Levy, John Meyer 1820 - 1910
merchant, civic leader, b. London, England. He was educated in Amsterdam and lived in Paris for several years. Arriving in the U.S. in 1837, he settled in St. Louis. In 1844 he moved to Prairie du Chien where he operated a store. The next year, in partnership with Samuel Snow, he opened a wagon trail to La Crosse where he and Snow engaged in the Indian trade. In 1847, they held the mail contract between Prairie du Chien and Fort Snelling, Minn. After the Indians were removed from the area in 1849, Levy engaged in real estate construction, building houses, hotels, docks, and warehouses, and became a commission and forwarding agent for steamboat companies. He was mayor of La Crosse (1860-1861, 1866-1868), and served as alderman for eight years. U.S. Biog. Dict.... Wis. (Chicago, 1877); Hist. of N. Wis. (Chicago, 1881); B. F. Bryant, ed., Memoirs of La Crosse Co. (Madison, 1907); A. H. Sanford, et al., Hist. of La Crosse (La Crosse, 1951); La Crosse Tribune, Apr. 21, 1910; WPA field notes.
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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]