USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume III > Part 94
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On the 3d of January, 1914, Mr. Voelz was married to Miss Idabelle Helburg of Milwaukee, a daughter of Mrs. John Morrison. She was educated in the public
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schools of this city, attending the South Side high school and she also received extensive private instruction in music. She is a pianist of merit and formerly appeared largely in public recitals. Mr. Voelz, while never active as a political worker, always gives stalwart allegiance to the republican party, as did his father before him. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church and he has member- ship in the Faith English Lutheran on Twenty-first avenue. He also belongs to Walker Lodge, No. 123, of the Knights of Pythias, and to the Milwaukee Lodge of Elks. He maintains a summer home on Lake Okauchee, where he enjoys fish- ing, hunting and boating and he is also fond of motoring. He likewise enjoys boxing and baseball and displays considerable skill in bowling. In fact he finds pleasure in all manly sports and in this way keeps physically fit. During the war he served as a registrar in connection with the draft board in his district. He has always stood for progressiveness in public affairs and his aid and influence can ever be counted upon to further any plan or project for the general good.
WILLIAM J. KORTSCH.
William J. Kortsch, general manager of the Paul Kortsch Storage Company of Milwaukee, was born September 14, 1896, in the city in which he still makes his home. He represents one of the old families of this city, his grandfather, a native of Germany, having become a cigar manufacturer of Milwaukee at an early day. His father, Paul Kortsch, was likewise born in Milwaukee and engaged in the teaming and express business, which constituted the initial step toward the organization of the warehouse business in 1912, which is now conducted under the name of the Paul Kortsch Storage Company. It was in that year that he erected the present warehouse and through the intervening period the storage company has conducted a substantial and growing business. The father passed away on the 14th of Febru- ary, 1921. He was a'stalwart republican in his political views but never took active part in politics. His religious faith was that of the Catholic church and he became one of the organizers and was afterward a communicant of the SS. Peter and Paul's parish. He married Dorothy Landgraff, who was born in Germany and came to the United States when about twenty years of age. They became acquainted in Mil- waukee, where they established their home and here reared their family, Mr. Kortsch remaining an active and representative business man of the city to the time of his demise.
William J. Kortsch acquired his early education in SS. Peter and Paul's parochial school and afterward attended Hoffman's Business College. Later he worked for a year for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company as claim clerk and then became associated with his father in business and carried this on in connection with his brother, Michael. They succeeded the father at his death and are now doing an extensive business in packing, moving and general warehousing, making a specialty also of furniture storage.
On the 15th of January, 1920, Mr. Kortsch was married to Miss Elsie Huber, a daughter of Andrew Huber, a cement contractor of Milwaukee, who was born in Hungary and settled in this city in 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Kortsch attend the Catholic church in SS. Peter and Paul's parish. During the World war he was an ambulance driver in France for six months, being attached to the French army. His favorite pastime is motoring and in musical circles his wife is well known as a talented pianist. They are prominently known socially in this city, where they have always resided and Mr. Kortsch is a valued representative of an old and honored pioneer family here. He has gained a creditable position in business circles and the sterling worth of his character is attested by his many friends, who have known him from his boyhood days to the present.
B. E. HENSCHEL.
Enterprise and industry finds expression in the business career of B. E. Henschel, who is one of the officials of the C. B. Henschel Manufacturing Company of Mil- waukee. He was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, October 31, 1878, his father being C. B. Henschel, the founder and promoter of the C. B. Henschel Manufacturing Com- pany. The father was a native of Saxony, Germany, and came to America when sixteen years of age, settling in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He was educated in the schools of his native country and after arriving in the new world was compelled to make his own way, for he was a poor boy dependent entirely upon his own resources for a living. He learned the cabinetmaker's trade in his native land and for some time was engaged in the manufacture of fanning mills at Sheboygan. These
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he sold to farmers, using wagons for transportation before there were any railroads in his section of the state. When business of that character became dull he began the manufacture of Jumber and also making cigar boxes. He started the business in a small way, but his trade steadily grew and finally he removed to Milwaukee, where he had better advantages for the sale of his goods. He purchased the prop- erty where the present plant now stands. Upon the grounds was a little frame shack which constituted the first housing plant of the C. B. Henschel Manufacturing Com- pany. The present plant was erected in 1908 and is a four-story and basement structure and in normal times one hundred people are employed. Mr. Henschel was a well known citizen, not only conducting his box factory but also was president of the Gutsch -Brewing Company of Sheboygan and of the Garden City Box Company of Chicago.
B. E. Henschel, now vice president of the company, was educated in the schools of Sheboygan and in 1896 when a youth of eighteen years, came to Milwaukee. He has been identified with the business of the C. B. Henschel Manufacturing Company since his boyhood, acquainting himself thoroughly with every phase of it and steadily progressing until he now has charge of the industry and looks after all the details of the business. The other officers are: R. G. Hayssen, president; E. Henschel, treasurer, and B. E. Henschel of this review, is acting both as vice president and secretary.
In 1903 Mr. Henschel was united in marriage to Miss L. Davidson of Sheboygan, and they have become the parents of three children: Marion, Charlotte and Charles. Mr. Ilenschel is a member of the Association of Commerce and also of the Optimist Club. Any plan or project for Milwaukee's benefit is sure to receive his endorse- ment and support and his progressiveness and energy are forceful factors in bringing about public good, as well as in advancing the important business interests which are now largely under his control.
WALTER E. LANGE.
Walter E. Lange, secretary and treasurer of the company organized under the name of Emma Lange, Incorporated, conducting a store in Hotel Pfister, was born April 24, 1886, in Berlin, Wisconsin. His father, Michael Lange, a native of Ger- many, was brought to the United States by his parents when but two years of age and in early life learned the shoemaker's trade. With the outbreak of the Civil war he joined the Union army and served throughout the entire period of hostilities, rendering valuable aid to his adopted country. He acted as chief bugler of his com- pany and after the war was ended he established his home in Berlin, Wisconsin, where he continued to engage in shoemaking. There he passed away in the year 1908. In early manhood he had married Loma Kakuschke, who was born in Bran- denburg, Germany, and was a young woman of nineteen years when she crossed the Atlantic. She was born in 1846, married in 1865 and passed away in the year 1891.
Walter E. Lange is indebted to the public school system of his native city for the educational opportunities accorded him and in the school of experience and the uni- versity of hard knocks he has also learned many valuable lessons. When seventeen years of age he became identified with the meat business at Berlin, engaging therein on his own account as the junior partner in the firm of Botz & Lange. This associa- tion was maintained until 1910, when Mr. Lange sold his interest 10 his partner and entered the business of manufacturing cloth advertising specialties under the name of the Berlin Fabric Manufacturing Company. In this he continued for a year and then disposed of his interests, again becoming identified with the meat trade, in which he engaged until June, 1919. At that date he sold his business in Berlin and removed to Milwaukee, where in connection with his sister, Emma Lange, he began dealing in ladies' wearing apparel, the business being organized under the name of Emma Lange, Incorporated, their store being situated in the Pfister Hotel building. They carry a carefully selected and attractive stock and the business is steadily and rapidly growing. It is one of the best exclusive houses in the city and, although in existence for only a few years, a most substantial and gratifying patronage has been built up. Mr. Lange is also the president of the F. W. Lange Company, engaged in the same line of business at 3509 North avenue, in which he is associated with his brother.
On the 3d of December, 1912, Walter E. Lange was united in marriage to Miss Ina Angle. a danghter of Spencer Angle of Berlin, Wisconsin, who is a farmer and lias he'd several public offices in that locality. To Mr. and Mrs. Lange have been born two sons: Spencer, whose birth occurred May 14, 1915; and Frederick, born March 7, 1917. The religious faith of the family is that of the Lutheran church and Mr. Lange also has membership with the Knights of Pythias, the Odd Fellows and
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the Elks. He is loyal to the teachings and purposes of these different fraternities and is a consistent follower of their ethical teachings.
Emma Lange, occupying a prominent position among the business women of Milwaukee, was born and educated in Berlin, Wisconsin, and has been a resident of this city since 1892. For about fourteen years she was employed in the women's ready-to-wear department of the Gimbel Brothers store and of the Chapman estah- lishment. In 1916, however, she became a partner in the firm of Andrews & Lange on Jefferson street, near Wisconsin street, and in 1919, in association with her brother, Walter E. Lange, she founded the present business under the name of Emma Lange, Incorporated. They conduct a retail establishment exclusively and draw their patronage from Milwaukee's best people. They deal in quality mer- chandise, carrying the finest and most attractive things that the market affords, and their business shows a substantial annual growth. Miss Lange possesses a marked artistic nature, displaying most excellent taste in the selection of goods handled, and she, moreover, possesses marked qualities as a business woman. In the family there is another sister, Matilda Lange, and a brother, Frederick Lange, who is the secretary and treasurer of the F. W. Lange Company, of which Miss Emma Lange is the vice president. The family thus control two of the leading ladies' ready-to- wear clothing stores of the city and their interests are constantly developing.
WINFIELD N. O'CONNELL.
Winfield N. O'Connell, general manager with the George J. Meyer Manufactur- ing Company of Milwaukee, was born in New York city, September 6, 1881, and is of Irish lineage, his grandfather being a native of the Emerald isle. His father, Thomas O'Connell, who was born in Watertown, Wisconsin, was a marble setter and is now deceased. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Lucy, was a native of Ireland and came to the United States at the age of sixteen years. She, too, has passed away, her death occurring January 21, 1900. Their son, Winfield N., was the fourth in order of birth in a family of six children, five of whom are yet living, namely: Mrs. Mary Hopp, of Harvard, Illinois; Mrs. Catharine Meyer, the wife of George J. Meyer of Milwaukee; William E., grocer of Milwaukee; Win- field N .; and John A., who is living in Chicago.
When Winfield N. O'Connell was but four years of age his parents removed with the family to Wisconsin and he was reared at North Kaukauna, where he obtained a parochial school education. In 1901 he came to Milwaukee and here entered the employ of the George J. Meyer Manufacturing Company as a machinist in 1904, having previously learned the machinist's trade with Logemann Brothers of this city. For several years he was an erecting engineer with the George J. Meyer Company, with which he has been continuously identified since 19.04. For three years he was superintendent and in 1920 was made general manager. The steps in his orderly progression are thus easily discernihle. Steadily he has advanced as his powers have developed and expanded and his capability and enterprise have been a valuable con- tributing Force to the success of the business.
On the 29th of June, 1905, Mr. O'Connell was married to Miss Louise Centner and they have three living children, while one Woodrow W., passed away at the age of eight years. The others are Florence M., Isabelle C. and Winfield G. Mr. O'Con- nell and his family are communicants of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church and fraternally he is connected with the Royal Arcanum and the Eagles. His success has resulted entirely from his willingness to work, his fidelity to the interests of those whom he has represented and his loyalty to high standards and business ethics.
EDWARD S. LODGE, M. D.
Dr. Edward S. Lodge, a physician who dates his residence in Milwaukee from 1904, was born in Tonawanda, New York, December 13, 1883. His father, August F. Lodge, whose birth occurred in Germany on the 12th of July, 1840, was a little lad of four summers when brought by his parents to the United States, the family home being established in a small hamlet of Niagara county, New York, where the grandfather of Dr. Lodge of this review devoted his attention to general agricultural pursuits. August F. Lodge, however, chose the profession of teaching as a life work and was thus engaged for more than a half century in the Lutheran parochial schools of the state of New York, where he also held many honorary positions in the Lutheran School Teachers Association. He passed away in February, 1916. The mother of Dr. Lodge, who bore the maiden name of Carolina Hasenbank and who was born in Germany on the 17th of August, 1841, was but six years of age when she came to the new world with
Edward & Lodge M.D.
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her parents, who settled in Niagara county, New York. By her marriage she became the mother of seven children, of whom Dr. Edward S. Lodge was the youngest. Follow- ing the death of his first wife August F. Lodge was again married and by his second wife had four children, including Oscar W. Lodge, who is now engaged in the drug business in Milwaukee and who was a member of the Thirty-second Division during the period of the World war. All the other children of the family make their home in the state of New York. The paternal grandparents of Dr. Lodge were Huguenots who fled from France to escape persecution as Protestants.
Dr. Edward S. Lodge acquired his early education in his native town and later learned the drug business, being first employed in a drug store, so that he gained practical experience, while afterward he was graduated from the University of Buffalo as a student in the School of Pharmacy with the class of 1902. He was but eighteen and a half years of age, being the youngest pupil who up to that time had ever graduated from the school. Because of his youth his diploma was not given him until he had attained his majority, thus conforming with required regulations. For two years he acted as manager of a drug store at Niagara Falls, New York, and in 1904 came to Milwaukee, where he entered the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons, now Marquette University School of Medicine, from which he was graduated with the M. D. degree in 1907. He later spent six months as interne in the Milwaukee County Hospital and since December. 1907, has engaged in active practice in this city. He took postgraduate work in the Johns Hopkins Medical College in 1914, specializing in internal medicine, and during the World war he was acting assistant surgeon in the United States public health service, in which connection he made an enviable record while on duty in Oswego, New York, at the time of the influenza epidemic. For many years after his graduation he was a lecturer on materia medica in the Marquette Medical College and in each year he was awarded some kind of a prize of efficiency and popularity. At the same time he also held the chair of professor of dental materia medica in the dental school. He is an honorary member of the Alpha Kappa Kappa, a medical fraternity, and he has through- out his professional career been a close student of the principles and science of medicine and of surgery, doing everything in his power to promote his knowledge and advance his skill in checking the ravages of disease. He keeps in touch with the trend of pro- fessional progress also through his membership in the Milwaukee County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society, the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association. He has also been a contributor of a number of original articles to several of the eastern medical journals.
On the 12th of July, 1913. Dr. Lodge was married to Miss Anna Sokup, who was born in Milwaukee and is of German and Bohemian parentage. They have an interest- ing little daughter, Lorraine, born November 24, 1916, and reside in a beautiful home on Washington boulevard. The parents are consistent and helpful members of the Presbyterian church and Dr. Lodge is also an exemplary representative of the Masonic fraternity and belongs likewise to the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks. He finds his recreation in reading and is somewhat of a pedes- trian, enjoying long walks and keeping fit through outdoor exercise. His entire career is actuated by a commendable ambition and a laudable purpose that have found ex- pression in valuable service for his fellowmen.
WILLIAM O. OWENS.
William O. Owens, manager of the Grasselli Chemical Company, was born July 24, 1893, at Barneveld; Wisconsin, his birthplace being the home farm of his father, Robert Owens, who was a native of Wales and came to the United States with his wife and children in 1888. He settled on a farm in Barneveld and devoted his life to general agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred in 1897. In early manhood he wedded Alice Brown, a native of Liverpool, England, who now makes her home in Dodgeville, Wisconsin.
William O. Owens obtained his early education in the district schools of Iowa county. Wisconsin, and afterward attended the Dodgeville high school, from which he was graduated with the class of 1911. Later he became a pupil in the Williams Business College in Milwaukee and after completing his commercial training he initiated his business career by accepting a position as stenographer with Swift & Company, remaining with that corporation for three years. On the expiration of that period he became connected with the Grasselli Chemical Company as a stenog- rapher and has since been with the company, save for the period of his service in the World war. In 1916 he went on the road as a salesman for the company and con- tinued to act in that capacity until the Ist of April, 1918, when he entered the military service and was sent to Camp Grant at Rockford, Illinois. Then he went to France in 1918 as a member of the Three Hundred and Eleventh Supply Train and continued in France until June, 1919, when he returned to this country and
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received his discharge on the 12th of July following, having done active duty on the western front with that great army that saved the day for the allied cause and placed world democracy npon a more stable basis than ever before.
With his return to his native land Mr. Owens again entered the employ of the Grasselli Company and once more went on the road as a traveling salesman, con- tinning in that position until August, 1920, when he was made manager of the Milwaukee branch of the business, which he is now conducting, proving his capability in the steady growth of the trade of the house. The home office of the company is located at Cleveland, Ohio, and they have twenty-one plants scattered over different parts of the United States and Canada. The company is engaged in the manufacture of industrial chemicals, acids, explosives and dyes, its products being sold all over the world.
Mr. Owens has never been active in politics but casts an independent ballot at the polls. In religions faith he is a Protestant, while his people were Baptists. He is a member of the Milwaukee Lodge of Elks and also belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Association of Commerce and to the Arthur Kroepfel Post of the American Legion. He is fond of hunting and fishing and all outdoor sports and is a motorist as well. His social qualities make for popularity wherever he is known and at the same time he is recognized as an alert and progressive young business man.
REV. FRANCIS CHARLES RYAN.
Rev. Francis Charles Ryan, pastor of St. Matthew's church of Milwaukee, is a native son of Wisconsin, his birth having occurred in Fond du Lac, October 16, 1859. His parents, Michael and Ellen ( McGinis) Ryan, were natives of Ireland, whence they came to the new world in 1852. They were married in New York, where they resided for a year and then removed westward to this state, taking up their abode in Fond du Lac county, where the father devoted his attention to farming, winning sub- stantial success in the cultivation of the crops and the management of his farm, which he brought under a high state of cultivation, adding many modern improve- ments thereto.
His son, Rev. Father Ryan, obtained his early education in the public schools of Fond du Lac and then entered upon more advanced training, pursuing his theological studies in St. Francis Seminary of Milwaukee. He was ordained by Arch- bishop Heiss on the 24th of June, 1884, and celebrated his first mass on the 29th of June of the same year, in Fond du Lac.
During the succeeding four years Father Ryan was a teacher in St. Francis Seminary, giving instruction in English, the Christian doctrines and mathematics. He was then appointed to the church of St. Francis Borgia at Cedarburg, Wisconsin, and remained as rector for a period of eight years. At the end of that time he was assigned to the pastorate of St. Matthew's church in Milwaukee. The parish was organized in 1892 by Father Naughton, who was rector for about three years and was then succeeded by Father Ryan, who has remained in charge throughout the intervening period. The parish now numbers about two hundred and fifty families, with a congregation of about eight hundred. The house of worship is a substantial church, built in the Romanesque style of architecture and is of brick with Bedford stone trimmings. It has a seating capacity of a thousand and was erected in 1905. There is a parish house as a home for the rector, a good substantial frame building. Father Ryan is identified with the Catholic Foresters and also with the Knights of Columbus. Much of his life has been spent in Milwaukee and his labors here are proving a potent force in the continued growth of the Catholic church in the city.
FREDERICK J. OEFLEIN.
Frederick J. Oeflein, superintendent of the Milwaukee Connty Infirmary, was born in North Milwaukee, October 30, 1883, and is a son of Frederick G. and Sidonia (Koehler) Oeflein. The father was also born in North Milwaukee and the home in which he resides occupies the same site as the little dwelling in which he first opened his eyes to the light of day. His parents came from Germany and settled there in 1840, removing from New York, where they had landed in 1839. They had a farm in what is now North Milwaukee and the grandfather, Samuel Oeflein, although devoting considerable attention to the cultivation of his land and the care of his crops, was a musician and music was of great interest to him, claiming much of his attention. He it was who organized the first orchestra of Milwaukee. His son, Frederick G. Oeflein, was the first man of North Milwaukee to sell his farm and
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had it used as a site for the present city. Disposing of his land he engaged in the real estate business and was an active factor in building the town of North Mil- waukee, where for some time he served as postmaster. He also represented his dis- trict on the county board of supervisors and in many other ways had taken an active and helpful interest in public affairs. For some years, however, he has lived retired, leaving public duties as well as business interests to younger men.
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