Term: Owens, Richard Griffith 1811 - 1882
Definition:
first Milwaukee brewer, businessman, b. Anglesea, Wales. He migrated to the U.S. in 1832 and worked at various jobs in the East. He first visited Milwaukee in 1837, and settled there permanently in 1840. In the same year, with two partners, he established the Lake Brewery, became sole owner in 1850, and continued to operate the business until 1864, when it was leased and later sold to M. W. Powell & Co. After retiring from the brewing business, he devoted his interests to his large real estate holdings. F. L. Holmes, et al., eds., Wis. (5 vols., Chicago, 1946); {F. A. Flower], Hist. of Milwaukee (Chicago, 1881); Milwaukee Evening Wis., Nov. 11, 1882; WPA field notes.
View newspaper clippings at Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles.
[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]
