S.G. Courteen

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

Early life Sidney G. Courteen was born in Monmouth, Wales on June 17, 1864. His father, Thomas, was owner of a number of flour mills. In 1885, Courteen moved to Chicago 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. 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 annually. Courteen was a director of the Wisconsin Central Railway, and president of Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce and of the Milwaukee Athletic Club.