Читать книгу Memoirs of Milwaukee County, Volume 2 - Josiah Seymour Currey - Страница 16

William Cooper Sargent, whose splendid business ability brought him to a position of prominence, calling him to a place that demanded exceptional executive force and administrative power, was long known in commercial circles as the secretary of the Chain Belt Company. The story of his life is an interesting one, owing to his steady rise and the methods that he pursued.

Mr. Sargent was born in Troy, New York, February 2, 1849, and passed away on the 5th of February, 1922, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, his remains being laid to rest in St. Paul. His parents were Leonard R. and Sarah (Downing) Sargent. The Sargent family traces its ancestry back through eight generations to early Puritans. Early settlement was made by representatives of the name at Maiden, Massachusetts, and at Everett, that state, and later they were in Connecticut and Vermont. Leonard R. Sargent was born at Fort Ann, New York, while his wife was a native of Bristol, Pennsylvania, and it was at the latter place that William C. Sargent pursued his education, his father having removed to Bristol with his family that he might execute a contract which had been awarded him as civil engineer.

After leaving school William C. Sargent entered a wholesale drug house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was there employed for several years. In 1872 he resigned and went to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he became a partner in the firm of DeCou, Corlies & Sargent. Their business was the manufacture of doors, sash and blinds and they conducted a profitable enterprise until 1873, when during the widespread financial panic and the hard times that followed the firm failed. Mr. Sargent then became purchasing agent for the St. Paul Harvester Works, in which C. W. Le Valley was a partner. Mr. Le Valley was an intimate friend of Mr. Sargent and in later years upon his removal to Milwaukee, where he organized the Chain Belt Company, Mr. Sargent was made secretary of the company and acted also as Mr. Le Valley's confidential advisor. It was largely through his efforts that they established their agencies all over the United States and also in France, India, Japan and various points in South America. Mr. Sargent continued to act as secretary until his death, and his sound business judgment and his ready discrimination between the essential and the nonessential in all business affairs were potent elements in the attainment of the success of the company.

In 1873 Mr. Sargent returned to his native city and there married Miss Adele Packer a daughter of Albert and Elizabeth (Morgan) Packer, representatives of an old and highly respected family of Bristol, Pennsylvania, who trace their ancestry back through many generations, the family being one of distinction in that section of the country. To Mr. and Mrs. Sargent were born six children, five of whom are living. Caroline, the eldest, is the wife of William E. Walter of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Helen is the wife of William R. Langford of St. Paul, Minnesota. Leonard R., a representative of the fifth generation to bear the name of Leonard, is a captain in the United States navy. He was graduated from Annapolis, and during the World war was stationed at Panama, in charge of land and sea forces, guarding the Panama canal. He is now commander of the Destroyer Squadron Five, on the Flagship Birmingham. Howard H. is a graduate of Harvard and a resident of St. Paul, Minnesota. Julian D., a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, also resides in St. Paul.

Mr. Sargent was a member of the Minnesota Club and of the Milwaukee Athletic Club. He was a man of great popularity, his social qualities winning him the friendship and kindly regard of all who knew him. He possessed a most sympathetic nature and was constantly extending a helping hand. He possessed considerable poetic talent and was the author of much creditable verse. His splendid business powers, too, made him known throughout the country, and when he passed away floral pieces and letters of condolence were received from all parts of the United States. His life left its impress upon all who knew him, so that the news of his demise carried with it a sense of personal bereavement into many homes. He stood as a splendid type of American manhood and citizenship, honored and respected by all and most of all where he was best known.