USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee from its first settlement to the year 1895 > Part 63
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When the Chatanqua circle became a popular method of education among young people, Mr. Chapman entered heartily into that branch of educational work, and assisted in conducting one of the largest and most popular circles in this city, some eight or nine years ago.
In connection with the book publishing busi- ness in which he was engaged, Mr. Chapman issued the map of Wisconsin, originally prepared by Dr. Increase A. Lapham in 1846, and continued the publication of the state map up to about ten years ago. For many years past he has been en- gaged in the map business, having in his time published the first section maps of Iowa, Minne- sota and Dakota, respectively. His Milwaukee City Guide has reached its thirteenth thousand, and of his map of Milwaukee county, more that one hundred thousand have been sold.
Mr. Chapman is a Congregationalist in his re- ligious faith, and a deacon of Pilgrim Church.
Ile was married in 1839 to Miss Phoebe Fowler Austin, of Montgomery county, New York.
FREDERICK CHARLES BEST was one of two brothers who came as avants-coureur to Milwaukee, and thus paved the way for the settle- ment here of an entire family which has contrib-
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nted in no small degree to the up-building of the city, and which has been conspicuous for thrift, sagacity and good citizenship.
Charles Best, as he was known to the older set- tlers of Milwaukee, was born in Mettenheim on the Rhine, near Worms, in the Province of Rhein- Hessen, Germany, January 26, 1812. He was the eldest son of Jacob Best and received a fairly good education in the schools of Mettenheim after which he learned the coopers' trade. Ilis early life in a Rhenish Province, in which wine-making was one of the leading industries, made him familiar from childhood with the manufacture of the beverages for which this region was then and is still famous, and he spent several years working in the vineyards along the Rhine before coming to this country. In 1840, he came with his brother Jacob Best, Jr., to America, and the same year settled in Milwaukee where they engaged first in the manufacture of vinegar. That he was pleased with the country and had a keen apprecia- tion and intelligent comprehension of its advan- tages and opportunities is evinced by the fact that in 1841 he returned to his old home in Germany with a report which induced his father and the entire family to return with him to Milwaukee in 1842. When he came back to what was then a struggling Western village, he was accompanied by father, mother, brothers and sisters, and even venerable Grandfather Best, then eighty-two years of age.
Soon after their arrival in Milwaukee, Charles Best and his brother Jacob sold out the business which they had established and in company with their father and two other brothers founded the brewing business which has since grown to such vast proportions. At the end of three years he withdrew from the partnership with his father and brothers and again engaged in the manufac- ture of vinegar, extending his trade to Chicago and other towns. His trade with Chicago assumed considerable proportions and a large portion of the product of his vinegar factory found a market in that city, much of it being transported by wagons in summer and by sleds in winter. After a time he added to the vinegar plant a small brewery and in 1850 he founded what was known as the Plank Road Brewery, associating with him his brother Lorenz Best. It was from this brewery that the first shipment of beer was made from Milwaukee to New York in 1852, and Frederick Charles
Best may therefore be said to have been the father of the export beer trade of the city.
During the panic of 1857 he lost the larger share of his accumulations through the manipu- lations of a partner, and went to Chicago where he lived from 1857 to 1864. In 1864 or perhaps in 1865 he returned to Milwaukee where he came more prominently before the public thereafter, as a county official than as a business man. In 1870 he was elected Register of Deeds for Milwaukee county and was twice re-elected thereafter, serv- ing the public faithfully and acceptably in this official capacity.
Although not an active politician he was a Democrat in his political affiliations, and acted always with the conservative element of that party. He was a Protestant in his religious faith and a member of one of the pioneer Masonic organizations of the city.
Becoming a citizen of Milwaukee during the pioneer era, Mr. Best was a resident of the city nearly forty years and during that time was much esteemed by his business associates and the general public. A generous, kindly, and genial man, he was one of the pioneers of whom surviv- ing associates cherish pleasant memories, and whose family has since been conspicuously identi- fied socially and in a business way with the city.
His wife and six children were the surviving members of his family.
ELIPHALET CRAMER was one of the hon- ored pioneers of Milwaukee. He came to this city in 1836 and departed this life in 1872, after a long and useful career, honored and esteemed by his fellow citizens, and surrounded by loving kindred. He was the eldest son of the Hon. John Cramer, of Saratoga county, New York, and was born at Waterford, on June 5, 1814.
He was a man of bright intellect, varied acquire- ments, genial and lovable in his disposition, and ambitious for all the graces of education which an elevated nature naturally desired to attain. He was graduated at Union College as salutatorian of his class in the year 1834. It was the desire of his father that he should study law, the profes- sion to which he belonged. But his health not being good, and being of a religious turn of mind, his parents concluded that he had better take a course at Princeton Theological Seminary. But soon afterward, his health failing, his parents sug- gested that he better go to the West for venture
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and for health. So he landed in Milwaukee in October, 1836. Everything was wildly specula- tive here then. Flour had risen to twenty dol- lars a barrel, and there was not enough meat for the supply of the inhabitants-then numbering only one thousand five hundred-hence whitefish, bread and potatoes were the principal food. Dur- ing the winter of 1837 he returned to his father's house temporarily, and it may be noted that it required three weeks for him to make the journey from Milwaukee to Albany.
He returned to Milwaukee in the summer of 1837, and engaged in the land and real estate business in which he made a moderate living. As soon as the industries of the country began to re- vive after the collapse of 1837, he became quite an investor for Eastern parties in this state, princi- pally in farming lands. Erastus Corning, of Albany, then and always a great merchant and a strong man, placed funds in Mr. Cramer's hands for investment, and his policy toward those who gave him their confidence was so honorable and so mutually advantageous that when Mr. Corning came to settle up with him five years afterward he made the remark, "You are the only person through whom I have made a Western investment and have not lost money." These were the pre- cious jewels of faith and confidence.
Mr. Cramer continued his occupation as land and real estate agent until after the state was admitted into the Union. In 1853, the state per- mitting bank charters, he, with the assistance of his Eastern friends, organized the old State Bank of Milwaukee, now known as the Milwaukee National Bank. It soon became one of the most prosperous institutions in Wisconsin, as it secured the confidence of the people by its upright man- agement. Eliphalet Cramer was the first pres- ident of the bank, and remained at its head for some years, until failing health compelled him to resign.
Meanwhile the Milwaukee Gaslight Company, which had been started by John Lock wood, had got into serious difficulties. It then occurred to Mr. Cramer to buy out the Lockwood interests and establish the Gaslight Company on a new basis. This was done, and Eastern capitalists were never lacking to show their confidence in his stainless integrity as a financial manager. The Gaslight Company had to go through sore and hard trials, but its president, by his prudence,
thrift and devotion, piloted it through all its dif- ficulties, and it became one of the most solid and best paying investments in the United States. It was hard work to relieve it of all its troubles. A rival company was started on the South side and thus divided the Milwaukee interest. That com- pany failed and the present company concluded to buy the plant. After long and perplexing negoti- ations the whole plant was bought for fifty thou- sand dollars-one hundred thousand dollars had been expended by the investors. It wasa low price and of such immense advantage to the company that one of the directors urged Mr. Cramer to stock it again for two hundred thousand dollars and divide the surplus as a nice plum among themselves. But he was not to be tempted thus to besmirch his good name. He declined all such proffers, and listed the South side plant with the Milwaukee Gaslight Company at the exact price which he agreed to pay. This was so honorable and so unusual among directors of corporations, that the few friends who knew of this transaction said : "Eliphalet Cramer is an honest man, the noblest work of God !"
During the Civil War, when every cannon ball seemed to go straight through the Southern state bonds, which were the basis of the securities of the state bank circulation, it required the highest courage and ability to keep the bank open and maintain faith with its creditors. But it was done by the shareholders consenting to be deprived of half of their investment, cutting down the capital from five hundred thousand dollars to two hun- dred and fifty thousand dollars. In those trying days a special examiner was appointed and he insisted that the bank ought to be closed, but Eliphalet Cramer said "No, it would be unwise to ourselves and nnjust to the shareholders." He was sustained by the late Judge Downer, an influential director, and thus was the bank saved from utter collapse.
In 1839 Eliphalet Cramer married Electa Fay, daughter of Dr. Fay, an eminent physician of Utica, and the niece of Theodore Fay, minister, resident at Switzerland. This marriage secured to him the comforts and delights of a happy home, and in the society of a true wife and loving children, no man was happier than he among his household gods.
His tastes were always intellectual, so he loved books and newspapers, and he was a most beauti-
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ful reader of the English language. The writer will never forget how charmingly he would read the heart-stirring sermons of Henry Ward Beecher discoursing on the duties of man and the call of patriotism to defend the Union when it seemed tottering to its fall. Beecher's Thanksgiving ser- mons were magnificent, and we doubt whether the world will ever read again such words of glowing patriotism, irrepressible eloquence and thankfulness to the Almighty for our blessings and onr bounties in being spared not to witness a torn and dissevered Union, but a country more united, more strong and more happy because of the terrible trials through which it had passed. Mr. Cramer was naturally a devout man, and therefore his reading gave an intonation to the grand language of Beecher which rings in our heart and resounds in our ears after the lapse of eight and twenty years.
HENRY BUESTRIN, a worthy citizen, and a man of great enterprise, energy and activity, who did much to promote the development and pro- gress of this the city of Milwaukee, was one of the honored pioneer builders of the city.
Mr. Buestrin was born August 9, 1829, in the town of Kammin, near Stettin, Prussia, and came to America with his parents, David and Annie Buestrin, in 1839, locating in Milwaukee. The father for many years owned a farm on the west side of East Water street, and later became a building contractor, a trade he had followed in his native land. Young Buestrin was at this time but ten years of age. There were no schools of consequence here at that time, and he began life with almost none of the kind of knowledge gleaned from school books. At an early age he learned the carpenter's trade, and as soon as he had acquired a thorough knowledge of its details he branched out as a contractor, and by energy and pluck fought his way upward into promi- nence, and became the best known and most capa- ble contractor and builder in the city. The many beautiful and substantial structures of Milwaukee attest the capability of the men who erected them, and in this connection it may be said that much of the beauty of the city is due to the skill of Henry Buestrin in his building operations. Among the many notable edifices with the build- ing of which he had more or less to do, may be named Immanuel Presbyterian Church, the Pfister Block, Philip Best Building, new In-
surance Building, and the Exposition Building. He superintended the erection of the water works buildings, and was one of the early champions of the great flushing tunnel project, which has proven of such benefit to the city from a sanitary point of view. His specialty was in moving and raising brick structures, some of them very heavy, such as the Milwaukee County Bank, Treat's Hall, and the Mabler & Wendt Building. This difficult work was done by him in such a way as to reflect great credit upon the skill and determina- tion of the man who undertook such Herculean tasks.
For a few years he had connected with him in business August Kieckhefer, and later on took his sons into partnership. They inherited their father's abilities, and are worthy successors of one who can truly be said to have done much for Mil- waukee.
Mr. Buestrin was never actively interested in politics, but adhered to the principles of the Re- publican party. He was reared a Lutheran, and continued to be connected with that church to the end of his life.
He was married November 20, 1855, to Miss Katherine Bloss, a native of Germany, and of their issue eight children survive : Mrs. Emily E. Hutchings, Mrs. Anna Kieckhefer, Mrs. Augusta Ulbricht, Frank A., Angust H., and Ilenry F. Buestrin, Mrs. Katharine Habhigger and Lizzie Buestrin.
Mr. Buestrin was a member of both the Ameri- can and German Old Settlers' Clubs, and was for many years an active member of the old volunteer fire department. He was a man of strict integ- rity, of unblemished reputation, and was honored by all who knew him. He died February 21, 1893.
JAMES H. ROGERS was among the early settlers of Milwaukee, of whose presence here during the pioneer era, and of whose activity and enterprise as well, there are constant reminders in the ordinary course of business. In the trans- fers of realty, the examination of land titles and the perusal of old records, one's attention is attracted to the frequency with which his name appears and his identity as one of the founders of the city becomes fixed in one's mind. His connection with Milwaukee began almost with the beginning of its existence, his history was a part of its history, and his descendants are among
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the most numerous and prominent of the repre- sentatives of the pioneer families.
James Higson Rogers was born January 11, 1794, in the city of Troy, New York. He was of Quaker parentage and his inheritance was the broad common sense, thrift and sagacity of that admirable people. His business career may be said to have begun when he was sixteen years of age, because at that time he left home to make his own way in the world. With a cash capital of three dollars he began business in Glens Falls, New York, and built up a considerable mercantile establishment at that place. He next kept a hotel at Lake George, and must have accumu- lated some capital in these enterprises because he shortly afterward became somewhat prominent as a government contractor both in the carrying of mails and the making of public improve- ments.
Brought up in New York state, and never having traveled to any extent, if at all, beyond its boun- daries, he had had slight opportunities to become familiar with the resources of the country at large, but was nevertheless impressed by the fact that a country of vast possibilities was that spoken of in those days, as the country lying west of Lake Erie. Anxious to see for himself what this country was like, he determined in the fall of 1835 to come west on a kind of exploring expedition. Milwaukee was one of his objective points on this trip. Its location impressed him favorably. Its tributary country seemed to him to be a region which in the course of a few years must become vastly productive, and its transpor- tation facilities were the best which it was thought possible for a trade center to have in those days. After a careful survey of the situa- tion he reached the conclusion that in the little settlement already platted here lay the germ of a future city, and that it would be one of more than ordinary consequence he felt reasonably certain. To be part and parcel of this development, to profit by this prospective growth, and to share the promised prosperity of this community, be- came a part of his ambition, and he at once began shaping his plans for settlement here.
Returning to New York state in the fall of 1835, he made all necessary arrangements and awaited the coming of spring for removal hither. He had been married October 6, 1832, in New York, to Miss Sophia E. Fletcher of that city, and
his family at the time consisted of a wife and two children. In the spring of 1836 he started west- ward, the trip to Milwaukee being of the typical pioneer kind. A four horse wagon was the mode of conveyance and the journey had to be made through what was then largely a region of un- broken forest, with settlements to be found only at long intervals, an undertaking beset by many obstacles and difficulties. At the end of sixty days from the time of starting he reached Mil- waukee, which then consisted of a few settlers' shanties and Solomon Juneau's Indian trading store.
Mr. Rogers brought with him some means which he proceeded to invest in the most judi- cious and intelligent manner. Reasoning that the three water courses which find their way into the lake at this point would become the channels of future commerce, and that the hills and uplands would become the residence portion of the future city, he invested in both the uplands and the low- lands. Included in these purchases was a tract of one hundred acres, taking in what is now the choicest residence portion of Prospect avenue and other streets in that immediate vicinity. A large body of his land also fronted on what is now Grand avenue and no further illustrations than these are needed of his sagacity in the selection of lands, or of his confidence in the growth of the city. He soon demonstrated that it was not his purpose to become enriched through these invest- ments without contributing his full share to the material upbuilding of the town. As early as 1844 he erected a brick block three stories high, on East Water street, and shortly afterward he built the old United States Hotel, one of the famous pioneer hostelries, at the corner of Huron and East Water streets. In connection with this hotel was constructed the pioneer water works of Milwaukee. On the bluff south of Wisconsin street and between Jackson and Van Buren streets, was a spring of pure, cold water, from which Mr. Rogers determined to supply his hotel. In those days there were no iron foundries in this region ready to supply pipes for water mains, and the main which Mr. Rogers put in place was con- structed after the most primitive fashion. Tama- rack logs were cut from the grove on land now in- side the city limits, and these logs when cut into twelve foot lengths, were bored by hand. With these tamarack pipes, the main was laid from the
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spring to the hotel, and for several years this was the nearest approach to a water works system of which the city could boast.
Another of the early improvements which should be credited to this worthy and enterprising pioneer, was a block of buildings at the corner of West Water and Spring streets, the lower floors of which served the purpose of stores, while on the second floor was a public hall in which some of the ehurehes which have since become histori- cal, were organized, or held their early meetings. It was in this hall, as the reader will learn by re- ferring to the church history published elsewhere in these volumes, that the first Presbyterian Church of Milwaukee held its meetings in 1840, the only rental paid therefor being the small amount which the trustees of the church might be able to realize from the rental of pews. Of this church organization Mr. Rogers was one of the early trustees and in numerous ways contri- buted to its upbuilding and prosperity.
In 1837, with other enterprising citizens of the promising village which had sprung into exist- ence here, he organized the Milwaukee County Agricultural Society, nucleus of the present State Agricultural Society, becoming a member of the first Board of Directors. He was also one of the commissioners appointed under legislative author- ity to receive subscriptions for stoek in the Wis- consin Fire & Marine Insurance Company when first organized, was one of the patrons of Milwau- kee College, a friend and adviser of Katherine Beeeher in the great educational work which she sought to inaugurate, and a leading spirit in many pioneer enterprises of which mention cannot be made in this connection.
In 1857 he inaugurated the improvements which have given the city that splendid street known as Grand avenue. Being the owner, as has already been stated, of a considerable tract of land front- ing on this avenue, and believing that this should become one of the choicest residence portions of the city, he determined to build a private resi- denee between Fifteenth and Sixteenth streets which should stimulate others to make improve- ments of a high character in that portion of the eity. This plan was carried out, and, as he had expected, his mansion was speedily followed by others, until to-day there are few streets in any of the cities of the United States more notable for their splendid residences, magnificent grounds and
other improvements. Ilis interests being divided between the East and the West sides, his usefulness as a citizen was not impaired by the sectional par- tisanship which naturally enough influenced other pioneers, and operated to prevent them from do- ing at all times what was best for the city as a whole rather than for a particular portion of it. While he resided in the west division of the city, he made improvements on both sides of the river, distributing his favors impartially, the East side being indebted to him, among other things, for the pretty little park at the intersection of Prospect avenue and Franklin street, which he donated to the city for park purposes.
When the war of the Rebellion began two of his sons entered the Union army, and Mr. Rogers, who was a staunch supporter of the national ad- ministration in its efforts to suppress the secession movement, was eonspieuous among the loyal men of Wisconsin who sought in every way possible to encourage the brave men sent to the front, to con- tribute to their comfort and to that of their de- pendent families left at home. ITis labors in this field probably hastened his death, which occurred April 30, 1863, when he was a little more than sixty-nine years of age. Out of the abundant for- tune which came to him as the result of his indus- try and enterprise he gave freely to those who were in need and to various charitable and benev- olent institutions. Remembered as a thrifty and sagacious man, he is remembered also as a man of the strictest integrity, as kindly and generous as he was upright and honest. Mrs. Rogers, one of the most charming characters among the pioneer women of Milwaukee, survived him until 1888, when she passed away, at the age of more than four score years, to be remembered as one of the worthiest of the noble band of women who shared with their husbands the hardships and privations of pioneer life, and should share with them the honor of founding the metropolis of to-day.
Of the ten children of Mr. and Mrs. Rogers seven arrived at maturity and six survive, all of whom are residents of Milwaukee. They are Mrs. Fannie E. Bradford, Mrs. Jeannie A. Bradford, Mrs. Nettie C. Cleaver, Henry G., Charles D., and William P. Rogers. George J. Rogers, eldest of the four sons, died in this city a few years since.
JOIIN BRADFORD .- Among those who be- came prominently identified with the trade and commerce of Milwaukee during the second decade
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of the city's history were the Bradford brothers, of good old New England stock, interesting an- tecedents, and sterling character. There were five of the brothers in all who came to Milwau- kee, three of whom were for many years actively engaged in business and one of whom still sur- vives. Robert C. Bradford, a man of high char- acter and many virtues, who was for a short time a member of the firm of Bradford Brothers, and formerly a partner of Zachariah Chandler of Detroit, Michigan, died within a few years after he came to this city and his only surviving de- scendant is now the wife of R. G. Dun of New York City. E. P. Bradford, another brother was a resident of Milwaukee for a good many years, but was never actively engaged in business or identified with commercial pursuits. They were the sons of a noted and much beloved New Eng- land clergyman, who was the second settled pastor of the Presbyterian Church at New Boston, New Hampshire. This was Rev. Ephraim Putnam Bradford, who became pastor of the New Boston Church in 1806 and whose pastorate terminated with his death in 1845. He was a son of Captain John Bradford of Milford, New Hampshire, a captain in the war of the Revolution, and was graduated from Harvard University in the class of 1803. A talented and scholarly man he was one of the committee appointed by the legislature to investigate the condition of Dartmouth College in the famous controversy of 1815 to 1819, and his name was canvassed at one time also in con- nection with the presidency of that institution. He married Miss Mary Manning Barker, of Am- herst, New Hampshire, and his home in New Boston was for nearly half a century one of the land marks of the town, the hill on which it was situated being still known as "Bradford's Hill." While the good people of New Boston were proud of the minister "who gave character to them and distinction to the whole town" they had not in those days attained a degree of affluence which warranted them in paying large salaries for min- isterial services and the several sons of Mr. Brad- ford as they grew up, found it necessary to begin early the battle of life on their own account.
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