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Walter was the oldest of three children.
His father, Dr.Joseph Zeisler (1858–1919), had immigrated from Austria
as a teenager in 1886. Walter's mother,
Teresa "Relli" Feuchtman Zeisler
(1864–1945), also came as a teen,
in 1885.
The Zeisler family was prosperous enough to afford
two domestic servants and owned their home at
3256 Lake Park, constructed in the fall of 1897. It was a
twelve-room three-story brick projected in the
building permit application to cost $18,000 ($650,000
today). By 1921 it was on the rental
market for $125 per month ($2,000 today).
Dr. Zeisler was a professor
of dermatology and syphilis at Northwestern,
as well
chief dermatologist at several Chicago
hospitals. He
was highly regarded but a product of his time.
One of his frequent lecture topics was about
preventing baldness. He attributed
baldness to bad teeth and advocated removal of
blackheads, warts and moles as a preventative.
He opposed the then new Roentgen X-ray.
Two of Joseph Zeisler's brothers, Sigmund and
Ludwig, were Chicago attorneys.
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Zeisler">
Sigmund Zeisler is best remembered for
defending the
Haymarket riot anarchists and for his famous wife —
noted classical pianist,
Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler.
He also represented Denver Publishing
against the Associated Press.†
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At the University of Chicago Walter was a member of Phi Beta
Kappa and said to be an excellent student.
He had already completed his undergraduate work
and entered the law school. The university's flag was flown at half mast the day after
the fire in remembrance of its students who
were Iroquois Theater fire
victims. In addition to Walter Zeisler
these included
Reverand Henry Richardson.
Fred Leaton, and two Chicago teachers who
had graduated from the University's "College for
Teachers" department. They were
Daisy Livingstone at the Ray School and
Gertrude Falkenstein of the Harrison School.
Walter's funeral was held at 2:00 pm at the
Zeisler home on New Year's day, Monday, January
1, 1904, and he was buried at Oakwoods Cemetery
in Chicago. The service was conducted by
Dr. Emil G. Hirsch — one of four he conducted
that day.
In the years after the fire
Two years after Walter's death his parents had a
fourth child. Doris Zeisler Ballenger
named her son after Walter.
Joseph Zeisler's obituary omitted Walter.
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Discrepancies and addendum
* The Everette disaster book reported Walter's age as twelve and some
newspapers as eighteen but according to multiple
records he was seventeen. The Chicago
Livestock World newspaper reported the
Zeislers were in Europe rather than New York.
† AP refused to provide its news services
to two of Denver Publishing's Post newspapers
because another newspaper who was already an AP
member, the Denver Times, refused to approve
Denver Publishing's admittance. The case
was argued before the Illinois Supreme Court in
Springfield June 8, 1900. Six months
later the Post purchased access to AP from the
Times.
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