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 112
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ceived his education in the Eighth Ward public school and at Trinity school; he was reared in the Catholic faith and joined the church when quite young. He resided at home with his parents until he was twenty-one years of age. For two years he worked in a distillery in Milwaukee, and then engaged for three years in the buying and selling of horses with Wirt Brothers. In May, 1878, he married Mary Schram, born in Milwaukee on March 20, 1850, the daughter of Mathias and Barbara (May) Schram, who were natives of Germany. The parents immigrated to America in 1846 and located in Milwaukee, where Mr. Schram worked at various vo- cations for some time and then ran a saloon for nine years before he retired. He died in 1883 and was survived by his widow until 1898, when she too was laid at rest. After his marriage Mr. Bettinger returned to Milwaukee and worked for one year in a distillery, which burned, then engaged in the saloon business at 593 Park street and continued in the business for twenty-eight years. He was a hard worker, attended to all his business himself, and never even had a bar-tender. Mr. Bettinger owns nine cottages, a hotel on South Pierce street, known as Bettinger's Court, and he also has a two-story frame building on the same street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues, and another on Twenty-ninth avenue, and a saloon on Park street. He owns a farm of twenty acres where he now lives, and has just completed one of the most up-to-date res- idences in the town. Mr. Bettinger went into the country for the benefit of two of his children, who are invalids. He and his wife like the country and expect to make their home there the rest of their days. They have had eight children: Nicholas, born March 9, 1879, lives at home; Angeline, born July 7, 1881, died in 1884; Barbara, born March II, 1883, the wife of Dr. J. G. Kuhnmuench, is living at 455 American avenue, Milwaukee; Mary, born March 4, 1885, is at home; John, born Sept. 13, 1886, is in the saloon business in Milwaukee and lives at home ; Eva, born Nov. 13, 1887, is at home ; Helen, born Sept. 22, 1890, died March 25, 1891, and Martha, born July 30, 1891, lives at home and attends school at Corliss.
Isaac P. Rogers, who, before he retired from active business life, was one of the prominent lumber dealers of the Cream City, was born on a farm in Rensselaer county, New York, Aug. 20, 1826. His father was Shubael Rogers, a native of Vermont, and his mother was Temma (Armstrong) Rogers, who was born in New York state. The elder Rogers was a farmer who moved from Vermont to New York, where he located on a farm two miles east of Troy, where he lived until 1836, when he moved to Wayne county, New York, and bought another farm. By nature he was a pioneer, and when the country became well settled up he grew restless and joined the general movement, which was west into the Mississippi valley, and emigrated to Illinois, which was practically an un- broken wilderness in 1845, and he took up land and cleared a farm in LaSalle county, Illinois, where he engaged in farming and sheep raising. Four years later he joined the great gold rush to California and died there, leaving his wife and ten children in Illinois. Isaac
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was the fourth child, and he was a lad of nineteen years when he came west with his parents, in 1845. He had received an elemen- tary education in the public schools of New York state, and two years after the family located in Illinois he left the farm and de- termined to make his own way in the world. He came to Mil- waukee and secured a position as a clerk in a store, learned what he could of the business, and by careful saving gathered enough capital together to start into business for himself. He successfully conducted a clothing store until 1856, then entered the insurance and brokerage business. Later he sold out to become deputy as- sessor, and he held this position until Andrew Johnson became president in 1865, and then he was revenue collector for four years. At the end of the time he went into the lumber business with C. A. Bronson on Tenth street. The yard was enlarged as the busi- ness increased and was one of the best in the city. They also had a branch at Stoughton, which was a successful yard. In 1878 Mr. Rogers retired from the partnership because of ill health. Sub- sequently he became interested and bought some real estate in Milwaukee and a ranch in California. He was called to California on business and remained there some months; on his return he retired entirely from business, and since then has lived a quiet, re- tired life. On June 13, 1855, he married Miss Mary, the daughter of Isaac and Charlotte Selleck, both natives of New York. This mar- riage was gladdened by the birth of six children, of whom three are living: Ernest, a real estate dealer in Milwaukee; Emma, the widow of Edwin Dickinson, of Chicago; and Mary A. For the fifty-five years of his residence in Milwaukee, Mr. Rogers has been a stanch adherent of the Republican party, and he takes an active interest in the movements for reform and good government.
Charles E. Weston is living retired at No. 228 Tenth street in the city of Milwaukee after a comparatively short but exceedingly successful business career, and he is recognized as being among the Cream City's most estimable and substantial citizens. He was born at Madison, Somerset county, Maine, June 25, 1857, and is the son of William and Mary Anne Smith (Hopkins) Weston, both of whom were also born in the Pine Tree State, the father at Madison and the mother at New Portland. He is descended in the seventh generation from John Weston, who migrated to America in 1634, and the Westons have been residents of Massachusetts since that early day, many of them being prominent in the local history of their times. Nathan Weston, a member of one branch of the family after distinguishing himself at the bar, was associate justice of the supreme court of Maine from 1820 to 1834, and chief justice of the state from 1834 to 1841. He is the maternal grandfather of Mel- vin Weston Fuller, the present Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. John Burns Weston, another member of a col- lateral branch of the family, the eminent clergyman and president of the Christian Bibical Institute of Stanfordville, N. Y., was born in Madison, Maine, where his remote ancestor was the first settler of Somerset county. William Weston, the father of the subject of
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this review, came West in the early '6os and located at Milwaukee, where he engaged in the lumber manufacturing business, also having manufacturing plants at Montague and Whitehall, Mich., which he continued until he retired from the lumber business in 1872. He was engaged in early life in milling and the manufacture of and dealing in lumber at Anson, Maine, and after coming to Milwaukee, from 1860 to 1863, was also engaged in the wholesale flour trade. Mr. Weston died in Milwaukee on Nov. 5, 1883, and his widow still resides in that city. To this honored couple there were born three sons, the eldest of whom was the late Isaac M. Weston, of Grand Rapids, Mich., who became very prominent in political and banking affairs of the Wolverine state and was for a con- siderable length of time the editor and proprietor of the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Democrat. He was born at North Anson, Maine, April 20, 1845, and in 1859 moved with his father to Milwaukee. In 1862 he was in Minnesota during the Sioux Indian war, in which he saw service as lieutenant in a state regiment. In 1863 he entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, but discontinued his studies in 1865 to accept the position of military store-keeper at Fort Laramie, Dakota, where he remained during the Sioux war of 1865. In 1866 he was transferred to Salt Lake City, Utah, being stationed at Camp Douglas, and in 1867 he went to Whitehall, Mich., becoming a partner of his father in his extensive lumber business, the firm thus organized becoming William Weston & Son, with Isaac M. as the resident manager. He later acquired extensive lumber and mill interests on White Lake, Mich., and in 1877 added banking to his interests by becoming cashier of the Lumberman's State Bank at Whitehall, Mich., which he soon reorganized as the First National Bank, of which he was president and principal owner. In 1881 he became owner and cashier of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank at Grand Rapids, Mich., to which city he removed and where he continued to reside until his death. The second son of Col. William Weston, Benjamin F., was born in Somerset county. Maine, in 1848, and was educated at Lawrence and North- western universities. He also became extensively interested in the lumber and banking business in Michigan, residing at Whithall, that state. Charles E. Weston, to whom this review is more par- ticularly dedicated, received his early education in the public schools of the city of Milwaukee and also attended the St. James Episcopal school. In his youth he entered the employ of his father in the lumber business, and after about one year thus engaged spent two years in the grocery business at the corner of State and Thirteenth streets. He was also, for a time, proprietor of the American house at Waukesha, Wis., and largely interested in the bank at Whitehall. Mich. In politics he gives unfaltering allegiance to the men and measures of the Republican party, although he has never entered public life in the way of holding office, and his religious faith is expressed by membership in the Calvary Presby- terian church. Fraternally he is a member of the National Union, in which organizaton he holds the official position of door-keeper,
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and he also has membership in the Good Samaritans. Mr. Weston was married on Sept. 25, 1887, the lady of his choice being Miss Viola Jolinson.
William S. Pirie is the efficient secretary of the Forest Home Cemetery, with which he has been connected in an official capacity during the past fourteen years, and he is numbered among the sterling citizens of Milwaukee, in which city he has resided all the years of his life. He was born in Milwaukee on May 17, 1861, the son of James A. and Eliza ( Hudson) Pirie, the former of whom was a native of Scotland and the latter was born in Hartford, Conn. James Pirie, the direct ancestor of the Piries in Scotland, settled in Iriewells, parish of Undy, in the Seventeenth century, and there entered the farm on what is called Steelbow. By his first wife, widow of a former tenant of Iriewells, he is said to have had no family. His second wife, whom he married about 1698, was Helen, daughter of William Mair, of Mill of Dumbreck, by whom he had two sons: William, born in 1700, and Alexander, who settled in Pitmedden. William, who became known as William Pirie of Orchardtown, married and became the father of three sons : Patrick, George, and James. Patrick started the paper works at Donside, near Aberdeen, and was the father of several children, of whom the eldest, Alexander, became the head of the firm of Pirie & Sons, paper manufacturers of Aberdeen. George became a merchant in Aberdeen. James, who was born in 1726, and who succeeded his father at Orchardtown, married and became the father of two sons : Patrick, who succeeded to the estate of his father, married Elspet Leton and became the father of James, who succeeded him. James married and had one son, James, who succeeded to the estate and died in 1893. The other son of James was known as William of Mill of Torry, who married and became the father of one son, named James, and two daughters. James Pirie, the early ancestor of the Piries, married for his third wife Jean Black, and by her had one son, George, who succeeded his father at Iriewells, married Margaret Moir and had two sons and two daughters, the sons being William and George, the latter of whom became a merchant burgess in Aberdeen, married and had two children. William, who was born in 1745, succeeded to the estate in Iriewells, in 1773 married Helen, daughter of Andrew Mair, in Little Mill of Essle- mont, and became the father of one son, Andrew, who in turn suc- ceeded to the estate in Iriewells and died in 1863. Andrew Pirie was the father of James A. Pirie, and the grandfather of William S. Pirie, whose name introduces this review. In the churchyard of Undy is a tablet stone to the memory of the family of Pirie, which has been for many generations in Triewells, and from this stone the information is gained that William Pirie in Iriewells died on Feb. 13, 1814, aged 69; and his spouse, Helen Mair, died Dec. 25, 1817, aged seventy-three. Another stone is to the memory of Andrew Pirie, in Triewells, who died April 8, 1863, aged seventy- five years, and Charlotte Wilson, his spouse, who died Aug. 24. 1869, aged seventy-six years. This stone was placed to their
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memory by their children. James A. Pirie, the father of the subject of this review, was born in Iriewells, parish of Undy, Scotland, in 1832, migrated to America in 1849, and settled in Mil- waukee in 1853. He entered the Mitchell Bank as assistant cashier and expert bookkeeper, and in 1866, at the organization of the J. B. Martin Bank, took charge of the same, which position he retained until the late seventies. He was a very active man in the community and in addition to his activity in banking circles was prominent in the insurance business for a number of years. He later became secretary of the Forest Home Cemetery, and for a period of fifteen years was the prompt, energetic and obliging incumbent of that position. He was a Republican in his political affiliations, and his religious faith was expressed by membership in the St. Paul's Episcopal church, in which he was secretary of the vestry. He died on Oct. 19, 1894, and his widow still resides in the city of Milwaukee. On July 30, 1855, Mr. Pirie married Miss Eliza Hudson, who was born on Jan. 25, 1834, a daughter of Barzillia and Eliza (Woodbridge) Hudson, of Hartford Conn. Barzillia Hudson was born in Hartford, received his education in the schools of that city, after which he engaged in the importing of woolens and was so occupied until his retirement from active business. He was a Whig in his political tenets and a stanch suporter of that party, though not an aspirant to public office. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and religiously was allied with the Congrega- tional faith, having been a trustee of his church. The fore- bears of Eliza (Hudson) Pirie were prominent in social and state affairs of the Colonial era. She traces her ancestory to Zebulon Seymour, a Colonial governor. To Mr. and Mrs. James A. Pirie were born two sons: Andrew Hudson, who died July 2, 1901, and William S., the immediate subject of this review. William S. Pirie received his education at Markham's Academy and in the public schools of Milwaukee. He began his independent career as a clerk in the stationery store of Des Forges & Lawrence, where he re- mained a short time, and then engaged with the Northwestern National Insurance Company of Milwaukee, on Oct. 16, 1877. He remained with this company until 1881, when he entered the ser- vice of Chandler & Brown, commission merchants, as bookkeeper. He afterward went on the road as a traveling solicitor for the same firm, and then became the manager of the Milwaukee office, which position he held until 1894, when he received the appointment of as- sistant secretary of the Forest Home Cemetery. In 1901 he suc- ceeded to the position of secretary, with offices in the Colby & Ab- bott building. He was married on April 11, 1889, to Miss Kate Wil- liams, daughter of Homer P. and Amelia (Davis) Williams, of Syra- cuse, N. Y., and this union has been blessed with one daughter, Amelia, born Sept. 15, 1896, now a student in the Seventh ward pub- lic school. Mr. Pirie gives unswerving allegiance to the men and measures of the Republican party, and he takes great interest in religious affairs, being a member of St. Paul's church, and having been the assistant secretary and secretary since 1894. He is also a member of the Milwaukee Whist Club.
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William H. Thomas, deceased, for many years one of the fore- most citizens of the town of Lake, was born in Milwaukee, on Dec. 22, 1853. He was a son of John and Elizabeth (Hosking) Thomas, both of whom were born in England. The father was a gardener in the country of his nativity and was thus engaged when, in 1852, he determined to migrate to America. After his arrival in Quebec, he came direct to Milwaukee, where he lived for nine years, doing landscape gardening. In 1861 he purchased forty acres of land in the town of Lake. He gave all his attention to a general gardening business on this tract of land, until 1892, when he purchased a home on Howell avenue, where he spent the remainder of his life. His death occurred on April 3, 1900, and his widow passed away in 1905. The remains of both parents were laid at rest in Forest Home Cemetery. Of the four sons and two daughters born to the parents, all but one son, the subject of this sketch, are living. William H. Thomas received all of his educational advantages in the old Bur- dick school in the town of Lake. After the completion of his scholastic work he assisted his father in the conduct of the farm, and remained at home until the time of his marriage. Then he began farming operations near Palmyra, Wis., but did not remain there for any great length of time, returning to Milwaukee to take up gardening work on twelve acres which he purchased on the Howell road. He built a beautiful home where his widow now resides, and he was thoroughly engrossed in his work up to the time of his demise, which occurred on March 29, 1904. He was a stanch adherent. of the tenets of the Republican party. He was extremely liberal in his religious views, his idea being that the standard of right living was not set by creed or sect. On Oct. 31, 1878, Mr. Thomas was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Douglas, a daughter of Andrew and Annabel ( Brown) Douglas, of Milwaukee. Two children were the issue of this union: Ethel, now Mrs. John Heidrich, of Milwaukee; and Walter, who lives at home and at- tends to the management of the property. Mrs. Thomas' family is one of the oldest and most respected in the town of Lake. Her father, Andrew Douglas, born in Scotland in 1810, purchased land from the United States government in 1836. The property is still in the possession of the Douglas estate. The family consisted of eight children, four of whom survive. Mr. Douglas' death occurred on Dec. 10, 1896, and his wife passed away in 1860.
Luddington Patton, secretary and treasurer of the Patton Paint Company, manufacturers of the famous "Patton's Sun Proof Paints", was born in Milwaukee in 1871. He is a son of the late James E. Patton, who was born in Allenville, Mifflin county, Pa., on Aug. 14, 1832, and who passed the early years of his life in that state. In 1846 the father went with his parents to Cincinnati, Ohio, and in 1849 graduated at Professor Herron's Seminary in that city. After completing a course in a commercial institution he entered the mercantile establishment of James Matthews & Com- pany, but subsequently became associatd with Baxter, Davis & Company, with whom he remained until his removal to Milwaukee
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in the summer of 1855. With him from Cincinnati came George F. Williams, and together they purchased the stock of the general mercantile store of Kane Brothers. As a general mercantile store the partnership lasted but a year, and then they laid the foundation of the present Patton Paint Company. When the Civil war broke out Mr. Williams entered the Federal army and Mr. Patton took upon his shoulders the responsibility of the whole company. He was thereafter in direct control of the policy of the company until his death, which occurred in 1904. His widow, who was formerly Miss Sarah E. Ludington, a daughter of former Gov. Harrison Ludington, of the Badger state, is still living. Ludington Patton, the subject of this review, received his educational advantages in the public schools of Milwaukee. When he had completed the prescribed course he entered the employ of his father's company and has since had no other business association. His promotion from department to department was rapid, and in 1893 he was chosen secretary and treasurer. The success of the firm in later years has been largely due to his keen business acumen and fore- sight, and his absolute integrity. Mr. Patton is a communicant of St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal church, and is one of the vestrymen. He has been president and at the present time is one of the vice- presidents of the Paint Manufacturers' Association of the United States, and he is also a member of the National Varnish and Paint Association. In 1896 Mr. Patton was united in marriage to Miss Florence Durand, a daughter of James and Florence (Sloane) Durand, of Lake Forest, Ill. To this union three children have been born : Florence, Joseph and Mary Lois, born in 1898, 1900, and 1902, respectively.
Howard Daniel Plimpton, special agent for the Aetna Life Insurance Company in the state of Wisconsin, was born in Putnam, Conn., on March 23, 1877. He is the son of Frederick and Martha (Segur) Plimpton, the former of whom was born in Putnam, Conn., on Jan. 7, 1848, and the latter in Springfield, Mass., on Oct. 31, 1846. The paternal ancestry dates back to 1632, and many of the line were prominent in social and military life in and around Boston. One of the ancestors, John Plimpton, was a founder of Harvard college, and subsequently another of the line won renown in the French and Indian wars and the Revolutionary struggle. Frederick Plimp- ton, the father, in partnership with his brother, established a fac- tory for the manufacture of envelopes, which factory became the largest concern of its kind in the United States. From 1872 until the establishment was sold to the United States Envelope Company in 1898, the firm manufactured all the stamped envelopes used by the government. The father retired from active participation in business affairs in 1898 and made Milwaukee his home until his death, on Aug. 2, 1907. Howard D. Plimpton, the subject of this review, is the only child of his parents, and his early educational training were received in the grade and high schools of Hart- ford, Conn. When he had completed the course in the latter insti- tution he matriculated at Trinity College, and in 1897, he was
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graduated with the Degree of Bachelor of Science. His business career was begun with the City Bank of Hartford, and later he was associated with the Plimpton Manufacturing Company. In 1899 he entered the employ of the Aetna Life Insurance Company as head of the liability inspection department, and subsequently was made traveling auditor of the company. In October, 1904 he was appointed special agent for the company in Wisconsin, with head- quarters in Milwaukee, and he has since made that city his home. Mr. Plimpton is actively interested in all outdoor sports and is one of the leading golf players of the Blue Mound Country Club. He is also widely known for his skill in billiards and tennis. In social, civic and fraternal matters he is prominently identified with the University Club, the Blue Mound Country Club, the Millioki Club, the Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Society of Colonial Wars, and the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and he is secretary of the Wisconsin State Golf Association. In politics Mr. Plimpton is a stanch Re- publican and served two terms as a member of the city council of Hartford, Conn. In religious matters he is aligned with the Con- gregational church. On June 27, 1906, occurred his marriage to Miss Violet Rowe, a daughter of William and Salome (Sargisson) Rowe, of Grand Rapids, Mich. They have no children.
John C. Koch, deceased, who for many years was a prominent figure in the municipal and commercial life of Milwaukee, was born in Hamburg, Germany, on Oct. 18, 1841, and when but thirteen years of age he came direct to Milwaukee from the Father- land with his parents. His education was received in attendance upon the schools of his native land and one term in the public schools of Milwaukee, after his arrival here. Of his father he learned the trade of tinner and was associated with his parent until 1860. A year later he began work as an employe of John Pritzlaff & Company, and five years later was made chief clerk of the concern. His inherent ability, his enterprise and industry won for him the high commendation of his employers, and before the close of the year 1866 Mr. Pritzlaff made him a partner in the company. Business continued to prosper, and in 1874 the company was incorporated under the name of the John Pritzlaff Hardware Company, with a paid-in capital of $600,000 and the officers were John Pritzlaff, president; John C. Koch, vice-president; and F. Wollaeger, secretary and treasurer. During the time of Mr. Koch's connection with the business it grew from a retail store with a small custom to one of the largest and most thriving wholesale houses in the Northwest, and the amount of its trade is equalled to- day by only two other concerns in the territory. Besides his interest in the hardware business Mr. Koch was president of the Koch & Loeber Company, of Milwaukee, which concern does a large business in wooden-ware and supplies. He also served for a time as president of the Milwaukee Exposition Company, was a director of the Concordia Fire Insurance Company, and a member of the Milwaukee Advancement Association. Fraternally he was
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