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 86

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

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James Daniel Madison, M. D., a physician of the city of Mil- waukee, is attending physician at the county hospital and at the Johnson Emergency Hospital, also on the medical staff of the St. Joseph Hospital. Dr. Madison was born at West Point, Columbia county, Wis., Dec. 26, 1869, son of, William and Saralı G. (Ellis) Madison, both of whom were natives of England, the former being born in Lincolnshire and the latter at Rotheram. The former came to Wisconsin in 1857 with her parents, who spent their last days in Dane county, where they first settled. William Madison, the father of the subject of this review, migrated to America about 1858 and located in Columbia county, Wis., where he followed the occupation of a farmer. He had not long to follow the paths of peace, however, before the Civil war at- tracted the attention of everyone, and he decided with commend- able promptness to offer his services to his adopted country. In 1861 he enlisted as a private in Company A of the Eleventh Wis- consin infantry, which regiment was organized at Camp Randall in October of the above-named year. It was mustered in on Oct. 18 and left the state on Nov. 20, performing railroad guard duty until spring, when it was sent farther south. It was in a skirmish with the enemy at Bayou Cache, and was then on duty along the river until the spring of 1863, when it was sent to take part in the siege of Vicksburg. Enroute it took part in the battle of Anderson's Hill and also at Port Gibson, receiving a special compliment from Colonel Stone, brigade commander, for its splen- did work in the latter. It was engaged at Champion's Hill and also at Big Black River, leading the charge which carried the enemy's works and capturing several hundred prisoners. At Vicksburg its loss was heavy, the regiment occupying open ground which was swept by Confederate bullets. Several months were then spent in arduous though uneventful campaigning under much privation, but the regiment received Major-General Dana's compliments in an order, "for the perfection of instruction dis- covered in picket and guard lines." Mr. Madison re-enlisted in the veteran organization in the latter part of 1863, and in the early part of 1864, after a brief visit home, was sent with his regiment on an invasion of western Tennessee and northern Mississippi, engaging Forrest's cavalry enroute. The regiment was given out- post duty at Brashear City, and by continued skirmishes with the enemy's cavalry as well as scattered bodies of infantry prevented the massing of Confederate troops, and the smuggling trade was broken up. At Fort Blakeley, its last engagement, the regiment upheld the record of four years by conspicuous work, being the first to plant the colors on the enemy's parapet in the face of a murderous fire. After the close of the war Mr. Madison returned to his Wisconsin home and continued to farm in Columbia county until 1872, when he went to Nobles county, Minn., and took up a tract of land on a soldier's claim. He remained there until 1883 and then returned to Wisconsin, locating in Dane county, where he died in 1892 and where his widow now resides. To him and

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his excellent wife four sons and one daughter were born, of whom all are living except one of the sons. Dr. Madison, whose name introduces this review, received his primary education in the public schools of Worthington, Minn., and after the return of the family to Wisconsin he attended the district schools in Dane county and the Mazomanie high school. In due time he entered the University of Wisconsin and graduated there with the class of 1894 with the degree of Bachelor of Science, after which he entered the Johns Hopkins Medical School and graduated in 1898. He then served as interne for one year in the Johns Hopkins Hospital at Baltimore and was for three years at Danvers Insane Hospital, in charge of the female wards. In October, 1902, he came to Mil- waukee, where he has since been engaged in the active practice of his profession, and also has the chair of Professor of Medicine in the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons. Among the professional associations with which he is affiliated are the Ameri- can Medical Association, the Wisconsin State Medical Society, the Brainard Medical Society, the Milwaukee County and the Milwau- kee Medical associations, being the librarian of the last-named, and he is an honorary member of the Phi Rho Sigma medical fraternity. Dr. Madison was married on Oct. 14, 1903, to Miss Julia E. Porter, of Lone Rock, Wis., daughter of T. Arthur and Margaret Porter, formerly of Lone Rock, but since the death of his wife Mr. Porter resides at Linden, Wis. In political matters Dr. Madison gives allegiance to the men and measures of the Republican party, and he has membership in the Congregational church.

Enoch Bailey, a prominent and very successful business man in various lines in Milwaukee, was born in Dawleybank, Shrop- shire, England, June 5, 1831, the son of Robert and Jane (Jones) Bailey, both natives of England. The father was in the coal min- ing business in England all his life and there he died, but his wife came to the United States and to Milwaukee in 1850, and lived the remainder of her life in this city. She is buried at Forest Home Cemetery. Our subject was educated in England, at the public schools of Coalbrookdale, came to Milwaukee with his mother in 1850, and has since resided here. At first he engaged in the rail- road business, working on the first railroad built in Wisconsin, after which he embarked in the ship-building business at 32 Lake street, which business he continued about forty years, retiring in 1901. He is a man of large property interests on the South Side and occupies a magnificent home at 321 Eighteenth avenue. He married Mary Ann Tansley, who was born in Lincolnshire, Eng- land, and the issue of their union was five children: Ruth, de- ceased : Ann Maud, deceased; Mary Alice; Isabel, deceased ; and Emily. Ruth was at one time one of the most successful teachers in the city schools, and Mary Alice is now a teacher of marked ability. In religion Mr. Bailey is an Episcopalian, and in politics he reserves the right to vote for the man of good principles rather than for party, and is. therefore, an Independent. Mr. Bailey is

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entitled to a large meed of praise for his remarkable success in life, for, starting with little or nothing, he has carved from the flinty quarries of adversity a handsome fortune, and has a high standing for strict integrity in the business world.

Adam Bloedel .- No other nation of Europe has sent a more desirable class of subjects to America than has Germany, and one of the best of this class of emigrants to seek our shores is Adam Bloedel, the pioneer jeweler of Milwaukee, who was born in the "Vaterland" on Dec. 13, 1843, the son of Henry and Annie M. (Laubenstein) Bloedel, both natives of Germany. The parents came to Milwaukee direct from Germany in 1854, the father being a wagon-maker and blacksmith, following that pursuit here until he died, and his wife died here also, in 1894. They had seven chil- dren, of whom three are living. Adam was educated in the com- mon schools of Germany and Milwaukee, and after quitting the same he learned the jeweler's trade, engaging in business in a modest way in 1868. He finally enlarged his lines by wise and intelligent methods to the manufacturing of fine jewelry, which he is still conducting on a large scale at 127 Grand avenue. No other jeweler in the city has been so long in the business without interruption as Adam Bloedel, though he can hardly hope to con- tinue to outlive them all. On Jan. 13, 1866, he married Annie Strothenke, daughter of Herman Strothenke, of Milwaukee, who came to this country from Germany in an early day and died here. Our subject and wife have had seven children, of whom four are living: Annie; Ida; Herman, who is with his father in business; and Amelia. Henry, Eddie, and Henrietta are deceased. In relig- ion he follows the belief of his ancesetors and is a member of the Grace Lutheran church. In political preferences he belongs to the Republican party, and is a member of the Calumet Club. Adam Bloedel belongs to that class of men of sterling worth and useful- ness who are born to do things in the world. The successful man has traits of character forged into him by his fight with the fates. His life, like most lives, had its hard struggles, but his efforts were well directed, while others were not, and they failed while he was crowned with success, outliving all his competitors, and yet he is not an old man. He is endowed with fine business judgment in his line and with a knowledge of business principles in general, and he enjoys the highest confidence of all who know him. He has accum- ulated quite a fortune by careful, painstaking attention to his busi- ness, where nothing goes to waste and everything must yield a profit. In life's battle he would recognize no such word as "fail," but always said "I can" and "I will." Of such brave and true men as Adam Bloedel may any city well be proud, for they form the bulwark of her splendid business strength before the world.

Dr. Arthur Holbrook, D. D. S., who may now well be called the father of dentistry in Milwaukee, and who is the author of important works valued in the profession, was born at Madrid, St. Lawrence county, N. Y., June 4, 1842, the son of Edwin A. and Lucinda (Richardson) Holbrook, both of whom were born in St.

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Lawrence county, N. Y., the former in 1817 and the latter in 1815. By authentic genealogic records both branches of the family trace their ancestors from England back to the Holbrooks, who came over in 1624, and the Richardsons, who came in 1626, and members of these two well defined lines have fought in every war in this country from the Colonial and the Revolution to the late war with Spain. At the same time they have filled many civil positions of trust and profit with distinguished ability in the East. The paternal grandfather of our subject was born in New England, and coming to the then west he became a pioneer of St. Lawrence county, N. Y. The father of our subject was born in St. Law- rence county, was educated for a physician, but he preferred den- tistry, which he practiced for fifty years in that county and at Watertown, N. Y., where his last earthly days were spent, and where he died highly respected, at the age of eighty years, on April 21, 1897. He was twice married, his wife, mother of our subject, dying in 1842, and leaving him the only issue of the marriage. By the second marriage he became the father of three sons. He was an ardent Democrat, and occupied several minor local offices as he attended to his profession. He was a personal friend of Gov- ernor Flower, Governor Beach, Horatio Seymour, and other promi- ment men of New York. He was a man of a high order of literary attainments, and published a book of poems called "Life Thoughts," which was widely read. He also contributed fre- quently to the leading magazines and newspapers. For some years before his death he occupied a pulpit of his native city and of neighboring towns, and was a Universalist in religion. Our sub- ject was educated in the public schools of Watertown and the Jefferson County Institute. He first studied dentistry under his father, then under his uncle at Waukesha, Wis., in 1860, and finally graduated at the Philadelphia Dental College in 1867. He enlisted at the outbreak of the Civil war at the first call for ninety-day men, and then re-enlisted in the three years service and went to the front as a member of Company F, Fifth Wiscon- sin infantry. He served as sergeant of his company through the memorable campaign on the Potomac from July, 1861, to the fall of 1862, when he was promoted to the first lieutenancy of Com- pany A, Twentieth-eighth Wisconsin infantry. He was afterward commissioned adjutant of the Thirty-ninth Wisconsin infantry, and at the time of General Forrest's daring raid on the city of Memphis, Tenn., he was acting assistant adjutant-general of the Fourth brigade at that place. In the fall of 1864 he was mustered out with an honorable discharge. In the same year he returned to Waukesha, Wis., and engaged in the practice of dentistry with his uncle, Dr. William D. Holbrook, until 1872, then coming to Milwaukee where he has since remained, which makes his the longest in point of service of any dentist in the city, where he enjoys the love, respect, and confidence of all his associates. He and the late Dr. C. C. Chittenden, of Madison, are the first two graduates of Wisconsin in dentistry. On Jan. 2, 1868, he married

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Miss Josephine, daughter of E. P. and Abbie (Heath) Tenney, of Waukesha, Wis., both now deceased. This union was blessed with four children: Florence L., now Mrs. B. G. Poucher, Evans- ton, Ill .; Arthur T., a physician, of Milwaukee; Hortense, now Mrs. T. H. Spence, of Milwaukee, Wis .; and Harold E., who is now associated in dental practice with his father in Milwaukee. Our subject and family are all members of the Congregational church, while in politics he is a Republican, never aspiring to any public position, however. He was a charter member and once president of the Wisconsin State Dental Association, being now an honorary life member; a charter member and now an honorary life member of the Milwaukee Odontological Society ; a member of the Gitchie Gumee Club, which has a lodge on Brule River, Douglas county, Wis. ; and he has aided in establishing a number of local dental societies. He is a charter member of Lafayette Lodge, No. 265, Free and Accepted Masons; a charter member and de- mitted member of Calumet Chapter Royal Arch Masons, and of Ivanhoe Commandery, Knights Templar ; a member of E. B. Wol- cott Post, No. I, Grand Army of the Republic; a member and once a commander of the Wisconsin branch of the Loyal Legion, in which he has held various other positions; a member of the Association of the Fifth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry; and a nember of the Association of the Twenty-eighth Wisconsin VOI- unteer Infantry. Dr. Holbrook is the author of a popular and valuable work, entitled "Practical Information About the Teeth", the manuscript for which he gave gratis to the State Dental Society, which gladly published and endorsed it, and it was warmly received by the press. He has contributed freely to dental publi- cations, and occasionally has prepared articles for the local press. He is a great student and an ardent lover of Nature in all her beauteous forms, an enthusiastic angler, and his vacations are gen- erally in the pine forests and along the streams. He is a man of many parts, of splendid qualities and strong convictions, but, withal, gentle, generous, and tolerant of the predilections of others. Wherever we find him, whether at home in civil pursuits, or in the field of battle advancing from private to acting assistant adjutant- general of a brigade, or wielding the instruments of his profession and directing its destiny in his state, we always find him a leader and a commanding personality that measures up to the best stand- ard of American citizenship.

Lorenzo Boorse, M. D., has been engaged in the practice of medicine at Milwaukee without interruption for a full quarter of a century, and he controls one of the finest practices in the city. In addition to his duties in this direction he officiates as Professor of Diseases of Children in the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons at Milwaukee, and is a member of the staff of the St. Joseph Emergency Hospital and also the Milwaukee County Hos- pital. He was born in the town of Granville, Milwaukee county, on May 15, 1859, son of Henry and Mary (Price) Boorse, both of whom were natives of Montgomery, Pa. The family is of English

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extraction, and the earliest American ancestors migrated from the "tight little isle" and settled in the colony of New Jersey about 1750. The parents of the subject of this review came to Milwau- kee county in 1846 and settled on a farm in the town of Granville, where they spent the remainder of their lives, the father dying in 1887 at the age of seventy-four years, and the mother in 1896 at the age of seventy-seven. They were the parents of four sons and two daughters, of whom three sons and one daughter are now living. Dr. Boorse received his primary education in the public schools and completed a course at the Wauwatosa high school, after which he entered the German-English Academy at Milwaukee, where he took an academic course. Deciding then upon the practice of medi- cine as his life's profession he entered the Rush Medical College at Chicago and graduated in that institution with the class of 1881. He immediately began the practice of his profession in Mil- waukee in company with Dr. Solon Marks. Some time after this he left the city, but returned in 1884 and has since practiced con- tinuously there. He was married in 1884 to Miss Alice Condit Pierson, who died on Feb. 15, 1896, leaving one daughter, Mary F. The Doctor then married Mrs. Anna Lieberman, whose maiden name was Clarke, daughter of William Clarke, a pioneer contractor of Milwaukee. This lady had one son, Hugo Clarke, by her first marriage. Dr. Boorse is a Republican in his political affiliations, and with his family is a regular attendant at the St. James Epis- copal church. Among the professional organizations in which he has membership may be mentioned the American, the Wisconsin State, the Milwaukee County, the Milwaukee, and the Brainard Medical associations, and he is also a member of the American Association of Teachers on Diseases of Children. Fraternally he affiliates with the Masonic order, being a member of Ivanhoe Com- mandery in Milwaukee, and he also has membership in the Alpha Mu Pi Omega medical fraternity.

Arthur R. Wilson, M. D., physician and surgeon, No. 1053 National avenue, Milwaukee, Wis., was born in Belvidere, the county seat of Boone county, Ill., on Dec. 29, 1857, and at this writing is almost exactly fifty years of age. He is a son of Moses and Mary (Quigley) Wilson, the former of whom was a native of New York and the latter of Vermont. The father came west to Belvidere, Ill., at an early date, was married there, and was for many years a respected citizen of that city, where he followed the vocation of a mason contractor. He died at Belvidere in 1869, and his widow is still living at an advanced age, in Chicago, Ill. They were the parents of six children, three of whom grew to maturity and are still living. Dr. Wilson received his early edu- cation in the public schools of his native city, where he graduated in the high school. He then attended the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Chicago, and was graduated in that institution with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1886. After three years spent in the practice of his profession in Bessemer, Mich., he moved to Milwaukee, bought and built his present fine residence

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property, and has since been engaged in active and successful general practice. Strict attention to the details of his exacting profession, combined with studious habits and clear mental poise, have combined to place him among the leading and most respected members of the medical fraternity in Milwaukee. In politics he is affiliated with the Republican party, but has never sought public preferment on his own behalf, and he has taken little active part in political campaigns. He was married on April 10, 1883, to Miss Olive Langdon, of Defiance, Ohio, a daughter of David and Rhoda Langdon, both early pioneers of the Buckeye State, and now deceased.

E. Wells Kellogg, M. D., 420 Mitchell street, Milwaukee, is a descendant of old Colonial and Revolutionary families. His great- grandfather and his great-great-grandfather both participated in the struggle for independence, and the latter was present at the execution of Major Andre. The parents, Rev. S. H. and Sarah L. (Loomis) Kellogg, were born in Vermont and New York state, respectively, and came to Illinois in the fifties, later removing to Minnesota and subsequently to California, where both died. The father was a clergyman of the Congregational church and the pastor of the church at Roscoe, Ill., where Dr. Kellogg was born- and at other places. After moving to Minnesota they established a Home Mission Seminary, in which both Rev. S. H. and Mrs. Kellogg taught. Dr. Kellogg, born Oct. 9, 1859, was educated by his mother, and was a student in the school of his parents until he was twenty years of age, when he entered Carleton College, at Northfield, Minn., in which he was graduated in 1885. Upon deciding to follow the profession of medicine he entered Rush Medical College at Chicago, in which he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1889, and immediately began the practice of his profession in Milwaukee at the place where he is now found, having maintained the same office for nearly twenty years. He belongs to the city, county, state, and national medical organiza- tions, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Medicine; other organizations of which he is a member are the orders of Free Masons and Odd Fellows. In politics he is a Republican, and he is a member of the Hanover Street Congregational church. On Feb. 14, 1889, he was united in marriage to Miss Estella Westcott, of West Concord, Minn., a daughter of Hon. E. W. Westcott, ex- member of the Minnesota legislature. To the union the following children have been born: Neal Wells, Helen Sarah, Esther Rosalia, and Ruth Adelaide.

Walter H. Neilson, M. D., 114 Garfield avenue, Milwaukee, was born at Valcartier, Quebec, Canada, Sept. 4, 1857. His pater- nal great-grandfather was Hon. John Neilson, a native of Scotland, who came to Quebec before 1800. He was a prominent politician, a man of broad charities, and a great friend and benefactor of the Indians. He married Isabel Brown before he was twenty years of age, and later became a member of Parliament and of the privy council, and died in Quebec from disease contracted while minis-

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tering to the wants of the sufferers from Ireland. A brother of Mrs. Neilson, William Brown, was associated with Benjamin Franklin in the publishing business in Philadelphia, and was the founder of the first paper in Quebec. This family of Browns was related to John Brown, of Harper's Ferry fame. The Neilsons were prominent people in Scotland, sufficiently so to attract to themselves the displeasure of high authority, and one Neilson was hanged on Dec. 16, 1660, and his castle was destroyed as a punishment for the crime of being a non-conformist. The parents of Dr. Neilson are Cornelius Brown and Margaret ( Ireland) Neil- son, both natives of Valcartier, Quebec, the former born on Aug. 12, 1835, and the latter on June 3, 1838. The family came to the town of Granville, Milwaukee county, in 1860, and located on the farm now occupied by the father and mother. Of their family of nine children, seven are living. Walter H. Neilson was born on Sept. 4, 1857, in Valcartier, a town a few miles from the city of Quebec, and came to Wisconsin with his parents when he was about three years of age. His early education was obtained in the public schools of Granville, and his collegiate training at the Uni- versity of Wisconsin; later he studied under the preceptorship of Dr. Marks, of Milwaukee, and then entered Rush Medical Col- lege, in which he was graduated in 1881 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He established himself in Milwaukee, where he has since practiced his profession. In 1889 he assisted in the estab- lishment of Trinity Hospital, and in 1893 of the Milwaukee Medi- cal College, now a part of Marquette University, and in connection with the college has filled the positions of president and dean and Professor of Internal Medicine. He belongs to the national, state, county, and city medical associations; to the Brainard Medical Society ; the Northwestern Medical Society; the American Medi- cal Editor's Association ; the Wisconsin Academy of Arts, Letters and Science; the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Forestry Association. I In politics Dr. Neilson is a Republican and he is a member of the Cavalry Pres- byterian church of Milwaukee. In his profession he holds high rank, both as a scientific student and a general practitioner. On Dec. 29, 1881, he was united in marriage to Miss Clara Thomas, and they have two children, George W. and Walter Parr.

William G. Doern, M. S., M. D., 227 Thirteenth street, Mil- waukee, is a native of the state, having been born in Fond du Lac, Aug. 24, 1878. His parents, William and Amelia (Bargine) Doern, are both natives of Germany, coming to the United States in 1856 and locating at Jericho, Calumet county. The father was a soldier in the Civil war, in a Wisconsin infantry regiment. Dr. Doern received his preliminary education in the public schools and State Normal School at Oshkosh, then became a student at Marquette University, in which he was graduated with the degree of Master of Science. Later he entered the Keokok (Iowa) Medi- cal College, taking his degree as Doctor of Medicine in 1902, and immediately began his practice at Madison, Iowa. In 1904 he was

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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 86

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