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 58
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BIOGRAPHICAL
Florian J. Ries, now serving his seventh term as justice of the peace in Milwaukee, Wis., is a fine type of our best German-Amer- ican citizenship. Mr. Ries has had a distinguished career, as a soldier, legislator for city and state, chief of police, deputy United States collector of customs, judge, etc. He was born in Baden, Germany, on Arpil 30, 1843, and is the son of Anton and Maria Eva (Lang) Ries. His parents were both natives of the same place, the former being born in 1808 and the latter in 1809; his father died on Sept. 8, 1860, and his mother died in Milwaukee in 1852. Before leaving Germany his father had taken a prominent part in the Revolution of 1848 and was imprisoned as a result thereof. He was liberated and pardoned on condition that he would leave the country forthwith, and he came to the United States with his fam- ily in 1852, coming direct to Milwaukee. He had served as mayor of Gamburg, Germany, and after coming to Milwaukee he estab- lished a cooperage business. He was one of the unfortunate victims of the terrible disaster on the Lady Elgin, an excursion and pleasure steamer, which collided and sank inside of ten minutes on Sept. 8, 1860. Of the passengers only about 100 were saved and nearly 400 went down with the vessel. Judge Ries received his education in the common schools of Milwaukee prior to the Civil war. At the out- break of that great conflict he enlisted under the first call for volun- teers, April 16, 1861, as a private in Company. D, First Wisconsin infantry '(three months' term). He served with his regiment dur- ing its brief period of service in Western Virginia and Maryland, and was actively engaged at Falling Waters, Va., as a part of the advance of Major-General Patterson's command. On the expira- tion of his term of service he was mustered out on Aug. 20, 1861. He again enlisted on Feb. 12, 1862, in Company D, Seventeenth Wisconsin infantry, for three years' service; rose to the rank of first lieutenant, and was mustered out under his commission as such on July 15, 1865, at Louisville, Ky. During his second term of service he was constantly at the front, and took part in the fol- lowing important campaigns and battles: Campaign against and occupation of Corinth, Miss., in the spring of 1862; battle of Corinth, Oct. 3 and 4, 1862; Grant's campaign in northern Missis- sippi; the campaign below Vicksburg, and the long siege of that Confederate stronghold, from May 19 to July 4, 1863, during which he was in the trenches for many weeks. After the fall of Vicksburg his regiment was ordered as part of a brigade, to take Natchez, Miss., which was accomplished, and he saw some sharp fighting in Louisiana and Mississippi. In the spring of 1864 he moved with General Sherman on the celebrated Atlanta campaign, took part in the almost constant fighting leading up to that city, and in the battles around and siege of Atlanta; later in the fall of 1864 he marched with Sherman to the sea, and participated in the campaign against Savannah, Ga .; in 1865 he joined in the campaign through the Carolinas, and was present at the final surrender of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston on April 26, 1865, near Durham Station, N. C .; then on up through North Carolina and Virginia to Richmond and to
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Washington, D. C., where he took part in the grand review of Sherman's war-worn veterans in May, 1865. He then accompanied his regiment to Louisville, Ky., where it was mustered out. Lieu- tenant Ries was fortunate in escaping the ordinary casualties of war and was never wounded, captured, or absent from his com- mand on account of sickness. Upon severing his connection with the army, he returned to Milwaukee, and there embarked in the business of manufacturing woolens; afterward he was on the road for ten years as a traveling salesman. In 1877 he served as a mem- ber of the Assembly in the Wisconsin state legislature, and during the years 1878-79 he was a member of the Milwaukee Common Council. He was then elected superintendent of the Milwaukee House of Correction and served in that capacity for a period of five years. From 1885 until the fall of 1888 he was the capable and efficient chief of police for Milwaukee. In 1891 he was appointed deputy United States collector of customs at Milwaukee, under Colonel Watrous, and served as such until 1895. In the latter year he was appointed justice of the peace, to which office he has been re-elected every two years since. In the matter of religion Judge Ries is affiliated with no church denomination ; politically he is a zealous member of the Republican party, and has always taken a prominent part in political campaigns. He is a member of numer- ous fraternal and patriotic societies ; is a member of the military order of the Loyal Legion, Wisconsin Commandery; of Wolcott Post. No. I. Grand Army of the Republic, at Milwaukee ; is a thirty- second degree Mason, a Shriner and a Knight Templar; belongs to the Knights of Pythias, and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Judge Ries was married on Oct. 5, 1865, to Miss Anna W. Wurtz, a daughter of Ferdinand and Wilhelmine ( Mueller) Wurtz, of Milwaukee. Mrs. Ries died on Sept. 11, 1907 ; her father was a gallant soldier in the Civil war, served as sergeant of Com- pany H, Second Wisconsin cavalry, and died in hospital in 1865. Judge and Mrs. Ries had seven children born to them, viz: Louise, wife of James C. Bird and the mother of two children, Loraine and Florian; Alfred E., who died in infancy; Hattie, wife of William P. Behling and the mother of three children, Ries, and David and Robert (twins) ; Alfred Leonard married to Belle Ogden, to whom a daughter, Catharine, and a son, James, have been born: Ella Jessie, who died in 1891, at the age of 18; Arthur Florian, now residing in Chicago; and Anna, wife of Wil- liam H. White and the mother of one son, Willard.
Harry M. Sheets, a successful young lawyer of Milwaukee, with offices in the Iron Block, was born in Pulaski, Ill., on Sept. 5. 1871. He is the son of Samuel and Mary E. (Stites) Sheets, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania in 1833, and died in 1906; the latter was born in Ohio in 1836, and died in 1879. On his father's side he is of Holland-Dutch ancestry, and the original American progenitor came to the United States prior to the Revo- lutionary war and settled in Pennsylvania; Jacob, the great- grandfather of our subject, was a soldier during the war of the
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Revolution ; Samuel, his father, followed the vocation of farmer, and in addition thereto dealt in lumber and ran a saw-mill. Ile came west to Illinois in the year 1847. On his mother's side our subject is of German extraction. Two maternal uncles, Benton and George Washington Stites, served as Federal soldiers during the Civil war, and two paternal uncles, Frank and John Sheets, served as Confederate soldiers during the war, enlisting from Mobile, Ala., where they were living at the outbreak of hostilities. Harry M. received his elementary training in the public schools, and later attended Dixon College, at Dixon, Ill., in which institu- tion he was graduated in 1894 with the degree of B. S., receiving the degree of A. B. in the same college in 1895. He then pursued a course in law at the Northern Illinois College of Law, was granted the degree of LL. B. in 1898, and the same year was admitted to practice in the courts of Milwaukee and Wisconsin. After two years spent in traveling, he commenced the practice of his profession in Milwaukee in 1900, and has been engaged in the general practice of the law here ever since. In order to assist him in gaining a start he held the office of justice of the peace for one term, being elected thereto on the Democratic ticket. Mr. Sheets is a pushing, energetic young lawyer, has worked up a large and lucrative practice, and bids fair to become one of the leading members of the Milwaukee bar. He is well known in fraternal and club circles, and is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen, the Milwaukee Bar Association, the Jefferson Club, and a director in the Calumet Club. He was married on Nov. 14, 1898, to Miss Louise T. Duke, a daughter of James and Susan (Edwards) Duke, of Milwaukee. Two children are the fruit of this union, Harold Ray and Clyde Everett.
Erwin Grover Wurster, one of the able young attorneys of Milwaukee, Wis., with offices at No. 14 Grand avenue, was born in the city of Milwaukee on Feb. 3, 1884, the son of Emanuel A. and Hattie S. (Schulz) Wurster. Both of his parents are now living in Milwaukee, where his father is engaged in the manufacture of steel. Mr. Wurster, Sr., is a native of Buffalo, N. Y., where he was born in 1862, and his wife is a native of Watertown, Wis., where she was born in the same year as her husband. Our sub- ject is of pure German lineage on both the paternal and the ma- ternal side, his father's people coming to the United States from the old country in 1850, and locating at Buffalo, N. Y. ; his maternal ancestors came to the United States about the same time and located at Watertown, Wis. Mr. Wurster received his education in the Milwaukee public schools and at Marquette College. He then attended the law department of the University of Michigan, in which he was graduated with the degree of LL. B. in 1906. and immediately afterward entered upon the practice of his chosen profession in Milwaukee. He was engaged in the general practice alone until Nov. 1. 1907, when he entered into a partnership with Judge Runkel, under the firm name and style of Runkel & Wurster, and the firm now enjoys a large and lucrative business. On Nov.
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7, 1908, Mr. Wurster was appointed assistant district attorney under Francis E. McGovern to succeed William A. Hayes, resigned, and on Jan. 1, 1909, was re-appointed to the position under August C. Backus. Mr. Wurster is affiliated with the Repub- lican party in politics, and is a member of the Episcopal church. He is a member of the Masonic order, the Milwaukee Bar Asso- ciation, the Deutscher Club, and the University Club of Milwau- kee. Mr. Wurster is a young man of exceptionally fine mental gifts, genial and companionable in his relations with his fellow- men, a close student of the law, and has every prospect of sure advancement in his profession.
Albert C. Runkel is a prominent attorney in the city of Mil- waukee. He was born in Milwaukee on Dec. 27, 1858, son of Henry C. and Henrietta (Carnarius) Runkel, both of whom were born in Germany, the former at Mentz on the Rhine, April 17, 1834, and the latter in Saxony in 1839. The father migrated to the United States in 1852, coming direct to Milwaukee, and the mother came about 1854, the marriage taking place in Milwaukee. The father began his career in America as a school teacher, was later elected justice of the peace, and while engaged in the duties of that office began the study of law, being admitted to the bar in 1861. He then began the practice of that profession in the city of his adoption and continued so engaged until his death, being the greater part of the time associated with Judge R. N. Austin, but during the last three years of his life he was in partnership with his son, the subject of this review. He became a very prominent mem- ber of the Milwaukee bar and his success was recognized as of a very high order. He died on June 27, 1895, and his wife passed away in 1877. Albert C. Runkel received his early education in the public schools of Milwaukee, later attended the German- English Academy and also took a course in the Northwestern University at Watertown, Wis. He then began the study of law, and after due preparation entered the law department of the Uni- versity of Michigan, in which institution he graduated with the . class of 1879, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He at once began the practice of his profession in Milwaukee and has since been so engaged, for the greater part of the time alone. The exceptions were a period of three years when he was in partner- ship with Herman E. George, and the three years during which he was associated with his father. On Nov. 1, 1907, he formed a partnership with E. G. Wurster, under the firm name of Runkel & Wurster, which still exists, the firm doing an extensive business in the line of a general law practice. Mr. Runkel is a Democrat in his political views, was a prominent candidate for district judge in 1901, and was justice of the peace of the sixth district from 1898 to 1908. He was married on Nov. 24, 1881, to Miss Louise C., daughter of William and Wilhelmina Reuter, of Milwaukee. In religious affairs Mr. Runkel affiliates with the Lutheran church, and among the fraternal societies, clubs, and professional asso- ciations in which he has membership may be mentioned the fol-
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lowing: The Masonic order, in which he has advanced to the thirty-second degree; the Millioke Club; the Jefferson Club; the Knights of Pythias; the Knights of the Maccabees; the Old Settlers' Club, and the Milwaukee Bar Association.
Eugene P. Stuetzel is engaged in the law, real estate, and loan business at 425 Third street in the city of Milwaukee, and although he has but recently established himself in business he already has met with very flattering success. He was born in Milwaukee on Oct. 1, 1879, son of Philip and Christine (Scheller) Stuetzel, the former of whom was born in New Orleans in 1841 and the latter in Germany on Sept. 5, 1846. The paternal ancestors were also natives of Germany. The father came to Milwaukee in early man- hood and there followed the cooperage business during the whole of his active career. He died on March 3, 1887, and his wife, whom he married in Milwaukee, is still a resident of that city. Hen- rietta J. Stuetzel, a daughter of these parents, is a teacher of music in Milwaukee. Eugene P. Stuetzel, whose name introduces this review, received his early scholastic training in the public schools of Milwaukee ; but he left school when but fourteen years old, so it can properly be said that he is practically self-educated Some time after leaving school he entered the law office of A. C. Runkel, a leading attorney of Milwaukee, and was associated with that gentleman for ten and one-half years. He diligently pursued the study of law during this time and fitted himself for the practice of that profession. On Jan. 1, 1908, he opened an office and commenced his independent career, and as stated above the success that he has already achieved is very gratifying to himself and friends. In political affairs he gives an unswerving allegiance to the time- honored principles of the Democratic party.
William J. McElroy, senior member of the well-known law firm of McElroy & Wetzler, with offices in the Loan & Trust build- ing, Milwaukee, Wis., ranks as one of the leading lawyers of Mil- waukee and the state. He was born in the city of Berlin, Wis., on Jan. 8, 1856, the son of Samuel and Mary ( Laflin) McElroy, both of whom were natives of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Neither of his parents are now living, his father having died some years ago, and his mother died on March 29, 1895. Mr. McElroy is of Scotch-Irish descent on both the paternal and maternal side. His parents, after their marriage, moved west and settled in the town of Berlin, Wis., during the late forties. There Mr. McElroy, Sr., followed the vocation of farming. William J. was educated in the public schools of Berlin, and after com- pleting the course in the high school, attended the University of Wisconsin for two years. He was granted the honorary degree of M. A. by this institution in 1890. He studied law with the late Senato. Matthew H. Carpenter, then the senior member of the firm of Carpenter & Smith, and was admitted to the bar in 1885. He began the practice of his profession with the firm of Markham & Smith, and two years later entered partnership with Mr. Davies, under the firm name of Davies & McElroy, afterward McElroy &
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Trottman, then McElroy, Eschweiler & Wetzler, and now the firm first above written. Mr. McElroy has always been engaged in the general practice, and is known as an able, energetic, and remarkably successful lawyer. In politics he is affiliated with the Republican party, and was elected on that ticket to represent the fourth assembly district of Milwaukee county in the state legis- lature, serving for two terms, 1887-91, as a member of that body. He has always taken a keen and active interest in political mat- ters, and has repeatedly served as a delegate in the city and state conventions, in which his voice and counsel have carried great weight. Mr. McElroy has also served for two years as a member of the Board of Visitors and three years as a member of the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin, and takes a warm inter- est in all that pertains to the welfare of the state's highest insti- tution of learning. In religion he conforms to the Presbyterian faith and is a member of that church, to which he lends a cordial and liberal support. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and Past Master of his lodge; belongs to the Blue Mound Country Club; the St. Andrews Society; is a member of the Milwaukee and the State Bar associations, and in 1906 was president of the former. He was married on Dec. 4, 1894, to Miss Lillian Elliott, a daughter of Eugene S. and Kate D. (Dousman) Elliott, of Milwaukee, and has one daughter, Miss Helen.
August E. Braun, of Milwaukee, Wis., a member of the well- known law firm of Braun & Braun, was born in the city of Mil- waukee on Oct. 22, 1879, the son of August and Helen (Reuter) Braun. His parents, both of whom are still living in Milwaukee, are natives of Germany. The father was born in 1849 and came to the United States in 1872, locating first in Chicago and then in Madison, Wis., and he came to Milwaukee about 1874. He has been prominently identified with the business life of Milwaukee ever since, engaging first in the general hardware business, out of which has grown his present business-heating plants and hot water furnaces-established some twenty years ago. Our subject's mother came to the United States in 1866, locating first at Madison, Wis., and later at Milwaukee. A maternal uncle, Fritz Reuter, of Low German lineage, was a very prominent and influential writer among the Low Germans, and was closely identified through his writings with the revolutionary uprising of 1848, as was Carl Schurz. August E. was educated in the public schools of Mil- waukee and is a graduate of the West Side high school. He then attended the law department of the University of Wisconsin, in which he graduated with the degree of LL. B. in 1902. In the fall of the same year he began the practice of his chosen profession in Milwaukee, and successfully prosecuted the same alone until July 1, 1906, when he entered into partnership with his brother, Ernest W. Braun, under the firm name and style of Braun & Braun. The firm is doing a prosperous business and is rapidly forging to the front. having already established for itself a reputation for integrity, learning, and ability. Mr. Braun takes a keen interest
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in political matters, and is now serving as a member of the Mil- waukee Common Council, for the Fifteenth ward, and is the youngest member of the body. He is a firm believer in the great underlying principles of the Republican party, and was elected on the Republican ticket. His church affiliations are with the Evangelical Frieden's church (Nat. Lutheran). Mr. Braun is a member of the following fraternal societies and professional asso- ciations: The Masonic order, Knights of Pythias, Equitable Fra- ternal Union, Milwaukee Bar Association, and the Lincoln Society, of which he was one of the organizers. He is one of the keen, progressive, young German-Americans of Milwaukee, whose ability is fast receiving fitting recognition.
Ernest W. Braun, senior member of the prosperous law firm of Braun & Braun, Suite 3, Metropolitan block, Milwaukee, Wis., was born in the city of Milwaukee on Sept. 11, 1876, the son of August and Helen (Reuter) Braun. Some remarks on our sub- ject's ancestry will be found in the sketch of his brother, August E. (q. v.) Mr. Braun received his education in the public schools of Milwaukee and is a graduate of the East Side high school. He formerly held the position of deputy supervisor of assessments for Milwaukee county, and was the first incumbent of that important office. While serving in this capacity at the court house he was a diligent student of law, and was admitted to the bar by examination on Dec. 28, 1903. He opened an office in Milwaukee and was engaged in the practice of his profession alone until July 1, 1906, when he formed a partnership with his brother, August E., and the firm is already known as one of the best among the younger element in the profession. In conjunction with Judge J. C. Karel, Mr. Braun organized the law department of the Milwaukee University, and he is now acting as secretary of the law college and one of the instructors therein. In politics he affiliates with the Republican party, and in the matter of religion he adheres to the tenets of the Evangelical Frieden's church (Nat. Lutheran). He is a member of the Masonic order, the Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the World, the Germania Society, and of the Milwaukee Bar Association. Mr. Braun was most con- genially married on Dec. 14, 1899, to Miss Ella Riemer, daughter of John F. and Caroline Riemer, of Milwaukee, and two bright children are the fruit of this union, Ruth A. and Jeanette C.
Daniel J. Dalton, a practicing attorney in the city of Milwau- kee, was born at Portage, Columbia county, Wis., Aug. 14, 1858, son of Thomas J. and Mary A. (Waters) Dalton, both of whom were natives of St. Lawrence county, N. Y., the father being born in 1825 and the mother in 1827. The ancestors on both the paternal and maternal sides came from Ireland in 1823, and after residing for a time in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., in 1850, continued their . journey westward to Wisconsin and settled at Portage in Colum- bia county. They were farmers by occupation and followed generally agricultural pursuits, although the maternal grandfather gave considerable attention to merchant tailoring, a trade he had
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learned in his native land. They became quite prominent in Portage and vicinity, holding various local offices, and there were a number of teachers among the younger members of the two families. Daniel J. Waters, an uncle of the subject of this review, on the maternal side, holds a responsible position in the office of the Secretary of the Interior at Washington, D. C., and has been the incumbent of the position for the past thirty-three years. The parents of our subject are both dead, the mother passing away in 1900 and the father in 1904. Daniel J. Dalton received his preliminary education in the high school of Mauston, Wis., where his parents resided during his youth, and later he spent four years in the University of Wisconsin, but did not graduate. Deciding upon the law as a profession he began the study of the subject in the office of I. C. Sloan at Madison, and later in that of Judge Taylor at Portage. He was admitted to the bar upon examina- tion in 1879 and immediately began practice at Portage, where he remained two years. Then desiring a larger field he removed to the city of Milwaukee, where he has since resided, and where he enjoys a large and lucrative practice of a general nature. He was married on June 6, 1881, to Miss Catherine, daughter of Edward and Ellen (Maher) Holden, of Milwaukee, and to this union there have been born four children : Mary, Edward, Grace, and Daniel J., Jr. Mary and Edward both died in infancy; Grace is the wife of George W. Reynolds, a teacher, and resides in Milwaukee; and Daniel J., Jr., is a student in the high school. Mr. Dalton is a Democrat in his political views, but does not take an active part in public affairs, and his religious faith is that of the Roman Catholic church. He is a member of the Milwaukee and the State Bar associations.
Burchard Andrew Weber, M. D., a practicing physician of the city of Milwaukee, was born at Cedarburg, Ozaukee county, Wis., on Feb. 6, 1874, son of Burghard and Ellamunda (Judae) Weber, who are given a more extended mention on another page of this work in the sketch of their younger son, Dr. Ernest J. Weber. Dr. Burchard A. Weber, who is the immediate subject of this review, received his preliminary education in the common and high schools of his native village of Cedarburg, after which he completed a course in the University of Wisconsin, and then deciding upon medicine as a profession he matriculated at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Milwaukee and graduated at that institution on May 13, 1898. He immediately began prac- tice in the city of Milwaukee and for more than a decade has been so engaged, his practice steadily growing until it is acknowledged to be one of the most desirable in the Cream City. He was married on April 11, 1904, to Miss Hulda, daughter of Fred and Elizabeth Pagels, of Milwaukee, and to this union there has been born one daughter, Lucile, born on Feb. 5, 1905. Dr. Weber is decidedly independent in his political views, though he takes the interest of a good citizen in public affairs, and his vote is cast for the men and measures that meet his conscientious approval after intelligent
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