarterings, mantling, helmet, coronet, crest and name Wenker above it. It is mounted in the Chippendale style, size in all fourteen by eleven inches. The coat of arms is the Wenker armorial of original grant, dating from the first crusade A. D. 1096, in which it was first borne by a Sir Knight Crusader Johan Von Wenker ( See Feyerabeinds "Geschichte Der Kreuz-zuge"-History of the Crusades and Crusaders- the first printed book published in Frankfort. A. D. 1583, and most exhaustive and de- tailed history of the kind ever produced). He seems to be the first of the name of authentic records. This armorial is shown in the famous compilation (54 volumes) entitled "Grosses und Allegemeines Wappenbuch" von J. Siebmacher, Enthaltend Zwei Tausend Historisch Begrundete Familien Wappen, Nurnberg, 1857 (Great and General Book of Coats of Arms, by J. Siebmacher, containing two thousand historically authen- ticated coats of arms of historic families. Nurnberg, 1857). See also Helmer's "Erneuertes und Vermehrtes Wappenbuch." Nurnberg, 1699. Section-Ritter und Adelspersonen. (Helmer's New and Enlarged Book of Coats of Arms. Nurnberg, 1699. Section on Knights and Nobility.) Also see Potts. Forsteman and other noted authori- ties on the origin, antiquity and meaning of family names. Interesting biographical, genealogical and historical matter may also be seen in the "Allegemeine Deutsche Biographic" ( Dictionary of German Biography ) .
From these and other authorities with date of this historic family in the New York Public Library, Library of Congress at Washington, D. C., etc., it is evident that the Wenker coat of arms is one of the coats of arms of proven historic record, going back eight hundred and twenty years-to the first crusade A. D. 1096. At the time of the crusades the princes and knights were obliged to adopt various devices or emblems by which they and their commands could be recognized. "It is to the time of the earlier crusades that we can ascribe the establishment of armorial bearings in their present form, when the necessity of quickly recognizing each of the numerous leaders seems to have compelled the princes and knights to adopt a methodical arrangement of various distinguishing devices borne on surcoat and banner, and soon after on the shield." ( See The Symbolism and Heraldry on a Treatise on the Meanings and De- rivations of Armorial Bearings. By Sir W. Cecil Wade, F. R. A. S., etc.)
Siebmacher describes the coat of arms as follows: On a blue shield an anchor in the natural colors with gold cross piece and gold telescope; helmet silver, surmounted by a gold coronet and this by buffalo horns in the natural colors; the mantling ( scroll work at the sides of the helmet and shield) a blending of blue, gold and silver. The anchor and spy glass seem to indicate that the original bearer of this coat of arms was a commander in the naval contingent of the crusade.
Franklin Joseph Wenker, the father of Dr. Wenker, was born on the same farm as his son in Dodge county, Wisconsin, in 1843, and passed away in 1915, after winning prominence as an agriculturist. He was a prominent member of the community and for some time held the office of register of deeds in Dodge county. He was of an in- ventive turn of mind and achieved substantial success upon securing a patent for an automatic wagon brake. Mrs. Wenker died at the age of fifty-nine years. She was a native of northern Prussia and came to the United States, locating in Dodge county,
254
HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
Wisconsin, with her parents when a child of five years. Her father was Ignatius Bloomberg.
Dr. Raymond Joseph Wenker received his education in the public schools of Clyman, Wisconsin, and then entered the high school at Hartford, this state, from which he was graduated in due time. For two years while a student in the high school he engaged in helping his father, who was then occupying the office of register of deeds, and the last year of his association was devoted to clerical work. After putting his textbooks aside and determining upon a professional career he entered the office of Dr. Frank Forbes of Horicon, Wisconsin, there to serve an apprenticeship. After four months in that connection he entered the Chicago College of Dental Surgery and was graduated from that institution in 1891 with the degree of D. D. S. In that same year he located in West Duluth, Minnesota, and there practiced for some time before remov- ing to Watertown, Wisconsin, where he practiced until the fall of 1900, when he located in Milwaukee and established offices. Dr. Wenker was not content with simply a dental practice and as a result, in his spare time, desiring to become a medical practitioner, took a course in Marquette University and was graduated M. D. in 1914. He then took up postgraduate work with Drs. Brophy and Moorehead of Chicago, likewise other eminent physicians, and subsequently began practice for the treatment of diseases and deformities of the mouth, nose and throat, and together with dentistry has specialized along these lines ever since. He has been dean of the dental department of the Mil- waukce Medical College and of the dental department of the College of Physicians and Surgeons and he has been a teacher along the lines of his specialty since 1894. Dr. Wenker is a deep student of his professions and a man of much intellect and literary ability. For twenty-five years he has contributed to periodicals of a dental and medical nature. He has delivered addresses before many meetings of the American Medical Association and at the meeting of that body in Boston in June, 1921, delivered a paper on jaw tumors. Dr. Wenker takes an active interest in the extension course of the dental department of Marquette University and has lectured at the State Normal School in his chosen fields. He is now holding the chair of orthodontia in the dental depart- ment of Marquette University and is a member of the staff of Trinity Hospital of Mil- waukee. In 1919 he received the degree of Bachelor of Science from Marquette Uni- versity, in which institution he also completed a course in dramatic art by graduation in 1920, winning his degree in 1922.
On the 26th of October, 1892. Dr. Wenker was united in marriage to Margaret Ann Kelly, who also completed a course in dramatic expression in Marquette University by graduation with the class of 1920. She formerly attended the Sisters Academy at Mar- quette. Michigan. She has taken an active part in Red Cross work. The Kelly family has figured prominently in Irish and American history for over three hundred years. The name was originally O'Kelly and the clan lived in Hy-maine, a portion of the county of Roscommon, the head of the clan being habitually called Chief of Hy-maine. Tadhg Mor O'Kelly, from whom the family is directly traced, was slain at the battle of Brian in the year 1014. The title Chief of Hy-maine appears frequently in the genealogical tree of the family. Muirchertach O'Kelly was archbishop of Quann in the early part of the fifteenth century, while Thomas O'Keily was bishop of Cloufert during the same period. The parents of Margaret Ann (Kelly) Wenker were Patrick Francis and Bridget (Doyle) Kelly, the former born in County Down, Ireland. August 1, 1837, while the latter's birth occurred in County Kilkenny on the 4th of June, 1844, but she was only five years of age when taken to Canada. Patrick F. Kelly, a now prominent contractor and builder of Marquette, Michigan, was only two years old when brought to the new world, locating first in Canada, then in Wisconsin and subsequently in Min- nesota. He is still hale and hearty at the age of eighty-four years, but his wife passed away in Santa Cruz, California, December 21, 1912. The motto on the coat of arms of the Kelly family is "Turris fortis mihi Dius."
Dr. Wenker, who is well versed on all the important questions and issues of the day, maintains an independent course in politics and has neither sought nor desired public preferment. His religious faith is that of the Catholic church and he and his wife attend St. Robert's church in Shorewood. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, in which he has attained the fourth degree, and he is likewise a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters and was chief ranger of that body for two years while residing in Watertown. His professional connections are with the National, State and County Medical Associations and Dental Associations and he was president of the Wisconsin State Dental Association in 1913. He is a member of the Milwaukee Odontological Society and during his college days became a member of Psi Omega fraternity at the Marquette University. The address delivered by Dr. Wenker upon assuming the duties of the office of president of the Wisconsin State Dental Association was published in the Dental Review and will long be remembered for the elegant simplicity of its style. Not only is Dr. Wenker gifted along literary lines but he is an artist of no mean ability and he has made some pen and ink sketches of more than ordinary merit. Mrs. Wenker does some oil painting and china painting, as well as water-color work and tapestry. She received her training along these lines at Mar-
255
HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
quette, Michigan. One of her water-color paintings received honorable mention when exhibited at the Milwaukee Art Institute. Mrs. Wenker is always prominent in every movement tending toward the development and improvement of artistic conditions and she was the founder and for some time president of the Fra Angelico Club of Mil- waukee, which later became federated with the state organization. She has been active as chairman of the state and local associations and she is at present serving as director in the Marquette Women's League.
Every summer Dr. Wenker visits the lakes of northern Wisconsin, where he follows all outdoor sports, fishing being his particular hobby, and there receives the rest that is so necessary after the extensive demands which are made upon him as a member of two distinct medical professions. During the World war Dr. Wenker subordinated all personal interests in order to devote his time to furthering the interests of the govern- ment and throughout the entire period he served as a member of the medical advisory board and he with his assistants examined over twenty-eight hundred recruits. He received his honorable discharge on the 31st of March, 1919, and is now devoting his entire time to his professions.
Aside from his professional interests Dr. Wenker thoroughly enjoys home life and takes great pleasure in the society of his family and friends. A man of great natural ability, he has furthered this ability by constant study and in 1917 attended the post- graduate course in oral surgery which was given by the United States at Chicago. Through his association with the leading medical fraternities he keeps informed con- cerning the advanced work being done by the leading physicians and surgeons through- out the country. Moreover, his college training made him thoroughly acquainted with modern scientific methods of practice, which he employs most effectively in his chosen life work. In 1891 he was awarded a bronze medal by the Parisian Academy of In- ventors and Industrial Exhibitors for a metal plate for artificial teeth. He has likewise taken out several other patents along dental lines, many of them being used for teaching purposes.
Dr. and Mrs. Wenker reside at 871 Shepard avenne, where they own a very beautiful home. They are indeed representative citizens of Milwaukee.
WILLIS E. KEATS.
Since 1915 Willis E. Keats has heen secretary of the Milwaukee Athletic Club and withont ostentation and with unfailing courtesy and unquestionable integrity has labored most earnestly for the welfare of the club. He was born in East Troy, Wis- consin, on the 20th of January, 1859, a son of Washington S. and Adeline ( Babcock) Keats, both deceased. The progenitor of the Keats family in this country was Sidney Keats, who came' to the United States from England in 1828 and located in Michigan. His father had bought him a major's commission in the British army, but he refused that office. Washington S. Keats was born in Michigan and came to Wisconsin in 1837. In early life he engaged in farming and subsequently turned his attention to the drug business. He was clerk of the circuit court of Walworth county for some time and his death occurred in 1915. Mrs. Keats passed away in 1899. She was born in Vermont and her family can trace their ancestry back two hundred and fifty years.
Willis E. Keats received his early education in the common schools of East Troy, Wisconsin, and after putting his textbooks aside removed to Milwaukee on the 1st of October, 1880. and accepted a position as clerk with the F. F. Adams Tohacco Company, remaining with that concern until 1912. As the result of his keen business ability and conscientious performance of every duty assigned him, he became secretary and treasurer of the tobacco company in 1892 and was active in those capacities at the time of his resignation. In 1912 he became treasurer of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, an office he held for two years, was chairman of the finance committee for one year and in 1915 became secretary of the body. Mr. Keats is one of the most popular men in Mil- waukee and his association with the athletic club has proved a most valuable asset.
On the 19th of October, 1887, occurred the marriage of Mr. Keats to Miss Adeline Caro, a native of Memphis, Tennessee. Three children have been born to their union: Marien, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, is the wife of N. William Reed, associated with the American Appraisal Company of Milwaukee. George S., who re- ceived his education in the Milwaukee public schools and the Spencerian Business College is now associated with the Kempsmith Manufacturing Company of Milwaukee. John, the youngest of the family, is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is now research associate in the School of Chemical Engineering Practice at that institution.
Mr. Keats has been a stanch supporter of the republican party and has taken an active interest in local affairs but has never desired political preferment. For some time he served as treasurer of the Young Men's Republican Club and is now one of the prominent members of that organization. Fraternally hc is affiliated with the Elks,
256
HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
belonging to Milwaukee Lodge No. 46. For many years he has served the Milwaukee Athletic Club in some official capacity and in so doing has been an important factor in its continued growth and success. He is justly accorded a place among the prominent and representative citizens of Milwaukee, for he belongs to that class of men whose enterprising spirit is used not alone for their own benefit but for advancing the general good and promoting public prosperity.
A. J. SMITH.
Milwaukee has always enjoyed the well earned reputation for the attractiveness of its commercial establishments and the progressiveness of its merchants. Among the energetic. farsighted and successful business men of the city is A. J. Smith, dealer in men's furnishings and hats at No. 220 Grand avenue. He was born in this city, October 8, 1863, and is a son of Casper and Louise Smith, both of whom were natives of Germany, whence they came to America about 1850, settling in this city. The father was a machinist and bridge builder and became one of the builders of the State street bridge. He continued to follow that occupation throughout the intervening years until his death, which occurred in 1872. He was one of the early residents and was identified with many of its public improvements and with the work of general progress and advancement until his life's labors were ended. His wife survived him until 1893. They were married in Germany and came to the United States on one of the old-time sailing vessels and were six weeks in crossing the ocean.
A. J. Smith is the only survivor of a family of eleven children. He was educated in the public schools and in early life learned the pattern making business, at which he worked for about six years. In 1883 he opened a hat store at No. 145 Reed street and thus initiated the business experience which has brought him to a foremost place as one of the leading merchants of the city. In 1886 he opened another store in the Plankinton block and continued in the Plankinton building until it was torn down in January, 1916, being the oldest tenant in the block at the time the building was razed. In 1888 he dissolved his connection with his partner on Reed street and concentrated his attention upon his store in the Plankinton block. On the 1st of January, 1916, Mr. Smith moved to his present location, where he has since carried a full line of men's furnishings and hats. His stock is very attractive, meeting ali demands for medium price and for high price goods, and closely studying the wishes of his customers he has at all times been able to satisfy his patrons of the most discriminating tastes. In fact, he is a very progressive and successful merchant, widely and favorably known in business circles. He has been a member of the Milwaukee Association of Commerce for about fifteen years and has served on its retail committee for a number of years, while in 1920 be was elected to its board of directors.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.