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 123
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frightened beasts. When Mr. Donges gave up his position as jani- tor of the city hall, Moses Lane engaged him as the first chain boy to make the survey for the Water Works, in 1872. He then became associated in the silk hat business with a friend, Edward Casper, and during the following years was variously identified in business with Herman Tillman, Weisner & Zabel, Fred Gunther, Julius Ernst, and August Fuhrman. In 1884, with a capital of $250, saved from his earnings, he embarked in business under his own name, at 315 Third street, in hats, caps and stoves, taking as his partner his brother, Charles. For nearly a quarter of a century he has conducted this business with great success, and since his brother's death, in 1894, he has had no partner. About 1888 Mr. Donges began to invest in real estate, purchasing first the property which is now known as Fox Point. Some months later he was able to realize a good profit in the sale of the property to Christ Preusser. He then purchased the three miles of lake shore property; which is locally called Donges Bay, organizing the Fish Creek Park Com- pany, which has made of the property two resorts, known as Donges Bay and the Fairy Chasm resorts. The company con- structed a dam at a cost of $5,000 to enable it to build an artificial lake some three miles in length. The builders were Oswald Jaeger and Oscar Fromm. It has been said that there is nowhere in Wis- consin a more picturesque place than Mr. Donges' lake shore property. It is hardly conceivable that within a few miles of a city one can get away from the noise and dirt in a place that is almost primeval in its wildness. In his political belief Mr. Donges has given unswerving allegiance to the Republican party but has never sought to become the candidate of that party for any political office: His religious views find expression in membership in the Lutheran church. In April, 1893, was celebrated Mr. Donges' marriage to Miss Alma Bexell, a daughter of John and Frances (Salentein) Bexwell. Two daughters have been the issue of this union-Irma and Elsa-whose respective ages are fourteen and thirteen.
William Norman Fitzgerald is president and manager of the Bradley & Metcalf Company, the oldest shoe-manufacturing con- cern in the Northwest. He was born Jan. 17, 1862, and received his education in the public schools of Milwaukee, the city of his birth. His father, William Fitzgerald, was one of the pioneer ship builders of the lake region, and also owned and managed considerable vessel property. Mr. Fitzgerald's busines experience commenced as a boy in the office of the house of which he has successively held the positions of secretary, secretary and treasurer and pres- ident and treasurer. In the years 1906 and 1907 he was president . of the Milwaukee Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association, and in 1907 he served as president of the Western Shoe Wholesalers' Association. Mr. Fitzgerald is also a trustee of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, of Milwaukee, and is a member of the Milwaukee, Town, Press and the Milwaukee Athletic clubs. For many years he has been a factor in social and church circles,
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having been a trustee of Immanuel Presbyterian church. While he has never aspired to political office, his counsel and advice are frequently sought by the higher officials of the state, and he counts among his close friends some of the leading statesmen of the nation. The steady success which has attended Mr. Fitzgerald's career is due to a remarkable energy, clear foresight, and an executive ability, which not only embodies generalship but also a grasp of detail. He possesses an impressive personality, and is an excellent conversationalist as well as a clear thinking business man.
Phillip Gross is one of the leading hardware merchants of Mil- waukee, with an establishment at 126-128 Grand avenue. He is a son of Phillip and Elizabeth (Peterman) Gross, was born at Hag- ersheim, Germany, Nov. 5, 1835, and immigrated to this country in 1853. After the death of the mother, the bereaved father followed the son to this country, in 1855, making his home in Milwaukee for one year, and then he removed to New Ulm, Minn., where he took an active part in the defense of the frontier settlers against the vio- lent Sioux outbreaks, serving gallantly in the Indian wars of 1862. Following the cessation of hostilities, the father conducted a hotel at New Ulm and made that his home up to the time of his death, in 1895. Meanwhile Phillip Gross, Jr., who had always maintained an ambitious disposition, laid the foundation of his future success, which is a monument to his name and family. In common with most successful merchants, he prepared to qualify himself for the business which he expected to follow, entering the employ of the then leading Milwaukee hardware house, in 1855, but after serving others for ten or twelve years, and having by frugality accumulated sufficient means to justify the purchase of an interest for him- self, he availed himself of an opportunity which presented itself at that time. Previously, Mr. Gross (in 1860) married Ernstine Bleck, and out of five children born to them, there survive only two: a son, Arthur E. Gross; and a daughter, Elizabeth, the wife of Charles E. Mueller. Mr. Gross' business associates changed at various periods, but the present substantial house dates from 1880, when he bought out Kieckhefer Brothers, at 110-112 Grand avenue. That store became too small for the volume of business done, and in 1890 he was forced to seek more commodious quarters ; his re- moval to 126-128 Grand avenue at that time marking the location of his present place of business. Because of its rapid growth, Mr. Gross found it necessary to surround himself with able assistants, and in the natural course of events he associated with him his son, Arthur, and also his son-in-law, Mr. Mueller, both of whom are practically in the line, and with Mr. Gross own the stock of the Phillip Gross Hardware Company, the business having been incor- porated in 1899, to afford still greater opportunities for successful growth. Besides his hardware holdings, Mr. Gross is prominent in other business affairs, being a director in the Cream City Bedding Company, and in the Wisconsin Furniture Company, as well as a stockholder in a number of other enterprises. He takes a keen and active interest in civic affairs, is a member of the Old Settlers' Club,
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In
and is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. politics Mr. Gross has always been a consistent Republican.
Charles A. A. McGee was born at Oconto, Wis., May 25, 1874, the son of James and Anna (Juneau) McGee. The mother, now sixty years of age, is of French and Indian ancestry on the paternal side, and Yankee on the maternal, and she is a granddaughter of Solomon Juneau, the founder of Milwaukee and its first mayor. The maternal grandmother, Olive C. Buttles, was born in Virginia, and her ancestors were Colonial settlers, slave-holders, and officers and soldiers in the Revolutionary army. The father, James Mc- Gee, is of Scotch and Irish ancestry, and was born in St. Johns, New Brunswick, sixty years ago. Charles A. A. McGee is a law- yer, having been admitted to practice after graduating in the college of law of the University of Wisconsin in 1899. He was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee and the University of Wisconsin. Since his graduation Mr. McGee has been active in politics and public life. In 1896 he was the originator and one of the four authors of the book entitled "Truth about Money," which was adopted by the Republican National Committee, and he traveled through the states of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, speaking continuously for a period of nine weeks, and meeting in joint debate leading men who advocated the free and unlimited coinage of silver at the ratio of sixteen to one. During the past ten years Mr. McGee has taken an active part in the move- ment for progressive legislation in the state of Wisconsin, and has been a strict adherent and firm supporter of Robert M. La Follette and his policies. In the Republican National Convention, as- sembled in Chicago in June, 1908, Mr. McGee seconded the nom- ination of Robert M. La Follette for president of the United States and started the demonstration that continued for over forty minutes. In 1906, he was a candidate for the office of attorney- general, but failed to secure the nomination. Mr. McGee is mar- ried to Anna Meyer and has three children, all daughters, namely: Elizabeth, nine years of age; Juneau Thieline, five years; and Anna Helene, a year and a half. He is a Mason and a Knight of Pythias, is a member of the Milwaukee Athletic and the Deutscher clubs ; the collegiate fraternity, Delta Tau Delta; and the professional fraternity, Phi Delta Phi.
Arthur S. Green, a popular building contractor of North Mil- waukee, was born in the city of Leeds, England, April 14, 1869, the son of Samuel and Sarah (Parker) Green. The father was a con- tractor and followed that calling through life. He came to the United States in 1869 and located at Buffalo, N. Y., where he was employed by the Federal government as government dam inspector. He also built a part of the Buffalo & New York railroad by contract. In 1874 he removed to Fond du Lac, Wis., from which place he oper- ated several stone quarries throughout the state. He was a member of the Episcopal church and the Good Templars' lodge. His death occurred at Medina, Wis., in 1876, and his wife passed away at North Milwaukee on Jan. 6, 1907. Six children survive the parents :
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Joseplı, an engineer, of Glidden, Wis .; Mrs. Sarah Walters, of Mil- waukee; Arthur S., of this sketch; Harry, a mason contractor of North Milwaukee; Thomas, an officer in the state penitentiary at Waupun ; and William, a lumberman at Mountain, Oconto county, Wis. Arthur S. Green received his education in the Kekoskee dis- trict and the Mayville high schools. In 1888 he went to South Da- kota, where he remained until 1890. He then returned to Wis- consin and was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Parrott, of Oak Center, Wis., and they now have two children, Sadie and Arthur S .. Jr. In the same year that he was married he located at Marshfield, Wis., and in 1893 removed to North Milwaukee, where he entered the building business. Many of the buildings now standing in that town are monuments to his handiwork and skill. In 1900 Mr. Green was elected to the county board, and in 1904 and 1906 was again chosen to represent the town as supervisor. He has always given his official duties careful attention and is noted for receiving consideration for his district, besides getting many public appoint- ments for his constituents. It was mainly through his efforts that the new site of the House of Correction was located in North Mil- waukee. A resolution which he introduced and succeeded in carry- ing after a hard fight was that prohibiting self-confessed or con- victed grafters from doing business with the county. It became quite famous before it was finally passed and has since proved its worth.
John S. Inda, 391 Mitchell street, Milwaukee, was born at 542 Mitchell street on Nov. 11, 1876. He is the son of Val and Rose (Roseiszewski) Inda, both born in the province of Posen, German Poland, Nov. 11, 1849, and April 10, 1850, respectively. The par- ents came to Milwaukee direct from their native land, thirty-six years ago, and have ever since made their home in Milwaukee. John S. Inda received his education in the public and parochial schools of Milwaukee. Since 1903 he has been engaged in the real- estate business. He is not allied with any fraternal or political or- ganizations. On Nov. 26, 1901, Mr. Inda was united in marriage to Miss Jessie M. Deiry, a daughter of John M. and Jennie (Russell) Deiry, of Milwaukee. To this union have been born two children, Roger and Doris, now respectively five years and fifteen months old.
Eugene Martin, M. D., No. 2609 Prairie street, Milwaukee, is a native of Conover, Winneshiek county, Iowa, but of German and Austrian antecedents. His parents, Eugene Martin, M. D., born in Germany, and Anna (Kovarik) Martin, born in Austria, first located in Chicago upon coming to this country, and later moved to Iowa, then to Green Bay, Wis., and finally, in 1887, they returned to Chi- cago, where they remained until the death of the father in 1891. In all of these places Dr. Martin, Sr., maintained the practice of his pro- fession, which may almost be said to be hereditary, since Dr. Eugene Martin, Jr., is the fifth in the direct line that has followed this profes- sion. After her husband's death, Mrs. Martin returned to Austria, in company with Mrs. George M. Hotschick, the United States consul at Trieste, Austria. Eugene Martin, Jr., attended the public schools
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of Wisconsin, and was also under the instruction of private tutors until he entered college. He began his medical studies under the direction of his father and of Dr. Nicholas Senn, formerly of Milwaukee, and later of Chicago, and was graduated in the medical department of the University of Illinois in 1889. He began his practice in Chicago and remained in practice there until 1903, when, for family reasons, he changed his residence to Milwaukee, that being the home of his wife's parents, Hon. F. W. and Mary Marie (Jacobi) von Cotzhausen. Mr. von Cotzhausen is a member of the legal profession and a well and widely known citizen of Milwaukee, prominent in both professional and social circles. Dr. Martin's marriage to Miss Bertha von Cotz- hausen was solemnized in January, 1901, and three children have been born: Irene Marguerite, Eugene Frederick William, and Victoria Marian. Dr. Martin is a member of the Chicago Medical Society, is affiliated with the Illinois State Medical Society, and is the medical examiner for several life insurance companies ; he is also a member of the Knights of the Maccabees. In religious matters he is liberal, and in politics a supporter of the Republican party. Although a resident of Milwaukee for only a short time his reputation as a skillful physi- cian in the larger field afforded by the neighboring city of Chicago had preceded him, and he has taken his place among the leading ex- ponents of his profession in the city.
Stanley E. Czerwinski, one of the foremost phamacists on the South Side of Milwaukee, with a modern place of business at 839 Eighth avenue, was born in the Cream City on Aug. 28, 1876. He is a son af Frank and Felicia (Jankowska) Czerwinski, both natives of the province of Posen, Poland. The father was one of the pioneers of the western part of the United States, going to California with the earliest movers after the discovery of gold there in 1848. Subsequently he returned to Posen and there was married. In 1870 he again returned to the United States and located in Milwaukee with his family, and there he still resides at the hale old age of eighty-four years. His family consists of five children. Ignatz, the eldest, is engaged in the realty business in Milwaukee; Josephine is the wife of Peter Paw- inski; Albert H. is a druggist; and Praxeda is the wife of Ignatz Sawicki. Stanley E. Czerwinski, the youngest and the subject of this review, received his preliminary education at St. Stanislaus parochial school in Milwaukee and rounded out his scholastic career by a course in Marquette College. When he left the latter institution in 1893 he began the study of pharmacy, and in 1895 passed the examination submitted by the state board of pharmacy for the assistant pharma- cist's degree. A year later, after successfully taking the full pharma- cist's examination, he was granted the degree of graduate pharmacist by the above mentioned board. It was not until 1899, however, that he embarked in business under his own name at his present location. Success attended the venture from the start, and today he has one of the best patronized as well as one of the best equipped stores on the South Side. Mr. Czerwinski has always been a stanch adherent of the tenets of the Democratic party. For two years he served as a member of the Milwaukee school board, and between 1905 and 1907 was a
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member of the board of public works. Fraternally he is allied with the Polish National Alliance, St. Augustina's Society, the Polish Sharp- shooters, the Harmonia Singing Society, the Polish Turners. the Knights of Columbus, the Kohlsdorf Assembly, Equitable Fraternal Union and the Kosciuszko Hall Association. He was reared in the Catholic faith and is today one of the most devout and sincere commu- nicants of St. Hyacinth's Polish Catholic church. On June 26, 1900, occurred Mr. Czerwinski's marriage to Miss Martha Stormowski, a daughter of Joseph and Catherine (Waieszak) Stormowski, pioneer Polish settlers of Milwaukee. To this union have been born four chil- dren : Stanley, Eugene, Marion and Felix.
Nicholas Tylicki, the senior member of the well-known firm of Tylicki & Berner, wholesale and retail grocers at 570 Mitchell street, Milwaukee, Wis., was born in Pennsylvania Sept. 5, 1875. He is the son of Joseph and Antonia Tylicki, both of whom were born in the province of Posen, Germany. They came to America and settled in Pennsylvania, but after living there for a few years moved to Milwau- kee and were among the first Polish residents of the city. The elder Tylicki was a cabinet maker by trade and successfully followed this profession until his death, which occurred in 1881. He reared a family of six children: Felix; Vincentz; Frank; Josephine, the wife of An- ton Zywicki; Wladislaus; and Nicholas. Nicholas Tylicki received the educational training offered by the Polish parochial schools and the public schools of Milwaukee, and while still young began his business career as clerk in a grocery store. He began at the bottom and learned this business very thoroughly ; he gained the confidence and trust of his employers by his industry and faithfulness to duty. He was a careful business man, and by 1893 had accumulated sufficient capital to engage in business. A partnership was formed with his brother- in-law, but at the end of three years this partnership was dissolved and Mr. Tylicki carried on the business alone. About three years later he was offered an excellent position as salesman for a flouring mill and sold out his store to acept it. In a short time he became salesman for a wholesale grocery house and was one of their most popular and esteemed employes. In 1904 the present firm of Tylicki & Berner was established and it has grown to a large and prosperous business. This grocery house is one of the largest of its kind in Milwaukee, carrying a $20.000 stock, and it does an annual business of $75,000. Mr. Ty- licki was united in marriage in April, 1897, with Mary, the daughter of Simon Drzewuzewski, of Milwaukee, and has three children : Lottie, Sylvia, and Eugene. He is a member of St. Josaphat's Polish Catholic congregation and of the Modern Woodmen of America. Politically he is affiliated with the Democratic party.
Henry Smith, who has been prominent in the public life of Milwaukee for many years, was born in Baltimore, Md., July 22, 1838. He is the son of Henry and Catherine (Wetter) Smith, both of whom were born in Westphalia, Germany, March 30, 1806, and Jan. 31, 1800, respectively. The paternal grandfather was a school teacher in the lat- ter part of the Eighteenth and early part of the Nineteenth century, and his wife was a French woman, Gertraud De LaCourt by name, and a
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Huguenot in religious belief. The maternal ancestry dates back directly 650 yaers, as farmers with large land holdings, which were transmitted from father to son under the law as it then existed. The home of the fam- ily was substantially built of stone, and as the mother would relate stor- ies of her girlhood days to her children she would tell of the marks left by cannon balls on the walls during the Thirty Years' war. One maternal uncle was killed while serving in Napoleon's army at Borodino, a can- non-ball cutting his body in two; two other maternal uncles came to the United States in 1807, one settling in Philadelphia and the other in Baltimore, Md., and both prospered and became substantial citizens. Still another maternal uncle located on a farm near Dubuque, Ia., in the thirties, and two of his daughters become teachers in the public schools. The parents came to the United States in 1832, and landed in Baltimore, where their residence continued for a period of six years. Thence they removed with their family to a farm near Massillon, Stark county, Ohio. On the first of September, 1844, having learned of the possibili- ties of Milwaukee, the father started for that place with his family, going by the Ohio & Erie canal to Cleveland, and thence by side-wheel steamer to Milwaukee, the landing being made at the old North pier, which extended into Lake Michigan at the foot of Huron street. Since Sept. 12, 1844, the day of landing, Mr. Smith has been a resident of the Cream City. His educational advantages were such as were af- forded by the public schools of Milwaukee prior to 1848. When he had completed his scholastic training he learned the trade of mill- wright, embracing also the mastery of planing machinery and buildings for manufacturing purposes, and he has had more than fifty years' experience in the line. Mr. Smith has had an unique political career. He assisted in the organization of the Greenback and the People's parties. From 1868 to 1872 he represented his ward in the common council, being elected independent of party, and from 1876 to 1878 again served in that capacity. In 1878 he was a member of the lower house of the state legislature, and in the Blue Book of that date he is credited as a Socialistic representative. In 1880 he was again elected alderman, and two years later as city comptroller, serving one term of two years. Again in 1884, he was elected alderman for three years, and before the expiration of that term was elected, in 1886, a member of Congress from the Fourth Wisconsin district on the People's party ticket, having the distinction of being the first candidate of the party to be elected to that office. As congressman he served but one term. In 1898 he was again elected alderman, and has continued to represent his ward since that time, the term he is now filling expiring in 1912. Mr. Smith also served as a member of the board of trustees of the Milwaukee public museum for four years. Fraternally he is promi- nently identified with the Masonic order, being a member of Kilbourn lodge, No. 3, Free and Accepted Masons ; Kilbourn chapter, No. I, Royal Arch Masons ; and Kilbourn council, No. 9, Roval and Select Masters. Mr. Smith has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Christina Schaefer, born in St. Louis, Mo., May 22, 1848, to whom he was united on Aug. 14, 1864. Mrs. Smith died on July 29, 1873, leaving beside her husband four children: Albert, Grace, Jennie, and
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Charles, the eldest of whom is now forty-three years of age. On Jan. 14, 1875, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Mary Eimerman, born on a farm in the town of Rhine, Sheboygan county, Wis., Sept. 16, 1852. To this second union has been born one child. Clinton Smith, now twenty-nine years of age.
David Vance, well-known in Milwaukee and the other large lake ports as a ship-owner and vessel broker, was born in Belfast, Ire- land, but was brought to the United States in infancy by his parents, who located in Jefferson county, N. Y. There he attended school and passed the early years of his life on a farm. In 1854 he came to Mil- waukee, and when sixteen years old became a sailor on the lakes. Promotions came rapidly, and it was not long before he was the master of a vessel, even before he was twenty-one, a capacity in which he served for more than fifteen years. When he gave up the occupation of a sailor in his thirty-second year he returned to Milwaukee and es- tablished the vessel brokerage and the marine insurance business, in which he has since been interested, retaining at the same time a financial interest in the vessels of which he had been master. The firm of David Vance & Company is to-day not only one of the oldest but one of the best established on the lakes. To it can be credited much of the rapid development of the marine trade of the Great Lakes. Personally Mr. Vance is a man exceedingly popular with those with whom he has business transactions, of exemplary habits, great mental vigor and keen business judgment. He has served as president of the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce, and he represented the district composed of the Fifth and Twelfth wards of the city of Milwaukee in the lower house of the legislature in the sessions of 1876 and 1877.
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