USA > Wisconsin > Wisconsin, its story and biography, 1848-1913, Volume V > Part 24
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E. G. Smith, in partnership with a Mr. Thornely, under the firm style of Thornely & James. In 1903 he disposed of his interests to his brother, Alfred James, who is now conducting the business, and in December, 1912, retired from active pursuits on account of rapidly failing health. He died after an illness of one month. Mr. James was prominent not only in business and social circles, but was widely known as a church worker. A local newspaper, in this connection, said in part at the time of his death :
"From the time of his arrival in La Crosse, Mr. James was promi- nently associated with the First Congregational Church, having been on the official board almost continuously. Bethany Mission, located in the 1200 block on South Ninth street, was the Mecca to which Mr. James' feet turned every Sabbath, if possible, since 1876. Into this mission he brought the benison of his smiling countenance weekly through this long stretch of years, winning the respect and love not only of countless hundreds of children, but many scores of parents also, who came within the sphere of his benign and happy influence. He has often gone to Bethany in great feebleness in the last year but the place and the work had a charm for him that was irresistible and such as is given to but few to appreciate. He has lived to see his earlier scholars grow to man- hood and womanhood and their friendly greetings as he daily met them through the later years, were a never-failing source of pleasure to him. The value of his Chrisitan character cannot be measured by any earthly standard. 'They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firma- ment, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.'
"Mr. James was a man of sterling character. He possessed a kindly disposition, was always cheerful and sacrificing, and commanded the utmost respect and admiration from the many friends who had grown to know and love him. He was a strong church member and an untiring worker for many benevolences. In his business relations, he was hon- est and straightforward in all matters and by force of persevering efforts forged to the front rank in his line in the Northwest." Mr. James was buried at Oak Grove Cemetery. Surviving him are a son. Frederic A. James, of Detroit, Michigan, and four brothers, Joseph of Florence. Colorado; William, of Shrewsbury, England, and Abram and Alfred James, of La Crosse. Mrs. James passed away in 1908.
Alfred James, brother of John James, and for years his partner in business, was born June 15, 1856, in Shrewsbury, England, and accom- panied his brother to the United States. He learned the machinist's trade with his brother, of whose plant he was made superintendent in 1883, and continued in that capacity until 1903 when he took over the enterprise and has since conducted it under the name of Alfred James. He is a general jobber of foundry and machine shop supplies, dealing largely with the smaller machine shops, and also making railroad iron
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and brass castings. The house has continuously supplied the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad with iron and brass castings from the time the road was organized to the present time. Mr. James is a mem- ber of the Congregational church, of which he has been a liberal sup- porter for many years. For four years he has served as alderman of La Crosse.
On December 9, 1880, Mr. James was married to Miss Jessie Wood Spier, of La Crosse, and three sons have been born to this union : James Spier, who is now a mining engineer and expert; Russel Wood, a grad- uate of Beloit College, and Burton Egbert, who is attending the La Crosse High School.
ZENO M. HOST's business career in Milwaukee dates only from 1895, but within the short space of eighteen years he has attained a success such as many men would regard as a triumph if accomplished through a half century of assiduous effort. Establishing the Wisconsin Savings Loan & Building Association when still but a youth, and at a time when the keenness of business competition, particularly in this field, rendered success practically impossible unless through the exercise of sound judg- ment, allied to a certain degree of venturesome determination, he has secured financial independence and attained a reputation through so ably directing the affairs of this institution as to have made it one of the leading enterprises of its kind in the Cream City.
Zeno M. Host was born at Lyons, Walworth county, Wisconsin, July 1st, 1869, and is a son of Andrew J. and Josephine (Klingele) Host, the former a native of Lyons, and the latter of Burlington, Racine county, Wisconsin. The mother still survives and resides at No. 719 Astor street, Milwaukee. The father died July 13, 1913. He was on the road as a traveling representative of the wholesale grocery firms of A. Dahl- man & Co. and Dahlman & Inbusch Company, of Milwaukee, from 1882. There were five sons and three daughters in the family: Otto, who is a resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Zeno M., of this review ; Mrs. George Glassner, of Milwaukee; Mrs. Albert Kunz, widow of the late Albert Kunz, of Milwaukee, who met his death in an automobile accident in December, 1908; Ida, who died in September, 1900, and was laid to rest in Calvary Cemetery, Milwaukee; Andrew J., a resident of Milwaukee; Clemens P., who has just received the appointment as state fire marshal from Governor McGovern; and Raymond A., of Mil- waukee. All of these children were born at Lyons, Wisconsin, and there Otto and Zeno M. received their early education, later attending the Milwaukee schools and the Spencerian Business College. The other children were all educated in Milwaukee.
After completing his studies, Zeno M. Host, who was an ambitious and enterprising youth, started out to make his own way in the world, and for one and one-half years was engaged at clerking and driving a
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wagon for a retail groeer. He was then employed in a coal office from his fifteenth to his twenty-first year, and for two years thereafter was employed as bookkeeper by the National Building & Loan Association, where he acquired much valuable experience. On leaving the employ of this concern, April 16, 1895, Mr. Host organized the Wisconsin Sav- ings Loan & Building Association, which, as before stated has grown to be one of the leading concerns of its kind in the city. Its eighteenth annual statement, issued January 1, 1913, was as follows: Resources : Loans on Real Estate, $732,120.12; Loans on Stock, $16,652.18; Interest Due, $8,809.09; Fines Due, $1,515.41; Real Estate, $26,207.00; Judg- ments, $5,779.34; Taxes, etc., advanced, $1,972.82; Furniture and Sta- tionery, $672.30; Discount Unearned, $887.17; Rent Due, $215.00; Cash in Bank, $16,613.02; Cash in Office, $2,586.87; Total, $814,030.32. Liabilities: Dues on Installment Stock, $438,210.50; Dues Paid in Advance, $13,870.50; Fixed Dividend Stock, $93,500.00; Contingent Fund, $1,475.33; Due Counsel, $125.05; Interest, etc., Paid in Advance, $434.47 ; Incomplete Loans, $69,857.71 ; Matured Stock (Dues, $10,350.00, Profits, $4,650.00,) $15,000.00; Bills Payable, $92,700.00; Interest Ae- crued, $2,097.15; Dividend Account, $59,927.13; Undivided Profits, $26,- 832,48 ; Total, $814,030.32. A glance at the list of directors and officers of this concern will give an idea of the responsible and influential busi- ness men who are behind it: Alvin P. Kletzseh, president, proprietor of the Republican House; Lawrence Halsey, first vice-president, judge of the Circuit Court; William George Bruce, second vice-president. secre- tary of the Merchants and Manufacturers Association; IIon. Francis E. MeGovern, governor State of Wisconsin; Dr. Mathew N. Federspiel, orthodonist and oral surgeon; Charlton D. Lisle, treasurer, general man- ager of the Eclipse Installment Company : Zeno M. Host, secretary and general agent, loans, investments, real estate and insurance. On April 1, 1896. less than one year after its organization, the company boasted of assets of $12,087.73; by April 1, 1898, these had shown a rapid growth. having reached $62,854.15; January 1, 1902 showed $100.183.27: Jan- mary 1. 1908, $268,687.08; January 1, 1911, $479,168.35; and January 1, 1913. $814,030.32. Since the organization of this company it has paid to its members no less than $1,857,560.63. The association is mutual in character, all members, borrowers and investors sharing alike in its earnings, in proportion to their investment. The first offices of this con- cern were in the Merrill Block, on Grand avenue, but subsequently they were moved to the Mitchell building. in which they remained until April, 1913, when needing more commodious quarters, because of the phe- nomenal growth of business, the ground floor space at No. 253 Third street was handsomely equipped, and this is the present location.
Mr. Host's rapid rise in the business world has come through no happy circumstance or adventitions chance. His career has been marked by constant industry, and although he has been ever alert to opportu-
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nity his transactions have been of a strictly legitimate nature, his stand- ing among his associates being that of a man who has ever respected the most rigid integrity. From 1903 until 1907 he served in the capacity of insurance commissioner. In political matters a Republican, he has for some years been a non-resident member of the great organization of the Grand Old Party, the Hamilton Club of Chicago. He is widely known in fraternal circles, being past grand chancellor of the Knights of Pythias and supreme representative of the Supreme Lodge at Louis- ville, Kentucky, in 1904, at New Orleans, Lousiana, in 1906, and at Boston, Massachusetts, in 1908. In the Independent Order of Foresters he was State treasurer for a number of years, and attended the Supreme Lodge meetings at Los Angeles, California, in May, 1902, at Montreal, Canada, in June, 1905, and at Toronto, Canada, in June, 1908. After the failure of Elks Lodge No. 46, of Milwaukee, he was prominent in its reorganization in 1894 and now holds membership card No. 1. He is an enthusiastic fisherman, and with other prominent Milwaukeeans belongs to the Pelican Lake Fishing Club.
On July 14, 1891, Mr. Host was united in marriage with Miss Anna M. Weiss, who was born, reared and educated in Milwaukee, daughter of Philip and Barbara (Wuest) Weiss, pioneers of Wisconsin. Mr. Weiss for some years was the proprietor of a grocery store located on the present site of Hackendahl's drug store, Jackson and Juneau streets, but later became interested in horses, and met his death in an accident when one of his animals ran away, in 1887. Mrs. Weiss survives her husband and resides in Milwaukee. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Host: Norma, a graduate of the East Side High school. class of 1910, and now a student of the Milwaukee State Normal school ; and Zeno M., Jr., who is a member of the Class of 1914, East Side High school.
RUFUS G. DEMING. The mere incidental statement that Mr. Deming was born in Dane county, Wisconsin, in the year which marked the ad- mission of the state to the Union, gives adequate testimony to his being a scion of one of the pioneer families of the county in which is situated the fair capital city of the Badger commonwealth, so that particular interest attaches to his career, especially by reason of the fact that he still resides in Dane county and is one of its well known and highly honored citizen. Mr. Deming was long and prominently identified with educational affairs in Madison, where he was for many years asso- ciated in the ownership and practical conducting of the Northwestern Business College, and he has at all times stood exponent of broad- minded and progressive citizenship, besides being actuated by the staunchest loyalty and appreciation of his native state, of whose mag- nificent development and upbuilding he has been a witness. He is now the valued incumbent of a responsible clerical position in the office of
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the state railroad commissioner of Wisconsin and in his native county his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances.
In the township of Vienna, Dane county, Wisconsin, Rufus G. Dem- ing was born on the 10th of April, 1848, and thus he was ushered into the world under the territorial regime in Wisconsin, which became one of the sovereign states of the Union on the 29th of the following month, his birth having thus been virtually coincident with that of the state itself. Mr. Deming is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Fisher) Dem- ing, the former of whom was born in Ohio, a representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of that state, and the latter of whom was born in the state of New York, their marriage having been solem- nized in Illinois. In 1847 Joseph Deming came to the territory of Wis- consin and obtained from the government a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of wild land, in Vienna township, Dane county, thus be- coming one of the early settlers of this now opulent and favored section of the state. He reclaimed his land from the forest wilds and developed one of the fine farms of Dane county, the while he did well his part in the furtherance of civic and industrial development and progress of a general order. He was a man of industry, energy and integrity, of broad mental ken and of liberal views, and thus he wielded no slight influence in connection with public affairs in the pioneer days of the county, where he lived to view with satisfaction the latter period of opulent prosperity and progress. He continued to reside on his origi- nal homestead until his death, which occurred in 1895, his loved and devoted wife having preceded him to eternal rest by exactly eighteen months, so that in death they were not long separated. Of their ten children two sons and two daughters are now living, the subject of this review having been the second in order of birth. Joseph Deming en- dured the full tension of the hardships and deprivations of the pioneer era and both he and his wife so ordered their lives as to retain an inviolable place in the esteem and good will of all who knew them. both having been zealous members of the Methodist church and he hav- ing been originally a Whig and later a Republican in his political allegiance. His name merits enduring place on the roll of the honored pioneers of Wisconsin and of the county in which he maintained his home for nearly half a century. In the later years of his life he gave most graphic and interesting reminiscences concerning conditions and his personal experiences in the pioneer days, and reverted to the fact that during the early period of his residence in Dane county Milwaukee was the nearest market point of any considerable importance. By long and tiresome overland journey he transported his wheat to that market. and as the product commanded only thirty cents a bushel at the time. he usually found himself in debt after he had procured the necessary supplies in Milwaukee and returned with them to his home, as the sum received for his wheat failed to meet the requirements.
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Rufus G. Deming, whose names introduces this review, gained his initial experiences under the conditions and influences of the pioneer days, and his memory forms an indissoluble chain linking that forma- tive period with the splendid conditions and opportunities presented in the same county in this twentieth century. He early began to assist in the work of the home farm and thus learned to appreciate the dig- nity and value of honest toil and endeavor. He availed himself of the advantages of the common schools of the locality and period and continued to attend the same at somewhat irregular intervals until he had attained to the age of twenty years, when he showed his ambitious purpose and definite self-reliance by entering the University of Wiscon- sin. Through his own exertions he largely defrayed the expenses of his collegiate course, and under such conditions his studies were not carried forward in a definitely consecutive way. He was graduated in the university as a member of the class of 1874 and received therefrom the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He forthwith put his scholastic acquire- ments to practical test and utilization by turning his attention to the pedagogic profession, as a representative of which he taught for two years in the public schools of his native county. He then, in 1876, pur- chased an interest in the Northwestern Business College, in Madison, and in this excellent institution he had charge of the academic and pre- paratory departments during the first seventeen years. Henry M. Wil- mot was his partner in the conducting of the college from 1876 until 1880, and Mr. Wilmot then severed his connection with the institu- tion. Mr. Deming thereupon admitted to partnership John C. Proctor, and the college was thereafter conducted most successfully by the firm of Deming & Proctor until 1899. For the ensuing four years Mr. Deming carried forward the enterprise in an individual way and he then, in 1903, sold the college, which is still continued as one of the val- ued educational institutions of the capital city and the upbuilding of which to high standard was mainly due to the able and zealous efforts of Mr. Deming. From 1903 to 1910 Mr. Deming occupied himself prin- cipally with effective service as an expert accountant. and in the latter year, under the civil-service regulations, he received appointment to a clerkship in the office of the state railroad commissioner of Wisconsin, an incumbency which he has since retained, as a valued assistant in directing the affairs of this important department of the governmental service of the state.
In politics Mr. Deming has taken a course consistent with his earn- est convictions, and for the past fifteen years he has been an earnest and purposeful supporter of the cause of the Prohibition party. He has ever given his influence in support of measures and objects tending to conserve the best interests of the community, along moral, intellec- tual and material lines, and his course has been guided and governed
ABLU Smell
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by the highest principles of integrity and honor. Mr. and Mrs. Deming attend the Congregational church.
On the 24th of August, 1884, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Deming to Miss Lucretia M. Randall, who was born in New York state and whose parents were numbered among the honored pioneers of Wisconsin, to which state they came from that of New York in the year 1850. Mrs. Deming completed her education in the University of Wisconsin and was a successful and popular teacher in the public schools for several years. Mr. and Mrs. Deming have three children, whose names and respective dates of birth are here noted : Arthur C., February 27, 1882; Rose E., November 15, 1885; and Edith M., July 8, 1890. Arthur C. Deming married Ida Gerer, of Dane county and re- sides in Madison. He is engaged as special helper to Prof. Chas. Leith of the state university in the U. S. Geological survey. Rose E. resides at home and is special stenographer for the geological professors of the state of Wisconsin at the university. Edith M. is married to William Marks, of Town Bluffs, Wis. They reside at present in the city of Madison, and have one son, named Philip Earl.
ALEXANDER B. MCDONELL. For forty years a man of power and broad influence in the business and civic activities of Chippewa Falls, Mr. MeDonell represents that type of strong manhood which the great lumber industry of Wisconsin did much to develop and present to the citizenship of this great commonwealth. No other industry in Wiscon- sin has made quite such demands for vigorous, self-reliant and almost perfect men in physical character and with executive and business abilities to correspond, as lumbering, and this class of citizenship has probably exercised a more potent influence on the economy and social character of Wisconsin than any other group of Wisconsin men. Mr. McDonell began his own career as a poor boy, became iden- tified with the work of the great lumber regions, rose from one position to another until he became one of the large operators in northern Wisconsin, and for the past twenty years has been president of one of the largest banking institutions of Chippewa Falls.
Alexander B. McDonell is a native of Ontario, Canada, where he was born April 17, 1840, a son of Angus and Marjory MeDonell. His mother died when he was seven years old, and at the age of fourteen he was an orphan and had to confront the world on his own respon- sibility. The facilities of a country school were afforded him during the winter terms, and during each summer he worked hard on the farm. When he was eighteen years old he went into the lumber forests, on the Ottawa river, where he made himself useful at a wage of $13.00 per month. Each winter for several successive years he returned to the woods and farmed during the summer. Saginaw, Michigan, was then the great center of the advaneing lumber industry, and he was attracted
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to that mecca of lumbering in 1861, going into the woods for two suc- cessive seasons. Malaria finally drove him out of that territory, and he moved to a less well known lumber district, at Defiance, Ohio, where he was employed in getting out square oak timber, this timber being run to Toledo on the canal. From 1866 until 1873 Mr. McDonell was in the woods and on the river drives about Minneapolis. It was during this latter experience that he first began to accumulate some money, and when he left Minneapolis in 1873 he possessed several thousand dollars capital.
In June, 1873, with the money saved from the earlier ventures, Mr. McDonell became a permanent resident of Chippewa Falls, Wiscon- sin. A few weeks later, at the opening of the logging season, he took charge of Edward Rutledge's lumber camp at the south fork of Jump river. Two years later he became connected with the Mississippi River Logging Company, and had various responsibilities, being engaged in the cutting of logs, in scaling and in charge of the drives on the river, continuing in this way until 1881. He became associated with Thomas Irvine of St. Paul in 1879, and the two partners bought a large amount of pine timber lands, and engaged in logging as independent lumber- men. From that time on they were regarded as among the successful lumbermen of northern Wisconsin, and continued their enterprise until 1894, at which time they sold out their remaining holdings at excel- lent advantage.
On retiring from active connection with the lumber business, Mr. McDonell assisted in organizing the Lumbermen's National Bank of Chippewa Falls and has ever since been president of this institution. He is also a director in the Northern Lumber Company of Cloquet, Minnesota ; stockholder in the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company at Ta- coma, Washington ; has interests in the Eau Claire and Bow River Lum- ber Company at Eau Claire; the Calgary Water Company in Ontario, Canada, and is identified with various other enterprises in Chippewa Falls.
Successful in business Mr. McDonell has also given his co-operation and his means to the betterment of his home community. He has for many years been an active Republican and during 1887-88 was Mayor of Chippewa Falls. His administration is recalled as one marked by substantial progress in this city. His name will probably be longest identified with the city in the MeDonell Memorial High School, which he built in Chippewa Falls, and which is one of the notable Catholic schools of northern Wisconsin, its educational administration being such that its graduates go directly to college. The Notre Dame sisters have charge of this school. Mr. McDonell is a member of St. Mary's Catholic church in Chippewa Falls, and has been a generous contrib- utor to many charitable and religious undertakings. In later years he has traveled extensively in Europe and elsewhere, and is a man of broad
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and liberal views, and a charming and interesting social companion.
In 1881 Mr. MeDonell married Miss Mary Eugenia O'Neil of Chip- pewa Falls. Her death occurred in 1892, and her four children were Alexander A., Emily I., Donald H., and Robert R., all deceased but the oldest ehild, Alexander A.
HENRY M. LEWIS, of Madison, whose name occupies a conspicuous place on the roll of Wisconsin's eminent lawyers, during more than half a century's connection with the bar of the state has won and main- tained a reputation for ability that has given him just pre-eminence among his professional brethren. In the law, as in every other walk of life, success is largely the outcome of resolute purpose and unfalt- ering industry,-qualities which are possessed in a large degree by Mr. Lewis.
Mr. Lewis claims the old Green Mountain state as the place of his nativity. He was born in Cornwall, Vermont, September 7, 1830, and is a son of Martin and Sophia (Russell) Lewis. The father was born in Cornwall, Vermont, July 9, 1795, and he died in January, 1902. Ilis wife was born in Connecticut in 1789 and she passed to eternal rest November 11, 1869. Martin Lewis was a farmer by occupation and in the spring of 1846 he removed from his native state to the territory of Wisconsin, locating in Burke township, Dane county. He was one of the pioneer agriculturists of Wisconsin territory. In 1888 he settled in Sparta, Wisconsin, where his demise occurred in 1902. He was ineumbent of a number of township offices during the latter years of his lifetime and during the Civil war period was an ardent Abolitionist. Subsequently he supported the Republican party. He and his wife were devout members of the Congregational church in their religious faith. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis were the parents of three children, namely : Harriet T., who is deceased; Charles G., a resident of Sparta: and Henry M., of this notice.
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