Charles James Kershaw
Encyclopedia
Charles James Kershaw was born in Burnley
, Lancashire, England, in 1832. He came to America in 1841, and received his education at the Derby Line Academy, in Derby Line, Orleans County
, Vermont
. He came West in 1853, and engaged in a general trade in provisions, grain and flour, both in Milwaukee and Chicago
, and made Milwaukee his permanent home in 1861.
. Due to the defalcation of a major client which was attempting a speculative corner Kershaw & Co. was forced into bankruptcy. Issues in the case were considered sufficiently important as to make it to the United States Supreme Court as Armstrong vs American Exchange National Bank. The business was reorganized with an injection of new capital from the Kershaw family.
and whose father Howard Potter
was the senior partner in Brown, Shipley & Co.
. Rather than join the family business Howard C. Potter invested in and joined Kershaw & Co. and operated a branch from Tacoma, Washington
.
C.J. Kershaw & Sons were dealers in lumber, salt stucco, lime, etc. The lumber yards were located on the north side of Burnham's Slip, near the foot of Sixth avenue. This area of Milwaukee is currently as of 2009 Clock Tower Acres. The business was established by proprietors in 1875. A directory published in 1881 describes the business. From fifty to seventy-five men were employed about the extensive yards. The sales aggregate was nearly 12000000 board feet (28,316.8 m³) of lumber per year. This branch of the business was under the management of R. Stockwell, Jr., who had been superintendent of the yards since 1877. The house, with office at No. 68 West Water street, under a separate management, nearly controlled the salt trade of the city, and had a large shipping trade with the interior. This department conducting salt trde was under the superintendency of P.H. Kershaw, the junior partner of the house.
under the firm name of C. Manegold, Jr. & Co., the firm owning and running the Northwestern Elevator. These varieties of business under the different styles mentioned being successfully and energetically carried on by Mr. Kershaw and his associates. He was an honored member of the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce since 1861, and has served on every important committee, and as Vice-President of the Board. His reputation and business standing among his associates is untarnished, and his ability unquestioned.
. They had eight children, Phillip H. Kershaw, Charles J. Kershaw, Jr, Henry Kershaw, Thomas Kershaw, Leavenworth Kershaw, Alice the wife of Howard Cranston Potter, Jessie Kershaw and Mabel the wife of Dr. Burton J. Lee, of New York
Obituary of Burton J. Lee, Jr.. Charles James Kershaw's granddaughter Bertha Marie Potter was the wife of William Boeing
and his great-grandson is Burton J. Lee III, White House physician in the administration of George H.W. Bush.
. It foundered in a storm on Chocolay Reef off Marquette, Michigan
on Lake Superior on the night of September 29, 1895. Due to the action of lifesavers none of the thirteen aboard died. As a result of its location it is one of the most popular dive sites in Northern Michigan.
Public domain
History of Milwaukee Biographies
Nearly 4000 biographical sketches of pioneers and citizens
The Western Historical Company, Chicago
A.T. Andreas Proprietor, 1881
Milwaukee County Wisconsin Genealogy
Burnley
Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
, Lancashire, England, in 1832. He came to America in 1841, and received his education at the Derby Line Academy, in Derby Line, Orleans County
Orleans County, Vermont
Orleans County is one of the four northernmost counties in the U.S. state of Vermont. It borders Canada. In 2010, the population was 27,231. Its county seat is Newport. As in the rest of New England, few governmental powers have been granted to the county...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. He came West in 1853, and engaged in a general trade in provisions, grain and flour, both in Milwaukee and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and made Milwaukee his permanent home in 1861.
C.J. Kershaw & Co.
He continued the produce and commission business alone till 1867 during which years he formed a copartnership with Greenleaf D. Norris, which occurred in 1870, at that time Mr. Joseph P. Hill becoming associated with him under the firm name of C.J. Kershaw & Co.Kershaw bankruptcy and reorganization
This business conducted grain brokerage on the Chicago Board of TradeChicago Board of Trade
The Chicago Board of Trade , established in 1848, is the world's oldest futures and options exchange. More than 50 different options and futures contracts are traded by over 3,600 CBOT members through open outcry and eTrading. Volumes at the exchange in 2003 were a record breaking 454 million...
. Due to the defalcation of a major client which was attempting a speculative corner Kershaw & Co. was forced into bankruptcy. Issues in the case were considered sufficiently important as to make it to the United States Supreme Court as Armstrong vs American Exchange National Bank. The business was reorganized with an injection of new capital from the Kershaw family.
Howard Cranston Potter
Charles Kershaw's daughter Alice was married to Howard Cranston Potter whose grandfather was James Brown among the founders of Brown Bros. & Co.Brown Bros. & Co.
Brown Bros. & Co. was an investment bank from 1818 until its merger with Harriman Brothers & Company in 1931 to form Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.-History:...
and whose father Howard Potter
Howard Potter
Howard Potter was an industrialist, investment banker, diplomat and philanthropist, and a partner in Brown Bros. & Co..He was born in Schenectady, New York on July 8, 1826 and died in London, England on March 24, 1897...
was the senior partner in Brown, Shipley & Co.
Brown, Shipley & Co.
Brown, Shipley & Co. is a long-established British private bank, based in London.It provides investment management, pensions and associated advisory services for private, institutional and corporate clients.-History:...
. Rather than join the family business Howard C. Potter invested in and joined Kershaw & Co. and operated a branch from Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
.
C.J. Kershaw & Sons
In addition to the commission business carried on by the above-named firm, Mr. Kershaw, commenced 1875 another copartnership which carried on an extensive trade in lumber and salt.C.J. Kershaw & Sons were dealers in lumber, salt stucco, lime, etc. The lumber yards were located on the north side of Burnham's Slip, near the foot of Sixth avenue. This area of Milwaukee is currently as of 2009 Clock Tower Acres. The business was established by proprietors in 1875. A directory published in 1881 describes the business. From fifty to seventy-five men were employed about the extensive yards. The sales aggregate was nearly 12000000 board feet (28,316.8 m³) of lumber per year. This branch of the business was under the management of R. Stockwell, Jr., who had been superintendent of the yards since 1877. The house, with office at No. 68 West Water street, under a separate management, nearly controlled the salt trade of the city, and had a large shipping trade with the interior. This department conducting salt trde was under the superintendency of P.H. Kershaw, the junior partner of the house.
Northwestern Grain Elevator
In 1876 he also entered into copartnership with Charles Manegold, Jr.Charles Manegold, Jr.
Charles Manegold, Jr., a founding father of the Milwaukee Parks Department. Manegold was president of the Milwaukee-Waukesha Brewing Company, with plant at No. 155 South Water street in Milwaukee, was born September 15, 1851, in the city which is still his home. His father, Charles Manegold, was a...
under the firm name of C. Manegold, Jr. & Co., the firm owning and running the Northwestern Elevator. These varieties of business under the different styles mentioned being successfully and energetically carried on by Mr. Kershaw and his associates. He was an honored member of the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce since 1861, and has served on every important committee, and as Vice-President of the Board. His reputation and business standing among his associates is untarnished, and his ability unquestioned.
Family
Mr. Kershaw married Miss Mary E. Leavenworth, daughter of Colonel Jesse Henry LeavenworthJesse Henry Leavenworth
Colonel Jesse Henry Leavenworth was military careerist and the second member of his family to serve in the regular army. He was the son of Brigadier General Henry Leavenworth and his wife Elizabeth Eunice Morrison. He was born March 29, 1807, in Danville, Vermont. He was a graduate of West Point...
. They had eight children, Phillip H. Kershaw, Charles J. Kershaw, Jr, Henry Kershaw, Thomas Kershaw, Leavenworth Kershaw, Alice the wife of Howard Cranston Potter, Jessie Kershaw and Mabel the wife of Dr. Burton J. Lee, of New York
Obituary of Burton J. Lee, Jr.. Charles James Kershaw's granddaughter Bertha Marie Potter was the wife of William Boeing
William Boeing
William Edward Boeing was an American aviation pioneer who founded The Boeing Company.-Biography:Boeing was born to a wealthy German mining engineer named Wilhelm Böing who had made a fortune and who had a sideline as a timber merchant...
and his great-grandson is Burton J. Lee III, White House physician in the administration of George H.W. Bush.
Wreck of the C.J. Kershaw
Charles James Kershaw participated in partnerships which invested in a number of ships which carried cargo on the Great Lakes. One of these was vessels was named after him, a wooden steamer of 1,324 gross tons, 223 feet (68 m) long, 37 feet (11 m) wide and 20 feet (6 m) draft which continued under the name C.J. Kershaw after it was sold. It passed through various owners and in and out then back into the ownership of William Mack. It was built in 1874 at Bay City, MichiganBay City, Michigan
Bay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and is the principal city of the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North...
. It foundered in a storm on Chocolay Reef off Marquette, Michigan
Marquette, Michigan
Marquette is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Marquette County. The population was 21,355 at the 2010 census, making it the most populated city of the Upper Peninsula. Marquette is a major port on Lake Superior, primarily for shipping iron ore and is the home of Northern...
on Lake Superior on the night of September 29, 1895. Due to the action of lifesavers none of the thirteen aboard died. As a result of its location it is one of the most popular dive sites in Northern Michigan.
Sources
Public domain
History of Milwaukee Biographies
Nearly 4000 biographical sketches of pioneers and citizens
The Western Historical Company, Chicago
A.T. Andreas Proprietor, 1881
Milwaukee County Wisconsin Genealogy