Patrick Cudahy
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
industrialist in the meat packing business and a patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
of the Cudahy family.
Background
Cudahy was born on St. Patrick's Day in Callan, County Kilkenny, IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. A few months after he was born, his family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. He worked his way up at the Plankinton and Armour meat packing
Meat packing industry
The meat packing industry handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock...
plant in the Menomonee River Valley, becoming the superintendent in 1874. In 1888, the owner, John Plankinton, transferred the company to Patrick and his brother, John. The company became known as "Cudahy Brothers." The company changed its name to "Patrick Cudahy, Inc." in 1957, long after Cudahy's death.
In 1892, Cudahy moved the company to a 700 acre (2.8 km²) plot of land south of Milwaukee which he and his brother John bought for the purpose. This land was in the former Town of Lake
Lake, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
The Town of Lake was formerly a town in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin which existed from January 2, 1838 to April 6, 1954.-Geography:Using current street names, it encompassed the area bordered by Greenfield Ave to the north, Lake Michigan to the east, College Avenue to the south and 27th Street to...
, which is now divided between the municipalities of Milwaukee, St. Francis, and Cudahy.
Cudahy "had a bittersweet relationship with the village of Cudahy" in part because he supported temperance and "fought against liquor". He "argued with the Cudahy Common Council about the spread of taverns in the village", although he also worked to start assist business development and the construction of a new library. He
said, "It is a source of satisfaction to me to look over those 25 years and see what has been accomplished,
but I would feel much better if there were not the antagonistic spirit in Cudahy which seems to prevail to a
great extent among its citizens."
Patrick Cudahy is buried at Calvary Cemetery
Calvary Cemetery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Calvary Cemetery is the oldest existing Roman Catholic cemetery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Owned by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, it is the final resting place for many of the city's early influential figures...
in Milwaukee.
Family
Patrick Cudahy's family includes:- Patrick Cudahy, Sr., father
-
- John Clarence CudahyJohn CudahyJohn Clarence Cudahy was a real estate broker and American ambassador to Poland, Ireland, Belgium and Luxembourg. He was a Democrat.-Early life:...
(1887-1943), son (lawyer, real estate broker, and U.S. ambassador to PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
) - Michael Cudahy, son (President of Patrick Cudahy, Inc from 1919 onwards)
- Michael CudahyMichael Cudahy (electronics)Michael John Cudahy is an entrepreneur, business executive and philanthropist.Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1924, Cudahy is the son of John Cudahy, United States ambassador to Ireland, Poland and Belgium...
, grandson (Founder of Marquette Electronics and philanthropist)- Robert J. BeckRobert J. BeckRobert J. Beck is an educator and scholar of international law and international relations.-Education:Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and educated at Marquette University High School, Beck received an Honors B.A. Magna Cum Laude , Phi Beta Kappa, from Marquette University in 1983...
(1961- ), great, great grandson (educator and international law scholar).
- Robert J. Beck
- Michael Cudahy
- John Cudahy (1843-1915), brother (silent partner in the meat packing plants, Milwaukee and Chicago; Louisville self)
- John Clarence Cudahy
- Michael CudahyMichael Cudahy (meat packing)Michael Cudahy was an American industrialist.Cudahy was born in Callan, County Kilkenny Ireland in 1841 and emigrated to the United States in 1849...
(1841-1910), brother (president of Armour-Cudahy company, co-founder of Cudahy Packing CompanyCudahy Packing CompanyCudahy Packing Company was a U.S. meat packing company established in 1887 as the Armour-Cudahy Packing Company and incorporated in Maine in 1915. It was founded by Patrick Cudahy and his brother John Cudahy, Irish immigrants from County Kilkenny who came to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to avoid the Great...
(Omaha), and the city of Cudahy, CaliforniaCudahy, CaliforniaCudahy is a city located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California. In terms of area, Cudahy is the second smallest city in Los Angeles County, after Hawaiian Gardens. with one of the highest population densities of any incorporated city in the United States... - Edward Aloysius Cudahy, Sr. (1860-1941), brother, co-founder Cudahy Packing Company (Omaha)
- Edward Aloysius Cudahy, Jr.Edward Cudahy, Jr.Edward Aloysius Cudahy, Jr. , also known as Eddie Cudahy, was kidnapped on December 18, 1900 in Omaha, Nebraska. Edward Cudahy, Sr. was the wealthy owner of the Cudahy Packing Company, which helped build the Omaha Stockyards to world renown through the 1950s. The kidnapping caused a national uproar...
(1884-1961), nephew
- Edward Aloysius Cudahy, Jr.
Further reading
- Cudahy, Patrick. Patrick Cudahy: his Life, Milwaukee: Burdick & Allen, 1912.