Milwaukee County Wisconsin Genealogy

Biographies and Family Information

Includes Marriages, Births, Confirmations, Baptisms

To facilitate your search the surnames have been cross indexed.

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[ L ]	[ M ]	[ N ]	[ O ]
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[ T ]	[ U ]	[ V ]	[ W ]
[ Y ]	[ Z ]	-	-

 

OSCAR BACH

OSCAR BACH, the president of the Milwaukee Music Company, has proved that if a young man be possessed of a bright and active mind, and endowed with ambition, perseverance, steadfastness of purpose, and integrity, he can reach an eminent position in the community and exert a wide influence. Oscar Bach, the subject of this brief review, is a native of the Cream City, born there on July 16, 1871, being the son of George and Helena (Hilgen) Bach. The father was a native of Germany who left the Fatherland when quite young and came to the United States. He took up music as a profession and has made a brilliant name for himself in the musical world. George Bach may be regarded as a musical genius, and he has demonstrated his remarkable ability as the director of George Bach's Military Band of Milwaukee. Oscar was reared in his native city, and given the benefit of an education in the public schools of Milwaukee, and he subsequently completed a thorough course in the Spencerian Business College. He inherited great musical talent, and at the age of fifteen began the study of music under his father and uncle, Christopher Bach. He worked hard, and this, combined with his natural ability, gave promise of a brilliant future, which has since been realized. While still a very young man Mr. Bach became a member of Christopher Bach's Orchestra, one of the leading musical organizations of the Middle West. Oscar did not devote himself to one line of music, but has become an expert on many instruments, of which he is complete master. Mr. Bach has gained a wide reputation as a music teacher and has large classes. In 1897 he established himself in the music business at 547 Third street, becoming president of the Milwaukee Music Company. The business of the company increased, and in 1906 Mr. Bach moved to his present quarters at 2201 Vliet street, where one of the largest music houses in the Middle West is conducted. In partnership with his father, Mr. Bach, in 1892, established a musical journal called, "The Souvenir," of which he is the editor, and which is devoted to musical interests. This publication met with a very gratifying reception, has come to be recognized as the official musical journal in the United States, and it has an immense circulation. In addition to these many interests Mr. Bach is a publisher and a writer of music, with offices at 275 Eighteenth street, Milwaukee. Mr. Bach is a Republican in politics, and he is a member of the Milwaukee Turn Verein and the Musicians' Association, of which he was secretary for a number of years. On Oct. 19, 1867, Mr. Bach was united in marriage with Amanda, the daughter of Charles Abresch, of Milwaukee. They have one daughter, Lola, born Aug 22, 1899. The family are members of the Lutheran Church.

Source: Memoirs of Milwaukee County by Jerome Anthony Watrous, 1909 pg. 606

 

B. FOWLER BAKER, M. D.

Is a prominent physician of the city of Milwaukee, where he has been engaged in the practice of his profession almost continuously for the past sixteen years, and prior to his coming to Wisconsin's metropolis he had had ten years of practice in Michigan. He was born at Ransomville, Niagara County, N. Y., on April 5, 1858, son of Dillman Shadric and Laura Matilda (Durand) Baker, the former of whom was born at Albany, N. Y., in 1810, and the latter at Canandaigua, N. Y., in 1814. These honored parents were united in marriage in their native state and settled on a farm in Niagara County, where they spent the remainder of their lives, fourteen children being born to them, of whom six are now living. The father was a Republican in his political affiliations and was very active in the local counsels, of the party organization. He and his good wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and remained true to that faith until their deaths, that of the father occurring in 1876 and the mother in 1898. The family is of English decent and traces its American lineage to the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers upon Plymouth Rock in 1620. Dr. Baker received his early education at the union schools of Lockport, N. Y., and then deciding to make the practice of medicine his life's vocation he entered the Physio Medical Institute at Cincinnati, Ohio, and graduated in that institution in 1881. He immediately began the practice of his profession, locating first at Trufant, Montcalm County, Mich., where he was engaged in practice five years, after which he took up his residence in the city of Grand Rapids. In 1892, he removed to Milwaukee, and the medical fraternity has numbered him among its members during the time, which has intervened since then, with the exception of two years which he spent in travel. Dr. Baker is independent in his political views, is a member of the Christ Adelphian church, and fraternally is a member of the Masonic Lodge, No. 213, Free and Accepted Masons at Cedar Springs, Mich.

Source: Memoirs of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Vol. I & II by Jerome Anthony Watrous, 1909, pg. 446 Vol. 2

 

JOHN "JAY" BALCHUNAS

John "Jay" Balchunas, 34, the undercover drug agent fatally shot during a gas station robbery. Balchunas was formerly with the New Berlin Fire Department and Milwaukee Police Department. He last served with the state Department of Justice, detailed to the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. He died on Nov. 5.

 

Dr. Lucius Barber

Source: The Medical History of Milwaukee, By Louis Frederick Frank. Published 1915. Germania Publishing Co.

Dr. Lucius Barber arrived in July, 1835, and found lodging for a time with Daniel Wells Jr. He was a native of Connecticut and well educated in his profession. Soon after opening his office he saw opportunities to make money by dealing in real estate, like many of his colleagues, and later became prominent in politics, which practically ended his career as a physician. He was a member of the first legislature, served one term as speaker of the assembly and by his investments in real estate and commercial enterprises acquired considerable wealth. He finally removed to Jefferson, Wis., where he passed the remaining years of his life.

 

H.W. BARDENWERPER

Candidate for City of Wauwatosa
H.W. Bardenwerper, of Wauwatosa, is an independent candidate for alderman.

Source: Wauwatosa News April 1, 1899

 

FRED H. BARK

Fred H. Bark, Republican candidate for alderman, is involved in the upholstery business in this city. He is well known and a present member of the common council. He was appointed to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of F.W. Kalfahs.

Source: Wauwatosa News April 1, 1899 Candidate for City of Wauwatosa

 

ROBERT RUFFIN BARROW

Robert Ruffin Barrow, 59, a tireless worker for the Wisconsin chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society and for the Republican Party. Barrow was diagnosed with MS in 1985. "He loved (Winston) Churchill's attitude of 'never give in,' and certainly exemplified that," said U.S. District Judge Rudolph T. Randa, a longtime friend. Barrow died Dec. 9.

 

J.K. BARTLETT

Source: The Medical History of Milwaukee, By Louis Frederick Frank. Published 1915. Germania Publishing Co.

Scholar, upholder of medical ethics and advocate of thorough preliminary education.

Dr. Bartlett was a descendant of Richard Bartlett, who came from England to Newbury, Mass., in 1635. Genealogical records from an old church of Stropham, dating to the 13th century, show the family name to have been Bartellot.

Dr. John K. Bartlett, one of Milwaukee's most prominent physicians, was born in Portsmouth, N. H., in 1816 and was a graduate of Yale College in 1836 and of the New Haven Med. School in 1841, whereupon he settled in Milwaukee. He first formed a partnership with Dr. Proudfit, which was terminated by the death of the latter. Writer remembers him as a man of dignified bearing, deliberate in action and speech. In dress particularly neat he paid no attention to prevailing styles: black, almost skin-tight trousers, a waist-coat displaying an immaculate shirt-front, sack-coat and soft felt hat covering a head of abundant flowing hair. He was a passionate smoker. As a great reader and constant student he surrounded himself with an excellent large library of which he was exceedingly proud. Completely wrapped up in his professional duties it became the aim of his life to promote the different branches of medicine, especially advocating a thorough preliminary education for medical students, in which effort he may be considered a pioneer of a movement, which as late as today engages the deep attention of medical educators. In therapeutics he deviated from the then universal custom of giving enormous doses of nauseating agents, indiscriminate bleeding and similar barbarous practices. As a citizen he took an active part in the advancement of public sanitary improvements, in the extension of common school education and in the establishment of a public library. He was conspicuous in maintaining the professional etiquette and was an enthusiastic upholder of the "Code of Ethics" and a firm believer in the establishment and membership of medical associations, local, county, state and national, and as such was the originator and active supporter of various societies. In 1872 he was elected vice-president of the American Medical Association, in 1876 one of the vice-presidents of the International Medical Congress, and in 1877 he was made president of the Wis. State Medical Society. Besides being president of several local medical associations, he was honored by having the "Clinical Club," organized in 1886, named after him. Failing health caused him to seek a less vigorous climate and his last years were spent in Berkeley, California, where he died Nov. 26, 1889, of epithelioma. Bartlett Ave., Milwaukee, is named in his honor.

 

CAPTAIN CASPER BARTLEY

Library of Congress #F572.N8 M5, copied by Daniel Dzurek.

Captain Casper Bartley, master of the tug Delta and resident of Escanaba, Michigan, is a native of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, born May 31, 1862, son of Captain George B. and Maria (Branigan) Bartley.

Captain George B. Bartley is a native of Massachusetts. He has been a sailor all his life, spent many years on the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans, and since 1861 has been on the Great Lakes. While on the Arctic ocean he was in a whaling vessel. At present he is master and managing owner of the tug Monarch, and is also superintendent of the Escanaba Towing and Wrecking Company. The mother of our subject died February 17, 1885. Her family was composed of the following children: Casper; Ada Frances, deceased wife of Alexander Cunning; George Ancel, engineer on his father's vessel, the Monarch; Clara at home; Frank, who works for his father during the navigation season; Mamie, at home; William, who resides with his brother Casper; Edwin, who makes his home with his brother George, the latter being married; Hiram, at home; Harry, also at home; and one child that died in infancy. In November 1885, the father married Miss Nina Leighton, his present wife, by whom he has had four children, one of whom is deceased.

Casper Bartley attended school until he was fourteen years of age. He then came to Escanaba, and was employed here about seven years before the removal of the rest of the family to this place. His first work was in the capacity of cook on a tug, which he followed two or three years. After this he served as lineman until he received a master's papers in 1882. His first assignment as a master was on board the tug Pilot, where he served about two years or until the vessel was sold. The company then built the Delta, and he was assigned to the command of the tug Owen, of which his father had served as captain until the completion of the Delta. For tow years our subject was captain of the Owen. Then he was employed by the Ford River Lumber Company, as commander of the tug Bruce, continuing with them for two years. Next we find him at Ashland, where he took command of a tug on Lake Superior. Before the completion of the season, however, he was called by telegram to take command of a tug owned by the Escanaba Towing and Wrecking Company, his former employers, and he has been with them ever since. Nineteen years of his life have been spent on the waters.

Captain Bartley was married in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, November 28, 1883, to Miss Nellie Burke, a native of Madison, that State, born in June, 1863. When she was about a year old her parents moved to Milwaukee, where her mother still resides; her father is deceased. The captain and Mrs. Bartley have had four children, namely: George, born September 22, 1884; Elmer, who died January 3, 1891, at the age of eighteen months; Cornelius E., born January 11, 1891, and Irma Agnes, born June 27, 1894. The family are members of St Joseph's Church, Roman Catholic. Politically, the captain is a Republican and is a formidable candidate for Alderman of his ward. He is a member of the A.O.U.W., and on the organization of the Bartley Tent of Maccabees he was Commander of the tent.

Source: Memorial Record of the Northern Peninsula of Michigan (Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1895), pp. 67-68.

 

JULIUS BARTZ

Is a native of Wauwatosa, Milwaukee county, his father having come to American in 1873 and locating in Milwaukee. Previous to his immigration he was a soldier in the German army and took part in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. After living in Milwaukee a year the family moved to Wauwatosa township, where the father bought 24 acres of land, working at the same time in a lime-kiln. After living there four years they removed to Pewaukee township and six years later to the farm where Julius now lives. The father, now seventy-five years of age, still makes his home there, his wife having died in 1894. Except about tow and one-half years, when he was engaged in carrying milk, Julius has spent his life on the farm which he bought from his father and now devotes principally to dairying, making his own butter. He raises some stock but only for his own use. There were eleven children by the second marriage, of whom six are living, viz: Amelia, wife of Louis Golemjesky, a resident of Pewaukee township; Julius, of this sketch; Minnie, wife of Albert Goerlitz, a resident of Milwaukee; Augusta, wife of August Gehrt, a resident of Lake, Milwaukee county; Albert, a resident of Milwaukee, and Herman who lives with his brother Julius. Two children were born to a former marriage, neither of whom are living. Julius was educated in the district schools of Pewaukee and Brookfield townships and on arriving at maturity married Miss Maggie Galliten, a native of Oshkosh and the daughter of Frederick Galliten, now residing at Marshfield, Wis. Her mother is deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Julius Bartz five children were born, the first of whom died in infancy. The others are Viola, Vernie, Mabel and Margaret, the last also deceased. The family belongs to the Lutheran church and Mr. Bartz supports the Republican party, although he has never taken a part in practical politics.

Source: 1907 Volume of Haight's Waukesha County Memoirs

 

SUSAN BASHAM

Susan Basham, 59, a librarian-media specialist with Wauwatosa School District. She long worked at Eisenhower, as well as other schools. Basham, who was married to Dick Basham, football coach at Marquette University High School, became ill at a football game, and later suffered a second, more severe aneurysm. She was pronounced dead Sept. 26.

 

WILLIAM BAUMGARTNER

This man was noted for his personal ugliness. Short in stature, with an immense head, face large and flat, short, thick ears, and a mouth, that when open, would have fooled a king-fisher or a sand martin. But his chief deformity was his eyes, these organs being like those of a trilobite, placed nearly in the side of his head. He properly belonged to the olitic period, when monsters were the rule; and in addition to all this, he was cross-eyed. The only way to approach him unseen, was to come directly in front of him. He was without exception, the worst looking human being that it was ever my fortune to see. His very presence caused a chill wherever he went, and no child could be induced to approach him. Even strange dogs eyed him askance. Where he came from or where he went to, I never knew; he disappeared in 1838.

Source: Pioneer History Of Milwaukee by James S. Buck, 1876 Vol. 1

 

Frederick E. Beals

Source:Memoirs of Milwaukee County : from the earliest historical times down to the present, including a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in Milwaukee County (1909), By Jerome Anthony Watrous

Frederick E. Beals, the genial president of the Beals & Torrey Shoe Company, was born in Milwaukee on Jan. 6, 1882. He is a son of James L. and Etta E. (Fowle) Beals, the former of whom was born in North Weymouth, Mass., in 1848, and the latter in South Milwaukee in 1850. His uncle, Elias F. Beals, served all through the Civil War as a soldier in a Massachusetts regiment and died in Milwaukee two years ago. He was president of the Beals & Torrey Shoe Company at the time of his death.

Frederick E. Beals received his early education in the public schools of Milwaukee and rounded out his scholastic training by a course in the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Shortly afterward he became associated with the Beals & Torrey Shoe Company. This company is a manufacturer and wholesale dealer in boots with a large business in Wisconsin and other states. The firm was first started after the war, in 1866, as Mann, Beals & Company; shortly afterward Mr. Torrey became a partner in the concern, whose name was changed to Reals. Torrey & Company. This title was carried until 1897, when, upon incorporation, it became known as the Beals & Torrey Shoe Company. Mr. Beals' paternal grandfather and his uncle, Elias F. Beals, were the original members of the firm, and his father later joined the company. The subject of this memoir has been associated with the company for about five years, and succeeded to his father's interest upon the latter's death.

He is unmarried. In political matters he is allied with the Republican party, but has never held public office. In church matters he is associated with the Congregational society. He is also a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Blue Mound Country Club and the Deutscher Club.

 

JAMES LEWIS BEALS

Source:Memoirs of Milwaukee County : from the earliest historical times down to the present, including a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in Milwaukee County (1909), By Jerome Anthony Watrous

James Lewis Beals, deceased, was born at North Weymouth, Mass., Sept. 10, 1848. He was the son of Elias S. and Betsey T. (Burrell) Beals, both born at North Weymouth, Mass. He was educated in the public schools of North Weymouth, Mass., and at a business college at Boston, Mass. He came to Milwaukee in 1867 and engaged as a clerk for Mann & Beals, jobbers and wholesale shoe manufacturers, his brother Frank being the senior member of the firm. Three years later the firm was reorganized, James L. buying the interest of Mr. Mann, and the firm was then known as Heals, Torry & Co., our subject occupying the position of secretary-treasurer until his death in 1891.

Both brothers gained their knowledge of the shoe business from their father, who for many years had been a shoe manufacturer in Massachusetts. The father had also been tax commissioner of North Weymouth for several years. The family comprised five children, of whom James L. was the fourth. By the application of strict business principles and well-directed energy the company soon became one of the largest concerns of its kind in the West, a position which it still retains. While James L. was painstaking and devoted to the company's records and interest, he was nevertheless a great lover of outdoor sports. He was particularly fond of fishing, at which sport he spent several weeks each summer on the beautiful lakes of northern Wisconsin. In politics he was a Republican, though never holding an important office, having no such aspirations. He was a member of Grand Avenue Congregational church, a 32nd degree Afason and a Shriner.

On Sept. 9, 1876, he married Miss Etta E., daughter of John and Caroline (Moore) Fowle, of South Milwaukee. Their only child is Frederick Elias Beals, the present president of the Beals Shoe Company. Mrs. Beals' parents were born in England and came to America in 1834, settling in what is now South Milwaukee. Her father was a farmer and was born about 1794. He farmed and bought and sold government lands. He died in 1885, at the ripe old age of 91 years.

 

DR. WALKER LINSLEY BEAN

Source: The Medical History of Milwaukee, By Louis Frederick Frank. Published 1915. Germania Publishing Co.

Dr. Walker Linsley Bean was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and first practised in Charleston, N. C. Upon arriving at Milwaukee he formed a partnership with Dr. J. K. Bartlett until his death in 1845. In the treatment of diseases of children he was especially successful and was the first Milwaukee physician to advocate a limited diet in almost all cases of limited illness. During the first small-pox epidemic he had charge of the isolation hospital conjointly with his partner.

A humerous reflection on the methods of Dr. Bean's practice appeared in the "Courier" whose editor was accused of partially towards the foreign population of Milwaukee and giving vent to his feelings, as follows: "Some ten days ago we were accused, trid, found guilty of being unfit to attend any kind of business, for which crive we were given over to the tender mercies of Doctor ean, who bled us, cupped us, put a seton in our neck, after which he gave us three doses of strychnine a day, for three days, but it did not cause us the least trouble. no one who ever edited the Courier will ever be killed by strychnine.

 

JOHN BECKER, M.D.

Source:Memoirs of Milwaukee County : from the earliest historical times down to the present, including a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in Milwaukee County (1909), By Jerome Anthony Watrous

John Becker, M. D., a physician of high standing in the city of Milwaukee, was born in New York city on Aug. 11, 1853, son of Dr. John and Anna Maria Becker, both of whom were natives of Bavaria, Germany, the father being born on Feb. 22, 1822, and the mother on March 10, 1824. The ancestors on both sides have been military men, and some of them have been engaged in various noted engagements on European battle-fields. The parents of the subject of this review came to America in the latter part of 1848 and located in the city of New York, where the father completed his medical studies, graduating at the New York Medical College in 1855. He practiced his profession for over twenty-five years and died at Pittsburg, Pa., in 1887. The mother died in 1882, at Brooklyn, N. Y.

Dr. John Becker, whose name introduces this review, received his literary education at Minrath's Institution in New York City, and then entered upon a very thorough preparation for the medical profession. He first entered Bellevue Hospital Medical College in the city of New York, and after taking a course in that institution spent some time in the Long Island Hospital Medical College at Brooklyn, N. Y. He then matriculated at the Fort Wayne College of Medicine, where he graduated with the class of 1890. Following his graduation he practiced his profession for several years in Pennsylvania and Ohio, successively, and in 1896 located in the city of Milwaukee, where he has since been engaged in general practice and has met with unequivocal success.

He was married on May 30, 1882, to Miss Katharina Muller, a native of Germany, and a daughter of Heinrich and Elisabetha (Bauer) Muller, who reside in Bavaria, Germany. To this union there have been born three children: Johanna, Anna and Angelica Josephina, aged twenty-six, twenty-four and twenty years, respectively. Dr. Becker is a Democrat in his political views, a Roman Catholic in his church affiliations, and he is an honorary member of the St. Michael's Society.

 

NICHOLAS BECKER

One of the prosperous farmers of the town of Menomonee, was born in the adjoining town of Granville, Milwaukee county, Nov. 15, 1853. Both of his parents, John and Catherine (Castler) Becker, were natives of Germany. The father was among the pioneers of this part of the state, coming in 1840 when practically the whole country was wild, and the few settlers who ventured into the forests were obliged to endure great privations and hardships in their efforts to subdue the wilderness. John Becker located in the town of Mequon, Ozaukee county, but a few miles from the location which became his home in later life, and although he was a carpenter by trade, like many others of his countrymen, to whom the possession of the landed estate was impossible to their native land, he chose in his new home the occupation of a farmer. To the first 40 purchased, 80 acres in adjoining town of Granville, Milwaukee were later added and this was his family home for many years. There were ten children in the family, the subject of this sketch began to help on the farm at the early age of ten years. His education was obtained first in the parochial Catholic school in Fussville and later in the public school at Granville. Nicholas remained as a helper on his father's farm until his marriage made it necessary to establish a home of his own, when he purchased the Granville place of his father. He resided there for six years and made many improvements, but finally sold the farm and purchased the one where he now lives. This is a well cultivated and well-equipped farm of 133 acres, upon which Mr. Becker has built a beautiful home, large and commodious barns and other buildings. Mr. and Mrs John Becker, the parents of the subject of this sketch, are both deceased, the mother dying in May, 1902, and the father in Jan. 10, 1904. Their later years were spent in the home of their son Nicholas. The other three who are living are George, residing in the town of Lisbon; Henry, a member of the Police force of Milwaukee; Stephen, employed by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company and residing in Milwaukee. Mr. Becker was married on May 28, 1879 to Margaret Schneider a native of Menomonee township, daughter of Adolph and Margaret (Hargerton) Schneider, both born in Germany. Her father was also among the early settlers, coming in 1845, and was a farmer. Both parents died several years ago. Mrs. Becker received her education at the parochial school at Fussville and the public school of Menomonee Falls. To Mr. and Mrs. Becker have been born ten children, Katie married Michael Pellman, a farmer, and now lives in the town of Granville, Milwaukee county; John resides with his parents, as do all of the younger members of the family, Alma, Anna, Louisa, Martin, Nicholas, Theresa and Mary. George, the third child , is deceased. The family is connected with the Catholic church and Mr. Becker's political affiliations are with the Democratic party, although he has never taken an active part in political affairs, or cared for the honors of office.

Source: 1907 Volume of Haight's Waukesha County Memoirs

 

FRED BEHLING

Candidate for Town of Wauwatosa
Fred Behling, Democratic candidate for constable, is currently a town constable. He was appointed to fill a vacancy. He is a ready, obliging and careful official and generally can be found at Justice McClintock's court ready for immediate delivery.

Source: Wauwatosa News April 1, 1899

 

ROBERT BEHLING

Candidate for Town of Wauwatosa
Robert Behling, Republican candidate for constable, lives on 56th St. near Grand Ave. He was formerly in the milk business and is the son-in-law of Charles Deunkel, a prominent resident of Wauwatosa.

From Wauwatosa News April 1, 1899

 

JOSEPHINE E. (BEISCHER) BORN

Source: (No newspaper named/no date) Possibly Manitowoc, Sheboygan or Oshkosh Paper

Mrs. Josephine E. Born, 89, of 938 Grand St., died Monday at 7:10 p.m. at Mercy Hospital. She had been ill several months.

She was born in Milwaukee on Nov. 7, 1874, daughter of Leonard and Barbara Beischer, and was married in Kiel on April 9, 1896, to Joseph Born, who preceded her in death on March 30, 1957.

Mrs. Born came to Oshkosh in 1926, and was a member of St. Paul United Church of Christ and Samaritan Lodge 127, Waupaca.

Surviving are two sisters, Mrs. Lowry Page, Effingham, Ill., and Mrs. John Whittkow, Chicago; nieces and nephews.

Services will be held Thursday at 1 p.m. at Seefeld Funeral Home, with the Rev. B.H. Romanowski, pastor of St. Paul United Church of Christ, officiating. Burial will be in Kiel Cemetery.

Friends may call at the funeral home from 2 p.m. Wednesday until the hour of services.

 

CHARLES BEIFUSS

Deceased, for many years one of the most prosperous farmers of Milwaukee county, was born in Germany, Jan. 7, 1841. He received his educational advantages in the schools of his native country, and after growing to man's estate in the Fatherland came to the United States, where the great possibilities of the young country attracted and held him. In 1867 he located in the town of Oak Creek, Milwaukee county, where his first labors were for John Lawler. Three years later, Sept. 6, 1870, he married Julia, the daughter of John and Mary (Grant) Lawler, and then began to run a farm himself. Mr. Beifuss was industrious and a good manager and became one of the prominent citizens of the town of Oak Creek. He never gave up active life, and was still conducting his farm at the time of his death, Sept. 17, 1908. John Lawler was born in Ireland in 1806, and when a young man immigrated to the United States and located in New York, where he met and married Mary Grant, and they had one daughter, the wife of the subject of this sketch. With the great tide of western migration they came into the territory of Wisconsin in 1836, when it was almost a wilderness, and took up eighty acres of land in the town of Oak Creek, where Mrs. Beifuss still lives. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Beifuss on the hospitable old homestead near New Coeln: Mary, Ella, William, Winnie, Charlie, Katie, Albert, John, Francis, and Joseph, all of whom are living. During his life Mr. Beifuss was a member of the Democratic party and was always interested in political matters, but was never personally ambitious to hold office. He was a devout Catholic, and with his family was a member of the New Coeln Catholic church. In no place was his loss more keenly felt than in the congregation he had helped to establish and where he had been such a faithful worker. Mrs. Beifuss still is an honored resident of Milwaukee county and is one of its oldest residents. Her farm is the same one that her father cleared nearly three-quarters of a century ago.

Source: Memoirs of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Vol. I & II by Jerome Anthony Watrous, 1909, pg. 576 Vol. 2

 

PASTOR AUGUST CHRISTOPH BENDLER

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Pastor Bendler was born in Town Rhine, near Sheboygan, on the 31st of October, 1858. He attended Northwestern College in Watertown, Wis., from the years 1871 to 1878, and studied at the theological seminary of the Wisconsin Synod, located at that time in Milwaukee, Wis., on Thirteenth and Vine Streets. For a period of two years he served as Pastor in Galesburg, Ill., and from 1883 to 1890 he faithfully served the Lutheran Church at Brulington, Wis. On the 13th day of December, 1890, Rev. August Bendler was installed as Pastor of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church by the now sainted Dr. A. Hoenecke, which chuch he faithfully served until his death. Rev. Bendler entered his eternal rest on Sudnay evening, June 2, 1929, at Buffalo, N.Y. where he was taken seriously ill on his return trip from Palestine and Europe.

Source: Unknown

 

CAPT. HENRY BERENSON

No. 401 Orchard street, was born in Norway, in 1847, and came here with his parents in 1849. He commenced sailing in 1862, and has followed the same vocation since. He has gradually worked up to the position of captain, which he has held the past three years, and is now commander of the "JOHN SCHUETTE," in the grain and iron ore trade. His father still lives here, and is a ship carpenter by trade. He was married in the Autumn of 1873, to Miss Clara A. Hochberg(?). They have three children--James C., Bertha S., and Clara A.

Source: History of Milwaukee County, 1881

 

MATTHIAS BERES

Is a son of one of the German pioneers of 1847. The parents John and Mary (Berberich) Beres, both natives of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, came in that year to the town of Greenfield, Milwaukee county, accompanied by their three elder children, Christopher, John and Mary. The family home was in that township until 1882, and there the other children, six in number were born. They moved in the spring of 1882 to the town of Caledonia, Racine county, where they purchased a small farm of 20 acres. There the father died in 1883 and the mother in 1885. The family has quite a military record, the father having served three years in the Germany army and the two older sons, Christopher and John in the 26th Wisconsin infantry in the Civil war. Of their children four sons and two daughters are living, one of the daughters and two sons being deceased. The survivors are Christopher of New Berlin; Peter of Juneau county; Anton of Racine county, Matthias of Waukesha county, Lizzy (Mrs. Schneider) of Juneau county, and Agnes (Mrs. George) of Racine. Matthias came to Waukesha county March 28, 1881, a date made memorable by a snow-storm of unusual length and violence. At that time he rented a farm of 40 acres, which he has since purchased and improved by the erection of buildings, fences, etc. Later he bought a farm of 45 acres adjoining on the west, formerly owned by Harry Cheney, and in 1907 bought 40 acres of Sylvanus Gilbert, adjoining his place on the northeast, so that he has now a fine property of 125 acres, which is devoted to general farming and dairying. Politically Mr. Beres is a Democrat. He has taken an active part in local politics serving on the town board for four years, as town treasurer for two years, as assessor for three years, and has been path-master for twenty-five years. He was married on Nov. 23, 1876, to Anna, daughter of Peter Weber, who was born on a farm in the town of New Berlin and reared in that vicinity. Her parents, now deceased, came to Wisconsin in 1853. Mrs. Beres was born in 1855 and her father died when she was six months old. The nine children of Mr. and Mrs. Beres are as follows: Susan (Mrs. Mathias Burbach) of New Berlin Center, Mary (Mrs John Sterzinger) of West Allis, Anton, Joseph, Anna, Matthias, John, Maggie and Nicholas, all born in Waukesha county with the exception of the two eldest who were born in the town of Greenfield, Milwaukee county, and all, with the same exception still members of the original family circle. They belong to the Holy Apostle Catholic church of New Berlin, the father having been secretary of the church for seven years and is now on the building committee of the new church, the old one having been struck by lightning July 3, 1907, and burned. Mr. Beres is a self-made man, his accumulation of property being the result of personal effort and energetic labor of himself and wife. He enjoys the respect and friendship of all who know him.

Source: 1907 Volume of Haight's Waukesha County Memoirs

 

DR. A. BIGELOW

Source: The Medical History of Milwaukee, By Louis Frederick Frank. Published 1915. Germania Publishing Co.

In the latter part of 1834, a Dr. A. Bigelow, a Thompsonian or botanic physician, appeared, whose sovereign remedy for fevers was a preparation called "hot drops," the praises of which he sang on all occasions, telling of almost miraculous cures of fever and ague in Michigan by means of them. But the few pioneers of Milwaukee enjoyed good health and Dr. Bigelow turned his attention to the manufacture of lumber by putting up a saw-mill — the first in Milwaukee — from which he derived the greater portion of his income.

 

MICHAEL R. BIRON

This is the age when men of energy, industry, and merit are rapidly pushing themselves to the front, and those who by their own unaided efforts have achieved success are the ones who claim recognition. Among these stands the subject of this sketch. Mr. Biron was born at Mayence, in the beautiful valley of the Rhine, Germany, May 10, 1857, the son of Peter and Philphena (Hammer) Biron, who were both natives of the same place. Peter Biron died when his son was three years of age, and the brave mother assumed the responsibilities of both father and mother and reared the family. Michael received the benefit of a practical education in the public schools of his native city, and subsequently learned to be a pattern maker. He heard of the wonderful opportunities offered a young and ambitious man in the new world, and bidding adieu to the Fatherland sailed for America. When twenty years of age he landed in this country, and in 1877 located in Wisconsin, near Madison. Within a year he came to Milwaukee, and since that time has worked at his trade in various manufacturing establishments of the city. For seventeen years he has been foreman of the pattern shop of the Yilter Manufacturing Company. Mr. Biron is one of those skilled workmen who learned the cunning of the art in the old country, where it is taught as nowhere else, and he has met with well-deserved success in his chosen vocation. In 1888 his mother came to America, but lived only two short years in her new home before she was summoned to her last rest. On June 12, 1882, Mr. Biron was united in marriage with Miss Morgenstern. Two children have come to bless this union, Philipian and Susan. Mr. Biron is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is a member of the order of Free and Accepted Masons.

Source: Memoirs Of Milwaukee County From The Earliest Historical Times Down To The Present, Including A Genealogical And Biographical Record Of Representative Families In Milwaukee County, Lieut. Col. Jerome A. Watrous, Editor; Volume II; Madison, Wis.; Western Historical Association, 1909; pg. 662

 

DR. AZARIALI BLANCHARD

Source: The Medical History of Milwaukee, By Louis Frederick Frank. Published 1915. Germania Publishing Co.

Dr. Azariali Blanchard was born in 1789 ; little could be ascertained of his early life, except that he was a graduate of Geneva Medical College. Before coming to Milwaukee in 1846, he resided in Courtland County, N. Y., where he was during the war of 1812. In these days Courtland County was almost a border county and its sympathies were on the side of his country in her struggle with Great Britain. Dr. Blanchard made Milwaukee his residence from 1846 to 1868, death ending his career at the age of 79 years. He is spoken of by contemporaries as a man of guileless simplicity and Christian conduct in all his relations. His heart was warm not merely towards his fellowmen, but towards his country. During the civil war his patriotic sympathies were always alive, praying to witness the crowning triumph of the nation and fervently expressing the wish that he might live to vote for Grant and Colfax, a wish not to be gratified. In his medical life he was strictly orthodox and a deadly foe of homoeopathy. He was at one time surgeon of the U. S. Marine Hospital. Amongst his numerous descendants in Wisconsin were his sons-in-law Wm. Pitt Lynde and John Nazro.

 

J.H. BLEND

Harbor Master is a native of Canada, and was born February 11, 1830. His parents were Americans but had removed to Canada. In 1838, his family went to Cleveland and remained tow years. In 1840, he came with his mother to Milwaukee on the steamer BUNKER HILL, arriving September 19, of that year. He grew up to manhood in this city limed the trade of shipwright. He sailed considerably and for fifteen years has been connected with the Marine Insurance Company as Wrecking Master and Inspector. He was appointed to his present position of Harbor Master, May 1, 1880. Mr. Blend was united in marriage December 22, 1852 to Miss Maria Harmer, a native of Sussex, England. They have had four children, two of whom survived, Lillian A. and Sarah Jane.

Source: HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 1881

 

CAPTAIN NELSON BLENN

Wreck at St. Joseph.
We learn by Mr. S. Griffin of this city, who was an eye witness, that the schooner Whip, Capt. Nelson Blenn, of Milwaukee, in attempting to enter the harbor at St. Joseph, missed the pier and went ashore about eighty rods north of the pier. Five men and one woman was on board. All save the woman, who was below, was lashed to the rigging. She [sic] schooner was rapidly filling, the gale was furious, and the Capt. to save the woman, unlashed himself. He was soon washed overboard. He endeavored to save himself by floating lumber, but was knocked off and drowned. Some sailors on shore took a yawl and went to the rescue. Bravely did they battle the tempestuous sea with their little craft, and succeeded in reaching the schooner, and saved the balance on board. The vessel will probably be a total wreck. Captain Blenn leaves a wife and six children in Milwaukee. He has sailed on the lakes for 25 years, and was respected by all who knew him.

Source: Niles Republican, (Niles, Michigan), 25 March 1865

The schooner "Whip," in attempting to make the harbor on Wednesday last, in a heavy sea and a strong wind, was driven to the beach just north of the north pier. The captain, Blend of Milwaukee, and the mate were washed overboard. The mate was rescued as he floated near the shore on a plank. The captain was drowned and his body has not yet been recovered. The remainder of the crew clung to the rigging and were rescued. The cook, a young woman, was found in the cabin, clinging to the upper part, her body submerged up to her chin. She was rescued in an almost exhausted condition, and brought to the Perkins House where she was kindly cared for, and presented with a purse of nearly $100 by our citizens.

The schooner is almost a total wreck. She had left this port on Tuesday for Chicago, but encountering the storm, attempted to return and had almost effected a safe entrance, when an untoward wave carried her round the pier to destruction. She was loaded with lumber consigned by Messrs. Hopkins & Co. It will mostly be saved.

Captain Blend leaves a wife and six children in Milwaukee, who are certainly objects of deep commiseration. The Capt. had just purchased the vessel and had invested all his money and involved his homestead in her.

Source: St. Joseph Traveler, (St. Joseph, Michigan), 25 March 1865 (Saturday)

 

JOHN BLOMMER

JOHN BLOMMER, part owner and manager of an enterprising wagon company in Milwaukee, was born in Milwaukee on April 18, 1861. His ancestors for many generations were residents of Germany, where his father, Michael Blommer, was born in 1817, and his mother, Anna (Neubauer) Bloomer, in 1822. The father came to Milwaukee some sixty-five years ago. John Blommer took advantage of what educational opportunities the parochial schools of the city afforded, and when he had completed his course of study there he learned the wagon maker's trade. For the past quarter of a century now he has operated a wagon-making enterprise under the name of Shielke & Blommer, which has come to stand for skilled workmanship, integrity and square dealing. Politically Mr. Bloomer is a member of the Democratic party, and although engrossed in his everyday work he finds time to devote to working for the good of that party. Both he and his family are communicants of the Catholic church. Mr. Blommer was united in marriage on May 7, 1888, to Miss Katherine Kessenisch, a daughter of Herman J. and Gertrude Kessenisch, of Milwaukee. Nine children have blessed this union. They are Marie, Joseph J., a rate clerk in the offices of the Rock Island railroad; Theresa, Conrad, in the employee of the Andrae Electrical Company, Gertrude, Walter, Dorothy, Sylvester and Ruth.

Source: Memoirs of Milwaukee County by Jerome Anthony Watrous, 1909 pg. 184

 

FANNIE BLOOM

Fannie Bloom, 93, who began baking cookies for profit after being widowed in 1948. That led to other jobs in cooking and her own catering business. She helped create the Treasured Recipes cookbook published by the Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue, revising it decades later. She died of complications of pneumonia Aug. 9.

 

FRANCIS X. BODEN

Source:Memoirs of Milwaukee County : from the earliest historical times down to the present, including a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in Milwaukee County (1909), By Jerome Anthony Watrous

Francis X. Boden, a member of the firm of Boden & Beuscher, attorneys, was, born in the town of Lake, Milwaukee county, Jan. 30, 1876. He was instructed by his mother until he was sent to Marquette College (now Marquette University), at which he was graduated in 1895 with the degree of A. B. He took a post-graduate course at the Georgetown (Washington, D. C.) University, in the school of art and sciences and the college of law, receiving the degrees of A. M.L.L.B. And L.L.M. in 1898, 1899 and 1900, respectively, and in 1900 also received the degree of Ph. D. From the same university. He was president of his class during his senior year. Mr. Boden began the practice of law in Milwaukee in 1900, and in 1901 entered into a partnership with Jacob P. Beuscher, with whom he has since been associated. They have a general law practice. In politics Mr. Boden is a republican, and received the nomination of his party for the position of district attorney in 1906, and he has been a delegate to every city, county and state republican convention since 1902; was a member of the state central committee of the stalwart branch in 1904. He takes an active interest in all political movements. He is unmarried.

 

DR. REINHARDT W. BOERNER

One of the able and popular younger members of the medical fraternity in Milwaukee, living at 2320 Fond du Lac Street, was born at Buffalo, N. Y., Feb. 10, 1874, the son of George and Marie (Engelfried) Boerner. He is descended from pure German stock, his mother being a native of Germany, though his father was born in the city of Milwaukee. His paternal grandfather, Reinhardt Boerner, is one of the respected and pioneer residents of the Cream City. He was born in Germany, but emigrated from the Fatherland to the United States near the middle of the last century, and first came to Milwaukee in 1848. From Milwaukee he went to Little Rock, Ark., and soon after moved to Buffalo, N. Y., where he made his home for a number of years. He then moved again to Milwaukee, and has here been an efficient and honored member of the city's police force for about a quarter of a century. He reared his family of four children, all of whom are still living. Dr. Boerner received an excellent education in the Milwaukee public schools, and after graduating from the high school, began the study of Medicine, graduating from the Wisconsin college of Physicians and Surgeons in 1896 with the degree of M. D. He at once entered upon the active practice of his profession in Milwaukee, where he has since met with success. His technical skill in his profession, combined with a rare aptitude for his calling and plenty of push and energy, have won him rapid advancement. His reputation as a physician of skill and learning is well established, and he has been called upon to serve the public in an important and responsible official capacity. He has filled the position of county physician with marked success and ability for sic year, and has thereby grown materially in the estimation of the general public. He is also now serving as the physician for the Milwaukee House of Correction, a position to which he was appointed in November 1905, for a term of three years. Politically Dr. Boerner is allied with the Republican Party, and he has always taken a keen and intelligent interest in public affairs, though he is in no sense a mere partisan. He was married on May 12, 1897, to Miss Emma, daughter of Lawrence and Elizabeth (Thuering) Graf. His wife was born and reared in Milwaukee, and her parents are among the oldest and most respected German-American citizens of the city. Mr. Graf, who is now 83 years of age, while his venerable wife is 81 years old, settled in Milwaukee when it was a mere village, in 1845, and for many years followed the vocation of a surveyor. The aged couple still occupy their old home on Twelfth Street, where they first settled on coming to Milwaukee. They have reared a family of eight children, of whom seven still survive. Dr. and Mrs. Boerner are the parents of one charming little daughter, Gladys Marie, who was born on Dec. 30, 1899. The doctor is a man of wide acquaintance and takes great pleasure in his many fraternal and professional associations. He is genial and hearty in manner, and unfailing courtesy toward his fellow men. He belongs to the Milwaukee Medical Society, in whose business and deliberations he takes an active part. He is also a member of the Masonic Order, The Knights of Pythias, Germania, Royal League, Foresters and the Fritz Renter Gilde, etc. He is still a young man in the very prime of life, and everything thus far in his career justifies the prediction that he will attain to high distinction in his chosen field of labor.

Source: Memoirs of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Vol. I & II by Jerome Anthony Watrous, 1909, pg. 195 Vol. 2

 

CLARENCE H. BOLTON

Clarence H. Bolton, 80, a Mississippi native who brought his family from Atlanta to Wisconsin, searching for a life less constrained by racism. He worked here as an investigator for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and later as an affirmative action officer with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, as well as other civic posts. Bolton died of pancreatic cancer Nov. 1.

 

CYRUS D. BOOTH

Was born at Maryland, Otsego County, N. Y., August 22, 1826, the son of Selah and Sophia (Fuller) Booth, the former born at New Britain, Conn., in 1792 and the latter in Virginia in 1799. The father of our subject came to Dodge County, Wis., in 1894, buying a farm near Fox Lake, where he resided until he was appointed deputy warden of the state prison, when he moved to Waupun. His first wife died in 1849 and he married her sister, Orra Fuller, having three children by each of these wives. Three of this family of children are living: Julia in Kansas City, Kan.: Mary at Fox Lake, Wis.; and Cyrus D., in Milwaukee. The father was a prominent and active politician, though he never aspired to fill large political places, but he held several prominent local appointments. He died in Waupun, Wis., in 1863. Our subject was educated at South Hill,Otsego County, N. Y., at Hartwick Seminary, and finished at Fergusville, Delaware County, . Y. In 1849 he came west to join his father in Dodge County, Wis., and worked with him on the farm till 1851, when he came to Milwaukee to take the position of city editor of the “Democrat.” Of which his brother, Sherman M., was the proprietor, and he remained with this paper until 1856. He then engaged in the wholesale and retail had business with T. J. Soloman and G. H. Heineman, later becoming a member of the firm. Heineman subsequently purchased the interest of Soloman and finally that of our subject in 1879, when Mr. Booth retired. On Dec. 25,1855, he married Sarah Maria Bacon, of Otsego County, N. Y., who died on Aug. 29, 1904. Their union was blessed with three children; Fannie, wife of Harry Dodge, of Chicago; Addie, at home; and Walter H., now in the Census Bureau at Washington, D. C. In 1881 Mr. Booth erected a beautiful residence at 232 Prospect Street, where he now lives in retiracy at the age of eighty-two years, enjoying the fruits of the labors of a well spent life. In his religious views Mr. Booth is liberal, but Mrs. Booth was a strict member of the Presbyterian Church. In politics he subscribes to and votes to sustain the principles of the Republican Party.

Source: Memoirs of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Vol. I & II by Jerome Anthony Watrous, 1909, pg. 493 Vol. 2

 

SHERMAN M. BOOTH

Death of Sherman Booth
1904
Was Editor of American Freeman, First Paper Published at Prairieville

Sherman M. Booth, one of the last survivors of the Abolition movement in this state, died at his home in Chicago, August 10, aged 92 years. His death followed a fainting fit. He leaves a widow, Mrs. Augusta A. Booth, and six children, Mary Ellen Booth, Mrs. Robert Stanley, Mrs. Chesley Perry, Sherman M. Booth, Jr. F. Blance Booth, Laura Booth.

Funeral services were held in Milwaukee, with which city Mr. Booth was closely identified in an early day.

Sherman Booth was for some ear editor of The American Freeman, published at Prairieville, predecessor of the Waukesha Freeman, and from which this paper took its name. Booth did not reside in Prairieville, because when he took charge of it the paper was moved to Milwaukee. This was in 1847, and C.C. Olin, for so many years a resident of this city, was proprietor of the paper.

The American Freeman was established at Prairieville, or Waukesha, in September 1844, by C. C. Sholes. A Few months before, Mr. Sholes had founded the Milwaukee Democrat in Milwaukee, but becoming dissatisfied with the position of the Democratic party in regard to slavery, he changed his paper to The American Freeman, and espoused the cause of the Liberty party, then first coming into prominence. A few issues sufficed to prove Mr. Sholes that Milwaukee would not support an anti-slavery paper, so a stock-company consisting of the friends of the anti-slavery cause everywhere in the state, but mostly at Waukesha, was formed, and the paper moved to Waukesha, where the anti-slavery doctrines were strongly prevailed. In fact Mr. Sholes sold his entire newspaper outfit to the Territorial Liberty Association, and entered into a contract to publish The Freeman at Waukesha during the next three years, solely in the interest of the Abolition party.

Many of the prominent Abolitionists of the state were members of the Liberty Association at the time of the purchase of the American Freeman. The Waukesha stock-holders were V. Tichenor, W.D. Bacon, Thomas Brown, George Hawley, T.H. Olin, N. Clinton, H.N. Davis, J. McNeil, S. Hinman, E.D. Clinton, Nelson Olin, S.R. Manning, B. Douglas, C. Wright, W.S. Barnard, Daniel Chandler, Edward Manning, and W. Morley. The Pewaukee subscribers were David Miller, J. H. Waterman, H.C. Waterman, A.J. Palmer, A. Clark.

Lisbon subscribers were S. Dougherty and A. Nottingham.

Brookfield subscribers were Moore Spears and J.L. Irwin.

There were also subscribers from Milwaukee, Beloit, Southport, Racine, Burlington, Wauwatosa, Aztaran, Salem and Caledonia.

Mr. Sholes continued as editor of the American Freeman about one year and was succeeded in 1845 by Rev. Ichabod Codding. Gradually C. C. Olin became possessed of a part of the stock and then of the whole of it. In 1846 T.D. Plumb became Mr. Olin's partner and a month later Mr. Codding bought out Plumb and the firm became Olin and Codding. Then Mr. Codding withdrew and Mr. Olin was again sole proprietor. In April 1847 appeared an article congratulating the readers of The Freeman that "henceforth Sherman M. Booth of New Haven, Conn., a graduate of Yale college, and who, with I. Codding, had edited The Christian Freeman, will have charge of the editorial department of the paper. He (Booth) has been a Liberty man always and an Abolitionist twelve of fifteen years." At or about this time The Freeman was removed to Milwaukee.

Mr. Booth became especially prominent as the rescuer of Joshua Glover, a run-away slave, for which act he was arrested and placed in the Milwaukee jail and was himself rescued by a band of Liberty men, this episode forming one of the most dramatic incidents in the history of that city.

Mr. Booth was a native of New York state, having been born there in 1812. He attended the public schools in the vicinity of his home and after leaving them became a student at Yale college, from which he graduated in the '30's. On leaving college he became interested in the temperance movement and spent the younger years of his life stumping New England advocating the cause of teetotalers.

He retained his faculties to a marvelous degree up to the time of his death and his last years were employed in writing his memoirs, a book which will doubtless add materially to the history of the great anti-slavery movement so momentous in and to this country.

Source: Unknown

 

MISS SOPHIA L. BOOTH

Miss Sophia L. Booth.
Daughter of the American Revolution DAR ID # 46957
Born in Milwaukee, Wis.
Descendant of Capt. Joseph Booth.
Daughter of Henry Booth and Laurilla Sleeper, his wife.
Granddaughter of Joseph Booth, Jr., and Hannah Henry, his wife.
Gr-granddaughter of Joseph Booth and Mary Hale (1733-1809), his wife, m. 1762.
Joseph Booth (1736-1810) served as ensign at the Lexington Alarm and commanded a company 1776 in the Connecticut militia. He was born and died in Enfield, Conn.

Source: Source: The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution
Volume 47 page 446

 

FRANCIS (Frank) BOYD

FRANCIS BOYD'S EXPERIENCE
Graphic Description of the Fight With the Waves on the Raft

We left Chicago about 11 o'clock or a little after, on the night of the accident (Sept. 7). It was a very hot, crisp night and for this reason the boat kept well out from shore to get cool air. The boat was crowded with passengers and had a heavy load of freight for Mackinaw and Lake Superior ports. Everything went on all right. The passengers were dancing in the cabin until nearly 2 o'clock. A little before 2 o'clock in the morning she was struck by a heavy squall from the northeast and the change of wind was very sudden. Just as the squall struck us there was a schooner called the Augusta near by, and when the men on the schooner let go the head sheets and kept the mainsail on her, the Lady Elgin happened to be in her way. She struck the Lady Elgin just abaft the upper deck and made a hole at the water line that we could roll a hogshead through. I happened to be standing on the forward deck at the time, and saw the whole affair. Of course there was a great panic and running around. The people were excited and wild. They headed the steamer to the shore. The steamer at the time of the collision was off Waukegan, in sight of Kenosha light. In five or ten minutes the boat went down. The boats were all lowered and filled, but there was a very sudden sea running after the squall, and they all swamped but one, which came ashore at 6 o'clock in the morning. That boat was in charge of the porter of the vessel.

I myself jumped overboard a few minutes before she went down, with an oar in my hand, and swam around with that until she went down. It was raining very hard then, and the thunder and lightning was very heavy. I got a good glimpse of her just as she went down, in a lightning flash. She seemed to break in the center and settle down amidships. I drifted across some of the wreckage, that they call the raft--the upper decks of the steamer which broke off when the steamer went down. I got on the raft and sat there awhile. Just before daybreak Capt. Wilson came around and called for volunteers to help manage the raft, and I joined them. We kept the raft headed to the east and sailed before the wind, and brought up in the breakers off Winnetka, the first one of which tore the raft all to pieces and rolled it up like a carpet. At day break there were sixty persons on the raft by actual count, but occasionally one or two would be washed off and seemed to die of the cold or perish of exhaustion. The air was very cold and the water was warm, and the way we kept from freezing was to dip ourselves occasionally in the water. When the raft broke up I got hold of a piece of it with three other men, and navigated it to the bank. It was a perilous passage. The sea was running high, and great beams and pieces of wreckage were constantly dashing about to the danger of all in the vicinity. The breakers tore us off our raft but we always got back the best way we could. Finally we landed at Steep bluff. IT was so precipitous that we could not get up the bank, but men on top of the bluff let down ropes and hauled us to the top one by one. We were in a very cold and wet condition. We were directed to a residence near by, and went there. It proved to be the residence of a Chicago commission merchant named Clark. He supplied us with food and blankets, and a cart to ride to the depot. The three men who were saved with me were Danny Gilmore, a brother of the band leader, who was a resident of the Third ward, John McLinden who keeps the McLinden house, and James McManus, a machinist in the shops of the Mississippi railroad.

There were sixty-fife or sixty-six persons saved and papers at the time placed the number of last at about 390. Of the sixty-five or sixty-six on the raft, only eight or ten were saved. Most of them were killed by the breakers. Capt. Wilson had his skull crushed by a timber a few feet from shore. He was carrying a baby in his arms when he went down. We saw him go down, and when he didn't come up again we knew he was lost. Tom Eviston, chief of the Fire department, had his head crushed by the breakers. John W. Eviston saved his wife and himself by floating ashore on top of the pilot house, and Martin Eviston came ashore on top of an overturned boat.

The occasion of the big crowd of Milwaukeans on the boat was an excursion rate of $1 for the round trip from Milwaukee to Chicago, for the benefit of the Montgomery guard. Gov. Randall had taken away the company's arms, which belonged to the state, and the friends of Capt. Barry volunteered to present the company with arms of their own. So various devices were employed to raise the necessary funds one of which was the excursion. Many militiamen were among the excursionists that perished, as well as city officials and members of the fire department. It was a wonderful time for Milwaukee. The whole city was draped in black. Nineteen victims were buried in one day from St. John's cathedral, and there were many funerals. In fact, I did not do anything for two months but act as pall-bearer for the victims of the disaster. They kept coming ashore at many different points. A singular case was that of a young man named Rooney, whose father kept an auctioneer's place on East Water street, between Huron and Detroit. The son's body came ashore at the foot of Huron street. Another body from the wreck came ashore at Port Washington, others in Chicago harbor and others came ashore across the lake.

Source: Milwaukee Sentinel Sept 4, 1892

 

H.P. BRADLEY

Candidate for Town of Wauwatosa
H.P. Bradley, Republican candidate for town clerk, has been a resident of Wauwatosa for the past fifteen years. He has been in town clerk's office for five years and is a careful, competent and courteous man. He is picked out as a sure winner.

Source: Wauwatosa News April 1, 1899

 

JULIUS BRECKHEIMER

Julius Breckheimer went to Milwaukee as a young man and married and was a very successful business man.

Source; unknown

 

CHARLES A. BREED

Candidate for City of Wauwatosa
Charles A. Breed, Republican candidate for alderman, has been in this position since the first city election in 1897. He was born in Wauwatosa and has lived in Milwaukee Co. since then except for a few years in California.

Source: Wauwatosa News April 1, 1899

 

CAMILLA BROWN

Camilla Brown, 79, who in 1959 became the first African-American woman to hold a municipal civil-service job in Milwaukee. That job - working in a school cafeteria - was only the means to an end. Brown wanted to be a teacher. She earned her degree and began teaching full time in 1971, at the age of 47. Brown died of liver cancer April 5.

 

MARIAN BUDDE

Marian Budde, 87, a mother whose fight to help her own son helped others with disabilities, too. Jamie Budde was born with Down syndrome in 1957. With husband John, Budde helped to start an early education program for disabled youngsters and create special education programs and other opportunities. Budde died Nov. 5 of complications from Alzheimer's disease.

 

CAPT. GEORGE BUDGE

No. 534 Hanover street. He was born in Scotland in 1836. He first commenced his career as a sailor in the "HOPE," which traded between Scotland and Quebec. He came to this city in 1857, and has sailed on the lakes since. He has been a captain for eighteen years, and has commanded the schooners, "SYLPH," "PLYMOUTH ROCK," "HENRY FITZHUGH," and "PLANET." In the fall of 1859, he was wrecked on the "CITY OF TORONTO". He was married, in 1862, to Miss Elizabeth A. Jenkins, of Oswego, where she was born. They have four children, William, James, Mary and George.

Source: History of Milwaukee County, 1881

 

SAMUEL BURT

Samuel P. Burt, one of the wealthiest citizens of Milwaukee, was married on Thursday night to a young woman named Elizabeth Thompson, who was, until quite recently, a servant in the family of the gentleman, who is now her husband....

Source: Hunterdon Democrat/Flemington, New Jersey April 1, 1884, Forty-Sixth Volume, No. 33

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GUSTAV ADOLPH BUDZIEN

Gustav Adolph Budzien, one of the prominent gardeners in the town of Lake, was born at Milwaukee on Feb. 28, 1861, a son of Jacob and Eva (Koss) Budzien, both natives of Prussia, Germany. The father lived in his native country until he had attained his majority, and shortly afterward married and emigrated to America. He came direct to Milwaukee and for a period was engaged at anything which would bring him a livelihood. He finally entered the employ of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company in the building of their yards. When the work was completed he purchased a few acres of land on Oklahoma avenue and embarked in the general gardening business. He prospered to such an extent that within a few years he was enabled to acquire more land and extend the field of his operations. Up to the time of his death, which occurred in April, 1874, he was actively engaged in the management of the place. His widow still makes her home on the property. The father's remains are interred in Forest Home Cemetery. All the seven children born to the parents survive.

Gustav A. Budzien, the subject of this review, received his educational training in the public and German schools of the South Side of the city. His father's death when he was but thirteen years of age necessitated his leaving school to take up the duties and responsibilities of the oldest member of the fatherless family. He remained with his mother until he was married, and then purchased a tract of land in section twenty of the town of Lake. He erected on this property a hot-house and a home and has since been very successful in the conduct of the place. His patronage now consists largely of commission houses, with which he does a large amount of business. Reared in the school of hardship and privation, he early learned the details of business and has brought to bear all those qualities of thrift and industry which make so much for success. In his political belief he is allied with the Republican party, but aside from conscientiously exercising his right of franchise he takes little interest in the campaigns of his party.

On Oct. 17, 1886, Mr. Budzien was united in marriage to Miss Ernestina Burmeister, a daughter of John and Sophia (Trost) Burmeister, of Milwaukee. Seven children, all living at home, have been the issue of this union. Their names and the dates of birth follow: Meta, Aug. 21, 1887; Emma, Aug. 27, 1890; Bertha, Sept. 10, 1892; Amanda, Nov. 3, 1894; Hugo, Feb. 18, 1896; John, Sept. 25, 1898, and Archie, June 28, 1903.

 

MRS. EDWARD BURKE

STATEMENT OF A WOMAN.
Mrs. Edward Burke’s Interesting Story of her Escape with her Husband
I must be in the right mood to tell all I remember about the Lady Elgin. I sometimes can sit up all night, speaking of nothing else. It was thirty years ago, but everything is still fresh in my memory. We stopped at the Tremont house in Chicago and had a gay time. We looked at the town and enjoyed ourselves especially well. One is always joyous before a misfortune strikes him, and it seems to me that we all were a little too joyous while in Chicago. When the time came to return I refused to go on the boat, and asked Edward, my husband, to return by rail. Something within me said: “don’t go,” but my husband insisted that we should go on the boat. We had all come down with the boat, he argued, and we should return together. He prevailed, and to the boat we went. The boat was soon out in the lake. We undressed and were just going to bed, when there came a shock. Things flew in all directions, and a terrible noise followed. As my husband opened the door of our cabin, we saw chairs and tables jumping from side to side. We dressed quickly and as I could not get dressed as fast as my husband wanted me to, he assisted me. I had to put on even the hoop, of course, for it was the fashion in those days. All this must have taken us two or three minutes. We still did not know how great a danger we were in, but my husband soon guessed it, and knowing all about vessels he hurried me up to the hurricane deck. I can still remember how I climbed up the narrow ladder. The wind was very powerful, and as a precaution my husband put my hand into an iron ring and told me to hold it fast. He then said that he must bid me good-bye, having others to attend to, and asked me to pray for him. I saw him jump into the lake. He was a good swimmer, and his courage did not leave him. As we passed up the hurricane deck I heard Tim O’Brien say to his wife to stay in her room that he would return in a second. He could not return in time to save her for in a few minutes the whole boat was under water. As I stood on the top of the hurricane deck I felt that we were sinking lower and lower. At last the whole boat was no more to be seen, and the deck upon which I stood remained floating on the waves. Cries of drowning people came from all sides. Soon I heard my husband call for me. He was swimming near our float and I helped to pull him up. We floated about until daylight. My husband thought that the boat that had run into the Lady Elgin would certainly alarm the people in Chicago and that boats would come to our rescue. That kept up his courage and the courage of the others who were with us. We saw the land. But we could not reach it. At the same time it was terribly cold. The wind had torn off the shawl from my head and I had nothing to cover myself with. A blanket was floating about near our float and I put my hand into the water to pick it up. A shudder went through me when I felt a human face. It was somebody who had drowned. The waves washed over our float again and again and every time some people would be washed off into the water. They would cling to the boards, and their strength failed them, and they would drop off one by one. There must have been 400 people on the raft. Mrs. Rice stood on the raft holding her boy in her arms; both were washed off and drowned. One mother gave me her child to hold while she was fixing her place on the raft. A few minutes after she had taken the child from me she went down. The worst part came when we reached the breakers. My husband was aware of the danger, and he warned all to be particularly careful and to hold fast to the raft. The waves became so violent that all the people on the raft were thrown up in the air. It was a continual rising and falling, and many drowned with the shore only a few hundred feet away. My husband knew all the people in the party and he kept on calling out their names. I hear him now shouting for Frank McCormick. John Crilly was one of those whom a wave had knocked off the raft. A German near the shore threw out a rope. Crilly, almost exhausted, could not take it with his hands, and my husband advised him to take the rope with his mouth. He did so, and he was saved. My husband took me on his back on a piece of driftwood, but we were turned over. I clung to the wood, and when my husband believed me to be already drowned, my head appeared above the water. I was soon lying in the sand on the shore. I had power and strength when still in danger, but I could not move my arm when out of it. I felt completely exhausted, and came to only after I had been brought to the farmhouse.(Source: Milwaukee Sentinel Sept 4, 1892)

 

MRS. MINNIE (DAY) BUSH

DAR Member 

Descendant of Orion Day

Gr.-granddaughter of:
Orion Day
b: 1762 in Wrentham, Mass.
d: 1835 in Sharon, Vt.
res: Massachusetts
to: Joanna Everett 

Orion Day enlisted at seventeen in Capt. Josiah Richards' company for duty in Rhode Island. He served in the Levies, 1780, under Capt. Samuel Holden and Col. Ebenezer Thayer, to reinforce the Continental army.

Child of Orion and Johanna Day:
	Rev. Warren Day
	to: Lydia Holbrook

Child of Rev. Warren and Lyida Holbrook
	Dr. Fisk Holbrook

CLAUDE BUTTERFIELD

Source: Waukesha Freeman, January 2, 1890, pg. 1

On Christmas day occurred the wedding of Claude ? Butterfield of this village, and Miss Selma C. Segall, daughter of a prominent jeweler of Milwaukee, at the residence of the bride's parents. Mr. and Mrs. Butterfield will reside here until spring. The many friends of the young couple wish them a long and happy life.

 

HENRY HARRISON BUTTON

Source:Memoirs of Milwaukee County : from the earliest historical times down to the present, including a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in Milwaukee County (1909), By Jerome Anthony Watrous

Henry Harrison Button was one of the pioneer druggists of the city of Milwaukee, and the business established by him in 1848 still continues under the name of the Milwaukee Drug Company, being one of the leading wholesale drug concerns of the Cream City. Mr. Button was born at Wallingford, a post-village in Wrallingford township, Rutland county, Vt., on Aug. 28, 1818, and was the youngest son of Lyman and Rachel (Boardman) Button. His father was a farmer by occupation, who gave his children such educational advantages as his means and the locality afforded. The childhood days of the subject of this review were spent in acquiring a primary education in the common schools of his native town, and in assisting his father on the farm as much as his age would permit. Immediately upon leaving school he began fitting himself for college, and later entered Brown University at Providence, R. I., at which institution he was graduated with the class of 1842. After his graduation he studied medicine under Dr. Spears, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and a part of the time while pursuing his medical studies he filled a position as private tutor to a gentleman's family in Virginia, after which he ['returned to New York and received his degree from the eminent Dr. Mott, president of the medical faculty of the University of New York. He immediately began the practice of his profession in Brooklyn, continuing there for about four years, but the comparatively limited opportunities for advancement in the East prompted him to change his location, and he came West, arriving in Milwaukee in the fall of 1848.

Here he entered into a partnership with Thomas A. Greene, under the firm name of Greene & Button, in the wholesale drug business. This enterprise was exceptionally successful, and the partnership continued under the same name until the time of Dr. Button's death, Feb. 14, 1890, making it one of the oldest firms in existence in Milwaukee at that time. After his death the business was converted into a stock company under the name of the Milwaukee Drug Company, in which the family of Dr. Button are the principal stockholders.

The doctor was a very popular man in both social and business circles, was at one time president of the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce, and for many years president of the Milwaukee Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association. He was also one of the earliest directors of the Milwaukee Gas Company, was president of that corporation at the time of his death, and for a time he was a director of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. In politics the doctor was a staunch Republican, but he had no aspirations for political honors of any kind. As a member of the Unitarian church he was for more than twenty consecutive years a trustee of that society, and he was also a member of the Milwaukee Club. Professionally he was a member of the Psi U Greek letter fraternity, and he served a term as president of the American Drug Club.

Dr. Button was married on Dec. 31, 1847, to Miss Elizabeth Arnold Pearson, the daughter of Luther and Louise Mary (Arnold) Pearson, of Providence, R. I., and to this union there were born four children : Henry Harrison, Lyman Pearson, Charles Pearson, and Louise Mary, all whom are deceased, excepting the eldest son, Henry Harrison. Charles Pearson Button, the youngest son, was the first student from Milwaukee to graduate at Harvard College. He became prominently identified with the business interests of Milwaukee, and his death a few years since was widely deplored. Mrs. Button, who at an advanced age still survives, is a fine type of the best American womanhood, and during her long residence in the city of Milwaukee has been a most useful member of the community.

Luther Pearson, the father of Mrs. Button, was born at Reading, Mass., and her mother was a native of Providence, R. I. The father was a prominent cotton broker at Providence, in which city he received his education, and he retired from business several years before his death, which occurred at the age of seventy-six years. He and wife were members of the Unitarian church.