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 38
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passed away in June, 1872. Of their seven children, Elizabeth, deceased, was the wife of John Hoffman; Catharine. deceased, was Mrs. William Nass; the third child, Henry, is also deceased ; Mary, now residing at Brookfield, Wis., is the wife of Henry Breu; Salome, deceased, was Mrs. Kuhn; Anna, the wife of John Ryf, now resides in Oshkosh, Wis., and the biography of the seventh child, the subject of this sketch, follows: Jacob Wallauer received his education in the public schools of Milwaukee and Brookfield, and remained on the farm assisting his father until he was twenty-one years of age. He then went to Oshkosh, Wis., where he spent two years learning the dairy business. In 1863 he came back to Mil- waukee, where he engaged in the fancy grocery business. He fol- lowed this occupation until 1872, and by persistence and industry, combined with excellent business judgment, succeeded in building up a lucrative trade, and accumulated considerable money. In the latter year he gave up the retail branch of his business and devoted himself exclusively to the wholesale branch of the trade. In addi- tion to his other extensive business enterprises, he served for ten years as secretary and vice-president of the Northwestern Woolen Mills, which grew into a business of large proportions under his energetic and skillful management ; he was also interested in sau- sage manufacturing for a number of years. In 1897 he was enabled to retire from active business pursuits, having acquired, by his own exertions, a handsome competence. Some twenty-five years ago he bought the fine farm of 160 acres in the town of Wauwatosa, on which he now resides. He has lavished money on his farm and has a beautiful home. Here, in the enjoyment of the fruits of a well-spent life, in which he has built himself a comfortable fortune through his own industry and ability, and surrounded by every- thing that makes life pleasant, he has determined to spend the even- ing of his life, and can at the same time know that all he has and is he has earned and become by his personal exertions. He has, too, that reputation for integrity and unwavering principle which are of more value than unlimited wealth. He is still hale and hearty and his face gives no indication of the decay of bodily power, while his mental faculties retain all the vigor and keenness of his more active days. Mr. Wellauer is a Protestant in religious matters, while his wife is a zealous adherent of the Roman Catholic church. He was married on Nov. 6, 1867, to Miss Anna Hahn, and after the death of his first wife. without issue, was married a second time, on May TI, 1892, to Miss Lena Offermann, daughter of Paul and Catherine ( Kaldscheidt) Offerman, of Sauk City, Wis. By his lat- ter marriage he has a daughter and two sons; the daughter, Anna, lives at home and is attending school at Holy Angels' Acad- emy ; the sons, Jacob Henry and Henry Conrad, are also both at home and going to school. Mr. Wellauer receives great pleasure from his fraternal associations, and is a member of the Knights of Pythias. the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Sons of Her- mann, and of the Swiss Club. In his private life he is an exemplary
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husband and father, and in his intercourse with his fellowmen he is an affable and courteous gentleman, who enjoys the respect and esteem of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
Charles M. McLean (deceased), late of Ripon, Wis., where he was a prominent insurance man and a highly respected citizen, was born at Ithaca, N. Y., on Feb. 25, 1818, the son of Harney and Esther (Godfrey) McLean. His father was a substantial and pros- perous farmer near Ithaca for many years, who retired from active life several years before his death. Of his large family of five sons and four daughters, four are still living, a son and three of the daughters. The children in the order of their ages were as follows : Charles M., the subject of this sketch, who died at Ripon, Wis., June 21, 1886; James, deceased : Madison, a retired farmer, now liv- ing at Fond du Lac, Wis .; Halsey, deceased; John, deceased, a veteran of the Civil war ; Sarah, deceased, the first wife of Dr. Hath- away, late of Chicago, Ill .; Catharine, widow of Norman Mills, is now a resident of Tacoma, Wash .; Elizabeth, the widow of and the second wife of Dr. Hathaway, above mentioned ; and Adeline, deceased, who married Gilbert Sherwood, of New York. Charles M. received an excellent education in the public schools of Ithaca and at Eastman's Business College, Rochester, N. Y. He began his business career early in life, being only twenty-one years of age when he embarked in the foundry business at Morrisville, Mad- ison county, N. Y. He was a man of vigorous personality and remarkable industry, and continued in the foundry business for a period of twenty-five years. During this long period he established a splendid reputation for business sagacity and sterling probity, a reputation which he preserved unsullied up to the time of his death. Some four years after starting in business for himself, on April 24, 1843. he was married to Miss Fannie Foster, daughter of Edward and Sarah (Foster) Husdon, of Syracuse, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. McLean were the parents of three children: Charles, who died in infancy; Charles Albert, now a shoe manufacturer of Chicago, Ill .; and Ida, wife of Adelbert L. Dobbs, paymaster of the Chicago. Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, Milwaukee, with whom the widow makes her home. Mrs. McLean is still in the enjoyment of good health, despite her advanced years, and is one of two survivors of a family of nine children, she being the youngest, to-wit: Philan- der : Charles, who died in infancy ; Halsey ; Charles ; Celina ; Sarah, wife of George Merr, of Norwich, Conn. ; Ambrose ; Adeline, wife of Aaron Henderson, of Syracuse, N. Y .; and Fannie F., the wife of our subject. Her brother Ambrose is the only other surviving mem- ber of her immediate family. In 1864 Mr. McLean sold out his foundry business at Morrisville and came west to Ripon, Wis. Here he took up the insurance business as the local representative of the Northwestern Life Insurance Co., a calling in which he was eminently successful, and which engaged his attention until he passed away, in 1886, in his sixty-ninth year. Mr. McLean was a staunch adherent of the Republican party from the time of the
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birth of that political organization, and represented his ward in Ripon for two terms as a member of the common council. He was a sincere and earnest Christian gentleman and a faithful member of the Baptist church, which ever enlisted his warm support in all its good works. His charities were large and numerous, though he was essentially an unostentatious man and preferred to perform his good deeds in a quiet and unassuming manner. His cordial and warm-hearted nature and generous disposition gained him a host of staunch friends, and the lives of many men and women living to-day are made richer and happier through their former associa- tion with, and their kindly memories of, the deceased.
Prof. Arthur Price Roberts, No. 404 Van Buren street, Milwau- kee, Wis., is a widely known and unusually gifted clairvoyant, whose wonderful psychic powers have been demonstrated time and again in the most remarkable manner. Mr. Roberts is a native of Denby, Wales, where he was born on April 20, 1867, the son of Joseph and Hannah Roberts, both of whom were natives of the same place. His father was a stonecutter and contractor by occu- pation. He was a soldier in the army of Great Britian for many years, and was stationed in Australia during a portion of his term of service. Upon leaving the service he returned to his native land and resumed his former vocation. His wife, who was born at Denby in 1832, died there some twenty-five years ago, in 1882. They reared a family of three children, all of whom are living, the subject of this sketch being the youngest of the family. The elder of his two sisters, Sarah, is now living in England, and the younger, Fannie, makes her home in Fargo, N. D. It is an interesting and rather strange fact, in view of our subject's subsequent marvelous achievements, that he never attended school a day in his life, and is to-day neither able to read nor write. When only fourteen years of age he came to the United States, locating first at Fox Lake, Wis., where he remained for about eight months, and then went to Blanchard, N. D., and worked on a farm in that region. While employed in this capacity, he became aware of his unusual and remarkable powers of "second sight," and immediately began to make use of this clairvoyant gift, traveled extensively, and demon- strated on many occasions his extraordinary ability. After four years spent in Blanchard and other points in North Dakota, he located in Minneapolis, Minn., and spent four years in that city. In 1893 he came to Milwaukee, which has since been his place of residence. Ever since his strange and wonderful psychic powers were revealed to him, he has employed them constantly in the service of his fellowmen; he has been able to accurately forecast many disastrous events; has located for his clients many stolen articles of great value, and has discovered the whereabouts of many missing people in the interests of relatives and friends. One of the most remarkable manifestations of his extraordinary powers was his ability to accurately foretell the exact outcome of the famous Harry Thaw trial in New York city, more than a year in advance
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
ROBERT B. EBERT
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of the final judgment of the trial court. His marvelous achieve- ments have been recounted at length in the press of the country, and the writers frankly confess that they are unable to explain his work and power, except to attribute them to the possession of an abnormally constituted and strangely prescient mind. In Spiritual- istic circles he is known as a highly gifted and successful medium and his reputation in this line is becoming greater year by year. Mr. Roberts was happily married on May 12, 1896, to Mrs. Mary Horton Mitton, daughter of Joseph and Josephine Wasser, of Dubuque, Ia. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts have no children, but their home is a most congenial one. With the exception of the "Wood- men" fraternal order, Mr. Roberts is not affiliated with any of the secret societies or fraternal associations.
Robert B. Ebert (deceased), late of Milwaukee, Wis., and favorably known in banking circles by reason of his long and hon- orable connection with the Marshall & Ilsley Bank, was born at Hildburghausen, a town of Germany, in Saxe-Meningen, on the Werra river, June 22, 1838. His parents, John Martin and Chris- tiana (Schmidt) Ebert, were natives of the same place, the former being born on June 15, 1807, and the latter on Jan. 15, 1810. John Martin Ebert brought his family to America in 1855, settling first at Racine, Wis., where he prosecuted his trade as a cabinet maker for about a year, and then came to Milwaukee. There he followed the same vocation up to a short time before his death, which took place May 9, 1871. He was survived by his widow for many years, her death taking place April 12, 1895, when she had reached the advanced age of eighty-five years. Of their four children, only one, Adelheid, wife of George Balzer, connected with the West Milwaukee Shops, is now surviving ; the other members of the fam- ily were Friederica, wife of Henry Schroeder, of Milwaukee ; Rob- ert B., the subject of this sketch ; and Henry, a former resident of Milwaukee. Robert B. received a good education in the schools of his native land, and came to the United States with his parents when he was only sixteen years old. He worked at the cabinet maker's trade with his father for a number of years, and then went to Madison, Wis., where he entered the employ of the State Bank, of which the late Samuel Marshall was then president. Mr. Mar- shall then came to Milwaukee and Mr. Ebert continued with him, first in the capacity of correspondent, and later was advanced to the position of paying teller : was afterwards made one of the directors of the Marshall & Ilsley Bank, and finally, in 1888, became a part- ner in that strong financial institution. His death, which took place on Dec. 27, 1900, was not only a severe affliction to his devoted wife and children, but was a great loss to the bank he had served so long and so efficiently. His standing in the banking and business world was of the very highest. His judgment on financial matters was sound and conservative, and his natural vigorous mind, ripened by years of experience and close application to the details of his work, constantly rendered his services more and more valuable. He was
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extremely popular with his business associates, who respected and admired him both for his financial and business abilities, and also for his high worth as a man and citizen. He was of blameless pri- vate life, a loving husband and father and an earnest and sincere Christian gentleman. His political affiliations were with the Re- publican party, though he was a man of marked independence in his views on public questions, and always held men and measures su- perior to mere party fealty. He served for a number of years as a member of the Board of School Commissioners, representing the Sixth ward of the city. He was a lifelong and faithful member of the German Lutheran church and a liberal supporter of the same in all its good works. Mr. Ebert was married on Aug. 18, 1862, to Miss Albertina Maurer, who was born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, daughter of Albert Maurer, a resident of Madison, Wis. Her moth- er's maiden name was Katherine Sorg. Both her parents are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Ebert were the parents of ten children, of whom all except two are still living, to-wit: M. Daniel, a book- keeper in Milwaukee; Gustave A., employed as a bookkeeper in the Marshall & Ilsley Bank, Milwaukee; Frieda, who lives at home with her mother; Carl F., chief hospital steward in the na- val service, U. S. S. S. "Dakota"; Emily D., wife of Louie Esser, Milwaukee; Marie, who died in infancy; Robert, now deceased ; Ern- est, who is now stationed at Monterey, Cal., where he is connected with the dispensary department U. S. Army ; Clara, wife of Ray- mond Hutchings, employed as operator on the private leased wire of the Milwaukee Free Press ; and Walter R., who is still at home with his mother. Mr. Ebert was essentially a home-loving man, and ever found his chief comfort and surcease from the cares of business in the family circle. With his domestic tastes it is not surprising that he took only slight interest in the various fraternal societies and business and social clubs of the city ; he was, however, a zealous member of the Masonic Order, to which he had belonged for many years.
Patrick Phillips (deceased), late of Milwaukee, and one of the honored veterans of the Civil war, was born at Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Ireland, on May 6, 1839. He was the son of Robert and Marguerite ( Broderick) Phillips, natives of England, and was one of a family of four brothers and one sister. His father, who was a miller, never came to the United States, and died in Ireland when he was but fifty-two years of age. Our subject, after attending school for a number of years in Ireland, learned the trade of miller with his father, and when he was twenty-one years old, decided to come to America in search of larger opportunities. He arrived in this country in 1860, settling at Appleton, Wis. Shortly after the Civil war broke out and the young man was fired with all the patriotic ardor and military enthusiasm of the hour. He promptly enlisted. on Oct. 14. 1861, in the Ninth battery, Wisconsin light artillery, from Appleton, and was mustered into service as corporal on Jan. 27. 1862. for four years' service. He served with his battery, known
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as the "Randall Battery," throughout the war. His command per- formed duty, mostly by sections, in the far West, performing garri- son duty at forts in New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas. Our subject was frequently employed in escorting supply trains and U. S. mail coaches, and also participated in numerous expeditions against the hostile Indians of the plains. During his long and ardu- ous term of service with his battery he marched many thousands of miles, and was called upon to endure the severest kind of hardships. He was finally mustered out and honorably discharged from the service at Fort Leavenworth, Kas., on Jan. 26, 1865. Upon severing his connection with the army Mr. Phillips came to Milwaukee, where he was identified with the milling industry for many years, and held responsible positions in several of the largest mills in the city. His health finally became seriously impaired, and he was forced to desist from active work. ITis death took place on March 7, 1882, in the forty-third year of his life, and he was interred at Cal- vary Cemetery. His premature death, while still in the prime of life, was a severe shock to his loving wife and their four young chil- dren. On June 27, 1867, he had been united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Patrick and Bridget ( Kenney) O'Neil, resi- dents of Burlington, Wis. Their four children have since grown to maturity and all are still living. Robert W. holds a responsible position with the Chicago. Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Co .; Frank A. lives at home with his mother, and is an insurance under- writer ; and the two younger children, Mary and Patrick J., also live at home. Mr. Phillips was a stanch Republican in politics during life, though he did not aspire to public office, and was content to give his support to the best measures and men in the interest of the pub- lic welfare. He was a member of the Catholic church, and a faith- ful attendant on St. John's cathedral, Milwaukee, and died in the faith. He was a devoted husband and father, a courteous Christian gentleman and possessed a large circle of warm friends, who sin- cerely mourned his early demise.
Emil J. Koepnick (deceased), late of 2708 Chestnut street, Milwaukee, Wis., who was associated for nearly a quarter of a cen- tury with the well-known firm of wholesale grocers, Wm. Stein- mever & Co., was a native of the city in which he spent his whole life. He was born on May 31, 1861, the son of John and Loise (Klose) Koepnick, his father being a native of Berlin, Germany, where he was born on July 11, 1842, and his mother being a native of Breslau. Germany. John Koepnick came to Milwaukee at a very early day, and was living there at the outbreak of the Civil war. He is one of the honored veterans of that momentous struggle. during which he rendered gallant service as a member of the splendid fight- ing regiment known as the Twenty-sixth Wisconsin infantry. This was one of Wisconsin's fine German regiments, and was organized at Camp Sigel, Milwaukee, in August, 1862, and mustered into the United States service for three years, on Sept. 17, 1862. Mr. Koep- nick went out as a private in Company A and served continuously at
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the front until the close of the war. He shared in all the many hard battles and campaigns of his veteran regiment, and was under fire for the first time at the bloody battle of Chancellorsville, where the regiment lost 177 killed, wounded and missing in two days of fight- ing. He was again heavily engaged on the glorious field of Gettys- burg, where the command again behaved most gallantly, being un- der the temporary command of Gen. Carl Schurz. Later he fought at Missionary Ridge, and marched with Sherman's veteran army on the famous Atlanta campaign, engaging the enemy at Resaca, Dal- las, Kenesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek and siege of Atlanta, be- sides numerous other sharp engagements. He then took part in Sherman's "march to the sea", in the operations around Savannah and closed his period of active service with the campaign through the Carolinas in 1865, engaging at the battle of Averasboro, and at Bentonville. He was one of the war-worn veterans who marched to Washington, D. C., in May, 1865, and there took part in the Grand Review of the Union armies. Our subject, who first saw the light of day amid the early mutterings of the great strife, was of course too young to have any vivid recollection of those bloody four years, in which his father took so gallant a part. The career of his honored sire, was, however, always a source of great pride to him, and he was a prominent and enthusiastic member of the patriotic organization known as the Sons of Veterans. Our subject received his education in the Grace church parochial school, and in the public schools of Milwaukee. When a lad of only seventeen years of age, he started out to earn his own living, entering the employ of Wmn. Steinmeyer & Co., whose trusted and efficient employe he remained up to the time of his death, which occurred on Oct. 29, 1901. About the year 1890 his ability and efficient services to the company received fitting recognition, and he was taken into the firm, and thereafter was given charge of the order department. The company did an enor- mous business, and Mr. Koepnick was a complete master of the details of his own department, and materially aided in building up and increasing the volume of the firm's trade. In politics he was a lifelong Republican, in which party principles he firmly believed, but he never sought public preferment on his own behalf, and was content to perform his simple duty as a citizen. In religious belief he was affiliated with the German Lutheran denomination, and was a faith- ful attendant of Grace church. He was married on March 5, 1882, to Miss Jennie, daughter of John and Jennie (Miller) Janzer, a promi- nent German family of Cedar Lake, Wis. Mr. Janzer was a native of Darmstadt, Germany, where he was born Feb. 29, 1824. He was a carpenter by trade, and coming to America in very early life, he followed his trade with success in this country. Mr. and Mrs. Janzer reared a large family of children, all but two of whom are now living. The oldest child, Mary, is now the wife of Wenzel Hron, of West Bend; Martin is in business at Richfield, Wis .; Josephine is the wife of Christ Frank, of Lee Summit, Kas .; Jennie, our subject's widow, resides at the old home; George, a resident of West Bend; Theresa
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is the wife of John Timmer, of Milwaukee. Katherine and Bernard are deceased, the former having died in infancy. Besides the widow, Mr. Koepnick left surviving him three children, to-wit: Regina, who is now the wife of Dr. William Teich, of Milwaukee; Cora, the wife of Win. C. Morgenroth, of Milwaukee, and Edna, who lives at home with her mother.
George Irving Jones, deceased, for many years a prominent and influential business man of Milwaukee, was born in New York city, on Feb. 19, 1836, the son of Charles and Mary Eliza ( Honay) Jones. His parents were both natives of New York, his father being born in 1809. died in 1847; his mother was born in 1811, died in 1886. Charles Jones was a broker and a lawyer of prominence, with offices in Wall street, New York city. Of his six children, the two youngest, George I. and Joseph, are dead; Mary Elitta McGrath lives in New York; Johanna Louisa Cooper is a resident of Philadel- phia, Penn .; two other sons, William H. and Charles P. also still survive. George I., the subject of this sketch, was educated in the public schools of New York city, and was for a number of years identified with the commission business in New York, being with the firm of Lees & Waller. He came west to Milwaukee in 1861. and did a large commission business on Erie street for about a dozen years. He then, in the early seventies, embarked in the meat packing busi- ness, which engaged his attention for several years. In 1882 he went to Dakota to reside, and returning in 1888 he went to Wash- ington, D. C. The later years of his life were spent in retirement at Riverdale, Md., where he died on June 27, 1903, in the sixty-eighth year of his life, and his remains now rest in Forest Home cemetery, Milwaukee. He was an adherent of the Republican party in politics, from the time that organization was formed, but never sought or held public office. He was a zealous member of the Episcopal church and an earnest church worker for many years. He attended in Mil- waukee St. Paul's church, of which he was a vestryman, and super- intendent of the Sunday school. He was a liberal supporter of his church in its many charities, and was a man of sincere and exalted faith. He was married on Oct. 20, 1863, to Miss Mary Weeks, daughter of Dr. Lemuel and Mary (Sands) Weeks, prominent pio- neer residents of Milwaukee, and their union was blessed with three children : Mary S., wife of O. W. Greenslade, president of the Greenslade Foundry Company, of Milwaukee; the Rev. Horace Jones, and Irving A. Jones, deceased. The two first named. together with their mother, are still living. Mrs. Jones' father was a native of Hardwick, Vt., and her mother was a native of the State of Maine. Her father, the son of a farmer, secured an excellent education through his own efforts and industry. After pursuing a full academic course, he entered upon the study of medicine at Castleton, N. Y., and in due time he graduated with the degree of M. D. After being admitted to the practice, he located for a time in Ticonderoga, N. Y., and in 1836 made the long journey west to Milwaukee with his family, traveling by stage and horseback via Chicago. Abandoning the practice of medicine, he embarked in the grain business, and built
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