USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume III > Part 29
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In 1883 Mr. Martin was married to Miss Tillie De Haas, a daughter of Edward De Haas, one of the early settlers of Milwaukee. They became parents of four children : Edward, deceased; William; Ralph, who is a member of the Home Guards; and Loraine. The second son, William, was with Company A of the Light Horse Squadron and served on the Mexican border in 1916. In 1917 he enlisted for service in the World war. Mr. Martin and his family are members of Grace Lutheran church and his political endorsement is given to the republican party. He has never sought to figure prominently in connection with public affairs, preferring to concentrate his efforts and attention upon his business interests with the thorough- ness that has ever characterized the Martin family in connection with the tanning interests of this city, being prominent representatives of an industry that has been a most important and valuable contributing factor to Milwaukee's commercial up- building and prosperity.
GEORGE P. DEMPSEY, M. D.
Dr. George P. Dempsey, a physician and surgeon of South Milwaukee, who is now one of the owners of the South Milwaukee Hospital, in which enterprise he is asso- ciated with Dr. Charles L. Rumph, was born near Monches, Wisconsin, June 12, 1888, his birthplace being the farm of his father, Edward L. Dempsey, who was
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horn in the state of New York and was of Irish parentage, being a son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas L. Dempsey, who came from the Emerald isle to the new world. Edward L. Dempsey was united in marriage to Miss Annie Mountain, who is still living on the old Dempsey tarm near Monches, Wisconsin. She is now sixty-four years of age, while her husband, Edward L. Dempsey, was sixty-eight years of age when he passed away in 1917. There are eleven children in the family, eight sons and three daughters. Those living in Milwaukee county are: George P. Dempsey of this review; Dr. Thomas F. Dempsey, who is a dentist of South Milwaukee; and Robert J. Dempsey, a business man of Milwaukee.
In his youthful days Dr. George P. Dempsey attended the country school near his father's home and later continued his education in the State Normal School at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, which he attended for four years. He afterward studied medi- cine in the Marquette University Medical School for four years and was graduated with the M. D. degree in 1913. For a year thereafter he served as interne in St. Mary's Hospital at Minneapolis and later became associated with Dr. H. P. Fischer of Shakopee, Minnesota, this partnership being maintained for four years. In 1917 he entered the World war as a first lieutenant of the Medical Corps, U. S. A., and served for thirteen months, spending the time largely in the Aviation Mechanics Training School at Minneapolis, being discharged in February, 1919. He afterward studied for about a year at the Mayo clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and then re- sumed his connection with Dr. Fischer at Shakopee, Minnesota, where he continued for six months. In December, 1920, he came to South Milwaukee and purchased a half interest in the South Milwaukee Hospital, then owned by Dr. C. L. Rumph. Since that time it has been conducted by Drs. Rumph and Dempsey and they have made it a most substantial institution of this character. It is the only hospital in South Milwaukee and was established in 1904.
On the 22d of December, 1919, Dr. Dempsey was married to Miss Adeline Olzeene, who is descended from Norwegian and French ancestry and was born in Minneapolis. She is a high school graduate and was a stenographer before her marriage. She belongs to the Woman's Club of South Milwaukee and both Dr. and Mrs. Dempsey are members of the Roman Catholic church. He is also identi- fied with the Knights of Columbus, with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He likewise belongs to the American Legion. He finds his recreation chiefly in golf and turns to the links when leisure permits but allows nothing to interfere with the faithful performance of his professional duties. His capability is widely recognized and the hospital is meeting a need in the public life of South Milwaukee, its equipment preparing its owners for the care of all kinds of medical and surgical cases.
PAUL MONTEITH KUDER.
Few men are more prominent or more widely known in the enterprising city of Milwaukee than Paul Monteith Kuder, who has been an important figure in business circles, and his success is the result of unbending integrity, unabating energy and industry that never flags. He is president of the Allis Manufacturing Company, the General Heating and Ventilating Company and the American Con- tracting Company, representative business interests of Milwaukee.
A native of Pennsylvania, he was born in Pittsburgh on the 26th of May, 1891, a son of H. J. and Mary ( Monteith) Kuder. The father was horn in the same place and there he passed away in 1918. The first member of the Kuder. family to come to the United States was Hans Peter Kuder, who crossed the ocean on the ship Charming Polly. He was a native of Wurtemberg and a member of the nobility. Hans Kuder located in Pennsylvania and that state has been the family home for many years. Various ancestors participated in the Revolutionary war, their names being enrolled upon the pages of history, and they have ever been repre-
sentative citizens. The father, H. J. Kuder, was for many years active in the ministry of the Lutheran church. The mother, who is still living and makes her home in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was a daughter of Alex Johnston. Her uncle, William Frame Johnston, was the first whig governor of Pennsylvania.
Paul Monteith Kuder attended the public schools of Bath, Pennsylvania, and later received instruction under tutors for several years. Subsequently he enrolled as student in the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy, New York, where he studied mechanical engineering, and upon completing the course there came to Wisconsin and for a year was instructor in mathematics and military science at St. John's Military Academy, at Delafield. In 1914, upon establishing his resi- dence in Milwaukee, Mr. Kuder organized the General Heating Company and he became its president. That company is one of the most reliable concerns in the state and operates throughout the entire country. It also engages in various kinds
PAUL M. KUDER
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of power work. In 1916 Mr. Kuder organized the Allis Manufacturing Company and in 1920 the American Contracting Company, becoming president of both con- cerns. Possessing untiring energy and quick perception, he forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution, and his close application to business and his excellent management have brought to him the high degree of prosperity which is today his.
On the 10th of April, 1915, occurred the marriage of Mr. Kuder to Miss Eliza- beth Allis, daughter of William Allis of the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company. They have three children: Paul M., Jr .; Elizabeth Allis and William Allis, Mrs. Kuder is well known in club and social circles of Milwaukee and is a woman of charming personality.
Since age conferred upon Mr. Kuder the right of franchise he has been a stanch supporter of the republican party and the principles for which it stands, and although he has been active as campaign manager a number of times he has neither sought nor desired political preferment as a reward for party fealty. His religious faith is indicated by his attendance at the Lutheran church, and he is socially identified with the Milwaukee Country Club, Milwaukee Club, Oconomowoc Country Club. University Club, Milwaukee Athletic Club and Town Club. While a student of Muhlenburg College he became a member of Alpha Tau Omega, a national college fraternity and one of high standing. A public-spirited man, he is always interested in the furthering of any movement for the betterment of the general welfare of the community and to that end is active in the interests of the As- sociation of Commerce. Mr. Kuder maintains a town house at 526 Marshall street and a summer home at Nemahbin Lake, Nashotah, Wisconsin, where he spends his vacations. Throughout the period of the World war he was engaged on govern- ment contracts, spending the greater part of his time in the east, and he gave generously of his time and money. Mr. Kuder concentrates the greater part of his energies upon his business affairs and in their development he has shown him- self to be capable of managing mammoth interests which are alike of benefit to the city and to the individual.
HERBERT ADOLPH SCHMIDT, D. C.
Dr. Herbert Adolph Schmidt, a chiropractor of Milwaukee, was born in this city, January 21, 1881. His father, Adolph Schmidt, a native of Germany, came to Milwaukee with his wife and one child in 1880 and here spent his remaining days, passing away in 1905. He was a cabinetmaker, employed by the Matthews Manufacturing Company. He married Julia Hagedorn, who was born in Germany and came with her husband to this country in 1880, since which time she has resided in Milwaukee. She comes of a family stanchly allied with the Lutheran church.
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Herbert A. Schmidt obtained his education in the public schools of Milwaukee and the West Side high school and after putting aside his textbooks he made his initial step in the business world as a flour tester for the Kerns Mills, with which he was connected for about three years. During all of this time he was preparing for a professional career by studying chiropractic. He attended the Palmer School of Chiropractic at Davenport, lowa, and was there graduated in 1911, the D. C. degree being at that time conferred upon him. He at once returned to his native city and established practice in his present office. His success is indicated in the fact that he has today the most extensive suite of any chiropractor in the north- west. He experienced persecution from members of the medical profession, who evinced strong antipathy to chiropractic, but he fought his case through the su- preme court and won it. This was the test case which made chiropractic legal in Wisconsin. He has since followed his profession in Milwaukee and has been most liberally supported by the general public, having attained a high degree of success in the intervening years. His record stands in contradistinction to the old adage that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country, for in the city of his birth and residence Dr. Schmidt has made for himself a most creditable position and won a most gratifying measure of prosperity. He is now chairman of the board of directors of both the Milwaukee Association of Chiropractors and the Wisconsin State Association of Chiropractors, also belongs to the National Asso- ciation of Chiropractors and has been the president of the Milwaukee Association of Chiropractors.
On the 29th of August, 1903, Dr Schmidt was married to Miss Martha Braun, a daughter of Edward Braun, a tanner of Milwaukee, who was a native of Germany and died in this city at the age of forty-nine years. Dr. and Mrs. Schmidt have become parents of seven children: Adelheid, now attending the North Side high
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school; Irma, Irmgard, Leona, Lorain and Herbert, all in school; and Edwin, who is not yet of school age.
Dr. Schmidt has never taken an active part in politics and has always main- tained an independent course in exercising his right of tranchise. He is of the Lutheran faith, having membership in the Jerusalem church, and he also belongs to the Knights of Pythias. He is fond of gardening and forestry and his yard is an attractive one, with about five hundred shrubs and over fifty trees. He lives on the Green Bay road, just outside the city limits, where he has ten lots. He has ever been an inveterate reader and thus is constantly promoting his knowledge along various lines. His wife is also a member of the Jerusalem Lutheran church and his children are all musically inclined. Dr. Schmidt is very fond of motoring and every year takes a long motor trip. He maintains a summer home on Lake Okauchee, where he has a lake frontage of one hundred and seventy-four feet.
FRED C. FASS.
Fred C. Fass, substantial business man and representative citizen of Milwaukee, belongs to that class of splendid liberty-loving men who after the failure of the German revolution in 1848 left the fatherland and came to the new world. The same spirit has ever been manifest in Fred C. Fass, who is a representative in the second generation of those worthy forbears who came from Germany to the new world. His interest in the welfare and progress of Milwaukee has been mani- fest in many ways-in fair dealing and enterprise in business, in loyal support of municipal interests and in cooperation with all those projects which have been matters of civic virtue and of civic pride.
Fred C. Fass was born March 26, 1857, in the sixth ward of the city of Mil- waukee, where the family has been represented for more than seventy years. His father came to the United States in 1848 with those men whose ardor for the liberty and equality of the great American democracy found its highest expression in that stanch exponent of liberalism, Carl Schnrz. Mr. Fass settled in Milwaukee soon after his arrival in the new world and was here married in 1851 to Margaret Schaefer. He and his wife therefore were identified with the pioneering enter- prises of this city and state. The father's first work was with the railroad con- struction crews on some of the early lines in the city. Later he went into business for himself as a grading contractor and as such did some of the biggest excavating and grading jobs of the time. In 1878 he established the livery and undertaking business which is still in existence under the name of Fred C. Fass & Son Company, at 730 Third street.
Shortly after his graduation from the Humboldt school in the sixth ward, at the age of fourteen years, Fred C. Fass started an apprenticeship in the art of sign writing with the firm of Van Eweyk & Baumgaertner. When he attained his majority, being of an ambitious nature and independent turn of mind, he established a business of his own in his chosen vocation. Applying himself with characteristic energy and diligence and always actuated by an earnest desire to deal fairly and squarely, he was very successful in his first business venture. However, he was compelled to abandon it in 1883 because the disability of his father made it neces- sary for him to take charge of the livery and undertaking business before mentioned. At the time of this writing he is still actively engaged with his son, William H. Fass, in the management of the Fred C. Fass & Son Company. He is also one of the founders of the Rottel Refrigerating Machine Company, 609 Walnut street, Milwaukee, and its vice president.
Besides pursuing vigorously an absorbing business career, Fred C. Fass has always evinced a keen and high-minded interest in public affairs. This brought him into prominence in the field of politics. He was an assistant sergeant-at-arms at the democratic national convention which nominated William J. Bryan for the presidency in 1896, and the republican national conventions of 1904 and 1920 which placed Roosevelt and Harding in nomination, respectively. In local and state poli- tics his activity took on various forms and in 1904 he was the republican candidate for city comptroller. For eighteen years he was a member of the common council of the city of Milwaukee as alderman from the sixth ward and the city at large, serving on all of its committees and having many special assignments of importance. He represented it in the League of American Municipalities and was elected a trustee of that organization. He was very instrumental in the passage of two note- worthy pieces of legislation affecting Milwaukee-the non-partisan election law and the law creating the sewerage commission.
In the manifestation of his interest in civic affairs he did not confine himself merely to the performance of his official duties. As a private citizen he was con- nected with many movements for the benefit of the community. He was a member
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MR. AND MRS. FRED C. FASS
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of the Auditorium executive committee which raised the funds to defray the cost of building the Auditorium.
There is much in the career of Mr. Fass that is evidence of a character of more than ordinary uprightness and force. His fearless independence of view and courage of conviction have been a big factor in establishing the good reputation which he enjoys in the community.
Fred C. Fass was married on November 11, 1884, to Minnie Krueger, also of Milwaukee. They are hoth members of the Evangelical Trinity church and Mrs. Fass has been active for many years in its philanthropic projects and as the presi- dent of its Ladies' Society. They have four children: William H. Fass, Mrs. Ru- dolph Zedler, Mrs. Benjamin Werner and Hugo W. Fass, all of Milwaukee. Mr. Fass is a member of Milwaukee Lodge, No. 46, B. P. O. E., and is a life member of the Milwaukee County Old Settlers' Club.
CHARLES A. MARTIN.
No student of Milwaukee's history can carry his investigations far into the records of the city without learning of the close and prominent connection of the Martin family with the tanning industry. He whose name introduces this review is now the treasurer of the George Martin Leather Company, a business which was established by his father, who later admitted his four sons to a partnership, and the latter are still in active control thereof.
Charles A. Martin was born in Milwaukee, March 14, 1876. He acquired his education in the Lutheran parochial and public schools and early learned the value of industry, determination and thrift-lessons which were impressed upon his mind through his father's training, for the father displayed great discernment and in- telligence in the care of his sons in qualifying them for life's practical and respon- sible duties. Like his brothers, he became an apprentice in the tannery, taking up the work there in the year 1893. No favoritism was shown him to win him advance- ment. On the contrary he thoroughly mastered every phase of the business and acquainted himself with every detail of the work. Step by step he advanced as he qualified for promotion and in due course of time became an active factor in the management of the business. His election to the position of treasurer came in June, 1920, and he has since been active in control of the financial phases of this enter- prise.
In 1907 Charles A. Martin was united in marriage to Miss Henrietta Rae John- son, a daughter of Captain Henry W. Johnson of New York, and they have become parents of two sons, Charles A. and John Henry. Mr. Martin is a member of the Westminster Club and is a well known figure in musical circles of the city, being a life member of the A Capella Chorus. He attends the Grace Lutheran church and the Westminster Presbyterian church. He is interested in all that makes for the moral progress of the community and in all those forces which are of cultural value and of intellectual worth. His life is purposeful, his actions resultant. Politically he is a republican and his support of the party comes from a firm belief in its prin- ciples as factors in good government.
EARL X. THOMPSON, M. D.
Dr. Earl X. Thompson, one of the leading young physicians of Milwaukee county, located at Cudahy, was born on a farm near Leonardtown, Maryland, June 2, 1891, and is a son of Francis X. and Amie L. ( Milburn) Thompson, both of whom were of English descent and both natives of Maryland. The father was a manufacturer and business man who passed away August 2, 1920. The mother is still living in Balti- more.
Dr. Thompson of this review has one brother, Emmet Maurice, who is a year his junior and who is living in Milwaukee, where he is connected with railroad interests. Dr. Thompson completed his education by graduating from Loyola College of Baltimore, in 1908. He afterward spent four years as a student in the medical department of the University of Maryland and won his M. D. degree in 1912, being but twenty-one years of age and the youngest member of a class of ninety-three students. He served as an interne and resident physician in St. Luke's Ilospital of Baltimore for two years. Later he became assistant to Dr. Wilson Cunningham of Platteville, Wisconsin, remaining there for a year, and in 1915 he removed to Cudahy, where he has been located for seven years. He is the director of the Alice Dickson Cudahy Dispensary & Clinic and is recognized as an able member of the profession, practicing successfully in hoth medicine and surgery.
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Dr. Thompson served for six months during the World war, becoming a first lieutenant of the Medical Corps at Camp Greenleaf, Georgia. He is now a member of the American Legion. He finds his chief recreation in golf and is a member of the Michiwaukee Golf Club, also of the Wisconsin Club and the Milwaukee Athletic Club. Along strictly professional lines he has membership with the Grant County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
On the 17th of April, 1918, Dr. Thompson was married to Miss Dorothy Ferber of Ripon, Wisconsin, who is a graduate of the State Normal School of Milwaukee and is a gradnate nurse. They have one son, Jack Milburn Thompson, born August 30, 1920. Dr. and Mrs. Thompson are well known in Cudahy, where they have many friends. Dr. Thompson has made steady progress in his profession since completing bis medical course, and study and experience are constantly broadening his knowl- edge and promoting his efficiency.
GEORGE E. MARTIN.
George E. Martin, general manager and president of the George Martin Leather Company of Milwaukee, is thus actively connected with an industry which has been one of the most important features in the development and material progress of this city. He was born in Milwaukee, November 20, 1865, and is a son of George Martin, Jr. He acquired his education here, pursuing his studies in a private school, and in April, 1881, he entered the tannery, becoming identified with tbe
leather business which was established by his father. He started as a regular
He continued in the apprentice and devoted three years to mastering the trade.
business until 1890, working his way steadily upward to the position of general manager, the duties of which office he assumed at that date and still discharges. He was likewise elected vice president of the company at his father's death and on the 12th of April, 1920, he became general manager and president, with Albert Martin as vice president, William A. Martin as secretary and Charles A. Martin as treasurer. Their plant has run to full capacity throughout the recent period of financial depression following the war. The business is most wisely and carefully conducted and progressiveness is always tempered by a safe conservatism that can- not fail to produce desired results. The methods are thoroughly modern in every particular and the work turned out is of the highest standard.
In 1889 Mr. Martin was united in marriage to Miss Nettie Virmond, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Reinhard Virmond, one of the early residents of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Martin have become parents of two children, Erna A. and Dr. Hilmar George Martin, the latter a medical practitioner of Milwaukee, now specializing on diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. He attended the University of Wisconsin for six years, pursuing his classical and medical studies, and for three years was a student in the Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore, Maryland.
Mr. Martin gives his political allegiance to the republican party, and while conversant with all the vital questions and issues of the day, does not seek nor desire office, preferring to concentrate his efforts and attention upon bis business affairs. He belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club and to the Grace Lutheran church. His life has been passed in this city and his many sterling traits are familiar to his friends, who are legion. He has never sought to distribute his energies over a wide field but has concentrated his efforts along a single line and his thoroughness and persistency of purpose have made him one of the successful representatives of the tanning industry in Milwaukee.
HENRY WEHR.
Henry Wehr, who for many years was a prominent and well known restaur- ateur of Milwaukee, has lived retired since 1895, enjoying a well earned rest, the fruits of his former toil supplying him with all of the comforts and many of the luxnries of life. Mr. Wehr was born September 5. 1841, in the province of Saxony, Germany, his parents being Carl and Elizabeth (Dreiling) Wehr. The mother died in Germany and the father afterward came to America, with his two sons Henry and Carl, in 1856. He arrived in Milwaukee on the 22d of July of that year, and Henry Wehr, then but a lad in his teens, started out to provide for his own support hy working as a farm hand. In 1858 he obtained employment as a waiter in a restaurant and from that time forward he was largely connected with the restaurant business. In February, 1859, he began working in the Newhall house as a waiter at eight dollars per month, when one day his boss told him he
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