USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > Pioneer history of Milwaukee > Part 40
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FOND DU LAC DEPOT LOCATION.
The ground for this depot was in the 4th Ward, on blocks 155-6 and 167-8, with 15 lots adjoining in blocks 2, 47; 48 and 49, in the the 5th Ward-the present St. Paul & Milwaukee grounds.
RAILROAD RIOT.
The Wisconsin of July 12th has a lengthy account of the riot among the laborers upon the La Crosse & Milwaukee railroad on the 11th, growing out of the failure to get their pay from the con- tractor, M. Schultz. Having witnessed, as well as participated in it to some extent, I will give it at length.
The men as stated, came into town to get their pay, a large num- ber of whom congregated about the entrance to the office of the Company, which was located at the time on the south-east corner of West Water and Spring streets, over what is now No. 13 Grand Avenue, which store was then occupied by the late Jonathan 1. Peirce, as a dry goods and grocery store. Here they waited for some time, but no one appearing with the money wherewith to pay
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them, they finally became mad and commenced skirmishing around for a chance to steal. One of them broke into a barrel of sugar standing in the rear of the store and commenced filling his dinner pail from its contents. At this, Mr. Peirce got angry and attempted to drive him away, but he would not go. Mr. Peirce called upon William Beck,* then a deputy sheriff under Herman L. Page, who was standing near watching the crowd, to arrest him, who at once collared him and the riot commenced. The man proving a little too muscular for Mr. Beck, he called upon me for assistance, where- upon I seized hold of the fellow also, and between us both we man- aged to get him to jail, followed by the whole gang who were fight- ing the officers the entire distance. Eight of them, however, were with the assistance of Sheriff Page, Deputy Wedemeyer, Thomas Shaughnesy, George McGarrigle and Marshal Timothy O'Brien, finally caged.
By this time the whole town was in an uproar. The Court House bell was rung to call out the Fire department, who quickly wet the rioters down which took the fight all out of the most of them, and causing them to run like frightened sheep. There were a few, how- ever, who stood their ground, and to those Mayor Walker, who had just appeared on the scene, attempted to give some fatherly advice, a humorous look at the same time gleaming from his " official eye," when one of the rioters, who stood within three feet of his Honor, listening apparently, with the most profound respect to the wisdom flowing from the Mayor's lips, suddenly gave him a clip on the side of the head with the blade of a shovel which he carried under his arm that made the Colonel think a representation of the siege of Syracuse was being enacted, and that he had been hit with one of old Archi- medes' " battering rams." It was an awful lick, and its effect upon the Colonel was electric, and if my memory is correct, he did not follow the scriptural injunction, i. e., when smitten upon one cheek
* It is proper to say that the honor of making the first arrest upon this occasion, is claimed by Geo. McGarrigle, and that the record would show it. 'The record, however, shows that Mr. Beck made the first arrest, the name of the man being John Reusche; Wedemeyer, the second, and McGarrigle the third, i. e., that is the order in which the entries appear on the jail records. But it is a matter of very little consequence who it was that made the first arrest ; they all did their duty, and that is a sufficient record.
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to turn ye the other also ; but his countenance changed immediately " if not sooner," as well as the style of his remarks, and he gave ut- terance to some language not found in the Sermon on the Mount, unless embraced in the " new version," which the writer has not seen. It sounded wonderfully like profanity. The German did not stop to profit by the remarks, but ran for the woods and was seen no more.
This was the last blow struck on either side. The eight prisoners in the jail were released the same evening, Nathan Pereles assumed the contract of Mr. Schultz and paid the men, after which there was no more trouble. But I have often laughed heartily when thinking of that scene and "thwack" that German laborer gave Mayor Walker. It was rich.
THE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL.
There was great rejoicing in Milwaukee among the friends of the late Judge Levi Hubbell, on the reception of the news from Madison, July 12, that he had been found not guilty and would return to the city on Saturday, the 16th, where a grand reception awaited him, and in order that it might eclipse everything of the kind ever witnessed before, a committee was appointed to proceed to Waukesha, to meet and escort him in, who being desirous that there might be no lack of light upon the occasion, (they being determined to make a night of it,) had caused a bon-pile of some 20 cords of wood mixed with oil, tar, camphene and shavings, to be placed in a pyramidal form upon the market square, ready to be set on fire, when night had spread her dark mantle over the city. A similar one was placed in front of the U. S. hotel, and all was ready for the show. At 3 P. M. the special train consisting of 17 platform cars, (they being considered the most democratic,) and one coach containing the committee with a band of music, left for Waukesha, to meet the Judge and escort him into the city, intending to arrive here at 7 P. M. Among the speakers selected upon this occasion, were J. E. Arnold, Gen'l John McManman, Levi Blossom, D. A. J. Upham, Geo. H. Walker, and perhaps others. It was intended to be a grand affair. But alas for human expectations. it got busted.
It is an old saying that " man proposes and God disposes," but I
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think probably the devil had a hand in what occurred on this occa- sion, for the train with the committee had not reached Wauwatosa on its way to Waukesha, before the late Russell Wheeler came saun- tering along through the square,* and seeing the wood prepared for the burning, with the late John Spence, (then a night watchman at the engine house,) standing guard over it, took it into his head to see if it would burn. He accordingly walked slowly up to the pile and asked Spence what he was doing there? To which he replied, that he was watching that wood pile. "What is it for ?" asked Wheeler. "For a bon-fire," said Spence. "Will it burn good? " said the naughty Wheeler, (at the same time taking a match from his pocket, and rubbing it on his pants,) to which Spence who saw what he was at replied, "you go away from here." Wheeler however paid no further attention to Spence, except to take him by the collar with one hand and kept on lighting matches as he walked around the pile with the other, Spence all the while yelling like a demon. It was no use however, he was perfect- ly helpless in the hands of Wheeler. It was not three minutes from the time Wheeler lit the first match, before the whole pile was in a blaze, and burnt until 6 P. M. when it was all consumed. From the square Wheeler went to the U. S. Hotel, and set fire to that pile, and it also burnt up, and all the speeches were made in the dark.
There was much excitement about this affair, but nothing was ever done about it, except by Spence, to whom Wheeler paid $5,00 for what he termed an assault, as no one cared to get into a contro- versy with Wheeler, well knowing that no money or any other satis- faction was to be got out of him, but to see him hold Spence as easy apparently, as a grown man would a ten year old boy, while he set that wood on fire, was a scene never to be forgotten, and often comes to mind even now, when going through the square. Both of these men, Wheeler and Spence, are dead, and have perhaps settled all up ere this. Let us hope that they have.
GRADES.
The ordinance fixing the grades (permanent) in the Second Ward, was passed in the Common Council July 14th, 1853.
*I was going through the square at the same time, and witnessed the whole affair.
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IMPROVEMENTS.
In the Wisconsin of July 23, we find the following under this head :
There is more real and permanent improvement in the streets, &c., going on at the present time, than in any year since Milwaukee was organized under a city charter. The plan is now to finish up what has been left half completed. As matters are progressing, by the Ist of November, the holes, gullies and torn up streets will be replaced by a level and uniform surface, on a grade which cannot be changed without an alteration of the city charter. The famous grading ordin- ance which passed four years ago was an unwise law and perfectly revolutionary- yet when the plan is completed the city will have been beautified far beyond what was considered possible, by such a radical change in the grade. While the work is going on, the streets look so unsightly that there is some hard swearing.
POLICE.
Among the cases before this court July 8th, was one in which a woman named Susan Kelly was complainant. Here it is :
Scene 2d, act Ist .- A woman whose name we understand to be Susan Kelly came into court, with a severe bruise on her face, and stated that yesterday after- noon, or the evening, a man named John McCrossen had struck her and called her a slut, &c. The complainant stated that she lived on the back of the hill "forninst Jim Rogers," and that she was sitting peaceably in her house quilting when the assault and battery was committed. The applicant then walked up to the court, opening her mouth remarked, " Mister Walworth, just you put your finger in here and you will be shure thin how he hurt me." The court happening to be afflicted with a sore finger, declined the invitation. The warrant was issued and placed in hands of the constable to serve.
Here is another :
Uncle Tom, a darkey whom the old settlers at least will remember, as a whitewasher who had a shanty where H. M. Benjamin's coal yard now is, northwest corner of River and Division streets, in 1853, with his wife Topsy complained of an assault against John Doe and Richard Roe, (old offenders,) the laughable part of which, was the attempt of the old hippopotamus to show how the assault was com- mitted, to do which he seized Topsy by the neck and one leg, and shook her up in good style. They were a couple beauties, they were.
DID NOT WANT ANY MORE BRIDGES.
There was a meeting held at Wells & Hill's warehouse (the pres- ent Keenan mill) August Ist, to take measures to get a bridge across the river from Menomonee street to the Depot, (the okl Prairie du
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Chien). Horatio Hill was Chairman, and J. L. McVicker Secre- tary, of the meeting. Here is what some ignoramus said about it. He was evidently a Second Warder, and of course no friend to bridges any where :
BRIDGE OR NO BRIDGE.
Messrs. Editors : We very much regret to see your paper encouraging the obstructing of the navigation of the river by the construction of another bridge. The reason assigned-the convenience of access from the 3d Ward to the Rail- road-appears to us entirely insufficient to justify the erection of this additional barrier to the growth and prosperity of the Ist and 2d Waras. Including the Spring Street bridge, there are now three above the mouth of the Menomonee, all seriously interfering with the navigation of the river above that point. These bridges with however convenient draws, are very great obstacles to vessels, and necessarily tend to keep business down town. They have hitherto been found to have this effect, and they will be found when the railroads from the northwest come to be brought into town, much more inconvenient than before. It was hoped, when the bridge question was settled by the charter, that no more causes of discord on this head would be raised. But it cannot be expected that those interested in the upper portion of the city will submit without a struggle, to be cut off silently, as seems row the intention they should, from the benefits of river navigation.
UP TOWN.
This Mr. " Up Town " could not have had much of an idea of what our city was to be. There are 11 bridges now between the mouth of the river and the dam, and the end is not yet.
POLICE.
Among the complaints before the police court August 10th-some 30 in number, was one against a man for stealing a coffin. " Holy Moses," only think of that.
CONSECRATION
Of St. John's Cathedral, July 31, 1853.
As this was an event of some importance in Milwaukee, a "Papal Nuncio " having been sent from Rome by the Pope, to perform the ceremony, the author has thought it fitting that a mention of it be made as a matter of church history, by inserting the following cor- respondence and address, copied from the Evening Wisconsin of August 1, 1853, as a part of the proceedings had upon this occasion :
At a meeting held in St. Peter's Church, on the Ist inst., Garrett Barry, President, John White and Victor Schulte, Vice Presidents, Thos. Duggan, Secretary, it was
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Resolved, That Garrett Barry, Christian Ott, Thos. J. Duggan, August Greu- lich, and Victor Schulte, be appointed a committee, and instructed to prepare and present. a complimentary address in the name of the Catholics of Milwaukee, to the Papal Nuncio and other distinguished Prelates who were present at the con- secration of St John's Cathedral. It was also further
Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting, as well as the address be pub- lished in the Sentinel, Wisconsin, Morning News and See Bote, of this city, and that said address be considered the unanimous expression of the sentiments of the Catholics of Milwaukee.
GARRETT BARRY, Prest. THOS. J. DUGGAN, Sec.
In the pursuance of the above the said committee having met and prepared the following address, presented the same in person as fol- lows :
To His Eminence, Monsignor Bedini, Archbishop of Thebes, Nuncio of Ilis IIo- liness, Pope Pius IXX, and to the other venerable Prelates present at the consecra- tion of St. John's Cathedral :
In the fulness of our heart-felt joy, we in the name of the Catholics of Mil- waukee, approach you to express, though in feeble language, the deep gratitude, the unceasing love and unshaken fidelity which ever has existed within us, and will ever continue to exist, to the sacred person of the Chief Pastor of our souls. We have beheld the visible representative of the visible head of the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Yes, indeed, Milwaukee thou art not the least among the cities of America. The earth may wander a hundred years, nay a thousand years, before heaven may vouchsafe us this blessing again. Never will it be forgotten by the members of this diocese, and never, particularly by the Catholics of this city, the solemn consecration of this our mother church. Never will it be forgotten, this mark of distinction, that an ambassador of the Pope, the venerable Father of Christianity, has come among us to participate in this great festivity. Never will it be forgotten, that the Archbishop of Thebes has visited this city, and given us his benediction. Never will it be forgotten, that six Prelates distinguished for their learning and their virtues, have hastened hither from their own respective dioceses, and added to the solemnity of the occasion, both by their presence and their eloquence. So may the graces which in these days of jubila- tion, we have received through the mercy of God, be ever deeply impressed on our hearts.
Accept then your eminence, for yourself and the other distinguished Prelates, who have favored us with their presence, these expressions, as a profession of the Catholics of Milwaukee. Accept them as a proof of the child-like love for the Vicegerent of Jesus Christ, our Holy Father, Pope Pius IX. May we never cease to venerate and love that kind and loving Father. May we never forget the doctrine and practices of our holy religion. May we never be unmindful of the
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unparalleled name of Roman Catholics. We moreover feel that the consolation and gratification which your presence and participation on this occasion must have afforded our beloved and venerable Bishop, is to us an additional motive for express- ing, and gives you an additional claim, to our deep and lasting gratitude.
GARRETT BARRY, AUGUST GREULICH, CHRISTIAN OTT, VICTOR SCHULTE, THOS. J. DUGGAN,
Committee.
The architect in the construction of St. John's Cathedral, was Victor Schulte; the master mason was Thos. Lee; the stone work was by Maurice Quin, and the wood carving by Booth & Gormley.
IMPROVEMENTS.
Among the improvements this year, not previously mentioned, was the erection of a three story brick building on the northwest corner of East Water and Oneida streets, by a Mr. Bonner, (pulled down in 1871 to make room for the Opera House.) One by Throop & Baily, (Mr. Throop died, January 31, 1871), now 380 East Water street, at a cost $4,000, R. C. Jacks being the master builder. Also one by John Furlong, on the southwest corner of East Water and Huron streets, now 327 East Water street. Michael Page and Frank Charnley did the mason work, and Paul Foley the carpenter work, first occupied by Messrs. Marshall & Ilsley-see annexed :
REMOVAL.
Messrs. Marshall & Ilsley, bankers, removed their office from the U. S. block to the first floor of the new brick building, erected by John Furlong, Esq., on the corner of East Water and Huron streets. The building is one of the hand- somest and best constructed in our city; a monument to the skill of the builder, Michael Page. The new offices of Marshall and Ilsley are spacious, airy, well lighted and well arranged. Their vault is most substantially constructed, and with their burglar-proof safe, can bid defiance to thieves, fire and gunpowder.
TOBACCO HOUSE.
Chas. Athearn & Co., were at what is now 259 East Water street this year. This famous tobacco manufactory was started in 1847, by Charles Athearn, of Buffalo, C. Adams, manager, in a little store just south of the present Kirby House, now 420 East Water street. Mr. Athearn, (who died in 1854) never lived here, and his interest was sold to C. Adams & Co., who continued the business at that
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and other localities under that name until 1860, when F. F. Adams purchased C. Adams' interest, (the latter going to California) and has continued the business under the name and title of F. F. Adams & Co., to the present time. Mr. A., who is a sharp, keen busi- ness man, has built up this institution to its present mammoth pro- portions by his untiring industry and good management. His ex- ecutive ability is of a superior order. He is self-reliant; always keeps his own counsel, and as a rule is his own counsellor, seldom asking advice from any one. He watches all the details of his business closely, has a few men that he looks to to carry out his plans, and whom he holds responsible for that work. He, like Doct. Weeks, is a true friend (if a friend) but one must know him pretty thoroughly to tell whether he is for or against you, as his bump of caution, combined with self-interest, makes it somewhat difficult (at times) to determine his social whereabouts. This manufactory is situated on the southeast corner of West Water and Clybourn streets. This business, which averages nearly a million dollars yearly, has made Mr. Adams very wealthy, but his success does not make him proud. He is affable at times, (in his peculiar way) and then again he isn't, but he is conscientious to a fault. He wants nothing that he has not earned. He is one of the Milwaukee's best and well known business men.
Jas. A. Pirie came this year from Aberdeen, Scotland. Mr. Pirie has been a very active man in the community, principally as an insurance man, in which he was very prominent for a number of years. He is now the secretary of the Forest Home Cemetery, and it is safe to assume that the office has never been as well filled before. He is the right man for the position. He is prompt, energetic, and obliging, and any one can not fail to be satisfied that does business with Mr. Pirie in connection with the cemetery.
LEGISLATIVE.
The members from Milwaukee this year were to the Senate- Edward M. Hunter and Duncan C. Reed. Assembly-Herman Heartel, Ed. McGarry, Joseph Meyer, H. C. West, Richard Carlisle, H. L. Palmer, Wm. A. Hawkins, Enoch Chase, and J. H. Tweedy.
Lakin & Steever, Chas. D. Lakin and Michael Steever, attorneys, were together this year.
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Mr. Steever was a great politician. He was a man of much ability and very active. He was also very ambitious and very aggres- sive. He would not occupy a second position if he could help it. He was a colonel in the Mexican war of 1847, and made a good record. His house was the present Jacobs homestead on National Avenue. He was a strong friend and just as strong an enemy. He was much in office as United States District Attorney, member of Assembly, etc. He has been dead many years.
Mr. Lakin is yet with us, but from ill health is not in active business. He has, however, been a very prominent lawyer, has been United States District Attorney, and made a very efficient one, but was never as aggressive as Mr. Steever.
Camp & Perkins, Hoel H. Camp, and Chas. Perkins, green fruit, were at what is now 303 East Water Street this fall, with six thousand barrels of apples. Mr. Perkins was for a number of years quite a large operator in real estate. He was a wide awake and energetic citizen, kept things running. He built the frame dwelling now owned by Alfred James, No. 517 Lake Avenue, Seventh Ward. He died in Kansas. His great mistake in business was to always go in too deep. He was of medium height, dark hair and eyes, spoke low, had a very pleasant way of doing business, was strictly conscientious and honest. A man whose word was as good as a bond. I remem- ber Mr. Perkins well, and was at one time connected with him in the purchase and sale of real estate.
HOEL H. CAMP.
The record of Hoel H. Camp, (who the reader has already seen was connected with Mr. Perkins in the fruit trade in 1853), has since his first arrival in Milwaukee been one of uninterrupted success, his excellent financial ability bringing him quickly to the front, and upon the organization of the Farmers and Millers bank in 1853, and the election of Edw. D. Holton, as President, (who, when practicable, always selected his assistants from among the sons of New England) he was appointed teller, which position he filled until 1854, when he was elected to the responsible office of cashier, and which he held continuously up to 1863, (during which period, through his wise management, the Bank had become a power financially, as well
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as a general favorite with the public), when the Bank was re-or- ganized under the new banking law, as the "First National," with Edw. H. Brodhead, as President, and Mr. Camp, cashier, who held their several positions until 1882, when Mr. Camp was elected Pres- ident, (Mr. Brodhead* retiring) and Frank G. Bigelow, (the former assistant) was elected cashier, which is the status of the Bank to- day.
Few men in the banking business in the west rank higher, or have been more successful as financiers than has the subject of this sketch. Like S. S. Merrill, he has large comprehensive powers, as well as rapidity of thought, and quickness of decision. He is also a good judge of of character, a trait that a banker, in order to be suc- cessful, must possess. He seems to know by intuition just how far to trust a man and be safe. Neither does anything escape his observa- tion ; and while in the Bank, he seems to be not only ubiquitous in person, but in mind also, and of course never loses the run (so to speak) of the business in hand, or of the employees, all of whom are systematically trained in a knowledge of the duties of their several positions, and some of whom, Frank G. Bigelow, the present cashier, and F. E. Krueger, clerk, have grown from boyhood to manhood in the service of the bank, while under his official eye. Mr. Camp is also a stockholder and director in the Northwestern National In- surance Company, and has been one of its executive committee ever since its organization, in which capacity he has been very useful, and the financial snarl which he cannot unravel must be past cure. He is also a strong churchman and a leading member of St. James Episcopal church, on Grand Avenue, of which he was one of the founders.
In person Mr. Camp is of medium height, with a muscular, well developed and compactly built frame ; has a nervous temperament ; is very athletic, and very quick motioned. He has a strong will and the ability to enforce it, which he seldom fails to do, and like all men occupying official positions, (who expect to succeed) never al- lows a too close intimacy from any one, well knowing that the man who is independent to-day may be the supplicant of to-morrow, and
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