Notes:
Milwaukee is the largest city within the state of Wisconsin and 22nd largest (by population) in the United States. The city is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. As of the 2005 U.S. Census estimate, Milwaukee had a population of 578,887. The city is the main cultural and economic center of the Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha Metropolitan Area with a population of 1,753,355.
The first Europeans to pass through the area were French missionaries and fur traders. In 1818, Frenchman Solomon Juneau settled in the area, and in 1846 Juneau's town combined with two neighboring towns to incorporate as the City of Milwaukee. Large numbers of German and other immigrants helped increase the city's population during the 1840s and the following decades.
Once known almost exclusively as a brewing and manufacturing powerhouse, Milwaukee has taken steps over the past few years to reshape its image, in large part by reviving its downtown. In the past decade, new additions to downtown have included the Milwaukee Riverwalk, the Midwest Airlines Center, an internationally renowned addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum, as well as the major renovations to the Milwaukee Auditorium and U.S. Cellular Arena. In addition, many new skyscrapers, condos, lofts, and apartments have been constructed in neighborhoods on and near the lakefront and riverbanks for the purpose of attracting new residents to the city.
History
The Milwaukee area was originally inhabited by the Fox, Mascouten, Potawatomi, and Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) American Indian tribes. French missionaries and traders first passed through the area in the late 1600s and 1700s. The word "Milwaukee" comes from an Algonquian word Millioke which means "Good/Beautiful/Pleasant Land" (c.f. Potawatomi language minwaking, Ojibwe language ominowakiing) or "Gathering place by the water" (c.f. Potawatomi language manwaking, Ojibwe language omaniwakiing).
Milwaukee has three "founding fathers," of whom French Canadian Solomon Juneau was first to come to the area, in 1818. The Juneaus founded the town called Juneau's Side, or Juneautown, that began attracting more settlers. However, Byron Kilbourn was Juneau's equivalent on the west side of the Milwaukee River. In competition with Juneau, he established Kilbourntown west of the Milwaukee River, and made sure that the streets running toward the river did not join with those on the east side. This accounts for the large number of angled bridges that still exist in Milwaukee today. Further, Kilbourn distributed maps of the area which only showed Kilbourntown, implying that Juneautown did not exist or that the east side of the river was uninhabited and thus undesirable. The third prominent builder was George H. Walker. He claimed land to the south of the Milwaukee River, along with Juneautown, where he built a log house in 1834. This area grew and became known as Walker's Point.
By the 1840s, the three towns had grown quite a bit, along with their rivalries. The 1840s brought on some intesne battles between the towns, mainly Juneautown and Kilbourntown, which culminated with the Milwaukee Bridge War of 1845. Following t the Bridge War, it was decided that the best course of action was to officially unite the towns. So on 31 January 1846 they combined to incorporate as the City of Milwaukee and elected L. Solomon Juneau as Milwaukee's first mayor. A great number of German immigrants had helped increase the city's population during the 1840s and continued to migrate to the area during the following decades. Milwaukee has even been called "Deutsches Athen" (German Athens), and into the twentieth centuryry, there were more German speakers and German-language newspapers than there were English speakers and English-language newspapers in the city. (To this day, the Greater Milwaukee phonebook includes more than forty pages of Schmitts or Schmidts, far more than the pages of Smiths.)
During the middle and late 19th century, Wisconsin and the Milwaukee area became the final destination of many German immigrants fleeing the Revolution of 1848. In Wisconsin they found the inexpensive land and the freedoms they sought. The Germaan heritage and influence in the Milwaukee area is widespread. In addition to Germans, Milwaukee saw large influxes of immigrants from Poland, Italy, Ireland as well as many Jews from Central and Eastern Europe. By 1910, Milwaukee (along with New York City) shared the distinction of having the largest percentage of foreign-born residents in the United States.
The late 19th century saw the incorporation of Milwaukee's first suburbs. The aforementioned Bay View existed as an independent village from 1879-1886. In 1892, Whitefish Bay, South Milwaukee, and Wauwatosa each incorporated. They were followed by Cudahy (1895), North Milwaukee (1897) and East Milwaukee, later known as Shorewood, in 1900. The early 20th century saw the additions of West Allis (1902) and West Milwaukee (1906), which completed the first generation of "inner-ring" suburbs.
During the first half of the twentieth century, Milwaukee was the hub of the socialist movement in the United States. Milwaukee elected three socialist mayors during this time: Emil Seidel (1910-1912), Daniel Hoan (1916-1940), and Frank Zeidler (1948-1960). It remains the only major city in the country to have done so. Often referred to as "Sewer Socialists," the Milwaukee socialists were characterized by their practical approach to government and labor. Also during this time, a small, but burgeoning community of African-Americans who emigrated from the south formed a community that would come to be known as Bronzeville.
Milwaukee continued to grow tremendously until the late 1950s. Milwaukee was home to immigrants from Ireland, Germany, Hungary, Poland and other central European nations. There was also great northward migration of African-Americans from the Sououthern United States. With the large influx of immigrants, Milwaukee became one of the 15 largest cities in the nation, and by the mid-1960s, its population reached nearly 750,000. Starting in the late 1960s, like many cities in the "rust belt,," Milwaukee saw its population start to decline due to various factors, including the loss of blue collar jobs and the phenomenon of "white flight." However, in recent years the city began to make strides in improving its economy, neighborhoodss, and image, resulting in the revitalization of neighborhoods such as the Historic Third Ward, the East Side, and more recently, Bay View, along with attracting new businesses to its downtown area. The city continues to make plans for increasing its future revitalization through various projects. Largely due to its efforts to preserve its history, in 2006 Milwaukee was named one of the "Dozen Distinctive Destinations" by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Milwaukee's name
The name "Milwaukee" comes from an Algonquian word Millioke, meaning either "Good/Beautiful/Pleasant Land" (c.f. Potawatomi language minwaking, Ojibwe language ominowakiing) or "Gathering place by the water" (c.f. Potawatomi language manwaking, Ojibwe language omaniwakiing). Early explorers called the Milwaukee River and surrounding lands various names: Melleorki, Milwacky, Mahn-a-waukie, Milwarck, and Milwaucki. For many years, printed records gave the name as "Milwaukie". A Short History of Milwaukee, by William George Bruce, gives the story of Milwaukee's final name:
"One day during the thirties of the last century 800s a newspaper calmly changed the name to Milwaukee, and Milwaukee it has remained until this day."
Milwaukeeans, in common with most Wisconsinites, sometimes confuse outsiders in their pronunciation of the name. It is often pronounced as mʊˈwaːki, which is humorously observed on some T-Shirts sold as "M'waukee".
Matches 1 to 12 of 12
Last Name, Given Name(s) | Birth | Person ID | Tree | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Goldsmith, Elisabeth | Sunday 02 April 1933 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I322189 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
2 | Goldsmith, Marion T. | Tuesday 03 January 1911 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I322183 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
3 | Goldsmith, Robert Shakman | Thursday 03 August 1916 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I322184 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
4 | Mack, Theresa | Tuesday 20 May 1902 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I322188 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
5 | Platner, Johanna | Tuesday 13 May 1890 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I322372 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
6 | Schlesinger, Henry J. | Sunday 03 August 1879 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I688842 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
7 | Schlesinger, Robert Henry | Monday 05 November 1917 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I688841 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
8 | Tracy, Spencer Bonavnture | Thursday 05 April 1900 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I673752 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
9 | Verhaagh, Francis | Sunday 12 May 1895 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I85948 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
10 | Verhaagh, John | Friday 09 October 1896 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I85949 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
11 | Verhaagh, Peter Arthur | Monday 16 May 1898 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I85950 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
12 | Vieaux, Peter J. | Sunday 10 January 1830 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I449930 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
Matches 1 to 15 of 15
Last Name, Given Name(s) | Death | Person ID | Tree | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Delores | Sunday 16 February 1997 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I87430 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
2 | Brodson, Sidney | May 1979 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I322199 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
3 | van der Goes, Jacob François Adriaan | Monday 21 November 1898 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I790735 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
4 | Goldsmith, George Jr. | Tuesday 23 January 1912 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I322181 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
5 | Hewitt, William Isaac | Wednesday 23 August 1882 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I449106 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
6 | Hübl, Edward | Sunday 23 December 1984 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I87316 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
7 | Juneau, Lorent Solomon | Friday 28 November 1856 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I452802 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
8 | Kohl, Patricia Mary | Thursday 11 October 1945 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I89803 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
9 | MacArthur, Arthur | Thursday 05 September 1912 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I685184 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
10 | Mellema, Robert George | Sunday 13 April 1969 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I244480 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
11 | Scheidt, Marquerite | Wednesday 16 October 1985 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I87395 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
12 | Schlesinger, Henry J. | Monday 10 October 1955 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I688842 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
13 | Tuinstra, Bessie | August 1995 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I246219 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
14 | Tuinstra, Richard | October 1972 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I246221 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
15 | Zondag, Harm | Friday 26 April 1968 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I423780 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
Matches 1 to 1 of 1
Last Name, Given Name(s) | Burial | Person ID | Tree | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Delores | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I87430 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
Matches 1 to 1 of 1
Last Name, Given Name(s) | Occupation | Person ID | Tree | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Goldsmith, Leon E. -Spouse Charlotte | Between 1902 and 1935 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I322185 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
Matches 1 to 1 of 1
Last Name, Given Name(s) | Residence | Person ID | Tree | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Goudsmit, Leon Emanuel | Between 1916 and 1936 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | I322187 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
Matches 1 to 4 of 4
Family | Marriage | Family ID | Tree | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Achtien / Fries | Sunday 15 January 1911 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | F179790 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
2 | Galler / Albreckt | Sunday 18 June 1916 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | F66461 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
3 | Goldsmith / Mack | Saturday 30 January 1932 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | F126355 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
4 | Verhaagh / Skarlopinska | Tuesday 21 August 1894 | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA | F34884 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
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