USA > Wisconsin > Wisconsin, its story and biography, 1848-1913, Volume V > Part 23
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
"Attention may be called to the fact that in following the policy just laid down by the preamble adopted at the organization of the Chamber ten years after its organization, the association established the first weighing department as an adjunct of any grain exchange, thus removing the element of personal interest from the weighing of prop- erty handled through members of the Chamber of Commerce and guar- anteeing to the country shipper an accounting for every bushel of grain contained in his car. The weighing of grain sold in this market under the supervision of sworn weighmen in the employ of the association, and having no connection, even the remotest, with the commercial side of the grain business, is now recognized as one of the most important func- tions of the Chamber of Commerce, and insures absolute accuracy in the matter of weights, as nearly as such a thing is possible. These weights are official, and are the basis upon which payment for the grain is made.
"Today the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce stands as one of the leading exchanges of the country, and the business conduct of the mer- chants engaged in business at this point has been such as to render Mil- waukee particularly free from the criticisms of sharp practices which have been from time to time directed against the grain trade in general. Considerable pride is taken in this fact and it may be recalled here that Milwaukee was among the first of all markets to abolish the cus- tom, quite common at one time, of allowing the buyer to make a deduc- tion of a certain number of bushels from every car of grain unloaded on the theory that such an allowance was necessary to offset the aver- age amount of dirt, etc., in the car. In many ways, such as this, too many indeed to mention in a brief recounting of the steps in the prog- ress made, the Chamber of Commerce has shown itself to be an active agent for reforms that were known to be needed, and has identified itself with all movements which meant the promotion of good morals in busi- ness life."
In his report at the annual meeting in April, 1913, Mr. Bishop, as retiring president, set before his associates a practical admonition for progress in these words: "These are days when greater business equity is demanded and the little sharp practices that are sometimes resorted
1219
IIISTORY OF WISCONSIN
to in hopes of getting a start of a competitor must be eliminated in order to maintain the standing that has heretofore been established by our predecessors, and reach a still higher position among other busi- . ness organizations."
On October 20, 1875, Mr. Bishop was married to Mary E. Graham, of Milwaukee. Her parents N. M. and Mary Louise ( Foster) Graham, were formerly residents of Port Byron, New York. Mrs. Graham's brother, Jacob T. Foster was colonel of the First Wisconsin Battery dur- ing the Civil war, and her son, Warren M. Graham, enlisted in the First Regiment, and was wounded in the battle of Falling Waters. He sub- sequently died in a hospital, and was the first soldier of the Civil war to be buried in Milwaukee, his funeral being conducted with military hon- ors. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop have two sons: Sidney H. Bishop, born October 17, 1878, and Warren J. Bishop, born November 23, 1879, and two daughters, Adelaide V. Bishop, born May 10, 1882, and Myrtle B. Bishop, born December 17, 1885. The pleasant family residence is situated at 904 Summit Avenue, Milwaukee.
HON. CHRISTIAN WIDULE of Milwaukee is an exceptionally fine ex- ample of that substantial class of foreign born Americans who become not only model citizens of the United States, but also take leading posi- tions in vocational, civie and other important phases of our public life. Unpretentious, but self-respecting; unofficious, but purposively deter- mined; unobtrusive, but of thorough integrity,-this type of man forges to the front almost unconsciously, through the sheer wholesomeness of his character and its salutary effeet on those about him.
Mr. Widule's native country was the Province of Silesia, in Germany, and in the community of Tarominitz, of that region, lived his parents, Gottlieb and Johanna (Wiegenauke) Widule. They were both native Germans, the father a tailor by trade. In their Silesian home, July 10. 1845, was born the son whom they named Christian, and who is the sub- jeet of this review.
When the boy was four years of age, the Widule family emigrated to the United States and became residents of Milwaukee. There the father became an employe for the old Galena railroad, which he left to accept an appointment as sexton for the Gruenhagen Cemetery, remaining in the latter work until 1855. In that year he returned to the tailoring business which he continued to follow in Milwaukee for the ensuing twenty-three years, retiring in 1878. He lived with his son, Christian until the close of his life at the age of seventy-two. He was the father of two sons and two daughters, the daughters being now deceased. Gott- lieb Widule, Jr., brother of Christian Widule, is still living, a retired merchant. He has three children, Geo. C. Widule, of the law firm of Widule & Mensing; Louis G. Widule, county clerk of the Milwaukee Co., and Lillian Widule residing with her father.
Vol. V-13
1220
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
During his boyhood years, the public and parochial schools of Mil- waukee contributed to the educational development of Christian Widule, while early vocational experiments added their quota to the business knowledge of the youth. Having left the schools at the age of fourteen years to accept an apprenticeship at Garnera drug store, he received during the term of his service there first fifty cents and later one dol- lar a week. He next acted as office boy for the Justice of the Peace, with which work he combined some evening study, and also did billposting in odd moments, to secure his tuition, and it was after a period of activ- ity thus spent that he was able to continue his studies and eventually enter the drug business in a capacity decidedly more to his advantage than that in which he had served in previous days. For five years he was engaged in the work in connection with Henry Fess, Jr., and he then formed a business relation with J. H. Fesch, also in the drug business, so continuing for several years. After spending two years in the city of St. Louis, and Brunswick, Missouri, Mr. Widule returned to Milwaukee in 1868 and established a drug business of his own at the corner of Seventh and Chestnut streets where it is still located. His more than forty years of activity in the business at that point have gained for him a solid business reputation among the people of the city, and his place, although he is no longer the active proprietor is popular and prominent in its locality.
In the matter of public service, Mr. Widule has never been found wanting. He has given freely of his time and talent in all capacities to which the people have called him, and his service has been of a whole- some and genuine quality, reflecting in generous measure the many excellent qualities that have characterized the man. He is a stanch and true Republican and varied and significant have been the honors that this party has placed upon him. He has been on many occasions a delegate to party conventions, and he is especially proud of the fact that he was a delegate to the convention that nominated Hon. William E. Smith for Governor. In 1898 President Mckinley appointed Mr. Widule assistant postmaster of Milwaukee, which position he filled with such marked ability that he was re-appointed to the same office in 1906, since which time he has continued to hold the position. In 1876 Mr. Widule was defeated when he was a candidate for the General Assembly, but he was triumphantly elected to the office in 1878, serving one term. In 1886 he was elected to the office of state senator, and at the session of the senate his splendid qualifications were found to fit him for the chair- man of the committee on education, and this committee reported favor- ably on the now famous statute, known as the Bennett Law.
On January 17, 1868, Mr. Widule was united in marriage with Miss Emelia, daughter of Henry and Christine Huck, of Milwaukee. To them were born a family of ten children, of which number six are now living, having reached a most creditable maturity and attained estimable
1221
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
positions in life. Emma is the wife of E. C. Meske; Oscar C. is man- ager of the drug store established by his father; Mrs. Rosa Messner; William H., a registered pharmacist, and recently appointed deputy county clerk of Milwaukee county; Anna is the wife of Theodore Schaefer; Charles resides in Pontiac, Michigan. On February 20, 1913, the mother of these children was called by Death, her passing taking place at the family home at 370 Twenty-first street, after an illness extending over a period of three months. In the death of Mrs. Widule Milwaukee lost one of her oldest and best loved citizens, Mrs. Widule having come to this city in 1851, when she was four years of age. She was born in West Point, New York, in 1847, and accompanied her par- ents hither in the year mentioned above, her marriage to Mr. Widule taking place in 1868. For many years this kindly and open-hearted woman was prominent in church and philanthropie work in Milwaukee, and many deeds of charity and beneficence have been accredited to her by grateful souls whom she knew so well how to minister to in their hours of need. She was long a member of Trinity Lutheran church, and the many departments of that church with which she was promi- nently connected will long remember her and the worthy work she per- formed as a member of the church body. Besides her husband and six children, she is survived by ten grandehildren.
Mr. Widule and his family are connected with the Trinity Lutheran church, of which he has been a life-long member. For many years he has been one of its valued officers and a member of its choir. The Con- cordia Young Men's Society of the church was organized with his assistance many years ago, and now in his later years, the organization has complimented his generous and able services in various capacities of the church,-especially its musical interests,-by making him an hon- orary member of the society.
Of the secular organizations with which Mr. Widule is connected may be noted the professional and political, including Milwaukee Pharmaceutical Association and the Wisconsin Pharmaceutical Associa- tion of both of which he was at one time president; and the Post- masters' Association, of which he is now secretary-treasurer. He is also connected with the West Side Club and the Milwaukee Mutual Aid Society, of which he has been president for one term, having previously served as its secretary-treasurer for seventeen years; and the Old Set- tlers' Club counts him as a highly esteemed member, as well as one who is indeed an authority as to many of the earlier phases of life in Milwaukee.
Mr. Widule is a man who never does things by halves, his tempera- ment being that of a man, who, when he onee sees where duty points. moves in that direction, steadily and without hesitation. He shows remarkable executive ability in supervising his many interests. His drug business is now given into the care of his son, in order that his
1222
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
duties of assistant post-master may have the fullest attention. Cheerful and courteous in the performance of all his duties, Christian Widule is most highly regarded and genuinely respected by all who know him because of his unfailingly upright and manly qualities. His home, so recently bereft of that kindly spirit that made it a center of hearty and happy social life, is located at 370 Twenty-first street. The home is now presided over by the widowed daughter, Mrs. Rosa Messner, and her four children give cheer and brightness to the surroundings.
GEORGE YULE. The unique position of George Yule in Wisconsin manufacturing centers has been the subject of much comment. "There are a lot of men, in Kenosha," to quote one sentence from an article in a Kenosha paper, published in July, 1913, "who have held posi- tions with the big industrial institutions of the city for a term of twenty years, a smaller number have records of twenty-five years, a few thirty years, and one or two fifty years, but George Yule, the president of the Bain Wagon Company has probably the most notable record of any man in the responsible position with a big manufactur- ing concern in this city. Today Mr. Yule rounded out his seventy- first year in the employ of the Bain Wagon Company."
Throughout that period of time, more than threescore and ten years, the usually allotted life-time of any individual, he was con- nected with one firm and its various successors in business. It is said that on the day beginning the seventy-second year of service, Mr. Yule was at his office as early as any of his employes, and seemed to accept as a matter of course his continued service in the active direc- tion of the great corporation of which he has been for so many years president.
No happier tribute to this great industrial executive and brief biography of his career can be found than the concise article written by Mr. W. W. Strong of Kenosha, and published under the title "Notable Wisconsin Citizens," in Municipality, in September, 1913. In view of the decidedly unusual character and length of George Yule's career, the magazine went outside its usual field of attention, and devoted several pages to Mr. Strong's article. The sketch is herewith presented in full :
"The ancient leader of Israel tells us that 'the days of our years are three score and ten, but if by reason of strength they be four- score years, then is their strength but labor and sorrow.' Dr. Osler in recent years has endorsed that idea and has declared that after a man has reached the age of sixty years he is of no further use in the world, and suggests that he be quietly chloroformed. Kenosha, how- ever, has a very active living exception to both of these theories in the person of Mr. George Yule, the president of the Bain Wagon Company of that city, who celebrated his seventy-first anniversary
1223
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
as a wagon maker on the first day of July in this year. The occasion was remembered by his associates in the office of the company, who felicitated him upon his long business career. Mr. Yule declares that he is not yet ready to retire from active service, but intends to con- tinue to make wagons for a good many years to come.
Mr. Yule was born in Rathen, near Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, August 31, 1824, and is therefore eighty-nine years of age. While a young lad in 1840 he came to America with his father, and settled on a farm in the town of Somers, Kenosha county, at that time part of Racine county. In July, 1842, he began what was to be his life work as a wagon maker in Southport (now Kenosha) for the firm of Mitchell & Quarles. The last named member of the firm was the father of the late Hon. J. V. Quarles, United States district judge for the eastern district of Wisconsin. He continued in the employ of this firm until 1852, when the late Edward Bain purchased the business and began to make the Bain Wagon. Mr. Bain recog- nized the ability of Mr. Yule as a wagon maker and made him the superintendent of his factory. Under Mr. Yule's management the Bain factory soon became the leading industry of the town, and its product earned for itself the reputation which it now maintains. When the Bain Wagon Company was incorporated in 1882, it was one of the largest manufactures in southeastern Wisconsin. Upon the incorporation, Mr. Yule was elected vice president of the Com- pany, which office he held until the death of Edward Bain when he was chosen to the presidency. Mr. Yule is, of course, a practical wagon maker and has not yet forgotten his trade. Despite his age of nearly ninety years, and contradicting the Osler theory, he still retains his interest in the operative side of the industry and his desire today is that the Bain wagon should maintain its reputation as it was sixty-one years ago when he helped to establish it.
"Mr. Yule of late years has spent his winters in California, and is enthusiastic over the climate of that state, but will admit that sometimes they do have unusual weather there. When in Kenosha, however, every day finds him at the office of the Bain Wagon Com- pany, and nearly every day he makes a tour of the great factory. taking a keen interest in watching the operation of making wagons. which was his own occupation for so many years. Many of the work- men now employed in the shops are the sons and grandsons of those who worked at forge or bench with Mr. Yule, and for them he always has a smile or a cheerful word.
"Although the wagon business is Mr. Yule's chief interest. he also finds time for other matters. He is vice president of the First National Bank, and also holds the same office in the Northwestern Loan and Trust Company, both of Kenosha, and as a director in both takes an active interest in the operation of both institutions.
1224
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
"In 1896 when the Kenosha public library association was organ- ized Mr. Yule took great interest in its success and was the first to make a liberal donation for the support and was a frequent contributor until it was succeeded by the Gilbert M. Simmons Library in 1900. In that year Hon. James Gorman, then mayor of the city, named Mr. Yule one of the board of directors of the new library, and at the new organization of the board Mr. Yule was chosen vice president, which office he has held continuously until the present time.
"While Mr. Yule does not play golf, he enjoys being part of a gallery when a match between two good players is on. He has con- tributed liberally to the sport in his sons and grandsons, who have a wide acquaintance among the devotees of the 'ancient and honor- able game' all over the country. One of his grandsons, William H. Yule, has been state champion of Wisconsin and another, Gordon Yule, this year holds the title of champion of Yale. Every golf player in Wisconsin knows the 'Yale Cup,' a very valuable trophy which is contested for at the annual tournament of the Wisconsin Golf Association by five-men teams representing the constitutent clubs of the association, and many of the crack players of the state are the proud possessors of the beautiful gold medals which are given to each member of the winning team in this contest. The cup and gold medals, together with an endowment for their perpetuation, are the gifts of Mr. Yule.
"Although Mr. Yule is the owner of an automobile, he says he only has it for his wife, but for himself he prefers his horse and buggy, and nearly every day he may be seen driving his horse through the streets of Kenosha, keeping himself posted on the many changes and improvements which are daily taking place in the city which has been his home for so many years.
"In politics Mr. Yule is a Republican and was one of the mem- bers of the first Fremont and Dayton Club when the Republican party first came into existence. He is a Baptist in his religious connections and has always been a liberal contributor to the First Baptist Church of Kenosha, and to the activities of the church in general. Kenosha is proud of this citizen."
Some matters of personal and family history may very properly be used to supplement the preceding article on Mr. George Yule. His parents were Alexander and Margaret (Leeds) Yule. Alexander was one of the early settlers in Somers township of Kenosha county, became a large land owner and for many years farmed on an exten- sive scale. Born in Scotland and of old Scotch farming stock, Alex- ander Yule was the only one of his immediate family to come to America. He was born four or five years before the close of the eighteenth century, was married in his native land, and his first wife died there in 1835. The eight children by that marriage were: Wil-
1225
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
liam, who died in Kenosha county at the age of seventy-six; James, who died aged seventy-one; Alexander, who died after a brief scholarly career in Ireland; Beatrice, who married George Smith; John T., and Cutes and Mary, who died in infancy. Mr. George Yule was fourth in order of birth among these children. Alexander Yule married in Scotland for his second wife Miss Jane Watson, and had eight chil- dren by that marriage. Alexander Yule brought his family to Amer- ica about 1840, and bought two hundred and fifty-seven acres of land in the new country near Southport. His death occurred in 1871, when seventy-six years of age, and his second wife died in 1896.
Mr. George Yule received all his schooling in Scotland, being six- teen years of age when he came to America. When he went to South- port and found work with the Mitchel & Quarles Company in 1842, that establishment had only a few employes, and the business was conducted on a very small scale. All parts of wagons were made by hand, and the plant's annual capacity was from ten to fifteen wagons, and a small number of plows, most of the work being that of repair- ing. The motto and life principle of Mr. Yule may be said to have been that of hard work, and the results have been a generous pros- perity which, however, has been worthily won. He has been fortu- nate in the possession of good health, and is said to have worked twenty-five consecutive years withont a day's vacation. Another characteristic is his modest and unassuming demeanor, and he has always been content to let his work speak for itself. As a matter of fact this has been sufficient as a tribute to a more ambitious man, since the great Bain Wagon Factory is an institution more in the na- ture of a monument to his individual character and ability than to any other one man or group of men who have been associated with the business in the past.
On January 1, 1848, at Kenosha, George Yule married Miss Kath- erine Mitchell, who was born in Fifeshire, Scotland, a daughter of William Mitchell. To their marriage were born six children, namely. Maria, who died in childhood; Louise, who married the late William Hall; Ada, who died in childhood; George A., who was born in Kenosha in 1858, has been connected with the Bain Wagon Company a number of years, and is president of the Badger Brass Company, the first con- cern to manufacture acetylene automobile lamps; William L .. also identified with the Bain Wagon Company, and whose son is George Gordon, previously mentioned ; and Harvey, who died young.
G. E. SPOHN. Probably no educational institution in Madison has a more practical relation to the business community and to the individual welfare of many young men and women than the Capital City Com- mercial College, of which Mr. Spohn has been president since 1908. It has been the aim of Mr. Spohn who has been identified with com-
1226
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN
mercial education in Madison for more than ten years to make his school as thoroughly equipped and as complete in every detail as any commercial college in the state.
G. E. Spohn was born December 15, 1878, in Sutton, Clay county, Nebraska. His parents were N. and Catherine (Burbach) Spohn, both natives of Germany, the family coming to America in 1878, the parents then having one child. They located at Sutton, where the father, who was a butcher by trade, operated a retail meat business for six years. From Nebraska he moved to Kansas where he was a farmer, and still continues to cultivate Kansas Land. There were only two children in the family.
Mr. G. E. Spohn up to his fifteenth year attended the public schools, and then entered the Kansas State Normal School at Emporia, where he was a student for three years. He was next in the Kansas Western Uni- versity at Salina, and during 1900 was a student in the McPherson College at McPherson, Kansas. After a commercial course in the State University of Kansas, in 1901, Mr. Spohn came to Madison, Wisconsin, where he was a teacher in what was then known as the Northwestern Business College. After two years as an inspector, during which he demonstrated his thorough ability as an educator in this particular field, he bought out the college, and in 1908 it was reorganized and incorporated under the name of the Capital City Commercial College, of which he has since been president. The other officers are E. M. Douglas vice president and L. D. Atkinson, Secretary-Treasurer.
Mr. Spohn is a member of the First Baptist Church and is a Repub- lican in politics. He was married June 3, 1900, in Hillsboro, Kansas, to Miss Julia A. Herbel, a daughter of Fred Herbel of that place. Their three children are Ruby, Frances and George, Jr.
JOHN JAMES. The settlers in La Crosse who came here forty years ago are largely gathered to their final rest. Among the venerable men who until the last year or two have survived, as reminders of the small beginnings and rapid growth of the city, was the late John James, whose death occurred January 10, 1913. He came to Wisconsin in 1874, and settled permanently in La Crosse and for a period of nearly forty years took part in her busy industries and shared in her stimulating life. When he passed away, crowned with years and with the fruits of an industrious life, it was with an unsullied reputation for business integrity and for fidelity to all the public, social and religious relations that surround the citizen. Mr. James was born February 12, 1841, the place of his nativity and nurture being the city of Shrewsbury, Eng- land, where he received his education. His parents were John and Emma (Powell) James, and he was descended from Welsh-English stock. On coming to the United States, in 1874, he at once settled in La Crosse, where he purchased the foundry and machine shop of C. C. &
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.