USA > Wisconsin > The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self-made men, Wisconsin volume > Part 18
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105
health, he was obliged to resign his commission and return to his home. After regaining his health, in company with his son, the then only survivor of his family, he purchased the "Racine Journal," which was then a poorly patronized democratic sheet, and changing its politics, made of it a widely circulated and influential paper. At the end of nine years of successful labor as a journalist, he closed his con- nection with the " Journal " and devoted his attention to his duties as postmaster, an office to which he had been appointed by General Grant in 1869, and reappointed in 1873. He was chiefly instrumental in securing the erection of the fine post-office building of his city. Mr. Utley has given special attention to the raising of blooded horses for nearly thirty years, and has raised many which have become cel- ebrated, among which is the horse " Billy Utley."
In his religious views he is a Universalist, and believes that God will overrule all things for good. Naturally kind, genial and social, he is a most agree- able companion. Firm, prompt and decided, he never proves untrue to his promise, stands ready to make any sacrifice for a friend, and never turns his back upon an enemy.
He has been twice married : first, on the 11th of July, 1839, to Miss Louisa Wing, who died April 10, 1864; they had three children, of whom one, a son, is now living. Secondly, on the 22d of February, 1866, to Miss Sarah J. Wooster, by whom he has one son.
Naturally domestic in his habits, Mr. Utley finds his chief enjoyment in his own family, and is most highly esteemed and respected by them as a devoted husband and fond father, while by all whom he knows he is admired as an upright and fair dealing gentleman.
LEVI BLOSSOM,
MILWAUKEE.
TEVI BLOSSOM was born at Canaseraga, Alle- gany county, State of New York, September 23, 1813. His parents, Levi and Cynthia Blos- som, were natives of New England. He was edu- cated in the common schools of the State in which he was born. Self-made man, as it were, he left home at an early age, when quite a boy, remaining in his native State until the year 1836. Thrown upon his own · resources when about fourteen, he came west, arriving at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in
November, 1836, having been among the earliest settlers, and identified with nearly every public work for years. A few years ago he went south, and was engaged in the raising and cultivation of cotton, but returned again to Milwaukee, and remained there until a few days previous to his death. Mr. Blossom was one of the first to suggest the building of the Lake Shore Railroad from Milwaukee to Chicago. The project was regarded as utterly chimerical, as it was thought impossible for the road to compete with
100
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
the water route. But he entered upon the work with extraordinary energy, and, by a series of addresses to the people along the proposed line, induced them to subscribe liberally for its construction. Thus the scheme was pushed forward to realization in the road which now constitutes the Milwaukee division of the Chicago and Northwestern system. It shows how abundantly Mr. Blossom's prescience was vin- dicated, that now another road has been built par- allel to this, and that both enjoy remunerative business. And this was by no means the only enter- prise that he conceived with admirable judgment and promoted with resistless energy and fertility of resource. The plank roads leading out of Milwau- kee at an early day, and also the lake avenue, a pop- ular drive leading to what is familiarly known as Whitefish Bay, were projected and completed under his supervision. He was also a large stockholder in the Northwestern Iron Company, and treasurer of said company for several years. Mr. Blossom was an able debater and fluent speaker, and ready to support, by individual effort and on the platform, any interest of trade or reform or enterprise for the public weal.
In politics Mr. Blossom was a whig, and acted with the party during its existence; but when the republican party came into power he acted with and supported the principles of that party until his death.
Mr. Blossom was a constant attendant of the Episcopal church, and gave generously of his means for the support of the same. He also made many and liberal donations to the poor of Milwaukee, and
many will feel the want of one who was ever ready to assist them in their hour of distress, and they will mourn the loss of a friend who so often contributed to their relief.
Mr. Blossom was a man possessed of great energy and foresight in business matters, and had great executive ability in prosecuting any measure or pro- ject which he undertook. He was also a public- spirited man, ever ready to assist others in promot- ing and consummating any great public work or enterprise which would contribute to the prosperity and welfare of his adopted city and State. He was well and favorably known throughout the Northwest, and was generally conceded to have been one of the ablest business men and financiers during his resi- dence in Wisconsin, a period of thirty-seven years.
Levi Blossom died at the Grand Hotel, San Fran- cisco, Friday evening, October 31, 1873, of erysip- elas, aged sixty years. He arrived in California only two days previous to his death, accompanied by his family, who returned to their former home with the last remains of the husband and father, who had only a few days before, been in the enjoyment of health and every promise of a long life. The funeral ceremonies were from St. Paul's Church, Milwaukee, on the 7th of December, 1873, where he attended more than thirty years, and were conducted by Rev. Dr. Keene, assisted by Rev. Dr. Cole, of Neshota. Then passed from view Levi Blossom, one of the pioneers of Wisconsin, a man of genial nature, of noble, generous impulses, and one who possessed a large and earnest public spirit.
EDWIN H. GALLOWAY,
FOND DU LAC.
I TS a native of Harrisburg, Lewis county, New York, where he was born April 12, 1825. He is the son of Charles Galloway and Ann née Moore. His father was a farmer by occupation, and ranked high as a neighbor and citizen. Edwin in his younger days was sent to the district school, and afterward finished his studies at the Lowville Academy. At the close of school he entered the employ of a merchant, and passed two years as a clerk and salesman. Then being twenty-three years of age, of a slight physical build, with a money capital hardly equaling his nec- essary traveling expenses, he started westward, and located at Fond du Lac, arriving there in the summer
of 1848. The place was then a small village, hardly known on the map, but speedily destined, with such citizens as young Galloway to develop its resources, to spring forth as a champion, in growth and pros- perity, for the leadership of the State.
Starting in as an operator in real estate, he touched merchandise incidentally for a short time only, and then took up lumbering, in its various and extended forms. His real-estate and lumbering operations he followed closely and successfully until the year 1866, when by reason of his imperfect health, which for- bade the constant day and night strain necessary in carrying on a business then widely extended, and em-
Levi Blossom.
IOI
TIIE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
bracing various enterprises of magnitude, he began gradually to withdraw from affairs requiring active employment, and arranged and reduced his invest- ments more in keeping with the capacity of his phys- ical strength. For the past ten years he has been a principal stockholder and manager of the Savings Bank of Fond du Lac, and is now the vice-president of that institution.
Although for years ranking as one of the most active and successful business men of the State, he has ever been, and is to-day, devotedly attached to his home and his friends. His domestic nature and genial temperament are never to be destroyed by the excitement and wear of business affairs. He may always be found at his office or with his family. The only exception to this rule in the past has been, when from a sense of duty he has accepted, now and then, some of the many political positions tendered and urged upon him by the community, wherein the per- formance of public duties necessitated his absence from both, a condition requiring the keenest sacri- fice on his part.
1
Another prominent, and perhaps the most promi- nent, characteristic of this man, is his universal be-
nevolence, and almost unlimited charity to the poor. This spirit on his part has not found expression by glittering endowments, or other public exhibition of its donations; for although during his every day life, whenever any public enterprise, any religious society, or any laudable project whatever, from a new railroad to a summer-day picnic, needs aid or encouragement, they always find in him a ready and generous friend, yet it is among the individual poor, those in trouble, in distress, the sick or dis- couraged, cases that do not rise to public notice, conditions requiring kind counsel, as well as mate- rial aid, that Mr. Galloway and his family have dis- tributed their unsurpassed kindness and generous aid; until their names and deeds are household words among the poor.
Mr. Galloway was married November 5, 1850, to Maria H. Adams, by whom he has had two sons and three daughters, all of whom (except one son who died quite young) are still living.
He has recently erected an elegant and conven- ient residence on his farm near the city, where he passes much of his time, surrounded by his family and enjoying those comforts he so richly deserves.
WILLIAM H. LATHROP,
RACINE.
T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Man- chester, Bennington county, Vermont, was born on the 13th of July, 1816, and is the son of Hubbel Lathrop and Laura nee Brownson. His father, a well-to-do farmer, was much respected in his com- munity. After receiving his primary education, he spent half a year in the Burr Seminary immediately after its opening in 1833, and at the expiration of that time accepted a clerkship in the dry-goods store of William G. Henry, of Bennington, Vermont. He remained here two years, and in 1835 went to North Bennington and clerked for Messrs. Robinson, Blackmer and Co. till 1837. He next formed a copartnership with William E. Hawk, and opened a general store, which he conducted till 1839, when he closed out his business, and in the following year removed to Wisconsin, and settled at Racine. Dur- ing the first year after his arrival he employed his time in the store of Charles S. Wright, and in the post-office under Dr. Elias Smith. In 1842, return- ing to his native place, he spent about a year in set-
tling up his father's estate, he having died in the meantime; and, upon his return to Racine in the summer of 1844, he purchased a farm of two hun- dred and forty acres, three miles from the city, and engaged in farming and real estate operations. In 1845, forming a partnership with Mr. R. S. King and Mr. J. G. Conroe, he began a forwarding business, under the firm name of King, Conroe and Co., and a lumber trade under the firm name of Lathrop and Conroe. At the end of one year Mr. C. A. Lathrop, a brother, and L. W. Munroe, purchased the interest of Mr. King, and the above first named firm changed to Lathrop, Munroe and Co. In 1852 Mr. Munroe sold his interest to his son, H. B. Monroe, and the firm became known as Lathrop and Monroe. In the following year Mr. Lathrop purchased Mr. Monroe's interest, and the firm name again changed to W. H. Lathrop and Co., C. A. Lathrop remaining in the business. In 1855 the business was discontinued, Mr. Lathrop selling his elevator, which he had erected in 1848, to the West-
14
IO2
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
ern Union Railroad Company. The next three years were occupied in closing up the business of the firm, and in 1858 he again engaged in the grain and general forwarding and commission business in the elevator known as the Norton and Durand elevator. Running the elevator on a joint interest with the owners till 1865, he then purchased and enlarged it, and continued its operation till 1870, when it was burned, being insured for about two-thirds its value. Since that time Mr. Lathrop, though not actively engaged in business, has dealt to some extent in real estate.
Formerly a whig in his political views, he is now a republican, and has been honored by his fellow citi- zens with positions of public trust. He has been a director and vice-president of the First National Bank, of Racine since its organization, and was also director and vice-president of the Racine county Bank, organized in 1854, and elected a director of the same in 1855. He was also secretary and treas- urer of the Rock River Plank Road Company dur- ing its existence of thirteen years. In 1856 he was
appointed receiver of the Racine and Mississippi Railroad, now known as the Western Union Railroad Company.
In his religious sentiments Mr. Lathrop is identi- fied with the Episcopalians, and is a worthy member of St. Luke's Church of Racine.
He was married on the 22d of June, 1842, to Miss Harriet Ann Munroe, by whom he has had one son and one daughter, neither of whom are now living.
Mr. Lathrop, with his wife, has traveled and visited many of the States in the Union and gained a most valuable experience. In 1856 they visited Cuba, and, on their return, visited all the principal cities of the southern States, and were present at the inaugu- ration of President Buchanan. In 1872 they visited California, and spent the winter in the southern part of that State.
As a business man he is widely known for his hon- orable dealing, financial ability and untiring enter- prise, while personally and socially he is possessed of those noble and gentlemanly qualities which must always command the respect and esteem of men.
MANOAH D. MILLER,
MADISON.
M ANOAH D. MILLER, the subject of this sketch, was born February 15, 1811, in Eliz- abethtown, Essex county, New York, son of Manoah and Elizabeth Miller, whose exemplary lives made a lasting impression upon the future career of their son. His father was a public-spirited man, and held several offices of honor and of trust, among them those of member of the legislative assembly and of judge of Essex county. In his capacity of legislator, in 1813, he was a warm advocate of that system of internal improvements inaugurated by Governor DeWitt Clinton which has made the State of New York, in population, enterprise and wealth, the first in the Union. His social relations with the governor were of the most cordial character, as evidenced by a letter from the governor to him which has been preserved as a sort of heirloom in the family.
Manoah D. Miller received a common-school education in his native county and completed it at Madison University, in New York, in which institu- tion he qualified himself as a minister of the gospel. He entered the Baptist church as a clergyman, which position he held with credit to himself and
advantage to his church during twenty-two years. During the early part of his life he worked on a farm. At the age of thirteen he commenced learn- ing the trade of cabinet making. At the age of : nineteen he commenced business for himself, and retired from it at the age of twenty-one. He again resumed his studies for the ministry, and when com- pleted became pastor of the churches at Monkton, Springfield, Danville, Windham, Wilmington and Addison, all in Vermont. He received the honor- ary degree of A.M. from Middlebury College. He was no less distinguished for his ministerial abilities than for his business capacity, and his aid was fre- quently solicited in various sections of the country to build churches.
Learning that there were three thousand inhabit- ants in Madison, Wisconsin, and no Baptist church edifice, he could not resist the temptation to exert his talents on this new field of usefulness. He ac- cordingly came to Madison in January, 1853, and commenced the work of erecting a church edifice, in which he succeeded after encountering difficulties that at first seemed insurmountable, there being no
Jours July M. D. Miller
IO3
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
railroads, and materials very scarce. But few men have contributed more to building up the city of Madison or to induce immigration, and with that view, besides the business houses he erected several private residences, some of them among the most desirable in the city. Notwithstanding his incessant labors in the erection of his church edifice, he was unremitting in his pastoral duties, and preached every Sabbath in the court-house. These arduous duties so impaired his health that he was unable to speak any longer in public, and by the advice of his physicians retired from the pulpit. Partially recov- ering his health, his aid was again solicited and ren- dered at Beaver Dam in erecting a university.
In June, 1857, he organized the Wisconsin Bank of Madison under the State law, and closed it at the commencement of the rebellion. At this period he commenced the business of private banking, in con- nection with life and fire insurance, which terminated in 1870. In politics, he was a whig until the forma- tion of the republican party, but was never a parti- san. He has been chaplain of the Good Templars' Lodge in Madison a considerable portion of the time during fifteen years; has been president of the Dane county Bible Society for many years ; during all of which time he has led an irreproachable life, commanding the respect of all those with whom business brought him in contact, and winning the esteem and the affection of the virtuous.
In November, 1831, he married Phœbe Ensign,
daughter of Deacon John Ensign, of Essex county, New York. She has been to him what Providence designed all wives to be, a help-meet as well in private as in public business, during the last forty years.
Believing it a duty he owed to his Maker, to him- self and to his children, to bring them up in some useful employment, he has taken his eldest son, Charles B. Miller, a married man, to the farm on which he resides, in sight of the city of Madison. The second son, Carlton E. Miller, has learned the trade of a tinner.
Mr. Miller's forefathers were among the early set- tlers of the United States, and participated in the revolutionary war. He was a warm Union man during the late rebellion, and sent his eldest son to the army. He knows the value of a good soldier, having been, and is yet, a soldier of the cross, en- listing at the commencement of his service for life.
He is now enjoying in dignified retirement the reward of his labors in the consciousness of a well spent life, and in the hope that in the world to come he will be greeted with the salutation, " Well done, good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
It is gratifying to the patriot, the philanthropist and the Christian to become acquainted with the character of those individuals whose lives have illus- trated the utility as well as the purity and dignity of manhood.
EDWARD O'NEILL,
MILWAUKEE.
T HE subject of this sketch, a native of the county of Kilkenny, Ireland, was born March II, 1820, and is the son of Laurence O'Neill and Margaret née Swift. Edward received his educa- tion in a parochial school of his native town, after leaving which his ambitious aspirations led him to leave his home and set sail for America, in hope of ameliorating his condition. Upon his arrival in New York in the spring of 1837, he found himself so short of money that he was obliged to seek im- mediate employment, which he gladly found in an opportunity to learn the tailoring business; and after an apprenticeship of two years he followed his trade upon his own account for nine years in the State of Vermont. During this time, by industrious
and temperate habits, he succeeded in building up a prosperous business, and saving about three thousand dollars; and, having a natural taste for study, it became his custom, after performing his daily routine of business, to sit up far into the night in order to read historical and other instructive works, for the purpose of storing his mind with use- ful knowledge. In the month of October, 1850, he moved West and settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. where he continued his former trade for one year, after which he engaged in the clothing business for several years, and then sold out his interest to his partner. He subsequently established himself in the coal trade, but as the demand for coal was not sufficient at that early day to insure success, he
106
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
He is tolerant of all religious creeds founded upon moral principles. His mental characteristics are quickness of perception, decision of purpose and energy of action. He reads the character of men readily and decides promptly upon their qualifica- tions. Such men seem born to command; Napoleon and Jackson were remarkable illustrations of this truth; with them to perceive, to decide and to exe- cute were synonymous terms.
Mr. Merrill's ceaseless vigilance, tireless exertion and sound judgment have given a high character to
the road of which he is general manager, and have made it financially a success. Although he exacts a rigid compliance with his contracts and tolerates no dereliction from duty, he is just in his dealings with all men and kind to his employes.
In the sacredness of home, in the society of wife, children and friends, he is the kind husband, the indulgent father and the genial host.
The example of such men furnishes incentive to enterprise, encouragement to the hopeful toiler, and reflects honor upon our country.
LEVI H. KELLOGG,
MILWAUKEE.
T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Sheffield, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, was born on the 24th of August, 1817, the son of Amasa Kellogg and Abiah née Callender. When he was four years of age his parents removed to Oneida county, New York, and here he resided with them until he at- tained his sixteenth year, dividing his time between farm work and study in the common school, and also for a time was engaged in his brother's store. Independent in his nature, he early manifested a disposition to do something, and gladly anticipated the time when, by his own merit, he could take an honorable position among men. Conscious of his own ability to triumph over difficulties, he was not content to toil for a mere subsistence, and left his home with a firm determination to succeed, inspired with high hopes and incited by a worthy ambition. In 1833, joining the westward tide of immigration, he removed to Monroe, Michigan. Of his journey thither, long and tedious, he gives a most vivid de- scription. The Maumee swamp, of Ohio, was a formidable obstacle in the way of immigrants moving west. Over this dreary waste of mud and water, thirty-one miles in width, the gloomy silence of des- olation reigned supreme, and the joy of our subject may be imagined when, after struggling in the sloughs for nearly three days, he set his foot again on terra-firma. The whole journey occupied three weeks, and was accomplished alone with his team. He resided in Michigan fourteen years, engaged in enterprises of different kinds, but not, however, to the neglect of the cultivation of his mind. Carefully economizing his time, he eagerly employed every means for acquiring knowledge requisite to fit him
for any position, public or private, to which he might be called. In 1847, having been financially successful, he closed his affairs in Michigan and removed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, then a mere vil- lage, and employed his capital and energies in con- ducting a large business, comprising an elevator, milling, steamboating and produce commission. His tastes and experiences eminently fitted him for his work, and as a consequence success and prosperity continually attended him. He was always keenly alive to the interests of his city, and with the same zeal which he manifested in his own business, worked for her growth and welfare. His business relations gave to him a wide reputation, and throughout the Northwest he was esteemed as a man of superior business attainments, generous and honorable in the highest sense. In his own city he is remembered by young men whom he assisted and encouraged, and his name and deeds are cherished by hundreds who gladly acknowledge his bounty and advice.
Preëminently a business man, he eschewed politics and devoted his life to the furtherance of worthy objects, and this, too, although his fellow-citizens, recognizing his worth, solicited his services for pub- lic trusts. In the spring of 1873, yielding to the wishes of his friends, he was elected mayor of Mil- waukee, but owing to some unimportant technicality, based upon the fact that when elected he was a member of the city council, with characteristic hon- esty and manliness he refused to qualify, believing that any irregularity in his official acts as mayor, at a time when matters vital to the interests of the city were to be passed upon, was sufficient reason for his declining to serve. The act was highly honora-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.