Bio: Ringle, Hon. John (1848 - ?)

Contact: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Ringle, Pick, Cleveland, Hancock, Engel, Thielke, Kemmer, Frey

----Source: History of Marathon County Wisconsin and Representative Citizens, by Louis Marchetti, 1913.

Ringle, Hon. John (2 October 1848 - ?)

Hon. John Ringle

For conspicuous pubic service of many years, for results accomplished as a legislative as well as an executive officer, the record of Mr. John Ringle is an enviable one. From the time he first entered public service in 1872 as county clerk, until the present time when the exigency of the times brought him forward again as mayor of Wausau, his public service in one position or another has been referred to in previous chapters. To be in the glare of public scrutiny, and able to hold the trust and confidence of the people for nearly half a century in so many different public positions, speaks volumes of a person's integrity, capacity and honesty.  

Hon. John Ringle, present mayor of Wausau, and first vice president of the First National Bank of this city, was born October 2, 1848, at Herman, Dodge County, Wis., and is a son of Bartholomew and Amalia (Pick) Ringle. The parents of Mayor Ringle were born in Rhenish Bavaria and came to America in 1846, taking up their residence on a farm in Dodge County, Wis., in May, 1859, coming to Wausau. There were five sons and three daughters in the family, John being the youngest born of the sons and the fifth of the family in order of birth.  

John Ringle was eleven years old when his parents came to Wausau and here he attended school until he was eighteen years of age. He then taught school for one year, following which he served as deputy county clerk. In 1872 he was elected county clerk of Marathon County and served continuously for six years, after which he went into the real estate business. His friends, however, were not willing that he should retire from public affairs and elected him in 1879 to the Wisconsin General Assembly, and again in 1880 and once more in 1881, and in 1882 elected him to the senate for a term of four years. He had also been, in the meanwhile, honored locally, being elected mayor in 1884 serving for one term and during that administration the contract was let and the present system of waterworks was built. In 1892 he again became a member of the general assembly and from 1894 until 1898 served as postmaster of Wausau, appointed by President Cleveland during his second term. For a number of years he served as a member of the city council and was chairman of the county board and was made president of the building committee when the present fine courthouse was erected. In the spring of 1912 he was elected for a term of two years as mayor again of Wausau, an office which he honors equally as it honors him. His political affiliations have always been with the Democratic Party and at one time he was his party's nominee for state treasurer. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1880 that nominated General Hancock for the presidency, although, on account of the high waters at that time, he almost failed to make connection with Stevens Point, being obliged to travel in a skiff with many elements of danger surrounding. In 1892 he served again as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. He has been prominent also in business and was one of the organizers of the Ringle Brick Company, of which he is president; he is vice president of the Mathie Brewing Company, and president of the Clay Manufacturers' Association, while his banking interests are also important.

In 1872 Mr. Ringle was married to Miss Augusta Engel, of Wausau, and to that marriage five sons and four daughters were born, namely: Gustav, who is in the lumber business: Edward, who is a clerk in the Wausau post office: Oscar, who is a member of the law firm of Regner & Ringle at Wausau; John, Jr., who is teller in the First National Bank at Wausau: Leander, who is manager of the Ringle Brick Company; Annie, who is the wife of Dr. G. A. Thielke of Wausau; Beatrice, who resides at home: Leonora, who is the wife of Abraham Ringle of Jersey City, N. J. ; and Valeria, who resides at home. The mother of the above family died in 1894. The second marriage of Mayor Ringle took place in 1895, to Miss Louisa Kemmer, of Zweibruecken, Germany, who died without issue in 1905. The present wife of Mayor Ringle was formerly Mrs. Augusta Frey, a widow. They enjoy a beautiful home, the residence standing at No. 108 Grand avenue. Mayor Ringle has always been interested in the public schools and is a member of the board of education. He is a Mason, belonging to the Blue Lodge and Chapter and is identified also with the Odd Fellows at Wausau. He and family belong to St. Paul's Evangelical Church.