USA > Wisconsin > Wisconsin, its story and biography, 1848-1913, Volumr VI > Part 27
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In the district schools of Waukesha county, Wisconsin, William W. Perry gained his rudimentary education, and this was supplemented by a course in the Ohio State College, near the city of Columbus, in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1875. In that year Mr. Perry was ordained a minister of the Presbyterian church, the ceremony of ordination having taken place and been affirmed in the city of La Crosse, Wisconsin. The major part of his work in the ministry has been in his native state, and he has held various pastoral charges, including several of important order, the while he has long been known as a specially strong pulpit orator and as a man whose every utterance bears the mark of earnest conviction and the utmost sincerity. He has been successful in his pastoral work in each of his charges, has gained and retained the affectionate regard of those to whom he has thus ministered, and has consecrated his full powers to the aiding and uplifting of his fellow men and furthering the work of the church militant. He has maintained his home in Mil- waukee, his native city, since 1898, and held the pastoral charge of Westminster Mission, at 1095 North Pierce Place, for six years. He is now associate pastor of Berean Presbyterian church, on the South Side of Milwaukee.
Mr. Perry has been a deep and appreciative student of the history and teachings of the Masonic fraternity, and has long been a promi- nent figure in its various bodies. He received the Honorary thirty- third degree, in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite in Boston, Mass., September 20th, 1904, and was crowned an active member of the Supreme Council of Northern Jurisdiction September 23rd, 1909.
On the 24th of July, 1876, Mr. Perry was raised to the sublime
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degree of Master Mason, in Lake Lodge, No. 189, Free & Accepted Masons, in Milwaukee, and later he received the capitular degrees in Waukesha Chapter, No. 37, Royal Arch Masons, at Waukesha, this state, where he also received the cryptic degrees, in Waukesha Coun- cil, Royal and Select Masters. At Reedsburg, this state, he completed the circle of the York Rite, by receiving the chivalric degrees in St. Jolın Commandery, No. 21, Knights Templar. He affiliated with Madi- son Lodge, No. 5, Madison Chapter, No. 4, and Robert Macoy Com- mandery. In 1889 Mr. Perry received the degrees of the various bodies of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, up to and including the thirty-second degree, and he was thus crowned a Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret in Wisconsin Sovereign Consistory, A. A. S. R. His present ancient-craft affiliation is with Damascus Lodge, No. 290, in Milwaukee, and here he is also affiliated with Tripoli Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He has been most zealous and active in every Masonic body with which he has been or now is affiliated, and he has served with distinction in many official posts of high order. He has been Worshipful Master of the Blue Lodge fourteen years, High Priest of the Chapter, Thrice Illustrious Master of the Council, and Eminent Commander of the Commandery, in which bodies he has passed the other official chairs, and he has held preferment in the Scottish Rite bodies also. At the time when New- ton M. Littlejohn was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons, Wisconsin, Mr. Perry held the position of Senior Deacon, later. he served as Senior Grand Warden. In 1894 he was made Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge, and at the next annual assembly of the body he was chosen Most Worshipful Grand Master. He has been for many years the representative of the grand lodge of Minnesota near the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin. In 1898 Mr. Perry was elected most Illustrious Grand Master of the Grand Coun- cil Royal & Select Masters, and his term in this office expired in 1900. In September, 1900, Mr. Perry was appointed Secretary of the Masonic Grand Bodies in Wisconsin, with the exception of the Consistory, A. A. S. R., to succeed the late John W. Laflin, who died August 30, 1900, and in that responsible and exacting office he has since continued the able and honored incumbent, its duties demanding the major part of his time and attention. He has offices in the Masonic Building in Milwaukee, and he is earnest and indefatigable in the administration of his official affairs, which he handles with marked discrimination and to the entire satisfaction of his Masonic brethren. In politics he is a stanch advocate of the principles and policies for which the Repub- lican party has stood sponsor in a basic way, and he is loyal, progres- sive and public-spirited in his civic attitude at all times.
On the 19th of August, 1879, Mr. Perry was married to Miss Emma Goodwin La Barre, a daughter of Darius W. and Ann (Stark)
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La Barre, who were at that time residents of Mukwonago, Waukesha county, Wisconsin. Mrs. Perry was born in Ithaca, New York, and reared in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, where her parents still reside. Mr. and Mrs. Perry have five children, namely: Jessie Ellen, now Mrs. Thomas Scott, of Milwaukee; Ralph Emerson, of Milwaukee; asso- ciated with the North Western Life Insurance Company; Faye M., the wife of H. R. Ricker, of Milwaukee; Helen M., now Mrs. W. L. Strickler, of Meridian, Mississippi; and Ruth J., at home with her parents.
CHARLES W. FOLDS. One of the native sons of Wisconsin who has become distinctly a man of affairs and a broad-gauged, liberal and public-spirited citizen of Chicago, the great western metropolis, is Mr. Folds, who is there resident partner of the stanch and representative firm of Hathaway, Smith, Folds & Company, bankers and brokers of commercial paper. The firm is one of the important concerns in the field of enterprise and its Chicago offices are located at 137 South La- Salle street. In according in this volume merited recognition to Mr. Folds, as a representative of Wisconsin, it is not necessary to enter into details concerning his large business activities in Chicago, but a brief record of his career will prove of enduring interest to the people of the state in which he was born and reared and in which he laid the substan- tial foundation for his large and definite success as a business man.
Charles Weston Folds was born in the city of Oshkosh, judicial cen- ter of Winnebago county, Wisconsin, and the date of his nativity was August 23, 1870. He is a son of William B. and Mary D. (Jenkins) Folds, the former of whom was born in Dublin, Ireland, on the 6th of September, 1832, and the latter of whom was born at Bangor, Maine, in 1844, their marriage having been solemnized at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Of the four children, Charlotte Elizabeth is the eldest and is living; George R. and Charles W. were twins, the former living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; William Lawrence, the youngest, died July 31, 1900.
William B. Folds was afforded excellent educational advantages in his native city, where he learned the printer's trade in the office of his father, who was a representative publisher in the city of Dublin and who had the distinction of introducing the first printing press of the modern type in Ireland. William B. Folds was about sixteen years of age when he severed the ties that bound him to home and native land and set forth to seek his fortunes in America. He emigrated from Ireland in 1847, made the voyage on a sailing vessel, and landed in the port of New York city. He made his way westward via Erie Canal and the lakes to Racine, Wisconsin, and settled finally on the shores of beautiful Lake Geneva, in Walworth county, Wisconsin. After there devoting his attention to agricultural pursuits for a brief interval he again identified himself with urban business activities. He assumed the posi-
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tion of reporter and compositor in the office of the Milwaukee Sentinel, and he proved an effective and popular representative of American journalism. Later he entered the employ of McKey Brothers, of Janes- ville, this state, where the firm had its headquarters, besides which it conducted also dry-goods stores in Madison and Oshkosh. Mr. Folds proved an alert and capable factor in connection with this mercantile enterprise and became a member of the firm. Finally he purchased the business in Oshkosh and retired from partnership. He continued as one of the honored and representative merchants of Oshkosh until 1874, and in 1876 he removed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he conducted a successful enterprise as a retail dealer in carpets for a number of years, within which he became the owner of a large and well equipped store. In 1892 he retired from active business, and since that time he has in- dulged himself in extensive travel, both abroad and in the United States. He is a man of strong and noble character, has achieved independence and definite prosperity through his own ability and efforts, and com- mands a secure place in the confidence and esteem of all who know him. He is a stanch Republican and both he and his wife are zealous communi- cants of the Protestant Episcopal church. They now maintain their home in the city of Evanston, one of the most beautiful suburbs of Chicago.
Captain James Jenkins, maternal grandfather of him whose name initiates this review, was born at Falmouth, Barnstable county, Massa- chusetts, and was a scion of one of the sterling colonial families of the old Bay state, representative of the name having been valiant soldiers of the Continental line in the war of the Revolution. In his youth he followed a seafaring life and rose to the position of captain in com- mand of a vessel. Later he was engaged in the lumber business at Bangor, Maine, and in the early '50s he came to Wisconsin and estab- lished his residence in Oshkosh. He engaged with the Bradley interests of Milwaukee and became one of the prominent and influential repre- sentatives of the lumber industry in this state. He was one of the first mayors of Oshkosh and was a prominent and honored resident of that city at the time of his death, in 1886.
Charles W. Folds was about six years of age at the time of the family removal from Oshkosh to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and in the latter city he continued to attend the public schools until he had completed the curriculum of the high school. Thereafter he entered the University of Minnesota, and in 1889, at the age of nineteen years, he obtained a cleri- cal position in the Northwestern National Bank of Minneapolis. Through energy and effective service he won promotion through the various de- partments and finally became cashier of the institution. His entire active career has been one of close and successful identification with financial affairs of broad scope, and his executive and administrative powers have been matured through his practical experience. In 1899
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Mr. Folds removed to the city of Chicago, where he associated himself with the firm of Charles Hathaway & Company, and here he found ex- cellent opportunities for advancement and success in his chosen field of endeavor. In 1905 he became a member of the firm, under the title of Hathaway, Smith, Folds & Company, and he has gained secure prestige as one of the discriminating, reliable and representative financiers of Chicago.
Mr. Folds is essentially progressive and liberal as a citizen, is a stanch supporter of the cause of the Republican party, and both he and his wife are zealous communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church in which he is a member of the vestry of St. James parish, Chicago. He is chairman of the finance committee of the board of trustees of the endowment fund of the Episcopal diocese of Chicago, and is other- wise influential in religious, educational and charitable work. He is a member of the Church Club of Chicago, of which he is a director, and of which he was chosen president in 1911; is chairman of Finance Committee United Charities of Chicago; is a member of the board of trustees of the Chicago Home for Boys; is a member of the commission on young men and boys of foreign parentage, an adjunct of the Chicago Young Men's Christian Association, in which he is a member of the advis- ory board of managers, besides being trustee of the Immigrants' Protect- ive League of Chicago, and vice-chairman of the executive committee of the Chicago chapter of the Boy Scouts of America. Mr. Folds is a direct- or of the First National Bank of Lake Forest, Illinois; a director and member of finance committee of the Emerson-Brantingham Company, of Rockford, Illinois; a director and member of the executive committee of the Calumet Insurance Company, of Chicago; a member of the finance committee of the Chicago Association of Commerce; is secretary of the North Central Improvement Association of Chicago; and a member of the executive board of the Religious Education Association in his home city. Mr. Folds is treasurer of the Wisconsin Society of Chicago, where he is likewise identified with the Minnesota Society, the Bankers' Club, the Chicago Club, the Mid-Day Club, the University Club, and the Union League Club. He holds membership also in the Union League Club of New York City and in the Chamber of Commerce of the national metrop- polis. He is a member of the Glenview Golf Club, at Golf, Illinois; the Onwentsia Golf Club, of Lake Forest, that state; the Wausaukee Club, of Athelstane, Wisconsin; the Saganois Club (shooting) of Browning. Illinois; the Minneapolis Club, at Minneapolis, Minnesota ; and is vice- president of the Chicago chapter of the Sons of the American Revolu- tion. The foregoing statements indicate the multiplicity of the public, civic, business and social demands placed upon Mr. Folds and also de- note his prominence and popularity in connection with diversified in- terests.
On the 24th of May, 1893, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Folds
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to Miss Florence Symonds, daughter of the late Henry R. Symonds, who was long a prominent and honored factor in connection with bank- ing operations in Chicago, where he was vice-president of the First National Bank at the time of his death. Mr. and Mrs. Folds have four children-Weston Symonds, Elizabeth, Florence and George.
BYRON TOWNE GIFFORD. Among Wisconsin men who are prominent in Chicago business should be mentioned Byron T. Gifford, manager of the General Engineering Department of the American District Steam Company, with offices in the First National Bank Building. Mr. Gifford's family has been in Wisconsin for over sixty years, and identified with the state as lawyers, farmers, in business and public affairs.
Byron Towne Gifford was born at the little station known as Gifford in Waukesha county, Wisconsin, December 16, 1879, a son of George Pardon, Jr., and Carrie Agnes (Towne) Gifford. The paternal grandparents were George Pardon, Sr., and Eliza Anna Whittemore Gifford, both of whom were natives of Massachusetts. Grandfather Gifford was a lawyer and publisher, and first located in Milwaukee, after his removal to the west, and for a number of years was engaged in buying land in Waukesha county. He gave to the old Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien Railroad Company, now the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul R. R., the land on which was built the railroad station of Gifford, which took its name from the donor of the land. During the Civil war Grandfather Gifford did much to promote the union cause and was provost marshal of his district. In politics he was a Whig and subsequently a Republican, and his church was the Episcopal. George Pardon Gifford, Jr., the father was born at Cambridgeport, Massachusetts, March 20, 1848. His wife was born at Farmington, Vermont, August 12, 1853. Their marriage occurred at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, January 1, 1874, and of their two children, the other is Lovice W. George Pardon Gifford, Jr., came west to Wisconsin with his father in 1852, and received his education in the schools of Mil- waukee. When the war came on, though he was a small boy he en- listed in the Fourth Wisconsin Regiment of Infantry under Major McArthur, and was a drummer boy of the regiment until it was called into service. His father then forbade him to continue as a soldier, and he had to forego his ambition for a military career. His first regular work was in the service of the well known Milwaukee packer, John Plankinton. The firm was known as Plankinton & Armour, and Mr. Gifford subsequently became identified with the Armour Packing Company at Chicago. He had the distinction of being the first traveling salesman for that now vast packing corporation, travel- ing out of Chicago, and selling the goods of Armour & Company, over a territory extending from Maine to Denver, Colorado, and from New
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Orleans to Winnipeg, Canada. Later he was appointed to the task of opening branch houses for the Armour people in Michigan and Wisconsin. After remaining with the company for more than twenty years he left and engaged in the hotel business at Gifford until 1905, in which year he bought the Avenue Hotel at Madison. This is one of the leading hotels of the Capital city, and he has continued a suc- cessful landlord in that hostelry up to the present time. In politics he is a Republican.
Byron T. Gifford was educated in the common schools of Waukesha county, attended the Oconomowoc high school, and was graduated from the University of Wisconsin in the class of 1901. During the next two years he was with his father in the hotel business, but then moved to a larger field in Chicago, where he became a contracting engineer with the firm of W. H. Schott. In 1907 he engaged in the engineering business under the name of Central Station Engineering Company, of which concern he was vice president. In 1912 the business was con- solidated with the American District Steam Company of New York, under the name of the American District Steam Company of Chicago. Since that time Mr. Gifford has been manager of the General Engi- neering Department.
Mr. Gifford is one of the well known engineers of the middle west. He has membership in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Society of Heating & Ventilating Engineers, and has numerous social and fraternal connections. He belongs to the Beta Pheta Pi College Fraternity, the Wisconsin Society of Chicago, Clinton Lodge, No. 371, A. F. & A. M., at Sinkart, Indiana, and Fairview Chapter, No. 161, R. A. M., of Chicago. In politics Mr. Gifford is a Republican.
On December 12, 1906, he married Miss Anna Louise Rothrock, who was born in Adams county, Ohio.
A. E. WEESNER. The largest and oldest insurance agency in Oneida county is the Barnes-Weesner Agency, insurance, real estate and loans, with offices in Rhinelander. The business is chiefly in insurance along the lines of fire, liability, life, plate glass, etc. The president of the company, which is incorporated, is Mr. A. E. Weesner, who has back of him more than twenty years of continuous and successful experience in insurance. The vice president of the concern is Hon. John Barnes, now a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Charles B. Peterson is secretary and treasurer of the company.
Mr. A. E. Weesner has been associated with this agency since 1900, in which year he came to Rhinelander from Illinois, and bought an interest in the old established agency. A. E. Weesner was born in Wabash, Indiana, May 26, 1868, a son of Clark W. and Anna E. Weesner, both of whom still live in Wabash, Indiana. Clark W. Weesner, who is
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an attorney by profession, is and has been for many years, one of the most prominent men in Wabash county, has taken an active part in political affairs, and is one of the citizens who are always looked to for their influence and guidance in any local enterprise. In Wabash, A. E. Weesner spent his youth, attended the public schools of the city, and was a student in Eastman's business college at Poughkeepsie, New York, where he was graduated in 1883 at the age of fifteen. After that he returned to Wabash, and soon became interested in insurance, and with the exception of about twenty-seven months, spent in Chicago in the employ of the Swift Packing Company, has been continuously in insurance lines since 1890.
Mr. Weesner is by no means a mere insurance broker. He is a business builder, and one of the most energetic factors in local business circles of Rhinelander. He is vice president of the Edmonds Land Company of Rhinelander, a company which owns large timber hold- ings throughout the state of Oregon. He is also a director in the First National Bank of Rhinelander.
Fraternally Mr. Weesner has taken thirty-two degrees of Scottish Rite Masonry, and is a member of the Mystic Shrine, and his social relations also include membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a director in the Rhinelander Building & Loan Association. Mr. Weesner married Mary L. Wiley.
ALBERT H. SCHRAM. With the patience and determination of his German forbears, Albert H. Schram, of Merrill, Wisconsin, has steadily worked his way upward until today he is one of the leading business men of Merrill and one of her most highly respected citizens. He began life with the knowledge of a trade but no capital and his success is due to his unaided efforts. The combination of a fine business ability with thrift and integrity have brought him prosperity and his strong char- acter has won him many friends, not only in Merrill but elsewhere.
Albert H. Schram was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on the 26th of August, 1854, the son of Frederick and Adelaide (Moeller) Schram, both of whom were born in Germany. Before coming to America, Fred- erick Schram learned the blacksmith trade and after coming to this country he continued to follow his trade. In 1856, when Albert was two years old, his parents moved to Sheboygan Falls, Sheboygan county, Wisconsin. Here Mr. Schram opened a country blacksmith shop and also owned and operated a farm. He remained here until a few years prior to his death when he moved to Plymouth, in the same county. Here he made his home until his death in 1879. His widow is still living, having reached the venerable age of eighty-eight.
Albert H. Schram was reared on his father's farm, near Sheboygan Falls, and received his education in the country schools of this vicinity. He then went to Baraboo, Wisconsin, where he learned the carriage and
GeoR Peek
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wood-working trade. He remained in Baraboo for three years and then removed to Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. He worked at his trade here for a year and a half and then, in 1875, moved to Plymouth, in She- boygan county, Wisconsin. Here he embarked in the carriage and wagon making business, continuing in this business until 1888, when he sold out and engaged in the furniture and undertaking business. He conducted this business successfully until the fall of 1906 when he sold out and for two years, or rather until the spring of 1908, he was not engaged in business of any kind.
It was in the spring of 1908 that he came to Merrill, having capital and a finė business reputation behind him. Here he built the brick building, known as the Schram Building, one of the best business build- ings in the city, located at 921 East Main street. Here he opened a furniture store and an undertaking establishment, under the firm name of A. H. Schram and Sons, with his three sons, Alfred, Clarence and Gus- tave. In the fall of 1908 Mr. Schram bought out the furniture and un- dertaking business of C. F. Hankwitz, at 120-122 Prospect street, West Side, Merrill, and since that time he and his sons have successfully con- ducted the two establishments. He is by far the leading furniture dealer in Lincoln county, Wisconsin, and is one of the leading undertakers in the county.
In religious matters, Mr. Schram and his family are members of the Evangelical Lutheran church at Merrill. Mr. Schram since coming to Merrill has had little time to spare from his business to give to public affairs but while he was a resident of Plymouth, he was prominent in public life. He was an alderman several times and also served several times as mayor of the town. His interest in agricultural matters was shown by his presidency of the Sheboygan County Agricultural Society, which was commonly known as the Fair Association. He was for many years chief of the Volunteer Fire Department of Plymouth.
Mr. Schram was married on the 20th of November, 1878, to Miss Emma Bade, a daughter of Christopher and Wilhelmina (Borges) Bade, of Plymouth, Wisconsin. Her parents were both natives of Germany but they were real pioneers of Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, for they came to this section of the state at a very early day. Mrs. Schram was born and reared in Plymouth, where her father conducted a blacksmith shop for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Schram have five children, as fol- lows : Alfred, Clarence, Gustav, Nora and Clara.
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