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 97
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writings may not be as extensive as those of many, but there has been always a high and noble purpose in what she has written. Her earlier efforts appeared in a Cincinnati paper, but for thirty years "Gale Forest," her writer name, has been familiar in the leading papers of this city and state, as well as in other papers and maga- zines. In 1873, Mrs. Reinertsen's pen began to pierce the con- sciences of parents and the public because armies of children in cit- ies were allowed to "rush the growler"-to carry beer from sa- loons to homes and shops. It was a vigorous opening of the battle that from that time until the present has been waged with more or less earnestness and success, and that is destined, sooner or later, to put an end to that crime against childhood and the state. One of her later articles was forwarded to Mark Twain, who highly commended it and was strongly in favor of the reform. Women who have an aversion to promising to "obey," in the marriage cere- mony, may thank Mrs. Reinertsen for leadership in elminating, to a very marked extent, that word from the ceremony. It was not that she was unwilling to "obey all lawful orders," as the soldier says, but the idea of making such a promise on such an occasion was abhorrent. The young lady made known her objection and the minister performed the ceremony without the use of the word. Comment was made far and wide through the press and in private cir- cles, and the service reform was quickly begun and has made satis- factory headway. Mrs. Reinertsen's pen was the first in the West to protest against the wearing of hats in theaters. That reform, begun by this gentle and practical reformer, is thorough, complete. Were it otherwise, think of theater conditions during the reign of the "Merry Widow." From that reform has come a movement that is destined to remove hats in all churches. In many churches the custom already prevails. Millions of men, who attend theaters and churches, should touch their hats to Mrs. Reinertsen. The comic valtentine has come in for attacks from her pen, and may they continue until those mon- strosities permanently disappear, and may there go with them the bad features of the so-called "funny-paper" supplement. There are two other very important reforms to the credit of this talented woman. Twenty years ago she began a determined raid upon the filthy custom of spitting in street cars. Do you recall the vileness in street cars when tobacco chewers contributed puddles of nastiness for women to drag their skirts through? That was a hard fight, but our persistent wielder of a pen that can penetrate the thickest, toughest hide, won. Years ago the tobacco spitter quit business, in that line, in street cars. Her success in that direction encouraged Mrs. Reinertsen to make war upon the custom of spitting on the side-walk. For years she bombarded that unclean and unhealthy custom. Year after year she went to the Com- mon Council for help-went in vain. Undismaved. she fought on. through the press and by various other methods, and in time public sentiment demanded action by the Council, and an ordinance was se- cured. Since then hundreds of cities and villages have imitated Mil- waukee by outlawing the custom of befouling the sidewalks with nasty spittle. These are some of the more important reforms this worthy
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woman has taken up and carried to success. Mr. and Mrs. Reinertsen were parents of two bright, beautiful boys, who grew to noble man- hood-Rex and Don. The writer can never forget the genius of Rex. When a mere child he turned to mechanics. When in his early teens he had, all his own, a perfect machine shop, where he made engines and various other articles. Later he made an automobile, which for sev- eral years was used in this city. He became an expert in the man- agement of automobiles, and a few years ago went to Pittsburg as general manager of a large enterprise in that line. Plans had been made for his return to Milwaukee to assume management of a similar enter- prise. In testing a machine an accident occurred, resulting in his death. Never was a son more loved by parents than Rex, and never were hearts more hurt by a death. Don J. is a successful business man in St. Paul. "Five Cousins in California" is the title of a thrillingly interesting story written by Mrs. Reinertsen, which will appear in the not distant future in book form.
Robert Christian Reinertsen, Milwaukee, Wis., was born at Farsund, a city in Norway, July 10, 1846. His father was Jonas Cor- nelius Reinertsen, who was born at Farsund, Norway, April 8, 1820, and his mother was Hannah Eliza Hansen, born at Farsund, Jan. 17, 1821. She was the only child of a sea captain and was a woman of superior education and character. Her father also served in the Nor- wegian navy, and his father and grandfather were sea captains and teachers in navigation. Andrew Reinertsen, father of Jonas Cornelius, and grandfather of Robert Christian Reinertsen, was a ship designer and builder at Farsund, being master of a government shipyard. Jonas Cornelius Reinertsen was also a shipbuilder. Robert C. Reinertsen reached Milwaukee when about ten months old and speaks of him- self as "a full-blooded Norwegian, fully Americanized." He was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee and at the Spencerian Busi- ness College, and in 1863 began work in the City Engineer's depart- ment, remaining there until 1866, when he became Division Engineer for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway, serving as such un- til 1873. He had charge of the construction of railroads from Sabula to Marion, Iowa; from Omro to Winneconne; from Sun Prairie to Madison, and from Eagle to Elkhorn, Wisconsin. His last work for the company was the line from Milwaukee to Chicago. In politics Mr. Rinertsen is a Republican. From 1873 to 1880 he was Assistant City Engineer of Milwaukee and County Surveyor from 1880 to 1887, and again from 1889 to 1891. His parents were members of the Nor- wegian Lutheran Church, in which he was baptized. He was mar- ried on Oct. 18, 1871, to Miss Emma May Alexander, daughter of Squire Alexander and Henrietta Eliza Sherman, of Buffalo, N. Y. Children, Robert Rex and Don Jerome-only one living. Mr. Rein- ertsen is a Mason of high rank, a member of La Fayette Lodge, Ex- celsior Chapter, a charter member of Ivanhoe Commandery and Wis- consin Consistory, and he is also a member of the Wisconsin Archaeo- logical Society. Since 1891, Mr. Reinertsen, who was the first to start that line of business for himself, in private work, in Milwaukee, has been independently and successfully engaged in civil engineering, and
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real estate, with no desire for public office. He was one of the first to start the real estate boom in the southern portion of the city, and has undoubtedly platted more property in the city of Milwaukee than any other civil engineer. He is expert authority in all property-line dis- putes, having a thorough knowledge of all laws pertaining to the same. It was Mr. Reinertsen who determined the exact location of the trad- ing post of Jacques Vieau, Sr., the only white man who had a habita- tion where Milwaukee now stands when the nineteenth century began.
Franklin Butler Van Valkenburgh was born at Prattsburg, Steu- ben county, N. Y., Feb. 21, 1835. His father, Judge Jacob Van Val- kenburgh, who was born in Kinderhook, N. Y., was judge of the court of common pleas, a member of the constitutional convention of New York in 1845, and a member of the legislature the same year. In 1847 he removed to Michigan and was there a member of two constitutional conventions, and later the judge of the probate court in Oakland county. In the War of 1812 he enlisted, but peace was soon afterward de- clared and he saw no active service. He died at Jacksonville, Fla., in 1879. Jacob's great-grandfather, Jacob Van Valkenburgh, came to America from Valkenburgh, Holland. in 1746, settled in New York and was a farmer by vocation. His son, Bartholomew Jacob, great-grand- father of the subject of this sketch, born in 1753, was "leftenant" in Col. Goose Van Schaack's regiment in the first battalion of the New York forces during the Revolutionary war, and was personally acquainted with Washington and Lafayette. Franklin Butler Van Valkenburgh was one of nine children. The eldest son, Robert Bruce Van Valkenburgh, born in 1821, was a private soldier in 1835 at Buffalo, N. Y., and brevet major-general in the volunteer service during the Civil war. He was elected to Congress from New York, but resigned at the request of President Lincoln to recruit a regiment, and was in command of a brigade at the battle of Antietam. After resigning as brevet brigadier- general he was re-elected to Congress, in 1868 was appointed minister- plenipotentiary to Japan, and he was complimented by Congress for valuable services there. Afterward he removed to Florida, where he was elected justice of the supreme court of the state, which position he held at the time of his death in August, 1888. David Higgins Van Valkenburgh, born in 1823, was sheriff of Manitowoc county at one time, was major of the First New York artillery in the Civil war, and at the battle of Fair Oaks, in 1862, after both his superior officers had been killed, he took command and was shot and instantly killed. Bar- tholomew Jacob, born on April 23, 1831, enlisted in the Twenty-first Wisconsin infantry, was captain and quartermaster throughout the war, and was promoted to the rank of major by General Grant, for bravery at the battle of Perryville. He died on Nov. 22, 1896. Ger- ret Smith and Franklin Butler Van Valkenburgh, twins, were named after Gerret Smith, the noted philanthropist and abolitionist, and Ben- jamin Franklin Butler, at one time attorney-general of the United States, and a prominent politician, both of whom, together with Mar- tin Van Buren, were schoolmates and lifelong friends of their father. Gerret Smith Van Valkenburgh, who lived in Arkansas, was a captain in the Confederate army. Edward Porter Van Valkenburgh, born on
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April 14, 1837, enlisted in a Michigan regiment, but resigned on his appointment to the position of lieutenant in the One Hundred and Seventh New York infantry, and was afterward promoted to the rank of captain. Subsequently he removed to Austin, Minn., where he was elected mayor of the city, and he is now a resident of Minneapolis. Of these brothers, Bartholomew J., Edward P., Gerret S., and Franklin B., have all at one time lived in Milwaukee. Of the sisters, Gertrude mar- ried Otis H. Waldo, who for many years was prominent at the bar and in the politics of Wisconsin. He was a candidate for United States senator against Matthew Carpenter, when the latter was elected the first time. Catherine married Charles D. Haven, for many years an engineer and employed in the construction of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad. She died at Racine. Mary Higgins married Har- rison Voorhees, who lived in Michigan, and she has also passed away. The mother of this family, born Mary B. Higgins, was a native of Lynn, Conn., and was a direct descendant of Matthew Gilbert, one of the original company of the New Haven colony. He is buried in the New Haven cemetery, and his grave is one of the three which were left in the old church-yard, while all others were removed when the statehouse was built there. The stone marking his resting place is still in good preservation. The three remaining stones are marked with initials only, and are shown as marking the graves of the three regi- cides ; but the one marked "M. G." and supposed to mark the resting place of Martin Goff, has been shown to be over the grave of Matthew Gilbert, sometime deputy governor of the province. On Oct. 8, 1860, Mr. Van Valkenburgh, of this sketch, was united in marriage to Eme- line Wells Pratt, daughter of Jonathan and Hannah A. (Wells) Pratt, of Maine. The latter was a sister of Daniel Wells, Jr., and Charles K. Wells, of Milwaukee. Two children were born of the marriage, Frank Pratt and Faith. The former married Jane I. Swoope, and was a practicing attorney in Milwaukee, at one time city attorney, and also assistant United States district-attorney for the Eastern district of Wisconsin. He died on Aug. 13. 1900, leaving three chil- dren : Helen, now at the University of Chicago, taking a post-gradu- ate course ; Franklin, midshipman in his fourth year at the Naval Academy at Annapolis ; and Alice, a student at the Milwaukee high school. Faith married Charles A. Vilas, son of Edward P. Vilas and nephew of the late Col. William E. Vilas, of Madison. They have two sons : Franklin Edward and Charles Harrison. Franklin Butler Van Valkenburgh is an independent Republican, but not a politician, and has devoted his energies to his profession of the law. With the excep- tion of the Old Settlers' Club he belongs to no societies. His early edu- cation was acquired in the public schools, which he left at the age of fourteen to enter a law office. He was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one, and had charge of the business of the firm of Waldo & Ody until Jan. 1, 1859, when he became a member of the firm, which con- tinued until dissolved by the death of Mr. Ody in 1870, the firm then consisting of the other two members. This was dissolved by the death of Mr. Waldo in 1874, since which time Mr. Van Valkenburgh has practiced without a partner. He has been interested as party or coun-
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sel in many actions which have been useful in interpreting the laws of the state, and some of which show the peculiarities of the law and the manner in which facts strike different minds, In the case of Van Valkenburgh vs. the City of Milwaukee, in which the city took from him four lots for Juneau Park, the property was assessed by the Board of Public Works at $419, and after fifteen years of litigation the assess- ment was raised to $20,000. In the course of the litigation the supreme court decided that "the testimony fails entirely to show that the strip of land known as Lake street is a public street, and therefore there must be a new trial." (30 Wis. 334). But in the case of Kneeland vs. Van Valkenburgh, which was an action in ejectment for the identical strip of land above mentioned, the court said: "For the purpose of this appeal we must assume that Lake street is a public highway and our judgment is based upon that hypothesis." (46 Wis. 438). So it appears that the first case was won for the reason that the strip of land known as Lake street was not a street, and the second for the reason that the strip of land was a street, and Mr. Van Valkenburgh, who won both cases, is sure that both decisions are correct.
John F. Donovan, one of the leaders among the younger at- torneys of Milwaukee, is the son of Judge Anthony Donovan, of Madison, judge of the municipal court since 1890. His father was born in Lonsdale, R. I., December 24, 1848, and served as a private in the Civil war, enlisting in the Seventy-fourth Pennsylvania in- fantry at the age of fifteen. He served until the close of the war and was mustered out with his regiment. At Madison, Wis., he was married to Miss Mary Cody, of Milwaukee, and they have a family of eight children-four sons and four daughters. Beside John F. of this sketch there are: William C., of Spokane. Wash., an attorney by profession ; Joseph P., M. D., health officer of the city of Madison : Mary, now the wife of Dr. James W. Madden, of Madison ; Thomas A., of Seattle, formerly with the P. F. Collier Publishing Company ; Margaret, Katherine, and Adelaide, the first a graduate of the University of Wisconsin in the class of 1907; the second a junior in the University, and the youngest a junior in the Madison high school. John F. Donovan was born in Madison, June 5, 1869, and was reared in that city, obtaining his early education in the public schools and later entering the Uni- versity of Wisconsin, in which he was graduated in 1893, with the degree of B. L., and the following year from the College of Law with the degree of LL. B. He began the practice of his profes- sion at once, in Milwaukee, as a member of the firm of Toohey, Gilmore & Donovan, with which he remained two years, and was then in partnership with Mr. Churchill, under the firm name of Churchill & Donovan, for five years, but has for a number of years practiced alone. He is also interested in some other lines of busi- ness, being president of the Milwaukee Jewelry Company: In poli- tics Mr. Donovan is a Democrat, and from 1895 until 1904 served as delegate to the city, county, and state conventions, and he was twice elected permanent chairman of the city convention. He is affiliated with the Roman Catholic church in religions matters, and
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his professional and social relations are with the Milwaukee Coun- ty and Wisconsin State Bar associations, to which he belongs ; with the Catholic Order. of Foresters; Royal League; Knights of Co- lumbus, of which he is past chancellor; Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of which he is Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler of the district organization ; and he is also a member of the University Greek letter fraternity, Delta Tau Delta. He was united in mar- riage on June 28, 1898, to Miss Anna Gallagher, daughter of Frank J. and Emma (Hendry) Gallagher, of Fort Smith, Ark., and three children have been born to them, namely : Ruth A., Marie, and John F., Jr. Mr. Donovan is a man of strong and winning personality, possessed of talents which will doubtless give him a leading po- sition among the members of the state bar, and has already won for him marked recognition as an orator, even among the distin- guished members of his profession in the state metropolis.
John Colonel Karel, judge of the second division of the pro- bate court of Milwaukee county, was born at Schuyler, Schuyler county, Neb., on February 28, 1873. He is the son of John and Elizabeth Karel, born respectively in Briza, Bohemia, in 1851, and Calumet, Wis., in 1852. The father was a prominent Democrat in his day and held many of the city and county offices. In 1884 he was a candidate on that party's ticket for insurance commissioner of the state, but went down in defeat with the rest of the ticket. In 1888 he was appointed by the president as consul to Prague, Bo- hemia, and six years later received from President Grover Cleve- land an appointment as consul-general at St. Petersburg. While traveling in Europe in 1883 the mother passed away and was buried in Prague, Bohemia. A son, Albert Karel, is a banker at Kewau- nee, Wis., and a daughter, Flora, is now engaged in teaching. Judge Karel received his early educational advantages in the Kewaunee public and high schools and the institutions of Prague, Bohemia. Later he received the degrees of Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Letters from the State University at Madison. Since that time he has devoted himself to his profession, practicing actively in Milwaukee prior to June 1, 1907, when he assumed the office of judge of the second division of the probate or county court, which had been created by the legislature of 1907, and to which he had been elected on a non-partisan ticket. His earliest business expe- riences were received as a purser on the boats of Lake Michigan and in the bank of Kasper & Karel, of Chicago. Beside this he has done newspaper work on various publications. He is an expert linguist, having a knowledge of the English, German, Bohemian, and Polish languages, and has traveled extensively on all the con- tinents of the globe. The lectures relating his travels are accorded high commendation by the newspapers. He has also given lec- tures on legal subjects before the Milwaukee Law School. Judge Karel has taken the initiative in all movements having for their object the betterment of the Bohemian element in this country, and has represented the Bohemian societies, with which he is affiliated, in public movements of different character. For two terms he
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served as president of the Jefferson Club, and he is a member of the Milwaukee Press Club, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Bohemian American Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Bohemian Athletic Club, the University Club, the Canoe Club, the Woodmen of the World, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Fin de Siecle Club, the Illinois Athletic Club of Chicago, the Bohemian Slavonian Brotherhood, the Equitable Fraternal Union, and of the latter organization is state president. Judge Karel has been staunch in his allegiance to the Democratic party, and as the successful candidate of that party represented the Ninth Milwau- kee district in the lower house of the state legislature in the ses- sions of 1901 and 1903, and from the latter year until 1907 was register of probate of Milwaukee county. In religious matters he is allied with the Roman Catholic church. On June II. 1901, was celebrated Judge Karel's marriage to Miss Josephine A. Henssler, a daughter of Louis and Bertha Henssler, of La Crosse, Wis. To this union was born, on March 28, 1905, a daughter, Gladys Josephine.
John Pritzlaff, deceased, was born in Trutzlatz, in the province of Pomerania, Prussia, March 6, 1820, son of Joachim and Marie (Laabs) Pritzlaff, his parents being plain but much respected peo- ple. After obtaining an education intending to qualify him for the ordinary business of life and good industrial training he left the Fatherland in 1839 and came to this country. When he landed in New York he was without capital and among strangers, but soon after his arrival he made his way to the western part of the state of New York, where he found employment, first as a laborer on the Genesee canal and later on a canal on the north branch of the Susquehanna river, in Pennsylvania. In October, 1841, he arrived in Milwaukee, and the following fall and winter was employed by Daniel H. Richards, who established the Milwaukee Advertiser, as teamster, at a compensation of nine dollars per month. In the spring of 1842 he shipped aboard a steamer as cook. The winter following he worked at cutting timber on the site of the present Schlitz Park. In the spring of 1843 he entered the employ of the firm of Shepardson & Farwell, iron merchants, as a porter at a salary of $200 for the first year, board excluded. Besides making himself very useful to this firm, he soon familiarized himself with all of the details of the iron trade. When Messrs. Nazro & King purchased the establishment, in 1844, Mr. Pritzlaff was retained in their employ. He continued in the employ of their successors, Henry J. Nazro & Company, until 1850, when he formed a partner- ship with A. F. Suelflow, and opened a small retail hardware store at 299 Third street, in what was then known as the Whitnall build- ing. Thus the famous firm of John Pritzlaff & Company came into existence. His former employers interested themselves in his busi- ness and gave him financial aid. Mr. Suelflow retired from the firm at the end of three years, but Mr. Pritzlaff continued building up a large and profitable trade with all classes of people, particularly his own countrymen, and developed the business into one of the
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greatest hardware houses in the West. In 1861 he erected a com- modious building at 303 Third street, into which he moved and which he occupied for fourteen years. In 1874 he purchased two lots on West Water street and put up the buildings there which the firm still occupies. He made additions to this from time to time and the firm now occupies almost an entire block in the location. It still owns his original store on Third street and retains an in- terest in the business done there, but the immense wholesale busi- ness of the firm is transacted in the large building on West Water street. In 1884 the business was incorporated as the John Pritzlaff Hardware Company, with John Pritzlaff, president; John C. Koch, vice-president; Franz Wollaeger, secretary and treasurer ; H. Au- gust Luedke, general manager, and Fred C. Pritzlaff, assistant sec- retary and treasurer. The trade now extends all over the West and Northwest, there being only two other similar establishments in the West having as large a volume of business. During all the years the firm has been in existence in Milwaukee it has passed safely through all the financial storms and is a credit alike to its founder and to the city of Milwaukee. Mr. Pritzlaff was conspicu- ous for his kind and generous impulses as well as for his sagacity as a business man. In his daily life he was a consistent and exem- plary Christian, and as a leading member of the Lutheran Church he was one of its most generous benefactors. For many years he was trustee of the Trinity church. On Nov. 14, 1844, he mar- ried Miss Sophia Christiana Bluhme, daughter of Frederick T. Bluhme, an honored Milwaukee pioneer, and to this union were born eight children, four of whom died in infancy. Mr. Pritzlaff died on August 16, 1900.
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