USA > Wisconsin > The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self-made men, Wisconsin volume > Part 19
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
107
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
ble, and typifies a long life upon which there is neither spot or blemish, and indicates the purpose of a man whose name is the synonym of all that is good, honorable, noble and true. As a financier Mr. Kellogg was held in high repute. His extensive business, requiring all the skill and tact of an active brain, was managed with masterly ability, and his career furnishes an example most worthy of emula- tion. Beginning life with less than fifty dollars, he cast himself upon his own powers, and by energy working his way gradually up to his position of afflu- ence and honor, he may justly be called a self-made man and the architect of his own fortune.
A distinguishing characteristic of this man was his generous benevolence. It is said of him that no deserving appeal for charity ever passed unheeded ; that he gave bountifully of his riches, and always had a kind word, a "God speed " and substantial aid for the young man embarking in business. In the early days of Milwaukee he became connected with the Odd-Fellows, and soon took a high position
in that body. Deeply interested in promulgating the principles of the order, he himself established many lodges in the State, and scarcely a member of the order in Wisconsin is unfamiliar with his name.and influence. Especially is he remembered and loved by the older members, for the struggles and difficul- ties attending the establishment of the order in a new State bound these pioneers in a brotherhood that death alone can sever.
Mr. Kellogg united with the First Presbyterian Church of Milwaukee in 1858, and until his death, i which occurred on the 12th of December, 1873, remained a zealous and faithful member.
He was married December 25, 1839, to Miss Helen Barnard, of Monroe, Michigan. Of their children two sons are now living.
Such is the life history of a truly noble man. Standing out prominently from corruption, dishon- esty, and all that tends to degrade and demoralize, he may truly be placed upon the roll of self-made men, a worthy example of generous manhood.
MORITZ L. MORAWETZ,
MILWAUKEE.
T HE subject of this sketch, a native of Rand- nitz, Bohemia, a province of Austria, was born on the 15th of June, 1823, and is the son of Abram I. Morawetz and Amelia née Iserstein. His father, | though an unassuming man, was the recipient of many public honors. Moritz received his early education under private tuition at home, and later 1 studied one year in the public high school of Prague. 1
He early decided to follow a mercantile life, and during the first four years after leaving school was engaged in a wholesale grocery house. At the close of this engagement he accepted a prominent position in a wholesale silk, ribbon and notion house of Pesth, Hungary, which he occupied for four years. During this time his usefulness as a citizen gained the public recognition of the municipal authorities, and in 1847, on the occasion of his leaving Pesth for Vienna, he was made the recipient of a flattering testimonial, which bore the signature of the mayor and other officials. His going to Vienna was with the intention of entering into business on his own account, but he was precluded from this by the political revolution between Austria and Hungary which began in 1848.
When in the following autumn Vienna was besieged, with no prospects of an immediate settlement of difficulties, Mr. Morawetz returned to his father, who had won high and honorable distinction among his people, and who, owing to the confused state of affairs and the uncertainty of entering into business, consented to his son's desire of immigrating to America. Arriving in Baltimore, Maryland, in July, 1849, young Morawetz at once sought a situation where he might learn the language, customs and manners of his new home. His efforts, however, were unsuccessful, and not willing to remain idle he opened a small business on his own account. His nativity and affable manners soon secured to him a „high social standing and drew around him a large circle of respectable and pleasant acquaintances and friends. His business prospered and in a few years became remunerative, and he saw before him a bright future. Learning of the superior inducements offered to young men by western cities, he followed the advice of an elderly merchant in whom he had found a true friend, and accepted an offer of an old acquaintance in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to associate with him in his already established business. Removing thither
108
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY
in the fall of 1853, he was greatly disappointed at not finding the condition of things what he had anticipated. Accordingly the arrangements with his friend for entering into business were never con- summated, and he passed the following winter in looking for another engagement and deciding upon what course to pursue.
In the spring of 1854 he established himself in the dry-goods trade, and conducted a successful busi- ness, till he received from Messrs. Bremer and Co. overtures to become a partner in their wholesale grocery house, which had been established in 1850,' and was enjoying a high reputation. Closing up his
own business he entered into the copartnership, and has since shared in the success that has attended the well known firm of George Bremer and Co. The house is the oldest of the kind in the city, and one of the most successful in the West. It has an unbounded credit, and during all the financial crises through which it has passed never failed to meet an engagement. Public-spirited and enterprising, they have taken an active interest in all enterprises con- nected with the welfare of their city, and contrib- uted liberally to benevolent and charitable objects. Mr. Morawetz was married in 1856 to Fanny Morawetz, of Rundnitz, Bohemia.
JOHN M. KEEP,
JANESVILLE.
JOHN M. KEEP, the subject of this brief sketch, who was the second son of General Martin Keep, was born at Homer, Cortland county, in the State of New York, on the 26th of January, 1813. His parents were both from New England and among the first settlers of Cortland county.
After obtaining the rudiments of education at the district school, he at an early age entered the Cort- land Academy, at Homer, where he pursued the usual routine of academic studies, and prepared himself for college. He entered Hamilton College in 1832 and graduated in 1836, and was one of the first members of the Alpha Della Phi Society in that institution. The same year he commenced his legal studies with Augustus Donnelly, a distinguished counselor-at-law, at Homer, New York, and com- pleted them with Horatio Seymour, Esq., at Buffalo. He was duly admitted to the bar and commenced practice at Westfield, New York, and in the year 1845 he removed to Beloit, in the State of Wiscon- sin, then a mere settlement, where he continued to reside until his death. Here he engaged not only in a large law practice but also took a very active part in all the enterprises that promised to promote the growth of the place and enhance the welfare of society. In the purchase and sale of lands, in the erection of buildings, in the promotion of institutions of learning and the construction of railroads he took an important part, and in many of these enterprises was the animating spirit.
His mind seemed to grasp every subject and his enterprise embraced every occupation. Though a
lawyer by profession, and otherwise engaged in a variety of pursuits, agriculture did not escape his attention or want his fostering care, for he knew that upon it depended the wealth, independence and morality of his adopted State. Whatever was good or useful, whatever tended to elevate human nature or ameliorate the condition of mankind, was sure to find in him cordial support and efficient aid. The value of his labors are to be estimated chiefly by the results flowing from his great and active mind -a mind rich in the profession of every moral and intellectual quality. In the young and growing State and city of which he was a resident no man impressed his name on more enterprises of private munificence or public utility.
His chief qualities of natural greatness were moral courage, great energy, ready decision and an indom- itable will. Few men possess these qualities in so remarkable a degree as John M. Keep, because few men are so profusely endowed with the omnipotence of genius. Systematic in the employment of his time, he was capable of doing rapidly and well what most persons could not perform without much time and great labor. Bred to the bar, his mind was too original and of too broad a cast to be bound by those narrow and confined views which bind the mere lawyer to former precedents and adjudged cases ; he combined the more noble properties of justice with legal adjudications, commingling the principles of equity with legal rule, thus mitigating the too oft severity of legal despotism.
In the spring of 1856 he was elected, without
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
opposition, judge of the first judicial circuit of the State of Wisconsin, but at the end of two and a half years he was compelled to resign this laborious office on account of the loss of health and the press- ure of his private business. It soon became evident that consumption had fastened itself upon him, and from this time the wasting of his bodily powers went on gradually, although he retained to the last mo- ment of his life the full vigor of his mind.
Upon the death of Judge Keep, meetings of the bar were held at Beloit, Janesville, and also of the first judicial circuit, and appropriate resolutions passed and eulogies pronounced upon the life and services of the deceased.
At the meeting of the bar of the circuit, the Hon. H. S. Conger, the present presiding judge, on taking the chair, said, "Judge Keep, however regarded, was no ordinary man. As a citizen he was generous, benevolent and public-spirited. Of great firmness of character, untiring resolution and indomitable energy, he was bold, fearless and independent in thought and action, more resolute in the accomplish- ment of whatever he regarded his duty than solicit- ous to win praise or favor at any sacrifice of princi- ple, however small."
As a lawyer appreciating the responsibilities and duties of the profession, no man had a higher regard for its honor or reprobated more earnestly its pros- titution to base purposes.
Elected circuit judge in 1856, and holding the office for two years until impelled to resign on ac- count of the pressure of his own private business, he carried to the discharge of the important duties of that office great ability, unwearied industry, and honesty and integrity never assailed. In the lan- guage of another who knew him well, "he dignified the bench rather than received dignity from it."
The death of Judge Keep will be a great loss, not only to the profession but to the community at large. Calm, courageous, hopeful and trustful, he died as he had lived, confiding in a faith that had never for- saken him, resigned to that Providence in whom was his trust, in the full possession of all his mental faculties, vigorous even in death, and meeting the great change with the courage of a philosopher and the hope of a Christian. As much as there was in his life to emulate, there is in his death found in- struction equally valuable.
In religion Mr. Keep was a Congregationalist, having united with that denomination at the age of sixteen years, and like it, he was liberal and tolerant
respecting the tenets of other denominations; he would tolerate every class of sincere professors and protect them in their ideas of divine worship. In all the relations of life and the connections which he formed with various classes of people, he pre- served unblemished his Christian character.
His charities more than kept pace with his ability, and his pecuniary aid and legal advice were ever at the service of the poor and unfortunate.
Perhaps no better perspective of his life and char- acter can be given than is contained in the following extract from a letter of recent date from the pen of the Hon. S. J. Todd, of Beloit, a long and intimate friend of Judge Keep.
As long as his health would permit, his life was a very busy one, and unlike most men of active habits and whose mental processes are rapid, he had the faculty of steady, untiring perseverance. When he began to do anything he never relinquished it until he had completed it or until it became impossible. This faculty I have usually found to exist only in slow men, which John M. Keep was not. When I first knew him he had been a resident of Beloit for six years. During this time he was engaged in the practice of the law and in the purchase and sale of real estate; con- sequently a very large number of men in Rock county, and the adjoining counties of Boone and Winnebago, Illinois, were living upon lands which they held under contract of purchase from him, and very many of these men-I think a majority of them-were always in arrears in the payment of principal and interest. He never declared a contract for- feited and never brought a suit against one of these pur- chasers so long as they stayed upon the land and exhibited a willingness to pay ; but on the other hand, whenever they had been unfortunate, from the loss of crops or sickness, they were sure of substantial sympathy, which did not con- sist wholly of kind words, and he had the rare faculty of being charitable without assuming the air of patronage. These charities were large and manifold, yet they were given with so little ostentation that no one, however proud or sensitive he might be, was ever embarrassed or humili- ated by receiving aid at his hands, and more than this, he never spoke of these things.
And this reminds me of another peculiarity in his char- acter. Ile was the most reticent, self-reliant, self-controlled and the bravest man I ever met, without a single element of fear or diffidence, and at the same time he was the most truly modest man I have ever known, never exhibiting vanity or egotism, and consequently no man ever heard him exalt or speak boastingly of himself or what he had done or intended to do. In this regard he came fully up to Curran's description of Grattan, in his reply to Lord Ers- kine's question, " What does IIenry Grattan say of himself, my lord ? ". Says Curran, " Henry Grattan never speaks of himself. You could not draw an opinion out of him on that subject with a six horse team." Further, as a rule he never spoke of his enemies nor of his controversies with them. No matter what the gravity or magnitude of their charges or accusations might be, he was too indifferent to them, or too proud, to condescend to make any reply or explanation. The consequence was that he sometimes suf- fered in the public estimation, and his best friends were often embarrassed by the contemptuous silence with which he treated the ground of these accusations.
It is hardly necessary to speak of him as judge, a position he filled with such eminent ability. As I remember him he nearly realized my ideal of a circuit judge. There as elsewhere he was composed, patient and impartial, always easy of approach by every one; quick in his perception of
15
IIO
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
every case presented for his decision, and never too proud to reconsider his own decisions when he found that he was in the wrong.
He died with the same steady composure that character- ized him through life, thoughtful and considerate of those about him until his last moment of life, when he closed his eyes in death.
" Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."
That Mr. Keep had enemies no one is asked to doubt. All public men must have them, and the greater the man the more bitter and powerful his enemies, as a rule. The collision of claims and the collision of interests, an ardent zeal on one side or the other of a question, political antagonisms- all conspire to create opposition, denunciation and ill will. He was not one of those who feared to do anything lest he might do something wrong. He acted from principle, and when fully persuaded of the correctness of his position never wavered or faltered in his course. If difficulties increased, his energy and resolution increased with them. If the circle of his confidential friends was contracted it was not because he discarded friendships when they ceased to be profitable, but because he was reticent and self-engaged. He was never very com- promising or conciliatory in his deportment. There was austerity as well as frankness in his manner that sometimes made him bitter opponents, but he had the happy faculty of retaining through life a host of warm friends whose ardent love was proof of his private worth more honorable to his character than even the prominence of his great abilities.
As a writer he was clear, terse and didactic. His great endowments of disciplined thought imparted to his hastiest compositions elaborate force, and the grace of perfection. Bold in his propositions, clear in his statements, rapid in execution, complete in demonstration, he was inexorable in his conclusions. Grant him his premises and the result was as inevi- table as fate. He did not fatigue himself with deli- cate metaphysical abstractions nor bewilder his mind with speculative theories, but like an arrow impelled by a vigorous power he shot directly to the mark. In all his qualifications as a judge it may be said without questioning that he had few equals and no superiors in this State. The dignity of the circuit court while he presided over it is still spoken of as a model of excellence, and his judicial opinions have established for him the reputation of an able lawyer.
As a public speaker he was direct and logical, addressing himself to the reason and understanding
rather than to the passions and prejudices of men, and his conversational powers when interested were of the highest order. Before a deliberative body he was a man of great influence, but he was too much a matter-of-fact man to indulge in popular harangues.
His early political preferences and party associa- tions were with the whig, and later, with the repub- lican party, but he displayed at all times great independence and high-mindedness, never yielding his own deliberate judgment to popular applause or sacrificed his own convictions to the prevailing sen- timents of the day, nor was he ever a candidate for any political office.
During his last days the excitement growing out of the disloyal and belligerent position of the south- ern States became more and more intense, yet not- withstanding his enfeebled condition, he watched with unusual interest all the proceedings in congress until his feelings were roused with all the ardor of an intense patriotism, and he frequently expressed a great desire to be restored to health that he might participate in the impending struggle on the part of the Union.
In person Mr. Keep was tall, erect and rather slender, his manner dignified and graceful, his eye large, black and penetrating, and his whole counte- nance expressive of great energy and determination. His speech was pleasant and all his motions seemed to partake of the unceasing activity of his mind, and the most casual glance upon him in action, or repose, never failed to impress the beholder with an instinct- ive sense of his superiority.
He was married in 1839 to Cornelia A. Reynolds, daughter of John A. Reynolds of Westfield, New York, a lady of rare culture and Christian virtues, who still survives him.
In the family circle, the place of all others to test the value of genuine worth, Mr. Keep was tender and affectionate, very anxious for the welfare of his children and particularly solicitous about their edu- cation. He left four children, two sons and two daughters.
He died on the 2d of March, 1861, aged forty- eight years, and although but in middle life few men have left such a record of private worth and public usefulness.
His death was a very remarkable one. In fact death in its usual form never came near him. As said by Judge Conger, his end was indeed that of a philosopher, and his death the death of a Christian.
For two years his strength wasted gradually until
.
.# by Hugo Brouzs
O.w.w ight
III
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
he had not sufficient left to draw a breath, and so he ceased to breathe. The morning on which he died he was dressed and occupied his easy chair, on which he had reposed during his sickness, looked over papers from his safe, gave directions in regard to their disposition, conversed with his friends and neighbors, and the several members of his family separately, taking affectionate leave of each, but still, though his pulse had long ceased to beat, he was not ready to go, for he was waiting the expected arrival of his sister from Janesville, Mrs. Graham, who had been summoned to his side, and looking at his watch and noting the time of the arrival of the cars
he remarked, " I fear she has not come ;" but watch- ing the window, in a moment he said, "Indeed she has come." After a few minutes' conversation with his sister he said, " I am now ready to depart," and
"Death broke at once the vital chain And freed his soul the nearest way."
This brief sketch of John M. Keep will be barely sufficient to give the reader a bird's-eye view of the excellency of his life, but the more secret and minute peculiarities which most endear him to his friends can never be known save to those whose personal relations to him were such as to enable them to form adequate estimates of his private virtues.
HUGO MACK,
MILWAUKEE.
T HE subject of this sketch was born in Alten- kundstadt, Bavaria, on the 25th of August, 1840, the son of Solomon Mack and Henrietta née Lowenthal. He attended the common schools of his native town, and later attended college at Bay- reuth and Bamberg, Bavaria.
In July, 1854, induced by an elder brother, who was then visiting his old home, he immigrated to the United States, and settled in Milwaukee, Wiscon- sin. During the next three years he remained clerking in the employ of his brother, and at the same time attended the academy and Lincoln's College. After closing his studies he associated himself with Mr. P. Delahunt under the firm name of Mack and Delahunt, and opened a dry-goods store in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he built up a substantial and prosperous trade, and became exten- sively known as an energetic and thoroughly quali- fied business man. Closing his affairs in 1860 he visited his old home, and remained in his native country during the next two years, but at the expi-
ration of that time returned to the United States, and going again to Milwaukee opened a wholesale fancy dry-goods and Yankee notion store. Owing to limited means he began on a small scale, but by constant energy, industry, economy and honorable dealing, gradually established a large and thriving business.
Associating himself with his brother, Herman S., in 1867, he has since conducted a lucrative trade under the firm name of H. S. Mack and Co.
In 1870 he traveled through France, England, Germany and Switzerland, and gained a most valu- able experience and knowledge of men and things.
He is a worthy member of the Masonic order, and in 187 1 was elected high priest of Milwaukee Chap- ter No. 32, of F. and A. M., a position to which he has since been annually reëlected.
Mr. Mack was married on the 28th of June, 1871, to Miss Bertha Herman, daughter of A. S. Herman, one of the oldest and most respected business men of New York city.
O. W. WIGHT, M.D.,
MILWAUKEE.
D' R. O. W. WIGHT was born on the 19th of February, 1824, in the town of Centerville, Allegany county, New York. His parental ances- tor, Thomas Wight, emigrated from the famous Isle of Wight in 1637, and settled first at Dedham,
Massachusetts. His father was, therefore, a native New Englander, but moved to New York at an early day. He married a lady whose maiden name was Van Buren, a member of that family so famous, not only in the political annals of New York, but of the
İİ2
THE UNITED STATES BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
nation. The subject of this sketch was the first fruit of that marriage. At the time of his birth his father was a farmer, and from infancy up to boyhood his home was upon the farm, and with the toils and tasks incident to that condition in life he was made familiar. His education was begun in the district school, to which he was sent at such odd times as his manual services were not needed at home on the farm. He was apt to learn, and even with these limited opportunities, before he was ten years of age he had acquired all the knowledge the district school teacher was able to impart. He had a natural taste for mathematics, and among the few books which his father possessed he one day discovered a trea- tise on algebra, and with no instructor but his own genius, he had made himself thoroughly familiar with its contents before he was eleven. At the age of twelve he was sent away to a distant village to attend what was called a select school. At this institution his opportunities for study were greatly enlarged by the assistance of a liberally educated teacher, and he made such rapid progress that in a term of six months he had added the entire West Point series to his stock of mathematical acquisitions. From this time until he was fifteen he continued his stud- ies at home, without the aid of a teacher, at which period he removed with his father to Westfield, in the county of Chautauqua, where he was employed as a teacher for a short term. In the village of Westfield, four miles distant from his father's house, there was an academy of some considerable note, and to this institution he walked daily during a period of several months for the purpose of taking his first lessons in Latin and Greek. Having thus laid the foundation for his knowledge of the ancient languages, he continued the interesting pursuit alone until he had finished more than a university course of reading. Being still employed upon the farm he made the study of the classics his recreation, often spending half the night in delightful converse with them. Indeed he was seldom without either one or the other of his favorite authors; they were required to take turns in accompanying him to the field, and instead of whistling for want of thought as he fol- lowed the plow, his active mind was busily employed in contemplations upon the warlike scenes before the walls of Troy, or occupied with the more sooth- ing reflections inspired by the peaceful songs of Horace. In 1844, when he was twenty years of age, the subject of our sketch graduated at the collegiate institution in Rochester, New York, and soon after
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.