USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee from its first settlement to the year 1895 > Part 91
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Desiring to be relieved of a portion of his busi- ness cares and responsibilities, he retired from the presidency of the First National Bank in 1893, after having been for forty years one of the most conspicuous figures in the banking circles of Mil-
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waukee. Sagacious, able and conservative, he has impressed himself upon the business interests and the general public of Milwaukee as one of the most competent and capable of the bankers and financiers of the Northwest. At the annual conventions of the bankers of the United States he has for many years been a conspicuous figure, and papers read by him on these and other occa- sions touching financial affairs, have attracted widespread attention and received merited com- mendation.
As a citizen of Milwaukee Mr. Camp has been prominent in advancing all the interests of the city, and has been especially prominent in charit- able enterprises. Ile was the organizer of the Charity Relief Association of Milwaukee, making to that association a donation of forty thou- sand dollars, which was to constitute a per- manent fund, the interest of which should be used to relieve the wants of the deserving poor of the city. The care and conservation of this fund was carefully provided for by Mr. Camp, and largely through his efforts it has been increased to sixty thousand dollars, and thus promises to become an agency for the continued and constantly expanding administration of char- ity. In addition to promoting this great charity he has been actively interested in kindred enter- prises, and is a trustee of the Chamber of Com- merce Gratuity Fund, and a trustee of the Mil- waukee County Hospital for the Insane, and has been prominently connected with the Associated Charities since its organization.
Since his retirement from the presidency of the First National Bank, the business which has re- ceived the larger share of his attention has been that of the Milwaukee Trust Company, which he organized in January of 1894 with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, and of which he became president. Although he has never al- lowed himself to hold any public office, he has always entertained pronounced views concerning political issues, has affiliated with the Republican party, and has sought to promote the success of that party when opportunity offered.
WILLIAM GRANT FITCHI, for many years a prominent banker and financier of Milwaukee, was born in the town of Belvidere, New Jersey, August 6, 1834; son of Daniel Grant Fitch, who came of the family bearing that name for many years conspicuously identified with the city of Nor-
walk, Connecticut. He was the great-grandson of the Rev. James Fitch, who was prominent in colonial affairs and during the War of the Revo- lution, as was also the brother of the latter, Hon. Thomas Fitch.
Mr. Fitch received his education at the Acad- emy of Belvidere, and in 1851 removed to Dayton, Ohio, where he secured a position in a bank and received the early training which fitted him for his successful career as a banker.
The Bank of Milwaukee-now the National Exchange Bank-was chartered in 1854, and in 1855 Mr. Fitch was offered the position of teller, which position he filled until 1859 when he was promoted to the cashiership, which position, to- gether with the office of vice-president, he held until his decease, February 3, 1891. For thirty- six years in all he was connected with this widely and favorably known banking house, and for thirty-two years he was its cashier and executive officer, chiefly responsible for the conduct of its affairs and entitled to a large share of the credit for its development into one of the safest and soundest financial institutions in Milwaukee. The Bank of Milwaukee was reorganized in 1865 as the National Exchange Bank.
Mr. Fitch was also a director of the North- western National Insurance Company from the date of its organization until his death, and was a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors. Ile was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. A member of the Milwau- kee Club, the club-and the city as well-is largely indebted to him for the beautiful home which it now occupies. It was he who formulated the plan for the purchase of ground and the erec- tion of a building, and he was at the head of the committee which took charge of the building and furnishing of the club-house.
Mr. Fitch was a member of Immanuel Presby- terian Church, a constant attendant, and always generous in his support. A man of fine ap- pearance, courtly manners and chivalrons ad- dress, he walked with a military step, was always deliberate in action, and a noticeable figure in either business or social circles. He was always cautious, and his natural reticence repelled all attempts at too close intimacy on the part of strangers. He was invariably courteous and polite, but at the same time made a close study of
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the characters of those with whom he came in contact, and quickly and accurately took measure- ments of those with whom he had business rela- tions. He thoroughly understood the science of banking, was a close student of the science of financiering in general, and his business methods were admirable for their precision and high char- acter. His circle of acquaintances was large, but his natural reserve was such that a comparatively small number of persons knew him other than as a man of affairs. Those who enjoyed close friendships with him, were however greatly at- tached to him and all who knew him, either as business man or friend, esteemed him for his sterling virtues and moral worth. In social circles he was known as a man of literary tastes, a lover of music and works of art.
Mr. Fitch married September 8, 1858, Miss Martha E. Curtis of Milwaukee, who was for many years no less prominent in the social and literary circles of Milwaukee than was her hus- band in business circles. Of four sons born to them, Grant, Walter and Lawrence are living, and Edward is deceased. Grant Fitch, who was born in Milwaukee September 22, 1859, has succeeded his father as cashier of the bank with which he was so long connected. After graduating from Yale College in 1881 he entered the National Exchange Bank as assistant teller, was appointed assistant cashier in 1886, and on January 10, 1888, was promoted to the cashiership.
JOHN JOHNSTON, who as banker, business man and citizen has been part and parcel of the history of Milwaukee, was born in Overtown, Auchnagatt, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, June 8, 1836. He was sent to a grammar school when twelve years of age, and at fifteen, in a public competition in the classics and mathematics, gained a scholarship in the University of Aber- deen, from which institution, at the close of a four- years' course of study he was graduated with honors and the degree of Master of Arts, in 1855. For a few months afterward he was in the law office of Sir Alexander Anderson in Aberdeen; but on the invitation of his uncle, Alexander Mitchell, he came to America in the spring of 1856, and on the 11th of March of that year he entered Mr. Mitchell's employ as general ac- countant of the Wisconsin Marine & Fire Insur- ance Company Bank. In this capacity he was trained to the banking business under the pre-
ceptorship of one of the most renowned of Western financiers, and at the end of a ten years' term of service had become assistant cashier of the bank. In 1887 he became cashier, and retained that position until 1893, when he transferred the large interest which he had acquired in the bank to IIon. John L. Mitchell and retired for the time being from banking operations.
At the time of this retirement, Mr. Johnston had been connected with the bank for nearly two- score years, and had obtained a hold upon the confidence and esteem of the public which few men in Milwaukee have enjoyed. Sagacious financiering and judicious investments had yielded good returns, and he retired from what had been the business of his life with a handsome fortune which he had accumulated honestly and used largely for the up-building of the city and for the moral and intellectual betterment of the commu- nity as well as for the promotion of its material prosperity. Leaving the affairs of the bank in other hands he turned his attention to his private affairs, but unfortunately found himself involved in the disaster which overtook the famous old bank with which he had shortly before severed his connection-in the financial crash of 1893. In accordance with the provisions of a special act of the legislature of Wisconsin, which became operative March 10, 1880, providing for the indi- vidual liability of stockholders in banks and bank- ing associations-an act passed at the instance of Mr. Mitchell and his associate stockholders of the Wisconsin Fire & Marine Insurance Company Bank-the stockholders of this institution had filed with the state treasurer of Wisconsin a declaration in writing, "consenting to hold them- selves individually responsible for all the debts, demands and liabilities" of said bank. Although Mr. Johnston had resigned as cashier, had sold his interest in the bank and had actually trans- ferred his stock to Mr. Mitchell six and one- half months previous to the date of its embarras- ment, and in no wise was he to participate in any future profits of the bank, he was held for the indebtedness of the bank by the provisions of the above-named statute which holds a vendor liable for debts of the corporation contracted within six months after the date of filing the memorandum of the transfer of his stock with the treasurer of this state. Ile thus became one of the heaviest losers on account of the bank's suspension; but
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with the high courage which has always been one of his distinguishing characteristics he addressed himself to the task of retrieving his fortune and rehabilitating the bank. The whole country was in deep financial distress, and Milwaukee had suffered severely as a result of the panic. A
general feeling of uneasiness and distrust prevailed in the city; but it soon became evident that Mr. Johnston enjoyed a large measure of public confi- dence, and that he would be able to call to his assistance in the reorganization of the bank many of the ablest and most influential men of the city. The reorganization was pushed to completion, and by unanimous vote of the Board he was called upon to take his old place as cashier. To make good the assets of the bank he pledged five hundred thousand dollars worth of his personal property, his aim and object being to meet not only every legal and financial obligation, but every moral obligation resting upon him. He returned to his old position as a banker, poorer in purse than when he left it, but possessing still the un- bounded confidence and respect of the com- munity.
Few citizens of Milwaukee have for the past quarter of a century been more actively identified with various movements designed to promote the public welfare. For twenty years he was treas- urer and trustee of Milwaukee College, and in 1883 and 1884 he served as a Public School Commis- sioner. He has served two terms as president of the Chamber of Commerce, and has served other terms as a director and vice-president of the cham- ber. He has been one of the regents of the University of Wisconsin, and president of the Wisconsin State Historical Society since 1892, and served as vice-president of the Wisconsin Humane Society. In 1867 and 1868, and again from 1874 to 1876, he was a member of the city Board of Aldermen; from 1887 to 1893 he was Public Debt Commissioner of Milwaukee, and from 1878 to 1881 a trustee of the Public Library. He has been identified with business and public enterprises other than banking, as a director of the Milwaukee Industrial Exposition, a director of the Milwaukee and Wyoming Investment Com- pany, a director in the Milwaukee City Railway Company, director and treasurer of the Milwau- kee Cement Company, director and treasurer of the Western Portland Cement Company, and di- rector and treasurer of the Chippewa Valley &
Superior Railway Company. He is a member of the Milwaukee, Calumet and Recreation Clubs of Milwaukee, of the Chicago Club of Chicago, and the University Club of New York. In the field of sport he has also won more than local renown, having served twice as president of the National Curling Club. He has served four terms as president of the Milwaukee Curling Club, twice as president of the Northwestern Curling Association, twice as president of the Milwaukee Rifle Club, and three times as president of the St. Andrew's Society. He was one of the four play- ers who won the national championship for the Milwaukee Curling Club in 1881, and while on a visit to Europe in 1878 he won the championship for the North of Scotland at the Wapinschaw in Aberdeen.
In politics Mr. Johnston was a Republican until he found himself unable to endorse the recon- struction policy of that party after the war. Since that time he has been an influential member of the Democratic party, participating actively in state and national campaigns. An attractive and forcible public speaker, he has delivered many addresses on topics of general interest. Equally ready with the pen, he has written many 'able papers on monetary and other topics, and is the author of the article on Scotland in Lalor's Cyclo- pædia of Political Science. A Presbyterian in his religious faith, he has been an influential layman and trustee of Calvary Church since 1869.
He was first married in 1861 to Miss Margaret Hunter, a native of Scotland. Mrs. Johnston died in 1878, and in 1881 Mr. Johnston married Miss Ethlinda Marie Thorsen, daughter of Mr. John Thorsen of Milwaukee.
FRANK GORDON BIGELOW, president of the First National Bank of Milwaukee, was born September 28, 1847, in Hartford, Washington county, New York; son of Dr. Thomas and Jeanette C. (Gordon) Bigelow. Both his parents were of New England lineage. They came to Wisconsin in 1871, and spent the remaining years of their lives in this state.
The son was educated for a business career, and in 1864 entered as messenger boy the First National Bank of Milwaukee, which had been organized in 1863 by stockholders of the old Farmers' & Millers' Bank, established ten years earlier. That Mr. Bigelow had a natural aptitude for the business to which he turned his atten-
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tion, is evidenced by the fact that he advanced steadily from one position of trust and responsi- bility to another, becoming cashier of the bank in 1882. In this capacity he became known to bank- ers throughout the state of Wisconsin, and soon became recognized as a capable and sagacious bank officer. His admirable conduct of the busi- ness of his department of the First National Bank commended him especially to the leading bankers of Milwaukee and Chicago, and caused them to regard him as a young financier of broad capacity and unusual promise. Good judgment, thoroughly systematic business methods and a broad grasp of financial problems were distinguishing charac- teristics of his banking operations, and with these requisites to successful banking he coupled the liberality and enterprise of the typical Western man of affairs. As cashier of the First National he gained a strong hold upon the esteem of the general public of Milwaukee, won the confidence of the stockholders of the bank and financiers in general, and thus became the logical successor of Mr. H. II. Camp when that noted banker retired from the presidency of the bank. The first pres- ident of this bank was Hon. E. 1I. Brodhead, one of the most distinguished financiers identified with the history of Milwaukee; and the fact that Mr. Bigelow was chosen to succeed two such eminent bankers as chief executive officer of the leading monetary institution of Wisconsin, evidences a high estimate of his character, executive ability and genius for the conduct of financial affairs. For several years before he became president of the bank he had exercised a potent influence in shaping and directing its affairs, and had been largely instrumental in bringing about the con- solidation of the Merchants' Exchange Bank and the First National Bank, with an increase of the capital stock to one million dollars.
Still a young man, he has become an unusually prominent figure in Western financial circles. Conversant with all the details of the banking business, he has also made a careful study of monetary problems, and is in close touch with the leading financiers of the country in all matters pertaining to monetary affairs and the conduct of banking enterprises. While he has for many years given close attention to the business of the banking institution with which he is identified, he has also become connected with other important enterprises, and is now vice-president and treas-
urer of the Wisconsin Telephone Company, and a trustee of the Northwestern Life Insurance Com- pany, two notable Western corporations. He is a pronounced Republican in his political views, but has been too much absorbed in business affairs to take an active interest in politics.
He was married in 1871 to Miss Anne E. Watkins, a daughter of Charles and Caroline Watkins of Milwaukee, also of New England antecedents.
TIMOTHY APPLETON CHAPMAN was conspicuous among the New England farmers' boys who have come West and risen to affluence and honor. Mr. Chapman was of a family, English by descent, which has been identified with New England for more than two hundred years. ITis parents were George Whitefield and Mary (Greenwood) Chapman. He was born in Gilead, Oxford county. Maine, on the 23d of May, 1824. His boyhood was passed on his father's farm. He was educated at the district school of his native town and the academies of Bethel and Yarmouth. His first salaried em- ployment was teaching, which he practiced for two winters. But as he progressed toward man- hood he realized that the life of a pedagogue and the restricted opportunities of a country town would not suffice to engross his abilities or satisfy his ambition. Before he was twenty, therefore, he cut himself loose from the associations of his childhood and went to Boston.
His first five years in Boston were passed as a clerk, most of the time in the employ of C. F. Hovey & Company. His early dreams and im- pulses had not been in the direction of trade, but having entered upon a mercantile life the young clerk applied himself with all his powers to ac- quiring, by observation and practice, all the mer- cantile knowledge which lay within his reach. Private character, as well as mere executive capacity is part of the business capital which may be accumulated by every young man, however limited his opportunities of laying by money. Of this desirable foundation for a successful career, Mr. Chapman had a larger portion than most of the other young men of his age. His social associa- tions were made with care. He was never frivo- lous, even in his amusements, but sought recre- ations which, besides serving to pass the time, held out a promise of improvement. He formed opinions of his own on topics of current interest,
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and when occasion invited was not backward in expressing them. He was strongly in sympathy with the leaders of the Abolitionist movement, and a supporter of William Lloyd Garrison, Wen- dell Phillips, Charles Sumner and John C. Whit- tier long before their doctrines had become popular. He came to be known as a young man of ideas and sterling qualities.
His character commended him to the attention of influential people like James M. Beebe, at that time the greatest dry-goods importer in Boston. That gentleman gave him very substantial en- couragement, and assisted him to open a dry- goods store of his own. This enterprise was carried on for seven years, producing no great financial results, but enabling the young merchant to acquire additional experience and confidence, and to secure connections which were to be use- ful to him subsequently in a wider field of oper- ations.
It was in 1857, at the age of thirty-two, that Mr. Chapman took the step which resulted in the estab- lishment of a business that was destined to give full employment to his matured powers, and to devel- op into proportions exceeding anything that had been realized by the wealthiest and most success- ful merchants in that line in the country at the time when he began his apprenticeship to the dry- goods trade. This step was his removal to Mil- waukee, which was then a place of less than thirty thousand inhabitants, but flourishing and promis- ing future growth. Mr. Chapman's early employ- ers, C. F. Hovey & Company, afforded him finan- cial support, and he opened a dry-goods store which at once became the favorite emporium of the city. The characteristics which gained for the store its original success have always been main- tained. The goods handled were excellent in quality, and selected with refined and educated taste. They were sold at one price. Every de- partment of the store was permeated by a spirit of system.
In 1872, admonished by the growth of the city and of his trade to seek larger quarters than he had previously occupied, Mr. Chapman erected and moved into what was at that time one of the largest dry-goods houses in the Northwest. Eleven years later it had become inadequate to the grow. ing demands of his trade, and he doubled its size. In convenience of arrangement the store had not a superior in the country. Not content with
building for utility only, Mr. Chapman called dec- orative art to his aid, creating an establishment which fitly came to be spoken of as the "Palace Store." and was the pride of the whole North west. On the night of October 23, 1884, this magnificent structure with its entire contents, representing a value of more than three-quarters of a million dol- lars, was destroyed by fire. Milwaukeeans looked upon the fire as a public calamity, rather than a merely private loss. Business men asked the ques- tion, "Will Mr. Chapman rebuild ?" with much concern, for they realized that the store was an in- stitution which brought many people and much incidental trade to the city. Petitions were re- ceived, signed by leading ladies of neighboring cities and towns, praying him to rebuild and con- tinue in business. From prominent firms through- out the country came telegrams expressing sym- pathy, and offering financial assistance if needed. Mr. Chapman' insurance money and his other property would have enabled him to "crown a life of labor with an age of ease." But after carefully summing up the situation he decided in favor of continued activity, and before the ashes of the fire were cold he had made arrangements for re- building upon even a grander scale than before. The structure which he erected occupies an area of more than seventeen thousand feet on the ground floor, and is five stories in height. It is conceded to have no superior in the world for the purposes for which it is designed, and in many of its excellent features it is entirely unique. It is so arranged that there is not a dark corner nor a deep shadow in the whole building. The ventila- tion is as perfect as science can make it. The fres- coing and other works of art are European in their conception and execution, and give the store the effect of a reception-room rather than a place for the sale of goods. Ample provision is made for the comfort of the employes as well as of the patrons of the establishment. One of the salient characteristics of Mr. Chapman's business methods was his treatment of his employes, who numbered more than the entire population of the town in which he was born. IIe did not regard people who worked for him as mere machines, out of whom it was incumbent upon him to get the greatest amount of labor at the least cost to himself, and with no thought for their personal well-being.
In the especial field of exertion to which he mainly devoted himself, Mr. Chapman rose to the
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highest eminence. It was not alone his standing as a business man, however, that gave him his place in the esteem of his fellow-citizens. Broad- minded, cultured and public-spirited, a liberal promoter of important enterprises to benefit the community, a patron of art and education, he was looked up to as a thoroughly representative man, who was not only successful in business but suc- cessful in life.
Mr. Chapman's munificent enterprise was not confined to the city of his residence. For some years he made practical experiments in scientific agriculture with a view of determining the con- ditions under which farming in New England, and especially in his native state of Maine, can be restored to its old-time prosperity. These experi- ments, conducted on the homestead farm at Gilead, attracted wide attention, and de- monstrated that if the New England farmer will put thought and capital in with his hard work he can make his aeres yield a fair revenue. Some of Mr. Chapman's ideas upon the reasons of Maine's agricultural decadence, and the means by which prosperity may be restored, he laid before the public in the form of contributions to the press. He was a strong believer in the American protective tariff, and wrote in its defense in a manner which attracted much attention and elicited many approving comments. As may be inferred from his stand on the tariff, Mr. Chapman's political sympathies generally were with the Republican party, though he was not a narrow partisan. During the war he was a type of the stanchly loyal men who, by their outspoken devotion to the Union cause and readiness to contribute liberally toward defray- ing the expenses of carrying on the struggle, helped to hold up the hands of the Martyr- President and to preserve the Republic from dismemberment. While never shirking his polit- ical duties, he was never a politician. When a movement to nominate him for the office of Gov- ernor of Wisconsin was made, in 1888, he declined to become a candidate. Ile died at his home on Cass street, March 19, 1892.
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