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 119

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 119

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MEMOIRS OF MILWAUKEE COUNTY

treasurer of the Engineering Construction Company, and vice- president and treasurer of the Atlas Construction Company, both of which are Wisconsin corporations. In 1890 Mr. Swigart was united in marriage with Henrietta, the daughter of Jesse and Jennie M. Meyers, of Delphos, Ohio. They have one child, Harry S., born in 1892.

Patrick Meehan, deceased, for many years one of the most prominent lumber dealers in the state and subsequently a foremost figure in the realty business in Milwauke, was born in Canada on Aug. 15, 1838. He was a son of John and Mary (Crahen) Meehan, both natives of Ireland. The father came to Sauk county from Canada at an early date and subsequently moved to Wood county, where he was engaged in the lumber business. The father passed away in 1883, and the mother's demise occurred ten years later. Patrick Meehan, the subject of this review, received the limited educational advantages afforded by the public school in his day. In the year 1859, with his brother James, he removed to what is now Portage county, Wis., and there erected the first lumber mill ever built in Wisconsin, on the site of the present village of Meehan. For many years they were engaged in the manufacture of lumber, and they were among the pioneers of the industry in the state. Mr. Meehan continued in the industry in Wisconsin and Minnesota until 1902, meeting with great success in every undertaking. In the above-named year he retired from active participation in the lumber business and removed to Milwaukee, where he devoted all his time to the management of his real-estate interests. His death occurred on Sept. 15, 1908, and the loss was not only a severe one to the commercial circles of the city and state but also to the community in which he made his home. In his political belief Mr. Meehan was a stanch adherent of the tenets of the Democratic party, but never sought public office. He was reared in the Catholic faith and was a life-long communicant of the church of that de- nomination. Fraternally he was prominently identified with the Academic Club, the Knights of Columbus and the Old Settlers' Club. In 1855 occurred Mr. Meehan's marriage to Miss Mary Con- nolly, a daughter of Terence Connolly, a native of Ireland. They had no children. Mrs. Meehan is still living in Milwaukee, beloved and esteemed by all who know her.

Gustav Prasser is numbered among the leading business men of the city of Milwaukee, where he and his brothers are continuing a business which was firmly established by their father more than forty years ago. Mr. Prasser was born in the city that has been the scene of his active business career on April 8, 1867, the son of George I. and Amelia S. (Wolf) Prasser, the former of whom was born in Bavaria, Germany, April 12, 1838, and the latter in Alsace, France, on Sept. 23, 1838. The father migrated to America about 1855 and located first in the city of New York, where he resided seven years. Then, about 1862, he established his residence in Milwaukee, where he con- tinued to live the rest of his life, dying on May 5, 1902, his wife dying Sept. 9 of the same year. The father took the interest of a

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good citizen in public affairs and in the early Sos was a member of the board of aldermen in Milwaukee. Soon after his arrival in the Cream City he established the business which later became known as George I. Prasser & Sons, dealers in furniture and cas- kets, and under his supervision the business grew to almost its present mammoth proportions. At his death the management was assumed by his sons: Gustav, George and Emil, and later Fred Reuter and Charles Troxel were taken in as partners, and the establishment is one of the largest of its kind in the city of Mil- waukee. The firm does an upholstering and manufacturing business, deals in furniture, carpets, lace curtains, caskets, etc., and gives permanent employment to about twenty-five men. When the enterprise was first started, back in the '6os, it occupied a store 25 × 30 feet in size, with only one floor in use, the same being located at No. 456 National avenue. Later a building was erected, 25x80 feet in size, with two floors, and seven years after- ward trade had so increased that another building was put up. a half block in length with two floors. In 1899 the building which is now in use was crected. It has a frontage of fifty feet, is half a block in length, and has four floors, while the old building is retained and used as the factory. The undertaking rooms are also in the old building. Gustav Prasser received his early education in the public schools of the city of Milwaukee, as well as the parochial schools in that city. He later took a course in the Spencerian Business College and was a student for a time in the Northwestern University at Watertown. After leaving college he engaged in the drug business in Milwaukee during a period of two years, and in 1890 joined his father in the fur- niture business ; and in that line of endeavor he has since exercised his talents, contributing in no small degree to the success of the firm, of which he is a member. In political affairs Mr. Prasser gives an un- swerving allegiance to the men and measures of the Republican party, and he keeps in touch with advanced business ideas by membership in the South Side Civic Association, the Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association, and the Furniture Dealers' Association, and of the last named he has officiated as president for a period of fifteen consecutive years. He and his wife are members of St. Peter's Evangelical Lu- theran church, and for five years he has been the treasurer of that or- ganization. Mr. Prasser was married on Sept. 9, 1892, to Miss Clara Walschlaeger. daughter of William and Wilhelmina Walschlaeger, old and highly respected residents of Milwaukee.

T. J. Neacy is a prominent figure among those interested in the manufacturing industries of the city of Milwaukee, and in that line of endeavor few have to a greater extent impressed their individu- ality upon the city. Mr. Neacy was born in Ireland on Jan. 17. 1848. and was one of thirteen children of Lawrence Neacy, a farmer in the Emerald Isle. His mother was Rose (O'Byrne) Neacy, and both his parents lived their lives and died in Ireland, the father at the age of eighty-three years and the mother at fifty. The subject of this review received his early industrial training on the farm and his early educa- tion in the common schools of his native land. In 1866 he migrated 60

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to America and located at East Troy, Wis. Later he spent four and one-half years at Whitewater, in the capacity of a machinist, and on Oct. 9. 1871, took up his permanent residence in the city of Milwaukee, where as a machinist he entered the employ of Filer & Stowell, in the establishment then known as the Cream City Iron Works. By grad- ual stages he became one of the chief factors in the concern, and for a time represented it as a traveling salesman. In 1880 a stock company was organized under the style of the "Filer & Stowell Com- pany," and two years later Mr. Neacy became a stockholder. In 1893, in company with his present partner, Mr. Read, he purchased all of the stock, and these two gentlemen have since been the sole owners, the presidency of the company being alternated between them. In 1871, when Mr. Neacy first became associated with the company, its annual business amounted to about $80,000, but together with its subsidiary companies it now has the capacity for the manufacture of two million dollars' worth of goods each year. Under the intelligent man- agement of Messrs. Neacy and Read the enterprise has steadily devel- oped until it is now one of the most widely known manufactories of its kind in the United States, and mill machinery and all kinds of engines are representend in its manufactures. In politics Mr. Neacy is de- cidedly independent in his views, and while he has been to a large extent absorbed in business he has found time to devote himself to public affairs, and has been called upon to fill important local positions. He is now a member of the trade school commission of the school board in the city of Milwaukee and is also a member of the board of trustees of the State Hospital for the Insane. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Columbus, and he and his wife both adhere to the religious faith expressed in the tenets of the Roman Catholic church. Mr. Neacy was married on April 16, 1885, to Miss Mary Conway, a native of Franklin, Wis., where her parents were early settlers, and to this union there have been born six children: Anna C. and Rose C., who are stu- dents of Lake Forest Academy ; Ralph C., an apprentice in the manu- facturing establishment of his father; Paul C., Eugene C., and Conway John.

Perley Roddis Sanborn is the second vice-president of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, with which corporation he has been associated for a third of a century. He was born at Ap- pleton, Wis., on Feb. 1, 1853, the son of Hon. Alden Sprague and Hildah M. (Eastman) Sanborn, the former of whom was a native of Vermont and the latter of New Hampshire. The father was born at Corinth. Vt .. Oct. 21, 1820, and was the son of Amos Sanborn and Sophia (Frost) Sanborn. The ancestors on both sides settled in Ver- mont a short time prior to 1790, the Sanborns locating at Corinth and the Frosts at Groton, and both families hailed from Massachusetts. Alden Sprague Sanborn had the ordinary common school advantages until sixteen years of age, and although he did not graduate at any college or university he pursued a classical course of study for four years in academic schools and with private tutors. He read law with Hon. Seth Austin, of Bradford. Vermont, and subsequently for a short

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time with Hon. Richard P. Marvin, of Jamestown, N. Y. He wa- admitted to practice in Orange county, Vermont, and came to Wis- consin in 1845. He first located in Milwaukee, where he taught school for several terms, and was elected the first treasurer of Milwaukee county under the state organization in 1848. In the spring of 1850 he removed to Appleton, Wis., which was then in Brown county, and he served as district attorney of that county in 1851 and 1852; and after the county of Outagamie was organized was district attorney thereof for 1853 and 1854. He was one of the commissioners to locate the Wisconsin Hospital for the Insane, and he removed to Dane county in the fall of 1854, locating at Mazomanie, where he resided until May. 1864, in the meantime being a member of the Assembly from the west Assembly district of Dane county, for 1862, 63, and 64. At the expiration of the sesison of 1864 he removed to the city of Madison. where he resided the remainder of his life. He was elected mayor of Madison in 1867, and city attorney in 1869 and in 1870. He was a member of the Assembly for the Madison district in 1870, and in a tri- angular candidacy in 1877 he was elected county judge of Dane county by a plurality vote, for the term of four years, commencing Jan. I, 1878. He was re-elected to the position in 1881, and died in 1885, before the expiration of his second term. Perley Roddis Sanborn is the eldest son of Judge Sanborn and received his schooling in the ex- cellent educational institutions of Madison. He studied law in the office of his father and with Judge J. C. Hopkins of the United States court, and at the time of the organization of the Eastern district of Wisconsin and the appointment of Judge Hopkins as judge of the same he accepted the position of clerk of the new tribunal. In 1873 he removed to the city of Milwaukee and for the ensuing two years was employed in the banking house of Marshall & Ilsley. In 1875 he accepted a position with the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, the place being offered him by Judge Henry L. Palmer, who was a warm friend of his father, Judge Sanborn. Mr. San- born worked in the loan department of that mammoth corpora- tion until 1890, when he was made superintendent of that depart- ment, and later in the same year he was given the title of second assistant secretary. In July, 1904, he was promoted to the third vice-presidency of the corporation, and in July, 1908, was elected to the office of second vice president, which position he occupies at the present time.

Charles Alvin Loveland has occupied a responsible position with the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company for nearly forty years. during half of which time he has filled the station of actuary, discharging the duties thereof in a most acceptable manner. Mr. Loveland was born in the city of Troy, N. Y., on Oct. 3. 1841. the son of Horace and Sarah (Vail) Loveland, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of the state of New York. In 1855 the fam- ily removed to Wisconsin and located in Milwaukee, where the father engaged in the fire insurance business, he having formerly been engaged in the lumber business in New York. He died in Milwaukee in the vear 1881. His wife survived him for a number of years and died

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James Washburn Skinner, who has for many years been in the service of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company and now vice-president, was born in Warren, Pa., on Aug. 8, 1838, a son of Archibald and Nancy G. (Washburn) Skinner. The father was born in Litchfield, Conn., in 18II, and the mother in Homer, N. Y. Mr. Skinner received his education in the common schools of She- boygan county, Wis., and at Fredonia (N. Y.) Academy. When but thirteen years of age he was employed by his father in a general store at Sheboygan Falls, Wis., and when he grew older he was made a partner in the business. Later he was engaged in manufac- turing in the same place. With the discovery of gold in Colorado he went to that state and for three years experienced the hard- ships and difficulties of pioneer life, mining, etc. On Dec. 26, 1865, he entered the employ of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, and was appointed assistant secretary in 1872, and on Jan. 25, 1882, was elected secretary of the corporation. On July 19, 1905 he was elected second vice-president and on Oct. 21, 1908, vice-president. Mr. Skinner is devoted to business but is also in- terested in educational work, especially in regard to neglected boys. He has little time for club life, but is a member of the Blue Mound Country Club and the Old Settlers' Club. On Oct. 14, 1863, he was united in marriage to Miss Frances M. Lewis, a daughter of H. H. Lewis, of Sheboygan Falls. To them two chil- dren were born: a son, Harry W., and a daughter, now Mrs. Frances S. Curel.

Joseph R. Dyer, first assistant counsel of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, was born at Racine, Wis., on Oct. 7, 1862. He is a son of Charles E. and Sarah E. (Root) Dyer, the former a native of New York state and the latter of Ohio. The father came to Wisconsin with his parents in 1839, but at an early age left the state for some years. On his return to the Badger State he opened a law office at Racine and there was continuously engaged in the practice of his profession until his appointment as judge of the United States district court at Milwaukee. Subsequently he re- moved to this city, and passed away in 1905. Joseph R. Dyer, the subject of this review, received his early educational training in the public schools of Racine and Racine Academy, conducted by Col- onel McMynn. When he left the last named institution he attended other institutions of learning, including Racine College. He pursued the study of law in connection with office work in the offices of Judge J. V. Quarles, later United States senator from Wisconsin, and in January, 1886, passed creditably the state bar exami- nations and was admitted to practice. He became associated with the firm of Quarles & Spence, and was associated with that firm until it removed to Milwaukee. Then for a period he practiced alone at Ra- cine and later formed a partnership with T. M. Kearney, which lasted until a short time before his removal to Milwaukee in March, 1892, to accept the position he now holds with the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. In politics Mr. Dyer is a Republican, but has never accepted public office. He devotes himself strictly to busi-

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ness, his chief recreation being hunting and fishing. On Dec. 22, 1886, Mr. Dyer was united in marriage to Miss Lucy H. Burrall, a native of Dodgeville, Wis. To this union have been born three daughters : Mary B., Hester N., and Josephine R.

William D. Gray, president of the Foster Construction Com- pany of Milwaukee, and vice-president of the German American Bank, is a prominent business man of the Cream City and one of the best known and prominent milling engineers in the United States. He is a Scotchman by birth, born in the land of the "canny Scot," with its granite hills and heather-covered braes, July 22, 1843, the son of Wil- liam D. and Elizabeth (Valentine) Gray, both of whom were born and reared in Scotland. William D. Gray, Sr., was a farmer who emi- grated to America, the land of promise to the farmer, and settled in Canada, where he worked as a faithful husbandman of the soil for many years. Mr. Gray died in Canada without returning to his native land, and was followed in a few years by his faithful wife and helpmate. William D., Jr., grew up on the farm, accustomed to the hardships and privations that fall to the lot of the hardy pioneer in a new country, but these only strengthened the character of the energetic young Scotch- man. Before leaving Scotland he had attended the lower schools, and after settling in Canada he showed a strong inclination and natural ability for study, and applied himself diligently at the public school near his home. He learned the carpenter's trade and followed this occupation for several years, but machinery had always attracted him and he gave up carpentry to study flour milling. Mr. Gray entered a mill in order to learn the practical side of the business ; he became a millwright and moved to Minneapolis, which had been the Mecca of milling interests for years. There a broader field was presented in which to study milling on a large scale, and he changed from practical to scientific and engineering miller, passed from millwright to draughts- man, and subsequently was promoted from that position to mill engi- neer. While in Minneapolis Mr. Gray became associated with some of the prominent milling men of that city and was engaged as milling engineer for mill-building concerns. In June, 1876, he came to Mil- waukee to accept a position with the Allis Milling Company, at first as head of the designing and construction departments, but he soon be- came superintendent of the milling and machinery department and held this responsible position for twenty-seven years. During this time Mr. Gray became a recognized authority as a mill engineer and constructor and an inventor of much of the modern flour-mill machin- ery in use. When the Allis company was consolidated he determined to go into business for himself, and became a mill constructor. In 1906 the Foster Construction Company was organized, with Mr. Gray as president, and since that time it has built a number of mills in dif- ferent parts of the country. At present this company has just finished the largest mill in the world for the Hecker, Jones & Jewell Milling Company of New York city. In 1873 Mr. Gray was united in marriage with Kathrine E. Chipman, a native of Wisconsin, who was living in Minneapolis at the time of hier marriage. Their home has been made happy by the birth of two daughters, Helen Maud and Mabel Marjorie.

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The family are members and supporters of the Grand Avenue Presby- terian church, and Mr. Gray's political affiliations are with the Re- publican party. He is a prominent figure in Masonic circles, having served as the first Worshipful Master of Lafayette Lodge, and he is a member of Calumet Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Ivanhoe Com- mandery, Knights Templar ; and a Thirty-second degree member of the Wisconsin Consistory, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.

William R. Nethercut, second assistant counsel of the North- western Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, was born at Lake Geneva, Walworth county, Wis., on Feb. 15, 1859. The parents, George S. and Mary B. (McConnell) Nethercut, were born on Dec. 17, 1826, and July 27, 1827, respectively, and migrated to Lake Geneva, from New York city in 1855. William R. Nethercut attended the public schools of his native city and graduated at the high school in the class of 1874. He then became apprenticed to the printer's trade, in the office of the Lake Geneva Herald, and subsequently became a member of the firm of Heg & Nethercut, owners of the Herald Com- pany. In September, 1881, he matriculated in the law department of the University of Wisconsin and was graduated at that institution with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1883. From 1882 to 1884 he was assistant to the reporter of the state supreme court, but gave up that po- sition to enter the office of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, as title examiner, in April, 1884. He held that position until Feb. 3, 1896, and on that date, by election of the trustees, he was made second assistant counsel of the company, the official capacity in which he is now employed. He was actively inter- ested in the organization of the First National Bank of Wauwatosa, which was organized in 1907, and he is a director therein. In political matters Mr. Nethercut is allied with the Prohibition party, believ- ing that the liquor traffic is the dominant issue before the American people to-day. His home is in Wauwatosa and he has served that community in various capacities. In 1894-'95 he was a member of the village board; in 1896-'97 was clerk of the school board; and since 1897, except one year, has served continuously as a member of the board of education, seven years of the time as chairman, of which office he is now the incumbent. On July 12, 1887, Mr. Nether- cut was married to Miss Helen C. Warren, a daughter of Luther A. and Anna (Hoppin) Warren, of Milwaukee. Six children have been born to bless this union: Ruth B., William R., Jr., Marjorie Warren, Donald Warren, Glenway Warren, and Robert Clifford. Mr. and Mrs. Nethercut are communicants of the First Congregational church of Wauwatosa.

Henry B. Frantz, a prominent and well-to-do farmer of Mil- waukee county and one of its honored citizens, was born in Lan- caster county, Pa., Jan. 4, 1843. His parents were Henry and Anna (Herr) Frantz, who were born in the same county, where the father was a farmer until 1849, when he disposed of the farm to advantage and moved to Baltimore county, Md., where he resided until 1871. About that time there was a general movement westward, and the father sold his farm in Maryland and located in Rock Island, Ill., where he

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resided the remainder of his days, which were but few in his new home, as his spirit took its flight in 1872. His widow survived him but three years. There were seven children in the family, namely: John, now deceased, a surgeon in the army of the United States, and whose death occurred at Carlisle, Pa .; Milton, now deccased, who up to the time of his death, in 1907, was the proprietor of some baths in Cali- fornia; Henry B., the subject of this review; Ira, living retired in California ; Emma, a resident of Rock Island, and the widow of Cap- tain Havertick; Albert J., formerly a hotel proprietor, now living re- tired near Los Angeles, Cal. ; and Anna, who is a teacher of stenography at Philadelphia. Henry B. Frantz, the subject of this re- view, received his first educational training in the public schools near his father's farm in Pennsylvania and later had additional instruction in the common schools of Maryland. He remained with his parents until after the outbreak of the Civil war, and then, upon the organiza- tion of the Eleventh Maryland infantry, he enlisted as a private in Company G for the 100-days' service. The regiment was mustered into the service of the United States on June 16, 1864, and on July I left Baltimore for Monocacy, where it fought under Gen. Lew. Wal- lace on the 9th, holding the Confederates under General Early in check until re-inforcements could be sent to Washington, which was threatened. The regiment was on guard duty until October I, when it was mustered out. Among the men of the regiment who re-en- listed to form the nucleus of a new Eleventh was Mr. Frantz, the term being for one year, but he saw no more active fighting, as the regiment did guard duty until it was mustered out, in June, 1865. He returned to his father's home after the cessation of hostilitics and assisted him in the conduct of the farm until 1870, when he came to Milwaukee to become superintendent of the farm at the National Soldiers' Home in Milwaukee. There he remained, having charge of the construction work also, until 1889, when he resigned to engage in the creamery business at Truesdell, Kenosha county, Wis. A year later he inher- ited his present farm of 123 acres in Milwaukee, which he continued to conduct until within the past few years, the burden of the la- bor being assumed by his son. Mr. Frantz devoted himself to the raising of vegetables for the Milwaukee market and the breeding of fine trotting horses. In politics he is a Republican, but has never as- pired to public office. Three children were the issue of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Frantz. Amy, born in 1878, died at the age of three years ; Harry S., born in 1881, now lives with his father ; and Bessie A., born in 1883, is the wife of Harold Mead Stratton, who was born at Troy, Wis., Nov. 12, 1878, and is now a resident of Milwaukee, where he is a member of the Board of Trade, in partnership with C. R. Lull. Mr. and Mrs. Stratton have one child, John Frantz, born April 2, 1908. Mrs. Frantz breathed her last on July 14, 1886. Although not a member, Mr. Frantz attends the divine worship of the Episcopal church.

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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 119

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