Memoirs of Milwaukee County : from the earliest historical times down to the present, including a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in Milwaukee County, Volume II, Part 101

Author: Watrous, Jerome Anthony, 1840- ed
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Madison : Western Historical Association
Number of Pages: 1072

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Henry Leo Banzhof, B. S., D. D. S., Dean of the Dental Depart- ment of Marquette University, was born on Oct. 15, 1865, at Hart- ford, Wis., the son of Rev. Jacob and Marie (Rasch) Banzhaf, both natives of Germany. The paternal grandparents lived and died in Germany, but the maternal grandparents came to Two Rivers, Wis., in 1852. The father of our subject was a minister of the gospel in the Evangelical Church and died on Oct. 14, 1868, his widow still surviving and living with our subject, he being the only living child of three born in the family. He was educated in the public schools of Mishicott and at Two Rivers high school, finishing in the Univer- sity of Michigan. At the age of seventeen years he became a stu- dent in the office of Dr. A. J. Patchen, a leading dentist of Manito- woc, Wis., and in 1884 he began his studies in the Dental Depart- ment of the University of Michigan, in which he graduated in 1886, becoming the successor of Dr. Patchen in Manitowoc, where he remained for sixteen years. He was appointed a member of the Wisconsin State Board of Dental Examiners in 1889, by Governor Scofield, which place he held for four years, being secretary the last year. On May 1, 1902, he came to Milwaukee to accept the position of Dean of the Dental Department of Milwaukee Medical College, and professor of Operative Dentistry, which position he still oc- cupies, while attending to his private practice in Milwaukee. On Oct. 5, 1898, he married Miss Ida, daughter of Frederick and Laura (Kemper) Schuette, of Manitowoc, Wis., and to them has been born a son, George Leo, Oct. 8, 1899. Dr. Banzhof has been a mem- ber of the Wisconsin State Dental Society since 1886, the South- ern Wisconsin Dental Society, Chicago Odontographic Society, Wisconsin Academy of Arts, Letters and Sciences, the National Dental Association, the National Association of Dental Faculties, the National Association of Dental Pedagogics and of the Internat- ional Dental Federation. He is a member of the following secret societies : Manitowoc Lodge No. 65, F. & A. M., being past master ; Damascus Lodge No. 290, also past master ; Manitowoc Chapter No. 16, R. A. M .; Ivanhoe Commandery, No. 24, Knights-Templar, and also a member of the Psi Omega dental fraternity, X. T. chapter. In religion he is a Presbyterian and in politics a Republican. Dr. Banzhaf is just now at the meridian of his manhood and usefulness and his future in his profession is brilliantly promising. He has achieved a great deal for a man of his years. He has been vice- president of the Milwaukee Medical College and was a pioneer in the splendid movement that culminated in the founding of Mar- quette Medical University. Added to great skill in his calling, he has the unusual advantage of a keen business foresight to a de- gree rarely found in a professional man. His superior qualities of

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head and heart make him a marked and welcome man in any gath- ering, for all his efforts bear the car-marks of genius.

Paul Weisel was born in Germany on Dec. 18, 1871, the son of John H. and Wilhelmina Weisel, the former born in Amsterdam, Holland, and the latter in Germany. The father, who was a rich merchant, never came to the United States but died in Germany in 1896. The mother came to visit her sons in Milwaukee in 1904, re- turning in 1905, and she is now living in Germany at the age of seventy-two. The family was composed of eight children, all of whom are now living. Our subject was educated in the public schools of Germany, and then came to the United States and direct to Milwaukee in 1896. Himself, his brother Carl, and a man named Priester, bought out the sausage factory of Jacob Weisel, who came to Milwaukee in 1878, and established the business, dying in 1902. The firm is known as Weisel & Company, Sausage Manu- facturers. On Sept. 28, 1898, our subject married Miss Margaret, daughter of Mitchell and Margaret Orth, of Milwaukee, and to them has been born one son, John H., Sept. 28, 1899. Carl Weisel, the brother of our subject, was born in Germany in June, 1862, and there he received his education, coming to the United States in 1893 and buying the interest above referred to in which our subject joined him in 1896. Carl's wife was Augusta Orth, a sister of our subject's wife, and they have three children : Helene, Margaret and Charles Otto. Paul and Carl are both members of the Republican party. Paul is a member of the Millioki Club, the West Side Turnverein and the Sharpshooters. They are both good, conscientious, indus- trious and respectable citizens.

Dr. Edward B. Fuller, who for nearly a quarter of a century has been a leading practitioner of dentistry in Milwaukee, was born at Wauwatosa, Wis., on May 16, 1864. He is a son of Alonzo B. and Harriet L. (Tyler) Fuller, both of whom were born in the Empire state, the father in Dansville and the mother in Seneca. The parents came to Brookfield, Waukesha county, at on carly date, but subsequently removed to Wauwatosa, where the mother died in 1898 and the father in February, 1907. The father was a farmer by vocation, but later in life took up the insurance business. Some years before he died he retired from active participation in busi- ness affairs and enjoyed a well-earned respite from the daily duties of a busy career. Both parents were communicants of the Metho- dist Episcopal church, and their three children, two of whom sur- vive, were reared in that faith. The paternal grandfather, Meathew Fuller, was one of the early settlers of Brookfield, and later moved to Emporia, Kas., where he died in 1888, at the ripe old age of ninety- four years. Dr. Fuller received his education in the graded schools and graduated at one of the high schools in Milwaukee. In 1882 he began the study of dentistry, and three years later, having finished his course, he began the practice of his chosen profession. His success has been well-deserved, and today he has a practice that is the envy and admiration of many other practitioners in the city. In his political relations Dr. Fuller is a Republican, but has never

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sought public office of any nature. On April 8, 1885, he was united in marriage to Miss Addie Sanborn, a daughter of John Sanborn, of Racine, and to this union have been born four children : Edward E., Arthur L., Alice May, and Charles E. Dr. Fuller has a host of friends who rejoice with him in the success which he has attained.

Merwin Howes, a prominent citizen and well-known real estate dealer and insurance agent of Milwaukee, is a native of the Cream City, born there on Jan. 10, 1855. His parents were Asa Howes, born at Ashfield, Mass., Dec. 30, 1816, and Julia Ann ( Hayden) Howes, a native of Connecticut, born at West Hartford, Jan. 31, 1816. Asa Howes came to Milwaukee county about 1838, and a year later was followed by his two brothers, Lemuel and Nathan, Jr. Their parents, Nathan and Abbie Howes, also immigrated to Wisconsin and continued to reside here the remainder of their lives. The maternal grandparents of the subject of this sketch remained in Connecticut, where they passed peacefully away. Asa Howes was a Republican in politics, and while he lived in Milwaukee county held several public offices. He was town clerk, school superintend- ent, and justice of the peace. He always took an active part in poli- tics and was also an active worker in the Episcopal church, of which he was a member and a lay-reader in the early days. In 1857 Mrs. Howes died and eleven years later her husband, who was a saw- mill man, moved to Mendota, Ill., and engaged in the lumber busi- ness, but after two years went to Garden Grove, Ia., and took up land, at the same time running a grist mill. He finally returned to. Decatur, Ill., to spend his last days, and died there on Dec. 25, 1897, after rearing a family of six children, of whom four are still living. Merwin received the educational advantages afforded by the public schools of Milwaukee county until the age of thirteen, when he went to Mendota, Ill., with his father, and after finishing the graded school there entered the high school. After his father moved to. Iowa he went to the Garden Grove high school, and he worked in his father's grist mill until twenty-three years of age, when he re- turned to Decatur, Ill., to work for the United States Express Com- pany, but after a year gave up this position to accept a better one. with the Pacific Express Company, with which he remained eight years. During this time Mr. Howes accumulated sufficient capital to establish himself in business, and he became a wholesale fruit and vegetable dealer in Omaha, Neb. For eleven years he con- tinued in this business, meeting with gratifying success. In 1899. he came to Milwaukee and established himself in the real estate and insurance business, in which he has since continued. Mr. Howes is. one of the progressive business men of the city and has aided in the upbuilding and progress which have been so marked within the last decade. He is a Republican in politics and always takes an active interest in the party's policies, though never aspiring to public office himself. With his family he is a member of the Episcopal church, in which his father was such an active worker. Mr. Howes. is affiliated with the Masonic order, being a member of Cobert.

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Lodge, No. 11, Free and Accepted Masons, of Omaha; of Bellevue Chapter, No. I, and of Tangier Temple, Knights-Templar, all of the same city. On Sept. 16, 1895, he was united in marriage with Harriet M. Fowle, the daughter of Horace N. Fowle, of South Mil- waukee. Three children have been born to bless Mr. Howes' home : Frederick H., born Aug. 29, 1896; Merwin H., Jr., born Sept. 15, 1898, and Ruth Ellen, born July 3, 1907.

William Kettler, D. D. S., is one of the prominent members of the dental profession who has made a success of his chosen life work within recent years. He is a native of Milwaukee, born there on April 10, 1877, the son of Edward Kettler, born in Germany on June 27, 1836, and Jacobine ( Blankenhorn) Kettler, also a native of the "Vaterland." His paternal grandparents were Frederick Kettler and Hattie Eleanor (Perrier) Kettler. Frederick Kettler was a native of Germany, but his wife was reared in the sunny country of France. They met and married in the old country, but desiring to take advantage of the many opportunities offered in the new world, came to America in 1857 and located in Milwaukee. Two years later Mrs. Kettler was called from the cares of earth. Her husband moved to Chicago, subsequently, and there he resided until his death in 1870. Mr. Kettler reared a family of two chil- dren, Ernst August and Edward, the father of our subject, who came to Milwaukee with his parents in 1857. Jacobine Blanken- horn came a few years later, and they met and were married in the Cream City, the marriage being solemnized on April 5, 1863. Edward Kettler was a cabinet-maker by trade and followed this vocation for many years, but has now retired to enjoy a well-earned respite from toil. His wife died on April 19, 1888, leaving her husband and a family of ten children to mourn her loss: Lillian, Hattie, Edward, Clara, Emma, Richard, Ernst, William. Caroline and Frederick. When the call for volunteers came at the outbreak of the Civil war, Edward Kettler responded at once and enlisted as a private in Company C, First Wisconsin infantry. This regi- ment was organized as a ninety-day regiment under the proclama- tion of April 16, 1861, and left the state on June 9. It was mustered out on Aug. 22, 1861, and reorganized as a three-year regiment on Oct. 19. This regiment participated in the battles of Perryville, Stone's River, Chickamauga, and Missionary Ridge. Mr. Kettler was wounded four times in these engagements, but returned to his regiment each time when he was sufficiently recovered for active duty. He served three years, and was honorably discharged after his gallant service to his adopted country. William, the subject of this sketch, was reared in his native city and received his elemen- tary education in the public schools of Milwaukee. After finishing his preparatory studies he matriculated at the Milwaukee Medical College, dental department, now Marquette College, where he was graduated in 1901. He then went East and took a post- graduate study at Myer's Post-Graduate School, in New York city. Upon returning to Milwaukee, in 1902, Mr. Kettler located at 657 Third street, where he has since been actively engaged in the

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practice of his profession. Mr. Kettler has met with well-deserved success and is regarded as one of the rising young dentists of the Cream City. He is a member of the Republican party, of the Wis- consin State Dental Society, Milwaukee County Dental Society, and of the North Side Dental Society, of which he is secretary. He is also a member of Wisconsin Lodge, No. 13, Free and Ac- cepted Masons; Wisconsin Chapter, No. 7, Royal Arch Masons, and of Ivanhoe Commandery, No. 24, Knights-Templar. On Oct. 29, 1902, Mr. Kettler was united in marriage with Caroline, the daughter of George and Elizabeth Southcott, who came to America from England about 1892 and located in Milwaukee. Mr. South- cott went on a visit to his old home in England in 1902 and died on the return voyage. His wife passed away in Milwaukee in 1898.

Henry Danischefsky, one of the best and most prominent con- tractors and builders of Milwaukee, is a native of the Cream City, where he was born on March 18, 1877. He is the son of Charles and Lena (Brandt) Danischefsky, both of whom are natives of Greiffenberg, Germany, and who immigrated to the United States in 1867 and located at Milwaukee, where they still reside. The elder Mr. Danischefsky is a mason by trade and served as a fore- man in the business for many years. For the past twenty-five years he has been engaged in the mason-contracting business, and is well and favorably known in that line of work. He is known as an upright and honorable citizen, and a man of strict business integrity. He has reared to maturity a family of four children- three daughters and one son, of whom our subject is the youngest. Ida is the wife of Fred Mallitz; Hannah is the wife of Carl Bred- ermann, and Gussie, the third daughter, is still at home. Henry attended the public schools of Milwaukee and after graduating in the high school, in 1892, he served an apprenticeship to the mason's trade under his father. Upon finishing his term of apprenticeship he went to Chicago, where he entered the employ of the Terra Blanca Fire Proofing Company, serving as their factory foreman and having charge of their outside work. After two years spent in this capacity, and when only twenty years of age, he embarked in business as a general contractor on his own account. He was successful from the start. and such has been his special aptitude as a building contractor that he has been employed by some of the largest and most important business concerns of the city. His superior workmanship may be seen in many of the most note- worthy structures of Milwaukee, and he has executed important contracts for the Schlitz Brewing Company, the Falk Company, Gueder & Paeschkii, manufacturers; the Northern Glass Works, William R. Frangen & Co.'s warehouses, the New St. Mary's Hos- pital, and the State Normal School, as well as many others too numerous to mention. Particular mention should be made, how- ever, of the beautiful and stately residence he built for Joseph Uihlein. He is affiliated with the Republican party, but has never taken an active part in politics and has never sought political preferment on his own behalf. He is a prominent member of the

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Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained to the thirty-second degree ; he is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He was married on Oct. 1I, 1900, to Miss Clara, daughter of William and Sophia (Daase) Sengbusch, of Milwaukee, and they have two children, Loraine and Roy. Mr. Danischefsky is still young, in the prime of life, is possessed of a strong and vigorous constitution, and has an abundance of energy and push. His marked success in busi- ness thus far points unerringly to still greater success in the years to come, and Milwaukee has every reason to be proud of this one of her native sons.

George F. O'Neil, one of the substantial and progressive busi- ness men of Milwaukee, and president of the important establish- ment known as the O'Neil Oil & Paint Company (incorporated), is a native product of the Cream City. He is of mixed Irish and English descent, and was born on the present site of the Com- stock Flats, on Milwaukee street, Sept. 26, 1864, the son of Henry L. and Elizabeth J. (May) O'Neil, the former a native of the West Indies and the latter of London, England. His paternal grand- father lived his whole life on the Emerald Isle, and his maternal grandfather (May) was a pioneer farmer in Canada, where he finally died. Our subject's father grew to manhood in the city of London, England, and came to the United States in 1846. settling in Milwaukee. Here he was first engaged in the wool business, and later embarked in the dry goods trade. He did a prosperous business in this line for several years, but lived a retired life for some time before his death in Milwaukee. He is still survived by his widow, who makes her home in Milwaukee at 2711 State street. They reared to maturity a family of four sons and four daughters, as follows: Henry L., Jr. ; Charles H., vice president and treasurer of the O'Neil Oil & Paint Company: Albert F .; George F., the subject of this sketch: Annie M .; Elizabeth M., wife of Frank P. Ray, of Minneapolis; Marion, deceased, and Harriet M., de- ceased. George F. grew up in his native city and received his education in the public schools. He began his business carcer at the early age of eleven, when he was employed as a newspaper carrier. He was subsequently employed by the furniture house of A. D. Seaman & Company as a collector for two years, and then entered the employ of the old wholesale drug house of Greene & Button Company. He was associated in one capacity or another with the last-named company for a period of thirteen years. finally retiring as head book-keeper. In 1888 he purchased an interest in the business of the Wadhams, Magie & Company, wholesale oils, the name of the firm being changed to the Wadhams Oil & Grease Company, and Mr. O'Neil became secretary of the new company. He remained with this company until January, 1893, when he organ- ized the O'Neil Oil & Paint Company, which first did business for a period of two years at 103 West Water street, and then re- moved to its present location at 297-9 East Water street. Mr. O'Neil afterward acquired the store adjoining, at 301-3 East Water,

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previously occupied by the wholesale grocery company of Ball & Goodrich Company. The O'Neil Oil & Paint Company did a business of over $100,000 the first year of its existence, and this business has steadily increased until it is now doing a business of over $500,000 annually. The company was incorporated in Feb- ruary, 1893, with the following officers: George F. O'Neil, presi- dent; Charles H. O'Neil, vice-president and treasurer, and L. D. O'Neil, secretary. The company was originally capitalized at $25,000, which has since been increased to $189,750, and it now has over fifty people in its employ. It has developed into one of the most important business enterprises in the city, and combines under one management a paint factory and a soap factory, as well as a jobbing business in oils, paints, and chemicals. Mr. O'Neil owes his business success entirely to his own efforts, which have been characterized by unflagging industry and honorable dealing. He was married on April 26, 1885, to Miss Leila D., a daughter of Edward and Catherine Elizabeth (Davidson) Quin, of Mil- waukee. He is a member of St. Paul's Episcopal church and is a Republican in politics.

T. E. Pierce, a prominent and well-known contractor and builder of Milwaukee, and successor to the firm of Angove & Pierce, is a native of the Badger State, having been born at Dart- ford, Green Lake county, Wis., on March 15, 1861. His parents were Joshua O. and Hannah (Randall) Pierce, natives of the Buckeye and Keystone states, respectively. They were both among the early pioneer settlers of Green Lake county, where his father long followed the trade of a carpenter. Both his father and mother are now deceased. Our subject spent his youth in the counties of Green Lake and Juneau, and received his educa- tion in the public schools of those counties. Upon leaving school he served for seven years under his father, learning the details of the carpenter's trade; he then worked for eleven years as a joiner, and finally came to Milwaukee in 1880. Here he worked at his trade until 1892, and in that year he formed a partnership with James B. Angove, doing a general contracting business as car- penters and builders. This partnership continued until June 2, 1907, when Mr. Angove died. Mr. Pierce purchased the interest of his deceased partner, and in 1908 the business was incorporated under the name of the Pierce Manufacturing Company, which carries on the business of contracting and building and the manu- facture of caskets. The firm of Angove & Pierce did a large and successful business during the years the firm was in existence, and its superior work is seen in many of the prominent buildings of Milwaukee and other cities. The firm erected the Fairview Flats. at the corner of Ninth and State streets; the Scammon build- ing, at Eighth and Wells streets; the Tuttle building, at Seventh and Wells streets; it constructed all the buildings at the city ball parks; the Northwestern Malleable Iron Works; the build- ing of the M. Hilty Lumber Company; the Wisconsin Central freight depot, at Minneapolis, Minn .; the insane asylum at Nash-

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otah, known as the Oconomowoc Health Resort, and numerous other prominent structures besides. Mr. Pierce was married in 1883 to Miss Nellie, a daughter of Mrs. Helen Charlwood, of Mil- waukee, and they have four children now living: Archie, Mabel, Oscar and Harry. . The three older children are all members of the Mt. Olive Lutheran church, of Milwaukee.

William Van Rhienen, 3418 Chestnut street, Milwaukee, is an experienced carpenter, contractor and builder and also attends to repairing. He is a native of Milwaukee, of Dutch parentage. His father, Frederick Van Rhienen, came to America from Am- sterdam, Holland, in 1845, and in the period preceding the Civil war made frequent journeys between Milwaukee and Amsterdam. He married Miss Delia Wiersum, and to them were born three children: Mary (deceased), William and Frederick. After the war Mr. Van Rhienen located in Milwaukee and there became well known as a skillful carpenter. In 1880 he bought a farm in Ger- mantown, Washington county, Wis., which he operated until his death, in 1895. His son, Frederick, now resides upon the Wash- ington county farm. William, the subject of this sketch, was born on April 10, 1870, attended public school in Milwaukee, and con- tinued his studies at his home in Washington county. He returned to Milwaukee to study architectural drawing and also learned the carpenter's trade under his father's instruction. Five years he worked as a journeyman, in Milwaukee, and then, well equipped by study and experience, he embarked in his present business as contractor and builder. He met with marked success, and some of the most substantial buildings in the city bear witness to his skill. He has erected many beautiful residences on the East Side in Milwaukee, and some large apartment houses. He will be occupied for some time in the erection of the $35,000 edifice of the Kingsley Methodist Episcopal church at Walnut and Thirty-third streets. Mr. Van Rhienen is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and takes a particular interest in the erection of this par- ticular building. He belongs to the Master Carpenters' Associa- tion of Milwaukee and is secretary of the organization. He has also served in many instances as special adjuster for the North- west National Insurance Company. He is a member of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows and in political sympathies is a Republican. On Aug. 27, 1902, Mr. Van Rhienen was married to Miss Myrtle Spice, daughter of John G. Spice, of Milwaukee. formerly of England. One daughter, Myrtle Ada, has blessed the marriage.

Paul C. Kroeck, proprietor of the Wisconsin Cement Con- struction Company, of 875 Teutonia avenue, Milwaukee, was born near Berlin, Germany, Jan. 25, 1875, a son of Gustave and Amelia (Abell) Kroeck. He was educated at a military academy in Ger- many and graduated in 1891, thereafter serving one year in the German army, from which he has an honorable discharge. He came to the United States in 1893, learned the mason's trade in New York city, and later pursued his trade in sixteen different

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Memoirs of Milwaukee County : from the earliest historical times down to the present, including a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in Milwaukee County, Volume II, Part 101

Author: Watrous, Jerome Anthony, 1840- ed Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Madison : Western Historical Association Number of Pages: 1072

Author: Watrous, Jerome Anthony, 1840- ed
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Madison : Western Historical Association
Number of Pages: 1072