Читать книгу Memoirs of Milwaukee County, Volume 3 - Josiah Seymour Currey - Страница 61

Charles Curtis Jacobus, a building contractor of Milwaukee, specializing in concrete work and also identified with banking and building and loan interests, was born in Bloomfield, New Jersey, on the 19th of December, 1864, and is a son of Elias and Virginia (Reynolds) Jacobus. Some years prior to this date the parents had established their home in Oregon, Wisconsin, settling about ten miles south of Madison, where the father was engaged in the contracting business. At the outbreak of the Civil war he responded to the country's call for troops, joining the Eighth Wisconsin Regiment, with which he served throughout the period of hostilities and during his absence at the front Mrs. Jacobus returned to the old home at Bloomfield, New Jersey, where the birth of their son Charles occurred. When the war was over and the country no longer needed the services of Elias Jacobus he returned with his family to his home in Oregon, Wisconsin, so that the youthful days of Charles C. Jacobus were there passed. He attended the graded and high schools of Oregon until he had completed the course by graduation and in 1890 he left that village, becoming a resident of Wauwatosa, a suburb of Milwaukee. Association with his father awakened his interest in the contracting business and the assistance which he rendered his father brought him considerable practical knowledge of the work. It was natural therefore that he should turn to this line in choosing a life vocation and throughout most of his business career he has been a contractor, specializing in concrete work and erecting some of the largest manufacturing plants of Milwaukee. Thoroughly familiar with every phase of the business he has so directed his efforts that his labors have been a source of the city's development and improvement as well as a source of individual success. Aside from his activity as a contractor he is well known in financial and business circles as a director of the First National Bank of Wauwatosa and also of the Wauwatosa Building & Loan Association.

In 1890 Mr. Jacobus was united in marriage to Miss Adelia Viola Minahan of Chilton, Wisconsin, who passed away in the year 1916 leaving two sons: Garrett, who is the president of the Wauwatosa Fuel & Supply Company; and Delwin, who is now pursuing his education in the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

In his political views Mr. Jacobus has always been a republican and a stalwart partisan, taking an active interest in the councils of the party and doing not a little to shape its course locally. In 1902 he was elected to the county board of supervisors and has since served continuously in that position, with the exception of a two-year period, his various reelections indicating how ably and faithfully he has discharged the duties of the office. In 1911, when the state aid highway law was enacted, Mr. Jacobus was chosen chairman of the county road and bridge committee of Milwaukee county and has also served in that position to the present time. This committee was instrumental in building the famous system of concrete highways, covering two hundred miles in Milwaukee county and as a result of the splendid work done in this connection the United States office of public roads cited Milwaukee county as the foremost example of a community that built a high class highway system out of the proceeds of its taxes without incurring indebtedness. No county in the United States has better public roads than Milwaukee county and experts from all parts of the country visit the district to study the county methods of handling highway problems.

While important business and official duties have made heavy demands upon the time and energy of Mr. Jacobus, he has yet found opportunity for enjoyment along various lines and is keenly appreciative of the social amenities of life. In this phase of his character is found the root of his various lodge and club connections. He belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, to the Knights of Pythias, to the Modern Woodmen of America, the Germania Lodge and the Milwaukee Athletic Club. His fellow members of these orders entertain for him the highest regard, while the general public accords to him that measure of high respect which is always indicative of sterling worth and capability on the part of the individual.