USA > Wisconsin > Wisconsin, its story and biography, 1848-1913, Volume VII > Part 3
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citizens of Madison and has been influential in political activities and general civic affairs.
Harry G. Smith gained his rudimentary education at Hudson, this state, and was a lad of ten years at the time of the family removal to Madison. Here, after duly availing himself of the advantages of the public schools including the high school, he entered the University of Wisconsin, in which great institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1900 and from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Like many another young man who has attained to distinctive suc- cess in other fields of endeavor, Mr. Smith made the pedagogic profession a means to an end, and he did not lack for success and popularity in his two years of service as a teacher in the public schools of his native state. In 1902 he engaged in the real estate business in Madison, and with this line of enterprise he has since been identified, is owner and oper- ator of the Wisconsin Stock Farm, which comprises four hundred acres and which is one of the model places of Dane county. He is president of the Wisconsin Farm Company and secretary of the State Land & Loan Company, which controls a substantial business in the handling of Wisconsin realty and in the extending of financial loans on approved real estate security. The initiative powers and administrative ability of Mr. Smith are further shown through his identification, as a stock- holder, with the Palmetto Land Company, of Florida, and the United States Sugar Company, the headquarters of which are maintained in New York City. The Jefferson Transfer Company initiated operations in 1869, and when in 1910, Mr. Smith purchased the business the same was in bad order and of very limited scope. The enterprise at once responded to his aggressive and well ordered policies of operation and is now on a staunch financial basis, as one of the substantial and val- uable adjuncts of the business activities of the capital city.
It may naturally be inferred that Mr. Smith is progressive and public spirited in his civic attitude and that he takes the deepest interest in all that touches the welfare of his native state.
On the 1st of June, 1907, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Smith to Miss Jessie Pelton, who was born at Edgerton and who is a daughter of Milford Pelton, a well known citizen of Madison. The two children of this union are Marian, who was born June 18, 1908, and Katharine, who was born November 8, 1910.
CHARLES C. SCHMIDT. A pioneer in banking activities in Milwaukee, Charles C. Schmidt is one who is properly deserving of some mention in the pages of this historical and biographical work. He has con- tinuously been identified with the Second Ward Savings Bank, of this city, since November, 1859, and his rise in that well known institu- tion has included advancement from the post of messenger to that of Vice President, to which latter office he was elected upon the death
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of his old friend, August Uihlein, who was for many years President of the bank, and who died in Europe in 1911. The history of Mr. Schmidt's life, briefly told, is one that is interesting and attractive, and is here set forth as follows:
Charles C. Schmidt was born in Braunschweig, Germany, on July 11, 1842, and was there reared and educated in the best schools, the same continuing until the time of his emigration to American shores in 1858. He sailed from his native land on May 1st of that year, reaching New York on the 26th day of June, and proceeded thence to Pekin, Illinois, where he remained until November 24, in the fol- lowing year. He arrived in Milwaukee on November 26, 1859, and the next day entered the employ of the Second Ward Savings Bank as a messenger. His rise was continuous there, and on January 1, 1868, he was appointed Assistant Cashier. In November, 1882, he became Cashier of the bank, which office he held until February 1, 1912, when he was elected Vice President, which office he still retains. Following the death of August Uihlein, (concerning whom separate mention is accorded on other pages of this work) his son Joseph E. Uihlein, became President, which office he still holds, with Mr. Schmidt as Vice President.
Mr. Schmidt has been identified with the activities of this bank since the days of the late Colonel William H. Jacobs, also mentioned at length in this work, and who was the founder and first President of the bank of which Mr. Schmidt is now Vice President. Col. Jacobs married a sister of Mr. Schmidt, Caroline, who now makes her home on Terrace Avenue, this city.
On September 21, 1867, Mr. Schmidt married Miss Marie Wallber, a sister of Emil Wallber and Carl Wallber, who are well known here, the former as a lawyer and German Consular agent. They have one daughter, Mrs. William F. Engelhardt, who was born and educated here. Mrs. Schmidt is one of the well known and popular women of the city, and shares in the leading social activities of Milwaukee. Mr. Schmidt is a member of the Deutscher Club, the Calumet Club and the Bankers Club.
GEORGE KEENAN, M. D. The world instinctively pays deference to the man whose success has been worthily achieved and whose prominence is not the less the result of an irreproachable life than of natural talents and acquired ability in the field of his chosen labor. Dr. Keenan occupies a position of distinction as a representative of the medical pro- fession in Madison, Wisconsin, and the best evidence of his capability in the line of his chosen work is the large patronage which is accorded him.
A native of Dunn township, Dane county, Wisconsin, Dr. George Keenan was born July 3, 1859, and he is a son of George and Matilda
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E. (Fox) Keenan, both of whom were born in Ireland, the former in Kings county and the latter in Westmeath county. The father died at the age of seventy-three years, and his devoted wife passed away at the age of eighty-nine years. The father, who was educated in Ireland, came to America as a boy and first located in Indiana. In 1843 he located in Fitchburg township, Dane county, Wisconsin territory and subsequently he engaged in farming operations in the vicinity of Madi- son. In connection with his agricultural work he conducted a boot and shoe store in Madison. Eventually disposing of the above farm and business, he purchased a tract of eight hundred acres of land in Dunn township, Dane county, where he became a pioneer of prominence and influence. He was a Democrat in politics and was incumbent of a number of township offices of marked trust and responsibility. He was married in Lima, Indiana, and he and his wife became the parents of eight children, of whom six are living in 1912 and of whom the subject of this article was the sixth in order of birth.
To the common schools of Dane county Dr. Keenan is indebted for his preliminary educational training, which was later supplemented with a course of study in the Northwestern Business College. He also pursued a scientific course in the University of Wisconsin and in 1883 was graduated in the Rush Medical College at Chicago, duly receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine. For a time after graduation he was interne in St. Luke's Hospital, in Chicago, and in 1884 he went abroad, spending two years in study and in attending clinics in Vienna, Zurich, Prague and Heidelberg. Thus well fortified for the work of his profession, Dr. Keenan located at Stoughton, Wisconsin, in the fall of 1887, and there initiated the active practice of his life work. In 1890 he removed to Madison, where he soon succeeded in building up an extensive patronage and where he rapidly gained fame as one of the most skilled physicians and surgeons in Dane county. In 1893 he was appointed, by President Cleveland, United States consul to Ger- many. During the first five months of his incumbency of the above position he resided at Kehl and then was transferred to Bremen. While consul he attended clinics and did post graduate work for sixty days each year in Berlin, Vienna, and in other noted cities on the continent. In January, 1899, he returned home and resumed his practice in Madison. He is a member of the staff of surgeons in the Madison General Hospital and is attending surgeon at St. Mary's Hospital. In connection with his professional work he is a valued and appreciative member of Dane County Medical Society, Wisconsin Medical Society and the American Medical Association. In view of the foregoing facts concerning Dr. Keenan's career it would be entirely superfluous to comment on his ability as a physician and surgeon. His splendid work excites the ad- miration and has won the respect of his contemporaries and in a calling in which one has to gain reputation by merit he has advanced steadily
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until he is acknowledged as the superior of most of the members of the profession in this part of the state, having long since left the ranks of the many to stand among the successful few. In a fraternal way he is a member of Hiram Lodge, No. 5, Free & Accepted Masons; and of Madison Chapter, Royal Arch Masons.
September 20, 1893, Dr. Keenan married Miss Mary Kelly, who was born in Marathon county, this state, and who is a daughter of W. P. and Margaret (Pine) Kelly, both of whom were likewise born in Mara- thon county and both of whom are deceased. Mrs. Keenan is of old New England ancestry in both the maternal and paternal lines and her par- ents were pioneers in Wisconsin. Mr. Kelly was a prominent lumber- man in Wisconsin in the early days and he and his wife had three chil- dren, one of whom died in 1912. Dr. and Mrs. Keenan have five chil- dren : Sidney F., Matilda E., Margaret, George and Francis, all at the parental home.
ANDREW ELLIS PROUDFIT. In statesmanship and commercial service, the Proudfit name has for many years been one of importance, not only in Madison, but throughout the state in general. Ex-Senator An- drew Proudfit had much to do with the firm establishment of the suc- cess and prestige of the First National Bank of Madison, in which he was an executive officer, and the present status of that leading financial institution owes not a little to the now existing incumbency of his son, Andrew Ellis Proudfit, in the office of president.
Andrew Proudfit was born at Argyle, Washington county, New York, August 3, 1820, and was a son of James and Maria J. Proudfit, and a grandson of Mary Lytle, who was the first white woman born in the town of Salem, Washington county, New York. During the Revolution- ary war she displayed her courage and loyalty to the American Colonies by going forth with a team and a load of wheat six miles, to feed the patriot army. Until the age of fourteen, Andrew Proudfit attended the common school at Argyle, when he was compelled to give up his studies and make his own way in the world. After clerking in a store at Argyle for a time, in 1842 he came to Wisconsin, bringing with him his mother, sister and younger brother, and settling on a farm in what is now Waukesha county. After clearing the heavy timber and working the land for two years, he engaged a man to work the farm and took a position as bookkeeper and salesman for Shepard & Bonnell of Mil- waukee, in whose employ he remained for two years, then going to Dela- field, Wisconsin, where he built and operated a flouring mill for nine years, in connection with a country store. While in Delafield, he was chairman of the board of supervisors of the county for two terms, and was then chosen one of the commissioners for the improvement of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. After coming to Madison he represented Dane county in the State Senate during the sessions of 1858 and 1859, was
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mayor of the city of Madison for two years, 1869-1871, and was long prominently identified with many of the public improvements and prom- inent business enterprises of the capital. He built a portion of the capitol building in 1864; two wings of the State Hospital for the Insane in 1866 and 1867, was for many years vice-president of the First Na- tional Bank, a director in the Madison Gas Company, and in the Park Hotel; and one of the original members and vice-president of the old "Madison Business Board." This last named organization was made up of prominent pioneer citizens of Madison in 1869 to promote the completion of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad from Footville (about fifty-five miles south of Madison) to the capital. This object once accomplished, the organization ceased to exist. Mr. Proudfit mar- ried Elizabeth Ford, a native of Cambridge, Washington county, New York, in September, 1840, and they were the parents of seven children, only two of whom now survive: Andrew Ellis; and Frank P., the latter now in business in New York City. Mr. Proudfit was a faithful attend- ant of the Protestant Episcopal church, and was allied politically with the Democratic party. He was known as a practical, upright business man, of sound judgment and indomitable perseverance. His death occurred November 12, 1883.
Andrew Ellis Proudfit was born in Madison, Wisconsin, September 2, 1857, and his early education was secured in the public schools of the city and in the University of Wisconsin, his course in the latter institu- tion not being completed to graduation. At the age of twenty-two years, he entered upon his business career, first engaging in the farm machinery business at Madison, Wisconsin, which he continued with gratifying returns until 1894, at which time he began extensive operations in land, lumber and timber. In this business he remained for ten years, at the end of which time he became actively associated with the Fuller & Johnson Manufacturing Company, of Madison. This corporation turns out in large variety and in great numbers agricultural imple- ments of the most advanced type, and also gasoline engines for numer- ous and varied purposes. From 1904 until 1910, Mr. Proudfit was the vice-president of this concern, with which he was profitably con- nected until other interests made it necessary that he resign its offi- cial responsibilities. In 1909, he accepted the presidency of the First National Bank, entering upon its duties at the beginning of that year, and he is still serving as the bank's chief executive. He is also a director of the Madison Gas & Electric Company, Central Wiscon- sin Trust Company, Savings Loan & Trust Company and second vice- president of the Madison Board of Commerce.
In 1883 Mr. Proudfit was married to Miss Clara Liscomb, of Indian- apolis, Indiana, a daughter of Edward Liscomb of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Proudfit became the parents of two daughters: Josephine Voorhies and Elizabeth Ford, the former of whom is now Mrs. Dudley Mont-
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gomery, of Madison, Mr. Montgomery being the vice-president and superintendent of the Southern Wisconsin Railway Company.
The social interests of Mr. Proudfit include his membership in the Madison Club, and his fraternal connections are with the Masons, he belonging to Madison Lodge No. 5, A. F. & A. M., Madison Chapter No. 4, R. A. M., and Robert MeCoy Commandery No. 3, K. T. Mr. Proudfit's political affiliations are Democratic.
HENRY POPPY. A period of thirty years covers the history of For- est county from the beginning of its settlement and organization to the present time. Throughout that time Henry, known as Harry, Poppy, now county treasurer, has lived in this vicinity, and has always been closely identified with the varied development of the county. He is one of the actual pioneers of Forest county, has been a hard worker and thrifty manager, and while he has accumulated a generous portion of the world's goods, he has at the same time given valuable service to his fellow citizens. Probably no citizen of Forest county is better known and more highly esteemed than Henry Poppy.
Mr. Poppy is now serving his second term as county treasurer, hav- ing been first elected in 1910, and taking office in August, 1911. He was reelected in November, 1912, on the Republican ticket. His offi- cial relations with this locality are not confined to his present office. When Forest county was first organized about thirty years ago Gov- ernor Rusk appointed Mr. Poppy as the first registrar of deed's, an office which he held for a year and a half. Thus his name will always stand on the official records of Forest county as one of its first officials. Mr. Poppy has been a resident of Crandon since the thirty-first of October, 1883. That date preceded any permanent settlement in the vicinity, and only a few people lived over the territory now comprised within Forest county. His first work as a pioneer settler in this vicin- ity was for his cousin Samuel Shaw, in clearing a little farm. He then took work as a teamster in lumber camps during the winter, and in 1885, with Charles Osborne, he built the Park Hotel. He assisted in the management of that hostelry four years, after which he employed his time as a laborer, carpenter, or at any legitimate occupation. Mr. Poppy has served as treasurer of the town of Crandon for several terms. He now owns a fine farm of eighty acres, situated a mile west of Crandon, though his home is in the city of Crandon.
Harry Poppy was born at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, May 10, 1858, a son of Henry and Jennette (Shaw) Poppy. His father was born in England, and his mother in Scotland, and they were married after coming to America. The father, one of the early settlers in northern Wisconsin was a farmer through his active career. Both parents are now deceased. When Harry Poppy was a small boy the family moved
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to New London, and it was on a farm near that town that he spent his boyhood, and from there came direct to Crandon.
Mr. Poppy in 1888 at Crandon married Elizabeth Krumm, of Stur- geon Bay, Wisconsin. They were the parents of four children, all sons, as follows: Maylon, who died at the age of five months; Clarence Harry, who is a scaler and grader of lumber at Trout Creek, Michigan ; Marvin John; and Irvin Robert. Fraternally Mr. Poppy is affiliated with Modern Woodmen of America.
SIMON C. F. COBBAN. Among those men who helped to build the city of Chippewa Falls, from the days when it was a straggling little village to the present day when it is one of the thriving municipalities of the state of Wisconsin, is Simon C. F. Cobban. With the exception of a short time spent in the west Mr. Cobban has lived in Chippewa Falls since the years just following the Civil war, and he has given to the people the best of himself, in his endeavors, not only to attain suc- cess for himself but to assist the town to grow and develop along com- mercial and industrial lines.
Mr. Cobban is of Scotch descent, his father, Robert Cobban having been born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1796. The latter learned the printer's trade in the old Scotch city and here he met and married Mary Anderson, who was also a native of Aberdeen, where she was born in 1807. In 1823 Robert Cobban took the step that he had been contemplating for some time and came to America, settling in eastern Canada. Here he cleared the timber off a piece of land and settled down to primitive farming that was possible at this early time. His farm was located about fifty miles from Quebec and here he lived until his death in 1866. His wife was only thirty-five years of age when she died in 1842. Eleven children were born to Robert and Mary Cobban, two of whom are living today. Simon Cobban and his sister Joanna who is the widow of Byron Wells of Menomonie, Wisconsin. The fam- ily was of Scotch Presbyterian stock and were all faithful attendants at the Presbyterian church.
Simon C. F. Cobban was born at Inverness, Megantic county, Canada, East, which is now part of the Province of Quebec, on the 21st of December, 1839. He lived on his father's farm until he was fifteen years of age. Being the next to the youngest child he was just a tiny fellow when his mother died and he grew up without a mother's care, and with what education was obtainable in the wild part of the country where the homestead was. His first work was as a member of a con- struction gang on the Grand Trunk Railroad. He was thus engaged for about six months and then learned the blacksmith trade. This did not suit him either and for two months he was occupied splitting cedar rails. All this life in the open and so much physical exercise gave him
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a splendid constitution and aided in strengthening the mental powers that he brought to play later in life.
His next move took him to Vermont where he hired out as a farm hand, until February, 1862, when he enlisted in Company "K," Third Regiment of Vermont Volunteers, Sixth Corps. He remained with this regiment for about a year and was then discharged on account disability. During his service in the Sixth Corps he served under General George B. MeClellan, and later under General Burnsides, in the Department of the Potomac. On the 1st of January, 1864, he re- enlisted, this time as a member of Company "C," Eighth Regiment of Vermont Volunteers, being in the Nineteenth Corps. He remained in this regiment until the close of the war, but was later transferred to the Sixth Corps. His first enlistment was at Yorktown, Virginia, and he joined the Eighth Regiment at Franklin, Louisiana. In 1864 he was with General Phil Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley and was in his command when the general made his famous ride at Cedar Creek. He was a corporal in the Eighth Regiment and was an active participant in all the battles and skirmishes that occurred while he was in the service. Among these were the battles of Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Chickahominy and the retreat to the James river, which was one long battle. Then there was the Second Battle of Bull Run and the battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg, all of which took place in his first enlistment. In his second enlistment the most notable engagements in which he was concerned were the battles of Winchester, Fisher Hill and Cedar Creek. He was twice a participant in a grand review, the last being at the grand review in Washington, after the war was over. He was mustered out of the service in June, 1865, and returned to Vermont.
Like all soldiers it was hard to settle down to the life of a farm after having been engaged in making history and so after a month spent in haying, Mr. Cobban determined to go west and on the 18th of August, 1865, he arrived in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Here he entered the employ of Pound and Halbert, a well known firm of car- penters and worked with them until he and his brother, William Coh- ban, together with H. C. Armstrong, John Cook and Abe Gardiner formed the firm known as Cobban, Cook and Company. They were engaged in the construction of buildings, and in the manufacture of sashes, doors and blinds. It was the first business of the kind to be located in Chippewa Falls and the firm became very prosperous. After seven years in this connection, Simon Cobban bought a farm about one and a half miles from town and there he settled to an agricultural life. This property is now located just a half a mile from the city limits.
The building known as Cobban's Opera House, which was the first amusement house built in Chippewa Falls was erected by Mr. Cobban in 1880. In 1884 he lost practically all he had in a fire and since it
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was necessary to rebuild his fortune he went out to Montana, and there engaged in the lumber business in Butte. He was thus occupied for about six months and was not only successful in this line of busi- ness but also made considerable money out of real estate investments that he had made. He therefore returned to Chippewa Falls and entered the real estate and loan business. He proved to be an able man along these lines and in 1904 was one of the organizers of the Northwestern State Bank, being made the first president, a post which he now holds. His success today was shadowed forth years ago when a lad, for any man who will contract to cut one hundred cords of hard maple wood at fifty cents a cord and board himself, and carry out the contract, has in him the elements that go to make up success.
Mr. Cobban has never lost interest in the affairs of his old comrades in arms and one of his chiefest pleasures has been in the annual re- unions of the Grand Army of the Republic. He is a member of the James Comerford Post, No. 68. In politics he is a member of the Re- publican party.
In 1867 Mr. Cobban married Jeannette Mann, who was born in the state of Pennsylvania, not far from the city of Elmira, New York. Two children were born of this union, Edna, who is the wife of J. S. Harker of the state of California and Eva, who married P. J. Cham- bers, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. For his second wife Mr. Cobban mar- ried Mame E. Wheeler, on the 7th of January, 1903. One daughter, Stella C. F., has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cobban.
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