Early Life

Henry Baetz was born in Stockhausen, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany in 1830 and migrated to Two Rivers, Wisconsin in 1853. He later moved to Kewaunee and then to Manitowoc in 1856, where he held local political offices.

Military and Early Political Careers

During the Civil War, Baetz served in the 26th Wisconsin Regiment from 1862 until 1863, and rose to the rank of major. After the war he returned to Manitowoc, where he was active in Republican politics, serving as village president and county treasurer.

Accomplishments

In 1869 he was elected state treasurer of Wisconsin, serving from 1870 to 1874. In 1875 he moved to Milwaukee where he engaged in newspaper work, and was the first chief librarian for the Milwaukee Public Library from 1878 to 1880. He was secretary of the State Board of Immigration from 1880 to 1883. In 1883 he formed a business association with Phillip Best and from 1884 until his retirement in 1904 he was associated with the business that, in 1889, became the Pabst Brewing Company of Milwaukee. 

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Henry Baetz

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]