USA > Wisconsin > Wisconsin, its story and biography, 1848-1913, Volume VII > Part 13
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The Frost Manufacturing Company has a fine modern plant, in which employment is given to more than one hundred and fifty per- sons. All kinds of brass goods are manufactured in the establishment, both castings and sheet brass products, and the new and well equipped factory at the corner of Fremont avenue and Strong street, makes an important contribution to the industrial activities of the city and state in which it is located.
Mr. Frost is a Republican in politics, vitally interested in all that touches the general welfare of his home city, and while he is essentially progressive and publie-spirited as a citizen, he has manifested no pre- dilection for political preferment. He is a director of the Merchants & Savings Bank of Kenosha, and is one of the prominent and valued members of The Kenosha Manufacturers' Association, besides which, he is, in 1913, president of The Kenosha Continuation School Board under the Wisconsin Board of Industrial Education. He is a thirty- second degree Mason and is a member of the Baptist church. He was
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married in 1886 to Amy Louise Bailey of Waterbury, Connecticut, and has five children.
ZALMON G. SIMMONS, SR. Around the name of Simmons revolve the most important industrial achievements of the city of Kenosha. Through a period of three generations, and from the pioneer days of the old village of Southport to the present, the Simmons family have been active as merchants, manufacturers, industrial leaders and gener- ous contributors to civic and social welfare, and it is only a statement of facts that without the enterprise and co-operation resulting from the achievements of the family, a large proportion of the prosperity of Ken- osha as an industrial and civic center would never have existed. A city is great, not in its number of population, but in the work it performs, and that Kenosha in the past and the present has had an important share of the world's work to its credit has been due in no small measure to the broad capacity and ability of the Simmons family.
There were probably few persons in Kenosha or the state of Wis- consin who did not know the late Zalmon G. Simmons, Sr. He was prob- ably the best and most known citizen. And those who knew him admired and loved him, for he had that quality which held men to him in affec- tion. But the ability to make friendships was not all that distinguished the late Mr. Simmons. He was a manager of men, an executive in affairs, a wielder of great financial and industrial resources. He built, and what he built still stands, a permanent factor in the industrialism of his home city. A man of great wealth, his life emphasized the truth that enterprise and wealth are not inconsistent with the highest stand- ards of character and conduct, and his entire career is an inspiration to the city.
Zalmon Gilbert Simmons, who died February 11, 1910, was born in the village of Euphrates, Montgomery county, New York, September 10, 1828, and comes of old New England stock, although the origin of the family was German and English. His grandfather, Rouse Simmons, emigrated from Rhode Island to Montgomery county, New York, during the first years of the nineteenth century. Ezra Simmons, father of Zalmon G., was born in Montgomery county, April 3, 1805, and received only limited educational advantages, though he accepted every opportu- nity and qualified himself for work as a teacher, having also elerked in a store. He married Miss Maria Gilbert who was born in Montgomery county, New York, April 20, 1808. Their five children were : Zalmon G., Burr, Rouse, Ezra, and Mrs. J. M. Stebbins, the last two being twins. Not long after his marriage Ezra Simmons with his wife and young child, moved to Oneida county, New York, and were pioneers in that part of the state. He built a house in the woods, and cleared and improved the farm upon which he lived until 1839. In that year he moved to Rome, the county seat. In 1843 the family came west, journeying by canal to
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Buffalo, where they took a steamer for Southport, as Kenosha was then called. They arrived at Southport on the twelfth of June, 1846. After remaining in the village for a short time, Mr. Simmons bought a tract of land in Benton township of Lake county, Illinois, where he again went through the experience of hewing a farm out of the wilderness. In 1851 he engaged in mercantile business at Kenosha, in partnership with his son, but afterwards retired from the firm and died July 14, 1878.
The late Zalmon G. Simmons was fifteen years old when the family arrived in Southport. He was strong physically, and the foundation of his later business career was laid in his physical constitution and thorough training as a farm boy. Most of his education was received in the common schools of Lake county, Illinois, attending during the winter seasons until his eighteenth year. After that he taught school for three winter terms, but on his twenty-first birthday left the farm and found a place as clerk in the pioneer store of Seth Doan at Kenosha. It is said that he had about three dollars in cash when he began his career in Kenosha, and his salary was set at only two hundred dollars per year. A student of biography often finds interesting evidence of later success in the traits of character manifested at the beginning of a career. An interesting little story, previously published concerning the life of Mr. Simmons, has a value in this direction which justifies its repetition. After becoming a clerk for Mr. Doan, young Simmons was sent out into the country to collect a debt from a man named Campbell, who was pre- paring to leave town without paying the account. Mr. Simmons arrived early in the morning. He announced the object of his visit and was informed that the obligation could not be paid. Satisfied that he was abundantly able to pay, Mr. Simmons remained in general conversation with the debtor until the noon hour when the latter withdrew and had dinner with his family. As he was not invited to share the meal, young Simmons remained on the outside and went hungry. After dinner Mr. Campbell suggested that the clerk might as well go home, as the debt could not be paid. The collector, however, remarked that there was no law prohibiting his staying, and he would remain to see Mr. Campbell and family depart, the hour of departure having been set for the follow- ing morning. Becoming somewhat uneasy at the persistence of the young man, Mr. Campbell consulted with his sons, and finally made the proposition that if Mr. Simmons would take away a certain nice steer in the herd feeding on the prairie some distance beyond the house, and would receipt the bill, the matter might be settled. but it was provided if the animal was still with the herd on the following morning, it would be driven off with the rest of the cattle. The bill was receipted without a word, and Mr. Simmons separated his steer from the rest and drove him toward the house. Finding that he was getting away from his mates, he threw up his head, jumped over fences, and quickly rejoined his
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companions, while the members of the Campbell family raised a shout of triumph. A second trial resulted similarly, only with a more exul- tant shout. Laying aside his coat the young clerk then started after his animal in earnest, and after a chase of five hours the steer was con- quered. Having returned for his coat, Mr. Simmons drove his captive into the city, arriving there at eleven o'clock at night, just as a local butcher was closing his shop. The animal was offered for the amount of the debt, and by midnight, Mr. Simmons had the money in his pock- et, though he went to bed dinnerless and supperless. The same indom- itable perseverance which made him successful in this undertaking characterized the man in all his later business enterprises, and with such an exhibition of tenacity of purpose, it is not surprising that he became one of Wisconsin's foremost manufacturers and business men.
After six months of clerkship, owing to the failing health of Mr. Doan, Mr. Simmons was given entire charge of the business. Some ten months later, having accumulated about two hundred dollars in sav- ings, he negotiated for the purchase of the entire stock, which was valued at more than twelve thousand dollars. In the meantime he had proved his ability to his employer, who readily trusted the enterprise to the young man and he was justified, as in a few years, the latter was one of the most prosperous merchants of Kenosha. About twelve years of his life was spent in the mercantile business, and in the meantime his ability had gone out to various other enterprises.
In 1856 Mr. Simmons paid five hundred dollars for a half interest in the Wisconsin State Telegraph Company, and he paid all that the business was then worth. The line at that time extended from Milwau- kee to Madison, and was considered almost worthless. The great North- west was only being developed, and there was a great future ahead of any undertaking to extend communication to the Lake Superior region and other sections of the Northwest. Mr. Simmons devoted himself assiduously to the development of the telegraph business and out of The Wisconsin State Company he developed the Northwestern Tel- egraph Company with lines extending over the states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas and into Canada. Of this larger system he was president and manager until it was leased to the Western Union in 1881. Mr. Simmons then became one of the directors of the Western Union, and held that position for several years. During the early years of the enterprise Mr. Simmons obtained money wherever possible for the im- provement and extension of the service, succeeding in interesting some outside capital and furnishing most of the capital himself. No obstacles were permitted to stand in the way. Through swamps and forests almost impenetrable, telegraph lines were extended and the competent manage- ment soon showed the effect of its increasing labors. From the time of its purchase until the lease was made, the business paid all the cost of its
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construction, the interest on the capital invested, and one million dol- lars besides.
Another great undertaking with which the name of Mr. Simmons was prominently associated in the early days was the railroad known as the Kenosha, Rockford & Rock Island Railway. The company had been organized to construct such a road during the fifties. The work was begun at Kenosha, and went westward from that point, and from Rockford eastward. Before the last twenty miles could be completed, the company became hopelessly involved, and Mr. Simmons then came to its relief. He was at once chosen president, and by using his own means and indorsing the paper of the company, finally succeeded in com- pleting the road. On the day of the battle of Bull Run the first train was run over the lines to Harvard, Illinois. Still the road was in great finaneial difficulties, and the stockholders may be said to have left him to "hold the bag" refusing to co-operate with him in furnishing new capital, and allowing him to conduct the enterprise as seemed best. It is said that Mr. Simmons considered for a time the advisability of giving up his position as railroad president and enlisting in the war as a private soldier. However, the same persistence which he had exhib- ited while a clerk for Mr. Doan years before came to his aid in his diffi- culties, and after a severe struggle through the unstable finaneial condi- tions of war times, he succeeded in equipping the road, building up its business to a prosperous point. These business achievements are all matters of past history. However, in laying the foundation for the Simmons Manufacturing Company, more than forty years ago, Mr. Sim- mons established a business which is now the largest concern of its kind in the world, and one which has branch houses throughout America. In 1872, he was the prime factor in establishing a company which man- ufactured cheese boxes. Soon afterwards the same company installed machinery for the manufacture of wire mattresses, beginning with a yearly output of fifteen hundred and extending its operations at first under the title of the Northwestern Wire Mattress Company, and later under the present title of the Simmons Manufacturing Company, which is now the greatest plant in the world for the making of beds. Mr. Sim- mons also assisted in the organization of the Seotford Manufacturing Company, the Lane Manufacturing Company, and it was largely through his efforts that the brass works were located at Kenosha. In 1865 Mr. Simmons bought a half interest in the First National Bank of Kenosha, the oldest banking establishment in the city, became presi- dent of the institution, and eontinued as its chief executive for a period of thirty-eight years. An enterprise which brought him fame as a daring originator was his building of the noted "cog" road up Pike's Peak in Colorado. It was during a visit with Mrs. Simmons in Colorado that he coneeived the idea of constructing such a railroad. In October, 1889, the building of the line was begun, and on June 30, 1891, the first
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train ascended the mountain side to an altitude of fourteen thousand feet. At that time, it was the highest point reached by railroad on the earth's surface. Since then millions of visitors have become familiar with this unique railroad.
Though always absorbed in his extensive business operations, Mr. Simmons frequently turned aside to give his service to his city and state. He was a lifelong Republican, and in 1865 represented Ken- osha county in the state legislature, and was mayor of Kenosha in 1884- 85. One of the great works which Mr. Simmons did for his city was the refunding of the debt which had hung over the municipality for years. The debt at the time of his term as mayor amounted to the sum of a million and three-quarter dollars. By able financiering, Mayor Sim- mons refunded the entire debt by a new issue of two hundred thousand dollars in five per cent bonds, covering a period of twenty years. Mr. Simmons labored withont compensation, and bore his own expenses, in order to get the debt into a manageable condition. In setting free the municipal energies of the city, no service of greater value was ever rendered than in this refunding operation.
The practical philanthropy of the late Mr. Simmons in Kenosha and elsewhere can only be referred to in its larger individual detail. Church- es, hospitals, and other charities were the constant recipients of his gen- erous aid. He was a contributor to the old Kenosha library, and, as it was always one of his beliefs that a library was one of the most valu- able institutions of a city, he provided Kenosha with the handsome structure in Library Park, regarded as the most splendidly equipped library building of its kind to be found in any city of the size of Ken- osha in America. In the erection and furnishing of this library, Mr. Simmons spent more than two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and presented the structure to Kenosha as a memorial to his son, Gilbert M. Simmons. The library is named "The Gilbert M. Simmons Library." At the time he made this notable donation to the city he also showed his appreciation of the splendid services rendered by the soldiers of Kenosha during the war, and raised to their memory a granite shaft in Library Park. The dedication of this monument will long be remembered in the history of Kenosha. The late Mr. Simmons had the honor of being the only civilian ever elected an honorary member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He showed his friendship for Grand Army men in almost countless ways, and gave many entertainments for the local post at his private residence. It was during the Denver Encampment of the Grand Army that Mr. Simmons was awarded his honorary membership, and at that meeting he presented each of the veterans with a bronze medal.
He was one of the trustees of Beloit College. He built the Simmons gymnasium at Kemper Hall in this city, the great work carried on by Booker T. Washington, among the negroes of the south, had never a more liberal supporter than the late Mr. Simmons, whose liberal gifts
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did much to promote the success of that colored leader. Most fitly was the late Mr. Simmons known as the "Grand Old Man of Kenosha." In early life a Methodist, he and his wife afterwards became Unitarians. Outside of his home city, he was a member of the Chicago Club of Chi- cago, and the Milwaukee Club of Milwaukee.
On April 20, 1850, Mr. Simmons was married in Kenosha to Miss Emma E. Robinson, a daughter of Captain Morris Robinson, a pioneer of Lake county, Illinois. Mrs. Simmons was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Six children were born to their marriage, namely : Gilbert M., who died in January, 1890, after a career which had shown large promise, and at the time of his death was cashier of the First National Bank of Ken- osha ; Nelson L., who died in childhood; Minnie J., who married Arthur F. Towne of Chicago; Emma Belle, now Mrs. A. H. Lance of Kenosha ; Ezra J., who died at the age of fifteen; and Zalmon G., Jr., now head of the large manufacturing establishment founded by his father.
ZALMON G. SIMMONS, JR. With several generations of solid family success behind him, Zalmon G. Simmons, Jr., at the age of thirty-five has developed the conspicuous talents inherited from his late father, and has reached a position in affairs, where he is regarded by competent critics as the peer of any business executive in the state of Wisconsin at the present day.
Zalmon G. Simmons, Jr., was born in Kenosha, November 28, 1878. He attended the Cayuga Military School of New York, and also the St. John's military school in the same state. In 1891 he found a place in the executive offices of the Simmons Manufacturing Company, and quickly rose to be one of the energetic and enterprising factors in that industry. He acted as manager of the company until the death of his father, at which time he became president. Besides Mr Simmons as president, Mr. A. H. Lance is first vice president and treasurer; George H. Milne, second vice president ; Otto Rudd is general superintendent ; Alfred Terrell is secretary ; and Morgan W. Price is assistant secretary.
The general office and factories of the Simmons Manufacnring Com- pany are located at Kenosha, but the company has warehouses in more than half a dozen of the large cities of the country, and the produce of the great plant is distributed all over the world. The company manu- factures brass and steel beds, wire mattresses, spring beds, institution beds, cots, cribs, folding chairs, metal folding couches. The Kenosha factory covers sixty-five acres of floor space, and in its particular depart- ment is easily the largest concern of its kind in the world. Mr. Simmons is an active factor in the affairs of his home city, is president of the fire and police commission of Kenosha, and was the largest subscriber to the building of the Kenosha Hospital. His fraternal affiliations are with the Masonic Order in the Knight Templar degree, and with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a member of the Chicago Athletic
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and other popular clubs in Chicago, and the Lotus Club and other clubs of New York City.
Mr. Simmons was married on September 6, 1902, at Kenosha to Miss Frances Grant.
Mr. Simmons, while possessed of exceptional talent in his own char- acter, owes much both by inheritance and association to his father, with whom he worked and was closely associated throughout the years of his father's decline. Men who have been familiar with both the father and son, give the latter credit of being the best organizer of men and the best general manager of industrial affairs in the state. He is keen in his intelligence, is quick to act, has a broad experience and a thorough dis- cipline, and is thus able to rely on his own judgment, and his decisions are as nearly infallible in business matters as is humanly possible. With it all, Mr. Simmons is exceedingly courteous and kindly in his relations with his employes and with his fellow citizens.
J. C. WRIGHT, M. D. Wisconsin has no more loyal and useful citizen than Dr. J. C. Wright, physician and surgeon at Antigo, in Langlade county. Dr. Wright for a period of twenty-five years practiced medicine at Excelsior, Wisconsin, in 1906 coming to Antigo, Wisconsin. Along with success and prestige as a doctor he has also been distinctive in his community for the beneficent influence of his character, and his attain- ments as a cultured gentleman. Dr. Wright is now in his second year of service as city physician of Antigo, and is secretary of the Langlade County Medical Society. He is a graduate of the oldest and most famous school of medicine in the west, the Rush Medical College of Chicago, where he was a member of the class of 1881-82. Soon afterwards he took up practice at Excelsior, Richland county, where he remained ยท a suc- cessful practitioner for more than a quarter of a century. In November, 1906, he moved to Antigo.
Dr. Wright was born on a farm in Richland county, Wisconsin, March 18, 1858, a son of Rev. I. J. and Catherine Wright. His father was for many years a useful worker as a minister of the United Brethren church. Reared in Richland county, Dr. Wright attended the public schools, and for four years was a student in Edwards Academy at Greene- ville, Tennessee. On leaving preparatory school, he took up the study of medicine, and graduated at the time mentioned from Rush Medical College.
In 1893 Dr. Wright married Miss Rose Hamilton, who for fifteen years prior to her marirage had taught school in Richland Center, Wis- consin. They have become the parents of seven children, namely : John J., Martha Marie, Grace Belle, Mary, Catherine, Hamilton, and Richard Raines. The oldest son, John J. Wright, has made an exceptional record as a student and athlete: He is a graduate of the Antigo High School, was a student in St. John's Military Academy and is now in the Wiscon- Vol. VII-8
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sin University. He has the unusual combination of great talent both in oratorical work and in athletics. For his high school he won several oratorical contests, and as a runner on school and college tracks, is one of the best in the country in his academic class. He was the first first- year student who ever won the gold medal in oratorical work and three mile footrace at St. John's Military Academy.
Dr. Wright has membership in the Langlade County Medical Society, of which he has been secretary since 1908, belongs to the Wisconsin State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. He is one of the most popular and active members of the Monday Night Club, a literary organization at Antigo. Dr. Wright possesses unusual poetical ability having written many poems, including one which has been widely read under the title "Wisconsin," and which is often spoken at patri- otic meetings. Dr. Wright has many connections with fraternal bodies, including the Masons, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Equitable Fraternal Union, the Order of Beavers, the Mystic Workers, the Owls, and both socially and in his profession is a man of the highest standing.
THEODORE O. VILTER. One of the extensive and representative industrial enterprises that is contributing definitely to the commercial prestige and material prosperity of the Wisconsin metropolis is that conducted by the Vilter Manufacturing Company, the large and well equipped works of which are situated in the southern section of the city of Milwaukee and contiguous to the line of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. Of this important corporation Theodore O. Vilter is president, and it is primarily due to his energy, technical ability, progressive policies and fine initiative and constructive powers that the business of the company has been expanded to one of broad scope. With ample capital and the best of management the company has long held substantial footing and stood representative in the local field of manufacturing industry, and the concern is one of the oldest in the city, as its establishing dates back to the year 1867. He whose name initiates this paragraph has not only been a prominent and resourceful figure in the upbuilding of the great enterprise of which he is the executive head but he is also known and honored as one of the liberal and public-spirited citizens of the fine city which has been his home since the time of his youth. In according definite recogni- tion to men of such character and worthy achievement a publication of this nature exercises one of its most important functions.
The Vilter Manufacturing Company are builders of ice-making and refrigerating machinery, improved Corliss engines, machinery for brewers and bottlers and other special lines of machinery, and the concern retains membership in the National Metal Trades Associa- tion. The full personnel of its executive corps, which likewise con- stitutes its board or directors, is as here noted: Theodore O. Vilter,
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