History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume III, Part 55

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 55

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).

1. James Myers pursued his early education in the sixth ward school of Mil- waukee and in the fourteenth district school. He afterward took a course in the Spencerian Business College and then became associated with his father in lye manufacturing, his original position, however, being that of errand boy for the firm. He afterward worked in the factory, later became shipping clerk and suc- cessively bookkeeper and general manager and is today occupying the last named position. He thoroughly acquainted himself with every phase of the business and was well qualified to become the successor of his father on the latter's death.

Mr. Myers has two sisters, Lillian and Mrs. Florence M. Jones, the latter the widow of D. Milton Jones of Milwaukee. In August, 1905, I. James Myers was mar- ried to Miss Mary Mackut of Milwaukee, and they occupy an enviable position in the social circles in which they move. Mr. Myers has always voted with the re- publican party but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. He has ever been greatly interested in chemistry, especially as applied to his business and has delved deep into the science. He helongs to the Milwaukee Credit Men's Association, to the Milwaukee Athletic Club and to the Association of Commerce and is keenly interested in the plans and projects of the last named organization for the city's upbuilding and the advancement of its civic standards. There have been no unusual or spectacular phases in his career, nor has his success resulted from the fact that he was reared amidst exceptionally favorable circumstances. His father wisely saw that the son thoroughly acquainted himself with the busi- ness and by reason of his mastery of every phase of the trade in both the manu- facturing and sales end he is now occupying his present responsible position in control of the Eagle Lye Works.

WILLIAM KAVANAUGH DOWNEY.

William Kavanaugh Downey, who was the pioneer contractor for heating, venti- lating and power plants at Milwaukee and was long at the head of the business that ultimately was conducted under the name of the Downey Heating & Supply Com- pany, passed away on the 1st of October, 1921, after a long, busy, useful and active life, honored and respected by all who knew him. He was born near Delavan, Wisconsin, on the 25th of March, 1861, and was one of the family of ten children, whose parents were James M. and Mary Ann ( Kavanaugh ) Downey, the former a railroad contractor. His youthful days were spent on the old homestead farm to 'the age of twelve years when the family removed to Milwaukee and here he attended the old St. Gall's grammar school, continuing his education until he put aside his textbooks in order to assist in the support of the family, his father having died during the early boyhood of William K. Downey.

In young manhood the latter went to Akron, Ohio, and there learned the hlack- smith's trade, returning to Milwaukee about 1882, at which time he engaged in hridge construction work. He was afterward employed by the E. P. Allis Company, with which he remained until 1886, having been advanced to the position of timekeeper ere he left that organization. He next became associated with H. Mooers & Company and in 1887 was admitted to a partnership and became manager, being elected to the presidency of the company upon its incorporation in 1893. The Downey Heating & Supply Company is the successor to Hazen Mooers Company established in 1863, which later became the Mooers-Smith & Allis, then Goodman & Mooers and afterward Mooers & Company. Beginning at the time when Mr. Downey was associated with Mooers & Company as manager, it is interesting to note that during the thirty-five years he was in the business the company which he managed was always recognized as one of the leaders in the heating industry in the northwest. Moreover, the H. Mooers Company was the first company in Wisconsin to install a mechanical system of ventilation in the state, which was put in at the old thirteenth district school about 1890. Today mechanical ventilation is used almost universally in schoolhouse heating and ventilat- ing. But the company of which Mr. Downey was manager and ultimately became the head was the pioneer in promoting this movement in Wisconsin. The H. Mooers Com- pany became the Downey & Kruse Company in 1904 and the Downey Heating & Supply Company in 1910. The H. Mooers Company with Mr. Downey as president and mana- ger, was also the first in the northwest to install the Hawley down-draft furnaces and these were installed in the old north point pumping station, resulting in a great saving of fuel. These furnaces are used very extensively today all over the United States for medium sized power plants and schoolhouse work. Mr. Downey was ever alert to new advances in the science of heating and ventilating and his company was among the

496

HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE

first to install vacuum heating systems when they first came into use some twenty- five years ago. For a half century this company has been identified with the advance- ment of the heating industry in Milwaukee, starting when the H. Mooers Company pushed the sale of Gold boilers, for which they were exclusive agents, and installed them extensively throughout the city and state in most of the finer residences, and many of these steam-heating systems were installed throughout the country, notably in Ohio, Alabama, North Dakota, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Montana. Among the larger and more prominent installations of the H. Mooers Company and their successor, the Downey Heating & Supply Company, coincident with Milwaukee's development might be mentioned the Milwaukee city hall, Pfister Hotel, Matthews block, Merrill block, Wells building, Stevenson building, Majestic theatre, T. M. E. R. & L. Co. Terminal, Milwaukee Public Museum addition, Milwaukee County Agriculture schools, Wisconsin state prison, Milwaukee County Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Riverside high school, Merrill theatre, Miller theatre, Palace theatre, Franklin school at Racine, MeKinley school at Racine and the Washington school at Racine.

On the 27th of November, 1886, Mr. Downey was married in Fond du Lac, Wiscon- sin, to Miss Mary Jane Coughlin, a daughter of John and Catherine (Maher) Coughlin, a pioneer family of Milwaukee. Mr. and Mrs. Downey became parents of seven chil- dren: Margaret, now the wife of William W. Rumsey; Frank E .; Kavanaugh C .; Paul C .; Mary E .; and William K. and James, who are deceased. Mr. Downey passed away on the Ist of October, 1921, after a short illness. He died in the Catholic faith, having been a niember of St. Rose's church at Milwaukee. He was also a fourth degree mem- ber of the Knights of Columbus and was a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters. The federal administration found him a most stanch supporter during the period of the World war and at all times he was a loyal advocate of principles and projects re- lating to the progress and upbuilding of his community. Along business lines he had connections with the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers and the National Association of Heating and Piping Contractors. Aside from his business

previously mentioned he was a director in the Badger Savings Building & Loan Asso- ciation. He never sought nor desired political preferment but was a member of the Milwaukee school board in the early '90s. Left fatherless when quite young and thus early thrown upon his own resources, he made steady progress in his business career through the judicious use which he made of nis opportunities. He was ambitious to succeed and never missed a chance to progress if a legitimate opening appeared. The exercise of effort strengthened his powers, developed his executive force and ability and brought him to a point of leadership in connection with the heating and ventilating business of the state. He left behind him an example well worthy of emulation and a name honored and respected by all who knew him.

ROBERT ANDREW PHILLIPS.

Robert Andrew Phillips, president of the Jell-Sope Company, one of the leading manufacturing industries of Milwaukee, is numbered among the self-made men of the city. Diligence and determination have enabled him to overcome obstacles and diffi- culties in his path and step by step he has advanced in his business career. He was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, June 13, 1878, and represents one of the old families of that country, the ancestral line being traced back to the thirteenth century. Robert A. Phillips is one of the hereditary burghers of his home city and has the freedom of the city at his command, having inherited the privilege from his ancestors. He is the only man in the United States who possesses the title of burgher by inheritance. His grandfather, also a native of Dunfermline, Scotland, was Charles Phillips, who lived to the notable age of ninety-six years. The father, Robert Andrew Phillips, Sr., died in the year 1912. He had married Margaret McPherson, who passed away in 1900. She was a daughter of James McPherson, also a native of Dunfermline, and a representative of the world-famous McPherson clan.

Robert Andrew Phillips spent his youthful days in the acquirement of a public and high school education in his native town and when his textbooks were put aside he began learning the trade of a millwright, serving an apprenticeship of seven years. He was employed during that entire period in his home town, but at length he de- termined not only to leave his native village but also his native land, that he might try his fortune in the new world. Accordingly, in 1903 he crossed the Atlantic to the United States and after six months spent in New York he proceeded to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, later making his way to Chicago and ultimately coming to Milwaukee in the year 1905. Here he worked as a pattern maker in the employ of the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company for three years, at the end of which time he began pattern making on his own account and conducted his business for six years under the name of the Phillips Pattern Company. In July, 1920, he founded his present business, buying out the plant of the Myron E. Meyer Manufacturing Company, the oldest soap-making

497

HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE

concern in Milwaukee, the business having been established in 1885. The company manufactures a transparent vegetable oil soap, which is used for all general cleaning purposes. It is a soft soap, which can be used to greater advantage than most of the hard soaps. Many thousands of families in Milwaukee and other parts of the state are now using this soap for domestic purposes. In February, 1921, the business was in- corporated and the name changed to the Jell-Sope Company. The place of business is at No. 573 Island avenue, whence the firm sends out its product to the wholesale and retail trade, finding a market throughout the United States. It does a large mail order business.

On the 28th of September, 1907, Mr. Phillips was married to Miss Louise Rayfield of Minnesota Junction, Wisconsin, who is of German descent. They have become parents of three children: Romney, Louise and Louis, all pupils in the Milwaukee schools. Mr. Phillips and his wife are members of the Christian Science church and he belongs to Lake Lodge, No. 187, A. F. & A. M., of Milwaukee; and Lake Chapter, No. $6, R. A. M. He was made a Mason in St. George Lodge in Scotland and demitted to his present lodge. He is a loyal follower of the teachings and purposes of the craft, exemplifying in his life the beneficent spirit which underlies the order. He has never regretted his determination to come to the new world, for while he still has deep love for the land of hills and heather he is greatly attached to the land of his adoption, where he has found splendid business opportunities that have led him to the goal of prosperity.

WALTER RAYMOND GROGAN.

One of the most important business interests of Milwaukee is the Grogan Photo System, Incorporated, located at 322 Reed street, of which Walter Raymond Grogan is president. To him may be credited the practical use of photographs for business pur- poses, which form of advertisement is now widely used throughout the country, and his system is familiarly known as "The system that creates business." A native of California, he was born in Kent, on the 20th of May, 1870, a son of James M. and Anna Grogan, both deceased The father was born on board a ship while his parents were crossing the English channel. The parents later came to this country and located in California. There John M. Grogan grew to manhood and founded the shipping town of Port Costa of that state. He likewise built up a successful grain business and in his passing in 1900 California lost one of her pioneer and representative citizens. a man who had contributed much to the growth and development of the state. Mrs. Grogan, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, preceded her husband in death, having passed away in 1892.

Walter Raymond Grogan received his education in the schools of Vallejo, California, and upon removal with his parents to San Francisco he put his textbooks aside and started out into the business world. For five years he was active in the newspaper business, being a member of the staff of the San Francisco Call, and the following three or four years he spent in railroad work, being an expert stenographer. Mr. Grogan was of an ambitious nature and spent a great deal of his spare time in studying Spanish. with the result that he soon became able to speak that language fluently. Subsequently he was sent to Central America as salesman for a printing supplies company and he likewise represented several different United States firms in Mexico and Central America. For eighteen years he was active along that line and then determined to go into business on his own account, establishing an engraving and printing business in Mexico City, which he operated with substantial success. In 1912 a revolution involved the country and he then returned to the United States and located in San Francisco, where he took up the manufacture of photo paper. He made the first pocket photo album and was the first to recognize the advantages to be obtained from using photo- graphs for business purposes. In 1918 he removed to Milwaukee, where he established his present business, of which he has always been president. The Grogan Photo System is well known throughout the United States and Canada, and its business has grown to extensive proportions. When Mr. Grogan first started into the business be employed but one assistant but now in addition to his five sons he has a pay roll numbering thirty-five employes. The safe, conservative policy which Mr. Grogan has inaugurated in the conduct of his business commends itself to the judgment of all and he has secured for the system a patronage which makes the volume of trade one of great im- portance and magnitude. Branch offices of the system are maintained in Chicago, Philadelphia and Minneapolis.

On the 5th of July, 1890, Mr. Grogan was united in marriage to Miss Laura Best, a daughter of William Best of San Francisco and to them six children have been born, all of whom are living: The eldest son, Raymond E., is now treasurer of the company and is married, having one daughter; the second son, Leslie E., is connected with his father's business as an outside man and he is married. Upon the outbreak of the World vol. 111-32

498

HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE

war he volunteered his services to the United States, with the result that he had charge of the United States radio station at Honolulu until the close of hostilities; the third member of the Grogan family, Walter Russell, Jr., is secretary of the company. He volunteered his services but was not accepted; Merwin is, like his brothers, active in the conduct of the business; and Elmer is still in school, working for his father in his spare time; Mildred, the youngest member of the family and the only daughter. is attending the Milwaukee public schools.

Fraternally Mr. Grogan is identified with the Masons, belonging to Toltec Lodge, No. 126, Mexico City, Mexico. He is also a member of the Milwaukee Lodge of Elks and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Mexico City, Mexico. He has no club con- nections but is interested in the growth and development of the community, as is indicated by his membership in the Association of Commerce. His interests have ever been conducted along broad business lines and his efforts have largely brought the business from a rather small concern to the largest and most prominent of its kind in the United States.

JOSEPH G. BACH,

Within a short space of five or six decades Milwaukee has been transformed from a frontier town into a great manufacturing center. Vast business enterprises are here found and controlling these are many men who deserve to be ranked with the captains of industry in the middle west. In this connection mention should be made of Joseph G. Bach, of the Abel & Bach Company, trunk manufacturers, of which he is the president and treasurer. Milwaukee numbers him among her native sous, his hirth having occurred on the 13th of August, 1886. His father, Joseph Bach, was born on his father's farm at Newhurg, Wisconsin, in 1852. The grandfather was Mathias Bach, a native of Germany, who on coming to the new world settled on a farm near Newburg, Washington county, Wisconsin, where he successfully carried on agricultural pursuits for a number of years. He had served in the Franco-Prussian war and after his arrival in America he became one of the prominent citizens of his adopted county. He lived to the advanced age of ninety- four years. In young manhood Joseph Bach became a salesman and in 1882, in connection with Henry Abel and Henry Fitzgerald, he established what was known as the Abel, Bach & Fitzgerald Company, which name was changed in 1887 to its present form. Joseph Bach was a model citizen and popular in the community. He was one of the founders of the Columbia, a German Catholic weekly, which was first issued in 1882. He continued in connection with the manufacturing business throughout his life and became sole owner of the business following the death of Mr. Abel and the withdrawal of Mr. Fitzgerald from the partnership. He mar- ried Catherine Ament, who was born at Baraboo, Wisconsin, on a farm of her father, John Ament, who was a native of Germany. Mrs. Bach makes her home in Mil- waukee.

Joseph G. Bach was educated in St. Rose's parochial school in Milwaukee and in the Marquette Academy and ultimately was graduated from the Marquette Uni- versity in 1906, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He next became a student in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he studied mining engineer- ing, spending four years there, during which time he became a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon and the Theta Nu Epsilon. With his return from college he entered upon his father's business, first as a traveling salesman, in which connection he continued for five years and then entered the factory, acquainting himself with all the details of manufacturing as well as with the sales end of the business. He had two brothers who were associated with the enterprise-Edmund J. Bach and A. A. Bach, who were president and secretary-treasurer, respectively. The former died in the year 1916 and the latter died in 1920 and following the death of E. J. Bach, Joseph G. Bach succeeded to the presidency and has since heen at the head of the business. He became the treasurer upon the death of his brother, A. A. Bach, and now occupies the dual position. A large trunk manufacturing business has been developed, the trade covering a wide territory and the enterprise con- stitutes one of the chief productive industries of Milwaukee.

On the 3d of July, 1916, Mr. Bach was married to Miss Elsa Luscher, a dangh- ter of Adolph Luscher, a lumber salesman of this city, who died in 1917. Mr. Bach and his wife have three children: Gerald, Joseph G., Jr., and Nancy Ann. While Mr. Bach votes with the republican party he has never been actively inter- ested in politics, having no desire to fill political positions. In religious faith he is a Catholic, connected with Gesu parish. He belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Calumet Club and the Association of Commerce and is also a member of the executive board of the Baggage Manufacturers' Association. He is fond of music and has played the violin in orchestras and music constitutes an important

JOSEPH G. BACH

501

HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE

feature in the home life, for Mrs. Bach also manifests an equal love of the art and possesses considerable talent in connection therewith. Mr. Bach is likewise inter- ested in outdoor sports and was the manager of the Marquette Foothall Associa- tion while in college. He derives great pleasure from motoring and takes long tours and thus in various fields he finds that needed rest and recreation which constitute an even balance to his intense business activity and enterprise.

ROY LEWIS STONE.

Roy Lewis Stone, vice president of the American Exchange Bank of Milwaukee, with which he has been continuously connected since 1908, has been identified with banking interests throughout practically his entire business career. His hirth occurred in Milwaukee on the 16th of February, 1876, his parents being Lewis H. and Francelia ( Radway) Stone, who were natives of Virginia and Wisconsin, respectively. In the early '50s they took up their abode near Eureka, this state, while about 1870 they came to Milwaukee. The father followed the lakes as a marine engineer. Both he and his wife have passed away.

Roy L. Stone, the only child of his parents and the sole surviving member of the family, obtained a limited education in the public schools of his native city and as a youth of fourteen secured employment in the drug store of Sam Wright, at the corner of Sixth street and Grand avenue. Subsequently he spent about a year as a student in a business college and then obtained a position as messenger boy in the First National Bank, with which institution he remained for fifteen years, winning various promo- tions until eventually he was made manager of the credit department. During the panic of 1907, while still an employe of the First National Bank, he served as secretary of the Clearing House Loan Committee. On the 1st of January, 1908, he became identi- fied as assistant cashier with the German-American Bank, the name of which was changed to the American Exchange Bank in 1915. The following year he was appointed third vice president, while in 1918 he became second vice president and director and in 1920 assumed the duties of his present position, which are those of first vice presi- dent. His efforts have been no unimportant factor in the continued growth and success of the institution. He is likewise the vice president and one of the directors of the Bay View Savings Bank and a director of the C. H. & E. Manufacturing Company.

In 1898 Mr. Stone was united in marriage to Miss Lillian Couillard and they have become parents of two children: Marshall, who is a student in the University of Wis- consin; and Marion. The family residence is at No. 187 Thirty-first street.

In fraternal circles Mr. Stone is well known as a Mason and an Elk and he is a popular member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, finding pleasurable recreation in ath- letics and also in motoring. He likewise belongs to the Wisconsin Club, the City Club, the Robert Morris Associates and Reserve City Bankers Association, the Milwaukee Association of Credit Men and the Milwaukee Association of Commerce, being the treasurer and one of the directors of the last named. His activities during the period of the World war included service as a member of the war finance central committee, as manager of headquarters in all the war drives in Milwaukce county and as a director of the Red Cross membership drive in 1918. His life has been spent in the city of Mil- waukee and that his career has ever been an upright and honorable one is indicated in the fact that the associates of his boyhood and youth are still numbered among his stanch friends and admirers. He has become most widely and favorably known as a capable financier and valued citizen.

JOHN M. CLARKE.

For forty-four years John M. Clarke has been a member of the Milwaukee har, during which period he has been connected with some of the most important litiga- tions tried in the state and federal courts, the records of which bear testimony to the many favorable verdicts which be has won. The history of his career, by reason of what he has achieved, is an enviable one. He was born near Edinburgh, Scotland, March 10, 1848, and is a son of George and Mary (Craine) Clarke, who in June, 1850, crossed the Atlantic to the new world and made their way to Milwaukee. They settled soon afterward in what is now New Butler, in the town of Menomonee, Waukesha county, and there the father purchased land, devoting his remaining days to the further development and improvement of his farm.

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.

History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume III, Part 55

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