USA > Wisconsin > Wisconsin, its story and biography, 1848-1913, Volume VII > Part 38
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ent 443 East Water street, and in 1864 the firm purchased the fac- tory of Strohn & Reitzenstein, the members of which removed to New York city. In this new location Helmholz & Leidersdorf instituted the employment of an appreciable force of cigarmakers and also re- tained traveling salesmen to represent the house throughout the terri- tory normally tributary to Milwaukee. The business signally prospered and the original partnership alliance continued until 1869, when the senior member of the firm retired and the title of the firm was changed to B. Leidersdorf & Company. The next important event marking tlie history of the now substantial business was its removal, in 1875, to the new factory building that had been erected for the purpose by the late Guido Phister. In the new and more adequate headquarters Mr. Leidersdorf began to exploit the brands of tobacco and cigars that were destined to make his factory widely known and to gain to it the highest reputation. In 1878 the factory was destroyed by fire, and on the same site was erected a new and superior building. About four- teen years later this structure likewise was burned, and it is worthy of special note that it was the last building to be obliterated in the great and destructive fire that devastated the Third ward in that year. In this conflagration the company of which Mr. Leidersdorf was the head met with a loss of about $300,000, but with unflagging courage and ambition this was soon regained. The new factory was erected at the corner of South Water and Reed streets, where operations were con- tinued until the first of May, 1905, when removal was made to the present eligible and well equipped headquarters, at 90-98 West Water street. In 1903, as a matter of commercial expediency, the business was incorporated, with a capital stock of $300,000 and under the title of B. Leidersdorf Company, which is still retained. Mr. Leidersdorf continued as the executive head of the large and important business until 1905, when he sold out to the tobacco trust and retired. He left a definite impress upon the business and civic annals of the city that long represented his home and in which his name shall be held in last- ing honor. He was essentially a self-made man, gained large and worthy success and was true to his high ideals of stewardship and civic loyalty.
From an appreciative tribute published in a Milwaukee paper at the time of the death of this sterling pioneer and representative busi- ness man are taken the following pertinent extracts, which are well worthy of perpetuation in this connection :
"For many years Mr. Leidersdorf had been interested in municipal work, although the only public office he ever held was that of public debt commissioner, from 1905 to 1906, a position to which he was ap- pointed by Mayor David S. Rose. He was a Republican delegate to the national convention that nominated William McKinley for presi- dent the first time. Mr. Leidersdorf was an active member of the Vol. VII-21
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South Division Civic Association, was a Royal Arch Mason and held membership in the Milwaukee and Deutscher Clubs."
Mr. Leidersdorf ever manifested the deepest interest in local affairs and gave a ready and effective cooperation in the furtherance of meas- ures and enterprises advanced for the general good of his home city and state. He was a man of engaging personality, genial and kindly, and won friends in all classes. One of his chief sources of recreation was in connection with the art of music, for which he had marked talent. For many years he was one of the most active and valued members of the Milwaukee Musical Society, of which representative organization he served as president at one time. The following state- ments, taken from an article published at the time of his death, merit reproduction, as indicating the character and tastes of the man :
"For many years Mr. Leidersdorf made two trips a year to Europe. The first trip of the year was usually one of pleasure and was taken in the fall, for the purpose of hunting with friends in private game re- serves in Germany. His last trip was made in 1904. For many years also he went to Dakota to hunt, always accompanied by Willard A. VanBrunt, of Horicon, a life-long friend.
"The Leidersdorf home, at 779 National avenue, surrounded by spacious grounds, made beautiful by art of the landscape gardener, is one of the beauty spots of the South side. In the home are many works of art, purchased by Mr. Leidersdorf during his many trips to Europe. Friends and sightseers always have been welcome to stroll around the grounds which surround the Leidersdorf home, and there he had planted many varieties of shrubs and flowers which he had brought from Europe."
In 1861 Mr. Leidersdorf wedded Miss Sophia Schmidt, of Plau, 'grand duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany, and she was sum- moned to the life eternal on the 31st of May, 1869, leaving one son, Max, who is now a resident of New Smyrna. Florida. On the 8th of August, 1872, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Leidersdorf to Miss Fanny Duttenhofer, the wedding ceremony being performed in the city of Stuttgart, Germany. Mrs. Leidersdorf remains in the beau- tiful family homestead in Milwaukee and has been a gracious and popu- lar figure in the social activities of the Wisconsin metropolis. She is a communicant of the Lutheran church, and the fine old home is en- deared to her by many hallowed memories and associations, as its every relation was ideal until the devoted husband and father was called to eternal rest. Concerning the four children of the second marriage the following brief data are given in conclusion of this memoir: Gretchen is the wife of Ludwig Boesman, of Bremen, Ger- many, and they have two children .- Maria and George; Louisa is the wife of Dr. O. H. Foerster, of Milwaukee, and they have two children, Francis and Frederick; Carl Bernhard is at the head of an extensive
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tobacco business inherited from his father and is one of the progres- sive and valued business men of his native city; Erna is the wife of Dr. Nelson M. Black, of Milwaukee, and they have three children,- Louisa, Carl B. and Nelson M., Jr.
WILLIAM GEORGE BRUCE. High prestige is that held by Mr. Bruce as editor, publisher, author, educator, publicist, promoter and man of affairs, and he has done much to further the material aud civic advance- ment of his native city and state, as his splendid powers have been brought into play in manifold channels and his influence has been distinctively that of a broad-minded, progressive and public-spirited citizen. He has maintained his home in Milwaukee from the time of his birth to the present, is a representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of Wisconsin, where his paternal grandparents estab- lished their residence prior to the admission of the state to the Union, and he has not only developed his intellectual powers to a remarkably high standard but has also shown great initiative and administrative ability, through the medium of which he has achieved large and worthy success in connection with the practical interests and activities of life. . He is well known throughout the state, is essentially one of the repre- sentative men of Wisconsin, has done much to exploit the resources and advantages of this favored commonwealth, and it is a matter of mere historie consistency that he be accorded definite recognition in this publication.
Mr. Bruce was born in Milwaukee, in a home almost within the shadows of the city hall, and the date of his nativity was March 17, 1856. He is a son of Augustus F. and Apollonia (Becker) Bruce, the former of whom was born in the state of New York, and the latter of whom was born in Germany, whence she came to America as a young girl. Augustus F. Bruce, who died in Milwaukee in the year 1895, came with his parents to this city in 1842, about six years prior to the admission of the state to the Union, and the family home was established in Milwaukee, where he passed the residue of his life. He was a youth at the time of the family removal to Milwaukee and here he learned the trade of ship-carpenter. He became a skilled artisan and industriously followed the work of his trade for many years. He was a substantial citizen and a man of inviolable integrity,-one who gained and retained the unqualified esteem of those with whom he came in contact in the various relations of life. His earnest application to business brought to him a fair measure of success and he was known as a loyal citizen of well fortified opinions, though he took but little part in public affairs. Augustus F. Bruce was about sixty-two years of age at the time of his demise and his wife, Mrs. Apollonia (Becker) Bruce, preceded him to the life eternal by about twenty years, her death having occurred in
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1876. They became the parents of nine children, of whom four sons and four daughters are now living.
William George Bruce gained his early educational discipline in the parochial school of St. Mary's church, in Milwaukee, and later received private instruction in advanced academic branches. He early became identified with newspaper work, and that his tastes and inclina- tions were not at variance with this phase of enterprise is best attested by the success which he gained in the connection. In 1874, when about sixteen years of age, Mr. Bruce entered the employ of the Milwaukee News, and in the office of this paper gained initial experience in prac- tical journalism, as well as an excellent knowledge of the mysteries of the "art preservative of all arts," the printing business. He continued to be connected with the News, in varied capacities, for a period of six years, and then identified himself with the Milwaukee Sentinel, with which representative newspaper he continued his association for eleven years, as a valued executive in its business department and as an able contributor to its news and editorial columns.
In 1891 Mr. Bruce engaged in business upon his own responsibility, . by founding the American School Board Journal, a publication issued monthly and still owned by him, though the active management of the business is now in the hands of his two sons, William C. and Frank M. In the establishing, developing and conducting of the new enter- prise Mr. Bruce found a most attractive field of endeavor, and in the connection he became a recognized force in connection with educational affairs not only in Wisconsin but also in the nation. Under his able editorial and executive management the American School Board Jour- nal became the leading school administrative publication in the world, and this position of pre-eminence it still retains. Mr. Bruce has wielded great influence in connection with formulating and directing the ad- ministration of practical educational work, especially that pertaining to the public schools, and he is the author of a number of valuable text-books on school architecture, school administration, and kindred topics, the works having been published by him and being recognized as definite standards in their respective domains. He is still proprietor of the American School Board Journal, as previously noted, and also controls the various published works of which he is the author. He has shown distinctive constructive and organizing ability and the same has been directed along various avenues of business enterprise, in which he has gained the cooperation of representative business and professional men.
For several years Mr. Bruce was active in connection with political affairs in his native state, and he has given yeomen service in advancing the cause of the Democratic party, to which he has ever paid unequiv- ocal allegiance. In 1890 he was elected president of the Jackson Club, and two years later he was chosen president of the Jefferson
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Club, the leading Democratic organization of Wisconsin. This posi- tion he retained until 1896, when further recognition of his ability and effective service was accorded, by his election to the post of chairman of the Democratic county committee of Milwaukee county. This office he retained ten years,-a longer tenure than has been granted any other incumbent in the history of the party in the county. He showed marked finesse and ability in the manoeuvering of the political forces at his command and incidentally came in contact with many of the leading Democratic statesmen of the nation. In 1899 and again in 1900 he had the pleasure of entertaining at his home Hon. William Jennings Bryan, . the present secretary of state of the United States. In his political capacity he entertained Hon. Adlai Stevenson, former vice-president ; Senator Benjamin Tillman and other distinguished men. In his pres- ent capacity as an executive of the Milwaukee Merchants' & Manufac- turers' Association Mr. Bruce had direct charge of the entertainment of Presidents Roosevelt and Taft, on the occasion of their visits to Mil- waukee, and the same function was performed by him in the entertain- ment of Hon. James Bryce, British ambassador to the United States.
In 1888 Mr. Bruce was elected a member of the Milwaukee board of education and he served three years in this office, to which he brought characteristic loyalty and efficiency. In connection with his interest in and prominent association with educational affairs it should be noted that Mr. Bruce had charge of the Wisconsin school exhibits at the World's Columbian Exposition, in Chicago; and later at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, in St. Louis. In recent years he has written and lectured somewhat extensively on economic, civic and educational topics, including taxation, industrial education, modern commerce and trade, waterway transportation, industrial insurance, industrial safety and. sanitation, promotion of city and town, etc. During the period from 1910 to 1913 no man addressed a greater number of Milwaukee audi- ences or spoke upon a greater variety of subjects. In 1902 Mr. Bruce was appointed to the office of tax commissioner of Milwaukee, of which position he continued the incumbent until 1906, when he resigned, two years before the expiration of his second term.
The resignation noted was tendered in order that Mr. Bruce might accept the post of executive secretary of the Milwaukee Merchants' & Manufacturers' Association, and at this time also he retired from his activities in the domain of politics. He still holds the position of execu- tive secretary of the representative association mentioned, and he has done much to further its high civic ideals and to expand its angle of influence in exploiting and broadening the prestige of Milwaukee as an industrial and commercial center. He has otherwise become individually prominent in civic and commercial connections. In 1910 he was elected president of the governing board of the Milwaukee Auditorium, and in the following year was chosen president of the Milwaukee Harbor Com-
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mission. He made a thorough study of harbor facilities in Europe and from the knowledge thus gained he was able to offer valuable sugges- tions for harbor improvements in his home city. The following brief extract is taken from a newspaper article by him: "Milwaukee possesses a great natural asset in her harbor, which plays an important part in the commerce on the Great Lakes. This asset can and will yield greater benefits in the future and add to the material welfare and prosperity of the community if kept upon a high standard of efficiency and utility. * * I was impressed with the fact that the port cities of Europe have made a thorough study of the possibilities of securing trade. and commerce through their water routes and that they have spent fabulous sums in realizing these possibilities. Milwaukee should accept the sug- gestion that she must look after her water fronts if she is to maintain her prestige as a seaport town."
In another newpaper contribution Mr. Bruce gave a succinct and logical consideration of the practical value of college education in con- nection with business activities, and in this article he carries an effective brief for higher education, drawing his conclusions from careful com- parisons and from his wide personal experience, and the concluding para- graphs are well worthy of reproduction in this connection :
"Actual tests made * * * show that the greater percentage of successes is achieved by the college man. His path to achievement is more direct, involves a smaller expenditure of nervous energy, and pre- sents fewer hardships and struggles. The college graduate has in recent years invaded the various fields of financial, commercial and industrial endeavor, and with each year is replacing with increasing numbers the retiring non-graduate. He is expected to bring to his aid a keener per- ception of the purposes of commercial activity, a stronger degree of effi- ciency and a higher standard of business ethics. * The college graduate is expected to infuse his efforts with that efficiency which is energized by a knowledge of cause and effect and a broad comprehension of facts and conditions. The modern business world recognized the ad- vantages of a stronger intellectual equipment by drawing recruits for its important labors more from the ranks of the college graduates. It is he who ought to be the best equipped to grapple with the complexities of our economic structure and to co-ordinate the various factors into an efficient machinery.
"If we are to attain a higher standard of commercial honor and in- tegrity in the United States, then we have a right to look to the college- bred man for inspiration and leadership in attaining that standard. If this nation is to assume supremacy in the markets of the world, pride it- self upon the high virtue and efficiency of the American business men, command the confidence and respect of all civilized nations, it must look to its educational institutions for the necessary training and character-
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building. The college graduate is commissioned to realize in this direc- tion the nation's highest hopes and aspirations."
In 1912 Mr. Bruce was elected president of the Milwaukee Aero Club, of which he is still a most active member. He is a director of the Ger- man-American Bank, the Kroeger Brothers' department store, the Stege- mann Motor Truck Company, the Milwaukee Western Electric Railway Company, and the Wisconsin Savings, Building & Loan Association. He is still a member of the Jefferson Club, besides which he holds member- ship in the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the Old Settlers' Club and various other organizations.
In the year 1880 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Bruce to Miss Monica Moehring, who was born March 10, 1856, in Milwaukee, and who is the daughter of the late Conrad Moehring. The three chil- dren of this union are: William C. and Frank M., who have the gen- eral control and supervision of the American School Board Journal, as previously noted; and Miss Monica M., who remains at the parental home- and is a popular figure in the social life of her native city.
ISAAC G. HICKMAN. In a commercial center like Milwaukee success- ful business men are not rare. The city itself is a monument of busi- ness enterprise, and its creators are those whose collective energies have concentrated the huge volume of trade and industry at this one point. Though the present group of conspicuous business builders and ener- gizers in Milwaukee is a large one, yet is there individuality and instruct- ive interest in each member, whose career has possessed its peculiar fac- ulties and experiences and by its own route has converged to become one of the leaders now bearing the burdens of responsibility in the city's aggregate of commerce. In the following article is sketched a career which has more than ordinary inspiration and many of the most valuable elements of successful achievements.
Isaac G. Hickman was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, February 22, 1855. His parents were John E. and Magdalene (Miller) Hickman, the father a native of Pennsylvania, and the mother of New York State, their marriage occurring in Battle Creek. The father was a contractor and builder, and passed all his active career in Battle Creek. He was also in the Civil war as a private soldier of the Union, and went with Sherman on his march from Atlanta to the sea. Both parents died in Battle Creek, where they are buried. There were thirteen children in the family, seven sons and six daughters, of whom five boys and three girls are now living. Isaac G. is the only one a resident in Wisconsin, the others being scattered from Michigan to California.
Next to the oldest of the children, Isaac G. Hickman received his early education in Battle Creek schools, and was initiated into business experience in the employ of Merritt & Kellogg, with whom he remained four years. He was next taken into the force of employes of the great
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threshing machine and engine manufacturing company of Nichols & Shepard Company, of Battle Creek. That company is one of the oldest and most substantial in the domain of implement and machinery manu- facturing in America, and has been built up through the remarkable energy and business ability of a group of men who have made Battle Creek conspicuous in the industrial world. Among the men who con- tributed to the success of this enterprise, especially in the selling field, certainly none had more conspicuous honors from the heads of the com- pany than Isaac G. Hickman. He was in the employ of that concern for thirty-three years, starting in among the ranks and finally being pro- moted to one of the most responsible places on the entire force. He never missed a day throughout his thirty-three years. But the most interest- ing fact of all is that when he quit he was neither discharged nor did he resign in the ordinary sense of the term. He was one of the few men who proved themselves indispensable to any business enterprise, and he had to sever his connections almost hy force. For more than twenty years Mr. Hickman represented the Nichols & Shepard Company in Wisconsin as branch manager of their Wisconsin business with head- quarters in Milwaukee. He came to this city in 1885, so that he is one of the senior members of the business community. The last three years of his connection with Nichols & Shepard he spent in an almost futile attempt to resign. He had sent in his formal resignation to the firm, but knowing a good man, they refused or at least delayed the acceptance of the resignation. To bring matters to a head, Mr. Hickman finally locked up his Milwaukee office, sent back the Nichols & Shepard mail to Battle Creek, and by this unique procedure finally got himself "fired" and a successor appointed. The writer has seen some letters from Mr. E. E. Nichols of Battle Creek to Mr. Hickman, which indicate the warm regard of the head of that firm for his former subordinate, and a close friendship still exists between Mr. Nichols and Mr. Hickman.
It was while representing Nichols & Shepard in Milwaukee that Mr. Hickman about 1906 fully comprehended the future magnitude and sig- nificance of the automobile business. It had been his intention for some time to cease working for someone else, and get into business for himself, and he wisely chose the automobile field, as one in which his long experi- ence with the old company would count towards success. He therefore engaged in business in Milwaukee, associating himself with C. P. Lauson and W. H. Diener, under the present firm name of the Hickman-Lauson- Diener Company, Incorporated, of which Mr. Hickman is president, Mr. Lauson, vice president and treasurer, and Mr. Diener secretary. This firm are the state distributors for the Ford automobile in Wisconsin, and handle exclusively the Ford product in the state. As all the readers are aware, the Ford automobile is one of a world-wide reputation, and the Ford Motor Company at the present time ranks third in the pro- duction of American cars.
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Since engaging in the automobile business, Mr. Hickman has handled various makes of cars, but in 1909 became the state agent for the Ford. Mr. Hickman knows automobiles as do few other men in the field. No one in the retail automobile business has earned a higher reputation in Wisconsin for honest service, square dealing and authoritative knowl- edge. During the year 1912, a business of two and three quarter million of dollars in the Ford car in Wisconsin was transacted through the agency of which he is the head.
Mr. Hickman is president of the Milwaukee Automobile Dealers' Association. This association recently engineered the deal whereby Mil- waukee was selected as the scene of the battle for the Grand Prix and the Vanderbilt cup races in September, 1912. He is a leader in the affairs of this association, and also a member of the executive board of the Wis- consin Automobile Dealers' Association, also a director of the Home Makers' Land Company, a concern which owns forty-two thousand acres of land in northern Wisconsin. Mr. Hickman has a stock ranch of twelve hundred acres in Iron county, Michigan, and carries on an extensive industry in the buying, feeding and shipping of cattle and sheep.
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