USA > Wisconsin > The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self-made men, Wisconsin volume > Part 48
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expand on both sides of the Eau Claire and Chip- pewa rivers until it numbers ten thousand inhab- itants, with four school houses and nine or ten churches. Not a house of worship has been erected without his aid, and his generous nature has shown itself in many other ways. He has had his own reverses, both by flood and fire, and some of them would have overpowered less indomitable spirits ; but, gaining strength of resolution by his losses, he has pressed bravely on until he has attained to in- dependence. He is, in his seventh decade, as erect as ever, and in good health, and few men enjoy with more zest the accumluations of a busy life.
He was married in 1841, to Ann F. Hutchinson, of Industry, Maine. She is a woman of great ability and magnetic power; of rare mental, moral and so- cial qualities, and a model mother; happy in making her husband and others happy and in scattering the sunshine in the little circle of her own family and in. the larger circles of society in which she moves. She has had three sons, one of whom, Charles, a young man of great promise, died in 1863. The remaining two, Eugene and George B., are first- class business men, with all their father's industry and public spirit, and much of the mother's refining and polishing influence.
DAVID ADLER,
MILWAUKEE.
D AVID ADLER, clothing merchant, of Milwau- kee, was born in Neustadt, Austria, October 9, 1821, son of Isaac and Bertie Adler. After receiv- ing the education common to Austrian youth of his position in life, he was apprenticed to a baker in Neustadt, with whom he remained three years. He subsequently traveled, according to custom, through different parts of Europe, visiting many towns and cities in order to acquire a more complete knowl- edge of his business. This object accomplished he returned to Neustadt, where he remained two years. August 15, 1846, he left his native land and sailed for America, landing in New York city, where he soon became established in the bakery business and continued therein for a period of about five years. The many attractions of the rapidly growing West induced Mr. Adler to close out his New York busi- ness, and the year 1853 found him settled in Mil- waukee, where he has remained until the present time. He soon decided not to resume his old trade in the West, but to invest his money in the business which promised the speediest return, and there- fore opened a retail clothing store on East Water street, with a capital of only twelve hundred dol- lars. This store was of extremely small dimen- sions, and although he had no previous experience in this branch of merchandising he was very success- ful, owing undoubtedly to his untiring industry, business tact and strict integrity, which are the con- trolling principles underlying success in any direc- tion where the interests of men are involved. Soon the narrow limits of his store could not accommodate
his increasing business, and in 1857 he commenced the wholesale clothing trade, receiving his nephew as partner, the firm name being changed to D. and G. Adler. Their first twelvemonth sales amounted to seventy-five thousand dollars. The nephew re- mained two years, when he was succeeded by a brother of David Adler, Solomon Adler, who retired from the firm in 1870. H. M. Mendel and Mr. David Adler's eldest son were then received into partnership, and the name of the firm was again changed to Adler, Mendel and Co. Each change brought a new impetus; increasing trade demanded increased facilities; the old store, outgrown by the former firm, was remodeled and enlarged to suit the new. Their establishment is now one of the largest in the State, four stories high and covering an area of forty by one hundred and twenty feet fronting on East Water street and forty by sixty feet fronting on Huron street. Besides the clothing which they man- ufacture they handle heavy lines of piece goods ; the extent of the business is immense, their sales in 1874 reaching the amount of nearly a million dol- lars. The success of this house and its high stand- ing, both financially and morally, throughout the country are attributable to the careful management and fair dealing of its partners, not only in its early history, but throughout its changes and rising for- tunes.
Mr. Adler has held various positions of trust in several benevolent societies, having been sought as treasurer of the same, which as a mark of confidence in his purity is a compliment of high order.
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In religion Mr. Adler is of the Jewish faith, and holds a prominent position in the society of El Emanuel.
He was married, May 10, 1848, to Miss Fannie Newboeur, by whom he has six sons and two
daughters. The eldest son is partner in his father's business and two others are clerks in the same store. The second son is in Europe studying law at Berlin. The eldest daughter is wife of Henry M. Mendel, second partner in the house of Adler, Mendel and Co.
MASON A. THAYER,
SPARTA.
T HE subject of this biography, a native of Ohio, is the son of Andrew and Millura (Mason) Thayer, and was born at Conneaut, November 17, 1839. The family removed to Kingsville in 1849, and to Austinburg in 1851. At the latter place Mason attended the Grand River Institution five years, when, in March, 1856, his family removed to Sparta, Wisconsin. Here the son spent three years as deputy register of deeds, and then two years in teaching writing in different parts of Wisconsin and Iowa. Returning to Sparta he was elected register of deeds for Monroe county, and was afterward twice reëlected, serving in all three full terms; and during that time opened an abstract-of-title and real-estate office, and continued both branches of business together until the term of his county office had expired.
In December, 1868, Mr. Thayer established a savings bank, of which he is cashier and R. S. King is president. Under their management the institu- tion has become very popular and one of the safest in the town. From the day he began the real-estate business Mr. Thayer has continued it with a gradual
expansion, until it now extends widely through dif- ferent parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota, and also to some extent into Iowa; and wherever known he is recognized as one of the foremost and most suc cessful men in this line of business in western Wis- consin.
He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of the royal-arch degree. In religious sentiment he is liberal, and in politics is identified with the repub- lican party.
He was married December 31, 1861, to Miss Mary A. Munn, of Sparta, and by her has two children.
Mr. Thayer's father, who removed to Sparta in 1856 and settled on a farm, died March 31, 1872. His mother is still living, in independent and very comfortable circumstances.
Mr. Thayer has always been a prudent manager of his affairs ; has never made a miscalculation or a misstep in his business, and has uniformly succeeded in whatever he has attempted. He is a man of kind feelings, and has both the means and the disposition to help the destitute, and is held in highest esteem by his neighbors and a wide circle of acquaintances.
HORATIO N. BRADSHAW,. M.D.,
MONROE.
H ORATIO NELSON BRADSHAW was born at Farmersville, Canada West, January 29, 1833, the son of Horatio and Rachel (La Rue) Bradshaw, both of whom were natives of the State of New York. The Bradshaw family, which is now quite numerous in America, claim descent from the celebrated Judge Bradshaw who presided at the trial of King Charles I and pronounced the sentence of execution against that unfortunate monarch. He died during the administration of the Protector, on the first anniversary of the king's death succeeding
the " Restoration." The body of Bradshaw, together with those of Cromwell and Ireton, were disinterred, hanged on the gallows, then decapitated and their heads fixed on Westminster Hall. The Judge had three sons, one of whom removed to Ireland, an- other to America, while the third remained in Eng- land. In England and Ireland the families have both since been ennobled.
The grandfather of our subject, James Bradshaw, who was a resident of New York, was a man of considerable wealth, and owned a large number of
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slaves. His son, Horatio Bradshaw, father of our subject, was born at Sandy Hill village, Washington county, New York, and lost his mother in infancy, after which he was taken in charge by Lemuel Cas- tle, an uncle by marriage, who removed to Canada at the close of the revolutionary war, where he lived and died, Horatio Bradshaw inheriting a share of his property. The latter was drafted into the British army in the war of 1812, and, greatly against his will, was compelled to bear arms against his native country. Fortunately he was taken prisoner, by Colonel Forsythe, of the United States army, at Prescott, and paroled-a circumstance which he afterward often referred to as one of the pleasantest reminiscences of his life. After the close of the war he left New York and returned to Canada, where his property was located, and there remained some twenty years. In 1835 he sold his possessions and removed with his family to Jefferson county, New York, and in the disastrous monetary revulsion of the following year lost nearly all his property, and lived the remainder of his life in comparative poverty. He died in 1853, at the age of seventy- seven, leaving nine children. He was a man of remarkably even temper and quiet habits, though of great firmness and tenacity of purpose. He was moreover conscientious and upright, and was wont to judge others by his own standard of morals, a characteristic which induced him to place 'confi- dence in unworthy objects, and which led to his financial embarrassment. The mother of our sub- ject was of French and German ancestry. Her father was a soldier in the revolutionary war, and fought under General Marion, and afterward settled in southwestern New York. She was a woman of much vigor of mind and body, but staid and sedate in her habits and manners - characteristics inher- ited by her son.
From the foregoing narrative it will be readily inferred that Horatio was thrown upon his own resources at an early age. He had been an apt and diligent student from his childhood, and attended the district schools during the winters till he attained the age of fourteen, when he was considered com- petent to teach. He accordingly went to Canada, where, by the aid of friends, he procured a school ; but before he could enter upon his work he must obtain a certificate of fitness from the township superintendent, who in this instance proved to be an illiterate Irishman. In the examination he asked him to state the number of continents into which
the globe was divided. He replied : "Two, if Aus- tralia, which is an island, be not included in the list." The Hibernian promptly informed him that his answer was incorrect; that he was not fit to teach school, and therefore could not have a certifi- cate, at the same time informing him that there were no less than five continents. Our subject, who was incorrigible in his ignorance, determined to appeal the question to a higher authority, and accordingly made a journey of forty miles on foot, and entered an appeal to the Provincial superintendent of instruc- tion, who, on a hearing of the case, reversed the pre- vious decision as to the number of continents, and issued the required certificate. He returned the following day in high glee, and at once entered upon his duties as village schoolmaster. He taught that winter in Canada, and the succeeding five winters in Jefferson county, New York, while in the summers he worked on the farm, and in the autumns attend- ed select schools, studying the higher mathematics and Latin. At the age of eighteen he commenced the study of medicine, having been advised to that course by a medical friend, who offered him facili- ties -though, had he been in circumstances to choose for himself, he would have adopted the law as a profession. He manifested a taste and aptness, however, for the study of medicine and surgery, but was never an enthusiast in his profession for its own sake.
In 1852 he entered the Western Reserve Medical College, Ohio, from which he was graduated in 1854, and entered upon the practice of his profession in Philadelphia, New York, where he remained a year, with moderate success; then crossed again to Can- ada, and taught a village school at Rupertville for one year. He next removed to Meaford, and, hav- ing received a license, after due examination, from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Upper Canada, successfully practiced his profession for two years at that point. Thence, in 1858, he removed to Dayton, Green county, Wisconsin, where he prac- ticed for one year in partnership with Dr. Ormsby, of that place. He next removed to Monticello, same county, where he remained ten years and built up a large practice, becoming the leading physician of the place. Meantime he attended a course of lec- tures at Rush Medical College, Chicago, from which he graduated in 1867. In_1868 he removed to Mon- roe, the county seat of Green county, which has since been his home. At this period, his health being somewhat impaired, and the practice of med-
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icine not being altogether in harmony with his tastes, he resolved to abandon it, and accordingly opened a large wholesale and retail drug eatablish- ment, to which he has since devoted his chief atten- tion, having accumulated a competency and attained .an enviable position among his fellow-citizens and in the county and State of his adoption. He pos- sesses a large amount of brain power, and is a man of great vigor, force of will and determination, and holds in lofty contempt all shams and pretenses. He possesses a high order of literary talents, and is especially gifted as a poet. His fugitive pieces - dashed off with great rapidity during the intervals of work - which are voluminous, and on all classes of subjects, have found their way into the current literature of the day and will soon be collected in a volume, and are of a very high order of merit and destined to perpetuate his name. He is a man of quick perceptions, a clear, logical thinker and rea- soner, a fluent and pleasant public speaker; of strong prejudices-originating mainly on the bet- ter side of his nature- with an intuitive sense of right; of correct habits and of unquestioned integ- rity and uprightness, whatever he does, he does with all his might. He is close and economical in his business transactions, yet generous and whole souled to his friends. His heart is always sympa-
thetic and warm, and his affections toward his family are exuberant.
In politics, he was a staunch republican during the war and until 1872, when he joined the reform movement, to which he has since adhered.
During the greater part of his residence in Wis- consin he has taken a deep interest in the progress of public schools, and has seldom been without an official relationship to the same.
He is a Master Mason, and has taken all the degrees in Odd-Fellowship. He was raised under Methodist influence, but is not now connected with any church; though he respects Christianity, and honors the sincere professor of evangelical religion.
He has been twice married : First, December 14, 1854, to Miss Achsah L. Terpening, of Jefferson county, New York, a member of an old family of that State. She died July 12, 1859, leaving one son surviving, namely, John Franklin, born May 26, 1856, now a student of Rush Medical College, and a young man of much promise. His second mar- riage was on the 14th of August, 1862, to Miss Eliza J. Noble, who is a lineal descendant of Thomas Noble, who came over in the Mayflower; a lady in every respect, and well worthy of her paternity and her husband. They have three children, namely, Lillian G., Christy M. and Willie Nelson.
HON. EGBERT B. BUNDY,
MENOMONEE.
E GBERT BIRD BUNDY, a native. of New York, was born at Windsor, Broome county, February 8, 1833. His parents, Oliver T. Bundy, and Lydia née Smith, were natives of Connecticut. Egbert attended a common school and the Windsor Academy until about eighteen years of age, and then began the study of law in the office of Wheeler and More, at Deposit. He was admitted to the bar in Cortlandville, Cortland county, in 1856, and in the following spring removed to Menomonee, Wisconsin, where for twenty years he has been engaged in legal practice. At first he was in partnership with an elder brother, Charles S. Bundy, now of Washington, District of Columbia. Later he conducted his busi- ness with Mr. E. B. Manwearing, under the firm name of Bundy and Manwearing.
Mr. Bundy started out in his professional life firmly determined to make the law his exclusive | Humphrey.
business, and has never deviated from that purpose. His few real-estate operations have been incidental to his profession, and have required very little of his time. His undeviating attention to legal business, his studious habits and his large experience, have given him thoroughness in his attainments and a prominence among the foremost lawyers in the eighth circuit.
Mr. Bundy was county judge at an early day, but after serving about four years, resigned, since he did not wish to have anything to interfere with his legal pursuits. He has always been a democrat, but never allows politics to interfere with his profes- sional duties. At a meeting of the bar of the eighth judicial circuit, held in February, 1877, he was the unanimous choice of that body for judge, there being a vacancy created by the resignation of Judge
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Judge Bundy attends the Episcopal church, but is not a communicant.
On the 23d of May, 1861, he was married to Miss Reubena Macauley, of Dunn county, and by her has seven children.
Judge Bundy has a mind of great activity, and is
noted for his keenness in unraveling complicated questions of law. He has one of the largest and best law libraries in his part of the State. His business has been of a general character, and about equally divided before court and jury. In either position he is strong, and a pronounced success.
CHARLES A. BOOTH, MONROE.
C' HARLES ASA BOOTH was born in Covington, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, February 15, 1839, and is the son of George W. and Artemisia (Cran- dall) Booth, both of whom were of English descent, the former a native of Rhode Island and the latter of Pennsylvania. His father was a master builder by occupation, and erected many of the depots on the New York Central railroad and large blocks in various towns in the central and western States. They had a family of eight boys and two girls, of whom five boys and one girl are living, Charles A. being the second child. At the age of six he was taken by his parents to western New York, where the family remained about eight years. Meantime he learned a variety of "trades," beginning with "watching crows," on a cornfield stump, from sun- rise till sunset, for a compensation of two shillings per day ; he also worked one season in a wool-card- ing and cloth-dressing establishment; for a time was assistant for a brick-mason, but soon found the work more than he could endure. He was a precocious youth, and when not otherwise engaged, attended the district school, and, like other boys of his sta- tion in life, learned the three R's-readin', 'ritin', 'rithmetic - but, as the sequel proves, his forte lay in the middle R, and he has since become great in the use of the pen. He always sought the company of those who were able to give information and help him in his intellectual growth. Fond of antiquities, he read Rollins' Ancient History, Josephus, Plu- tarch and Macaulay, Emerson's prose works, Lowell, Holmes, and other distinguished authors, before he reached the age of sixteen years.
The family removed to Beloit, Wisconsin, in 1853, and he has a very distinct recollection of the Free- mont-Buchanan campaign of 1856, in which he vig- orously espoused the cause of the former, and though he was not in a position to give his favorite a vote, yet he derived strength and political nourishment |
from the campaign that told in future times, and since then his candidates have always been success- ful. He attended school one or two seasons in Wisconsin and became a fair English scholar, and in the spring of 1858 he came to Monroe, and in August of the same year entered into an apprentice- ship in the "Monroe Sentinel " printing office, which was then owned by the late G. W. Tenny, and of which he has since become sole proprietor and editor. He served three years as an apprentice, and at the end of his first year as a "jour." printer he was made foreman of the office; but the war was raging in the South, his country needed his services, patriotism triumphed over the tears of a mother and her younger children, of whom he was the support, and in July, 1862, he enlisted in the 22d Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Col- onel Utley. At the organization of Company G, to which he belonged, and which was commanded by James Bintliff, then one of the proprietors of the "Sentinel," he was appointed, by a unanimous vote, to the position of second sergeant; from this he was promoted to the rank of orderly, and thence to that of second lieutenant -- all within a year. The 22d Regiment was the first fully equipped and one of the best equipped and disciplined regiments that ever left Wisconsin. It was known during the earlier part of the war as the "nigger " regiment, being the first that absolutely refused to give up "contrabands " who came into the Union lines. At the battle of Thompson Station, near Franklin, Tennessee, which occurred March 5, 1863, our subject received a severe wound by a rifle ball, and had his clothes riddled by bullets, but did not desert his post for several hours, and while going to the rear narrowly escaped capture by the rebels. The enemy in this engagement outnumbered the Union forces ten to one. The lines of the latter were broken and scat- tered, many prisoners were made, and many others,
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alas ! were left on the field. Nearly four months intervened before he was again fit for duty. In the autumn of 1863 he was commissioned first lieutenant of his company, and was subsequently appointed on the brigade staff (2d Brigade, 3d Div., 20th A. C.) as assistant aid-de-camp and provost marshal, and was with his brigade and regiment in all its subsequent battles. He participated in the famous Sherman campaign on Atlanta, and commanded in person the right flank of the line of skirmishers which first en- tered that city after the battle of Jonesborough. He was also at the battles of Resaca, Peach Tree Creek, Golgotha, Kenesaw, Culp's Farm and the siege of Atlanta, besides numerous skirmishes, experiencing many narrow escapes but never receiving a scratch after the first fight. He participated in Sherman's famous march to the sea and in the " fire and smoke " campaign through the Carolinas, took part in the battle of Averysborough, fought by a part of Sher- man's men with the army of Joe Johnston, which had confronted the Union troops, having disputed the march of the Western army for more than two years. Thence the victors marched by way of Rich- mond, Virginia, to Washington, participating in the "grand review " by the President, and was mustered out in June, 1865.
In July of the same year he bought of his former employer a half interest in the " Monroe Sentinel," the other half being bought by A. J. High, and for five years the business was conducted under the firm name of High and Booth. In December, 1870, Mr. High sold to S. E. Gardner, who, in 1872, leased his interest to Mr. Booth, and since then the "Sen- tinel " has been under his sole charge. It is one of the most ably conducted weeklies in the West. Its
articles are spicy and readable, while it discusses questions of national and state policy with an ability and pungency that makes it either a powerful ally or a formidable opponent. It is the organ of the people, to whom its columns are always open. It is further- more conducted on the highest moral principles, strenuously opposed to all shams or humbugs, and excluding from its columns all advertisements of an immoral or dishonorable character.
Mr. Booth has participated in every political cam- paign since 1865, stumped the county every fall for the republican party, and is one of the most inde- fatigable and successful workers in the State.
During the rebellion he was a frequent corre- spondent of the "Wisconsin State Journal " and the " Monroe Sentinel."
He is not a member of any church, but is on good terms with all Protestant Christians, and contributes his full share to religious and benevolent organiza- tions. He is a "total abstainer," and has been "W. C." of the Good Templar organization of Monroe. He was also "N. G." of the order of Odd-Fellows, and has been representative in the Grand Lodge of the order.
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