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 50

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 50

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MEMOIRS OF MILWAUKEE COUNTY

in the charitable avenues of the order have never ceased, and at suc- cessive conventions she receives recognition in her work by appoint- ment to such positions as best give opportunity for benefit to the needy in the Grand Army. James H. Rogers, father of Mr. Rogers, who traced his ancestry back to the settlers on the Atlantic seaboard in an early period, went from Keesville, N. Y., to Milwaukee in 1836. He bought government lands, which he held, and which have greatly increased in value in the rise of property in the city. He married Sophia Emily Fletcher, who belonged to the family of the wife of Daniel Webster, and was born at Alsted, N. H. In his father's line he was of Quaker extraction, and her forebears on her mother's side were soldiers in the Revolution and the War of 1812. Five hundred of her family were Union officers in the Civil war. Charles D. Rogers, brother of Mr. Rogers, enlisted in the Fifteenth Wisconsin infantry, and was quartermaster-sergeant of the regiment until his discharge for disability; he was afterward made second lieutenant of Company B, Twenty-fourth Wisconsin, promoted to first lieutenant, and mustered out as captain of his company. Alexander H. and Jacob Rogers, cousins, were non-commissioned officers in Company D, Twenty-fourth Wisconsin. Oscar Gregory, another cousin, enlisted in the Twenty-ninth Indiana, and led his regiment home as colonel, having reached that position from the ranks. Frank H. Fletcher, another cousin, was a major and paymaster in the war. The mar- riage of Mr. Rogers and Laura Gertrude Butler took place Oct. II, 1864, and they have two children : Laura Butler and William Henry. Rose died in infancy and Charles Edward when less than two years old. William and Lydia Ann (Squiers) Butler, the parents of Mrs. Rogers, were born respectively in Pittsfield, Vt., and Rutland, Vt. One of the great uncles of Mrs. Rogers, in the maternal line, was of the disguised party that made tea in Boston harbor, and several others of the same generation fought in the Revolution and in 1812. Henry Gilman Rogers died at Oconomowoc Lake, Wis., on June 17, 1908.

Richard Schmidt, a deputy in the clerk's office of Milwaukee county, is a native of Pomerania, Germany, where he was born on March 6, 1870, a son of John H. and Frederica Schmidt, both born in Pomerania. The father served three years in the German army, and in 1874 came with his family to the United States. He located in Milwaukee, where he has been for many years engaged in the grocery business, and where he and his wife are still living. Of their two children Frank is associated with his father in business and Richard is the subject of this sketch. Richard Schmidt was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee and the Lutheran parochial schools, and began his business career as a bell boy in the old Kirby House. Subsequently he was assistant surveyor for one year; was cashier in a dry goods house; was engaged in the gents' furnishing goods business for a time, and then became a guard at the House of Correction. In 1895 he left this posi- tion to become a deputy under August F. Zentner, then county clerk, and has continued in the office under

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different administrations until the present time. Politically Mr. Schmidt is a Republican, and his religious affiliations are with the German Lutheran church of the Missouri synod. On May 21, 1893, Mr. Schmidt married Miss Bertha, daughter of William A. and Johanna (Strey) Plautz, of Milwaukee, and to this marriage have been born three children, viz .: Herman, Charlotte and Alfonse, all living. Mr. Schmidt's long connection with the affairs of the clerk's office has made him an efficient official, and his uniformly courteous treatment of all patrons of the office has made him deservedly popular with the people.

Frank O. Phelps, county clerk of Milwaukee county, was born at Laona, Chautauqua county, N. Y., June 1, 1848, a son of Lawson P. and Eleanor B. (Gordon) Phelps. The father was born in New York state in 1819, his ancestors having come from England during the Colonial epoch. He was a carpenter and joiner and died on Oct. 3, 1857. The mother was born in 1822, at Sinclairville, Chautauqua county, N. Y., and died on March 9, 1900, at Beaver Dam, Wis. They were the parents of eight children, of whom the subject of this sketch and his sister Kate, now the widow of Adelbert G. Stocking, of Mil- waukee, are the only survivors, and the only ones that reached years of maturity. Frank O. Phelps received his elementary education in the common schools of his native state and upon arriving at manhood became a bridge-builder. He came west to engage in that occupation, attended Wayland University at Beaver Dam, Wis., and after leaving college was for some time engaged in farming in Dodge county, Wis. He then embarked in the mercantile line, and from 1874 to 1895 was a traveling salesman with headquarters in Milwaukee. For the next two years he was a solicitor for a life insurance company, and in 1897 became assistant secretary of the Republican county committee, which position he held until 1905. In 1902 he was elected county clerk, and has since been twice re-elected. Mr. Phelps has been an active political worker for many years, stands high in the councils of the Republican party, and his repeated elections to the responsible office he now occu- pies is a well deserved recognition of his fidelity to the cause of his party and his fitness for the position. He is a member of Independence Lodge, No. 80 .; Wisconsin Chapter, No. 7, Royal Arch Masons ; Wis- consin Commandery, No. 1, Knights Templar; and a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the "Porch Climbers"; and his church connections are with the Christian Scientists. He is univer- sally esteemed for his genial disposition. On Nov. 15, 1869, Mr. Phelps was united in marriage to Miss Celia S. Hyland, daughter of Amasa Hyland, one of the early settlers of Wisconsin, well-known in pioneer days, and the owner of several thousand acres of land. To this marriage were born two children: Maud G., who died single on May 21, 1890, and Hugh G., an electrician of Milwaukee. Mrs. Celia S. Phelps died on Dec. 2. 1892, and the following year Mr. Phelps married Mrs. Belle J. Miter, nce Rose, a daughter of Henry Rose, of Princeton, Milwaukee county. No children have been born to this second marriage.

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Carl Otto Broecker, chief clerk in the county clerk's office of Milwaukee county, was born at Elberfeld, Rhenish Prussia, Germany, July 10, 1849. His father, Robert Broecker, was born at Barmen, a city just across the Wupper river from Elberfeld, and the mother was a native of Elberfeld. Both passed their lives in their native land, where the father was a banker and an influential citizen. They had four children, of whom Robert died in infancy ; Carl Otto is the subject of this sketch; Laura is the wife of Julius Ehlers, a retired manufac- turer of Geneva, Switzerland, and Hedwig is the wife of Dr. Mueller, a professor in the Real Gymnasium, of Elberfeld. C. Otto Broecker was educated in the Real school of his native city and left school, after having passed the examination, to serve for one year in the army instead of the usual three years' term. This year he passed as a volunteer member of the Second company, Second regiment, Imperial foot guards, after which he served as an officer in the Franco-Prussian war, being promoted for meritorious conduct on the field. He was mustered out and honorably discharged in 1871, and spent some time in traveling through European countries, particularly France, Belgium and England. He arrived in this country on March 17, 1872, and for some time was engaged in prospecting for minerals in Colorado and other western states. Returning to New York via Omaha, Cincin- nati, and Baltimore, he became bookkeeper for the Empire Wringer Company, of Auburn, with which concern he remained for about five years. In June, 1878, he came to Milwaukee, where he became con- nected with the iron manufacturing business. He was occupied in agricultural pursuits for a time, but returned to office work to accept a position as bookkeeper with Sanger, Rockwell & Co., now the Rockwell Manufacturing Company, which position he held for fifteen years, and since 1899 has held his present position-that of chief clerk in the county clerk's office. Mr. Broecker is a Republican and takes a com- mendable interest in furthering the interests of his party. He is prominent in Masonic circles, being a member of Excelsior Lodge, No. 175; Excelsior Chapter, No. 40, Royal Arch Masons; Kilbourn Council, No. 9; Wisconsin Commandery, No. I, Knights-Templar ; a thirty-second degree member of the Milwaukee Consistory, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and a Noble of Tripoli Temple, A. A. O., Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Oasis of Milwaukee. He is also financial secretary of George H. Walker Council, National Union, and belongs to Security Lodge, Knights of Honor. In 1887 Mr. Broecker mar- ried Mrs. Caroline Acker, nce Oswald, a native of Germany, who died in Milwaukee in 1892. By her former marriage she had four children, which were reared and cared for by Mr. Broecker as though they had been his own. Of these children, Eugenia is deceased, John and Edward have a machine and pattern shop at San Pedro, Cal., and Lena is the wife of Frank G. Perrigo, of Seattle, Wash.

Aaron Ivins Comfort, M. D., assistant surgeon at the National Soldiers' Home, Milwaukee, was born at Penn's Manor, Bucks county, Pa., March 4, 1827, a son of Ellis and Ann (Ivins) Comfort. The father was a teacher and spent his life in educational work. He died in 1832 and his widow survived until 1860, when she passed away at

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the age of sixty-three years. Of their seven children, Dr. Comfort is the only one living. One died at the age of eleven years and all the others after arriving at years of maturity. Dr. Comfort was educated at Williston Seminary, Amherst College, and the University of Penn- sylvania, where he graduated in medicine in the spring of 1860, being immediately appointed assistant demonstrator of anatomy in that insti- tution. In 1862 he was commissioned assistant surgeon of volunteers by President Lincoln, and served with the Army of the Cumberland until the close of the war. He was "surgeon-in-charge" of the general hospitals at Columbia, Clarksville, and Nashville, Tenn. He was at the battles of Shiloh, Perryville, Stone's River and Franklin, as well as in several cavalry engagements, but fortunately escaped injury. At Stone's River, or Murfreesboro, while looking over the field for a wounded officer, Dr. Comfort captured and disarmed a Confederate soldier, bringing him to the Union headquarters as a prisoner of war. He was also present at the battle of Nashville in December, 1864, and was mustered out of the service with the rank of captain on Nov. 3. 1865. He served as acting assistant surgeon after the war until 1892. During this time he was surgeon in charge at Forts Ripley and Randall; post surgeon at Forts Hayes, Wallace, Lyon, Garland, and what is now known as Fort Crawford; assistant surgeon at Fort Lewis, the cantonment of the army on the north fork of the Canadian river, and of the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, and acting assistant surgeon at Fort Sully and of the Nez Perces Indians-Chief Joseph's band. After thirty years' service in the regular army, he was appointed, on May 1, 1892, to the position of first assistant-surgeon at the National Military Home for disabled veteran soldiers at Milwau- kee, where he has since remained. Dr. Comfort is a member of the American Medical Association, the Milwaukee County, Wisconsin State, Milwaukee and Brainard Medical societies, having held the office of president in the last two, and is a member of the alumni association of the University of Pennsylvania for Wisconsin. He has made valuable contributions to the scientific literature of the country. especially along archaeological lines and pertaining to the science of medicine. In recognition of his work of research and in describing various mound-builders' relics, the Minnesota Historical Society made him an honorary member. Politically Dr. Comfort is a Republican. Although reared as a Friend he belongs to no other religious denomi- nation, but regularly attends the Episcopal services held at the home. He belongs to Independence Lodge, No. 80, Free and Accepted Masons ; Calumet Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; Ivanhoe Commandery, Knights Templars; Wolcott Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he has been surgeon for twelve years, holding that position at the present time ( 1908), and he is a member of the Wisconsin Commandery, Military Order of the Loyal Legion. On Nov. 2, 1904. Dr. Comfort married Miss Harriet, daughter of David and Amelia (Burnham) Bryant, of Milwaukee.

Capt. William Schroeder, the well-known keeper of the Pier Head Light Station, Milwaukee, and for many years a sailor before the mast, was born at Hamburg, Germany, June 7, 1844, the son of

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Tony and Magdalena (Woltmann) Schroeder, both of whom were born in the vicinity of Hamburg, and died without leaving their native land. They reared a large family of eight children, of whom two are now living in Milwaukee, and a third child, August, is still presumably living in Germany. William received a fair common school education in his boyhood, and when a lad of only fifteen shipped before the mast as a sailor, a calling he continued to follow until he was forty- nine years of age. He sailed the Baltic, Atlantic, and Mediterranean sea, going from Hamburg to Genoa, Italy, and making nearly all the old world ports. He sailed these waters from 1858 to 1869, and in the latter year crossed to the United States and came on west to Milwaukee. Here he shipped as mate on a number of different vessels at various periods during the next ten years, and during the last fourteen years of his life as a sailor, he was master and owner of the sailing schooners "Belle Laurie" and "Guide." In this capacity he did a trading and freighting business on the great lakes until the year 1893, when he sold the "Guide," and on June 22 accepted the post of assistant-keeper at the Pier Head Light Station, Milwaukee. In October, 1897, he was promoted to the position of keeper and transferred to Green Island, in Green bay, near the port of Menomo- nee, Mich. He was stationed there until 1899, when he was again transferred to his present station as keeper. The post is a responsible and important one, and Captain Schroeder holds it under the United States civil service rules, which call for a high degree of expert knowledge. Captain Schroeder has a brother, Henry, living in Mil- waukee, who is a paint contractor, and who came to the Uinted States two or three years after our subject's arrival in this country. Captain Schroeder is allied with the Republican party in politics, and the various members of his family have always been faithful members of the Lutheran denomination. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and also of the Old Settlers' Club (South Side), in whose proceedings he has always taken a lively interest. He was married on Oct. 7, 1872, to Miss Maria Woltmann, daughter of John H. and Anna (Muenster) Woltmann, of Hamburg, Germany. Of their four children, the two oldest, Amelia and Annie, died in early childhood; William, Jr., is a painter by trade, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and resides at home with his father; John, the youngest child, is a bridge structural iron worker, a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and also lives at home with his father. The parents of Mrs. Schroeder both died in Mil- waukee, her father in 1896, and her mother on Nov. 20, 1907, at the home of Mrs. Schroeder on the pier.

William C. Spindler, superintendent of the Department of Out- door Relief of Milwaukee county, has his office at 681-683 Market street. Milwaukee. He is the son of William H. and Christina Spin- dler, both natives of Germany. They were married in Germany and came to the United States in 1860 with their infant son, William C. Mr. Spindler was for many years engaged in the manufacture of carpets and cloth in Waukesha county, which was the home of the family until the death of Mr. Spindler, at the age of fifty-two years.

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His widow is now living at 342 Sixth street, Milwaukee, at the advanced age of eighty ycars. Two daughters, Mrs. William Hannon and Mrs .. Lena Seybold, and one son, William C., the subject of this sketch, make up the family. William C. was born in Germany on Sept. 22, 1859, came to Wisconsin with his parents, and attended public school in Waukesha county. For some time he was engaged in farming, but came to Milwaukee about 1886 and was for five years engaged in manufacturing. Since that time he has been secre- tary of the Waukesha Milk Company. For ten years he has held his present position as superintendent of the department of out-door relief, which furnishes partial support to about 2,000 families, and at some times even a larger number. The office force consists of two assistants, one storekeeper and an ambulance driver. All commit- ments to the county almshouse, hosiptal and home for dependent children pass through this office. Mr. Spindler is affiliated with the Republican party. His sympathies are with the Lutheran church, although he is not a member of the organization. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias. On Thanksgiving day, 1894, Mr. Spindler was married to Miss Susie Hartkopf, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Hartkopf, of Appleton, Wis. Two children were born to them, Lucy and Edna.

Moses James White, M. D., of Wauwatosa, belongs to a family which has given many members to the medical fraternity. His father, two of his uncles and his brother follow the same profession as himself. His father was a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, and of the medical college of the University of Edinburgh. Moses White, Sr., M. D., was a native of Scarva, Ireland, born 1815, and his wife, Susan (Wallace) White, was born at Banbridge, Ireland, in 1831, the daughter of a landed proprietor of that place. Dr. M. J. White was born in Hartford, Conn., Feb. 28, 1860, and was educated in the graded and high schools of that city, later becoming a student at Princeton University and at La Fayette College, and obtaining his medical education in the medical department of the University of New York City, obtaining his degree in March, 1884. Following his graduation he was the assistant physician in the Manhattan Hospital for the Insane, in New York City, until 1887, and was then assistant physician in the Milwaukee Hospital for the Insane for one year, when he accepted the position of medical superintendent of the same insti- tution, which position he has held up to the present time. He is the professor of mental diseases in the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons, and occupies the same chair in the medical depart- ment of Marquette University ; is also the author of many articles on psychiatry, published in the American Journal of Insanity and other periodicals. He is also the author of a series of lectures delivered annually in the colleges mentioned above. Dr. White is one of the leading alienists of the state, his long experience in dealing with the varied forms of mental diseases making him an authority on these subjects. He belongs to the American Medical Association, the American Medico-Psychological Association, the New York Medico- Legal Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society and the Milwau- 26

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kee Medical Society. He is also a member of the Masonic order, Ivanhoe Commandery. In politics he is independent, supporting can- didates for office and political principles as they appeal to his judg- ment and convictions. On Feb. 17, 1886, he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Lownes, daughter of George B. and Elizabeth (Post) Lownes, of St. Louis, Mo., and to the union two children have been born. Reginald James was born on May 29, 1887, and Marjorie, born on Jan. 22, 1890, died on April 16, 1897.

Frederick H. Bark, of Wauwatosa, was born in Mecklenberg- Schwerin, Germany, Oct. 28, 1867, and is the third son of John and Sophia (Krull) Bark, both natives of the same place, who came to America with their family in 1880. The son was educated in the German Lutheran schools of the city and resided with his parents until he was twenty-one years of age when he went to Chicago where he was engaged in an upholstering establishment for three years. He then went into the furniture store of his brother Ferdinand in the village of Wauwatosa, remaining in the partnership about a year, when he went into business by himself continuing in the same up to the present time. On Nov. 5, 1893, he was united in marriage to Miss Dorothy Sieglow, a native of Wauwatosa, and daughter of August and Mary (Heiden) Sieglow, both natives of Mecklenberg-Schwerin, who came to the United States about 1870. They located first in Rochester, N. Y., and after a residence of two years removed to Wauwatosa, where Mr. Sieglow was engaged in quarrying and team- ing. In 1878 they located in Mequon, Ozaukee county, living for a short time on a farm. Leaving that place to a son they moved to Cedarburg, in the same county, where they still live, and conduct a farm near the village. To Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Bark six children have been born. The eldest died in infancy and following are the five surviving: Edgar, Frederick H., Laurine, Harold and Dorothy. Mr. Bark is a Republican in his political faith, but although elected to the position of alderman, has never taken a very active part in politics. He is a member of the Lutheran church, and belongs to the fraternal society Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Bark's long established business, and his honorable methods of dealing with his customers have given him an assured standing in the community in which he resides, and the success which he has won is the result of his own qualifications for business, and admirable traits of character.

Ferdinand Bark, of Wauwatosa, is a native of Mecklenburg, Germany, and is the oldest son of John and Sophia (Krull) Bark, natives of the same country. The father came to America in 1880 and located in Milwaukee, later establishing himself in the lumber business. He is now retired from active business life, and with his wife is living on Seventeenth street, Milwaukee. Their four children are Ferdinand, of this sketch, William, a resident of Greenfield avenue, Milwaukee : Frederick H., elsewhere noticed in this volume, and Min- nic, deceased. Mr. Bark, born March 5. 1863, began working for himself at the age of fifteen, learning the art of wood-carving, and continued in this occupation until 1885. At that date he went on a farm in partnership with his father-in-law, remaining about three

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years, and then returned to his occupation of wood-carving for a year. About 1885 he opened a furniture store in Wauwatosa, maintaining the same for a period of ten years, and was then appointed assistant superintendent of the poor for Milwaukee, filling the position for four years, and at the end of that time, in 1904, was elected superintendent of the county poor farm, which position he is still occupying. In March, 1885, he was married to Miss Minnie Eggert, a native of Germany, and daughter of Frederick and Mary (Rambath) Eggert, residents of Wauwatosa since 1870, but both now deceased. Two children have been born to Mr. Bark and wife: William F., single and residing with his parents; and Lillian, now the wife of Dr. Norman Hollenbeck. Mr. Bark began his education in his native land, but also attended school for a time in the Second ward school of Milwaukee; his wife was educated in Wauwatosa. They belong to the Lutheran church, and Mr. Bark is found in the political ranks of the Republican party.

George Henry Fowler, retired, was born in Lewis county, N. Y., Aug. 17, 1834. His grandfather was Silas J. Fowler, and his father was George J. Fowler, the latter being born on Aug. 13, 1788, in New York state. He married Anna Maria Williams, born on Jan. 26, 1803, in Cherry Valley, N. Y. They came to Milwaukee in 1842, and there the father opened a general store where the Chicago, Mil- wauke & St. Paul ticket office now stands. Later he moved to West Water street and opened a shoe store, and subsequently to East Water street where Kenney's shoe store now is. For a time he had a partner by the name of Eley, but later he sold out and retired from business, and in 1854 moved to Wauwatosa, where he lived nine years, and then returned to Milwaukee, locating on Clybourn and Sixth streets, where he died in 1876, his wife having passed away fourteen years earlier (1862) in Wauwatosa. Mr. Fowler was a soldier in the War of 1812, and served under Captain Cook in the defense of Sackett's Harbor, N. Y. He was the father of five children. Of the three now living, George H. of this sketch is the oldest; Elbert W., now a resi- dent of Chicago, was a lieutenant in the Tenth battery of artillery ; Katherine M., now Mrs. George R. Hayden, resides on the corner of Windsor Place and Newhall street, Milwaukee, her husband being a superintendent for the E. P. Allis Company ; James, born in 1829, died in 1868; Mary Elizabeth, born in 1832, died in 1849. George H. was educated in the Milwaukee schools, and spent some time in Beloit College, but did not complete the college course. He resided with his parents until he was eighteen years of age and then was employed as a clerk in the drug store of Lake & Williams, and later with Lake & Hopkins, for a year. He was employed in a similar capacity in the store of John H. Tesh for four years, and in the fall of 1858 opened a drug store in connection with I. M. Morton, where Wright Bros. now are. In 1861 he sold out and moved to a farm located in section 16, town of Wauwatosa, and there spent the next twenty-seven years of his life. In November, 1889, lie rented the farm, which he still owns, and built the beautiful home in Wau- watosa, where he now lives and where he expects to spend the

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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 50

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