HISTORY OF MANITOWOC COUNTY


Mr. Gretz was married June i, i9ii, to Miss Teckla Hoffmann, a daughter
of Peter Hoffmann, one of the very early settlers in the village of Centerville.
The father is now engaged in the lumber business in that place and is one
of
the leading citizens of the town. He and his wife, Mrs. Mary (Dehringer)
Hoffmann, are natives of Germany. Mr. Gretz is one of the bright young busi-
ness men of St. Wendel and Centerville township and is displaying those tal-
ents and traits of character which make for successful business life and
citi-
zenship. He is active, optimistic, and, being always careful to please, he
has
become very popular with a large number of customers who frequent his place
of business. He enjoys an excellent reputation and a wide acquaintance, and
is
held in high esteem by all who know him.
EDWARD BREY, SR.
Edward Brey, Sr., is the owner of a flour, feed and produce store located
at
No. 306 North Eighth street, in the operation of which he has been engaged
since I905. He is one of the many successful business men of Manitowoc who
were born and reared in Germany. His natal day was the i6th of March, I853,
and he is a son of Frederick and Dorothea Brey, who emigrated to the United
States in I872, settling in Wisconsin. Here the father passed away in I879,
and
the mother survived him until 1884. They are both buried in Evergreen ceme-
tery.
Edward Brey received a good common school education in his native land
where he resided until he had attained the age of nineteen years when he
accom-
panied his parents to the United States. He was entirely unfamiliar with
the En-
glish language and found much difficulty in acquiring facility in its use,
so after
locating here, for a time he attended night school. For the first two years
of his
residence he worked in the lumber camps in the northern part of the state,
but
at the expiration of that time he came to Manitowoc and took a position in
the
gristmill of Fluegler & Wall. He remained in their service for nine years,
then
resigned and entered the employ of M. Kellner & Son in the capacity of
sales-
man, being identified with the latter enterprise for twenty years. That he
proved
efficient and highly capable is evidenced by the period of his connection
with the
firm, whose service he left in order to engage in business for himself. A
man
of thrifty and enterprising habits, he had managed to acquire a very comfort-
able capital and in 1905 he engaged in the flour, feed and produce business
at
No. 306 North Eighth street. His many years' experience in commercial activi-
ties, particularly as a salesman, has developed in him the powers to wisely
pro-
mote a business enterprise, and accordingly he is meeting with success in
the
direction of his undertaking. Mr. Brey is well known in the city and has
a
large personal following to whose cooperation he is much indebted for the
ex-
cellent patronage he is enjoying.
On the 20th of September, i874, in this city, Mr. Brey was united in mar-
riage to Miss Dora Schroeder, and to them were born two sons and two daugh-
ters: Meta, the wife of Fred Levenhagen, a plumber of this city; Emma, who


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