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 70

Author: Watrous, Jerome Anthony, 1840- ed
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Madison : Western Historical Association
Number of Pages: 1072

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Allis. He keeps on hand ten milk cows and is developing a herd of blooded Jersey cattle. Just recently he shipped a registered cow to Japan for breeding purposes. Within a few years Mr. Paine expects to dispose of his property and retire to enjoy a well- earned respite from a busy career. The thirty acres which he now owns are valued at $18,000. On Aug. 23, 1865, Mr. Paine was united in marriage to Miss Elvira D. Guild, who was born in Strong, Franklin county, Me., on Nov. 16, 1843, a daughter of Louis and Gracia (Smith) Guild. Mr. Guild was a major in the American army during the War of 1812. He was a contractor by vocation, but later in life became an agriculturist. He had a family of ten children, of whom Mrs. Paine was the youngest. One of Mrs. Paine's sisters, now eighty-six years of age, is at present a resident of Milwaukee. To Mr. and Mrs. Paine were born three children. Edith G., the eldest, is the wife of John Le Feber, the manager of the Gridley Dairy Company, of Milwaukee. Gertrude E. graduated at Milwaukee-Downer College and is now teaching in the high school at Manitowoc, Wis. Mabel A. graduated at the Milwaukee State Normal School and is now a teacher in the Seventeenth ward shool, where she is serving her third year in that capacity.

Frank M. Seymour was born at Hartford, Conn., Sept. 16, 1841, the son of George and Aurelia (Gilman) Seymour. He bears a name which has been linked with one of the greatest struggles for human rights and religious freedom. His early American ancestor was Richard Seymour, who came to America in 1639 and was one of the founders of Hartford, Conn. His name appears on the monument erected in memory of the founders of that city. He was not a grandson of the Duke of Somerset, and also the ancestor of both Mr. and Mrs. Frank M. Seymour. Driven out of England by religious persecutions, he faced the dangers of a long voyage at sea and sought an asylum on the bleak shores of the new world. He endured hardships and dangers which only the pioneer of a new country can know, and reared his family in the fear, but also in the freedom of God, in whose worship he had sacrificed home, property and kindred. George Seymour and Aurelia Gilman were both natives of Hartford, Conn., born there on Sept. 25, 1802, and Jan. 1, 1806, respectively. They met and were married in their native town on Dec. 25, 1827. Mr. Seymour was a farmer and the owner of a large estate in Connecticut, where he continued to reside until his death, in 1883. His wife had died in 1876, and from that time he lived a very quiet and retired life. There were eight children in the Seymour family : John, born Jan. 7, 1829, died Aug. 28, 1830; George Gilman, born June 27, 1831, died in October, 1886; Ellen Maria, born Aug. 18, 1833, died May 31, 1852; John L., born Jan. 31, 1836, died in December, 1905; Edward A .. born Oct. 18, 1838, died May 26, 1854; Frank M., the subject of this sketch ; Sarah Elizabeth, born Jan. 12, 1844, is the wife of M. A. Board- man, of Milwaukee; and Frederick Alden, born Dec. 17, 1846, died in March, 1889. Frank was sent to the public schools in Hartford,

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Conn. When only sixteen years of age, he left home and engaged in the wholesale dry goods business. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in the Twenty-second Connecticut volunteers and left as third sergeant of his company. He was faithful to duty, and as a reward was promoted to sergeant-major. Mr. Seymour enlisted on Sept. 9, 1862, and was discharged with honor on July 7, 1863. During the nine months' service he never lost a day and came through the ordeal of war and bloodshed safely. At the close of the war Mr. Seymour came west and went into business with his brother in Milwaukee. They conducted a ladies' furnishing goods store and continued in that business for about four years. Mr. Seymour then sold out his interest and went into partnership with H. M. Dunn in wholesale millinery on March 28, 1868, and the partnership existed until Mr. Dunn's death in the fall of 1870. Mr. Seymour then associated himself with W. S. Hand, under the firm name of Hand & Seymour in wholesale millinery, and this was the first company to occupy the upper part of the Bosworth build- ing on Broadway. This partnership lasted about eight years, and then Mr. Seymour bought the entire business and conducted it alone for ten years, when he closed out and retired from active life, in 1901. On Dec. 25, 1867, Mr. Seymour was united in mar- riage with Harriet Edna Seymour, born at Hartford, Conn., March 31, 1845, the daughter of Albert and Luthera (Parmenter) Sey- mour. The former was a native of Hartford, Conn., born there in April, 1804, and the latter was born in Vermont, Aug. 16, 1813. The father was a pattern- and cabinet-maker by trade and spent his entire life in Hartford, where he died on Nov. 22, 1875. His widow survived him until September,1901. Albert Seymour was twice married and became the father of nine children. By his first wife, Jerusha Ensign, he had Albert Melancthon, born July 15, 1832, died at age of twenty-seven; Edward William, born June 24, 1834, died in 1878; James Henry, born April 30, 1836, died in infancy ; a second child died in infancy in September, 1837; and Catherine Ensign, born April 24, 1840, died in infancy. Mr. Sey- mour married a second time in June, 1844, Luthera (Parmenter) Hovey, widow of William H. Hovey. One child, which died at ten months of age, had been born to Mrs. and Mrs. Hovey. By his second marriage Mr. Seymour became the father of Harriet Edna, the wife of our subject, born March 31, 1845; Elizabeth Dennison, born May 25, 1846, died in August, 1852; Emma Luthera, born Jan. 23, 1850, died Aug. 22, 1852; and George Parmenter, born Oct. 30, 1851, died Sept. 1, 1852. The three children last named died of cholera at the time that plague swept over this state, and to-day Mrs. Seymour, the wife of the subject of this review, is the only one living of the family of nine children. To Mr. and Mrs. Frank Seymour three children have been born : Albert, born Nov. 2, 1871, married Miss Edna Willis, of Milwaukee, and has two children- Harriet May (born Oct. 12, 1904, and died March 7, 1907), and Willis Franklin (born Aug. 8, 1908) ; Frank Willmer, born July I. 1874, married Margaret Broderick, of Hartford, Conn. ; and Svd-

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENNOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS

JOHN METZ

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ney Drake, born May 20. 1870, married Miss Myrtle Maynard, of Milwaukee, and has one child, Maynard Reed, born Aug. 5, 1907. After he retired from business Mr. Seymour bought one hundred and eighty acres of land in the town of Greenfield, where he now resides and where his sons are engaged with him in the live-stock business. Mr. Seymour is practically retired and leaves busi- ness cares to his children. He and his good wife have one of the finest residences in the country and expect to live there the remainder of their lives. The family attends the Grand Avenue Congregational church for worship. Mr. Seymour is a staunch Republican, but has never aspired to office.

John Metz, deceased, was one of the best examples of the fine, sturdy German-Americans, who have played an important part in the building of the great commonwealth of Wisconsin. He was a native of Germany, born at Baden on July 12, 1833, the son of Joseph and Antonia (Maushard) Metz, both natives of the same place. They remained in the old country all their lives, and were laid peacefully to rest there. John, our subject, was the second child in a family of eight. He received the elements of a practical education in the public schools of his native land and became a member of the Catholic church at an early age. He lived at home until about twenty-one years of age, when he heard of the many opportunities open to young men in America, and bidding farewell to his home and kindred sailed for the new world. Landing in this country just at the time of the western gold rush, Mr. Metz went west and for eighteen years worked as a gold miner in British Columbia. He was successful and came east to invest his capital. After reaching Milwaukee Mr. Metz bought the farm near West Allis, where his widow still resides. He engaged in farming and continued in that occupation until his death, May 15, 1890. Mr. Metz was in perfect health; he went out from his home in the morning, well and happy, and while repairing a double-tree was kicked by a horse and died within a short time. He left a desolate home and sorrowing wife and children. His death was a distinct loss to the whole community, as he had won a high place in the esteem of his associates and friends. by his kind heart and good judgment. He was a Democrat in politics, but never aspired to office. On Feb. 29, 1876, he married Ottilie Scheiffer. born at Koln, Germany, Jan. 25, 1850. She was the daughter of Wilhelm and Maria Theresa Rohmann, both natives of Prussia, who came to this country in 1857. After landing on the shores of the United States they settled at Syracuse, N. Y. The father was a shoe- maker in the old country, but when he located in this country took up gardening. After living in New York state four years the family came to Milwaukee, and Mr. Scheiffer bought a home where he lived, retired from the cares of life, until his death, in 1873. His widow continued to reside in the same place until she, too, was laid at rest fourteen years later. Eight children came to brighten the Metz home: Theresa, born Dec. 7, 1876, is the wife of Henry Tesch, of the town of New Berlin, Waukesha county,

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where the husband follows gardening; Wilhelm, born Aug. 3, 1878, married Agnes Brandt, of New Berlin, and resides in that town where he conducts a farm; Margaret, born March 16, 1880, is the wife of Herman Graf, and lives in Waukesha county ; John, born Feb. 25, 1882, is unmarried and works for John Beggs on construction work; Antonia, born Jan. 6, 1884, lives at home with her mother; Anna, born Dec. 14, 1885, is the wife of Matthew Krahn, and lives in the town of New Berlin, where the husband conducts a farm ; Sophia, born Sept. 9, 1887, is a hair dresser ; and Aloysius, born Jan. 6, 1890, is a carpenter, and lives at home. At her husband's death Mrs. Metz shouldered the cares and responsi- bilities of the family's head and bravely faced the world and reared her family. The eldest child was but thirteen years of age and the youngest was an infant of four months, when the mother be- came a widow. This loving and devoted mother deserves more credit than can be expressed for the brave manner in which she bore her sorrow and took the part of both father and mother to her children.

Henry T. Brogan, M. D., is a practicing physician at West Allis, where he attends to a large and growing practice and also officiates as city physician. He was born in Sheboygan county, Wis., on April 11, 1876, son of John E. and Mary (McNicholas) Brogan, the former of whom is a native of the state of Vermont and the latter of Wisconsin. The paternal grandparents were Martin Brogan and wife, the maiden name of the latter being Feaney, and they were pioneers of Sheboygan county, where they entered a tract of government land and spent the remainder of their lives. The maternal grandparents were Thomas and Bridget McNicholas, who came to Wisconsin about 1848 and located in She- boygan county, where they, too, lived out their allotted time. The father of the subject of this review is a farmer by occupation, and he and his faithful wife now live near Cascade postoffice in She- boygan county. They are the parents of four children, all of whom are living. Dr. Brogan received his primary education in the public schools of Sheboygan county and then took a course at the Plymouth high school, following which he attended the state normal at Milwaukee and spent two years in teaching. While engaged in this work he began the preliminary study for a course in medicine and in due time entered the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons, in which institution he graduated with the class of 1903. He then served as house physician at the St. Joseph Hospital for about a year, since which time he has been engaged in the active practice of his profession. He was married on Nov. 22, 1904, to Miss Florence B. Jordan, of West Allis, daughter of Henry E. and Ellen (O'Hearn) Jordan, who formerly resided in Sheboygan county but are now living in retirement at West Allis. Henry E. Jordan is a Republican in politics, and while living in Sheboygan county, where he was one of the pioneer settlers, he became quite prominent and held county offices. Prior to the railroad era in that section he crossed the plains to Cali-

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fornia, and during his active career he was foreman and superin- tended the track-laying on various railroads. He now owns con- siderable property in West Allis. Dr. Brogan is a Republican in his political allegiance and his church affiliations are with the Roman Catholic church. He is a member of the American Medical Association.

Meyer Rosenheimer, M. D., a practicing physician in the city of Milwaukee, was born at Schleisingerville, Washington county, Wis .. on Nov. 15. 1863. son of Lehman and Barbara (Herbst ) Rosenheimer, both of whom were natives of Bavaria, Germany. These parents immigrated to America and settled in Wisconsin in the territorial days, first locating at Milwaukee, but in 1844 they removed to Washington county, and there the father followed mer- chandising and was also interested in agricultural pursuits to a considerable extent, owning a large farm. He was very successful in business, became one of the foremost men in that section of the state, and at one time he was familiarly known as "the merchant king of Washington county." He took an active interest in public affairs, was patriotic to the core, and upon the outbreak of the Civil war, realizing that his large business interests demanded his per- sonal attention, he furnished a substitute in the ranks and con- tributed abundantly during the progress of the conflict to the cause of the Union. To him and his faithful wife there were born twelve children, eight of whom are now living, and one of the sons, Joseph, resides at the old homestead in Washington county, the farm still remaining as a family estate. The father died on Sept. 21, 1878, and the mother survived until 1887, when she too passed away, and they are both buried in a private family cemetery on the farm. On Sept. 21 of each year, the anniversary of the death of the father, the surviving members of the family assemble at the old homestead in expression of their filial love, and these annual gatherings evidence the deep feelings of regard and affection that bind the brothers and sisters together. Dr. Rosenheimer received his primary education in the public schools of Washington county, after which he completed the classical course in the Northwestern University at Watertown. He then commenced the study of medi- cine, and after due preparation entered the medical department of the University of Michigan, where he took a two-years' course, and he then entered Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York City, in which institution he graduated with the class of 1884. Returning to his native state he began the practice of his profession at his home town in Washington county and remained successfully so engaged for the greater part of the ensuing seven years. In 1890, desiring a larger field in which to exercise his talents, he removed to the city of Milwaukee, where he has since resided, and where he has met with a very gratifying professional success. He was married on June 4. 1884, to Miss Emma, daughter of Theodore and Matilda Nicolai, early settlers of Milwaukee. both of whom are now deceased. To Dr. and Mrs. Rosenheimer there have been born two sons, M. Victor Hugo and Washington

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Irving. The elder of these sons graduated at the Milwaukee Medi- cal College with the class of 1908, and he gives promise of a suc- cessful career as a disciple of Aesculapius. He is now practicing with his father under the name of Drs. Rosenheimer. The subject of this review is independent in his political views, voting for the men and measures that meet his conscientious approval without regard to party name, and he wisely concludes that good citizen- ship is not evidenced by blind partisanship or religious bigotry.

Harry Gustaf Oakland, M. D., a physician of Milwaukee, was born in that city on Feb. 21, 1878, son of Gustaf Henry and Eliza- beth (Ehrler) Oakland, the former of whom was born in Stock- holm, Sweden, and the latter is a native of Switzerland. The father and mother migrated from their respective countries to America in 1867 and located in Milwaukee, being married one year later in the city of Minneapolis, Minn. The father was a watch- maker and jeweler and was at one time connected with the firm of C. Preusser & Co. Later he became a partner in the firm known as Bloedle, Stecker & Oakland, and was act- ively engaged in business at the time of his death, in 1893. His widow is living in Milwaukee, and the subject of this review is the only child born to them. Dr. Oakland received his prepara- tory education in the Milwaukee public schools, including a high school course, and also attended the German-English Academy in that city, after which he took a course in the University of Wis- consin at Madison. While still in school he enrolled as a corporal in Company H of the Fourth Wisconsin infantry, with which organization he served in the war with Spain until hostilities were ended. Then returning home he continued his studies, and decid- ing upon the practice of medicine he matriculated at the Wiscon- sin College of Physicians and Surgeons at Milwaukee and grad- uated in that institution with the class of 1904. He served one year as house physician at St. Joseph's Hospital, and was also for one year on the medical staff of Johnson's Emergency Hos- pital in Milwaukee. He then opened an office for the general practice of his profession and has since been so engaged. He was married in 1904 to Miss Mabel A., daughter of Conrad and Ella (Wood) Wiederman, of Milwaukee, and they have a son, Conrad Frederick. Dr. Oakland is a member of the Milwaukee County, the Wisconsin State, and the American Medical associations; the Masonic order: the Sigma Chi college fraternity, University of Wisconsin chapter; the Phi Rho Sigma medical fraternity; the Modern Woodmen of America; the Equitable Fraternal Union ; the Germania Society; and the Fraternal Aid Association.

William F. Wegge, M. D., is rated professionally among the leading physicians of Milwaukee, where for the past decade he has been engaged in the general practice, specializing, however, in nervous and mental diseases. For six years he officiated as pro- fessor of mental and nervous diseases in the Milwaukee Medical College, and is at present on the staff of the Emergency, the Miserecordia, and the Milwaukee County hospitals. He was born

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at Waterford, Racine county, Wis., on May 14, 1863, son of Fred- crick and Mary (Berenholz) Wegge, natives of Westphalia, a province of Prussia, where the father was born in February, 1827, and the mother in May of the same year. The father migrated to America in 1845, when but eighteen years old, and first located in the city of New York, where he resided four years. In 1849 he joined the gold-seekers and made a trip across the Isthmus of Panama to California, where he remained for some time and then returned to New York, where he was married. In 1854 himself and wife came to Wisconsin and located in Racine county, where they followed agricultural pursuits, and had the supreme satis- faction of meeting with a high order of success as a result of their endeavors. They became the parents of five children, all of whom are living, but both father and mother have passed away, the mother dying on Aug. 16, 1887, and the father on March 16, 1906. For about fifteen years prior to the demise of the latter he lived in well-earned retirement. Dr. Wegge received his early education in public and private schools in Racine county, and also took a course in the Rochester Academy. Then deciding upon the study of medicine, after due preparation he entered the medical depart- ment of the University of Maryland, at Baltimore, and graduated at that institution with the class of 1886. He immediately began the practice of his profession at Waterford, Wis., but soon there- after went to Europe and studied for some time in the University of Wurzburg and also at Berlin. Upon his return to America he became an assistant physician at the Northern Hospital for the Insane, near Oshkosh, Wis., and in 1891 was made superintendent of the same institution. He served in that position until the autumn of 1894, when he resigned and again made a trip to Europe, taking another post-graduate course at Berlin. When he returned from this European trip he opened an office for the practice of his profession at Oshkosh, where he remained three years, and in 1898 removed to Milwaukee, where he has since been engaged in active practice as stated above. Dr. Wegge gives an unswerving loyalty to the basic principles of the Democratic party, although he has never essayed the role of an office-seeker, and his religious affilia- tions are with the Roman Catholic church. He keeps in close touch with his fraternal brethren by membership in the Brainard. the Milwaukee County, the Wisconsin State, and the American Medical associations.

Dr. James McGuffin, a prominent physician, of Milwaukee, was born in Oneida county, N. Y., July 11, 1829, the son of James and Jane (Wright) McGuffin, both born in Ireland. The parents came to Oneida county about 1822, and there the father followed farming, but later he moved his family to Canada where he and his wife died, leaving a family of eleven children, of whom four are now living. Our subject was educated in the public schools of Canada. He removed to Iowa in 1867 and to Milwaukee in 1878, and he graduated in the medical department of the Iowa University about 1870, practicing some years in Iowa, when he took a special

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course in Electrical Therapeutics in Philadelphia and has practiced in this line in Milwaukee for thirty years with remarkable success. On Sept. 23, 1869, he married Margaret Jane, daughter of Thomas and Dorothy (Wilmott) Bowes, the father being born in Ireland, of Scotch ancestry and his wife was born in Rutlamshire, England, both coming, while young, to Milton, Canada, where the wife of our subject was born in 1832, and where both of her parents are buried. There were nine children in the family, of whom three are now living. Our subject was twice married, the first time as above stated and the second time to Jane Ann Hatton, of Canada. By the first marriage he had two daughters: Elizabeth Jane, 'of Toronto, Canada; and Charlotte Sophia, of Golden, Colorado. The latter had four children, one of whom is married and has chil- dren, thus making the doctor a great-grandfather. To the second marriage of the subject of this review there was born a son, Thomas Bowes McGuffin. The doctor is a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal church and politically he affiliates with the Republi- can party. He has always led a studious life, being a lover of books, and he delights in the pleasures of the imagination and in scientific research. After a well-spent life he is nearing the four score milestone, placidly waiting until the "shadows have a little longer grown."

John Traudt, Jr., one of the most enterprising and successful business men of the great city of Milwaukee, was born in that city on Sept. 15, 1861, being the son of John Traudt, born at Langen- dernbach, Germany, in 1828, and Mary Ann (Dienstberger) Traudt, born in New York in 1841. The father, a cabinet-maker by trade, came to Milwaukee in September, 1853. Soon after his arrival here he went to work for Hoffman Brothers, large dry goods merchants, and after serving them for a time he engaged in the dry goods busi- ness himself at Chestnut and Third streets, where he remained until 1893, when he erected his own fine business structure. He retired from business fifteen years ago. He was at one time assessor of the Eighteenth ward. Himself and family are members of the Roman Catholic church and he is a member of St. Peter's Society, of which body he has served as secretary twenty-five years. Twelve children blessed his married life, nine sons and three daughters and of these six sons and two daughters are living. Our subject, John, Jr., received his education in the parochial schools and at the Charles Meyer Business College. In 1876 he began working at the bench for John Meunier, a gunsmith. The firm was changed later to the John Meunier Gun Company, in the employ of which our subject filled various positions of trust and responsibility with signal success until 1902, when the business was purchased by himself, Charles J. Bodenbach, and Henry Boehmer, and reor- ganized with our subject as president, Bodenbach, secretary-treas- urer, and Boehmer, vice-president. The firm is located at 272 West Water street, and is one of the oldest wholesale and retail sporting goods firms in the city, dating back to 1846. On Feb. 12, 1882, our subject entered the holy bonds of matrimony with Mar-

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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 70

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