USA > Wisconsin > Wisconsin, its story and biography, 1848-1913, Volumr VI > Part 7
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WILLIAM A. DEVINE. The public service as a career is seldom realized in America owing to the vicissitudes of our political adminis- tration. What it might be has been well exemplified in the case of Wil- liam A. Devine, the present postmaster at Madison. Mr. Devine has been identified with the postal service of this city for more than a quarter of a century. Starting as a carrier, he passed through the various grades in the regular civil service, and in 1911 was properly rewarded with promotion by President Taft to the executive control of the office.
Mr. Devine was born in Madison, December 25, 1863, a son of John and Anna (Cass) Devine. His father, a native of county Limerick, Ireland, died April 11, 1875. The mother, a native of county Tipperary, Ireland, is living at the age of seventy-one. The parents were married in Madison, and of their five children three are living, William A. the oldest. The father was a boy when his family emigrated to America and located on a farm in Dane county, Wisconsin, where they were pion- eers. After reaching manhood he began his career as a farmer, but later moved into Madison, where he was a federal employe until his death, which occurred when he was still a young man. In polities he was a Democrat, and was a member of the Catholic faith.
Mr. Devine received his early education in the parochial schools of Madison, but the death of his father when he was a boy of twelve threw him early into the serious business of life. His first regular wages were from work in the printing office of the Madison Democrat. He was then employed by the old Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad (now the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul) on construction work on the Mil- waukee and Prairie du Chien division, and later in the car repairing department.
On the 1st of June, 1886, he became a letter carrier with the Madison postoffice. Several months later, on October 1st, he was made super- intendent of carriers. June 1, 1891, he was placed in charge of the money order department, and on June 1, 1899, became assistant post-
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master, the highest position obtainable under the classified civil service. Then on January 9, 1911, President Taft commissioned him postmaster. Mr. Devine was one of the organizers and the first president of the As- sistant Postmasters Association of Wisconsin and he served as secretary and treasurer of the Wisconsin Postmasters Association for two years, and was elected president of the above association on September 8th, 1913. He served as secretary of the Civil Service Board for eleven years, is a member of the Madison Board of Commerce, and is one of the liberal and public spirited men of his city, liberal to a fault with his friends but conscientious with himself.
Mr. William A. Devine was married September 26, 1894, to Miss Martha Dowling, who is also a native of Madison. Their home circle .comprises three children, Margaret, Katherine and Mary.
Fraternally he is affiliated with the Madison Council No. 531, Knights of Columbus, and has served two years as district deputy and four years was secretary of the fourth degree assembly. He is also a member of the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin. He has twice held the post of exalted ruler in Madison Lodge No. 410, B. P. O. E. Mr. Devine is a communicant of the Catholic church, and his politics are Democratic.
WILLIAM F. VILAS. Each state in the Union has a few men whom she can call great; it may be that they are great only in a local sense, but they are her great men; then it is given to a few states to claim as her sons, men who are in a truer sense men of the nation, for their great- ness is a greatness that cannot be confined within the limits of a state. Of the latter class was the late William F. Vilas, honored and beloved throughout the state and nation during his lifetime; held in tender memory now that he has gone from among us. No truer words of him can be written than those spoken by the Honorable James G. Jenkins, in his Memorial Address: "In all positions to which he was called, in all the work which he undertook, he applied himself to the discharge of duty with an energy which knew no flagging, with a devotion which knew no turning, sparing neither himself nor others that faith might be kept and duty performed. This characteristic runs through all his life and illuminates all his work. He was, it is true, ambitious; but it was the noble ambition to excel. He desired place and power, not from sordid motive, but for the opportunities they offered for usefulness. He sought to aid his kind by teaching them and helping them to help themselves. He recognized the truth that indiscriminate charity is hurtful both to the giver and to the receiver, and that that is true char- ity which aids to build up independence of character and self-reliance. With wise statesmanship, he saw that the best remedy for the ills of government, the true safeguard from the evils of passion and preju- dice, the sure foundation for manly independence of character and good citizenship, the anchor which can hold the ship of state in the storms
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which beset her, the main essential of success for the individual, is edu- cation." A soldier, an orator, a statesman, and in each role, thinking first of his country and her people and lastly of himself-such was William F. Vilas, and the bare outline of his life which follows can give no true idea of the real greatness of the man.
William Freeman Vilas was born on the 9th of July, 1840, at Chel- sea, Vermont. His father was Levi Baker Vilas and his mother was Esther Green Smilie. When the boy was eleven years old his parents came to the west, arriving in Madison, Wisconsin on the 5th of June, 1851. His early education had been well cared for, and he was unusu- , ally young when he entered the University of Wisconsin. He was a brilliant student, and his college career was a fair example of what his life in a larger sphere was to be, for he was a leader, a student who exerted a strong influence, and a man whose words even at this age were well worth listening to. He was especially active and interested in the Hesperian Society, and here it was that he received a valuable training in oratory, and first learned how an audience would respond to his words. He was graduated from the university in 1858, not quite eighteen years of age. He then took up the study of law at the Albany Law School, New York, from which institution he was graduated in 1860, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws.
Returning to his home city, he formed his first partnership on the date of his twentieth birthday, and took up the practice of his profes- sion here in Madison. During the next year he received the degree of Master of Arts from the University of Wisconsin, and in 1885, he was given the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, from his, his alma mater. He had scarcely opened his office, and prepared for work at his beloved profession, when he began to feel that his country needed his services and that in spite of the desire to go on with the work he so dearly loved the sacrifice was one which he ought to make. He therefore offered his services as a soldier, and was made captain of Company A, Twenty-third Regiment of the Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and in August, 1862, he found himself with the Army of the Tennessee, under the command of General Grant. In February, 1863, he received a pro- motion to the rank of major, and further distinguished himself to the extent that in the following month he was made lieutenant-colonel. The officer next higher in command, being absent during the battles around Vicksburg, and during the siege and capitulation of the city, it fell to Colonel Vilas to lead his regiment during these days of trial and not one of the soldiers who are now left but remembers and re- calls with pride the picture of their brave young, twenty-two year old colonel, as he rode before them through those terrible days. After the fall of Vicksburg, when the western part of the Confederacy was clear- ly conquered, Colonel Vilas felt that he should be at home attending to very pressing business affairs, and so resigning his command, he re-
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turned to Madison, and in August, 1863, he was once more deep in his professional work.
He was soon recognized as a lawyer of far more than the ordinary ability, and the University of Wisconsin honored him by offering him a chair as professor of law. He accepted this in 1868, but at the same time, by dint of working with almost superhuman energy, he was able to continue with his private practice, which was increasing all the time. He held this professorship from 1868 to 1885, and during this period many other honors and duties were placed upon his shoulders. From 1875 to 1878 he was engaged in company with others in a revision of the statutes of the state. In 1874 he was made a trustee of the Wis- consin Soldiers' Orphans Home, and gave a great deal of his attention to this work, for he felt very near to all who were his comrades in the great struggle, and he held this position until 1893. He was made a regent of the university, in 1881, in recognition of the deep interest which he took in educational matters, and because the university felt the need of a strong man such as he, in its governing body. He held this office until 1885, when duties of a pressing nature demanded his absence from Madison.
In 1884 came Mr. Vilas' first active participation in politics in such a way that he was brought before the notice of the nation, although he had always been prominent in the political interests of his party in the state. This was when he was elected permanent chairman of the Democratic national convention, which was held in Chicago. When Grover Cleveland was nominated for the presidency on that memor- able occasion, he was chosen as chairman of the committee, which was appointed to notify the candidate of his nomination. On this occa- sion he made a notable address, which though brief, attracted attention by its simple forcefulness. The campaign that followed will be long remembered, and during this time, Colonel Vilas was elected as a mem- ber of the legislature, the first office to which he had been elected by the will of the people. When the Cleveland cabinet was organized, the new president showed his appreciation of the services which Colonel Vilas had rendered to the party, and of the intrinsic strength of the man, by appointing him Postmaster General. He served in this office from 1885 until 1888, when he was appointed Secretary of the Inte- rior, to succeed Secretary Lamar, who had become a Justice of the Su- preme Court. In both of these posts of high honor, Colonel Vilas proved his strength. The chief reason for the Democratic victory in 1884 had been the belief that Cleveland would carry out some much needed re- forms in the administrative service and that civil service reforms in particular would be advanced, therefore, the work of a cabinet was extremely heavy, more so than would ordinarily occur with a change of administration. Colonel Vilas was one of the powers of the admin- istration, a man to be relied upon in every emergency, whose broad
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knowledge of conditions throughout the country, and whose progressive ideas could not but be of supreme value to the administration of the affairs of the nation. At the close of the Cleveland administration he again took up his law practice in Madison. So confident were the peo- ple in his ability, and so firmly did they trust him to stand for them, that he was not long permitted to remain at home, but in 1891 was sent to Washington as a United States senator. He served in the Senate for eight years, or until 1897. During these years he was growing more deeply into the hearts of his people and his services were now demanded in his home state.
Before his term of office in the Senate was complete, he was ap- pointed a member of the State Historical Library Building Commis- sion, and to the work of this commission he devoted much time and thought, serving until 1906, when the splendid structure which now houses the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, was completed. It was at about this time that the university again demanded his time and the greater knowledge which he had gained during his years of experience in administrating the country's affairs, and appointed him Regent. He served his alma mater thus until 1905, his regency be- ginning in 1898. In 1898 he was also elected vice-president of the State Historical Society, and in 1906 he was made a member of the Wisconsin Capitol Building Commission, and in both of these positions he gave loyal service until his death. It was especially in the latter work that the energies of his last years were devoted, and the beautiful capitol building stands as a monument to his labors, as to those of no other man. He also served as a member of the Wisconsin Vicksburg Park Monument Commission, and while serving in this office, he wrote "A View of the Vicksburg Campaign," which was published by the Wisconsin History Commission, in October, 1908, and is one of the clearest and most interesting reports of that famous campaign that has ever been put into print.
Colonel Vilas was too busy a man to have much time for recreation, but he was a well read and well traveled man in spite of his lack of spare moments. Of his three trips to Europe, not one was of any length, yet he brought back more than many a man who has spent years there. His real recreation, however, was found in using his powers as an orator. A most interesting volume of his addresses has been com- piled by his wife and these addresses, unlike so many, do not need the magnetism of their author's personality, or the fire of his voice, to make them interesting. They are full of thought and are not mere words, as are so many oratorical efforts that have power to sweep people off their feet. As an ardent member of the Democratic party, he spent many hours speaking in behalf of its candidates, but it was not in the politi- cal field that his oratorical honors were won. He was called upon to deliver addresses before such associations as the Society of the Army
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of the Tennessee, and before various organizations of the University of Wisconsin, and before many other groups of brilliant and influen- tial men. As a member of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee, he was always willing to talk in its behalf and at the meeting of the Society in 1877 he was selected to deliver the oration at the next meet- ing of the veterans. His success on this occasion was so marked that he was unanimously elected to deliver the response to the toast, Our First Commander, at the banquet given by the Society at the Palmer House, in Chicago, in honor of General Grant, upon his return from his trip around the world. His effort on this occasion was most remark- able and caused tumultuous enthusiasm. As an extract from the pro- ceedings of the society describes the scene: "It would be difficult to fully portray the scene following the conclusion of Colonel Vilas' re- sponse. The entire banquet party rose to its feet, and the hall re- sounded with cheer upon cheer, and each individual seemed to contest with marks of appreciation, till Colonel Vilas was compelled to again rise, standing in his chair, while hearty cheers were given. Rarely has such eloquence been observed and never in the history of our So- ciety."
Here may be inserted a letter from a man whom America has learned to honor and whose appreciation of Colonel Vilas was deep and sincere.
Stormfield, Redding, Connecticut, October 13, 1909. Dear Mrs. Vilas :
I thank you so much for the Memorial, which I have read with the deepest interest. I had a warm place in my heart for Colonel Vilas, and a great admiration for his lofty gifts and character. I can still vividly see him, as I saw him twenty years ago, lacking a month, at the Grant banquet in Chicago, as he stood upon a table, with his lips clos- ing upon the last word of his magnificent speech, and his happy eyes looking out in contentment over a sea of applauding soldiers glimpsed through a frantic storm of waving napkins-a great picture, and one which will never grow dim in my memory.
I thank you again, dear madam.
Sincerely yours, (Signed) S. L. CLEMENS.
P. S. No, it was thirty years ago.
Whoever has not read this speech would do well to read it and then turn to an address that he made before the Society of the Army of the Tennessee, in 1878. In these two speeches he may find that spirit that animated the souls of those men of 1861, whether they wore the blue or the gray.
Colonel Vilas was married in 1866, to Miss Anna M. Fox, a daugh- ter of Dr. William H. Fox, of Fitchburg, Wisconsin. They made their
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first home in Madison in a beautiful grove of oaks a few miles south of the city, and here in the quiet and peace of an ideal home life, the young lawyer gathered strength for the days when he was to be thrust out in the full glare of public life, with the battles of a great nation on his hands. In 1879, he moved into the city, and in the beautiful home at the corner of Gilman street and Wisconsin avenue, facing the waters of Lake Mendota, he passed the remainder of his life. His death came on the 27th of August, 1908.
In November, 1912, Mrs. Vilas, with her daughter, Mrs. Lucien M. Hanks, erected, by the request of the National Park Commissioners, a large bronze statue of Colonel Vilas on the breast works of the battle- field at Vicksburg, Tenn. At this place the colonel led his regiment, the Twenty-third Wisconsin Infantry, in 1863 during the battles around Vicksburg.
Of the four children born to Colonel Vilas and his wife, only one is now living. She is Mary Esther, the wife of Lucien M. Hanks, and with their three children, William Vilas, Sybil Anna and Lucien Mason, Mr. and Mrs. Hanks live not far from the old home, where the mother and grandmother still live. .
LEWIS D. PLUMER. Now representing the Phillips Lumber Com- pany as one of its aggressive salesmen, Mr. Plumer has had a long and successful experience in the lumber business. When a boy he started out in Buffalo, New York, in the capacity of "tally boy," and about thirty years ago came to Wisconsin, and has been employed in nearly every relation and work connected with the business.
Lewis Daniel Plumer was born in Buffalo, New York, June 1, 1866. His boyhood was spent in that city, and his attendance at the public schools was continued only until he was about twelve and a half years of age. The firm of Holland-Graves then took him in as tally boy in their lumber yard, and with that firm he had an experience continu- ing for eight years. The firm advanced him from one responsibility to another, and finally sent him out to Marinette, Wisconsin, and during 1885-86, he worked in scaling lumber. The year 1887-88 was spent in Canada, overseeing the estimating and shipping of lumber. During the winter of 1888-89, Mr. Plumer worked in the woods for Isaac Stephen- son. In 1890 Pearly Law employed his services in shipping lumber at Marinette and Peshtigo. The summer of the same year was spent in shipping and estimating for the firm of IIamilton and Merriman of Marinette. Following that he was employed by Judge Cochran of Ashland in grading lumber, and then returned to Buffalo for the Mont- gomery Door & Box Company. In 1892 Mr. Plumer entered the employ of the Edward Hines Lumber Company of Chicago. He went into the yards, and by his practical ability in all departments of lumber- ing was quickly advanced and sent on the road as a salesman. For
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four years he traveled over territory in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. Following this experience on the road, he was placed in charge as superintendent of the mill at Iron river, and remained there until 1903. His next work was as manager of the mill at Park Falls. In April, 1913, Mr. Plumer came to Phillips and became identified with the Phillips Lumber Company as traveling sales- man.
For three years Mr. Plumer was president of the County Fair Asso- ciation at Bayfield, Wisconsin. He was married May 8, 1897, to Mar- garet Golley. His politics is Republican and his church is the Catholic.
DANIEL K. TENNEY. It is always most gratifying to the biographist and student of human nature to come in close touch with the history of a man who, in the face of almost insurmountable obstacles, has plodded persistently on and eventually, through his determination and energy. made of success not an accident but a logical result. Daniel Kent Ten- ney, who is now living virtually retired at Madison, Wisconsin, is strict- ly a self-made man and as such a perusal of his career offers both lesson and incentive. For many years he was eminently successful as an attorney of recognized ability in Chicago, Illinois, where he figured prominently in numerous litigations connected with commercial law.
Daniel Kent Tenney was born in Plattsburg, New York, December 31, 1834, and he is a son of Daniel Tenney, a Universalist clergyman, who preached for many years in northern Ohio. The founder of the Tenney family in America was an Englishman who came from England and settled in Massachusetts Bay colony in 1620. His descendants have figured conspicuously in the public affairs of their respective commun- ities and have won renown in the various professions. Rev. Daniel Tenney married Sylvia Kent, a cousin of the great Chancellor Kent of the state of New York. This union was prolific of ten children, of whom the subject of this review is the only survivor, in 1912.
At the age of two years Mr. Tenney, of this notice, accompanied his parents from New York to northern Ohio and at the age of five years he began to attend school. When he had reached his eighth year he entered upon an apprenticeship to learn the trade of printer in the newspaper office of his brother, Major H. A. Tenney, at Elyria, Ohio, and he was identified with this line of work off and on for eight years. In 1849, at the age of fifteen years, he came to Madison, Wisconsin, to attend the state university which was organized about that time. By working at his trade during vacations and on Saturdays he managed to earn the money with which to defray his college expenses. He was a student in the university for four years and at the expiration of that period again turned his attention to printing. For one year he was foreman of the Wisconsin State Journal printing office but having de- cided upon the legal profession as his lifework he began his legal studies in the office of H. W. Tenney at Portage, Wisconsin. In 1855
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he was appointed deputy clerk of the circuit court of Dane county and during his incumbency of that position he kept up his legal studies. December 11, 1855, at the age of twenty-one years, he was admitted to the Wisconsin bar and he initiated the active practice of his profession at Madison as a partner of his brother, who, two years later, gave up law work. Mr. Tenney then entered into a partnership alliance with Charles. T. Wakeley and in 1860 he became junior member of the law firm of H. W. & D. K. Tenney. During the ensuing ten years the latter firm enjoyed a large and lucrative practice in Dane county but Daniel K. Tenney, being anxious for a more extensive field for his professional work, removed, in 1870, to Chicago, where he became associated with some of the most prominent professional men of Illinois. He devoted his attention principally to commercial law and therein won unqualified success. An orator of power, a keen lawyer, and withal a student of men possessing a rare insight into their natures, Mr. Tenney was, in- deed, a man of fine legal ability. His record at the Illinois and Wiscon- sin bars and the honors which have been bestowed upon him stand proof of his worth. He retired from active participation in professional work in 1898 and since then has resided in Madison.
In 1857 Mr. Tenney was united in marriage to Miss Mary Jane Marston, the ceremony having been performed at Madison. Mrs. Ten- ney was born in Montpelier, Vermont, and she was summoned to the life eternal in the year 1907. Mr. and Mrs. Tenney became the parents of two children: John M., who was engaged in business at Seattle, Washington, but lost his life by accident; and Mary Sylvia, a resident of Winnetka, Illinois.
In early life Mr. Tenney was a stalwart Democrat but after the organization of the Republican party he has supported its principles. Although frequently urged to run for public office, including that ·of congressman, he has refused to do so, preferring to give his undivided time and attention to law work. He has always been a Free Thinker and has contributed a great deal of worthy literature on that subject.
HENRY L. LEVY. In the death of Henry L. Levy, on the 26th of May, 1907, the beautiful little eity of Eau Claire, judicial center of the county of the same name, lost one of its most honored and valued citizens and one whose name had been closely and worthily connected with the development and upbuilding of the city, Eau Claire having represented his home during virtually his entire life. Mr. Levy was a scion of a well known pioneer family of Wisconsin and he developed to the fullest extent his admirable powers as a man of affairs and as a progressive and public-spirited citizen, the while his pleasing personality and im- pregnable integrity of purpose gained to him the confidence and high regard of those with whom he came in contact in the various relations of life. By his character and achievement he honored his native state
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