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 109

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

USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > 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 109

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Michael J. Poellman, one of the substantial and progressive farmers of Milwaukee county, is a native of Wisconsin, born at Hartford, Washington county, Jan. 20, 1876. His parents were John M. and Margaret Poellman, both natives of Bavaria, Ger- many, who immigrated to the United States at an early day and located in Wisconsin. Michael's father was a well-to-do man, and determined that his son should have an excellent education. Michael attended the public schools and then finished a course at

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Marquette college, Milwaukee, and subsequently went to the State University at Madison, where he did most creditable work. After leaving the university he engaged in farming, and worked on dif- ferent farms for some time before he became associated with his father. In 1900 he bought a farm from his father, and this he has since conducted with great success. Mr. Poellman has introduced new and modern methods of farming on his land and has demon- strated that they pay. He is a member of the Democratic party and takes an active interest in its policies ; he is always interested in the welfare of the community, and to this end has been elected road commissioner. On May 28, 1907, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Poellman and Katherine Becker, the daughter of Nicholas and Margaret Becker, both residents of Wisconsin.

George Haeberlein, one of the representative farmers of Mil- waukee county, is a native of Wisconsin, born at Milwaukee, March 5, 1859, of sturdy German stock. His parents were Paul and Mar- garet Haeberlein, natives of Germany, who immigrated to this country and located in the state when it was an untamed wilderness, and almost covered with virgin forests. Paul Haeberlein took up land, cleared it, established his home and raised his family. Both he and his wife were among those hardy German pioneers who developed this great state and placed it in the front rank it oc- cupies to-day. George, the subject of this sketch, received his education in the public schools near his home, and then was sent to private schools to finish his studies. After leaving school he went to work on his father's farm, and when twenty-five years of age his father gave him the old homestead, where he still con- tinues to reside. Mr. Haeberlein has progressive ideas, takes an active interest in the questions of the day, and is one of the successful farmers in his district. He is a public-spirited man, has been road master for a number of years, and at present holds that position for a term of three years. On Dec. 1, 1893, Mr. Haeberlein was united in marriage with Annie Kolpack, the daughter of William and Ernestine Kolpack, of Wisconsin. Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Haeberlein, on the farm where there is always enough and to spare for each child-Alma, Hulda, Helen, Tillie, George, Emma, Agnes, Arthur, Florence and Ruth-all of whom have led happy lives at the dear old home. Mr. Haeberlein belongs to no secret societies, but is a willing worker in the Luther- an church, of which he is a communicant.

Joseph V. Quarles is a native son of Wisconsin who has won well-merited distinction in the professional and political world by close application and the development of extraordinary talents with which nature so generously endowed him. Judge Quarles was born at Kenosha (at that time known as Southport), Wis., Dec. 16, 1843, son of Joseph V. and Caroline (Bullen) Quarles, the former of whom was born at Ossipee, N. H., in 1800, and the latter at Han- nibal, N. Y., in 1803. The father died in 1873 and the mother in 1878. The maternal grandfather of Judge Quarles was General Bullen, who was a leading man in the early times among the Ke-

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nosha county settlers, having located in that county himself in 1836. He it was who led the settlers, or "squatters" as they were called, to the land sale at Milwaukee in 1838, where they protected their rights against the speculators who sought to dispossess them of the land which they had improved. Armed with hickory sticks, etc., as their weapons of warfare, they succeeded in driving the speculators from the field, and each one of the settlers secured the land he had improved as a "squatter." Joseph V. Quarles, Sr., came to Southport, now Kenosha, in 1838, and afterward became a mem- ber of the firm of Mitchell & Quarles, wagon manufacturers, which was an important industrial establishment in Southwest Wisconsin until 1858, when it went out of existence as a result of the wide- spread financial depression of 1857. Judge Quarles attended the public schools of Kenosha, graduating in the high school of that place in 1861, after which he spent some time in teaching. In 1862 he matriculated at the University of Michigan, but at the end of his second year in that institution he left college for the purpose of becoming a soldier in the Civil war. In May, 1864, he enlisted as a private in Company C of the Thirty-ninth Wisconsin infantry and was elected first lieutenant of his company. The regiment was or- ganized at Camp Washburn, Milwaukee, for the 100-days' service and left the state on June 13. It reached Memphis, Tenn., on the 17th and was assigned to the Third brigade, of which Col. Buttrick of the regiment was commander. The command had a brush with Forrest's cavalry near the Hernando road, the enemy, 5,000 strong, breaking through the picket lines and entering Memphis. Judge Quarles was engaged in guard and picket duty until his term of service expired, and he was mustered out at Milwaukee on Sept. 22. 1864. He immediately re-entered the University of Michigan and graduated with the class of 1866, receiving the scholastic degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then began the study of law and in 1868 was admitted to the bar upon examination. Entering at once upon the practice of his profession with headquarters at Kenosha, he rapidly rose to prominence and was honored with the positions of mayor of Kenosha, district attorney and at different times member of both houses of the Wisconsin legislature. During a portion of the time when he was located at Kenosha he had as a partner in his legal practice his brother, Charles Quarles, but later Judge Quarles removed to Racine, where the law firm of Quarles & Winslow was formed, the junior member of which was John B. Winslow, at present chief justice of the state supreme court. After the elevation of Judge Winslow to the circuit court bench Thomas W. Spence became a member of the firm and its name was changed to Quarles & Spence. This firm continued to practice at Racine until 1888, when it was removed to Milwaukee, and four years later the firm of Quarles, Spence & Quarles was organized, the additional member being Charles Quarles. Judge Quarles re- mained connected with this firm until 1899, when, having been elected to represent Wisconsin in the United States senate, he severed his relations and turned his attention to legislative duties

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at Washington. After serving one term he retired from the senate in 1905, and soon thereafter was appointed by President Roosevelt to the position of Judge of the United States court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The sequel has shown the wisdom of the president in elevating Judge Quarles to this high judicial station. Endowed by nature with the judicial temperment and schooled by nearly forty years of actual practice at the bar, his analytical mind soon fathoms the intricacies of each case that comes before him. Firm without being unnecessarily harsh, and with the welfare of the body politic always uppermost in his mind, his decisions are based upon the principles of absolute justice. Off the bench the Judge is a genial, companionable gentleman. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and the Loyal Legion, and also the Milwau- kee and Old Settlers' clubs, in all of which he is deservedly pop- ular because of his many sterling qualities and his general good fellowship. On Sept. 25, 1868, Judge Quarles and Miss Carrie A. Saunders, of Lawrence, Kanl., were united in marriage and this union has been blessed by the birth of three sons, viz: William C., Joseph V., Jr., and Edward L.

Frank C. Espenhain, deceased, who made an impress upon the commercial life of Milwaukee long before he became a resident of that city, was born in Belleville, Ill., in 1843. He received his early education there, and when a young man went to St. Louis, where he enlisted in a Missouri infantry regiment and saw active service during the Civil war. After the cessation of hostilities he determined to make St. Louis his home, and became interested in the dry goods business there. Promotions came to him rapidly, and within a few years he was conducting a store of his own. Subsequently he established branch stores at Belleville, Ill., and Terre Haute, Ind., and in 1875 established the Milwaukee store, which in time became one of the foremost drygoods houses in the Northwest. Mr. Espenhain continued to reside in St. Louis until 1902, in which year the growth of the Milwaukee end of the business neces- sitated his removal to this city. He purchased a residence at the corner of Twelfth street and Grand avenue, but soon after coming his health became impaired and aside from his business he had to devote himself entirely to maintaining his health. In the summer of 1904 he went with his wife to Petoskey, Mich., in the hope of bettering his condition, but he gradually failed, and on Sept. 2, took the long journey. Besides his widow he left four daughters : Mrs. Nelson, of St. Louis; Mrs. Ortwein, of St. Moritz, Switzer- land; Mrs. Walker, of Denver; and Mrs. Schulze, of Milwaukee; and a son, Frank.

John C. Ludwig, judge of the circuit court of Milwaukee, is a native of the city where he resides, and was born on Dec. 1, 1850. His parents, Joseph and Gertrude (Schaefer) Ludwig, were both Germans. John C. acquired his early education in private schools. At the age of fourteen he left school and served an apprenticeship with a jeweler, remaining in this work until he was twenty years of age. At that time he decided to follow the legal profession, and

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began his studies in the office of Mann & Cotzhausen, of Milwaukee, being admitted to the bar on March 25, 1875. He soon afterward entered upon the practice of his profession, continuing his work as an attorney until his appointment to the position of judge of the superior court, now circuit court, of Milwaukee county, to fill the vacancy made by the death of Judge E. L. Gilson. The appoint- ment was made by Governor Peck, June 13, 1892, and before the expiration of the term, Jan. 1, 1894, Judge Ludwig was elected for the ensuing term of six years. Although his early educational advantages were somewhat limited, he is a man of wide reading and culture, and has been a hard student all of his professional life. The same qualities which enabled him, unaided and in the face of many obstacles, to rise to a high and responsible position, also conferred the power to efficiently fill it. He possesses in a large degree the judicial attributes, and his rulings as judge have been generally accepted by his confreres as well grounded in law and equity. Judge Ludwig is a Democrat in his politics, but during his long term as judge he has not been active in political affairs. He was school commissioner for the First ward of the city from 1877 to 1880, and trustee of the asylum for the chronic insane of Mil- waukee county from 1890 to 1892. He has always been active in the social and benevolent life of the city, and belongs to a number of the leading clubs and other organizations having these ends in view. In religious matters he is a communicant of the Catholic church.

Adolph Doctor, deceased, was born in Prussia in 1845, and came direct to Milwaukee with his parents from the Fatherland in 1852. After he had completed the scholastic training afforded by the public schools of the city he learned the trade of butcher, and several years afterward established, at the corner of Grand avenue and Fourth street, a butcher shop, in partnership with his brother, Meyer Doctor, now also deceased. The venture flourished from the start, and in 1889 Mr. Doctor was enabled to retire with an ex- cellent competency which allowed him to live quietly until the time of his death, which occurred on Dec. 20. 1894. At the time of passing away he was the oldest member of Kilbourn lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he was an honorary member. He was also a prominent member of the Old Settlers' Club and several other organizations.

Currie Brothers, florists, of Milwaukee, includes the following members : James Currie, born at Fenwick, Ayrshire, Scotland, June 10, 1853; Adam Currie, born in Girnan, Ayrshire, Dec. 24. 1854; and William, born in the same place, Dec. 8, 1856. There are also two sisters, Mary A. G. and Jessie, who are residents of Milwaukee. The father of the family, James Currie, born July 3, 1827, also in Ayrshire, came to Milwaukee in 1886. His whole life was devoted to landscape gardening and floral culture. He laid out the famous gardens of Sir Peter Coates on the banks of the Doon and was much interested in the beautifying of the city. especially the public parks. He was a member of St. Andrews' Society and the Mil-

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waukee Curling Club. His death occurred Oct. 29, 1905, and he is buried in Forest Home Cemetery. The Curries have been resi- dents of Ayrshire since the days of Wallace of the Thirteenth cen- tury and the family is numerous in that shire, the Milwaukee family being the first to emigrate from the ancestral home. Mrs. Currie, born Anne Boyd, in Ayrshire, is a descendant of Lord Boyd, whose estates were confiscated because of his adherence to the cause of the Pretender, Prince Charles. Lord Boyd, or Earl of Kilmarnock, was born in 1704, was taken prisoner at Cul- loden, tried for treason, and executed at the Tower of London, his being one of the last three executions for political offences in the Tower; the other two were the Lords of Balmerino and Lovat, all convicted after the rebellion of 1745. The death of William Boyd, Earl of Kilmarnock, ended the title and the estates in the family. The old castle, called "Dean Castle," near Kilnnarnock, in Ayrshire, is still standing and many relics of the earlier and more distin- guished period have descended to Mrs. Currie, who is still living and resides in Milwaukee. The Currie Brothers came to Mil- ivaukee some ten years before their parents and sisters. They were reared in the romantic Burns country, and about two miles from the birthplace of the famous Scotch poet. On settling in the metropolis of Wisconsin the brothers immediately began business as florists and seed-men, and have continued in that line ever since, becoming an incorporated company some five years ago. Their business has been most prosperous, and is extended to all parts of the country, particularly in the West. Their education was obtained in their native land, in the public schools and the academy of Ayrshire. In religious faith the family follow that of their nationality, the Presbyterian; in politics they support the Republican party, but have never taken an active part in political movements. James was united in marriage on July 3, 1878, to Miss Jeannie A. Harper, daughter of William and Mary (Baxter) Harper, the former of Kilmarnock, Scotland, and the latter of Loch Gelly, Fifeshire, of the same country. William Currie married, on Jan. 1, 1880, Sarah E., another daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Harper. Adam married, on Sept. 23, 1882, Miss Annie E. Fraser, daughter of William and Isabella (Fraser) Fraser, of Invernes- shire, Scotland. James, the oldest of the brothers, has four children, namely: William B., who married Beatrice Washburn, and has one son, James W .; Florence B. ; Alice M. ; and Jeannie Y., Adam has two sons, Allister J. F. and Herbert. William also has four children : Jessie V., Ray J., Effie H., and Edith W .; the three youngest live at home, but Jessie, the eldest, is married to Thomas E. Marshall, a lumber and coal merchant of Ripon, Wis., and has two daughters, Doris N. and Effie M. All of the members of the firm are Free Masons, James being Past Master of Kilbourn Lodge, and Adam and William are Thirty-second degree Masons, Scottish Rite, and also Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

Frank P. Van Valkenburgh, deceased, the only son of Frank B. Van Valkenburgh, a practicing lawyer in Milwaukee since 1855, and of Emeline (Wells) Pratt, his wife, was born in Milwaukee on

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June 8. 1863, and was by descent from his great-grandfather. B. J. VanValkenburgh, a member of the Wisconsin Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. He graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., in 1882, a "K. O. A.," was admitted to the bar in Milwaukee in 1887, and practiced his profession in that city until the day of his death, in 1900. He married Jane 1. Swoope, of Pennsylvania, on Christmas day, 1885, and was the father of three children, of whom one, the only son, is now a midshipman in the United States navy. In 1894 he was assistant city attorney of the city of Milwaukee, immediately upon leaving that office he was appointed assistant district-attorney of the United States for the Eastern district of Wisconsin, and he filled that position so much to the satisfaction of the attorney-general that he was kept in it for over a year after his principal was retired. Mr. Van Valkenburgh was a great admirer of all mechanical devices and was an ac- knowledged connoisseur in matters of art. During the life of the Columbian Exposition he spent much time in Chicago as corre- spondent of the Milwaukee Telegraph. contributing to the columns of that paper many letters which elicited praise from its readers and are still highly prized by those desiring to know what was shown at the most wonderful exposition the world ever saw. A close student of the laws, national and international, he was one of the origina- tors of the Milwaukee Law School, and was for some years dean of its faculty. He was an enthusiastic bicycler, as chief consul of the League of American Wheelmen in Wisconsin did yeoman service in that and the national organizations, working long and accom- plishing much for the cause of good roads in his native state, and he was greatly interested in all plans for the amelioration of the ills of the poor, becoming especially interested in the scheme for opening co-operative stores wherever they seemed to be needed. In his death his family lost a loving and devoted member, and the state an energetic and accomplished citizen, who anxiously devoted himself to the service of his country. Something of the esteem in which he was held by those who knew him best may be gathered from the notices published at the time of his untimely death. The following resolutions were adopted by his class in the law depart- ment of Marquette University :

"WHEREAS, In the untimely death of Frank Pratt Van Val- enburgh we mourn the loss of our beloved friend and teacher, whose efforts were a most potent factor in the education and uplifting of the younger members of the Milwaukee bar, and upon whose wise and kindly counsel they have so much re- lied ; and

"WHEREAS, His genial, companionable and generous nature endeared him to pupils and instructors alike : and

"WHEREAS, We feel in the death of Mr. Van Valkenburgh a deep sense of personal loss and a deep sense of the loss which the cause of legal education, the bar, and the community have sustained ; therefore be it

"Resolved, That we give public expression to our grief. Words are weak instruments with which to express the pro-

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found sorrow with which we mourn the death, not only of the teacher who inspired us with love for the study of law, but of the man whose sunny and genial disposition ever lightened our labors, and whose life will continue an inspiration to us."

The Cycling Gazette, of New York, said: "The old adage that 'Death loves a shining mark' loses none of its pointed truthfulness as the days go by. In the death of Frank P. Van Valkenburgh, the brilliant Wisconsin lawyer and wheelman, the L. A. W. and other cycling organizations have lost a young man of great promise. Wisconsin will doubtless wait many a day before finding itself able to replace him." The L. A. W. Magazine said: "Frank P. Van Valkenburgh became famous through his speech in which he nominated Mr. Potter for the presidency. His eloquence, coupled with his originality of expression, held every hearer's attention; at the next meeting of the National Assembly, held in Providence, he nominated Mr. Keeman in a speech even more inspiring than that in which he nominated Mr. Potter. He was a warm-hearted, whole- souled gentleman and a general favorite. He has written a good record with us, and we shall ever remember him with pleasure, while we sincerely regret his untimely death."

Francis Bloodgood, attorney and United States court com- missioner of Milwaukee, is the son of William Bloodgood, who was born in 1801 and died in 1874. The father was educated at West Point and was for many years an officer in the United States army. The son was born at Fort Howard, Wis., Dec. 22, 1827, his grand- father, Maj. William Whistler, being then commandant of the fort and superintendent of Indian affairs. Maj. John Whistler, father of William, built Fort Dearborn, Chicago, in 1803, and his son, Meriweather Lewis, was the first white child born on the site of Chicago. Another son of John, Maj. George W., with his father at the building of Fort Dearborn, was an eminent engineer, and was selected by Nicholas, Czar of Russia, to build a railroad from Moscow to St. Petersburg. A son of the latter, James Whistler, has left a world-wide fame as an artist. On the paternal side, Mr. Bloodgood is of Dutch descent, of the seventh generation in America. The first Francis Bloodgood (Francois Bloetgoet), came from Amsterdam in 1658 and settled on Long Island. He was civil and military executive on Long Island under the last Dutch governor, Colve, and a member of his council. Subsequently he served in the following British rule and was killed in a fight with the Indians in 1676. The family remained on Long Island for three generations, and then the direct ancestors of Francis Blood- good, of this sketch, removed to Albany, where a member of that generation, the fourth, was an officer in the Revolution, and a number of others were important factors in the political and com- mercial life of the state during the closing years of the Eighteenth century. His grandfather, Francis Bloodgood, was one of the lead- ing men of Albany, was president of the New York State Bank, and of the Albany Insurance Company ; and was also at the head of the corporation that built the Great Western Turnpike, the high-

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way through western New York to the wilderness beyond. He was interested in many of the carly manufactories of the state under the Clay tariff, and was twice mayor of Albany. Francis Bloodgood, of this sketch, came west with his father's family in 1854; and, having previously been admitted to the New York bar, formed a partnership with O. L. Stewart in the practice of his profession. Later, in 1859, he was with Wheeler H. Peckham, who was subse- quently distinguished at the New York bar and was, with Charles O'Connor, a prosecutor of the Tweed ring. Mr. Peckham was nominated to the United States supreme court, failing confirma- tion from the opposition of Senator Hill, whom he had opposed in the ranks of the New York Democracy. After the return of Mr. Peckham to the East, Mr. Bloodgood practiced alone until 1870, when he was appointed register in bankruptcy, retaining also his office as United States commissioner. After the repeal of the bank- ruptcy law and the closing of the pending business, in 1882, find- ing his health impaired, he temporarily withdrew from business, save the discharge of his office of United States commissioner. In 1887 he formed a partnership with his son, Francis, Jr., and a nephew, Jackson B. Kemper ; a younger son, Wheeler P., subse- quently coming into the firm. In his earlier professional career Mr. Bloodgood represented numerous parties in the prosecution of cases arising out of the railroad farm mortgages, in which all the legal issues were determined. He tried, in the United States court, the case which first determined the liability of municipalities upon bonds issued in aid of plank and railroad companies, and he was prominent in the litigation that followed the bank failures of 1893. As register in bankruptcy Mr. Bloodgood disposed of more than 500 cases, involving numerous incidental litigations at law and in equity and admiralty, principally resulting from the financial crisis of 1873. As United States commissioner he has, since 1862, held nearly 3,000 criminal examinations, among which were those against the perpetrators of the whisky frauds of 1876, the obstruc- tion of the mails under the Debs strike, the "Gun Wah" fraud of 1800, perpetrated through the mails, other strikes, extradition and Chinese expulsion cases, and prosecutions for crimes committed on the Great Lakes, etc. He was the first judicial officer to hold the Great Lakes to be high seas, subsequently confirmed by the United States supreme court. In politics Mr. Bloodgood is a Re- publican, and was for many years an active factor in city, county and state conventions : and for several years he was the secretary of the Union Club of Milwaukee, an organization of young men who supported the administration during the trying years of the war and reconstruction periods. Mr. Bloodgood was an officer and one of the organizers of the Milwaukee Light Guard, the first native American military organization of the state, and he was commandant of the Home Guard, organized as a school for the soldier, out of which some thirty officers were commissioned for the Civil war. He was unable to enter service in the field. though a commission was tendered, but two of his brothers did. One,

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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 109

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