Alphonse Franchere

In this enlightened age when men of energy, industry and merit are rapidly pushing their way to the front, those who, by their own individual efforts, have won favor and fortune, may more properly claim recognition. To this class belongs Alphonse Franchere, who in connection with his brother, O. J., is proprietor of the Fair, a large department store of Cedar Rapids. He came to this place in 1885, and has since been prominently identified with its mercantile interests.

Mr. Franchere was born in Chicago, Illinois, on the 4th of February, 1861, and is a son of David and Matilda (Moffit) Franchere, both natives of Montreal, Canada. The mother died when our subject was a small boy, leaving nine children, of whom five are still living, namely: Mrs. P. U. Magnan and Mrs. N. F. Chiniquy, both residents of Chicago; Oscar J., who is with our subject in business; Gabriel, a merchant of Chicago; Alphonse, of this review; and Napoleon F., a resident of Mason City, Iowa. Euclid died in Chicago in 1871, and two others died in early childhood. The mother's death occurred in 1863, when she was thirty-nine years of age. The ancestors of our subject were of French extraction. His paternal grandparents both died in Chicago in 1864, when well advanced in years. All of their children lived to be over seventy-eight years of age, and one daughter is still living in Chicago. Our subject's father, who was the youngest of this family, engaged in merchandising in Canada in early life, and about 1850 removed to Chicago, where he conducted a crockery store until about ten years before his death, which occurred in 1898, when he was seventy-eight years of age. He was a self-educated man, and in business affairs was quite successful.

Like the other children of the family Alphonse Franchere was educated in the public schools of Chicago. The sons all obtained their business education in the large mercantile establishment of Marshall Field & Company of that city. On leaving that firm our subject sought a location with the view of embarking in business for himself, and finally decided on Cedar Rapids, where he settled in 1885. Having but small capital he opened a shoe store, and as he became familiar with the wants of his customers he gradually enlarged his stock as fast as his resources would permit. He began business at No. 212 First avenue, occupying only about one third of the space he now has, and two years later opened a dry goods and fancy goods department at No. 214. In 1889 he again enlarged his store by an addition forty feet square and two stories high, and also increased his stock. In 1891 he secured the adjoining store room, No. 216, and converted his establishment into a regular department store, carrying everything found in a first class general store with the exception of heavy hardware. In 1894 he was joined by his brother Oscar J., from Chicago, and two years later sold to him the crockery, groceries and household goods departments, which now occupy No 218-220-222, while our subject has the remainder of the stock in Nos. 212-214-216. He carries a fine line of dry goods, millinery, shoes, clothing, gents' furninshing goods, furs, carpets, etc. On the second floor he has five rooms devoted to bargain counters, while the six rooms on the third floor are devoted exclusively to the mail order department. Mr. Franchere has recently purchased sixty feet in the rear of Nos. 212-214 and 216 First avenue, where he is building a warehouse for storage purposes. The Fair, by which name their store is known, is fitted up with all modern improvements in the way of heating, lighting, etc. and would be a credit to a city much larger than Cedar Rapids. It occupies the property from 212 to 226 First avenue. By advertising extensively, the firm have secured a large trade from several of the adjoining states, and also from New Mexico and Colorado. they have one hundred and fifty employees on their pay roll, and keep eight delivery wagons and fourteen horses. Their business has grown so rapidly that for the year 1901 it will undoubtedly amount to a quarter of a million dollars. The brothers own property at 216 and 218 First avenue occupied by their businesses.

Alphonse Franchere is not identified with any political party, but at local elections votes for the men whom he believes best qualified to fill the office. Fraternally he is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Commercial Club of Cedar Rapids. He takes considerable interest in outdoor sports, such as baseball, bicycling and horse racing, and is what may be termed a baseball enthusiast. He built the Athletic Park, which has since been sold to the Carnival Association, with which he is connected, and he is also a stockholder of the Auditorium Building. His first thoughts are always for the city of his adoption, and he has been a liberal contributor to all enterprises which he believed would prove of public benefit. He also gives freely to charity, putting his donations where they will do the most good. Pleasant and genial by nature, he makes hosts of friends wherever he goes, and has been a welcome addition to the business interests of Cedar Rapids.

The Fair, which is one of the leading business houses of Cedar Rapids, is owned by Oscar J. and Alphonse Franchere, two brothers, who are numbered among the most energetic, enterprising and successful business men of the city. The older, Oscar J. was born in Montreal, Canada, April 30, 1853, but during his infancy was taken to Chicago by his parents, David and Matilda (Mot) Francere(sic), who were also natives of Montreal and of French descent. The mother died in 1863, at the age of thirty-nine years, leaving six children who are still living, namely: Mrs. E. Magnan and Mrs. N. F. Chiniquy, both residents of Chicago; Oscar J., of this review; Gabriel, a merchant of Chicago; Alphonse, who is engaged in business with our subject; and Napoleon F., a resident of Mason City, Iowa. Euclid died in Chicago in 1871, and Adolphus died in 1898 in Chicago; one other died in early childhood. In early life the father was engaged in merchandising in Canada, and after his removal to Chicago conducted a crockery store in that city until the last ten years of his life, when he lived retired. He was a self-educated man, and in business affairs was quite successful. He died in 1898, at the age of seventy-eight years, and was the youngest in a family of six children, all of whom were older that at the time of their deaths. One sister is still living in Chicago at the age of seventy-four years. His parents died in that city in 1864 when well advanced in years.

During his boyhood Oscar J. Franchere attended the public schools of Chicago, and began his business career in the store of Field, Palmer & Leiter, as the firm was styled when Mr. Franchere was with them, of that city, where he remained seventeen years, being head cashier in the retail department nine years of that time. In 1894 he came to Cedar Rapids, and formed a partnership with his brother, taking the grocery, house furnishing, drug, hardware and crockery departments of the Fair, and occupying with these three stores of the building on First avenue, at Nos. 218-220-222, where his brother has carried on business since first coming to this place in 1885. (An extended account of the business is given in the sketch of Alphonse Franchere on another page of this volume.) The brothers own the property at Nos. 216 and 218 First avenue, and our subject also has residence property on the west side of Chicago, valued at fifteen thousand dollars.

In 1874 Mr. Franchere was united in marriage with Miss Mary Le Beau, who died in Chicago in 1894, leaving two sons, Alfred O., who is now buyer for the Fair of Cedar Rapids; and Ernest C., who is attending school here. Mrs. Franchere was a native of Chicago and a daughter of Cyrille Le Beau, a prominent contractor of that city, where he built the old court house, the Sherman House, the Tremont House, and many other large buildings. He died there in 1889, his wife in 1892, and all of their six children are now deceased.

In 1889, in company with his brother Gabriel, Mr. Franchere attended the Paris Exposition and also visited the principal cities of Europe, spending three months abroad. In the business circles he stands deservedly high, and he and his brother, Alphonse, eminently deserve classification among those purely self-made men of Cedar Rapids.

William A. Fulkerson

William A. Fulkerson, one of the leading architects residing in Cedar Rapids, was born in Bucyrus, Crawford county, Ohio, October 17, 1847, and is a son of Joseph F. and Margaret (Messinger) Fulkerson, the former a native of New York, the latter of Pennsylvania. He is the youngest in a family of ten children and the only one living in Iowa. He was carefully reared and received an excellent education in the public schools. In 1856 he came with the family to Linn county, Iowa, the journey being made by teams, and they camped and cooked by the roadside during the four weeks en route. They first located on what is known as the Biggs' farm, between Cedar Rapids and Marion, but after residing there for six months they removed to a farm near Iowa City in Johnson county. The winter of 1856-7 being unusually severe, the crops were almost a total failure, and Mr. Fulkerson, like many others became so discouraged that he returned to his old home in the Buckeye state, the journey being made by way of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. Only three of the children had removed with the parents to Iowa, though two daughters had previously located there.

After the return of the family to Ohio, William A. Fulkerson attended school until the spring of 1864, when he joined the Union army, enlisting in Company E, Thirty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. His command was a part of Duffey's brigade in the Eighth Army Corps, and participated in the engagements at Lloyd's Mountain, Newburn Bridge, Martinsburg, and the two battles of Winchester on July 24 and September 19, 1864. Mr. Fulkerson celebrated his seventeenth birthday by taking part in the battle of Cedar Creek, where Sheridan made his famous ride. On the 11th of January, 1865, the rebel general Rosseau surprised the Union outposts at Beverly, Virginia, and captured the regiment of which our subject was a member, together with the Eighth Iowa Cavalry, both stationed at that point, but Mr. Fulkerson with about one hundred others managed to escape, and after traveling about forty miles reached the village of Philippi near the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, where they remained for several weeks. They were then ordered to Cumberland, Maryland, where they went into winter quarters. The regiment to which our subject belonged had lost alll its officers above a sergeant, as well as most of its men, and was then consolidated with the Thirty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was afterward a part of the latter regiment. In the spring of 1865 they were ordered to Winchester, Virginia, where they were located when President Lincoln was assassinated. Shortly afterward they were ordered to Staunton, that state, to establish civil law and protect the people. Our subject was mustered out at Columbus, Ohio, July 27, 1865.

After his return from the war Mr. Fulkerson did nothing until the following spring, when he became interested in contracting and building. In 1871 he removed to Chicago, where he was employed as an architect until 1876, when he returned to Cedar Rapids, just twenty years after he first came to this county. He built the Soldiers Home at Marshalltown; the Central Hall building of the State Normal School at Cedar Falls in 1895; the Auditorium of Cedar Rapids, which has a seating capacity of thirty-five hundred, in 1899; and ten of the public school buildings of this place, besides numerous fine business blocks and residences.