USA > Wisconsin > Wisconsin, its story and biography, 1848-1913, Volume V > Part 26
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REV. SAMUEL WILLIAM HERMAN DAIB. A life of service, conspicuous in its accomplishments, has been that of Rev. Daib of Merrill. Nearly thirty years ago, a young recruit in the Lutheran ministry, he began preaching, organizing, and performing the manifold tasks of the mis- sionary in the northern Wisconsin. Many flourishing churches date their beginning from the efforts of the devoted missionary. Then, having proved his power in extending and building up the influence of his church, he was called to the pastorate at Merrill, where he has lived and ministered to his people for a quarter of a century. At the pres- ent time as president of "the Wisconsin District of the German Evan- gelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and other States," that being the official title of this Synod, Rev. Daib is one of the foremost church- men of his denomination in Wisconsin, and still full of vigor at the zenith of his career, and with the prospect of many useful years before him.
Rev. Daib is pastor of the St. Johannes Evangelical Lutheran church of Merrill, and has served as pastor of this organization since September, 1888. Samuel William Herman Daib was born in Berne township of Fairfield county, Ohio, August 26, 1862, a son of Rev. J. L. and Elise (Zelt) Daib. Rev. J. L. Daib was pastor of a Lutheran church in Berne township of Fairfield county, and a short time after the birth of his son Herman removed with his family to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he had accepted a call to a Lutheran church. The home of the family was at Grand Rapids until 1870, when the father moved to Waupaca county, Wisconsin, remaining there two years, then became pastor of a Lutheran church in Oshkosh, and it was in Oshkosh that Herman Daib received most of his early schooling, in the Trinity Lutheran Parochial school. After finishing his preparatory course, he entered Concordia College, a preparatory college for theological students, at Fort Wayne, Indiana. While he was a student there his father accepted a call to a Lutheran church in Indiana, and was identified with his pastoral duties in Indiana, until 1892. Then on account of ill health he resigned from his church at Friedheim, in Adams county, Indiana, and his death oc- curred at Fort Wayne, December 31, 1894.
Rev. Herman Daib had entered Concordia College at Fort Wayne, in 1875, graduated in 1881, and then entered the Lutheran Theological Seminary of St. Louis, where he was graduated in 1884. His first regu- lar work in the ministry was at Wittenberg, Wisconsin, where he took charge of the missionary work over a large field extending up as far as Ironwood, Michigan. His service included his supervision of eighteen
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different missionary stations, most of which were organized under his direction. As railroads in northern Wisconsin at the time gave very inferior service for passenger business and none whatever on Sundays, Rev. Daih was quite often a passenger on a hand-car and made use of his "Tie-Pass." To reach the missionary stations, as far as 20 miles from the railroad he had to travel horseback or foot-back. Thus in the days which marked the climax of the great lumber industry of northern Wis- consin and Michigan, he traveled through hundreds of miles of the northern woods and put up with all the hardships and limited comforts of that time and place.
At the end of three years as a missionary, Rev. Daib took charge of the northern portion of his territory, and his headquarters became Antigo. From there he received his call in 1888 to take charge of the present church at Merrill. This place had been started as a mission in 1872, and was organized as a congregation in 1876. During its earlier years the people worshipped in a frame structure at the extreme east- ern side of Merrill. In 1892 was built the present fine brick church at the corner of Poplar and Third streets. The first parochial school- house of this congregation was ereeted in 1883, at which time the con- gregation received Rev. Paul Ineke as their first resident pastor. In 1901 was built a fine briek parsonage adjoining the church on Third Street and in 1903 a new modern parochial school. "St. Johannes" congregation now has over seven hundred and fifty communicants. while the parochial school has a staff of three teachers and two hundred and fifteen pupils. In connection with the central ehureh organization are a number of auxiliary bodies, ineluding the St. John's church band. the Ladies' Aid Society, the Senior and Junior Young People's Society. the Singing Choir under the direction of William E. Kammrath, one of the parochial teachers.
The Wisconsin District of the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and other States of which Rev. Daib is president is one of the largest districts in this organization. It comprises one hun- dred and eighty-two pastors, two hundred and eighty-eight eongrega- tions, besides seventy-seven mission stations. There are over 110,500 souls and 70,455 communicant members in this district. There are also 231 parochial schools and 10,410 school children.
In April, 1888, Rev. Daib was married to Hermine Dieke of Cecil. Shawano county, Wisconsin, a daughter of the late Rev. P. H. Dieke. a pioneer Lutheran minister of Wiseonsin. Mr. and Mrs. Daib are the parents of five children, namely: Rev. Herbert Daib, pastor of the Lutheran church at Hope, in North Dakota, and a graduate from the St. Louis Theological Seminary in 1912; Kurt, a student at Concordia College in Milwaukee; Eleanor; Margaret; and Walter.
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HENRY HAERTEL. Though a comparative newcomer in Stevens Point, Henry Haertel has since he located here in business come to be regarded as one of the business men of the community who are to be reckoned with and who will make a place for himself in the ranks of the prosperous and successful men of the city. He believes in the effi- cacy of printers' ink and knows that it "pays to advertise," and as a man of wholesome and steadfast character and principles, is a valuable addition to the community of his choice. As a manufacturer and dealer in granite and marble monuments he is carrying on a thriving business at the corner of Strongs avenue and Crooked Way, and his plant is one of the busy spots in his locality. He has been located here since 1901.
Henry Haertel was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 23, 1874, and he is a son of Henry Haertel, Sr., a native of Germany, who came to the United States in early manhood with his wife, Augusta Haertel, and one son. They located in Chicago, and there the head of the fam- ily followed stone cutting, later engaging in the monument business on his own responsibility and continuing therein most successfully for about thirty years. He did well enough in his business that in later life he was able to retire from active work, and he is now residing in Petoskey, Michigan, with his wife. To them were born a large family, thirteen children in all, of which number ten are yet living. The father came of that thrifty class of Germans who believed in putting the youth of the family to work as soon as it was practicable, and so it came about that each of his sons learned the marble cutting trade under him, and five of them are now conducting monument businesses of their own.
Henry Haertel, the immediate subject of this review, was the third eldest of the living children of his parents. He spent the early part of his life in Chicago, his birthplace, and was educated in the public schools of that city to the age of 15. At that time, when the average boy of the means his parents possessed is still at school, he began working in his father's shop. That was in the days when all the work was being done by hand. prior to the days of pneumatic tools, and the boy learned every detail of the business under the careful direction of his father. After working thus for several years he struck out for himself, and for the next few years he worked at different places, gain- ing valuable experience in the business and at the same time seeing the country. He visited in forty different states in the Union, traveling from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Gulf to the Lakes.
In 1901 Mr. Haertel came to Stevens Point, and here established his present business. From the start it gave promise of being an ex- cellent success, and his expectations have not been disappointed. In 1912 Mr. Haertel erected all new buildings and using all pneumatic tools in the shop, he is prepared to execute all kinds of stone work for con-
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struction and cemetery work of every description, including lettering in English, German, Polish, French, etc.
Being a comparative stranger Mr. Haertel has made it a point to make known his business throughout this section of the state, and in 1912 he covered an area of some nine thousand miles in his automobile, canvassing for future business. His business as a result of this judicious advertising extends into nine different counties.
On May 2, 1903, Mr. Haertel was married to Miss Elizabeth Gaetz, a native daughter of Stevens Point, whose parents were early pioneers of Portage county. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Haertel in- clude two living sons, Harold and George, and two who died in infaney.
Mr. Haertel is what might be called a home man. Being at the works all day, he takes a great pleasure in devoting his evenings to making the acquaintance of his little family, the home of which is maintained at No. 342 Water street. He is a member of the Lutheran church, and with his wife, is quite prominent in the city as they enjoy a wide acquaintance, and a host of genial friends are theirs.
FRANK L. GILBERT, present popular and efficient ineumbent of the office of collector of internal revenue for the Second district of Wiscon- sin, has gained a position of distinctive priority as one of the represen- tative members of the bar of the state and he has served with marked credit in a number of official positions of important trust and respon- sibility. He has gained success and prestige through his own endeav- ors and thus the more honor is due him for his earnest labors in his exacting profession and for the precedence he has gained in his chosen vocation.
A native son of the good old Badger state. Frank L. Gilbert was born at Arena, Iowa county, Wisconsin, March 3. 1864. He is a son of James and Mary (Lynch) Gilbert, the foriner of whom was born in Greenwich county., New York, in 1829, and the latter of whom was a native of Ireland. The father was educated in the common schools of his native place and came to Wisconsin as a young man, locating in Arena, where he was interested in stage lines. In 1863 he enlisted for service in the Civil war as a member of the Thirty-third Regiment of Wisconsin Vol- unteers and later he was transferred to Company O. Thirty-fifth Wis- consin Volunteer Infantry. He died in 1864 while in service. He was a Republican in his political convictions and ever manifested a deep and sincere interest in community and national affairs. He and his wife were the parents of three children, as follows: Mary B. is the wife of Edgar Billington, of Arena, Wisconsin; William J. lost his life by accident when thirteen years of age; and Frank L. is the immediate subject of this review.
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After completing the course of studies required for graduation in the Mazomanie high school, Mr. Gilbert entered the University of Wis- consin, in the law department of which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1899, duly receiving the degree of Bach- elor of Laws. He initiated the active practice of his profession at Madi- son, entering into a partnership alliance with Russell Jackson. Sub- sequently the firm became that of Gilbert, Jackson & Ela and the same controls an extensive and lucrative law clientage in Dane county. In 1902 Mr. Gilbert was honored by his fellow citizens with election to the office of district attorney of Dane county and he was re-elected to that position in 1904. In 1906 he was further honored by election to the office of attorney general of Wisconsin, in which capacity he likewise served two terms. July 27, 1911, he was appointed collector of inter- nal revenue for the Second district of Wisconsin and he is filling that office at the present time, in 1912. In politics he is aligned as a stanch supporter of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor and he has long been an active factor in the local councils of that organization. He is one of the great lawyers of the Wisconsin bar. Honorable in business, loyal in citizenship, charitable in thought, kindly in action, true to every trust confided to his care, his life stands for the highest type of christian manhood.
In connection with the work of his profession Mr. Gilbert is affi- liated with the Dane County Bar Society and with the State Bar Associa- tion. In fraternal way he is connected with Knights of Columbus, in which he has held the office of supreme deputy of Wisconsin ; and he is likewise a member of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, the Catholic Order of Foresters, the Woodmen of the World and the Modern Woodmen of America. In religious matters he is a devout communicant of the Catholic church.
December 6, 1899, Mr. Gilbert married Miss Mayme L. Kylen, who was born in DeKalb, Illinois, and who is a daughter of Andrew H. and Mary (Sawanson) Kylen. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert have no children.
HON. JOHN O'DAY. Member of the Wisconsin General Assembly from Lincoln county, now in his second term, IIon. John O'Day has lived in Merrill since 1881, when he was distinguished chiefly as an experienced worker in the lumber industry, but up to that point of his career was only one among hundreds or thousands. The lumber interests of Wisconsin have produced many able figures in the com- mercial and civic activities of the state, and one of them is John O'Day, who for years has probably done as much as any other indi- vidual to uphold the prestige of Merrill as an industrial and business center.
John O'Day is a native of England, where he was born June 28, 1856. a son of Bartholomew and Mary (MeNamira) O'Day. When
JOIIN O'DAY
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he was a baby nine months old, his parents immigrated to America, and when he was four years old they located on a farm two and a half miles from Grand Rapids, Wisconsin. It was on that farm that John O'Day grew up and received the influences and training which shaped his character and abilities for his varied accomplishments. Both his parents died in Grand Rapids, the mother in April, 1883, and the father in January, 1900. The country schools near his home at Grand Rapids were the source of his education, and when still a boy he took to the woods to earn his living. As a day laborer he followed the trails and the lumber camps of northern Wisconsin until 1881, and then located at Merrill, which city has since been his residenee and headquarters. He came to Merrill to become foreman for the T. B. Scott Lumber Company, but on arriving refused to accept the proposition they made him and instead took up work as driver of an ox team in the employ of that company. He did that kind of work during the winter of 1881-82, and in the spring of 1882 the com- pany accepted his terms and made him foreman. Later he was pro- moted to the rank of walking boss, and filled that responsible position thirteen years. Then in partnership with the late John Dailey of Grand Rapids he bought the logging output of the T. B. Scott Lumber Company and the firm of O'Day & Dailey became one of the live and enterprising factors in the lumber business of Northern Wisconsin. Its association and business were continued prosperously until 1908, when the partnership was dissolved through the accidental death of Mr. Dailey. Though his lumbering operations covered a large scope of territory, Mr. O'Day made his home at Merrill through all these years. In 1900 Mr. O'Day organized the Merrill Iron Works Com- pany, became president of that industry, owning practically all its stoek, and conducted it until the fall of 1912, when he sold out.
Both in business and in public affairs, Mr. O'Day has had a large part in the history of Merrill during recent years. In 1907 he served one term as mayor. He has been vice president and a director of the Merrill Railway & Lighting Company, almost sinee the inception of that company twenty years ago. He is vice president and a director of the Grandfather Falls Paper Manufacturing Company of Merrill. a large concern organized about 1905, and having a capital stock of $400,000. He is a director in the Citizens National Bank of Merrill. In 1882, Mr. O'Day was married to Miss Mary Stillwell of Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, a daughter of the late Oliver Stillwell. Their three children are Ethel M., Guy W., and Leslie J. Mr. O'Day and family are communieants of the Catholic church, he is active in the order of Knights of Columbus, and up to January 1, 1913, served as Grand Knight of the Merrill Lodge. In polities he is a loyal Demoerat.
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JAMES C. ANCKERSEN. The president of the Anckersen-Hansen Com- pany, wholesale grocers in the city of Oshkosh, has here maintained his home since his boyhood days and in his sterling character and worthy achievement he has proved himself not only a staunch scion of the Scan- dinavian element which has played a most important part in the develop- ment and upbuilding of Wisconsin but has also signally honored the state in which his advancement has been the direct result of his own ability and well directed endeavors. He was a lad of thirteen years at the time of the family immigration to America and has continuously maintained his home in Oshkosh during the intervening period of more than thirty years. Here he has advanced from a position of subordinate order in a local retail establishment to that of executive head of one of the most important and prosperous commercial concerns of the city, so there are manifold reasons for according to him special recognition in this publica- tion. In the most significant sense a representative business man and loyal and progressive citizen of Oshkosh, Mr. Anckersen is well known and highly esteemed in the community that has long been his home and he stands as a true type of the self-made man,-one who has had the ability to grasp opportunities and to make the most of the same.
James C. Anckersen was born in Denmark, on the 29th of June, 1868, and is a son of Christian and Laura (Hansen) Anekersen, representa- tives of sterling old families of that fine nation of the far Norseland. In his native land Christian Anckersen received excellent educational advantages and there also he learned the trade of watchmaking, in which he became a specially expert artisan. In 1881 he immigrated with his family to the United States and established his residence in Oshkosh. where he engaged in the work of his trade and finally developed a pros- perous jewelry business. His life was spared only a decade after he came to America, and his death occurred in 1891. He had gained secure place in the confidence and good will of the people of Oshkosh and was a man whose life was ordered on a high plane of integrity and honor. His wife did not long survive him, as she was summoned to the life eternal in 1894, both having been zealous members of the Lutheran church. Of their six children one son and six daughters living, and of the number the subject of this review was the fourth in order of birth.
In the excellent schools of his native land James C. Anekersen gained his early education and he was about thirteen years of age at the time when the family set forth for America. His father's financial resources at the time were very limited and the major part of the further educa- tion of the son came as the result of self-discipline and active association with the practical affairs of life. Soon after the family home had been established in Oshkosh he here obtained a position in the grocery store of Voight & Wendorff, and his stipend was set at the figure of two dol- lars a week. Later he worked for F. Herrmann. He rapidly acquired facility in the English language and in business affairs he soon developed
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distinctive ability. He was a youth of vigorous purpose and much am- bition, and thus his advancement was virtually assured. IIe continued in the employ of Mr. Herrmann for thirteen years and became a valued and efficient salesman and executive.
In 1894 Mr. Anckersen initiated his independent business career by opening a retail grocery. This he conducted successfully in an individual way for two years, at the expiration of which, in 1896, he formed a part- nership with William H. St. John, with whom he was thereafter most pleasingly associated in the same line of enterprise for a period of seven years, the title of the firm having been Anckersen & St. John and the business having eventually become one of the most substantial and flour- ishing of its kind in the city. At the expiration of the period noted Mr. Anckersen sold his interest in the business and thereafter he con- ducted in an individual way another retail grocery establishment until he found that his resources justified him in expanding the field of his operations by entering the wholesale grocery trade. In 1908 he became associated with Fred W. Hansen in the organization of a stock com- pany for this purpose, and the same was duly incorporated under the present title of the Anckersen-Hansen Company. The concern has a large and well equipped establishment and the same is one of the leading commercial concerns of Oshkosh. A select and comprehensive stock is supplemented by the best of facilities in all departments, and the house now controls an extensive and constantly expanding trade throughout the territory normally tributary to Oshkosh as a distributing center. Mr. Anckersen is president of the company and his wife holds the office of vice-president. F. W. Hansen is secretary and treasurer and, like his honored coadjutor, is one of the alert aud representative business men of Oshkoshı.
Mr. Anckersen takes a lively interest in all that touches the welfare of his home city and is ever ready to lend his assistance in the support of measures tending to advance its civie and material interests. His political allegianee is given to the Republican party. He is affiliated with the Danish Brotherhood, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. and the Associated United Commercial Travelers Association.
November 25, 1895, stands as the date of the marriage of Mr. Aneker- sen to Miss Bertha Elser, of Oshkosh, who likewise was born in Milwaukee. Mr. and Mrs. Anekersen have two sons, Leo and Alvin.
ALBERT GREGORY ZIMMERMAN. The life of every man before the pub- lic possesses interest to his fellow-citizens, particularly if his abilities have elevated him to honorable office in which he has displayed honest effort and fidelity in the performance of its responsibilities. Pre-eminently is this true when judicial position is involved, and especially is interest excited when the subjeet is so well known and honored a man as the Hon. Albert Gregory Zimmerman, eounty judge of Dane county, and a legist
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and jurist who has at all times maintained the honor and dignity of the Wisconsin bench and bar. Judge Zimmerman was born at Elgin, Fay- ette county, Iowa, July 23, 1862, and is a son of George and Henrietta (Capp) Zimmerman.
The paternal grandparents of Judge Zimmerman, Joseph and Maria Ann Zimmerman, came to this country during the early fifties and located in Buffalo, New York. Their eldest son, George was born in the prov- ince of Bavaria, Germany, in 1836, and in young manhood drifted West to Ohio, later to Illinois and Iowa, and then to Prairie du Chien, Wis- consin, where he followed his trade of wagon maker, and became a manu- facturer of carriages. Soon after his marriage he removed to Elgin, Fayette county, Iowa. Soon after the war he came to Wisconsin where he continued in the same business until 1905, that year marking his re- tirement from active business affairs, and he now makes his home at Mt. Hope, Grant county, Wisconsin. During the Civil War, he enlisted in Company H, of the Thirty-eighth Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, participating in all the engagements in which his regiment took part, and being active in the Siege of Vicksburg, in the storming of Fort Blakeley and in the taking of Mobile. He is a valued comrade of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic, and his political support has ever been given to the Republican party. He married Henrietta Capp, who was born in Prussia in 1840, and they have been the parents of two daughters and five sons, of whom all but one survive. One son, Oscar S., enlisted in Company K, Third Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, during the Spanish-American War, and died in the service while his regi- ment was in Porto Rico.
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