George Brumder

George Brumder, proprietor of the Milwaukee Germania.

George Brumder(May 24, 1839 – May 9, 1910) was aGerman-Americannewspaperpublisherand businessman inMilwaukee,Wisconsin.Born inBreuschwickersheim,Bas-Rhin,France,Brumder emigrated to the United States, settling in Milwaukee, where he established the largest publishing company of German-American materials in the United States.

Background and marriage

Brumder was the fifteenth of sixteen children born to Georg and Christina Brumder. In 1857, at the age of 18, he emigrated toWisconsinwith his older sister, Anna Maria, to attend her wedding to a Lutheran minister, Gottlieb Reim. George's first employment was clearing land nearHelenville, Wisconsin,though shortly after arriving in the United States, he bade his sister and new brother-in-law farewell and set off on foot on a 45-mile journey toMilwaukee.He became a member of a crew that laid Milwaukee's firststreet cartracks and later became the foreman of the crew—a fact he remained proud of throughout his life.Brumder soon joined Grace Lutheran Church in Milwaukee where he met his future wife, Henriette Brandhorst, aPrussianimmigrant who was born in 1841 and arrived in America in 1869.

The two were married on July 16, 1864, and they invested what little money they had in a small bookstore George had opened a few months earlier at 306 W. Water Street.

A trade label for Geo. Brumder Bookseller

Cover of a 1919 Almanac published by the George Brumder Company nine years after Brumder's death.

Branching into publishing

As the bookstore flourished, the Brumders added a smallprintingdepartment and bookbinderyand began publishing books for theLutheran Church,especially theWisconsin Synod.Around the same time, a group of prominent German immigrants formed the German Protestant Publishing Company and selected the nameGermaniafor the name of their first publication, a weekly and daily newspaper. That venture ran into financial difficulty owing to cost overruns and limited circulation and the group sought Brumder's assistance. Under his stewardship, the publication eventually thrived. Brumder bought out controlling interest in the company in 1874. In 1897, Brumder bought the Milwaukee dailyAbend-Postand the weeklySontags Journaland changed the name ofGermaniatoGermania Abend-Post.Brumder acquired several other papers over the years including theLincoln Freie Presse(1904) and the dailyMilwaukee Herold(1906). His company eventually controlled most of Milwaukee'sGerman languagenewspapers and also owned German papers inChicagoandLincoln, Nebraska,and several other Wisconsin communities. He was also president of the Germania National Bank (1903–1910) and of the Concordia Fire Insurance Company (1897–1909).

Germania Building

Germania Building

In 1896, Brumder built a new headquarters for his growing publishing empire at 135 W. Wells St. The eight-storyGermania Building,as it was called, was designed by German-trained architects Schnetzky & Liebert and at the time of its construction was the largestoffice buildingin the city of Milwaukee. In 1918, the building's name was changed to the Brumder Building in response toanti-German sentimentduringWorld War Ibut was changed back to the Germania Building after a significant renovation in 1981. Seventeen years after Brumder's 1910 death, the printing presses were removed from the basement levels of the building, giving the city its first underground parking garage.TheBeaux-Arts/Classical Revivalbuilding was placed on theNational Register of Historic Placesin 1983.

Personal life, death and tributes

The Brumders had eleven children, seven of whom survived them: Amalie Christine (1865), Ida Johanna (1867), William Charles (1868), Emma Dorothea (1870), Alfred William (1871) (died at four and a half months), Alfred Julius (1874), Henriette Mathilda (1875) (died at two and a half months), Ella (1876) (died at one month), George Fredrick (1878), Herman Otto (1880), and Herbert Paul (1885).

Brumder died unexpectedly at the age of 71 on May 9, 1910, from abrain hemorrhage.He is buried atForest Home Cemeteryin Milwaukee.

Brumder's business and social contributions to Milwaukee, to Wisconsin, and to the United States were signified in part by several conferences with PresidentWilliam McKinleywhen he was in Milwaukee, a meeting with PresidentTheodore Rooseveltat theWhite House,and dinner with PresidentWilliam Howard Taftat the White House. Upon his death, his wife received letters ofcondolencefrom President Taft and many leading officials and citizens of the country, and the flag atMilwaukee City Hallwas flown athalf-staff.

Further reading

• Becker, Gerhardt.A Bibliography and List of Library Holdings of Milwaukee Publisher George Brumder (1839-1910).Milwaukee, Wis.: Golda Meir Library, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2000.
• "Brumder, George"in Andrew J. Aikens and Lewis A. Proctor (Eds.)Men of Progress. Wisconsin.Milwaukee: Evening Wisconsin Co., 1897, pp. 629–630.
• Marzen, Heidi. "The George Brumder Publishing Company: A German-American Legacy".Max Kade Institute Friends Newsletter,vol. 10, no. 1 (Spring 2001): 9-10.
• Widen, Larry. "Founding Families".M Magazine,February 2006.

External links

• George BrumderatFind a Grave
• German Milwaukee: The World of the BrumdersArchived2012-12-05 at theWayback Machine- audio presentation by John Gurda