Читать книгу Memoirs of Milwaukee County, Volume 4 - Josiah Seymour Currey - Страница 19

Frank Follette Stimson, secretary of the Luedke-Schaefer Shoe Company of Milwaukee, belongs to that class of men whose business progress has resulted from faithfulness, diligence and a willingness to work. He has never been afraid that he would give an employer more service than he was paid for. He recognized the fact that industry and loyalty would win advancement and it has been through the cultivation of these qualities that he has gained the substantial place which he now occupies in business circles. He was born in Bellevue, Michigan, July 16, 1872 a son of Samuel Crocker Stimson and a grandson of Nathaniel Crocker Stimson. The latter, a farmer of the state of New York, was descended from a well-known family from the north of Ireland. Henry L. Stimson, secretary of war in President Roosevelt's cabinet, was a second cousin of Samuel Crocker Stimson. The latter was born at East Bloomfield, in the Empire state, and in early life devoted his attention to the occupation of farming, while later he became a hotel proprietor, conducting the Albion House at Albion, Michigan, for a period of twelve years. He served in the Union army during the Civil war and was very prominent and influential in local affairs. While in New York he had successfully engaged in business as a dealer in horses and he had few superiors in matching teams. His death occurred in Jackson, Michigan, in the year 1901. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Martha C. French, was born in East Bloomfield, New York, and died in March, 1914. She was of French lineage, her people belonging to the Huguenots and it is related that an ancestor of Mrs. Stimson saved her Bible during the Huguenot persecution in France by baking it in a loaf of bread.

Frank Follette Stimson obtained a public school education in Jackson, Michigan, completing a high school course there and he made his initial step in the business world as an office clerk in the employ of C. H. Fargo & Company of Chicago. He remained with that firm for seven years, winning advancement to the position of bookkeeper and during three years of the time he was stationed at the Fargo factory in Jackson, while during the last four years of the seven-year period he was at Dixon, Illinois. Subsequently he became a resident of Milwaukee and entered the employ of the F. Mayer Boot & Shoe Company at the factory office on Thirtieth and Elm streets. For three years he was with that house in charge of the factory office and next went to Kansas City, Missouri, where he was office manager for the Barton Brothers Shoe Company for three years. He afterward spent a few months in Dixon, Illinois, in the employ of the Watson Plummer Company and then returned to Milwaukee, where he obtained a position with the Bradley Metcalf Company, and for ten years was in charge of their factory office. In June, 1911, he became connected with the Luedke-Schaefer Shoe Company in charge of the office and when on the 11th of August, 1917, A. H. Buttles retired from the concern, which was then known as the Luedke-Schaefer-Buttles Company, Mr. Stimson was elected secretary, having become a stockholder on the 1st of January, 1912, and also one of the directors of the corporation. This company is engaged in the manufacture of the Milwaukee King brand of men's and boys' shoes — unlined shoes, nailed and welted. The brand is well-known to the trade all over the United States and sells from coast to coast. The firm also makes a line of men's and boys' semi-dress shoes and they sell largely to the retail dealers. The business has enjoyed a steady development under the wise direction of its officers and Mr. Stimson has in later years been an active factor in the capable management of the concern.

On the 27th of August, 1909, Mr. Stimson was married to Rose Huggins of Milwaukee, and they have one daughter, Helen, now a pupil in the Hartford Avenue school. Mr. Stimson has always given his political allegiance to the republican party but the honors and emoluments of office have no attraction for him. He is of the Episcopalian faith and with his family attends St. Paul's church. He is fond of fishing and outdoor sports, to which he turns when leisure permits. He recognizes the fact that the well balanced man is the one who knows how to play as well as to work. He has always given adequate attention to business affairs and it has been by reason of his thoroughness, close application and ability that he has become secretary of one of the important manufacturing interests of his adopted city.