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 80

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 80

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William E. Powell is a descendant of an old and prominent Welsh family, his grandfather, Hywel Powell, being one of the famous poets of Wales. William was born at Beddgelert, Wales, Feb. 20. 1841, the eighth of the family to see the light of day in the quaint old town. His father was Evan Powell, born in 1806, and his mother was Jane Powell, born in Beddgelert in 1811. Our subject received his scholastic training in his native town for five years, and in 1865 determined to come to America, where more opportunities were open to a young and ambitious young man .. He bade good-bye to his home, friends, and family, and sailed for the new world. After reaching the United States he came to Mil- waukee and located at the foot of Huron street. The following

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year Mr. Powell entered the service of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad as bill clerk in the freight depot. He was faith- ful to duty and within a short time was promoted to the position of General Immigration Agent for the company. Mr. Powell has ex- cellent executive ability and became one of the valued employes of the road. For forty years he continued to help many Europeans to find homes in this country, where they lighted their hearth-fires and established residences in the land of plenty. During his years of service with the railroad Mr. Powell was prudent, he saved, and two years ago determined to invest his capital in a business of his own. It was with regret that the Milwaukee road gave up his services, and it wished him nothing but success and good fortune in his new business. Since 1906 Mr. Powell has been engaged in a general land business and is meeting with well-deserved success. He is a man who has a great capacity for work and devotes his time to earnest and continuous effort along business lines. Mr. Powell is a hearty supporter of the Republican party and had the honor to be elected from the First ward as a delegate to the State Republican convention which nominated Robert M. La Follette for his first term as governor of the state of Wisconsin. Like many of the hardy Welshmen, Mr. Powell is a member of the Welsh Pres- byterian church, in which faith he was reared and he is a member of the St. David Society, a Welsh lodge. He is also a member of the Masonic order, being a member of Wisconsin Lodge, No. 13. On Sept. II, 1865, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Powell and Jane Roberts, the daughter of Rees and Margaret Roberts, natives of the Vale of Gwynant, Wales. Four children were born to this union: Rees, aged forty ; George, now thirty-six years old; William, thirty-two; and Arthur, twenty-two. Mr. Powell has had the satisfaction of seeing his four sturdy sons grow to manhood and receive honor among the citizens of Milwaukee, which is one of the most gratifying things that comes into a man's life.

Charles Salomon, a prominent upholsterer, decorator and de- signer in furniture and draperies, also well-known in the East through his productions, whose modern place of business is at 523 and 525 Jackson street, was born in Goodhope, in Milwaukee county, on Feb. 9, 1852. He is a son of August and Carolina Salomon, both of whom were born in Germany. The father came to Milwaukee in 1848 and opened the first upholstering establish- ment in the city on Market Square. Charles Salomon, the subject of this review, received all his educational advantages in the Second ward school and later in the German-English Academy, which he attended for seven years. When sixteen years of age he left school to learn the trade of upholsterer, and after three years of appren- ticeship in the business entered the employ of Matthews Brothers. He was afterward employed for periods, varying from three to five years, with Goldsmith & Company, J. F. Birchard, and Stark Brothers, partly as foreman, designer and manager. In 1898 he formed a partnership under the firm name of the Salomon-Koepp Company, which continued successfully for three years. In 1901

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Mr. Salomon embarked in the business under his own name at his present location on Jackson street, and there he added an em- broidery plant. It was not until 1906 that he added decorating to his business. His business ventures have proved successful from the start, due in large measure to his ability to apply himself, his inherent Teutonic qualities of thrift and industry, and his sterling integrity. He is a member of the Merchants' & Manufacturers' Association, the Old Settlers' Club and the Milwaukee Musical Society. On Sept. 23, 1876, Mr. Salomon was united in marriage to Miss Maria Mueller, a daughter of Joseph and Caroline Mueller, of Milwaukee. They have no children.

John C. Dick, a retired business man of Milwaukee, who was prominent in commercial circles of earlier days, was born in Bavaria, Germany, on Jan. 12, 1824, a son of Andrew and Wilhelmina Dick. An uncle was a soldier under Napoleon and saw service in many of that leader's campaigns. Mr. Dick received the rather limited educa- tional advantages afforded by the public schools in the smaller villages of Germany. In August, 1846, he came to the United States and located in New York city, but was not satisfied with the outlook in the metropolis, and in May of the following year removed to Milwaukee, arriving here on the thirteenth. The first three years of his residence in this city he was employed in a clerical capacity by R. D. Jennings, then for a period of one year was engaged as a traveling representative for a Milwaukee firm, and then was employed for two years as a clerk for Cicero and Leander Comstock. In 1852 he returned to Germany, having decided not to stay in America, but he returned to Milwaukee in six months. On Jan. 12, 1853, Mr. Dick was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Salfner, of Bavaria. Of the thirteen children born to them eleven survive. From 1853 to 1855 he was engaged in the saloon business. In 1855 he was commissioned by the governor a notary public, and a year later entered the insurance field. Up to the time of his retirement from active business he was continuously engaged in that work, as a fire insurance agent and as a director and vice- president of the Milwaukee Mechanics' Mutual Insurance Company. In 1890 he returned to his native land and spent a pleasant six months, visiting the scenes of his youth and renewing acquaintances. In poli- tics Mr. Dick has always been a stanch adherent of the tenets of the Democratic party and as the candidate of that party has been honored by his neighbors with election to public office. In 1856 and 1857 he served as alderman from his ward, and in 1878 represented his dis- trict in the lower house of the state legislature in a manner that reflected both to his own credit and to the wisdom of his constituents in elect- him. Fraternally he was prominently identified with the Druids, Masons, Harigari, and the Sons of Hermann. Mr. Dick is thoroughly conversant with the early history of Milwaukee, and was one of the pallbearers at the funeral of Solomon Juneau.

Thomas J. Dunbar, one of the most prominent horsemen in the state and a well-known resident of Milwaukee, was born at Suffield, Conn., on Jan. 6, 1840. He is a son of Oliver and Mary Ann ( Mather)

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Dunbar, the former of whom was born at Watch Hill, R. I., on Dec. 27, 1807, and the latter at .Suffield on May 16, 1810. The father was reared in Rhode Island, there learned the trade of cigar-maker, and from there went to Suffield, where he was married. In 1855 he brought his family west and located on a farm near Caledonia, Minn., and subse- quently conducted a hotel at Caledonia until his death, which occurred on May 25, 1883. He left a family of seven children. He was of a very religious nature and was for many years a deacon in the Baptist church. The mother was directly descended from a Mather family which settled in Massachusetts about 1635. Thomas J. Dunbar, the subject of this review, received his educational advantages in an insti- tute at Suffield. At the age of fifteen he left school, came west with his parents, and did his part in the building of the new home. For a time he was assistant to his father in the management of the hotel, and then left home to travel over the state of Minnesota, buying and selling horses. Then for a time he was in St. Louis, Mo., in March, 1865, enlisted as a corporal in Company F of the Twenty-third Illi- nois infantry, and before he was mustered out at Richmond, Va., a few months later, was forage-master. He then returned to St. Louis and served a term as sheriff of his county. Some years later, in 1874, he removed to La Crosse, Wis., where he purchased the race-course and the adjacent property and named it the Oakwood Driving Park. He remained in La Crosse until 1878, and on April 12, of that year, re- moved to Milwaukee where he became superintendent of the Cold Spring Driving Park. After again leaving Milwaukee he was for a time in Cleveland, Ohio, and went thence to Tren- ton, N. J., to become superintendent of the Fashion Stud Farm, which was one of the finest of its kind in the United States. He remained in that capacity for a period of five years and then returned to Milwaukee, but did not remain long, leaving in 1891 to open a livery in Chicago. Shortly afterward he again returned to Milwaukee and erected a large livery and sales barn on the prop- erty which he had purchased in 1878, and which later became known as the Dunbar Place. Ever since his connection with the race-horse industry he has been the recipient of many favorable press notices on his ability as a driver and trainer of fast horses. He has handled in their record-making races some of the fastest horses ever driven on an American track. He is known throughout the country as an excellent trainer for driving animals and has written several articles on the sub- ject which are instructive as well as entertaining. In his political rela- tions Mr. Dunbar is absolutely independent of party ties and has never. since becoming a resident of Milwaukee, sought to become a candidate for public office. In religious maters he is associated with the Con- gregational church and socially is identified with the Milwaukee Ath- letic and Milwaukee Driving clubs. On Dec. 28, 1862, Mr. Dun- bar was united in marriage to Miss Marion Hicks, a daughter of Ger- mon and Mernica (Gardner) Hicks, of Decorah, Iowa. To this union have been born four children: Marion, Luella C., Thomas W., and Charles B.

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Charles T. Reynolds, of C. T. Reynolds & Son, a prosperous real estate firm of the Cream City, was born in Pontiac, Mich., a son of Richard and Christina (O'Connell) Reynolds, both natives of Dublin, Ireland. The father was a veterinary surgeon in the English army and came to Milwaukee in 1837. He began the construction of the Milwaukee and Rock River Canal, and when that project was aban- doned he started farming and kept hotel on a tract of land, part of which is now owned and maintained by the city as a public park and known as Reynolds Park. Charles T. is the only survivor of a family of seven sons and five daughters. One son, James M., was county treasurer for four years. Mr. Reynolds received his educational ad- vantages in the common schools of Milwaukee, and Sinsinawa Mound College, and in 1859 started a general store at the corner of Reed and Oregon streets with his brother, H. P. (who was later a state sen- ator from Milwaukee county for two years). This partnership con- tinued until 1869, except from 1862 to the cose of the war, during which time Charles T. Reynolds was sutler for the Twenty-seventh Wisconsin infantry. For the eight years immediately following the dissolution of the partnership with his brother, Mr. Reynolds was located in Independence, Kansas, and as attorney for its in- habitants entered and deeded the town site of said city. In 1878 he returned to Milwaukee and engaged in contracting, an occu- pation which kept him engaged until 1884. In that year he em- barked in the realty business, and has since been constantly and successfully conducting it, not only in Milwaukee but in Chicago also. In politics he has always been a Democrat and an ardent advocate of the "greenback" theory of money-that the govern- ment should issue fifty dollars per capita for every citizen, and increase it every four years in proportion to the growth in the pop- ulation, and that a government clearing-house should be estab- lished. He believes that bankers should do business on their own capital and not on that of the people. He lectures in the Catholic church, and is one of the advocates of Spiritualism. In 1869 Mr. Reynolds was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Bradley, a daughter of Peter Bradley, of Milwaukee. Three children were born to bless this union: Marie, now Mrs. F. D. Hunter, of Chi- cago; Chares J., now associated in business with his father, and also as real estate agent for the Miller Brewery Company ; and Eliza- beth A., now Mrs. Dr. J. J. Sellman, of Milwaukee.

Charles Jiran, the efficient treasurer of the United American Fire Insurance Company, of Milwaukee, is a native of Bohemia, Ger- many, born at Hvozdan, Jan. 18, 1860, the son of Jacob and Mary Ji- ran, both natives of Bohemia, where they spent their lives. The mother died at the age of sixty-three, during an epidemic of cholera, but the father lived to be 102 years old. Charles received his educa- tion in his native town and learned the machinist's trade. After mastering this trade he worked in the Fatherland until he was twenty-one years of age, when he bade adieu to his native land and sailed for America. He landed on the shores of the new world on June 26, 1881, and located in Milwaukee. For eight years he was

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employed by the E. P. Allis Company as a machinist, and then sev- ered his connection with that concern to enter the Bohemian National Loan Association, which carries $5,000,000 capital stock. He became secretary of this company and subsequently was elected treasurer of the United American Fire Insurance Company, which has offices in the Germania building. Mr. Jiran still holds these positions with great credit to himself and the entire satisfaction of both companies. He is a Republican in politics and a staunch supporter of that party. He is also a member of the Bohemian Benevolent Society and treasurer of the Knights and Ladies of Honor. Mr. Jiran was married to Mary, the daughter of John and Barbara (Kamar) Bukovsky, residents of Milwaukee. Two children came to bless this union : Norma, aged sixteen ; and George, aged twelve.

Fred R. Weber was born at Cedarburg, Ozaukee county, Wis., June 9, 1864. He received his early schooling in the public schools of Ozaukee county and also by home study. He spent one year in the law office of Joshua Stark in the city of Milwaukee, and taught two years in the public schools in Mequon, Ozaukee county. He entered the Uni- versity of Wisconsin in 1883 and completed his course in three years. While in the University he became a member of three societies- Athenae, Bildungsverein and Scientific. In 1886 he went to Freiburg, Baden, to study medicine, pursued his studies in Berlin and Munich, and graduated at the latter place in 1890 in the University of Munich. He then served fifteen months in the Charite Hospital at Berlin by ap- pointment under Professor Gerherdt, after which he spent six months under Drs. McLeod and McEwen in Glasgow, Scotland, preparing himself in the surgical clinical work. He published several medical ar- ticies while there. He came to Milwaukee in 1892 and began a general practice of medicine ; was for several years Professor of Pathology in the Wisconsin College of Physicans and Surgeons, and also Professor of Internal Medicine in the Milwaukee Medical College. He was mar- ried in 1890, in Glasgow, to Miss Emma Stromier, daughter of Joseph and Sophia Stromier, and to this union there were born four children : Elfrieda, Victor, Leonie and Mabel. Fraternally, Dr. Weber was a member of the Eagles, Elks, Knights of Pythias and the Germania Club, and politically he was allied with the Democratic party, but was not active. The surviving members of his family are communicants of the Catholic church of St. Galls. Dr. Weber died on July 17, 1907.

Chester M. Echols, M. D., a popular and well-known medical practitioner of the Cream City and a member of the staff of the Post- Graduate Hospital of Milwaukee, is a native of Illinois, born near Mc- Leansboro, Hamilton county, June 15, 1874. His father was H. S. Echols, born in Tennessee in 1844, and his mother was born in the same state in 1847. When the country was rent asunder by the Civil war, the father enlisted as a private in Company A, Sixth Illinois cav- alry, which was organized at Camp Butler in 1861 and mustered into the service in August for three years' service. It was sent to St. Louis, took part in the White River campaign and served on picket duty dur- ing Grant's movement on Vicksburg. It participated in the battle at Arkansas Post and was assigned to General Lee's cavalry division during the campaign in western Louisiana. The regiment took part in

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the repulse of General Forrest in his daring raid on Memphis. Mr. Echols served with gallantry all during the period of his enlistment, and was honorably discharged at the close of his period of service. Chester received his earliest scholastic training in the public schools near McLeansboro, after which he attended Heyward Collegiate Insti- tute at Fairfield, Ill., and the Illinois State Normal School, at Normal, Ill. At the age of twenty he was principal of the public Schools at Cisco, Ill. Having carefully prepared himself for a collegiate course in medi- cine he entered Rush Medical College, of Chicago, in 1897, was gradu- ated there in 1901, after which he was appointed by competitive exami- nation interne in Cook County Hospital. When his service as interne was concluded Dr. Echols located in Appleton, Wis., where he began the active practice of his profession and became secretary of the Fox River Valley Medical Society. On March 1, 1906, he moved to Mil- waukee and opened an office at 204 Grand avenue, but removed to the Majestic building when it was finished. He has built up a large con- sultation and surgical practice and has become associated with the Post- Graduate Hospital. Dr. Echols is a member of the County, State and American Medical societies, also the Brainard, Fox River Valley and Chicago Medical societies. He is a member of Phi Rho Sigma Medical Fraternity, the Knights of Pythias and Elks ; and in the Masonic order has membership in Ivanhoe Commandery, Knights-Templar; the Wis- consin Consistory, and Tripoli Temple. He is also a member of the Eastern Star and of the Calumet Club. On June 28, 1900, was solem- nized the marriage of Dr. Echols and Florence, the daughter of T. J. and Abbie (Deering) Skillin, of Oak Park, Ill. The parents formerly lived in Portland, Me. Three children have been born to Dr. and Mrs. Echols : Chester M., deceased; Dean L, now four years of age ; and Dorothy, who is a little over two. The family are members of the Unitarian church.

Frank Edward Darling, B. S., M. D., the present registrar of vital statistics of Milwaukee and one of the leading practitioners of medicine in the city, was born at Brodhead, Green county, Wis., on Jan. 7, 1880. He is a son of Frank Edward Darling, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume in the sketch of another son. Dr. Darling received his preparatory educational advantages in the public schools of Middleton and the high schools of Mid- dleton and Madison. In 1900 the regents of the University of Wis- consin granted him the degree of Bachelor of Science, and the fol- lowing fall he matriculated at the Milwaukee College of Physi- cians and Surgeons. When he had completed the prescribed course at the latter institution he was granted the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and he at once opened an office for the practice of his profession. He soon gained a large patronage, which has been constantly increasing, and the same year was made registrar of vital statistics, the position which he still retains. In his political relations he is independent of party affiliations, preferring to exer- cise his right of franchise without the bond of party ties. While a student at Madison he united with the First Congregational Church and still retains his membership in that organization. He is also professor of bacteriology at his alma mater, and has won

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for himself the respect and admiration of the students of that in- stitution. Fraternally he is identified with the Phi Rho Sigma fraternity, the Knights of Pythias, the Royal Arcanum, the Knights of the Maccabees, and the Equitable Fraternal Union. In 1903, Dr. Darling was united in marriage to Miss Mamie Grings, of Milwau- kee, a daughter of John and Anna (Wenzlick) Grings, early set- tlers of the Cream City. To Dr. and Mrs. Darling have been born three children: Frank Edward, Jr., Sylvester John, and William Anthony.

Bernhard H. Oberembt, M. D .- Among the younger medical practitioners rapidly growing into prominence in Milwaukee is the subject of this sketch. He is a native of Wisconsin, born at Springfield on May 19, 1876, the son of Joseph and Catherine (Bung) Oberembt, who were both born at Cologne, on the banks of the Rhine, celebrated in many a story as a spot of great historic interest and wonderful beauty. The father came to the United States about the time when so many Germans were coming to this country, and located in Wisconsin. For two years, from 1846 to 1848, he was in Milwaukee, but in 1848 he moved to Madison, Wis., and from there to Waunakee, Dane county. He was engaged in various occupations, but devoted the greater part of his time to farming. He took an active part in local affairs and was super- visor of Dane county for a number of years. On April 11. 1906, he passed to his last rest, being survived by his widow, who still re- sides at Waunakee. They reared eight children, six of whom are still living. The doctor received his earliest intellectual training in the public schools of Springfield, but desiring to prepare him- self for the study of medicine he entered the Wisconsin Academy in Madison and completed an extensive course. Having thorough- ly prepared himself for his future studies, Mr. Oberembt matric- ulated at Rush Medical College, Chicago, where he was grad- uated in 1903. In July of that year he established himself at 204 Grand avenue, and when the New Majestic Building was finished he leased suite 800-807, where he is engaged in the active practice of his profession. Dr. Oberembt is one of the attending physi- cians of the Post-Graduate Hospital of Milwaukee and is one of its leading physicians. In politics he is independent, and believes in exercising his privilege of franchise as his conscience dictates, rather than be governed by any party. He was reared in the Catholic faith and is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church. Dr. Oberembt is a member of the Milwaukee, the Wis- consin, and the National Medical societies, also of the Brainard Medical Society, and he is a Knight of Columbus. Though one of the younger men of the medical fraternity, Dr. Oberembt has been remarkably successful and has built up a large practice.

John M. Romadka, deceased, late of 1129 State street, Milwau- kee, was one of the prominent and successful business men of the city, and head of the Romadka Brothers Company, manufacturers of trunks and traveling bags, up to the time of his death. He was born in the town of Seltschan, Bohemia, on May 16, 1837, the son

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of Ericslaus and Mary (Hashek) Romadka, both of whom were also natives of Bohemia. His father was a tanner by trade, and came with his family to the United States in the year 1855, first going to Cincinnati, Ohio, and shortly afterward coming to Mil- waukee, Wis. John M. was educated in the schools of his native town, and also in Vienna, Austria. When he arrived in Milwau- kee with his parents he was only eighteen years of age. With two of his brothers he started the Romadka Brothers Trunk Store and Factory, at No. 391 Broadway, and from a comparatively small beginning, by sheer force of native ability and remarkable fore- sight, he built up the present large business of Romadka Brothers Company. Under his able and shrewd management the business grew by leaps and bounds, and it developed into one of the most important industries of the kind in the United States. In addi- tion to its large manufacturing business, the firm conducted an extensive and profitable retail business. The business has always remained in the Romadka family, one of the wealthiest and most influential families in the city of Milwaukee. Though John M. was the active head of their great business until his death, on Jan. 2, 1898, other members of the family are still conducting the same with success. Mr. Romadka found time amid the cares and re- sponsibilities of business to interest himself in many works of a public nature, and he was known as one of the most liberal and public-spirited citizens of Milwaukee. He was also a man of broad culture, with a mind stored with knowledge gained from extensive reading and travel. He was especially fond of travel- ing, and was able to indulge himself freely in that respect. While he took an intelligent and keen interest in all public affairs, he was never a seeker after public preferment on his own behalf. He was a firm believer in the great underlying principles of the Dem- ocratic party, of which he was a lifelong adherent, without being a narrow partisan. He contributed liberally of his ample means toward many worthy charities and municipal enterprises, and could always be counted upon to favor every worthy undertaking. He was a sincere Catholic in his religious belief and a zealous attendant on the Church of the Gesu, of which he was one of the most liberal and consistent supporters. Mr. Romadka was mar- ried on Jan. 18, 1881, to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Laurence and Mary (Baxter) Clark, well-known and highly respected resi- dents of Milwaukee. Their union was blessed with four children: Catherine, Helen, Mary and John, all of whom, together with the widow, are now living. Mr. Romadka's death took place in the city, to whose material advancement he had contributed in so many ways, where his life affords an example of what energy, strict business honesty, and high moral principles may attain, and his remains now rest in Calvary cemetery.

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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 80

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