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Cross Reference: Chapter on Schempf Bros. store
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George S. Schempf bro of
George F 1855 Founded store
George S. Schempf was married to Wilhelmina "Minna" Koenig. Uncle of Leonard and John Sr, Father of Ada
J. Schempf |
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George F. Schempf, bro of George S.
George F. Schempf was married to Johanna
Borkenhagen. |
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John Schempf Sr. (Bertha Speer)
1844-1920, son of George F. Schempf, nephew of George S. Schempf Married Bertha L. Speer of Watertown,
May 8, 1870. |
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Leonard, son of John Schempf Sr. |
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John Sr., son of John Schempf Sr. 1874-1931 In 1875 Mr.
Schempf formed a partnership with his uncle, George S. Schempf, and brother,
the late Leonard Schempf, under the firm name of George S. Schempf & Co.,
which continued until the retirement of George Schempf, the business being
conducted by the brothers under the name of Schempf Bros. Co., of which Mr.
Schempf was president at the time of his death. |
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The last of the family to run
the store were Max Kusel, who had married Amanda Schempf, and Edward L. Schempf,
a gifted singer who often appeared as soloist in choral concerts. |
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The Schempf store was taken over in 1936. |
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Schempf
Family
George S. Schempf
1828 - 1903
1903 DEATH OF GEORGE S. SCHEMPF, 1828-1903
02 06 Shortly
after 7 o’clock on Saturday evening, January 31, 1903, George S. Schempf passed
from earth at this home in [on] Second Street.
Mr. Schempf had not enjoyed very good health of late, and for about two
weeks previous to his death he had complained considerably of his condition,
but on Saturday it was thought his health was improving, when a sudden change
set in and his death came unexpectedly.
He had been a sufferer with Bright’s disease for some
time, and finally heart failure set in.
His death was heard of with surprise and regret by all our people.
Deceased was a native of Hessen, near Darmstadt,
Germany, where he was born May 23, 1828, hence was in his 75th year. When quite a boy he came to America and
located at Cleveland, Ohio; from there he went to Milwaukee, and in 1846
located in this city and engaged in the general merchandise business. In 1849 he went to California, where he
stayed for nearly two years, and again located in Watertown and opened a
general store with his brother at the site of where Schempf Bros. Co. now
conduct their business, the firm’s name being G. & F. Schempf.
The firm dissolved partnership after a short time, and
the former [George] continued in the business until about seventeen years ago,
when he retired on a well-earned competency and has since led a retired life.
September 22, 1857, he was married, his wife surviving
him, and three daughters, being Mrs. D. H. Beurhaus of Tacoma, Wash.; Mrs.
Henry Schorndorfer of Cleveland, Ohio;, and Mrs. Lance Pierionet of Wheaton,
Ills. John and Lawrence Schempf, of
Schempf Bros. Co., are his nephews.
Mrs. D. H. Beurhaus of
Tacoma, Wash
By the death of Mr. Schempf Watertown has lost one of
its most honorable and most highly esteemed citizens. As a businessman he always commanded the
respect and confidence of the general public, and socially he was genial and
companionable, and was ever ready at all times to lend a helping hand to any
worthy object for the betterment of his city or fellow man, either in a
business or charitable way. His death is
sincerely mourned by all our people.
Thursday afternoon at 2 o’clock his funeral took place
from his late home. Rev. H. Stertz of
the Evangelical Protestant Church being the officiating clergyman, and his
remains were laid at rest in Oak Hill
Cemetery. WG
GEORGE S. SCHEMPF HOME
403 S. Second Street
John Schempf
1844 - 1920
1895 SILVER WEDDING
ANNIVERSARY
John Schempf and wife nee Bertha Speer celebrated
their silver wedding anniversary. To
this joyous gathering came a large circle of relatives and friends of the
family from here and elsewhere.
Everybody enjoyed themselves immensely.
A number of well-known traveling men were also present, among them
Nickelsen from Chicago, Schroeter, Wettstein, Mueller, Schulz and Kleinbeil
from Milwaukee. Some of the members were
great humorists and had much social disposition which helped to make the
festival very pleasant & interesting.
While the festivities were in full swing and all necessary liquid
paraphernalia on the tables, which help to make life a bit enjoyable and made
you forget the wrinkles in your face, the sonorous voices of a chorus of
singers were heard, which was afterwards ascertained to be members of the
Musical Society Concordia, who came to serenade the worthy couple. The evening will not be forgotten by those
who took part in the celebration and the wish of all was that Mr. and Mrs.
Schempf would live to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary; and this wish
was realized in 1920. “Reminiscences
of Early Days in Watertown” pg 41, from series of articles printed in the
WDTimes in 1924, reprinted WDT- 4-19-1985.
1914
09 10 BUYS
DRUG STORE AT Ft. ATKINSON
John W. Schempf has purchased a drug
store at Fort Atkinson and he and his family will soon make that city their
home. Mr. Schempf conducted a drug store
in this city for number of years but recently disposed of his business here,
since which time he has been visiting at the home of his father-in-law in
Reedsburg. His many friends here wish
him success in his new home. WG
09 17 JOHN
W. SCHEMPF SERIOUSLY ILL
John W. Schempf, who some months ago
sold out his drug store here and recently purchased the Eighmy Bros, drug store
at Ft. Atkinson, is seriously ill with nervous troubles and his drug business
at Ft. Atkinson has been dispose of and he will take treatment in a sanitarium
for a time and then take a much needed rest.
He has been extremely nervous of late and became somewhat deranged last
week, but hopes are now entertained that he will, with proper treatment, be all
right in a few months. WG
1920 DEATH
OF JOHN SCHEMPF, 1844-1920
ANGEL OF DEATH CALLS JOHN SCHEMPF
PIONEER RESIDENT
One of Watertown’s Foremost Business Men
and Worthy Citizens
Succumbs at Home this morning
click to enlarge
WHS 006 965 Undated
John Schempf, b. 1844 , d. 1920
John Schempf, son of George F. Schempf,
nephew of George S. Schempf
In 1875 Mr. Schempf formed a partnership with his
uncle, George S. Schempf, and
brother, the late Leonard Schempf, under the firm name
of George S. Schempf & Co.,
which continued until the retirement of George
Schempf, the business
being conducted by the brothers under the name of Schempf Bros. Co.,
of which Mr. Schempf was president at the time of his
death.
John Schempf, pioneer resident and one of the most
widely known business men in this section of Wisconsin, answered the call of
death in the family home,
John Schempf was a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. George
F. Schempf and was born in Milwaukee
The keen aptitude and rare business judgment of Mr.
Schempf was shown in the rapid development of a business which has grown to immense
proportions and spread all over this section of the country, the firm name
becoming a household word in thousands of homes where the impress of honest
dealing and worth was stamped upon it by the marked personality and character
of its founder and head, a fitting legacy to those who come after him.
On
Long Business Career
Mr. Schempf began his long and honorable business life
more than 60 years ago and during that time his name was a synonym for honesty
and integrity. He was a type of the
forceful, self-reliant man of the kind who have left their mark on the
upbuilding of the community. He was
primarily the keen man of business, but with the liberal tastes so well
known. Of a genial and happy disposition
he shed the radiance of good cheer wherever he went and was always a favorite
in the social world of which he was a part.
His nature was of the quality which makes and keeps friends. Democratic by nature, he gathered about him
warm friendships which endured during life.
He never aspired to public life, taking interest, however, in all that
meant the better welfare of the city, a generous giver to every worth cause
without ostentation, and the community will deplore the loss of an active and
widely popular business man and citizen.
Mr. Schempf is survived by his widow and four
children:
Miss Elza Schempf, Watertown,
Mrs. O. Weber, Stevens Point,
John W. Schempf, Milwaukee.
Seven grandchildren also
survive.
Miss Elza Schempf, daughter of John Schempf Sr (Bertha), 1844-1920
Mrs. John Schempf and daughter Elza,
1936
1901: John
W. Schempf Jr, 1874-1931.
Son of John Schempf Sr (Bertha), 1844-1920
The funeral will take place on Monday afternoon. Services will be conducted in the home by the
Rev. Julius Kingmann of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church at 2 o’clock.
The burial will be in Oak Hill
cemetery [Schempf, John, b. 1844, d. 1920, Sec 25, Oak Hill Cemetery]. Friends are kindly requested to omit
flowers.
The Mayor’s Tribute
Mr. Schempf’s death is deeply mourned all over the
city, especially by the older residents who were closely associated with him in
a social and business way for many years.
In speaking of the life and character of the deceased,
Mayor Herman Wertheimer said: “John
Schempf was a most exemplary citizen and was always loyal to Watertown, its
people, institutions and enterprises. I
knew him as a friend and business man for over fifty years, and can truly say
of him that in his quiet and natural way, he all the time endeavored to promote
the best interest of the community, and his assistance was always substantial
and effective.”
“A thorough business man from the time of his youth,
he was well prepared to develop the mercantile business of which he had a perfect
understanding. His integrity was of the
highest order and the people all over this section reposed in him the fullest
of confidence. Mr. Schempf was truly a
man of honor, possessing a genial, kindly disposition, and as such he was
beloved and esteemed by all our people.”
An Appreciation
Charles E. Frey, president of the Merchants National Bank, of which the deceased was
a founder and director said: “Watertown
can point to no finer character man than that of Mr. Schempf. For over a half a century he was numbered
among the leading business men of this city and none stood higher in the public
estimation. He was a business man in the
true sense and meaning of the term, and devoted himself energetically to the
advancement of his enterprise.”
“His main business principle was honesty and he
believed in applying in detail all true business methods. His high integrity, which brought him the
unqualified confidence of the people, coupled with a ready judgment and great
energies, secured for him a notable and successful business career.”
“He was a man of generous impulses, who took a kindly
interest in his fellow men.”
John Schempf Home
click to enlarge
Edward L. Schempf
HAPPILY WEDDED
Edward
L. Schempf and Miss Pauline Grace
Pooler
Prominent Society People Married at St. Paul's Episcopal Church
WG
09 25 1903
A notable event in society circles in Watertown took
place at noon on Saturday, September 19, 1903, when Miss Pauline Grace Pooler
and Edward L. Schempf were happily married at St. Paul's
Episcopal church by the pastor, Rev. T. C. Eglin. Relatives and a few intimate friends only
witnessed the interesting ceremony.
The decorations at the church were very pretty, being
in white and green. Several arches of
greenery were arranged in the center aisles, under which the bridal party
passed to the altar rail. Mrs. Elizabeth
Green played Lohengrin's wedding march on the organ, to the strains of which
the bridal party .entered the church shortly after 12 o'clock in the following
order:
John
W. Schempf and William Sproesser, ushers;
Mildred
Doty, of Janesville, and Ethel Bates, of this city, ribbon bearers, attired in
white;
Master
Jack Racek, dressed in white duck, carrying the bride's ring on a pretty little
tray;
Mrs.
J. Lanee Perionett, of Wheaton, Ill., the matron of honor, wearing Flemish lace
over white satin, and carrying a bouquet of white roses;
then
followed the bride, handsomely gowned in embroidered chiffon over white
taffeta, trimmed with point de brush, and wearing a most beautiful veil of
tulle, and carrying a shower bouquet of lilies of the valley.
The
groom and his best man, Alfred Wettstein, of Milwaukee, and Col. Daniel Jones
and George Pooler, uncle and father of the bride, awaited the bride at the
altar rail. She was given away in
marriage by Mr. Jones.
Miss
Pauline Grace Pooler
The wedding party and ceremony were beautiful and
impressive, being pronounced one of the most inspiring affairs of a like nature
that has ever taken place in Watertown.
At the conclusion of the church services a wedding feast was served and
a reception was held at the home of Col. Daniel Jones on Washington Street, at
which only relatives and a few intimate friends were present, invitations
outside the immediate relatives being confined to club member friends of the
bride and groom. The wedding feast was a
delicious one, and was served by Milwaukee caterers.
The house decorations were very beautiful, and the
interior of Mr. Jones’ home having been just completely remodeled and
redecorated, the effect produced on this occasion was charmingly
beautiful. He spared nothing in
preparing for the wedding of his niece, and the result was that his home was a
perfect model of beauty on this happy occasion.
The dining room decorations were in white, the library
in red and the parlor in white, cut flowers and greenery adding to the
prettiness of the scene. Five pieces of
the Apollo Orchestra furnished music at the wedding feast, and a harp orchestra
of six pieces was stationed in the lawn fronting the house, the music of the
orchestras adding greatly to the enchantment of the occasion.
The groom and his bride left on the evening train for
the east on a short wedding tour. After
November 1st they will be at home to their friends at 120 Washington Street.
The parties to this marriage are two of Watertown's
best known society young people, the bride being a daughter of George Pooler,
of Minneapolis, her mother having died when she was only a few hours old. Since she was 7 years of age she has made her
home in this city with Mr. Jones. She is
a graduate of the Watertown High School, and is a member of the High School
Alumni Association. She is accomplished
and amiable, and possesses a happy, frank and cheerful disposition, always
viewing life from its brightest side, and casting a ray of mirth and good cheer
into the society in which she moves, hence on entering married life her many
friends bespeak for her all the happiness that her fondest hopes of matrimonial
bliss may anticipate.
The groom is the oldest son of John Schempf and wife,
this city, and has lived here all his life.
He is a member of Schempf Bros. Co., who conduct one of the largest
general stores in the interior of the state.
Aside from being a progressive and energetic young business man, in a
social way he is popular, genial and entertaining, and possesses none of the
shortcomings of the average 19th century young man. He is a most excellent person in every
particular, and certainly merits a married life of happiness and prosperity,
and that the future may have in store for himself and bride God's choicest
blessings, is the sincere wish of their large acquaintance, in which expression
of good will The Gazette most heartily enters.
Those from out of town at the wedding were: J. H.
Smelzer and wife, Aberdeen, S. D.; Mrs. Joseph Lappin, Mildred Doty,
Janesville; George W. Pooler and Guy Pooler, Minneapolis; Miss Rose Wettstein
and Alfred Wettstein, Milwaukee; Miss Jessie Stoppenbach, Jefferson; Mrs.
Claire Foster, Green Bay; Guy F. Minnick, Madison; O. L. Weber and wife. Iron
Mountain, Mich.; Mrs. J. Lance Perionett, Wheaton, Ill.
Leonard Schempf
1913
06 12 DEATH OF LEONARD SCHEMPF
Another of Watertown's oldest and best-known business
men has passed to his reward in the person of Leonard Schempf, who died Tuesday
afternoon, June 10, 1913, at his home, 718 Market Street. Mr. Schempf had been in poor health several
months and was confined to his home several weeks before he died, hence his death
was not unexpected.
Deceased was born in Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany,
September 13, 1839, and when five years of age came to this country with his
parents and the family resided about two years in Cleveland, Ohio; from there
the family moved to Milwaukee, and from that city to Watertown in 1848, and
settled on a farm north of this city in the town of Emmet.
When quite a young man Mr. Schempf secured a position
in the Peterson Yankee notion store in this city and later with the dry goods
firm of Stein & Lueder. In 1860 he
engaged in the dry goods business with his uncle George S. Schempf, under the
firm name of George S. & Leonard Schempf, the present firm of Schempf Bros.
Co. being its successsor, of which he was the senior member and president up to
six years ago, when he retired.
All through
life he was active in various lines of business here, helping to organize the
Merchants National Bank, and also the Farmers and Citizens Bank, and was
president of the latter bank at the time of his death. He was treasurer of the Lutheran Cemetery
Association and of the Lutheran Unterstuetzung Verein, and a trustee of Oak
Hill Cemetery Association, and served as director of the Lutheran Home for
Feeble-Minded Children.
His wife, two daughters, Mrs. Byron Kabet of
Menominee, Wis., Mrs. Max G. Kusel of Watertown, and an adopted son, Edward W. Schempf of Iowa,
survive him; also six
grandchildren.
Friday afternoon at 2 o'clock his funeral will take
place from his late home to St. John's Lutheran Church. The interment will be in Oak Hill Cemetery.
In the death of Mr. Schempf Watertown has Iost one of
her very best citizens – he was a man who made friends and invited confidence
without intrusively seeking either – a modest, winning, earnest man of real
worth. You were drawn to him
intuitively. By nature a thorough gentleman,
he always met his fellow citizens courteously and with a friendly spirit of
accommodation, which all learned to appreciate and respect. His going is a loss to the city in a material
way as well, as in that he was an example of those things that are best and
worthy of emulation. Watertown
Gazette, 06 12 1913
06 26 SCHEMPF BROS. STORE CLOSED FRIDAY
On account
of the death of Mr. Leonard Schempf
Saturday evening the 50 employees of Schempf Bros. Co.
left the store and assembled at the home of John Schempf, on Clyman Street, and
had possession of his home upon his arrival, to his great surprise. They met there to congratulate Mr. Schempf on
his 70th birthday anniversary and in honor of the event presented him with a
handsome loving cup, on which was inscribed:
“A token of highest esteem presented to Mr. John Schempf by his
employees on his 70th birthday, March 22, 1914.”
A fine supper was served all present and the guests
tarried till after 12 o’clock midnight to make the affair a real birthday
greeting. Mr. Schempf is president of
the Schempf Bros. Co. and has been in active business here for over 50 years. Watertown Gazette, 06 12 1913
1927
12 03 ELKS MEMORIAL SERVICE SATURDAY OPEN TO
PUBLIC
The memory of 38 departed members of the Watertown Lodge of Elks will be honored at the
annual memorial service of the order . . . .
The Watertown Elks chorus, under the direction of Edward L. Schempf,
will sing and Frank Bramer, violinist, and
Mrs. Bramer, pianist, will render two selections. The ritual will be in charge of the officers
of the lodge, headed by F. W. Koenig, exalted ruler. Mr. Bramer will offer the "Andantino” by
Lully-Brown, and “An Old Air" by Haesche as his part of the program.
Cross references:
07 26 1905: The
infant son of Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Schempf was added to the Army of the Cross by
receiving the sacrament of baptism Sunday afternoon after vespers at St. Paul’s
Episcopal church. WR
Cross Reference: Chapter on
Schempf Bros. store
History of Watertown, Wisconsin