Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1897-05-19
BAEHR IN TROUBLE.
Former Resident of Watertown Report
ed to Have Gone Wrong.


ed to Have Gone Wrong.
Alfred H. Baehr. who is we'll known
to many of our older residents, and
who at one time made Watertown his
home, having been an officer of one of
the companies recruited here for the
rebellion, is in trouble. 1t seems he
has betrayed the condolences of his
friends to a surprising extent. The
story of his misdoings is thus told by
The Milwaukee Sentinel of May IL:
The former Oshkosh dry goods merchant,
A. f. Baehr, who appeared in the municipal
court of that city on Saturday to answer to
charge of forgery preferred by S. M. Hay,
president of the First National bank, has been
residing in Milwaukee for several months past.
He was arrested and taken to Oshkosh and
gave bonds in the sum of 81 900 to appear for
trial. He has returned to this city.
The friends of Mr.. Baehr say that family
travagance is the cause of his present trouble.
He is said to have spent little upon himself,
but to have rarely denied anything that any
member of the family wished for. He is about
81 years old and served as captain of the Wa
tertown militia during the civil war. At the
close of the war he went to Oshkosh, where he
was married to the daughter of the late VIII
liam Klotsch, and secured employment in the
dry goods house of Bigger & Hill, then the larg-
est emporium of its kind in that section of the
country. He soon acquired position of trust
and many of the details of the business were
left in his charge. After that firm dissolved
Mr.. Baehr practically managed William Hills
dry goods store and in a few years became
partner in the business, the firm name of
which was changed to William Hill q Co.
Later he became partner in the dry goods
firm of Luther Davies & Co.
Mr. Baehr was trusted implicitly by the
business world of Oshkosh until about five or
six months ago, which enabled him to contract
[ liabilities amounting to many thousand dol
lars above his assets. At the close of last year
Luther Davies, his partner, discovered
glimpse of the true state of affairs by an acct
dent. An Oshkosh woman of good financial
standing had been charged up with account
on the books and whenever Mr.. Davies in
quired why the bill was not paid, Mr.. Baehr
would answer that the account against the
party was all right and would be settled in
due time. The charge remained on the books
until the beginning of this year, when Mr.
Baehr went to Milwaukee to visit his family
During this time Mr.. Davies had bills made
out against all parties indebted to the firm
! and also one against the woman referred to-
| When the collector was handed the bill he is
said to have told Mr.. Davies that he had col
| Iected it long ago and turned over the money
| to Mr.. Baehr. The young mans statements
were found to be correct and further investi-
cation showed more outstanding accounts
that had been paid.
Immediately after these discoveries Mr.
Davies came to Milwaukee and obtained a full
confession from his partner. They agreed to
dissolution of the firm and Mr.. Davies con-
tinued in business alone. After Mr.. Baehr
returned to Oshkosh to settle up various bust
ness affairs, it was rumored about that he had
forged the endorsement of Luther Davies on a
note for $500 held by S. NJ. Hay. No public
disclosures were made at the time, however,
and the reports gradually died out.
Mr.. Baehr's total Indebtedness is said to
amount to over $4,000 and his assets to about
5000 or 81 900. 1t is said that intimate friends
of his hold about $4,000 worth of his unen-
dorsed paper. There are several notes out
standing, purporting to bear the endorsement
of certain parties who refuse to take them up
The National Union bank is said to hold
note for $3.50 signed by Mr.. Baehr and purport-
ing to be endorsed by one Fred Schmidt. The
latter is prosperous farmer residing two
miles north of Oshkosh, and is distantly relat-
ed to Mr.. Baehr. Another note for 800 is held
by Gus Luscher and purports to be endorsed
by Luther Davies. S. NJ. Hay holds a note for
$500 purporting to bear the Endorsement of Mr..
Davies. 1t is said that Mr.. Hay also holds one
for 81 900 bearing the name of Fred Schmidt
as endOrser.
The only property possessed by Mr. Baehr is
a residence and two lots in Oshkosh. On this
Mrs. W. a. Robinson holds a mortgage for
81, 800, which was given in 1892 In 1892 Mrs
jeanette Rich loaned Mr.. Baehr 81 900 and Sc
cured what she supposed was a first mortgage,
but at his request did not file the mortgage at
the time it was given. Charles Schneider, of
the National bank, is said to hold another
mortgage in the sum of $500, which was also
supposed to have been first lien on the pro-
perry and which Mr.. Schneider did not file at
the request of Mr. Baehr When rumors re-
garding the true state of the affairs of Mr.
Baehr were noised about, the mortgages
| made haste to get their instruments recorded.
| The total amount of the membranes on his
| property is So, 7O0 which is more than the pro-
perty will bring on foreclosure sale.
| Mr.. Baehr's nearest friends are his largest
| creditors. As his personal expenses grew, he
began to borrow little at time, and gradu-
| ally larger amounts, until at last he resorted
| to unlawful means to obtain money. From
| letters received by former friends of his in
| Oshkosh, it would seem that Mr.. Baehr was
little troubled about the seriousness of the
charges hanging over him. He did not realize
| that he might suffer arrest and evidently ex-
pected that he might some time be able to
| Hquidate his indebtedness.
He was arrested in this city on Friday by
| Sheriff Lampert, of Oshkosh, and arraigned
in the municipal court of that city the follow
ing day, when he was released on a bail bond
! furnished by j. FL. Jenkins and J. ]. Sprague,
wellknown residents of Oshkosh.
The Milwaukee exposition will be-
gin September and continue until Oc-
tober g. It is the intention of the man
agement to have this exposition surpass
all previous ones in It's leading attract
| ions M1Cio will ho +ho