Pgs 729-30

WILLIAM C. ZACHOW is one of the most thorough-going and successful business men of Washington township, Shawano county, and possesses large and varied interests.  He was born in Greenville township, Outagamie Co., Wis., April 2, 1857, a son of Jacob C. and Johanna (Pingle) Zachow, both natives of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany, the father born at Damsuhl, Crivitz, February 10, 1827, the mother born at Bergrade, Parchim, August 15, 1836.
      
Jacob C. Zachow was employed in a broadcloth mill in Germany, and in 1850 came to the United States, locating near Buffalo, N. Y., where he worked as a farm hand. While in Germany he was engaged to Miss Pingle, who came to America not long after his arrival, and they were united in marriage near Buffalo, N.Y.  Their children were as follows: John, who died at the age of thirty-seven, first married Hattie Schuster, by whom he had one child, a son, and for his second wife married Mary Koeppen, by whom he had no children; she survives him. William C. is the subject of this sketch. Mary is Mrs. Paul H. Meyer, of Cecil, Washington township. Ida is Mrs. Frank Isstas, of Cecil. Annie is the wife of Joseph Grab, of Cecil. About 1856, Jacob C. Zachow came west with his wife and family, and located on a farm in Greenville, Outagamie Co., Wis., where he resided until 1871. He then moved to Seymour, same county, conducted a boarding house there for several years, and then purchased a farm whereon he engaged in agricultural pursuits until coming to Cecil, where he and two of his sons-in-law took an interest in the store of his son, William C., and where, with his wife, he lived retired from active business, for past ten years, but is now president of the Cecil Milling Company.
     
William C. Zachow received a somewhat limited education in the district schools of his native town.  After leaving school, he worked at home on the farm with his father until he was fourteen, then went to Seymour and hired out in a sawmill, packing and also culling staves. He was thus employed for two years and half, and during that time acquired considerable knowledge of the different machines used in  the mill. Afterward, and until he left the employ of the company six months later, he was general utility man, taking the places of men who were absent from sickness or other cause. He first received a dollar a day in the mill and when he left got a dollar and a half a day. He next engaged as clerk in a general store in Seymour, getting $150 and board the first year.  When he left the firm, two years and a half later, he was receiving $25 a month and board. Going next to Centralia, Wood county, Mr. Zachow hired out as a general hand to McKennon & Griffith, who were erecting a hub and spoke factory in that town; but after six months the factory, having just started, caught fire and was burned to the ground, throwing him out of employment. Not wishing to return home, he intended to try his fortune in the West, and was about to set out when he received a letter from one Adolph Kann advising him to go to Bonduel, Shawano county, as Adolph Spangler, a merchant there, was in need of a clerk. Following the directions, he secured the position in Mr. Spangler's store; at the end of two and a half years he proposed to make a change, but Mr. Spangler offered him greater inducements if he would remain.  At this time Adolph Kann offered to purchase the business if Mr. Zachow would remain, which he agreed to do, and remained with Mr. Kann for two years and a half during that time starting a harness store in Bonduel with one E. J. Dean, by whom the business was conducted, Mr. Jachow continuing in Mr. Kann's employ. 
     
When the Milwaukee & Lake Shore railway was started, Mr. Zachow saw great opportunities for a store in a good location along the line, where his present place of business is situated, and kept his eye upon it.  He next venture was in the agricultural implement business with E. J. and F. H. Dean, in Seymour, in 1884. The firm was known as the Seymour Agricultural Company of Seymour.  In the spring of 1884 he purchased his present location, and in the following fall disposed of his interest in the machinery company, erecting a part of his present store on the site purchased in the spring. Since then, on account of increasing business, he has built a large addition to the original structure. His father and two of his brothers-in-law owned a small interest in the business at first, but he afterward bought them out. In 1887, in company with others, Mr. Zachow built a sawmill in Cecil, which he has disposed of. Soon after he purchased an interest in a gristmill, which was known as belonging to the Cecil Milling Co., and he has also disposed of his share in this enterprise. He had become interested in many large real-estate deals during this time, is still doing much in that line, and has also loaned a considerable amount of money.
     
On  September  28, 1887, in Shawano, Shawano  Co., Wis., William C. Zachow was united in marriage with Miss Mary A. Naber, who was born in Shawano September 12, 1867; and they have had two children: Margaret and Jacob. In 1892 Mr. Zachow built his present home, which is a large modern structure. The same year he purchased a half interest in the C. C. Naber Company, of Shawano, but C.  C. Naber died a year and a half later, and the firm was changed to Naber Drug Co., of which Mr. Zachow has since been president.  Since 1892 he has become interested in the Wolf River Paper and Fibre Co., Shawano, and is vice-president of that company. He is a Republican in politics, has never, however, sought political office, and has given his undivided attention to business. For twelve years he has been a notary public. Both Mr. Zachow and his wife are members of the German Lutheran Church at Cecil, and he has contributed largely to its support. He began life as a poor boy, and is a self-made man, displaying great business sagacity in his varied enterprises, and he is the owner of large tracts of farming and timber lands in Shawano and Oconto counties. He is a good conversationalist, pleasant and affable.