USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume III > Part 80
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Mr. Sivyer represented one of the old and honored pioneer families of Wisconsin, His birth occurred in Milwaukee, June 18, 1848, his father being Samuel Sivyer, who, becompanied by three brothers, William, Henry and Joseph, and a sister Eliza, came from a suburb south of London, England, to the new world in 1834 and journeyed across
ELIAS H. BOTTUM
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the continent to Milwaukee, where he established his home, continuing in this city until his death in 1850.
During his youthful days Frederick W. Sivyer largely devoted his attention to the acquirement of a public school education and for some time was a pupil in the first ward district school under the principalship of Professor Markham, who was after- ward in charge of the Milwaukee Academy. He was obliged to leave school at the age of fourteen years in order to provide for his own support but learned many valuable lessons in the school of experience, gaining knowledge day by day as his activities broadened in extent and importance. While employed he utilized every opportunity to promote his education, becoming a pupil in the night schools conducted by Bryant, Stratton & Spencer, one of the early business colleges of the city. His training there and his previous actual experience in the business world qualified him for further re- sponsibility and he became entry clerk in the dry goods store of James Bonnell, where he was paid a salary of a hundred and twenty-five dollars per month. For six years he continued with that house, leaving it to become connected with the iron industry, through which he left an indelible impress upon the development and industrial growth of Milwaukee. Securing a position with the Minerva Furnace Company in 1873, he seriously bent his attention to the study and mastery of the iron industry, and in 1875 he became a partner in the firm of Harris & Sivyer, proprietors of a malleable iron business at West Water and Cedar streets. The undertaking grew and developed, necessitating larger quarters, which were secured on Lincoln avenue. A few weeks after the removal, however, the plant was completely destroyed by fire, but undiscouraged by this disaster the partners resumed business, which they conducted until they sold out to William H. Osborne of the Wisconsin Malleable Iron Company. Mr. Sivyer re- mained with the purchasing company until 1882.
It was on the 27th of July, of that year, that Frederick W. Sivyer established the business which under his guidance became one of the foremost of its kind not only of Milwaukee but of the state. Their interests were first carried on under the style of Elmore, Sivyer & Company for a period of six years, and on the 15th of September, 1888, articles of incorporation were taken out under the name of the Northwestern Malleable Iron Company. Later Mr. Elmore sold his interest to Helmus Wells. From the beginning until his death Mr. Sivyer remained a potent force in the conduct of the business, aiding in shaping its policy and directing activities until the corporation was furnishing employment to about a thousand workmen in order to meet the demands of their patronage.
In early manhood Frederick W. Sivyer was united in marriage to Miss Ida M. Spencer, a native of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and a daughter of John Hervey Spencer. They became parents of two sons: Frederick Lincoln, mentioned elsewhere in this work; and Albert, deceased. The family home was again hroken by the hand of death when in 1910 Mr. Sivyer passed away at the age of sixty-two years, being yet sur- vived by his widow, who still makes her home in Milwaukee.
While Mr. Sivyer long occupied a central place on the stage of business activity, it would be giving an impartial and one-sided view of him to present him only as a most successful business man. He rendered valuable aid to his community in many ways. From 1895 until 1897 he was a member of the school board, and his contribution to public education was real and valuable. He early considered the question of industrial education and became a pioneer in advocating this, his labors resulting in the establish- ment of a trades school that has since gained a national reputation. During the re- mainder of his life he was prominently identified with the national organization which exists to promote industrial education. He was also a trustee of the Milwaukee-Downer College. In Masonry he attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. Thus his life counted for good along many lines. He stood for high principles, for progress and improvement. When one sees the gigantic industry that he established, now giving employment to a thousand people, one might feel that this was the great achievement of his career, yet who can say hut what the crowning work of his career was the introduction of industrial education into the schools of Milwaukee, for it was a work that like the pebble dropped into the lake, broadens out into constantly increasing rings until it reaches the farthermost shore. Mr. Sivyer's efforts in this direction will keep on bearing fruit as long as Milwaukee provides industrial training for her young.
FREDERICK LINCOLN SIVYER.
Frederick Lincoln Sivyer, president of the Northwestern Malleagle Iron Company, is today one of the prominent representatives of industrial activity in Milwaukee. It is true that he entered upon a business already established, but in controlling and enlarging this many a man of less resolute spirit or of more contracted business vision would have failed. He has developed the enterprise according to the industrial and
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commercial advancement of the times and has made the business a source of value to the city in furnishing employment to hundreds of workmen, while at the same time it has brought substantial financial returns to the stockholders.
Frederick L. Sivyer was born in Milwaukee, December 23, 1879, a son of Frederick W. Sivyer, whose sketch is given on the preceding page. Pursuing his education in the public schools of his native city until he had completed the course, he afterward entered Cornell University at Ithaca, New York, where he remained a student until 1901 and then became identified with his present business. He started as a molder in the plant and acquainted himself with the various phases of the trade through the practical working of the foundry and then up to office positions until in 1910 be was elected to the presidency of the Northwestern Malleable Iron Company, which today employs a thousand people in its shops. Nor has Mr. Sivyer confined his efforts to this corpora- tion alone. In 1909 he organized the Sivyer Steel Casting Company, which has been a very successful concern and of which he has been the president from the beginning. He is likewise the president of the Joliet Railway Supply Company of Chicago and is interested in several other prominent concerns.
On the Sth of October, 1902, in Milwaukee, Mr. Sivyer was married to Miss Lillian Day, of this city, and they have become the parents of a daughter, Alcy, who was born in Milwaukee and is now attending the Holton-Arms School at Washington, D. C.
During the World war period Mr. Sivyer was asked to go to the capital to take charge of the production of semi-steel shells and gave his time without compensation to the government as long as his aid was needed. He had absolute charge of placing all contracts for this production, and his orders were placed with only such concerns as could produce rapidly and satisfactorily. This was a very interesting experience in Mr. Sivyer's career, bringing him in contact with government and especially military methods and measures, and he continued on duty for almost a year.
Mr. Sivyer has membership in St. Paul's Episcopal church, of which he is serving as a vestryman, and his interest in humanitarian organizations is shown in the fact that he is president of Columbia Hospital and also through his cooperation in many organized efforts for the benefit of his fellowmen. He is well known in the club circles of the city, belonging to the Milwaukee Athletic, the University, the Milwaukee Country and the Town Clubs, and of the University Club he has been president. A lifelong resident of this city, he has made for himself a notable place in its business circles, and at the same time he has ever been mindful of his duties and obligations of citizen- ship and has manifested great civic pride in Milwaukee's upbuilding and improvement -a pride that has taken tangible form in generous support of many measures for the public good.
FRANKLIN LAWRENCE WEYENBERG.
Franklin Lawrence Weyenberg is a conspicuous example of young American energy successfully meeting the requirements of modern industrial enterprise. Young in years, he has by the maturity of his instinct and judgment won a high position among Milwaukee business men, who have noted the success with which he is managing the affairs of the busy establishment of which he is the guiding spirit. Mr. Weyenberg was born in Appleton, Wisconsin, March 26, 1882. His father is Martin Weyenberg, whose family emigrated from Holland to the United States in 1853, first locating in Green Bay and later removing to Appleton. His mother is Wilhelmine Weyenberg, a native of Appleton.
Franklin L. Weyenberg spent his boyhood at Appleton, where he attended St. Joseph's parochial school and graduated from the eighth grade. He then pursued a commercial course in Lawrence College of Appleton. At the age of fifteen years he entered the retail shoe store of Weyenberg Brothers at Chippewa Falls, a business enterprise in which his father was financially interested and which a few years previous to this time had supplemented its retail trade with shoe manufacturing in a small way under the name of the Weyenberg Shoe Manufacturing Company. The business had been established as a small partnership concern by the Weyenberg Brothers in Appleton, Wisconsin. They opened a little retail shoe store there and after carrying on the business at that point for three years removed to Chippewa Falls, which at that time was a booming lumber town of northern Wisconsin. In January, 1901, the Weyenberg Brothers discontinued their retail shoe store in Chippewa Falls and removed their manufacturing business to Milwaukee, locating at 122 Reed street, where the demands upon it increased so rapidly that larger quarters became an imperative necessity. These were secured by the erection of a large factory building on Harmon street. After the removal to Milwaukee, Franklin Lawrence Weyenberg acted as assistant superintendent of the factory and also represented the company as a traveling salesman. In the fall of 1902 he became general manager, in which capacity he displayed so much business sagacity that in 1906, when the company was incorporated, he was elected president
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FRANKLIN L. WEYENBERG
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and treasurer. From the beginning they resolved that they would not sacrifice their quality for quantity and it was soon recognized that the Weyenberg shoe was one well worth the money expended. It was in 1896 that they began to make by hand a few logging shoes, known as cruisers. While they were plain in workmanship, they were of good material and produced maximum wear and comfort. Satisfied patrons became their best advertisement and through the good words of those who gave them trade their business steadily increased. Moreover, they never deviated from the high prin- ciples which they accepted as the governing rules of their business in the days of its inception. After opening a factory in Milwaukee they continned to make hand-made shoes exclusively. In 1906, as above stated, they reorganized the business as a corpora- tion, placed machinery in their factory and since 1909 have turned out only machine- made goods, although up to that date they continued to make a few hand-made shoes of the heavy logging type. The Goodyear welt machinery was installed and heavy double sole, donble stitched, unlined shoes were made, the Weyenberg Shoe Manufac- turing Company becoming the pioneers of heavy work welt shoes in the western man- ufacturing district. The company has enjoyed a steady growth in its business throughout the intervening period and their trade is now one of mammoth and gratify- ing proportions. Their plant consists of two large factories in Milwaukee and also a large four-story factory in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. In less than a quarter of a century the manufacturing output has developed from a few hand-made shoes to a total of over twelve thousand pairs per day. The output of the factory is sold to the retail trade exclusively. The factory buildings are among the most modern of the kind in the northwest, built with regard to safety, sanitation and efficiency. There is every safeguard provided against dangerous machines and places by permanent mechanical The ma- devices and every effort has been made to do away with unsafe practices.
chinery and equipment are of the latest type and model and everything is done to promote cleanliness and sanitation in the work. A spirit of advancement and progress has characterized the company from the outset, when the two brothers entered into partnership to conduct the little retail shoe store at Appleton. The present officers of the company are: Franklin Lawrence Weyenberg, president; Martin Weyenberg, first vice president; W. J. Booth, second vice president; P. W. Jessrang, secretary; and R. J. Dempsey, general office manager. The average age of the executives is thirty-six years, indicating that the contagious enthusiasm and enterprise of youth find expression in the conduct of the business. Resolute and determined, they have so directed their efforts that splendid results have been achieved and the Weyenberg Shoe Manufacturing Company is today one of the foremost in connection with the manufacturing interests of Milwaukee
On the 19th of January, 1905, in Milwaukee, Mr. Weyenberg was married to Miss Myrtle Helen Linkman and they have two children: Edward, born December 9, 1905; Virginia, born February 4, 1918. Mr. Weyenberg is active in social life as a member of the Blue Mound Country Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club, and the Milwaukee Country Club.
EDWARD L. MINSTER.
Edward L. Minster, local agent for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company of South Milwaukee, was born in Lakeside, Michigan, June 27, 1865, his parents being John and Mary (Garland) Minster, both of whom were natives of Michigan. The son obtained his education in the public schools of Lakeside and after completing his studies worked as a farm hand for two years, during which time he saved enough money to enable him to meet his expenses while learning telegraphy. This he learned at Bristol, Wisconsin, to which place he removed in 1886, working as telegraph opera- tor in the Northwestern station. He was employed at extra work in different stations for some time and at length was transferred to the Ravenswood ( Illinois) station, where he remained for nine months. On the expiration of that period he came to South Milwaukee, then known as Oak Creek, here taking up his abode in 1887. The name of the town was afterward changed to South Milwaukee, and Mr. Minster served as telegraph operator when it was just a little station. He has seen the town grow and develop from a tiny village to a city of seven or eight thousand population, and since his appointment as local agent in 1888 he has continuously served in this capacity, giving most excellent satisfaction through the prompt and faithful discharge of his dnties. He was one of the first trustees of the village of South Milwaukee following its organization, and many plans and measures for the public good have been promoted and supported by him. For three years he served as a member of the school board and proved himself a capable champion of the cause of education. He was also active in some of the war drives and in many ways gave evidence of his patriotic support of the country and its ideals.
Mr. Minster was married to Miss Jessie Dibley, a native of South Milwaukee, and
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they are the parents of three children: Grace, Charlotte and Earl. The family home is at No: 426 Hawthorne avenue, where they occupy a most beautiful modern residence, celebrated for its warm-hearted hospitality and good cheer. Mr. Minster belongs to the Masonic lodge, chapter, council, commandery and Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Michiwaukee Golf Club. Few residents of South Milwaukee have longer witnessed its growth or taken a more active part in its de- velopment. Thirty years have come and gone since he took up his abode in the village, and throughout this entire period he has been closely associated with all that has made for progress lere.
R. BRUCE DOUGLAS.
R. Bruce Douglas, one of the most prominent realtors of Milwaukee, having made for himself a very creditable position in business circles by reason of his adaptability, his initiative and his enterprise, was born in this city, at No. 677 Jackson street, May . 26, 1874. His father, James Douglas, an architect, was born July 23, 1823, in the county of Caithness, in the town of Wick, in the northern part of Scotland. The grandfather, Alexander Douglas, was also a native of Scotland and married Annabella Mackenzie, who was likewise born in the land of hills and heather. The mother of R. Bruce Douglas bore the maiden name of Mary Jane Douglas and was born at Burnett Junction, Wis- consin, being a daughter of John Douglas, a native of New York state, and of Sally (Pelton) Douglas, who was also born in the Empire state.
In his youth R. Bruce Douglas attended the Jefferson street school for six years and later became a pupil in the Cass street school. from which he was graduated June 30, 1890. He also most creditably completed a course in the East Side high school in 1893. As a boy he had a natural tendency for new or little known things and in early hoyhood rode a high bicycle, while as soon as the safety bicycle was invented he used one of those. The same tendency to venture into the unknown manifested itself in his ownership of one of the first automobiles in Milwaukee, an eight horsepower Winton with one cylinder, the steering being done with a handle, because steering wheels had not yet been invented. More than a decade before this time he had made X-rays and experimented with electricity, and in his youth he invented and made a pair of Indian clubs lighted by electricity which attracted a great deal of attention when swung on a darkened stage. He became very proficient in Indian club swinging and afterward taught a class in the Cass street school and the Y. M. C. A. gymnasium and gave many exhibitions in amateur entertainments.
It was on the 1st of September, 1893, the fall following his graduation from high school that Mr. Douglas entered business circles. His father had been extensively engaged in the architectural profession as well as in handling several subdivisions as a real estate dealer but was in ill health in 1893, at which time the elder brother, Earl, took charge of the architectural business, while Bruce Douglas was taken out of school and placed in charge of the real estate interests. He worked with his father only one year, and upon the death of James Douglas he opened a real estate office of his own on the 1st of September, 1894, in the Colby-Abbott building, being then twenty years of age. On the 1st of May, 1901, he removed to the ground floor of 85 Mason street, where he has now been located for twenty-one years. He has conducted a general real estate, mortgage, insurance and appraisal business, largely handling homes and residences. Among the more important sales which he has made have been the factory sites of the Nordberg Manufacturing Company, the A. J. Lindemann & Hoverson Company, additions to the Filer & Stowell Company, the Gridley Dairy Company and the Vilter Manufacturing Company. In addition he has designed and built one hundred homes. In October, 1910, occurred the razing of the Plankinton Hotel and the erection in its stead of the Plankinton Arcade, all of which is directly traced to his office. A letter from the firm of Harvey & MeClure of Detroit addressed to R. Bruce Douglas in October, 1910, was the first step in the negotiations. Gradually, one hy one, as interest prompted, other persons in Milwaukee, Detroit and Cleveland were drawn into the deal, which finally resulted in the consummation on July 7, 1911, of a ninety-nine year lease of the Plankinton property to Charles W. Somers.
Mr. Douglas has always maintained a mortgage department in connection with his business, in placing mortgages on homes and industrial property and answering the call of the money market, has recently branched out into the business of underwriting first mortgage bond issues. Having established a reputation for reliable judgment on real estate values, he has been called upon for appraisals which lately average a quarter of a million dollars per month. The most important appraisal which he has made was the physical valuation of all of the real estate owned by the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad in Milwaukee county, including not only the down town terminals but every side track and the main lines radiating in every direction to the further boundaries of the county. He was appointed by the court as a commissioner in condemnation of the
R. BRUCE DOUGLAS
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land to be used by the new Grand avenue viaduct and has been called as an expert witness in condemnation of property used for the First avenue viaduct, Shorewood high school site, the Kneetand site for the courthouse on Tenth and Grand avenue, the House of Correction site near North Milwaukee and has heen an expert witness in many of the most stubbornty fought cases in the Milwaukee courts. He assisted in purchasing about twenty-five miles of railroad right-of-way through the villages and rural districts of Milwaukee county. He is now the secretary and treasurer of the Douglas Land & Investment Company, is president of the First Avenue Land Company, president of the Lincoln Park Land Company and president of the Lincoln Park Halt Association. Mr. Douglas was one of those who established the real estate course in the Marquette University and gave lectures on practical real estate subjects. He was a member of the textbook committee of the National Association of Real Estate Boards and as chair- man of that committee formed plans for publishing educational works to be the standard for the use of the real estate men throughout the country. The publication of these was interrupted by the war. In 1916 at Madison he was a member of the educational com- mittee of the Wisconsin Association of Real Estate Brokers. He assisted the faculty of the State University in establishing a real estate course, which should first be used in the university extension department and later as a regular course of the university.
It was in 1903 that Mr. Douglas joined the Milwaukee Real Estate Board in the second year of its existence and after only about four meetings had been held. On the 5th of April, 1905, he was elected its secretary and immediately became very active in the organization, which he has seen grow from a membership of about fifteen to an organization of several hundred active and aggressive realtors. On the 11th of Aprit, 1906, he was reelected secretary, the constitution having been amended to permit of his reelection and he was again chosen to the office on the 13th of April, 1907. As secretary he put into the office of every member of the Milwaukee Real Estate Board a copy of the Douglas Brown book of loose leaf blue prints, so that every piece of dock or factory site property which was for sale could be sold by any member of the board. The object of this was to make it easy to promote sales to customers who come from out of town looking for factory or dock property. On the 21st of April, 1908, he was elected president of the Milwaukee Real Estate Board and after a period of eight years he was again chosen to that office on the 17th of Aprit, 1917. He has served as a member and as chairman of the appraisal committee, and city officials have made extensive use of this appraisal committee, Mr. Douglas personally working on the appraisal of the opening and widening of Lake street from the Milwaukee river to the west city limits, the widen- ing of Atkinson avenue from Green Bay avenue to the city limits, the opening and widening of Eleventh avenue, the opening and widening of Sixth street from Keefe avenue to the city limits, additions to Lincoln Park, Humbolt Park, South Shore Park, Washington Park and a score or more of schoolhouses, fire engine house lots, as well as the condemnation of Jones island for an outer harbor. The work of this committee received most favorable comment from the Chicago Municipal Reference Library, which investigated the Milwaukee appraisal committee's work.
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