History, Winnebago County, Wisconsin: Its cities, towns, resources, people

              876 HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY,
would store more than a year's output. Their business continued with uninterrupted prosperity, when, in 1885, Air. Beach attempted to retire from active business, but his industrious habits 'overcame this desire, as we find him soon after connected with Air. D. L. Libby, of Oshkosh, in a mill which they built on the Alilwaukee & Lake Shore Railroad and which they successfully conducted three years and then closed out.
The financial operations of Mr. Beach were not limited to the lum¬ ber business. He was one of the originators of the Oshkosh & Alissis¬ sippi Railroad, which was built from Oshkosh to Ripon. He served as one of its directors and was its treasurer. Air. Beach was a stock¬ holder in the old National Bank of Oshkosh, the German National Bank, the German-American Bank, and the South Side Exchange Bank, all of Oshkosh, Wis,, and of the Wisconsin National Bank, of Milwaukee, and a holder of valuable city property. His energy and progressiveness aided materially in the building up of the city.
Air, Beach was a strong Republican politically and at all times took a great interest in the various campaigns of his party, which he aided to the best of his ability. He was in no wise a politician, but served several terms as a iiieniber of the County Board of Supervisors.and in the City Council.
January 19, 1859, he was married to Aliss Helen A. Thompson, of Saratoga County, New York, a woman of charming personality. She was an active nieniber of the Trinity Episcopal Church of Oshkosh, of which Mr, Beach was a regular attendant. The early training of Air, Beach led him into great reverence for the church of God, and to him are credited many contributions, but with characteristic modesty he did not countenance any publicity in these matters, which he considered of an entirely private nature. Air. Beach was always domestic in his tastes, taking greater delight in his home circle than in club life or society in general. He and his wife had a great liking for instructive travel, and visited most parts of the United States, Cuba, Alexico and the Pacific Coast, including Alaska.
The reasons for the success of Air. Beach are easily traceable. It was due to his fairness, honesty and integrity.
He was not a.strong partisan, as such men seldom are, ])ut his patriotism and desire for good and honest goveriiiiieiit prompted him to vote for the best men who were nominated. Such a life is a model for the young man, who is sometimes tempted amidst the only too great degrees of loose commercial morality, to think that success de¬ pends upon methods unapproved by conscience and public opinion. Air, Beach achieved success and maintained his honor unspotted. He was well known in Oshkosh for his unswerving honesty and iiitegritv.