Читать книгу Memoirs of Milwaukee County, Volume 3 - Josiah Seymour Currey - Страница 50

Walter Henry Bender is a member of the legal firm of Hoyt, Bender & McIntyre. He was born in Milwaukee county on the 22nd of July, 1879, a son of William Harrison Bender and a grandson of Peter Bender, a native of Onondaga county. New York. The grandfather was a tanner and shoemaker by trade and came with his family to Wisconsin in 1846, establishing a general store on the south side of the present city of Milwaukee, on what was then Perry street. Shortly afterward, however, he acquired a tract of land on the Milwaukee river, about four miles north of the present city limits, and under a special act of the legislature was permitted to build what is still known as Bender's dam, and also erected a grist mill and a sawmill, operated by water power. The grist mill remained in operation until a recent date. Peter Bender built a substantial brick home on Bender's road, near the river, and this home is in possession of one of his grandsons. He was a popular man, well known throughout the countryside, and speedily became a dominant factor in the community and was honored with the usual local offices. He died in 1876.

The Bender family had come to this country from Alsace-Lorraine prior to the Revolution. William Harrison Bender was born in New York state in 1840 and came to Milwaukee county with his parents in 1846, making the trip by the Great Lakes in an old sailing vessel. He received his education in this county and lived on a farm here until he was about forty-six years of age, when he removed to Milwaukee and entered the spice, coffee and tea business, in which he engaged until his retirement some years ago. He is still living, being hale and hearty at the age of eighty-two years, and makes his home with his son in Wauwatosa.

Walter Henry Bender received his early education in the Milwaukee public schools and was graduated from the East Side high school here in 1896. He then enrolled in the Milwaukee Normal School, completing his course there in 1898, and subsequently he became a student in the College of Law of the University of Wisconsin, where he was graduated with the class of 1901, receiving his LL. B. degree. After graduation Mr. Bender opened offices in Milwaukee, where he practiced until 1906. In that year he was elected assistant city attorney and served in that capacity until 1910, when he resigned to form the firm of Doerfler, Green & Bender. Mr. Green later retired from the firm and the practice of law, and Mr. Doerfler accepted an appointment as Justice of the supreme court of Wisconsin. E. L. McIntyre, for many years first assistant city attorney of Milwaukee, and Prank M. Hoyt, formerly of Hoyt, Goff & Morgan, entered the firm, which has continued in business since under the name of Hoyt, Bender & McIntyre. In 1918 Mr. Bender was appointed deputy attorney general for the state under Attorney General Spencer Haven and served for one year. Since that time he has handled several important cases for the state as special counsel. At the request of the railroad commission of this state he took up the matter of the administration of the rent regulation act and served as director of that department. Among the notable cases which Mr. Bender has had in charge are the Clancy case, in which it was attempted to remove from office Thomas A. Clancy, chief of the fire department, and the defense of Louis A. Arnold, tax commissioner, when impeached by the common council. He likewise represented the city when the Kilbourn heirs asserted a claim to the real estate upon which the Auditorium now stands and was successful in defeating their claim. He is a member of the local and state bar associations and is admitted to practice in all courts of the state and in the supreme court of the United States.

On Thanksgiving Day of the year 1910, Mr. Bender was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Dalgleish, a daughter of David Dalgleish, one of the early Scotch settlers of Milwaukee, whose death occurred in 1912. Two daughters have been born to Mr. -and Mrs. Bender: Helen Marion and June Elizabeth.

Mr. Bender has always maintained an independent course in politics, giving his support to the man he thinks best fitted for the office without regard for party affiliations. He has always been a strong advocate of prohibition and is an enthusiastic supporter of strict enforcement of the state and federal acts. He is a member of Calvary Presbyterian church, of which he is an elder, and he likewise teaches an adult class of men and women in the Sunday school. Mr. Bender is identified with no secret societies but is recording secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association, secretary of the City Club and a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club. Although the greater part of his time is devoted to his practice, which is of an extensive and important character, he takes a deep interest in and devotes a considerable amount of time to matters of a civic nature. Mr. Bender resides at 5300 Grand avenue, Wauwatosa.