Sidney G. Courteen (1864–1945) was an American wholesale seed merchant of British descent.

Early life

Sidney G. Courteen was born in

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

on June 17, 1864. His father, Thomas, was owner of a number of flour mills. In 1885, Courteen moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and became a manager of the clover-seed department for the Albert Dickinson Company. Courteen married Lena Bartlett in 1894. They had two children, Herbert and Edith.

Career

Courteen came to

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

in 1892 where he started his own seed wholesale business, in the

Menomonee Valley The Menomonee Valley or Menomonee River Valley is a U-shaped land formation along the southern bend of the Menomonee River in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Because of its easy access to Lake Michigan and other waterways, the neighborhood has historically ...

, named the Courteen Seed Company. The seed merchant started in a four-story building, called Courteen’s Dock, then as the business grew Courteen built a large 8-story triangular building in downtown Milwaukee. The building was at the time one of the strongest and heaviest structures in the city, with the ability to carry a live load of 400 pounds per square foot. The building provided about times as much space as his previous building. The building was designed and erected by The Barnett & Record Co. In 1909, the Courteen Seed Company ran nearly $2 million dollars annually. The Courteen Seed Company shipped products globally and used the slogan "Known the World Over." In 1914, the Courteen Seed Co. was found guilty in selling noxious weed seed, Buckhorn, in their

alsike clover ''Trifolium hybridum'', the alsike clover, is a species of flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae. The stalked, pale pink or whitish flower head grows from the leaf axils, and the trifoliate leaves are unmarked. The plant is up to tall, and ...

stock and were required to pay a fine. Courteen was known as a man of indomitable energy, push, keen, shrewd and intelligent in his business judgments. Courteen Seed Company went out of business in the early 1960s. Courteen was a director of the Wisconsin Central Railway, and president of Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce and of the

Milwaukee Athletic Club The Milwaukee Athletic Club (often referred to as The MAC), is a private, social and full-service athletic club. History Eight young men founded the Milwaukee Athletic Club on September 18, 1882, for the express purpose of "developing of the b ...

. Courteen died November 25, 1945, in

Wickenburg Wickenburg is a town in Maricopa and Yavapai counties, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 7,474, up from 6,363 in 2010. History The Wickenburg area, along with much of the Southwest, became part of ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courteen, Sidney G 1864 births 1945 deaths People from Monmouth, Wales American businesspeople Welsh emigrants to the United States