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 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2015 
 
 https://archive.org/details/commemorativebio01unse 
 

 
 
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COMMEMORATIVE 
 
 -rT 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 OF THE COUNTIES OF 
 
 GREEN, GRANT, IOWA AND LAFAYETT 
 
 H 
 
 7 
 
 WISCONSIN, 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PROMINENT AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS, 
 AND OF MANY OF THE EARLY SETTLED FAMILIES. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 i 
 
 4 
 
 CHICAGO: 
 
 J. H. BEERS & CO. 
 1901. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 HE importance of placing in book form biographical history of representative 
 citizens — both for its immediate worth and for its value to coming generations — 
 is admitted by all thinking people; and within the past decade there has been a 
 growing interest in this commendable means of perpetuating biography and family 
 genealogy. 
 
 That the public is entitled to the privileges afforded by a work of this nature 
 needs no assertion at our hands; for one of our greatest Americans has said that the 
 history of any country resolves itself into the biographies of its stout, earnest and 
 representative citizens. This medium, then, serves more than a single purpose: while it 
 perpetuates biography and family genealogy, it records history, much of which would be 
 preserved in no other way. 
 
 In presenting the Commemorative Biographical Record to its patrons, the 
 publishers have to acknowledge, with gratitude, the encouragement and support their 
 enterprise has received, and the willing assistance rendered in enabling them to surmoun' 
 the many unforeseen obstacles to be met with in the production of a work of this 
 character. In nearly every instance the material composing the sketches was gathered 
 from those immediately interested, and then submitted in type-written form for 
 correction and revision. The volume, which is one of generous amplitude, is placed 
 in the hands of the public with the belief that it will be found a valuable addition 
 to the library, as well as an invaluable contribution to the historical literature of the 
 State of Wisconsin. 
 
 THE PUBLISHERS. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 f 
 
 ■* 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL 
 
 lASTMAN, GEORGE W., 
 M. D., who passed away 
 at his residence in Platte- 
 ville, Grant county, Oct. 
 24, i goo, had been for 
 sixteen years engaged in 
 the banking business at 
 Platteville. He was born 
 in Strong, Franklin Co., 
 Maine, March 29, 1824, and was a son of 
 Hon. Samuel and Jane Eastman. The East- 
 man family came from a long line of New 
 England ancestry which settled in Maine at 
 an early date. Many of its members occupied 
 honorable places in civic and business life. 
 Hon. Samuel Eastman, the father of the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, served many years as a 
 member of the Executive Council of the State 
 of Maine. The eldest son, Hon. Ben. C. East- 
 man, came to Wisconsin in 1840, settling at 
 Platteville, where he soon attained eminence 
 as a lawyer; he served as secretary of the Ter- 
 ritorial Council from 1843 1 ° and was 
 
 elected to Congress in 1850, serving two terms; 
 he died at his home in Platteville in 1855, 
 Another son, Col. PI. E. Eastman, served 
 throug'h the Civil war as colonel of the 2d 
 
 Regiment Wisconsin Cavalry, dyin| 
 
 few 
 
 years ago at Benton Harbor, Mich., where he 
 owned the celebrated Eastman Springs. 
 
 Dr. Eastman’s elementary education was 
 obtained in the common schools, and supple- 
 mented by an academical course, and after 
 due preparation he entered Dartmouth Col- 
 lege, from which institution he graduated 
 with the medical class of 1844. In the spring 
 of 1850 the Doctor came to Wisconsin, and 
 located in Platteville, where he was actively 
 and successfully engaged in the practice of 
 his profession until the outbreak of the Civil 
 war, at which time he was commissioned sur- 
 
 geon of the 1 6th Wis. V. I. 
 
 1 
 
 After serving 
 
 in that capacity one year he was appointed 
 medical inspector of the 17th Army Corps, 
 serving on the staff of Gen. J. B. McPherson ; 
 this office he held for the two succeeding 
 years, when he returned to Platteville and re- 
 sumed his extensive private practice. 
 
 In 1852 Dr. Eastman married Miss Anna 
 S. Munroe, daughter of Edmund S. Munroe, 
 a leading business man of Boston, Mass., and 
 this union was blessed with three daughters 
 and one son: Jessie, Mary E. (deceased), 
 
 Julia, and George Edmund (who died in in- 
 fancy), all natives of Platteville. 
 
 From 1850 until 1882, excepting the three 
 years he was at the front during the war, the 
 Doctor was in continuous practice in Platte- 
 ville. From 1881 to 1884 he resided in Mil- 
 waukee. In 18S4 he organized a private bank 
 which later became the First National Bank, 
 of which he was at once elected president, serv- 
 ing in that incumbency until his death. This 
 bank has from the beginning done a profita- 
 ble and extended business, and is still expand- 
 ing - , being recognized as one of the strongest 
 and best managed monetary institutions in the 
 county. At a regular meeting of the board of 
 directors, held Oct. 30. 1900, the following 
 testimonial of respect was read, and on motion 
 duly seconded, and was by unanimous vote 
 ordered to be spread upon the records, given 
 to press for publication, and -a copy of the 
 same presented to the family of the deceased : 
 
 In the death of Dr. George W. Eastman, one of the 
 charter stockholders of this bank and its president from 
 its organization until the day of his death, we recognize 
 the loss of a personal friend and valued counselor, one 
 who was true to every interest of this bank, a man of 
 unquestioned honor, integrity and fidelity, whose pres- 
 ence will be sadly missed in this board of directors. In 
 his memory we offer this testimonial of our friendship 
 for him, of our recognition of his sterling worth as a 
 man, and our sense of personal bereavement in his death. 
 
 Dr. Eastman ever stood at the “head and 
 
2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 front" of progressive movements in Platteviile, 
 and invariably exercised his influence and lib- 
 erally applied his means to the promotion of 
 its welfare. He was a gentleman of expand- 
 ing views, as well as of profound learning, 
 filled with generous impulses, and stood before 
 his fellow-men as the embodiment of the high- 
 est type of manhood. In his death Platteviile 
 lost one of her most honored citizens, the 
 medical profession a wise counselor, and the 
 family a kind husband and indulgent father. 
 Dr. Eastman was a great lover of animals, 
 was decidedly poetical and musical, and pos- 
 sessed great humor and sentiment. He was 
 very fond of his home and family, and the 
 center of attraction therein. After his death 
 his executors found many medical accounts 
 for services rendered to his neighbors and 
 friends, which he had marked “balanced,” evi- 
 dently at a recent date, thus showing his kind- 
 ness of heart by contributing his services with- 
 out charge to those whom he thought might 
 need their money for other uses. 
 
 JAIRUS MAXSON STILLMAN, Mus. 
 Doc., Professor of Music in Milton College, 
 has an almost National reputation in his chosen 
 vocation. As a composer he has made many 
 valuable contributions, especially to sacred 
 music, but, while his work in that direction has 
 been most important, his labors have been more 
 especially directed to the educational side of 
 the art. For the past fifteen years, with brief 
 interruptions, he has filled his present col- 
 legiate chair, and his work prior to the accept- 
 ance of this position was most active, varied 
 and successful. Mr: Stillman was born Feb- 
 ruary 20, 1834, in Alfred, Allegany Co., 
 
 N. Y., the third in order of birth of the six 
 children of Maxson and Lydia (Chapman) 
 Stillman. 
 
 Maxson Stillman, a native of Westerly, 
 R. I., was a descendant in the sixth generation, 
 through two lines, from George Stillman, and 
 also through two lines from Elder John Cran- 
 dall, early New England emigrants from Eng- 
 land. Lie was also related to the Burdick and 
 Maxson families of Rhode Island, and on his 
 mother's side to the Rogers family, of Con- 
 necticut. Lydia (Chapman) Stillman, the 
 mother of our subject, was born September 23, 
 1803, in East Hampton, Mass., and her mar- 
 riage to Maxson Stillman occurred Sept. 26, 
 1822, at Berlin, Rensselaer Co., N. Y., near 
 
 which village she had taught school. In 1826 
 they moved from Petersburg, Rensselaer coun- 
 ty, to Alfred, Allegany Co., N. Y., where 
 Maxson Stillman continued to reside until his 
 death, in 1896, at the age of ninety-seven years, 
 his wife having preceded him to the grave by 
 five and one-half years. 
 
 Jairus Maxson Stillman, our subject, re- 
 ceived a good education in his youth, supple- 
 menting his district-school instruction with 
 many terms in Alfred Academy, and attendance 
 at Alfred University. Lie had also become, 
 at the age of twelve years, the pupil of his fa- 
 ther, a superior workman in the trades of mill- 
 wright and carpenter, becoming so proficient 
 that he occasionally assumed the entire charge 
 of the construction or repair work of mills of 
 various kinds, and the erection of dwellings and 
 public buildings. But the young man, while 
 thus having mastered his trade, had his heart 
 set upon another kind of life work. The fa- 
 ther, a tenor singer of talent, had not only 
 for many years led the choir of the large church 
 at Alfred of which he was a member, but had 
 taught singing schools in many places sur- 
 rounding his home. His son inherited great 
 aptitude for music, and at the age of ten years 
 could read plain music at sight. He accom- 
 panied his father to singing schools, and made 
 rapid progress in the mastery of the principles 
 of music. He attended the singing classes in 
 Alfred Academy conducted by such instructors 
 as Miss Susan E. Crandall (afterwards Mrs. 
 Elhan P. Larkin), Orra Stillman and Darwin 
 E. Maxson. At twenty he was elected leader 
 of the church choir at Alfred, in which posi- 
 tion he was very successful. 
 
 I11 1855 our subject began teaching sing- 
 ing schools in Alfred and vicinity, continuing 
 meanwhile his study of music. For many 
 years succeeding, his life was devoted jointly 
 to the study and teaching of this art. From 
 1854 to 1857 he gave close attention to the 
 study of Singing and Pianoforte Music at 
 Alfred University. In the summer of 1857 he 
 was a student at the Normal Musical Insti- 
 tute, at North Reading, Mass., under the super- 
 vision of Lowell Mason, G. F. Root, and 
 others, and at the same time studied Voice 
 Culture under Auguste Kreissman, of Boston. 
 During the summer months of 1859 and 1S60 
 he attended the Normal Musical Institute at 
 Geneseo, N. Y., taking Pianoforte lessons of 
 T. J. Cook, and lessons in Voice Culture of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3 
 
 Carlo Bassini, both of New York. In 1861- 
 62 he studied Pianoforte Music at Milton 
 (Wis.) College, reciting also in the German 
 classes. In the summer of 1870 he attended 
 the National Normal Musical Institute at 
 SQUth Bend, Inch, again taking private les- 
 sons of Bassini, completing “Bassim’s Method 
 of Singing.” Between 1870 and 1874 he was 
 a pupil of Dudley Buck at Chicago and Boston 
 in Harmony and Counterpoint, taking his les- 
 sons partly by mail and partly in person. In 
 the winters from 1858 to 1861 he taught sing- 
 ing schools and gave private lessons in Shelby 
 and Logan counties, Ohio, and incidentally 
 led the Lutheran Church choir at Bellefontaine, 
 and the Seventh-day Baptist choir at Jackson 
 Center. In the years 1862, 1864 and 1866 he 
 was professor of vocal and instrumental music 
 in Hopkinton Academy, Ashaway. R. I., and 
 also in the winter months taught singing 
 schools six evenings each week, and at the same 
 time instructed as many as thirty private 
 scholars. During the years 1863, 1865 and 
 1867 he had the direction of the musical de- 
 partment of Alfred University, his classes em- 
 bracing Pianoforte Music, Voice Culture, and 
 Elementary and Chorus Singing. The vigor- 
 ous spirit and correct style of rendition which 
 he imparted were retained for many years as 
 the characteristics of that institution. 
 
 The work of Mr. Stillman now grew 
 broader. From 1868 to 1885 he had charge 
 of many larger singing bodies than he had ■ 
 previously undertaken. During the period 
 named he was associate principal and teacher 
 in six normal music schools, each for a term 
 of six weeks, and also conducted a large num- 
 ber of conventions and institutes. In many 
 towns his conventions were held from two to 
 eight times, some were patronized by entire 
 counties, and two — those at Clear Lake, Iowa, 
 and Ripon, Wis.- — were State enterprises. The 
 normal music schools were held at Goshen and 
 Michigan City, Ind., Wheaton, 111 ., Whitewater 
 and Milton, Wis., and Clarinda, Iowa. He 
 taught Harmony and Voice Culture as well 
 as Chorus Singing in these schools. His 
 musical work to this time had extended to 
 thirteen States, namely : Rhode Island, Con- 
 
 necticut. Vermont, New York, New Jersey, 
 Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, 
 Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and South Da- 
 kota. In the last half of the ’seventies he 
 
 was a resident of Chicago, where he sang in 
 the choir of Centenary Church. 
 
 It would be impossible to measure the be- 
 neficent results of this prolonged and intense 
 devotion to art. Standards of music were raised 
 in hundreds of communities, and the inspira- 
 tion to a musical career that was thus enkin- 
 dled in many a musical breast is indicated 
 partly by the many choir soloists, teachers of 
 music, and others who have attributed their 
 proficiency largely to the instruction given by 
 Air. Stillman. He is the associate author of 
 “Good-Will for Sabbath Schools,” “The 
 Cluster,” and "Anthem Treasures,” the latter 
 two being well-known and popular anthem 
 books. He has also composed a large number 
 of pieces for other anthem and Gospel hymn 
 books, and a number of songs published in sheet 
 music form. At Chicago he acted as one of 
 the judges, with Prof. T. Martin Towne and 
 others, in selecting from 700 original pieces 
 of music, and in critically editing those which 
 should be published in the work called “Inter- 
 national Lesson Hymnal No. 1,” published by 
 David C. Cook. In 1884 an excellent article 
 on “Church Music and How to Sustain it, 
 written by Dr. Stillman, appeared in the 
 “Seventh-day Baptist Quarterly.” 
 
 Since 1885 our subject has been engaged, 
 except for three terms, as professor of vocal 
 and instrumental music in Milton College. 
 He has in that time organized and managed its 
 school of music with regular courses of study, 
 each covering from three to six years, in 
 Pianoforte Playing, Voice Culture, Harmony, 
 and Elementary and Chorus Singing. His 
 work at this institution and outside, in the vil- 
 lage and neighboring localities, has attracted 
 wide attention, and brought many young peo- 
 ple, desirous of obtaining a substantial musical 
 l education, to the school. Another very marked 
 and special result of his labors here has been 
 the preparation of young men for singing in 
 Evangelical work, either as soloists or in quar- 
 tets. The honorary degree of Doctor of Music 
 was conferred upon Air. Stillman by Alfred 
 University in 1879. 
 
 When not quite eighteen years old Mr. 
 Stillman united with the Seventh-day Baptist 
 Church at Alfred, N. Y., and he has ever since 
 retained his membership in that church. He 
 possesses a deeply reverential religious spirit, 
 which expresses itself chiefly in song. He has 
 
4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 taught singing by schools and conventions in 
 at least forty localities where there are Seventh- 
 day Baptist Churches. He has had charge of 
 the music in fourteen annual sessions of the 
 General Conference of this people, and in a 
 larger number of the annual sessions of four 
 associations of their churches. 
 
 J. M. Stillman married Dec. 8, 1867, Miss 
 Clara Langworthy, a charming singer and an 
 accomplished pianist, of Potter Hill, R. I. 
 She died March 1, 1869, leaving a child seven 
 weeks old, now Mrs. Clara Stillman Burdick, 
 wife of Dr. Justin H. Burdick, of Milton. 
 
 REV. OLE ANDREVVSON, D. D., de- 
 ceased. Among the Scandinavian immigrants 
 who in the early ’forties peopled the forests 
 of southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois 
 with a thrifty and vigorous class of settlers, 
 were a few ministers, who thus brought to the 
 new land the revered religious services and 
 observances of the old homes. The duties 
 which fell to these spiritual guides were oner- 
 ous and exacting. They were leaders in tem- 
 poral as well as religious affairs, and too often 
 the chief mainstay of the community during its 
 years of struggle and long privation. One of 
 the noble clergymen who thus consecrated in 
 a new land his whole-souled energies to his 
 countrymen was Rev. Ole Andrewson. 
 
 Our subject was born in Hjertdal’s par- 
 ish, Telemarken, Norway, March 2, 1818, son 
 of Anders Tollevensen and Engebor. In his 
 youth he was a shepherd boy, but he was sub- 
 sequently educated for the ministry in Hoide- 
 seid’s Seminary, from which he graduated. 
 For three years he taught parochial school, 
 then in 1841 he emigrated to America, and set- 
 tled in Racine, Wis. There he remained until 
 1844, engaged in the arduous labors of the 
 farm in connection with his ministerial duties. 
 
 He married June 8, 1843, Miss Ragnhild 
 Paulsen, and in the following year 'removed 
 to Jefferson Prairie, Rock Co., Wis., where he 
 settled on a farm. In 1846 he accepted a call 
 to a parish at Mission Point, La Salle Co., 
 111 ., and moved there in 1847. He organized 
 congregations at Leland, Fox River and Lis- 
 bon, and in 1851 he also organized congrega- 
 tions at Racine, Milwaukee and Muskego, Wis. 
 In 1855 he took charge of the Fox River ( 111 .) 
 congregation, and the year following accepted 
 a call from the Evangelical Lutheran Church 
 at Clinton, Wis., where his pastorate extended 
 
 through the long period of thirty years and 
 until his death, on Feb. 23, 1885, at the age of 
 sixty-six years. During these years he preached 
 also at Muskego, Wis., and Queen Ann Prairie 
 and Leland, 111 . In 1880 he was elected presi- 
 dent of the Norwegian Augustana Synod, 
 serving as such until his death. Dr. Andrew- 
 son was a minister of deep and earnest convic- 
 tions, deeply devoted to his consecrated work. 
 Lie was an eloquent speaker, ranking high in 
 oratory in the councils of the Synod, but no less 
 noted for the clearness and strength of his 
 logic. 
 
 To Dr. and Mrs. Andrewson were born 
 eleven children, one of whom, Oscar Norman, 
 the youngest, born Sept. 22, 1867, died in 
 1870. At a family reunion which was held 
 July 26, 1900, at the old homestead in Clin- 
 ton, Wis., the entire Andrewson family were 
 present, including the mother, who was born 
 May 23, 1824, and who accordingly was in 
 her seventy-seventh year, and the ten children, 
 as follows: Isabella, Paul, Andrew, Annie 
 
 T., Oliver, Caroline, Rebecca, Louisa (and 
 her three children), Emma C., and Henry O. 
 
 Isabella Andrewson, now the wife of ex- 
 Sheriff Matson, of Chicago, married for her 
 first husband Daniel Richolsen, a commission 
 merchant of Leland, 111 ., who died in Calamus, 
 Iowa, in 1872. They had one son, Frank, 
 who died in 1891, aged twenty-three years. 
 The widow married Dec. 13, 1888, Sheriff 
 Canute R. Matson. 
 
 Paul Andrewson, the eldest son, was born 
 Sept. 7, 1846, near Clinton, and married Oct. 
 26, 1882, Miss Emma Oleson. He is a farmer 
 by occupation, owning forty acres of land in 
 Clinton township, Rock county. Lie enlisted 
 Nov. 15, 1864, in the United States navy, at 
 Chicago, serving on the Mississippi river in 
 the Commodore C. M. Davis squadron, en- 
 gaged in patrol duty. After his honorable dis- 
 charge at Mtound City, 111 ., in 1865, he re- 
 sumed farming. He is a member of Alexis 
 Tollman Post, No. 70, G. A. R. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Lutheran Church, and in politics is a 
 Republican. 
 
 Andrew Andrewson, the second son, was 
 born near Ottawa, 111 ., Nov. 24, 1848. He re- 
 moved to Clinton with- his parents, working on 
 the farm, and later for several years was sales- 
 man in the Clinton stores. Removing to Chi- 
 cago after the fire of 1871, he there learned the 
 painter’s trade, which lie has since followed. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5 
 
 He now. lives on a farm of forty acres, which 
 he owns, located five miles southeast of Clin- 
 ton. He married Nov. 4, 1875, Miss Nellie 
 Hawkinsen. a daughter of Ole Hawkinsen, a 
 farmer of Manchester, 11 . 1 ., and of their ten 
 children seven are now living, Ruth Amelia, 
 Hannah Irene, Sarah Louisa, George Henry 
 and Grace Henrietta (twins), Otto Paul and 
 Emma Helena. The two eldest live in Sharon, 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Annie T. Andrewson, the second daugh- 
 ter, was born at Ottawa, 111 ., Aug. 18, 1851, 
 was educated in the public schools of Clinton, 
 and in 1877 removed to Chicago, where until 
 1888 she was employed by Judson & Co. 
 On December 1, 1888, she was appointed 
 
 matron of the Cook county jail, a position 
 which she still holds. Miss Andrewson in- 
 herits the devotion and deep religions convic- 
 tions of her father, and her religious influence 
 has been of inestimable benefit to many of the 
 unfortunates who have come under her charge 
 in the department over which she presides. 
 
 Oliver Andrewson, the third son, was born 
 near Burlington, Wis., April 28, 185 — , and 
 lives at Racine. 
 
 Caroline Andrewson, the third daughter, 
 was born March 10, 1856, and lives at home 
 with her mother and her brother Henry. 
 
 Helen Rebecca Andrewson, the fourth 
 daughter, was born April 25, 1857, and mar- 
 ried April 19, 1884, Elling Arensen, a farmer. 
 They have four children, Olive Agnes, Marga- 
 ret Rachel, Andrew Norman and Harold 
 Elling. 
 
 Louisa Andrewson, the fifth daughter, was 
 born Oct. 14, i860, and married April 19, 
 1884, O. W. Christensen, of Chicago. She 
 and her sister Helen were married the same 
 day, her father officiating at the double wed- 
 ding. Mr. and Mrs. Christensen have three 
 living children, Rhoda Irene. Oliver Winfred 
 and Paul Luther. One son died in infancy. 
 
 Emma C. Andrewson, the sixth daughter, 
 was born Feb. 13. 1863. and married May 8, 
 1889, Ole L. Lindren, of Chicago, an engineer 
 on the Illinois Central railroad. They have 
 had three children, Agnes Isabel. Anne Louisa 
 and Sophia Caroline ; the last named died in 
 infancy. 
 
 Henry O. Andrewson, the fourth son, 
 was born July 20, 1864, and was educated 
 In the public schools of Clinton and at Beloit 
 (Wis.) College. For some time he worked as 
 
 a fireman on the Northwestern road, but after 
 his father's death, in 1885, he took charge of 
 the home farm, which he has since managed. 
 He is a thorough-going business man, polished 
 and genial in address, and popular wherever 
 known. 
 
 Canute R. Matson, son-in-law of the de- 
 voted pioneer clergyman mentioned above, was 
 born in Norway April 9, 1843. He came to 
 America in 1849 with his parents, who settled 
 in Walworth county, Wis., and subsequently 
 moved to Dane county, and there he attended 
 the local district schools. His early education 
 was supplemented by study at Albion (Wis.) 
 Academy and Milton (Wis.) College, at which 
 latter institution he was the classmate and 
 bosom friend of Knute Nelson, afterward gov- 
 ernor of Minnesota. Mr. Matson served 
 through the Civil war as a member of the 
 13th Wis. V. I., enlisting Aug. 16, 1861, serv- 
 ing a full term of three years, and re-enlisting, 
 and he was mustered out in Texas in December, 
 1865, with the rank of lieutenant. He served 
 in the Army of the Cumberland. In 1866 he 
 located in Chicago. There he was for a time 
 clerk, in the post office, and later he published 
 the “Postal Record.” He became influential 
 in politics from the first, and served successive- 
 ly as clerk of the police court (to which office 
 he was re-elected on the celebrated Fire-proof 
 ticket after the fire), justice of the peace, coro- 
 ner and deputy sheriff, and in 1886 was elected 
 sheriff, serving four years. It was during 
 his administration of this office that the anar- 
 chist riot and the Cronin murder occurred in 
 the city, and lie officiated at the execution of the 
 convicted anarchists. The Chicago “boodlers” 
 also were convicted during his term of office. 
 At the expiration of this service Mr. Matson 
 began the practice of law in Chicago, having 
 been admitted to the Chicago Bar prior to his 
 election as sheriff. He is a Mason of high 
 standing, and one of the most ‘prominent mem- 
 bers of the A. O. L T . W. in the United States. 
 
 Mr. Matson owns a well-improved farm of 
 160 acres and a handsome summer home near 
 Clinton, Wis. His family consists of four 
 children: Marie Isabelle, Frederick Rognald, 
 
 Canute Royal and Gertrude Rachel. 
 
 HUGH B. PATERSON, one of the pio- 
 neers of Grant county, was born in the State 
 of New York, at Whitehall. April S. 1787, a 
 son of George Paterson. 
 
6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In 1S11 our subject was united in marriage 
 to Miss Charlotte Gilmore, a native of V er- 
 mont, where she was born Nov. 14, 1790, 
 and after marriage the young couple settled 
 down to domestic life in Chautauqua county, 
 N. Y., where they lived until 1836, at which 
 time they migrated to Jamestown, Grant Co., 
 Wis. Here Mr. Paterson undertook the clear- 
 ing of a large tract of wild land, and upon it 
 he passed his life until within two years of his 
 demise, when he retired from the farm and re- 
 moved to the village of Jamestown, where he 
 died in August, 1874. 
 
 The first wife of our subject died Nov. 1, 
 1847, and his second marriage was to Mrs. 
 Catherine Davis, whose death occurred sever- 
 al years prior to that of her husband. By the 
 first marriage he became the father of eight 
 children, only two of whom are living: Jane, 
 Mrs. Sheffield ; and George, who is a resident 
 of Albany, Oregon. The deceased were : 
 David B., Mrs. Betsey Ann Bowmer, Mrs. 
 Charlotte Benton, Mrs. Martha Jones, Mrs. 
 Lucy Justis, and Norman, the youngest of 
 the family. 
 
 During his long and worthy life our sub- 
 ject was a prominent citizen, for several years 
 was chairman of the board of supervisors, and 
 also for a long term of years was a justice of 
 the peace. In early life he was a Whig, and 
 later became a stanch Republican. 
 
 HARMON LI. EARL, of Fennimore, is 
 one of the few remaining pioneers of the north- 
 ern part of Grant county. He was born in 
 Windham, Portage Co., Ohio, March 8, 1816, 
 son of Robert and Lydia (Hubbell) Earl. His 
 father was a native of New Jersey, and the 
 Earl family was formerly from England, 
 whence three brothers came in Colonial times, 
 one of them settling in New Jersey, a second 
 one in Virginia, and the other in New England. 
 Thev have numerous descendants throughout 
 the Union, and from them Harmon H. Earl 
 is descended. 
 
 Robert Earl was one of five brothers, 
 Jacob, Joseph, Robert, James and Walter. 
 The eldest of the family was Betsy, who mar- 
 ried John Caldwell, and died in Ohio. Nancy 
 married Thomas Lee, and died in Iowa. Rob- 
 ert Earl married in Huntington, Penn., Lvdia 
 Hubbell, and located in Trumbull county, Ohio. 
 In 1816 they settled in Windham, Ohio, 
 where they passed the balance of their lives. 
 
 Mrs. Earl died in the fall of 1849, an d Robert 
 married again, his second wife being named 
 Bissell. He died in 1857. The record of 
 Robert Earl is that of a man of upright char- 
 acter, and he was a faithful member of and a 
 deacon in the Congregational Church. He was 
 a farmer by occupation. Harmon H. Earl was 
 the fourth in a family of nine children, four 
 sons and five daughters. One of the sons, 
 Adna, died in childhood, and the others all 
 reached mature years. Harmon H. and one 
 sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Cabaness, of Blooming- 
 ton, 111., are the only children of their parents 
 now (1900) living. Eber, the eldest son, died 
 in Kentucky. Susan and Jane were twins; 
 Susan married Harvey Millard in Ohio, and 
 died at her home near Spencer, Iowa; Jane 
 married Frederick Palmer, and died in Mis- 
 souri. Lydia married Daniel Richardson, and 
 after his death married Rev. Mr. Wilson, a 
 Congregational minister ; she died in Kansas 
 City, Mo. Sarah married Daniel Howard, 
 and died in Illinois. Aner, the fourth son,, 
 married Sarah Knott ; he died in Litchfield, 
 Minn., some years ago. 
 
 Harmon FI. Earl lived in his native place 
 until he was twenty-two years of age, when he 
 married Roxie Wheeler, who was born in the 
 town of Solon, Cortland Co., N. Y., June 25, 
 1816, and was a daughter of Jesse and Nancy 
 (Tucker) Wheeler, natives of Connecticut. 
 Her father died when she was in her eighth 
 year, and later her mother, with four children, 
 moved into Cattaraugus county, N. Y., where 
 one of the daughters, Clara, died. Soon after- 
 ward the mother and remaining children 
 removed to Ashtabula county, Ohio, where she 
 married Hiram Hough. In 1838 the family 
 went to southern Illinois, and lived there seven, 
 years. In 1846 they came to Grant county, 
 and settled on land in the town of Fennimore. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hough died at the home of a 
 son. Mrs. Plough surviving her husband several 
 years. Roxie, Mrs. Earl, was the eldest of her 
 mother’s children. Laura, the next in the 
 family, married in Ohio A. L. McElwain, and 
 died at Council Bluffs, Iowa. Their brother, 
 Josiah Wheeler, died in Monona, Iowa. There 
 were five children born to Mr. and Mrs.. 
 Hough, three of whom are living: Hiram and 
 Aretus G. live at Oakland, Iowa: Sylvia is 
 the wife of D. R. Walker, of Boscobel. Will- 
 iam and Harlow, the eldest and youngest, re- 
 spectively, are deceased. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 / 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Harmon H. Earl were mar- 
 ried Feb. 25, 1838, and the following autumn 
 moved to southern Illinois, where they re- 
 mained seven years, and then went to Jo 
 Daviess county, in the same State. Three 
 years later they went back to the old home 
 farm of Mr. Earl, in Ohio, and in 1850 came 
 to Grant county. Mr. Earl's father was a sol- 
 dier in the war of 1812, and our subject entered 
 a land warrant received by him, that called for 
 160 acres. Later he bought an adjoining forty 
 acres, making a- fine farm of 200 acres. For 
 twenty years they lived on this farm, and then 
 made their home in Fennimore, selling the 
 place a few years later. Since 1868 they have 
 lived retired. They have had nine children, 
 but only Olive and William are living. Olive 
 married H. B. Lewis, of Fennimore. William, 
 also a resident of Fennimore, is a carpenter 
 and builder. He married Nellie Wilkinson, 
 and they have four children, George, Bennie, 
 Olive and Harold. The deceased children of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Earl were : Lydia, who mar- 
 
 ried C. W. Loney, died in February, 1876. 
 George died at the age of twenty-three. Nancy 
 married William Loney, and died a few years 
 ago. Arthur died at the age of fifteen. Olive 
 E. died in infancy. Sarah died in 1848, at the 
 age of three years. Robert E. died in infancy. 
 Mrs. Earl had a son by a previous marriage, 
 Samuel Armstrong, a resident of Fennimore. 
 In 1900 Mr. and Mrs. Earl had fourteen grand- 
 children,; and eighteen great-grandchildren. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Earl have been residents of 
 Grant county for half a century, and their 
 married life covers a period of sixty-three 
 years. They still enjoy good health, and are 
 passing their declining days in placid comfort. 
 He was originally a Whig, and later a Repub- 
 lican, but has voted with the Prohibitionists 
 for a number of years. He has held at differ- 
 ent times many offices of trust and honor; was 
 postmaster at Fennimore for fifteen years, 
 justice of the peace nine years, and assessor 
 of Fennimore for two years, 1851 and 1852. 
 He and his wife have been members of the 
 Methodist Church for more than sixty years, 
 and he was a licensed local preacher for more 
 than thirty years. 
 
 REV. FAYETTE ROYCE, D. D. (de- 
 ceased). was an able and popular man, with 
 a wide circle of friends in Beloit and the sur- 
 rounding country, and these pages would hard- 
 
 ly be complete without some mention of this 
 scholarly and devoted minister and genial gen- 
 tleman of the old school. 
 
 Dr. Royce was born in Moravia, Cayuga 
 Co., N. Y., April 22, 1833, the youngest son 
 of Lyman and Mary (Burgess) Royce. His 
 mother was a daughter of Jonathan and (Mary 
 (Collins) Burgess, and was born in Saratoga 
 county, N. Y., Jan. 28, 1800. His father, 
 Lyman Royce, was one of five sons of Amos 
 and Sarah Royce, and was born June 17, 
 1796, in Washington, Litchfield Co., Conn. 
 Robert Royce, of Boston, 1631, was the ear- 
 liest American ancestor of the Royce family in 
 this country. He was a supporter of Hutchin- 
 son and Wheelwright in their religious teach- 
 ing, and removed to Stratford before 1656. 
 
 Rev. Dr. Fayette Royce was brought up on 
 a farm, but farm life was not to his taste. He 
 attended district school summer and winter 
 until twelve years of age, and the winter ses- 
 sions of the school until he was sixteen. He 
 then became a student at the Moravia Acade- 
 my, and made such progress that at eighteen 
 he was appointed teacher in the public school 
 at Venice, Cayuga countv, receiving the prince- 
 13’ emolument of ten dollars a month, “board- 
 ing around” the district. He taught school the 
 next winter at Montville, a little hamlet, near 
 Moravia, at twenty dollars a month. In 1833 
 he entered the Freshman class at Hobart Col- 
 lege, Geneva, N. Y., and, taking the classical 
 course, was graduated in 1857. The ambitious 
 and capable young student took the first prize 
 for declamation in the Sophomore exhibition. 
 For some six months before his graduation 
 he was engaged in teaching the higher branches 
 in Cary Collegiate Seminary, a celebrated in- 
 stitution of learning near Batavia, and after 
 receiving his diploma continued in the same 
 school until Oct. 15, 1858. At that time he re- 
 signed to accept the principal ship of Olean 
 Academy, in Cattaraugus county, holding that 
 position for three years, and building up a large 
 and flourishing institution. On Sept. 15. 1862, 
 this earnest and capable young teacher entered 
 the DeLancey Theological School, at Geneva, 
 to make his preparation for the ministry, and 
 in nine months he finished the course. He 
 was ordained to the diaconate of the Episco- 
 pal Church by Bishop DeLancey, in St. Paul’s 
 Chapel, Geneva, May 3, 1863, and on the first 
 day of the following June he took charge of 
 Grace Church, at Nunda, Livingston conn- 
 
8 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ty. At the same time he assumed charge of 
 Trinity Church, Casaneraga, Allegany coun- 
 ty, and ministered to the spiritual needs of 
 these two churches with rare ability. The 
 young deacon of the Episcopal Church was 
 ordained to the priesthood in St. Peter’s 
 Chapel, Geneva, Aug. 14, 1864, by Bishop De- 
 Lancey, being the last priest ordained by that 
 great and eminent bishop. Dr. Royce began 
 his rectorship at Bay City, Mich., March 1, 
 1866. His stay in the Saginaw Valley was 
 brief, and he came to Beloit to assume charge 
 of St. Paul's Church, Nov. 18, 186S, and was 
 rector of that church for twenty-nine years. 
 He was appointed dean of the Janesville (after- 
 ward known as the Madison) Convocation, 
 Aug. 1, 1871, by Bishop Armitage, and reap- 
 pointed yearly for a succession of terms. Dr. 
 Royce was elected a delegate to the General 
 Convention three times in succession. He re- 
 ceived the degree of S. T. D. Feb. 26, 18S6, 
 from his Alma Mater, Hobart College, Geneva, 
 New York. 
 
 The domestic life of Dr. Royce began with 
 his marriage to Miss Minnie Rosetta Van 
 Antwerp, a niece of Rev. Dr. Van Antwerp, 
 author of the popular “church history.” The 
 marriage was celebrated April 13, 1858, in 
 Groveland, Livingston Co., N. Y.. at the home 
 of her father, James P. Van Antwerp. She 
 lived five years and one month from that day, 
 long enough to see her husband greatly ad- 
 vanced in the ministry, which had been all 
 along her hope and prayer. James Lyman 
 was born to them in Olean, N. Y. Dr. Royce 
 and Miss Catherine Hunt were married Dec. 
 27, 1864; Mrs. Royce is a daughter of the late 
 Dr. Hiram Hunt, of Mount Morris, N. Y., 
 a physician of eminence and popularity. Her 
 mother, Airs. Mary (Wadhams) Hunt, is now 
 living with her daughter, Mrs. Royce, at the 
 venerable age of ninety-eight. Two daugh- 
 ters were born to Rev. and Mrs. Royce : 
 Mary Hopkins, born in Bay City, Mich., and 
 Anna Burgess, born in Beloit, Wis. Rev. Dr. 
 Royce died at St. Luke’s Hospital, Chicago, 
 Oct. 19, 1S97, and closed with saintly resigna- 
 tion a long and useful life. 
 
 JOHN M. EVANS, M. D„ Sr. This 
 old and experienced physician of Evansville 
 is one of the older settlers of Rock county, 
 and has a history that is interesting, not onlv 
 for its personal element, but because it has 
 
 to deal with a period in Wisconsin that is 
 closed to all but a few survivors. He is a good 
 physician, and an honorable and upright man. 
 
 Dr. Evans was born in Addison, Addison 
 Co., Vt., Feb. 12, 1820, a son of Calvin R. 
 and Penelope (Goodrich) Evans, also natives 
 of that State, who had five children, of whom 
 Dr. John M. is the only one living. The father 
 was a farmer. He came West with his second 
 wife, and about 1850 located in Evansville, 
 Rock Co., Wis., where they died, he in 1866, 
 at the age of sixty-nine, she in 1870, at the 
 age of seventy-one. The first wife, the mother 
 of Dr. Evans, died in Vermont about 1833. 
 They were Congregationalists in the East, but 
 in Wisconsin Mr. Evans and family were asso- 
 ciated with the Free-Will Baptists. Gilbert 
 Evans, the father of Calvin R., was a native 
 of New York, and of Welsh descent. He was 
 a farmer, and died at a very advanced age. 
 Allen Goodrich, the father of Mrs. Penelope 
 Evans, was a native of Connecticut, and went 
 to Vermont with a colony when it was a wil- 
 derness. Two of his brothers went with him, 
 and all three settled in the town of Benson, 
 Rutland county, and cleared three farms in 
 the midst of the mighty forests. Allen Good- 
 rich was the father of five daughters and 
 three sons. He died at the age of eighty 
 years. He was a deacon in the Congregational 
 Church, and was an upright and honest man. 
 
 Dr. John M. Evans, Sr., is a leading phy- 
 sician in Evansville, and the proprietor of the 
 "pioneer drug store” is a well-known old set- 
 tler of Rock county. When he was a lad his 
 mother died, and he was an inmate of his ma- 
 ternal grandfather's home until about nineteen 
 years of age. Mr. Goodrich gave him every 
 care, and treated him as a son. He attended 
 the public school, and had a good preliminary 
 training for life. In 1838 the young man 
 went to LaPorte, Inch, where his father was 
 living. There he learned the trade of a car- 
 penter, and followed it for three years, but 
 was obliged to abandon it on account of hip 
 disease. In 1843 the invalid youth took up the 
 study of medicine, with Dr. Meeker as pre- 
 ceptor. About this time a medical college was 
 organized at LaPorte, and Mr. Evans was a 
 member of its first class, and Avas in its first 
 graduating class, receiving the degree of M. 
 D. in 1846. The LaPorte College continued 
 a few years, and was then merged into Rush 
 Medical, at Chicago. The young doctor came 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 9 
 
 to what was then known as “The Grove,” a 
 small frontier settlement, and flung out his 
 sign to the world in 1846. The name of this 
 community was soon afterward changed in 
 honor of the young physician, and perpetuates 
 the name of Evans to posterity. Several years 
 later the parents of Dr. Evans came to Evans- 
 ville, as above related. 
 
 Our subject has passed his entire profes- 
 sional life in his present home, covering a 
 period of fifty-four years. Dr. Evans was 
 postmaster in Evansville from 1852 to 1855, 
 and was the first mayor of the city. He was 
 elected to the Legislature in 1S53, and again 
 three years later, serving with honor and credit 
 both times. In 1861 he was commissioned 
 surgeon of the 13th Wis. V. I., entered the 
 field with his regiment, and continued in active 
 service until 1865, when, his health failing, he 
 resigned and returned home. On June 1, 
 1854, in LaPorte, Ind., Dr. Evans was united 
 in marriage with Miss Emma Clement, a na- 
 tive of New York. She was a daughter of 
 Richard and Chloe Clement, and moved with 
 them to Indiana when she was a child. The 
 union of the Doctor and his wife was blessed 
 with three children, two living : Elizabeth 
 
 Emma and John M. Elizabeth E., born April 
 7, 1855, married D. C. Griswold, and has one 
 son, Ray C. John INI., Jr., was born Nov. 
 14, 1858, and married Miss May Johnson; 
 they have three children, Adelaide Emma, 
 John Clement, and Richard Donald. He is a 
 physician and surgeon, having graduated from 
 Rush Medical and had special instruction in 
 Europe. He has an office in Evansville, and 
 has won a wide patronage. 
 
 Dr. Evans, Sr., is one of the oldest and 
 most zealous Masons in this- part of the State. 
 He joined the order in 1841, at LaPorte, and 
 is a member of LaPorte Lodge, No. 41, A. F. 
 & A. M. In 1851 he joined Janesville Chap- 
 ter, No. 5, R. A. M., and six years later he 
 united with the Janesville Commanderv. No. 
 2, K. T. On Oct. 24, 1882, he became a 
 member of the H. A. S. V., Orient of Wis- 
 consin, Wisconsin Valley of Milwaukee, and 
 on the 27th of the same month was advanced 
 to the 33d degree in that body. He has also 
 been inducted as an honorary member of the 
 “Oriental Order of the Palm and Shell.” an 
 honor that has been conferred upon very few 
 in the State. During these many years he has 
 filled various official positions in the fraternity. 
 
 He was worshipful master of Union Lodge, 
 No. 32, for twelve consecutive years, and was 
 high priest of Evansville Chapter, No. 35, for 
 the first six years of its existence. In 1882 
 and 1883 he was grand high priest of the 
 State. Dr. Evans is also a member of Tripoli 
 Temple, Milwaukee, Mystic Shrine. 
 
 Dr. Evans and his family are members of 
 the Episcopal Church at Evansville, in which 
 he has been senior warden since its organiza- 
 tion. He was active in the formation of the 
 parish. Mrs. Emma Evans died Feb. 6, 1899, 
 at the age of seventy-eight. She was an active 
 worker in the Episcopal Church, widely known 
 and greatly beloved for her good works. 
 
 JUDGE JOHN R. BENNETT (de- 
 ceased) was one of the most prominent men 
 Rock county ever had within its confines, and 
 was Judge of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit 
 from 1882 until the day of his death, June 9, 
 1899. . 
 
 Judge John R. Bennett was born in Rod- 
 man, Jefferson Co., N. \ ., Nov. 1, 1820, and 
 his parents were natives of Connecticut, de- 
 scended in a direct line from Puritans who set- 
 tled in New England in the very earliest days 
 of the country. After completing his studies 
 at the district schools, Judge Bennett entered 
 the Black River Literary and Religious Insti- 
 tute, Watertown, N. Y., where he qualified 
 himself for teaching, and engaged in that oc- 
 cupation for several years. In 1S44 he entered 
 upon the study of law, under V . W. Wager, 
 an attorney of Brownville, N. Y., and -later 
 studied with D. N. Burnham, Escp, of Sack- 
 ett’s Harbor, N. Y., being admitted to prac- 
 tice in the courts of New York in May, 1848. 
 
 In October. 1848. Judge Bennett came to 
 Wisconsin, and located at Janesville, engaging 
 in the practice of his profession. Within a 
 very short period he took a high position as a 
 trial lawyer and advocate, and in 1862 was 
 elected district attorney of Rock county, serv- 
 ing in that capacity for two consecutive terms 
 with a high order of ability. In April, 1882. 
 he was elected to the office of Judge of the 
 Twelfth Judicial Circuit, to succeed Judge 
 Harmon D. Congor, was re-elected in 1888, 
 and again in 1894. 
 
 On November 28. 1844, at Houndsfield, 
 N. Y., Judge Bennett married Elsie L. Hollo- 
 wav, and for nearly fifty years she was his 
 faithful, devoted wife; she died May 28, 1893, 
 
IO 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 at her home in Janesville. On Tune 9, 1899, 
 while in full possession of his faculties, Judge 
 Bennett passed away, leaving a wide circle of 
 friends, as well as associates of the Bar, to 
 mourn his loss. 
 
 Xot only was Judge B'ennett an able at- 
 torney, and an astute and just judge, but, 
 socially and in his home, he was kind, gentle 
 and greatly admired. Although his education- 
 al advantages were not what he had desired, 
 he ever sought to improve his already well- 
 stored mind, and at an advanced age enjoyed 
 translating Greek. 
 
 On April 24, 1900, memorial services 
 
 were held at the court house in Janesville, and 
 a portrait of this honored judge was presented 
 to the Rock County Bar Association by his 
 daughters. All of the leading representatives 
 of the Bar were present, and touching testimon- 
 ials were read by Judge Bennett’s associates, 
 who thus assembled to honor his memory. 
 B. B. Eldredge read the memorial, in which the 
 highest praise was accorded Judge Bennett, 
 and an eloquent eulogy paid Iris remarkable 
 attainments. A certified copy of the same 
 was delivered to his family. 
 
 JAMES A. LORD, M. D., deceased. For 
 almost half a century the name of Lord was 
 prominently identified with the medical his- 
 tory of Rock county. Our subject’s father, 
 Dr. Simon Lock Lord, was for many years 
 an influential and successful practitioner of 
 Edgerton, and after his retirement the large 
 and lucrative practice was continued by Dr. 
 James A. Lord. 
 
 The family is of Puritan extraction. The 
 paternal great-grandfather of James A. Lord, 
 Adam Lord, was a Revolutionary soldier. He 
 married Olive Knight, a lady of English ex- 
 traction, and was a lifelong farmer of Maine. 
 Their son, James Lord, grandfather of our 
 subject, also followed the vocation of farming 
 in Maine, and lived to the ripe old age of 
 eighty-five. He married Hannah Durell, daugh- 
 ter of David and Mary Durell, of French 
 Huguenot extraction, and to them were born a 
 large family. 
 
 Simon Lock Lord, the father of our sub- 
 ject, studied medicine, and in 1852 migrated 
 from Maine to Iowa, locating first at Dubuque, 
 and later at Dyersville. In 1857 he came to 
 Edgerton, Rock Co., YVis., and there began a 
 memorable practice which was broken by his 
 
 distinguished service in the Civil war. He 
 enlisted in September, 1861, in the 13th Wis. 
 V. I., and was mustered in as assistant surgeon. 
 Proceeding with the regiment from Janesville, 
 Wis., to Fort Scott, Ivans., he was there de- 
 tached to organize a hospital for 400 sick and 
 chronic and wounded cases. Once organized, 
 the hospital was left in charge of Dr. Cookly, 
 and Dr. Lord was transferred to Corinth, 
 Miss., and detached as flag surgeon by Gen. 
 Mitchell, then commandant of the fleet. In 
 June, 1862, he was detailed as surgeon in 
 charge of the 12th Wis. V. I., at Humboldt, 
 Tenn., where he found Dr. J. M. Evans, sur- 
 geon of the 13th Wis. V. I., sick and relieved 
 the latter, who returned home to Evansville. 
 Meanwhile Dr. Lord had been appointed staff 
 surgeon under Gen. Ransom. In October, 
 1862, he received orders from Gen. Grant’s 
 headquarters to report at Holly Springs, Miss., 
 while Gen. Grant was moving on Vicksburg, 
 and was there ordered to take charge of the 
 sick and wounded as assistant medical director 
 of the department in Kentucky, and inspector 
 of camps and hospitals. In the performance of 
 his duty as inspector he found 900 men unfit 
 for duty behind the fortifications, and trans- 
 ferred them to Mound City ( 111 .) Hospital. 
 He was next instructed to proceed to Memphis, 
 Tenn., and convert the Adams block into a hos- 
 pital. Under his charge it became the finest 
 hospital on the Mississippi river. Within ten 
 days he had the care of 400 sick soldiers in 
 bed. After the battle of Vicksburg the pa- 
 tients numbered 1,700, for whose care there 
 were employed 160 nurses and eleven assistant 
 surgeons. In April, 1863, Dr. Lord was ap- 
 pointed surgeon of the 32c! Wis. V. 1. under 
 Gen. Bryant, of Madison. Wis., and was with 
 him at Vicksburg, as staff surgeon, until after 
 the capitulation. Relieved from this special 
 service, he rejoined his regiment, and was later 
 placed in the Medical Director’s Department of 
 the Tennessee, for the examination of surgeons 
 and assistant surgeons of colored regiments. 
 In November, 1863, he was ordered with his 
 regiment to Grand Junction, Miss. 1 he month 
 following Gen. Howe was placed in command 
 of the brigade, and Dr. Lord was commissioned 
 brigade surgeon, still retaining his commis- 
 sion as surgeon of the 32d Wis. V. I. In 
 1864 this command was under Gen. Sherman, 
 in the Meridian raid, and was afterward at- 
 ' tached to Gen. Howard’s brigade, and ordered 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1 1 
 
 to Kenesaw Mountain and thence to Decatur, 
 Alabama. 
 
 Here the health of Dr. Lord finally gave 
 way under the long and arduous duties which 
 he had most creditably discharged, and at 
 the advice of his friends he in September, 1864, 
 resigned and returned home. For a year he 
 practiced at Janesville, then at the solicitation 
 of old friends he returned to Edgerton, his old 
 home, where he practiced continually until with- 
 in a few years of his death, which occurred Feb. 
 18,1893, when he was aged sixty-seven years. 
 His widow, Mary M. (Wright) Lord, who 
 survived until May, 1896, was born in Iowa 
 in 1839, the only daughter of Ansel Wright, 
 a Methodist clergyman, who was a native of 
 New York, and who in an early day moved to 
 Iowa, where, until his death, comparatively 
 early in life, he was a circuit rider. To Dr. 
 Simon L. and Mary M. ( Wright) Lord were 
 born nine children, namely: Charles H., of 
 
 Mexico; Dr. James A., our subject; William 
 F., of St. Paul, Minn. ; Edward S., of Manito- 
 woc, Wis. ; Belle, wife of George F. McGiffin, 
 of Edgerton; Mary L., wife of Frank Ware, 
 of Hitchcock, Texas; Emily M., of St. Paul; 
 Blanche C., wife of Charles L. Teller, of New 
 York City; and Nellie M., of Edgerton, Wis. 
 Dr. Simon L. Lord, the father, was for some 
 3 r ears quite prominent in politics at Edgerton. 
 Fie was an active Republican. From 1880 to 
 1882 he served in the State Assembly, and 
 during the succeeding four years, 1882 to 1886, 
 he was a member of the State Senate. Among 
 the fraternal orders he was a leading Mason 
 at Edgerton. Early in life he was a member 
 of the Methodist Church, with which religious 
 society his wife also was actively identified, 
 but at the time of his death he was not identified 
 with any church. 
 
 Dr. James A. Lord was born in Edgerton 
 July 22, 1858. He was reared in his native 
 town, where he attended the public schools, 
 completing his literary education at Epworth 
 Seminary, Epworth, Iowa, where he attended 
 one year. He began the sfucty of medicine in 
 his father’s office, and completed the course 
 of study and lectures at Rush Medical Col- 
 lege, Chicago, graduating in 1879, with the 
 degree of M. D., at the age of twenty-one. 
 The young physician at once became associated 
 with his father in practice at Edgerton, con- 
 tinuing in this manner until the father retired 
 from active professional life, after which he 
 
 practiced alone. He was a progressive, care- 
 ful and enthusiastic physician, and enjoyed a 
 large and lucrative practice until his decease, 
 Dec. 1, 1900. 
 
 The Doctor married, x-Vpril 6, 1881, Miss 
 Ida G. Williams, of Madison, daughter of 
 John P. and Mary (Mosely) Williams, and 
 to them was born one son, Karl W. Mrs. 
 Lord is a member of the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church. Dr. Lord was a Republican in poli- 
 tics, and fraternally a Mason. He was devoted 
 to his profession, and kept thoroughly abreast 
 of the rapid strides of progress made these 
 later days in medicine and surgery. 
 
 RLTEL MORRELL (deceased), one of the 
 pioneers of Grant county, was born April 19, 
 1809, in Otsego county, N. Y., and was a son 
 of James and Harriet (Reed) Morrell, the for- 
 mer of whom was a soldier in the war of 1812. 
 James and Harriet Morrell were the parents 
 of four sons and two daughters. During the 
 boyhood of our subject they became residents 
 of the western part of the Empire State. 1 he 
 eldest of the sons, Alanson, came to Grant 
 county, Wis., in a very early day and died in 
 Lancaster in 1895, at the age of eighty-eight 
 years; Ruel was the second son; Robert, the 
 third, also came to Grant county quite early, 
 but returned to his native State, where he 
 died ; and Warren, the youngest son, never 
 left New York; Prudence, the eldest daughter, 
 married and died in New Fork; Celinda died 
 there after having attained mature years. 
 
 Early in 1S32, Ruel Morrell started for 
 Wisconsin from his home in western New 
 York, via Pittsburg, Penn. From Pittsburg 
 he descended the Ohio river to its mouth on 
 a raft, and thence journeyed up the Mississippi 
 river by steamboat to St. Louis, Mo., where he 
 transshipped for Galena, 111 . On the passage 
 from St. Louis up stream one of his fellow- 
 passengers was Gen. Zachary Taylor, who was 
 on his way to Prairie du Chien. From Galena 
 Mr. Morrell came to Wisconsin, first putting 
 his foot on the soil of the Territory Ma}^ 7, 
 1832. He engaged at once in mining in the 
 southern part of Grant county, but a few weeks 
 later the Black Hawk war broke out. and Mr. 
 Morrell, with a large body of other miners, 
 went to Galena, and there erected a fort as a 
 precautionary measure. When the war closed 
 Mr. Morrell returned to Grant county, and 
 for about four years worked in the mines for 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 I 2 
 
 one James Gilmore. In the meantime, however, 
 realizing the fact that his education was de- 
 ficient. he returned to his father’s home in 
 New York, and attended school one winter, 
 and the following spring rejoined his former 
 employer, coming by way of the lakes to the 
 present site of Chicago, then a mere landing 
 place, and consisting of a small cluster of log 
 huts or shanties. 
 
 In 1835, while still in the employ of Mr. 
 Gilmore, Mr. Morrell entered from the govern- 
 ment. at $1.25 per acre, the eastern half of 
 Section 31, Lancaster township, while Ran- 
 dolph Marlow entered the western half. In 1836 
 he located on the tract, which was heavily tim- 
 bered, and began clearing up, building a log 
 house, in which he lived alone for a while. I11 
 1837 he returned to his father’s home in New 
 York, and married Miss Eliza Cooley. While 
 in New York he purchased a team of horses 
 and a wagon, and by this means returned with 
 his bride to his land in Wisconsin. They 
 worked hard together to develop a good home, 
 but Mrs. Morrell was called away March 6, 
 1852, leaving five daughters and' two sons; the 
 sons, named Byron and Wallace, died at the 
 ages of thirteen and fourteen years, respective- 
 ly. The daughters are all still living, as fol- 
 lows: Mrs. Mary J. Fifield, of Sutter county, 
 Cal. : Airs. Laura Knapp and Mrs. Maria A. 
 Irish, of Lancaster; Mrs. Mina E. Coombs, of 
 Madison, Wis. ; and Mrs. Loraine B. Watts, 
 of Phillips county, Kansas. 
 
 On Aug. 20, 1853, Air. Morrell married 
 Nliss Polly Richardson, who was born in Erie 
 countv, N. Y., June 27, 1820, and died March 
 15, 1886, the mother of four children, one of 
 whom died in early infancy : Robert Guy, born 
 in 1856, died in what is now the State of Wash- 
 ington, in June, 1886; Josephine, now Mrs. 
 A ernon Kinney, lives near the old homestead 
 in Lancaster township ; Lee is the youngest of 
 the family. 
 
 Ruel Morrell lived on the farm which he 
 entered from the government from 1837 until 
 his death, May 11, 1889, a period of fifty- 
 two years. Pie was one of the most highly 
 esteemed residents of Grant county, as he was 
 one of the most upright of men. He believed 
 that uprightness was the best test of true relig- 
 ion. and cared but little for the tenets of the 
 various churches in other respects. In his 
 political affiliations he was in early life a Whig, 
 but on the disintegration of that party became 
 
 a Republican, and was always a patriotic and 
 public-spirited citizen, and "a man among 
 men.” In his later years he was afflicted with 
 a difficulty of hearing, increasing to almost 
 total deafness, but he bore his infirmity with 
 patient resignation. 
 
 During the early days of our subject’s resi- 
 dence in Lancaster wild game abounded in 
 that section — deer, wolves, wild cats, and oc- 
 casionally bears and panthers. Several bears 
 were killed in the neighborhood. One day 
 Mr. Morrell was away with his team, and on 
 the return trip, after reaching his own land, 
 on a road cut through the brush, lie saw a large 
 panther sitting by the roadside. However, 
 the animal ran away after looking at him 
 a moment. 
 
 Lee AIorrele, the youngest child born 
 to Ruel Morrell, is the only male representa- 
 tive of his father’s family now living. He was 
 born on the Lancaster township homestead 
 Dec. 8, 1861, and lived with his parents until 
 they passed away ; lie has since spent much time 
 in traveling. He was awarded a portion of 
 the homestead when twenty-one years old, in 
 consideration of his promise to care for his 
 father until the latter’s death, a promise he 
 most faithfully fulfilled, and then to parti- 
 tion the remainder of the estate with the other 
 heirs, share and share alike. He is an omnivor- 
 ous reader, possesses a most retentive memory, 
 and stands very high in the esteem of the 
 community. 
 
 PAUL M. GREEN. As cashier of the 
 Bank of Milton, Air. Green is one of the best- 
 known business men of the little city which 
 for the past thirty-two years has claimed his 
 residence. He has lived in Rock county and 
 Alilton township for over sixty years, coming 
 hither with his parents when a child of three 
 years, was reared near Milton, and his entire 
 life has been spent in this locality. 
 
 Mr. Green was born in Allegany county, 
 N. AT Aug. 13, 1837, son of Henry W. and 
 Martha M. (Coon) Green, and grandson of 
 Joseph Green, a cooper by trade and a native 
 of New Tersev, who moved to New York State, 
 there reared a large family, and died. His 
 son, Henry W., father of our subject, was born 
 at Brookfield, N. YA, and was a farmer by oc- 
 cupation. He married Martha M. Coon, who 
 was born in Leonardsville, N. Y., one of the 
 large family of Stephen Coon, a farmer of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 that place, who died well advanced in years. 
 To Henry W. and Martha M. Green were born 
 three children : Ira, who died in infancy ; 
 
 Mary E., born Sept. 27, 1832, widow of M. S. 
 Burdick, now living at Milton ; and Paul M. 
 In 1840 Henry W. Green migrated to Wis- 
 consin, entering government land in the north- 
 western part of Milton township, Rock county. 
 There he lived as one of the pioneer settlers for 
 twenty-eight years, and in 1868 moved to the 
 village of Milton, where for a number of years 
 he engaged in the boot and shoe business in 
 partnership with his son, under the firm name 
 of H. W. Green & Son. He died at Milton 
 in 1879, aged seventy-two years, his widow 
 surviving to the winter of 1894* and passing 
 away at the ripe old age of eighty-four years. 
 Both were devout members of the Seventh- 
 Day Baptist Church. Mr. Green was a promi- 
 nent citizen of the community, was supervisor 
 for several terms, and in an early day was 
 road commissioner. In politics he was a Whig, 
 and later a Republican. 
 
 Paul M. Green was three years old when 
 brought by his parents to Rock county. He 
 grew to manhood on the farm in Milton town- 
 ship, receiving his education in the district 
 schools and at Milton Academy. His educa- 
 tion completed, Mr. Green engaged in farm- 
 ing. He and his brother-in-law, Mr. Burdick, 
 purchased 200 acres of land which for eight 
 years they tilled in partnership, in connection 
 with Mr. Green’s father’s farm, 328 acres m 
 all, located in Sections 4, 5, 8 and 9, Milton 
 township. Then, in 1868, Mr. Green removed 
 to Milton, where he has lived ever since, asso- 
 ciated for four years with his father as a boot 
 and shoe merchant. About 1884 he became 
 a stockholder in and was one of the organizers 
 of the Bank of Milton, of which in about 1892 
 he was made president, holding that position 
 for two years, and since then he has served 
 continuously as cashier. 
 
 Mr. Green married, May 19, 1859, Miss 
 Abbie McHenry, a native of New York State, 
 daughter of James and Abbie (Vincent) Mc- 
 Henry, the former one of the earliest settlers 
 of Allegany county, N. Y., where the Valley 
 of McHenry was named in his honor. One 
 child was born to Mr. and Mrs. Paul M. Green, 
 Eldon L., who died at the age of fourteen 
 months. Mr. and Mrs. Green are members 
 of the Seventh-Day Baptist Church. Political- 
 ly he is a Republican. For five years he was 
 
 13 
 
 chairman of the town board of supervisors; 
 for fifteen or eighteen years he has been asso- 
 ciated with the school board as director 01- 
 treasurer ; for thirteen years he served as post- 
 master at Milton; and in 1893-94 he was 
 member of the State Legislature. Mr. Green 
 is now president of the College board of trus- 
 tees. Fraternally he is a member of Du Lac 
 Lodge, No. 322, I. O. O. F. He is one of 
 the prominent, successful business men of Mil- 
 ton, whose keen business judgment and con- 
 servative methods commend him as a wise 
 counselor throughout the community. He is 
 public-spirited, and in various ways has most 
 materially contributed to the prosperity and 
 growth of Milton. 
 
 CHARLES W. BEALS (deceased) was 
 a well-known and highly respected citizen of 
 the town of Beloit, Rock county, for many 
 years, and built up a character and a standing 
 in the community in which he lived so many 
 years that are still remembered with words of 
 warm appreciation by his old associates. 
 
 Mr. Beals was born at Floyd, N. Y., Sept. 
 1, 1 Si 6, and was taken by his parents when a 
 child of two years of age to Burlington, Vt., 
 where he was reared to manhood, and received 
 a good education at the hands of the public- 
 school teachers of the State. He early learned 
 the millwright’s trade, and worked much while 
 a boy in the woolen mills of Massachusetts. 
 When he attained manhood Mr. Beals came 
 AAYst to Michigan, and spent several years in 
 the Saginaw Valley. He went from there to 
 Hartland, Ohio, where he remained for twenty 
 years, and only the California gold fever was 
 strong enough to tear him away from pleasant 
 ties. In 1850 he went to California by the 
 overland route, and returned by way of the 
 Isthmus. In 1864 Mr. Beals made an extended 
 trip to Idaho, Oregon and Colorado. In 1870 
 he made his first appearance in AAhsconsin, lo- 
 cating at Prairie clu Sac, where he spent one 
 year, and then removed to the vicinity of Beloit, 
 where he established a beautiful fruit farm, 
 which attracted universal admiration for its 
 high cultivation and perfect management. He 
 was familiarly known in Beloit as the “straw- 
 berry man.” 
 
 On Oct. 12, 1869, Mr. Beals was married, 
 in Ohio, to Miss Johanna Jones, who was born 
 in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, Oct. 26, 1850. 
 They had three children, Albert INI., Elmer E., 
 
14 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and Alice Gertrude. Mrs. Beals is the daugh- 
 ter of George and Eliza (Jordan) Jones, the 
 former a native of New York, the latter of 
 Rockport, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio. He died in 
 Baraboo, Wis., when about fifty years old, 
 and was the father of eight children, of whom 
 Mrs. Beals was the eldest. 
 
 Charles W. Beals was a Republican. His 
 religious views were those of the liberal school, 
 and consisted of good deeds and manly con- 
 duct rather than profession. He paid one 
 hundred cents on the dollar, and exercised 
 charity as proper subjects for it came under his 
 eye. He was an honest man, and was forcible 
 in the expression of his views on all subjects. 
 He was satisfied in his last days that honorable 
 manhood was a good capital to live by, and 
 would certainly be a recommendation in that 
 “undiscovered country, from whose bourne no 
 traveler returns.” 
 
 JAMES McEWAN. No name is more 
 intimately associated with the pioneer history 
 of Milton, Rock county, than that of our sub- 
 ject. His brother Peter left Scotland and in 
 1837 migrated from Canada to Wisconsin, 
 purchased the claims of two eighty-acre tracts 
 of land, and claimed several lots besides, includ- 
 ing the site of the village. The following year 
 our subject, then a lad of fifteen years, made the 
 trip across the ocean from Scotland with his 
 widowed mother and her family. 
 
 James McEwan was born at Comrie, 
 Perthshire, Scotland, May 8, 1823, son of 
 William and Elizabeth (Dow) McEwan. The 
 grandfathers, John McEwan and John Dow, 
 both died in Scotland. There too, about 1834, 
 the father of our subject died, and the widow, 
 several years later, came with her family to 
 America. She was a relative of Neal Dow, a 
 famous musician, was a woman of strong char- 
 acter and deep religious convictions. The 
 family sailed from Greenock in the “Lady of 
 the Lake," a sailing vessel, which was nearly 
 two months in making the trip across the ocean ; 
 the entire passenger list comprised Scotch peo- 
 ple and their families, except one Englishman. 
 Landing at New York, the McEwans pro- 
 ceeded immediately to the Wisconsin wilder- 
 ness. The trip, strange as it appears to-day, 
 was typical of that time. The emigrants went 
 by one of the new steamers to Albany, 
 and thence by rail to Schenectady, N. Y., the 
 cars being drawn up the hill at Albany by a 
 
 stationary engine, the rails being simply strap- 
 iron, and the speed very moderate. From 
 Schenectady the party proceeded by the Erie 
 canal to Buffalo, and then embarked on the 
 passenger steamer "Gen. Wayne” for Mil- 
 waukee, where a small steamer met the vessel 
 and brought the passengers up the river to 
 the landing. There they lodged at the “Cot- 
 tage Inn,” and next day were met by Peter, 
 the brother and son, and were conveyed by ox- 
 team and wagon to Milton, the trip requiring 
 three days ; the country was swampy and 1 the 
 roads miserable until the Fox 'river was crossed. 
 Then the scenery became more beautiful to the 
 eye, and cheered and reinspired the weary pil- 
 grims. 
 
 At Milton the family located in a house 
 south of the present residence of Mr. McEwan. 
 There was then only the one small house on 
 the site of Milton, and Peter McEwan sold 
 the first lot to a Mr. Sprague, for a black- 
 smith shop. Mr. McEwan sold the south one 
 of his eighty-acre tracts to a Mr. Goodrich, 
 and soon after the sale of town lots became 
 more frequent. Here the widow resided with 
 her family, and lived to the age of eighty-one 
 years. Of her eight children, four sons and 
 four daughters, only two now survive : Cath- 
 
 erine, widow of James Home, residing at 
 Milton; and James, our subject. 
 
 James McEwan remained on the Milton 
 farm for several years, assisting his brother, 
 and about 1840 went to Milwaukee, where he 
 learned the carpenter trade. Returning to 
 Milton, he followed his trade for some years, 
 also engaging in contract work, there and at 
 other places. He then for some years engaged 
 in mercantile business at Milton, finally sell- 
 ing out to Mr. Holmes, who is still engaged in 
 business at Milton. Since then Mr. McEwan 
 has lived retired, his home being on a lot in 
 section 34, Janesville avenue. He has owned 
 for many years a farm of 160 acres, located one 
 and a half miles northeast of Milton, which 
 he lias greatly improved, and which he rents. 
 
 In 1861 Air. McEwan married Miss Eliza- 
 beth AIcEwan, daughter of William and Alary 
 (Marshall) McEwan, and to them was born 
 one child, Alary, who is a graduate of Milton 
 College, and is now the wife of William Alex- 
 ander, of Lima township. Mrs. McEwan died 
 Aug. 13, 1878, and in 1881 he married, for 
 his second wife. Miss Margaret Young, daugh- 
 ter of William and Ellen (Shewan) Aoung, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 i5 
 
 natives of Scotland. Mr. and Mrs. McEwan 
 are Presbyterians in faith. In politics he is 
 independent. In his early years he was a 
 Democrat and Free-Soiler, but in later years 
 has been a Republican, though not in any 
 sense a politician. 
 
 MAJOR GEORGE ROBINSON FRANK 
 (deceased) was one of the distinguished war 
 veterans of Muscoda, Grant county, and a gen- 
 tleman who enjoyed to the full the respect 
 and esteem of his fellow . citizens. He was 
 born at Gray, Cumberland Co., Maine, May 
 2, 1S24, a son of Alphens and Naomi (Stifnp- 
 son) Frank. 
 
 James Frank, the paternal grandfather of 
 our subject, was a soldier in the war of the 
 Revolution, and a very worthy man. Alpheus 
 Frank and his wife resided in Maine until their 
 deaths. They were the parents of thirteen 
 children, of whom our subject was the eldest 
 son and second child. One of our subject’s 
 brothers, John W. Frank, served his country 
 in a Maine regiment during the war of the Re- 
 bellion, and is still a resident of Maine. Anoth- 
 er brother, Gen. Royal T. Frank, graduated 
 from West Point in 1854, and during the 
 Civil war served his country with distinction, 
 being brevetted major, July 6, 1862, for gal- 
 lant and meritorious conduct in the Peninsular 
 campaign. In December of the same year he 
 was further honored by being brevetted lieu- 
 tenant-colonel for bravery at Fredericksburg. 
 During December, 1870, Gen. Frank was 
 transferred to the 1st Artillery, and Nov. 25, 
 1888, was made commandant of the Artillery 
 School at Fortress Monroe. When Gen. Mer- 
 ritt was sent to the Philippines, during the war 
 with Spain, Gen. Frank succeeded him as 
 commander of the East, with headquarters at 
 Governors Island. During his long and active 
 career General Frank served his country with 
 marked bravery, and his honors are but the 
 just reward of his faithfulness and devotion. 
 Another brother of Major Frank and Gen. 
 Frank is Malvin P. Frank, one of the distin- 
 guished attorneys of Portland, Maine. 
 
 George R. Frank grew to' manhood in his 
 native State, receiving a good academic edu- 
 cation, and teaching school himself for four 
 winters, beginning when but seventeen. How- 
 ever, wishing to see something more of the 
 world, the young man, in March, 1845, left 
 home and went to Boston ; thence to Buffalo ; 
 
 and in September of the same year to Chicago, 
 which was then a small village. From Chica- 
 go he proceeded to Galena, and thence to Ben- 
 ton, Lafayette Co., Wis., where he taught 
 school the following winter. In the spring of 
 1846 Major Frank removed to Grant county 
 and engaged in farming and teaching, his last 
 term of teaching being at Boscobel, in the 
 winter of 1861-62. Fired with patriotism, 
 when the war of the Rebellion broke out Major 
 Frank applied for a recruiting commission, 
 and while waiting for it sought to stir up his 
 fellow citizens by speeches and enthusiastic 
 talking. As a result of his efforts, when the 
 commission arrived, he enrolled his full com- 
 pany in a single day, and it became Company 
 B, of the 33d Wis. Y. I., our subject being its 
 captain, in which capacity he served until the 
 spring of 1865, when he was promoted to the 
 rank of major. Except for a furlough of sixty 
 days, Major Frank was with his regiment con- 
 tinuously, and participated in the twenty-four 
 battles in which it was engaged. The 33d 
 Wisconsin Regiment has a most honorable 
 record. Its first commander was Col. Jonathan 
 B. Moore, formerly sheriff of Grant county, 
 Wisconsin, a very able officer. The regiment 
 took part in the siege of Vicksburg, Meridian 
 expedition. Red River expedition, battle of Tu- 
 pelo, and other engagements of equal import- 
 ance. After the surrender at Mobile the regi- 
 ment was ordered to Montgomery, Ala., and 
 moved thence to Vicksburg, where it was mus- 
 tered out. 
 
 In 1875 Major Frank purchased a large 
 stock farm, just across the line in Grant coun- 
 ty, and became one of the largest stock rais- 
 ers in that locality. He held various county 
 and town offices, having been town superintend- 
 ent of schools, justice of the peace, member of 
 the county board, deputy United States mar- 
 shal, deputy L’nited States collector, assist- 
 ant assessor Internal Revenue,' etc. 
 
 The first marriage of Major Frank oc- 
 curred in 1848, to Miss Matilda Price, a native 
 of Indiana, daughter of Zachariah and Eliza- 
 beth Price, who was brought to Grant county, 
 Wisconsin, when but six years old, in 1836. 
 The children born of this marriage were seven 
 in number, and those now (1901) living are: 
 Alpheus E., Charles E., Naomi E., William 
 E., George E. and Fred J. The other child, 
 Florence C., wife of Charles J. McKittrick, 
 died July 10, 1897. On Aug. 4, 1891. Mrs. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 16 
 
 Frank died while on a visit to her daughter 
 Naomi, at Fremont, Ohio. On Dec. 2, 1897, 
 Major Frank was again married, this time to 
 Miss Mary L. Owens, daughter of Thomas 
 and Mary M. Owens. Mrs. Frank was horn 
 in Jo Daviess county, 111 ., May 25, 1863; her 
 mother is still living. Mr. Owens died in 
 Richland county, Wis., in 1899. 
 
 Major Frank enjoyed the respect and es- 
 teem of his fellow citizens, and was one of 
 the leading factors in the social and political 
 life of Muscoda. Genial, public-spirited, enter- 
 prising, he was a pleasant companion, as well 
 as a good business man and faithful public 
 official, and his sudden death, on May 20, 1900, 
 at his home in Muscoda, was deeply and sin- 
 cerely mourned. After the funeral services, 
 which were conducted by the A. F. & A. M. 
 and the G. A. R., six of his old company act- 
 ing as pall -bearers, the remains were taken to 
 Fremont, Ohio, and buried beside those of 
 his first wife, in Oakwood cemetery. The 
 Major is survived by a wife and six children. 
 
 HON. GEORGE CLEMENTSON, Judge 
 of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of Wisconsin, 
 with his residence at Lancaster, has been a 
 resident of Grant county since early childhood, 
 lie was born in Yorkshire, England, in March, 
 1842, a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Peacock) 
 Clementson, the former of whom was born 
 in Neasham, County of Durham, July 6, 1816, 
 and by trade was a wheelwright. He removed 
 from Darlington, where he had served his ap- 
 prenticeship, to Richmond, Yorkshire, and 
 there followed his calling until 1849, when 
 he came to America with his wife and son 
 and daughter, a third child having died in 
 infancy; George is the elder of the two sur- 
 vivors. He made settlement at Hazel Green, 
 Grant Co., Wis. He was one of the sufferers 
 from the cyclone which partially destroyed the 
 village in 1876. Mrs. Elizabeth (Peacock) 
 Clementson was called away early in 1879, 
 and the death of Joseph Clementson took place 
 at Hazel Green April 16, 1880. 
 
 Judge Clementson began his business life 
 by assisting his father in carpenter work, and 
 later in wagon-making, principally at Hazel 
 Green. For a short time the family lived in 
 Hudson, St. Croix county, and then returned 
 to Hazel Green, where young Clementson ac- 
 quired his elementary education in the common 
 school and local academy. But his course of 
 
 reading and general study were far in advance 
 of the curriculum, as he was innately a stu- 
 dent and an apt one, and self-education raised 
 him above the average of other young men. 
 He early resolved to become a lawyer, and 
 having well prepared himself, through self- 
 discipline, he began the study of law unaided, 
 and qualified himself for entering the law de- 
 partment of the University of Michigan, which 
 he attended one year. Later he read law in 
 the office of Hon. J. Allen Barber, and in 
 March, 1868, was admitted to the Bar — hav- 
 ing worked at his trade, meanwhile, to earn 
 the wherewithal to pay his expenses at college 
 and thereafter until admitted to practice. 
 
 In the fall of 1868 Mr. Clementson was 
 elected to the office of district attorney, and 
 in the fall of 1869 he formed a partnership 
 with Joel Allen Barber, which was continued 
 until the death of the latter, in 1881. While 
 this firm still had its existence, and was en- 
 joying quite an extensive and consequently lu- 
 crative practice, Mr. Barber was elected a mem- 
 ber of Congress, in 1870, and re-elected in 
 1872, and during the four years of his in- 
 cumbency the legal work of the firm was prac- 
 tically conducted by Mr. Clementson; that it 
 was successfully carried on is self-evident. 
 
 In the spring of 1882 Mr. Clementson was 
 elected on the Republican ticket Judge of the 
 Fifth Judicial Circuit, and has been thrice re- 
 elected, as a non-partisan candidate, without 
 opposition, this fact showing the confidence 
 reposed in him by his party and the public. 
 His fourth term will expire at the close of 
 1906. During the period of his judgeship his 
 ability and erudition have been fully recog- 
 nized, and his integrity has never for a mo- 
 ment been questioned. Among many of the 
 important criminal cases that were brought 
 before him while on the Bench, his acumen 
 was truly and effectively manifested in the 
 trials of Rose Zoldoski for the murder of Ella 
 Mallev, of the Koetting case, in Milwaukee, 
 and of the lynchers of Siebolt, who was hanged 
 by the culprits to a tree opposite the court 
 house at Darlington. 
 
 On May 11, 1869, Judge Clementson mar- 
 ried Miss Mary Asenath Burr, a native of 
 Vermont, a daughter of Addison Burr, and a 
 distant relative of Vice-President Aaron Burr. 
 Three children have been born to the Judge and 
 his wife : George Burr, who was graduated 
 from Cornell (N. Y.) University in 1892, and 
 

 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1 7 
 
 is now a member of the law firm of Lowry & 
 Clementson, of Lancaster; Joseph Addison, 
 who graduated from the high school of Lan- 
 caster, took a three-years course in Hahne- 
 mann Medical College, Chicago, 111 ., later took 
 a course in the Polyclinic College, Philadel- 
 phia, Penn., and is now a practicing physician 
 at Mineral Point, A A is. ; and Bessie Barber, 
 still under the parental roof. 
 
 Mrs. George Clementson is a devout mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church, of which 
 the Judge is a trustee, although not a mem- 
 ber. There is perhaps no individual in Grant 
 county more honored and respected than Judge 
 George Clementson, and not one that more 
 justly deserves the respect that is paid him, 
 as it is through his own personal merits and 
 inflexible integrity that he has risen from a 
 comparatively obscure condition to the ele- 
 vated position he at present holds. 
 
 JUSTIN HERBERT BURDICK, M. D. 
 Both grandfathers of this eminent physician 
 of Milton were pioneers of Rock county. The 
 paternal grandfather, George Stillman Bur- 
 dick, was a native of Rhode Island, and of 
 English extraction. In his native State he was 
 a member of the State militia. By occupation 
 he was a lifelong farmer, and migrating about 
 1842 to Wisconsin, he located in Lima town- 
 ship, Rock county, where he followed farm- 
 ing for man)' - years, removing to Milton a few 
 years before his death, in 1890, at the ripe old 
 age of eighty-nine years. His wife survived 
 him several years, passing away at the age of 
 ninety-two. Both were devout members of 
 the Seventh-day Baptist Church. George S. 
 Burdick was a man of quiet, retiring disposi- 
 tion, but of firm principles and strict integrity. 
 He had four children, two sons and two daugh- 
 ters. 
 
 The maternal grandfather of our subject, 
 Abel Babcock, also a native of Rhode Island, 
 about 1842 cast his lot with the fortunes of the 
 growing Western State of Wisconsin. In the 
 East he had been a woolen manufacturer, and 
 after his arrival in Wisconsin he opened at 
 Milton the “Dulac House,” one of the finest 
 hotels of the village. A few years later he en- 
 tered mercantile business, which he followed 
 successfully until incapacitated by old age. 
 He lived to about the age of eighty years. 
 His family consisted of twelve children. 
 
 George Burdick, the father of our subject, 
 
 was born in New York, and when a minor 
 came with his parents to Lima township, Rock 
 Co., Wis., where he was reared on his father’s 
 farm. He married Harriet Babcock, who was 
 born in Pennsylvania, and to them were born 
 two children: Clifford R., who died at the 
 
 age of two years; and Justin Herbert, our 
 subject. The father purchased land in Lima 
 township, and adopted farming as his voca- 
 tion. For the past fifteen years he and his 
 wife have made Milton their home. They are 
 prominent members of the Seventh-day Bap- 
 tist Church, of which society he is a trustee. 
 
 Justin Herbert Burdick, our subject, was 
 born in Milton Dec. 29, 1851. He was reared on 
 the farm in Lima township, five miles north- 
 east of Milton, attending the district schools, 
 and later, from 1868 to 1874, Milton College, 
 selecting the classical course. Choosing medi- 
 cine as his profession, he began his studies in 
 1874 under Dr. O. Allen, and in 1S75-76 at- 
 tended the College of Physicians and Surgeons, 
 at Cincinnati, Ohio. He graduated from the 
 Medical Department of the Northwestern Uni- 
 versity, Chicago, in 1877. Until September, 
 1878, he was connected professionally with 
 Mercy Hospital, Chicago, and then began 
 private practice at Utica, Dane Co., \Yis., con- 
 tinuing thus from 1878 to 1887. There had 
 been inherited a taste for manufacture which 
 now for a few years asserted’ itself. Relin- 
 quishing his practice, Dr. Burdick began at 
 Milwaukee the manufacture of steel elastic 
 nuts for bolts, a device that has been widely 
 introduced among the leading railroads of the 
 country, East and West, and especially in the 
 Northwest, their advantages in the great sav- 
 ing of construction and maintenance of track 
 commending general use. For six years he 
 continued actively engaged in this manufac- 
 ture, but professional life called him back. 
 He retains his stock in the National Elastic 
 Nut Co., of Milwaukee, but in 1893 he re- 
 entered the profession of medicine, locating 
 at Milton, where he has ever since enjoyed a 
 lucrative and growing practice. 
 
 Dr. Burdick married. Aug. 30, 1882, Miss 
 Fannie E. Coon, daughter of Samuel H. and 
 Lucy (Coon). Five children were born to 
 them, Percy AVillard, Paul Howard, Lucy 
 Adene, Justin Hugh, and Clifford Leslie. 
 Mrs. Burdick died Nov. 12, 1896, aged thirty- 
 four years, and for his second wife Dr. Bur- 
 dick married, Sept. 1, 1898, Miss Clara L. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1 8 
 
 Stillman, a native of Rhode Island, daugh- 
 ter of Jairus M. and Clara (Langworthy) 
 Stillman. By this marriage Dr. Burdick has 
 two children, William Stillman and Ruth 
 Evelyn. Dr. and Mrs. Burdick are members 
 of the Seventh-day Baptist church at Milton. 
 Politically he has always been a Republican. 
 For the past four years he has been executive 
 officer of the Milton board of health. He is 
 also a trustee of Milton College. His pleas- 
 ant home in Milton he erected in 1893. He 
 is public-spirited, and both as a physician and 
 a citizen ranks high in the estimation of the 
 people of Milton and the surrounding region, 
 where he is widely known. 
 
 ELISHA CARRINGTON. To the citi- 
 zens of Grant county the name of this distin- 
 guished and public-spirited resident of Mont- 
 fort is well-nigh as familiar as household 
 words. An old settler, he is known to all the 
 men and women of later generations, and the 
 mention of his name at once challenges atten- 
 tion and commands respect. His birthplace 
 was Monroe county, N. Y., a section which 
 forms a part of the Genesee Valley, far famed 
 for its fertile valleys and its gently sloping, 
 vine-covered hills. His eyes first opened Jan. 
 9, 1831, on the farm of his father, William 
 Carrington, who was born near the city of 
 Utica, N. Y., not far from the headwaters 
 of the Black river, whose undulating banks 
 and picturesque falls, as it descends through 
 the gorge near Trenton, have made it famous 
 among tourists from all parts of the country. 
 
 Elisha Carrington lost his father while 
 he was a child, and his mother afterward re- 
 turned to her father's home, in Ontario county, 
 N. Y., taking with her her three children, one 
 of whom was a daughter. From that place 
 she removed to Medina county, Ohio, making 
 her home at Westfield. There she married 
 a second time, becoming the wife of Hiram 
 Hatch, of the same bailiwick. The elder (and 
 only) brother of Elisha Carrington was named 
 Miles: he died at Detroit. Mich., in 1882. 
 Betsey Jane, his only sister, was twice mar- 
 ried, first to William Baker, and after his 
 death to N. P. Hoag, who died Nov. 24, 
 1894; she died near Kent, Wash., Feb. 14, 
 1898. 
 
 In 1849 young' Carrington returned to 
 New York, but after remaining two years 
 went back to Ohio, in 1851. From that State 
 
 he removed to Wisconsin, in February, 1855, 
 and has ever since been a resident of Grant 
 county, with the exception of the years 1866- 
 68, which he passed in Iowa county. For 
 many years his homestead was in Clifton, but 
 in 1877 h e took fiis family to Montfort, which 
 has since been his place of residence. Brought 
 up as a farmer’s boy, he has devoted nearly 
 his entire life to agriculture. His home is 
 one of happiness and comfort, and as he nears 
 the age of threescore years and ten, and looks 
 about upon his children and grandchildren, 
 and reflects upon his long, well-spent and use- 
 ful life, he is able to return thanks to the 
 Power which has enabled him, through his 
 own, unaided efforts, to accumulate a compe- 
 tence. Plis fellow citizens have not been slow 
 to recognize his ready grasp of affairs and his 
 moral worth. For two years he served as 
 chairman of the town board of Clifton, and 
 has also served as chairman and treasurer of 
 the board of Wingville township. For many 
 years his political affiliation was with the Re- 
 publican party, but, having become convinced 
 that intemperance and the liquor traffic are the 
 two most serious dangers menacing the per- 
 petuity of the Nation, he has felt it his duty 
 to give his adherence to the Prohibition move- 
 ment as a political as well as a moral force. 
 Both he and his family are earnest members 
 of the Methodist Church, to whose advance- 
 ment he has been a liberal supporter. 
 
 On Jan. 8, 1857, Mr. Carrington was mar- 
 ried to Caroline Althea, daughter of Adam 
 Keith, who settled in Grant county in 1847. 
 Mr, Keith was a man of intense energy and a 
 somewhat restless temperament. He was 
 born in Pennsylvania March 16, 179T removed 
 thence first to Ohio, afterward to Indiana, 
 and later to Rockford, 111 . From the place 
 last named he went to Wisconsin, and two 
 years later (in 1849) crossed the Plains to 
 California, where he remained for two years. 
 He finally settled in southwestern Nebraska, 
 and died there March 16, 1883. He married 
 for his first wife Elizabeth Shirley, and after 
 her death wedded Hannah Harris, who- sur- 
 vived him until Jan. 7, 1900, when she too 
 passed from earth. By his two marriages 
 Mr. Keith was the father of a large family 
 of children, nine of whom are yet living: 
 Louis, Jasper, Ruhama (Mrs. Pridaux) and 
 Henrietta (Mrs. Reynolds), all of Nebraska: 
 Mrs. N. Banker, Mrs. M. Bartholomew, and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 i9 
 
 Mrs. Carrington, of Wisconsin ; Mrs. M. 
 Bowker, of Minnesota; and R. H., of Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Elisha Carrington have 
 been born ten children. One of these, Will- 
 iam Grant, died at the age of twenty-four 
 years. Those who survive are Gertrude Lou- 
 isa, Ella J., Luella Jane, Henrietta Keith, Ber- 
 tha Adelia, Mabel Susan, Adam M., Elisha 
 Lewis and Miles Frantz. 
 
 JOHN O. BEAVER (deceased) is well 
 remembered by the older residents of Clin- 
 ton township, Rock county, as an exceedingly 
 industrious and upright farmer, working hard 
 for the accumulation of a competence for the 
 good it would enable him to do for those he 
 loved and cherished. He was a mail of high 
 character and real worth, and would scorn to 
 tell an untruth or do a mean action. 
 
 Mr. Beaver was born in Norway Dec. 24, 
 1828, and came to this country when a stout 
 and sturdy lad of sixteen years, coming- 
 straight to Wisconsin. Here he presently 
 bought a farm, and created that magnificent 
 rural estate that is still kept as the Beaver 
 homestead. It consisted of 120 acres of highly 
 improved land in Section 27, Clinton town- 
 ship, Rock county, to the cultivation of which 
 he devoted his entire life. He died July 4, 
 1875, an d his loss was deeply felt by many 
 who had come to prize him, both as a man 
 and as a friend. 
 
 John O. Beaver and Miss Christie Ole- 
 son, daughter of Ole Oleson, of Norway, were 
 married in March, 1857. Mrs. Beaver came 
 alone to this country when a young girl, seek- 
 ing the opportunities the young Republic were 
 said to offer the children of privation in the old 
 world. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver became the par- 
 ents of six children, Nellie, Betsy. Olinda, Ole 
 J., Oliver, and Ann Maria, all. born on the pres- 
 ent Beaver homestead and educated in Rock 
 county. Nellie married Andrew Johnson and 
 died in March, 1886; she left one daughter, 
 Alma Charlotte, who is now an inmate of the 
 home of her grandmother, Mrs. Beaver. Bet- 
 sy married Thomas Olson, who died leaving 
 his widow with two children, Oscar Julius and 
 Eva Clarene, who are also living with Mrs. 
 Beaver. Olinda married Andrew Lewis, a 
 farmer in the town of Clinton, and they have 
 five children, Hattie Julena, Elva Charlotte, 
 Mattie Clarene, Lilly Amelia and John Bent- 
 
 ley. Oliver, a farmer in Minnesota, has never 
 married. Ann Maria was married to Ole 
 Aarud, and they have three children, Clara 
 Matilda, Oscar James, and Gertie Bertine. 
 
 Ole J. Beaver, the youngest of the fam- 
 ily, lives at home. He is unmarried, and de- 
 votes himself to the care of the farm. His 
 mother and sister, Mrs. Olson, make a home 
 for him, and he is making himself felt in the 
 community as a rising and successful young- 
 farmer. He is a member of the church of 
 his parents, the Lutheran, and is taking a lead- 
 ing position in the community. He is a Re- 
 publican, and socially U a most genial and hos- 
 pitable gentleman. 
 
 WILLIAM KIRK JAMESON, M. D„ 
 one of the leading physicians of Grant coun- 
 ty, and a highly respected and prominent citi- 
 zen of Muscoda, is a member of the G. A. R., 
 having honorably served his country during 
 the Civil war. 
 
 Dr. Jameson was born at Glasgow, Scot- 
 land, March 4, 1836, the only child of Rev. 
 James and Anna Jameson, and was brought 
 to the United States by his parents in 1844. 
 The family resided in Albany, N. Y., where 
 they first settled, until 1848, when they re- 
 moved to Milwaukee, and Rev. Mr. Jameson, 
 who had been a clergyman in the Presbyterian 
 Church, became identified with the Congrega- 
 tional Church in missionary work, preaching 
 at various places in Wisconsin, including Al- 
 bany, Magnolia, and Center, Rock county, es- 
 tablishing societies and erecting churches. 
 During this time he became the owner of a 
 fine farm in Rock county, which he obtained 
 from the government, and greatly improved. 
 In 1871 Mr. Jameson removed to Muscoda, 
 built a comfortable residence, and officiated as 
 pastor of the Congregational. Church there, 
 remaining until 1S76, in which year he located 
 at Albany, Green county. There he resided 
 until his death, in 1896, at the advanced age 
 of ninety- four. Not only was Mr. Jameson a 
 man of more than average ability, but he had 
 also enjoyed educational advantages not ac- 
 corded to everyone, as he was a graduate of a 
 theological school of Edinburgh, that great 
 center of learning. United to his attainments 
 and powers as an orator, he possessed that fac- 
 ulty of winning hearts and endearing himself 
 to his people that made him invaluable as a 
 worker and clergyman. Possessing a robust 
 
20 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 constitution he was untiring in his efforts, and 
 continued in active work until after he had 
 passed the fourscore milestone, upholding the 
 principles for which he had lived and labored 
 so long until the day of his death. Mrs. Jame- 
 son died before her husband, passing away in 
 1886, at the age of eighty, and both will be 
 long remembered by those who knew and 
 loved them for their many estimable qualities. 
 
 Dr. Jameson has proven himself a worthy 
 son of these good people, to whose teachings 
 and example he attributes his own success 
 and integrity of purpose. While a boy he at- 
 tended common school in the several places at 
 which his father was located, and at eighteen 
 he entered Beloit College. In 1S58 he com- 
 menced study at Ann Arbor (Mich.) Medical 
 College; was in Hudson, Wis., with Dr. Otis 
 Hoyt, at the breaking out of the Civil war; 
 returned to Ann Arbor after the close of the 
 war, graduating in 1866; and settled at Mus- 
 coda. In 1862, at the call of his country, Dr. 
 Jameson enlisted in Company A, 30th Wis. 
 V. I. At Camp Randall, soon after his en- 
 listment, he was made hospital steward; in 
 1863 was appointed assistant surgeon of his 
 regiment, and continued to serve in that ca- 
 pacity until the close of the war. The greater 
 portion of his time of service Dr. Jameson 
 spent on the frontier, his regiment being one 
 of those stationed in the Indian service, and 
 he was with Brig.-Gen. Sully in the North- 
 west until the spring of 1865. From Sioux 
 Falls, Iowa, the regiment was ordered to Madi- 
 son, Wis., and there honorably mustered out. 
 Dr. Jameson has continued to reside in Mus- 
 coda, where lie has built up a large and lucra- 
 tive practice. 
 
 On Dec. 3, 1855, Dr. Jameson was mar- 
 ried to Miss Julia Parslow, who died Oct. 12, 
 1882. Two daughters were born of this union : 
 Ella, wife of Frank A. David, a prominent 
 merchant of Moscow, Idaho ; and Alta, wife 
 of IT. R. Smith, one of the leading attorneys 
 of the same place. Within recent years Dr. 
 Jameson has made a visit to his daughters in 
 their far Western homes, and is contemplating 
 eventually locating in Moscow, in order to be 
 near them. 
 
 I11 his political convictions Dr. Jameson is 
 a Republican. He is a highly valued member of 
 the G. A. R. post. Successful in his practice, 
 honored by his associates, esteemed by his 
 friends, and beloved in his family, Dr. Jame- 
 
 son is a living proof that a good man and 
 woman live on in their offspring, and that the 
 world is not only bettered for their own lives, 
 but by those who come after them. 
 
 JOHN KEMLER (deceased), formerly 
 one of the leading merchants of Platteville, was 
 a man of high character and benevolent dispo- 
 sition, who numbered among his friends the 
 best-known people of Grant county, and in his 
 death the city sustained a great loss. 
 
 Mr. Kemler was born in 1818, in Hanover, 
 Germany, where he grew to manhood, and 
 was fairly well educated in the schools of his 
 native land. In 1837 he came to America, and 
 after spending one summer in New York went 
 to Savannah, Ga. There he resided two years, 
 serving as overseer of a large plantation, but 
 in the spring of 1842 he removed to Galena, 
 111., residing there until the fall of 1843, when 
 he returned to Germany, and was married, in 
 1844, to Miss Maggie A. Meyer, of Hanover. 
 The same year he and his estimable wife came 
 to America, locating at Platteville, and Mr. 
 Kemler engaged in the mercantile line, con- 
 tinuing thus until his death, in January, 1889. 
 As a merchant he was exceptionally success- 
 ful. His worthy Christian wife survived him 
 until February, 1899. Both were consistent 
 and active members of the Presbyterian 
 Church, and endeared themselves to all who 
 knew them. During his residence in Platte- 
 ville Mr. Kemler served as trustee. To him- 
 self and wife were born a number of children, 
 four of whom survive, all residing in Platte- 
 ville : Minnie, Julia, A. W. and James C. 
 
 The eldest, Minnie, was born in Platteville in 
 1844, was educated in the Platteville Academy, 
 and in 1870 married H. P. Shroder, now one 
 of the retired merchants of Platteville ; they 
 have had no family. Julia, also a native of 
 Platteville, is now the wife of George Hendy, 
 a prominent merchant, and a member of one 
 of the old families of Platteville. 
 
 A. W. Kemler, son of John Kemler, was 
 born in Platteville in 1851, was educated in the 
 old academy of the city, and later took a course 
 at Bryant & Stratton’s Business College, Chi- 
 cago, after which he went upon the road as 
 salesman for a Dubuque dry-goods house. 
 In 1877 A. W. Kemler returned to Platte- 
 ville, and embarked in business as proprietor 
 of a general store. Later he enlarged his es- 
 tablishment, and now handles dry goods ex- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 2 I 
 
 clusively, having built up a large trade among 
 the very best people of Platteville. His place 
 of business is one of the largest in the city, and 
 he also owns a one-half interest in a flourish- 
 ing boot and shoe concern of Platteville ; and 
 is a large stockholder in the First National 
 Bank of Platteville. 
 
 In November, 1878, A. W. Kernler mar- 
 ried Miss Dora Campbell, of St. Louis, daugh- 
 ter of J. C. Campbell, M. D., one of the lead- 
 ing physicians of that city. Dr. Campbell 
 was born in Tennessee in 1810, came West, and 
 studied medicine in Illinois. In 1841 he was 
 married to Miss Permelia Oliver, of Alabama, 
 and located in Platteville, Wis., where he prac- 
 ticed his profession, erecting a sanitarium 
 which he conducted until 1852, in which year 
 he was induced by his friends to remove to St. 
 Louis. There Dr. Campbell resided until 
 retiring from the practice of his profession, 
 when he came to Platteville, and resided 
 here until his death, in November, 1881 ; his 
 wife died in 1882. To Dr. and Mrs. Campbell 
 were born seven children: ' Dr. James A. 
 Campbell, an eye and ear specialist of St. 
 Louis, a physician of note, is married and has 
 three children; Belle, now the wife of T. D. 
 Ivimbell, living near St. Louis, has two sons, 
 Clinton and Arthur; Jennie is the wife of 
 Frank W. Person, an active business man of 
 Sioux Falls, S. Dak., and has one son, Walter; 
 Dora is the wife of A. W. Kernler; and three 
 are deceased. Dr. Campbell served his coun- 
 try, during the Civil war, as captain, and later 
 as surgeon, for two years. 
 
 Mrs. A. W. Kernler was educated in the 
 schools of St. Louis, graduating from the 
 normal and high schools, after which she 
 taught four years in the public schools. of that 
 city ; she is a very highly cultured lady. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Kernler have had five children ; 
 Florence died in childhood ; Clara, born in 
 Platteville in 1880, graduated from the State 
 Normal in the class of 1899, and is now a 
 student in the University at Madison, being- 
 very highly accomplished; Truman, born in 
 1882, is a student of the State Normal; Vir- 
 ginia, born in 1887 in Platteville, is a student 
 of the State Normal; as is also Olive, who 
 rvas born in Platteville in 1890. 
 
 A. W. Kernler was brought up in the faith 
 of the Presbyterian Church, but is not a mem- 
 ber, although he has always contributed gen- 
 erously to the support of church work. Mrs. 
 
 Kernler and the children are all consistent 
 members of the Congreg-ational Church. In 
 social matters Mr. Kernler is one of the lead- 
 ing Masons of Platteville, and takes an act- 
 ive part in the work of the fraternity. He is 
 justly regarded as one of the leading business 
 men of Platteville, is popular with the best 
 element of people in the city, and has always 
 taken a deep interest in local affairs. He is 
 a member of the Republican party. Mrs. Ivem- 
 ler is very prominent socially and in the church,' 
 and both are highly esteemed by a large circle 
 of friends. 
 
 James C. Kernler, the second son and 
 youngest child of John Kernler, was born in 
 Platteville Aug. 20, 1858, and was educated 
 at the State Normal, and at Bryant & Strat- 
 ton’s Business College, Chicago. After com- 
 pleting his education he was salesman for 
 Marshall Field & Co., of Chicago, for three 
 years ; later served in the same capacity in a 
 large dry-goods store in Dubuque, Iowa; and 
 in 1891 returned to Platteville, and embarked 
 in a genera] dry-goods and merchandise busi- 
 ness, with John H. Lutjens, continuing this 
 partnership to the present time. In 1895 Mr. 
 Kernler married Miss Beata C. Mackey, of 
 Lancaster, Wis., daughter of Frederick Mack- 
 ey, one of the old pioneers prominent in the 
 history of Grant county, and formerly a resi- 
 dent of Platteville. Frederick Mackey was 
 born and reared in Germany, and is now a 
 resident of Lancaster, Wis. After their mar- 
 riage Mr. and Mrs. James C. Kernler settled 
 in Platteville, and are regarded as among its 
 most prominent people. To this union was 
 born one son, Herbert J.. born in June, 1897. 
 Mr. Kernler is also a Republican in political 
 faith, and has been very prominent in the work 
 of this party in Platteville. 
 
 No record of Grant county would be com- 
 plete without the history of the Kernler fam- 
 ily, every member of which ha‘s contributed 
 so materially to the commercial and material 
 welfare of Platteville, and borne his part in its 
 development and advancement. 
 
 ALONZO C. GRAY, vice-president of the 
 Bank of Evansville, Rock county, occupies a 
 conspicuous standing in the community, not 
 merely on account of the financial relations 
 which he sustains toward the business of the 
 community, but also because of the personal 
 probity, kindly disposition and unswerving in- 
 
9 9 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tegrity that have been his most marked char- 
 acteristics. 
 
 Mr. Gray was born in Somerset county, 
 Maine, March 20, 1841, a son of Robert D. 
 and Lurana (Tinkham) Gray, natives of Maine 
 and Massachusetts, respectively. Mrs. Gray 
 was a daughter of Orin Tinkham, and a grand- 
 daughter of Hon. John Tinkham, of Massa- 
 chusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Gray were the par- 
 ents of four children : Orin T., a lawyer in 
 
 Boston; Alonzo 5 C., our subject; Clara L., 
 of Norridgewock, Maine; and a daughter who 
 died in infancy. The father was a lumber- 
 man in Maine until 1850. The mother died 
 in 184C and five years later Mr. Gray went to 
 California and engaged in mining. He spent 
 fifteen years in the golden West, and then 
 went back to the Eastern shore of the country, 
 and spent some years in the city of Boston and 
 in the State of Maine. He spent the closing 
 years of his life in Evansville, Wis., in the 
 home of his son, Alonzo C, and died in 1884. 
 His death was the result of a fall, whereby 
 he broke his hip. He had reached the age of 
 seventy-one, and had reasonable expectations 
 of a longer lease of life. His wife was a Bap- 
 tist, but he was without religious affiliations, 
 though he was a thoroughly honorable and 
 upright man. In early life he had filled sev- 
 eral local offices in Maine, and was well 
 thought of by his old associates. His father, 
 Capt. Joshua Gray, was an officer in the war 
 of 1812. He was a farmer, a man of marked 
 ability, taking a prominent part in public af- 
 fairs, and reached the age of ninety years. 
 He reared a large family. 
 
 Alonzo C. Gray grew to manhood in his 
 native county, enjoying all the privileges and 
 opportunities that farmer boys were wont to 
 command in those early days. He received 
 an education that was both broad and deep, 
 studying at the public schools, attended An- 
 son (Maine) Academy, and had private in- 
 struction at Waterville, Maine. When lie had 
 reached the age of twenty years he felt that 
 he should apply himself to the work of life, 
 and securing a position in a shoe factory spent 
 some years within its walls. He was careful 
 and saving, wisely invested his earnings, and 
 presently had enough to open a general store 
 for himself at West Bridgewater, Mass., but 
 President Lincoln’s call at that time for 300,- 
 000 men caused him to lav aside personal aims 
 and to enlist in his country’s defense. He 
 
 place his store in charge of his brother, and 
 entered the Union army as a member of Com- 
 pany D, 58th Mass. Vol. Inf., and served un- 
 til the close of the war. Mr. Gray was de- 
 tailed to assist in the recruiting office at Fan- 
 euil Hall, Boston, Mass., where he remained 
 until April 28, 1864, when he joined his regi- 
 ment at the front, and six days later took his 
 “baptism of fire" in the battles of the Wilder- 
 ness. He was at Spottsylania Court House 
 and Cold Harbor, and was in front of Peters- 
 burg during the summer and fall of 1864. 
 There he was taken sick and sent home on a 
 furlough. Before he was able to return to duty 
 the regiment was coming home on account of 
 the close of the war and the dawn of peace over 
 all the land. 
 
 Mr. Gray was married about this time, 
 and came to Evansville, setting up in business 
 here, and the city has been his home to the 
 present time. He clerked in a general store 
 from 1867 to 1869, and then bought a half in- 
 terest in the business with M. V. Pratt, con- 
 tinuing until 1883, at which time he sold out 
 his general stock, and confined himself for a 
 few years exclusively to boots and shoes. 
 Finally disposing of this he turned to real es- 
 tate, making investments in Chicago and build- 
 ing some residences there. For a number of 
 years he has been quite retired from active 
 business cares. For some eight years he has- 
 been vice-president and director of the Bank 
 of Evansville, and is one of three men in Rock 
 county to whom is committed the distribution 
 of funds to indigent old soldiers and their 
 widows and orphans. He is officially connect- 
 ed with both the Badger State Long Distance 
 Telephone Co. and the Evansville Telephone 
 Exchange, being one of the original promoters 
 of both enterprises. 
 
 Mr. Gray and Miss Isabel F. Peckham 
 were married Nov. 28, 1866, at West Bridge- 
 water, Mass., and the union, singularly happy 
 while it lasted, was broken by the death of 
 Mrs. Gray, on Sept. 23, 1878, at the early 
 age of twenty-nine years. Mr. Gray’s sec- 
 ond marriage, on May 18, 1879, was to Miss 
 Emma J. Rowley, daughter of Daniel and 
 Calista (Wells) Rowley. Mrs. Gray is a lady 
 of many gifts and excellencies of mind and 
 heart, and has proved in every way a fit com- 
 panion for her energetic and enterprising hus- 
 band. Four children were born to this union, 
 Orin C., Ellis Wells, Paul Rowley and Isa- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 23 
 
 bel Bernice. Orin C. is a student at Beloit 
 College. Ellis Wells died when a child of one 
 year and nine months. The two younger chil- 
 dren are at home, and attend school. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Gray are members of the Baptist Church, 
 and he is a member of Union Lodge, No. 32, 
 A. F. & A. M. ; Evansville Chapter, No. 35, 
 R. A. M. ; and Janesville Commandery, No. 2, 
 K. T. He is also an active worker in 
 T. L. Sutphen Post, No. 41, G. A. R., and the 
 Modern W oodmen of America. Mr. Gray is a 
 Republican, and has received various honors at 
 the hands of his fellow townsmen. He is aider- 
 man from the Second ward, and has filled 
 that position several terms; was a member of 
 the old village board of trustees; was city as- 
 sessor one year; was president of the school 
 board six years ; and has always taken a deep 
 interest in the local schools. His home is on 
 Church street, west of First, where he has 
 lived a number of years. 
 
 HILEN CANFIELD MORSE (de- 
 ceased) was born in Geauga county, Ohio, 
 Jan. 5, 1S24, a son of Amos and Anna (Fish- 
 er) Morse, natives of Maine and New York, 
 respectively. They were the parents of six sons 
 and two daughters, all now deceased. Amos 
 Morse died in Ohio in 1838, aged seventy- 
 three years. His wife survived him many 
 3'ears, and married again. She died in 1863. 
 Amos Morse is supposed to have been a sol- 
 dier in the war of 1812. 
 
 Hilen C. Morse, whose name appears 
 above, was reared on a farm in Geaug'a coun- 
 ty, Ohio, and had his home in the town of 
 Huntsburg. He received such schooling as 
 fell to the lot of the farm lads of his time, and 
 when he reached manhood learned the trade 
 of carpenter and joiner. This was his oc- 
 cupation conjointly with farming for many 
 years. He came to Wisconsin at an early 
 day, and for some years made his home at 
 Pewaukee Lake, near Milwaukee. About 
 1848 he moved to Johnstown, Rock county, 
 and helped to build the first church in that com- 
 munity. He also aided in the construction of 
 a church in what was known as Old Johns- 
 town. He was a resident of Rock county many 
 years. Attracted by the fact that he had a 
 brother living in To Daviess county, 111 ., near 
 the settlement of Morseville, which was named 
 after him, he sold out in Rock county, and 
 moved into Illinois. He returned to Johns- 
 town, and made his home there once more, 
 
 then lived near Monroe, in Green county, and 
 finally came back to Johnstown, where he died 
 in 1888, aged sixty-four years. 
 
 Mr. Morse and Miss Angelett Newhall, a 
 daughter of Elisha and Esther (Richardson) 
 Newhall, were married June 27, 1852. They 
 had five children : Amos Elbridge, Sarah Lou- 
 isa, Martin Hilen, Willie, and Julia Esther. 
 Amos E. married Clara Godfrey, who bore 
 him one child, Ray Denver, and is deceased ; 
 he married a second time, Emma Smith be- 
 coming his wife, and she bore him two chil- 
 dren, Mabel. Louisa and Harry Eli ; the hus- 
 band and father died in 1886, at the early age 
 of thirty-three years. Sarah Louisa died when 
 only three months old. Martin Hilen mar- 
 ried Mary Jane Hall, and lives in Janesville; 
 they have three children, Ida, Pliny and Lenn. 
 Willie died in infancy. Julia Esther married 
 Walter S. Pember, of Johnstown Center. 
 Hilen C. Morse and his wife were members 
 of the Lmited Brethren Church. At one time 
 he was associated with the Independent Or- 
 der of Odd Fellows. Politically he was a 
 Republican. Mr. Morse was a man of most 
 excellent character, and the earlier settlers of 
 the county remember him as an honorable and 
 industrious man, who worked hard, paid his 
 way, and was always a kind friend and good 
 neighbor. Mrs. Morse has made her home in 
 Janesville since 1892, and is much respected 
 for her intelligence and her kindly heart. She 
 is a good neighbor, and a woman of strong 
 personal character. 
 
 The parents of Mrs. Morse were Eastern 
 people, her father a native of Massachusetts, 
 and her mother of Vermont. They had four 
 children, two of whom are now living: El- 
 bridge G. and Mrs. Morse. Mr. Newhall was 
 a farmer, who came West to New \ ork. where 
 he married. About 1830 he moved to Indiana, 
 and settled near the town of New Durham, 
 La Porte county, where he lived until 1S37. 
 That year he moved into Rock' county, V is., 
 and settled near Johnstown, where he took up 
 a claim of 160 acres for himself, and an equal 
 amount for each one of his sons. Here he spent 
 the balance of his days, and died about the 
 year 1837, aged seventy-four years. His wife 
 survived him two years, and died when she 
 was sixty-five years of age. They were Uni- 
 versalists, and liberal people. He was a man 
 of ability and character, and held several, town 
 offices at different times; he was appointed 
 notary public by Gov. Noble, of Indiana. 
 
24 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 W. M. HETHERINGTON, cashier of 
 The First National Bank of Platteville, Wis., 
 is a native of Dubuque, Iowa, born April 24, 
 1863, and is a son of C. E. and Lucy (Mills) 
 Hetherington, of whom brief mention here fol- 
 lows : 
 
 C. E. Hetherington was born in Bellefonte, 
 Penn., in 1825, came to the West in 1847, locat- 
 ed in Dubuque, and there married Miss Mills, 
 daughter of William Mills, a lawyer of consid- 
 erable celebrity. Mrs. Lucy Hetherington 
 was born in Monongahela City, Penn., in 
 1834, received her education at Washington, 
 Penn., and in 1855 accompanied her parents 
 to Dubuque. For many years Mr. Hethering- 
 ton was secretary and manager of the Dubuque 
 Linseed Oil Works. 
 
 W. M. Hetherington received his educa- 
 tion in the public and high schools of Dubuque, 
 and when eighteen years of age entered The 
 First National Bank of that city, as messen- 
 ger, occupied all. of the different positions in 
 the bank up to that of cashier, and in Novem- 
 ber, 1891, came to Platteville. Here he or- 
 ganized The First National Bank, which pur- 
 chased and succeeded the private bank of Dr. 
 George W. Eastman, the latter becoming presi- 
 dent of The First National Bank, and Mr. 
 Hetherington cashier. 
 
 On July 6, 1898, Mr. Hetherington mar- 
 ried bliss Jessie M. Kyle, a native of the city, 
 where she was p'raduated from the State Nor- 
 mal School, and for three years thereafter 
 taught in the city of Milwaukee. Mr. Heth- 
 erington is a member of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, and in politics is a stanch Re- 
 publican. He has, however, never taken an 
 active part in politics, preferring to give his 
 entire time and attention to the management 
 and building up of the hank with which he 
 is connected, and which is regarded as one 
 of the most conservative and substantial finan- 
 cial institutions in this part of the State. 
 
 GEORGE COVERT, M. D. This well- 
 known and popular physician of Clinton, Rock 
 county, is not only one of the oldest practic- 
 ing physicians of that thriving little village, 
 but also one of its pioneer residents. He lo- 
 cated at Clinton in December, 1855, and has 
 lived there ever since, being with one excep- 
 tion the pioneer of longest residence in the 
 village. Flis life of more than forty-five years 
 in the community has been most active, influ- 
 
 ential and useful. The Nestor of his profes- 
 sion, he has won honor among his fellow prac- 
 titioners, and the lasting confidence and high 
 regard of a large clientele. 
 
 Dr. Covert is of Holland-Dutch extrac- 
 tion. Flis grandfather, Abraham A. Covert, 
 a native of New Jersey, became one of the 
 earliest settlers of Seneca county, N. Y., mi- 
 grating with his father, and followed the vo- 
 cation of farming through life, living 'to the 
 age of ninety-nine years, and leaving a large 
 family. His ancestors had earlier settled in 
 New York, and a Mr. Covert erected the first 
 church in the city of Brooklyn. 
 
 John A. Covert, the father of our subject, 
 was reared a farmer on the Seneca county 
 homestead. He married Miss Catherine B. 
 Huff, a native of New Jersey, and a daughter 
 of Isaac Huff, who was of Holland-Dutch de- 
 scent, the family originally being of French- 
 Huguenot extraction. Isaac Fluff was a man 
 of superior education, and followed farming. 
 He married a Miss Van Nostrand. He moved 
 to Ovid, N. Y., and later to Oakland, Mich., 
 where he died at the age of seventy-five, hav- 
 ing reared a large family. His widow later 
 came to Clinton, Wis., where she died, having 
 attained the remarkable age of one hundred 
 and one years and seven months. In 1852 
 John A. Covert moved from New York State 
 to Oakland county, Mich. Ten years later he 
 settled at Clinton, where he remained until his 
 death, at the age of eighty-four years. His 
 wife survived him one year, dying - at the age 
 of eighty-three. They were reared in the 
 Dutch Reformed Church, but later united with 
 the Presbyterian, and then the Congregational 
 Church. Mr. Covert was for a number of 
 years a justice of the peace, and he was a 
 man of unusual force of character. Of the 
 six children of John A. and Catherine B. Cov- 
 ert, four sons and two daughters, four are 
 now living: Dr. George, our subject; Augus- 
 tus, of Cheney, Spokane county. Wash.; Ry- 
 near, of Paw Paw, Mich. ; and Elizabeth, wife 
 of Norton Winslow, of West Bloomfield, Oak- 
 land Co., Michigan. 
 
 Dr. George Covert was born at Ovid, N. 
 Y., Dec. 7. 1829. He was reared in Seneca 
 county, and received his education in the com- 
 mon schools there and at Washington Collegi- 
 ate Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y. Determined to 
 prepare himself for professional life, he taught 
 ■school for several years, then prepared him- 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 25 
 
 self for the practice of medicine, receiving his 
 professional education at Starling Medical 
 College, Columbus, Ohio, and the Cincinnati 
 Eclectic Medical Institute. Dr. Covert began 
 practice at Oakland, Mich., in 1854. In 1855 
 he settled at Elgin, 111 ., and in December of 
 the same year located at Clinton, Wis., where 
 he has remained continuously in practice as 
 a physician and surgeon ever since. He has 
 always been a progressive physician, and dur- 
 ing his long and successful practice he has 
 kept thoroughly abreast with the rapid ad- 
 vance in the medical profession. He gradu- 
 ated from the Cincinnati Eclectic Medical In- 
 stitute in 1863; in 1878 received a diploma 
 from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, 
 Chicago, became a lecturer at that institution 
 on chronic diseases, and later was professor of 
 obstetrics. Dr. Covert is a member of the 
 State Eclectic Medical Society, and has twice 
 been honored by election to the presidency 
 thereof. He is also a prominent member of 
 the National Eclectic Medical Association, 
 served as its president one term, and as vice- 
 president for two terms. He is a member 
 of the Illinois State Medical Society, and of 
 the Pennsylvania and Oregon State Medical 
 Societies. He is a noted contributor to medi- 
 cal journals, one of the most extensive writers 
 in general practice in Wisconsin. Dr. Covert 
 built the first drug store at Clinton, which he 
 conducted for twenty-five years. His practice 
 lias been general in character, and lucrative. 
 
 Dr. Covert married, in January, 1858, 
 Miss Mary Janette Barker, daughter of Cyrus 
 J. and Eliza (King) Barker. Three daugh- 
 ters were born to them. Effie Grace, Kittle 
 May and Georgia Iv. Effie Grace is the widow 
 of C. B. Shepard, and lives in Elkhorn, Wis., 
 where she is employed in an abstract office. 
 Kittie May married T. J. Creeth, of Hastings, 
 Neb., and they have two children, Claire T. 
 and George Alexander. Georgia Iv. married 
 Calvin S. Thomas, a merchant of Clinton.' 
 Mrs. Mary Janette Covert died June 30, 1873, 
 and for his second wife Dr. Covert married, 
 Tune 13, 1887, Miss Jennie Muzzy, daughter 
 of Lorenzo and Mary J. (Barker) Muzzy, 
 who were natives of Massachusetts, and early 
 settlers in Rock county, Wis., where Mrs. 
 Covert, was reared. She was educated at the 
 StateHTni versi ty at Madison, being graduated 
 with the degree of Ph. B. in 1872. Two years 
 later she received the degree of A. B., being 
 
 the first lady to receive this degree from 
 the University of Wisconsin, and then taught 
 Latin and Greek for three years in the high 
 school at Madison. She possesses the culture 
 and accomplishments which make her a prom- 
 inent factor in social functions. Dr. and Mrs. 
 Covert have an adopted daughter, Julia Ger- 
 trude. The)' are prominent members of the 
 Congregational Church. He was superintend- 
 ent of the town schools many years ago, and 
 has always been deeply interested in educa- 
 tional matters. The Doctor has been twice 
 president — in 1887 and 1899 — of the Covert 
 Association, the largest family association in 
 the country, which meets in June of each year 
 in Seneca county, New York. 
 
 JOHN SHORTNEY (deceased) was for 
 many years a familiar figure on the streets of 
 Janesville. Though confined closely to the 
 house during the last part of his life, he is re- 
 membered as an exceedingly honorable and 
 upright man, and a choice spirit by those priv- 
 ileged to count him as an intimate friend. 
 
 Air. Shortney was born in London, En- 
 gland, Sept. 14, 1822, only child of John and 
 Ann Shortney. His father, who was a London 
 merchant, died in 1824. The infant son was 
 then taken by his aunt, Letitia Ainsley, and 
 under her fostering care he grew to manhood. 
 ’When about twenty-eight years old he came 
 to this country, his two aunts. Miss Ainsley 
 and Mrs. Jane Parris, supplying him with 
 clothing and plenty of money with which to 
 make a fair start in the New World. The 
 voyage was disastrous. The craft was a sail- 
 ing vessel, and took seven weeks to make the 
 iourney. On the way over a severe storm 
 carried away one of the masts, and all but 
 wrecked the vessel. Everything movable on 
 the ship had to be thrown overboard, and Mr. 
 Shortney lost his money, his clothes, and 
 everything he possessed in the world except 
 the suit he wore, and his letters of introduc- 
 tion and credit. He landed in New York 
 without resources, and at a loss where to go. 
 He let chance decide, set up his cane, and 
 went in the direction it fell, which was west. 
 He made his way to Rome, N. Y., secured 
 work, and saved money that brought him, 
 after a year’s delay, to Janesville. 
 
 Mr. Shortney arrived in Janesville in 1850, 
 and at once began clerking for Ensign Bennett, 
 and worked for him about two years. Leav- 
 
26 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 mg him, he entered the general store of Charles 
 Stevens, with whom he continued until he was 
 offered a position as bookkeeper in the Badger 
 State Bank, at Janesville. He was rapid and 
 accurate, and remained with the proprietor, 
 Edward L. 'Dimmock, until his failure, in 
 1858. After the closing of the bank Mr. Short- 
 ney was a partner in the book and stationery 
 business for a year with James Sutherland. 
 He worked for the American Express Co., 
 and then became bookkeeper for M. C. Smith 
 <k Co., and was with them twenty-one years, 
 until their sale to Bort, Bailey & Co. He kept 
 on with the new firm for a year, and kept books 
 for his former employer, Mr. Smith, at Rich- 
 land Center, Wis., for two years. For three 
 years he was manager of the estate of Peter 
 Myers for the widow, Mrs. Myers, and while 
 still an active and vigorous man, on March 4, 
 1891, he fell on a slippery stairway at home, 
 and received injuries from which he never re- 
 covered. He died June 5, 1899, at the age of 
 seventy-seven. Mr. Shortney was educated 
 in a private school in London, possessed an 
 unusual familiarity with literature and his- 
 tory, was a deep reader, and accumulated a 
 fine library. He was of a somewhat reserved 
 nature, but his friends became warmly and 
 deeply attached to him. He was very orderly 
 and precise, carried into his own matters the 
 most exact order, and was a fine penman. He 
 was very ambitious in all business matters. 
 
 Mr. Shortney was twice married. His first 
 wife, Isabel Older, to whom lie was united 
 Oct. 26, 1855, died April 21, 1857. On Nov. 
 28, 1859, was celebrated his wedding with 
 Miss Isobel Margaret McDonald, daughter of 
 James and Jeannette (McNaughton) McDon- 
 ald. 1 o this second union were born six chil- 
 dren : John, Isabel, Letitia, Letitia (2), Jean- 
 nette and James. John is not married, and is 
 a clerk in a shoe store at LaCrosse, Wis. Isa- 
 bel lives in Detroit, Mich. Letitia (1) died 
 when a babe of three months. The second of 
 that name is a trained nurse in the city. Jean- 
 nette and James are both living at home. Mr. 
 Shortney was an Episcopalian in religious 
 faith, while his wife, who survives him, is a 
 Presbyterian. He was a Republican, but was 
 never a candidate for any office. James Mc- 
 Donald, Mrs. Shortney’s father, was born in 
 Scotland, Aug. 16, 1810, and was educated in 
 his native land. Coming to this country, he 
 made Port Jervis, N. Y., his first stopping I 
 
 place, remained there three years, and then 
 went to Caledonia, in the same State, where 
 he was married, and from Caledonia he moved 
 to Sturgis, Mich. In iSs^ he moved to Chil- 
 ton, Wis., and remained there until 1874, 
 when he came to Janesville. He lived only 
 a short time after his arrival in the city, dying 
 April 4, 1877, at the age of sixty-six years and 
 eight months. His wife died in 1855. They 
 were the parents of five daughters and one 
 son. Mrs. McDonald was born in Johnstown, 
 N. Y., in 1810, and was one of a large fam- 
 ily. Her father, Robert McNaughton, was a 
 soldier in the war of 1812, and lived to be 
 ninety-six years old. 
 
 CHARLES M. SMITH, Sr., M. D„ of 
 Evansville, is one of the older physicians of 
 Rock county, and has been identified with its 
 interests for forty-one years. He entered the 
 State as a teacher, and taught school for a 
 time following his arrival here. It is as a phy- 
 sician, however, that he has made himself felt 
 in the community, and it is not too much to 
 say that he has lived up to the best ethics of his 
 profession. 
 
 Dr. Smith was born in Cattaraugus county, 
 N. Y., June 25, 1834, and is a son of Jacob and 
 Delana (Rich) Smith, natives of that State. 
 Three sons and six daughters, seven of whom 
 are now living, were born to this worthy couple. 
 Catherine is the wife of George Paine, and lives 
 in Cattaraugus, N. Y. Dr. Charles M. is at 
 Evansville. Elvira died in infancy. James 
 R. is in New York. Arvilla is the wife of C. 
 
 M. Rumsey, and lives in New York. Judson 
 lives in the same State. Mary R. is the wife 
 of Rev. C. M. Pullen, an Episcopal clergyman, 
 now of Buffalo, N. Y. Matilda, who died in 
 February, 1901, was the wife of Orrin Rich, of 
 New York. Jacob Smith was a farmer and 
 breeder of fine stock in Cattaraugus county, and 
 died there at the age of seventy years. His 
 wife, the mother of our subject, died at the 
 age of fifty years. They were members of the 
 Methodist Church. His father, John Smith, 
 was a native of New York, of German descent, 
 and was a farmer by occupation. He reared 
 a family of ten children. He reached the age 
 of eighty. The maternal grandfather of Dr. 
 C. M. Smith was a native of Onondaga county, 
 
 N. Y., of English descent, and was a farmer. 
 He participated in the war of 1812. He died 
 in old age, and his wife reached the age of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 2 7 
 
 ninety. They had a large family, and Delana 
 was the youngest of their thirteen children. 
 
 Dr. Smith lived in Cattaraugus county, N. 
 Y., until he was twenty years old, was a stu- 
 dent in the district school, and for a time 
 was clerk in a drug and commission store in 
 Fcrestville, N. Y. In 1854 he came to Wis- 
 consin, taught the first school in Dayton, and 
 later was a teacher for two terms in Evans- 
 ville. He then entered the academy at Albion, 
 Wis., where he attended three terms, and was 
 graduated in 1856. That year he took up the 
 study of medicine with Dr. Evans as his pre- 
 ceptor, and was graduated from Rush Medical 
 College in i860. He began the practice of 
 medicine at Footville, Rock county, Wis., and 
 was there two years when he obtained the ap- 
 pointment of assistant surgeon to the 13th 
 Wis. V. I., in which position he served through- 
 out the war. Returning to Evansville at the 
 conclusion of hostilities, he formed a medical 
 partnership with Dr. Evans that continued for 
 eighteen years. In 1873 h e took a special 
 course in Bellevue Hospital Medical College, 
 New York. In 1882 he was made an honorary 
 member of the Wisconsin Pharmaceutical As- 
 sociation ; he is also a member of the American 
 Medical Association, the State Medical Asso- 
 ciation, and the Central Wisconsin Associa- 
 tion. 
 
 Dr. Smith and Miss Julia Sawin were mar- 
 ried May 16, 1861. Mrs. Smith is the young- 
 est daughter of Rev. John Sawin, a clergy- 
 man of the Baptist Church, and 1 one of the ear- 
 liest settlers of Wisconsin. To Dr. Smith and 
 his wife have been born two children, Flora 
 D. and Charles M., Jr. Flora D. married 
 George O. Gordon, of Lodi, Wis., and is the 
 mother of one child, Doris. Charles M., Jr., 
 is mentioned elsewhere in this volume. Dr. 
 Smith, Sr., and his wife are members of the 
 Episcopal Church. He is a Mason, and holds 
 membership in Union Lodge, No. 32, A. F. & 
 A. M. ; Evansville Chapter, No. 35, R. A. M. ; 
 and Janesville Commandery, No. 2, K. T. He 
 also belongs to Leota Lodge, I. O. O. F., and 
 Evansville Post, No. 46, G. A. k., of which 
 latter he has been surgeon ever since its or- 
 ganization. He lives at the corner of Church 
 and Madison streets, and his office is at No. 
 204 Main street. Politically he is a Republi- 
 can, was president of the village board in 1876, 
 and was clerk of the high school fourteen years 
 from its organization. 
 
 HON. JOHN MEEK WHITEHEAD, 
 senior member of the law firm of Whitehead & 
 Matheson, Janesville, Rock county, stands by 
 general confession among the very first lawyers 
 of the State. He has a good knowledge of legal 
 principles, and is able to apply that knowledge 
 to cases under discussion in a manner both ac- 
 curate and convincing. 
 
 Mr. Whitehead was born on a farm near 
 Hillsboro, 111 ., July 29, 1852, a son of Jacob 
 and Elizabeth Ann (Paisley) Whitehead, na- 
 tives of New Jersey and Montgomery county, 
 111 ., respectively. They were the parents of six 
 sons and four daughters, and six of their chil- 
 dren are now living: Hon. John M. ; Rev. 
 
 Jacob P. ; Elizabeth, matron of the State Hos- 
 pital at Mendota, Wis.; Joel B. ; Mary, wife 
 of Arthur W. Cole, of Hyde Park, 111 . ; and 
 Miss Mathe Whitehead, of Hillsboro, 111 . The 
 father was a blacksmith and farmer. He was 
 of English descent, and exhibited many of 
 the best traits of his ancestry. He was born 
 in 1815, and left New Jersey when nine years 
 old, living at Hamilton, Dayton, Piqua, and 
 other points in Ohio until the month of De- 
 cember, 1837, when he came West, and lo- 
 cated at Alton, 111 ., where he lived one year. 
 Then he moved to Montgomery county, and 
 lived in and about Hillsboro, 111 ., up to the 
 time of his death, April 24, 1900. His wife 
 survives. Jacob Whitehead was a member of 
 the Presbyterian Church. He was a colonel in 
 the State militia about the time of the Mexican 
 war. At one time he w T as a Democrat, but 
 voted for Lincoln in i860, and was a Repub- 
 lican ever after. 
 
 Daniel Whitehead, paternal grandfather of 
 our subject, was a native of England, was 
 a shoemaker, and came to the United States 
 about 1812. He settled in Ohio with his 
 family, and died there in middle life. He had 
 two sons and one daughter. Joseph Paisley, 
 the father of Elizabeth Ann Paisley, was born 
 at Greensboro, N. C., and moved to Illinois 
 about 1820, locating in Montgomery county, 
 where he engaged in farming. He spent the 
 last years of his life there, and died in 1858, 
 when about sixty years old. Lie was a promi- 
 nent farmer, and had a familiar acquaintance 
 with many of the leading men of the times. 
 He left a widow, and five of his children also 
 survived him. 
 
 Hon. John M. Whitehead was reared at 
 Hillsboro, 111 ., and received a solid and sub- 
 
2 S 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 stantial education. He attended a local select 
 school and an academy, in 1872 spent a year at 
 Wabash College, and attended Williston Semi- 
 nar)-. at Easthampton, Mass., completing his 
 preparation for Yale, from which institution 
 he was graduated in 1877. While at Yale he 
 made the exceptional and creditable record of 
 not missing- a recitation or a chapel meeting- for 
 five years. After leaving- school he taught a 
 year at Ravenswood, 111., and then became a 
 student at Chicago, in the law office of Learning 
 & Thompson, prominent lawyers, under their 
 direction mastering the elementary principles 
 of the law in a manner both thorough and bril- 
 liant, being admitted to the Bar in 1880. He 
 spent five years with them as a clerk and gener- 
 al assistant, and in August, 1883, came to 
 Janesville to open an office and engage in the 
 practice of his profession. He won friends, and 
 has acquired a good patronage, being now re- 
 garded as one of the most capable and suc- 
 cessful attorneys of the city. He remains in 
 the same building where he began, and old 
 friends know where to find him, always ready 
 for their business and for them. 
 
 Mr. Whitehead and Miss Lavina Fletcher 
 Barrows, daughter of James L. and Hannah 
 (Cottle) Barrows, were united in marriage 
 July 12, 1881. To this union were born two 
 children, Philip Barrows, on January 29, 1884, 
 and a daughter, on May 11, 1887. Mrs. White- 
 head died March 15, 1888, leaving behind her 
 lasting memories of a sweet and noble woman- 
 hood. She was a member of the First Con- 
 gregational Church of Janesville, as is also 
 Mr. Whitehead. He is president of the board 
 of trustees of the society, and has been clerk of 
 the church sixteen years. Politically he is a 
 Republican, and has been honored with many 
 evidences of trust and respect. He is now 
 State senator and was a member of the county 
 board of supervisors for one year. Mr. White- 
 head has been associated with Alexander E. 
 Matheson as a law partner, and they are en- 
 gaged in a general law practice. 
 
 PETER ALLER (deceased), at one time 
 superintendent of the Rock County Insane 
 Asylum and Poor Farm, and one of the most 
 widelv known and influential citizens of Janes- 
 ville, Rock county, was largely instrumental 
 in the development and improvement of the 
 material resources of that locality. 
 
 Mr. Aller was born in Hunterdon county, 
 
 N. J., March 18, 1817, a son of William and 
 Mary (Dalrympl.e) Aller, also natives of New 
 Jersey. William Aller was a son of Peter 
 Aller, also a native of New Jersey, of German 
 descent, who was a lieutenant in the war of the 
 Revolution, and migrated to Pennsylvania, 
 where he died at the age of eighty-six. He 
 was married twice, and had seventeen children. 
 The maternal grandfather of our subject, Jesse 
 Dalrymple, was also in the Revolutionary war, 
 and a native of New Jersey. The founder of 
 this family in America was born in Wales and 
 immigrated to this country. He had eight 
 children, and died at the age of eighty-five or 
 eighty-six. 
 
 William Aller, who was a carpenter, moved 
 to Pennsylvania, and settled in Bedford county, 
 where he resided a number of years. In 1840 
 he came to the Territory of Wisconsin, and 
 settled in Union township, Rock county, where 
 he took up eighty acres of government land and 
 greatly improved same. He died at the age of 
 eighty-six. Mrs. William Aller died several 
 years before her husband, aged- eighty. Both 
 of these good people were Baptists in religious 
 faith, and were highly esteemed for their many 
 admirable qualities. To them were born five 
 sons and three daughters, of whom but one is 
 now living, William, of Utah. 
 
 Peter Aller was only one year old when his 
 parents removed to Bedford county, Penn., 
 and he grew to manhood on the farm there, at- 
 tending the district school, and learning the 
 trade of stone and brick mason, which he fol- 
 lowed many years. In 1840 he came to Rock 
 county, Wis., and took up 160 acres of gov- 
 ernment land, in Union township, which he im- 
 proved. There he lived until 1870, when he 
 removed to Evansville, and was in the drug 
 business for a few years. For nearly fourteen 
 years Mr. Aller was superintendent of the 
 Rock County Insane Asylum and Poor Farm, 
 which was first located in Johnstown township, 
 but in 1894, the buildings being old, the county 
 erected new ones in Janesville township, about 
 three miles north of the city of Janesville, 
 where the poor farm of 383 acres is also sit- 
 uated. The county buildings are very substan- 
 tial and well built, and the asylum is a quarter 
 of a mile in circumference. It now has about 
 145 inmates, with a capacity of 160; while the 
 poor house inmates range in number from fifty 
 to sixty. 
 
 On March 28, 1841, Peter Aller was mar- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 29 
 
 ried to Miss Eleanor Temple, daughter of Ebe- 
 nezer and Hannah (Stabard) Temple, and 
 of the five children born to them, two sons and 
 three daughters, only one survives, Hannah, 
 wife of William Roberts, who lives in Mitchell 
 county, Iowa; they have five children, two 
 sons and three daughters, Claude (a lawyer in 
 Holdrege, Neb.), Claire (a farmer), Nellie, 
 Essie and Maude. The deceased were named 
 Ebenezer, Jennie M., Hale and Olive. On Oct. 
 20, i860, Mrs. Aller died, mourned by all who 
 knew her. On Dec. 2, 1863, Mr. Aller was mar- 
 ried to Maria Smith, who was born in Mont- 
 pelier, Vt., daughter of Stephen and Sarah 
 (Bean) Smith, and one child was born of this 
 marriage, a son, Arthur P., who married Miss 
 Ella C. Barker; he is steward at the Northern 
 Hospital, near Oshkosh, Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Aller was a consistent member of the 
 Congregational Church, to which his widow 
 also belongs, and enjoyed the highest esteem 
 of all who knew him. Politically, Mr. Aller 
 was a Republican, served as chairman of the 
 town board of supervisors for twenty years, 
 and was a member of the county board for the 
 same length of time ; was also township asses- 
 sor three years, and justice of the peace about 
 eight or ten years ; and in all these various of- 
 fices, gave unbounded satisfaction on account of 
 his integrity and strictness in the faithful, dis- 
 charge of his duties. At the time of his death 
 Mr. Aller was cpiietly enjoying the fruits of 
 his long years of earnest effort, surrounded by 
 the comforts of life, and esteemed by a wide 
 circle of friends. He passed away March 14, 
 1901, at the home of his son, in Winnebago, 
 Wis., and was buried in Evansville. 
 
 CHARLES M. SMITH, Jr., M. D., of 
 Evansville, Rock county. The country physician 
 with a large practice and an extended “ride” 
 has selected a most laborious vocation, and 
 subjects himself to a constant strain. His pa- 
 tients are remote, and much depends on the 
 fidelity and good sense of those attending 
 them. He is far more helpless than his city 
 convener. But the profession in the country 
 has its vast advantages, and the young man 
 is wise who prefers the peace and quiet of the 
 country, with its simpler diseases and more 
 certain and rapid recovery, to the glare and ex- 
 citement of the city. Such a man is the phy- 
 sician whose name introduces this article. He 
 wants to be close to his community, wants to 
 
 know the people as only a country doctor can 
 know his patients. He is beginning well, and 
 a bright future is augured for him by his 
 friends. 
 
 Dr. Smith was born in Evansville, Rock 
 Co., Wis., March 23, 1866, son of Dr. Charles 
 M. and Julia (Sawin) Smith, a family history 
 of whom appears elsewhere. The young man 
 had his education well advanced while at home 
 under the parental care, attending the local 
 school and academy. He obtained his medical 
 education at Rush Medical College. Chicago, 
 from which institution he was graduated in 
 1890. He had an office at Milton Junction 
 for a year following, and then returned to 
 Evansville, where he has been engaged in a gen- 
 eral medical practice to the present time. He 
 has won many friends, and has a large and 
 growing patronage. On June 30, 1895, Dr. 
 Smith married Miss Ida Monshau, daughter of 
 Henry and Mary Monshau. They have one son, 
 Dudley W. E. Mrs. Smith is a member of the 
 Episcopal Church, and the Doctor is a member 
 of several fraternal orders, holding member- 
 ship in Union Lodge, No. 32, A. F. & A. M. ; 
 Evansville Chapter, No. 35, R. A. M., of which 
 he has been high priest three years; Janesville 
 Commandery, No. 2, K. T. ; and the Knights 
 of Pythias, of which he has been chancellor 
 commander three years; he is highly prized 
 in these various associations. Professionally 
 he belongs to the Wisconsin State Medical So- 
 ciety, and to the Wisconsin Central Medical 
 Society, is examiner for the New York Life, 
 Connecticut Mutual and Pennsylvania Mutual 
 Insurance Cos., and the Knights of the Mac- 
 cabees. He has a handsome home at the cor- 
 ner of Madison and Church streets. Dr. Smith 
 has practically spent his entire life in Evans- 
 ville, and is a most popular young man in that 
 thriving city. He is a Republican politically. 
 
 JAMES GRAY (deceased), late a resi- 
 dent of Beloit, Rock county, was born March 
 20, 1824, in Ireland, of Scotch-Irish parents, 
 and came with them to this country when he 
 was a lad of five years. The father, also named 
 Tames Gray, was a farmer, and died near 
 Galena, 111 ., at the age of fifty-five. His father, 
 also named James Gray, was a well-to-do man, 
 and died in Ireland. The mother of our sub- 
 ject, who bore the maiden name of Mary John- 
 son, died in Kansas, at the home of a daughter, 
 when eightv-two years old. Our subject was 
 
30 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 one of a family of eight. The family located 
 in Baltimore, and our subject remained under 
 the parental roof until he reached the age of 
 twenty-eight years, when he came West, and 
 spent some time at Galena, 111 . But the coun- 
 try did not entirely satisfy him, and he retraced 
 his steps to Maryland. He was married in 
 Baltimore in 1851, and the young couple 
 sought a home and business in the West. 
 They spent three and a half years at Galena, 
 and about eleven years at Warren, 111 ., where 
 Mr. Gray was engaged in the plow-making in- 
 dustry. In 1866 he moved to Beloit, and 
 thereafter that city was his home as long as 
 he lived. Here he formed a partnership with 
 J. R. Booth, and bought the sash and blind 
 factory of Burpee & Hammond, conducting it 
 for five years under the firm name of Gray & 
 Booth. Mr. Booth then disposed of his inter- 
 est in the factory to Mr. Gray, who held and 
 managed the business alone for many years. 
 
 Mr. Gray was married Oct. 8, 1851, to 
 Miss Catharine Rust, a daughter of Paul and 
 Patience (Stinchcomb) Rust, and to this un- 
 ion came seven children, James Pierce, Alda, 
 George S., Nellie. Tina Pauline, Frank Elmer 
 and Labertice. James Pierce married Miss 
 Anna Clark, now deceased, and he died in 
 1894; they were the parents of five children, 
 Frank, Mabel, Paul, Robert, and one child de- 
 ceased. Alda married W. A. Root, and lives 
 in Elgin. They have one child, Kate Pauline. 
 George S. is a traveling man ; he is unmar- 
 ried, and makes his home with his mother. 
 Nellie died when two and a half years old. 
 Tina Pauline married Ernest Fl.uekiger, a 
 groceryman of Beloit; they have three children, 
 Alda, Ruth and Ernest Rust. Frank Elmer 
 married Miss Anna Wells; they live in Chari- 
 ton, Iowa, and are the parents of three chil- 
 dren, Catherine, Helen and Rosie. Labertice 
 is single, and is in business at Atlanta, Ga. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Gray were always believers in 
 the Christian faith, but never united with anv 
 church. They attended the Second Congrega- 
 tional Church in Beloit. He was a Democrat, 
 and was alderman from the Third ward three 
 years. Mr. Gray united with the Odd Fel- 
 lows while still living in Baltimore, and beauti- 
 fully exemplified the tenets of that order in his 
 own life. He was a man of marked domestic 
 tastes, and greatly loved his home. He sel- 
 dom spent the evenings abroad, but enjoved 
 his friends at his home, owning a beautiful 
 
 residence at No. 756 Bluff street. He remod- 
 eled the house thoroughly, and it is still the 
 home of his widow. 
 
 Mrs. Gray’s parents were natives of Mary- 
 land. They had five children, three of whom 
 are now living. Achsah is the wife of Austin 
 Hemphill, of Burlington, Iowa; Catharine is 
 the widow of James Gray, of Beloit; and Ma- 
 halah is the widow of John Greenwood, of 
 Kalamazoo, Mich. Mrs. Gray’s father, Paul 
 Rust, was a blacksmith by trade, though he 
 was more largely interested in real estate than 
 in anything else. He served in the war of 
 1 8x2, and died in Baltimore when he was eigh- 
 ty-nine years old. Flis wife died in 1850, when 
 sixty years old. They were both Methodists. 
 His father, Charles Rust, was a native of Penn- 
 sylvania; his father was a German, and his 
 mother English. Charles Rust served in the 
 American Revolution, and died when some- 
 what past middle life. Thomas Stinchcomb, 
 the father of Mrs. Paul Rust, was a native of 
 Maryland, of Welsh descent, and also a sol- 
 dier of the Revolution. He was the father of 
 eleven children, and died in middle life. 
 
 BARNABAS BALLOU ELDREDGE, 
 senior member of the firm of Eldredge 
 & Fisher, and one of the foremost members 
 of the Rock County Bar, was born at Sharon 
 Springs, Schoharie Co., N. Y., Feb. 2, 1824. 
 
 David Eldredge, his father, married Sally 
 Swift, some mention of whose ancestry may 
 be found in a succeeding paragraph. The fa- 
 ther of David Eldredge, and grandfather of 
 the subject of this narrative, also bore the 
 baptismal name of Barnabas. He was of Welsh 
 stock, his father having emigrated from Wales 
 to' America and settled on Cape Cod, Mass., 
 in 1736; he married Adna Hammond, a de- 
 scendant of the Penn family, through Elisa- 
 beth Hammond, a sister of Sir William Penn, 
 the father of William Penn, of American dis- 
 tinction. Barnabas Eldredge was born at New 
 Bedford, Mass., and married Docia, one of a 
 large family of children born to Josiah Wads- 
 worth, of Hartford, Conn., who finally with 
 his family located at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Mr. 
 Wadsworth was one of the pioneers of Dutchess 
 county, N. Y., and one of the earliest merchants 
 and traders of that section. 
 
 David Eldredge began life as a farmer, and 
 was the founder of Sharon Springs, which is 
 today one of New York’s most beautiful and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3i 
 
 most fashionable watering* places. In 1836 
 he disposed of the same to Stephen Crocker, 
 of New York City, and thereupon retired to 
 his farm, where he died Oct. 8, 1865, after an 
 illness of six days, in his sixty-ninth year. He 
 was a man of excellent business sagacity, and of 
 an industry not easily wearied ; a good citizen, 
 and a man thoroughly respected in every rela- 
 tion of life. His wife, Sally (Swift), was a 
 daughter of Thomas, who was of English de- 
 scent, and was a native of Rhode Island. He 
 removed from that State to Otsego county, N. 
 Y., where for many years he owned and occu- 
 pied a farm, and was proprietor of an inn 
 situated near Sharon Springs — a popular hos- 
 telry in its day. In 1837 or ’38 he migrated 
 from New York to Illinois, settling between 
 Plano and Aurora. There he purchased a 
 farm, to which he soon afterward brought 
 his family, and on which he died, at an ad- 
 vanced age. He was regarded as a man of 
 more than ordinary native ability, and of un- 
 usually good business sense. 
 
 David Eldredge and his wife were the par- 
 ents of five children, four daughters and one 
 son. Those yet living are Julia, Barnabas B., 
 and Louisa. Julia is Mrs. William Becker, of 
 Easton, Penn. ; and Louisa is the widow of 
 Evan Worthing. The two' daughters deceased 
 were named Irene and Nancy; the elder mar- 
 ried William Dale, of Phillipsburg, N. J., who 
 was superintendent of construction on the Bel- 
 videre & Delaware railroad, and other import- 
 ant engineering enterprises; Nancy became the 
 wife of Philip Henry Platner, and both died 
 near Cherry Vallejo N. Y. Mrs. Eldredge 
 passed away six days before her husband, at the 
 age of sixty-seven. Both were Universalists in 
 faith. 
 
 Barnabas B. Eldredge received his early ed- 
 ucation in the common schools of Schoharie 
 county, and at the Clinton Liberal Institute, 
 at Clinton, Oneida Co., N. Y. In 1841 he en- 
 tered Hamilton College, and in July, 1845, re ~ 
 ceived the degree of A. B. Immediately after 
 graduation he became a student in the Law De- 
 partment of Harvard University, at Cambridge, 
 Mass., continuing there until December, 1846, 
 the eminent Simon Greenleaf being then at 
 the head of that department. Thereafter he 
 continued his professional studies in the office 
 of Samuel Stevens, of Albany, N. Y., then one 
 of the foremost practitioners in that State. In 
 May, 1848, he was admitted to practice in the 
 
 courts of New York, the judges sitting in 
 banc who passed upon his qualifications being 
 Willard, Cady and Hand. 
 
 Being thus equipped for his chosen work, 
 he married and came West. His objective 
 point was Janesville, but very shortly after 
 reaching that inchoate city he received advice 
 of the serious illness of his father, and at 
 once returned home. In 1850 he returned to' 
 Wisconsin, and opened an office at Janesville 
 on Dec. 2. of that year, in partnership with 
 Isaac Woodle and John J. R. Pease. The co- 
 partnership continued until June, 1851, under 
 the style of Woodle, Eldredge & Pease, when 
 Mr. Woodle withdrew. Eldredge & Pease re- 
 mained together until 1866. On March 20, 
 of that year, Mr. Eldredge revisited Sharon 
 Springs, to attend to some needed repairs upon 
 a farm which he owned. This property he 
 finally sold, and returned to Janesville July 1, 
 1868. He did not resume practice, however, 
 until. 1877, his wife’s health calling for his 
 constant attention. On Jan. 1, 1878, he en- 
 tered 1 into partnership with Ogden H. Fathers, 
 the firm of Eldredge & Fathers continuing in 
 business for five years, when Mr. Fathers with- 
 drew. Mr. Eldredge continued in business 
 alone until 1898, when he associated with him- 
 self Arthur M. Fisher, a gentleman of dis- 
 tinguished native talent. 
 
 Reference has been made to our subject’s 
 marriage, which occurred Feb. 2, 1848. His 
 bride was Louisa M. Hutchins, a daughter of 
 William and Louise (Angel) Hutchins, who 
 were born and married in Connecticut. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Eldredge became the parents of two 
 sons, William M. and Charles C. The elder, 
 whose biography may be found upon another 
 page, is engaged in handling real estate. Charles 
 C. died in infancy. Mrs. Eldredge was a 
 Universalist, but attended the Episcopal Church 
 in Janesville until her death, which occurred 
 -March 28, 1877. On June. 17, 1878, Mr. 
 Eldredge married a second time, leading to 
 the altar Miss Mary A. Hunter, the daughter 
 of a distinguished Presbyterian clergyman of 
 Quebec, Canada, who died there after reach- 
 ing the extraordinary age of ninety-two years. 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Eldredge are communicants 
 of the Episcopal Church. He is a man of 
 genial, wholesouled temperament, kindly dis- 
 position, and social instincts. He belongs to 
 Janesville Lodge, No. 55, A. F. & A. M. : to 
 Janesville Chapter. No. 5. R. A. M. ; and is 
 
32 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 also a member of Janesville Commandery, No. 
 2, K. T.. in which he at one time held the office 
 of captain-general. In early life he was a 
 Democrat, but supported the Free Soil wing of 
 that party in 1848, and shortly before the out- 
 break of the Rebellion espoused the political 
 tenets of the Republican party. He was the 
 original promoter and organizer of the branch 
 of the Union League established at Janesville 
 in the early days of the Civil war, and for 
 two years was its chief executive officer. 
 
 In the early days of Janesville’s history as 
 a municipality Mr. Eldredge consented to 
 serve as alderman. The position was distaste- 
 ful to him, yet he devoted to its duties his 
 best efforts. He also occupied a seat on the 
 board of supervisors for several years, and 
 was long a director of the Rock County Agri- 
 cultural Society. No wisely-conceived, well- 
 directed public enterprise has ever appealed in 
 vain either to his sympathy or to his purse. 
 He was the promoter and supervised the sink- 
 ing of the first artesian well in Rock county, 
 and was one of the prime movers in the estab- 
 lishment of the city water works, furnishing 
 an abundant supply of water taken from ar- 
 tesian wells. 
 
 EDWARD DWIGHT EATON, D. D., 
 LL. D., the distinguished president of Beloit 
 College, is justly regarded as a leading citizen 
 of Beloit, Rock county. Under his adminis- 
 tration and that of Ins predecessor the name 
 of the college and of the city has become fa- 
 miliar to every part of the United States, and 
 many who are scarcely able to locate the great 
 cities of the land know well the whereabouts 
 of Beloit, Wis. Dr. Eaton is a scholarly and 
 broadly-educated gentleman, with rare admin- 
 istrative gifts, and the College has greatly 
 prospered in his hands. 
 
 President Eaton was born at Lancaster, 
 Wis., January 12, 1851, and is a son of Rev-. 
 Dr. Samuel and Catharine (Demarest) Eaton, 
 his father a native of Massachusetts, his moth- 
 er of New York. They were the parents of 
 four children: Rev. James D., D. D., of Chi- 
 huahua, Mexico; Dr. Edward D., of Beloit; 
 Samuel L., M. D., of Newton Highlands, 
 Mass.; and Charles W., M. D., of Des Moines, 
 Iowa. The father, a clergyman, now preaches 
 in the Congregational Church at Roscoe, 111 . 
 He was chaplain in the Iron Brigade three 
 years during the war of the Rebellion. For 
 
 forty years he was pastor of the Congrega- 
 tional Church at Lancaster, Wis., his pastorate 
 extending from 1846 to 1886. He was a 
 trustee of Beloit College for many years. 
 
 Eben Eaton, the father of Dr. Samuel 
 Eaton, lived at Framingham, Mass., where he 
 was a farmer. He served for over fifty years 
 as a deacon in the Congregational Church in 
 that city. Eben Eaton’s father, Ebenezer 
 Eaton, was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
 war, and helped to carry Gen. Warren off the 
 field of battle at Bunker Hill. The Eaton 
 family has been established in that vicinity 
 for a century and a half. Jonas Eaton, of 
 Reading, Mass., was the founder of this branch 
 of the family in this country, coming hither 
 in the early part of the seventeenth century. 
 Rev. James Demarest, the maternal grandfa- 
 ther of President Eaton, was a clergyman of 
 the Reformed Dutch Church, and lived to be 
 ninety years old. He was the father of three 
 children: Rev. James Demarest, D. D. ; Catha- 
 rine, the' mother of Dr. Eaton; and Sarah, 
 wife of Richard B. Ferris, vice-president of 
 the Bank of New York. 
 
 President Eaton was reared in Lancaster, 
 Wis., and attended Lancaster Institute, where 
 he prepared for Beloit College. He was a stu- 
 dent here, and was graduated in the full classi- 
 cal course in 1872. He studied theology at An- 
 dover and at Yale, graduating; from Yale Di- 
 vinity School in 1875. On August 23, 1875, 
 he was married to Miss Martha E., daughter 
 of Hon. J. Allen Barber, of Lancaster; her 
 mother bore the maiden name of Elizabeth 
 Banfill. Dr. and Mrs. Eaton are the parents 
 of one son and five daughters, Ethelwyn, 
 Allen Barber, Elizabeth, Mildred, Martha, and 
 Alclyth. The two elder daughters are in Be- 
 loit College, and the three younger are in the 
 city schools. The son is a graduate of Beloit 
 College, in the class of 1899, was instructor 
 in sciences in the Academy at Elgin, 111 ., in 
 1899-00, and is now traveling in Egypt and 
 Palestine. During his course in college he 
 held the State championship in tennis. He 
 was also on the college base-ball team. 
 
 After their marriage Dr. and Mrs. Eaton 
 went to Europe, where he spent a year in 
 study, principally in the Universities at Leipzig 
 and Heidelberg. Returning home, he was or- 
 dained and installed pastor oi; the Congrega- 
 tional Church at Newton, Iowa, in 1876. In 
 December, 1879, he was called to the First 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 33 
 
 Congregational Church at Oak Park, 111 ., and 
 in June, 1886, was called to the presidency of 
 Beloit College. He succeeded Dr. Chapin, a 
 most scholarly and accomplished educator, and 
 has been president of the College to the pres- 
 ent time. During these years the resources of 
 the College have been trebled in value, five 
 large buildings have been erected, and the 
 courses of study greatly enlarged. The num- 
 ber of students in the classes has increased 
 nearly four-fold, and the latest enrollment is 
 about 500. The Faculty numbers twenty-three 
 members. President Eaton received the de- 
 gree of LL. D. from the University of Wis- 
 consin in 1887, and that of D. D. from North- 
 western University the same year, and from 
 Yale in 1900. 
 
 In January, 1898, Dr. Eaton went to China 
 as a member of a deputation sent by the Amer- 
 ican Board of Foreign Missions to inspect and 
 report upon its missionary operations in that 
 country, returning in June of the same year. 
 The Doctor will preach the sermon before the 
 American Board at the annual meeting in 
 Hartford, Conn., in October, 1901. 
 
 HOWARD F. BLISS, superintendent and 
 steward of the Wisconsin School for the Blind, 
 who has his home in Janesville, Rock county, 
 is a man of irreproachable personal character 
 and business standing. 
 
 Our subject was born in Carroll county, 
 111 ., Feb. 15, 1844, a son of Lewis and Eliza 
 (Jenkins) Bliss, both native to the soil of Con- 
 necticut. They had three children, two of 
 whom are now living: George J., of Chicago: 
 and Howard F., whose name introduces this 
 article. The father, who was a farmer, moved 
 from Connecticut to Illinois at an early day, 
 and located on eighty acres of government land 
 in Carroll county. He made this his home, 
 added more real estate thereto and farmed 
 until old age compelled him to retire from 
 active work, spending the last five or six years 
 of his life with his son in Janesville. He died 
 in that city in July, 1899, at the venerable age 
 of ninety-three years ; he was a Methodist. 
 His first wife, who died when she was about 
 forty-five years old, was a Presbyterian. He 
 married for his second wife Mrs. Flavilla 
 Snow, who still survives, and is living with her 
 daughter at Oak Park, 111 . The paternal grand- 
 father of Howard F. Bliss was also a native of 
 Connecticut, of French descent, and died in 
 
 his native State. He reared a large family. 
 The father of Eliza Jenkins also died in the 
 East. He had a small family. 
 
 Howard F. Bliss grew to manhood on the 
 Illinois farm, attended the district school, and 
 at the age of twenty began clerking in a drug 
 store. About 1863 he came to Janesville, to 
 take a clerkship in a wholesale harness and sad- 
 dlery house, which he held for some three 
 years. Then he and his father-in-law, Adam 
 ITayner, bought out the business, and conduct- 
 ed it under the firm name of Hayner, Bliss & 
 Co. for a number of years. Then the firm be- 
 came Bassett, Bliss & Echlin, and in 1883 Mix 
 Bliss retired. T he business is still continued 
 by Bassett & Echlin. Very shortly after his. 
 retirement from the harness firm Mr. Bliss as- 
 sociated himself with the Gazette Printing 
 Company, and became its president; at the 
 present time he is treasurer of the concern. 
 He was actively identified with the Gazette 
 office from 1883 to the fall of 1895, in which 
 year he was appointed by the State board of 
 control to the office of Superintendent and 
 Steward of the Wisconsin School for the 
 Blind, the appointment being made under the 
 administration of Gov. Upham. The school 
 now has 109 pupils, with fifteen teachers in the 
 various departments. It has a reputation 
 among the various schools of the kind as ex- 
 tremely high-grade in all its work. 
 
 Mr. Bliss and Miss Carrie Hayner, a daugh- 
 ter of Adam and Alsora (Smith) Hayner, 
 were married Oct. 25, 1865, and they have had 
 four children : George, Harry, Emma and 
 
 Charles. George lives in Chicago, and is act- 
 ting secretary of the Chicago office of the Na- 
 tional Fidelity & Guarantee Co. Harry lives 
 in Janesville, and is the present manager of 
 the Daily ami Weekly Gazette; he married 
 Miss Clara Smith, and has one child, Josephine. 
 Emma died at the age of twenty-one. Charles 
 is now studying in the College of Osteopathy in 
 Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Bliss are members of 
 the Court Street Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 He has been a member of the board of stewards 
 many years, and is at present superintendent of 
 the Sunday-school. Socially he belongs to 
 Janesville Lodge, No. 55, A. F. & A. M., and 
 politically, he is a stanch Republican. 
 
 ALVIN B. CARPENTER, a prominent 
 capitalist and retired business man of Beloit, 
 Rock county, has led a long and active life 
 
34 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 full of lofty motives and noble ambitions, and 
 is now passing the sunset hours of his days on 
 earth amid the scenes of former activities, 
 for he has always been an exceedingly busy 
 man. He has worked diligently in a multitude 
 of enterprises, and, whether they have hit or 
 missed the mark, he was never discouraged, 
 but kept on working with all the dynamic 
 forces of a mighty nature, and at last the day 
 dawned, as soon or late it surely does to all 
 great souls. 
 
 Mr. Carpenter was born in Strafford, Or- 
 ange Co., Vt., July 17, 1812, a son of Willard 
 and Polly (Bacon) Carpenter. His parents 
 were natives of Connecticut, and had twelve 
 children, of whom our subject is- the only one 
 now living. Willard Carpenter, who was a 
 farmer, moved from Connecticut into Vermont 
 very soon after his marriage, and the journey 
 was made so far back in the history of New 
 England that the way was indicated by blazed 
 trees. In Vermont he hewed out a farm, and 
 the family for a long time lived in a log cabin. 
 All the children were born in the same house 
 in Vermont, and all grew to maturity before 
 a death occurred in the family. In later times 
 more prosperous conditions permitted the erec- 
 tion of a frame house. Here Willard Carpen- 
 ter lived and reared his large family, and here 
 he died when eighty-seven years of age. His 
 wife lived to be ninety-one; with her hus- 
 band she was a member of the Congregational 
 Church. Ephraim Carpenter, the father of 
 Willard, is supposed to have been a native of 
 England, settled near Woodstock, Conn., and 
 served in the Revolutionary war. He died in 
 the East. Alvin Bacon, the father of Mrs. 
 Polly Carpenter, was born in Connecticut, of 
 English descent, and lived to old age. He 
 was the father of several, sons and daughters. 
 
 Alvin B. Carpenter was only seven years 
 old when he left home to earn his own living, 
 his father giving him his time, and saving for 
 him all he could earn. Plis first money was 
 a dollar, as a compensation for a week’s work. 
 This he changed into one hundred pennies, 
 with Senator Morrell, and felt richer than he 
 ever has since. Three or four years later his 
 father gave him a hen, and: promised him all 
 he could make out of it. The hen raised thir- 
 teen chickens, from which he made ten dollars. 
 While still a mere child he was taken sick with 
 St. Vitus’ dance, and for three years had to lie 
 in a cradle. When about fifteen he had recov- 
 
 ered so that he was able to shift for himself. 
 Accordingly he went to Troy, N. Y., and en- 
 tered the employment of his brothers John and 
 Willard, as chore boy in their store. He 
 earned a little extra money selling boiled chest- 
 nuts and clothes-pins, and finally accumulated 
 five hundred dollars. He put this in the bank, 
 and after a time bought a horse and wagon, 
 and peddled tinware and notions through 
 Washington, Saratoga and Rensselaer counties, 
 N. Y., and then sold dry goods in the same 
 way from house to house, his brothers furnish- 
 ing him goods to sell for a certain profit. Be- 
 fore he was twenty-three years of age Mr. 
 Carpenter had earned ten thousand dollars as 
 a peddler from house to house. In 1835 he 
 came West, and established a prosperous gener- 
 al store at Evansville, Ind., in partnership with 
 his brothers. He purchased an extensive stock 
 of goods in New York, and shipped it to Evans- 
 ville by water, that being before the day. of 
 railroads. The three brothers about 1838 saw 
 large opportunities in Indiana real estate, and 
 made extensive investments in farm properties 
 throughout the State, which yielded rapid and 
 enormous profits, and all became very wealthy. 
 His brother Willard gave a half million dol- 
 lars in money and land to the city of Evans- 
 ville, personally superintending the building 
 and furnishing ofi the library. 
 
 Alvin B. Carpenter lived in Evansville ten 
 years, and then moved to Galena. There he 
 remained only a year, and then went to Chi- 
 cago, where he started a man in business, which 
 cost him ten thousand dollars in a very little 
 time. In 1846 he came to Beloit, and engaged 
 in business as the proprietor of a general store, 
 which he conducted for some years. He had 
 a branch store at Cambridge, Dane Co., Wis., 
 which he founded and named in honor of Cam- 
 bridge, Mass., and another store at Delavan, 
 and laid off the town of Avon, Wis., in part- 
 nership with a man whose interest he after- 
 ward acquired, having a small store there also. 
 He closed up all these mercantile establish- 
 ments at the time of the gold excitement in 
 California, intending to go West, but his wife 
 prevailed upon him to abandon the idea, and 
 his home has continued to be in Beloit to the 
 present time. He has never wholly lost inter- 
 est in Evansville, and for a period of two years 
 did a wholesale merchandising business there 
 since his settlement in Beloit ; and from time 
 to time he has also taken part in several im- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 35 
 
 portant business enterprises in that city. Mr. 
 Carpenter still looks after his property interests, 
 though he is eighty-eight years of age. He 
 comes of a sturdy stock, and feels that he is 
 good for a long stay yet on earth. 
 
 Mr. Carpenter and Miss Almira L. Dutcher, 
 daughter of Simeon Dutcher, were married 
 July 6, 1839. They became the parents of one 
 son and five daughters, James M., Mary, Hat- 
 tie, Anna B., Adeline and Cornelia. ( 1) James 
 M. first married Hattie Root, of Mohawk, N. 
 Y., who died shortly after, and he then married 
 iMiss Louisa Ingle; they had two sons and 
 three daughters, and three of these are now 
 living, Alvin B., Ingle and Isabel. (2) Mary 
 married Alonzo Green, and is the mother of 
 two daughters, Lulu, wife of Walter Bowen, 
 of St. Paul, Minn., and Florence Elizabeth, 
 wife of J. W. Campbell, of Peoria, 111 . ; the lat- 
 ter has two daughters, Gladys and Marie. (3) 
 Hattie married William M. Searing, of Sara- 
 toga, N. Y., and they had one son, Alvin, who 
 died when seven years old. Mr. Searing died 
 in Philadelphia in 1884, and his son’s death 
 occurred ten months previously. (4) Anna 
 B. is the widow of Jeremiah Lawrence, of Chi- 
 cago; she has two children, Jessie C. and Wil- 
 lard C. (5) Adeline married C. B. Salmon, 
 of Beloit, and is the mother of five children, 
 three of whom are now living, Edward, Cor- 
 nelia and Loretta ; Edward is a miller in Be- 
 loit, and a capable business man. (6) Cornelia 
 married F. D. Caldwell, of Evansville, Inch, 
 and is the mother of one child, Mary S. James 
 M. Carpenter was a partner with his father 
 in the Evansville business, a merchant in Be- 
 loit, and had numerous interests in that city. 
 He died in April, 1899. His son Alvin B. lives 
 in the City of Mexico, and is in charge of val- 
 uable gold mines in that country. His son 
 Ingle is a prominent lawyer in New York 
 City. Both graduated from Beloit College in 
 the same class, in 1893. Both are unmarried. 
 
 Mrs. Almira L. Carpenter was a native of 
 Castleton, N. Y., where she passed her girlhood 
 days, and died in Beloit Feb. 9, 1890, when 
 seventy-five years old. Their Golden Wedding 
 was celebrated the summer before, a thousand 
 invitations being issued. Among the presents 
 received on that occasion were a gold-headed 
 ebony walking cane, presented by fifty ladies, 
 and a fine gold-headed parasol presented by fifty 
 gentlemen. Mrs, Carpenter was a Congrega- 
 tionalist, as is also her husband. In early life 
 
 he was a Democrat, but for forty years he has 
 been a Republican. He lives at No. 416 Col- 
 lege avenue, where he built a fine home about 
 1885. It is said of him that he has put up more 
 houses than any other man in Beloit, and that 
 on every occasion he has paid one hundred 
 cents on the dollar. All his life he has been in- 
 flexibly honest, and met every agreement to 
 the letter. 
 
 HON. PLINY NORCROSS is one of 
 Janesville’s influential citizens. A lawyer bv 
 profession, he served four years as district at- 
 torney of Rock county, from 1871 to 1875, 
 and two terms as city attorney of Janesville, 
 1875 ail A 1876. He sat in the mayor’s chair 
 for two terms, 1877 an d 1878, and has twice 
 represented the Janesville District in the State 
 Legislature, first in 1867, and again in 1885. 
 His intellectual capability and his moral worth 
 have commanded respect and his kindly im- 
 pulses, generous nature, genial disposition and 
 charitable instincts have made him universal- 
 ly popular. 
 
 Mr. Noreross was born in the town of 
 Templeton, Worcester Co., Mass., Nov. 16, 
 1838. His father, Franklin Noreross, married 
 Lydia Powers, who bore him three sons and 
 two daughters, Lanson Powers Noreross, 
 Pliny Noreross, Frederick Franklin Noreross, 
 Ellen Sophia Noreross, and Louisa Azubah 
 Noreross. 
 
 Franklin Noreross was a farmer and lum- 
 berman in his native State, and removed from 
 Massachusetts to Wisconsin in 1852, settling 
 at La Grange, Walworth county. For a time 
 he cultivated a farm there, but being allured 
 by tales of brighter prospects in the West he 
 went to Tama, Iowa. Within a few years he 
 returned to Wisconsin, taking up his residence 
 in Janesville. He died there in 1875, in his 
 sixty-thircl year, his wife surviving him until 
 August, 1892, when she died at Denver, Colo., 
 at the age of seventy-seven. 
 
 Daniel Noreross, the father of Franklin 
 Noreross, and grandfather of Pliny, was de- 
 scended from English ancestors who settled in 
 Massachusetts in early Colonial days. He died 
 after reaching the age of seventy-six years, the 
 father of five children. Lydia Powers, wife 
 of Franklin, and mother of Pliny Noreross, 
 was one of the twelve children of Oliver Pow- 
 ers, a Massachusetts farmer who traced his 
 lineage back to the early Puritan settlers of 
 
3 ^ 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He died on the 
 ancestral farm at the age of seventy-seven. 
 
 Pliny Norcross came to Walworth county, 
 Wis., with his .parents, in the fall of 1852. He 
 attended Milton Academy for two years, and 
 was for a short time at the State University. 
 On April 16, 1861, while a Freshman, he en- 
 listed in Company K, 1st Wisconsin Infantry, 
 under Capt. Lucius Fairchild, being- the first 
 student to enlist in the war for the Union. At 
 the expiration of this term of service he again 
 enlisted, in Company K, 13th Wisconsin In- 
 fantry, and was captain of that company during 
 three years. His brothers Lanson and Fred 
 were members of the same company. Fred 
 died during his term of service at Nashville, 
 Term., May 16, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Norcross was married Jan. 4, 1865, to 
 Phoebe A. Poole, only daughter of John H. 
 and Elizabeth (Winne) Poole. The children 
 of this marriage were Frederick F., John Van- 
 derpoole, Elizabeth Leavitt and Edward Pow- 
 ers. Frederick married Alice Wrenn. John 
 married Marian Ruger. Elizabeth married 
 George A. Mason. Both sons and the son-in-law 
 practice law in the city of Chicago. The third 
 son, Edward, is studying medicine at the Med- 
 ical School of the Northwestern University of 
 Chicago. 
 
 In the spring of 1865 Mr. and Mrs. Pliny 
 Norcross settled in the city of Janesville, Wis. 
 Mr. Norcross was a partner of the late Judge 
 John R. Bennett from 1866 until 1873, then a 
 year with Hon. A. A. Jackson, and from 1876 
 to 1883 was in partnership with Hon. B. F. 
 Dunwiddie, present judge of the Twelfth cir- 
 cuit. Upon the dissolution of the firm of Nor- 
 cross and Dunwiddie Mr. Norcross gave up the 
 practice of law and went to Brooklyn, N. Y., 
 and in company with two Englishmen, Messrs. 
 Ivery and Bulver, organized the International 
 Tile Co., of which he was president. After 
 the factory was erected he sold out his interest 
 and returned to Janesville, and in the fall of 
 1883 he erected the Norcross block, on River 
 street, and in the summer of 1884 moved the 
 Farmer's Mill from its location on Milwaukee 
 street to its present site, on Rock river, at the 
 foot of Dodge street, and leased it to the firm 
 of Doty & McKey ; later he bought out McKey 
 and remained as a partner in the milling busi- 
 ness with E. P. Doty until 1900, when he sold 
 his interest in the milling business to Mr. 
 Doty. In the same year, 1884, he erected the 
 
 Phoebus block, on Milwaukee street. In 1885, 
 he built .the first permanent electric light plant 
 in the city of Janesville, Wis., on a part of the 
 site formerly occupied by the Farmer’s Mill, 
 using the same water-wheels and flume for 
 generating electric current that had been used 
 for turning the Buhr mill stone. 
 
 In 1892 Mr. Norcross purchased the Fulton 
 milling property on the Catfish river, rore down 
 the old mill, and put in its place an electric 
 light plant, from which he furnished current 
 for Edgerton and for the Janesville street 
 lamps. The Janesville circuit was about thirty- 
 three miles in length, and was a part of the 
 first long-distance plant in Wisconsin. In 
 1891 and 1893 he purchased both of the old 
 and abandoned flouring mills at Indian Ford, 
 and a few years thereafter united the power 
 of both mills into an electric light plant and 
 grist mill on the site of the McChesney Mill, 
 on the west side of the river. In 1899 he sold 
 the Janesville Electric Plant, Library and Mill, 
 together with the Fulton Electric Plant, to the 
 Janesville Electric Company, of which he was 
 the first president, and still serves in that in- 
 cumbency. From 1889 to 1897 he was in part- 
 nership with Alexander Richardson, in the 
 manufacture of ladies' fine shoes, in the Nor- 
 cross block. 
 
 LION. ALLEN P. LOVEJOY. The fam- 
 ily of Lovejoy has played no unimportant part 
 in making and molding American history, and 
 the eminent citizen of Janesville above named 
 is not one of its least distinguished members. 
 It is of English Puritan origin, and its mem- 
 bers have been for generations noted for that 
 courage, love of liberty and loyalty to convic- 
 tion which made their pilgrim ancestors bid 
 adieu to their native shores, to found a new 
 country on the rock-bound coast and among 
 the cloud-scraped hills of New England. Elijah 
 P. and Owen Lovejoy, whose names are "fa- 
 miliar as household words” in every home 
 where human slavery is held in detestation and 
 abhorrence, were of the same stock as is Allen 
 P., and were educated in the same schools in 
 the Pine Tree State. 
 
 The earliest American progenitor of that 
 branch of the Lovejoys to which the Janes- 
 ville family belongs was one John Lovejoy, 
 who came from England to the New World 
 about 1630, and was one of the earliest free- 
 holders in the Massachusetts Colony. His de- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 37 
 
 scendant. Hezekiah Lovejoy, removed to New 
 Hampshire, and it was in that State that both 
 the father and grandfather of Allen P. Love- 
 joy were born. The grandfather, John Love- 
 joy, was a farmer, was born in Amherst, N. 
 H., and reached the age of fourscore years. 
 He was the father of nine children, and his 
 family were noted no less for longevity than 
 for industry and integrity, all the sons and 
 daughters attaining a ripe old age. John Love- 
 joy married Martha Odell, daughter of Will- 
 iam Odell; she died in 1850, aged ninety-five 
 3-ears. 
 
 Allen Wing, our subject’s maternal grand- 
 father, born in Sandwich, Mass., migrated 
 to Maine in 1781, and died when eighty-three 
 3'ears of age. His English progenitors emi- 
 grated from the mother country about 1636, 
 and settled near the site of the present city 
 of Lynn, Mass. Mr. Wing was a man of 
 considerable wealth, and a large land holder, 
 owning several farms and two sawmills. He 
 was a man of public spirit, a liberal friend of 
 the church, and built a church which he do- 
 nated to the town. 
 
 Nathan Lovejo) r , father of Allen P., was 
 born in New Hampshire, but removed to 
 Maine while ) r et a young man, and- it was there 
 that he met and married Temperance Wing, 
 daughter of Allen Wing. He was a Restora- 
 tionist in religious faith, and she a Universal- 
 ist, yet their differences in creed did not dis- 
 turb the harmony of their married life. He 
 passed away in 1867, at the age of eighty- 
 one, four }-ears after she had entered into rest, 
 in her seventy-sixth year. He led the life of 
 a farmer. His many virtues caused him to 
 be held in high esteem. His disposition was 
 naturally retiring, almost shrinking, yet at the 
 solicitation of his fellow townsmen he con- 
 sented to fill various local offices, bringing to 
 the discharge of these distasteful duties a quick 
 intelligence, ready perception and unswerving 
 fidelity. Of his ten children — six sons and 
 four daughters — four are } r et living: Nancy 
 W., wife of John Hunt, of Auburn, Maine: 
 Nathan E.. a resident of Columbus’. Ohio; 
 Allen P., of Janesville; and Alden W., whose 
 home is at Roxbuiy, Mass., a suburb of 
 Boston. * 
 
 Allen P. Lovejoy grew up on the paternal 
 farm in Wayne, Maine, where he was born 
 March 20, 1825. His attendance at the district 
 school was supplemented by a brief course in. 
 
 the Weslej-an Seminary at Readfield. Being 
 naturally inclined to stud}-, he proved himself 
 an apt pupil, easily outstripping his school- 
 mates in mathematics, for the mastery of which 
 he manifested a rare intuitive ability^. For 
 eight terms he wielded the birch in country 
 schools, his native ability, sound mental equip- 
 ment and inborn executive ability command- 
 ing respect from parents and pupils alike. He 
 learned the trade of a carpenter, but found 
 little opportunity in his native State for the 
 exercise of his craft. Accordingly, before he 
 had reached the age of twenty-five, he resolved 
 to seek a wider field, in what was then rather 
 indefinitely described as the "far West." In 
 1850 he reached Wisconsin, arriving at Janes- 
 ville on foot, after a long walk from Milwau- 
 kee. He found work at his trade, and it was 
 not long before his mechanical skill, joined to 
 those qualities of thrift and perseverance which 
 have characterized him through life, enabled 
 him to start in business for himself as a con- 
 tractor and builder. In 1859 he undertook a 
 new venture, opening in that year his first 
 lumberyard. The issue of the undertaking 
 proved his business prescience, others being- 
 established in 1863, 1865. 1870 and 1874, and 
 branches operated at Oregon, Brooklyn and 
 other points. In 1868. in company with Dan- 
 iel W. Bradley, Mr. Lovejoy purchased sev- 
 eral thousand acres of pine lands in Michi- 
 gan, in 1871 several thousand more, and later 
 an addition of many thousand acres, for the 
 proper handling of the yields’ of which our 
 subject has been largely interested in three 
 sawmills, while he also owns a number 
 of lumberyards. He is also interested in other 
 commercial enterprises, some of which are of 
 considerable magnitude. Among these is the 
 Janesville Machine Co. (formerly known as 
 the Harris Works), of which he has been 
 president for a quarter of a century. The 
 concern has a working capital - of half a mil- 
 lion dollars, employs 240 men, and conducts, 
 in addition to a foundry and general machine 
 shop, a large, well-equipped plant for the man- 
 ufacture of agricultural implements. Mr. 
 Lovejoy is also a stockholder in the Janesville 
 Cotton Mill Co., and has extensive holdings 
 of real property in that city, as well as in 
 other localities in his adopted State, being- 
 one of the heaviest tax-payers in Rock county. 
 
 Mr. Lovejoy’s intellect is keen and far- 
 sighted, and his business judgment rarely at 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 38 
 
 fault. His habits are methodical and system- 
 atic, and his conclusions are usually reached 
 through a course of logical reasoning for 
 which his native aptitude] for mathematics, 
 perhaps, well qualifies him. Facts and figures 
 appeal to him quickly, while for theoretical 
 inferences he has little regard. Yet, practical 
 man of affairs as he is, his nature ig gentle, 
 genial and generous. Liberal in his benefac- 
 tions, he is charitable also to the frailties of 
 his fellows; and, while he has been wholly 
 the architect of his own fortune, he is entirely 
 devoid of that imperative, self-assertive spirit 
 which too often mars the character of the 
 self-made man. His physique is well propor- 
 tioned, and is indicative of great strength, 
 even at the age of seventy-five years. His 
 frame is tall and muscular, yet possesses that 
 suppleness and alert activity of motion which 
 come to men of his years only after a life of 
 abstemiousness. Lie is a Knight Templar 
 Mason, and a member of the Knights of Pyth- 
 ias. In his old home, in Maine, he was prom- 
 inent and influential in the councils of the Sons 
 of Temperance. His political creed is that of 
 the Republican party, of which he has been an 
 active member since the date of its organiza- 
 tion. Pie has been repeatedly elected to offices 
 of high trust and responsibilty, but in no po- 
 sition of either public or private life has he 
 ever been tried and found wanting. In 1869 
 lie was a member of the lower house of the 
 Legislature, and served as State senator in 
 1887-89. In 1881 he was mayor of Janesville. 
 
 On May 29, 1880, Mr. Lovejoy was mar- 
 ried to Miss Julia A. Stow, a daughter of 
 Henry and Susan (Folliett) Stow. Four chil- 
 dren have blessed their marriage: Allen P., 
 
 Henry S., Julia S., and Webster Ellis, of whom 
 the last named died in infancy. Mrs. Love- 
 joy is a member of the Baptist Church. 
 
 C. A. LIBBY, editor and proprietor of 
 the Enterprise and the Tribune, at Evansville, 
 Rock county, is a native of New Hampshire, 
 born at Great Falls Nov. 6, 1846. He lived 
 in his native State until he was nine years of 
 age, and came W est with his parents to Evans- 
 ville, Wis., in 1855. His primary education, 
 received in the common schools, was supple- 
 mented by a course in Evansville Seminary. 
 When the Civil war broke out it stirred the 
 patriotic feeling slumbering in his breast, and 
 being then too young to enlist he waited until 
 
 1864, when he became a member of Com- 
 pany D, 40th Wis. V. I. He remained in the 
 service until honorably discharged by reason 
 of the expiration of his term of enlistment. 
 During, that time he had a sunstroke, and 
 contracted a chronic disease which has perma- 
 nently affected his health. 
 
 On Nov. 6, 1869, Mr. Libby was united 
 in marriage with Miss Lucila Crandall, who 
 was born July 13, 1850. During the spring 
 following their marriage the young couple 
 moved to Kansas, where they lived for three 
 years. At the expiration of that time Mr. 
 Libby came back to Evansville, bringing his 
 family with him, and here he has since con- 
 tinued to reside, with the exception of one 
 year — 1895-96 — spent in Chicago, in the gro- 
 cery and meat business. Since 1881 he has 
 been editor and manager of the local papers, 
 the Enterprise and the Tribune, and has 
 achieved a success in that line of work. So- 
 cially he is a charter member of T. L. Sut- 
 phen Post, No. 41, G. A. R., of Evansville, 
 and he is a respected and worthy citizen. Five 
 children have come to Mr. and Mrs. Libby, 
 four sons and one daughter, as follows: Fred 
 Nelson was born Dec. 30, 1871, in Lacygne, 
 Ivans. ; Mary Alice and Almond Melvin 
 (twins) were born Jan. 19, 1874; Bur Ansel 
 was born Aug. 18, 1881. The youngest child, 
 Roy, who was born Oct. 3, 1884, died Aug, 
 3, 1886. Almond Melvin, who is engaged 
 with Montgomery, Ward & Co., Chicago, mar- 
 ried Miss Henrietta L. Herbster, of that city, 
 and they have two daughters, Irene Caroline 
 Alice, born Sept. 16, 1898; and Hazel Grace 
 Eveline, born July 16, 1900. Fred N. entered 
 the United States Pension Office at Washing- 
 ton, D. C., in 1893, and has since been em- 
 ployed there; on Jan. 1, 1901, he was married 
 in Washington, D. C., to Miss Helen E. Smith, 
 of that city. 
 
 Mrs. Libby is a daughter of Daniel Cran- 
 dall, a pioneer settler of Rock county, who 
 came to the State in 1844, migrating from 
 Chenango county, N. Y., and settling in the 
 town of Union, where his death occurred Aug. 
 31, 1862, when he was aged forty-five. His 
 widow is now living in Montana, with her 
 sons. 
 
 REV. WILLIAM HARVEY (deceased) 
 was a merchant during the major portion of 
 his active career, and for 'some years lived re- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 39 
 
 tired, in the enjoyment of a competence which 
 bespoke character, intelligence, industry and 
 integrity to a very high degree. 
 
 Mr. Harvey was born in Cornwall, Eng- 
 land, in April, 1818, son of Christopher and 
 Jane Harvey, both English born and bred. 
 They died in the old country, leaving a large 
 family, and five of their sons, John, William, 
 James, Richard and Joseph, came to the United 
 States, where they led honest and industrious 
 lives. 
 
 William Harvey received his education in 
 England, and coming to this country in 1848 
 located at Hazel Green, Wis., where he worked 
 in the lead mines some two years. In 1850 
 he established himself as a general merchant 
 at Council Hill, 111 ., and followed mercantile 
 business for more than forty year's. In 1889 
 he sold out, and moved to Hazel Green, Grant 
 county, where he lived retired until his death, 
 in February, 11897. Mr. Harvey had a fine 
 education, and had studied theology, with a 
 view to entering the ministry, in his native 
 land, but gave it up after coming to this coun- 
 try, with the exception of the work of a local 
 minister of the Methodist Church, which he 
 continued to do as long as his health and 
 'Strength permitted, preaching in the school 
 houses and in the country churches of that 
 denomination with fine effect. An eminently 
 Christian man, he lived under an obligation of 
 right and brotherly neighborliness, and his 
 name is remembered as that of an honorable 
 and God-fearing man. 
 
 In 1850 Mr. Harvey married Miss Caro- 
 line Nacollins, daughter of John and Mary 
 Nacollins, who were born in England. The 
 father died in his native land, and the mother, 
 with her six children, came to this country, 
 settling .at Council Hill, where all died with 
 the exception of Caroline, Who is now the 
 widow of Mr. Harvey. Seven children were 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Harvey : ( 1 ) Christo- 
 pher, born in 1S52, went to Colorado while 
 still a young man, and there followed the oc- 
 cupation of a butcher ; he was killed by a snow- 
 slide in 1885. He died unmarried. (2) Jo- 
 seph, born in 1854. married Miss Laura 
 Thomas, daughter of Josiah Thomas, of Hazel 
 Green, and they now reside in Colorado. (3) 
 Tames, born in 1856, married in Colorado a 
 Miss Mills, of Georgetown, of that State, and 
 for a number of years has been keeping books 
 for a large packing company in Colorado. He 
 
 received a good education, and is a man of 
 more than ordinary ability. Two children 
 have been born to him and his wife. (4) 
 William, born in 1863, married Miss Sarah 
 Reed, of Hazel Green, and is a leading busi- 
 ness man of Colorado. They have two chil- 
 dren, Clarence and Earl. (5) Mary J., (6) 
 Elizabeth E. and (7) Jane all died in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Harvey was a Republican, but his 
 strong convictions and deep interest were in 
 church and school. From time to time, how- 
 ever, he held local offices in his district in Jo 
 Daviess county, 111 ., and for years was super- 
 intendent of the Sunday-school. For over 
 forty-eight years: he exercised his gifts of heart 
 and faith as a minister of the Gospel, and, as 
 a man, a citizen and a Christian, his stand- 
 ing was beyond reproach. 
 
 Mrs. Harvey was born in September, 1822, 
 in Cornwall, England, where she was educated. 
 While still a girl she learned the dress-making 
 trade, in which she was engaged at the time 
 of her marriage. A lady of many Christian 
 virtues and high character, as 1 a wife and a 
 mother, as well as a kind neighbor, she is 
 spoken of most highly. 
 
 REV. E. O. GIESEL. pastor of the Ger- 
 man Lutheran Church at Platteville, Grant 
 county, was born in Silesia, Germany, in 1849, 
 a son of Adolph and Nora (Koerner) Giesel. 
 who spent their entire lives in that country; 
 the father died in 1890, the mother some time 
 previously. 
 
 Reared in his native land, Mr. Giesel ob- 
 tained his literary education in his home city, 
 Sagan, and then entered the theological sem- 
 inary at Hesse. For one year he was house 
 teacher at Berlin, Prussia, with the family of 
 a millionaire. In 1873 he left Germany and 
 came to the United States. He was graduated 
 from the seminary at Mendota, 111 ., in 1874, 
 and was ordained a minister of the Lutheran 
 Church Jan. 28, 1S75. That year he began 
 his pastoral work at Glencoe, Wis.. where he 
 erected a church, and preached to the congre- 
 gations at that place. Montana and "Whitehall. 
 He next went to Fairmount, now Welcome, 
 Minn., where he built a parsonage, and from 
 there went to Baraboo, Wis'. He built a church 
 at that place and also at Caledonia, the same 
 year, while the Baraboo congregation under 
 his pastorate was increased from twelve to 
 thirty-eight families. He also had charge of 
 
40 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the churches at Greenfield and Kilbourn City, 
 Wis. For three years Mr. Giesel was pastor 
 of the Lutheran Church at Meredosia, 111 ., and 
 for a year and a half was connected with St. 
 John’s Church, of Galena, 111 ., from which city 
 he came to Platteville, Wis., May 22, 1884, 
 to accept the pastorate of the Evangelical 
 Church of Peace. 
 
 This church was organized in 1856, with' 
 fifteen or twenty families, and services were 
 first held in the school house and private homes 
 of Platteville. The first pastor was Dr. S. 
 Fritschel, now. a professor at Dubuque, Iowa, 
 who came from that city to establish a church 
 here in 1856. Two years later the congrega- 
 tion built 50 feet of the present church. Dr. 
 Fritschel was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Burk, 
 who in turn was succeeded by Rev. C. Starck, 
 who remained here four years. The next pas- 
 tor was Rev. Mr. Meumann, who died later 
 in Germany, and was followed by Rev. Mr. 
 Bartels, and Rev. Mr. Thiele, who later be- 
 came a professor in Milwaukee. The church 
 was divided until the pastorate of the next 
 minister, Rev. Mr. Reichenbecher, who be- 
 came a professor in the Milwaukee Theologi- 
 cal Seminary. Pie was followed by Rev. Mr. 
 Salinger, who in 1878 made an addition to 
 the church building, which is now a fine struc- 
 ture, 80 feet long, and a pipe organ was put 
 in at the same time. Later Rev. C. Starck 
 was again pastor here, and was succeeded by 
 Rev. Mr. Giesel, who has been in charge con- 
 tinuously since May 22, 1884. In 1895 a new 
 steeple was: built, and a bell put in, at a cost 
 of over $2,000, and the following year the 
 church was thoroughly renovated, being pa- 
 pered and re-seated, while a furnace, altar, pul- 
 pit furnishings and a new baptismal font were 
 put in. The first parsonage built near the 
 St. Paul depot, was later sold, and the present 
 parsonage erected in 1883. A parochial school 
 was established during the pastorate of Rev. 
 Mr. Starck, an old church building being pur- 
 chased and converted into school property. 
 The congregation now numbers over two hun- 
 dred families, there being about six hundred 
 communicants. 
 
 In 1876 Mr. Giesel was married, in Glen- 
 coe, Wis., to Miss Anna Herbert, who died 
 in Baraboo the following -year, leaving one 
 son, Ernest, now pastor at Fall Creek, Wis. 
 Our subject was again married, at Glencoe, 
 in 1 878, his second union being w'ith Miss 
 
 Elizabeth Herbert, by whom he has the fol- 
 lowing children : George, Anna, Clara, Nora, 
 Amanda, Herbert, Adolph, Mary and Frieda. 
 
 Mr. Giesel has served the church at Platte- 
 ville longer than any other pastor, having 
 ministered faithfully to the spiritual needs of 
 the people for seventeen years. He has also 
 given powerful and effective aid tt> all influ- 
 ences which work for the advancement of the 
 community, and he is not only revered and 
 loved by his own congregation, but is esteemed 
 by all others who have seen his devotion to 
 his noble calling. For the past eleven years 
 he has served as: president of the Augsburg 
 Synod. 
 
 EVANS. The Evans ancestors came from 
 Montgomeryshire, Wales, part of the family 
 in 1694, and others in 1722, settling at Uwch- 
 land, Chester Co., Penn., about twenty- miles 
 west of Philadelphia ; the old farm first tilled 
 by Evan Evans, the pioneer, is ’Still owned by 
 some of his descendants. John Evans, the 
 Colonial governor of Pennsylvania, 1704-09, 
 was a relative of Evan Evans, the pioneer. 
 Other members of the family became promi- 
 nent in the business and official affairs of the 
 Colony. John Evans, of the third generation, 
 was one of the judges of the Supreme Court 
 at the close of the Revolutionary war. Dr. 
 George Evans, a brother of the Judge, was 
 surgeon of Col. Bailor’s regiment, in Gen. 
 Anthony Wayne’s division ; he was severely 
 wounded in a bayonet charge, in a fight with 
 the British near Tappan, N. Y. After the 
 war Dr. George and Richard Evans moved 
 to Virginia, and from them are descended 
 many of the Virginia Evanses, some of whom 
 subsequently settled in South Carolina and be- 
 came prominent in that State. John Evans 
 was governor of the State in 1895-96. 
 
 Jesse Bateman Evans, of the fifth genera- 
 tion, the father of the subject of this sketch, 
 was born in Westchester, Penn., March 14, 
 1808. He learned the blacksmith’s and ma- 
 chinist’s trades. In 1829 he married Miss 
 Anna Shingle. In 1834 he established car and 
 machine shops a few miles west of Philadel- 
 phia. on the line of a railroad then building, 
 which afterward became a part of the Penn- 
 sylvania Central ; here he began the manufac- 
 ture of freight cars, and was one of the pio- 
 neer car builders of America, continuing this 
 business until 1S38, when car building was 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 4i 
 
 undertaken by corporations with large capital, 
 which compelled small factories to quit the 
 business. In 1843 Gov. David R. Porter ap- 
 pointed J. B. Evans lieutenant-colonel of the 
 “Brady regiment,” of Pennsylvania militia, 
 and in this capacity he served until April, 1846, 
 when he resigned, and moved with his family 
 to Wisconsin, entered government land, and 
 began the life of a farmer in Lafayette county. 
 He continued thus, with the aid of Ins four 
 boys, Jonathan H., Thomas E., George L, 
 and H. Clay, until March, 1849, when his 
 restless spirit induced him to undertake an 
 overland trip to the gold fields of California, 
 with ox-teams ; this required five months. 
 Some parts of the journey were through 
 trackless country, the only guide being the sun 
 or a pocket compass. Excepting for occasional 
 trips to his Wisconsin home, he spent the re- 
 mainder of his life in the gold fields of Cali- 
 fornia, Nevada and Montana, dying at Hel- 
 ena, Mont., on his birthday, March 14, 1869. 
 Of his sons, Thomas E. and George T. are re- 
 tired farmers, and in their old age passing a 
 life of ease. 
 
 H. Clay Evans, the youngest brother, left 
 the farm in 1858, when fifteen years old, and 
 became a clerk for his brother, J. IT., in the 
 register’s office of Grant county, Wis., remain- 
 ing there two years. He was a clerk in a 
 mercantile house from 1861 to 1864, when he 
 enlisted in the 41st Wis. V. I., and served as 
 quartermaster sergeant. In the fall of the 
 same year he was transferred to the quarter- 
 master’s department at Chattanooga, where 
 he served to the end of the war, being at the 
 base of supplies during Sherman’s Atlanta 
 campaign and the march to the sea. At the 
 close of the war Gen. Meigs retained him in 
 the service until 1869, to act as agent of the 
 department in disposing of the war material 
 which had accumulated at different points 
 along the route of Sherman’s campaign. While 
 his headquarters were at Chattanooga the busi- 
 ness of the department called him to distant 
 points — Andersonville, Atlanta, New Orleans 
 and Brownsville, Texas. At the latter place 
 he resigned in 1869, and returned to Chatta- 
 nooga', where" he 'immediately began an active 
 career in different manufacturing enterprises, 
 largely in iron, car building, etc. An active, 
 energetic man like H? Clay Evans would nat- 
 urally drift into politics. Successively he 
 served as alderman, mayor and president of 
 
 the board of education of his adopted city. 
 In 1888 he was elected to the List Congress 
 from the Third District of Tennessee. Presi- 
 dent Harrison appointed him First Assistant 
 Postmaster-General. In 1894 he was elected 
 governor of Tennessee, by the Republicans, 
 but, through the peculiar methods well known 
 in some parts of the country, he was counted 
 out by the action of an adverse legislature. 
 I11 1897 Mr. Evans was appointed, by Presi- 
 dent McKinley, commissioner of pensions. 
 
 Jonathan IT. Evans, the eldest of the 
 sons, was born near Philadelphia Oct. 29, 1830. 
 In 1841 lie was apprenticed as a printer, and 
 served three years in the office of the Cum- 
 berland Valley Whig, published at Shippens- 
 burg, Penn. By an accident at that place lie 
 was crippled, causing a lameness which has 
 followed him through life. In 1846 he came 
 with his parents to Wisconsin, and remained 
 on his father’s farm until 1851, when lie en- 
 tered the Platteville Academy as a student. 
 I11 the winter of 1851-52 he taught a country 
 school, and became a salesman and bookkeeper 
 in a retail store the following August. In 
 1856 he was elected register of deeds for Grant 
 county, Wis., serving two terms. In 1861 he 
 was made assignee of a bankrupt merchant, 
 this occupying his time for most of that year. 
 In 1862 he was appointed sutler of the 33 d 
 Wis. V. I., and was with the Army of the 
 Tennessee for two years, witnessing the siege 
 and fall of Vicksburg, and other important 
 events of those stirring times. Returning to 
 Wisconsin in 1864, he immediately began a 
 mercantile career which continued until 1884. 
 In 1872 he was appointed, by Gov. Washburn, 
 a member of the State Board of Normal School 
 Regents, which position he held, by successive 
 appointments, for twenty years; from 1878 to 
 1890 he served as president of the board. 
 During his long service as regent lie had much 
 to do with shaping the plans and educational 
 policy of the Normal School system of Wis- 
 consin, than which there is none better in the 
 country. In February, 1S84, Mr. Evans was 
 appointed assignee of a bank, and was required 
 to give a bond for $245,000 for the discharge 
 of the trust. This work occupied his time and 
 attention for nearly five years. In 1890 he 
 opened a real-estate office ; within the past ten 
 years he has surveyed, platted, and subdivided 
 fifteen additions to the city, giving names to 
 over thirty new streets required in these sub- 
 
42 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 divisions. He is one of the owners of the 
 electric light plant, and has been for several 
 years its secretary and general manager. He 
 is a stockholder, director and vice-president of 
 the First National Bank. It has been largely 
 through his progressive spirit that the charm- 
 ing little city of Platteville has become one of 
 the best developed interior towns in the State. 
 
 As a member of the Masonic fraternity 
 Mr. Evans is a zealous worker. He was made 
 a Master Mason and member of Melody Lodge, 
 No. 2, at Platteville, Feb. 22, 1854; received 
 the Royal Arch degrees the following June, 
 in Washington Chapter, No. 2; the degrees 
 of Knighthood, at Madison, in 1872; Council 
 degrees in 1880; and the degrees of the East- 
 ern Star in 1890. The fraternity has honored 
 him with many marks of confidence, he hav- 
 ing served in nearly all the offices of the local 
 branches, and he has often been a delegate to 
 the Grand Lodge, Grand Chapter and Grand 
 Commandery of the State. He represented the 
 Royal Arch Masons- of Wisconsin in the Gen- 
 eral Grand Chapters held at Baltimore, Md., 
 in 1871, and at Nashville, Tenn., in 1874. 
 Pie has for twenty-five years been the accred- 
 ited representative of the Grand Chapters of 
 New Jersey, South Carolina and Kentucky to 
 the Grand Chapter of Wisconsin, and for the 
 past thirty years has been an officer of the 
 Grand Chapter of Wisconsin, honored in 1874- 
 75 with the highest office in the gift of the 
 order, that of Grand High Priest. In 1S95 
 he was elected Grand Patron of the Order of 
 the Eastern Star. In 1898, and again in 1900, 
 he was elected treasurer of the Grand Lodge 
 of the State. 
 
 Mr. Evans was married, Nov. 7, 1855, to 
 Miss Sarah Kilbourne, of Columbus, Ohio, 
 a daughter of Prof. John Kilbourne, president 
 of Worthington College. She is a cousin of 
 the late Byron Kilbourne, one of the pioneer 
 founders of Milwaukee. The Kilbourne fam- 
 ily came from England in 1632, and settled 
 in Connecticut. To Mr. and Mrs. Evans have 
 been born four children: (1) Charles R., an 
 alumnus of Wisconsin University, is now a 
 lawyer at Chattanooga. Upon the breaking out 
 of the Spanish-American war he tendered his 
 services to the government, and was commis- 
 sioned by President McKinley major of the 
 6th L T . S. Volunteers; he served in Porto Rico, 
 where for several months he was judge advo- 
 cate of the general court-martial. When his 
 
 regiment was mustered out he returned to 
 Chattanooga, and resumed the practice of law. 
 In August, 1900, he was chosen one of the 
 electors at large on the Republican ticket, and 
 during the campaign made speeches in nearly 
 every county of the State of Tennessee. He 
 is one of the professors of law in Chatta- 
 nooga University. (2) Harry K., the second 
 son, has been for the past eighteen years cash- 
 ier and financial manager of the Roane Iron 
 Co., at Rockwood, Tenn. (3) Mary, also an 
 alumnus of the University of Wisconsin, the 
 only daughter, is the wife of William S. Ma- 
 son, a banker, of Evanston, 111 . (4) Thomas 
 
 C., the youngest, is with his parents in Platte- 
 ville. 
 
 Mr. Evans’ life has been a very busy one, 
 and, notwithstanding his seventy years, he 
 finds no leisure time to idle away. He told 
 the writer that he could hardly recall a vaca- 
 tion from work, of some kind, since he en- 
 tered the printing office sixty years ago as 
 an apprentice boy. 
 
 HON. LUTHER BASFORD, of Lancas- 
 ter, dates his coming to Grant county from 
 July 1, 1836, and is one of its oldest surviv- 
 ing pioneers. He was born in Chester, Rock- 
 ingham Co., N. H., in November, 1814, and 
 was a mere child 1 when he lost his father, Rich- 
 ard Basford, who was also a native of the 
 Granite State. His mother, whose maiden 
 name was Betsey Gibins, lived to the age of 
 eighty years. The Basford family originally 
 came from the northern part of England, and 
 the Gibins family from Londonderry, Ireland, 
 but the descendants of both have for several 
 generations been born in America. Luther 
 Basford is the youngest of three children born 
 to his parents, and is the only survivor. His 
 brother, Jason, was for many years a promi- 
 nent citizen and real-estate dealer in Kanka- 
 kee. 111 ., and his sister, Caroline, passed all 
 her life in her native New Hampshire. Both 
 died leaving families. 
 
 At the age of sixteen years Luther Bas- 
 ford left his home in the Granite State and 
 went to Albany, N. Y., where he learned the 
 carpenter’s trade, working at same five or six 
 years in Albany and New York City. About 
 this time a company of speculators, compris- 
 ing Albany and New York men, had entered 
 the land in Wisconsin on which the village 
 of Cassville, Grant county, now stands, with 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 43 
 
 the expectation and intention of founding an 
 important city. Mr. Basford was engaged by 
 this company to accompany them and assist 
 in erecting in the contemplated metropolis a 
 first-class hotel structure, to be known as the 
 “Denison House” — and this event happened 
 nearly sixty-five years ago. Owing to unpro- 
 pitiousi circumstances the project of the com- 
 pany failed of success for the time being, and 
 in the fall of the same year Mr. Basford re- 
 turned East, visiting New York, Boston, and 
 his old New Hampshire home. The follow- 
 ing winter he spent in traveling, when he 
 was again solicited by the old company to re- 
 turn to Wisconsin. 
 
 T transportation in those early days was quite 
 a different thing from what it is now, and on 
 first entering the employ of the company, in 
 1836, Mr. Basford came West via the Erie 
 canal from Albany to Buffalo, N. Y., and 
 thence through the lakes to Green Bay, Wis., 
 where twenty-five Indians and half-breeds were 
 employed to escort the party and carry its 
 effects to Fort Winnebago, now Portage. 
 There the Indians were dismissed, and a yoke 
 of oxen hired to convey the luggage to the 
 Wisconsin river, about a mile and a half dis- 
 tant. On the banks of this river the party 
 of six whites encamped in the midst of an 
 assemblage of Indians numbering at least 
 1,500. The means of transportation down the 
 Wisconsin now became a serious question, as 
 they had no boat, but they were equal to the 
 emergency. With a whip-saw, borrowed at 
 the Fort, lumber was cut and a flat-boat built, 
 on which the party floated down the river, 
 and' in safety reached Cassville, July 1, 1836. 
 
 Mr. Basford, with others, when the com- 
 pany decided to cease operations for the time 
 being, started homeward on the same flat-boat 
 that had landed them at Cassville, intending 
 to float down the Mississippi river to St. 
 Louis, Mo., but at Rock Island they found 
 the river so jammed with ice that they were 
 fain to abandon their boat and to proceed by 
 team to the city they had fixed upon as their 
 temporary destination for transfer purposes. 
 At St. Louis they took steamer for Pittsburg, 
 Penn., but when near Lawrenceburg, Inch, 
 well up on the Ohio river, the -steamer was 
 so nearly demolished by a cyclone that she 
 could proceed no further ; happily, after the 
 subsidence of the storm, the steamer “General 
 Pike” came alongside and took the party on 
 
 board, conveyed them as far as Cincinnati, 
 whence our subject journeyed by stage to 
 Pittsburg, Penn., via Wheeling, W. A a., etc. 
 From Pittsburg the party proceeded eastward, 
 and when near Philadelphia struck a railroad, 
 and so continued onward, by rail and steamer, 
 until New York was reached, Jan. 2, 1837. 
 How Mr. Ba-sford was occupied that winter 
 has been alluded to above. 
 
 Soon after his return to Cassville, in the 
 following spring, Mr. Basford purchased sev- 
 eral lots in the new town, and built upon 
 them. For a considerable length of time he 
 followed! his trade of carpentering in Cass- 
 ville, and then embarked in farming. I11 1862 
 he engaged in merchandising at Glen Haven, 
 Grant county, in which he continued until 
 1887, when he sold out, and, accompanied by 
 his wife, he went to San Diego, Cal., where 
 he spent one winter. O11 his return to Wis- 
 consin Mr. Basford settled in Lancaster, and 
 resumed mercantile trade under the firm name 
 of C. H. Basford & Co., and this has con- 
 tinued to occupy his time and attention up 
 to the present hour. 
 
 Mr. Basford was joined in matrimony, at 
 Cassville, in 1839, with Miss Elizabeth Jane 
 Blessing, a native of what is now West V ir- 
 ginia, who in 1837 came to Grant county, 
 Wis., with her father, her mother having died 
 in her native Virginia. Soon after the dis- 
 covery of gold in California Mr. Blessing 
 joined the throng that wended its way toward 
 that Territory, but did not live to return to 
 Wisconsin. To Mr. and Mrs. Basford were 
 born several children, two of whom stdl sur- 
 vive, viz. : Martha J., Mrs. Scott; and Charles 
 H., who is associated with his father in busi- 
 ness under the firm style given above. An- 
 other daughter, Mrs. Adclie E. Brown, of 
 Bloomington, Grant county, died six weeks 
 after her marriage, and Caroline passed away 
 after attaining to womanhood; Alice and 
 Harry died in early childhood. The mother 
 of this family was called to rest in 1890, at 
 the age of sixty-eight years. 
 
 Mr. Basford has ever been one of the rep- 
 resentative 'men of Grant county, has been re- 
 markably successful as a business man, and as 
 a citizen has always been held in the highest 
 esteem. As a Republican he has been most 
 popular in his party, was elected a member 
 of the lower house of the State Legislature 
 in 1S59, served as sergeant-at-arms of the Sen- 
 
44 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ate in 1864, and in 1871 was again elected 
 a member of the House of Representatives. 
 
 Notwithstanding his cares and' close atten- 
 tion to his business affairs, Mr. Basford has 
 found time to travel considerably, and has 
 seen much of the world. He has four times 
 crossed the Rocky Mountains, and there is 
 one episode in his life of travel to which he 
 can refer with pride — and it is probable that 
 no other living man has had the same experi- 
 ence — and that is the fact that, in 1832, he 
 rode from Albany to Schenectady, N. Y., on 
 the first trip on the first passenger railroad 
 built in the United States. The locomotive 
 that drew the train was on exhibition at the 
 Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. 
 
 The people of Grant county owe an ever- 
 lasting debt to Mr. Basford, as it is to the 
 energy, foresight and indomitable persever- 
 ance of such as he that the county has been 
 raised from its primeval condition in pioneer 
 days to its present proud position in the sis- 
 terhood of Wisconsin counties, he having lo- 
 cated here in the year 1837. 
 
 HAMILTON RICHARDSON has passed 
 his eightieth birthday, and is spending life’s 
 closing years in the retirement and rest which 
 his long and useful life has richly earned. In 
 the paternal line he is of Scottish descent, 
 and his grandfather, William Richardson, 
 who was born in Massachusetts, was a sol- 
 dier in the patriot army of 1776, serving as 
 an aide-de-camp on the staff of Gen. Putnam. 
 He removed from Massachusetts to Johns- 
 town, N. Y., where he died “full of years and 
 honors.” He had only two children, one of 
 whom, William, born in New York State, 
 was the father of Hamilton Richardson. He 
 married Mary Pierson, who was also born in 
 the State of New York, and was one of a 
 family of five children born to William Pier- 
 son, who was of English descent. William 
 Richardson was a farmer by occupation. He 
 was an earnest member of the Scotch Pres- 
 byterian Church, as was also his wife. He 
 passed away at LeRoy, N. Y., in 1874, at 
 the age of eighty-seven, and Mrs. Richardson 
 died at the age of eighty-five years. They 
 were the parents of thirteen children, seven 
 of whom are yet living: Mary, unmarried, 
 residing at LeRoy. N. Y. ; Martha, widow of 
 Elisha Conklin, of Moravia, N. Y. ; Hamilton ; 
 Richard J., a resident of Janesville; Cath- 
 
 erine, wife of Jerome Richardson, of Suisun, 
 Cal.; Eliza P., widow of Thomas Bucking- 
 ham, of Vacaville, in that State; and Ellen, 
 who married a Mr. Lent, of LeRoy, N. Y., 
 and is now a widow. 
 
 Hamilton Richardson was born in Gene- 
 see county, N. Y., Oct. 17, 1820. He received 
 the training of a farmer’s boy, and attended 
 the district schools as opportunity afforded. 
 In the spring of 1836 — -before he had reached 
 the age of sixteen years — he came West, his 
 first location being in Genesee county, Mich., 
 where he acquired his first business experience 
 as clerk in a country store and bank. In 
 1842 he removed to Wisconsin, locating first 
 in Milwaukee, whence he went to Racine, and 
 in 1846 to Janesville, which has been his home 
 for more than half a century, his residence 
 being at No. 107 Prospect avenue. Lie has al- 
 ways taken a deep and active interest in public 
 affairs, being clear-sighted and of sound judg- 
 ment, at once progressive and conservative. 
 On coming to Janesville he opened a general 
 store, in which, by ready judgment, good sense 
 and practical experience, he made a success. 
 In 1850' he fell a victim to the California 
 “gold fever,” and from 1851 to 1856 con- 
 ducted a mercantile business in that State. 
 Since his return to Janesville, in the year last 
 named, he has resided there continuously, ex- 
 tensively interested in real-estate and various 
 manufacturing enterprises, though he has not 
 engaged in commercial .pursuits. He has long 
 been a stockholder and director in the First 
 National Bank. Before the attempted seces- 
 sion of the Southern States Mr. Richardson 
 was a Democrat, but in view of the momen- 
 tous issue which then confronted the coun- 
 try he rose above partisanship, being one of 
 three men who raised and equipped the 13th 
 Wis. V. I. for the Union service. Pie has 
 always taken a lively interest in public ques- 
 tions, and has been an active political worker, 
 his affiliations since :S62 being with the Re- 
 publican party. He has served one term as 
 postmaster of Janesville, and has represented 
 his district in the State Senate for three terms; 
 while a member of that body he was the au- 
 thor and one of those who carried into execu- 
 tion the plan for the county care of the insane, 
 and was one of the recognized leaders of his 
 party. 
 
 On Aug. 9, 1858, Mr. Richardson married 
 Caroline A. Pease, a native of Connecticut, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 45 
 
 and daughter of Lorrain and Sarah (Mar- 
 shall) Pease, the former a descendant of John 
 Pease, who came from England to the Amer- 
 ican Colonies in 1630, the latter a lineal de- 
 scendant of Capt. Samuel Marshall, who was 
 killed by the Indians in the battle of Ticonda, 
 near Fort Narragansett, in 1675. Six chil- 
 dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Richard- 
 son : Victor Pease, mayor of Janesville; Sarah 
 M.; Hamilton P., a lawyer of Milwaukee; 
 John P. ; Marshall P., a lawyer in Janesville; 
 and Lorrain T., a captain in the Twentieth 
 Infantry, U. S. A., now doing gallant serv- 
 ice in the Philippine archipelago. 
 
 Our subject is a Republican in politics. 
 He is a member of the Western Star Lodge, 
 No. 14, A. F. & A. M. ; of Janesville Chap- 
 ter, No. 6, R. A. M. ; and of Janesville Com- 
 mandery, K. T. Mrs. Richardson is a mem- 
 ber of the Episcopal Church. 
 
 LEROY GRANT ARMSTRONG, M. D., 
 of Bosoobel, has practiced medicine for forty- 
 two years, and is the oldest practitioner in 
 the northern part of Grant county. He is of 
 Irish descent, and the family name, Armstrong, 
 has been traced to its origin in the tenth cen- 
 tury, when a king of Scotland was thrown 
 from his horse, and assisted to mount by his 
 armor-bearer, Fairbeorn. He took the king 
 by the thigh and set him on his saddle. “The 
 royal master gave him the appellation of Arm- 
 strong, and assigned him a crest, an armed 
 hand and arm, in the left hand a leg and foot in 
 armor, proper,” and this is the coat of arms 
 of the family. 
 
 Our subject is a lineal descendant of Fran- 
 cis Armstrong, who emigrated from the North 
 of Ireland to this country in 1727. He settled 
 in New York, in what is now Orange county, 
 where he leased a tract of land. His son, 
 Robert, the great-grandfather of Dr . Arm- 
 strong, of Boscobel, was the father of Moses 
 Armstrong, who became the father of Robert 
 Armstrong. The latter was born at Genoa, 
 Cayuga Co., N. Y., in 1804. His brother, 
 Amza, who was head stone cutter and mason, 
 supervised the building of the locks on the 
 Erie canal at Lockport, and while working 
 there Robert learned the trade of stone mason. 
 In 1839 he was married to Miss Huldah Grant. 
 He was living on rented land, and with diffi- 
 culty could make head against adverse cir- 
 cumstances. To better his condition he came 
 
 to Whitewater, Wis., where Delilah, his sis- 
 ter, who had married Giles Kenney, had set- 
 tled in 1840. He worked at his trade, and 
 when the railroad from Milwaukee to Prairie 
 clu Chien was built he had the contracts for 
 the construction of the mason work between 
 Whitewater and Rock River. In 1864 he re- 
 moved to Brodhead, where he died in 1875. 
 His wife died at the home of her son, Leroy 
 G., at the age of eighty-five years. They were 
 Presbyterians, and he was a stanch Democrat. 
 He held the office of city marshal at Brodhead. 
 
 Dr. Armstrong and Miss Sarah D. Bond, 
 daughter of Jonathan and Mary (French) 
 Bond, were married Jan. 22, 1861. She was 
 born in Pennsylvania Oct. 29, 1834, and died 
 at Boscobel Aug. 23, 1894, the mother of four 
 children, two of whom, twins, died in infancy. 
 Charles A. is a physician in Boscobel. and is 
 the partner of his father in medical practice; 
 his sketch appears elsewhere. George C. is 
 an attorney, and at the present time represents 
 Bradstreet’s Commercial Agency at Salt Lake 
 City. Dr. Armstrong contracted a second 
 marriage Jan. 1, 1895, Miss Rosa Baumeister, 
 a daughter of David Baumeister, becoming 
 his wife; she was born in Garnavillo, Clayton 
 Co., Iowa. They have one son, Archie Ames, 
 born May 25, 1897. Mrs. Armstrong is a 
 member of the Lutheran Church. The Doc- 
 tor owns a residence and other property in Bos- 
 cobel. He is a charter member and past mas- 
 ter of Grant Lodge, No. 169, A. F. & A. M. ; 
 past high priest of Boscobel Chapter, No. 52, 
 R. A. M. ; and past eminent commander of 
 De Molai Commandery, No. 15, K. T. He 
 is a member of John McDermott Post, No. 
 101, G. A. R., of which he served as first com- 
 mander. 
 
 Dr. Armstrong spent his early years at 
 Whitewater, and entered the academy at Fort 
 Atkinson in his seventeenth year. He secured 
 a certificate for country school teaching, and 
 in this occupation secured money for a course 
 at the State University, where lie was under 
 the preceptorship of Dr. S. P. Lathrop. In 
 October, 1856, he matriculated at Rush Medi- 
 cal College, Chicago, where he was graduated 
 in 1859, in a class of thirty-one pupils. He 
 received! the first prize in surgery from Prof, 
 Brainard, and second honorable mention be- 
 fore the entire Faculty. During his course at 
 this institution he acted for a time as nurse 
 in Mercy Hospital. He took a course at the 
 
46 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 College of Physicians and Surgeons, in the 
 city of New York, in 1873-74. Dr. Armstrong 
 has been a close student of his profession, and 
 has taken special courses in gynecology and 
 surgery at Bellevue Hospital, the Woman’s 
 Hospital, and the Presbyterian Hospital, in 
 New York. 
 
 Dr. Armstrong began the practice of his 
 profession in 1859, in partnership with Dr. 
 Riddell, at Palmyra, Wis., and continued with 
 him for a year and a half. He practiced at 
 Fennimore, Wis., for two years. In 1862 he 
 was appointed assistant surgeon of the 8th 
 Wis. Y. 1 ., which regiment he accompanied 
 to Corinth, Miss., where he was transferred 
 to the Army of the Potomac, and assigned to 
 the 6th Wis. V. I. He was promoted and 
 commissioned surgeon of the 48th Wis. V. I. 
 in 1865, accompanied this regiment to Kan- 
 sas, and was there made post surgeon in charge 
 of the hospital at Fort Scott, and at a later 
 time was transferred to Fort Larned, Ivans., 
 where he remained until the expiration of his 
 term of service, in February, 1866. Return- 
 ing to Wisconsin, he opened an office in Bos- 
 cobel, where he has since remained in contin- 
 uous practice. Dr. Armstrong belongs to the 
 State Medical Society, of which he was vice- 
 president in 1875, and president in 1888; is a 
 member of the American Medical Association, 
 of the Grant County Medical Society, and of 
 the Southwestern Medical Society. He was 
 United States examining surgeon in the pen- 
 sion service at Boscobel from 1867 to 1883. 
 He is health officer of Boscobel, and was aider- 
 man in 1867, and again in 1899, and was a 
 member of the school board from 1868 to 
 1901, as such helping to organize and estab- 
 lish the high school upon a basis that should 
 secure its admission to the accredited list of 
 high schools at the State University. Dr. 
 Armstrong is a general practitioner, and has 
 performed such capital operations as resection 
 and laparotomy as fall within a general prac- 
 tice. Among his most valued essays and pa- 
 pers at the various; society meetings are sev- 
 eral upon puerperal convulsions and their 
 treatment. 
 
 GUY WHEELER. One of the old and 
 prominent citizens of La Prairie township, 
 Rock county, whose name stands for solidity 
 of character, who has witnessed and contrib- 
 uted materially to the growth of Rock county, 
 
 his 'place of residence for almost threescore 
 years, and who is to-day honored for his most 
 honorable career, is Guy Wheeler, the subject 
 of this sketch. 
 
 Mr. Wheeler was born in Chili, Monroe 
 Co., N. Y., Oct. 24, 1820, son of Justus P. 
 and Lucy (Culver) Wheeler, natives of Mas- 
 sachusetts. Our subject’s grandfather, who 
 also was named Justus Wheeler, was a native 
 of Massachusetts, of Welsh descent, and lived 
 to the age of ninety-nine years. He had six 
 children. The maternal grandfather, Porter 
 Culver, was a carpenter. The father of our 
 subject was well educated, read law, and was 
 admitted to the Bar. Believing that Western 
 lands would be a fortunate investment, he in 
 1840 took a trip to Wisconsin, and purchased 
 640 acres of land in what are now La Prairie 
 and Harmony townships, Rock county. Two 
 years later he brought his family to this prop- 
 erty, upon which he continued to reside until 
 his death, which occurred in October, 1872, 
 when he was aged eighty-nine years. His 
 wife survived him several years, passing away 
 at the age of ninety-two. Both were' members 
 of the M. E. Church. Justus P. Wheeler was 
 a man of prominence, and held various elect- 
 ive offices. He was a soldier in the war of 
 1812. He was the first highway commissioner 
 in the township, and was also chairman of 
 the board of supervisors. To Justus P. and 
 Lucy Wheeler were born ten children, six sons 
 and four daughters, of whom five are now liv- 
 ing: Guy, our subject; Samuel, of Portland, 
 
 Oregon; Charles, of Janesville; Cornelia, 
 widow of Archibald G. Benedict, of Ionia, 
 Mich. ; and Sarah, wife of Isaac Howland, of 
 Crown Point, Indiana. 
 
 Guy Wheeler, our subject, was educated for 
 the most part in New York State. He attended 
 the' common schools, then took a course at 
 Lima Seminary, in that State, and completed 
 his education at Mount Morris ( 111 .) Sem- 
 inary, under Prof. Pinckney. He was nearly 
 twenty-two years of age when he came to Wis- 
 consin with his father, in 1842. He entered 
 160 acres of government land in Section 5, 
 La Prairie township, his present home, where 
 since 1842 he 'has continued to live. He has 
 added eighty acres to his property, and now 
 has a fertile and well-tilled farm of 240 acres, 
 except a right of way through a part of the 
 farm, which he recently sold to the Janesville 
 & Southeastern Railway Co. Mr. Wheeler 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 47 
 
 has also followed stock raising in addition to 
 farming, raising a fine breed of horses, many 
 of which have been shipped to Europe. 
 
 Mr. Wheeler married, Oct. 9, 1844, Miss 
 Ann L. Snell, daughter of Asa F. and Louisa 
 (Eaton) Snell, and to this marriage four chil- 
 dren have been born, Marion W., Cordelia 
 A., William G. and Ralph H. Marion W. 
 married Augustus C. Dow, and now lives in 
 Chicago. Cordelia A. died at the age of thir- 
 teen years. William G. is a prominent lawyer 
 of Janesville ; he married Miss Jessie Jackman. 
 Ralph H., a very successful practicing physi- 
 * cian of Chicago, married Joan McDonald, and 
 has two children, Marie and Ralph. 
 
 In politics Mr. Wheeler is a Republican. 
 He was the first town clerk of La Prairie town- 
 ship, and for two terms has been school' in- 
 spector. In 1864 he was a member of the Wis- 
 consin Legislature. He is popular, a man of 
 great force of character, and one of the repre- 
 sentative citizens of Rock county. 
 
 WILLIAM RALPH, a retired miner and 
 farmer of Cuba City, Grant county, is one of 
 the substantial men of his community, and is 
 now enjoying the well-earned fruit of his early 
 labors. Although born in Cornwall, England, 
 Nov. 9, 1819, Mr. Ralph has been thoroughly 
 identified with the best interests of his adopted 
 country, and is a man of whom Cuba City 
 may well be proud. 
 
 William Ralph grew to manhood in his 
 native land, where he attended the public 
 schools until he was seven years and six months 
 old. He then went to work in the mines, and 
 never had any more schooling, but taught 
 himself to write while crossing the ocean from 
 England to Quebec. On April 7, 1842, he 
 left England, crossing to Quebec, where he 
 remained three weeks. He then went to Essex 
 county, X. Y., working in the iron mines until 
 the fall, and in September came to Mineral 
 Point, Wis., where he found employment in 
 the lead mines. Leaving there in the fall of 
 1844. he went to British Hollow, Grant coun- 
 ty. He spent the winter of 1845-46 in Bee- 
 town, Grant county. In May, 1846, he went 
 down the Mississippi to New Orleans, where 
 he took passage for England, arriving at his 
 old home Aug. 26. A few days afterward he 
 was married, and soon came back to America, 
 bringing his wife and two of his brothers. 
 On his arrival in New York he went to a min- 
 
 ing office, and made arrangements for all three 
 to go to work in the Rocky Hill Copper Mine 
 in New Jersey, where he remained two years. 
 At the expiration of this time a company was 
 formed in Philadelphia for working the cop- 
 per mines of Lake Superior, and Mr. Ralph, 
 on account of his long experience, was one 
 of the men selected for the work. After re- 
 maining- with this company six years he pur- 
 chased an interest in a mine at Sinsinawa 
 Mound, Grant Co., Wis., and worked it for 
 seven years. Having saved considerable 
 money during this time, he invested it in some 
 four hundred acres of farm land near Hazel 
 Green, erected a good house in 1868, and 
 moved his family to it, renting the land out 
 on shares. Meanwhile he continued mining, 
 with success, the ore averaging $30 per one 
 thousand pounds, until 1861, when he took up 
 farming. In 1882 he gave up farming and 
 his children have worked his land since that 
 time. In 1884 Mr. Ralph, with his wife, 
 paid a pleasant journey to England, visiting 
 their relatives, and returning to Wisconsin 
 after a year in their native land, making the 
 home trip via New York. One year later Mr, 
 Ralph purchased real estate in Cuba City, 
 erected a beautiful home in the same year, and 
 has since lived there, retired from active busi- 
 ness life. 
 
 On Sept. 2, 1846, Mr. Ralph was married 
 to Miss Philepie Richards, of England, and 
 nine children were born to them : ( 1 ) Eliza- 
 beth, born at Lake Superior, in August, 1853, 
 was educated in the Platteville Normal, and 
 in 1876 married Edwin Trenery, of Platteville, 
 a native of that city, born in 1851; they set- 
 tled on a farm, and later moved to Iowa, where 
 Mr. Trenery conducts a furniture and under- 
 taking establishment. Mr. and Mrs. Trenery 
 have three daughters, Eva, Edith and Ger- 
 trude, all born in Grant county, Wis., and edu- 
 cated in the schools of Iowa. (2) John H., 
 born in 1856, grew to manhood on the home 
 farm, receiving his education in the common 
 and high schools of his district, and at Galena, 
 111 . He married Miss Hannah Williams, of 
 Grant county, and they reside on the old home- 
 stead in Hazel Green township. Their fam- 
 ily consists of six children, Wilber, Mary, 
 Eunice, Leroy, Homer and Lucile. (3) 
 George C., born in Grant county in 1859, 
 studied in the Galena high school, and now 
 resides on a portion of the old homestead in 
 
48 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Hazel Green township. He married Miss 
 Annie Pascoe, of Grant county, and they have 
 five children, Willie, Velda, Clarence, Lloyd, 
 and an infant, as yet unnamed. The remain- 
 der of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph 
 died in infancy. 
 
 On Sept. 2, 1896, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph 
 celebrated their Golden Wedding, and at that 
 time welcomed to their beautiful parlors many 
 old and honored friends. On Nov. 19, 1S99, 
 the faithful wife and loving mother passed 
 to her eternal rest. 
 
 Politically Mr. Ralph is a stanch Repub- 
 lican; although not an office-seeker, while re- 
 siding in Hazel Green he served most accepta- 
 bly as roadmaster. Mr. Ralph is an active 
 member of the M. E. Church, as was his 
 good wife, and he has always given liberally 
 of his substance toward the support of the 
 Church and its works. He was a trustee of 
 the Providence M. E. Church for a long time 
 before his removal to Cuba City, and also held 
 the same office there for some years, resigning 
 when he found himself unable to attend to the 
 duties of the office with his customary zeal 
 and fidelity. 
 
 EZRA GOODRICH was the only son of 
 Joseph Goodrich, the founder of Milton and 
 Milton College, the first landlord, first mer- 
 chant, first treasurer, and the first postmaster, 
 of Milton. He was born Feb. 24, 1826, at 
 Alfred, Allegany Co., N. Y. He had an only 
 sister, Mrs. Jane (Goodrich) Davis, of Rock- 
 ford, 111 ., born Feb. 6, 1828, at Alfred, New 
 York. 
 
 Joseph Goodrich was the son of Uriah and 
 Mary (Carpenter) Goodrich, and was born 
 May 12, 1800, at Hancock, Massachusetts. 
 
 Uriah Goodrich was the son of Elijah and 
 Margaret (Gillett) Goodrich, was born Aug, 
 24, 1767, at Hancock, Mass., and died Sept. 
 
 2, 1845, at Alfred, New York. 
 
 Elijah Goodrich was the son of Jacob and 
 Benedict (Goodwin) Goodrich, was born July 
 
 3, 1724, at Windsor, Conn., and died Oct. 3, 
 1791, at Hancock, Massachusetts. 
 
 Jacob Goodrich was the son of John and 
 Rebecca (Allen) Goodrich, was born Nov. 27, 
 1694, at Wethersfield, Conn., and died May 
 11, 1746, at Windsor, Connecticut. 
 
 John Goodrich was; the son of William and 
 Sarah (Marvin) Goodrich, was born May 20, 
 
 1653, at Wethersfield, Conn., and died Sept. 
 5, 1730, at Wethersfield, Connecticut. 
 
 \\ illiam Goodrich was one of the “Pil- 
 grims" on the “Mayflower” from England, and 
 was a descendant of the founder of “Goodrich 
 Court” and “Goodrich Castle,” built during the 
 feudal ages, in Herefordshire, four miles south- 
 west of Ross, about one thousand years ago. 
 
 Joseph Goodrich at the age of nineteen 
 years started out in the world for himself, 
 with an ax and a pack of clothes on his back. 
 He went from Hancock, Mass., to the wil- 
 derness in Alfred, Allegany Co., N. Y., on 
 foot and alone. Pie got there with his clothes, 
 his ax, and fifty cents in money left. He went 
 to work with a will to win. In 1821, at twen- 
 ty-one years of age, he took a contract for 
 a tract of wild, heavily timbered land on the 
 Vandermark creek. He cleared off a small 
 patch, and put up a log shanty there. He then 
 returned East, to Petersburg, N. Y., and mar- 
 ried Nancy Maxson Dec. 22, 1821. In the 
 spring of 1822 they came to Alfred and began 
 to keep house in the little log cabin — without 
 a window or a door, and with the ground for 
 a floor. 
 
 In 1823 his father came out, and united 
 with him in erecting the first sawmill on the 
 Vandermark creek, which they got to running 
 the last clay of that year. In this he sawed 
 logs on shares, and obtained lumber to put 
 up a good-sized two-story house, which he 
 had enclosed in 1824. In it he had a large 
 fireplace, with andirons, and a crane to swing 
 over and off of the fire, with hooks to hang 
 pots and kettles on. Adjoining there was a 
 large brick oven, for baking bread and pork 
 and beans. On the hearth in front of the oven 
 was the blue-dye tub for coloring stocking- 
 yarn, on which the children sat to warm their 
 toes: and their shins. Mr. Goodrich did not 
 get the house plastered and painted until 1827. 
 In it he kept travelers, and religious meetings 
 and town meetings were held there. It is still 
 standing, and is a good dwelling yet. He 
 built and kept a small country store and an 
 ashery there, buying ashes and making potash. 
 The ashes were sometimes brought in 'sacks, 
 from the hillsides, by women on horseback, 
 and sold by them for pin-money. 
 
 Mr. Goodrich was a leader in the military 
 trainings, was made a “major,” and was known 
 as “Major” Goodrich throughout his life. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GOODRICH CASTLE, HEREFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 49 
 
 Allegany was a hilly, hard-pan country, 
 and, hearing of the rich, level prairies of the 
 West, Mr. Goodrich got the fever to go there; 
 and he induced his neighbor, H. B. Crandall, 
 and hired a young man, James Pierce, to go 
 with him. He boxed up a load of goods from 
 his little store, and on June 26, 1838, they 
 left Alfred with them, journeying to Buffalo 
 with a team, and then by steamboat up around 
 the Great Lakes. They landed in Milwaukee, 
 and from there came on foot. Mr. Goodrich 
 again brought a pack on his back, but instead 
 of an ax to fell trees he brought a spade to 
 test the soil. Coming out onto a wild little 
 prairie, covered with flowers, and surrounded 
 with small silvery lakes and green trees, they 
 tested the soil and were pleased, and Goodrich 
 got a claim where “Milton” now stands, and 
 Crandall a claim where “Milton Junction” now 
 is. No highways were laid out, but Goodrich 
 drew an air line from Chicago to Madison 
 on the Territorial map, and one also from 
 Janesville to Fort Atkinson, and finding they 
 crossed on his claim he there located the site 
 for his house. These roads were laid out the 
 next year, and they crossed each other, as he 
 expected, by his house. He built this dwell- 
 ing 16 by 20 feet in dimensions, and one and 
 a half stories high; it had one small 7 by 9 
 glass window above, and one below. The 
 frame he made of hewed oak. and it was cov- 
 ered and shingled with oak, had a three-ply 
 battened Indian-proof oak door, and an oak 
 floor. It still stands, and is now all antique 
 oak. In one gable end upstairs he had oak 
 shelves for his goods, which was Milton’s first 
 store; Janesville and Fort Atkinson had none. 
 He bought the claim to the land where Milton 
 now stands with $60 worth of goods, and the 
 claim to Hon. S. C. Carr’s “Pioneer Farm” 
 with $125 worth of goods. Mr. Goodrich left 
 his house and little store in charge of Mr. 
 Pierce, and returned East for his family, and 
 while he was gone Pierce sold $400 worth of 
 goods. 
 
 Mr. Goodrich moved his family and goods 
 from Alfred, N. Y., with four teams and cov- 
 ered wagons, by the overland route. The first 
 half of the way the wagons were mounted on 
 sleighs, as they started in snow four feet deep, 
 Jan. 30, 1839. There were twelve in the party, 
 including passengers and hired help. One 
 sleigh tipped over during the first day’s drive, 
 and Mrs. Goodrich’s 1 collar bone was broken. 
 
 The surgeons could not set it and keep it in 
 place, and she rode all the long way with it 
 loose, in a sling. In Ohio they crossed the 
 "Great Maumee Swamp,” where there were 
 thirty-one emigrant taverns in the thirty miles. 
 In crossing the Calumet, near Chicago, one 
 team and wagon broke through the ice into 
 the water, twelve feet deep, one horse being 
 drowned, and the best load of goods wet. 
 The streets of Chicago (then a small city) 
 were entirely submerged in a sea of black 
 mud. They had to ford the Desplaines river 
 and Turtle creek, each being deep, flood-swol- 
 len streams. Not a house was to be seen on 
 Rock Prairie, and only Mr. Newhall’s log cabin 
 was in sight, as they struck into the wild oak 
 openings; nor was there another shanty until 
 they came out onto Prairie Du Lac, where, 
 standing out alone on the cold bleak prairie, 
 the little, red, oak, pioneer cabin stood, where 
 it still stands to-day. Here they arrived March 
 4, 1839, after an overland winter's journey 
 of thirty-four days. In this little 16 by 20 
 binding they lived, with Pierce, a family of 
 thirteen, and kept the store, and travelers be- 
 sides. And in it religious meetings were held. 
 
 Here Joseph Goodrich decided to found a 
 village, for which he platted and gave to the 
 public a large and beautiful “Public Square.” 
 He gave lots to mechanics who would settle 
 there, gave grounds for a church, a district 
 school, the college, and a cemetery. He built 
 an academy, and maintained it for ten years. 
 He secured the line for the first railroad via 
 Milton, gave them the right of way and depot 
 grounds', and took $10,000 worth of its stock. 
 He was a man of unbounded hospitality, and 
 a friend of the poor, the oppressed and the 
 enslaved. He was elected to the legislature 
 by the unanimous vote of his district. In re- 
 ligion he was a Seventh-day Baptist, and in 
 politics a Whig and a Republican. His de- 
 voted wife died in 1857, and he- was married 
 to Mrs. Susan H. Rogers in 1859. They lived 
 happily together. He died in 1867, and was 
 buried by his beloved wife at Milton, where 
 his son has erected a monument to their 
 memory. 
 
 Ezra Goodrich came with his parents to 
 Wisconsin in 1839, when he was thirteen years 
 old. He was a pupil in the first school in Mil- 
 ton, and in the first academy; but the constant 
 need of his help in his father’s business, in 
 making a new Wisconsin home, deprived him 
 
50 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 largely of schooling. His education was main- 
 ly the rough and ready lessons of practical 
 pioneer life. When he came to Milton the 
 Black Hawk and Gen. Atkinson army trails 
 were fresh and plainly to be seen. He was 
 here when Rock county was organized; when 
 the first highway in Milton was laid; when 
 the first mail route and stage line in the coun- 
 ty was established ; when the first church and 
 school house was built;, and the first grave in 
 a cemetery was made. He was in Janesville 
 when it had but one log house, H. F. Janes’ ; 
 in Fort Atkinson when it had but one log 
 house, Dwight Foster’s; in Watertown when 
 it had but one log house and one frame one, 
 and Goodhue had a sawmill there; at Waupun 
 when it had but one log house, Mr. Wilcox’s; 
 and at Fond du Lac when Dr. Darling had 
 the only house there. He was here when the 
 first railroad in Wisconsin was built, and the 
 first wire for a telegraph or a telephone was 
 strung. It is marvelous to see the changes 
 that have been made in one lifetime. In 1849 
 Ezra Goodrich engaged in the mercantile busi- 
 ness in Milton, dealing in dry goods, groceries, 
 crockery, clothing, iron and hardware, in 
 which he continued until the dark days of the 
 Rebellion, in 1861. 
 
 On Oct. 14, 1852, Mr. Goodrich was mar- 
 ried to Elizabeth L. Ensign, near Binghamton, 
 N. Y., and they had four children: Joseph 
 C. Goodrich, born June 24, 1854. now of Mil- 
 ton ; William Ii. Goodrich, born Feb. 15, 1856, 
 now of Colorado Springs, Colo. ; Mary E. 
 Goodrich, born March 23, 1859, now Mrs. 
 Dr. Post, of Chicago ; and Anna S, Goodrich, 
 born June 18, 1861, now Mrs. Will Davis, of 
 Colorado Springs. In religious belief Mr. 
 Goodrich is a Seventh-day Baptist. In poli- 
 tics he was a Republican; he is now independ- 
 ently independent, and votes for the best 
 man. Fie is a man of strong convictions, 
 and that which he believes to be right he 
 dares to defend ; and that which he deems 
 to he wrong he dares to denounce. This 
 gives him bitter enemies, as well as warm 
 friends. He has been an active factor in 
 Milton events for the past sixty years 
 and more than an ordinary lifetime. He raised 
 the controlling stock in “Milton Academy” 
 when it was incorporated — over which there 
 was a red-hot denominational strife. He 
 raised the money to fill Milton's quota in the 
 army of the great Rebellion, when the hearts 
 
 and hopes of all others had failed, and they 
 were ready to throw up the sponge. He 
 raised the money to set Milton College again 
 on its feet, when it was hopelessly bankrupt, 
 and the efforts of all others had utterly failed, 
 they having succeeded in raising only $20. 
 For this he raised a subscription of over $13,- 
 000, of which he gave $2,300 himself. He 
 secured the location of Milton high school 
 building, on the Public Square, in which he 
 was; opposed by Milton College, and many 
 others, who wanted it located 111 am uncouth 
 lot, still vacant, south of the railroad, and 
 south of Lane’s mill. He drew the plan, and 
 superintended the erection of the building. 
 He platted the grounds and set out the trees, 
 and to-day Milton’s high school grounds are 
 conceded to surpass any public-school grounds 
 in the Northwest. Mr. Goodrich secured the 
 subscription and set out the trees in the beau- 
 tiful park north of the railroad at Milton. 
 He re-organized Milton cemetery after it had 
 lost its organization, and its grounds were 
 grown up to brush and weeds, and he or- 
 ganized a uniform system of grading and 
 sodding the lots, and adorning them with 
 trees. In these innovations he was also op- 
 posed, but Milton now has one of the most 
 beautiful cemeteries in Rock county. 
 
 Some twenty years ago Mr. Goodrich inaug- 
 urated a system of raising a special tax in 
 the town for graveling the roads, in which at 
 first he was bitterly opposed. By persistence 
 he succeeded; and to-day Milton has more 
 miles of road, that is good at all seasons of 
 the year, than any rural town in the State ; 
 and if she continues but a few years longer she 
 will have a good hard highway to every farm 
 in the town. 
 
 Many years ago, when they began to gather 
 milk for the factories, Mr. Goodrich began to 
 advocate gathering the children of the towns 
 into centralized schools. In this he was op- 
 posed to the point of almost hissing him down ; 
 1 mt, of late, a marked change is seen, and many 
 are now advocating the coming change. He 
 now claims that the school children of Milton 
 will ere long all be riding in covered spring 
 wagons, over good roads, to and from school, 
 and that, when the good time comes, every 
 child alike will have the opportunity of a good 
 education free. 
 
 On April 23, 1892, Mr. Goodrich lost his 
 most estimable wife. He was again married, 
 

 
 
 
 
 * r 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5i 
 
 Oct. 16, 1S93. to Mrs. Charlotte M. Little, 
 daughter of 1 . P. Morgan, one of the founders 
 of Milton Junction, and widow of L. V. Little, 
 who died Feb. 18, 1886. The marriage of 
 Mr. Goodrich, a son of the founder of Milton, 
 to Mrs. Little, a daughter of a founder of 
 Milton Junction, is to some extent a union of 
 these two rival villages, which, it is hoped, 
 may soon be blending together, and eventually 
 become a prosperous, happy and harmonious 
 one. 
 
 ALEXANDER GRANT BONHAM. The 
 family of Bonham is of English lineage, the 
 earliest American progenitors having crossed 
 the water when the Colonies yet recognized 
 their allegiance to the King. Several of the 
 early Bonhams fought with gallantry and dis- 
 tinction in the cause of American independ- 
 ence, and in the war of 1812. Of these it 
 would be interesting to speak, but the neces- 
 sarily narrow limits within which this narra- 
 tive must be confined forbid the tracing of the 
 genealogical line beyond the third generation. 
 
 Nehemiah Bonham, the paternal grandfa- 
 ther of Alexander G. Bonham, was a native of 
 Virginia, and migrated thence to Missouri. 
 His wife, whose maiden name was Isabel 
 Scott, was born in Ireland. Of their union 
 •seven children -were born, five sons and two 
 daughters, James, Joseph, Harvey,' Frank, 
 Martin, Rebecca and Isabel. All have long 
 since passed away, the last survivor of that 
 generation having been Frank Bonham, who 
 died in February, 1892. The daughters mar- 
 ried in Missouri, and remained there ; but the 
 sons, one and all, migrated to Grant county, 
 Wis., where they became substantial and re- 
 spected citizens. Nehemiah Bonham also went 
 to Wisconsin, and ended his long life at the 
 home of his son Martin, whose filial care sus- 
 tained him for many years, and rendered less 
 hard his last days. His widow survived him 
 for many years, but she, too, has entered into 
 rest. 
 
 Joseph Bonham, the second son, was the 
 father of Alexander Grant. He was born in 
 Wythe county, Va., and had attained man- 
 hood when his parents undertook their toil- 
 some, tedious journey to Missouri. Before 
 leaving that State to 1 seek a new home in the 
 Northwest, he was married to Leah Ford, of 
 Tennessee, who was born Feb. 22. 1804, and 
 was one of the family of eight children of 
 
 Alexander Ford, a soldier in the patriot army 
 of 1776. The others were Benjamin, George, 
 Alexander, Joseph, Jane, Sarah and Elizabeth. 
 Joseph Bonham was the first of the family 
 to come to Wisconsin. He visited the lead 
 mining region in 1827, alone, and returned 
 to Missouri. He was, however, deeply im- 
 pressed by the resources and possibilities of the 
 region, and made a second prospecting tour 
 about the time of the Black Hawk war, go- 
 ing as far north as Galena, 111 . In 1834 he 
 came as a permanent settler, bringing with 
 him his wife and seven sons. Several chil- 
 dren were born to them after they were es- 
 tablished in their new home. They first set- 
 tled in what is now the township of Lancaster, 
 and the land which Mr. Bonham pre-empted 
 is called the "Thomas Shanley farm.” For two 
 years the family remained there, and at the 
 expiration of that time removed to a tract 
 which now constitutes a part of the farm of 
 Alexander G. Bonham, in Lancaster town- 
 ship. Here was located what his descendants 
 love to call "the old homestead.” A brick 
 house — the first in the neighborhood — was 
 built, the bricks being made and burned by 
 Alexander. The building, rude and primitive 
 as it was, is still standing, and in a fair state 
 of preservation — a sort of monument, to re- 
 mind the present of the achievement of the 
 past. Joseph Bonham was for many years 
 employed 1 in the lead mines, at the same time 
 ■ cultivating his quarter section of land. It 
 was he who first discovered mineral on Pigeon 
 creek, the locality being afterward known as 
 "Pigeon Diggings,” and there he was very 
 ■successful. He was a man of rugged strength, 
 incorruptible integrity and outspoken convic- 
 tion. A stanch Jacksonian Democrat himself, 
 he reared his sons in the same political faith. 
 Of the large family of children born to Jo- 
 seph Bonham and his wife only six are yet liv- 
 ing, three sons and three daughters. Alexan- 
 der Grant is our subject; Nehemiah Scott, 
 deceased, is mentioned below; John James died 
 at Bloomington July 16, 1897; Joseph Loyd 
 is deceased; Abijah Abernatha was a miner, 
 and died in Idaho; Carlyle, twin of Abijah, 
 died when a child of three years ; Sarah Ann 
 and Melvina are living; George Calvin went to 
 California to seek gold, and was killed by the 
 caving in of a mine; William Henry Harrison, 
 Harvey Holmes, and Rhoda Jane survive. 
 Harvey was a gallant soldier in the war of 
 
52 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the Union, a private in a Wisconsin regiment. 
 iThe manner of Scott's death is pathetic. He 
 went to Idaho to seek a fortune, and was found 
 by his comrades lying- unconscious upon the 
 ice, presumably the victim of a paralytic 
 stroke. Near him sat his faithful dog, who 
 would suffer no one to touch his master, and 
 whom the party had to lasso before the in- 
 animate form could be approached. 
 
 Alexander G. Bonham was born in Pike 
 county, Mo., Oct. 27, 1833, an( l was in his 
 eleventh year when his parents removed to 
 Wisconsin. To-day he is approaching his 
 eightieth year, yet he can recall the incidents 
 of that long journey (a considerable part of 
 it by water) and the appearance of the new 
 country in which his future life was to be 
 spent. Indeed, those were perilous times for 
 the frontiersman and his family, the Indians 
 having not yet been reduced to subserviency, 
 and the tomahawk and scalping knife being- 
 still among the possible dangers confronting 
 the settler. During the third winter of the 
 family’s residence here a band of fifty aborig- 
 ines, with their ponies, appeared near their 
 home, but made no hostile demonstration, al- 
 though indefatigable beggars. The few roads 
 that the settlers had were little more than In- 
 dian trails, and game of all kinds, and espe- 
 cially deer, was abundant. 
 
 As a boy Mr. Bonham aided his brothers 
 in clearing the land, his father’s time being 
 chiefly occupied at the mines. After reaching 
 early manhood he divided his time between 
 working as a hired farm hand and labor- 
 ing as a miner. The life was a hard one, 
 but he had youth, and health, and strength, 
 and toil only served to develop and harden 
 his naturally robust constitution. To-day 
 he owns a fine, highly cultivated and well im- 
 proved farm, and in his handsome home 
 is quietly passing his declining years, en- 
 joying the fruits of his early labor and 
 privations. He is the oldest of the orig- 
 inal settlers of Lancaster township yet liv- 
 ing, if not the oldest in Grant county. He has 
 been prominently identified with the develop- 
 ment, social and economic, as well as ma- 
 terial, of the region, and as he calmly awaits 
 the call to go to his reward he may well take 
 pleasure in the thought that he will leave to 
 his children a treasure more precious than 
 lands' or gold — the stainless record of an hon- 
 est life. 
 
 Mr. Bonham was married, March 16, 1851, 
 to Elizabeth Ann Kilby, a daughter of Abra- 
 ham E. Kilby and Rhoda Parsons. Mr. Kilby 
 was a North Carolinian and' his wife a Vir- 
 ginian. Between the family of Bonham and 
 Kilby there are several parallels. Both are 
 of Southern origin; both of Revolutionary 
 stock; both first migrated to Missouri, and 
 afterward removed to Grant county, Wis., set- 
 tling on adjacent farms. The Kilbys came in 
 1836, two years after their neighbors, and be- 
 tween the two families there always existed a 
 warm friendship. Mr. Kilby died m 1874, and 
 his widow in 1893. He was a successful 
 farmer, and a man held 1 in high esteem for hi's 
 kindness of heart, his keenness of mind, and 
 his inviolable integrity. Mrs. Bonham is one 
 of a family of four, three daughters and one 
 son, two of whom — Jane and John — are de- 
 ceased. The younger of the two surviving 
 sisters is Mrs. Sarah Margaret Borah, whose 
 home is in Kansas. 
 
 To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Alexan- 
 der G. Bonham have been born three sons and 
 five daughters : Charles Scott, Lemuel Eddens, 
 Viola Jane (deceased), Lenora Margaret, 
 Lura Ann, Laura Eldora, Lester Grant (de- 
 ceased) and Mabel Claire. 
 
 Charles S. Bonham, the eldest son, was 
 born in 1852, was reared upon the homestead 
 farm, and enjoyed excellent educational ad- 
 vantages at the public schools and the Institute 
 at Lancaster, as well as at Blodgett College, 
 Rockford, 111 ., and at the Normal School at 
 Platteville. For several years he was em- 
 ployed in teaching, but abandoned the chair 
 of the pedagogue to become a salesman of 
 school supplies for the well-known firm of Ivi- 
 son, Blakeman & Taylor. In this line of work 
 he was so successful that he was made gen- 
 eral agent of the house for a territory covering 
 Kansas, southern Nebraska, and Wisconsin. 
 He remained with this concern for ten years, 
 and then directed his attention to stock farm- 
 ing, his specialty being the breeding and rais- 
 ing of Short-horn cattle. In this pursuit, also, 
 he succeeded in a surprising degree, but in 
 1900 he sold his valuable property, famous as 
 the “Oakwood Farm,” and is now leading a 
 retired life. He married Flora E. Hannum, a 
 daughter of Rufus Hannum, a sketch of whose 
 life may be found elsewhere, and their union 
 has been blessed with one son, Charles Lloyd, 
 who was born May 5, 1892. Mr. Bonham is 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 53 
 
 a gentleman of culture and refinement, and is 
 reckoned among- Grant county's most success- 
 ful and prosperous business men. 
 
 Lemuel E. Bonham, the youngest son of 
 Alexander G., has been for many years a resi- 
 dent of the far West, and has recently gone to 
 Alaska. 
 
 RICHMOND B. PIERCE. Grant coun- 
 ty has no more highly esteemed citizen than 
 Richmond B. Pierce, of Cassville township, 
 who fought for the preservation of the Union 
 during the dark days of the Rebellion, and 
 who is descended from good old Revolutionary 
 .stock. He was born in Ipswich, N. H., in 
 1828, a son of Joseph and Eleanor (Mitchell) 
 Pierce, both members of old New England 
 families. His maternal grandfather fought 
 with Putnam, Prescott and Warren at Bun- 
 ker Hill on that memorable day in June, 1775. 
 Regarding his paternal great-grandfather, who 
 was killed by the Indians in the early days of 
 the New England Colonies, some interesting 
 facts have been handed down to the present 
 generation. He lived in the days of almost con- 
 stant Indian warfare, and was a typical pioneer 
 of those stirring and dangerous times. He was 
 often heard to say that no Indian should ever 
 have the satisfaction of taking his scalp, and 
 to prevent the accomplishment of this barbar- 
 ous practice, should he be so unlucky as to 
 fall into the hands of the savages, he is said 
 to have kept his head shaved, thus prevent- 
 ing the growth of the scalp lock so much 
 prized by the savage warrior. He was finally 
 surprised by a band of Indians, while at work 
 in his field, and slain, but his scalp never 
 adorned the belt of his slayer. It is an in- 
 teresting fact that the farm on which the great- 
 grandfather was killed in Colonial times was 
 the one on which Richmond 1 B. Pierce was 
 born, it having descended by inheritance 
 through several generations of the family. 
 The parents of our subject never came West, 
 but made their home in New England through- 
 out life. They had twelve children, three sons 
 and nine daughters, of whom Richmond and 
 his sister Maria, widow of William B. Frissel, 
 are the only survivors. Her husband was a 
 soldier in the Civil war, being a member of 
 a Massachusetts regiment. 
 
 In his native State Richmond B. Pierce 
 grew to manhood. He was married at Win- 
 chester, Mass.. March 28. 1854, to Miss Mary 
 
 Jane Morse, who was born in Maine, but was 
 reared in Massachusetts. Her parents, Moses 
 and Louisa (Cooper) Morse, were also rep- 
 resentatives of old New England families. 
 On her father’s side she belongs to the same 
 line of ancestry as did Samuel F. Morse, the 
 famous inventor of the electric telegraph. She 
 is also descended from Revolutionary ances- 
 try, her paternal grandfather having fought at 
 Bunker Hill. Her maternal grandfather, how- 
 ever, was an English sea captain, and in the war 
 of the Revolution took sides with the British. 
 It is stated of him that, after the war had 
 closed, he approached the New England coast 
 for the purpose of getting his family, who 
 had remained in the Colonies while he was 
 fighting against them, but, failing to secure 
 them, he sailed away, and was never again 
 seen by them. Mrs. Pierce's father came to 
 Grant county, Wis., in 1851. and purchased a 
 tract of land. He passed the last days of his 
 life in Minnesota, but his wife- spent the last 
 fourteen years of her life at the home of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Pierce, in Grant county, where she 
 died Sept. 22, 1896. In their family were 
 six children, three of whom died in infancy. 
 Those living are R. S.. of Beetown. Grant 
 county; Edwin R., of Bloomington, 111 .; and 
 Mrs. Pierce. To Mr. and Mrs. Pierce have 
 been born twelve children, six sons and six 
 daughters, of whom six are living, namely : 
 Wallace R. ; Charles E. ; Mary C., wife of 
 William Woodhouse; Fred L. ; Nella A., wife 
 of Leo Grattan ; and Margarette. a teacher 
 by occupation. Eleanor L. died at the age of 
 twenty-six years, while the others died in in- 
 fancy. 
 
 I11 the spring of 1855 Mr. and Mrs. Pierce 
 moved from Massachusetts to Wisconsin, and 
 took up their residence in Grant county. In 
 August, 1861. he was enrolled as a member 
 of Company F, 7th Wis. V. I., which formed 
 a part of the famous Iron Brigade, and fol- 
 lowed the fortunes of his regiment, taking part 
 in all the battles and marches in which it par- 
 ticipated, up to the time of the battle of South 
 Mountain, in September, 1862. In this hard- 
 fought battle lie was severely injured by a 
 gunshot just above the right knee, and was 
 in the hospital about eight months. This 
 wound not only renders the limb stiff at the 
 knee, but has never permanently healed, and 
 still requires dressing everv day. Notwith- 
 standing the trouble it has always caused him, 
 
54 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Pierce has done much work as a farmer, 
 and has a pleasant home and unencumbered 
 farm of eighty acres in Cassville township. 
 Plis wife is a lady of culture and intelligence, 
 as becomes her New England descent and 
 parentage, and is an active member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal church. Both Mr. and 
 Mrs. Pierce are widely and favorably known 
 throughout Grant county, and well deserve the 
 high regard in which they are held. 
 
 WARREN El ANNUM, ■ son of Warren 
 and Laura (Plamilton) Hannum, of whom full 
 mention is made in the biography of Rufus 
 Hannum, elsewhere, was born in Genesee coun- 
 ty, N. Y., Oct. 4, 1824, and in 1837 came to 
 Grant county, Wis. Pie is therefore classed 
 among the county’s pioneers. 
 
 Mr. Hannum lived on the old homestead 
 until his father disposed of it, in 1856, and in 
 1858 he purchased a tract of land in Hazel 
 Green township, paying for it with the in- 
 terest derived from the investment of his early 
 savings. He cleared up this tract of 120 acres, 
 and resided thereon until 1863, when he re- 
 turned to that part of the old homestead now 
 owned and occupied by his brother Rufus, and 
 bought in addition eighty acres of timber land. 
 In 1868 he sold all his property and purchased 
 his present valuable home in Lancaster. 
 
 Warren Hannum was united in marriage, 
 at Rochester, N. Y., for the first time, on 
 March 4, 1863, with Miss Emily E. Cook, 
 who died at their home in Lancaster, Wis., in 
 the autumn of 1868. In August, 1869, Mr. 
 Hannum, for his second wife, married Miss 
 Eugenia Paterson, daughter of David B. Pat- 
 erson, who was a son of Hugh B. Paterson, a 
 pioneer of Grant county, as will be perceived 
 by reference to his biography, on another page. 
 To the first marriage of Mr. Hannum were 
 born two children: Emma M., now the wife 
 
 of Harry Brooker, of Lancaster; and Mae, 
 still at her father's home. The second mar- 
 riage of Mr. Hannum has been blessed with 
 five children, as follows : Etta, wife of Charles 
 Elliott, of Eagle Grove, Iowa; Mercie, wife of 
 Charles Roberts, of Lancaster, Wis. ; and 
 Chester, Jessie and Warren, at home. 
 
 David B. Paterson, father of Mrs. War- 
 ren Hannum, was born in Chautauqua coun- 
 ty, N. Y., July 21. 1812, and came to Grant 
 county, Wis., in 1836. In 1837 he went to 
 Ohio, and married, for his first wife. Miss 
 
 Cornelia M. Sheffield, who was born May 11, 
 1815, and was a daughter of Alpheus and 
 Dorothy Sheffield. She died Feb. 8, 1862, the 
 mother of nine children, of whom seven are 
 still living: Frances M., of Hawarden, Iowa; 
 Ida, wife of Dr. O. W. Phelps, of Kanawka, in 
 the same State; Mrs. Eugenia Hannum, who. 
 was born April. 4, 1847; Edward S., a resi- 
 dent of Stockton, 111 . ; Helen, wife of Henry 
 Judd, of Bloomington, Grant Co., Wis. ; Will- 
 iam D., now in Iowa; and Anna, married to 
 Richard Eddy,- of Lancaster township, Grant 
 county, Wis. Of the two deceased children, 
 Alvin A., the eldest of the family of nine, was 
 born Sept. 22, 183S, was a soldier of the 25th 
 Wis. V. I., in the Civil war, and died March 
 8, 1868, from the effects of exposure and fa- 
 tigue sustained in his army life; Ira, born 
 Jan. 14, 1845, served in the 7th Iowa Cavalry,, 
 and died in the service at Omaha, Neb., Oct. 
 15, 1863. 
 
 In 1869 David B. Paterson selected for his. 
 second wife Mary Fusch, a native of Cornwall,. 
 England, and to this marriage two children 
 were born, George and Frederick. David B. 
 Paterson was a prominent and well-known 
 citizen, and was long identified with the growth 
 of Grant county, even from his pioneer days- 
 of 1836, until his death, which occurred in 
 Georgetown, Feb. 9, 1889, his loss being deeply 
 deplored by a large number of sorrowing* 
 friends. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Warren Hannum have a very 
 pleasant home, are blessed with every comfort 
 of life, and are surrounded with . sincere 
 friends, both old and new, who honor Mr. 
 Hannum for the active part he has taken in de- 
 veloping Grant county from a wilderness of the 
 frontier into- a fruitful and prosperous abode 
 of civilization. 
 
 ALBERT WHITFORD, M. A., Professor 
 of Mathematics in Milton College, is one of the 
 oldest and best-known educators of southern 
 Wisconsin. He has engaged in teaching for 
 considerably more than a half century, giving 
 the profession the devotion of his early years. 
 
 Prof. Whitford was born at Plainfield, near 
 Leonardsville, N. Y., May 28, 1832, son of 
 Samuel and Sophia (Clarke) Whitford. The 
 father, a farmer by occupation, was born in 
 Brookfield, N. Y., in 1797, and was a son of 
 David Whitford, a native of Stonington, 
 Conn., of English ancestry, and a farmer. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 55 
 
 Samuel married Sophia, daughter of Joseph 
 Clarke, who was born in Rhode Island. The 
 father of our subject died in Plainfield, N. 
 Y., in 1848, aged fifty-one years; his wife sur- 
 viving him forty years, passed away in Plain- 
 field, N. Y., at the age of eighty-six. Both 
 were devout members of the Seventh-Day 
 Baptist Church. They had four sons : Rev. 
 
 William Clarke, president of Milton College ; 
 Hamilton Joseph, deceased; Albert, our sub- 
 ject; and Herbert David, of Milwaukee, Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 The early life of our subject was spent 
 on his father's farm. In 1847, a f the a & e fif- 
 teen years, he entered Brookfield Academy, 
 but after a few terms was obliged by the death 
 of his father to abandon temporarily his edu- 
 cation. He taught district schools for several 
 years and in 1849 entered De Ruyter Insti- 
 tute as a student, teaching and attending school 
 until 1852, when he entered Alfred Academy, 
 by which he was graduated in the classical 
 course in 1853. 
 
 Mr. Whitford came to Milton, Wis., in 
 1854, and became instructor in the Latin 
 Language in Milton Academy. Returning 
 East two years later, he entered Union Col- 
 lege, at Schenectady, N. Y., in 1856; and by 
 doing extra work completed the classical 
 course and was graduated, in 1857, with the 
 degree of Bachelor of Arts. Four years later 
 Union College conferred upon him the degree 
 of Master of Arts. 
 
 Returning to Milton in 1857, Prof. Whit- 
 ford again became a teacher of Latin at the 
 Academy, remaining in that position until 
 1863, when he was elected couiW superin- 
 tendent of schools of Rock county, Wis. Two 
 years later he was elected to the principalship 
 of De Ruyter Institute, N. Y., filling the po- 
 sition two years. Again returning to Milton, 
 in 1867, he taught for a year in the newly in- 
 corporated Milton College, then accepted the 
 chair of mathematics in Alfred University, 
 New York, where he taught four years. Since 
 1872 he has been professor of mathematics con- 
 tinuously, for two years of this time, from 
 1878 to 1880, also serving as acting president 
 of the College, while President W. C. Whit- 
 ford was State Superintendent of Public In- 
 struction in Wisconsin. 
 
 Prof. Whitford married. May 31, 1857, 
 Miss Chloe E. Curtis. Of their five children, 
 one died in infancy. Anna Sophia married 
 
 C. Eugene Crandall, a professor in the Chi- 
 cago University. She has recently been en- 
 gaged ' as teacher of German Language and 
 Literature in Milton College. Albert Curtis, 
 a railroad conductor, residing at Las Yegas, 
 N. M., married Louie Harvey; all their chil- 
 dren have died, Alfred, the youngest, recently. 
 William Henry, a real-estate dealer at Inde- 
 pendence, Ivans., married Allie Foster, and has 
 two daughters, Kathleen and Dorothy. Alfred 
 Edward, a student in the Chicago University, 
 has been elected the professor of general 
 physics in Milton College. Mrs. Whitford died 
 Nov. 4, 1888, and on Feb. 14, 1892, our sub- 
 ject was united in marriage to Miss Emily L. 
 Burdick, of West Edmeston, New York. 
 
 Prof. Whitford throughout his long and 
 successful career as a teacher has been de- 
 voted to the cause of education in the highest 
 sense. While insisting upon a high standard 
 of scholarship among his students, his unas- 
 suming manners and kindness of heart have 
 greatly endeared him to his classes. He is 
 liberal in spirit, and has contributed gener- 
 ously in a financial, as well as educational, 
 way to the success of Milton College. 
 
 THOMAS H. SHELDON, of the town 
 of Willow Springs, Lafayette county, is a son 
 of John P. Sheldon, who was very prominently 
 identified with the affairs of Southwestern Wis- 
 consin for many years. 
 
 John P. Sheldon was born at Reho- 
 both, Mass., in April, 1792, and in his early 
 youth went to Providence, R. I., as a journey- 
 man printer. When twenty years old lie en- 
 tered the American army in the war of 1812, 
 and was present at the battle of Sackett's Har- 
 bor and other military operations during the 
 closing scenes of that struggle. After the war 
 he published a paper at Utica, N. Y., in com- 
 pany with a printer,- and was publisher of the 
 first newspaper in Rochester. In 1817- while 
 engaged in business at Rochester, he was mar- 
 ried, and the same year removed to Detroit, 
 Mich., where he established the Detroit Ga- 
 zette. Ascertaining that there was corruption 
 among the Revenue officers, and positive dis- 
 honesty in their dealings with the general gov- 
 ernment, he boldly denounced their corrupt 
 practices. He took stenographic reports of the 
 court proceedings, for which the judge inflicted 
 a fine of S200 upon him, and refusing to pay 
 he was sent to jail, in charge of his own broth- 
 
56 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 er, who was sheriff of the county. The citi- 
 zens, who were much in sympathy with him, 
 raised the amount, and he was released. This 
 was about 1825. Shortly after this Mr. Shel- 
 don sold his paper, and for a time was engaged 
 in farming in Oakland county, Mich., but 
 farming did not prove congenial, and he re- 
 turned to Detroit, resuming editorial manage- 
 ment of the Gazette. 
 
 In September, 1833, Mr. Sheldon went to 
 Dubuque, Iowa, having been appointed lead 
 agent by Gen. Jackson, his duty being to col- 
 lect rentals on lead lands. In 1834 he was ap- 
 pointed register of the land office at Mineral 
 Point. This was an arduous position, and car- 
 ried with it peculiar difficulties. The mineral 
 lands at that time belonged to the government, 
 and efforts were being continually made by 
 speculators and fortune hunters to cheat the 
 authorities, and secure for themselves the bene- 
 fits of the rich ores underlying all this, region. 
 As land commissioner Mr. Sheldon was ap- 
 proached by dishonest men, and urged to favor 
 their schemes. His stern sense of duty and 
 his unswerving honesty forbade his listening 
 for a moment to their solicitations. There fell 
 upon him consequently the bitter condemna- 
 tion of a number of men, prominent in the 
 early affairs of the county, whose greed for 
 riches outran their sense of honesty and fair 
 dealing. It is worthy of remark that Mr. Shel- 
 don was fully sustained in the stand which he 
 took, after careful study, by Gen. Dodge and 
 other distinguished citizens, who gave special 
 attention to the prolonged controversy. In 
 1840 Major Sheldon, as he was commonly 
 known, left the land office, and engaged ivith 
 George Hyer in the publication of the Madison 
 Democrat. In 1845 be went to Washington, 
 D. C., to take a position in the Treasury De- 
 partment, which he held for fifteen } r ears. On 
 the election of Abraham- Lincoln, in i860, he 
 resigned his position in the Treasury Depart- 
 ment and returned to Lafayette county, to his 
 home in the town of Willow Springs. There 
 he and his family had had their home since 
 1835, and it was Mr. Sheldon’s residence as 
 long as he lived, though he died at the home 
 of his son-in-law, Judge Drummond, Jan. 19, 
 1872. 
 
 Major Sheldon possessed a strong charac- 
 ter, and his integrity, like his ability, was be- 
 vond question. A strong believer in Old- 
 school Democracy, when the war for the Union 
 
 was about to begin he believed it unnecessary. 
 For the purpose of informing himself fully as 
 to the real spirit and intention of the Southern 
 leaders, he obtained a pass through the lines, 
 and called on Jefferson Davis, who had been 
 elected President of the Southern Confederacy. 
 He was informed by that gentleman that the 
 negro was not the cause of the war, rather that 
 the two sections were profoundly uncongenial, 
 and that their interests were utterly at vari- 
 ance ; the South desired to be entirely separated 
 from the North, and no compromise was pos- 
 sible. Major Sheldon returned to his North- 
 ern home a strong Union man, and throughout 
 the war lent cordial and unreserved support to 
 the government. When the war was ended his 
 Democracy again resumed sway. He was 
 just as urgent in his opposition to all kinds of 
 oppression. 
 
 Major Sheldon and his wife, whose maiden 
 name was Eliza Whiting, a native of Bridge- 
 port, Conn., became the parents of twelve chil- 
 dren, two of whom died in infancy, and one at 
 the age of twelve years. The others lived to 
 reach maturity. Of this once numerous fam- 
 ily only two members are now living, the elder 
 of these being Mrs. IT. H. Plawley, of Chicago. 
 
 Thomas H. Sheldon was born in 1825, in 
 Detroit, as were all the children but the young- 
 est, and has resided where he is now found, or 
 in the immediate vicinity, since 1835. Here 
 the father bought claims and entered 160 acres, 
 owning at one time about a section of land. 
 Here Mr. Sheldon was reared to manhood, and 
 here he married Miss Mary H. Pilling, a 
 daughter of Elias Pilling. To their union have 
 been born five children: John, who is on the 
 
 homestead; Henry, who is at Tucson, Ariz. ; 
 Edgar, who is in Chicago ; Edith, a teacher in 
 Tucson; and Thomas D. 
 
 ALFRED A. JACKSON. For over forty- 
 five years Mr. Jackson has been a resident of 
 Janesville, Rock county, and for more than 
 forty years a member of the Wisconsin Bar. 
 He comes of Scotch-Irish stock, some of his 
 ancestors having come to New England be- 
 fore the middle of the seventeenth century. 
 
 Daniel Jackson, his grandfather, was a 
 soldier in the Revolutionary war, and was 
 commissioned an officer in the Seventh Com- 
 pany of the Thirteenth Regiment of the Con- 
 necticut Militia on May 16, 1794- He re_ 
 moved late in life to central New York, and 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 57 
 
 died at Rome, Oneida county, that State, at 
 an advanced age. His son Truman, father of 
 Alfred A., was born in Bethlehem, Conn., m 
 1800. At the age of twenty-three he. too, 
 removed to Oneida county, N. Y., where he 
 purchased a farm on which he resided until his 
 death, in 1871. He married Polly, daughter 
 of Joseph and Mary (Dennison) Lawton. 
 Mr. Lawton was also a Connecticut farmer 
 who had moved to central New York, and 
 who toward the close of his life removed to 
 Dane county, \Yis., to pass his last years with 
 his sons living there. He died in his eighty- 
 fifth year. To Mr. and Mrs. Truman Jackson 
 were born six children, four of whom are yet 
 living. Of these, Alfred A. is the eldest, the 
 others being Nancy A., wife of Absalom Nel- 
 son, of Lebanon, Mo. ; Homer T., a physician 
 in Verona, N. Y. ; and Jane E., of Buffalo, 
 New York. 
 
 Alfred A. Jackson was born Aug. 8. 1831, 
 in the town of Verona, Oneida Co., N. Y. 
 After passing through the public schools he 
 entered the academy at Rome, N. Y., but fail- 
 ing eyesight compelled him to forego the com- 
 pletion of his course. For some time he re- 
 mained at home upon the farm, until he found 
 himself able to take a position in a store. In 
 April, 1855, his eyesight having been restored, 
 he started for the West, and has since made 
 Janesville his home. There he began the study 
 of law in the office of Sloan and Patton on 
 the 2 1 st of April, 1855, an d completed 
 his course in the office of Sleeper and 
 Norton. In April, 1856, he was admitted to 
 the Bar, and since that time he has been con- 
 tinuously engaged in the practice of his pro- 
 fession. In politics 1 he has been an ardent Re- 
 publican since the organization of that party. 
 He has not aspired to leadership, although he 
 served for a year as supervisor, which posi- 
 tion he resigned; represented the First ward 
 in the city council for two years; and during 
 1868 held the office of mayor. For eight years 
 he was one of the trustees of the State School 
 for the Blind, and for four years was president 
 of the Board. He has also been honored in his 
 profession. Since the formation of the State 
 Bar Association he has served on its executive 
 committee, and is at present chairman of its 
 committee on publication. He was also the 
 first president of the Rock County Bar Asso- 
 ciation, and filled that office several years. In 
 February, 1868, he was admitted to practice 
 
 in the United States Supreme Court. He takes 
 a deep interest in all matters pertaining to 
 the domain of American history, and is a mem- 
 ber of the Historical Society of Wisconsin, 
 and of the American Historical Society. In 
 1872 Beloit College conferred upon him the 
 degree of M. A. While kindly and genial in 
 temperament, and heartily enjoying the com- 
 panionship of his friends, his busy life has left 
 him little leisure to devote to the many calls 
 which membership in numerous societies would 
 have made upon his time. He is, however, 
 a member of Wisconsin Lodge, No. 14, I. O. 
 O. F., and of the Royal Arcanum. He is also 
 an elder in the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 In August, 1859, Mr. Jackson was married 
 to Miss Anna E. Dyer, a daughter of Burton 
 H. and Rebecca Johnson Dyer. Mrs. Jack- 
 son died in 1867. Three children were born 
 to this marriage, Frank D., Bertha A. and 
 William A. (1) Frank D. was graduated 
 from Beloit College and from the Law School 
 of Yale University. For two years he was 
 his father’s partner in Janesville, but. having’ 
 a desire to enter the ministry, he left the office 
 to study at Chicago Theological Seminary; 
 he is now pastor of the Congregational Church 
 at Wabaunsee, Ivans. In October, 1895, he 
 married Miss Martha P. Little. Two children 
 have been born to them, Bertha L. and How- 
 ard L. (2) Bertha A. was graduated from 
 Rockford College, and after spending one 
 winter at Washington and one in the South 
 returned to Rockford to accept a posi- 
 tion as teacher in the History Department. 
 Failing health obliged her to resign, and she 
 died at her home Feb. 14, 1893. (3) A\ illiam 
 
 A. Jackson, the younger son, is an alumnus 
 of the State University at Madison, having 
 studied in both the Academic and Law De- 
 partments. Since his graduation, in 1891, he 
 has been in partnership with his father, and is 
 now (1901) serving his fourth term as Dis- 
 trict Attorney. In November, 1897, he was 
 married to Miss Mary Emeline Stevens. 
 
 On Sept. 7, 1870, Mr. Jackson married 
 Rebecca W., daughter of Luther H. and Ce- 
 line Johnson. Their daughter. Fanny Re- 
 becca, is also a graduate of Rockford College. 
 
 REV. NATHANIEL C. BRADLEY. The 
 subject of this short review, who is now the 
 beloved pastor of the M. E. Church at Fay- 
 ette, Lafayette county, was not always exclu- 
 
53 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 sively engaged in converting man from the er- 
 ror of Ins ways, in a religious sense, there 
 being a period of his life when he also fought 
 the enemies of the old flag, and as valiantly as 
 he has since contended with the powers that 
 oppose the moral and spiritual welfare of man. 
 
 Mr. Bradley was born in Amboy, Oswego 
 Co., N. Y ., Nov. 15, 1844, a son of Josiah and 
 Rebecca Bradley. When he was about eight 
 years old his parents migrated to Wisconsin, 
 becoming residents of Dane county, and later 
 of Monroe county. There the mother died 
 about 1872, the father surviving for a num- 
 ber of years. The family of these worthy peo- 
 ple consisted of Nathaniel C., our subject; and 
 Carrie, who married J. Coyer, M. D., a vet- 
 eran soldier, and a resident of Readstown, 
 Vernon Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 The subject of this biography attended the 
 public schools at Tomah, this state, and en- 
 tered the ministry of the Methodist Church in 
 1869, his first charge being at Mt. Sterling, 
 Crawford Co., Wis., and his second at Bell 
 Center, in the same county, where he remained 
 three years. Thence he went to Bloom City 
 for two years, later filling for three years the 
 charge at Viola, and the following three years 
 serving at Lewisville. His next charges were 
 at Ellsworth, Pierce county, and Clear Lake, 
 whence he went to Arkansaw, Wis., later to 
 Durand, Pepin county, and thence to Green- 
 wood. in Clark county. 
 
 At this time our subject practically retired 
 from the severe strain of his ministerial work, 
 as his health became somewhat broken, re- 
 moving to Ottertail county, Minn., where he 
 engaged in merchandising and farming. On 
 regaining, to a certain extent, his health, he re- 
 turned to his old labors in the ministry, ac- 
 cepting a charge at Kendall ; later he was at 
 AVonewoc, continued three years- at Excelsior, 
 and is now in his second year at Fayette. 
 
 On March 8, 1864, Mr. Bradley was en- 
 rolled as a member of Company D, 38th Wis. 
 V. I., and received his honorable discharge 
 from the army on May 24, 1865, having taken 
 part in some of the severest engagements of 
 the Civil war. Under Gen. Grant he fought 
 in the Wilderness, and was in all the battles 
 under his command until the investment of 
 Petersburg. He was one of the soldiers who 
 worked on the construction of the mine under 
 the enemy's works at the latter place, and took 
 part in the famous charge made after the ex- 
 
 plosion. This was the last engagement in 
 which he took part, the heavy work endured 
 then having produced an injury that resulted 
 in hernia and incapacitated him for active work 
 in the field. Soon after he was transferred 
 to the hospital at Beverly, N. J., and, when 
 sufficiently recovered, was placed in charge of a 
 ward in that institution until his discharge. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Bradley took place in 
 1867, to Frances A. Avyard, a native of Iowa, 
 and five children were born of this union : 
 Mrs. Carrie Gummer, William F., Etta Eliza- 
 beth, Arthur B., and Avis M. A faithful sol- 
 dier, an upright and conscientious citizen, Mr. 
 Bradley possesses the esteem of everyone, and 
 during the long years of his ministry has been 
 comforted by the good he has been able to do. 
 In his present home he is beloved by his whole 
 congregation. 
 
 WILLIAM THOMAS, Sr., a retired 
 merchant of the village of Haze] Green, Grant 
 county, was born in Cornwall, England, Dec. 
 13, 1828, son of Hannibal and Elizabeth 
 (Richards) Thomas, both born in Cornwall, 
 where they were married. 
 
 In 1840 Hannibal Thomas came to Wis- 
 consin alone, intending to go into the butcher- 
 ing business. In 1848 he sent for his family, 
 who came to Yorkville, where he owned a 
 farm. There they lived for some years, and 
 then moved to Beetown, where father and 
 mother died, he in 1877, and she in 1883. 
 They were good honest people, and had many 
 friends. Six children were born to them: (1) 
 Jane A., born in England in 1819, married 
 William Hodge, also a native of England, 
 lived on his farm in Grant county a number 
 of years, and then moved to Cuba City, where 
 he is living retired. They have two children, 
 William IT. and 1 Elizabeth J. (now the widow 
 of Bernard Porter, late of Grant county). (2) 
 James, born in England in 1821, married Miss 
 Susan Richmond, of Ohio, settled at Beetown, 
 and became one of the most successful farm- 
 ers and miners of that region. He. died at his 
 home in 1883, leaving a wife, but no children. 
 (3) William is our subject. (4) Henry, born 
 in 1830 in England, married Miss Grace En- 
 nor, of Potosi, living for some years at Bee- 
 town, and then moved to Lancaster, where he 
 still resides. They have five children — Emma, 
 now Mrs. Robert Perkins, of Crawford coun- 
 ty, Wis.; James, in South Dakota; Naomi, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 59 
 
 now Mrs. French, of Cassville; Phoebe, now 
 Mrs. Frank Sanders, of Beetown; and Mamie, 
 Mrs. Mayne, of Cassville. (5) Hannibal, 
 born in England in 1832, crossed the Plains in 
 
 1852, and worked there in the gold mines until 
 
 1853, when he emigrated to Australia, where 
 he died in 1857, leaving no family. (6) Mar- 
 garet, born in 1835, is the wife of Metcalf Hil- 
 lery, of Beetown, and has nine children, 
 George, Hannibal, Metcalf, James, John, Eliza- 
 beth, Sarah A., Susan and Margaret. 
 
 William Thomas, Sr., obtained his educa- 
 tion in his native country, and worked in the 
 Grant county lead and zinc mines eight years 
 after coming to this country. In 1856 he set 
 up as a general merchant at Fair View, Wis., 
 where he continued for twenty-one years. 
 During these years he also dealt largely in real 
 estate, and now owns three large farms (670 
 acres) in Grant county, and one (550 acres) 
 in Lester, Iowa. In 1877 Mr. Thomas sold 
 out his mercantile interests, and moved into 
 the village of Hazel Green, where he bought 
 the Mills homestead, one of the most attrac- 
 tive homes in the town, a large brick house 
 with handsome lawn surrounding. 
 
 Mr. Thomas and Miss Mary E. Harvey 
 were married in 1863. Mrs. Thomas was born 
 in England in January, 1839, and her parents, 
 William and Ann Harvey, were among the 
 early settlers of Grant county. They were 
 born in England, came early to New Jersey, 
 and in 1852 moved to Grant county, where 
 they died many- years ago. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Thomas are the parents of two sons: (1) 
 
 William IT, born in Hazel Green, in August, 
 1864, received his education in his native vil- 
 lage and at the Platteville Normal. Some 
 years ag'o he had typhoid fever, and his health 
 became so impaired that he has never since been 
 able to take an active part in business. (2) 
 Clinton W., born in Grant county, in January, 
 1869, was drowned when eighteen years old, 
 with two companions, while bathing in the 
 Mississippi river. A bright and promising - 
 young man, he had a brilliant future before 
 him, and possessed many friends. 
 
 Mrs. Thomas is a member of the Method- 
 ist Church, to which our subject gives a liberal 
 support. Mr. Thomas has been a Republican 
 all his life, and has been school director and 
 member of the town board several terms. With 
 his son he is a member of the Masonic frater- 
 nity at Hazel Green. Mr. Thomas began for 
 
 himself in this country without a dollar, and 
 by industry and integrity won a very enviable 
 standing. He has many friends who declare 
 him honest and candid, straightforward and 
 upright, and a genial and generous spirit. Fie 
 is president of the First National Bank of Cuba 
 City. 
 
 JOHN LEWIS. This prominent farmer 
 and leading citizen of Patch Grove township 
 is a worthy representative of a numerous and 
 highly respected family of Grant county. His 
 father, William Lewis, Sr., was born in Scot- 
 land April 21, 1795, a son of John and Ann 
 (Wilson) Lewis, in whose family were four 
 children, three sons and one daughter. John 
 Lewis was three times married, and by the 
 third union had two sons, Thomas and John. 
 With their mother he came to America in 
 1840, and settled in Bovina, N. Y., where he 
 lived to be ninety-one years old. William was 
 the only child of the first marriage to come 
 to America. His youngest brother, James 
 Lewis, served several years in the British 
 army, and was in the battle of Waterloo un- 
 der the Duke of Wellington. Thomas Lewis 
 was in the British service six years. 
 
 In 1815, at the age of twenty years, Will- 
 iam Lewis crossed the broad Atlantic in com- 
 pany with an old neighbor, and on landing in 
 this country proceeded at once to Bovina, Dela- 
 ware Co., N. Y., where he opened up a new 
 farm, to the improvement and cultivation of 
 which he devoted his energies for many years. 
 He married Nancy Burns, a native of Bovina, 
 and on his New York farm eleven children 
 were born to them. He first came West on a 
 visit, and was so much pleased with the coun- 
 try that soon after his return to the Empire 
 State he sold his property there and 1 brought 
 his family to Wisconsin, making a permanent 
 settlement in Grant county in May, 1858. He 
 purchased land in Section 10, Town 5, Range 
 5 west, which is included in the civil township 
 of Patch Grove, and became well-known as one 
 of the representative farmers of that locality. 
 He passed away Feb. 20, 1868. and his wife 
 followed him to the better world in February, 
 1870. 
 
 The family of this worthy couple originally 
 consisted of eleven children, ten sons and one 
 daughter, all of whom grew to mature years 
 with the exception of one who died in early 
 childhood. The only daughter is Mrs. John 
 
Go 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ryan, of Andover, Grant county. Those still 
 living (1901) are John, whose name intro- 
 duces this review; Thomas E., a resident of 
 Howard county, Iowa; William; Walter, a 
 resident of Kansas; Katherine; and Wilson F. 
 Andrew was a member of the 43d Wis. V. I. 
 in the war of the Rebellion, and died in the 
 service at Johnsonville, Tenn., in November, 
 .1864. James served in the / th Wis. V. L, and 
 died March 15, 1867. Moses and Walter were 
 also numbered among the defenders of the 
 Union during that struggle ; the former is de- 
 ceased. 
 
 John Lewis was born in New York State 
 in 1823, and first came to Wisconsin in 1848, 
 but two years later returned East, and did 
 not locate permanently here until 1851. In 
 June. 1848, he and his brother Thomas E. 
 entered the land on which our subject now 
 resides, and later he and his brother William 
 bought Thomas’ interest, while still later John 
 became sole proprietor, having purchased 
 William's interest in the property. He now 
 has a fine farm, under a high state of cultiva- 
 tion. and well improved with good and sub- 
 stantial buildings which stand as monuments 
 to his thrift and enterprise. 
 
 Mr. Lewis married Miss Frances Lough- 
 ran, a native of the same place as her husband, 
 and a most worthy wife, who proved to him a 
 true helpmeet. She departed this life July 
 25, 1882. Of the nine children born to them, 
 seven are still living, namely: Margaret, James, 
 Nancy, Frances, John, Moses and William. 
 One son, Charles, died at his home in Little 
 Rock. Iowa, in April, 1899, and another child 
 died in infancy. 
 
 In his early voting days Mr. Lewis affil- 
 iated with the Whig party, but has been a 
 stanch Republican since the organization of 
 that party. He is numbered with the success- 
 ful and progressive citizens of his township 
 and county, and is a worthy representative of 
 that class of men who lead quiet, industrious, 
 honest and useful lives, and constitute the best 
 portion of a community. Wherever known he 
 is held in high regard, and as an honored pio- 
 neer and highly respected citizen he is certain- 
 ly deserving of honorable mention in the his- 
 tory of his adopted county. 
 
 WILBUR FISK GOODRICH, now liv- 
 ing retired in the village of Emerald Grove, 
 Bradford township, is one of the oldest set- 
 
 tlers of Rock county, and has proved himself 
 a thoroughly honest and reliable man, both as 
 a farmer and a tradesman. He is now passing 
 his last days in the enjoyment of leisure and; 
 comfort that have been richly earned. 
 
 Ephraim Goodrich, the grandfather of 
 Wilbur F., and the founder of the family on 
 American soil, settled first at Hartford, Conn., 
 and went from there into Vermont with two 
 hundred silver dollars and an axe as his en- 
 tire capital. He settled in the town of Mid- 
 dlebury, and engaged in farming and lumber- 
 ing, two occupations easily combined in that 
 timbered country. He was also a house car- 
 penter, and was a man of many resources. 
 After he was located, and had secured a start 
 in the world, he went back to Connecticut for 
 his wife. Prudence, and brought her to his 
 Vermont home, she riding their only horse, 
 and he walking by her side. In 1857 they 
 came to Wisconsin, and made their home with 
 their son, Lemuel Miller Goodrich. Ephraim 
 Goodrich died in 1859, at the age of seventy- 
 eight years, and she in 1862, when seventy-two 
 years old. They were both buried in the ceme- 
 tery at Emerald Grove. They were the par- 
 ents of five children, of whom Lemuel M., the 
 father of Wilbur Fisk, was the eldest. 
 
 Lemuel M. Goodrich was born in 1808, 
 near Middlebury, Vt., and in due time learned 
 the carpenter’s trade. In 1827 lie married Miss 
 Fanny Hutchinson, of Middlebury. They left 
 Vermont about 1855, and came directly to 
 Wisconsin, locating on an eighty-acre farm 
 in the town of Bradford, Rock county. -Eleven 
 years later he sold this farm and moved to 
 Fort Atkinson, where he made his home for 
 several years, finally returning to the village 
 of Emerald Grove, where he died in 1872. 
 He was a member of the Methodist Church, 
 as was his wife, who survived him eight years. 
 Both were buried in the cemetery at Emerald 
 Grove. They had five children, of whom Wil- 
 bur Fisk was the eldest. 
 
 Wilbur Fisk Goodrich was born in Mid- 
 dlebury, Vt., Sept. 28, 1830, and lived with his 
 parents until he attained his majority. He 
 received his education in the public schools, 
 and his school training was unusually broad 
 and deep. On reaching manhood he learned 
 the trade of carpenter, which he followed in 
 early life. In 1861 he bought a farm of 135 
 acres in the settlement known as La Prairie 
 township, Rock county, and devoted himself 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 61 
 
 to its cultivation a number of years. In 1873 
 he let his farm to a tenant, and moved into the 
 village of Emerald Grove, where for twenty 
 years lie followed the business of a carriage 
 builder. Since that time Mr. Goodrich has 
 lived retired from business activities. 
 
 On Oct. 8, 1861, Mr. Goodrich married 
 Miss Sarah Van Allen, a daughter of Lucas 
 and Lydia (Luddington) Van Allen, farming- 
 people; her mother died when she was seven 
 years old ; her father died in the town of Brad- 
 ford, and his ashes rest in the cemetery at 
 Emerald Grove. Mrs. Goodrich is related 
 through her mother to Gov. Luddington, of 
 Wisconsin. No children have been born to 
 Air. and Airs. Goodrich. They are members 
 of the local Congregational Church, and are 
 highly esteemed in the community. He has 
 served as road commissioner, and as constable 
 for many years, and is counted one of the rep- 
 resentative men of Rock county. 
 
 CHARLES J. F. NUTI, one of the prom- 
 inent early settlers and now a retired farmer 
 of Cassville, Grant county, was born in Italy in 
 1818, a son of Jacinto and Camelia Nuti, also 
 natives of that country. He was reared in 
 Florence, and when a young men went to 
 France as steward for a gentleman, later go- 
 ing with him to England, and remaining in his 
 employ for twenty years. 
 
 In 1850 Air. Nuti crossed the Atlantic, and 
 proceeded at once to Grant county, Wis. The 
 following year he located in Potosi, where he 
 made his home for two years, while in the 
 service of a man who was agent for a large 
 tract of land. He then moved to Cassville, 
 and rented a farm belonging to a Mr. Price. 
 A\ bile residing there Air. Nuti purchased 160 
 acres of wild land, one-half of which was cov- 
 ered with timber, and, taking up his residence 
 thereon in 1853, he turned his attention to its 
 improvement, and soon converted it into one of 
 the finest, best improved and most highly cul- 
 tivated farms of that section of the county. 
 For many years he was successfully engaged 
 in general, farming and stock raising, and still 
 owns his farm, though he now lives a retired 
 life in Cassville. 
 
 Before leaving England Air. Nuti was mar- 
 ried, in 1850, to Aliss Matilda Louisa Andrews, 
 a native of Bridgeport, that country, who died 
 at Cassville in 1899, after a happy married life 
 of nearly fifty years. By that union four chil- 
 
 dren were born, namely : Airs. Evangeline Ala- 
 tilda Spider, a resident of Cassville; Airs. Anna 
 Babbitt Hurst, of Chippewa Falls, Wis.; Or- 
 lando Charles, who is married, and lives on the 
 home farm; and Dorretta Calder, who died in 
 Chippewa Falls in 1887. 
 
 Since the organization of the Republican 
 party Mr. Nuti has been a stanch supporter of 
 its principles. He is a faithful and consistent 
 member of the Presbyterian Church, and a man 
 highly respected and esteemed by all who know 
 him. 
 
 JAAIES OSBORN, a retired farmer at 
 Evansville, Rock county, is one of the most ven- 
 erable characters to be found in that city. His 
 great age commands the respect of the public, 
 and his personal habits and kindly disposition 
 have won him a warm place in the hearts of 
 his community. 
 
 Air. Osborn was born in Prince Edward 
 County, Canada, Oct. 23, 1815, a son of James 
 and Catherine (Trumpo) Osborn, both natives 
 of New York. They were the parents of four 
 sons and seven daughters, and three of their 
 sons are now living: James, of Evansville; 
 
 John, of Picton, Canada; and Paul Austin, of 
 Prince Edward county, Canada. The father, 
 who was a farmer, emigrated to Canada with 
 his parents when he was twelve years old. grew 
 to manhood in that country, and was a lifelong 
 agriculturist. He died when almost eighty-five 
 years old. His wife died in 1848. when she was 
 fifty-two. They were Methodists. He was 
 drafted in the war of 1812, but being lame did 
 not serve long. His father bore the name of 
 James Osborn, and was born in the Alohawk 
 River \ r alley, of Welsh stock. After the Revo- 
 lution he moved into Canada, and settled on 
 Prince Edward Island, where he died at the 
 age of eighty-five. He had five sons and four 
 daughters. John Trumpo, the father of Cath- 
 erine, mentioned above, was born in New 
 York, of Dutch descent, and followed farm- 
 ing. 
 
 James Osborn was reared in Canada, on 
 the farm, “at the butt end of an ox-handle." 
 When he was two years old his father moved 
 into the dense woods, two miles from the near- 
 est neighbor, and when James was older grown 
 he helped to clear the farm. After attaining 
 maturity he worked on shares for many years. 
 In 1864 Air. Osborn made his way to Wiscon- 
 sin, and made a settlement in Porter township, 
 
62 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Rock county, where he bought forty acres, 
 which is still in his possession. 
 
 Mr. Osborn and Miss Louisa Ballard were 
 married Sept. 25, 1838, and this union has 
 proved a singularly fortunate and happy one. 
 They are the parents of seven children, two 
 sons and five daughters. Catherine died in in- 
 fancy. Jane is the wife of E. D. Barnard, of 
 Evansville. Martha became the wife of Thom- 
 as Hutson, and both she and her husband are 
 now dead. William died in infancy. James is 
 now living in Minneapolis, and travels for the 
 A. S. Baker Co. ; he married Miss Clara West, 
 and is the father of three children, Iva, May 
 and Byrle. Elizabeth is the wife of Oscar 
 Mabie, of Janesville. Louisa died when six- 
 teen years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Osborn a A 
 members of the Methodist Church, of which 
 he was steward and class-leader for many 
 years. He is a Republican, but never aspired 
 to office. 
 
 JAMES JEFFERY, one of the prominent 
 business men of Georgetown, Grant county, 
 who is also the popular and accommodating 
 postmaster at that place, was born in Cornwall, 
 England, Jan. 29,- 1842. His parents, Francis 
 and Emma (Wills) Jeffery, were born in Eng- 
 land, the former in 1810, and the latter in 
 1816. I11 1848 the Jeffery family came to 
 
 \\ isconsin, and settled at Hazel Green, where 
 Mr. Jeffery engaged in lead mining. In 1849 
 he migrated to California, where he worked in 
 the gold mines for two years, and, being fair- 
 ly successful, on his return bought a farm 
 in Lafayette county, near Benton, where his 
 son Thomas now resides. Until within a few 
 years prior to his death Mr. Jeffery follow-ed an 
 agricultural life. He then moved to Jefferson, 
 where he lived retired, dying in 1880, his wife 
 surviving until 1899. Both were consistent 
 members of the M. E. Church, in the work 
 of which Mr. Jeffery took a leading part. Po- 
 litically he was a stanch Republican all his life, 
 and held a number of local offices in the town 
 of Benton, where he was a popular and lead- 
 ing rpan, although the town was strongly 
 Democratic. Mr. and Mrs. Francis Jeffery 
 reared a family of seven sons and one daugh- 
 ter. our subject being the eldest. William, 
 born in Cornwall. England, in 1844, grew up 
 on the farm, married Emma Morley, of La- 
 fayette county, and has one daughter ; he re- 
 sides in Hazel Green, where he is engaged in 
 
 dealing in agricultural implements; he was a 
 soldier in the Civil war. Francis, born in 
 Cornwall in 1845, g' re w up in Lafayette coun- 
 ty, married in Colorado, where he now resides, 
 a successful miner, and has one daughter, 
 Stella. T. J., born in Lafayette county in 
 1847, married Elizabeth Kittoe, and resides on 
 the old homestead, which he owns; he has 
 three children, Edwin, John and May. George, 
 born in LaFayette county in 1849, married 
 Charlotte Lukey, of Hazel Green, where he 
 died in 1898, leaving three children, Frank, 
 Charlotte and Maud. Emily, born in Lafay- 
 ette county in 1850, is the wife of John R. 
 James, of Hazel Green, and has two children, 
 Lottie A. and Henry. Edwin, born in 1851, 
 was educated in a business college of Du- 
 buque, and when still a young man entered 
 the employ of the Marquette & Mackinac Rail- 
 way Co., of Michigan; in a short time he was 
 promoted to the position of auditor of the 
 road, but his health failing, he removed to 
 Colorado, where he died Jan. 6, 1888, regretted 
 by his employers and all who knew him. Jo- 
 seph P., born in Lafayette county in 1853, 
 went to Michigan, and engaged in hotel-keep- 
 ing in the Iron Mountains there until one year 
 ago, when he moved to Green Bay, Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 The early education of James Jeffery, our 
 subject, was obtained in the district schools 
 in Benton, Wis., where he remained on his 
 father’s farm until the age of twenty-one. 
 About this time he was engaged as a clerk 
 in the store of William Thomas, at the 
 “12-Mile House” in Grant county, remaining 
 four years, and finally becoming a partner with 
 Mr. Thomas. Coming to Georgetown, our 
 subject entered into a partnership with Joseph 
 Brandon, in the mercantile business, the latter 
 retiring in 1883. Mr. Jeffery has continued 
 the business up to the present time. 
 
 In December, 1869, our subject was mar- 
 ried to Miss Alice Oatey. the estimable daugh- 
 ter of William and Jane (Thomas) Oatey, 
 old and prominent residents of Jo Daviess 
 Co., 111 ., where they remained until their death. 
 Mrs. Jefferv was born in England Nov. 20, 
 1847, and. was educated in Illinois. She and 
 her brother Samuel, who lives in Franklin 
 county, Iowa, are the only survivors of a' 
 family of eight children. John R., the oldest 
 brother of Mrs. Jeffery, was a corporal in 
 Company F, 96th I. V. I., and was killed at 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 63 
 
 the battle of Chickamauga, on Sept. 20, 1863. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Jeffery have been born two 
 sons: William T., born in October, 1870, was 
 educated at the Platteville Normal School, 
 and was graduated at a Dubuque business col- 
 lege. He married Miss Addie Stevens, of 
 Cuba City, and now resides in Hampton, Iowa, 
 where he is engaged in a store. G. L., born 
 in Georgetown Oct. 22, 1872, was a student 
 of the home schools until seventeen years of 
 age, when he entered Mr. Rindlaub’s printing 
 office in Platteville, learned the printer's trade, 
 and is now a compositor in the government 
 office at Washington, D. C., where he holds a 
 responsible position. 
 
 Politically Mr. Jeffery has always been 
 identified with the Republican party, and he 
 has held a number of local offices in the town ; 
 he is at the time of this writing a member of 
 the town board, and has been a member of the 
 school board. In 1875 he was elected to rep- 
 resent his district in the Legislature, where he 
 served with satisfaction to his constituents. 
 Mr. Jeffery’s services have been recognized 
 by his appointment as postmaster, which po- 
 sition he now holds. Mr. Jeffery stands high 
 among the people of Grant county, where he 
 has been well known for many years, and 
 commands the respect of all the citizens, irre- 
 spective of party. Socially he is a charter 
 member of Masonic Lodge No. 185, George- 
 town, of which he has been secretary some 
 ten years. His wife is a member of the M. 
 E. • Church, of which they are cheerful sup- 
 porters. 
 
 CLAREMONT S. JACKMAN. This 
 gentleman, one of Janesville’s prominent and 
 most capable financiers, is of English ancestry 
 and Revolutionary stock. The earliest Amer- 
 ican progenitor of his family emigrated from 
 “Old” to “New” England in early Colonial 
 days, and our subject’s great-grandfather 
 served in the patriot army led by Washing- 
 ton, and later in the State militia of Massa- 
 chusetts. The paternal grandfather of Mr. 
 Jackman, Stillman Jackman, was born in the 
 “Bay State,” but removed thence to New 
 Hampshire, where he died at the age of sixty- 
 five years, the father of four children. 
 
 Timothy Jackman, the father of Clare- 
 mont S., was born in the State of New York. 
 He married Marcia M. Smith, whose father, 
 Jesse Smith, was born in Massachusetts, but 
 
 came west in 1848, locating" in the town of 
 Union, Rock Co., A is., where he cultivated a 
 farm and conducted a general country store 
 until his death, which did not occur until he had 
 reached the extraordinary ag _ e of ninety years. 
 Timothy Jackman was a man of fertile brain, 
 endowed with quick perceptive power, and 
 a business capacity which may be said to have 
 been remarkable for his time. He was not only 
 a successful farmer, but also managed a hotel 
 to the satisfaction of his patrons, and engaged 
 in milling and mercantile business. He took 
 up his home in Janesville in 1842, and pros- 
 pered greatly in all his various ventures. He 
 was one of the organizers of the Rock County 
 (later the Rock County National) Bank, and 
 was president thereof from its formation un- 
 til the day of his death. He was a Republican, 
 and a member of Janesville’s first city council. 
 He died in 1868, in his sixty-ninth year. His 
 widow survived twenty years, passing away in 
 1888. 
 
 Claremont S. Jackman is one of four chil- 
 dren born to his parents. He and his brother 
 Clarence N. (a carriage manufacturer of 
 Janesville) survive. Our subject was born in 
 Janesville, Nov. 20, 1846. He attended school, 
 as did other boys of his age and condition, but 
 the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion 
 quickened the course of the blood which he had 
 received from his Revolutionary grandsire, and 
 in 1862, when a mere lad of sixteen years, he 
 enlisted in the 12th Wisconsin Artillery. He 
 fought at Missionary Ridge, and followed 
 Sherman to the sea, participating in the bat- 
 tle of Altoona, and the siege and capture of 
 Savannah. Subsequently he was assigned to 
 duty at the headquarters of Gen. John A. Lo- 
 gan. After being mustered out he returned 
 home, and for a year engaged in the milling 
 business in Janesville. His thirst for change 
 and adventure, however, was not yet slaked, 
 and he spent the next eighteen months in the 
 mines of Montana. Wearying of this life, he 
 once more retraced his steps to Janesville, 
 where he entered the service of the Rock Coun- 
 ty National Bank, of which he is now presi- 
 dent, in the humble, inferior position of a mes- 
 senger. This was on July 1, 1867. Quick 
 comprehension, close attention to duty and un- 
 wavering integrity brought their reward. Step 
 by step he climbed the ladder of promotion, un- 
 til, after long and faithful service as cashier, 
 he was elevated to the presidency of that im- 
 
6\ 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 portant and solid institution ; this responsible 
 post he has filled for twelve years. His finan- 
 cial interests in the city are large and import- 
 ant. Besides being a heavy stockholder in var- 
 ious manufacturing and commercial corpora- 
 tions (among them the Janesville Water 
 Works Co.) he has extensive and valuable 
 holdings of real property. Mr. Jackman’s hand- 
 some home was erected about a dozen years 
 ago, at the intersection of Park Place and St. 
 Lawrence street. He is a member of Orien- 
 tal Lodge, Knights of Pythias, and socially 
 popular. His politics are Republican, and for 
 two years he represented the Third ward in 
 the city council. 
 
 On March io, 1869, Mr. Jackman married 
 Clara Hanchett, her parents being John M. and 
 Julia (Titus) Hanchett. The issue of the mar- 
 riage has been one son, Frank, who holds the 
 position of assistant cashier in the bank of 
 which his father is president. He married 
 Miss Etta B. Hanchett, and is the father of 
 two children, Frances and Claremont. 
 
 EMMETT D. McGOWAN has been for 
 many years one of Janesville’s most success- 
 ful lawyers. His legal ability and the pains- 
 taking and scholarly attention which he de- 
 votes to each interest that is confided to his 
 care have gained for him an increasingly large 
 clientage, while his broad, intelligent compre- 
 hension of public affairs, and his genial and 
 generous disposition, have made for him many 
 friends. 
 
 As the name suggests, the family is of 
 Irish descent on the father’s side, its native 
 heath being Newtown Butler, County Fer- 
 managh, in the Emerald Isle. His mother’s 
 family is of military stock, her grandfather, 
 a hero of the Revolution, having been one of 
 the guards over Major Andre and present at 
 his execution, while her father, Daniel Bennett, 
 was a volunteer in the war of 1812. Mr. Mc- 
 Gowan’s grandfather, John McGowan, and 
 father, James S. McGowan, emigrated to 
 America in 1843, an< i settled in Rochester, 
 N. Y. Several years after James S. removed 
 to Walworth county, Wisconsin, making his 
 home at Allen’s Grove. From that point he 
 removed to Beloit, where he was employed in 
 the construction of the paper mills, and about 
 1858-59 he took up his residence in Janesville, 
 where he is still living. Mrs. James S. Mc- 
 Gowan (whose maiden name was Louisa M. 
 
 Bennett), the mother of Emmett D., was bofn 
 in Jefferson county, N. Y. Her brother, John 
 R. Bennett, was a distinguished and honored 
 Wisconsin jurist, having been for many years 
 judge of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit of Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 Emmett D. McGowan’s life has been 
 passed in Janesville, where he was born July 
 1 5, 1859. He has one sister, Mary L. (Mrs. 
 Charles F. Niles), of Menomonee, Wis. In his 
 education, as in his professional success, Mr. 
 McGowan is an example of that type of deter- 
 mined man . of which America is so justly 
 proud, to which she owes so much, who, lack- 
 ing the early advantages which fall to some, 
 have hewed out a place for themselves. Not 
 being able to go to college, he supplemented 
 attendance at the public school with a course 
 of reading at home, embracing substantially 
 one of the classical courses of study laid down 
 by the Faculty of the Wisconsin State Uni- 
 versity. Flis legal education was also obtained 
 by his own efforts. He read law in the office 
 of Bennett & Sale, and in December, 1883, 
 was admitted to the Bar. In July of the fol- 
 lowing year he formed a partnership with Ed- 
 win F. Carpenter. In 1886 Mr. McGowan 
 was the successful candidate, on the Republi- 
 can ticket, for the office of clerk of the cir- 
 cuit court of Rock county. This dissolved the 
 partnership, and the aptitude and fidelity ex- 
 hibited by Mr. McGowan resulted in four elec- 
 tions to the same responsible position, whose 
 duties he continued to ably and honorably dis- 
 charge until 1895. At tlie expiration of his 
 official term he resumed the practice of law, 
 in which his natural talent, his ability for hard 
 work, and his professional skill, have brought 
 him increasing reputation and success. He 
 is a Republican in politics. His love of social 
 association has made of his handsome home, at 
 No. 154 Milton avenue, a place which his 
 friends delight to visit. He is a member of 
 Western Star Lodge, No. 14, A. F. & A. M. ; 
 of fanesville Chapter, No. 5 > R- A. M. ; andi 
 of Janesville Commandery, No. 2, K. T. He 
 is also past chancellor in the order of the 
 Knights of Pythias. 
 
 Mr. McGowan has been twice married, 
 on June 30, 1887, to Abbie L., a daughter of 
 Joseph IT. and Mary Hill, of Beloit, Wis., by 
 which union there were two children, Louise 
 H. and Joseph B. Mrs. McGowan was an 
 invalid for several years from the illness that 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 65 
 
 caused her death. She. was a member of Christ 
 Episcopal Church. On Jan. 11, 1899, Mr. 
 McGowan married Katherine, a daughter of 
 Ellis and Martha A. (Parker) Shopbell. She 
 is a member of the First Congregational 
 Church Of Janesville. 
 
 REV. "WALLACE L. SELLECIv, a ma- 
 chinist and inventor, for some years a resident 
 of Platteville, Grant county, possesses more 
 than an ordinary reputation for his ingenious 
 ideas and skillful application of accepted the- 
 ories to mechanical appliances. 
 
 M 1 "- Selleck was born in Canada Feb. 22, 
 1837, a son of George J. and Zoa (Bositte) 
 Selleck. His father was born in the United 
 States, and was the son of Charles Selleck, 
 an Englishman by birth, who was engaged 
 as a builder of ships of war during the war 
 of 1812. He received his pay from the Eng- 
 lish government in land at Kingston, Canada, 
 and the grant is still in dispute between the 
 heirs of Charles Selleck and the English gov- 
 ernment. Charles Selleck disposed of it to 
 the citizens of Kingston on a ninety-years 
 lease. George J. Selleck was a millwright by 
 trade, and put up a number of sawmills and 
 gristmills in Wisconsin during the latter part 
 of his life, living at Millville. He died in 
 
 1894. He had large tracts of land near Prairie 
 du Chien, Wis., and in Nebraska, and was 
 known as one of the successful business men 
 of the day. His wife passed away March 3, 
 
 1895. They left a family of six sons and four 
 daughters: Charles, born in Canada in 1831, 
 studied medicine, and settled in Blue Hill, 
 Nebraska, where he died in 1886, leaving one 
 son, William, who lives in that State. Maria 
 was born in Canada in February, 1833, and 
 married Erastus Blodget, of Vermont, a 
 manager for mines on Lake Superior ; they 
 settled in Dane county, Wis., where the wife 
 died, leaving four children. Albina, born in 
 Canada in 1835, is the wife of Louis Keith, 
 of Bladen, Neb. Wallace L., our subject, is 
 next in the family. Wellington W.. born in 
 Milwaukee in September, 1839, is n °w a 
 farmer near St. Paul. Minn. ; he has a family 
 of three daughter's, Zoa, Grace and Othe. 
 Washington was born in Wisconsin in 1841, 
 and served with his brother Wellington in 
 the 4th Wisconsin Cavalry during the Civil 
 war, under Gen. Sigel, taking part in some 
 stirring scenes and experiences; Washington 
 
 returned from the war, and pre-empted land in 
 Nebraska, where he lived tor nine years, but 
 not being pleased with that country he came 
 back to \\ isconsin and bought a farm near 
 Millville, where he still resides; he married 
 Miss Jane Huston, and has a family of live 
 children, of whom are named Charles, Henry, 
 Lydia, and Effie. George, born Sept. 27, 1843, 
 was a soldier during the Civil war, enlisting 
 from Iowa ; after the war he married Miss 
 Elizabeth Raymond, and now lives on a farm 
 at Beetown, Grant county. Albert, born in 
 October, 1846, at Milwaukee, was for a num- 
 ber of years an engineer on a steamboat ply- 
 ing on the Mississippi river, and is now man- 
 ager of a creamery near Elk Grove ; he is 
 married, and has live children, George, John, 
 Joseph, Nellie, and one whose name is not 
 given. Sophia, born in Milwaukee in 1851. 
 married Lewis Harvey, who moved to the 
 Nebraska frontier, where he was killed by the 
 Indians, leaving his wife with one son, George, 
 whom she educated in Lincoln, Neb. ; when a 
 young man he went to the gold fields of 
 Alaska, and returned with a rich reward for 
 the perils lie had undergone, bringing home 
 on his first trip over thirty thousand dollars- 
 in gold; in 1896 the young miner and his 
 mother returned to Alaska, where they are 
 at the present writing. Alice E., born in 
 Grant county in 1856, married Henry Mar- 
 tin, of Blue Hill, Neb. ; they now reside in 
 Iowa. 
 
 Wallace L. Selleck obtained his education 
 in the public schools of Wisconsin, and for one 
 year was a student in the public schools at 
 Platteville. When a young man he served an 
 apprenticeship as a machinist in the shops at 
 Dubuque. His first work after finishing his 
 time was in a steam sawmill. He was a lumber 
 man on the Wisconsin river for ten years. 
 On Jan. 30, 1858, the young lumberman and 
 Miss Sarah A. Miles, daughter qf Jesse and 
 Mahala Miles, were married. The young 
 couple went to the lumber mills on the Wis- 
 consin river, and spent some years in that ro- 
 mantic country. In 1869 he sold out his lum- 
 ber interests and moved to Milwaukee, where 
 he erected a shop for the manufacture of the 
 turbine water-wheel. He sold this after two 
 years at a very decided profit, and moved to 
 Millville, Wis., where he was eng-aged in a 
 sawmill some twenty years, being largely oc- 
 cupied with the manufacture and sale of wal- 
 
66 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 nut lumber during this time. He has given 
 several years to invention, and has perfected 
 among other things a door hinge which is in 
 general use ; he also has inventions in the line 
 of compressed air and steam saving power. 
 
 Mrs. Selleck died in Millville, Feb. io, 
 1881, leaving him six children : ( 1 ) Zoa, born 
 
 at Millville, in 1861, married Lucien McDowie, 
 and they are now living at Peoria, 111 ., where 
 he is one of the prosperous blacksmiths of that 
 city. They have four children, R. L., James, 
 Nina B., and Ralph. (2) Clara, born in 
 Grant county in 1863, married Charles Cal- 
 oms, and they reside on his farm in Grant 
 county. They have three chidren, of whom 
 we have record of two, Myrtie and Charles. 
 (3) George IT., born in Millville in 1866, mar- 
 ried Miss Annie Brown, and they have one son, 
 Ray. He was a merchant at Millville for some 
 time. Some years later he opened a store at 
 Dodgeville, and then moved to Galena, where 
 he sold out his business. He settled on his 
 farm near Millville, and is now a successful 
 farmer. (4) Lillian, born in New Lisbon, 
 \\ is., in 1870, married Samuel Tracy, of the 
 town of Harrison, where they live on a farm; 
 they have one son, Raymond. (5) Miss Jo- 
 sephine, born in Grant county in 1874, was edu- 
 cated in the public school ancl is still in the 
 home of her father, where she has had charge 
 since the death of her mother. (6) May, born 
 in Grant county in 1879, is now the wife of 
 Orville Barrett, and has one child. They 
 reside at Arthur, Wis., where they own and 
 manage a farm. 
 
 Mr. Selleck is a Republican, and was jus- 
 tice of the peace several years at Millville. 
 He is a member of the Christian Universal 
 Church, a believer in divine healing, and has 
 always been a Bible student. He is a strong 
 believer in the power of God to answer prayer. 
 
 HENRY C. LANE, a retired hardware 
 merchant, and a very prominent citizen of 
 Platteville, Grant county, is a native of Trum- 
 bull county, Ohio, born in September, 1819, 
 a son of David and Nancy ( Lester) Lane. 
 
 David Lane was born in Connecticut, and 
 descended from an old Pilgrim family; his 
 wife was a native of Leicestershire, England, 
 and a great-granddaughter of Lord Lester. 
 From Connecticut, in which State they were 
 married, Mr. and Mrs. Lane removed to Ohio, 
 where Air. Lane followed his trade of hatter 
 
 for some years. Subsequently he purchased 
 land on the old turnpike running from Pitts- 
 burg, Penn., to Cleveland, Ohio, where he built 
 a hotel, conducting same until, his death, many 
 years ago. To this worthy and venerated 
 couple were born the following family of chil- 
 dren : Maria, who died in 1808; Julia, who 
 
 was married to Isaac Reves; Louisa, wife of 
 Dr. Asil. Jones, he and she being now deceased ; 
 Alary A., deceased wife of Jacob Devendorf ; 
 Emily, who married Milton Graham, both now 
 deceased ; Lester, who died on the old home- 
 stead ; Dr. Levit Lane, deceased, who was a 
 practitioner at Monroe; Albert, who died in 
 Milwaukee, Wis., leaving two daughters, Ada 
 and Louella, residents of Platteville, the latter 
 being the widow of Air Graham, and making 
 her home with Mr. and Airs. H. C. Lane ; and 
 Henry C., the gentleman whose name opens 
 this sketch. 
 
 Henry C. Lane was educated in the com- 
 mon schools of Trumbull, Ohio, and when a 
 young man learned blacksmithing. In 1840 
 he came to Platteville, Wis., when it was but 
 a small village, and here worked at his trade 
 three and a half years; then returned to Ohio, 
 and the same year married Miss Lucy A. 
 Hocomb, of Hartford, that State. She was a 
 daughter of Horace and Julia (Gillette) 
 Hocomb, who were born in Connecticut, and 
 after their marriage removed to Broome coun- 
 ty, N. Y., where Mrs. Lucy A. Lane was born 
 in January, 1821. In 1833 the Hocomb family 
 removed from the Empire State to Ohio, locat- 
 ing in Trumbull county, and shortly afterward 
 the father died, leaving his widow with three 
 children: Judson, now residing near Madison, 
 Wis. ; Hannah, widow of William Beebe, and 
 living in Lancaster, this State; and Airs. Henry 
 C. Lane. After the death of her husband Mrs. 
 Hocomb made her home with Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lane until her demise, in 1880. 
 
 Immediately after marriage Mr. Lane 
 brought his bride to Platteville, and a few years 
 later relinquished blacksmithing and engaged 
 in the hardware trade, in which he continued 
 over thirty years, realizing a competency, and 
 now owning a large number of city lots, which 
 he has improved ; he owns, besides, other val- 
 uable real estate. The union of Air. and Mrs. 
 Lane has been blessed with four daughters, 
 viz. : Maria, born in 1844, is the wife of Lester 
 Devendorf, and has two children — Cora, wife 
 of William H. Ellis, a lawyer of Platteville; 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 67 
 
 and Charles Devendorf, a traveling salesman, 
 of Iowa. Julania, a graduate of the Academy, 
 is the wife of A. C. Van Elston, a banker and 
 merchant of Muscoda, Wis., and a former rep- 
 resentative in the State Legislature ; they have 
 had two children, one son and one daughter, 
 Henry L. and Florence, of whom the latter 
 died in 1899. Maretta, now Mrs. William 
 Jones, is the mother of five children, Lottie, 
 William, Vandy, Florence and Louella. Jessie 
 is the wife of John Lawton and the mother of 
 two children, Elvira and John, both students 
 in the city college. 
 
 Religiously all the Lane family are mem- 
 bers of the Congregational Church, to which 
 they freely contribute, and to the building of 
 all the churches in the city Mr. Lane has ever 
 lent willing aid financially. Politically he is 
 a stanch Republican, has served as member of 
 the council, and filled several other offices of 
 minor importance, but has never aspired to 
 public positions simply- for the sake of the 
 honor attached thereto, serving from a sense 
 of public duty. Fraternally he is a charter 
 member of the Masonic lodge of Platteville, 
 and socially he and family enjoy the esteem 
 of the entire population of the city. 
 
 BARTIMEUS WHITE. The days of this 
 venerable pioneer are well-nigh spent. Born 
 in i8n, he is approaching life’s ninetieth mile- 
 stone, and the narratives of the lives of such 
 men as he are replete at once with interest and 
 instruction. Grant county can boast few citi- 
 zens of so advanced an age or a life more void 
 of offense. For a period of sixty-five years he 
 has been identified with the development of 
 this portion of the State, having first settled 
 in the southwestern part in 1835, when Wis- 
 consin was a Territory, in part of Michigan, 
 its forests not felled, and its soil unbroken. 
 
 Mr. White comes of sturdy, stalwart New 
 England stock, his ancestry in America being 
 traced back to 1635-36, when some of his pro- 
 genitors settled in Braintree and Weymouth, 
 Mass. Our subject’s parents, Samuel and 
 Mary (Hayhood) White, were residents of 
 Braintree, Mass., in which town he was born 
 and passed his early years. He was one of a 
 family of seven children born to his father's 
 first marriage. After the death of his mother, 
 his father married a second time, the issue of 
 that union being a family of five or six'chd- 
 clren. Samuel White died at Braintree, in his 
 
 eightieth year. Of the seven children born 
 to Samuel and Mary White Bartimeus alone 
 survives, while of the second marriage, only 
 one daughter is yet living, Mrs. Phoebe Chees- 
 man, a widow, born in 1822 ; she has a son and 
 a daughter living, both of whom have mar- 
 ried, and the son has two grandchildren. 
 
 Bartimeus White when a boy of ten years 
 was apprenticed to learn the trade of a shoe- 
 maker, and worked as a journeyman for several 
 years. His health failing, he had recourse to 
 an ocean voyage, with the most beneficial re- 
 sults ; but on his return, fearing that the con- 
 finement incident to working at his trade might 
 induce a return of his trouble, he resolved to 
 join the long procession of emigrants who 
 were even then wending their way westward, 
 in search of homes. It was on Oct. 8, 1834, 
 that he departed from Braintree, and just six 
 months later, in the spring of 1835, he reached 
 the lead mines of southwestern Wisconsin, in 
 which he worked for six years. He then began 
 farming, a pursuit which he has followed dur- 
 ing the greater part of his subsequent life. His 
 first farm was in Jamestown, Grant county, 
 but in 1862, desirous of affording his children 
 better educational opportunities, he removed 
 with his family to his present home, which is 
 situated directly south of the city of Lancaster. 
 Here he is passing his declining years, in the 
 company of the wife who has been his com- 
 panion and helpmeet for fifty-five years, happy 
 in his memories of the past, and looking for- 
 ward to the future with , serene hope. It has 
 been his lot to witness great changes and stu- 
 pendous advances. Twenty-two National ad- 
 ministrations have passed into history since 
 his eyes first saw the light of day, and the 
 country has passed, victoriously, through four 
 wars. Slavery has been abolished, and State 
 after State been admitted to the Union. Steam 
 and electricity have become the trained and 
 docile servants of man, and the entire systems 
 of manufacture, industry and commerce have 
 been revolutionized. All these strange sights 
 have his eyes witnessed, and yet, despite his 
 ninety vears, he is still vigorous in body and 
 clear in mind. His memory is remarkably 
 good, taking him back to events of his early 
 childhood, and he has some recollection of his 
 paternal grandfather, who lived in the ‘‘new 
 large square house,” his parents occupying the 
 older dwelling. At the time of his grand- 
 father’s funeral he remembers climbing on a 
 
68 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 chair to look out of a window when the re- 
 mains were brought out and placed on a table 
 for the last look. Honored by his fellowmen, 
 loved and revered by his family and friends, 
 Mr. White calmly awaits the summons that 
 shall whisper in the ear of the soul, “Friend, 
 go up higher.” 
 
 In 1845 Mr. White returned to Massa- 
 chusetts, to claim the hand of his promised 
 bride, Miss Nancy Leach, of East Bridgewater, 
 that State, who was born Feb. 28, 1822. Of 
 the children which have been born to their 
 union two died in infancy. Those yet living- 
 are Abby F., Franklin, Hattie E., Mrs. Mary 
 Marks, Mrs. Ida King, Mrs. Marcia A. Hall, 
 and John. The last named is- now living in 
 Kansas not far from Kansas City ; he returned 
 eastward as far as Kansas after eight years’ 
 experience in southern California, which he 
 found too dry to afford a good living to a man 
 in moderate circumstances, with a young fam- 
 ily; he has a wife and three children. 
 
 SAML 1 EL GRAY, a retired farmer, is 
 among the well known and highly esteemed 
 citizens of Platteville, Grant county, having- 
 borne an important part in the development 
 and advancement of this State. Descending 
 from sturdy English stock, Mr. Gray has 
 steadily climbed from the lowest rung in the 
 ladder of success to his present comfortable 
 position, by his own unaided efforts. 
 
 Samuel Gray was born in Cornwall, Eng- 
 land, June 26, 1830, a son of John and Ann 
 (Bosanco) Gray. In 1841, John Gray, with 
 one son, came to America, and settling in 
 Wisconsin, at Benton, Lafayette county, he 
 there engaged in mining for two years. At 
 that time he sent for his wife and the remain- 
 der of the family, and later purchased a farm 
 near Benton, where he resided until his death, 
 in 1862, his worthy helpmate surviving until 
 1874. Both of these good people were con- 
 sistent members of the M. E. Church, and 
 lived most Christian lives. They left a family 
 of five children : John married and located 
 
 on a farm in Lafayette county, later moving to 
 Hazel Green where he died in 1892; his wife 
 passed away some two years later, leaving one 
 daughter, Elizabeth A., wife of Edward Rodg- 
 ers, of Grant county. Henry married Miss 
 Elizabeth L. Williams, and settled in Hazel 
 Green, where he resided until his death, leav- 
 ing one daughter, Martha, wife of John Jewell, 
 
 of Hazel Green. William, after going to Cali- 
 fornia, married in Hazel Green Miss Ann 
 Pierce, went to Boston, and now resides near 
 that city, in a pleasant home, surrounded by an 
 interesting- family. Our subject is next in the 
 family. James, educated in Lafayette county,, 
 married Mary E. Clemens, and settled at Cuba 
 City, where lie still resides; he has no family. 
 
 Samuel Gray was but thirteen years old 
 when brought to Wisconsin, and secured a fair 
 amount of education in England and the 
 schools of Lafayette county. After mining in 
 the local mines until 1851 lie migrated 1 to Cali- 
 fornia, via New Orleans, over the Isthmus by 
 land, thence by water to his destination. After 
 mining for some time at Placerville, and at- 
 taining fair success, Mr. Gray returned to 
 Wisconsin, via New York, and continued lead 
 mining in this State for a few years, but after 
 his marriage he settled on the old homestead, 
 where he greatly improved the property, resid- 
 ing there until 1889. At that date he purchased 
 a fine building site in the Homestead Addi- 
 tion in Platteville, and erected his present pleas- 
 ant home, where he and his family now are sur- 
 rounded by all the comforts of life. 
 
 On May 31, 1855, Samuel Gray married 
 Miss Mary Symons, daughter of Richard and 
 Sarah Symons, prominent people of England, 
 who came to America, and settled in Benton, 
 Wis., when Mrs. Gray was a child, she having 
 been born in Cornwall, England, in January, 
 1837; she was educated in the schools of Wis- 
 consin. Mr. Symons died Sept. 19, 1900. Of 
 the family born to Mr. and Mrs. Gray, seven 
 grew to maturity: George H., born April 
 
 29, 1856, was educated in Benton and the 
 Platteville Normal, married Lydia Stephens, 
 and settled on a farm in Iowa ; he has a family 
 of five children, William A., Myrtle, Samuel, 
 Pearl and Edgar. Mary E., born March 31, 
 1858, was educated at Lafayette and Galena, 
 111 ., married Cyrus Paterson, of Hazel Green, 
 Wis., and settled on a farm at Hazel Green; 
 she died leaving one son, Cyril. Alfred, born 
 Nov. 24, i860, married Agnes Burkett, and 
 now resides on his father’s farm; he has three 
 children, Aruba, Jennie and Harold. John S., 
 born June 2, 1863, married Eliza Burkett, of 
 Lafayette county, and resides on his father’s 
 farm, near Benton ; he has three children, 
 Henry, Sylvia and Clarence. Alice J., born 
 Oct. 12, 1866, graduated at Hazel Green high 
 school and later at the State Normal j she mar- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 69 
 
 ried O. E. Gibson, one of the leading dentists 
 of Platteville, and has two children, Irvin, 
 born in July, 1893, and Helen, born July 1, 
 1896. Oliver, born in August, 1870, was edu- 
 cated at Hazel Green, graduating from the 
 high school, there, also attended the State 
 Normal, and the State University, at Madison, 
 and is now the superintendent of schools for 
 Platteville; on Dec. 26, 1900, he married Gert- 
 rude P. Chase. Edith, born Aug. 25, 1877, 
 died Dec. 9, 1900; although an invalid for 
 many years, and at times a great sufferer, she 
 was seldom heard to complain ; she was one of 
 the most beautiful Christian characters, and 
 many a helpful lesson was learned at her side. 
 
 In his political opinions Mr. Gray adheres 
 to the principles of the Republican party, was 
 a member of the town board of Benton for 
 some six years, and held a number of other 
 local offices, discharging the duties pertaining 
 to each efficiently and satisfactorily. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Gray, as well as their family, are very 
 prominent in the M. E. Church, of which 
 they are faithful members, and take an active 
 part in all the work pertaining thereto. Few 
 people more richly deserve the prosperity which 
 lias come to them than do Mr. and Mrs. Gray, 
 and they have endeared themselves, by their 
 many excellent traits of character, not only to 
 their immediate family, but to a large circle 
 of acquaintances and friends. 
 
 DANIEL N. SMALLEY, the genial post- 
 master at Cuba Citv. Grant county, and a man 
 'well known throughout the surrounding dis- 
 trict, is well worth mention in the annals of 
 his neighborhood. 
 
 Mr. Smalley’s birth occurred Feb. 1, 1833, 
 at Union, N. Y., and he is a son of Nehemiah 
 and Sarah (Cataline) Smalley, natives of Ver- 
 mont and Connecticut, respectively. The par- 
 ents grew to maturity in New York State, mar- 
 ried there, and in 1837 migrated to Illinois. 
 The father died in Chicago ill 1837. two weeks 
 after reaching that place. Mrs. Smalley sub- 
 sequently married Moses Spencer, and they 
 removed to Pleasant Grove. 111 ., where they 
 remained until the death of Mr. Spencer. Mrs. 
 Spencer then removed to Chicago, and died at 
 the home of her daughter, Mrs. Sarah Kim- 
 bel.l, of that city. Of the children born to the 
 marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Nehemiah Smalley, 
 George O., born in New York State, settled 
 near Madison, Wis., and later removed to Illi- 
 
 nois, settling at Eureka ; he has two .daugh- 
 ters living near Eureka, 111 . Sarah A. mar- 
 ried Martin N. Kimbell, resides in Chicago, 
 and has seven children, some of whom reside 
 in Chicago. Caroline, born in New York State, 
 married David White, of Illinois, and had three 
 children; upon his death she married Adrian 
 Cook, by whom she had five children. Dud- 
 ley C., born in New York State, moved to 
 Illinois, and later to Grant county, and pur- 
 chased a farm on which he resided until 1891, 
 when he moved to Morris county, Ivans., where 
 he followed farming; he married Miss Amanda 
 Haines, of Grant county, and now resides in 
 Kansas City; they have six children. Alonzo, 
 born in New York State, is now a retired 
 farmer of Manhattan, 111 . ; he has six children 
 living. Martha, born in New York State, 
 married Joseph S track, of Chicago, and set- 
 tled on a farm near Waukegan, 111 . Electa 
 married Nelson Willard, resides near Chicago, 
 and has two children. Our subject is the 
 youngest of the family. 
 
 Daniel N. Smalley, after coming West, lived 
 some five years with his. sister, Mrs. Kimbell, 
 in Chicago. He then returned to his old home, 
 and worked for a Mr. Ricards until twenty- 
 one, when he entered Oberlin College, remain- 
 ing for two years ; he next studied under J. L. 
 Pickard, principal of the Platteville Academy. 
 In 1854 Mr. Smalley taught his first school, 
 and so successful was he that he practically 
 adopted this calling as his life work, and since 
 then has taught forty terms, in Grant, Lafay- 
 ette and other counties. Among his assign- 
 ments were seven consecutive years at Dick- 
 eysville. In 1881 he settled at Jamestown, 
 remaining there until 1889, when he located 
 at Cuba City, and became identified with the 
 public schools in that city, becoming one of 
 the best-known educators in the county. In 
 July, 1897, Mr. Smalley was honored by ap- 
 pointment as postmaster, and has since that 
 time filled the office with credit to himself and 
 satisfaction to the patrons of the service. 
 
 The war record of Mr. Smalley is a very 
 interesting one, he having become a member, 
 in 1862, of the 23th Wis. V. I., as first lieu- 
 tenant, Capt. Robert Nash commanding. The 
 regiment served in the Western Army some 
 time, then was sent to Vicksburg, participating 
 in that world-famous siege. After the cap- 
 ture of that city the regiment was sent into 
 Arkansas, thence into Kentucky, participating 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7 o 
 
 in various engagements. While in Arkansas 
 Mr. Smalley was appointed captain of his 
 company, and led the command back, burning 
 the Rebel strongholds, and encountering much 
 danger. This regiment took part in the fa- 
 mous march to the sea, and through the entire 
 war Mr. Smalley was a brave soldier and a 
 gallant and capable officer. After Iris long and 
 arduous service he was honorably mustered out, 
 in 1865, and retired to private life. 
 
 In i860 Mr. Smalley was married to Miss 
 Mary E. Cooper, of Jamestown, Wis., who was 
 a daughter of James T. and Cynthia A. Coop- 
 er, coming from one of the old aristocratic fam- 
 ilies of Kentucky. In 1844 Mrs. Smalley’s 
 parents came to Lafayette county, where they 
 remained seven or eight years, then went to 
 Dubuque, Iowa, and stayed until the death of 
 Mr. Cooper, in 1853. Airs. Cooper died at 
 the home of her daughter in Grant county in 
 1868. Mrs. Smalley was born in Missouri in 
 1841 , attended the district schools of the neigh- 
 borhood of her home, and the high school at 
 Dubuque, Iowa. She was one of five chil- 
 dren : Mary E., Mrs. Smalley; Margaret, 
 
 now wife of N. Eastman, one of the wealthy 
 lumbermen of Platteville; George S., who is 
 married, and a resident of Salem, Ore. ; James 
 I., who died when young-; and N. S., now a 
 resident of Hoyden, Iowa. 
 
 Five children have been born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Smalley : Lorinda A., born in Jamestown 
 in 1861, was educated in the public schools, 
 and in 1880 married John Fush, of George- 
 town, where they now reside, on a farm; they 
 have four children, Wallace S., Laura B., Lee 
 S. and Raymond B. Sherman E., born in Illi- 
 nois in 1866, was educated in the public schools 
 of his State, and for a time was connected 
 with the Houskins Lumber Co., of Galena. 111 ., 
 as bookkeeper and manager, but later studied 
 •law, passing the examination at Madison 
 in 1895, and now carries on a law practice in 
 Cuba City; in November, 1892, he married 
 Miss -Polly Mitchell, of Cuba City, and they 
 have two children, Luverne and Gynett. Edna 
 M., born in Grant county in 1869, was well 
 educated in the district schools, and was one 
 of the successful school teachers of Grant coun- 
 ty until her marriage, to George G. Gaskill, 
 of Lafayette county, who is postmaster at Ar- 
 gyle and editor of the Argi Atlas , a publica- 
 tion having a large circulation. Maggie B., 
 born at Jamestown in 1875, was a student at 
 
 the State Normal, and followed teaching until 
 her marriage, in 1895, to John N. Williams, of 
 Hazel Green ; they now reside at Carroll, Iowa, 
 on a farm, and have two children, Myrtle E. 
 and Margery B. Mary E., born in March, 
 1878, was educated in the home schools, grad- 
 uating from the Cuba City high school,, and 
 assisted her father until her marriage, March 
 27, 1900, to J. A. Clemens, of Cuba City;, 
 they now reside on a farm at Hazel Green. 
 
 Politically Mr. Smalley has always been a 
 stanch Republican. He has filled a number of 
 local offices, including those of assessor, town 
 clerk, justice of the peace, etc., for a number 
 of years, and in every instance has given un- 
 bounded satisfaction. Taking an active inter- 
 est in matters pertaining to the veterans, Mr. 
 Smalley is an earnest member of Sherman 
 Post, G. A. R., of Platteville, and fraternally 
 is a member of the A. F. & A. M. in Illinois, 
 having founded a chapter in that organization 
 when still a young man. Mrs. Smalley is ‘a 
 member of the M. E. Church, and Mr. Smalley 
 attends with his wife and family, and always- 
 gives liberally toward the support of the church 
 and its works. Being a cultured man, possessed 
 of a vast store of erudition, Mr. Smalley is 
 fitted to shine in a much more exalted sphere in 
 the literary world, and it is to be hoped that, 
 although he is honored in his present office, 
 he will not “hide his light under a bushel,” 
 but allow his ability full scope, that it may re- 
 sult to the good of coming generations. 
 
 JOHN T. WILKINSON, a resident of 
 Platteville, Grant county, who was one of the 
 bravest soldiers who fought to preserve his 
 native land from ruin in the war of the Rebel- 
 lion, was born in Indiana July 15, 1835. 
 
 Mr. Wilkinson is of Scottish descent. His 
 great-grandfather, Angus Wilkinson, a man 
 of property in England as well as in Scotland, 
 joined the Scots and became a soldier of re- 
 nown in the defense of his country. He had 
 married a lady named MacGregor, a sister of 
 the famous Highland chief dubbed “Rob Roy,” 
 and at the termination of the struggle he and 
 his wife disguised themselves as peasants and 
 came to America. Two of his brothers, Will- 
 iam and Joseph, came also, and they settled in 
 Ohio, where Angus Wilkinson passed the re- 
 mainder of his life. One of his brothers was a 
 soldier in the American army in the war of 
 1812, and the other went to South America. 
 

 
 ' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7i 
 
 Their estates were all confiscated for a term of 
 years to the Crown of England. A register 
 of the family as far back as the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, which our subject’s great-grandparents 
 brought to America with them, was destroyed 
 by fire when their home in Ohio was burned, 
 and the family have gone to considerable 
 trouble and expense to re-establish the chain 
 of descent thus broken. John Wilkinson, our 
 subject’s grandfather, was born on shipboard, 
 during his parents’ voyage to this country ; he 
 was their eldest child. 
 
 James Wilkinson, father of John T., was 
 born in 1810 in Butler county, Ohio, and re- 
 moved with the family from Ohio to Ripley 
 county, Inch, where the parents died. They 
 had born to them five children, of whom James 
 was the only son, and all are now deceased. 
 In 1833 James married Rachel P. Murphy, a 
 lady of Irish parentage, and about 1838 went 
 back to Ohio with his wife and young chil- 
 dren. In 1842 he returned to Indiana, and 
 located in Indianapolis; five years later he 
 went to Illinois, and in 1850 came to Grant 
 county, Wis., settling in the town of Liberty, 
 where he entered a tract of government land 
 at $1.25 per acre. About four years later he 
 exchanged his land for the “Lancaster Hotel,” 
 in Lancaster, which he very successfully con- 
 ducted several years, when he sold out and 
 purchased a farm in the town of Ellenboro. 
 There he lost his wife, and for his second 
 spouse he chose Phehe Bit?. To Mr. Wilkin- 
 son and his first wife were born nine children, 
 six of whom lived to reach mature years, and 
 five are still living, namely: John T.,'the eld- 
 est; Daniel S., who resides at Gilman, 111 .; 
 Elizabeth J., wife of Andrew Meeker, of Cher- 
 okee, Iowa; William IT., of Grangeville, Cal.; 
 and Phebe M., wife of Levi G. Reamer, of 
 Grant county, Wis. Mr. Wilkinson was a pow- 
 erful man physically, and enjoyed robust 
 health up to within a few days of his death, 
 which occurred on his Ellenboro farm July 14, 
 1885. He was mild, kind and jovial by nature, 
 was hospitable to a marked degree, and was 
 universally respected. In politics he was a 
 Democrat, but as an outcome of the war of 
 the Rebellion he voted for Abraham Lincoln 
 on his second candidacy for the Presidency. 
 
 John T. Wilkinson was about fifteen years 
 of age when he came to Wisconsin with his 
 parents, and is the only son still living in 
 Grant county. Alien nineteen years old he 
 
 entered the office of the Grant County Herald 
 to learn the printer's trade, but two years 
 later withdrew, on account of ill health. He 
 then went West, and for nine months was as- 
 sistant surveyor on a military road between the 
 Big Platte river and the Yellowstone. On 
 his return he attended an academy for a year, 
 under a Mr. Page, and then himself began 
 teaching; was also employed in mining for 
 a while; and then commenced farming. In 
 1861 he married Miss Adelia A. Bradley, a na- 
 tive of Trumbull county, Ohio, but a year later 
 parted with his bride to answer the call to arms, 
 enlisting Aug. 9, 1862, in Company C. 25th 
 Wis. V. I. He was at first assigned to the 
 Minnesota frontier. In February, 1863, he 
 was stationed for a time at Columbus, Kv„ 
 whence he was sent to take part in the siege of 
 Vicksburg. The following winter he spent at 
 Helena, Ark., and was on the Merid’an raid in 
 February, 1864; was again at Vicksburg; 
 then at Chattanooga. Tennessee, and took 
 part in all the engagements from Chattanooga 
 to xLtlanta, Ga. At the siege of Atlanta he was 
 severely wounded by a gunshot through his 
 left shoulder, from the effects of which he has 
 never fully recovered. After the war, when 
 he had become strong enough, Mr. Wilkinson 
 re-engaged in farming. From 1884 to 1886 
 he conducted a mercantile business in Ellen- 
 boro. 
 
 Mrs. Wilkinson having become invalided, 
 in the hope of improving her health Mr. Wilkin- 
 son traveled with her for a considerable length 
 of time in the South and West. The winter 
 of 1894-95 they spent in California, and another 
 winter in Alabama. Mrs. Wilkinson however, 
 on returning North, died Feb. 16, 1899, leav- 
 ing an only child, Eva E., wife of George E. 
 Downing, of Thornton, Iowa. Mr. Wilkin- 
 son is recognized as a gentleman of great in- 
 telligence, improved and refined by travel and 
 contact with the world, and expanded by a 
 somewhat cosmopolitan life. He has derived 
 much knowledge also from closely studious 
 habits, is well posted in history and general 
 literature, and is an edifying and entertain- 
 ing conversationalist. Fraternally he is a 
 member of the F. & A. M.. and politically was 
 originally a Republican, but of late has seen 
 fit. owing to the mutations in political policy, 
 to change his views, and he now affiliates with 
 the Democratic party. Retired from active 
 business life, he passes his summers in his 
 
7 2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 pleasant home in Platteville, in the enjoyment 
 of the society of his numerous warm-hearted 
 friends, while his winters, as a rule, are spent 
 in the mild region of the South. 
 
 JOSEPH BELLAMY WHITING, M. D., 
 Janesville. The subject of this sketch is de- 
 scended from a long line of New England an- 
 cestors, of English origin in this country, the 
 first having established himself at Hingham, 
 Mass., in 1634. The family residence of his 
 great-grandfather, William Whiting, at the 
 head of Broad street, in Milford, Conn., is 
 still a landmark. 
 
 William Whiting was born in Connecticut, 
 a son of a merchant sea captain, who visited 
 Bordeaux, France, where the son (William) 
 was educated. This experience introduced 
 some French blood in the family, for he mar- 
 ried a French lady and brought her to his New 
 England home. His son, John Whiting, was 
 a farmer at Barkhamsted, Conn., and was 
 widely known as a successful breeder of fine 
 cattle. He was distinguished for his stern 
 lor e of justice and outspoken character. He 
 was a thorough gentleman under all circum- 
 stances, and when he found himself in the 
 wrong — as must occasionally be the experi- 
 ence of all men — he could not rest until 
 amends had been made, where within his 
 power. On account of the death of his only 
 child, John Whiting, Jr., when the subject of 
 this biography was only two and one-half 
 years old, the care of the latter was: undertaken 
 by the grandfather, who was well qualified for 
 training the willing youth. Much of his man- 
 ly character and worth is, perhaps, due to the 
 kind admonitions and maxims of his courtly 
 grandsire. 
 
 John Whiting, Jr., was a man of high 
 intellectual power, and became noted as a 
 school teacher, though he also engaged in 
 farming with his father at Barkhamsted. He 
 used an arithmetic of his own compilation, 
 which he kept in manuscript, while teaching. 
 He was killed by an accident, while engaged 
 with others in harvesting the crop of a sick 
 neighbor. Mr. Whiting was born at Milford, 
 Conn., in 1786, and his death occurred in 
 1825, at the early age of thirty-nine years. He 
 married Mary Warner, who was born in Ham- 
 den. Conn., in 1796, and survived to the age 
 of seventy-one years, dying in 1867. She was 1 
 a noble Christian woman, of strong intellect, 
 
 and her watchful care and beautiful life laid 
 the foundations of the useful life of her son. 
 The latter, in writing of her, says : “it is not 
 too much to say that whatever of good I have 
 attained to has: been largely due to her daily 
 prayers and admonitions, which followed me 
 wherever I went, this labor of love and duty 
 ceasing only when her life itself was done.” 
 Joseph B. Whiting was born at Barkham- 
 sted, Litchfield Co., Conn., Dec. 16, 1822, and 
 was named for a noted divine of that time. 
 He is the youngest of five children born to 
 John and Mary Whiting, the eldest being a son, 
 and the others daughters. Dr. Whiting has 
 often expressed regret that he did not receive 
 a college education, a lack which the ob- 
 server would hardly discover in meeting the 
 scholarly man and able physician, whose con- 
 versation is so entertaining and instructive. 
 Under home instruction and the common- 
 school training he was ready for an academic 
 course at the age of thirteen years. At sev- 
 enteen he began teaching, and continued in 
 that work for five years, because it was a 
 ready means of self-help. After another year 
 of academic study, he decided to make the 
 practice of medicine his life work, and accord- 
 ingly, in 1845, became a student in the office 
 of Dr. Vincent Holcombe, a distinguished 
 physician and surgeon, at Granville, Hamp- 
 den Co., Mass. This step was taken largely 
 through his admiration for the character and 
 appearance of Dr. Holcombe, and he gave two 
 years to earnest and thorough reading of the 
 authorities. He attended his first course of 
 lectures at Berkshire Medical College, Pitts- 
 field, Mass., in 1847. His second course was 
 at Vermont Medical College, Woodstock, Vt., 
 at the close of which he took up further study 
 with Drs. IT. PI. and T. Childs, both of whom 
 were professors in Berkshire College, from 
 which institution our subject graduated in 
 1848. He began the practice of his profession 
 at Wolcottville, a manufacturing village of' 
 Litchfield county, Conn., where in the autumn 
 of 1850 lie married Miss Frances A. Hunger- 
 ford, a daughter of John and Charlotte A. 
 Hungerford, descended from one of the his- 
 toric families of Connecticut. In 1852 he 
 removed to Brooklyn, N. Y., but was obliged 
 to relinquish a growing and lucrative practice 
 there by the failing health of his wife, who 
 died in 1854, after a year of travel in the hope 
 of recovery. Broken in health, Dr. Whiting 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 73 
 
 went to Berkshire county, Mass., located at 
 Lee, and soon assumed a leading position. The 
 Berkshire District Medical Society, noted for 
 the character and high standing of its mem- 
 bers, made him its secretary, which honorable 
 position he filled for a period of six years — 
 until his removal from the State. The atmos- 
 phere of Berkshire is tinged with a high liter- 
 ary flavor, and here was a field in which 
 Dr. Whiting was fitted to shine. But for the 
 interference of a hard, practical life he would, 
 no doubt, have excelled as a literary man. 
 
 In i860 Dr. Whiting contracted an alli- 
 ance which changed the field of his labors and 
 the current of his life. On his; wedding the 
 widow of Chief Justice Edward V. Whiton, 
 of Wisconsin, he removed to Janesville, which 
 has ever since been his home, and where he 
 is respected and admired by all who are 
 privileged to know him. He is not one given 
 to making miscellaneous acquaintances, and, 
 being somewhat reserved in manner, he is 
 sometimes 'supposed to be proud and super- 
 cilious, qualities, however, which could not be 
 farther removed from his nature. To know 
 him is to recognize the kind heart which 
 yearns toward all mankind, with a desire for 
 its uplifting and emancipation from every ill 
 that threatens its physical or moral welfare. 
 Without considering popularity — except in 
 so far as every man desires the good-will or 
 approbation of his fellows — he seeks only the 
 right, to which he always adheres on principle. 
 His motto is, "If you find you are wrong, 
 get right just as soon as possible.” While 
 not free from foibles which characterize most 
 people, all of which he freely admits, his 
 thoughts occupy a high plane, and he rises 
 above the petty annoyances and interests that 
 fill the minds of many persons. This condition 
 has not been attained without severe self-re- 
 pression and culture, for he was born with a 
 high temper and an extremely sensitive nature, 
 which was always quick to resent any imposi- 
 tion. 
 
 Immediately after the removal to the West 
 the Civil war came upon the land, and after the 
 battle of Fort Donelson Dr. Whiting - offered 
 ltis services gratuitously to Gov. Harvey, who 
 accepted, and sent him to the front to care for 
 wounded soldiers. For six months lie was on 
 duty among the sick and wounded at Mound 
 City Hospital. On the formation of the 33d 
 Wis. V. I. Dr. Whiting was commissioned sur- 
 
 geon thereof, and spent six weeks in examina- 
 tion of the men while the regiment was being 
 gathered in camp at Racine. The experience 
 gained in previous hospital work was; here used 
 to the advantage of the service, and such men 
 as were accepted proved equal to the hardships 
 of active military life. The regiment was or- 
 dered to Memphis, Tenn., to take part in the 
 expedition against Vicksburg, via Grenada 
 and Jackson, Miss., and Surgeon Whiting 
 was detailed for special service near army head- 
 quarters. When the change of program was 
 made, and the army moved by way of the 
 Mississippi river, a large hospital was estab- 
 lished at Milliken’s Bend, nearly opposite 
 Vicksburg, in which Dr. Whiting was made 
 chief executive officer, under Surgeon Frank- 
 lin. At the end of three weeks Dr. Whiting 
 succeeded Dr. Franklin as Surgeon-in-Chief, 
 and the latter returned to his division. The 
 importance of this position may be understood 
 in view of the fact that it was the largest gen- 
 eral hospital in the Mississippi valley below 
 Cairo. It contained about three thousand 
 persons, and was a model for good order, dis- 
 cipline and thorough attention to and care for 
 the wants of its inmates. The executive abil- 
 ity there displayed was noticeable in many' 
 ways other than maintaining good order and 
 thorough discipline, which are the foundation 
 of success. Its supplies for daily use were ob- 
 tained from every available point, a work in 
 itself of no mean magnitude. Not only the 
 quantity but the quality was scrupulously re- 
 garded, and an abundance was provided for 
 all ; yet, when the hospital was closed, in Sep- 
 tember, 1863, after an existence of seven 
 months, there stood to its credit in the com- 
 missary department, as an unexpended bal- 
 ance, the handsome sum of $10,000, which had 
 been saved to the government by economy in 
 the hospital administration, and which afford- 
 ed proof, also, of the liberality of the govern- 
 ment in providing for its hospital department.' 
 When the books were closed, and returns made 
 to Washington, the accounts were found clear 
 and correct. 
 
 In November. 1863. Dr. Whiting was made 
 Surgeon-in-Chief of the military district of 
 Natchez, Miss., with headquarters at that city. 
 The hospitals were found to be in a demoral- 
 ized condition, but in a short time order was 
 restored. The district became infected with 
 smallpox, which spread with great rapidity 
 
74 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 among the citizens and colored troops, but 
 special hospital accommodations were at once 
 provided, and further progress of the disease 
 was averted. The necessities; of the case re- 
 quired our subject's appointment by the mili- 
 tary authorities as mayor of the city, which 
 office he ably filled for some months, when his 
 health gave way, and a return home became 
 inevitable, and he was honorably discharged 
 from the service in July, 1864. He was 
 brought home on a cot, attended by a trusty 
 servant, and was a long time an invalid. 
 
 In 1865, after a quiet rest at home, Dr. 
 Whiting resumed, so far as his strength would 
 allow, an active professional life, in which he 
 has been engrossed ever since, with few inter- 
 ruptions. He is still affected in some degree 
 by the hardships of his army life. He is hon- 
 ored by his professional brethren as an able 
 and successful practitioner, and in 1875 was 
 unanimously chosen president of the Wiscon- 
 sin State Medical Society. He enjoys the con- 
 fidence and respect of his fellow citizens, but 
 has never sought any but social honors. In 
 private life lie is a Christian gentleman, whose 
 career is without blemish. He is the true 
 friend of the unfortunate inebriate, and has 
 given much time and thought to the temper- 
 ance question, strongly advocating total ab- 
 stinence as the only wise and safe rule for the 
 general public. In various ways he has proven 
 that the duties of an able physician, a true 
 philanthropist, and a good citizen, are not at 
 all incompatible. The public schools of Janes- 
 ville and State institutions have in various 
 ways shared his interest and efforts. For five 
 years he filled the office of secretary of the 
 Wisconsin Institution for the Blind, of which 
 he was a trustee many years. For ten years he 
 Avas health officer of the city of Janesville. 
 His papers read before the State Medical So- 
 ciety haA r e always received attention, and he 
 has always advocated a high culture in literary 
 attainments for young men who propose to en- 
 ter the medical profession. He is clear and 
 strong in expression, with no redundant or- 
 namentation, on every occasion, and his ut- 
 terances are worthy of preservation. Flis ad- 
 dresses to the Chippewa Indians are models of 
 clear and wholesome admonition. 
 
 In 1893 Dr. Whiting Avas elected medical 
 director of the Department of Wisconsin, and 
 re-elected in 1894. In T895 f> e was elected 
 surgeon-general of the Grand Army of the 
 
 Republic without a dissenting vote. In pre- 
 senting his name to the Encampment Gov. 
 Hoard of Wisconsin said : “In presenting this 
 name I desire to say simply, that Dr. Whiting 
 is one of the most prominent members of the 
 Grand Army in our State; that he bears' a 
 medical record second to no man in the army ; 
 that his services during the war were of the 
 most arduous character, and were discharged 
 with most excellent ability; and, if he is elect- 
 ed, he will prove an honor to this body, and of 
 great usefulness in the discharge of its work.” 
 
 In personal appearance Dr. Whiting is tall, 
 erect and commanding, and his presence is 
 calculated to place every one on his good be- 
 havior. Without any penclantry or affectation, 
 he enforces upon all the conviction that they 
 are in the presence of a gentleman. For many 
 years he has been a warden of Christ Episco- 
 pal Church, in Janesville, and, as an evidence 
 of the estimation in which he is held in the 
 diocese, it may be mentioned that Bishop 
 Kemper appointed him a member of a com- 
 mittee of three on “Church Literature” for 
 the Diocese of Wisconsin. In political affairs 
 he has always adhered to the Democratic 
 party. Early in 1889 he Avas appointed, by 
 President Cleveland, as a member of the com- 
 mission to treat with the Chippewa Indians 
 for the sale of their reservations at White 
 Earth, Red Lake, Leech Lake, Fond du Lac 
 and Vermilion Lake, in Minnesota, to the gov- 
 ernment. This was an undertaking attended 
 with no small difficulties, on account of the 
 suspicions of the Indians, who had been fre- 
 quently defrauded by dishonest traders and 
 agents of the government. The great heart 
 of Dr. Whiting went out to those oppressed 
 people, in whom he found human souls, and 
 lie soon Avon their confidence, materially aid- 
 ing- in securing their assent to the government’s 
 plans. 
 
 Dr. Whiting is norv assisted in his prac- 
 tice by his son, Joseph B. Whiting, Jr., who 
 is a graduate of the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons of Chicago (1887). His other 
 children are Frances Hungerford, norv wife 
 of Edward Eugene Spalding ; and Mary 
 Louise, Avife of John Kelly. 
 
 MORGAN J. AKIN, a well-to-do retired 
 farmer of' Rock county, Wis.. has a home at 
 No. 53 Ruger avenue, Janesville, Avhich he has 
 fitted up with all the appliances that conduce 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 75 
 
 to the comfort and peace of modern life. He 
 has led a long and honorable career, has worked 
 and saved, played a man’s part in the great 
 struggle for success, and now that the shad- 
 ows are lengthening down the vale he has a 
 right to a few restful years. 
 
 Mr. Akin was born in Cayuga county, 
 N. Y., Nov. io, 1836, a son of Edward and 
 Adeline (Morgan) Akin, both natives of that 
 State. They had three sons and six daughters, 
 and the following children are now living : 
 Lucy Ann, wife of O. L. West, of Johnstown, 
 Wis. ; Morgan J. ; Levan j ah, wife of A. E. Wil- 
 cox, of Harmon}'' township, Rock county; 
 William F., of Whitewater, Wis. ; and Emily 
 W., widow of John Hicks, of Janesville. Ed- 
 ward Akin, who was a farmer, came to Wis- 
 consin in October, 1843. He s P ent two Y ears 
 in Janesville, to give his children the privilege 
 of the schools, and then bought 120 acres of 
 government land, which he converted into a 
 productive farm, anc! made his home there until 
 his death, which occurred in 1877. He was 
 seventy-four years and eleven months old, and 
 his wife survived him one year, also reaching 
 the age of seventy-four. They were both 
 Universalists in their religious faith, and were 
 people of fine character and habits. Ira Akin, 
 his father, was born in New York, of Scotch- 
 Irish descent. His father owned slaves, and 
 he was his father's overseer ; the slaves were 
 freed by the State when New York blotted 
 that shame from her statutes. Ira Akin 
 grew to manhood, married in New York, and 
 reared a family of six children. When his 
 wife died he broke up his home and journeyed 
 West to Sandusky, Ohio, where he made a 
 new beginning, married again, and died in mid- 
 dle life. Jacob Morgan, the maternal grand- 
 father of the subject of this sketch, was a na- 
 tive of Connecticut, and moved to Cayuga 
 county, N. Y., where his younger children 
 were born, and where he died, at the age of 
 eighty-seven. He was a farmer, and was eight- 
 een years old when the war of the Revolution 
 closed. In that war his father was a soldier, 
 and his maternal grandfather a colonel of 
 militia. 
 
 Morgan J. Akin was not quite seven years 
 old when his parents came to Wisconsin and 
 here he grew to manhood, and has lived to the 
 present time, always following the occupation 
 of a farmer. When he became of age, in com- 
 pany with J. E. Gleason, he bought eighty 
 
 acres of land in LaPrairie township. Rock 
 county, each buying forty acres. Some years 
 later he sold his land to Mr. Gleason, but the 
 original forty had grown to 120 acres. Hav- 
 ing closed up this deal very successfully, Mr. 
 Akin bought a tract of land comprising 240 
 acres in Harmony township, which under his 
 careful tillage became a model farm, and con- 
 tinued to be his home until 1896. That year 
 he sold one-half of it, putting the other half 
 into the charge of his son Frank (who has 
 proved himself a very capable farmer), and 
 moved into Janesville to spend his last years 
 quietly and peacefully. He owns a fine resi- 
 dence property, and is very nicely “fixed.” 
 
 Mr. Akin and Miss Martha White, a daugh- 
 ter of Aaron and Bracey White, were married 
 May 4, 1859. They had three sons and five 
 daughters: Sybil Ann, Reno C., Elsie E., 
 
 Lettie W., Clifford M., Ida H., Lois M., and 
 George N. Sybil Ann married Walter Wil- 
 ber, and lives in Harmony township; two chil- 
 dren have been born to them, Ethel and 
 Eleanor. Reno C. married Christina Cor- 
 bin, and lives in Helena, Mont. Elsie E. is first 
 matron in the Illinois Training School for 
 Nurses at Chicago. Lettie W. is unmarried, 
 and lives in Dane county. Clifford married 
 Miss Ida Edden, and lives in Rock township. 
 Ida, Lois and George are still single. Ida is at 
 home, Lois is a stenographer in Chicago. 
 George was a soldier, serving in the Philip- 
 pines, and now makes his home in southern Cal- 
 ifornia. Mrs. Martha Akin, the first wife of 
 our subject, died Feb. 6, 1872, at the age of 
 thirty-six years. Mr. Akin married Miss Eliza 
 Gallup, a daughter of Gideon and Maria 
 (Wagner) Gallup, March 30, 1876, and they 
 have two children, Frank W. and Lucy M. 
 Frank married Elizabeth Driscol, and is in 
 charge of the home farm ; they have one child, 
 Morgan J. Lucy M. is a teacher, and lives at 
 home. Mr. Akin belongs to the. A. O. U. W. 
 Politically he is a Republican, cast his first 
 vote for John C. Fremont, and has never missed 
 voting since. He was supervisor of the town 
 of Harmony six years, chairman of the town 
 board two years, town treasurer one year, 
 clerk of the school district fifteen years, and 
 has always been an active and public-spirited 
 man. 
 
 The parents of Mrs. Eliza Akin were na- 
 tives of New York, where they were married. 
 They had a family of four sons and two daugh- 
 
/6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ters, and three of their children are now living: 
 Andrew, of Sharon, Wis. ; Henry, of Janes- 
 ville : and Mrs. Akin. The father was a capable 
 carpenter. He came to Wisconsin in the early 
 ’fifties, and located at Johnstown, where lie 
 followed his trade for some time, later moving 
 to Mauston, where the family lived seventeen 
 years. At the expiration of that period they 
 came back to the southern part of the State, 
 and settled at Richmond, Walworth county. 
 There Mrs. Gallup died in the fall of 1875, at 
 the age of seventy-two. Her husband then 
 broke up his home, and went to live with his 
 daughter, Mrs. Akin. He died under her 
 roof in 1894, at the age of eighty-eight. He 
 was a man of much intelligence, a great reader, 
 and a fine historian. His father, Gideon Gall- 
 up, was born in Connecticut, and came from 
 Scotch-Irish ancestry. His emigrant ancestor, 
 John Gallup, came to America in 1630, with 
 two of his brothers, in company with their 
 cousin Humphrey, from Plymouth, England, 
 in the ship “Mary and John.” They left Eng- 
 land March 20, and arrived at Hull, Mass., 
 May 30. Mrs. Akin's maternal grandfather, 
 Henry Wagner, came to this country and set- 
 tled at Rome, N. V., where he died while still 
 a young man, leaving two daughters and one 
 son. 
 
 JACOB OSCAR VAN GALDER, now 
 retired from active business life, and living at 
 No. 105 Sharon street, Janesville, Rock county, 
 was born in Genesee county, N. Y., Feb. 6, 
 1834, a son of Jacob and Rhocla (Wilson) Van 
 Galder, natives of Vermont and New York, re- 
 spectively. They had eleven children, of whom 
 our subject is the only one now living. 
 
 Jacob Van Galder began his business career 
 working by the month in New York, and later 
 became a manufacturer of potash. In 1839 
 he moved to Montville, Medina Co., Ohio, 
 where he continued the potash business, and 
 did coopering and other things as opportunity 
 came to him. Some twelve years later he 
 moved into Michigan, and lived first at Cold- 
 water and afterward at Hillsdale. About 1850 
 he came to Wisconsin, and located in La Prairie 
 township. Rock county, where he bought 400 
 acres of land, converted it into a farm, and 
 died there some eight years later, at the age 
 of sixty. He served for a time in the war of 
 1 Si 2. He was always industrious and thrifty, 
 and became quite wealthy. His father, Jacob 
 
 V an Galder, was a descendant of one of four 
 brothers who came to America in the days of 
 the Puritans. He was in the French and Revo- 
 lutionary wars, and was a great hunter. He 
 was a pioneer in western New York, and lived 
 to be nearly one hundred years of age, spending 
 his last days at Montville, Ohio. The maternal 
 grandfather of the gentleman whose name be- 
 gins this, sketch was a native of New York, 
 and died in middle life. He was a farmer, a 
 prominent man, and was known in his neigh- 
 borhood as “Judge” Wilson. 
 
 Jacob O. Van Galder spent his boyhood 
 and youth in Ohio and Michigan. He helped 
 his father clear several hundred .acres of land, 
 learned the cooper’s trade from him, and fol- 
 lowed that trade a number of years. He came 
 to Rock county with his parents in about 1849 
 or 1850, and continued working with his father 
 until the latter’s death. Our subject’s educa- 
 tion, begun in Ohio, was continued in Michi- 
 gan, and was finished in Rock county. He 
 farmed in that county two years after the 
 death of his father, and then went to Iowa, 
 locating at Charles City, where he engaged in 
 teaming and threshing for three years. He 
 came back to Rock county to let his brother 
 Foster go to the war. He farmed in La 
 Prairie township for a time, and then moved 
 to Magnolia, living there four years. Then 
 he came into Janesville, bought his present 
 home property, and has lived here ever since. 
 He has been a hard-working and upright man, 
 and is much respected by all who know him. 
 
 Mr. Van Galder and Miss Arlina Cronk, 
 a daughter of Blanner IT. and Nancy (Robin- 
 son) Cronk, were married Sept. 15, 1868. 
 They have had four children, Edith May, Fan- 
 nie, Aurilla and Oscar Burr. Edith May is 
 unmarried. Fannie married Thomas Chris- 
 man, and lives on a farm in the town of La 
 Prairie; they have one daughter, Helen Aurilla. 
 Aurilla married William James, and they have 
 one son ; they live in Elgin, Illinois 1 . Oscar 
 Burr is unmarried, and lives at home. Mr. 
 Van Galder is a Republican. 
 
 Mrs. Van Galder’s people came from New 
 York and settled in the town of Magnolia, 
 Rock county, about 1852. Her father died in 
 1893, when eighty-three years old, and her 
 mother in 1873, at the age of sixty-eight. 
 Their family consisted - of twelve children. 
 They were farming people all, their lives. 
 Abraham Cronk, the paternal grandfather of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 77 
 
 Mrs. Van Galder, was a native of New York, 
 and a soldier in the war of 1812. He died in 
 Rock county, at the age of eighty-four. Samuel 
 Robinson, her maternal grandfather, was a 
 native of Maine, and lived to old age. 
 
 LUTHER WILLIAM KENDALL, a re- 
 tired business man of Beloit, Rock county, now 
 passing his last years in well-earned repose, 
 has a handsome and commodious residence at 
 No. 540 Bluff street, in the college city, where 
 he entertains his friends and takes the comfort 
 that belongs to him after an earnest and active 
 life. 
 
 Mr. Kendall was born in the town of Leon, 
 Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., March 29, 1835, son 
 of William and Dorathy (Van Auker) Kendall, 
 both natives of the State of New York. The 
 Kendall family is of English origin, and its 
 history in this country begins with the arrival 
 of three brothers of that name from England, 
 about 1710. They located near Boston, mar- 
 ried, and after a time separated, and their 
 descendants are to' be found scattered through- 
 out New England. John Kendall, a son of 
 one of the three brothers, was born in 1725, 
 in Connecticut. His son, David Kendall, 
 grandfather of our subject, was born Nov. 17, 
 1754, in Connecticut, and died about 1838, in 
 the town of Leon, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. He 
 served in the war of 1812, and had sons who 
 served the Lhiion during the war of the Re- 
 bellion. By occupation he was a farmer, and 
 he was an upright and hard-working man. 
 He married Sally Eustace, and their family 
 consisted of ten sons, the three eldest born be- 
 fore their removal to New York — -Samuel, 
 Feb. 10, 1786; James, Aug. 9, 1788; David, 
 Jan. 22, 1791. On June 1, 1793, the family 
 started for what was then the West, and John 
 was born June 30, 1793, in New York. On 
 Nov. 1, 1793. they set out for Milford, Otsego 
 Co., N. Y., where they arrived Nov. 6, and set- 
 tled, and where were born : Seth, Nov. 22,1794; 
 William, Oct. 8, 1796; Amos, April 23, 1799; 
 Stephen, Feb. 23, 1801 : Lemuel, Feb. 28, 1803 ; 
 Luther, Sept. 14, 1805. Samuel engaged in 
 farming and preaching in western New York; 
 he died Feb. 24, 1859, in Avoca, Wis. James, 
 a cooper by trade, died May 4, 1845, in Mich- 
 igan. David, who was a soldier in the war 
 of 1812, died March 26, 1865, at Avoca, Wis. 
 John, a physician in New York and Ohio, died 
 in the latter State June 2, 1873. Seth died 
 
 March xi, 1833. Amos, a farmer and wagon- 
 maker, died about 1890, in Minnesota. Steph- 
 en, a blacksmith and gunsmith, died May 5, 
 1858, in Ellicottville, N. Y., unmarried. 
 Lemuel died March 19, 1843, in Pennsylvania. 
 Luther died in Springville, Wis., about 1892. 
 
 William Kendall was a farmer and dairy- 
 man, removed to Pulaski, Iowa Co., Wis., in 
 1854, and carried on his farming and dairy 
 operations in this State very successfully. 
 After a number of years he gave up active 
 labor, and went to Michigan to live, and in 
 1873 came to Beloit to make his home. Here 
 he lived until his death, in 1885, at the age of 
 eighty-nine years. His wife’s death occurred 
 five days prior to his, when she was eighty- 
 one years old. They were members of that 
 branch of the Christian Church which is 
 known as the Christian Connection, and were 
 highly spoken of by all who knew them. Will- 
 iam Kendall enlisted in the war of 1812, but 
 saw no actual service. While in New York 
 he was postmaster for fifteen years, and held 
 the office of justice of the peace twenty years; 
 was one of five road commissioners, and assist- 
 ed in laying out some of the most important 
 roads in Cattaraugus county. A daughter, 
 by his first marriage, Mary A.. Airs. Boyle, 
 died Jan. 3, 1894. at Beloit. To Mr. Kendall’s 
 marriage with Dorathy Van Auker were born 
 five children, four sons and one daughter, 
 Luther William being the only one of the fam- 
 ily now living". The Van Aukers were natives 
 of New York, of Holland ancestry. Grand- 
 father Van Auker was a farmer, and died in 
 middle life. He married a German woman, 
 who could not understand his Dutch, nor could 
 he understand her German ; so, perforce, they 
 had to converse with each other in English. 
 They had at least four children. 
 
 Luther William Kendall grew to manhood 
 in Cattaraugus county, and the greater part of 
 his boyhood and early manhood was spent on 
 the paternal farm. He attended the district 
 school and the academy, and prepared for an 
 active business life. His father owned three 
 farms at one time, and had three sawmills in 
 operation, and the young man lived mostly at 
 home until he married, and the time came for 
 him to set up another roof tree. When he 
 was nineteen years old Luther William ac- 
 companied his parents on their migration into 
 Wisconsin, and this State has been his home 
 ever since, with the exception of about a year 
 
78 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and a half spent in Minnesota, and about the 
 same period in Michigan. 
 
 Mr. Kendall and Miss Nancy Preston, a 
 daughter of William and Margaret (Becker) 
 Preston, were married March 22, 1855, an d 
 they have had four children, William H., Ale- 
 lia, Albert and Flora. William H. (now de- 
 ceased) married Miss Mabel Walker, and had 
 two children, Edith F. and George; the latter 
 died when small. Alelia died in Michigan, 
 when two or three years old, and Albert died 
 in Beloit, when about seven years of ag'e. 
 Flora is the widow of Wesley Love, and lives 
 in Beloit; she has one living child, Mildred. 
 Mr. Kendall belongs to Morning Star Lodge, 
 No. 10, A. F. & A. M., and to Myrtle Lodge, 
 No. 10, I. O. O. F. He is a Republican, and 
 takes pride in the fact that he cast his first vote 
 for Abraham Lincoln, and has voted a straight 
 ticket ever since. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Kendall came to Be- 
 loit and acted as State agent for a fire insurance 
 company. He was instrumental in organizing 
 the Home Insurance Co. of St. Paul, and 
 spent a year and a half in Minnesota engaged 
 in working up a business for that concern. 
 After a year and a half he sold out his interest 
 in the company, and moved to Calhoun county, 
 Mich., opening a general store at Ceresco. 
 He did not feel entirely satisfied in that busi- 
 ness, and, having a good offer, sold out after 
 eighteen months and returned to Beloit, and 
 has lived here ever since. For some years 
 Mr. Kendall and Thomas Purves were asso- 
 ciated in the cigar business, employing between 
 twenty-five and thirty hands. About 1878 
 the partnership was dissolved by mutual con- 
 sent, Mr. Kendall and his son William con- 
 tinuing the business together until the death of 
 the son moved our subject to give it up en- 
 tirely. Mr. Kendall was then insurance ad- 
 juster for nearly three years, but, feeling the 
 touch of advancing age, concluded to give uo 
 active business and take his ease for such 
 farther period of life as should be his. Mr. 
 Kendall has filled many important local offices, 
 and has been generally recognized as one of 
 the leading citizens of the place. He has been 
 a member of the city council nine years, for 
 five years has been on the county board, and 
 for the past five years has been county super- 
 visor from the Fourth ward of Beloit. His 
 home on Bluff street is thoroughly modern, 
 and a handsome residence. He owns a number 
 
 of dwelling houses in the city which he rents, 
 and two summer cottages on First Lake, near 
 Stoughton, in Dane county, where he and his 
 friends are accustomed to spend delightful days 
 in midsummer. 
 
 ADAM THORBURN, a retired farmer 
 and scientist of Janesville, Rock county, is one 
 of the wealthy and prominent residents of that 
 city, who, having spent their earlier years in 
 hard work, are now' enjoying their declining 
 days, removed from the wear and tear of ac- 
 tive business life. 
 
 Adam Thorburn was born in Bovina, Dela- 
 ware Co., N. Y., Dec. 11, 1837, a son °f 
 George and Margaret ( Glendenning) Thor- 
 burn, natives of Scotland. The paternal 
 grandfather of our subject, also named Adam, 
 was a native of Scotland, born in 1765, and 
 came to America in 1818 with his wife, Jen- 
 nette Patterson, of Scotland, and four sons 
 and four daughters, settling in Delaware 
 county, N. Y., where he died, aged about 
 seventy-two. While a resident of Scotland 
 Mr. Thorburn was a mail carrier, carrying 
 both mail and government bank notes, but after 
 coming to this country he became a farmer. 
 The maternal grandfather, James Glendenning, 
 also a native of Scotland, came to America in 
 1827, locating in Delaware county, N. Y. 
 Later, in 1850, he migrated to Wisconsin, set- 
 tling in Center, Rock county, where he followed 
 farming for a year, when he died, aged about 
 seventy. James Glendenning married Jen- 
 nett Hysleph, and six daughters and one 
 son were born to this union. Mr. Glenden- 
 ning’s father married a sister of Patrick 
 Henry. 
 
 George Thorburn, the father of our sub- 
 ject, who was a farmer by occupation, came to 
 America in 1818, settling in Delaware county. 
 N. Y., and in 1854 migrating to Janesville, 
 Rock county, where he bought a farm of 280 
 acres. Here he resided until his death, which 
 occurred in 1882, when he was aged seventy- 
 seven, his wife having passed away in the 
 spring of 1851, aged thirty-seven. Both of 
 these worthy people were Presbyterians in re- 
 ligious faith. While in New York State 
 George Thorburn was a member of the State 
 militia. Thirteen children were born of their 
 marriage, four sons and nine daughters, two 
 of the latter now living: Jeanette, widow of 
 James Brown, of Janesville; and Belle, wife of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 79 
 
 Alexander Atchinson, of Spring Brook, Ore- 
 gon. 
 
 Adam Thofburn lived in Delaware county, 
 N. Y., until he was ten years old, when his 
 father removed to Red Hook, Dutchess county, 
 N. Y., where they remained until 1S54, when 
 the family removed to Wisconsin. All of his 
 education was obtained in the district schools, 
 he working during the summer upon his 
 father's farm, and remaining thereon until he 
 was twenty-three, though he also worked for 
 others. At that time he and his brother James 
 purchased the homestead ; later Adam bought 
 out his brother, and cultivated the farm him- 
 self until 1897, when he removed to his pres- 
 ent pleasant home at No. 207 Pearl street, 
 Janesville, and rented the farm. This prop- 
 erty now contains 240 acres, although at one 
 time it consisted of 280, but Mr. Thorburn 
 sold forty acres of timber, reducing it to its 
 present proportions. In addition he possesses 
 considerable property in Janesville, including 
 his residence. 
 
 On September 21, 1881, Adam Thorburn 
 married Mrs. Hannah Ellis, widow of Arthur 
 Ellis, and daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth 
 (Ragg) Grundy, and there were two children 
 born to them, Maty E. and Hannah K. On 
 March 24, 1897, Mrs. Thorburn died, aged 
 fifty years, and her untimely demise was deeply 
 lamented. 
 
 Politically Mr. Thorburn is a Republican, 
 and is very highly esteemed by all who know 
 him. Having always taken an interest in 
 science, of late years Mr. Thorburn has de- 
 voted himself to taxidermy, and has a number 
 of very fine specimens of his skill at his home. 
 
 JOHN E. GLEASON. The pioneers of 
 Wisconsin were a sturdy race of men, descend- 
 ants of early settlers in the Eastern States. 
 Some came West in their youth, their only capi- 
 tal consisting of active brain, strong muscle 
 and a cheery willingness to attain independence 
 through the avenue of hard labor. The sub- 
 ject of this review is a fine specimen of the 
 self-made and prosperous farmer of Rock 
 county, in which he has resided since 1856. 
 He was born in Chautauqua county, N. Y., 
 Jan. 19, 1836, son of William and Polly 
 (Smith) Gleason. 
 
 Jacob Gleason, the paternal grandfather of 
 our subject, was a native of Massachusetts, of 
 English ancestry, migrated to Chautauqua 
 
 county, N. Y., and there died at about the age 
 of eighty }^ears. He was a trader by occupa- 
 tion. He married Mehitabel Hudson, and had 
 a family of seven daughters and one son. 
 
 Daniel Smith, the maternal grandfather of 
 our subject, was also a native of Massachu- 
 setts, but of Dutch descent. He was likewise 
 a trader, and lived to the age of ninety-seven 
 years. He had two sons, John and Daniel, 
 and three daughters, all of whom lived in 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 William Gleason, our subject’s father, was 
 born March 11, 1799, in Massachusetts, and 
 was a stone-mason by trade. He migrated 
 to Chautauqua county, N. Y., and there died 
 at the age of seventy-three years. His wife, 
 who was born July 20, 1799, died at the age of 
 sixty-eight years. She was a Methodist in 
 religious faith, while her husband was a Uni- 
 versalist. To their union were born eleven 
 children, six sons and five daughters, of whom 
 six are now living, namely : Betsey, widow of 
 Philo Green, of Erie, Penn. ; Matilda, wife of 
 O. C. Moon, of Sharon, Wis. ; Charles S., of 
 near Jackson, Mich.; John E., our subject; 
 George H., of Cassadaga, Chautauqua Co., 
 N. Y. ; and Daniel L., of Grand Rapids, Mich- 
 igan. 
 
 John E. Gleason, our subject, was reared 
 in Chautauqua county, where he attended the 
 common schools. At the age of twenty years 
 he came West to seek his fortune in the new 
 country, and reached Janesville, Rock Co., 
 Wis., March 24. 1856. He began his career as 
 a farm laborer in Harmony township, and 
 worked by the month for three years. Then, 
 in 1859, he bought forty acres of land in the 
 town of La Prairie. With this beginning he 
 has acquired a splendid property of 200 acres, 
 located in Sections 15 and 16, La Prairie 
 township, his home being in Section 16. Mr. 
 Gleason has brought all this property to a high 
 state of cultivation. He has erected a fine 
 residence, good barns, and other buildings, and 
 ranks as one of the most successful and pro- 
 gressive farmers of the township. 
 
 On Feb. 29, 1S60, Mr. Gleason married 
 Miss Achsah A. Goodson, daughter of Will- 
 iam and Esther (Cook) Goodson, English 
 farming people who migrated with their large 
 family to America, locating first in Madison 
 county, N. Y., and in 1856 coming to Wis- 
 consin, where they arrived March 24. For a 
 year he lived in Jefferson county, then moved 
 
So 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to Rock comity, where lie died in 1875, aged 
 eighty-eight years, surviving his wife a number 
 of years. To Mr. and Mrs. Gleason were born 
 five children: (1) Livona C., a teacher, lives 
 
 with her father. (2) Urban E., who mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Benedict, is a farmer, and lives 
 in Section 15, La Prairie township. They 
 have two sons, Ray and Jay. (3) Ruby L., 
 a teacher, is now teaching at Shopiere. (4) 
 Nellie, who married Edward H. Paul, of Janes- 
 ville, has five children, Ora, Stanley, Clayton, 
 Norman and Ivennith. (5) William E. lives 
 at home with his father. Mrs. Achsab A. 
 Gleason died June 30, 1898, aged fifty-six 
 years. 
 
 Politically Mr. Gleason is a Republican. 
 He is chairman of the town board of super- 
 visors, in which office he is now serving his 
 sixth year ; for many years he has served as 
 school director and also as school treasurer and 
 clerk ; and has been eight years president of 
 the Rock County Agricultural Society. Fra- 
 ternally Mr. Gleason is a member of Janesville 
 Lodge, No. 55, F. & A. M. He is not only 
 one of the old settlers of La Prairie township, 
 but one of its most prominent and influential 
 citizens, intimately associated with its official 
 history, and zealous in the promotion and 
 preservation of all good measures for the pub- 
 lic welfare. 
 
 JOSEPH B. WHITING, M. D., Jr., is 
 one of the younger physicians and surgeons 
 of the city of Janesville, Rock county, whose 
 youth is far more than atoned for by his pro- 
 found medical acquirements, and his conced- 
 ed scientific spirit. He is devoted to the “heal- 
 ing art,” and the cure of the sick is the noblest 
 mission that can absorb the enthusiasm of a 
 high soul. Dr. Whiting has come to the prac- 
 tice of his great profession prepared by a 
 thorough training in those centers where med- 
 ical study has become a passion, and those who 
 come under his ministrations feel that they are 
 getting the best that the medical skill of the 
 present day affords. 
 
 Dr. Whiting, Jr., was born in Janesville 
 Oct. 23, 1865, and is a son of Dr. Joseph B. 
 Whiting, whose sketch appears elsewhere in 
 this work. He grew to manhood under his 
 father’s roof, and inherited a love of medi- 
 cine from his father, who has been a tower 
 of strength in a host of homes in this com- 
 munity. Young Joseph attended the public 
 
 schools and Milton College, Wisconsin, and 
 from an early age expected to become a physi- 
 cian. He studied for his profession at the 
 College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Med- 
 ical Department of the State University, Chi- 
 cago, and was graduated from that institution 
 in 1887. His abilities; were such that he was 
 selected by Dr. Nicholas Senn as an interne in 
 his private hospital, and spent one year un- 
 der the eye of that eminent surgeon. At the 
 expiration of that time he returned to Janes- 
 ville, and entered upon the practice of his pro- 
 fession in the place of his nativity. Many 
 friends watched his career with interest, and 
 were glad to welcome him home. Dr. Whit- 
 ing, Jr., makes his home with his parents. He 
 is independent in political relations. He has 
 been a member of the National Guard, and 
 for seventeen years has served the State as 
 an efficient member of this valuable organiza- 
 tion, being at the present time major and sur- 
 geon of the 1st Regiment. When the Spanish- 
 American war broke out he accompanied the 
 1 st to Cuba, and spent fourteen months in the 
 United States service, half a year in Cuba. 
 Much of his time was spent in Jacksonville, 
 Fla., and when peace returned he came 
 back to Janesville and resumed the prac- 
 tice of his profession. For twelve years he 
 has held the position of local surgeon for the 
 Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co., 
 and is reputed one of the most efficient mem- 
 bers of the surgical staff of that great cor- 
 poration. 
 
 TRUMAN T. LEE, a retired farmer of 
 Evansville, Rock county, has had a long and 
 useful life. He has kept close to the soil, and 
 by its tillage has made a living for his active 
 years, and has accumulated a handsome com- 
 petence for his old age. He is much respected 
 for his upright character and his generous dis- 
 position. 
 
 Mr. Lee was born in Oswego county, N. 
 Y., Oct. 12, 1827, and is a son of Thomas and 
 Lucinda (Wagh) Lee, both native to the soil 
 of New York. They had six sons and one 
 daughter, and five of their children are now 
 living: Truman T., of Evansville; John P., 
 
 of White Fox, Ohio; George F., of Magnolia, 
 Wis. ; ’Squire Norman, of Lorain county, 
 Ohio; and Andrew P., of the same county. 
 The father was a canal contractor in his early 
 life, and in later years became a farmer. In 
 
* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 8 1 
 
 1833 lie moved to Lorain county, Ohio, where 
 he bought a farm of ninety acres, increasing 
 same by subsequent purchases until he owned 
 a farm of 140 acres. There he 'reared his 
 family, and there he died in 1877, at the age 
 of seventy-eight years. His widow survived 
 many years, and died Feb. 5, 1894, at the age 
 of eighty-two; she was born in 1811. Both 
 were members of the Regular Baptist Church. 
 He was a man of prominence, and was called 
 upon to fill various town offices in his active 
 years. Thomas Lee, his father, was a native 
 of Herkimer county, N. Y., of English descent, 
 and lived to be old. He reared a large family. 
 The maternal grandfather of Truman T. Lee, 
 a native of New York, died in middle life. He 
 had a family of two sons and one daughter. 
 
 Truman T. Lee was reared in Ohio, five 
 miles west of Oberlin, spent his boyhood and 
 youth under the parental roof until grown, and 
 attended the district school. W hen he as- 
 sumed the burden of his own support he worked 
 out for wages, and carefully saved his earnings 
 until he was able to buy a fifty-five-acre farm 
 in Lorain county. This place he almost cleared 
 of the native growth of timber, and then rented 
 it, that he might make a protracted visit to Illi- 
 nois and Wisconsin. He returned to his farm, 
 and was engaged in its tillage for six years. 
 In 1864 he came to Rock county, Wis., and 
 here purchased a farm of 12774 acres in Por- 
 ter township. Later he bought land to make 
 this an even quarter-section, and here he lived 
 until 1878, when he rented his farm and moved 
 into Evansville, that he might spend the rest 
 of his days in the enjoyment of the comforts 
 which in a hard and industrious life he had 
 richly earned. He has sold his farm, and owns 
 a fine home in the city. For some two years he 
 was engaged in the grocery business. He open- 
 ed a bakery, but on account of failing health 
 was compelled to dispose of it, and live a retired 
 life. He owns - a number of town lots, and 
 takes a commendable interest in public affairs. 
 
 On Aug. 25, 1850, Truman T. Lee and 
 Miss Julia A. Low, daughter of Plenry Smith 
 and Rachel (Baldwin) Low, were united in 
 marriage. They became the parents of one son 
 and two daughters, Smith T., Corris Lilly and 
 Mary Lucinda. Smith died when he was two 
 years old. Corris Lilly married Shasta E. 
 Barnard, and is the mother of two children. 
 Fred (deceased) and Orland K. Mary Lu- 
 cinda married Guy Barnard, a cousin of her 
 6 
 
 brother-in-law, and they have three living 
 children, Lee Wayne, Mabel and Lloyd; one is 
 deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Lee hold to the Bap- 
 tist faith. He is a Republican, has served as 
 supervisor, and was school director while living 
 in the country. He has lived in Rock county 
 over thirty-six years, and has a host of friends. 
 
 Mrs. Lee's father was born in Massachu- 
 setts, and her mother in New Jersey. They 
 were farming people, and were the parents 
 of seven children, of whom only two are now 
 living, Lyman W., of Albion, 111 ., where he 
 has practiced medicine over forty years ; and 
 Mrs. Julia A. Lee. The father died in 1852, 
 at the age of seventy-two, the mother died in 
 1848, at the age of sixty-seven. They were 
 both Baptists. Mrs. Lee's paternal grand- 
 father, Samuel Low, died at Plattsburg, N. Y., 
 during the war of 1S12. Her maternal grand- 
 father was Levi Baldwin. 
 
 T, L. EDWARDS, M. D„ one of the ris- 
 ing young physicians of Cuba City, Grant 
 county, who has built up a promising practice, 
 and is destined to be numbered among the 
 leading representatives of the medical pro- 
 fession in Wisconsin, was born in Cincinnati, 
 Ohio, in March, 1865, a son of T. J. and Mar- 
 garet (Thomas) Edwards, natives of South 
 Wales. 
 
 These worthy people came when young to 
 America, where they were married, and settled 
 in Ohio. The father worked as a mate on an 
 Ohio river steamer for a number of years, and 
 then purchased a farm in Van Wert county, 
 that State, where he lived until his death, in 
 1872. The good mother survived until 1892; 
 both were consistent members of the Presby- 
 terian Church, leading Christian lives. From 
 the time he cast his first vote Mr. Edwards ad- 
 hered to the principles of the Republican party. 
 To himself. and wife were born: John, well 
 
 educated in several schools and colleges in 
 Ohio, is now principal of the Venedocia (Ohio) 
 schools ; he married Miss Mary A. Jones, of 
 Ohio, but has no family. David H., now a 
 resident of Venedocia, where he is the leading 
 political factor, serving as county commis- 
 sioner, notary public, etc., is in the real-estate 
 business : he married Mary D. Jones, and has 
 five children. Sarah, now wife of D. J. Evans, 
 resides in Venedocia, where Mr. Evans con- 
 ducts a harness establishment, and is post- 
 master ; they have two children. Margaret 
 
82 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 died when fifteen. R. F. first studied theology, 
 and later entered the ministry, being ordained 
 in 1897, and sent to Canton, China, by the 
 Presbyterian Church, from his native State, 
 Ohio ; he married Miss Eunice Edwards, of 
 Cincinnati, a college graduate, who accom- 
 panied her husband to China; they have no 
 family. 
 
 Our subject received his preliminary educa- 
 tion in the schools of Ada, Ohio, and the In- 
 diana Normal School, in 1890 entering Jeffer- 
 son Medical College, Philadelphia, from which 
 he graduated in 1894. In June, of the same 
 year, he came West, locating at 1 Cuba City, 
 where he has built up a large practice, and 
 been very successful with his cases. 
 
 In January, 1900, Dr. Edwards married 
 Miss Anna R. Hogan, of Cuba City, a daugh- 
 ter of Denis and Annie Hogan, old pioneers 
 of this locality, where Mrs. Edwards was born 
 and reared. Politically Dr. Edwards has in- 
 herited his views, being as ardent a Republican 
 as his father before him. Dr. Edwards is an 
 active member of the Masonic fraternity at 
 Georgetown, where he is very popular. From 
 earliest childhood he has been brought up in 
 the Presbyterian faith, and shows in his up- 
 right life the effects of early teachings. 
 
 THOMAS LAPPIN, deceased. This 
 name will be readily recognized by any one 
 familiar with the history of the city of Janes- 
 ville,' Rock county, as that of a gentleman long 
 known as one of the ablest business men and 
 most upright citizens of that place. Thomas 
 Lappin was born in County Meath, Ireland, 
 May 12, 1812, son of William and Ann 
 (Walsh) Lappin; his father was an only son, 
 and his mother an only daughter. They had 
 a family of three sons and one daughter. Our 
 subject's father was a farmer, and emigrated 
 to the L T nited States many years ago, settling 
 first in New York, and afterward in Michigan, 
 near Detroit. He lived some years in that 
 city, and died in Chicago, when on his way 
 to visit his son, Thomas, then living in Wis- 
 consin, when over eighty years of age. 
 
 Thomas Lappin was but a small boy when 
 his parents brought him to this country. At 
 Detroit he grew to manhood and learned the 
 printer’s trade, which he followed some years 
 in the metropolis of Michigan. He came West 
 to Janesville, Wis., some time in the early 
 ’thirties, and engaged in general merchandis- 
 
 ing, being the first merchant of Janesville. He 
 was in business for many years in that city. 
 Retiring for a time from the store, he spent a 
 few years on the farm; his health returning 
 he came back to the city, and built what has 
 been known for some years as the Apollo 
 block. Having sold his farm, he put up the 
 Lappin block, on the southwest corner of 
 Main and Milwaukee streets, which building 
 is now owned by the Hayes Brothers, and is 
 regarded as one of the finest office buildings 
 of the city. For some years our subject de- 
 rived a very handsome rental from these build- 
 ings. 
 
 When Mr. Lappin came to Janesville he 
 boarded at the old “Stevens Hotel," now 
 known as the “Myers House,” where he made 
 the acquaintance of the lady who afterward 
 became his wife, Miss Mary Jane Jackman, 
 daughter of Timothy and Esther (Cooper) 
 Jackman. They were married Nov. 2, 1847. 
 Mrs. Lappin’s parents were among the very 
 early settlers of Janesville, and her father was 
 one of the most prominent men of the city. 
 Four daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lappin, Emma Amelia, Ella Josephine, Mary 
 Esther and Harriet Maria. Emma Amelia 
 married Edwin F. Carpenter, who is an at- 
 torney in Janesville; they have two sons, Ed- 
 ward Lappin and Henry. Ella Josephine mar- 
 ried Henry Doty, a manufacturer in Janes- 
 ville, and became the mother of one child, that 
 lived one year, she dying at its birth, in 1873; 
 Mr. Doty afterward married his sister-in-law, 
 Mary Esther, and to them were born two 
 children, Lawrence Lappin and Harriet Mil- 
 dred. He died in 1894. Harriet Maria mar- 
 ried E. M. Hyzer, a lawyer in Milwaukee. 
 
 Thomas Lappin died 1 March 29, 1891, aged 
 seventy-nine years, leaving behind him the rec- 
 ord of a noble and useful life. In religious 
 faith he was a Roman Catholic; his widow is 
 an Episcopalian. He would not take public 
 office, though he was a Republican, and took 
 a strong' interest in the welfare of his city and 
 State. His manners were quiet and perhaps 
 reserved, but he was cordial towards his 
 friends, and popular with all. At his death a 
 friend wrote as follows concerning him: 
 
 “Among those foremost in contributing' to 
 the prosperity of Janesville was the venerable 
 gentleman whose death all Janesville mourns 
 to-day. He was born of Irish parents in 
 County Meath, Ireland, May 12. 1812. Mr. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 33 
 
 Lappin early emigrated to this country, and 
 while yet a lad we find him in the office of a 
 newspaper in Detroit. After gaining a fair 
 knowledge of the ‘art preservative,’ his inclina- 
 tions drew him westward, and about the month 
 of Dec., 1838, he landed in Janesville, which at 
 that period of time was an almost unbroken 
 wilderness. In June. 1839, he and Mr. Lind- 
 sley Ward, who died in Milwaukee a number 
 of years ago, opened a store in a frame build- 
 ing fourteen feet square and a story and a half 
 high, on the present site of Bennett's block, on 
 Main street. The stock was invoiced at three 
 hundred and fifty dollars, and comprised such 
 articles as are to be found in the country store 
 of the present day. The partnership was dis- 
 solved after a few months’ duration, and in 
 1840 Mr. Lappin rented of Volney Atwood a 
 small frame building and opened a regular 
 store. He was the pioneer merchant of the 
 town. It was said in print years ago that 
 ‘another formidable enterprise for these early 
 times was the erection of a frame building by 
 him on the corner where his large blocks now- 
 stand — a monument of his industry and en- 
 terprise. By personal labor and industry he so 
 far completed a portion of his building as to 
 call it a store, and then we find him returning 
 from Chicago with a stock of dry goods, gro- 
 ceries and hardware, all paid for and costing 
 him one hundred and twenty-five dollars.’ 
 
 “Mr. Lappin bought some sugar and mo- 
 lasses in Galena, 111 ., at an expense of fifty dol- 
 lars for transportation, and then walked to 
 Chicago to buy his dry goods. When he had 
 made his purchases, and the goods were in- 
 voiced, it was found that he had exceeded his 
 money by fifteen dollars, and the house refused 
 to trust him for that amount. 
 
 “These were the days when John P. Dixon, 
 Henry F. Janes, Judge William Holmes, 
 Charles Stevens, Luke Stoughton, Dr. Guy 
 Stoughton, John Langdon Kimball and Gen. 
 Sheldon were the principal citizens of this 
 burgh. The frame building occupied by Ward 
 & Lappin, the frame dwelling ovmed by John 
 P. Plummer, and Janes’ log tavern were the 
 only buildings on the west side of Main street. 
 On the east side there were the stage house, 
 a little frame house occupied by Janes, a frame 
 on the site of Fredendall’s block, and another 
 frame on the courthouse square. The resi- 
 dence of Judge Holmes was the only frame 
 building on the west side of the river. In i 
 
 1841 D. A. Richardson opened a store a few 
 feet north of Mr. Lappm's establishment, and 
 early in 1842 Mr. Lappin built a two-story 
 frame store on the present site of Lappin’s 
 block, and took in as partner Mr. W. H. H. 
 Bailey, and remained in business several years. 
 In July' of that year Janesville contained two 
 stores, ten dwellings, two taverns, and between 
 seventy and eighty inhabitants. Later on Air. 
 Lappin erected a large and sightly block, which 
 is one of the most substantial and stately busi- 
 ness blocks in the city, and forms one of the 
 four corners which are the pride of our citizens 
 and the admiration of the stranger within our 
 gates. 
 
 “Mr. Lappin was a man honest as the day 
 is long. He always had a pleasant word and 
 a kindly greeting for everybody. He would 
 scorn to do an unkind act, and was often 
 spoken of by young and old, rich and poor, 
 as one of God's noblemen.” 
 
 Mrs. Thomas Lappin still lives in the beau- 
 tiful home at No. 252 Park Place, which she 
 graces and beautifies by a sunny disposition, 
 a cordial welcome to a mighty host of friends, 
 and an exemplary and cheery life that knows 
 not how to grow old ; for although now in her 
 seventy-second year she seems many years 
 younger, and her faculties are unimpaired. 
 
 ERNEST C. HELM. M. D., of the firm 
 of A. C. & E. C. Helm, physicians and sur- 
 geons, of Beloit, Rock county, has won a high 
 standing in his chosen profession, and is re- 
 garded as one of the leading representatives 
 of his calling in the southern part of the State. 
 
 Dr. Helm was born in Beloit May 1, 1853, 
 and is a son of Woodhull and Mary A. ( Clark) 
 Helm, whose family history is quite fully nar- 
 rated in the sketch of Dr. Arthur C. Helm 
 elsewhere in this volume. W oodhull Helm 
 moved to Illinois with his parents when a boy, 
 and settled with them at Pine Creek, where he 
 lived a number of years. When a young man 
 he learned the trade of plough-making, and 
 followed that business for several years at 
 Byron. 111 . He had intended to enter college 
 at Beloit, when his father's death changed all 
 his plans and drove him into business. In 
 1849 Hr. Helm and Miss Mary A. Clark, 
 daughter of Elijah and Sybil (Green) Clark, 
 were married in Beloit, Rev. Alfred Eddy 
 being the officiating minister. He was an old 
 friend of the family, and the wedding was the 
 
8 4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 first to be celebrated in the First Presbyterian 
 church of Beloit. Mrs. Helm had come West 
 some two or three years before with her 
 brother, Dr. Elijah N. Clark, intending to make 
 her home in this city. A few days after her 
 arrival, however, she was visited by Mrs. Dr. 
 Bradley, of Byron, formerly her favorite 
 teacher in the East, who asked her assistance 
 in a select school at Byron, both as a teacher 
 and an inmate of her home. This offer she 
 gladly accepted on account of the strong' 
 friendship that had existed between them. 
 There she became acquainted with Mr. Helm, 
 and in due time the acquaintance ripened into 
 love, and they were married. A little later 
 Mr. and Mrs. Helm moved to Beloit, where he 
 continued plough-making. About 1852 he 
 went to California and operated a sawmill for 
 two years at Nevada City. By that time he 
 had enough of the "golden West,” and re- 
 turned to Beloit. I11 1855 Mr. Helm moved 
 himself and family to Indiantown, Iowa, 
 where he was eng'aged in running a sawmill, 
 and combined with it a gristmill. It was a 
 cold, wet year, and Mr. Helm contracted dis- 
 eases by which his health was seriously under- 
 mined. To recover it he journeyed to Cali- 
 fornia a second time, and while there wrote 
 valuable articles for mining and other journals. 
 He was sick while doing this work, but he had 
 a sunny spirit, and his presence cheered all 
 with whom he came in contact. From Cali- 
 fornia Mr. Helm was sent to New York by 
 a mining company to look after their interests. 
 When he had accomplished their work he went 
 to Cabarrus county, N. C., to engage in gold 
 mining, taking his family with him. He was 
 there two years, when illness drove him north 
 to Rockford, 111 ., where he died in the home 
 of Dr. Lucius Clark ten days after his arrival, 
 at the age of forty-five. He was a man of 
 character and conviction. He served as an 
 elder in the Presbyterian Church at Carson 
 City, Nevada, and was county superintendent 
 of schools in Tama county, Iowa. 
 
 Dr. Ernest C. Helm graduated from the 
 Beaver Dam (Wis.) high school in 1874, took 
 a special course in chemistry in the college at 
 Beloit, and graduated from the Chicago Medi- 
 cal College in 1879. After he had received 
 his diploma he won the position of house phy- 
 sician and surgeon of Mercy Hospital in com- 
 petitive examination against a number of the 
 brainiest young men of the city, who aspired 
 
 to this position for its rare opportunities. He 
 practiced a year at Byron, 111 ., and seven years 
 in Chicago, and while in that city was one of 
 the attending staff of the medical department 
 of the South Side Dispensary. With his hard 
 work and fine scholarship at the college, his 
 year at Mercy Hospital and his seven years’ 
 service in connection with the Dispensary, Dr. 
 Helm has had rare opportunities to acquire 
 a thoroughly practical knowledge of his pro- 
 fession. In 1888 he came to Beloit to enter 
 into a medical partnership with his brother, Dr. 
 Arthur C, and the associations thus formed 
 have proved in every way profitable and satis- 
 factory. 
 
 Dr. Ernest C. Helm and Miss Elizabeth 
 Hunnicutt, a daughter of John and Martha 
 (Bundy) Hunnicutt, were married at Carth- 
 age, Ind., March 23, 1887, and they have three 
 children, Olive, Berwyn and Ernestine. The 
 Doctor and his wife are members of the First 
 Presbyterian Church of Beloit and he is one 
 of the elders of that body. He belongs to the 
 Wisconsin State Medical Society and the Cen- 
 tral Wisconsin Medical Society, and is deeply 
 interested in everything that relates to the pro- 
 gress of the art to which he has given his life. 
 He is a member of the Beloit school board, 
 and politically is a Republican. Dr. Helm has 
 a pleasant home at No. 740 Broad street, and 
 both he and his brother are great lovers of out- 
 of-door sports, and handy with the rifle, shot 
 gun, fishing tackle, sailboats, etc., enjoying 
 their kindred recreations. They have sum- 
 mer cottages at Lake Kegonska and the family 
 are all good swimmers, even to the little girls. 
 
 ARTHUR C. HELM, M. D., of the med- 
 ical firm of A. C. & E. C. Helm, physicians 
 and surgeons, is one of the best known and 
 most highly regarded practitioners of the heal- 
 ing art in the city of Beloit, Rock county. He 
 is in the prime of life, commands a large and 
 remunerative practice, and has a host of 
 friends throughout the city and county. 
 
 Dr. Helm was born in Indiantown, Iowa, 
 Oct. 23, 1857, and is a son of Woodhull and 
 Mary A. (Clark) Helm, natives of New York 
 and Amherst, Mass., respectively. They were 
 the parents of five children, all sons — Dr. Er- 
 nest C., Dr. Arthur C., Dr. Walter B. and two 
 who died in infancy. The father was a miller. 
 He was gifted with a profound enthusiasm for 
 scientific studies, and became an expert upon 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 35 
 
 all subjects relating to mining. He was a 
 correspondent for mining publications in the 
 West and Southeast, and traveled extensively 
 in California, Nevada and North Carolina. 
 While he was in the last-named State he was 
 seized with a very severe illness. He came 
 North, but he could not arrest the progress of 
 the disease, and he died in R'ockford, 111 ., in 
 1870, at the age of forty-five years, two weeks 
 after leaving North Carolina. His widow 
 still survives, and makes her home with her 
 son. Dr. E. C. Helm, in Beloit. She and her 
 husband were Presbyterians. They were the 
 first couple married in the First Presbyterian 
 Church of Beloit. Mr. Helm was county su- 
 perintendent of schools in Tama county, Iowa. 
 He was always a Republican. 
 
 Woodhull Helm, the grandfather of our 
 subject, was a native of New York. He was 
 a man of unusually artistic temperament, fond 
 of music, and had a reputation as a composer. 
 He was twice married, was the father of a 
 large family, and died when . about sixty-seven 
 years old. Elijah Clark, the father of Mary 
 A., noted above, was a native of Massachusetts, 
 and of English descent. He was a farmer, and 
 in the early days moved to the western part of 
 New York, where he died of fever when over 
 fifty years old. He had seven sons and one 
 daughter who grew to maturity. 
 
 Dr. Arthur C. Helm spent the first seven 
 years of his life in his birthplace, and was then 
 taken by his parents to Marshalltown, Iowa, 
 where he lived two years. Two years he spent 
 in Cabarrus county, N. C.. and five years at 
 Beaver Dam, Wis., where he entered the serv- 
 ice of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway 
 Co. as telegraph operator, and spent six- years 
 of his life with that company. His longest 
 service as an operator was made in Beloit, and 
 there he formed associations and interests that 
 largely determined his location there as a phv- 
 sician in after years. He attended the public 
 schools of Beaver Dam and the Northwestern 
 University at Evanston, 111 ., and was gradu- 
 ated from the medical department of that in- 
 stitution with high honors in 1884, taking first 
 prize for scholarship throughout the entire 
 course. The same year he began practicing 
 in Beloit, in partnership with Dr. H. B. John- 
 son. In 1887 the firm was dissolved, and Dr. 
 Helm practiced alone until i8Sg. in which year 
 he formed a partnership with his brother, Er- 
 nest C., who is a capable physician, and they 
 
 have continued together until the present 
 time. 
 
 The wedding ceremonies of Dr. Arthur C. 
 Helm and Miss Mary McMurdo, daughter of 
 James and Ann (Reed) McMurdo, were cele- 
 brated Aug. 10, 1886, and four children have 
 come to bless this union — Harold, Alice, Clara 
 and Mary. The Doctor and his wife are mem- 
 bers of the First Congregational Church, and 
 he is associated with the Knights of Pythias. 
 He is a student and an enthusiast in his pro- 
 fession. He belongs to the American Medical 
 Association and to the Central Wisconsin 
 Medical Association. Politically he is a Re- 
 publican, and at present represents the First 
 ward in the city council. He lives at No. 734 
 Broad street, and his home is the center of 
 many social and friendly interests. 
 
 JOSEPH WILLIAM BATES, of Beloit, 
 Rock county, is a prominent member of the 
 legal profession, and has a reputation through- 
 out the State of Wisconsin for conspicuous 
 ability as a general practitioner of the law. 
 He is thoroughly versed in the fundamental 
 principles of his profession, and his judgment 
 of the right and ecpiity is unusually strong. 
 
 Mr. Bates was born in Janesville, Wis., 
 Tulv 14, 1852, a son of Allen C. and Sarah 
 H. (Banks) Bates, natives of New York and 
 Maine respectively. They were the parents of 
 seven children, five of whom are now living: 
 Joseph William; Edwin Ellsworth, of Edger- 
 ton, Wis.; Ina L., of Des Moines, Iowa; 
 George H., of Chicago; and Louise Helen, 
 wife of Rev. E. L. Eaton, of Des Moines. The 
 father, an attorney at law, came to \\ isconsin 
 in 1843, settled at Tanesville, and engaged 
 in the practice of law in that city until his 
 death, in 1891, at the age of sixtv-nine; he was 
 born at Sachet's Harbor, N. \ ., Nov. 12, 1822. 
 His wife died Nov. q. 1894, aged sixty-two 
 years. Both were Methodists. Allen Cole 
 Bates was about twenty-two years old when he 
 came to Janesville, and from the first was a 
 recognized leader in the community. Four 
 years after his arrival he married Miss Sarah 
 H. Banks, who proved a faithful and devoted 
 wife. Mr. Bates was alderman of the Second 
 ward for the first twenty-one years of the city's 
 existence. He filled the office of justice of the 
 peace manv terms, and served on the county 
 board before the incorporation of the city. 
 He was a member of the State Legislature in 
 
86 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1862, 1863 and 1867. In 1859 lie was ad- 
 mitted to the Rock County Bar, and proved 
 himself a man of sound judgment in his long 
 and brilliant career. He had a kindly greet- 
 ing'for his friends, and lent a helping hand 
 to the poor. His funeral sermon was preached 
 by his son-in-law, Rev. Dr. E. L. Eaton; the 
 pall-bearers were Judge John R. Bennett, J. 
 J. R. Pease, A. A. Jackson, E. F. Carpenter, 
 Pliny Norcross, and L. F. Patten. Mr. Bates 
 was a leading lawyer, and owned at one time 
 the finest residence in the city. He built thir- 
 teen business blocks in Janesville, in whose 
 progress he was extensively interested. His 
 father, Orin Bates, a farmer, was a native of 
 New York, and son of Caleb Bates, and died 
 in his native State. He had a family of nine 
 children. The history of the family runs back 
 many generations in America, to the arrival 
 of an ancestor from Holland, who settled in 
 Dutchess county, N. Y. The maternal grand- 
 father of our subject. Joseph Banks, was a na- 
 tive of Maine, and of English descent, being in 
 the eighth generation from William Banks, 
 ■who was a physician in Lincolnshire, England, 
 and at one time a sheriff of the county. He 
 had a son to whom he gave the name of Joseph, 
 and this name was repeated in each of the eight 
 following generations. Joseph Banks came to 
 Wisconsin in 1847, and lived in Janesville, 
 where he practiced medicine several years, also 
 engaging in the same vocation in Winnebago 
 county. He was the father of six children. 
 His death occurred at Omro, Yds., when he 
 was quite old. He was a Democrat. 
 
 Joseph William Bates spent his boyhood 
 and youth in Janesville, and attended Lawrence 
 University, at Appleton, Yds., three years, 
 and the Northwestern University, at Evans- 
 ton, Til., two years. He was admitted to the 
 Bar Feb. 5. 1875. and practiced law at Janes- 
 ville until 1890. On Jan. 6, 1890, he removed 
 to Beloit, where he opened a law office and has 
 followed the practice of his profession to the 
 present time. He is a Republican, and exer- 
 cises a wide influence in local affairs. Mr. 
 Bates was elected judge advocate of the Janes- 
 ville Guards at the organization of the com- 
 pany, and was commissioned judge advocate 
 of the t st Regiment at the time of its forma- 
 tion. He drafted the bill, and secured its pas- 
 sage. that changed the name of the Wiscon- 
 sin State militia to the Wisconsin National 
 Guard. This was done in the Legislature of 
 
 1878, when he was a clerk in the State Senate. 
 Mr. Bates has held many important clerkships 
 in the Senate and General Assembly of the 
 State. He was assistant chief clerk of the 
 Senate in 1883. 
 
 L. HOLDEN PARKER, now retired from 
 business life, and living at No. 747 Parker ave- 
 nue, Beloit, Rock county, has for years been 
 one of the most influential and valuable citi- 
 zens, of that important Wisconsin town. He 
 has always been active and aggressive in every 
 enterprise that sought the public welfare, and 
 some of the most important improvements of 
 the past twenty-five years, that marked the pas- 
 sage of Beloit from a village condition to an ur- 
 ban life, have very largely been accomplished 
 through his unceasing determination that the 
 city should go on and fulfill its natural destiny. 
 
 Mr. Parker was born in Belvidere, 111 ., 
 Nov. 30, 1848, and is a son of Charles H. and 
 Eleanor (Stone) Parker, natives of (Massa- 
 chusetts. Pie is their only child now living. 
 Charles H. Parker was a manufacturer of cut- 
 lery in Concord, N. H., in his early manhood. 
 He moved to Belvidere, 111 ., in the spring of 
 1848, and took up a farmer’s life for a time, 
 taking charge of Dr. Stone’s farm, near the 
 city. In the spring of 1849 he footed it to 
 Beloit, and secured work with Barker, Love & 
 Co., in their reaper factory, receiving the muni- 
 ficent wages of a dollar a day. Every Satur- 
 day night he was accustomed to walk back to 
 Belvidere, and return on the following Mon- 
 day morning. In 1850 he moved his family 
 to Beloit, where he resided until his death, in 
 1890. Charles H. Parker is remembered as 
 one of the most important factors in the busi- 
 ness development of Beloit that it has ever 
 known. I11 1852 he started in business with 
 Gustavus Stone, in the manufacture of hoes, 
 and they were together until 1878, under the 
 firm name of Parker & Stone until 1874. 
 That year they incorporated under the name 
 of the Parker & Stone Reaper Co. They 
 manufactured mowers, reapers, harvesters and 
 binders until the fall of 1878, when they went 
 out of business, and in 1879 the business passed 
 into the hands of Mr. Parker’s son, L. Holden 
 Parker, and Fred A. Dennett, who formed 
 the firm of Parker & Dennett. They moved 
 the plant to Milwaukee in the summer of 1881, 
 and were the first to manufacture harvesters 
 and binders in that city, employing a large force 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3 7 
 
 of workingmen — at times almost two hundred. 
 The following year Mr. Parker disposed of his 
 interest and returned to Beloit. That was the 
 beginning in Milwaukee of the Milwaukee Har- 
 vester Co., an institution that is now known all 
 over the United States. 
 
 In 1882 Charles H. Parker and his son L. 
 Holden founded the Second National Bank of 
 Beloit, and the father was its president until 
 he died, at the age of seventy-five, March 14, 
 1890. Mrs. Eleanor Parker, his wife, died 
 March 24, 1900, aged eighty-one years. Mr. 
 Parker was deeply interested in the growth of 
 Beloit, and did much to aid in the establish- 
 ment of hopeful business enterprises in the city, 
 hv both moral and financial assistance, making 
 liberal contributions to various industrial and 
 educational institutions. He was a Univer- 
 salist in his belief, and his widow held to the 
 same broad faith. His father was a sea cap- 
 tain, and died a very young man, when his 
 son Charles was a small boy. Mrs. Charles 
 H. Parker's father, Jonathan Stone, is men- 
 tioned elsewhere. 
 
 L. Holden Parker was but little more than 
 a year old when his parents came to Beloit, 
 and his life since that time has been passed in 
 the city, with brief exceptions. He passed 
 through the public schools, graduated from the 
 academy, and in due time entered Beloit Col- 
 lege, with the intention of taking the full 
 course. Ill health, however, interfered, and 
 he was compelled to abandon his course at col- 
 lege after making a fine beginning. He was 
 a clerk in the office of the Merchants’ Express 
 Co. for a few months, and then went into a 
 shoe store as clerk, with the object of buying 
 the business after he had mastered its details. 
 He gave that up, and for four years was book- 
 keeper in the office of Parker & Stone. By 
 that time his health had resumed its normal 
 tone, and he felt he could prepare himself for a 
 professional life. He went to Ann Arbor, 
 Mich., and, entering the Law Department of 
 the University of Michigan, was graduated 
 as a capable student of the law, and in 1875 
 was admitted to the Bar. Mr. Parker opened 
 an office for the practice of law in Beloit, and 
 followed his profession for four years. In 
 1879. as noted above, he was associated with 
 Mr. Dennett in the removal of the reaper fac- 
 tory to Milwaukee, and its safe establishment 
 on a larger scale, and in 1882 he assisted his 
 father in the organization of the Second Na- 
 
 tional Bank. L. Holden Parker was its first 
 assistant cashier, at its opening. He became 
 cashier, and succeeded his father as president 
 of the institution, serving as such for a number 
 of years, and in January, 1900, disposing of 
 his entire interests to Mr. Strong; he is not now 
 actively interested in any business. 
 
 On Oct. 15, 1885, L. Holden Parker was 
 united in marriage with Miss Elinor Dudley, 
 a daughter of William L. and Mary (Doak) 
 Dudley, and they have had two daughters, 
 Elinor and Carolyn. They are members of the 
 Episcopal Church. Mr. Parker is a Repub- 
 lican, is at present a member of the Lower 
 House of the State Legislature, and is serving 
 his fifth term as a member of the Beloit school 
 board, with which he has been connected for 
 a period of fifteen years. He has served on 
 the library board since its organization, and 
 was its president for one year. His father, 
 Charles H. Parker, was mayor of Beloit, and 
 it was through his casting vote that the pres- 
 ent water works system was secured. Both 
 father and son have always been identified with 
 every forward movement. 
 
 MARY LLOYD EWING, M. D.. of Ev- 
 ansville, Rock county, is a distinguished mem- 
 ber of the homeopathic school of medicine, and 
 has built up a large and lucrative practice in 
 the city and vicinity. She was born at Zil- 
 wattkee, Mich., near Saginaw, a daughter of 
 Charles H. and Lucy (Green) Ewing, natives 
 of Vermont and New York, respectively. 
 They had four daughters and two sons, and 
 three of their children are now living: Dr. 
 
 Mary L. ; Ella, wife of Herman Langemak, of 
 Evansville; and Robert, of Gladstone, Mich., 
 a conductor on the Northern Pacific road. 
 The father was a merchant in Zilwaukee for 
 a number of years. His father came to Gen- 
 esee county, Mich., when Charles H. was a 
 child, and the latter spent the greater part of 
 his youth at Flint, Mich., where he grew 
 to manhood, obtaining his education in De- 
 troit and Flint, and he was a school teacher 
 before his marriage. His wedding was cele- 
 brated at Flushing, Mich., and he subsequently 
 went to Zilwaukee and established himself in 
 a general mercantile business. He was post- 
 master at that place three or four terms, re- 
 ceiving his commission from President Lin- 
 coln. He spent his last years on his father's 
 farm near Flint, and died there in 1870, when 
 
88 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 only thirty-seven years old. In religious con- 
 nection he was an Episcopalian, and his wife 
 a Congregationalist. 
 
 Ezekiel Ewing, our subject's grandfather, 
 was a native of Vermont. He was one of the 
 first settlers in Michigan, surveyed and laid out 
 all the roads and towns in Genesee county and 
 some in neighboring counties. He also en- 
 gaged in farming. He was the father of two 
 sons, and died when young. Robert Green, 
 the father of Mrs. Lucy Ewing, was a native 
 of New York, of English descent, and lived 
 to be sixty. He was a lumberman by occupa- 
 tion, and in his home in Michigan became 
 quite noted. He married Rachel Taggert, and 
 they had four daughters. Mrs. Green was of 
 Puritan stock, and was born in Massachusetts, 
 of which state her father, a Congregational 
 minister, was also a native; he was at one time 
 a member of Congress. The Taggert family 
 has a long and honorable history in Massa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 Dr. Ewing lived in Flint until she was 
 about eight years of age, when her father died. 
 Soon afterward the family moved to Appleton, 
 Wis., where our subject grew to womanhood, 
 attending the public schools and later Ripon 
 College. At the age of eighteen she secured 
 entrance into the Cook County (Chicago) 
 Hospital, and had two years’ training as a 
 nurse. She was also in a private hospital at 
 Memphis, Tenn., for six months, and the next 
 six months had charge of the male department 
 of the insane asylum at Dunning, 111 ., after her 
 retirement from that position engaging in pri- 
 vate nursing for a time. By this time she had 
 gained such an insight into the practice of 
 medicine that she thought it wise to go farther, 
 and learn the science and art itself. She ma- 
 triculated at Hahnemann College, Chicago, 
 was graduated in 1892, and at once began to 
 practice in that city, where she was engaged 
 two years. She then came to Evansville, 
 liked the place, and opening an office for the 
 practice of her profession, has remained there 
 to the present time, and has a wide circle of 
 friends and patrons. She has a general prac- 
 tice, and stands high in her profession; belongs 
 to the Wisconsin State Medical Association 
 and attends the meetings of the Northern Illi- 
 nois Medical Society and the Chicago Medi- 
 cal Society, before both of which bodies she 
 has read papers, and has been highly com- 
 plimented for her grasp of the subject and 
 
 her power of expression. Dr. Ewing has a 
 finely appointed office on Madison street, where 
 she and her mother reside. She belongs to 
 the Congregational Church, is active in Chris- 
 tian Endeavor work, and has charge of the 
 banner Junior Endeavor Society of the State. 
 
 ELLIOTT D. BARNARD, Evansville, 
 Rock county, has been in the leaf tobacco busi- 
 ness many years in Evansville, and his name 
 is widely known as that of a thoroughly hon- 
 orable and trustworthy business man. Owing 
 to his age and health he is now retired from 
 an active commercial life, and is living in the 
 enjoyment of the ample fortune that he ac- 
 cumulated through industrious habits and wise 
 management in bygone years. 
 
 Mr. Barnard was born in Chautauqua 
 county, N. Y., seven miles from the city of 
 Dunkirk, Aug. 27, 1827, a son of Thaddeus 
 and Hannah (Goldsborough) Barnard, both 
 natives of the Empire State. Four sons and 
 four daughters were born to them, three of 
 whom are now living: Jane, widow of Judge 
 William Woodbury, and now living at Gowan- 
 da, N. Y. ; Thaddeus, of Smiths Mills, N. 
 Y. ; and Elliott D., of Evansville. The fa- 
 ther, who was a farmer, moved from Whites- 
 town to Chautauqua county, in the same State, 
 where he died Feb. 6, 1829, at the age of 
 forty-four. His widow survived many years, 
 and died in that county May 2, 1862, at the 
 age of seventy-three. She was a devout mem- 
 ber of the Baptist Church. Both our sub- 
 ject’s grandfathers were natives of New York, 
 and reared large families. 
 
 Elliott D. Barnard grew to manhood un- 
 der the parental roof in Chautauqua county, 
 was reared on the farm, and attended district 
 school. In 1847 Mr. Barnard came West and 
 made a location in Rock county, W is.. four 
 miles east of Evansville, where he bought a 
 small farm of forty acres. This was after- 
 ward sold, and after his return from Califor- 
 nia, in 1853, Mr. Barnard invested in 160 
 acres in the town of Porter. He was a ca- 
 pable and pushing young man, and was not 
 afraid of hard work. Pie found employment 
 among the various farmers around him, put- 
 ting in every moment he could spare at good 
 wages, and presently became forehanded, buy- 
 ing 160 acres in the town of Center. He made 
 his home in Porter, and there continued to 
 reside until he moved into Evansville, in the 
 

 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 89 
 
 year 1880. He is an extensive land owner 
 at the present time, and holds the title to 320 
 acres of choice Rock county farm land. 
 
 Mr. Barnard, following the fashion of the 
 adventurous and fortune-seeking men of the 
 time, made the journey to California in 1850. 
 He crossed the Plains, and spent three years 
 in the land of gold, engaged in both farming 
 and mining. In the spring of 1853 he re- 
 turned to Rock county, and here he has since 
 remained. 
 
 I11 the month of March, 1850, Mr. 
 Barnard was married to Miss Susan Webb, the 
 accomplished daughter of Joshua and Ann 
 Webb, and five children were born to that 
 union, Emma, Shasta E., Flora, Maude, and 
 Charley D. Emma married Daniel Rogers, 
 and they live on the old homestead in the 
 town of Porter; they have four children, 
 Claude, Zoe, Montfort and Florence. Shasta 
 E. was married to Miss Lilia C. Lee, and has 
 one child, Orlancl K. ; he is a wholesale dealer 
 in leaf tobacco in Evansville, and has achieved 
 a large success in that line. Flora is Mrs 1 . 
 John Sperry, of the town of Porter, and the 
 mother of two children, Olive and Fay. Maude 
 married Frank Palmer, and is now living in 
 Janesville ; they have one child, Orian. Char- 
 ley married Catharine Boylan, and lives in 
 Evansville. Mrs. Susan Barnard died in 1863, 
 and on April 19, 1873, Miss Jane Osborn be- 
 came the wife of our subject. She is the 
 daughter of James and Louisa (Ballard) Os- 
 born, and is a lady of much character and in- 
 telligence. They have two children, Blanche 
 and Bertha, both of whom are living at home. 
 Mrs. Barnard is a member of the Methodist 
 church. Mr. Barnard is a Democrat, was su- 
 pervisor in the town of Porter some three 
 terms, and was also assessor for one term. 
 
 Mr. Barnard and Thomas Hudson put up 
 a large warehouse for the handling of leaf to- 
 bacco in Evansville in the fall of 1879. Two 
 years later Mr. Hudson disposed of his interest 
 in the enterprise to Shasta E. Barnard, and 
 the firm then became Barnard & Son. They 
 built a large brick warehouse, and entered upon 
 an extensive business. In 1893 E. D. Barnard 
 retired from active business, and the tobacco 
 firm became Barnard & Wilder. They ship 
 tobacco into almost every region of the world, 
 and are growing wealthy. 
 
 Mr. Barnard is now living retired and en- 
 joys the esteem of his many friends in Rock 
 
 county, which has been his home since 1847. 
 His wife’s parents were natives of Canada, 
 but have been residents of Rock county since 
 1864, and are still living in Evansville. They 
 have had seven children, three of whom are 
 now living, Mrs. Barnard; James W. ; and 
 Eliza, wife of Oscar Mabie. 
 
 LUDWIG KUMLIEN, M. S., Professor 
 of Physics and Biology at Milton College,' 
 Milton, Rock county, inherited his taste for 
 science. He was born in Jefferson county, 
 Wis., March 15, 1854, one of the five children 
 of Thure Theodore Ludwig and Marguerita 
 (Wallberg) Kumlien, natives of Sweden, near 
 Upsala. Of this family, three sons and two 
 daughters, only two now survive, Prof. Kum- 
 lien and his brother Theodore, the latter occu- 
 pying the old homestead in Jefferson county. 
 The father, Thure Theodore Ludwig Kumlien, 
 was a naturalist and teacher in Sweden, his 
 native land, and in 1842 emigrated to America, 
 settling on a farm in Jefferson county, Wis., 
 near Sumner, where he reared his family. He 
 was for a number of years conservator in the 
 public museum in Milwaukee, making his 
 home all the time in Jefferson county, where 
 he died in 1888, aged sixty-nine years. His 
 wife died in 1874. Both were Lutherans in 
 religious faith. 
 
 Ludwig Kumlien, the grandfather of our 
 subject, was army quartermaster in Sweden, 
 and died there at an advanced age. He was 
 the owner of several large estates, and was 
 widely known. His family comprised sixteen 
 children. The maternal grandfather of our 
 subject, Mr. Wallberg, was a trainer of gov- 
 ernment cavalry horses in Sweden, in that 
 capacity controlling a number of men. His 
 family consisted of eleven children. He lived 
 to exceed the age of eighty years. 
 
 The boyhood of our subject was spent on 
 the farm in Jefferson county. Entering Al- 
 bion Academy as a student, he graduated at 
 the ag'e of nineteen, in 1873. He was then 
 for three years a special student in the scien- 
 tific course at the University of Wisconsin, 
 Madison, completing his studies in 1877. Im- 
 mediately after he left school Mr. Kumlien 
 joined the polar expedition under Capt. How- 
 gate, as naturalist, and in the Northern seas 
 rendered valuable service to the cause of sci- 
 ence. His career since then has been one of 
 active devotion to scientific pursuits. He was 
 
90 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 assistant to the United States Fish Commis- 
 sion and Smithsonian Institution, Washing- 
 ton, D. C., making- for the former investiga- 
 tions on artificial propagation of food fishes, 
 and for the latter extensive scientific collec- 
 tions in various Western and Northwestern 
 localities of North America, and also in the 
 Northern seas, 1S77-78. He has been a mem- 
 ber of the American Ornithological Union since 
 1875. He was instructor at Albion Academy 
 from 1889 to 1891, and in the latter year be- 
 came professor of physics, natural history 
 and physiology at Milton College, with the 
 Faculty of which institute he has since been 
 prominently identified. He has made various 
 contributions to science. He was a contribu- 
 tor to “North American Birds,” by Baird, 
 Brewer and Ridgway, in 1874, and to ‘‘Water 
 Birds,” by the same, in 1877-78; has been a 
 contributor to ornithological and zoological 
 publications since 1876; is the author of “Con- 
 tributions to the Natural History of Arctic 
 America,” Bulletin No. 15, United States Na- 
 tional Museum, 1879; was special agent, 
 Tenth Census, United States, on Fisheries of 
 the Great Lakes, and of Narragansett and 
 Buzzard's Bays, 1879-81. He contributed 
 “Life History of North Atlantic Seals,” to 
 Prof. A. J. Allen’s “Monograph of North 
 American Pinnipedia,” in 1880; and was as- 
 sociate author “North American Food Fishes,” 
 National Museum, 1881-83. He contributed 
 many scientific papers in reports of the United 
 States Fish Commission and Smithsonian In- 
 stitution Bulletins of National Museum, 1876- 
 83 ; also in the publications entitled “The Auk,” 
 “The Nidologist,” "The Osprey,” and “Forest 
 and Stream," since 1876. He is the author of 
 Special Census Reports on Fisheries of the 
 Great Lakes, 1883, and was Determining Col- 
 lector for the Milwaukee Public Museum in 
 1886. He was a contributor to “Birds of 
 Michigan” in 1893, and has prepared scientific 
 collections for State Normal schools of Wis- 
 consin and other institutions since 1895. 
 
 Prof. Kumlien married a Miss Carr, and 
 they have three children, Ludwig Baird Carr, 
 Lawrence Lorraine and Alice Lenore. 
 
 WILLIAM PORTER, Professor of Latin 
 in Beloit College, Beloit, Rock county, is one 
 of the older instructors of that excellent insti- 
 tution, and has a warm place in the hearts of 
 the old student world. His years of experi- 
 
 ence have tempered his spirit and made him 
 deeply sympathetic with the awkward endeavor 
 of callow youth on the way of knowledge. 
 He appeals to the nobler love of learning, and 
 has had a mighty influence in arousing a zeal 
 for learning in the classes before him, and un- 
 der his magic touch the forgotten past re- 
 appears, and Caesar and Cicero and Livy and 
 Horace breathe again. 
 
 Prof. Porter was born in Lee, Berkshire 
 county, Mass., Jan. 10, 1820, and is a son of 
 William and Mary Ann (Quincy) Porter, 
 both natives of Massachusetts. They were 
 the parents of turn sons and two daughters, 
 and three of their children are now living: 
 Prof. William ; Samuel Quincy, of Unionville, 
 Conn. ; and Mary W., wife of Franklin Cham- 
 berlin, of Hartford, Conn. The father was a 
 lawyer, and practiced his profession in Lee 
 until his death, in 1853, at the age of sixtv- 
 one j^ears. His wife died in 1835, and is re- 
 membered as a lovely Christian woman. 
 William Porte** was a member of the Congre- 
 gational Church. He served in the State 
 Legislature, and was also district attorney for 
 the four western counties of the State a num- 
 ber of years. His father, who also bore the 
 name of William Porter, was a native of Mas- 
 sachusetts, coming of English stock, and passed 
 all his life in Hadley, Mass., dying at the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty-four. He was a physician 
 and also a farmer. He reared a large fam- 
 ily. The history of the Porter family in the 
 town of Hadley runs back to 1656. Samuel 
 Quincy, the father of Mary Ann, mentioned 
 above, was also a native of Massachusetts, and 
 of English lineage. This family settled the 
 town of Quincy, in that State, and gave it the 
 name. It was first called Braintree, but re- 
 ceived its present appellation in compliment 
 to the character and standing of the various 
 members of the Quincy family. 
 
 Prof. William Porter was reared in the 
 village of Lee, where he grew to manhood. 
 He obtained his primary education in the pub- 
 lic school, supplemented same by a course at 
 the academy in the village of Hadley, and 
 made his final preparations for college at the 
 Lenox Academy. He matriculated at Williams 
 College, was graduated from that noble school 
 in 1839, and read law in his father’s office for 
 the following year. He entered the theologi- 
 cal seminary at Andover for the purpose of 
 preparing himself for the Christian ministry, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 9i 
 
 and was engaged in study for three years, but 
 lost his health and had to abandon all ideas of 
 a ministerial life. Going to Florida to regain 
 his health, he spent seven years in that State 
 before he dared to return to the North and un- 
 dertake again a studious life. He was em- 
 ployed for two years in Marietta College, a 
 well-known Ohio school, and in 1852 came to 
 Beloit to take a place in the college, where he 
 has taught from that time to the present, and 
 has now almost completed a half century of 
 continuous service in the noble work of edu- 
 cation. 
 
 Prof. Porter and Miss Ellen G. Chapin 
 were married July 13, 1854, and four children 
 have blessed this union, William, Frank Cham- 
 berlin, Mary Quincy, and one child who died 
 in infancy. ( 1 ) William is a physician in 
 Hartford, Conn.; he married Mrs. Fannie P. 
 Hall, and they have one child, Margaret 
 Chapin. Mrs. Porter had two children by 
 her former husband, Robert and Bessie. (2) 
 Frank C. is a professor in the Divinity School 
 of Yale University. He married Delia Wood 
 Lyman, and is the father of two sons, Lyman 
 Edwards and William Quincy. (3) Mary O. 
 lives at home, and is a teacher of German in the 
 Beloit high school. Prof. Porter and his wife 
 are members of the Congregational Church. 
 He is a Republican. 
 
 CHALMERS INGERSOLL, the able and 
 popular editor and publisher of the Daily and 
 Weekly Free Press, of Beloit, Rock county, 
 was born in Westfield, N. Y., Oct. 29, 1838, 
 and is a son of Thomas and Sarah (Walker) 
 Ingersoll, natives of Massachusetts and New 
 York, respectively. They were the parents of 
 three sons and three daughters, all yet living, 
 viz. : Lucy, wife of C. K. Judson, Washing- 
 
 ton, D. C. ; Julia A., wife of G. W. Tandy, of 
 Freeport, 111 .; Orton, of Rock Island, 111 .; 
 Chalmers; Clementine C., wife of W. W. 
 Bigelow, of Chicago; and Joseph W., of Bowie, 
 Md. The father was a teacher in early life 
 in the academy at Westfield, and left the school 
 room to enter the employment of D. Apple- 
 ton & Co., remaining with them some, years. 
 He died in New York in 1847, M the age of 
 forty-four. His wife remarried, becoming 
 Mrs. Dean. Mr. Dean died, and she was 
 again married, to J. W. Dean, who is now 
 deceased ; he reached the age of eighty-six. 
 Mrs. Dean died in September, 1897, at the age 
 
 of eighty-three. From early life she had been 
 associated with the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of Chalmers 1 In- 
 gersoll was a native of New York, and of 
 English descent. He was a ship captain, and 
 was drowned at sea while still in middle life. 
 He was the father of two sons and one daugh- 
 ter. Chalmers Ingersoll’s maternal grand- 
 father was a native of New York, also of Eng- 
 lish descent, and was killed in an accident when 
 twenty-eight years of age. He married Dor- 
 cas Finn, who came of Dutch ancestry, and had 
 four children. 
 
 Chalmers Ingersoll lived at Westfield until 
 nine years of age, when he went to live near 
 Brockport. N. Y. The young lad spent four 
 years in that community and then went to 
 Greenfield, Mass., to live with an uncle, Charles 
 J. J., a newspaper publisher. Chalmers at- 
 tended school, and when quite young went into 
 his uncle’s printing office to learn the trade of 
 a printer, working in vacations and out of 
 school hours. After he had become a capable 
 printer he worked a year at the case in Spring- 
 field, Mass., and in 1856 went to Freeport, 111 ., 
 to work for his brother-in-law, C. K. Judson, 
 a prominent newspaper man of that early day. 
 Mr. Ingersoll spent two years with him and be- 
 came widely known in the printing fraternity 
 as a very capable workman — a reputation that 
 brought him an invitation to enter the office 
 of the Chicago Tribune. He was in Chicago 
 at the breaking out of the Civil war, and early 
 yielded to the patriotic fever that was in the 
 blood of the North, enlisting in Company G, 
 8th 111 . V. C.. and serving three years with the 
 Lhiion colors. When his term of enlistment 
 had expired he re-enlisted as a veteran. He 
 was discharged before the close of the war on 
 account of serious and chronic illness. Mr. 
 Ingersoll was in every respect a capable and 
 gallant soldier, and participated in some of the 
 bloodiest scenes in the history of the Army 
 of the Potomac. He was at Gaines Mills, and 
 all through the Potomac campaigns, in the bat- 
 tles of Fredericksburg, Antietam, and Gettys- 
 burg, and in hundreds of engagements that 
 then were called skirmishes, but which in any 
 smaller war would have been termed battles. 
 
 After his return from the field of battle Mr. 
 Ingersoll came to Beloit, and started the Free 
 Press in February, 1866. He made a good 
 paper, won a considerable support, and in 1872 
 sold his printing plant to Col. Frank, and be- 
 
92 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 came interested in manufacturing. He was 
 the first to put out the paper plates used by 
 grocers, and for a number of years had almost 
 a monopoly in paper goods. Mr. Ingersoll 
 became a leading character in State politics, 
 and his work was recognized by his appoint- 
 ment as sergeant-at-arms in the State Senate 
 during 1879 and 1880. In 1882 he formed a 
 partnership with H. F. Hobart, and resumed 
 the publication of the Free Press. Mr. Ho- 
 bart retired from business the latter part of 
 that year, and Mr. Ingersoll has been alone 
 since that time, and has published a strong Re- 
 publican journal. He was postmaster of Be- 
 loit when Mr. Cleveland became President of 
 the United States, and had held that office 
 about twenty months, and as soon as the new 
 administration could reach him he was 
 promptly thrown out. Upon the accession of 
 President Harrison Mr. Ingersoll was again 
 put in charge of the postoffice, and when Mr. 
 Cleveland was President a second time he as 
 quickly retired. President McKinley ap- 
 pointed him a third time to that position, and 
 in it he is still serving the Beloit public very 
 capably. 
 
 On September 12, 1865, was celebrated the 
 marriage of Chalmers Ingersoll and Charlotte 
 B. Rinewalt, a daughter of Adam and Mary 
 (Lelm) Rinewalt. They live at No. 627 
 Church street, where he built a home in 1887. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ingersoll are the parents of three 
 children, George B., Charlotte, and Charles 
 J. J. The last named died of cerebro spinal 
 meningitis when sixteen months old. George 
 B. was married to Miss Theresa Jenkins, and 
 they have two children — Sara and an infant ; 
 he is assistant postmaster, and is a practicing 
 lawyer. Mr. Ingersoll is a member of Morning- 
 Star Lodge, No. 10, A. F. & A. M. ; Beloit 
 Chapter, No. 9. R. A. M. ; Beloit Commandery, 
 No. 6; and Wisconsin Consistory, and in these 
 various branches of Masonry has displayed a 
 deep and intelligent interest. He is also a 
 member of the Knights of Pythias. 
 
 JOHN E. ANTHONY, D. D. S., of 
 Evansville, Rock county, is a very successful 
 dentist, and has a large patronage. He is a 
 man of irreproachable personal habits, a genial 
 and social gentleman, and is fully abreast of the 
 times in everything that relates to his pro- 
 fession. 
 
 Dr. Anthony was born in Watertown, N. 
 
 Y., April 19, 1845, an d was reared in his native 
 State, near Watertown. He attended the pub- 
 lic schools, and was well educated along- o- e n- 
 eral lines of culture. He selected dentistry 
 for his life work, took a course in a dental 
 school in Philadelphia, and finished in the city 
 of New York. Opening a dental office at Car- 
 thage, in his native State, he there followed 
 his profession for about a year, but was com- 
 pelled to seek other employment on account 
 of ill health, and lie outside of the office for 
 three years. He was at Niles, Mich., for about 
 one year, and in 1868 spent a few months at 
 Evansville. Six years later he came back to 
 this prairie city, and engaged in his profession, 
 and here he has made his home to the present 
 time. 
 
 Dr. Anthony and Miss Katie R. Whaley, 
 daughter of John Whaley, w^ere married Jan. 
 12, 1879. They occupy a pleasant home on 
 Main street, and are highly thought of in the 
 community. Dr. Anthony is prominent in fra- 
 ternal circles, and belongs to various orders. 
 He stands high in Masonic associations, and 
 holds membership in Union Lodge, No. 32, 
 A. F. & A. M. ; Chapter No. 35, R. A. M., at 
 Evansville; and Janesville Commandery, No. 
 2, K. T. He is also a member of Evansville 
 Lodge, Iv. P. ; T. L. Sutphen Post, No. 41, 
 G. A. R. ; and the Modern Woodmen, and is 
 popular and welcome in these various associa- 
 tions. Dr. Anthony is a Republican. He en- 
 listed at Watertown, N. Y., early in 1862, as 
 a member of Battery D, 1st New York Light 
 Artillery, and was discharged Dec. 4, same 
 year, on account of serious disability. He 
 took part in the battle of Malvern Hill, and in 
 a number of skirmishes. 
 
 REV. WALLACE M. SHORT, the schol- 
 arly and devoted pastor of the Congregational 
 Church at Evansville, Rock county, is a man 
 distinguished not less for his ability as a pul- 
 pit orator than for his profound interest in 
 everything that relates to the moral and spirit- 
 ual welfare of the community. He is at once 
 loyal to the denomination with which he is as- 
 sociated, and faithful to the larger church of 
 which it is but a part. 
 
 Rev. Wallace M. Short was born at Col- 
 lege Springs, Iowa, June 28, 1866, and is a son 
 of James B. and Eugenia (Noe) Short, natives 
 of Illinois and Ohio, respectively. They were 
 the parents of three sons and two daughters, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 93 
 
 four now living : Rev. Wallace M. ; Rev. Will- 
 iam H. ; Jessie M., a graduate of Beloit Col- 
 lege ; and Frank E., in business in Beloit; Alice, 
 who died in childhood, was the eldest child. 
 The father was a farmer, and made a location 
 in Iowa in 1856, at College Springs. There 
 he reared his family, in the quiet and strength- 
 giving surroundings of a rural life, and there 
 he lived until 1894, in which year he gave up 
 the farm and went to Beloit, Wis., 'to spent his 
 last days. He is a deacon of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, and with his wife has long been 
 a devout member of that religious body. Mr. 
 Short was a soldier in the Civil war, and served 
 as a member of the 8th Iowa Cavalry. He was 
 in the battle of Franklin, Tenn., and alto- 
 gether participated in about thirty engage- 
 ments, great and small. During his active life 
 James B. Short was a man of considerable 
 prominence in local affairs, and held various 
 township offices, meeting all responsibilities 
 placed upon him to the satisfaction of all con- 
 cerned. His father, John Short, was a native 
 of Tennessee, of Scotch-Irish descent, and fol- 
 lowed an agricultural life. He was born in 
 the closing part of the eighteenth century, and 
 moved to Granville, Putnam Co., 111 ., while 
 still a young man. He served in the Black 
 Hawk war, was a man of character and energy, 
 and lived to be fifty-five years of age. He 
 reared a family of eight children. Ebenezer 
 Noe, the father of Eugenia, referred to above, 
 was born in Connecticut, and was of French 
 descent. He was a farmer, and after he lived 
 in Iowa carried the mails at an early day, on 
 horseback. He was an early settler in that 
 State, and is still living at College Springs, 
 at the venerable age of eighty-nine years. He 
 is the father of seven children, four of whom 
 are now living. His father served in the war 
 of 1812. 
 
 Rev. Wallace M. Short attained his man- 
 hood on the farm at College Springs, began 
 his education in the local schools, continued it 
 at Amity (Iowa) College, and was graduated 
 from Beloit (Wis.) College in 1893, taking the 
 full classical course. He made his theological 
 preparation for the ministry at Yale, and re- 
 ceived his diploma from that institution in 
 1896. The same year he was called to the 
 pastorate of the Congregational Church at 
 Evansville, and at once entered upon its duties. 
 He has won a standing in this community, not 
 only as a capable and earnest preacher and 
 
 pastor, but as an enlightened and progressive 
 citizen of the town. Mr. Short made his own 
 way through college. He learned the cheese- 
 maker's trade when quite a young man, and 
 followed it at College Springs, and also at 
 Maryville, Missouri. 
 
 The year 1896 is a memorable one in the 
 history of Mr. Short. It was the year of his 
 graduation from Yale, it was the year of his 
 call to Evansville, and it was the year of his 
 marriage. O11 July 8, that year, he wedded 
 Miss Mary E. Morse, daughter of James and 
 Jennie (Smith) Morse, the former born in 
 Ohio, the latter in England. Her grandfa- 
 ther Morse, who is now residing in Racine, at 
 the advanced age of ninety-three, was a rela- 
 tive of Samuel F. B. Morse. 
 
 1 
 
 DAVID B. WORTHINGTON, editor and 
 proprietor of the Beloit Daily and U'eekly 
 Nezvs, has devoted his whole life to newspaper 
 work. He was born in Centralia, Wis., Oct. 
 10, 1863, son of Ralph Cushman Worthington, 
 a direct descendant of the Cushman who char- 
 tered the “Mayflower.” Our subject's mother, 
 Susan Compton, was a native of New York. 
 The parents were pioneers of Wood county, 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Worthington graduated from the high 
 school in his native town at the age of fifteen, 
 entered a printing office, and has ever since been 
 in one in some capacity. As a young man he 
 did reportorial work on the Miltvaukce lour- 
 nal, Duluth Tribune, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 
 San Francisco Chronicle and Chicago Tnnes- 
 Herald. On these able journals he secured a 
 first-class journalistic training, which fitted him 
 for the conduct of his paper at Beloit, in which 
 he secured a half interest Jan. 1, 1897. Early 
 in 1900 he became sole owner, and to-day pub- 
 lishes one of the ablest dailies in the State, be- 
 sides conducting - a large job-printing establish- 
 ment, equipped with modern presses designed 
 especially for catalogue and two-color work. 
 Energy is the keynote of Mr. Worthington s 
 success in business. He came to Beloit with 
 only experience and push for his capital, took 
 hold of a practically defunct paper, and in four 
 years built up a property worth many thousands 
 of dollars. 
 
 ROBERT M. HUNTINGTON (de- 
 ceased) was for many years a stock farmer in 
 the town of Platteville, Grant county, and is 
 
94 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 remembered as a thoroughly honest and up- 
 right man, who amassed a considerable for- 
 tune by unflagging industry and careful man- 
 agement. He was known as a straightforward 
 and reliable man, and a kind neighbor, of 
 genial and social character. 
 
 Mr. Huntington was born in July, 1839, 
 son of Richard and Mary (Myers) Hunting- 
 ton, both natives of England. Richard Hunt- 
 ington came to this State as early as 1834, 
 and settled two miles south of Platteville, on 
 the Darlington road. He owned seven or eight 
 hundred acres of the finest farm land in the 
 county, put up a large brick house and fine 
 barns in i860, and was continually engaged 
 in the improvement of the magnificent rural 
 estate. Both himself and wife died on this 
 farm, she in 1846, and he in 1871. For his 
 second wife he married Miss Lucy Coleburn, 
 of Vermont, who died in 1895. There were 
 six children by the second union : Ellen is Mrs. 
 Henry Dorscher, of Platteville. Charles died 
 when a young man. Frank married Miss 
 Estabrook, and lives in Lafayette county. 
 Laura married Philip Roundtree, and is now 
 dead. Samuel lives at Sioux Falls, S. Dak. 
 Caroline is the wife of John Spink, of St. Paul. 
 The children of Richard and Mary (Myers) 
 Huntington were as follows: William Morsby 
 married Miss Sarah Robinson, and settled on 
 a part of the old homestead, where he lived 
 until his death, in i860, leaving a wife and 
 one child, Edward ; the young man is now a 
 hardware merchant in the State of Iowa. 
 Richard died unmarried. Lydia A. married 
 George C. Huntington, and lives at Luverne, 
 Minn., where her husband is engaged in the 
 real-estate and banking business; they have 
 three children, Pearl, Laura (Mrs. Ladew), 
 and Guy (of Colorado). Robert M. is men- 
 tioned below. 
 
 Robert M. Huntington rvas educated in the 
 Platteville high school, and followed farming, 
 settling on the old homestead after his mar- 
 riage. He put up buildings that are both use- 
 ful and attractive, having one of the pleasant 
 homes in the county. Mr. Huntington married 
 Miss Mary M. Stephens, who was born in 
 1844, daughter of William C. and Ann 
 (Mitchell) Stephens. Her parents were born, 
 reared and married in England, coming thence 
 to America in 1842, the year of their marriage, 
 and settling in Grant county, AVis. ; they died 
 in Platteville. Of their family of six children, 
 
 Ali is a resident of Platteville; George, of 
 Fairfield, Iowa; Amo, of Platteville; Mary 
 M. became the wife of our subject; Thomas 
 and Harlan are deceased. Mr. Huntington 
 died in 1872, leaving his wife with five chil- 
 dren: Selina, born in 1863, received her edu- 
 cation in the Platteville high school; she is 
 now the wife of Bryant Trenary, a farmer in 
 the town of Platteville, and they have one 
 son, Clyde, who is now a young man; their 
 daughter, Laura, died at the age of eight years. 
 Annie, the wife of Frank Trenary, is men- 
 tioned elsewhere in connection with her hus- 
 band. Albert, born in August, 1867, married 
 Miss Mary Kleibenstein, and has one daugh- 
 ter, Gertrude, born in 1895; they now reside 
 on his father's old homestead. William, born 
 in 1869, is unmarried, and at home. Nellie, 
 the youngest child, died when she had reached 
 the age of fourteen; she was a very bright 
 and promising young girl, and her loss was 
 deeply felt. 
 
 On Aug. 3, 1876, Mrs. Huntington married 
 for her second husband AVesley Smith, and 
 to this union three sons were born: Arthur,. of 
 Moline, 111 . ; Lester, of the United States navy ; 
 and Frank, of Platteville. Mrs. Smith is a 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 where she and her family worship. 
 
 Mr. Huntington was a Democrat. He was 
 a man of marked domestic habits, finding a 
 world of pleasure in the company of his wife 
 and children. In 1892 Mrs. Smith purchased 
 a home in Platteville, where she lived until 
 1900, in that year returning to her country 
 home. The various representatives of this 
 family are all very prosperous, and own fine 
 estates in Grant and Lafayette counties. 
 
 REV. PETER PAPE, priest of. St. An- 
 drew’s Catholic Church, of Potosi, Grant 
 county, is a native of Wisconsin, having been 
 born in Springfield Corners, Dane county, 
 Feb. 14, 1866, son of Frank and Susan 
 (Schaff hausen) Pape. Frank Pape came to 
 Dane county while a young man, married, and 
 settled on a farm of unbroken land near 
 Springfield Corners, where he resided until his 
 death, in 1884. His wife is still living, resid- 
 ing in Dane county. 
 
 " Rev. Peter Pape received his early, educa- 
 tion in the common schools of his neighbor- 
 hood, and then entered St. Francis Seminary, 
 at Milwaukee, and was ordained to the priest- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 95 
 
 hood June 22, 1890, by Bishop Richter, of 
 Grand' Rapids. He was first stationed at 
 Kenosha, Wis., as assistant, remaining there 
 two years. His next charge was the Church 
 of St. Hubertus and St. Augustine, at Rich- 
 field, Washington county, where he remained 
 three years and eight months-, coming thence 
 to Potosi on April 27, 1895. 
 
 Rev. Peter Pape is a member of the Catho- 
 lic Knights and St. Andrew’s Benevolent So- 
 ciety. Although still a young man, our sub- 
 ject has shown a high -order of ability as a 
 priest, and has attached himself to his people 
 in a remarkable degree. 
 
 St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, of Po- 
 tosi, Grant county, was organized in 1846, Rev. 
 Andrew Tush celebrating mass that year on 
 the first Sunday in Advent. The congrega- 
 tion consisted of some twenty families, and the 
 first church edifice was a small frame one, 
 20x30 feet, to which additions were made 
 until it covered an area of 50x30 feet. Con- 
 nected with the church from the beginning 
 was a parochial school, which was in charge of 
 a lay teacher, and later of sisters from various 
 orders. 
 
 Father Tush was succeeded by the follow- 
 ing priests: Rev. Schraudenbach, 1851 to 
 1855; Rev. Michael Beiter, 1855 to 1856; 
 Rev. Joseph Polking, 1856 to 1857; Rev. T. 
 M. Obermueller, 1858 to 1859; Rev. F. Zuber, 
 1859 to 1863; Rev. L. Lenox, 1863 to 1864; 
 Rev. H. J. Muckerheide, 1864 to 1865: Rev. 
 J. M. Albers, 1866 to 1868 ; Rev. M. De ’Becke, 
 1868 to 1871; James Kleiber, 1871 to 1872; 
 Rev. J. A. Mueller, 1872 to 1874; Rev. N. A. 
 Thill, 1874 t-o 1877: Rev. A. Bruhin, 1877 
 to 1880; Rev. Joseph Dreis, 1880 to 1886; 
 Rev. P. M. Grobschmidt, 1881 to 1890; Rev. 
 August B. Salick, 1890 to 1895: and Rev. 
 Peter Pape, the present incumbent. 
 
 The present church structure is built of 
 brick, handsomely furnished, covers an area 
 of 100x50 feet, and has a tower 12x14 f ee t 
 beyond the main edifice. It was erected by 
 Father N. A. Thill, in 1-875, at a cost of 
 $12,000. The old church served as a school 
 for a time, but is now replaced by a handsome 
 building, constructed in 1896, of brick, two 
 stories in height, covering an area 80x32 feet. 
 The ground floor consists of three large rooms, 
 rvhile the second is thrown into a hall. This 
 building was erected at a cost of $4,200. In 
 the church itself, the appointments are very 
 
 costly, the high altar, put in by Father Salick, 
 costing $1,200. The congregation numbers 
 165 families, and about 480 souls. 
 
 The school, which is one of the best in the 
 diocese, is in charge of sisters of the Order of 
 St. Francis, of Wisconsin. The attendance is 
 from 150 to 155 pupils, and the course of 
 study a very fine one. The church has an 
 order of Catholic Knights of Wisconsin, J. 
 P. Stelphfling, president; J. J. Tobin, secretary; 
 August Franke, treasurer; and Jacob Duve, 
 assistant secretary. 
 
 St. Thomas Catholic Church, Potosi, 
 Grant county, celebrated its fiftieth anniversary 
 in 1886, having been organized sixty-five years 
 ago, in what was then the village of Van Buren, 
 although at present not one of the original 
 members is living, the last survivor, Celestine 
 Ivaltersbuch, having passed away since the 
 half century -milestone of the church was 
 passed. 
 
 From 1S36 to 1840 the tin}- church was 
 dependent upon missionaries, and among those 
 who ministered to the faithful congregation 
 during those early days were Rev. Mathias 
 Doras, now bishop of Dubuque, Iowa, and 
 Father Mazzuchelli, of Galena, where the rec- 
 ords were kept until the church was fully or- 
 ganized at Potosi. The first church building 
 was of logs, and stood on the site of the present 
 village of Potosi. Later it served as a residence 
 for a Mr. Ragan. On June 2, 1841, the rec- 
 ords were brought to Potosi. Father Causse 
 was the first priest in charge, staying from 
 1840 to 1854, during which time he baptized 
 475 people, and his congregation increased to 
 500 people. Following this good priest were 
 Fathers Princton and Martin Hubbs, and then 
 Rev. J. N. Brogard, who remained until 1857. 
 The next incumbent was Rev. M. W. Gibson, 
 1857 to 1861, who was followed by Father G. 
 H. Brennan and Rev. W. IT. Verhoef, the latter 
 remaining until 1865. Rev. T. M. Albers re- 
 mained from 1865 to 1867 and part of 1868. 
 Later Rev. Nuits and Rev. Vivaldi officiated, 
 and they were succeeded by Rev. Thomas P. 
 H-odnett. Father James Kleiber followed, 
 from 1871 to 1873; from 1873 to 1876 Rev. 
 J. A. Mueller was in charge, and was succeeded 
 by Rev. James Tiernan, 1S73 to 1876; Rev. 
 J. C. DeVine officiated from 1876 to 1880, at 
 which time he died, and was buried June 1, 
 1880, at Potosi. For a short time during 
 1880 Rev. William Bernhard officiated, assist- 
 
96 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ed by Rev. Joseph A. Dreis, and they were suc- 
 ceeded by Rev. Grobschmidt, Rev. A. B. Salick, 
 and Rev. Peter Pape, the present priest in 
 charge. 
 
 '1 he present church building was erected 
 by Father Causse, in 1847, at a cost $8,000. 
 It is a substantial structure of brick, covering 
 an area of 36x56, and is two stories in height, 
 with a steeple sixty feet high. The interior 
 of the church is beautifully finished, while the 
 high altar is a marvel of beauty. The building 
 adjacent to the church was built prior to 
 1845, an d was used as a female seminary by 
 sisters from Dubuque until 1852. During 
 Father Albers’ incumbency arrangements were 
 made to have St. Thomas made a mission of 
 St. Andrew’s, which condition exists to-day. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY BORDEN, M. D., 
 has for over forty-six years been a medical 
 practitioner at Milton, Rock county, and is 
 still actively engaged in his profession. His 
 long residence at Milton has been one of wide 
 usefulness and eminent success, broken only 
 by his service in the army during the Civil 
 war. 
 
 Dr. Borden was born in Sharon, Schoharie 
 Co., N. Y., Sept. 24, 1824, son of James and 
 Rebecca Combs (Craige) Borden, and grand- 
 son of Peletiah and Ellen (Gordonier) Borden, 
 the grandfather a native of New York, of 
 English extraction, the grandmother of Hol- 
 land parentage. They reared a large family, 
 eight sons and five daughters. Peletiah Borden 
 was by occupation a farmer and blacksmith, 
 and lived to the age of over seventy-five years. 
 He served a short time in the Revolution. 
 
 James Borden, father of our subject, was 
 born in Sharon, N. Y., and was reared a 
 farmer. He married Rebecca Combs Craige, 
 a native of Monmouth, N. J., daughter of a 
 cabinet maker, and one of a family of seven 
 children — three sons and four daughters. She 
 was of Scotch-Irish extraction. James Borden 
 acquired the tanner’s, currier’s and shoe- 
 maker's trades, which he followed for a number 
 of years, devoting his 1 attention chiefly to tan- 
 ning. He died at Otto, N. Y., Nov. 13, 1850, 
 at the comparatively early age of forty-eight 
 years. His wife survived until October, 1893, 
 passing away at the ripe old age of ninety- 
 three years and seven months. Both in their 
 younger years were members of a Presbyterian 
 Church which was later merged into the Con- 
 
 gregational Church. To James and Rebecca 
 C. Borden were born seven children, five sons 
 and two daughters, of whom the following sur- 
 vive : Dr. William H., our subject; Marietta, 
 wife of Hurd Strickland, of Otto, N. Y. ; Ly- 
 man S., of Milton, Wi'S 1 . ; Jay, of Springville, 
 N. Y., and James Craige, of Otto, New York. 
 
 The boyhood of Dr. Borden was spent in 
 Otto, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. where he was 
 employed in his father’s tannery when not at- 
 tending school. He was a pupil in the common 
 schools, attended the select schools at Gowan- 
 da, N. Y., and later for nearly two years was 
 a student of the academy at Fredonia, N. Y. 
 When his education was thus completed he 
 taught school for three terms. Then, decid- 
 ing to adopt medicine as his life work, he 
 began study in the office of Dr. Levi Goldsbor- 
 ough, of Otto, later entering the Medical De- 
 partment of the University of Buffalo, at Buf- 
 falo, N. Y., of which he was one of the first 
 students, and graduating from that institution 
 April 19, 1849. 
 
 Dr. Borden visited Jamestown, N. Y., with 
 a view to beginning his practice in that town, 
 but a few weeks later was offered a partner- 
 ship with Dr. Wilcox, at Randolph, N. Y., 
 which he accepted. This partnership lasted a 
 year, and at its conclusion Dr. Borden prac- 
 ticed for two years at Scio, N. Y. The ill- 
 ness of his old preceptor, Dr. Goldsborough, 
 of Otto, presented an opportunity for a part- 
 nership in that town, which was accepted. 
 But a year later, in 1854, the young physician, 
 now confident of his future, resolved to begin 
 anew in the West. Locating at Milton, Wis., 
 in that year, he has there continued in practice 
 ever since, except during the closing year of 
 the Civil war, when he served as surgeon of 
 the rst Wisconsin Heavy Artillery, until the 
 regiment was mustered out. He at once re- 
 sumed his lucrative practice at Milton, which 
 he has ever since continued. Dr. Borden is 
 a member of the Wisconsin State Medical So- 
 ciety, and of the Board of Examining Surgeons 
 of the Pension Bureau at Janesville, and has 
 been for many years prominently identified 
 with the medical papers of southern Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 Dr. Borden was married, Jan. 23, 1851, to 
 Miss Lavina Depew Van Campen, daughter 
 of Capt. Benjamin and Mary (Saunders) Van 
 Campen. To Dr. and Mrs. Borden have been 
 born three children : Mary Alice is at home 
 
V 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 97 
 
 with her parents. Emily A. married George 
 Van Campen, of Olean, N. Y., and has one 
 child, Benjamin. James B., a graduate of 
 Milton College, classical course, and a post- 
 graduate of the State University at Madi- 
 son, is now superintendent of public schools 
 and principal of the high school at Marsh- 
 field, Wis. ; he married Miss Mary Alice 
 Tompkins, and has one son, William Henry. 
 In the present home at Milton the family has 
 lived for the past thirty-one years. Since the 
 Doctor’s purchase of the property he has re- 
 modeled it throughout, making Ins one of the 
 attractive and inviting residences of the city. 
 
 Dr. Borden and family are attendants of 
 the Congregational Church. For a number of 
 years he was a prominent Odd Fellow, but is 
 no longer active in the order. In politics he is 
 an independent. Dr. Borden is a much re- 
 spected authority in Milton,, not only pro- 
 fessionally, but in all matters that pertain to 
 the general welfare. His long residence in 
 the thriving little city has made him a living 
 factor in its growth from its infancy, and the 
 elements for well-being, to which for nearly 
 a half century he has contributed so generous- 
 ly. will remain and widen their influence long 
 after his active life work has drawn to a close. 
 
 GEORGE H. GOLDMANN, postmaster 
 at Annaton, Clifton township, Grant county, 
 is one of the leading men of the community 
 in which he has made his home for so many 
 years, and in which he has been instrumental 
 in promoting the material welfare of the peo- 
 ple. Our subject was born in Linden, Iowa 
 Co., Wis., Nov. 14, 1853, son of Freimund and 
 Helena (Gundrum) Goldmann. 
 
 Freimund Goldmann was born in Prussia, 
 Germany, and came to Iowa county, Wis., 
 while a single man. He married, in Linden, in 
 1851, and bought a soldier’s land warrant, 
 locating 480 acres of land, at eighty-five cents 
 per acre. This land he improved, and made 
 his home there until his death, which occurred 
 in January, 1892; his wife still survives, resid- 
 ing on the home farm. To them ten children 
 were born : Ellen, now Mrs. Clauer, of Bee- 
 town ; George H. ; Agnes, now Mrs. Fitzsim- 
 mons, of Montfort, Wis. : Mary, Mrs. I. Con- 
 roy, now deceased ; Lydia, Airs. Hilery, of 
 Nebraska; Charlie, on the home farm; Louis, 
 at home; Lena; Minnie; Emil, who died in in- 
 fancy. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated in 
 Linden township, coming to Annaton Feb. 8, 
 1875, an d learning the trade of wheelwright 
 in the shop of William Kraemer, in a building 
 erected by Mr. Kraemer in 1871. The business 
 consisted of the manufacture of wagons, bug- 
 gies and other vehicles, all of the work being 
 done by hand, and this establishment Mr. 
 Goldmann still carries on, in connection with 
 farming and conducting the postoffice. For a 
 few years Mr. Goldmann successfully operated 
 a mercantile establishment, but disposed of that 
 enterprise, owing to pressure of other duties. 
 
 On Sept. ,23, 1878, Air. Goldmann was 
 married at Annaton to Aliss Emma Kraemer, 
 born in Philadelphia, Penn., a daughter of 
 William Kraemer, a native of Germany, who 
 came to Philadelphia, and thence in 1S56 to 
 Liberty, township, Grant county, where he 
 purchased forty acres of land, on which he 
 erected a shop and embarked in a wagon-mak- 
 ing business. Later he removed his plant to 
 Annaton, built a shop, and also conducted a 
 general store. Here he died in 1889, and his 
 widow still survives, residing at Lancaster, 
 To himself and wife were born eight children: 
 Emma, Airs. Goldmann; Kate, Airs. Wetter, of 
 Lancaster; Philopena, Airs. Henry Sander, of 
 Platteville; Lizzie, Airs. Roethe, who died in 
 Clifton township April 19, 1900; Alary, Airs. 
 George Damm, of Lancaster, who with her 
 husband met with a frightful accident from an 
 explosion of gasoline on Sept. 1, 1899, from 
 which she died the following day, and he 
 thirty-six hours from the time of the accident ; 
 Alinnie, Mrs. Louis Stippich, of Wichita, 
 Ivans. ; Louise, Airs. Herman Bast, of Lancas- 
 ter; and Caroline, Airs. Kramer, of Lancaster. 
 
 The family of Air. and Mrs. Goldmann is 
 an interesting one: William L., Ernest F., 
 Amelia J., Herbert EL, George A., and Frieda 
 IT., all at home. 
 
 Air. Goldmann is a stanch Republican, 
 active in the affairs of his party, and has 
 served most acceptably as postmaster for eleven 
 years, having been appointed A'lay 25, 1889, 
 succeeding S. F. Aloody, of Wingville. The of- 
 fice is epute an important one, having been estab- 
 lished about 1865, and a considerable amount 
 of business is transacted through it. In addi- 
 tion to his other offices and duties Mr. Gold- 
 mann was justice of the peace, having held that 
 office eight years, and has been a notary public 
 a number of years since. Few men in Grant 
 
 7 
 
98 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 county are more widely known, and certainly 
 none is more highly esteemed, than Mr. Gold- 
 mann. 
 
 KIMBLE IvlLLAM, superintendent of the 
 Rock County Insane Asylum and Almshouse, 
 Janesville township, is a public official whose 
 record shows that he has faithfully discharged 
 the trusts heretofore reposed in him, and that 
 he is a man to whom may safely be trusted the 
 care of the unfortunates of his locality. 
 
 Kimble Killam was born in Milton, Rock 
 county, Jan. 18, 1849, a son °f Rush and Ada 
 J. (Kimble) Killam, natives of Pike county, 
 Penn. The paternal grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, Moses Killam, was a native of Pennsyl- 
 vania, of Mohawk-Dutch descent. By occu- 
 pation he was a farmer and surveyor, and he 
 died at an advanced age. He had sixteen 
 children. The grandfather on the mother’s 
 side, Burnham Kimble, was also a native of 
 Pennsylvania, and of Mohawk-Dutch descent. 
 The family resided in that state for several 
 generations prior to the time of Burnham 
 Kimble. By occupation he was a farmer, and 
 he died when an old man; he had eleven chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Rush Killam, the father of Kimble Killam, 
 was a farmer, and migrated to Wisconsin in 
 1839, entering a farm from the government, 
 in the northern part of Milton, in sections 1 
 and 2. This property he improved, and resided 
 on it until his death, which occurred in 1871, 
 when he was fifty-seven. His widow still sur- 
 vives, residing on a farm in Lima, owned by 
 Kimble Killam. In religious belief Mrs. Rush 
 Killam is a Methodist, while her husband was a 
 Universalist. During his life Rush Killam was 
 township supervisor and assessor. Five chil- 
 dren were born to this worthy couple, one son 
 and four daughters, four now living: Lucy A. ; 
 Kimble; Harriet, deceased, who was the wife 
 of S. F. Minard; Cornelia I., wife of J. J. 
 Neal, of Chicago; and Augusta, wife of Au- 
 gust Dabbert, of Chicago. 
 
 Kimble Killam, our subject, was reared to 
 manhood in Milton township, attended the 
 public schools, and later went two terms to Mil- 
 ton College, after which he returned to his oc- 
 cupation of farming. After his father’s death, 
 when he was twenty-two, Kimble Killam rent- 
 ed the home farm for seven years, then pur- 
 chased it, and after improving the property sold 
 it in 1895, and bought the farm of 160 acres in 
 
 Lima township which he still owns. Here he 
 resided until he was elected, by the board of 
 trustees, as superintendent of the Rock County 
 Insane Asylum and Almshouse, which position 
 he assumed on Feb. 1, 1900. Prior to this 
 date Mr. Killam held various public offices, 
 having been supervisor of Milton township a 
 number of years ; chairman of the town board 
 several terms; assessor in Milton township for 
 five years ; and a member of the board of trus- 
 tees of the Asylum for four years before he 
 was appointed superintendent. 
 
 I lie buildings, which are very comfortable 
 and spacious, were erected, in 1893, in Janes- 
 ville township, about three miles north of the 
 city of Janesville, near the Rock river, and are 
 surrounded by the poor farm of 382 acres. 
 I he former location was in Johnstown town- 
 ship, but the present one is considered better 
 adapted to the requirements of the institutions. 
 Idle new buildings were occupied on May 1, 
 1894, and the average number of insane con- 
 fined is about 150; those in the almshouse num- 
 ber about fifty-five. 
 
 On Dec. 18, 1873, Kimble Killam married 
 Miss Mary A. Marquart, daughter of Philip 
 and Nancy (Livingston) Marquart, and seven 
 children, two sons and five daughters, have 
 been born of this union: Grace C., Myrtie E., 
 Inez M., Nellie M., Rush P., Mark and Eva. 
 Airs. Killam is a consistent member of and 
 worker in the Baptist Church. Politically Mr. 
 Killam is a Republican, and an earnest sup- 
 porter of the principles of that party. The 
 family is an old one in this part of Wisconsin, 
 and very highly respected, and Mr. and Mrs. 
 Killam enjoy the esteem of a large circle of ac- 
 quaintances and friends. 
 
 HERBERT S. GILIvEY, junior member 
 of the well-known lumber firm of Pendleton 
 & Gilkey, extensive wholesalers, with their 
 general offices at Janesville, Rock county, is 
 one of the younger business men of that city, 
 whose youth is in years alone. He was reared 
 in a lumber country, and the odor of the mills 
 has been familiar to him from his earliest boy- 
 hood. He has been connected with the mills, 
 travelled on the road, and there is little about 
 the lumber business that is not well-known 
 to him. 
 
 Mr. Gilkey was born at Oconto, Wis., July 
 4, 1868, and is a son of Harding W. and Mary 
 (Overton) Gilkey. His father was born in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 99 
 
 Maine, while his mother is a native of Wiscon- 
 sin. They had three sons and three daughters : 
 Everett H., of Mountain, Wis. ; Herbert S., 
 whose name appears above ; Susan, of Hayes, 
 Wis. ; Arthur, of the same place: Lucy, wife of 
 William Cody, of Janesville: and Mabel, wife 
 of F. Dickinson, of Green Bay. Harding W. 
 Gilkey was but a small boy when he accom- 
 panied his parents to Oconto, Wis. ; they were 
 among the earliest settlers of that city. There 
 he grew to manhood, and there he made his 
 home until the spring of 1899, when he moved 
 to Janesville. He is a man of much more than 
 ordinary culture, and followed the life of a 
 teacher for more than twenty years, serving as 
 principal and superintendent of the Oconto 
 schools, and as county superintendent. In mid- 
 dle life he engaged in business, keeping a gen- 
 eral store, and buying and selling lumber lands 
 in northern Wisconsin. Upon his removal to 
 Janesville he gave up active business relations, 
 and is now living a cpiiet and retired life. He 
 and his wife are Methodists, and he is a Re- 
 publican politically. His father, Samuel Gil- 
 key, was a native of Maine, and came to Oconto 
 about 1849 to engage in the 'hotel business. He 
 was a man of more than ordinary ability, and 
 was elected sheriff of Oconto county several 
 terms. He died in 1872, when about sixty-one 
 years old. His family consisted of three sons 
 and one daughter. William Overton, the ma- 
 ternal grandfather of the gentleman whose life 
 forms the theme of this biographical sketch, 
 was born in Massachusetts, and was one of the 
 early settlers of Kenosha, Wis. He had two 
 daughters and one son. 
 
 Herbert S. Gilkey grew to manhood in 
 Oconto, and was given fine educational op- 
 portunities, graduated from the Oconto schools, 
 and later attended the Oshkosh Normal. He 
 began teaching in a country school when he 
 was fourteen years of age, and taught three 
 years. At eighteen years of age he became a 
 traveling representative of an Oconto mill, and 
 for six years sold lumber. In 1891 he formed 
 a partnership with Frank R. Pendleton, and 
 engaged in business in Janesville, under the 
 firm name of Pendleton & Gilkey, wholesale 
 dealers in cedar products. Mr. Pendleton is 
 located at Everett, thirty-three miles from 
 Seattle, Wash., where they have extensive in- 
 terests. They have several lumber yards in 
 Wisconsin, and one in Michigan. 
 
 Mr. Gilkey and Miss Lenora Runkel, a 
 
 daughter of Louis and Christina (Weber) 
 Runkel, were married Oct. 15, 1890, and they 
 have three children: Weber, Margaret and 
 Helen. Mrs. Gilkey is a lady of many attrac- 
 tive qualities, and is a worthy associate of her 
 husband, both in society anci at home. They 
 have an elegant and commodious home at No. 
 168 Garfield avenue. Mr. Gilkey belongs to 
 Oriental Lodge, Knights of Pythias, and in his 
 political relations is a Republican. He is at 
 present serving his second term as alderman in 
 the city council, from the Third ward, and is 
 president of that body. 
 
 ALBERT G. KNUTSON is a prosperous 
 and well-known farmer in the town of Clinton, 
 Rock county, and is a man of generous impulse 
 and kindly spirit. He is a native of the town, 
 and has taken part in its history for almost fifty 
 years, in which time tremendous changes have 
 taken place, and southern Wisconsin, in his 
 youth on the frontier line, is now in the very 
 heart of the old Northwest. And the man whose 
 name introduces this article has helped in the 
 making of this new world. He has worked out, 
 carried himself as a man of honor and charac- 
 ter, paid his debts, dealt squarely with all men, 
 and is now, in middle life, at a very comfortable 
 pitch of prosperity, not won by sharp dealing, 
 but dug out of the earth — the more honor to 
 him and his kind. 
 
 Albert G. Knutson was born at his present 
 residence, near the village of Bergen, on the 
 Wisconsin and Illinois State line, January 2, 
 1853. Here he grew up, attended the district 
 school, and when he became a man assisted his 
 father with the farm work. 1 hen he took 
 charge of the farm, which he operated on 
 shares for several years, until in 1883 he 
 bought out the other heirs, and is now the sole 
 owner of 158 acres of as choice farming land 
 as may be found in the United States. 1 his is 
 known as the “Wetteren Farm," -perpetuating 
 the name of the home of his father in Norway 
 in the memory of his children and descendants 
 in the New World. 
 
 Mr. Knutson and Miss Christina Hanson 
 were married March 28, 1883. She is a 
 
 daughter of Oliver Hanson and Tone Even- 
 son, her father a farmer, and one of the first 
 settlers in the town of Capron, 111 . He was a 
 man of high standing among his neighbors, 
 and kindly thought of by all. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Knutson are the parents of eight children, 
 
1 oo 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Clara Aclelia, Hilda Jurane, Tonetta Marie, 
 George Henry, Myrtle Regina, Roy Ernest, 
 Walter Truman and Earl William. 
 
 Gulick Knutson, the father of Albert G., 
 was born Nov. io, 1810, in the kingdom of 
 Norway, where he received his education, and 
 became in his manhood a lumberman and live 
 stock dealer. On March 15, 1842, he married 
 Christina Ingebretson, daughter of Ingebret 
 Irickson, a farmer in Norway. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Knutson came to this country m 1846, bringing 
 with them their two daughters, and, buying 
 land, settled near Bergen, in the town of Clin- 
 ton, Rock county. This farm he subsequently 
 sold, and bought the farm now divided between 
 his two sons, Ivnute G. and Albert G. Here 
 lie lived until his death, which occurred June 
 24, 1894; his remains are interred in the family 
 cemetery on the farm owned by Albert G. Mrs. 
 Knutson was born May 14, 1814, and makes 
 her home with her sons. She is the mother of 
 six children, Cornelia, Christie, Mary, Knute G., 
 Albert G. and Ruby. Mary died at the age of 
 thirty-one, and Ruby at the age of thirty-eight. 
 Gulick Knutson was always a member and a 
 liberal supporter of the Lutheran Church, and 
 once donated two acres of land near the center 
 of his farm for its use as a cemetery. He was 
 a Republican, and a public-spirited man 
 throughout his career. 
 
 Albert G. Knutson is walking well in the 
 footsteps of his father, loyally stands by the 
 church of his parents, and is repeating his 
 father’s noble and generous character. 
 
 WILLIAM GUNN. England has contrib- 
 uted much valuable material to the upbuilding 
 of our Commonwealth, men of brawn and mus- 
 cle, men of brains and character, in whom old 
 Anglo-Saxon liberty and daring have devel- 
 oped a noble humanity. Mr. Gunn, whose rural 
 home is found in Section 10, Rock township, 
 Rock county, has embodied in his own career 
 the best ideals of his ancestry, and given to 
 them a significance peculiarly American. 
 
 Mr. Gunn was born in Lincolnshire, Eng- 
 land, March 28, 1834, a son of John and Re- 
 becca (Tawlkes) Gunn, both natives of Eng- 
 land, who had four sons and four daughters, 
 five now living: William; Alice, wife of a Mr. 
 Bowen, of London, England; Anna, wife of 
 Edwin Bowen, of Stowe, Lincolnshire, Eng- 
 land; Jesse E., of Sydney, Australia; and 
 Henry, a traveler. John Gunn was a man of 
 
 ready resources, and followed various occupa- 
 tions in life, prospering in whatever he under- 
 took. Lie was a veterinary surgeon, carpenter, 
 brewer, and hotel-keeper. He died in Lincoln- 
 shire, England, about 1882, at the age of sev- 
 enty-five. His wife died in 1877, when sixty- 
 four years old. He was a prominent member of 
 the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and 
 was advanced in its councils. His father, Will- 
 iam Gunn, who was a farmer, also lived to an 
 advanced age. He had four sons and one 
 daughter. Henry Tawlkes, father of Rebecca 
 Tawlkes, was a native of England, and died 
 in his native land, where he was a farmer and 
 a stock raiser. He had a numerous family. 
 
 William Gunn, the subject of this article, 
 lived in England until he was sixteen years 
 old, and was educated at a school known as 
 Cooley’s Charity, a fine practical establish- 
 ment, founded by a Mr. Cooley. There were 
 three grades, and the languages, engineering, 
 etc., were taught. Mr. Cooley supported the 
 school from his own funds, and also furnished 
 the books for the students, who were limited 
 to those of the middle class and poor families. 
 Each member of each poor family was given 
 a full suit of clothing every Christmas, and 
 each poor family received a ton of coal, all 
 provided by Mr. Cooley. At church each Sun- 
 day a loaf of bread was given to the head of 
 each poor family. Our subject was reared on 
 a farm, and in 1850, with a company of his- 
 neighbors, crossed the ocean and located in 
 Warren county, Penn., engaging in the lumber 
 business. He lived there until 1865, in which 
 year he came West and settled in Rock town- 
 ship, Rock Co., Wis., buying the farm which 
 has since been his home. It then consisted of 
 156 acres, but it has been considerably enlarged 
 and well improved, and now comprises 190 
 acres, with a commodious stone house, a large 
 barn, and other needed farm buildings. It is 
 about two and a half miles from Janesville, 
 and is regarded as one of the most complete 
 agricultural establishments in the county. 
 
 On June 25, 1S57, Mr. Gunn married Han- 
 nah McGee, daughter of Joseph and Rachel 
 (Thompson) McGee, and they had two chil- 
 dren: John A. and Thomas M. B. John A. 
 married Margaret Finley, and is a farmer in 
 Rock township ; they have seven children, 
 Hannah, Willie, Mary, James, Kittie, Adelbert 
 and Biddle. Thomas M. B. married Alice E. 
 Ratheram, and lives on the home place. Mrs- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 IOI 
 
 Hannah Gunn died very suddenly from heart 
 disease, April 27, 1900, in Decherd, Franklin 
 Co., Tenn., whither she had gone hoping to 
 restore her failing health. She was a woman 
 of beautiful character. Her parents were na- 
 tives of Pennsylvania, he father being a farmer 
 and lumberman. He was justice of the peace 
 for many years, becoming widely known as 
 “'Squire Joe McGee,” and had a great record 
 for pronouncing marriage ceremonies. His fa- 
 ther was a soldier of the war of 1812, and was 
 in the battle of Lundy’s Lane. When he died 
 he was almost one hundred years of age. 
 
 Mr. Gunn is a Republican, was supervisor 
 of the town sixteen years, chairman of the 
 town board twelve years, chairman of the coun- 
 ty board two years, a trustee of the Rock Coun- 
 ty Insane Asylum six yearn and has been 
 treasurer of the school district twenty-two 
 3' r ears. 
 
 Mr. Gunn was a soldier in the Union army 
 during the war of the Rebellion, and served 
 with honor and fidelity, enlisting Aug. 18, 
 1862, in Company F, 145th P. V. I., and re- 
 maining in the service two years and eleven 
 months. He was badly wounded in the left 
 hip at the battle of Fredericksburg, and there 
 he also lost part of the fourth finger of his left 
 hand. That was the only battle of any import- 
 ance in which he participated. After that en- 
 gagement he was clerk in the York Hospital, 
 at York, Penn., where he remained until dis- 
 charged, July 18, 1865, on account of wounds 
 received in battle. While in this hospital he 
 was transferred to Companv 108, 2d Battalion, 
 Veteran Reserve Corps, First Lieut. William 
 L. Mitchell, commanding. Mr. Gunn was ad- 
 jutant of W . H. Sargent Post, No. 20, G. A. 
 R., but resigned in the spring of 1900, by rea- 
 son of his removal from the city of Janesville. 
 
 JAMES CALDW ELL. a retired farmer 
 and well-known citizen of Janesville. Rock 
 county, is an ex-soldier, having served bravely 
 in defense of the L T nion during the war of the 
 Rebellion, when the courage of men was tried 
 to its utmost, and they proved, for all time, the 
 metal of which they were made. 
 
 James Caldwell was born in Janesville 
 township, Rock county, Oct. 4, 1848, a son of 
 James and Eliza (Alford) Caldwell, natives of 
 Scotland and England, respectively. The pa- 
 ternal grandfather of our subject died in Scot- 
 land in middle life, after rearing a large family. 
 
 The grandfather on the maternal side was 
 Thomas Alford, a native of England, who died 
 in that country; he had a family of fourteen 
 children. 
 
 The father of our subject, James Caldwell, 
 was a sailor during his early manhood, came 
 to America about 1842, and settled in Janes- 
 ville, where he took up land from the govern- 
 ment, and later bought additional property, 
 until at one time he owned 366 acres, but after- 
 ward sold eighty acres, and improved the re- 
 mainder. This land was located in sections 3 
 and 9, and he resided upon it for many years, 
 rearing his family. When sixty-three years 
 old Mr. Caldwell went on a trip to England, 
 and died there, being buried in London. His 
 widow, who accompanied him on the trip, still 
 survives, residing in Janesville. In religious 
 belief Mr. Caldwell was a Presbyterian, while 
 Mrs. Caldwell is an Episcopalian. Six children 
 were born to this worthy couple, five sons and 
 one daughter, four of whom are now living: 
 Thomas, of West Concord, Minn. ; James, our 
 subject; Alexander, of Center township, Rock 
 county; and William, of the town of Porter, 
 Rock Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 During his boyhood our subject worked 
 upon his father's farm, attending the district 
 schools as opportunity offered. Although but 
 a bo} r , even in the closing days of the war, lie 
 felt it his duty to go to the front and risk his 
 life in the cause he loved so dearly, so in 1864 
 he enlisted in Company A, 43d Whs. V. I., 
 serving one year, participating in the battle at 
 Johnsonville, Tenn., and other minor engage- 
 ments, and at all times displaying courage and 
 fortitude. After the close of the war Mr. Cald- 
 well returned home, and began life for himself, 
 working a rented farm in Minnesota. How- 
 ever, it was not long before this enterprising 
 young" man had sufficient money saved to pur- 
 chase a farm of 160 acres for himself, in 
 Dodge county, Minn., and here he remained 
 several years, cultivating his property. Later 
 Mr. Caldwell sold his farm, and purchased the 
 interest of the other heirs, in the old homestead 
 in Rock county, which now contains 320 acres. 
 Here he resided until 1896. when, retiring 
 from active work, he removed to Janesville, 
 renting the farm, and is now living in a beauti- 
 ful home at No. 15 Forest Park boulevard. In 
 addition Mr. Caldwell also owns 640 acres in 
 South Dakota, 320 acres being near Waupton; 
 160 near Aberdeen; and 160 near Ipswich. 
 
102 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 On Nov. 4, 1877. James Caldwell married 
 Miss Eleanor M. Chase, born Dec. 28, 1858, 
 daughter of Samuel and Elvira M. (Maxson) 
 Chase, and three children were born of this 
 union: Harriet M., Beatrice C. and Laurien 
 J. The great-grandfather of Mrs. Caldwell 
 was Lord Michael Pitt, of England. Her pa- 
 ternal grandfather, Calvin Chase, a native of 
 England, died in New York State, where he 
 served as captain in the state militia. He had 
 three children, Samuel, the father of Mrs. 
 Caldwell, being one. It is a peculiar coinci- 
 dence that Calvin Chase had three children, 
 and that two of his sisters had the same num- 
 ber, as did also his son Samuel, and the latter’s 
 daughter, Mrs. Caldwell, as well as his son, 
 Frank L. Chase. The maternal grandfa- 
 ther of Mrs. Caldwell, Laurien Maxson, was 
 a native of New Y'ork State (although the 
 family is of French descent), and belonged 
 to the New York State militia; he now re- 
 sides at St. Peter, Minn., in his eighty-fourth 
 year. Five children were born to himself and 
 wife. Samuel Chase, the father of Mrs. Cald- 
 well, was a native of New York State, as was 
 his wife, and came to Wisconsin at an early 
 date, locating in Walworth county, where he 
 resided for several years, pursuing his occu- 
 pation of farming. Later he removed to Win- 
 throp, Minn., where he died in 1896, aged six- 
 ty-four years, his widow still surviving, and 
 residing in Minneapolis with her son. Of the 
 three children born to this couple, Mrs. Cald- 
 well and Frank L. (of Minneapolis) are the 
 only survivors. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell attend the Episcopal 
 Church, of which Mrs. Caldwell is a member. 
 Mr. Caldwell belongs to W. H. Sargent Post, 
 G. A. R., and politically is a Republican. 
 Among a large circle of friends, as well as in 
 their immediate family, Mr. Caldwell and his 
 pleasant wife enjoy a well deserved popularity 
 for their many excellent qualities, and are de- 
 servedly considered as representatives of the 
 substantial people of Janesville. 
 
 JOHN NAGLE, of Bloomington town- 
 ship, Grant county, was one of the defenders 
 of the Union during the dark days of the Civil 
 war, having enlisted in August, 1864, in Com- 
 pany H, 43d Wis. V. I. He was on duty dur- 
 ing his whole term of service, and, though at 
 times ill from hard marching and severe duty, 
 he managed to keep out of the hospital, pre- 
 
 ferring to remain with his company. The 43d 
 rendezvoused at Milwaukee, went from there 
 to Nashville, Tenn., and thence to Johnson- 
 ville, where the government stores were locat- 
 ed, and where the regiment remained, doing 
 guard duty, for a considerable time. This was 
 an important point, and, owing to the large 
 amount of supplies stored there, its possession 
 was very much desired by the Confederates, 
 and the troops were under Rebel fire a large 
 part of the time. Later the regiment went to 
 Nashville, and remained at that place until 
 January 1. 1865, when it was divided into de- 
 tails and engaged in railroad guarding. Dur- 
 ing the last part of the war Mr. Nagle was 
 detailed at Elk River Fort, and remained there 
 until hostilities ceased. 
 
 Mr. Nagle represents an early and well- 
 known family of Grant county. Lie was born 
 in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1842, a son of Thomas 
 and Eliza Nagle, the former a native of Ire- 
 land, the latter of Scotland. When he was a 
 small child the family moved to Grant county, 
 Wis. In fact, the parents had come to the 
 county previous to his birth, but decided to 
 return to Cincinnati, and not until 1842 did 
 they locate here permanently ; they were early 
 settlers of Patch Grove township. Our sub- 
 ject was one of five children, two sons and 
 three daughters. 
 
 The lady who now bears the name of Mrs. 
 John Nagle was formerly Miss Jane Foster, a 
 daughter of Thompson Foster. Mr. and Mrs-. 
 Nagle have had seven children, three sons and 
 four daughters. Mr. Nagle is one of the most 
 prominent citizens and successful agricultur- 
 ists of Bloomington township, where he has 
 a pleasant home and fine farm. 
 
 JOHN LITTLE, the accommodating path- 
 master of Janesville, Rock county, and a farm- 
 er, residing in Section 28, of that township, 
 was born in Roxburghshire, Scotland, in 1830, 
 a son of John and Isabel (Blythe) Little, na- 
 tives of Scotland. The paternal grandfather 
 of our subject died in Scotland and the ma- 
 ternal grandfather, Thomas Blythe, also died 
 there, when about eighty-two years of age ; he 
 had two children. 
 
 John Little, Sr., was a farmer, and . ope- 
 rated a lime-kiln. Coming to America in 1853, 
 he located in Janesville township, where he 
 bought 200 acres, to which he added more land, 
 improving it all. Here he died, aged seventy- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 103 
 
 six, in about 1865. His first wife died about 
 1841, a stanch Presbyterian, as was also Mr. 
 Little. The second wife of Mr. Little, Isabel 
 Irving, died in June, 1867, without issue. To 
 the first union were born eight sons and one 
 daughter, five of whom are now living : Thom- 
 as, John, James and Walter, of Janesville town- 
 ship; and Andrew, of Blue Earth, Minnesota. 
 
 John Little, our subject, was educated in 
 the schools of his native land, coming to this 
 country with his father in 1853, since which 
 time he has resided continuous!}'' in Janesville 
 township, remaining with his father until his 
 death. John Little now owns 160 acres of the 
 old homestead, finelv improved. Employing 
 the best methods of cultivation, he has been en- 
 abled to bring his land up to a high grade of 
 cultivation, and his broad acres show the re- 
 sult of his efforts. 
 
 On November 30, 1861, John Little was 
 married to Miss Jane Scott, daughter of Walter 
 ancl Elizabeth (Armstrong) Scott, and ten chil- 
 dren have been born to this union, four sons 
 and six daughters: John, who married Ella 
 Gentle, lives in La Prairie, and has two chil- 
 dren, Fay and Norman; Isabella, who married 
 James Duthie, lives in Bradford township, 
 Rock county; Walter, unmarried, is at home; 
 Bessie married Lester Van Galder, who is now 
 deceased ; Thomas died aged eighteen months ; 
 Annie is teaching school in district No. 5 ; 
 Mary married Frank Korn, and lives in Janes- 
 ville township ; Jane married Eugene Smith, 
 resides near Tiffany, La Prairie township, and 
 has one son, Harold ; Maggie is living at home ; 
 Willie died, aged three months. 
 
 Mrs. Little is a consistent member of and 
 earnest worker in the Presbyterian church. 
 Politically Mr. Little is independent in his 
 views, voting with the party whose platform 
 contains the principles most nearly in accord- 
 ance with his own ideas. For many years Mr. 
 Little has been pathmaster in Janesville, has 
 also served as school director, and is justly re- 
 garded as one of the representatives of the best 
 class of farmers in Rock county. 
 
 GEORGE M. APPLEBY, of Beloit, Rock 
 county, holds the responsible position of city 
 marshal, and has for a number of years dis- 
 charged the duties of that position in an intel- 
 ligent and fearless manner. He is highly 
 thought of as a police officer, and his honor 
 and integrity as a man are unquestioned. 
 
 Mr. Appleby was born in Avon, Rock Co., 
 V is., Aug. 30, 1855, an d is a son of John 
 Thomas and Sarah (Landdragin) Appleby, 
 both natives of England. They were the par- 
 ents of seven children, five of whom are now 
 living: John Thomas, Jr.; Elizabeth, wife of 
 Albert Graves; George M. ; Caroline, wife of 
 Henry Graves ; and William H. The father 
 was formerly a silk weaver. He came to this 
 country, and settled in Wisconsin at an early 
 day, locating in Janesville, where he was a 
 butcher for some years. For the last fifteen 
 years he has led a retired life, living in Beloit, 
 in the home of his son George M. His wife 
 died in 1865. She was a Seventh-day Ad- 
 ventist. The paternal grandfather of George 
 M, Appleby lived in Boone county, Iowa, where 
 he and his wife died at an advanced age. He 
 was a general merchant, and served as a jus- 
 tice of the peace. The father of Sarah Land- 
 dragin was a merchant in London, where he 
 died. 
 
 George M. Appleby lived in Avon, V is., 
 until he reached the age of nineteen years, at- 
 tended the public schools, and was reared on 
 a farm. When he attained his majority he 
 moved to Beloit, where he secured the ap- 
 pointment of assistant city marshal, and so en- 
 ergetic and capable did he prove that six months 
 later he was made the city marshal, and has 
 been retained in this position by every succeed- 
 ing city administration. Mr. Appleby and 
 Miss Anna Noble, of Marengo, 111 ., were mar- 
 ried Jan. 1, 1885. Mrs. Appleby is a daugh- 
 ter of John and Jane (Corvan) Noble, and is 
 the mother of one daughter, Flossie. She is 
 a member of the Episcopal Church. Our sub- 
 ject is a member of the order of Modern \\ ood- 
 men, and is a Republican politically. He is 
 deputy sheriff of Rock county, having held this 
 position for five years, and is poor master for 
 the southern tier of towns in Rock county, in- 
 cluding Beloit and the village of Clinton. 
 
 HAROLD KNILL, of the town of Beloit, 
 Rock county, was born in Gloucestershire, Eng- 
 land, Jan. 24, 1849, an d was only six months 
 old when his parents came to the United States. 
 They lived in Genesee county, N. Y.. for 
 three years, and then removed to Wisconsin, 
 settling in the town of Beloit. Harold was 
 onlv eip'ht years old when his father died, and 
 he went to live with a half sister, at Racme, 
 Wis., beino- an inmate of her home for seven 
 
 o 
 
104 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years. At the age of fifteen the young man 
 came back to the town of Beloit, and here has 
 made his home to the present time. He has 
 been chiefly engaged in farming, owning a 
 highly cultivated farm of sixty-seven acres, 
 and has given much attention to dairying, 
 which has proved very profitable to him. He 
 has put up fine buildings, designing them him- 
 self, and is a modern and up-to-date farmer 
 in every respect, disposing of his product at 
 the highest prices of the season. Mr. Knill 
 began business for himself when eight years 
 old, selling papers in Racine, Wis., and has 
 accumulated his property through his own ex- 
 ertions, and with the help of his estimable wife. 
 They have had little to help them but their own 
 courage and self-reliance, and are already well- 
 to-do people, while in the prime of life. 
 
 Mr. Knill and Miss Mary E. McNeal were 
 married in Beloit Oct. 13, 1875. Mrs. Knill 
 was born in the town of Beloit, and is a daugh- 
 ter of John and Clara McNeal. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Knill have one daughter, Maude L. 
 
 Henry Knill, father of Harold Knill, was 
 born in London, England, and married Mary 
 Ann Sterry, who was born in Norfolk. He 
 died in the town of Beloit when fifty-two years 
 old, and she at the age of eighty-five. They 
 were the parents of nine children, of whom 
 Harold was fifth in the order of birth. Henry 
 Knill was an English gentleman, and came to 
 this country with a fortune. He built the 
 Grand Trunk railroad in Canada, and the Ra- 
 cine & Mississippi, now a part of the Milwau- 
 kee system, the road running from Racine to 
 Galena ; in building it he lost money, though 
 his wife and family would have been very 
 comfortable but for a dishonest administrator, 
 and they were left with only a small home. 
 
 ELIJAH N. CLARK, M. D., of Beloit, 
 Rock county, is both a physician and a dentist, 
 and though now at an advanced age still con- 
 tinues to practice dentistry at intervals. He 
 has had a varied and eventful life, and has 
 maintained a character and standing above re- 
 proach throughout his many years. 
 
 Dr. Clark was born at Amherst, Mass., 
 Feb. 10, 1817, a son of Elijah and Sybill 
 (Green) Clark, both natives of that State. 
 They were the parents of ten children, of 
 whom the two older daughters died in infancy, 
 and the seventh son, Barnard, died in his 
 eighteenth year. The others 1 all attained ma- 
 
 turity. The Doctor and his sister, Mary 
 Ann, now widow of Woodhull Helm, are the 
 only surviving members of this family. The 
 father, who was a farmer, moved to Marion, 
 Wayne Co., N. Y., where he settled on a 
 farm, and died at the age of fifty-four. His 
 widow survived a number of years, and in 
 1845 came to Beloit with her son Rufus, mak- 
 ing that city her home as long as she lived. 
 She and her husband were Congregationalists, 
 and lie was a deacon in the church. Simeon 
 Clark, the father of Elijah, was born at Am- 
 herst, and there spent his entire life, reaching 
 the age of eighty years. He was of English 
 descent, and followed the trade of a millwright. 
 Joel Green, the father of Sybill, referred to 
 above, lived at Amherst, and was a farmer. 
 He was of English descent. 
 
 Dr. Elijah N. Clark lived in his native town 
 until he was twelve years old, and began his 
 studies in the common 'School. At the age of 
 sixteen he was a teacher at Marion, Wayne 
 Co., N. Y., and was engaged in that vocation 
 four years. W hen he was twenty he began 
 the study of medicine with Dr. Asahel Clark, 
 his eldest brother, as his preceptor. He was 
 graduated from Geneva. College in 1841, and 
 was a practicing physician at Phelps, Ontario 
 Co., N. Y., for five years. In 1847 ^ ie made 
 his: first appearance in the city of Beloit, re- 
 maining' there until 1852, when he was carried 
 away by the flood of gold seekers and made 
 his way to California, where lie spent about 
 three years. At the expiration of that period, 
 he returned to Beloit, and that city has since 
 been his home. He practiced medicine and 
 dentistry until 1887, when he confined himself 
 exclusively to the work of the dentist. He also 
 practiced medicine and dentistry in California. 
 He was a charter member of the Wisconsin 
 State Dental Society. 
 
 Dr. Clark and Miss Sarah A. Sutton, 
 daughter of Robert B. Sutton, of Lyons, N. 
 Y., were married in 1842. They became the 
 parents of five children, Delaphine, Emma, 
 Hattie, Matie, and Robert B. Delaphine mar- 
 ried Nelson Chamberlain, and became the 
 mother of two children, Grace and Hattie, both 
 of whom are engaged in teaching; Mrs. Cham- 
 berlain is now deceased. Emma married 
 George F. Ackley, and is the mother of three 
 children, Blaine, Bert, and Willard. Hattie 
 married Oliver P. Smith, and they have two 
 children, Sadie and Roy. Matie is the widow 
 
&. Jp? Jh>£8, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 105 
 
 of Fred Messer; they had one child, Mar- 
 ion. Robert lives in Chippewa Falls, Wis. ; 
 he married Harriet J. Williams. 
 
 Mrs. Sarah A. Clark died in 1876, in 
 Beloit. She was a member of the Presbyterian 
 Church. Dr. Clark married for his second 
 wife Mrs. Carrie E. Conant, of Beloit. They 
 went to Evanston, Ilk, where they had a 
 wedding supper at the home of George E. 
 Redfield; Mrs. Clark was seized with a spasm 
 of coughing, which could not be checked, and 
 she died before midnight, June 19, 1882. In 
 1887 Dr. Clark married Miss Emily Caroline 
 Rowe. They belong to the First Presby- 
 terian Church, in which he has filled the posi- 
 tion of elder for fifty years. He was one of 
 the charter members, and is the only one of 
 the first official board of the church now living. 
 The Doctor is a Mason, member of the Odd 
 Fellows and Sons of Temperance, and has 
 been associated with these various orders for 
 many years. On account of his age he does 
 not now meet with them except in spirit. He 
 is a Republican, and in early life was a 
 Whig. Dr. Clark owns a fine arm adjoining 
 Beloit on the southeast, but situated in Illi- 
 nois. It contains 175 acres of land, and is 
 very valuable. 
 
 CARL A. HANSEN, M. D., the oldest 
 practicing physician in point of service in 
 Lafayette county, is a native of Kongsberg, 
 Norway, where he was born May 31, 1844. 
 He received his literary training in the unex- 
 celled schools of his native land, and for several 
 years prior to his coming to America made 
 an especial study of pharmacy, with the inten- 
 tion of entering the medical profession, and 
 later attended medical lectures at the LTiiversi- 
 ty of Christiania. 
 
 In 1865 he started for the New World, and 
 began his professional career at Brodhead, 
 Green Co., M is., but remained in that place 
 only a year, when he went to Wiota, Lafayette 
 county, at the time an important mining town. 
 After coming to this country Dr. Hansen felt 
 that it would be well for him to pursue a course 
 of medical studies as taught in America, and 
 accordingly entered Bennett Medical College, 
 Chicago, for a course of lectures. In 1876 
 he became a resident of Argyle, where he has 
 since followed the practice of his profession, 
 meeting with richly deserved success. His 
 clear insight into human nature, his fine at- 
 
 tainments, and his wide sympathy have made 
 him a welcome visitor in the sick room and a 
 clever and successful physician. He has a wide 
 practice, and has found friends and a home 
 in his adopted country. Dr. Hansen is a mem- 
 ber of the Wisconsin Eclectic Medical Society 
 and of the National Eclectic Medical Society, 
 and fraternally is an esteemed member of the 
 Masonic Order. 
 
 In 1865 Dr. Hansen was united in mar- 
 riage, at Brodhead, to Miss Sarah Jane Clegg, 
 who was born in Logan county, Ohio, Aug. 13, 
 1844, and came to AVisconsin with her parents 
 in 1854. Dr. and Mrs. Hansen have two sons, 
 both of whom are successful practicing phy- 
 sicians : Charles O., born Dec. 2, 1867, was 
 
 graduated from Bennett Medical College, Chi- 
 cago, and now resides in Neenah, Wis., en- 
 gaged in the practice of his profession; Oscar 
 L., a graduate of Rush Medical College, Chi- 
 cago, is now practicing in Argyle. 
 
 WILLIAM E. STEA r ENS, a well-known 
 contractor and builder of Beloit. Rock county, 
 learned very early in life that all success which 
 is really desirable comes only as the result of 
 conformity to the great laws of industry and 
 rectitude, and the history of his life is the story 
 of a sound and honorable career. He is still 
 in middle life, and his character and standing 
 in his own community make him in every sense 
 one of the representative men of southern Wis» 
 consin. 
 
 Air. Stevens was born at Monroe, AA is., 
 Sept. 16, 1853, a son of Jedediah D. and Esther 
 (Humphrey) Stevens, natives of New \ ork ; 
 the former, born in Hamilton, that state, 
 March 25, 1798, died March 23. 1877. The 
 mother died in July, 1884. They were mar- 
 ried in 1845, and were the parents of five chil- 
 dren, three of whom are now living: Ed- 
 
 win H., of Ashland, Neb.; AA’illiam E. ; and 
 Joy AA’., living near Springfield. S.. Dak. Jede- 
 diah D. Stevens was first married in 1827, at 
 Batavia, N. Y., to Miss Julia Eggleston, daugh- 
 ter of Ebenezer and Anna Eggleston, and five 
 children were born to that union, two of whom 
 are now living: Everts C., of Aberdeen, S. 
 
 Dak. : and Saloma, widow of Horace Bisbee, 
 of East Milan. Mich. Airs. Julia Stevens 
 died in 1842. The father, a clergyman of the 
 Congregational Church, came west to AA iscon- 
 sin in 1827, and spent fourteen years preach- 
 ing to the Indians. He was a singularly pure 
 
io6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and devoted missionary. He was a son of 
 Jonathan Stevens, who was from Southwick, 
 Mass., and was one of the earliest settlers in 
 western New York. He was a deacon in the 
 Congregational Church, and a man of much 
 force of character. He married Lucy Barry, 
 a native of Meriden, Conn. Jonathan Hum- 
 phrey, father of Mrs. Esther Stevens, was of 
 English descent, lived at East Bloomfield, N. 
 Y ., and was a farmer by occupation. He 
 died at his own home in old age. He was the 
 father of ten children. 
 
 W illiam E. Stevens spent the greater part 
 of his early life in Walworth and Rock coun- 
 ties, Whs., with the exception of three years 
 during which he lived in Illinois, and has made 
 his home in Beloit since the fall of 1869. He 
 obtained his education in the schools of Water- 
 ford, and supplemented their instruction with 
 study at Allen Grove Academy, and later Beloit 
 Academy. When he reached the age of nine- 
 teen years he set himself to the carpenter’s 
 trade, and this was his occupation until 1883. 
 Since that year he has done contract work, 
 and has been engaged in some of the most im- 
 portant construction in the city and vicinity. 
 He does his work thoroughly, and his buildings 
 stand as they are represented. Our subject 
 has just formed a partnership with J. Frank 
 Deul, and is engaged in the planing-mill busi- 
 ness at Rockford, 111 . ; they are doing busi- 
 ness under the firm name of Stevens & Duel 
 Manufacturing Co. Percy Howard Stevens, 
 son of our subject, is located in Rockford, and 
 has charge of the office. 
 
 Mr. Stevens and Miss Sarah Brown were 
 united in marriage Nov. 29, 1877. Mrs. Ste- 
 vens was a resident of Beloit at that time. She 
 is a daughter of Charles and Martha (Greg- 
 ory) Brown, and comes from a long-lived fam- 
 ilv on her mother’s side. Her maternal grand- 
 mother lived to be nearly one hundred years 
 old, and her grandfather reached the age of 
 over ninety years. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens have 
 four children, Percv Howard, William Earl, 
 Lelancl Eddy and Wayne Harold. The family 
 reside at No. 535 Park Place, occupying a 
 house which Mr. Stevens built in 1891. He 
 and his wife are Christian Scientists in re- 
 ligious belief. He is a Republican. 
 
 It is an interesting bit of family lore that 
 the father of William E. Stevens spent the 
 winter of 1832 with Black Hawk, at Rock 
 Island, 111 . He was employed during the win- 
 
 ter of 1862-63 at New Orleans, looking after 
 the sick Wisconsin soldiers, and assisting them 
 home. He was one of the trustees of Beloit 
 College in the early days. 
 
 DAVID WILKINSON. The real wealth 
 of a community is not in its banks and busi- 
 ness blocks, but in the integrity and worth 
 of its people, for the influence of a good life 
 goes farther than a bag of dollars in forming 
 the future status of manner and morality. 
 When our subject, David Wilkinson, was born 
 away across the water, in England, Feb. 6, 
 1832, no one would have predicted of the little 
 Lancashire lad the successful and honorable 
 life that has been his, fertile in good deeds, 
 and an example to the young of the reward 
 awaiting him who lives justly and industrious- 
 ly, temperately and honestly. 
 
 The parents of our subject were John and 
 Ann (Brenan) Wilkinson, both born in Eng- 
 land, the former Jan. 28, 1803, the latter in 
 1805. John Wilkinson was the son of David 
 and Ellen (YTtes) Wilkinson, who were born 
 in 1765, and married in 1795; both died in 
 England. The father of our subject, John 
 Wilkinson (2), was married in England Feb. 
 7, 1830. He was the manager of some zinc 
 works in Wales for some time before coming 
 to America, and also filled the position of 
 bookkeeper for the Liverpool Ship Building 
 Co. In March, 1844, he left his native country 
 for the United States, taking passage on a 
 sailing-vessel, and after a long and tedious 
 voyage the welcome port of New Orleans was 
 reached. Following" the Mississippi until he 
 came to Galena, 111 ., he settled at Scales Mound, 
 in Jo Daviess county, but in the fall of that 
 year he moved to Big Patch, Wis., where they 
 lived during the remainder of their lives, his 
 death occurring Nov. 15, 1879, and his wife’s 
 July 14, 1866. Both John Wilkinson and his 
 wife were valued and consistent members of 
 the Primitive Methodist Church, and were 
 known as worthy Christian people. A stanch 
 Republican after settling in his new country, 
 he never wavered in his faith to that party 
 during the rest of his life. In 1850 he made 
 a trip to California, crossing the Plains, but 
 did not make a protracted stay there. 
 
 Eleven children were born to John and 
 Ann Wilkinson : David, our subject, is the 
 
 eldest of the family. William, who was born 
 in England in 1833, married Miss Mary Al- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 107 
 
 tizer, of Smelser, settled on his farm near the 
 old homestead, and died in 1861, leaving two 
 children, John and Oliver, now residents of 
 California. John, born in England in July, 
 1835, married Hannah Roe, and died after 
 coming to America; he left two children, 
 Frances and John. Ellen, born in England, 
 died when a child. Thomas, born in England 
 in May, 1839, married Anna Slack, of Grant 
 county, and now resides in Linn county, Iowa, 
 where he has been a prosperous farmer for 
 thirty years ; he has a family of ten children, 
 Albert, Edward, Nellie, Thomas, Anna, Emma, 
 James, Hall, Milford and Yetta. Elizabeth, 
 born in Wales in August, 1841, married Will- 
 iam Landshutz, of Smelser, who died in 1888, 
 leaving his wife and two children, W. FI. (who 
 with his mother resides in Big Patch) and 
 Laura (the latter now deceased). James, born 
 in England Aug. 7, 1843, married, first, a Miss 
 Rawson, who died leaving him one son, Will- 
 iam, now of Dubuque, Iowa; his second mar- 
 riage was with Elizabeth Simpson ; he resides 
 in Lemars, Iowa. Anna is deceased. Mary A., 
 born in Grant county, married L. A. Jackson, 
 resided in Smelser, and died Aug. 5, 1874. 
 George, born in 1850, married Sophia Kopp, 
 of Platteville, and now resides on the old Wilk- 
 inson homestead, in Smelser, with six chil- 
 dren, Mary, Sophia, Carl, Elizabeth, Cath- 
 arine and Gretta. Robert, born at the old 
 home in Smelser, in November, 1852, married 
 Mary Whittaker, formerly of Delaware, and 
 resides in Pipestone county, Minn. ; he has four 
 children, James, Palmer, Bell and Harold. 
 
 David Wilkinson, our subject, acquired his 
 early education in England, his opportunities 
 in Smelser being confined to a term of thre 
 months. However, he had the advantage of 
 having an intelligent and educated father, and 
 under his supervision he continued his studies. 
 In 1855 he married Miss Isabella Harker, a 
 daughter of George and Isabella Harker, this 
 family being among the English-American 
 families who have become prominent in Smel- 
 ser township. Mrs. Wilkinson was born in 
 1834, and was called from life in April, 1880, 
 leaving three children : Elizabeth, born Dec. 
 
 30, 1856, was a student at Platteville, married 
 Joseph Thomas, of Grant county, and resides 
 on a farm in Smelser ; they have five children, 
 Edward, Walton, Isabel, Gretta and Jessie. 
 James, born in January, 1859, died in August, 
 1870. Ellen, born in February, 1861, mar- 
 
 ried George Reige, of Smelser, and died Aug. 
 31, 1889, leaving one daughter, Florence. 
 
 In December, 1886, Mr. Wilkinson mar- 
 ried Miss Susanna Robinson, of Platteville 
 township, a daughter of Joseph and Hannah 
 Robinson, of an old pioneer family. She was 
 born in 1848, and died in Big Patch Oct. 8, 
 1899, leaving many lamenting friends. Dur- 
 ing her life she had been noted for good works, 
 and was one of the leading members of the 
 Primitive Methodist Church, in which her fa- 
 ther had long been a local minister. 
 
 After his first marriage Mr. Wilkinson set- 
 tled on a farm for some two years, and then 
 purchased the Kay gristmill, at Big Patch, 
 which he has managed for over thirty-five 
 years. In 1858 he engaged in the mercantile 
 business, in connection with his milling, and 
 until 1900, when he sold, he did a prosperous 
 business. Mr. Wilkinson has always been an 
 ardent Republican, but was appointed by Presi- 
 dent Buchanan as postmaster at Big Patch, and 
 in all the changes of administration since that 
 time has been continued in office, his character 
 being so high that no citizen could ever be 
 found as an opponent. For forty-one years 
 he has efficiently held this government ap- 
 pointment, this being, in itself, a testimonial 
 of the esteem in which he is held, irrespective 
 of party. 
 
 So prominent a man as Mr. Wilkinson could 
 not escape election to the county and town- 
 ship offices, and he has performed the duties 
 of them all, at various times. He has been 
 town treasurer of Smelser for the past three 
 years, and for the three preceding years was 
 town assessor. Reared in the Primitive Meth- 
 odist Church, he has always adhered to its 
 teachings, and has been a liberal and cheerful 
 contributor to its support. In all things Mr. 
 Wilkinson has been a worthv citizen, always 
 ready to aid in benevolence where he found a 
 deserving object, has served well and faith- 
 fully in his public life, and the regularity of 
 his habits has made him a pleasant factor in 
 the home circle. Grant county has in David 
 Wilkinson a representative citizen. 
 
 WILLIAM CRAVEN is a highly es- 
 teemed resident of Platteville, Grant county, 
 where he is now living retired from active 
 business. He has been a noted hunter of large 
 game in his day. and has killed more wolves, 
 bear and deer than any other man in Grant 
 
io8 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 county. He was born in Wayne county, Ohio, 
 March 14, 1843. 
 
 Samuel Craven, his father, was born in 
 Washington county, Penn., in 1800, and his 
 mother, Sarah (Metcalf), was born in the 
 same county in August, 1808. They were 
 married in 1832, and then moved to Wayne 
 county, Ohio, where they settled on a farm, 
 upon which he erected a log house. In this 
 primitive home they lived happily for many 
 years, later building* a hue modern house, 
 where Mr. Craven died in 1888, and his wife 
 in 1882. Before his marriage with Sarah Met- 
 calf lie had married Margaret Boher, who bore 
 him two children: James, deceased; and 
 
 Hiram, of Paulding county, Ohio. Nine chil- 
 dren were born of the second union : ( 1 ) 
 
 Stewart, born in Ohio, in May, 1833, was 
 reared to manhood on the home farm, and then 
 joined Van Amberg’s Show, with which he 
 remained for many years, working his way 
 upward until he became the trainer for the 
 noted elephant “Romeo.” He married a lady 
 from Philadelphia, and for some years made 
 that city his home, later going to Dallas, Texas, 
 where he owned a large ranch, upon which 
 his death occurred some ten years ago. His 
 wife and child, Charles, survive him, and make 
 their home in Texas. (2) Susan, born in 
 January, 1835, became the wife of S. C. Long, 
 of Wayne county, Ohio, and at her death left 
 four children, Stewart, Lewis, Mary and Will- 
 iam. (3) Mary, born Jan. 8, 1837, married 
 Dr. Barnheart, who became a surgeon in the 
 Civil war, and died, leaving one child, Cap- 
 itola, who is married and lives in Indiana. 
 Mary is also deceased. (4) John and (5) 
 
 Sarah died in childhood. (6) William is our 
 subject. (7) George, born in May, 1845, grew 
 to manhood, and enlisted in an Indiana regi- 
 ment during the Civil war, after which he came 
 west to Wisconsin, and worked for some years 
 in the Laflin & Rand Powder Mills. He mar- 
 ried Ella Douglas, of Platteville, and moved 
 to Nebraska, thence going to Oklahoma, where 
 be now resides. He has a family of sev p 
 children, Della, Charles, Cora, Wilbur, Jennie, 
 Stewart and Julian. (81 Lucinda is the widow 
 of Solomon Staher, of Wayne county, and has 
 two children, Sarah and Frank, the latter of 
 Oklahoma. (9) Samuel C., born in 1851, was 
 educated in the higher schools of Ohio, mar- 
 ried Emma Winkler, and then located on the 
 old homestead, remaining there until 1898, 
 
 when he removed to Oklahoma, to engage in 
 the livery and feed business. He has two chil- 
 dren living, Melissa and William; another, 
 Charles, is deceased. 
 
 William Craven was educated in the ex- 
 cellent public schools of Ohio. In 1862, at 
 the age of eighteen, he enlisted in Company F, 
 102(1 O. V. I., and was assigned to the West- 
 ern Army. His first duty was in Kentucky, 
 where his regiment took part in the fighting 
 against Gen. Bragg, engaging him at Perry- 
 ville. Later they took part in several battles 
 in Tennessee, where they wintered in 1862. 
 They remained in Tennessee one year, and 
 Mr. Craven, being taken ill at Clarksville, was 
 obliged to pass some time in the hospital there, 
 and later was detailed from the Invalid Corps 
 as manager of the government farm estab- 
 lished there. In the fall of 1864 he joined his 
 regiment at Decatur, Ala., at which point the 
 Union forces engaged Hood’s army, and fol- 
 lowed him in his march to Nashville. The 
 1 02 d Ohio served continually until the close 
 of the war. After the war was over Mr. 
 Craven returned, in July, 1865, to his home, 
 and passed the fall with Forepaugh’s show. 
 In 1866 he located on his father-in-law's home- 
 stead, where he remained until 1900, in that 
 year purchasing a home in Platteville, and has 
 since lived retired. In 1894, while engaged in 
 a hunting expedition in northern Wisconsin, 
 he captured a pair of fawns, which he brought 
 home, and they became the progenitors of the 
 fine herd of deer on his farm. 
 
 Politically Mr. Craven is a stanch Repub- 
 lican, and has held the office of justice of the 
 peace. Socially he belongs to Sherman Post, 
 No. 66, G. A. R., of Platteville, and to the 
 I. O. O. F. at Washburn. In religious faith 
 the family are Presbyterians. 
 
 On March 22, 1866, Mr. Craven was united 
 in marriage with Miss Mary E. Burns, daugh- 
 ter of Thomas and Jane (Thompson) Burns, 
 of Lima, Wis. Both Mr. and Mrs. Burns were 
 born in Ohio, the former in October, 1817, the 
 latter in December, 1821. Mrs. Jane (Thomp- 
 son) Burns was the daughter of Archibald and 
 Martha (Fitzsimmons) Thompson, who moved 
 to Ohio from Pennsylvania among the early 
 settlers of that State. Thomas Burns located 
 in Grant county, Wis., in 1842, and settled in 
 the town of Lima, and there in 1849 his wife 
 died, leaving him with two children, Mary E., 
 wife of our subject; and Thomas J., now a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 109 
 
 merchant of Casey, Iowa. The children were 
 taken back to Ohio, and were cared for until 
 grown by their Grandfather Burns, a gallant 
 old soldier of the war of 1812. Thomas T. 
 Burns, brother of Mrs. Craven, enlisted in tire 
 120th O. V. I. during the Civil war; later he 
 married Miss Sidney Aukerman, and moved 
 to his present home in Casey, Iowa; he has 
 three children, Carrie. Thomas and Etta. Mrs. 
 Craven was highly educated in the schools of 
 Ohio, and for several years was one of the 
 successful teachers of that State. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Craven have been born 
 nine children, four of whom died in childhood. 
 The others are: S. C., born in Lima in 1867, 
 married Myrtle Hake, of Platteville, and now 
 resides on the old Burns homestead, which he 
 owns ; they have three children, Flossie, Mellie 
 and Neal. Mabel, born in April, 1871, was 
 educated at the Platteville Normal, became one 
 of the successful teachers of Lima, and is now 
 the wife of Ralph King, of Ellenboro, by whom 
 she has two children, Ivan and Margie. Bell, 
 born in February, 1876, educated in the Platte- 
 ville Normal, became a well-known teacher in 
 Grant county, and is now the wife of Ernest 
 Harrison; they reside in Aitkin, Minn., where 
 he is a merchant ; they have one son, William 
 Harrison. Burns, born in April, 1880, still 
 makes his home with his parents, and is at 
 present a student in the Platteville Business 
 College. Bessie, born in April. 1883, is a 
 student at the Platteville Normal. 
 
 • S. B. SPENCER, who for the past twelve 
 years has efficiently served as justice of the 
 peace at Platteville, Grant county, was born in 
 Springville township, Susquehanna Co., Penn., 
 March 1, 1834, a son of Daniel R. and My- 
 randa (Baldwin) Spencer, the former a native 
 of Concord, N. H., and the latter of Vermont. 
 They were of Scottish descent, and early set- 
 tlers of Springville township, Susquehanna 
 Co., Penn., where the father, a farmer by oc- 
 cupation, died in 1836. The mother long sur- 
 vived him, dying in Wyoming county, same 
 State, in 1888. Our subject is the only mem- 
 ber of the family now living. 
 
 S. B. Spencer was reared and- educated in 
 his native county, whence he came to Grant 
 county, Wis., in 1851. Locating in the town 
 of Beetown, he was engaged in mining there 
 for two years, and then moved to Lancaster, 
 where he learned the mason’s trade. After 
 
 a residence of five or six years at the latter 
 place he went to Boscobel, and accepted a po- 
 sition in a store. While there the Civil war 
 broke out, and he enlisted, in 1862, in Com- 
 pany G, 33d Wis. V. I., for one year, being 
 elected ordnance sergeant. He was on de- 
 tached duty most of the time, and was honor- 
 ably discharged at Vicksburg in 1863. Re- 
 turning to Grant county, he purchased a farm 
 in Harrison township which he operated for 
 three years, and in 1871 came to Platteville, 
 where he has since made his home. 
 
 In Grant county Mr. Spencer was united in 
 marriage with Miss Lucy Beroyl McKenzie, by 
 whom he had two children, Edward M. and H. 
 M. He was again married, in 1886, his second 
 union being with Miss Hannah Straw, by 
 whom he also has two ch ldren. Hazel E. and 
 Estella M. Mrs. Spencer is a native of Grant 
 county, and a daughter of Richard and Mary 
 (Place) Straw. Tier father, who was a well- 
 known smelter, died in Platteville May 10, 
 1892, at the age of seventy-five years, two 
 months and twenty-five days ; he was one of 
 the first settlers of the county. Her mother 
 continues to reside in Platteville. 
 
 Social!}- Mr. Spencer is a member of Melody 
 Lodge, No. 2, F. & A. M., and W. T. Sher- 
 man Post, No. 66, G. A. R., in which he has 
 served as chaplain. Both he and his wife are 
 earnest and consistent members of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, and are highly re- 
 spected by all who know them. In his polit- 
 ical affiliations Mr. Spencer is a Republican. 
 He was census enumerator in Platteville in 
 1890. In 1887 he was elected justice of the 
 peace, and has since filled that position, with 
 credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his 
 constituents. He is thoroughly impartial in 
 meting out justice, his opinions being un- 
 biased by either fear or favor, and his fidelity 
 to the trust reposed in him is above question. 
 
 CHARLES C. CLARKE has for the past 
 twenty years been a prominent stock dealer at 
 Milton Junction, Rock county. He is a man 
 of active temperament, who has had a wide 
 experience in life, gained by extended travel 
 and by following various vocations. Reared 
 a farmer, and inheriting from his father, who 
 was a practicing physician, a keen and com- 
 prehensive mind, he has found in the stock 
 business a congenial and most profitable field 
 for his talents. 
 
I 10 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Clarke was born in Madison county, 
 N. Y., Dec. i, 1833, son of Dr. Henry and 
 Lorinda (Coon) Clarke, natives of New York. 
 The father was the son of a Rhode Island 
 farmer, who lived to an advanced age, and 
 reared a large family. The maternal grand- 
 father of our subject, Daniel Coon, was a na- 
 tive of New York State, and there followed 
 farming through his long life; he left a large 
 family. Henry Clarke, the father, practiced 
 medicine in Madison county, N. Y. In 1836 
 he came West, and for two years lived at Chi- 
 cago. 111., then a struggling hut ambitious vil- 
 lage, in 1838 removing to Walworth, Wis., 
 where he continued the practice of his pro- 
 fession until his death, in 1853, at ^ ie a S e 
 sixty-one vears. His wife survived until 1896, 
 passing away at the age of eighty-two years. 
 Both were prominent members of the Seventh- 
 day Baptist Church. Dr. Clarke was an in- 
 fluential citizen, as well as a successful physi- 
 cian. He was a member of the State Legis- 
 lature in New York, and was elected to dis- 
 charge the same legislative duties in Wiscon- 
 sin. He was the father of eleven children, nine 
 sons and two daughters, of whom six survive : 
 Charles C., our subject; Benjamin F., of Los 
 Angeles, Cal.; Oliver P., of Walworth coun- 
 tv, Wis. ; Frederick J., of Walworth; John M., 
 of Milton Junction; and Hannah M., wife of 
 Lafayette Cook, of Cecil, Wisconsin. 
 
 Charles C. Clarke was four years old when 
 brought by his father to Walworth county, 
 where he was reared on a farm, receiving his 
 education in the district schools. Seeking a 
 more active life than that presented by the 
 farm, Mr. Clarke in his younger years went 
 to Chicago, where for three years he kept a 
 grocery store. Then for a time he served on 
 the police force of that city. In i860 he went 
 to Pike’s Peak, Col., and for a year engaged in 
 mining. Returning to Chicago in 1861, he 
 became a contractor and builder for a number 
 of venrs, after which he spent seven years en- 
 gaged in flour-milling at Rockton, 111 . In 
 1880 Mr. Clarke came to Milton Junction. For 
 one year he conducted a lumber business in 
 connection with stock dealing, then gave his 
 entire attention to the latter business, which 
 grew steadily under his wise management, and 
 which he has continued ever since. For the 
 past fourteen years his brother, John M. Clarke, 
 has been associated with him in the stock busi- 
 ness. They have attained marked success, and 
 
 our subject ranks as one of the best and most 
 favorably known business men of Rock coun- 
 ty. He is a stockholder in the State Bank at 
 Milton Junction. 
 
 Mr. Clarke married, Jan. 1, 1856, Miss 
 Mary B. Sheri nirne, daughter of Joseph and 
 Rebecca (Atwood) Sherburne, natives of Ver- 
 mont. who in 1844, with their five children, 
 migrated to Wisconsin and located in Wal- 
 worth county, where they engaged in farm- 
 ing. Of this family, Phoebe is now the widow 
 of Lucian Covey, of Chicago ; Edwin is de- 
 ceased ; Mary B. is the wife of our subject; 
 George A. is a resident of Covert, Mich. ; and 
 Emily R. is the wife of Edgar O. Burdick, of 
 Milton Junction. Joseph Sherburne died in 
 Walworth county in 1876, aged seventy-four 
 years, and his wife died in 1891, aged eighty- 
 two years. Both were members of the Sev- 
 enth-day Baptist Church. The paternal grand- 
 father of Mrs. Clarke, John Sherburne, was a 
 Vermont farmer, and lived to about the age 
 of seventy-two years. Her maternal grand- 
 father, Elijah Atwood, was also a Vermont 
 farmer. He was killed in middle life by the 
 kick of a horse. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Clarke are prominent mem- 
 bers of the Seventh-day Baptist Church. Po- 
 litically he is a Prohibitionist. He is a mem- 
 ber of the school board of Milton Junction. 
 
 SIGMUND STEUERT, of the town of 
 Fennimore, is one of the pioneers of Grant 
 county. He was born in the Black Forest, 
 Germany, Nov. 14, 1820, son of Jacob Steuert, 
 who died when our subject was four years 
 old. His mother survived many years, and 
 died in her native land. Mr. Steuert was one 
 of five children, and the only one of the fam- 
 ily who came to this country. Llis father was 
 a painter, and made a specialty of painting 
 clock faces, and this became the trade of the 
 son. Clockmaking was one of the principal 
 industries of the people of that region. 
 
 In 1842 Sigmund Steuert came to this coun- 
 try, in company with a neighbor who had al- 
 ready been in America. They were forty-two 
 days in making the passage from Bremen to 
 New York, on the sailing-vessel “Westfall.” 
 Our subject spent the winter in Pennsylvania, 
 and the following year went to Stark county, 
 Ohio, where he traveled, with a horse and 
 buggy, selling clocks, and made a few hun- 
 dred dollars. He followed this business for 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 about three and a half years, and then came 
 to Grant county, making the journey to Co- 
 lumbus from Canton by canal, from there to 
 Xenia by stage, and from there to Cincinnati 
 by railroad. From that city he went down 
 the Ohio to St. Louis, and thence to Galena by 
 steamer, where he took the stag'e to Potosi, 
 Wis., reaching that point March 18, 1846. A 
 relative by the name of Celestine Kaltenbach 
 had been a resident of the village from 1836. 
 That spring he came to Fennimore, and bought 
 land with the money he had earned in Ohio. 
 Mr. Steuert had but five francs when he en- 
 tered Pennsylvania. While in that State he 
 desired to visit an uncle in Philadelphia, and, 
 not wishing to spend his money on the fare, 
 walked in, and paid his way by repairing- 
 clocks for the farmers on the road. It was a 
 characteristic performance. He had nerve and 
 strength. 
 
 When Mr. Steuert bought land in the town 
 of Fennimore he had as a partner Marcus 
 Beyerli, who sold out to him after some two 
 years and went to California, making the voy- 
 age around Cape Horn, and, as he was never 
 heard of, it is supposed he perished by the way. 
 
 Air. Steuert and Miss Cynthia Stephens, a 
 native of Kentucky, were married July 30, 
 1848. She died in August, 1857, leaving four- 
 children: Samuel, of Fennimore; Cornelia, the 
 wife of William Moran, of Nebraska; Jacob, 
 a resident of Kansas ; and Sarah, who died 
 at the age of eight years. A child named Sig- 
 mund died in infancy. Mr. Steuert was mar- 
 ried May 9, 1858, to his present estimable wife, 
 Margaret Ann (Clyde), who was born in Mer- 
 cer county, Penn., March 20, 1820. Her par- 
 ents, Solomon and Sabina Clyde, came to Min- 
 eral Point, Wis., in 1850. They had eleven 
 children, several of whom died young in Penn- 
 sylvania. Six of their children reached Wis- 
 consin, and made homes for themselves in this 
 State, where they cared for their parents. The 
 mother died at Montfort in December, 1858, 
 and the father died in August, 1865. Three 
 of their daughters are now (1901) living, 
 Mrs. Steuert being the eldest. Mrs. Eliza 
 Reynolds is in South Dakota. Mrs. Nancy 
 Davy, of Boscobel. Wis., is the youngest. Mrs. 
 Jane McLimans, Mrs. Sarah Smith, and a 
 brother of Mrs. Steuert lived in Boscobel. The 
 latter was captain of a company in the war of 
 the Rebellion ; he died in Minnesota. 
 
 Two children have been born to Mr. and 
 
 Mrs. Steuert, as follows : Samuel, who is now 
 at Fennimore, was a soldier in the war of the 
 Rebellion, serving in the 48th Wis. V. I. 
 Sabina is the wife of Eugene McDonald, and 
 lives on the old home farm of her parents, 
 then in Fennimore, now included in the town 
 of Mt. Ida. A\ lien Mr. Steuert arrived in the 
 town of Fennimore there were but slight set- 
 tlements between that town and Lancaster. 
 He became possessed of a fine farm there, 
 and. there all his children were born. In 1884 
 he removed to the village of Fennimore, where 
 he yet lives, respected and highly esteemed by 
 all who know him. He and his wife belong- 
 to the Methodist Church. She has been a 
 member of the church since she was fourteen 
 and her husband for more than forty years. 
 Mr. Steuert was in early life a Democrat, but 
 when slavery became the leading issue he joined 
 the Republican party. When the old issues 
 were settled forever, feeling that the destruc- 
 tion of the saloon is the most vital question 
 before the people, he became a member of the 
 Prohibition party, and has worked with it for 
 a number of years. Air. Steuert was the first 
 German settler in what are now the towns of 
 Fennimore, Mt. Ida, Hickory Grove, Marion, 
 and other northern townships. He was justice 
 of the peace for twelve years, and at his first 
 and last elections to this office not a single 
 vote was cast against him. 
 
 JOHN DINSDALE, of the town of Fen- 
 nimore, Grant county, is one of the earliest 
 settlers of that section. He has lived there 
 since 1849, and he has been a permanent set- 
 tler in the town of Fennimore since June, 
 1850. 
 
 Mr. Dinsdale was born in the town of 
 Askrigg, Yorkshire. England, Nov. 12, 1825, 
 son of James and Elizabeth (Thompson) 
 Dinsdale. The Dinsdale family has been resi- 
 dent in Askrigg for many generations. James 
 Dinsdale, the grandfather of John, died at the 
 age of eighty-four. Edward Thompson, the 
 father of Elizabeth, married Dorothy New-> 
 ton. Our subject’s father had ten children, 
 only two now living : John ; and Mrs. Dorothy 
 Alderson, of Denver. Colo. The father died in 
 England in 1843. at the age of fifty-five years. 
 His eldest son, Matthew, was the first to come 
 to America, arriving here in 1846, and he fol- 
 lowed mining for a time at Mineral Point, 
 Wis. He became a minister of the Methodist 
 
I I 2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Episcopal Church. In 1849 lle went to Cali- 
 fornia, and spent two ye'ars in the land of 
 gold. Returning then to England, he married 
 Miss Mary Ann Mann, and when he came back 
 to the United States he brought with him his 
 mother, his brother Edward, and sister Lizzie. 
 He put up a store at Linden, Iowa Co., Wis., 
 and was engaged in its management for sev- 
 eral years, later in life renting it and remov- 
 ing to Madison, that his children might have 
 the benefit of the State University. He lived 
 at Madison ten years, and preached at various 
 places in the vicinity. After his daughter’s 
 graduation and marriage to Magnus Swanson, 
 of Chicago, he returned to Linden, where he 
 died in 1897. A sister of John Dinsdale mar- 
 ried a Mr. Munden, of Geneva Lake, and an- 
 other sister, Jane, married a Mr. Chapman, in 
 England, and came to this country in 1848. 
 The mother lived with her children after com- 
 ing to this country, and died at the age of 
 sixtyrifine years. 
 
 John Dinsdale was reared as a farmer and 
 dairyman. He was married, May 24, 1847, 
 to Miss Tirzah Chapman, who was born at 
 Worton, Yorkshire, but a few miles from the 
 birthplace of her husband, in 1826. The young 
 couple came to this country in 1849, as noted 
 above, bringing with them their two children, 
 Elizabeth and'james. They left home Feb. 
 13, sailing from Liverpool on the ship “Sax- 
 ony,” and landed at New Orleans on the last 
 day of the following April, making their way 
 up the river to Galena, 111 ., and from there to 
 the town of Linden, Iowa county; in May of 
 the following year our subject entered eighty 
 acres of land in the town of Fennimore, Grant 
 county. He erected a log house, which was 
 his home for eighteen years, and at the expira- 
 tion of that time built his present residence. 
 By judicious investments he has increased his 
 original eighty acres to a magnificent rural 
 estate of 400 acres, and has long been num- 
 bered among the prominent and successful 
 farmers and stock raisers of his town. 
 
 Mr. Dinsdale was bereft of the wife of his 
 youth in 1869. She was the mother of twelve 
 children. Miss Grace Eddy became his second 
 wife. She died in 1891, the mother of three 
 children, two of whom are living. Ten chil- 
 dren of the first marriage are still living, 
 namely: Elizabeth, James, Zipporah, B. C., 
 
 Dorothy, Alice, Hattie, Abbie, Mary A. and 
 Tirzah C. The deceased children were Isabella 
 
 M. and Matthew E. Of the children born to 
 the second marriage Ella P. and Grace A. are 
 living; Eddy is deceased. 
 
 Mr. Dinsdale has been closely identified 
 with the growth and development of Grant 
 county for many years, and has been very 
 active in everything relating to the best in- 
 terests of the community. He has been asso- 
 ciated with the Methodist Church since 1850, 
 and has been class-leader for forty-eight years, 
 and steward for fifty years. He has been a 
 trustee of the Ebenezar Church, in the town of 
 Wingville, since its erection, in 1861. Polit- 
 ically he is a Republican of the Lincoln type, 
 and has lately been identified with the Prohibi- 
 tion party. No man is better known or more 
 highly esteemed in the town of Fennimore 
 than Mr. Dinsdale, and he is well worthy of a 
 place in any record. 
 
 WILLIAM COWDUROY, who died at 
 his residence in Platteville, Grant county, Dec. 
 13, 1899, and was for many years a dealer in 
 general merchandise at that city. Tie was a na- 
 tive of London, England, born in 1836, and 
 received his early education in that city. When 
 fifteen years old he sailed for America, and 
 landed in New York City in the spring of 1851, 
 without a friend and without money, but he 
 soon succeeded in finding employment at $5 
 per month and board, and not long afterward, 
 in recognition of his industrious habits and at- 
 tentiveness to his duties, this compensation 
 was increased to $13. 
 
 In 1853 young Cowduroy sought a home 
 in the West, and found it in the then village 
 of Platteville, Wis., where he lived until the 
 spring of 1856. Lie was next employed, tem- 
 porarily, as a clerk on Mississippi river steam- 
 boats, and then went to La Crosse, Wis., where 
 he remained three years, in 1859 §'°i n §‘ 1 ° St. 
 Louis, Mo., where he secured an important 
 position in the State and county assessors’ 
 office, holding same until 1861. He was next 
 appointed paymaster of the Missouri State 
 militia, an office he filled until 1863, when he 
 returned to Platteville, Wis., and engaged in 
 mercantile trade, which was ever afterward 
 his occupation. 
 
 In September, 1857, Mr. Cowduroy mar- 
 ried, for his first wife, Miss Elizabeth Elgar, 
 also a native of London, England, and a daugh- 
 ter of William Elgar, a pioneer of Grant 
 county. This lady died May 21, 1879, leav- 
 

 / trW ' 2 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ing her husband with two children, Lizzie and 
 Harry. Lizzie was born in La Crosse, Wis., 
 was educated in the State Normal School, 
 Platteville, married William Bauer, of Chi- 
 cago, and died the mother of one son, William, 
 who lives with his grandmother, Mrs. Cow- 
 duroy, in Platteville. Harry Cowduroy was 
 born in St. Louis, Mo., was also educated in 
 the Platteville State Normal, and is now in the 
 employ of the Grant Paving Co., of Omaha, 
 Neb. ; in Council Bluffs he married Miss Katie 
 Kirscht, who has borne him one daughter, 
 Gertrude Elizabeth. 
 
 The second marriage of William Cowduroy 
 took place in October, 1880, to Mrs. Elizabeth 
 (Stephens) Campbell, a lady of Platteville; to 
 this union no children were born. 
 
 Religiously Mr. Cowduroy was a member 
 of the Episcopal Church, to which his widow 
 also belongs, and of which they had been 
 constant attendants for many years and liberal 
 supporters through their financial contribu- 
 tions. Politically Mr. Cowduroy was identi- 
 fied with the Republican party, and active in 
 the government of the city. Fraternally he 
 was a member of K. of P. Lodge No. 125, of 
 Platteville; was also a member of the A. O. 
 U. W. and the M. W. of A., and in both the 
 latter orders held official positions for some 
 years. Besides being one of the oldest mer- 
 chants in Platteville Mr. Cowduroy was a 
 stockholder and director in the State National 
 Bank, took a deep and active interest in build- 
 ing' up his city, and as a business man his repu- 
 tation for fair dealing and integrity was well 
 established throughout Grant county. 
 
 ERASMUS AA 1 1 HERBEE was born in 
 Hazel Green, Grant county, where his home is 
 found at present, May 15, 1843, and is a son 
 of Hiram and Experience A. (Day) AVither- 
 bee. 1 he father was born April 17, 1810, 
 at the main entrance to Bunker Hill Monu- 
 ment, and the mother Oct. 30. .1823, at Ecl- 
 wardsville, Madison Co., 111 . Hiram AVither- 
 bee was the son of Calvin and Harriet A. 
 (Estabrook) AYhtherbee, the former a native 
 of Scotland, the latter of Massachusetts. Cal- 
 vin AA itherbee was a ship carpenter and a sea- 
 faring man. He died in New Orleans, from 
 yellow fever, about iSiy 
 
 Hiram AVitherbee came from Madison 
 
 county, 111 ., to' AA isconsin as early as 1832, and 
 
 followed lead mining for a number of years 
 8 
 
 1 13 
 
 near Hazel Green, finally becoming the owner 
 of valuable mineral lands which he controlled 
 throughout life. He was quite successful, and 
 about 1850 bought the "Empire Hotel" prop- 
 erty at Hazel Green. For some nine years he 
 was the popular landlord of that hostelry, 
 which he then traded for a farm in Smelser, 
 near what is now called Elmo Station, where 
 he died in 1867. Mrs. Experience A. AVither- 
 bee died in 1850. She and her husband be- 
 longed to the Presbyterian Church. In con- 
 nection with Mr. Crawford and one or two 
 others Mr. AVitherbee was instrumental in the 
 erection of the first Presbyterian church in 
 Hazel Green, which was destroyed by the tor- 
 nado of 1876. Hiram and Experience A. 
 YVitherbee were the parents of five children,, 
 of whom three died in infancy; the survivors 
 are Erasmus and Hiram J. Mr. AVitherbee 
 married for his second wife Aliss Margaret A. 
 Eastman, of Grant county, and to this union 
 were also born five children, all of whom are 
 living: (1) Experience A., born in Hazel 
 
 Green in 1852, is the wife of Charles Nepier,. 
 of Chicago. (2) Levi, born in September, 
 1853, is married, and is the owner of a cattle 
 ranch in Yuma county, Colo. (3) L. C. is a 
 partner with his brother Levi in the cattle busi- 
 ness. (4) Julian V., born in Grant county, is 
 now a traveling representative of the St. Louis 
 Stock Yards ; he found a wife in Colorado. 
 (5) Orvil O., born in Smelser, Grant county, 
 has become a noted physician and surgeon, 
 and lives in Los Angeles, Cal. ; he is married, 
 and has two children. 
 
 Hiram J. AA’itherbee, the only brother of 
 our subject, was educated at the Platteville 
 Normal School. In his early life he was a 
 miner and farmer, and was a school teacher 
 in Grant and Lafayette counties for several 
 years before his entrance into pastoral work, in 
 1885. He is a Methodist clergyman. Miss 
 Julia A. Haney, of Grant county,, became his 
 wife, and they have had the following chil- 
 dren:' (1) Harriet A., who died Aug. 1, 1898, 
 was a young lady of great promise, and a 
 worker in the church of her town, where she 
 had many friends. (2) Hiram S. is a clergy- 
 man of the Methodist Church at Brush, Colo., 
 and (3) Oliver Day, a minister of the same 
 church in AVisconsin. (4) Miss Elizabeth H. 
 is at home. 
 
 Erasmus AVitherbee grew to manhood un- 
 der the parental roof, and obtained his educa- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 i <4 
 
 tion in a private school in Hazel Green, and 
 the academy at Platteville. In 1862, leaving 
 school, he enlisted in Company I, 25th Wis. 
 \ . I., under command of Col. Montgomery. 
 The regiment was mustered into the govern- 
 ment service at LaCrosse, Wis., and sent to 
 the Western frontier, New Clm, Minn., to. 
 protect the settlers from the raids of the hostile 
 Indians. In the early part of 1863 it was sent 
 to Kentucky, and in May of that year was 
 made a part of the forces which were to hold 
 the Rebel Johnson in check until Vicksburg 
 should be compelled to surrender. After the 
 fall of that stronghold the 25th Wisconsin was 
 sent to Helena, Ark., and in the following 
 spring it was sent to Kentucky, and was 
 marched overland to Mooresville, Ala., where 
 Mr. V itherbee w as taken sick, and compelled 
 to seek the hospital at Decatur, in that State. 
 After a furlough at home he joined his regi- 
 ment at Rome, Ga., in time to follow Gen. 
 Sherman to the sea. The 25th was part of 
 the army that marched clear through to Wash- 
 ington, and took part in the "Grand Review.” 
 At the close of the war Mr. Whtherbee could 
 say that he had served as a soldier in every 
 Southern State except Florida and Texas, and 
 in the greater number of the Northern States. 
 An honorable discharge from the service was 
 given him at Washington in June. 1865. At 
 Helena, Ark., Mr. Witherbee was made quar- 
 termaster sergeant Nov. 1, 1863, and through- 
 out the war maintained a high standing as a 
 soldier and a clear-headed and intelligent man. 
 
 After the close of the war Mr. Witherbee 
 returned home, and the same year went to 
 Lincoln, Neb., to take up a homestead claim, 
 securing a good farm. He was married. July 
 4, 1876, in Philadelphia, to Miss Mary Rich- 
 ards. a daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth Rich- 
 ards. of an old and prominent family of Smel- 
 ser. Grant county, and formerly from Tennes- 
 see. Mrs. Witherbee was born in Platteville, 
 Wis., where she received her education in the 
 academy and the State Normal. The house 
 which they occupied at the beginning of their 
 married life was situated on part of the land 
 purchased by his father from the government, 
 and here a fine home was erected in 1880. 
 The greater part of Mr. Witherbee’s business 
 life has been devoted to mining, and he owns a 
 large acreage of valuable mineral lands, to the 
 development of which he is still giving much 
 attention. To him and his wife have been 
 
 born a family of three children : ( 1 ) Blanche, 
 
 born in Hazel Green in 1877, acquired a good 
 education in the village school, and was a 
 graduate in voice culture, under Prof. Church- 
 ill, of the Platteville State Normal. She is 
 now at home, and has been one of the success- 
 ful music teachers in this part of the State. 
 (2)Exie L., born in August, 1881, is a grad- 
 uate of the Hazel Green high school, and has 
 studied at the State Normal, Platteville. She 
 is now a grammar school teacher in Hazel 
 Green. (3) Pearle, born in 1888, is now a 
 student at the home school. 
 
 Mr. Witherbee was identified with the Re- 
 publican party for many years, became a Green- 
 backer during the administration of President 
 Hayes, for twelve years was a Prohibitionist, 
 and in 1896 and 1900 was a strong advocate 
 of the election of W. J. Bryan, believing in 
 legislation for the benefit of the masses. For 
 twelve long years he helped to wage the war 
 against the liquor traffic, but in 1896, becom- 
 ing convinced that the mass of the American 
 people, of whatever persuasion, want and will 
 have their whisky, he transferred his allegiance 
 as noted. A public-spirited and upright citi- 
 zen of the town, he has been called on to- fill 
 several local offices, was a member of the school 
 board twelve years, and town clerk two years. 
 Mr. Witherbee is adjutant of W. O. Topping 
 Post, No. 266. G. A. IT, at Hazel Green. Mrs. 
 Witherbee is a member of the Congregational 
 Church, and that church has always received 
 a liberal support from her husband. 
 
 FRANK WOOD, one of the representa- 
 tive, enterprising business men of Janesville, 
 Rock county, proprietor of a grocery estab- 
 lishment at the corner of Madison, North 
 Academy and Ravine streets, is fast building 
 up a very desirable trade, catering to the wants 
 of his customers in a manner that secures con- 
 tinued patronage. 
 
 Frank Wood was born in Janesville Oct. 
 if), 1842, a son of Royal and Eliza (Andrews) 
 Wood, natives of New York City. His pa- 
 ternal grandfather, Silas Wood, was a native 
 of Ohio;, a farmer by occupation, and came 
 to Wisconsin in the early days, settling on a 
 farm about eighteen miles from Janesville, in 
 Rock county, where he died at an advanced age. 
 He had four children. The grandfather on 
 the mother’s side, Francis Andrews, was en- 
 gaged in handling meat in New York City, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 where he operated a large market. His fam- 
 ily consisted of four or five children, and he 
 died when quite an old man. 
 
 Royal Wood, the father of our subject, was 
 a sailor on the lakes in early manhood, and 
 came to Wisconsin in 1840, locating in Janes- 
 ville, where he engaged in the grocery busi- 
 ness. Later he embarked in a livery business, 
 and continued same for over twenty years. 
 Now Mr. Wood has retired from active busi- 
 ness pursuits. His wife died in December, 
 1899, aged about seventy-six years. For many 
 years Royal Wood was register of deeds. He 
 and his wife were Unitarians in religious be- 
 lief. They were blessed with nine children, 
 six sons and three daughters, three of whom 
 are now living: Frank: Royal, of San Diego, 
 Cal. : and Wesley P., of Chicago. 
 
 Frank Wood, the subject proper of this biog- 
 raphy, has lived in Janesville all his life, at- 
 tended the public schools, and is thoroughly 
 identified with its best interests. Upon the out- 
 break of the Civil war, like so many others, 
 he was fired with patriotism, and enlisted in 
 the 1 2th Wisconsin Battery, Light Artillery, 
 serving about three years. At the battle of 
 Savannah, Ga., Mr. Wood was wounded, and 
 he participated in the battles of Corinth, Iuka. 
 Altoona, Ga., Sherman's march to the sea, and 
 many other less important engagements. After 
 the close of the war Mr. W r ood returned home 
 and became a brakeman on the Chicago, Mil- 
 waukee & St. Paul railroad, serving in this ca- 
 pacity for several years : was then made bag- 
 gageman ; then freight conductor: and finally 
 passenger conductor. Feeling the need of rest. 
 Mr. Wood finally retired from the service of 
 the railroad in 1883, and until January, 1900, 
 did not engage in any line of business aside 
 from attending to his personal affairs. At 
 that date he purchased the grocery concern of 
 W, S. Phillips, made many desirable innova- 
 tions, and now carries a full line of provisions, 
 and is fully prepared to supply hi; trade 
 promptly and efficiently. In addition to his 
 pleasant home, at No. 210 West Bluff street. 
 Janesville, which he erected, Mr. Wood owns 
 other real estate throughout the city, all of 
 which is valuable. 
 
 On Jan. 24, 1866. Frank Wood married 
 Miss Maria Johnston, daughter of William H. 
 and Henrietta (Steinberger) Johiwton. and 
 one daughter was born to them, Ca r rie, who 
 married Arthur W r . Wheelock, of Rockford, 
 
 1 15 
 
 111 ., and has a daughter. Marguerite. Mrs. 
 Wood is a consistent member of the Episcopal 
 Church, and a very estimable and diaritable 
 lady. Politically Mr. Wood is a Republican, 
 and steadfastly upholds the principles of his 
 party upon every occasion. Genial, public- 
 spirited and enterprising, Mr. Wood has made 
 many friends, and his success in life is well 
 deserved. 
 
 JAMES HAGGART, one of the prominent 
 farmers and business men of LaPrairie town- 
 ship, Rock county, was born in the village of 
 Fonda. Montgomery Co.. N. Y., Dec. 13, 1843, 
 son of James and Deborah (Veeder) Hag- 
 gart, natives of New York, and grandson of 
 James Haggart, who emigrated from Scotland, 
 his native land, to America, and settled in 
 Montgomery county. N. Y., where he reared 
 a large family and lived to a good old age. 
 Fie was a farmer. Abraham Veeder, the ma- 
 ternal grandfather of our subject, was a na- 
 tive of New York, of Holland-Dutch descent. 
 He was a farmer, and served as a soldier in 
 the war of 1812. He died in Montgomery 
 county, N. Y., at a ripe old age, leaving a 
 large family. 
 
 The father of our subject was a farmer by 
 occupation. He moved from New York State 
 to Wisconsin in 1851. purchasing 213 acres of 
 land in La Prairie township. Rock county, and 
 twenty-seven acres in the town of Turtle, which 
 he improved. He died in November, 1877, 
 aged seventy-five years. His wife died Oct. 
 8, 1882. aged eighty-three years. They were 
 devout members of the Presbyterian Church. 
 Of their nine children, three sons and Six 
 daughters, three survive : Anna, wife of James 
 Wilson, of Canton, Ivans. : Sarah, wife of C. 
 N. Wright, of Shopiere, Rock Co., V is. ; and 
 James, our subject. 
 
 James Haggart was seven years old when 
 brought bv his parents from New York to Wis- 
 consin. In 1852. the year following, the fam- 
 ily returned to Fonda, where for six years the 
 father kept hotel. They then repeated the 
 journey to Wisconsin. James was reared a 
 farmer boy in La Prairie township, attending 
 the common schools. He remained on the 
 farm of his father until the latter's death, then 
 took charge of the home place, which he still 
 owns and operates. In addition to farming he 
 is also engaged in the creamery and general 
 merchandise business at Shopiere, and is one 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1 16 
 
 of the successful and influential business men 
 of La Prairie township. 
 
 Mr. Haggart married, Sept. 30, 1869, Miss 
 Laura Nash, daughter of Samuel Leonard and 
 Ann Elmira (Kimball) Nash, who came from 
 New York to Rock county, Wis., in 1853, 
 when she was seven years old, locating- 111 
 Turtle township, and there engaging in farm- 
 ing. Later they removed to Manchester, 111 ., 
 where the father died in 1884, having attained 
 the age of almost eighty-four years ; his wife 
 survived until September, 1887, dying at the 
 age of seventy-two. Four children were born 
 to them, of whom two are now living: Lois, 
 
 who lives with her sister; and Laura, wife of 
 our subject. To James and Laura (Nash) 
 Haggart have been born three children : Archie, 
 who died at the age of twenty-one years and 
 two months; James L., who lives at home; and 
 one who died in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Haggart in politics is a Republican. 
 Fraternally he is a member of the Modern 
 Woodmen of America. He is highly respected 
 for his sterling traits of character, and is a 
 typical representative of those sturdy and force- 
 ful characters to whom the people of Wiscon- 
 sin are deeply indebted for the high develop- 
 ment of the State during the past half century. 
 
 BENJAMIN A. GRAVES, a venewable 
 farmer of Harrison township, Grant county, 
 whose years command the respect his char- 
 acter deserves, was born in Mercer county, 
 Penn., Dec. 11, 1823, a son of Roswell and 
 Mary A. (Bates) Graves. 
 
 Roswell Graves was born in New Haven, 
 Conn., and his wife in Virginia. They were 
 married in Mercer county, Penn., where Mrs. 
 Graves’ father, Christian Bates, was livffig. 
 Roswell Graves was educated by his parents, 
 Roswell and Lucy (Arnold) Graves, of New 
 Haven, Conn, (the latter a sister of Benedict 
 Arnold), and was a teacher in early life. He 
 lived in Pennsylvania, following farming and 
 teaching, until 1854, when he came to Grant 
 county, Wis., and took charge of tne County 
 Poor Farm. He acted in this capacity for 
 some ten years, and then moved to Crawford 
 county, Wis., where he bought a farm, rnd 
 "spent his remaining years in its cultivation. 
 He and his wife died some years ag _ o. He 
 was a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and frequently filled the pulpit as a 
 local preacher. He held a number of local 
 
 offices, and was justice of the peace for many 
 years. Mr. and Mrs. Graves reared a numer- 
 ous family, all born in Mercer county, Penn. ; 
 Elizabeth, their eldest daughter, was married 
 in her native county to Alanson Taft, and they 
 came West, settling- in Crawford county, Wis., 
 where she died, leaving a family who still re- 
 side in that section of Wisconsin; Benjamin 
 A. is the eldest son; the others were named 
 Lucy, Joab, Rhoda, Roswell, Almira, Alan- 
 son, John and Mary. 
 
 Mr. Graves received a district-school edu- 
 cation in Mercer county, Penn. In 1842 he 
 married Miss Lurancy Ray, of Kinsman, Ohio, 
 the daughter of George and Lucinda Ray, of 
 Vermont, who moved to Ohio at an early day, 
 and from there to Wisconsin by wagon. They 
 settled in Grant county, and after a few years 
 journeyed still farther West, to Fayette county, 
 Iowa, where they died, full of years and honor. 
 Mrs. Graves was born in Cattaraugus county, 
 N. Y., in 1828, and was quite young when 
 taken by her parents into Ohio, where her edu- 
 cation was mostly obtained. She was an am- 
 bitious and capable girl, and taught winter 
 school several years after coming to Wiscon- 
 sin. Mrs. and Mrs. Graves moved to this 
 State soon after their marriage, and after one 
 or two changes made the location in Harrison 
 township which has proved so desirable that 
 they occupy it to this day. He bought 107 
 acres of George McFall. At the time of pur- 
 chase this farm was but little improved, but 
 Mr. and Mrs. Graves have converted it into 
 one of the most desirable tracts in Grant county. 
 
 Mr. Graves enlisted in Company K, 44th 
 Wis. V. I., and served under Gen. Thomas 
 in the Army of the Tennessee. He was dis- 
 charged in August, 1865, and came home to 
 his wife and the eight children he had left on 
 the farm. He has continued his residence on 
 this place to the present time, and here he and 
 his worthy wife are enjoying a full share of the 
 comforts of life in their declining years. They 
 are the parents of ten children, of whom Joab 
 and Lorenzo died in childhood. George was 
 born in Ohio in 1843, married Miss Harriet 
 Coates, of Grant county, and is now a resident 
 of Fennimore. Roswell, born in Grant, coun- 
 ty in 1848, married Miss Sarah Coates, a sister 
 of the wife of his brother George, and settled 
 on his farm in Ellenboro township, -where he 
 died in April, iqoo, leaving a wife and three 
 children, Jesse, Benjamin R. (both engineers 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 on the Western railroad) and Dove. Mary A., 
 born in Grant county in 1850, married 
 William Roddick, and settled on a farm 
 in Ellenboro, where he died in 1887, leav- 
 ing- her with two children, Mabel and 
 Millie; she died in April, 1900, and her 
 children live in the old home. Arnold Graves 
 was born in Grant county in 1852. married 
 Rosella Singe, and now resides on his farm 
 in Harrison township ; they have one daugh- 
 ter, Glenny. Martha, born in Grant county in 
 1854, married Cassius Lathrop, of Crawford 
 county, where they now live; they have four 
 children, Lester. Fern, Flossie, and Loren. 
 Lucy, born in 1858, is now the wife of Jacob 
 Dietzman, of Crawford county, and the mother 
 of six children, Ethel, Orra, Elva, Laverne, 
 Claude and Clyde. Lurinda, born in February, 
 1862, is the wife of Timothy Culver, a Harri- 
 son township farmer, and has two children, 
 Lela and Leda. Hattie, the youngest daugh- 
 ter, was born in September, 1864, was educa- 
 ted in the Platte ville Normal, and for several 
 years was a successful teacher of Grant coun- 
 ty; she married Jasper Shipton, of Grant coun- 
 ty, and located in Wapello, Iowa, where he 
 kept a hotel; both died in April, 1900 — a mel- 
 ancholy instance of the frequent coming of the 
 dread archer, four deaths occurring in the 
 family within a short time. 
 
 Mr. Graves has always been a Republican. 
 He was treasurer of the school district for four 
 years, and a constable in the town of Harrison 
 a number of years. Mr. and Mrs. Graves 
 are among the old-time prominent families of 
 \\ isconsin, and are well known and highly re- 
 spected. Their many acts of charity and kind- 
 ness have been felt in many homes in this com- 
 munity, and they are widely respected and be- 
 loved. 
 
 JOHN E. WISE, of Beetown, Grant 
 county, became a member of Company I, 20th 
 M isA . I., Aug. 14, 1862. enlisting at Beetown, 
 and was identified with the history of that fa- 
 mous regiment throughout the war. He was 
 at Prairie Grove, where Capt. McDermott fell 
 and the regiment lost heavily, more than half 
 its number being left on the field of battle. He 
 served throughout the war as a brave and loyal 
 soldier, and was discharged from the United 
 States service at Galveston, Texas, July 14. 
 1865. His health was badly shattered by the 
 long and terrible experiences through which 
 
 11 7 
 
 he had passed, and he suffers to-day from the 
 ill effects of his life as a soldier. 
 
 Mr. Wise was born in Canada in February, 
 1837, a son of Joseph and Madeline Wise. 
 He left his parents when twenty-one years old, 
 went to Beetown, where the father died, and 
 the mother lived to pass the century mark; she 
 died in the home of her son, John E., Sept. 30, 
 1899, at the age of one hundred years, three 
 months and ten days. She was the mother of 
 seven children. Daniel, one of the sons, went 
 into the Union service, and died in hospital, at 
 the age of twenty-five. 
 
 John E. Wise has been twice married. His 
 first wife, Caroline Polkenhorn, died after his 
 return from the war. His present wife was 
 Julia McDaniel. No children were born to 
 the first marriage, but of the second union 
 fourteen children have been born, of whom 
 seven are now living. 
 
 WILLIAM EDWIN HOWE, of Boscobel, 
 is the district attorney for Grant county, and 
 the present mayor of the city in which he re- 
 sides. He is a prominent lawyer, and displays 
 great familiarity with the fundamental prin- 
 ciples of the law, is quick to make application 
 of these to the complicated cases that come be- 
 fore the courts, and is regarded as a rising man 
 in his profession. 
 
 Mr. Howe came to Grant county in April, 
 1892, and located in Boscobel, which has been 
 his home to the present time. He was born 
 in Monona, Clayton Co., Iowa, Jan. 17, 1851, 
 a son of Henry E. and Mary E. (Wood) 
 Howe, natives of Gill, Mass., and Cattaraugus 
 county, N. Y., respectively. They were mar- 
 ried at Galena. 111 ., where they lived some 
 years, in 1850 removing to Clayton county, 
 Iowa, where they engaged in farming, to him 
 a most congenial occupation. In 1870 they 
 came to Madison, Wis., and there Mr. Howe 
 was for a time in business as a groceryman. 
 He died in Madison, at the age of sixty-nine, 
 in 1879, and his death marked the close of a 
 busy and upright life. He was the father of 
 two children by his first wife, one of whom, 
 Leonard Howe, is now living at Owatonna, 
 Minn. Mrs. Mary E. Howe first married a 
 Mr. Purcel. and had two daughters by him: 
 Melissa, Mrs. Skinner, of Madison : and Anna, 
 Mrs. C. W. Turner, of LaCrosse, Wis. Mrs. 
 Howe died in Madison in 1890, at the age of 
 sixty-six. Both she and Mr. Howe were bur- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1 1 8 
 
 ied at Monona, Iowa. They were the parents 
 of six children, five of whom grew to maturity: 
 Elmer L. is the publisher of a paper at Ripon, 
 Wis. William Edwin lives at Boscobel. 
 Frank A. is in the wood and coal business at 
 River Falls, Wis. Carrie L. married Lew F. 
 Porter, of Madison. Eliza M., Mrs. Aithison, 
 is a resident of Madison. 
 
 William Edwin Howe passed his early 
 boyhood on the farm, and attained 1 a strong 
 and vigorous manhood. He had a thirst for 
 knowledge, and made such advancement in the 
 local schools that at the age of eighteen he was 
 able to enter the Freshman class of the Uni- 
 versity of Wisconsin. He was graduated with 
 the class of 1873, with the degree of B. A., took 
 first honors, and displayed marked ability 
 throughout his course. He at once entered the 
 law office of J. H. Carpenter, of Madison, and 
 when the fall term opened became a student in 
 the law school of the University. He was 
 graduated from the law school in 1874, and 
 was at once called to St. Louis to assist in set- 
 tling the estate of his uncle, Lyman Howe, for 
 years an extensive lumber dealer in that city. 
 In 1876 Mr. Howe entered into partnership 
 with Mills Tourtellotte, under the firm name 
 of H owe & Tourtellotte, and opened a law 
 office in LaCrosse, Wis. They practiced to- 
 gether in that city until the firm was dissolved 
 by the election of Mr. Howe as municipal 
 judge. In 1885 Mr. Howe went to Madison, 
 S. Dak., and followed his profession two years, 
 but was obliged to engage in other business on 
 account of ill health; he turned his attention to 
 real estate, and was in a hotel at Madison for 
 a time. In 1892, as noted above, Mr. Howe 
 came to Boscobel and opened a law office. 
 Here he resumed the practice of his profession, 
 and his success was immediate. He now 
 stands in the front rank among the members 
 of the Bar in his district. In 1896 he was 
 elected district attorney, and again in 1898. 
 In the spring of 1899 Mr. Howe was chosen 
 mayor of Boscobel, and he has also served the 
 city two years as city attorney; held that posi- 
 tion also at Madison, S. Dak. Mr. Howe has 
 a good law library, and is very familiar with its 
 contents. He does a general law business, and 
 practices in both the State and United States 
 district and circuit courts. He is a Republican, 
 and during campaign times his voice is fre- 
 quently heard on the hustings. Socially he is 
 
 a Mason and a member of the Independent 
 Order of Foresters. 
 
 Mr. Howe was married June 23, 1875, to 
 Miss Mary I. Carrier, daughter of Terrence 
 Carrier, of Boscobel. Mrs. Howe was born 
 in Janesville, Wis., and is a lady of most esti- 
 mable character. Mr. and Mrs. Howe have had 
 four children : Fannie, the oldest, died at 
 
 Madison, S. Dak., when nine years old, and is 
 buried at Boscobel ; T. H. was born in La- 
 Crosse June 11, 1881; Grace C. and William 
 C, twins, were born in Madison, S. Dak., Aug. 
 8, 18S8. 
 
 ELIJAH TROLLOPE, an energetic and 
 progressive business man of Cassville, Grant 
 county, who is now successfully engaged in the 
 grocery trade, was born in Vermont Jan. 6, 
 1845. Hi s parents, Thomas and Elizabeth 
 (Dewing) Trollope, were natives of England, 
 and on their emigration to the New World first 
 located in Canada, where they made their home 
 for six years before their removal to Vermont. 
 In 1854 they came to Little Grant, Wis., and 
 the father is still a resident of Little Grant, 
 Grant county; the mother died in 1894. 
 
 Elijah Trollope passed his early life princi- 
 pally in Grant county, and in its public schools 
 he received his literary education. On starting 
 out in life for himself he followed farming in 
 Lancaster township for some time, but is now 
 engaged in the grocery business in Cassville. 
 On Jan. 21, 1895, he was married at Beetown 
 to Mrs. Flora A. Hendricks. 
 
 Responding to the President’s call for more 
 volunteers during the Civil war, Mr. Trollope 
 enlisted at Lancaster Jan. 4, 1864, in Company 
 1, 20th Wis. V. I., and remained in the service 
 for some time after hostilities ceased. He took 
 part in the capture of Fort Morgan and Span- 
 ish Fort, was later transferred to Company G, 
 35th Wis. V. I., and was honorably discharged 
 at Brownsville, Texas, March 11, 1866, after 
 which he returned to Boscobel, Grant county. 
 He is now one of the leading members of 
 Joseph Mueller Post, No. 218, G. A. R., of 
 Cassville, in which he is filling the office of 
 adjutant. 
 
 JOHN ANDERSON. It is astonishing 
 to witness the success of young men who have 
 emigrated to America without capital, and, 
 through their own unaided efforts, have be- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 come quite well-to-do. The readiness with 
 which they adapt themselves to circumstances 
 and take advantage of opportunities offered 
 brings to them success and wins them a place 
 among the leading men of the community in 
 which they reside. In John Anderson, of 
 Patch Grove township, Grant county, we find 
 a worthy representative of this class. He was 
 born in Ireland in 1834, though his family is 
 not of Irish ancestry, but, as the name indi- 
 cates, of Scotch origin. In 1852 he emigrated 
 to the United States, and, after spending some 
 time in New York, came to Wisconsin, since 
 which time he has been a resident of Grant 
 county. He made his home for a while in 
 Wyalusing township, and since 1861 has lived 
 in Patch Grove township, where he owns and 
 operates a good farm. 
 
 On July 24, 1862, Mr. Anderson was united 
 in marriage with Mrs. Cornelia W. Stiles, wid- 
 ow of Denniston Stiles, and a daughter of 
 Henry Patch, a well-known pioneer of Grant 
 county, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this 
 work. Mrs. Anderson was born June 28, 
 1832, and was only four years old when 
 brought by her parents to Grant county. By 
 her first marriage she had three children, one 
 of whom, Chauncey Stiles, is still living. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have been born ten 
 children, and seven still survive. 
 
 Mr. Anderson began life for himself a poor 
 boy, but by industry and good management he 
 has secured a competence, and is now one of 
 the substantial and prosperous men of his com- 
 munity, as well as one of its most prominent 
 and influential citizens. Both he and his wife 
 are widely and favorably known, and it is safe 
 to say that no couple in the county are held 
 in higher regard. 
 
 HOMER M. PAUL, a retired farmer, now 
 living at No. 12 Prairie avenue, Janesville, 
 Rock county, was born in the town of Chili, 
 Monroe Co., N. Y., Oct. 2, 1852, and is a son 
 of Lemuel and Susan (Burrows) Paul, both 
 natives of New York. They had three chil- 
 dren, two of whom are now living : Adelbert 
 R., of Davenport, Iowa; and Homer M. 
 
 The father was a farmer, and a man of un- 
 usual business capacity. He came to Wiscon- 
 sin in 1870, and located in Janesville, buying 
 a farm which was then in the extreme southern 
 part of the city, and contained 500 acres. He 
 cultivated same until his death, in 1896, when 
 
 1 1 9 
 
 he was over eighty years of age. His first wife, 
 the mother of Homer M., died in 1858, when 
 thirty-four years old. They were not identified 
 with any church, but held to the Baptist faith. 
 He was a Republican. Lor his second wife 
 Mr. Paul married Miss Lucretia R. Paul, and 
 had by her a family of two sons and two daugh- 
 ters, all of whom grew to maturity : Louis ; 
 Edward H. ; Vinnie May, wife of Charles 
 Wright; and Clara B., wife of John Cripe. 
 His father, Zebulon Paul, who was a farmer, 
 died in New York when eighty years of age. 
 He was the father of six children. Grandfather 
 Burrows died early in life, and scarcely any- 
 thing - is known concerning him. 
 
 Homer M. Paul lived in Monroe countv. 
 N. Y., until he was eighteen years old, and had 
 very good opportunities for obtaining an ed- 
 ucation. He was reared on the farm, and at- 
 tended Hicks College, a somewhat celebrated 
 local institution. In 1870 he came to Janes- 
 ville in company with his parents, and attended 
 Fellows College one winter. Then he took 
 up farming, and lived at home until he was 
 twenty-five years old. His father gave him 
 eighty acres, and to this he has added another 
 eighty, having a fine farm in Section 7, La 
 Prairie township, and also owning three other 
 eighty-acre tracts in the town of Janesville. 
 He has always followed farming, and is a skill- 
 ful and successful tiller of the soil. 
 
 Mr. Paul and Miss Sarah Louise Read were 
 married Nov. 14, 1877. She is a daughter of 
 William H. and Margerie A. (Ercanbrack) 
 Read. They have had four children, Alta 
 Ann, Susan Ada, Gertie Blanche, and Marion 
 Ava. Mr. Paul is a member of Wisconsin 
 Lodge, No. 14, I. O. O. F., and is a stanch 
 Republican. He has served as supervisor of 
 La Prairie township three terms, and is highly 
 regarded by his friends and neighbors. Mr. 
 and Airs. Paul are genial and hearty people, 
 hospitable in their home, and friendly to all. 
 They are full of cheer and encouragement, and 
 carry sunshine in their lives. 
 
 Mrs. Paul’s parents were early settlers in 
 Rock county. They had eight children, all 
 but one now living: Martha Elizabeth, wife of 
 E. E. Eddington; George Warren, on the old 
 homestead; John R., of La Prairie township; 
 Sarah L.. wife of the gentleman whose name 
 introduces this article; William Arthur, of La 
 Prairie township; Mary, deceased; Jennie, 
 wife of Charles Campbell, of Beloit; and 
 
1 20 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Thornton, of La Prairie, who married Miss 
 Mathie Finch, and lives on the old homestead. 
 Mrs. Paul’s father, William H. Read, died in 
 1880, eleven days before completing his sixty- 
 second year. Pier mother died in June, 1886, 
 aged fifty-seven. They were among the early 
 settlers of La Prairie township, and were life- 
 long' agriculturists. He bought government 
 land, and in the early days hauled his grain 
 to Milwaukee, and brought back supplies. Plis 
 father, John Read, was a native of Bangor, 
 Maine, where he died when eighty years old, 
 from injuries received in falling down stairs. 
 Mrs. Paul's maternal grandfather, Philip 
 Ercanbrack, was born near Gloversville, N. Y., 
 and ran a canal-boat; he lived to old age, and 
 his parents both lived to be over ninety. 
 
 JOSEPPI EMERSON, D. D., LL. D, de- 
 ceased. This distinguished representative of 
 classical learning and philosophical culture was 
 the occupant of the chair of Greek at Beloit 
 College for more than fifty-two years, and his 
 name was associated with the history of the 
 college from its beginning. 
 
 Dr. Emerson was born in Norfolk, Conn., 
 May 28, 1821, and was a son of Dr. Ralph 
 Emerson, a native of Hollis, N. Id., a Pro- 
 fessor in Andover Theological Seminary for 
 twenty-five years, and previously Pastor of 
 the Congregational Church at Norfolk, Conn., 
 for thirteen years. Dr. Ralph Emerson mar- 
 ried Eliza Rockwell, a native of Colebrook, 
 Conn., and they were the parents of nine chil- 
 dren, three of whom are now living : Samuel 
 
 Emerson, of the University of Virgviia ; Ralph 
 Emerson, a manufacturer at Rockford, 111 ., 
 associated with the Emerson Manufacturing 
 Co. ; and Elizabeth, wife of Rev. J. S. Hum- 
 phrey, of Oak Park, 111 . Mary, wife of Prof. 
 Joseph Haven, of the Chicago Theological 
 Seminary, died December 31, 1896. Char- 
 lotte, wife of Rev. Dr. W. D. Brown, of East 
 Orange, N. J., was the first president of the 
 Federation of Women’s Clubs of the United 
 States; she died in February, 1895. Rev. 
 Daniel Emerson was pastor of a number of 
 churches in Missouri, Michigan and Ohio. 
 Rockwell Emerson was a lawyer in New York 
 City. Ebenezer Porter Emerson was a farrm-r 
 in Winnebago county. 111 ., and an owner of 
 real estate in different parts of the State; he 
 died in June, 1891. Rev. Ralph Emerson 
 came to Illinois in 1857 and located at Rock- 
 
 ford, where he died in 1863, at the age of 
 seventy-five. His widow survived until 1875, 
 attaining the age of seventy-nine. She was 
 a member of the Congregational Church, in 
 which her husband was an honored min- 
 ister. 
 
 Deacon Daniel Emerson, the father of 
 Ralph, was the leading citizen of his native 
 town, Hollis, N. IT, represented his town nine- 
 teen times in the State Legislature, and served 
 in the State Constitutional Convention. He 
 was a Revolutionary soldier and participated 
 in three wars, each time as captain, the third 
 time going out in command of a company. 
 He was a farmer, and also had an interest in 
 a store. He died in 1820, at the age of sev- 
 enty-four. His father, Rev. Daniel Emerson, 
 was born in Reading, Mass. He served as a 
 chaplain in the French war. The history of 
 the Emerson family in this country begins with 
 Thomas Emerson, who settled in Ipswich, 
 Mass., in 1638. His son Joseph came with 
 him from Hertfordshire, England, when he 
 was eighteen years old. In England the Em- 
 erson family are clearly traced laack to Ralph 
 Emerson, in the time of Henry VIII, in 1535. 
 The family is of Norman antecedents, and its 
 coat of arms is a compound of those of English, 
 Norwegian and Danish royal families. It was 
 presented to “Raffe” Emerson in England, and 
 was brought to Massachusetts, where it may 
 be seen on the tombstone of Thomas Emerson, 
 at Ipswich. Joseph Emerson, son of Thomas, 
 became a clergyman at Milton, Mass., and was 
 in charge of the parish there when the town 
 was burned by the Indians in King Philip’s 
 war. He went to Concord, Mass., where the 
 parents of his wife, Elizabeth Buckley, lived. 
 Her father, Rev. Edward Buckley, was a son 
 of Rev. Peter Buckley, the first settler of that 
 town. 
 
 Martin Rockwell, a farmer, of Colebrook, 
 Conn., the maternal grandfather of Prof. 
 Emerson, of Beloit, was born in 1772, and died 
 in 1851. He came of a good old Puritan line. 
 His ancestor six generations back. Deacon 
 William Rockwell, was a member of a church 
 formed in Plymouth, England. This church 
 elected Messrs. Warham and Maverick their 
 pastor and teacher, respectively, emigrated to 
 this country in 1630 and settled in Dorchester, 
 Mass. In 1636 the greater part of the church 
 moved to Windsor, Conn. From that point 
 Samuel Rockwell, the father of Martin Rock- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 I 2 I 
 
 well, moved to Colebrook in 1776, and was the 
 fifth settler in that town. 
 
 Joseph Emerson was born at Norfolk, 
 Conn., where he lived until nine years old, 
 when he was taken by his parents to Andover, 
 Mass., and there attained his majority. He 
 fitted for college in Phillips Academy, a fa- 
 mous old school at Andover, entered Yale in 
 *1837, and was graduated in 1841, after which 
 he was a teacher for one year at New London, 
 Conn. He went back to Andover, and studied 
 theology in the Seminary there for two years, 
 returning to Yale, where he taught four years. 
 In May, 1848, he came to Beloit, Wis., and 
 for fifty-two years, until his death, was Pro- 
 fessor of Greek in Beloit College, being a mem- 
 ber of the first Faculty of that institution. In 
 addition to his teaching and writing for Be- 
 loit College the Professor did much preaching 
 and lecturing in Wisconsin and the West. A 
 volume of his “Lectures and Sermons” was 
 published in 1897. ' One of the finest buildings 
 of Beloit College, built by Dr. D. K. Pearsons, 
 w r as named “Emerson Hall” in his honor. 
 Prof. Emerson died of general debility August 
 4, 1900, honored and mourned by the college, 
 the community, and the educational world at 
 large. 
 
 Dr. Emerson and Miss Mary Cordelia 
 North were married Sept. 1, 1852, at New Brit- 
 ain, Conn. Mrs. Emerson was the daughter 
 of Alvin and Clarissa (Burnam) North. 
 They had the following children : Ralph 
 
 Chapin, born March 20, 1855, died Aug. 31, 
 1855; Charles Alvin, born Aug. 29, 1856, is 
 now a druggist in Beloit ; Clara Eliza, born 
 April 4, 1866, is a teacher at New Haven, 
 Conn. Charles Alvin married Miss Delia 
 Blodgett, and they have two children, Charles 
 Alvin, Jr., and Cordelia. The first wife of 
 Prof. Emerson died Nov. 13, 1879, and on July 
 9, 1884, he married Miss Frances Helen Brace, 
 a daughter of Harvey and Hannah (Thomp- 
 son) Brace. The latter, in connection with 
 her husband, founded the Art Department of 
 Beloit College, whose art collections, secured 
 by their united efforts, are of great value. 
 
 -OmNCY o. SUTHERLAND, M. D., is 
 a well-known and eminently successful physi- 
 cian of Janesville, Rock county, whose reputa- 
 tion _as a skillful practitioner extends beyond 
 the confines of his native State. He is a son 
 of Chester and Sarah A. (Rood) Sutherland, 
 
 and a brother of that distinguished Rock coun- 
 ty lawyer, George G. Sutherland, whose biog- 
 raphy appears upon another page. His family 
 history is there given, with more or less at- 
 tention to detail, and for some interesting par- 
 ticulars in connection therewith the reader is 
 referred to that sketch. 
 
 Dr. Sutherland was second, in the order 
 of birth, in a family of six children — five sons 
 and one daughter. He was born April 13, 
 1848, in the town of Fitchburg, Dane county, 
 his boyhood was passed upon the paternal farm, 
 and his young ideas were first taught to 
 "shoot” in the district school. Later he ma- 
 triculated at the State University, at Madison, 
 entering the preparatory and graduating from 
 the academic department, in the class of 1871. 
 The bent of his mind was wholly toward the 
 study of medicine, and he pursued his profes- 
 sional studies at Hahnemann College, Chicago, 
 receiving his degree from that institution in 
 1874. He at once commenced practice at 
 Janesville, in which city his native talent, aided 
 and developed by close study and a resolute 
 determination to keep in close touch with the 
 progress of the times, has won for him a large 
 clientele and an enviable reputation. 
 
 At the very outset of his career, which was 
 destined to prove so successful, the Doctor 
 married Miss Addie Green, a daughter of 
 Timothy and Jane (Jessup) Green. The issue 
 of this union has been three children, Charles, 
 Frederick and Ella. The daughter is yet a 
 pupil in the Janesville high school, while the 
 two sons are studying medicine at Chicago. 
 
 Dr. Sutherland is a member of numerous 
 medical societies, and has been the recipient of 
 many honors at the hands of his professional 
 brethren. He was for several terms president 
 of the Rock County Medical Society, and is an 
 honored member of the A isconsin Homeo- 
 pathic Medical Society, in which he has held 
 every office, as well as of the American Insti- 
 tute of Homeopathy, the American Public 
 Health Association, and the Pan-American 
 Public Health Association. At present (1901) 
 he is a member of the Wisconsin State Board 
 of Health, and has rendered most valuable ser- 
 vice to the city of Janesville in the position of 
 president of the board of education. He is 
 fond of social pleasures and a delightful host, 
 although the many and exacting calls upon his 
 time prevent his devoting as much time as he 
 would like to relaxation and recreation. He is 
 
122 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a Master Mason ; in politics a Republican ; and 
 in religious faith a Congregationalist, both him- 
 self and his wife being members of that com- 
 munion. His pleasant home is at No. 306 
 South Second street, where he erected a hand- 
 some residence in 1889. He is possessed of 
 a comfortable fortune. 
 
 GEORGE GEER SUTHERLAND. Al- 
 though not yet past middle life, Mr. Suther- 
 land has won for himself an enviable position 
 at the Rock County Bar, and is one of Janes- 
 ville’s most substantial and influential citizens. 
 His family is of Scottish origin, although both 
 his grandfather and father were born in 
 New York. The former, Joshua Sutherland, 
 was a native of Dutchess county, that State. 
 He was a soldier in the war of .1812. By oc- 
 cupation lie was a farmer and millwright, and 
 he was held in high regard by his neighbors 
 as a citizen, a man and a patriot. He was 
 the father of a large family, and died after 
 reaching threescore years and ten. 
 
 Mr. Sutherland's father, Chester Suther- 
 land, was a carpenter and joiner and cabinet- 
 maker by trade, and came from New York to 
 Wisconsin while yet a young - man, locating 
 first at Milwaukee. He bought 320 acres of 
 land in the town of Fitchburg, Dane county, 
 four miles from Madison, to which he subse- 
 quently added other small parcels by pur- 
 chase. He died there, in 1889, at the ripe old 
 age of seventy-four. His widow, Mrs. Sarah 
 Ann (Rood) Sutherland, is yet living, in 
 Madison, and is a devout member of the 
 Methodist Church, as was also her husband. 
 He was a man of no little influence in the com- 
 munity, his bright mind and blameless life 
 alike commanding respect, and filled various 
 local offices, among them those of supervisor, 
 county superintendent of schools, and town- 
 ship treasurer. His wife was born in Ver- 
 mont, and is, like himself, of Scottish ancestry. 
 Her father, Orlin Rood, migrated from the 
 Green Mountain State to Illinois, bringing his 
 family with him, and found employment on 
 the building of the Illinois & Michigan canal. 
 He bought considerable real property in Chi- 
 cago, as well as valuable pine lands in Wis- 
 consin, and was the owner of several sawmills. 
 
 George G. Sutherland' was one of a family 
 of five sons and one daughter, all but one yet 
 living. Two elder brothers — Henry J. and 
 Quincy O. — -live in Wisconsin, the former near 
 
 Madison, and the latter at Janesville. Another 
 brother, Albert W., has his home in Randolph, 
 Iowa, while the only sister, Annie E., is the 
 wife of George Gill, of Madison. Our sub- 
 ject was born in Fitchburg March 21, 1851, 
 and was educated at the State University at 
 Madison, graduating from the academic de- 
 partment in 1872, and from the law school two 
 years later. The following eighteen months' 
 he devoted to gaining a thorough knowledge 
 of practice, in the office of J. D. Gurnee, Escp, 
 of Madison, and in 1876 began the active prac- 
 tice of his profession at Janesville. He has 
 continued to follow same since that date, and 
 is at present senior member of the firm of 
 Sutherland & Nolan. 
 
 Mr. Sutherland has promoted and aided in 
 the organization of many important commer- 
 cial, financial and mechanical enterprises in 
 the city of his residence. Among these may 
 he named the Janesville Cotton Mills, which 
 employ from 350 to 450 hands in the manu- 
 facture of brown sheetings ; the Bower City 
 Bank ; and the Choate-Hollister Furniture Co. 
 Of each of these he was one of the incorpora- 
 tors, and in each is a director, being president 
 of the first named. His rare business ability, 
 no less than his recognized high standard of 
 fidelity to trusts reposed in him, admirably 
 qualifies him for positions of such high respon- 
 sibility. Mr. Sutherland is also a large owner 
 of real estate. He is a Mason, of the thirty- 
 second degree, being a member of Western 
 Star Lodge, No. 14, A. F. & A. M. ; Janes- 
 ville Chapter, No. 5, R. A. M. ; Janesville 
 Commandery, No. 2, Iv. T. ; and the Milwau- 
 kee Consistory. He is a Democrat, but has 
 never either held or sought political office. 
 
 Our subject resides, with his wife and three 
 children, at No. 256 Park Place, in what was 
 formerly known as “the Wheelock Place.” 
 Mrs. Sutherland before marriage was Miss 
 Agnes Sayre, daughter of David F. and Sarah 
 E. (Ely) Sayre. Their marriage was cele- 
 brated on Tune 30, 1880, and, as has been said, 
 has been blessed with three children, Sarah, 
 Clarence and Frank. Mrs. Sutherland is a 
 member of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 GEORGE W. HALL, Sr., of Evansville, 
 Rock county, has had a varied and eventful 
 history. He has thoroughly tried all changes 
 of fortune, and knows by sad experience the 
 meaning of the “ups and downs” of life. FTe 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 12 
 
 has made money, and scattered it to the winds. 
 He began life for himself with no capital but 
 his ambitious spirit and clever brain. Drifting 
 into the show business, and finding himself 
 peculiarly fitted for it, he made it his life oc- 
 cupation, and has but recently retired from the 
 sawdust arena. He has now disposed of all his 
 circus property, and is living in Evansville, 
 with extensive real-estate investments in Rock 
 county and elsewhere. 
 
 Mr. Hall was born in Lowell, Mass., Dec. 
 5, 1837, and is a son of Joseph B. and Susan 
 (Nichols) Hall, both natives of New Hamp- 
 shire. Six children were born to them : George 
 W. ; Benjamin Franklin, who during the Civil 
 war became a member of the 13th Wis. V. 1 ., 
 and died in the hospital at Nashville; Orrin, of 
 Oshkosh, Wis.; James, a farmer at Antigo, 
 Wis.; and Byron and Charles, both of whom 
 died when children, from scarlet fever. The 
 father was a watchman at Lowell, Mass., when 
 a young man, and then went to Manchester, 
 N. H., where he ran a stationary engine. In 
 mature life he became a partner in a sash, door 
 and blind factory, under the firm name of Bald- 
 win, Stephens & Hall. The factory burned 
 down, and Mr. Hall became connected with a 
 car-making firm at Bakersville, N. H. He af- 
 terward owned a steam mill on the Merrimac 
 river, opposite Manchester, until it was de- 
 stroyed by fire. He owned a farm at Hills- 
 boro, N. LL, and in 1859 came to Rock county, 
 Wis., and bought a farm at Magnolia, where 
 lie spent the last years of his life. He died in 
 1882, at the age of seventy-four. His widow 
 survived a number of years, dying in 1895, at 
 the age of eighty. He was a Baptist, and she 
 a Methodist. 
 
 John Hall, the grandfather of George W., 
 Sr., was a native of New Hampshire, and 
 came of English stock. He was a farmer, 
 and died in middle life, in his native State. 
 He was the father of four sons and one daugh- 
 ter. His father was a veteran of the Revolu- 
 tion, and for many years drew a pension for his 
 services in that struggle. 
 
 Samuel Nichols, the father of Susan, men- 
 tioned above, was a native of Massachusetts, 
 and of Scottish descent. He was a farmer in 
 the town of Stoddard, and died in his native 
 State when between ninety and one hundred 
 years old. He had four sons and one daughter. 
 His father also served in the Revolution, and 
 drew a pension. 
 
 George W. Hall spent his earlier years in 
 
 Lowell and Manchester, until he reached the 
 ag'e of ten. Then an uncontrollable longing to 
 be with the circus manifested itself, and he 
 would run away from home in the spring, 
 spend the summer with some circus, and then 
 return home in the fall to spend the winter at 
 home. He did this until he was about seven- 
 teen, when he graduated from the district 
 school, as he himself says, by having a fracas 
 with the teacher, and with that he made his way 
 to Boston, and found work in a candy factory 
 at $4 • a month. When he had accumulated 
 $13.64 he quit. He went to Concord, and 
 started peddling popcorn on the trains and at 
 various towns. In 1855 he took himself to 
 New York, and followed the same business 
 during the winter, spending the summer season 
 with various circus organizations. From these 
 experiences he acquired the name of “Pop-corn 
 George," a name that he has never lost through 
 all the mutations of fortune. 
 
 Mr. Hall joined the Dick-Sands wagon 
 show in New York in i860, came by wagon 
 road through Canada into the West, and spent 
 the following winter with his father in Mag- 
 nolia, Wis. He followed the side show busi- 
 ness with various organizations for several 
 years. He was with Jesse Maybell, and after 
 leaving him organized a show of his own, and 
 attached himself to the great Bailey show, and 
 later in the same season to the Van Amberg 
 organization. He left that organization at 
 Cleveland, and made the round of the county 
 fairs. He spent the next winter at Magnolia, 
 and occupied himself as a trapper. The next 
 season he was with the Orton side show, left 
 them at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and joined Howe's 
 European Show, and when the county fair 
 season came 011 he made that route. In the 
 late fall he went to Madison, Wis., and had a 
 museum during - the winter. Subsequently he 
 was with Frank Howe's show, then started an- 
 other museum combination, and conducted it 
 at Madison during the winter. The following 
 year he and John Long, of Janesville, organ- 
 ized a show, which they ran through the lead- 
 mining regions of Wisconsin, and came back to 
 Janesville in June completely bankrupt. Mr. 
 Hall reorganized it as a side show, put it 
 alongside of the Jim French circus, and trav- 
 eled in this way until the fair season began. 
 This was the most prosperous year that he had 
 so far experienced. He closed the season with 
 $4,800 and a farm which he had bought and 
 paid for, all after his June failure! 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Hall had a side show of his own with 
 MoKinzie <& Johnson, prominent circus men, 
 and ran with them for several years. In 1881 
 he organized a large circus for himself. He 
 had a circus, menagerie and museum, and trav- 
 eled with same until 1885, visiting every State 
 in the Union excepting Montana, Nevada and 
 California. He crossed the Atlantic, and the 
 Caribbean Sea in 1885, and showed in all the 
 West Indies, including the Bahama Islands. 
 The next year he returned to the United States 
 and leased his show to George Dellaven, and 
 at a later period sold it to him. For five years 
 the show traveled under the name of “Col. 
 George W. Hall's United States Railroad 
 Shows.” In 1887 our subject bought the Bign- 
 ley show, reorganized it, and conducted it for 
 two years. In the fall of 1889 he formed a 
 partnership with Samuel McFlynn, and was 
 with him until the summer of 1891, -when 
 he sold to Mr. McFlynn. He formed a 
 partnership afterward with his son Charles, 
 reorganized a show and went South, and re- 
 mained in that region two years. He after- 
 ward bought his son’s interests, and continued 
 alone in the business until 1898. In 1897 he 
 went to Mexico, crossing at El Paso and 
 Juarez, and showed about a year in that coun- 
 try, with Orrin Brothers. They spent six 
 weeks in the city of Mexico, and visited all 
 the important Mexican cities except Tampico. 
 In 1898 Air. Hall disposed of all his show in- 
 terests, and is now making his home in the 
 city of Evansville, where he has a fine residence 
 in the southern part of the town, surrounded 
 by twenty acres of tobacco land. He has ex- 
 tensive real-estate investments in Rock county, 
 and owns altogether 466 acres in the county. 
 He owns fine residences in Tampa, Fla., in Den- 
 ver. Colo., and in Anoka county, Minnesota. 
 
 Air. Hall and Aliss Sarah Wilder were mar- 
 ried in Alarch, 1855. Mrs. Hall is a daughter 
 of Levi Wilder, and has been a helpful, com- 
 panion to her ambitious and enterprising hus- 
 band. They have had four children, George 
 Mb, Ida, Charles and Jessie. George married 
 Aliss Lida Wood, and they have three children, 
 Frank, Grace and Charles Russell. Ida mar- 
 ried a Air. Blair, and died when thirty-three 
 years old. Charles died in Meridian, Miss., 
 where he was a partner with “Sam” McFlynn 
 at the time of his illness and death. Jessie 
 married Frank Alacart, and is the mother of 
 two children, Fred and Vivian. 
 
 Air. Hall is the oldest showman now liv- 
 ing, in the point of years of continuous travel. 
 He claims to be the first person to introduce 
 the breeding of Poland-China hogs in Rock 
 county, and one of the first to encourage to- 
 bacco raising on a large scale. He has proved 
 that marsh tiling is a success — a fact which will 
 be of interest to the farmers of Rock county — 
 having made the marsh land the most product- 
 ive land in his locality'. In his extensive travels 
 Air. Hall has had many thrilling experiences 
 that would be deeply interesting if submitted 
 to the public. However, he prefers not to ex- 
 ploit his adventures in a boastful or sensational 
 manner. 
 
 JOHN M. and GEORGE H. ROBINSON 
 are energetic and progressive young farmers 
 in the town of Platteville, Grant county, and 
 have made many friends by their open and 
 manly conduct. 
 
 John AI. Robinson was born in October, 
 1862, in a log cabin near the site of the house 
 where he now lives, and is a son of Thomas and 
 Ann (Hilton) Robinson. The father was born 
 in Hook, Yorkshire, England, in April, 1815, 
 and the mother in Lincolnshire, England, 
 Nov. 10, 1818. They were reared in their 
 home country, were married in 1839, and 
 lived in England for two years afterward, 
 coming to America and to Grant county, 
 Wis., in 1841. They settled on reserved 
 
 mineral land, which he* purchased from 
 the government at a later period. He bought 
 more land, and before his death was the 
 owner of 500 acres in one body, was a success- 
 ful farmer, and became very wealthy through 
 his own industry. He built a log cabin, which 
 was their home until 1863, in which year he 
 erected a large brick house, and there made 
 his home until his death, July 14, 1898. He 
 was widely known as an honest and conscien- 
 tious citizen, was always ready to help in the 
 establishment of schools and churches, and 
 there is a church building on his land for which 
 he and Richard Huntington together gave the 
 site ; they also dedicated the cemetery. His 
 worthy wife survived him one year, and died 
 Aug. 16, 1899. They had nine children, seven 
 of whom are living: (1) Sarah, born in Eng- 
 land in 1840, married James Huntington, and 
 settled on a farm near Darlington, where she 
 died in 1873, leaving seven children — Allen, 
 of Elk Grove ; Bell, Airs. George Turner, whose 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 125 
 
 husband is sheriff of Lafayette county, and 
 lives at Darlington; Amelia, wife of George 
 Booth, a Grant county farmer; Albert, of 
 Darlington; Charles (he visited the Paris Ex- 
 position in the summer of 1900) ; Wilbur, a 
 farmer in Lafayette county; and Frank, a resi- 
 dent of Wood county, Wis. (2) Miss Jane, 
 born in Grant county in 1844, is at home, and 
 she and her sister Amelia together cared for 
 their aged parents during their lives. (3) Mary, 
 born in May, 1846, married Thomas Edgar, 
 of Grant county, and they settled in Kansas, 
 where she died May 26, 1899, leaving five chil- 
 dren, Lillie (wife of Charles Kuhlman, of 
 Oketo, Ivans.), George, William, Florence, and 
 Olive. (4) Thomas A., born in October, 1849, 
 married Miss May Topins, of Grant county, 
 who died on his farm in Lafayette county, leav- 
 ing one daughter, Laura M., now Mrs. Newell, 
 of Iowa. Mr. Robinson later married a sister 
 of his first wife, and is now living on a 240- 
 acre farm in Grundy county, Iowa. (5) George 
 H. was born in 1851. (6) Charles W. was 
 
 born in December, 1853, is unmarried, and is 
 settled on one of the home farms. (7) James 
 Richard, born in October, 1855, is a partner of 
 his brother Charles. (8) Amelia A., born in 
 November, 1857, obtained her education in the 
 home school, and is a lady of culture and re- 
 finement ; her kindly presence is felt and ap- 
 preciated by the family. (9) John M. Robin- 
 son is the youngest of a large family; he was a 
 student for one year at the Platteville Normal, 
 grew up at home, and became manager of the 
 paternal estate when quite young. After the 
 death of the parents the four sons continued 011 
 the large estate ; they have three houses and a 
 number of barns. Charles and Richard farm 
 eighty acres, which they purchased, adjoining 
 the old homestead. John and George are part- 
 ners in the management of the old homestead, 
 and are doing well. The Robinsons are one of 
 the old pioneer families that settled in Grant 
 county when Wisconsin was mostly given over 
 to the wilderness. The family are all Republi- 
 cans. and the father was roadmaster for seven 
 years. 
 
 J. L. FINLEY, a prosperous farmer and 
 prominent resident of Cassville, is one of the 
 pioneers of Grant county, having been identi- 
 fied with its interests for half a century. He 
 is a native of Missouri, born at Ste. Genevieve, 
 Dec. 3. 1833. 
 
 John Finley, his father, was born in Finley- 
 ville, Washington Co., Penn., in 1794, and in 
 that State grew to manhood and was married, 
 his first wife dying in Washington county. At 
 an early day he moved to Corydon, Ind., where 
 he wedded Miss Margaret Thompson, who was 
 born in Louisville, Ky., in 1802. There he 
 was engaged in merchandising for two years, 
 and later conducted a store at De-Witt, Ark., 
 after which he moved to Ste. Genevieve, Mo., 
 where he was similarly employed. In 1834 he 
 moved to Dubuque, Iowa, and became one of 
 the early merchants of that place, conducting 
 a general supply store for about four years. 
 In 1838 he located on the Mississippi river, at 
 what became known as Finley's Landing, 
 named in his honor, and there he kept a wood 
 yard for five years. At the end of that time 
 he located on a farm at Durango, in Dubuque 
 county, Iowa, where he made his home until 
 his death, in 1847. Subsequently his widow 
 and family settled near Spechts Ferry, on the 
 Mississippi river, and during the season of 
 1849-50 her son J. L. had charge of the ferry. 
 In 1851 the family moved to Potosi, Wis., and 
 Mr. Finley has since made his home in Grant 
 county. The mother died in Waterloo town- 
 ship Aug. 22, i860. The children were Thomp- 
 son, who died at Finley’s Landing in June, 
 1842, at the age of seventeen years; Wilmot, 
 who died in Hurricane, Grant county, in 1855, 
 aged twenty-eight ; Margaret, who died at the 
 age of twenty-four years; J. L., whose name 
 introduces this sketch ; Howard, who enlisted 
 at Waterloo, in 1862, in the 25th Wis. V. I., 
 and was killed at Decatur, Ga. ; Mrs. Julia 
 Engles, a resident of Oelwein, Iowa ; and Mrs. 
 Isabelle McDowell, a resident of Missouri. 
 The rest of the family, which numbered eleven 
 children, died young. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of J. L. Finley were 
 principally passed in Iowa, and in the spring of 
 1851 he came with the family to Grant county, 
 Wis., where he has since successfully engaged 
 in agricultural pursuits. In 1855 he took up 
 his residence in Waterloo township, where he 
 opened up and improved a farm, making his 
 home there until his removal to Cassville, in 
 1879. He still carries on farming. 
 
 Mr. Finley was married in Beetown, in 
 1855, to Miss Eliza J. Vedder, a native of 
 Chautauqua county, N. Y., and a daughter of 
 A. W. and Susan (Hogle) Vedder, the former 
 born in Cortland county, same State, in 1809, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1 26 
 
 the latter in Genesee county, in 1820. Her 
 paternal grandfather, John Veclder, was one 
 of the early settlers of New York. Her ma- 
 ternal grandfather, Andrew Hogle, a Revolu- 
 tionary hero, came to Grant county, Wis., in 
 1842, and located in Lancaster township. Dur- 
 ing 1841 and 1842 he carried the mail between 
 Galena and Prairie du Chien, and also drove a 
 stage and engaged in farming. In 1875 he 
 moved to Le Mars, Iowa, where he made his 
 home until his death, in 1897. His wife died 
 in 1894. at an advanced age. In 1842 A. W. 
 Vedder, father of Mrs. Finley, came to Grant 
 county from New York, making the journey 
 from Chicago with teams. He located at Bee- 
 town, where he owned and operated a farm of 
 200 acres, and, being a machinist, he manu- 
 factured the first threshing machine used in 
 Grant county. He worked at his trade in the 
 government employ two years. His death oc- 
 curred in Beetown, in May, 1898, and his wife 
 died in October, 1896. Their children were 
 Jefferson, a resident of Dakota; Mrs. Eliza J. 
 Finley; Mrs. Irene Wood, who lives on the old 
 home farm; and Mrs. Ella Alsip, a resident of 
 Bushnell, S. Dak. Mrs. Finley also has a half 
 brother and sister, A. J. Vedder, of Mason 
 City, Iowa; and Mrs. Lucy Gardner, of Lan- 
 caster, Wis. Four children have been born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Finley, namely: Clara B., now 
 the wife of Frank Teasclale, of Cassville; 
 James, who wedded Mary Johnson, and lives 
 in Twin Valley, Minn. ; Myrta, wife of Willis 
 C. Nickles, of Cassville; and Effie D., at home. 
 
 \\ hen President Lincoln issued a call for 
 more volunteers to aid in crushing out the Re- 
 bellion, Mr. Finley enlisted in August, 1862, in 
 Company H, 25th Wis. V. I., for three years, 
 and on Aug. 29, 1864, he re-enlisted, in Com- 
 pany E, 43d Wis. V. I., for one year or during 
 the war, being sworn into the LTnited States 
 service at Milwaukee. His regiment became a 
 part of the Army of the Potomac. For some 
 time he was stationed at Johnsonville, Tenn., 
 on detached duty, and also near Nashville, 
 where he assisted in the construction of block 
 house No. 1. He was honorably discharged at 
 Nashville July 6, 1865, and mustered out at 
 Milwaukee. In politics Mr. Finley is a Repub- 
 lican, and he most efficiently filled the office of 
 constable for four years while a resident of 
 Waterloo township, and three years in Cass- 
 ville. He and his wife are widely and favor- 
 ably known, and are numbered among the 
 
 leading citizens of the county, as well as among 
 its honored pioneers. Mrs. Finley is a promi- 
 nent member of the Order of the Eastern Star, 
 in which she has served as matron and associate 
 matron, and is also a great worker in Woman’s 
 Relief Corps, No. 47, of Lancaster. In her 
 youth she was a school teacher. 
 
 SHASTA E. BARNARD, of Evansville, 
 Rock county, is a member of the well-known 
 tobacco house of Barnard & Wilder, and is a 
 man of fine business habits and unswerving 
 integrity. By strict attention to the work be- 
 fore him and reliable methods he has won a 
 name and a standing of which any man might 
 be proud. 
 
 Mr. Barnard was born in the town of 
 Porter, Rock Co., Wis., at the family home, 
 four miles east of Evansville, and is a son of 
 Elliott D. and Susan (Webb) Barnard, both 
 natives of the State of New York. The family 
 history and antecedents of the Evansville 
 Barnards are fully set forth in the biographical 
 sketch of E. D. Barnard, which appears else- 
 where. 
 
 Shasta E. Barnard spent his childhood and 
 youth on the farm in Porter township, and 
 grew to manhood with the privileges and op- 
 portunities of the farmer boy for the acquire- 
 ment of a sound physique and the accumula- 
 tion of a vital force that should last through, 
 a hard and busy lifetime. He attended the 
 district school and the seminary at Evansville, 
 and was engaged in farming until 1881. His 
 father had moved into Evansville the previous 
 year, and was engaged in the tobacco business 
 with Thomas Hutson. Shasta Barnard be- 
 came interested in the business in 1881, and 
 bought out the interest of Mr. Hutson some 
 years later, the firm then becoming E. D. 
 Barnard & Son. They continued in business 
 until 1893, when the personnel was changed by 
 the retirement of the senior Barnard and the 
 entrance of Mr. Wilder, so that it became 
 Barnard & Wilder. The new firm owns exten- 
 sive warehouses at Oregon and Madison, as 
 well as at Evansville, and is doing a large and 
 increasing business. Our subject is a stock- 
 holder in the Union Telephone Exchange. 
 
 O11 April 3, 1881, Shasta E. Barnard mar- 
 ried Miss Lilia C. Lee, daughter of T. T. and 
 Julia ( Lowe) Lee, and they have had two chil- 
 dren, Fred and Orland K. Fred died when a 
 boy of eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Barnard have 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 12 7 
 
 an elegant and inviting home on W est Main 
 street, erected in 1901. Mr. Barnard is a 
 member of Union Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; of 
 the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias; and 
 of the Modern Woodmen of America. He and 
 his wife are members of the Order of the East- 
 ern Star. Mr. Barnard is a Republican in po- 
 litical, sentiment. 
 
 DR. CHARLES C. DEVEREAUX is a 
 fine example of the younger generation of Wis- 
 consin’s native sons. Lie is a skilled dentist 
 of Janesville, Rock county, and has come to 
 the practice of his profession trained in the best 
 schools of the country, representing the ripest 
 scientific culture of the times. 
 
 Dr. Devereaux was born in Evansville, 
 Wis., Feb. 26, 1S68, son of Edward and Eva 
 (Whaley) Devereaux, natives of New York 
 and Ohio, respectively. They were the parents 
 of four sons and four daughters, and six of 
 their children are now living : Theodore E., of 
 Fort Dodge, Iowa; Harry C., of Algona. 
 Iowa; Charles C. ; Claude H., of Humboldt, 
 Iowa ; Lula B., wife of Albert Dixon, of Evans- 
 ville, Whs.; and Kittie D., wife of Arthur 
 Snasliall, of the same place. The sons are all 
 dentists of high professional character and un- 
 usual ability. Edward Devereaux was a cheese 
 and butter maker for many years, and was an 
 early settler in Rock county. The first few 
 years of his residence in W isconsin Were passed 
 in Milwaukee. He moved to Evansville, which 
 city is still his home; his wife died there Dec. 
 16, 1899. He is a member of the Baptist 
 Church, as was also Mrs. Devereaux. His fa- 
 ther, I heodore Devereaux, spent his early life 
 in the State of New York, and died in Iowa, 
 well advanced in years. The Devereaux family 
 was originally French, but has lived many 
 generations in this country, and ranks among 
 the oldest and proudest in New England and 
 New York. The maternal grandfather of the 
 subject of this writing died when a young man. 
 
 Charles C. Devereaux was reared on the 
 farm near Evansville, attended the public 
 schools, and lived on the farm until he was 
 twenty years old. He selected dentistry as his 
 life work, and went into the office- of Dr. 
 Theodore Devereaux. where he studied until 
 1891. That fall he entered the Haskell Post 
 Graduate Dental College, and completed the 
 course there. He continued with his brother 
 until 1893, in which year he entered the Chi- 
 
 cago College of Dental Surgery, and was grad- 
 uated with honor in the spring of 1896. He 
 resumed practice with his brother at Fort 
 Dodge, Iowa; and remained with him until 
 January, 1898, when he came to Janesville and 
 opened an office, and at once commanded a 
 flattering clientage from among the best people 
 of the city. 
 
 Dr. Devereaux is popular in fraternal 
 circles,, and is a member of Union Lodge. No. 
 32, A. F. & A. M. ; Evansville Chapter, No. 5, 
 R. A. M. ; the A. O. LI. W. ; the Royal Ar- 
 canum; and the Royal League; when at col- 
 lege he joined the Delta Sigma, and retains 
 an active interest in that fraternity, holding 
 his membership in Beta Chapter, and also in 
 the Supreme Chapter. In these various asso- 
 I Nations his manly and genial character has 
 I never failed to command respect and win him 
 j warm personal friends. He is an active worker 
 in the Southern Wisconsin Dental Associa- 
 tion, where his learning and skill are recog- 
 nized. I11 politics he is a Republican. 
 
 WILLIAM STEVENS, a retired stock 
 and grain dealer at Evansville, has been identi- 
 fied with the business interests of that region 
 from an early day, and counts a host of friends 
 among the farmers and stock dealers of Rock 
 county. Mr. Stevens was born in Franklin 
 county, N. Y., near Fort Covington, Jan. 10, 
 1842, a son of William and Mary (McMillan) 
 Stevens, natives of Vermont and New York, 
 respectively. They were the parents of five 
 children, four of whom are now living, David 
 E. and William, of Evansville ; Jennie A., wife 
 of A. Van Patten, of Perry, Iowa ; and Styles 
 H., of Fort Covington, N. Y. The father, 
 who was a farmer, died in New York in Jan- 
 uary, 1881, at the age of seventy-five. The 
 mother died in 1877, at the age of seventy; 
 she was a Presbyterian. His father, Ebenezer 
 Stevens, was a native of Vermont, of Scottish 
 and English descent, and was a fafmer by oc- 
 cupation. He died in New York at the ag'e of 
 eighty. He was pressed into the war of 1812 
 as a teamster. David McMillan, the father of 
 Mary McMillan, mentioned above, was of 
 Scottish descent. Lie was a farmer in Franklin 
 county, N. Y., and was between seventy-five 
 and eighty years of age when he died. 
 
 William Stevens was reared on his father's 
 farm in Franklin county, N. Y., where he at- 
 tended the district school. He remained at 
 
128 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 home with his parents until 1869, i n which 
 year he came to Evansville and established him- 
 self in the stock and grain business. This was 
 his vocation for twenty-five years: Since then 
 
 he has mainly occupied himself with the man- 
 agement of two extensive farms near the city, 
 one in the town of Union, containing 300 acres, 
 and the other in Porter and Center townships, 
 containing 440 acres. He has a beautiful home 
 in Evansville, which he built in 1896. 
 
 Mr. Stevens and Miss Elvira Gilman, 
 daughter of Obed and Sarah (Case) Gilman, 
 were married June 17, 1874. They have had 
 two children born to them, Mary and Meda. 
 Mary died in 1881, when she was a bright and 
 winning child of two years. Mrs. Stevens be- 
 longs to the Methodist Church, and our sub- 
 ject is a member of Leota Lodge, No. 16, 
 I. O. O. F. He is a Democrat, was mayor of 
 Evansville two years, and has served the city 
 several years as a member of the board of al- 
 dermen. He is a careful business man, and a 
 public-spirited citizen. 
 
 HON. ANDREW BARLASS (deceased) 
 was one of the earliest settlers of Rock county, 
 and long occupied an elegant and commodious 
 home on his farm in Section 36, Harmony 
 township. The locality was scarcely less than 
 a wilderness when he arrived in Wisconsin, and 
 he addressed himself with energy and persever- 
 ance to the creation of a productive and sup- 
 porting farm out of the beautiful wild land. 
 He was eminently successful in all his under- 
 takings, and became quite prosperous and well- 
 to-do before his death. He is remembered as 
 a hard-working and upright farmer, and a 
 worthy citizen. 
 
 Mr. Bar lass was born in Kinross, Scotland, 
 Sept. 30, 1822, and was a son of David and 
 Mary (Marshall) Barlass, both born and bred 
 in Scotland. They had a family of three sons 
 and one daughter : Thomas, of Bradford 
 
 township, Rock county; Mrs. Helen Brown, of 
 Harmony township; David, of Harmony; and 
 Andrew, our subject. The father was a farm- 
 er, and died in Scotland when only twenty- 
 eight years of age. His widow came to W is- 
 consin, settled in Rock county in 1844, and died 
 Jan. 14, 1875. Our subject’s grandfather, 
 Andrew Barlass, died in Scotland in old age. 
 He had six children. Mrs. Barlass’ father, 
 who died in Scotland when an old man, had 
 two sons and three daughters. 
 
 Andrew Barlass came to this country in 
 1842, and locating in Johnstown township, 
 Rock Co., W r is., worked for his uncle, Robert 
 Barlass, two years. Then he bought the farm 
 noted above, added eighty acres to it, and at 
 the time of his death owned 160 acres. He 
 always followed farming, though he was a 
 natural mechanic.. He had received a good 
 common-school education in Scotland, one of 
 his teachers being a nephew of Robert Burns. 
 He first married Miss Margaret Clink, who 
 bore him four children, Margaret, Mary, 
 Helen and David. Margaret married David 
 Clark, of Harmony township. Mary married 
 Robert Clark, of Harmony township. Helen 
 married David Duncan, a physician in Chi- 
 cago. David married Ella Hill, and lives at 
 Hastings, Neb. Mrs. Margaret Barlass died 
 in 1851, and on June 18, 1861, Mr. Barlass 
 married Miss Margaret Beveridge, a daugh- 
 ter of James and Christina (White) Beveridge. 
 Six children were born to this union : Chris- 
 tina Jane, Agnes May, Andrew James, Chris-* 
 tina, John Albert and William Frank. Chris- 
 tina Jane died when five years and four months 
 old. Agnes May married William Koebelin, 
 who is now deceased. The other children are 
 all at home. 
 
 Mr. Barlass was a man of prominence in 
 his day. With his wife he belonged to the 
 United Presbyterian Church, and had a high 
 standing for integrity and moral character. 
 He was a stanch Republican, and served as 
 chairman of the town board, school director, 
 assessor and justice of the peace for many 
 years, and was a member of the General Assem- 
 bly of Wisconsin for three years. He was 
 president of the township insurance company. 
 He died July 26, 1895, at the age of seventy- 
 two years and ten months. 
 
 James and Christina (White) Beveridge, 
 parents of Mrs. Barlass, were natives of Scot- 
 land. They had four children: James, a 
 
 soldier in the war of the Rebellion, 'who died 
 at his home in Iowa, leaving a widow, Mar- 
 garet (Clink) Beveridge; Christina, wife of 
 John Addie. of Northville, S. Dak.; Margaret; 
 and John G., of Doland, S. Dak., who mar- 
 ried Margaret Allen. The father was a farmer. 
 The mother died in Scotland in 1846, when 
 about thirty-five years old, and he came to this 
 country in 1852, bought a farm in Johnstown 
 township, Rock Co., Wis., and lived there until 
 1853, when he sold out and bought a farm of 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
* 1 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 eighty acres in Harmony township. This he 
 sold later on, moving to Iowa, and later re- 
 turned to Wisconsin, where he has lived with 
 his daughter for the last five years. Mrs. Bar- 
 lass came to this country when ten years old 
 with her aunt, Miss Jane Beveridge, who 
 brought the three youngest children of Mr. 
 Beveridge to this country, and returned to 
 Scotland a year later. Mrs. Barlass’ paternal 
 grandfather, James Beveridge, died in Scot- 
 land at an advanced age. Her maternal grand- 
 father. James White, was born in Scotland, 
 moved to England, and died in New South 
 Wales. 
 
 JOHN A. KLINDT. No better illustra- 
 tion of the characteristic energy and enterprise 
 of the typical German- American citizen can be 
 found than that afforded by the career of this 
 prominent business man of Cassville, Grant 
 county. Coming to this country with no capital 
 except his abilities, he has made his way to 
 success through wisely directed effort, and he 
 can now look back with satisfaction upon past 
 struggles. 
 
 Mr. Klinclt was born May 15, 1844, in the 
 village of Prasdorf, near the city of Kiel, Hol- 
 stein, Germany, a son of Claus and Catharine 
 (Sneclode) Klinclt, natives of the same place. 
 The father, who was a tailor by trade, spent 
 his entire life in Germany, where he died at the 
 age of eighty-three years, the mother at the age 
 of seventy-eight. Their children were John 
 A.; Anna, a resident of Luverne, Iowa; and 
 Lena, Mrs. Ramrn, who makes her home in the 
 same place. 
 
 In his native land John A. Klinclt received 
 a common-school education, his summers being- 
 devoted to work, his winters to study, during 
 his boyhood and youth. In August, 1864, he 
 came to America, and on reaching Cassville, 
 Wis., found that his capital consisted of a 
 silver half dollar, dated 1823, which he still 
 has, and intends to keep as a memento of 
 those early days. That fall he engaged in 
 threshing on a farm, and attended school dur- 
 ing the winter. On May 1, 1865, he entered 
 the employ of C. L. La Grave & Barks, pro- 
 prietors of a warehouse and store, as clerk and 
 bookkeeper, and on May 1, 1868, became con- 
 nected with the business of which he is now the 
 head. Mr. Klinclt served as clerk and book- 
 keeper for John Geiger until the latter’s death, 
 in December, 1873, and on January 20, 1874, 
 
 1 29 
 
 purchased the stock of goods and commenced 
 business on his own account. He was alone 
 until March 1, 1878, when he formed a part- 
 nership with Gustav and O. F. Geiger, under 
 the firm name of Klinclt, Geiger & Co., dealers 
 in general merchandise, buyers and shippers of 
 grain and produce, and proprietors of the Cass- 
 ville Creamery. The last named industry was 
 established by them in 1885, and has since been 
 conducted most successfully. As merchants 
 they carry a large and well-selected stock of 
 dry goods, groceries, clothing, boots, shoes, 
 crockery, flour, groceries and, in fact, every- 
 thing found in a first-class establishment of the 
 kind. They are part owners of the Cassville 
 Electric Light Plant. The firm is also exten- 
 sively interested in the canning business, own- 
 ing and operating one of the largest canning 
 factories in the State ; the main building, erected 
 in 1893, is 50x160 feet, with an addition 48x110 
 feet, and a pickle shed 50x110 feet, and here 
 employment is furnished to from seventy-five to 
 one hundred people. This enterprising house 
 also holds interest in a new canning and pickle 
 factory which is now under construction at 
 Janesville, Wis., and concerning which the 
 Janesville Daily Recorder of April 21, 1901, 
 makes mention as follows : 
 
 "Yesterday afternoon the articles of in- 
 corporation of P. Hohenadel, Jr., & Co. were 
 filed with Register of Deeds Rowe. The in- 
 corporators are P. Hohenadel, Jr., John A. 
 Ivlindt, Otto F. Geiger, and Otto Fabling, all 
 of Cassville, and the capital stock is $100,000. 
 Work has been well started on the new plant 
 and ground is broken. The plans have been 
 accepted and work on the buildings will be 
 pushed to a rapid finish. All the acreage has 
 been secured and the company have arranged 
 for leasing several good-sized farms which 
 they will plant with such products as need 
 more experience in the care of.” 
 
 I11 April, 1875. Mr. Ivlindt married Miss 
 Ida Sager, a native of Mecklenburg, Germany, 
 who came to America in 1863 with her parents, 
 Christian and Mary (Wodrich) Sager. The 
 family located in Cassville, Wis. Mr. Sager, 
 who was a gardener in his native land, fol- 
 lowed that occupation for a time in this 
 country, and then took charge of the vineyard 
 of Gov. Dewey, who was from Cassville. Mr. 
 Sager is still living here, at the ripe old age 
 of eighty-two years, but his wife is now de- 
 ceased. Mr. and Mrs. Ivlindt are the parents 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 130 
 
 of four children: Gustav A., born March 24, 
 1878; Edith Alma, May 31, 1885; John 
 Arthur, April 12, 1888; and Irving, Oct. 24, 
 1891, died Feb. 24, 1892. 
 
 In the spring of 1879 Mr. Ivlindt visited the 
 Fatherland, and found his parents both living 
 at that time. Returning home in the fall of 
 that vear, he was nominated by the Republican 
 party for representative to the General Assem- 
 bly, and was elected by a large majority. He 
 could have had the office a second term, but on 
 account of the death of his partner, Gustav 
 Geiger, in 1880, his business' interests would 
 not permit it. He has been prominently identi- 
 fied with public affairs in Cassville, and has 
 most efficiently served as president of the vil- 
 lage board for a number of years, and also as 
 treasurer of the high school. Religiously Mr. 
 Klindt was reared a Lutheran. His life record 
 is one well worthy of emulation, and contains 
 many valuable lessons of incentive, showing the 
 possibilities that are open to young men who 
 wish to improve every opportunity for advance- 
 ment. 
 
 ALMERON EAGER, of Evansville, Rock 
 county, is president of the Baker Manufactur- 
 ing Co., and for years has been a leading spirit 
 in the business interests of the city. He is a 
 man of much intelligence, force of character 
 and uncompromising honesty. 
 
 Mr. Eager was born in Sangerfield, Oneida 
 Co., N. Y., March 14. 1838, a son of William 
 and Caroline (Northrup) Eager. His father 
 was born in Oneida county, and his mother 
 in Delaware county, N. Y., and they were 
 reared and married in their native State. Nine 
 children were born to them, seven of whom 
 are now living: Amy, wife of Peter Case, 
 of Fredericksburg, Iowa; Almeron, of Evans- 
 ville; Adelia, wife of William Case, of Fred- 
 ericksburg; Alvin, of Grand Island, Neb.; 
 Amos, of Lincoln, Neb.; Orinda, wife of John 
 Ellison, of Fredericksburg; and De Witt, of 
 Beaver Crossing, Neb. The father, who ,was 
 a farmer, came West in the spring of 1835, 
 locating in the town of Union, Rock Co., Wis., 
 where he died in 1861. at the age of sixty- 
 one. His wife died in Oneida county, N. Y., 
 in 1850, at the early age of thirty-eight. She 
 was a Methodist. Oliver Eager, the paternal 
 grandfather of Almeron Eager, was a native 
 of Massachusetts, and an early settler in Oneida 
 county, N. Y. He died at the age of sixty- 
 
 five. He was a farmer, and the father of five 
 children. Almeron Eager's maternal grand- 
 father was also a native of New York, and 
 died when his daughter Caroline, mentioned 
 above, was about three years old, leaving one 
 son and one daughter. He was a hard-work- 
 ing, honorable man. 
 
 Almeron Eager was reared on the Oneicla 
 county farm, and obtained his education in the 
 district school. He came to Rock county, 
 Wis., in the fall of 1854, and bought eighty 
 acres in the town of Union, which he improved 
 and afterward sold. He then purchased a 
 tract of 200 acres, lying two and a half miles 
 east of Evansville, and partly improved it. 
 In 1868 Mr. Eager moved into Evansville, 
 and in partnership with W. S. Smith opened 
 a general store. Smith & Eager continued the 
 store fourteen years, and then bought leaf to- 
 bacco for some three years or more. In the 
 meantime, in 1S83, a company was formed 
 to build a tack factory in Evansville, and four 
 years later Mr. Eager became associated with 
 it as secretary. He held that position until the 
 company went out of business. In 1S73 Mr. 
 Eager, in company with A. S. Baker, L. M. 
 Shaw, L. Mygatt, C. Snashall and W. S. 
 Smith, organized the Baker Manufacturing 
 Co., to engage in the manufacture of wind- 
 mills, tanks and pumps. Mr. Snashall was 
 president of this corporation, and W. S. Smith 
 secretary. Since 1885 Mr. Eager has been 
 president, and Clifford Smith secretary. The 
 company give employment to some sixty or 
 seventy-five persons, and have an authorized 
 capital of $300,000. They ship goods all over 
 the United States, and won two gold medals 
 at the world's fair for the best wind and power 
 mill. 
 
 Mr. 'Eager and Miss Olive Boyce, daugh- 
 ter of Henry and Mary (Almy) Boyce, were 
 married Nov. 26, 1863, and they have had four 
 children, Clarence, Gertrude, and two who 
 died in infancy. Clarence died when one year 
 and nine days old. Gertrude married Lile 
 Humphrey, and is the mother of one child, 
 Leonard. Mrs. Eager is a member of the 
 Methodist Church. Our subject belongs to 
 Union Lodge, No. 32, A. F. & A. M., Evans- 
 ville Chapter, No. 35, R. A. M., and Janes- 
 ville Commandery, No. 2, K. T. He is a Re- 
 publican, and takes pride in the fact that he 
 cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln. He 
 was town treasurer for many years ; a mem- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 131 
 
 ber of the village board of Evansville for many 
 years, and president of the board three years; 
 has been a member of the county board of 
 supervisors nine years, and is still acting in 
 that capacity. On Nov. 6, 1900, he was elected 
 assemblyman for the Second District of Rock 
 county, receiving 2,670 votes, his opponent 
 915 votes. Mr. Eager owns a number of store 
 buildings and residence properties in Evans- 
 ville. He built his present home, at No. 321 
 West Main street, in 1878. While he was on 
 the farm he spent a year and a half in the 
 book delivery business. 
 
 Our subject has traveled in every State 
 and Territory in the Union, and has visited 
 all points of interest in the United States. In 
 1899 he took a trip to Alaska. In 1900 he 
 traveled through Europe, attended the world’s 
 fair at Paris, went through Germany, saw the 
 Passion Play, visited the mountains of Switz- 
 erland, went through the St. Gothard tunnel 
 (the longest in the world), and journeyed over 
 Holland, Belgium, England, Ireland, Scotland 
 and Wales. 
 
 FLOYD D. MURDOCK is yet living at 
 the place where he was born. Sept. 13, 1856, 
 at the corner of Wall and Franklin streets, 
 Janesville, Rock county, where he has built 
 a magnificent row of flats. Both his grand- 
 father and father were born in New York, 
 as were also his mother and her parents. His 
 paternal grandfather, who was a farmer, died 
 in his native State at an advanced age, leav- 
 ing a large family. 
 
 Edwin Murdock, the father of Floyd D., 
 settled in Janesville in the 'forties, and en- 
 gaged in business as a grain dealer and grocer, 
 following these lines until his death, at the 
 age of fifty-seven, in 1883. He was a citizen 
 of prominence, and for several years repre- 
 sented the First ward in the city council. He 
 married Adelia Hoyt, whose father, Charles 
 Hoyt, was likewise a New York farmer, but 
 removed to Wisconsin, and was one of the 
 early settlers of Rock county. Later he re- 
 moved to Iowa, and died there in his seventy- 
 sixth year. Mrs. Edwin Murdock is still liv- 
 ing; she is a devout Baptist. She bore her 
 husband four children: Ida, now the wife of 
 Myron Clark, of Rock county; Floyd D. ; 
 Edwin PI., of Janesville; and Jessie, Mrs. 
 Thomas A. Nolan. 
 
 Floyd D. Murdock has passed his life 
 
 in the city of his birth. After leaving 
 school he began working for his 1 father, and 
 on the latter s death succeeded to the owner- 
 ship and management of the business. He has 
 been successful, bringing to bear upon his un- 
 dertakings sound common sense, as well as 
 reflective power and sagacity. He sells hay 
 and feed, as 1 well as grain, shipping a great 
 deal to Chicag’o and Milwaukee, and carries on 
 an extensive and remunerative trade, enjoying 
 the confidence and respect of the entire com- 
 munity, and the sincere esteem of a wide cir- 
 cle of personal friends. He is a member of the 
 Knights of Pythias and of the A. O. U. W., 
 and in politics is a Republican. On Dec. 6, 
 1883, Mr. Murdock married Maggie Josepha 
 Inman, and they have two children, Floyd 
 Verne and Edna Floydine. 
 
 Mrs. Murdock comes of English lineag'e 
 on the paternal, and French on the maternal 
 side. Her father’s ancestors crossed the At- 
 lantic in the “Mayflower,” and her great- 
 grandfather, Edward Inman, served under 
 Washington in the Revolutionary war, holding 
 the rank of colonel. Her grandfather was 
 John E. Inman. The family were long-time 
 residents of Pennsylvania, John E. Inman being 
 a large land owner near Wilkesbarre. After 
 disposing of his holdings there he came West, 
 buying large tracts in Illinois and Wisconsin, 
 and making his home in Carroll county, 111 . 
 He was the father of five sons and three daugh- 
 ters, and lived to celebrate his seventy-fifth 
 birthday. Edward Inman, Mrs. Murdock’s 
 father, was for several years a conductor in 
 the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co., 
 but the fracture of a leg compelled him to 
 seek other employment. For a time he con- 
 ducted a dry-goods store at \\ ilkesbarre, but 
 subsequently (in 1857) removed to V isconsin, 
 settling in Bradford, where he died in 1892, 
 at the age of sixty-nine years. His widow yet 
 survives, and has her home in Janesville. Her 
 name before marriage was Margaret J. Mutch- 
 lar, and her father (the maternal grandfather 
 of Mrs. Murdock) married Margaret San Tee. 
 Botlr were of French descent, but residents of 
 Wilkesbarre, where Mr. Mutchlar was a suc- 
 cessful coal operator. They were the parents 
 of four daughters and one son. 
 
 ALLEN S. BAKER, manager of the Ba- 
 ker Manufacturing Co., of Evansville, Rock 
 county, is a native of that city, where he was 
 
132 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 born Jan. 12, 1842. He belongs to one of the 
 old Virginia families whose ancestry on the 
 paternal side runs back to England, and on 
 the maternal side to Germany. 
 
 Daniel Baker, the grandfather of Allen S., 
 was born in West Virginia, but in early life 
 removed to the vicinity of Cincinnati, Ohio, 
 where he and his wife spent their lives. They 
 had a numerous family, of whom John T. 
 (the father of Allen S.) and Aaron were the 
 only ones to come to Wisconsin. The former 
 became a resident of Rock county in 1837, 
 and the latter was also a resident of that coun- 
 ty, but lived only a few years after coming to 
 the State. 
 
 John T. Baker was born in Cincinnati, 
 Ohio, in October, 1806, and in 1836 removed 
 to Bloomington, Ilk, where he remained only 
 a short time. In the fall of the following year 
 he settled in the town of Avon, Rock county, 
 where he entered a claim upon which the fam- 
 ily resided until the spring of 1840. That 
 year he sold out, and removed into the town of 
 Union, where he again entered a claim, and 
 secured land which he converted into a valuable 
 farm. This became the old homestead of the 
 family, and here Mr. Baker lived for many 
 years. He died in the village of Evansville 
 in April, 1876. Mr. Baker was twice mar- 
 ried, his first union being with Miss Jemima 
 Robinson, who died in Union in the fall of 
 1850. Both he and his wife were members of 
 the Methodist Church, in which he held official 
 position. He afterward wedded Mrs'. Jane 
 Gray (Sanclford) Sale. By his first marriage 
 he had seven sons and two daughters, the first 
 and last being daughters. The eldest daugh- 
 ter and two sons are dead. The surviving 
 members of the family are David E., of Cler- 
 mont, Iowa; Edward J., living in Maryville, 
 Mo. ; Francis A., of Evansville, Wis. ; Ste- 
 phen J. and Allen S., of the same place ; and 
 Caroline J., wife of John Davenport, of San 
 Rafael, Cal. The deceased daughter, Mary 
 Ann, died after reaching womanhood. Thom- 
 as, the youngest son, died at the age of nine- 
 teen years. Aaron died when twenty-seven 
 3^ears of age, in 1865. 
 
 In his early years Allen S. Baker served 
 an apprenticeship to the trade of blacksmith, 
 and that trade was his occupation for several 
 years. When the Civil war broke out he was 
 one of the first to respond to his country’s call 
 for troops to crush out the Rebellion. On 
 
 April 20, 1861, he became a member of Com- 
 pany H, 2d Wis. V. L, which regiment formed 
 a part of the famous Iron Brigade, and in 
 that gallant command he served in several of 
 the most important battles of the war. He 
 was at Gainesville, Fitzhugh Crossing, Chan- 
 cellorsville, and Gettysburg. At Gainesville 
 he was severely wounded in the right shoulder 
 and was sent to the hospital at Philadelphia, 
 where he remained until February, 1863. By 
 that time he had recovered 1 his health, and he 
 rejoined his regiment, only to be again severely 
 wounded on the first day of the great battle of 
 Gettysburg, July 1, 1863. The facts concern- 
 ing this wound were remarkable. Mr. Baker 
 was struck in the abdomen by a minie ball, 
 which, instead of passing straight through his 
 body, took a circular direction, striking his 
 thigh bone was deflected, and lodged in the 
 fleshy part of the spinal column, where it be- 
 came deeply imbedded. The surgeons feared 
 to attempt the removal of the ball from the 
 very great danger of severing an artery in 
 the operation. So the missile remained in 
 the same position for many years without ap- 
 parent change, when it began working its way 
 to the surface, and on March 19, 1889, after 
 having remained in his body for nearly twenty- 
 six years, it was discovered close to the sur- 
 face, where it had worked its way to a posi- 
 tion from which it was easily removed by Mr. 
 Baker without surgical aid. After being 
 wounded at Gettysburg Mr. Baker was not 
 able to do farther duty in the field. He went 
 to Washington, and was presently mustered 
 out. Returning to his home, he resumed the 
 blacksmith trade, and also engaged in carriage 
 making. In the spring of 1873 the Baker 
 Manufacturing Co. was organized under the 
 firm name of A. S. Baker & Co. It was com- 
 posed of the following named business men 
 of Evansville, who contributed equally to its 
 establishment : A. Eager, W. S. Smith, Caleb 
 
 Snashall, Lancing Mygatt, Levi M. Shaw and 
 A. S. Baker. They began business with a 
 paid-up capital of $6,000, and were incorpo- 
 rated Feb. 17, 1879, with a capital stock of 
 $20,000, under the name of the Baker Manu- 
 facturing Co. On March 15, 1883, the capi- 
 tal was increased to $100,000, of which one- 
 half was paid up. About this, time M. V. Pratt 
 bought an interest in the business, and March 
 13, 1885, Mr. Snashall sold his stock to the 
 remaining stockholders and retired from busi- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 133 
 
 ness. The company remained in the hands 
 of the other stockholders until the death of 
 Mr. Smith, in the fall of 1891. The paid-up 
 capital of the company Jan. 1, 1899, was $100,- 
 000, and the surplus $105,712.56. With 
 profit-sharing in view, the company reorgan- 
 ized with a capital of $300,000. They manu- 
 facture pumps, windmills, tanks, grinders, 
 wood saws, and other g'oods and appliances, 
 and employ from sixty to eighty men. To a 
 great extent the success of this institution is 
 due to the business ability and executive force 
 of Mr. Baker. 
 
 Mr. Baker and Miss Margaret Sayers 
 were married March 23, 1865. She was born 
 on the historic battle field of Brandywine, 
 Del., in October, 1844, a daughter of John and 
 Sarah (Reed) Sayers. Her father died when 
 she was but twelve years old, her mother sur- 
 viving until 1876. They were the parents of 
 four children who reached mature years : 
 Elizabeth, the eldest, died in 1885. Margaret 
 was the second in the order of birth. Sarah, the 
 youngest daughter, married Thomas Ha- 
 thorne, of Delaware. Robert is a resident of 
 Delaware. 
 
 Three children have blessed the union of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Baker : Elsie, born in October, 
 1867; John, in July, 1869; and Bessie, in No- 
 vember, 1875. Elsie married Robert Hartley, 
 who is assistant cashier of the Bank of Evans- 
 ville; she is a stenographer in the office of the 
 Baker Manufacturing Co. John is single, and 
 is a superintendent of the works of the com- 
 pany. Bessie graduated from the Rockford 
 ( 111 .) Ladies College, and is now teaching in 
 the Highland University, at Highland, Ivans. 
 The family reside at the corner of Liberty and 
 First streets, where Mr. Baker built a home 
 in 1865, and erected his present handsome 
 residence in 1883. 
 
 Mr. Baker is one of the representative busi- 
 ness men of Rock county, and is regarded as 
 an enterprising and progressive citizen of 
 Evansville, in the welfare of which he has al- 
 ways taken a deep interest. He was formerly 
 a Republican, but he is now independent, and 
 favors the principles of the Prohibition party, 
 holding that the liquor traffic should be sup- 
 pressed by the strong arm of the law. He and 
 his wife are members of the Congregational 
 Church, in which he serves as deacon. He 
 was president of the village board of trustees 
 one term, and on the county board two terms. 
 
 He is at present school treasurer of District 
 No. 6, which includes the city of Evansville 
 and a portion of the adjacent country. Our 
 subject is one of the organizers of the Evans- 
 ville Telephone Exchange, and is its president. 
 
 GEORGE PAGE, a well-known citizen of 
 Grant county, an ex-soldier of the war of the 
 Rebellion, and a retired farmer, is a native 
 of Great Yarmouth, County of Norfolk, Eng- 
 land, and was born Oct. 26, 1819. His early 
 life was passed at sea, and was quite an event- 
 ful one, which will be detailed, as far as space 
 will permit, below. 
 
 Richard and Mary (Greenland) Page, the 
 parents of our subject, were also natives of 
 Norfolk, where they passed all their lives. 
 They reared a family of four sons and three 
 daughters, of which family George is the only 
 survivor. As a lad he was employed as errand 
 boy in a large shop or store in his native 
 town, but as it was early decided that he should 
 become a -sailor he began the study of naviga- 
 tion when but twelve and a half years old, 
 and has still in his possession many of his 
 exercises in books which bear the date of 1830. 
 Before he was thirteen years old he went to 
 sea as a cabin boy, and eventually became an 
 able-bodied seaman. The first two years of 
 his sea life were spent in coasting around 
 England, Scotland and Ireland, and he then 
 shipped for a voyage up the Mediterranean 
 sea, passed through the Grecian Archipelago 
 and the Dardanelles to Constantinople, and 
 then back through the Dardanelles to Smyrna, 
 Turkey in Asia; thence he sailed for Falmouth 
 bay, England, for further orders. On the 
 homeward voyage the vessel was caught in a 
 dense fog in the Mediterranean, and ran ashore 
 at Apes Hill, off Gibraltar, and the next day 
 ran into Gibraltar bay to be inspected. She 
 was pronounced to be seaworthy, however, 
 and proceeded on her voyage. From Falmouth 
 Mr. Page went to London, and tlience made 
 two voyages to St. John, N. B., but on re- 
 turning, on the second voyage, his vessel was 
 wrecked, through the ignorance or careless- 
 ness of the pilot, when but nine miles out of 
 Liverpool. 
 
 Mr. Page then made a third trip across 
 the Atlantic, but this time he came to stay, 
 relinquishing ocean life. He left Liverpool 
 about the middle of December, 1836, reached 
 the banks of Newfoundland in thirteen days, 
 
134 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and fourteen days after, near the. middle of 
 January, 1837, reached New York. He was 
 at that time seventeen years old. Soon after 
 his arrival he sailed for New Orleans, La., 
 and was there employed on a steamer plying 
 up and down the Mississippi river and conflu- 
 ent streams, being thus engaged about three 
 months when he was taken seriously ill ; he 
 made his last trip down the “Father of Waters” 
 to the Crescent City on a flat-boat, and while 
 thus prostrated was robbed of all. his cash and 
 all his clothing save what he had on at the 
 time. What rendered this robbery the more 
 shameful was the fact that the culprit was a 
 comrade in whom he had placed his confi- 
 dence, and whom he had considered to be a 
 faithful friend. 
 
 When Mr. Page recovered his strength he 
 again started up the Mississippi, branched off 
 into the Ohio river at Cairo, 111 ., and landed 
 at Mount Vernon, Posey Co., Ind., in the vi- 
 cinity of which city he spent about nine years in 
 farming. Here another episode of his life 
 took place, one of the most important, his mar- 
 riage to Miss Nancy Jane Altizier, a daughter 
 of Elias and Thyrza (Taylor) Altizier, the for- 
 mer a native of Virginia, of German descent, 
 and the latter of Tennessee. Mrs. Page was 
 born May 3, 1824, in Posey county, Inch, 
 where the family had lived for many years, and 
 where her father died ; her mother died later, 
 at the home of her daughter, in Webster coun- 
 ty, Iowa. Elias Altizier was twice married, 
 and to each union were born four children, 
 Mrs. Page being the eldest living of the last 
 marriage; one is deceased, and the other two 
 are Eli J., a resident of the State of Washing- 
 ton ; and Sarah Ann, Mrs. Renshaw, of Lan- 
 caster, Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Page came from Indiana to 
 Wisconsin, arriving at Plattevil.le. Grant coun- 
 ty, April 11, 1846, but remained a short time 
 only, and then settled in Ellenboro, same coun- 
 ty, where he purchased and improved a good 
 farm, and became a prominent citizen. He 
 served as assessor and tax collector at differ- 
 ent times in Ellenboro. He was enrolling offi- 
 cer during the early part of the Civil war, but 
 decided to enter the army, and enlisted Oct. 
 1, 1864, in Company C, 25th Wis. V. I. He 
 joined his regiment at Atlanta, Ga., marched 
 with Gen. W. T. Sherman in his famous ex- 
 pedition through the State to Savannah, usu- 
 ally called the march to the sea, and took part 
 
 in several other important military operations 
 under that redoubtable, grim warrior. After 
 the war Mr. Page marched with the victorious 
 •Union host from North Carolina through to 
 .Washington, D. C., participated in the grand 
 review, and received an honorable discharge in 
 June, 1865. Although never wounded, Mr. 
 Page was permanently injured in health while 
 in the army, and soon after his return he dis- 
 posed of his farm, and with his estimable wife 
 retired, to live in quiet in Lancaster. 
 
 During all Mr. Page’s long residence in 
 this country, but two of his family have come 
 to America. His brother William came sev- 
 eral years after our subject had arrived, and 
 died m St. Louis, Mo., Sept. 12, 1883, leaving 
 a widow and four children; another brother, 
 John, who was a sea captain, made a brief visit 
 to George, returned to Great Yarmouth, and 
 died a number of years ago. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Page were, for a long time 
 after the close of the war of the Rebellion, ac- 
 tive in the affairs of the Grand Army of the 
 Republic, but their declining years precluded 
 their continuing their work in this organiza- 
 tion. They are members of no church, but 
 they are strictly believers and church goers, 
 ever governed by principles of charity, love for 
 their fellow beings and strict justice to all. In 
 politics Mr. Page is a Republican in sentiment, 
 but has not sought favor from the party in 
 whose interest he exercises his franchise. Con- 
 tented with the felicitous society of his wife, 
 for lie has no children, he passes his time at 
 his happy home, honored and respected by all 
 his neighbors. 
 
 CHARLES W. LONEY, a well-known 
 and esteemed old settler of Grant county, was 
 born Aug. 21, 1808, in Franklin township, 
 Ross Co., Ohio, a son of James A. and Nancy 
 (Warren) Loney, both of North Carolina. 
 
 Janies A. Loney was a shoemaker by trade. 
 Before the birth of our subject he moved to 
 Ross county, Ohio, settling twelve miles south 
 of Chillicothe, on the Scioto river. To him 
 and his wife were born five sons and seven 
 daughters, namely : John D., Esther C., Charles 
 W., Rhea M., Sarah S., Alfred LI., Enos J., 
 Nancy A., Miranda P., Janies. H., Eliza J. 
 and Mary W. All lived to mature years 
 and married except one 1 son, who died at the 
 age of fourteen. The father of James A. 
 Loney, a native of Ireland, settled in North 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 135 
 
 Carolina, and reared a family of three children, 
 John, James A. and Mary. The maternal 
 grandfather of our subject lived in Tennessee ; 
 he had a family of four sons and three daugh- 
 ters, Tilghman, John, Charles, William, 
 Rhoda, Nancy and Rebecca. 
 
 Charles W. Loney was reared upon a farm. 
 When twenty-two years of age he left his na- 
 tive State and migrated to Mound township, 
 Warren Co., Inch, where he taught common 
 school, for two years. He engaged in farming 
 during the summer, and continued teaching in 
 the winter season for thirteen years, until 1846, 
 at which time he went north to the home of 
 John Switzer, in Fennimore, Grant Co., Wis., 
 bought land and commenced farming, alter- 
 nating with teaching short terms. When Wis- 
 consin was admitted to the Union Mr. Loney 
 was elected superintendent of schools and jus- 
 tice of the peace, which latter office he held 
 for twenty years ; during that time he married 
 one hundred couples, and decided some very 
 complicated points of law. In the spring of 
 1866 Mr. Loney commenced a mercantile 
 career, on a small scale, on the public highway 
 leading from Lancaster to Boscobel, within 
 the limits of the present village of Fennimore. 
 As time went on he increased his business until 
 he had a very desirable establishment, but for 
 the last ten or twelve years he has retired from 
 active life. 
 
 About 1832 Mr. Loney married Miss Mary 
 Switzer, of Ohio, and to this union have been 
 born two sons and two daughters : Mary 
 
 Ann, July 14, 1833; Charles Wesley, Jan. 30, 
 1836; Nancy Jane, July 8, 1838; and William 
 H. Harrison, July 16, 1840. All of these chil- 
 dren lived to maturity, and three are still alive ; 
 one died in 1863, during the Civil war. 
 
 Charles W. Loney is one of the landmarks 
 of Grant county, and, although he has reached 
 the advanced age of ninety-two, he is still in 
 possession of all his faculties, and is a very re- 
 markable old gentleman. 
 
 CHARLES J. PEARSALL, a young and 
 enterprising business man of Evansville, Rock 
 county, is vice-president of the D. E. Wood 
 Butter Co., and is popular not only for his thor- 
 ough knowledge of his business, and his prompt 
 and accurate business habits, but also for his 
 fine personal qualities. 
 
 Mr. Pearsall was born in Plainfield, Ot- 
 sego Co., N. Y., July 20, i860, son of Edwin 
 
 R. and Helen M. (Smith) Pearsall, both na- 
 tive to the soil of New York. They were the 
 parents of three sons and two daughters : 
 Charles J. ; Nellie S., of Salt Lake City; Hat- 
 tie M., wife of M. C. Joslyn, of Elgin, 111 . ; 
 Benjamin S., of Elgin, secretary and treasurer 
 of the D. E. Wood Butter Co. ; and Clifford R.. 
 treasurer and manager of the wholesale and 
 retail jewelry house of J. H. Lyson & Co., of 
 Salt Lake City. The father was a farmer in 
 New York. In 1876 he moved to Illinois, 
 and engaged in the creamery business at Hunt- 
 ley, .McHenry county, which he owned until 
 his death, though not actively engaged in its 
 management toward the close of his life. He 
 died Jan. 10, 1901, at Elgin, 111 ., aged sixty- 
 seven years, his wife in February, 1897, aged 
 sixty-four years. They were Methodists in 
 early life, but in Illinois they united with the 
 Congregational Church. His father. Simon 
 Pearsall, was a native of Connecticut, but set- 
 tled in New York when young, and lived to be 
 ninety-three years old, passing away in the 
 summer of 1900, at his home in New York 
 State. He was a molder, and in later life a 
 farmer; his last business years were spent in a 
 store of which he was proprietor and man- 
 ager. Simon Pearsall married a Miss Marvin, 
 who died many years ago, and they had one 
 son. His second wife was a Aliss Fern. 
 Capt. Benjamin F. Smith, the father of Helen 
 M., mentioned above, served in the State mili- 
 tia. He was a native of Connecticut, and 
 followed farming. His wife died in the East, 
 and he afterward came \\ est, and died at Big 
 Rapids, Mich., at the home of a daughter, when 
 he was over seventy years of age. His wife 
 was sixty-four at her death. His remains 
 were taken back to the old homestead in Ot- 
 sego county, N. \ . He had four daughters 
 and two sons. 
 
 Charles J. Pearsall spent the earlier part 
 of his life in Otsego county, N. Y., where he 
 had a good preparation for active life in the 
 public schools of that region. In the spring 
 of 1876 he came to Illinois, locating at Hunt- 
 ley with his parents, and there he lived for 
 twelve years. He spent four years in Ne- 
 braska, and for the past ten years he has lived 
 in Evansville. His entire business life has been 
 spent in connection with the creamery. He 
 began as an apprentice and served two years 
 before he was pronounced competent to do 
 business for himself. For nine years he held 
 
136 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the position of foreman in a factory at Coral, 
 111., and then was made manager of a line 
 of creameries in Clay and other counties in 
 Nebraska, being- engag'ed in this work for 
 three and a half years. Coming- to Evansville, 
 he formed a partnership with Mr. Wood, and 
 his business career in this city has been both 
 profitable and satisfactory. 
 
 Mr. Pearsall and Miss Harriet I. Ellis, 
 daughter of Benjamin F. and Ellen (Miracle) 
 Ellis, were united in marriage Nov. 11, 1887. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Pearsall are the parents of 
 three sons and one daughter, Robert E., 
 Clifford J., Barbara E., and Philip D. Mr. 
 Pearsall is a Mason, and belongs to Union 
 Lodge, No. 32, A. F. & A. M., and Evans- 
 ville Chapter, No. 35, R. A. M., and is also 
 a member of the local Knights of Pythias and 
 the Modern Woodmen. He is a Republican 
 in his political affiliations, and is at present 
 serving as alderman from the First ward, and- 
 is president of the city council. 
 
 HON. A. CLARKE DODGE, one of the 
 leading citizens of Green county, occupies a 
 peculiarly honorable and responsible position 
 as a member of the legislative and law-making- 
 bodv of the State, and for years has been one 
 of the most progressive and representative 
 business men of the city of Monroe. He is 
 now somewhat advanced in years, but his nat- 
 ural force is not abated nor the vital flame 
 burned low. 
 
 Mr. Dodge was born in Barre, Vt., Nov. 
 6, 1834, a son of Joseph and Lorenda (Thomp- 
 son) Dodge, both natives of that State. They 
 had three children : A. Clarke, Laroy and 
 
 W esley. The two latter were soldiers in the 
 Union army during the Civil war. Laroy en- 
 listed Sept. 1, 1861, in Company B, 10th Vt. 
 V. I., and was wounded in the battle of Fish- 
 er's Hill, Va., Sept. 21, 1864; he was sent to 
 the National hospital at Baltimore, where he 
 died Oct. 29, 1864. Wesley entered the serv- 
 ice Nov. 19, 1861, as a member of Company C, 
 ]st Vermont Cavalry, and served in the Army 
 of the Potomac ; he was shot in Wilson’s raid, 
 around Petersburg, fune 23. 1864, was taken 
 prisoner, and died the next day. 
 
 Joseph Dodge was a farmer in Barre, Vt., 
 where he was born Nov. 14, 1795, and where 
 he died Aug. 3, 1864. He first married Azu- 
 bah Thompson, who bore him four children, 
 only one of whom is now living, Joseph 
 
 Thompson Dodge, of Madison, Wis. His sec- 
 ond wife, Lorenda, died May 15, 1844, at the 
 age of forty-three years. He married for his 
 third wife Electa Marsh, who became the 
 mother of one child, Ellen Amanda, now the 
 widow of Henry G. Staples, of Lyndonville, 
 Vt. Mr. Dodge held various local offices from 
 time to time, and was regarded as an honorable 
 and capable man. He was captain in the State 
 militia, a position for which he was well fitted 
 by his services in the war of 1812; he received 
 a land warrant from the government as a re- 
 ward for his loyalty at that time. He was on 
 Lake Champlain, trying to reach the scene of 
 the battle of Plattsburg, but could not reach the 
 field until the fight was over. His father, Asa 
 Dodge, was a native of Winchester, N. H., 
 where he was born Feb. 13, 1770. He moved 
 to Barre, Vt., with his brother John and ac- 
 quired a farm in 1791. He spent his life upon 
 it, and died there May 12, 1855. He was also 
 a soldier in the war of 1812, and for his mili- 
 tary services received a land warrant, which 
 came to him the day he died. 
 
 Isaac Stevens Thompson, the father of 
 Lorenda Thompson, mentioned above, was 
 born at Holden, Mass., April 26, 1763. He 
 married Catey Wheeler, of Rutland, Mass., 
 Jan. 8, 1790, and immediately moved to Barre, 
 Vt. His father was born in 1735 in Holden, 
 Mass., where he died Jan. 3, 1787. He was 
 a captain in the American army during the war 
 of the Revolution, and selectman of Holden in 
 1780, 1782 and 1783. He married Azubah 
 Stevens, and they were the parents of eight 
 children, of whom Isaac was the eldest. The 
 wife of Isaac S. Thompson lived to be ninety- 
 four years of age. There were two brothers, 
 William and Richard Dodge, who came from 
 England in 1639 and located at Salem, Mass., 
 and from them have come most of the Dodges 
 in America, excepting the Block Island Dodges. 
 
 A. Clarke Dodge, now an old resident and 
 business man of Monroe, Wis., was reared at 
 Barre, his native place. There he was educated, 
 at Barre Academy. Mr. Dodge left Vermont 
 when twenty years old, and coming West, 
 helped in the location of the Milwaukee & Mis- 
 sissippi Railroad (now a part of the Milwaukee 
 system) in 1855, from Janesville to Monroe, 
 and thus early acquired an acquaintance with 
 the country which afterward became his home. 
 From January, 1856, until the fall of 1857 he 
 lived in Chicago, where he held the position 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 137 
 
 of assistant librarian in the Mechanics’ Insti- 
 tute Library. He was a school teacher in 
 Rock county and in Monroe from 1861 to 1864. 
 having moved to Monroe the first-named 
 year, and he has since been continuously a resi- 
 dent of the city. 
 
 In Monroe Mr. Dodge’s public and business 
 career has been both successful and honorable. 
 He has been identified with the Republican 
 party since its organization, and has received 
 many evidences of regard at the hands of his 
 fellow citizens. He was elected a President'al 
 elector in 1888, receiving more votes than any 
 other man on the ticket. For more than thirty- 
 years he has represented his city and county in 
 a great majority of the County and State con- 
 ventions of his party. For more than twenty- 
 five years Mr. Dodge served continuously on 
 the school board, and for the greater part of 
 that time was the president of that body. He 
 was nine times elected on the county board, 
 and for five terms served as its chairman. He 
 was on the committee that planned and built 
 the county insane asylum, served as chairman 
 of the committee that prepared the plans for 
 the new court house, and was a member of the 
 building committee that had in charge the con- 
 struction of that elegant building, acting as 
 its secretary. Mr. Dodge was nominated for 
 the General Assembly in 1898, without solici- 
 tation on his part, and was elected by the larg- 
 est majority of any man on the ticket except 
 the treasurer ; he was elected to the Assembly 
 again in 1900. Throughout his business and 
 public career Mr. Dodge has exemplified a fine 
 character and a lofty spirit. He has been an 
 upright and clean-handed man, and has a host 
 of friends throughout the county and State. 
 For many years he has been a dealer in lum- 
 ber, grain and coal, and by industry. and wise 
 management he has accumulated a competence. 
 
 Mr. Dodge and Miss Sarah E. Kidder were 
 married Nov. 4, i860, and to this union three 
 children have been born, Charles S., Lewis and 
 Flora E. Charles is manager of the Monroe 
 planing-mill ; he married Nellie F. Weatherby, 
 who died Nov. 12, 1900, and has four chil- 
 dren, George Clarke, Helen J., Laroy and Ed- 
 ward Wesley. Lewis is keeping books in his 
 father’s lumber office. Flora E. is the wife of 
 Charles E. Shriner, of Monroe. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Dodge are members of the Unitarian Church, 
 and he belongs to Monroe Lodge, No. 72, I. O. 
 O. F., and has filled nearly all the chairs in the 
 
 order, of which he has been a member thirty- 
 three years, and has repeatedly served as rep- 
 resentative to the Grand Lodge. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Society of the Sons of the Ameri- 
 can Revolution, his National number being 
 12,011 and his State number 21 1. His great- 
 grandfather, Nathaniel Brown Dodge, was a 
 soldier in the Revolution, enlisting in Capt. 
 Alexander’s Company at Northfield, Mass., 
 Feb. 21, 1776, and serving in the ill-starred ex- 
 pedition from Fort Ticonderoga to Quebec, 
 keeping a pocket diary from March 23 to Dec. 
 7. This diary, which has a note for every day 
 of the intervening time, is now in the posses- 
 sion of Mr. Dodge. It is in a perfect state of 
 preservation, and has lately received a new 
 dress, befitting its as _ e and historic value. 
 
 CHARLES W. STARK. Brought when 
 a boy of six years to Wisconsin by his parents 
 in 1846, the subject of this sketch, Major 
 Stark, now postmaster at Tiffany, Rock county, 
 has remained ever since a resident of the coun- 
 ty, save the four years when he served in the 
 army during the Civil war. Entering as a 
 private, he soon won promotion for meritori- 
 ous and gallant conduct, and was mustered out 
 an officer. His career in civil life has been 
 equally successful. He has actively followed 
 farming through life until quite recently, and 
 has been prominently identified with local pub- 
 lic affairs. 
 
 Major Stark was born at Halifax, Wind- 
 ham Co., Yt., Aug. 5, 1840, son of William H. 
 and Clarissa S. (Plumb) Stark, both natives 
 of Vermont. William Stark, the paternal 
 grandfather of our subject, was a native of 
 Connecticut, of English ancestry. He had a 
 family of ten children. He engaged in farm- 
 ing for a half centurv at Halifax. Vt., where 
 he died at the age of about ninety years. James 
 Plumb, the maternal grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was also a native of Connecticut. He 
 moved when a young man to Halifax, Vt., 
 there engaged in farming, and died aged about 
 seventy-six years. He reared a family of 
 eleven children. 
 
 William H. Stark, the father of our subject, 
 was born in 1810, in Vermont, where he re- 
 ceived a good common-school education and 
 engaged’ in farming. He served in the Ver- 
 mont State militia, and was elected to the 
 Legislature of his native State. In May, 1846, 
 he came to Wisconsin, and located in Tiffany. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 138 
 
 He bought a farm of 208 acres, in 1864 pur- 
 chased eighty acres, and later two other eighty- 
 acre tracts, all of which he improved. Twice 
 he was elected to the Wisconsin Legislature, 
 and he held a number of the more important 
 local offices ; for many years he was a member 
 of the town board of supervisors, serving as 
 chairman of the hoard, and he was also town 
 assessor and treasurer for many years. He 
 was reared a Presbyterian, hut later became a 
 member of the Universalist Church, which was 
 the faith of his wife. He died in Tiffany in 
 1894, aged eighty-three years and eleven 
 months. His wife died in 1893, aged eighty- 
 three years. Five children were horn to them, 
 three sons and two daughters, of whom three 
 survive: Juliette Maria; Charles William, our 
 
 subject; and DeWitt Q., of Tiffany. 
 
 Charles William Stark was six years of age 
 when, in 1846, he came with his parents to 
 Wisconsin. He attended the district schools, 
 and spent his youth on the home farm. He 
 had just attained his majority when he enlisted, 
 Sept. 1, 1861, in Company F, 13th Wis. V. 1 . 
 In August, 1862, he was commissioned second 
 lieutenant of the 22(1 Regiment, and thirty 
 days later was transferred to t(ie 33d Reg- 
 iment. He was promoted to first lieuten- 
 ant m April, 1863, and in December, 1864, 
 was commissioned captain and transferred 
 to Company E, of the same regiment, com- 
 manding the company until mustered out and 
 discharged at Madison, Wis., Sept. 1, 1865. 
 For meritorious services during the cam- 
 paign against the city of Mobile “and its de- 
 fenses” he was breveted major, United States 
 Volunteers, effective March 26, 1865, receiv- 
 ing his commission a few days later. He was 
 also acting aid-de-camp and provost marshal 
 during the last year of the war, serving on the 
 staff of Col. J. B. Moore and Col. L. M. Ward. 
 Major Stark witnessed much active campaign- 
 ing during his four years’ service. He partici- 
 pated in the siege of Vicksburg; was at Jack- 
 son, Miss., in 1863, when his brigade in ten 
 minutes lost all but 225 men out of 900 en- 
 gaged ; served throughout the Atlanta cam- 
 paign in command of a detachment of the 33d 
 Wis. V. I. ; was in the second battle of Nash- 
 ville in 1864; and participated m the capture 
 of Old Spanish Fort, near Mobile, which was 
 taken by assault following a siege of fourteen 
 days, the brigade to which he belonged being 
 the principal troops engaged in the assault 
 
 that resulted in the capture of the fort at mid- 
 night of April 9, 1865. During the siege of 
 Old Spanish Fort Major Stark had charge of 
 the construction of the trenches and approaches 
 to the fort, and was highly commended by 
 Generals A. J. Smith and E. A. Carr for the 
 efficiency of his work. He also engaged in a 
 large number of skirmishes. Through expos- 
 ure while in the army his right eye was affected 
 so that he has since lost the sight of it. 
 
 After the war Major Stark returned to his 
 old home at Tiffany, and engaged in farming. 
 His father gave him a tract of eighty acres, to 
 which by purchase he subsequently added an- 
 other eighty-acre tract, located in the south- 
 west quarter of Section 26. This property he 
 farmed and rented until 1896, when he sold it, 
 well improved. He now owns the seventeen 
 acres of land in Section 35, town of La Prairie, 
 on which he resides. 
 
 Our subject married, Jan. 20, 1868, Miss 
 H. Eliza Nash, daughter of Jefferson and Ma- 
 tilda (Owen) Nash, and by this marriage there 
 was one daughter, Nellie Matilda, who mar- 
 ried Charles H. Weirick, of Shopiere, and has 
 two children, Marion and Maurice. Mrs. H. 
 Eliza Stark died Oct. 8, 1879. She was a 
 member of All Souls Unitarian Church. For 
 his second wife our subject married, Sept. 20, 
 1882, Mrs. Cora M. Hemmingway, widow of 
 John Hemmingway, and daughter of Hugh 
 Chapin. By this marriage Mr. Stark has three 
 children : Charles W., Jr., Hubbard, and Cora 
 
 M. By her former husband Mrs. Cora M. 
 Stark had one son, Hugh. She died Oct. 8, 
 1887, aged twenty-seven years. 
 
 Mr. Stark has been prominent in public 
 life. On Oct. 25, 1865, he was appointed, by 
 the Treasury Department at Washington, In- 
 spector of Distilled Spirits and Coal Oil in and 
 for the Second Collection District of Wiscon- 
 sin. In the spring of 1868 he was elected 
 town clerk and held that office two years. He 
 was then elected register of deeds of Rock 
 county, and re-elected two years later, serving 
 four years. While filling that responsible 
 office he for three years was the owner of the 
 Rock County Abstract, and during the same 
 period he built at Janesville 350 fanning mills. 
 I11 1874 he was elected alderman of the Second 
 ward in Janesville, on the Republican ticket, 
 and be served as such in the common coun- 
 cil of the city until he went back to his 
 farm. Returning to his farm in 1876, he has 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 139 
 
 followed agricultural pursuits ever since, in 
 connection with wagon repairing. He has 
 served as assessor four or five years, and in 
 1900 was census enumerator of La Prairie 
 township. Though a Republican in politics, the 
 Major was appointed postmaster at Tiffany 
 Oct. 28, 1895, during the administration of 
 President Cleveland, which office he still holds. 
 He has been prominent in politics, and both 
 he and his father have attended numerous 
 county, Congressional and State conventions. 
 Major Stark became a member of Good Samar- 
 itan Lodge, No. 135, F. & A. M., of Clinton, 
 Wis., in 1864, and of Janesville Chapter, No. 
 5. R. A. M., in 1872. He is a member of W. 
 H. Sargent Post, No. 20, G. A. R., and also 
 of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee, 
 established at Raleigh, N. C., April 25, 1865. 
 
 MARK GOODRICH. This well-known 
 citizen and representative farmer of Mt. Ida 
 township, Grant county, was one of the brave 
 defenders of the Union during the Civil war. 
 In August, 1861, at Mt. Ida, he enrolled his 
 name among the members of Company H, 
 7th Wis. V. I., and was mustered into the 
 United States service at Madison, the regi- 
 ment being assigned to Gen. McDowell’s 
 command. His enlistment was for three years, 
 but on account of disability he was honorably 
 discharged Feb. 27, 1863, being at that time 
 in the convalescent camp near Alexandria, 
 V a. He returned to his home in Mt. Ida 
 township, but, improving in health, he resolved 
 to again enter the service of his country, and 
 on Dec. n, 1863. enlisted for three years, or 
 during the war, in the 33d Wis. V. I., with 
 which he took part in a number of important 
 engagements, including Gen. Banks’ unfortu- 
 nate Red River campaign ; the siege and cap- 
 ture of Fort Blakely and Spanish Fort; the 
 siege of Mobile; and the battle of Nashville, 
 under command of Gen. Thomas. He received 
 his final discharge Sept. 4, 1865, and again 
 returned to his home in Grant county. 
 
 A native of New York, Mr. Goodrich was 
 ,born in Allegany county in 1842, a son of 
 Elijah and Polly (Dempsey) Goodrich, the 
 former a native of New Jersey, the latter of 
 New York. In 1843 the family migrated from 
 the Empire State to Wisconsin, and took up 
 their residence in Fennimoire township, Grant 
 county, a few years later removing to Mt. 
 Ida township, where the father entered a tract 
 
 of government land which became the home- 
 stead of the family, and which his sons now 
 own and occupy. He followed the occupa- 
 tions of farming and blacksmithing, and died 
 upon his farm in Mt. Ida township. His first 
 wife, the mother of our subject, died in Fen- 
 nimore township, and he subsequently mar- 
 ried Almina Russell, who died on the home- 
 stead in Mt. Ida township in June, 1899. By 
 the first union there were three children : 
 Mark, the immediate subject of this biogra- 
 phy; Mary, wife of Thomas Cooper, of Mt. 
 Ida township; and Adeline, wife of Frederick 
 Werley, of the same township. One son was 
 born of the second marriage, Lewis Edwin, 
 who, with Mark, owns the homestead farm. 
 
 Mark Goodrich was quite young when he 
 came with his parents to Grant county, which 
 has been his home continuously since. He 
 and his brother have a fine farm of 145 acres, 
 under a good state of cultivation, and in its 
 operation are meeting with excellent success, 
 being among the most thorough and sys- 
 tematic agriculturists of their township. Both 
 are highly respected citizens of the community, 
 and Mark Goodrich is an esteemed member 
 of Sam Monteith Post, G. A. R., of Fen- 
 nimore. 
 
 LYMAN D. CULVER, familiarly known 
 as ’Squire Culver, is a representative farmer 
 and leading' citizen of Ellenboro township. 
 Grant county, where his manly virtues and 
 upright character have won him a host of 
 friends. 
 
 Mr. Culver was born in Huntington, 
 Ohio, April 7, 1840. His father, Joshua N. 
 Culver, was born in Randolph, Portage Co., 
 Ohio, Nov. 30, 1808, and his mother, Caro- 
 line C. Tillotson, was born in December, 1814, 
 near Rochester, N. Y. Joshua N. Culver was 
 a son of Timothy Culver, who was born in 
 Massachusetts in 1775, and was a soldier in 
 the war of 1812. He married a Merryman. 
 and through her our subject is related to the 
 Morton family, the same one to which ex- 
 Vice President Levi P. Morton belongs. Levi 
 P. Morton and Levi Merryman Culver were 
 named after the same man. Our subject’s 
 great-grandfather, Joshua Culver, born in 
 1750, was a soldier in the Revolution. 
 
 Joshua N. Culver, the father of Lyman 
 D., spent the earlier part of his life in 
 Ohio, where he married, and was for some 
 
140 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years a farmer in Lorain county. In 1846 
 lie brought his family to Grant county, Wis., 
 buying- a farm in Harrison township, and here 
 he and his wife completed their lives. He 
 died in 1892, outliving her by seven years. 
 He cast his first vote for William Henry Har- 
 rison for President, and his last for Benjamin 
 Harrison. Mr. and Mrs. Culver were both 
 consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and were strong workers in its behalf. 
 They reared a family of seven children, all 
 sons. ( 1 ) Henry Morton Culver, the eldest, 
 was born in Ohio in September, 1833, and 
 grew to manhood on the parental farm in 
 Grant county. He married Miss Elizabeth 
 Thomas, and they began their married life 
 as renters of a portion of the family estate. 
 She died Dec. 22, 1863, and he only sur- 
 vived until May 7, 1864. They left two chil- 
 dren — Linnie L., now Mrs. W. G. Corpian, 
 of Grant county, and Delos L., now of Potosi. 
 (2) Otis Morton died in childhood 1 . 1(3) 
 Levi M., now of Syracuse, N. Y., was sta- 
 tion agent for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
 Paul railroad at Woodman and Wauzeka, 
 Wis., for a number of years. He married Miss 
 Amelia Lillie, who died in Iowa, and they had 
 five children — Lillie, a graduate of the White- 
 water Normal, and now a prominent teacher 
 in Milwaukee; Rose, deceased; Fred, who died 
 when a young man; Hattie, wife of Frank 
 Rhodes, a banker, of Estherville, Iowa ; and 
 Roy, now a real estate dealer at Port Arthur, 
 Texas. (4) Lyman D. is our subject. (5) 
 Elmer E., born in Grant county in 1849, mar- 
 ried Miss Emma R. Curry, of Minnesota, and 
 they live on the old homestead in Harrison 
 township. They have a family of five living 
 children, Otis, Herbert, Guy, Arthur and 
 Cora. (6) LI. L., born in Grant county in 
 April, 1 853, married Miss Happy P. Pickett, 
 of Crawford county, and lives in that county, 
 where he owns a farm of 320 acres. He is 
 the father of sixteen children, eleven living: 
 Charles, Alva, Everett, Ethel, Asa, Masel, 
 George, Edith, Alta, Edna and Lennice. (7) 
 D. T., born Dec. 26, 1857, married Miss Rynda 
 Graves, and they have two children, Lecla 
 and Lelah. For some time they lived on the 
 old homestead, but their home is now in 
 Platteville. 
 
 Lyman D. Culver received but a limited 
 education in the district schools, as he was 
 able to attend only during the short three- 
 
 months winter terms. However, he was a 
 great reader of history and a lover of useful 
 books, so he accumulated a stock of informa- 
 tion that has proved valuable all his life. In 
 1861 he enlisted in Company F, 7th Wis. V. 
 I., which became a part of the Iron Brigade, 
 and served in Virginia under Gen. McDowell 
 and other commanders of the Army of the 
 Potomac. He was taken sick at Fredericks- 
 burg, and lay in hospital for a long time. 
 He was finally discharged at Washington, in 
 November, 1863, and sent home on account of 
 disability. In July, 1864, he married Miss 
 Honor A. Ivey, the estimable daughter of 
 James and Mary A. Ivey, old and prominent 
 pioneers of Grant county, where Mrs. Culver 
 was born in November, 1846; she received 
 her education in the district schools of Har- 
 rison township. The young couple immediate- 
 ly took up farming, and in March, 1865, 
 bought eighty acres of wild land in Ellenboro 
 township, where Mr. Culver erected a log- 
 house, and there their life work began. They 
 lived in the log house until 1880, when it was 
 replaced by a fine frame house, provided with 
 all modern improvements, and they have now 
 one of the finest homes in Grant county, known 
 as the “Evergreen Avenue Farm,” from the 
 fact that fine rows of evergreen shade trees 
 are on both sides of the road. Mr. Culver 
 owns 160 acres in Ellenboro, and 200 acres 
 in Harrison township, having purchased the 
 old homestead from his brother D. T. He 
 may well be counted among the solid and suc- 
 cessful farmers of southern Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Culver have had nine chil- 
 dren : (1) Eber, born in 1865, is unmarried, 
 and living at home. (2) Adda, a bright young 
 girl, died when fourteen years old. (3) Henry, 
 born March 7, 1869, was a student in the 
 Platteville high school and the Valparaiso 
 (Ind.) Normal, is a young man of scholarly at- 
 tainments, and takes an active part in the local 
 affairs of Ellenboro township, serving as town 
 clerk. He is an active worker in church and 
 Sunday-school. (4) Jennie Ivey, born in Au- 
 gust, 1871, is a student at the Platteville Nor- 
 mal, class of 1902, and is one of the suc- 
 cessful teachers in this section. She is a 
 great worker in the church and Sunday- 
 school. (5) Jesse N., born Sept. 26, 1873, 
 is unmarried, and is a resident of Iowa. (6) 
 Benjamin F., born in January, 1876, is at 
 home. (7) May L. and (8) Gay L., twins, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 141 
 
 born Nov. 23, 1878, ancl (g) Edward D., 
 born Dec. 9, 1883, are all students at the home 
 schools. Air. Culver has always been a worker 
 in the Republican ranks. He has been school 
 director twenty-five years, and is now justice 
 of the peace, an office that he has held for 
 five years. He is a member of W. T. Sher- 
 man Post. No. 65 , G. A. R., at Platteville. 
 
 RALPH PARKER BLEASDALE, one 
 of the prominent farmers of Janesville town- 
 ship, Rock county, enjoys the distinction of 
 being a native of Wisconsin, having been born 
 Oct. 23, 1854, in Section 19, where he now 
 resides, a son of Ralph P. and Eliza C. (Dick- 
 son ) Bleasdale, natives of England and Scot- 
 land, respectively. 
 
 Ralph P. Bleasdale was a bookkeeper, fol- 
 lowing that occupation in England and after 
 he immigrated to America, whither he came 
 with his parents in 1845. The family locat- 
 ed in Rock county, Wis., where they engaged 
 in farming. Later Ralph P. Bleasdale went 
 back to Leeds. England, in 1846 or 1847, and 
 married, after which he returned to Rock 
 county, farming until 1851 in Rock township. 
 At that time he bought a farm of 120 acres 
 in Section 19, Janesville township, later added 
 forty acres, and resided upon it until his death, 
 in 1880, at the age of fifty-four, improving the 
 property, and increasing its value. The par- 
 ents of our subject had four sons and three 
 daughters : John William, of Chicago, 111 . ; 
 
 Joseph Robert, of Findlay, Ohio; Ralph 
 Parker, our subject; Frank Thornton, of New 
 Carlisle, Ind. ; Eliza Hannah, wife of Frank 
 Case, of Clarion, Iowa; Agnes Jane, wife of 
 Charles Hawk, of Center township, Rock Co., 
 ,Wis. ; and Florence Annie, wife of Orrie Case, 
 of Belmond, Iowa. The paternal grandfa- 
 ther of our subject, Robert Bleasdale, was 
 a native of England, and died in Rock coun- 
 ty, Wis., at the advanced age of seventy. By 
 occupation he was a farmer. His family con- 
 sisted of seven children. The maternal grand- 
 father of our subject, John Dickson, was a 
 native of Scotland, an architectural modeler 
 by trade. Coming to America in i860, he re- 
 sided with his daughter, Mrs. E. C. Bleasdale, 
 until 1861, when he died, aged sixty-seven 
 years. He had five children, two sons and 
 three daughters. 
 
 Ralph Parker Bleasdale has lived all of 
 his life upon the farm where he was born, 
 
 except two years which he spent in Iowa. 
 Having always followed farming, at the death 
 of his father he took charge of the farm. On 
 March 23, 1892, Air. Bleasdale married Airs. 
 Almeda Isabel Jenkins, daughter of Charles 
 and Lucy (Vesper) Foote. In his political 
 affiliations' Air. Bleasdale is a Republican, and 
 socially he is a member of Janesville Lodge, 
 No. 55, F. & A. AT, and also belongs to the 
 Caledonian Society. Both Mr. and Airs. 
 Bleasdale are hospitable people. They reside 
 on the farm of our subject’s mother, which 
 Air. Bleasdale is actively engaged in improv- 
 ing. and are enjoying all the comforts of life. 
 
 PHILIP C. GRIMM is one of the success- 
 ful business men of Cassville, Grant county, 
 a member of the well-known firm of Grimm 
 Brothers, general merchants and grain deal- 
 ers, who established business at that place in 
 1 87 1. He was born in Coblenz, Rhine Prov- 
 ince, Germany, Dec. 12, 1847, a son °f Valen- 
 tine and Henrietta (Fuerstenhaupt) Grimm, 
 of whom further mention is made in the sketch 
 of Hermann Grimm, on another page of this 
 volume. 
 
 Philip C. Grimm was reared in his native 
 land, where he was educated in French, Eng- 
 lish and German. In 1871 he bade good-by 
 to home and friends and came to the United 
 States, sailing from Hamburg and landing in 
 New York. He proceeded at once to Cass- 
 ville, Wis., and' for seventeen years was em- 
 ployed as clerk in the mercantile establishment 
 of Klindt, Geiger & Co., during that time ac- 
 quiring an excellent knowledge of the business, 
 which has been of great advantage to him in his 
 subsequent career as a merchant. In partner- 
 ship with his brother Hermann he has since 
 conducted a general store and engaged in the 
 grain business, meeting with good success in 
 both undertakings. 
 
 At Cassville Air. Grimm was married, in 
 1874, to Miss Alary E. Lawrence, a native of 
 that place, and a daughter of Thomas and De- 
 borah (Smith) Lawrence, who were born in 
 Ireland, and came to Cassville at a very early 
 day. Here her father enlisted in the war of 
 the Rebellion, and died in the service. Airs. 
 Lawrence is still a resident of Cassville. The 
 children born to Mr. and Airs. Grimm are 
 Charles L., Harry Leroy, Lawrence T., Ralph 
 H. and Hazel Kittie. The parents are both 
 active and earnest members of the Baptist 
 
142 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Church, and Mr. Grimm has served as super- 
 intendent of the Sabbath-school for nine years. 
 He is quite prominent in business and social 
 circles, and is a member of Dewey Lodge, No. 
 98, K. of P., of Cassville, and the Ancient 
 Order of United Workmen in Nebraska. In 
 his political views he is independent, support- 
 ing the men whom he believes best qualified to 
 fill the offices, regardless of party lines. 
 
 RICHARD H. BARLOW is a prominent 
 and popular photographer of Janesville, Rock 
 county, and because he puts into his work gen- 
 uine artistic skill and discernment has made it 
 a great success. He is always seeking the 
 artistic effect, and whatever he sends forth to 
 the world has always a touch of the light, and 
 is not simply a mere reproduction of the cut- 
 ward alone. 
 
 Mr. Barlow was born near Delavan, Wal- 
 worth Co., Wis., April 2, 1864, son of Silas 
 V. and Antoinette (Goff) Barlow, natives of 
 New York and Wisconsin, respectively. They 
 had two children : Richard H., whose name 
 
 introduces this article; and a child, who died 
 in infancy. Silas V. Barlow came from El- 
 mira, N. Y., to Wisconsin with his parents 
 when fifteen years old, and located with them 
 in Walworth county. There he grew to man- 
 hood and there he engaged in the cultivation of 
 his own farm near Delavan, in which thrifty 
 Wisconsin city he is now living with his wife, 
 and is engaged in the livery business; he moved 
 into town seventeen years ago. Politically 
 he is a Republican. His wife attends the 
 Methodist Church. 
 
 Rev. Silas U. Barlow, our subject's grand- 
 father, was a Methodist clergyman, . born in 
 New York, of English ancestry. He came 
 AA est in the. early days, and worked at carpen- 
 tering and farming through the week, preach- 
 ing- on Sundays, frequently making long trips 
 on horseback in order to fill his engagements. 
 He died in Delavan, Wis., at the age of eighty- 
 three, leaving a large family. Stephen C. 
 Goff, the maternal grandfather of our subject, 
 was born in Buffalo, N. Y., and was an early 
 settler in Walworth county, owning a farm at 
 Heart Prairie, Wis.; in early life he was a 
 painter and glazier. He reared a small fam- 
 ily. and was over seventy at the time of his 
 death. 
 
 Richard IT Barlow was reared on the 
 farm in AVal worth county, and was afforded 
 
 opportunity for the acquisition of a very good 
 education. He attended the district school, 
 passed through the public schools of Delavan, 
 and attended Clark’s Business College one win- 
 ter. Leaving school, he had charge of a sta- 
 tionary engine one season, and then began the 
 study of photography, which has become his 
 life work. In November, 1893, he came to 
 Janesville, and, in company with Alphonso E. 
 Hatch and Robert H. Fitch, bought the photo- 
 graph gallery of Mr. Turner, the business being 
 conducted under the firm name of Barlow, 
 Hatch & Co., who together owned and op- 
 erated five studios. After a short time Mr. 
 Barlow sold out his interest in the other studios, 
 buying his partners’ interest in the Janesville 
 gallery, which he has carried on most success- 
 fully up to the present time. He stands high 
 in his chosen calling, and was a member of the 
 executive committee of the Wisconsin State 
 Photographers’ Association at its last annual 
 meeting. Mr. Barlow attributes part of his 
 success, at least, to the excellent business train- 
 ing he had from his father, who conducted an 
 agricultural implement business in Delavan for 
 many years, and has also had a livery barn 
 there for sixteen years. 
 
 Mr. Barlow and Miss Gertrude M. Harper 
 were married Oct. 7, 1896. She is a daugh- 
 ter of Robert and Hannah (Atcheson) Harper, 
 and is a lady of much character, enjoying 
 many friends, and sympathizing heartily with 
 her husband’s artistic tastes and proclivities. 
 Their home is at No. 5 Jefferson avenue. Mr. 
 Barlow is a member of Oriental Lodge, 
 Knights of Pythias, and is a Republican in 
 politics. 
 
 LASELL C. BREWER, the genial host 
 of the “Park Hotel,” of Janesville, Rock coun- 
 ty, conducts a first-class hostelry upon mod- 
 ern plans, and provides his guests with all con- 
 veniences, and furnishes a table that has gained 
 for his house a wide-spread reputation. 
 
 Mr. Brewer was born in Otsego county, 
 N. Y., in the village of Hartwick, Feb, 27, 
 1838, a son of Jonathan AV. and Julia (Leland) 
 Brewer, natives of New York and Vermont, 
 respectively. The paternal grandfather of our 
 subject, Jonathan Brewer, was a native of 
 New York State, where he engaged in farm- 
 ing, reared a large family, and died at an ad- 
 vanced age. The maternal grandfather, Joshua 
 Leland, a native of Vermont, was also a farm- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 M3 
 
 er, and later a lawyer, and had a number of 
 sons and daughters. Jonathan W. Brewer, 
 the father of our subject, conducted a foundry, 
 blacksmith shop and plow works, in Hart- 
 wick, N. Y., for many years. In 1846 he re- 
 moved to- Michigan, buying a farm near 
 Owosso, in the town of Bennington, where he 
 resided until his death, which occurred in July, 
 1872, when he was seventy-four years of age. 
 His wife survived him several years, and was 
 eighty-two at her death. Both were members 
 of the Universalist Church, and very worthy 
 and highly esteemed people. During the 
 Mexican war Jonathan W. Brewer served his 
 country in a brave and gallant manner, as colo- 
 nel of a regiment. Four children, three sons 
 and one daughter, were born to him : Helen 
 
 M., wife of Joseph H. Howe, of Owosso, 
 Mich. ; Emory L., of Owosso, Mich., a boot 
 and shoe merchant; Lasell C., of Janesville; 
 and Burns \Y., of Owosso, Michigan. 
 
 Lasell C. Brewer resided in New York State 
 until 1846, and then moved with the family 
 to Michigan, where he grew to manhood, 
 working on a farm until the war of the Rebel- 
 lion broke upon the country. Fired with pa- 
 triotism, Mr. Brewer enlisted, in December, 
 1861, in Company E, 14th Mich. Ah 1 ., and 
 served until the close of the war. At Brent- 
 wood, Term., Mr. Brewer was wounded, and 
 again, although but slightly, in front of At- 
 lanta, in the collar-bone. Entering the ranks, 
 for his bravery Mr. Brewer was promoted 
 until he attained the rank of captain. Among 
 the engagements in which he participated 
 might be mentioned Shiloh, the first and sec- 
 ond battles of Nashville, Missionary Ridge, 
 Resaca, Stone River, Chickamauga, and Buz- 
 zard’s Roost, and he was fighting almost con- 
 tinuously until the fall of Atlanta. After the 
 second battle of Nashville Mr. Brewer was 
 promoted in the 30th Mich. Y. L, and went 
 out as first lieutenant of Company K. Later 
 lie was promoted to the rank of captain, com- 
 manding the company about three months, 
 when he was honorably discharged, in June, 
 1865. 
 
 After the war Mr. Brewer engaged in the 
 livery business in Owosso, Mich., continuing 
 same for some time, during' which period he 
 served most acceptably as both alderman and 
 city marshal. Leaving Owosso, Mr. Brewer 
 removed to Dane county, Yds., and bought a 
 farm of 320 acres, which he cultivated for 
 
 some years, and later sold. During his term 
 of residence in that county he was elected 
 chairman of the town board of supervisors, 
 and held the position as long' as he remained 
 there. After selling his farm Mr. Brewer en- 
 gaged in the hotel business at Evansville, Wis., 
 and on Feb. 5, 1896, bought the “Park Hotel,” 
 in Janesville, which he still conducts. After 
 taking charge of this popular house Mr. Brewer 
 made a number of desirable improvements, 
 and by his efforts has largely increased its 
 patronage. 
 
 On Feb. 4, 1868, Mr. Brewer married Miss 
 Ellen M. Graves, daughter of S. W. and Mary 
 R. Graves, and four children have been born 
 to them: Lena G., who married Joseph Cole- 
 
 man, of Fort Atkinson, Wis., and has two chil- 
 dren, Arlene May and Carroll : Chester L., 
 a professor in Albion (Mich.) College, who 
 married Grace Brownell, a daughter of Isaac 
 C. Brownell; Burns W., in high school at 
 Janesville ; and Claude, who died when he was 
 eighteen months old. 
 
 Sociallv Mr. Brewer is a member of the 
 F. & A. M. Lodge No. 81, of Owosso, Mich., 
 and for many years was a member of Sutbers 
 Post, G. A. R., of Evansville. Politically he 
 is independent, voting as his convictions dic- 
 tate, and in addition to the offices already 
 mentioned served as clerk of the school board, 
 chairman of the board of health, and justice 
 of the peace, in Rutland, Wisconsin. 
 
 Possessing' as he does, in marked degree, 
 the qualities necessary to success in his calling, 
 Mr. Brewer has extended his circle of ac- 
 quaintances and friends until it embraces many 
 States, his house being a favored one with 
 travelers who pass through Janesville, as well 
 as with the people of that city. Genial and 
 entertaining, Mr. Brewer is an acquisition, 
 wherever he goes, and enjoys not only the es- 
 teem, but also the admiration, of all who know 
 him. 
 
 JAMES PIERCE is one of the oldest and 
 best-known pioneers of Milton township. 
 Rock county. In 1838. before he had attained 
 his majority, he left his home in New York 
 State for the wild and undeveloped West. 
 Coming by boat to Milwaukee, he soon became 
 identified with the settlement of the Rock 
 River Valley. 
 
 Mr. Pierce was born in Alfred township, 
 Allegany Co., N. Y., Dec. 26, 1817, son of 
 
1 44 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Samuel ancl Susan (White) Pierce, both na- 
 tives of Rhode Island. Of their five children, 
 four sons and one daughter, two survive : Will- 
 iam, of Danbury, Iowa; and James, our sub- 
 ject. The father in 1851 followed his son 
 West, and located in the southwestern part of 
 Milton township, Rock county, where he died 
 in 1865. His wife survived many years, 
 spending her later years at her old home in 
 New York State, and living to the age of 
 ninety-four. Both were members of the 
 Seventh-day Baptist Church. The paternal 
 grandfather of our subject, Daniel Pierce, also 
 lived to a ripe old age, having almost attained 
 his ninetieth birthday at the time of his death. 
 He removed with his family from Rhode 
 Island, his native State, to Alfred, Allegany 
 Co., N. YY, about 1817. The maternal grand- 
 father of our subject was a sea-faring man of 
 Rhode Island. 
 
 James Pierce was reared on his father's 
 farm in New York State, and in his youth at- 
 tended the district schools. Possessing the 
 pioneer spirit, he landed in Milwaukee July 11, 
 1838, and at once started for the Rock River 
 Valley. The first halt he made was at Du Lac 
 Prairie. He began work for Joseph Good- 
 rich in Milton township, Rock county, as farm 
 hand and clerk in the store, and two years later, 
 upon his marriage, began life for himself. 
 
 On Sept. 24, 1840, Mr. Pierce married 
 Miss Olive Hal), daughter of Gardner and 
 Nancy (Stillman) Hall , and to them three 
 children have been born : Clark R., who mar- 
 
 ried Rachel B. Butts, and lives at Edgerton, 
 Wis. ; Alonzo D., who died, aged thirteen 
 months; and Susan M., who died at the age 
 of fourteen years. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce are 
 prominent members of the Seventh-day Bap- 
 tist Church, and for. many years he has been 
 chairman and treasurer of the Seventh-day 
 Baptist Church at Milton Junction. 
 
 In Territorial days Mr. Pierce served as 
 deputy county surveyor under John Hopkins, 
 of Beloit. He has been assessor of the town- 
 ship, overseer of highways, and for many 
 years supervisor, and discharged the duties of 
 justice of the peace for a period of twenty-two 
 years. In politics Mr. Pierce is a Republican. 
 
 HON. JOSEPH HARRIS, one of the men 
 of Grant county who have assisted in making 
 history within the legislative halls of the State 
 capitol, is now resting from his labors and en- 
 
 joying a well-earned repose in the city of Cuba, 
 Grant county. 
 
 Joseph Harris was born in Cornwall, Eng- 
 land, March 8, 1823, a son of Jacob and Eliza- 
 beth (Jacka) Harris, natives of England. The 
 father died in England when our subject was 
 a small boy, and the mother married Thomas 
 Nichols, later coming to Hazel Green, Grant 
 Co., Wis., where she passed away. To her 
 first marriage four children were born : John 
 
 died in England before our subject came to 
 this country; Charles came to Wisconsin, 
 crossed the Plains to California, and mined 
 until his death, in 1898; Mary A. married John 
 Vivian, in Wisconsin, and she and her hus- 
 band went to California by water (Mr. Viv- 
 ian succeeded beyond his wildest hopes, and 
 when he died, in 1895, left a magnificent prop- 
 erty, including 4,000 acres of land. His fam- 
 ily all reside in California) ; Joseph is our sub- 
 ject. 
 
 Mr. Harris received his early education in 
 the schools of his native land and when he came 
 to America, in April, 1844, he settled at Hazel 
 Green. In 1849 the gold fever broke out, and 
 among the thousands who crossed the Plains 
 in search of the king of metals was Joseph 
 Harris. After some two years, during which 
 time he successfully prospected and mined, Mr. 
 Harris returned to Hazel Green, but the love 
 of the venturesome life proved too strong, and 
 he returned to California in 1852, again re- 
 maining two years. In 1854 he again returned 
 to Wisconsin, purchasing land in Hazel Green, 
 which he still owns, and which he developed 
 into one of the finest stock farms in Grant 
 county. In addition to this he also owns a 
 fine farm of 340 acres in Smelser, and he is one 
 of the prosperous farmers and stockmen in that 
 section of the county. For many years Mr. 
 Harris continued to raise stock for the Chicago 
 market, but he now resides at his comfortable 
 home in Cuba City, retired from active busi- 
 ness life. 
 
 In 1846 Mr. Harris married Miss Rebecca 
 Bawden, and eleven children have been born to 
 them : John T., for twenty years a resident 
 
 of Texas; Mary A., now wife of John Mc- 
 Carthy, of Minnesota, who has four children; 
 Rebecca, now wife of Josiah Kempthorne, of 
 Iowa, who has four children; Charles, married, 
 a farmer of Smelser township; Joseph, mar- 
 ried, a prominent butcher of Cuba City; Ethel- 
 inda, educated at the Platteville Normal, and 
 

 
 
 <• 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 145 
 
 now wife of G. W. Marvel, of Nebraska (she 
 has a family) ; Jacob, married, a stock dea’er 
 of Cuba City, and a member of the Cuba City 
 Bank, which was organized in 1898; Nettie, 
 now wife of Rev. Mr. Thomson, a Congrega- 
 tional clergyman, now stationed at Ashkum, 
 111 . (they have a family) ; Laura B., educated 
 at the Platteville Normal School, and now the 
 wife of Matthew Hendricks, one of the leading 
 merchants and bankers of Cuba City (she has 
 a family) ; Allie B., twin sister of Mrs. Hen- 
 dricks, now the wife of Prof. T. J. Metcalf, of 
 the Platteville State Normal, from which in- 
 stitution of learning they both graduated (after 
 his marriage Prof. Metcalf removed to Merrill, 
 Wis., where he began to practice dentistry, hav- 
 ing also graduated from the Chicago Dental 
 College) ; and T. H. Harris, a graduate of the 
 Chicago Dental College, now a dentist at 
 Beresford, South Dakota. 
 
 Mr. Harris was originally a Henry Clay 
 Whig, and when the Republican party was 
 formed gave his support to its principles, and 
 has continued in its ranks ever since. In i860 
 Mr. Harris was honored with election to the 
 Legislature of Wisconsin, and re-elected two 
 terms, after which he refused the nomination 
 several times, feeling that he had given as 
 much of his time as- he could spare from his 
 business to affairs of State. In addition, he 
 filled all of the town offices from time to time, 
 and always received the hearty support of his 
 constituents. Mr. Harris was reared in the 
 Church of England, but is a man of wide sym- 
 pathies and broad opinions, and he willingly 
 gives his support to any church work, feeling 
 that every denomination is working for the 
 betterment of humanity. 
 
 AARON T. MOORE, a retired farmer of 
 the town of Paris, Grant county, was born in 
 AVayne county. 111 ., Jan. 11, 1843, a son of 
 George A. and Mary F. (Jordan) Moore. 
 The father was born in Allegheny county, 
 Penn., near Pittsburg. April 5, 1806, and the 
 mother in Indiana, July 29, 1811. 
 
 George A. Moore was reared on a farm hi 
 Pennsylvania, and after his marriage, in 1828, 
 settled on a farm in Posey county, Ind., where, 
 he and his wife lived for some years. The 
 family then removed to Wayne county. 111 ., 
 purchasing a farm there, which Mr. Moore 
 tilled four years. In the spring of 1844 Mr. 
 Moore and his family settled in the town of 
 
 Paris, Grant Co., AVis., on a tract of wild land, 
 and here the remaining years of his life were 
 spent, and under his energetic treatment was 
 developed a fine farm. He died March 4, 
 1883. His wife survived many years, and 
 passed away Jan. 19, 1899. Mr. Moore re- 
 garded himself as an old Jacksonian Democrat, 
 but on the breaking out of the Rebellion had 
 felt obligated to vote with the Republican 
 party, and continued to vote their ticket after 
 that time. Mrs. Moore was a member of the 
 Congregational Church, and was known as a 
 fine Christian woman. Mr. Moore was not 
 identified with the church as a member, but he 
 was always interested in moral movements, 
 and was a liberal contributor to the support of 
 the church. Mr. and Mrs. Moore were the 
 parents of eleven children, three of whom died 
 in childhood. ( 1 ) David S. Moore, their 
 eldest son, was born in Indiana, and was reared 
 in Grant county, where he married Miss Ema- 
 line Richard, a native of that county. He 
 spent almost his entire life as a farmer in the 
 town of Paris, and died in 1892, leaving a 
 widow, but no family. (2) Benjamin F. 
 Moore, born in Indiana, when a young man 
 with his brother David crossed the Plains to the 
 gold fields of California, where they were fairly 
 successful. Both came back to Wisconsin, 
 where Benjamin married Miss Sarah Crull, 
 of Grant county, and moved to British Colum- 
 bia, where he is engaged as a stock and fruit 
 farmer. They have a family of three children, 
 Mary, George W., and Lucretia. (3) Ivezia 
 
 C. Moore, born in Indiana, was reared to 
 womanhood in Grant county, and married John 
 
 D. Irens, of Platteville. Three children con- 
 
 stitute their family. (4) George AV. Moore, 
 born in Indiana, enlisted in Company I, 10th 
 Wis. V. I., in 1861, and died at Louisville, 
 Ivy., in December, 1862. (5) Aaron T. 
 
 Moore was next in the order of birth. (6) 
 Mary E. Moore, born in Grant county, was 
 reared to womanhood in her parents' home, 
 and married John A. Blakely, of Harrison, 
 Grant county, who is now a retired farmer in 
 Rockville, Wis. ; he was a soldier in the Civil 
 war. They have had five children. (7) 
 John H. Moore, born in Grant county, is a 
 musician of note. He has never married. (8) 
 Martha J. Moore, born on the Grant county 
 homestead, married August Lenhe, and makes 
 her home on the homestead place. They have 
 two children, Leroy and Frank. 
 
146 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Aaron T. Moore grew to manhood on the 
 home farm, and acquired his education in the 
 public schools of the town. When he was 
 nineteen years of age he enlisted in Company 
 I, 25th Wis. V. I., and served in the far West 
 until the month of November, of the following- 
 year, keeping the Indians under control. In 
 December the 25th Wisconsin came back to 
 the State, and in February went to Columbus, 
 Ky., where four months were spent in guard 
 duty. In May the regiment was moved down 
 the Mississippi, and it had an active part in the 
 operations around Vicksburg. W hen that 
 stronghold surrendered the regiment was trans- 
 ported to Helena, Ark., where it did good 
 work in army operations in that region for 
 several months. In the month of February, 
 1864, it was sent across the State of Mississippi 
 and back to Vicksburg, and took part in Gen. 
 Sherman's operations against Gen. Johnston. 
 This regiment had a part in the operations that 
 followed on the Cumberland river, in Tennes- 
 see, and was with Gen. Sherman in the cam- 
 paign around Atlanta; formed a portion of 
 the General’s magnificent army with which he 
 marched to the sea, and broke the backbone of 
 the Rebellion; was in the grand review at 
 Washington; and was there mustered out of 
 the service June 7, 1865. The record of this 
 regiment, when told at length, as it cannot be 
 in the limits of a volume like this, is one of the 
 most brilliant and patriotic of any of the noble 
 organizations that Wisconsin sent to the front. 
 
 Mr. Moore returned to the old homestead 
 and took up a farmer’s life as soon as his 
 military days were over. In February, 1869, 
 he married Miss Harriet Brady, a daughter of 
 R. S. and Jane Brady, old pioneers of Grant 
 county, originally from Ohio. Mrs. Moore 
 was born in Ohio, where she spent the early 
 part of her life, but her girlhood was mainly 
 passed in Grant county. After his marriage 
 Mr. Moore bought a farm in the town of 
 Paris, where he and his wife made their home 
 until the death of Mrs. Moore, in May, 1897. 
 Since that time Mr. Moore has lived retired. 
 They had no family. 
 
 Mr. Moore is a Republican, has been a 
 member of the Paris town board a number of 
 terms, has been several times a delegate to the 
 county convention, and in 1901 was elected 
 chairman of his town. He belongs to W. T. 
 Sherman Post, No. 66, G. A. R., at Platte- 
 ville. He is also a member of the Knights of 
 
 the Globe, No: 25, at Dickeysville, Wis. Re- 
 ligiously he was reared a Protestant, and has 
 always been a liberal contributor to the support 
 of the local churches. Mr. Moore is a repre- 
 sentative citizen of his town, and has made a 
 record in his long and useful life of which any 
 'man might be proud. 
 
 HERMANN GRIMM, one of the leading 
 citizens and prominent business men of Cass- 
 vil.le. Grant county, is a member of the firm of 
 Grimm Brothers, general merchants and grain 
 buyers of that place, where he has made his 
 home since the spring of 1852, Cassville being 
 a very small hamlet when he located here. 
 With the growth and upbuilding of the town 
 he has been, prominently identified, and, while 
 promoting his individual prosperity, has ma- 
 terially advanced the interests of his adopted 
 home. 
 
 Mr. Grimm was born Dec. 28. [832, in Cob- 
 lentz, Rhine Province, Germany, and is a son 
 of Valentine and Henrietta (Fuerstenhau.pt) 
 Grimm, the former also a native of Coblentz, 
 the latter of Naumburg, Saxony. The father, 
 who was a municipal officer of Coblentz, died 
 at that place in 1876, and the mother died 
 there in 1880. Of their ten children, Hermann 
 is the eldest; Valentine came to Cincinnati, 
 Ohio, in 1854, and was later engaged in the 
 manufacture of cigars at St. Louis, Mo., until 
 his death, in 1892; Hugo was associated with 
 his brother Valentine in business, and died 
 the same year ; Aloys is a prominent business 
 man of Cassville, Wis., his sketch appearing 
 on another page of this volume; William is 
 still a resident of Coblentz, Germany; Joseph 
 makes his home in Bloomington, 111 . ; Gustoph 
 died in St. Louis in 1895; Philip C. came to 
 Cassville in 1871, and is the junior member of 
 the firm of Grimm Brothers ; Anna and Helen 
 are still residents of Germany. 
 
 Hermann Grimm grew to manhood in his 
 native land, and acquired his education in its 
 public schools. In the spring of 1852 he set 
 sail from Liverpool, England, for America, 
 and after a voyage of six weeks landed at New 
 York. He proceeded on his journey by rail, 
 to Erie, Penn. ; by boat to Detroit, Mich. ; by 
 rail to Chicago and Rockford, 111 . ; by stage to 
 Galena; and by river to Cassville, Wis., where 
 he arrived in June, 1852. In 1859 he opened 
 a livery stable at this place, which he success- 
 fully conducted until 1888, and then embarked 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 147 
 
 in his present business, in partnership with his 
 brother Philip. They carry a large and well- 
 selected stock of general merchandise, deal in 
 grain, and handle all kinds of produce. 
 
 In 1859 Mr. Grimm was married, at Cass- 
 ville, to Miss Elizabeth Ishmael, a native of 
 Illinois, and to them have been born seven chil- 
 dren, namely : Henrietta, Mrs. Duncan, of 
 Cassville ; Kate, Mrs. Stevens, and Bertha, 
 Mrs. Stevens, both of Rhinelander, Wis. ; Val- 
 entine, of Cassville; William, at home; Jennie, 
 Mrs. Willis P. Colburn ; and Eldridge, of 
 Rhinelander. 
 
 Fraternally Mr. Grimm affiliates with the 
 Ancient Order of United Workmen, and po- 
 litically he is identified with the Democratic 
 party. He was chairman of Cassville town- 
 ship for twenty-two years, and has been one 
 of the trustees of the Grant County Insane 
 Asylum since 1884. Pie takes an active in- 
 terest in all enterprises for the good of his 
 town or county, and is a recognized leader in 
 public affairs. By untiring industry and sound 
 judgment he has won merited success in his 
 business undertakings, and is in all respects 
 worthy of the high regard in which he is held 
 by his fellow citizens. 
 
 J-. M. ROSE, a prominent contractor and 
 builder of Platteville, Grant county, is a na- 
 tive of Ohio, born Jan. 31, 1845. ' n Roseville, 
 Muskingum county, a son of John and Mary 
 (Woolard) Rose, natives of Ohio and Penn- 
 sylvania, respectively. In 1S49 the family 
 came to Grant county, Whs., and took up their 
 residence in Platteville, where the father fol- 
 lowed the carpenter's trade until called from 
 this life, in 1862. The mother long survived 
 him, dying in 1880. leaving three children, 
 namely: Elizabeth A., now Mrs. Townsend, 
 
 residing in Platteville; George L., living in 
 Dubuque, Iowa; and J. M. 
 
 J. M. Rose grew to manhood in Platteville, 
 and is indebted to its splendid public-school 
 system for his educational privileges. In early 
 life he learned the cabinet trade with W. & 
 J. Grindell, working with them for eight years. 
 He then abandoned the cabinet trade and 
 took up carpentering, which latter trade he still 
 follows. For a number of years he has en- 
 gaged in contracting and building, now hav- 
 ing his eldest son as partner. He draws his 
 own plans and specifications, and has met with 
 well-deserved success in his chosen occupa- 
 
 tion,. as mention of a few of the many hand- 
 some residences he has erected will testify — B. 
 F. Huntington’s, Will Rindlaub’s, H. G. 
 Chase’s, H. E. Stephens,’ Thomas Jenkens,’ 
 and many others. 
 
 In Platteville Mr. Rose was married, in 
 October, 1866, to Miss Lizzie Stephens, a na- 
 tive of Mineral Point, Iowa Co., Whs., and a 
 daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Letcher) 
 Stephens, natives of Yorkshire, England, and 
 early settlers of Grant county. Mrs. Stephens 
 died in 1874. Thomas Stephens still survives, 
 aged about eighty-five years. Mr. Rose has 
 had eight children born to him, one of whom, 
 Nora, died in 1873. The living are John W., 
 Jesse G., Cora E., Will A.. Charles G., Walter 
 E., and Myrtle M. 
 
 In December. 1863, Mr. Rose laid aside 
 all personal interests to enter the service of his 
 country, enlisting for three years or during 
 : the war in Company E. 25th Whs. V. I., which 
 ' regiment was assigned to the 17th Army Corps, 
 and accompanied Sherman to the sea. Mr. 
 Rose was mustered in at Madison, Whs., Jan. 
 14, 1864. and took part in all the engagements 
 in which his command participated up to the 
 battle of Decatur. These included the battles 
 of Resaca. Snake Creek Gap and Dallas. At 
 Decatur, he received a severe gunshot wound 
 in the side and arm and was left on the 
 field for twenty-four hours, it being supposed 
 that he was fatally injured. He was then 
 taken to the field hospital, and later to Mariet- 
 ta, Ga. Receiving a furlough he came home, 
 and as soon as able reported for duty at Madi- 
 son, Whs. He was then transferred to the 
 United States Army Hospital at Prairie du 
 Chien, and remained there until honorably 
 discharged from the service, in February, 
 1865. Mr. Rose is now an honored member 
 of W . T. Sherman Post. No. 66, G. A. R., 
 and is also a member of the Knights of the 
 Globe. He uses his right of franchise in sup- 
 port of the men and measures of the Repub- 
 lican party, and, as every true American citi- 
 zen should, he takes an active interest in public 
 affairs. He is well and favorably known, and 
 is a worthy representative of one of the hon- 
 ored old families of Platteville. 
 
 CHESTER C. BENNETT, the principal 
 member of the C. C. Bennett Shoe Co., of 
 Janesville, Rock county, enjoys an enviable 
 reputation as a business man and a genial gen- 
 
148 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tleman throughout the city and county. . He 
 is now in the prime of life, and has a circle of 
 friends of which any man might well be proud. 
 
 Mr. Bennett was born in Lima township, 
 Rock Co., Wis., May 25, 1865, and is a son of 
 George and Susan (Osmond) Bennett, both 
 natives of New York. They were the parents 
 of five sons, three of whom are now living: 
 Dr. L. F. Bennett, of Beloit, Wis. ; Chester 
 C. ; and James B., who is now living on the 
 home farm. Orrin G., another son, lived to 
 become a member of the medical profession, 
 and attain some standing in that line, but is 
 now deceased. The father, who has always 
 been a farmer, came to Wisconsin about 1851, 
 and located on the farm which has continued 
 to be his home until the present time; it or- 
 iginally consisted of 120 acres, but he now 
 owns 160 acres. Here he has lived and reared 
 his family, holding an honorable position in the 
 world. He and his wife are still on the farm, 
 though its care has fallen into the hands of 
 their youngest son, James. The aged parents 
 are members of the Baptist Church, and have 
 worthily sustained their religious professions 
 throughout their lives. George Bennett has 
 always been a Republican. His father was a 
 native of New York, and died in that State 
 while still a young man. The maternal 
 grandfather of Mr. Bennett, Caleb Osmond, 
 was born in England, but came to this country 
 early in life. He located in New York, moved 
 to Ohio, and from that State came to Wis- 
 consin when it was still largely a wilderness. 
 He was a farmer, and had a farm near Milton 
 Junction, where he died when eighty-nine years 
 old. He was the father of a large family. 
 
 Chester C. Bennett was reared to man- 
 hood on the farm in Lima township, attended 
 the district school, and Milton (Wis.) College, 
 and began teaching when he was nineteen years 
 of age. He was a teacher for three years, and 
 then clerked in a dry goods store in Janesville 
 six months. He spent some time as a clerk in 
 a grocery store in Chicago, and held the posi- 
 tion of buyer for the establishment. Returning 
 to Janesville, he bought a grocery store in that 
 city Sept. 24, 1889, and conducted same until 
 the spring of 1S92, doing a fine business, and 
 building up a good trade. That year he sold 
 it, and turning his attention to real estate and 
 loaning money soon secured a very extensive 
 patronage. On April 20, 1896, he formed a 
 partnership with George H. Cram, of Beloit, 
 
 and established a shoe store in Janesville, which 
 quickly became a center of trade. Mr. Ben- 
 nett bought out Mr. Cram's interest Dec. 16,. 
 1897, and formed a stock company, now called 
 the C. C. Bennett Shoe Co. (incorporated), 
 which has become a brilliant success. 
 
 Chester C. Bennett and Miss Laura E. 
 Chapman were married Nov. 5, 1889. She is 
 a daughter of Mrs. A. E. Chapman, and is a 
 lady of many charms and graces. They are the 
 parents of two children, Ermine F. and 
 Audrey E. The family has a pleasant home 
 at No. 1 Jeffris fiats. Mrs. Bennett is a mem- 
 ber of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Bennett 
 is a member of several fraternal associations, 
 and is popular wherever found. He belongs to 
 Janesville Lodge, No. 55, A. F. & A. M. ; the 
 Knights of Pythias ; the I. O. O. F. ; the A. O. 
 U. W. ; and Rock River Encampment. He is a 
 Republican politically. 
 
 T. B. SHERMAN, one of the well-known 
 business men of Stitzer, Grant county, Wis., 
 is engaged in the furniture and lumber busi- 
 ness at that place, and belongs to one of the 
 early families of Lancaster. 
 
 Mr. Sherman was born in Franklin county, 
 Vt., in 1853, son of Cyrus L. and Fanny ( Bar- 
 ber) Sherman, also natives’ of the Green 
 Mountain State. The mother of our subject 
 was a daughter of the Hon. Joel and Aseneth 
 (Melvin) Barber, natives of Connecticut, who 
 migrated first to Vermont, and then, in 1856, 
 to Lancaster, Wis. There Joel Barber died, 
 at the advanced age of eighty-seven, and his 
 wife died in the same city at the age of eighty. 
 The Hon. Joel Allen Barber is a brother of 
 our subject’s mother, as is also the venerable 
 Theodore Barber, who is now eighty-seven. 
 Mrs. Cyrus L. Sherman was born in Vermont 
 April 29, 1822, was married June 18, 1849, and 
 died in 1889, after a long and active life in 
 Lancaster. Cyrus L. Sherman was a con- 
 tractor and builder. In 1854 he migrated to 
 Grant county, Wis., where he died soon after- 
 ward, in i860. His children are: Myron, 
 
 a resident of California; T. B. ; Mary F., wife 
 of a Mr. Bushnell, of Madison, Wis.; and Ar- 
 thur, a resident of California. 
 
 T. B. Sherman was reared in Lancaster, 
 being educated in the public schools of that 
 place, and learning his father’s trade of car- 
 penter and joiner. For fifteen years Mr. Sher- 
 man worked at his trade in Lancaster, then 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 149 
 
 removed to Stitzer and embarked in his present 
 business, which he has built up until it is the 
 leading one of the town. Since 1891 Mr. 
 Sherman has been postmaster, and has rendered 
 efficient service in that capacity. 
 
 In 1880 T. B. Sherman was married to 
 Miss Fanny Carter, of Lancaster/ a daughter 
 of William and Ann (Fox) Carter, natives of 
 England who in 1850 emigrated to the United 
 States, and settled in Lancaster, Grant Co., 
 Wis. Xear that town Mr. Carter opened up 
 a farm, where he died in 1875. and his wife 
 passed away, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Sherman, at Stitzer. in 1892. 
 
 In political matters Mr. Sherman adheres 
 to the principles of the Republican party, and 
 socially he is connected' with the Odd Fellows 
 and the Woodmen. He takes an active interest 
 in the welfare of the community in which he 
 lives, and is regarded as a good citizen, a kind 
 friend and a prosperous business man. 
 
 JOHN LEYIT L. deceased. The name of 
 Levitt is a familiar one to the old settlers of 
 Monticello township, Lafayette county, and 
 one they have all learned to respect because 
 of the manly qualities of those who have borne 
 it. John Levitt was a native of Yorkshire, 
 England, born June 12, 1816, and his early life 
 was passed in his native county. In 1832 he 
 came to America, proceeding at once to Wood 
 county, Ohio, and in 1838 located in Wiscon- 
 sin, his first home being within the confines of 
 Green county, near Monroe. On March 10, 
 1839, he arrived in Monticello, where he se- 
 cured a claim of government land on Section 
 34. This tract proved very valuable under his 
 careful management, and he improved it with 
 good buildings, and made of it a comfortable 
 home. 
 
 On March 11, 1844, Mr. Levitt was united 
 in marriage with Miss Sarah Alderson. a native 
 of England, and their union was gladdened by 
 ten children, two of whom died in infancy. 
 The others were : Mary Ann, Mrs. Peters, who 
 died Dec. 9, 1900, while on a visit from her 
 California home to the old homestead in Wis- 
 consin ; Richard, a resident of California : John, 
 a resident of Monticello township; Luther B., 
 at the old home; Cynthia E. ; Charles W. : 
 Ed win D. ; and Alice B.. wife of James 
 Lamont, of Cherokee county, Iowa. Mr. Levitt 
 died at his home March 22, 1897, having passed 
 the age of fourscore years. The wife and 
 
 mother, whose birth occurred April 26. 1827, 
 still survives, lovingly cared for by her devoted 
 children. The Leavitt homestead is one of the 
 oldest in this part of the county, and has been 
 in the continuous possession of the family for 
 over sixty years. 
 
 Mr. Levitt had not reached man's estate 
 when he came to this country, and was wholly 
 without means, but his steady habits, clear head 
 and willing hands furnished him with what 
 proved to be ample capital, and he gained a 
 competence sufficient to enable him to enjoy 
 all the comforts and many of the luxuries of 
 life during the evening of his career. He was 
 a public-spirited citizen, and took a deep in- 
 terest in all that pertained to the welfare of 
 his community. Fie was a worthy member of 
 the Methodist Church, steadfastly endeavoring 
 to practice in his life the faith he professed. 
 Two of his brothers, William and Richard, 
 also came to this country, and became well 
 known in Monticello township, both highly 
 respected; the latter removed in 1890 to 
 Kansas, where his death occurred March 15, 
 1900. 
 
 CAPT. JOHN McDERMOTT is num- 
 bered among the gallant men who hastened to 
 the defense of the country, and whose lives 
 were sacrificed in upholding the flag. 
 
 Our subject was born at Carrick. Ireland, 
 in 1822, and came to the United States at the 
 age of nineteen, first locating in Wisconsin, at 
 Mineral Point, Iowa county, where, like most 
 of the early settlers of that part of the State, 
 he engaged in mining. At the age of twenty- 
 four he married in Highland township. Iowa 
 county. Aliss Elizabeth Fletcher, of Mineral 
 Point, and about 1850 located on land in Fen- 
 nimore, Grant county. In 1852, when the 
 gold excitement in California was at its height, 
 he crossed the Plains to the Pacific coast. Re- 
 turning after an absence of about two years, 
 Capt. McDermott resumed farming, and was 
 successfully pursuing that occupation when the 
 war of the Rebellion was inaugurated. His 
 loyalty to the Union, his fearlessness and sense 
 of duty, did not long permit him to stand idly 
 by and see others rushing to the front, while 
 he remained at home in the pursuit of ordinary 
 business. Early in 1862 he began raising a 
 company, and succeeded in the formation of 
 Company C, 20th Wis. V. I., with Capt. Mc- 
 Dermott in command. The regiment was or- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 150 
 
 ganized in August, 1862, and soon after was 
 engaged in active service at the front. At the 
 battle of Prairie Grove, Ark., Dec. 7, 1862, the 
 20th took a prominent part, and made the first 
 charge on the enemy. They were met unex- 
 pectedly by a greatly superior force, and were 
 obliged to fall back. While doing so, the color 
 bearer and color guards were the especial 
 targets of the enemy, and were shot down. 
 As the colors fell Capt. McDermott seized the 
 flag, to prevent its falling into the hands of 
 the enemy, but had scarcely done so when he 
 too fell dead. Thus died, in defense of his 
 country, a brave soldier and loyal-hearted citi- 
 zen. 
 
 Capt. McDermott was sincerely mourned, 
 not only by his own command, but by all who 
 had come to know his gallantry and sterling 
 worth. It is the universal testimony, of those 
 who knew him best, after nearly forty years 
 have passed away, that when Capt. McDermott 
 died the Nation lost one of its bravest officers. 
 He left his wife with six children to rear. The 
 noble mother, faithful to the charge that de- 
 volved upon her, carefully brought them up, 
 and all have become respected and useful men 
 and women. I hey are: Sarah, wife of Samuel 
 Steuert, of Fennimore ; Mary, wife of Leander 
 Walker: Emma; Isabel, wife of Melvin Shear- 
 er ; Dr. Thomas E. McDermott ; and Prof. 
 Edward Eugene McDermott. The good wife 
 and mother passed away at her home in Fenni- 
 more Nov. 1, 1887, deeply mourned by her 
 family and friends. She was a lady of a high 
 order of ability, and will long be remembered 
 by all who knew her. 
 
 Thomas E. McDermott, M. D., was ed- 
 ucated at the Platteville Normal School and the 
 Wisconsin State University, at Madison. In 
 1879 he entered Rush Medical College, Chica- 
 go, where lie pursued the study of medicine, 
 and then entered the Chicago Medical College, 
 from which he graduated three years later with 
 the degree of M. D. Following his graduation, 
 for a year and a half, Dr. McDermott was res- 
 ident physician of the Cook County Hospital, 
 Chicago, since which time he has resided at 
 Fennimore, engaged in the practice of his pro- 
 fession. Dr. McDermott has built up a large 
 and lucrative practice, and is held in high es- 
 teem, both professionally and socially. 
 
 Prof. Edward Eugene McDermott was edu- 
 cated at the Northwestern State University, 
 Evanston, 111 ., where he graduated in the class 
 
 of 1S83. For three years he was principal of 
 the high school at Lancaster, and now occu- 
 pies the Chair of Oratory in the University of 
 Minnesota. 
 
 GEORGE R. BARKER, the genial, well- 
 known supervisor of Janesville township, Rock 
 county, was born in Chautauqua county, N. Y., 
 Oct. 25, 1839, a son of Job and Phoebe (Smith) 
 Barker, natives of Massachusetts and Vermont, 
 respectively. 
 
 Caleb Barker, the paternal grandfather of 
 our subject, was a native of Massachusetts, and 
 a farmer by occupation. He married a Miss 
 Eddy, and reared a large family. His death 
 occurred at Granville, N. Y., where he is buried, 
 and where the majority of his children lived. 
 The maternal grandfather of our subject, 
 George Smith, was a native of Vermont, and 
 a brother of Samuel Smith, of Smithfield, R. I., 
 born about 1785. By occupation he was a 
 farmer. He married Rachel Read, a daughter 
 of John and Hannah (Farnum) Read. The 
 Read family trace their origin in America to 
 Col. Thomas Read, who came to this country 
 in 1630; and in England back to Thomas 
 Read, Escp, of Barton Court, in the County of 
 Berks, England, 1575. George Smith and his 
 wife had nine children. He died in the East, 
 while yet in the prime of life. 
 
 Job Barker, the father of our subject, was 
 a farmer, who came to Rock county in 1840, 
 and took up government land, owning at one 
 time 1,240 acres, most of which he improved, 
 although he died in 1846, aged forty-eight 
 years, his wife surviving until 1879, when she 
 died aged seventy-six. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
 Job Barker were members of the Society of 
 Friends, but after moving West Mrs. Barker 
 attended the Episcopal Church. Phoebe Smith 
 was the second wife of Job Barker, who by his 
 former wife had two children: Walter, of Cali- 
 fornia; and Angeline, of Santa Ana, Cal., the 
 widow of Leonard Marsh. In the family of 
 which our subject was a member there were six 
 children, three sons and three daughters, four 
 of whom are now living: Cecelia A., wife of J. 
 W. Coolridge, of Baldwinsville, Mass. ; George 
 R., of Janesville township ; Julius IT, who lives 
 with his brother George; and Eugenia, widow 
 of J. H. Conrad, a resident of Chicago. 
 
 George R. Barker was only six months old 
 when brought to his present home, in 1840, 
 where he has resided ever since. His early 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 education, obtained at the district schools of his 
 neighborhood, was supplemented by two terms 
 at Milton (Wis.) College, since which time Mr. 
 Barker has devoted his attention to his agri- 
 cultural interests. After his marriage he came 
 into possession of a portion of the family estate, 
 and in 1868 built his present substantial and 
 comfortable home. Although he owns 200 
 acres, Mr. Barker only farms a little over 100 
 acres himself, renting the remainder of his 
 property. 
 
 On Feb. 21, 1867, Mr. Barker married Miss 
 Margaret A. Cargill, daughter of Capt. Will- 
 iam and Edna (Davis) Cargill, and six chil- 
 dren, two sons and four daughters, have been 
 born to them: Edna Phoebe, wife of William 
 Bradley Conrad, of Janesville, has one son, 
 Bradley ; Julius Morville, who married Pauline 
 Davis, of Brunswick, Mo., is a partner in the 
 tobacco factory at Brunswick, Mo. ; Ella Claire 
 is the wife of Arthur P. Allen, steward in the 
 Northern Hospital, near Oshkosh, Wis. ; Mary 
 Rogers is temporarily in Chicago, although 
 her home is still with her parents ; George Car- 
 gill is still at home ; and Margaret, also at 
 home, graduated in 1900 from the Janesville 
 high school. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Barker, 
 Thomas Cargill, was a native of Scotland, and 
 a custom-house official. Mrs. Barker’s ma- 
 ternal grandfather, Isaac Davis, was born and 
 lived on Long Island, N. Y. The parents of 
 Mrs. Barker came from Long Island, N. Y., to 
 Rock county in 1857, settling' in Harmony 
 township, and engaging in farming, although 
 until his migration Mr. Cargill had been a 
 sailor. He followed farming until a few years 
 prior to his death, when he removed to the city 
 of Janesville, dying March 26, 1893, aged 
 eighty years and two weeks. His wife died in 
 1887, aged seventy-four years. Five sons and 
 one daughter were born to this couple, five of 
 whom are still living: Margaret A. (Mrs. 
 
 Barker) ; William W. ; Samuel; Sylvester, and 
 James. Thomas is deceased. 
 
 Mrs. Barker is an active and consistent 
 member of the M. E. Church ; and Mr. Barker 
 belongs to the A. O. U. W.. and the Grange. 
 Politically his affiliations are with the Republi- 
 can party, and he has most acceptably served 
 as supervisor of Janesville township for 
 nine years, and as chairman of the Janesville 
 township board for six years. Mr. Barker 
 was also township treasurer for eight years, 
 
 1 5 1 
 
 and has been treasurer of school district No. 
 3 for many years. For sixty-one years Mr. 
 Barker has been a resident of Janesville town- 
 ship, and he enjoys the distinction of being the 
 oldest resident, as well as one of the most es- 
 teemed and honored of its citizens. No man 
 has the welfare of the township more at heart 
 than has Mr. Barker, as he has most conclus- 
 ively proven by his many years of faithful serv- 
 ice as a public official, as well as in his char- 
 acter as a private citizen. 
 
 JACKSON PACE, one of the oldest and 
 most honored citizens of Wyalusing, Grant 
 county, is a native of Virginia, his birth oc- 
 curring in Bedford county May 10, 1815. He 
 is the only child of John and Polly Pace, 
 though his mother had several children by her 
 second marriage. His father died of yellow 
 fever at Norfolk, Ya., when Jackson was but 
 a child. 
 
 Jackson Pace was reared in the family of a 
 maternal uncle, and when about fifteen years 
 of age commenced earning his own livelihood, 
 working in a tobacco factory, where he was 
 employed several years. Leaving his native 
 State in 1840, Mr. Pace went to Warren coun- 
 ty, Mo., where he worked in a similar establish- 
 ment for three years, and then came to Wiscon- 
 sin. locating first at what was called Pigeon 
 Diggings, near Lancaster, Grant county, where 
 he engaged in mining until 1847. On August 
 5, that year, he wedded Miss Mary Allens- 
 worth, who was born July 20, 1827, and died 
 Sept. 8, 1869. To that union were born six 
 children who reached adult age, but two daugh- 
 ters are now deceased. Nancy and Mary. Those 
 living are Rebecca Jane, born May 4. 1851 ; 
 Rachel F.. May 2. 1857; Mitchell, May 9, 
 1859; and Thomas Grant, March 1, 1864. 
 
 In 1849 Mr. Pace took up his residence in 
 Lancaster, but two years later moved to Bee- 
 town, and about 1857 bought a farm, which 
 he operated for a time, and then sold. He 
 engaged in mining and farming until 1858. 
 when he moved to Wyalusing, and has since 
 made that place his home. 
 
 Politically Mr. Pace was first a Whig, and 
 later a Republican, and fraternally he is a mem- 
 ber of the Masonic Order, with which he has 
 been connected for nearly half a century. He 
 and his family are worthy members of the Con- 
 gregational Church, and are held in high re- 
 gard by all who know them. He is remarkably 
 
152 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 bright and active for one of his years, is pleas- 
 ant and genial in manner, and has a wide 
 circle of friends and acquaintances who esteem 
 him highly for his sterling worth. His life 
 has been manly, his actions sincere, and his ex- 
 ample is well worthy of emulation. 
 
 CAPT. S. W. OSBORN. For a half cen- 
 tury Capt. S. W. Osborn, the subject of this 
 biography, has been a resident of the city of 
 Darlington, Lafayette county, which now de- 
 lights to honor him as one of her distinguished 
 citizens. He was born at Franklin, Dela- 
 ware Co., N. Y., July i, i S 1 1 , a son of Samuel 
 and Polly (Webster) Osborn, both of whom 
 were natives of Connecticut. The maternal 
 grandfather, Michael Webster, who was a 
 soldier in the war of the Revolution, died in 
 Ashtabula county, Ohio, at the age of 102 
 years, retaining his faculties until the close of 
 his long life. The paternal grandfather, Sam- 
 uel Osborn, was also a soldier in the Revolu- 
 tion ; he spent his last days in his native State, 
 Connecticut. 
 
 In 1813, when our subject was but two 
 and one-half years old, his parents migrated 
 from the State of New York to Ashtabula 
 county, Ohio, and the father died near San- 
 dusky in [820, the mother passing away in 
 Ashtabula county in December, 1877, a t the a §‘ e 
 of nearly ninety-four years. Capt. Osborn is 
 one of a family of four sons and two daughters, 
 three members surviving at the present: S. 
 
 S., who resides in Chicago, born Oct. 21, 
 1804; our subject; and Mrs. S. E. Barrett, 
 born in Franklin, N. Y., in July, 1813, who is 
 a resident of Darlington, Wis., and has one 
 daughter, Mrs. R. S. Woodworth, a resident 
 of Pennsylvania. Those who have passed 
 away were S. A., Mrs. S. M. Sanford, and 
 S. C 
 
 Having the misfortune to so early lose their 
 father, our subject and other members of the 
 family were given homes with relatives until 
 able to provide for themselves. In common 
 with many pioneer families, the mother's means 
 were limited, while there were many mouths 
 to feed, but our subject took upon himself as 
 many responsibilities as one of his age could 
 bear, and was not long dependent upon any 
 one. His boyhood and early manhood were 
 spent in Ashtabula county, where he early en- 
 gaged in farming, later becoming a miller, at- 
 tending to his business steadily and pursuing 
 
 it with success. In April, 1850, Capt. Osborn 
 came to Lafayette county, and thus became ac- 
 quainted with the proprietor of the plat of Dar- 
 lington. Soon after he returned to Ohio, the 
 same year, he was solicited to return West and 
 assist in the erection of a large mill at Darling- 
 ton. Accepting the terms of this offer, he re- 
 turned to Darlington in 1851, assisted in the 
 building of the mill, and operated it for fourteen 
 years. At the time of his location in the city 
 the population was sparse, and his is the only 
 familv now residing here that was located per- 
 manently, except that of Charles Blakely. 
 
 When the Civil war broke out, in 1861, 
 Capt. Osborn was not long in making up his 
 mind to offer his services to his country. From 
 youth he had been opposed to slavery, in 1844 
 had voted for James G. Birney, and was a 
 pronounced Abolitionist in his views. His age 
 caused him to be refused a place in the ranks 
 at the opening of the war, but a little later, 
 when rules became somewhat relaxed, from 
 necessity, he was admitted, his service begin- 
 ning in the fall of 1861, as captain of Company 
 I, 1 6th Wis. V. I., which left Camp Randall 
 March 14, 1862. His baptism of fire was on 
 the bloody field of Shiloh, where his regiment 
 lost heavily, his own company’s ranks being 
 decimated, his first lieutenant being killed, 
 while the second was wounded. Soon after 
 this battle Capt. Osborn was taken ill, and 
 came home on a sick furlough, but rejoined, 
 his regiment before he had sufficiently recov- 
 ered, taking part in the battle of Corinth, 
 Miss. ; however, his health was so precarious 
 that he could no longer be of use to the govern- 
 ment, and he returned home in December, 
 1862. 
 
 For several years after his return Capt. 
 Osborn was unable to engage in any work con- 
 tinuously, but, thanks to a good constitution 
 and a well-ordered life, he has recovered 
 enough to pursue his ordinary vocations, al- 
 though he will probably never fully recover his 
 former vigor. As soon as able he again re- 
 sumed work at the mill, where he remained for 
 four years, since which time he has been 
 variously engaged. For four more years he 
 was the efficient superintendent of the Lafay- 
 ette Poor Farm, then traveled through the 
 South for a season, in the interests of the King 
 Bridge Co., of Ohio. Always an ardent Repub- 
 lican, for a number of years he was postmaster 
 at Darlington, and in 1865 was a member of 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 153 
 
 the Assembly branch of the Legislature. Capt. 
 Osborn was a delegate to the first Republican 
 convention held in Wisconsin, in 1856, this 
 being the only Republican organization of the 
 party in the State. Until 1844 he voted with 
 the Whigs, in 1840 voting for Harrison, in 
 1848 for Van Buren, the Free-Soil candidate, 
 and since the formation of the Republican party 
 he has cast his vote with it at every election. 
 
 The marriage of Capt. Osborn took place 
 March 1. 1835, to Miss Julia M. Gardner, a 
 native of Massachusetts. She passed away 
 April 18, 1897, after a married life of sixtv- 
 two years. Four children were born to this 
 marriage, three of whom survive: Mrs. S. M. 
 Orton, wife of Hon. P. A. Orton, of Darling- 
 ton; H. W., a physician of Cleveland, Ohio; 
 and C. F., an attorney of ability, who is judge 
 of the probate court of Lafayette county : the 
 other, Mrs. Julia M. Hodge, died many years 
 ago. 
 
 Within the brief limits of a volume of this 
 kind, no adequate sketch can be given of as 
 prominent an individual as our subject. Capt. 
 Osborn is one of Lafayette's most esteemed 
 and respected citizens, and is honored also as 
 one who has assisted materially in the growth 
 of the city to which he came in its infancy, and 
 whose development he has watched with so 
 much interest and pride. 
 
 REV. WILLIAM CLARKE WHIT- 
 FORD, President of Milton College, of Mil- 
 ton, Rock county, was born May 5. 1828, near 
 the village of West Edmeston. in the town of 
 Edmeston, Otsego county. N. Y., the eldest of 
 four sons born to Capt. Samuel and Sophia 
 (Clarke) Whitford. 
 
 The father of our subject was a lineal de- 
 scendant of Pasco Whitford, who was born 
 about 1640 in Bedfordshire, England, emi- 
 grated to America about 1665, and resided in 
 Newport, East Greenwich, and Kingston, R. I. 
 In the four generations succeeding him, the 
 other ancestors of Samuel were directly con- 
 nected by marriage with prominent families 
 of Rhode Island by the names of Wells, Cong- 
 don, Burdick, Clarke, Brown, Babcock, Ma- 
 coone, Saunders, and Greenman. Capt. Sam- 
 uel’s grandfather. Joshua Whitford, of Ston- 
 ington, Conn., and of Berlin, X. Y.. enlisted in 
 1775 and in 177S in the Continental Army of 
 the Revolution, and was present at the evacua- 
 tion of Boston, Mass., by the British. He took 
 
 part in the expedition of Gen. Sullivan against 
 Newport, R. I. He became ensign also, in a 
 company of militia raised in Stonington, Conn., 
 in 1777. Sophia (Clarke) was a descendant 
 in two lines from Joseph Clarke, Jr., of New- 
 port and Westerly, R. I., a nephew of Dr. John 
 Clarke, immigrant in 1637, pastor of the first 
 Baptist Church in Newport, and deputy gover- 
 nor of Rhode Island. The ancestral home of 
 this family was in the parish of Westhorpe, 
 County of Suffolk, England. Members of it in 
 direct lines, in Rhode Island, became related 
 by marriage with the families of the State 
 named Hubbard, Champlin, Reynolds, Perry, 
 Hazard, Freeman, Potter, Babcock, and Pen- 
 dleton. 
 
 Capt. Samuel Whitford was born the fourth 
 of twelve children, in the town of Brookfield, 
 Madison Co., N. Y., Aug. 28, 1797, of parents 
 who were reared in the town of Berlin, Rens- 
 selaer Co., N. Y . He was a farmer by occu- 
 pation nearly all his life, and raised and bought 
 cattle and sheep, selling them in the large mark- 
 ets of the State. Samuel Whitford was only 
 sixteen years of age when his father, David 
 V hitford, died, leaving an invalid wife, Mrs. 
 Meribah V hitford. and nine living children, 
 and but one daughter younger than Samuel, 
 and two of them crippled from their birth ; 
 Mrs. Whitford was a daughter of Nathan and 
 Eunice Greenman, of Berlin, N. Y. The care 
 of the family came upon the youth’s shoulders. 
 He worked the small farm left by his father, 
 teamed to different towns and cities for store 
 keepers, and manufactured potash in Otsego, 
 Madison and Allegany counties, N. Y., de- 
 voting all his earnings for fourteen years 
 to the support of his mother, brothers and 
 sisters. On October 26, 1826, he married 
 Sophia, the eldest of eight children born to 
 Joseph and Hannah (Clarke) Clarke, natives, 
 respectively, of the towns of Westerly and 
 Hopkinton, R. I. Sophia Clarke was born 
 Feb. 6, 1802, in the town of Brookfield, X T . Y., 
 but lived the greater part of her life in the 
 town of Plainfield, Otsego Co., same State. 
 She, too, lost her father at an early age, and 
 greatly assisted her mother in supporting the 
 younger children of the family. The first five 
 years after their marriage Samuel Whitford 
 and his wife resided in the town of Edmeston, 
 where he bought and cleared a densely wooded 
 farm, but they soon afterward returned to the 
 town of Plainfield, to live at the old Clarke 
 
154 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 homestead, cultivating a portion of the old 
 farm. Here his death occurred Sept. 21, 
 1848, and hers July 14, 1888. He possessed 
 remarkable physical strength and endurance, 
 great soundness of judgment, and superior 
 moral and religious characteristics; and in his 
 later years, though favored in boyhood with 
 but three months of schooling, he exerted con- 
 siderable influence and held various positions 
 of trust and honor, in both the military and 
 the civil life of bis town. Mrs. Whitford in- 
 herited a somewhat delicate body, sensitiveness 
 of feeling, strong affections, and a very tena- 
 cious memory, and exhibited through life a 
 marked piety and an absorbing desire to help 
 others. Of their children, Rev. William Clarke 
 was the eldest. Hamilton Joseph, born April 
 4, 1830, became the owner of the parental 
 farm, and cared most tenderly for his invalid 
 mother until her death, and he, himself, de- 
 parted this life at Leonardsvil.le, N. Y., Oct. 
 28, 1896. Albert, born May 28, 1832, was 
 graduated by Union College, at Schenectady, 
 N. Y., has been occupied nearly all his adult 
 life in teaching, having served as principal of 
 De Ruyter Institute for two years, filled the 
 chair of mathematics in Alfred University for 
 four years (both in New York State). In ad- 
 dition he has been connected with Milton Col- 
 lege for thirty-eight years as one of its main 
 professors, and at times its acting president, 
 besides discharging the duties of a county su- 
 perintendent of schools for one term. Herbert 
 David, born July 9, 1834, enlisted in a Wiscon- 
 sin infantry regiment, "and served as a volunteet 
 soldier for three years in the Civil war, being 
 engaged in some of the severest battles of the 
 Southwest, subsequently joining the regular 
 army, and experiencing for four years the hard 
 life belonging to service in the Rocky Mount- 
 ains; he now has quarters in the National Sol- 
 diers Home near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 
 
 Rev. William Clarke Whitford passed iris 
 early life on his father’s farm, and from in- 
 fancy has been noted for his extraordinary 
 physical activity. He attended usually a dis- 
 trict or select school in the winter, and worked 
 at tilling the soil during the other seasons of 
 the year. At twelve years of age he developed 
 an insatiable fondness for reading, and for the 
 ensuing five years be applied himself assiduous- 
 ly to the perusal of all rvorks of travel, history, 
 biography, practical moral instruction, and 
 standard poetry, which came within his reach. 
 
 Finding farm work ill suited to his ruling- 
 taste, he began to make preparations to enter 
 some literary or professional calling; and ac- 
 cordingly, at the age of sixteen years, he en- 
 tered Brookfield Academy, near his home, 
 where he studied nearly three years. When 
 almost of age he was admitted as a student in 
 De Ruyter Institute, where he fitted himself 
 to become a member of the Senior class of 
 Union College, from which he was graduated 
 with degree of Bachelor of Arts, in 1853. He 
 began teaching when sixteen years of age, and 
 paid his expenses largely in this way while in 
 attendance at both Brookfield Academy and 
 De Ruyter Institute. Immediately after leav- 
 ing Union College he began the three-years 
 course of study in Union Theological Semi- 
 nary, of New York City, and completed the 
 course May 5, 1856. While in this institution 
 lie supported himself in part by teaching private 
 pupils, and supplying the pulpits of two small 
 churches. He was ordained to the gospel min- 
 istry April 13, 1856, by the Seventh-day Bap- 
 tist Church at New Market, N. J. There for 
 nearly two hundred years many of his ances- 
 tors had belonged to the denomination of which 
 this church was an honored member, and he, 
 himself, while living in the town of Plainfield, 
 N. Y., had joined this religious body by profes- 
 sion of his faith and by baptism when fourteen 
 years of age. Prior to both graduations men- 
 tioned above he had assisted in collecting data 
 for the first elaborate map of Madison county, 
 N. Y., and had filled for part of a year the 
 position of assistant principal of Milton Acade- 
 my, Wis., and that of principal for two years 
 of Union Academy, at Shiloh, New Jersey. 
 
 On May 29, 1856, he entered upon the 
 duties of pastor of the church of his faith at 
 Milton, Wis., and continued in this charge 
 during the following three years. It was a 
 period of almost incessant activity. In it he 
 averaged at least four sermons a week, made 
 over a thousand pastoral visits, raised $870 
 for benevolent purposes outside of the support 
 of the gospel and of education in the society, 
 conducted five distinct revival seasons, and 
 added to the church 154 persons, more than 
 doubling its membership. 
 
 In the summer of 1858, while still serving 
 the church, he accepted the principalship of 
 the Academy in the place, which grew rapidly 
 in vigor and popularity under his administra- 
 tion. During the Civil war its spirit of pa- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1 55 
 
 triotism led 312 of its students to enlist in the 
 service of their country, many of whom were 
 aided by Rev. Mr. Whitford in securing posi- 
 tions as officers in different regiments of the 
 State. After this oversight, extending over 
 nine years, he induced the stockholders of the 
 institution to convert it, by an act of the Wis- 
 consin Legislature, into a College, March 13, 
 1867, and he was at once chosen by its Board 
 of Trustees as its President, and also as the 
 head of this Board. The former office he has 
 held all the time since, though granted on one 
 occasion a leave of absence of nearly five years, 
 when he was filling a State position. Thus he 
 has served forty-three years continuously as 
 head of the institution. Under his adminis- 
 tration old debts have been canceled, additional 
 rooms and other accommodations furnished, an 
 endowment fund of over $83,900 secured, and 
 277 students graduated, some of whom have 
 distinguished themselves in the liberal pro- 
 fessions, and as teachers in high schools and 
 universities, and two of them as State Super- 
 intendents of Public Instruction in Wisconsin. 
 
 In the denomination to which lie belongs 
 Rev. Whitford has filled important positions 
 besides the pastorate of the Milton Church and 
 that at Rock River, in the vicinity. In the 
 former church he has served as superintendent 
 of its Sabbath-school for fifteen years. In the 
 denomination above mentioned, he has been 
 twice tlie president of its General Conference, 
 its principal organization, besides a moderator 
 of its Northwestern Association, and chairman 
 of the executive committee of the latter for 
 many years. He originated the scheme of this 
 denomination for raising a memorial fund at 
 the two hundredth anniversary of its existence 
 in America, for the purpose of aiding, chiefly, 
 its institutions of learning. In the prosecution 
 of this movement he visited most of its churches 
 in this country, and secured a considerable por- 
 tion of this fund, which now amounts to fully 
 $350,000. In 1884 he was the editor of a 
 magazine entitled The Seventh-day, Baptist 
 Quarterly , and for nine years prior to 1896 
 he was corresponding secretary of the Seventh- 
 day Baptist Education Society. He has served 
 as corresponding editor of the Sabbath Re- 
 corder , the denomination organ, having had 
 charge since 1888 of its department of History 
 and Biography. He was a member of the com- 
 mittee appointed by these people to secure and 
 arrange their exhibit at the World's Fair in 
 
 Chicago, in 1893. and to represent them at the 
 Parliament of Religions held the same year in 
 that city. In 1897 he presented an historical 
 address at the centennial anniversary of the 
 First Brookfield Church, N. Y., with which 
 he united in his boyhood. Recently, at the 
 dedication of a monument erected to the mem- 
 ory of the early pastors of the First Hopkinton 
 Church belonging to this denomination, in 
 Rhode Island, he delivered an elaborate ad- 
 dress, reviewing the career of the Seventh-day 
 Baptists in New England since 1665. His 
 sermons presented at public gatherings of these 
 people would form a good-sized volume. 
 
 President Whitford has acted as visitor 
 several times, appointed by the State, at the 
 University of Wisconsin, and at the State 
 Normal Schools. He was for one year the 
 president of the State Teachers Association. 
 From 1867 to 1882, with the exception of in- 
 tervals amounting to three years, he was a 
 member of the State Board of Normal Regents, 
 and for four years ex-officio Regent of the 
 University of Wisconsin. In 1868 he served 
 as a member of the Lower House of the State 
 Legislature, and was chairman of its standing 
 committee on Education. He has often been 
 sent as delegate to County, Congressional, and 
 State conventions of the Republican party. 
 In 1877 he was elected, and in 1879 re-elected, 
 State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
 filling that office during four years. While in 
 that position he established the present grading- 
 system of the country schools of Wisconsin; 
 labored to org'anize public schools in the newer 
 portions ; secured the enactment of a compul- 
 sory education law — the same as the one now 
 in force in most essential respects ; earnestly 
 advocated the method of raising a State tax for 
 the support of public schools, especially in the 
 more sparsely settled districts — a measure 
 subsequently adopted by the State Legislature ; 
 settled what seems to be the permanent policy 
 of the State regarding the supply of text-books 
 in such schools; and published well-considered 
 suggestions for providing for these schools 
 better arrangements for warming, ventilating, 
 seating and lighting their buildings — many of 
 these suggestions being subsequently adopted 
 in other States in the Union, and by the United 
 States Commissioner of Education. For four 
 years of the time he was State Superintendent 
 he was chief editor of the Wisconsin lournal 
 of Education, the organ of the State Teachers’ 
 
156 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Association. His addresses on educational 
 subjects in the State, and elsewhere in the 
 West and East, have been numerous and well 
 received. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Whit ford has written more than 
 a score of works or articles on educational 
 subjects for publication. Among these the 
 most important are “The History of School 
 Supervision in Wisconsin;” “Historical Sketch 
 of Education in Wisconsin,” a book of no 
 pages printed by the State for the National 
 Centennial held at Philadelphia in 1876; four 
 elaborate annual reports of the Department of 
 Public Instruction of Wisconsin; a circular of 
 200 pages on “Plans and Specifications of 
 Schoolhouses for the Country Districts, Vil- 
 lages and Smaller Cities of Wisconsin,” ten 
 thousand copies of which were published and 
 distributed by the State; “On the Free High 
 Schools of Wisconsin ;” “Text Book Legisla- 
 tion in the Different States;" “Grading System 
 for the Country Schools of Wisconsin;” “Co- 
 education of Sexes in our Schools;" "The 
 History of Education among the Seventh-day 
 Baptists in America ;” “The History of Milton 
 College,” published by the State; “The Edu- 
 cation of Work;” “The Self-Reporting System 
 in Schools;” and "Christianity in the Higher 
 Schools." Among his publications on other 
 subjects may be mentioned the following, as 
 perhaps the most interesting: “The Principles 
 of Church Discipline;” “Lessons From a Four 
 Months Trip in Europe;” "Effectiveness of 
 Preaching';" “The Prominent Ideas Illustrated 
 in the History of the Milton Seventh-day Bap- 
 tist Church;" "Christ, the Student’s Model;” 
 “The Semi-Centennial of the Milton Sabbath 
 School ;” "A Memorial Address on the First 
 Fifty Years of the Northwestern Seventh-day 
 Baptist Association ;” a work of sixty pag'es on 
 “Outline Instruction in Elocution;” “The Ef- 
 fect of Culture of a College upon its Grad- 
 uates;" “Thoroughness in the Preparation for 
 the Pursuits of Life;” and "Intelligent Hero- 
 ism.” To this list could be added the titles of 
 numerous biographical sketches published in 
 various papers and reports. President Whit- 
 ford has prepared a- full description of the 
 three engagements of the Civil, war in the 
 Glorieta Pass of the Rocky Mountains in New 
 Mexico, with views of the picturesque battle- 
 fields and adjacent scenery. He has gathered 
 materials for a “History of the Town of Mil- 
 ton,” and intends soon to complete his "Popu- 
 
 lar and Illustrated History of the Seventh-day 
 Baptists." His Baccalaureate sermons and 
 some of his popular addresses will soon appear 
 in a work of 375 pages, now being published. 
 He has visited on several occasions many points 
 of interest in our Southwestern States and Ter- 
 ritories, and in certain portions of the Republic 
 of Mexico. In 1891 he made a tour through 
 the principal countries of Europe. The infor- 
 mation he gained in these travels he has pre- 
 sented in various lectures. 
 
 The honorary degree of Master of Arts was 
 conferred upon him in 1858 by Union College, 
 Schenectady, N. Y., and that of Doctor of 
 Divinity in 1883, by Blackburn University, of 
 Jerseyville, Illinois. 
 
 President Whitforcl was married (first) 
 Oct. 19, 1850, to Miss Elmina Esther Coon, of 
 Lincklaen, Chenango Co., N. Y., a daughter 
 of Clarke and Betsey (Burdick) Coon, whose 
 ancestors for several generations lived in Rhode 
 Island. She was graduated by De Ruyter In- 
 stitute in 1850, was a very amiable and ac- 
 complished young woman, and had fitted her- 
 self for teaching and for foreign missionary 
 work. Her death, from quick consumption, 
 occurred within six months after her marriage. 
 Mr. Whitford’s second wife had as her maiden 
 name Miss Ruth Hemphill. She was a daugh- 
 ter of James and Sarah (Morrison) Hemphill, 
 of Hartsville, Steuben Co., N. Y., both of 
 whom were descended from early Scotch-Irish 
 settlers in New Hampshire, and were born and 
 reared in the town of Henniker, in that State. 
 Her grandfather, James Hemphill, Sr., served 
 in the Continental army during the Revolution- 
 ary war, was present at the battle of Bunker 
 Hill, and in other engagements in New Eng- 
 land. Mrs. Whitford was born June 15, 1829, 
 in Deerfield, Oneida Co., N. Y. ; was graduated 
 in 1848 by Alfred University; was married to 
 Mr. Whitford, March 23, 1852, at Shiloh, N. 
 J., where they were both engaged in teaching 
 in the academy of that place. She began when 
 only fourteen years of age to teach a district 
 school, and subsequently conducted a select 
 school at Adams Center, N. Y., and was the 
 sole instructor for three years in a seminary at 
 New Market, N. J. Since coming to Milton, 
 in 1856, she has taught — at different intervals 
 — in the College at least twenty-five years. 
 She is a woman of great industry and ripe cul- 
 ture, and endowed with a superior moral and 
 religious nature. Four children have blessed 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 157 
 
 their union, only one of whom is now living : 
 Minnie, the eldest, died at the age of five years ; 
 William, when sixteen months old; Freddie, 
 at the age of twelve years; and Milton Clarke, 
 the youngest, was born Sept. 17, 1866, at 
 Milton, where he still resides, and is a com- 
 mercial traveler in Minnesota and the two' 
 Dakotas. 
 
 President Whitford has a powerful physical 
 and mental organiaztion, and has been trained 
 to habits of ceaseless industry. While perform- 
 ing an immense amount of work, he seldom 
 shows any signs of fatigue. He is exceedingly 
 fond of public speaking; and with a full voice, 
 earnest manner, ready action of mind, and a 
 practical view of the questions discussed, he 
 attracts and holds closely his audiences. He 
 takes the greatest delight in teaching his classes, 
 usually numbering six to eight daily, and pur- 
 suing his favorite studies in history, philoso- 
 phy, rhetoric, and elocution. In fact, from his 
 early boyhood he has always considered the 
 principles, methods, and uses of education as 
 furnishing the main topics for his investiga- 
 tion and for advancement by his personal ef- 
 forts. In his religious opinions and practices 
 he is entirely devoid of cant or bigotry, while 
 his convictions in respect to the doctrines 
 and precepts of Christianity are firm and 
 ardent. lie has the pleasure of knowing 
 that the youth who have been under his 
 instruction have reached a higher plane 
 of intelligence and culture, and have been 
 greatly influenced and benefited in their 
 moral and spiritual careers. President Al- 
 bert Salisbury, of the State Normal School 
 at Whitewater, Wis., who completed his pre- 
 paratory and collegiate courses of study in 
 Milton College under the administration of 
 Mr. Whitford, writes of him as follows : "But 
 his greatest and most enduring work lies in the 
 personal impress that he has left upon thou- 
 sands of young men and women who have 
 passed under his hand. His large sympathetic 
 nature, his high ideals, his untiring industry 
 and unquenchable enthusiasm, and, above all, 
 his own life of steadfast self-sacrifice, have 
 made him a source of inspiration to all who 
 come within his circle as a teacher.” 
 
 WILLIAM H. LONG, a successful dairy- 
 man and farmer of the town of Platteville, 
 Grant county, Wis., has richly earned the right 
 to be written up among the successful men of 
 
 his calling in that section. He has gained a 
 good share of this world’s goods by industry 
 and economy, and is counted a faithful citizen 
 and a good neighbor. 
 
 Mr. Long was born in the town of Platte- 
 ville Dec. 7, 1840, and is a son of Louis and 
 Mary (Gregory) Long, the father born in 
 Tennessee, the mother in [Missouri. They 
 were among the first settlers of Platteville. 
 Mrs. Gregory, the grandmother of. our sub- 
 ject, was one of the first white women in the 
 town. Louis Long settled here and engaged 
 in mining, and carried on a teaming business 
 from Galena, 111 . Here he reared his family, 
 and here his wife died, in November, 1887. 
 After her death he moved to Nebraska, where 
 he passed away in 1893, in the home of one of 
 his daughters, full of years and honor. He 
 was noted far and near for his great strength 
 when he was in his prime. He was deeply 
 religious, and helped to establish the Meth- 
 odist Church in Platteville. Politically, he 
 was a Republican, and a strong defender 
 of the Union during the Civil war. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Long had three children of their 
 own, and one adopted daughter. Andrew, 
 their oldest son, was born in Platteville 
 in 1838, and married Catherine Womack; 
 they lived in Platteville until a few years 
 ago, when he moved to Lancaster. Will- 
 iam H. is the gentleman whose name appears 
 at the beginning of this article. U. I., born in 
 1842, was a soldier in the 25th Wis. V. L, 
 serving with his brother William H., and fol- 
 lowed Sherman to the sea; he was seriously 
 wounded at Atlanta, but survived the war, mar- 
 ried Margaret Cummings, and is a farmer in 
 Nebraska; they have a family of six children, 
 Jesse, Charles, Lucy. Fred, Pearl, and Annie. 
 
 William H. Long grew to manhood in 
 Platteville, where he attended the public 
 school. In 1863 he enlisted in the 25th Wis. 
 V. I., and followed the fortunes of that historic 
 regiment through the remaining years of the 
 war. He was a good soldier, and was in many 
 hard-fought battles, was at Vicksburg and at 
 Atlanta, and in numerous conflicts, and though 
 many of his regiment were killed or wounded 
 he was unhurt. Mr. Long belonged to the 
 pioneer corps, and was often detailed as for- 
 ager. After the war closed he returned to 
 wife and family, having married, in 1861. [Mrs. 
 Minerva Dowdy, the widow of Adolphus 
 Dowdy. Mrs. Long is the daughter of John 
 
153 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and Martha Day, a prominent family in old 
 Kentucky, and was born in Lexington, that 
 State, in April, 1839, coming into Wisconsin 
 with her parents when very young. Her fa- 
 ttier settled at Lancaster, remaining there some 
 years, lived for a time in Iowa county, and 
 then moved to Richland Center, where he died 
 in 1855. His widow survived thirty years, 
 and passed her last days in Minnesota, in the 
 home of a daughter. 
 
 Mr. Long bought his present farm in 1867, 
 and took up his home there. He secured eighty 
 acres northwest of Platte vi lie, and has erected 
 good buildings, and cleared up one of the fine 
 farms of Grant county, his land being all under 
 a good state of cultivation, and stocked with 
 well-bred horses and cattle. Our subject and 
 his wife have had five children: Rhoda died in 
 childhood. Frank, born in 1863, died in 1869. 
 Nellie M., born in 1866, married William 
 W aldron, of Omaha, where they now reside, 
 with one son. Cora L., born in December, 
 1870, married David Burrows, of Harrison 
 township; they reside in Grant county, and 
 have four children, Ella M., Willie, Albert E. 
 and Katie W. William A., born Dec. 5, 1872, 
 died when he was a lad of twelve years. Mrs. 
 Long had two children by her first husband : 
 Mary E. is the wife of William R. Cummings, 
 and lives in Mr. Long's house; they have 
 fourteen children, Edith, Nettie, Abbie, Ida, 
 Frank, Clarence, Annie, Myrtie, Mary, Ethel, 
 Clyde, Jasper, George and Lester. Rosa C., 
 born in Jackson county, Wis., in 1857, mar- 
 ried Charles Hoffman, of Omaha, and is now 
 deceased ; they had two children, Myrtie and 
 Hattie. 
 
 Mr. Long has always been connected with 
 the Republican party. His wife is a member 
 of the Primitive Methodist Church, and while 
 not a member, he is profoundly interested in 
 the welfare of the same. He belongs to Sher- 
 man Post, G. A. R., at Platteville. While in 
 the service, and when he was a young man, 
 he was noted for his wonderful strength ; he 
 has been known to lift five or six hundred 
 pounds as easily as most men lift a hundred. 
 
 JOHN C. RECH. The life of Mr. Rech 
 has been filled with experiences of a shifting — 
 and not infrequently adventurous and exciting 
 — character. He was born in Bavaria, Ger- 
 many. July 6, 1821, a son of Henry and Mar- 
 garet (Rech) Rech. 
 
 Mr. Rech learned the trade of a baker in 
 his father's shop. On reaching the age of sev- 
 enteen years he became inflamed with a longing 
 to win fortune in the Western hemisphere, and 
 in 1838 he bade adieu to home and kindred, 
 and set sail for the shores of America. He 
 landed at Baltimore, and for a month worked 
 at his trade. But wages were exceedingly 
 low, and an offer of one dollar per day as a 
 workman to dig a canal then in process of 
 construction attracted him. For two or three 
 months he was thus employed, when exposure 
 induced a low, malarial fever, and for eight 
 months he lay in bed at Havre de Grace. When 
 he was able to be about he found his way to 
 a Dunkard settlement near Little York, Penn. 
 The people, in accordance with the precepts of 
 their faith, cared well for him during one win- 
 ter, and with the return of spring he felt able 
 to resume hard work. His kind friends had 
 told him at the outset that such work as his 
 health would permit him to perform would be 
 accepted by way of payment for board and 
 care; but so faithfully and satisfactorily had 
 he done what he was able that, when he left 
 them, he was presented with a suit of clothes 
 and eleven dollars in money. Going to Colum- 
 bia, lie found work with a lumberman, who 
 employed him to haul logs from the Susque- 
 hanna to his sawmill, and at this he was able, 
 for a time, to earn two dollars a day. He was 
 liked and trusted by his employer, who offered 
 him a position in his own home, as a sort of 
 “handy man" about the house, the compensa- 
 tion to be eight dollars per month, with board, 
 and an opportunity to be given him to attend 
 school. This proposal young Rech gladly ac- 
 cepted. But he was young in years, awkward 
 in manners, and utterly without familiarity 
 with the ways of the world, and soon found 
 himself unequal to the task of enduring the 
 ridicule which was heaped upon the head of the 
 “green," overgrown, German boy. He ac- 
 cordingly once more set forth, to seek another 
 home, which he found with Judge Braden, of 
 Butler, Penn., who hired him as a farm hand. 
 It was there that he obtained his first naturali- 
 zation papers, which were issued to him by the 
 Judge himself. From Columbia he went to 
 Lockport, N. Y., and it was there, in 1840, that 
 (although without sanction of law) he cast his 
 first Presidential ballot, voting for Harrison 
 and Tyler. For a short time he worked on the 
 Erie and the Maumee canals, and in the autumn 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 159 
 
 of 1840 drifted to the lead mines of Galena 
 and southwestern Wisconsin. For several 
 years he spent his summers in the mines and 
 his winters in Ohio. 
 
 A natural fondness for military affairs in- 
 duced Mr. Rech to join a military company 
 at Cincinnati, which was ordered to support 
 Gen. Taylor on the Rio Grande four months 
 before the actual declaration of war by Con- 
 gress. The company to which Mr. Rech be- 
 longed was assigned to Gen. Butler’s brigade, 
 his division commander being Gen. Hamer, 
 and they took part in the battles of Monterey 
 and Buena Vista. Mr. Rech attended and 
 nursed Gen. Hamer after the latter was wound- 
 ed at Monterey, and that gallant, intrepid lead- 
 er died in his arms. Mr. Rech's company was 
 called into service for twelve months only, and 
 at the expiration of that period the majority 
 of the men returned home, but not the young 
 naturalized citizen from Bavaria. He enlisted 
 in another regiment, which was attached to the 
 command of Gen. Scott, and took part in the 
 advance on the City of Mexico, but peace was 
 declared while his regiment was yet forty-five 
 miles from the conquered capital. The war 
 ended, Mr. Rech returned to Grant county, 
 Wis., settling at Potosi, and for many years 
 worked in the mines and smelting works. In 
 1878 he purchased the farm on which he has 
 lived for over twenty-two years, honored by his 
 fellow citizens and beloved by his friends. The 
 trials, exposures and hardships attendant upon 
 the vicissitudes of his early life have not, how- 
 ever, failed to leave their impress upon his 
 physique. He is now (1901) in his eightieth 
 year, yet his intellect remains clear ; and if his 
 mind dwells largely upon memories of the past, 
 his spiritual vision looks forward to the future 
 without dread. 
 
 On Sept. 9, 1849, Mr. Rech married Mary 
 Toulouse, by whom he has had four children, 
 Henry, Margaret, Rebecca and John. Mrs. 
 Rech was born near Dubuque, Iowa, Jan. 5, 
 1834. Time has dealt gently with her. and 
 she shows but few marks of his touch. She is 
 a daughter of Jefferson and Rebecca Toulouse, 
 who migrated from Canada to Potosi, Wis., 
 while comparatively young. Mr. Toulouse died 
 there, upon his farm, May 2 9, 1891, at the age 
 of eighty-five years. His widow survived 
 nearly nine years, and fell asleep Feb. 22, 1900, 
 at the home of her daughter in Oklahoma Ter- 
 ritory. They were the parents of eleven chil- 
 
 dren, and two of their sons, John and Joseph, 
 did gallant service during the Civil war as 
 members of the 25th Wis. V. I. Mrs. Rech is 
 the eldest of her parents’ surviving children, the 
 others being Mrs. Rebecca Schawp, John, 
 Peter, Jefferson, Joseph, Mrs. Ella Vanatta, 
 Theresa (the wife of Barney Vannatta), and 
 Mrs. Margaret Scott (the latter of Cloverdale, 
 California). 
 
 EDWARD BYRNE, deceased. Among 
 the prominent citizens of Smelser township, 
 Grant county, who have passed out of life, 
 leaving an honorable history behind, was Ed- 
 ward Byrne, the subject of this sketch. 
 
 Mr. Byrne was born in County Wicklow, 
 Ireland, in 1811, a son of Christopher a - cl 
 Catherine (Murphy) Byrne; grew to man- 
 hood and married, and was a widower, with 
 five sons and two daughters, when he decided 
 to make a new home and find better oppor- 
 tunities for his children in America. Arriving 
 in the United States in 1847, he was attracted 
 to the town of Hazel Green, Wis., on account 
 of the proximity of the mines. The children 
 mentioned were : Edward, the eldest. Mary 
 
 A., who married Charles Breen, died in Hazel 
 Green, leaving two children, Thomas and 
 Ellen ; the former married Delia Ryan, anti 
 the latter became the wife of Samuel Haw- 
 kins. Thomas died in 1873. Katie married 
 Patrick Rogan before coming to America, 
 where they first settled at Hazel Green and 
 later at Ironwood, Mich. ; there her husband 
 died, leaving two children, James and Maggie. 
 Richard resides in Cuba City. Henry died on 
 his way home from California. John is a 
 resident of Cuba City. Thus the name has 
 been scattered over a wide territory. 
 
 In 1848 Mr. Byrne married Miss Esther 
 Deevy, of Grant county, who was born in Ire- 
 land Aug. 2, 1822, the capable daughter of 
 Edward and Anna (Murry) Deevy, both of 
 whom lived in Ireland. Two children were 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Deevy : Esther, Mrs. 
 
 Byrne; and John, who is supposed to have 
 died in Ireland. Mrs. Byrne was educated in 
 her native country, and was the only member 
 of her family to find a home in America. After 
 their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Byrne lived at 
 Hazel Green, where he continued to mine until 
 1854. in that year purchasing the home in 
 Smelser township where he resided until his 
 death, in July, 1888. During his life Mr. 
 
i6o 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Byrne took a great interest in his farm, and 
 improved and beautified it with comfortable 
 and appropriate buildings, also placing the 
 land under the best state of cultivation. At 
 the time of his death he was possessed of 160 
 acres of fine land, where his family enjoy all 
 the comforts of life. The daily existence of 
 this good man was directed by the teachings 
 of the Catholic Church, of which he and all 
 his family have ever been consistent members. 
 A family of nine children was born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Byrne: Christopher, born in Benton, 
 
 Lafayette county, in December, 1848, married 
 Ellen Killbride, who was a daughter of Michael 
 and Ellen Killbride, one of Grant county's pio- 
 neer families; they have seven children. Katie, 
 born in 1851, .married Ambrose Brown and 
 died soon afterward in Iowa. Henry, born 
 in Hazel Green, in 1853, died in 1896, a young 
 man of good parts, who was regretted by all. 
 Mary A., born Aug. 6, 1856, is a student at the 
 home schools, and she and her sister Esther 
 care for their aged mother. Edward, born in 
 1858, manages the home farm. Thomas, born 
 in i860, resides at home. Esther, born in 
 1861, a very estimable lady, manages the house- 
 hold in connection with her sister Mary. Julia, 
 born in 1863, died in childhood. John, born 
 in 1S65, lives at home. 
 
 In politics Mr. Byrne was a Democrat, and 
 his sons have followed in his footsteps. This 
 is one of the fine old families of Grant county, 
 one that has helped place her in the van in the 
 State of Wisconsin. 
 
 GEORGE LUCIUS COLLIE, A. M„ 
 Ph. D. This is a name familiar to tiie students 
 of Beloit College, and to the world of educa- 
 tion, as the professor of geology in that excel- 
 lent institution. He was a student there in his 
 earlier life, and attracted attention by the fine 
 work he was doing throughout his college 
 course. Passing from its walls, he went 
 abroad to make a more thorough preparation 
 for his life work as a teacher and instructor in 
 the higher learning. For nine years he has 
 been a member of the Faculty of Beloit, at pres- 
 ent serving as the Dean of the Faculty. He 
 is doing the same solid work that has charac- 
 terized his entire life, and is a popular and help- 
 ful personality among the young people, upon 
 whom his influence for good is pronounced. 
 
 Dr. Collie was born at Delavan, Wis., Aug. 
 11, 1857, a son of Rev. Joseph and Ann 
 
 (Foote) Collie, natives of Scotland and Ohio, 
 respectively. They were the parents of five 
 children, four of whom are now living: Prof. 
 George L. ; Arthur, an army surgeon at Iloilo, 
 Panay; Winfred, a dentist at Delavan, Wis.; 
 and Glenwood, a student of medicine in Chi- 
 cago. Rev. Joseph Collie was a Congrega- 
 tional clergyman in Delavan, and had been 
 pastor of a church in that city for more than 
 forty years. He is now a resident of Williams 
 Bay, Wis. He was a chaplain of the Chris- 
 tian Commission, and stationed in Kentucky, 
 during the war of the Rebellion. His father, 
 George Collie, a native of Aberdeenshire, 
 Scotland, was a stone-mason, and died in his 
 native land when a young man. He was the 
 father of three sons. Lucius Foote, the father 
 of Ann, was a native of Massachusetts, of Eng- 
 lish descent, and was also a Congregational 
 minister. He died in Sacramento, Cal., at the 
 age of ninety. He was the father of two sons 
 and one daughter. 
 
 Prof. George L. Collie spent his youth and 
 early manhood under the parental roof at De- 
 lavan, Wis., where he was graduated from the 
 local high school in 1875. He immediately 
 connected himself with Beloit College, in the 
 city of Beloit, and was graduated from that in- 
 stitution in 1881. His studious youth gave 
 promise of excellent scholarship in his riper 
 years, a promise that was largely fulfilled in his 
 college course. The young collegian was em- 
 ployed for a year in a railroad office in Chicago, 
 as a freight reviser, and then became the assist- 
 ant principal in the Delavan schools. He did 
 such satisfactory work that he was made prin- 
 cipal of the same schools. From Delavan he 
 went to Harvard College, where he did post- 
 graduate work for three years, and earned and 
 received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, in 
 1893. The same year he was invited to Beloit 
 College, to take the chair of geology. He ac- 
 cepted the invitation, and this field has been the 
 scene of his work to the present time. He is 
 a capable teacher, understands his subject thor- 
 oughly, and presents it in a magnetic and in- 
 spiring way, well calculated to arouse the en- 
 thusiasm of his pupils. 
 
 Dr. Collie and Katharine A. Burrows were 
 united in marriage March 26, 1896. They 
 have a fine home and a pleasant residence at 
 No. 920 College street, Beloit. Mrs. Collie 
 is the daug'hter of Harmon Ary and Eliza 
 (Hatch) Ary, of Ohio. Dr, Collie and his 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1 6 1 
 
 wife are members of the First Congregational 
 Church of Beloit. He is a member of the Beta 
 Theta Pi college fraternity. He has published 
 a number of geological papers, and is a Fellow 
 of the Geological Society, of America. Po- 
 litically the Doctor is a Republican. 
 
 PERRY C. WILDER, now serving his 
 third term as mayor of the city of Evansville, 
 Rock county, is a member of the firm of Bar- 
 nard & Wilder, wholesale dealers in leaf 
 tobacco, and is one of the most conspicuous and 
 energetic business men of Rock county. 
 
 Mr. Wilder was born in Granger, Medina 
 Co., Ohio, Nov. 7, 1S52, and is a son of Calvin 
 H. and Mary Ann (Oviatt) Wilder, natives 
 of Connecticut and Ohio, respectively. They 
 were the parents of six sons and one daughter, 
 and four of their children are now living : 
 Perry C., of Evansville; Stephen C., of Chi- 
 cago; Carey C., of Denver, Colo.; and New- 
 ton D., of Evansville. The father, who was a 
 Baptist minister, came from Ohio in 1864, 
 locating at Argyle, Lafayette Co., Wis., and 
 preached there until 1868, in which year he 
 moved to Evansville for the sake of his chil- 
 dren’s education. He preached at various 
 points for a number of years, among them 
 being Windsor, Middleton and Avon. He 
 died in Evansville in 1887, at the age of sixty- 
 three. His wife died in 1873, when forty- 
 eight years old. His father, William Wilder, 
 was a native of Connecticnt, and was one of 
 the pioneer settlers in Medina county, Ohio, 
 where he hewed a farm out of the solid forest, 
 and spent his remaining years in that com- 
 munity, being about seventy-five years old 
 when he died. He was a captain in the State 
 militia. Great-grandfather Wilder was a Rev- 
 olutionary soldier. The Wilders came origin- 
 ally from England, but there is much German 
 bood in their veins. The maternal grand- 
 father of Perry C. Wilder was a farmer, and 
 lived in Wayne county, Ohio. He was about 
 sixty years old at his death. 
 
 Perry C. AA ilder came with his parents to 
 AAdsconsin and lived at Argyle until he was 
 sixteen, and attended Evansville Seminary. 
 He taught school when he was fifteen years 
 old. He was a clerk for Hon. L. T. Pullen, 
 of Evansville, until the firm was merged into 
 that of Winston, Pullen & Co., the first bank- 
 ing house of Evansville. He kept their books 
 until 1873, when he and Charles F. P. Pullen 
 11 
 
 formed a partnership and engaged in a general 
 mercantile business. The firm was dissolved, 
 and Mr. AAbkler entered the employment of 
 E. D. Barnard, in his tobacco business, and in 
 1882 became a member of the firm, which had 
 been known as E. D. Barnard & Son. In 1893 
 it became Barnard & Wilder, E. D. Barnard 
 retiring and his son Shasta continuing. They 
 have warehouses at Oregon and Madison, 
 AAds., as well as at Evansville. They employ 
 125 hands, and ship their tobacco all over the 
 United States and into Germany. 
 
 Air. Wilder and Afiss Alice D. Pease, 
 daughter of Milton and Sarah (Black) Pease, 
 were united in marriage June 26, 1890, and 
 they have one son. Marlin Elliott. Air. AYilder 
 is a Baptist and his wife a Methodist. They 
 have an elegant home at No. 236 AAYst Alain 
 street. Mr. Wilder belongs to Union Lodge, 
 No. 32, A. F. & A. M. ; Evansville Chapter, No. 
 35, R. A. M. ; Janesville Commandery. No. 2, 
 K. T. ; the Knights of Pythias ; the Knights 
 of the Globe ; Leota Lodge, I. O. O. F. ; and 
 the Daughters of Rebekah and Order of the 
 Eastern ■ Star. Airs. Wilder also belongs to 
 the two last named. Our subject is a Repub- 
 lican, and has been very active in public af- 
 fairs. He was first elected mayor of Evans- 
 ville in 1899; was president of the village board 
 the last year ( 1895) that organization existed; 
 was a village trustee in 1887 ; and was clerk 
 of the town of Union in 1879 and 1880. He 
 was a member of the county board in 1895 and 
 1896, has been a member of the board of edu- 
 cation for eight years, and is now clerk of that 
 body. He is serving his second term as a 
 member of the Republican State central com- 
 mittee from the First Congressional District. 
 Mr. Wilder held the postoffice under President 
 Harrison from 1890 to 1893, and resigned on 
 account of other pressing business interests. 
 
 THOAIAS J. JONES. The pioneer set- 
 tlers of any locality who attained success were 
 men of hardy enterprise and indomitable spirit, 
 and those who came in the early days to this 
 part of Wisconsin were no exception to the 
 rule. Among those who since 1850 have 
 found a happy dwelling place within the bor- 
 ders of Lafayette county, and have left the im- 
 press of their own individuality upon its ac- 
 tivities, is Thomas J. Jones, the subject of this 
 sketch. 
 
 Air. Jones was born in North AAffiles Alarch 
 
i 62 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 23, 1823, son of John and Jane Jones, both of 
 ■whom were also born in Wales, where the 
 mother passed her last days. The father came 
 to America, and in his old age was ministered 
 to by our subject until his death, in 1871. Our 
 subject came to America on a sailing vessel, 
 landing in New Orleans in 1848, the journey 
 consuming two months. He then made his 
 way up the Mississippi river as far as Galena, 
 thence to Dodgeville, in Iowa county, Wis., 
 where he immediately found employment at his 
 trade of mason. In 1850 he made a purchase 
 from Major Rountree, of Platteville, of 160 
 acres of land, his present farm, upon which he 
 erected a rock house, in which he has resided 
 until the present time. Following his trade, 
 he built many rock houses throughout Grant, 
 Iowa, and Lafayette counties, all of these at- 
 testing his superior work, as they will long re- 
 main after he is gathered to his fathers. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Jones occurred in 
 1852, to Margaret Devaney, of Mineral Point, 
 a daughter of Robert and Jane Devaney, who 
 were born in Wales, where they died. Mrs. 
 Jones was born in Wales in 1825. After mar- 
 riage Mr. and Mrs. Jones settled in the new 
 home, where for thirty-six years they lived in 
 happiness, the death of Mrs. Jones, in 1888, 
 breaking the tender tie. Mrs. Jones was a 
 woman of Christian character and her cheer- 
 ful and capable management in the privations 
 of pioneer life, with its toil and danger, en- 
 deared her not only to her own family but to 
 all others who came within her acquaintance. 
 
 The children born of this union were five 
 in number : Robert died when two years old. 
 
 John, born in 1855, married in California, 
 where he still resides, being a bookkeeper in a 
 mint in that State ; he was a cadet in a military 
 school in San Francisco from which he grad- 
 uated. Mary, born in 1856, married John 
 Prytchect. Annie, born in 1858, married 
 Morris Jones, a native of Wales, and they now 
 reside in Gage county, Neb., where they own 
 a half section of land; they have a family of 
 six children, Maggie, Miriam, fennie, Owen, 
 Will iam, and May. the two eldest being mar- 
 ried. Elizabeth, born in i860, married Rob- 
 ert R. Hughes, in Iowa county, where they live 
 on a farm ; they have three children, Lena, 
 Thomas and Maggie. 
 
 John Prytchect, the husband of the eldest 
 daughter of our subject, was born in Wales 
 July 16, 1844, coming to Wisconsin in 1868 
 
 and, settling on the Jones homestead after his 
 marriage, he managed the latter as well as his 
 own. His land comprises a whole section 
 adjoining that of his father-in-law. Mrs. 
 Prytchect died in 1889, and in 1895 Mr. 
 Prytchect was again married, his second wife 
 being Miss Ellen Thomas, the daughter of T. 
 O. and Ellen Thomas, who came to this county 
 in 1892; she was born in 1864 in Wales, where 
 she received a good education. The children 
 of the first marriage were: Thomas P., born 
 
 in 1873, who married Elsie Evans; Margaret, 
 born in 1875, who married Eugene Euloe; 
 John, born in 1877, who married Adeline 
 Sillier, of Platteville; Robert, born in 1888; 
 and Samuel, born in 1886, who died two years 
 later. Mr. Prytchect is one of the leading 
 stockgrowers of this section, owning much 
 cattle and many fine horses, besides great num- 
 bers of fine hogs. 
 
 Although Mr. Jones began life in Wiscon- 
 sin without a dollar, he has, by the exercise of 
 energy, good judgment and thrift, become one 
 of the substantial and moneyed men of Lafay- 
 ette county. Fortunate transactions in real 
 estate resulted prosperously for him, and al- 
 though during his life he has seen much hard- 
 ship, and worked industriously, he has now the 
 reward. The people of the community where 
 he has lived so long look upon him with re- 
 spect, and he will long be remembered for the 
 many acts of generosity and kindness which 
 he has delighted to show to those less fortu- 
 nate than himself. 
 
 STEPHEN VIVIAN, a well-known and 
 popular citizen of Lancaster, Grant county, 
 first came here in 1858. He was born in Corn- 
 wall, England, Oct. 20, 1825, a son of James 
 and Elizabeth Vivian, who passed their lives 
 in Cornwall. 
 
 The mother died when Stephen was three 
 years old leaving himself and sister Mary, who 
 was a young girl when brought to America by 
 her brother, in 1848. She married, and at her 
 death left a daughter. Mr. Vivian is thus the 
 only member of his father’s family living, as 
 far as can be ascertained, although his father 
 married a second time and had born to him a 
 son. 
 
 Stephen Vivian learned blacksmithing in 
 his native country, and in 1848 came to the 
 United States, at once locating at Dodgeville, 
 Iowa Co., Wis., where he engaged in lead 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 163 
 
 mining for one season. He then went to what 
 was known as Franklin, now called Island. In 
 the spring of 1849 he went to the Lake Super- 
 ior country, and worked at his trade until 1858, 
 when he came to Lancaster township, follow- 
 ing farming until 1863. He then returned 
 to the mining district of the North, and for 
 twelve years was employed in the iron mines 
 of Marquette county, Mich. In 1875 he came 
 again to Lancaster township and resumed 
 . farming operations, but since 1885 his resi- 
 dence has been in Lancaster city. 
 
 Mr. Vivian was married, in 1852, to Miss 
 Frances Harvey, who died in 1885, and in 1887 
 he married Miss Elizabeth Angwin, who was 
 born in England and came to this country with 
 her parents, Richard and Frances (Tippett) 
 Angwin. They first located in Illinois, later 
 removed to Michigan, and finally returned to 
 Illinois, dying at Galena — both on the same 
 day, Jan. 31, 1892. Mrs. Vivian was one of 
 a family of eight children, of whom seven are 
 still living, viz. : Mrs. Jane Bowden, Mrs. 
 
 Martha Annette, Mrs. Salina Goldthrop. and 
 Miss Eliza, all of Galena, 111 . ; Mrs. Mary Os- 
 borne, of Michigan; Richard, who lives in 
 Missouri ; and Mrs. Vivian; the deceased, Will- 
 iam, died Dec. 31, 1854. at the age of ten years. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Vivian is funda- 
 mentally a Republican, but at times lie votes 
 the Prohibition ticket. It can truthfully be 
 said of Mr. Vivian, what can be said of but 
 few men, that he has not tasted liquor for the 
 sixty-five years since he signed the pledge, 
 when a boy ten years old, and it may well be 
 questioned whether he had tasted it prior to 
 that age; and it can be added that he never 
 used tobacco in any form. Mr. and Mrs. Viv- 
 ian have a most pleasant home, which is the 
 abiding place of true domestic felicity. They 
 are consistent members of the Methodist 
 Church, and are well known to and truly re- 
 spected by every resident of the township and 
 majiy others outside its limits. 
 
 BURTON SUMNER has been long identi- 
 fied with the growth and development of Grant 
 county, of which, with occasional brief inter- 
 vals, he has been a resident for nearly sixty 
 years. He has entered upon the seventh de- 
 cade of his life with rugged strength and un- 
 clouded intellect, hale, hearty and well-pre- 
 served in both mind and body. He was born 
 in Erie county, N. Y., Nov. 7, 1839, a son of 
 
 Joshua and Anna Sumner, natives of New 
 York. 
 
 Joshua Sumner, not wholly satisfied with 
 his environment, came to Wisconsin on what 
 may be said to have been a prospecting tour 
 in the spring of 1843. Being satisfied with 
 what he saw, and perceiving a bright outlook 
 for the then sparsely settled territory, he select- 
 ed a location at British Hollow, in the mining 
 region of Southwestern Wisconsin. He sent 
 word to his wife to meet him with their fam- 
 ily, then consisting of six children (all yet liv- 
 ing) — the youngest not being born until 1845 
 — to accompany him to their new home in a 
 country whose resources had yet to be devel- 
 oped, whose forests were to be felled, and 
 whose virgin soil was to be reduced to sub- 
 jection. In the autumn of that year (1843) 
 the family started on the toilsome, tedious jour- 
 ney. They traveled by water to Chicag'o (then 
 a mere muddy, straggling settlement) and 
 thence by ox-team to their point of destina- 
 tion, the husband and father meeting them at 
 Chicago. After a residence of twelve years at 
 the "Hollow” the family removed to Hurri- 
 cane. In that township is situated Mr. Sum- 
 ner's farm, and at his home his father passed 
 away in 1895, his mother having gone to her 
 reward many years before. The children, four 
 daughters and three sons, are Sarah, Eliza- 
 beth, Almira, Olive, Byron, Burton, and 
 George W. 
 
 At the outbreak of the Rebellion Burton 
 Sumner’s veins were filled with patriotic fire, 
 and in 1862 he enlisted in Company C, 25th 
 Wis. V. I., commanded by the celebrated Col. 
 (afterward Gen.) Jeremiah M. Rusk, who sub- 
 sequently filled Wisconsin's gubernatorial 
 chair. The record of the 25th is unsurpassed 
 by that of any of the gallant regiments which 
 left the State to fight, to suffer and to win re- 
 nown in Southern bivouac and on Southern 
 battlefields. At the time of its being mustered 
 in the regiment was ordered to proceed from 
 LaCrosse into Minnesota, which State was 
 then being terrorized by Indian raids, and the 
 men's first experience of actual danp-er came 
 early in their term of service. The Redskins 
 having been whipped into submission, the com- 
 mand proceeded to Columbus, Ivy., and thence 
 to Snyder’s Bluff, on the Mississippi, where it 
 constituted a part of the force deployed to pre- 
 vent Gen. Joseph E. Johnston from attacking 
 Grant in the rear or going to the relief of Pern- 
 
164 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD . 
 
 berton, who was then hemmed up in Vicksburg. 
 Climatic influence and bad water brought about 
 an epidemic of malarial fever among the 
 Northern troops, and Mr. Sumner was one of 
 the large number thus affected. In fact, so 
 general was the scourge that at one time only 
 fifteen members of his company were able to 
 report for duty, while the percentage of sick 
 men in other companies was little, if at all, 
 lower. After the surrender of Vicksburg the 
 25th was ordered to Helena, Ark., whence they 
 returned to Vicksburg in time to take part in 
 the famous raid on Meridian, Miss., joining 
 Sherman’s army at Resaca, and fighting in all 
 the hotly-contested battles around Atlanta. 
 Immediately after the engagement at Jones- 
 boro Mr. Sumner was taken, broken in health, 
 to the hospital at Marietta, Ga., returning to 
 Atlanta about the time that Gen. Sherman set 
 out for Savannah. Being unable, because of 
 physical disability, to accompany his regiment, 
 he — in company with many of his comrades — 
 was sent home on a sick furlough. Having 
 measurably regained his health he reported for 
 duty at Madison, but owing to the interruption 
 of communication with Sherman’s army it was 
 impossible to send the convalescents forward 
 until, three months had elapsed, the men mean- 
 while chafing at their enforced inactivity. 
 Finally, news being received of the army's ar- 
 rival at the Atlantic coast, he and his compan- 
 ions were at once sent forward, going through 
 Hilton Head, N. C., to Broad River, where 
 Mr. Sumner remained in the convalescent camp 
 for a fortnight. He at length rejoined his 
 regiment at Raleigh, and was received with a 
 hearty welcome, Gen. Rusk himself taking the 
 private by the hand and congratulating him 
 on his return, saying, “We will have music 
 now till you can’t rest.” The surrender of 
 Johnston to Sherman put an end to further 
 warfare in the Carol inas, and from Raleigh the 
 victorious army proceeded on its long, toil- 
 some march to Washington. The 25th par- 
 ticipated in the grand review at the National 
 capital, and was mustered out in June, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Sumner was married in 1866 to Irena 
 M. Richardson, whose father, Harris Richard- 
 son, married Lucy Gordon, whose birthplace 
 was in Connecticut. Mr. Richardson was 
 born in New York, removed with his family to 
 Ohio, and thence to Southwestern Wisconsin, 
 settling at Hurricane, Grant county, at an early 
 date in the county’s history. He died there in 
 
 i860, and his widow in 1866. Mrs. Sumner 
 is one of a family of five children, all of whom 
 are yet living. She has borne her husband 
 three children : Mary, George and Rosa. 
 
 Mr. Sumner, as may be readily believed 
 from the story of his life, is a man whom his 
 fellow townsmen hold in deservedly high 
 esteem. Genial, generous, industrious and up- 
 right, his friends are many, and he is most, 
 thoroughly respected by those who know him 
 best. Lancaster has been his home since he 
 first fixed his residence there, with the excep- 
 tion of his period of military service and the 
 seven years between 1876 and 1883, when he 
 and his family resided at Lac qui Parle, Min- 
 nesota. 
 
 JOHN JOHNS, one of the leading stock 
 dealers and farmers of Smelser township, 
 Grant county, is a native of Smelser, having- 
 been born there Jan. 13, 1861, a son of Fred- 
 erick and Mary (Heil) Johns. 
 
 The parents were born in Germany and St. 
 Louis, Mo., respectively. Grandfather Johns 
 died in Germany, and Frederick Johns’ mother 
 brought him to Smelser; he was the only child. 
 They first settled in Jefferson, Hazel Green 
 township, where Frederick Johns grew to man- 
 hood, and after his marriage he settled on a 
 farm in Smelser, where he lived throughout 
 life. He was one of the early cattle dealers 
 of this section, buying and selling herds to the 
 government and private dealers. Politically 
 he was a stanch Republican, and in religion he 
 was a member of the M. E. Church. He died 
 in 1887, his wife two years later, in 1889. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Johns had ten children : Caro- 
 
 line married Harmon Roush, and has four chil- 
 dren, William, Mary, Lavinda and Lulu; 
 Frederick is deceased; John is our subject; 
 George married Lena Reese ; W esley married 
 Lavinda Cullen; Peter married Laura Himan,. 
 and has had three children, Hazel, Maud and 
 Benjamin; Joseph married Minnie Reese; 
 Josephine, twin of Joseph, is deceased; Will- 
 iam married Nettie Cullen; and Millie married 
 Joseph Cullen. 
 
 Our subject was educated in the schools of 
 his district, working upon the farm in the sum- 
 mer and going to school in the winter. Soon 
 after he had attained his majority he rented a 
 part of his father’s farm, consisting of 800 
 acres in Smelser. In 1894 Mr. Johns pur- 
 chased what is known as the Eastman prop- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 erty, in Smelser, commenced shipping stock in 
 partnership with Jacob Harris, and has devel- 
 oped the finest stock farm in Grant county, 
 thousands of cattle being shipped by them every 
 year to Chicago, in addition to outlying dis- 
 tricts. In addition to horses and cows Mr. 
 Johns raises a very fine strain of hogs, and the 
 prices he receives, while they are not at all in 
 excess of the value, are still regarded as 
 “fancy” figures by those less fortunate. 
 
 In 1887 Mr. Johns married Miss Lavinda 
 Heil, of Grant county, daughter of Frederick 
 and Ann Heil, who was born June 30, 1867, 
 in the town of Smelser, where she grew to 
 womanhood, receiving a district-school educa- 
 tion. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
 Johns resided on the old farm until Mr. Johns 
 commenced his stock shipping business, and 
 upon his purchase of the Eastman property 
 they moved thereto, and now have a beautiful 
 home of about 200 acres, all nicely cultivated. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Johns have been born chil- 
 dren as follows: Joseph L., Dec. 5, 1887; 
 
 Herbert E., Feb. 14, i88q; Amy H., Sept. 19, 
 1891 (died Jan. 8, 1898) ; John McKinley, 
 Nov. 5, 1896; Bertha, May 12, 1898; and 
 Frederick E., April 18, 1900. Politically Mr. 
 Johns has always been one of the stanch sup- 
 porters of the Republican party, although he 
 lias never aspired to office, refusing steadily to 
 be placed upon the town board. Religiously 
 both he and his estimable wife were brought 
 up in the M. E. Church. They are people of 
 whom every one speaks well, and who are sin- 
 cerely liked for their many admirable qualities. 
 
 LIEUT. JOHN GRINDELL. ex-soldier, 
 furniture dealer, and brick manufacturer, of 
 Platteville, Grant county, now retired from ac- 
 tive business, was born in Ireland in 1828, and 
 is the only survivor of the five children of 
 Thomas and Jane (McMullen) Grindell, who 
 in 1830 settled in Toronto, Canada, and there 
 passed the remainder of their lives. 
 
 John Grindell when a boy learned the cab- 
 inet maker’s trade in Toronto, came to Platte- 
 ville in 1849, an d i n March, 1850, started for 
 California overland, crossing the Missouri 
 river May 1. He went by the way of Fort 
 Laramie, and through the South Pass of the 
 Rocky Mountains, and 1 crossed the Humboldt 
 river and Big Desert. At Salt Lake City the 
 party ran short of provisions and were obliged 
 to pay $15 for a bucket of flour and propor- 
 
 165 
 
 tionately high prices for other necessaries. 
 They finally reached Hangtown, Cal., at the 
 end of five months. Mr. Grindell spent two 
 years in the mines, and was fairly successful, in 
 his search after wealth, but of the four men 
 who comprised the party — Messrs. Gale, Gillis, 
 Holmes and Grindell — lie was the only one to 
 live to return. 
 
 On his return to Platteville John Grindell, 
 with his brother William, opened a furniture 
 store in the place, which they conducted to- 
 gether for forty years, when William purchased 
 John's interest, and the latter engaged in the 
 manufacture of brick, which he still continues 
 to control. During the Civil war Mr. Grin- 
 dell raised a company of volunteers in Platte- 
 ville for the Army of the Tennessee, and under 
 his first term served one hundred days, as first 
 lieutenant. He then re-entered the service, and 
 continued in the army until the close of the war 
 in the same rank. At the close of the war he 
 returned to Platteville and re-engaged in busi- 
 ness. 
 
 In 1852 Mr. Grindell married Miss Susan 
 Cook, daughter of David and Maria Cook, of 
 Wisconsin, but formerly of the State of New 
 York. Mr. and Mrs. Grindell at once settled 
 in Platteville, where he owned some real es- 
 tate, and resided in the same dwelling from 
 that time until 1885, when he erected a fine 
 brick house on the site of the first one. Our 
 subject has thus lived on the same spot over 
 forty-eight years. To their marriage were born 
 six children: Ada is the wife of T. L. Clary, 
 
 a prominent lawyer of Platteville; John H., 
 who is a marble worker in Platteville, married 
 Miss Clara Kyle, and has three children, Roy, 
 Ada and Donald ; Albert, who married Miss 
 Ina Dickinson, removed to California, where 
 his wife died soon after arrival, and on his re- 
 turn, with his little daughter, Ina, he assumed 
 charge of his father’s brick works ; David E. 
 was educated in the State Normal School, mar- 
 ried Miss Alice Davis, of Ohio, and is travel- 
 ing in the theatrical profession (he has no 
 children) ; Susan died when eighteen months 
 old ; Arthur B. is a student in the chemical 
 department of the State University at Madison. 
 The mother passed away Jan. 31, 1900, after 
 a wedded life of forty-eight years. 
 
 In politics Lieut. Grindell has been a most 
 active Republican, and in 1866 he was elected 
 treasurer of his town. In 1880 he was made 
 president of the village board, and he also 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1 66 
 
 served as president of the village council, of 
 which he was three times elected a member. 
 In religion he is a Methodist, having joined 
 that church early in life, and was a member of 
 the building committee that had charge of the 
 erection of the fine brick church edifice in 1877 ; 
 he has also been a trustee for twenty-seven 
 years, and has ever been a liberal contributor 
 to the support of church work in all its depart- 
 ments. Fraternally he is one of the oldest 
 Masons in Platteville, and was a member of 
 the building committee having in charge the 
 erection of the fine Masonic hall in 1882; he is 
 also one of the oldest Odd Fellows in the city; 
 and is a member of Sherman Post, G. A. R., 
 of Platteville. 
 
 In February, 1897, Lieut. Grindell, by an 
 accidental fall, so badly injured his right leg 
 as to incapacitate him for active business, and 
 he is now living' in retirement, but not as a re- 
 cluse. He has shown himself to be one of the 
 most progressive and enterprising business men 
 of the city, has acquired a competency, is re- 
 garded as one of Platteville's most substantial 
 citizens, and bears a name that has never been 
 tarnished by a breath of calumny. 
 
 LION. PHILO A. ORTON, of Darlington, 
 Lafayette county, was born March 24. 1837, at 
 Hamilton, N. Y., which was also the birth- 
 place of his father, Philo A. Orton. 
 
 The Ortons come from old English stock, 
 being descended from Thomas Orton, who set- 
 tled at Windsor, Conn., in 1640. In 1800 
 Judge Orton’s grandfather removed from Ty- 
 ringham, Mass., to Hamilton, N. Y., which 
 remained the Orton home until 1850, when his 
 father migrated with his family to Wisconsin 
 and settled at Beloit. In 1855 the family re- 
 moved to Darlington, where the subject of this 
 biography has since resided. Idis mother, 
 whose maiden name was Nancy Collins, was 
 born at Burlington, N. Y. The father died at 
 the home of Judge Orton on July 12, 1872, and 
 the mother at the same place a number of years 
 later. The father of our subject was distin- 
 guished for his high integrity and sterling 
 worth, and his mother was a woman of strong 
 character. Their sons are all living, except 
 Capt. Thomas Orton, of the 3d Wis. V. I., who 
 fell at the siege of Atlanta July 25, 1864; and 
 Lyman O. Orton, who died at Mishawaka, 
 Inch, in 1899. 
 
 In 1851-52 our subject attended Beloit Col- 
 
 lege, and in 1S57 was a student at Madison 
 (now Colgate) University, in his native town 
 of Hamilton, N. Y. It was his intention to 
 follow the occupation of civil engineer, and his 
 college course was adapted to that end, but the 
 panic of 1857 completely paralyzed all efforts 
 at railroad construction, in which he had ex- 
 pected to find employment. Therefore he gave 
 up his original plans and turned his attention 
 to law, beginning its study in the office of 
 James R. Rose, at Darlington. He was ad- 
 mitted to the Bar in 1859, and has since con- 
 tinuously practiced law at that place, for more 
 than thirty years being the senior member of 
 the firm of Orton & Osborn, one of the oldest 
 law firms in the State. Judge Orton, early in 
 his professional career, gained an enviable 
 reputation as a strong and conscientious law- 
 yer, and so great was his success that before 
 he had reached his thirtieth year he was re- 
 garded as occupying the front rank among 
 Southwestern Wisconsin lawyers, a division of 
 the Bar second to none in the State, and in- 
 cluding at that time such bright minds as those 
 of Strong, Dunn, Mills, Cothren, Crawford, 
 and others of equal note. The uniform success 
 which has attended Judge Orton has always 
 been merited, being the fruit of thorough prep- 
 aration and untiring effort. Fie delights in 
 work, and never feels better than when fully 
 occupied, and under a strain which weaker 
 physical or mental natures could not endure. 
 
 The essential honor and integrity of Judge 
 Orton’s dealings with fellow attorneys, with 
 clients, and with all with whom he comes into 
 contact, has been a prime factor in securing 
 for him his high professional reputation, and 
 has contributed to the result equally with his 
 superiority of mind. Before a jury Judge Or- 
 ton is strong and eminently logical, presenting 
 his arguments methodically, passing rationally 
 from premise to conclusion, and often not only 
 with convincing weight but with moving elo- 
 quence. Fluent in speech and correct in lan- 
 guage, his extensive reading is frequently 
 shown in excellent illustration. Before the 
 court he is certain of respectful and attentive 
 hearing, to which his legal attainments and his 
 recognition of the true function of an advo- 
 cate entitle him. 
 
 In 1862-63 Judge Orton was prosecuting 
 attorney for Lafayette county, and from 1870 
 to 1874 he filled the office of county judge. 
 During the Rebellion he was a war Democrat, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 167 
 
 and remained in Democratic councils until 
 1880, being candidate for attorney general on 
 the Democratic ticket in 1861; was Independ- 
 ent candidate for circuit judge in 1870; and 
 the Democratic candidate for representative in 
 Congress in 1876; though he had a flattering 
 vote, his personal popularity could not over- 
 come the Republican vote, and he was defeated. 
 He has always taken an interest in the cause 
 of good government. In 1880 he voted for 
 Garfield for President, and since that time has 
 acted with the Republican party. In 1898 he 
 accepted the nomination for the Assembly 
 branch of the Legislature, and was elected by 
 a large plurality over James H. Clark, the 
 Democratic nominee. 
 
 In 1874 our subject obtained a controlling 
 interest in the Lafayette County Bank, which 
 he held until 1882, when he organized the First 
 National Bank of Darlington, of which he has 
 always been president, being also president of 
 the Benton State Bank, at Benton, Wis. He 
 is a charter member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon 
 fraternity, Colgate University; is a Mason, be- 
 longing to the Blue Lodge, Darlington Chap- 
 ter, and Mineral Point Comtnandery, and for 
 several years was master of the Darlington 
 lodge; he was deputy grand master of the 
 Grand Lodge of the State for two years. 
 
 Judge Orton was married Jan. 27, 1862, to 
 Sarah M. Osborn, daughter of Capt. S. W. 
 Osborn, of Darlington, and two children have 
 been born to them : Susanne, a graduate of 
 
 Rockford College and of the Woman’s Medi- 
 cal College, of Chicago; and Robert E., now 
 assistant cashier of the First National Bank of 
 Darlington. 
 
 EZRA PHILO DOTY (deceased), one of 
 the men to whom the present commercial, im- 
 portance of Janesville is due, was for many 
 years closely identified with its best interests, 
 and his death was deeply mourned, not only by 
 his family but by the community at large. 
 
 Ezra Philo Doty was born in Peru, N. Y., 
 Aug. 27, 1826, a son of Zuri Shaddai and 
 Phebe Ann (Bostwick) Doty. The parents 
 of Zuri Doty, Ezra and Anna (Mellens) 
 Doty, were natives of Vermont, his birth oc- 
 curring Sept. 28, 1760, hers Aug. 4, 1767. 
 Ezra Doty, Sr., was a soldier of the Revolu- 
 tion, and afterward a captain in the provincial 
 army. During the war of 1812 he also served 
 his country bravely, and he died on June 24, 
 
 1840, while his wife passed away in 1813. The 
 maternal grandfather of our subject, a Mr. 
 Bostwick, was a resident of Pennsylvania, and 
 died in that State from an accident, a tree fall- 
 ing upon him. In his family there were four 
 sons and one daughter, all now deceased. 
 
 Zuri S. Doty, father of our subject, was 
 born at Bennington, Vt., on July 23, 1804, and 
 came to Turtle, Rock county, in 1841, settling- 
 near Shopiere, where he took up a large tract 
 of land from the government, and resided 
 some years. Later he removed to Janesville, 
 and conducted a sash, door and blind factory 
 and also a general store. As his means in- 
 creased Mr. Doty erected several business 
 houses, bought considerable land in the cor- 
 porate limits of Janesville, and platted what is 
 known as Doty's addition to Janesville. Dur- 
 ing his residence in Janesville Zuri S. Doty 
 purchased on Oct. 10, 1853, the Janesville 
 Free Press for his son, in conjunction with J. 
 Baker, and the paper was conducted under the 
 name of Baker & Doty until, on June 7, 1855, 
 Mr. Baker became the sole proprietor. The 
 Free Press was started on Jan. 6, 1853, hy an 
 association of Free Democrats, among whom 
 the most prominent were J. M. Burgess, J. 
 Baker, R. B. Treat, O. Guernsey, and E. A. 
 Howland, with Mr. Baker as editor. About 
 1865 Zuri Doty moved to Madison, built and 
 owned a number of houses, and engaged in 
 various business enterprises, but later removed 
 to Chicago, and resided in that city for several 
 years. While on a visit to Madison he died, 
 on April 16. 1885, aged eighty-one years, eight 
 months and twenty-three days. During the 
 time he resided in Janesville he was a justice 
 of the peace, and was a very wealthy, influ- 
 ential and honorable man. Eleven children 
 were born to this good man, five of whom are 
 now living: Anna, wife of Peter Fryer, of 
 
 Kansas City, Mo. ; Milton H., of Brodhead, 
 Wis., who rose from sergeant to the rank of 
 captain during the Civil war; Martha A., wife 
 of Courtland Stone, who now lives in Brook- 
 lyn, N. Y. : Mary, widow of Edwin Boswick, 
 of New Milford, Conn. ; and Edgar H., of Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 Ezra Philo Doty, the subject of this sketch, 
 was brought to Turtle, Rock county, where he 
 grew to manhood. Later he removed to 
 Janesville, and was associated with his father 
 in the sash, door and blind manufacturing- 
 business, becoming his successor ; was the or- 
 
1 68 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ganizer of the Doty Manufacturing Co., and 
 its treasurer until his death. The specialty of 
 this company was the Doty washing machine. 
 
 On May 26, 1847, Ezra P. Doty married 
 Miss Abigail Mary Austin, daughter of Ira and 
 Permelia (Worcester) Austin, and five chil- 
 dren were born of this marriage : ( 1 ) Henry 
 (deceased) married Ella J. Lappin, daughter 
 of Thomas Lappin, and had one son, who did 
 not survive his first year; upon the death of the 
 mother Henry married her sister, Mary Esther 
 Lappin, and two children were born to 
 them, Lawrence Lappin and Harriet Mildred. 
 Henry Doty died June 2, 1894. aged forty-five, 
 having been born June 5, 1849. ( 2 ) Alta 
 
 Marie, wife of Charles Atwood, of Janesville, 
 has eight children. (3) Edward P., who 
 married Margaret Hullihen, daughter of Dr. 
 Hullihen, of Janesville, has three children. 
 (4) Minnie, deceased, wife of Dr. Charles E. 
 Wintermute, had two children, Ruth Anna and 
 Horace; the latter died, aged three months. 
 (O Anna S. is the wife of Charles Fifield, an 
 attorney, formerly of the firm of Fethers, Jef- 
 fries & Fifield, now judge of the municipal 
 court; they have three children, Minnie Eloise, 
 Alta and Frances Fethers. 
 
 Mrs. Doty was born Sept. 6, 1832; she had 
 a twin sister, Mary, who died in infancy ; and 
 a sister, Ann Eliza, now wife of Vinton L. 
 Merrill, of Lebanon, Kans. The parents 
 of Mrs. Doty were natives of Vermont, 
 and her mother died at Phelps, N. Y., on 
 April 15, 1845, aged thirty-eight, having been 
 born on July 15, 1807. The father of this 
 last mentioned lady, the grandfather of Mrs. 
 Doty, was a soldier in the war of the Revolu- 
 tion, and also took part in the war of 1812. 
 Ira Austin, father of Mrs. Doty, came West 
 to Wisconsin in the early days of the State, 
 settling in Janesville, but returned to Phelps, 
 N. Y., and married Elmira M. Howe. Again 
 coming West, Mr. Austin settled on a farm in 
 Sauk county, but afterwards removed to Mad- 
 ison, where he and his wife kept a large board- 
 ing-house, he dying on Nov. 12, 1862, and 
 she on June 21, 1895, in that city. 
 
 In religious belief Ezra P. Doty followed 
 the Universalist faith, while his widow is an 
 Episcopalian, and all of their children became 
 connected with Christ Episcopal Church of 
 Janesville. The political affiliations of Mr. 
 Doty were with the Republican party, although 
 he was not a politician. While in the prime 
 
 of life Mr. Doty was taken from his family, 
 on March 7, 1869, aged forty-two years, eight 
 months, and the death cast a gloom not only 
 over his household, but over Janesville, where 
 for so many years he had been so important a 
 factor. Airs. Doty still survives, a very 
 charming and intelligent lady, who enjoys the 
 respect and veneration of her family and a 
 large circle of friends. 
 
 SAMUEL JARVIS CUCKOW was at the 
 time of his death one of the venerable and 
 most highly respected residents of Janesville, 
 Rock Co., Wis. He was a native of England, 
 where his birth occurred, in Rochester, Kent, 
 Jan. 16, 1815, and was the second son of 
 Elizabeth and Thomas B. Cuckow. The lat- 
 ter was born in England in 1787, and died 
 at the home of his son, in the town of Brad- 
 ford, Rock county, Nov. 24, 1874. Thomas 
 came to America in 1818, but soon returned 
 to England, taking his family back with him. 
 Robert Cuckow, father of Thomas, died in 
 1838, aged seventy-one years; his entire life 
 was passed in England. 
 
 Samuel Jarvis Cuckow was brought up 
 and lived in England, where he learned the 
 printer’s trade. In January, 1836, he married 
 Sarah Eliza Bridgeland, born at Boxley, Eng- 
 land, in 1814, and came immediately to New 
 York. To them were born two children in 
 New York City, Mary A. and Thomas J. 
 They returned to England in 1840. After 
 that two more children were born, Eliza and 
 Eleanor B. His wife died in July, 1849. Two 
 years later, with his motherless family, Mr. 
 Cuckow came to Wisconsin, and settled on 
 the farm in Bradford, Rock county, which 
 farm, and the additions thereto, he owned at 
 the time of his decease. In 1885 he removed 
 to Evanston, 111 ., to live with his daughter, 
 Mary A. Her death occurring a year later, 
 he went to Janesville, Wis., where he con- 
 tinued to reside until the time of his death, 
 March 5, 1901. For his second wife he mar- 
 ried 1 Eliza S. Filmer, born in England, in 
 1815, and who came alone to New York from 
 England. They were married in New York 
 City in Alay, 1853, coming immediately to 
 Wisconsin, where she died Aug. 18, 1900. Two 
 children were born to them, Samuel F. and 
 Ruth O. The latter died in 1893. Mr. 
 Cuckow’s life was a busy one, and yet he 
 found time to take a keen and intelligent in- 
 
r 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 169 
 
 terest in all that pertained to the welfare of 
 his adopted country, and he won for himself 
 a high place in the estimation of those who 
 knew him for his industry and integrity of 
 character. 
 
 W. J. FUNSTON, D. D. S., of Platteville, 
 Grant county, and an ex-soldier of the war of 
 the Rebellion, was born in Coshocton county, 
 Ohio, in 1840, and is a son of J. D. and Isabel 
 (McKinley) Funston. 
 
 While our subject was still an infant his 
 parents removed to Jefferson county, Ohio, 
 where the mother died in 1850, when the father 
 came to Wisconsin and located in Richland 
 county. There he passed the remainder of his 
 life, dying in 1893. They were the parents of 
 five children, of whom the Doctor was the eld- 
 est, and of whom two, besides him, are still 
 living, viz. : Mary, wife of A. J. Campbell, a 
 
 farmer at Milton Junction, Wis. ; and Theo- 
 dore F., of Galesville, this State. The latter 
 served three years in the Civil war, and' was 
 honorably discharged for physical disability. 
 He is one of the most respected citizens of 
 Galesville, and has a wife and one child. 
 
 Dr. Funston received his preliminary edu- 
 cation in the public schools, and began the 
 study of dentistry when a young man with Dr. 
 John McKinley, of Uh richsville, Ohio. Fie 
 was still a student when, in response to the call 
 to arms, he enlisted, in August, 1862, in Com- 
 pany E, 52d O. V. I., Col. Daniel McCook, and 
 took part, among other engagements, in the 
 battles of Perryville, Ky., Stone River, Chick- 
 amauga and Missionary Ridge, Tenn. He 
 was then detailed as adjutant’s clerk, and filled 
 that position until the cessation of hostilities. 
 He was with Gen. Sherman in his Atlanta 
 campaign,, the historical march to the sea, at 
 the siege of Savannah, at Chattanooga, and at 
 the last battle of the war, Bentonville, N. C. 
 The Doctor is alluded to by his companions in 
 arms as a brave and faithful soldier, who never 
 shirked or neglected his duty under any cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 After the war had ceased and he had been 
 honorably discharged, the Doctor returned to 
 his Ohio home fort a short time, then going 
 West began tKe“praxtice of dentistry in Platts- 
 burg, Mo. After remaining there a short time 
 he sold out and came to Wisconsin, in the 
 spring of 1866, to viSif his father, whom he had 
 not seen for twelve years. Stopping a while 
 
 in Richland county, in the fall of 1866 he open- 
 ed a dental office in Platteville, Grant county, 
 and did a thriving business until 1873, when 
 he went to California, visiting the cities of Sac- 
 ramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, 
 Salinas City, and the Spanish Mission of Sole- 
 dad. Returning to Platteville in 1874, he has 
 since done the leading business in his line there. 
 
 In 1882 Dr. Funston married Mrs. F. E. 
 d homas, who was born at Alton, 111 ., and came 
 to Wisconsin with her parents. They have 
 reared three children : Genevieve and Morna, 
 
 students of the State Normal, of Platteville; 
 and Nation, a grand-daughter, an invalid. 
 Religiously the Doctor and his wife are mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in 
 which they are both earnest and active work- 
 ers, the Doctor being one of the directors and 
 trustees. Politically lie has always voted with 
 the Republican party, but has never aspired to 
 public office. Fraternally he is a charter mem- 
 ber of W. T. Sherman Post, No. 66, G. A. R., 
 in which he has held the offices of adjutant and 
 post commander; of I. O. O. F. Lodge No. 6, 
 of Platteville, of which he has been noble 
 grand, and is also secretary of his lodge; and 
 of Lodge No. 125, K. of P., of Platteville. He 
 has been an officer in the fire department of his 
 town for twenty years. Mrs. Funston is a 
 member of the Rebekahs, auxiliary to the I. O. 
 O. F. The Doctor and his estimable wife are 
 among the most respected residents of Platte- 
 ville, where his professional reputation stands 
 on a par with that of any dentist in the county. 
 
 THOMAS LITTLE, one of the prominent 
 and highly esteemed farmers of Janesville 
 township, is a native of Scotland, born in Rox- 
 burghshire June 18, 1827, a son of John and 
 Elizabeth (Blythe) Little, also natives of Scot- 
 land. The paternal grandfather of our sub- 
 ject died in Scotland. The grandfather on the 
 mother’s side, Thomas Blythe, had two chil- 
 dren, one son and one daughter ; was a farmer 
 by occupation, and died well advanced in years. 
 
 John Little, the father, was a farmer early 
 in life, but later became a contractor and lime 
 burner, and came to America in i8q^, settling 
 in Janesville township, Rock Co., Wis., where 
 he bought 200 acres of land and greatly im- 
 proved it. Having lost his first wife, mother 
 of our subject, in Scotland, in 1841, he mar- 
 ried Isabella Irvin, who died in 1867, two years 
 after the death of her husband, who passed 
 
170 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 away in 1865, aged about seventy-six. Both 
 lie and his first wife were members of the Pres- 
 byterian Church. They had eight sons and 
 one daughter, five now living: Thomas, John, 
 
 James, Walter, and Andrew. 
 
 Thomas Little was reared in Scotland, at- 
 tending the public schools, and engaged in 
 farming and working 1 in the public lime kilns. 
 Upon coming to America, in 1853, he settled 
 in Rock county, Wis., where he has since re- 
 sided. Upon his father’s death the property 
 was divided, and his share was the 160 acres 
 of land in section 28, Janesville township, upon 
 which he now resides, and which he has 
 brought to a high state of cultivation. 
 
 On Nov. 20, 1875, Thomas Little was 
 married to Mrs. Sarah Little, widow of George 
 Little, and daughter of Bartholomew and Eliza- 
 beth (Dixon) Spence, and two daughters have 
 been born of this union : Elizabeth Grace, who 
 
 is a teacher ; and Anna Belle, at home. Mrs. 
 Little had two sons and one daughter by her 
 former marriage: John Thomas, who mar- 
 
 ried Miss Aggie Brauns, resides in Chicago, 
 and has one son, George Lester: Bartholomew 
 Walker, who married Miss Ellen Brown, re- 
 sides in Janesville; and Elizabeth died at the 
 age of two years. 
 
 The grandfather of Mrs. Little died in 
 England, and her father, Bartholomew Spence, 
 was also a native of England, as was his wife. 
 They came to America in 1848 and settled in 
 Dunkirk, Dane Co., Wis., where Mr. Spence 
 died in 1864, aged about sixty; and his wife 
 died some two years later, aged sixty-two. 
 These two worthy people were Methodists in 
 religious faith. They had six children, two 
 sons and four daughters, five now living : 
 Joseph; Ellen, wife of Henry Thompson; 
 Sarah, wife of Thomas Little; Elizabeth, wife 
 of Walter Little; and Catharine, wife of Bar- 
 tholomew Harwich. John is deceased. By 
 occupation Mr. Spence was a farmer, and cul- 
 tivated and occupied a fine farm in Dane 
 county. 
 
 Politically Mr. Little is an Independent, 
 voting as his conscience dictates, for twenty- 
 seven or twenty-eight years served as super- 
 visor, and for twenty years as clerk of the 
 school board, his sterling honesty and faithful 
 adherence to duty making him an almost per- 
 fect public official, with whom could be im- 
 plicitly trusted the affairs of the several posi- 
 tions he filled. Mr. Little is the eldest of the 
 
 four brothers settled in Janesville township, all 
 of whom are prosperous and highly respected. 
 Although fully identified with the country of 
 his adoption, Mr. Little entertains pleasant 
 recollections of his native land, and is one of 
 the best of its representatives among our 
 Sootch-Ameriean citizens. 
 
 JOHN S. PEDLEY, in his lifetime one of 
 the successful farmers and stock raisers of New 
 Diggings township, Lafayette county, was a 
 native of Yorkshire, England, where he was 
 born June 6, 1842, a son of William and Alice 
 Pedley. 
 
 Early in his life our subject was brought 
 by his parents to America, here grew to man- 
 hood, and was trained to work on the farm, 
 later engaging to some extent in mining. He 
 purchased a farm in New Diggings township, 
 and made his home there until 1883, when he 
 sold the farm and purchased another in Aur- 
 elia, Cherokee Co., Iowa. There he lived for 
 ten years, at the end of that time returning to 
 New Diggings and purchasing his father’s 
 old home farm, one of the finest in the 
 township, where he resided until death claimed 
 him, in December, 1896. The large stone 
 house and modern outbuildings give an air of 
 solid comfort and substantial prosperity, and 
 are the result of Mr. Pedley's careful manage- 
 ment and natural business ability. A }^ear 
 after his death a new barn was erected, and his 
 widow has displayed business ability quite un- 
 usual to her sex in the management of her hus- 
 band’s estate. In politics Mr. Pedley was al- 
 ways a Republican. 
 
 In July, 1S73, Mr. Pedley was united in 
 marriage with Miss Mary A. Harker, daughter 
 of Thomas and Rose (Metcalf) Harker. She 
 was born in England in February, 1853, and 
 was educated in New Diggings township, 
 whither she had come with her father in child- 
 hood. Three children were born of this mar- 
 riage : Luella, born in November, 1875, re- 
 
 ceived her education in the Iowa schools ; Will- 
 iam, born in 1879, an d Eva, born in 1883, are 
 students at the home schools. Mrs. Pedley is 
 a charming lady, of unusually high attain- 
 ments, and wins many friends by her loving 
 and lovable disposition. 
 
 Thomas Harker, father of Mrs. Pedley, 
 was born in Yorkshire, England, in December, 
 1824, and his wife, Rose (Metcalf), was born 
 in the same county some few years later. They 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 were married in England, and there Mrs. 
 Harker died in 1858, leaving three children: 
 (1) William, born in January, 1849. married 
 Miss Jane (Nottingham, and moved to Iowa, 
 where his wife died, leaving five children, Wal- 
 ter, Willie, Joseph, Mamie and Jennie. For 
 his second wife he married Miss Grace Finch, 
 by whom he has two children, Harry and Lulu. 
 He now makes his home in Preston, Grant Co., 
 Wis. (2) Isabel, born in January, 1851, mar- 
 ried Reuben Howell, and lives in Iowa. She 
 has two children, Pearl and Emma. (3) 
 Mary A. is Mrs. Pedley. In i860 Thomas 
 Harker brought his three motherless children 
 to America and located in New Diggings town- 
 ship, Lafayette Co., Wis., where he purchased 
 a farm and remained until, a few years previous 
 to his death, he moved to 1 Shullsburg. Re- 
 turning to England, he wedded, that year, for 
 his second wife, Miss Anne Bird, who still 
 makes her home in Shullsburg. By this mar- 
 riage there were seven children : Hannah, 
 
 now Mrs. Robert Hall, of Darlington, Wis. ; 
 Jane, Mrs. Henry Kramer, of Shullsburg; 
 Maggie, Mrs. William Douglas, of Shulls- 
 burg; Isaac, who married Alda Ewing, and 
 lives on the old homestead; Lillie; Thomas; 
 and Luella, who died in childhood. Mr. Har- 
 ker passed away in April, 1896. 
 
 Both the Pedley and Harker families were 
 members of the Methodist Church. Mr. Ped- 
 ley, like his wife, had been a faithful member 
 for over thirty years, and he was serving as 
 steward and trustee at the time of his death. 
 
 THOMAS CARTHEW (deceased), for- 
 merly a successful miner in the town of Po- 
 tosi, Grant county, was born in Cornwall, 
 England, Aug. 8, 1817, and exhibited in his 
 life and character many of the typical virtues 
 of his race. 
 
 Mr. Carthew grew to manhood in his na- 
 tive country, where he received his education 
 at the hands of the local teachers. When he 
 was twenty-nine years of age he crossed the 
 ocean to seek a home in the United States, lo- 
 cated at White Oak Springs, 111 ., and was a 
 miner for some years. Wisconsin at that 
 time attracted the attention of the vigorous and 
 hardy, and Mr. Carthew came here and labored 
 in the mines. In Wisconsin lie married Miss 
 Harriet Webster, and the young couple went 
 to California along with the great stream of 
 the adventurous and hopeful who were pour- 
 
 171 
 
 ing into the West in search of gold. In Cali- 
 fornia his wife died, in 1853, leaving him one 
 daughter, who is now living in the city of New 
 York. Four years later Mr. Carthew came 
 back to Wisconsin, and buying a farm of 160 
 acres near Rockville, Grant county, engaged 
 in its cultivation. He was a hard-working 
 and careful farmer, and accumulated a very 
 handsome property. In 1869 he married Miss 
 Mary L. Callaway, whose parents came from 
 Cornwall, England, and first purchased a farm 
 in Rockville, which they sold, then purchasing 
 a farm at Blake's Prairie ; her father died there 
 in 1878. Her mother is still living, and is a 
 resident of Lancaster. Mrs. Carthew was 
 born Oct. 24, 1848, in Cornwall, England, but 
 spent all her early life in Grant county, where 
 she attended the district school, and received 
 her education. After their marriage Mr. and 
 Mrs. Carthew settled at Rockville, where he 
 engaged in farming, and made many handsome 
 improvements on his place, having a choice 
 farm. He died July 15, 1895, leaving a widow 
 and three children. Mr. Carthew was a Dem- 
 ocrat, though never an aspirant for office, and 
 was a man of good standing and fine spirit. 
 He led a long and useful life from the highest 
 motives. 
 
 Thomas Carthew, the eldest son, was born 
 Sept. 16, 1871, in Rockville, where he grew 
 up, received a good education, and was a grad- 
 uate of the Dubuque Business College, work- 
 ing for some time as a shipping clerk in that 
 important Iowa city. In April, 1896, he mar- 
 ried Miss M. Annie Chalder, daughter of 
 George and Elizabeth Chalder, old pioneers 
 of Grant county, and the young couple lived on 
 the old Carthew farm until his death, April 11, 
 1900. His widow and two children — George 
 R. and Violet E. — survive him, and are occu- 
 pying the home. Mr. Carthew was one of the 
 promising young men of the county, and had 
 many friends who mourned his untimely 
 death. He was absolutely conscientious and 
 honest, was a dutiful son and a loving husband 
 and father, called away all too soon. 
 
 Moses Carthew was born March 27, 1876, 
 and grew up on the old farm, where he still re- 
 mains, having charge of his mother s estate. 
 He is a young man of character and ability. 
 
 Olive M. Carthew was born July 18, 1883', 
 and is now a student at the Platteville high 
 school. 
 
 Mrs. Carthew purchased in August, 1896, 
 
172 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the old Goodrich home, near Platteville, where 
 she has a large farm, with fine buildings, con- 
 stituting one of the choice and desirable estates 
 of Grant county. 
 
 ABRAM PHELPS for a number of years 
 prior to his decease lived retired from active 
 life, and was one of the most venerable figures 
 to be seen on the streets of Janesville. He 
 lived at No. 155 Pleasant street, and though 
 recently he bore but a small part in the work 
 of the world, he was in his time an active and 
 influential man, and won a high standing by 
 industry, integrity, and an unblemished char- 
 acter. 
 
 The Phelps family, which is of English 
 origin, and can be traced back more than a 
 thousand years, was founded in America by 
 three brothers who crossed the ocean at an 
 early day and settled at Windsor, Conn. ; one 
 of our subject's ancestors was among the 
 Puritan settlers of Massachusetts, and took 
 a large part in the founding of the Nation. 
 Mr. Phelps was born in Egremont, Berkshire 
 Co., Mass., Dec. 27, 1811, a son of Zacheus 
 and Rebecca (Grace) Phelps, natives of Con- 
 necticut and Massachusetts, respectively. They 
 had a family of seven sons and two daughters, 
 and the gentleman whose name appears above 
 was the last survivor. Zacheus Phelps was a 
 farmer. He died in 1813, but his wife was a 
 capable and energetic woman, and kept her 
 children together until they were able to do for 
 themselves. In 1830 Abram Phelps went to 
 Michigan, where his brother Norman and sis- 
 ter Harriet were living - , in Monroe county, and 
 he made his home with them for a time, while 
 he followed his trade of carpenter. He went 
 back to Massachusetts after staying in Michi- 
 gan about a year, and came West again in 1835, 
 bringing his mother with him. In the fall of 
 1837 they moved to Freedom, Portage Co., 
 Ohio, where his mother died in 1841, when 
 about sixty-two years old. About this time 
 Mr. Phelps traded his Portage county farm 
 for one in Geauga county, Ohio, and moved 
 there, making that his home for nineteen years. 
 
 On Feb. 1, 1838, Mr. Phelps married Miss 
 Marietta Moore, daughter of Stephen and 
 Martha (Dodge) Moore, and two sons were 
 born to them, Milton, Moore and Frank W. 
 Both served in the Civil war, Frank lacking 
 one year of graduation from Meadville 
 (Penn.) College when he enlisted; he died 
 
 from measles contracted while in the service, 
 at the age of twenty-one, unmarried. Milton 
 M. Phelps was graduated from Meadville Col- 
 lege. He married Miss Henrietta Bain, and 
 they had four children, all now deceased, Frank 
 Bain, George Norris, John, and one who died 
 in infancy. Frank B. married Miss Elizabeth 
 C. DeGaine, and died four years later. George 
 Norris was drowned when fourteen years old. 
 John died when two years old. Milton M. 
 Phelps was municipal judge in Janesville for 
 six years. He was a lieutenant in the Union 
 army during the war of the Rebellion, and was 
 acting adjutant of his regiment when he was 
 shot through the lungs in the second battle of 
 Bull Run. He was under treatment for sixty 
 days and then returned to the front, but was 
 not able to do duty, and was discharged on ac- 
 count of disability. He had an accident in 
 Janesville July 21, 1898, colliding with the 
 cars while riding a bicycle, and died Sept. 27. 
 A very eloquent tribute of the Bar Association 
 to his memory appears elsewhere in this vol- 
 ume. Mr. and Mrs. Abram Phelps survived 
 all their family. 
 
 In 1866 Mr. Phelps came to Wisconsin, 
 locating in Rock county, and buying a farm of 
 202 acres in Rock township, three miles from 
 Janesville, where he built a fine house and other 
 good buildings, and devoted himself to the 
 cultivation of the soil until 1884. That year 
 he rented his farm, and with his wife moved 
 to Janesville, where he passed away March 31, 
 1901. For many years the cheery home at No. 
 155 Pleasant street has been a center of help- 
 fulness. To many it has proved a blessed 
 haven, made so by the practical Christianity 
 which sweetened and glorified the lives of the 
 aged couple who for more than sixty-three 
 years have traveled hand in hand. Both de- 
 voted their lives to the service of Christ in 
 their youth. He was a member of the Court 
 Street Methodist Church, as is his widow, of 
 which he was a class-leader, and he was always 
 an active worker in the church, serving on the 
 official, board and doing anything he could to 
 promote its prosperity. He and his wife were 
 both members of the church before their wed- 
 ding. The following is taken from an article 
 which appeared in the Janesville Gazette of 
 April 1, 1901 : “Their religion inspired uni- 
 
 versal respect because it had withstood the test 
 of unusual affliction, and 1 because, in spite of 
 great sorrow, they came to a lovely old age, 
 
FRAHK B. PHELPS 
 
 ABRAM PHELPS 
 
 MILTOH M. PHELPS 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 i/3 
 
 gracefully and graciously. When life seemed 
 best worth living came the tragic series of 
 deaths which shocked the entire community and 
 swept away all family ties for the aged couple 
 who were left to bear the great burden of sor- 
 row. Mrs. M. M. Phelps died in December, 
 1897, and a month later her son followed. 
 Judge Phelps lived on for a few months, and 
 then came the collision of his bicycle with a 
 railway train, and in September, 1898, he, too, 
 passed on to the life beyond the grave. With- 
 in a year Mr. and Mrs. Phelps had seen their 
 family pass away, yet deep as was then sorrow 
 no word of complaint ever passed their lips. 
 
 “Misfortune again visited the home when, 
 nearly two years ago, Mrs. Phelps fell and 
 broke her hip. It was feared that she could 
 not recover from the shock, but her mission 
 had not yet been fulfilled, and she can now 
 walk around the house with the aid of a crutch 
 and cane. Three weeks ago Mr. Phelps was 
 taken ill with heart trouble, and one week ago 
 last Friday night he suffered a severe stroke 
 of paralysis, which would have proved fatal 
 immediately to a man of less marvelous vital- 
 ity. Although he lay as, if unconscious dur- 
 ing" the last week of his illness he retained his 
 mental faculties, and was able to make himself 
 understood. The voice "of his beloved wife 
 was always able to rouse him, and he never 
 failed to respond to her good-night or good- 
 morning greetings with a word or a hearty 
 pressure of the hand. The end came very 
 peacefully. 
 
 “Mr. Phelps was a lovable gentleman, 
 cheerful and happy in his disposition, noble in 
 character, and ever ready with a kindly word or 
 an act of helpfulness. His life was ruled by the 
 gospel of love, and he knew his guide-book, 
 the Bible, so thoroughly that if he were given 
 the substance of a verse of Scripture he could 
 tell the exact book, chapter and verse where it 
 could be found. Mrs. Phelps has no imme- 
 diate relatives, except a half sister, but she 
 finds great comfort in the sustaining presence 
 of Mrs. Elizabeth C. Phelps, the widow of 
 Frank Phelps, who has now cared for father, 
 son and grandson in their last days on earth. 
 
 “The passing away of Abram Phelps marks 
 the closing of a remarkable life. His death 
 is one that touches with peculiar interest the 
 hearts of many people because of the rare his- 
 tory of that life whose influence was so far 
 reaching and ever tending to the uplifting of 
 
 mankind. Such a death must cause universal 
 sorrow, but around it can center no gloom, 
 only the triumphant confidence that for him 
 and those who loved him death has no sting, 
 the grave no victory.” 
 
 Our subject was a Republican, and took 
 a keen interest in politics, but never would con- 
 sent to take anything but a local office, in 
 which he might directly serve his neighbors. 
 
 Mrs. Phelps’ father, Stephen Moore, was 
 born in New Hampshire, on the Merrimac 
 river, and her mother near Bath, Maine, the 
 Moore and Dodge families being New Hamp- 
 shire and Maine people, respectively. Stephen 
 Moore was a soldier in the war of 1812, and 
 was known as Major Moore; his father served 
 in the war of the Revolution. 
 
 J. MARTIN BURGESS, the popular 
 cashier of the Bank of Cassville, and justice 
 of the peace and notary public, was born in 
 Muskallonge, Beetown township, in 1847, and 
 is a worthy representative of a prominent pio- 
 neer family of Grant county. 
 
 Henry Burgess, his father, was born in 
 Kentucky Dec. 19, 1808, a son of William 
 Burgess, who married a lady named Johnson, 
 both also natives of that State, and early set- 
 tlers of Bond county, Ilk, where A illiam Bur- 
 gess opened up and improved a farm. There 
 a stockade was built, to which during the In- 
 dian troubles of 1812 he took his family for 
 protection. He was a member of the Mounted 
 Dragoons, in the State militia, and was wound- 
 ed in the shoulder by an Indian during an at- 
 tack.- He continued to make his home in Bond 
 county, 111., until his death, which occurred in 
 1853. His wife died some years previously. 
 
 Henry Burgess, the father of J. Martin, 
 was reared and educated in Bond county, Ilk, 
 and in 1845 came to Potosi, Grant county, 
 Wis., locating in Beetown township in the fall 
 of the same year. He was engaged in min- 
 ing until about 1853, when he purchased a 
 tract of wild land in Cassville township, which 
 he transformed into a well improved and 
 highly cultivated farm. I11 early life he affili- 
 ated with the Democratic party, but on the 
 formation of the Republican party, in 1856, he 
 joined its ranks, continuing one of its stanch 
 supporters until his death. In 1856 lie was 
 elected justice of the peace in Cassville town- 
 ship, and held that office continuously until 
 1893. In that capacity he performed his first 
 
i74 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 marriage ceremony Nov. i, 1857, and during 
 the succeeding years married 130 couples, the 
 last being on March 14/1892. He also served 
 as chairman of the town board, and was town 
 clerk for twenty years. Henry Burgess was 
 twice married, the first time in Bond county, 
 111., about 1832, to a Miss White, who died in 
 that State. To them were born four children : 
 William, a farmer, who died in Cassville, Wis., 
 in 1858 ; John H., who enlisted in 1862 in Com- 
 pany C, 2d Wis. V. I., and died at Arlington 
 Heights the same year; Elizabeth Jane, who 
 died in Nebraska in 1896; and Mary Ann, who 
 died in that State in 1894. Mr. Burgess was 
 ag'ain married, in Wisconsin, in 1845, his sec- 
 ond union being with Harriet Leanora Mat- 
 thews, who died in March, 1885, while his 
 death occurred May 3, 1895. The children 
 born to them were Joseph Martin, whose name 
 introduces this review; James T., principal of 
 the high school at Sargents Bluff, Iowa ; 
 George P., postmaster and justice of the peace 
 at Graham, Clayton Co., Iowa; and Harriet, 
 who died at the age of three years. By a for- 
 mer marriage the mother had two children : 
 Sarah, wife of Butler Throssel, chairman of 
 the county board of Franklin county, Iowa; 
 and Adaline, now Mrs. Bates, of Kingman 
 county, Kansas. 
 
 Reared in Beetown and Cassville town- 
 ships, J. Martin Burgess began his education 
 in the district schools, and later attended the 
 high schools of Cassville and Lancaster. For 
 twelve years he successfully followed school 
 teaching in Grant county, Wis., and Clayton 
 county, Iowa, and for a time was in the em- 
 ploy of a railroad company. In June, 1899, 
 lie was made cashier of the Bank of Cassville, 
 and is now filling that responsible position in 
 a most creditable and satisfactory manner. In 
 1894 he succeeded his father as justice of the 
 peace, and up to January, 1900, had married 
 thirty-eight couples. He also served as town 
 clerk a number of years, and is now notary 
 public. 
 
 At Cassville, in 1872, Mr. Burgess was 
 united in marriage with Miss Mary Woodall, 
 a native of Dubuque county, Iowa, of which 
 her parents, Obediah and Mary (McGinnis) 
 Woodall, were pioneers. Her father died in 
 Clayton county, Iowa, in 1893, having sur- 
 vived his wife many years. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Burgess are active and influential members of 
 the Baptist Church, in which he is serving as 
 
 deacon, and he was superintendent of the Sab- 
 bath school in 1899. Socially he is a promi- 
 nent member of Cassville Lodge, No. 235, F. 
 & A. M., in which he now fills the office of 
 worthy master. He is one of the most popu- 
 lar and highly respected citizens of Cassville, 
 and those who know him best are numbered 
 among his warmest friends. 
 
 REV. GEORGE W. ANDREWS, Union 
 evangelist, who now makes his home in Mil- 
 ford, Dickinson Co., Iowa, is a representative 
 of one of the early families of Lamont town- 
 ship, formerly a part of Fayette township, La- 
 fayette county. 
 
 Charles Andrews, his father, was born in 
 Crawford county, Penn., June 14, 1833, son 
 of Robert Andrews. The family is of Irish 
 origin, but came to America in Colonial days. 
 As Robert Andrews died when his son Charles 
 was but nine years of age, the latter was thrown 
 largely on his own resources at a very early 
 age. The mother, however, was a most ex- 
 cellent and capable woman, and reared her chil- 
 dren to be honorable and useful members of 
 society. She died at the advanced age of 
 eighty-nine years. 
 
 In August, 1853, Charles Andrews, ac- 
 companied by his brother William R., left 
 Pennsylvania and located in Wisconsin. They 
 worked in different parts of the State before 
 coming to Lafayette county, and in 1857 made 
 their permanent settlement in the township of 
 Fayette, now Lamont. William R. died at 
 his home in June, 1900, leaving a family of 
 four sons and four daughters. Charles An- 
 drews purchased the farm in Section 23, of 
 David Jolly, a well-known old settler, and 
 eventually became possessed of four hundred 
 acres, besides land in Iowa. He married Miss 
 Jane McMannus, a native of Pennsylvania, who 
 came to Lafayette county with her parents, 
 George and Sarah McMannus, in 1855. 
 George McMannus died at the age of sixty- 
 six, and his wife at the age of eighty-seven ; 
 they had but two children : George, who lived 
 
 to be nineteen; and Jane, who became Mrs. 
 Andrews. Charles Andrews was long a prom- 
 inent and well-known citizen, honorable and 
 successful in his business career, and ever held 
 in high esteem as an energetic and progressive 
 citizen. He was ever ready to help the unfor- 
 tunate, and was greatly beloved by his friends. 
 Socially he was identified with the Masonic 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 175 
 
 fraternity, the I. O. O. F. and the K. of P. 
 His death occurred in January, 1899, and his 
 wife, who survives him, lives at Argyle. They 
 were the parents of four children : Rev. 
 
 George W. ; John H., a resident of Lamont 
 township; Lizzie; and Willard. 
 
 Rev. George W. Andrews was born on the 
 old homestead May 14, 1861. When he was 
 eleven years of age his father removed from 
 the farm to the village of Argyle, in order to 
 give the children the benefit of an education. 
 He was but twenty years of age when he was 
 married, and immediately after marriage re- 
 turned to the homestead farm in Lamont, and 
 for two years engaged in agricultural pursuits. 
 He then moved to his present home in Dickin- 
 son county, Iowa, where he has a fine farm. 
 In February, 1891, Mr. Andrews was con- 
 verted, and he has ever since labored with all 
 the earnestness and enthusiasm of his nature 
 to spread Christ’s kingdom in the hearts of 
 men. Since 1896 he has been engaged as a 
 Union evangelist, and while the major portion 
 of his work has been in the State of Iowa he 
 has made some stirring appeals in the vicinity 
 of his old home, in Wisconsin. He has been 
 eminently successful in his religious work, his 
 sincerity touching the hearts of his hearers 
 and making his appeals more convincing. 
 
 Mr. Andrews married Miss Luella Jane 
 Goodman, daughter of Henry and Lavina 
 Goodman, who emigrated from Cornwall, 
 England, in 1856. and were early settlers of 
 the township of Wiota, Lafayette county ; they 
 now make their home in O'Brien county, Iowa. 
 The children born to this union are six in 
 number, three sons and three daughters : 
 Charles G., Lela May, Lavinia J., William C., 
 John H., and Lenore Andrews. 
 
 M. T. CAMP, a well-known and highly es- 
 teemed citizen of Platteville, Grant county, 
 was born at that place in 1847, and is a worthy 
 representative of one of its prominent pioneer 
 families. His father, William Camp, came 
 here in early manhood, and was married in 
 Platteville to Miss Sarah Gillman, a native of 
 Illinois, who came to Grant county in 1832 
 with her parents. Charles and Lucinda Gill- 
 man, whose last days were spent in Platteville. 
 M. T. Camp had a brother, John, who served 
 three years in the Civil war as a member of 
 the 10th Wis. Ah I., and one year in the 44th 
 Regiment. 
 
 Responding to his country’s call for aid 
 during the dark days of the Rebellion, Air. 
 Camp enlisted, at Platteville, in November, 
 1863, for three years or during the war, and 
 was mustered in at Madison, Wis., as a mem- 
 ber of Company C, 7th Wis. V. I., which be- 
 came a part of the Army of the Potomac. Mr. 
 Camp participated in all the engagements in 
 which his command took' part, including the 
 battles of the Wilderness, Laurel Hill and 
 Spottsylvania. When the war ended he re- 
 ceived an honorable discharge, in July, 1865, 
 and returned to his home in Platteville. He 
 is now a member of W. T. Sherman Post, No. 
 66, G. A. R. Politically he is a stalwart sup- 
 porter of the men and measures of the Repub- 
 lican party. 
 
 On Dec. 25, 1867, Mr. Camp was married, 
 in Platteville, to Miss Margaret Edwards, a 
 daughter of William Edwards. They are 
 widely and favorably known, and have many 
 friends in the community where they reside. 
 
 GEORGE C. WILKINSON, who since 
 1901 has made his home in the town of Benton, 
 Lafayette county, inherited from his father 
 those sterling - characteristics of heart and brain 
 that have made him a successful farmer and 
 miner, as well as a popular and respected citi- 
 zen. He was born in Benton township July 
 8, 1868, son of George and Isabella (Allinson) 
 Wilkinson, both of whom were natives of 
 Yorkshire, England. 
 
 George Wilkinson was born April 30, 1831, 
 and came to America in early manhood, having 
 when he landed a monetary capital of five dol- 
 lars, with which he intended to commence life 
 on the Western frontier. He had a limited 
 education, but natural business tact won for 
 him the success that literary training often 
 fails to accomplish. For two or three years 
 after his arrival he worked on farms in New 
 York State, and then came West. His first 
 farm was in New Diggings, Lafayette Co., 
 Wis., but after a year of farm work in 
 Wisconsin he turned to mining. In Aug- 
 ust, 1864, Mr. Wilkinson wedded Miss 
 Isabella Allinson, who was born in March, 
 1846, daughter of Thomas and Jane Al- 
 linson, who were natives of England, and 
 early settlers of Lafayette county. Shortly 
 after his marriage Air. Wilkinson pur- 
 chased the old Allinson home, Thomas Allin- 
 son having died, and for the remainder of his 
 
176 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 life lived in the stone house early erected by 
 his father-in-law, and which is still standing, 
 in a good state of preservation. Mrs. Wilkin- 
 son died Sept. 23, 1S77, and Mr. Wilkinson on 
 Jan. 29, 1896. He was a member of the 
 Church of England, while she was a de- 
 vout Methodist, her father, Thomas Al- 
 linson, having been a local preacher for 
 many years, and the founder and builder 
 of the stone church now in use at New 
 Diggings. Of the seven children born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wilkinson, we have the fol- 
 lowing record: (1) Sarah A., born in July, 
 1865, was graduated from the Hazel Green 
 high school, was for several, years assistant 
 teacher in the Lancaster (Wis.) high school, 
 and for two or three terms in Bloomington, 
 Wis. In 1889 she married Joseph A. Williams, 
 now a practicing lawyer at Plain View, Neb., 
 and has three children, Isabella, Anna and Hil- 
 lis. (2) Thomas, born in August, 1866, re- 
 sides on a part of the old homestead, where 
 he has erected new and modern buildings. 
 In 1893 he married Ella Beck, of Benton, and 
 has one son Fred, born Aug. 17, 1894. (3) 
 
 George C. is next in the order of birth. (4) 
 Hannah J., born Oct. 8, 1869, was educated 
 in the Hazel Green high school, and in June, 
 1894, wedded Edward Williams, of Hazel 
 Green, now residing on Main street, Madison, 
 where he is engaged in the drug business. (5) 
 Joseph E., born Nov. 28, 1871, a promising 
 young man, died in June, 1897. (6) Robert 
 
 E., born in May, 1875, is engaged in the 
 butchering business in Benton. (7) Eugene 
 A., born in August, 1877,. was educated in 
 Brett College, in Iowa ; he is now a furniture 
 dealer in that State. 
 
 George C. Wilkinson, the subject proper 
 of this review, was educated in the district 
 schools of the neighborhood, and in Whig, 
 Grant county, where he lived with Robert 
 Wilkinson after the death of his mother. Until 
 his father’s death he worked on the old home 
 farm, having learned the details of farm work 
 in the hard school, of experience. He then took 
 up mining', in which he has been quite success- 
 ful, making quite a fortune working his own 
 mines, which bear his name. He has given 
 good evidence of his business ability and good 
 common sense in the management of his own 
 affairs, and personally has won for himself 
 the respect of the entire community. 
 
 On Feb. 2, 1898, Mr. Wilkinson was mar- 
 
 ried to Miss Margaret A. Teal, born in 1868, 
 daughter of Joseph and Annie Teal, and edu- 
 cated in the Shullsburg and New Diggings 
 schools. Mr. and Mrs. Teal came to Wisconsin 
 from England, and were well known people, 
 esteemed for their many virtues. Mr. Teal 
 died in 1871, leaving three children: Joseph, 
 of New Diggings; Mary, wife of Horatio 
 Bale, of White Oak Springs, Lafayette county ; 
 and Margaret, wife of our subject. Since the 
 death of her husband Mrs. Teal has again 
 married, her second husband being Thomas 
 Clegg, by whom she has three children, Fannie 
 (now Mrs. Charles Vickers), Minnie and 
 Thomas, all of New Diggings. Mr. Wilkinson 
 follows in the footsteps of his father in his 
 political faith, voting the straight Republican 
 ticket, and in religious belief both he and his 
 wife are Methodists. The family has always 
 borne an honorable name, to which the present 
 generation bids fair to add new laurels. 
 
 FRANK BAIN PHELPS (deceased) was 
 born at Montville, Geauga Co., Ohio, July 21, 
 1865, and the following -November was 
 brought by his parents to Janesville, Wis. 
 His early training was received in the public 
 schools of that city, and he spent one year at 
 Lawrence University, Appleton. He then at- 
 tended the University of Wisconsin, gradu- 
 ating in 1887. His course in the University 
 was along scientific lines, but he took much 
 interest in newspaper work, and was connected 
 with the student publications. Soon after his 
 graduation he was appointed city editor of the 
 Green Bay Gazette, and displayed such ability 
 in this work that he was called from Green 
 Bay to Hancock, Mich., to take editorial charge 
 of the Hancock Journal. Here his knowledge 
 of civil engineering and the theory of mining 
 proved of great value to him. He became ex- 
 ceptionally well versed in Wisconsin and Mich- 
 igan mining matters, and his letters to the New 
 York trade journals attracted so much atten- 
 tion that he was offered an editorial position on 
 the Engineering and Mining Journal of New 
 York. While in this position he gained a very 
 thorough knowledge, from a newspaper stand- 
 point, of the coal trade and the metal markets. 
 
 Mr. Phelps next joined the staff of the Dow- 
 Jones News Agency, which brought him more 
 directly into contact with the great financial 
 centers, and enabled him to gain a wide ex- 
 perience in business and financial matters. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1 77 
 
 Afterward he became financial editor of the 
 New York Recorder, a position he held for two 
 years, and until the paper was discontinued. 
 He then joined the staff of the New York 
 Commercial Advertiser, as chief of its Wall 
 street bureau, retaining- this position, and dis- 
 playing remarkable ability in meeting its varied 
 and critical demands, until ill-health necessi- 
 tated his retirement from all newspaper work, 
 in the winter of 1897. That spring he came to 
 Janesville, and remained here a few months 
 without apparent improvement. He went back 
 to New York, and died there Jan. 7, 1898. He 
 had a short but brilliant career, and his vital 
 powers burned quickly out with a splendor all 
 their own. His life was sincerely led, his pur- 
 pose high and noble, and his duties well per- 
 formed. 
 
 Milton Moore Phelps: A Memorial 
 
 Adopted by the Rock County Bar Association, 
 and filed in Court April 23, 1900. — On the 27th 
 day of September, 1898, Milton Moore Phelps 
 passed into the larger life, after an earthly pil- 
 grimage extending over a little more than fifty- 
 nine years, thirty-three years of which time 
 were passed among us as a resident of our 
 city, and a member of our Bar. All who im- 
 mediately knew this man, as was the fortune 
 of the writer of this Memorial to know him, 
 knew that in his home, among his friends, and 
 wherever he found persons who were willing 
 to give an unprejudiced and candid hearing to 
 all sides of the question, he was the most gentle, 
 considerate, and loving and sweet-spirited of 
 men. The integrity of his character was his 
 leading quality. None excelled and few 
 equalled him in this respect. No one who 
 knew him ever doubted the rugged honesty of 
 his nature. 
 
 He never stooped to trickery, he never re- 
 sorted to hypocrisy, he was absolutely free 
 from the pretension of deceit. His nature was 
 frank, open, cheery. He was sincerely at- 
 tached to his friends, and absolutely loyal to 
 them. He was Democratic in his ideals and 
 actions, and entirely free from dogmatism. 
 He was not a genius, and yet he had a well- 
 rounded and evenly-developed intellect. He 
 was not a great lawyer. He was safe and 
 sound and industrious, one who never disgraced 
 his profession, or his brother members at the 
 Bar. He was-a man of force, he enjoyed busi- 
 ness, and liked to be a producer of things. 
 
 After all man’s title to remembrance by his 
 
 12 
 
 fellow men must rest upon his virtues rather 
 than upon any vagaries of intellect, sometimes 
 designated genius. We are oftentimes com- 
 pelled to define and illustrate qualities by com- 
 parison. And not only a fair but a good way to 
 judge the qualities men generally denominate 
 virtues 1 is by comparing them with the same 
 qualities in those illustrious individuals whose 
 names and fame grow more luminous as the 
 years go by, and whose characteristic virtues 
 have been preserved to us by the printed es- 
 timates of competent friends. And if we shall 
 find that the qualities of our friend whose mem- 
 ory we seek here to perpetuate, and the record 
 of whose virtues we would fain preserve by 
 placing it among the archives of this court, 
 differ only from those in degree rather than 
 quality or kind, we have a right to congratu- 
 late ourselves that it has been our privilege to 
 have been associated with our brother pro- 
 fessionally and officially for so many years. 
 
 We have been often struck in noticing how 
 closely those qualities in our brother corre- 
 spond with those justly described by his eulo- 
 gists to the Father of his Country. AYe make 
 bold to copy a few statements from Sparks’ 
 and Lee’s eulogies of Washington in order 
 that the similarity may be observed. 
 
 “His moral qualities were in perfect har- 
 mony with his intellect ; duty was the ruling 
 principle of his conduct, and the rare endow- 
 ments of his understanding were not more 
 constantly tasked to devise the best methods of 
 effecting an object, than they were to guard 
 the sanctity of conscience. No instance can 
 be adduced in which he was actuated by a 
 sinister motive, or endeavored to attain an end 
 by unworthy means. Truth, integrity and 
 justice were deeply rooted in his mind, and 
 nothing could rouse his indignation as soon, 
 or so utterly destroy his confidence, as the dis- 
 covery of the want of these virtues in any one 
 in whom he had trusted. Weakness, follies, 
 indiscretions, he could forgive : but' subterfuge 
 and dishonesty he never forgot, rarely par- 
 doned. 
 
 “He was candid and sincere, true to his 
 friends, and faithful to all, neither practicing 
 dissimulation, descending to artifice, nor hold- 
 ing out expectations which he did not intend 
 should be realized. 
 
 “As a husband, son and brother, he was 
 tender and affectionate. Without vanity, os- 
 tentation or pride, he never spoke of himself or 
 
173 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his actions unless required by circumstances 
 which concerned the public interest, if he had 
 one passion more strong than another, it was 
 the love of country. The purity and ardor of his 
 patriotism were commensurate with the great- 
 ness of its object. He was second to none in 
 humble and endearing scenes of private life; 
 pious, just, humane, temperate, sincere, uni- 
 formly dignified and commanding, his example 
 was edifying to all around him, as were the 
 effects of that example lasting. To his 
 equals he was condescending; to his in- 
 feriors kind; and to the dear object of 
 his affections exemplarily tender. Correct 
 throughout, vice shuddered in his presence, 
 and virtue always felt his fostering hand, and 
 the purity of his private character gave efful- 
 gence to his public virtues.” 
 
 Judge Phelps was born Jan. 13, 1839, at 
 Freedom, Portage Co., Ohio, in the Western 
 Reserve, the oldest son of Abram and Marietta 
 Phelps, both of whom survive him. His boy- 
 hood and early manhood were spent amid stir- 
 ring scenes connected with the anti-slavery 
 excitement, which took an acute form in the 
 Western Reserve. The name of his birthplace 
 suggests a love of liberty, so that when the 
 scenes preceding the Rebellion had culminated 
 in the fire on Fort Sumter he was ready to don 
 a uniform and start for the front. In 1861 Mr. 
 Phelps was just finishing his college course at 
 Meadville, Penn., and upon graduating at once 
 enlisted in the Pennsylvania Reserve. And 
 from that time until June, 1863, serving as 
 lieutenant and adjutant, he confronted the en- 
 emy’s guns, only omitting from that time sixty 
 days, when he was at home recovering from 
 a gun-shot wound. His service in the army 
 was one of conspicuous gallantry. He par- 
 ticipated in several important engagements of 
 the war, and his person was six times hit by 
 Rebel bullets. At the second disastrous battle 
 of Bull Run, while the forces confronting in 
 this part of the field in which Mr. Phelps was 
 serving were becoming broken up and dis- 
 organized, and at the moment when he had suc- 
 ceeded in rallying a considerable force com- 
 posed of men from different broken and flying 
 regiments, he partly turned around to lift a 
 fallen comrade, when he himself received a 
 Rebel bullet which passed entirely through his 
 lungs. Though desperately wounded in a man- 
 ner that would mean death to most men, his 
 excellent constitution and exemplary habits en- 
 
 abled him to rapidly regain sufficient strength 
 so that in a little less than sixty days he was 
 again upon the battlefield, and participated in 
 the battle of Fredericksburg, where, from ex- 
 posure and lying on wet ground, the old in- 
 jury was so aggravated that he was reluctantly 
 compelled to take his discharge. 
 
 On June 16, 1864, he was married to Hen- 
 rietta Bain, the daughter of the Rev. John 
 Bain, at Franklin, Venango Co., Penn., and in 
 1865 they removed to the city of Janesville, 
 and Mr. Phelps entered at once upon a success- 
 ful practice of law, which practice was contin- 
 uous, except as interfered with by the perform- 
 ance of his judicial duties. Mr. Phelps during 
 his residence here served his county and city in 
 several different judicial capacities, among them 
 being justice of the peace, public administrator, 
 and at the time of his death he had been for 
 nearly six years judge of the municipal court 
 for Rock county. In the performance of his 
 judicial duties he was ever honest, painstaking, 
 impartial, and faithful.. And while he was 
 kindly sympathetic with unfortunates who 
 were brought before him, he ever tried to ad- 
 minister the law so as to deter people from 
 committing offenses, and to protect the public 
 in all personal and property rights. Mr. Phelps 
 had no sisters, and but one brother, and he 
 died in the year 1863 from disease contracted 
 in the army. During their married life there 
 were born to Mr. and Mrs. Phelps four chil- 
 dren, two of whom died in infancy, and the 
 youngest of the survivors, Norris Phelps, was 
 drowned when he was fourteen years of age. 
 The last year of Judge Phelps’ life was one of 
 peculiar afflictions. In the month of Decem- 
 ber, 1897, his beloved wife, after a protracted 
 illness, passed to her eternal reward. On the 
 7th day of January following his only son, 
 Frank, followed his mother, but leaving a 
 widow, Elizabeth C. Phelps, who supplied the 
 place of a dutiful daughter to Mr. Phelps after 
 his wife and son had been taken from him, 
 and her loving kindness and faithful care miti- 
 gated 1 the suffering of his last days. And he 
 had the satisfaction of knowing that she would 
 be left to perform in his stead the loving duties 
 to his aged parents which he had fondly ex- 
 pected to be permitted to perform. 
 
 The apparent cause of Mr. Phelps’ death 
 was the result of colliding with a train while 
 riding a wheel. Those who knew him and 
 his family were inclined to connect that injury 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 with the death of his wife and son. Brave and 
 strong, he had faced death in many ways ; on 
 the battlefield, and in behalf of the needy and 
 the weak, he had met his full share of acci- 
 dental injuries. He seemed almost superior 
 to death from physical causes. His domestic 
 life had been one of felicity, and so strong 
 was his life intrenched with the light of home, 
 wife and children that, when they were taken 
 away, the steadying prop of his life was gone. 
 Such was his nature that he would not bend, 
 and could only break. 
 
 Up to within a few short months of his 
 death his thoughts, energies, were concentrated 
 upon his family, and they were here and with 
 him. The mind was alert and vigilant, quick 
 to care for them, and, for their sake, for him- 
 self. Then all was changed. Their abiding 
 place had been transferred to another and bet- 
 ter world. The home scenes that knew him 
 here would know them no more forever. And, 
 while Mr. Phelps would not shrink a duty or 
 evade a responsibility, and would bravely fight 
 the battle of life to the end alone if need be, 
 it is not too much, we think, to say that the 
 calamities which had broken the heart of this 
 brave soul somewhat dimmed the alert- 
 ness and activity of his consciousness applied to 
 mere earthly or physical conditions, and that 
 it was want of alertness which resulted in the 
 injuries which terminated his earthly career. 
 
 And so here to-day we pay our last tribute 
 to the man we all honored, and whose life and 
 character honored us. One by one we followed 
 this loving family to their last resting-place 
 here on earth. We minoied our tears with 
 his, as one by one the jewels of his life 
 were taken from him. So now that love has 
 conquered death, we will rejoice with him in 
 the grand reunion with the loved ones in that 
 land where sorrow and death and separation 
 shall never come. 
 
 [Signed] William Smith, 
 
 Chairman of the Committee. 
 
 C. H. WANAMAKER, a prominent black- 
 smith of Platteville, Grant county, and an hon- 
 ored veteran of the Civil war. was born in 
 Southington Center, Trumbull Co.. Ohio, 
 April 30, 1846, a son of H. L. and Hannah 
 A. (Chatfield) Wannemaker (as the name 
 was then spelled), and a grandson of Jacob 
 and Elizabeth (Sechler) Wannemacher (which 
 was the original spelling of the name). From 
 
 1 79 
 
 Pennsylvania, their native State, Jacob Wan- 
 nemacher and wife moved to Trumbull county, 
 Ohio, where they died. By occupation he was 
 a shoemaker. His brother, Jonas Wanne- 
 maker, came to Grant county, A is., from Penn- 
 sylvania in 1846, and located in Liberty town- 
 ship, where from the wild land he developed a 
 farm. He died in Crawford county, this State. 
 Of his large family the following are still 
 living: Samuel, a resident of Crawford county; 
 Jonas, Timothy and Nelson, all of Colorado; 
 and Emily, Mrs. Dennis, of Grant county, 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 H. L. Wannemaker, father of the gentle- 
 man whose name introduces this sketch, was 
 born in Berks county, Penn., Sept. 18. 1822, 
 ' but was reared and educated in Ohio, where he 
 learned the trade of blacksmith. In Trumbull 
 county he was married, in 1843, t° Miss Han- 
 nah A. Chatfield, a native of Connecticut, and 
 a daughter of John and Eunice (Percy) Chat- 
 field, who were also born in that State. Her 
 father, who was a farmer by occupation, and 
 a veteran of the war of 1812, moved to Ohio 
 at an early day, and in 1854 came to Platte- 
 ville, Wis., where he died in 1869. His wife’s 
 death occurred in Missouri, in 1868. In 1849 
 H. L. Wannemaker came to Grant county, 
 Wis., and he walked all the way back to Trum- 
 bull. county, Ohio, to bring his family here the 
 following year. They located in Platteville, 
 where the father worked at his trade until 
 1853, in which year he went to California, re- 
 turning in 1857 to resume blacksmithing. Dur- 
 ing the war of the Rebellion he enlisted, for 
 three years, in Company E, 25th A is. V. I., 
 and was with Sherman on the march to the 
 sea and in the Carolina campaign. He partic- 
 ipated in the grand review at Washington, 
 D. C., and was honorably discharged in 1865. 
 In 1875 he left Platteville and moved to Golden, 
 Colo., where he and his wife still reside. Of 
 the five children born to them, C. H. is the 
 eldest; Walter L.. the second, entered the 
 Union army in 1864. and died in Colorado in 
 1894; Z. PI. is a resident of that State; Nellie 
 R. is married, and resides in Golden, Colo. ; 
 and Ruby R. is now Mrs. Crowe, of Denver. 
 
 From tfie age of four years C. H. A ana- 
 maker has been a resident of Platteville. where 
 he was educated, and learned the blacksmith’s 
 trade with his father. He was also one of the 
 boys in blue during the Civil war, enlisting 
 at Columbus, Ivy., in April, 1863, for three 
 
i8o 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years or during the war, and becoming a mem- 
 ber of Company E, 25th Wis. V. I. ; he was 
 mustered into the United States service at 
 Helena, Ark., and assigned to the 16th, and 
 later to the 17th, Army Corps. He partici- 
 pated in the battle of Resaca, and all of the 
 engagements of the Atlanta campaign. At 
 Decatur, Ga., July 22, 1864, the company lost 
 two more than half its number. Mr. Wana- 
 maker was taken prisoner Nov. 1, of that year, 
 and confined at Cahab'a, Ala., for five months 
 before being exchanged. While at Vicksburg, 
 in 1865, he was transferred to Company K, 
 1 2th Wis. V. I., and he was honorably dis- 
 charged in June, 1865, at Madison, Wis., as 
 a prisoner of war. Returning to Platteville, he 
 started work at his trade, and is to-day one of 
 the leading blacksmiths of the city. 
 
 On May 10, 1868, in Platteville, Mr. Wana- 
 maker married Miss Eliza Webster, who was 
 born in L’Anse, Mich., in 1850, a daughter of 
 Thomas and Mary Ann (Trebilcock) Webster. 
 The father was a native of Cornwall, England, 
 and on his emigration to America first settled 
 in Pennsylvania, but later moved to the upper 
 peninsula of Michigan, locating at L’Anse 
 prior to 1850. By occupation he was a. miner. 
 About 1851 or 1852 he came to Platteville, 
 Wis., where he died in 1889. After the death 
 of his first wife, which occurred in 1855, he 
 married her sister, who still resides in Platte- 
 ville. Mr. and Mrs. Wanamaker are the par- 
 ents of five children, namely : Alice, wife of 
 John Webb, of Platteville; Mildred, wife of 
 W. E. Hough, of Janesville, Wis. ; T. Webster, 
 a resident of Green Bav; C. L., who has charge 
 of the electric light plant at Stevens Point ; 
 and Vera, wife of H. M. Dunn, of Milwaukee. 
 
 Mr. Wanamaker is a supporter of the Re- 
 publican party, and takes an active interest in 
 political affairs. He was one of the organizers 
 and charter members of W. T. Sherman Post, 
 No. 66, G. A. R., in which he has held office, 
 and he is also a member of the Ancient Order 
 of United Workmen. 
 
 JOHN HAYES, one of Muscoda’s leading 
 citizens, enjoys the distinction of being among 
 the few survivors of those who participated in 
 the great naval battle between the “Kearsarge” 
 and the “Alabama,” lie having served as cox- 
 swain on the former, and had charge of one of 
 the guns which sent the Confederate craft to 
 the bottom of the English Channel. 
 
 Mr. Hayes was born July 20, 1832, in New- 
 foundland, a subject of Great Britain, and is 
 a son of John and Mary (Walker) Hayes. 
 The family originated in England, but for sev- 
 eral generations representatives thereof have 
 made Newfoundland their home. Our sub- 
 ject was one of four children, three sons and 
 one daughter, and lost his mother when only 
 five or six years old, so he scarcely remembers, 
 her. Being apprenticed to the trade of cooper, 
 John Hayes served his full time, but soon 
 after shipped on a British merchantman, his 
 inclinations tending toward seafaring life. In 
 1856 or 1857 he made his last trip on an Eng- 
 lish vessel, sailing from London to New York. 
 Leaving that service, Mr. Hayes went from 
 New York to Philadelphia, and entered the 
 American naval service, shipping on the United 
 States vessel “Saranac,” which was ordered to 
 the Pacific coast. Remaining in the naval 
 service for about two years, he and his mates 
 were relieved, and, returning to New York, 
 Mr. Hayes entered the merchant service, and 
 engaged in coasting along the Atlantic sea- 
 board. 
 
 In November, 1861, feeling that his adopted 
 country had need of his services, Mr. Hayes,, 
 leaving the merchant service, re-entered the 
 United States navy, and was assigned to the 
 “Ohio,” at Charlestown harbor. However, 
 when the “Ohio” was at Boston, the "Kear- 
 sarge” was also in that harbor, and a carefully 
 picked crew being selected. Knowing Mr. 
 Hayes’ record, the officers of the “Kearsarge” 
 had him transferred from the “Ohio” to their 
 vessel, and he remained one of its crew until 
 1864. As is well known, the “Kearsarge” was 
 fitted up and sent out expressly for the purpose 
 of destroying the “Alabama,” which had been 
 such a menace to the commercial interests of 
 the United States. The vessel belonged to 
 Farragut’s command, but possessed a roving- 
 commission, and the search was a long and 
 exciting one — through the straits of Gibraltar ; 
 along the coast of Europe ; thence to the Azores. 
 Finally, while cruising along the coast of Hol- 
 land, Capt. Winslow, the officer in command,, 
 received information that the “Alabama” was 
 lying in the harbor at Cherbourg, France. 
 Acting promptly upon this information, which 
 was sent by the United States consul at Cher- 
 bourg, the “Kearsarge” was soon at the end of 
 its long quest. Underestimating the “Kear- 
 sarge,” the “Alabama” immediately sent a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1 8 1 
 
 challenge, which was promptly accepted, and on 
 June 19, 1864, the “Kearsarge” steamed out of 
 the harbor, beyond the neutral line, closely fol- 
 lowed by the ‘‘Alabama.” Just as the com- 
 manding officer of the latter began to think that 
 the “Kearsarge” was trying to escape, she sud- 
 denly turned and approached the enemy, and 
 then was fought one of the most important 
 battles of the sea ever recorded in history. 
 This memorable event is by some historians re- 
 garded of more importance than the engage- 
 ment between the “Merrimac” and the "Moni- 
 tor.” The “Kearsarge” not only overcame the 
 “Alabama,” but, as is well known by every 
 student of our history, sank this formidable 
 vessel, and freed the high seas of an enemy 
 which had swept from the nations' highway all 
 merchant ships belonging to the commerce of 
 the United States that it could approach. In- 
 deed, this victory was regarded as being such 
 an important one, with reference to the com- 
 merce of the country, that the Chamber of 
 Commerce of New York City contributed a 
 large sum of money to be presented to the of- 
 ficers and crew of the gallant "Kearsarge ” 
 Of this sum Mr. Hayes’ portion was fifty dol- 
 lars, accompanied by a beautiful certificate of 
 acknowledgment of the part he took in the 
 battle. Mr. Hayes was captain of a thirty-two- 
 pound gun in this engagement, which he ope- 
 rated very effectively. 
 
 After his discharge from the “Kearsarge,” 
 Mr. Hayes re-enlisted in the navy, going on 
 the recruiting ship “Ohio,” but was soon after 
 selected as one of the crew of the "Wauchus- 
 etts,” which cruised along the coast of South 
 America. I11 the spring of 1865, soon after the 
 assassination of President Lincoln, the steamer 
 “Hartford” (Admiral Farragut’s former flag- 
 ship) and the “Wauchusetts” were ordered to 
 China. This was a long and interesting trip, 
 the vessels touching at the Cape of Good Hope, 
 St. Helena, Manila, Hong Kong, and other 
 important points. At Hong Kong Mr. Hayes 
 Avas transferred from the “Wauchusetts” to 
 the “Hartford.” During the trip the captain 
 and first and second officers died, and a com- 
 mander Avas selected from the “Hartford.” 
 The tAvo A’essels returned to Hong Kong, and 
 the “Wauchusetts” Avas soon afterward ordered 
 home, but.Mr. Hayes remained Avith the "Hart- 
 ford,” and sailed for Japan early in 1868. 
 Just before the “Hartford” started on its home- 
 Avarcl voyage Admiral Bell, with several of the 
 
 creAV, took a small boat to go to shore, to at- 
 tend to some final business, but unfortunately 
 the boat capsized, and the Admiral and several 
 of the crew were droAvned, although Mr. 
 Hayes and others, on board the “Hartford,” 
 hastened to their rescue. I11 August the "Hart- 
 ford" arrived in NeAV York, and the crerv Avas 
 soon after paid off, at the Brooklyn navy yard, 
 thus closing Mr. Hayes’ long and eventful 
 service in the United States navy. 
 
 After a short stay in Boston Mr. Hayes 
 came West and located in Mihvaukee, follow- 
 ing his calling on the Great Lakes, but after 
 his marriage he came to Muscoda, and bought 
 land in Richland county. In 1869 Mr. Hayes 
 was married to Celia Johnson, and three chil- 
 dren Avere born of that union: John H., a resi- 
 dent of Richland county ; Louisa, Avife of 
 David Hardin, a resident of IoAva ; and Simon, 
 of Pittsburg, Penn., now engaged in railroad- 
 ing. The latter Avas a soldier in the late war 
 with Spain, and participated in the siege cf 
 Santiago, as a member of Company A, 17th 
 United States Infantry. 
 
 .On Aug. 10, 1878, Mr. Hayes lost his first 
 Avife, and on Dec. 28, 1878, he married Mary 
 Nelson, the lady who now graces his home, 
 and avIio Avas a Avarm friend of the first Mrs. 
 Hayes. She Avas born in Christiania, Norway. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hayes have a delightful home, 
 Avhere they dispense hospitality and enjoy the 
 comforts of life. Mr. Hayes is A r ery entertain- 
 ing, and can talk for hours of the stirring events 
 he has Avitnessed, and in Avhich he has partici- 
 pated. He is both popular and influential in 
 the communitA’ Avhere lie has resided so many 
 years. Few men hai'e rendered their country 
 as efficient sendee, both in Avar and in peace, 
 as has Mr. Hayes, the subject of this biog- 
 raphy. 
 
 IOSEPPI BLACKSTONE, half-OAvner and 
 manager of the creamery at Shullsburg, Lafay- 
 ette county, is one of the foremost citizens and 
 enterprising business men of the tOAvn. He 
 AA'as born in December, 1839, in Y\ bite Oak 
 Springs, same county. where his father Avas one 
 of the prominent pioneers. 
 
 John W. Blackstone. his father, Avas born 
 in Madison county, N. Y., Oct. 8. 1796, son of 
 Stephen F. and Elizabeth (Baker) Blackstone, 
 both of English descent. He received his early 
 education in the public schools of that county, 
 and later entered Hamilton College, NeAV York, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1 82 
 
 being graduated therefrom in the class of 1819. 
 For three years he studied law, was admitted 
 to the Bar at the end of that time, and com- 
 menced practice. Being possessed of an ad- 
 venturous spirit, however, the glowing tales of 
 the West interfered with his interest in his legal 
 work, and he resolved to personally investigate 
 the wonders of the Northwest. He passed two 
 years in Canada before locating in Wisconsin, 
 and in 1827 reached Lead Mine, going the fol- 
 lowing year to Mineral Point, where he re-* 
 mained two years, and then moved to New 
 Diggings. In 1835 he purchased a farm near 
 White Oak Springs, long since known as the 
 “Judge Blackstone Farm,” and that became his 
 home until his death, which occurred in 1868. 
 He became a prominent factor in the develop- 
 ment of that region, and was always looked 
 upon as one of the leading spirits in any en- 
 terprise for the good of the community. Dur- 
 ing the Black Hawk war he held a lieutenant’s 
 commission in Capt. Clark’s company, under 
 Gen. Henry Dodge, and proved himself an in- 
 trepid soldier. In 1838 he became a member 
 of the Territorial Legislature, which convened 
 at Madison in November, of that year, and ac- 
 cording to the Blue Book of Wisconsin was 
 made Speaker of the Assembly. In 1833 Mr. 
 Blackstone was married to Miss Catherine 
 Tomlinson, who died in 1866, the mother of 
 seven children: (1) Theodore E., born in New 
 Diggings, in 1834, was educated in the Platte- 
 ville schools, and studied medicine. He op- 
 ened a drug store in Shullsburg, but after three 
 years engaged in farming, until his removal 
 to a ranch in Montana, where he died in 1891. 
 He married Miss Mary E. Hardy, of Platte- 
 ville, who was horn in Pottsville, Penn., and 
 they became the parents of nine children, Ernest 
 W., Harry R., John G., David, Mary D., Daisy, 
 Katie, Mintie, and Josie. (2) John W., born 
 Dec. 22, 1835, former editor of the Shullsburg 
 Local, is one of the leading lawyers of the 
 town. (3) Isabel, horn at White Oak 
 Springs, died in early womanhood. (4) 
 Joseph is the fourth in order of birth. (5) 
 Augustus for a time farmed the old home- 
 stead, but later moved to Shullsburg, where 
 he engaged in the hardware business for 
 some years, and then retired. He married 
 Miss Mary Jane Richardson, of Platteville, 
 and has two children, Adelbert and Bert- 
 ram, the former of whom is a lawyer at 
 A\ aukesha, Wis., and the latter a photographer 
 
 at Platteville. (6) Eugene died in early man- 
 hood. (7) Janette, born in White Oak 
 Springs, in 1868 married H. A. Beckwith, 
 who was born in Vermont, and they now 
 live on a farm in White Oak Springs. 
 Eight children have been born to them, Frank, 
 Charles L.. Joseph W., Ethel, Harry, Blanche, 
 Maud, and David. 
 
 Joseph Blackstone passed his early years 
 on the home farm, enjoying superior advant- 
 ages in the way of cultured and educated par- 
 ents, who encouraged him in every way to 
 make the best use of the talents with which 
 nature had endowed him. He secured a good 
 education in the old Platteville Academy. In 
 1862 he enlisted in Company K, 20th Wis. 
 V. I., was sergeant-major of his regiment for 
 a time, later was elected lieutenant of Com- 
 pany B, and served under Gen. Grant. His 
 first engagement was at Prairie Grove, Ark., 
 which ended disastrously for the young soldier, 
 as he was wounded there, so seriously that he 
 still at times suffers intensely from the effects. 
 The wound healed at the time, however, and 
 he rejoined his regiment, participating in a 
 number of engagements with bushwhackers 
 in Missouri, the siege of Vicksburg, and other 
 battles in that section. His regiment was sent 
 to Brownsville, Texas, for nine months, and 
 thence to the siege of Mobile, Ala., whence 
 after some time they were stationed at Galves- 
 ton, Tex., and there, on July 14, 1865, mus- 
 tered out of the United States service. 
 
 Upon his return from the war Mr. Black- 
 stone engaged in farming, locating on his fine 
 farm at White Oak Springs, where he erected 
 a fine modern house and large barn, and made 
 many other valuable improvements, proving 
 himself a most progressive agriculturist. In 
 1885 he purchased real estate in Shullsburg, 
 and there erected a commodious home, finely 
 finished in hard wood, and furnished with 
 every modern convenience. 
 
 Since locating in Shullsburg Mr. Black- 
 stone has engaged in the creamery business 
 with his son-in-law, W. H. Look, his business 
 ability manifesting itself in his unvarying- 
 success. 
 
 In January, 1867, Mr. Blackstone was 
 united in marriage with Miss Emma Pool, 
 daughter of Francis and Elizabeth (Bastian) 
 Pool. She was born in January, 1848, and 
 was educated in the Mount Morris Seminary, 
 in Illinois. To their marriage have come four 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 183 
 
 sons and two daughters: (i) Nettie, born in 
 September, 1867, was graduated in 1884 from 
 the Shullsburg high school. She married W. H. 
 Look, a dry-goods merchant of that city, who 
 was also engaged with his father-in-law in the 
 creamery business, and they have two children, 
 Frederick W. and Florence. (2) Dr. Wilfred 
 R., born in November, 1868, was graduated 
 from the Shullsburg high school, and later en- 
 tered the Atlanta (Ga.) Dental School, whence 
 he was graduated in 1897; he is now a leading- 
 dentist in Shullsburg. In 1900 he wedded 
 Miss Effie Oates, a graduate of the Platteville 
 Normal, and for two years a popular teacher 
 in the Shullsburg high school. (3) Herbert 
 Lee, born in August, 1870, was graduated 
 from the Shullsburg high school, and is now a 
 resident of Butte, Mont., where he holds the 
 position of freight solicitor for the Great 
 Northern Railway Co. He married Miss Freda 
 Baum, of Minneapolis, Minn. (4) Eva M., 
 born in 1873, was graduated in 1892 from the 
 Shullsburg high school. (5) Joseph R., born 
 in 1874, was graduated from the home high 
 school, and for two years engaged in teaching 
 there, at present being a conductor on a rail- 
 road in Anaconda, Mont. (6) Samuel L., 
 born in January, 1877, like the rest of the 
 family graduated from the home high school, 
 and is now a telegraph operator in Sibley, 
 Iowa. 
 
 In his political affiliations Mr. Blackstone 
 has always been identified with the Republican 
 party, and he has held a number of offices in 
 the gift of his admiring townsmen, among 
 them being that of chairman of White Oak 
 Springs. After the incorporation of Shulls- 
 burg as a borough he was elected the first 
 mayor of the town, and also chairman of the 
 board of the city, and for two years was chair- 
 man of the county. For a number of years he 
 has been a member of the school board. In 
 religious belief the family are all Congregation- 
 alists, and Mrs. Blackstone has ever been found 
 at the front in any Christian work. Socially our 
 subject is a member of the Masonic fraternity, 
 of the Order of the Eastern Star, and Post No. 
 96, G. A. R. The name of Blackstone is synony- 
 mous with enterprise and progress, and the 
 people of the town take it for granted that 
 Mr. Blackstone will always be ready — and cer- 
 tain it is they will always find him so — to do his 
 utmost to advance the moral, and material in- 
 terests of the town, county, or State. 
 
 Francis and Elizabeth (Bastian) Pool, par- 
 ents of Mrs. Blackstone, were both natives of 
 England. They emigrated from England in 
 1839, being among the old pioneer families of 
 Jo Daviess county, 111 ., and later located in 
 White Oak Springs, Wis., remaining there 
 until they erected the home near that of Mr. 
 Blackstone which proved to be their last earthly 
 residence. Both died the same year, 1881. 
 Their children were as follows : ( 1 ) Hanni- 
 bal, of California, married Aliss SophieAdams, 
 and has seven children. (2) Robert enlisted 
 in the 96th 111 . V. I., in the Civil war, and at- 
 tained the rank of captain; he was seriously 
 wounded in one of the engagements, and was 
 then retired, taking charge, as conductor, of 
 a military train. After the war he returned to 
 Galena, 111 ., where for eight years he served 
 as sheriff of Jo Daviess county. He married 
 Miss Amelia Lowe, who bore him three chil- 
 dren, Alice, Zera and Robert. He removed 
 to Portland, Oregon, where his death occurred 
 in 1898, from the effects of his old wounds, 
 and his family now reside in Grant’s Pass, 
 Oregon. (3) John, now a 'resident of Grant's 
 Pass, Oregon, is a miner. He wedded a Miss 
 Farr, of Galena. (4) Frank also became a 
 member of the 96th 111 . V. I., and died five 
 months later, at Harrodsburg, Ky. (5) Phil- 
 lippa now makes her home in Shullsburg. 
 (6) Jennie E. died at the age of eighteen, her 
 early death cutting short a life of great prom- 
 ise. (7) Emma is the wife of Mr. Black- 
 stone. 
 
 EDWARD P. DOTY, miller and grain 
 dealer of Janesville, Rock county, was born in 
 Janesville Sept. 27, 1857, a son of E. Philo and 
 Abigail hi. (Austin) Doty, natives of New 
 York State. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of our subject, 
 Zuri Shaddai Doty, was a native of Vermont, 
 who came to Rock county in the early days, 
 settling at Turtle; he afterward removed to 
 Janesville, where he engaged in conducting 
 a sash, door and blind factory. Later he re- 
 moved to Madison, where he died aged about 
 eighty-one years. His family was a large one, 
 and a number of its representatives reside in 
 Janesville. The Doty family dates back, in 
 America, to one of the “Mayflower” crew. 
 Our subject's maternal grandfather. Ira Austin, 
 was a native of New York, of English descent, 
 and had two children. In the early days he 
 
184 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 came West, resided in Madison, and died there, 
 advanced in years. 
 
 E. Philo Doty was a young man when he 
 migrated to Rock county, settling at Turtle, 
 and after some years’ residence in that town 
 removed to Janesville, and engaged in con- 
 ducting a sash, door and blind factory until 
 he embarked with his brothers in the manu- 
 facture of the Doty washing machine. Later 
 this business was merged into the Doty Manu- 
 facturing Co. In 1869 E. Philo Doty died, 
 aged nearly forty-three years, but his widow 
 still survives. In religious faith he was a Uni- 
 versalist, and Mrs. Doty an Episcopalian. 
 Five children were born to them, two sons and 
 three daughters, three now living: Alta M., 
 wife of Charles Atwood, of Janesville; Edward 
 P. ; and Anna S., wife of Judge Charles L. 
 Fifiel.d, of Janesville. 
 
 Edward P. Doty has lived all of his life in 
 Janesville, securing his education in the public 
 schools of that city. When about fifteen he 
 went into business with his brother Henry, 
 milling, but twenty-five years ago embarked in 
 business for himself, and for fifteen years was 
 in partnership with Pliny Norcross; the part- 
 nership was dissolved Oct. 15, 1900. 
 
 On Jan. 13, 1881, Edward P. Doty mar- 
 ried Miss Margaret V. Hullihen, daughter of 
 Dr. James and Sarah (Kramer) Hullihen, and 
 one son and two daughters have been born of 
 this union: Kramer, Josephine and Margaret. 
 Mrs. Doty is a member of Christ Episcopal 
 Church of Janesville. Politically Mr. Doty’s 
 affiliations are with the Republican party. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Doty reside on the corner of Conrad 
 and Oakland avenue, where they have lived 
 for the past seven or eight years. 
 
 HON. WILLIAM G. WHEELER, a dis- 
 tinguished member of the Bar of Janesville, is 
 a son of Hon. Guy and Ann L. (Snell) Wheel- 
 er, both of whom were born in New York. 
 Mrs. Wheeler’s family settled in Wisconsin 
 three years before her husband, the respective 
 dates of their location being 1839 and 1842. 
 
 In 1844 Guy Wheeler settled on a farm of 
 240 acres, two and a half miles southeast of 
 Janesville, and on this tract he still resides, 
 honored by the community and beloved by his 
 friends. His family consisted of two sons 
 and two daughters, of whom three are yet liv- 
 ing: Marion W. is the wife of A. C. Dow, 
 
 of Chicago, 111 . ; Ralph H. is a successful phy- 
 
 sician in the same city; and the third is Hon. 
 William G. Wheeler, whose name appears as 
 the subject of this sketch. Cordelia, the sec- 
 ond child, died in her fourteenth year. Hon. 
 Guy Wheeler is one of Rock county’s most in- 
 fluential citizens, broad-minded, keen-sighted, 
 and public-spirited. He was one of the found- 
 ers of the county agricultural society, and for 
 many years its secretary. The meeting to or- 
 ganize the township of La Prairie was held 
 at his house, and he was chosen the first town 
 clerk. The township was so named at the in- 
 stance of his brother Samuel, who is now one 
 of the leading citizens of Rochester, Minn. 
 Guy Wheeler was a member of the Wisconsin 
 Legislature in 1864. 
 
 Hon. Guy Wheeler married a daughter of 
 Asa F. Snell, who was the father of ten chil- 
 dren. Mr. Snell and his wife were New York- 
 ers, and settled at Fort Atkinson, Wis., in 1839. 
 He was a prosperous farmer, and was elevated, 
 by the suffrages of his fellow citizens, to vari- 
 ous offices of trust, the duties of which he dis- 
 charged with rare acumen and fidelity. He 
 died at the age of about sixty years. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of William G. 
 Wheeler, Justus P. Wheeler, was born in 
 Lanesboro, Mass., and was descended from 
 Welsh ancestry. He was a patriot of pro- 
 nounced devotion, and served with gallantry 
 throughout the war of 1812. He came West 
 in 1840, settling in what is now known as La 
 Prairie township, Rock Co., Wis. As is his 
 son Guy, so was he, a man keenly alive to every 
 vital interest of the people among whom his 
 lot was cast. His life was a long and useful 
 one, and not devoid of honor. The Rock 
 County Agricultural Society chose him its 
 first president. He was a man of superior 
 classical education, having graduated from 
 Williams College. He held deep and earnest re- 
 ligious convictions, and 1 was a devout member 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Janes- 
 ville, having taken a prominent part in founding 
 the M. E. congregation in that city. 
 
 The early life of Hon. William G. Wheeler 
 was much the same as that of other boys of 
 his day and generation who grew up upon Wis- 
 consin farms in the early history of the State. 
 He was born in the township of La Prairie, 
 Rock county, Nov. 11, 1861, and the district 
 schools and the Janesville high school gave 
 him his early education. At the age of twenty 
 years, in 1881, he began the study of law, his 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 185 
 
 preceptors being Messrs. Winans & Fethers. 
 He was admitted to the Bar in 1884, and from 
 Oct. 1 of that year until June 6, 1885, served 
 as deputy in the office of the circuit court clerk. 
 On the date last named he was himself ap- 
 pointed clerk of the circuit court, to fill the va- 
 cancy occasioned by the death of the previous 
 incumbent of the office, A. W. Baldwin. His 
 term expiring in January, 1887, he began the 
 active practice of his profession in the follow- 
 ing May, and has been remarkably successful. 
 In 1892 he entered the firm of Dunwiddie & 
 Goldin, the name of the new co-partnership 
 being' Dunwiddie, Goldin & Wheeler. Three 
 years later this firm was dissolved by the elec- 
 tion of Mr. Goldin as clerk of the circuit court, 
 and on June 19, 1899, the partnership between 
 Messrs. Dunwiddie & Wheeler came to an end 
 through the elevation of the senior member of 
 the firm to the circuit court bench. From 1891 
 until 1895 Mr. Wheeler filled the office of dis- 
 trict attorney, bringing to the discharge of his 
 arduous duties a well-trained legal mind, a 
 ripe experience, and unquestionable integrity. 
 Among many noteworthy prosecutions which 
 he successfully conducted while in this incum- 
 bency may be mentioned the cases of the State 
 versus D. G. Cheever and the State versus 
 Matthew R. Ashton. The trial of Ashton, 
 who was charged with the murder of a wo- 
 man consumed thirty days. The case ranks 
 among the causes cclebrcs of the Northwest, 
 and so skillfully was the web of evidence 
 woven around the guilty man, by the astute 
 and careful district attorney, that a convic- 
 tion and life sentence were secured. In 1897, 
 and again in 1899, Mr. Wheeler represented 
 his district in the Wisconsin Legislature, and 
 during the last session filled the responsible 
 post of chairman of the committee on Judi- 
 ciary. During his first term in the Assembly 
 he nominated Hon. John C. Spooner for the 
 United States Senate, and in 1899 was a sup- 
 porter of Mr. Quarles. On Jan. 11, 1901, he 
 was appointed United States attorney for the 
 Western District of Wisconsin, which posi- 
 tion he now holds. 
 
 Mr. Wheeler is personally one of Janes- 
 ville's most popular citizens, cordial, genial 
 and generous. He is, as may be imagined, 
 prominent in both social and political circles, 
 and .is. a member of Oriental Lodge, No. 22, 
 K. of P., and of the B. P. O. E. He was 
 until recently a member and chairman of the 
 
 commission to organize a park on the St. 
 Croix river, to be known as the Inter State 
 Park of the Dalles of the St. Croix. 
 
 On Nov. 19, 1889, Mr. Wheeler married 
 Miss Jessica M. Jackman, a daughter of Hi- 
 ram and Harriet M. (Coatsworth) Jackman. 
 Mrs. Wheeler is a communicant of the Epis- 
 copal Church. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY TRIPP, a venerable 
 resident of Rock township. Rock county, has 
 come to a serene and beautiful old age, with 
 the memories of a long and useful life behind 
 him.. He is a true type of the American farmer : 
 not afraid of hard work, willing to labor and 
 wait, careful and frugal, and yet generous and 
 open-handed. He has lived to enjoy the re- 
 sults of industrious and well-spent years, and 
 to gain and hold the confidence and respect of 
 alb who know him. 
 
 Mr. Tripp was born in Scranton, Penn., 
 Feb. 18, 1821, and is a son of Stephen and 
 Nancy (Benedict) Tripp, natives of Rhode 
 Island and New York, respectively. Isaac 
 Tripp, his grandfather, was a native of Rhode 
 Island, where his ancestors had lived since 
 1610, was a farmer, and lived to the age of 
 seventy-three. He served in the Revolutionary 
 war. He was the father of twelve children. 
 The following appeared in a Scranton ( Penn. ) 
 paper of Dec. 12, 1900: 
 
 “It lias been ascertained by diligent research 
 by one of the Tripp family that their name 
 originated in the following manner : About the 
 middle of the Thirteenth century a party of 
 Danes overran England and found a lodg- 
 ment in one of the strong-walled castles for 
 which the country was noted. An English 
 general of the family by the name of Howard, 
 and a few brave followers crossed the moat, 
 scaled the walls of the castle and drove out the 
 Danes. The king asked the general, ‘How did 
 you accomplish the herculean task?’ The an- 
 swer was, ‘We tripped over the moat, tripped 
 over the 'wall, tripped up the enemy and drove 
 them out.' Then the king said, ‘Thy tripping 
 was a grand and glorious trip,' and he knighted 
 the general forthwith, and said, ‘henceforth 
 thy name and the name of thy posterity shall 
 be Tripp through all the coming ages.' And 
 Tripp it was, and is, and will be to the end of 
 time.” 
 
 Stephen Tripp, our subject's father, moved 
 to Pennsylvania with his father in 1776, the 
 
1 86 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 family settling in the Lackawanna Valley; they 
 arrived fifteen clays after the promulgation of 
 the Declaration of Independence. There were 
 only two white families in Providence at that 
 time. They were obliged to go to Wilkes- 
 Barre even for salt and other necessaries, and 
 the first store in the Valley was kept in the 
 front part of Stephen Tripp’s house, by Cox 
 & Carpenter. Mr. Tripp once traded 200 acres 
 in the “Notch” for a set of whiskey stills. He 
 followed farming. His old homestead on the 
 west side of the road on the hill in Hyde Park 
 (Scranton), is still standing; the newest por- 
 tion was built over eighty-six years ago. There 
 he resided until his death, in 1841, at the age of 
 sixty-five years. He was a man of affairs, and 
 held the office of justice of the peace, and 
 various other local positions. His wife reached 
 the age of eighty-three. They were Baptists 
 in religious faith. Of the ten children born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Tripp, Horace married (first) 
 Almira Stone, of Abington, and (second) 
 Caroline Kempton ; Harriet married Samuel 
 Church; Hannah married Herman Dailey; 
 Martha died in infancy; Samuel married 
 (first) Sally Brown and (second) Polly 
 Hobbs; Martha (2) died in infancy; Nehe- 
 miah married Margaret Inman; Polly (Mary) 
 married (first) James Hartley and (second) 
 Isaac Robbins; William Henry is our subject; 
 Fanny married Lewis Armstrong. Only two 
 survive, Polly and William Henry. Mrs. 
 Polly (Tripp) Robbins was born March 
 1 L 1S19, in a portion of the old Stephen 
 1 ripp homestead built about one hundred years 
 ago. Her first school teacher was Samuel 
 Church, who afterward married her sister, 
 Harriet. In 1861 she married James Hartley, 
 of Glenwood, Penn., who died in 1870, and in 
 1874 she married Isaac Robbins. She is now 
 living quietly in Scranton, at the home of 
 Charles J. Church, exceedingly well preserved 
 in mind and body. 
 
 Joshua Benedict, father of Mrs. Nancy 
 (Benedict) Tripp, and our subject's maternal 
 grandfather, was born in New York, of Eng- 
 lish descent, and lived to the advanced age of 
 eighty-three. He, also, was a soldier in the 
 Revolution. He was the father of three sons 
 and four daughters. 
 
 William Henry Tripp was reared on the 
 farm near Scranton, and farming has been the 
 occupation of his life. It is a noble calling, 
 and if loyally followed may serve to bring out 
 
 the noblest faculties of a man’s soul, and it has 
 been a kindly mistress to this venerable Rock 
 county farmer. He had a farmer boy’s ad- 
 vantages in the district school, and, being of 
 a thoughtful and observant disposition, has 
 acquired a very fair knowledge of men and the 
 world as he has gone through. His period of 
 life has covered some of the most important 
 chapters of the world’s history, and he fully 
 understands the significance of what he has 
 seen as it was becoming history. 
 
 Mr. Tripp was united in marriage, Jan. 
 14, 1844, to Miss Delilah Thomas, a daughter 
 of John and Eliza (Osborn) Thomas. Three 
 children were born to their union: Theodore 
 F., George B. and Hattie H. Theodore F. 
 enlisted in Company C, 35th Wis. V. I., served 
 at the front two years, and contracted disease 
 from which he died, at home ; he was only nine- 
 teen when he enlisted, and is remembered as 
 an opened-faced and manly young man. George 
 B. married Ida Clark, and they have had two 
 children, Mary L. and Minnie. Hattie IT. 
 married J. B. Porter ; they live in the town of 
 Porter, Rock county, and have a family of four 
 sons, J. K.. Rockwell, Wallace and Liel. Mrs. 
 Tripp is a Methodist, and is a lady of excellent 
 character and standing. Mr. Tripp belongs to 
 Blue Lodge No. 14, A. F. & A. M.,in Janesville; 
 Janesville Chapter No. 5, R. A. M. ; and Janes- 
 ville Commandery, No. 2, K. T., and is highly 
 esteemed among his fraternal associates. He is 
 an ardent Republican, and he raised the first 
 banner bearing the names of McKinley and 
 Roosevelt in the late Presidential campaign, 
 hoisting same within twelve hours after their 
 nomination, in Philadelphia. It was 6x14 feet 
 in dimensions, and floated from a 55-foot flag- 
 staff at his home. Mr. Tripp hoisted a flag at 
 half-mast on the closing day and hour of the 
 Nineteenth century, and had it at the mast-head 
 on the morning of the Twentieth century. Mr. 
 Tripp has held various town offices, was chair- 
 man of the town board two terms, and was a 
 member of the General Assembly in 1857, being 
 the youngest member of that body with one 
 exception. Pie served in the Legislature with 
 the late Senator Philetus Sawyer, and ex- 
 Gov. David FI. Waite, of Colorado, who is 
 known as “Bloody Bridle” Waite. At the 
 time of his friend Sawyer’s burial, Mr. Tripp 
 was unable to attend the funeral and he hoisted 
 his flag at half-mast. Our subject has served as 
 trustee for the Institution for the Blind twenty- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 iS 7 
 
 one years, proving himself one of the most 
 capable officials associated with that noble in- 
 stitution, and has been appointed by six dif- 
 ferent governors of the State. He was a 
 charter member of the Central Wisconsin 
 Bank, was its first vice-president, and a mem- 
 ber of its first board of directors. When it 
 became a National bank he retired from the 
 active management. 
 
 Mr. Tripp came West in' 1851, with his 
 wife and eldest son, then six years old, and 
 bought his present farm, then comprising 200 
 acres, but now reduced to fifty acres. It is 
 four miles from Janesville, on the Hanover 
 road. On this place he has made his home 
 forty-nine years, and has witnessed the devel- 
 opment of what was then a wilderness into a 
 most charming and attractive country. 
 
 With the Tripp family is associated the 
 romantic history of Frances Slocum, a distant 
 relative of the subject of this narrative, who 
 was taken captive by the Delaware Indians 
 Nov. 2, 1778, four months after the Wyoming 
 Massacre, when she was only five years old, 
 and was not found until sixty years later. 
 She had married a chief of the Miami Indians, 
 and they came West and lived near what is now 
 Peru, Ind. There she died, and was buried. 
 Fler grave is now marked by a very appropriate 
 monument, costing seven hundred dollars, 
 which was unveiled May 17. 1900, in the pres- 
 ence of three thousand people, two of whom 
 were from Wisconsin — Mr. Tripp and Mrs. E. 
 C. Potter (of Whitewater). The unfortunate 
 captive had reared a family of children, and 
 had become an Indian in every sense- of the 
 word except her blood. The monument was 
 unveiled by two great-great-granddaughters 
 of Frances Slocum, Victoria and Mabel Ray 
 Bondy. 
 
 JESSE S. JONES, dairyman and farmer 
 of Platteville, Grant county, is a prominent 
 representative of the agricultural interests of 
 Wisconsin, and highly esteemed in the com- 
 munity in which he makes his home. 
 
 Jesse S. Jones was born in Orange county, 
 N. Y., Dec. 21, 1823, a son of Anthony and 
 Dorothy (Smith) Jones, and grandson of An- 
 thony Jones. - Our subject’s parents were both 
 born and died in Orange county, N. Y. They 
 had nine children, four still living: Mary A., 
 now Mrs. Jackson, a resident of Orange coun- 
 ty, N. Y. ; R. D., a well-to-do farmer of New 
 
 York State; James W., a prominent farmer of 
 Grant county, Wis. ; and our subject; five are 
 deceased. 
 
 Jesse S. Jones came to Wisconsin in 1847, 
 settled in Iowa county, and followed farming 
 and mining until 1850, when he settled at New 
 California, Grant county, and engaged in the 
 real-estate business. Later he became a merch- 
 ant, continuing in that line for four or five 
 years, and afterward became extensively inter- 
 ested in. the lead mines in Grant and Iowa coun- 
 ties. Under President Buchanan he was ap- 
 pointed postmaster of New California, serving 
 for some years, also served as town clerk for 
 several, terms, being the first clerk of Clifton 
 township, served on the county board several 
 years, and then as treasurer of the county. 
 In 1866 Mr. Jones sold his other interests and 
 purchased a farm adjacent to the city of Platte- 
 ville, on which he erected a large, comfortable 
 home. This property has been so much im- 
 proved, in every way, since Mr. Jones came into 
 possession of it, that it is now one of the finest 
 in the county. For a number of years Mr. 
 Jones has made a specialty of breeding fancy 
 blooded horses and cattle, and also owns and 
 operates a fully equipped dairy, furnishing the 
 city of Platteville with the best quality of Jersey 
 milk and cream, his herd of Jersey cattle being 
 one of the best in the State. In addition to 
 his Jersey cattle Mr. Jones owns a fine herd of 
 Galloway stock, the magnificent Royal George 
 Mogan, a full-blooded horse known to breed- 
 ers all over Wisconsin, and the celebrated 
 Pelham Tartar. Handling none but pure 
 blooded stock, Mr. Jones has become famous 
 as a stock dealer, and his horses and cattle al- 
 ways command fancy prices. 
 
 On Oct. 9, 1850, Mr. Jones married Miss 
 Elizabeth Kirkpatrick, who was born Oct. 18, 
 1832, in Iowa county, Wis., daughter of F. C. 
 and Fannie (Sparks) Kirkpatrick, pioneers of 
 Wisconsin, formerly of Georgia.. To this 
 union were born four daughters and one son 
 who grew to maturity : Agnes, born in Grant 
 
 county in 1852, was well educated, and after- 
 ward taught in Grant county; she married 
 Lewis P. Shears, and settled in Iowa, where 
 she died in 1883, leaving one son and one 
 daughter — Ernest, of Chicago, and Agnes, 
 adopted daughter of Mr. Stine, of Belmont, 
 Lafayette Co., Wis. Eva, educated at the 
 State Normal, married Dr. George W. Lee, 
 and now resides' at Black Earth, Wis. ; they 
 
1 88 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 have one son, Glen, of Chicago. Dorothy, 
 educated at the State Normal, married H. J. 
 Smiley, a plumber, of New York City, later 
 of Chicago, now of Platteville; they have no 
 family. Elvira, also educated at the State 
 Normal, is the widow of John A. Ruble, of 
 Beloit, and has one son, Jesse J. Ruble, who 
 resides with Jesse S. Jones at his home in 
 Platteville. Jesse S., born in 1866, married 
 Leora Bell, of Platteville, who was born, 
 reared and educated in that city, a daughter 
 of Archie Bell, an attorney, and one of the 
 prominent men of Plattevflle, now deceased ; 
 they have two children, Eva and Benjamin; 
 Jesse S. Jones, Jr., is an ice dealer, and owns 
 his home in Platteville. On Oct. 9, 1900, Mr. 
 and Mrs. Jones celebrated the fiftieth anniver- 
 sary of their married life. 
 
 Politically Mr. Jones has always been 
 identified with the Republican party, but since 
 coming to Platteville has taken no active part 
 in politics. In religious matters Mr. and Mrs. 
 Jones are consistent members of the Congre- 
 gational Church, and greatly interested in the 
 work pertaining thereto. They are both very 
 worthy people, kind-hearted, genial, and pleas- 
 ant, and are very widely known throughout 
 the entire county. 
 
 DEXTER D. MAYNE, superintendent of 
 the city schools of Janesville, Rock county, 
 was born in Beetown, Grant Co., Wis., May 
 14, 1863, son of Nicholas and Mary (Tre- 
 loar) Mayne, both of whom* were born and 
 bred in Cornwall. England. They were the 
 parents of five sons: and three daughters, and 
 five of their children are now living : Mary, 
 wife of Rev. A. S. Newcomb, of Beloit, Wis.; 
 A. Finley, of Omaha, Neb.; H. Watson, of 
 Linn Grove, Iowa; Dexter D. ; and Charles 
 M., of Lincoln, Nebraska. 
 
 Nicholas Mayne was a clergyman in the 
 Methodist Church, and in later life attached 
 himself to the Congregational body. While 
 still with the Methodists he served as a mis- 
 sionary to the Chippewa Indians in the Bad- 
 Ax country. As a Congreg'ationalist he did 
 the greater portion of his clerical work in Grant 
 county, Wis 1 ., and was highly respected, both 
 for his learning and for his profound devo- 
 tion to his calling. He died in 1891, aged 
 seventy-one years, his wife in 1898, aged sev- 
 enty-three years. His father died in Eng- 
 land in middle life, leaving two sons. Our 
 
 subject's mother, Mary Treloar, was the 
 youngest of a large family of children — -six- 
 teen. Her father, a miller by occupation, 
 died in England at an advanced age. Her 
 mother's maiden name was Tabb. 
 
 Dexter D. Mayne was reared in Grant 
 county, attended the local public schools, and 
 was: graduated from the Normal School at 
 Platteville in 1883, at which time lie was al- 
 ready an experienced' and successful teacher. . 
 Leaving school, he became principal at Fen- 
 nimore. For five years he was principal of 
 the high school at Elkhorn, and four years at 
 Fort Atkinson. He is now serving his eighth 
 year as superintendent of the Janesville city 
 schools and principal of the high school. Su- 
 perintendent Mayne has conducted Teachers 
 Institutes for four seasons in Wisconsin, and 
 was manager of Teachers Summer Schools 
 for three years. He organized the Sectional 
 Teachers Associations for Wisconsin in 1889, 
 and filled the office of president of the South- 
 ern Wisconsin Teachers Association for two 
 consecutive terms; served as president of the 
 City Superintendents: and Supervising Prin- 
 cipals Association for two terms ; was director 
 of the National Educational Association for 
 Wisconsin for one year; and was assigned 
 places on the program at its Los Angeles 
 meeting, and 011 the National Superintend- 
 ents program at Columbus. 
 
 Superintendent Mayne and Miss Nella G. 
 Coman, of Spring Prairie, Wis., daughter of 
 James: and Ann (Gray) Coman, were united 
 in marriage Dec. 14, 1887. To this union 
 have been born two sons, James Coman and 
 Mac Hudson. Mr. and Mrs. Mayne belong 
 to the Congregational Church. He is a Ma- 
 son, belonging to lodge, chapter and com- 
 mandery, and is affiliated with Oriental Lodge, 
 Knights of Pythias. 
 
 JOHN I. MORRIS, a retired farmer of 
 the town of Harrison, Grant county, has been 
 a resident of the county for nearly half a cen- 
 tury, and represents an old and solid family of 
 New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He came to 
 Wisconsin when it was largely a wilderness, 
 and has lived to see it become one of the fair- 
 est States in a noble Union. The forest and 
 the prairie now afford homes to a multitude, of 
 happy and contented people, and the grand 
 generation of which Mr. Morris and a few 
 others are lingering members accomplished the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 transformation with long and exhausting labor. 
 May their last clays be beautiful. 
 
 John I. Morris was born in Trumbull coun- 
 ty, Ohio, Jan. 22, 1830, a son of Richard and 
 Katie (McFall) Morris. The father was born 
 in - New Jersey, and the mother in Trumbull 
 county, Ohio. They were married in Trum- 
 bull county, and there lived for some fifteen 
 years, at the expiration of which time they 
 went farther East, and settled on a farm in 
 Mercer county, Penn., living there seventeen 
 years. In 1855 they came West to Grant coun- 
 ty, Wis., where John I. had preceded them, and 
 had already been established one year in Har- 
 rison township. William Morris, another son, 
 had already secured eighty acres of government 
 land, at fifty cents an acre, and on this land the 
 father and mother settled, and remained dur- 
 ing their lives. He died in 1881, and she sur- 
 vived him ten years, dying in 1891. They 
 were good Christian people and members of 
 the Presbyterian Church. He was originally 
 a Whig, and on the formation of the Republi- 
 can party cast in his lot therewith, and voted 
 its ticket as long as he lived. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Morris were the parents of 
 nine children, whose record may be briefly giv- 
 en : (1) Lavina Morris, born in Ohio in 182S, 
 is now the widow of Geradius Malone, of 
 Platteville, and has one living daughter, Sarah. 
 
 (2) John I. Morris was second in the family. 
 
 (3) William Morris, born in Trumbull county, 
 Ohio, in 1831, married Mary A. Mapes, of 
 Platteville, and now resides on his farm ; he 
 has seven children, Homer, Nancy, Roseann, 
 George, Lydia, Lucy, and Bessie. He was a 
 member of Company C, 6th Wis. V. L, and 
 served throughout the Civil war, participating 
 in many important battles and skirmishes suf- 
 ficiently large to be called battles in any lesser 
 war. (4) Charles Morris, born in Ohio in 
 1834, was also a soldier in the Civil war, enlist- 
 ing in the 10th Wis. V. I., which regiment was 
 under Gen. Sherman much of the time, and 
 followed him on the great march from Atlanta 
 to the sea. He never married, and is now re- 
 siding at the Soldiers’ Home, in Milwaukee. 
 (5) Mark and (6) Luke Morris, twins, were 
 born in Ohio in 1837. Mark is unmarried, 
 and lives in Platteville. Luke married Sarah 
 Hubbard, and lived in Platteville a number of 
 years. He is now deceased. Mrs. Luke Mor- 
 ris has three children, Joseph, Burton and 
 Jessie. (7) Thomas Morris, born in Mercer 
 
 1 89 
 
 county, Penn., in 1840, came West with his 
 parents, and married Miss Eliza Cummings. 
 They settled on a farm in the town of Harri- 
 son, where he died in 1893, leaving a widow 
 and three children on the farm, Eva, Nettie 
 and Ellsworth. (8) Mary J. Morris, born in 
 Mercer county, Penn., in 1844, married Frank 
 Lothine, and they live on a farm in Harrison 
 township, where they are rearing a large fam- 
 ily, Everett, Minnie, Henry, Thomas, Lester, 
 John, Olive, Edward, and one whose name is 
 not given. (9) Margaret Morris, born in 
 Pennsylvania in 1850, married David Parish, 
 who was a soldier in a Wisconsin regiment dur- 
 ing the Civil war, and was confined fourteen 
 months in Libby prison. He died in Harrison 
 township in 1891, leaving a large family — 
 James, of Platteville; Lucv, now Airs. Conrad 
 Ricey, of Harrison township ; Mamie, Mrs. 
 Henry Connell, of Ellenboro township; Will- 
 iam; Ada, Mrs. James Connell; Cora, Mrs. 
 Ben. Connell; Arthur; Jesse; and Logan. 
 
 John I. Morris acquired his education very 
 largely in the district schools of Ohio and 
 Pennsylvania, where he spent the earlier years 
 of his life. When he was able to handle the 
 lines he was put to work teaming, and was 
 engaged in hauling goods from Pittsburg into 
 Mercer county. In 1854 he came West to 
 Crawford county, Wis., having married Miss 
 Delia Byers, of Mercer county, in May of that 
 year. The young couple settled on a farm 
 which they secured from the government, and 
 remained in Crawford county three years. In 
 the spring of 1857 they came to Grant county, 
 and started afresh. That year the young wife 
 died, leaving him one son, Andrew, born in 
 Crawford county in April, 1855. Andrew 
 Morris is now a Grant county farmer ; he mar- 
 ried Miss Wildie Ballard, and is the father of 
 three sons, Ellsworth, Harry, and Earl. 
 
 John I. Morris was a soldier in the Civil 
 war, having enrolled in Company C, 6th Wis. 
 V. I., which regiment was attached to the Army 
 of the Potomac, and our subject was in a num- 
 ber of heavy engagements, having many nar- 
 row escapes from being killed. On one oc- 
 casion a Rebel ball broke the stock of his gun, 
 and left his arm crippled for seven days. 
 When the war was ended, and he was set free 
 from the service, Mr. Morris returned to Wis- 
 consin. In March, 1870, our subject married 
 Miss Annie Zigler, of Platteville, daughter of 
 Jacob and Margaret Zigler, both of whom died 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1 90 
 
 in Germany. Mrs. Morris was born in Witten- 
 berg, Germany, in 1846, and came to this coun- 
 try in 1867, in company with her sister Mar- 
 garet. Their brother, George Zigler, had pre- 
 ceded them, coming in 1855, and he bore arms 
 for his adopted country during the war of the 
 Rebellion, serving in the heavy artillery. He 
 married Miss Mary Spies, and is a prosperous 
 farmer of the town of Ellenboro, Grant county. 
 They have three children, Eliza, Albert and 
 Walter. Margaret Zigler married Lawrence 
 Voss, after her arrival in this country, and he 
 died leaving her a widow with three daughters, 
 Emma, Mary and Minnie; Mr. Voss was a sol- 
 dier in the Civil war. Mrs. Voss subsequent- 
 ly married William Carl, by whom she had 
 two children, Henry and Louisa. He died, and 
 she married Christ Hartlip, to whom she has 
 borne one daughter, Annie; they live in Lan- 
 caster. Mrs. Morris has one other sister, Mary, 
 who married August Walter, and lives in Le- 
 high county, Pennsylvania. 
 
 After his second marriage Mr. Morris 
 brought his wife to the old home, which has 
 been their residence to the present time. He 
 is a Republican, and religiously he and his 
 wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. ‘‘Uncle John Morris,” as he is famil- 
 iarly called, is one of the honored old pioneers 
 of V isconsin. He is a man of sterling quali- 
 ties, a type of the Christian gentleman, whose 
 whole life has been lived on a generous and 
 helpful plane. 
 
 ANDREW J. BRANT was born in Prus- 
 sia July 9, 1843, s.on °f Joseph and Dorathea 
 Brant, both born in Prussia, where Mrs. Brant 
 died in 1848. Mr. Brant married a second 
 time before leaving for the United States, in 
 1852. - 
 
 The family came to New York, and made 
 their way to Rockford, then to Galena by 
 wagon, and from there to Hazel Green, Wis., 
 where Mr. Brant purchased a tract of wild land. 
 He did not live many years after his settle- 
 ment in Wisconsin. By his first marriage he 
 had six children, four sons and two daughters, 
 the latter dying in infancy. The only child of 
 the second union, Theresa, died in Hazel Green 
 when a young girl. Of the four sons men- 
 tioned, ( 1 ) Christopher Brant, born in Ger- 
 many in 1838, completed his education in the 
 Grant county public schools, and married Miss 
 Burghardt, of Mineral Point, where they lived 
 
 for some years, and where she died, leaving- 
 three children, Lizzie F., Henry A. and Will- 
 iam. Mr. Brant later married Miss Amelia 
 Beacher, of that city, and to this union one 
 daughter, Veronica, has been born. He is a 
 farmer. For a number of years he was man- 
 ager for one of the Mineral Point smelting 
 firms. (2) Adam Brant, born in 1841, en- 
 listed during the Civil war in Company E, 9th 
 Wis. V. I., and served until the close of the 
 war; he was in many hard-fought battles, and 
 was once taken prisoner. After the war he 
 came to Wisconsin, and married Miss Mary 
 A. King, settling in Missouri for a time, and 
 he is now living in Oklahoma; he has a family 
 of eight children, Charles, Frank, Godfrey, 
 Joseph, Dora, Mary, Gertrude and Maggie. 
 (3) Andrew J. Brant, the third child, is our 
 subject. (4) Valentine Brant, born in 1845, 
 crossed the Black Hills for his health, and re- 
 mained there thirteen years. He came back 
 to Wisconsin, and died at the home of his 
 brother Andrew in April, 1883. 
 
 Andrew J. Brant was a boy of nine years 
 when his father came to Wisconsin. A dis- 
 trict-school education was given him in Hazel. 
 Green, and he was a lead miner until the break- 
 ing out of the Civil war, enlisting at that time 
 in Company C, 7th Wis. Volunteers, under 
 Capt. Naysmith, of Platteville. The regi- 
 ment was sent east, and served under McDowell 
 and Pope, in the brigade of Gen. Gibbons, 
 being- transferred to Battery B, 4th U. S. 
 Artillery. During the battle of Sulphur 
 Springs our subject lost his right hand, and 
 was the first man to be injured after their 
 transfer. Mr. Brant was taken to the freight 
 car hospital, and was without attention for 
 several days, the Rebels having temporarily 
 broken the communication with Washington. 
 He was sent to Philadelphia, and was detailed 
 to hospital duty until his discharge, in 1864. 
 
 Mr. Brant came back to Wisconsin, and 
 was a miner until his marriage, in 1872, to 
 Miss Caroline Raup. who was born in Illinois 
 in 1855. Frank and Caroline Raup, her par- 
 ents, were born in Germany, and emigrated to 
 Grant county in 1856. Mrs. Brant received 
 her education in the local schools. After their 
 marriage our subject and his wife settled in a 
 home near the one in which they lived until 
 recently, not far from the village of Louis- 
 burg, and in 1884 be put up a fine modern 
 home. A short time ago Mr. Brant sold his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 191 
 
 Wisconsin place and purchased one in Du- 
 buque, Iowa, at No. 861 West 14th street. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Brant are the parents of four 
 children: (1) Frank J.. born Sept. 8, 1S75, 
 
 was educated in the State Normal at Platte- 
 ville. He married Miss Mary B. Wagner, of 
 East Dubuque, and has one son, Clarence. 
 (2) John A., born in 1879, died in September, 
 1882. (3) Michael C., born Nov. 7, 1881, 
 
 was educated in the public schools. (4) Miss 
 Theresa K., born May 24, 1884, was educated 
 in the public schools and St. Clara’s Academy, 
 at Sinsinawa, and is at home. Mr. Brant has 
 always been a Republican, was a member of 
 the town board, constable, roadmaster, and a 
 member of the school board. The Brants are 
 all members of the Catholic Church. Mr. 
 Brant’s mining experiences have been very 
 successful, and he has, in company with Con- 
 rad May, taken from one mine over a million 
 and a half pounds of cleat lead. 
 
 AUGUSTUS C. MUNGER, an enterpris- 
 ing and popular g'rocer of Janesville, Rock 
 county, has acquired a handsome competence 
 by his attention to business, his readiness to 
 accommodate, and his strict adherence to sound 
 and conservative business principles. 
 
 Mr. Munger was born in Palmyra, Wis., 
 Nov. 19, 1849. His parents, Levi and Martha 
 (Thayer) Munger, natives of New York and 
 Massachusetts, respectively, had a family of 
 five sons and two daughters, four of whom are 
 now living: William Henry, of Palmyra; 
 
 Augustus C., whose name introduces this ar- 
 ticle: and Charles W. and Della (Mrs. Andrew 
 Rood), both of Palmyra. The father, who 
 was a farmer, came to Wisconsin in the early 
 ’forties, and located on a farm of 160 acres 
 within three miles of Palmyra, which he speed- 
 ily made productive. At the time of his death 
 he owned a half section of land where he first 
 settled in the State. He reared his children 
 on this farm, which was their birthplace, and 
 here he died in December, 1895, at the age of 
 seventy-five, after a long and useful career. 
 His widow still survives, and is a resident of 
 Palmyra. She and her husband were members 
 of the Methodist Church, which he served in 
 an official capacity. He was a Republican, and 
 at different times had filled several township 
 offices. His father, Alvero Munger, rvas born 
 in New York, and in the early days moved to 
 Ohio-, where he continued to live, dying there 
 
 at the age of eighty-five. He had ten children. 
 Eli Thayer, the father of Mortha Thayer, was 
 a native of Massachusetts, but moved to Michi- 
 gan in its early settlement. He was a farmer, 
 and lived to be eighty years of age ; his wife 
 attained the great age of ninety-four. They 
 had twelve children. 
 
 Augustus C. Munger lived on the home 
 farm near Palmvra until he reached the age of 
 eighteen years. He secured his education in 
 the district school, and attended the Normal at 
 Whitewater, Wis., until he was ready to teach. 
 After following that profession for seven win- 
 ters, he embarked in business as the proprietor 
 and manager of a general store at Emerald 
 Grove, where he remained for eight years. In 
 1883 he came to Janesville and opened a gro- 
 cery store, to which he has given his close per- 
 sonal attention up to the present time. He has 
 done well, and it would be difficult to find a 
 better class of patrons than those he has se- 
 cured. 
 
 Mr. Munger and Miss Jeanette Ketchpaw, 
 a daughter of George and Lucinda (Parker) 
 Ketchpaw, were married Nov. 2, 1875. She 
 is the mother of four children : Percy L., 
 
 Charles, Leon D. and Mabel. Percy L. is trav- 
 eling salesman for L. A. Budlong & Co., Chi- 
 cago, his territory being Wisconsin and south- 
 ern Minnesota. Charl.es is in his father's store 
 as clerk; he was married to Cecelia Gatelev 
 Nov. 8, 189S, and has two sons. Mr. Munger 
 is a Republican, and fraternally is a member of 
 the M. W. A. He lives at No. 6 Clark street, 
 where his home has been for the last ten years. 
 
 JUDGE JAMES S. WADDINGTON] 
 
 well known in Lafayette county, came to Wiota 
 in the fall of 1840. He was born in Chau- 
 tauqua county, N. Y., Nov. 12, 1831, son of 
 Aaron Wadclington, who was a drover, and 
 made the first trip with a drove of cattle from 
 Illinois to Philadelphia about 1839. Plis 
 mother was Eliza Saxton, a native of New 
 York State, who died when James S. was but 
 four years old. 
 
 The early death of the mother resulted in 
 our subject being reared in the family of his 
 great-uncle, John Z. Saxton, of Fredonia, 
 N. Y. In 1840 they came to Wiota, then a 
 village known on the frontier as “Hamilton's 
 Diggings.” After two years in Wiota they 
 located in Belvidere, 111 . About 1848 Mr. 
 Saxton moved to Argyle, Lafayette Co., Wis., 
 
iga 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 where his wife, Mary, died, and he subse- 
 quently married a Mrs. La Follette, and then 
 moved to a farm in Dane county, where his 
 own death occurred. Though he had no chil- 
 dren of his own, he reared and educated twelve, 
 of whom his nephew, James S. Waddington, 
 was the youngest. 
 
 After the location of his uncle in Argyle 
 Mr. Waddington returned to Illinois, where he 
 was employed as a clerk for one year. At the 
 end of that time he returned to Wisconsin, and 
 clerked for Asa Saxton, a merchant of Ar- 
 gyle, continuing in that position until, at the 
 age of twenty, he began for himself, buying 
 his employer’s stock, and for a time had as his 
 partner John Z. Saxton. He was successfully 
 engaged in business for many years, and finally 
 sold out to L. A. Rossing, who is still at the 
 old stand. Judge Waddington then erected 
 another building, and began banking as an in- 
 dividual. In 1895 his banking firm became 
 J. S. Waddington & Son, and it is one of the 
 most popular business institutions in that part 
 of the county. His long and upright life here, 
 where the people all know his sterling integrity 
 and sound business principles, gave him a firm 
 foundation for his banking enterprise. 
 
 Judge Waddington had a brother, L. B., 
 younger than himself, who was reared on a 
 farm in New York State, came West, and 
 taught a term of school in Argyle, and for a 
 time was in partnership with his brother, the 
 Judge. He played an important part in pub- 
 lic affairs, having held the offices of treasurer 
 and sheriff; was later employed in the adju- 
 tant general’s office, at Madison, and held that 
 postion when his death occurred, a number of 
 years ago. 
 
 Judge Waddington married Miss Helena 
 Lars, and by this marriage became the father 
 of eight children, four sons and four daugh- 
 ters : L. B. ; Lillian, wife of Walter Jenks, of 
 
 Freeport; John S., who died at the age of 
 forty; Mary, Mrs. Young, deceased; Frank A., 
 his father’s assistant; Alice; Elmer C.. in the 
 grocery business in Argyle; and Nellie, de- 
 ceased. In politics Judge Waddington has al- 
 ways been a Republican, and was elected to 
 the office of judge; he has studied law, and is 
 a well-informed man, but has never been ad- 
 mitted to the Bar. Fraternally he is a thirtv- 
 second-degree Mason, belonging to the Blue 
 Lodge at Argyle, Chapter at Darlington, Com- 
 mandery at Mineral Point, and Consistory at 
 
 Milwaukee. He is one of the highly-esteemed 
 citizens of his community, and his sound judg- 
 ment and wise counsel are often sought by his 
 friends and neighbors, whose faith he has ever 
 attempted to justify. 
 
 SAMUEL CLARK VAN GALDER 
 (deceased) is well and favorably remembered 
 by all who are familiar with the history of 
 Rock county and La Prairie township. He 
 came here at a very early day, helped to re- 
 claim the wilderness, and did much to aid in 
 the general development of Rock county. He 
 was a kindly and open-hearted man, upright 
 in his disposition, and honorable in h is' every 
 action. 
 
 Mr. Van Galder was born in- Ohio March 
 22, 1835, a son of Jacob and Rhoda (Wil- 
 son) Van Galder. They had eleven children, 
 only one of whom is now living, Oscar, of 
 Janesville. The father ran an ashery in Ohio, 
 and was also a dry-goods merchant in Akron. 
 In early life he learned the cooper’s trade. 
 In 1848 he came to Wisconsin, buying a half- 
 section of land in La Prairie township, Rock 
 county, which came into the hands of his 
 children after his death, a few years later. 
 Samuel C. Van Galder received eighty acres 
 in Section 32 of that town, and added to 
 this from time to time until he owned 400 
 acres at the time of his death. He had worked 
 assiduously on his land, and it was a highly 
 cultivated and productive farm long" before 
 his demise. On Aug. 1, 1858, he married 
 Miss Eliza Heald, a daughter of Lewis and 
 Harriet (Olney) Heald, and six sons and 
 two daughters were born to this union : Alice 
 E., Clark F., Louis A., Charles; R., Lester G. 
 and Grace E. (twins), and Ernest H. and 
 Irving S. (twins). Alice E. has been twice 
 widowed; by her first husband, Frank Graves, 
 she had one son, Glen, and by her second, 
 John Howard, she had three sons, Harley, 
 Clark and John. Clark F. died aged twenty 
 years and eleven months. Louis A. married 
 Nellie Bostwick, and they have two living 
 children, Edwin and Floyd; they live in 
 O’Brien county, Iowa. Charles R. is a farmer 
 on part of the old homestead farm; he mar- 
 ried Miss Viola Crotzenburg, and is the father 
 of two children, Merl and Dorothy. Lester 
 G. died in March, 1899, aged twenty-six years 
 and eleven months ; he married Miss Bessie 
 Little. Grace E. died when two years old. 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 193 
 
 Ernest H. was six years and eleven months 
 old when he died. Irving S. and his mother 
 live together on the old home place ; he is 
 still unmarried, and carries on the farm. 
 
 Samuel C. Van Galder was reared in Ohio, 
 and went with the family to Michigan, com- 
 ing with his parents' to Wisconsin in 1848 
 and locating in La Prairie township, where 
 he lived until his death, in October, 1894, at 
 the age of fifty-nine years. He was a man 
 of more than ordinary strength ‘of character, 
 and had been called upon to fill several local 
 positions by his fellow townsmen. He was 
 supervisor for a number of years, and also a 
 member of the school board. He was a Re- 
 publican, and always took an active and in- 
 telligent interest in public affairs. 
 
 Mrs'. Van Galcler’s parents, Lewis and 
 Harriet (Olney) Heald, were both natives of 
 the State of New York. They had four sons 
 and four daughters, and five of their children 
 are still living: Mrs. Eliza Van Galder; Mar- 
 garet, wife of William Lewis, of Rockford, 
 111 .; David, of Beloit; George, of Shopiere, 
 Rock county; and Joseph L. Mr. Heald was 
 a farmer, and he came to Rock county, V is., 
 with his wife and three children in 1845. 
 He located in La Prairie township, on eighty 
 acres of government land, and devoted his 
 remaining years to its cultivation and improve- 
 ment, dying in La Prairie township in 1888, 
 at the age of seventy-seven. His widow still 
 survives, aged eighty-two years, her birth hav- 
 ing occurred Oct. 9, 1818. Mr. Heald was 
 justice of the peace for many years, and was 
 also on the board of supervisors. His father, 
 Thomas Heald, was a soldier in the war of 
 1812. Mrs. Heald's father, Thomas Olney, 
 was born in New York, and was an early 
 settler in western Pennsylvania, having his 
 home in Fairview township, Erie county. 
 Mrs. Heald is still strong and healthy, with 
 a bright intellect and a fine memory for one 
 of her years. She has seen the development 
 of Rock county from a wilderness, and in con- 
 versation recalls many valuable and interest- 
 ing memories of that early day. 
 
 ARIEL K. BAYLEY, long and favorably 
 known in his section of Grant county in his 
 connection with stock and dairy farming, was 
 born in the town of Massena, St. Lawrence 
 Co., N. Y., in 1830, son of Ariel K. and Lu- 
 cinda (Kezar) Bayley, both natives of the old 
 
 13 
 
 Empire State. The father was born in 1797, 
 and the mother a few years later. 
 
 Our subject’s grandfather, Elijah Bayley, 
 was born in 1771, married Amanda Fisher, 
 who was born in 1777, at Rutland, Vt. Elijah 
 Bayley settled at Massena, on the St. Lawrence 
 river, in the town of Massena, St. Lawrence 
 county, where he followed lumbering all his 
 life. His son ( 1 ) Ariel K. was the eldest of 
 ten children, of whom are mentioned: (2) 
 
 Ezekiel Fisher was drowned in the St. Law- 
 rence river when a young man. (3) Betsy, 
 born in 1800, married a Mr. Sheak. and moved 
 Vv est to Davenport, Iowa, where she died, leav- 
 ing four daughters. (4) Loren was killed on 
 the St. Lawrence river. Pie left one daughter, 
 who is living in Iowa. (5) Hosea was drown- 
 ed while rafting on the St. Lawrence. (6) 
 Olive, born in 1814, married A. Palmer, and. 
 came West to Platteville, Whs., where they both 
 died years ago, leaving a family of five chil- 
 dren. (7) Fisher, born in 1823, came to 
 Platteville, and in company with a Mr. Marsh 
 established the first weekly paper published in 
 that place. In 1849 h e s °ld out his paper and 
 started to cross the Plains, but was taken sick 
 with cholera, and died at St. Charles, Neb. 
 (8) Elijah, born in 1811, came West with a 
 team to Rock Island, 111 ., when a young man, 
 and on reaching that point traded his team for 
 some real estate. As a school teacher he re- 
 ceived twenty-five dollars a month in that city, 
 and after a year in the school room he went to 
 New Buffalo, Iowa, and was a merchant for 
 a time. Selling out there, he traveled through 
 Texas, selling goods from house to house, ac- 
 cumulating in this way a large quantity of 
 Texas script, for which years after he received 
 dollar for dollar at Washington, D. C. Soon 
 after he moved to Platteville, Wis., then a min- 
 ing camp, and started a general store in 1836. 
 Mr. Bayley prospered in this last venture, and 
 became very wealthy. He married Caroline 
 Bevins, daughter of Dr. Bevins, of Platteville. 
 She died before her husband, who was killed 
 by a vicious bull on Christmas Day, 1879. 
 Two daughters were born of this marriage, 
 both deceased — Nora, who was the wife of 
 David B. Jones, of Chicago, and Miss Annie, 
 who died at Clifton Springs, N. Y., where she 
 was stopping for the benefit of her health. 
 Leslie, Elijah Bayley’s only son, died when a 
 young man. 
 
 Ariel K. Bayley, our subject’s father, mar- 
 
194 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ried, in New York, Miss Lucinda Kezar, who 
 died in that State, leaving two children, Ariel 
 K. (whose name introduces this article) and 
 Charles. The latter came West with his uncle, 
 Elijah Bayley, for whom he clerked a number 
 of years in his store at Platteville, Wis. 
 Charles Bayley married a young lady from La- 
 Crosse, where he lived a number of years, and 
 then went to California for the benefit of her 
 health. While there she died, and Mr. Bay- 
 ley returned to Wisconsin, marrying - for his 
 second wife Miss Emma North, of Oshkosh, 
 Wis. Soon after their marriage they settled 
 in Oakland, Cal., where he was killed by the 
 kick of a horse in 1899. No children were 
 born to the first marriage of Charles Bayley, 
 but to his second union were born the follow- 
 ing : Leslie, Emma, Annie, and Harvey. 
 
 Leslie is a gunner on board the United States 
 battleship “Oregon,” and was in the harbor 
 of Manila at the time of his father’s death. 
 
 Ariel K. Bayley, the father of the Lima 
 farmer and dairyman, married for his second 
 wife Miss Cornelia Gear, and they came West 
 to LaCrosse in 1858. Mrs. Bayley died in 
 1872, and Air. Bayley made his home with his 
 son at Lima until his death, in 1880. To this 
 second marriage was born one daughter, Hen- 
 rietta, a native of St. Lawrence county, N. Y., 
 where she is now living; she married William 
 Wright, and they have one daughter. 
 
 Ariel K. Bayley, whose career is the sub- 
 ject proper of this writing, was educated in the 
 public schools of St. Lawrence county, N. Y., 
 and while growing up worked with his father, 
 who was a sailor on the lakes and the St. Law- 
 rence river. When he was eighteen years old 
 he shipped from Kingston to Oswego, and from 
 there to Milwaukee and Chicago. The young 
 man made his way through the country to 
 Galena, and walked from there to Platteville, 
 Wis., where his two uncles, Elijah and Fisher 
 Bayley, and his grandmother were living. 
 Here he found work, and plenty of it, first by 
 the month on the farm of Henry Phillips, near 
 Platteville. and then for some years lumbering 
 and steamboating on the Mississippi. While 
 engaged on the river he made his home at Dav- 
 enport, Iowa. 
 
 Air. Baylejr and Miss Hester Burnside, of 
 Davenport, Iowa, formerly of Ohio, were mar- 
 ried in 1857, and located at Platteville, Wis., 
 where they lived for three years while he was 
 working for his uncle Elijah. In i860 Mr. 
 
 Bayley purchased the William Buell farm, in 
 the town of Lima, Grant county. The place 
 had received some small improvements, and 
 under Air. Bayley's energetic management it 
 has been brought into a fine condition, with 
 ample buildings and modern equipments, in- 
 cluding a large Pennsylvania barn. Here the 
 home of Mr. Bayley and his family has been 
 established and maintained for more than forty 
 years, and here this estimable couple have 
 reared a family of seven children : ( 1 ) Millie, 
 
 born in October, i860, married Lee H. Cobb. 
 For some years they lived in Iowa, and in 1900 
 came back to Grant county to rent and occupy 
 the old homestead of the Bayley family. They 
 have one daughter, Gladys, who was born in 
 Iowa. (2) Carrie, born in Grant county in 
 1862, married Henry Barrett, and lives in 
 Pocahontas county, Iowa. They have a fam- 
 ily of six children, Leslie, Pearl, Francis, Burt, 
 and Ira and Inez (twins). (3) Ernest A., 
 born in 1864, married Augusta Kirkpatrick, 
 and lives on a rented farm in Clifton, Grant 
 county. They are rearing a family of three 
 children, Viola, Lee, and Ariel, the third of 
 the family to bear that name. (4) Pearl, born 
 in 1866, married Miss Alary Miller, of Lima, 
 Grant county, and resides on his farm, which 
 adjoins the old homestead. They have two 
 children, Jennie and Frankie. (5) Luella, 
 born in 1868, married William Munden, and 
 has her home in Pocahontas county, Iowa. 
 She is the mother of five children, Aland, Rov, 
 Carrie, Ora, and Hester. (6) Agnes, born in 
 1870, is the wife of Lee Dennis, of Lima, 
 Grant county. (7) John, born in 1875, is liv- 
 ing at home, and is unmarried. Mr. Bayley’s 
 children were all educated in the public schools 
 of Grant county. Agnes had a course at the 
 Normal School at Platteville, and was a teacher 
 in the Grant county schools for a number of 
 years. 
 
 In politics Mr. Bayley has been a Republi- 
 can, and he has been a member of the town 
 board some years. In religion he and his wife 
 were reared in the Congregational Church, 
 with which they have always been associated. 
 Air. Bayley came to Wisconsin when Platte- 
 ville was' but a hamlet and the surrounding 
 country a wilderness. A vast improvement 
 has been wrought in the Northwest in his life- 
 time, and he has been in no unimportant sense 
 a factor in the progress toward a higher civi- 
 lization that has been achieved. He has been 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 *95 
 
 a prominent factor in the social and industrial 
 life of the town of Lima for forty years. Al- 
 though denied the benefit of a liberal educa- 
 tion when young, he is a close student of af- 
 fairs, and is a liberal and broad-minded man. 
 A generous spirit and an upright character 
 have made him hosts of friends. 
 
 RALPH LIDDLE, deceased. Among the 
 quiet, refined and educated ladies of Plattc- 
 ville. Grant county, is the representative of a 
 family well and favorably known through parts 
 of Grant county as late as 1895, of which she 
 is now the only surviving member. 
 
 The parents of Miss Elizabeth A. Liddle 
 were Ralph and Hannah (Nicholson) Lid- 
 dle, both natives of England, who came 
 to the United States in 1848 and settled 
 in Big Patch, Wis. There they remained 
 until 1856, when removal was made to Ips- 
 wich Station, in Lafayette county. At that 
 place Mr. Liddle purchased a large amount 
 of land and erected comfortable and com- 
 modious buildings, living there until the 
 time of his death, which took place in 1877, 
 his wife passing away in 1881. A man of 
 good education, he was called upon to serve 
 in many of the local offices, and filled them most 
 efficiently. In his politics he was a Republi- 
 can, and he was an active member of the M. E. 
 Church, his former connection, in England, 
 having been with the Episcopal Church. Eight 
 children were born to these parents, but only 
 three grew to maturity. George died on the 
 farm when he was developing into young man- 
 hood. John, born in Grant county in June, 
 1857, grew to manhood, and upon the death 
 of his father undertook the management of the 
 farm, where he remained until his death, July 
 4, 1895 ’ this was a blow to his only sister, who 
 was thus left quite alone in the world, all her 
 relatives having passed from earth. We have 
 often heard that “death loves a shining mark,” 
 and in this case it seemed true, for the death of 
 John Liddle took out of life a noble charac- 
 ter, whose influence for good still remains with 
 those who knew his life. Faithful to duty, de- 
 voted to his sister, helpful in a thousand ways 
 to those who needed assistance, his was a life 
 that shed blessing's wherever he was. From 
 1894 he had been connected with the Elk 
 Grove M. E. Church, although he had long 
 been an attendant on religious services, and, 
 when it became apparent that his span of life 
 
 was nearly ended, he was ready to say fare- 
 well, his only regret being that his beloved sis- 
 ter must be left alone. Early in life he had 
 become a member of the Order of Odd Fellows, 
 and in his life carried out the fraternal prin- 
 ciples inculcated by its teachings. 
 
 Miss Liddle was born in the old homestead, 
 received her early education in the district 
 schools of Elk Grove, and later graduated from 
 the Platteville Business College. In 1897 she 
 moved her residence to Platteville, where she 
 lives in partial retirement. Her father had 
 accumulated sufficient means to enable her to 
 choose her life, and she is well known to be 
 liberal, kind and charitable. 
 
 JAMES CLINE, a part of whose farm is 
 in the town of Lamont, but whose residence is 
 just across the town line, in Fayette, being sit- 
 uated in Section 16, of that town, is the 
 youngest member of a numerous and well- 
 known family of Lafayette county. His fa- 
 ther was George Cline, and his mother's maiden 
 name was Margaret De Mars. John Cline, the 
 grandfather of James, was a native of Ger- 
 many. 
 
 George Cline was born Nov. 20, 1796, in 
 Crawford county. Penn., where he was reared, 
 and he bore arms in the American army dur- 
 ing the war of 1812. After his death his wid- 
 ow drew a pension on account of his services 
 in that conflict. George Cline died in Penn- 
 sylvania Nov. 8, 1844. He was the father of 
 eleven children, of whom seven were living in 
 January, 1901. Adam D. Cline, one of the 
 sons, belonged to the 33d M is. V. I., and died 
 in the service ; he fell mortally wounded at the 
 siege of Vicksburg, in 1863, and died soon 
 afterward. Fannv died in Darlington, La- 
 fayette Co., Wis.. Dec. 17, 1884. All the chil- 
 dren who attained adult years became residents 
 of Wisconsin between 1830 and 1852. The 
 eldest of these is (1) John, of Darlington, 
 whose biography will be found elsewhere. 
 (2) Sarah Ann is the wife of Robert Henry, 
 and lives in South Dakota. (3) Noble D. is 
 a resident of Lamont. (4) Mary is the wife 
 of Silas McManners, of Dumont, Iowa. (5,) 
 Tacob and (6) George are twins, the former a 
 resident of Burlington. Ivans., and the latter 
 of the town of Fayette. Lafayette Co.. Wis. 
 (7) James is, as stated above, the youngest 
 member of the family. The brothers John, 
 George and Adam were the first of the family 
 
196 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to come from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin, mak- 
 ing the journey, then much more formidable 
 than now, in 1850. The others, including the 
 aged mother, came in 1852. Mrs. Cline made 
 her home with her son James until her death, 
 Dec. 7, 1884. 
 
 James Cline was born in Crawford coun- 
 ty, Penn., Dec. 24, 1836, and was a sturdy lad 
 of sixteen years when he first appeared in La- 
 fayette county, Wis. Here he made his home, 
 and his residence in the county has never been 
 broken, in 1863 he established himself on his 
 present farm, and for nearly forty years has 
 been engaged in its tillage. His wife, formerly 
 Miss Mary Mumford, is also a native of Craw- 
 ford county, Penn., where she was born in 
 J 858. Her parents, John and Mary (Hazen) 
 Mumford, never came to Wisconsin. Her 
 mother died many years ago, and her father, 
 who wore the Union blue in a Pennsylvania 
 regiment during the Civil war, is still living' in 
 Pennsylvania. Mrs. Cline is the only one of 
 her father’s family to come to Wisconsin. 
 She is one of three children born to her father’s 
 first marriage, all now living: William Mum- 
 
 ford, of Corning, Cal, ; John Mumford, of 
 Marion, Ind. ; and Mrs. Cline. Her father 
 was married a second time, and became by that 
 union the father of three children, Frank, 
 Harry and Luella. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cline have two daughters and 
 one son living: Mabel, Bessie and James 
 
 Blaine. Their eldest child, Myrtle, died in 
 infancy. Mr. Cline has a fine farm, and is re- 
 garded as an honorable and substantial man, 
 a reputation his son bids fair to sustain. 
 
 D. L. COLSON, who now owns a fine farm 
 in Watterstown township, Grant county, is one 
 of the leading representatives of the agricul- 
 tural interests of his section of Wisconsin. He 
 was born in Maine in 1S27, a son of Samuel 
 and Clarissa (Littlefield) Colson, also natives 
 of Maine. 
 
 Jonah Colson, the paternal grandfather of 
 our subject, was born in Maine, where he lived 
 and died. The maternal grandfather, Daniel 
 Littlefield, also spent his life and died in the 
 same State, having been born there. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Samuel Colson migrated, in 1856, to 
 Oconto, \\ is., and later to Grant county, where 
 the father died, in Lancaster, aged eighty-six; 
 the mother died at Mount Hope, aged seventy- 
 one. Fourteen children were born to these 
 
 parents : Alvin, who died in Maine ; Ada- 
 
 laide, now Mrs. Lowell, of Maine; Chrycinda,. 
 who lives at Black River Falls, Wis. ; Stephen, 
 who died in Maine; D. L., our subject; Melin- 
 da, Mrs. John Lowell, of Maine; Abagail, Mrs. 
 Reed, who died in Maine ; Elizabeth, Mrs. 
 Bowden, who died in Maine; Gr'anville, who 
 came to Wisconsin, and died aged twenty-one ;. 
 Sarah, who died in Oconto, aged seventeen;. 
 Samuel., deceased in infancy ; and others that 
 died in infancy unnamed. 
 
 Our subject was reared in his native State, 
 and received a fair education in the public 
 schools of Maine. Coming West when a 
 young man, in 1853, to Oconto, Oconto county, 
 he engaged in the lumber business. Later he 
 removed to Black Earth, and then to Lancas- 
 ter, Grant county, about 1867. His next 
 change was to Mount Hope, where he opened 
 up a fine farm, which he improved. He then 
 located at Hickory Grove. Finally, in 1898, 
 the farm known as the Wilson property, com- 
 pising 487 acres, in Watterstown township, 
 came into the market. Mr. Colson purchased 
 it, and has since made his home in the town- 
 ship, improving the already excellent build- 
 ings, adding to the stock and otherwise' increas- 
 ing the value of the property. 
 
 In 1868 Mr. Colson was married, in Mount 
 Hope, to Miss Irene Hazen, born in Wiscon- 
 sin, a daughter of Amos and Louisa Hazen, 
 natives of Chautauqua county, N. Y., who came 
 to Grant county early in 1 the history of the 
 State. Mrs. Hazen died at Mount Hope in 
 1897; her husband still survives, residing at 
 Mount Hope. To Mr. and Mrs. Colson have 
 been born: Lena (now Mrs. William Ous- 
 
 ley, of South Dakota), Ida, George, Vernie, 
 Warren, Asa and Adolph. 
 
 Mr. Colson is a Republican in politics, being 
 an important factor in local affairs, and is a 
 man of prominence, not only in the community 
 in which he resides, but throughout Grant 
 county. Prosperous, popular, highly esteem- 
 ed, he certainly deserves highest mention 
 among the well-to-do farmers of southwestern 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 JOHN JONES, one of the most influential 
 and prominent citizens of Patch Grove town- 
 ship, Grant county, dates his residence here 
 from April 21, 1867. 
 
 Mr. Jones is a native of England, born in 
 Northamptonshire June 15, 1836, a son of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 197 
 
 Thomas Jones, who spent his entire life in that 
 country. In the fall of 1853 Mr. Jones left 
 his native land, taking passage to New York. 
 His start to America was quite an eventful 
 one. The sailing-vessel “Kossuth,” on which 
 he took passage, was partially wrecked, and, 
 becoming unmanageable, was towed into 
 Queenstown by a passing vessel. Cholera also 
 prevailed on board, and a number of deaths 
 occurred. Mr. Jones left the vessel at Queens- 
 town, before the officials came on board ; had 
 he remained he would have been placed in 
 quarantine with the rest on the vessel. From 
 Queenstown he returned home, having for- 
 feited his passage money. In August, 1854, 
 he entered the service of the East India Com- 
 pany, went to Bombay on the clipper “York,” 
 thence to Hyderabad, Scinde, where he was 
 stationed for one and a half years, and whence 
 he was removed to Kurrachee, Scinde, being- 
 appointed station clerk there. He remained 
 there until the mutiny broke out, when he vol- 
 unteered to go to Kolapur, S. M. C., where he 
 was also appointed station clerk, and held that 
 office until the English Government annulled 
 the company’s charter. Being unwilling to 
 serve the English Government, he was sent to 
 Belgaum to join his regiment, the 2d Bombay 
 European Regiment of Light Infantry, and 
 thence marched with a detachment to Goa, 
 waiting until the ship “Herefordshire” came 
 into the harbor ( cn route from Bombay to Lon- 
 don) and took them on board. Mr. Jones en- 
 tered the service for twelve years, but in 1859 
 England gained full control of the company, 
 and different arrangements were made. While 
 in India he learned the Hindoostanee language, 
 and witnessed all the horrors which resulted 
 from the famous mutiny, such scenes as blow- 
 ing sepoys from the mouths of guns, etc., etc. 
 Mr. Jones has in his possession a medal con- 
 ferred upon him by the English Government 
 for his services in India, being entitled to the 
 same by virtue of his service with the East 
 India Company, though the government took 
 control of the company before the expiration 
 of his term. 
 
 Mr. Jones arrived in England Jan. 1, i860, 
 and entered the employ of the London & North- 
 western Railroad Co., with which he remained 
 until his emigration to the United States, in 
 1867. O11 his arrival in Grant county, Wis., 
 
 he located at Bradtville, where he made his 
 home for a number of vears, and then moved 
 
 to his present residence, in Patch Grove. For 
 several years he devoted his energies to the oc- 
 cupation of carpentering, but for some time 
 has been engaged in the pension business. He 
 is a wide-awake, energetic business man, and 
 has met with well-merited success in his under- 
 takings. 
 
 In England Mr. Jones was married, July 
 14, i860, to Sarah Dale, and on his removal 
 to America brought with him his wife and three 
 children, namely : Mary Elizabeth, Char- 
 
 lotte Jane, and Hannah (since dead). One 
 daughter and four sons, all living, were born 
 in this country. Mr. Jones is a gentleman of 
 culture, who is well informed on the leading 
 questions and issues of the day, and is highly 
 esteemed as a worthy and progressive citizen 
 of his adopted county. 
 
 GEORGE A. MARSHALL, of- Darling- 
 ton, who has for many years been a prominent 
 member of the legal fraternity of Lafayette 
 county, is a native of the “Old Granite State,” 
 and was born at Northumberland, Coos county, 
 Feb. 17, 1836. 
 
 The Marshall family is an old and honored 
 one in the annals of New England. The origi- 
 nal ancestor came from England in the seven- 
 teenth century. The paternal grandfather of 
 our subject was an officer in the Continental 
 army in the Revolutionary war. Among his 
 ancestors on his father’s side was Gen. Israel 
 Putnam, and on his mother's, Dr. Benjamin 
 Franklin. 
 
 In 1852 the parents of Mr. Marshall sold 
 their farm of 500 acres in New Hampshire and 
 removed to Saint Johnsbury, \ t., and there 
 passed the last years of their lives. 1 hey 
 reared a family of nine children, four sons and 
 five daughters. 
 
 Mr. Marshall was prepared for college in 
 the academy at Johnson, entered the Univer- 
 sity of Vermont in 1857, and was graduated 
 in 1861, with a standing of fourth in the larg- 
 est class which the University had up to that 
 time graduated. He came \\ est the same sum- 
 mer, and studied law at Sheboygan, Wis., 
 where he was admitted to the Bar June 9, 
 1862. After practicing five years in Galena, 
 111 ., he removed to Darlington, which has since 
 been his home. In politics he has always been 
 a Republican, though never a politician: he 
 was never a candidate for a political office. 
 He has filled the positions of district attorney, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 198 
 
 county surveyor, and superintendent of schools. 
 Socially our subject is connected with several 
 civic societies. In 1863 he joined the Odd 
 Fellows, and has often been a delegate to the 
 Grand Lodge. He is also a Freemason, and 
 was a charter member of the Darlington lodge 
 of the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Marshall pos- 
 sesses high literary attainments, and has con- 
 tributed to various papers and magazines ar- 
 ticles, which have received special attention on 
 account of their literary merit. 
 
 Mrs. Miriam Id. Marshall, wife of our sub- 
 ject, was a daughter of Albert Gallatin Cutler, 
 of Highgate, Vt., and a descendant of James 
 Cutler, who came from England in. 1634 and 
 settled at Watertown, Mass. Her grand- 
 father, Hodges Cutler, was a soldier in the war 
 for independence, and lived to the age of one 
 hundred years. Both grandfather and father 
 were physicians; a brother, Hiram C. Cutler, 
 having been graduated in medicine at Dart- 
 mouth College, came to Wisconsin in 1856, and 
 became one of the most eminent physicians in 
 the State. He died at Mineral Point in 1892. 
 Few men are more sincerely mourned than Dr. 
 Cutler ; benevolence and unselfishness were his 
 most prominent characteristics. Mrs. Mar- 
 shall is a lady of culture and refinement. She 
 was educated at the Ladies' Seminary, of Bur- 
 lington, Vt., then one of the leading institu- 
 tions of the kind in the East. 
 
 The family of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall in- 
 cludes but two children: Mary Florence and 
 
 Francis Cutler. The former is a graduate of 
 the Darlington high school, has taken several 
 degrees in the Chautauqua University course, 
 has traveled extensively, is a fine musician, has 
 studied law and assisted her father in his busi- 
 ness, and was the first woman to be appointed 
 a notary public in Wisconsin. 
 
 Francis Cutler Marshall was graduated 
 from the high school of Darlington, and in 
 1886 won an appointment to West Point in 
 a competitive examination. He was gradu- 
 ated with honor in 1890, being first captain in 
 the cadet battalion, and was commissioned as 
 second lieutenant in the Eighth Regiment, 
 L T . S. Cavalry. He was promoted to the rank 
 of first lieutenant Jan. 5, 1897, in the Sixth 
 Cavalry, saw service in the South in the war 
 with Spain, went with that regiment to China 
 in 1900, and took active part in the expedition 
 for the relief of the legations in Pekin. For 
 gallant conduct in action near Tien Tsin, 
 
 China, Aug. 19, 1900, he was recommended 
 for promotion by Gen. Chaffee; and on Feb. 
 2, 1901, he was promoted to a captaincy, and 
 assigned to the Fifteenth LT. S. Cavalry. On 
 Sept. 5, 1894, Lieut. Marshall was married to 
 Miss Sophia Morton Page, a daughter of Gen. 
 John H. Page. 
 
 HON. H. D. YORK, an old and prominent 
 lawyer of Grant county, who has his home in 
 Hazel Green, is widely known as a thoroughly 
 honorable and upright man. Mr. York was 
 born in Chenango, N. Y., March 23, 1823, a 
 son of Jeremiah and Catherine (Pendleton) 
 York, both natives of North Stonington, 
 Conn., the father born in 1802, and the mother 
 the year following. Jeremiah York was the 
 son of Capt. Jeremiah York, a- gallant officer 
 of the war of 1812, who lived and died in Con- 
 necticut. James York, the remote ancestor, 
 and the founder of the family on these shores, 
 was born in England in 1608. 
 
 Jeremiah York, the father of H. D.. set- 
 tled in Chenango county, N. Y., after his mar- 
 riage, following farming until his death, in 
 April, 1873. Mrs. York died in 1836, leav- 
 ing three children : ( 1 ) Hiram, born April 
 
 5, 1821, married and settled in Allegany coun- 
 ty, N. Y., where he followed lumbering for 
 many years. During the latter part of his 
 business life he was engaged in banking at 
 Wellsville, where lie died. He first married 
 Sarah Johnston, who left two children 1 — Cath- 
 arine, wife of Clarence L. Parker, of Ithaca, 
 N. Y. ; and Mary, Mrs. E. F. Joyce, of St. Aug- 
 ustine, Fla. Mr. York married again. Harriet 
 Palmer becoming his wife. She died in 1880, 
 leaving three children — Sarah, now the wife 
 of D. O. Batterson, present bank inspector of 
 the State of New York; Fannie, wife of John 
 L. Langdon, who resides on the Hudson ; and 
 Edward, an architect in New York City. (2) 
 H. D. is the subject proper of these lines. (3) 
 Catherine, the only sister of our subject, was 
 born in Oxford, N. Y., in 1826, and is the wife 
 of Sandford P. Stillman, of Rhode Island, who 
 is living a retired life. They have three chil- 
 dren. Dwight R., Fred A., and Howard Y. 
 Howard lives in New York, Dwight and Fred 
 in Rhode Island. 
 
 Hon. H. D. York was educated in the dis- 
 trict schools and at the old academy in Oxford, 
 N. Y.. and grew to manhood on his father’s 
 farm. When a young man lie was a teacher 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 199 
 
 two years in his native State, and two years 
 in Pennsylvania. On the first day of October, 
 1843, Mr. York arrived in Grant county, Wis., 
 coming via Buffalo to Milwaukee, and from 
 there to Platteville and Hazel Green. Here he 
 began life as a lead miner, and also taught 
 school. In 1845 fi e was made manager for the 
 extensive farming and mining operations of 
 Mrs. Abagail Curtis, and held this responsible 
 trust for several years. Mr. York and Miss 
 Mary E. Tyler were married in 1854. Mrs. 
 York was born in Summit county, Ohio, 
 daughter of Augustus and Elizabeth (Han- 
 chett) Tyler, both of whom were natives of 
 New York. In 1846 they came West, and set- 
 tled in Hazel Green, where the father was a ho- 
 tel-keeper and a farmer for the remainder of his 
 life. During his last years he owned and con- 
 ducted a hotel in Platteville. Mr. Tyler died 
 in 1875; his aged wife, after spending fifteen 
 years in Oregon and California, returned to 
 Grant county in 1900, and is now living with 
 Mrs. York. Mr. and Mrs. Tyler had nine 
 children, of whom we have record of the fol- 
 lowing: (1) Mary, the wife of Mr. York, was 
 the eldest in the family. Born in Ohio in 1834, 
 she obtained her education largely in the public 
 schools of Grant county, where for several 
 terms she was a teacher. (2) Flora A. is the 
 wife of C. H. Nye, of Lancaster, present super- 
 intendent of schools for Grant county. (3) 
 Kate, born in Michigan, is now the wife of J. 
 L. Nye, a photographer of Platteville. (4) 
 George, born in Hazel Green, is now a resident 
 of Salt Lake City. (3) Martha is now Mrs. 
 Job Garretson, of California. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. York went into 
 the drug business in Hazel Green, continuing 
 therein for some eighteen years. During that 
 time he purchased a farm one mile north of 
 Hazel Green, where he resided eight years. 
 In 1877, disposing- of his interests in the drug 
 store and farm, he moved back into the village, 
 to a very pleasant and convenient home which 
 he had occupied some twenty years before. Mr. 
 York still retains the small farm that he pur- 
 chased a half century ago, and while engaged 
 in the law practice finds time to look after its 
 needs. Mr. York took up the practice of law 
 quite late in life, but found, from personal as- 
 sociation and acquaintance with his profession- 
 al brethren, warm friends with helping hands 
 ready to assist along uncertain lines till the road 
 became more familiar. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. York have been born one 
 son and one daughter: (1) Dwight S., born 
 in Hazel Green, in November, 1855, was a 
 student in the State Normal at Platteville. In 
 1888 he married Mrs. Edith (Fisher) Mills, 
 a native of New York, reared in Lancaster, 
 Wis., and they reside in Milwaukee, where he 
 is engaged in business. They have two chil- 
 dren in their family, Mira E. and Harry H. 
 (2) Ruth A., born in 1861, is a graduate of 
 the State Normal at Platteville, and for a num- 
 ber of years has been a very successful teacher 
 in the public schools of Evanston, 111 . Both 
 Mr. and Airs. York have ancestral lines that 
 run back to the American Revolution and the 
 war of 1812, and have reason to be proud of 
 their forefathers. 
 
 Mr. York was elected to the General As- 
 sembly in 1850, and in 1853, and again in 1838, 
 serving three terms with honor and distinction. 
 He has from time to time been elected to local 
 offices in the town of Hazel Green. As town 
 superintendent of schools of Hazel Green he 
 laid out, under statutory requirement, the first 
 school, districts of his town. 
 
 THOMAS NORTH. Among the pioneers 
 of Wisconsin, who during the ’forties peopled 
 the forests of this then inhospitable region, 
 were many who by their migration laid the 
 foundation for future success. The hardships 
 undergone were severe, the rewards commen- 
 surate to those possessing patience, fortitude 
 and strength. 
 
 The North family of Edgerton, Rock coun- 
 ty, was founded in Wisconsin in 1847. Ih tliat 
 year Thomas North, Sr., the father of our 
 subject, was an English farmer, who was ap- 
 proaching the half century mark in years, with- 
 out having attained that financial success which 
 brings comfort and ease. A tide of English 
 emigration had set in toward the distant wil- 
 derness of America, and Thomas North joined 
 it. Lie was the son of William North, a farm- 
 er, and had married Ellen Hopkins, who died 
 in England about 1832, leaving three children, 
 two of whom, Thomas, our subject, and Will- 
 iam, of Cottage Grove, Wis., are living. For 
 his second wife the father married Jane Biggin, 
 by whom there were no children. After his 
 migration to America, in 1847, Mr. North 
 settled in Albion township, Dane Co., Wis., 
 where with his two sons, Thomas and William, 
 he bought eighty acres of land. Their indus- 
 
200 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 try won, and the holdings grew, first by the 
 purchase of 126 acres, and later by the addi- 
 tion of another tract, of 176 acres. Here the 
 father and two sons farmed in common for 
 some years, then divided the property. The 
 father in religious faith was a devout Episcopal 
 Methodist, and for a number of years was a 
 local preacher. In politics he was a Republi- 
 can, and in Albion township he was assessor 
 for several years. He was a highly respected 
 citizen, and died in 1868, aged nearly seventy- 
 one years. 
 
 Thomas North, our subject, was born in 
 Derbyshire, England, Oct. 28, 1828, was reared 
 a farmer’s boy, and received a common-school 
 education. Coming to America with his father 
 in 1847, h e shared generously in the toil es- 
 sential to success in the new land, and when a 
 division of the property was made came into 
 possession of a tract of 160 acres in Albion 
 township, Dane county, and Sumner township, 
 Jefferson county. This he farmed, and by 
 purchase subsequently increased to a well-tilled 
 and valuable farm of 255 acres. Mr. North 
 lived in Albion township until 1864, then re- 
 moved to Sumner township, Jefferson county, 
 where he resided until 1894. In that year he 
 retired from active farming, erecting the hand- 
 some home in Edgerton which he now occu- 
 pies. 
 
 Mr. North married July 4, 1852, bliss 
 Sarah Brailsford, daughter of Joseph and 
 Mary (Biggin) Brailsford. Mrs. North came 
 to 1 America with her parents in 1845, when a 
 girl of ten years. Her father was an English- 
 man, but prior to his emigration to America 
 had spent eleven years on the estate of Baron 
 Rothschild, in France, and there three of his 
 children were born, Mary, Hannah and Sarah, 
 the last named on Oct. 23, 1834. After his 
 emigration to America, in 1845, Joseph Brails- 
 ford located in Albion township, Dane county. 
 Here his wife died in 1856, aged fifty-two 
 years, and for his second wife he married bliss 
 Margaret Pepper. Later he removed to Tyn- 
 dall, S. Dak., where he lived, a farmer, to the 
 age of about eighty-two years. Of his seven 
 children by the first marriage, two, Mary and 
 Ann, survive. The four children by the sec- 
 ond marriage are all living : John, James, 
 George and Henry. 
 
 To Thomas and Sarah (Brailsford) North 
 were born ten children, five sons and five 
 daughters, as follows : ( 1 ) George Elenry 
 
 died in infancy. (2) Mary Jane married Samuel 
 Wileman, and died in 1894, leaving six chil- 
 dren, Emily Jane and Thomas, Sarah, Charles, 
 Arthur, and Edith. (3) Sarah Ellen died aged 
 four months. (4) Thomas W., a Methodist 
 Episcopal minister, now stationed at Milton, 
 Wis., married Josie Wales, and they have four 
 children, Beulah, Hazel, Vincent and Laura. 
 
 (5) Charles Edwin, who studied medicine, 
 died in Chicago, 111 ., aged twenty-four years. 
 
 (6) Sarah Ann, wife of James Wileman, of 
 Edgerton, has two children, Lilly and Louie. 
 
 (7) David Willard, a resident of Edgerton, 
 married Sarah Elizabeth Nelson, and has three 
 children, Theodora, Jessica and Plerschel. (8) 
 Ellen Melissa married Rev. Lucius Augustus 
 Whitcomb, a Free Methodist minister, who 
 was principal of the Evansville Seminary for 
 several years, and now resides in Evanston, 111 . ; 
 they have five children, Ethel, Grace, Pearl, 
 Lawrence and Willard. (9) Emily Elizabeth 
 married Archibald Templeton, and is living at 
 Madison, Wis. ; they have one child, Hugh 
 Longville. (10) Fred Arthur married Lilly 
 McCarthy, and has two children, Charles and 
 Thomas Wilford; they live at the home farm 
 in Sumner township. 
 
 Mr. North is a prominent member of the 
 Albion Prairie M. E. Church, in which he is 
 class-leader, trustee and Sunday-school teacher. 
 His wife, who passed away Oct. 14, 1900, 
 also united with that church ; her remains rest 
 in Albion Prairie cemetery. Politically Mr. 
 North is a Prohibitionist. For a year he served 
 as supervisor of Sumner township, but has not 
 aspired to office. He is a conscientious Christ- 
 ian, a patriotic citizen, a sympathetic friend 
 and neighbor, and the many most estimable 
 traits of himself and family have given them 
 the affection and high regard of a wide ac- 
 quaintanceship. 
 
 PETER J. MOUAT is editor and pub- 
 lisher of the Janesville Recorder , which paper 
 he has controlled for more than a decade, 
 bringing to its management sound practical 
 business sense. Both his parents, Jeremiah 
 Mouat and Robina (Halcrow), were natives 
 of the Shetland island, Mainland, settling in 
 America in 1855. The father was for many 
 years a merchant in his native land, also fol- 
 lowing- the sea as a fisherman, with its always 
 uncertain results and sometimes great hazards. 
 Both he and his wife were stanch Presby- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 201 
 
 terians, as well becomes those of Scottish birth 
 and ancestry. They were the parents of ten 
 children, four sons and six daughters, two of 
 whom are deceased. Those yet living are Lau- 
 rence; Peter J. ; Thomas J. ; John J. ; Robina, 
 who married Malcolm Harper, of Magnolia 
 township, Rock county; Margaret C. and 
 Elizabeth A., who are unmarried and live in 
 Chicago; and Jessie H., a teacher in the schools 
 of Minneapolis'. On coming to America Jere- 
 miah Mouat settled on a farm in Rock county, 
 Wis., afterward residing in the city of Janes- 
 ville until his death, in 1887, at the age of 
 seventy-nine years. His widow still survives, 
 at the age of eighty-five, her home being in 
 Chicago. 
 
 Peter J. Mouat was born in the Shetland 
 home June 15, 1854, being scarcely a year 
 old when his parents crossed the ocean. The 
 first sixteen years of his life were passed upon 
 the farm, and he obtained a good fundamental 
 English education in the schools of Rock 
 county and Janesville graded schools. It was 
 not until the winter of 1874-75 that he really 
 began to battle with the vicissitudes of life, 
 beginning his business career as a shipping- 
 clerk in the wholesale grocery and tea house 
 of Roe Brothers, in Chicago. Not finding his 
 position and surroundings wholly to his liking, 
 he returned to Janesville in the spring of 1875. 
 was clerk and bookkeeper for five years, and 
 for the next five years was manager of the 
 Janesville Vinegar and Pickling Works. Dur- 
 ing this period he bought the Publishers Com- 
 mercial Union, a mercantile agency for report- 
 ing the commercial standing of newspaper ad- 
 vertisers. The venture was original and new, 
 proved successful, and in 1886 Mr. Mouat dis- 
 posed of it to a Chicago stock company, in 
 which he held an official position for a year, be- 
 ing himself located at Chicago. In the spring of 
 1888, however, he once more found his way to 
 Janesville, and for twelve months held the 
 position of assistant postmaster. Not long- 
 after resigning this office he became connected 
 with the Recorder Printing Co., as manager, 
 and subsequently became owner of a majority 
 of. the company’s stock. At present he is both 
 publisher and editor, and under his judicious 
 business management the plant has become a 
 valuable one. He i'sl a Democrat in politics, 
 and his paper ably and strenuously supports 
 Democratic doctrines and policies. In the 
 councils of his party his voice is potent and 
 
 his influence pronounced. For two years he 
 was a member of its State central committee, 
 while he has long held the position of chair- 
 man of the Democratic city committee of 
 Janesville. Personally he has never sought 
 office, yet his 1 well-known interest in educa- 
 tional matters, joined to his conceded well- 
 recognized qualifications for the position, has 
 led to his filling a seat on the board of educa- 
 tion for many years, serving as president of 
 that body one year. He .has also filled the 
 office of vice-president of the Janesville Busi- 
 ness Men’s Association, and is' at present vice- 
 president of the Rock County Loan, Building 
 & Savings Association, and one of the direc- 
 tors. Mr. Mouat is a genial gentleman, pop- 
 ular with all. He is a member of the Janes- 
 ville Country Club, the Sinissippi Golf Club, 
 and the Caledonian Society; also belongs to 
 Oriental Lodge, No. 22, K. of P. ; the Press 
 Club of Chicago, and the Wisconsin Press 
 Association. 
 
 On Dec. 24, 1879, Mr. Mouat married Miss 
 Charlotte E. Wilkie, whose native State is 
 New Jersey. Their union has been blessed 
 with three daughters, Lillian Sturges, Marga- 
 ret Frances and Charlotte Gertrude. Mrs. 
 Mouat is a member of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 WILLIAM D. ROBERTS, deceased. Al- 
 though no longer of earth, William D. Roberts 
 is not forgotten. His life of Christian charity 
 and continued generosity and kindness cast an 
 influence over the community in which he 
 passed many busy years, and his memory is 
 affectionately cherished. Although no loud 
 praises have been sung, in public places, many 
 homes have been made happier, many discour- 
 aged and drooping fellow countrymen have 
 been cheered and comforted by the unostenta- 
 tious piety of this good man. 
 
 William D. Roberts was born in North 
 Wales in 1807, and grew to manhood in his 
 native region, not coming to America until 
 1832, after which he was almost immediately 
 employed in the coal mines near Pottsville, 
 Penn. The next year he married Jane, the 
 estimable daughter of William H. and Anna 
 Jones, both of whom were born in Wales, and 
 had come to the United States in 1830. Some 
 years later they removed to Iowa county, Wis., 
 where he purchased land and made his perma- 
 nent home, our subject following a few years 
 after. When Mr. Roberts and his wife began 
 
202 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 their farming life in Wisconsin, they faced 
 the same difficulties which very many of their 
 neighbors found awaiting them, toil, depriva- 
 tion and limited, resources, but both were am- 
 bitious, and by the exercise of economy and 
 industry overcame all disadvantages, so that 
 at the time of his death, in 1890, our subject 
 was able to leave his bereaved widow every 
 comfort of life. His estate comprised 160 
 acres in Belmont township, Lafayette county, 
 which he had placed under cultivation and had 
 well stocked, and sixty acres in Iowa county. 
 
 The Roberts family was not a large one, 
 and has now no representative. Mrs. Roberts 
 has three surviving sisters, Mrs. John Thomas 
 and Mrs. Owen Hughes, both of Lafayette 
 county, Wis., and Mrs. Ann Edwards, of 
 Chicago. So esteemed is this estimable lady in 
 the neighborhood that her friends make up for 
 any want of kindred. 
 
 Mr. Roberts during life was attached to the 
 Republican party, and was active in all 
 measures looking to good local government. 
 Both he and his wife were known for their 
 charities, his generosity making possible the 
 building of two churches in Iowa county. A 
 Calvinist in belief, he was still tolerant of the 
 opinions of others, being so just a man in the 
 opinion of his neighbors that he was very often 
 called upon to settle disputed points among the 
 citizens in his community. 
 
 JAMES MULROONEY, who is num- 
 bered among the early settlers of Wisconsin, 
 is a native of the Emerald Isle, having been 
 born in 1818, about .twenty-five miles from 
 Dublin, a son of William and Honora Mul- 
 rooney, who never came to America, but lived 
 and died in Ireland. In this family there were 
 five sons— John, James, William, Thomas and 
 Patrick — and one daughter. 
 
 After attaining to years of manhood James 
 Mulrooney married Mary McGary, in 1847, 
 and a few days thereafter the young couple em- 
 barked from Ireland for America, on a sailing- 
 vessel, landing after a long and stormy passage 
 at Quebec ; they were on the water seven weeks 
 and three days. After a few weeks spent in 
 Quebec Mr. and Mrs. Mulrooney started for 
 Whitehall, N. Y. Their means being' almost 
 exhausted, Mr. Mulrooney worked' at what- 
 ever he could find until he obtained employ- 
 ment on the Whitehall & Saratoga Railroad, 
 for which he worked many years. In a few 
 
 years he was sent by the company to Castleton, 
 Vt., which was the eastern terminal town of the 
 road, and there he remained three years, mak- 
 ing his term of service with this road eight 
 years altogether. Having been a faithful em- 
 ploye, the railroad company would have gladly 
 retained him for a longer period, but Mr. Mul- 
 rooney had saved some money, and wished to 
 invest it in Western land; therefore he and 
 his wife started for Wisconsin. By hard work 
 they managed to reach Grant county with one 
 thousand dollars in gold (which Mr. Mulrooney 
 had concealed in a belt around his body) and 
 ten dollars in bills of the kind then known as 
 “wild cat” money. Locating in Mount Hope 
 township, Mr. Mulrooney invested in land, first 
 purchasing 160 acres, to which he added, from 
 time to time, until he became one of the large 
 land owners of Mount Hope township. Clear- 
 ing of land, a half century ago, required much 
 hard and persistent work, for farmers of that 
 day possessed none of the modern appliances. 
 The only way to remove trees was to dig about 
 the roots until they were exposed ; then cut 
 them off with an axe, hitch oxen to the branches 
 of the tree, and pull the roots out of the ground. 
 James Mulrooney brought two yoke of cattle 
 with him, as did a neighbor,- and by working 
 together these two men were able to accomplish 
 more than by clearing their land alone. Many 
 interesting stories of the hardships of those 
 early days, and the difficulties labored under, 
 are told by Mr. Mulrooney. At one time he 
 was sadly in need of a plow, and journeyed 
 to Lancaster to purchase one, but upon arrival 
 discovered it was impossible to get what he 
 wanted, and he continued to Platteville, where 
 a man named Potter dealt in plows. However, 
 Mr. Potter had so many orders on hand that 
 he could not let our subject have one at once, 
 but told him if he would stay until Saturday 
 he would furnish him with a sixteen-inch plow. 
 As an extra inducement, Mr. Potter offered the 
 hospitality of his own home to Mr. Mulrooney, 
 which was accepted, and, it being Monday, the 
 latter settled down to enjoy his stay in town. 
 On Thursday there was a circus in town, which 
 attracted the attention of many, and resulted 
 in benefit to Mr. Mulrooney. Mr. Potter had 
 by this time obtained an eighteen-inch plow, 
 which had been promised to a man with the 
 condition that he call for it by twelve o’clock. 
 Being' attracted by that circus, however, the 
 man failed to keep his appointment, and Mr. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 203 
 
 Mulrooney secured the plow, which he took, al- 
 though it was a little heavier than he had wish- 
 ed. By working together, turn about, Mr. Mul- 
 rooney and his neighbor succeeded in clearing 
 about twenty acres on each farm, and then our 
 subject continued the work on his own farm 
 until it was one of the best cultivated in that 
 locality. 
 
 After working hard and faithfully to assist 
 her husband in his struggle for success, Mrs. 
 Mulrooney died, in March, 1861, mourned by 
 her husband and children. On April 12, 1899, 
 Mr. Mulrooney was again called upon to suf- 
 fer the loss of a wife, the partner of his second 
 marriage, whose maiden name was Bridget 
 Flaherty, passing away on that date. She was 
 a most excellent woman, and her death is deeply 
 felt, especially bjr her husband, who greatly 
 misses her loving companionship. Nine chil- 
 dren were born to Mr. Mulrooney by his first 
 marriage, and three by the second, but the 
 majority of them have passed away. The sur- 
 viving children are: Elizabeth, wife of James 
 Cull ; and Miss Mary, his youngest daughter, 
 who with his little adopted son, John, cares 
 for their father at his home in Fennimore. 
 
 Although he has now passed his four- 
 score milestone, Mr. Mulrooney is still hale 
 and hearty, enjoying the esteem of all who 
 know him, and reaping the fruits of his years 
 of toil, and he and all his family are consistent 
 members of the Catholic Church. 
 
 ANDREW EASTMAN, a retired pioneer 
 and a hero of the Black Hawk war, who has his 
 residence in Lancaster, Grant county, was born 
 in Ohio March 10, 1818, a son of Moses and 
 Elizabeth (Courtwright) Eastman, the former 
 of whom was a native of the State of New 
 York, and the latter of New Jersey. 
 
 In June, 1821, Moses Eastman migrated 
 with his family from Ohio to Indiana, and two 
 or three years later removed to Illinois. In 
 1827 he came to Grant county, Wis., spent one 
 winter at a place then called Hardscrabble, 
 and the following spring crossed the county line 
 into Lafayette county, and settled on land 
 purchased from the government. This land 
 he converted into a valuable farm, which be- 
 came the permanent homestead of the family, 
 and on which he spent the remainder of his 
 life, dying in 1863, at the age of seventy-six 
 years. His widow survived a number of years, 
 and died at the age of eighty-four. They 
 
 were the parents of six sons and eight daugh- 
 ters, several of whom died young. 
 
 Andrew Eastman was about nine years of 
 age when brought to Wisconsin by his parents, 
 and he was reared among the wild scenes 
 of frontier life. Although but fourteen years 
 old at the breaking out of the Black Hawk 
 war he voluntered as a soldier, was equipped 
 with a musket, and now draws a pension 
 for his services, being perhaps the young- 
 est ex-soldier on Uncle Sam’s pension roll. 
 He still remembers the condition in which 
 Grant county existed nearly three-quarters 
 of a century ago, when, attracted by the 
 rich mines of the southern part, and at 
 Mineral Point and Galena, 111 ., the early 
 pioneers had begun settlement, for the country, 
 even in close proximity to the mines, was but 
 sparsely inhabited. Many of these pioneers 
 would engage in mining for a short time, and 
 would then enter the cheap government lands 
 and devote their time and energy to the clear- 
 ing off of the timber, and to carving out 
 homes for themselves from the wilderness. 
 Most of these honest, robust and courageous 
 settlers, have passed away, and their places are 
 now occupied by descendants who enjoy all 
 the luxuries of modern times. 
 
 On Jan. 15, 1840, Mr. Eastman married 
 Miss Louisa Maria Goodrich, who still lives 
 to share with him the competency their mutual 
 labor has won. She was born in Delaware 
 county, N. Y., Sept. 3, 1825, a daughter of 
 Hiram and Elmira (Burdick) Goodrich, who 
 in 1829 migrated from New York to Wayne 
 county, Penn., and thence to Indiana. There 
 the family suffered greatly from sickness. 
 Mrs. Eastman’s grandfather Burdick had died 
 in New York, and the grandmother accom- 
 panied her daughter Elmira and her son-in-law 
 Hiram to Pennsylvania and Indiana, dying in 
 the latter State, as also did a brother of Mrs. 
 Eastman. Owing to the sickness prevailing 
 in the Hoosier State Mr. Goodrich moved his 
 family to Linn county, Iowa, and it was there 
 Andrew Eastman found and married the 
 daughter, Louisa Maria, since which time this 
 couple have lived in Lafayette and Grant coun- 
 ties — a period of over sixty years. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Goodrich also came to Wisconsin shortly 
 after the marriage of their daughter, locating 
 in Lafayette county, where Mrs. Goodrich 
 passed away. Mr. Goodrich later returned to 
 New York State, there remarried, and went 
 
204 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to California, but died on the day of his ar- 
 rival in the Golden State. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Eastman 
 has been blessed with eleven children, all of 
 whom attained mature years excepting the eld- 
 est, a daughter who died when three years old ; 
 Lucius Albert, the eldest son, was killed in 
 the second battle of Bull Run, in 1862; another 
 son, Lemuel Davidson, also a soldier in the 
 Union army, died in hospital, in Springfield, 
 Mo., the same year; the other eight still sur- 
 vive, and are named as follows: Andrew Jack- 
 son, Eva D. (Mrs. Dean), Francis Marion, 
 Oliver Campbell, Henry Ellsworth, Louisa 
 Elizabeth (Mrs. Beverly Pritchard), Esther 
 Ann (Mrs. George Patton), and Luella May 
 (Mrs. John Reukauf). 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Eastman have for thirty 
 years been members of the Methodist Church, 
 and lived strictly up to its teachings. The 
 duty that devolved upon them in rearing their 
 large family has been faithfully performed, as 
 well as every duty to society. They are still 
 enjoying a fair degree of health, and are pass- 
 ing their declining days in comfort at their 
 home in Lancaster, venerated and beloved by 
 all who know them. 
 
 GUSTAVUS STONE, a retired manu- 
 facturer of Beloit, Rock Co., Wis., has been 
 a resident of that city for more than fifty 
 years:, and in that long period of time has 
 been ' closely identified with the industrial 
 growth of the city to a marked degree. He 
 is a man of much character and unusual abil- 
 ity, and in every enterprise to which he has 
 set his hand he has manifested all the marks 
 of a genuine man. He occupies a pleasant 
 home at No. 205 West D street. 
 
 Mr. Stone was born in the town of Can- 
 ton, Norfolk Co., Mass., Aug. 27, 1821, a 
 son of Jonathan and Eliza (LTpham) Stone, 
 both natives of Massachusetts. They had two 
 sons and two daughters, and three of their 
 children are now living: Eleanor, wife of 
 Charles H. Parker, of Beloit; Gustavus; and 
 Horace, of St. Louis. Jonathan Stone, who 
 was a physician, came to Belvidere, 111 ., in 
 1839, practiced his profession for some years, 
 and then became absorbed in business enter- 
 prises of various kinds. He engaged in farm- 
 ing, ran a sawmill, operated a stone quarry 
 and lime kiln, all on his own premises, and 
 died there in 1862, at the age of seventy-seven. 
 
 His first wife, the mother of Gustavus Stone, 
 died at an early age. Both she and her hus- 
 band were Unitarians. Many years afterward 
 Dr. Stone was married to Ann P. Blackman, 
 and they had three children, all of whom are 
 now dead. The widow is still living. He 
 was a Whig and became a Republican on the 
 formation of the party. He was a ‘soldier in 
 the war of 1812. Pie was such a rigid tem- 
 perance man that he cut down the apple trees 
 in his orchard that the fruit might not be 
 made into cider. Daniel Stone, his father, 
 was a native of Framingham, Mass., of En- 
 glish descent, and was also a physician. He 
 lived to a good old age. His wife died when 
 eighty-eight years old. They were the par- 
 ents of eleven children. Amos Upham, the 
 father of Eliza Upham, was a native of Mas- 
 sachusetts, of English descent, and is remem- 
 bered as a man of more than usual character 
 and standing. Pie was a tavern-keeper, and 
 lived to old age. 
 
 Gustavus Stone was reared in Massachu- 
 setts until he was about eighteen years old. 
 Pie attended the public school, and a private 
 school, and after his removal to the West, in 
 1839, was a student in an academy at Belvi- 
 dere, 111. Mr. Stone was a teacher of a pri- 
 vate school in Kentucky, not far from Louis- 
 ville. for a year, and then he returned to Bel- 
 videre, and lived on his father’s farm some 
 ten years. He made his first appearance in 
 Beloit on the last day of the year 1849, an d 
 for some twelve months worked by the day in 
 the machine shop of Barker & Love. At the 
 expiration of this period of time Mr. Stone 
 and his brother-in-law, C. H. Parker, formed 
 a partnership for the purpose of manufactur- 
 ing field hoes. They leased the Barker & 
 Love factory, on the east side of the race, 
 and constructed all the machinery their under- 
 taking required, such as trip-hammers, press, 
 dies, forms, furnaces, grindstone arbors, forges, 
 emery wheels, etc., although their entire capi- 
 tal did. not exceed $100 at that time. They 
 did a good business, and were on the high- 
 way to prosperity, and in 1854 began the man- 
 ufacture of grain sickles and mowing-machine 
 knives, obtaining large contracts for these 
 goods from reaping and mowing machine 
 manufacturers in various States', East and 
 West. In this same year Messrs. Love & Or- 
 ton manufactured fifty reapers and sent out 
 men to sell them, but with poor success. Then 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 205 
 
 each member of the company went out, and 
 returned very much discouraged at the gloomy 
 outlook, with the harvest near at hand. Mr. 
 Orton came to Mr. Stone with tears in his 
 eyes and said: “Stone, I am a ruined man 
 it you can’t save me ; for I have everything in 
 the world I own invested in these reapers ; 
 and i believe you are the man to help us out.” 
 Mr. Stone agreed to make the effort, and did 
 sell nearly their entire stock before the com- 
 mencement of the harvest. With this 1 stimulus 
 and experience, Mr. Stone decided that Par- 
 ker & Stone had better engage in the manu- 
 facture of reaping machines; and so told Mr. 
 Parker. And his reply was, “I am afraid you 
 will ruin us for life.” But the attempt was 
 made, and in the month of April Mr. Stone 
 contracted with different mechanics for do- 
 ing the work, bought 1 stock on credit to be 
 paid for on a specified time, and all arrange- 
 ments were made for the completion of the 
 reapers. Mr. Stone went out among the farm- 
 ers, and sold nearly all of them for cash, pay- 
 able on delivery. This enabled them to settle 
 their indebtedness before maturity, the largest 
 amount being to Fisher, Bundy & Cheeny; 
 and when the money was presented Mr. Fisher 
 made this remark: “Stone, what does all this 
 mean? We were never treated so before; the 
 debt is not due.” All of their other indebted- 
 ness was settled in a similar manner, which 
 gained for Parker & Stone the utmost confi- 
 dence of the public for their integrity, and 
 gave them unbounded credit. 
 
 Some time after this departure their fac- 
 tory burned, bringing a severe loss' upon the 
 progressive firm. They rebuilt, however, on 
 a larger scale, a structure now owned by the 
 Besley Co., and the building north of the old 
 iron works, and part of the grounds occupied 
 by the Beloit Lumber Co., are part of the site 
 of their extensive buildings. In , the latter 
 part of i860 the foundry was destroyed by 
 fire, with a large loss of valuable patterns and 
 machinery. Parker & Stone, nothing daunted 
 by this heavy loss, rebuilt, and continued busi- 
 ness until 1878, when they suspended opera- 
 tions, and were succeeded by L. H. Parker 
 and Fred Dennett, who- about two years later 
 moved the plant to Milwaukee. Through the 
 efforts of Parker & Stone was given to the 
 farming community the twine binder, one of 
 the greatest labor-saving machines the world 
 has ever known, and it is in the history and 
 
 development of the Appleby Twine Binder 
 that Mr. Stone's inventive genius is most con- 
 spicuously seen. The Marsh Harvester had 
 supplanted the 'self-raking reaper, and was 
 itself displaced by the wire binder, to which 
 many serious objections were raised by farm- 
 ers, threshers and millers. These objections 
 were entirely overcome by the inventors and 
 perfecters of the twine binders, which took 
 the place of the wire binder. About 1872 
 John F. Appleby called at the office of Parker 
 & Stone, and submitted a model for binding- 
 grain with twine. A contract was speedily 
 entered into, whereby Parker & Stone were 
 to furnish capital, etc., for the perfecting of 
 Mr. Appleby’s idea, a feature of which had 
 to be abandoned, and Mr. Stone’s idea substi- 
 tuted therefor. With this change and various 
 experiments, covering a period of about six 
 years, the twine binder became, in 1878, a 
 success, and from Parker & Stone the McCor- 
 mick, Deering and other harvesting machine 
 companies purchased the shop right. But to 
 Mr. Stone alone is due the credit for the 
 “stick-to-itiveness” which perfected and left 
 to the farming community the greatest labor- 
 saving- machine of the country — the twine 
 binder. At the time Parker & Stone entered 
 into the agreement to develop the twine binder 
 the business of manufacturing reapers was 
 on the wane all over the country, they being- 
 superseded by wire binders and other machin- 
 ery, which required less manual labor to har- 
 vest the grain, and did the work more rapidly, 
 and with greater economy — a combination of 
 causes that cut off the demand for reapers. 
 The Beloit Reaper, about this time at the 
 height of its greatest success, was one of the 
 most popular machines in the Northwestern 
 States, having many excellent features, unob- 
 tainable in other reapers, which were the in- 
 ventions of Mr. Stone, and for which he ob- 
 tained letters patent. 
 
 In 1853 Mr. Stone married Miss Sarah 
 A. Bartlett, daughter of Tristram and Han- 
 nah (Pulsifer) Bartlett, of Newburyport, 
 Mass. Mr. and Mrs. Stone are the parents 
 of six children, Ella Frances, Waldo B., Em- 
 ma FI., Edgar H., Clarence M. and Alonzo. 
 The last named died at the age of fourteen 
 months. Ella Frances married Harry L. Sher- 
 man, of Beloit, and has three children, Horace 
 H., Elsie, and Lytle. Waldo B. married Miss 
 Minnie Bartlett, and is an attorney in Chicago. 
 
206 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Emma H. married Manning- T. Hackley, of 
 Chicago; they have two children, Levant and 
 Bartlett. Edgar EL married Lorena Gustin ; 
 he is a solicitor. Clarence M. is a traveling- 
 man, and lives in Chicago; he married Ella 
 Pigney, of South Dakota, and has three chil- 
 dren, Doris, Marshall and Lloyd. 
 
 Gustavus Stone united with the Masonic 
 fraternity over thirty years ago, and belongs 
 to Beloit Commandery. Over fifty years ago 
 he joined the Odd Fellows, and was affiliated 
 w ith them many years. He has been a Repub- 
 lican since the formation of the party, and 
 represented the Third ward in the city council 
 for two or three years, but was compelled to 
 resign on account of the pressure of business. 
 He never sought any public position, but was 
 urged and entreated in the early '70s. by many 
 of the prominent men of the city, to run for 
 mayor, they claiming him to be the strongest 
 and most popular man in the city, but he de- 
 clined all solicitations. 
 
 Mrs. Stone’s father was born at Newbury- 
 port, Mass., and her mother in New LI amp- 
 shire, of English ancestry. They had nine 
 children, and only a son and daughter are now 
 living, John Bartlett, of Rockford, 111 ., and 
 Mrs. Stone. Her paternal grandfather was 
 a soldier in the war of 1812. He was a cabi- 
 net maker by trade, and later in life became a 
 farmer. He lost his life when over eighty 
 years of age, by being thrown from a horse. 
 Mrs. Stone's maternal grandfather, Major 
 Joseph Pulsifer, was a soldier in the war of 
 1812. His wife belonged to a wealthy family; 
 she lived to be over eighty years of age. 
 
 HENRY BARNES, a retired farmer of 
 Shullsburg, Lafayette county, was born in 
 Leicestershire, England, Nov. 7, 1823, a son 
 of Thomas and Ann (Hossen) Barnes, and a 
 grandson of John Barnes, all natives of the 
 “tight little isle.” Thomas Barnes and wife 
 were the parents of ten children, all now de- 
 ceased except our subject: John, Mary, Susan, 
 A illiam, Ann, Elizabeth, Sarah, Eliza, Lucy 
 and Henry. 
 
 Henry Barnes received his education in the 
 neighboring schools of his native town and 
 earned his livelihood at various employments 
 until he was twenty-seven years of age, when, 
 in 1850, he boarded a sailing-vessel for New 
 \ ork. He came to Wisconsin the same year, 
 and engaged in mining for some time. He then 
 
 purchased a tract of wild land from the govern- 
 ment, and determined to take up farming as his 
 life work. At first he erected a small house, 
 which a number of years later was replaced 
 by a commodious dwelling, with all modern 
 improvements. He cleared this farm, and 
 made all needed improvements as the years 
 passed by, until he had one of the finest farms 
 in the county, 200 acres in extent, making his 
 home thereon for over forty years. In 1890 
 he rented this place, and, purchasing a home in 
 the town of Shullsburg, moved there to pass 
 the balance of his life at ease. Elis property 
 has all been acquired through his own efforts, 
 and he now, in the evening of his life, finds 
 himself possessed of an abundant competence, 
 and is ranked among the substantial citizens 
 of his town. 
 
 In September, 1852, Mr. Barnes was united 
 in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Parr, a 
 daughter of William and Sarah (Norton) 
 Parr, who were natives of Leicestershire, Eng- 
 land. Five children of William Parr came to 
 America : Sarah, wife of John Roddam, of 
 Shullsburg; Mary, wife of Michael Boddy, of 
 Illinois; William, who now resides in British 
 Columbia ; Edward, who first located in Cali- 
 fornia, and now makes his . home in British 
 Columbia ; and Elizabeth, Airs. Barnes. Airs. 
 Elizabeth (Parr) Barnes was born in 1821, 
 and grew to womanhood in England, where she 
 obtained a good education, and was for a time 
 engaged successfully in Sunday teaching there. 
 In 1851 she came to Wisconsin, where her 
 culture and refinement have drawn around her 
 a choice circle of friends. Three children have 
 blessed the union of Mr. and Airs. Barnes : 
 Sarah A., born in Shullsburg in 1859, married 
 James Mills, who died in 1880, and in 1883 
 she married William Mills, a farmer ; she has 
 two sons, Henry and Walter, by her first mar- 
 riage. Mary E., born in 1861, married Thomas 
 Brown, who now manages the Barnes home- 
 stead, and has eight children, Alarie (born in 
 1877, who now makes her home with her 
 grandparents in Shullsburg, and lightens the 
 burdens of their increasing years with her lov- 
 ing ministrations), Annie, Henry, Grant, 
 Alary, Myrtle, Sherman, and an infant, un- 
 named. Lucy, born in 1864, died at the age of 
 twenty-five. 
 
 The Republican party has always found in 
 Air. Barnes an unfaltering adherent and he 
 never fails to keep thoroughly posted on party 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 20 7 
 
 work. Both Mr. and Mrs. Barnes have been 
 attendants of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 for many years, Mrs. Barnes being particu- 
 larly interested in the Sabbath-school, in which 
 she was for many years a teacher. 
 
 DELFORD B. BRUNSON, of Fenni- 
 more, is a representative of one of the well- 
 known pioneer families of Grant county. He 
 is a son of Ira W. Brunson, ' whose name 
 was identified with the history of the county 
 from the time of his entrance until his death, 
 Nov. 15, 1884, at the age of eighty years. 
 
 Ira W. Brunson was born at Sing Sing, 
 N. Y., May 3, 1805. His father, Asa W. 
 Brunson, a stone mason, lost his life in the 
 Hudson river by drowning, the accident oc- 
 curring while he was operating a ferry across 
 the river. The widow removed with her family 
 to Danbury, Conn., and there Ira W., at the 
 age of fifteen, became an apprentice to the 
 trade of hat making with John Foot, living 
 with him until he was nineteen. His mother 
 died in 1824, and the young man left home 
 and worked at his trade in various places, 
 bringing up at Utica, N. Y., where lie at- 
 tended school for six months. In 1827 Mr. 
 Brunson became a resident of Columbus, Ohio, 
 where he worked at his trade for several years. 
 In 1835 h e gave up hat making, and in the 
 spring of the following year, accompanied by 
 his brother Alfred and Henry Patch, left Co- 
 lumbus, and floated down the Ohio river and 
 up the Mississippi on a keel-boat to Prairie 
 du Chien. Here Mr. Brunson spent some time, 
 going back to Ohio late in the year to close 
 up his business, and move to Wisconsin. He 
 left Columbus on his way to the West in 1836. 
 The journey was a wild and perilous one, and 
 was attended by many difficulties. At Fort 
 Wayne the snow was fifteen inches deep, and 
 at South Bend the ground was bare. At Michi- 
 gan City it was once more deep snow, and at 
 Chicago bare ground. He crossed the Rock 
 river at Rockford, on the ice. From Free- 
 port to Mineral Point the way was very diffi- 
 cult. As night fell he asked for lodging at a 
 farmhouse, and was directed to a mill three 
 miles away. He found an abandoned saw- 
 mill, and no house was to be seen anywhere. 
 He spent that night in the woods, and turning 
 his horse loose to browse on the grass that 
 reached above the snow he made a path be- 
 tween two trees, and spent hours in walking 
 
 up and down. Becoming drowsy, he sat down 
 and rested his head on his saddle. He took 
 a chew of tobacco, which he swallowed. This 
 roused him so that he resumed his weary march, 
 and at last the sun rose. With his compass 
 he found his bearings, and about eleven o’clock 
 he found tire mill and the house to which he 
 had been directed the night before, but had 
 missed in the gathering shadows. He was 
 taken in and cared for by the hospitable lady of 
 the house. Fed and refreshed, he resumed 
 his journey, and reached Mineral Point at last, 
 thoroughly worn out, but glad and thankful 
 that his long journey was completed. 
 
 Mr. Brunson went into the mercantile busi- 
 ness at Cassville, in company with Mr. Sellers, 
 in 1836, but shortly after removed to Fancaster, 
 where he opened the first store in the city. 
 In 1837 he was elected collector of taxes for 
 Grant county, serving until 1840, when he 
 took a farm in the town of Mt. Hope, Grant 
 county, residing there until his death. He 
 was three times married, first time, in 1829, 
 to Margaret Benton, of Bladen, Ohio, daugh- 
 ter of Samuel and Aurelia Benton. She died 
 in 1833. In 1840 he was married, in Crawford 
 county, Wis., to Miss Henrietta Foster, a 
 daughter of Henry and Julia Foster. In 1847 
 he was married to Miss Almina Benton, a sister 
 of his first wife, who died in October, 1896. 
 Two children were born to the first marriage : 
 Mary Young, widow of William Humphrey, 
 of Patch Grove ; and Alfred, a resident of Sib- 
 ley, Iowa. To the second marriage were born 
 Benjamin F., of Kenton, Ohio; Emily M., wid- 
 ow of William Bailey, of Bloomington, Grant 
 county; and Ida E., who became the wife of Eu- 
 gene Anger, and died in October, 1896. By 
 the third marriage were born Aurelia F., wife 
 of Andrew Abram, of the town of Mt. Hope, 
 Grant county; Delford B., of Fennimore; 
 Almina, a teacher in Milwaukee; and Jennie, 
 wife of Frank Roach, of Fennimore. The 
 father was a man of more than average ability, 
 and had decided views on the issues of the 
 day. Ide improved a naturally bright mind by 
 reading and observation, and was one of the 
 best informed men in his community, was well 
 versed in the law, and had a fine memory. 
 He was honored by many local offices, though 
 he never sought public position, and was once 
 a candidate for the State Senate. His party, 
 however, was so far in the minority that he 
 could not pull through. He was a genial and 
 
208 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 courteous gentleman, and had a generous dis- 
 position. Mr. Brunson was a Methodist, and 
 fraternally a prominent Mason. He was de- 
 voted to the order, and was accustomed to at- 
 tend its sessions up to a very advanced age. 
 
 Delford B. Brunson, of Fennimore, is the 
 youngest son of his parents, and their only 
 son now living in Grant county. He was 
 born on the Mt. Hope homestead Nov. 15, 
 1858, and there remained for thirty years. In 
 1888 he located in the village of Mt. Hope, 
 and for five years was engaged in the buying 
 and shipping of live stock. In 1894 he moved 
 to Fennimore, where he is still engaged in the 
 same business. Mr. Brunson has been twice 
 married, Miss Effie Fox becoming his first 
 wife. She was a daughter of Isaac B. Fox, of 
 Mt. Hope, and died Aug. 14, 1895. His P res_ 
 ent wife was Miss Lisetta Biedermann. Two 
 children were the fruit of the first marriage, 
 Jennie and Clair. There is a daughter, Frances, 
 by his second marriage. Mr. Brunson is one of 
 the leading business men of Fennimore. Fie is a 
 stanch supporter of the Republican party, and 
 was elected to the Legislature in November, 
 1900. 
 
 JAMES MILLS, M. S., M. D., a promi- 
 nent and successful physician and surgeon of 
 Janesville, is a native of Rock county, and was 
 born on the 25th day of July, 1852. His fa- 
 ther, Peter Mills, one of the early settlers of 
 the county, was born in Perthshire, Scotland, 
 Feb. 7, 1818. He was reared in his native 
 land, and there learned the miller’s trade. He 
 was the son of Peter Mills, born in Abernethy 
 in 1761. On the 7th day of November, 1841, 
 he was united in marriage with Miss Jane Pea- 
 cock. In 1849 ' ie emigrated with his family 
 to America, locating in Rock Prairie, in Rock 
 county, Wis., where he engaged in farming. 
 His children were four in number : Mary, the 
 eldest, born May 3, 1843, ' s the wife of Alex- 
 ander McGregor; Peter, born Jan. 18, 1846, 
 enlisted during the Civil war as a member of 
 the 13th Wis. V. I., Feb. 17, 1862. and died at 
 Fort Henry, Tenm, Dec. 16, 1862; Margaret, 
 born Nov. 27, 1850, died in infancy; James, 
 subject of this sketch, is the youngest. The 
 latter was but four days old when liis father 
 died, on the farm in Rock Prairie, July 29, 
 1852, from cholera, at the age of thirty-four 
 years. Though his decease occurred thus early 
 in life, he was naturally of a robust constitu- 
 
 tion, possessing great strength and powers of 
 endurance. He was well educated, refined, in- 
 dustrious and highly esteemed. His wife, 
 after the death of her husband, succeeded, by 
 hard work and careful management, in carry- 
 ing on the farm and in providing for her fam- 
 ily in a thoroughly Christian home. I11 1858 
 she married John Henry, and they resided on 
 the old homestead, where a daughter, Mar- 
 garet Jane, was born to them March 10, 1863. 
 The last named is the wife of Robert J. Plad- 
 den, and their home is on the old farm. The 
 Doctor's mother died Feb. 2, 1891, at the age 
 of sixty-nine years. She was a devout Chris- 
 tian, and an active member of the United Pres- 
 byterian Church of Rock Prairie. She pos- 
 sessed those sterling qualities which character- 
 ize her race, and was beloved by all who knew 
 her for her many kind deeds. John Henry 
 departed this life March 17, 1891. 
 
 Dr. Mills grew to manhood on the old 
 homestead in Johnstown. He worked on the 
 farm with unceasing industry, the only relaxa- 
 tion being his attendance at the district school 
 during the winter months. In 1869 he entered 
 Milton College, where he attended several 
 terms. His ambition did not slumber, and, 
 finding himself partly dependent upon his own 
 energies to secure an education, he began farm- 
 ing for himself during the summer, attending 
 the college during the winter. In 1875 he 
 taught school in the old school house where he 
 first attended. He still pursued his college 
 course, and for several terms was one of the 
 assistant teachers. Milton College graduated 
 him in 1879, and conferred upon him the de- 
 gree of Master of Science in 1890. Immedi- 
 ately after leaving this institution he began 
 his medical studies in the office of Dr. Henrv 
 Palmer (now deceased), of Janesville, and in 
 1880 he entered the Chicago Medical College, 
 now the Medical Department of the North- 
 western University, by which college he was 
 graduated in 1883. During his last year there 
 he was appointed assistant surgeon of the Chi- 
 cago & Northwestern Railway Co., which is 
 a strong proof of the ability he possessed as 
 a student, and which afforded him a wide ex- 
 perience in surgical practice. This position 
 he held for one year. 
 
 A few days after receiving his degree of 
 Doctor of Medicine he received his appoint- 
 ment of assistant physician in the Insane Hos- 
 pital at Elgin, 111 ., where he remained two 
 

 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 209 
 
 years. His practice there afforded him valu- 
 able opportunity for acquiring knowledge con- 
 cerning the treatment of the insane. Desiring 
 to still further extend his medical researches, 
 and to widen his experience before entering 
 upon general practice, he resigned his position 
 and went to Scotland, taking a course in the 
 Edinburgh Medical University. O11 the com- 
 pletion of his course he received a diploma from 
 the Royal Maternity and Simpson Memorial 
 Hospital. Here his advantages for gaining 
 skill in the attendance upon patients, at their 
 bedside and in the operating room, were ex- 
 tensive. Going thence to London, he spent 
 several months making observations in surgery 
 at St. Thomas and King’s College Elospital, 
 under Sir James Lister and other eminent sur- 
 geons ; also in Soho Square Hospital, devoted 
 to the treatment of the diseases of women; in 
 Brompton Hospital, applying remedies for dis- 
 eases of the chest ; and in Sir Morrell McKen- 
 zie’s Hospital. He enjoyed exceptional ad- 
 vantages in this school, where he learned the 
 methods used by many of the most noted and 
 eminent physicians and surgeons in Europe, 
 and where he gained instruction that has since 
 proved of inestimable value in his practice. 
 Leaving London, the Doctor spent some time 
 in Paris, pursuing the same course, and visit- 
 ing the principal hospitals. In 1885, prior to 
 his leaving Scotland, he became a member of 
 the Edinburgh Obstetrical Society, a long-es- 
 tablished and famous organization. 
 
 In the month of August, 1885, Dr. Mills 
 returned from the old countries, and began at 
 once the practice of his profession in Janes- 
 ville, where he has since resided. Both as a 
 physician and a surgeon he has attained an 
 enviable reputation ; his energy and superior 
 ability soon placed him in the foremost rank 
 of his profession. He has a large and lucrative 
 patronage, derived chiefly from the better class 
 of people in both the city and the country. 
 He is a thorough scholar and a perfect gentle- 
 man, and has the unquestioned respect and 
 good-will of the community. Everything he 
 undertakes bears the unmistakable impress of 
 energy and sound judgment. Well-equipped 
 as the Doctor is, careful and painstaking as 
 has been his preparation for the work of a 
 successful physician, it is not to be wondered 
 at that he is considered an authority among 
 his fellow practitioners. His bearing is such’ 
 as to inspire confidence in his patients; and his 
 
 pleasant manner such as to win friends wher- 
 ever he goes. 
 
 After continuing his practice without in- 
 terruption for ten years at Janesville the Doc- 
 tor again went abroad, in 1895, for further 
 study, taking his family with him. After re- 
 maining in Edinburgh for a short time he went 
 to Dublin, taking a practical course in mid- 
 wifery in the famous old Dublin Maternity 
 Hospital. He then proceeded to London, and 
 revisited many of its hospitals. Leaving that 
 city, he reached Berlin, Germany, where he at 
 once entered the Medical Department of the 
 University of Berlin, taking special courses for 
 six months in Gynecology and the diseases of 
 women under Prof. A. Martin; in surgery un- 
 der Prof. Von Bergman; on Internal Medicine 
 under Prof. D. G. Klemperer and others. Re- 
 turning to New York City after a year's study 
 abroad, he took there a course in the Post 
 Graduate School. The Doctor is a member of 
 the Wisconsin State Medical Society; Amer- 
 ican Medical Association; and ex-president of 
 the Central Wisconsin Medical Society ; and 
 president of the Rock County Medical Society. 
 He is a well-known contributor to medical 
 journals. On Feb. 13, 1888, the Rock County 
 Caledonian Society was organized, and the 
 Doctor was chosen its president, which office 
 he held continuously for eight years. He is 
 now acting as secretary of the society. Socially 
 lie is a member of the Knights of Pythias, 
 Odd Fellows, Masons, and other societies, and 
 is secretary of the Palmer Memorial Hospital. 
 In politics he casts his vote on the Republican 
 side. His ardent and sincere love for the sol- 
 diers of the Civil war prompted him. in 1897, 
 to raise a flag. A great concourse of people 
 gathered on the lawn and street in front of 
 the Doctor’s residence in Janesville. W. H. 
 Sargent Post and the Janesville Light Infantry 
 were present, and assisted in the ceremonies. 
 The flag was raised in honor of the Grand 
 Army of the Republic, and as a memorial to 
 Peter Mills, the brother of Dr. Mills, who died 
 at Fort Henry, Tenn., and James Peacock, an 
 uncle, who was killed at Gainesville, Georgia. 
 
 Dr. Mills was married to Emma F. Cham- 
 berlain, at the home of her parents in La 
 Prairie, Rock county, May 12, 1886. .She was 
 the only child of James A. and Jane (Hum- 
 phrey) Chamberlain, and was born Jan. 2, 
 i860. She attended the home district school 
 and Milton College, from which she was grad- 
 
2 10 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 uatecl in 1878, and for several terms was a 
 teacher in the country schools. Mrs. Mills has 
 always manifested an interest in literary and 
 art studies, and is a most amiable and accom- 
 plished woman. Her father was the son of 
 James and Maria (Jackson) Chamberlain. He 
 was born March 2, 1833, in Hartford, Conn., 
 and with the family moved to the town of 
 Bradford, Rock county, when but five years 
 old. The father of this son came West in 
 1837, and built a log cabin upon his claim in 
 Bradford, and here suffered in that year many 
 privations and lonesome hours in a thinly set- 
 tled country. He was a carpenter and builder, 
 which trade he learned in England, his native 
 country, where he was born March 13, 1791, 
 in Hampshire. He emigrated to America in 
 1819. remaining in New York State four years, 
 then moved to Connecticut and in 1837, after 
 fourteen years spent there as a contractor and 
 builder, he removed 1 to the Territory of Wis- 
 consin, and took up the life of a farmer. He 
 was delegate to the first convention, at Madi- 
 son, for the framing of the State Constitu- 
 tion. He built the first courthouse in Janes- 
 ville; the first bridge across Rock river, in 
 Rock county, at that city ; the first bridges at 
 Beloit and Roscoe ; and the first school houses 
 in the towns of La Prairie and Turtle. He 
 was noted for his excellent habits, for his care 
 of his family and for his upright, honorable 
 dealings with his fellow citizens. He died at 
 the age of eighty-three, from an accident. He 
 left four children and his wife, Maria (Jack- 
 son) Chamberlain, who survived him only two 
 years. 
 
 James A. Chamberlain, the father of Mrs. 
 Mills, grew to manhood upon the farm in La 
 Prairie, and when he was married, in 1856, he 
 brought his wife there, and they spent over 
 forty years together upon the same farm. Her 
 health failed in 1898, and they left the old 
 homestead and moved to Janesville. She died 
 Jan. 15, 1899, at the age of sixty years. 
 Through her mother Mrs. Mills was a de- 
 scendant of Frederick A. and Eliza (Yates) 
 Humphrey, both of whom were born in the 
 State of New York, where they lived until 
 they moved to Shopiere, Rock county, in 1847. 
 Here they spent the greater part of 'their 
 lives, and here both died in the spring of 1896 
 — she at the advanced age of ninety, and he at 
 ninety-five. He was also a contractor and 
 builder. Eliza Yates was a direct descend- 
 
 ant of Col. Peter Yates, of Revolutionary 
 days. 
 
 Dr. and Mrs. Mills have two children ; 
 Wallace C., born in Janesville April 16, 1889; 
 and James Stewart, born in Berlin, Germany, 
 Nov. 22, 1894. The Doctor and Mrs. Mills 
 are members of the Presbyterian Church, and 
 he is one of its elders. They have a beauti- 
 ful home, an ornament to the city. 
 
 VOLNEY ATWOOD, president of the 
 Oak Hill Cemetery Association, is one of the 
 substantial and representative men of Janes- 
 ville, and has played an important part in the 
 material growth of his community. 
 
 Volney Atwood was born in Cambridge, 
 Vt., Feb. 28, 1812, a son of Levi and Lucretia 
 (Waterman) Atwood. The history of the 
 paternal grandfather of our subject is not 
 known, but the maternal grandfather was 
 Arana Waterman, a native of Connecticut, 
 who in 1801 removed to Vermont and took up 
 a large tract of land ; he died there when over 
 eighty years of age, the father of a large 
 family. The father of our subject, Levi At- 
 wood, who was a farmer, died in Vermont in 
 1812, when Volney was not quite ten months 
 old, and the mother survived him many years. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Levi Atwood had three sons : 
 Victor, Norman and Volney. Victor was a 
 business man in St. Albans, Vt., for sixty 
 years, and Norman was a farmer in Cam- 
 bridge, Vt., but both are now deceased. 
 
 Volney Atwood was reared in Vermont, 
 his mother removing to Johnson, that State, 
 about four years after her husband’s death. 
 Here our subject remained until he was eight- 
 een, when he returned to the farm at Cam- 
 bridge, and pursued the calling of a farmer 
 until 1837. When opportunity offered he at- 
 tended the public schools of his neighborhood, 
 and made the best of his opportunities. In 
 1837 he came West to Wisconsin, settling in 
 Janesville township, Rock county, where he 
 took up a tract of 320 acres. After improving 
 this land Mr. Atwood sold it, and engaged in 
 keeping a tavern. During 1845 and I 846 he 
 served his county very acceptably as sheriff, 
 and afterward engaged in general merchan- 
 dising for many years. Later, however, he 
 embarked in the hardware business, confining 
 himself exclusively to this branch of trade 
 until 1887, when he practically retired, al- 
 though since he was made president of the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 2 I I 
 
 Oak Hill Cemetery Association he has person- 
 ally attended to all its affairs. Having always 
 been a loyal. Republican Mr. Atwood has sev- 
 eral times been called upon to represent his com- 
 munity in town and county office, serving as 
 supervisor in the early days, when a number 
 of the towns were represented together ; also 
 as alderman for two years; register of deeds 
 one term; and, as before stated, as sheriff. At 
 one time Mr. Atwood was interested in the 
 cottonmill at Janesville, having assisted in its 
 organization and establishment. Another in- 
 dustry which owes much of its present pros- 
 perity to his executive ability and busi- 
 ness acumen is the Janesville shoe factory. 
 Mr. Atwood was one of the promoters who 
 induced the Chicago & Northwestern railroad 
 to come to Janesville, and although the town 
 benefited his loss in the matter was consider- 
 able. There is scarcely any line of business 
 in Janesville which has not felt the impetus 
 of Mr. Atwood’s enterprise, and among these 
 is the coal and wood business, in which he 
 engaged at one time with a Mr. Lawrence, 
 under the firm name of Lawrence & Atwood, 
 their business being the second of its kind in 
 that locality. 
 
 On June 30, 1847, Mr. Atwood married 
 Miss Catherine A. Holmes, daughter of Will- 
 iam and Rachel (Day) Holmes, and they have 
 had six children: Volney, Charles, Mary Lu- 
 cretia, Harriet Augusta and Helen Adelaide 
 (twins) and Anna E. Volney died when a 
 little over two years old, and the twins when 
 eighteen months old. Charles married Miss 
 Alta M. Doty, and they have had eight chil- 
 dren : Volney D., Abbie A., Mary Lea, Harry 
 C., Charles Starr, William Williston, Leo and 
 Edward Philo; they live in Janesville, where 
 he is engaged in the ice business. Mary Lu- 
 cretia married Edward Vernon Whiton, now 
 deceased, and had four children, Edward 
 Vernon, Lucretia, Annette T. and Victor A. 
 Miss Anna E. resides with her parents, and is 
 a very pleasant lady. 
 
 Mrs. Atwood, who is the oldest resident 
 of Janesville in length of residence, was born 
 in Newark, Licking Co., Ohio, Aug. 9. 1819, 
 and her parents were natives of Pennsylvania. 
 They moved to Ohio, settling in Marion coun- 
 ty, where they resided twelve years ; then re- 
 moved to La Porte county. Inch, and resided 
 there until 1836. In March of that year they 
 went to Rock countv, Wis., and settled in Rock 
 
 township, where Mr. Holmes purchased land 
 from the government at $1.25 an acre, obtain- 
 ing an entire section in one body, and 160 acres 
 in another, all of which is now included in 
 Janesville; also sixty acres of timber land. 
 While in Marion county, Ohio, Mr. Holmes 
 was a judge of the court for a number of 
 years, and was known as Judge Holmes, al- 
 though engaged in farming. After a long 
 and useful life Mr. Holmes died, in the spring 
 of 1861, aged eighty-one years. The father 
 of Mr. Holmes, James Holmes, a native of 
 England, came to America with two brothers. 
 Mrs. Atwood’s maternal grandfather was 
 George Day, a native of Scotland, who lived 
 to a ripe old age. 
 
 Mrs. Atwood is a consistent member of 
 the Episcopal Church, and is an earnest worker 
 in the several organizations connected with it. 
 Mr. Atwood is a member of the Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellows, and has been for fifty 
 years, filling every chair in the lodge. Hav- 
 ing always been public-spirited, he has gener- 
 ously contributed of his time and means toward 
 all improvements, and still takes a warm in- 
 terest in public affairs, the advancement of the 
 city in prosperity, the success of the party 
 whose principles he advocates, and the general 
 welfare of the community, being matters of 
 vita] importance to him. 
 
 HENRY PATCH, deceased. Prominent 
 among the citizens of Grant county who were 
 actively identified with its early development 
 and prosperity was the gentleman whose name 
 introduces this sketch. He was born in Dan- 
 bury, Conn., April 10, 1803, a son of Elijah 
 and Susana (Morgan) Patch, the former of 
 English, the latter of Scottish descent. The 
 father was born Oct. 29, 1769, and died Nov. 
 27, 1804, while the mother was born Feb. 23, 
 1780, and died in October, 1820. In the'r 
 family were eight children, five sons -and three 
 daughters, all of whom have passed away, 
 namely: John T., Prosper. Henry, Mary A., 
 Ezra, Elijah, Rebecca, and Abigail. 
 
 Henry Patch was reared in his native place, 
 and in early manhood married Miss Emily C. 
 Brunson, a sister of the well-known pioneers 
 of Grant county. Wis., Ira and Alfred Brun- 
 son. Soon after their marriage they moved to 
 Columbus, Ohio, where Mr. Patch was engag'ed 
 in farming until the fall of 1836, when, ac- 
 companied by the Brunson brothers, above 
 
2 I 2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 mentioned, he came to Grant county. For a 
 short time he lived in Section 32, in what is 
 now Patch Grove township, but in the spring 
 of 1837 located on land he had pre-empted, 
 there making his permanent home. His was 
 the fifth family in what is now Patch Grove 
 township. In his house was conducted the first 
 school of that township, and the first post-office, 
 lie serving as postmaster ; the office was given 
 the name of Patch Grove in his honor, and later 
 the township and village took the same name. 
 
 Mr. Patch became one of the most promi- 
 nent and influential men of Grant county, and 
 being public-spirited and progressive was 
 called upon to fill various local offices, the 
 duties of which lie always faithfully and con- 
 scientiously discharged. He also ably repre- 
 sented his district in the lower branch of the 
 State Legislature. He was a man of more than 
 average ability, and always took a leading part 
 in promoting those enterprises that were for 
 the best interests of the community. Generous 
 and sympathetic by nature, no one was ever 
 turned from his door without assistance, and 
 no man in the county was more highly es- 
 teemed or more sincerely respected than Henry 
 Patch. He died in the village of Patch Grove, 
 Jan. 2, 1867, and in his death the community 
 realized that it had lost one of its most valued 
 and useful citizens. As a business man he 
 had steadily prospered, and became possessed 
 of a large amount of land, both by pre-emption 
 and by purchase. 
 
 The wife who had accompanied Mr. Patch 
 from her New England home to what was then 
 the wilds of the West departed this life March 
 14, 1856, and he was again married, July 24, 
 1858, his second union being with Mrs. Louisa 
 Nelson McConnell, whose maiden name was 
 Dunbar. She died June 20, 1900. By the first 
 marriage there were eight children, four sons 
 and four daughters, but only three are now 
 (1901) living, Mrs. Cornelia W. Anderson, 
 Reed Patch and Mrs. Emma Gilpatrick. Those 
 deceased were Harriet, William H., Henry 
 W., Thomas B. and Almira. Of the three 
 children born to the second union only Mrs. 
 Jennie Lewis, born in 1861, is living, Jessie 
 and Ada L. having passed away. 
 
 STEPHEN J. BAKER, of Evansville, 
 Rock county, holds the responsible position of 
 foreman of the Baker Manufacturing Co., in 
 that city, and is one of the leading men of the 
 
 community. He understands his business thor- 
 oughly, and is a straightforward and manly 
 character. 
 
 ■Mr. Baker was born in Stephenson county, 
 111 ., Feb. 13, 1840, and is a son of John T. 
 and Jemima (Robinson) Baker, both natives of 
 Ohio. They were the parents of seven sons and 
 three daughters, and six of their children are 
 now living, David, Edward, Francis, Stephen 
 J., Allen, and Caroline (who is the wife of 
 John Davenport, of San Rafael, Cal.). John 
 T. Baker was a farmer, and one of the pioneer 
 settlers of Rock county, coming to Wisconsin 
 in 1840, and settling in the town of Union, 
 where he improved a farm, and reared a family 
 to be honorable men and women. He spent 
 the last few years of his life in Evansville, dy- 
 ing in 1876, at the age of seventy years. Plis 
 wife, the mother of Stephen J., died in the 
 town of Union in the fall of 1851, aged thirty- 
 nine years. John T. Baker was a man of promi- 
 nence in his time, and served as town clerk, 
 treasurer, and in other offices in the town and 
 district during his active years. His father, 
 Daniel Baker, was a native of West Virginia, 
 and died in Ohio at the age of sixty-five years. 
 
 Stephen J. Baker was reared on the farm, 
 and gained moral character and vital force 
 from the close touch of nature and the quiet 
 life he lived. He attended the district school, 
 and was a young man of patriotic thought and 
 feeling at the breaking out of the Civil war. 
 He enlisted in Company D, 13th Wis. V. L, 
 and followed the flag of the Union for three 
 long and bloody years ; he was on patrol duty 
 much of the time. He was at Decatur, Ala., 
 where his regiment was under fire four days 
 while Gen. Hood was crossing the Tennessee 
 at Mussels’ Shoals. The 13th had a share in 
 many expeditions, and captured many Rebel 
 prisoners, making a good record, and the old 
 veterans recall with pride the scenes and perils 
 now long past. When the war was over Mr. 
 Baker learned the blacksmith’s trade, which 
 was his occupation for a number of years. 
 Later he went into the employ of the Evansville 
 Manufacturing Co., principally engaged in the 
 production of tacks, and in 1888 he became 
 foreman of the Baker Manufacturing Co., a 
 position he still fills. The concern is a large 
 one, and produces many different articles large- 
 ly in demand in an agricultural country, such 
 as windmills, pumps, grinders, wood saws, 
 and other goods in the same line. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 213 
 
 On Oct. 6, 1868, Stephen J. Baker married 
 Miss Flora C. Allen, daughter of Heman M. 
 and Caroline (Anderson) Allen, and they had 
 one child, deceased in infancy. Mrs. Baker 
 passed away in 1874. Mr. Baker remarried 
 March 2, 1875, Miss Clare Sherman becom- 
 ing his wife, and they have an attractive home 
 on Liberty street, Evansville. They have 
 two children, Clarence S., born Feb. 3, 
 1876, and Flora Ethel, born April 14, 1881. 
 Clarence chose a position as fireman on 
 the Madison division of the Northwestern 
 railroad. Ethel is fitting herself to teach school. 
 Mr. Baker is a member of Union Lodge, No. 
 32, A. F. & A. M., and Chapter No. 35, R. A. 
 M., at Evansville. He is a Republican, and 
 was alderman of the Second ward in Evansville 
 two terms. He has been a resident of Rock 
 county sixty years. 
 
 Mrs. Clare (Sherman) Baker, wife of Ste- 
 phen J. Baker, was born May 27, 1852, near 
 Menasha, Wis., later moving to Evansville, 
 W is. Her parents, Erin and Mariam B. (Stev- 
 ens) Sherman, had three children: Elisha, who 
 died in infancy; Eva E., Mrs. Albert Snashall, 
 of Evansville, and Clare, Mrs. Baker. Her fa- 
 ther, Erin Sherman, was born in Le Roy, 
 Genesee Co., N. Y., in 1820. Fie was a con- 
 tractor and builder in his native place. Later, 
 coming West, he settled in Milwaukee, where 
 he owned a dry-goods store, and was pro- 
 prietor of the same for several years, afterward 
 moving* onto a maple sugar farm near Menasha. 
 At the time of the gold fever, in 1857, he, with 
 several companions, went to the gold fields of 
 California. In 1846 Mr. Sherman was married 
 to Mariam B. Stevens, who was the daughter 
 of Joseph and Phoebe (Eastman) Stevens, and 
 was born in Concord, N. H., June 7, 1828, 
 coming West with her mother and brothers 
 when thirteen years of age. She died in 
 Evansville, Wis., March 4, 1875. She joined 
 the L nited Brethren Church, of which she was 
 a member in good standing until her death. 
 Erin Sherman’s father, Thomas Sherman, was 
 born in the State of New York. He and his 
 wife, Sallie. (Van Gilder) Sherman, were the 
 parents of nine children, seven sons — Thomas, 
 Benjamin, William, Walter, Erin, Elisha and 
 Lucius — and two daughters — Clarissa and 
 Susan. All were born in Le Roy. Joseph 
 Stevens, father of Mrs. Mariam B. (Stevens) 
 Sherman, was born in Andover, Essex Co., 
 Mass., in 1784, and was engaged in the lumber 
 
 business, owning and operating a sawmill. 
 He died in Concord, N. H., of typhus fever. 
 He and his wife, Phoebe E. Stevens, were the 
 parents of seven children, Joseph, Phoebe, 
 William, Serena, John, Thomas and Mariam. 
 Mrs. Phoebe (Eastman) Stevens was born in 
 Londonderry, Rockingham Co., N. H., in 1783. 
 After the death of her husband she was advised 
 by his cousin, Charles Stevens, who lived in 
 Janesville, Wis., to come West with her family. 
 She did so, and bought government land sit- 
 uated north of the city of Janesville, where she 
 lived several years. Two of her sons, Thomas 
 and William, settled on farms in the town of 
 Porter, near Fulton. John settled in Janesville, 
 where he kept an hotel for a number of years. 
 Serena married and went to Michigan. Later 
 Mrs. Stevens moved to the town of Porter, 
 where she spent the remainder of her life. 
 She died in 1878, at the home of her son 
 Thomas. William Eastman, father of Phoebe 
 (Eastman) Stevens, was born in Concord, N. 
 H., in 1757. He served in the Revolutionary 
 war under Capt. Livermar and Col.. Camp- 
 bell, and was granted a pension for three 
 years’ actual service. The Eastman family 
 were all quite patriotic. 
 
 WILLIAM ELGAR, a well-to-do and 
 prominent citizen of Platteville, Grant county, 
 and ex-postmaster at that place, is one of the 
 adopted sons of America, for he was born in 
 London, England, in 1829. His parents, Will- 
 iam and Ann (Hambrook) Elgar, were natives 
 of Kent, England, and the mother died in 1841, 
 in London. The father, who was a business 
 man in Engdand, came to the United States 
 in 1851, settling in Grant county, Wis., where 
 he followed farming for some time. He died 
 in Platteville in 1873. His children were 
 William; John, a resident of Wisconsin; 
 Viroqua ; Stephen, who died in Platteville in 
 1891 ; Elizabeth, Mrs. William Cowduroy, who 
 died in the same place in 1879; and Anne, Mrs. 
 Kolb, a resident of Platteville. 
 
 The early life of William Elgar was passed 
 in 'his native land, and he attended school in 
 London. In 1831 he sailed for the New World, 
 and after a voyage of twelve weeks landed in 
 New York. After spending a short time in 
 Mineral. Point, Whs., he came to Grant county, 
 where he has since made his home. For some 
 years he was suecessfullv engaged in mercantile 
 business in Platteville, but on being appointed 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 2 14 
 
 postmaster, in February, 1886, he disposed of 
 his store. He held the office for four years, 
 discharging its duties in a most creditable and 
 satisfactory manner, and was succeeded by M. 
 P. Rindlaub. 
 
 Mr. Elgar was married in Platteville to 
 Miss Frances Kolb, a native of Chester county, 
 Penn., and to them were born three children, 
 namely: William, now a merchant of Rewey, 
 
 Wis. ; Laura, Mrs. McArthur, whose husband 
 is a lumber dealer of Minneapolis, Minn. ; and 
 George, who is married and resides in Madi- 
 son, Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Elgar was one of the founders of the 
 Episcopal Church of Platteville, of which he 
 has since been a prominent and influential 
 member, having always taken a very active 
 part in its work. Pie served as the first treas- 
 urer and clerk of the church, and has filled the 
 former office over thirty years. Fraternally 
 he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of 
 America. A man of strong individuality and 
 indubitable probity, one who has attained a 
 due measure of success in life, and whose in- 
 fluence has always been on the side of right 
 and order, this worthy citizen of Platteville 
 assuredly deserves representation in this vol- 
 ume. 
 
 TERRENCE CARRIER is a very popu- 
 lar and successful hardware merchant in the 
 city of Boscobel, and has filled the office of 
 sheriff of Grant county with marked ability. 
 He became a resident of the county in 1855, 
 at which date lie located in Muscoda, and en- 
 gaged in farming. In 1858 he moved to Bos- 
 cobel,, and resumed his trade of wagon maker, 
 which he followed for some years. Failing 
 health obliged him to seek a change of occupa- 
 tion, and he became a hotel man, being land- 
 lord of the leading hotel in the city for some 
 ten years. In 1872 Mr. Carrier was elected 
 sheriff of Grant county, and served his term 
 of office with general, satisfaction, as the result 
 of the manner in which he conducted its busi- 
 ness. In 1874 he returned to Boscobel, and 
 entered into the hardware business, in which 
 he is still engaged. 
 
 Ter rence Carrier was born in Cambridge, 
 Vt., Dec. 5, 1827, a son of Patrick and Bridget 
 (O’Neil) Carrier, both natives of County Mon- 
 aghan, Ireland. The parents' were reared and 
 married in their native county, and came to 
 the United States in 1826, settling in Vermont. 
 
 Patrick Carrier was a linen weaver in Ireland, 
 but became a farmer in this country. In 1837 
 they moved West, to the town of Tallmadge, 
 Summit Co., Ohio, and in the spring of 1849 
 came to Wisconsin, settling on a farm at Wat- 
 ertown, where the remainder of their days was 
 spent. He died at the age of eighty-three, and 
 she when seventy-five. They had a family of 
 seven children, of whom Alice, the eldest, mar- 
 ried Michael Reynolds, and lives in Vermont. 
 Terrence lives in Boscobel. Mary died at the 
 age of seventeen. Nancy married John Mc- 
 Laughlin, and lives at Watertown, Wis. 
 Amelia has been twice married, her first hus- 
 band being Francis McHugh, and her second 
 Luke Byrne, of Watertown, Wis. James re- 
 sides in Grant county. John lives in Califor- 
 nia. 
 
 Terrence Carrier removed with his par- 
 ents. to Ohio, and in 1848 made a journey of 
 exploration into Wisconsin. Being thor- 
 oughly satisfied with the outlook, lie carried 
 back such a report to Ohio that the following 
 year the entire family came West. In 1852 
 lie was married to Miss Amelia Powers, who 
 was born at Gardner, Maine, a daughter of 
 James and Julia (Clay) Powers, and at the 
 time of her marriage was residing in Janes- 
 ville, Wis. To this union three children were 
 born, Mary being the eldest; she married Will- 
 iam E. Howe. Martha Jane married Michael 
 McSpaden, of Boscobel. Alice is the widow 
 of Fred Mortimer, and has her home in Bos- 
 cobel. Mr. Carrier is a Republican, and was 
 formerly a Whig. He has held various local 
 and county offices, has served on the county 
 board, and has acted as president of the village, 
 and has been generally regarded as a man of 
 more than usual ability and character. Mr. 
 Carrier owns a fine farm of 450 acres near 
 Boscobel, and also owns the business in which 
 he is engaged. 
 
 CHARLES BLAKELY is the earliest set- 
 tler of Darlington, Lafayette county, no other 
 citizen of the place having been here at the 
 time of his location — April, 1851, ip what was 
 then a wilderness. 
 
 Mr. Blakely is a native of Ohio, although 
 descended from New England ancestry, his 
 father, Russell Blakely, having been born in 
 Vermont, and his mother, Permelia (Gale), 
 being from the same State. They removed to 
 Ohio, and some time afterward removed to 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 215 
 
 Canada, but in 1851 they located in Lafayette 
 county, Wis. Our subject was one of their 
 family of eleven children, and is the only sur- 
 viving son ; he has but two sisters, one of whom 
 resides in New Orleans, and the other in Can- 
 ada. 
 
 In 1848 our subject left Canada and went 
 to Rockford, 111 ., but returned to Canada in 
 the autumn of the same year. In the follow- 
 ing spring he returned to Rockford, went 
 thence to' Beloit, where lie learned the trade of 
 blacksmith, and has been engaged in that busi- 
 ness ever since. In 1851 he settled in Darling- 
 ton, having taken the contract for doing the 
 iron work on the first mill at that place, then 
 in process of construction, and established the 
 first blacksmith shop in the place, still contin- 
 uing work. 
 
 In Beloit our subject was' married to Miss 
 Martha Graham, a native of Canada, and four 
 children have been born of this union, Per- 
 melia, Eleanor, Charles and Elizabeth ; Charles 
 is city clerk of Darlington. Since the very be- 
 ginning of the place Mr. Blakely has resided 
 here, and has lived to see, with interest, this 
 beautiful city arise out of the wilderness, its 
 schools, churches, business blocks and fine res- 
 idences standing where lie found only depths 
 of forest. All his life he has been one of the 
 most esteemed of its citizens, and his recollec- 
 tions are most instructive and entertaining. 
 
 MORGAN J. VAN MAT RE. who resides 
 with his sister, Mrs. Mary Dobbs, in Section 
 34, Lamont township, Lafayette county, repre- 
 sents a pioneer family of southwestern Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 James Van Matre, the father of our subject, 
 came to the mining regions in 1827, with sev- 
 eral brothers, and they were well known in 
 the neighborhood of Shullsburg and at other 
 points. James Van Matre was born at Cyn- 
 thiana, Ky., and was descended from a hardy 
 race of pioneers, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject having been Morgan Van Matre, an as- 
 sociate of Daniel Boone in the early Indian 
 wars in Kentucky. James Van Matre went to 
 Ohio in his youth, and there married Sidney 
 Kelley, a native of Warren county, that State, 
 where he and his brother engaged in mining 
 for a considerable time, finally coming to Wis- 
 consin. and settling in what is now Wiota town- 
 ship, Lafayette county. When the township 
 was organized, in 1849, he was made a mem- 
 
 ber of the first board of supervisors, and he 
 continued his residence there until the close of 
 his life, his wife surviving him for a number 
 of years. A family of fourteen children was 
 born to them, of whom survive : Morgan J. ; 
 
 Mary, Mrs. Dobbs, both residents of Lamont 
 township; Jefferson, a resident of the State of 
 Iowa; John, a resident of Springfield, Mo. ; and 
 James and Andrew, residents of Wayne town- 
 ship. 
 
 Our subject was born in Ohio Aug. 18. 
 1818, being now one of the oldest men, both 
 in age and time of residence, in his part of the 
 county. He married Mary Jane Wood, who 
 died many years ago, leaving two children : 
 Washington Irving, born in 1844. a resident 
 of Wiota township; and Sidney Hannah, the 
 wife of Joseph Lovelace. Mrs. Dobbs, sister 
 of our subject, came to Lamont township in 
 1845. She has been twice married, her first 
 husband, Elijah E. Swank, dying in 1862; her 
 second husband, George Dobbs, died August 
 16, 1897. 
 
 WILLIAM R. DIXON, of Fennimore, is 
 numbered among the older settlers of Grant 
 county, his residence in the county dating from 
 Nov. 16, 1846. 
 
 Mr. Dixon was born in Kanawha county, 
 in what is now West Virginia, April 17. 1817, 
 son of Peter Dixon. His grandfather, George 
 Dixon, served as a scout in the Revolution un- 
 der Gen. Washington for some six years. He 
 was a flag bearer at the surrender of Lord 
 Cornwallis. His father was born in Scotland, 
 and when a boy was stolen and „ brought to 
 America. V illiam R. Dixon well remembers 
 his grandfather, and recalls many incidents of 
 the war of independence as related by him. 
 The maiden name of Mr. Dixon's mother was 
 Lucinda Long, and her father, Isaac Long, 
 also served in the Revolution. Both our sub- 
 ject's grandfathers died in 1844. at the age of 
 eighty-four. 
 
 Peter Dixon was one of a family of nine 
 children. He was an officer in the war of 
 1812, and four of his brothers were also 
 soldiers in that same war, two of them dying 
 in the army. Mr. Dixon was the father of 
 seventeen children, all of whom, with but one 
 exception, lived to maturity. He was twice 
 married, and his first wife, who died in 1825, 
 was the mother of William R., who, so far as 
 known, is her only surviving child. Six chil- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 216 
 
 dren of the second union are now living. The 
 father died in 1863. 
 
 The Dixon family were opposed to slavery, 
 and helped many a negro to freedom. They 
 moved into Ohio when William R. was a boy, 
 and for years were actively connected with the 
 “underground railroad.” In 1831 the grand- 
 father, George Dixon, and all his surviving 
 sons, moved into Warren county, Ind., where 
 all the older members of the family died. In 
 1846 William R. Dixon came to Grant county, 
 and on Dec. 16, following year, lie married 
 Miss Emily Mitchell, who was born near Knox- 
 ville, Tenn., and reared in Missouri, whither 
 her parents removed early in her life. They 
 died in that State while she was still a girl, and 
 she came to Grant county, making her home 
 with h^* sister. Here Mr. Dixon met and 
 married her. They were the second couple 
 married in the town of Fennimore. 
 
 Mr. Dixon had little idea of remaining 
 when he came to Grant county, and was about 
 to return to Indiana when he was asked to take 
 a school. He was willing, and a subscription 
 school was opened in what were known as the 
 Switzer and Walker settlements. Many of 
 the children who attended came from a long 
 distance. There was no school house, but a 
 log cabin was put up on Section 7 — a typical 
 frontier school house ; there were no glass win- 
 dows, but open spaces were left between the 
 logs and covered with greased paper. Cold 
 draughts blew through the building in the win- 
 ter. The seats were slabs brought from 
 Prairie du Chien. Holes were bored for the 
 legs. This school house did not fit in with 
 present-day notions, but it answered for the 
 times, and here in 1846 and 1847 Mr. Dixon 
 taught the first school in the town. He was 
 to receive ten dollars a month, and board 
 around, but money was scarce, and he never 
 secured the full amount of his wages. He had 
 about twenty scholars, and he taught the same 
 school the two following winters. School 
 commissioners had been elected, but they gave 
 little or no attention to school matters, and 
 Mr. Dixon taught his first term without a cer- 
 tificate. In 1847 he was elected school com- 
 missioner, and he was really the first commis- 
 sioner to give any attention to the public 
 schools. I11 early life he was also tax collec- 
 tor, and served on the town board for two 
 years. He was both assessor and collector in 
 1871 and 1872. 
 
 When Mrs. Dixon began keeping house on 
 Section 30, in the spring of 1848, the surround- 
 ing country was wild and unbroken. There 
 Mr. Dixon improved a farm, and afterward 
 exchanged it for one north of the village, which 
 he cultivated for twenty years. Then he sold 
 it, and bought a farm of 320 acres, which he 
 occupied until, in the spring of 1899, he sold 
 it to his son Ora. That year he and his son 
 removed to Fennimore. Now, at the age of 
 eighty-three years, William R. Dixon is re- 
 markably well for his venerable age. He has 
 done his share in the development of this 
 region. He is a Republican politically, and a 
 Methodist in religion. 
 
 Mr. Dixon lost his 'first wife in 1855, and 
 he married in April, 1859, Miss Harriet John- 
 son, who died in 1864. He was the father of 
 four children by his first marriage, two of 
 whom are now living : Mrs. Ellen Bunerman, 
 
 of Cylinder, Iowa; and Ora A., of Fennimore. 
 George and Mary L. are deceased. Emily 
 (the wife of Clark Streeter, of Iowa county) 
 and Walter are the children of the second 
 union. 
 
 William R. Dixon and his brother George 
 W. are the only members of their father’s fam- 
 ily who came to Wisconsin. George settled 
 in the town of Fennimore, where he married, 
 and he died in 1863, leaving a wife and two 
 children. The widow and one daughter have 
 passed away. The other daughter is the wid- 
 ow of Abe Howe, and lives in Fennimore. 
 
 Ora A. Dixon, the eldest son of William 
 R., was born June 20, 1850, and has always 
 lived in the immediate vicinity of his parents’ 
 home. He bought the old homestead, which 
 he has recently sold, and now resides in Fen- 
 nimore. On Nov. 4, 1876, he married Miss 
 Eliza Switzer, whose birth occurred in Fenni- 
 more July 30, 1854, a daughter of John 
 Switzer, an old pioneer of the county. To 
 this union four children have been born, and 
 three of them are living : Cora Gertrude is 
 
 the wife of William Monteith, of Clark county, 
 Wis. ; William R. is a young man, and is 
 studying electrical engineering; Katie is at 
 home; Electa Pearl died in infancy. 
 
 CHARLES ALFRED BACON, M. A., 
 occupies the position of Professor of the French 
 Language and Literature in Beloit College, and 
 also serves as librarian of that institution. Lie 
 is one of the energetic men in the Faculty, and 
 

 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 holds a prominent place in the public esteem 
 as thoroughly versed in his spec.al field, and 
 at the same time broadly informed, and an in- 
 spiring presence wherever encountered. He 
 comes of a scholarly line, and is himself de- 
 voted to the interests of true learning, with 
 an eye of kindly regard for a studious youth, 
 and a disposition to help every budding genius’ 
 unfold its wings. 
 
 Prof. Bacon was born in Bra'ttleboro, Vt., 
 in i860, and is a son of Rev. William F. and 
 Mary W. (Beal) Bacon, both natives of Mas- 
 sachusetts. Their children are as follows : 
 Prof. Charles A. ; Prof. George, vice-principal 
 of the Beloit Academy; Rev. William A., a 
 Congregational minister at Shelburne Falls, 
 Mass. ; Theodore H., a teacher in Danbury, 
 Conn. ; Arthur A., an instructor in physics 
 in Dartmouth College; and Julia A., at Med- 
 ford, Mass. The father was a teacher when a 
 young man, and in later life became a clergy- 
 man. He is living at Medford, Mass., at the 
 present time. His father, Isaac P. Bacon, was 
 a native of Bedford, Mass., born in a home that 
 had been the birthplace of eight generations 
 of the family. The ancestors of the Bacon 
 family came from the North of Ireland, and 
 located at Bedford in 1642. Michael Bacon 
 was the founder of the family in this country. 
 Isaac P. Bacon had two children, a son and 
 a daughter. He was a carriage builder, and a 
 prominent character in his day, and for many 
 years was chairman of the board of selectmen, 
 but declined to go to the Legislature. He died 
 in Bedford. 
 
 Capt. George Beal, the father of Mary W., 
 was born in Hingham, Mass., of English de- 
 scent, and it is recorded of him that he brought 
 the first steam vessel into Boston harbor ; it 
 was the old steamboat “Lincoln,” and he had 
 superintended its construction in Philadelphia. 
 He spent the greater portion of his adult life 
 on the water, and was well known in Bos- 
 ton. He reached the age of seventy-eight. 
 He was a veteran of the war of 1812. Capt. 
 Beal was the father of nine children. 
 
 Prof. Charles A. Bacon spent his youth and 
 earlier manhood in Massachusetts, graduating 
 from Dartmouth College in 1883. He im- 
 mediately began a career as a teacher which 
 has been singularly successful. His first en- 
 gagement was at the Classical Academy at 
 Hallowell, Maine, where he taught one year. 
 The young teacher passed from there to the 
 
 2 1 7 
 
 high school at Wakefield, Mass., where he 
 filled a year’s engagement. In 1885 he came 
 to Beloit to take the chair of astronomy in 
 Beloit College, and was engaged in that de- 
 partment until a recent date. In 1899 Be be- 
 came the occupant of the chair noted above, a 
 position for which he is well fitted by wide 
 study and reading, and by special work done 
 in Europe in 1888 and 1890. In 1888 the col- 
 lege library was put into his charge, and he 
 has displayed much zeal in its management to 
 accomplish the best results. He is regarded 
 as one of the pillars of Beloit College. 
 
 Prof. Bacon and Mrs. Alice G. Sheldon 
 were united in marriage July 5, 1893, and they 
 have a pleasant home at No. 641 Church street. 
 Mrs. Bacon was the widow of Preston Shel- 
 don, M. D., and the daughter of Rev. Henry 
 hi. and Frances (Foster) Grout, of Concord, 
 Mass. She had two children by her former 
 marriage, Paul G. and Rex. The Professor 
 and his talented wife are members of the Con- 
 gregational Church. He is a Republican in 
 politics. 
 
 HENRY SMITH, who is numbered 
 among the leading business men of Stitzer, 
 town of Liberty, Grant county, is a good rep- 
 resentative of the German- American element 
 in the country. 
 
 Mr. Smith was born in 1837, a son of 
 Adam Smith, also a native of Germany. In 
 1855 the latter immigrated to America with 
 his family, and the same year located in Grant 
 county, Wis., on a farm in the town of Little 
 Grant, where they resided for nine years : they 
 then removed to the town of Liberty, and set- 
 tled on a small farm near the present village 
 of Stitzer. Here Adam Smith died, in 1873, 
 his wife surviving him for five years, when 
 she too passed away. The subject of this 
 sketch was one of a family of three children, 
 two sons and one daughter. Of these, Henry 
 is the eldest. John died several years ago. 
 The daughter, Elizabeth, is the wife of Ferdi- 
 nand Hintze. 
 
 Henry Smith was about eighteen when he 
 first came to Grant county, where he has since 
 made his home, a period of over forty-five 
 years. Reared to the occupation of farming, 
 he has devoted a number of his years to that 
 pursuit, and borne his part in the develop- 
 ment and improvement of Liberty. Always 
 interested in agricultural pursuits, Mr. Smith 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 2 1 8 
 
 still owns a fine farm and pleasant home. 
 Soon after the arrival of the railroad here, in 
 1880, realizing the opportunity offered by this 
 improvement, Mr. Smith engaged in mercan- 
 tile business, and now also owns and success- 
 fully operates a meat market. At first he was 
 associated with Herman Bergheger, but. later 
 dissolved that partnership, and now conducts 
 the business alone. 
 
 Henry Smith married Miss Mary Ann Gar- 
 ner, daughter of Daniel Garner, of Pennsyl- 
 vania, and four sons and five daughters have 
 been born of this union. 
 
 One reason why Mr. Smith is so deeply in- 
 terested in the railroad at Liberty is on ac- 
 count of his association with it, for in 1856-57 
 he assisted in the construction, near Bridge- 
 port, of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul. 
 Railroad, the first that entered Grant county. 
 During the time of his association therewith 
 Mr. Smith worked under Joseph Nathan, one 
 of Grant county's well-known citizens. In 
 political affiliations Mr. Smith is a Republican, 
 and has held several local offices, serving most 
 acceptably. Although he never enjoyed any 
 educational advantages outside his native coun- 
 try, he is well informed and capable, and, by 
 his industry, honesty and thrift, has firmly 
 established himself among the prominent mer- 
 chants and representative men of his locality. 
 
 HENRY TARRANT was born in Berk- 
 shire, England, May 23, 1833, son of George 
 and Mary Ann (Chandler) Tarrant. The 
 father was overseer for a large land owner in 
 England, and a gardener by occupation. He 
 had married the daughter of an English malt- 
 ster, William Chandler, who lived to a good 
 old age; he had four children. George Tar- 
 rant, Sr., grandfather of our subject, died in 
 England in middle life, leaving a family of 
 six or seven children. 
 
 In 1850 George Tarrant, the father of our 
 subject, emigrated to America and located at 
 Janesville, Wis. There he purchased land, and 
 had expected to engage in floral culture, but 
 three months after his arrival he died, aged 
 forty-six years. His widow survived many 
 years, passing away in 1897, aged eighty-one 
 years. They were Episcopalians in early life, 
 and later Methodists. Six of their children 
 lived to maturity, four sons and two daugh- 
 ters, as follows: Henry, our subject; George, 
 
 of Durand, Wis. ; Sarah, wife of W. Id. How- 
 
 ard, of La Prairie; Charles, of Janesville; 
 Fannie, wife of James Beswick, of Rock town- 
 ship ; and William, of Custer, South Dakota. 
 
 Henry Tarrant, our subject, had lived four- 
 teen years in Berkshire and three years in Lon- 
 don, England, prior to coming to America. 
 He had attended the common schools, and in 
 London served as a messenger boy. Coming 
 to America in 1850 with his parents, he went, 
 after his father's death, to Vernon county, 
 Wis., and there, near Virocjua, entered 120 
 acres of land. He remained there only two 
 years, and in 1854 returned to Janesville, 
 where for a year he operated a sawmill. Mr. 
 I arrant then bought eighty acres of land in 
 Section 31, La Prairie township, and settled 
 down to the active and, to him, the successful 
 life of a farmer. His present home of 320 
 acres, comprising the north half of Section 28, 
 La Prairie township, he purchased in 1878, and 
 here he has resided ever since, operating and 
 improving his broad acres, and ranking high 
 among the agriculturists of Rock county. 
 
 Mr. Tarrant married, Dec. 26, 1857, Miss 
 M; irgaret Jane Arnold, daughter of John and 
 Laura (Kemmerer) Arnold, natives of Penn- 
 sylvania, and the parents of thirteen children, 
 of whom eleven grew to maturity. Seven of 
 these are now living: Freeman, of B rod- 
 
 head, Wis. : William, of Bristow, Iowa ; Eman- 
 uel, of Plymouth township, Rock county; 
 Margaret J., wife of Henry Tarrant; Sarah 
 E., wife of Joseph Van Buskirk, of Blairs- 
 burg, Iowa ; Christiana, widow of Richard 
 Van Buskirk, of Allison, Butler Co., Iowa; and 
 John, twin brother of Christiana. John Ar- 
 nold was a farmer, and migrated to Wisconsin 
 in 1843, settling in Rock township, Rock coun- 
 ty. Two. years later he removed to Plymouth 
 township, took up a farm from the govern- 
 ment, and lived there until his death, June 13, 
 1871, at the age of sixty-six years. He was 
 most highly respected for his integrity and 
 high character. His wife died Jan. 15, 1878, 
 in her seventieth year. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Tarrant have been born 
 ten children, seven sons and three daughters, 
 as follows : (1) Ella R. married Edward 
 
 Kelly, and lives at Elma, Iowa. They have 
 two children living, Harland and Clare C. 
 
 (2) Clara Jane died aged thirty-eight years. 
 
 (3) Elmer C. married May Eddy, and is a 
 liveryman of Janesville. They have one son, 
 Leland. (4) Irving H., a Milwaukee drug- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 gist, for his first wife married May Sherman, 
 now deceased, by whom he had one child, Stan- 
 ley S. For his second wife lie married Selena 
 Stephens, by whom he has one child, Loraine. 
 (5) Willis M. died in infancy. (6) Arthur 
 died in infancy. (7) Lester M. died in in- 
 fancy. (8) Willard M.. who lives on the 
 home farm, married Cora Eddy, and has three 
 children, Lyle Id., Beulah May and Floyd. 
 (9) Ray G. married Bertha Howard, now de- 
 ceased, and they had one child, Russell. (10) 
 Ethel G. lives at home. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Tarrant are prominent mem- 
 bers of the M. E. Church, of which he is stew- 
 ard. Politically lie is a Republican. Mr. 
 Tarrant was twice elected to the State Assem- 
 bly, serving continuously from 1889 to 1893; 
 filled a vacancy as county treasurer for seven 
 months; and has been called upon repeatedly 
 to fill local offices. For eleven years be has 
 been supervisor, town clerk sixteen years, and 
 chairman of the county board of supervisors 
 two years. For many years he has served as 
 school clerk and director. Ide is one of the 
 most progressive and influential citizens of La 
 Prairie township. 
 
 RUFUS B. SHEFFER is, so far as is 
 known, the oldest living native-born son of 
 Wisconsin in the State, where his parents were 
 among the very first settlers. He was born 
 in New Diggings township, Lafayette county, 
 Nov. 16, 1830, son of Peter and Elizabeth 
 (Bean) Sheffer. 
 
 Peter Sheffer was born in Henderson coun- 
 ty, Ky., in 1798, son of Pennsylvania Germans. 
 His wife, Elizabeth (Bean), was born at St. 
 Charles, Mo., daughter of Ahab Bean, a na- 
 tive of Tennessee, who located in Benton 
 in 1827, and died there at the age of eight v- 
 four. In 1827 Peter Sheffer came to Wiscon- 
 sin from Kentucky, and two years later mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Bean. Her family were the 
 first to ever reach Galena, 111 ., by boat. After 
 their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Sheffer settled in 
 New Diggings township, and he followed min- 
 ing as a means of earning a livelihood. They 
 made their home there continuously, with the 
 exception of five years passed in Missouri, a 
 part of which time Mr. Sheffer worked in the 
 mines in Wisconsin, leaving his family in the 
 West. During the Black Hawk war he was 
 a volunteer under Capt. Dodge. His death 
 occurred in 1872, that of his wife in 1852, and 
 
 2 1 9 
 
 they left nine children, of whom Rufus B. is 
 the eldest. Of the others, Alzina is the widow 
 of Andrew Lindsey, of Cuba City, Wis. ; 
 Mary, wife of Sebra Beeman, of Kansas; Hes- 
 ter. wife of a Mr. Holder, of Denver, Colo. ; 
 Emily, wife of Charles A. Doan, of St. Joseph, 
 Mo. ; Henry, of Los Gatos, Cal. ; James A., of 
 North Dakota; and George P., of New Dig- 
 ging's, representative in the Legislature from 
 his district in 1896. The last named was a 
 member of Company C, 33d Wis. V. I., in the 
 Civil war. He married, and has three chil- 
 dren, John W., Charles H. and Bell. 
 
 Rufus B. Sheffer would have had a poor 
 chance indeed for an education had the family 
 not moved to Missouri during his boyhood. 
 There were no schools in Wisconsin at that 
 time near enough for him to attend, and an 
 education would have been almost an impos- 
 sibility had the family not spent that five years 
 West, where he had the advantage of subscrip- 
 tion schools — an advantage of which he eagerly 
 availed himself. His principal work in his boy- 
 hood days was on his father’s farm. With 
 the outbreak of the Civil war he shouldered 
 his musket and marched to the front, a member 
 of Company E, 43d Wis. V. I., and served in 
 the Western Arm)-’ until the close of the war ; 
 while in Tennessee he was in the engagement 
 at Johnsonville, on the Tennessee river. After 
 his return from war he settled in the town of 
 New Diggings, and there lived until 1884, 
 when he sold that land and moved to his pres- 
 ent farm, known as a part of Abraham Loo- 
 ney’s old homestead. This farm consists of 
 eighty acres, all finely cultivated, and with 
 good improvements. 
 
 During his army service, in 1864. Mr. 
 Sheffer wedded Miss Matilda A. Sheffer. born 
 near Henderson, Ky., in 1844, daughter of 
 David and Eliza C. Sheffer, representatives of 
 one of the old Kentucky families who passed 
 their lives there. Besides Mrs. Matilda A. 
 Sheffer there are four other children of David 
 Sheffer still living: Thomas; John; Lucy, now 
 Mrs. John Jones, of Kentucky; and Robert, of 
 Pine Bluff, Ark. To Mr. and Mrs. Rufus B. 
 Sheffer five children have been born, of whom 
 the following is the record: Robert S., a farm- 
 er of New Diggings, born in January, 1865, 
 married Elizabeth Peasley, and has two chil- 
 dren, Ural and Zula B. ; Albert Frederick, a 
 farmer and miner of New Diggings, born Sept. 
 20, 1866, married Miss Mary Ellen Corr, and 
 
220 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 has one daughter, Mary; David E., a farmer 
 of New Diggings, born in May, 1868, mar- 
 ried Miss Annie Lowe, of Lafayette county, 
 and has two children, Gladys and Clyde V.; 
 Lilly Josephine; and Lizzie B. , born in August, 
 1879, a graduate of the Lead Mine school 
 class of 1899, is at home. 
 
 Rufus B. Sheffer has always been a Re- 
 publican. His father before him was a stanch 
 A\ hig, and while both took an active part in 
 public affairs there have been no evidences of 
 any official aspirations. In religious belief the 
 family were raised in the Methodist Church, 
 and have been active in Christian work. So- 
 cially Rufus B. Sheffer is a member of the 
 1 . O. O. L., Lead Mine Lodge, No. 168. 
 
 _ HON. CORNELIUS MORTIMER 
 TREAT. A splendid specimen of what for 
 some years has been called the “old school” 
 of gentlemen may be found in the personality 
 oi Mr. Treat, for many years a prominent 
 citizen of Clinton, Rock county. He embodies 
 those traits of dignity, broad-mindedness and 
 kind-heartedness which command universal es- 
 teem and respect. Mr. Treat is self-educated, 
 in the sense that his' school days were limited 
 to a few terms’ attendance at the district 
 schools of his youth, but the broader educa- 
 tion of worldly experience has been his, sup- 
 plemented by application to books by his own 
 fireside. The thoroughness of the education 
 thus attained is amply attested by his long and 
 successful career as county superintendent of 
 schools, and by his entire life work. Mr. Treat 
 was born in Angelica, Allegany Co., N. Y., 
 April 25, 1817, son of Amaziah and Sallie 
 (Colvin) Treat, natives of Massachusetts and 
 Vermont, respectively. 
 
 Cornelius Treat, his grandfather, was a na- 
 tive of Massachusetts, of English and Scottish 
 descent, and for seven years was a soldier in 
 the Revolutionary war, being present at the 
 surrender of Gen. Burgoyne. He participated 
 once in an expedition against the Indians, and 
 had a thrilling and narrow escape from death. 
 Joining Capt. Woodward’s Company of Rang- 
 ers, in New York State, he marched with 1 them 
 to Lort Schuyler, where Utica now stands, and 
 thence proceeded in a northwesterly direction 
 in search of hostile Indians. They numbered 
 sixty-two men, rank and file, and were guided 
 by a faithful Indian who forewarned them of 
 danger. Heedless, the captain advanced, until 
 
 finally, surrounded by the savages in greatly 
 superior numbers, they were ambushed and the 
 entire party killed except Mr. Treat, who fled 
 and secreted himself in a fallen tree that was 
 partly split open. Into this log he crawled, 
 feet foremost, with his rifle at command, in- 
 tending to sell his life as dearly as possible. 
 The Indians in pursuit stood upon the fallen 
 tree and there conversed, then continued on- 
 ward in their search without discovering him. 
 He lay there all night, and in the morning 
 started for Lort Schuyler, which lie reached 
 twenty-four hours later. Cornelius Treat fol- 
 lowed farming in New York State, and for 
 many years was a justice of the peace. He 
 reared a large family, and lived to the age of 
 eighty years. The maternal grandfather of 
 our subject, Rufus Colvin, was a native of 
 Vermont, of Scottish and English extraction. 
 He followed farming, reared a large family, 
 and died in Monroe county, N. Y., only a 
 half-mile distant from the home of our sub- 
 ject’s paternal grandfather. 
 
 Amaziah Treat, the father of our subject, 
 was born in 1784. He served in the war of 
 1812, and was at Lort Erie when it was blown 
 up. He was a farmer and millwright, and in 
 1818 removed from Angelica, N. Y., to south- 
 ern Illinois, where he died of malarial fever 
 the following year, aged thirty-five. His wife 
 survived him many years. She removed from 
 New York to Ohio, and thence, in 1847, to 
 Wisconsin, locating in the town of Turtle, Rock 
 county, where she died when over seventy 
 years of age. In religious faith she was a de- 
 vout member of the Baptist Church. To Ama- 
 ziah and Sallie Treat were born four children, 
 three daughters and one son, of whom two 
 are now living: Cornelius M., our subject; 
 
 and Adeline, wife of Joel Miner, of Turtle 
 township. Rock county. 
 
 Cornelius M. Treat, our subiect. when three 
 vears old was taken by his widowed mother to 
 Monroe county, N. Y., where he was reared 
 on the farm, receiving his education in the dis- 
 trict schools. When nineteen years old, in 
 1876, he removed with his mother to a farm 
 near New London, Huron Co., Ohio, where 
 for nine years he taught school in winters and 
 worked on the farm in summers, also making 
 brick for two seasons. 
 
 On Aug. 29, 1841, at Ruggles, Ohio, Mr. 
 Treat married Miss Phebe Alvira Curtis, 
 daughter of Charles and Jemima (Treat) Cur- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 22 I 
 
 tis. In 1847 Mr. Treat removed with his fam- 
 ily and mother to Rock county, Wis., making 
 the journey by team, and consuming sixteen 
 days on the trip, which can now be made by 
 rad in eleven hours. Mr. Treat purchased 
 eighty acres of land in Turtle township, which 
 he improved and occupied. In 1849 he leased 
 a hotel at Belvidere, 111 ., which he kept be- 
 tween three and four years, removing in 1853 
 to Janesville, Rock Co., Wis., where he bought 
 property, and operated for three years an ex- 
 press between Janesville and Belvidere, at the 
 latter place connecting for Chicago with the 
 newly-built Galena & Chicago Union railroad 
 (now the Northwestern). Mr. Treat hauled 
 many loads of goods between the termini of 
 his express route, the round trip requiring 
 three days. In 1856 he sold out this business, 
 and purchased in Turtle township a farm of 
 100 acres, to which he removed from Janes- 
 ville. Here for eight years he farmed in sum- 
 mer, teaching school in winter. He was for 
 nine years town superintendent of schools, and 
 county superintendent for eight years ; while 
 serving ,in the latter capacity lie examined both 
 the present State supply and his immediate 
 predecessor for a certificate to teach. 
 
 On Dec. 24, 1868, Mr. Treat removed with 
 his family to the village of Clinton, having 
 erected his present attractive home, his wife 
 planting the seeds for some of the large trees 
 which now adorn the lawn. Since coming to 
 Clinton Mr. Treat has engaged in the fire in- 
 surance business. To Mr. and Mrs. Treat 
 were born two children, Emily Diadama and 
 Curtis Mortimer. Emily Diadama married 
 Oscar C. Gates, who is now deceased ; she has 
 three children, Cyrus Mortimer, Allee and Vol- 
 ney Curtis. Curtis M. married Miss Jennie 
 Farrington, and they have two children, Lil- 
 lian Gertrude and Leona Farrington; they re- 
 side at Buffalo, N. Y., where he is secretary 
 of the Merchants Exchange, the fore-runner 
 of the Pan-American Exposition. 
 
 Politically our subject is independent. He 
 served as a member of the State Assembly in 
 1862-63. Mr. Treat is a prominent Mason, a 
 member of Good Samaritan Lodge, No. 135, 
 F. & A. M., Beloit Chapter, No. 9, R. A. M., 
 and Beloit Command ery. No. 6, K. T. In all 
 his successes his amiable and good wife has 
 done her part, and they deserve mutual credit 
 for the sunshine which they have scattered 
 about them in the pathway of life. This aged 
 
 couple have won the kindest regard and the 
 deep affection of all who know them, by their 
 charitable works and many good deeds. 
 
 MRS. ORSON M. RICHARDS. One of 
 the well-known and honored names of Grant 
 county was that of Orson M. Richards, who 
 passed out of life in March, 1887, and his 
 estimable widow resides in Elmo, Grant county, 
 where she is much esteemed. 
 
 Mrs. Richards was born in Clinton county, 
 HI-, March 14, 1832, a daughter of James and 
 Narcissa (Gingles) Jones, the former of whom 
 was born in Washington county, Va., in 1796, 
 and the latter in North Carolina, in 1806. 
 They were married in Illinois, and came to 
 Galena early in 1822, Mr. Jones going out from 
 there as one of the Home Guards in the Black 
 Hawk war. By profession he was an editor, 
 and managed and edited the well-known 
 “Miner’s Journal,” the first paper printed in 
 Galena, III, up to the time of his death, in 
 1834. He left a wife and five children to 
 mourn nis demise: Isabella was the wife of 
 William Reves, of Missouri ; Henry married 
 and settled in Tennessee, where he died when 
 only twenty-six; Emily died in Galena, when a 
 girl of thirteen; Oswald died in Lafayette 
 county when a young man; Airs. Richards 
 being the only survivor. 
 
 Our subject grew to beautiful womanhood 
 in Galena, where she was educated, and in 1S51 
 married Orson M. Richards, of Grant county, 
 Wis., who was born in Morgan county, 111 ., 
 Jan. 31, 1831. With his parents he came to 
 Wisconsin, settling at Elk Grove, Lafayette 
 county, and later moving to Big Patch, 
 Grant county. Soon after marriage Air. 
 Richards purchased the farm in Elk Grove 
 where they lived at the time of his death. 
 Mr. Richards was a man well and favor- 
 ably known in this section for his many 
 excellent traits of character, and in his 
 death the township lost one of its most pro- 
 gressive and energetic men. For many years 
 he had been actively identified with the Republi- 
 can party, and all his life bore the reputation 
 of one whose word was as good as his bond. 
 Seven children were born to Mr. and Airs. 
 Richards : ( 1 ) Walter, born in Grant county, 
 in 1852, lives in Aladison, in declining health. 
 (2) Isabella was born in Lafayette county in 
 1855, and is the wife of W. D. Millman, who 
 resides on his farm in Lafayette county ; they 
 
2 2 2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 have two children, Lora and Benny. (3) 
 Mary, born in Lafayette county in i860, was 
 educated in the Platteville Normal School. 
 (4) Grant, born in September, 1862, began 
 the study of law in 1884, under James Murphy, 
 continuing for two years, and was admitted 
 to the Bar at Wichita, Ivan., in 1886; on ac- 
 count of ill health he changed to newspaper 
 work, editing the Newton Daily Republican 
 until 1889, and displayed talents of a high 
 order. Mr. Richards was married in 1889 to 
 Miss Frances Scribner, of Newton, Ivan., and 
 they moved to Santa Rosa, Cal., where he died 
 in 1898. During his residence in California 
 he was the brilliant editor of the Santa Rosa 
 Republican , gaining the favor of a large bodv 
 of patrons. His death took out of life a 
 bright and scholarly young man, and he was 
 most sincerely mourned by a large circle of 
 friends. His widow survives. (5) Rachel was 
 born in 1865, died in 1889, leaving a vacant 
 place in the home circle which can never be 
 filled. (6) Milton, born in Lafayette county in 
 August, 1867, was appointed station agent for 
 the Chicago & Northwestern Railway at Elmo, 
 Grant county, in 1888, and acceptably filled 
 that position until his death, in 1897, this sad 
 event being a heavy blow to his deeply bereaved 
 mother. (7) Eva, born in September, 1871, 
 grew up in Lafayette county, was educated in 
 the schools of Wisconsin, and is now filling 
 the position of agent and telegraph operator at 
 Elmo station, on the Northwestern railroad. 
 
 Mrs. Richards has reared her family in the 
 Presbyterian Church, and they are most highly 
 esteemed. As politicians, Mr. Richards and 
 his sons were of the Republican faith, active 
 and energetic in work for the party. Mrs. 
 Richards and the family are among the best 
 citizens of Grant county. She is a lady of re- 
 finement and culture, whom sorrow has visited 
 only to leave her a nobler woman. 
 
 CONRAD NAPP (deceased) was an early 
 settler in Grant county, having' come here in 
 1846. Lie was born in Werlau, Prussia, Oct. 
 15, 1829, a member of a family of nine chil- 
 dren, six sons and three daughters. The father 
 of these, also named Conrad, brought his family 
 to the United States in the year named above, 
 and settled on an improved farm at Hurricane, 
 in Lancaster township, Grant Co., Wis. There 
 the parents passed the remainder of their lives, 
 the mother passing away Nov. 27, 1872, and 
 
 the father March 3, 1885. The surviving mem- 
 bers of the family are Jasper and Anton. Mrs. 
 Sophia Gelbach died Jan. 24, 1900; Philip 
 died in April, 1900; Mrs. Mary Ann Pabst, 
 William, Charles, Mrs. Catherine Hain and 
 Conrad are also deceased. 
 
 Conrad Napp remained with his parents 
 until his marriage, Feb. 28, 1849, to Miss 
 Ann Elizabeth Bruick, a daughter of Philip 
 and Christiana Bruick, and born in the same 
 town in Prussia in which her husband had his 
 birth: She came to the United States in 1848, 
 in company with her parents, whose family 
 comprised Catherine, who afterward became 
 Mrs. Llenry Llall and died several years ago; 
 Ann Elizabeth, Mrs. Napp; and Christiana, 
 who became Mrs. Will Belscamper, and died in 
 February, 1883. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Con- 
 rad Napp settled on forty acres of timber land 
 near Hurricane. This tract Mr. Napp parti- 
 ally cleared up, but he also gave a great deal of 
 his attention to lead mining. About six years 
 later he sold his place and rented his father’s 
 farm, on which he lived three years, and then 
 bought a farm in the township of Waterloo. 
 Three years later he lost his house by fire, and 
 soon afterward sold the land, purchasing a 
 farm two miles from Lancaster, owned by John 
 Schreiner. Here he again lost his house by 
 fire, but rebuilt, and traded the place for a 
 farm in Fennimore township, adjoining a tract 
 of eighty acres which he had purchased some 
 time previously. His farm now comprised 
 240 acres. Later he added another tract, of 
 eighty acres. When Mr. Napp became well 
 advanced in years he sold his entire estate, 
 of 320 acres, to his eldest son, but 120 acres are 
 still in the possession of the family. In 1885 
 Mr. Napp retired to a pleasant home in Lan- 
 caster, where his widow and her daughter 
 Mattie still reside, and where lie passed away 
 Aug. 31, 1893. He was greatly respected as 
 a citizen, and a Christian gentleman, he and 
 wife having been members of the Presbyterian 
 Church for manv years. When he was called 
 away Grant county suffered a severe loss, as 
 he had ever been a most public-spirited man, 
 and ready at all times to contribute of his 
 means to the promotion of the welfare of his 
 township and county. 
 
 Mr. Napp, at his death, left his widow with 
 nine children, viz. : Elizabeth, Mary Margaret, 
 Conrad, Charles Philip, Caroline, Emma, John 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 223 
 
 Calvin, David and Mattie. Mrs. Napp, as was 
 her husband, is held in the highest esteem by 
 all who knew her, or who knew him. 
 
 ISAAC TIXDELL. Among the respected 
 citizens of Beetown township, Grant county, 
 no one deserves more esteem than Isaac Tin- 
 dell, the subject of this sketch, who is an honor- 
 ed veteran of the Civil war. Mr. Tindell is a 
 native of Tennessee, having been born in Knox- 
 ville, that State, in 1834, and coming in the 
 family migration to Illinois, and thence to Wis- 
 consin, where settlement was made at Mont- 
 fort. The father returned to Illinois where he 
 died in 1864, the mother passing away a few 
 years ago, at the age of seventy-five years. 
 Since 1852 our subject has been a resident of 
 Beetown township, where he is well known 
 and highly regarded. On July 19, 1853, at 
 Dubuque, Iowa, Mr. Tindell was married to 
 Miss Maria Polkinghorn, who died Feb. 10, 
 1900. Eleven children were born of the union, 
 six now living, four sons and two daughters. 
 
 On the organization of the 43d Wis. V. I., 
 our subject enlisted for service in the Civil 
 war, in August, 1864. The service of this regi- 
 ment was principally in Tennessee, and our 
 subject was for a considerable time on detached 
 duty, being at one season in the engineer corps. 
 Although seeing hard and continuous service, 
 Mr. Tindell escaped serious illness of wound, 
 but suffered a sunstroke, at Nashville, and has 
 never recovered entirely from this affliction, 
 being able to do little manual labor. He enjoys 
 the esteem of his old neighbors and friends, 
 for his duty was bravely done when he had the 
 strength. Like many others of the old vet- 
 erans, he sees the shadows beginning to creep 
 nearer, although he can not realize the blank 
 which will be felt by the younger generation, 
 when the last “old soldier” shall have stolen 
 away to the great camp of the Hereafter. 
 
 JAMES BENNETT, of Willow Springs, 
 Lafayette county, who resides on Section 33, 
 Town 3, Range 3, East, is one of the pioneers 
 of his town. 
 
 James Bennett, his father, was born about 
 1807, in Cornwall, England, where he was 
 reared a miner, and where he married Mary 
 Record. In 1837 the family, then consisting 
 of the parents and four children, three sons 
 and one daughter, came from England to Wis- 
 consin, journeying directly to Mineral Point, 
 
 where the father engaged in mining. At that 
 time Indians and wild animals were numerous, 
 and in all respects the country was a hardly 
 discovered wilderness, the only white citizens 
 being the few miners. The wife and mother, 
 unused to such pioneer life, besought her hus- 
 band to return to England. Mr. Pilling, to 
 whom Mr. Bennett sold his mineral, was, on 
 account of the stringency of money, unable to 
 pay cash for the same, and so turned over to 
 Mr. Bennett a quarter section of land, which 
 became the family homestead, and where our 
 subject still lives. This is but an illustration 
 of the chance or Providence that determines 
 ones lot; had Mr. Bennett secured cash for 
 his ore, he would have taken his people back 
 to England, and everything would have been 
 vastly different. The land was heavily tim- 
 bered, but in due time James Bennett, the son. 
 succeeded in clearing it up and reducing it 
 to the condition of a model Wisconsin farm. 
 
 James Bennett, Sr., was an industrious and 
 hard-working man, of exceedingly powerful 
 physique, and possessed an iron constitution. 
 As an illustration of his powers of endurance 
 it is remembered that at one time, having pur- 
 chased a lead mine, shortly after he had located 
 on the farm, he was accustomed to walk to his 
 work in the morning, and home again at night, 
 making a daily tramp of sixteen miles, besides 
 doing a long day of hard work. That the 
 mine developed well, and richly rewarded his 
 intense exertions, would seem only a fair deal- 
 ing of fortune. For some years he lived in 
 Mineral Point, that he and his family might 
 be near the mine, and then, returning to the 
 farm, erected the stone house where he and 
 his wife passed their last days, and where his 
 descendants are still living. Of the four chil- 
 dren of this honest and worthy couple who 
 came with them from England, it is possible 
 that James Bennett is the only one now living. 
 John, the eldest, was killed by foul air at 
 Galena, when about nineteen years old. Mary 
 Ann married Charles Cox, and after his death 
 became the wife of Zacharias Warren; she 
 died in April, 1881. William went to Cali- 
 fornia with his father, soon after the discoverv 
 of gold in that region ; after returning to Wis- 
 consin he journeyed into the West, and his 
 whereabouts to-day are entirely unknown. 
 Mrs. Catherine Jane Burg, of Mineral Point, 
 another daughter, was born in Mineral Point. 
 
 James Bennett, Jr., whose name opens this 
 
224 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 sketch, was born in England in 1832, and came 
 to America with his parents, and he has had 
 his home where he now lives since the first 
 venture of the parents into agricultural life. 
 Going to California in 1854, he returned in 
 1859, after an eventful and varied experience 
 in the land of gold. James Bennett, Jr., mar- 
 ried Hannah Jetfery, a native of England, who 
 died Feb. 1, 1881, the mother of six children: 
 William G., whose farm adjoins that of his 
 father; Nellie, the wife of Benjamin Mitchell, 
 of Willow Springs; Robert, also a resident of 
 Willow Springs; Byron, living at the family 
 homestead; and Phillipia and James, both of 
 Willow Springs. 
 
 Byron Bennett, who lives on the fam- 
 ily homestead, and on whom its management 
 and work now very largely fall, was born at 
 his present home March 1, 1871, and has 
 always lived at home, from an early age reliev- 
 ing his father from much care and worry. 
 Byron Bennett was married to Miss Mary 
 Ellen King, a daughter of William John and 
 Mary Ann (Ferreill) King, and to this union 
 have come two children: Henry R., born Oct. 
 10, 1897; and Hannah Irene, born April 29, 
 1900. 
 
 WILLIAM M. ELDREDGE belongs to 
 the present generation of business men of Janes 
 ville, whose native intelligence, sound common 
 sense, good judgment, and enlightened public 
 spirit, have done so much toward the up- 
 building and improvement of the city. He 
 was born at Clinton, Oneida Co., N. Y., Nov. 
 1, 1848, son of Barnabas B. and Louisa M. 
 (Hutchins) Eldredge. The original home of 
 the family was in Wales, whence emigrated his 
 great-great-grandfather, who settled on the 
 rockgirt peninsula of Cape Cod. I he story of 
 his ancestry is most interesting, and for its 
 recital in detail the reader is referred to the 
 biographical sketch of his father, B. B. Eld- 
 redge, which may be found elsewhere in this 
 volume. 
 
 Our subject was but a child when his par- 
 ents made their home in Janesville, bringing 
 him with them. Lie attended the public schools 
 in that place, and later for a year the Liberal 
 Institute, at Clinton, Oneida Co., N. Y., of 
 which school his father was an alumnus. For 
 some two years after returning home he was 
 content to hold a clerical position in various 
 stores. His next experience was as an as- 
 
 sistant to the distinguished civil engineer, Capt. 
 Edward Ruger, with whom he was associated 
 five or six years. He next studied pharmacy, 
 and was one of the first twenty-five applicants 
 to whom the State Board of Pharmacy (in the 
 year of its official existence) granted certificates 
 on June 1, 1882. For some sixteen or seven- 
 teen years he was identified with the drug 
 business, but he is now a successful real, -estate 
 agent, of quick perception, flawless memory and 
 unfailing tact. 
 
 Mr. Eldredge married Sarah C. Pease, and 
 has one daughter, Louise H., wife of John 
 Barlass, of Janesville, Wis. Flis wife's father, 
 John J. R. Pease, married Cornelia M. Ruger. 
 Mrs. Eldredge has been confirmed in the Epis- 
 copal Church. In private life Mr. Eldredge 
 is universally popular. - Generous and genial, 
 he readily makes friends, whom he retains 
 through his high sense of moral obligation. 
 He is a Republican in politics. Socially he is 
 a member of Janesville Lodge, No. 55, A. F. 
 & A. M. ; and of Janesville Chapter, No. 5, 
 R. A. M. His home is at No. 65 Prospect 
 avenue. 
 
 SAMUEL BRUCE BUCKMASTER, 
 M. D., is one of the best-known physicians of 
 the Northwest. His learning and character 
 command the confidence of the public, and he is 
 rapidly acquiring a National reputation in cer- 
 tain important departments of medical science. 
 
 Dr. Buckmaster was born in Lima, Ohio, 
 April 26, 1853, and is now at the full prime 
 of his manly powers. Fie has had an extensive 
 and varied experience, and is an alert and vig- 
 orous man. He is a son of Samuel R. and 
 Mary (Tracy) Buckmaster, both natives of 
 Pennsylvania, who were the parents of five 
 sons and two daughters, four of whom are 
 now living: Joshua, at San Francisco; Ella, 
 
 Mrs. Thompson, of Chicago; Dr. Samuel B.; 
 and Harry E., of Chicago. Samuel R. Buck- 
 master was a manufacturer in Ohio, whither 
 his parents moved when he was only six months 
 old, settling in Holmes county, and living there 
 some years. There he grew to manhood, and 
 there he was married. About 1835 he located 
 at Lima, Ohio, and engaged in the manufacture 
 of furniture. He was a prominent man in his 
 day, and served as sheriff of the county for 
 several terms. At the breaking out of the Civil 
 war he organized Company B, 1st Ohio Cav- 
 alry, was appointed captain of that company, 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 2 2 5 
 
 and served a year or more, when he was se- 
 verely injured by his horse falling upon him. 
 He left the service a chronic invalid, and died 
 from his injury in 1878, at the age of sixty- 
 five. His wife died in 1865, when about fifty 
 years old. One of his sons, Jasper N., ran 
 away from home and enlisted as a drummer 
 boy at the age of fourteen, and being a bril- 
 liant boy rose rapidly in the service, receiving 
 commission as a captain before he was eight- 
 een; he died of injuries received in the war. 
 Dr. Buckmaster had two other brothers in 
 the war, George and Joshua, and two brothers- 
 in-law, who were taken prisoners and confined 
 at Andersonville. 
 
 Joshua Buckmaster, the grandfather of Dr. 
 Samuel B., was a native of Maryland, of Eng- 
 lish descent, and moved into eastern Ohio while 
 it was yet a. wilderness. He had a family of 
 several sons and daughters. He moved to 
 Lima later in life, and died near Toledo when 
 eighty-six years old. He was a man of sterling 
 character. He served in the war of 1812, be- 
 ing a volunteer with Perry in his battle at 
 Put-in-Bay, and his father was a veteran of 
 the Revolutionary war. The Buckmasters are 
 an old New England family, and the name is 
 familiar in Colonial records since 1638, the 
 year they came from England to settle at Sud- 
 bury, Mass. Mrs. Mary (Tracy) Buckmaster 
 lost her father when she was a small girl. He 
 was a native of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Dr. Samuel B. Buckmaster was reared in 
 Lima, Ohio, until he reached the age of twelve 
 years, when his mother died, and he went to 
 live with his brother George, in Toledo, Iowa, 
 only spending a year with him, however. He 
 attended high school at Peru, Ind., and busi- 
 ness college at Toledo, Ohio, taught school 
 one term, and then became bookkeeper for the 
 Ford-Hamlet bendifig works, at Tippecanoe 
 City, Ohio. When eighteen years old he went 
 to Yreka City, Cal., and taught school three 
 years in that place. Returning East, he was 
 a bookkeeper in Chicago four years. While 
 in California he was near the lava beds where 
 the celebrated Modoc war occurred ; he went 
 in as a volunteer, and helped care for the bodies 
 of Gen. Canby and the other peace commis- 
 sioners who had perished at the hands of Capt. 
 Jack and his band of bloodthirsty savages. On 
 his return East our subject began the study 
 of medicine at Janesville, with Dr. Henry Pal- 
 mer, sur.o-eon-sfeneral of Wisconsin. He was 
 
 '00 
 
 15 
 
 graduated from the Medical Department of 
 the University of Virginia in 1S79, an d the 
 next fall took a special course in the Univer- 
 sity of the City of New York and at Bellevue 
 Hospital. In the spring of 1880 he received 
 the appointment of third assistant physician 
 at the State Hospital for the Insane, at Madi- 
 son, Wis., and a year later was made second 
 assistant. Another year and he was promoted 
 to be first assistant, and in Jnly, 1884. when 
 thirty-one years old, he was the unanimous 
 choice of the State board of supervision of 
 Wisconsin institutions for the position of su- 
 perintendent of the State Hospital. He made 
 a record rarely surpassed for efficiency in every 
 department of his labor, and in five years be- 
 came widely known. In December, 1889, he 
 resigned his position that he might give his 
 children proper educational advantages — the 
 hospital being too far from the city — and lo- 
 cated in Chicago, in which city he was en- 
 gaged in practice several years. 
 
 While superintendent of the hospital Dr.. 
 Buckmaster was credited with making many 
 improvements in caring for the insane. Lie 
 was the first superintendent in the West to 
 adopt the non-restraint system ; and in recogni- 
 tion of his work in this line was elected vice- 
 president for Wisconsin of the Medico-Legal 
 Society of the United States. His portrait was 
 published in the group of twelve eminent 
 alienists given as a premium by the "Medico- 
 Legal Journal." 
 
 While in Chicago Dr. Buckmaster was 
 elected adjunct professor of physiology in 
 the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and 
 later held the position of professor of medical 
 and surgical electricity in the same institution. 
 Lie also became professor of physiology and 
 president of the West Side Dispensary, which 
 treats nearly 25,000 patients yearly. He has 
 read numerous valuable and instructive papers 
 before various medical bodies, and is a fre- 
 quent contributor to medical publications; be- 
 longs to several medical societies, and is a: 
 member of the Loyal Legion of ex-Officers 
 of the United States Army and Navy, his cer- 
 tificate of admission into the Loyal Legion 
 bearing the name of President Rutherford B. 
 Hayes. Membership in this order passes from 
 father to son, and he holds it because his fa- 
 ther was an officer in the Union service, and 
 died, as noted above, from injuries received 
 while in service. 
 
226 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Dr. Buckmaster did not find the climate of 
 Chicago congenial to either his family or him- 
 self, and he accordingly bought an interest in 
 the sanitarium at Hudson, Wis., of which pop- 
 ular resort he was superintendent for three 
 years, when he disposed of his interest there, 
 accepting a similar position in the Oakwood 
 Sanitarium, at Lake Geneva, Wis. His health 
 giving out, on account of the close confine- 
 ment necessitated by his work, he disposed of 
 his interests there, and spent a couple of months 
 in Minnesota recuperating. While there he 
 visited Dr. Hart, who was an Indian agent, 
 and, an outbreak occurring, he nearly lost his 
 life. Dr. Buckmaster came to Janesville Dec. 
 I, 1898, with the intention of making his per- 
 manent home in the city. Here his wife’s peo- 
 ple live, and here he has many friends. He 
 has practiced from the day of his arrival here, 
 and now commands a patronage second to no 
 physician in the State. 
 
 The Doctor was married to Miss Minnie 
 Holdredge May 9, 1882. She is a daughter of 
 Samuel and Mary (Lee) Holdredge, and a 
 lady of many accomplishments, being a grad- 
 uate of the Boston College of Oratory, and 
 was instructor in elocution at the Lawrence 
 University, Appleton, Wis. Her great-grand- 
 father was a Revolutionary soldier, and made 
 a speech at Cooper Institute when one hundred 
 and ten years old, speaking to ten thousand 
 people ; he lived six years after that remarkable 
 event. Dr. and Mrs. Buckmaster have three 
 daughters : Mary E., Ada A. and Agnes T. 
 
 She is a member of the Congregational Church, 
 and is in every way a worthy associate of so 
 learned and popular a character as her hus- 
 band. The Doctor is a Republican in political 
 sentiment. 
 
 FRANK ROWE, a retired miner, now 
 living at Platteville, Grant county, has been 
 an industrious and hard-working man, and 
 with no friend save his own indomitable spirit 
 and strong right arm he has gained a com- 
 petency and commanded the esteem of all with 
 whom he has come in contact. 
 
 Mr. Rowe was born in Cornwall, England, 
 Oct. 1, 1833, son of Frank and Fannie (Kitto) 
 Rowe, who were born and married in England. 
 The elder Rowe came to Platteville in 1847, 
 when Wisconsin was just assuming Statehood, 
 and engaged in mining and farming. He pur- 
 chased real estate near the old fair grounds, 
 
 where he built a brick house, which is still 
 standing, in a good state of preservation. He 
 also owned a farm two and a half miles from 
 town, on which he and his wife spent their 
 lives. He died in 1880, when eighty-two years 
 old, and his wife passed away two years later, 
 at the age of eighty-four. They were members 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and were 
 never absent from religious services except on 
 account of sickness or some other weighty 
 cause. They had a family of eight children, 
 of whom our subject was the eldest. Lavinia 
 married William Waters, and died six months 
 after her marriage. Catherine came from Eng- 
 land, and married William Waters. Ellen mar- 
 ried Cornelius James, and died leaving - four 
 daughters. Emily (twin of Ellen) married 
 Richard James, of Mineral Point, and is the 
 mother of four children. William was born in 
 England, married a lady of Sioux City, Iowa, 
 and is a harness merchant in that State. James 
 is a retired farmer at Le Mars, Iowa; he has 
 two children, Charles and Nellie. Lavina, the 
 youngest of the family, was born in Platteville, 
 and makes her home with her brother, the 
 subject of this sketch. 
 
 Frank Rowe came to Platteville when 
 about thirteen years of age. He was educated 
 in the public schools of England, and never at- 
 tended school in this country. After coming 
 to Wisconsin with his parents he engaged in 
 mining until 1852, in which year he went to 
 California, crossing the Plains with an ox- 
 team. The Indians made their journey exceed- 
 ingly perilous. They went through Salt Lake, 
 where the Mormons were fully established, 
 and their entire trip was both interesting and 
 dangerous. Mr. Rowe remained in the mines 
 for a period of five years, and came back to his 
 Wisconsin home in 1857, continuing mining 
 until i860. That year Mr. Rowe and Miss 
 Kittie Wilcox were married. Mrs. Rowe is 
 the daughter of Thomas and Mary Wilcox, of 
 Cornwall, England, and was born in that coun- 
 try March 2, 1842. Her parents moved to 
 Wales, where the father died in 1854, and 
 from that country Mrs. Wilcox came to Wis- 
 consin with her children, of whom Mrs. Rowe 
 is the youngest. She was educated in the pub- 
 lic schools in England and in Grant county, 
 Wis. Her brothers were old-time Californians. 
 James is a retired miner at Red Jacket, Mich. 
 Thomas (deceased) married Mary Morgans, 
 of Wales, and they had two sens and two 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 227 
 
 daughters. Ann ( deceased) married William 
 Nichols, and they had four children who grew 
 to maturity, Martha, William, John and Frank. 
 Mary (deceased) married Stephen Higgs, by 
 whom she had three children, Martha, Stephen 
 and Mary; she later became the wife of Ed- 
 ward Dunstone, of Blackhawk, Colo., by whom 
 she had two children, Thomas and Annie. 
 Susan (deceased) married William Osborne, 
 by whom she had two children, Thomas and 
 Emily; by her second husband, William Johns, 
 she had three children, William, Henry and 
 Mary. Elizabeth (deceased) married James 
 Pascoe, and had three children, Elizabeth, Will- 
 iam and James. Mrs. W ilcox, the mother, 
 died in 1865, in New York. 
 
 • After their marriage Mr. and Airs. Rowe 
 settled at Hancock, Mich., where he worked in 
 the mines a year or more. They lived for a 
 short time at Dover, N. J., and at Staten 
 Island, N. Y., at which place lie was a su- 
 perintendent of mines for a company of 
 New York capitalists, and was engaged 
 in that capacity some three years. In 1867 
 the young couple came back to Platteville, 
 where they engaged in the millinery trade, 
 which they have carried on for over thirty 
 years. They purchased a home on Oak street, 
 which they now rent. In 1899 they purchased 
 the new Albertson home, on Southworth av- 
 enue, one of the finest homes in Platteville. 
 It is finished in hard wood, and contains every 
 modern improvement. They own considerable 
 real estate in the town of AA'est Superior, Wis. 
 Airs. Rowe has made her millinery business 
 very prosperous, and is highly successful. She 
 has many friends, and a wide circle of con- 
 stant patrons. Our subject and his wife are 
 attendants at the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 He is an independent voter, and does his own 
 thinking. 
 
 HORATIO PLUM IRISH, a highly re- 
 spected farmer of Lancaster township, Grant 
 county, and a veteran of the war of the Rebel- 
 lion, was born in Hamburg, Erie Co., N. Y., 
 Nov. 26, 1838, and is descended from New 
 England ancestry. 
 
 Stephen B. Irish, father of Horatio P., was 
 a native of Vermont, born near Rutland Oct. 
 2, : 795 > and was a son of Daniel L. Irish, also 
 a native of the Green Alountain State, and a 
 hero of the Revolutionary war. Stephen B. 
 was a soldier in the war of 1812, and. as 
 
 Horatio P. was a veteran in the Civil war, it 
 is evident ’ that the family possesses unalloyed 
 patriotism and gallant military ardor and 
 mettle. Daniel L. Irish and family migrated 
 from Vermont to Erie county, N. Y., when 
 Stephen B. was about twelve years old, and 
 there passed the remainder of their days. 
 Stephen B. and a brother, Sylvester, were the 
 only two of a numerous family to come to 
 the west, Sylvester residing for some time in 
 Grant county, AVis., and then departing for 
 Alinnesota, while Stephen B. remained here. 
 
 Stephen B. Irish grew to manhood in the 
 wilds of western New York, and there married 
 Abigail Dustin, a native of New Hampshire, 
 a daughter of Timothy and Prudence Dustin, 
 and a descendant of Hannah Dustin, one of 
 the most famous women in the early history of 
 the Colony of New Hampshire, who, it will 
 be remembered by the student of Colonial his- 
 tory, was captured by hostile Indians, and a 
 number of her family slain. One night she suc- 
 ceeded, by means of the noiseless tomahawk, 
 in killing her sleeping savage captors and in 
 making her escape. The Dustin family was 
 also related to the Lovejoy family, one mem- 
 ber of which, who was among the earliest of 
 Abolitionists, was foully murdered by pro- 
 slavery adversaries. 
 
 In 1844 Stephen B. Irish brought his fam- 
 ily, consisting of his wife and seven children, 
 to the State of Wisconsin, coming from Buffa- 
 lo, N. Y., via the lakes to Alilwaukee, and 
 thence by wagon to Hurricane, Grant county ; 
 he arrived on the 14th day of September, of 
 that year. Mr. Irish here entered eighty acres 
 of government land, purchased eighty addi- 
 tional acres, and at once began to convert the 
 wilderness in which he had settled into a pro- 
 ductive farm. Here his wife died Feb. 8, 1876, 
 and his own death occurred Nov. 4, 1879, after 
 he had passed the age of eighty-four years. 
 He was held in the highest esteem by his fellow 
 citizens, as he was endowed with an intelli- 
 gence far above the average. He was pos- 
 sessed of an extremely retentive memory, was 
 a constant student of the Bible, and was well 
 versed in history and in general literature. 
 He was of a kindly disposition, and was cheer- 
 ful and hopeful in his views of life. He was 
 a member of the Free-Will. Baptist Church, 
 but was not entirely creed-bound, as- he was 
 somewhat liberal in his religious views and 
 opinions. 
 
228 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Stephen B. Irish were the 
 parents of a numerous family of children, of 
 whom four at least died young, in the State of 
 New York, viz. : Dustin, Ambrose, Prudence, 
 
 and John. Of the seven who came to Grant 
 county with the parents, three still survive : 
 Lucinda, widow of Elijah Hamuton, now liv- 
 ing in California ; Sarah M., widow of William 
 Small, of Merrill, Iowa; and Horatio P., who 
 is the youngest of the family. Of the four 
 who died in Grant county, Ezekiel passed away 
 Oct. 2, 1845; Timothy in 1846, at the age of 
 ten years; Caleb L., March 27, 1S58, in his 
 thirty-ninth year; and Lyman D., Jan. 11, 
 1876, at the age of fifty-one years, from the 
 effects of fatigue and exposure endured while 
 serving in Company C, 2d Wisconsin Cavalry, 
 in the war of the Rebellion. 
 
 Lloratio Plum Irish, the only surviving 
 male representative of his father’s family, was 
 about six years old when brought to Grant 
 county, and was reared to manhood on the 
 home farm. On April 5, i860, he married 
 Miss Maria A. Morrell, daughter of Ruel. and 
 Eliza (Cooley) Morrell, whose biography is 
 given elsewhere. In December, 1861, Mr. 
 Irish, fired with patriotic fervor, enlisted in 
 Company C, 2d Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry 
 (the same in which his brother, Lyman D., 
 enlisted), but was soon afterward seized with 
 erysipelas, which prevented his going to the 
 front and resulted in his discharge. But Mr. 
 Irish was not to be foiled in his desire to serve 
 his country, and on convalescing re-enlisted, 
 in the same command, with which he served in 
 all. its marches and engagements, chiefly in the 
 Southern States bordering on the Mississippi 
 river. He was on active duty continuously, 
 with the exception of sixteen days spent in hos- 
 pital, until the close of hostilities, in April, 
 1865, when his regiment was sent to Texas, as 
 a part of the force detailed to keep a watch over 
 the movements of the French army in Mexico 
 under Maximilian. In the winter of 1865 
 Mr. Irish was honorably discharged, and 
 reached his home Dec. 16. Plis health has 
 not been robust since his army experience, and 
 he has therefore followed farming as a vocation 
 and means of recuperation up to the present 
 time, although he is a carpenter and builder 
 by trade. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Irish has 
 been blessed with two children : Henry, born 
 April 1, 1862, married Julia F. Magonegil; 
 
 Abbie M., born Dec. 8, 1867, is now the wife 
 of James U. Smith. 
 
 Mr. Irish is a Republican in his political 
 affiliations, but has never been a seeker after 
 party favors. Mrs. Irish is a devout member 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Aside 
 from his personal merits, the valiant services 
 of Mr. Irish as a soldier, and his long line of 
 American ancestry, have won for him the 
 esteem of his fellow citizens, and he and fam- 
 ily stand among the best residents of Grant 
 county. 
 
 ADDISON HANDY. Prominent among 
 the early settlers of Grant county is this well- 
 known farmer of Wyalusing township, whose 
 home is in Section 9, and who dates his resi- 
 dence here from Nov. 21, 1855. He was born 
 in the town of Stockton, Chautauqua Co., N. 
 Y., May 30, 1832, a son of Samuel and Rosetta 
 (Clark) Llandy, also natives of the Empire 
 State, while the former was of Irish and Scot- 
 tish descent, the latter of Scottish and French 
 extraction. The paternal grandfather, Obed 
 Handy, was also born in New York. 
 
 About 1834 Samuel Plandy, accompanied 
 by his family, moved to Branch county, Mich., 
 where the wife and mother died four years 
 later. Soon after her death the family re- 
 turned to New York, and Addison grew, to 
 manhood in the town ol Pomfret, Chautauqua 
 county, near the village of Fredonia. In 1853 
 the family again came West, this time locating' 
 in Freeport, 111 ., but a year later took up their 
 residence on Blake’s Prairie, Grant Co., Wis., 
 which county has been regarded as their home 
 ever since. The father passed away April 16, 
 1888, at the age of seventy-eight years, his 
 last days being spent at the homes of his chil- 
 dren. He had two sons and one daughter, all 
 of whom grew to mature years ; Addison and 
 Juliette, widow of > William Barr, survive; 
 Mr. Barr was a soldier in the war of the Re- 
 bellion, and died at Glen Haven, Grant county, 
 Jan. 17, 1865. Jefferson Handy, the only 
 brother of Addison, died in March, 1886. 
 
 On Dec. 13', 1853, Addison Handy was 
 united in marriage, at Jamestown, Chautauqua 
 Co., N. Y., to' Miss Sylvania V. McKnight, 
 who was born April 27, 1835, in the same town 
 as her husband, a daughter of David and 
 Jemima (Ellis) McKnight, natives of Massa- 
 chusetts and Connecticut, respectively. For 
 many years her parents made their home in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 229 
 
 Chautauqua county, N. Y., where the father, 
 who was born Jan. 6, 1789, died in April, 1863, 
 and the mother, who was born Sept. 9, 1791, 
 died in September, 1862. In their family were 
 seven children, four of whom are now (1901) 
 living : Mrs. Priscilla Little, Mrs. Sally Mal- 
 lory, Mrs. Melvina Younger and Mrs. Syl- 
 vania V. Handy. Those deceased were Mrs. 
 Jemima Carr, David W. and William. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Handy have three children: Fred, 
 born Aug. 27, 1855; Frank, born Jan. 11, 
 1857; and William Eugene, born Feb. 8, i860. 
 The eldest and youngest are residents of Grant 
 county, Wis., while Frank is now in Iowa. 
 
 For almost half a century Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hand}" have resided in the immediate vicinity 
 of their present home in Wyalusing township. 
 He possesses a remarkably strong constitution, 
 and has ever led an honorable and industrious 
 life. In their declining years he and his worthy 
 wife are enjoying the fruits of their former 
 toil in peace and contentment, respected and es- 
 teemed by all who know them. In public affairs 
 Mr. Handy has taken no deep interest In 
 early . life he affiliated with the Democratic 
 party, being a Democrat by inheritance, but 
 since Abraham Lincoln’s second election has 
 voted with the Republican party. 
 
 REUBEN S. MORSE. This influential 
 citizen of Beetown is. one of Grant county’s 
 early educators, and has gained distinction not 
 only in civil life, but as a veteran of the Civil 
 war. He comes of Revolutionary stock, his 
 grandfather having served in the patriot army 
 of 1776. He is a native of Maine, as was his 
 father, who was the. youngest of seven brothers, 
 and whose baptismal name was Moses. Reuben 
 S. Morse is one of two surviving members of 
 his father’s family. Mary J. is the wife of 
 Richmond B. Pierce, of Cassville township, 
 Grant county. Edwin Russell, politician and 
 editor? died at Springfield, 111 ., Aug. 6, 1900. 
 
 Reuben S. Morse was born Tune 3, 1833, 
 and was a lad of ten years when his parents re- 
 moved from Maine to West Cambridge, Mass. 
 Later the family had its home in Lexington, in 
 the same State, a spot the mention of which 
 makes the pulse of every true American beat 
 faster. In 1855 young Reuben determined to 
 seek fortune in the Northwest, and coming to 
 Grant county, Wis., he settled in Waterloo. 
 For several years lie. devoted himself to teach- 
 ing, conducting schools at various localities for 
 
 thirty-five terms. He first came to Beetown 
 township in 1859. and in 1861 located in the 
 village of that name. His early training was 
 in the Whig school of politics, and it is no 
 cause for surprise that upon the formation of 
 the Republican party he at once affiliated with 
 that organization, casting his first Presidential 
 vote for John C. Fremont, in 1856. The out- 
 break of the Rebellion fired his youthful blood 
 and stirred his patriotic impulses to their 
 depths. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Com- 
 pany I, 20th Wis. V. I., but in the following 
 April was discharged for disability, at Spring- 
 field, Mo., and returned home. His health 
 having been partially restored, he re-enlisted, 
 in 1864, this time in Company B, of the 43d 
 Wisconsin Regiment. His service was in 
 Kentucky and Tennessee, and was chiefly on 
 detached duty, 'his strength being unequal to 
 arduous service in the field. He acted as or- 
 derly sergeant, and was ever prompt to respond 
 to every call made unon him. He received his 
 final discharge at Nashville, on June 24, 1865. 
 Mr. Morse keeps alive his recollection of his 
 life as a soldier through his membership in 
 Tom Cox Post, G. A. R., of Lancaster. Since 
 his return home he has been prominent in 
 public affairs, and has been honored alike by 
 his fellow citizens and by the National Govern- 
 ment through elevation to various posts of high 
 trust and grave responsibility. For nine years 
 he served as clerk of the township, and for 
 eleven years following 1874 he held the office 
 of postmaster. He also enumerated the town- 
 ship for the United States censuses of 1890 and 
 1900. He has ever taken a deep and active 
 interest in educational matters, and has given 
 his own children the best opportunities within 
 his command. His life has been one of activity 
 and industry. Free from self-seeking, he has 
 been ever ready to perform every public duty 
 to which he was called, and his fidelity to every 
 trust, both private and public, has gained for 
 him the confidence and respect of the communi- 
 ty whose welfare he has aided in promoting for 
 more than forty years. 
 
 Mr. Morse has been twice married. His 
 first wife was Emma Jane Waddle, who died 
 within a year after their marriage, and his 
 second union was with Nancy A. Burgess. 
 Of his children, three died in childhood, while 
 one son, Frank, was called away in 1895, at 
 the age of twenty-six. Those who are yet liv- 
 ing are as follows : Dr. Edwin Morse, a prom- 
 
230 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 I 
 
 inent physician of Appleton, Wis. ; Mary F., 
 the wife of John Peterson; Charles N., a resi- 
 dent of Montana, who served in the First Mon- 
 tana Regiment during the Spanish-American 
 war, and did duty in the Philippines; Emma 
 I., Mrs. Dr. Albert Rector; and Miss Effie 
 V., who is an accomplished musician and a 
 teacher of music. 
 
 WILLIAM McGRANAHAN, who re- 
 sides in Lamont, Lafayette county, on Section 
 23, Town 3, Range 4, East, has been for many 
 years one of the more notable and universally 
 respected citizens of that town, where he is 
 honored and esteemed not only for a life of 
 industry and integrity, but also for his neigh- 
 borly spirit and kindly interest in his fellow 
 townsmen. 
 
 Mr. McGranahan came to the Territory of 
 Wisconsin in 1843, anf I bas never since re- 
 moved his home from the confines of the State. 
 His residence thus covers a period of fifty-eight 
 years, and to-day he is one of the very oldest 
 citizens of Lafayette county. He was born in 
 Mercer county, Penn., March 22, 1817, the 
 same month that James Monroe became Presi- 
 dent, hence he has lived under the administra- 
 tions of all the Presidents of the United States 
 except those of the first four. Smith Mc- 
 Granahan, his father, was a native of West- 
 moreland county, same state. John McGrana- 
 han, the latter’s father, and the grandfather of 
 William, was a native of the North of Ireland. 
 He bore an honorable part in the war of the 
 Revolution. Smith McGranahan and his wife 
 lived in Pennsylvania all their clays. She bore 
 the maiden name of Mary Andrews. 
 
 William McGranahan was one of twelve 
 children, but many of them have passed away. 
 He was reared and educated in his native place, 
 and at the age of fifteen years began learning 
 the blacksmith trade. In the fall of 1842 he 
 left his native State to come West. He spent 
 the winter in Illinois, and the following spring 
 moved into Lafayette county, Wis., where his 
 home has been up to the present writing. For 
 many years he lived in the village of Fayette, 
 where he had a blacksmith shop, and in 1858 
 he settled on the farm where he is found to-day 
 in a green and hearty old age. On this place 
 but little improvement had been made, and its 
 transformation into one of the model farms of 
 the county is due to his tremendous energy 
 and ceaseless industry. This place has been the 
 
 home of himself and family for forty-three 
 years. 
 
 Mr. McGranahan was married in the town 
 of Fayette, near his present 'home, in 1849, 
 to Miss Margaret Shockley, a daughter of John 
 Shockley, one of the earlier settlers of the coun- 
 ty. He and his wife are the parents of five 
 sons and three daughters, all of whom are resi- 
 dents of Lafayette county, namely : Thomas B., 
 Smith, John, David, Charles, Nancy (who is 
 the wife of Samuel Paxton), Clara (who is 
 the wife of J. W. Hunt), and Rose (who is at 
 home) . 
 
 Mr. McGranahan has long been one of the 
 representative farmers of the county, and has 
 held various local offices. In 1859 he repre- 
 sented his district in the General Assembly, 
 where his record was thoroughly honorable and 
 creditable in every way. He is well-known 
 throughout Lafayette county, and in former 
 times, when engaged in the more active duties 
 of life, was himself acquainted with the greater 
 number of the leading men of the county. 
 Mr. McGranahan has always been a Democrat, 
 and the first President he voted for was Martin 
 Van Buren. In 1844 he was prevented from 
 voting for President by the fact that Wisconsin 
 was as yet a Territory. Our subject has 
 always been held in high esteem by his fellow 
 townsmen. Considering their advanced age 
 both Mr. and Mrs. McGranahan are in the 
 enjoyment of very good health. They have 
 passed through formidable hardships and en- 
 dured severe privations, but their faculties are 
 still, unimpaired, and their interest in the wel- 
 fare of their children and friends is not les- 
 sened by the flight of years. 
 
 DAVID YOUMANS, one of the old set- 
 tlers of Rock county, and a highly esteemed 
 farmer-citizen of Janesville township, resides 
 in Section 30, upon a well-cultivated farm. 
 
 David Youmans was born in Orange coun- 
 ty, N. Y., Dec. 6, 1839, son of Nehemiah and 
 Margaret (Kelley) Youmans, natives of New 
 York. The paternal grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, David Youmans, died in middle life; he 
 had a large family. The grandfather on the 
 mother’s side was a native of Ireland, but came 
 to America, settling at Newburgh, N. Y. The 
 family of this gentleman was a very large one, 
 and he lived to see his children and their chil- 
 dren grow up about him, and died at the age of 
 eighty years. Nehemiah Youmans was a black- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 231 
 
 smith by trade. He died in Orange county, 
 N. Y., in 1852, aged about forty years. In 
 
 1849 wife died, aged thirty-six years; both 
 
 attended the Presbyterian Church. To this 
 couple were born six children, four now liv- 
 ing: Annie, wife of Peter Colgan, of New 
 
 Haven, Conn. ; David ; and Mary and Sarah, 
 both unmarried, and residents of New Haven, 
 Conn. ; George, who was a soldier in the Civil 
 war, died in Andersonville prison. 
 
 David Youmans, our subject, lived in 
 Orange county, N. Y., until ten years of age, 
 attending the district school at Searsburg. In 
 
 1850 he came West to Wisconsin, in company 
 with George Cleland and wife, via the great 
 lakes to Milwaukee, and thence to Center town- 
 ship, Rock county, by wagon. Here they took 
 up government land, and David Youmans lived 
 with Mr. and Mrs. Cleland until he grew to 
 mature years. Later he supplemented his early 
 education by a course at a commercial college 
 at Madison. In 1875 Mr. Youmans pur T 
 chased his present farm of about seventy-five 
 acres, which he has brought into a high state 
 of cultivation. 
 
 On Jan. 21, 1874, David Youmans married 
 Miss Nancy Thorburn, who was born Dec. 28, 
 1843, i n Delaware county, N. Y., daughter of 
 George and Margaret (Glendenning) Thor- 
 burn, and two children were born to this union : 
 George C., who lives at home, and Ella, who 
 died in 1888, when a little over eleven years 
 of age. Mrs. Youmans passed away Dec. 11, 
 1883; she was a consistent member of and 
 worker in the Congregational Church. Mr. 
 Youmans belongs to Footville Lodge, No. 137, 
 F. & A. M. Politically his affiliations are with 
 the Democratic party, and he has held the office 
 of district trustee for twenty-two years. There 
 is no man in Janesville township who is more 
 representative of the best agricultural interests 
 of the State than is Mr. Youmans, understand- 
 ing, as he does, so thoroughly, farming upon 
 modern methods, with latest improved ap- 
 pliances. 
 
 JAMES H. BLISS has been a hard-work- 
 ing and upright man all his life, and whatever 
 he has undertaken has been wrought with 
 painstaking fidelity. At the very beginning of 
 his young manhood he gave long and faithful 
 service to the preservation of the National 
 Union; and, while he played a humble part in 
 the great war for liberty, it was the modest and 
 
 heroic devotion to duty on his part and of mil- 
 lions like him that made this the golden age of 
 the Republic. He is now somewhat advanced 
 in life, but is still hale and hearty, and bears 
 himself like a strong and vigorous man. 
 
 Mr. Bliss was born in Jefferson county, 
 N. Y., Oct. 29, 1838, a son of Janies and Julia 
 (Coffin) Bliss, both native to the State of New 
 York. They were the parents of four children, 
 two of whom are now living: James H. and 
 
 Horace R., of Chicago. One of the deceased 
 was named Julius. The father, who was a 
 carpenter and cabinet maker, came to Roscoe, 
 111 ., in the fall of 1853. Four years later he 
 moved to Beloit, Wis., and engaged in cabinet 
 making, and some years later he moved to 
 Janesville and secured a position in the North- 
 western shops, where he worked until a short 
 time before his death, in 1871, at the age of 
 fifty-six years. His wife survived him many 
 years, and passed away in 1887. She was a 
 Methodist. He was a. soldier in the Union 
 army, having enlisted as a member of Com- 
 pany E, 3d Wis. V. C., under command of Col. 
 Bristow. The worst injury he received in the 
 service was in a battle in Missouri. His fa- 
 ther was born in England, and coming to this 
 country settled in New York, where he died. 
 Isaac Coffin, the father of Julia Coffin, was na- 
 tive to the soil of New York. He had four 
 sons and four daughters. 
 
 James H. Bliss was reared to manhood in 
 New York, where he attended the public 
 schools, and acquired a substantial and useful 
 education. At the breaking out of the Civil 
 war he was quick to respond to the call for 
 soldiers, and, enlisting in Company F, 13th 
 Wis. V. I., served four years and three months, 
 proving himself a loyal and gallant defender 
 of the flag. He was a private the greater Dart 
 of the time, but before the completion of his 
 enlistment was appointed sergeant. When he 
 had done with war and its horrors he returned 
 to civil life, and for a time was engaged in 
 building bridges. He had a freight transfer 
 wagon in Janesville, and did a teaming busi- 
 ness in that city for fifteen years, in 1873 buy- 
 ing the farm of ninety-three acres on which 
 lie is now living. Three years later he left 
 the city, and, locating his family on this farm, 
 has since devoted himself to its cultivation. 
 Though not large, it has proved exceedingly 
 productive. 
 
 Mr. Bliss and Miss Lois Gleave, a daugh- 
 
232 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ter of James and Alice (Houghton) Gl.eave, 
 were married Aug. 9, 1868. They had four 
 children: Philip R., Orville J., Jay IT, and 
 
 Alice O. Philip R. married Lulu E. Deronso, 
 and lives in Oregon; they have one daughter, 
 Alice. None of the other children are mar- 
 ried. Orville J. is an electrician in Chicago. 
 Jay PI. is studying pharmacy in Janesville. 
 Mrs. Bliss died May 17, 1898, at the age of 
 fifty-four years. She was a Methodist, and 
 a lady of many admirable qualities. Mr. Bliss 
 is a Mason, belonging to Western Star Lodge, 
 No. 14, A. F. & A. M., and Janesville Chap- 
 ter, No. 5. R. A. M., and he is also a member 
 of V . PI. Sargent Post, No. 20, G. A. R. Po- 
 litically he is a Republican. Pie is an honest, 
 hard-working man, loving quiet, and devoted 
 to the farm on which he lives and the work 
 before him. 
 
 HON. HARRY CHAPMAN MARTIN. 
 Among the many distinguished citizens of La- 
 fayette county, who are known well and favor- 
 ably through the State, is Harry Chapman 
 Martin, the subject of this biography, who is 
 also one of the leading members of the Bar in 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Martin is a native of Wisconsin, re- 
 siding in his birthplace, the pleasant little city 
 of Darlington, where he first saw the light 
 Dec. 15, 1854. His parents were A. C. and 
 Adelia J. (Chapman) Martin, the former of 
 whom was born March 18, 1827, in Orleans 
 county, A t., and married Adelia J. Chapman, 
 a native of Boston, Mass., who had removed 
 with her parents to NeAV Hampshire in child- 
 hood. In 1854 A. C. Martin removed with 
 Ins wife to Darlington, where for many years 
 he was a successful business man, but he now 
 lives retired, a highly respected citizen. Of 
 the family born to Mr. and Mrs. Martin, our 
 subject is the only survivor. 
 
 Harry Chapman Martin, our subject, re- 
 ceived his early education in the public schools 
 of his native town, later engaged in teaching 
 for one year, and then entered the Wisconsin 
 State Phiiversity, from which he graduated in 
 the class of. 1879. Returning to Darlington, 
 he immediately entered upon the study of law, 
 progressing so rapidly that he was admitted to 
 the Bar in 1881, and soon after his admission 
 he was appointed county superintendent of 
 schools. So efficiently did Mr. Martin perform 
 the duties of his office, and so entirely did he 
 
 gain the confidence of the public, that for six 
 years he was kept in that responsible posi- 
 tion, leaving it when other honors were prof- 
 fered. 
 
 In 1887 Mr. Martin was elected mayor 
 of the city of Darlington, and re-elected in 
 1888, his management of municipal affairs 
 calling forth favorable notice through the 
 State. For several years he served as city at- 
 torney, and in 1892 was elected district at- 
 torney of Lafayette county. An ardent and 
 active Republican, he gave four years of serv- 
 ice on the State Central Committee, and was 
 elected to the assembly branch of the Legis- 
 lature of Wisconsin in 1895, to fill a vacancy 
 occasioned by the death of James Freeman, 
 this mark of esteem and confidence being em- 
 phasized in 1898 by his election to the State 
 Senate. Mr. Martin represents the 17th Sen- 
 atorial District, which comprises the counties 
 of Lafayette and Green, and a part of Rock. 
 Should life and vigor be vouchsafed to our 
 subject, no one of his many friends doubts 
 that he has but commenced his successful pub- 
 lic career, and they do not hesitate to predict 
 for him the highest honor in the gift of the 
 American people. 
 
 The wife of Senator Martin was formerly 
 Miss Catherine E. Dodge, a daughter of 
 Ammi Dodge, an early settler of Lafayette 
 county, and one daughter, Anna, has been born 
 to them. 
 
 CHARLES B. CHAMPION, whose death, 
 on April 4, 1893, removed from Lafayette 
 county one of the central figures in the business 
 world, as well as one of the most prominent, 
 substantial and highly respected citizens, was 
 born in St. Louis, Mo., July 1, 1829, son of 
 Robert and Elizabeth (Cobb) Champion. 
 
 Robert Champion was a native of Vermont, 
 and his wife of Alabama. Their marriage oc- 
 curred in the latter State, where he was follow- 
 ing his trade of hatter. In 1827 lie came to 
 Wisconsin, where he purchased a large tract of 
 government land for mining purposes, at that 
 time owning all the ground on which the town 
 of New Diggings now stands, as well as a 
 large body outside the village. This he sold or 
 leased for mining purposes, and was very suc- 
 cessful in his own mine operations, becoming 
 one of the expert miners, as well as operators, 
 in this section. The noted “Champion Mine” 
 was named for him. While descending one of 
 
HARRY C. MARTIN 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 233 
 
 the deep shafts, in 1874, he fell, and received 
 injuries which caused his death three months 
 later. He left a wife and six children to mourn 
 for him. The wife died in 1890. The children 
 were as follows: Mary, born in 1827, married 
 Henry Van Osden, of Missouri, first residing 
 in Darlington, then in Sedalia, where he died, 
 and where his wife and family still reside. 
 Charles B. is our subject. Eliza, born in New 
 Diggings, married Edward Snyder, of Harris- 
 burg, Penn., where he is engaged in 'the real- 
 estate business; they have four children, Julia, 
 Viola, Lulu, and Robert. Emaline married 
 H. Iv. White, of Ohio, who died at Lake 
 Geneva, Wis., leaving his wife, but no family. 
 Ellen was graduated from the Platteville 
 Normal, and married Charles Hafkeymer, of 
 St. Louis, where they lived some years, then 
 moving to Chicago, where she died in 1872, 
 leaving one son, Leslie, who lives in Chicago. 
 Julia married R. H. Weyman, of Chicago, and 
 has two daughters, Florence and Mildred. 
 
 Charles B. Champion, the second in order 
 of birth in the above mentioned family, was ed- 
 ucated in the old Rock school of Platteville, 
 and in the school at Mount Morris, 111 ., where 
 he received a fine classical education. As the 
 only son he interested himself in his father’s 
 mines, and soon acquired a practical knowl- 
 edge of the entire subject. In 1865 he settled 
 in Darlington, Wis., and engaged in mercantile 
 business, but in 1872 he located in New Dig- 
 gings again, and became part owner and man- 
 ager of his father’s mines. His accurate 
 knowledge of the business; and his sensible 
 way of handling those in his employ, made 
 him a most capable director, and he ever main- 
 tained the high respect of his employes. Some 
 years before his death it became evident that 
 consumption had fastened its evil hold upon 
 him, but he bravely and uncomplainingly bore 
 the hard trial to the last. 
 
 In May, 1865, Mr. Champion was married 
 to Miss Ellen Townsend, daughter of Absalom 
 and Julia (Wells) Townsend, a pioneer couple 
 of Lafayette county. Two children were born 
 to this union : Julia became a student at Sin- 
 sinawa Mound College, and died in 1887; Bir- 
 die C. was educated in Mount St. Joseph Col- 
 lege, of Dubuque, Iowa, where she received a 
 fine musical and classical education, and is 
 now one of the social ^favorites at her home. 
 Mr. Champion took a deep interest in politics, 
 always voting the Republican ticket, but had 
 
 neither time nor inclination for official posi- 
 tions. The family are Presbyterians in relig- 
 ious connection, and liberal supporters of all 
 church work. Fraternally Mr. Townsend was 
 an active member of the Masons, and his funer- 
 al services were conducted with all the rites and 
 ceremonies of that order, and his remains laid 
 to rest in the Masonic cemetery. 
 
 Absalom Townsend, father of Mrs. 
 Champion, was born in Steuben county, N. Y., 
 in December, 1811. In 1844 he settled at 
 Shullsburg, Wis., where he owned a large body 
 of land, and engaged there in farming and min- 
 ing, becoming one of the wealthiest citizens in 
 that locality. His death occurred in 1879. He 
 was twice married ; his first wife, Miss Mary 
 A. Ross, was born in Indiana and died at Wil- 
 low Springs, Wis., leaving four children, two 
 of whom are living : Addison, of Shullsburg ; 
 and Virginia, wife of John Benton, of Chica- 
 go. For his second wife Mr. Townsend wed- 
 ded Miss Julia Wells, at Freeport, 111 ., in 1844. 
 She was born in January, 1829, and died in 
 1877 leaving two sons and one daughter: 
 Edwin, born in 1845, married Miss Mary 
 Cavanaugh, of Shullsburg (where he is en- 
 gaged in business), and has five children, 
 Laura, Julia, May, Frank and Georgie; Walter 
 married Miss Ella Cottle of Lafayette county, 
 and resides in Shullsburg, where he is engaged 
 as a fancy stock dealer ; Ellen, Mrs. Champion, 
 was educated in the Shullsburg high school 
 and in St. Clair Convent, at Benton, Wis. She 
 is very intelligent, and is a capable business 
 woman, carefully managing her late husband’s 
 estate, and is prominent socially, cordially liked 
 by all who know her. The Townsend family 
 were all members of the Presbyterian Church, 
 and in their political views the men of the fam- 
 ily were all Republicans. Fraternally Mr. 
 Townsend was active in the work of the 
 Masonic fraternity. 
 
 JAMES C. ROBBINS, a stock dealer and 
 grain buyer of Belmont, and former sheriff of 
 Lafayette county, belongs to the number of 
 those brave souls who are not willing to admit 
 the approach of age so long as the eye is not 
 dimmed nor the natural force abated. Pie is 
 on the wintry side of sixty, and is still ener-- 
 getic and hustling, eager for business and ready 
 for a deal at any time. He is a man of char- 
 acter and standing, and has led a busy life use- 
 fully and well. 
 
234 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Robbins was born in Chautauqua 
 county, N. Y., in 1838, a son of Melzar and 
 Aurelia (Sprague) Robbins, natives of Con- 
 necticut and New York, respectively. They 
 came West to Jo Daviess county. 111 ., in 1841, 
 and engaged in farming for the rest of their 
 lives. They were honest and God-fearing 
 people, of the best of habits and the kindest dis- 
 position. They reared a larg'e family of chil- 
 dren, seven of whom are still living: Celestia, 
 
 widow of William Bell, is now living in Iowa. 
 William, born in New York, became a soldier 
 in Company E, 96th 111. V. I., was wounded 
 at Chickamauga. and discharged from the 
 service ; he married and settled in Illinois, 
 where he reared a family, and he and his wife 
 are now deceased ; the children are living - in 
 Colorado. Clara, born in Illinois, married H. 
 D. Easley, and settled near Apple River, in her 
 native State, where she died, leaving three 
 children. Joseph B., born in Illinois, was a 
 soldier in the Civil war ; he married, and is 
 now a resident of St. Paul, Minn., extensively 
 interested in mines, being one of the principal 
 owners of the Robbins copper mines. Cor- 
 nelia, born in Illinois, is the wife of Hugh 
 Williams, of Freeport. George was born in 
 Illinois, where he married, and settled on the 
 home farm near Apple River ; he is still living 
 there, and has a family of two children, Frank 
 and Maggie. Ella married Lewis Hinckley, 
 moved to Colorado, and died in that State. 
 Charles, unmarried, is a resident of Illinois. 
 Etta, Mrs. Martin Tanner, of Waterloo', 
 Iowa, is the mother of two children. 
 
 James C. Robbins spent his childhood and 
 early youth in Illinois, where he received the 
 benefit of a common-school education, and was 
 well prepared for the realities of life. He was 
 a young man at the outbreak of the Civil war, 
 and soon became a soldier in the Union army, 
 enlisting in Company B, 45th 111 . V. I. Dis- 
 playing much ability in the discharge of his 
 military duties, he rose in rank, and presently 
 was commissioned by President Lincoln a cap- 
 tain in the Louisiana Volunteer Artillery, being 
 mustered into the 5th United States Heavy 
 Artillery (colored). He participated in some 
 of the most important battles of the war, and 
 'made a record of which he is justly proud, as- 
 sisting in the capture of Fort Henry and Fort 
 Donelson, was at the siege of Vicksburg, and 
 seriously wounded at Shiloh. He had a tedi- 
 ous recovery, and when able for duty reported 
 
 at the front, and served until Nov. 20, 1864, 
 when the gallant soldier and officer resigned 
 on account of physical disability. 
 
 In i860 Mr. Robbins married Miss Sarah 
 Frost, who was born in Vermont in 1841, 
 daughter of Josiah and Lydia Frost. Her 
 parents removed to Illinois while she was still 
 a young girl, and in that State she was edu- 
 cated and married. The young couple settled 
 in Illinois, and Mrs. Robbins remained near 
 her people during the long and terrible years 
 when her husband was at the front. She died 
 soon after his return from the battlefields of 
 the South, passing away in 1866, and leaving- 
 two sons, J. W. and Herbert J. J. W. was born 
 at Apple River in 1862, was educated in the 
 Platteville (Wis.) Normal, and is a railroad 
 man, living in Chicago ; he has been in the em- 
 ployment of the Illinois Central railroad much 
 of "his life. Herbert J. was born in Illinois in 
 1865, was educated in the Platteville Normal, 
 and is also a railroad man. He married, and 
 has his home in Chicago. He and his wife 
 have one daughter, Katie, a charming young 
 girl. 
 
 I11 1869 Mr. Robbins married Miss Emily 
 Buss, a daughter of Daniel and Charlotte 
 Buss, who came from England. At the time 
 of her marriage she was residing in Belmont, 
 where Mr. Robbins had already established 
 himself in the grain and stock business. 1 o 
 this union there were born five children : 
 Lewis F. was born in Belmont in 1871. Laura 
 was born in Iowa in 1873, was educated in the 
 high school at Belmont, in 1897 married Dr. 
 George Walters, and now resides in Weslev. 
 Iowa; she has one son, Cassius. Frank M., 
 born in Belmont in 1875, is now in business 
 in Fairbank, Iowa. Frank and Lewis both 
 served in the Spanish-American war. Miss 
 Cora, born in Belmont, is living with her par- 
 ents ; she was educated in the Belmont high 
 school. Charles D., born in Belmont in 1883, 
 is a student in the local high school. 
 
 In 1868 Mr. Robbins came to Belmont and 
 established himself in the grain and stock busi- 
 ness. In 1892 he disposed of his grain trade, 
 and since that time has devoted himself to live 
 stock, shipping principally to the Chicago mar- 
 kets. He has owned large tracts of Belmont 
 business and residence property, and in 1898 
 he erected his present home, a fine modern 
 building, on Liberty street. Mr. Robbins has 
 made extensive investments in mineral lands 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 235 
 
 in Lafayette county, and is the owner of the 
 “Lucky Three" mine in the town of Kendall. 
 Politically he has always been a Republican, 
 and was elected sheriff of Lafayette county in 
 1884, discharging the duties of that important 
 office with credit to himself and satisfaction to 
 the county. He has been justice of the peace 
 in Belmont twelve years, is now a member of 
 the county board, and has been school director 
 and treasurer several terms. He is a man of 
 character and standing in his community. 
 Socially he is a member of the Grand Army 
 of the Republic, Sherman Post. Platteville, 
 Wis. ; a charter member of the Blue Lodge of 
 Masons at Apple River, 111 . ; and is connected 
 with the Modern Woodmen of America, No. 
 1 1 17, in which various associations he has 
 proved a companionable and genial gentleman. 
 He takes a leading part in the affairs of his own 
 community, and is regarded as one of the solid 
 business men and foremost citizens of Bel- 
 mont. 
 
 CPIARLES R. BRIDGMAN. The fam- 
 ily from which our honored and respected sub- 
 ject, Charles R. Bridgman, descends can be 
 traced unbrokenly back to the time of King 
 Charles I., of England. 
 
 One of the representatives of the Bridg- 
 man family came to New England but twenty 
 years after the landing of the Pilgrims. This 
 family did not belong to Puritan stock, but, 
 on the other hand, were Royalists, friends of 
 the unhappy King Charles I., one of the an- 
 cestors, Sir Orlando Bridgman, presiding at the 
 trial of the Regicides, after the Restoration, 
 and the coming to the throne of Charles II. 
 The name has frequent and honorable mention 
 in English history, and the family has fur- 
 nished many persons of note, not only in Eng- 
 land, but in this country as well. Rev. Elijah 
 Coleman Bridgman was the first American 
 missionary sent to China, going to that coun- 
 try in 1829, and he performed the herculean 
 task of translating the Bible into the Chinese 
 language, his being the standard translation 
 at this time. His only son was stoned to death 
 by an infuriated mob. Among others of the 
 family who did missionary work in China was 
 James G., who went there in 1843, and was 
 killed in 1850. Rev. Henry Martin, his wife 
 and four children have been doing' missionary 
 work in India since i860. In military matters 
 the family have been well represented ; Col. 
 
 Frank Bridgman, a brother-in-law to Gen. 
 McDowel, is now on the retired list, and re- 
 sides at Washington, D. C. Capt. William 
 Ross Bridgman, who died at Tacoma, Wash., 
 grew up in the navy, held every rank up to cap- 
 tain, and was commander of the battleship 
 “Baltimore" from the date of his commission, 
 Jan. 10, 1892, until the date of his death, Sept. 
 14, 1894. In the war of the Revolution the 
 family was liberally represented, the great- 
 grandfather of our subject having fought un- 
 der Gen. Montgomery in the famous but un- 
 fortunate expedition to Quebec at the beginning 
 of the war for independence, and continuing 
 in the service until the close of hostilities. 
 Members of the Bridgman family were also 
 conspicuous in the second American war. that 
 of 1812, and no important event in the history 
 of our country, where the citizen comes into 
 prominence, has taken place in which the fam- 
 ily of which our subject is a member has not 
 been represented. It is an interesting fact that 
 the celebrated Laura Bridgman, one of the 
 most remarkable women of her time, whose 
 death occurred in 1878, was a cousin to the 
 father of our subject. 
 
 John J. Bridgman was born in the State 
 of New Hampshire Nov. 5, 1813. Alien he 
 was but a child his parents moved to the West- 
 ern Reserve, in the State of Ohio, and his wife, 
 when a child, was taken to the same part of the 
 State by her mother, her father dying in New 
 York. There the children grew to maturity, 
 married, and in 1848 migrated westward, 
 finally settling in Lafayette county, Wis. For 
 many years Mr. Bridgman resided in the town 
 of Fayette, and now, at the age of eighty-six, 
 lives with his son at Lamont. His wife passed 
 away in 1898, aged eighty-five. The parents 
 of John J. Bridgman also came to Lafayette 
 comity, when quite well advanced in life, and 
 lost their lives by drowning while attempting 
 to ford the Pecatonica river, this sad-event oc- 
 curring Feb. 13, 1867. 
 
 Charles R. Bridgman, the immediate sub- 
 ject of this sketch, was the eldest of a family 
 of eight members, the others being Hiram M. ; 
 Mrs. Elizabeth C. Cook, of Charles City, 
 Iowa; Henry, who died in 1854: James S., of 
 Lamont, Wis. : Mrs. Tulia A. McConnell, of 
 Spencer, Iowa; Mrs. Hannah R. McCarty, of 
 Lamont; and William M., of Charles City, 
 Iowa, now deceased. 
 
 Our subject was born in Ashtabula county, 
 
236 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ohio, Dec. 8, 1838, a son of John J. and 
 Rhoda (Cone) .Bridgman, the former a native 
 of New Hampshire, the latter of Cazenovia, 
 N. Y. When about ten years of age Charles 
 was brought to Lafayette county, Wis., and 
 lived in the town of Fayette for some four 
 years, going thence to Wiota, where he has 
 resided the greater part of his life. When the 
 Civil war broke out Mr. Bridgman had already 
 reached man’s estate, and he was not long in 
 making up his mind as to his duty, the blood 
 of his ancestors urging him on to warlike 
 deeds. On Aug. 11, 1862, Mr. Bridgman was 
 enrolled as a member of Co. E, 31st Wis. V. 
 I., entering as a private, and at the end of his 
 first year of service being advanced to the po- 
 sition of second lieutenant, in which rank he 
 remained until the close of the war, although 
 a large part of the time he was in command 
 of his company. The 31st Regiment served 
 at different points along the Mississippi river 
 until the fall of Vicksburg, when the regiment 
 was transferred to the Army of the Cumber- 
 land, and became a part of the 3d 1 Brigade, 1st 
 Division, 20th Army Corps, with which it was 
 identified until the close of the war. Mr. 
 Bridgman took part in all of the important 
 battles of the famous Atlanta campaign, and 
 after the capture of that city the regiment was 
 employed for a time as a portion of the garri- 
 son. This regiment made itself felt in all the 
 prominent events in the March to the Sea, at 
 the battles of Averysboro and Bentonville, in 
 the latter struggle losing sixty men in killed, 
 wounded and missing. After the grand re- 
 view in Washington the regiment w r as sent to 
 Louisville, Ivy., and on June 20, 1865, was 
 mustered out, being disbanded at Madison, 
 Wis., on July 8, when the bronzed and scarred 
 men returned to their homes, with memories 
 which time will never efface, and followed 
 with the thanks of a grateful country. 
 
 Our subject returned to his old home in 
 Wiota, and on Nov. 5, of the same year, was 
 united in marriage to his present most estimable 
 wife, who was then Miss Ellen A. Williams. 
 She was born in Orleans county, N. Y., a 
 daughter of Rev. Benjamin W. Williams, and 
 was brought West by her parents when an in- 
 fant. This union has been blessed with six 
 children: Halcyon Bertha died on April 15, 
 
 1876, at the age of seven; Wilbur H. is editor 
 of the Stanley Republican, Stanley, Wis. ; John 
 C. is a student of Rush Medical College, Chi- 
 
 cago; Benjamin W. is principal of the high 
 school at Oakfield, Wis. ; Ellen Carlotta is 
 assistant principal of the high school at Me- 
 nasha, Wis. ; Rhoda S. is at home. 
 
 For many years Mr. Bridgman successfully 
 carried on farming and stock raising, owning 
 one of the finest farms in the township of La- 
 ment, and making a specialty of fine stock. 
 For a long time 'he was a justice of the peace, 
 and he filled all of the local offices, but he re- 
 tired from the active duties of life for many 
 years, when he removed to Darlington. In 
 politics he is a stanch Republican, coming from 
 an Abolitionist ancestry, his grandfather, when 
 a resident of Ohio, being - an official of the great 
 “underground railroad,” and assisting many 
 an escaping negro to the land of freedom. Mr. 
 Bridgman’s health was much broken in the 
 army, which fact becomes more and more ap- 
 parent as the years go by. Socially he is con- 
 nected with Harvey Post, No. 45, G. A. R., 
 Department of Wisconsin, and is a Royal Arch 
 Mason. He is a worthy 'representative of the 
 sturdy ancestors who, with- James Bridgman, 
 left Winchester, County of Hants, England, 
 in 1640, and settled at Springfield, Massachu- 
 setts. 
 
 EDMUND F. WOODS, M. D., has led a 
 life of activity, hard study, travel and re- 
 search 1 , and, although he is still only forty-six 
 years old, he has been the recipient of many 
 honors, and is possessed of a handsome for- 
 tune. His professional practice is large and 
 lucrative, and he is a member of numerous 
 medical societies, as well as a Mason of the 
 thirty-second degree. The story of his life is 
 a most interesting one. 
 
 Dr. Woods w^as born Oct. 6, 1854, in the 
 village of Alborough, in the County of Nor- 
 folk, England. His father, John Woods, died 
 the same year in which Edmund F., his only 
 child, was born. Flis mother, whose maiden 
 name w r as Martha Woods, is a daughter of 
 the late Robert Woods, of Covington, Ky., 
 who lived to attain the well-nigh phenomenal 
 age of ninety-eight years. Lie was a well- 
 lcnown manufacturer of collars in England, 
 and emigrated to America in i860, taking up 
 his residence at Covington, where lie led the 
 life of a retired gentleman. Mrs. John Woods, 
 the mother of the distinguished physician and 
 surgeon whose career forms the subject of this 
 short biographical sketch, crossed the ocean in 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 237 
 
 August, i860, bringing her son, then a boy of 
 six years, with her. Without tarrying in 
 New York (the port of her arrival) she pro- 
 ceeded at once to Covington, Ivy., afterward 
 removing to Darlington, Lafayette Co., Wis., 
 where she met and married Jonathan Fitchett. 
 In the spring of 1895 they removed to Janes- 
 ville, Wis., which city is still their home. 
 
 Dr. Woods began the education to which 
 he has devoted many of the best years of his 
 life in the common school at Darlington. For 
 several years he was employed as clerk in a 
 hardware store, and in 1877 he went to Lead- 
 ville, Colo., where he was engaged in handling- 
 miners’ supplies on behalf of H. N. Webb & 
 Co. To this vocation he brought such good 
 business tact, joined to sound judgment, in- 
 dustry and thrift, that in the course of a 
 year he was able to accumulate enough to 
 well-nigh pay the expense attendant upon a 
 course in the Medical College of Indiana, at 
 Indianapolis, from which he graduated in the 
 spring of 1882. For seven years he was en- 
 gaged in practice at Darlington, and in the 
 autumn of 1889, feeling that an additional 
 course of study would be of advantage to him, 
 he entered the Atlanta (Ga. ) Medical College, 
 from which he received his second diploma. 
 This course he supplemented by attendance at 
 the Post-Graduate College of New York City, 
 after which he devoted some time to travel. 
 On June 23, 1890, he was married to Miss 
 Margaret B., a daughter of Stephen S. and 
 M. Elizabeth (Lord) Allen, of Darlington. 
 After their marriage they visited Europe, going 
 to many cities in England and on the Con- 
 tinent, and while in London Dr. Woods at- 
 tended lectures at the University Hospital. 
 
 On Jan. 1, 1891, the Doctor located in 
 Janesville, and there practiced with marked 
 success until the spring of 1897, when, ac- 
 companied by his wife, he once more went 
 abroad, his objective point being the gathering- 
 place of the International Medical Associa- 
 tion, Moscow, Russia. Before returning home 
 they visited Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzer- 
 land, Holland, Sweden and France, traveling- 
 in all about 18,000 miles. They returned to 
 Janesville about the first of November, and 
 since then the Doctor has been wholly de- 
 voted to his professional duties. Both as a 
 general practitioner and as a surgeon he stands 
 high among medical men, while his patients, 
 one and all, regard him with admiration, con- 
 
 fidence and love. He is a member of the Amer- 
 ican Medical Association, of the Wisconsin 
 State and the Central Wisconsin Associations, 
 and of the Rock County Medical Society. Since 
 1895 he has held the position of district sur- 
 geon to the Chicago & Northwestern Rail- 
 way Co. Politically he is a Republican, and 
 in religious faith follows that of his ancestors, 
 who were members of the Church of England. 
 Mrs. Woods is a Congregationalist. 
 
 Reference has been made to the high rank 
 held by Dr. Woods in the Masonic Order. His 
 immediate affiliations are with AA'estern Star 
 Lodge, No. 14, A. F. & A. M. ; Janesville 
 Chapter, No. 5, R. A. M. ; Janesville Com- 
 mandery, No. 2, Iv. T. ; and Milwaukee Con- 
 sistory. He is also an Odd Fellow, and a 
 member of the Knights of Pythias. He is of 
 a genial and generous disposition, of tried 
 fidelity to his friends, and has charity for the 
 failings of all. His home is one of the most 
 handsome in Janesville, and is noted for its 
 refined and liberal hospitality. 
 
 WILLIAM R. ELLIS, one of the well- 
 known and highly-respected citizens of Clifton 
 township. Grant county, and a veteran of the 
 war of the Rebellion, he having served his 
 country bravely in the great struggle when 
 brother was pitted against brother and our fair 
 land drenched in blood, was born in Virginia 
 Dec. 15, 1833, a son of Washington and Eliza- 
 beth (Blankenship) Ellis, both also natives of 
 Virginia. 
 
 In the fall of 1847 the parents and several 
 children, of whom our subject was the eldest, 
 migrated to Wisconsin, settling in the town of 
 Ellenboro. Grant county, where they remained 
 some years — during which time several chil- 
 dren were born, the family numbering nine — - 
 and where the mother died. The father sur- 
 vived her, and died in the town of Potosi. 
 
 Our subject remained at home until of age, 
 when he began work for himself, and he has al- 
 ways been engaged in farming. In time he 
 purchased a fine farm in Clifton township, 
 which he has greatly improved, and upon which 
 he now resides. On Jan. 12, 1859, Mr. Ellis 
 married Miss Elizabeth A. Cox, a daughter of 
 John and Agnes Cox. Mrs. Ellis was born in 
 Pennsylvania July 11. 1844, and was taken to 
 Iowa by her mother when but three years old, 
 the father having migrated to that State pre- 
 viously. He died in Iowa, and Mrs. Cox mar- 
 
238 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ried Washington Ellis, the father of our sub- 
 ject; she is still living. Thirteen children 
 were born to Mr. and Mrs. Ellis, nine of whom 
 are still living. 
 
 On Aug. 20, 1862, Mr. Ellis enlisted in 
 Company H, 25th Wis. V. I., and was honor- 
 ably discharged in July, 1865. He partici- 
 pated in many of the leading battles of the war 
 which took place in the West, the regiment 
 having been stationed in Minnesota and other 
 Western States. During - his term of service 
 his health became so shattered that he has 
 never recovered from the effects of his gallant 
 career in the army. As the years advance Mr. 
 Ellis realizes bow great the service rendered 
 by the old soldiers was, even though they did 
 come out of the conflict without loss of any 
 members. Wrecked health is fully as serious 
 a matter, and for the past ten years our subject 
 has had to take very good care of himself, and 
 refrain from active participation in the work 
 of the farm. In politics Mr. Ellis has always 
 been a stanch Republican, and he and his esti- 
 mable wife are consistent members of the Chris- 
 tian Church. They are kind-hearted people, 
 ever ready to lend' a helping hand to those in 
 misfortune, and endeavor to show forth in 
 their lives the faith they are so earnestly fob. 
 lowing. 
 
 MATTHEW VAN ALLEN has for over 
 fifty years lived. in Rock county, Wis., and in 
 that long period of time has grown from early 
 manhood to a serene and ripe old age. 
 
 Mr. Van Allen was born in Kinderhook, 
 Columbia Co., N. Y., May 3, 1824, son of 
 Lucas and Lydia (Luddington) Van Allen, 
 both also natives of that county. They had 
 one son and two daughters : Matthew ; Sarah, 
 
 wife of Wilbur Goodrich, of Emerald Grove, 
 Rock county ; and Catherine, who died at Em- 
 erald Grove. The father, who was a farmer 
 by occupation, came to Wisconsin in 1849, l' 0- 
 eating at Emerald Grove, in Bradford town- 
 ship, where he and his son together bought 140 
 acres of wild land, which they improved, and 
 thereon made the family homestead. There 
 Lucas Van .-Vilen lived until his death, in 1882, 
 at the age of eighty-two years. His first wife 
 died in New York; she was a Baptist. Han- 
 nah Chapin became his second wife, and after 
 her death he married Bathia Vosberg, who is 
 also deceased. Lucas Van Allen was a Con- 
 gregationalist. His father was a native of 
 
 New York, and of Holland-Dutch descent, was 
 a farmer, and died in New York when ad- 
 vanced in years. He had seven children. 
 Samuel Luddington, the maternal grandfather 
 of Matthew Van Allen, was a prominent and 
 well-to-do farmer of Columbia county, N. Y., 
 was of English descent, and died when very 
 old. He had a large family. 
 
 Matthew Van Allen was seven years old 
 when his parents moved from Columbia coun- 
 ty to Genesee county, N. Y., and there he grew 
 to manhood, receiving his schooling in the vil- 
 lage schools of LeRoy. He has always fol- 
 lowed agriculture as the main business of his 
 life, and has farmed in Rock county since 1849, 
 settling first in Emerald Grove, where he re- 
 mained until. 1853. That year he sold his in- 
 terests in Emerald Grove and bought seventy- 
 live acres of farm land in La Prairie township 
 and five acres of timber in Harmony township. 
 He has bought more land from time to time, 
 and now owns a fine farm of 217 aores, highly 
 improved, and provided with all the appliances 
 for the most modern farming. Here he con- 
 tinues to make his home. 
 
 On Sept. 14, 1852, was celebrated 1 the wed- 
 ding of Mr. Van Allen and Miss Elizabeth 
 Ransom, daughter of Asa and Hannah 
 (Green) Ransom, both natives of the State of 
 New York. Three children have been born 
 to this union, Eber, Edwin T. and Kittie. 
 Eber is a farmer, and lives in La Prairie town- 
 ship, occupying a part of the old farm and 
 working all of it ; he married Mary Jones, and 
 is the father of three children, Edwin T., 
 Elroy E. and Matthew Arthur. Edwin T., 
 the second son of Matthew Van Allen, died 
 when only fourteen months old. Kittie is still 
 single, and lives at home. Mr. and Mrs. Van 
 Alien are members of the Methodist Church, 
 and are highly respected in every walk of life. 
 He is a Republican, but has never been an 
 office-seeker, being content to do his daily 
 duties as strength is given him. 
 
 Mrs. Van Allen’s father died in New York 
 when she was only three months old, and her 
 mother died in her native State after Mrs. 
 Van Allen came West. Her grandfather, 
 Thomas Ransom, was a veteran of the Revo- 
 lution, and so was her maternal grandfather, 
 Isaac Green. The Ransoms and Greens were 
 both New England families. Mrs. Van Al- 
 len’s father dealt extensively in land, and be- 
 came a well-to-do agriculturist. His family 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 239 
 
 consisted of four daughters and two sons, Mrs. 
 Van Allen being the youngest, her birth occur- 
 ring Jan. 28, 1828. 
 
 JOHN R. BOOTH, the very efficient police 
 justice of the city of Beloit, Rock county, has 
 become widely known as a man of ability and 
 decided judicial temper. He is active and in- 
 fluential in public affairs, and enjoys a personal 
 reputation that is beyond reproach. 
 
 Mr. Booth was born in Montgomery coun- 
 ty, N. Y., June 30, 1827, a son of John and 
 Ellen (Robertson) Booth, natives of England 
 and Scotland, respectively. They had seven 
 children born to them, two now living, John 
 R. and Belle, the latter a resident of Fonda, 
 N. Y. The father was a woolen manufac- 
 turer, and was in business at Fonda, N. Y., the 
 last years of his life. He died there when aged 
 about sixty-five. The mother long survived 
 him, and reached the age of eighty-three. 
 They were members of the Reformed Church, 
 in which he held official position. His father 
 was a woolen manufacturer in England, where 
 he lived and died; he had his business in York- 
 shire, and was a man of affairs. John Rob- 
 ertson, the father of Mrs. Ellen Booth, was 
 born in Scotland, and came to this country to 
 locate in Fulton county, N. Y., where he died 
 between fifty and sixty years ago at a good 
 old age. He had five or six children. 
 
 John R. Booth lived at home until he at- 
 tained his majority. He obtained a good edu- 
 cation, attending the public school and the local 
 academy, a school of high grade. During his 
 vacation seasons he worked in the woolen mills 
 until, by the time he was a man, he had a thor- 
 ough understanding of every detail of the busi- 
 ness. He owned and operated a woolen mill 
 on his own account for some years, and in 1854, 
 coming West to Jo Daviess county, 111 ., became 
 the agent of the railroad company at Warren, 
 a position that he held for some half dozen 
 years. He was living in Galena at the out- 
 break of the Civil war, and he secured trans- 
 portation for the first company of soldiers sent 
 out from the county to aid in the suppression 
 of the Rebellion. He lived in Galena until 
 1865, then spent a year in Warren, and in 1866 
 came to Beloit, and has made that city his home 
 to the present time, with the exception of some 
 five or six years when he w’as in Iowa. In 
 Beloit Mr. Booth was in the sash and door 
 business for several years, and then became 
 
 senior partner in the firm of Booth, Hinman 
 & Co., proprietors of a large paper house. The 
 firm did an extensive business, and Mr. Booth 
 continued therewith until 1880, when he sold 
 out and removed to Iowa, remaining there sev- 
 eral, years. In 1889 he returned to Beloit, and 
 that city has been his home to the present time. 
 
 In 1890 Mr. Booth was elected police jus- 
 tice, and he has filled that position to the pres- 
 ent time, with the exception of a part of one 
 term, to the very great satisfaction of the gen- 
 eral public. He is a man of broad views, and 
 while he is sympathetic toward the unfortunate 
 and criminal who come before him, he remem- 
 bers the violated law, and knows well how to 
 temper justice with mercy. He has occupied 
 his present office quarters since 1892. 
 
 Mr. Booth and Miss Sarah Hicks were 
 married Oct. 23, 1854. Mrs. Booth was a 
 daughter of Isaac and Isabella (Robinson) 
 Hicks, and became the mother of four chil- 
 dren : Isaac, who died when twenty-six years 
 
 of age; and three who died in early childhood. 
 The mother died in 1873. She was a Congre- 
 gationalist, and a lady of fine character. In 
 1874 Mr. Booth married Miss Minerva Leon- 
 ard, a daughter of H. Iv. and Minerva (Joce- 
 lyn) Leonard. They have one daughter, Mary 
 J. Mrs. Booth is a member of the Second 
 Congregational Church, as is her daughter, 
 who is a graduate of Beloit College. Judge 
 Booth, as he is familiarly called, is a member 
 of Morning Star Lodge, No. 10, A. F. & A. 
 M. ; Beloit Chapter, No. 9, R. A. M. ; and Be- 
 loit Commandery, No. 6, Iv. T., being recorder 
 of the commandery, and secretary of the other 
 two Masonic bodies. He is a Republican, was 
 alderman from the Third ward for three years, 
 and has been on the county board. He has a 
 pleasant home at No. 623 Bluff street. Our 
 subject is held in the utmost respect by all who 
 know him. 
 
 PETER VOIGT. This prominent early 
 settler of Grant county is one of the leading 
 German- American citizens of Cassville. He 
 was born in Prussia in 1836, a son of Theo- 
 dore and Agnes ( Turnich) Voigt, also natives 
 of Germany, where the father died. In 1852 
 the widowed mother, with her eight children, 
 came to the United States, sailing from Ant- 
 werp. They came to Gothenburg, Iowa, by 
 way of Milwaukee, and after residing there for 
 a time moved to Cassville, Wis., where the 
 
240 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 mother died in 1872. The children were Mar- 
 garet, who died in Glen Haven, Grant county; 
 Mary, who wedded Dr. Hambitzer, of Brit- 
 ish Hollow, Grant county, where her death 
 occurred; Clara, Mrs. Wiese, a resident of 
 Cassville ; Celia, Mrs. Simmerman, of Du- 
 buque, Iowa ; Gertrude, Mrs. Kuchenberg, of 
 Cassville ; Hubbard, who served through the 
 Civil war in the same company as his brother 
 Peter, and subsequently died in Kansas; and 
 Peter, subject of this review. 
 
 It was in 1853 that Peter Voigt took up 
 his residence in Grant county, where he secured 
 120 acres of government land, making several 
 trips to the land office at Mineral Point for 
 that purpose. In his farming operations he 
 prospered, and became one of the most success- 
 ful agriculturists of his community. Feeling 
 that his adopted country needed his services 
 during the war of the Rebellion, Mr. Voigt 
 enlisted, at Glen Haven, Aug. 14, 1862, in 
 Company D, 33d Wis. V. I., for three years 
 or during the war, and was mustered in at 
 Camp Utley, Wis. He participated in the 
 siege of Vicksburg, where he lay in the trenches 
 for forty-two days, and later took part in the 
 engagement at Natchez, after which he re- 
 turned to Vicksburg. He was in the Meridian 
 and Red River expeditions up to the engage- 
 ment at Opelamas, and subsequently took part 
 in the battle at Tupelo, Miss., after which he 
 went with his command up the White River, 
 taking part in the engagements at Clarendon, 
 Duvall’s Bluff, and other points along that 
 stream. They followed Price through Mis- 
 souri, and were in the engagements at Cape 
 Girardeau, Jefferson City and Warrensburg. 
 Capturing 1,100 prisoners, they took them to 
 St. Louis, and from there went to Nashville, 
 and later to Lawrenceburg, Clifton, Savannah 
 and Eastpoint, participating in the engage- 
 ments at these places. After spending the 
 winter of 1864-65 at Eastpoint they went to 
 Corinth, and from there to New Orleans, and 
 subsequently took part in the battles of Mobile, 
 Spanish Fort, and Tuskegee. The war having 
 ended, Mr. Voigt was honorably discharged at 
 Vicksburg, Miss., in August, 1865, and re- 
 turned to his home in Cassville on the 14th of 
 that month. 
 
 In 1 866 our subject was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Gertie Brener, also a native of 
 Germany, and a daughter of Peter Breuer, who 
 came to America in 1S57. After his marriage 
 
 Mr. Voigt engaged in farming and mining for 
 some years, but is now engaged in lime burn- 
 ing. To him and his wife have been born 
 four children, namely : Margaret, Mrs. Man- 
 
 ning, a resident of LaCrosse, Wis. ; Clara, Mrs. 
 Teasdale, of Cassville; Rosa; and Peter. 
 
 Mr. Voigt was a charter member of the 
 Grand Army Post at Beetown, but is now con- 
 nected with the one at Cassville, of which he 
 was commander in 1899. He affiliates with 
 the Republican party, and takes an active and 
 commendable interest in political affairs. He 
 is a loyal and devoted citizen, true to the inter- 
 ests of his adopted country, and is highly re- 
 spected and esteemed wherever known. 
 
 JOHN J. LYKE, now living retired in 
 Janesville, Rock county, where he has a neat 
 and pleasant home at No. 260 South Main 
 street, has led a career of singular probity, 
 and by industry and honesty has accumulated 
 a considerable fortune, and achieved a large 
 success in life. 
 
 Mr. Lyke was born in Montgomery coun- 
 ty, N. Y., July 28, 1823, only child of John 
 and Nancy (Near) Lyke, both natives of New 
 York. The father, who was a farmer, died in 
 Steuben county, that State. In 1856 the widow 
 came West with her son, and made her home 
 with him until her death, in 1863. She and 
 her husband were Lutherans in religion. Flis 
 father, John Lyke, came from Germany, and 
 settled in New York before the Revolution, lo- 
 cating in Dutchess county. He afterward 
 moved to Montgomery county, where he died 
 at an advanced age. He was a farmer, and 
 had five or six children. Her father, Zacha- 
 riah Near, who was a farmer, was of Mohawk- 
 Dutch descent, and lived to about ninety years 
 of age. He was the father of four children. 
 
 John J. Lyke was reared in the town of 
 Palatine, Montgomery Co., N. Y., on a farm, 
 attended district school, and worked out by the 
 year until after he came West. Here he did 
 farming on shares for six years, and then 
 bought a farm of eighty acres in La Prairie 
 township, section 7, which he still owns. He 
 brought it to a high state of perfection, and 
 made his home there until 1887, when he 
 moved to Janesville. For some years he owned 
 a second and adjoining eighty acres, but sold 
 it after a time. 
 
 On Feb. 2, 1854, Mr. Lyke married Miss 
 Catherine Ann England, who was born April 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 241 
 
 20, 1828, daughter of Benjamin and Jane 
 (Vantwerpt) England, and they have had four 
 children, Benjamin Clark, Mary J., Rachel 
 Ann and Alice Catherine. Benjamin C. mar- 
 ried Margaret Austin, now deceased, and they 
 had six children, John, Alice, William, Robert, 
 Benjamin and Alexander; he is a farmer. 
 Mary J. is single, and lives at home. Rachel 
 Ann married William A. Read, and has her 
 home in La Prairie ; they have one son, Arthur 
 Victor. Alice Catherine married Webster C. 
 Hugunin; they live in Rock township, Rock 
 Co., Wis., and have two children, Hattie and 
 Ira. Mr. and Mrs. Lyke are members of the 
 Congregational Church. He is a Republican, 
 has been supervisor two years, and school treas- 
 urer of La Prairie township seventeen years. 
 Mr. Lyke has always been a hard-working man, 
 and has lived an upright life. He contemplates 
 with satisfaction that he was never sued, and 
 has never had occasion to sue any one. He 
 has treated the world squarely, and it in turn 
 has used him well. 
 
 The parents of Mrs. Lyke, Montgomery 
 county (N. Y. ) people, had six children, Mrs. 
 Lyke being the only one now living. Her 
 father was a farmer, and died in New York 
 in 1849, when about fifty-seven years old. Her 
 mother died at the old homestead a number 
 of years later. Mrs. Lyke's paternal grand- 
 father, Benjamin England, was born and ed- 
 ucated in Germany, and was a farmer in his 
 early life. Coming to America, he served 
 through the Revolutionary war as a minister ; 
 lie belonged to the Lutheran denomination. 
 He lived many years after the war, continuing 
 to serve his Master. He married Jane God- 
 new, and had five children. Mrs. Lyke's ma- 
 ternal grandfather, John AYntwerpt, was born 
 in Holland, came to this country when young, 
 became a farmer, and died in New York State 
 when, quite old. Throughout the Revolution 
 he served as a home guard and the incidents 
 connected therewith which remained strongest 
 in his memory were those of the famous period 
 of starvation which occurred when the soldiers 
 were under a traitor commander. His wife. 
 Rachel (AYnantwerp) , became blind, and died 
 in old age. 
 
 MRS. JUDITH JANE GILAIORE, one 
 of the old and highly-esteemed residents of 
 Smelser township, living in Georgetown. Grant 
 county, is the widow of Lysander Gilmore, who 
 
 died in 1855. Mrs. Gilmore was born in [Mis- 
 souri Sept. 13., 1821, daughter of William and 
 Eliza (Bryant) Bowmer, both of whom were 
 born in Kentucky. 
 
 William Bowmer came to AVisconsin in 
 1827, and worked in the lead mines of Big 
 Patch, in the township of Smelser, for one year. 
 He then returned to Missouri and brought his 
 family, settling in Smelser township, Grant 
 county, in 1828. Here he pre-empted land 
 from the government, and settled down to 
 mining and agricultural life. 
 
 As a miner and farmer he was successful, 
 but decided to change his residence, in 1881 
 selling his farm and moving into the township 
 of Paris, where he lived until his death, in 
 March, 1886. During the war of 1812 he 
 faithfully served as a soldier under Gen. Jack- 
 son, and was at the battle of New Orleans; he 
 received a pension. The mother of Airs. Gil- 
 more died in 1832, leaving five children. Of 
 the family born to Air. and Airs. Bowmer, 
 John, born in Kentucky in 1819, came to Grant 
 county, served in the Black Hawk war ; he 
 married Betsey Ann Patterson, who came from! 
 New York in 1836; he now resides in Oregon, 
 where he is a prominent man. Anna, born in 
 Alissouri in 1820, was burned to death while 
 boiling down sugar at her father's camp in 
 Grant county. Judith Jane, Airs. Gilmore, 
 is our subject. William, born in Alissouri in 
 1823, migrated to California in 1S50, and died 
 there. Armilda died when a child. Eliza, 
 born in Grant county in 1830, married Harvey 
 Kenaston, and resides at Long Pine, Neb., with, 
 one daughter, Ada. Michael., born in Grant 
 county in 1832, died in childhood. 
 
 Our subject, Judith Jane Gilmore, was ed- 
 ucated in the private schools of Galena and Elk 
 Grove. In 1836 she was married to Lysander 
 Gilmore, formerly of Chautauqua county, AY 
 Y., who was born in 181 1, a son of Hon. James 
 Gilmore, one of the old pioneer settlers at 
 Jamestown, A\ r is. The children born to this 
 union were : Hiram, born in AA isconsin in 
 
 1837, married Aliss Mary AkCue, and resides, 
 at Farley, Iowa; Edwin died at the age of 
 eleven; Julia, born in 1842, died at the age of 
 eighteen; Emily, born in May, 1844, married 
 Spaulding AYorks, and resides in Idaho, the 
 mother of three children, Drusie, Lillie and 
 Ivy; Janet, born in 1846, died in childhood; 
 James, born in 1848, died young: Alelissa, 
 born in 1853, is the widow of Charles Nash, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 242 
 
 and resides in Colorado ; and Alvira, born in 
 1855, married Thomas Longbotham, of Platte- 
 ville, Wisconsin. 
 
 After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore set- 
 tled on land he purchased from the government 
 during the administration of President Martin 
 Van Buren, and Mrs. Gilmore still has in her 
 possession the parchment deed for this land, 
 which is located near the line of Smelser and 
 Jamestown. Mr. Gilmore engaged in mining 
 and farming, in which he was most successful. 
 In politics he was originally a Whip-, later a 
 Republican, and filled many of the county and 
 township offices, being a justice of the peace 
 for a number of years before his death. Mrs. 
 Gilmore has been connected with the Christian 
 Church for many years, and in that denomina- 
 tion still finds her religious home. 
 
 Mrs. Gilmore is everywhere known as a 
 lady of kind and Christian character. She 
 was one of the first white children brought to 
 Smelser, Grant county, and passed through 
 many hardships in the early days of Wisconsin, 
 and relates many interesting tales of the time 
 when the Black Hawk Indians held the settlers 
 for many days confined in the blockhouses. 
 She has administered to the wants of the sick 
 through this section whenever sent for, and no 
 record of the county would be complete with- 
 out her honored name. 
 
 HUGH CAMPBELL. Among the well- 
 known old settlers of Lafayette county is 
 Hugh Campbell, of Darlington, the subject of 
 this sketch, who arrived here April 1, 1849. 
 His birth took place in County Donegal, Ire- 
 land, in July, 1823, and on March 17, 1831, 
 he removed with his parents to Glasgow, 
 Scotland. Although he was born in Ireland, 
 his ancestors were from Argyll, Scotland, 
 and took part in the wars and revolutions that 
 characterized the early history of that, coun- 
 try. 
 
 Mr. Campbell was one of twelve children 
 born to his parents, his two older brothers 
 dying in childhood, and many of the family 
 passing away since. On July 29, 1842, Mr. 
 Campbell arrived at the port of New York, 
 having crossed the Atlantic in the good ship 
 ' ‘Warns worth.” He went to Philadelphia 
 and Pittsburg, where he spent some time be- 
 fore journeying through Delaware and Mary- 
 land, as well as Kentucky, being interested in 
 the work in the coal mines in the different 
 
 States, for he was a miner, and carried on that 
 business for a number of years. In the mean- 
 time Mr. Campbell had sent for his father's 
 family, they joining him while he was in Pitts- 
 burg. He brought them with him to Lafay- 
 ette county, and showed his parents filial care 
 until they died, his father living to be 100 
 years old, and his mother to the great age of 
 105, and their remains lie in the Catholic cem- 
 etery in Shullsburg. One brother of our 
 subject, Thomas, died in Gratiot, Wis. ; Frank 
 became sheriff of Lafayette county for two 
 terms, and was elected to the State Senate; 
 Morris was at one time treasurer of Lafayette 
 county; John and Peter are deceased; James 
 is a resident of Shullsburg; Mrs. Bridget Rice 
 lives in Gratiot; as also does Mrs. Julia Camp- 
 bell. 
 
 Our subject, now advanced in years, at 
 one time was one of the most prominent citi- 
 zens of the county. Locating in the town of 
 Gratiot in 1852, he began farming. In 1856 
 he was the Democratic candidate for sheriff, 
 but that year the Republican party, for the 
 first time, had entered the county with a 
 National ticket, and had become a majority. 
 In 1858 he was again his party’s candidate, 
 and was elected, his Republican opponent 
 being Philip Earnest, and his term of service 
 was for two years. The laws of the State 
 then not allowing a candidate to succeed him- 
 self, he was not nominated in i860, but was 
 again elected in 1862. During his first term 
 the county seat was at Shullsburg, but by the 
 time of his second election it had been 
 moved to Darlington, and thus Mr. Campbell 
 became a resident thereof. 
 
 The first wife of our subject was Miss 
 Sarah Flanagan, whom he married in Pitts- 
 burg Oct. 22, 1852; her death occurred Jan. 
 19, 1873. On Jan. 8, 1880, Mr. Campbell 
 wedded Miss Mary Ann O’Toole, who was 
 born at White Oak Springs, a daughter of 
 John and Ann (McFadclen) O’Toole, who 
 still live on the old homestead. Mr. O’Toole 
 was born in Ireland in 1822, and became a 
 resident of Wisconsin in 1844, locating in the 
 town of New Diggings, at that time in Grant 
 county. There he engaged in mining for two 
 years, and then removed to the farm in 'White 
 Oak Springs, where he still resides. In 1848 
 he married his present wife, who is a native 
 of Ireland also. Mr. O’Toole is a well-known 
 citizen, and has held various town offices. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 243 
 
 The family and connection possess the ability 
 and energy of their race,, and combine with 
 those attributes others which make them prom- 
 inent and valuable citizens, as well as pleas- 
 ant and agreeable people. 
 
 Our subject has reached his seventy-eighth 
 year, yet is vigorous in mind and body, and 
 it is the wish of his many friends that his life 
 may be prolonged' as was that of his honored 
 parents. 
 
 F. W. KLINKHAMMER, one of the suc- 
 cessful and prominent farmers of Cassville 
 township, Grant county, chairman of the town- 
 ship board, and a man of influence in the com- 
 munity, was born in the Rhine Province, Ger- 
 many, in 1839, a son of Wynand and M. Ann 
 (Klinkhammer) Klinkhammer, natives of Ger- 
 many, who never left the Fatherland. A 
 brother of our subject, Peter, came to Albany, 
 N. Y., in 1852, and in 1854 migrated to Glen 
 Haven township, Grant county. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated in 
 Germany, after which he served for four years 
 in the German army, and was in the war be- 
 tween the German Confederation and Den- 
 mark in 1864. He was one of the stormers of 
 Fort Dueppel, on April 18. 1864; this was a 
 very bloody battle, in which thousands were 
 killed in about two hours. Our subject was 
 the only non-commissioned officer left in his 
 company after the battle. Mr. Klinkhammer 
 started for America in 1865, sailing from 
 Antwerp June 1, on the ill-fated vessel ‘■Will- 
 iam Nelson,” which burned on the 26th of 
 June, 1865, in mid-ocean, and 447 lives were 
 lost. The captain and sailors took the life- 
 boats and left the vessel, never turning their 
 hands to save anybody or do anything. When 
 the heat became unbearable Mr. Klinkhammer 
 jumped into the ocean and swam toward the 
 nearest boat, which he reached after an hour’s 
 free-handed swimming. He caught hold of 
 the rim of the boat, but the second mate struck 
 his hands off. Then he looked around, and 
 seeing two inch boards, ten feet long and ten 
 inches wide, took one under each arm, laid on 
 his back, and so swam toward another boat, 
 into which he was taken about sundown ; he 
 left the burning vessel between 8 and 9 o'clock 
 Monday morning. The sailing-vessel ‘‘Mer- 
 kur,” a Dutch ship, found them on Wednes- 
 day morning and brought them to Havre, 
 France, landing there July 10, 1865. Noth- 
 ing dismayed, our subject again started for the 
 
 goal of his desires, taking passage the second 
 time July 18, 1865, in a steamer, and landing, 
 after seventeen days, in New York, whence 
 he went direct to Glen Haven, Wis. Here he 
 remained one year, then went to Cassville 
 township, purchased land, opened it up, and 
 now has one of the finest pieces of farming 
 property in the town of Cassville, comprising 
 320 acres. From 1895 to 1898 Mr. Klink- 
 hammer resided in Cassville, and at the latter 
 date returned to his farm, where he has since 
 lived. 
 
 In 1867 our subject was married, in Cass- 
 ville, to Miss Mary Ahrens, born in St. Louis, 
 a daughter of Ignatz and Catherine (Peine) 
 Ahrens, natives of Germany. Of the children 
 born to our subject and wife five are living: 
 Clara; Anna, now Mrs. Knapp, .of Beetown 
 township; Susan, who graduated from the 
 University of Wisconsin in June, 1900; Lena; 
 and Agnes. They have also an adopted son, 
 John Klinkhammer, a very estimable young 
 man, now eighteen years old. 
 
 Mr. Klinkhammer has been on the town- 
 ship board for about twenty years, and chair- 
 man since 1897; also a director of the Bloom- 
 ington Farmers’ Insurance Co., which position 
 he has held for eighteen years. Mr. Klink- 
 hammer has been enabled to develop his land 
 to the best advantage, and is a man well 
 known and highly respected throughout the 
 community. 
 
 GEORGE W. RUSSELL, a well-known 
 resident of the town of Gratiot, is a promi- 
 nent representative of a numerous family that 
 has played a large part in the practical devel- 
 opment of Lafayette county. 
 
 Dr. George Washington Russell, the pro- 
 genitor of this family, was born in Litchfield 
 county, Conn., Sept. 21, 1800, and was de- 
 scended from early Colonial ancestry. When 
 he was quite young his father migrated to 
 Bradford county, Penn., and his mother car- 
 ried him thither on horseback. Young George 
 returned to his native State, however, and 
 attended school in Hartford. He remained 
 in Connecticut, variously engaged, until Aug- 
 ust, 1820, when he returned to his Pennsvl- 
 vania home, and engaged in farming in the 
 town of Windham, Bradford county. Five 
 years later he went to Waterloo, N. Y., where 
 he made his home for four years, and then 
 returned to Windham and took up the study 
 of medicine. He possessed a versatile mind, 
 
244 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and soon became proficient in the science of 
 medicine, practicing- successfully for many 
 years. He was destined, however, to play an 
 important part in the development of the coun- 
 try. As early as 1833 he was enrolled in the 
 volunteer militia of Pennsylvania, in the ca- 
 pacity of adjutant, and later as major. He 
 sold his farming interests in Windham and 
 removed to Ulster, same county, and in 1850 
 he became interested in obtaining land war- 
 rants for the soldiers of the war of 1812, also 
 engaging to some extent as a pension agent. 
 He began to purchase these land warrants, and 
 in the latter part of 1850 he had obtained pos- 
 session of a large amount of land. His pos- 
 sessions in Wisconsin alone aggregated about 
 one thousand acres, and he owned much more 
 in the State of Iowa. In March, 1857, he 
 located in the town of Gratiot, Lafayette Co., 
 Wis. He practically retired from the prac- 
 tice of medicine after locating in the West, 
 and devoted himself entirely to the improve- 
 ment of his land, clearing a fine farm and 
 erecting a beautiful home, where he lived until 
 his death, Nov. 2, 1870. On June 27, 1826, 
 he married Susan Bear, only child of John 
 Bear, of Waterloo, N. Y., and she survived 
 her husband but a few years, dying Oct. 2, 
 1878. She was born in Seneca county, N. Y., 
 June 30, 1806. Dr. and Mrs. Russell were 
 the parents of eleven children, those surviving 
 at this writing (January, 1901) being: John 
 
 Bear, born May 1, 1827; George W., born 
 Sept. 28, 1828; Mary Jane, wife of John Ran- 
 dall, born Feb. 15, 1830; Harriet, widow of 
 S. B. Dunbar, born March 16, 1832; Angeline, 
 widow of W. W. Tuttle ; Amanda, born Sept. 
 28, 1834, wife of George C. West, of Brad- 
 ford county, Penn. ; Louisa, born Nov. 5, 
 1837, wife of M. S. Wright; Read, born April 
 4, 1839; Sarah Catherine, born Nov. 4, 1841, 
 at Ulster, Penn.; Lewis C., born March 13, 
 1844. 
 
 George W. Russell was the second in the 
 order of birth in the above mentioned family. 
 With his brother John he came to Lafayette 
 county in 1856, and his first efforts in improv- 
 ing land were on a farm in what is now 
 Blanchard township, a portion of his father's 
 estate. He remained there about three years, 
 and then became a resident of Gratiot town- 
 ship, where he has since resided. He has been 
 one of the most extensive farmers and stock 
 raisers in the county, and has done much 
 
 toward developing the natural resources of 
 the country. He has assisted in laying out 
 and building some fifteen miles of road, and 
 has cleared and grubbed over two hundred 
 acres of land, breaking over a section for him- 
 self. His large landed possessions are culti- 
 vated by tenants. Air. Russell has always, 
 been a friend of progress, and has taken a deep 
 interest in the public schools; he helped to 
 build and maintain sixteen “little red school 
 houses," and thoroughly believes in compul- 
 sory education. In political belief he is a 
 strong Prohibitionist, in religion a Universal- 
 ist. 
 
 On May 24, 1865, Mr. Russell was united 
 in marriage with Adiss Mary Jane Dawson, 
 daughter of Jonathan and Jane (Hale) Daw- 
 son, natives of England, and early settlers of 
 Shullsburg, Lafayette county. Mrs. Russell 
 was born near Scales Mound Dec. 2, 1842. 
 Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Russell : Grant R. ; Alvin R. ; Georgina, wife 
 
 of Ashton Thompson ; Della, who married 
 Ashton Thompson, and died at the age of twen- 
 ty-two years ; and Belva Lockwood, who died 
 at the age of six months. The family hold 
 an honored place in the social fife of the town,, 
 where they are all highly esteemed. 
 
 GEORGE STEWART, of Lancaster,. 
 Grant county, a retired farmer, was born in 
 Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1822, came to Amer- 
 ica when fourteen years old, and has been a 
 resident of Grant county since 1856. 
 
 Thomas Stewart, father of George, mar- 
 ried Anna Alelrose, who died when her son 
 was a mere child. The father, however, sur- 
 vived until he was eighty-eight years old, and 
 died in Scotland in 1874. George Stewart, 
 father of Thomas, and after whom George, 
 our subject, was named, took charge of the 
 latter at his mother’s death, and cared for him 
 until he came to America. The grandfather 
 married Catherine Butler, five of whose uncles 
 fought in the famous battle of Culloden, in 
 which they all lost their fives. The grand- 
 father was called away when eighty-seven 
 years old. 
 
 George Stewart, whose name opens this 
 biographical review, came to America in com- 
 pany with several others in the brig “Feronia," 
 Capt. Grant, of Glasgow, landing in Alontreal, 
 Canada, after a voyage of eight weeks. From 
 Montreal the young man proceeded by steamer 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 245 
 
 to Kingston, and thence to Hamilton, where 
 the companions separated, all of them save Mr. 
 Stewart returning soon afterward to Scotland, 
 without having intimated their intentions to 
 Mr. Stewart, who was thus left alone among 
 strangers. However, he soon secured employ- 
 ment with a wealthy Scotchman named Crooks, 
 who lived near Hamilton, and assisted about 
 the house at a compensation of $6 -per month. 
 Mr. Stewart next went to Toronto, where he 
 worked in a brickyard two years, then returned 
 to Hamilton, and remained in that vicinity 
 three years, thence going to Rochester, Mon- 
 roe Co., N. Y., and to York, Livingston Co., 
 same State, where many of his countrymen re- 
 sided. He passed nine years in York and 
 vicinity, and during the latter part of this 
 period worked for J. C. Holloway, with whom 
 he came to Grant county, Wis. Here he 
 worked on Mr. Holloway's large farm for 
 seven years, and by this time had saved a few 
 hundred dollars and purchased an eighty-acre 
 tract of land about two miles south of Lan- 
 caster, in Boyce Prairie. This land he occu- 
 pied seven years, then sold and bought a 400- 
 acre farm of Lewis Holloway, for which he 
 paid $16,000; subsecpiently he bought twenty 
 acres within the corporation limits of Lan- 
 caster. After residing on his large farm for 
 fourteen years Mr. Stewart sold to great ad- 
 vantage to Shrack Mitcheh,and purchased what 
 was known as the Farnsworth farm, on which 
 he lived five years, at the end of that time dis- 
 posing of it and retiring from active responsi- 
 bility as a farmer. He repurchased ten acres 
 of the twenty-acre tract he had previously sold 
 in Lancaster, and here erected his elegant 
 mansion, although he has disposed of a portion 
 of the ten acres. 
 
 Mr. Stewart was married, in Rochester, 
 N. Y., to Miss Eliza Morrow, a native of Ire- 
 land, and to this union have been born five 
 daughters and one son, namely: Jane, wife of 
 
 John Stevens, of Lancaster; Robert, who lives 
 near Mason City, Iowa; Nellie, wife of Darius 
 Walker, also residing near Mason City ; Cather- 
 ine, wife of Harrison R. King; Mary, who is 
 married to Frank Healey, of Iowa; and Lucy, 
 still at the parental home. 
 
 Mr. Stewart has made his own way through 
 the world bravely, being possessed of sound 
 sense and judgment and all the characteristics 
 inherent to the natives of Scotland — indefati- 
 gable perseverance, indomitable courage, quick 
 
 observation, untiring industry and economical 
 habits. He has found time to cross the Atlan- 
 tic ocean several times since he first reached the 
 \\ estern continent, visiting, among other 
 places, the city of his birth. 
 
 In politics Mr. Stewart is independent of 
 party ties, and votes in accordance with his 
 personal views touching the issue before the 
 public, but generally for the men whom he 
 thinks best* qualified to fill local positions of 
 either responsibility or trust. In religion he 
 and family are Methodists, and are worthy 
 and devout members of that church ; socially 
 their standing is elevated and desirable, if not 
 enviable. 
 
 WALTER D. THOMAS, A. M., pro- 
 fessor of Greek at Milton College, is a native 
 of New Jersey, born in Shiloh, Cumberland 
 county, July 1, 1S55, a son of Amos W. and 
 Abigail S. (Ayers) Thomas, both also natives 
 of New Jersey. James B. Thomas, his pa- 
 ternal grandfather, was a native of Pennsyl- 
 vania, and of Welsh ancestry. Clayton Ayers, 
 his maternal grandfather, was a native of 
 New Jersey, of English extraction, and a 
 farmer by occupation. He lived to the age of 
 about eighty. 
 
 Our subject was one of seven children, 
 five sons and two daughters, of whom five 
 survive: Albert Jones, of Ely, Minn.; Prof. 
 
 Walter Davis, our subject; Lewis Titsworth, 
 of St. Paul, Minn.; Nettie, of Milton; and 
 Edward Ayers, of Shiloh, N. J. The father 
 was for many years a farmer of Shiloh, N. 
 J., and in 1898 came to Milton, where he 
 died in September, 1900, at the age of seventy- 
 eight. The mother died at Shiloh, N. J., in 
 August, 1893, aged sixty-eight years. Both 
 were members of the Seventh-day Baptist 
 Church. 
 
 Prof. Walter Davis Thomas was reared on 
 the farm in Shiloh, and there attended the dis- 
 trict schools, and later Union Academy, at 
 Shiloh. In 1879 be entered Milton College, 
 as a student, graduating in 1884. He was 
 immediately afterward elected an instructor of 
 the College, where he has remained ever since, 
 now filling the chair of the Greek Language. 
 
 On Dec. 4, 1889, Prof. Thomas married 
 Miss Celia Belle Oviatt, daughter of Dr. 
 William Henry and Theresa Fidelia (Collins) 
 Oviatt. Dr. Oviatt was a native of McKean 
 county, Penn., son of William Sweet Oviatt, 
 
246 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a native of New York, a farmer and justice 
 of the peace, who reared a large family, and 
 died at the age of nearly eighty years. Dr. 
 Oviatt married the daughter of Dr. John 
 Collins, a physician, who was a native of New 
 York State. Dr. Oviatt died at Milton Junc- 
 tion in 1899, aged fifty-nine years. Of his six 
 children, two sons and four daughters, three 
 are now living : Celia Belle, wife of our sub- 
 ject; Kittie, wife of Frank Gesler, of Bangor, 
 Wis. ; and William C., of Milton Junction. 
 
 Prof, and Mrs. Thomas are members of 
 the Seventh-day Baptist Church, of which he 
 is serving as clerk. In politics he is a Pro- 
 hibitionist. His attractive home at Milton he 
 built in 1888. 
 
 JOSEPH SPARKS, a retired miner and 
 farmer, is now passing the closing years of a 
 well-spent and useful life in well-deserved peace 
 and comfort. 
 
 Mr. Sparks was born in Carlisle, County 
 of Cumberland, England, May 4, 1827, son of 
 John and Ann (Phillips) Sparks, both born 
 in England, he in March, 1786, and she July 
 19, 1791. In 1836 they came to this country, 
 and made their home for a short time in Chi- 
 cago. The same fall they moved to Galena, 
 111 ., where Mr. Sparks followed mining un- 
 til he purchased 200 acres of government land 
 in Jo Daviess county, 111 ., along' the Wisconsin 
 line. There he made' his permanent home. 
 He died in 1854, and his widow in October, 
 1877. Both were members of the Episcopal 
 Church. A family of seven children was born 
 to them in England : ( 1 ) John, born in Jan- 
 
 uary, 1819, obtained his education in the 
 English schools, and was a farmer- and miner 
 in this country. In 1851 he migrated to Cali- 
 fornia, where he died July 4, 1870, leaving 
 a widow and two children, who still reside in 
 that State. (2) Elizabeth, born in 1820, mar- 
 ried Michael Calvert, and died in Fair Play, 
 Grant county, May 16, 1882, leaving ten chil- 
 dren, all grown up. (3 ) Sarah, born in 1823, 
 married William Armstrong, of Jamestown, 
 and died leaving two daughters, Ann and 
 Emma. (4) Thomas, born in 1825, went to 
 California in 1849, when a young man, in com- 
 pany with his brother Joseph, and they were 
 very successful in the gold mines, taking 
 $8,000 from one mine in six months. They 
 returned to Wisconsin in 1850. Thomas mar- 
 ried Miss Maria Rick, and they settled in 
 
 Hazel Green, on a farm, where she died. Mr. 
 Sparks then married her sister, Louisa. After 
 this marriage he moved to Clay county, Kan., 
 for the purpose of engaging in farming in that 
 region. Mrs. Sparks died ten years after their 
 arrival in that country, Mr. Sparks four days 
 after her. He left six children, one now 
 living in New Mexico. (5) Joseph is our sub- 
 ject. (6) Mary, born in 1830, married Ben- 
 jamin Straw, and resides in Hazel Green. 
 (7) George, born in 1833, married Miss Annie 
 Jeffrey, of Jamestown, and is now living in 
 Jackson county, Minn., with four children, 
 Marvin, James, George and Clyde. 
 
 Joseph Sparks obtained his education part- 
 ly in England and partly in Illinois, and when 
 he was a young man went to California, as 
 noted above. He had three yoke of cattle, 
 and left Dubuque in April, 1849, reaching 
 Grass Valley in August. Theirs was the first 
 wagon to cross the Valley. On Deer creek 
 they began their mining operations, and found 
 large quantities of gold, Joseph discovering 
 what was afterward known as the Dubuque 
 Ravine Mines. After a year of mining the 
 two brothers came back to Wisconsin, intending 
 to go back to hold their mines, but did not 
 return in time, and this great mine was lost. 
 
 In 1853 Joseph Sparks married Miss Mary 
 A. Tomlinson, daughter of William and Eliza 
 Tomlinson, natives of England, and emigrants 
 to this country in 1842. Mr. Tomlinson set- 
 tled at New Diggings, Lafayette county, where 
 he died in 1850. The widow married John 
 Watson, and died in 1889. Four children 
 were born to Mr. and Mrs. Tomlinson, three of 
 whom are still living: John is a resident of 
 
 Alden, Iowa ; Elizabeth is the wife of W. A. 
 Wilkinson, of Alden, Iowa; William was a 
 soldier in the Civil war, was with Gen. Sher- 
 man on his march to the sea, and was killed 
 in one of the last skirmishes in North Caro- 
 lina; Mary A., Mrs. Sparks, was born at 
 Manchester, England, in May, 1837. After 
 his marriage Mr. Sparks bought a farm in 
 Jamestown, which was highly improved, and 
 where he lived for over forty years; it was 
 sold in 1896. Mr. and Mrs. Sparks are liv- 
 ing in Fair Play, Grant county, and he is now 
 retired from active labor. During all these 
 years Mr. Sparks has had lead mining in- 
 terests which have richly rewarded his labors. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Sparks were born ten 
 children, six of whom are now living. Two 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 247 
 
 died in childhood. ( 1 ) John W., born in 1856, 
 was drowned in 1875, i n the Mississippi river. 
 
 (2) Eliza A., born in December, 1858, married 
 C. E. Buell, and is now living in Webster City, 
 Iowa, where he is engaged in the real-estate 
 business. They have four children, Laura B. 
 (Mrs. George M. Teed, of Webster City, 
 Iowa), Herbert J., James A., and Walter. 
 
 (3) Walter P., born in June, 1863; was en- 
 
 gaged in the furniture business. He was taken 
 sick, and died at Webster City, Iowa, in June, 
 1897. (4) Mary A., born in May, 1865, 
 
 married M. R. Blank, of Stillwater, Minn., 
 and has one son, Harrison J. (5) Franklin 
 T., born in January, 1868, married Miss Nellie 
 Watson, of Williams, Iowa, and has two chil- 
 dren, Hazel and Arline. They live at Ban- 
 croft, Iowa, where he is a very prominent 
 man, and was elected mayor of that city in 
 1900; he is an active Republican. He is a 
 furniture man, and stands high in business 
 circles. (6) Florence E., born in 1870, is the 
 wife of Edward Keys, of Stillwater, Minn., 
 and is the mother of two sons, Edward and 
 James A. (7) Arthur J., born in January, 
 1873, married Miss Lena Larson, and resides 
 on a farm purchased by his father in Jackson 
 county, Minn. He has one son, Stacey H. 
 (8) Clinton A., born in April, 1875, is un- 
 married, and lives on the farm in Minnesota, 
 with his brother Arthur. 
 
 In 1897 Mr. Sparks purchased a large 
 place near Lakeheld, Minn., where his sons 
 run a fancy stock farm. A Republican since 
 the organization of the party, he has held the 
 office of treasurer of Jamestown, and has been 
 on the town board for three years. The fam- 
 ily support the Methodist Church. 
 
 JOSIAH THOMAS, a retired merchant 
 of Hazel Green, Grant county, who is now 
 enjoying a richly-earned leisure and rest, was 
 born in Cornwall, England, July 23, 1835. 
 
 John and Jenefer (Vine) Thomas, his par- 
 ents, were both natives of Cornwall, where 
 they were born in 1810. In 1842 they came to 
 Lafayette county, Wis., and there he engaged 
 in lead mining, later on buying a farm, to the 
 cultivation of which he devoted himself when 
 he gave up mining. In 1851 he went to 
 California, and met with considerable success 
 as a gold miner. Coming back to Wisconsin, 
 he died on his farm in 1853. Mr. Thomas was 
 a local preacher of the Primitive Methodist 
 
 Church, and for a number of years filled local 
 pulpits. The worthy wife who shared his ad- 
 versities in early life lived to old age, and 
 died in 1875. They had three children: (1) 
 
 Mary, born in England in 1831, married 
 George Bennett, and went to California, where 
 she died in i860, leaving a family. (2) Eliza- 
 beth, born in England in 1833, is now the 
 widow of William Bennett, and lives in Vine- 
 gar Hill, 111 ., where Mr. Bennett had extensive 
 mercantile interests. Two sons were born to 
 them, John T. and William G., the former 
 in business in Galena, 111 ., the latter at Water- 
 loo, Iowa. (3) Josiah is our subject. 
 
 Josiah Thomas grew up in Lafayette coun- 
 ty, Wis., where he received a public-school 
 education. When he was twelve years old he 
 began working in the mines, and in 1852 he 
 went to California, where he worked in the 
 gold fields, meeting with good results for his 
 labors. After spending some years in that 
 State he returned to Lafayette county, and 
 assumed charge of' the homestead farm, which 
 he conducted until 1863. That year he went 
 to Colorado, and spent two years 111 the gold 
 mines of Colorado and Montana. 
 
 In 1854 Mr. Thomas married Miss Jane 
 Hocking, who was born in England, a daugh- 
 ter of John and Elizabeth Hocking, who came 
 West in 1846, and settled in Jo Daviess coun- 
 ty, 111 ., where Mrs. Thomas completed her 
 education and was reared to womanhood. 
 
 Mr. Thomas established himself as a mer- 
 chant in Hazel Green in 1865, and for over 
 twenty-six years was a well-known and upright 
 business man of that village. During tins time 
 he also engaged quite extensively m real-es- 
 tate dealing, especially in the village, where he 
 owns some of the most valuable property. 
 Mr. Thomas was appointed postmaster dur- 
 ing Hayes’ administration, in 1877. and filled 
 the position until 1881. He has been a some- 
 what prominent character in local politics, and 
 has held severaldocal positions of more or less 
 importance, -having been a member of both 
 town and school boards, as well as holding 
 other offices necessary for the transaction of 
 local affairs. Formerly he was a justice of the 
 peace, serving in that office a number of years. 
 In 1893 he sold out his mercantile interests, 
 and retired from active business labors. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Thomas have four daughters liv- 
 ing out of a family of ten children : ( 1 ) 
 
 Laura A., born in Lafayette county in Decern- 
 
248 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ber, 1857, was educated in the high school 
 at Hazel Green, and worked in the store with 
 her father until her marriage, in 1886, to Jo- 
 seph Harvey, of Council Hill, 111 . Mr. and 
 Mrs. Harvey live in Central City, Colo., where 
 he is ’engaged in the real-estate business. (2) 
 Minnie, born in 1861, assisted her father in 
 the store and as clerk in the post office up to the 
 time of her marriage, in 1888, to j. B. Roy, 
 a hardware merchant at Darlington, Wis. He 
 is now retired from business. (3) Evangeline 
 L., born in 1859, was educated in Hazel 
 Green, where she married Frank P. Trewar- 
 tha, and they live in that village with their 
 two children, Evangeline and Glenn F. (4) 
 Jennie, born in Hazel Green in 1877, had a 
 high-school education, and is living at home. 
 John H. Thomas, born in 1856, was engaged 
 with his father in the store until his death, 
 July 25, 1887. He married Miss Minnie Jack- 
 son, of Hazel Green, where they were living 
 at the time of his death, by drowning in the 
 Mississippi river. Mrs. Thomas was left a 
 widow with one child, Hazel, and is now liv- 
 ing in Chicago. The other children of our 
 subject’s family died young. 
 
 Mr. Thomas was a Republican until 1883, 
 when he associated himself with the Prohibi- 
 tion party, and has acted with it to the present 
 time. Mrs. Thomas is a member of the Con- 
 gregational Church, and her husband is a lib- 
 eral contributor to its support. A member 
 of the lodge of the Masonic fraternity in Hazel 
 Green, he is the oldest Mason in the town. 
 For many years Mr. Thomas was a leading 
 merchant, and he is held in the highest esteem 
 by the people of his town. Beginninp- at the 
 bottom, he worked to the top of the business 
 ladder, richly deserving the success that has 
 come to him. 
 
 DAVID JEFFRIS. The Jeffris family 
 had its early seat in the North of Ireland, but 
 moved to England early in the seventeenth 
 century, and early in the eighteenth to America. 
 Mr. Jeffris' mother was a native of Maryland, 
 but his father and grandfather were natives 
 of Virginia, taking an active part in the history 
 of that Commonwealth. His grandfather, 
 Thomas Jeffris, fought under Washington in 
 the Revolutionary war for five years, enlisting 
 when but sixteen years of age, was made ser- 
 geant. and received 300 acres of land from the 
 government in recognition of his services, this 
 
 land being located in southwestern Virginia. 
 Moving westward after tarrying some years 
 in east Tennessee, he finally settled in Hardin 
 county, Ky., where he became a well-to-do 
 planter, dying after having passed life’s me- 
 ridian, the father of nine children. 
 
 William Jeffris, the father of David Jeffris, 
 removed to Illinois in 1830, settling in what is 
 now Coles county, then within the limits of 
 Clark county, which at that time embraced the 
 present county of Cook, reaching as far north 
 as the southern border of Lake Michigan. He 
 was a man of prominence, respected and in- 
 fluential, a Whig in politics, and a Baptist in 
 religious faith. He married Susan Keller, 
 whose father, George Keller, emigrated from 
 Germany to Maryland early in life. From that 
 State he removed to Kentucky, and thence, in 
 1830, to Coles county. 111 ., where he was a 
 farmer. He had a larg-e family. He passed 
 away at the age of nearly fourscore years. 
 William Jeffris died at his home in Charles- 
 ton, 111., at the age of seventy-four, his wife 
 in 1831, while yet in young womanhood. The 
 issue of their marriage was five sons and five 
 daughters, only two of whom are now living: 
 David, our subject; and Susan, widow of H. 
 K. Nowlin. 
 
 David Jeffris was horn in Grayson coun- 
 ty, Ky., Aug. 6, 1821, and was but nine years 
 old when his parents moved to Illinois. He 
 grew up in Charleston, and enjoyed the some- 
 what limited educational advantages afforded 
 by the district schools of seventy years ago. 
 He aided his father in farming and lumbering, 
 and at the age of twenty-two accompanied Col. 
 Anderson, a cattle drover, from Macoupin 
 county. 111 ., to Janesville, Rock Co., Vis., as 
 an assistant. They reached the Wisconsin 
 town June 8, 1846, and Mr. Jeffris has re- 
 sided in Rock county ever since. For six years 
 he was a drover, but in 1851 he settled down 
 to the life of a farmer. His first purchase of 
 land consisted of 200 acres in the township of 
 Tanesville, four miles west of the present city. 
 Subsequently he bought 240 acres adjoining, 
 which he afterward sold. In 1867 he removed 
 to Janesville, where he embarked in the lumber 
 business, of which he had gained some knowl- 
 edge in boyhood through association with his 
 father. He also became an extensive building 
 contractor, having erected 419 structures in 
 Janesville and vicinity, the list including 
 churches, hotels, stores, business blocks and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 249 
 
 dwellings. For thirty years he led an exceed- 
 ingly busy life, devoting his best energies to 
 the conduct of his large undertakings, no de- 
 tail of his business escaping his personal su- 
 pervision. In its management he united sa- 
 gacity with industry, sound judgment with 
 perseverance. In 1896, having accumulated a 
 handsome fortune, he retired from active busi- 
 ness, and since that time has been employed 
 chiefly in the management of his estate and the 
 oversight of his numerous important financial 
 interests. He is far-seeing and broad-minded, 
 and has done much toward the advancement 
 of the city’s commercial interests. He aided in 
 organizing, and is one of the directors of, the 
 Tanesville Machine Co., which gives employ- 
 ment to 250 men, and was one of the founders 
 of the Merchants & Mechanics Savings Bank, 
 of which he was president for several years. 
 He is also a shareholder in various other im- 
 portant financial, commercial and manufactur- 
 ing enterprises. He is a Republican in pp 
 tics, and, while naturally averse to holding of- 
 fice, has consented to accept official preferment 
 at his party’s earnest request. 
 
 Mr. Jeffris was married to Miss Grace 
 Alice Mouat Nov. 14, 1850. Both her par- 
 ents, Malcolm and Margaret ( Youngclause) 
 Mouat, were born in the Shetland Isles, and 
 it was in that quaint, picturesque corner ot 
 the British empire that she herself was horn, 
 June 12, 1831. Mr. Jeffris is a member of 
 the Congregational Church, of which he has 
 been a trustee for many years, and to which 
 Mrs. Jeffris also belonged, having been a mem- 
 ber for more than fifty-two years. They had 
 nine children, one of whom died unnamed, the 
 others being Susan Alice, Thomas M. (de- 
 ceased). Margaret (deceased), William S., 
 Helen Jane (deceased), Malcolm George, 
 David K. and Fred J. Thomas M. resided at 
 Huron, S. Dak., where he owned a ranch, be- 
 sides having carried on business as a lumber- 
 man and dealt extensively in real estate. He 
 was a man of wide influence in his adopted 
 State, and did much for its welfare. He died 
 April 4, 1900, at his father’s home. In 1889 
 he married Harriet Hall, and they had three 
 children. Ruth B., Bruce M. and Robert M. 
 Margaret, the second daughter of Mr. Jeffris, 
 died when seven and a half months old, and 
 Helen Jane in her eighth year. William S. 
 is president of the Merchants & Mechanics 
 Savings Bank of Janesville; he married Jean- 
 
 nette Baldwin, and is the father of one son 
 and two daughters, Kenneth B., Katharine 
 L. and Margaret H. Malcolm G., the third 
 son, is a member of the firm of Fethers, Jeffris 
 & Mouat, practicing attorneys in Janesville; 
 he married Nancy Roys, and their three chil- 
 dren are named Malcolm R., Helen and Rufus 
 R. David K. is also a resident of Janesville, 
 and is engaged in the lumber business; he 
 married Della Hanchett, and they, too, are 
 the parents of three children, Donald H.. Jean 
 E. and Grace M. Fred J., the fifth son, is 
 associated with his brother David K. in the 
 lumber business ; he is unmarried. The mother 
 of this family died Aug. 28, 1900. 
 
 THOMAS J. LLOYD, a wealthy retired 
 farmer, who occupies a cozy home on Pleas- 
 ant street, two doors west of Oak Hill avenue, 
 in the city of Janesville, has been intimately 
 associated with the agricultural interests of 
 southern Wisconsin for many years. He has 
 had a varied and eventful career, has worked 
 assiduously, been provident and saving, and 
 has made a history that might well be read bv 
 every young man as he faces his life work, it 
 has such lessons of thrift and industry, hon- 
 esty and integrity. 
 
 . Mr. Lloyd was born in Radnor. Wales, Nov. 
 4, 1837, and is a son of Thomas and Ann 
 (Worthing) Lloyd, both natives of England, 
 who were the parents of six children, four 
 now living: Thomas J. ; William, of South 
 
 Dakota; John W., of Janesville; and Edward, 
 of Plainfield. Iowa. The father was a hotel- 
 keeper and contractor earl}' in life. He emi- 
 grated to America in 1839, settled in \\ ater- 
 ville, Oneida Co., N. Y., and engaged in 
 farming. Pie came to Wisconsin about 1847, 
 located in Walworth county, and followed 
 farming until within a few years of his death, 
 at Big- Foot Prairie, near Delavan. His wife 
 died in about 1884, at the age of. sixty-seven 
 years, and shortly after that he broke up house- 
 keeping and went to live with his daughter, 
 in Plainfield, Iowa, where he died in 1896, 
 when eighty-nine years and ten months old. 
 He and his wife were Baptists, and he had 
 held various town offices. His father died in 
 England when Thomas was only two years 
 old. History is silent as to the facts of his 
 career, but it is known that he was a British 
 soldier in the war of - 1812, and that he died 
 early in life. The father of Ann Worthing 
 
250 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was of English birth, and died in middle life, 
 in his native country. 
 
 Thomas J. Lloyd was about two years 
 old when his parents brought him to this 
 country, and he lived in Walworth county from 
 1847 t0 1887, when he moved to Janesville, 
 in which city he has made his home to the 
 present time. This is but a brief statement 
 of a very interesting career. Mr. Lloyd when 
 a boy attended school in Waterville, N. Y., 
 until he was ten years old, and then at Doug- 
 las Corners, in Walworth county, Wis., where 
 he completed the high-school course, acquir- 
 ing* a very sound and practical education. His 
 first business venture was the purchase of forty 
 acres at what was known as Big Foot Prairie. 
 He improved this thoroughly, and brought it 
 into fine condition, and then added to it the 
 adjoining forty acres, and still later an ad- 
 jacent forty acres, thus making a very nice 
 farm. When he was quite sure of himself, 
 and dared to undertake it, he bought a sec- 
 ond farm, of 178 acres, and had now become 
 one of the important land owners of Wal- 
 worth county. Later in life he sold these 
 two farms at a handsome profit, and became 
 quite a real-estate dealer in choice farm prop- 
 erty, buying and selling both farm and city 
 property. He continued farming until he 
 came to Janesville, when he engaged in the 
 boot and shoe business for several years. At 
 the present time he devotes himself to the 
 care of his extensive investments in that city 
 and Rockford, Illinois. 
 
 Mr. Lloyd and Miss Martha C. Boorman, 
 a daughter of John and Mary (Reader) Boor- 
 man, were married May 20, 1864. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Lloyd have had four children, Chester 
 C., Laura L., Mary Leona, and one child that 
 died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd are 
 members of the Baptist Church. He is a Re- 
 publican. Our subject was a soldier in the 
 Civil war, enlisting in 1861 in Company K, 
 2d Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry, and serving- 
 one year, when he was discharged on account 
 of serious sickness. The three living chil- 
 dren of Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd are all very nice- 
 ly settled in life. Chester C. married Miss 
 Hattie Bennett, and lives in Rockford, 111 ., 
 where he is a boot and shoe dealer. During 
 the summer he runs a steamboat. He has two 
 sons, Clair and Forest. Laura L. married 
 Mark Dunlap, and she and her husband live 
 with her parents ; they have one son, Lester 
 
 Lloyd. Mary Leona married William Mor- 
 ris, and lives at No. 108 South High street, 
 Janesville. 
 
 Mrs. Lloyd’s parents were natives of Eng- 
 land, came to this country in 1832, located in 
 Chautauqua county, N. Y., where they lived 
 some years, and were among the first settlers 
 of Walworth county, coming into Wisconsin 
 about 1S38. They were the parents of three 
 sons and four daughters, and three of their 
 children are now living : Esther, wife of 
 
 Luther Adams, of Walworth, Wis.; Martha 
 C., wife of Thomas J. Lloyd; and Melissa, 
 wife of John Lloyd, of Janesville. Mrs. 
 Lloyd's grandfather, John Boorman, was born 
 in England, and died there when over eighty 
 years old. He was a farmer, and had a large 
 family. Mrs. Lloyd’s maternal grandfather, 
 Thomas Reader, was born and reared in Eng- 
 land, and came to this country in about 1854. 
 He stopped in New York for a time, but 
 finally came to Wisconsin, and died when over 
 seventy. Fie had fourteen children. Fie was 
 a soldier in the Revolution, on the British 
 side. 
 
 JOHN SIDE, postmaster at Lead Mine, 
 Lafayette county, and local preacher of the 
 Primitive Methodist Western Conference, is 
 a native of the County of Cumberland, Eng- 
 land, born in April, 1825, son of George and 
 Bell (Brown) Side, both of whom passed 
 their entire lives in the County of Cumberland, 
 the former following mining as an occupa- 
 tion. Of the six children in their family but 
 two came to America, John and William, the 
 latter coming in 1859, accompanied by his wife 
 and family. He settled in Iowa, and there 
 died in 1897; his family are still residents of 
 that State. 
 
 John Side g*rew to manhood in England, 
 and received a fair education in the public 
 schools. After the death of his father he 
 came to America, landing in this country in 
 1847. He made the voyage on the sailing- 
 vessel “Monarch,” which brought him to New 
 York, and thence by way of the Erie canal he 
 reached Buffalo, where he boarded a lake ves- 
 sel for Chicago. From the last-named place 
 he started by team for New Diggings, La- 
 fayette county, there to engage in lead and 
 zinc mining, which has been his life work, and 
 he continued industriously at work until but a 
 few years ago, when he retired, and- is now rest- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 251 
 
 ing on the fruits of his early toil. In 1863 he 
 erected his present home in the village of Lead 
 Mine, and equipped it with all the conven- 
 iences and comforts obtainable at the time. 
 Politically he is a Republican, and when the 
 office at Lead Mine was established, in 1884, 
 he was appointed postmaster, which position 
 he has continued to hold. He has also held 
 a number of local offices in the gift of the 
 people, among them .being those of chairman 
 and member of the town board, and, for over 
 twenty years, the office of justice of the peace. 
 In religious belief both he and his wife are 
 members of the Primitive Methodist Church, 
 Mr. Side having become a member of that 
 denomination over forty years ago, or short- 
 ly after his permanent location here. His in- 
 terest in all good and religious work is keen, 
 and for years he has filled the pulpit as a 
 local minister, leading an upright, honorable 
 life — an example well worthy of emulation. 
 
 Mr. Side has been three times married, 
 first in 1849, when Miss Jane Barnes became 
 his bride. She died in 1862, leaving three 
 children : William, a miner of Etna, Wis., 
 
 is married and has three children, Alvin, 
 Jennie and Joseph; George D., of Lead- 
 ville, Colo., is married and has one son, 
 George; Mary M. is the wife of John 
 Cottingham, of Benton. For his second wife 
 Mr. Side wedded Miss Lizzie Harker, a na- 
 tive of England, and daughter of Joseph and 
 Mary Harker, who located in Lafayette coun- 
 ty and died in New Diggings township. Mrs. 
 Lizzie (Harker) Side died in April, 1878, 
 leaving a family of three children, two of 
 whom died in childhood ; Maggie, born in 
 1865, married Thomas Miller, of Benton, a 
 partner of John Cottingham in the milling 
 business, and they have one son, Otho. Mr. 
 Side’s last marriage was to Mrs. Mary J. 
 Rowe, who was born in England in 1848, 
 daughter of Ralph and Catherine Miller, who 
 early came from England and located in Wis- 
 consin, where he died in 1880; Mrs. Miller 
 is yet living here. Mrs. Side was educated in 
 New Diggings, and in that town married 
 William Rowe, who was killed in the mines 
 in 1880, and left his wife with four children: 
 Lizzie married Thomas Martin, of Iowa, and 
 has one daughter, Phoebe; John, of New Dig- 
 gings, married Nettie Smith; Roy is a miner 
 of Cuba, Wis. ; Ivittie is. at home. 
 
 During the Civil war Mr. Side enlisted, 
 
 becoming a private in Company C, 50th Wis. 
 \ . I., and by faithful performance of duty rose 
 i to the rank of sergeant. His regiment -was 
 I assigned to the Western Army. 
 
 ELIAS PILLING (deceased) was one of 
 the pioneers of the town of Willow Springs, 
 Lafayette county, and at his decease left tne 
 record of an honest, upright man. His 
 birth occurred in 1798, in England, where he 
 attained his maturity and married Elizabeth 
 Haigh, immigrating to the United States in 
 1827, with his wife and three children. 
 
 i he first location of the Pilling family was 
 at Potosi, Mo., where they resided until 1832. 
 They then removed to Galena, remaining there 
 but a short time, however, and coming to Wil- 
 low Springs, where they made a permanent 
 residence. Mr. Pilling was one of the earliest 
 settlers of Willow Springs. He immediately 
 began the work of smelting lead, for John 
 Parkinson and John Brown, the methods of 
 carrying on this work being of the most primi- 
 tive character at that time, the modern meth- 
 ods never having been dreamed of, even in the 
 largest establishments. One year later Mr. 
 Pilling bought out the interest of Mr. Park- 
 inson in these works, following which he and 
 Mr. Brown erected a store, which was suc- 
 cessfully conducted in connection with their 
 smelting plant. Some time later a blast fur- 
 nace was erected in the same town, on Otter 
 creek, near the eastern boundary of what is 
 now the town of Willow Springs. This fur- 
 nace was a move in the direction of improve- 
 ment in the method of smelting; it was built 
 by Frank Gregoire and Joshua Bailey. In about 
 1837 Mr. Pilling bought the interest of Mr. 
 Bailey, a year later becoming the sole propri- 
 etor of the blast furnace, which he operated 
 until 1849. His four sons were interested with 
 their father in the smelting business, but when 
 the California gold fever broke out they caught 
 the infection, and joined the scores of others 
 who made their way across the Plains. On 
 this account, and also because of scarcity of 
 mineral, the furnace was now closed, and Mr. 
 Pilling never re-opened the works. 
 
 Our subject had entered several hundred 
 acres of land, much of which he had placed 
 under cultivation, his homestead being in Sec- 
 tion 15, and he lived there many years. Two 
 years prior to his death, however, he left the 
 "home to his two sons, John and George, al- 
 
252 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 though he resided in the neighborhood until 
 the time of his death, Oct. 25, 1873. Mrs. 
 Pilling had passed away July 9, 1871. She 
 was a devoted Christian mother and neighbor. 
 The Sunday-school of Willow Springs is an 
 existing testimonial to the energy and pious 
 character of this estimable woman, she being 
 its originator, and through life one of its most 
 active workers. 
 
 Elias Pilling and his wife became the par- 
 ents of eleven children, eight sons and three 
 daughters, those surviving being two sons and 
 three daughters: Dr. Abraham Pilling, of 
 
 Burlington, Iowa; Mrs. Nancy Monehan, of 
 Darlington, Wis. ; Mrs. Frances Jane Warren, 
 of Tucson, Ariz. ; Mrs. Mary fi. Sheldon, of 
 Willow Springs; and Dr. Henry FI. Pilling, of 
 Tucson, Ariz. Joseph, John, George, Isaac, 
 Elias and Robert have all passed away, though 
 all of them lived to be advanced in years. 
 
 Mr. Pilling was a typical pioneer, honest 
 and upright in all his dealings, liberal and ever 
 ready to assist those in need of help, and en- 
 joyed the esteem and respect of his fellow citi- 
 zens. Both he and his estimable wife are still 
 remembered as worthy people whose acquaint- 
 ance was desirable, and whose death was re- 
 garded in the light of a neighborhood calamity. 
 
 DAVID KELLER JEFFRIS is one of 
 Janesville's leading business men, and one of 
 the best-known lumbermen in the State of 
 V isconsin. He is the son of David Jeffris, 
 whose biography appears upon another page 
 of this work, where may be found a detailed 
 sketch of the family’s history. 
 
 Our subject was born in Janesville town- 
 ship May 28, 1867, and has inherited, the busi- 
 ness acumen and tireless energy of his father. 
 He was educated in the common schools of 
 Janesville. His first business experience was 
 obtained in his father’s lumberyards, and in 
 1887 he embarked in trade upon his 1 own ac- 
 count. At that time he was but twenty years 
 old, and his subsequent success in life might 
 be regarded as phenomenal by those who 
 should fail to take into account his admirable 
 mental endowment and quick, ready grasp of 
 the problems of every-day life. In 1890 he 
 sold out his original plant, and in that year 
 erected mills in what is known as Jeffris, a 
 village having sprung up around them. Since 
 that time his business enterprises have stead- 
 ily increased in number. His brother Frederick 
 
 is associated with him as a partner, and the 
 firm owns and operates a large factory in 
 Janesville, for the manufacture of sash, doors 
 and blinds and window screens, employing be- 
 tween 250 and 300 men. They also own saw- 
 mills at Jeffris, Wis. Mr. Jeffris is also an 
 extensive owner of real estate, and holds large 
 tracts of valuable pine lands in the northern 
 part of the State, besides being a director in 
 various moneyed corporations in the city of 
 his residence. He is a man of generous im- 
 pulses and social instincts, loving the compan- 
 ionship of his friends and being both loved and 
 honored by them in return. He is a member 
 of Janesville Lodge, No. 55, A. F. & A. M., 
 as well as of the K. of P. and the B. P. O. E. 
 He also belongs to that widely reputed social 
 organization of lumbermen known as the “Hoo 
 Hoos," whose good fellowship and love of 
 mirth are known throughout the Northwest. 
 Being of Scotch descent on the maternal side, 
 he has been eligible for election in the Cale- 
 donian Society, of which he is one of the 
 most esteemed members. Politically he is a 
 Republican. 
 
 Mr. Jeffris was married Jan. 2, 1889, his 
 bride being Miss Della Hanchett, a daughter 
 of Geranclo M. and Anna (Spaulding) 
 Hanchett. Their three children are named 
 Donald IT, Jean E., and Grace M. Mrs. 
 Jeffris is a member of the .Congregational 
 Church. 
 
 WILLIAM H. APPLEBY. This gentle- 
 man, who is now serving his second term as 
 sheriff of Rock county, has been for many 
 years identified in an official capacity with the 
 enforcement of the criminal law. His parents 
 and grandparents were natives of London, 
 England, but he himself was born Oct. 15, 
 1861, in the town of Avon, Rock county. 
 Both his father and paternal grandfather, 
 who were weavers by trade, emigrated to 
 America in 1848, settling first in Elgin, 111 . 
 The grandfather, John Appleby, went from 
 that place to Iowa, where both he and his 
 wife died, aged seventy-seven and seventy- 
 six years, respectively. They were the parents 
 of two sons, John Thomas and Alfred, the 
 elder of whom is the father of William H. 
 Appleby. He resided in Elgin for four or 
 five years, and then removed to Janesville, 
 where he is still living. He married Eliza- 
 beth Landredgen, the daughter of a retired 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 253 
 
 London merchant. She died in 1863. Both 
 were members 1 of the Church of England. 
 Three sons and two daughters were born to 
 them, of whom William H. is the youngest. 
 The others are : Elizabeth, the wife of Alfred 
 Graves, of Evansville, Wis. ; John Thomas, 
 a retired farmer, of Parker, S. Dak.; Caro- 
 line, now Mrs. Henry Graves, of Dewitt, 
 Iowa; and George AL, chief of police in the 
 city of Beloit, Rock county. 
 
 William H. Appleby received a good ele- 
 mentary English education in the common 
 school's. After reaching early manhood he 
 removed to Beloit, where for a considerable 
 period he served on the police force, filling 
 the office of superintendent for six years. In 
 1894 'the citizens of Rock county elected him 
 sheriff, for a term of two years. At the ex- 
 piration of that period he was made chief of 
 police of Janesville, and in 1898 w'as re-elected 
 sheriff. The grave duties of this high posi- 
 tion he still continues to discharge, with a 
 courage and efficiency which command uni- 
 versal admiration and respect. His personal 
 popularity is widespread, and his friends are 
 legion. He is genial, frank, courteous and 
 generous, and fond of social pleasures. He 
 is a member of the Masonic fraternity, be.ng 
 connected with Mining Star Lodge, No. 10, 
 A. F. & A. M. ; Beloit Chapter, No. 8, R. 
 A. M. ; and Beloit Commandery, No. 6, Iv. 
 T. He is also a member of the Uniformed 
 Rank, Iv. P., of the Modern Woodmen of 
 America, and of the A. O. U. W. Politically 
 lie is a Republican. 
 
 On March 7, 1886, Mr. Appleby was mar- 
 ried to Miss Pauline, a daughter of F. R. Vin- 
 cent. They have one child, Floy. 
 
 RODGER PIORNER. Industry and thrift 
 are the price that honorable men pay for suc- 
 cess, and this has been amply paid by the gen- 
 tleman with whose name this article begins, 
 and who lives in the town of Harrison, Grant 
 county. His business life has been devoted to 
 mining and farming, and he may be written 
 down as one of the solid and representative men 
 of both these callings in his part of the State. 
 
 Mr. Horner was born in Toronto, Canada, 
 in March, 1835, a son of Matthew and Jane 
 Horner, natives of Yorkshire, England. They 
 were married in their native country in 1823, 
 and some ten years later came to Canada. In 
 1840 they moved to Jo Daviess county, 111 ., 
 
 where they lived seven years. At the expira- 
 tion of this time they found a location in 
 British Hollow, Grant Co., Wis., where he fol- 
 lowed lead mining and smelting until 1854. 
 That year he bought the Joseph Reiter farm, 
 in the town of Harrison, Grant Co., Wis., 
 which was afterward their home as long as they 
 lived. Mr. Horner died in January, 1880, and 
 his wife in September, same year. They had 
 a family of twelve children : Rachel was 
 
 'buried at sea. Margaret died when a child, 
 at British Hollow. James died in Grant coun- 
 ty, when a young man. Matthew died at the 
 home of his parents, in 1858. Mary died when 
 a young woman at her parents’ home. Will- 
 iam was killed in the mines of California, 
 leaving a wife and daughter, Emma, now Mrs. 
 J. P. Bonnett, of Harrison. Rachel, born in Illi- 
 nois, married Morris Cavanaugh, and is now 
 deceased. Jane is Airs. Norman Clark, of 
 Harrison. Jonathan married Lizzie Bradley, 
 and lives at British Hollow. Elizabeth, Mrs. 
 J. Reiter, is on the old Horner homestead, in 
 Harrison. Rodger died in infancy, and his 
 name was given to the youngest child of the 
 family, our subject. 
 
 Rodger Horner received a common-school 
 education. He became a soldier of the Union 
 army during the Civil war, enlisting in Com- 
 pany H, 44th Wis. V. I., which regiment was 
 attached to the Army of the Tennessee, and 
 Mr. Horner followed the flag until the close 
 of the war. He was in hospital some months, 
 and made an honorable record as a soldier 
 and a gentleman while at the front. In 1859 
 Mr. Horner crossed the Plains, and was in 
 California until the summer of 1864, when he 
 came back to Wisconsin, and entered the serv- 
 ice. After the war he went to California a 
 second time, and remained in the West until 
 1871. There he married Aliss Marietta Butler, 
 who was born in Harrison, Wis., a daugh- 
 ter of Daniel and Anna (Coates) B.utler; (Mr. 
 Butler died at East Dubuque, Iowa, Airs. 
 Butler at Georgetown, Grant Co., Wis. Air. 
 Butler was an old-time Californian, and a sol- 
 dier in the Civil war from Wisconsin. Airs. 
 Horner was visiting her brother in California 
 at the time of her marriage, and they remained 
 in that State two years longer. Their eldest 
 child was the first child born in Bodie, Cal. 
 In 1873 Air. and Airs. Horner settled on his 
 present farm in the town of Harrison, where 
 they are now living. They have put up a good 
 
254 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 home, and cleared up the farm, and he has 
 spent many years mining in the county. In 
 1879 be made a third trip to California, leav- 
 ing his wife and five children on the farm, 
 and returned in 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Horner 
 have had nine children: Matthew D., who 
 
 lives at home; William H. ; Elijah R. ; Sarah 
 A., who was a student of the Platteville Nor- 
 mal, and has been a teacher for some six years ; 
 Nora, also a student at the Normal, who has 
 been one of the successful teachers of the coun- 
 ty for some years; Maud S., a student of the 
 same Normal, who has been a teacher for five 
 terms in the schools of the county; Minnie 
 May, who was educated in the high school 
 and the Normal; Rodger is the youngest liv- 
 ing of the family; and the youngest of all, 
 Jonathan, died when an infant. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Horner also took an orphan child to raise, Mrs. 
 Horner’s niece, Annie Wynne, now Mrs. Will 
 Champion, of Hazel Green, Wis. Mr. Hor- 
 ner's daughters are all bright, capable young 
 ladies, very highly regarded in the community. 
 
 Mr. Horner is an independent Republican, 
 and has held the office of school treasurer and 
 roadmaster. Mrs. Horner and the family at- 
 tend church in the neighborhood, and take a 
 lively interest in all good movements and meas- 
 ures. They are highly regarded, and are 
 spoken of as among the cultured and refined 
 people of the county. 
 
 THOMAS S. NOLAN, a member of the 
 Bar of Rock county, and connected with the 
 firm of Sutherland & Nolan, practicing at- 
 torneys at Janesville, is himself a native of 
 Wisconsin, born of Irish parents. 
 
 Simon Nolan, his father, was born in the 
 old country, emigrated to America while a 
 young man, and about 1854 came West, lo- 
 cating at Janesville, where he resided until his 
 death, in 1858. He married Margaret Coss, 
 whose birthplace was in Queen’s County, Ire- 
 land. She survived her husband, and after 
 his death married a second time, her husband 
 being Thomas Poev, and the fruit of that 
 union being one daughter, Mary A., now Mrs. 
 George E. Lynch, of Milwaukee. Two chil- 
 dren were born to the first marriage, Thomas 
 S. and Catherine M., the latter now the wife 
 of Dr. Walter E. Fernald, at present (Sep- 
 tember, 1900) the efficient superintendent of 
 the School for Feeble Minded, at 'Boston. 
 
 I homas S. Nolan was born at Janesville 
 
 Oct. 11, 1856. His attendance at the public 
 schools was supplemented by a course of in- 
 struction at the Ridgetown (Ontario) Acad- 
 emy, and he began the study of law in the 
 office of Edward Bates, a well-known attorney 
 of York, Neb. Before commencing the 
 reading of Blackstone he was employed 
 first as assistant clerk and afterward as 
 clerk in the office of the Nebraska State 
 Penitentiary. His course of professional read- 
 ing was completed at Janesville. He was ad- 
 mitted to practice in 1879. In 1881 he aided 
 in the incorporation of the Recorder Printing 
 Co., and for two years was editor of the Re- 
 corder, then a Republican newspaper. Dur- 
 ing 1880-81 he held the office of police justice, 
 and is now serving his second term as a mem- 
 ber of the board of fire and police commission- 
 ers. He is an active worker in the cause of 
 the Republican party, and is at present chair- 
 man of the county central committee. He is 
 a member of Western Star Lodge, No. 14, 
 A. F. & A. M., and of Janesville Chapter, No. 
 5, R. A. M. ; and also belongs to Oriental 
 Lodge, No. 22, K. of P., in which he held the 
 office of chancellor commander for two terms. 
 He is a member of the Hamilton Club, of 
 Chicago, and was one of the organizers of the 
 Twilight Club, being one of its active and in- 
 fluential members. 
 
 Mr. Nolan was married Feb. 22, 1883, to 
 Miss Jessie M. Murdock, a daughter of Ed- 
 win D. and Adelia M. (Ployt) Murdock, and 
 one daughter was born to them, Vera E. 
 
 JOHN SCHREINER, a prosperous busi- 
 ness man of Lancaster, Grant county, was born 
 in Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, in 1835, and 
 was but nine years of age when bereft of his 
 father, Nicholas Schreiner, after which sad oc- 
 currence he worked his way through life alone. 
 When eighteen years old, in 1853, lie came to 
 America, Grant county, Wis., being his point 
 of destination. He here found employment 
 by the month as a farm hand, and this contin- 
 ued to be his occupation until 1864, when with 
 his savings he purchased an interest in the 
 firm of Jacob Nathan & Son, the well-known 
 merchants of Lancaster. I11 1868 the firm 
 name was changed to Nathan, Schreiner & 
 Co., and in 1880 Mr. Schreiner bought out his 
 partners and conducted the business alone un- 
 til 1884, since which date the firm name has 
 been John Schreiner & Sons — Frank and Ed- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 255 
 
 ward being- the present partners of their fa- 
 ther. Another son, Adolph, was a member of 
 the firm from the time of its formation until 
 his death, in 1889. 
 
 John Schreiner married Miss Sophia Na- 
 than, a native of Prussia, and a daughter of 
 Jacob Nathan, alluded to in the foregoing para- 
 graph. To this union have been born seven 
 children, of whom six are still living : Ellen, 
 Mrs. Simonson, of Seattle, Wash. ; Elizabeth, 
 Mrs. Moulton, of Two Harbors, Minn.; 
 Emma, at home ; Frank ; Edward H. ; and 
 Herbert E. 
 
 Besides the mercantile business carried on 
 in Lancaster John Schreiner & Sons have a 
 still more extensive establishment at Two 
 Harbors, Minn., which is in charge of the 
 son, Edward EL, and the son-in-law, Mr. Moul- 
 ton. Adolph, the deceased son, had charge 
 of this business until fatally attacked by ty- 
 phoid fever, and was a most excellent busi- 
 ness man, as well as a model citizen. 
 
 John Schreiner began life a poor boy, but 
 as he possessed good business qualities and 
 moral habits, as well as sound judgment, he 
 •has risen to prominence and affluence, and 
 consequently in the good opinion of his fellow- 
 citizens. When the State Bank of Grant Coun- 
 ty was organized, in 1889, the directors elect- 
 ed him president, which office he has held ever 
 since. Politically he is a Republican, and fra- 
 ternally an Odd Fellow. 
 
 REV. OLE PAULSON, the esteemed 
 pastor of the Norwegian Lutheran Church at 
 Blanchardville, Lafayette county, was born in 
 Norway April 26, 1832, and accompanied his 
 father’s family to America in 1850. For a 
 time they made their home in Winneshiek 
 county, Iowa, removing thence to Carver coun- 
 ty, Minn., where the parents passed the re- 
 mainder of their lives. 
 
 The opening days of the war of the Re- 
 bellion found Rev. Ole Paulson a student in 
 the Scandinavian Lutheran Augustana Sem- 
 inary and College, at Chicago,’ 111., and like 
 many another student in the schools and col- 
 leges of the North he left his books and shoul- 
 dered a musket in defense of the Union. In 
 August, 1862, he became a member of Com- 
 pany IT, 9th Minn. V. I., with the rank of 
 second lieutenant, William R. Baxter being- 
 captain of the company. That year occurred 
 the famous uprising of the Sioux Indians, 
 
 and the 9th, with other volunteer regiments, 
 was sent to chastise the red men and prevent 
 further depredations. Mr. Paulson took part 
 in Gen. Sibley's expedition in Minnesota and 
 Dakota during the summer of 1863, and was 
 in several battles with the savages. When 
 the Indians were finally driven beyond the Mis- 
 souri river, and the Indian war closed, the 
 regiment returned to Fort Snell ing, and thence 
 in the fall of 1863 proceeded to St. Louis, 
 where it was occupied doing guard duty the 
 following winter, from there going to Rolla, 
 Mo. During this time the men were sent out on 
 detached duty, and the entire regiment con- 
 siderably divided. In the spring of 1864 they 
 were again united, and proceeded to Little 
 Rock, Ark., as Col. Wilkinson, who com- 
 manded the regiment, was ambitious to join 
 in Gen. Sturgis’ well known expedition against 
 the Rebel Gen. Forrest, and was successful in 
 realizing his ambition. The result of this was 
 the somewhat famous battle of Guntown, in 
 which the army under Sturgis was badly de- 
 feated, the expedition having been badly 
 planned, and the battle fought at great disad- 
 vantage to the Union forces. The 9th lost 
 heavily, Company H losing its captain and 
 thirty men taken prisoners and placed in the 
 noted stockade at Andersonville, Ga., where 
 many of them perished from starvation. The 
 next important event in which the 9th partici- 
 pated was at Tupelo, near Memphis, where 
 Col. Wilkinson was killed. They also took part 
 in the battle of Nashville and the taking of 
 Spanish Fort. The health of Rev. Mr. Paul- 
 son was much broken before the close of the 
 war, and after receiving his discharge, in the 
 summer of 1864, he returned to Minnesota, 
 being for some time too ill to resume his 
 duties at college. When he did recover he 
 found that the college in the meantime had 
 been removed from Chicago to Paxton, 111 . He 
 was graduated in 1868, and since. that time 
 has been engaged in the ministry. For six 
 years he was pastor at Minneapolis, being the 
 first Scandinavian Lutheran pastor in that 
 city. After the [Minneapolis charge he passed 
 twelve years as pastor of the church at Will- 
 mar, Minn., and since Nov. 20, 1885, has 
 been in charge at Blanchardville, besides which 
 he administers to three other congregations, 
 namely : Argyle, Adams and \ork, the one 
 
 at Adams being the largest. These parishes 
 taken collectively number about 1,200 people. 
 
256 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Our subject is a hard worker, and has organ- 
 ized some large congregations. He preaches 
 and practices the doctrines of the universal 
 brotherhood of man, and is greatly beloved 
 by his parishioners, who feel that in him, in- 
 deed, they have a firm and a conscientious 
 spiritual adviser. He has also done a large 
 amount of literary work, being a frequent con- 
 tributor to the F olkebladet , and having written 
 some hymns of unquestioned excellence. One 
 of his greatest desires is to see the spread of 
 the practice of total abstinence. 
 
 in 1857 Rev. Mr. Paulson was united in 
 marriage with Miss Inger Loberg, a native of 
 Norway, and their family consists of three 
 sons and four daughters : Alphia Theodora, 
 Martin Luther, Helga Otilda, Lydia Regina, 
 Paul Gerhard, Olaf lngvald, and Aagot Her- 
 bertha, all living. Petra Augusta and Johan- 
 nes died in their infancy. 
 
 PROF. BENJAMIN DWIGHT ALLEN, 
 Choirmaster and Professor of Music in Beloit 
 College, is the personal friend of many bright 
 and capable people who have gone out of that 
 institution to make their way in every walk and 
 calling of life. Lie is one of the venerable 
 figures upon the streets and in the homes' of 
 which the city of Beloit is justly proud, and 
 the uplifting and inspiring power of his long 
 and useful career has been beyond computa- 
 tion. He has a pleasing and attractive per- 
 sonality, a warm and genial manner. 
 
 Prof. Allen was born in Sturbridge, Mass., 
 Feb. 16, 1831, a son of Alvan and Lucy 
 (Salisbury) Allen, both natives of that State. 
 They had two sons, Albert Salisbury and Ben- 
 jamin Dwight, the former of whom died in 
 Worcester, Mass., in 1895, and Prof. Allen is 
 the only representative of the family now liv- 
 ing. The father was a merchant when a young 
 man, and later became city marshal of Wor- 
 cester. He developed an extensive business 
 as a contractor in the stage business between 
 Boston, Hartford. Norwich and other points, 
 and in middle life took to the business of 
 selling pianos and other musical instruments. 
 He died at Worcester in 1859, at the age of 
 sixty-two years. Flis 1 widow survived until 
 1888, when she passed away at the age of 
 eighty-eight. They were both Congregation- 
 alists. Alvan Allen was a colonel in the State 
 militia. His father, Elisha Allen, was born 
 in Massachusetts, and was a farmer all his 
 
 life, dying in middle age. Fie had a large 
 family, t he family belongs to the Medford 
 branch of the Allens, and its history in Amer- 
 ica runs back to the early part of the seven- 
 teenth century. The maternal grandfather of 
 Prof. Allen, Benjamin Salisbury, born in either 
 Massachusetts or Rhode Island, is supposed to 
 have been a tailor, and lived to be over eighty 
 years of age. He belonged to the Rhode Island 
 family of this name. 
 
 Prof. Allen spent the first four years' of 
 his life at Sturbridge, and was then taken by 
 his parents to Worcester, where he grew to 
 manhood under exceptionally fine opportuni- 
 ties for the acquisition of a solid and sub- 
 stantial education. He passed through the 
 public school, had private tutors, and was 
 thoroughly grounded and broadly trained, as 
 much so as he would* have been at college. 
 Prof. Fisher, then a young man, and now of 
 Yale, was his instructor in literary themes, as 
 was also H. G. O. Blake, who became widely 
 known at a later period as the editor of 
 Thoreau's writings. While studying general 
 themes, Prof. Allen was also engaged in 
 teaching instrumental music. He early fore- 
 shadowed his career in life, and made prepara- 
 tion for it under such competent instructors 
 as Timm, of New York, and Satter and Dresel, 
 of Boston. He began his career as a teacher 
 of high-class music in Worcester. He was a 
 member of the staff of the New England Con- 
 servatory of Music, in Boston, one of the 
 professors of the Boston University, and mem- 
 ber of the Harvard Musical Association, and 
 for thirty-seven years was organist of the 
 Union Church and one of the directors of 
 the music festivals of Worcester. Prof. Allen 
 was intimately associated with Carl Zerrahn 
 for more than a quarter of a century, and his 
 memories of the scenes and incidents of the 
 music world of New England fifty years ago 
 are interesting in the extreme. 
 
 Prof. Allen and Miss Eliza White were mar- 
 ried Aug. 18, 1857. Mrs. Allen was a daugh- 
 ter of James and Eliza ( Healy) White, and a 
 descendant of Peregrine White, of Pilgrim 
 fame. Five children were born of this union, 
 Mabel, James, Eliza Salisbury, Charlotte Joy, 
 and Benjamin Lincoln Wayland. Mabel mar- 
 ried Rev. W. W. Sleeper, and after their mar- 
 riage they spent five years in Bulgaria. Air. 
 Sleeper is now pastor of the Second Congre- 
 gational Church in Beloit. They have had 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 25 7 
 
 six children, four of whom are now living, 
 James Taylor, William Allen, Helen Joy and 
 Frank McDonald. James Allen had a varied 
 career. He was graduated from the high 
 school, was a student at Amherst College, 
 and then became connected with the Worcester 
 Evening Gazette, remaining in the office of 
 that paper some ten or twelve years. He was 
 sent to Zanzibar, Africa, as agent for the 
 great New York trading house of Arnold, 
 Cheney & Co., and came back from the other 
 side of the world to go into the banking busi- 
 ness at Worcester, under the firm name of 
 Winslow & Allen. He died in 1898. Eliza 
 S. -died in early childhood. Charlotte Joy mar- 
 ried Charles H. Farnsworth, who is now in- 
 structor in music at Columbia College, New 
 York. Benjamin died in infancy. On Aug. 
 18, 1894, on the anniversary of her marriage, 
 Mrs. Allen died in Beloit, while on a visit to 
 her daughter, and was buried in Worcester. 
 Mass. She had reached the age of fifty-nine 
 years, and belonged to the Congregational 
 Church, as also does her husband. After her 
 death Prof. Allen removed to Beloit, in order 
 to make his home with his daughter, coming 
 here in the fall of 1894, and took the pro- 
 fessorship of music in the college. He is 
 still active in the performance of its duties, 
 and is a member of the guild of organists of 
 the United States. He is a Republican in po- 
 litical sentiment. Prof. Allen has had some 
 students of music who afterward became very 
 prominent, among them being Eugene Thayer ; 
 Henshaw Dana, the composer; Marie Stone 
 McDonald, of the Bostonian Opera Company; 
 her sister, Bessie Barton, who has won recog- 
 nition as a singer abroad ; and another sister, 
 Agnes, who is famous as a singer. Howard 
 Parkhurst, organist of the Madison Square 
 Church, New York City, and George C. Gow, 
 director of music in Vassal' College, were also 
 pupils of the Professor. Many others might 
 be mentioned. He has been a hard-working 
 and enthusiastic teacher of music, and the fire 
 of art in his soul has kindled in many another 
 soul the divine passion of music. 
 
 JAMES KILPATRICK. Among the ag- 
 riculturalists of Grant county who have at- 
 tained success from a financial point of view, 
 and have now laid aside all business cares to 
 enjoy a well-earned rest, is this well-known 
 and prominent resident of Platteville. He 
 
 17 
 
 was born in Ireland Jan. 19, 1825, and the 
 same year was brought to this country by his 
 parents, Andrew and Elizabeth (Stuart) Kil- 
 patrick, natives of the North of Ireland, and of 
 Scottish descent. The family located in Phila- 
 delphia, Penn., where the father worked as a 
 laborer and weaver for about ten years, but in 
 1 83 5 moved to Galena, 111 ., and he opened up 
 a farm in Jo Daviess county, devoting the re- 
 mainder of his active business life to agricult- 
 ural pursuits. .There he died in 1896, having 
 long survived his wife, who departed this life in 
 1870. Of the five children born to them, James 
 is the eldest; Mrs. Eliza Wright died in Jo 
 Daviess county, 111 ., March 2, 1881 ; Andrew 
 Stuart, a farmer of the same county, died in 
 1896; Ellen is living near Hanover, 111 .; and 
 Robert is an extensive farmer, residing on 
 the old homestead in Jo Daviess county. 
 
 In Philadelphia James Kilpatrick was 
 reared until ten years of age, and then ac- 
 companied the family on their removal to Ga- 
 lena, 111 ., where he grew to manhood. For 
 some time he was engaged in teaming and 
 staging between that city and Chicago, and 
 in 1856 moved to Lafayette county, Wis., 
 where he followed farming until coming to 
 Platteville, in June, 1892, since which time he 
 has lived retired. 
 
 In response to the President's call for 
 troops, at the beginning of the Civil war, Mr. 
 Kilpatrick enlisted in Lafayette county, in 
 1861. for three years or during the war, be- 
 coming a member of Company E, nth Wis. 
 V. I., which was assigned to the Army of the 
 West, and was mustered in at Madison. For 
 some time the regiment was stationed at Pilot 
 Knob, Mo. Mr. Kilpatrick’s command partici- 
 pated in the battles of Champion Hills, Black 
 River Bridge, Vicksburg, and Jackson, Miss., 
 and was then transferred to the. Department 
 of the Gulf, with which it took part in the 
 battles of Bayou Teche and Vermilion Bayou, 
 the siege of Mobile, Fort Blakely and Spanish 
 Fort. Our subject was not in all these engage- 
 ments, however. For three or four weeks he 
 was confined in the regimental hospital below 
 Helena, Ark., and for four weeks in the Sis- 
 ters’ hospital at St. Louis, after which he 
 was sent to the post hospital at Ironton. Mo., 
 where he was honorably discharged Feb. 17, 
 1863, on the surgeon’s certificate of disability. 
 Returning to his home in Lafayette county, 
 Wis., he resumed farming as soon as able, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 258 
 
 owning and operating a good farm in Kendall 
 township. 
 
 At Galena, 111 ., in 1847, Mr. Kilpatrick 
 was united in marriage with Miss Esther Ben- 
 nett, also a native of Ireland, and to them were 
 born five children: John Andrew, a resi- 
 dent of Cass county, Iowa, married Maria 
 Jane Westroke, and they have fourteen 
 children ; Martha E., Mrs. Ludlow, died 
 in Lafayette county, Wis., June 22, 1888, 
 
 leaving five sons; Thomas James, living 
 on the home farm, married Aggie Stockdale, 
 and has six children; Francis William, a resi- 
 dent of Leeds City, N. Dak., married Kittie 
 McGowan, now deceased ; and William B. mar- 
 ried Bessie Reskill, who died in 1888, while 
 his death occurred in Lafayette county, Wis., 
 the following year. 
 
 On June 7, 1892, Mr. Kilpatrick married 
 Mrs. Alice A. (Cattermole) Griffin, his pres- 
 ent wife, who was born in the County of 
 Suffolk, England, a daughter of John and 
 Charlotte (Ablett) Cattermole, natives of the 
 same place. For forty years her father fol- 
 lowed the baker’s trade in England, and then 
 emigrated to America, over fifty years ago, 
 locating in Elk Grove, Lafayette Co., Wis., 
 where he opened up and improved a farm, pre- 
 empting a part of the land. He became one 
 of the leading citizens of that community, and 
 served as postmaster at Elk Grove. He died in 
 Platte ville in 1887, and his wife passed away 
 in 1885. In religious belief he was a Methodist. 
 Their family numbered seven children : Alice 
 A., now Mrs. Kilpatrick; Alfred A., who en- 
 listed at Platteville in Company F, 10th Wis. 
 V. I., during the Civil war, and was ill when 
 he returned home, dying in Elk Grove in 1873 ; 
 Aggie A., now Mrs. E. T. Mears, of Inde- 
 pendence, Ivans.; Agnes A., who married and 
 died in Wisconsin, leaving six children; Anna 
 A., who married J. B. Stockdale, of Belmont, 
 Wis., and died in 1873; Emma, wife of Will- 
 iam Sherburn, of Oklahoma ; and Cynthia, 
 who married William Owens, and died in 
 1873. For her first husband Mrs. Kilpatrick 
 married D. Griffin, a lock and gun smith, 
 who lived for a time in Elk Grove, and then 
 moved to Platteville, where he died in 1888. 
 
 Religiously both Mr. and Mrs. Kilpatrick 
 are earnest and consistent members of the Con- 
 gregational Church, and socially he is connected 
 with W. T. Sherman Post, No. 66, G. A. R., 
 of Platteville, and Belmont Lodge, No. 2S2, 
 
 L O. O. F. While a resident of Kendall town- 
 shin, Lafayette county, he served as justice of 
 the peace six years, and was also a member of 
 the board of supervisors, discharging his offi- 
 cial duties in a most creditable and satisfactory 
 manner. His loyalty as a citizen and his de- 
 votion to his country’s interests have ever been 
 among his marked characteristics, and the com- 
 munity is fortunate that numbers him among 
 her citizens. 
 
 OLIVER F. KEENE, an old and well- 
 known citizen of Lancaster, Grant county, and 
 a valuable ex-soldier of the war of the Rebel- 
 lion, was born in Vigo county, Inch, July 4, 
 1830, and was about four years old when 
 brought to Wisconsin by his parents, Samuel 
 B. and Lydia A. (Shattuck) Keene. 
 
 Samuel B. Keene was a native of Homer, 
 Cortland Co., N. Y., born in 1796, son of Zeb- 
 ulon Keene, a soldier of the war of the Revolu- 
 tion. The Keene family came originally from 
 Wales to America, in the early colonial days. 
 Samuel B. Keene left his native State when 
 about twenty-four years old, located in Vigo 
 county, Inch, and there married Lydia- A. Shat- 
 tuck, a native of Oneida county, N. Y., who was 
 taken to Indiana when young by her father, 
 Dr. Eliphalet Shattuck. Samuel B. Keene 
 brought his family from Indiana to Wisconsin 
 in 1834, and located near the site of the pres- 
 ent village of Darlington, for a year occupying 
 the fort that had been erected in 1832 for de- 
 fense against the Indians during the Black 
 Hawk insurrection. The following year the 
 family removed to Elk Grove, and two years 
 later, in 1837, came to Lancaster township, 
 Grant county, Mr. Keene here purchasing a 
 tract of wild land which he converted into an 
 excellent farm, although lie was a blacksmith 
 by trade. He continued to improve his farm 
 and to work at his trade until he was called 
 away, in December, 1879. For three years, dur- 
 ing - his earlier residence here, he was engaged 
 in hauling goods between Galena, 111 ., and 
 Mineral Point, Wis., and lead on the return 
 trip. At the death of his wife lie was left with 
 five children, four sons and one daughter, whom 
 he reared with great care ; the eldest was but 
 fourteen years did at the time of Mrs. Keene's 
 death, and Oliver F. was only about ten. Mr. 
 Keene was a remarkably industrious man, and 
 no person was ever known to speak an ill word 
 of '‘Uncle Sam,” as he was familiarly called. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 259 
 
 Of the five children alluded to, two only now 
 survive, Oliver F. and Rev. A. C. Keene, the 
 latter a Baptist missionary clergyman, now 
 residing in South Dakota. The three that 
 have passed away were Delia Ann, the eldest 
 of the family, who was the wife of Nelson 
 Rise; Eliphalet, the eldest son; and Hon. H. 
 
 5., a member of the State Legislature, a law- 
 yer of prominence, and for three years a mem- 
 ber of the Wisconsin Battery in the war of .the 
 Rebellion, who died in July, 1898, in Seattle, 
 Wash., where his surviving family still reside. 
 Two other children passed away ere the death 
 of the mother. 
 
 Oliver F. Keene well remembers the ap- 
 pearance of the country when he arrived m 
 Grant county, to which the family came over- 
 land with one team of horses and four yoke of 
 oxen, and where he, like all the rest, endured 
 the hardships and deprivations of pioneer life. 
 
 On June 24, 1858, Mr. Keene married Miss 
 Jane A. Shappelle, a daughter of Andrew and 
 Sarah Shappelle, the former of whom was born 
 in Illinois, of French parentage; and the latter, 
 born in New York State, was taken to Illinois 
 when a child. Mrs. Keene was born near Ga- 
 lena, 111 ., April 3, 1836. In 1839 her father 
 bought land in Potosi township. Grant Co., 
 A\ is., transformed the wild place into a fertile 
 farm, and here he and wife passed the remain- 
 der of their lives, being buried on their own 
 premises. They were the parents of four sons 
 and three daughters, of whom Mrs. Keene is 
 the eldest and Mrs. Margaret W. Royster the 
 youngest. Of the seven, three only now sur- 
 vive : Mrs. Keene, Mrs. Royster and Charles 
 
 A. The latter served four years in the war 
 of the Rebellion. 
 
 Oliver F. Keene and his father were work- 
 ing together at blacksmithing in Hurricane 
 Corners when the Civil war broke out, and a 
 little over two years later Oliver F. enlisted, 
 Aug. 11, 1863, in Company H, 25th Wis. V. 
 
 1., and with his regiment was ordered to the 
 frontier to subdue the refractory Indians. But 
 Mr. Keene contracted a severe cold, which cul- 
 minated in rheumatism, and as a result he was 
 transferred to the Invalid Corps, with which 
 he served until honorably discharged, for dis- 
 ability, in April, 1865. He has never fully re- 
 covered from the disorder that seized him dur- 
 ing his army service, and after the war he 
 engaged in agricultural pursuits, working when 
 able to do so. He and wife are now living in 
 
 quiet at their pleasant home in Lancaster, where 
 they enjoy the respect and companionship of a 
 host of friends. They have reared a family of 
 thirteen children, eight sons and five daughters : 
 Samuel A., Maggie A. (Mrs. Wayne), Sarah 
 Lydia (Mrs. Campbell), Mary (Mrs. War- 
 mes), C. Frank, George L., William IT., John 
 
 S., Joseph A., Ollie J. (Mrs. Sock), Albert E., 
 Pearl Wright, and Ethel S. Six of the sons 
 and four daughters are married, and are most 
 worthy members of the communities in which 
 they live. 
 
 Oliver F. Keene is a member of the G. A. 
 R. He has always been a public-spirited and 
 progressive citizen, and also , as hard-working 
 and industrious at his trade and at farming as 
 his infirmities have permitted, and he well de- 
 serves the high esteem in which he is univer- 
 sally held. 
 
 HENRY SIMMONS is passing the closing 
 years of a long and honorable agricultural 
 career in the village of Hazel Green, Grant 
 county, now living retired from all active cares 
 and labors. 
 
 Mr. Simmons was born in Cornwall, Eng- 
 land, March 8, 1826, son of Joseph and Mary 
 (Goninan) Simmons, both born in Cornwall, 
 the father in 1795, and the mother in 1805. 
 They were married in 1823. Mr. Simmons 
 was employed as a miner before coming to this 
 country, in 1848. All the members of his fam- 
 ily accompanied him with the exception of 
 Henry, who came the preceding year. Joseph 
 Simmons brought his people to Hazel Green 
 and engaged in mining for a number of years, 
 finally purchasing a farm in the western part 
 of the town, where he died in 1858. Airs. Sim- 
 mons survived until 1873. They were mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Church at Hazel Green, 
 and both were consistent Christian people. 
 Seven children were born to them ; ( 1 ) Alary 
 
 married "William Dent, and settled at George- 
 town, where she died, leaving five children, 
 Joseph (deceased), William (of Missouri), 
 Thomas (of Georgetown). George (of Cuba 
 City), and Charles (deceased). (2) Henry 
 is the eldest son of the family. (3) Jane, born 
 in England, married William Moss, and is now 
 dead. (4) Joseph, born in England, married 
 Miss Charlotte Lukey, of Hazel Green, and is 
 now living a retired life at Waverly, Iowa. 
 (5) Grace, born in England, married James 
 Richards, of Hazel Green, and is now dead. 
 
26 o 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 She left a family, six of whom reside at Le- 
 Mars, Iowa, and one, Elizabeth, at Hazel 
 Green. (6) John, born in England, married 
 Miss Jemima Bullock, of Hazel Green, and 
 now resides in Waverly, Iowa, where he is 
 leading a retired life. (7) Sarah A., born in 
 Grant county, is the youngest of the family. 
 She married Daniel Garenger, is the mother of 
 one son and two daughters, and now lives at 
 Waverly, Iowa. 
 
 Henry Simmons was a student in the dis- 
 trict- school at his English home, and when he 
 was twelve years old began working in the 
 Cornwall mines. In 1847 k e came to the 
 United States by way of Quebec, making the 
 ocean voyage in a sailing-vessel, touching at 
 Montreal, Kingston, Oswego, and Buffalo, and 
 coming by way of the lakes to Milwaukee and 
 Chicago. The remainder of the journey was 
 made across country, and on reaching Hazel 
 Green he found work in the lead mines. In 
 1849 h e married Miss Julia Rowe, who was 
 born in 1828 in England, where her parents, 
 James and Julia Rowe,' lived and died. 
 
 Mr. Simmons purchased what was known 
 as the Enoch Robinson property in Hazel 
 Green, and to the original tract has added ex- 
 tensive purchases until he now owns over two 
 hundred acres of fine farm land. Good build- 
 ings have been erected, and extensive improve- 
 ments made, so that now few farms in south- 
 western Wisconsin may be preferred to- his for 
 thorough cultivation, good equipment or com- 
 fortable home. Mrs. Simmons died in 1889, 
 leaving four children. There were nine in the 
 family, four of whom died in infancy. (7) 
 James died when eleven years old. ( 1 ) Eliza- 
 beth, born in 1850, married Samuel NeCol- 
 lins, and has two children; they live at their 
 farm home in the town of Hazel Green. Her 
 daughter Mamie, born in 1883. is now the wife 
 of Joseph Egelhof, and is living with her par- 
 ents. Samuel C., the son, resides at home. 
 (3) William H. Simmons, born in September, 
 1853, married Miss Mary J. NeCollins, of 
 Hazel Green, and lives on his father’s old 
 homestead. They have a family of five — Will- 
 iam H., born in 1886; Benjamin H., in 1889; 
 Joseph E., in 1891; James R., in 1893; and 
 Jennie Estella, in 1895. (4) Joseph Simmons, 
 
 horn in July, 1855, married Miss Martha Sin- 
 cock, of Illinois, and now resides in Hazel 
 Green. Two of their children died in in- 
 fancy, Julia A. and Edward hi. (6) John 
 
 Simmons, born in 1857. married Miss Ella 
 Bartell, and now lives in Hampton, Iowa,, 
 where he is rearing his two children, Julia 
 Vine and TIenry M. 
 
 Mr. Simmons belongs to the Methodist' 
 Church, where he has worshipped over forty 
 years. Always interested in church work, he 
 has served* as trustee and steward, and has 
 given liberally to the erection of several church 
 buildings. In politics he has been a Republi- 
 can. Some seven years ago he was stricken 
 with a kidney trouble, and for six years he has 
 been confined to the house. 
 
 A. C. VANDERWATER ELSTON is 
 numbered among the most prominent citizens 
 of Muscoda, Grant county, and has attained 
 his eminence through his ability, business acu- 
 men, and energy, being now one of the leading- 
 merchants, banker and postmaster of that 
 place and an ex-member of the State Legisla- 
 ture. 
 
 Mr. Vanderwater Elston is a native of the 
 Empire State, having been born at Unionville, 
 Orange Co., N. Y., Sept. 9, 1845, a son °f S. 
 B. and Hannah (Meyers) Elston, also natives 
 of New York, of German ancestry. The par- 
 ents migrated with their three children, one of 
 whom was the subject of this sketch, to Mus- 
 coda, Wis., in 1855, and purchased the ‘‘Wis- 
 consin House,” a hotel at that place. Not 
 finding it suitable to his requirements, Mr. Els- 
 ton rebuilt it, and conducted the hotel very suc- 
 cessfully for fifteen years, after which he sold 
 out and purchased a farm in Eagle, Richland 
 county, this State, on which he resided until 
 his death, Nov. 11, 1878. He gained the re- 
 spect of all who knew him. He and his esti- 
 mable wife were consistent members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and politically 
 Mr. Elston was first an anti-slavery Whig and 
 later a Republican. His wife survived him 
 until June, 1896, and both will be tenderly re- 
 membered by their large circle of friends, not 
 only in Richland county, but throughout the 
 State. The eldest child of Mr. and Mrs. S. B. 
 Elston is Albert D., of Chicago; the subject of 
 this sketch was the second ; Emma, wife of 
 Fred W. Smith, was the third (she died at the 
 age of twenty-two) ; after locating in Wiscon- 
 sin two daughters were added to the family 
 circle, Ida, now Mrs. W. S. Manning, ^of 
 Soldiers’ Grove, Wis. ; and Eva, wife of Ed- 
 ward Bohb, of Thorp, Clark Co., Wisconsin. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 261 
 
 A. C. Vanderwater Elston was about ten 
 years old when brought to Muscoda by his 
 parents, and is therefore one of the old resi- 
 dents, and well known to everyone. In addi- 
 tion to an academic course he studied at Bry- 
 ant & Stratton’s Commercial College, Chicago, 
 and began his business career as a clerk in the 
 store of McDonald &’ Graham, at- Muscoda, in 
 1862. Four years later he entered into part- 
 nership with Jacob Bremmer, continuing this re- 
 lation for one year. His next venture was in 
 1867. when he formed a partnership with Peter 
 McIntyre, under the firm name of McIntyre & 
 Elston, which style was continued for ten 
 years, when Mr. McIntyre retired ; his son suc- 
 ceeded 'him, and the house became known as 
 Elston & McIntyre. They are merchants and 
 bankers, having embarked in the latter branch 
 of their business in October, 1884, and now 
 conduct their affairs under the name of Mc- 
 Intyre, Elston & Co. Mr. Elston is also post- 
 master at Muscoda, having been appointed in 
 1897. He was elected to the State Legisla- 
 ture on the Republican ticket in 1889, and 
 served his constituents most acceptably. 
 
 On Dec. 16, 1867, Mr. Elston was married 
 to Miss Julania Lane, of Platteville, Grant 
 Co., V is., a daughter of Henry C. Lane, who 
 settled in Platteville in 1837, was one of the 
 pioneer blacksmiths of the town, and later one 
 of its leading hardware merchants. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Elston have had two children; their 
 daughter died in 1899. The son, Henry L. 
 Elston, is an electrician and manufacturer of 
 telephones, is his father’s assistant in the post- 
 office, and is a very worthy young man. 
 
 As merchant, banker, government official 
 and representative of the people, Mr. Elston 
 has displayed ability of a high order, and a 
 steadfastness of purpose that works toward the 
 attainment of best results. His friends are 
 legion, and his domestic and social relations 
 are as pleasant as his business connections are 
 successful. 
 
 REV. THOMAS DE WITT PEAKE, 
 A. M., D. D., for several years the eloc[uent 
 and devoted pastor of the First Methodist 
 Church, of Beloit, is one of the most influential 
 and efficient representatives of his church and 
 the gospel to be found in southern Wisconsin, 
 a region of strong churches and mighty preach- 
 ers. 
 
 Dr. Peake was born near Princeton, But- 
 
 ler Co., Ohio, March 19, 1843, an d a son °f 
 William Burton and Cynthia (Flenner) 
 Peake, both natives of Ohio. They had a fam- 
 ily of four sons and seven daughters, and eight 
 of their children are now living: Angeline, a 
 
 widow, who first wedded Alexander i\ Lick, 
 a prominent lawyer in Indiana, who was killed 
 in the war of the Rebellion, and later married 
 John Chidester, now deceased; Joseph S., of 
 Flora, 111 . ; Mary, wife of Bishop Halleck 
 Floyd, of Dublin, Ind. ; Rev. T. DeWitt, our 
 subject; Carrie, wife of James Major, a hotel- 
 keeper at Flora, 111 . ; Calastine, widow of James 
 Manker, of Clay City, 111 . ; Rev. Rudolph, a 
 minister of the Advent faith in Kansas ; and 
 Louisa, wife of Rev. C. A. Beckett, of Olney, 
 Illinois. 
 
 William B. Peake was a farmer. He 
 moved from Butler county, Ohio, into Shelby 
 county, Ind., about 1852, and lived there some 
 twelve years, removing from Indiana to Flora, 
 111., at the expiration of that period, and still 
 continued farming for some years. When old 
 age forbade his farther sowing and reaping, 
 Mr. Peake made his home in Flora, where he 
 died at the age of eighty-four, full of years 
 and of honor. His wife died several years 
 previously, when about sixty-eight years of 
 age. Both were Methodists, and Mr. Peake 
 was a minister at one time. He was a talented 
 man, and did good to his day and generation. 
 His father was Joseph Peake, a native of Vir- 
 ginia, a farmer, and of English descent. He 
 had six or seven children, and died in Butler 
 county, Ohio, when sixty years old. David 
 Flenner, the father of Mrs. William B. Peake, 
 was a native of Pennsylvania, of German de- 
 scent. He was a farmer, reared a large fam- 
 ily, and died in Butler county, Ohio, in old 
 a ge. 
 
 Rev. Dr. Peake was reared on the farm, 
 and spent the first seventeen years of his life 
 under the parental roof. He attended the 
 local schools and Hartsville University, In- 
 diana, where he received a classical education, 
 with a view to entering the ministry. He 
 taught school in Ohio several years, and dur- 
 ing his period of teaching was attracted very 
 strongly toward the law. But later, on strong 
 conscientious grounds, he returned to his first 
 ambitions, and became a preacher. He had 
 his first charge in Highland county, Ohio, a 
 field of labor known as the Newmarket cir- 
 cuit. and rode circuits for several vears, his 
 
262 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 appointments frequently calling for three ser- 
 mons on Sunday and a journey of twenty- 
 five miles or more. He was stationed at Mil- 
 ford, Yellow Springs, Portsmouth, and Pom- 
 eroy, Ohio, and from the last place was trans- 
 ferred to the Wisconsin Conference, and as- 
 signed to the Court Street Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church, Janesville; he held that important 
 charge three years. He was at Merrill four 
 years, at Beaver Dam three years, and four 
 years ago came from that city to Beloit, hold- 
 ing his work here four years with increasing 
 success and satisfaction. 
 
 Dr. Peake and Miss Lida Vail, a daughter 
 of Moses and Elizabeth (Vail) Vail, were 
 united in marriage April 20, 1870. Mrs. 
 Peake is in every way a worthy companion 
 and associate of her gifted husband. Eight 
 children have come to bless their union, El- 
 more Elliott, Ouesnal DeWitt, Harriett Neff, 
 Prue Ferren, Frederick Robertson, Noon Tal- 
 ford, Carrie Pearne and Edward Payson. El- 
 more Elliott is a literary man, his contribu- 
 tions appearing in the leading magazines of 
 the country, and author of “The Darlingtons,” 
 one of the popular novels of the day, pub- 
 lished in 1900. Ouesnal DeWitt is a newspa- 
 per man at Green Bay, Wis. ; he married lsora 
 Hansen, and they have one child, Elmore Elli- 
 ott. Harriett married Burt S. Barber, of 
 Beaver Dam, Wis., where she died when twen- 
 ty-two years old. Prue Ferren died when an 
 infant six weeks old. Frederick R. died at 
 Portsmouth, Ohio, an infant of fifteen months. 
 Noon Talforcl died at New Carlisle, Ohio, 
 when sixteen months old. Carrie Pearne is 
 living with her parents; she is a very gifted 
 woman and a fine singer. Edward Payson 
 died at Merrill, Wis., when six years old. Mr. 
 Peake is a Mason of the thirty-second degree. 
 His Blue Lodge is in Milford, Ohio, his Chap- 
 ter at New Carlisle, and his Consistory at 
 Cincinnati. Both the Doctor and his wife be- 
 long to the Beloit Lodge of the Order of the 
 Eastern Star. 
 
 During the war Dr. Peake was a revenue 
 officer of the government at Shelbyville, Ind. 
 When he was in Ohio he was appointed by the 
 judge of the circuit court a member of the 
 board of inspection for the examination of pub- 
 lic buildings. He had two brothers in the 
 Union army, and was himself connected with 
 the 67th Ind. V. I., but saw no field service of 
 any account. 
 
 Dr. Peake is a writer of much force and 
 power. He has published a book on “Sancti- 
 fication,” and one on the “Symbolism of 
 Solomon’s Temple,” a book on the teachings 
 of Masonry. Many of his sermons have been 
 printed and widely read. Dr. Peake is an 
 eloquent and popular speaker, and his style is 
 peculiar to himself. He is a close reasoner 
 and a hard worker, and wherever he has been 
 he has left behind him an enviable reputation 
 as a loyal and devoted pastor. 
 
 ALOYS GRIMM is one of the important 
 factors in the business circles of Cassville, 
 Grant county, and his life is an exemplification 
 of the term "the dignity of labor.” He has 
 utilized the possibilities that America offers to 
 her citizens, and though he came to this coun- 
 try in limited circumstances has steadily and 
 perseveringly worked his way upward, leav- 
 ing the ranks of the many to stand among the 
 successful few. 
 
 A native of Germany, Air. Grimm was 
 born in Coblentz, Rhine Province, June 16, 
 1839, a son of Valentine and Henrietta 
 ( Fuerstenhaupt) Grimm, the former also a 
 native of Coblentz, the latter of Naumburg, 
 Saxony. The father was a municipal officer 
 in Coblentz, where both he and the mother 
 died. In their family were ten children, eight 
 sons and two daughters, namely : Hermann, 
 
 whose sketch appears on another page of this 
 volume ; Valentine, who came to America in 
 1854, and became a cigar manufacturer of St. 
 Louis, AIo., where he died ; Hugo, who came 
 to this country at the same time, and also 
 located in St. Louis, where he engaged in the 
 manufacture of cigars until his death ; Aloys ; 
 Joseph, a resident of Bloomington, 111 .; Will- 
 iam, a resident of Coblentz, and an official of 
 the Prussian government, serving as superin- 
 tendent of river and harbor work; Gustoph, 
 who died in St. Louis in 1895; Ann M., a 
 resident of Germany; Philip C., a member of 
 the firm of Grimm Brothers, of Cassville, 
 Wis. ; and Helen, a resident of Coblentz, 
 Prussia. 
 
 In his native city Aloys Grimm was reared 
 and educated, and in his seventeenth year de- 
 cided to try his fortune in America. On land- 
 ing in this country he came at once to Cass- 
 ville, Wis., where he arrived Alay 9, 1856. 
 For a number of years he followed the car- 
 penter’s trade, and later engaged in bridge 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 263 
 
 building until 1870. Two years later he em- 
 barked in the drug business, near the store of 
 Klindt, Geiger & Co., and in May, 1876, moved 
 to his present place of business. He carries 
 a full and complete stock of drugs, paints, etc., 
 and is doing a large and profitable business. 
 
 Mr. Grimm was married, in Cassville, in 
 1865, to Miss Agnes Thormyer, a native of 
 Cincinnati, Ohio, and a daughter of Albert and 
 Mary Thormyer, who at an early day located 
 in Cincinnati, and from that place removed to 
 Louisville, Ivy. While there Mr. Thormyer 
 enlisted in the LTfion army, in 1865, and was 
 in the service until the war ended. Subse- 
 quently he engaged in farming near Indian- 
 apolis, Ind., where his death occurred. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Grimm have been born 
 seven children, as follows : Lena, now the 
 
 wife of D. G. Sheesman, of Washington, D. 
 C. ; Anna, wife of G. O. Bean, agent at St. 
 Paul for the Great Western Railroad Co. ; 
 Agnes, wife of Henry A. Robinson, a drug- 
 gist of Durand, 111 . ; Adolph, who is married 
 and engaged in the drug business in Dubuque, 
 Iowa; Philip C., a merchant at the Sac and 
 Fox Agency, in Oklahoma ; Aloys, a book- 
 keeper for Conklin & Hoffman, at the same 
 Agency; and Frank H., who is pursuing a 
 course in pharmacy at Highland Park Col- 
 lege. 
 
 As a Democrat Mr. Grimm has ever taken 
 quite an active and prominent part in local 
 politics, has served as town treasurer for nine- 
 teen consecutive years, and school treasurer 
 sixteen years, resigning at the end of that 
 time. He was postmaster at Cassville during 
 President Cleveland's first term, and one year 
 during President Grant’s administration, and 
 is now an efficient member of the school board. 
 His official duties have always been discharged 
 with the utmost promptness and fidelity, and 
 his well-spent and honorable life commands 
 the respect and confidence of all who know 
 him. Socially Air. Grimm is a worthy mem- 
 ber of Cassville Lodge, No. 235, F. & A. AT, 
 of which he is senior warden; of Chapter No. 
 27, R. A. M., of Lancaster; of the Ancient 
 Order of United Workmen, and of the Modern 
 Woodmen of America. 
 
 JACOB R. HETTMAN, who has been 
 agent, for many years, of the Chicago & North- 
 Western Railroad at Woodman, Grant county, 
 is numbered among the veteran soldiers of the 
 
 war of the Rebellion. He was born at Baden. 
 Germany, July 25, 1843, a son °f Frederick 
 Hettman, who immigrated with his family to 
 America in 1846, and their first home in the 
 New World was in Erie county, N. Y. In 
 June, 1856, ten years later, they came to Wis- 
 consin, locating at Norwalk, Monroe county, 
 where the father died in 1865 ; the mother 
 survived until May 24, 1900, reaching the 
 age of ninety-three years. 
 
 Jacob R. Hettman was one of a fam- 
 ily of eleven children, six sons and five 
 daughters, ten of whom came to America, the 
 other one having' died prior to their immigra- 
 tion. Three sons and three daughters still 
 survive: Charles F., a resident of Columbus, 
 
 Ohio; Elizabeth, who lives in New Jersey; 
 Catherine, a resident of Minnesota; Jacob R. ; 
 Christopher G., of the State of Wisconsin; 
 and Caroline (with whom the mother resid- 
 ed), at Norwalk. Frederick, who was a resi- 
 dent of Minnesota, died March 31, 1901. 
 
 Three of the brothers served their country in 
 the war of the Rebellion, Charles being a 
 member of the 164th Regiment, N. Y. V. I., 
 and Frederick of the 3d Wisconsin Cavalry. 
 
 Jacob R. Hettman enlisted, in December, 
 1863, at Sparta, in Company G. 19th \\ is. \ . 
 I., and was mustered into the service soon 
 after, at La Crosse. The 19th was one of 
 Wisconsin's fine regiments, serving in the 
 Army of the Potomac, and taking part in the 
 terrible battles of Grant’s command during 
 1864-65, including the siege of Petersburg. 
 It was the first regiment that entered Rich- 
 mond after the evacuation; in June. 1865, the 
 regiment was ordered to Fredericksburg, 
 thence to Warrenton, and back to Richmond, 
 where it was mustered out of the service in 
 August, 1865. 
 
 At the close of his army service Air. Hett- 
 man returned to Norwalk, W is., and engag'ed 
 in farming, but in 1872 he removed to Fay- 
 ette county, Iowa. Two years later he re- 
 turned to Norwalk, and engaged in the grain 
 business; in 1880 went to Afton, Rock Co., 
 Whs., as agent for the Chicago & North West- 
 ern Railroad, and in December, 1888. was sta- 
 tioned at Woodman, where he has since re- 
 mained, having now been in the service of 
 this road continuously, for twenty years. 
 
 After his return from the seat of war Air. 
 Hettman married Aliss Alinnie Aleyer, a 
 daughter of Charles Aleyer, and five daugh- 
 
264 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tens and two sons have been born of this 
 union. 
 
 During his long service in the Civil war 
 Mr. Hettman gave good proof of his courage 
 and gallantry, but as years go by he is con- 
 scious that he contributed more than he then 
 realized, for, like many of his fellow soldiers, 
 he has never fully recovered from the effects 
 of the forced marches, sleepless nights, poor 
 food, exposure, and the thousand and one ills 
 of a soldier’s life. Although not seriously in- 
 jured at the time, he was obliged to remain 
 in hospital from June until December, 1864, 
 and the insufficiency of the medical' staff and 
 appliances contributed to his present condition. 
 He is a member of H. D. Crane Post, G. A. R., 
 of Beloit, Wisconsin. 
 
 I11 politics Air. Hettman is an ardent Re- 
 publican, having cast his first vote for Abra- 
 ham Lincoln, and takes great interest in party 
 matters. Socially he is a member of the K. 
 of P., Janesville Lodge. Genial, accommo- 
 dating and efficient, he enjoys the esteem and 
 respect of his fellow townsmen, and is a good 
 representative of the solid men of Wisconsin. 
 
 ROBERT WILLIAM SCOTT, the affable 
 and courteous superintendent of Oak Hill 
 Cemetery, Janesville, Rock county, has a thor- 
 ough comprehension of landscape art, and has 
 produced some exceedingly beautiful scenic 
 effects in the field of his work. He has made 
 Oak Hill Cemetery a notable and attractive 
 city of the dead, worthy of the admiration of 
 all who have come to feel that the last resting 
 place of this poor mortality should be adorned 
 with all that can speak of faith and hope and 
 life forever. 
 
 Air. Scott was born in Glasgow, Scotland, 
 Alarch 15. 1844,- and remained in Ins native 
 country until he had reached the age of four- 
 teen years, when he came to Toronto, Canada. 
 There he had relatives, with whom he made 
 his abode for some years. In 1863 he came 
 into the United States, and in the following 
 February enlisted in the Union army, being 
 mustered into service as a member of Company 
 F. 35th Wis. V. L, and participating in the 
 stirring scenes and events that marked the 
 closing year of the Civil war. He was in the 
 Alobile campaign, helped to capture Spanish 
 Fort, and after the collapse of the Confederacy 
 did duty in Texas until his discharge from the 
 service, April 15, 1865. Coming back to Wis- 
 
 consin, he found employment with the North- 
 western Railway Co., and was in their service 
 several years. On Aug. 5, 1868, he. was ap- 
 pointed to his present position, which he has 
 filled continuously since that date. Then the 
 cemetery consisted of only twenty acres, and 
 the improvements were of the most meager 
 character, the whole grounds having the ap- 
 pearance of a forest. The grounds now con- 
 sist of fifty-eight acres, all improved beyond 
 criticism, and maintained in the most perfect 
 order. Air. Scott has several assistants. Af- 
 ter he had been with the association eighteen 
 years his present residence, located on the 
 grounds, was built for him. It is a handsome 
 and convenient house, and an attractive home. 
 The cemetery is just outside the city limits, 
 and is reached by street cars running to its 
 gates every thirty minutes. In 1899 a chapel 
 was erected at the cemetery for the use of 
 patrons, at a cost of $2,500 — a convenient and 
 tasteful structure. 
 
 Mr. Scott owns a farm of 113 acres, ad- 
 joining the cemetery, which is yearly becoming 
 more valuable on account of its proximity to 
 the flourishing city near which it is located. 
 On June 7, 1866, he married Miss Mary Jane 
 Godden, a daughter of Robert and Rebecca 
 (Bond) Godden. She was born in England 
 June 8, 1844, and came to this country with 
 her family in 1859, settling near Janesville, 
 where her father engaged in farming. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Scott have had ten children, of whom 
 four, Willie, Charles, Archibald D. and Mar- 
 tha, are deceased. Two of them died in a 
 single night from scarlet fever. The living 
 are : James W. is married ; he is now a drug 
 
 clerk in Janesville. Walter R., a druggist at 
 Puyallup, Wash., is married, and has three 
 children. Isabel is the wife of Frank Pierce, 
 of Janesville, Wis., and has one child. Marion 
 E., Gertrude F., and Luella AI. are at home. 
 Air. and Airs. Scott are members of the First 
 Presbyterian Church, and are highly respected, 
 not only in their church associations, but in 
 their social relations as well. He usually 
 votes the Republican ticket, but is not blindly 
 partisan in his political relations, seeking al- 
 ways by his ballot to promote the best govern- 
 ment of the people by aiming to bring men and 
 principles together. 
 
 Mr. Scott's father died in Scotland in 1847, 
 leaving a widow and one child. She subse- 
 quently married William Nixon, by whom she 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 265 
 
 had three children. He also died in Scotland. 
 She came to the United States, and lived for 
 some years with her son, the subject of this 
 article, dying in Philadelphia, Penn., where the 
 three children by her second husband — Will- 
 iam, John and Sarah — reside. 
 
 FAITHFUL WILLIAM CHAPMAN. 
 Among the many esteemed and valuable citi- 
 zens of Darlington, Lafayette county, is Faith- 
 ful William Chapman, the subject of this 
 sketch, who has made that place his home, 
 and there has centered the interests of his life. 
 Mr. Chapman was born at Cambridge, Eng- 
 land, Dec. 29, 1823, a son of William and 
 Hannah (Fisher) Chapman, the former of 
 whom was born in Bedfordshire, and the lat- 
 ter in Huntingdonshire. Both passed all 
 their lives in their old English home. Air. and 
 Mrs. William Chapman were the parents of six 
 children, four of whom survive : Airs. Alary 
 Perkins Watt, still a resident of England; 
 Faithful W., our subject; William, who resides 
 in England; and Jane, who lives with our 
 subject, in Darlington. The father was a 
 skillful carpenter and builder, and did much 
 work in the city of London. His two sons 
 learned the same trade under their father’s 
 instruction, and became as skilled as he. 
 
 Our subject was married to Rachel Weston, 
 a native of Westerham, in Kent, England, in 
 August, 1845, three years later coming to 
 America. With his wife and one child Mr. 
 Chapman landed Dec. 23, 1848, at New Or- 
 leans, where they remained until April, 1850, 
 when they came up the Alississippi river to 
 Galena, and from there to Shullsburg. On 
 the boat on the Mississippi river Air. Chapman 
 became acquainted with a traveler named Ab- 
 salom Townsend, who was returning from a 
 successful sojourn in the mines of California, 
 and by the time the families had reached 
 Shullsburg our subject had been persuaded to 
 return with his new friend and try to make a 
 fortune for himself. 
 
 The company left Shullsburg on Alay 23, 
 1850, crossed the Alissouri river at Omaha, 
 _ and. were_pn the way no days ere they reached 
 their destination. Air. Chapman was offered 
 $16 per day to work at his trade on the first 
 May of his arrival. Two years passed before he 
 was ready to return to his home in Shulls- 
 burg, which he reached on April 10, 1852. 
 Upon his return he found little building going- 
 
 on, and then engaged in lead mining, but later 
 returned to his trade, and some of the build- 
 ings he erected in Shullsburg are the Brewster 
 house, and the residences of Henry Stevens 
 and Samuel Rickert. For some ten years our 
 subject remained in Shullsburg, and then en- 
 gaged in farming at what was then known as 
 Stump Grove, near the line between the towns 
 of Shullsburg and Darlington. Increasing his 
 first purchase of land, he finally owned some 
 200 acres, and became a well-known farmer 
 and stock raiser in Lafayette county. Until 
 1890 he continued to remain on the farm, in 
 that year removing to Darlington, and he has 
 recently sold the homestead to his son-in-law, 
 who now occupies it. Air. Chapman is an 
 example of what honest, persevering effort 
 can accomplish, and richly deserves the esteem 
 and confidence with which he is regarded by 
 his fellow citizens. 
 
 Eight children were born to Air. and Airs. 
 Chapman: Clare, wife of Frank Rowe, who 
 
 lives on the homestead; James Faithful, ot 
 Dawson, Iowa; Faithful William, of Darling- 
 ton; Airs. Nettie Parson, of Denver, Colo.; 
 and William Albert, of Darlington : the others 
 dying in infancy. Airs. Chapman passed away 
 Feb. 19, 1863, after having been an invalid 
 for a long time, but leaving a sad vacancy in 
 the household. The pleasant home of our sub- 
 ject in Darlington is capably managed by his 
 estimable sister. 
 
 REV. WILLI AAI WESLEY WOOD- 
 SIDE, the beloved pastor of the First AI. E. 
 Church of Janesville, was born in Bucyrus, 
 Ohio, April 20, 1854, a son of William and 
 Susan (Heller) Woodside, natives of Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of our subject, 
 James Woodside, was born in Ireland, but 
 came to America when a young man, and set- 
 tled in Pennsylvania, near Harrisburg, where 
 he engaged in farming. Fie participated in the 
 war of 1812. When an old man he removed 
 to Bucyrus, Ohio, where he resided with his 
 daughter, and died when over eighty years 
 of age. The family he and his wife reared 
 was a very large one. and all were highly- 
 esteemed. The maternal grandfather of Rev. 
 Air. Woodside, Jacob Heller, was a native of 
 Germany, who immigrated to America when 
 still a young man, settled in Pennsylvania, en- 
 gaged in farming, reared a large family, and 
 
266 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 became very prominent, dying in the State of 
 his adoption at an advanced age. 
 
 The father of our subject was a farmer, 
 and about 1877 went to Kansas, where he lo- 
 cated on a farm near Larned, that State, and 
 lived there a number of years, finally return- 
 ing to Bucyrus, Ohio, where he died in 1898, 
 aged eighty-four. During his life he had been 
 a justice of the peace, and quite prominent. 
 Both he and his wife, who died in 1871, were 
 consistent, devout and active members of the 
 M. E. Church. Eleven children were born to 
 them, three sons and eight daughters, four of 
 whom are now living: Rachel, wife of D. 
 
 L. McMichael, of Bucyrus, Ohio; Sarah, wife 
 of H. D. Markle, of Elkhart; Inch; Rev. Will- 
 iam W. ; and James j., of St. John, Kans. 
 One son, Isaiah, served during the last vear 
 of the Civil war, participating in twelve battles; 
 he is now deceased. 
 
 Rev. William W. Woodside lived at Bu- 
 cyrus until thirteen years old, at which time 
 his parents removed to St. Joseph county, 
 Ind., near South Bend, where he grew to man- 
 hood. After completing the studies taught 
 in the common schools of Ohio and Indiana 
 our subject attended Oberlin Colleg-e, Fort 
 Wayne University (now Bishop Taylor Uni- 
 versity), and also the Normal School at Val- 
 paraiso, Ind. After attending Oberlin Mr. 
 Woodside taught school in St. Joseph county, 
 Inch, for eight or nine terms, working his way 
 in college. Wishing- to complete his educa- 
 tion, Mr. Woodside went to Kansas in 1877. 
 However, he at once entered the ministry of 
 the M. E. Church, in the South Kansas Con- 
 ference, and preached in that State for 
 about nine years. At the end of that time 
 Mr. Woodside came to Wisconsin, and was 
 stationed at Kaukauna, Milwaukee, Eclg-erton, 
 and Elkhorn, coming to Janesville in 1898, 
 as pastor of the First M. E. Church, where he 
 has since remained, endearing himself to his 
 people, and adding many members to his 
 flock. 
 
 On May 2, 1880, Mr. Woodside married 
 Miss Anna Drew, a daughter of Mark and 
 Julia M. (Bellows) Drew, and one son, Forest 
 H., was born of this union. Mrs. Woodside 
 died in 1885, deeply mourned. On Sept. 2, 
 1886, Mr. Woodside married Miss Frances 
 E. Drew, a sister of his first wife. The pa- 
 ternal grandfather of Mrs. Woodside, Peter 
 Drew, was a native of England ; while her 
 
 maternal grandparents were Caleb Strong 
 Bellows and Esther Mansell, natives of Wal- 
 pole, N. IT, and Stencil, England, respectively. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bellows had ten children who 
 grew to mature years. Mr. Bellows was a 
 colonel in the militia in Canada ; also post- 
 master of West Meath nine or ten years; and 
 held various minor offices, enjoying the re- 
 spect and esteem of all. The father of A'Irs. 
 Woodside, Mark Drew, was a native of Ver- 
 mont, the mother of Canada. Air. Drew op- 
 erated a tannery and shoe factory at West 
 Meath, Canada, later went to Ohio, and 
 thence to Wisconsin, locating at Eureka. In 
 December, 1899, Father Drew died, over 
 eighty-three years of age. His wife still sur- 
 vives, living with her daughter, Airs. Wood- 
 side. They were very worthy people, and Mr. 
 Drew was a very devout and consistent mem- 
 ber of the M. E. Church. 
 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Woodside are earnest, 
 Christian workers, who have the welfare of 
 their people at heart, and are very success- 
 ful in their endeavors to set an example of 
 high-minded living, and win souls to the cause. 
 Politically Mr. Woodside is a Prohibitionist, 
 and is an earnest advocate of the principles of 
 that party. 
 
 HENRY MILL, now residing in Blanch- 
 ardville, has found in Lafayette county a 
 comfortable home for over half a century, 
 and bears the distinction of being one of the 
 comparatively few survivors of the war with 
 Alexico. 
 
 Air. Alill was born in Germany in 1823, and 
 in 1846 emigrated to the United States. He 
 landed in this country just before the openingof 
 hostilities, and, being possessed of a somewhat 
 daring spirit, resolved to enter the service of 
 his but lately adopted country. Accordingly 
 he enlisted, at New York, becoming a member 
 of Company D, 2d Regiment, United States 
 Artillery, -and went at once with his regiment 
 to Matamoras, where he joined the army of 
 Gen. Winfield Scott, and participated in all 
 the famous battles from Vera Cruz to the city 
 of Mexico, inclusive. He served in Alexico 
 for two years, or until the close of the war. 
 His term of enlistment had been for five years; 
 but two years having expired when peace was 
 declared, more work was found for the army 
 looking after the Indians on the border, who 
 were very troublesome. Mr. AI ill's regiment 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 267 
 
 was ordered to New Mexico, where they were 
 engaged* in Indian warfare the next three 
 years. Before Mr. Mill had entered the army 
 he had become engaged to- Miss Margaret 
 Bayer, and when he was returned to New 
 York, at the close of the Mexican war, 'he was 
 married, and took his bride with him to New 
 Mexico, where they remained until the end of 
 his enlistment. Mr. Mill’s health was badly 
 shattered by his army experience, and just 
 two months before the time for his discharge 
 he was granted a furlough for the remainder 
 of his term. He and Ins wife went to Fort 
 Leavenworth, Kans., where he received an 
 honorable discharge, which to-day is careful- 
 ly guarded as one of the family treasures, ot 
 which Mr. Mill is most justly proud. 
 
 A comrade in the army had told Mr. Mill 
 of the glories of Lafayette county, \\ is., and 
 when he was ready to take up the pursuits of 
 peaceful life he came to this county and en- 
 gaged in farming. He did not, however, con- 
 fine his labors exclusively to agriculture. He 
 built the “Ryan Hotel," in Blanchardville, and 
 generally led an active life until feebleness, 
 aggravated by age and his hard life in the 
 army, compelled him to retire. He and his 
 wife have always held the high respect of the 
 community, and Mr. Mill has ever been found 
 on the side of progress, showing in a marked 
 degree his love for the country he served so 
 well. One daughter was born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Mill, Katherine, now Mrs. Gould, of 
 Blanchardville. 
 
 WILLIAM ROWLANDS holds an en- 
 viable position among the older farmers of the 
 town of Belmont, Lafayette county, both by 
 reason of his advanced years and his reputa- 
 tion as a man of character and industry. 
 
 Mr. Rowlands was born Dec. 5, 1827, a 
 son of William and Jane (Perry) Rowlands, 
 all born in North Wales. Our subject and his 
 brother John came to America in 1849, an d 
 the parents in 1854. The brothers crossed the 
 ocean in a sailing-vessel, landing in New York, 
 in which city they made but a brief stop, jour- 
 neying west to Waukesha. Wis., where they 
 found work on a neighboring farm for some 
 two years. In 1850 William Rowlands came 
 to Dodgeville, Iowa Co., Wis., and was em- 
 ployed on a farm by Frank Dunn, where he 
 was presently joined by his parents, who emi- 
 grated to Wisconsin in 1S54. The father 
 
 bought land in the town of Belmont, and there 
 made his home until his death, in 1868. His 
 widow survived many years, and died in 1897. 
 at the advanced age of ninety-six years. They 
 were the parents of six children : ( 1 ) Will- 
 
 iam is our subject. (2) John, born in Wales 
 in 1830, is a farmer near Dodgeville; he is 
 the father of two daughters, Elizabeth and 
 Anna. (3) Richard, born in Wales in 1833, 
 never married. He has prospered since com- 
 ing to Wisconsin, and is now living retired 
 in Dodgeville. (4) Anna, born in Wales, is 
 the widow of Samuel Jones, and is the mother 
 of six children. (5) Jane, born in Wales, came 
 to Wisconsin with her parents, and married 
 Orrin Morris, they settling in Minnesota, 
 where her husband died. She came back to 
 Platteville, and died in 1874, leaving one 
 daughter, Jane, who is a Mrs. O'Brian, of 
 Minnesota. (6) Ellen married Thomas 
 Thomas, and remained in Y ales, where she 
 died in 1900, leaving seven children, four of 
 whom are still living in the old country. I he 
 others came to Wisconsin. 
 
 William Rowlands obtained his education 
 in the public schools of his native community. 
 Pie was married in 1870 to Miss Anna Rob- 
 erts, who was born in Wales in 1838. and 
 came to Wisconsin with her brother Robert 
 in 1870. He settled in the State of Iowa, 
 where he died lately. In 1887 Mr. and Mrs. 
 Rowlands moved to Union county, S. Dak., 
 where they lived three years. For five years 
 they lived in Lake county, same State, where 
 Mrs. Rowlands died in 1892, leaving him with 
 three children. Soon after her demise he re- 
 turned to the old homestead in Belmont, where 
 he has since remained. Children were born to 
 their union as follows : ( 1 ) Katie, born in Bel- 
 mont in July, 1871, was married in 1900 to 
 Robert Williams, in South Dakota, and is now 
 residing at Miner, that State. (2) Richard, 
 born in March, 1874, was educated in the 
 schools of Lafayette county, Wis., is unmar- 
 ried, and lives at home with his father, tak- 
 ing the general management of the farm. (3) 
 Rice Lloyd died when two years old. (4) Han- 
 nah, born in April, 1879. was well educated, 
 and is a bright and capable young woman ; 
 she is housekeeper for father and brother. 
 
 In politics Mr. Rowlands is a Democrat, 
 and has been roadmaster for a number of years. 
 He began life in his adopted country with but 
 little means, and made his way by hard work. 
 
268 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 By wise investments he has come to be an ex- 
 tensive land owner in Lafayette and Iowa 
 counties. 
 
 DAVID H. POLLOCK. This name will 
 be readily recognized by any one at all familiar 
 with the business personnel of the city of Be- 
 loit, Rock county, as that of one of its popular 
 and successful druggists and book dealers. 
 Mr. Pollock is a cultivated and genial gentle- 
 man, of fine character and excellent character- 
 istics. He has a good patronage, and is rated 
 with the best people of the city. 
 
 David IT. Pollock was born at Whitewater, 
 Wis., Feb. 23, i860, and is a son of Arthur 
 and Lydia (Nagle) Pollock, both natives of 
 Ireland. They had five children, of whom all 
 but one are now living: William J. ; David 
 
 H. ; Sarah, wife of W. M. V an Lone, of Beloit ; 
 Mary B.. deceased; and Effie A., wife of 
 George Beedle, of Beloit. Arthur Pollock 
 was bred a farmer, and came to the United 
 States about 1845, when he was twenty-one 
 years old. He found a location at Canan- 
 daigua, X. Y., where he remained some seven 
 or eight years, and then moved West to Wis- 
 consin, settling on the farm in Jefferson county 
 where he died, Oct. 1, 1894, of typhoid fever, 
 when seventy years old. His widow is still 
 living, and makes her home with her daugh- 
 ter, Airs. Van Lone, in Beloit. He was a 
 prominent church worker, and early in life 
 was a Presbyterian, his wife a member of the 
 Episcopal Church. Later they both united 
 with the Alethodists. His father, William 
 Pollock, was a farmer in Ireland. He had 
 four sons and two daughters. Coming to this 
 country to make his home with his children, he 
 died in Jefferson county at the age of seventy- 
 nine. The father of Lydia Nagle was an Irish 
 farmer, who lived and died in his native coun- 
 try. 
 
 David IT. Pollock grew to manhood on his 
 father’s farm in Jefferson county. He was 
 given unusual educational advantages, includ- 
 ing a course at the State Normal at White- 
 water, and for ten years followed the profession 
 of teaching in Jefferson, Green, Waupaca and 
 Walworth counties, with most creditable re- 
 sults. He became noted as an educator of 
 much ability, and had he chosen to remain in 
 the school room would doubtless have had a 
 successful career. But the inclinations of Mr. 
 Pollock led him toward a commercial life, and 
 
 he selected pharmacy as a field suited to his 
 desires. ITe acquired a practical knowledge of 
 the business by clerking in drug stores at Janes- 
 ville and Whitewater, and, when he felt him- 
 self prepared to make the. venture, came to Be- 
 loit and bought out the old and well-established 
 drug house of F. S. Fenton, conducting same 
 under the firm name of D. H. Pollock & Co. 
 This was in 1888, and here he has remained 
 to the present time, retaining the old patron- 
 age and winning many new friends. He car- 
 ries a full line of druggists’ supplies and sun- 
 dries, books, bicycles and paints. Our subject 
 is secretary and treasurer of the Beloit Tele- 
 phone Co., and is a competent and successful 
 business man. 
 
 Mr. Pollock has been twice married, his 
 wives being sisters, and daughters of O. A. and 
 Zella (Plulse) Wheeler. Myrtle E. became 
 his wife Sept. 19, 1888, and died April 7, 1890. 
 On Jan. 13, 1892, Mr. Pollock and' Miss Bertha 
 A. were married. She died Dec. 23, 1899. 
 Both were fine musicians, teachers of the piano, 
 and much interested in all matters that con- 
 cerned the general progress of the community. 
 They were great church workers, and 'took 
 much thought about the successful operations 
 of the literary clubs with which they were as- 
 sociated. Their great-great-grandfather Chen- 
 ey’s name is on Bunker Hill Monument, and 
 the Wheeler and Cheney families belong to old 
 New England. 
 
 Air. Pollock is a member of the Knights 
 of Pythias, the Knights of the Globe, and the 
 Modern Woodmen of America. He is a Re- 
 publican, has been twice elected to the city 
 council from the Fourth ward, and is now serv- 
 ing in that position. Religiously he is a mem- 
 ber and trustee of the Second Congregational 
 Church of Beloit. 
 
 ARIAL RODDICK was born in the house 
 which is now his home Aug. 30, 1862, a son of 
 John and Sarah (Batchelor) Roddick. The 
 father was born in Wales in 1811, and the 
 mother was born in Somersetshire, England, 
 in November, 1814. They obtained their 
 schooling in their native land. 
 
 John Roddick came to Philadelphia in 
 1832, and there worked at his trade some 
 three years, at the end of that time moving to 
 Pittsburg, where he married in 1836. Airs. 
 Roddick is still living in the old home in El- 
 lenboro, with her son Arial, who with h:s 
 
) 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 269 
 
 wife leaves nothing undone to make her de- 
 clining days peaceful and happy. Mrs. Rod- 
 dick has witnessed great changes in Grant 
 county. She and her husband both belonged 
 to the Campbellite Church. After their mar- 
 riage they lived in Pittsburg for about three 
 years, while Mr. Roddick worked on a steam- 
 boat plying between Pittsburg and Louisville, 
 Ivy. They came West to Wisconsin as early 
 as 1838, and spent two years in Elk Grove, 
 until he purchased the present farm from the 
 government, and he was the third settler in 
 this locality, there being one settler in the vil- 
 lage of Ellenboro and one in Harrison. A 
 lob cabin furnished a home for the family un- 
 til the present stone house was built, in 1859. 
 To the original eighty acres a second eighty 
 was presently added, and the enlarged farm 
 brought into good shape. The improvements 
 wrought on this place were all made by Mr. 
 Roddick and his family. He died in February, 
 1889, leaving a widow and six children out 
 of the family of ten born to them. George, 
 Reuben and Emma died in childhood. Will- 
 iam, born on the present family home Jan. 5, 
 1852, died in 1885; he married Miss Mary A. 
 Graves, who died in April, 1900, and they 
 left two children, Mabel and William. Of 
 the living, (1) Fernando was born in Grant 
 county Dec. 12, 1839, and enlisted in the 
 Union army during the Rebellion, serving - in 
 the Army of the Potomac. He married Lida 
 Gillette, of Fennimore, and now resides on 
 his farm, adjoining the old paternal estate. 
 They have a family of six children, Sarah, Jo- 
 seph, Edith, Samuel, Daniel, and Lewis. (2) 
 Thomas, born in the town of Harrison in Au- 
 gust, 1842, served in the Civil war in the 6th 
 and 7th Wis. V. I., and participated in many 
 of the most severe engagements of that 
 sanguinary struggle. He saw many ' hard- 
 ships, and was badly wounded several times. 
 Soon after the war he married Miss Sarah 
 Pike, who died soon after marriage, and later 
 he married Vashti Bellwood, of Platteville. 
 They are living on his farm in Ellenboro, and 
 are the parents of five children, Clara, George, 
 Lester, Nora and Eva. (3) Elizabeth A., 
 born in March, 1846, married George Atkin- 
 son, who was born in England. Settling on 
 a farm in Ellenboro, they have kept their home 
 there to the present time, and are the parents 
 of six children, George, Sarah, Allen, Walter, 
 Mary and Jessie. Sarah married Benjamin 
 
 Cornwell, and died leaving two children, Ida 
 and Liela. Allen is married and has two chil- 
 dren, Jessie and Naomi. (4) Malissa, born 
 May 14, 1849, i s fhe wife of Lewis Pollander, 
 and resides in the town of Harrison. They 
 have a family of five children, Joseph, Lizzie, 
 Genevieve (now the wife of Duane Hull, of 
 Lima, and the mother of two children, Velma 
 and Archie Duane), William and Sena. (5) 
 John, born in February, 1855, married Miss 
 Emma Dean, and now lives on a farm in Ellen- 
 boro, where they are rearing a family of four 
 sons, George, Archie, Ora and Lloyd. (6) 
 Arial is the gentleman whose name introduces 
 this article. 
 
 Arial Roddick had the benefit of a dis- 
 trict-school education, and has always re- 
 mained on the old homestead, where he was 
 manager for some years prior to the death of 
 his father. In February, 1884, he married 
 Miss Lucinda A. Hudson, daughter of Hiram 
 and Roxy (Ray) Hudson, a family long es- 
 tablished in this country. They are now liv- 
 ing in the town of Potosi. Mrs. Roddick was 
 born in July, 1864, and received her education 
 in the home schools. After his marriage Mr. 
 Roddick settled on the old Roddick estate, and 
 devoted himself to the building up of this fine 
 property. He and his wife have had one son, 
 Harold Verne, who died when two years old. 
 The Roddicks are among the most highly es- 
 teemed residents of Grant county, and Mrs. 
 Roddick deserves equal praise with her hus- 
 band for her industry and energy, which have 
 aided him greatly. In politics Mr. Roddick 
 is a Republican. He is on the town board. 
 Fraternally he belongs to the Modern Wood- 
 men of America. 
 
 Mr. Roddick is a born inventor and a 
 natural mechanic. Though never taught a 
 trade, he has invented several ingenious ma- 
 chines, the most striking being a corn busker 
 and shredder that will husk from 'forty to 
 fifty bushels per hour, and prepare the fodder 
 for use. 
 
 MELFORD PRATT SMITH, of Fenni- 
 more, has been a prominent farmer in Grant 
 county for nearly half a century, and in that 
 time has made himself felt as a man of de- 
 cided force of character and genuine integrity. 
 He came here in 1853, and during his long 
 residence in the county has proved himself 
 a valuable citizen of the community, an non- 
 
270 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 orable man, and a skillful and progressive 
 farmer. He is now leading a retired life in the 
 city of Fennimore. 
 
 Mr. Smith was born in Wayne county, 
 Penn., March 19, 1829, son of Jacob and 
 Sophia (Wheeler) Smith. His father was 
 born east of the Green Mountains, in Vermont, 
 in 1802, and his grandfather was a clergyman 
 of the Methodist Church, and lived in New 
 England all his life. Jacob Smith was the 
 youngest son in a family of twelve children, six 
 sons and six daughters, all of whom were given 
 Bible names, as was the fashion of the times. 
 The sons were called Simeon, Reuben, Daniel, 
 Abram, Isaac and Jacob. The names of the 
 daughters cannot now be obtained, as that 
 generation has passed from earth. In 1824 
 Jacob Smith married Sophia Wheeler, who 
 was born in Massachusetts, her birth occurring 
 the same year as her husband’s. She was a 
 daughter of Simeon and Polly (Noble) 
 Wheeler. Her mother was a daughter of Capt. 
 Charles Noble, a Revolutionary soldier, who 
 died before the close of the Revolution, from 
 disease contracted in the service. Mel ford Pratt 
 Smith therefore is a great-grandson of a Revo- 
 lutionary soldier. The Noble family was long 
 prominent in Massachusetts. Four brothers 
 came from England in early Colonial times, 
 and from them are descended the greater part 
 of the Nobles in the United States. 
 
 In 1826 Jacob Smith, with his wife and 
 only child, removed to Wayne county, Penn., 
 ancl in 1853 the parents, with their family, 
 then consisting of six children, came to Grant 
 county, Wis., and settled on a farm in the 
 town of Fennimore. Within six years after 
 their arrival five of the family had passed 
 away. The parents and three of their children, 
 Algernon, and Celestia and Cecilia (twins), 
 had succumbed to sickness, and gone on “to 
 join the great majority.” The children reached 
 maturity before they died. The mother’s 
 death occurred in 1857, and the father's the 
 following year. There are now living of this 
 family Esther (the wife of O. N. Smith, of 
 Eau Claire, Wis.), Melford P., and Alfica (of 
 Iowa ) . 
 
 Melford P. Smith obtained a good educa- 
 tion in the common schools of his county, 
 rather better than was the habit of the times. 
 He taught two terms of school during the win- 
 ter after coming to Grant county, and was re- 
 garded as a capable instructor. He was mar- 
 
 ried, a few weeks before leaving Pennsylvania, 
 to Miss Ada M. Adams, who was born in 
 Luzerne county, Penn., April 19, 1831. Her 
 parents came to Wisconsin, and died many 
 years ago. Mr. Smith bought State and gov- 
 ernment land in Section 32, of the town of 
 Fennimore, and here he settled, and made a 
 valuable farm, which he still owns. He re- 
 sided on it until the fall of 1898, when he 
 and his venerable spouse moved to their pleas- 
 ant home in the city of Fennimore. 
 
 Mr. Smith has long been one of the repre- 
 sentative men of his section He was town 
 treasurer ten years, assessor for six years, and 
 town clerk for eighteen years. He held the 
 office of justice of the peace for a long period, 
 and during the greater part of his active life 
 held some local office. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Smith have had three chil- 
 dren : Ira, born in 1855, married Viola Shearer, 
 a daughter of John A. Shearer, an early set- 
 tler of the county. Charles, born in 1858, is a 
 lawyer and lives in Viroqua. Ida, born in 
 1864, is the wife of Ambrose Peterson, and 
 lives at Hillsdale, Mich. There are two grand- 
 children in the family: Irl, the son of Ira, 
 
 born in 1890, and Kenneth, the son of Charles, 
 born in 1892. Mr. Smith has always taken a 
 deep interest in the moral and educational prog- 
 ress of the community. Flis children have had 
 good educational privileges. Charles was 
 graduated at the Platteville Normal in 1881, 
 and for three years was principal of the Viro- 
 qua schools. He was a successful teacher, but, 
 determining to become a lawyer, entered the 
 office of Judge Wyman, read law under his in- 
 struction for one year, and then entered the 
 law school at Albany, N. Y., from which he 
 graduated in 1886. He immediately entered 
 into practice at Viroqua, and has remained 
 there -up to the present time. Melford Pratt 
 Smith is a man of extensive reading and wide 
 information. He is a Republican, and in re- 
 ligious connection both he and his wife are 
 members of the Congregational Church at Lan- 
 caster. 
 
 RL 1 FUS I. CUTTS has been intimately as- 
 sociated with the agricultural interests of Har- 
 mony township and that portion of Rock 
 county for the greater part of his life, and may 
 fairly and justly be written down as one of the 
 leading farmers of Rock county. Fie owns a 
 farm in Section 6, Harmony township, and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 271 
 
 has made it in every way profitable and attract- 
 ive by industry, thrift and careful manage- 
 ment. 
 
 Mr. Cutts was born in Sullivan county, 
 N. H., Dec. 14, 1831, and is a son of Nathan 
 and Mary ( Burnham) Cutts, both natives of 
 that State. Five children were born to them, 
 two of whom are now living: Alonzo K., of 
 Janesville; and Rufus I. Nathan Cutts, who 
 was a farmer, came to Wisconsin in 1844, lo- 
 cating in the town of Fulton, Rock county, 
 where he lived three years, and then moving 
 into Harmony township and purchasing a farm 
 of 178 acres. This proved to be his home for 
 life, for he lived upon it until his death, in 1864, 
 when he was about sixty-five years old. His 
 widow survived many years, and was about 
 eighty-two years .old when she died. They 
 were members of the Free-Will Baptist Church, 
 and were in every way good people and fine 
 neighbors. Nathan Cutts, his father, was a 
 farmer in New Hampshire, where he was born. 
 He was killed in the East by an accident, and 
 left a large family. Mrs. Mary (Burnham) 
 Cutts' father was born in New Hampshire, of 
 English descent, and was a sailor. He died 
 in the East, leaving a small family. 
 
 Rufus I. Cutts was twelve years old when 
 his parents came to Rock county, and here his 
 life has since been spent. On his father’s 
 death he came into possession of the old home- 
 stead by purchasing the interest of the other 
 heirs. He attended the district school, ob- 
 tained a fair business education, and began life 
 for himself by helping his parents pay for the 
 home place, as he was given eighty acres of it 
 when he set up a home. He now owns one 
 hundred acres, and has started his sons farm- 
 ing. On Sept. 22, 1858, he was married to 
 Miss Sarah G. Daggett, a daughter of Henry 
 and Meribah (Jackson) Daggett. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Cutts have had three sons and three 
 daughters, Henry, Acil, Effie, Meribah, Fred 
 and Elnora. Henrv died in early childhood. 
 Acil married Catherine Kahoe, and lives in 
 Harmony township ; they have six children, 
 Lawrence. Asa, Earl, Howard, Christi and 
 Bertie. Effie married David Alverson, and 
 lives on the old place ; they have three chil- 
 dren, Claris, Letha and Anna. Meribah is at 
 home. Fred married Miss Lottie Wells, and 
 lives in Harmony township ; they have six chil- 
 dren, Lester, Lelah, Gladys, Gertie, Helen and 
 Rufus. Elnora died in early childhood. 
 
 Mrs. Cutts' parents were natives of the 
 State of Maine, and came by the lakes to Mil- 
 waukee in 1S46, making a home in Winne- 
 bago county, 111., where her father died in 
 1881, at the age of eighty-six years. Her 
 mother died in 1875, at the age of eighty-two. 
 They were Free- A ill Baptists. He enlisted in 
 the American army during the war of 1812, 
 though he was never in battle. When a young- 
 man he was a school teacher, but became a 
 farmer in the A est. His father, Edward Dag- 
 gett, was a native of Maine, of English de- 
 scent, and died in the East. Mrs. Cutts was 
 twelve years old when she came to Wisconsin 
 with her parents, and she has lived in Rock 
 county for over forty-two years. Her grand- 
 mother, Elizabeth Grindell, lived to be one hun- 
 dred and four years old. 
 
 Air. Cutts is a Republican. He has lived in 
 Rock county for over fifty-six years, and dur- 
 ing that long period has attended steadily to 
 his business, proved a kind friend and a good 
 neighbor, and now in his old age has well- 
 earned rest and peace. 
 
 JOHN H. JONES, one of the highly es- 
 teemed and substantial residents of Belmont 
 township, has made his home in Lafayette 
 county since 1869, and has been identified with 
 the growth and development of his neighbor- 
 hood. The birth of our subject occurred in 
 Tioga county, Penn., Sept. 9, 1840. 
 
 John W. and Elizabeth (Hughes) Jones, 
 his parents, were both born in Anglesey, A'ales, 
 the former in 1813, the latter in 1810. They 
 had the advantage of being instructed in both 
 Welsh and English. Airs. Jones was a daugh- 
 ter of Griffith and Ellen Hughes, both of 
 whom died in A’ales, Airs. Jones making the 
 journey to America alone, arriving in 1830. 
 Air. Jones came later, and both located in Ti- 
 oga county, Penn., where a number of their 
 countrymen reside. There they met and mar- 
 ried. For some ten years Air. Jones worked in 
 the coal mines of Pennsylvania. In 1844, with 
 wife and three children, he removed to Dodge- 
 ville, Iowa Co., Wis., and was employed for 
 the following four or five years in the lead 
 mines in that locality. With him had come 
 his father, who located near Aliffiin, Iowa coun- 
 ty, where he died in 1879, leaving a family 
 of two sons and five daughters, of whom are 
 mentioned: John A'., the father of our sub- 
 ject; Hugh, who married Anna Hughes, of 
 
2/2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mifflin, and settled on his father’s farm, where 
 he died, his wife and family still living in 
 Iowa county; Anna, who married Edward Ed- 
 wards, a jeweler of Mineral Point, who moved 
 to Chicago, where he died, his wife being still 
 a resident of that city ; the others of the family 
 remaining in Pennsylvania until a later date. 
 
 John W. Jones, after leaving Dodgeville, 
 purchased a tract of 160 acres near Mifflin, 
 where he erected a log cabin and improved the 
 land, this being the home of the family until 
 the death of Mrs. Jones, in 1887. Soon after 
 Mr. Jones and his son William began the erec- 
 tion of a new house on the old site, and there 
 he resided until his decease, in 1892, leaving 
 six children to mourn the loss of a good fa- 
 ther. Of his family, John H. is our sub- 
 ject. Anne is deceased. William, born in 
 1844, was educated in the district schools of 
 Iowa county, later enjoyed a term at the old 
 academy in Platteville, and taught school sev- 
 eral terms; he married Elizabeth Jones, who 
 was born in New York State March 17, 1859, 
 a daughter of William Jones, of Iowa county, 
 formerly of Utica, N. Y., and died in 1891, 
 while residing in Mineral Point; the children 
 of this marriage were Jane and Elizabeth. 
 Ellen, born in 1846, married John J. Jones, 
 and resided on the old Jones homestead in 
 Iowa county, where he died. Griffith H., born 
 in 1849, married Sarah James, of Lafayette 
 county, and they reside on the old homestead 
 in Iowa county ; their children are Anna, Ella 
 and Alvin. Jane, born in 1851, married John 
 Lloyd Jones, and died in Dodgeville in 1887; 
 their children are Thomas, John, and Mary. 
 Owen, born in 1854, married Emma Thomp- 
 son, and died at Mineral Point, leaving one 
 son, Owen, of Iowa county. 
 
 Our subject, John H. Jones, was educated 
 in the district schools of Iowa county. He 
 remained at home until he was about twenty- 
 two, when he crossed the Plains to the mines 
 of Nevada, remaining there for three years', 
 and coming home by way of California. In 
 1865 he was married to Mary A. Jones, an 
 educated young lady, daughter of John P. and 
 Catherine Jones, of Schuylkill county, Penn. 
 The father of Mrs. John H. Jones died in 
 Pennsylvania, and her mother married Owen 
 Hughes, who came West and located in 1 ,a- 
 fayette county. Although Mrs. Jones was born 
 in the Keystone State, she obtained her edu- 
 cation in the schools of Wisconsin. 
 
 After marriage our subject settled at Coal 
 Valley, 111 ., where he worked in the coal mines 
 for one year, and then moved to Iowa county, 
 m 1869 purchasing his present farm. At that 
 time the land was wild, and much labor has 
 been required to bring it to its present fine 
 state of cultivation, but Mr. Jones possessed 
 the determination to make here a permanent 
 home and insure the prosperity of his family, 
 and he has succeeded. In addition to this com- 
 fortable place, with its commodious buildings, 
 fences and orchards, Mr. Jones also owns a 
 farm of forty acres in Iowa county, which is 
 valuable land. 
 
 Children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Jones as follows: William R., born in 1866, 
 resides at home. John is deceased. Elizabeth, 
 born in 1874, married Thomas P. Thomas, 
 and they reside on a part of our subject’s home- 
 stead ; they have one daughter, Anna. Miriam, 
 born in 1879, married Charles Kinsman, of 
 Iowa county, his death occurring in 1900, after 
 but one year of marriage; their son is named 
 Charles R. 
 
 Our subject has always been identified 
 with the Republican party, and has efficient- 
 ly filled many of the local offices. Both he 
 and his wife are constant in their attendance 
 at the Presbyterian Church, of which she is a 
 consistent member, and to which he is a liberal 
 contributor. Mr. Jones is one of the good, 
 substantial citizens who form the foundation 
 stones of the county’s prosperity, sensible, 
 honest, energetic, and willing to advance any 
 interest which his judgment assures him is 
 for the real benefit of the community. 
 
 HON. SOLOMON C. CARR, of the town 
 of Milton, Rock county, is an old and highly 
 respected member of the farming community 
 of that portion of Rock county. He is a son 
 of Peleg S. and Deborah (Goodrich) Carr, the 
 father born in Stephentown, Rensselaer Co., 
 N. Y., and the mother a native of the same 
 neighborhood. They came to this State In 
 1839, and settled in Milton township, Rock 
 county, where he died in September, 1846. His 
 widow survived many years, and passed away 
 in September, 1874. They were the parents of 
 ten children, and Solomon C. was the sixth 
 child of the family. 
 
 Solomon C. Carr was , born in Rensselaer 
 county, N. Y., Dec. 19, 1830, and came with 
 his parents to Milton Junction, which has been 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 273 
 
 his home to the present time. He has lived 
 on the same farm sixty-two years. He has been 
 an extensive traveler both in this country and 
 Europe. On Dec. 31, 1851, he married Miss 
 Isabella Mackie, who was born in Belvidere, 
 N. J., Aug. 4, 1830, and they had four chil- 
 dren: William S., Isabella M., Florence S., 
 
 and Kittie E. William S. is a conductor on 
 the Wisconsin Central railroad. ' Isabella M. 
 is the wife of W. C. King, of Springfield, 
 Mass. Florence S. resides at Springfield, 
 Mass. Kittie E. is the wife of C. E. Marquart, 
 of the town of Milton. Mrs. Carr died April 
 11, 1900, leaving behind her tender memories 
 as a good wife and mother. 
 
 Mr. Carr has been twice elected to the State 
 Legislature, first in 1865, and again in 1874. 
 He was master of the State Grange, of W is- 
 consin for a period of ten years, was chairman 
 of the executive committee for twelve years, 
 and State lecturer for six years, still serving 
 in the latter position. Mr. Carr has held dif- 
 ferent town offices, and has always been asso- 
 ciated with the Republican party. While in 
 the Legislature in 1874 he worked for the pas- 
 sage of the Potter law, a measure decidedly in 
 the interest of the people. 
 
 REV. FREDERICK DOBSON, a retired 
 minister and farmer of the town of Platte- 
 ville, Grant county, has had a long life, in 
 which he has been a man of honor and char- 
 acter, filled with the lofty ambition of doing 
 good, and helping men onward to the King- 
 dom of God, and has come to his old age com- 
 manding the respect and confidence of all who 
 know him. 
 
 Mr. Dobson was born in the County of 
 Durham, England, Aug. 14, 1822, a son of 
 John and Emma (Gaskin) Dobson, who were 
 born and reared in England. They had a 
 family of eight children, and Frederick was the 
 youngest. Thomas, the eldest son, went to 
 New Mexico when a young man, and spent 
 some few years in that country ; returning 
 home to England, he was taken sick on the 
 voyage, and died on the high seas. Joseph, 
 born in England, came first to the coal mines 
 of Pittsburg, on the Ohio river, and two years 
 later to Wisconsin, and settled at New Dig'- 
 gings, where he followed mining for some 
 years. He later settled on a farm. He 
 married Grace Parkin, of England, and they 
 
 have four children, Joseph, Emma, Sarah, and 
 
 18 
 
 John. Ann (deceased) married George Willis, 
 and always lived in England. John died in Eng- 
 land, when a young- man. William is still liv- 
 ing in England, where he has for many years 
 held the position of foreman in the iron stone 
 mines. Henry came to Wisconsin in 1857, 
 and worked in the powder mills of Platteville; 
 he is now living at Rockville, Grant county, 
 where he is leading a retired life. He was 
 first married in England -and has a large fam- 
 ily — Thomas, Sarah, Henry (by his first wife), 
 John, William, George and Mary (children 
 of his second wife). James lived and died in 
 England. 
 
 Frederick Dobson during his boyhood re- 
 ceived the benefit of the training afforded by 
 the English schools, and was mainly engaged 
 in mining while at home. In 1842 he crossed 
 the ocean, in a sailing-vessel, and the voyage 
 was tedious and protracted, seven weeks being 
 required by the slow-moving vessel to reach 
 the harbor of New York. He came West to> 
 Illinois by way of Buffalo and the Great Lakes,, 
 and when he reached this State engaged in 
 mining. He was then appointed a preacher 
 in the Primitive Methodist Church, having for 
 his circuit New Diggings, Platteville, and other 
 points. He was the first preacher of his de- 
 nominational connection in Platteville, and he 
 has frequently preached in the New Church; 
 he has labored as a local preacher for over sixty 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Dobson and Miss Ellen Snowden were 
 married in 1844. Mrs. Dobson was the daugh- 
 ter of Henry and Ann Snowden, early settlers 
 in Grant county, and was born in England 
 in November, 1823. She grew to womanhood 
 in Platteville, which was the home of her par- 
 ents until their death. Mr. Dobson purchased 
 a farm one mile south of Platteville, where 
 he lived until 1862, selling that year and mov- 
 ing to a farm in Iowa county, where he lived 
 until 1895. That year he bought the old 
 Mitchell homestead, one mile east of Platte- 
 ville, where he is now living a quiet and re- 
 tired life. His excellent wife died in 1891. 
 She united with her husband's church early in 
 life, and lived as a devout Christian woman 
 should live. She was the mother of children 
 as follows : John H., born in Platteville in 1845. 
 married Miss Julia Kirkpatrick, and lived in 
 Lima, where she died in 1891, leaving four 
 children, Frank, Annie, Charles and John. Em- 
 ma, born in 1847, married Albert Beers; they 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 settled in Lima, where she died in March, 1890, 
 leaving five children, Emma May (born in 
 1881), Eva (1883), Frederick (1885), Willie 
 (1886), and Clara (1889), Willie, Clara and 
 May being inmates of the home of their grand- 
 father. Miss Elizabeth, born in 1849, is at 
 home. William, born in 1851, died the same 
 year. Mary, born in 1852, is now the wife of 
 Willard Moon, and lives at Boscobel ; they 
 have had four children, George, Jesse, Ida and 
 Minnie, the two last dying in childhood. Rob- 
 ert, born in 1854, married Miss Frances Bar- 
 ber, and resides on Mr. Dobson’s old home- 
 stead ; they have had five children, Orville, 
 Adda, Maggie (who died when a young lady, 
 in February, 1900), and Edward and Samuel, 
 who died in infancy. Margaret, born in 1857, 
 is at home. Clara, born in i860, was educated 
 in the schools of Iowa county, lives at home, 
 and with her sister Margaret is rearing the 
 two daughters of their sister, Mrs. Beers; May 
 Beers, the elder, is now a teacher ; she was a 
 student at the Normal. Frederick, born in 
 June, 1863, in Iowa county, married Miss 
 Mary Tucker, of Montfort, and lives in Iowa 
 county; they have three children, Marcia, Ellen 
 and Anna. 
 
 Mr. Dobson has always been identified with 
 the Republican party. He was elected justice of 
 the peace in Iowa county, but refused to accept 
 the position. All the family are members of 
 the Primitive Church, in which the husband 
 and father has labored in Christ's cause for over 
 sixty years. 
 
 FRANCIS A. BAKER, of Evansville, 
 Rock county, a member of the hardware firm 
 of that city, is widely known and highly es- 
 teemed, not only for the fine business ability 
 which he has displayed through a long and 
 active life, but also for his upright and honor- 
 able character, which has been a potent factor 
 in the upbuilding of the firm. 
 
 Mr. Baker is a son of John T. and Jemi- 
 mah (Robinson) Baker, natives of Ohio. 
 They were the parents of ten children, six of 
 whom are now living: David E., of Clermont, 
 Iowa; Edward J., of Nodaway county. Mo.; 
 Francis A., of Evansville; Stephen J., whose 
 sketch appears elsewhere in this volume; Allen 
 S., of Evansville; and Caroline Jane, wife of 
 John Davenport, of San Rafael, Cal. The 
 father, who was a farmer, came to Rock county 
 hi 1837, and in 1840 settled in the town of 
 
 Union, one and a half miles east of Evansville. 
 He took up 160 acres of government land, 
 and improved it into a fine farm. Here he 
 reared his family. In 1864 he moved into 
 Evansville, and died in that city in 1876, at the 
 age of sixty-nine years. His first wife, the 
 mother of Francis A., died in 1850. Both 
 were strong Methodists. For his second wife 
 he married Mrs. Jane Sales, and they had one 
 child, Elizabeth J., now living at San Rafael. 
 John T. Baker was a man of more than usual 
 ability, and held various town offices. His fa- 
 ther, Daniel Baker, was a native of West Vir- 
 ginia, and led a rural life, making his home in 
 the State of Ohio. 
 
 Francis A. Baker was born in 1837 in 
 Green county, Wis., and was reared on his 
 father’s farm in Union, where he spent the 
 first sixteen years of his life. He attend- 
 ed the district school and in 1852 went 
 to Janesville, Wis., and learned the tinner’s 
 trade, which is still his occupation. He spent 
 the winter of 1856 engaged at his trade in Ne- 
 braska City, Neb., and the following summer 
 he was in Kansas. In the fall of the same 
 year he worked in St. Joseph, Mo., and crossed 
 the Plains as a teamster in an expedition un- 
 der command of Gen. Hancock, then a quarter- 
 master in the United States army, and sent 
 to Salt Lake City with troops and supplies 
 on account of the Mormon troubles that year. 
 Mr. Baker was two years in California as a 
 miner and prospector, and five years in the 
 same lines in Nevada, working at his trade 
 during the winter, and spending the open sea- 
 son on the mountains. In 1866 he went to 
 Montana, where he was a miner, and also em- 
 ployed in a sawmill, and in 1867 returned to 
 Wisconsin. The same year he was at Ossian, 
 Iowa, for a few months, and then worked for 
 John Griffith, of Janesville, where he spent 
 seven years. In 1877 he established himself 
 in Evansville, where he has continued to the 
 present time. He is senior member of the 
 firm of F. A. Baker & Co., who carry the 
 largest stock of hardware and similar goods 
 to be found in the city, and has built up a wide 
 circle of friends and patrons throughout the 
 adjoining country. Fred A. Baker has been 
 associated with him in business for the last ten 
 years. The firm have erected a brick business 
 block 66x100 feet. Francis A. Baker is a 
 stockholder in the Evansville Telephone Ex- 
 change. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 275 
 
 Mr. Baker and Mrs. Julia M. Baker, widow 
 of his brother Aron T., were married April 
 21, 1869, and three children have been born to 
 this union, Maud J., Bert F. and Lulu J. Maud 
 J. died when two and a half years old. Bert 
 F. married Aliss Rissa Tullar Oct. 24, 1899. 
 Lulu J. lives at home. Fred A. is a son of Mrs. 
 Baker by her first marriage; on Nov. 19, 1885, 
 he married Maggie Williams, and they have 
 three children, June L., Elizabeth M. and 
 Loyal S. Mr. Baker belongs to Union Lodge, 
 No. 32, A. F. & A. M., Evansville Chapter, 
 No. 35, R. A. M., and Janesville Command- 
 ery, No. 2, K. T. ; he is also a member of the 
 Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen 
 of America. Ffe is a Republican, and has 
 served on the village board of trustees. Fie 
 has a handsome and well appointed home on 
 Main street. 
 
 THOMAS H. EWING, who passed away 
 Nov. 9, 1895, was one of the foremost citizens 
 of New Diggings township, Lafayette county, 
 where he had been engaged for many years in 
 mining and farming. In his business and so- 
 cial relations he cheerfully met every obliga- 
 tion, and the record of his life, replete with all 
 that is good, cannot fail to be an inspiration for 
 coming generations. 
 
 Mr. Ewing was born in Cornwall, England, 
 May 26, 1845, SOn of Thomas and Christiana 
 (Mark) Ewing, who came to this country in 
 1850, and settled at Council Hill, 111 ., later in 
 New Diggings township, Lafayette Co., Whs., 
 where they passed the remainder of their lives. 
 In their family were five children, as follows : 
 Thomas H. ; James, of Peoria, 111 . ; John A., 
 of Scales Mound, 111 . ; Catherine, of Scales 
 Mound, 111 .; and Benjamin, who died in Ne- 
 braska. 
 
 Thomas H. Ewing grew to manhood in 
 Illinois, and received a fairly good education, 
 which he later supplemented greatly by read- 
 ing and observation. In his young manhood 
 he engaged in mining, which, in connection 
 with farming, he followed all his life. By 
 careful management and unceasing industry he 
 soon acquired a firm financial footing, and his 
 wise investments began to yield good and sure 
 returns. First he became a stockholder of the 
 Coltman Mine, and later invested in mining and 
 farming lands. In 1893 he purchased the 
 “Stone House farm,” known in New Diggings 
 as the Abraham Looney homestead, and there 
 
 began general farming. The old stone house 
 was remodeled, and other buildings added to 
 make a comfortable home. For a number of 
 years Mr. Ewing was superintendent of and 
 stockholder in the Blende Mine, and was su- 
 perintendent of the Eureka Mine. 
 
 In September, 1869, Mr. Ewing was wed- 
 ded to Miss Jane A. Farrey, who was born in 
 England in February, 1852, daughter of Will- 
 iam and Elizabeth (Brown) Farrey. Seven 
 children brightened their home: (1) Alda- 
 
 retta A., born in July, 1872, and educated in 
 the public schools of New Diggings, married 
 Isaac Harker, who now assists in the manage- 
 ment of the Ewing home. (2) Thomas W., 
 born in December, 18^3, educated in Dixon 
 College, is now engaged in the livery business 
 in Benton, Whs. (3) Benjamin A., born in 
 March, 1877, is, with the assistance of his 
 brother-in-law, Isaac Harker, managing the 
 home farm. (4) Charles L. was born in Feb- 
 ruary, 1S79; ( 5 ) Everett H., in September, 
 1881 ; (6) George R., in December, 1883; and 
 (7) Ear] M., in August, 1890. Air. Ewing 
 regarded it as a citizen’s duty to have an intel- 
 ligent knowledge of public affairs, and he made 
 a deep study of the political situation, and was 
 always found thoroughly posted in the leading 
 events of the day. He was always identified 
 with the Republican party, and for several 
 years served as chairman of his town. He 
 was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and 
 also of the I. O. O. F. In his religious faith 
 he was a devout Methodist, and a liberal con- 
 tributor to all church work. Mrs. Ewing is 
 a lady of culture and refinement, and is 
 esteemed for her many loving qualities. 
 
 William Farrey and his wife (parents of 
 Mrs. Ewing) came from England in 1853, and 
 settled three miles west of Benton, where Mr. 
 Farrey engaged in mining, which occupation 
 he followed the greater part of his life. His 
 death occurred at his home in 1872, .just three 
 years after his wife had been laid to rest. Dur- 
 ing the Civil war Mr. Farrey had given his 
 service to his adopted country, becoming a 
 member of Company I, 25th W is. \ . I., in 
 1862, and serving until the close of the war. 
 He participated in Gen. Sherman’s famous 
 march to the sea, and suffered many of the 
 hardships incident to soldier life. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Farrey were the parents of nine children: 
 Henry, born in 1S51, now residing in Lead 
 Mine, married Mary J. Hoffman, of Lafayette 
 
276 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 county; Mrs. Ewing; Mary E., born in April, 
 1854, married Raisbeck Horsley, of Benton, 
 Wis. ; Elizabeth, born in 1855, married Seldom 
 Sheffer, of New Diggings township; William, 
 born in 1857, married Mary Franklin, and lives 
 in Lead Mine ; Thomas, born in Lafayette 
 county, married Mary Neenan, and now resides 
 in Benton ; Robert, born in the same county, 
 married Lizzie Perkins, and lives in New Dig- 
 gings; Louisa, the eighth in order of birth, 
 married Frank Horsley, of New Diggings; and 
 John B., the youngest, married Susie Miller, 
 and makes his 'home in Lead Mine. 
 
 JASON B. LOTHROP, a most respected 
 citizen of Lancaster, may well be classed among 
 the pioneers of Grant county, as he is now one 
 of the few living who had attained manhood's 
 years when he arrived here, in 1837. He was 
 born in Boston, Mass., Jan. 15, 1814, a son of 
 Calvin and Betsey (Clapp) Lothrop, who spent 
 their entire existence in Boston and vicinity, 
 and of their numerous children Jason B. is the 
 sole survivor. 
 
 Jason B. Lothrop learned the carpenter’s 
 trade in Boston. On June 1, 1836, he mar- 
 ried Miss Cynthia Cutler, who was born June 
 16, 1816. In December, 1836, Mr. Lothrop 
 went to Pensacola, Fla., where he followed his 
 trade nearly six months, and then determined 
 to visit the West, in May, 1837, arriving at 
 Mineral Point, Iowa Co., Wis. In 1838 he 
 returned to Massachusetts, and in the same 
 year brought back to Wisconsin his young wife, 
 settling in Grant county, where he has resided 
 ever since — a period of over sixty-three years. 
 For nearly twenty-eight years he lived in 
 Jamestown, following his trade and farming, 
 and then came to Lancaster. 
 
 On July 27, 1875, Mr. Lothrop was bereft 
 of his wife by death, and on Jan. 1, 1876, he 
 married his present wife, Mrs. Effa (Kelts) 
 Brown. By his first marriage Mr. Lothrop 
 had born to him seven children, viz. : Erne- 
 
 line Hardy, born in Massachusetts May 16, 
 1837, died in Grant county, Wis., Oct. 27, 
 1848. George Cutler, born Feb. 13, 1840, was 
 for three years a member of Company I, 25th 
 Wis. V. I., in the war for the preservation of 
 the Union, and is now a resident of Nebraska. 
 Alonzo Hawkins, born Dec. 19, 1841, served 
 in the same company with his brother in the 
 Civil war ; he now lives near Lexington, Ind. 
 Franklin Baldwin, born July 3, 1844, served in 
 
 the same company with his brothers ; he is a 
 resident of Dubuque, Iowa. Agnes Melvina, 
 born June 28, 1848, was married to Robert E. 
 Lawrence, and died Oct. 24, 1876. Adelaide, 
 born Feb. 13, 1852, died Feb. 23, 1868. Ella 
 Frances, born Jan. 9, 1856, is the wife of M. 
 H. Meyer and resides in Cleveland, Ohio. The 
 present Airs. Lothrop is a native of Oneida 
 county, N. Y., and is a descendant of the oldest 
 Dutch families of that State. Mr. Lothrop and 
 his estimable wife are now passing their de- 
 clining years in their pleasant home in Lan- 
 caster, and it is needless to add they are of the 
 honored the most honored. 
 
 Mr. Lothrop, now eighty-seven years of 
 age, is a remarkably well-preserved gentleman, 
 and would readily pass for one fully sixteen 
 years younger. His memory is vigorous and 
 retentive, and 'his recollection extends to the 
 years when Grant county was almost entirely 
 a wilderness, from which he has lived to see it 
 developed into one of the most productive 
 counties in the State. His personal reminis- 
 cences would fill a large volume. In the early 
 days he saw the French patriot, La Fayette, on 
 the occasion of that eminent personage's final 
 visit to the United States; he saw, likewise, 
 Andrew Jackson, the hero of New Orleans, and 
 once shook hands with the “great commoner,” 
 Henry Clay. In the early days Mr. Lothrop. 
 was in politics a Whig, and he has changed as 
 the parties have changed. He has held many 
 local offices in Grant county; for four years he 
 was a member of the county board, and has 
 also served on the town board. During his 
 active life he was much interested in public edu- 
 cation, and filled several important school 
 offices. 
 
 In 1850, during the height of the Cali- 
 fornia gold excitement, Mr. Lothrop crossed 
 the Plains to the Pacific coast, having for his. 
 fellow voyagers Mr. Hannum and others, 
 whose biographies may be found elsewhere. 
 He returned by way of the Isthmus of Panama, 
 across which he walked, from the Pacific ocean 
 to the Gulf of Alexico. 
 
 PROF. RUDOLPH H. AIUELLER, prin- 
 cipal of the high school and superintend- 
 ent of the public schools of Argyle, La- 
 fayette countv, is one of those German-born 
 American citizens who have inherited the in- 
 herent noble characteristics of their race, and 
 have combined them with the progressive spirit 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 2 77 
 
 of the New World, a union that gives to Amer-' 
 ica a peculiarly high class of citizens. 
 
 Prof. Mueller was born in Germany, and 
 when two years of age was brought by his 
 parents to this country. The public schools of 
 Dane and Jefferson counties, Wis., afforded 
 him his early literary training, which was sup- 
 plemented by a course in the University of \\ is- 
 consin, Madison, Wis., whence he was grad- 
 uated in 1890, in the modern classical course. 
 Previous to his graduation he had taught 
 school for four terms in Jefferson county, and 
 immediately upon leaving school was engaged 
 as principal of the high school at Chetek, Wis., 
 where he remained three years, after which 
 he assumed -charge of the schools of Argyle, 
 succeeding Prof. E. W. Pryor. These schools 
 have long sustained a high reputation for 
 thoroughness, and it is safe to say that under 
 the able direction of the present superintendent 
 they are second to none in the county. Besides 
 himself there are five teachers employed, John 
 W. W atson being assistant principal in the 
 high school ; Miss Mina Anderson, grammar 
 school; Aliss Jennie Peacock, intermediate; 
 Miss Anna Davis, second primary; and Aliss 
 Inger Fenns, first primary. In February, 
 1901, the number of pupils enrolled was 235, 
 fifty-two of whom were in the high school, the 
 senior class numbering eight. Prof. Mueller 
 is very popular with his pupils, and is held in 
 very high esteem by the citizens of the town. 
 
 JOHN CLINE. In the rush and strife of 
 modern environment it is with difficulty that 
 we are brought to realize the courage and self- 
 confidence possessed by the pioneers who 
 started out from comfortable homes to pene- 
 trate into wildernesses where even communi- 
 cation with civilization was only possible by 
 long days of slow travel, often over nothing 
 but trails. But the men who made Wiscon- 
 sin were tillers of the soil, and many of the 
 complex elements that now confuse as they 
 confront us were reduced by them to the ques- 
 tion, "Can I find a suitable home for my fam- 
 ily, where energy and perseverance can receive 
 their reward from a productive soil?" 
 
 One of those hardy, sensible, honest men is 
 John Cline, the subject of our review, who has 
 had a residence of half a century in Lafayette 
 county. Mr. Cline was born in Crawford 
 county, Penn., Feb. 24. 1818, son of George 
 and Margaret (DuMars) Cline. George Cline 
 
 came to America with his parents when a small 
 child.' His father was one of five brothers who 
 came to America together, and made settle- 
 ment on the Susquehanna river, but finally 
 scattered to different parts of the country, two 
 of them locating in western Pennsylvania; one 
 of these was the grandfather of our subject. 
 The father of our subject died in 1849, an d M 
 1852 the mother, with her youngest son, James, 
 came to Lafayette county, Wis. She 'died at 
 the home of James, at the age of eighty-eight 
 years. 
 
 Our subject is one of a family of nine chil- 
 dren, all of whom became residents of La- 
 fayette county, and all survive except Adam 
 and Fanny, the former dying in the siege of 
 Petersburg, during the Civil war. The sur- 
 vivors are John; Noble D. ; George and Jacob, 
 twins, the former a resident of Lafayette 
 county, the latter of Burlington, Ivans. ; Sarah 
 Ann, widow of Robert Henry, of Iowa ; Polly, 
 wife of Silas McMannes, of Dumont, Iowa; 
 and James. 
 
 Our subject attained manhood in his native 
 State where he married Mary Ann McMannes, 
 a native of Ireland, in 1839, and seven children 
 were born to this union, six now living : Sarah, 
 Mrs. Abraham; John T. ; George D. ; Mary 
 Melvina, Mrs. Loffswold, of Lyons, Iowa; 
 Fanny, wife of M. F. Howrey; and Melissa, 
 wife of L. B. Howrey. • Mrs. Cline died Dec. 
 20. 1891. and on April 19. 1893. our subject 
 married Miss Margaret D. Sudduth, who died 
 April 9, 1895. On ^ T ° v - 2 7 - : 89 S- lie wedded 
 Mrs. Angelina (Sudduth) Hill, a sister of his 
 second wife, who was born in Kentucky, a 
 daughter of John and Editha Sudduth, who 
 passed all their lives in that State. 
 
 After deciding to make a home in the West 
 for his growing family, Mr. Cline started with 
 his wife, four children and a brother from 
 Mercer county, Penn., journeying in a covered 
 wagon as far as Cleveland, Ohio, where the 
 party crossed Lake Erie. I hey then took the 
 only train that ran through the State of Michi- 
 gan, reached Milwaukee, and thence by team 
 again came to Lafayette county, arriving on 
 Tune 3. 1851, having been on the way since 
 May 20. On his arrival in Lafayette county. 
 Mr. Cline was uncertain just where he would 
 locate, but had in view Grant county, where his 
 sister and her husband, Silas McMannes, lived. 
 Accordingly the tired little party moved on- 
 I ward again until Grant county was reached. 
 
278 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 After viewing the land Mr. Cline finally de- 
 cided that Lafayette county offered more ad- 
 vantages for settlement so he returned and 
 purchased a farm in the town of Fayette, which 
 was the family home for many years ; in fact, 
 all of his business life was passed there. The 
 first purchase was of fifty acres, on which was 
 a small house, and all of the land was wild but 
 ten acres. Mr. Cline also entered a claim for 
 a quarter section of school land adjoining 'his 
 fifty acres, which he afterward purchased when 
 it came into the market, getting it at the gov- 
 ernment price, and this gave him a farm of 
 200 acres. The little house held the family 
 for some two years, but in 1853 he built a rock 
 house from rock which he and his brother 
 Adam quarried the previous year ; the lumber 
 used in its construction was hauled from Ga- 
 lena, on the Wisconsin river, the trip requiring 
 two days. In this residence Mr. Cline lived 
 for many years, but he finally rented his farm 
 and removed to the village of Fayette, about 
 ten years later coming to Darlington, where 
 he has continued to reside ever since. 
 
 Mrs. Cline came to Highland, Iowa county, 
 with two brothers, William and Franklin Sud- 
 dut'h, in 1846, and in February, 1847, married 
 Francis A. Hill, from Buxton, in the State of 
 Maine, near Portland, a lawyer by profession, 
 and a finely educated man, interested in lead 
 mining in Iowa county, being associated with 
 C. C. Washburn and other leading men of 'the 
 early days in the lead regions. He died July 
 15, 1850, of Asiatic cholera, after which Mrs. 
 Cline took charge of his business of surveying, 
 and she met many of the leading people of the 
 day, of whom she can tell many interesting- 
 tales. Mrs. Clbue has a daughter, Fanny A. 
 Hill, whose devotion to study broke down her 
 health, and has made her an invalid. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Cline have a pleasant home, and are num- 
 bered with the best people of Lafayette county. 
 They are consistent and valued members of tire 
 M. E. Church. 
 
 BURTON F. XOWLAN, managing editor 
 of the Janesville Daily Gazette, and secretary 
 of the Gazette Printing Co., is the son of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Oscar F. Nowlan, and was born in 
 Janesville June 1, 1870. He attended the city 
 schools until 1884, when he injured one of his 
 knees while at play, and for the next five years 
 was an invalid, being confined to the house 
 nearly all the time. As a source of amusement 
 
 he was given an amateur printing press, the 
 outfit costing three dollars. Fie took a liking 
 to the toy at once, and, by soliciting work, and 
 adding to his outfit from time to time, soon 
 had more business than he could attend to. He 
 then sold his amateur office, inventorying more 
 than $250, and made arrangement with the late 
 Garrett Veecler, the veteran publisher and 
 printer, for the use of his material on shares. 
 Cnder Mr. Veeder’s guidance Mr. Nowlan 
 mastered the printer’s art in all its branches, 
 learning the trade from its foundation. He 
 remained with Mr. Veeder until October, 1S80. 
 when he left him to enter the employment of 
 the Gazette Printing Co., as a reporter. By 
 following the teachings of John C. Spencer, 
 then city editor of the Gazette, Mr. Nowlan 
 made rapid progress, and a few years later 
 became news editor of the paper. He held 
 this position until January, 1898, when he be- 
 came managing editor. 
 
 It was as a reporter that Mr. Nowlan first 
 showed the stuff of which he was made. Hear- 
 ing that an accident had happened at the gas 
 works, lie hastened thither. It was late on the 
 afternoon of April 17, 1891, and on the way 
 he met Cornelius Ryan, of the fire department, 
 and accompanied him to the scene of the acci- 
 dent. Arriving at the gas works, they found 
 that three men — H. E. Merrill, superintendent 
 of the company; William Farmer, his assistant, 
 and Fred Henrich, the engineer — had been 
 overcome by gas and were lying senseless in 
 the cellar at the foot of a narrow winding 
 stairway. Nowlan and Ryan hastened into 
 the basement and rescued Henrich, but were 
 nearly overcome themselves. They stuck to 
 the task, however, and succeeded in rescuing 
 Farmer also. By this time both were exceed- 
 ingly weak, and, while Mr. Nowlan fought for 
 breath in the street, Air. Ryan staggered to the 
 telephone, in another part of the plant, to sum- 
 mon help. Mr. Nowlan arrested the attention 
 of a passer-by, William Irwin, by motioning, 
 and. with his assistance undertook to remove 
 Air. Merrill, who was still in the basement. 
 Together they descended the stairs, and while 
 Mr. Irwin was lifting Air. Merrill up the stairs, 
 Mr. Nowlan undertook to lift his feet clear of 
 the stairs and the railing, but he fell back on 
 the floor unconscious. He was soon missed 
 by the others, and as an immense crowd had 
 gathered by that time, was quickly brought 
 forth into the open air. All recovered, but if 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 2/9 
 
 Mr. Nowlan’s newspaper instinct had not im- 
 pelled him to make haste the three would un- 
 doubtedly have died before the arrival of help. 
 
 As an editorial writer Mr. Nowlan has 
 been as successful as he was in his news work. 
 He is not afraid to speak his mind at all times. 
 He lays no claim to a command of flowery 
 language, but aims to make his meaning clear, 
 in which he has apparently succeeded, as some 
 of his political articles have been widely copied 
 and endorsed by the press of the State. Mr. 
 Nowlan realized from the first that he would 
 be greatly handicapped in life by his lack of 
 education, as he left school when he was only 
 fourteen years old, and accordingly set about 
 a systematic course of reading. The first 
 money that he ever earned went to buy Dick- 
 ens' works, a set of books he now values more 
 than any other on his library shelves. 
 
 On June 24, 1894, Mr. Nowlan was mar- 
 ried to Miss Jessie E. Merrill, the youngest 
 daughter of Hon. and Mrs. Hiram Merrill. 
 They have two children, Louise Marlette and 
 Hiram Merrill. They reside in their own 
 pretty, modern house at the corner of South 
 Bluff and South Second streets. Mr. Nowlan 
 is a lover of the rod and gun, and is secretary 
 and treasurer of the Carcajou Shooting Club, 
 a corporation owning' a duck shooting preserve 
 at Lake Ivoshkonong. He is also president of 
 the Janesville Trap Shooting Club. 
 
 There is an object lesson for young men 
 in Mr. Nowlan’s career. Although he began 
 life without education, and in very poor health, 
 he has made the trip, in ten short years, from 
 the amateur printing press to the desk of the 
 managing editor of one of the oldest and most 
 influential newspapers in the State. At the 
 time he assumed his present duties he was prob- 
 ably the youngest man in Wisconsin to occupy 
 so important and responsible a position. 
 
 E. J. MARVEL, the efficient superintend- 
 ent of the soda mill of the Platteville Powder 
 Co., was born in Cynthiana, Ind., in 1837, a 
 son of Georg'e and Ruth (Jordan) Marvel, also 
 natives of the Hoosier State, who in 1840 
 moved to Illinois, where the remainder of their 
 lives were passed. By occupation the father 
 was a farmer. Three of his sons were among 
 the defenders of the Union during the Civil 
 war — James A., John and E. J. James A. en- 
 listed in Illinois, in 1862, in the 5th Illinois 
 Cavalry, and was discharged for disability in 
 
 1864; he died in Illinois in 1872. John was 
 also a member of an Illinois regiment, in the 
 100-day service; he is now living at Mt. Erie, 
 Wayne county, that State. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of E. J. Marvel 
 were passed in Illinois, and in the schools of 
 that State he acquired his education. On first 
 coming to Grant county, Wis., in 1857, he was 
 employed at farm labor, his home being in 
 Paris. At Platteville, in August, 1862, he 
 enlisted in the 25th Wis. V. I., and was mus- 
 tered in at La Crosse, Wis., his regiment being 
 assigned to Sherman’s command. He was 
 with that general on the march to the sea, and 
 participated in the battles of Resaca. Mission- 
 ary Ridge and Decatur, Ga. ; the siege of At- 
 lanta; and in the Carolina campaign, including 
 the battle of Bentonville, the last engagement 
 of the war. Mr. Marvel took part in the grand 
 review at Washington, D. C.. and was honor- 
 ably discharged in that city June 7. 1S65, after 
 which he returned to his home in Paris, Wis. 
 The following year he purchased a flouring- 
 rnill at that place, which he operated until com- 
 ing to Platteville, in 1882, to accept his pres- 
 ent responsible position with the Platteville 
 Powder Co. 
 
 In Grant county Mr. Marvel was married, 
 in 1858, to. Miss Elizabeth C. V ilson, who died 
 in 1865 leaving one son, George W.. now a 
 merchant of Ashton, Neb. For his second 
 wife our subject wedded, in 1867. Miss Emma 
 Vannatta, a daughter of Aaron and Elizabeth 
 (Kispaugh) Vannatta, who are mentioned 
 more fully in the sketch of S. B. Y anriatta else- 
 where. By- this union was also born one son. 
 Walter E., who is married and resides in Clin- 
 ton, 111., filling a responsible railroad position. 
 
 As a Republican Mr. Marvel takes quite an 
 active interest in political affairs. He is a 
 prominent member of V . T. Sherman Post, 
 No. 66, G. A. R., in which he has served as 
 commander and junior and senior warden, and 
 is also connected with Melody Lodge. No. 2, 
 F. & A. M. ; Washington Chapter. No. 2, R. 
 A. M. ; and the Eastern Star Chapter. Both 
 he and his wife hold membership in the Con- 
 gregational Church at Platteville. and enjoy 
 the hospitality of many of the best homes of 
 the city. 
 
 IOSEPH T. MARVIN, of Darlington. 
 Lafayette county, is an esteemed citizen, and 
 a veteran of the Civil war whose honorable 
 
28 o 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and industrious career since his return from 
 the "tented field” has given added meaning to 
 his military services. 
 
 Mr. Marvin was born in Walton, Delaware 
 Co., N. Y., in 1822, and belongs to a family 
 whose ancestry in this country runs back to 
 1636, when two brothers, Reynold and Mat- 
 thew Marvin, came from England and settled 
 in the Colonies, Reynold Marvin being the 
 progenitor of Joseph T. Marvin, whose name 
 appears above. Recent investigations have re- 
 sulted in disclosing the ancestry as far back 
 as the early part of the fifteenth century. 
 The Marvin family was well represented 
 in Colonial days, and its various generations 
 were largely stout-hearted and strong-minded 
 men and women. During the old Colonial 
 wars and in the French and Indian war, as 
 well as in the struggle for American inde- 
 pendence, it was well represented. 
 
 Matthew Marvin, the grandfather of Jo- 
 seph T., served seven years in the Continental 
 forces, was with Gen. Washington at Valley 
 Forge, during the darkest period of the Amer- 
 ican Revolution, and was mustered out as first 
 sergeant. It is also recorded of him that he 
 took part in the battles of Brandywine, Red 
 Bank, Mud Fort, Trenton and Princeton. At 
 the capture of Cornwallis this veteran of seven 
 years was one of sixty-eight picked men form- 
 ing an escort for LaFayette. 
 
 Thomas Marvin, son of Matthew, and fa- 
 ther of Joseph T., was a soldier in the war of 
 1812, and it was but natural that the grand- 
 son should feel the force of family tradition 
 strongly enough to bear arms himself for his 
 country when the occasion demanded. 
 
 Joseph T. Marvin remained in New York* 
 until 1855, in which year he came to Wis- 
 consin. On April 22, 1861. he enlisted in 
 Company H, 3d Wis. V. I., and they left the 
 State July 12, under orders for Hagerstown, 
 Md. On Feb. 3, 1862, Mr. Marvin was made 
 second lieutenant, and transferred to Com- 
 pany C. On Aug. 13, following, he was made 
 first lieutenant, and returned to Company H. 
 On Feb. 6, 1863, he was appointed quarter- 
 master of the regiment, in which capacity he 
 continued to the close of the war, and was 
 mustered out July 18, 1865. The regiment 
 had a long and honorable record of campaigns, 
 marches and battles to its credit, and saw serv- 
 ice in Maryland and Virginia until after 
 Gettysburg. It was with Banks in his Shenan- 
 
 doah campaign, and with Pope in Virginia; 
 fought at Bolivar Heights, Winchester, Cedar 
 Mountain, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, 
 and was then sent to the West, being trans- 
 ferred from the 12th Army Corps to the 20th. 
 In the West it served under Gen. Hooker, and 
 then became a part of the command of Gen. 
 Sherman, following him through Georgia and 
 the Carolinas to Washington, and taking part 
 in the grand review. Mr. Marvin made an ex- 
 ceptionally fine record as a soldier and as an 
 officer. 
 
 Joseph T. Marvin was married to Miss 
 Jennie E. Flail, of the town of Willow Springs, 
 Lafayette countv. where she was born in 1843, 
 a daughter of Elisha Hall, who settled in the 
 town about 1834. Mr. Hall was the first 
 treasurer of V illow Springs after its organi- 
 zation in 1849, an d took an active part in 
 the early affairs of the town. He was a prom- 
 inent Congregationalist, and kept a hotel on 
 strictly temperance principles for many years. 
 Mr. Marvin was bereft of his wife by death in 
 1896, and is now making his home with his 
 daughter, Mrs. Minnie Oates, in Darlington. 
 The surviving members of the Hall family now 
 (1901) are Mrs. Nellie Duncan; Miss Fannie 
 B. Hall ; and Mrs. Clara Oclgers, of Milford, 
 Oregon. There were two sons in the family ; 
 George C. (who served in the Union army) 
 and Calvin Hall, but both are deceased. 
 
 Our subject was one of a family of eight, 
 of whom only three are now (1901) living. 
 Matthew W. Marvin is living in New York, 
 near the old family homestead where he was 
 born. He also bore arms for the Union, serv- 
 ing in the 144th N. Y. V. I., in which he at- 
 tained the rank of captain. Since the war he 
 has been a conspicuous figure in local politics, 
 and has been a member of the State Senate. 
 Fred F. Marvin was a member of the 1 ith Kan- 
 sas Volunteer Cavalry, being a member of the 
 band ; he died in Canon City, Colo., September, 
 1900. 
 
 • GEORGE HANTHORN, ex-sheriff of 
 Rock county, and one of the representative 
 men of Janesville, was born in Dilworthtown, 
 Chester Co., Penn., Mav 26, 1832, a son of 
 Thomas and Louisa (Cobourn) Hanthorn. 
 
 George Hanthorn, the paternal grandfather 
 of our subject, was of Irish descent; he had 
 seven or eight children. The maternal grand- 
 father was John Cobourn, a native of Chester 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 281 
 
 county, Penn., of English descent, a shoe- 
 maker by trade, who died when nearly ninety; 
 he had six children. 
 
 The parents of our subject were natives of 
 Chester county, Penn., and of the two sons and 
 two daughters born to them George Hanthorn 
 is the only survivor. Thomas Hanthorn was 
 a school teacher in his younger days, and later 
 was assessor and collector for many years, dy- 
 ing in his native county in 1851, aged fifty; his 
 wife survived until 1891, when she, too, passed 
 away, aged eighty-three. In religious belief 
 the mother was an adherent of the Baptist 
 faith, and was a very good and worthy woman. 
 Their son Oscar F. was a soldier in the war 
 of the Rebellion, and died in Alexandria, Va., 
 immediately after the battle of Antietam, from 
 disease contracted in the service. 
 
 George Hanthorn was reared in Chester 
 county, Penn., attending the district schools 
 when opportunity afforded, and began to learn 
 the trade of stone-mason when but fifteen, 
 which occupation he followed many years. In 
 1857 Mr. Hanthorn migrated to Illinois, but 
 after spending one summer in that State re- 
 moved to Wisconsin, and has resided in Rock 
 county ever since. Upon coming to this State, 
 Mr. Hanthorn followed his trade for many 
 years, but later purchased eighty acres of land 
 in Johnstown township, where he resided three 
 years. This property he then sold, and bought 
 160 acres in the same township, farming same 
 until 1885, when he was elected sheriff and re- 
 moved to town, and his son Duane took charge 
 of the farm. Two years ago Mr. Hanthorn 
 sold this property, and bought 240 acres in the 
 town of Bradford, which his son now operates. 
 
 On Sept. 7, 1862, George Hanthorn mar- 
 ried Miss Rebecca A. Vandenburg, daughter 
 of William G. and Mary Ann (Leavenworth) 
 Vandenburg, and two children, Oscar Duane 
 and Orlando Van, were born of this union. 
 Oscar Duane married Miss Minnie Hankie 
 (whose parents own a farm in the town of 
 Harmony, Rock county), and five children 
 have been horn to them, four living, Harold; 
 Leo (who died at the age of six vears), Earl, 
 Le Roy and Carroll. Orlando Van married 
 Miss Nellie Inma|i, and lives in Janesville, 
 where he is a letter-carrier ; they have two 
 'children, Lottie and Mabel R. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Han- 
 thorn, Gilbert Vandenburg, a native of Hol- 
 land, died when over eighty years old, in New 
 
 York State, and was the father of a large fam- 
 ily. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Han- 
 thorn, David Leavenworth, who was a native 
 of New York State, of English descent, and 
 a millwright by trade, died when he, too, was 
 over eighty. All of his seven children lived 
 to a good old age, longevity being a character- 
 istic of the Leavenworths. 
 
 Mrs. Hanthorn’s parents were natives of 
 New York State, came West in 1845, and lo- 
 cated in the town of Bradford, Rock county, 
 engaging in farming. The father died March 
 24, 1893, aged nearly eighty-six, and his wife 
 survived him but four days, passing away on 
 j March 28, 1893, aged eighty-three. Both 
 were consistent members of the Congrega- 
 t tional Church, and people of prominence in 
 their community. Ten children were born to 
 this worthy couple, four sons and six daugh- 
 ters. four now living: Elizabeth C., wife of 
 
 Stanley H. Joiner, of La Prairie township; 
 Rebecca A., wife of our subject; Addie V., 
 wife of James A. Kipp, of Badger, S. Dak.; 
 and David L. Vandenburg, of Clear Lake, 
 Iowa. One son, Minard A. Vandenburg. was 
 a soldier, and died at home from the effects 
 of exposure and hardships during the war. 
 One died in infancy. The others were Caro- 
 line, Sarah, Josiah, and Burzinah. 
 
 Politically Mr. Hanthorn has always es- 
 poused the cause of the Republican party, and 
 has ably represented its principles upon sev- 
 eral occasions, having been sheriff of Rock 
 county in 1885 and 1886; supervisor of Johns- 
 town township several terms; chairman of the 
 township board a couple of times, and alderman 
 from the Second ward, one term. Mr. Hanthorn 
 was also street commissioner for four years, 
 and county coroner for two terms, and in every 
 capacity proved himself an able exponent of the 
 wishes of his constituents, and faithful in the 
 discharge of his duties. 
 
 Air. and Mrs. Hanthorn have a beautiful 
 home on the Delavan road, corner of Vine 
 street, where they are surrounded by the com- 
 forts of life. Their residence was erected in 
 1895. and is surrounded by six and one-half 
 acres of ground. Prior to building, Mr. Han- 
 thorn resided on Alilton avenue. In the com- 
 munity where he has lived so many years, and 
 to which he has always given his hearty sup- 
 port in all matters of public improvement, Mr. 
 Hanthorn enjoys a well-earned popularity, and 
 his friends number legions. 
 
282 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 GEORGE WIEDERHOLD, proprietor of 
 the "Dickeyville Hotel,” at Dickeyville, Grant 
 county, was born in Prussia April 12, 1839, 
 and is a son of Nicholas and Anna (Fidler) 
 Wiederhold, both natives of Prussia. The fa- 
 ther was born in 1795, and the mother in 1797. 
 They came to this country in 1857, landing at 
 Baltimore after a seven weeks’ voyage. Com- 
 ing to Galena, 111 ., in June of that year, the 
 husband and father died the following August, 
 leaving his wife with five children. The strain 
 was too great for her endurance, and she broke 
 down, dying the following year. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Nicholas Wiederhold were consistent 
 Christian people, and are remembered as am- 
 bitious and energetic to the last degree. Of 
 their five children, all born in Germany, ( 1 ) 
 Elizabeth, the eldest, born in 1831, was, like 
 the other children, educated in their native 
 land. She married Jacob Barth, a native of 
 Baden, Germany, and they settled in Galena, 
 Ilk, where she died in 1898, leaving one daugh- 
 ter, Lizzie, now Mrs. Lorenzo Focht, of Ga- 
 lena. (2) Mary, born in 1833, married Henry 
 Althaus, of the town of Paris, Grant county, 
 and died, leaving no family. (3) Dorothy, 
 born in 1835, is now the widow of George A. 
 Leffelholtz, and lives in Jamestown, Grant 
 county. She has had five children, one that 
 died in infancy, Annie, Lizzie, George and 
 Henry. (4) Joseph, born in 1835, was first 
 married in Galena, and moved to the town of 
 Paris, where his wife died, leaving seven chil- 
 dren, George, Joseph, Frank, John, Charles, 
 Dorothy and Katie. Dorothy is the wife of 
 Charles Dresler and lives in Ivieler, Grant 
 county. Katie is the wife of Christopher Dres- 
 ler, of the town of Paris. Joseph Wiederhold 
 married second Miss Dorathea Weber, of 
 Grant county, to which union were born four 
 children. He now lives in the town of Paris. 
 
 George Wiederhold is the fifth and young- 
 est member of the family. A good education 
 was given him in Germany, and after coming 
 to this country he learned the shoemaking 
 trade, which he followed until lie enlisted in 
 the Civil war, as a member of Company H, 
 25th Wis. V. I., under the command of Capt. 
 Schwan. This regiment served in the West- 
 ern Army under Gen. Sherman and other dis- 
 tinguished officers. On the march to the sea 
 its presence was often made manifest to the 
 retiring enemy. Skirmishes and figTiting were 
 daily occurrences, and they were often days 
 
 without food, barefooted and ragged, but they 
 drove the Rebels, and the “boys" were happy. 
 Mr. Wiederhold served until the close of the 
 war, and received his honorable discharge at 
 Madison, Wis., and he returned with glad- 
 ness to the scenes of peaceful life. 
 
 Resuming his trade at Dickeyville, Mr. 
 Wiederhold was married there in August, 
 1865, to Miss Theresia Schmerbach, of Grant 
 county, daughter of Barth and Annie R. 
 Schmerbach, natives of Germany, who came 
 to the United States in 1848, and lived for a 
 short time in the State of New York. Com- 
 ing to Wisconsin, they settled near the Wis- 
 consin and Illinois State line, on what was 
 known as the Sinsinawa Mound, and there 
 made their home for a number of years, eventu- 
 ally moving to the town of Paris, where they 
 died. Mrs. Wiederhold was born in Germany 
 in 1846, and was reared in this country. After 
 their marriage Mr. Wiederhold and his wife 
 located in the town of Dickeyville, where he 
 owned a home. Later on he bought a farm 
 near the village, and, greatly improving it with 
 new buildings and energetic work, they there 
 made their home until 1874. That year he 
 purchased his father-in-law’s hotel property in 
 Dickeyville, and became a hotel man, which has 
 been his calling to the present time. As a 
 genial and hospitable landlord he has made 
 many friends among the traveling public, and 
 is known as a solid and substantial citizen. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Wiederhold have been, 
 born a large family of children, of whom ( 1 ) 
 Annie and (2) L’ zz i e died i n childhood. (3) 
 Maggie, born in 1866, married John Hartung, 
 a resident of the town of Paris, and has had 
 eight children, John (who died at the age of 
 seven years), George, Joseph, Frank, Lizzie, 
 Lena, Arthur, and the baby. (4) Joseph, 
 born in the town of Paris in 186S, mar- 
 ried Miss Lizzie Utte, and lives on his father’s 
 old homestead farm. They have one son, 
 Arthur. (5) George, born in September, 
 1870, is running a restaurant in Cuba City. 
 •(6) Michael, born in May, 1872. married Miss 
 Christina Kunkle, of this county, and they now 
 reside in the village of Dickeyville, where he is 
 doing a good business as a contractor and 
 builder. (7) Annie, born in 1S74. is the wife 
 of Peter Snyder, a resident of the town of 
 Hazel Green, where he is engaged in farming. 
 They have two children, Peter and Joseph. 
 (8) Theresia, born in January, 1877, married 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 283 
 
 Joseph Splinter, and has her home in Cuba 
 City; she is the mother of two- children, Arthur 
 and Hildergard E. (9) Barthel, born in July, 
 1880, has learned the carpenter’s trade, and is 
 now in partnership with his brother in Dickey- 
 ville. He is one of the solid and capable young- 
 men of the day. 
 
 Mr. Wiederhold has held several local 
 offices, was a member of the town board, and 
 for eleven consecutive years was collector of 
 the town. Our subject, wife and family are all 
 members of the Catholic Church. 
 
 WILLIAM S. FIELD, an active business 
 man and farmer of New Diggings township, 
 Lafayette county, has led a most strenuous 
 life, tilled with experiences difficult in accom- 
 plishment, but interesting in retrospection. 
 He was born in New Diggings township July 
 17, 1840, one of the large family of children 
 of William and Sarah (Shaffer) Field. 
 
 William Field was born in Kentucky in 
 1804, and his wife, Sarah Shaffer, was a na- 
 tive of Germany, born in 1813. They came to 
 Wisconsin in their early married life, locating 
 on government land now included in the town- 
 ship of New Diggings. He owned about 2,400 
 acres of prairie and mineral land in the days 
 when Grant, Iowa and Lafayette counties were 
 all in one, under the name of Iowa county. 
 He erected a double log house for protection 
 from the Indian raids, the nearest fort being 
 at Galena, 111 ., twelve miles away, but they were 
 often obliged to take refuge there in the more 
 exciting times. Mr. Field was a farmer and a 
 dealer -in minerals, and became very wealthy 
 as his land increased in value. He was widely 
 known all over southwestern Wisconsin, as 
 well as on the Mississippi, as he did some busi- 
 ness between Galena and Kentucky, on the 
 river. In politics he was always interested, and 
 voted with the Democratic party. He filled a 
 number of offices during his time, and was one 
 of the prominent men on the frontier. Al- 
 though he was not a member of any denomi- 
 nation, he and his wife were both good Chris- 
 tian people, charitable and kind, and were 
 greatly beloved. Mr. Field was much inter- 
 ested in the educational problems presented by 
 the sparsely settled country, and helped to erect 
 the first school house in his community. His 
 death occurred in 1858, and that of his wife 
 in 1887. They were the parents of a large 
 family of children : ( 1 ) Elizabeth, born in 
 
 New Diggings, attended the district school 
 erected by her father, and later Mount Carroll 
 Seminary, in Illinois. She married John 
 Chambers, of Missouri, and they first lived on 
 a farm given her by her father, later removing 
 to Sheldon, Iowa, where she died in 1900. leav- 
 ing a family of eight children. George, Will- 
 iam, Alice, Emily, Ida, Aaron, John and Fred. 
 (2) Fannie became the wife of A. S. Rock, and 
 they reside in Shullsburg, Lafayette Co., Wis., 
 on his farm. They have two children living, 
 Charles and Anna. Eliza, a third child, died 
 in early womanhood. (3) Miss Emily resides 
 on the old homestead. (4) George married 
 Miss Anna Harker, and bought himself a farm, 
 which he afterward sold, going to Mobile. Ala. 
 Returning home, he was drowned in the Mis- 
 sissippi river. (5) Martha married Millard 
 Townsend, and resided in Shullsburg, where 
 both died, leaving a daughter. Edith, now Mrs. 
 White, of Galena, 111 . (6) William S. is sixth 
 
 in the order of birth. (7) Benjamin married 
 Emeline Williams, and located in St. Cloud, 
 Minn., where she died in 1900. leaving four 
 children. (8) Edward married Miss Annie 
 Collins, of England, and they make their home 
 on his farm in New Diggings. They have chil- 
 dren as follows — William, Edward, Charles, 
 Katie, Gerald, Timothy, Benjamin, Emily. 
 Rilla, and Arthur. (9) Alice married a Mr. 
 Young, of Beetown, Grant county, who died, 
 leaving his widow and two children. (10) 
 Annie married Frank Bailey, and lives on a 
 part of the Field homestead. She has four- 
 children, Carrie (wife of George Hall, of 
 Platteville) , Silas, Bertie and Ada. (11) 
 Silas, the youngest in the family, married Bell 
 Metcalf, and lives on a part of the old home 
 farm. They have four children, \\ illis, Luella, 
 Benjamin and Sarah. 
 
 William S. Field, while growing to man- 
 hood, attended the district schools of die neigh- 
 borhood. He was early trained to frontier life, 
 and in i860, with two teams of oxen and one 
 of cows, crossed the Plains to Pike's Peak, 
 via Denver, Colo., being three months en 
 route. He worked in the gold fields, spend- 
 ing a year and a half in prospecting and lo- 
 cating claims, and then moved to Hannibal. 
 Mo., where with three others he contracted to 
 furnish the lumber for the railroad from 
 Cameron to Kansas City. After they had com- 
 pleted the contract, and just before it was 
 inspected by the company and taken off their 
 
284 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 hands, it was burned by soldiers of the Union 
 army, while on a raid after QuantreH’s guerril- 
 las. Martial law being in force, Mr. Field was 
 obliged to walk seven hundred miles to reach 
 his Wisconsin home. He then engaged in 
 lumbering in Wisconsin, but in 1863 he again 
 made a Western trip by wagon, this time to 
 Montana, where he was successfully engaged 
 in gold mining until 1867, when he returned 
 home. He had had adventures enough for a 
 time, and resolved to settle down on the home 
 farm and pass the rest of his days in less ex- 
 citing occupations. Fie now has a large stock 
 farm, with good buildings, all erected by him- 
 self, and is one of the most enterprising busi- 
 ness men of southwestern Wisconsin. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Field was united in marriage 
 with Miss Lizzie Hurley, daughter of John 
 and Joanna (Driscoll) Hurley, who were na- 
 tives of Ireland, married in Pennsylvania, and 
 became early settlers of Wisconsin. Mr. Hur- 
 ley engaged in farming and mining in Wis- 
 consin until his death, leaving a widow and 
 four children, all of whom are now deceased 
 except Firs. Field. Mrs. Lizzie (Hurley) 
 Field was born in June, 1847, and grew to 
 womanhood in Lafayette county, receiving a 
 fair education, and in time becoming one of 
 the successful teachers in the county. Eleven 
 children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Field : 
 (1) Edith, born in November, 1868, married 
 James Martin, a farmer of Benton, Wis., and 
 has six children, Mary, Regina, Catherine, Jo- 
 seph, John and Edith C. (2) William J., 
 born in May, 1870, now a farmer in New 
 Diggings, married Eliza Hillary, and has four 
 children, Florence, Catherine, Cheresa, and 
 Lizzie. (3) Charles A., born Feb. 16, 1872, 
 married Minnie Rodgers, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, 
 and now resides in Des Moines, Iowa. They 
 have two children, Florence E. and Elizabeth. 
 (4) Edward was born March 14, 1876. (5) 
 
 George, born March 13, 1878, resides in Fort 
 Dodge, Iowa. (6) Annie, born in January, 
 1880, married William Newman, of New Dig- 
 gings, and has one son, Mannuartus. (7) 
 Zita, born in May, 1882, attends the home 
 schools. (8) Nellie was born in December, 
 1883. (9) Lizzie, m October, 1885. (10) 
 
 Gertrude, in September, 1887. (11) Joanna, 
 
 in November, 1890. 
 
 While Mr. Field has always taken a keen 
 interest in the affairs of the day, he has never 
 aspired to office, having found that his own 
 
 private business engTOssed all his time and 
 attention. He is very progressive, and ever 
 ready to take hold and investigate improve- 
 ments and developments, and owns the first 
 separator threshing machine that came to this 
 part of the State, the original cost of which 
 was $2,500. For thirty years he has followed 
 threshing over this section. He is the founder 
 of the Co-operation Creamery at New Dig- 
 gings, owning a large share of the stock. In 
 religious belief he has allied himself to no 
 denomination, but as his wife is a member 
 of the Roman Catholic Church 'he has liberally 
 contributed toward the support of same. The 
 family are very popular socially, and their 
 pleasant home is always open to give visitors 
 a hearty welcome. They have paid great at- 
 tention to music, and two of the daughters, 
 Zita and Nellie, are fine musicians. The entire 
 family are talented, and attract a most cultured 
 circle of friends. 
 
 JOHN FREEMAN KEMMERER. A 
 native of Rock county, Mr. Ivemmerer has 
 throughout life remained a resident thereof, 
 employing his earlier years in farming, then 
 engaging in business at Clinton, and since 
 1898 acting as traveling salesman for the Deer- 
 ing Harvester Co., of Chicago. Successful in 
 whatever he has undertaken, he is a represent- 
 ative citizen of the State, active in affairs of 
 public interest, and contributing by his force 
 of character and clear principles to the welfare 
 of the community in which he lives. 
 
 Mr. Kemmerer was born in Rock township, 
 Rock county, Sept. 17, 1854, son of Samuel 
 (deceased) and Elizabeth (Gish) Kemmerer, 
 who were natives of Pennsylvania, both belong- 
 ing to sturdy German families of the Keystone 
 State. The paternal grandfather was a farmer 
 and the maternal grandfather a miller; both 
 died in Pennsylvania, well advanced in years. 
 Both reared large families. 
 
 Early in their married life the parents of 
 our subject resolved to found a home in the 
 then distant West. In the fall of 1849 they 
 came to Rock township. Rock county, and here 
 Samuel Kemmerer purchased a tract of forty- 
 four acres and began his successful business 
 career in the Western home. He steadily add- 
 ed to his modest acres until he possessed and 
 tilled a well-cultivated farm of 258 acres. In 
 1884 he retired from active life, moving to 
 Janesville, where -he ever after continued to 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 285 
 
 reside. In politics he was a Republican, in re- 
 ligious faith an earnest Methodist, and he was 
 always active in church work, in his younger 
 days acting as steward, class-leader, etc. To 
 Samuel and Elizabeth Kemmerer were born 
 six children, four sons and two daughters, 
 namely : Abram, of -Redheld, S. Dak. ; 
 
 Charles W., of Janesville, whither he recently 
 removed from Shopiere, Rock Co., Wis. ; 
 Blandena; John F., our subject; Lewis, of 
 Janesville; and Ida, wife of VV. Van Valen. 
 
 John F. Kemmerer was reared on the farm, 
 receiving his education in the district schools. 
 He began active life for himself by renting a 
 farm, which he operated for four years, and 
 then bought 183 acres of land in the townships 
 of Turtle and La Prairie, later adding fifty 
 acres to the tract. He lived there until 1891, 
 when he removed with his family to Clinton, 
 and there engaged in the stock and machinery 
 business. In 1898 Mr. Kemmerer accepted a 
 position as traveling salesman for the Deering 
 Harvester Co., which he still holds. 
 
 On Sept. 12, 1877, Mr. Kemmerer married 
 Miss Ella E. Smith, daughter of Artemus and 
 Olivia P. (Pike) Smith, and to them have been 
 born four children, George 1 ., Ethel B., For- 
 rest G., and Walter F. in 1898 George and 
 Ethel graduated from the Clinton high school, 
 and he is now attending the State University; 
 Miss Ethel is teaching at Manchester, 111 . Mr. 
 and Mrs. Kemmerer and family are members 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which 
 he has been steward for a number of years. 
 Politically he is a Republican. Among the so- 
 cieties Mr. Kemmerer is a member of the Mod- 
 ern Woodmen of America. He is held in high 
 esteem, and his influence has ever been exerted 
 in advancing measures for the general welfare. 
 
 Artemus Smith (deceased), father of Mrs. 
 Ella E. Kemmerer, was born in Chester, Vt., 
 April 11, 1818, son of Artemus Smith, Sr., a 
 native of Massachusetts. Artemus Smith, Jr., 
 was engaged in business in the East until 1854, 
 when he came to Chicago and engaged in the 
 manufacturing of bonnets. He sold out there 
 and moved to Shopiere, Wis., where he was 
 engaged in the coopering business. In 1863 
 he bought a farm of 100 acres located a short 
 distance from Shopiere, to which he afterward 
 moved. On Nov. 1, 1843, he was married 
 to Olivia P. Pike (now deceased), daughter of 
 Jonathan Pike ; her grandfather on the 
 mother's side was a brave soldier in the Revo- 
 
 lution and in the war of 1812, and her grand- 
 father on her father’s side enlisted in the army 
 of the Revolution when sixteen years old. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Smith have had seven children, 
 five of whom are still living. 
 
 J. W. JONES, deceased. Many of the 
 successful and prominent farmer citizens of 
 the great State of Wisconsin had their birth 
 on the other side of the Atlantic ocean, and 
 coming to this country took rank among the 
 best citizens. Such was the case with our sub- 
 ject, the late J. W. Jones, than whom no 
 more estimable citizen ever passed out of life 
 in Lafayette county. 
 
 Mr. Jones was born in South V ales Feb. 
 10, 1822, coming to the United States in 
 1841 ; he made the long trip in a sailing-vessel. 
 Landing in New York, he remained in that 
 State for two years, and in 1844 joined the 
 settlers who were then flocking to the fertile 
 lands of Wisconsin. Selecting Elk Grove as 
 a suitable place for settlement, he purchased 
 eighty acres of land, and improving this, added 
 more, and still later another tract, as his means 
 permitted, until his estate now comprises 472 
 acres in one body, both of cultivated and wood- 
 ed land, the larger portion being under culti- 
 vation. Remaining industriously employed 
 on this place, he became one of the most sub- 
 stantial men of the township. 
 
 In 1853 Mr. Jones married Miss Catherine 
 Webster, a daughter of Stephen and Anne 
 (Holman) Webster, who were both born in 
 Cornwall, England, where they married, com- 
 ing to this country in 1848. The family set- 
 tled in Potosi, in British Hollow, Grant Co., 
 Wis., and remained there some years, later 
 moving to Mineral Point, after which the 
 parents lived retired. Of a family of eleven 
 children, but three survive. Our subject’s 
 wife, Catherine, the youngest, was born in 
 England Sept. 17. 1827, received a fair educa- 
 tion in the common schools of her own land, 
 and upon coming to America was engaged as 
 a needlewoman, her accomplishment in this 
 line making her services in great demand, and 
 enabling her to live in comfort and inde- 
 pendence. 
 
 After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Jones settled 
 down to domestic life in a little log cabin which 
 he had erected, and in which they continued to 
 reside until the building of the present com- 
 modious and comfortable home, in 1876. For 
 
286 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 five years previous to his demise Mr. Jones 
 was afflicted with blindness, which prevented 
 him from attending to much business, but the 
 capable woman who so bravely cared for her- 
 self when a stranger in a strange land came 
 to his aid, in his age, and her assistance and 
 management relieved him of many cares. Mr. 
 Jones was a consistent member and cheerful 
 supporter of the Swedenborgian Church, his in- 
 fluence in the community ever being in favor of 
 religion and good citizenship. For many years 
 he was a member of the town board, and held 
 other offices in the gift of his townspeople. 
 Politically he upheld the principles of the 
 Democratic party. Children were born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jones as follows: Harriet, born 
 in 1855, was educated in the best schools, mar- 
 ried Hdward Curkeet, of Elk Grove, and has 
 children — Lillian, John and Orvile. Ruth, 
 born in 1857, married Frank Bentlv, of Platte- 
 ville, and has children — Francis, Robert, and 
 Bayard. Bessie, born in i860, married James 
 Murphy, a leading lawyer of Platteville. John, 
 born in 1862, was well educated, and is now the 
 competent manager of his father's large estate. 
 Katie was born in 1865. Frank W., born in 
 1868, graduated in the class of 1890 at the 
 Platteville Normal School, and in 1891 en- 
 tered Madison University as a geological 
 student, graduating from that institution in 
 1898. Coming home, he was taken sick, and 
 shortly after his brilliant young life ended. 
 1 he community was saddened by this untimely 
 end to a bright career. 
 
 EDWARD H. RYAN, A. B., LL. B., 
 a member of the Rock County Bar, was born 
 in Janesville April 3, 1852, of Irish descent. 
 
 Edward Ryan, his father, was a native of 
 County Tipperary, Ireland, and his mother, 
 Eliza O’Donnell, was born in Burlington, Vt., 
 although her parents, too„ came from Tipper- 
 ary. His paternal grandfather, also named 
 Edward, was a farmer in the Irish county 
 whence some of the younger members of the 
 family emigrated to seek a new home and 
 better fortune in this country, and passed his 
 life in the old country. He was twice mar- 
 ried, and three children were born of the first 
 marriage, and six of the second. Edward 
 Ryan (2), the father of Edward H. Ryan, 
 after coming to America spent seventeen years 
 in the city of New York. He was industrious 
 and economical, and in 1850 found himself 
 
 in a position to seek a new home in the broader 
 Western country, where the virgin soil and the 
 unbroken forest yet awaited the plow of the 
 farmer and the axe of the woodman. He set- 
 tled in the town of Plymouth, Rock Co., Wis., 
 on a farm of eighty acres, and, by careful man- 
 agement and judicious investment, gradually 
 increased his holdings, until at the close of his 
 life he was the owner of 800 acres and was 
 regarded as one of the prosperous, substantial 
 men of the community. He died in 1883, in 
 his seventy-fourth year. His wife, Mrs. Eliza 
 (O’Donnell) Ryan, was. one of a family 
 of two sons and four daughters born to Michael 
 O'Donnell, of Tipperary, Ireland, who came 
 thence to the United States by way of Can- 
 ada. Crossing the border, he lived for a time 
 in Vermont, and later in New York, going 
 thence to Wisconsin in 1847. For a short 
 time he lived in Janesville, but soon removed 
 to Green countv, where he engaged in farm- 
 ing, and owned a farm of 160 acres. He was 
 noted for his integrity, no less than for his 
 gentle disposition and equable temperament. 
 Fie entered into rest after reaching an age sel- 
 dom paralleled — one hundred and two years. 
 
 Edward H. Ryan was the first-born of a 
 family of seven children, the others being 
 Ellen E., James M., John F., Joseph A., Will- 
 iam H., and Thomas Ambrose. Ellen E. is 
 the wife of Daniel Ryan, of Janesville, of 
 which city James M. and Joseph A. are also 
 residents. John F. lives in Montana, and 
 Thomas Ambrose resides upon the old home- 
 stead in Plymouth, where the father of the 
 family settled more than half a century ago. 
 William A. was a soldier in the 19th United 
 States ' infantry, serving gallantly in Porto 
 Rica during the Spanish war, and was mus- 
 tered out at Camp Meade, Pennsylvania. 
 
 Edward H. Ryan was given a college edu- 
 cation. His preparatory collegiate course was 
 taken at Milton (Wis.) College, and in 1870 he 
 entered the Freshman class of the State L T ni- 
 versity, receiving his degree of A. B. in 1874. 
 From March until September, 1875, he studied 
 law with Hon. John Winans, of Janesville, 
 and then matriculated at the law school of his 
 Alma Mater, graduating with the degree of 
 LL. B. in 1876. He was admitted to the 
 B'ar on June 18, of that year, and remained 
 in Madison until March, 1877, as an assistant 
 to Tudge J. Id. Carpenter. Going thence to 
 Shreveport, La., he was admitted to practice 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 28 7 
 
 in the courts of that State, but not finding his 
 surroundings congenial he returned to Rock 
 county, after six months. For the fourteen 
 following years he was engaged in railroad 
 construction, and for four years afterward he 
 found satisfaction in the independent life of a 
 farmer. Then coming to Janesville, he once 
 more began the practice of his profession, in 
 1899 forming a partnership with J. L. Ma- 
 honey which continued two years. He is a life- 
 long Democrat, and his religious creed is that 
 of the Roman Catholic Church, in the profes- 
 sion and practice of which faith a long line of 
 his ancestors have lived and died. He is a 
 man of happy temperament, and of marked 
 individuality. Possessing the genial humor 
 and ready wit of his race, no less than its 
 unselfish generosity, he has a strong personal- 
 ity, which enables him fearlessly to maintain 
 the right and combat the wrong. Fraternally 
 he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of 
 America. 
 
 Mr. Ryan married, in 1886, Susie C. Inger- 
 soll, daughter of Charles L. and Susan Curry 
 Ingersoll, of Vernon county, Wis., and they 
 have had two children, Edward A., born 
 March 19, 1887 ; and Genevieve L, born June 
 19, 1890. Mrs. Susie C. Ryan's paternal an- 
 cestors came to America in 1638. Six of her 
 ancestors on the paternal side, and two on the 
 maternal side, were in the Revolution. Her 
 uncle, John Curry, is a Judge of the Supreme 
 Court of California; her grand-uncle, Daniel 
 Curry, was a noted Methodist divine, was at 
 one time bishop, and also editor of the "Chris- 
 tian Advocate.” 
 
 A. H. BARBER, M. D.. an eminent physi- 
 cian and surgeon and honored resident of 
 Lancaster, Grant county, was born in Fair- 
 field, Vt., in 1843, a son °f John J. Barber. 
 Dr. Barber's father died a number of years 
 ago, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years ; 
 his mother, who was born in 1819, is still liv- 
 ing. .1 he Doctor is the only son, and he has 
 two sisters, namely: Mrs. Eleanor Durand, 
 
 of Crookston, Minn. ; and Mrs. Lucy Tomlin- 
 son, of Osage, Iowa. 
 
 Dr. Barber was brought to Grant county by 
 his parents in 1845. His earlier education 
 was accjuired in the public schools, and at a 
 private school in Lancaster, and for a year 
 he was a student in Beloit College. He be- 
 gan the study of medicine with Dr. Hyde in 
 
 1866, and attended his first course of lectures 
 at the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor. 
 In 1870 he was graduated from the Long Island 
 (N. Y. ) College Hospital, and later took a 
 course of instruction at the College of Physi- 
 cians & Surgeons, beginning practice in Lan- 
 caster, where his ability was soon recognized, 
 and where he has ever since been favored with 
 a large and lucrative patronage. 
 
 To the marriage of the Doctor with Miss 
 Lucy Holloway have been born two children, 
 viz. : Elvira, wife of N. B. Bailey, cashier of 
 
 the bank of Baldwin, Wis. ; and Herbert, who 
 died in infancy. 
 
 SILAS HILL, one of the early settlers of 
 Darlington, Lafayette county, is also dis- 
 tinguished because of his valiant service dur- 
 ing the Civil war. Mr. Hill was born in 
 Salem township, Washington Co., Ohio, Feb. 
 4, 182^, a son of William and Elizabeth (Hill) 
 Hill. 
 
 William Hill was a native of County An- 
 trim, Ireland, and crossed the ocean to Amer- 
 ica when but ten years of age. His wife was 
 a native of Maryland, and of English ancestry. 
 Her father, James Hill, was a soldier under 
 Washington from the commencement of the 
 Revolution, was one of the company who made 
 the perilous passage across the Delaware on 
 the night before the battle of Trenton, and was 
 present at the surrender of Cornwallis. 1 he 
 subject of this sketch was one of a family of 
 twelve members, eleven of whom, seven sons 
 and four daughters, reached maturity. The 
 survivors are: Silas, our subject; Mrs. Eliza 
 
 Huber, his twin sister, who resides in Shulls- 
 burg, Lafayette county; James, who is a resi- 
 dent of Sedalia, Mo. ; Ruth, who resides at 
 Mondovi, Wis. ; and Mrs. Mary \\ ilson, a 
 resident of Nebraska. Our subject had the 
 great misfortune to lose his devoted mother 
 when but thirteen years of age, and in 1845 
 his father also died. 
 
 In 1847 Silas Hill left his former home and 
 came to Shullsburg, Wis., where he engaged 
 in mining, and in 1850, with scores of miners 
 from the local districts, he crossed the Plains 
 to California, and applied his lead mining ex- 
 perience to gold mining, spending three years 
 in that State. Mr. Hill returned to his home 
 in Lafayette county three years later, arriving- 
 on April 1st. Previous to going to California 
 he had married Mary Franklin, who died in 
 
288 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1854, leaving one son, William Hill, now a 
 resident of Duluth, Minn. The second wife 
 of Mr. Hill, Elizabeth Collier, died in 1873, 
 leaving six children. Mr. Hill's present wife, 
 formerly Miss Florence Ball, of Mineral Point, 
 Wis., was born near there in 1854, one of 
 the eight children of William and Maria Ball, 
 both of whom are deceased. Her father was 
 born in Cornwall, England, in 1812, coming 
 to this country when twelve years old, and 
 her mother was a native of Massachusetts, 
 born in 1818. Mr. Ball located at Mineral 
 Point, Wis., for some years, but in 1867 moved 
 to Darlington, where Mrs. Hill was residing 
 at the time of her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hill have one son, Clarence E., who was born 
 Dec. 9, 1887. The younger son, Orville, died 
 Feb. 4, 1897, after a brief illness, his demise 
 being a lasting grief to his parents. 
 
 Mr. Hill enlisted in the Union army, on 
 Aug. 21, 1862, and was mustered into the 
 United States service at Racine, Wis., as a 
 member of Company H, 33d Wis. V. I., under 
 Col. J. B. Moore. This regiment had an hon- 
 orable record, and took part in many of the 
 most important engagements in which the 
 Western Army was engaged. Soon after the 
 siege of Vicksburg Mr. Hill was given a fur- 
 lough to come home on account of sickness. 
 He rejoined his regiment at Natchez, Miss., 
 but his malady returned, and he was obliged 
 to enter a regimental hospital at Jacksonville, 
 Ark., rejoining his regiment again at Nashville, 
 Tenn. He was honorably discharged Aug. 
 9, 1865. Mr. Hill has never recovered from 
 the effects of his army service, and has been 
 a great sufferer from rheumatism ever since. 
 Always an honest and industrious man, he is 
 a much respected and esteemed citizen of 
 Darlington. Socially he is connected with 
 Harvey Post, No. 35, G. A. R. Mr. Hill has 
 for several years been successfully engaged in 
 the culture of strawberries, for the market. 
 
 PROF. JOHN SIEBERT TAYLOR, one 
 of the leading instructors in vocal and instru- 
 mental music in Janesville, Rock county, was 
 born in Leechburg, Penn., Sept. 15, 1869, a 
 son of John and Julia (Bair) Taylor, natives 
 of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Matthew Taylor the paternal grandfather 
 of our subject, a native of England, was a mer- 
 chant tailor by trade, and came to America, 
 locating in Pennsylvania, near Leechburg, 
 
 where he died at the age of ninety-five. He 
 had a large family. The grandfather on the 
 mother's side, John Bair, was a native of Penn- 
 sylvania, of German descent. The , family he 
 reared was a large one, and he died at eighty- 
 four. 
 
 In his younger days John Taylor, father 
 of Prof. Taylor, learned the trade of a tanner, 
 which he followed for fifty years, but now lives 
 retired from active business, at Leechburg, 
 Penn. His wife died in 1882. He is a con- 
 sistent member of the M. E. Church, as was 
 also his wife. Seven children were born 
 to this couple, five sons and two daugh- 
 ters : George B., of Birmingham, Ala. ; Mary 
 
 C., wife of J. H. Parks, of Leechburg, Penn.; 
 Millard F., of Leechburg; Harriet, wife of S. 
 M. McCracken, of Leechburg; Charles G., of 
 Leechburg; William L., of Leechburg; and our 
 subject. 
 
 Prof. John S. Taylor was reared in Leech- 
 burg, Penn., where he attended the public 
 schools, and later took a course of instruction 
 in the musical department at Oberlin (Ohio) 
 College. In 1895 Prof. Taylor came to Janes- 
 ville, and has taught vocal and instrumental 
 music ever since, becoming very popular, his 
 methods of instruction being such as to com- 
 mend him as a teacher, while his pleasing per- 
 sonality gains him numerous friends. For the 
 past five years Prof. Taylor has been the leader 
 of the Y. M. C. A. band; is a member of the 
 M. E. Church, and is an important factor in 
 the musical circles of Janesville. In political 
 matters Prof. Taylor is a Republican, and sup- 
 ports the principles of his party upon all oc- 
 casions. 
 
 The musical studio of the Professor is lo- 
 cated in the Court Street M. E. Church block. 
 Not only does he possess the power to impart 
 his knowledge to others, but he is also a com- 
 poser of considerable note, among his compo- 
 sitions for band, orchestra and piano being: 
 The New Annapolis. The Knight of Liberty, 
 Old Colonial, Paris Exposition, Peace Jubilee, 
 March of the Citizen Soldier, March of the 
 Maroons, The Cosmopolitan, Sylvan Rapids, 
 Princetonian, Glen Cathedral, National 
 Guards, Apollinaris, De Alumins, Silver Plume 
 and The Alligator. Prof. Taylor possesses a 
 fine baritone voice, of good range and timber, 
 and since assuming his professional duties at 
 Tanesville has given further attention to voice 
 culture under the direction of Madam Johanna 
 
/ULJ- & 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 289 
 
 Hess-Burr, of Chicago. He not only sings 
 well himself, but his pupils show well placed 
 voices and a good style. 
 
 WILLIAM WHITE, of Mount Hope, 
 Grant county, is a well-known citizen and a 
 veteran of the Civil war, having been a mem- 
 ber of Company I, 20th Wise V. I. 
 
 Mr. White is. a native of the land of Burns, 
 having been born in Corshill, Ayrshire, Scot- 
 land, in 1831, a son of Alexander and Jane 
 (Walker) White. The former died when the 
 subject of this sketch was about ten years of 
 age. In 1852 the mother and her three sons 
 immigrated to the United States, and their 
 first home in the New World was in Bovina, 
 Delaware Co., N. Y., where the mother died 
 in 1865. All of this good woman’s sons 
 served their adopted country in the war for 
 the preservation of the Union. Robert was 
 a member of the 144th N. Y. V. I. ; he now 
 resides near Denver, Colo. Alexander, who 
 was also a member of a New York regiment, 
 still lives in Delaware county, New York. 
 
 William White served a three-years ap- 
 prenticeship and one year as journeyman at the 
 baker’s trade. He came to Wisconsin in 1855, 
 about three years after coming to America, hav- 
 ing been given a glowing description of Grant 
 county, Wis., by a Mr. Lewis, father of the 
 well-known citizen of Lancaster, Wis., Will- 
 iam Lewis. Deciding that it would be a 
 good place in which to settle, he accordingly, 
 accompanied by Alexander Sloan, turned his 
 steps westward, traveling directly from the 
 State of New York to Galena, 111 ., and thence 
 to Platteville, Wis. The young travelers 
 reached Platteville by stage, but by that time 
 their scanty hoard of money was exhausted, 
 and as it was Saturday they asked to be kept 
 over Sunday, continuing their journey to Lan- 
 caster, on foot on Monday. At this latter 
 place William White bargained with the driver 
 of the stage to take them to Patch Grove 
 for a shotgun which he had brought with 
 him from the East. In addition Mr. White 
 received a dollar in currency, but it proved to 
 be counterfeit, there being so much “wild cat" 
 money in circulation at that time that it was 
 difficult to distinguish genuine from false. 
 Arriving at Patch Grove, Mr. White went di- 
 rectly to the home of John Lewis, a brother 
 of William Lewis, with whom he remained for 
 some time chopping wood for his board, until 
 19 
 
 he had an opportunity to work for money. It 
 was not long before a man named Moses 
 Burns, who had learned Mr. White wanted 
 work, came to John' Lewis’s, in Patch Grove, 
 to hire him. Not having received any money, 
 Mr. White was beginning to be destitute of 
 clothes, and resolved to make an extra effort 
 to buy a vest, which he very much needed, 
 on credit. With this end in view he called on 
 the merchant of the town, I. G. Wery, and 
 stated his case, promising to pay as soon as. 
 he had earned the money. However, as he 
 was a comparative stranger to the merchant, 
 the latter refused. There happened to be 
 present, at that time, a countryman of Mr. 
 White's, Alexander Paul, who interceded for 
 him, and promised to stand security for the 
 young stranger. Just at this time the em- 
 ployment was very welcome, but after work- 
 ing two weeks Mr. White found it im- 
 possible to continue with his employer, and 
 was therefore obliged to ask an exten- 
 sion from the merchant. However, he 
 soon obtained another place, with a man 
 named Jacob Snyder, with whom he re- 
 mained two years. At the end of this time 
 Mr. White had paid for his vest, purchased 
 other necessary clothing, and saved one hun- 
 dred dollars, which he applied toward the pay- 
 ment of a quarter section of land he and his 
 friend Sloan had bought, each contributing 
 one hundred dollars. Later Sloan wanted to 
 sell his interest, but Mr. White had no money, 
 although he was very anxious to get the land. 
 At last he obtained the name of a man, George 
 Pike, with whom he had become acquainted 
 while working for Moses Burns, upon a note, 
 which enabled him to get the land he de- 
 sired. 
 
 After securing his land, the next thing was 
 the building of a house, and again the money 
 question confronted the ambitious young set- 
 tler. However, to the sturdy pioneers who de- 
 veloped these Western States, difficulties were 
 overcome with surprising energy. Not hav- 
 ing the money to buy materials, Mr. White, 
 with a friend, E. Y. Ousley, went to Crawford 
 county, in the timber land, built a winter 
 cabin, sawed the logs, and in the spring rafted 
 them to Millville. One of their oxen died 
 from the effect of a rattlesnake bite, the rattlers 
 being very numerous in that country. From 
 there Mr. White hauled his lumber to its des- 
 tination, and erected his first residence, a build- 
 
290 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ing 16x24 feet. When it was finished, Mr. 
 White began to feel that he was making some 
 progress in the world. 
 
 At about this time occurred the most im- 
 portant event of Air. White's life, his marriage 
 to Miss Mary Moore, a native of Ohio, a 
 daughter of William Aloore, one of the pio- 
 neers of that State. The wedding trip of Mr. 
 and Airs. White was not one that would be 
 recognized as a model one in these days. When 
 the home was ready Mr. White journeyed in 
 an ox-cart to the home of Mr. Aloore, return- 
 ing with his bride in the same manner. The 
 happy life of the young couple was destined 
 to be rudely broken upon. The war cloud 
 burst, and among the early enlistments was 
 that of Mr. White, who enrolled himself in 
 Company I, 20th Wis. V. L, and took part in 
 the various marches, campaigns and engage- 
 ments in which his regiment participated, in- 
 cluding the battle at Prairie Grove, in which 
 the gallant Capt. McDermott, and the first 
 lieutenant, Bintliff, were killed ; siege of Vicks- 
 burg, from which the regiment went to Yazoo 
 City, then to Port Hudson, and from there to 
 New Orleans. From that city the regiment 
 marched to Brownsville, on the Rio Grande, 
 Texas, where they boarded a Gulf steamer, and 
 encountered heavy storms during the sixteen 
 days they were on the Gulf of Mexico, thence 
 to the siege of Forts Morgan and Blakely, and 
 finally to Mobile. At this latter city occurred 
 an unfortunate event, in which Air. White had 
 a narrow escape. By accident, a large amount 
 of ammunition exploded, and a large number 
 of men were killed. Mr. White was near 
 the place of explosion, in charge of a detail 
 of men, but fortunately a piece of timber fell 
 upon him in such a way as to protect him, 
 without seriously injuring him. However, he 
 was nearly unconscious when rescued, and has 
 never fully recovered from the shock, one of 
 his legs having since been shorter than the 
 other as a result, and the halt in his walk is a 
 constant reminder of his services to his coun- 
 try. A horse that was in his charge at the 
 time was killed. 
 
 Returning home Air. White, with the help 
 of his good wife, commenced improving his 
 home, and their efforts were attended with 
 success. Flis first purchase was largely added 
 to, until he became one of the largest and most 
 successful farmers and stock raisers in his 
 township, and he remained on the farm until 
 
 1900, when he sold out to his youngest son 
 and built a fine residence in Mount Hope. Eight 
 children have been born to Air. and Airs. 
 White, three sons and five daughters: Jane, 
 
 wife of Anthony Morton; William, a con- 
 tractor and builder of Minneapolis, Minn. ; 
 Alexander, a carpenter and builder, a resident 
 of Alount Hope; Ulysses, wife of Plarly 
 Handy; Jessie, wife of George Harrower; Ed- 
 ward; Alary, wife of William Decker; and 
 Cora, wife of Otis Russell. 
 
 William White enjoys good physical 
 health, considering his age and experience as 
 a soldier. Politically he is a Republican, and 
 has served as member of the town board 1 for 
 five years, and on the school board for fifteen 
 or sixteen years. Socially he is a member of 
 the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the 
 G. A. R. post at Mount Hope. Mr. White 
 inherits from his Scottish ancestry a high 
 sense of honor and integrity ; his word is es- 
 teemed as good as his bond, and he enjoys the 
 blessings that come from an active, honorable 
 and industrious life. 
 
 THOAIAS WALKER, one of the leading 
 citizens of Preston, Grant county, is- a veteran 
 of the war of the Rebellion, and relates many 
 entertaining and thrilling stories of the days 
 when he was one of the “boys in blue.” Flis 
 birth occurred in Yorkshire, England, Sept. 
 28, 1825, and he is a son of James and Dorothy 
 Walker. The good mother died when our 
 subject was only seven years old, and his fa- 
 ther passed away when he was sixteen, leaving 
 three sons and two daughters, of whom only 
 Thomas and Peter came to America. The 
 other brother, James, and the two sisters, 
 Mary and Dorothy, are now deceased. 
 
 Leaving Liverpool Feb. 25, 1849, the two 
 brothers came to the New World via New 
 Orleans, landing in that city after a stormy 
 passage, in a sailing-vessel, of nine weeks. 
 There they took passage for Galena, 111 ., but 
 this being the great cholera year, scarcely had 
 the steamer left the harbor when fifty of the 
 passengers were dead or dying. The captain 
 of the boat suggested to Thomas and Peter 
 Walker that they add a little alum to their 
 drinking water, and take as a preventive a 
 little brandy and red pepper. Whether this 
 is an infallible remedy or not Mr. Walker can- 
 not say, but he and his brother were among 
 the few who escaped the scourge. From Ga- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 291 
 
 lena, our subject traveled to a place near Ben- 
 ton, in Lafayette county, \\ is., where he en- 
 gaged in lead mining, but as he was a mason 
 by trade he decided to return to Illinois, and 
 located in Jo Daviess county, working in the 
 summer at his trade, and in winter as a miner. 
 Finally he was employed to purchase minerals, 
 and was located near Shullsburgv Wis., for 
 about a year, at what was known as Big Patch 
 Furnace, at a higher salary than he had as 
 yet received. However, in a year, Mr. Walker 
 engaged in mining again, and then worked in 
 the smelting works near Hazel Green for about 
 one year. Having accumulated sufficient 
 money, Air. Walker about this time purchased 
 a farm of 240 acres, about nine miles south 
 of Muscoda, but a year later exchanged it for 
 one in the town of Clifton, Grant county, where 
 he has made many improvements, converting 
 the property into a good farm. In addition 
 to his property in Wisconsin, Mr. Walker 
 possesses 160 acres in Sherman county, Ivan., 
 which he purchased while spending several 
 years in that locality, making the trip in 1888. 
 On account of broken health, as a result of 
 his army experience, Mr. Walker has not been 
 actively engaged in farming for a number of 
 years. 
 
 On Feb. 1, 1864, Mr. Walker was enrolled 
 a member of Company H, 7th Wis. V. I., 
 which regiment formed a part of the famous 
 Iron Brigade, and for a time after enlistment 
 he was drilled in Camp Randall, Madison, 
 Wis. As spring approached, the regiment was 
 sent to Culpeper Court House, Va.. and on 
 May 4, 1864, entered upon the famous cam- 
 paign of the Wilderness. Mr. Walker partici- 
 pated in all of the battles of that bloody cam- 
 paign around Petersburg, including the battle 
 • for possession of the Weldon railroad. The 
 regiment joined in the pursuit of Gen. Lee, 
 and was at Appomattox, being mustered out 
 of the service Julv 30, 1865. Although never 
 wounded, seriously, Mr. Walker had a very 
 curious experience during the battle of Peters- 
 burg-. Four bullets struck the buckle of his 
 cartridge belt, in rapid succession, but he was 
 not injured, although any one of them would 
 have meant certain death if he had not been 
 protected by the buckle. Among his most 
 valued possessions, to-day, may be seen this 
 self-same buckle, dented and showing evidence 
 of hard usage, but more precious than if en- 
 crusted with diamonds. At the battle of 
 
 Hatcher's River Mr. Walker took cold, which 
 resulted in rheumatism and catarrh, from which 
 he has never recovered. 
 
 Mr. Walker married Miss Mary Ann 
 Thomas, daughter of Thomas Thomas, Sr., 
 of Wingville, one of Grant county’s old and 
 well-known farmers, now deceased. During 
 his term of service in the army Mr. Walker’s 
 wife and children remained on the farm at 
 Clifton, where he rejoined them at the close 
 of the war. To Mr. and Mrs. Walker have 
 been born ten children — James Mi, who lives 
 in Dixon county, Neb. ; Tanner, who lives in 
 Wingville township ; Ulysses, now residing on 
 the home farm; Norvel and Benjamin, of 
 Wingville ; Stella, living in Liberty township ; 
 Alda, living in Wingville township; and Mary 
 Ellen, May and Llewellyn, deceased. 
 
 Mr. Walker is a worthy member of Sam 
 Montieth Post, G. A. R., and enjoys the con- 
 fidence of a wide circle of friends, by whom 
 his many excellent traits of character are ap- 
 preciated at their true value. 
 
 WILLIAM M. CURRY and his wife, who 
 reside on Section 25, in the town of Lament, 
 are among the early settlers of that part of 
 Lafayette county, having been there since 
 1S53. 
 
 Mr. Curry was born in Adams county, 
 Ohio, April 3, 1823, a son of Thomas and 
 Mary (David) Curry, both natives of Penn- 
 sylvania, who came to Ohio by way of New 
 York, and in Ohio passed the remainder of 
 their lives. William M. Curry was the young- 
 est of nine children, and is now the only sur- 
 vivor of the family ; he is the only one who ever 
 came to Wisconsin. Our subject attained 
 manhood in his native State, under the pa- 
 rental roof, and was married May 28, 1844, 
 to Sarah Close, who was born in Mifflin county, 
 Penn., Jan. 16, 1824. After their marriage 
 they moved to Maysville, Ky., where they lived 
 two years, then returning to their old Ohio 
 home, where they had their residence until 
 coming to Wisconsin, in 1853. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Curry made their home in the town of Lament, 
 on Section 26, where they lived until, in March, 
 1879, ’they moved to their present place, the 
 old homestead coming into possession of their 
 son Irving G. Curry, who is now living there. 
 
 The children of William M. Curry and his 
 wife are as follows: ( 1 ) Henry C., who was 
 
 born at Maysville, Ky., March 7, 1845, i s now 
 
292 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 living in Dickin:on county, Iowa. (2) Mary, 
 the wife of D. C. Shockley, of the town of 
 Lamont, was born in Ohio June 2, 1846. (3) 
 
 Irving G. was born Dec. 1, 1848. (4) Caro- 
 
 line, born May 27, 1850, is the wife of William 
 S. Armstrong, of O'Brien county, Iowa. Ail 
 were born in Ohio with the exception of the 
 eldest. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Curry are among the oldest 
 settlers in Lafayette county, both in age and 
 point of years of residence in the county. Their 
 long and honorable career is known to all who 
 are at all conversant with the affairs of the 
 county, and they command universal respect. 
 When they came into the county, almost a half 
 century ago, the country was comparatively 
 new ; wild game abounded ; the Indian had 
 moved 011, but deer, wild turkey, and many 
 other beasts and birds long strange to the 
 prairies and woods of Wisconsin were still 
 abundant. Mr. Curry and his estimable wife 
 brought little money with them, but by in- 
 dustry and good management they have ac- 
 quired a fine property, and in the last years of 
 their stay on earth are surrounded with the re- 
 sults of successful toil and careful manage- 
 ment. 
 
 Mr. Curry, like all his father’s family, was 
 reared according to the teachings of the Meth- 
 odist church ; Mrs. Curry came from a fam- 
 ily indoctrinated in the tenets of the Presby- 
 terian faith, and since their marriage both 
 affiliated with the followers of the great Wes- 
 ley ; they have always been active in Christian 
 work. Mr. Curry has for vears been associated 
 with the Republican party, but has come to 
 hold more and more strongly to the affirma- 
 tions of the Prohibition movement, and is 
 looking upon the liquor question as the fore- 
 most problem in American politics to-day. Both 
 he and his wife are held in the highest esteem, 
 and their children are upright and honorable 
 people, highly respected by all who know them. 
 
 ASAHEL P. SMITH, a noted citizen of 
 the town of Lamont, Lafayette county, was a 
 soldier for the Union in the Civil war, and 
 served as a member of Company E, 31st Wis. 
 
 V. I. 
 
 Mr. Smith enlisted in August, 1862, and 
 his military career is an integral part of the 
 history of his company and regiment, from 
 which he was absent only ten days in a three 
 years’ service, at which time he was in the hos- 
 
 pital at Columbus, Ky., on account of sickness. 
 Company E was composed chiefly of men from 
 the four towns of Darlington, Fayette, Argyle 
 and Wiota, and was noted as presenting to the 
 service an exceptionally fine lot of robust and 
 stalwart men. The regiment was organized 
 at Prairie du Chien, was mustered into the 
 service Oct. 9, 1862, was ordered to Columbus, 
 Ky. ; its first service was in guard and picket 
 duty. It was assigned to the 6th Division, 
 
 1 6th Army Corps, and on July 3, 1864, in gen- 
 eral orders, was transferred to the 3d Brigade, 
 1st Division, 20th Army Corps, in that com- 
 mand taking a leading part in the capture of 
 Atlanta, and in the important events that at- 
 tended the famous march across Georgia to 
 Savannah. The regiment was in the battles at 
 Averysboro, March 16, 1865, and at Benton- 
 ville, N. C., three days later, where it lost 
 about sixty men, killed, wounded and missing. 
 They were at Goldsboro, N. C., when Gen. Lee 
 gave up and the war was ended. The regi- 
 ment was then marched to Washington, where 
 it was encamped for a time, was sent to Louis- 
 ville, Ky., and there mustered out. Our sub- 
 ject returned to Wisconsin. The final dis- 
 charge papers for the soldiers of this command 
 were issued at Madison, Wis., July 8, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Smith was born at Tolland, Conn., 
 Nov. 12, 1830. John P. and Anna (Darby) 
 Smith, his parents, were also natives of Con- 
 necticut, and never left their native heath. 
 Asahel P. Smith was one of a family of thir- 
 teen children, and three of the sons served in 
 the war of the Rebellion, Asahel P. being the 
 eldest of the gallant trio ; the others were Milo 
 D. and Joel L. Smith, who belonged to the 7th 
 Conn. V. L, commanded by Col. Alfred Terry, 
 who rose to high rank as a gallant soldier and 
 dashing commander. Both our subject’s . 
 brothers died in Confederate prisons, having 
 been taken by the enemy while Butler was re- 
 treating from the James river, in 1864. One 
 died in Charleston, S. C., and the other at 
 Florence. 
 
 In 1854 Mr. Smith came from his Con- 
 necticut home and settled in the town of La- 
 mont, which was then a part of the town of 
 Fayette. In i860 he was married to Miss 
 Jane Tresner, a daughter of William and 
 Sarah (Warner) Tresner. They were at one 
 time Illinois people, but came into Lafayette 
 county from Indiana, and settled in the town 
 of Willow Springs. Peter Tresner, a brother 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 293 
 
 of Mrs. Smith, served in the war with Mr. 
 Smith, and died in 1867. Mrs. Smith was 
 born in 1834, and is still hale and hearty. 
 They have two sons, Milo and Luman, and 
 one daughter, Hettie L. 
 
 Mr. Smith has lived on his present farm 
 since i860. It is one of the better farms of 
 the county, and has on it a comfortable and 
 inviting residence and ample farm buildings of 
 every kind. Mr. Smith is a Republican in 
 politics, and cast his first vote for President 
 for the first Republican candidate, John C. 
 Fremont. 
 
 STANLEY H. JOINER. This influential 
 farmer of La Prairie township, Rock county, 
 justice of the peace, and town clerk, is one 
 of the- oldest settlers of the county, and is 
 justly regarded as one whose mind and heart 
 are in sympathy with his fellow men, and 
 whose counsel it is always safe to follow. If 
 one were to inquire into the causes which give 
 men personalities of especial usefulness, account 
 would have to be taken, in this instance, of 
 Mr. Joiner's ancestry. Both his grandfathers 
 were soldiers of the war of 1812. His ma- 
 ternal great-grandfather, Lieut. Abraham 
 Locke, was an officer in the Revolutionary war. 
 The achievements of the family have made it 
 possible to trace the lineage back to a remote 
 period in history. 
 
 1 he Locke family is known in this country 
 back to William Locke, a mariner of the Coun- 
 ty of Suffolk, Stepney Parish, one of the larg- 
 est subdivisions of London, England. The 
 earliest representative in America was Deacon 
 William, who was born in December, 1628, and 
 in 1634, when an orphan boy of six years, 
 was brought to America in the ship “Planter,” 
 settling in Woburn, Mass. Stanley H. Joiner, 
 our subject, has the coat of arms of the Locke 
 family, which was probably granted to Sir 
 William Locke for his exploit at Dunkerque, 
 France, in tearing down the Pope's bull of ex- 
 communication against the King, a deed then 
 hazardous as the storming of a castle, on ac- 
 count of the temporal power of the Pope and 
 the loyalty of the masses to him. It is believed 
 that Sir William Locke was the son of John 
 Locke, who was sheriff of London in 1461. 
 If so, the ancestry can be traced to Thomas 
 Locke, of Merton Abbey, 1291. 
 
 The immediate paternal ancestors of our 
 subject were Harvey R. Joiner, his father; 
 
 and Erastus Joiner, his grandfather, a farmer 
 of New York State, who reared a large family, 
 and lived to a good old age. The immediate 
 maternal ancestry is traced as follows: (I) 
 Daniel Locke, a weaver, and Abigail, his wife; 
 (II) Dr. Daniel and Mary Locke; (III) Lieut. 
 Abraham and Hannah Locke, our subject’s 
 great-grandparents, Vermont farming people; 
 (IV) Daniel Locke, his grandfather, a native 
 of Vermont, and a farmer of New York State, 
 who had a large family, and lived to a ripe old 
 age; and (V) Mary (Locke) Joiner, our sub- 
 ject’s mother. 
 
 Harvey R. Joiner, our subject’s father, 
 was born Jan. 25, 1815, in New York State, 
 there married Mary Locke, and in 1855 came 
 to Wisconsin, locating in Bradford township, 
 Rock count)’, and ten years later moving to 
 La Prairie township, where he bought a farm 
 of 106 acres in Section 1. This he improved 
 and operated until 1891, in which year he 
 moved to Rockwell, Iowa. Six years later he 
 became a resident of Lake City, Minn., where 
 he died Jan. 15, 1899, aged nearly eighty-four 
 years. His wife died in 1880, at the age of 
 sixty-one years. Both were devout members 
 of the M. E. Church. Of their four children 
 two are now living : Stanley H. ; and Adin E., 
 of Lake City, Minnesota. 
 
 Stanley H. Joiner was born Dec. 30, 1838, 
 in Essex county, N. Y., and there remained 
 until seventeen years old, attending the com- 
 mon schools and the academy. In 1855 he 
 came with his parents to Rock county, and from 
 that time has been identified with the develop- 
 ment and growth of Wisconsin. He taught 
 one term of school after coming to Wisconsin. 
 He lived with his parents on the farm in Brad- 
 ford township for a number of years, and in 
 1861 purchased forty acres which he farmed 
 until 1863, in which year he bought his pres- 
 ent home place of eighty acres in La Prairie 
 township, which he has brought to a high state 
 of cultivation, and where he has lived ever 
 since. 
 
 Mr. Joiner married March 12, 1861, in 
 Bradford township, Miss Elizabeth C. Vanden- 
 burg, daughter of William G. and Mary Ann 
 (Leavenworth) Vandenburg, and granddaugh- 
 ter of Gilbert Vandenburg, whose parents came 
 to America from Holland. On her mother’s 
 side Mrs. Joiner traces her ancestry back to 
 Thomas Leavenworth, who emigrated from 
 England to New Haven, Conn., about 1624. 
 
294 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 William G. and Mary Ann Vandenburg mi- 
 grated to Rock county, Wis., in 1845, locating 
 in the town of Bradford, where he died March 
 24, 1893, his wife surviving him only four 
 days. To Mr. and Mrs. Vandenburg were 
 born ten children, four sons and six daughters, 
 of whom four are now living: Elizabeth C., 
 
 wife of our subject; Rebecca Ann, wife of 
 George Hanthorn, of Rock county; Adeliza 
 V., wife of James A. Kipp, of Badger, S. 
 Dak. ; and David L., of Clear Lake, Iowa. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Joiner have one daughter, Es- 
 telle M., who married Lewis McDaniels, and 
 has two children. Dee Jay and Ella May. 
 
 Politically Mr. Joiner is a Prohibitionist. 
 He is a prominent agriculturist, and an active 
 member of the Patrons of Husbandry, Grange 
 No. 79. Pie is town clerk, an office which 
 with the exception of three years he has filled 
 continuously since 1884,- and since that year 
 he has also served most of the time as justice 
 of the peace. Mr. Joiner is secretary of the 
 La Prairie Creamery Go., and in business, so- 
 cial and public affairs is. recognized as one of 
 the foremost citizens of Ids township. 
 
 JOHN OETTIKER. Among the old 
 residents of Lafayette, county the name of Oet- 
 tiker was prominent fifty years ago, and the 
 descendants of those estimable pioneers are 
 among the best citizens of to-day. Our sub- 
 ject, as his name signifies, is of Swiss parent- 
 age. his parents, Jacob and Mary (Brighten- 
 stein) Oettiker, both having been born at 
 Mannedorf. Switzerland, in 1801 and 1821, 
 respectively. Both came to America when 
 young. 
 
 Jacob Oettiker was a tailor by trade. Pie 
 located in Pittsburg, Penn., where from 1832 
 to 1847 l ie worked diligently, applying himself 
 at night with books in order to educate him- 
 self in the language of his adopted country. 
 In 1839 he married Mary Brightenstein, and 
 before leaving Pittsburg two children, Henry 
 and John (our subject), were born to them. 
 Henry is now one of the leading men in the 
 hardware line in Platteville ; James, another 
 son. born later, is a leading physician of Platte- 
 ville; Jacob is a stock farmer well known 
 through this whole locality. In 1847 Mr. 
 Oettiker started with his .small family for Wis- 
 consin, making , the trip by boat down the 
 Ohio river, but on account of the ice in the 
 Mississippi river they were obliged to winter 
 
 at Hannibal, Mo. In the spring they resumed 
 their journey, and finally located near the old 
 State capital, near old Belmont, now known as 
 Leslie, at which place Mr. Oettiker entered 
 160 acres of land, entirely unimproved, later 
 adding more by purchase until he possessed 
 several hundred acres. There the two younger 
 sons were born, the familv home being there 
 until 1893, when Mr. Oettiker moved to Platte- 
 ville. Much of the superintendence of the 
 farm was left to the very capable manage- 
 ment of his wife, Mr. Oettiker working at 
 his trade until 1889, in which year they cele- 
 brated their Golden Wedding. The death of 
 Mr. Oettiker took place in 1900, when he was 
 almost a centenarian. Throughout life he had 
 been a man of remarkable vigor of both mind 
 and body, and took a deep and intelligent in- 
 terest in the leading issues of the day, the 
 game of politics having for him a peculiar 
 fascination. His friends were numerous, and 
 held him in high respect. His aged widow is 
 still living in Platteville. 
 
 Our subject was born at Pittsburg, Penn., 
 Jan. 1, 1844, and received a district-school edu- 
 cation. When the Civil war was declared he 
 entered the 44th Wis. V. L, and gallantly served 
 through the war. In 1867 he was married to 
 Catherine Bartle, of Grant county, Wis., a 
 daughter of Zecldick and Nancy (Armstrong) 
 Bartle, both of whom were born in Ohio, 
 where Mrs. Oettiker was born in 1848. Her 
 parents moved to Ellenboro, Grant county, 
 where her father died soon afterward. One 
 of her brothers lives in Platteville, two in Da- 
 kota, and a sister in Wisconsin. 
 
 After marriage our subject settled on 
 eighty acres of land near Leslie, on the North- 
 western railroad, where he has erected excellent 
 buildings, all modern in structure and finish, 
 and in 1883 he built his present comfortable 
 and attractive home. The surroundings pro- 
 claim the fact that he is a careful farmer, his 
 buildings, stock, improvements and farm all 
 bearing that stamp. Among his neighbors he 
 is regarded as one of the most substantial of 
 the stock raisers of the township, and his farm, 
 now consisting of 280 acres, is one of the best 
 cultivated. Mr. Oettiker also became the owner 
 of the old homestead, but has disposed of it. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Oettiker have been born 
 five children: Elmer, born in 1870, married 
 
 Mary Gormer, of Grant county, and resides on 
 the old homestead ; they have one daughter, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 29S 
 
 Margie. Luella, born in 1872, married Will- 
 iam Nodolf, and resides on his farm in Bel- 
 mont. Bert was born in 1880. Lessie was 
 born in 1884. Ethel, born in 1889, is de- 
 ceased. 
 
 For some years our subject has been a 
 member of the town board, and he is the most 
 progressive member on the board of school di- 
 rectors. His politics are Democratic, and he 
 has held local offices in the gift of his party 
 for a number of years. Although not con- 
 nected by membership with any denomination, 
 his influence has ever been in favor of religion, 
 and the family are church attendants. They 
 are noted in Belmont as enterprising and ener- 
 getic, and no better citizens can be found in 
 Lafayette county than the Oettiker brothers, as 
 they are familiarly known. 
 
 ROBERT POLLOCK, who may be found 
 at No. 265 South Bluff street, Janesville, Rock 
 county, has but recently retired from active 
 farm life, and is just entering upon a period of 
 well-deserved leisure. He has been an indus- 
 trious farmer all his life, and has lived in Rock 
 county since he was fourteen years of age. He 
 is to be congratulated that, while he is still 
 hale and hearty, he can pause from the grind 
 of life and take his ease as long as he shall 
 tarry here below. 
 
 Mr. Pollock was born in Ayrshire, Scot- 
 land, Aug. 21, 1838, and comes of a long line 
 of wise and “canny” Scotchmen. His parents, 
 Robert and Lillies (Hodge) Pollock, who were 
 natives of Ayrshire, had a family of four chil- 
 dren, two of whom are now living. The fa- 
 ther, a farmer, came to the United States in 
 1852, locating in Rock township, Rock Co., 
 W is., where he bought a farm of eighty-eight 
 acres, and died there the following year, aged 
 seventy-one. His widow survived many years, 
 and died in 1883, aged seventy-one. They 
 wer e Presbyterians. He was a member of the 
 home guards in Scotland, but saw no active 
 service as a soldier. His father, Robert Pol- 
 lock, was a farmer, and lived and died in Scot- 
 land ; he had a large family. His father-in-law, 
 John Hodge, who was born and reared in 
 Scotland, died in that country when nearly 
 eighty years of age. He, too, had a large 
 family. His occupation was that of a farmer. 
 
 Robert Pollock, the subject of this article, 
 was fourteen years old when his parents came 
 to Rock county, and here he has continued to 
 
 live. He was fairly well educated in Scotland 
 before emigrating to this country, and after 
 his father’s death felt quite competent to under- 
 take the work of the home farm, which he car- 
 ried on for some eight years. The farm was 
 then divided among the children, and young 
 Robert bought more land in the town of La 
 Prairie, beginning with an eighty-acre farm 
 and increasing his real estate until at one time 
 he was the owner of 400 acres. He now owns 
 a half section of land, which is 'regarded equal 
 to any in the State for agricultural purposes, 
 as well as for beautiful location and appearance. 
 In 1893 he moved into Janesville, and spent 
 four years in the city, but he did not feel quite 
 ready to cease farming, and accordingly went 
 back to his country home. In April, 1900, he 
 rented his farm and resumed his residence in 
 Janesville, where lie had bought a fine and 
 commodious home in 1892. Mr. Pollock has 
 always been a general farmer and stock raiser, 
 and during the last few years of his stay on 
 the farm gave much attention to horses, par- 
 ticularly draught stock, Clydesdales and Perch- 
 erons. He imported some fine stock in 1889. 
 
 Mr. Pollock was married to Miss Mary 
 Elizabeth Gower, a daughter of Daniel and 
 Elizabeth (Young) Gower, June 3, 1859. 
 They became the parents of nine children, Lilly, 
 Rose E., Leuie, Albert, Agnes, Nora, Myrtie, 
 William and Jennie. Agnes and Myrtie are 
 the only ones now living. Lilly died when a 
 child of three years. Rose E. married Oliver 
 Grant, had one child, and is now deceased. 
 Leuie died when thirty-two years old, unmar- 
 ried. Albert died when an infant of one year. 
 Agnes married W. B. Hodge, and lives on the 
 home farm in La Prairie township ; they have 
 three children, Robert A., Mary and Bethel. 
 Nora married John H. Wright, and had one 
 daughter, Mildred Blanche. Myrtie married 
 John H.Hugunin, and lives in La Prairie town- 
 ship ; they have two children, Carrie May and 
 Gladys Irene. William and Jennie died in in- 
 fancy. Mr. Pollock is a Republican, has been 
 supervisor a number of terms, and chairman of 
 the town board one term. 
 
 Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Pollock, our subject's 
 first wife, died in 1886, at the age of forty-two, 
 and on Jan. 9, 1891, he married Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Gower, the widow of D. E. Gower, and daugh- 
 ter of T. L. and Mary (Comstock) Hollister. 
 No children have been born to this union. Mrs. 
 Pollock had three sons by her former mar- 
 
296 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 riage, Bert L., Forest E., and George Wesley. 
 Bert L. married Mary Cox, and has one child, 
 Evelyn. Forest E. married Julia Marble, who 
 bore him one child, and is now deceased. 
 George Wesley is a farmer, and unmarried. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Pollock are members of the Bap- 
 tist Church. 
 
 WILLIAM ASA MAYHEW, postmaster 
 at Clinton, Rock county, and one of the suc- 
 cessful business men of that town, has had a 
 residence in Wisconsin covering a period of 
 nearly a third of a century. It began soon after 
 the close of his honorable career in the army. 
 His education, interrupted by his enlistment 
 as a soldier in the Civil war, was completed 
 the following year, and prepared him for his 
 successful business life. 
 
 Mr. Mayhew was born on Point Peninsula, 
 Jefferson Co., N. Y., Sept. 23, 1844, son of 
 St. Valier and Calista M. (Wheelock) May- 
 hew, natives, respectively, of Vermont and 
 New York, and grandson of William Mayhew, 
 who was born on the Island of Martha's 
 Vineyard, of French descent. He was a man 
 of high educational attainments, followed 
 farming as a vocation, and also engaged in 
 surveying. He lived past his ninetieth birth- 
 day, and died at Terre Haute, Inch, at the 
 residence of his eldest son. His‘ family con- 
 sisted of eight children, four sons and four 
 daughters. The maternal grandfather of our 
 subject, Asa Wheelock, was a native of New 
 York State, of Scottish and Welsh extraction. 
 He was a sea-faring man in early life, and 
 later served in the war of 1812. He settled 
 down to farming, and migrated from New 
 York to Jo Daviess county, 111 ., becoming a 
 pioneer, and living there to a good old age. 
 He left a large family. 
 
 St. Valier Mayhew, the father of our sub- 
 ject. was a farmer of Jefferson county, N. 
 Y., and during the Civil war was an earnest 
 supporter of the Union cause. One of his 
 most pleasant recollections was the purchase 
 of one of the series of ten government bonds 
 which during the dark days of the Rebellion, 
 when the government credit was low, had been 
 sent to Watertown, N. Y., for sale. In 1868 
 he moved to a farm of 130 acres which he 
 had purchased in Clinton township. Rock Co., 
 AVis., two and a half miles east of the village 
 of Clinton. Two years later he sold this prop- 
 erty to his son, our subject, and returned to 
 
 his old home in Jefferson county, N. Y., where 
 he died in 1882, aged seventy-five years. His 
 wife survived until Feb. 22, 1894, passing 
 
 away at the advanced age of eighty-five years. 
 Both were devout members of the Methodist 
 Church. Of their six children, four sons and 
 two daughters, two are now living: Albert V., 
 of Watertown, N. Y. ; and William A., our 
 subject. The father was an earnest man, of 
 deep religious and political convictions, high- 
 ly respected by his 1 many friends and neighbors, 
 who occasionally elected him to some local 
 township office. 
 
 William/ A. Mayhew, our subject, was 
 reared on the old homestead in New York, 
 and attended the neighboring schools. In 
 1862, before he had reached his eighteenth 
 birthday, he enlisted in Company M, 10th N. 
 Y. V. Artillery, serving until mustered out, 
 July 7, 1865, a little over three years. Mr. 
 Mayhew participated in the battles of Cold 
 Harbor, Whitehouse Landing, the first attack 
 upon Petersburg, and Burnside’s “blow-up.” 
 He was 1 with Sheridan at Cedar Creek, and 
 was in the charge on the Howlett House bat- 
 tery before Richmond, just before the battie 
 of Appomattox, besides engaging in numerous 
 skirmishes. After his return from the army 
 he entered Belleville Union Academy, in Jeffer- 
 son county, N. Y., and was graduated in the 
 class of 1867, one of his classmates being A. 
 D. Shaw, who from 1899-1900 was Com- 
 mander-in-Chief of the G. A. R. 
 
 In 1868 Mr. Mayhew came to Wisconsin 
 with his father, and for eight years engaged 
 in farming during the summer, and in teach- 
 ing school during the winter months. In 1890 
 Mr. Mayhew embarked in the drug business 
 in the village of Clinton, in the room now 
 occupied by the postoffice, and continued to 
 conduct the drug store successfully until his 
 appointment, Feb. 23, 1898, as postmaster at 
 Clinton. He entered upon the duties of the 
 office April 1, 1898. 
 
 Mr. Mayhew married, Oct. 19, 1870, Miss 
 Rissa VI. Mayhew, a native of Jefferson coun- 
 ty. N. Y., daughter of Thompson and Cor- 
 nelia (Flardy) Mayhew, farming people of 
 that county. Two of her brothers. Theodore 
 D. and Edwin V., served in the war of the 
 Rebellion, Edwin V. as first lieutenant of Com- 
 pany G, 94th N. Y. V. I. To William A. and 
 Rissa M. Mayhew has come one son, William 
 A., Jr., born Jan. 16, 1883. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 297 
 
 Politically Mr. Mayhew is a Republican. 
 Pie has served six years on the county board 
 of supervisors, and has frequently represented 
 Clinton in the county and State conventions. 
 In 1885 he was appointed committee-room at- 
 tendant in the State Legislature. Fraternally 
 he is a prominent Mason, a member of Morn- 
 ing Star Lodge, of Beloit, F. & A. M., Beloit 
 Chapter, No. 6, R. A. M., and Beloit Com- 
 mandery, No. 9, K. T. He is also a member 
 of the I. O. O. F., Knights of the Globe, Mod- 
 ern Woodmen, Home Forum, Mystic Workers 
 of the World, and Alexis Tallman Post, No. 70, 
 G. A. R. Mr. Mayhew read commercial law 
 in Belleville, and has practiced in the justice 
 courts' of Clinton, is a notary public, and does 
 conveyancing. He is a progressive, active, 
 influential citizen of Clinton, and popular 
 among an acquaintanceship which extends 
 throughout Rock county. 
 
 CHARLES E. STEHL was born in Prus- 
 sia, Germany, March 29, 1833, and is a son of 
 John and Otallie (Wachsmith) Stehl, who 
 spent their entire lives in that country. He 
 was given a good education in the German 
 schools, and in 1853 came to New York on the 
 sailing-vessel “Oregon,” the same year going 
 to Philadelphia to work at the trade of a shoe- 
 maker. This calling he followed until 1865, 
 when he came West. Mr. Stehl and Miss Car- 
 oline P. Myers were married in 1857. Mrs. 
 Stehl is the daughter of Jacob Myers, a native 
 of Germany, where she was born in 1833, com- 
 ing in 1848 with her parents to Philadelphia, 
 where her father died in 1855. The mother 
 came West, and died in 1892 in Grant county. 
 
 When the Civil war broke out Mr. Stehl 
 responded to the first call for volunteers, and 
 enlisted in the 27th Penn. V. I. He took part 
 in the second battle of Bull Run, at that time 
 serving in the Army of the Shenandoah. Mr. 
 Stehl participated in a number of battles in 
 the Army of the Potomac, under Gen. Pope. 
 He served under Gens. Burnside and Hooker, 
 and was in the battles of Antietam and Gettys- 
 burg and a number of others less important. 
 Mr. Stehl re-enlisted at the expiration of his 
 first- term, becoming a member of the 12th 
 Penn. Volunteer Cavalry. Under Gen. Crooks 
 they fought the Rebel army of Early, and on 
 July 4, 1864, they were driven out of Harper’s 
 Ferry. This corps was then attached to the 
 army of Gen. Sheridan, and served under that 
 
 distinguished cavalryman until the close of the 
 war. Mr. Stehl was at the battle of Winches- 
 ter, and at Cedar Creek fought Mosby’s guer- 
 rillas during the closing months of the war, 
 and came home with the consciousness of hav- 
 ing done his duty. A brave and efficient 
 soldier, he was promoted from the ranks to 
 official standing before the close of the war. 
 
 Mr. Stehl returned to Philadelphia when 
 the war was ended. In the summer of 1865 
 he came West, locating in Arthur, in the town 
 of Lima, Grant county, where he worked at 
 his trade until 1893. After coming to the vil- 
 lage he purchased the home which he owns at 
 the present time, and he has other real-estate 
 holdings. The career of Mr. Stehl is an hon- 
 orable one. Landing in New York, he had 
 only fifty cents with which to begin business in 
 a strange land. From that humble beginning 
 he has become one of the prosperous and well- 
 to-do men of Grant county. Mr. Stehl was 
 elected justice of the peace in 1875. serving 
 continuously until 1898, was assessor for ten 
 years, and in 1890 was census enumerator in 
 his district. In 1898 he received the appoint- 
 ment of notary public. He is oil inspector for 
 the State in his district. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Stehl are the parents of six 
 children, of whom four are living at the pres- 
 ent time: (1) Caroline and (2) Frank were 
 
 both born in Philadelphia, and died in Wiscon- 
 sin while children. (3) Louisa, born in Phila- 
 delphia in 1858, was a student at the State 
 Nomal at Platteville, and taught for several 
 years in Grant county. She married W. E. 
 Brown, of Lyon county, Iowa, and is the 
 mother of eight children, Frank, Charles, Ora, 
 Katie, Minnie and Winny (twins), George and 
 Luejla. (4) Charles E., Jr., born in Phila- 
 delphia in i860, is now an engineer in one of 
 the mills in San Francisco, Cal. (5) Katie, 
 born in Grant county in 1866, married John 
 Scott, a resident of Des Moines, I-owa, and 
 they have two children, Stella and Inez. (6) 
 Minnie, born in Grant county in 1868, is the 
 wife of Thomas Harsha. They reside in the 
 city of Nora Springs, Iowa, and have two chil- 
 dren, Harry and Elton. 
 
 In politics Mr. Stehl is a Republican, has 
 been prominent in the affairs of the town, and 
 has been a delegate to the county convention 
 for twenty-four consecutive years. As might 
 be expected, he belongs to W. T. Sherman 
 Post, G. A. R., at Platteville, and for forty-six 
 
298 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years has been a member of the I. O. 0 . F., of 
 the local lodge of which order, instituted Jan. 
 5, 1874, in the town of Arthur, he is a charter 
 member. Mr. Stehl was reared a Lutheran, 
 but attends the Methodist Church in company 
 with his wife. Mr. Stehl left two sisters in 
 the old country, Dora and Mary, and is now 
 the only living member of his family. 
 
 JOSEPH R. BIRD, for many years en- 
 gaged in farming in New Diggings township, 
 Lafayette county, is a native of Canada, born 
 at St. Andrews, on the Ottawa river, in Aug- 
 ust, 1832. 
 
 Robert and Anna Bird, his parents, were 
 both born in Cumberland, England, where they 
 were married. They removed to Canada, and 
 engaged in farming. Mrs. Bird died when 
 Joseph R. was about six years old, and the 
 family then moved into Hamilton, in Upper 
 Canada, where the children grew to maturity, 
 nine out of ten reaching mature years : Sam- 
 
 uel, Thomas, William, Joseph R., Margaret 
 (deceased wife of Thomas Jacques, of Can- 
 ada), Elizabeth (deceased wife of Thomas 
 Buchan, of Canada), Esther (deceased wife of 
 Malcolm MacIntyre, of California), Mary (de- 
 ceased wife of James Buchan, of Canada), 
 Annie (deceased wife of John Vandyke, of 
 Canada), and Sarah (wife of John Benner, 
 who resides at Niagara Falls, on the Canadian 
 side). Of these, Samuel and Thomas were 
 born in England, the others in the New World. 
 
 Joseph R. Bird was trained to farm work in 
 Canada, and attended the district schools near 
 his home there. In 1852 he came to the United 
 States, being the only member of his family 
 to leave Canada, and settled in New Diggings 
 township, Lafayette Co., Wis., engaging in 
 mining, which he continued for a number of 
 years. After his marriage, in i860, he settled 
 on a part of his father-in-law’s farm, and de- 
 voted himself to farming. In 1869 he erected 
 his present home, and later two large barns, 
 and now has one of the most highly improved 
 places in the township, all due to his thrift and 
 industry. 
 
 In i860 Mr. Bird married Miss Mary Rob- 
 inson, daughter of Thomas and Annie (Lee) 
 Robinson, born in England in April, 1838, and 
 by this union has become the father of a large 
 family of children, of whom two died in in- 
 fancy : Thomas died in early manhood ; 
 
 Grant, born in May, 1864, died in 1897; 
 
 Esther, born in 1866, married John Thorn- 
 dyke, and has three children, Ray, Birdie and 
 Mary; William, born in August, 1870, a 
 farmer on his father’s homestead, married Miss 
 Maggie White, and is a prominent worker in 
 the Iv. of P. lodge at Benton ; Annie L. was 
 born in September, 1872 ; Joseph, in November, 
 1875; Ella G., in 1877; and Stella F., in 1880; 
 the last named is now a student in Warren 
 Academy, at Warren, 111 . The family are all 
 members of the Primitive Methodist Church, 
 of which Mr. Bird was one of the founders in 
 this community. In politics he has always 
 been identified with the Republican party, and 
 has held a number of local offices, having been 
 a member of the town and school boards. He 
 has proven himself a good citizen, a capable 
 officer, and a kind and loving husband and 
 father. 
 
 Thomas and Annie (Lee) Robinson, par- 
 ents of Mrs. Bird, were both born in the county 
 of Cumberland, England, and coming to Wis- 
 consin as early as 1844, settled in the village 
 of New Diggings, where they lived some years, 
 moving thence to a farm in that township, 
 where they passed the rest of their lives. Mr. 
 Robinson was a blacksmith by trade, and dur- 
 ing his residence in the village followed 
 same as a means of livelihood. His death oc- 
 curred in August, 1888, and that of his wife on 
 May 6, 1889. They were the parents of four 
 children who lived to maturity : Ruth, who 
 
 married Christopher Allen, of New Diggings; 
 Isaac, who married Eliza Graham, and moved 
 to Hampton, Iowa, where he died Oct. 29, 
 1886, leaving his wife with eight children, 
 Luella, Thomas, George, William, Estella, 
 Alice, Ruth and Isaac ; Matthew, of South 
 Dakota, who married Lizzie Robson, and has 
 four children, Thomas, Willie, Etta, and El- 
 mer; and Mary, who became Mrs. Bird, and 
 is one of the most genial of companions, always 
 ready in her womanly way to shed sunshine 
 wherever she goes. 
 
 HENRY BAKER, a retired pioneer farmer 
 residing in Lancaster, Grant county, but who 
 settled in Iowa county in 1842, is a native of 
 Cornwall, England, born in 1821, a son of 
 Digory and Thomasin (Uglow) Baker, who 
 were the parents of a numerous family of chil- 
 dren. 
 
 In 1832 -two members of the above named 
 family, Thomas and Edmund, came to the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 299 
 
 United States, settling in Wayne county, Penn. 
 In 1836 Thomas returned to England, coming- 
 back to America in 1837 with a wife and two 
 of his brothers, John U. and Francis. I11 1838 
 Edmund and John came West on a prospecting- 
 tour, or in search of cheap land, and traveled 
 over a large extent of territory with a team 
 and wagon, visiting, en route, several English 
 families of their acquaintance. They passed 
 the winter with the well-known pioneer, Moses 
 Meeker, on the Blue river, in Iowa county,. 
 Wis., worked for him one season, and, being- 
 pleased with the country, purchased 320 acres 
 of land in the township of Linden, Iowa 
 county. 
 
 In 1842, a year after the death of the 
 mother of the family in England, the father, 
 with his son Henry and two daughters, Eliza- 
 beth and Joanna, came to America, and at once 
 proceeded to Honesdale, Penn., where Thomas 
 and Francis were still domiciled, arriving in 
 the month of June. In October the entire 
 family set out for Iowa county, Wis., with the 
 exception of Francis, who remained behind un- 
 til 1844, when he and his family joined the 
 others in Iowa county. The eldest child of the 
 family, William, died in England in 1825, at 
 the age of twenty-two years. The father lived 
 with his children in Wisconsin until 1847, 
 when he passed away. One son, named 
 Digory, did not leave England until 1850, when 
 he came to Wisconsin. In 1863 he returned 
 to England, staid two years, and then came 
 again to America, remaining till 1874, when 
 he returned to England; he died in 1875, un- 
 married. The brothers who remained in Wis- 
 consin all secured good farms in the township 
 of Linden, and became prominent and respected 
 citizens, occupying their homesteads for a long- 
 series of years. But time has wrought its 
 changes, and there now remain only Henry 
 and his brother, John U., the latter a resident 
 of Madison. Of the deceased members of the 
 family, Mrs. Elizabeth Sampson died in 1863; 
 Mrs. Joanna Pierce, in 1871 ; Digory, as stated 
 above, in England; Edmund, in 1881 ; Thomas, 
 in 1888; and Francis, in 1897. 
 
 Henry Baker on coming to Wisconsin, at 
 the age of twenty-one years, at first hired out 
 as a farm hand, and also was employed at 
 times in mining, as were nearly all of the pio- 
 neers of his part of the State. In 1847 he 
 purchased forty acres of land in Linden town- 
 ship, Iowa county, to which he added, as he 
 
 waxed wealthier, until his homestead com- 
 prised 340 acres, which he still owns. 
 
 On Jan. 1, 1846, Henry Baker married, in 
 Honesdale, Penn., Miss Martha Kirby, a na- 
 tive of Pennsylvania, and a daughter of John 
 and Jerusha Kirby, with whom Mr. Baker be- 
 came acquainted while on a visit to the Key- 
 stone State, but a short tune before his mar- 
 riage. To this union were born thirteen chil- 
 dren, of whom three died in infancy and two 
 after reaching mature years. The eight sur- 
 vivors are named Edmund, Joanna (Mrs. Phil- 
 lipps), William, Finley, Lincoln, Daniel, An- 
 netta and Emma. The two last named still 
 have their home with their father ; all were 
 born on the homestead in Iowa county. 
 
 In 1892 Mr. and Mrs. Baker sought in 
 Lancaster the rest and quiet required by their 
 advancing years, and their well-earned compe- 
 tence fully justified them in seeking the de- 
 sired repose. In the meantime, however, they 
 had resided, from 1882 to 1884, in Prairie du 
 Chien, in order that Mir. Baker might avail 
 himself of the benefit of the baths at that place. 
 In Lancaster Mr. and Mrs. Baker enjoyed their 
 beautiful home until her death. By a fall Mrs. 
 Baker sustained a resulting- paralytic shock, 
 and she died after a prolonged illness, Jan. 6, 
 1900, in the faith of the Methodist Church, of 
 which she and her husband had been members 
 since early life. She was seventy-four years 
 of age, was one of the most faithful of help- 
 mates and one of the most affectionate of wives 
 and mothers. 
 
 Henry Baker began life a poor boy, in a 
 frontier country, but by energy, industry and 
 good management has secured for himself a 
 competency for his old age. It is true that his 
 early educational advantages were but limited, 
 yet he was blessed with retentive memory, and 
 still more blessed with a loving mother, who 
 had some knowledge of books, and who so in- 
 structed him that at the age of seven years he 
 was able to read. His actual attendance at 
 school did not exceed six months, but by travel, 
 observation and self-instruction he acquired a 
 fund of solid and useful information. 
 
 Mr. Baker has twice visited his native Eng- 
 land since he came to the United States, first 
 in 1863, and again in 1894. He has attended 
 two world’s fairs — the Centennial in 1876, at 
 Philadelphia, Penn., and the Columbian Expo- 
 sition, at Chicago, 111 ., in 1893, and it may 
 well be inferred that a man of his keen ob- 
 
300 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 serration and intelligence profited to no little 
 extent from these visits. A conservative esti- 
 mate of the number of miles traveled by Mr. 
 Baker might be made at 20,000 by water and 
 30,000 by land, and yet in all his journeyings 
 he never met with a mishap or lost a dollar. 
 He stands today among the substantial men of 
 Wisconsin, and his simple word is as solid as 
 a rock. 
 
 ANSON P. WATERMAN. Among the 
 more prominent business men of Beloit, Rock 
 county, men characterized by both business 
 ability and personal probity, Mr. Waterman is 
 conspicuous. His career as a business man 
 has been highly successful, and his personal 
 integrity is unswerving. Such is the affirma- 
 tion not only of his warm friends, but the 
 sober judgment of every student of the city 
 of Beloit as portrayed in the lives of its lead- 
 ing citizens. He is assistant treasurer of 
 Beloit College. 
 
 Mr. Waterman was born in South Balls- 
 ton, N. Y., Jan. 15, 1819, son of David and 
 Phoebe ( Plollister) Waterman. They were the 
 parents of nine children, of whom only one is 
 now living, Anson P. The father, who was a 
 farmer, died in Saratoga county, N. Y., when 
 seventy-six years old. His wife survived a 
 short time, and died, in her seventy-sixth year. 
 Both were Presbyterians. He was a captain 
 of an artillery company in the war of 1812, 
 and was stationed at Ogdensburg. Pie was 
 a man of considerable prominence at home, 
 held various local offices from time to time, 
 and was clerk of the town for many years. 
 His father, Asa Waterman, was a native of 
 New York, coming from English ancestry, 
 and followed a rural life. He died when a 
 young man. Pie reared a family of six chil- 
 dren. His father, who also bore the name 
 of Asa Waterman, was a soldier, fought un- 
 der Benedict Arnold at Stillwater, and helped 
 to carry Arnold off the field when wounded. 
 He was appointed lieutenant-colonel in June, 
 T778. his commission, signed by Gov. Clinton, 
 being still in the possession of the family. 
 The maternal grandfather of A. P. Waterman 
 was a native of Connecticut, and a descendant 
 of Col. John Hollister, of Glastonbury. Conn. 
 He was a farmer, reared a large family, and 
 died in middle life. 
 
 Anson P. Waterman grew to manhood in 
 his native State. Pie spent his first twelve 
 
 years on his father's farm, and then entered 
 a country store as a clerk, where he was em- 
 ployed for five years, later clerking in a hard- 
 ware store in Schenectady, N. A., for four 
 years. When he became a young man he 
 went into business for himself, as proprietor 
 of a hardware store in Phelps, Ontario Co., 
 N. Y., and was there engaged for about twelve 
 years. In 1851 the young merchant came 
 West to Beloit and bought an interest in a hard- 
 ware store. In 1854 he brought his family 
 West, and Beloit has been his home to the pres- 
 ent time, though he has had business invest- 
 ments in St. Louis' for thirteen years or more. 
 P’or some thirty years 1 Mr. Waterman was 
 a hardware merchant in the city, and alto- 
 gether has had about fifty years’ experience 
 in that line. 
 
 Mr. Waterman and Miss Jane A. Hubbell, 
 daughter of Andrew and Sally (Sears) 
 Hubbell, were married Dec. 31, 1840. They 
 have had four children, Arabella F., Annie 
 R., Jennie S., and Clara, of whom the last 
 named died at the age of six years. Ara- 
 bella F. married Major B. D. Lee, a promi- 
 nent lawyer of St. Louis, who died in the 
 spring of 1897; they were the parents of two. 
 children, Edwin W. and Wayne. Annie R. 
 married Charles E. Whitman, president of the 
 Whitman Agricultural Implement Manu- 
 factory of St. Louis. Jennie S. married Car- 
 roll S. Gregory, a plumber in Beloit, and a 
 graduate of Beloit College; they are the par- 
 ents of two children, Margery and Gladys. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. A. P. Waterman celebrated 
 the sixtieth anniversary of their marriage 
 Dec. 31, 1900, the children and grandchil- 
 dren all being present. They are members of 
 the Presbyterian Church, in which he has been 
 an elder for sixty -years. He was a member 
 of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian 
 Church in 1847, and 1 has filled the same po- 
 sition on several subsequent occasions. For 
 forty-five years he has been connected with 
 Beloit College, as trustee and member of the 
 executive committee, and for seventeen years 
 as treasurer and assistant treasurer. Plis elec- 
 tion to numerous other positions of promi- 
 nence testifies to the utmost confidence enter- 
 tained in his trustworthiness, efficiency and 
 energy. He is now serving his fortieth year 
 as trustee of that marvel among corporations, 
 the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., 
 having been connected with the company, in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 301 
 
 that capacity since its organization, in 1861; 
 with one exception he is the oldest member 
 of the board of trustees in point of service, 
 and has. witnessed the growth of the concern 
 from an insignificant beginning to its present 
 position of importance, unexcelled, and scarce- 
 ly equalled, in the country. For years Mr. 
 Waterman served as a trustee of the Wiscon- 
 sin Insane Asylum, at Madison, until the re- 
 organization of the charitable institutions of 
 the State. 
 
 In political sentiment Mr. Waterman is a 
 stanch Republican, but takes little interest in 
 the workings of party machinery. He was 
 mayor of Beloit from 1857 to 1859. The 
 business career of Mr. Waterman has been 
 remarkably creditable. It is said that for sev- 
 eral years he had the only exclusive hardware 
 store between Lake Michigan and the Missis- 
 sippi river. His life has been very active, 
 and his influence strongly pronounced on the 
 side of religion, temperance and good gov- 
 ernment. He was educated in the public 
 schools, but he has read and studied much all 
 his life, and his ideas are based on sound infor- 
 mation and accurate knowledge. He has a 
 pleasant home at the corner of College avenue 
 and Bushnell street. 
 
 WILLIAM DUTHIE, of the town of 
 Bradford, Rock county, belongs to the older 
 generation of farmers in this part of the State, 
 and has won his present enviable position by 
 hard work and wise economy. His industry 
 has been unflagging through all his active life, 
 and his character beyond question. 
 
 Mr. Duthie was born Jan. 8, 1831, in the 
 parish of Garvock, Kincardineshire, Scotland, 
 son of William and Mary (Christison) Duthie, 
 who had a family of four children: Mary, 
 
 William and Jessie (twins), and John. Our 
 subject was nine years of age when he lost his 
 father, and his mother died a year later. The 
 father was also born in Kincardineshire, and 
 the family was descended from Norman cru- 
 saders. The mother, Mary (Christison), was 
 a daughter of Alexander Christison, who was 
 a farmer in the same county. 
 
 William Duthie after his parents’ death 
 was cast upon a cold world, and early learned 
 to make his own way among strangers. He 
 had but little opportunity for schooling, though 
 the love for learning did credit to his parent- 
 age. At fifteen he had saved enough to give 
 
 himself half a year’s attendance at a district 
 school, and it may be imagined with what zeal 
 the orphan lad applied himself to his studies. 
 T hen he resumed his work among the neigh- 
 boring farmers, and at nineteen went to the 
 city of Edinburgh. There he spent six years 
 at various occupations, the principal one being 
 a protracted service on the police force of the 
 city. In October, 1856, Mr. Duthie came to 
 this country, and settled in Wisconsin. He 
 was two months in Madison, and then engaged 
 with a Rock county farmer to help him at 
 monthly wages. After spending several years 
 at farm labor he rented land for several years. 
 In 1863 Mr. Duthie had become sufficiently 
 prosperous to warrant his purchase of a farm. 
 He bought that year a quarter section near his 
 present residence, and proved so successful in 
 its cultivation that he soon bought more, and 
 bought again until he had acquired 665 acres 
 in the town of Bradford. 
 
 Mr. Duthie and Miss Mary Robinson were 
 married in 1858. She was the daughter of 
 Peter and Elizabeth (Lamb) Robinson, of 
 Stirlingshire, Scotland, farming people, who 
 came to this country as early as 1850. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Duthie are the parents of six chil- 
 dren : William C., Elizabeth, James R., Annie 
 
 M., Margaret J. and Edward. William C. 
 married Miss Nellie Eldridge, daughter of 
 George Eldridge, of Clinton, and the)^ have 
 one son, William Edward. James R. married 
 Miss Belle Lyttle, a daughter of John Lyttle, 
 of Janesville, Wis. Annie M. married John 
 Casper, of Waterford, Wis., and is the mother 
 of three children, Mary, Jud and Burr. Mar- 
 garet J. married Charles Boynton, and lives at 
 Emerald Grove, Wis. ; they have one daugh- 
 ter, Katharine. 
 
 Mr. Duthie is independent both in politics 
 and in religion. He has been a supervisor for 
 seven years, and is highly respected by all who 
 know him as an honorable and capable man. 
 
 E. RIEGE, a retired business man of 
 Platteville, Grant county, was born in Han- 
 over, Germany. Jan. 14, 1837, a son of Joachim 
 and Helena Riege, who were natives of Ger- 
 many, and died there when the subject of this 
 biography was a boy. Joachim Riege, the 
 father, was a soldier under Blucher in the Ger- 
 man army, and took part against Napoleon at 
 the battle of Waterloo, but lost his health and 
 died comparatively young. 
 
302 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In the spring of 1856 Mr. Riege, of this 
 sketch, landed in New York City, well pre- 
 pared as a young business man, and for about 
 a year was employed in a store as clerk ; he 
 then formed a partnership with his employer, 
 a Mr. Hinners, in general merchandising, the 
 co-partnership lasting about three years. In 
 i860 Mr. Riege came to Wisconsin, and in 
 1862 entered into mercantile trade in Platte- 
 ville, was prosperous, and in 1885 was able to 
 retire on a competency. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Riege married Miss Katie 
 Doscher, the amiable daughter of Nicholas and 
 Annie Doscher, then prominent in Platteville, 
 who were natives of Hanover, Germany. Mr. 
 Doscher came here in 1851, and here he still 
 resides, at the age of eighty-two years ; he lost 
 his wife in 1874. They had two children: 
 Katie, Mrs. Riege; and Henry C., quite a 
 prominent citizen of Platteville. To the mar- 
 riage of Mr. and Mrs. Riege eleven children 
 have been born: C. H., who for the last ten 
 
 years has been engaged in the book, stationery 
 and fine art business in Fresno, Cal., is a mem- 
 ber of the Masonic order, and is a scholarly 
 young business man. Lillian, the eldest daugh- 
 ter, born in i86g, was graduated from the State 
 Normal School at Platteville, where she re- 
 ceived a fine German classical education; was 
 for five years a teacher of languages in the pub- 
 lic schools of Wisconsin, and is now the wife 
 of Judge R. B. McCoy, of the Monroe county 
 court at Sparta ; they have four sons, Mal- 
 comb, Bruce E., Robert R. and Harold 
 Doscher. Henrietta, born in 1873, a young 
 lady of scholarly attainments, is at present a 
 member of the home circle; she also graduated 
 from the State Normal, taught two years, and 
 later was graduated from the St. Louis (Mo.) 
 Training School for Nurses. Adolph, born in 
 1880, was educated at the Normal School, and 
 graduated from the business college of Platte- 
 ville. Clarence L., born in 1883, was advanced 
 in the languages and music at the State Nor- 
 mal, and is now in the Conservatory of Music 
 at Chicago. Benjamin, born in 1886, is also 
 a student at the State Normal. Nellie E., born 
 in 1888, attends the Platteville high school. 
 Four children of the family died in childhood. 
 
 Mr. Riege and his wife and children are 
 members of the German Presbyterian Church, 
 in which they are foremost in the work of the 
 congregation, and of which Mr. Riege is a 
 trustee and a strong financial supporter. In 
 
 politics he is a stanch Republican, and for six 
 years has filled the office of town councilman. 
 
 Although Mr. Riege came to America a 
 poor young man, he came, as has been stated, 
 well prepared educationally for the transaction 
 of mercantile business. He was saving in his 
 early days, had a keen understanding of mon- 
 etary affairs, was shrewd and judicious in the 
 investment of his surplus funds, and, withal, 
 rigidly honest and strictly attentive to his 
 duties as an employe. As a merchant he was 
 obliging and urbane, and seldom lost a patron 
 after he had an opportunity of once dealing 
 with him. The result is that he now owns a 
 large amount of real estate in the city of Platte- 
 ville, including several brick business blocks 
 on the main streets, and has been a stockholder 
 and director in the First National Bank since 
 its organization, and also one of the directors 
 of the Electric Light Co. of Platteville. 
 
 In 1898 Mr. and Mrs. Riege relieved the 
 monotony of their retired life by visiting their 
 son at Fresno, Cal., and there spent the win- 
 ter, taking in many of the beautiful scenes and 
 natural wonders of the Golden State, but were 
 not sorry to return to the city where so many 
 of their years had been spent, and which Mr. 
 Riege had aided so greatly in developing, here 
 to pass their declining days in the peace and 
 comfort so well earned in their days of activ- 
 ity and vigor. 
 
 SAMUEL C. RANSOM. Wisconsin had 
 many brave sons who valiantly fought for the 
 preservation of the Union during the trying 
 days of the Civil war, and among the number 
 was this gentleman, who was a member of the 
 famous 20th Regiment. He is a resident of 
 Mt. Ida township, Grant county, and is identi- 
 fied with its agricultural interests. 
 
 Mr. Ransom was born in Chautauqua 
 county, N. Y., Feb. 2, 1830, a son of Elisha 
 and Hannah (Camp) Ransom, natives of New 
 York and Connecticut, respectively. The 
 mother died in Chautauqua county in January, 
 1835 ; the father survived her many years, and 
 spent his last days in Grant county, Wis., where 
 his death occurred in August, 1872. Samuel 
 C. was their only son, and they had •five daugh- 
 ters. 
 
 Samuel C. Ransom spent his boyhood and 
 youth in the county of his nativity, early be- 
 coming familiar with every department of farm 
 work, and for several years before coming 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 303 
 
 West was engaged in lumbering. The year 
 1852 witnessed his arrival in Wisconsin, and, 
 after spending four years in Sauk county, he 
 came to Grant county, in December, 1856, lo- 
 cating in what is now Mt. Ida township, of 
 which he has since been a resident, with the 
 exception of two years passed in Nebraska. 
 
 In 1856 Mr. Ransom married Miss Eliza- 
 beth Ambler, a 'native of Ne-w Jersey, who 
 came to Sauk county with her parents in 1851. 
 They have six children, four sons and two 
 daughters, as follows: Melinda, wife of Jo- 
 
 seph Du Charme ; Frank C. ; Sidney E. ; Edgar ; 
 Carrie, Mrs. Jacobs; and John J. They have 
 also lost three children by death : Edith, Mrs. 
 
 Marshall ; Lettie, Mrs. Lowe ; and Chauncey 
 Henry, who died in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Ransom was successfully engaged in 
 farming when the Civil war broke out, but he 
 laid aside all personal interests to enter the 
 service of his country, enlisting Aug. 12, 1862, 
 in Company C, 20th Wis. V. I., the company 
 being under command of Capt. McDermott, 
 who fell at the battle of Prairie Grove, and was 
 succeeded by Capt. Charles C. Stevens. Mr. 
 Ransom took part in the battle of Prairie 
 Grove, the siege of Vicksburg, and the engage- 
 ments at Yazoo City, Atchafalaya, Fort Mor- 
 gan, Franklin Creek and Spanish Fort, re- 
 maining with his regiment until mustered out, 
 at Galveston, Texas, July 14, 1865. He re- 
 ceived his discharge at Madison, this State. 
 
 On his return home Mr. Ransom resumed 
 farming, which be has followed as a business 
 when able to carry on arduous labor, his health 
 having been greatly impaired by his army serv- 
 ice. He has a pleasant home in Alt. Ida town- 
 ship, where he and his wife reside. He was a 
 faithful soldier for the Union, and is now an 
 honored member of Sam Monteith Post, G. A. 
 R. Religiously he and his wife are both 
 worthy and consistent members of the Bap- 
 tist Church. 
 
 JAMES HUGHES is one of the prominent 
 citizens of Glen Haven township. Grant coun- 
 ty, and a veteran of the war of the Rebellion, 
 in which he served in defense of the Union, 
 proving his bravery beyond all dispute. 
 
 Mr. Hughes was born in Ireland April 8, 
 1828, son of Hugh and Agnes (Sey) Hughes, 
 both born in Ireland, and of Welsh descent. 
 Both Hugh Hughes and his wife lived and died 
 in Ireland, our subject being the only one of the 
 
 family to come to America, which he did in 
 the year 1853, locating in Pennsylvania, where 
 he resided for three years. In 1856 James 
 Hughes removed to Cassville, Grant Co., Wis. 
 In January, 1858, he moved to Beetown and 
 commenced mining. In 1865 he bought some 
 land in the woods in Glen Haven, on to which 
 he moved the same year, opening up and im- 
 proving a fine farm of over 160 acres. 
 
 In 1861, fired with patriotism, our subject 
 enlisted in Company C, 2d Wis. V. I., for three 
 years or during the war, and was mustered in 
 at Madison, Wis., and consigned to the Army 
 of the Potomac, participating in the first bat- 
 tle of Bull Run and the engagement at Gaines- 
 ville. At the latter place our subject was 
 wounded in the arm and taken prisoner, being 
 exchanged eight days later, and was confined 
 in hospital at Washington, D. C., for three 
 months. From there Mr. Hughes was taken 
 to a hospital at Philadelphia, whence he was 
 honorably discharged Jan. 29, 1865, returning 
 to Beetown. Several months later he re-en- 
 listed, in the 2d Cavalry, and went to Prairie 
 du Chien, Wis., but was not accepted. 
 
 In December, 1866, our subject was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary M. Showalter, a native of 
 Pennsylvania, and one child was born to this 
 union, Myrtle, who is now attending college 
 at Stevens Point, Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Hughes is a member of the G. A. R. 
 at Bloomington. In politics he is an ardent 
 Republican, and he is one of the prominent and 
 respected men of Grant county. The success 
 that has attended his efforts is the just reward 
 of his years of labor, and he can look back with 
 satisfaction upon an honorable and well-spent 
 life. 
 
 CHARLES HENRY MENZIE. If the 
 locomotive engineers of the country are a 
 picked body of men, this gentleman is a fine 
 representative of the craft. Though over sixty 
 years of age he is still alert and vigorous, and 
 no steadier grasp than his is laid upon the 
 throttle along the entire line of the Milwaukee 
 road. 
 
 Mr. Menzie was born in Hobart, Delaware 
 Co., N. Y., June 26. 1837, and is a son of Rob- 
 ert R. and Rebecca Ann (Thorpe) Menzie, 
 whose sketch appears elsewhere. They came to 
 Walworth county. Wis., in June, 1850, and 
 made their home in this State as long as they 
 lived. 
 
3°4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Charles H. Menzie was only thirteen years 
 of age when he accompanied his parents to 
 Wisconsin on their removal from New York. 
 He grew to manhood in Delavan, and finished 
 his literary education in the public school of 
 that thriving town. When a boy he worked 
 at various occupations, and early had the am- 
 bition to get on in the world and be of some 
 account. His school days over, he was em- 
 ployed on the Racine & Mississippi railroad, 
 now the Racine & Southwestern division of the 
 Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad, 
 and was engaged in that capacity two years. 
 Then, the Civil war breaking out, Mr. Menzie 
 enlisted as a member of Company D, 22d Wis. 
 V. I., and was in the service two years, eight 
 months and thirteen days as a non-commis- 
 sioned officer. He was a loyal soldier, partici- 
 pated in some of the most noted struggles of 
 the Middle West, and was wounded in the left 
 leg at Overall Creek, Tenn., carrying the ball 
 in his hip to the present day. He was also in 
 the battles of Spring Hill, Brentwood Station, 
 and many other contests, which were called 
 skirmishes, but which in any lesser war would 
 have been called battles. His wound was 
 severe, and rendered his retirement from the 
 service necessary. Returning home, Mr. Men- 
 zie resumed his work on the railroad, this time 
 as a fireman, having previously been a brake- 
 man. He fired four years, and in 1869 was 
 promoted to engineer, which has been his vo- 
 cation to the present time. Since 1881 he has 
 been continuously in the passenger service of 
 the railroad, and is regarded as one of the most 
 trusty and capable men on the entire line. 
 
 Mr. Menzie and Miss Nancy Emeline 
 Beebe, a daughter of William L. and Sallie 
 (Tripp) Beebe, were married' July 17, 1867. 
 They have one adopted daughter, Alice, who is 
 now the wife of Rufus Baker, of Freeport, ill. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Menzie are members of the 
 Episcopal Church, and he is a Mason of high 
 standing, belonging to Excelsior Lodge, No. 
 97, A. F. & A. M. ; Freeport Chapter, No. 23, 
 R. A. M. ; Freeport Commandery, No. 7, K. 
 T. ; Freeport Consistory; Tripoli Temple, of 
 the Mystic Shrine, Milwaukee, Wis. ; and is 
 well versed in the secret lore of the order. He 
 is also a member of L. FI. D. Crane Post, of 
 the Grand Army of the Republic, at Beloit. 
 Politically Mr. Menzie is a Democrat. He 
 lives at No. 912 School street, where he built 
 a fine home in 1897. Mrs. Menzie is a genial 
 
 and accomplished lady, and is very prominent 
 in social circles. She belongs to the Order of 
 the Eastern Star, and was the first Worthy 
 Matron of Beloit Chapter, No. 77 ; is a member 
 of the Ladies’ Relief Corps ; the Daughters of 
 the American Revolution ; the Eminent Ladies ; 
 the Lee Parliamentary Club ; and other social 
 and intellectual movements, doing everything 
 possible to uplift and advance humanity in 
 general. 
 
 STEPHEN B. LEWIS is president of the 
 Knitting Co. which bears his family name, 
 and is one of Janesville’s honored citizens. 
 Both his father and grandfather were natives 
 of Connecticut, of English stock, although 
 he himself was born at Turtleville, Rock Co., 
 Wis., on July 12, 1848. Abel F. Lewis, his 
 grandfather, for many years commanded ves- 
 sels engaged in the coasting trade. It was 
 not his wish that his sons should follow this 
 calling, however, and as they began to grow 
 up he removed 1 inland, taking up his residence 
 at McGrawville, Cortland Co., N. Y. In 1842 
 he came to . Wisconsin, settling at Turtle 
 Creek, in Rock county, where he constructed 
 a dam and erected a saw and grist mill, from 
 which he furnished lumber and flour to all 
 the surrounding country. At that time Janes- 
 ville was in its infancy, and life was com- 
 paratively primitive in its simplicity, the farm- 
 ers hauling grain and' flour with ox-teamis. 
 Mr. Lewis was a man of considerable promi- 
 nence, and an active worker in the Baptist 
 Church, occasionally filling its pulpit in the 
 absence of the regular preacher. He died in 
 Rock county in 1864, from pneumonia, aged 
 about sixty-one years. He was the father of 
 three sons and one daughter. 
 
 Edward F. Lewis, son of Abel F., and the 
 father of Stephen B., was born in Connecti- 
 cut, before the migration of the family .to New 
 York, and was about eighteen years old when 
 he accompanied his father to Wisconsin. 
 About 1849 he removed to Columbia county, 
 Wis., before it had been surveyed, and there 
 opened a hotel, which he successfully con- 
 ducted for several years, until he w.as elected 
 sheriff. After filling that office for two years, 
 he opened a store. He was a man of sub- 
 stance and of influence, and during the 
 Civil war filled the post of deputy pro- 
 vost marshal. He was virtually the founder 
 of the Lewis Knitting Co., although he began 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 305 
 
 manufacturing in 1871 in a smaller way. 
 Prior to the above date there were no ma- 
 chines adapted to knitting double-ribbed under- 
 wear, it being the custom to sew together strips 
 made of as great width as the machines then 
 in use could produce. In that year he invented 
 the process (which now bears his name) of 
 knitting double-ribbed garments entire. He 
 first experimented with underwear for his own 
 use, and from this small beginning sprang the 
 present large business of the Lewis Knit- 
 ting Co., of Janesville. His first factory was 
 at Portage, and there he resided until his death, 
 in 1885, at the age of sixty-two. He was a 
 Baptist in faith, as was also his wife, Betsey 
 Barrett. She was one of nine daughters of 
 Stephen Barrett, a descendant of Col. Bar- 
 rett, commander at Concord Bridge, where 
 was fought the first battle of the Revolution- 
 ary war. Stephen Barrett was a woolen 
 manufacturer, and moved from Concord, 
 Mass., to New York, thence to Ohio, and in 
 1842 to Rock county, Wis., settling at Turtle 
 Creek. He was a deacon in the Baptist 
 Church, and a man held in high esteem by 
 his neighbors. He passed away at the home 
 of his daughter, Mrs. E. F. Lewis, in his 
 eighty-fourth year. His widow died about 
 two years later, at the home of Mr®. Lewis, 
 and was buried beside her husband at Portage, 
 Wis. To Edward F. Lewis and his wife were 
 born seven sons, of whom only three are liv- 
 ing, Stephen B., Franklin F., and William L. 
 Their first-born, Judson A., was a sergeant 
 in Company C, 23d Wis. V. I., during the 
 war of the Rebellion, and was killed by a 
 bullet through the forehead while charging 
 the enemy's works before Vicksburg. 
 
 Stephen B. Lewis was reared a farmer’s 
 boy, although his educational advantages were 
 of a far higher order than were usually en- 
 joyed by Wisconsin country lads of his day. 
 He was educated in the Normal school at 
 Whitewater, being graduated therefrom in 
 1874, and for ten years was principal of the 
 high school at Clinton. At the expiration of 
 that period lie abandoned the chair of a teach- 
 er for the more active life of a business man, 
 he and his brother Franklin F. associating 
 themselves with their father in the manu- 
 facture of knit goods. L T pon their father’s 
 death, in 1885, the brothers succeeded to the 
 control of the business, which they removed 
 from Portage to Janesville, in 1887, the name 
 20 
 
 of the firm having been changed from E. F. 
 Lewis & Sons to Lewis Brothers, and later 
 to the Lewis Knitting Co. Some eighty-six 
 hands are employed in the factory, and the 
 output of the concern finds a ready market in 
 all the principal cities of the country. Mr. 
 Lewis is a deacon in the Congregational 
 Church, and a liberal supporter of the cause 
 of evangelical religion. A man of keen per- 
 ception and sound business' sense, he is re- 
 spected for his high moral principle, and be- 
 loved for his many amiable traits of heart. 
 He is a Republican, but has always declined 
 office. 
 
 Our subject was married July 10, 1877, 
 to Elizabeth, a daughter of Samuel and Sarah 
 (White) Church, and they have one son, Rol- 
 lin C., born Aug. 29, 1884. 
 
 STEPHEN JOHNSON, whose history is 
 long and intimately associated with that of 
 Grant county, was born near Appleby, in the 
 County of Westmoreland, England, Feb. 14, 
 1821, a son of John and Lucy (Hall) Johnson, 
 both also natives of the County of Westmore- 
 land. In April, 1830, they sailed from Liver- 
 pool on a sailing-vessel bound for the city ot 
 New York, and were eight weeks on the At- 
 lantic. They came West from New York by 
 way of the canal, over the Buffalo route, to 
 Pittsburg, where Mr. Johnson was engaged in 
 farming for five years. In 1S35 he moved his 
 family to Madison county, Mo., where he died 
 soon after entering the State ; his .wife's death 
 occurred two days before his own. They left 
 a family of seven children, of whom (1) Will- 
 iam, the eldest, was born and reared in Eng- 
 land, where he married. He settled in Madi- 
 son county, where he died in 1S40. (2) 
 
 Thomas, born in England, grew up, married, 
 and died in Missouri. (3 ) John, born in Eng- 
 land, lived for a time in Platteville, Grant 
 county, and in 1864 went to California, where 
 he followed farming until his death, in 1895. 
 His family still live in that State. (4) Joseph,, 
 born in England, married and settled in Mis- 
 souri, where he was killed by Ouantrell's guer- 
 rillas during the Civil war. Children of his 
 are still living in that State. (5) Jane was 
 born in England, and remained in Pittsburg, 
 where she married Thomas Hodgeson. They 
 settled in Washington county, Penn., where 
 she died in 1890, leaving one daughter, Emma. 
 (6) Stephen is the youngest of the family. 
 
3°6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Stephen Johnson attended school in Eng- 
 land, in Pennsylvania, and also in Plattevdie 
 in 1842 and 1843, coming" to Grant county in 
 1837, and working" in the lead mines of this 
 region some twenty years. In 1850 he mar- 
 ried Miss Mary J. Neeley, of Platteville, daugh- 
 ter of John and Martha Neeley, who came \\ est 
 from Mercer county, Penn. Mrs. Johnson 
 was born in 1834. After their marriage Mr. 
 Johnson and his wife settled near Platteville, 
 and remained in that place until 1855, when 
 they moved to his farm in Millville. That 
 year he bought a second farm in Ellenboro, 
 which has been his home to the present time, 
 in 1864 he enlisted, in Company B, 43d Wis. 
 V. I., and was in the Army of the Cumberland. 
 They were stationed at Johnsonville, Tenn., 
 for a time, and engaged in the battle at that 
 place. 1 hey were part of the forces gathered 
 to oppose Hood at Nashville, and the entire 
 march to Clarksville, Tenn., was a constant 
 skirmish. The 43d was mustered out at 
 .Nashville June 24, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Johnson came back to Wisconsin, and 
 at once resumed with eagerness the rounds of 
 peaceful industry. He built a new house on 
 the farm, and put the place in fine order. Mrs. 
 Johnson died in November, 1868, leaving be- 
 hind precious memories of a good and true- 
 hearted woman. She was the mother of these 
 children: (1) John N., born in Platteville in 
 
 February, 1852, married in Kansas, where he 
 is living on a farm in Jewell county with his 
 four children, Lee, Stella, Elmer and Nettie. 
 (2) William B., born Oct. 24, 1853, moved to 
 Kansas while he was still a young man, mar- 
 ried there, and is living at the present time in 
 Red Cloud, Neb. He has two children by his 
 first wife, Walter and Frank. By his second 
 wife he has four children. (3) Nettie, born in 
 the present home in February, J858, is now the 
 wife of Alvin Hall, near Platteville, and lias 
 one son, Stephen O. 
 
 On July 4, 1869, Mr. Johnson married for 
 his second wife Miss Priscilla N. Hayward, of 
 Potosi, daughter of Elisha T. and Elizabeth 
 (Warfield) Hayward, who were born and 
 reared iii Boston. In 1834 they came West to 
 Dubuque, Iowa, and the next year moved to 
 Potosi, Wis., where Mrs. Johnson was born 
 in April, 1835. Her grandfather Warfield was 
 in the Black Hawk war. Mrs. Johnson was ed- 
 ucated in Grant county, where she was engaged 
 as a teacher. A lady of culture and refine- 
 
 ment, she shows the influence of her New Eng- 
 land ancestry. Her father, Elisha T. Hay- 
 ward, was a prominent man in Grant county, 
 and served as judge on the Bench one term. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have had three children, 
 all still under the parental roof : ( 1 ) George 
 
 Grant, born in 1870, was educated in the 
 home schools. (2) Virgil F. was born in 
 1876. (3) Maggie V., born in 1880, has had 
 
 a good education. 
 
 Mr. Johnson is a Republican, and has been 
 justice of the peace twelve years, also filling 
 other local positions. He and his wife are 
 members of the Primitive Church, where he 
 has been superintendent of the Sunday-school 
 a number of years. Mr. Johnson belongs to 
 Sherman Post, of Platteville, the local post of 
 the Grand Army of the Republic. He is a 
 genial and sympathetic character, and is will- 
 ing always to do what is right and honest, and 
 his kindly nature has endeared him to a host 
 of friends. 
 
 HORACE H. STREETER is one of the 
 heroes of the war of the Rebellion, and is 
 deserving of special- mention in the annals of 
 his county, State and Nation, for the active 
 part he has played as a patriotic citizen. He 
 is a native of the Empire State, born near 
 Sacket’s Harbor, in 1837, a son of Horace and 
 Rebecca Streeter. During his childhood the 
 family removed from the place of his birth to 
 Erie county. Penn., where the mother died; 
 the father’s death occurred previously, in the 
 State of New York. In their family were five 
 children, three of whom are living at the pres- 
 ent writing: Horace H., of this review; and 
 
 Mrs. Roxy Cushman and Norman S., both resi- 
 dents of Rewey, Iowa county, Wisconsin. 
 
 Plorace H. Streeter came to this State in 
 company with his sisters, Mrs. Laura Taple 
 (now deceased) and Mrs. Roxy Cushman, and 
 later they were joined by their brother, Norman 
 S. On his arrival in Wisconsin Horace Id. 
 was a lad of eighteen years, and in Iowa coun- 
 ty he grew to manhood. In 1857 he was united 
 in marriage to Martha E. _ Moore, who was 
 born in Iowa county in 1841, her father, Daniel 
 Moore, being a well-known pioneer of that 
 county, and a veteran of the famous Black 
 Hawk war of 1832. He was a native of New 
 York State, while his wife, America Parish, 
 was a native of Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Streeter are the parents of fifteen children, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 30 7 
 
 namely: Norman C., Nania R., Horace D.. 
 
 Laura E., Sherman S., Eugene F., Orville 
 O., Myrtle J., Carl B., Arthur G., Ivy M., 
 Ervin E. and Harry LI., still living; and 
 Martha E. and Harvey H., both deceased. 
 
 Prompted by a spirit of patriotism, Mr. 
 Streeter enlisted Aug. 13, 1862, in Company 
 E, 30th Wis., V. I., which regiment was con- 
 siderably divided during its service, and was 
 engaged very largely in detached duty. It 
 was mustered into the United States service 
 at Camp Randall, Madison, Wis., and, after 
 performing various duties, at different places, 
 was finally ordered to St. Louis, Mo. From 
 Benton Barracks, in that city, it went to Cairo, 
 111., where the command was long on duty. 
 Mr. Streeter was honorably discharged at 
 Louisville, Ky., July 29, 1865, for disability. 
 
 Since the war Mr. Streeter has been vari- 
 ously employed, and since 1871 has been a resi- 
 dent of Mt. Ida township. Grant county, where 
 he has a pleasant home. In his political rela- 
 tions he is a Republican, and is a warm advo- 
 cate of the main principles of that great po- 
 litical organization. Mr. Streeter possesses 
 much influence in the local councils of his party, 
 and has most creditably filled the office of town 
 clerk for seventeen years. Fraternally he is 
 an honored member of Sam Monteith Post, 
 No. 73, G. A. R., of Fennimore, and religious- 
 ly both he and his wife are worthy members 
 of the United Brethren Church. 
 
 ALVIN S. COOK is one of the old Union 
 veterans to whom the citizens of Grant county 
 delight to do honor, alike for his patriotic 
 services throughout the war of the Rebellion 
 and for his moral and intellectual worth as a 
 man. He was born in Erie county, N. Y., in 
 1838, one of the seven children of Orson and 
 Resina (Alby) Cook, who came from the Em- 
 pire State to the (then) Territory of Wiscon- 
 sin in 1845. Two years later the father died. 
 
 Alvin S. Cook grew up in Grant county, 
 which has been his home for fifty-five years, 
 and both for his own and his parents’ sake 
 he is held in high regard. It was there that 
 he married Miss Emily Jane Nixon, and there, 
 too, their nine children — four sons and five 
 daughters — were born, as follows: Emma, 
 
 July 14, 1864 (died April 14, 1871); Olive 
 M., June 22, 1867; George J., Nov. 1, 1869 
 (died Feb. 15, 1895) ; Claria F., July 26, 
 1872; Nettie M., Oct. 26, 1874; Elmer P., 
 
 June 3. 1878; Alta R., June 15, 1881; Henry 
 A., Aug. 26, 1883; Melvin T., May 11, 1885. 
 
 Our subject was scarcely more than twenty- 
 one years of age when the harbor of Charles- 
 ton, S. C., reverberated with the echoes of the 
 first shot fired upon the American flag bv 
 Rebel hands, and it stirred his patriotic soul 
 to its very depths. He and his brother Orson 
 enlisted in Company C, 2d Wisconsin Cavalry, 
 the brother losing his life in the service. After 
 a year spent at the front Alvin S. was sent 
 home on a ‘sick furlough," as there appeared 
 to be danger of his constitution giving way, 
 and not long' afterward he received an hon- 
 orable discharge. But, with restored health, 
 he once more resolved to do battle in his coun- 
 try s cause, and re-enlisted, this time in the 
 1st Wisconsin Cavalry. He remained in active 
 service until the close of the war, participating 
 in all the sieges, skirmishes and battles in which 
 that justly famed body of troops took part, 
 and aiding in the capture of Jefferson Davis 
 as that redoubtable chief conspirator was about 
 to flee. At Burnt Hickory, Ga., his horse was 
 shot under him, and, falling upon its rider, 
 inflicted upon him injuries of so serious a 
 nature that he has never fully recovered from 
 them. As years pass over the head of this 
 grizzled veteran of many a hard-fought field 
 he remembers his devotion to his country in 
 her hour of need with pleasure and pardonable 
 pride ; though as age brings more and more 
 forcibly to mind the privations and sufferings 
 which he underwent, his broken health and 
 weakened frame, lie heaves no sigh of regret, 
 and utters no word of complaint. Mr. Cook 
 is a Republican in political faith. His re- 
 ligious connection is with the Church of God. 
 
 JAMES W. CLEMENTS, a retired farm- 
 er of the town of Ellenboro, Grant county, 
 whose career through life has been singularly 
 clean and creditable in every way, was born 
 in Herkimer county, N. Y., April 24, 1831, 
 a son of Cornelius and Jenette (Haight)' 
 Clements, both natives of the same county. 
 After their marriage Cornelius Clements and 
 his wife settled in Chautauqua county, N. Y., 
 where he followed the trade of a carpenter, 
 and also engaged in farming, on his own land, 
 until his death, in 1868. He left his wife, who 
 survived him two years, and three children. 
 She came to Illinois, and passed her last days 
 with her daughter. (1) Sallie, her eldest 
 
3°8 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 daughter, was born and reared in New York, 
 where she married Morgan Wilbur. They 
 moved to McHenry county, 111 ., where Mr. 
 Wilbur engaged in farming, and there Mrs. 
 Wilbur died, leaving one son, Charles, now a 
 resident of Chicago. (2) Nancy, born in 
 Herkimer county, N. Y., died when a young 
 lady, at the old homestead in Chautauqua 
 county. (3) Emelyne died in childhood. (4) 
 James W. is the fourth member of this fam- 
 ily. (5) Edward, born in New York, mar- 
 ried Miss Sarah Hopkins, a lady of that State, 
 and they now reside in Michigan, where he 
 is engaged in agriculture. They have one 
 daughter, Emma. (6) Emily, twin of Ed- 
 ward, married Joseph Gibbs. 
 
 James W. Clements passed his childhood 
 at home, working on the farm, and attending 
 the district schools until he reached his ma- 
 turity. I11 February, 1853, he married, in New 
 York, Amanda Francis, who was born in 
 Genesee county, N. Y., in June, 1837, daugh- 
 ter of Amos and Isabelle Francis, old and 
 prominent residents of. that county. Amos 
 Francis was born in Connecticut, and his wife, 
 Isahelle (Doud), in Vermont. They lived for 
 a time in Genesee county, and then moved to 
 Chautauqua county, where Mr. Francis was 
 a farmer up to the time of his death in 
 1853. Mrs. Francis died in 1851. Mrs. 
 Clements is one of fourteen children,, and 
 was reared in New York. She and her 
 husband were living on a farm in Chau- 
 tauqua county at the outbreak of the Civil war. 
 Mr. Clements enlisted in Company E., 154th 
 N. Y. V. I., which was a part of the nth 
 Army Corps, Army of the Potomac. Gen. 
 Hooker was their first commander. Mr. Clem- 
 ents was in the battle of Chancellorsville, 
 where he was taken prisoner and held at Belle 
 Isle by the Rebels for fourteen days, being 
 then released on parole. This gave him an op- 
 portunity to make a brief visit to his family, 
 and when his parole was cancelled his regi- 
 ment was at Bridgeport, Tenn., where he 
 joined it, and served until the close of the war. 
 The regiment was sent West once, becoming a 
 part of the 20th Army Corps, and then joined 
 Sherman’s army and took part in the march 
 through the South up to Washington, where 
 it was in the grand review, and finally mus- 
 tered out. 
 
 During our subject’s service in the army 
 Mrs. Clements was left at home with three 
 
 small children, and Mr. Clements made haste 
 to rejoin his family. In New York he worked 
 at farming and carpentering until his removal 
 to Wisconsin. Here he purchased a farm 
 from Samuel Francis, in the town of Ellenboro, 
 and there made a permanent home. Substan- 
 tial improvements were made, and the place 
 became very neat and attractive. In 1897 Mr. 
 Clements erected a home, furnished with all 
 modern improvements possible in its location, 
 and finished in hardwood; it is one of the ele- 
 gant homes of the town. Mr. Clements owns 
 a quarter section of fine farming land in Ellen- 
 boro, and for the past few years, on account 
 of his health, has put his son Neil in active 
 charge of his farming interests. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Clements have been born 
 five children: (1) Ella j. was born in Chau- 
 
 tauqua county in 1855, where she obtained a 
 good education, and was a teacher in her native 
 State. She is now the wife of Albert Miner, 
 and resides at Chautauqua, where she is rear- 
 ing two daughters, May and Hattie. (2) 
 Hattie, born in New York in 1857, was well 
 educated, and taught in the public schools 
 prior to her marriage with Theodore Sage, 
 of Chautauqua. They have two daughters, 
 Olive (Mrs. Walter Dudley) and Amy. (3) 
 Alma, born in New York in 1859, married Abel 
 Fuller, and is now deceased. (4) Lida, born 
 in New York in 1866, was educated in her 
 native State and in Wisconsin, married Harry 
 Russell, and has four children, James C., Ross- 
 well, Eva and Ella. They reside in the town 
 of Harrison, Grant county. (5) Neil, born in 
 New York in 1877, grew up in Grant county, 
 remains at home, and has charge of the farm. 
 In 1899 he married Miss Minnie Baker, of the 
 town of Harrison, and they make their home 
 with his parents. 
 
 In politics Mr. Clements is a Republican, 
 but has never soug'ht an office. He and his 
 family attend the Methodist Church, and so- 
 cially he is a member of Sherman Post, No. 
 66, G. A. R., at Platteville. 
 
 ALLEN F. PHILLIPS lives in Janesville, 
 Rock county, and has a beautiful and com- 
 modious residence at No. 227 South Main 
 street. He has been a resident of the city 
 some eighteen years, and in that time has 
 commanded wide recognition as a capable and 
 honorable business man and an upright citizen, 
 whose word is as good as his bond. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 309 
 
 Mr. Phillips was born in Woodstock, Conn., 
 Aug. 18, 1835, and his parents, Addison and 
 Mary (Waldo) Phillips, were both natives 
 of that State. They had two children : Allen 
 F., our subject; and a daughter, Anna, who 
 died when about twelve years old. The father 
 in early life was a farmer, but in his later 
 years was a merchant in the city of New 
 York. In* 1837, in company with his wife 
 and son, he came West to Rockford, 111 ., and 
 there took up a half section of government land. 
 In March, 1839, he accidentally shot himself, 
 while going to the timber for a load of rails. 
 His wife lived till the fall of 1898, dying at 
 the advanced age of eighty-six. She was a 
 Congregationalist, and a lady of many marked 
 excellencies of mind and heart. Wheeler 
 Phillips, paternal grandfather of the subject 
 of this article, was born in Connecticut, and 
 came of English stock. He was a prominent 
 man in his day, being town clerk for many 
 years, and long time judge of probate. He 
 died on his farm in the village of West Wood- 
 stock, about seven miles from Gen. Putnam's 
 wolf den, at the age of eighty-three. He was 
 twice married, and had four sons, three by Ins 
 first and one by his second wife. Francis 
 Waldo, the father of Mary W aldo, was also a 
 native of Connecticut, and of English descent. 
 He was a farmer, and lived to celebrate his 
 seventy-second birthday. He was the father of 
 five children. 
 
 Allen F. Phillips was not Cjuite four years 
 old when his father’s death occurred. The 
 widow and her children were received into 
 the home of her husband's father, and there 
 Allen lived until the outbreak of the Civil 
 war called him to the front in 1861. He en- 
 listed in the fall of that year in Company A, 
 1st Connecticut Cavalry, and did gallant serv- 
 ice in the cause of the Union for three years, 
 his regiment being attached to the Army of 
 the Potomac. He led a stirring life, and 
 passed through many hot engagements, being 
 under the command of Schenck, Milroy, Sigel, 
 Pope, and Burnside. After the battle of Fal- 
 mouth he returned to Stafford Court House, 
 where the regiment lay encamped for a num- 
 ber of weeks, and was then ordered to report 
 to Gen. Schenck, at Baltimore. Mr. Phillips 
 was detailed for special duty in that city, and 
 was there when the battle of Antietam was 
 fought. With forty men he conducted five 
 thousand Rebel prisoners through the city to 
 
 Fort McHenry. Mr. Phillips at that time 
 was second lieutenant. A day or two later his 
 troops were ordered to Harper's Ferry, and 
 were the first to cross on the new pontoon 
 bridge, that they might help protect the Cap- 
 ital against the advance of Gen. Lee. Of the 
 forty-nine men he led across twenty-four were 
 afterward captured, among them Major 
 Charles Farnsworth, who never returned, but 
 died in Charleston, S. C., while a prisoner. 
 This was about July 5, and the regiment lay 
 at Harper’s Ferry until the following January 
 or February, mainly engaged in picket duty. 
 Our subject was in the battle of McDowell 
 under Gen. Milroy, and immediately afterward 
 joined Gen. Fremont in his campaign for the 
 expulsion of Gen. Jackson from the Shenan- 
 doah valley. In the second battle of Bull Run 
 he was under the command of Gen. Pope. He 
 was in many of the most important struggles 
 and bloodiest combats of the war, and to-day 
 he marvels at his escape unscathed. He bore a 
 soldier’s part in the battles of the Wilder- 
 . ness, Spottsylvania, Ashland, Kearneysville, 
 Cedar Creek, in front of Richmond, in the 
 Shenandoah Valley, and at Winchester, and 
 was in an almost continuous state of action 
 during all of his three years’ service. He en- 
 tered the army as a private, was promoted to 
 second lieutenant, and made a record of which 
 any man might well be proud. 
 
 After his discharge from the government 
 service Mr. Phillips went to New York City, 
 and engaged in the flour and feed business, 
 which he followed until 1872. That year he 
 sold out, and coming West located in Rock- 
 ford, 111., where he spent the next ten years. 
 I11 1882 he removed his business to Janesville, 
 in which city he has made his home since 
 that time. From the time he came West he 
 has bought and sold stock, and in the pursuit 
 of that calling he has made a host of friends. 
 
 Mr. Phillips was mairied to Miss Emma 
 Childs, a daughter of Elias and Nancy (Perrin) 
 Childs, Nov. 13, 1861. Mrs. Phillips is a lady 
 of character and intelligence much above the 
 ordinary, possessing those qualities of mind 
 and heart that command and retain warm 
 friendship, and has ably assisted her husband 
 in his life labors. She is the mother of two 
 children, Herbert A. and Myrtis A. Herbert 
 has charge of the sheep and lamb department 
 of the Hammond Packing Co., at Hammond, 
 Ind. ; Myrtis married John Soulman, and lives 
 
3io 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in Janesville, he being engaged in the wholesale 
 tobacco business ; they have three children, 
 Ralph, Ruth and Helen. Mrs. Phillips be- 
 longs to the Congregational Church, lie is a 
 Republican. 
 
 CHARLES WARING, one of the repre- 
 sentative citizens of the village of Livingston, 
 Grant county, is of foreign birth, but his duties 
 of citizenship have ever been performed with 
 a loyalty equal to that of any native son of 
 America, and when the nation was imperiled 
 by rebellion he went to the defense of the 
 Union, and protected the cause of his adopted 
 country on many a Southern battlefield. He 
 enlisted in December, 1864, in Company I, 
 47th Wis. V. I., and was mustered into the 
 United States service at Camp Randall, Madi- 
 son, on the 2 1 st of January, following. The 
 history of his regiment is too well known, , and 
 its honorable record too familiar to those 
 versed in the history of the war between the 
 States, to require special mention in this sketch. 
 Suffice it to say that Mr. Waring faithfully 
 discharged all the duties that devolved upon 
 him, and during all the time that he was in 
 the service lost but one day, and then from 
 illness, returning to his command the follow- 
 ing day, against the advice of the physician in 
 charge. After hostilities ceased he was hon- 
 orably discharged, Sept. 4, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Waring was born in Derbyshire, Eng- 
 land, July 24, 1835, a son of John and Alice 
 (Andrew) Waring, natives of the same coun- 
 try, the former born Aug. 2, 1812, the latter 
 Oct. 13, 1815. They never came to America, 
 but spent their entire lives in England, where 
 the mother passed away Dec. 17, 1857. The 
 father married again, and survived until 1896, 
 dying at the age of eighty-five years. No 
 children were born of the second union. There 
 were five by the first, four sons and one daugh- 
 ter, but only Charles and John are now living, 
 the latter a resident of Manchester, England. 
 It is interesting to note in this connection that 
 the above dates were taken from an old family 
 Bible sent to Mr. Waring by his father a few 
 years before the latter’s death. The title page 
 of this ancient book states that it was instituted 
 in London in 1804. 
 
 At the age of fourteen years Charles War- 
 ing came to the United States, with an uncle 
 by marriage, and it may be stated here that 
 he worked a year to pay his passage, his par- 
 
 ents being too poor to send him, and landed 
 in America without a cent in his pocket. Ar- 
 riving in Grant county, Wis., Nov. 16, 1850, 
 he has since made his home in Clifton town- 
 ship, and has been absent from the township 
 no length of time but twice — the time spent in 
 the army and a sojourn of about six months 
 in the Rocky Mountains. Yielding to a desire 
 to once more see his aged father and visit 
 the scenes of his early boyhood, Mr. Waring 
 visited the land of his birth in 1895, and about 
 a year later his father passed away. In his 
 earlier days in Grant county he was engaged 
 in mining, later in farming, and for twelve 
 years conducted a hotel which he owned in 
 Livingston. 
 
 On Dec. 16, 1857, Mr. Waring was united 
 in marriage with Miss Harriet L. Hudson, who 
 was born Jan. 2, 1833, in Delaware county, 
 Ohio, and came to Platteville from that State 
 in 1844. They have a family of five children, 
 one son and four daughters, whose names and 
 dates of birth are as follows: Aiice A., Jan. 
 
 4, 1859; Jennie, Oct. 15, 1863; Harriet E., 
 June 28, 1866; Martha M., March 2, 1871; 
 and Charles W., Feb. 24, 1878. One daughter, 
 Henrietta, born March 3, 1876, died Feb. 7, 
 1877. 
 
 Notwithstanding the fact that Mr. War- 
 ing’s health was permanently impaired by his 
 army service, he has led an industrious and 
 active life, and has accumulated a competence 
 for his declining years. He has ever been held 
 in high esteem as a man of honesty and integ,- 
 rity. Although born on English soil, he is 
 truly an American citizen, and the flag whose 
 honor he helped to sustain he esteems above all 
 others. In his political views he is a Republi- 
 can, had the honor of casting his first vote 
 for the first Republican Presidential candidate, 
 John C. Fremont, in 1856, and has supported 
 every Republican nominee down to McKinley. 
 He voted twice, in i860 and 1864, for the 
 martyr President, Abraham Lincoln, whose 
 memory is sacred to every true American cit- 
 izen. Mr. Waring served on the board of 
 supervisors in the town of Clifton for seven 
 years. 
 
 SAMUEL GRIFFITH, formerly foreman 
 of the Rand & Laflin Powder Works at Platte- 
 ville, is now living on a farm in the town of 
 Harrison, Grant county, and is spending the last 
 measure of his life in the enjoyment of leisure 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3i i 
 
 and comfort that he has richly earned by years 
 of honest industry and unbending integrity. 
 
 Mr. Griffith was born in Ebensburg, Cam- 
 bria Co., Penn., in October, 1838, son of 
 Griffith and Hannah (Rese) Griffith, natives 
 of Wales and Cambria county, Penn., re- 
 spectively. His parents moved to Platteville, 
 Wis., in the fall of 1840, and spent their last 
 days in this State, the mother dying in 1846, 
 and the father in 1850. They left a family, of 
 five young children, of whom the subject of 
 this sketch was the eldest. The eldest daugh- 
 ter, Harriet, born in Platteville, after her fa- 
 ther's death returned to Pennsylvania, grew 
 to womanhood, and married John Tibbit; they 
 are still living in Cambria county, that State. 
 George, born in Platteville in 1843, died when 
 ten years old. Newton, born in 1845, was a 
 soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, 
 and was killed at the battle of the Wilderness. 
 David, born in 1846, was drowned at Platte- 
 ville in boyhood. 
 
 Samuel Griffith obtained his early educa- 
 tion in the schools of Platteville and at Ebens- 
 burg, whither he was sent after his father's 
 death. He remained in Pennsylvania until 
 1859, when he came back to Wisconsin, and 
 secured employment in the powder works of 
 Rand & Laflin, of which in after years he be- 
 came foreman, serving in that capacity from 
 1872 to 1894. The young powder-maker en- 
 listed in August, 1862, as a member of Com- 
 pany E, 25th A is. V. I. He was at the siege 
 of V icksburg, the battle of Chattanooga, and 
 on Sherman's march to the sea; was a partici- 
 pant in the fierce fighting around Atlanta, the 
 battle of Decatur, and in many other fierce and 
 bloody struggles. Pie survived the perils of 
 that mighty war, and returned home after its 
 close, to resume his position in the powder 
 works. 
 
 Mr. Griffith and Miss Mar garet Travis were 
 united in marriage in 1877. Mrs. Griffith is a 
 member of one of the first pioneer families 
 of Grant county, being a daughter of Abram 
 and Sarah (Cramier) Travis. Her father was 
 born in Pennsylvania in 1798, was a soldier 
 in the Black Plawk war, under Capt. Gentry 
 and Major Rountree. The mother was born in 
 1813: They were married in that State in 
 
 1835. and came to Wisconsin the following 
 year, by wagon, settling in the town of Harri- 
 son, Grant county, where he entered a large 
 tract of government land. He put up a large 
 
 hewed-log house, which was his home for ten 
 years, and is still standing, in a good state 
 of preservation. In 1846 he put up the house 
 which Mr. Griffith and his wife, Mr. Travis' 
 second daughter, now occupy. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Travis lived in this home as long as they were 
 spared. Mr. Travis was an Old-line Whig, 
 and the first election in the town of Harri- 
 son was held in his own log house. He was 
 widely known all over this country, where he 
 was largely engaged in mining. He died in 
 1853, and she survived until 1894. reaching 
 the venerable age of eighty-one years. Mrs. 
 Travis married for her second husband John 
 Petty, by whom she had one son. Moses, now 
 a resident of Platteville. John Petty is still 
 living, hale and hearty for one of his years, 
 and makes his home on the old farm. Seven of 
 the children born to Abram and Sarah Travis 
 attained mature life, and came to occupy an 
 honorable position in the world. Buckless C., 
 his oldest child, was born on the present home 
 in 1837, and was the first white child born 
 between the Plattes; he married Miss Mary 
 Vannetta, and they live in Grand Island, Neb., 
 and have seven children living. George \\ ., 
 born in the town of Harrison. Grant county, 
 Aug. 24, 1839, is now a resident of Idaho. 
 John H., born in Grant county in 1841, is a 
 merchant of Loup City, Neb. : he is married, 
 and has a family of eight children, James, 
 Abraham, David, Anna, Nelly, Etta, Mollie, 
 and Jessie. Mahala, born in 1843. is the wife 
 of David C. Philips, of Dubuque, Iowa, and 
 has one daughter, Maggie, now Mrs. John 
 Kruger, of Chicago. Margaret, the wife of 
 Samuel Griffith, was born ar their present home 
 June 28, 1847, obtained her education in the 
 public schools, and here has largely spent her 
 life. Anthony, born in 1849, now resides in 
 Loup City, Neb., where he is a merchant. 
 Abram, born in 1852, migrated to the far West 
 in his early manhood, and settled inNevada, 
 where he married Miss Julia Edwards; after 
 their marriage the young couple moved on to 
 California, where they lived many years, and 
 where Mr. Travis died in 1895, leaving his 
 wife and one son, John. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Griffith bought the 
 old Travis homestead, where he has made his 
 home to the present time. They have no chil- 
 dren, but Mrs. Griffith has brought up the 
 son of her brother, Robert, who is now a young 
 man and is making his home with them. Mr 
 
312 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Griffith has always been identified with the 
 Republican party, and was much interested in 
 politics in his early life, when he worked as 
 a printer in the office of the Cambria (Penn.) 
 Times. He is a member of Sherman Post, 
 No. 66, Grand Army of the Republic, at Platte- 
 ville, and takes much interest in its associa- 
 tions. For thirty years he has been a mem- 
 ber of the I. O. O. F., and belongs to Platte- 
 ville Lodge, No. 6. Mr. Griffith is one of the 
 solid men of the county and has many warm 
 friends. Mrs. Griffith is a woman of fine 
 character and much housewifely ability, an 
 efficient worker in all benevolent causes and 
 societies, and her home is always open to the 
 needy and friendless. She is a member of 
 the Rachel Rebekahs and the Order of the 
 Eastern Star. 
 
 FRANKLIN F. LEWIS enjoys an en- 
 viable reputation, as well as a wide popularity, 
 through Rock and Columbia counties, not only 
 because of his business success, but also on 
 account of his recognized probity, and his 
 earnest Christian character. He is one of 
 Janesville's public-spirited citizens, conserv- 
 ative while progressive, a friend of the poor, 
 and a liberal supporter of the cause of re- 
 ligion, for whose advancement he is an earnest 
 worker. 
 
 A somewhat detailed history of his fam- 
 ily, for three generations, is given in the bio- 
 graphical sketch of his brother, Stephen B. 
 Lewis, to which the reader is referred for 
 fuller information in reference thereto. Frank- 
 lin L. Lewis was born at what is now Lewis- 
 ton, but was then Lort Winnebago, in Co- 
 lumbia county, Wis., Sept. 28, 1S50. During 
 his childhood the Winnebago Indian villages 
 surrounded the fort, the curling smoke of their 
 wigwams mingling with that of the sunrise 
 and sunset guns, while the tepees of these 
 sons of nature swung low from the forest 
 trees. His boyhood was passed upon his fa- 
 ther’s farm, and his. early education was ob- 
 tained at the high school in Portage and at 
 the State Normal School at Whitewater. For 
 several years he taught at Waupun, for two 
 years being superintendent of the “west ward 
 schools" in that city. Returning to White- 
 water, he was principal of the “East Side 
 School” for twelve months, and afterward 
 general superintendent of the city schools. 
 His innate physical activity, however, demand- | 
 
 ed an outlet, and he laid down the chalk, the 
 pencil and the birch to embark in commercial 
 life. His first experience in this line was at 
 Red Wing, Minn., where he remained two 
 years. Next he became a traveling salesman 
 for the Whitewater Manufacturing Co., sell- 
 ing furniture and undertakers’ supplies. His 
 keen intelligence, common sense, good judg- 
 ment and tactful address insured him success, 
 and it was not long before he was tendered 
 a better position by the Cleveland Burial Case 
 Co., his territory covering Iowa, Missouri, 
 Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, the (then) 
 Territory of Dakota and northern Illinois. In 
 1883, however, lie severed his connection with 
 that concern, to embark in the manufacture 
 of knit goods, in association with his father 
 and brother, at Portage, Wis. A succinct his- 
 tory of the enterprise may be found in the 
 sketch of Stephen B. Lewis. # Incorporation, 
 under the name of the Lewis Knitting Co., 
 was effected in 1889, Franklin F. Lewis be- 
 coming secretary and treasurer, which re- 
 sponsible position in the concern he yet holds. 
 In addition to rare capabilities as a man of 
 affairs, he possesses native genius as a mechani- 
 cian and inventor. The company avails it- 
 self of not less than four of his patents for 
 improvements in machinery and garments, 
 and in addition to the manufacture of under- 
 wear he successfully operates a plant for the 
 manufacture of automatic knitting machines 
 (of the same pattern used in the company’s 
 factory), devised and patented by our sub- 
 ject. 
 
 Both Mr. Lewis and his wife are active 
 members of the Congregational Church, while 
 he has been both a pioneer and a leader in 
 Christian work. For eleven years he has been 
 secretary of the First Congregational Church 
 and society. He is also a member of the board 
 of directors of the Young Men’s Christian 
 Association of Janesville, was chief organizer 
 of the Young Men’s Christian Association 
 concert band, and for six years has been its 
 president. The organization has succeeded 
 beyond his fondest hopes, having successfully 
 played, under the auspices, of the Association, 
 at Baraboo, Madison, Delavan, Beloit, Green 
 Bay, Wis., and at Grand Rapids, Mich., under 
 the auspices of the International Association. 
 
 Politically Mr. Lewis is a Republican. Of 
 kindly disposition and generous impulses, the 
 many cares which weigh heavily upon his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3i3 
 
 shoulders leave him but little time to devote 
 to personal recreation and social pleasures. 
 For twenty-two years he has been a member 
 of the A. O. U. W., but he belongs to no 
 other fraternal organization. He was married 
 Nov. 29, 1877, to Victorine, a daughter of 
 Anson and Hannah (Thorpe) Rockwell. The 
 issue of the marriage has been one son, Ed- 
 ward Rockwell, who died in infancy, and two 
 daughters, Mabel Barrett and Frances Eleanor, 
 the elder born at Whitewater, and the younger 
 at Janesville. 
 
 JOHN STOCKMAN, a well-known agri- 
 culturist, whose home farm is in Section 6, 
 Harmony township, has been a resident of 
 Rock county for many years, and his career 
 is a noble illustration of the possibilities of 
 country life for the industrious and saving,' 
 who are willing to work hard, and wait patient- 
 ly for the legitimate results of their toil and 
 care. 
 
 Air. Stockman was born in the North of 
 Ireland, in County Antrim, Sept. 2, 1827, and 
 is a son of James and Rebecca (White) Stock- 
 man, both natives of Ireland. They were the 
 parents of three daughters and four sons, and 
 three of their children are now living: John; 
 Jane, widow of Rev. Andrew Walker, of 
 Milton, Wis. ; and Hugh H., of Milton town- 
 ship, Rock county. The father followed the 
 trade of stone-mason, when he was a young- 
 man. He crossed the ocean in 1831, and fol- 
 lowed his trade in Philadelphia some two or 
 three years, from that city- removing to Sara- 
 toga, N. Y., where he combined farming and 
 stone-cutting. In 1843 h e came to Wisconsin, 
 bought a quarter section of farm land in Milton 
 township, Rock county, and devoted his life to 
 its improvement. As a farmer be was highly 
 successful, holding what he bought and mak- 
 ing large additions to it until, at one time, he 
 owned nearly^ if not quite a section of land. 
 He died there in 1873, at the age of seventy- 
 seven. His wife survived him some five or 
 six years, and was about the same age when 
 she died. Both were Presbyterians. 
 
 Hugh Stockman, father of James, died in 
 Ireland, when he was about seventy years of 
 age. He was a fanner, was of Scottish de- 
 scent, and had a family of four sons and two 
 daughters. John White, the father of Re- 
 becca, was a native-born Irishman, though of 
 Scottish descent. He came to this country in 
 
 early life, lived in the State of New York for 
 some years, and moved into Canada, where he 
 spent the last y r ears of a life that lasted almost 
 a century. He had four sons and three daugh- 
 ters, and his youngest son was the father of 
 Gen. White, who served in Africa as an officer 
 of the English army operating against the 
 Boers in the late war. 
 
 John Stockman was about sixteen years 
 old when he came with his parents to Rock 
 county. He attended school in Philadelphia 
 and afterward in New York, and obtained a 
 good common-school education. He lived at 
 home until he was twenty-six, when he started 
 for himself on a farm of 130 acres, part of 
 which was a present from his father. He has 
 added eighty acres to it since, and now owns 
 a choice tract of land, consisting of 213 acres, 
 which has become under his capable tillage a 
 very valuable farm. He has lived in Wis- 
 consin since 1843, an( l has occupied his pres- 
 ent home since 1856. 
 
 Mr. Stockman and Miss Elizabeth Nichol- 
 son were married Dec. 14, 1853. She is a 
 daughter of William and Alary (Booth) 
 Nicholson. Mr. and Airs. Stockman are the 
 parents of eleven children, James William, 
 Robert Henry, Mary Jane, William James, 
 John B., Rebecca Alice, Sophia, Martha Jane, 
 Ellen Elizabeth, Matilda and Alary Estella. 
 Janies William died when three months old. 
 Robert Henry married Isabel Peck, lives in 
 Fulton township, and has two living children, 
 Chester and Blanche Pearl. Mary Jane died 
 when nine years old. William J. married Alma 
 F. Story, lives in Harmony township, and has 
 one child, Earl. John B. married Ella Ander- 
 son, of Mason City, Iowa, and now lives at 
 Eldora,_ Iowa, where he is teaching school ; 
 they have one child, Harold. Rebecca Alice is 
 the wife of Dr. Bennett, of Beloit, and is the 
 mother of two boys, George and Howard. 
 Sophia is deceased; she married Frank Gun- 
 nison, of Jefferson county. Martha Jane mar- 
 ried Henry C. Yale, and is the mother of four 
 children, Nellie Estella, Eugene Henry and 
 Emmett (twins), and Albert. Ellen Elizabeth 
 died at the age of twenty-one. Alatilda married 
 Harry Smith, and had one child, David Earl ; 
 she died Afarch 13, 1900. Mary Estella died 
 when a mere child of two years and eight 
 months. Mr. and Airs. Stockman are mem- 
 bers of the Presbyterian Church, of which he 
 was an elder for thirty years. He is a member 
 
314 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of Milton Lodge, No. 65, I. O. O. F., and of 
 Du Lac Lodge, No. 72, Patrons of Husbandry. 
 He is a Prohibitionist, and has held various 
 local positions of trust and honor, was super- 
 visor three years, and chairman of the board 
 one year ; was town clerk two years ; assessor 
 four years ; has been justice of the peace twenty 
 years ; and is secretary of the mutual fire in- 
 surance company that covers the four town- 
 ships of Harmony, Milton, Fulton and Janes- 
 ville, which position he has held since 1872. 
 He has also held a commission as notary public 
 for many years. From 1856 to 1885 h e was a 
 Republican, but in the latter year he voted 
 with the Prohibitionists, and has since acted 
 with that party. 
 
 Mrs. Stockman’s parents were natives of 
 England. They had five children, of whom she 
 was the eldest child, and the only one now 
 living. Her mother was first married to Robert 
 Meggott, and bore him two sons and two 
 daughters, two of whom are now living: Mary, 
 widow of John Lowis, now living at Escanaba, 
 Mich. ; and William Meggott, of Janesville. 
 
 CHARLES R. SENDELBACPI, of Fen- 
 nirnore, Grant county, was one of the members 
 of the gallant 20th Wis. V. I., and made a rec- 
 ord as a soldier that any man might be proud 
 of. He was born in Saxony, Germany, March 
 15, 1828, son of David Sendelbach, who died 
 when he was eight years old. His mother, 
 Margaret Sendelbach, died when he was eight- 
 een years old. They were the parents of seven 
 children, Charles being the youngest son. Pie 
 learned the trade of cabinet-making, and in 
 1849 came to this country with his youngest 
 sister, Louisa. They landed at Baltimore, and 
 went from there to Pittsburg, where he worked 
 at his trade for a few months, also for a time 
 at St. Louis. In 1850 he made his first appear- 
 ance in Wisconsin, and soon after his arrival 
 pre-empted forty acres in the town of Liberty, 
 Grant county. 
 
 Charles R. Sendelbach and Miss Sarah A. 
 Connolly were united in marriage Jan. 31, 
 1853. She was born April 21, 1830, daughter 
 of Henry and Sarah Connolly, who came from 
 Kentucky, and settled 'in the town of Alt. Ida. 
 Grant Co., Wis., in 1844, spending their last 
 years in that town. He died in 1859, and she 
 in 1S73. They were the parents of twelve 
 children, only three of whom are living: Louis, 
 who was born in 1828; Mrs. Sendelbach; and 
 
 her youngest brother, James, who has his home 
 in Nebraska. In the fall of 1S53 Mr. Sendel- 
 bach bought a portion of his father’s farm in 
 Mt. Ida, and at a later period purchased what 
 was left of the homestead, he and his wife 
 living on this farm until 1895, when they 
 moved to Fennimore. 
 
 Mr. Sendelbach enlisted, Aug. 13, 1862, 
 in Company I, 20th Wis. V. I., and was with 
 his regiment until the battle of Prairie Grove, 
 where that gallant soldier, Capt. McDermott, 
 'was killed. A few moments after he fell Mr. 
 Sendelbach was badly wounded, being struck 
 three times by bullets in his legs, and was taken 
 to the hospital at Fayetteville, Ark. This 
 battle w f as fought Dec. 7, 1862, and Mr. Sen- 
 delbach was kept in the hospital and the con- 
 valescent camp until the following spring, 
 when he returned to his regiment, at that time 
 stationed about twelve miles south of Rolla, 
 Mo. He continued with the command to the 
 end of the war, and was discharged at Gal- 
 veston, Texas, in 1865. 
 
 Mr. Sendelbach came home and went back 
 to work, and has been greatly prospered. He 
 was a brave soldier of the Union, and is a 
 worthy member of the community. He belongs 
 to the Sam Monteith Post, Grand Army of the 
 Republic. Politically he is a Republican. He 
 was reared a Lutheran, and his wife is a Bap- 
 tist. They are the parents of nine children, 
 eight of whom are living: David, born Nov. 
 
 23, 3:853 J John L., June 21, 1855; Sarah M., 
 Alay 24. 1857; William IT., Aug. 12, 1859; 
 James, April 17, 1861; Fannie Ann, Feb. 3, 
 1863; Charles R., May 30, 1866; Dorothy 
 Jane, Feb. 28, 1869; and Mary E., Aug. 2, 
 1875 (died Jan. 23, 1894). 
 
 THOMAS SCOTT holds an honored place 
 among the retired farmers of the town of 
 Hazel Green, Grant county, where his long and 
 useful life wins respect as its simple and un- 
 pretending virtues carry their own lessons. 
 
 Mr. Scott was born in Cornwall, England, 
 Inly 17, 1831, a son of Thomas and Alary 
 Scott, both natives of England ; the latter died 
 when her son Thomas was a child. Our sub- 
 ject’s father was twice married, and Thomas 
 was the only child of the last marriage: John 
 and Frederick were the offspring of the first 
 union. John Scott died in England, and Fred- 
 erick came to America and West to Wiscon- 
 sin, where he lived some twenty years, then 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3i5 
 
 moving to Missouri, where he became a pros- 
 perous farmer. Thomas Scott, Sr., moved to 
 Canada, where lie died. 
 
 Thomas Scott obtained his early education 
 in the public schools of England, and in 1852 
 came to Hazel Green, Grant county, where he 
 was employed by the neighboring farmers for 
 about two years. He purchased a forty-acre 
 tract about this time, which he improved and 
 added to it adjoining land from time to time, 
 until he had a magnificent farm of 280 acres. 
 He put up good buildings, and now owns one 
 of the fine farms of southwestern Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Scott and Miss Ann Ralph were mar- 
 ried in 1859. Mrs. Scott was the daughter 
 of William Ralph, of Hazei Green, and was 
 living in Hazel Green at the time of her mar- 
 riage. To this union were born seven chil- 
 dren ( 1 ) Thomas is a grain buyer in Iowa. 
 (2) Abbie is the wife of Richard Scadden, of 
 Hazel Green. (3) John W. is single, and at 
 home. (4) Jessie is the wife of G. C. An- 
 derson, of Iowa, and they have one son, Lesley 
 Percival. (5) Elizabeth, born in Hazel Green, 
 married G. C. Anderson, and died leaving two 
 children, Lyle and Lancelot. The other mem- 
 bers of the Scott family died in childhood. The 
 mother died in 1869. In 1870 Thomas Scott 
 married Mrs. Cottingham, daughter of Jo- 
 seph and Winnifred Richards, both natives of 
 Cornwall, England, and pioneers in Grant 
 county. They came to this country in 1847, 
 and three days after their arrival Joseph Rich- 
 ards was drowned, while crossing the Platte 
 river, leaving his widow and four children to 
 struggle alone with pioneer hardships in a 
 strange country : ( 1 ) Lizzie married Leonard 
 
 Lowe, and is now dead. (2) Joseph died in 
 Humboldt county, Iowa. (3) Henry is in 
 Iowa. (4) Mrs. Scott was born in Cornwall, 
 England, in 1839. She bore three children to 
 her first husband, two of whom, Matthew Cot- 
 tingham and Isabel (now Mrs. Scott), live 
 in Colorado. To Mr. and Mrs. Scott have 
 been born four children : ( 1 ) H. Erwin, born in 
 Hazel Green in 1872, is a graduate of the 
 State Normal School at Platteville, and is now 
 cashier and teller of the Farmers Bank at Cuba 
 City. (2) Joseph O., born in 1874, married 
 Miss Charlotte Jeffreys, a resident of Hazel 
 Green, and a teacher of the public schools, 
 and they have one son. Hillis A. They now 
 live in the village of Hazel Green. (3) Mar- 
 garet, born in 1876, a young lady of many 
 
 charms and graces, is at home. (4) Sarah 
 Irene, born in 1878, is the wife of Edward 
 Scadden, and lives on a farm in Grant county, 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Scott is one of Grant county's earnest 
 Republicans, and in religion is associated with 
 the Methodist Church, of which his wife and 
 daughters are members. He was one of the 
 founders of Wesley Chapel forty years ago, 
 on the prairie in the town of Hazel Green, 
 where services are still held. Mr. Scott also 
 helped to build the first school building in the 
 town. In 1896 Mr. Scott purchased the Rich- 
 ard Ingraham property on Main street, in 
 Hazel Green, and thoroughly remodeled the 
 house, making it in every respect modern and 
 up-to-date. He and his wife enjoy the un- 
 stinted appreciation of their friends and neigh- 
 bors, and are regarded as honorable and re- 
 liable people, with kind hearts, and of generous 
 disposition. 
 
 GEORGE BLAKESLEY, deceased. 
 Among the citizens of Grant county who, early 
 in the war of the Union, responded promptly 
 to the President’s call for volunteers to defend 
 the old flag was George Blakesley, who en- 
 listed in October, 1861, in Company C, 2d Wis- 
 consin Cavalry, and died May 31, 1862, in the 
 hospital at Jefferson City, Mo. He was born 
 in Connecticut Sept. 11, 1828. and when a boy 
 removed with his parents from his native State 
 to Steuben county, N. Y. Later the family 
 became residents of Michigan, where the father 
 died, and the mother subsequently came to 
 Wisconsin, her death occurring at the home 
 of her daughter, in Plainfield, whom she was 
 visiting at the time. In the family were nine 
 children. 
 
 Mr. Blakesley grew to manhood in Steuben 
 county, N. Y., where he became acquainted 
 with the young lady who on Oct. 13, 1850, 
 became his wife. In her maidenhood she was 
 Miss Ruth Welling, a native of Dutchess coun- 
 ty, N. Y., and a daughter of Josiah and Sarah 
 Welling. In early life Mr. Blakesley com- 
 menced learning the blacksmith's trade, and 
 soon after his marriage returned to Steuben 
 county to complete his apprenticeship. In 
 1857 he came to Grant county. Wis., where he 
 followed the business of blacksmithing until 
 he entered the army. Although lie was in the 
 service but a short time, he left an honorable 
 record as a faithful soldier, who was always 
 
3 1 6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 found at his post of duty, ready to 'defend the 
 old Hag and the cause it represented. 
 
 When i\Ir. Blakesley went to the front he 
 left his wife with four small children, the 
 youngest being but a few months old. Upon 
 the mother devolved the responsibility of rear- 
 ing the family, and this duty she faithfully and 
 creditably performed, although the task was at 
 times a severe one. The family consisted of 
 three sons and one daughter. The sons, Max, 
 Frank and George, are all living at the present 
 writing (iqoi), but the daughter, Ella, and 
 her husband, John Lewis, are both deceased. 
 They left one daughter, Barbara, who makes 
 her home with Mrs. Blakesley. There was 
 also another daughter, Ida May, who died in 
 infancy, before the father left for the war. 
 Mrs. Blakesley has a pleasant home in Patch 
 Grove, where she resides, and is held in high 
 esteem by her many friends and acquaintances. 
 
 WILLIAM B. STRONG. This honored 
 and beloved resident of the city of Beloit, 
 Rock county, may well look back with grati- 
 tude as he marks the lengthening shadows 
 along the dusty way of life. God has given 
 some privileges of help and cheer along with 
 the burden of duty that He has put upon him. 
 Loyally and gladly he has met the demands that 
 have come to his ears from the suffering and 
 needy. 
 
 Mr. Strong was born in Brownington, 
 Orleans Co., Vt., May 16, 1837, and is a son 
 of Elijah Gridley and Sarah (Partridge) 
 Strong, both natives of that State. They 
 were the parents of four children : Ellen 
 
 Sylvia, who married Charles G. Rolfe, and 
 died in 1864, in her thirty-fifth year; Dr. 
 Henry P., a practicing physician in Beloit for 
 over forty years; Rev. Dr. James W., presi- 
 dent of Carlton College, in Minnesota, for 
 nearly thirty years ; and William B. The fa- 
 ther was a farmer, merchant and hotel-keeper 
 in Brownington and Montpelier, Vt., and in 
 Beloit, coming to the latter city in 1851, and 
 opening the “Beloit House,” on the site of the 
 present station house of the Chicago, Mil- 
 waukee & St. Paul railway. He died in Jan- 
 uary, 1859, in his fifty-sixth year. His widow 
 died in 1865, i n her fifty-ninth year. Both 
 were members of the Congregational Church. 
 He was sheriff and deputy sheriff of Orleans 
 county, Vt., for nearly thirteen years. 
 
 William B. Strong was fourteen years old 
 
 when he came to Beloit. When sixteen years 
 old he had charge of the telegraph office in 
 Beloit. Early in 1855 he was in charge of the 
 telegraph office at Janesville, arid was made 
 agent for the old Milwaukee & Mississippi 
 Railroad Co. at Milton. Lie was station agent 
 at Whitewater for six months, and at Monroe 
 for six months. He was returned to Janes- 
 ville, where he represented the company for 
 more than seven years, being called to Mc- 
 Gregor at the expiration of that time to act 
 as assistant superintendent of the McGregor 
 Western railroad, now a part of the Milwau- 
 kee system. He served in this position two 
 years. For three years he was in Council 
 Bluffs, Iowa, as the general western agent of 
 the Chicago & Northwestern, after which he 
 was made assistant general superintendent of 
 the Burlington & Missouri River railroad, and 
 had his office at Burlington, Iowa. Two 
 years later this line became a part of the Chi- 
 cago, Burlington & Quincy, and Mr. Strong 
 went to Chicago as assistant general superin- 
 tendent of the entire sytem. After two years 
 spent in the employment of that corporation 
 he was made general superintendent of the 
 Michigan Central, and acted in this capacity 
 for a period of two years. He was recalled 
 to the “Q” system as its general superintend- 
 ent, which position he held for two years, and 
 then became vice-president and general man- 
 ager of the Atchison, Topeka & Sante Fe 
 railroad. In 1881 he was called to Boston, 
 to take the office of president of this corpora- 
 tion, and there he remained until ill health 
 necessitated his retirement, in 1889. In 1894 
 Mr. Strong made his permanent home in 
 Beloit. 
 
 Mr. Strong and Miss Abby J. Moore were 
 united in wedlock Oct. 2, 1859. She is a 
 daughter of Holland and Meribah (Cheeney) 
 Moore. Three children have been born to 
 this union: Fred M., Ellen S. and William 
 
 James Henry. Fred M., who graduated from 
 Yale in 1S82, is vice-president of the Second 
 National Bank of Beloit; he married Miss 
 Ella L. Ross, of Chicago, and they have three 
 children, Leila Griswold, William B., and 
 Henry Ross. Ellen S. married George A. 
 Burdett, of Brookline, Mass., and they have 
 three children, Elizabeth Martin, Ellen Moore 
 and Silvia Strong; they now live at Newton 
 Center, Mass. William J. H., now professor 
 of rhetoric in the University of Wooster, at 
 
4 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3i7 
 
 Wooster, Ohio, was graduated from Harvard 
 in 1893, and from Emerson College of Ora- 
 tory, Boston, in 1898. Mrs. William B. 
 Strong was the first white girl born in the 
 New England colony that first settled Beloit, 
 in 1838. Mr. and Mrs. William B. Strong 
 are Congregationalists, and in politics he is a 
 Republican. They live two miles out on the 
 Beloit road, on what is known as the "Part- 
 ridge” farm. 
 
 Among the many good deeds of this gener- 
 ous man and public benefactor was the gift of 
 Gridley chapel, a beautiful brick edifice for 
 religious worship, a memorial to his father. 
 This noble structure was dedicated Aug. 27, 
 1899, and our subject's brother, Dr. James W. 
 Strong, at that time president of Carlton Col- 
 lege, at Northfield, Minn., delivered the 
 memorial address, largely a character study 
 and a historical sketch of their father and 
 mother. A beautiful tribute was paid to the 
 saintly character of the man, Elijah Gridley 
 Strong, in whose memory the building is 
 erected, and much stress was placed upon his 
 devout spirit and high character; the address 
 was throughout an elocpient presentation of the 
 spiritual and religious side of the life of the 
 man whose memory was thus honored. The 
 name itself is significant as that of Capt. 
 Gridley, who opened the dread engagement in 
 Manila Bay, and in the Church is commemo- 
 rated by Gridley Hall, at Carlton College, the 
 gift of a New England cousin. Elijah Gridley 
 Strong was a descendant in the sixth genera- 
 tion from Elder John Strong, of Northampton, 
 Mass., who came from England in 1630, and 
 became the father of eighteen children, fifteen 
 of whom reared families of their own. No 
 larger family in this country is known as de- 
 scended from one progenitor. 
 
 ULYSSES MILTON HUNGERFORD, 
 of the town .of Watterstown, Grant county, is 
 a well-known citizen of the county. He is one 
 of five brothers who served as soldiers in the 
 war of the Rebellion. 
 
 Mr. Hungerford was born in Livingston 
 county, N. Y., April 12, 1834, son of Josiah 
 and Elizabeth Hungerford, also natives of Liv- 
 ingston county, where all their children were 
 born. Our subject learned the trade of a car- 
 penter with his father, and attended the dis- 
 trict schools of his native county during boy- 
 hood. In 1854 the family migrated from their 
 
 home in Livonia, Livingston Co., N. Y., to 
 Kankakee, 111 ., where the father died in No- 
 vember of the same year. The family came 
 thence to Wisconsin, locating at Spring Green, 
 and the mother survived to an advanced age, 
 passing away Jan. 6, 1893, in Sauk county, 
 Wis., at the age of nearly ninety. 
 
 It was in March, 1854, that our subject 
 went from his native State to Illinois, and in 
 the fall of the following year, 1855, he came 
 to Wisconsin, stopping at Spring Green, Sauk 
 county. In the spring of 1856 he removed to 
 Crawford county, remaining there until Aug- 
 ust, 1857, when he went to Grant county, 
 where, on Aug. 30, 1857, he was married to 
 Sarah Carson, daughter of Lott and Margaret 
 Carson, early settlers of Wisconsin, formerly 
 of Lafayette, Ind. Mrs. Hungerford was 
 born Oct. 9, 1S36, in Tippecanoe county, Ind., 
 and came to Wisconsin in 1854 with her par- 
 ents. Soon after his removal to Grant county 
 Mr. Hungerford became a permanent resident 
 of the town of Watterstown. 
 
 On Dec. 28, 1863, our subject enlisted in 
 the 6th Wisconsin Light Artillery, and in Feb- 
 ruary of the following year the command pro- 
 ceeded to Huntsville, Ala. In June, 1864, the 
 command started to join the arm)' of Gen. 
 Sherman, which was attacking Atlanta, and 
 was detailed to guard the railroad bridge near 
 Cartersville, while the siege was in progress. 
 When Sherman started for the sea Mr. Hun- 
 gerford went with his command to Nashville, 
 and took part in the important events at that 
 place under Gen. Thomas. From Nashville 
 the command proceeded to Chattanooga, and 
 from there to Madison, Wis., where it was 
 discharged in July, 1865. Although not 
 wounded, Mr. Hungerford lost an eye in the 
 service, by accident, and suffered severely from 
 scurvy, from the effects of which his health 
 has never fully recovered. 
 
 The eldest brother of Ulysses M. -Hunger- 
 ford, Eugene C., was also a soldier. Born 
 April 25, 1832, he was at the time of his en- 
 listment a student in the Wisconsin State 
 University, at Madison. In 1861 he entered 
 the service, enrolling in Company H. 5th Wis. 
 V. I., for three months, and after his honorable 
 discharge re-enlisted. He was killed May 3, 
 1863, at the storming of Fredericksburg, un- 
 der Gen. Burnside. This gentleman was a 
 gallant soldier, and his death was greatly de- 
 plored. Edwin R. Hungerford, the second 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 318 
 
 brother of our subject, and third in the order 
 of birth, enlisted in August, 1862, in the 6th 
 Wisconsin Light Artillery, and died at Cor- 
 inth, Miss., the same year. Thomas J. Hun- 
 gerford, the next in order of birth, was born 
 Dec. 20, 1840, and enlisted in October, 1861, 
 when the battery was organized, serving until 
 October, 1864. Owing to his arduous service 
 his health was broken, and he died Aug. 15, 
 1881. Addison Hunger ford, the fifth or this 
 family to enter the service of the United States, 
 was born March 7, 1845, an d enlisted in the 
 47th Wis. V. I. in 1864, serving until the close 
 of the war. He is now residing at Evansville, 
 Wis. There were also two daughters in the 
 family of Josiah and Elizabeth Hungerford: 
 Martha, the eldest of the family, born July 14, 
 1830, died Oct. 29, 1865 ; Harriet E., born Aug. 
 15, 1836, died Dec. 2, 1865. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hungerford have a pleasant 
 home, many friends, and enjoy the fruits of 
 their early industry. Mr. Hungerford is an 
 esteemed member of the local G. A. R. post, and 
 can look back with pleasure on his career, both 
 as a soldier and as a private citizen. 
 
 EDWIN F. CARPENTER has not round- 
 ed out the limit ascribed to middle life, yet 
 he has already attained marked distinction in 
 his chosen profession, the law. He comes of 
 that rugged Green Mountain stock which gave 
 to the army of the Revolution such men as 
 Ethan Allen, as well as other heroes, whose 
 names have been forgotten, while their deeds 
 and achievements live in history. 
 
 Edwin F. Carpenter was born in More- 
 town. Washington Co., Vt., May 12, 1845, 
 son of Ira Carpenter, who married (second) 
 Rhoda S. Spofford. Both his parents were 
 natives of the Green Mountain State. The 
 father tilled the sterile soil of New England, 
 with the average success attending farmers of 
 his day and generation. He was a man of 
 courage, enterprise and integrity, and it was, 
 perhaps, these traits which especially com- 
 mended him to the suffrages of his fellow citi- 
 zens, who elected and re-elected him to the 
 office of sheriff. He was born in 1798, and died 
 in 1862, with his physical and mental faculties 
 alike showing but little sign of impairment. 
 He was twice married, and by his first wife. 
 Annie, had four children, only one of whom, 
 Cephas W., survives. His second wife, the 
 mother of Edwin F. Carpenter, was Rhoda 
 
 S. Spofford, who died in 1881, in her seventy- 
 third year. To this union came six children, 
 three of whom are living, Ira M., Edwin F., 
 and Albert N. 
 
 The father of Ira Carpenter, and the 
 grandfather of Edwin F., was named Cephas. 
 His birthplace cannot be definitely stated, but 
 it is certain that he was born in either Con- 
 necticut or Vermont, and. come from rugged 
 Puritan stock. He was a man of rare mental 
 power, as well as of recognized integrity; 
 a gallant soldier in the war of 1812, and for 
 many years a justice of the peace. He lived 
 to be nearly ' eighty-nine years old, and his 
 death was deeply mourned by his fellow citi- 
 zens, who had learned to love him for his 
 many virtues, as well as to respect him for 
 his sound judgment and conservative public 
 spirit. The maternal grandfather of Edwin 
 F. Carpenter, the father of Rhoda S. Spofford, 
 was also a V ermonter by birth, and of English 
 descent. He was the father of a large family, 
 and died at an advanced age. 
 
 Edwin F. Carpenter was born at Moretown, 
 Washington Co., Vt., May 12, 1845, attended 
 the country schools, and at the age of eighteen 
 came West, locating at Beloit, Wis. There he 
 entered the preparatory department of Beloit 
 College, and later matriculated in the classical 
 department, graduating in 1870. Proceeding 
 at once to Janesville, he entered the law office 
 of Cassidy, Merrill & Dixon, as a law student, 
 and was admitted to the Bar the following 
 year. In 1873, both Mr. Dixon and Mr. Mer- 
 rill having withdrawn from the firm, Mr. Car- 
 penter and Mr. Cassidy formed a co-partner- 
 ship for the practice of law, under the style 
 of Cassidy & Carpenter. Since that date vari- 
 ous changes in the firm have taken place. Mr. 
 Cassidy was succeeded by Mr. S. J. Todd in 
 1880 or '81, and he in turn, the following year, 
 by E. D. McGowan. This business associa- 
 tion continued for several years under the firm 
 name of Carpenter & McGowan, and since its 
 dissolution our subject has carried on practice 
 without a partner. He has been eminently 
 successful. He has a keen, analytic mind, 
 of a judicial cast, and has for the last six years 
 ably discharged the responsible duties of circuit 
 court commissioner. He has been twice elect- 
 ed city attorney, his period of service covering 
 four years, and at present represents the Third 
 ward of Janesville in the city council, having 
 been elected on the Republican ticket. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3i9 
 
 Mr. Carpenter was married, Dec. 18, 1873, 
 to Miss Emma A. Lappin, whose father, 
 Thomas Lappin, married Mary J. Jackman. 
 Two children have been born to them, Edwin 
 Lappin and Henry F. Mrs. Carpenter is a 
 communicant of the Episcopal Church. 
 
 EUGENE F. WARREN, one of the most 
 prominent, successful and progressive business 
 men of Albany, Green county, was born in 
 Fort Covington, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., on 
 June 30, 1833, a son of Lemuel and Betsy 
 (Richardson) Warren, the former a native of 
 Montpelier, Yt., and the latter of Washington 
 county, N. Y. Three of their live children 
 still survive: Dr. John H., of Cincinnati, 
 
 Ohio; Lemuel IT., of Albany, and our subject. 
 
 Lowell Warren, the paternal grandfather of 
 our subject, was born in Marlborough, Mass., 
 on Oct. 23, 1764. The family can be easily 
 traced to the coming over -of the “Mayflower.” 
 Lowell Warren was a blacksmith by trade, 
 was in the battle of Quebec, and died at the 
 close of the Revolutionary war. Elis son, 
 Lemuel Warren, was a farmer who came to 
 Janesville, Wis., in 1838, taking up 200 acres 
 of land, which he afterward sold to the father 
 of the late Frances E. Willard, it being her 
 old home. .In 1840. Mr. Warren removed to 
 Union township, Rock county, and there took 
 up 160 acres of land, five miles east of Evans- 
 ville, which he improved and added to until 
 he possessed about 400 acres. He died on the 
 old home farm, Sept. 13, 1846, aged fifty-five 
 years and ten months. His wife died in 1874, 
 at Albany, Wis., aged seventy-seven. They 
 were most worthy people, well-known and thor- 
 oughly esteemed, and belonged to the Univer- 
 salist faith. Mr. Warren had been a soldier 
 in the war of 1812, and was present at the 
 battle of Plattsburg, and his widow received 
 a land warrant for his services. The govern- 
 ment in 1840 made him one of the first justices 
 of the State, which office he held until the time 
 of his demise. 
 
 Eugene F. Warren was five years old when 
 his parents came to Rock county, Wis.. where 
 he grew to manhood. During his childhood 
 and youth Indian boys were his play-mates, 
 and they taught him to swim and to use a 
 canoe. His educational advantages were lim- 
 ited, his sister being his teacher, she being the 
 second one to fill the position in Rock county. 
 Remaining on the farm until twenty years old, 
 
 Mr. Warren then entered in the employ of a 
 grain firm in Janesville, remaining with them 
 for one year and a half, spending the same 
 time in the employ of the American Express 
 Company, as its messenger. On July 5, 1854, 
 he came to Albany, where he engaged in gen- 
 eral merchandising, which he combined with 
 milling, remaining in the former line for twen- 
 ty-three years, and continuing the latter to the 
 present time, with the exception of three years 
 of army service. 
 
 On Aug. 13, 1861, Mr. Warren enlisted 
 in Co. E, 13th Wis. V. I., assisting in re- 
 cruiting the company, and was made its first 
 lieutenant. In 1862 he was in the Army of 
 Kansas, where there was severe service — no 
 battles which stirred the country to enthusiasm, 
 but the hardest kind of military duty, long- 
 marches over ice, and snow-covered prairies, 
 often short rations and sickness. The fol- 
 lowing year he was transferred to the Army 
 of the Tennessee, where his regiment engaged 
 in fighting what was denominated “bush- 
 whackers," and scouting, but was present at the 
 battles of Forts Henry and Donelson. While 
 there our subject was detailed as a judge-ad- 
 vocate of a general court-martial which contin- 
 ued in session for a period of three months, 
 fifty-two cases being tried, and five of this num- 
 ber receiving the sentence of death. In the fail 
 of 1S63, Mr. Warren was ordered to Flunts- 
 ville, Ala., thence to Stephenson, Ala., where, 
 after a long and weary march, on short rations, 
 he remained until November when he left that 
 place to encamp in the village of Edgefield, 
 opposite Nashville, Tenn., remaining there un- 
 til the summer of 1864, when he returned to 
 his home and business — at least, that is what 
 he intended to do, but a week later he re- 
 ceived from the Secretary of War an appoint- 
 ment to a captaincy in Maj.-Gen. Hancock’s 
 corps. As one of his brothers had accepted 
 an appointment as U. S. revenue collector, 
 and the other brother was in very poor health, 
 Mr. Warren felt it wise to decline the flattering- 
 offer. His business needed his watchful eye, 
 badly, and he decided to remain in Wisconsin. 
 
 In 1869 Air. Warren built the flouring 
 mill known as the mill of Warren & Tom- 
 kins, and in 1881 purchased the Albany Woolen 
 mill, in 1896 adding an electric light plant, and 
 now furnishes that necessity to the village. 
 Among the business enterprises successfully 
 managed by our subject, was that of the mail 
 
320 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and stage business, which, in connection with 
 his brothers, was conducted as long as no rail- 
 roads connected the Great Lakes with the Pa- 
 cific slope. This gave employment to hundreds 
 of men and horses, and was a public enter- 
 prise of great magnitude. 
 
 On Sept. 9, 185 q, Mr. Warren was mar- 
 ried to Miss Sarah S. Gleason, a daughter of 
 Robert and Nancy (Jones) Gleason, and five 
 children were born of this union : Mary E., 
 
 now engaged in a millinery business, in Elgin, 
 111 .; Nellie, who married Frank Smith, of 
 Madison, S. Dak., and has one daughter, 
 Genevieve; Grace, who married Harry Hill, 
 since deceased, lives in Elgin, with her sister, 
 and has one daughter, Genevieve; William G., 
 who died at the age of four; and Charles, who 
 died at the age of twenty-two at Los Vegas, 
 New Mexico^ after having been in the employ 
 of the U. S. Mail between Chicago and St. 
 Paul, since he was sixteen. Both Mr. and 
 Mrs. Warren are members of the Universalist 
 Church, where they have the esteem of every 
 one. Socially, Mr. Warren is a member of 
 Albany Lodge, No. 36, F. & A. M. ; and Evans- 
 ville Chapter; also of Erastus Hoyt Post, No. 
 69, G. A. R. A very ardent Republican, Mr. 
 W arren has been called upon to fill various 
 offices, was chairman of the town board for 
 twenty-seven years and of the county board 
 for one term. With his brother, Dr. Warren, 
 he was among - the founders of the village of 
 Albany, and the family has always been prom- 
 inent in its commercial, social and educational 
 affairs. Mr. Warren owns his own handsome 
 residence, and also much other real estate in 
 the town. A man who can be trusted, up- 
 right, honorable, progressive and energetic, Eu- 
 gene F. Warren possesses the characteristics 
 which make him a fit representative of this 
 community. With a war record for gallantry 
 and endurance, combined with the elements of 
 a judicial mind, he well deserves the honor 
 which his fellow citizens delight to render 
 him. 
 
 EVAN J. EVANS. This name will be 
 readily recognized by those familiar with the 
 business personnel of Beloit, Rock county, as 
 that of an enterprising and successful grocer 
 of that city. He has won a good patronage, 
 and is on the highway to solid and lasting 
 
 prosperity. 
 
 Air. Evans was born in the town of Em- 
 
 mett, Dodge Co., Wis., Jan. 28, 1864, and, as 
 his name indicates, is of Welsh extraction. 
 His great-grandfather, John Evans, born in 
 1737 on Lleged Enwin farm, near Cardigan, 
 Cardiganshire, Wales, was a farmer. He had 
 a family of five children. 
 
 John Evans, grandfather of our subject, 
 born in 1777, on Tier-bach farm, near Mellin 
 Gum, Llangadock Parish, Caermarthenshire, 
 Wales, died April 12, 1838. He was a pros- 
 perous farmer. He married Ann Stephen 
 Thomas, of Court farm, Mellin Gum, born 
 in 1790, died Sept. 27, 1862. To this union 
 were born nine children : Sarah, Mary, Mar- 
 
 garet, Stephen, John, Thomas, David J., and 
 Evan and William (twins), two of whom, 
 John and David J., came to America. John, 
 born Nov. 10, 1822, came to America in 
 1870, and until 1873 lived at Scranton, Penn. 
 He then moved to Watertown, Wis., where he 
 is still living, bringing his wife and family of 
 five children — Thomas (a reporter for the 
 Milwaukee Sentinel , now deceased), John, 
 Mary, David and Margaret. 
 
 David J. Evans, father of our subject, 
 born Aug. 11, 1831, at Llethergela, Llanga- 
 dock, Wales-, early in life made up his mind 
 to come to America, and in 1851 boarded a 
 sailing-vessel at Liverpool, England, which 
 landed him at New York after a tiresome 
 voyage of six weeks and one day. Thence 
 he went to Pittsburg, Penn., where he found 
 employment with a coal company at his trade, 
 that of carpenter, and there worked until 1853, 
 when he got the Western fever. From 1853 
 to 1854 he spent most of his time and money 
 traveling through the Northwestern States in 
 search of a fortune. In the s-ummer of 1855 
 he settled at Watertown, Wis., where he found 
 employment with the Chicag'O, Milwaukee & 
 St. Paul Railway Co., working at his trade un- 
 til 1859, when he rented a farm of eighty 
 acres, located on the North road, six miles 
 north of Watertown, Emmett township. This 
 farm he operated until 1865, when he bought 
 eighty acres of land located in the northern part 
 of the town of Emmett. In 1868 he bought an- 
 other eighty acres of land, across the road, 
 located on the south line of the town of Cly- 
 man. Dodge Co., Wis., this making a farm 
 of 160 acres, to which he moved, and which he 
 operated very successfully, living there until 
 March 22, 1*880. He then moved to a farm 
 of 200 acres which he bought in the fall of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 321 
 
 1879, located in the town of Emmett, Dodge 
 county, three miles north of Watertown, on 
 what is known as the North road; this place 
 was formerly owned by Griff Jones, and is now 
 known as the “Silver Creek Dairy Farm.” Mr. 
 Evans still resides on this beautiful place, where 
 his attention has been for the most part turned 
 to stock raising', dairying and butter making, 
 the butter from this farm having taken first 
 prize at farmers’ institutes, county fairs, and 
 at the Milwaukee State fair. He also bought 
 and ran the first self-binder (harvesting ma- 
 chine) in the county, a machine that bound 
 with wire; later he bought one of the first 
 twine-binders in his section, and he also bought 
 one of the first steam threshing machines run in 
 this section. 
 
 On March 31, 1857, Mr. Evans wedded 
 Ann LlojH, who was born March 4, 1839, at 
 Gwinvyn, Merionethshire, North Wales, 
 dauhter of Evan and Catherine Lloyd, the for- 
 mer of whom died in Wales, in middle life. 
 At the age of six years, in 1845, Mrs. Evans, 
 with her widowed mother, brother John, and 
 sister Catherine, boarded the sailing-vessel 
 “Jamestown,” at Liverpool, England, and 
 after a voyage of four weeks they landed at 
 New York City, where they took canal-boat 
 to Utica, ' N. Y., living there up to 1855. 
 While in Utica the mother was married to 
 William Williams, of that place, and to this 
 union was born one son, Griffith. From Utica 
 they moved to Watertown, Wis., and on their 
 arrival there at once bought a farm north of 
 the city, in the town of Emmett, Dodge coun- 
 ty, where they continued to reside up to the 
 time of Mr. Williams’ death, in 1870. Mrs. 
 Williams then rented the farm and moved 
 to the city of Watertown, where she lived up 
 to about six months before her death, when 
 she was taken to the home of her daughter, 
 Mrs. David J. Evans, dying there May 13, 
 1889. She was born Aug. 13, 1816. Mr. 
 and Mrs. David J. Evans became the parents 
 of five sons and three daughters: John, born 
 May 25, 1858, who died in 1868; Evan J., 
 born Jan. 28, 1864: David L., born July 8, 
 1866, a farmer of Pittsville, Wood Co., Wis.; 
 Griffith W., born Dec. 19, 1868, a grocer at 
 Waukegan, 111 .; Anna E., born Feb. 22. 1871, 
 wife of John Slight, a farmer of Watertown; 
 Catherine, born Aug. 12, 1874, a dressmaker, 
 who lives at home; and John, born June 3, 
 
 1880, and Maud, born Dec. 27, 1883, also 
 
 21 
 
 at home. The parents are Congregationalists 
 in religious faith. Mr. Evans is a Republi- 
 can in political sentiment. 
 
 John Lloyd, Airs. Evans’ brother, born in 
 1837, died in 1894. He was one of the volun- 
 teers who enlisted in Company B, 29th Wis. 
 V. I., at Watertown, Wis., to do his part 
 in the Civil war, and served his full time of 
 four years, during which he was engaged in 
 quite a few battles. In 1874 he was elected 
 assemblyman from his district to Madison, 
 Wis. He was a Republican and a popular 
 man in his town. From the close of the Civil 
 war to about 1876 he conducted a farm in 
 the town of Clyman, Dodge Co., Wis. In 
 1S76 he sold the farm and moved to Ran- 
 dolph, Wis., where he bought a farm, and 
 continued to live there up to the time of his 
 death. 
 
 Evan J. Evans grew to manhood on his fa- 
 ther's farm near Watertown, and had fair 
 educational advantages. He worked hard dur- 
 ing his boyhood, attending school only four 
 or five months a year, during the winter terms,, 
 and while living at home on the farm in. 
 Clyman he had two and a quarter miles to< 
 walk each way, carrying his dinner with him. 
 However, he made such good use of his time 
 at the district school that when he was fifteen 
 his parents decided to let him board with his 
 grandmother Williams, in Watertown, and at- 
 tend high school there, and he passed through 
 both the high school and the Northwestern 
 University of that place. It took hard study 
 to keep up with his classes, as he was out of 
 school during the spring and part of the fall 
 term, working on the farm. When he was 
 sixteen his father engaged an expert engineer 
 to teach him how to run the threshing en- 
 gine, of which he took charg-e for from two 
 to four months each year for eight or nine 
 falls— a farmer in spring, engineer in fall, 
 student and later teacher in winter, for after 
 completing his schooling he taught some eight 
 or nine terms, proving very capable. But a 
 business career had attractions for him he could 
 not resist, and on April 19, 1S90, he came to 
 Beloit, opening a grocery store June 6, 1890, 
 He has followed this business to the present 
 time, and it is not saying too much to say 
 that he has made it a decided success. 
 
 The wedding ceremonies of Evan J. Evans 
 and Miss Meta Krueger were celebrated Sept. 
 24, 1890, at Watertown, Wis., and they have 
 
322 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 had four children: Vera, born Jan. 13, 1893; 
 Everett, Nov. 25, 1894; Aneta, March 5, 1890; 
 and Elvin John, April 5, 1899. Everett died 
 at the age of three months. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Evans belong- to the Safety Fund Insurance 
 Society, Syracuse, N. Y., and to the Equitable 
 Fraternal Union. Their bright and cheery 
 home is at No. 133 Garfield avenue. Mr. 
 Evans is a Republican in politics. 
 
 Mrs. Meta (Krueger) Evans was born 
 June 29, 1868. in Emmett, Dodge Co., Wis., 
 on the old family homestead. Her grandfa- 
 ther, Fritz Krueger, was born in 1789, and 
 died in 1876, passing his entire life in Ger- 
 many. He was a goldsmith, and a dealer in 
 merchandise. Adolph Krueger, Mrs. Evans’ 
 father, was born in Domitz, Mecklenburg- 
 Schwerin, Germany, Sept. 3, 1819, and was 
 a goldsmith by trade. In June, 1849, ^ ie sailed 
 from Hamburg, Germany, and landed at New 
 York six weeks later. Thence he journeyed 
 to Milwaukee, and in the fall of 1849 to 
 ,\\ atertown, Wis., where he worked at his 
 trade, and owned and ran a furniture factory 
 until March 10, 1863, when he moved to a 
 farm on the North road, three miles from 
 Watertown, fii Emmett township, Dodge Co., 
 Wis. That place has ever since been his home. 
 On Aug. 8, 1850, Mr. Krueger married Miss 
 Anna Bruesch, and on Aug'. 8, 1900, they cele- 
 brated their Golden Wedding. To this union 
 were born four children: Ernest, born June 
 
 26, 1857, resides on the farm; Emma, born 
 Sept. 27, 1859, is the wife of E. Eipman, a 
 dry-goods merchant of Beloit, Wis. ; Ida, born 
 April 21, 1862, is the wife of A. F. Baumann, 
 a contractor of Watertown, Wis. ; Meta, born 
 June 29, 1868, is the wife of Evan J. Evans, 
 our subject. 
 
 Nicholas Bruesch, father of Mrs. Anna 
 (Bruesch) Krueger, was born in 1809', at 
 Chur, Graubunden, Switzerland. He was a 
 merchant and hotel-keeper. I11 1827 he mar- 
 ried, and he and his wife had five children, 
 two of whom died in Switzerland. In 1846 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bruesch, with their three chil- 
 dren, boarded an American ship at Havre, 
 France, and sailed across the Atlantic, reach- 
 ing New York after a period of forty-two 
 days. There they took a steamship for Buf- 
 falo, N. Y., journeyed from Buffalo to Chi- 
 cago by rail, and by boat from Chicago to 
 Milwaukee, Wis., thence to Watertown, where 
 they resided until 1853, in Which year Mr. 
 
 and Mrs. Bruesch both died, of cholera. 
 Anna Bruesch, born Oct. 19, 1832, at Chur, 
 Switzerland, became the wife of Adolph 
 Krueger. 
 
 GEORGE W. ISRAEL, a retired farmer 
 in the town of Paris, Grant county, was born 
 in Michigan Feb. 9, 1837, a son of G. W. 
 and Wealthy (Cobb) Israel, both natives of 
 Erie county, Penn. Shortly after their mar- 
 riage they removed west to Michigan, spend- 
 ing some years in that State, and coming to 
 Platteville, Wis., in 1841. Mr. Israel did not 
 remain in .Platteville very long at that time, 
 but soon moved to Iowa county, Wis., and in 
 1868 bought a farm in Boone county, Iowa, 
 near the village of Boonesboro. Mrs. Israel 
 died in Grant county, Wis., in 1846, and in 
 1852 Mr. Israel wedded Sara'h Potter, who 
 died in Boonesboro, Iowa, after the death of 
 her husband in the same place. 
 
 George W. Israel is the only one of a fam- 
 ily of four children born to his parents, Mr. 
 and Mrs. G. W. Israel, who lived to attain his 
 maturity, the others all dying in infancy, or 
 early childhood. In the common schools he 
 received his education, and when the Civil 
 war broke out, he enlisted in Company F, 20th 
 Wis. V. L, and served in the Western Army, 
 a greater part of the time under the command 
 of Gen. Herring, of Dubuque. The 20th Wis- 
 consin was engaged chiefly in Missouri and Ar- 
 kansas, and was a participant in the battle of 
 Prairie Grove, Gen. Price commanding the 
 Rebel forces, where it was badly cut up. Mr. 
 Israel saw service at Vicksburg, New Orleans, 
 and at the capture of Mobile, the latter being 
 his last engagement in the war. The 20th 
 Wisconsin was a hard worked and gallant regi- 
 ment, and during its service it is said to have 
 marched over nine thousand miles. At Madi- 
 son, it was honorably discharged from the gov- 
 ernment service. 
 
 Mr. Israel was a farmer in Boone county 
 some three years after his return to civil life. 
 In 1868 lie married Miss Elizabeth Chapman, 
 of Platteville, Wis. Mrs. Israel is the daugh- 
 ter of Thomas and Sarah (Key) Chapman, 
 old settlers in Grant county, who were born 
 in England. When Wisconsin was still a ter- 
 ritory they made a settlement on a farm near 
 Platteville. The father died in 1883, and the 
 mother in 1864. By his first wife Mr. Chap- 
 man was the father of three children : Rob- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 323 
 
 ert, of Dakota; Mary Jane is the widow of 
 John Parnell, of Platteville; and Elizabeth, 
 who is Mrs. Israel, was born March 3, 1848. 
 
 Mr. Israel and his wife lived on Mr. Chap- 
 man's farm some six years, when 'he purchased 
 the farm which is now their home in the town 
 of Paris, where they at once located, and where 
 they have lived to the present time. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Israel are the parents of a family of five 
 children: Thomas, born in Iowa in 1871, grew 
 to manhood in Grant county, and is a resi- 
 dent of Platteville ; Sarah, born in Platteville 
 in 1873, is now the wife of James Hamilton, 
 and lives on his farm in the town of Paris, 
 where they are rearing a family of five chil- 
 dren, Alice, Walter, Clyde, Ethel, and George: 
 Robert, born in Platteville in 1876, is unmar- 
 ried, and is a resident of this town; Fanny, 
 born in 1883, graduated from the district 
 school in 1896, and is considered the youngest 
 graduate of the town of Paris ; and Nora, born 
 m 1887, is n °w a student of the public school. 
 Mr. Israel is a Republican, and has been an 
 active worker in the politics of the town. Both 
 he and his wife are counted among the best 
 people of the town, while his record as a sol- 
 dier is that of a man who did his full duty to 
 his country. in her hour of peril. 
 
 CHARLES ATWOOD, one of the solid 
 representatives of the commercial interests of 
 Janesville, Rock county, is engaged in the ice 
 business, under the firm name of the City 
 Ice Co. 
 
 Mr. Atwood was born in Janesville March 
 6, 1852, a son of Volney and Catherine Ann 
 Atwood, of whom a sketch will be found else- 
 where. He was* reared in Janesville, receiv- 
 ing his education in the very excellent schools 
 of his native city, and when he reached mature 
 years engaged in handling coal and wood. 
 Being very successful in this line, after hav- 
 ing been in business from 1871 to 1880 he 
 branched out somewhat, adding ice to the com- 
 modities handled, and since 1887 has con- 
 tinned the ice business only. He and his part- 
 ner are carrying on a large and constantly in- 
 creasing trade, having built up their house by 
 honest methods and prompt and efficient 
 service. 
 
 On July 23, 1877, Mr. Atwood married 
 Miss Alta M. Doty, daughter of E. Philo and 
 Abigail M. (Austin) Doty, and eight children 
 have been born to them : Volney D., Abbie A., 
 
 Mary Lea, Harry Cummings, Charley Starr, 
 William Williston (who died in May, 1900), 
 Leo and Edward Philo. Volney D. graduated 
 from the Janesville high school in 1894, and is 
 now cashier for the American Express Co. at 
 Green Bay, Wis. Abbie Atwood graduated 
 from the Janesville high school in 1895. and 
 has been a teacher in the public schools of the 
 city since that time. Mary Lea, who gradu- 
 ated in 1898, is at home. Harry C., who 
 graduated in 1900, is now in the Merchants & 
 Mechanics Bank. 
 
 1 he paternal grandfather of Mrs. Atwood, 
 Zuri Shaddai Doty, was a native of New York, 
 and of the seventh generation in descent from 
 the founder of the family in America, who came 
 over in the "Mayflower.” Elis father was a 
 soldier in the Revolution, and Mrs. Atwood is 
 a member of the Daughters of the Revolution. 
 In 1841 Zuri S. Doty came V est, settling in 
 Rock county, Wis., and engaged in farming 
 for some time, until he removed to Janesville 
 and embarked in the manufacture of sashes, 
 doors and blinds, and all kinds of millwright 
 work. Later Air. Doty went to Madison, then 
 to Chicago, finally returning to Madison, 
 where he died April 16, 1885, at the advanced 
 age of eighty-one. During his long and use- 
 ful life this good man made many friends, and 
 his loss was deeply felt. He was three times 
 married, and was the father of eleven children, 
 all of whom grew to be highly respected men 
 and women. 
 
 Ira Austin, the maternal grandfather of 
 Mrs. Atwood, was a native of New York 
 State, and a blacksmith by trade. He came 
 to Turtle, Rock county, in the early days of 
 Wisconsin, and died at Madison at an ad- 
 vanced age. There were two daughters in his 
 family. 
 
 E. Philo Doty, father of Airs. Atwood, a 
 native of Lockport, A T . Y., left his_ native 
 State when yet a boy, in 1841, and came West 
 with his parents, who as above stated settled 
 in Turtle, Rock county, removing thence to 
 Janesville. After attaining mature years he 
 engaged with his father in the sash, door and 
 blind factory, and manufactured a specialty 
 known as the Doty washing machine, the com- 
 pany producing it being known as the Doty 
 Manufacturing Co. Mr. Doty continued in this 
 business until his death, in 1869. when he was 
 but forty-three years of age, and his widow 
 (now aged sixty-eight) still survives, resid- 
 
324 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ing with her son-in-law, Judge Fifield. She 
 is an Episcopalian, while Mr. Doty was a Uni- 
 versalist. Five children, two sons and three 
 daughters, were born to Mr. and Mrs. E. Philo 
 Doty, of whom three are still living: Alta M., 
 Mrs. Atwood; Edward Philo, of Janesville; 
 and Anna S., wife of Judge Charles L. Fifield, 
 of Janesville. One brother of Mrs. Atwood, 
 Henry Doty, lived in Janesville many years, 
 and died in 1894. He was secretary of the 
 Doty Manufacturing Co., and also the founder 
 of the incandescent light company in Janes- 
 ville, being at first the proprietor, but later, as 
 the increasing volume of business demanded, 
 the concern was incorporated. 
 
 Mrs. Atwood is an earnest worker in and 
 consistent member of the Episcopal Church, 
 and both she and her husband are very popu- 
 lar. In their pleasant home, where Mr. At- 
 wood has resided for twenty-five years, these 
 two most estimable people dispense a cheerful 
 hospitality, and are most justly numbered 
 among the leading citizens of Janesville. Mr. 
 Atwood is a member of the Iv. of P. ; is a 
 Republican in politics, and has served as school 
 commissioner for two years. For twenty 
 years he has been a member of the fire police. 
 He was the first superintendent of the Janes- 
 ville Street Railroad, holding that position un- 
 til 1888, and contributed very materially to 
 its success ; the first horses purchased for use 
 on the road were bought by Mr. Atwood. 
 
 FRANCIS ASBURY COOLEY, a retired 
 farmer of Brodhead, Green county, is one of 
 the older citizens of the county, where he has 
 practically spent his entire life engaged in the 
 cultivation of the soil. He was born in the 
 town of Spring Grove, Green county, July 12, 
 1846, a son of William B. and Lucretia ( Ev- 
 ans) Cooley, natives of New York and Ken- 
 tucky, respectively. 
 
 William B. Cooley was a school teacher and 
 Methodist minister. He came West in 1839, 
 and taught school at Rock Island, 111 ., where 
 he was also a circuit rider for the church. In 
 1845 he married Lucretia Evans, who died in 
 1848, leaving two children: Francis Asbury 
 
 and William M., of whom the latter, a railroad 
 engineer for the past thirty years, resides in 
 Chadron, Neb.' After his wife died Mr. 
 Cooley moved to Stephenson county, where he 
 taught school, and later taught at what was 
 known as the Basswood Church, in Green 
 
 county, Wis. In 1850 he married Mary A.. 
 Busser, and they had seven children, four of 
 whom are now living: Ella, the wife of G. C. 
 
 Aurand, of Bowclel, S. Dak. ; James N., of the 
 same place; Frank W., superintendent of 
 schools at Calumet, Mich.; and Homer D., a 
 lawyer, of Everet, Wash. The father lived 
 at Brodhead a number of years, and died in 
 1871, at the age of sixty-five. His widow 
 survived until 1899, when she died at the age 
 of seventy-four. He. was town superintendent 
 a number of years in the early days, and held 
 various town offices. His father was Lewis 
 Cooley, a native of Holland, and an early set- 
 tler in western New York, where he reared a 
 large family, and died at an old age. The 
 father of Lucretia (Evans) Cooley was Enoch 
 Evans, a native of Virginia, who moved to 
 North Carolina in pioneer days, and then into 
 Kentucky, where he attained historic distinc- 
 tion as the first mail carrier in the State. He 
 made his journeys on horseback, and had many 
 exciting and perilous experiences. From there 
 he moved to Indianapolis, Ind., when it was a 
 fort, and his last days were spent at Monroe, 
 Wis., with his son William, and lie died at the 
 age of one hundred and one, just as the old 
 settlers were making ready to celebrate his 
 birthday. He was the father of seven chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Francis Asbury Cooley has lived his entire 
 life in Green county, and has many interesting 
 recollections of primitive pioneer days. He 
 vividly recalls the manufacturing of matches 
 by hand, frequently watching his uncle at this 
 work, and lie can describe also the shingle ma- 
 chine and tread-power threshers his grand- 
 father used. He can locate the ground upon 
 which stood the log cabin homes of various 
 early settlers, as well as that where was erected 
 the first cabin in the township. Mr. Cooley 
 attended the district school and the Brodhead 
 high school. When he became a man he 
 worked for his father a time, and then rented 
 a part of the farm, buying it later. He owns 
 one hundred thirty acres in the town of Spring- 
 Grove, and engaged in its cultivation until 
 1882, when he moved to Brodhead, purchas- 
 ing his father’s home from his step-mother, and 
 there makes his own home at the present time. 
 
 On Dec. 8, 1867, Mr. Cooley married Miss 
 Samantha Alexander, a daughter of Frederick 
 and Elizabeth (Work) Alexander. They have 
 one son, Walter E., who is now cultivating the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 325 
 
 old home farm; he married Miss Minnie At- 
 kinson, and has two children, Harry and Fred. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cooley are members of the 
 Methodist Church, in which he is a trustee. 
 Socially he is a member of the Bicknell Lodge, 
 No. 94, A. F. & A. M. Politically he is and 
 always expects to be a Prohibitionist, and has 
 served as supervisor one term and township 
 assessor one year. 
 
 Frederick and Elizabeth (Work) Alexan- 
 der, parents of Mrs. Cooley, were natives of 
 Pennsylvania, of German descent. They had 
 ten children, and six of these are now living: 
 Priscilla, the wife of Simon Hawk, of Cler- 
 mont, Iowa ; Mary Ann, the wife of Moses 
 Slawson, of Brockway, Penn. ; Joseph, of Oak- 
 ley, Wis. ; Samantha, the wife of Mr. Cooley; 
 Hannah, the wife of Avery Tracey, of Oakley, 
 Wis. ; and Caroline, the wife of William 
 Tracey. Mr. Alexander was a fuller by trade, 
 and in later life became a farmer. He came 
 to Stephenson county, Illinois, in the spring 
 of 1855, an d i n that fall moved to Fayette 
 county, Iowa, and settled on a farm, which he 
 occupied until 1867. -That year he moved to 
 Oakley, Wis., where he farmed for a number 
 of years. His wife died in 1886, at the age 
 of seventy-three. He died in August of the 
 following year, at the age of eighty. They 
 were devout members of the Methodist Church. 
 
 JAMES G. KIRKPATRICK, deceased. 
 To note in this biography that our lamented 
 subject was born in 1813, takes the mind far 
 back over an eventful epoch of history, to a 
 time when there were no railroads or tele- 
 graphs, and the wonders of science without 
 which we imagine we could scarcely exist were 
 still undiscovered. But in those days brave 
 men and women were born and lived event- 
 ful lives, often setting before the present gen- 
 eration examples of industry, patience, energv 
 and indomitable perseverance which should 
 not be lost upon it. 
 
 James G. Kirkpatrick was a native of the 
 State of Georgia, a worthy son of James and 
 Sarah (Pettajohn) Kirkpatrick, both of whom 
 were reared in the South. Some time previous 
 to 1832 they migrated to Illinois, and at that 
 time, when the Territory of Wisconsin was 
 opened up for settlement, the parents of our 
 subject were among the first pioneers to ven- 
 ture into the wilderness. Locating near Ar- 
 thur, in Grant county, they lived there until 
 
 many years had fallen upon them, and died 
 surrounded by numerous descendants. 
 
 Our subject received his education in Illi- 
 nois, there grew to manhood, and accompanied 
 the family to Wisconsin, where he took part 
 in the Black Hawk war, coming home un- 
 scathed. In 1840 he was united in marriage 
 to Miss CarolineNewman.the estimable daugh- 
 ter of John and Nancy (Jones) Newman. 
 John Newman was born in Pennsylvania in 
 1793, and his wife was a native of Kentucky, 
 born Dec. 6, 1803. After their marriage they 
 lived in Madison county, 111., until 1836, when 
 they moved to Wisconsin and settled near Ar- 
 thur, in Grant county, there passing the re- 
 mainder of their lives. Mr. Newman erected 
 upon a part of his property the first gristmill 
 in Wisconsin. The eight children reared by 
 Mr. and Mrs. Newman were: Caroline, Mrs. 
 
 Kirkpatrick, who was born March 8, 1821, in 
 Illinois ; Harriet, who married Alonzo Cush- 
 man, of Iowa county; Nelson, born in 1830, 
 who lives in the State of Iowa; John, born in 
 1832, residing in Nebraska; Capt. Jefferson, 
 born in 1833, who was killed in the battle 
 of the Wilderness during the Civil war, while 
 serving as captain of Company C, 7th Wis. 
 V. I. (he left a wife and two children, who 
 reside in Chicago) ; William, born in 1836, 
 who crossed the Plains to California, and was 
 drowned in crossing the Feather river, in 
 1862; Jane, born in 1839, married to Philo 
 Medley, of Grant county ; and Eliza, born in 
 1843, married to John Enloe, of Lafayette 
 county. 
 
 After marriage our subject and his wife 
 started to clear up a farm near Arthur, in 
 Grant county, being among the pioneers in 
 that locality. In those days the country still 
 remained in many portions almost a wilderness, 
 and the tales that Mrs. Kirkpatrick can still 
 tell of that early time in the county are many 
 and exciting, filled with adventures .with In- 
 dians, with floods and prairie fires, but all of 
 these events seem to have but strengthened in 
 her that strong and helpful nature which still 
 is shown at the advanced age of eighty years. 
 In 1866 they sold this farm and bought another 
 in Iowa county, which was also improved, and 
 sold in 1900; Mr. Kirkpatrick's last purchase 
 was in Belmont township, Lafayette county, 
 which he made his home until his death, in 
 i8 97- 
 
 Besides cheerfully assisting her husband 
 
326 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 as only a noble woman can, never complaining 
 of the privations to which she was obliged to 
 submit, Mrs. Kirkpatrick also bore and reared 
 her family of five children to respected man- 
 hood and womanhood. We have the following 
 record of the family : ( i ) Samuel, born in 
 
 1841 in Grant county, became a member of the 
 nth Wis. V. L, during the Civil war, served 
 faithfully for four years, and now resides in 
 Platteville. (2) Charles, born in Iowa county 
 in 1845, married Anna Lytle, a daughter of 
 James and Elizabeth (Gillam) Lytle, of Lan- 
 caster county, Neb., the former a native of 
 Ohio and the latter of Illinois. They were 
 residents of Platteville until 1868, when they 
 removed to Nebraska, where Mrs. Lytle died, 
 and he is now a resident of Colorado. Mrs. 
 Charles Kirkpatrick was born in Platteville in 
 1861. They reside on their farm in Cass 
 county, Neb., and have one daughter, Bessie. 
 ( 3 ) John, born in 1848, married Mary A. 
 Davis, of Belmont, who died, leaving one son, 
 Lewis E., who died in 1898, the father now 
 living in South Dakota. (4) Isabel, born in 
 1851, married Charles Bomley, a farmer of 
 Iowa county. (5) Nancy E., born in i860, 
 is the wife of Charles Martin, a farmer of 
 Iowa county; his seven children are Dora, 
 Ethel, Virgil, Ruscal, Leo, Beulah, and Erma. 
 
 In politics our subject was always devoted 
 to the principles of Jackson Democracy, and 
 as nearly as possible lived up to them. Among 
 the old neighbors and friends who have known 
 Mrs. Kirkpatrick so long, and who affection- 
 ately remember our subject, this lovable and 
 intelligent lady is passing a peaceful and happy 
 old age. For many years the cares of life 
 set heavily upon her, but she has now the great 
 satisfaction of knowing that her children are 
 all well placed in life, and her influence has 
 gone out for good wherever she has been 
 known. Many will be saddened when “grand- 
 mother” no longer greets them from her ac- 
 customed corner. 
 
 JOHN BURGIN SMITH, a well-to-do 
 farmer in the town of Bradford, Rock county, 
 was born May 6, 1842, on the place which lie 
 still owns, and adjoining the one on which he 
 resides, and comes of an English parentage. 
 
 John Smith, his father, was born in Eng- 
 land March 10, 1818, and accompanied his par- 
 ents to the United. States when he was a lad 
 of eleven years. They settled in New York, 
 
 and moved from there to Michigan, where the 
 elder Smith, named Joseph (the grandfather 
 of John B.), was a contractor on government 
 works in 1836. When that work was com- 
 pleted he moved to Chicago, and engaged in 
 the business of a hotel-keeper until 1845, i 11 
 which year he moved to Wisconsin, and pur- 
 chased a farm near Madison, where he lived 
 until his death, in 1868. His wife, Mary 
 Yeatman, died about ten years earlier. They 
 were the parents of six children, John, Alex- 
 ander, Henry, Mary, Sarah and Caroline. All 
 are deceased except the last named. 
 
 John Smith located at Bradford Center in 
 
 1839. He was a farmer. The first school, 
 church and town meetings were all held in his 
 house, and continued to be until suitable ac- 
 commodations could be provided, which was 
 not so easily done in pioneer days. Their var- 
 ious buildings were all erected later on prop- 
 erty which he donated for sites. Mr. Smith 
 was chairman of the town board of supervisors 
 four years, and held public office continuously 
 throughout life. He died in 1887, and his 
 widow’ survived until 1896; their bodies are 
 interred in Smithton cemetery. On May 14, 
 
 1840, at Naperville, 111 ., Mr. Smith married 
 Louisa Sargent, a daughter of John and Nancy 
 (Burgin) Sargent, of New Hampshire, and 
 they had four children, John B., Louisa A., 
 Alfred C. and Edwin S. Louisa A. married 
 George Wilcox and lives at Clinton, Wis. Al- 
 fred C. enlisted in Company E, 10th United 
 States Infantry, at Lexington, Ivy., and died 
 July 28, 1867, at Fort Wadsworth, Dakota 
 Territory. His body is buried in Smithton 
 cemetery on the old homestead. Edwin S. 
 married Flora Irish, of Clinton, Wis., and 
 they are now living in that place. This fam- 
 ily was instrumental in the organization of the 
 Free Baptist Church of Bradford, and John 
 Smith was among the most conspicuous of its 
 founders. He was its main support during his 
 life, and left the name of a devout Christian 
 and a public-spirited and most benevolent char- 
 acter. 
 
 John Burgin Smith grew to manhood on 
 the paternal acres, and received an impulse in 
 the way of right living from his father's ex- 
 ample that was potent in his formative days. 
 He obtained his education in the public schools 
 and in the academy at Allen’s Grove, Wis., and 
 when he became a young man was engaged 
 in teaching with success. He did service as 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 327 
 
 a soldier in the Union army during the war 
 of the Rebellion, enlisting May 11, 1864, in 
 Company A, 40th Wis. V. I., under the com- 
 mand of Capt. Samuel T. Lockwood. He re- 
 sponded to the call for one-hundred-day men, 
 and spent the period of his enlistment in doing- 
 picket duty around the city of Memphis and 
 helping repulse the Rebel Gen. Forrest’s forces 
 when they raided that city. He was honorably 
 mustered out of service at Madison Sept. 2I-, 
 1864. Mr. Smith then sought a fortune in 
 the gold mines of Montana, and spent five 
 fairly successful years in the mountains, enter- 
 ing Montana in 1865, and returning home in 
 1871, to take the management of the old home- 
 stead farm; here has been his residence to the 
 present time. 
 
 Mr. Smith and Miss Bertha Wright, 
 daughter of William and Jessie (Taylor) 
 Wright, of Janesville, Wis., were married Dec. 
 14, 1873. Mr. Wright was a harness maker, 
 and had the reputation of being one of the very 
 best workmen in his line in the State. He 
 was born in Scotland, and came to this country 
 in his early youth. Mr. Smith took a govern- 
 ment contract for carrying the mails daily 
 from Fairfield to Janesville, Wis., for a period 
 of four years ending July 1, 1899, thereby 
 securing a postoffice at Bradford Center, which 
 he has kept in his house since, for the accom- 
 modation of the public. Rufus L. Rollins 
 made an excellent record as a prompt and time- 
 keeping carrier. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the 
 parents of the following children : Laura, 
 
 born Jan. 14, 1875 ; Pearl, July 23, 1877; John 
 Wright, April 13, 1879; and Jessie L., March 
 11, 1885. Laura is the present postmistress 
 at Smithton, and was appointed by Postmaster- 
 General Charles Emery Smith Feb. 28, 1900, 
 to succeed her sister Pearl, who had held the 
 office two years, and resigned to take up school 
 teaching. Pearl is a graduate of the Clinton 
 high school, and is now a student at the White- 
 water (Wis.) Normal, preparing herself for 
 her chosen work with zeal and a wise perception 
 of its difficulties as well as advantages. Jessie 
 is now a student at the Clinton high school, and 
 expects to graduate in 1901. John, the only 
 son, is at home, and is carrying on his father's 
 farm, during the winter attending the agri- 
 cultural department of Wisconsin University. 
 
 John B. Smith is independent in politics 
 and religion, and is a man of sterling worth 
 and character, highly regarded by his neigh- 
 
 bors and very successful in the management of 
 his own affairs. He is a good neighbor and a 
 generous friend. 
 
 OSCAR M. LOOMIS is a representative 
 citizen of Grant county, and a veteran of the 
 Civil war. His birth took place in Cattarau- 
 gus county, N. Y., in 1834, his parents being 
 John and Mehitabel (Hadley) Loomis, the 
 former a native of Boston, Mass., a son of a 
 Revolutionary soldier ; the mother was of Scot- 
 tish descent. The parents of Mr. Loomis 
 moved from New York when Oscar M. was 
 one year old, settling in Ohio, where they re- 
 mained for nine 3-ears, and removing then to 
 the Territory of Wisconsin, locating near Mad- 
 ison. Some } T ears later the}" removed into 
 Grant county, where their last da}"s were spent, 
 in the town of Mount Hope. 
 
 Oscar M. Loomis was one of a family of 
 twelve children, six sons and six daughters, 
 and four of the sons served their country dur- 
 ing the Civil war, Benjamin, Joseph and Oscar 
 M. being members of the 43d Wis. V. I. Ben- 
 jamin is now a resident of Bassett, Neb.; Ed- 
 win, of Boscobel. Grant county; while Oscar 
 M., after his army service and several changes, 
 has become one of the solid men of Fen- 
 nimore, Grant county. It was in 1S54 that 
 Mr. Loomis entered into agricultural pursuits 
 at Alount Hope, and there married Jane Turn- 
 ben^, a lady of English descent. 
 
 In 1864 Mr. Loomis enlisted, at Woodman, 
 Grant county, was enrolled at Madison Sept. 
 16 as a member of the 43d Wis. Y. I., and 
 served until the close of the war, his health 
 necessitating some three months’ detention in 
 the hospital. After his return home Air. 
 Loomis ag’ain resumed farming, some time 
 later removing to the town of Woodman, 
 where he continued that pursuit. Like many 
 others, Air. Loomis found that the hard- 
 ships of army life had serious!}- impaired his 
 health, and he finall}- decided to make a change 
 in his occupation, with this end in view remov- 
 ing to Werlev, Grant county, where he engaged 
 in merchandising for a period of nine }-ears, 
 and was station agent at that place. The next 
 four }-ears he spent in South Dakota, since 
 which time he has been a resident of Fenni- 
 more, with the exception of one winter which 
 he spent in the South in search of health. 
 
 Air. Loomis lost his first wife Oct. 28, 1877, 
 she leaving a family of six children : Joseph, 
 
328 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Daniel, John, Mary, Nellie and Bessie. Mr. 
 Loomis was married later to Mary Eaton, and 
 he and his estimable wife are valued members 
 of the United Brethren Church. Mr. Loomis 
 is also a member of Sam Monteith Post, G. A. 
 R., at Fennimore, and enjoys the esteem of 
 his associates. They can sympathize with him 
 on account of his poor health, as their army 
 experience is responsible for the breaking down 
 of many an old soldier. 
 
 ARABUT LUDLOW, deceased. Few if 
 any names are so intimately written in the 
 inner and vital history of Monroe as that of 
 Arabut Ludlow, farmer, merchant and banker. 
 Gifted with that quality of good judgment that 
 sees while the many are blind, spurred by a 
 spirit of restless endeavor, grounded in inflex- 
 ible principles of integrity, it might have been 
 predicted that in whatever held of action he 
 chose to exercise his talents success would 
 have attended him. Like many other men 
 who have risen in the world, his boyhood days 
 were environed with obstacles and disadvan- 
 tages, as if fortune, to emphasize the merit of 
 her favored sons, had made their growth a 
 question of strenuous endeavor. 
 
 Mr. Ludlow was closely identified with the 
 development of Green county, Wis., for more 
 than a half century. A Vermonter by birth, 
 he came to the Badger State a youth of twenty 
 years, with courage in his heart, seeking a 
 career in the then distant West. He was born 
 in Burlington June 21, 1818, son of James and 
 Rosanna (Morton) Ludlow. The father was 
 a farmer of Burlington, and the only son of a 
 farmer of English ancestry, who lived to a good 
 old age. To James and Rosanna Ludlow 
 were born three children who lived to matur- 
 ity: Arabut; Jane, who married Addison 
 
 Macomber ; and Rosanna, who married Ben- 
 jamin Chenowith, of Monroe. The mother 
 died when the youngest child was a babe, and 
 the father for his second wife married a Miss 
 Alexander, by whom he had one son, now de- 
 ceased. 1 he father died comparatively young 
 in life, while visiting in New York State. 
 
 The boyhood of Arabut Ludlow was spent 
 at the home of an uncle. He received a good 
 education in the common schools and academy 
 of his day. and when sixteen years of age went 
 to live with a Mr. Waterman, who, in connec- 
 tion with farming, operated a carding machine 
 and starch factory. To Mr. Waterman’s care 
 
 and counsel Mr. Ludlow was indebted largely 
 for his business education, though from his 
 mother he had inherited marked business qual- 
 ities. Mr. Waterman was like a father to him, 
 schooling him in sterling business principles, 
 and intrusting him in a measure with the man- 
 agement of the carding machine and starch 
 factory. And here during those critical forma- 
 tive years from sixteen to twenty Arabut Lud- 
 low developed that sagacity and ability which 
 attended his subsequent business career. At 
 twenty he was ready to face new conditions. 
 With $50 capital he left his native State in 
 
 1838 for distant Michigan, where for two 
 years he carried the mail, on an Indian pony, 
 between Grand Rapids and Livingston Center. 
 Having saved his earnings, he in the fall of 
 
 1839 went to Chicago, then a struggling vil- 
 
 lage. He had sold goods on his- travels, and 
 reached Chicago with a team. Llis services 
 were engaged to make a trip to Green Bay, 
 conveying a load of goods and bringing back 
 furs. Soon discovering that there was profit 
 in this transportation, he engaged in the busi- 
 ness for himself, gradually shortening the trips 
 until they ended at Madison, trading general 
 merchandise for furs, or paying cash for the 
 same. Mr. Ludlow conducted a thriving trade 
 until 1846. O11 March 3 of that year he mar- 
 
 ried, in Winnebago county, Miss Caroline C. 
 Sanderson, daughter of John and Lydia (Har- 
 ris) Sanderson, and in October of that year 
 located at Monroe, where he started a general 
 store and engaged actively in mercantile pur- 
 suits for many years, becoming one of the most 
 prominent business men of Green county. In 
 1857 he erected a fine country home on the 
 farm, a half mile north of the city, to which 
 he removed with his family in that year, and 
 where he continued to reside until his death, 
 almost forty years later. He accumulated 
 much property, owning at one time 2,100 acres 
 of farm land, in addition to much real estate 
 in the city. He improved considerable of this 
 property, erecting among other structures the 
 “Ludlow Hotel.” 
 
 In 1854 Mr. Ludlow opened an exchange 
 at Monroe. Two years later the firm of Lud- 
 low, Bingham & Co. was organized, and ob- 
 tained a State charter as the Bank of Monroe. 
 In May of that year the first notes of the bank 
 were issued. In 1864 the First National Bank 
 of Monroe was organized, and into it in June, 
 1865, the old Bank of Monroe was merged, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3 2 9 
 
 Mr. Ludlow purchasing a large interest, and 
 taking with him J. B. Galusha, who had been 
 cashier of the Bank of Monroe from its or- 
 ganization. Air. Galusha was elected cashier 
 of the First National Bank, in which capacity 
 he remained until his resignation, in 1887. 
 Mr. Ludlow became a director in 1865, and 
 remained on the board until' his death. In 
 1870 he was elected vice-president, and three 
 years later became president, holding the posi- 
 tion continuously until his voluntary resigna- 
 tion, Jan. 1, 1894. He was the guiding spirit 
 in the management of the bank, which was as 
 well known by the name of "Ludlow's Bank" 
 as by its real title. All his business affairs 
 were conducted with energy and decision, but 
 in manner and sentiment he was genial and 
 good-humored, known to all his old friends 
 as “Lud.” 
 
 In politics Mr. Ludlow was a strong Re- 
 publican. He was deeply interested in political 
 questions, and lent his personality and force 
 of character to the cause he espoused. But 
 he was in no sense an office seeker. He served, 
 however, as a delegate to the Republican Na- 
 tional Convention at Philadelphia that nomi- 
 nated Gen. Grant for the Presidency. The 
 death of Mr. Ludlow occurred April 5, 1896, 
 in the seventy-eighth year of his age. His 
 widow survives, and still resides in the old 
 homestead. 
 
 Mrs. Ludlow is a native of Cambridge, 
 Mass., and a representative of several old New 
 England families. Her parents were natives of 
 Massachusetts, and her father was a soldier in 
 the war of 1812. He was of Scottish ancestry. 
 Her maternal grandfather was of English ex- 
 traction, and a soldier of the Revolutionary 
 war, participating in the battles of Lexington 
 and Bunker Hill and other engagements. Her 
 daughters are now members of the Daughters 
 of the American Revolution, and her son, 
 Willis, is a Son of the American Revolution. 
 To John and Lydia (Harris) Sanderson were 
 born three children, all living, namely : Car- 
 
 oline C., Mrs. Ludlow; John Sanderson, of 
 Louisiana, Mo. ; and Lydia, widow of Josiah 
 Richardson, of Brodhead, Wis. The mother 
 died when Caroline C. was a child, and the 
 father married for his second wife bliss Martha 
 Blood, by whom he had one child who grew 
 to maturity, Harriet, how widow of Cyrus Put- 
 nam. of Brodhead. Mrs. Ludlow came with 
 her father to Chicago in the spring of 1839, 
 
 and thence moved with him to Rockford. 111 . 
 She was twenty-one years of age at the time 
 of her marriage to Mr. Ludlow, in 1846. 
 
 To Arabut and Caroline C. Ludlow were 
 born seven children, namely : Henry, Edwin. 
 
 Irving, Willis, Addie, Nettie and Nellie. 
 Henry is president of the First National Bank 
 of Monroe ; he married Alida Condee, and they 
 have three children, May, Charles and Addie. 
 Edwin is unmarried, and lives at the old home- 
 stead. Irving died young. Willis is a farmer, 
 and lives in Monroe; he married Lottie Meeker, 
 and they have two children living, Hattie and 
 Harris. Addie married Homer Bingham, of 
 Monroe ; they have one daughter, Helen, and 
 now live in Denver, where he is engaged in the 
 lumber business. Nettie died at the age of 
 two years. Nellie married John Flower, a 
 real estate dealer of Denver ; they have two 
 children, Caroline and Ludlow. 
 
 MATTHEW J. WILLIAMS, a prominent 
 farmer of Benton, Lafayette county, is a citi- 
 zen whose life extends back to the days when 
 this vicinity was the borderland for Western 
 civilization, and who has performed a part of 
 the hard labor necessary to develop the then 
 unbroken wilderness. He was born in the 
 town of New Diggings, Lafayette county, 
 Nov. 3, 1834, and his father was Capt. Mat- 
 thew Williams, of pioneer fame. 
 
 Capt. Matthew Williams was born in Corn- 
 wall, England, in 1781, and his wife, Mary 
 Johns, was born in 1787. Their marriage was 
 celebrated in England, and there they lived 
 until after the birth of their seventh child, when 
 Mr. Williams came to America to found a new 
 home and prepare for the coming of his wife 
 and children. He worked in the mines in 
 Pennsylvania for a short time, and then came 
 on to Wisconsin, purchasing land near Ben- 
 ton, on which he prospected for mineral two 
 or three years. The year 1832 found him en- 
 rolled in the United States service, and an ac- 
 tive participant in the Black Hawk war. When 
 that sharp struggle was ended he returned to 
 England, rejoining his wife and family. They 
 started for America on a sailing-vessel, and 
 landed in their new home in June, 1834. After 
 his return to Wisconsin Capt. Williams en- 
 gaged in mining, and was the discoverer of 
 the noted "Buncome Mine," in Lafayette coun- 
 ty. The remainder of his life was devoted to 
 farming and mining, and he was widely known 
 
330 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 among the pioneers, taking an active part in 
 the arduous public affairs of the clay. He was 
 a member of the Old-line Whig party, and took 
 a keen interest in the political questions of the 
 hour. His death occurred in April, 1843, an d 
 that of his good wife, who had borne with him 
 all the trials and hardships of frontier life, in 
 March, 1862. They left one son and four 
 daughters: (1) Matthew J. is mentioned be- 
 
 low. (2) Ann married W. R. Sampson, in 
 England, and came to this country with her 
 parents. They first located in Lafayette coun- 
 ty, and later moved to Iowa county, where 
 she died on a farm near Ridgeway, leaving a 
 family, of whom are yet liv ing — Mary J., wife 
 of James S. Taylor, of Palmyra, Mo. ; W. R., 
 who was a soldier in the Civil war, now a resi- 
 dent of Nebraska: Samuel W., a resident of 
 Nebraska, formerly a member of the "Bloody 
 2d" Wisconsin Regiment, serving throughout 
 the Civil war; James T. (a lieutenant of the 
 1 2th Wis. V. I. during the Rebellion), also a 
 resident of Nebraska; and Rev. Matthew W., 
 a minister of Fremont, Neb. (3) Phillipia, 
 born in 1824, married Judge A. C. Brown, 
 now of Jackson, Cal. They first lived in 
 Grant county, Wis., where he practiced law, 
 and in 1850 moved to California, where he 
 became judge of the courts and a very promi- 
 nent man. Mrs. Brown died in 1896, leaving 
 three children out of a family of thirteen — 
 Mary, Maggie and George. (4) Mary mar- 
 ried Edwin Johns, of Galena, 111 ., where she 
 died soon after her marriage. (5) Elizabeth, 
 born in 1826, married William G. Thompson, 
 a lawyer of New York State, later of Illinois, 
 where he died, leaving three children — Matthew 
 W., W. G., and Henry C., of whom W. G. is 
 now the only survivor. Mrs. Thompson for 
 her second husband married James S. Taylor, 
 anch located on a farm in Seymour, Lafayette 
 county, later going to Missouri, where she died 
 in July, i860. 
 
 Matthew J. Williams, the only one of his 
 generation yet living, received but a limited 
 education in the primitive schools of New Dig- 
 gings. He early began farming and mining, 
 and after his father’s death became an import- 
 ant factor in the support of the family. His 
 mother made her home with him up to the 
 time of her death, in 1862. He settled on the 
 old homestead near Benton, and has made that 
 his home practically all his life, with the sole 
 exception of two years passed in the mines of 
 
 California, Idaho and Montana. He was 
 fairly successful as a miner, but returned to 
 his old home, where he has followed mining 
 and farming together ever since. He is enter- 
 prising and industrious, and his highly culti- 
 vated fields give abundant evidence that he 
 has a thorough knowledge of his work. 
 
 In i860 Mr. Williams was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Mary Alexander, daughter of 
 William and Mary Alexander, an old pioneer 
 couple who came to this country from County 
 Tyrone, Ireland, and located in Benton, where 
 they both died. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander were 
 the parents of the following children : John, 
 
 of Dubuque, Iowa ; Jane, wife of Richard Dent, 
 of Benton ; Eliza, wife of Jackson Brandsetter, 
 of East Dubuque; William, of Cuba City, 
 Grant Co., Wis.; Thomas A., of Shullsburg, 
 Wis. ; and Mary, Mrs. Williams. Mrs. Will- 
 iams was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, Dec. 
 24, 1839, and died Jan. 6, 1901, a kind and 
 loving wife and an affectionate mother. She 
 was a faithful member of the Christian Church, 
 and steadfastly endeavored to carry out her 
 professions in her daily, life. She was the 
 mother of nine children, as follows : Mary 
 
 L. ; Benjamin F. ; Lavena P., who died in child- 
 hood ; William R. S., a railroad conductor, 
 born in January, 1861, who married Nora 
 Mac Breen, of Dubuque, and has one child, 
 Marguerite ; Frank B., born in December, 1864, 
 who when a young man entered the gold fields 
 of the Pacific coast, has visited the mines of 
 New Mexico, traveled all over the gold fields 
 of the West and East, and is now the owner 
 of a gold claim in Dawson City, Klondike; 
 Mary Luella, born in 1869, who married James 
 E. Miller, of Lead Mine, Lafayette county, 
 and has had four children, James L., Matthew 
 W., Joseph L., and Mary Viola, the last named 
 having died in childhood; Henry C., a miner 
 in Livingston, Wis., horn in 1871, who mar- 
 ried Maggie McCauley, and has two children, 
 Viola and an infant unnamed ; George W., born 
 in 1874, an industrious and highly respected 
 young man, now manager of the home farm; 
 and Lavena, born in September, 1880, educated 
 in the home schools, who has remained at 
 home taking care of her parents and nursing 
 her mother through the latter's last illness. 
 She is a lady of culture and refinement, and 
 presides over the old home with much grace 
 and dignity. 
 
 Politically Mr. Williams was first a Whig, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 33i 
 
 and then, with the formation of the Republi- 
 can party, cast his ballot in support of the new 
 organization, and has since remained an un- 
 faltering adherent of its principles. Socially 
 he is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and 
 of the I. O. O. F., Lodge No. 21, of Benton ; 
 he was a charter member of the L O. O. F. 
 lodge at Lead Mine, having joined thirty-three 
 years ago, and has been a member of the Ben- 
 ton lodge since its organization, having helped, 
 to form it. While a member of no religious 
 denomination, he has been a liberal supporter 
 of all church work, and has given generously 
 to benevolent purposes, regardless of creed or 
 sect. 
 
 FELIX C. BENNETT, a prominent citizen 
 of Green county, Wisconsin, is at the present 
 time living in the city of Monroe, retired from 
 all active association with business of any sort. 
 He has been intimately identified with the ag- 
 ricultural and commercial interests of the coun- 
 ty for many years, and has always been re- 
 garded as one of its representative men. 
 Under the first and second administrations of 
 President Cleveland he was postmaster at 
 Monroe, and proved a capable and popular 
 official. 
 
 Mr. Bennett was born in Licking county, 
 Ohio, March 28, 1839, a son of Michael and 
 Elizabeth (Donnelly) Bennett, natives of 
 Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively. They 
 were the parents of four sons and two daugh- 
 ters, all but one of whom are now living: 
 Felix C. ; Joseph, of Monroe; Angeline, the 
 wife of William Parks, of Hampton, Iowa ; 
 James W., of New Birmingham, Texas; Nancy 
 A., the wife of Asa Bailey, of Thornton, 
 Iowa; and Wiley, deceased. The father was 
 a farmer. He went to Ohio with his parents 
 when a boy, and spent his earlier years in that 
 State. In 1854 he moved to Wisconsin, and 
 located on a farm of four hundred acres in 
 Washington township, seven and a half miles 
 north of Monroe. Pie made his home on this 
 farm until 1870. That year he sold out all his 
 real estate and moved into Monroe, and lived 
 in that city until his death, in 1897, at the 
 venerable age of eighty-five years. His wife 
 survived him until March, 1900, when she 
 passed away at the age of eighty-six. They 
 had lived together nearly sixty-five years, and 
 were members of the Christian Church. He 
 had been a man of considerable importance, 
 
 and had held various township offices when 
 younger and more active. His father, Joseph 
 Bennett, was of English and German descent. 
 Mrs. Bennett’s parents, Felix and Charity 
 (McGuire) Donnelly, were of Scottish de- 
 scent. 
 
 Felix C. Bennett lived in Licking county, 
 Ohio, until he was about fifteen years old. 
 His father was keeping a hotel at Newark dur- 
 ing the Mexican war, and in that Ohio city 
 Mr. Bennett grew to the age of fifteen years, 
 when he came to Wisconsin, in company with 
 his parents, and lived on their Green county 
 farm for many years. He obtained a very 
 good education in the public schools, and is a 
 wide reader, and a deep thinker on live public 
 questions. The business career of Mr. Ben- 
 nett began by the rental of farm land in Mon- 
 roe township, which he held for three years. 
 Then the young farmer bought an eighty-acre 
 tract in the same township, which he improved 
 and occupied until 1875. That year he moved 
 into Monroe, and engaged in the grocery busi- 
 ness. He continued in that line for some 
 twelve or fifteen years, doing very well as a 
 tradesman and building up a fine patronage. 
 When President Cleveland became the official 
 head of the country it was a problem who 
 should succeed the retiring postmaster of Mon- 
 roe. Mr. Bennett easily demonstrated his 
 possession of a standing as the leading Demo- 
 cratic politician of the city, and he was ac- 
 cordingly appointed, both in 1888 and in 1896, 
 his second term of office expiring January 31, 
 1900. 
 
 In Play, 1864, occurred the marriage of 
 Felix C. Bennett and Miss Catharine Bell, the 
 daughter of William and Nancy (Hanger) 
 Bell. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett became the par- 
 ents of two sons and two daughters. Clay \Y., 
 Estella, and twins who died in infancy. Clay 
 W., a dentist in Monroe, is the subject of a 
 sketch found elsewhere in this work. He 
 married Ida Roderick, and they have two chil- 
 dren, Byron and Catherine. Estella married 
 George E. King, a druggist in Janesville, and 
 has one child, Helen. Mrs. King graduated 
 from the Whitewater Normal, and for a num- 
 ber of years was engaged in teaching. Mrs. 
 Catharine Bennett, the first wife of our sub- 
 ject, died in 1879. She was a member of the 
 Christian Church, and a woman of fine char- 
 acter. Mr. Bennett was again married, Dr. 
 Hannah C. Russell, daughter of John and 
 
332 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Hannah (Rolfe) Russell, becoming his wife 
 March 9, 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett are as- 
 sociated with the Christian Church. He is a 
 member of the Ancient Order of United Work- 
 men. and politically is a stanch Democrat. 
 He has served as supervisor and member of 
 the county board from the First ward of the 
 city of Monroe. Mr. Bennett built his pres- 
 ent residence in 1893. 
 
 HON. JAMES FI. CABANIS, who served 
 as mayor of Platteville, Grant county, in 1900, 
 was born in Springfield, III, Dec. 25, 1838, a 
 son of George E. and Mary A. (Lanterman) 
 Cabanis, who were the parents of two children: 
 Jasper X. and James H., of whom more will 
 soon be said. 
 
 George E. Cabanis was born in Kentucky 
 in 1817, and when a young man located in 
 Springfield, 111 ., where he married Miss Lan- 
 terman, and where he followed his trade 'of 
 carpenter until 1843 — working in his earlier 
 days on a boat for Abraham Lincoln. In the 
 year last named he brought his family to 
 Smelser township. Grant county, Wis., where 
 he passed away in 1892, and where his widow 
 still resides. 
 
 Jasper N. Cabanis, alluded to above, was 
 born in Springfield, 111 ., in 1836, was brought 
 to Smelser when about nine years old, was 
 here educated in the Platteville Academy, and 
 here grew to manhood. Not long after the 
 Civil war broke out he enlisted, in the 25th 
 Wis. V. I., and died while in the service, leav- 
 ing his widow, who had borne the maiden name 
 of Hannah Richards, with one son, Leon, who 
 now resides at Storm Lake. Iowa. 
 
 James H. Cabanis, who was but seven years 
 old when brought to Smelser, was also educated 
 in the old academy of the town, and for six or 
 seven years thereafter taught in the public 
 schools of the county. In 1867 he married 
 Miss Ada FI. Haney, a native of Grant county, 
 and a member of one of the oldest pioneer fam- 
 ilies of Wisconsin. At marriage Mr. Cabanis 
 settled in Georgetown village, where he was 
 engaged in mercantile trade for over thirty 
 years, and he also owned a large farm near by, 
 which he cultivated to a considerable extent. 
 In 1893 he came to Platteville, and engaged in 
 the gents' furnishing trade and in tailoring, 
 succeeding' bevond his expectations in this line. 
 
 In 1898 Mr. Cabanis, who had become very 
 popular both as a tradesman and as a politi- 
 
 cian, was elected mayor of Platteville on the 
 Republican ticket by a large majority, having 
 qualified himself for this important and re- 
 sponsible office by having previously filled sev- 
 eral offices of trust and honor in Grant county, 
 such as member of the town board of Georoe- 
 
 o 
 
 town and representative from his district in 
 the State Legislature, in 1881 and 1882. As 
 mayor of Platteville he exhibited g'reat execu- 
 tive ability, and filled his seat with grace and 
 dignity. 
 
 To the marriage of Mr. .and Mrs. Cabanis 
 have been born four children, in the following 
 order : Mary, a graduate in music from Ev- 
 
 anston Conservatory, 111., and now the wife of 
 Simon Clark, of Grant county, and the mother 
 of three children, Florence, and the twins, Don- 
 ald and Harold ; Frank, who is vice-president of 
 the Big Patch Zinc and Lead Co., of Grant 
 county, and is manager of the mines : Harry, 
 bookkeeper for his father; and Jennie F., a 
 student at the State Normal School in Platte- 
 ville. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cabanis have been members 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church for more 
 than thirty years, and still take an active part 
 and interest in its work. Fraternally Mr. 
 Cabanis is a Mason. He has been one of the 
 most successful of business men, and, with Mr. 
 Reed as his partner, owns the largest tailoring 
 and gents' furnishing store in the city of 
 Platteville. 
 
 HANNAH C. BENNETT, M. D„ wife 
 of Felix C. Bennett, is a daughter of John 
 and Hannah (Rolfe) Russell, and granddaugh- 
 ter of Richard Russell and of Thomas and 
 Nancy ( Baileys ) Rolfe. She has won a high 
 standing in the city of Monroe, Green county, 
 where she has lived for many years. The 
 novelty of a woman physician may have served 
 to attract attention in the early days, but her 
 modest and unassuming character, genuine 
 worth, and thorough mastery of her profession, 
 command the confidence and trust of the public 
 to a marked degree. 
 
 John Russell and his wife were natives 
 of Kent, England, and when they emigrated 
 to this country, in 1850, were accompanied by 
 their six children, born in England. They 
 located in Sussex, Waukesha Co., Wis., where 
 they had one child born to them. Their chil- 
 dren were : Sarah, wife of George Hall, of 
 Rio, Wis. : Matilda, wife of George Greengo, 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 333 
 
 of Sussex; Dr. Hannah C. ; Mary, widow of 
 Owen Cordy, near Cambria, Wis. ; John, of 
 Cambria ; Rolfe, of W aukesha ; and Catherine, 
 who died at the age of twenty-four. The fa- 
 ther was a boot and shoemaker, and died in 
 Sussex m 1883, aged seventy-four years. His 
 wife died in 1888, aged seventy-six. They 
 were Episcopalians. His father, Richard Rus- 
 sell, died in England when sixty years of age ; 
 he had ten children. He was an overseer and- 
 a lumber lawyer. Thomas Rolfe, the father 
 of Hannah, mentioned above, was a farmer, 
 and died in England, aged eighty-six years. He 
 had six children. 
 
 Dr. Hannah C. (Russell) Bennett attended 
 the common school at Sussex, and later was a 
 student at Carroll College, Waukesha. She 
 secured a good education, and taught school 
 for ten years. About this time her attention 
 was turned to the field that opened before 
 women in the practice of medicine, and, feel- 
 ing some natural adaptation to the profession, 
 she took up the study of that science, and was 
 graduated from the Women's Medical Col- 
 lege in Chicago in 1876. Her own home be- 
 came the field of her first practice after her 
 graduation, and there the Doctor was engaged 
 for five years. In 1881 Dr. Russell came to 
 Monroe, and here she has been continuously 
 engaged in her profession to the present time. 
 She married Felix C. Bennett in March, 1882, 
 and finds in her gifted and successful husband 
 a noble associate in making life useful and 
 helpful to the world. 
 
 NICHOLAS H. BROWN, one of the 
 many natives of Yorkshire, England, who have 
 contributed no little part toward the develop- 
 ment of southwestern Wisconsin, was born in 
 December, 1840, son of Joseph and Prudence 
 Brown. 
 
 Joseph Brown brought his wife and family 
 to America in 1850, and settled in the town 
 of Benton, Lafayette county, where he found 
 employment in the lead mines, at which he 
 continued for three years, or until he had saved 
 enough to purchase a farm east of Shullsburg, 
 whither he removed. He then made farming 
 his occupation, and greatly improved his land, 
 continuing to reside thereon until his death, 
 in 1864. After the death of her husband Mrs. 
 Brown moved to Shullsburg, where she made 
 her home until her death, in 1874. Ten chil- 
 dren were born to this worthy couple, but two 
 
 of whom survive : Isabel, born in Wisconsin, 
 
 now the wife of James Prouse, a well-to-do 
 farmer of Swartwout, Miss. ; and Nicholas H. 
 
 Nicholas H. Brown had received a fair 
 education in England before the removal of 
 the family to this country. After they located 
 in Wisconsin it was necessary that he go to 
 work to contribute to the family fund, which 
 he did, accompanying his father in the lead 
 mines for three years, and assisting in the 
 cultivation of the farm after its purchase. In 
 1874 he moved to Shullsburg, where for two 
 years he was engaged in the grocery business, 
 but since 1878 he has lived retired. L'pon 
 his determination to make Shullsburg his 
 home he purchased a good home, which he still 
 continues to occupy. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Brown was united in marriage 
 with Miss Annie Harrison, born in 1844, 
 daughter of James and Martha Harrison. She 
 was educated in the thorough schools of Alton, 
 Ilk, acquired a good literary training, and is 
 a charming, cultured, Christian woman, who 
 has devoted much of her life to doing good 
 to those about her. No children have come 
 to this marriage. Both Mr. and Mrs. Brown 
 are members of the (Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and always to be found where there 
 is good work to be done. In politics Mr. 
 Brown is affiliated with the Republican party, 
 but not in the sense of being an office seeker. 
 He is highly respected, and bears a reputation 
 for dealing justly with all men. Fraternally he 
 is a Knight Templar Mason, holding member- 
 ship in Amicia Lodge, No. 25, F. & A. M., 
 Shullsburg ; Darlington Chapter ; and Galena 
 Commandery, No. 40. 
 
 James and (Martha Harrison, the parents 
 of Mrs. Brown, were pioneer residents of Wis- 
 consin, formerly of Illinois. James Harrison 
 was born in Virginia in 1807, and his wife 
 Martha in Kentucky in 1820. After their 
 marriage they settled in Alton, 111 .-, making 
 that their home until 1845, when they came 
 to Monticello township, Lafayette county. 
 There his death occurred in July, 1873. (Mrs. 
 Harrison made her home after the death of 
 her husband with her daughter, Mrs. Brown. 
 They were the parents of four children : ( 1 ) 
 
 Augusta, born in Illinois in 1838. died in 
 April, 1883. She married Edward Vanvoorhis, 
 who was born near the Hudson river, in New 
 York, in October, 1826, and they resided on 
 a farm near Gratiot for some years, then pur- 
 
334 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 chasing a farm east of Shullsburg. They 
 were the parents of six children — Cornelia, 
 wife of Daniel Kramer, of Shullsburg; Will- 
 iam, who died in young manhood ; George, de- 
 ceased in early manhood; lone, deceased; Dr. 
 James H., a graduate of the Northwestern 
 Medical College, of Chicago, now a practicing 
 physician ; and Isabel, who on account of fail- 
 ing health has made her home in Los Angeles, 
 Cal., for five years. Mr. Vanvoorhis makes 
 his home with his sister-in-law, Mrs. Brown. 
 (2) William H., born in 1840, in Illinois, 
 now a successful physician of Houston, Texas, 
 was a surgeon of the 4th Wisconsin Volunteer 
 Cavalry during the Civil war. (3) Isabel, 
 deceased, a graduate of Mount Morris ( 111 .) 
 Seminary, and for a number of years a teacher 
 in that institution, became the wife of Rev. 
 Amos Patton, of Chicago. They resided at 
 Lockport, 111 . She became the mother of two 
 children — Clarence, who died in childhood ; 
 and Harrison, a popular teacher in the Illi- 
 nois public schools. (4) Annie is now Mrs. 
 Brown. 
 
 DAVID W. WATT. The family of Watt, 
 or at least that branch thereof to which David 
 W. Watt belongs, is of Scottish lineage. His 
 paternal grandfather, who was also named 
 David, a well-to-do farmer, was born in Vir- 
 ginia, and removed to Ohio early in life. He 
 was the father of seven children. He died in 
 1868, at the age of sixty-nine. 
 
 David Watt, son of David, was the father 
 of the influential citizen of Janesville whose 
 life is under review. He was a farmer, as was 
 his father, and like him, too, became dissatis- 
 fied with his surroundings in early manhood. 
 In 1849 he went with his family from Ohio, 
 his native State, to Wisconsin, locating first 
 at Janesville, and removing within a few months 
 to Green county. There he remained until 
 1872, his home being near Monroe. In the 
 year last named he determined to go yet farther 
 West, and bought a farm in the town of Ham- 
 ilton, Franklin Co., Iowa. There he died six 
 years later, in his sixty-first year, his widow 
 following him to the grave in 1893, after at- 
 taining the age of threescore and ten. Her 
 maiden name was Ruth Ball, and her father, 
 Farlin Ball, who was a millwright, removed 
 from Vermont to Wisconsin in 1849. He 
 bought land near Monroe, and there passed the 
 remainder of his life, dying at t)he age of 
 
 seventy-two, respected by his neighbors. He 
 and his wife reared a family of eight children. 
 To David and Ruth W att were born five sons 
 and three daughters, of whom seven are yet 
 living: John M., the sheriff of Franklin county, 
 Iowa ; Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Nye, of Hamp- 
 ton, in that State; George F., a resident of 
 Hawarden, Iowa; Zanna, Mrs. Joseph Noggle, 
 of Hampton; Charlotte (married); Quigley, 
 of Iowa Falls; and David W. 
 
 David W. Watt was born in Jefferson coun- 
 ty, Ohio, April 24, 1849, and was reared upon 
 his father’s farm in Green county, Wis. He 
 began life's battle in 1868, when, a youth of 
 nineteen years, he came to Janesville to enter 
 the store of Colvin & Farnsworth, as clerk. 
 After eighteen months’ experience there he 
 went to Chicago, where for a year he filled a 
 position with Field, Leiter & Co. At the end 
 of that time he returned to Janesville, and for 
 two years following was successfully engaged 
 in the livery business. This venture made 
 him acquainted with many showmen, and he 
 concluded to embark in that branch of busi- 
 ness himself. His first associate was Burr 
 Roblins, with whom he remained four years. 
 For the next eight years he was connected 
 with the Forepaughs, and for a year with 
 Bailey & Cooper. His connection with these 
 enterprises carried him into every quarter of 
 the Union. While with Forepaugh & Bailey 
 he acted as treasurer and ticket agent, and 
 through his alertness and facility earned the 
 sobriquet of the “lightning ticket seller.” Re- 
 turning to Janesville, he settled down to a 
 more quiet life, embarking in business as a 
 real-estate agent, in which h’e has been very 
 successful. 
 
 Mr. Watt was married Jan. 4, 1872, to 
 Josephine M., a daughter of Lorenzo and Mary 
 Ann Dearborn, and they have had two sons, 
 William W. and Bertie Lorenzo. The elder 
 is a reporter on the staff of the Janesville 
 Daily Gazette, and the younger a clerk in a 
 shoe store. Mr. Watt is a Republican in pol- 
 itics, and at present (1900) holds the office 
 of city assessor, a position for which he is 
 well qualified by native ability, knowledge of 
 men and recognized integrity. 
 
 RAMSEY BEAUMONT, a retired farm- 
 er, and the present mayor of Belmont, is one 
 of the representative citizens of Lafayette coun- 
 ty, and a man whose honorable life and upright 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 335 
 
 character deserve a prominent place in the pages 
 of a publication such as this. 
 
 Mr. Beaumont is a native of Yorkshire, 
 England, born June 27, 1838, and is a son of 
 Joseph and Elizabeth (Hatfield) Beaumont, 
 both English born and bred. Joseph Beau- 
 mont. with his wife and four children, in 1845, 
 crossed the ocean and came to Platteville, Wis., 
 where he died in August, 1846, leaving his 
 family alone and in a strange land. Airs. 
 Beaumont, however, was a woman of a brave 
 spirit, and she settled in that town, determined 
 to keep her children together, and give them 
 a schooling that would lit them for a success- 
 ful career in the new country. And there, after 
 two years, she married her second husband, 
 John Alareatt, of that city, tie was also Eng- 
 lish born and bred, and a man of much energy 
 and force of character. They moved to Ken- 
 dall township, in 1850, and settled near what 
 is locally known as the “lighthouse," put up by 
 Stephen Rockwell, to show people the way 
 across the prairie at night. Ramsey Beaumont 
 was the eldest child of his parents, and his 
 brother George their second son. Both were 
 born in England. They, were old enough at 
 the breaking out of the Civil war to enlist, and 
 George became a member of Company E, nth 
 Wis. V. I., under Col. Harris, a West Point 
 graduate. The regiment was in service dur- 
 ing the entire war, having re-enlisted in Feb- 
 ruary, 1864, and mustered in as a veteran or- 
 ganization, and was in some of the most stir- 
 ring scenes and battles of that great struggle. 
 It was mustered out in June, 1865. While 
 in the service Air. Beaumont contracted chronic 
 diarrhea, and he died six weeks after return- 
 ing home. During his service he had a fur- 
 lough, came home, and married Aliss Eliza- 
 beth Good, daughter of Charles Good, of Elk 
 Grove, Lafayette county. No children were 
 born to this union. Alary Beaumont, born in 
 England, is now the wife of Henry Feathers, 
 a retired farmer of Belmont, and is the mother 
 of eleven children. Mariah Beaumont, born 
 in England, is the widow of Arthur Brewer, 
 of Cuba City, Grant county, and has a family 
 of six children, William, Minnie, Richard, 
 Frank, Albert, and AVallie. Joseph Beau- 
 mont, born in Platteville, in December, 1845, 
 is now living on his farm in Adams county. 
 Iowa. He married Anna Blewit, of Lafayette 
 county, and they have had a family of four 
 children, Alary, Nellie, Willie and Emma. 
 
 Ramsey Beaumont grew to manhood on 
 the farm, and received his education in the 
 district schools, and. though it was neither 
 very profound nor extensive, he was a close 
 student, and has made the most of the some- 
 what deficient teaching of a generation ago. 
 In i860 he married Aliss Ellen Yaw, a native 
 of Ashtabula county, Ohio, and the daughter 
 of Joseph and Alary A. (Beckwith) Yaw. 
 Her father was born in New York, and her 
 mother in Connecticut, coming of good old Rev- 
 olutionary stock. Airs. Beaumont received her 
 education mainly in Ohio, as her parents came 
 to Wisconsin in 1853. After his marriage Air. 
 Beaumont bought a prairie farm in Kendall 
 township, where lie erected ample buildings, 
 and improved the place so that it has become 
 one of the choice farms of the county. In 1896 
 he bought a location and put up a residence 
 in Belmont, which at once became his home. 
 Here he has lived a quiet and peaceful life, 
 and is enjoying a well-earned rest from the 
 hard labor of his earlier years. He has been 
 one of the hard-working and successful farmers 
 of Lafayette county, and has so managed his 
 affairs that in his old age he is not dependent, 
 but enjoys an ample competence, and can live 
 comfortably and at his ease. Airs. Beaumont 
 passed away Nov. 10, 1900, and is buried at 
 Belmont. Air. and Airs. Beaumont had eleven 
 dhildren, of whom five are now living : Spen- 
 
 cer and Jennie died when they had reached the 
 age of two years, the others in infancy. Laura 
 was born in Lafayette county in 1863, and 
 studied in the Normal School at Platteville; 
 she is now the wife of Henry Westrope, a 
 hardware merchant of Corning, Iowa, and is 
 the mother of two children, Ellen and Allen. 
 Rosie was born on the homestead farm in La- 
 fayette county, and is living with her parents. 
 Joseph, born in 1872, married Aliss Ada Has- 
 ker, of Shullsburg, and resides on his father's 
 farm ; they have two children, Addison and 
 Howard. Albert was born in 1875, married 
 Aliss Lizzie Aletcalf, of Shullsburg, and shares 
 the cultivation of his father’s farm with his old- 
 er brother. John, born in 1881, is unmarried, 
 and is residing in Wisconsin. Brothers of Airs. 
 Beaumont are living in Belvidere, 111 ., Cedar 
 Falls, Iowa, Iowa Falls and Alexander, Iowa, 
 and all are prominent and successful business 
 men. 
 
 Air. Beaumont is a Republican, and is re- 
 garded as one of the leading men of the party 
 
336 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in Lafayette county. He has held different 
 town offices, and is now serving his third year 
 as president of the village board. He is a 
 member of the Episcopal Church, while his wife 
 was a Methodist. Fraternally Mr. Beaumont 
 is a Mason, and a member of Star Lodge, 
 No. 64, A. F. & A. M., at Darlington. He 
 is regarded as one of the solid and reliable 
 men of Lafayette county, and is very popu- 
 lar in every walk of life, an esteem which his 
 wife fully shared. 
 
 EDWIN AZRO CHARLTON, deceased, 
 of Brodhead, Green county, is remembered 
 as one of the most intelligent and highly cul- 
 tured members of the Press Association of 
 Wisconsin. He had a fine mind naturally, and 
 had cultivated it under the shadows of the most 
 classic centers of old New England. He was 
 a lover of knowledge, and had drunk deep of 
 the Pierian spring that flows eternally for 
 great and noble souls. 
 
 Mr. Charlton was born in Littleton, N. H., 
 Sept. 29, 1828, and was the eldest child of 
 Walter and Mindwell (Moulton) Charlton. 
 Plis parents had five children: Edwin A.; 
 
 Anna, now Mrs. Hiram Long, of Marceline, 
 Mo. ; Myra, Mrs. A. W. Gee, of Manchester, 
 N. H. ; Augusta, Mrs. H. H. Rodliff, of 
 Chelmsford, Mass. ; and LeRoy, who died in 
 childhood. The parents were intelligent and 
 cultivated people, and both had taught school 
 in their earlier years. For six years after 
 marriage they lived at Littleton, and then 
 moved into the' wilderness near the Canada 
 line. There young Edwin attended the dis- 
 trict school, and when he reached the age of 
 sixteen was sent back to Littleton to attend a 
 select school taught by Harry Bingham, A. B., 
 then a recent graduate of Dartmouth. In 1845 
 the senior Charlton moved to Hanover, N. PI., 
 for the sake of better schooling for his children. 
 This change was a decided sacrifice on his part, 
 as he had risen to considerable prominence in 
 Orleans county, Vt., and had been elected to 
 a number of important official positions. 
 
 At Hanover Edwin A. Charlton prepared 
 for college at the Academy, which was estab- 
 lished as “Moore’s Indian Charity School.” 
 Here he worked and studied for about two 
 years, and then the family moved to Claremont, 
 making that place their home for many years. 
 There Edwin worked on the farm, in the fac- 
 tory, and attended school, and in the fall of 
 
 1850 entered Dartmouth College. He taught 
 every winter, keeping up his college work out- 
 side to such effect that he was graduated with 
 his class in 1854, with a standing that ranked 
 him in the first third. The class had fifty- 
 seven members, and this is a record rarely sur- 
 passed in brilliant scholarship and studious ap- 
 plication. It gave him entrance to the honorary 
 Phi Beta Kappa Society, and an enviable name 
 in the world of letters. 
 
 After leaving college Mr. Charlton was 
 principal of the academy at Haverhill one year, 
 and in 1855 was preceptor of the academy at 
 Gilmanton. He studied law for a time in the 
 office of Freeman & McClure, but in 1857 was 
 called to Lockport, N. Y., to take the position 
 of principal of the Union School. He was in 
 this place four years, and did such satisfactory 
 and congenial work that he gave up all thought 
 of the law, and devoted his life to teaching. 
 Mr. Charlton was vice-principal of the Union 
 School at Schenectady, where he remained 
 until the summer of 1862. In March of that 
 year he was married to Miss Helen Elizabeth, 
 daughter of Judge Alfred Holmes, of Lock- 
 port, N. Y., and the same fall went back to Gil- 
 manton to assume the duties of the preceptor 
 of the Academy. The next year he was made 
 superintendent of the Union Schools at Sche- 
 nectady, and held that position five years. He 
 was superintendent and principal of the high 
 school at Auburn, N. Y., for two years, and, 
 finding a change of climate imperative, came 
 to Wisconsin, and became president of the first 
 Normal School established in this State, the 
 one at Platteville. He held this office eight 
 years and one term, and in that time firmly 
 established the school upon solid ground, and 
 in his teaching and planning largely anticipated 
 the work that has since been done by normal 
 trainers. 
 
 In 1879 Mr. Charlton retired from the 
 school room and entered upon a new calling, 
 one, however, for which his great literary gifts 
 and fine business abilities fitted him to a high 
 degree. That year he bought the Brodhead 
 Independent, a weekly publication, and devoted 
 himself to its editing and publishing. The 
 paper has greatly increased in its circulation, 
 not only while he published it, but under the 
 magic of his name, and is one of the most suc- 
 cessful newspaper publications of the State. 
 He was cordially received by his associates in 
 the Press; was a delegate to the National Edi- 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 337 
 
 torial Association, held at Boston in 1890, and 
 in the State Association he held several offices. 
 He was twice clerk in the Wisconsin Legisla- 
 ture; comparing clerk in the Assembly in 1887, 
 and in 1895 proof-reader in the Senate. His 
 continued interest in school work was shown 
 by the fact that in 1884 his former pupils at 
 the Normal School made him a life member 
 of the National Educational Association. 
 
 Mr. Charlton belonged to the Phi Delta 
 Theta while at college, and early in life became 
 a Mason. At Gilmanton he united with the 
 Congregational Church, and at Schenectady 
 joined the Presbyterian. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Charlton two children 
 were born : W alter Holmes, born at Schenec- 
 
 tady Jan. 4. 1866, died in Lockport, N. Y., in 
 September, 1875. Winifred Holmes was born 
 May 13, 1S74, at Platteville, completed the 
 high school course at Brodhead, was graduated 
 from the Normal at Platteville in 1894, and 
 from Beloit College in 1898. She is now teach- 
 ing Latin and German in the Brodhead high 
 school. 
 
 Mr. Charlton, accompanied by his wife, at- 
 tended the Grand Army Encampment and the 
 meeting of the Knights of Pythias at Minne- 
 apolis in 1896, and returned home greatly re- 
 freshed by his journey. He was taken with 
 severe illness shortly after his return, which 
 developed into pneumonia beyond the power 
 of medical help. He never rallied, but steadily 
 declined until the end came, Nov. 14, 1896. 
 
 Such is the brief and imperfect story of a 
 noble life, lived under lofty inspirations and 
 desires. He sought to help the world, and was 
 always found battling for what would improve 
 men. He had a genial spirit and kindly heart, 
 and a “delicate thoughtfulness for the comfort 
 and welfare of others was his most prominent 
 characteristic.” Mrs. Charlton, in compliance 
 with his expressed wish, still continues the 
 publication of the Independent , and has asso- 
 ciated with her Mr. I. L. Hanford, who entered 
 the firm in 1892, under the name of Charlton 
 & Hanford. 
 
 LOLTS L. HARMS. Among the promi- 
 nent and enterprising citizens of Platteville is 
 numbered the gentleman whose name intro- 
 duces this sketch. As a native of Grant county, 
 he has been identified with its interests through- 
 out his entire life, and by honest toil and in- 
 dustry has succeeded in acquiring a competence. 
 
 22 
 
 For many years he engaged in farming, then 
 followed merchandising for a time, and is now 
 practically living a retired life, though he is 
 interested in mining operations. 
 
 Mr. Harms was born in Smelser township, 
 Oct. 7, 1853, a son of Dedrick and Maria M. 
 (Melvin) Harms. The father was born March 
 30, 1805, in Hanover, Germany, where he was 
 reared and educated, and in 1834 sailed from 
 Bremen, arriving in New Orleans after a long 
 and tedious voyage. By flat-boat he came up 
 the Mississippi river to Dubuque, Iowa, where 
 he worked at day labor, and later found em- 
 ployment in the mines. The same year, how- 
 ever, he came to Grant county, Wis., and 
 commenced working in the mines there. At 
 that time he was unmarried, and in very lim- 
 ited circumstances. In 1839 he was joined by 
 his brother John, and together they invested 
 their money in land, always doing business 
 under the firm name of D. & J. Harms. Their 
 first purchase was the claim of a Mr. Hazard,, 
 who had commenced to break the land, and to 
 it they added from time to time as their finan- 
 cial resources increased, until they owned 3. 
 large amount of property. The partnership 
 between the two brothers continued until the 
 death of Dedrick, Sept. 3, 1882. He was mar- 
 ried in Galena, 111 ., Aug. 6, 1843, to Miss 
 Maria M. Melvin, a native of Bloomington, 
 Ind., and a daughter of James and Sarah (Rob- 
 erts) Melvin. Her mother was born in Vir- 
 ginia of Holland ancestry, while her father 
 was born near the city of Baltimore, Md., and 
 brought his family to Grant county, Wis., about 
 1831, becoming a farmer of Belmont town- 
 ship. He was a soldier in the Black Hawk 
 war, and during those troublesome times his 
 wife and daughter stayed at the blockhouse 
 at Mineral Point. Both Mr. and Mrs. Melvin 
 died in Nebraska. 
 
 After his marriage Dedrick Harms located 
 on the old homestead in Smelser township, 
 where he engaged in farming and stock rais- 
 ing throughout the remainder of his life. Al- 
 though he came to the New World empty- 
 handed, by industry and good management he 
 became one of* the most successful and sub- 
 stantial citizens of his community. Politically 
 he was a Democrat, and religiously both he 
 and his wife were members of the Lutheran 
 Church. She departed this life March 10, 
 1898. Their children were as follows: John 
 C., born June 6, 1844, died March 13, 1871; 
 
333 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mary I., born Oct. 23, 1845, became the wife 
 of C. F. Schroeder, of Platteville; Henry H., 
 born Feb. 16, 1848, died Nov. 9, 1898; Hed- 
 rick W., born Jan. 30, 1850, died April 23, 
 1856; James W., born Feb. 20, 1852, is repre- 
 sented on another page of this volume; Louis 
 
 L. , of this review, is next in the order of birth; 
 Martha ]., born April 15, 1855, died June 25, 
 1886; Sarah E., born May 8, 1857, is the wife 
 of Dr. A. R. Law, of Madison, Wis. ; Emily 
 
 M. , born April 9, i860, and George L., born 
 April 25, 1862, both live on the old home 
 farm; and the youngest, born Nov. 3, 1864, 
 died in infancy. 
 
 Louis L. Harms was reared and educated 
 in Smelser township, becoming thoroughly 
 familiar with every department of farm work. 
 O11 reaching manhood he continued to engage 
 in agricultural pursuits until 1885, when he 
 moved to Platteville, and embarked in general 
 merchandising under the firm name of Sander 
 & Harms. He sold his interest in the busi- 
 ness three years later, and is now living re- 
 tired, though interested in mining - to some ex- 
 tent. 
 
 In Smelser township, Sept. 16, 1880, Mr. 
 Harms was united in marriage with Miss Mary 
 Anna Riege, who was born in that township 
 July 8, 1859, and is a daughter of Henning 
 and Mary Ann ( Hofferkamp ) Riege, the 
 former a native of Hanover, Germany, the lat- 
 ter of Holland. They were among the early 
 settlers of Smelser township, where they con- 
 tinued to make their home. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Harms are the parents of four children : Ben- 
 jamin LL, born March 5, 1881, is now propri- 
 etor of the “Paris Hotel,” at Dubuque, Iowa, 
 and one at Maquoketa, Iowa. Lilly Ann, born 
 June 3, 1882, died Sept. 20, 1885. Purl L., 
 born March 12, 188s, is at home. Edith J., 
 born April 16, 1886, died March 4, 1891. 
 
 In religious faith Mr. Harms is a Lutheran, 
 and in politics is a Democrat. He is a mem- 
 ber of the fire department of Platteville, and, 
 as a public-spirited and progressive citizen, he 
 takes an active interest in those enterprises 
 tending to advance the moral or material wel- 
 fare of his town or county. He is honored 
 for his sterling worth, and his friends through- 
 out this section of the State are many. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY HUDSON. An old 
 and honored resident of Albany township, 
 Green county, is William Henry Hudson, who 
 
 was born in Ohio, in the city of Chillicothe, 
 June 17, 1833; although for forty-nine years 
 he has been engaged in active life, he bears 
 his sixty-seven years with ease. 
 
 Gabriel Hudson, the paternal grandfather 
 of our subject, was a fine specimen of the Vir- 
 ginia gentleman, and was prominent in political 
 life in his State for many years. His father 
 had willed him his slaves, but Gabriel, op- 
 posed to slavery, gave them their freedom, and 
 left home on account of this action. Lie had 
 been a brave soldier during the war of 1812. 
 1 he maternal grandfather, Jared Bobo, was a 
 native farmer of Maryland, held many public 
 positions, and died in advanced age, having- 
 been the father of five children. James and 
 Mary (Bobo) Hudson, parents of our subject, 
 were natives of Virginia. They had a family 
 of eight children: William LL, our subject; 
 
 Mary, wife of William Grey, of Marion,, Kans. ; 
 George W, of Minonk, 111 .; and Jared, of San 
 Antonio, Texas ; the others being deceased. 
 James Hudson was a farmer, and in 1844, 
 moved from Ohio to Illinois, located in Lacon, 
 bought a farm there and remained upon it un- 
 til 1849, when he sold out and came to Green 
 county, Wis. ldere he purchased 120 acres in 
 Decatur township, and there he lived until 
 1864, when he sold and moved into the village 
 of Brodhead, where he died in 1866, aged 
 sixty-nine years. Llis wife survived him 
 twenty years, being eighty-six years old. Both 
 parents were good and pious people, devoted 
 members of the Baptist Church, he having held 
 many township offices during earlier life. 
 
 William Henry Hudson was eleven years 
 old when his parents removed to Illinois, and 
 was sixteen when he came with them to Green 
 county. Reared a farmer boy, he grew up thor- 
 oughly acquainted with all the details of ag- 
 ricultural life, attended the district schools, 
 and by the time he had reached man’s estate, 
 was willing and prepared to encounter life for 
 himself. His home instruction had been such 
 as to teach him valuable lessons of thrift and 
 economy, hence he did not work long by the 
 month before he was ready to rent land, which 
 he did fdr several seasons. The first 160 acres 
 which he bought in Grant county was held 
 and improved for several years, when he sold 
 this, in order later to buy a more valuable 
 tract, in the meantime renting land again for a 
 short time. Buying a farm of 200 acres in 
 Albany, he had no trouble in renting it out, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 239 
 
 nor in finally selling it. In 1870 he pur- 
 chased another 160-acre farm in Albany, also 
 rented that for a time, and later advantageous- 
 ly sold it. 
 
 Air. Hudson was married Nov. 15, 1858, 
 to Miss Helen P. Hill, a daughter of Asahel and 
 Julia Ann (Shultz) Hill, and 'one daughter, 
 Ada E., has resulted from this union. She 
 is now the wife of T. A. Hess, of Winona, 
 Minn. The parents of Airs. Hudson were na- 
 tives of New York, she being the only daugh- 
 ter. The mother died on Feb. 12, 1881, the 
 father on Oct. 4, 1900, both of them having 
 been consistent members of the AI. E. Church. 
 They were pioneers in Green county, in 1849, 
 and bought the farm where, for the past forty- 
 two years, Mr. and Airs. Hudson have resided. 
 The grandfather of Airs. Hudson settled in 
 Green county in 1836, and was obliged then 
 to drive to Chicago, with an ox-team, in order 
 to go to mill, a very important and necessary 
 function in those days. He was ninety-one 
 years old when he died, being an example of 
 the sturdy stock of which pioneers were made. 
 
 For a short time our subject was in the 
 mercantile business, in Albany, later spent three 
 years in the drug business, and fourteen years 
 in the stock business, in buying grain, and in 
 * general trading. During his residence in the 
 township, Air. Hudson has served as town- 
 ship trustee several terms and has been also 
 on the board of supervisors. His idea of the 
 best form of government is for a system of 
 law whereby the weak can be protected against 
 the strong. Among the best known and most 
 respected people of Albany township, where 
 their parents left honored names, they well 
 represent the kind of citizen upon which the 
 bulwarks of society in Green county rests. 
 
 JOHN F. WARE, a representative of the 
 sterling worth and industry of those whom the 
 mother country has sent to our shores, was 
 born in Yorkshire, England, in December, 
 1833, and now resides in Smelser, Grant 
 county. 
 
 Frederick and Esther (Heben) Ware, the 
 parents of our subject, were both born in York- 
 shire, England, coming to this country in 1844, 
 and locating near Pittsburg, Penn. In 1849 
 they moved to Wisconsin, where he settled on 
 a tract of wild land in Smelser, two miles west 
 of Big Patch. At that time deer were plenty, 
 and the surroundings were all wild, but Air. 
 
 Ware cleared up and placed this place under 
 a high state of cultivation before his death, in 
 1885. His first wife, mother of our subject, 
 died in Pittsburg. 
 
 John F. \\ are received an excellent edu- 
 cation in the schools of Pittsburg, and after 
 locating in Wisconsin learned the trade of 
 miller, under John A. Woodward, of Platte- 
 ville, where he was engaged when the Civil 
 war broke out. With a number of other young 
 men of his age, from the same town, Air. Ware 
 enlisted in Company F, 20th Wis. V. I., un- 
 der Capt. Whitman, of Dodgeville, this com- 
 mand being included in the Western Army, 
 under Gen. Logan. The regiment was chiefly 
 employed in Alissouri, following the Con- 
 federate Gen. Price, their first engagement tak- 
 ing place at Springfield, AIo. ; and later, in 
 1863, the regiment succeeded in breaking up 
 Price's army. The same year the regiment 
 was placed under Gen. Grant, our subject tak- 
 ing part in the siege of Vicksburg, and partici- 
 pating in the expeditions on the Yazoo and 
 Rio Grande rivers, in Texas, and then moving 
 onto Spanish Fort, taking part in seven dif- 
 ferent battles, and continuing in the service 
 until the close of the war, in 1865. Air. Ware 
 has a record of never having been off duty, or 
 being sick enough for confinement in hospital, 
 until within a few months of the end of the 
 war. 
 
 Coming back to Wisconsin, Air. Ware re- 
 sumed milling at Platteville, and in 1866 was 
 married to Aliss Emma Trenary, a daughter 
 of Philip and Isabel Trenary, both of whom 
 were born in England ; the family is an old 
 and prominent one in Platteville. Airs. Ware 
 was born in Grant county in December, 1846, 
 and was educated in the old academy at Platte- 
 ville. After marriage Air. and Airs. Ware 
 first settled at Kendalltown, Lafayette county, 
 where Air. Ware engaged in milling for thir- 
 teen years, from that place moving back to 
 Platteville ; thence to Annaton ; again to Platte- 
 ville ; thence to Rockville, Grant county, where 
 they passed the following few years. In 1880 
 Air. Ware purchased the Thomas Alill prop- 
 erty, where he followed milling until within a 
 few years ago, engaging in that occupation 
 altogether twenty-nine years in Grant county. 
 He then changed his occupation to farming and 
 stock raising, the latter especially proving a 
 very successful venture. 
 
 To Air. and Airs. Ware has been born one 
 
340 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 child, Clara B., at Kendalltown, in 1875. She 
 was a student of the Platteville Normal for sev- 
 eral years, but on account of poor health did 
 not remain to graduate. In 1893 she married 
 Joseph Andsew, of Grant county, and they re- 
 side on his farm in Smelser; one daughter, 
 Viola, has been born to them, who was removed 
 by death when yet a child. 
 
 Politically Mr. Ware has always been iden- 
 tified with the Republican party; he is a mem- 
 ber of Sherman Post, No. 66, G. A. R., of 
 Platteville; both Mr. and Mrs. Ware have 
 long been connected with the M. E. Church, 
 and they are highly respected. Mr. Ware was 
 a faithful soldier, and his comrades in arms 
 speak in the highest praise of his courage. As 
 a citizen he possesses the confidence of the 
 community, his many acts of kindness and 
 Christianity endearing him to his neighbors. 
 
 FRANK P. STARR. Although not more 
 than forty-five years old, Mr. Starr has al- 
 ready won an enviable reputation, both as an 
 educator and a public officer. Endowed by 
 nature with talents of high order, he has not 
 failed to cultivate and improve his hereditary 
 gifts. His father, James Starr, was of English 
 birth, as was also his mother, whose maiden 
 name was Amelia Butters. His parents’ home 
 was near Bristol, England, where his father 
 carried on the trade of a butcher and shipper. 
 Both their two children — Frank P. and Eg- 
 bert J. — were born after their emigration to 
 America. Egbert, the younger, is a resident 
 of the township of Newark, Rock county, 
 where both were born; it is with the life and 
 career of Frank P. that this brief sketch has 
 chiefly to do. 
 
 James Starr crossed the ocean in 1850, and 
 for four years made his home in Beloit. Thence 
 he removed to Newark township, where he 
 bought a farm of 115 acres. His mind was 
 receptive, and his ideas progressive. Pie was 
 successful and prosperous, gradually adding 
 to his holdings until he was the owner of 
 200 acres. He died in 1889, at the age of 
 sixty-eight, while his widow yet lives upon the 
 old homestead. Both he and his wife were 
 members of the Established Church of Eng- 
 land. 
 
 Frank P. Starr was born Dec. 27, 1856. 
 His boyhood was passed upon his father’s 
 farm, and the district schools of Newark town- 
 ship and a select school at Beloit were the 
 
 seats of learning at which he acquired his early 
 education. The Beloit school aimed to give 
 its pupils a sound, practical training as teach- 
 ers, and Mr. Starr has proved himself one of 
 its best equipped and most competent gradu- 
 ates. For some twenty years he followed the 
 high vocation of an instructor, filling the prin- 
 cipal’s chair at the Afton (Wis.) Academy 
 for eight years with distinguished success. 
 1 he native ability and true worth of such men 
 as he cannot long lie “under a bushel.” Dur- 
 ing 1896-97 he was president of the Rock 
 County Teachers Association, and in 1898 was 
 elected county clerk, being re-elected in 1900. 
 The latter office lie still holds, discharging its 
 duties to the satisfaction of the electors and 
 exhibiting in the discharge of his duties capa- 
 bility of a high order. Politically he is an 
 ardent Republican, and his rare oratorical gifts 
 constantly force him to the front as a cam- 
 paign and public speaker. He also has literary 
 ability which has won him merited recognition. 
 Fraternally he is a member of the Modern 
 Woodmen of America, of the Royal Neigh- 
 bors, and of the I. O. O. F. He is venerable 
 consul of Florence Camp, No. 366, M. W. of 
 A., Janesville, and a delegate to the Head 
 Camp. 
 
 Mr. Starr was married, April 8, 1881, to 
 Mary, a daughter of James and Mary [Mat- 
 thews) Marley, and they had one daughter, 
 May, born April 9, 1882. Mrs. Starr died 
 Aug. 30, 1897, aged thirty-five years. On 
 Oct. 27, 1899, Mr. Starr married Naomi Bar- 
 riage, who was born May 22, 1866, in Belle- 
 ville, Ontario, daughter of George and Sarah 
 Barriage. Mr. Starr is a Congregationalist 
 in religious connection. 
 
 J. W. THOMPSON, owner of one of the 
 fine farms in New Diggings township, La- 
 fayette county, is a grandson of one of the first 
 farmers and miners in the town, Joseph Thomp- 
 son by name. Joseph Thompson located here 
 in early life, and his death occurred in 1854, 
 his remains being laid to rest in New Diggings. 
 Eight children were left to mourn his decease, 
 as follows: Joseph; George; Thomas, who 
 
 died in Ohio; Abram, who died in Australia; 
 fob, a resident of Montana; Martha, deceased 
 wife of John Hazel, of Shullsburg, Wis.; Har- 
 riet, wife of John McCoy, of Darlington; and 
 William, father of J. W. Thompson. 
 
 William Thompson followed farming and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 34i 
 
 mining on a government claim in New Dig- 
 gings some years, and then purchased a tract 
 of wild land, which he improved, and where 
 he passed the remainder of his life. He mar- 
 ried Margaret Rudd, who died on the old home. 
 They were both members of the Protestant 
 Methodist Church, and led devout Christian 
 lives. They became the parents of live chil- 
 dren, of whom J. W. is the eldest; Elizabeth, 
 born in 1851, died in 1873; Charles, born in. 
 March, 1853, now a farmer at Apple River, 
 111 ., married Annie McFadden, of Illinois, and 
 has three children, Katie, William and Charles; 
 Thomas, engaged in gold and silver mining 
 in Montana, married Martha A. Shlip, and 
 has a large family; and Margaret J., born in 
 1856, married Alfred Green, of Minneapolis, 
 when her death occurred in 1886. 
 
 J. W. Thompson was born in New Dig- 
 gings township in February, 1849, and the 
 district schools afforded him his only means 
 of acquiring an education. The loss of his 
 parents in early life necessitated the breaking 
 up of the home, and Mr. Thompson and his 
 brothers and sisters were brought up in the 
 homes of their relatives, our subject finding 
 a home with his uncle Charles. In 1870 he 
 settled on his father's old homestead, which he 
 had purchased, and for eighteen years made 
 his home there. He then purchased what is 
 known as the John Williams farm, east of 
 New Diggings village, and by the erection of 
 a new house, barn and other necessary build- 
 ings has made of it an ideal country home, 
 with all the modern improvements and con- 
 veniences science and art have made possible. 
 He has also erected a house on part of his prop- 
 erty for one of his sons. 
 
 In 1870 Mr. Thompson was married to 
 Miss Jane Metcalf, daughter of William and 
 Mary (Jackson) Metcalf, who were both born 
 in England, and came to this country in the 
 early 'forties, Mr. Metcalf dying soon after 
 their arrival, and leaving his wife with five 
 children, who are still living. Mrs. Metcalf 
 makes her home with her children. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Thompson have come four children : 
 William, born in June, 1873, now a farmer of 
 White Oak Springs, Lafayette county, mar- 
 ried Miss Libbie Parkins, and has one daugh- 
 ter, Mary. Mary, born in 1875, married 
 Harry Lyne, of Illinois, who is now engaged 
 in farming near Darlington, Wis. ; the}' have 
 two children, Nellie and an infant unnamed. 
 
 Joseph, born in 1877, now farming a part of 
 the old home, married Miss Eva Coulthard. 
 Clifford M. was born in March, 1894. 
 
 Mr. Thompson has always been active in 
 the work of the Republican party, and has paid 
 great attention to the questions of the day, 
 of which he has a remarkable conception. He 
 has held a number of local offices, among them 
 being those of member of the town board and 
 treasurer of the school board. Socially he be- 
 longs to the Knights of the Globe. In re- 
 ligious connection lie belongs to no church, 
 but as his wife is a member of the Protestant 
 Methodist Church he has always contributed 
 liberally to its support, and assisted its many 
 worthy ventures. Mr. Thompson owes his po- 
 sition in the financial world largely to his own 
 individual efforts, and has always borne a high 
 reputation for industry and integrity, justly 
 holding the respect of the citizens of his town. 
 
 GEORGE WEST, of Brodhead, Green 
 county, is a retired farmer, who has passed 
 the psalmist’s limit of life to find much peace 
 and pleasure on the farther side. He is among 
 the older settlers of the county, and has led 
 a long and useful life. 
 
 Mr. West was born in Erie county, N. Y., 
 Jan. 7, 1818, and is a son of John and Avis 
 (Bowen) West, natives of Scipio, Cayuga 
 county, N. Y., and Vermont, respectively. Ten 
 .children were born to his parents, seven of 
 whom are now living: George; Susan, wife 
 
 of Richard Sherman, of Erie county, N. Y. ; 
 Thomas, of the same county; Elizabeth, widow 
 of Nelson Parke, of DeKalb county, 111 . ; John 
 and Jonathan, twins, on the old place; and 
 Avis, wife of James Hill, of Erie county, N. 
 Y. The father was a farmer, and died in Erie 
 county, N. Y., when almost eighty years of 
 age. His wife lived to be eighty-seven years 
 old. They were Quakers, and people of the 
 highest character. His father was. George 
 West, a farmer, and of Irish descent, who was 
 born in New York, and was the father of eight 
 children, and who died when eighty-four years 
 old. The father of Mrs. Avis West was Jen- 
 nings Bowen, a native of New York, and of 
 Scotch descent. He was a farmer, and the sire 
 of a numerous family. Fie reached a good old 
 age. 
 
 George West passed the first twenty years 
 j of his life on the paternal estate in Erie county, 
 
 1 where he attended the common school, and 
 
342 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 received an impulse in the right direction from 
 the teaching and example of his parents that 
 has never left him. He came West in 1838, 
 and located south of Monroe near the State 
 line. In 1842 he made a claim of sixty acres 
 in Stephenson county, Illinois. This he fenced, 
 and on it built a log cabin, but he did not hold 
 it very long, having an opportunity to sell it 
 at a sharp advance. He then entered three 
 “eighties” in the town of Sylvester, Green coun- 
 ty, which he still owns. Mr. \V r est has owned 
 at different times about one thousand acres of 
 Green county real estate. In more recent years 
 he has sold quite liberally, and has helped each 
 of his children to a start in life, but stdl owns 
 a valuable farm of two hundred seventy acres. 
 This he rented in 1874, and moved into Brod- 
 head, where he has since lived. 
 
 Mr. West crossed the Plains in 1850, with 
 a team and covered wagon, spending four 
 months and four days on the trip, and spent a 
 year in the gold mines. He built the first 
 house in Nevada City, seventy miles from Sac- 
 ramento, where he expected to make his home. 
 He had three little children, and his wife pre- 
 vailed upon him not to take them to the far 
 West. He returned bv the Isthmus of Panama, 
 and reached home by way of the Lakes. 
 
 Mr. West and Miss Susan Winched were 
 married in 1839. They were the parents of 
 twelve children, Samuel, Louisa, Avis, George 
 Franklin, Clarissa, Mary, Alice, Ida, Nelson, 
 and three who died in infancy. Samuel is run- 
 ning the home farm ; he married Miss Kate 
 Reed, and is the father of four children, 
 George, Mattie, Nettie and Bertha. George 
 died in early childhood, as did Louisa. Avis 
 (deceased) married John Watt, of Hampton, 
 Iowa ; they had six children, Winched, Gertie, 
 Kate, Elizabeth, Arthur, and Trelore. Clarissa 
 married (first) James Vance, and has one son, 
 Frank Iv., who is now assistant cashier in the 
 bank at Brodhead. James Vance died, and 
 Clarissa married (second) George Truesdell, 
 and by this union has two living sons, Harris 
 and Jay. Mr. Truesdell died and his widow 
 married (third) John Watt, of Hampton, Iowa. 
 Mary married John Vance, and is the mother 
 of ten living children, Alice, Jessie, Nettie, 
 Samuel, George, Zoe, Zell, Kate, Glenn, and 
 Mary. Alice married Frank Northcraft, and 
 lives in Brodhead; she is the mother of two 
 children, Grace and Myron. Ida married 
 Harry Smith, and has her home in Chicago ; 
 
 they have one daughter, Flossie. Nelson died 
 when nineteen years old. 
 
 Mrs. Susan West, the first wife of Mr. 
 West, died Oct. 15, 1893, leaving behind her 
 tender memories as a wife and mother. She 
 was a member of the Baptist Church. Mr. 
 West and Mrs. Eliza Jane Decker were mar- 
 ried Sept. 30, 1894. She was the widow of 
 Nicholas Decker, and the daughter of Henry 
 and Rachel Walters. Mrs. West became the 
 mother of two children in her first marriage, 
 Emmarilla and George Henry. The daughter 
 died at the age of thirteen years. George 
 Henry married Sallie Mitchell, and is the fa- 
 ther of one son, George Clayton. Mrs. Sallie 
 (Mitchell) Decker died, and George married 
 his second wife, Miss Ida L. Byrne; they live 
 two miles from Juda, and have two children, 
 Valliere Gwendolin and Howard Sterling. 
 Mrs. West is a Baptist, but her husband clings 
 to his ancestral faith, and firmly holds to the 
 tenets of the Quaker order. He was a Whig 
 and for many years has voted the Republican 
 ticket. He owns a nice home in the north part 
 of the town, and is highly respected by all who 
 know him. 
 
 Mrs. West’s father was a native of Ger- 
 many, and came to America when nine years 
 old, and grew up in Ohio. He died in Kan- 
 sas about 1871, when sixty-six years old, and 
 his wife, a native of Pennsylvania, died in 
 1S63, at the age of forty-nine. They had eight 
 children, six of whom are now living, Eliza, 
 the wife of George West; Sarah Ann, the wife 
 of George Atkinson; Adeline, the wife of L. 
 W. Lord; Hester, wife of C. A. Francisco; 
 John and Archibald Walters. The parents 
 came to Decatur township in 1846, and in 1861 
 went to Kansas, where they died. 
 
 COL. Id. H. VIRGIN, a veteran of the 
 Civil war, and now living in retirement in his 
 native city of Platteville, Grant county, was 
 born in 1840, a son of N. H. and Emma 
 '(Weed) Virgin, natives of Pennsylvania. 
 
 N. H. Virgin came to Wisconsin as early 
 as 1830, and here married. He became very 
 popular and prominent among his fellow citi- 
 zens, was elected to the State Legislature, was 
 one of the prime promoters of the State Nor- 
 mal School at Platteville, and was tireless in 
 his labors to advance the prosperity of his 
 town whenever he had an opportunity of so 
 doing. His wife bore him seven children, of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 343 
 
 whom three still survive. She was called away 
 in 1884, and his own death occurred in 1892, 
 Platteville losing thereby one of her most use- 
 ful and honored citizens. The three living- 
 children alluded to are Emma, wife of George 
 Laughton, of Racine, he being a substantial 
 and leading business man of -that city; Mary, 
 widow of William Laughton, of South Bend, 
 Ind. ; and Col. H. H. 
 
 Col. H. H. Virgin was graduated from the 
 Platteville Academy, Platteville, and from a 
 commercial college at Madison. He enlisted in 
 the volunteer service at the outbreak of the 
 war of the Rebellion, and nobly and bravely 
 fought to save the honor of his country’s flag 
 and to preserve the Union intact. The first 
 year he served as battalion adjutant in the 2d 
 Wisconsin- Cavalry, Col. C. C. Washburn's 
 ■regiment, and the last three years was with the 
 33d Wis. V. I. During the Red River expedi- 
 tion he took command of a brigade at Yellow- 
 Bayou, and by a charge on Gen. Major’s (for- 
 merly Gen. Taylor’s) Brigade, known as Tay- 
 lor’s Texas Brigade, succeeded in turning the 
 tide of battle. He took part in over forty bat- 
 tles, had three horses shot under him, and rose 
 to the rank of colonel, serving until the close 
 of the struggle. 
 
 In 1874 Col. Virgin married Miss Annie 
 E. Kane, of Dodgeville, the estimable and ac- 
 complished daughter of William and Mary 
 (McArthur) Kane. William Kane was a son 
 of John Kane, a leading merchant of Baltimore, 
 Md., came to Wisconsin in an early day, and 
 embarked in general merchandising at Mineral 
 Point, Iowa county, where he died in 1843, 
 leaving his widow with three children, viz. : 
 Annie E., Mrs. Virgin; Mary,- who died when 
 a young lady; and John L., who died in 1898, 
 Mineral Wells, Texas, where he was known as 
 the “Cotton-Seed King.” 
 
 Gol. Virgin and his wife on their marriage 
 settled in Platteville, where the Colonel was 
 engaged in business, and owned -one of the 
 most luxurious homes in the city. There have 
 been born to them two daughters, viz. : Georgie, 
 who is one of the most highly accomplished 
 young ladies of the city, having graduated from 
 the State Normal School and the State Uni- 
 versity at Madison ; Ethel Lyn, who was also 
 graduated from the State Normal School and 
 the State University, and in November, 1899, 
 was married to George O'Neil, a solid business 
 man of Milwaukee. The Virgin family are 
 
 members of the Episcopal Church, and po- 
 litically Col. Virgin has for some years been 
 identified with the Democratic party. 
 
 In July, 1899, Mrs. Virgin and her two 
 daughters made the “grand tour” of Europe, 
 visiting Belfast, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Edin- 
 burgh and the north of Scotland, London, 
 Paris, Geneva, journeying down the Rhine to 
 Cologne, to Brussels, Antwerp, Amsterdam, 
 Berlin, Dresden, Vienna, Venice, Florence, 
 Rome and Naples, and finally returning to the 
 land of their nativity. Col. Virgin and his 
 wife are now living in elegant retirement, being 
 among the wealthiest and most honored resi- 
 dents of Platteville. 
 
 WINFIELD SCOTT PECKHAM (de- 
 ceased ) . Among those who have been in- 
 strumental in building up the present civiliza- 
 tion of Green county, and have left a marked 
 impression upon their generation, was Winfield 
 Scott Peckham, the subject of this sketch, who 
 passed out of life on April 15, 1898, in his 
 sixty-ninth year. 
 
 Mr. Peckham was born in Oneida county, 
 N. Y., on March 19, 1829, and was a son of 
 Abel and Ada (Brown) Peckham, who were 
 natives of Rhode Island. They had a family 
 of eleven children, seven now living: Nelson, 
 of Beaver City, Oklahoma; George O., of Ash- 
 land, Wis. ; Joshua, of Lincoln county, Neb. ; 
 Halsey, of Gothenburg, Neb. ; Sallie. widow of 
 Isaac Armsbury; Ada, widow of V. D. Burt, 
 of Albany, Wis. ; and Polly, wife of John At- 
 kinson, of Pawnee City, Nebraska. The pa- 
 ternal grandfather of our subject was Joshua 
 Peckham, of English stock, descended from 
 Sir John Peckham, who came from England 
 to Newport, Rhode Island, in 1638. The ma- 
 ternal grandfather of our subject was a native 
 of Rhode Island, a soldier in the war of 1812, 
 who located, when an old man, with his son in 
 Illinois, where he died, aged about eighty years. 
 He was a son of a well-known Baptist minister, 
 Nathan Brown. 
 
 Abel Peckham, the father of our subject, 
 came from Chautauqua county, N. Y., to Green 
 county, Wis., in. 1851, and located in a farm 
 of eighty acres in Albany township. In the 
 log house standing on this farm the family 
 lived until 1856, when Mr. Peckham erected 
 a commodious brick house, where he remained 
 all his life. His birth occurred in 1798, in 
 Grafton, Rensselaer Co., N. Y., and after a 
 
344 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 useful and busy life his death occurred in 1864. 
 In 1820 he married Ada Brown, who was born 
 in Petersburg, N. Y., in 1800. In 1822 Mr. 
 anti Mrs. Peckham moved to Trenton, in 
 Oneida county, where he worked at the cooper’s 
 trade for many years. Later on in life the 
 family settled on a farm in Chautauqua county, 
 where Mr. Peckham cleared up the land and 
 lived until his removal to Wisconsin. 
 
 Winfield Scott Peckham remained under 
 the parental roof until 1849, when he removed 
 to Wisconsin, locating in the city of Milwau- 
 kee, where he remained four years, working 
 at his trade of cooper. In 1853 he came to 
 Albany, with the intention of devoting his time 
 to farming, and here bought eighty acres of 
 land on Section 35, which he improved, while 
 continuing work at his trade, which in those 
 days was a very lucrative one. 
 
 On Jan. 1, 1862, Mr. Peckham was mar- 
 ried to Mrs. Eleanor (Bailey) Turner, the 
 widow of Merritt Turner, of Luzerne county, 
 Penn. After his marriage he erected a small 
 frame house on his land, in which he lived one 
 year, when he purchased eighty acres of Sec- 
 tion 27, where they lived two years, and in the 
 fall of 1866 he moved to his father’s place on 
 Section 26, which until the spring of 1887 w^as 
 the family home. At that time advancing 
 years and the acquisition of a competency 
 caused Mr. Peckham to decide on removal into 
 the neighboring village of Albany. Building 
 one of the most commodious and complete 
 houses in the town, the family removed to it, 
 and there the kind and generous father breathed 
 his last. Two children were born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Peckham : George T. married Cora Belle 
 
 Price, and now lives on the old farm, with four 
 children, Everett, Lester, Harry and Jessie; 
 Lydia M. married Edward Phelps, of Albany, 
 and they have a family of nine children, Flor- 
 ence, Dana, Roy, Marion, Eleanor, Edna, Ches- 
 ter, Lila and Ivan. By her former marriage 
 Mrs. Peckham had two children: Gilas H., 
 
 who married Maria Finn, and lives in Albany 
 township, near the village, with three children, 
 Lelia, Claudia, and Hallie; and Lowell E., who 
 married Ida Peckham, and has four children, 
 Effie, Annie, Glennie and George, the father 
 dying in 1S96. 
 
 Mrs. Peckham was the daughter of Harry 
 and Mercy (Colvin) Bailey, natives of Rhode 
 Island, who moved to Pennsylvania when quite 
 young. 1 hey had fourteen children, eight of 
 
 whom survive : Mrs. Peckham ; Otis, of Oak- 
 
 ley, Penn.; Henry, of Richland county, Wis. ; 
 Perlina, wife of Halsey Peckham, of Gothen- 
 burg, Neb.; Albert, of Richland county; Hul- 
 dah, Mrs. Brown, of Ashland, Oregon; Jason, 
 of Cadott, Wis. ; and Polly, wife of James 
 Smith, of Gering, Neb. The parents located 
 in Richland county, Wis., in 1855, buying a 
 large tract of land; the father dying in 1883, 
 the mother in 1879, both having been good and 
 worthy members of the Baptist Church. Mrs. 
 Peckham is connected with the Methodist 
 Church. 
 
 All his life Winfield S. Peckham voted with 
 the Republican party, firmly advocating its 
 principles. A prominent and influential man, 
 he filled many local positions, and on account 
 of his interest in school matters was made clerk 
 of the educational board, both in the country 
 and in the village. Mr. Peckham left behind 
 him a record of an industrious, self-respecting 
 life, and in his death Green county lost a most 
 estimable citizen. 
 
 HON. CHARLES HENRY BAXTER, a 
 leading, progressive citizen of Lancaster, 
 Grant county, who represented the Sixteenth 
 Senatorial District in the Wisconsin Senate in 
 1 893-95-97-99, is a worthy representative of 
 one of the well-known families of Grant coun- 
 ty. The paternal ancestry of the Baxter fam- 
 ily is of English origin, and is traced in a direct 
 line back to Richard Baxter, famous in Chris- 
 tian literature. 
 
 Dr. Hiram Baxter, father of our subject, 
 was born in New York State, where he mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Decker, who was descended 
 from an early Dutch family of the State of 
 New York. In 1856 he migrated to Wiscon- 
 sin with his family, and settled at Lancaster. 
 He was a prominent and widely-known physi- 
 cian, and continued in practice up to the time 
 of his death, in 1866, while yet not an old man, 
 being but sixty-one years of age. His wife 
 had passed away the previous year. They were 
 the parents of four sons who attained to- ma- 
 ture years : William, the eldest, a druggist by 
 
 occupation, died at Lancaster in 1885; Daniel 
 N. was a soldier in the war for the Union, 
 serving in Company K, 47th Wis. V. I. ; 
 Charles Henry is third in the order of birth ; 
 and the fourth, EI. G., is a resident of Grant 
 county. 
 
 Charles Henry Baxter was born Nov. 15, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 345 
 
 1841, on the historic grounds of Stillwater, 
 Saratoga Co., X. Y., and was about fifteen 
 years. of age when the family moved to Wis- 
 consin. He was educated in the public schools 
 of his native State and of Wisconsin, and in 
 i860 commenced business life as a clerk in the 
 store of George Howe, of Lancaster. In Aug- 
 ust, 1S62, having decided to enter the military 
 service of his country in defense of the Union, 
 he enrolled in Company C, 25th Whs. V. I. 
 He enlisted at Lancaster, and was nlustered 
 into the LYiited States service at La Crosse. 
 The Indians at that time being troublesome, 
 •his regiment was ordered to the Minnesota 
 frontier, but in the following February pro- 
 ceeded to Columbus, Ivy. ; thence marched by 
 Snyder’s Bluff, and from there to Helena, Ark., 
 suffering severely from the malaria of the coun- 
 try. Mr. Baxter continued with his regiment, 
 which was sadly decimated by disease, and was 
 finally attacked with chronic diarrhea and 
 taken to the hospital at Mound City, 111 ., where 
 he remained until his discharge, in August fol- 
 lowing. Returning to Lancaster, he there 
 remained until the spring of 1864, when, hav- 
 ing sufficiently recovered to re-enter the serv- 
 ice, he again enlisted, this time in Company A, 
 41st Wis. V. 'I., and was mustered into the 
 service at Camp Washburn, Milwaukee. He 
 accompanied the regiment to Memphis, Tenn., 
 and served on detached duty at the head- 
 quarters of the adjutant, and a little later on 
 the staff of Gen. C. C. Washburn, doing duty 
 at headquarters until he was mustered out, in 
 September, 1864. In January, 1865, he re- 
 ceived a captain’s commission, and was as- 
 signed to Company Iv, 47th Wis. V. I. After 
 organization, at Madison, the regiment was 
 ordered to report to Gen. Thomas, at Nash- 
 ville. It was stationed at Tullahoma, where 
 Capt. Baxter, as ranking officer, was frequently 
 in command of the regiment. Later he was 
 detached and made chief of ordnance of the 
 Middle District of Tennessee, on the staff of 
 Gen. Milroy. After the latter was mustered 
 out, Capt. Baxter was transferred to the staff 
 of Gen. Van Cleve, and held his position 
 throughout the remainder of his term. 
 
 On his return to Lancaster, our subject en- 
 gaged in business with George Howe, and 
 continued in that business, the firm being 
 Charles H. Baxter & Co., until August, 1895, 
 when he retired. The business of the firm was 
 an extensive one, as in addition to general 
 
 merchandising they dealt in lumber, coal and 
 live stock. Since his retirement our subject 
 has been elected vice-president of the State 
 Bank of Grant County. 
 
 Mr. Baxter has been called upon to hold 
 various official positions in Ins city and county. 
 He has served in the council, and as mayor of 
 Lancaster; as member of the county board of 
 supervisors ; member of the State central com- 
 mittee for eight years; chairman of the county 
 central committee for twenty years ; president 
 of the Southwestern Wisconsin Veterans’ As- 
 sociation for ten years ; delegate-at-large to the 
 G. A. R. encampment in 1885 ; also to that held 
 in Boston, Mass., in 1890. He was the Re- 
 publican candidate for the Assembly in 1886; 
 was elected to the State Senate in 1892, John 
 Bremer being his Democratic opponent ; and 
 was re-elected in 1896 by a largely increased 
 majority, Morton Eastman being the Demo- 
 cratic candidate. For three terms, 1895-97-99, 
 Mr. Baxter was chairman of the joint com- 
 mittee on Claims ; and he was also member of 
 the committees on State Affairs, Banking, In- 
 surance, and Military Affairs. 
 
 Mr. Baxter was married, Feb. 20, 1865, to 
 Miss Maria Howe, who was born in Clinton 
 county, N. Y., a daughter of George Howe, 
 an honored citizen of Lancaster. Their chil- 
 dren are George Howe (who was associated 
 with his father in business), Laura and Mar- 
 tha. Mr. and Mrs. Baxter are members of the 
 Congregational Church. In politics he has 
 always been an ardent Republican, and prom- 
 inent and influential in the councils of his party. 
 He is one of Grant county’s most progressive 
 and public-spirited citizens, and has ever been 
 held in high esteem. 
 
 JOHN WILFORD BLACKSTONE, in 
 the history of whose life is interwoven much 
 of the early history of southwestern Wiscon- 
 sin, was born in Madison, Madison Co., N. 
 Y., Oct. 18, 1796, a direct descendant of Will- 
 iam Blackstone, the first white settler on the 
 site of Boston, Mass. William Blackstone was 
 born in 1600, and on July 4, 1659, wedded 
 Sarah Stephenson. By this marriage he had 
 a son John, born in 1661. He and his wife, 
 Catherine, became the parents of John (2), 
 born Jan. 18, 1699. who on April 2, 1727, 
 wedded Elizabeth Foote, born Nov. 19, 1709. 
 John (2) and Elizabeth (Foote) Blackstone 
 had a son John (3), born in May, 1733, who 
 
346 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 on May 19, 1757, married Rebecca Baldwin; 
 she was born April 18, 1734, and became the 
 mother of Stephen Foote Blackstone. 
 
 Stephen Foote Blackstone was born Dec. 
 3 - l 77 2 , and on Jan. 23, 1793, married Anna 
 \\ ilford, who was born April 24, 1767, a 
 granddaughter of Richard Wilford, who was 
 born a free citizen in London, England, in 
 J 653, and a daughter of Joseph Wilford, who 
 was born in Branford, Conn., about 1715. The 
 \\ ilford family was represented in this country 
 at a still earlier date by one John Wilford, of 
 New Haven and Branford, who died unmar- 
 ried ; he devised his estate, which was very 
 large, to his nephew John, of London, and 
 Richard came over as agent of the estate for 
 John. Stephen Foote Blackstone was born in 
 the town of Branford, Conn., and died Jan. 
 14, 1862, aged eighty-nine years, one month, 
 eleven days. 
 
 John Wilford Blackstone assisted his father 
 in clearing a heavily wooded farm in Madison 
 county, N. V., and received his education by 
 attending school as the opportunity offered. 
 He prepared for college with the resident min- 
 ister, and ‘in 1815 entered Hamilton College, 
 at Clinton, N. Y., whence he was graduated in 
 1819. In the last year of his college life he 
 engaged with a merchant by the name of Hart, 
 and together they loaded keel boats with mer- 
 chandise, left Olean Point, N. Y., at the head 
 waters of the Allegheny river, and passed down 
 that stream, the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers 
 as far as Vicksburg, selling their goods at 
 the small towns along the way., Cincinnati at 
 that time was a little place of about twelve 
 hundred inhabitants. The return trip was 
 made by skiff and on horseback, this being be- 
 fore the days of steamers. On his return Mr. 
 Blackstone received his degree from Hamilton 
 College, and studied medicine, receiving his 
 diploma. He made his first location in Hamil- 
 ton, Canada, but after a short time again start- 
 ed from Olean Point, this time in a skiff, in 
 company with James Hammond. They passed 
 down the rivers until they reached Shawnee- 
 town, 111., where at that time there was a 
 plant for the manufacture of salt. Just about 
 this time the mines at Galena, 111 ., began to 
 attract the attention of the world, and vast 
 numbers of men were flocking- thither in hopes 
 of speedily winning a fortune. In 1827 Mr. 
 Blackstone and his friend joined this army of 
 adventurers, and passed the first winter in the 
 
 vicinity of Elizabeth, Jo Daviess Co., 111 . His 
 mining partner at that place, whose name is 
 unknown, was also a college graduate, and 
 fortunately had brought with him his college 
 text-books. These furnished the young men 
 their only reading matter, and so with much 
 profit to themselves they reviewed their col- 
 lege work during the long winter evenings. 
 After varying fortune, both good and bad, but 
 mostly bad, Mr. Blackstone purchased eighty 
 acres cff land in the town of White Oak 
 Springs, Lafayette (then Iowa) Co., Wis., and 
 began farming. He met with success this time, 
 and at his death owned 1,500 acres of arable 
 land, some of it valuable mining land as well. 
 
 Mr. Blackstone was associate judge under 
 the I erritory of Michigan of the large mining 
 district comprising Iowa county, and was elect- 
 ed to the Territorial Legislature in 1837, from 
 Iowa county; he was speaker of the first Ter- 
 ritorial Assembly, held in 1S38 in Madison, 
 the present State capital. For many terms he 
 was chairman of the town board of supervisors, 
 and many times chairman of the county board. 
 He was draft commissioner of Lafayette coun- 
 ty in 1862, and justice of the peace nearly 
 all the years he resided in White Oak Springs. 
 During the Black Hawk war he held a lieu- 
 tenant’s commission in Capt. Clark's company, 
 and was stationed at Galena. 
 
 On April 4, 1833, Mr. Blackstone was mar- 
 ried to Mrs. Catherine Hammond, widow of 
 his former companion, James Hammond. She 
 was born in Rockingham county, N. C., in 
 1806, and passed her early life in that State 
 and in Tennessee and Kentucky. Her maiden 
 name was Tomlinson, and her father and two 
 of his brothers were with Gen. Jackson, be- 
 hind the cotton bales at New Orleans, when 
 Gen. Pakenham received such a bloody re- 
 pulse. Seven children were born of this union : 
 (1) Theodore E., born Jan. 4, 1834, died at 
 Chinook, Mont., leaving a widow, Mary E. 
 (Hardy) Blackstone, and four sons and five 
 daughters. (2) John Wilford Blackstone, 
 of Shullsburg, Wis., born Dec. 22, 1835, 
 married Ellen E. Hardy, sister of his brother 
 Theodore’s widow, and has four children — 
 Mrs. Roccey Prince, of Minneapolis, Minn. ; 
 Jessie E., principal of the Prescott school, 
 at Anaconda, Mont. ; John Wilford Jr., 
 editor and publisher of the Southwestern 
 Local , of Shullsburg; and Ralph H., of 
 Aurora, 111 . John Wilford Blackstone, son 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 347 
 
 of the pioneer, was elected judge of Lafayette 
 county at the age of twenty-five, and held the 
 office two terms of four years each, beginning 
 Jan. i, 1862, and ending Jan. 1, 1870. He 
 held the office of prosecuting attorney for the 
 county in 1873-74, was assemblyman for the 
 western half of the county in 1879, and State 
 senator from Green and Lafayette counties in 
 1880- 1 88 1. Lie was educated at Platteville 
 Academy, Beloit College and Brown Univer- 
 sity, and is by profession a lawyer. (3) Isabel, 
 born Aug. 15, 1837, died unmarried. (4) 
 Joseph, born Dec. 17, 1839, enlisted in the 20th 
 Wis. V. L, in 1862, and served until the close 
 of the war. He was sergeant major of the 
 regiment, took part in the battle of Prairie 
 Grove, Ark. (where he was wounded), also 
 participated in the siege and capture of Vicks- 
 burg, and in the capture of Fort Morgan and 
 Spanish Fort, at Mobile, Ala. Fie has been 
 chairman of the town board of supervisors of 
 Shullsburg, and chairman of the county board 
 of Lafayette county. He resides in Shulls- 
 burg, where he has a large creamery. His 
 wife, who was Miss Mary Emma Poole, has 
 borne him four sons and two daughters. ( 5 ) 
 Augustus, born Dec. 21, 1841, married Mary 
 Jane Richardson Sept. 1, 1870, and has two 
 sons — Adelbert L., an attorney at Waukesha, 
 Wis. ; and Bertrand A., a photographer at 
 Platteville, Wis. (6) Eugene died unmar- 
 ried. (7) Janette. 
 
 John Wilford Blackstone, the subject of 
 this sketch, was prominent in all the affairs of 
 his part of the State from its earliest settlement 
 to the time of his death, Oct. 15, 1868. As 
 one of the men who helped to lay the founda- 
 tion for the great State of Wisconsin, men of 
 broad minds, wide experience, and, in many 
 cases, of high scholastic attainments, his name 
 often appears in the records of his town, county 
 and .State. He was a man of great self-con- 
 trol, and of calm, cool judgment, and through 
 a long life enjoyed the confidence and respect 
 of all with whom he came in contact. Of pow- 
 erful build physically, and of resolute courage, 
 he won from the wilderness a handsome com- 
 petency, and at the ripe age of seventy-two 
 entered upon his last pilgrimage, honored and 
 beloved by all good people. 
 
 EDWARD E. EDDINGTON has long- 
 been an old and honored resident of Janesville, 
 and has but recently established himself on the 
 
 farm which he has long owned in LaPrairie 
 township, Rock county. For many years he 
 has done business in Janesville, and is widely 
 known as an upright man, a cpiick and capable 
 workman, and one whose word may be taken 
 without allowance. 
 
 Mr. Eddington was born in Cattaraugus 
 county, N. Y., Oct. 15, 1844, a son of Augustus 
 and Henrietta (Curtis) Eddington, both na- 
 tives of New York. They had four sons and 
 three daughters, all but one of whom are now 
 living: Frank, of Chicago; Edward E. ; Henry, 
 of Clear Lake, Minn.; Morris, of Janesville; 
 Betsey, wife of John Lockwood, of Clear Lake; 
 and Millie, wife of Lucius H. Lee, of Janes- 
 ville. The father was a farmer, and sought a 
 home in the V est in 1846, locating in Salem, 
 Kenosha Co., Wis., where he bought land. 
 Some years later he moved to a quarter section 
 in Waushara county, but left it on account of 
 the poverty of the soil, and tried a farm in 
 Calumet county, returning, however, to Salem 
 and buying a farm and farming the old home- 
 stead. He is now living in Janesville. His 
 wife died in 1882. .Mr. Eddington is a Meth- 
 odist, as was also his wife. His father, John 
 Eddington, came from England when a young- 
 man, and died in New York while still in mid- 
 dle life. He was a natural iron and wood 
 mechanic, and tales of his ingenuity are still 
 repeated in the family. He had four children. 
 Hiram Curtis, the father of Henrietta, was a 
 native of New York, was a soldier in the war 
 of 1812, and lived to be a very old man. He 
 did not have a numerous family. 
 
 Edward E. Eddington, the subject of this 
 biographical sketch, came from the State of 
 New York with his parents, and received his 
 schooling at the Salem home. On May 17, 
 1864, he enlisted in Company C, 39th Wis. V. 
 I., and served four months. He was at Mem- 
 phis, Tenn., when the Rebel commander, Gen. 
 Forest, made his raid on that city. After the 
 war he learned the trade of blacksmith, and 
 followed it in Janesville many years, doing a 
 considerable business as a carriage and wagon 
 maker and general blacksmith. Latterly he 
 has been troubled with failing health, and hav- 
 ing decided to try an entire change of occupa- 
 tion, he in the early part of the year 1900 moved 
 out of the city to a farm in La Prairie town- 
 ship, which he has owned for many years. It 
 contains 160 acres, and is a choice and desir- 
 able agricultural establishment. 
 
34 § 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Eddington and Miss Martha Elizabeth 
 Read were married Nov. 4, 1874. She is a 
 daughter of William H. and Margery Ann 
 (Ercanbrack) Read. Four children have been 
 born to bless this union: Jennie May, Nettie 
 
 Belle, Arthur R. and Fay F. The daughters 
 are teaching, and the sons are still at school. 
 Our subject is a Republican, and takes an in- 
 telligent interest in public affairs. 
 
 Mrs. Eddington's father was born in Ban- 
 gor, Maine, and her mother in New York, 
 t hey had eight children, all but one of whom 
 are still living: Mrs. Martha E. Eddington; 
 
 George \ \ . ; John R. ; Sarah Louise, wife of 
 Homer M. Paul; William A.; Mary, deceased; 
 Jennie, wife of Charles Campbell; and Thorn- 
 ton. Her father came West among the early 
 settlers, settling in La Prairie township, Rock 
 county, about fifty-six years ago, took up gov- 
 ernment land, and became quite prosperous. 
 He died between the city of Janesville and his 
 home, from heart disease, in 1880, lacking one 
 week of being sixty-two years of age. His 
 widow died in April, 1886, aged fifty-seven 
 years, two months and twelve days. William 
 H. Read's father, John Read, died in Bangor, 
 Maine, in 1861, when over eighty years of age. 
 Mrs. Eddington’s maternal grandfather, Philip 
 Ercanbrack, belonged to that portion of the 
 early settlers of New York familiarly known 
 as the Mohawk-Dutch. He came West, set- 
 tled in Rock county, engaged in farming, and 
 died in middle life; his wife, Betsey, died in 
 Hebron, Bl. His father, James Ercanbrack, 
 lived to be ninety-eight years old, and his 
 mother, Mrs. Virtue Ercanbrack, lived to the 
 age of ninety-three. 
 
 THOMAS H. EATON (deceased) is well 
 remembered by the older settlers of Monroe, 
 Green county, as a man of- decided energy and 
 great force of character. He served fin the 
 army during the Civil war, and contracted 
 sickness and suffered injuries which were pro- 
 tracted in their effects upon his health, and 
 shadowed his last years with chronic illness. 
 He bore up bravely, however, and did a man’s 
 work through the threescore and ten years 
 that were allotted to him, with the lack of less 
 than one. Mr. Eaton was born in the town 
 of Elk Run, Columbiana county, Ohio, April 
 9, 1822, and was a son of John and Sarah 
 (Marker) Eaton. They had eleven children, 
 all of whom have passed on to “join the great 
 
 majority.” John Eaton was a farmer, and 
 served as a soldier in the war of 1812. He 
 was a leading Democratic politician of Craw- 
 ford county, Ohio, and died when upwards of 
 seventy years of age. His father bore the 
 name of James Eaton. 
 
 Thomas PI. Eaton was taken into Craw- 
 ford county, Ohio, by his parents when a small 
 boy, and there grew to manhood. He had but 
 little schooling, and was a thoroughly self- 
 made man, bright, intelligent, studious, and 
 closely observant of the ways of the world. 
 When he became a man he learned the car- 
 penter's trade, which he followed some years. 
 Pie came West to Wisconsin about 1851, and 
 soon after began the study of law. He was 
 admitted to the Bar in due time, and' began his 
 legal practice in the city of Monroe. Mr. 
 Eaton was living here at the breaking out of 
 the Civil war, and promptly and enthusiastic- 
 ally espoused the cause of the Union, and ren- 
 dered valuable service in the formation of 
 several companies of soldiers. Pie entered in 
 Company G, 22cl Wis. V. I., as first lieutenant. 
 He was in the service about nine months, when 
 he received an injury to his spine that brought 
 on effects from which he pever recovered. He 
 was brought home barely alive, and was never 
 a well man after his return from the war. 
 
 On April 9, 1845, Mr. Eaton was married 
 to Miss Martha Albert, a daughter of Peter and 
 Frances (Brennermann) Albert. Five sons 
 and one daughter were born to this union : 
 John, Kendrick, Mary Frances, James Harvey, 
 Charles William and George W. John died 
 when five months old, and Kendrick when a 
 little over three years. Mary Frances married 
 Macletus Chapin, and lives in Monroe. James 
 Harvey married Miss Lizzie Ivasten, and lives 
 in Monroe; he practiced law for a time, but is 
 now manufacturing pleaters. Charles W. died 
 when about four years old. George W. ’mar- 
 ried Miss Mattie Boyer, and is a farmer in 
 Clarno township, Green county ; they have two 
 children, Ruth Edna and James Harvey. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Eaton were both members of the 
 Christian Church, and lived the doctrines they 
 professed. His widow still finds comfort and 
 support in the faith that brightened her early 
 life and made it possible to endure the troubles 
 that have befallen her. Mr. Eaton was form- 
 erly a Republican, but in his later years be- 
 came a Democrat. He was justice of the peace, 
 in Clarno township, and held the same office in 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 349 
 
 Monroe for a number of years ; served on the 
 town board, and commanded the respect and 
 confidence of his neighbors to a marked degree. 
 He died April 9, 1891, aged sixty-nine years. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Eaton was born in Ger- 
 many, and came to this country when nine 
 years old. He lived in the State of New York 
 for a number of years. His wife was born in 
 Pennsylvania, and after their marriage they 
 moved to Wayne county, Ohio, where Mrs: 
 Eaton was born June 22, 1824, at Mount 
 Eaton. They had nine daughters and three 
 sons, Mrs. Eaton being the youngest, and two 
 of their children are now living: John, of 
 
 Paoli, Ind. ; and Mrs. Eaton. James, of Mil- 
 waukee, who was a soldier in the Civil war, 
 died in November, 1900. John had two sons 
 who were soldiers and lost their lives in that 
 struggle. Peter Albert, the father of Mrs. 
 Eaton, a tailor by trade, returned to Pennsyl- 
 vania on a business trip, was taken sick, and 
 died about 1828, when still in middle life. His 
 father also bore the name of Peter Albert, and 
 served in the Revolutionary war, dying in mid- 
 dle life. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. 
 Eaton, Christ Brennermann, spent his entire 
 life in the State of Pennsylvania, and served 
 in the Revolution ; he was a farmer, becoming 
 very wealthy, and giving all his children a good 
 start in life. Mrs. Eaton has lived in Green 
 county forty-nine years. She was a noble 
 helpmate to her husband, and is a good Chris- 
 tian woman. 
 
 The history of the Eaton family assumes 
 large interest with the story of John Eaton, 
 the great-great-grandfather of the gentleman 
 whose name appears at the opening of this ar- 
 ticle. He was English born and bred, tmd 
 when the Revolution of 1688 brought on civil 
 war in Ireland he took up arms against the 
 despot James II, and for signal gallantry at the 
 battle of the Boyne, July 1, 1690, was rewarded 
 by King William with a liberal grant of land 
 in Ireland, where he . established his family. 
 His son, to whom the paternal, estate descended 
 in due time, was greatly attracted by the possi- 
 bilities of life in America. He disposed of his 
 Irish possessions, and, coming to this country, 
 settled on the shore of Chesapeake bay, where 
 he spent the remainder of his days. He had 
 by his first wife three children. James, Hugh 
 and Mary. James was born Dec. 25, 1733, 
 on his father’s estate in Ireland, and after the 
 death of his mother and the second marriage 
 
 of his father he took up his residence in Lon- 
 don. He lived in that city seven years, and 
 then entered the British navy, and served seven 
 years on a man-of-war. \V hen his term of 
 service had expired, Mr. Eaton traveled ex- 
 tensively in Europe ; and, finally crossing the 
 ocean, settled at Hagerstown, Md., where the 
 world-worn traveler found a wife in the person 
 of Elizabeth Downey. Their children were 
 John, Hugh, James, Elizabeth, Nancy, Re- 
 becca and Sarah. The father was a pioneer 
 settler in Washington county, Penn., locating, 
 in 1779, on the headwaters of Pike Run. He 
 died there March 31, 1814. His son, John, the 
 father of Thomas H., of Monroe, was born 
 April 25, 1778, at Green Spring Furnace, near 
 Hagerstown. He went with his parents to 
 their Pennsylvania home, where he grew to 
 manhood, and where, at the age of eighteen, 
 he married Catharine Marker. The fruit of 
 this marriage was eleven children, twcof whom 
 died in infancy. The others were Elizabeth, 
 Rebecca, William, Nancy, Sarah, Horace P., 
 James Harvey, Reason Beall and Thomas 
 Hawkins. John Eaton, the father, was a pio- 
 neer of Columbiana county, Ohio, where he 
 settled about 1809. He was a soldier in the 
 war of 1812, under Gen. William Henry 
 Harrison, and was one of the early settlers of 
 Crawford county, Ohio, locating in the town 
 of Liberty in 1830. During the winter 'of 
 1 830-3 1 he was instrumental, with the aid of 
 the father of the “fighting McCooks,” who was 
 then clerk in one of the branches of the Ohio 
 Legislature, in permanently fixing the county 
 seat of Crawford county. He died in the town 
 of Holmes, in that county, July 23, 1850. The 
 youngest of his sons, Thomas H., grew to 
 manhood there, and afterward came to Wis- 
 consin, to live the honorable and useful life 
 here recorded. 
 
 GEORGE W. WRIGHT (deceased), late 
 of Platteville, Grant county, was born in Mad- 
 ison county, 111 ., Aug. 4, 1827. and was a son 
 of James C. and Sarah Wright, natives of Ken- 
 tucky. The parents migrated first to Illinois, 
 where they lived some years, and in 1828 came 
 to Wisconsin, locating in Elk Grove, Lafay- 
 ette county, where they resided until 1S5S, Mr. 
 Wright following farming. They then retired 
 to Platteville, where Mrs. Wright passed away 
 in 1S74, and Mr. Wright in 1877. They were 
 the parents of nine children besides our sub- 
 
350 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ject, born in the following order: Belinda, 
 
 wife of Eli Robinson, a lawyer; Permelia, de- 
 ceased wife of Thomas Ginn; Emily, deceased; 
 Martha C., deceased wife of Charles Rand; 
 Samuel E., of Dunlap, Iowa ; Harriet E., who 
 was married to Albert Boise, and died in 1867; 
 William H. H., also a resident of Dunlap, 
 Iowa; Mary F., wife of the late Thomas J. 
 Hooper, of Milwaukee, Wis. ; and Austin. The 
 parents had many trying experiences in the 
 early days, and were “forted” twice during the 
 Black Hawk war. 
 
 George W. Wright was educated in the 
 Platteville Academy. In 1850 he crossed the 
 plains to California, enduring many hardships 
 en route, and encountering many hostile In- 
 dians. He was rewarded with success, how- 
 ever, while in the Golden State, where he passed 
 eight years in the mines, and in 1858 returned 
 to Wisconsin with a small fortune. He then 
 for a time attended a business college in St. 
 Louis, Mo., and in the spring of 1864 was 
 employed by Dr. Newhall in a drug store in 
 Galena, 111 . In 1865 he came to Platteville 
 again and opened a pharmacy on his own ac- 
 count, which he conducted until 1871, when, 
 in order to increase his scientific knowledge of 
 phamaceutics, he hired a pharmacist to take 
 charge of his business, and entered the Chicago 
 School of Pharmacy. He was in Chicago at 
 the time of the great fire in 1871, and with 
 many others was hemmed in on the lake front 
 some ten or twelve hours during that excite- 
 ment. The School of Pharmacy was burned, 
 and he then resumed the drug business, which 
 he followed most successfully until his death, 
 which occurred in Platteville, in September, 
 1892. He made many friends in the city, who, 
 with his family, sincerely mourned the loss of 
 an affectionate husband, an indulgent father, 
 and a good and patriotic citizen. He had long- 
 been an Odd Fellow, and in politics was a lead- 
 ing Republican. Mr. Wright was a member 
 of the Wisconsin State Pharmaceutical Asso- 
 ciation, of which he was one of the original 
 promoters and one of the first vice-presidents. 
 
 In i860 Mr. Wright was united in mar- 
 riag-e with Aliss Nancy E. Kell, daughter of 
 John and Emily (Swett) Kell, old and re- 
 spected residents of Madison, 111 ., the former 
 of whom, native of Tennessee, is now living in 
 Missouri : the latter, a native of Illinois, was 
 of New England descent. They reared two 
 children: Nancy E., now Mrs. Wright; and 
 
 David W., a farmer of Richmond, Mo., where 
 his wife died, leaving three children, Nellie, 
 Edward and Lloyd. To Mr. and Mrs. Wright 
 were born four children, of whom three died 
 in infancy. The survivor, Charles E., was 
 graduated from the University of Wisconsin, 
 at Madison, in 1888, and is the successor of 
 his father in the drug trade at Platteville, being 
 chief manager of the store, which is the finest 
 in the city, and in which Mrs. Wright also 
 holds an interest. He has become quite popu- 
 lar as a chemist, as well as personally, and fra- 
 ternally is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge 
 in the city. 
 
 Religiously Mrs. Wright is a member of 
 the Congregational Church, has ever been very 
 active in pushing forward the good work of 
 the congregation, never being behindhand in 
 her contributions to the support of the church 
 itself, and is a lady of the most charitable and 
 kindly impulses. She is a member of the 
 Daughters of Rebekah, an adjunct of the I. O. 
 O. F. 
 
 WILLIAM MATES, now a retired farmer 
 making his home in Belmont, Lafayette county, 
 is a man of venerable appearance, and the 
 natural regard that his advanced years would 
 command is increased by a knowledge of his 
 upright character and unbending integrity. 
 
 Mr. Mates was born in County Wicklow, 
 Ireland, near Dublin, in February, 1821, and 
 is a son of Richard and Elizabeth (Burn) 
 Mates, both Irish born and bred. His father 
 was born in 1783, and his mother in 1790. The 
 future Lafayette county farmer obtained his 
 education in the schools of his native county, 
 and lived in Ireland until he had attained ma- 
 turity v In 1S44 Mr. Mates left his Irish home, 
 bound for Wisconsin, making the journey by 
 the long and roundabout way of New Orleans 
 and up the Mississippi to Galena, and thence 
 overland into Lafayette county, where he 
 worked on a farm in Elk Grove township. Re- 
 turning to Ireland, he remained there about 
 two years, and when he came to Wisconsin a 
 second time he brought his aged parents with 
 him, and settled them on farm land, some of 
 which they bought from tlje government at a 
 dollar and a quarter per acre. He bought 
 more land, and now ovens nearly four hundred 
 acres in one body. Richard Mates died in 
 1863, and his widow survived until 1874. 
 They had a’ family of seven children: Mary 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 35i 
 
 married a Mr. Tomlinson in Ireland, and is still 
 living in her home country, at the age of eighty- 
 six years; she has three children living in Ire- 
 land. Leonard was born in 1817, and came 
 to Wisconsin at the same time Ins parents made 
 the journey; as long as they lived he made his 
 home with them, and is now an inmate of the 
 home of his brother, the subject of this writing; 
 he owns a good farm in Lafayette county. 
 John was born in 1823, and grew to manhood 
 in Ireland. After coming to Wisconsin he 
 married Miss Kate Kinch, an Irish lady. They 
 settled in Belmont, Wis., but later moved to 
 Iowa, and then to South Dakota, where she 
 died, leaving him three children, Charles, of 
 South Dakota; Anna E., who married Mulford 
 Johnson, and lives in South Dakota; and Alar- 
 rend, who lives in Iowa. Grace Abates was 
 born in Ireland, married Hugh Livingston, and 
 resides in Grant county, Wisconsin, where her 
 husband died, leaving her with a family of 
 seven children, William, John, Robert, Isabel, 
 Mary. Grace, and Jennie. Jennie Alates, born 
 in Ireland, came to this country with her par- 
 ents, and married Joseph Livingston, a farmer 
 in Iowa county, where she died in 1865, leav- 
 ing four children — Robert, now a resident of 
 Iowa county; Angeline, the wife of Hiram 
 Rundel, of the same county ; Hannah, the wife 
 of John Rundel; and Elizabeth, the wife of H. 
 Rundel, of Platteville, Wis. Richard Alates 
 was born in Ireland in 1830, and married a 
 Miss Sherrill, of this State, who bore him three 
 sons, John, W illiam and Henry, all residing 
 in that town. He was a farmer, and followed 
 farming until a few years ago, when he moved 
 to Belmont, and is now not engaged in any 
 business. 
 
 William Alates came to Lafayette county 
 when a young man, established himself on a 
 solid and substantial foundation, and in 1847 
 was married to Aliss Anna Hammond, of Ire- 
 land, who was born in 1826, grew to woman- 
 hood, and received her education in her native 
 town. She is a daughter of Richard and An- 
 nie Hammond, who died in Ireland previous 
 to her coming to this country. Air. and Airs. 
 Alates lived on their farm until 1875, when 
 they moved to Platteville in order to give their 
 children the advantage of the State Normal at 
 that place. In 1883 Air. Alates purchased a 
 fine home on Alain street, in Belmont, and 
 here they have since made their residence. Of 
 their family of nine children but few lived to 
 
 maturity, and only one son is now living, Rich- 
 ard F., who is a young business man of Bel- 
 mont, with a bright future ahead of him. Eliza 
 died when she had reached young womanhood. 
 Mary J. and Susan Grace both lived to the age 
 of eighteen years. Alartha was born on the 
 farm, where she grew up, and married S. G. 
 Clark, of Iowa; she died in 1892, leaving- 
 two children, Ora and William A., who make 
 t their home with their grandparents. Eunice, 
 
 W illiam, Emma and Anna died in childhood. 
 Richard F. Alates, as noted above, is an enter- 
 prising and progressive business man of Bel- 
 mont. He married Aliss Susan Martin, a 
 daughter of one of the well-to-do and old-time 
 families of the county, and they have four chil- 
 dren — Alartin W., Elsie, Mary and Clay. He 
 is an extensive cattle dealer and stock raiser 
 of Lafayette county, dealing not only at home 
 but in the Chicago markets. 
 
 William Alates has been identified with the 
 Republican party since its first organization, 
 and has held a number of local offices in La- 
 fayette county, having been justice of the peace, 
 town superintendent of schools, etc. He and 
 his wife are Alethodists, and are devout ad- 
 herents of that faith. They are among the 
 oldest residents of the county. Their large 
 means were earned by honest toil, and to-day 
 there is no more highly appreciated family in 
 the county than these of whom we have been 
 writing, for their honest lives and sympathetic 
 spirit. 
 
 CORNELIUS BUCKLEY, of Beloit, 
 Rock county, is an attorney-at-law, and holds 
 a leading position at the Rock County Bar. He 
 is well grounded in the fundamental principles 
 of the law, and can readily apply them to the 
 complicated details of modern and present busi- 
 ness conditions. He is an impressive speaker 
 before the jury, and excels in the presentation 
 of the facts of the case and the principles' of the 
 law that govern it. 
 
 Air. Buckley was born in Beloit April 24, 
 1856, and is a son of Timothy and Hannah 
 (Kelleher) Buckley, both natives of the town 
 of Af allow, County Cork. Ireland. They were 
 the parents of seven children, all but one of 
 whom are now living: Cornelius and Cath- 
 
 erine, twins ; Patrick, deceased ; John, of Beloit ; 
 Mary, of Chicago; Elizabeth, the wife of John 
 J. Sweeny, of Freeport, Ilk; and Frank, of 
 Washington. The father came to Boston in 1 
 
352 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1853, and two years later located in Beloit, 
 in which city he is still living. The mother 
 died July 10, 1868, at the age of thirty-seven. 
 Both were devout Catholics. His father, who 
 bore the name of Cornelius Buckley, died in 
 Ireland when a young man. The father of 
 Hannah Kelleher also died in Ireland; he was 
 a farmer. 
 
 Cornelius Buckley was reared to manhood 
 in his native city, attended the parochial and 
 public schools of Beloit, and matriculated at 
 the State University as a student in the law 
 department. Previous to his entrance into the 
 law school he had studied law, and he was ad- 
 mitted to the Bar June 5, 1883. He was ad- 
 mitted to the supreme court of the State and to 
 the United States supreme court in 1893. Mr. 
 Buckley is also a member of the Bar of the 
 State of Minnesota, and is authorized to prac- 
 tice before the court of appeals in Virginia. 
 He was engaged in practice before the courts 
 at Washington, D. C., in 1893, 1894 and 1895, 
 and held there for a short time a position in 
 the census department, tie is a member of 
 the Virginia Historical Society at Richmond, 
 and of the 'Savannah Historical Society or 
 Georgia, and fraternally is a member of the 
 Woodmen of the World. Our subject calls 
 himself a Jeffersonian Democrat. 
 
 Mr. Buckley and his twin sister live in the 
 old home at No. 1243 Emerson street, their 
 father living with them. He is regarded as an 
 able lawyer and a careful adviser, and stands 
 among the leaders of his profession in Beloit. 
 
 MARTIN P. RINDLAUB was born Feb. 
 15, 1838, on a farm four miles east of Gettys- 
 burg, Penn. During the war of the Rebellion 
 a battle was fought so near to the family resi- 
 dence that the occupants could see it from the 
 attic window. 
 
 John Andrew Christian Rindlaub, our sub- 
 ject’s father, was born in Gottingen, Kingdom 
 of Hanover, Germany, April 12, 1797, and 
 came to this country in the year 1819, in a sail- 
 ing-vessel, being nine weeks in crossing the 
 ocean ; he landed at Baltimore, Md. At that 
 time there were no railroads, telegraphs, sew- 
 ing machines, reaping" or threshing machines, 
 and not even lucifer matches. Mr. Rindlaub 
 was a tailor by trade, and for a number of 
 years he traveled from house to house in pur- 
 suit of his business. He died at the home of 
 •his son Martin P., in April, 1885, at the ad- 
 
 vanced age of eighty-eight years. On Nov. 
 4, 1827, he married Sophia Mummert, who was 
 born in Adams county, Penn., daughter of 
 Jacob Mummert, a native of York county, 
 Penn., born Nov. 4, 1784; he died at an ad- 
 vanced age. Her mother, Margaret (Schrein- 
 er), was born in Lancaster county, Penn., 
 April 6, 1790; she also lived to a good old age. 
 To Christian and Sophia (Mummert) Rind- 
 laub were born children as follows : Mar- 
 
 garet B. C., Sept. 20, 1828; Jacob H. M., Feb. 
 10, 1830; Dorothy PI. E., April 10, 1832; J. 
 A. Christian, Jan. 27, 1834; Susan M. S., Jan. 
 14, 1836; Martin P., Feb. 15, 1838; R. Sophia, 
 June 19, 1840; Elizabeth M., April 19, 1843; 
 Julia A., Oct. 7, 1848. They are all living 
 (1901) except Margaret, Christian and Eliza- 
 beth. The mother died March 28, 1866. 
 
 Martin P. Rindlaub received his education 
 in the public schools and at Gettysburg (Penn.) 
 College. He learned the printing business in 
 the office of the Gettysburg (Penn.) Sentinel, 
 Robert Goodloe Harper, proprietor, finishing 
 in dhe fall of 1856. He taught school that 
 winter, and the next summer entered Johns- 
 town (Penn.) Academy, assisting the princi- 
 pal and pursuing his studies. The following 
 winter he taught- school on the western slope of 
 the Alleghany mountains, in Cambria county, 
 Penn., and in order to reach his school he had 
 to walk from Altoona across the mountain, a 
 distance of twenty-five miles. The country 
 in which he taught was mostly covered with 
 virgin pine timber, a few clearings here and 
 there being the exception. 1 here were few 
 wagon roads, and the country was traversed 
 mostly along trails blazed through the forest, 
 much of the travel being on foot. The follow- 
 ing spring the subject of this sketch came West 
 to Warren, 111 ., arriving there on the first day 
 of June, 1858, to accept the position of foreman 
 of the Warren Sentinel, as it was called at that 
 time. Shortly afterward he bought a half- 
 interest in the paper, and within a short time 
 bought the entire plant, remaining there until 
 the spring of 1864, when he sold the office and 
 went to Galena for a few months, as assistant 
 editor of the Galena Gazette. Following this 
 he went to Lancaster, Wis. (July 1,-1864), to 
 assume a like position in the office of the Grant 
 County Herald, Joseph C. Cover, proprietor, 
 and here remained until March 1, 1867, when 
 he purchased the Grant County JJ itness, Platte- 
 ville, of which paper he has remained the sole 
 

 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 353 
 
 proprietor ever since. The paper was estab- 
 lished in 1859. 
 
 When Mr. Rindlaub first took charge of 
 the Witness it had only about 600 subscribers, 
 but he immediately enlarged the paper and 
 made other improvements which soon had the 
 effect of running up the circulation to over 
 2,000, and placing it among the leading news- 
 papers of southwestern Wisconsin. When 
 he first came to Platteville there were only 
 three newspapers in the county : The Herald, 
 
 at Lancaster; the Broadaxe, at Boscobel ; and 
 the Witness , at Platteville. Now (1901) 
 there are thirteen. Our subject has been a 
 member of the National Press Association, 
 and is the present president of the Wisconsin 
 State Press Association. 
 
 Mr. Rindlaub’s parents were members of 
 the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and early 
 in life our subject connected himself with that 
 body. Later on he joined the Congregational 
 Church, in which organization he has held 
 prominent positions among the officers of the 
 church. Pie has always taken a prominent 
 part in politics, has been chairman of the Re- 
 publican Congressional District Committee, 
 and is now chairman of the Republican Sena- 
 torial District Committee ; the Assembly Dis- 
 trict Committee; and also of the Town and 
 City Committees of Platteville. He was post- 
 master at Platteville during President Harri- 
 son’s administration, and is at present Deputy 
 Internal Revenue Collector for the Second 
 District, Wisconsin. Air. Rindlaub is a mem- 
 ber of the Masonic fraternity, having joined 
 in 1859, and belongs to the Chapter and Com- 
 mandery; is also a member of the Masonic 
 Veterans’ Association, whose headquarters are 
 with the Venerable Chief, Gen. J. C. Smith, 
 Chicago ; and is also a member of the I. O. O. 
 F., and of the Encampment. 
 
 On Dec. 15, 1862, Air. Rindlaub married 
 Catherine Swartley Young, who is descended 
 from two of the oldest families in Pennsyl- 
 vania, the Swartleys and the Youngs. She 
 was born at Doyleston, Bucks Co., Penn., 
 Feb. 23, 1842. Her father, Joseph Young, of 
 Northampton county, Penn., was the son of 
 John and Elizabeth Young, who occupied 
 premises that had been in the family for near- 
 ly two hundred years. Joseph Young was 
 publisher and proprietor of a newspaper for 
 many years. He served in the Union army 
 during the war of the Rebellion. Airs. Rind- 
 
 20 
 
 laub’s mother, Airs. Elizabeth Fox (Swart- 
 ley) Young, died when Mrs. Rindlaub was 
 only twenty-one days old, and she had one 
 brother, John S. Young, who died in the sum- 
 mer of 1870. She received her education in 
 the public schools, at Ingham's Seminary, in 
 Doylestown, and at the State Normal School 
 in Millersville, Penn., and has always taken an 
 active part in all matters pertaining to the 
 advancement of the social and moral condi- 
 tion of her sex. She is a member of the Or- 
 der of the Eastern Star; of the W. R. C., in 
 which she has been President ; of the Order 
 of Rachel Rebekahs, I. O. O. F., of which 
 she has been President ; and of the Congrega- 
 tional Improvement Society, of which she has 
 been President. She is at present (1901) De- 
 partment Chaplain of the Woman’s Relief 
 Corps of the State of Wisconsin, and vice- 
 president of the Woman's Suffrage Club of 
 Platteville ; and devotes much of her time as 
 leader of the Young Ladies Alissionary So- 
 ciety and to mission work generally. She 
 has also been prominently connected with W. 
 C. T. U. work for the past twenty-two years. 
 
 Eight children have been born to Air. and 
 Airs. Rindlaub, as follows : William Martin, 
 
 at Warren, 111 ., Feb. 1, 1864; John Harry, 
 at Lancaster, Wis., May 1, 1865; Kate Swart- 
 ley, at Lancaster, Nov. 29, 1866; Emma Ger- 
 trude, at Platteville, Feb. 12, 1869; Ada 
 
 Sophia, at Platteville, Jan. 17, 1S71 (died 
 April 11, 1880); Elizabeth Pond, at Platte- 
 ville, Jan. 27, 1873; Martin Phillip, at 
 Platteville, Nov. 6, 1874; Julia Hill, at 
 
 Platteville, Oct. 17, 1880. The eldest, Will- 
 iam AL, married Aiiss Nina Bean, of La Crosse. 
 He is one of the editors and business man- 
 ager of the Witness. John H. graduated from 
 the State Normal School, after which he 
 studied medicine at Columbia Aledical Col- 
 lege, Washington, D. C., and also took special 
 courses, at Georgetown College and at' Belle- 
 vue. He then spent a year in Europe, study- 
 ing in the cities of Berlin, Vienna, Edin- 
 burgh and London, and in 1896 located at 
 Fargo, Wis., confining his practice to diseases 
 of the eve. ear. nose and throat. Kate S. mar- 
 ried John H. Robertson, a jeweler and oculist, 
 located at Aforrison, 111 . ; they have one child, 
 Martin Rindlaub Robertson. Emma Gertrude 
 is at home with her parents. Elizabeth P. 
 graduated from the State Normal School, 
 Platteville, took a four years' course in medi- 
 
354 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 cine at Ann Arbor (Mich.) University, and 
 afterward a special course at Philadelphia, and 
 is now with her brother at Fargo, as his as- 
 sistant. Martin P.. Jr., graduated from the 
 State Normal School, Platteville, then gradu- 
 ated in the literary course in the Wisconsin 
 State University, and for three years has held 
 the chair of Latin in the Platteville Normal 
 School. At the close of the last school year 
 he was granted a year's leave of absence by the 
 Board of Regents, and now he and his young- 
 est sister, Julia, who graduated at the Platte- 
 ville Normal last year (1900), are spending 
 a year in study and travel in Europe. 
 
 OTTO F. GEIGER is a leading representa- 
 tive of the business interests of Cassville, Grant 
 county, being a member of the well-known firm 
 of Klindt, Geiger & Co., general merchants of 
 that place. Of excellent business ability and 
 broad resources, he has attained a prominent 
 place among the substantial citizens of his 
 county, and has won success by his well- 
 directed, energetic efforts. 
 
 Mr. Geiger was born in Cassville April 3, 
 1859, a son of John and Christina (Nicholas) 
 Geiger. The father was a native of Germany, 
 and came to this country as a political refugee 
 in 1833. Landing in New York, he remained 
 in that city, working in a cigar factory for a 
 time, and then went to Ivaskaskia, 111., where 
 he engaged in mercantile business until coming 
 to Cassville, Wis'., in 1848. Here he embarked 
 in business as a member of the firm of Raffauf 
 & Geiger, and the old frame building in which 
 they conducted their store is still standing near 
 the present place of business of the firm of 
 Klindt. Geiger & Co., having been moved to 
 give place to the brick building erected in i860, 
 t he firm carried on business as general mer- 
 chants and grain dealers until that year, when 
 Peter Raffauf returned to Germany, and Mr. 
 Geiger became the sole proprietor of the store, 
 buying his partner's interest. Under the name 
 of John Geiger he engaged in business until 
 his death, which occurred in December, 1873. 
 The following year John A. Klindt purchased 
 the property, and was alone in business until 
 March, 1878, when the firm of Klindt, Geiger 
 & Co. was established. In 1883, in addition 
 to their extensive mercantile business, they 
 erected a creamery at Cassville, which they 
 have since conducted with marked success. 
 
 Mr. Geiger's mother died in Cassville in 
 
 i860. Otto F. is the youngest of her three 
 children, the others being Mary, wife of Rob- 
 ert Hufschmidt, of Lansing, Iowa ; and Gus- 
 tave J., who was a partner in the business until 
 his death, in January, 1880. The father was 
 again married, in Cassville, his second union 
 being with Miss Josephine Scholz, also a native 
 of Germany. To this marriage have been born 
 six children, namely: Wilhelmina, wife of 
 
 Frank Junkermann, of Clinton, Iowa; John E., 
 a farmer, of T horp, Wis. ; Joseph F., a resident 
 of Cassville; F. A., an attorney of Milwaukee; 
 Henry E., teller in a bank at Madison, Wis.; 
 and Pauline A., of Cassville. 
 
 Reared in Cassville, Otto F. Geiger at- 
 tended the public schools, and later entered the 
 State University, at Madison, where he pur- 
 sued his studies for two years. He then be- 
 gan his business career as a member of the firm 
 of Klindt, Geiger & Co., with which he is still 
 connected. It is the oldest business house in 
 Cassville, and has the best and most extensive 
 trade of any in this section of the State. Mr. 
 Geiger is an energetic, enterprising business 
 man, of known reliability, and the success that 
 has come to him is certainly well merited. 
 Beside his village property he owns an interest 
 111 farming land. In his political views he is 
 a Democrat, but an advocate of sound money, 
 and gives his support to every enterprise which 
 he believes calculated to prove of public benefit. 
 
 DARIUS EASTMAN, for many years a 
 resident of the township of Wayne, Lafayette 
 county, and one of the best-known and most 
 successful farmers and stock raisers of South- 
 western Wisconsin, represents one of the pio- 
 neer families of the State, and is a descendant 
 of one of the early emigrants to the American 
 colonies. He was born in the town of Wayne, 
 Ashtabula Co., Ohio, March 8, 1831, son of 
 Amos and Ruby (Brockway) Eastman. A 
 genealogy of the American branch of the fam- 
 ily, compiled in recent years, states that the 
 emigrant, Roger Eastman, was born in 161.1 
 in Langford, County of Wilts, England, emi- 
 grating from that country to the New England 
 colonies at an early age. In April, 1638, he 
 sailed from Southampton in the good ship 
 "Confidence,” John Jobson, master, and in due 
 time landed at Salem, Mass., making his first 
 home at Salisbury. Lie there married, and be- 
 came the father of ten children, eight sons and 
 two daughters, whose progeny have scattered 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 355 
 
 all over the country. In Part 3, of the East- 
 man Genealogy, there is a representation of 
 the armorial bearings of the family. 
 
 Amos Eastman, father of Darius, was born 
 in Canada (where his parents were temporarily 
 residing) May 22, 1804, son of Amos East- 
 man, Sr. While he was still' young the fam- 
 ily removed to the State of New York, then 
 to Pennsylvania, and later to Wayne township, 
 Ashtabula Co., Ohio, where occurred his mar- 
 riage with Ruby Brockway, who was born 
 there May 11, 1810. In 1844, with his wife 
 and six children, Amos Eastman left Ohio, 
 and settled on Section 22, Wayne township, 
 Lafayette Co., Whs., which became their future 
 home. The father died Dec. 21, 1S86, at the 
 ripe old age of eighty-two years and seven 
 months. The wife and mother passed away 
 May 10, 1863. Amos Eastman was held in 
 high esteem, and during his long residence 
 in Wisconsin obtained possession of a large 
 amount of land, although by trade he was a 
 carpenter ; he erected a number of the early 
 buildings. To him belongs the honor of hav- 
 ing given the township its name, which he 
 called for ‘‘Mad Anthony "Wayne,” of Revo- 
 lutionary fame. He and his wife were faith- 
 ful adherents to the principles of the Free- 
 Will Baptist Church. Their children were : 
 Darius, mentioned below; Dr. William, of 
 Mineral Point; Arial A., of South Wayne; 
 Cassius B., a member of Company B, 31st Whs. 
 V. I., in the Civil war, who died shortly after 
 his return from the service, of disease con- 
 tracted in the army; and Lucinda and Mary, 
 both now residents of Nebraska. 
 
 Darius Eastman was about thirteen years 
 of age when he accompanied his parents to 
 Wisconsin, and practically grew up in Wayne 
 township. On Aug. 15, 1862, he entered the 
 Union army, being assigned to Company B, 
 31st W is. V. I. The regiment was actively 
 engaged during its whole term of service. Mr. 
 Eastman kept a diary of passing events 
 throughout the war, which after nearly forty 
 years is still in excellent preservation. This 
 diary notes the various occurrences from day 
 to day, and from it might be compiled a com- 
 plete history of the regiment from the time 
 it entered the service until the close of the 
 war. On leaving the State the regiment went 
 to Columbus, Ky., arriving there Sept. 25, 
 1863, and two days later started for Nash- 
 ville, Tenn., which point it reached the fol- 
 
 lowing day. A short rest was allowed there, 
 and on Oct. 5 it was transferred to Lavergne, 
 Tenn., starting on the 24th for Murfreesboro. 
 Company B, with two other companies, was 
 detached to guard bridges that spanned Stone 
 river, and remained in that vicinity until the 
 spring of 1864, when they rejoined the regi- 
 ment at Murfreesboro. There, on the nth 
 of March, Mr. Eastman was detailed to serve 
 in the commissary department, where he re- 
 mained several months, but finally succeeded 
 in getting" permission to rejoin his regiment, 
 then near Atlanta. Leaving Murfreesboro on 
 Aug. 25, he reached his regiment on the 29th. 
 The 31st then formed a part of the 3d Brigade, 
 1st Division, 20th Army Corps, and the}- en- 
 tered Atlanta on the 4th of September, being 
 among the first troops to enter after the evacu- 
 ation of the enemy. On Sept. 15, began that 
 historical march to the sea, and Mr. East- 
 man participated in all the battles and skir- 
 mishes of that never-to-be-forgotten campaign, 
 including the battles at Fort Harrison, before 
 Savannah, Averysboro and Bentonville, and 
 then marched on to Washington to take an 
 honored place in the grand review. May 24, 
 1865. The regiment was mustered out of 
 service at Louisville, Kentucky. 
 
 Since his return to the pursuits of peace 
 Mr. Eastman has engaged in agricultural work 
 and in the raising of Shorthorn cattle, in which 
 he has been eminently successful. He is now 
 an extensive land owner, and in all his business 
 transactions has maintained a high reputation 
 for sterling integrity, being respected by all 
 men. 
 
 On Feb. 7, 1876, Air. Eastman was united 
 in marriage with Aliss Susan Shepard, and 
 four children have been born to them ; Le 
 Roy E., Charles L., Roger A.’ and Lulu. 
 
 FRANKLIN H. DERRICK, of Brodhead, 
 Green county, is a retired farmer, and is pass- 
 ing his last days in this beautiful little inland 
 city. He has lived a useful life, worked hard, 
 and is now enjoying a competence for which 
 he has rendered an honest equivalent in brain 
 and brawn. 
 
 Mr. Derrick was born in Erie county, N. 
 Y., Jan. 26, 1824. and is a son of Rodolphus 
 D. and Lorinda (Sheldon) Derrick, natives of 
 Vermont and New York, respectively. Eight 
 children were born to them, of whom two are 
 now living: Franklin H. ; and Elvira, the 
 
356 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 widow of Levi Derrick, of Henderson, Neb. 
 The father was a farmer, and during his active 
 years cleared several heavily timbered farms 
 m his native State. He came to the West in 
 1 838 to make his home, though he had already 
 been out two years before a fid bought land in 
 Green county, Wis. In 1840 he broke land 
 on this farm, and the following year moved 
 his family to it, and made it his home as long 
 as he lived. He died in i860, at the age of 
 sixty-seven, and his widow died fourteen years 
 later, at the age of seventy-seven, lacking 
 one month. He was a soldier in the war 
 of 1812, and 111 Ins mature years a lead- 
 ing man in his community. He was one 
 of the three county commissioners in Green 
 county at an early day, held several town 
 offices, and was on the county board at dif- 
 ferent times. His father, Ephraim Der- 
 rick, was a native of Vermont, of English 
 lineage. He was a Revolutionary soldier, and 
 drew a pension. He died in New York at the 
 age of seventy-seven. His grandfather, John 
 Derrick (1), born in England in 1633, came 
 to America in 1674, and died at the age of 
 one hundred and eight years. The maternal 
 grandfather of the subject of this article was 
 William Sheldon. He was a farmer in New 
 York, reared a family of eleven children, and 
 reached the age of seventy-five. 
 
 Franklin H. Derrick was fourteen years 
 of age when he came with his parents to Wis- 
 consin, and he has lived continuously in Green 
 county since that time, with the exception of 
 two years which he spent in California, en- 
 gaged in mining. He crossed the Plains in 
 1850, taking five months to make the journey. 
 In 1852 he returned home by way of the Isth- 
 mus, and on a sailing-vessel to New Orleans, 
 where he took a steamer for Cincinnati. He 
 farmed until 1883, when he retired. Mr. Der- 
 rick attended the district school one winter 
 after coming to the West. He lived at home 
 until his father's death, when he bought the 
 entire homestead of four hundred acres, but 
 has since sold it. 
 
 Mr. Derrick and Miss Harriet A. Boslow 
 were married Nov. 18, 1846. She was the 
 daughter of John and Mary (Condon) Boslow, 
 and became the mother of seven children, 
 Theodore James, Franklin R., Levi F., Mary 
 L., Harriet L., Flora L., and Paul E. Theo- 
 dore James lives at Jolly, Texas; he married 
 Mrs. Ellen Purdy. Franklin R. lives at Brod- 
 
 head, and is the husband of Miss Belle Moore. 
 .Levi F. married Miss Mary Simmons, and 
 lives at McCracken, Ivans. ; they have two chil- 
 dren, Edna and Maud. Paul E. married Miss 
 Adeline Bowen, and lives in the city of New 
 York. Mary L. married John C. Balis, and 
 both are dead ; they were the parents of six 
 children, Franklin T., Robert, Ernest, Mary L., 
 Hattie and Mabel. Harriet L. married Junius 
 T. Lamson, and lives at Orleans, Neb.; they 
 have four children. Flora L. died at the age 
 of two years. Mrs. Harriet A. Derrick died 
 Oct. 22, 1871, at the age of forty-nine. She 
 was a member of the Methodist Church. Mr. 
 Derrick married Mrs. Mary A. Northup, Sept. 
 17, 1872. She was the widow of Sylvester 
 Northup, and the daughter of Sanford Will- 
 iams. Mr. and Mrs. Derrick are members of 
 the Methodist Church, where he serves on the 
 board of trustees. He was formerly a Re- 
 publican, but is now a Prohibitionist. He was 
 sheriff from 1873 to 1875, and was chairman 
 of the town board a number of terms. He 
 has a good home in Brodhead, and is reckoned 
 among the leading citizens in the town and 
 county. 
 
 REV. LEROY ELLIS, of Patch Grove, 
 Grant county, is a well-known clergyman of 
 the Methodist Church and an ex-soldier of the 
 war of the Rebellion, as well as a greatly be- 
 loved citizen of his community. When the 
 first note of war sounded throughout the coun- 
 try, and the news of President Lincoln’s first 
 call for troops went abroad, Mr. Ellis was 
 among the first to respond. When the informa- 
 tion reached him that the President had issued 
 a call for volunteers, like Gen. Putnam, he was 
 plowing in the field, and like that noted patriot, 
 he responded promptly to his country's call. 
 History tells us that Putnam left his team and 
 plow in the field where he was at work and 
 hurried to the scene of strife. Mr. Ellis un- 
 hitched his team and drove them to the barn, 
 but without waiting to unharness them started 
 at once for Boscobel, where he promptly en- 
 rolled himself as a member of Company F, 
 3d Wis. V. I., under Capt. George W. Lin- 
 bocker. The regiment went as quickly as pos- 
 sible to the front and engaged in the early 
 military operations in Maryland. The Third 
 formed a part of Gen. Patterson's command 
 at Harper’s Ferry, Va., when Gen. McClellan 
 advanced to meet the Confederate army, which 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 357 
 
 advance resulted in the battle of Bull Run. 
 Gen. Patterson, as is well known, was ordered 
 to join Gen. McClellan, but failed to arrive 
 in time to participate in the disastrous first 
 battle of Manassas. Thus Mr. Ellis was not 
 in that noted engagement. The command to 
 which he belonged crossed into the Shenandoah 
 Valley, and took part in the second battle of 
 Bull Run under Gen. Pope, and also partici- 
 pated in the battles of South Mountain and 
 Antietam, under Gen. McClellan. Later the 
 regiment went into camp on Maryland Heights, 
 where it remained for about six weeks. There 
 Mr. Ellis was taken ill. and was in Hospital 
 Camp A at Frederick City, later being removed 
 to the convalescent camp, where he was finally 
 discharged for disability on April 29, 1863. 
 He was severely injured in Banks’ retreat from 
 the Shenandoah Valley, when that gentleman 
 was defeated by the illustrious Stonewall 
 Jackson. The nature of his injury was a rup- 
 ture, and from this and other effects of Ins 
 military service he still suffers. 
 
 Rev. Ellis was born in Perry county, Ohio, 
 May 18, 1835, a son of Daniel J. and Maria 
 (Cochran) Ellis, who never came West, but 
 spent their last days in Ohio. The mother 
 passed away when her son was a small child, 
 but the father survived her many years. Air. 
 Ellis may be said to be a clergyman of the 
 Methodist Church by heredity, as his paternal 
 grandfather, Rev. Michael Ellis, was a pioneer 
 preacher of the West and was associated with 
 the Rev. J. B. Finley. Air. Ellis was one 
 of three children born to his mother, but the 
 father married a second time, and by that 
 union had five children. They long ago scat- 
 tered and some of them have passed away. 
 Air. Ellis was reared 111 his native State. On 
 Alay 28, 1856, he arrived in Prairie du Chien, 
 Wis., and for some time was engaged in farm- 
 ing in Grant and Iowa counties. Fie was al- 
 ways of a religious turn of mind, but had no 
 opportunity for preparing for the ministry in 
 early life, and it was not until 1867 that he 
 became a local preacher, continuing as such 
 for twenty years. His first charge was at 
 Patch Grove, where he remained three years, 
 and after several other assignments he was 
 returned to Patch Grove in 1895, where he is 
 still living, in 1901. 
 
 O11 Jan. 29, 1865, Mr. Ellis was united in 
 marriage with Aliss Alary A. Culbertson, who 
 celebrated the seventeenth anniversary of her 
 
 birth on that day. Her parents, Robert and 
 Levina (David) Culbertson were pioneers of 
 southwestern Wisconsin. Seven children have 
 been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ellis, three of whom 
 died in early childhood, while two sons and 
 two daughters are still living, namely: Frank 
 B., a resident of Redwood county, Minn.; 
 George R., of Oregon; Jennie Alay, wife of 
 Fred R. Barnes ; and Al. Elma, a teacher by 
 profession, residing at home. Rev. Ellis pos- 
 sesses in an eminent degree the respect and es- 
 teem of all who know him. His preaching 
 is characterized by an earnest sincerity that 
 carries conviction to the mind and heart of the 
 hearer. He is cordial and genial in manner 
 and charitable toward all, and the non-religious 
 as well as the Christian believer is his friend. 
 Fraternally he is an esteemed member of the 
 G. A. R. Post of Bradtville. 
 
 LUCIUS S. MOSELEY, of the town of 
 Beloit, Rock county, is one of the older and 
 more successful farmers of that region. He 
 has spent his life in the cultivation of the soil, 
 and kindly nature has richly rewarded his 
 continuous and honorable industry. In the 
 town of Beloit he is spoken of by his neighbors 
 as an honest and upright man, who is at once 
 a good neighbor and a respected citizen of the 
 community. 
 
 Mr. Aioseley was born in Bureau county, 
 111 ., July 26, 1843, bM received his early train- 
 ing in the town of Beloit, for his parents re- 
 moved to Rock county when he was but a 
 child. He had received a good common- 
 school education, and was prepared to enter 
 Beloit College at the outbreak of the Civil 
 war. He enlisted Aug. 14, 1862, in Com- 
 pany B, 22d Wis. V. I. On the battlefield of 
 Spring Hill, Tenn., he was made corporal, and 
 was afterward taken prisoner, with almost the 
 entire command. Mr. Aioseley was confined 
 in Libby prison for a short time, was then 
 paroled, and was at the camp at St. Louis 
 for about two months, when the command was 
 reorganized and sent to the front. He served 
 as a 'soldier until the close of the war, and 
 took part in many fierce and bloody battles, 
 being at Resaca and Peach Tree Creek, and 
 with Gen. Sherman on the march to the sea. 
 Several times was Air. Aioseley struck by fly- 
 ing missiles, but never seriously injured. He 
 was mustered out at Washington, and finally 
 discharged at Alilwaukee. 
 
353 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Our subject was engaged in farming some 
 months after his return home at the close of 
 the war, and then did teaming in the city of 
 Beloit for about two years, working for the 
 Rock River Paper Co. Then he resumed farm- 
 ing on rented land, and finally purchased the 
 farm where he now lives, containing 120 acres, 
 on which he has made many handsome im- 
 provements. In his early life Mr. Moseley 
 learned the trade of a carpenter, and still fol- 
 lows it in connection with farming. He is an 
 active and industrious man, and does not mean 
 to let any time go to waste. 
 
 Mr. Moseley is a member of L. H. D. 
 Crain Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at 
 Beloit, has been its commander two itermis, 
 and takes a deep interest in the welfare of all 
 the “old boys,” comrades on the tented field in 
 the long ago. He has also been president of 
 the Rock County ex-Soldiers and Sailors As- 
 sociation. Mr. Moseley takes considerable in- 
 terest in public affairs, and has filled several 
 offices in the town of Beloit, having been col- 
 lector for five years, and has been assessor and 
 supervisor. He is a strong Republican. 
 
 Mr. Moseley was married, in Beloit, Wis., 
 Dec. 16, 1869, to Miss Fanny M. Brittan, who 
 was born in Elbridge, N. Y., May 22, 1847. 
 They have five children, Metta M., Harry L., 
 Hubert B., Jessie V., and Florence H. The 
 young people of the family are bright and 
 promising, and will very shortly make their 
 influences felt in the world. 
 
 Selden D. and Harriet W. (Gage) Mose- 
 ley, our subject’s parents, were born in Con- 
 necticut and New Hampshire, respectively. 
 They were married in Bureau county, 111 ., and 
 came soon after to Rock county, where they 
 spent the remainder of their lives. They 
 were the parents of four children, of whom 
 Lucius S. was the second child. The father 
 of Mrs. Lucius S. Moseley was Alfred Brit- 
 tan, and her mother Alvira (Armstrong) Brit- 
 tan. He was born in England, and she in 
 New York. They were married in that State, 
 and came to Rock county in 1855, and here 
 passed the rest of their lives. They were the 
 parents of four daughters and one son, and 
 Mrs. Moseley was the eldest of their family. 
 
 NATHAN ALLEN LOOFBOUROW, 
 M. D., a prominent physician and surgeon at 
 Monroe, Green county, was born at Mineral 
 Point, Wisconsin, Oct. 9, 1849, and is a son 
 
 of Dr. John and Rebecca (Lamb) Loofbourow, 
 natives of Virginia and Indiana, respectively. 
 They were the parents of six sons and four 
 daughters, and eight of their children are now 
 living: Sarah is the widow of George Proc- 
 
 tor, of Jamestown, N. Dak.; William, at 
 Monroe; Wade H., at Osceola, Wis.; Har- 
 riet, the wife of J. A. Buss, of Platteville, 
 Wis.; Dr. N. A., of Monroe; Mary, the 
 wife of Henry Hinners, of Platteville, Wis. ; 
 Thomas, of California; and John, of Cin- 
 cinnati. The father was a physician, and prac- 
 ticed for a time in Ohio, in 1828 coming to 
 Wisconsin, where he located in Mineral Point, 
 practicing there until his death, in 1859, when 
 he was seventy-six years of age. He opened 
 a farm in the wilderness, and became the 
 owner of five hundred acres. He was active 
 in the development of the new country, and 
 served in the Black Hawk war. His widow 
 long survived him, and died in 1892 at the age 
 of seventy-six. Both were members of the 
 Christian Church. Dr. John Loofbourow had 
 been twice married before; he had one child 
 by his first wife, who is now dead. His sec- 
 ond wife was the widow of Dr. Monroe, and 
 was the mother of Dr. William Monroe, of 
 Monroe, Wisconsin. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of Dr. N. A. 
 Loofbourow died in the East, and his history 
 is lost. His maternal grandfather, Lamb, is 
 supposed to have been a native of Indiana. 
 He came to Wisconsin in 1828, and opened a 
 farm in Lafayette county, near the village of 
 Wiota, where he died about 1863, when up- 
 wards of seventy years of age, leaving five 
 children who lived to maturity. He was a 
 soldier in the Black Hawk war. 
 
 Dr. Nathan A. Loofbourow made his home 
 in Iowa county until he was sixteen, and then 
 moved into Fayette, in Lafayette county, 
 where he lived until 1870, attending the local 
 schools, and also a select school in Fayette. 
 For some two or three years he was a teacher 
 in the public schools of Wisconsin, in the mean- 
 time studying medicine under the direction of 
 Dr. William Monroe. He was a student in 
 Rush Medical College, Chicago, and was grad- 
 uated in February, 1873. He also attended 
 the famous Bellevue Hospital Medical College, 
 at New York, took post-graduate lectures in 
 Rush, and in 1887-88 spent the greater part 
 of a year in the celebrated medical hospitals and 
 schools at Paris, Vienna, Edinburgh, and Lon- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 359 
 
 don. The Doctor established himself in Mon- 
 roe in 1873, and has been continuously in prac- 
 tice in this city since that time, with the ex- 
 ception of the intervals of study abroad. 
 
 Dr. Loofbourow and Miss Alice Banta, the 
 daughter of Jeremiah and Caroline (Bridge) 
 Banta, were married Nov. 12, 1874. The 
 Doctor and his wife are the parents of one 
 child, Lelia, who is now living with her father 
 at his home on Washington street in Monroe.. 
 He belongs to the I. O. O. F., and also to Ivan- 
 hoe Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He is a Re- 
 publican, and has always taken a deep interest 
 in public questions. 
 
 EDWARD RUSKELL, familiarly known 
 as “Squire Ruskell,” of Belmont, Lafayette 
 county, is a man whose age commands the re- 
 spect his character and learning deserve. He 
 was a farmer for many years, and now that he 
 is living in what the Psalmist denominates as 
 years of sorrow and trouble, he is enjoying a 
 green and noble old age. 
 
 Mr. Ruskell was born in Ireland May 18, 
 1825, and is a son of Robert and Sarah 
 (Kegan) Ruskell, the history of whose entire 
 lives is compassed in their birth, rearing, mar- 
 riage and death in that country. There Mr. 
 Ruskell grew to manhood, and there he con- 
 tracted those matrimonial bonds that outlive 
 youth and beauty, but he sought a home over 
 the sea, with his young wife, Eliza Richardson, 
 whom he married in 1849. The same year 
 they came to this country, crossing the ocean 
 on a sailing vessel, landing at New York, and 
 making their way to Wisconsin just as it was 
 being transformed into a State. Mr. Ruskell 
 applied himself without hesitation to any work 
 that he could secure, working by the month, 
 and saving his earnings, small as they were, 
 until he had enough after several years to buy 
 a small farm in Kendall township, Lafayette 
 county. The same patient industry and econ- 
 omy enabled him to increase his farm property 
 until he owned an extensive- farm. He put 
 up good buildings and improved the grounds 
 thoroughly. A few years ago he divided a 
 section of land among his sons, and is now liv- 
 ing a retired life at Belmont. His wife, the 
 faithful sharer of his toils, and a woman of 
 gracious spirit, died in August, 1889. and the 
 following year Mr. Ruskell made a protracted 
 visit to Ireland, going over in May and re- 
 turning the following September. He was the 
 
 father of nine children, who have lived to grow 
 up, marry and settle in Lafayette county : 
 W illiam, who is now in the Dakotas, where he 
 is traveling for his health, has his home and 
 business in Lafayette county. Sarah is the 
 wife of J. Olney, of Belmont. Mary A. mar- 
 ried Joseph Martin, of Lafayette county, and 
 is now deceased. Robert F. ; Thomas ; Bessie 
 married William Killpatrick, and both she and 
 her husband are now dead; John; Edward 
 died a few years ago at the old home ; Abbie, 
 the wife of Cyrus Buss, of Lafayette. 
 
 In 1893 Mr. Ruskell contracted a second 
 matrimonial union, his bride being Mrs. Han- 
 nah Bunt, a daughter of William and Elizabeth 
 Sowden, of England, where she was born in 
 1830. In 1849 ske married Henry Bunt, of 
 Cornwall, England, and came to Wisconsin the 
 same year, settling on a farm in Elk Grove, 
 Lafayette county, making it their home until 
 Air. Bunt died, in 1880, leaving her a widow 
 with two children, Emily and George W. The 
 daughter married James L. Mitchell, now a 
 Platteville merchant, and is the mother of two 
 children, Mary and Eugene. George W., born 
 in 1854, married and moved to Lemars, Iowa. 
 Mrs. Ruskell has no children by her second 
 marriage. Mr. Ruskell is a Democrat, and lias 
 long been identified with that party. He was 
 a treasurer of Kendall township for many 
 years, and for twenty-six years served as jus- 
 tice of the peace. He and his good wife are 
 members of the local Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and are counted among the best people 
 of Lafayette county. 
 
 OLE I. LUNN, of the town of Beloit, 
 Rock county, was born in Racine county. Wis., 
 May 1, 1846, and was brought by his parents 
 into Rock county when he was a child of two 
 and a half years. Practically his entire life 
 has been spent in the community where he is 
 living, and it has been like the pages of an open 
 book, simple and clear. He has been honest 
 and industrious, with a simple and unassuming 
 integrity and an upright spirit. 
 
 Jacob Lunn, our subject's father, en- 
 listed as a soldier in the army of the Union, 
 and was a member of Company I, 22d 
 Wis. V. I. He died at Columbia. Tenn., 
 from the effect of wounds received in the bat- 
 tle of Spring Hill, March 4-5, 1863. when fifty- 
 three years old ; his record as a soldier was be- 
 yond reproach. His wife, Martha, lived to be 
 
360 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 eighty years old, and died in the home of her 
 son Ole. They came to America from Stav- 
 anger, Norway, June I, 1844, locating first in 
 Racine county, Wis., where they lived three 
 and a half years. They had two sons. Ole J. 
 and Jacob. Jacob died in the old home when 
 fifteen years of age, May 15, 1864. 
 
 Ole J. Lunn was reared on the farm that 
 is now his home, and here he has spent all his 
 life. He loves the farm, loves its care and 
 cultivation, and knows there is no life that can 
 be so grandly lived as that of a farmer. He 
 owns 160 acres of choice land and takes pride 
 in keeping it up to a high state of fertility; he 
 is also engaged in breeding blooded cattle. 
 
 Mr. Lunn and Miss Isabella O. Stensland 
 were married at Madison, Wis., Sept. 28, 1868. 
 Mrs. Lunn was born in Norway, and came to 
 this country with her parents when a girl of 
 twelve years. They arrived in America in 
 1863, and immediately made their way to Rock 
 county, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Lunn are the par- 
 ents of nine children, Martha, Martin, John, 
 Julia, Charles, Jacob, Benjamin, William (who 
 died when one year old), and Albert (who died 
 at about the same age). The family are mem- 
 bers of the Congregational Church. 
 
 JAMES S. LOONEY, a retired farmer 
 of Benton. Lafayette county, was born Dec. 
 31, 1838, son of Abraham and Huldah (Bean) 
 Looney. The father was born in Knoxville, 
 Tenn., in 1800, and the mother in Missouri 
 in 1 8 1 1 . The grandparents, David and Mary 
 (Spergin) Looney, were born in Charleston, 
 S. C., and after their marriage moved to Knox- 
 ville, Tenn., thence to Illinois, where Mrs. 
 Looney died. David Looney moved to New 
 Diggings, where he lived with his son Abra- 
 ham until his death. Robert Looney, the fa- 
 ther of David, was a colonel in the Revolution- 
 ary war. David Looney and his wife reared a 
 family of six children : Abraham, the father 
 
 of James S. ; David; Idetty ; John; Robert, 
 who crossed the Plains to California, where 
 he died in i860; and Jane, who married Ben- 
 jamin Beaseley, and died in Missouri. 
 
 In 1826 Abraham Looney settled in New 
 Diggings, Wis., where for a time he was en- 
 gaged in smelting ore. Later fie took a farm 
 of prairie land, by pre-emption. In his mature 
 life he became an extensive land owner. Dur- 
 ing the Black Hawk war, with others, he erect- 
 ed a fort on his farm, to protect the families I 
 
 from the Indian raids. For a number of years 
 Mr. Looney carried on a store, shipping miners’ 
 supplies throughout the district. In 1828 he 
 was married to Huldah Bean, a daughter of 
 Ahab Bean, who settled in Lafayette county for 
 a while, then returning to Missouri. At a later 
 period he came to Wisconsin a second time, 
 settling in Iowa county, where the last years 
 of his life were spent, and where lie died. 
 Abraham Loone)^ made his home in New Dig- 
 gings until the death of his wife, in 1845; 
 she left four children. He was subsenuently 
 married to Mrs. Hannah Gear. Mr. Looney 
 died in 1884, his wife some years previously. 
 His children were : ( 1 ) Melville, born at the 
 
 old home in 1835, married William J. Bird, a 
 native of Canada, and a local minister. They 
 are now living retired in the town of Darling- 
 ton, and have had four children, Charles, 
 Huldah, Isabelle and Lincoln. (2) Henry, 
 born in 1837, was married to Miss Mary A. 
 Hayth, of Wisconsin. They are residing in 
 Ballard, Wash., and have a family of six chil- 
 dren, Wallace, . Cora, Abraham, Eva, Charles 
 and Maud. (3) James S. (4) Abraham, 
 born in Lafayette county in 1844, was edu- 
 cated at Morris, 111 . He was married to Miss 
 Julia A. Evans, of New Diggings, and they 
 settled on one of his father’s farms in La- 
 fayette county, where they lived until 1878, 
 when they removed to Iowa, and a few years 
 later to Ballard, Wash., where they now re- 
 side. They have three children, Russell, Jessie 
 ' and Ella. 
 
 James S. Looney obtained his early educa- 
 tion in the public schools of New Diggings, 
 and later on was a student in Rock River Sem- 
 inary. For three years he followed teaching 
 in his own county. He became a soldier at the 
 outbreak of the Civil war, enlisting in Com- 
 pany I, 3d Wis. V. I., July 19, 1861, under 
 Capt. Howard Vandergriff, of Shullsburg. 
 He was mustered in at Fond du Lac, and the 
 regiment was assigned to the Army of the 
 Potomac. Its first engagement was at Charles- 
 town, Va., and it was also at Winchester, 
 after which battle our subject was part of the 
 force that arrested the Legislature of Mary- 
 land, while it was in session for the purpose 
 of joining the Southern Confederacy. Mr. 
 Looney was in the battle at Strasburg, and also 
 at Cedar Mountain, in 1862. He participated 
 in the second battle of Bull Run that same 
 summer. In September of the same year he 
 

 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was a soldier in the terrible battle of Antietam, 
 where his regiment lost heavily in killed and 
 wounded. At Chancellorsville the 3d Wiscon- 
 sin lost ninety-six killed and wounded ; at 
 Gettysburg the regiment was engaged in the 
 battle for three days. From that bloody field 
 the 3d was sent to New York, to crush the 
 draft riots in that city. The following Sep- 
 tember the regiment returned to Alexandria, 
 Va., and the entire corps was presently attached 
 to the Army of the Cumberland. At Steven- 
 son, Ala., the 3d was on guard duty for a 
 time. While at that point the company to 
 which Mr. Looney belonged re-enlisted, and 
 he was one of the first to enroll himself for the 
 war. 
 
 Mr. Looney was married, while home on a 
 furlough, Jan. 15, 1864, to Miss Jane, a daugh- 
 ter of William and Adeline (Kirkham) May. 
 The Mays came to New Diggings at an early 
 day, and here they lived and died. Mrs. 
 Looney was born in Missouri in October, 1S40. 
 Mr. Looney went back to his regiment, then in 
 Tennessee, and the 3d participated in the splen- 
 did campaigning that led up to the fall of At- 
 lanta, and was part of the Union forces at 
 Resaca. Mr. Looney had a hand in the battles 
 at Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree 
 Creek, and at the last-named battle he was 
 wounded, July 21, 1864, by a minie ball, in 
 the knee. He was taken to the field hospital, 
 where he remained until he was able to re- 
 join his regiment at Atlanta, and accompany 
 Gen. Sherman on his march to the sea. They 
 followed Johnson and his retreating Rebel 
 hosts to Raleigh, where they witnessed the 
 final fighting of the war. The 3d took part 
 in the grand review at Washington. Mr. 
 Looney made a record of which any soldier 
 might be proud. He was in twenty-one heavy 
 battles, and was twice wounded. He was dis- 
 charged at Louisville, Ivy., July 18, 1865, and 
 hastened to resume the peaceful industry which 
 he had for the time abandoned to take part 
 in the dreadful game of war. He lived on the 
 old homestead until 1896, when he bought 
 real estate in the town of Benton, where he has 
 erected one of the finest modern homes to be 
 found in the entire region. He put up new 
 buildings on the farm, and is the proprietor of 
 several tenements in Benton, which he rents. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. fiLooney have been born 
 three children: (1) Huldah, born in 1866, 
 
 married William Cottingham, and is now liv- 
 
 36 1 
 
 ing on a farm of Mr. Looney, joining the old 
 homestead. They have a family of seven chil- 
 dren, Charles, Virl, Glanard, Benjamin, Archie, 
 Letha, and Gay. (2) Arche, born at the old 
 home in April, 1872, was married ,to Miss 
 Maggie Sullivan, and lives in New Diggings; 
 they have one son, James. (3) Joseph PL, 
 born in November, 1873, was married to Miss 
 Jennie Sullivan, and resides on part of the 
 old homestead in New Diggings. 
 
 Mr. Looney is a Republican, and has held 
 the office of mayor in Benton. While a resi- 
 dent of New Diggings he was called on to 
 fill many local offices. Socially he belongs to 
 Thomas H. Oates Post, No. 96, G. A. R., 
 Shullsburg, is also a member of the Inde- 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and Benton 
 Lodge, Iv. P. Mr. and Mrs. Looney belong 
 to the Order of Rebekahs. Both attend the 
 Methodist Church, to which she belongs. Mr. 
 Looney is a popular and successful business 
 man, a careful financier, and an upright char- 
 acter. He is an honest and genial gentleman, 
 and enjoys the esteem of many friends. 
 
 GEN. JAMES BINTLIFF. The people 
 of Wisconsin will always read with pleasure 
 incidents in the lives of those who, through its 
 half century of growth, have taken an active 
 part in shaping its destinies. Such a man was 
 Gen. James Bintliff, who, from 1S51 to 1896, 
 was well known in Wisconsin and beyond its 
 borders as one who in every walk of life la- 
 bored to assist in establishing the community 
 and the State upon the broad foundations of 
 truth, justice and humanity. Although he 
 passed the evening of life in a neighboring 
 State, his heart was ever with Wisconsin, and 
 his best wishes for its prosperity. 
 
 Gen. Bintliff was the son of Gershom and 
 Maria H. Bintliff, and was born in Yorkshire, 
 England, on Nov. 1, 1824. At the age of 
 fifteen lie became a clerk in a lawyer’s office at 
 Halifax, and was subsequently bookkeeper for 
 the Halifax & Wakefield Canal Co. In 1841 
 his father and mother, with four children, came 
 to the United States, and the next year he fol- 
 lowed them with the younger brother and sis- 
 ter. They settled in New York, where, in 
 1847, at Skaneateles, he was married to Miss 
 Harriet Snook, daughter of John Snook, of 
 Somersetshire, England. From the time of 
 his marriage until 1851 he was a partner with 
 Air. Snook in business ; then he came to Green 
 
362 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 county, this State, where he took the position 
 of cashier of the Bank of Monroe. In 1856 he 
 was elected register of deeds for Green county, 
 and was admitted to the Bar in 1859. The 
 next year he bought an interest in the Monroe 
 Sentinel , the leading newspaper of the county, 
 of which he afterward became the sole pro- 
 prietor. 
 
 Soon after the beginning of the Civil war 
 Mr. Bintliff recruited a company of volunteers, 
 of which he was commissioned captain. This 
 company was mustered into the service on 
 Sept. 2, 1862, as Company G, of the 22d Wis. 
 V. I., and was ordered to Kentucky, taking 
 part in several minor engagements on its way 
 between Louisville and Nashville. A detach- 
 ment of the regiment, including Company G, 
 was ordered to Brentwood, Tenn., where it 
 was attacked and captured by a large force 
 under Gen. Forrest, on March 25, 1863, and 
 sent to Libby prison, where our subject was 
 confined until the following May, when he was 
 exchanged and joined his command in St. 
 Louis. In March, 1864, Capt. Bintliff was 
 commissioned by Gov. Lewis, colonel of the 
 38th Wis. V. I., which was sent to the Army 
 of the Potomac, and took an honorable part 
 in the series of engagements that led up to 
 the capture of Petersburg and the end of the 
 war. in the final assault on Petersburg, Col. 
 Bintliff, with his command, which consisted 
 of three regiments, was the first to break 
 through the enemy's lines and capture and hold 
 an important fort until the whole line was 
 evacuated. During the day of April 2, 1865, 
 he held the position he had captured, Fort 
 Mahone, against three attacks from a division 
 of the Confederate army under Maj. Gen. 
 Gordon. The three regiments which Col. 
 Bintliff commanded were his own 38th Wis., 
 under the immediate command of Maj. Rob- 
 erts; the 109th N. Y., under Lieut. Col. Pier, 
 of the 38th Wis. ; and the 207th Penna., com- 
 manded by Col. R. C. Cox. At ten o’clock 
 that night he was sent to take command of the 
 d bird Brigade, against which a further attack 
 was expected.- Maj. Gen. Hartranft, in his 
 official report of the campaign, and also Col. 
 Sam Harriman, in his report, both extol the 
 gallantry of Col. Bintliff for his brilliant serv- 
 ices on this occasion, recommending his pro- 
 motion ; and he was accordingly commissioned 
 brigadier general by the President, and con- 
 tinued in command of the Third Brigade until 
 
 the close of the war, being mustered out in 
 June, 1865. 
 
 Gen. Bintliff returned to Monroe and en- 
 gaged in mercantile business until 1870, when 
 he purchased an interest in the Janesville 
 Gazette and removed to that city, remaining in 
 charge of that paper until 1878, when he 
 bought the Republican, of Darlington. For 
 five years he edited the Republican with abil- 
 ity, and then transferred it to his son, E. H. 
 Bintliff, and J. G. Monahan, the latter of whom 
 has since become its sole owner. 
 
 W hen the Board of Supervision of the 
 Penal and Reformatory Institutions of the 
 State was organized under the law of 1881, 
 Gen. Bintliff was appointed one of its mem- 
 bers, and after he disposed of the Republican 
 he devoted his whole time and attention to his 
 official duties. Deeply interested in the ques- 
 tions of sociology, the discussion of which is 
 so characteristic of the close of the century, he 
 was a valuable and influential member of the 
 board, possessing great executive ability. Gen. 
 Bintliff was also made a trustee of the Wiscon- 
 sin Soldiers Orphans Home, and president of 
 that board from 1877 until its labors were con- 
 cluded, and the last of its funds distributed to 
 those entitled, in 1896. After the expiration 
 of his second term in the Board of Supervision 
 he was in no active business. Until 1896 his 
 residence remained in Darlington, when he re- 
 moved to Chicago, where he lived with his 
 widowed daughter at 7429 Bond avenue, 
 Windsor Park. Another daughter, Mrs. Ida 
 Simpson, resides in the same block; and his 
 only surviving son, Edward H. Bintliff, is the 
 editor of the Kankakee Gazette, while two 
 grandsons are in business at St. Louis, Mo. 
 During all this time the wife of his youth 
 shared the vicissitudes of his career, and 
 although herself full of years, felt less the in- 
 firmities of age, and was the solace of his 
 declining days. 
 
 Gen. Bintliff was lame from the result of 
 a fall which dislocated his hip, and within the 
 last ,year of 'his life became blind, so as to be 
 unable to read or to recognize his friends ex- 
 cept by the voice ; while his general health 
 failed, his mental faculties were bright, and 
 the abundant resources of a well-stored mind 
 were at his command to aid him in bearing his 
 infirmities with eauanimity. Always a great 
 student, especially in the line of humanitarian 
 studies, he recalled much that was interesting, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 363 
 
 and continued 1 to delight in learning concern- 
 ing questions that touch the life and well-being 
 of his fellow-men. Instead of bemoaning his 
 condition, however, he maintained his cheer- 
 fulness by striving to inculcate in the minds of 
 all within the wide range of his influence, tho§e 
 principles of brotherly kindness that he had 
 proven and found to have enduring value, 
 lie entered into rest March 16, 1901. 
 
 JOHN M. RIGGS is numbered among the 
 brave veterans of the war of the Rebellion who 
 still remain to tell the story of those terrible 
 days, when courage was tried to the utmost, 
 and the flag was saved, although drenched with 
 the blood of thousands. 
 
 Mr. Riggs was born in Meigs county, Ohio, 
 in 1834, son of William R. and Lavina (Bur- 
 ris) Riggs, the former a native of Virginia. 
 The family removed from Ohio to Missouri, 
 and from that State to Wisconsin in 1844, set- 
 tling at Belmont. In 1849 the father crossed 
 the Plains to California, and died there not 
 long after his arrival, the mother surviving 
 him many years. In their family were two 
 sons and two daughters, of whom only the sub- 
 ject of this sketch and his sister Virginia Ann, 
 who lives in Michigan, now (1901) survive. 
 
 • John M. Riggs was reared upon a farm. 
 In 1851 he crossed the Plains to California, 
 returning in 1854, but in 1855 he went back 
 once more, and remained until the fall of the 
 following year. When the Civil war broke out 
 Mr. Riggs felt that his sympathies demanded 
 that he offer his services, and on Aug. 16, 
 1862, he enlisted in Company B, 33d Wis. V. 
 L, his services extending over a period of three 
 years, or until the close of the war. During 
 this time Mr. Riggs took part in many of the 
 important events of that time, the regiment 
 leaving the State under the command of Col. 
 Jonathan B. Moore, who had been sheriff of 
 Grant county, Capt. George R. Frank in com- 
 mand of Company B. On October 18, 1862, 
 the regiment was mustered into the service, 
 and left for the front the following month, 
 proceeding directly to Memphis, Tenn., where 
 it was assigned to Gen. Lawman’s division, in 
 Gen. Sherman's Army of the Tennessee. This 
 division became a part of the 16th Army 
 Corps, and took an active part in the siege of 
 Vicksburg, attack on Jackson, and the Merid- 
 ian expedition. One of the important events 
 in which the 33d participated was the bloody 
 
 battle of Tupelo. After many hard marches 
 and several important battles, .the 33d reached 
 Nashville Nov. 30, 1864. In March of the 
 following year the regiment joined in the at- 
 tack on Spanish Fort, and after the surrender 
 of Mobile moved on to Montgomery, Ala., 
 where they did picket duty. Later they were 
 ordered to Vicksburg and mustered out, and 
 finally, in August, 1865, disbanded at Madison, 
 Wis. It has been truly said of the 33d that 
 few regiments saw more severe service and 
 that its record is untarnished by any cowardly 
 or dishonorable action. Mr. Riggs' health was 
 badly broken as a result of his service, and as 
 lie grows older he realizes just how much he 
 and his companions gave to their country. 
 Since the war Mr. Riggs has resided on his 
 farm, where all of his children were born and 
 reared. 
 
 In May, 1871, John M. Riggs was mar- 
 ried to Miss Lydia Beam, who was born in 
 New Jersey in 1846 and brought by her fam- 
 ily to Illinois and later to Wisconsin. Pier 
 parents are still living, and reside in Watters- 
 town. Mr. and Mrs. Riggs have four sons 
 and two daughters: John M., Mamie, Frank, 
 
 James E., Elsie V. and Floyd. The four 
 youngest are still residing with their parents, 
 while the others are settled not far away. The 
 home of the Riggs family is a very pleasant 
 one, and both Mr. and Mrs. Riggs are highly 
 respected by all who know them. Mr. Riggs 
 has proven himself a loyal citizen, good hus- 
 band and father, and kind friend, and no one 
 is better entitled to an honorable place in the 
 records of Grant county than he. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER MEINERT. Among 
 the respected residents of the beautiful town 
 of Albany, Green county, within whose borders 
 reside so many of the successful and substan- 
 tial citizens of Albany township, is Christopher 
 Meinert, the subject of this sketch. His birth 
 took place in Pickaway county, Ohio, on July 
 13, 1818, a son of Garrett Henry and Catherine 
 (Wonderly) Meinert, both of whom were na- 
 tives of Germany. A family of nine children 
 were born to them, only two of whom survive, 
 our subject and his sister Angeline, who is the 
 wife of Jacob Abley, of Albany township. 
 
 The paternal grandfather died in Germany, 
 where he was a farmer by occupation ; the ma- 
 ternal grandfather followed teaming in a Penn- 
 sylvania hamlet, where he died, although he 
 
364 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 had been born in Germany. The father of our 
 subject was reared on a farm in his native 
 country, and engaged at work in a sugar re- 
 finery after coming to New York, in that 
 city he married, and then moved to Ohio, rent- 
 ing a farm in Pickaway county, selling out 
 later and moving to Vermilion county, Ind., 
 where he bought a farm of eighty acres from 
 the government, dying at this place in 1858, 
 in Ins fifty-ninth year. His wife survived him 
 many years, being aged eighty-one when she 
 passed away. In religious faith she was a 
 Methodist, while he was identified with the 
 Lutheran Church, both being good and worthy 
 people, who possessed the respect of all. 
 
 Christopher Meinert was reared principally 
 in Indiana, where he attended the district 
 schools. His occupation has always been that 
 of a farmer, in which he has met with great 
 success. In 1S41 he came with his wife and 
 baby to Wisconsin, landing in Green county 
 on Oct. 14, and settling on a farm three miles 
 east of Monroe, where lie built a cabin and re- 
 mained twenty months. Finding more desir- 
 able land in Albany township, he moved there, 
 purchasing 240 acres of land a short distance 
 west of the village. Here the family resided 
 until 1884, when Mr. Meinert rented out his 
 land and bought one of the best houses in the 
 village of Albany, living there in comfort .ever 
 since. 1 he farm is still in his possession, and 
 is a fine place, well cultivated and improved 
 with excellent buildings. 
 
 Mr. Meinert was married on Feb. 14, 1838, 
 to Miss Elizabeth Frazier, a daughter of James 
 and Elizabeth (Cade) Frazier, and five chil- 
 dren were born to this union, one of whom 
 died in infancy; Martha (deceased) married 
 Joshua Brown, and had one son, Floyd ; Eli 
 married Ida Andrews, and lives in Lemhi 
 county, Idaho, with two children, Ernest and 
 Ina; Mary married Milton McPherson and 
 they live in Idaho, with one daughter, Theo; 
 and Sarah, Mrs. Hyde, who lives in Idaho, and 
 has two children. The mother of these children 
 died on April 9, 1851, aged about thirty-two, 
 a worthy member of the Christian Church. 
 For his second wife Mr. Meinert married, Nov. 
 20, 1851, Mrs. Abigail Mead, a daughter of 
 Joseph and Charlotte (Hellenbolt) Dory, and 
 the widow of Ames Mead. Six children have 
 resulted from this marriage: Garrett H., who 
 
 married Emily Aulthouse, lives at West Bend, 
 Wis., and has two children, Adolph and Hat- 
 
 tie ; Isaac died at the age of seven ; Irad mar- 
 ried and lives in Hailey, Idaho; Frances, who 
 married Dick Sherkamp, lives in Albany; 
 Dora, deceased,, married Floyd Flint, and left 
 one daughter, Dora Addie, residing in Albany ; 
 Statirah lives at home. Garrett Henry and 
 wife, and also Mr. Sherkamp, are mutes. One 
 son was born to Mrs. Meinert by her former 
 marriage, Oscar A. Mead, who married Hattie 
 Kenney and has two children, Hattie and 
 Merton. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Meinert was a native 
 of France, her mother of New York, the for- 
 mer taking part in the war of 1812. Her first 
 husband took part in the rebellion in Canada, 
 m 1837. 
 
 Although not a politician, Mr. Meinert has 
 settled views on public questions, and belongs 
 to the Socialist party. For several terms he 
 served the township as supervisor, performing 
 his duties faithfully and well. The family is 
 well known, and Mr. Meinert is a shining ex- 
 ample of industry and honesty well rewarded. 
 He is a member of the Christian Church. 
 
 JOSEPH GOODRICH CARR, one of 
 Rock county’s substantial and intelligent farm- 
 ers, is the oldest native now living in the town 
 of Milton, being the fourth male white child 
 born in the township. 
 
 Peleg S. Carr, his father, was born in 
 Stephentown, N. Y., April 23, 1794, and mar- 
 ried Deborah Goodrich Jan. 11, 1816. To them 
 were born ten children, all of whom lived to 
 advanced maturity. He was of English an- 
 cestry, and directly descended from Robert 
 Carr, who sailed for New England on the 9th 
 of May, 1635, in the good ship “Elizabeth 
 Ann.” He was also one of the original pur- 
 chasers from the Indians of the island Conani- 
 cut, in Narragansett bay, consisting of about 
 six thousand acres. 
 
 Deborah Carr, the mother of the subject 
 of this sketch, was a lineal descendant of John 
 Goodrich, who emigrated from England in 
 1644. She was born Jan. 26, 1794* at 
 
 Goodrich Hollow, near Hancock, Mass. 
 She possessed a vigorous constitution, and 
 was a woman of more than ordinary ex- 
 ecutive ability, and her industrious, self-reliant 
 nature has been an important factor in the 
 ■ career of her children. She died at the home 
 of her son Joseph, Sept. 24, 1874, at the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty years. For many years, 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 365 
 
 with characteristic energy, she toiled with her 
 husband among the Berkshire hills, but the op- 
 portunities for bettering their condition were 
 meager, and they resolved to try their fortune 
 in tire land beyond the Great Lakes. 1 hey 
 arrived at the home of Mrs: Carr’s brother, 
 Joseph Goodrich, May 26, 1S39, accompanied 
 by a family of eight children, and also a son- 
 in-law, Nathaniel Rose. The next day they 
 purchased a claim of 4S0 acres, and at once ' 
 moved their small possessions into a little log 
 cabin 14x18, and commenced pioneer life in 
 earnest. Joseph G. was born on the 19th of 
 the following March, 1840. Thus he has been 
 an eye-witness to the development that has 
 transformed a wild, trackless prairie and wood- 
 lands into a high state of cultivation, sharing 
 the privations peculiar to pioneer life, and be- 
 coming part of the growth of the town by 
 aiding largely in the work that has made south- 
 ern Wisconsin bloom and blossom like a gar- 
 den. After his father's death, which occurred 
 Sept. 28, 1846, he lived with his mother, at 
 the old homestead, until 1854, when his brother, 
 Solomon C. Carr, became its owner. His 
 mother then purchased eighty acres of land 
 which were still in an uncultivated condition, 
 and erected a comfortable house and outbuild- 
 ings, and her sons Elijah M. and Joseph G. 
 began to convert the land into fertile fields 
 which yielded an abundant harvest. 
 
 On the 17th day of October, 1863, Mr. Carr 
 was united in marriage to Miss Phoebe Isa- 
 belle Maxson, by Rev. James Rogers. Five 
 children have blessed their union, of whom 
 Maude, born Aug. 13, 1882, died Feb. 27, 
 1884. Fred M., born April 2, 1865, is an en- 
 ergetic farmer at Marshfield, Wis. ; he married 
 Miss Ella Palmer March 28, 1894, and they 
 have two children, Haldane, born Feb. 25, 
 1895, anc l Maude, born May 12, 1899. Anna- 
 bel, born April 7, 1866, married Ludwig Kum- 
 lien, professor of physics and natural history 
 in Milton College, Dec. 21, 1892; their chil- 
 dren are Carr, born Dec. 6, 1893; Lorraine, 
 born Feb. 28, 1896; and Alice, born Oct. 30, 
 1900. Joseph L., born April 7, 1870, resides 
 in Chicago ; he married Miss Charlotte Maxson 
 June 10, 1896. Alice M., born Jan. 17, 1875. 
 married Fred H. Campbell June 27, 1894, and 
 resides in Edgerton, Wis. ; they have had two 
 children, Lenore, born Oct. 13, 1897, who died 
 Aug. 31, 1898; and Phyllis, born April 11, 
 ^99. 
 
 Mrs. Carr was the daughter of Nathan 
 Maxson and Susan Isabelle V\ ell, who were 
 married Sept. 23, 1844. Both were natives 
 of New York. Four children were born to 
 them: Phcebe I., Oct. 8, 1845, i n Alfred, N. 
 
 Y. ; Nathan E., July 29, 1847; Mary G., April 
 17, 1849; an( l Adelbert W., March 19, 1852, 
 who died May 14, 1890, in the Indian Terri- 
 tory. Nathan Maxson was born Oct. 23, 1819, 
 m Alfred, Allegany Co., N. Y., one of eight 
 children born of the marriage of Luke Max- 
 son and Susannah Greene, which occurred in 
 1807, and was the first marriage celebrated in 
 the town of Alfred, N. Y. The fathers of 
 both contracting parties being Revolutionary 
 soldiers, Mrs. Carr is thus entitled to member- 
 ship in the Daughters of the American Revo- 
 lution. Mrs. Carr's parents were early settlers 
 of Milton, and were people of much character 
 and intelligence. Both are deceased, Mr. Max- 
 son having died Feb. 17, 1855, and his wife 
 Oct. 31, 1866. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Carr began their married 
 life upon that portion of the homestead which 
 belonged to his mother, where they yet reside, 
 he having purchased the same in 1866, thus 
 adding to his original fifty acres. Oak Lawn 
 now consists of 250 acres of improved land, 
 which he has brought to a state of fertility 
 from the virgin soil, and which is now notice- 
 able in this region of fine farms for its beau- 
 tiful lawn, commodious residence, excellent 
 barns and outbuildings — all models of con- 
 venience and bespeaking the thrift and enter- 
 prise of the energetic owner. For years he 
 has made a specialty of dairy stock raising, 
 and his herd of fifty grade Jerseys are the pride 
 of Oak Lawn. 
 
 Socially Mr. Carr has been an earnest, un- 
 tiring worker of the Patrons of Husbandry, 
 and Du Lac Grange, No. 72, owes its orig.n 
 to him and his neighbor, Robert Stockman, 
 who perfected the organization Feb. 18, 1873; 
 he has served as worthy master of same several 
 years. He was chosen treasurer of the Milton 
 Junction Building Association at its organiza- 
 tion, in 1881, and has served in the office con- 
 tinually since then. In politics he is an ardent 
 supporter of the Republican party, and has 
 taken a deep interest in public affairs and im- 
 provements of all kinds, as every true Ameri- 
 can should do, but was never an aspirant for 
 office. 
 
 Though of a retiring, unassuming nature, 
 
366 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Carr is a benevolent, whole-souled man, 
 and his honorable, upright life during Ins long- 
 continued residence in the same community, 
 for more than sixty years, has won for him the 
 respect and confidence of all who know him, 
 and he is deservedly held in high esteem as 
 a valued friend and citizen, and a man of ster- 
 ling worth. His worthy wife has been truly a 
 helpmeet in all branches of his business, and 
 their lives have been a marked success. 
 
 DWIGHT TIMOTHY PARKER, Sr., 
 who throughout his active life was a prominent 
 business man of Grant county, died while still 
 a young man ; but probably no man in the list 
 of the early settlers of the county contributed 
 in as great a degree as did he to its material 
 growth and development when the limited 
 number of years of his business life proper is 
 considered, and the comparatively early age 
 at which he passed away. 
 
 Dwight Timothy Parker, Sr., was born 
 in the village of Malone, Franklin Co., N. Y., 
 Dec. 21, 1821. His parents, Enos and Mary 
 (Todd) Parker, both belonged to old New 
 England families. Investigation into the an- 
 cestry of the Parker family discloses the fact 
 that it is descended directly from Catherine 
 Cole, one of the pilgrim band that landed from 
 the “Mayflower” on Plymouth Rock in Decem- 
 ber, 1620. Mary Todd Parker belonged to a 
 well-known New England family that was well 
 represented in the war of the Revolution, and 
 she was a sister of Rev. John Todd, a famous 
 New England divine. This estimable woman 
 possessed many of the characteristic traits that 
 rendered her family so noted. Unfortunately 
 her children were deprived of her love and care 
 when still very small, she dying when Dwight 
 T. Parker was but a child, leaving behind her 
 two sons and one daughter who attained to 
 mature years. Of these children, ( 1 ) Dwight 
 T. was the eldest. (2) Arunah came to Grant 
 county, Wis., after his brother, and studied 
 law with J. Allen Barber, of Lancaster, Wis., 
 with whom he practiced until 1848, when he 
 was elected county clerk. Later he took a 
 trip through the South, and finally became 
 identified with copper mining interests in Penn- 
 sylvania, and at the same time had a law office 
 in New York City. His death occurred in 
 1855, when he was aged thirty. (3) Mary, 
 named after her mother, married John Newton, 
 
 a prominent citizen of Prairie du Chien; she 
 died in the autumn of 1871. 
 
 Enos Parker was twice married after the 
 death of his first wife. To the second union 
 four children were born: George W., who 
 
 came to Grant county in 1856, was for a time 
 employed as clerk by his brother Dwight, and 
 for many years was a member of the firm of 
 Parker, Hildebrand & Co., of Boscobel, of 
 which concern Dwight T. Parker was the senior 
 partner; John J., also associated with his 
 brother Dwight for some time, finally went to 
 South Dakota, and died at Spearfish, that 
 State, where he was engaged in mining; Will- 
 iam W. is now a resident of Spearfish, S. 
 Dak. ; Catherine became the wife of Owen 
 Gibbs, of the firm of Deering, Milligan & 
 Gibbs, of Portland, Maine, and died in that 
 city in 1875. No children were born to Enos 
 Parker's third marriage. Mr. Parker died at 
 the home of his daughter, in Portland, Maine, 
 in January, 1870, in his seventy-sixth year, his 
 death being the result of a cold contracted at 
 the wharf in Portland while viewing with 
 thousands of others the coming into the harbor 
 of the vessel bearing the remains of the famous 
 philanthropist, Peabody, from Europe. 
 
 The Parker family were long residents of 
 the State of Connecticut, but prior to the birth 
 of Dwight T. Parker they removed to New 
 York, and thence to Georgia, Franklin Co., 
 Vt., when the latter was but two years old. 
 Dwight T. Parker was named for Timothy 
 Dwight, Sr., long president of Yale College, 
 whom his father greatly admired. At the pa- 
 ternal home in Vermont our subject grew to 
 manhood, working on the farm, assisting his 
 father, and attending the country school of 
 his neighborhood in the winter. Reared in the 
 characteristic New England manner, habits of 
 perseverance, industry and frugality were early 
 instilled into his nature, and formed the key- 
 note of his after success. About the time he 
 attained his majority Mr. Parker decided to 
 seek his fortune in the West, and in 1843 l ie 
 started toward the setting sun, his objective 
 point being the then Territory of Wisconsin. 
 The first stop he made was at Watertown, AVis., 
 for the purpose of obtaining work of some kind 
 to replenish his depleted purse. From that 
 place he journeyed to Lancaster, Grant Co., 
 Wis., most of the way on foot, having but a 
 few dollars in his Docket, but a superabundance 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 367 
 
 of good health, energy and determination. 
 Working at whatever honorable employment 
 he could find, no matter how humble, Mr. 
 Parker tried mining and other kinds of manual 
 toil, by which he accumulated enough money 
 to commence his active business career in 
 1847. Prior to this he had also taught sev- 
 eral terms of country school, but after en- 
 gaging in business for himself he continued 
 thus until his death. His first venture was in' 
 the mercantile line, at Lancaster, with N. W. 
 Kendall, who was sheriff of Grant county in 
 1844-46, under the firm name of Kendall & 
 Parker. Two years later Mr. Parker bought 
 out the interest of Mr. Kendall, and for about 
 ten years conducted a large and prosperous 
 business. 
 
 In 1856, on the coming of the railroad to 
 Boscobel, Mr. Parker saw increased facilities 
 for business, and, with his usual foresight, 
 established there what was known as the "Peo- 
 ple's Store." This proved so successful that 
 he established branch stores at Fennimore and 
 Wauzeka. While his mercantile interests were 
 extensive, various other enterprises received a 
 share of his attention, and in February, 1871, 
 only a few months prior to his death, he estab- 
 lished the First National Bank of Boscobel, of 
 which he was president and principal owner. 
 This bank was continued until 1879, when its 
 business was succeeded to by A. J. Pipkin. 
 Mr. Parker was the owner of a fine stock 
 farm in the town of Fennimore, on which he 
 resided from 1865 until 1870, taking a great 
 deal of interest in his stock and the develop- 
 ment of the place. This farm was the largest 
 and finest in Grant county, comprising about 
 one thousand acres under cultivation and many 
 more of timber and unbroken land. In time 
 Mr. Parker also became the largest real estate 
 owner in Boscobel, and in 1869 he erected, in 
 that city, the largest and finest store building 
 in Grant county, which is now, and has been 
 continuously, occupied by the firm of Parker, 
 Hildebrand & Co. The death of Mr. Parker 
 occurred at Boscobel May 21, 1871, the re- 
 sult of a tumor, caused by an injury received 
 two years previously. 
 
 The character and career of Dwight Tim- 
 othy Parker are well worth the emulation of 
 the youth of to-day. Beginning life a poor 
 boy, with no advantages other than those given 
 to an ordinary farmer boy, by his own industry 
 and determination to succeed, and the exercise 
 
 of a well-balanced judgment, he secured wealth 
 and a position in the business world which few 
 men attain in the limited number of years that 
 covered Mr. Parker’s business career. While 
 he was essentially a business man, and the lead- 
 ing one of Grant county, he was public-spirited, 
 and always prompt to assist with his influence 
 and means any enterprise whose object was the 
 promotion of the best interests of the com- 
 munity. A member of no church, he recog- 
 nized the value of religious teachings, and gave 
 liberally to the establishment of churches and 
 their support. Mr. Parker was also interested 
 in educational matters, and to the worthy poor 
 he ever lent a helping hand. Notwithstand- 
 ing his large business interests, which ever de- 
 manded much of his time, he found oppor- 
 tunity for reading, and possessed a well-stored 
 mind. Among his favorite authors were Burns 
 and Saxe, and he would repeat many of the 
 finest quotations of the Scottish poet in native 
 dialect in a most delightful manner. Mr. 
 Parker’s home was a most beautiful one, and 
 he was a generous and liberal entertainer. The 
 home circle was ever a happy one, and his 
 domestic relations were the most pleasant. 
 \\ hen Dwight T. Parker died Grant county 
 lost one of its ablest financiers, the community 
 one of its most useful citizens, and his im- 
 mediate family a kind, generous, loving hus- 
 band and father. 
 
 On Dec. 27, 1848, Mr. Parker was mar- 
 ried, at Lancaster, Wis., to Mary E. Shrader, 
 born at Vandalia, 111 ., Dec. 17, 1829, a daugh- 
 ter of Lenhart O. Shrader, a prominent citizen 
 of Lancaster, who was clerk of Grant county 
 from 1843 to 1846. A sister of Mr. Shrader, 
 Mary E., became the wife of Hon. Charles 
 Dunn, first Chief Justice of the Territory of 
 Wisconsin, and afterward Judge of the Fifth 
 Wisconsin Circuit ; their daughter became the 
 wife of Nelson Dewey, the first governor of 
 Wisconsin. Mrs. Parker when a child lost 
 her mother, and was reared in the home of 
 Hon. Charles Dunn ; she is still living, residing 
 at the old home at Boscobel. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Parker were born four children ; May Louise, 
 Dwight Timothy, Frank Arunah and Charles 
 Dewey. The first mentioned was born in Lan- 
 caster June 13, 1851, and secured an excellent 
 education, graduating in music at the Rock- 
 ford Female Seminary in 1870, and in litera- 
 ture at the Milwaukee Female College in 1873. 
 She was married Feb. 23, 1875, to Andrew J. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 368 
 
 Pipkin, a prominent citizen and banker of 
 Boscobel. I hey have no children. 
 
 Dwight h. Parker, Jr., president of the 
 State Bank of Fennimore, was born in Lan- 
 caster June 30, 1856, and was educated at 
 Beloit College and at the Wisconsin State 
 University. In 1878 Mr. Parker became vice- 
 president of the First National Bank of Bos- 
 cobel, an institution founded by his father, re- 
 maining as such until the business was trans- 
 ferred to A. J. Pipkin. For sixteen years prior 
 to the organization of the bank at Fennimore 
 Mr. Parker occupied and conducted his large 
 stock farm in Fennimore, which is one of the 
 finest in the State of Wisconsin, comprising 
 500 acres of choice land. In 1895 Mr. Parker 
 moved into the village of Fennimore, and in 
 1896 established the State Bank there, of which 
 he has since been president. This gentleman 
 inherits many of the qualities of his father, 
 whom he ever holds in fond remembrance, by 
 whose teachings he endeavors to be governed, 
 and whose example he emulates. 'I lie bank- 
 ing institution of which he is thejiead is con- 
 ducted on sound business principles. Its busi- 
 ness has increased rapidly year by year, and at 
 the beginning of 1901, only four and a half 
 years from the date of its organization, its 
 deposits were $150,000, which demonstrates 
 the confidence the institution inspires in the 
 community. Mr. Parker is public-spirited, an 
 ardent Republican, though in no sense a poli- 
 tician, and is ambitious for the success of the 
 principles of his party, although he has no de- 
 sire for public office. Mr. Parker is a member 
 and treasurer of the Republican State Central 
 Committee, and chairman of the Grant County 
 Republican Central Committee; also chairman 
 of the Special Jury Commission for Grant 
 county, and auditor of the Southwestern Wis- 
 consin Mutual Fire Insurance Co. However, 
 as president and chief stockholder of the State 
 Bank of Fennimore, Mr. Parker’s energies are 
 chiefly occupied ; and in addition to his business 
 interests he in 1895 served as chairman of the 
 town of Fennimore and as member of the 
 finance committee of the county board. At 
 the present time he is one of the trustees of 
 the village of Fennimore. He is a member of 
 the Order of K. P., and is treasurer of the 
 lodge at Fennimore. 
 
 On Oct. 13, 1880, Mr. Parker was married 
 to Miss Cora B. Anderson, of Ripon, Wis., 
 born at Fairview, Penn., April 3, 1858, daugh- 
 
 ter of Robert and Alice Anderson, who came 
 to Boscobel about 1868. Airs. Parker grad- 
 uated from the Boscobel high school, and was 
 a successful teacher for many years. Later 
 the family removed to Ripon, Wis., where she 
 was married to Mr. Parker. This lady is a 
 member of the M. E. Church, is president of 
 the Grant County W. C. T. U., and an ardent 
 and faithful worker in the cause of temperance. 
 Air. and Airs. Parker have five daughters : 
 Ethel and Marie (twins), Amy, Eleanor, and 
 Gladys. 
 
 Frank A. Parker, the second son of 
 Dwight T. Parker, Sr., was born at Boscobel 
 Jan. 20, 1859, and was educated at Pough- 
 keepsie, N. Y. Later, for some time, he was in 
 Denver and New Orleans on account of his 
 health, and in 1882 located in Minneapolis, and 
 engaged in the real-estate business. There he 
 was married to Aliss Genevieve Marian de Gos- 
 seline, who died in that city Nov. 24, 1895, 
 leaving five children, Arunah F., D. Charles, 
 Genevieve I., Paul 1 ., and Alay Louise. At 
 this time (1901) Frank A. Parker is a travel- 
 ing salesman. 
 
 Charles Dewey Parker, the youngest in the 
 family of Dwight T. Parker, Sr., was born 
 at Boscobel April 9, 1862, and was educated 
 in the schools of his native town. For some 
 time he was associated in business with his 
 brother Frank, at Minneapolis, but is now a 
 resident of Chicago. On Sept. 18, 1889, 
 Charles Dewey Parker married Miss Rose 
 Grandelmyer, of Brainerd, Minn. They have 
 no children. 
 
 CHARLES A. BOOTH, editor and pub- 
 lisher of the Sentinel, and late postmaster at 
 Monroe, Green county, is a veteran newspa- 
 per man, and has a high reputation for both 
 ability and integrity among the members 
 of the fraternity of the State. He is at 
 present senior editor in the State in active 
 business. 
 
 Air. Booth was born in Covington, Tioga 
 Co., Penn., Feb. 15, 1840, a son of George 
 W. and Artemisia (Crandell) Booth, and lived 
 with his parents until 1857, following their 
 migration to Wisconsin, in 1854, when they 
 settled in Beloit. In 1837 the young man 
 came to Alonroe, and entered the office of the 
 Sentinel, with the purpose of learning the 
 printing business from the ground up. He be- 
 gan as an apprentice, and his long career as a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 369 
 
 printer and publisher shows that he thoroughly 
 mastered the rudiments of his calling. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Booth entered the Union 
 army, as a member of Company G, 22(1 W’is. 
 V. L, and served throughout the war, prov- 
 ing a brave and capable soldier. At the battle 
 of Thompson's Station the young soldier re- 
 ceived a gunshot wound in his leg, and had 
 other slight injuries. The fierceness of the 
 engagement may be inferred from the fact 
 that his clothing was pierced by nine bullets. 
 He was in the hospital at Nashville six weeks 
 on account of his wounds, had a furlough, re- 
 joined his regiment, and was made first lieu- 
 tenant. He was in every battle in which his 
 regiment participated, from Wauhatchie Val- 
 ley -to the grand review at Washington; was 
 a staff officer during the Atlanta campaign with 
 Col. John Coburn, and during the march to 
 the sea, and to Washington with Brevet Brig. 
 Gen. Dustin, of 2d Brigade, 3d Division. 20th 
 Army Corps. He was in over one hundred 
 battles and skirmishes, among the more im- 
 portant ones being those at Spring Hill, Resaca, 
 Peach Tree Creek, New Hope Church, Kene- 
 saw Mountain, Marietta, Culp's Farm, Cass- 
 ville, and nearly all the engagements in front 
 of Atlanta. He commanded, as staff officer of 
 Col. John Coburn, commanding the Brigade, 
 the right wing of the skirmish line that en- 
 tered the city of Atlanta. The first night after 
 he entered that city, he slept in the house of 
 Mayor Calhoun, who surrendered the city to 
 Col. Coburn, and during the next few days 
 of occupation this house became the headquar- 
 ters of Lieut. Booth's provost guard. 
 
 When peace returned Mr. Booth came 
 back to Monroe, and purchased an interest in 
 the Sentinel, in company with A. J. High. 
 That gentleman sold out in 1870 to S. E. 
 Gardner, and three years later Mr. Booth leased 
 his partner’s interest, and later bought it ; be- 
 coming sole proprietor of what is and has been 
 recognized for fifty years as one of the most 
 valuable printing plants in southern Wiscon- 
 sin. The Sentinel was established in 1850 by 
 John W. Stewart, who died in Chicago in 1899. 
 John Walworth, one of its early editors, was 
 a Free-Soil Democrat, and one of the original 
 leaders in the formation of the Republican 
 party, and was chairman of the first Republi- 
 can State Convention, since which time the 
 paper has always been Republican, and has 
 never missed a weekly issue. Mr. Booth has 
 
 been in the printing and publishing business 
 forty-two years, and expects to follow it as 
 long as he lives. Fie has been a member of 
 the State Editors and Publishers Association 
 since 1868. 
 
 Mr. Booth and Miss Elizabeth Gardner 
 were united in marriage Sept. 10, 1862. Mrs. 
 Booth is the daughter of Elijah T. and Eliza- 
 beth (Stephenson) Gardner, the former one 
 of the pioneers of Green county, and an early 
 settler in Monroe. Mr. and Mrs. Booth are 
 the parents of three sons and two daughters, 
 all of whom have grown to maturity, and are 
 yet living. Their pleasant home is at No. 424- 
 Jackson street. Mr. Booth is a member of 
 O. F. Pinnev Post, No. 102, G. A. R., and 
 also of the Royal Arcanum, the A. O. U. W., 
 Monroe Lodge, No. 72, I. O. O. F., and Ivan- 
 hoe Lodge, K. of P. His political and business 
 standing was recognized by his appointment 
 as postmaster at Monroe. He entered upon 
 his official duties Feb. 1, 1900. and proved 
 himself a capable and efficient postmaster, until 
 finding the work too irksome and severe in 
 connection with his newspaper business, he re- 
 signed. His assistant, Robert A. Etter, was 
 appointed, upon Mr. Booth’s recommenda- 
 tion, as his successor, his appointment taking 
 effect in February, 1901. Mr. Booth has at- 
 tended many State and Congressional con- 
 ventions as a delegate, and at Minneapolis 
 sat as a member of the convention which nom- 
 inated President Harrison. 
 
 JOHN BECK. When in contemplation of 
 the public-spirited and progressive citizens of 
 Benton, Lafayette county, the name of John 
 Beck stands in bold relief, and to the people of 
 the community in which he lives there is no 
 man more highly esteemed for his many good 
 qualities. In politics, in business, and in the 
 administration of municipal affairs he stands 
 pre-eminent. Mr. Beck was born on the Isle 
 of Man Jan. 15, 1845, son °f John and Ann 
 (Canned) Beck. 
 
 John Beck, Sr., passed his entire life on the 
 Isle of Man, and died there in June, 1865, at 
 the age of fifty-two years. His wife, Ann 
 Canned, lived to the age of sixty-five. Be- 
 sides the subject of this sketch, they were the 
 parents of six children, as follows: (1) Will- 
 
 iam married and settled in England, and is now 
 a resident of the Isle of Man. (2) James still 
 resides in the Isle of Man. (3) Jane married 
 
370 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 William Kewley, a Manxman. (4) Annie mar- 
 ried a Mr. Roscoe, of England (now deceased) 
 and settled in Brisbane, Australia, where 
 she and her family still reside. (5) Martha 
 grew to womanhood and married Robert Cor- 
 lett, and in 1867 accompanied her husband to 
 this country, locating in New Diggings town- 
 ship, Lafayette county, where he followed 
 mining for some years. They then moved to 
 Big Patch, Grant Co., Wis., where they still 
 reside. In their family were seven children, 
 John, Annie (deceased wife of Ralph Miller, 
 of Lafayette county), Douglas, Thomas, Em- 
 ily, Southward and Jennie. (6) Thomas, 
 born in 1841 on the Isle of Man, was educated 
 there, and in 1864 came to this country, via 
 New York. His first employment was in 
 Cramp’s Ship Yard, in Philadelphia. He re- 
 mained there but three weeks, when he began 
 work on the railroad at Havre de Grace, Md. 
 J11 July, 1864, in company with his brother, he 
 came West and located in Benton, Wis., find- 
 ing work in the mines. After a year or two he 
 opened a general store in Etna, same county, 
 continuing there until 1875, when he returned 
 to Benton and built the "Rock Store,” engag- 
 ing in mercantile business until 1882. That 
 year he located in Galena, 111 ., and three years 
 later went to Aspen, Colo., where he is now in 
 business. In 1866 he wedded Miss Margaret 
 Alton, who was born in England, daughter of 
 William and Esther Alton, natives of that 
 country, who came to America in 1861. Of 
 their union eight children were born : Emma, 
 
 wife of Fred Kissel, of Colorado; John, of 
 Colorado; Jennie, wife of Milton Vincent, of 
 Galena, 111 . ; William and Thomas F., of Colo- 
 rado; Annie, wife of Thomas Hicks, of Colo- 
 rado ; and Maggie and Henrietta, of Colorado. 
 The mother of these children has passed to her 
 rest. 
 
 John Beck received a substantial education 
 in the government schools of England, and in 
 that country, too, served an apprenticeship at 
 the miller’s trade with William Kennish. Af- 
 ter his location in Wisconsin, in 1864, he en- 
 listed in the army, becoming a member of the 
 22d V is. V. I., and doing duty at Camp Ran- 
 dell, Madison, until the close of the war. When 
 he left the army he began mining, and was so 
 engaged for six years. He then returned to 
 his trade, and for three years milled for R. H. 
 Emerson, at New Diggings. His permanent 
 location was not made in Benton until 1875, 
 
 and after his removal there, in that year, he 
 engaged in the lumber business, and was also 
 interested in the grain trade. The following 
 year he purchased real estate, and erected a 
 comfortable home for himself, and some little 
 time later erected a large grain and lumber 
 building near the Benton depot, where he has 
 since remained. He handles all kinds of rough 
 and worked lumber, sash, doors and blinds, 
 barbed wire, flour and feed. Success in this 
 business came to him early, and his honorable 
 dealing and careful attention to his work have 
 brought their natural results. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Beck was united in marriage 
 with Miss Elizabeth Alton, daughter of Will- 
 iam and Esther Alton, and ten children have 
 brightened their home : ( 1 ) Esther, born at 
 
 New Diggings in 1868, married Alonzo Miller, 
 a farmer of Benton, and has two children, 
 Mona and John Alton. (2) Margaret E., born 
 in 1870, married Thomas Wilkinson, of Ben- 
 ton, and has one son, Frederick. (3) Hen- 
 rietta, born in 1871, married William Temple, 
 a farmer of Benton, and has three children, 
 Verta, Melvin and Cosetta. (4) Mary, born 
 in 1873, married Matthew Brunner, of Ben- 
 ton. (5) Louisa )., born in 1875, N at home. 
 (6) Anthony A. was born in 1877. (7) John 
 
 was born in 1881. (8) James, born in 1882, 
 
 is now a student in the State Normal at Platte- 
 ville. Both he and his brother John are grad- 
 uates of the Benton high school, (q) Herbert 
 Gladstone and (10) Martha both died young. 
 
 Air. Beck is an earnest worker in the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, as is also his wife. 
 For twenty years lie has served as superintend- 
 ent of the Sunday-school, and for a longer 
 period has been one of the trustees, and has 
 also been class-leader. He was one of the 
 founders and builders of the new church and 
 parsonage at Benton, and in every line of 
 church work has proven himself a liberal con- 
 tributor, both of his time and of his means. 
 He has also taken an active interest in educa- 
 tional work, and the new high school building 
 had no warmer advocate than Mr. Beck. 
 Since the erection of this new building be has 
 held the position of clerk and director contin- 
 uously. Socially he belongs to the I. O. O. F.. 
 Lodge No. 168, of Lead Mine. 
 
 In his political affiliations. Mr. Beck has 
 been a pronounced Republican, and has voted 
 for every President from Lincoln up to and 
 including McKinley. Believing that to every 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 37i 
 
 citizen there are duties beyond his personal af- 
 fairs, he Iras given himself over to public serv- 
 ice at times to the great detriment of his pri- 
 vate business. For twelve years he has been 
 justice of the peace, for five years he served 
 as village clerk, and at the present time he is 
 most capably administering public affairs as 
 president of the village board. 
 
 NICHOLAS SCHEXCK. This prominent 
 citizen and farmer of La Prairie township, 
 Rock county, is a native of Wisconsin, the 
 son of a pioneer. He was born at Shopiere, 
 Rock county, Sept. 12, 1844, son of William 
 and Sarah Jeannette (Yost) Schenck, natives 
 of New York State, and grandson of William 
 Schenck, also a native of New York, of Hol- 
 land-Dutch descent, who was married three 
 times, and had seventeen children. The latter, 
 who was a farmer, about 1845 came to Wis- 
 consin, taking up a tract of land near Beloit, 
 and several years later removing to Jefferson 
 county, and engaging in farming between Jef- 
 ferson and Watertown until his death, at a 
 ripe old age. William Yost, the maternal 
 grandfather of our subject, was also a native 
 of New York S.tate, of Holland-Dutch descent. 
 He was a farmer, and lived in his native State 
 to old age, surrounded by a large family of 
 children. 
 
 A\ illiam Schenck, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was a carder by occupation, and was em- 
 ployed in the woolen mills of New York. In 
 1842 he came to Wisconsin, locating at 
 Shopiere, and there following his trade for a 
 year. He then entered 320 acres of govern- 
 ment land in Section 27, La Prairie township, 
 and several years later sold eighty acres of the 
 tract for a sum sufficient to pay for the other 
 240 acres, the ownership of which he retained 
 until his death, at the age of seventy-two years. 
 He was a man of prominence, and held various 
 local offices, including that of chairman of the 
 town board for a number of terms. He was 
 twice married, first to Sarah Jeannette Yost, 
 by whom he had eight children, five sons and 
 three daughters, of whom four are living: 
 Dorcas, widow of John Wayman, of Mexico, 
 Mo.; Rachel, widow of Henry Hart, of Mex- 
 ico, Mo. ; William, of Arcadia, Ivans. ; and 
 Nicholas, our subject. The mother of these 
 died at the age of forty-two years, and for his 
 second wife the father married Miss Mary 
 Mason, daughter of Edwin and Mercy Mason; 
 
 by her he had one daughter, Lorraine, now liv- 
 ing at Albuquerque, New Mexico. 
 
 Nicholas Schenck, our subject, was reared 
 in La Prairie township, attended the district 
 schools and for two terms was a student at 
 Milton (Wis.) College. Possessing the pio- 
 neer spirit, he began life for himself in Tama 
 county, Iowa, where he purchased 160 acres 
 of land for $6 per acre. This he afterward 
 traded with his brother for 190 acres in the 
 townships of Rock and La Prairie, Rock coun- 
 ty, of which he still owns twenty-four and one- 
 half acres. At the death of his father he came 
 into possession of the homestead of 240 acres, 
 which he now owns and occupies, having pur- 
 chased the interest of the other heirs. Mr. 
 Schenck is a prosperous and progressive 
 farmer, and is recognized as an authority in 
 agricultural affairs. In addition to farming he 
 devotes considerable attention to stock raising. 
 Lie has resided in Rock county for fifty-seven 
 years, except the five years spent in Iowa and 
 one year when he was engaged in the grocery 
 business in Mexico, Missouri. 
 
 On Jan. 23, 1895, Mr. Schenck married 
 Miss Jennie M. Peterson, daughter of Ole and 
 Mary (Anderson) Peterson, natives of Nor- 
 way, who were married in Janesville. The 
 father died July 22, 1898, aged sixty-seven 
 years, and the mother is now a resident of 
 Janesville. Both were devout members of the 
 Lutheran Church. To Ole and Mary Peter- 
 son were born eight children, two sons and six 
 daughters, of whom six are now living: Bes- 
 sie M., wife of George Goldsmith, of Rock 
 township; Jennie M., wife of our subject; 
 Christina A., wife of Herman Hunt, of Janes- 
 ville; Dora M. ; Marvin H. ; and Lena R., of 
 Janesville. To Nicholas and Jennie M. 
 Schenck have been born two children, William 
 Edward and Marvin Roland. 
 
 Mr. Schenck is a Republican in politics. 
 Fraternally is a member of the Modern Wood- 
 men of America. He is an influential citizen, 
 one whom long residence in the community 
 and sterling character have justly commended 
 to his fellow citizens as truly representative of 
 the best human achievements of Rock county. 
 
 JOHN J. PUTNAM, deceased, was one of 
 the prominent and well-remembered early set- 
 tlers of the town of Decatur. Green county, 
 Wis. He came here in the fall of 1848, and 
 purchased a tract of five hundred acres, to 
 
372 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 which he removed his family in the month of 
 June, the following year. Almost immediately 
 he became identified with the moral and ma- 
 terial growth of the community, and through- 
 out Ins entire life took a leading part in every- 
 thing that related to the general progress of 
 the community. 
 
 Mr. Putnam was born in Hampshire coun- 
 ty, Va., in 1801. In Ins early life he had a 
 very limited opportunity for education. The 
 death of his father, when he was seventeen, 
 put upon his shoulders to a very great extent, 
 the burden of the support of the family, and he 
 nobly met the serious responsibilities of the 
 situation. He was married before leaving 
 Virginia to Miss Mary M. Fleek, a daughter 
 of Adam Fleek. The young married couple 
 very soon sought a home in Hocking county, 
 Ohio, and later removed to Licking county, m 
 the same State, where he engaged in agricul- 
 tural pursuits, there continuing to reside until 
 he came to Wisconsin, in 1849. 
 
 Mr. Putnam was a man of great mental 
 gifts and sterling integrity. Though he died 
 comparatively early in the history of Green 
 county, he left a record that is not forgotten. 
 He was justice of the peace for a number of 
 years, and also held the office of chairman of 
 the town. He accumulated a valuable prop- 
 erty, leaving an estate of fourteen hundred 
 acres. His death occurred June 5, 1856, and 
 his widow survived until February, 1874. 
 Of their children, four are now living: Eliza- 
 beth A., the wife of W. Atherton, of Albany; 
 Oliver S., who was a captain in the war of the 
 Rebellion ; Henry C., a banker in Brodhead ; 
 and Virginia, wife of Burton Gardner, of 
 Brodhead. 
 
 Hon. I. F. Mack, a former resident of 
 Green county, in a contribution to a historical 
 compilation of a decade or more back, has this 
 to say of Mr. Putnam : “I was well acquainted 
 
 with very many of the early settlers of Green 
 county, and among the more prominent men 
 of that early day I am pleased to name the 
 late lamented John J. Putnam, who, with a 
 large family connection of six or eight fam- 
 ilies, left Ohio, and settled in the town of 
 Decatur, a little earlier than 1848, forming one 
 of the most frugal and thrifty granger settle- 
 ments it has ever fallen to my lot to know, 
 none of whom will regard it invidious if I place 
 Mr. Putnam, in his life, in the front in point of 
 intelligence and noble manhood. Although a 
 
 farmer, Mr. Putnam was a man of extensive 
 reading, a keen observer of men and things, 
 an astute reasoner, thoroughly posted on all 
 questions that then divided political parties, 
 of ripe judgment and unassailable integrity. 
 Though firm and decided in his convictions, 
 he was not intolerant, but genial and kind to 
 the last degree. FLe was a prominent figure in 
 the old V hig ranks, and a keen admirer of 
 Henry Clay. Many a Democrat felt the in- 
 cision of his political thrusts in the early days; 
 and with true patriotism in his bones he could 
 but pass into the Republican ranks. Stricken 
 with a fatal malady while endowed with manly 
 vigor, he passed away, leaving a handsome 
 competence for a surviving wife and an inter- 
 esting family of several sons and daughters.” 
 
 JOSEPH FI. CLARY. Among the well- 
 known citizens of Lafayette county who have 
 been prominently identified with many of its 
 interests, is Joseph H. Clary, the subject of 
 this sketch. He is a native of the Empire 
 State, born in Auburn, Cayuga county, May 
 2 4, 1828, a son of Dr. Joseph and Susan 
 (Bostwick) Clary, the former an eminent 
 physician of western New York. 
 
 Dr. Clary was born in Conway, Mass., of 
 Irish ancestry who located in America in 1645. 
 Our subject’s mother descended from ancestors 
 who were early settlers of Long Island, com- 
 ing thither from Chester, England, in 1643. 
 Dr. Joseph Clary participated in the war of 
 1812, and was at Sackett s Harbor during the 
 important military operations of that war. In 
 about 1806 the family settled in Jefferson 
 county, N. Y. Dr. Clary removed to Cayuga 
 county in 1812, when the now important city 
 of Rochester consisted of two huts, and those 
 constructed of logs. He began the study of 
 medicine in Jefferson county, graduated at a 
 medical school in the State of Vermont, and 
 for many years was a prominent physician of 
 the city of Auburn, where his deeply lamented 
 death occurred in 1863. The mother of our 
 subject died in 1836, when her son Joseph 
 was but eight years old. He was one of seven 
 children, of whom he and one brother, Charles 
 A., are now the only survivors. 
 
 Joseph FI. Clary received his primary edu- 
 cation in the public schools, prepared for col- 
 ' lege at the Auburn and Aurora academies, and 
 entered Hamilton College in 1S48, graduating 
 in the class of 1851. Subsequently he took a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 373 
 
 post-graduate course in the law department 
 of his Alma Mater, under the instruction of 
 Prof. Theodore \Y. Dwight, was admitted to 
 the Bar at Oswego, in his native State, in 
 
 1852, and at once engaged in practice at West- 
 field, Chautauqua county. This was nearly 
 fifty years ago, when a tide of emigration was 
 sweeping westward, and many young pro- 
 fessional men were seeking newer and what 
 promised to be more profitable fields of labor. 
 Mr. Clary joined the procession, in the fall of 
 
 1853, locating at Mineral Point, M is., and 
 there entering upon the practice of law. He 
 remained for fifteen years, and established 
 quite an extensive practice. Mineral Point 
 was well known for its abundant deposits of 
 mineral, and many of the men connected with 
 it have been those whose influence has been of 
 the greatest value in the development of the 
 State of Wisconsin. Mr. Clary became inti- 
 mately acquainted with the leading men of the 
 State, and his recollections of men and events 
 of forty-years ago are vivid and intensely in- 
 teresting. With an excellent memory and fine 
 conversational powers, he is an interesting and 
 instructive talker. In 1868 Mr. Clary changed 
 his residence .to Darlington, and has been an 
 esteemed citizen of that city ever since. Being 
 well versed in the law, he has held the position 
 of district attorney, in both Iowa and Lafayette 
 counties, and has always been a prominent man. 
 
 The marriage of our subject, celebrated in 
 1858, at Delafield, Wis., was to Miss Eliza- 
 beth F. McHugh, who was born in New York 
 State Sept. 27, 1837, a daughter of Rev. Steph- 
 en McHugh, one of the early and well-known 
 Episcopalian clergymen of the State of Wis- 
 consin ; her maternal grandfather was Gen. 
 Norris, formerly of the English army. Rev. 
 Stephen McHugh was identified with the early 
 religious interests of this State, and established 
 two churches of his denomination, those in 
 Madison and Delavan. Late in life he re- 
 moved to Arkansas, where he passed his last 
 years. Eight of the children of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Clary are surviving: James C.. in Nebraska; 
 
 Stephen McHugh, in Darlington ; Henry H. 
 and Paul M., of Darlington; Mrs. Susan B. 
 Duncanson, who resides in Nebraska; Mrs. 
 Grace Walker, living in Mineral Point; Mrs. 
 Maud Henry, residing in Nampa, Idaho; and 
 Miss Elizabeth, now principal of the high 
 school at Pierre, the capital city of South Da- 
 kota. One son, Joseph William, died in 
 
 Omaha Nov. 14, 1886; another son, George, 
 was killed by lightning at Camp Douglas, 
 W is., where he was encamped with his regi- 
 ment, on July 11, 1893. 
 
 Air. Clary is a man of liberal culture, ex- 
 tensive and varied reading, and possesses a 
 mind well stored with useful knowledge. As 
 a citizen he is held in high esteem, and he and 
 family are valued members of the Episcopal 
 Church. In politics he is and always has been 
 a Democrat. As he says, he “voted for Palmer 
 and Buckner in 1896, and in 1900 did not vote 
 for President because there was no Demo- 
 cratic candidate for that office.” 
 
 WILLIS P. COLBURN, the well-known 
 and efficient principal of the Cassville public 
 schools, is a native of Grant county, his birth 
 having occurred in Platteville in 1866. 
 
 T. J. Colburn, his father, was born and 
 reared in Vermont. In 1845, at the age of 
 nineteen years, he came to Platteville, where 
 as a carpenter and contractor he successfully 
 engaged in business for many years. He mar- 
 ried Miss Margie Jeardeau, and to them were 
 born six children, namely : Airs. C. J. Hosmer, 
 
 a resident of Westfield, Alass. ; Alargie, a sev- 
 enth-grade teacher in the schools of Afilwaukee ; 
 Wis.; Airs. Dr. E. E. Coerper, of Milwaukee; 
 Philip, of San Diego, Cal. ; Willis P. ; and Roy 
 Victor, who died in 1884. The father, who 
 was a great lover of music and possessed an 
 excellent voice, taught that art in the Platte- 
 ville Academy, and also in the State Normal 
 School after it was established at Platteville. 
 He continued teaching for a number of years, 
 and was also leader of the choir in the Con- 
 gregational Church, of which both he and his 
 wife were prominent members. He died in 
 Platteville in 1890, and his widow now resides 
 in San Diego. California. 
 
 During his boyhood and youth Willis P. 
 Colburn attended the public schools of Platte- 
 ville, and later entered the State Normal School 
 at that place, where he was graduated in the 
 class of 1891. He has since devoted his time 
 and attention to teaching. In 1885 he took 
 charge of his first district school, and taught 
 one winter in Smelser township. Grant county ; 
 in 1887 he had charge of the school in Benton; 
 and in 1888 was at Hurricane Corners, near 
 Lancaster. He became principal of the Potosi 
 public schools in 1891, and remained there un- 
 til coming to Cassville, as principal of the pub- 
 
374 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lie schools at this place, in September, 1894. 
 For seven years he has been principal of the 
 high school, with Roscoe Woodward as assist- 
 ant, while in the grammar grades under his 
 charge are three teachers : Prof. Clarence 
 
 Brocket, who has charge of the upper grades — 
 the seventh, eighth and ninth; Miss Marguerite 
 Baumgartner, the fourth, fifth and sixth 
 grades; and Miss Maine Prior, the first, second 
 and third grades. The entire enrollment is 
 220, forty-five being in the high school, which 
 was organized in 1889, and is supplied with a 
 physical laboratory and a good reference li- 
 brary of 350 volumes. 
 
 Prof. Colburn is a member of the State 
 Teachers Association, and also of the Prin- 
 cipals Association, and is one of the leading 
 educators in Grant county, having met with 
 excellent success in his chosen profession. 
 Socially he is connected with Cassville Lodge, 
 No. 235, F. Y A. M., of which he is secretary, 
 and also belongs to Platteville Chapter, R. A. 
 M. In religious belief he is a Congregation- 
 alist, and has been leader of the choir in the 
 Congregational Church at Platteville. 
 
 Our subject was married, in July, 1900, 
 to Miss Jennie Helena Grimm, daughter of 
 Hermann Grimm, of Cassville. 
 
 HARVEY MARSHALL MILLER, for 
 many years proprietor of the Miller homestead, 
 in Section 32, Bradford township, Rock coun- 
 ty, has lived many years in this community, 
 and the simplicity of his life, his industrious 
 habits and genuine manliness have alike com- 
 manded the confidence and esteem of his neigh- 
 bors. 
 
 Mr. Miller was born in Rome, N. Y., 
 March 23, 1823. He was educated at the 
 academy at Whitesboro, N. Y., and began life 
 for himself as a clerk in a hotel in bis native 
 city, being employed there four years, when 
 he married and moved to Baltimore. He was 
 twenty-nine years of age at that time, and a 
 very capable and attractive business man. He 
 continued in the hotel business for seven years 
 in the “Union Hotel,” situated at the corner of 
 Thames and Bond streets, one of the oldest 
 buildings in that city. The material for it was 
 brought from England, the building con- 
 structed in 1777. When the Civil war broke 
 out the strong Union sentiments of Mr. Miller 
 aroused the dangerous hostility of the South- 
 ern element, which was manifested to such an 
 
 extent that he thought it wise to dispose of his 
 property and leave for the North. He re- 
 turned to New York, and took a position as 
 clerk in a hotel in Oriskany. There he re- 
 mained for two years, and then came to Wis- 
 consin to engage in agriculture. He located 
 at his present residence in 1900. He owns a 
 tobacco farm of twenty acres in Clinton town- 
 ship. 
 
 Mr. Miller and Miss Anna Christman were 
 married Jan. 16, 1852, when she was seventeen 
 years of age. She is the daughter of Col. 
 Abraham and Betsy (Carpenter) Christman, 
 of Oriskany, N. Y., the former of whom was a 
 farmer, and a prominent man in that com- 
 munity. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey M. Miller 
 have no children. She is a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. Our subject has 
 been an Odd Fellow for fifty years. He shuns 
 politics, and will accept no elective office. 
 
 George W. Miller, the father of Harvey 
 Marshall, was a native of Oldhadam, Mass., 
 born in 1792, and was a farmer. He- married 
 Miss Elizabeth Powell, a daughter of Nathaniel 
 and Elizabeth (Spencer) Powell, of Pough- 
 keepsie, N. Y., and they became the parents of 
 seven children, Harvey M., Elizabeth, Mary, 
 Reuben P., Oliver, Nathaniel P., and one chnd 
 who died an infant. At the present writing 
 only Elizabeth and Harvey M. are living. The 
 Millers were Quakers in England and came to 
 this country about 1682. 
 
 WILLARD EDMONDS GRINNELL, 
 who is now living retired from active work at 
 his comfortable home at No. 923 South Em- 
 erson street, Monroe, Green Co., Wis., is a 
 highly respected citizen, who has inherited 
 from two lines of Revolutionary ancestry the 
 inherent patriotism that marks the highest type 
 of American manhood. Mr. Grinned was 
 born in Montgomery county, N. Y., Sept. 21, 
 1824, a son of Robert P. and Esther J. (Mont- 
 gomery) Grinned. 
 
 Robert P. Grinned was a native of New 
 York, a son of Amos Grinned, a farmer of 
 French descent, who passed nearly his entire 
 life in the Empire State, served in the Revo- 
 lutionary army, and died when nearly ninety 
 years of age. Robert Grinned was likewise 
 a farmer, and came from New York to Y\ iscon- 
 sm in 1847, locating in Adams township, Green 
 county, where he took up 120 acres of govern- 
 ment land. There his death occurred Aug. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 28, 1868, at the age of 73 years, 1 month and 
 12 days, his birth having occurred July 16, 
 1795. He had married Esther J. Montgom- 
 ery, a daughter of Capt. Silas Montgomery, 
 who was a brother of Gen. Montgomery. To 
 their marriage were born five children, three 
 of whom are now living : Willard Edmonds ; 
 
 Silas M., of Vancouver, Wash.; and John F., 
 of Monroe. The mother of these children died 
 at the age of eighty-two years. In religious 
 faith the family were Baptists. 
 
 Willard Edmonds Grinnell was reared to 
 manhood in New York State, where his edu- 
 cation was acquired in an old-fashioned sub- 
 scription school. He was early trained to farm 
 work, and until his retirement that has been 
 his constant occupation, except for a short time 
 in early life, when he engaged to some extent 
 in carpentering. In 1847 he accompanied Ins' 
 father to Wisconsin, and there took up 160 
 acres of land in Adams township, Green coun- 
 ty, extending the boundaries of his land later, 
 until he was the owner of 360 acres of well- 
 improved arable land. He erected suitable 
 buildings and otherwise improved his farm un- 
 til he had attained a high place among the pro- 
 gressive farmers of the county. In 188(3 he 
 laid aside the cares and responsibilities of ac- 
 tive management of his affairs, renting his 
 old home farm, and moved with his wife into 
 a home he had purchased in the city of Mon- 
 roe, there to pass the rest of their lives in well- 
 earned rest and enjoyment. 
 
 On April 20, 1847, Mr. Grinned was united 
 in marriage with Miss Mary Hanks, and to 
 this union were born children as follows : 
 Frank D., deceased, married Rosella Day, and 
 had three children, Ernest, Ethel and Earl; 
 Lovisa married Hiram Austin, of Monroe, and 
 has one child, Lena; Anson W. married Cath- 
 erine Owrey, deceased, and has three children 
 living, Rena, Edward and Maud; Orissa C., 
 deceased, married a Mr. Atherton ; Willis, a 
 wealthy farmer and carpenter of southern 
 Iowa, married Samantha Stewart, and has a 
 large family of children; Harvey, who lives 
 near Chamberlain, South Dakota, married 
 Maggie Shrake, and has six children; Serepta 
 married Don Wheeler, of 1 reton, Iowa, and has 
 six children ; Alice, of Ireton, married Roy 
 Wheeler, and has three children : Esther mar- 
 ried Lewis Grinnell, of Washington township, 
 Green Co., AVis., and has three children; Wal- 
 ter, a carpenter, married Lucinda Brooks, and 
 
 37 5 
 
 has one child, Guy; and Burty, of Boone, Iowa, 
 is in the employ of the Chicago & Northwest- 
 ern railroad. Mr. Grinned was married to his 
 present wife, Miss Louisa Owrey, in December, 
 1871. No children have been born of this 
 union, but two have been reared as their own, 
 Rosa Adams and Guy Grinned. Mr. Grinned 
 is a stanch Prohibitionist in his political views. 
 Formerly he was a Whig and an anti-slavery 
 man. He has filled a number of important 
 positions in official life, among them being con- 
 stable, supervisor, school clerk, etc., in ad of 
 which he discharged the various duties with 
 the same fidelity that has characterized his en- 
 tire life. 
 
 Mrs. Grinned is a daughter of Jacob and 
 Samantha (Grinned) Owrey. Jacob Owrey 
 was a carpenter and came to Wisconsin in the 
 early days, settling in Dane county, later lo- 
 cating in Green county, where he lived retired 
 for the last years of his life. He died April. 29, 
 1879, i n Ms ninetieth year. He served under 
 Commodore Perry in the war of 1812. His 
 wife died April 24, 1877, aged seventy-eig'ht 
 years. They were the parents of eleven chil- 
 dren, three of whom are yet living, Ruth, wife 
 of Elijah Midman; Charlotte, wife of Gover- 
 nor Bailey, of Michigan; and Mrs. Grinned. 
 
 HON. JOSEPH B. TREAT, of Monroe, 
 is one of the most prominent citizens of Green 
 county, throughout which he is known and 
 esteemed, not only as a successful business 
 man, but also for his high character and his 
 excellent record as a financier. 
 
 Joseph Treat, his paternal grandfather, 
 was a native of Maine, of English lineage, and 
 was a merchant and farmer by occupation, 
 with residence in the city of Frankfort, that 
 State, where he died at a very advanced age. 
 He had a family of five children. Oliver 
 Parker (maternal grandfather of Joseph B.), 
 also a native of Maine, born of English ances- 
 try, and an agriculturist by vocation, was 
 ninety-two years old when he died; his family 
 consisted of seven children. 
 
 Nathaniel Treat (father of Joseph B.), 
 also of Maine nativity, was a lumberman on 
 the Penobscot river, in that State, until his 
 coming in 1870 to Wisconsin, when he located 
 in Monroe, whither ad his children had pre- 
 ceded him. Here he died in 1895, an< i al- 
 though at his death he had attained the patri- 
 archal age of ninety-six years, he did not 
 
376 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 require the use of glasses. He was a highly 
 educated man, and wrote considerably for the 
 columns of the current newspapers, one month 
 before his death having contributed an able 
 article on the tariff, in politics he was a 
 Democrat, but in 1892 voted for Harrison. 
 While living in Maine he served as selectman, 
 and as a member of the State Legislature. In 
 1823 he married Mary P. Parker, also a na- 
 tive of Frankfort, Maine, and ten children 
 were born to them, five of whom are yet liv- 
 ing, namely: Ezra Parker, Joseph B., Na- 
 
 thaniel B., Susan Alice (widow of Samuel 
 Chandler), and Mary P. (widow of William 
 Bloom), all of Monroe, Wis., except Mrs. 
 Bloom, who is a resident of Chicago. The 
 mother of these died in 1882, aged eighty-two 
 years. She and her husband were both identi- 
 fied with the Universalist Church. 
 
 Joseph B. Treat, of whom this memoir 
 more particularly relates, was born Dec. 22, 
 1836, in Orono, Maine, where he was reared 
 and educated. At the age of eighteen he com- 
 menced business for himself in his native town, 
 as a general merchant, and continued as such 
 until i860, in that year coming to Wisconsin 
 and settling in Monroe. Here he established 
 a dry-goods business, which he conducted until 
 1892, when he sold out, and embarked in the 
 lumbering industry in Green county, engaging 
 in same exclusively for several years, and to 
 some extent at the present time. For the past 
 twenty-five years he has been vice-president 
 of the First National Bank, of Monroe (the 
 first National bank established in the county) ; 
 he has also interested himself in manufactur- 
 ing and other industries of Monroe, which at 
 all times receive his substantial encourage- 
 ment. 
 
 On Jan. 18, 1S59, Mr. Treat was united in 
 marriage with Miss Priscilla W. Gould, 
 daughter of Niah and Priscilla (Whitney) 
 Gould, and two sons have been born to them : 
 (1) Charles G., born in 1859, in Dexter, 
 Maine, graduated in 1882 from West Point, 
 where he is now commandant. He married 
 Miss Margaret Cornell, of New York City, 
 and they have three children, Joseph B., Mar- 
 garet and Catherine. (2) Harry W., born in 
 1865, in Monroe, is a graduate of Cornell 
 University: at present he is in Vancouver, 
 British Columbia, where he is engaged in 
 mining - . He married Olive M. Graef, of New 
 York. 
 
 In religious faith Mr. and Mrs. Treat are 
 Universalists. In politics he is a Republican, 
 and for the past two years has been chairman 
 of the Republican State Central Committee; 
 from 1876 to 1880 he was a member of the 
 State Senate ; has served as mayor of the city 
 of Monroe two terms; was supervisor several 
 terms, and chairman of the county board; for 
 four years he was a member of the city school 
 board. Socially he is affiliated with Ivanhoe 
 Lodge, F. & A. M., Monroe, also of the Chap- 
 ter, and of Janesville Commandery, No. 2; 
 and he is prominently identified with the I. O. 
 O. F. In every relation of life Mr. Treat has 
 borne an honorable part as an upright, patri- 
 otic, loyal citizen, and is justly classified 
 among the representative men of Green 
 county. 
 
 COL. THOMAS STEPHENS. The mere 
 mention of the name of this late distinguished 
 citizen of Wisconsin, who passed from earth 
 nearly thirty years ago, awakens memories of 
 affectionate esteem in the hearts of many of 
 the older residents of the southern portion of 
 the State, who recall with pleasant thoughts 
 his manly bearing, his dauntless courage, and 
 his sterling worth. 
 
 Col. Stephens was the eldest of the four 
 sons of Charles and Elizabeth Stephens, and 
 was born in the borough of Tavistock, Devon- 
 shire, England, May 13, 1815. His father 
 was a miner, and Thomas and his brothers 
 were bred to the same occupation. Naturally 
 of a robust physique, the hard, manly toil in- 
 volved in this laborious pursuit tended greatly 
 to develop his native strength, and on reach- 
 ing his majority he presented a magnificent 
 specimen of physical manhood. He was of 
 remarkable stature, standing six feet, two 
 inches, and his well knit frame was in perfect 
 proportion to his great height. Of so striking 
 appearance was he as to attract the notice of 
 some high officials of the royal court, through 
 whose influence he was made a member of 
 the Queen’s Life Guards, then famed as the 
 finest body of troops in the British army. 
 None of the members were less than six feet 
 tall, and perfect physical proportions and a 
 high order of intelligence were absolutely es- 
 sential requisites for admission to the corps. 
 Young Stephens was at once sent to Windsor 
 Castle, where he entered upon his new life 
 with the utmost enthusiasm. He was duly 
 
THOMAS STEPHEHS 
 

 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 377 
 
 instructed in those branches of knowledge, a 
 familiarity with which was deemed indispensa- 
 ble to the proper discharge of his duties as a 
 soldier, chief among these being the arts of 
 fencing, broadsword exercise and “self-de- 
 fense." He found that exercise with the sword 
 possessed for him a positive fascination, and 
 to perfecting himself therein lie devoted a very 
 considerable portion of the time allotted to 
 the men for recreation. In consequence he 
 attained such a degree of proficiency that he 
 won the reputation of being one of the best 
 swordsmen, if not the very best of all, in the 
 English army. 
 
 The life of a guardsman, however, with 
 its restrictions and monotonous inactivity, pre- 
 senting, as it did, but few chances of promo- 
 tion, after a time began to grow irksome to 
 him. His eyes turned toward the United States, 
 where he thought opportunities for advance- 
 ment were far better than in the service of the 
 Queen. Accordingly, having secured a sub- 
 stitute to complete his term of military service, 
 he bade adieu to the shores of the land of his 
 birth, and accompanied by a younger brother, 
 Richard, set sail for the New World in 1840. 
 Tpon landing in America they proceeded at 
 once to the mining region lying around Potts- 
 ville, Penn, there his skill as a swordsman 
 soon became bruited abroad, and he found his 
 time fully occupied in giving exhibitions and 
 imparting instruction to pupils. Believing that 
 better success would attend him in a wider 
 tield, he went to Philadelphia, where he taught 
 sword practice for many years. During his 
 residence in that city he repeatedly attested 
 his well-nigh matchless skill, meeting and de- 
 feating such past masters of the art of fenc- 
 ing as Profs. Newton, of the University of 
 Norwich, Morris, of the Pennsylvania Mili- 
 tary Institutions, and Davis, swordmaster and 
 military instructor for the State of Virginia. 
 He was constantly in receipt of encomiums and 
 testimonials from high authorities, among the 
 most valued of these being those received from 
 Gov. Porter, of Pennsylvania, and Gen. John- 
 son, the reputed slayer of the famous Indian 
 chief, Tecumseh. After leaving Philadelphia 
 hc,fcug ht a t v arious points in Pennsylvania, as 
 well as at New York. 
 
 Early associations, however, are not easilv 
 forgotten, and lie still mherished a strong de- 
 sire to inspect the mining districts of the North- 
 west. In 1845 h e visited the lead mines around 
 
 Galena, and soon afterward went to Lake Su- 
 perior, where he spent two years as agent of 
 the North American Copper Mine. Not long 
 after reaching this country he met, at Williams- 
 port, Penn., Miss Jane Hageman, a resident 
 of that place. f \t that time he was teaching 
 fencing there, and the young couple plighted 
 their troth. In 1847 Mr. Stephens returned 
 to claim his promised bride, and on Aug. 5, 
 of that year, they were united in wedlock. 
 I hey at once removed to Dodgeville, Iowa 
 Co., V is., which place was their home until 
 Col. Stephens' death, and his widow vet re- 
 sides there. In 1851 he visited California, 
 returning in 1852. In 1857 he was commis- 
 sioned inspector general of the Wisconsin State 
 militia, a post for which he was admirably 
 qualified, by reason of his previous soldierly 
 training and military experience. His busi- 
 ness was dealing in real estate, and making 
 and handling loans thereupon, in the conduct 
 of which he was eminently successful. 
 
 The Colonel was a true patriot, loyal to 
 the core of his being, to his adopted country, 
 and the first gun of the Rebellion fired in the 
 harbor of Charleston stirred his patriotic soul. 
 In connection with C. C. Washburne he re- 
 cruited and organized the 2d Wisconsin Cav- 
 alry, of which he was commissioned lieutenant 
 colonel, Col. Washburne being first in com- 
 mand. Later — on the elevation of Col. Wash- 
 burne to a brigadier generalship — he was pro- 
 moted to the colonelcy. He led his men 
 throughout the war with distinguished gal- 
 lantry, and, while an admirable disciplinar.an. 
 succeeded in gaining not only their respect but 
 their affection as well. His service, however, 
 was not without its unpleasant experiences. 
 Being compelled to return home on sick leave, 
 he employed the period of his convalescence 
 in securing recruits for his regiment at the 
 front. On rejoining his command, he dis- 
 covered that one of his subordinate .officers 
 had taken advantage of his absence to dissem- 
 inate scandalous and baseless reports concern- 
 ing him. By permission of his superiors lie 
 at once proceeded to Washington, where he 
 demanded a prompt and thorough investiga- 
 tion. His request was granted, and the inquiry 
 resulted in his complete and triumphant vindi- 
 cation. For self-seekers • within the service, 
 and for traitors without, Col. Stephens had a 
 heart}- detestation. That a man of such high 
 sense, rugged integrity and resolute purpose 
 
373 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 should make enemies is no cause for surprise. 
 Yet the Colonel's firmness, no less than his 
 distinguished military skill and undaunted hero- 
 ism, won him alike the hearty respect of his 
 superior officers and the unfaltering devotion 
 of his men, none of the many gallant officers 
 of the W isconsin volunteer regiments who 
 served with courage and fidelity during that 
 great conflict returning with more honor than 
 Col. Thomas Stephens, or with a more en- 
 viable record. In testimony of their apprecia- 
 tion and love the men of the 2d Cavalry, on 
 being mustered out, presented him with a 
 costly sword, belt, sash, and other equipments 
 of a cavalry commander, which his family will 
 ever regard with love akin to reverence, as they 
 recall the husband and father who has gone to 
 his reward. 
 
 The Colonel, in addition to knowledge, 
 skill and courage, did not lack literary ability, 
 and his treatise on "Broad and Short Sword 
 Exercise,” which appeared in 1861, won a 
 high eulogium from Gen. Winfield Scott, and 
 commanded the unstinted admiration of all 
 competent military critics, being officially 
 recommended for study by officers of the 
 United States army. 
 
 While Col. Stephens returned home with 
 high honor, he brought back from his country’s 
 service a shattered constitution, his magnificent 
 physique being broken beyond repair. In a 
 vain hope of regaining his lost health he vis- 
 ited England in 1869. His return to his native 
 land was most gratifying to the old mem- 
 ber of the Queen’s Guards, the former toiler 
 in the tin mines of Cornwall being received 
 with marked honor at Windsor Castle, Buck- 
 ingham Palace and the House of Parliament. 
 The trip, however, proved of little benefit as 
 a restorative to his ruined health, and not long 
 after his return to his home at Dodgeville he 
 passed away, July 22, 1S73. Few deaths in 
 Southwestern Wisconsin within a decade were 
 as deeply mourned. In no relation of life had 
 he been tried and found wanting. A11 ardent 
 patriot and a fearless soldier, he was also a 
 tender husband and an indulgent father. Be- 
 nevolent in heart, and with impulses generous 
 to a fault, no worthy charity appealed to him 
 in vain, and after the lapse of nearly thirty 
 years his memory remains still green. 
 
 Col. Stephens’ long experience with the 
 world had taught him sound business sense, 
 and his judgment was rarely at fault. He was 
 
 fortunate in his investments, particular^ in 
 real estate; and it is probable that when called 
 from earth in middle life (before reaching the 
 age of fifty-nine) he remembered with pleas- 
 ure that he would leave his family in moderate 
 affluence. He left a widow and three children, 
 two daughters, and one son. Harriet, the first- 
 born, is the wife of Solomon Osborne, of 
 Dodgeville. Thomas Charles, the only son, 
 resides in Chicago. Elizabeth, the youngest, 
 is the wife of Dr. Henry Carson, of Mil- 
 waukee. 
 
 Mrs. Stephens was born in the township 
 of Lycoming, Lycoming Co., Penn., in 1820, 
 daughter of Isaiah and Rebecca Hageman. 
 Her father was of Holland descent, and one 
 of the most prominent pioneers of Lycoming 
 county. Both her. parents died full of years 
 and good works in the county of their resi- 
 dence, highly esteemed by their neighbors and 
 mourned by their friends. 
 
 This necessarily abridged tale of Col. 
 Stephens’ honored life may be best concluded 
 by a brief reference to the other members of 
 his father’s family. As has been said, he was 
 the eldest son. His brother Richard, the next 
 in order of birth, accompanied him to America. 
 The other brothers were named James and 
 Elijah. The father and mother, with the two 
 younger sons, crossed the ocean two years 
 after Thomas, and the family was reunited at 
 Danville, Penn. Not long afterward they re- 
 moved to Ralston, near Williamsport, same 
 State. Richard went from Pennsylvania to 
 Galena, and thither his father and James fol- 
 lowed him in 1844, leaving the mother and 
 Elijah, who were to join them later, should 
 the outlook prove favorable. Six weeks after 
 reaching Galena, however, the father died. 
 The widow joined her children, and received 
 their tender love and gentle care until her death, 
 in 1853, at Dodgeville, Iowa Co., Wis. Richard 
 twice visited the California gold fields, and 
 served for a time in the army of the Union; 
 lie removed to Kansas, and there died. James, 
 the third and only living brother, resides at 
 Dodgeville. Elijah, while yet a very young 
 man, went to California, and from there to 
 Chile, South America, where he died. 
 
 CAPT. TPIOMAS FLINT, a retired 
 farmer, now living in Albany, Green county, 
 has led an active and strenuous life, and now 
 in his old age can look back over the years with 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 379 
 
 a sense of gratitude that he has been able to do 
 so much in the world, to have so many good 
 friends, and to help forward so many valuable 
 and hopeful enterprises. 
 
 Captain Flint was born in the town of 
 Antrim, Hillsboro Co., N. H., July 31, 1822, 
 and is a son of John and Sailie (Atwood) 
 Flint, both natives of that State. Ten chil- 
 dren were born to them, of whom five are now 
 living : Thomas ; Lydia, the widow of Aaron 
 
 Broughton, of Rock county, Wis. ; Kate, of 
 Minnesota; Elsie, the wife of Gaylord Lock- 
 wood, of the town of Brooklyn; and Sanford 
 H., of Woodstock, 111 . The father, who was 
 a farmer, removed from New Hampshire to 
 Chautauqua county, N. Y., and engaged in 
 farming there. In 1845 ^ ie came to \\ lscon- 
 sin, and located in the town of Albany, Green 
 county, on an eighty-acre farm, which he cul- 
 tivated as long as he lived. He died at the 
 age of seventy-eight. His widow survived 
 some three or four years, and died when sev- 
 enty-seven years old. They were members of 
 the Congregational Church. Adam Flint, 
 grandfather of Captain Flint, was a native of 
 New Hampshire. He engaged in farming, 
 and reared a large family. The history of the 
 Flint family in this country begins with the 
 arrival of three brothers of that name in 1635, 
 all settling in New England. The father of 
 Sailie Atwood was a native of New Hamp- 
 shire, and passed his entire life as a farmer. 
 
 Thomas Flint was six years old when his 
 parents moved to New York. In 1843 he 
 made his first appearance in Wisconsin, only 
 to return to New York, and in 1845 bring 
 back to Wisconsin his mother and several of 
 his brothers and sisters, making the journey 
 overland by wagon. His father had come on 
 to Wisconsin, and made a settlement the pre- 
 vious year. Our subject was reared a farmer, 
 and all his life he has been faithful to his early 
 teaching and kept close to the soil. He ob- 
 tained his early education in the district 
 schools, and has always been a student of men 
 and events, keeping a broad vision of the 
 world, keenly alive to the significance of the 
 history that is being made in these days. 
 
 Captain Flint and Miss Mary Simmons 
 were married July 2, 1846, and six children 
 were born to them, Ella, Myron, Alta, Mer- 
 lin, Floyd and Ida. Ella married Arnold A. 
 Bennett, of Albany. Myron married Esther 
 Flint, and they ‘have one son, Merlin, a farmer 
 
 in the town of Albany. Alta married Charles 
 Comstock, of Albany. Merlm died when 
 eleven months old. Floyd married (first) 
 Dora Meinert, of Albany, now deceased, by 
 whom he had one child, Addie Dora, at pres- 
 ent living with her aunt, Mrs. Bennett; for his 
 second wife he wedded Miss Kate Wessel, of. 
 Albany, and they have two sons, Harold and 
 Alfred. Ida married William Smiley, of Al- 
 bany, and is the mother of four sons and three 
 daughters, Arnold, Edna, James, Robert, 
 Harry, Florence and Mary. Airs. Mary Flint 
 died Dec. 25, 1891. She was a Congregation- 
 alist, and a lady of many charming traits. On 
 Aug. 12, 1893, at Southwest City, Mo., Air. 
 Flint married (second) Airs. Tamar A. Gil- 
 lies, widow of Edward A. Gillies ; she died 
 July 7, 1894. On April 25, 1897, Air. Flint 
 married Airs. Hannah AI. Colton, widow of 
 Afejzar Colton, and daughter of Dorwin Hul- 
 bert. She is a member of the Baptist Church. 
 Air. Flint was a member of the Congregational 
 Church at Albany, but since it disbanded has 
 not united with any other. 
 
 Air. Flint has led a hard and laborious life, 
 and has made his way against every kind of 
 obstacles. When he started out for himself 
 his first work was cutting rails, at thirty-six 
 cents a day, on Rock river, a mile and a half 
 from Janesville. He then worked on a farm 
 for a year on Rock Prairie. During this time 
 he borrowed some money, and in 1845 bought 
 eighty acres in Section 19, town of Albany. 
 He has added to this from time to time until 
 he has owned six hundred and twenty acres. 
 He gave a farm to each of his boys, sold 
 some, and on March 1, 1900, sold what re- 
 mained, a farm of two hundred acres. He 
 lived on his farm until 1886, when he rented 
 it and moved into Albany, buying a good 
 home, in which he now resides. He owns six 
 acres of land within the limits of Albany, and 
 is prosperous beyond his early hopes. - 
 
 Air. Flint enlisted, Aug. 24, 1864, as a pri- 
 vate, and on Sept. 25, following, was commis- 
 sioned captain of Company 1 , 5th \\ is. A". I., 
 and served through the closing months of the 
 war. He was discharged Alay 15. 1865. 
 While his military record is not extended, it 
 covers some of the fiercest fighting of the war. 
 He participated in the battles of Hatcher's 
 Run, Fort Steadman, Petersburg, Sailor's 
 Creek, and in a number of skirmishes, several 
 of which in a smaller war "would have been 
 
3§o 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 called battles. He was taken sick at Farm- 
 ville, Va., and was in the hospital two months 
 at Cedar Point and Georgetown, and then 
 came home. Since then he has followed farm- 
 ing. He belongs to Erastus Hoyt Post, No. 
 69, G. A. R., of which he is commander, and 
 has filled this position for many years. He 
 belonged to the Odd Fellows for forty years, 
 but at the present time is not affiliated. He 
 was a Whig in early life, and has been a Re- 
 publican ever since the formation of the party. 
 He has been on the county board two terms; 
 was county treasurer two years; has been a 
 member of the town board several terms; and 
 was assessor of the town of Albany thirteen 
 terms. 
 
 WILLIAM MINOR LUDLUM, who 
 died Oct. 2i, 1900, in Belmont, Lafayette 
 county, where he was living retired, belonged 
 to the fast lessening number of those who 
 came to tins State when it was very larg'ely 
 a wilderness, and with gigantic courage at- 
 tacked the prairie and the forest with the im- 
 plements of civilization, living to see the State 
 become a garden spot of industry and wealth, 
 hew there are of that .noble company remain- 
 ing, and let those who do have the more honor 
 and reverence. 
 
 Mr. Ludlum was born in Warren county, 
 Ohio, in November, 1823, a son of Ephraim 
 and Mary ( Kelly ) Ludlum, both natives of 
 that county, wliO' spent their lives on a farm 
 within its limits. Two of their children are 
 still living: Clarinda is the widow of John 
 
 I rump, and is living on the old farm in War- 
 ren county, Ohio, at the advanced age of 
 eighty-eight years ; Phcebe is the widow of 
 Benjamin Clark, and lives in Warren county, 
 Ohio. Johanna, Rebecca and James came to 
 Wisconsin, and married in this State, but all 
 have been dead some years. 
 
 \\ illiam M. Ludlum grew to manhood on 
 the home farm in Ohio, and received a very 
 good education in the local schools until he 
 met with an unfortunate accident in early life 
 that shut him out from school attendance in 
 the later years of his boyhood. Pie began well, 
 but becoming a cripple was not able to go to 
 school or study with that intensitv that his 
 nature would otherwise have demanded. Nev- 
 ertheless he was a close reader and an attentive 
 student of the world around him, and his con- 
 clusions were neither hastily' drawn nor con- 
 
 trary to facts as they appear to the thoughtful 
 eye. It was not until. 1843 Brat Mr. Ludlum 
 felt able once more to wrestle with fate and 
 fortune, and he essayed the struggle by com- 
 ing into the West, and doing farm work in 
 Lafayette county, Wis. After, a few years 
 spent in this fashion he had saved enough to 
 warrant the purchase of eig'hty acres of gov- 
 ernment land, at a dollar and a quarter an 
 acre, and he began life for himself as an inde- 
 pendent farmer. A few years later he bought 
 a second eighty at ten dollars an acre, and still 
 later he bought more land, until at the time of 
 his death he owned as handsome a farm, of 
 200 acres, as may be found in many a day’s 
 ride in the southern part of Wisconsin. 
 
 In 1848 Mr. Ludlum and Miss Ruth A. 
 Osborn were married. She is a daughter of 
 Stephen and Mary Osborn, both her parents 
 being members of old families. Her father, 
 who was a Revolutionary soldier, died when 
 she was but four years old. Her mother sub- 
 sequently remarried, and moved to Virginia, 
 where she died. Mrs. Ludlum was born in 
 Fayette county, Penn., in 1824, and remained 
 in her native county until she had become a 
 girl of eighteen, when she accompanied her 
 brother Peter to Wisconsin. She located here, 
 but he was not satisfied with the outlook, and 
 after two years moved into Iowa, and still 
 later to Johnson county, Kan., where he is still 
 living. A second sister, Lavina, accompanied 
 Ruth A. and Peter Osborn to Wisconsin ; she 
 married Moses Eastmann, moved to Califor- 
 nia in 1850, and died in 1898. Lydia Osborn 
 married Samuel Bell, lived in Pennsylvania, 
 and died there in 1894. Martha and Catherine 
 Osborn accompanied their mother to Virginia, 
 where they married and are now living. Sam- 
 uel Osborn died in Henry county, Iowa. 
 John Osborn came to Galena at a very early 
 day; there he married, and brought his wife 
 to Lafayette county, Wis., where he was lo- 
 cated on a farm for some years; selling out, 
 he went to Iowa, and is living a retired life 
 in that State. Enoch Osborn is a retired 
 farmer in the town of Tabor, Iowa. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Lud- 
 lum built a log house on their farm, which 
 served them as a home until 1884. That year 
 they put up a modern house, with up-to-date 
 improvements, and set the old building back 
 to serve very subordinate purposes. Mr. Lud- 
 lum built a large Pennsylvania barn on his 
 
MR. ASD HRS. WILLIAM MINOR LUDLUH 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 farm some twenty-five years ago. In 1899 
 Mr. Ludlum bought a residence in the city of 
 Belmont, which the family still occupy; it is 
 a pleasant and commodious edifice, and has all 
 the comforts of a well regulated home. Our 
 subject and his wife had five children, two 
 of whom are living; Laura M., Mary L., and 
 Martha S. died in childhood. E. O. Ludlum, 
 the only son, was born in Lafayette county in. 
 1849, was partly educated in the local schools, 
 and attended the Normal at Platteville. He 
 remained with his parents until his marriage, 
 with Miss Martha Ivillpatrick, of Galena, 111 . 
 They settled on the old homestead, where she 
 died in 1888, leaving five sons, Charles H., 
 Fred E. (who was killed by a runaway horse 
 when he was sixteen years old), Richard F., 
 Clarence B. and William E. Charles H., the 
 eldest of this family, is married, and resides in 
 Belmont, where he is engaged in the livery and 
 feed business. Hattie C. Ludlum, the only 
 daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Minor 
 Ludlum, grew up on the home farm, was very 
 well educated in the local schools, and mar- 
 ried Walter E. Wright, of Belmont, where 
 they live, and where he is engaged in business. 
 She is the mother of three children, Laura M., 
 Luella Pearl and Lester E. 
 
 Mr. Ludlum was a Republican, and a sup- 
 porter of the party from its organization. He 
 was brought up under the influence of the 
 Methodist Church, and, though he never joined 
 the church, he always gave liberally to its sup- 
 port. He and his good wife were numbered 
 among the earliest pioneers of the State, and 
 among its honored and well-to-do citizens, 
 holding a warm place in the hearts of their 
 neighbors for their kindly and genial quali- 
 ties. 
 
 GRATIOT FAMILY in Southwestern 
 Wisconsin. Among the families whose annals 
 are intertwined with the history of the Wis- 
 consin lead mine region, none occupies a more 
 honorable and conspicuous place than that of 
 Gratiot. 
 
 The founder of the family in America was 
 Charles Gratiot: He was a remarkable man. 
 
 His father and mother were Huguenots of La 
 Rochelle, France, and were driven from their 
 home and native land by the savage act of 
 Louis XIV, in revoking the edict of Nantes. 
 They fled to Switzerland, and took up their 
 residence at Lausanne, where Charles was born. 
 
 38i 
 
 He was sent to England, where he received a 
 business education, and before his majority 
 sought \Yealth and fame in the fur trade in 
 Canada. With headquarters at Mackinaw, he 
 traveled to all the early French settlements and 
 among all the Indian tribes of the Northwest. 
 
 I he canoe and the batteau formed his merch- 
 ant fleet, and with them he journeyed in his 
 adventurous trade from Montreal to St. Louis. 
 In the year 1774 he abandoned the lake region, 
 and established trading posts at Cahokia and 
 Ivaskaskia. When the Revolutionary war 
 broke out he gave time, influence and fortune 
 to the cause of freedom and independence. At 
 the close of the war Charles Gratiot established 
 himself at St. Louis. He married Victoire 
 Choteau, and thus allied himself with the 
 founders of St. Louis. Charles Gratiot had 
 four sons: Henry, Charles, John Bunyan and 
 Paul Messellier. He had five daughters : 
 Julie, \ ictoire, Marie Therese, Emile Anna, 
 and Louise Isabelle Choteau. 
 
 Charles Gratiot, Jr., was born in St. Louis, 
 Aug. 29, 1786, and died there May 18, 1855. 
 He graduated from the United States Military 
 Academy in 1806; was second lieutenant of 
 engineers; captain in 1808; served under Gen. 
 Harrison in 1812; was brevetted colonel; was 
 at the defense of Fort Meigs in 1813; and of 
 Fort McKenzie in 1814. He was major of 
 engineers in 1815; built the fortifications on 
 the Delaware river, and planned and superin- 
 tended the erection of Fortress Monroe; was 
 lieutenant colonel in 1819; chief engineer. En- 
 gineer Department, in 1828; brevet major gen- 
 eral., May 24, 1828; inspector Lhrited States 
 Military Academy in 183S; and resigned in 
 1839. 
 
 Charles Gratiot, Jr., married Ann Belin, 
 of Philadelphia. He had two daughters: 
 Marie Victoire married Charles F. de Montho- 
 lon, was lady of honor to Empress Carlotta in 
 Mexico, and allied to some of the most dis- 
 tinguished families of France;' her sister, Julia 
 Agusta, was married to her cousin, Charles 
 P. Choteau. 
 
 Louise Isabelle, sister of Charles Gratiot, 
 Jr., was born in St. Louis, and died there July 
 13, 1878. On May 31. 1812. she married 
 Jules de Mun, of the nobility of France. 
 
 John Bunyan Gratiot was born at St. Louis, 
 Feb. 19, 1797. was a partner with his brother 
 Henry in mining and smelting lead ore in Wis- 
 consin, and lived at “Gratiot’s Grove," where 
 
382 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 their smelting operations were carried on. At 
 the breaking out of the Winnebago war he 
 raised a company of mounted men, and joined 
 the command of Gen. Dodge. During the 
 Black Hawk war he raised a company, and 
 took part in the battle of Bad Axe, which 
 ended the war. Ide died in St. Louis in 1876. 
 He married, Nov. 18, 1819, Adele Marie An- 
 toinette Pedreuville, daughter of Ivene Ped- 
 reuville, of Havre, a noble of France, who 
 tilled high positions under Napoleon. 
 
 It is with Henry Gratiot, however, more 
 than with any other member of the family, 
 that the history of the lead mine region is most 
 intimately and prominently related. He was 
 the second son of Charles, the original pioneer, 
 and was born at St. Louis April 12, 1789. In 
 1825 Henry Gratiot and his brother John were 
 among the first to take up mineral lands in 
 northern Illinois and engage in the mining and 
 smelting of lead ores. In 1826 they moved 
 their families there; in the following spring 
 they moved to a new discovery, purchased 
 from the Indians, and erected new cabins and 
 furnaces. Making this place their residence, 
 they called it Gratiot’s Grove, and there they 
 remained during the Winnebago outbreak and 
 the Black Hawk war. Air. Gratiot and his 
 brother taking an active part in both. At this 
 time the settlement contained 1,500 souls. 
 The present city of Shullsburg, one mile north 
 of Gratiot’s Grove, was a naked prairie. In 
 the spring of 1826 rumors of rich lead mines 
 where the city of Shullsburg now stands were 
 circulated ; but the Indians were unfriendly, 
 and concealed the place, lest they should offend 
 the Great Spirit. The cupidity of the Indians 
 eventually overcame their scruples, and they 
 told Jesse W. Shull, who had long been an 
 Indian trader, that if he would go with them 
 to Berry's hill (Gratiot Grove hill) they would 
 shoot arrows in the direction of the lead ore. 
 Shull followed the direction, and put up a 
 cabin, but the Indians soon drove him oft". 
 The Gratiots, by the friendly aid of a half- 
 breed Winnebago woman, named Catherine 
 Myott, bought for a large quantity of goods 
 and supplies the right to dig for lead ore. 
 On the north slope of Gratiot Grove hill was 
 a heavy forest of hard wood timber, and here 
 at one time were nine log furnaces running, 
 and smelting a large share of the product of 
 the lead region. 
 
 Airs. J. P. B. Gratiot thus describes the 
 
 first news of the outbreak of the Black Hawk 
 war: “Up to this time (1832) our dwelling- 
 
 had been completed, and we were surrounded 
 with many comforts, and in our light-hearted- 
 ness never dreamed of the storm gathering- 
 over our heads. On the Fourth of July I 
 claimed the privilege of entertaining oui- 
 friends at dinner. The table • was set, the 
 guests assembled. Ours were primitive ac- 
 commodations. I was carrying a large bowl 
 of custard to the table, Mrs. Henry Gratiot 
 was assisting, when we saw four tall Indians 
 with guns in their hands approaching. I 
 let the dish fall, to the great dismay of 
 the children. We were quite relieved when 
 we saw them stack their guns and share 
 our dinner. An interpreter was sent for. 
 They were four friendly Winnebago chiefs, 
 who were friendly, but told us they could 
 no longer restrain their young warriors, 
 on account of the encroachments of the 
 whites. They did not want to hurt them, but 
 advised them to remove their women and chil- 
 dren. All was terror and confusion, and the 
 women and children were speedily sent to Ga- 
 lena. The services of Henry Gratiot during 
 and at the close of the Indian wars were be- 
 yond compute.” 
 
 Henry Gratiot was sent in 1832 by the 
 government to negotiate the release of Rachel 
 and Sylvia Hall, the two young girls taken 
 prisoners by the Sac, Fox and Pottawatomie 
 Indians. Charles de St. Vrain, their agent, 
 had been murdered by them about this time. 
 Henry Gratiot was taken prisoner by the In- 
 dians, but by the intercession of the principal 
 Winnebago chiefs, he and the two girls were 
 released upon the payment of a large ransom. 
 
 Henry Gratiot was married, Feb. 20, 1813, 
 to Susan Hempstead, a daughter of Stephen 
 Hempstead, of New London, Conn., who was 
 a Revolutionary soldier. He acted as sergeant 
 in Capt. Nathan Hale’s company; accompanied 
 that noble young officer on his fatal mission; 
 was at Boston in 1775; participated in the 
 battle of Bunker Hill; was in Washington’s 
 army when the Declaration of Independence 
 was first read to the troops, in July, 1776; was 
 wounded at Harlem Heights and taken off the 
 field for dead, and again twice wounded at 
 Fort Griswold, and was one of the twentv- 
 three who spiked the guns at Fort Trumbull 
 when attacked by Benedict Arnold, Sept. 6, 
 1781. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 333 
 
 After the close of the Black Hawk war 
 Henry Gratiot gradually closed up his business 
 of mining and smelting, and prepared to open 
 a large farm adjoining Gratiot’s Grove. He 
 built a large house, alter the French style, 
 which was burned in 1853. Having passed 
 through many dangers and tribulations, he set- 
 tled down to enjoy life with his family. In 
 1836 he went to Washington, D. C., on busi- 
 ness, and to visit his brother, Gen. Charles 
 Gratiot, then chief of the corps of C nited 
 States engineers. On his way home he was 
 taken sick, and died at Baltimore April 27, 
 1836, at the age of forty-seven years. The 
 town of Gratiot, Wis., was named after him. 
 
 Henry Gratiot had four sons : Charles 
 
 H., Edward, Henry and Stephen; and two 
 daughters: Adele and Susanna. Of -these, 
 
 Charles H. Gratiot married Anne Sheldon; 
 Edward Gratiot married Ellen J. Hagur; 
 Adele Gratiot married Elihu B. Washburn; 
 Susanne Gratiot married Thomas C. Child ; 
 Henry Gratiot married Eliza de Lorimier ; 
 Stephen Gratiot married Mary J. Chamber- 
 lin. 
 
 Charles H. Gratiot, son of Henry, was 
 born m St. Louis March 15, 1814. In 1825 
 he came with his parents to Galena, 111 . In 
 1832 he entered into business at Gratiot with 
 BI011. Frederick Stahl. One year later he 
 opened the first store in Dubuque, Iowa, in 
 partnership with Peter A. Lorimer. Later he 
 went to the copper regions of Michigan, and 
 there opened the first copper mine, for which 
 he was rewarded by the government. In 1849 
 he visited the gold fields of California, and 
 after remaining there a few years returned to 
 Gratiot, Wis. In 1859 he led a wagon train 
 to Pike's Peak, and while there was stricken 
 with paralysis, from which he never recovered. 
 Mr. Gratiot served with distinction during the 
 Black Hawk war, and when eighteen years of 
 age held the position of lieutenant in that 
 memorable struggle. He married, at Willow 
 Springs, Wis., Anne E. Sheldon, who was 
 born at Detroit, Mich., Nov. 17, 1819, and 
 died at Gratiot, Wis., Jan. 9, 1882. Charles 
 H. Gratiot died at Gratiot March 15, 1883. 
 
 Charles and Anne (Sheldon) Gratiot were 
 the parents of three sons, of whom Charles C. 
 married Etta Marcy, and they are the parents 
 of nine children. H. R. married Ellen Noble, 
 and they are the parents of six children ; they 
 live in Gratiot, Wis. Charles and Anne 
 
 (Sheldon) Gratiot also left three daughters, 
 of whom Elizabeth married Edward Collins, 
 and they became the parents of three children ; 
 Mrs. Collins is a widow, and resides with her 
 children in Slnillsburg. Mary married J. H. 
 Chassaign, and they are parents of four 
 children; they reside in St. Louis, Mo. An- 
 toinette married Joseph Brewster, and they 
 became the parents of five children; Mr. Brew- 
 ster is deceased, and his widow resides with 
 her children in Madison, Wisconsin. 
 
 Charles C. Gratiot is a prominent phy- 
 sician, a graduate of Jefferson Medical Col- 
 lege. He has been mayor of Shullsburg, where 
 he now resides, and has long been identified 
 with the public schools, in which he takes a 
 great interest. Lie is a Mason, Odd Fellow, 
 Knight of Pythias, and member of the G. A. 
 R., having served in the war of the Rebellion. 
 
 EDWARD A. HOLMES, one of the 
 prominent and successful business men of Mil- 
 ton, Rock county, was born in that village 
 April 25, 1841, son of Harvey and Abbie 
 (Waterman) Holmes, natives of Connecticut. 
 
 Harvey Holmes was a carpenter by trade, 
 and became one of the first settlers of Rock 
 county, migrating hither in 1838, and settling 
 011 what is known as the Waterman place, one 
 mile south of the village of Milton. Later he 
 moved to the town of Harmony, and bought 
 a farm of 176 acres, which he improved and 
 occupied until his death, in 1854, at the age of 
 forty-nine years. He was a farmer ot un- 
 usual. prominence, was chairman of the county 
 board of supervisors a number of years, and in 
 1852 was elected to the State Legislature. 
 He was a Whig in politics. Himself and wife 
 were active members of the Congregational 
 Church, of which he was a long time 
 deacon. The widow still survives, a resident 
 of Santa Clara, Cal., at the age of eighty-eight 
 years. To Harvey and Abbie Holmes were 
 born seven children, two sons and five 'daugh- 
 ters, of whom three now survive : Edward 
 
 A., our subject; Adelaide A., widow of Alfred 
 Post, and now a resident of Santa Clara. Cal. ; 
 and Sarah M., wife of John Swinton, of Port- 
 land, Oregon. 
 
 Alfred Holmes, the paternal grandfather 
 of our subject, was a native of Connecticut, 
 and lived to the age of about ninety years. 
 He had four sons and one daughter. Joseph 
 Waterman, the maternal grandfather, was a 
 
3§4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 native of Connecticut, and an early settler of 
 Rock county, locating about 1839 a m be south 
 of the village of Milton, where he lived to the 
 age of eighty-seven years. 
 
 Edward A. Holmes was reared on the farm 
 in Milton township, attended the district 
 schools, and completed his education at Mil- 
 ton College. He then started life for him- 
 self as a farmer, continuing thus until 1879, 
 when lie engaged in a general mercantile busi- 
 ness at Milton, until Ins general store was de- 
 stroyed by fire, in 1898. Mr. Holmes then 
 opened a grocery store, and he has since con- 
 ducted that business. For the past twenty 
 years he has been agent at Milton for the 
 United States Express Co. 
 
 On Oct. 20, 1869, Mr. Holmes married 
 Miss Alice Wilkins, daughter of Joseph and 
 Celesta (Johnson) Wilkins, and to this union 
 have been born seven children, five sons and 
 two daughters : ( 1 ) Harvey E. married 
 
 Marcia Jones, and they have two children, 
 John Edward and Harvey. (2) David Al- 
 fred married Nettie Spaulding. (3) Helen 
 Frances married Frank A. Root, and lives at 
 Appleton. (4) Walter Scott married Ina 
 Gray, and lives in Harmony. (5) James Pitt, 
 who is unmarried, participated in the Spanish- 
 American war ; he now has a position in the 
 Northern Hospital for the Insane. (6) Paul 
 Allen died Dec. 25, 1898, aged eighteen. (7) 
 Sarah Alice is a student of Milton College. 
 Politically Mr. Holmes is a Republican. Fie 
 attends the Congregational Church. 
 
 JOHN S. WILLIAMS (deceased) was 
 for many years an honorable and industrious 
 farmer in Grant county, and is well remem- 
 bered in the town of Hazel Green as a thor- 
 oughly upright and public-spirited man. 
 
 Mr. Williams was born in Cornwall, Eng- 
 land, in April, 1820, where he received a fan- 
 education, and remained until after he reached 
 his majority. While still living in England 
 he married Miss Susan Bosanco, and she ac- 
 companied him to Wisconsin, whither he came 
 many years ago, very early in the history of 
 Grant county, engaging- in lead mining for 
 some years. In 1850 he crossed the Plains to 
 the gold fields of California, and spent some 
 three years in the mines. Coming back to 
 Wisconsin, he settled on a farm three miles 
 west of Hazel, Green, and at that home Mrs. 
 V illiams died, leaving eleven children who 
 
 lived to reach mature age: (1) Susan, born 
 
 in Grant county, in 184&, is now the wife of 
 Frank Lightcap, of Winnipeg, Canada. (2) 
 Honor, born in April, 1848, married Joseph 
 I homas, of Shullsburg, Wis. (3) Hannah, 
 born in 1850, married James D. Rogers, of 
 Smelser. (4) John, born in 1832, married 
 Miss Nettie Jellett, of Hazel Green, lives in 
 Platteville, and is the father of four children, 
 Hattie, Vivian, Raymond, and Irene. (5) 
 Urias, born in January, 1856, married and 
 settled in Sioux Falls, S. Dak., and is the fa- 
 ther of two children, Irene and Warner. (6) 
 William, born in February, 1859, married 
 Miss Sallie Price, of Galena, 111 ., and lives in 
 South Dakota ; he is the father of one daugh- 
 ter, Elsie. (7) Sarah, born in May, 1861, 
 married Thomas Mann, and lives in Suther- 
 land, Iowa, where she is rearing her family 
 of children. (8) Mary, born 111 February, 
 1864, married Rev. Richard Brown, and lives 
 in Minneapolis. They have one daughter, 
 Joie. (9) Grant, born in April, 1866, mar- 
 ried, and lives in LeMars, Iowa. (10) Alfred, 
 born in October, 1868, married Miss Naomi 
 Jewell, of Flazel Green, where he is living. 
 (11) Thomas A., born in September, 1870, is 
 married, and lives near Sibley, Iowa, where 
 he is engaged in farming. 
 
 John S. Williams and Miss Elizabeth 
 Cooinbe were married in January, 1887. Mrs. 
 Williams was the daughter of William and 
 Elizabeth Coombe, old and prominent pioneers 
 of Grant county, who came from England at 
 a very early day, settling in the town of Hazel 
 Green. Here Mrs. Williams received her ed- 
 ucation, in the public schools, and here she 
 grew to womanhood. After their marriage 
 Mr. and Mrs. Williams live on a farm some 
 two years, and then purchased the Edward 
 Thompson home, in the village of Hazel Green, 
 in which house Mr. Williams spent the remain- 
 ing years of his life, dying April 23, 1900. 
 There were no children by the second marriage. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Williams were both members of 
 the Methodist Church, which received a lib- 
 eral support from the family, and he was one 
 of the officers of the church for many years. 
 In politics he was ever an ardent Republican, 
 and had always taken an active part in local 
 affairs. 
 
 Mr. Williams began life in this country 
 a poor man, and by long and unflagging in- 
 dustry and wise management became quite 
 
JOHH S. WILLIAMS 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 335 
 
 prosperous. He was a good man, and left a 
 wide circle of friends. Mrs. W illiams is a 
 lady much respected for her many virtues, and 
 much of her time is spent in unostentatious 
 charity and genuine Christian work. 
 
 MATTHEW STOTT, whose years of 
 active toil are over, is now passing the even- 
 ing of a well-spent life in the home his in- 
 dustry has provided. He is a native of York- 
 shire, England, born Sept. 18, 1826, son of 
 Matthew and Margaret Stott, who passed their 
 entire lives in their native land. Of their chil- 
 dren, Robert came to this country, and died 
 unmarried a few years ago. Four others are 
 living in England. 
 
 Matthew Stott grew to manhood in York- 
 shire, and received a fair education in the 
 schools there. In 1856 he boarded a sailing- 
 vessel for the New World, and on landing 
 came directly West to Wisconsin. His first 
 employment was as a miller in Big Patch, 
 Grant county, where he and Messrs. Wilkin- 
 son and Johnson operated a mill in partner- 
 ship. He later sold out his interest in the 
 mill and returned to England, but after a year 
 in the old home came back to Wisconsin, and 
 located in Benton, Lafayette county, where he 
 followed mining for a number of years. Etna, 
 New Diggings township, was his first loca- 
 tion after his marriage, and he was there en- 
 gaged in farming and mining until he pur- 
 chased his present fine farm, which he has 
 since greatly improved, erecting good, sub- 
 stantial buildings, and making a comfortable 
 home for himself and his wife in their old 
 age. As pioneers of the county he and his 
 wife can relate many interesting experiences 
 of the early days, and both are much loved 
 by all who know them. 
 
 In 1866 Mr. Stott wedded Mrs. Margaret 
 White, daughter of John and Elmer Coates, 
 both of whom died in England. Mrs. Stott 
 was born in that country in 1823, and on reach- 
 ing young womanhood married Thomas 
 White. In 1848 Mr. White, his wife and 
 three children located in New Diggings, where 
 he followed mining a short time, and' then 
 crossed the Plains to California, where he 
 died in the gold fields. His wife and her four 
 children were left in Wisconsin. These chil- 
 dren were as follows : Barbara, wife of Dixon 
 Cottingham, of Dubuque, Iowa, is the mother 
 of nine children, Isabel, Matthew, Mary E., 
 
 John, Lizzie, Minnie, Ella, Eva and William; 
 Eleanor, wife of William Bonner, of O'Brien 
 county, Iowa, is the mother of eight children, 
 William, John, Nora, Mary E., Robert, Annie, 
 Thomas and Lizzie; John (deceased) mar- 
 ried Bell Collard, of New Diggings, where 
 he died in 1892, leaving three children, two 
 of whom, Maggie (Mrs. William Bird) and 
 Grace, live in New Diggings, and the third, 
 W. L., is in Alaska; and A illiam C., born in 
 1859, emigrated to New Mexico, where he 
 married, and then moved to Cripple Creek, 
 Colo., where his family now reside, during 
 his absence at Cape Nome, Alaska. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Stott were both brought up 
 in the faith of the Church of England, and 
 have lived good Christian lives. In politics 
 Mr. Stott is a Republican. 
 
 FREDERICK LIBERT. Sound judg- 
 ment, combined with fine ability in mechanical 
 lines, has enabled the subject of this biography, 
 a well-known blacksmith of Platteville, Grant 
 county, to attain a substantial success in life, 
 and his history is of especial interest. He was 
 born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1840, and when: 
 only five years old crossed the Atlantic with 
 his parents, Ivausman and Margaret (Mar- 
 tins) Libert, also natives of Bavaria, who lo- 
 cated first in Jo Daviess county. 111 ., but in 
 1856 moved to Grant county, \Yis. The fa- 
 ther, who was a farmer by occupation, died at 
 Hazel Green in 1861, and the mother departed 
 this life in 1S58. In their family were ten chil- 
 dren, of whom the following are still living: 
 Nichlos, Andrew, Frederick, Barbara and 
 Eva. 
 
 Frederick Libert was reared and educated 
 in Jo Daviess county, 111 ., and Grant county, 
 A is., and during his youth learned the black- 
 smith's trade at Platteville. That occupation 
 he has made his life work, and in its prosecu- 
 tion has met with good success. His labors 
 were interrupted by his service in the 'Union 
 army during the war of the Rebellion. On 
 Aug. 8, 1862, at Platteville, Mr. Libert en- 
 listed in Company E. 25th Wis. V. I., for three 
 years or during the war. The company was 
 organized at La Crosse, and mustered in at 
 Madison. As a part of the Army of the West 
 it took part in the Sauk war in Minnesota, 
 was sent south in January, 1863, and took part 
 in the siege of Vicksburg; the engagement at 
 Jackson, Miss. : the battle of Kenesaw Moun- 
 
3S6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tain ; and was with Sherman on the march 
 to the sea. At Atlanta Mr. Libert was taken 
 prisoner, and for two months was confined 
 in Andersonville prison, lie rejoined Ins regi- 
 ment at Atlanta, in time to take part in the 
 Carolina campaign, including the last battle 
 of the war — that of Bentonville. He partici- 
 pated in the grand review at Washington, 
 D. C., and when honorably discharged, at 
 Madison, Wis., in June, 1865, returned to his 
 home in Platteville. He has been a resident 
 of Grant county since 1856, for two years lived 
 in Hazel Green, and since then has made his 
 home in Platteville. 
 
 At Hazel Green, in 1866, Mr. Libert was 
 united in marriage with Miss Catharine Gar- 
 ner, a native of Pennsylvania and a daughter 
 of Daniel Garner ; her mother’s maiden name 
 was Oppenley. Mr. and Mrs. Garner were 
 early settlers of Grant county, and are now 
 deceased. Of the six children born to Mr. and 
 Airs. Libert, four are still living, namely : 
 Maggie, now Mrs. Dolley, of Sioux county, 
 Iowa; Nellie, now Mrs. Spink, of Platteville, 
 Wis. ; Elsie ; and Sadie. Socially Mr. Libert 
 .affiliates with W. T. Sherman Post, No. 66, 
 G. A. R., and politically is identified with the 
 Republican party. His fellow citizens have 
 for him the highest esteem, and he has been 
 called upon to represent his ward in the city 
 council five terms, filling the office with credit 
 to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his 
 constituents. 
 
 FRANKLIN STONE (deceased) was a 
 well known pioneer of Monticello township, 
 having arrived in Lafayette county in 1848. 
 His birth occurred in Lennoxville, Can- 
 ada, near Montreal, July 3, 1813. His par- 
 ents, Phineas and Salome Stone, were natives 
 of Massachusetts. 
 
 Franklin Stone grew to manhood in Can- 
 ada. and came to the United States in early 
 manhood, reaching Wisconsin by way of Chi- 
 cago in 1835. Chicago, then but a little ham- 
 let, was his home for a year or so, and he 
 then engaged in mining in Iowa county, Wis. 
 He was quite successful in his operations 
 there, and after a few years returned to Can- 
 ada, where on Oct. 12, 1848, he wedded Miss 
 Jane Aldrich, who was born in Canada, daugh- 
 ter of Asa and Sally Aldrich, natives of New 
 Hampshire. After their marriage Mr. and 
 Mrs. Stone settled on the farm in Lafayette 
 
 county on which the family still reside. This 
 had been previously purchased by Mr. Stone, 
 and after his determination to make it his 
 home he had greatly improved it, continuing 
 so to do until his death, which occurred June 
 10, 1891. Mr. Stone was a prominent and 
 highly respected citizen, and was intimately 
 associated with the pioneer history of the 
 township. In the early days he was a Whig- 
 in political faith, but after the formation of 
 the Republican party became one of its firm 
 supporters. Mrs. Stone survives her husband, 
 and, with two of her children, makes her home 
 on the farm where the happy years of her 
 married life were spent. 
 
 Eight children came to bless the union of 
 Franklin Stone and Jane Aldrich, three sons 
 and five daughters: Clara, wife of James H. 
 
 Mann, of Shullsburg; Edmund, of Defiance, 
 Wis. ; Esther, wife of W. O. Dimmick, of 
 Bluehill, Neb. ; Frank, a resident of Bluehill, 
 Neb.; Emeline, at home; Lucy, wife of J. J. 
 Blackbourn, of Wyoming; Oscar, at home; 
 and Mary, who became the wife of James 
 Terrill, and died at her home in Wyoming. 
 
 WALGRAVE ATHERTON, a retired 
 farmer of Albany, is one of the old and suc- 
 cessful farmers of Green county, and is now 
 spending the closing years of his life in the 
 enjoyment of a richly earned competence, sur- 
 rounded with the respect of the community and 
 the regard and esteem of those friends who 
 know him most intimately. 
 
 Mr. Atherton was born in Licking county, 
 Ohio, Aug. 4, 1826, and is a son of John and 
 Clarissa (Ackley) Atherton, natives of Penn- 
 sylvania and New York, respectively. They 
 had three sons, and Mr. Atherton, of Albany, 
 is the only one now living. The father was 
 a chairmaker, and moved into Licking county, 
 Ohio, in the early settlement of that country, 
 and owned about two hundred fifty acres at 
 the time of his death. He died in 1881, at 
 the age of eighty-one. His wife passed away 
 in 1873, at I' ie a & e °f seventy-six. Thomas 
 Atherton, the father of John, was of: English 
 descent, and was bred a farmer. He died in 
 Ohio, at an advanced age, leaving a large 
 family. Calvin Ackley, the father of Clarissa, 
 was of English descent, and was born in Con- 
 necticut. He was a Revolutionary soldier, 
 and moved from New York to Ohio, where he 
 followed farming. He was the father of a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 387 
 
 large family, and died at the age of ninety- 
 one. 
 
 Walgrave Atherton lived in Licking coun- 
 ty, Ohio, on a farm until he was twenty-eight 
 years old. i he district schools afforded him 
 opportunity for an education, and he taught 
 for seven winters. He followed farming as 
 his chief occupation, and came to Wisconsin in 
 1854, where he bought a farm of one hundred 
 fifty-seven acres in Decatur township, Green 
 county, where he resided, engaged in its culti- 
 vation, until 1888, when he moved into Al- 
 bany, and there is living a retired life. He 
 now owns four hundred ninety-two acres, and 
 is one of the most prosperous farmers of the 
 county. 
 
 On Oct. 20, 1852, Mr. Atherton and Miss 
 Elizabeth Ann Putnam were married. She is 
 the daughter of John J. and Mary M. (Fleek) 
 Putnam, of whom a sketch appears elsewhere 
 in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Atherton are 
 the parents of nine children, namely : Florence 
 
 V. , Edwin P., John P., Oliver Herman, George 
 
 W. , Elmer E., Harry C., Ernest and Fred V. 
 Florence V. check when nineteen years old. 
 Edwin P. married Irva Maynard, and lives 
 in Albany, where he is engaged in the furni- 
 ture and undertaking business ; they have one 
 daughter, Floy. John P. married Miss Susie 
 Robertson, of Laredo, Mo., where lie is a 
 station agent. Oliver H. married Miss Ivittie 
 Clemmer, and lives in Blanchardville, Wis.. 
 where he is station agent ; they have three 
 daughters, Nina, Leila and Eva. George W. 
 married Miss Olive Smout, and lives on the 
 old home farm ; they have one daughter, Wini- 
 fred. Elmer E. married Miss Nettie Conn, 
 of Juda, Wis. ; he is publisher of the Albany I 
 Vindicator , and is the father of two sons, 
 John W. and Charles Ellsworth. Harry C. 
 married Miss Nora Francis, and is a farmer 
 m the town of Decatur. Ernest died when 
 three and a half years old. Fred V. is a 
 printer, and lives with his parents. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Atherton are members of the Baptist 
 Church, in which he is deacon, trustee and 
 clerk. He was once a Republican, but in 1884 
 became a Prohibitionist. He was clerk and 
 school director in the town of Decatur, where 
 he also served a term as school treasurer. 
 
 Mrs. Atherton’s parents were natives of 
 Virginia. They had ten children, four of 
 whom are living', — Elizabeth Ann, the wife 
 of W. Atherton; Oliver S., a captain in the 
 
 war of the Rebellion; Henry Clay, of Brod- 
 head, Wis. ; and Virginia, the wife of Burton 
 Gardner, of Brodhead. Mrs. Atherton's fa- 
 ther was a school teacher when a young man, 
 and later in life became a farmer and a land 
 agent in Licking county, Ohio. He was a 
 trustee of the town of Newark, Ohio, and 
 came to this State in 1849. He located in 
 ■ Sylvester township for a year, and then moved 
 to the town of Decatur, where he died in 
 1856, at the age of fifty-five. His widow died 
 Jan. 31. 1873, at the age of sixty-eight. They 
 were members of the Methodist Church. Mrs. 
 Atherton’s paternal grandfather was Peter 
 Putnam, a native of Virginia, and her ma- 
 ternal grandfather Adam Fleek, of Pennsyl- 
 vania. He lived many years in Virginia, and 
 died in Wisconsin when eighty-five. 
 
 LAWRENCE GANSHIRT, a prosperous 
 farmer residing in Section 7, Gratiot town- 
 ship, Lafayette county, is a native of Baden, 
 Germany, born in 1840, who offered his serv- 
 ices to his adopted country in her hour of peril 
 during the Civil war. 
 
 Mr. Ganshirt received his education in the 
 schools of his native land, and in his twenty- 
 second year left the Fatherland for America. 
 He first located in Pennsylvania, remaining 
 there only a short time, however, when he 
 went to Illinois, where he was living when the 
 war began. He enlisted in Company D, of 
 an Illinois volunteer cavalry regiment, and 
 joined his regiment at Fairfax Court House, 
 Va. ; they were brigaded with the 13th and 
 16th New York Cavalry regiments, and per- 
 formed such service as fell to their lot in 
 1 Virginia and Maryland. Our subject’s regi- 
 ment was in pursuit of the famous guerrilla 
 leader Mosby, in Virginia and North Carolina. 
 The brigade was ordered to Maryland, and 
 a sergeant of the 16th New York captured 
 and shot John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of 
 Abraham Lincoln. After that they were left 
 near Brandywine, where the citizens swore 
 allegiance to the United States. During his en- 
 tire term of service Mr. Ganshirt was on active 
 duty, but was fortunate enough to escape the 
 bullets of the enemy. The hardships and ex- 
 posures incident to the life of a soldier left 
 their scar, and Mr. Ganshirt is a sufferer from 
 rheumatism, and disease of the throat and 
 heart. He was mustered out of the service 
 at the close of the war, at St. Louis, Missouri. 
 
388 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Ganshirt was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Pauline Busch, who was born 
 in Baden, daughter of Fred and Mary E. 
 Busch, who located in Lafayette county, Wis., 
 in 1868, and there passed the remainder of 
 their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Ganshirt are the 
 parents of ten children, six sons and four 
 daughters. 1 hey have a pleasant home on their 
 farm, and are highly respected citizens. So- 
 cially Mr. Ganshirt is a member ot John Bragg 
 Post, No. 176, G. A. R. 
 
 I. C. SMELKER, a popular and influen- 
 tial citizen of Platteville, Grant county, is one 
 of the honored veterans of the Civil war whose 
 devotion to his country was tested not only 
 by service on the field of battle, but in the 
 still more deadly dangers of the Southern 
 prisons. This gallant soldier was born in 
 Johnstown, Penn., April 3, 1842, a son of 
 J. W. and Catherine ( Horner) Smelker, also 
 natives of the Keystone State. 
 
 The father of our subject was born in 
 Bellefonte, Center county, Sept. 17, 1817, of 
 Holland ancestry, and continued his residence 
 in that State until coming to Platteville, VVis., 
 in 1843.. Hy occupation he was a carpenter 
 and joiner. On Sept. 7, 1862, at Platteville, 
 he became a member of Company E, 25th VVis. 
 V. I., as first lieutenant. As a part of the 
 16th Army Corps he participated in the Yazoo 
 expedition ; was on provost duty at Helena, 
 Ark. ; took part in the siege of Vicksburg 
 and m a number of engagements in Alabama 
 and Tennessee; and was with Gen. Sherman 
 on the march to the sea and in the Atlanta 
 campaign. Being disabled, he was sent to 
 Mound City hospital, and received an hon- 
 orable discharge at Cairo, 111 ., in 1864, after 
 which he returned to his home in Platteville. 
 He died at that place in April, 1894, and his 
 wife passed away in January, 1898. To them 
 were born four sons and one daughter, the 
 two youngest dying in infancy. Three sur- 
 viving sons were all numbered among the boys 
 in blue during the Rebellion. Theodore, the 
 eldest, enlisted, in 1861, in Company C, 7th 
 Wis. V. I., for three years or during the war, 
 and received a gunshot wound in the breast 
 and right arm in the battle of Antietam. He 
 now resides in Lincoln county, S. Dak. I. C., 
 the second son, is mentioned below. J. P. 
 enlisted at Platteville in the three-months 
 service, as a member of Company A, 41st Wis. 
 
 V. I., and in January, 1865, joined Company 
 Iv, 47th Wis. V. L, with which he served un- 
 til the close of the war, being honorably dis- 
 charged at Madison Sept. 4, 1865. He took 
 part in a midnight attack on Gen. Forrest.. 
 He rose to the rank of orderly sergeant. Re- 
 turning to Platteville, he studied law, and is. 
 now an attorney at Dodgeville, Wisconsin. 
 
 1. C. Smelker was only three years old 
 when brought by his parents to Platteville, 
 in the public schools of which place he ac- 
 quired his education. Since reaching man- 
 hood he has followed the carpenter’s and 
 joiner’s trade. It was in 1863, at Platteville,. 
 that he enlisted in Company C, 7th Wis. V. L, 
 for three years or during the war, and he was 
 mustered into the United States service at 
 Camp Randall, Madison. A member of the 
 Iron Brigade, in the Army of the Potomac, 
 he participated in the battle of the Wilderness, 
 May 5, 1864, and was three times wounded, 
 twice by a gunshot in the left thigh, and lastly 
 by a bayonet in the hands of a Rebel, while 
 he lay on his back under the trees on the 
 battlefield ; the Rebel also cut the buttons from 
 his coat. He was also taken prisoner, and 
 confined at Salisbury, N. C., seven months, 
 after which he was sent to Libby prison, it 
 being 315 days before he was exchanged. 
 When captured he weighed 172 pounds, and 
 during his imprisonment his weight was re- 
 duced to eighty-one pounds. On being ex- 
 changed he was sent to Annapolis, Md., and 
 from there went to Baltimore, where he was 
 granted a furlough. For some time he was 
 confined in the hospital at Prairie du Chien, 
 Wis., and while there asked leave to return 
 home, but not receiving the desired furlough 
 he and a comrade crossed the river in a boat 
 to McGregor, and from there proceeded to 
 Potosi, whence our subject started to walk 
 to Platteville on crutches. When within five 
 miles of home he became exhausted, and had 
 to discontinue his journey until the following 
 day. After spending the 4th of July at home, 
 he returned to the hospital, and for diso- 
 bedience was put in the guard-house. While 
 there he smuggled a letter to Gov. Randall for 
 transportation, and was honorably discharged 
 at Madison in September, 1865. 
 
 In 1876 Mr. Smelker was married, at 
 Platteville. to Miss Nettie Connor, who was 
 born in Wisconsin, a daughter of Patrick and 
 Catharine (Blindert) Connor, natives of Ire- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 389 
 
 land and Germany, respectively, and early set- 
 tlers of Potosi, Grant Co., Wis. In early life 
 her father followed mining, but later engaged 
 in farming in Platteville township, where both 
 parents died. Mr. and Mrs. Smelker have 
 five children, Jessie, Edward C., Stella, Kattie 
 and Byron. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Smelker is a pro- 
 nounced Republican, and has held office in , 
 Platteville, having received the appointment 
 of deputy revenue collector under President 
 Harrison, and held that position for four 
 years and three months. Mr. Smelker is also 
 connected with the fire department of Platte- 
 ville, and is one of the leading and influential 
 men of that city. As one of the organizers 
 of W. T. Sherman Post, No. 66, G. A. R., 
 he has always taken an active interest in its 
 work, and is very popular in Grand Army 
 circles. He is now serving as commander of 
 his post, and also holds the important posi- 
 tion of inspector-general of the Department of 
 Wisconsin, G. A. R., under Commander D. 
 G. James, of Richland Center. He has been 
 first vice-president of the Grant County Sol- 
 diers and Sailors Association for the last six 
 years. 
 
 ANDREW ANDERSON, a farmer and 
 painter living in Clinton township, Rock coun- 
 ty, is an industrious and hard-working man, 
 and has made his living by his own efforts. 
 
 Mr. Anderson is the third child and sec- 
 ond son of Rev. Dr. Ole Andrewson, of whom 
 a biographical history appears elsewhere in 
 this volume. Our subject was born near Ot- 
 tawa, La Salle Co., 111 ., Nov. 24, 1848, and 
 while still a young boy moved with his par- 
 ents to Clinton, Wis. Here he worked on a 
 farm until about 1865, in which year he en- 
 tered a store as clerk, and was engaged for 
 some three or four years in that capacity in 
 the different stores of Clinton. After the 
 great fire of 1871 Mr. Anderson went to Chi- 
 cago, and there learned the trade of painting, 
 which has been his main business to the pres- 
 ent time. He is now living five miles south- 
 east of the village of Clinton, owning a home 
 of forty. acres, to which he attends in intervals 
 of his work at painting. He is well situated, 
 and is comfortably fixed. 
 
 Mr. Anderson and Miss Nellie Hawkinsen, 
 a daughter of Ole Hawkinsen, of Manchester, 
 III, were married Nov. 4, 1875. They have 
 
 had ten children, three of whom are now de- 
 ceased ; the living are Ruth Amelia. Hannah 
 Irene, Sarah Louisa, George Henry and Grace 
 Henrietta (twins), Otto Paul, and Emma 
 Helena. The two eldest lived in Sharon, Wis. 
 The young people are bright and helpful, and 
 are bound to become useful citizens. 
 
 JOHN FRANKLIN WILLEY, editor 
 and publisher of the “Farm and Home," at 
 Janesville, Rock county, is a well-known 
 authority on agricultural matters, and his jour- 
 nal enjoys a wide circulation on account of its 
 reliability, as well as its literary merit. 
 
 John Franklin Willey was born in St. 
 Johnsbury, Caledonia Co., Vt., March 17, 
 1859, a son of George F. and Eliza (Raines) 
 Willey, natives of Vermont and New Hamp- 
 shire, respectively. The paternal grandfather 
 of our subject, Stephen Willey, a native of 
 Maine, of Scottish descent, died in Vermont, 
 well advanced in years. There were three 
 sons and one daughter in his family. Mr. 
 Willey was very prominent in church affairs. 
 The grandfather on the mother’s side was a 
 native of Maine, of Scottish descent, and died 
 at Bethel, that State. By trade he was a ma- 
 chinist. He reared a large family. 
 
 George F. Willey was a blacksmith by 
 trade, in 1863 lie came West to Madison, 
 Wis., and a year later removed to Beloit, 
 where he died in 1868, aged thirty-seven; his 
 wife passed away two years previously, at the 
 age of thirty-three. Both of these worthy 
 people were Free-Will Baptists. Three chil- 
 dren were born to them, one son and two 
 daughters: Our subject; Louisa C., wife of 
 
 Frank N. Briggs, of Brandon, Vt. ; and Emma, 
 wife of Charles Hackbarth, of Lima, Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 John Franklin Willey came to Wisconsin 
 with his parents, residing at home until the 
 death of his father, in 1868, when he was 
 adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Malachi Richard- 
 son, of Janesville, both of whom are now de- 
 ceased, he dying on June 19, 1896, and his 
 wife on Feb. 28, 1897. Mr. Richardson was 
 an old settler of Janesville, and a gardener by 
 occupation. At one time he served as school 
 commissioner. He was a man of considerable 
 education, having been a school teacher in his 
 younger days, and gladly assisted his young 
 charge in his studies, which the latter pursued 
 in the excellent public schools. Following 
 
390 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the calling of his adopted father, Mr. Wil- 
 ley was a farmer and gardener until he 
 was thirty years of age, when he began 
 the publication of the ‘“Wisconsin Tobacco 
 Leaf," and continued the journal until 
 1897, about eight years. At this time he 
 started the “Farm and Home," which, as 
 its name implies, is devoted to the interests 
 of the farm and home. For the past twelve 
 years Mr. \\ illey has corresponded for a 
 number of papers on the subject of tobacco 
 growing, and the industry in general, being 
 considered an authority upon the question. 
 In religious matters Mr. Willey takes a very 
 liberal view, according to every man the right 
 to worship as his conscience dictates, and him- 
 self attends All Souls Church. Mr. Willey not 
 only thoroughly understands agricultural sub- 
 jects, but is conversant with up-to-date meth- 
 ods of getting out an attractive publication, 
 and the “Farm and Home" is welcomed, not 
 only by the farmer, intent upon securing valu- 
 able information relative to his work, but also 
 by the other members of the family, who en- 
 joy the entertaining' stories and household 
 articles presented to them within its pages. 
 Socially Mr. Willey has many friends, and is 
 an agreeable, well-informed gentleman; po- 
 litically he is a stanch Republican. 
 
 JOHN A. CLEMMER, retired farmer, 
 now residing in Monroe, has won the com- 
 parative leisure which since 1892 has been his 
 by a previous life of activity as an influential 
 and successful farmer of Green county. He 
 came to the county when a youth of eight- 
 een years, and for forty years following his 
 marriage was a most industrious agriculturist, 
 and became prominent in that calling, during 
 the period when the State of Wisconsin 
 emerged from its primitive condition of un- 
 developed resource to wealth and influence. 
 
 Mr. Clemmer is a native of Pennsylvania, 
 born in Fayette county May 30, 1832, son of 
 Jasper and Delilah (Neal) Clemmer, both na- 
 tive-born Pennsylvanians. The paternal 
 grandfather, Jacob Clemmer, was also born 
 in the Keystone State, and was a descendant 
 of one of the early German families that set- 
 tled in Pennsylvania. He followed farming. 
 He lived to the age of almost one hundred 
 years, was twice married, and reared a large 
 family. I he maternal grandfather, William 
 Neal, was also a native of Pennsylvania, of J 
 
 Scottish ancestry, and died in middle life, 
 leaving a large family. He was a farmer by 
 occupation. 
 
 Jasper Clemmer, the father of John A., 
 was born June 16, 1801, and in his native 
 State followed farming. In 1850, when about 
 forty-nine years of age, he migrated with his 
 family to \\ isconsin, purchasing a half section 
 of land in Sylvester township, Green county, 
 which he occupied and operated for many 
 years, residing there until his death, Dec. 17, 
 1885, at the age of eighty-four years. His 
 wife, who was born Sept. 13, 1805, died Dec. 
 21, 1887. They were members of the Regular 
 Baptist Church, in which Mr. Clemmer was 
 for many years a deacon. He was a man of 
 great probity of character, and highly es- 
 teemed by all who knew him. To Jasper and 
 Delilah Clemmer were born six children, five 
 sons and one daughter, of whom four are now 
 living, namely: Dr. J. N., of Clarksville, Iowa; 
 John A., whose sketch appears below; Dr. J. 
 J., of Cresco, Iowa; and G. G., of Nevada. 
 
 John A. Clemmer received his education 
 in the district schools of Pennsylvania, and 
 was eighteen years of age when, in 1850, he 
 came with his parents to Wisconsin. He pos- 
 sessed musical talent, which he cultivated in his 
 youth, and for fourteen years taught vocal 
 music. After reaching Wisconsin he re- 
 mained with his parents for about four years, 
 on Jan. 21, 1855, marrying Miss Rhoda M. 
 Whitcomb, daughter of James and Nancy 
 (Goltry) Whitcomb. She was then living with 
 her widowed mother in Mt. Pleasant township, 
 Green county. 
 
 James Whitcomb, the father of Mrs. 
 Clemmer, was born in New York State May 
 17, 1812; his wife, also a native of New York, 
 was born Aug. 7, 18141 Isaac Whitcomb, 
 father of James, was born in Maine May 25, 
 1769, and died Feb. 26, 1816. He married 
 Susanna Gregory, who was born Sept. 1, 1784, 
 and died July 7, 1839. Their family consisted 
 of five children. The maternal grandparents 
 of Mrs. Clemmer were Paul and Rachel (Mof- 
 fett) Goltry, who had a family of thirteen 
 children. Paul Goltry was born in New Jer- 
 sey May 24, 1767, and died Sept. 28, 1845. 
 He was a man of remarkable mental activity, 
 well educated, a writer of great force and pleas- 
 ing diction, a musician of note, and a splendid 
 violinist. Active in temperament, he became 
 a cattle drover, and frequently drove large 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 39i 
 
 herds over the mountains of Virginia. His 
 sympathies were deeply enlisted in the cause 
 of the slaves, and he often assisted them in 
 escaping from the fields of Virginia to a north- 
 ern refuge. 
 
 Janies Whitcomb removed from New York 
 to Indiana, and thence in 1847 to Rock county, 
 Wis., and two years later to Mt. Pleasant 
 township, Green county, where he purchased 
 160 acres of land. There he died April 24. 
 1854, aged nearly forty-two years. His wife 
 survived him many years, passing away May 
 22, 1883, aged sixty-nine years. They were 
 devout members of the Baptist Church. James 
 Whitcomb was an active Abolitionist, and 
 while living in Indiana was the leader in the 
 Abolition movement in his locality, presiding 
 at meetings and assisting many fugitive slaves. 
 
 After his marriage, Jan. 21, 1855, John A. 
 Clemmer began farm life on a tract of eighty 
 acres in Sylvester township, given him by his 
 father. To this he subsequently added ten 
 acres, and there continued to farm for about 
 twenty years, when he sold and bought a farm 
 of 210 acres in Decatur township. In 1892 
 Mr. Clemmer rented that farm and removed to 
 Monroe, where he has since resided, except 
 for a short time when he lived in Evansville, 
 to educate his son, John F. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Clemmer have been born six children, one son 
 and five daughters, as follows: Laura A., who 
 married Alvin I. Keen, of Monroe township, 
 and has two children. Roy and Lois ; Kittie 
 C., who married Herman Atherton, of Blanch- 
 ardville, and has three children, Nina. Lela and 
 Eva; Nannie D., who married Henry Horan, 
 of Algona, Iowa, and has one son. Clemmer; 
 Cora A., who married Lawrence Horan, and 
 is now deceased ; Letha, a stenographer in the 
 First National Bank of Monroe; and John F., 
 who is bookkeeper in the First National Bank 
 at Algona, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Clemmer 
 are prominent members of the Baptist Church 
 of Juda, in which he has been for many years 
 a deacon. In religious, social and business 
 cricles he is one of the leading spirits of Green 
 county, and is held in high esteem by a wide 
 acquaintanceship throughout that and adjacent 
 counties. 
 
 JOSEPH T. BRIDGE, deceased. Half a 
 decade has passed away since this pioneer citi- 
 zen of Green county, passed from earth into 
 eternal rest, mourned by his friends and held 
 
 in high esteem by his fellow citizens, who had 
 learned to love him for his genial nature, and 
 to honor him for his moral worth. 
 
 John and Deborah (Clark) Bridge, his 
 grandparents, were among the pioneers of 
 Preble county, Ohio, having migrated to that 
 State from their native New Jersey. John H. 
 Bridge, the father of the late Joseph T. Bridge, 
 was born April 3, 1815, in Preble county, one 
 of a family of eight, three sons and five 
 daughters, and was early inured to the 
 toils and hardships of a frontier life. On 
 reaching manhood he married Nancy Sam- 
 ple, a native of Virginia. In 1835 he vis- 
 ited Green county, Wis., with a view to 
 ascertaining its desirability as a place of 
 abode, and in 1840 he became a permanent 
 resident, being reckoned as one of the pioneers 
 of Jefferson township. He was a man of 
 notable industry, strict probity and strong- 
 character, and soon became a prominent and 
 influential citizen. In 1873 he surrendered 
 the management of the farm to his son and 
 retired from active work, to reside in the city 
 of Monroe, his son following him thither in 
 nine years. In 18S4 Air. Bridge set out for 
 California, but on reaching Denver, Colo., 
 suddenly sickened and died. His son was 
 with him, and also the latter's wife, who had 
 accompanied her husband and father-in-law 
 that far. Together they brought back the re- 
 mains to his former home, and with loving 
 care did they minister to his widow, taking 
 her to their home, where she passed away Oct. 
 30, 1899, her eighty-fifth year. 
 
 Joseph T. Bridge was born on his fa- 
 ther s farm in Jefferson township, Oct. 9, 
 1849, an d was the only one of six children to 
 live beyond the years of childhood. He in- 
 herited the property of his father, and with 
 it as a basis, and with unwearying industry 
 as well as wise financial management, he ac- 
 cumulated a handsome competence. Five years 
 before his death he built a charming home, 
 and at that time apparently had before him 
 the prospect of a long and honored life. In 
 the spring of 1893. however, he was attacked 
 by an incurable malady, which baffled all ef- 
 forts for relief, and died on the morning of 
 Aug. 19. of that year, deeply and widely 
 mourned. 
 
 Joseph T. Bridge deserves more than a 
 passing notice in the Commemorative Record 
 of Southern Wisconsin. Born here soon after 
 
392 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the organization of Wisconsin as a State, the 
 son of a pioneer, his whole life, although com- 
 paratively brief, was passed in the immediate 
 vicinity of the place of his birth. He was not 
 prominently identified with public life, as he 
 never sought office, although he served most 
 acceptably in the city council. As a citizen 
 he was beloved and respected for his kindness 
 of heart and unassuming manner. He was 
 a man of sterling integrity, and conscientious 
 in all he did and said, in either public or 
 private life, ever aiming to be governed by 
 Christian principles. In short, he was a man 
 who believed in right living, in being just to 
 his fellow man, and honorable in all things. 
 
 On Dec. 22, 1874, Mr. Bridge was mar- 
 ried to Miss Anna Hosier, of Kansas City, 
 Mo. Her parents, Evan Abram and Rachel 
 Hosier, came to Green county from Ohio 
 about 1850, removed to Missouri in i860, and 
 returned to Green county in 1864. Mr. Hosier, 
 who died there in 1866, was widely known, 
 influential and highly esteemed. He was a 
 man of superior education, and in the early 
 days of Green county was a successful teacher. 
 Mrs. Bridge is one of five children: Harri- 
 
 son, who has been for many years a resident 
 of Denver, Colo.; Sarah E., Mrs. Bolender, of 
 Monroe; Anna, Mrs. Bridge; and Abram and 
 George B., who have their homes in Kansas 
 City. It was there also that Mrs. Hosier died 
 in 1892. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Jo- 
 seph T. Bridge was blessed by the birth of one 
 son and two daughters : Burton ( a student 
 
 at the State University of Wisconsin), Ethel 
 and Daisy. 
 
 DUNCAN McGREGOR, M. A., Litt. d. 
 In this age of intellectual activity, when suc- 
 cess in the business world depends not upon 
 mere physical prowess, but also upon mental 
 activity, upon an ability to master the prin- 
 ciples and details of any enterprise, the work 
 of the educator has become of even greater im- 
 portance than ever before. Long occupying a 
 prominent rank among the educators of Wis- 
 consin is Dr. McGregor, the well-known presi- 
 dent of the 'Wisconsin State Normal School, 
 Platteville, Grant county, under whose leader- 
 ship that school has taken rank with the best 
 of its kind in the country. 
 
 A native of Scotland, our subject was born 
 in the Forest of Clunie, Parish of Clunie, 
 Perthshire, Aug. 12, 1836, son of Malcolm 
 
 and Catherine (Kennedy) McGregor. The 
 father was a farmer in prosperous circum- 
 stances while. in Scotland. Until fourteen 
 years of age our subject received instruction 
 in a private school, and then prepared for col- 
 lege at Perth Academy, one of the best schools 
 in Scotland, where he won several prizes in 
 drawing and English. He took his academic 
 course m the University and King’s College, 
 Aberdeen, where he spent three years, com- 
 pleting the junior year at that institution. 
 
 In June, 1857, Dr. McGregor came to 
 America, and located at Wausau, Wis., where 
 he engaged in lumbering and running on the 
 river for one year. In the fall of 1858 he took 
 charge of the school at Farmington, this State, 
 and remained there the three winters follow- 
 ing, serving one term as town superintendent 
 of the schools. For five years he was princi- 
 pal of the high school at Waupaca. Dr. Mc- 
 Gregor attended Lawrence University one 
 year, passed the examination, and received the 
 degree of A. B. He taught for a short time 
 thereafter, and then, in 1864, joined the Union 
 army, being chosen captain of his company, 
 which was mustered in as Company A, 42d 
 Wis. V. I. He served during the remainder 
 of the war, being engaged in provost duty on 
 the Mississippi river and its tributaries. His 
 military career ended, lie resumed teaching in 
 the high school of Waupaca, where he re- 
 mained until 1867, when, a year after its or- 
 ganization, he was appointed professor of 
 mathematics, teacher of methods and super- 
 visor of practice in the State Normal School 
 at Platteville, Wis. In 1878 Dr. McGregor 
 was elected president of that institution, which 
 responsible position he held uninterruptedly 
 for sixteen years, when, owing to a change in 
 the political complexion of the Board of Re- 
 gents, he was not re-elected, but was made pro- 
 fessor of pedagogy, while another was chosen 
 president. Having resigned his chair in 1895, 
 Dr. McGregor was again elected president, by 
 the unanimous vote of the Board, a grateful 
 testimonial to the ability and fidelity with 
 which he served the cause of education for so 
 many years. 
 
 The Wisconsin State Normal School was 
 established Oct. 9, 1866, with C. H. Allen, 
 now of San Jose, Cal., as principal. He held 
 that position four years, and was succeeded by 
 Edwin Charlton, who died at Brodhead, Wis., 
 in 1897. lie was president of the school eight 
 

 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 393 
 
 years, and was in turn succeeded by Dr. Mc- 
 Gregor, who held the office sixteen years. Dr. 
 James Chalmers was then president for three 
 years, at the end of which time Dr. McGregor 
 again took charge of affairs.- The institution 
 was first known as the Platteville Academy. 
 In 1853 a good building, 40x70 feet, was 
 erected, which was turned over to the State in 
 1866. It was then enlarged by a donation 
 from the State of $20,000, and Gen. Grant 
 assisted in its dedication. An addition, 40X 
 70 feet, was made in 1881, another addition, 
 50x90 feet, in 1891, so that the building is 
 now 200 feet long, while the south wing is 
 100 feet deep, and the north wing 90 feet deep, 
 and all two stories in height. It is built of 
 fine limestone, quarried at Platteville. Since 
 the school came under the control of the State 
 the attendance has increased from thirty to 
 three hundred, and the Faculty has been in- 
 creased from five to twenty-one, while the pay- 
 roll has been increased accordingly. The 
 school has a good physical and chemical lab- 
 oratory, and is doing a large amount of work 
 in biology and geology. 'The Doctor has pre- 
 pared a book on drawing, published by A. PL 
 Andrews, of Chicago. As an evidence of his 
 scholarly accomplishments Lawrence Univer- 
 sity has conferred upon him the degree of 
 Litt. D. 
 
 Dr. McGregor was married, Dec. 26, 1865, 
 to Miss Anna Bowman, and to them have been 
 born five children , Alice, Grace, Elizabeth, 
 and Jessica, all teachers, and graduates of 
 the State Normal; and Richard, still in 
 school. 
 
 Dr. McGregor has always been an earnest 
 advocate of Republican principles, but has 
 chosen to be only a private in the ranks of the 
 party, though in 1896 he was mentioned as a 
 most suitable person for nomination as gover- 
 nor on the Republican ticket. In religious be-^ 
 lief he is a Congregationalist. In Masonry 
 he has passed from the Blue Lodge to the Con- 
 sistory and Shrine ; has been a member of 
 Melody Lodge, F. & A. M., for several years; 
 has repeatedly served as high priest of Wash- 
 ington Chapter, R. A. M. : was grand high 
 priesffifWfhe" State two years ; committee on 
 correspondence of the Grand Lodge of Wis- 
 consin eight years ; a member of Commandery 
 No. 12, K. T., of Mineral Point; of M ilwau- 
 kee Consistory; and of the Mystic Shrine. 
 
 He has ever been an advocate of progress and 
 reform, and all that pertains to the public wel- 
 fare receives his hearty endorsement. 
 
 DANIEL TRUMA 1 is numbered among 
 the prosperous farmers of Woodman township, 
 Grant county, his broad acres showing the ef- 
 fect of careful, systematic cultivation, and his 
 substantial buildings bespeaking consideration 
 for his family and his stock. 
 
 Mr. Trumm was born in Bavaria, Ger- 
 many, in 1837, a son of Daniel and Catharine 
 (Dunt) Trumm, also natives of Germany, who 
 came to America, settling in Syracuse, N. \ ., 
 where the father died, while the mother passed 
 away in another portion of the same State. 
 To the parents of our subject five children 
 were born ; Catharine, Maggie, Elizabeth, Bar- 
 bara, and Daniel. 
 
 Our subject was fifteen years old when 
 his parents immigrated to this country, and 
 he resided at Syracuse until he was twenty- 
 two. Having decided to move further \\ est, 
 he came to Wisconsin, settling in Marion 
 township, Grant county, where he remained 
 until he purchased his present farm of 160 
 acres, then but partially improved. T his prop- 
 erty Air. Trumm has brought into a high state 
 of cultivation, and built substantial buildings 
 thereon, making of it a model farm. 
 
 During the Civil war Air. Trumm served 
 his country most bravely, enlisting in August, 
 1864, in Company C, 43d Wis. A". I., and 
 being mustered in at Milwaukee. Mr. Trumm 
 •was in the Army of the Potomac, did garrison 
 duty, and received an honorable discharge at 
 Nashville, Tenn. After receiving his pay as 
 a soldier, at Milwaukee, in 1865, he returned to 
 his home in Woodman township, where he has 
 since resided, turning his sword into a plough- 
 share. 
 
 Daniel Trumm married Miss Margaret 
 Schippener, in Syracuse, N. Y., and this es- 
 timable lady has borne him children as fol- 
 lows : Airs. Margaret Miller, of Marion town- 
 ship; Airs. Elizabeth Gilleland, of Fennimore; 
 Airs. Catharine Alartin, of Boscobel ; Daniel, 
 who is married, and is a resident of Water- 
 town; John, married, who resides in Hope- 
 ville, Iowa; Airs. Caroline Hagensick, of AIc- 
 Gregor, Iowa; Julius, who is married and liv- 
 ing- at home ; Louise, at home ; Airs. Annie 
 Wellner, of Alarion ; Jacob, married, and liv- 
 
394 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ing at home; and Mrs. Julia Wellner, of Ma- 
 rion. 
 
 Having served in the Civil war, our sub- 
 ject naturally takes an interest in the G. A. 
 R., and is a member of the post at Boscobel. 
 Air. i'rumm has seen the township grow dur- 
 ing his many years’ residence in Woodman, 
 and has assisted materially in its development. 
 He and his wife are very pleasant people, and 
 are highly esteemed by a large circle of ac- 
 quaintances and friends. 
 
 JOHN CLEMENS, a retired merchant, 
 and one of the wealthy residents of the city 
 of Cuba, is well known throughout Grant 
 county as a thoroughly reliable man, and one 
 well worthy the esteem of his fellow towns- 
 men. By his own industry and thrift he has 
 gained a comfortable competence, and is now 
 enjoying the result of his efforts in peace and 
 plenty. 
 
 Mr. Clemens was born on a farm in Grant 
 county, near Cuba, in June, 1849, a son °t 
 Christopher and Annie (Tripp) Clemens, who 
 were born, reared and married in Cornwall, 
 England. Christopher Clemens came to Grant 
 county, Wis., in 1842, and engaged in mining 
 two years. He then went to the island of 
 Cuba, where he engaged in the copper mines, 
 owned and operated by a company of Ameri- 
 cans, for five years. From Cuba he went to 
 England, was married, immigrated to Grant 
 county, and worked in the lead mines until 
 1849. At that time he started across the 
 Plains to California, remained one year, and 
 returned to Grant county. After a short time 
 he again set out for the gold fields, and worked 
 in the mines of California for a short time. 
 He then formed one of a company which went 
 to California, thence to Vancouver, this 
 company making the first trail to the 
 Fraser river known to white men. Here 
 Air. Clemens was very successful, panning 
 out a large quantity of gold, but his heart 
 yearned for his loved ones, and as soon 
 as he felt he had secured a sufficient amount 
 he finally returned to Wisconsin, where he 
 purchased 400 acres of land, all in one 
 piece, in i860. This property, located near 
 Cuba, is now one of the finest farms in 
 Grant county. After working upon the farm 
 for a number of years Mr. Clemens finally re- 
 tired, locating in Cuba. The following year 
 he and his wife made a trip to England, visit- 
 
 ing among their friends, and soon after their 
 return, in 1876, she died. Later Mr. Clemens 
 remarried, and he resided in Cuba until the 
 day of his death, in 1894, when he was eighty 
 years of age. Six children were born of his 
 first union: John. William, born in Grant 
 
 county, married Miss Grace Bowden, of Grant 
 county, and settled on the old Clemens home- 
 stead, where he and this wife both died in 
 1894, leaving six children. Albert, born in 
 Grant county, married Miss Rena Wills, and 
 settled on a part of his father’s farm, where 
 he died, leaving a wife and one son, Albert. 
 Samuel, born in Grant county, married Afiss 
 Lizzie Wills, and now resides in Cuba City; 
 he owns a part of the home farm in Hazel 
 Green township (they have no family). Mary 
 A., born in Grant county, died in 1876, while 
 yet a young lady, at the old homestead. Na- 
 omi, born in Grant county, married Lester 
 Jackson, now resides on a portion of the old 
 homestead, and has two sons. All of the 
 family have been, and are now, a credit to the 
 worthy parents. 
 
 Our subject grew to manhood on the old 
 home farm, received a district-school educa- 
 tion, and later a thorough business course. In 
 1869 he purchased 160 acres of farm land, 
 adjoining the city of Cuba, and he also owns 
 a large farm in Hazel Green township, having 
 in all over 400 acres of the best farm land 
 to be found in Grant county, if not in the 
 United States. Since 1881 Mr. Clemens has 
 resided in Cuba, engaged in the general mer- 
 chandise, live stock and grain business, until 
 December. 1898, when he retired from active 
 life. Having erected a fine residence, in 1888, 
 in Cuba, the family reside in this modern, 
 comfortable home. In addition to his farms 
 and residence Mr. Clemens owns a large 
 amount of real estate in Cuba, including four 
 houses and a modern equipped creamery, which 
 he rents. 
 
 In 1869 Mr. Clemens married Miss Sarah 
 Nichols, daughter of Isaac and Jane Nichols, 
 prominent pioneers of Grant county, who came 
 from England at a very early date in the 
 history of Wisconsin. Mrs. Clemens was born 
 in 1855, and was educated in the schools of 
 the home neighborhood. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Clemens five children have been born : Mabel 
 J. died when twelve years of age. Clinton died 
 in March. 1896, aged eight. Laura, born in 
 Cuba City, in June, 1872, educated in the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 395 
 
 schools of Cuba, was married in 1889 to Sam- 
 uel Stephens, agent and operator for tlhe Chi- 
 cago & Northwestern railroad at Cuba, where 
 they reside; they have two children, Freddie 
 and Dwight. John A., born in August, 1874. 
 grew up on the farm, and in 1900 married 
 Miss Bessie Smalley, of Cuba, daughter of 
 Daniel Smalley, postmaster at that city. C. 
 C., born in Cuba in May, 1881, is single, and 
 resides at the old homestead. 
 
 Politically Mr. Clemens has always been 
 identified with the Republican party, serving 
 as a member of the Smelser town board for 
 fifteen years; also as member of the city coun- 
 cil ; member and treasurer of the school board ; 
 as well as in other local offices, in all of which 
 he performed his duties in a manner most ac- 
 ceptable to the public. Mr. and Mrs. Clemens 
 are active workers in the M. E. Church, to- 
 ward which he is a liberal supporter. Being- 
 identified with the best interests of the city, 
 Mr. Clemens holds a very enviable position 
 among his fellow townsmen, and is as pop- 
 ular as he is deservedly respected. 
 
 JAMES NELSON DAVIS. Among the 
 esteemed citizens and wealthy retired farmers 
 of Clarno township, Green county, may be 
 mentioned James N. Davis, who makes his 
 home in the handsome residence erected on his 
 large farm, just two miles south of Monroe. 
 
 Mr. Davis was born Oct. 26, 1827, a son 
 of David and Mary (Woodle) Davis, and is 
 in the strictest sense of the word a self-made 
 man, so far as his financial acquirements are 
 concerned. He was brought to Wisconsin in 
 youth by his parents, and received his educa- 
 tion in the little log school house near his 
 home. He gradually acquired his fine prop- 
 erty, his home farm now consisting of nearly 
 500 acres of well-tilled fields. His entire life 
 has been a temperate one, and he has never 
 tasted whiskey nor used tobacco in any form 
 - — a fine example, worthy of emulation. Of 
 lofty ideals, a high sense of honor, of un- 
 tarnished reputation, he is a citizen of which 
 any community might well be proud. In 
 politics he is a stanch Republican, and he has 
 held the offices of school director, chairman 
 of Decatur township, supervisor of Clarno 
 township, giving to the duties of each the 
 same careful, close attention he gave to his 
 private affairs, and proving himself a most 
 acceptable official. In religious belief he is 
 
 a consistent member of the Baptist Church at 
 Juda, Wisconsin. 
 
 On March 17, 1851, Mr. Davis was mar- 
 ried to Miss Elizabeth Roderick, daughter of 
 Andrew and Lydia Roderick, early settlers of 
 Green county. To this union came ten chil- 
 dren, as follows: Lydia, Allies O., Aura, 
 
 Eva J.. Lucinda R., Austin C., Frank, Nora, 
 and Edith J. and Edna M. (twins). Four 
 died in 1871, within six weeks, and those now 
 surviving are Lydia, Aura, Eva J., Lucinda 
 R. and Austin C. Mr. and Mrs. Davis also 
 reared an adopted son, Frank, now a dentist 
 at Brodhead, Wis. Mrs. Davis, who was born 
 in 1825, died April 29, 1895, a faithful fol- 
 lower of the teachings of the Baptist Church. 
 
 David Davis, father of James N. Davis, 
 was a son of James Davis, and was a native 
 of Pennsylvania, of Welsh descent. He came 
 to Green county in 1838, settling in the town 
 of Spring Grove, thus becoming one of the 
 very early settlers of the county. He was 
 born May 6, 1793. and died Feb. 17, 1882. 
 He married (first) Polly Ross, who bore him 
 three children: Joshua, deceased; A T ancy, 
 
 widow of Alfred Baremore, of Juda; and 
 Keziah, widow of J. W. Kildow, of Spring- 
 Grove township. For his second wife he mar- 
 ried, on Nov. 22, 1822, Mary Woodle. who 
 was born in Fayette county, Penn., Feb. 9, 
 1804, and died Feb. 17, 1871. She was of 
 Scotch lineage. Their family of sons were 
 eleven in number, namely: Thomas, born Sept. 
 2, 1824; James N., mentioned above; David, 
 born Nov. 22, 1829; Joel J. P., Jan. 8, 1832; 
 Samuel, March 8, 1834; William, Nov. 25, 
 1836; Doctor E., Aug. 12, 1S39; Zachariah 
 P., June 2, 1841; Joseph J., Nov. 18. 1S43; 
 John 0 .. May 26, 1848; and Levi G.. Dec. 1, ■ 
 1850. Four are still living, James N. ; Sam- 
 uel, of near Hampton, Iowa; Doctor E.. near 
 Brodhead, in Rock county; and David, in 
 Clarno township. 
 
 JOHN EDGAR FUNK, of the township 
 of Monticello, is one of the oldest native- 
 born residents of Lafayette county, where his 
 birth occurred April 10, 1829. 
 
 Benjamin Funk, his father, was born in 
 the State of West Virginia Nov. 19, 1798, 
 son of a surgeon in the Revolutionary army, 
 •whose father was a. native of Germany. Ben- 
 jamin Funk left his native State in his youth, 
 and went to Ohio. The news of the golden 
 
396 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 opportunities in the lead mines of Missouri 
 lured him thither, and there he remained some 
 time. On April 14, 1828, he arrived at 
 
 Gratiot's Grove, Lafayette Co., Wis., where he 
 engaged in farming and stock raising, this 
 being his occupation during the remainder of 
 his life. His first settlement was on the 
 Southeast Quarter of Section 30, in Monti- 
 cello township. For some time after coming 
 to Wisconsin he was in partnership with his 
 brother-in-law, Thomas Wiley, but they finally 
 separated their interests, Mr. Wiley taking the 
 land upon which they were located, and Mr. 
 Funk a tract on Section 27. This was his 
 home at the time of his death, in September, 
 1851. The event was most unexpected. He 
 and his wife were on a journey to visit the 
 latter's relatives, who lived near Springfield, 
 111 ., when Mr. Funk suddenly became ill and 
 passed away. During his residence in Mis- 
 souri Mr. Funk met and married Miss Cath- 
 erine Wiley, who died in 1838, and for his 
 second wife he wedded Mrs. Nancy Black, 
 who passed away in 1897. Four children were 
 horn of the first marriage : Harriet, Airs. 
 
 Ivleeberger, a widow, residing near Apple 
 River, Ills. ; Alary, Mrs. Rundle, also a 
 widow, residing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; 
 John Edgar ; and Alonzo A., of Inde- 
 pendence, Ivans. To the second marriage 
 was born one son, Sidney, who grew to 
 manhood, and has since passed away. Ben- 
 jamin Funk was a well-known and highly re- 
 spected citizen, industrious and progressive. 
 He was a most valuable man in the new com- 
 munity, and possessing' no inconsiderable 
 knowledge of medicine, to the study of which 
 he gave close attention, he was often called to 
 .treat the sick among the early settlers. His 
 kindness and benevolence endeared him to all 
 who knew him. In his political views he was 
 a Whig, of strong anti-slavery sentiments. 
 He was one of those men to whose death a 
 community finds it hard to become reconciled. 
 
 John Edgar Funk is now the only member 
 of the family residing in Lafayette county, 
 which has always been his home. In his boy- 
 hood days he assisted upon his father's farm, 
 and attended such schools as were provided in 
 those early days. He never attended a school 
 taught in a regular school house, as his edu- 
 cation was received before the establishment 
 of schools in the neighborhood, the first he 
 attended being a private school taught in his 
 
 father’s house. In 1849 Mr. Funk went to 
 California, being one of the first company that 
 went overland to the newly discovered land 
 of gold. It was quite an event to go to the 
 Pacific coast a half a century and more ago. 
 Llis company left Council Bluffs March 16, 
 and camped in the Sacramento Valley Oct. 1, 
 following. Our subject did well in the mines 
 there, remaining until the spring of 1852, 
 when he returned to Wisconsin, and has since 
 been engaged in farming. He purchased part 
 of his present farm when he returned from 
 California, and has made that place 'his home. 
 
 On Dec. 14, 1852, Air. Funk was united in 
 marriage with Aliss Sophronia Dimmick, 
 daughter of Lot and Mary Ann Dimmick, and 
 six children have blessed their union : Dr. 
 
 Zalmon E., of Cripple Creek, Colo. ; Norman 
 A., a merchant of Clay county, Iowa ; George 
 H., an attorney of Olympia, Wash.; Ernest, a 
 resident of Chicago; Adelaide S., wife of Prof. 
 A. J. Volland, principal of the high school at 
 Grand Rapids, Mich. ; and Mary A., wife of 
 George H. Goodrich, a merchant at Anoka, 
 Minn. Mr. Funk has always been on the side 
 of progress, and has taken an active interest 
 in public affairs. He cast his first vote in 
 1 S56, John C. Fremont being his choice among 
 the Presidential candidates that year, and his 
 last vote was cast for William McKinley, in 
 1900, making it evident that in his political 
 affiliations he has been constant to the Repub- 
 lican party. 
 
 DWIGHT FLOWER, AI. D. The pro- 
 gressive and pleasant town of Monticello, 
 Green county, has among its prominent citi- 
 zens a man of deep learning and successful 
 practice in his profession of physician and sur- 
 geon — Dr. Dwight Flower, the efficient health 
 officer of Afonticello. 
 
 Dr. Flower was born in Rupert, Vt., Jan. 
 4, 1839, a son of Roswell and Phoebe Ann 
 (Peck) Flower, both of whom were natives 
 of V ermont. They reared a family of four 
 children, two sons and two daughters, three 
 of whom are living: Dr. Dwight, our sub- 
 
 ject; Esther, who is the wife of George Cruik- 
 s'hank, of Humboldt, Iowa ; and Ellen, who is 
 the wife of John B. Scott, of Forest Grove, 
 Oregon. The paternal grandfather of our 
 subject, Roswell Flower, was a native of 
 Massachusetts. When but a boy he went 
 from his home in Feeding Hills, that State, 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 397 
 
 to Vermont, and located in Rupert township, 
 Bennington county, where he engaged in 
 farming, dying there on his old farm, which 
 was afterward the property of his son Ros- 
 well. The great-grandfather had moved from 
 Wethersfield, Conn., to Feeding Hills, Mass., 
 where he died. * The maternal grandfather of 
 our subject was Thomas Peck, a native of 
 Vermont, of Scottish descent, and a farmer 
 by occupation. About 1856 he came to Wis- 
 consin, where for many years he was a man 
 of affairs, being elected selectman and justice 
 of the peace for a number of terms. His 
 death occurred in Dane county, this State, in 
 1865, when he was in his seventy-fifth year. 
 
 The father of our subject was a farmer by 
 occupation. In 1857 he moved from Ver- 
 mont to Iowa, settling at Humboldt, where 
 he pre-empted a claim of 160 acres and pur- 
 chased the adjoining 160, and this has ever 
 since been the old family home. There Mr. 
 Flower’s last days were passed, and he died 
 in 1898, at the age of eighty-nine. Mrs. 
 Flower died there in 1890, aged seventy-six. 
 Both were devout members of the Christian 
 Church, in which he was a deacon. For a 
 number of years he had served as town clerk 
 in Humboldt county. 
 
 Dwight Flower, the subject proper of our 
 sketch, lived in Bennington county, Vt.. until 
 he had reached the age of seventeen, receiv- 
 ing his early education there, in the common 
 schools. In the fall of 1856 he left Vermont 
 and entered the Western Reserve Eclectic In- 
 stitute, now Hiram College, where he pursued 
 his studies for two terms, leaving to accom- 
 pany the family on the removal to Iowa. 
 After locating at liumboldt Dr. Flower learn- 
 ed something of the practical side of pioneer 
 life by opening up a farm, building a house, 
 fencing the lands, and hauling rails, contin- 
 uing this active life until i860, when he en- 
 tered Antioch College, at Yellow Springs, 
 Ohio. In the summer of 1863 he left there 
 in order to enter Union College, at Schenec- 
 tady, N. Y., whence he graduated in 1864, 
 immediately entering the Medical Department 
 of the same institution, which is located at 
 Albany, N. Y. After graduating at Albany, 
 in 1866, Dr. Flower took a course of lectures 
 in New York City, later teaching school a 
 short time in Schenectady. Crossing the 
 ocean to Heidelberg, Germany, he visited the 
 hospitals there, studying methods and various 
 
 forms of disease, with their care and cure. 
 From this center he went to Berlin, where a 
 year was profitably spent in the hospitals of 
 that great and enlightened city. Four months 
 were passed in a similar life in Vienna, at the 
 end of which time Dr. Flower turned his face 
 to his native land, well ecpupped for the in- 
 telligent practice of his chosen profession. 
 To his credit be it said, he started college 
 without a cent, and paid the expenses of his 
 college and medical school courses by teach- 
 ing and other work, teaching in all six terms, 
 no two in succession, during his career at col- 
 lege and medical school. 
 
 Upon reaching home Dr. Flower decided 
 to locate at Fort Dodge, Iowa, and remained 
 there about one and one-half years, coming- 
 then to Wisconsin, and settling at Arena for 
 the two succeeding years. On Jan. 1, 1875, 
 he located in Monticello, where he has re- 
 mained ever since, building up a fine practice, 
 and gaining continually in the esteem of the 
 community. For many years he has been the 
 town's efficient health officer, his success in 
 this line being attested by the remarkable san- 
 itary condition in which the village is kept. 
 
 Dr. Flower was married Oct. 23, 1879, to 
 Miss Kate L. Roser, a daughter of Henry and 
 Theresa (Seiler) Roser, of Platteville, Wis., 
 and a family of eight children have been born 
 of this union. Roswell S.. who died at the 
 age of thirteen months ; Zella, who died at the 
 ' age of four years and ten months ; Roswell 
 C., who died at the age of two years and seven 
 months ; Dwight, who is a student at River 
 Falls, Wis.; Gretchen; Charlene; Rupert; and 
 Jeane. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Flower was born in 
 Hesse-Darmstadt, and her mother in Alsace, 
 France. Their living children are: Kate L., 
 
 wife of our subject; Henry H., who resides 
 in Denver, Colo. ; and Emil B., who lives in 
 Wellington, Ivans., the father residing there 
 with him. Mrs. Roser died in 1893, aged 
 seventy-one years. Mr. Roser was a soldier 
 in Germany in 1848, coming to America about 
 1850. 
 
 Politically Dr. Flower is an Independent, 
 not agreeing with the tenets of any of the par- 
 ties before the public. With his large and in- 
 creasing practice, the Doctor still takes an ac- 
 tive interest in all that pertains to the advance- 
 ment of Monticello, and to his intelligent 
 supervision may be attributed the escape of 
 
39 ^ 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 this pleasant place from all prevailing epidem- 
 ics. A close student, he is well aware of all 
 modern inventions, and makes use of the same 
 in his practice. Dr. Flower is a representative 
 citizen of Monticello, and no record of Green 
 county would be complete without mention of 
 his name. 
 
 MRS. MARGARET WITHROW, who 
 has won a good name and a standing as a busi- 
 ness woman and manager of a farm in the 
 town of Paris, Grant county, was born in 
 Sangamon county, 111 ., in October, 1849. 
 
 Mrs. Withrow’s parents, John and Lucinda 
 (Rister)- Wilson, were natives of Pennsyl- 
 vania, and settlers in the part of Illinois men- 
 tioned. They came to Wisconsin at a very 
 early day, lived for a time in the town of 
 Harrison, Grant county, and then bought a 
 farm west of Dickeysville, on which they 
 passed the remaining years of their lives. Mrs. 
 Wilson died at this home in 1877, and Mr. 
 Wilson lived to April, 1900, attaining a very 
 great age. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson reared a 
 family of seven children, all of whom are liv- 
 ing: Margaret, Mrs. Withrow, the eldest; 
 
 David, a retired farmer of the town of Paris ; 
 John, who lives in Lyons, Minn.; Jacob, a 
 farmer in Minnesota; Tabitha, Mrs. Henry 
 Hatfield, of Madison, A \ is. ; William, who 
 lives in Minnesota ; and Henry, who is engaged 
 in farming in that State. 
 
 Margaret Wilson obtained her education 
 in the Dickeysville school. In 1870 she mar- 
 ried John Withrow, of Grant county, who was 
 the son of William and Martha Withrow, old 
 settlers in their town. John Withrow was 
 born in Potosi, Grant county, in June, 1841, 
 enlisted in Company I, 25th Wis. V. I., and 
 served until discharged for disability, in 1864. 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Withrow 
 lived on a farm near LeMars, Iowa, for about 
 a year, when it was sold, and the present home 
 of the family in the town of Paris was pur- 
 chased. There Mr. Withrow died in Janu- 
 ary. 1890, leaving his wife with seven children 
 living: ( 1) Julia, born in the town of Paris 
 
 in 1873, was for a time a student in the Platte- 
 ville Normal. She married Milton Varnnetta, 
 and they have two children, Lester and Bertha, 
 d hey live in the town of Cornelia. (2) Frank, 
 born in 1874, is single, and lives at home. 
 ( 3) Minnie, born in 1876, is the wife of Burt 
 Rider, of the town of Harrison. (4) Hattie, 
 
 born in January, 1878, was educated in the 
 home schools, and is living at home. (5) 
 John, born in 1880, is at home, as are (6) 
 George, born in July, 1882, and (7) Walter, 
 who was born in 1884. 
 
 Since the death of her husband Mrs. With- 
 row has continued on the fahn, keeping her 
 family together, and displaying much business 
 ability, i he farm has been greatly improved 
 under her management. In 1897 she erected 
 a large bank barn, and in the summer of 1900 
 a hue modern house, erected on the founda- 
 tions of the old home, which was consumed 
 by fire May 3, of that year. Mr. Withrow 
 was a Democrat, and a member of the Con- 
 gregational Church, as is also his widow. Mrs. 
 Withrow is a highly respected lady in the 
 community. Her parents were fine people, and 
 socially the entire family are ranked among 
 the best in the town. 
 
 WILLIAM H. CALVERT is a retired 
 miner and farmer of Benton, Lafayette coun- 
 ty, where his venerable age and long and use- 
 ful career demand and receive the respect of 
 the community. 
 
 Mr. Calvert was born in Yorkshire, Eng- 
 land, March 9, 1815, a son of William and 
 Mary (Harker) Calvert, farming people, both 
 of whom were born and bred in Yorkshire. 
 Five of their six sons came to this country, 
 (1) William PL, who came in 1839, being the 
 first to emigrate. Jackson, Jonathan, Thomas 
 and Simon came later. James Calvert, the 
 youngest of the six, still resides in England, 
 now aged seventy-two years. (2) Jackson 
 Calvert spent a few years in the mines of 
 Wisconsin, and in 1851 crossed the Plains to 
 California, where he was married to Isabella 
 Layton, a native of London, England. He is 
 still living, in Nevada City, that State. (3) 
 Jonathan Calvert settled in McGregor, Iowa, 
 where he died in 1898, leaving a widow and 
 six children, William, John, Edward, May 
 (Airs. Ben Corkett), Mary (Mrs. Cole), 
 and Etta (Airs. Utter). (4) Thomas Calvert 
 died in McGregor, Iowa, unmarried. (5) 
 Simon Calvert was married in England, came 
 to this country, and settled in Benton, where 
 lie followed cabinet making. He died March 
 8, 1901. 
 
 William H. Calvert obtained his education 
 in the school of his native community, where 
 his early life was spent, and in 1839 crossed 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 359 
 
 the ocean in the sailing-vessel “Columbia," 
 commanded by Capt. Collins, making the jour- 
 ney from Liverpool to New York in twenty- 
 one days, then rapid transit. From New York 
 he went to Buffalo by the Hudson and Erie 
 canal, and from there journeyed by the lakes 
 to Chicago, from which city the way was by 
 wagon and foot to Galena. Eighteen young 
 men agreed to come through to the mines of 
 Wisconsin. When Mr. Calvert arrived at 
 Galena he had only twenty-five cents, and he 
 pawned his jack-knife to pay his fare across 
 the Mississippi river. Our subject is the only 
 one of these eighteen young men now living. 
 In Wisconsin he began his career as a miner, 
 and was engaged in that capacity for ten years, 
 during which period he purchased land ad- 
 joining the town of Benton, where he erected 
 his present home. When he came to this 
 State there was not a white woman in the lo- 
 cality, and the company had to “batch” it for 
 a long time. Our subject's first cabin was of 
 rock and sod. Mr. Calvert has dealt largely 
 in real estate since coming to Wisconsin, with 
 most satisfactory results, and is one of the 
 more prosperous and well-to-do citizens of the 
 county. 
 
 In the fall of 1848 Mr. Calvert went back 
 to England, and on Jan. 30, following, was 
 married to Miss Jane Alton, of Yorkshire, a 
 daughter of William and Easter (Cotting- 
 ham) Alton. Mrs. Calvert was born Dec. 28, 
 1826, and received a good education. Fler 
 parents came to America in 1861, and settled 
 in the town of Benton, where her father died 
 six years after his arrival ; her mother lived 
 until 1875. Of their family four daughters 
 are still living. ( 1 ) Henrietta, who died 
 March 16, 1886, was the wife of James Blades, 
 of Benton; (2) Jane is the wife of our sub- 
 ject; (3) John died in England; (4) Ellen 
 is the wife of Miles Cottingham ; (^) Mary 
 A., deceased wife of Alexander Stevens; (6) 
 Margaret, deceased wife of Thomas Beck; 
 (/) Elizabeth, wife of John Beck (she lives 
 in Benton) ; (8) Esther, widow of Will iam 
 Kay, of Cuba City; (9) Joseph; (10) Reuben; 
 ( 1 1 ) Anthony died in Benton. Mr. Calvert 
 brought his wife to this country, and installed 
 her in the home which he had prepared for her, 
 and in which they have lived to celebrate their 
 Pearl, and Golden Weddings. They have 
 1 eared a family of fourteen children: (1) 
 
 Mary Ellen, deceased, became the wife of 
 
 George Peart, of Aspen, Colo., and the mother 
 of six children, Leona (Mrs. Wayne Wat- 
 kins, of Colorado), Joseph William, Isabella 
 Calvert, Phyllis, Phoebe Carrie, and Elenore 
 Jane. (2) Easter Ann, born in Benton, is 
 unmarried, and is living at home. (3) Will- 
 iam Alton is single, and lives at home. (4) 
 John Metcalfe married Miss Ella Josephine 
 Cheney, of South Wayne, Wis., and settled 
 on a farm near Fennimore, where his wife 
 died in 1887, leaving him with two children, 
 William H. and Cheney James, who are in 
 the home of their grandparents. On account 
 of his health John M. Calvert went to Colo- 
 rado, where he died in 1895. (5) Henrietta 
 
 is the wife of John Bunt, of Fremont, Neb., 
 where he is engaged in carriage manufactur- 
 ing. I hey have three children, Mary Ann, 
 Jane Alton, and Gladys Percilla. (6) James 
 Jackson Buchanan married Miss Mary Emily 
 Emerson, of Lafayette county, and resides on 
 a farm joining his father’s. They have three 
 children, Isabella Maud,, Mary Moody and Em- 
 ily Winniefred. ( 7) Isabella Jane died when a 
 young lady, in 1884. (8) Margaret Elizabeth 
 
 is unmarried, and lives at home. She was 
 educated in the home schools, and possesses 
 that culture and refinement which character- 
 ize all the members of the family. (9) Caro- 
 line Milner is the wife of Jacob Miller, and 
 lives at West Superior, Wis. ; they have a 
 family of five children, Eva Jane, John Jacob, 
 Caroline Calvert, Wilhelmina Victoria and 
 William Calvert. (10) George Thomas was 
 married to Esther Grieves Blades, and lives 
 on a farm in the town of Benton, where he 
 has a family of five daughters, Ida Myrtella, 
 Henrietta Alton, Ella Josephine, Elizabeth 
 Golden and Jane Alton. (11) Sarah Johanna 
 is the wife of George Hunsaker, of Fennimore. 
 (12) Reuben Harker was married to Mae A. 
 Joslyn, daughter of Rev. Mr. Joslyn, of this 
 State, and they have one daughter, Charlotte 
 Joslyn. They reside on the homestead of his 
 father. (13) Joseph Simon and (14) Melvina 
 Arabella both died in infancy. 
 
 All the family are either members of the 
 Methodist Church or closely associated with 
 it. Mr. Calvert has been an active member 
 of that body for forty-five years, and was in- 
 strumental in its founding. In his politics 
 Mr. Calvert was a Democrat for years, but he 
 is now a Prohibitionist, as are also his sons. 
 He has held the office of justice of the peace, 
 
400 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 has served on the school board, and filled sev- 
 eral other local positions. 
 
 Mr. Calvert is one of the oldest pioneers 
 of the county, and came to these regions at 
 a very early day. He has maintained a good 
 character, worked hard, been thrifty and 
 frugal, and is now able to give free play to 
 his generous feelings. He has many friends, 
 and is known as especially warm-hearted to- 
 ward the erring and the unfortunate. He has 
 a smile and a hearty hand-shake for all, with- 
 out regard to their wealth or social standing. 
 He is the ideal of his family, and is highly 
 regarded in the community. 
 
 JAMES MILES and JOHN F. MILES, 
 highly respected retired farmers and money- 
 loaners of Platteville, Grant county, are na- 
 tives of Chester county, Penn., the latter born 
 in 1829. Their parents, William and Hannah 
 (Pinkerton) Miles, also natives of Chester 
 county, reared as farming people, moved 
 thence to Lancaster county, Penn., purchased 
 a farm, and there passed the remainder of 
 their lives. Of the seven children born to 
 them, three died in the East, and four came 
 West, viz. : Sarah, Louisa, James, and John 
 
 Franklin. For a short time these four re- 
 mained in Ohio, and then came to Platteville, 
 arriving there April 25, 1846. At that time 
 Platteville was a small mining village, the en- 
 tire section being underlaid with lead ore. 
 They reached this point by coming down the 
 Ohio river and up the Mississippi, by steam- 
 boat, to Galena, 111 ., and then across country 
 by team, and here they all lived under one 
 roof, the circle being unbroken until the death 
 of Sarah, in 1895. 
 
 On first reaching Platteville James and 
 John F. worked at coopering, in conjunction 
 with farming, having purchased sixty acres 
 of land, which they afterward increased to 
 300. Later the two brothers opened an office 
 in the town, loaned money on real-estate se- 
 curity, and greatly prospered. They are now 
 among the very wealthy men of the county, 
 owning considerable property in the city of 
 Platteville and elsewhere, and in the city own 
 one of the finest homes on Pine street. The 
 four members of the family who came to Wis- 
 consin clung together in one family. Neither 
 of the sisters married, and Louisa still keeps 
 house for the two brothers. 
 
 In religion the Miles sisters and the brother 
 
 James united with the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, to which they have liberally contrib- 
 uted of their means on all occasions. In 1900 
 the "Miles M. E. Sunday-school Library of 
 Platteville" was established by this family, they 
 putting in $500 cash as a sinking fund. In poli- 
 tics both of the brothers have affiliated with the 
 Republican party, but have never been very 
 active in political affairs. 
 
 The Miles family came to Wisconsin when 
 it was a Territory, but were comfortably sit- 
 uated from the start, and escaped many of the 
 hardships which their pioneer neighbors en- 
 dured. They were always honest, industrious 
 and frugal, and have ever enjoyed the respect 
 and good-will of their neighbors. While 
 they were engaged in a business which often 
 tends to harden man’s heart toward his neigh- 
 bor, they have never been known to oppress 
 the poor, and many a man who is now pros- 
 perous and comfortable owes his success in 
 life to their assistance and support in days of . 
 necessity and trouble. 
 
 AARON SMITH. Among the prominent 
 residents of Albany, Green county, who assist 
 in making up the substantial framework of so- 
 cial and commercial life in the pleasant vil- 
 lage, is Aaron Smith, the subject of this sketch, 
 who is also a veteran of the Civil war. He 
 was born in Adams, Jefferson Co., N. Y., on 
 Dec. 17, 1826. 
 
 The paternal grandfather was Aaron 
 Smith, a native of Vermont, of English de- 
 scent, who took an honorable part in the war 
 of 1812, was a farmer b}^ occupation, and 
 reared a family of six children. The ma- 
 ternal grandfather was named Isaac Rodgers, 
 who was a native of Rhode Island, who com- 
 bined the trades of farmer, blacksmith, shoe- 
 maker, miller and general mechanic. Flis 
 death occurred in Jefferson county, N. Y., at 
 the age of eighty-eight, having reared a fam- 
 ily of eleven children. 
 
 Lewis Smith, son of Adam, and father of 
 our subject, was a native of Vermont. He 
 married Olive Rodgers, of Rensselaer coun- 
 ty, N. Y., and they had one son and three 
 daughters, two of whom are still living, Car- 
 oline, the wife of Silas Curtis, of Jefferson 
 county, and Aaron, our subject. Lewis Smith 
 was always a farmer, but served his country 
 during the war of 1812, dying in Jefferson 
 county, N. Y., on March 30, 1872, at the age 
 
JOHH F. MILES 
 
 JAMES MILES 
 
 
 LOUISA MILES 
 
 SARAH MILES 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 401 
 
 of seventy-five. His wife died in April, 1876. 
 aged sixty-nine, both of them having" been de- 
 voted members of the Methodist Church for 
 many years. 
 
 Aaron Smith, our subject, was reared on 
 the farm in Jefferson county, and lived at 
 home, attending the common schools, matur- 
 ing into a fine specimen of young manhood. 
 On his twentieth birthday, Dec. 17, 1846, he 
 was married to Miss Helen M. Dennie, a 
 daughter of Michael and Catherine (Knapp) 
 Dennie, and six children were born of this' 
 union : Josephine, who married Edward 
 
 Shepardson, now deceased, resides in Belle- 
 vue, Ohio ; Charles, who died, aged seven ; 
 Olive, who married the late William Caple, 
 lives in Magnolia, Rock Co., Wis., and has 
 three children, Elma, Helen and John; Flor- 
 ence, who married Henry Hickathier, resides 
 at Evansville, Wis. ; Kate, who died, aged a 
 little over two; Lewis A. married Ida Milks, 
 resides on the old home farm at Magnolia, and 
 has two children, Neva and Sarah. 
 
 In i860 Mr. Smith, with his, wife and all 
 the children except one, came West to Wiscon- 
 sin, landing at Milwaukee. The same day 
 they started for Janesville, soon after deciding 
 to buy a farm in Rock township, Rock coun- 
 ty, where they remained only a short time. 
 Mr. Smith then bought a farm of eighty acres 
 in Magnolia township, to which he added, as 
 his means permitted, until he owned an estate 
 of 240 acres, upon which he lived until March, 
 1897,, when he removed to the village of Al- 
 bany, selling the farm, with the exception of 
 eighty acres, to his son Lewis. 
 
 O11 Dec. 18, 1861, Mr. Smith enlisted in 
 Company E, 3d Wis. V. C., in which he served 
 through the Civil war, until February, 186s, 
 when he was mustered out in Madison. Mr. 
 Smith entered the army as a private, but was 
 promoted to sergeant. One of the greatest 
 battles in which he was engaged was that of 
 Prairie Grove, Ark. After the war he re- 
 turned to the paths of peace, although the 
 events of those years can no more be effaced 
 from memory than can a grateful country for- 
 get her defenders. 
 
 The parents of Mrs. Smith were natives of 
 New York. Eight children were born to 
 them, the mother dying in her native State 
 about 1848, her father surviving for seven 
 more years. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are firm be- 
 lievers in the Methodist faith, and their lives 
 26 
 
 are as their profession, charitable, honest, up- 
 right, with an unwavering faith in the Bible 
 as the Book of Books. Formerly Mr. Smith 
 was a Whig, but has been a Republican since 
 the formation of that party. He has been 
 prominent in all things beneficial to the com- 
 munity, and has been called upon to serve as 
 justice of the peace, performing the duties of 
 that office in the quiet, conscientious way that 
 has characterized every act of his life. 
 
 JOHN P. WRIGHT, for many years a 
 well-known carpenter and builder of Janes- 
 ville, Rock county, has beeiy identified with 
 many of the best constructions of the city, 
 either as contractor or as foreman of the build- 
 ing crew. The substantial character of the 
 buildings he has erected attest the honesty of 
 his work and the upright spirit that is in 
 him. Two things have been his good f6r- 
 tune, that he was born in England, and chat 
 he was reared in the LTnited States. He had 
 back of him sound and healthy ancestors, and 
 came to this country with a heredity of health. 
 Fie grew to manhood under the stimulus of 
 liberty, and felt the inspirations of the New 
 World. 
 
 Mr. Wright was born in Cambridgeshire, 
 England, Dec. 10, 1848, and is a son of Sam- 
 uel and Lucy (Poole) Wright, both English 
 born and bred. They were the parents of nine 
 children, seven of whom lived to attain ma- 
 turity, and five of whom still survive: John 
 
 P. ; George; William; Ida, wife of James Clat- 
 worthy, of Elmira, N. Y. ; and Mate, wife of 
 James Horn, of Janesville. The father was 
 an overseer on a large English farm. He 
 came to this country in 1851, locating in East 
 Troy, Wis., where he remained for two years, 
 and came to Janesville at the expiration of that 
 time, where, with the exception of nine years, 
 he has continued to reside to the present time. 
 For a time he was a mason, and later a con- 
 tractor, but for the last half dozen years he 
 has been living retired. Flis wife, who died 
 in 1892, at the age of sixty-six, was. with her 
 husband, a member of the Methodist Church. 
 He is a Republican. His father died in Eng- 
 land at an advanced age. Isaac Poole, the 
 father of Lucy Poole, was a farmer, and kept 
 a toll-gate. He lived to be old, and left a 
 small family. 
 
 John P. Wright was two and a half years 
 old when his parents came to this country, and 
 
402 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he has spent ail but about five years of his life 
 in Janesville. He attended public and pri- 
 vate schools when a boy, and was a student 
 at a commercial college. When only twelve 
 years old he bought a kit of carpenter's tools, 
 and he early selected that work as the occupa- 
 tion of his life. For about twenty-five years 
 he has done contract work in the city and in 
 the surrounding country, and has been em- 
 ployed on many of the best buildings of Janes- 
 ville. He helped to build the Baptist church 
 and the Congregational churches twice, and 
 the mark of a master workman is on them. In 
 December, 1900, he purchased a lot on South 
 Main street, in the business portion of the city, 
 and erected thereon a brick block, three stories 
 in height — a store, with dwellings above. 
 
 Mr. Wright and Miss Mary Ella Jepson 
 were married April 13, 1875, and they have 
 six children, three sons and three daughters : 
 Glen, Harry, Grace, Edna, Doane and 
 Charles. They live at No. 102 North Ma.n 
 street. Mrs. Wright is a member of the Bap- 
 tist Church, which her husband attends. He 
 belongs to the Odd Fellows and the Knights 
 ■of the Globe, and is very popular in fraternal 
 circles. In politics he takes an independent 
 attitude, seeking the best men to go with the 
 best principles, but he generally votes the Dem- 
 ocratic ticket. He is a man of good habits, 
 clean character, honest and industrious, and 
 has a host of friends. 
 
 SCOTT SMITH, one of the prosperous 
 and influential farmers of La Prairie township, 
 Rock county, is a native of Wisconsin, and 
 the son of one of the earliest pioneers of Rock 
 county. He was born in Milton township, 
 Rock county, Dec. 13, 1847, son °f Isaac T. 
 and Nancy A. (Dejeans) Smith, natives of 
 Chautauqua county, N. Y., and grandson of 
 Farrington Smith, a native of Vermont, of 
 English descent, and a farmer by occupation, 
 who in the early days migrated to Milton town- 
 ship, Rock Co., Whs., where he died at the age 
 of about seventy years. He had a family of 
 five children. 
 
 Isaac T. Smith, father of our subject, was 
 born in 1817, and came to Wisconsin in 1836, 
 locating in the town of Milton, where he en- 
 tered government land and lived for a number 
 of years. Removing to Marshalltown, Iowa, 
 he lived there for a year or two, and then en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of agricultural im- 
 plements at Fort Dodge, that State. He af- 
 
 terward lived in Colorado, and in the northern 
 part of Wisconsin. The last five years of his 
 life he spent with his son Scott, the subject of 
 this sketch, in La Prairie township, Rock 
 county, and died there in January, 1898, aged 
 eighty-one years. He was twice married. 
 His first wife, Nancy A. Dejeans, was the 
 daughter of Stephen Dejeans, a native of 
 France, who when a boy of about fifteen years 
 of age came with his parents to America and 
 located at Albany, N. Y.., where he grew to 
 manhood. He served in the war of 1812, and 
 in 1837 came to Wisconsin, settling near Mil- 
 waukee, where he engaged for a time in farm- 
 ing. He died near Brooklyn, Dane Co., Wis., 
 aged about seventy-five years, leaving a large 
 family. To Isaac T. and Nancy A. Smith 
 were born nine children, six sons and three 
 daughters, five of whom survive, namely : 
 Flora, wife of Charles Jones, of Iris, Colo.; 
 Jay F., of Hotchkiss, Colo.; Scott, our sub- 
 ject; Ida M., wife of Frank Farrell, of Fort 
 Dodge, Iowa; and Ira Clair, of Nelson, North- 
 west Territory, Canada. 
 
 Scott Smith, our subject, was reared on his 
 father’s farm in Milton township. He at- 
 tended the district schools during his boyhood, 
 and at the early age of thirteen years began 
 working on the farm by the month. Arriving 
 at the years of manhood, he adopted farming as 
 his vocation, and rented land for a number of 
 years. In 1882 he bought seventy-four acres 
 in the town of Rock, living there until 1884, 
 when he sold the property and bought the pres- 
 ent home farm, in Section 25, La Prairie 
 township, containing 161 Jd acres, which he has 
 brought to a high state of cultivation, and 
 where he has since resided. Mr. Smith also 
 owns fifteen acres of land two miles south of 
 the home place. 
 
 Mr. Smith married, Feb. 17, 1870, Miss 
 Adelaide M. Spears, daughter of Edward and 
 Mariette (Brown) Spears, and to them have 
 been born six children, namely : Lucy E. died 
 
 at the age of eight years. Eugene S. married 
 Jean Little, and has two children, Harold and 
 Louise; they reside in La Prairie township, 
 George W. died at the age of four years. One 
 died in infancy. Hattie E. married W. W. 
 Day, of the town of La Prairie, where they 
 reside on a farm. Walter E. lives at home. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Scott Smith are prominent mem- 
 bers of the M. E. Church, of which he is a 
 steward. In politics he is a Republican. He 
 has been through life an industrious, progress- 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 403 
 
 ive farmer, of sterling character, and holds the 
 respect and high esteem of all who know him. 
 His farm life was broken during the Civil war 
 by his enlistment in Company G, 44th Iowa 
 V. I., in the one-hundred-days service, at 
 the expiration of which he returned to the 
 farm. 
 
 WARREN JOHNSON, a very successful 
 and highly respected stock and dairy farmer 
 of the town of Lima, Grant county, was born 
 in the same town in which he is now living, in 
 May, 1847. 
 
 Farnum and Amanda (Eastman) Johnson, 
 his parents, were born in Ohio, the father in 
 1802 and the mother in 1806. They came to 
 Galena, 111 ., when young. In 1837 they lied 
 to the old fort in Grant county for protection 
 against hostile Indians, and there met and 
 were married. At that time Mr. Johnson was 
 engaged in hauling lead from Platteville to the 
 smelting works at Galena, and drove the first 
 wagon coming into Platteville. In 1834 he 
 purchased one hundred acres of wild land from 
 a Mr. Mayfield, and that land is still in the 
 jwssession of the family, his sons Henry W. 
 and Warren now owning it. Mr. Johnson 
 was an industrious man, and accumulated a 
 fine property through industry and with the 
 help of his faithful wife. In 1878 he died at 
 this home, which he had carved out of the 
 wilderness. Mr. Johnson was a Republican, 
 and for a number of years served on the town 
 board of Lima. In religion he and his wife 
 were members of the Baptist Church. After 
 the death of her husband Mrs. Johnson re- 
 moved to Platteville, and there she made her 
 home .until she passed away, in 1891, in the 
 serene expectation of a better life. She was 
 a woman greatly beloved and respected by all 
 who knew her. To Mr. and Mrs. Johnson 
 were born a family of five children : ( 1 ) 
 
 Mary A., born at Fever River, in Lafayette 
 county, married J. J. Wallace, and now resides 
 on a large ranch at Boulder, Colo., where they 
 have reared a family of four children, Ernest, 
 Lewis, Fred, and Lena (wife of Marvin Hob- 
 son, of Colorado). (2) Elizabeth is now the 
 wife of G. G. Clemmer, of Colorado. They 
 have two daughters, Kitty, Mrs. Iden Stew- 
 art, of Hampton, Iowa, and May, Mrs. Nor- 
 man Inglas, of the same city. (3) Nancy E. 
 married William Humason, and is now a wid- 
 ow, living in Platteville. She has two chil- 
 
 dren, Arthur and Dela, the latter the wife of 
 Fred Wallace, and living in Kansas. (4) 
 Henry W. and (5)1 Warren are mentioned more 
 fully. 
 
 Henry W. Johnson, born in 1844, grew up 
 on the old homestead, and had the benefits 
 of a country school education. In the spring 
 of 1862 he enlisted in Company E, 25th Wis. 
 V. I., and served under Capt. Scott. The 
 25th Wisconsin was sent to Fort Snelling, 
 Minn., and held for duty against hostile In- 
 dians until November of that year, when they 
 were returned to Camp Randall, at Madison, 
 Wis., where they spent the winter. The fol- 
 lowing May they were ordered to Columbus, 
 Ky., where they were put under the command 
 of Gen. Grant, and took part in the capture of 
 Vicksburg. Mr. Johnson was sick for nearly 
 half a year, but regained his health in time to 
 join his regiment before Vicksburg, and take 
 part in the movements that led to the fall of 
 that city. The 25th Wisconsin- was trans- 
 ferred to Gen. Sherman's army, and took part 
 in the great march through Georgia. It lost 
 heavily, and suffered many hardships, but 
 marched clear through to the end, and went 
 down the streets in the grand review that sig- 
 nalled the end of the war and the victory of 
 the Union. It had done duty in fifteen States, 
 and its record is one that any regiment of the 
 Union army might consider creditable. 
 
 After the war, in 1868, Mr. Johnson mar- 
 ried Miss Maria Quinby, of Platteville, Wis., 
 daughter of Selden and Anna Quinby, of La- 
 fayette county, Wis. After his marriage Mr. 
 Johnson bought a part of the old homestead, 
 where he now resides. They have had a fam- 
 ily of four children : ( 1 ) William L., born Oc- 
 tober, 1869, was killed when a young man by 
 a vicious bull. (2) Ella M., born in June, 
 1876, was a student of the State Normal at 
 Platteville, and has been a successful teacher 
 since 1896. (3) Ethel, born in 1879, is a 
 
 student at the State Normal in Platteville. 
 (4) Alta, born in November, 1882, died when 
 eight years old. 
 
 Warren Johnson, the youngest child of his 
 parents, was reared on the old homestead, and 
 obtained his early education in the public 
 schools and in the Academy and the State Nor- 
 mal at Platteville. His first employment was 
 as a drug clerk in the store of his brother-in- 
 law, in Austin, Minn. After remaining there 
 a year he came back to Grant county, to take 
 
404 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 charge of his father’s business. In 1869 he 
 married Miss Phoebe Dickinson, a daughter 
 of Ensign P. and Fannie Dickinson, old and 
 honored pioneers of the county. The father, 
 who died a few years ago, was a member of 
 the Legislature from this district, and was a 
 man well known for his honest character and 
 public spirit. The mother is still living, and 
 makes her home with her son, Charles Dickin- 
 son. Mr. Johnson, after his marriage, pur- 
 chased a part of the old Johnson home, and put 
 up a line house and large and roomy farm 
 buildings. He has taken much pride in his 
 home surroundings, and every part shows the 
 touch of a master hand. To Mr. Johnson and 
 his wife have been born a family of seven chil- 
 dren : (1) Farnum, born in 1871, married 
 
 Miss Elsie Russell, of Lima, and resides on his 
 farm in the town of Lima. They have three 
 children, Earl, Eugene and Hazel. (2) Fan- 
 nie, born 111 1873, is now the wife of Isaiah 
 Buttson, who resides on his farm in Lima, and 
 has three children, Susan, Warren and Ina. 
 (3) Maud, born in 1875, is the wife of Frank 
 Jones, one of the leading farmers of Harrison, 
 and is the mother of three children, Frank, 
 Helen and Ruth. (4) Gertrude, born in 
 Lima, in 1877, fitted herself for teaching at 
 the State Normal at Platteville, and is a suc- 
 cessful worker in the schools of Grant county. 
 (5) Warren, born in 1881, is a student at the 
 Platteville State Normal. (6) Grace was 
 born in 1885, and (7) Clair in 1889. 
 
 In politics all the members of this family 
 have been identified with the old Republican 
 party, and have always been prominent in local 
 affairs. Warren Johnson has been a member 
 of the county board, and chairman of the town 
 board. In religion he and his wife are asso- 
 ciated with the Christian Church. 
 
 JULIUS BALDWIN, who is a retired 
 farmer at Brooklyn, Green county, where he 
 is filling the office of justice of the peace, was 
 born at Clearville, Kent Co., Out., April 16, 
 1832, and is a son of David Samuel and Cath- 
 erine (Roome) Baldwin, the former a native 
 of Connecticut and the latter of Nova Scotia. 
 In their family were eleven children, five of 
 whom are living: Lucinda, widow of Ralph 
 
 Ford, of Evansville, Wis. ; Phineas, of Brook- 
 lyn; Asa James, of Wausau, Wis.; Julius; and 
 Anson, of Evansville, Wisconsin. 
 
 David Samuel Baldwin was a lumberman 
 
 and a farmer, and for seventeen years had a 
 mail contract in Canada. He came to Wis- 
 consin in 1849, and settled in Oregon, Dane 
 county, two miles from the village of Brook- 
 lyn, where he bought six hundred acres of 
 land, which he improved. Here he died Aug, 
 25, 1854, at the age of seventy-five years. His 
 widow died June 14, 1880, at the age of eighty- 
 six years. Mr. Baldwin was a Whig in the 
 United States. In Canada he served as jus- 
 tice of the peace, and as captain of' militia. 
 Phineas Baldwin, his father, and the grand- 
 father of Julius, was a native of Litchfield,. 
 Conn., dying in Canada at the early age of 
 forty-two years ; he was the father of five chil- 
 dren. Abraham Roome, the maternal grand- 
 father of Julius Baldwin, was a native of New 
 Brunswick, and he was a farmer by occupation, 
 finally moving into Kent county, Ontario, 
 where he settled in a place called “Fifty-Two;” 
 he died in middle life, the father of a numerous- 
 family. The first Baldwin in America is said to 
 have been a kidnapped child, taken from some 
 place in England or Wales, from which the 
 Baldwins sprang. David S. Baldwin was 
 married a second time, and his second wife 
 was the mother of the children mentioned 
 above. By his first wife he was the father of 
 two children. 
 
 Julius Baldwin spent the first seventeen 
 years of his life in Canada, where he had his 
 schooling. He was steadily engaged in farm- 
 ing until 1894. In 1849 l ie came with his 
 parents to Wisconsin and remained at home 
 until he reached maturity. His father gave 
 him one hundred acres of land, after 'his cus- 
 tom of giving each of his children land to the 
 value of one thousand dollars. Julius* Bald- 
 win continued to cultivate the old homestead 
 farm until 1894, when he rented it to his son, 
 and moved into his fine residence property in 
 Brooklyn, where he has since lived retired. 
 Mr. Baldwin added to his landed possessions 
 from time to time until at one time he owned 
 216 acres. During his active years he did 
 general farming and stock raising. 
 
 On Oct. 24, 1855, Mr. Baldwin married 
 Miss Clarissa B. McLaughlin, a daughter of 
 William W. and Sarah (Robinson) McLaugh- 
 lin. To them were born: Charles S., who 
 
 married Nona Colby, who is now deceased; 
 Clinton I., who married Carrie Bennett, and 
 lives in the town of Oregon, Dane county; 
 Lloyd M., who married May Gray, now de- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 405 
 
 ceased; Mimie E., who married Palmer A. 
 Haynes, of Brooklyn, and is the mother of 
 one daughter, Beth; Myra J., who married 
 Robert S. Gillies, and lives in Raymond, S. 
 Dak. ; Boyd M., who married Minnie Boning, 
 lives on the old homestead, and is the father 
 of three sons, Henry, Robert and Frank; and 
 Daisy, who is teaching school near Raymond, 
 S. Dak., and is unmarried. Mr. Baldwin is 
 a member of the Brooklyn Lodge, No. 332, 
 I. O. O. F. In politics he is a Republican, and 
 was supervisor in Oregon one year, assessor 
 for eleven years, and for two years he has oc- 
 cupied his present position as justice of the 
 peace. 
 
 Mrs. Baldwin’s parents were natives of 
 Ohio, and had four children, three of whom 
 are now living: (1) Anna Maria, the wife 
 
 of Reuben Boyse, of Dane county; (2) James 
 B., of Sheldon, Iowa; (3) Clarissa, who is 
 Mrs. Baldwin. William McLaughlin learned 
 the shoemaker’s trade, but followed farming 
 all his life. His first wife, a devout Metho- 
 dist, died in Clark county, Ohio, in 1836, when 
 a young woman. For his second wife he mar- 
 ried Emeline Hazeltine. To this marriage 
 there were born four children, two of whom 
 are still living: Harriet, who is the wife of 
 
 John White, of Minneapolis, and Almira, the 
 wife of Frank Frisbie, of Sheldon, Iowa. Mr. 
 McLaughlin moved into Green county, Wis., 
 in 1842, where he owned 200 acres of land. 
 At the first his nearest neighbors were nine 
 miles off. He became a prominent man, and 
 was the first chairman of the town board, and 
 was chairman of the town board of supervisors 
 a number of years. He was twice elected to 
 the State Assembly, and for many years was 
 assessor. He died April 2, 1877. at the age 
 of seventy years. His widow died in 1896 at 
 the age of eighty. The paternal grandfather 
 of Mrs. Baldwin was James McLaughlin, a 
 native of Scotland, who came to this country 
 when he was six years old. He was the fa- 
 ther of six children, and died advanced In 
 years. Mrs. Baldwin’s maternal grandfather 
 was Richard R. Robinson, a farmer, who was 
 born in Pennsvlvania, of Dutch descent, and 
 who died at the age of eighty-four. 
 
 ESAJAS BLUMER. The American Re- 
 public owes much to her foreign-born citizens, 
 but to no country does she owe more than to 
 her sister republic of Switzerland for the high 
 
 class of citizens she has contributed to the arts 
 and trades of America. Thrifty and honest, 
 industrious and patriotic, they hold a promi- 
 nent place in the communities in which they 
 live. Esajas Blumer, a highly respected citi- 
 zen of Monroe, Green county, Wis., was born 
 in Canton Glarus, Switzerland, Aug. 13, 
 1839, a son of John and Dorothea (Blumer) 
 Blumer. 
 
 John Blumer was born in Switzerland, and, 
 as his father died while he was quite young, 
 he was early obliged to earn his own liveli- 
 hood, which he did as a laborer, and for a 
 time found work in the factories of his native 
 country. In 1853 came to America, and 
 located in Washington township, Green coun- 
 ty, Wis., where he purchased forty acres of 
 land, later adding several different tracts, all 
 of which he finally sold and bought a 200-acre 
 farm in the same township. He was frugal 
 and industrious, and by his careful cultivation 
 his property rapidly increased in value. He 
 sold his farm in Washington township in 1881, 
 and purchased 300 acres in Mount Pleasant 
 township, remaining about three years, in 1884 
 locating in Monroe, where he lived retired 
 until his death, Dec. 11, 1900, at the age of 
 eighty-four years. In Switzerland he mar- 
 ried Dorothea Blumer, whose death at the 
 early age of thirty-five years occurred in 1849. 
 Five children were born to them, as follows: 
 Anna, wife of Jost Tschudy, of Palmer, Neb.; 
 Esajas, of Monroe, Wis.; John, of Monroe; 
 Sarah, wife of Jacob Freitag, of Monticello, 
 Wis. ; and Caroline, wife of Joseph Hilton, of 
 Ireton, Iowa. After coming to America Mr. 
 Blumer married a second time, Miss Mary 
 Ann Stuessy becoming his wife, and to this 
 second union were born ten children, six of 
 whom are now living: Ursula,' wife of Henry 
 
 Freitag, of near Monticello, Whs. ; Mary, wife 
 of John Legler, of Juda, Wis. ; Fred, of Min- 
 neapolis, Minn. ; Samuel, of near Elkhorn, 
 Wis,; Katharina, wife of W. F. Truckenbrod, 
 of Monroe; and Jacob, of Washington town- 
 ship. 
 
 Esajas Blumer was about fourteen years 
 of age when his father brought him to Amer- 
 ica. He attended the schools of his native 
 land, and after coming to Wisconsin attended 
 during the winter term for a time. Be- 
 fore leaving Switzerland he had been employed 
 in the calico printing factories, working from 
 six o'clock in the morning until six o'clock in 
 
406 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the evening for five cents per clay, and after I 
 coming' to this country he worked out by the 
 month on farms for four dollars per month, 
 giving his earnings to his parents until he was 
 twenty-one years of age. Upon attaining his 
 majority he started out in life for himself, 
 working the first year for his father for one 
 hundred dollars, and then worked for other 
 people. When the Civil war threatened the 
 disruption of the Union he shouldered a mus- 
 ket in defense of his adopted country, becom- 
 ing a member of Co. Iv, 16th Wis. V. I., in 
 1863, and was mustered out in Louisville, Ky., 
 July 15, 1865. He took part in over twenty 
 battles, went with Sherman to the sea, and 
 marched back to Washington, D. C., in time 
 to participate in the grand review there. 
 W hile too sick for duty a number of times, he 
 kept well enough to avoid the hospitals. After 
 the war was over he returned to Wisconsin, 
 and worked that fall for $20 per month, but 
 rested through the winter, and with the open- 
 ing for farm work the next spring he entered 
 into contract with Mr. J. J. Tschucly, of Clarno 
 township, to work the season for $250. In 
 a short time he purchased a farm, and by his 
 untiring industry and practical economy he 
 has acquired a comfortable competence. Farm 
 work has been his life work in this country, 
 but since 1897 he has lived retired in Monroe, 
 at his comfortable home No. 724 Church street. 
 Mr. Blumer takes an active interest in public 
 affairs, and socially belongs to the O. F. Pin- 
 ney Post, G. A. R. 
 
 On April 2, 1867, Mr. Blumer was united 
 in marriage with Miss Henrietta Grosse, 
 daughter of Gottlieb and Rosina (Winter) 
 Grosse, and these children came to bless this 
 union : Rosa, who married Ernest Holcomb, 
 
 of Adams township, and has had eight chil- 
 dren, seven of whom are still living, Fred, 
 Robert La Follette, Harold, Ira, Henrietta, 
 Clarence, and an infant; John, of Washing- 
 ton township, who married Fannie Blum, and 
 has one son, Werner; Wilhelm Gottlieb, of 
 Adams township, who married Katherina 
 Blumer, who died May 21, 1900, leaving two 
 children, Robert William and Adam Ezra; 
 Ezra, of Washington township, who married 
 Emma Blumer, and has one child, Margaret; 
 Edward, ex-county superintendent of schools 
 of Green county, now a student in Rush Med- 
 ical College, Chicago ; Anna, who married Al- 
 bert Zimmerman, of Washington township, 
 
 and has three children, Edna, Clara and Clar- 
 ence; Fred, who married Sophia Zimmerman, 
 and lives on his father’s old homestead in 
 Adams township ; Henrietta, who married 
 Thomas Hoesly, of York township, and has 
 one child, Esther; Bertha, who married David 
 Pfeiffer, of Monroe, and has one child, Elsie; 
 Caroline, who makes her home with her 
 brother Wilhelm Gottlieb, caring for his 
 motherless little ones. Mrs. Henrietta Blumer, 
 the mother of this family of children, passed 
 away March 18, 1895, at the age of fifty-four 
 years. She was a faithful member of the 
 Swiss Reformed Church, of Washington 
 township. 
 
 On July 16, 1897, Mr. Blumer was married 
 a second time, Mrs. Magdalena Schmid, widow 
 of Benjamin Schmid, and daughter of Chris- 
 tian Neuenschwander and Anna Street. Both 
 Mr. Blumer and his wife a^e members of the 
 German Evangelical Church, of Monroe. No 
 children have been born of .this second mar- 
 riage, but Mrs. Blumer, by her former mar- 
 riage, is the mother of eleven children, as fol- 
 lows : Gottfried, a soldier in the Spanish- 
 
 American war, is now in the Philippines ; Carl, 
 of Dundee, 111 ., married Rosa Christie, and 
 has three children, Emma, Freddie and War- 
 ner; Ernest, of Elgin, 111 ,, married Rosa Koh- 
 ler, and has three children, Ernst, Frieda and 
 an infant ; Adolph married Rosa Diescher, 
 and lives in Monroe; Mary married Edward 
 Guggisberg, of Monroe, and has two children, 
 Lydia and Bertha ; Anna married Andrew 
 Signer, of Elgin, 111 ., and has two children, 
 Lydia and Carl ; Rosa married Dietland Thom, 
 of Monroe, and has three children, William, 
 Clara and an infant ; Lena married Adam 
 Blumer, of Monroe, and has one son, Harold; 
 Lizzie is at home ; Bertha married Louis 
 Young, of Elgin, 111 . ; one died young. 
 
 John Blumer, brother of Esajas Blumer, 
 was born in Schwanden, Canton Glarus, Switz- 
 erland, Dec. 24, 1840, and at the age of thir- 
 teen came to America, where he grew to man- 
 hood. He learned the necessary details of 
 farm work on his father’s farm in Washing- 
 ton township. In October, 1861, he enlisted 
 in Company Iv. qth Wis. V. I., and served 
 until January, 1866, having re-enlisted in Jan- 
 uary, 1864, when he was assigned to Company 
 B, same regiment. He participated in the bat- 
 tles of Newtonia, Prairie Grove, Saline Bot- 
 tom in Arkansas, and numerous skirmishes. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 407 
 
 He enlisted as a private, and was discharged 
 as a sergeant, and for a time has served as 
 company clerk. After the war closed he 
 worked one year for his father, then in com- 
 pany with his brother, purchased 212 acres in 
 Adams township, later adding 160 acres, from 
 which they sold twenty acres, making their 
 . farm consist of 348 acres, which they farmed 
 together until 1886. John then sold his in- 
 terest and removed to Monroe, where he has 
 since made his home. For a time he engaged 
 in the cheese business, but soon retired from 
 that also. Mr. Blumer is a member of St. 
 John’s Evangelical Church. Socially he be- 
 longs to O. F. Pinney Post, G. A. R., of which 
 he has been quartermaster, and is now junior 
 vice-commander. He is one of the highly 
 respected citizens of the town in which he 
 takes an intelligent interest. 
 
 S. W. TRABER, justice of the peace and 
 notary public of Platteville, Grant county, is 
 a native of New York, born in Albany county 
 Nov. 29, 1844, and is a son of Peter C. and 
 Harriet (Jacobson) Traber. The father was 
 born in the same county, in December, 1804, a 
 son of Charles P. Traber, also a native of Al- 
 bany county, of German descent; the latter's 
 wife, whose maiden name was Hollenbeck, was 
 likewise born in Albany county, of Dutch de- 
 scent. Charles P. Traber, who was an inn- 
 keeper on the old road leading from Albany 
 to Schenectady, N. Y., died in 1858, at the age 
 of ninety-two years. 
 
 In 1853 the father of our subject, Peter 
 C. Traber, came to Platteville, Wis., where his 
 death occurred in i860. By occupation he 
 was a laborer. His wife died in Milan, Mo., 
 in 1868. To them were born eleven children, 
 as follows: Nancy. Mrs. Smith, died in Cal- 
 
 ifornia in May, 1897; E valine, Mrs. Becker, 
 died in Milan, Mo., in 1895; Margaret, Mrs. 
 Spann, died in Albany county, N. Y., in 1898; 
 Charles P. died in Colorado in 1884; Henry 
 J. lives in Saginaw, Mich. ; Eliza, Mrs. An- 
 thony, is a resident of New York; Maria is 
 now Mrs. McDougall. of Helena, Ark. ; Simon 
 P. died in Cohoes, N. Y., at the age of ten 
 years ; S. W. is next in the order of birth ; 
 Jane, Mrs. McClanahan, is a resident of 
 Fresno, Cal.; and John W. also lives in that 
 city. 
 
 S. W. Traber was a lad of nine years when 
 he came with his parents to Platteville, where 
 
 he was reared and educated. For a number 
 of years after reaching, manhood he engaged 
 in farming, and also followed the painter’s 
 trade for some time. At the breaking out of 
 the Civil war he enlisted, in Grant county, 
 Wis., in 1861, but was at first rejected. Later 
 he enlisted for three years, in Company G, 1st 
 Wis. V. I., but was afterward transferred to 
 the 2 1 st Regiment. While with the 1st Wis. 
 V. I. he participated in the battles of Tunnel 
 Hill, Rocky Face Ridge and Resaca, and also 
 engaged in the battles around Atlanta, Ga. 
 After being transferred to the 21st Wis. V. I. 
 he was in Sherman’s celebrated march to the 
 sea ; took part in the capture of Savannah ; and 
 was in the Carolina campaign, participating 
 in the battles of Averysboro and Bentonville. 
 He was also present at the capture of Raleigh, 
 N. C. Though never wounded, he suffered 
 from a partial sunstroke. The war having 
 ended, he was mustered out of service from 
 Company F, 3d Wis. V. I., July 18, 1865, and 
 returned to his home in Platteville. 
 
 In Platteville Mr. Traber was married, in 
 1866, to Miss Maria A. Hoisington, who was 
 born in Orleans county, N. Y., in 1844. Her 
 parents, George W. and Louise (Buck) Hois- 
 ington, were natives of the same State, and 
 of English ancestry. To Mr. and Mrs. Traber 
 have been born five children, of whom two 
 are now living, Roy E. and Ben C. 
 
 Mr. Traber takes an active interest in pub- 
 lic affairs, and has been a member of the fire 
 department of Platteville since May 4, 1874. 
 In 1896 he was elected justice of the peace, 
 and so acceptably did he fill the office that he 
 was re-elected in 1898. and again in 1900, 
 being the present incumbent. By his ballot 
 he supports the men and measures of the Re- 
 publican party. Mr. Traber belongs to and 
 is A. P. G. of Lily of the Mound Lodge, No. 
 6, I. O. O. F., of Platteville, and is also an 
 honored member of A\ . T. Sherman Post. No. 
 66, G. A. R., which has 142 members in good 
 standing, and in which he is now holding the 
 office of adjutant. Religiously he is an earn- 
 est and consistent member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. 
 
 DANIEL W. PHILLIPS, one of the old 
 and respected residents of Elk Grove township, 
 Lafayette county, is one Of the pioneer citizens 
 of that locality. 
 
 Mr. Phillips was born in Grant county. 
 
408 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Wis., Sept. 9, 1848; a son of Thomas and Anna 
 (Craddock) Phillips, both of whom were born 
 in Cornwall. England, where they grew to 
 maturity and wedded. Coming to America 
 in 1835, they settled in the coal regions of 
 Pennsylvania, where they remained a few 
 years before coming West. Until 1850 Mr. 
 Phillips followed mining, in both Grant and 
 Lafayette counties, and then made the trip 
 across the Plains to California. Being a thor- 
 ough miner, and understanding the business, 
 he was quite successful, and made a second 
 trip. After his second return to Wisconsin 
 he purchased a tract of land in Elk Grove 
 township, consisting of 170 acres, and there 
 made excellent improvements and erected 
 comfortable buildings. His death occurred in 
 1865, his wife remaining on the home farm 
 until her death, in 1887. Five children were 
 born to the parents of our subject, of whom 
 Elizabeth, born in England, married Samuel 
 Brunskill, of LeMars, Iowa, and has one 
 daughter, Priscilla, now the wife of George 
 Hitchens. Ellen, born in Wisconsin, married 
 James Thomas, resides at Elk Grove, and has 
 five children. George, born in Elk Grove, 
 married Belle Mase, and has three children ; 
 he conducts a hotel at LeMars, Iowa. 
 
 Our subject grew to manhood on the pres- 
 ent farm, where he has always been occupied 
 in agricultural pursuits. Elis education was 
 received in the district school, which he at- 
 tended during the winters, working through 
 the summers. In February, 1869, he married 
 Miss Isabel Rouse, who belonged to an old 
 pioneer family of Jo Daviess county, 111 . Her 
 father was born in Canada, 'her mother in 
 Kentucky, and after marriage they settled in 
 Jo Daviess county, 111 ., where Mr. Rouse died 
 in 1850; his widow came to Lafayette county 
 in 1851. Mrs. Phillips was born in April, 
 1848, in Illinois, but since 1851 has resided 
 in Lafayette county, Wisconsin. 
 
 Our subject purchased his father’s farm, 
 which he has cultivated ever since, with most 
 gratifying results, everything being in the 
 most prosperous condition. Many buildings 
 had to be erected or renewed, orchards to be 
 planted, and fencing and drainage looked 
 after, but all of these matters it has been the 
 pleasure of Mr. Phillips to accomplish. Sur- 
 rounded by a kind and esteemed family, Mr. 
 and Mrs. Phillips have every reason to feel 
 gratified with the prosperity and comfort that 
 
 is theirs in their advancing years. Children 
 as follows have been born to them : Elsie, 
 
 born in 1870, married Lewis Weidege, of La- 
 fayette county, and they have three children, 
 Isabel, Percy, and Leroy; Frank, born in 1872, 
 married Diana Coulthard, lives on a farm in 
 Lafayette county, and has two daughters, 
 Florence and Blanche; Mamie, born in 1876, 
 was married March 20, 1901, to Lewis D. 
 Seeley, of Elk Grove; Nellie, born in 1878, 
 married Lewis Gillie, lives at Meekers’ Grove, 
 and has one son,' Paul ; the others are named 
 Robert, Lester, George, Harry, and Clarence. 
 
 Politically Mr. Phillips has always been 
 identified with the Republican party. Both 
 he and his wife are valued members of the 
 M. E. Church. The esteem in which the 
 whole family is held in the community is gen- 
 uine, and after a residence of so many years 
 it is pleasant to meet only friendly faces among 
 one’s old neighbors. Mr. Phillips is one of 
 the most substantial men of the locality, and 
 is now, as he ever has been, ready to advance 
 the interests of his section in every way that 
 his judgment sanctions. 
 
 JOHN AUGUSTINE BINGHAM, born 
 in Morristown, Vt., Feb. 27, 1819, was the son 
 of John and Lydia (Thompson) Bingham, 
 the former a native of Connecticut, the latter 
 of New Hampshire. The parents, of old 
 Puritan stock, were industrious, energetic, and 
 sternly religious. Five of their eight children 
 grew to maturity, four daughters and one son, 
 all now deceased. The father, a man of much 
 character and good standing, was a farmer, 
 and was a man of unusual size and endurance. 
 His father, Elias Bingham, was even a larger 
 man, and not less noted for his virtues than 
 for his size. He was a Revolutionary soldier 
 in a Connecticut company. Lydia (Thomp- 
 son) Bingham was a woman of fine character 
 and of a remarkably hopeful disposition. Her 
 father also bore arms in the cause of American 
 independence. 
 
 John A. Bingham was reared on a farm in 
 Vermont, and received a common school ed- 
 ucation, later attending the academy at John- 
 son and the academy at Montpelier. He stud- 
 ied law at Stowe, and was admitted to the Bar 
 at Monroe, Green Co., Wis., in 1842, having 
 come into this State the previous year. For 
 some months he was engaged as teacher in 
 Racine county, and in February, 1842, came 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 409 
 
 to Monroe, which was his home from that 
 time until his death. Taking up the practice 
 of law, he also did surveying, which was an 
 important accomplishment in those days. 
 
 On Nov. 25, 1843, J U( %e Bingham was 
 married to Miss Caroline Elizabeth Churchill, 
 a daughter of William B. and Almira 
 (Humes) Churchill, and to this union were 
 horn six children, Helen M., Horace, Alice M., 
 Ada, Homer W. and J. Herbert. (1) Helen 
 M. Bingham was born Oct. 10, 1S45, was 
 graduated from Lombard College, at Gales- 
 burg, 111., in the class of 1867, and for a time 
 was a member of the Faculty of that institu- 
 tion. She graduated from the Boston Uni- 
 versity School of Medicine in 1881, and prac- 
 ticed for a number of years in Milwaukee, but 
 is now retired from active professional work, 
 and lives in Monroe. She is a charter mem- 
 ber of the Denver Woman's Club. Dr. Bing- 
 ham is a lady of. much intellectual ability, and 
 wrote an interesting history of Green county, 
 which was published in 1877. Bor a time 
 prior to her medical course she was a teacher 
 in the Monroe high school, and has been an 
 active worker all her life. (2) Horace Bing- 
 ham, born Feb. 5, 1847, died in December, 
 1849. (3) Alice M. Bingham, born May 4, 
 
 1851, was married Sept. 7, 1872, to Herbert 
 E. Copeland, who was born in Avon, Mich., 
 and was a teacher of sciences in the high school 
 in Indianapolis, Ind., where he died Dec. 12, 
 1876. To that union came two sons’, Edwin 
 Bingham and Herbert Bingham. Edwin B. 
 was born Sept. 30, 1873, and married Miss 
 Ethel Tilclen Faulkner; their home is at Mor- 
 gantown, W. Va.,' where he is professor of 
 botany in the University of West Virginia. 
 Herbert B., born July 24, 1875, lives in Den- 
 ver, where he is in the employ of his uncle 
 Homer, a lumber dealer of that city. Mrs. 
 Copeland was a graduate of Lombard College, 
 class of 1872, and has always taken a deep in- 
 terest in educational matters. The first year 
 (1887) that women were eligible for the 
 school board in Wisconsin, she was elected a 
 member of the school board in Monroe. For 
 many }^ears she has served the public in that 
 capacity. (4) Ada Bingham, born Feb. 6, 
 1854, was graduated from Lombard College 
 in 1873. and from the Boston University 
 School of Medicine in 1879. She practiced 
 her profession in Monroe until her health com- 
 pelled her removal, in 1888, to Denver. Dr. 
 
 Bingham is a lady of many gifts and accom- 
 plishments, and is much interested in every 
 forward movement of the times. She is' a 
 charter member of the Denver Woman’s Club, 
 and is an efficient worker along educational 
 and philanthropic lines. (5) Homer W. 
 Bingham, born Feb. 1, 1856, lives in Denver, 
 where he is engaged in the lumber business. 
 He received his college education at Cornell 
 University, and graduated from the law school 
 of the University of Wisconsin in 1877. He 
 was married to Miss Addie Ludlow, Jan. 20, 
 1897, and has one daughter, Helen. (6) J. 
 Herbert, the youngest, born jam 14, 1859, 
 died Jan. 23, 1881. 
 
 Judge Bingham was not a member of any 
 church, nor is his widow. Their sympathies 
 were with the Unitarian faith. The Judge 
 was a strong Abolitionist, and was one of the 
 first members of the Republican organization 
 in Wisconsin. Fie took a deep interest in pro- 
 moting the Abolitionist movement into Kan- 
 sas, and when war came only physical disa- 
 bility kept him from going to the front. He 
 was a member of the National Convention 
 that nominated Abraham Lincoln for Presi- 
 dent the second time. During the years 1846 
 and 1847 l ie served as district attorney, and 
 afterward held for eight years the office of 
 Probate Judge. For about twenty-five years 
 he was on the board of education, and for 
 months visited the schools daily, seeking to 
 have the most improved methods of instruction 
 employed. He was always interested in young 
 people, and, having encountered difficulties in 
 acquiring his own education, was eager to help 
 ambitious young men to a chance to help them- 
 selves. 
 
 In 1854 he opened a broker’s office, and 
 later, in company with A. Ludlow and Asa 
 Richardson, started the Bank of Monroe, 
 which afterward became the First National 
 Bank of Monroe. Of this institution -he was 
 president for a number of years. He also 
 owned a large flouring mill, which he oper- 
 ated during the later years of his life in Mon- 
 roe. Judge Bingham died July 24, 1865, in 
 the forty-seventh year of his age, while on a 
 visit to his native State in the hope of ben- 
 efiting his health. 
 
 JOHN M. SIFFORD was one of the 
 brave boys in blue who laid down his life on 
 the altar of his country during the dark days 
 
4io 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of the Civil war. This honored resident of 
 Grant county enlisted in Wyalusing township 
 Aug. ii, 1862, becoming a private in Com- 
 pany D, 33d Wis. V. I., but had been promot- 
 ed to second sergeant before the death sum- 
 mons came. He died in Memphis, Tenn., 
 April 17, 1863. Though his health was much 
 broken early in the service, his death was quite 
 sudden and unexpected. 
 
 Mr. Sifford was born in the State of Vir- 
 ginia in 1826, and came to Grant county, Wis., 
 with a maternal uncle, Benjamin Burton, in 
 whose family he grew to manhood, his par- 
 ents having passed away when he was a child. 
 A faithful soldier in his country’s cause, and 
 a respected citizen of his adopted county, his 
 death was deeply lamented by a large circle 
 of friends and acquaintances. 
 
 On April 7, 1851, Mr. Sifford was mar- 
 ried to Miss Sarah J. Fink, also a native of 
 the Old Dominion, whose mother had died 
 when she was but eleven years old. At the 
 age of sixteen she accompanied her father on 
 his removal to Grant county, Wis. When 
 he entered the army Mr. Sifford left a wife 
 and two children, aged respectively eleven and 
 three years'. Soon after the death of her hus- 
 band Mrs. Sifford lost her younger child, John 
 Franklin, and the only daughter, Mary Jane, 
 died March 31, 1895, after a prolonged ill- 
 ness. During her long and severe sickness she 
 was tenderly cared for by her mother, who is 
 now left alone to mourn the departure of 
 those near and dear to her. She is a most 
 estimable woman, who makes many friends, 
 and is held in high regard by all who know 
 her on account of her many sterling qualities. 
 
 JOSEPH THOMPSON, justice of the 
 peace at Brodhead, Green county, is regarded 
 as one of the most upright and reliable citizens 
 of the place. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was born at Port Hope, 
 Canada, Dec. 9, 1833, and is a son of Henry 
 and Sarah B. (Straw) Thompson, both na- 
 tives of the United States, and the parents of 
 five children; two of these are now living, Jo- 
 seph and Alfred, the latter a ranchman at Salt 
 Lake City. The father was a farmer, and died 
 in Canada in 1845, ? -t the a g‘ e of fifty-six. 
 His widow died at Mount Morris, 111 ., some 
 years later, at the age of seventy-six. She 
 was a Universalist. and he was a Methodist. 
 His father was Henry Thompson, of Con- 
 
 necticut, of Scotch lineage, who became a 
 soldier of the American Revolution, and died 
 in Canada at the age of eighty-six, the father 
 of five children. Nathan Straw, the father 
 of Sarah B., mentioned above, was a native 
 of New Hampshire, and died in old age. He, 
 too, was the father of" five children. 
 
 Joseph Thompson spent the first seven- 
 teen years of his life on the paternal estate in 
 Canada. He attended Oberlin College for a 
 year and a half, and then followed railroading 
 for three years. In 1853 he came to Rock- 
 ford, 111., and the next year was a clerk in 
 a grocery, and then was a farmer until 1861. 
 
 Mr. lhompson was among the first to re- 
 spond to the call for troops in 1861. He en- 
 listed in Company M, 8th 111 . Vo- 1 . Cav., under 
 the command of John F. Farnsworth; and with 
 his regiment, participated in many of the more 
 important battles of the war, including York- 
 town, Williamsburg, Seven Days’ fight 111 
 front of Richmond, the second battle of Bull 
 Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Gettysburg, 
 and many skirmishes. At the battle of Ohan- 
 cellorsville he had a horse shot from under 
 him, and was taken prisoner, but escaped after 
 three days in the hands of the rebels, reach- 
 ing the Union lines in safety. Soon after this, 
 as a reward for his complete mastery of the 
 cavalry drill and his high personal character, 
 he was appointed to the command of the body- 
 guard (a picked body of forty men) of General 
 Stoneman. This service under General Stone- 
 man continued for three months, and included 
 the famous Stoneman raid around General 
 Lee’s army. Soon after this raid General 
 Stoneman was transferred to the western 
 army, and his body-guard returned to their 
 respective regiments. At Gettysburg the 8th 
 Illinois lost heavily in charging infantry be- 
 hind a stone wall. The severity of the fire 
 and the chances of war may be seen from the 
 fact that there one horse had nine bullet 
 wounds, and bore his rider out of the line of 
 fire unharmed. The 8th Illinois Cavalry, in 
 all, participated in forty-four engagements ; 
 and in spite of his active service in the front 
 through all of these, our subject was fortunate 
 enough to return home without a scar. 
 
 Returning from his long service in the army 
 Mr. Thompson resumed the duties of civil life, 
 and has served as justice of the peace for 
 twenty-five years, during which time he has 
 married over fifty couples. From the close of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 41 1 
 
 the war in 1865, until 1867, he was a resident 
 of Waterloo, Iowa, and then moved to Al- 
 bany, Wis., where he worked in a grist mill. 
 In 1876 he moved to his present home, Brod- 
 head. For many years he carried on an in- 
 surance business, with his other official duties, 
 but he gave it up in 1898, and is now con- 
 cerned only in what conies to him as a justice 
 of the peace. 
 
 On Oct. 9, 1861, Mr. Thompson married 
 Miss Charlotte Marson, daughter of Sam- 
 uel. Marson. No children have; been born 
 to them. Mr. Thompson belongs to Bick- 
 nell Lodge, No. 94, A. F. & A. M., 
 and served as Master four years. He is a 
 charter member of Wesley W. Patton Post, 
 No. 90, G. A. R., and was its commander two 
 years. In politics he is a Republican. Mr. 
 Thompson and his wife have a pleasant home 
 on the corner of Dousman and Dixon streets. 
 They have reared two adopted children, the 
 orphans of her brother Thomas, Ida and 
 Jessie. Ida married Herbert B. Oakes, and 
 lives at Hartford, S. Dakota ; they have eight 
 children. Jessie married Alexander Walker, 
 and lives at Sioux City, Iowa; they are the 
 parents of three children. 
 
 JOHN MEEHAN. Few residents of 
 Darlington, Lafavette county, have a greater 
 number of friends than this courteous and 
 popular landlord of one of the best appointed 
 houses of entertainment in that city. Mr. 
 Meehan’s birth took place in Philadelphia, 
 Penn., in 1843, and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Patrick Meehan, were natives of Ireland. 
 They passed their lives in Philadelphia, where 
 Mr. Meehan was connected with a hotel, at 
 their decease leaving our subject, then a small 
 boy, and his sister Rose, who died in that 
 city. 
 
 Our subject came to Lafayette county in 
 1S52. For a time he engaged as cabin bov 
 on a steamer that plied on the Mississippi 
 river, but when the Civil war broke out he 
 enlisted in Company K, 5th 1 Ohio Cavalrv, 
 and served through that struggle, being mus- 
 tered out in June, 1865. After the close of 
 the war Mr. Meehan returned to Wisconsin, 
 and in June, 1869; married Miss Mary Rock- 
 well, who was born in 1849. and belonged to 
 an old and prominent family of Lafayette 
 county, being a daughter of Stephen Rockwell. 
 For some time after his marriage Mr. Mee- 
 
 han followed painting, very successfully, in 
 Darlington. He became a figure in local pol- 
 itics, his activity resulting in his appointment, 
 in 1886, as postmaster of the city, which office 
 was never more efficiently conducted than dur- 
 ing his term of service. 
 
 In 1890, after an official life of three 
 years, Mr. Meehan became the purchaser of 
 the large “Stone Hotel,” in Darlington, which 
 he has continued until the present time, con- 
 ducting and managing a well appointed, 
 modern hostelry, which he has supplied with 
 every comfort and convenience for the travel- 
 ing public, and which is a credit to the city. 
 
 To Mr. Meehan and his wife have come 
 children as follows: Hugh, born in 1870, is 
 
 cashier of the Onwentsia Golf Club, of Chi- 
 cago; Marie, born in Chicago, in 1873, was 
 educated at the Sinsinawa Mound Sisters' 
 School, and her musical education was received 
 at the Chicago Conservatory of Music ; Frank, 
 born in 1878, graduated from the high school 
 in his city, and was a student in the LMiver- 
 sity at Madison; and Arthur, born in 1880, 
 was educated in the Delavan School for the 
 Deaf, from which he graduated with honor. 
 
 As a politician Mr. Meehan has long been 
 identified with the Democratic party, for which 
 he has done valuable work. His religious 
 connection is with the Catholic Church, to 
 which he has always given of his means gen- 
 erously. Although he was obliged, as a poor 
 boy, to depend in early life upon his own ef- 
 forts, he has ever had in him the elements of 
 true manliness, as well as honesty and industry, 
 and he occupies a position now which is well 
 suited to him personally. Genial, accommo- 
 dating, courteous, the guests of Mr. Meehan 
 are made to forget that they are not under 
 their own roofs when they enter his hospitable 
 doors. 
 
 GEORGE ARTHUR BLAKELEY, 
 M. D., the present postmaster at Albanv, is one 
 of the most popular and progressive young- 
 physicians of this part of Green county. He 
 is courteous and affable in his general inter- 
 course with the public, and sustains a good 
 reputation, both as a man and as a member of 
 the mecbcal profession. 
 
 Dr. Blakeley was born near Lawrence, 
 Ivan., May 8, 1857. and is a son of Edwin 
 and Frances (Smith) Blakeley, natives of 
 New York and Michigan, respectively. They 
 
412 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 were the parents of five sons and two daugh- 
 ters, and five of their children are now liv- 
 ing: Frances A., the wife of Id. A. Babcock, 
 of Evansville, Wis. ; Dr. George A. ; Harri- 
 son A. ; William E. ; and Eugene. The father 
 was a farmer, and removed into Ohio in the 
 early days. About 1854 he came to Wiscon- 
 sin, and located at Evansville, which was his 
 home — with the exception of three years spent 
 in Kansas — the rest of his life. He died in 
 1896, at the age of seventy, a consistent mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church, and his 
 widow now lives in Evansville.* He was a 
 soldier in the Civil war, serving from April un- 
 til September, 1865, and was a man of some 
 prominence in local affairs, having held several 
 offices in the town. 
 
 Edwin Blakeley was the eighth son of Asa 
 Blakeley and his wife Esther Dibble. Asa 
 Blakeley was born in Connecticut in 1784, 
 whither his people had removed from Ver- 
 mont. He was married to Esther Dibble April 
 3, 1810, and they became the parents of eight 
 sons — Isaac, John, Henry, Ransom, Nathaniel, 
 Asa, Evander and Edwin — and one daughter, 
 the youngest in the family — Esther (Blake- 
 ley) Hathaway. He died in Evansville, Wis., 
 where, in the early fifties, the last years of his 
 life were spent. Frances (Smith) Blakeley 
 was a daughter of Henry Smith, a native of 
 Rutland, Vermont, born in 1802, and his wife 
 Betsey Burnett, who died in Michigan. Henry 
 Smith was a teacher by profession and after 
 the death of his wife he moved from Michigan 
 to Pennsylvania, where he passed the remain- 
 der of his life, being killed by the cars after 
 he had reached the age of eighty years. 
 
 Dr. Blakeley was reared on the farm south 
 of Evansville, where he attended the district 
 school, and, when somewhat older, the high 
 school at Evansville. Then he took up the 
 study of medicine, and was graduated from 
 Rush Medical School in 1885. He began the 
 practice of his profession at Hampton, Neb., 
 where he remained two years. From there 
 the young Doctor went to North Loup, and in 
 1890 came to Albany, where he has since con- 
 tinued in his professional work. 
 
 Dr. Blakeley and Miss Jennie M. Barge- 
 well, the daughter of Matthew and Miriam 
 (Regers) Bargewell, were married Feb. 27, 
 1880. They are the parents of six children, 
 Hattie A., Fred L., Glenn A., William, Ed- 
 win and Miriam. The Doctor is a member 
 
 of Anchor Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of North 
 Loup, Neb., being very popular in his Ma- 
 sonic affiliations; and of Garrison , 
 
 Knights of the Globe. Fie is a member of 
 the Central Wisconsin Medical Society. In 
 politics he is a Republican ; he was appointed 
 postmaster at Albany Dec. 15, 1898, and en- 
 tered upon the duties of his position the last 
 day of that month. Lie was reappointed Jan- 
 uary 15, 1899. The office was then rated as 
 fourth-class, but it is now a third-class office. 
 Dr. Blakeley was a member of the village 
 board in 1892. 
 
 There is good Revolutionary blood in the 
 family. Two brothers of our subject’s pa- 
 ternal great-grandfather were killed in that 
 struggle. His wife’s father came from Eng- 
 land. where he was born, and located in Mich- 
 igan. He came to Evansville when somewhat 
 advanced in years, and was a shoemaker in 
 that city. H6 was master of Union Lodge, 
 No. 32, A. F. & A. M., for twenty years, and 
 was known far and wide as one of the most 
 loyal Masons in Wisconsin. He had two 
 children: Jennie M., Mrs. Blakeley; and 
 
 Myrta, a teacher in the public schools of Min- 
 neapolis. • 
 
 GEORGE A. PROCTOR is a successful 
 and much respected farmer and stockman of 
 La Prairie township, Rock county, occupying 
 a very fertile and highly-cultivated farm, 
 which is described as the Southwest Quarter 
 of the Northwest Quarter of Section 4, of 
 that township. Here he has lived for many 
 years, and is known as an 'honest and reliable 
 farmer and a public-spirited citizen. 
 
 Mr. Proctor was born in Bellows Falls, 
 Vt., Dec. 14, 1846, a son of Eli and Mary 
 (Woodward) Proctor, both natives of that 
 State. They had a family of three sons and 
 one daughter: Mary Allen, wife of James 
 
 U. Gould, of Delavan, Wis. ; George A. ; and 
 Joel and Hiram C., both of La Prairie town- 
 ship. Eli Proctor, who was a farmer, came 
 to Wisconsin in 1834, and bought a quarter 
 of Section 3, La Prairie township, to the cul- 
 tivation of which he devoted his life. There 
 he lived and reared his family, and there his 
 wife died July 7, 1889, at -the age of sixty- 
 three. She was a Methodist, but he is a Uni- 
 versalist. Many years ago he was supervisor 
 for two terms. Jonas Proctor, father of Eli. 
 was a Vermont farmer, and was of English and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 4i3 
 
 Scottish descent. He lived to reach the age 
 of seventy, and died from the effects of in- 
 juries received when a wagon ran over him. 
 He had a numerous family, three daughters 
 and seven sons. The family stock of the 
 Proctor family has superb vitality. Eli Proc- 
 tor is now eighty-five years old, and is still* 
 hale and hearty. Two of his brothers died 
 recently, one aged eighty-four and the other 
 ninety-six. Jonas Woodward, the maternal 
 grandfather of George A. Proctor, was also a 
 resident of Vermont, and a farmer. He was 
 of Irish and Scottish descent, and lived to 
 pass eighty years. He was the father of three 
 sons and three daughters. 
 
 George A. Proctor was only seven years 
 of age when he first came to Rock county. 
 He attended the district school, and remained 
 on his father's farm until he had grown to 
 maturity. He began life for himself by en- 
 gaging as a farm hand by the month, and soon 
 felt able to rent a farm, which he cultivated for 
 two years. Then he began buying horses, and 
 selling them either in the West or in Chicago, 
 as the times might determine. 
 
 On Feb. 22, 1876, Mr. Proctor married 
 Miss Emma L. Hurd, daughter of Silas and 
 Cynthia (Cowan) Hurd, both natives of the 
 State of New York, who were among the very 
 earliest settlers of Rock county. Coming to 
 Wisconsin in 1838, they made their home in 
 Fulton township, Rock county, where they 
 always lived on the farm on which they first 
 settled in Indian Ford (a village). Two sons 
 and six daughters have been born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Proctor: Luie A., Mildred C. and 
 
 Myrtle E. (twins), Edna E., Leo M., Dean 
 0 ., Isabel M. and Mabel. Luie A. mar- 
 ried Hattie Rooney, and is now living in Be- 
 loit; they have two children, Florence E. and 
 Don L. Mildred C. is teaching. The other 
 children are all at home. 
 
 Politically our subject is a Democrat. 
 From 1876 to 1888 he lived in the town of 
 Fulton, and was chairman of the town board 
 in 1888. He was also elected assessor of that 
 township, and filled the office nine years in 
 succession. It is a strong Republican town, 
 and his repeated re-elections were a tribute to 
 his personal worth and character, his major- 
 ity running each year from forty to fifty votes. 
 He was twice nominated for register of deeds, 
 but he could not overcome the strong Repub- 
 lican majority in the county, though on each 
 
 occasion he made a gallant struggle. Mr. 
 Proctor joined the Masonic fraternity when 
 twenty-four years old. 
 
 When the family moved into La Prairie 
 township in 1888 Mrs. Proctor bought the 
 present farm, of 240 acres, known as the 
 “Ravine Hill Stock Farm,” and our subject 
 has given his attention very largely to the 
 raising of a fine grade of horses. Since 1892 
 the land has been rented, and Mr. Proctor is 
 now disposed to take life somewhat more 
 easily. He has always taken a leading part 
 in every movement to help the agricultural in- 
 terests of Rock county forward, and has been 
 a director in the Rock County Agricultural 
 Society. From 1892 to 1898 he was in the 
 leaf tobacco business in Janesville. He is 
 much interested, as might be expected, in blood- 
 ed stock, and having the personal acquaintance 
 of the drivers in the grand trotting circuit, 
 goes the round of the circuit every year, com- 
 mencing at Detroit, going through all the New 
 England States, and as far South as Louis- 
 ville and Lexington, Kentucky. 
 
 JOSEPH H. LINCOLN. The arrival of 
 Mr. Lincoln in Wisconsin antedates the ad- 
 mission of the State into the Union, he hav- 
 ing first taken up his residence in Grant coun- 
 ty in April, 1844. His birthplace was Chester 
 county, Penn., and the date of his birth was 
 Feb. 10, 1827. 
 
 The Lincoln family is of English origin, 
 although both our subject's grandfather, 
 Thomas, and father, Azariah, were natives of 
 the Keystone State. In Pennsylvania Azariah 
 Lincoln married Mary Miles, and they re- 
 moved thence to Wayne county, Ohio, later 
 (about 1840) settling in Illinois. It was in 
 1844 that Azariah Lincoln resolved to seek 
 a home in what was then regarded as the far 
 Northwest, a virtually trackless territory. At 
 that time he and his wife had a family of 
 seven children, four of whom were boys. 
 Their first home in Wisconsin was at Liv- 
 ingston, but later a change of domicile to 
 Montfort was made, both Mr. and Mrs. Lin- 
 coln dying in that town, he on Oct. 9, 1862, 
 in his seventieth year, and she on Nov. 30, 
 1877, after attaining the ripe old age of four- 
 score and two. The dates of their respective 
 births were Sept. 26, 1793, and March 10, 
 1795. Azariah Lincoln was a man of great 
 muscular strength and fine physical develop- 
 
4 1 4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 meat, and was by trade a blacksmith. He 
 was a man of resolute will and inflexible 
 moral conviction. Both he and his wife were 
 ardent Methodists, and it was at their home 
 that the itinerant preachers of that denomina- 
 tion in those early days found entertainment 
 and encouragement in their self-sacrificing ef- 
 forts to propagate Christian faith and dissem- 
 inate Gospel truth among the early denizens 
 of a new country, where grit ranked above 
 goodness, and brawn was the badge of un- 
 titled royalty. 
 
 The children of Azariah. and Mary Lin- 
 coln were: Thomas, who died June 15, 1890, 
 the father of a family; Dickinson, now a resi- 
 dent of Cottage Grove, Oregon; Joseph H. ; 
 Samuel, who died in 1894; Elizabeth; Mar- 
 garet ; and Sarah. 
 
 Joseph H. Lincoln was a lad of seventeen 
 when he accompanied his parents to their new 
 home in Wisconsin, and there will never fade 
 from his mind his first sight of what is now 
 Grant county, with its prosperous villages and 
 well cultivated farms, its heaven-pointing 
 church spires, and its well conducted schools. 
 Since those days he has seen Wisconsin grow 
 to Statehood, its forests cleared, its soil re- 
 claimed, its mineral wealth explored, its har- 
 bors improved, its bosom dotted with cities 
 and towns of constantly growing wealth and 
 prosperity, and its people become among the 
 most enlightened and God-fearing in an en- 
 tire continent. He was married, on Dec. 15, 
 1861, to Miss Margaret Laird, a daughter of 
 Thomas and Elizabeth (Twining) Laird. She 
 was born Dec. 4, 1841, and died May 16, 1871. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln had a family of two 
 daughters and two sons: The eldest, John, 
 
 died at the age of four years. The eldest 
 daughter. Mary, is the wife of S. H. Taylor, 
 one of the leaders of the Grant County Bar. 
 Eva, the youngest daughter, lives at home 
 with her father. Azariah, the only surviving 
 son, who is named in honor of his paternal 
 grandfather, was born June 25, 1868. He 
 early developed an inborn fondness for sci- 
 entific study, and his father has afforded him 
 admirable advantages. After graduating from 
 the academic department of the Wisconsin 
 State University he studied for and received 
 the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, having- 
 prepared a most excellent thesis on the ‘‘Elec- 
 trical Conductivity of Non-Aqueous So- 
 lutions." So emphatic was his success in this 
 
 field of scientific investigation, he was offered 
 an assistant professorship in Natural Science 
 at Cornell University, a chair which he yet 
 fills, bringing to the discharge of his duties 
 ardent enthusiasm, ripe scholarship, and an 
 illimitable thirst and capacity for painstaking 
 'investigation. 
 
 Mr. Lincoln has passed life’s seventy- 
 fourth milestone, with undimmed intellect 
 and an unshaken religious faith. He and his 
 daughter are among Montfort’s most esteemed 
 residents. His life has been an open book, 
 and on its pages there is no stain. 
 
 KNUD B. DUXSTAD. Coming with his 
 parents to Rock county in 1844, when a young- 
 man of nineteen, the subject of this sketch has 
 devoted to the development of Wisconsin the 
 strength of more than half a century, and has 
 long been ranked as one of the foremost citi- 
 zens of Clinton. As owner of valuable busi- 
 ness property in the city of Chicago, 111 ., .as 
 director and vice-president of the Citizens 
 Bank, of Clinton, as proprietor of the well- 
 improved Duxstad homestead of 205 acres in 
 Section 32, Clinton township, he has attained 
 a prominent position in the material affairs 
 of Rock county, and is no less influential in 
 religious, social, educational and political cir- 
 cles. 
 
 Brynild Knudson, his father, was born in 
 Norway Jan. 8, 1794, the eldest of the five 
 children of Knud Erickson and Brita (Knud- 
 son) Duxstad, the other children being Mar- 
 tha, Eric, Carrie and Anguna. Brynild took 
 up the life of a farmer. O11 June 10, 1824, 
 he married Elie Knudson Seime, daughter of 
 Knud Seime, also a Norwegian farmer, and 
 by this marriage had seven children, two of 
 whom died in infancy. The others were Knud, 
 Iver, Brita, Knud B and Carrie. With his 
 wife and children Brynild Knudson in 1844 
 emigrated to America, and settled in Rock 
 countv, Wis., where he acquired property, and 
 lived an industrious and prosperous life until 
 death called him, Aug. 7, 1857. He was a 
 lifelong member of the Lutheran Church, and 
 a good, substantial citizen in the pioneer 
 country. 
 
 Knud B. Duxstad, our subject, was born 
 in Norway Feb. 2, 1825, and came with his 
 parents to America in 1844, arriving at Clin- 
 ton Aug. 17 of that year. The cultivation of 
 the soil became his life work, but his' foresight 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 4 1 5 
 
 and business judgment gave him prominence 
 among his fellow men, and he soon became 
 recognized as a citizen of sterling and com- 
 manding principles. He owns 260 acres of 
 land in Section 33, Clinton township, 200 
 acres in Boone county, 111 ., and the building 
 at Nos. 59-61 East, Kinzie street, Chicago. 
 He is director of the T. G. Mandt Vehicle 
 Co., Stoughton, Wis. Mr. Duxstad married 
 Nov. 24, 1863. Miss Ingeborg Sjursdatter 
 Qvarme, born in Norway Aug. 30, 1838, 
 
 daughter of Seaver and Carrie K. ( Duxstad) 
 Knudson, the former a Norwegian farmer 
 who in 1844 emigrated with his family to 
 America, coming in the same ship which 
 brought over the Duxstads. Seaver Knud- 
 son settled in Boone county, 111 ., where he 
 died in 1882, aged eighty-two years; his wife 
 survived him seven years. To our subject and 
 wife have been born seven children, Oscar B., 
 Elias S., Carrie A., Annie C., Mattie B., 
 Emma J. and Ida L. Mattie is deceased. 
 Elias married Nov. 26, 1898, Miss Minnie 
 Fessenden, and they have one son, Earl 
 Maynard, born May 27, 1900. 
 
 Mr. Duxstad is a prominent member of 
 the Lutheran Church, and has been organist 
 in the church for many years. In politics he 
 is a Republican. For sixteen years he has 
 been on the board of supervisors, of which he 
 was chairman (two years), also served as town 
 assessor three years, and two years officiated 
 as justice of the peace. He is one of the 
 hardy pioneers of Wisconsin, a typical speci- 
 men of the courageous and thrifty race that 
 settled its distant shores, and gave to the 
 State a high grade of citizenship. He has 
 by his systematic course of righteous and in- 
 dustrious living won the highest respect of 
 the people of Rock county, and ranks as one 
 of its prominent and influential business men. 
 
 LAUREN L. THURBER, the genial, well 
 known agent of the Chicago, Milwaukee and 
 St. Paul Railroad, at Muscoda, Grant county, 
 and one of the old soldiers of that place, is a 
 native of Door, La Porte Co., Ind., born Ian. 
 
 W 184 3. 
 
 Mr. Thurber is the son of Nathaniel and 
 Sarah A. (Leland) Thurber, who were born 
 in Vermont and New York State, respectively, 
 and were old settlers of La Porte county, Ind. 
 As the country surrounding their home be- 
 came settled, the same spirit which prompted 
 
 their removal to Indiana urged them further 
 westward, and in 1857 they located at Pulaski, 
 Iowa Co., Wis., where two years later they 
 were joined by their son, Lauren L. Thurber. 
 Mrs. Thurber died at Muscoda, while her son, 
 the subject of this sketch, was absent fighting 
 for the honor of his country; Mr. Thurber sur- 
 vived her until 1867. These worthy people had 
 four children: Lauren L., the only son; Mrs. 
 Lauretta L. Mack, who died at South Bend, 
 Ind., in (March, 1900; Airs. Sarah Augusta 
 Walbridge, now many years deceased ; and 
 Airs. A. E. AIcCallister, whose death occurred 
 at her home in Aladison, S. Dak., several years 
 ago. 
 
 Lauren L. Thurber is a mason, having 
 learned the trade in his native State, but of 
 late years has had no occasion to work at 
 that calling. Although he had not attained 
 years of manhood when his country had need 
 of him he was found willing and anxious to 
 risk his life in defense of its honor, and en- 
 listed Aug. 18, 1862, in Company C, 20th 
 Wis. V. I., taking part in all of the engage- 
 ments in which his regiment participated until 
 it was honorably mustered out, in August, 
 1865. While never wounded in the service, 
 the hardships affected Air. Thurber so that 
 he has never since been in robust health, and 
 has been obliged to guard against complica- 
 tions resulting from the forced marches, the 
 exposure, and the thousand and one trials en- 
 dured by our brave soldiers during that never- 
 to-be-forgotten struggle. 
 
 On Alay 4, 1867, Air. Thurber was mar- 
 ried to Alariana H. Soper, daughter of Platt 
 Soper, and four sons have been born to this 
 union: Ralph L., Nathaniel P., Philip S. and 
 
 William AI. 
 
 Air. Thurber has occupied his present po- 
 sition for thirty-two years, and cannot be 
 spoken of too hig'hly as a man of sterling in- 
 tegrity, unflinching honesty, and faithful ad- 
 herence to duty. In every walk of life he has 
 proven himself to be the kind of a man that 
 is the best representative of American inde- 
 pendence, and one which should be held up as 
 a model for the coming generation. 
 
 JOSEPH KEEN, a retired farmer now liv- 
 ing in Alonroe, Green county, enjoys the re- 
 sults of well-spent years, both in the accumu- 
 lation of an ample competence and in the ac- 
 quisition of .the respect and confidence of all 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 416 
 
 who know him. Mr. Keen has all his life 
 been an industrious and hard-working man. 
 He has studied his calling, and brought to the 
 tillage of the soil both brains and character. 
 
 Joseph Keen was born in Buckingham- 
 shire, England, Oct. 25, 1831, and is a son of 
 John and Mary (Luck) Keen, both natives of 
 that country. They were the parents of seven 
 sons and two daughters, and seven of their 
 children are now living: Joseph; Elizabeth, 
 
 the wife of a Mr. Stephens, of London, Eng- 
 land ; John C., of Beresford, S. Dak. ; Thomas, 
 of England; James, of South Dakota; Mary, 
 who married James Dickens, and is now dead; 
 Robert, of England; Thomas, deceased; and 
 Fred, of New Zealand. The father is still 
 living in Buckinghamshire, and is over ninety 
 years of age; his wife died in 1890, when over 
 eighty years of age. James Keen, grandfather 
 of our subject, was a native of England, 
 where he followed tire trade of shoemaker, 
 and lived to be ninety years old; he was twice 
 married, and had six or seven children. 
 Daniel Luck, the father of Mrs. Mary Luck 
 Keen, was born in England, where he lived 
 and died ; he was a farmer, and reared a large 
 family. 
 
 Joseph Keen was reared in England, and 
 in 1857 emigrated to the United States. He 
 located in Adams township, Green county, 
 and engaged in farming eighty acres rented 
 by him on his arrival in the county. From 
 time to time Mr. Keen bought land, until he 
 had title deeds to two hundred twenty acres 
 of as choice land as the sun shines upon in 
 southern Wisconsin. He remained on the 
 farm for twenty-six years. In 1890 Mr. Keen 
 bought a comfortable home in Monroe, and 
 leaving the farm, went to try the comforts 
 of life in the town. He did not have liberal 
 school privileges in old England, getting his 
 education mostly from night schools, which 
 he could attend after the day’s work was fin- 
 ished. He is a close reader on public topics, 
 and a thoughtful student of present world 
 tendencies. 
 
 Mr. Keen and Miss Rebecca Eley, the 
 daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Bennett) 
 Eley, were married Dec. 2, 1858. This union 
 has been blessed by the birth of eight children : 
 Emily, Mary, Avis, Alvin J., Flora May, 
 Cora, Eunice, and Alma. Emily married 
 Thomas Lean and lives in Ireton, Iowa; they 
 have four children, Elvin, Belle, William and 
 
 Lola. Mary is the wife of Oren Post, and lives 
 in Pasadena, Cal. ; she is the mother of one 
 child, Grace. Avis is Mrs. John Chenhall, of 
 Betdison, Mo. ; they have three children, 
 Edith, Alta and Raymond. Alvin J. married 
 Laura Clemmer, and lives in Monroe town- 
 ship; they have two children, Roy and Lois. 
 Flora May died a child of two years. Cora 
 is single, and lives at Pasadena, Cal. Eunice 
 is a nurse in Garfield Park Sanitarium, Chi- 
 cago, and was formerly a kindergarten teacher. 
 Alma lives at home. Mr. and Mrs. Keen be- 
 long to the Methodist Church. He was a 
 class-leader for many years, and is now as- 
 sistant class-leader. Mr. Keen has long been 
 a Republican, and has filled various town 
 offices. He was treasurer of the school district 
 for twelve years. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Henry Eley, the parents of 
 Mrs. Keen, were natives of Pennsylvania. He 
 was a brickmaker in early life, and later be- 
 came a farmer. They came West in the early 
 days, and located on government land near 
 Monroe. He left the farm a number of years 
 before his death, and lived in Monroe, where 
 he died in 1880, at the age of sixty-five. His 
 widow is still living, and makes her home 
 with her daughter, Mrs. Thomas, in the town 
 of Monroe, and is now past eighty-four. She 
 was the mother of four sons and six daugh- 
 ters, and eight of her children are still living: 
 Rebecca, the wife of J. Keen ; Catherine, 
 widow of William Edwards, of Spooner, Wis. ; 
 Daniel, of Sutton, Neb.; John, deceased; 
 Mary Ann, wife of Nelson Rolland, of Sut- 
 ton, Neb.; David, of Nebraska; Lucinda, 
 the wife of Frank George, of Wyoming; 
 Louisa, wife of David Starr, of Nebras- 
 ka; Henrietta, the wife of John Thomas', 
 of Monroe township, Green county; and Hen- 
 ry Lincoln, deceased. Mrs. Keen’s paternal 
 .grandfather, John Eley, was a native of Penn- 
 sylvania, of Dutch descent, and lived to be 
 over seventy. Mrs. Keen’s maternal grand- 
 father was Joseph Bennett. He was of 
 mingled Scottish and Dutch ancestry, and died 
 well advanced in years. 
 
 CAPT. P. H. CONLEY, a distinguished 
 member of the Bar of Wisconsin, located at 
 Darlington, Lafayette county, was born in 
 County Monaghan, Ireland, Jan. 28, 1852. 
 His father’s family emigrated to America in 
 1855, an d settled in Lafayette county, Wis., 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 4i7 
 
 where our subject was reared upon a farm. 
 At the age of seventeen he entered the Dar- 
 lington high school, where, besides a course 
 of study in the English branches, he also took 
 up a course in Latin, two years later entering 
 the professional ranks as a teacher. In the 
 fall of 1873 he became a student again, enter- 
 ing the Freshman class of the State Univer- 
 sity. In June, 1876, when in his Senior year, 
 he was offered the flattering position of prin- 
 cipal of the Newell (Iowa) graded schools, 
 six months later resigning this to accept the 
 principalship of the Storm Lake high school, 
 in the same State. In this position he re- 
 mained nearly three years, resigning in June, 
 
 1879, and during this period was made presi- 
 dent of the County Teachers’ Association, 
 and cond'uctor of the County Normal Insti- 
 tutes. 
 
 Returning to Darlington, Mr. Conley en- 
 tered upon the study of law, toward which 
 he had a natural inclination, entering the office 
 of Magoon & O’Keefe, and 1 was admitted to 
 the Bar by Judge M. M. Cothren, June 22, 
 
 1880. In order to better prepare himself for 
 the legal profession lie soon afterward en- 
 tered the law department of the State Uni- 
 versity, graduating in 1881, and immediately 
 after began the practice of law in Darlington, 
 succeeding beyond expectation. Mr. Conley’s 
 career has been a successful and brilliant one, 
 and lie is one of the citizens of whom Dar- 
 lington may feel proud, and one who may be 
 heard from in the future, both in a legal and 
 in a literary way. He has shown good judg- 
 ment in the handling of estates and in finan- 
 cial matters, and his promptness and care have 
 won him a clientage that love and respect him. 
 His' ability was first publicly recognized in 
 1888, when lie was elected district attorney 
 for Lafayette county ; he was re-nominated, 
 by acclamation, in 1892; twice has the honor- 
 able office of mayor of the city been his ; lie 
 was made captain of Companies K and D, 
 1st Regiment, Wis. N. G., and senior captain 
 of his regiment, resigning after six years’ 
 service. 
 
 Mr. Conley has been a delegate to the 
 League of Republican Clubs'; was secretary of 
 the local Garfield and Arthur Club in 1880; 
 was president of the Blaine and Logan Club 
 of 1884; and has done considerable stump 
 speaking, being an excellent and vigorous 
 speaker. In his literary course at the Univer- 
 
 sity Mr. Conley was a member of the Hesperia 
 and Linonia Societies, and! represented 1 the 
 former in the first joint debate with Calliopea, 
 also representing the Linonia in another joint 
 debate ; he was made vice-president of the 
 Oratorical Association. Mr. Conley is fond 
 of literature, and is a writer of ability, having 
 written numbers of articles for the University 
 Press, for the Darlington papers, for the 
 Storm Lake Pilot, and for various other 
 papers. Mr. Conley has also written a num- 
 ber of very meritorious' poems : On “College 
 
 Days,” read before the Hesperia Society in 
 1876; “Home Coming;” “Remembrance;” 
 “The Vision;” “Education,” etc. The law 
 library of our subject is a comprehensive one, 
 and he also owns a great number of volumes 
 on science, biography, history and literature; 
 his collection of volumes relating to the his- 
 tory of Wisconsin is an exhaustive one. In 
 1900 Mr. Conley crossed the Atlantic and vis- 
 ited the Paris Exposition, visiting also' his old 
 family home in Ireland, and viewing many of 
 the beautiful and historical places of that coun- 
 try and England. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Conley to Miss Eva 
 M. Foster, of Monroe, Wis., was celebrated 
 May 20, 1889. 
 
 LEONARD RAISBECK, a retired farm- 
 er of the town of Benton, Lafayette county, 
 was born in Yorkshire, England, in Febru- 
 ary, 1842, and is a son of John and Jane 
 (Bainbridge) Raisbeck. The father was born 
 in the Isle of Man in 1803, and the mother 
 was born the same year. They came to Amer- 
 ica in a sailing-vessel in 1850, bringing with 
 them a family of nine children, and settled 
 in the town of Benton, where John Raisbeck 
 engaged in mining for a time, afterwards pur- 
 chasing a farm two miles north of the village, 
 to the cultivation of which he devoted the 
 rest of his life. It is regarded as one ’of the 
 finest farms in the county. John Raisbeck died 
 in 1873, and his 1 widow five years later. Both 
 were members of the Primitive Methodist 
 Church, and he was active in the building of 
 the brick church now standing in Benton. 
 After his arrival in this' country he became 
 interested in the Republican party. His fam- 
 ily consisted of children as follows: (1) Rob- 
 ert, born in England in April, 1824, was mar- 
 ried there in 1848 to Ruth Addison, and lo- 
 cated in New Diggings, Wis., in 1849. He 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 4 1 8 
 
 was an active farmer until 1885, in which year 
 he moved to Platteville, where he died in 
 1886. The following year his' wid'ow also 
 passed away, leaving four children — Eliza- 
 beth, wife of Hugh Cliff, of Bloomington, 
 Wis. ; Margaret, wife of James' Nicholas, of 
 Platteville; Carrie, wife of William Trenary, 
 of Platteville; and William, a resident of 
 Dubuque, Iowa, who is the owner of the Rais- 
 beck Mines in Lafayette county, the output of 
 which has made him very wealthy. (2) 
 Francis died in England when a young child. 
 (3) Jane, born in England in May, 1827, is 
 now the widow of David Atkinson, and 1 has 
 her home in Scales Mound. She has raised a 
 family of six children, Reuben, William, John, 
 Joseph, Nettie (wife of Samuel Ottie), and 
 Libbie (wife of John Adams). (4) Francis, 
 born in England in March, 1829, was married 
 to Nannie Addison, and for a time was a 
 farmer in the town of Benton, moving thence 
 to Lancaster, and from there to> Beetown, 
 Grant county, where he still resides. Their 
 children are John, Clarence, Jane and 1 Frank. 
 (5) Catherine, born in England in May, 1831, 
 married James Barringham at Council Hill, 
 Jo Daviess Co., 111 ., where they both died, 
 he in 1882, a nd she in 1896. Their children 
 were May, Sarah, Margaret, Elizabeth, Han- 
 nah and Mary, all of whom are living in Illi- 
 nois. (6) Elizabeth was born in May, 1833, 
 in England, where she died in June, 1849. 
 ( 7 ) John, born in 1835, hied' in 1849. (8) 
 
 Ann, born in September, 1837, married 1 Will- 
 iam Gates, of Benton, a native of England, 
 and is living with her husband on a farm in 
 Beetown, Grant county. They have ten chil- 
 dren. (9) Jonathan, born in February, 1840, 
 was married in Wisconsin to Miss Minnie 
 Miller, and located on a farm in Benton, where 
 his wife died, leaving him four children, Jo- 
 seph, Mary J., Annie and Nannie. Mr. Rais- 
 beck married for his second wife Miss Mary 
 A. Cherry. They are living on a farm in 
 Shull sburg, and have a family of eight chil- 
 dren. (10) Leonard is our subject. (11) 
 William, born Aug. 19, 1844, was married to 
 Miss Lizzie Row, of New Diggings. (12) 
 Joseph, born in December, 1846, died in 1863. 
 
 Leonard Raisbeck was' educated in the 
 Benton public schools, and 1 was reared on the 
 home farm, taking the active management of 
 the place for his father when he grew up. In 
 March, 1879, he was married to Miss Mary 
 
 A. Bird, daughter of Joseph and Sarah 
 (Johnson) Bird, old and prominent pioneer 
 settlers of Lafayette county. Joseph Bird was 
 born in England in 1828, and his wife was 
 born in Tamacjua, Schuylkill Co., Penn., in 
 May, 1836, daughter of John and Ann John- 
 son, both born in England, and settlers in 
 Pennsylvania in 1832. In 1848 they moved 
 West, and they died in Warren, 111 ., leaving 
 four children: James Johnson, of Chicago; 
 
 Anna; Margaret, now the widow of Joseph 
 Edwards, living in San Diego, Cal. ; and 
 Sarah, wife of Mr. Bird, of Benton. They 
 have one son, Isaac, of Aurora, Missouri. 
 
 After hi s' marriage Leonard Raisbeck set- 
 tled on the old homestead', where he lived until 
 after the death of his wife, in April, 1883. 
 She was a Christian woman, and her life was 
 spent in doing good. Precious memories of 
 her survive. She was the mother of two sons': 
 John Emmet, born in 1881 ; and Leonard, Jr., 
 born in 1883, who died the same year. John 
 Emmet received a good public-school educa- 
 tion, and was a student in the Bailey Commer- 
 cial College, at Dubuque. He is now a mem- 
 ber of the firm of Raisbeck & Temple, g-eneral 
 merchants at Benton, a new business enter- 
 prise, organized in January, 1901. 
 
 Mr. Raisbeck is a stanch Republican, and 
 in religion is a member of the P. M. Church, 
 to which lie is much devoted. By his upright 
 life and kindly spirit lie has won a high stand- 
 ing in his community. He is gentlemanly 
 and courteous, considerate of the feelings 1 and 
 sensibilities of those with whom he comes in 
 contact, and enjoys the esteem of a host of 
 friends. 
 
 JOHN FOLEY is the well known editor 
 and proprietor of the Cassville Index, which 
 paper was established in Cassville, Grant 
 county, March 8, 1888, by Charles' De Witt, 
 who' conducted it for a few months, and then 
 sold 1 out to Mr. Foley. The latter hasi since en- 
 gaged in its publication, and has made it one 
 of the leading newspapers of his section of the 
 State. The office is well equipped with both 
 hand and roller presses, and, in fact, every- 
 thing needed in a first-class establishment of 
 the kind. 
 
 A native of Wisconsin, Mr. Foley was born 
 in Mineral Point in 1853, a son of James and 
 Ann (Creavy) Foley, who were born in Ire- 
 land, and located in Mineral Point at a very 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 419 
 
 early day in the development of this State. 
 The father, who followed farming and also 
 engaged in mining, died at Dubuque, Iowa, 
 Oct. 27, 1895, and the mother is still a resi- 
 dent of that city. In their family were the 
 following children: John; James, a hotel man 
 of East Dubuque; Ellen, a resident of Du- 
 buque ; Annie ; Margaret ; Elizabeth ; and 
 Maria. 
 
 John Foley was reared at his birthplace, 
 whence he removed to Bellevue, Iowa, and 
 there operated a flouring-mill for about eight 
 years. He then became interested in theat- 
 ricals, and was for several years a member 
 of a dramatic stock company, of which 'he was 
 manager and stage director. That this was 
 his natural element is evidenced by reference 
 to printed matter now on file. He was, how- 
 ever, dissuaded from his purpose by friends 
 old in years, if not in experience; friends who, 
 in their anxiety for his welfare, thought he was 
 fast going to ruin by the stage route ; and he 
 therefore gave up his job. As a matter of 
 course the play came to an end, and Mr. Foley, 
 to use his own words, “went back to real, 
 rural life again,” and purchased a flouring- 
 mill in Patch Grove, Grant Co., Wis., con- 
 ducting it until his removal to Cassville, in 
 1885. Moving the machinery to this place, 
 he erected a new building — a mill which he 
 fitted and operated until he took charge of the 
 Cassville Index. He still owns the mill at that 
 place, but at the present time it is not running. 
 In his journalistic work Mr. Foley has met 
 with good success, being a fluent writer and 
 a man of good business and executive ability. 
 The paper is independent in politics. 
 
 On May 25, 1881, Mr. Foley was mar- 
 ried, in Patch Grove, to Miss Millie Lewis. 
 
 JOSEPH MORRISON (deceased), a vet- 
 eran of the war of the Rebellion, was 
 born in the town of Brockville, Province 
 of Ontario, Canada, July 28. 1833, and passed 
 from life at his home in Fennimore, Grant 
 county, March 7, 1896. His residence in Grant 
 county dated from September, 1858, when he 
 located here, a young man. 
 
 When the Civil war broke out, one of the 
 first regiments of infantry furnished by Wis- 
 consin was the gallant 25th, and it was in 
 Company C of this regiment that Joseph Mor- 
 rison enrolled his name, Aug. 12, 1862. Rec- 
 ords of the war show that the regiment par- 
 
 ticipated in most of the history-making events 
 of the next few years, and hence Mr. Morri- 
 son was at \ icksburg' with Gen. Grant; in the 
 Atlanta campaign under Gen. Sherman; took 
 part in that memorable march to the sea; 
 finally enjoyed the great review at Washing- 
 ton, at the close of the war. 
 
 Mr. Morrison was married, Dec. 25, 1866, 
 to Miss Catherine E. Smith, who was born 
 in Hebron, Ind., in 1847. She survives Mr. 
 Morrison, and the family are among the most 
 esteemed residents of the neighborhood. The 
 eldest daughter is the wife of Daniel Seeley, 
 and is the mother of two sons, Roy and Frank; 
 Margaret, wife of Fred Richmond, has one 
 son, Fred William ; and Ethel, the youngest 
 of the family, resides with her mother in 
 Fennimore. The sons are Joseph L., who 
 served in Company C, 4th Wisconsin Regi- 
 ment, in the war with Spain; George W., 
 and Frank E. 
 
 The memory of the good husband and 
 father is kept green, and he will long be re- 
 membered as a representative man of the com- 
 munity in which he lived, as well as a loyal 
 soldier and faithful friend. 
 
 FRANK W. ABELL. The subject of 
 this sketch ’is one of the well-known and pop- 
 ular farmers of Clinton, Rock county. His 
 residence here of more than a quarter of a 
 century was preceded by a residence of almost 
 equal length, in Walworth county, Wis., which 
 was named in honor of George Walworth, his 
 maternal grandfather. 
 
 Our subject was born Aug. 22, 1849, 
 Spring Prairie, Walworth county, son of Ben- 
 jamin and Maria (W alworth) Abell, natives 
 of New York State. The paternal grandpar- 
 ents lived and died at Perry, N. Y., where 
 they were engaged in farming. Their family 
 consisted of nine children. Benjamin Abell, 
 the father of Frank W., was a school .teacher 
 and farmer. He came West in 1843, an< l for 
 a year lived in Lake county, 111 . In 1844 he 
 removed to Spring Prairie, Walworth county, 
 where he engaged in farming continuously un- 
 til 1874, carrying the United States mail, dur- 
 ing twelve years of this period. In March, 
 1874, he moved to Clinton township, Rock 
 county, where he died at the age of eighty- 
 two years, his faithful wife surviving only 
 three days, and passing away at the age of 
 seventy-nine. Both were devout members of 
 
420 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the M. E. Church. To Benjamin and Maria 
 Abell were born five children, all of whom are 
 living: Abbie, of Clinton; Frank W., our 
 
 subject; Henry H. ; George B., of Aberdeen, 
 S. Dak.; and Jesse B. 
 
 George Walworth, the maternal grand- 
 father of our subject, was one of the earliest 
 and most prominent pioneers of Walworth 
 county, and was a member of the Wisconsin 
 Legislature in 1848. He had served in the 
 war of 1812, and for some time prior to his 
 migration to Walworth county had farmed in 
 New York State. He married a Miss Ivezia 
 Perry, a relative of Commodore Perry, hero of 
 the battle of Lake Erie. He died at the age 
 of seventy years. His family consisted of two 
 children, both daughters : Maria, Mrs. Abell ; 
 and Mrs. A. A. Jones. 
 
 Frank W. Abell, our subject, was reared 
 on the farm in Spring Prairie, Walworth coun- 
 ty, attending the district schools. In his early 
 manhood he lived for years in Chicago, and 
 was also engaged in butchering at East Troy 
 for two years. In 1874 he came with his par- 
 ents to Clinton, and continued to live with them 
 on the farm until their deaths. Since then he 
 has managed the property, and is recognized 
 as one of the progressive and successful ag- 
 riculturists of the county. Politically Mr. 
 Abell is a Republican, and fraternally he is 
 a member of Good Samaritan Lodge, No. 
 135, F. & A. M. Mr. Abell owns about sev- 
 enty-five acres of land in the vicinity of Clin- 
 ton, and also has some Western property. His 
 Clinton home is admirably located on the hill, 
 commanding a full view of the Main street of 
 Clinton. He is an industrious and enterpris- 
 ing citizen, one whose early life was closely 
 identified with the privations and toils of the 
 primitive settlements, and whose ancestors en- 
 dured the full measure of the arduous labor 
 essential in developing a new country and con- 
 verting the desolate wilderness into peaceful 
 and happy homes. 
 
 MARTIN E. COLTMAN, the successful 
 drug merchant, and owner of the Coltman 
 Mine in Benton, Lafayette county, is one of 
 the progressive business men and substantial 
 citizens of that county. He was born in the 
 town of Benton June 24, 1855, son of John 
 and Jane (Brown) Coltman. 
 
 John Coltman was born in t'he County of 
 Durham, England, in 1815, and his wife, Jane 
 
 Brown, also a native of that county, was born 
 in 1820. They were married before crossing 
 the Atlantic, which they did in 1850, in a 
 sailing-vessel. On landing in New York they 
 came directly West, and settled in New Dig- 
 gings township, Lafayette Co., Wis., where 
 Mr. Coltman engaged in mining for a couple 
 of years. He then located on a farm in Benton 
 township near where the Cottingham Mill, now 
 stands, and passed the remainder of his life 
 in that location, making many improvements 
 on his place. His death occurred in 1889. 
 His wife had preceded him to the better land 
 in 1877. They were both good Christian peo- 
 ple, though not members of any church. Po- 
 litically he was always identified with the Re- 
 publican party, and held a number of local 
 offices, giving the greatest of satisfaction by his 
 able manner of discharging the duties apper- 
 taining to the same. Mr. and Mrs. Coltman 
 were the parents of four children, two sons 
 and two daughters: (1) John H., born in 
 
 1853, was educated in the home schools and in 
 the Platteville Normal. He married Hulda 
 Lindsey, daughter of Andrew Lindsey, of 
 New Diggings, and settled in the' town of 
 Benton; in 1896 he moved to Stockton, Cal., 
 and engaged in mining. He has two children — 
 Willard B., a reporter for the Manchester 
 News, of Iowa; and Lemoin, at his home in 
 California. (2) Martin E. is second in the or- 
 der of birth. (3) Hannah J., born in 1857, 
 married Joseph Coulthard, of Lead Mine, La- 
 fayette county, and has five children — Eva. 
 wife of Joseph Thompson, of White Oak- 
 Springs, Lafayette county; and Alvin, Leroy, 
 John E. and Joyce, at home. (4) Lillie D., 
 born in 1859, married Joseph H. Allen, of 
 Manchester, Iowa; she has no family. 
 
 Martin E. Coltman received his education 
 in the schools of Benton, and passed his life 
 in the manner common to a farmer’s son until 
 he had reached man’s estate — his summers de- 
 voted to farm work, and his winters to min- 
 ing, for which latter vocation he soon acquired 
 remarkable talent. In his mining operations 
 he has been very successful, and is now the 
 owner of the Coltman Mine, one of the largest 
 producers of mineral wealth in the county, 
 located in Section 10. This was discovered by 
 Mr. Coltman in 1879, an d has produced 
 $181,000 worth of Dry Bone, Black Jack and 
 Lead ore. Until 1896 Mr. Coltman had as- 
 sociated with him Thomas H. Ewing, but since 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 421 
 
 that time has operated the mine alone. In 1892 
 he purchased the E. Miller drug store, in 
 Benton, and in this line has been equally suc- 
 cessful. 
 
 In 1890 Mr. Coltman was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Hattie D. Whiting, who was 
 born in New York in 1870, daughter of Rev. 
 D. J. Whiting. The latter was born in Spring- 
 Water, N. Y., came West, and was pastor of 
 the Methodist Church at the time of his death, 
 in March, 1900. Mrs. Coltman received her 
 early education in the New York schools, and 
 later attended Ripon (Wis.) Seminary. She 
 is a highly cultured and refined woman, and 
 presides with grace and dignity over the beau- 
 tiful home erected by her husband in 1890. 
 Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Coltman, as follows: Lillian S., in 1891; 
 
 Wanita G., in 1893; Evangeline F., in 1895; 
 and Holmes C., in 1898. As a stanch Re- 
 publican Mr. Coltman has taken a prominent 
 part in the affairs of his town, serving as chair- 
 man of the board for five years, and as presi- 
 dent of the village board for three years. 
 Whatever tends toward the upbuilding and 
 practical development of the town and its re- 
 sources finds in this worthy citizen an ardent 
 champion, and the unfortunate find in him a 
 warm friend. Socially he is a member of the 
 Masonic fraternity, belonging to Benton 
 Lodge, No. 268; is also identified with the 
 I. 0 . O. F., Lodge No. 21, of Benton, and with 
 the Knights of the Globe. Mrs. Coltman is 
 not a member of any church, and is liberal in 
 her religious views. 
 
 HENRY HUDSON. The subject of- these 
 lines, a well-known citizen of Beetown town- 
 ship, Grant county, is a veteran of the Civil 
 war. Mr. Hudson is a native of Grant county, 
 where he was born in 1843, a SOn °f Hiram 
 and Dorcas Hudson. The family migrated 
 from Pennsylvania to Grant county in 1837, 
 being among the earliest pioneers of Beetown. 
 The father of our subject died April 23, 1870, 
 the mother in June, 1894. 
 
 The war record of Mr. Hudson is a very 
 entertaining one. He enlisted in August, 1861, 
 in Company H, 7th Wis. V. I., which regi- 
 ment, it will be remembered, was a part of 
 the famous “Iron Brigade,’’ a brigade which, 
 for the number of battles in which it was en- 
 gaged and the efficiencv of its service, stands 
 in the front rank of the many gallant organi- 
 
 zations of which the Union army had reason 
 to feel proud. After his full term of three 
 years’ service had expired our subject was 
 honorably discharged, on Sept. 2, 1864. The 
 "Iron Brigade" was the one to first cross 
 the river and attack the enemy in the gallant 
 but unsuccessful effort of the army of Gen. 
 Burnside to dislodge the enemy at Fredericks- 
 burg. I11 the battle which followed our sub- 
 ject was wounded in the right temple, which 
 confined him to the hospital for some five 
 months, but as soon as able lie rejoined his 
 comrades in the field, and continued with them 
 until his discharge. Charles Hudson, a brother 
 of our subject, was a member of Company D, 
 33d Wisconsin Regiment. After the close of 
 the war our subject returned to his peaceful 
 home, taking up again the occupations of other 
 days among his old neighbors and friends. 
 
 The first marriage of Mr. Hudson was to 
 Miss Alice Taylor, who died April 21, 1867. 
 His second marriage was to Miss Sarah Fox, 
 a native of Cattaraugus county, N. \., and 
 he is the father of six daughters, one by the 
 first marriage, five by the last. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY GRAY might well 
 be selected as a typical farmer of southern Wis- 
 consin. He is pushing and earnest, but broad- 
 minded and generous in his spirit, has helped 
 the world roll onward, and now finds a satis- 
 faction in contemplating the vastness of the 
 revolution it has accomplished in his lifetime. 
 He has a comfortable and commodious home 
 in Section 11, Harmony township, Rock coun- 
 tv, and has at his command everything that 
 makes life in the country to-day the most in- 
 dependent and inspiring of all possible phases 
 of existence. 
 
 Mr. Gray was born in Walworth county, 
 Wis., in the town of Linn, near Lake Geneva, 
 Jan. 4, 1845, and enjoys the distinction of 
 being one of the early sons of the State. The 
 names of those native to the soil of Wiscon- 
 sin who were born before him would not make 
 a very long list. He is a son of Nathaniel 
 and Alvira (Kent) Gray, natives of Oneida 
 county. N. Y., who were the parents of four 
 sons and five daughters, and five of their chil- 
 dren are now living: William H. ; Caroline, 
 
 a teacher of Beloit ; Lucy, wife of E. J. Nor- 
 cross, of Castana, Iowa ; Dexter, of Johns- 
 town township : and Elizabeth, who lives with 
 her mother in Milton, Wis. Nathaniel Gray, 
 
422 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a farmer, came West early in the forties, and 
 settled for a short time near Kenosha, Wis. 
 He moved after some years into Walworth 
 county, where he bought a hundred-acre farm 
 near Lake Geneva. This he sold in 1857, and 
 moved into Rock county, buying a quarter 
 section in Johnstown township, and from time 
 to time added to it subsequent purchases' of 
 land until, when he died, he owned 329 acres. 
 His demise occurred in 1895, when he was 
 seventy-three years old. His wife still sur- 
 vives, and now lives at Milton. He was not 
 identified with any church; she is a Free-Will 
 Baptist. Joseph Gray, the grandfather of 
 William Henry, was a native of New York, 
 and of Scottish descent. He was a soldier 
 in the war of 1812, lived to be old, and reared 
 a large family. Nathaniel Kent, the father of 
 Mrs. Alvira (Kent) Gray, was a native of 
 New York, where he lived and died a farmer. 
 He reached a good old age, and reared a large 
 family of children. 
 
 William H. Gray was twelve years old 
 when he came to Rock county with his parents, 
 and lie has made his home here ever since. 
 He lived in Johnstown township until 1883, 
 and has always followed the life of a farmer. 
 He received a good common-school education 
 in the district schools, and attended Milton Col- 
 lege when somewhat older, and is a gentleman 
 of sound and matured views of life. He lived 
 at home until be reached manhood, and began 
 bis own independent career by renting a farm 
 in Johnstown township. In 1869 he pur- 
 chased a tract of land, consisting of 115 acres, 
 in Johnstown township, and there he made his 
 home until 1883, when he sold it, and bought 
 a farm of 199 acres in Section 11, Harmony 
 township, where he has lived to the present 
 time. It is a finely improved farm, and at- 
 tests the agricultural skill of its owner, who 
 has spared no pains to bring it up to the stand- 
 ard of any farm in the country. 
 
 Mr. Gray and Miss Harriet Osborne, a 
 daughter of Chauncey and Polly (Skinner) 
 Osborne, were married Nov. 24, 1867. Three 
 children were born to that union, Ethel, Ina, 
 and one who died an infant. Ethel died in 
 April, 1900, at the age of nineteen, and is re- 
 membered as a sweet and beautiful girl. Ina 
 married Walter S. Holmes. Mrs. Harriet 
 Gray died Nov. 13, 1898. She was a member 
 of the Free-Will Baptist Church, as is also 
 Mr. Gray. On April 3, 1901, our subject 
 
 married Sarah Edith Dickinson, a daughter 
 of Reuben and Maria H. Dickinson. He is a 
 member of Du Lac Lodge, No. 322, 1 . O. O. 
 F., Milton, and is a faithful adherent of that 
 order. He is a Republican, and has been 
 chairman of the town board seven years; was 
 school director for a number of terms ; and 
 was district clerk five or six years. 
 
 Mr. Gray is a stock raiser, and is increas- 
 ing his business in that line every year; at the 
 present time his principal strain is Holstein. 
 By careful attention to his business he has 
 become prosperous and well-to-do, and takes 
 a leading position in every enumeration of the 
 better class of citizeps of Rock county, from 
 whatever standpoint made. 
 
 JACOB HAFFELE, who resides on Sec- 
 tion 28, township of Monticello, Lafayette 
 county, can look back over nearly sixty years 
 of almost continuous residence in that town. 
 He first located there in 1842, when he came 
 practically penniless in search of work, and 
 found employment as a farm hand. Years of 
 industry and economy have given him a sub- 
 stantial share of this world’s goods, and to the 
 original eighty acres he entered in the early 
 'forties other tracts have been added until he 
 can now look over a thousand or more broad 
 acres of well tilled fields, carefully improved, 
 that he has redeemed from the desolation of 
 half a century ago. 
 
 Mr. Haffele was born in the town of Afal- 
 brach, Weinsberg, Kingdom of Wurtemberg, 
 Germany, Dec. 25, 1818, son of Jacob and 
 Magadelena (Daferle) Haffele, who passed 
 their entire lives in the Fatherland. Jacob 
 Haffele was the father of a numerous family. 
 The first to come to America was Christopher, 
 who crossed the sea in 1832, and settled in 
 Pennsylvania, where the remainder of his life 
 was spent. Jacob followed, having had the 
 means for his transportation furnished by his 
 brother Christopher in 1841. Gottfried came 
 in 1851, and settled in Monticello township, 
 Lafayette Co., Wis., where his death occurred 
 some years ago. 
 
 Jacob Haffele landed on American soil Oct. 
 8, 1841, at the port of Baltimore, and went 
 directly to his brother in Pennsylvania. There 
 he found several families who had sold out 
 and were preparing to locate in Wisconsin, 
 and he determined to accompany them. He 
 started on foot, walking all the way to Pitts- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 4 2 3 
 
 burg, where he boarded a steamer, and by way 
 of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers reached Sa- 
 vanna, 111., thence making his way on foot 
 to Freeport. They had no special destination 
 in view, and Mr. Haffele determined to try at 
 once to find work. He was unsuccessful in 
 Freeport, and so continued on foot to Galena, 
 111., where he also failed to find anything to 
 do. Being somewhat at a loss, and knowing 
 Freeport to be a good town for the time, he 
 began a return trip on foot, but stopped at 
 the tavern of Francis Clyma, on Section 28, 
 Monticello township. Mr. Clyma was a well- 
 known pioneer, his tavern being on the old 
 stock route, and one of the landmarks of that 
 early day. Fie met Mr. Haffele and gave him 
 work as a farm hand on the very section that 
 has ever since been his home, except for a 
 period of twenty-two months which he spent 
 in the gold fields in California, and the time 
 occupied in making the journey there and back. 
 For two years he worked for Mr. Clyma, and 
 then, having saved sufficient money to enter 
 government land, he secured eighty acres of 
 his present farm, and at once began to improve 
 it, adding more as he was able. In the spring 
 of 1850 he started overland for the Golden 
 Gate, being one of quite a number to go from 
 this vicinity, including his former employer, 
 Mr. Clyma. At Council Bluffs a company of 
 one hundred men, with twenty-eight ox teams, 
 started across the Plains 011 April 2, 1850. Mr. 
 Haffele was appointed one of four men to drive 
 one of the teams, each taking his turn. After 
 a journey of five months and seven days this 
 little company arrived at their destination, a 
 trip that now requires about three days, but 
 was then long and tedious. Although half a 
 century has passed since then, every incident is 
 clearly marked in Mr. Haffele's mind, and his 
 simple story of his actual experiences seems 
 to-day to the listener as thrilling" as any story 
 of adventure that ever delighted his boyish 
 soul. The trip to California was fairly suc- 
 cessful, in a financial way. Coming back, he 
 made the journey by way of the Pacific ocean, 
 the Isthmus, and the Atlantic. Immediately 
 on his return he resumed work on his farm, 
 and has continued at that occupation ever since. 
 He began life as a poor boy, but has long been 
 known as one of the most successful farmers 
 and stockmen in southwestern Wisconsin. In 
 his political affiliations he has always been a 
 Democrat, casting his first Presidential vote 
 
 for James K. Polk, in 1844. He was reared 
 in accordance with the tenets of the Lutheran 
 faith, and has not departed from the faith of 
 his fathers. As a business man he bears an 
 untarnished reputation for fair dealing, and as 
 a friend is loyal and true. 
 
 On March 6, 1853, Mr. Haffele was united 
 in marriage with Miss Mary Barbara Hen- 
 iger, who was born in New York. State, and 
 came with her parents to Wisconsin in 1852. 
 Four children have blessed this union, namely: 
 Clara, George, Oscar and Ida, and all hold 
 high places in the social life of the commun- 
 ity where they have always had their home. 
 
 ASAPH J. ALLEN , an energetic and en- 
 terprising gentleman, whose manly and indus- 
 trious habits have won him many friends, has 
 engaged not only in farming but in wagon 
 making, blacksmithing and general repair work 
 at his home on Section 24, in the town of 
 Brooklyn, Green county. He was born in 
 Aurora, N. Y., May 18, 1831, a son of Henry 
 R. and Electa L. (Carpenter) Allen. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Allen had four children, three of whom 
 are now living : Asaph J. ; Justin W., of Ober- 
 
 lin, Ivans. ; and Elnora, wife of Gilbert Patter- 
 son, of LTica, Neb. The father was a wagon 
 maker, and came to Wisconsin in 1855, lo- 
 cating in the town of Exeter, Green county. 
 For a few years he worked at his trade, 
 and then located on a forty-acre farm in the 
 town of Union, where he died in 1881, at the 
 age of seventy-one years. His, widow lived to 
 be eighty-six years old, and died in 1S97 at the 
 home of her daughter in Nebraska. She was 
 a woman of remarkable vitality, and remained 
 active in spite of her advanced years, not being 
 confined to her bed until the day she died. 
 Both were Baptists in religious belief. He was 
 prominent in local affairs, and was a super- 
 visor for several terms in the towns of Exeter 
 and Brooklyn. 
 
 Asaph Allen, the paternal grandfather of 
 Asaph J., was a native of New Hampshire, and 
 followed farming as a life work. He was a 
 soldier in the war of 1812, and died at Sack- 
 ett’s Harbor, while he was yet in middle life. 
 He was the father of eight children. The ma- 
 ternal grandfather of Mr. Allen, Svlvanus J. 
 Carpenter, was born in one of the New Eng- 
 land States, where he followed farming and 
 lived to be an old man, dying at the age of 
 eighty, after having reared a large family. 
 
4-4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Asaph J. Allen was reared in New York, 
 and learned the blacksmith trade under his 
 father's instruction, beginning when he was 
 thirteen years old. In 1855 he came West and 
 located on a farm of forty acres in the town 
 of Exeter. Green county. There he and his 
 father together ran a blacksmith and wagon 
 shop for a few years. After that he moved 
 over into the town of Brooklyn, and bought a 
 farm of ninety acres, setting up a wagon shop 
 and blacksmith stand, which he has carried on 
 to the present time. He now owns a farm of 
 130 acres, which his son is cultivating. 
 
 On Sept. 24, 1853, Mr. Allen was married 
 to Miss Amanda M., a daughter of Moses E. 
 and Lucretia (Baldwin) Powell. To this 
 union were born three children : ( 1 ) Ethan, 
 
 who married Miss Alice Lay, and is living 
 with two sons on the home farm in the town 
 of Brooklyn ; their sons are Earl and Loy. 
 
 (2) Lucretia, who married George Cramer, of 
 Juda, Wis., and has one daughter, Nydia. 
 
 (3) Rose, who married Edward Lamb, of 
 Brooklyn, Wis., and is the mother of one 
 daughter. Clara. Mr. Allen has been a Green- 
 backer of late years in his political views, and 
 has voted with those who advocated similar 
 principles. 
 
 ERASTUS JUNIOR BUCK, M. D„ of 
 Platteville, Grant county, Wis., was born 
 Sept. 5, 182.8, at Heath, Mass., son of Erastus 
 and Roxana (Baldwin) Buck, and grandson 
 of William Buck. He is a lineal descendant 
 of Sergt. William Buck, of Heath, Mass., a 
 patriot of the Revolution, and also of Elbridge 
 Gerry, one of the signers of the Declaration 
 of Independence. He received a common-school 
 and academic education, commenced the study 
 of medicine in 1849, at Nun-da, N. Y., under 
 Drs. John Turner and Eben Warner, and at- 
 tended medical lectures at Jefferson Medical 
 College, Philadelphia, from which he was 
 graduated in 1854; in 1889 he attended a post- 
 graduate course at the New York Polyclinic. 
 
 In April, 1861, Dr. Buck enlisted, as a 
 private in a company of Union soldiers which 
 he had been instrumental in raising, in Mav 
 following was commissioned lieutenant of the 
 same company, and in November of the same 
 year was commissioned first assistant surgeon 
 of the 1 8th Wisconsin Volunteers; in Septem- 
 ber, 1862, he was commissioned surgeon, 
 with the rank of major, of this regiment, and 
 
 held the position until the close of the war, 
 July, 1863. He was in active service from 
 and including the battle of Shiloh to the sur- 
 render of Vicksburg, and during that time was 
 appointed brigade surgeon, surgeon-in-chief 
 of hospitals', and was one of the board of 
 operators. A record of some of his surgical 
 operations will be found in the “Medical and 
 Surgical History .of the War of the Rebel- 
 lion,” while in civil practice he has done con- 
 siderable general surgery, gynecological work, 
 etc. He entered the private practice of medi- 
 cine in 1855, at Towlesville, N. Y., where he 
 remained two years; was then at Westfield, 
 Wis., six years ; served in the army four years ; 
 and has practiced at Platteville, Wis., since 
 1868. Dr. Buck is a member of the Wiscon- 
 sin State Medical Society; American Medical 
 Association ; American Public Health Asso- 
 ciation; National Association of Railway Sur- 
 geons ; Platteville Literary Club ; member of 
 the executive committee of the Platteville Lec- 
 ture Association ; and member of the Grand 
 Army of the Republic. He served in the Wis- 
 consin Legislature (Assembly) in i860 and 
 1861, and was a member of the standing com- 
 mittee on Medical Societies and Medical Col- 
 leges. He served as health officer of the city 
 of Platteville from 1887 to 1894, was pension 
 examiner for many years ; and is at present 
 medical examiner for several of the leading 
 life insurance companies. He is a Republican 
 in politics. 
 
 In 1866 Dr. Buck married Miss Sarah 
 Elizabeth Trask, of Beaver Dam, Wis., a de- 
 scendant in the eighth generation of Capt. 
 William Trask, who settled in Salem, Mass., 
 in 1720. They have seven children: Ger- 
 
 trude Amelia, Clara Louise, Guerdon Condie, 
 Winifred Kendrick, Florence Terry, Ethel- 
 wyn Berenice, and Lenys' Mary. 
 
 JOHN DRAGGS, of Fennimore, Grant 
 county, a veteran soldier of the war of the Re- 
 bellion, and an early settler of that town, was 
 born in Westmoreland county, Penn., April 
 10, 1841, a son of James and Elizabeth Draggs, 
 both of whom died when their child, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, was a small boy. 
 
 About 1836 John Draggs came to Grant 
 county with the family of Clinger, with whom 
 he had lived after the death of his parents, and 
 continued with them for two years, when he 
 entered the employ of a Mr. Walker. When 
 
I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 425 
 
 he was about eighteen John Draggs entered the 
 family of the well-known pioneer, Abner Dyer, 
 and lived with them until he started out in life 
 for himself. Much of his success in life Mr. 
 Draggs attributes to the sage advice and kindly 
 friendship of this good man, who practiced 
 what he preached, and set an example of ster- 
 ling honesty and uprightness. 
 
 While our subject was yet a boy the war 
 cloud burst-, and he felt stirring within his 
 breast the voice of duty, bidding him to offer 
 himself to his country. Accordingly, in Aug- 
 ust, 1861, he enrolled in Company H, 7th Wis. 
 V. I., which became a part of the famous Iron 
 Brigade, whose record for gallantry and ef- 
 fective service is unexcelled. Mr. Draggs re- 
 mained with his regiment from the time of 
 organization until. June, 1862, when he was 
 taken sick and sent to Washington. When he 
 had sufficiently recovered he was given charge 
 of a ward in the hospital as nurse. The hos- 
 pitals at that time were overflowing, and good 
 nurses difficult to obtain, and, although Mr. 
 Draggs desired to return to the front, his 
 efficiency as a nurse kept him in the hospital in 
 that capacity until the fall of 1863. At this 
 time he again joined his comrades, and con- 
 tinued with the regiment, sharing in all its 
 battles and marches, until the engagement of 
 Haymarket. Va., Oct. 19, 1863, when he and 
 many others were captured, and for the re- 
 mainder of the war languished in Southern 
 prisons. For a few months Mr. Draggs was 
 confined at Belle Isle, Va., and was then trans- 
 ferred to the notorious stockade at Anderson- 
 ville, Ga., where he remained until the close of 
 the struggle threw open the doors of the prison. 
 John Draggs was among the first squad of 
 prisoners sent from Belle Isle to Andersonville, 
 and there, during the weary days of the spring 
 and summer of 1864, and the winter of 1864- 
 65, he, with thousands of others, suffered from 
 heat, thirst, starvation, and the cruel treatment 
 of those in charge. When the squad to which 
 he belonged arrived at the prison it was not 
 yet completed, but all. were carefully guarded, 
 and their sufferings never lessened. It is not 
 surprising that men died by the thousands, like 
 : cattle, in this infamous place ; the wonder is 
 that any possessed endurance to bear them 
 through such a terrible trial. The courage 
 and loyalty that could .survive such treatment 
 is of a loftier order than that demanded in ac- 
 tion, although both are of a value beyond price. 
 
 Still, those who did survive to march forth, 
 conquerors of their captors, have borne with 
 them ever since traces of those days of horror 
 that no care or nursing will ever remove, and 
 which are as honorable as bullet hole or sabre 
 scar. 
 
 Amid rejoicing and thanksgiving these he- 
 roic and almost helpless prisoners were trans- 
 ferred to \ icksburg. Miss., but scarcely had 
 they reached a haven of safety when the sad 
 news of the death of the beloved President 
 came to them. As soon as they were able to 
 bear the journey the prisoners were transferred 
 to Benton Barracks, at St. Louis, Mo., and 
 there John Draggs drew one hundred and 
 thirty-six dollars from the government, and 
 invested fifty dollars of it in a suit of readv- 
 made clothes. Arrayed in them, on the 10th 
 of May, 1865. he reached the home of his for- 
 mer employer and kind friend, Abner Dyer, 
 with whom he continued to reside until his 
 marriage, in 1868. 
 
 Soon after his return from the army John 
 Draggs purchased 160 acres of land, eightv 
 acres of which were in Section 1, in the town 
 of Little Grant, and eighty in Lancaster. Later 
 he bought 120 acres more, in the town of Lit- 
 tle Grant, and he also owned forty acres in 
 Section 6. After purchasing the land Mr. 
 Draggs entered at once upon its improvement, 
 and eventually became one of the most success- 
 ful farmers and stock raisers in the northern 
 part of Grant county. In 1884 he sold the old 
 homestead, and bought eighty acres near the 
 village of Fennimore. This he improved un- 
 til. 1895. when he practically retired from ac- 
 tive business, and his son now owns the farm. 
 
 In 1868 John Draggs married Miss Eliza- 
 beth Beetham, daughter of John Beetham. and 
 six children blessed their union : Anna is the 
 
 wife of Henry Rothe, of the town of Fenni- 
 more; Harry lives on the farm; Bert is a 
 farmer of the town of Mount Ida : 'Edith 
 and Amy are at home. The eldest, Cora, who 
 died in 1888. at the age of nineteen, was a 
 graduate of the high school at Fennimore. a 
 successful teacher, and a most estimable voung 
 ladv; she was sincerely mourned by all who 
 knew her. On Sept. 12, 1893, Mrs. Draggs 
 died, leaving a blank which can never be filled. 
 To her encouraging advice, economical efforts, 
 and wise management Mr. Draggs feels that 
 he owes much of his success. 
 
 John Draggs enjoys the esteem of his fel- 
 
426 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 low townsmen, and has been honored by them 
 in various ways, being chosen chairman of his 
 town for three years in succession; also a mem- 
 ber of the county board for several years; and 
 school treasurer of the village of Fennimore 
 the first year of his residence there, which office 
 he has since held. In politics Mr. Draggs is 
 a stanch Republican, and takes an active inter- 
 est in the workings of his party. Although a 
 member of no religious body, he takes a lively 
 interest in all matters pertaining to church 
 work, and gives liberally to various organiza- 
 tions. Fie is an honored member of Sam Mon- 
 teith Post, No. 173, G. A. R., and was com- 
 mander of same for three years. In recogni- 
 tion of his services as a soldier Mr. Draggs 
 was appointed, Sept. 17, 1897, aide-de-camp on 
 the staff of Gen. Palmer when the latter be- 
 came governor of Illinois. 
 
 Beginning life a poor, orphan boy, without 
 a dollar, Mr. Draggs has worked his way up- 
 ward on the ladder of fortune, and often states 
 that the highest remuneration he ever received 
 for his services was thirteen dollars a month. 
 Still, by careful investment, and the strictest 
 economy, he managed to acquire a sufficiency 
 for himself and his children after him. Mr. 
 Draggs and his two youngest daughters reside 
 at their pleasant home in Fennimore, where 
 they dispense hospitality to their friends, and 
 enjoy the confidence and respect of the entire 
 community. 
 
 JEFFERSON B. SIMPSON, a prominent 
 attorney arid counselor at law, of Shullsburg, 
 Lafayette county, is the only child of Philemon 
 Baldwin and Mary A. (Beard) Simpson. 
 
 Sylvanus Simpson, father of Philemon B. 
 Simpson, and grandfather of Jefferson B., re- 
 moved from his New England home to the 
 State of New York, and thence to Ohio, where 
 he and his wife passed the remainder of their 
 lives. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, 
 and fought under Commodore Perry in his 
 famous battle on Lake Erie. His father, and 
 also his father-in-law, had served in the Rev- 
 olutionary war. Sylvanus Simpson was the 
 father of the following children : Philemon 
 
 B., mentioned below; Sylvanus, Jr., of Ham- 
 ilton, 111 .; Volney, a resident of Ventura, Cal., 
 where he is a prominent banker; Elmore, of 
 Applegate, Cal. ; Mrs. Mary L. Gray, of San 
 Francisco, Cal. ; and Mrs. Arminda Bertram, 
 who died at the age of sixty-two. 
 
 Philemon B. Simpson, eldest son of Syl- 
 vanus, and so long well known as a citizen and 
 as a prominent member of the Lafayette coun- 
 ty Bar, was born in Sandusky, Ohio, in 1819, 
 but grew to manhood near Watertown, N. Y., 
 and received a good education in the schools 
 of that city. He then entered the office of 
 Lawyer Beach, at Sandusky, Ohio, where for 
 two years he read law. He completed his 
 legal education in the Cincinnati Law School, 
 whence he was graduated in the spring of 
 1843. The following September he was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary A. Beard, who was born in 
 Easton, Penn., in 1822, daughter of John and 
 Hannah ( Doan) .Beard, the former of Scot- 
 tish parentage, and the latter of English de- 
 scent. After his marriage Mr. Simpson re- 
 moved from Ohio to Rochester, Ind., where 
 for three years he was engaged in the practice 
 of his profession. On July 4, 1847, h e moved 
 to Gratiot's Grove, Lafayette Co., Wis., and 
 as soon as a residence could be erected at 
 Shullsburg moved to that place. He was one 
 of the earliest lawyers in the region, was ac- 
 tively engaged in practice for many years, arid 
 became one of the representative men of the 
 county. He was an upright and public-spir- 
 ited citizen, with an untarnished reputation for 
 honesty and integrity. He served in both 
 branches of the Wisconsin Legislature, and 
 was recognized as a wise and able statesman; 
 for four years he was chairman of the Judiciary 
 committee. In politics he affiliated with the 
 Democratic party, and as long as lie lived was 
 actively interested in its welfare. His death 
 occurred at Mobile, Ala. (where he and his 
 wife were staying temporarily), April 28, 
 1895. 
 
 Jefferson B. Simpson was born in Shulls- 
 burg, Wis., received his education in the schools 
 of his native State, and was graduated from 
 the Wisconsin State University, at Madison. 
 He gained his legal lore under the careful 
 tuition of his father, with whom he later en- 
 gaged in practice, and to-day is recognized as 
 one of the leading lawyers in the county. Like 
 his father before him, he is identified with the 
 Democratic party, and has faithfully served his 
 fellow citizens in a number of official positions, 
 among which may be mentioned that of district 
 attorney of the county. As a citizen he be- 
 longs to that higher type that places above per- 
 sonal ambition and political factions the wel- 
 fare of his town and community, and he is a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 427 
 
 firm believer in the rigid enforcement of every 
 law. 
 
 Mr. Simpson was united in marriage with 
 Miss Mary Luella Allan, who was born at 
 Scales Mound, 111 ., in i860, daughter of George 
 and Emma (Proctor) Allan, the former a na- 
 tive of Scotland, who came to Canada in early 
 life, and in 1853 located in Scales Mound, 111 ., 
 where he superintended the construction of the 
 Great Cut at that place, in the interests of the 
 Illinois Central Railroad. Mr. Allan became 
 a prominent merchant at that place ; he died in 
 1864, at Portland, Maine. Mrs. Emma (Proc- 
 tor) Allan was born at Scales Mound in 1834, 
 and came of a representative family of south- 
 western Wisconsin, Abel Proctor, her father, 
 having come to the lead mines from Proctors- 
 ville, Vt., in 1827. Mrs. Allan died at Shulls- 
 burg May 10, 1900. To the union of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Simpson have come three children, Allan, 
 Olive and Alexander. 
 
 John Beard, father of Mrs. Philemon B. 
 Simpson, and grandfather of Jefferson B. 
 Simpson, was a soldier in the war of 1812, 
 and also participated in the great Perry vic- 
 tory on Lake Erie — a singular coincidence, 
 inasmuch as it connects Jefferson B. Simpson 
 with that victory by both his paternal and ma- 
 ternal grandfathers. In 1824 Mr. Beard re- 
 moved to Tiffin, Seneca Co., Ohio, and there 
 he and his wife passed the rest of their lives. 
 They were the parents of six children, four 
 sons and two daughters, of whom there are 
 three surviving members : Mrs. Phebe Lam- 
 
 bertson, of Montpelier, Ohio : Mrs. Philemon 
 B. Simpson, of Shullsburg, Wis. ; and J. L. 
 Beard, a resident of Montpelier, Ohio. The 
 three deceased are Joseph, Lowry and 
 Doan. 
 
 LUALLEN A. TYLER, a prominent 
 farmer of Millville township, Grant county, 
 and one of the honored veterans of the war for 
 the Union, is a native of Trumbull county, 
 Ohio, where he was born Aug. 14. 1846, and 
 is a son of Lewis and Rhoda (Griffis) Tyler, 
 natives of Connecticut, who in early life moved 
 to the Buckeye State, where their marriage 
 was celebrated. In 1854 they mig'rated to 
 Grant county, Wis., first locating in Mt. Hope 
 township, but later changed their residence, 
 and the father died in the village of Mt. Ida a 
 number of years ago. The mother, who was 
 born in 1810, is still living at this writing 
 
 (1901), quite hale and hearty, being still able 
 to walk to church. 
 
 Luallen A. Tyler is one of a family of seven 
 children, four sons and three daughters. He 
 had two brothers who were in the Union army : 
 John, who was a member of the 20th Wis. V. 
 I., and died in the service, at Rolla, Mo.; and 
 Abel, who was in the 3d Wisconsin Cavalry, 
 and also died in the service, at Fort Scott, 
 Ivans. The other brother, Miner Tyler, is a 
 resident of Millville township, Grant county. 
 Two sisters are living, Elizabeth C. and Mary 
 A., while the other, Sylva A., died at the age 
 of eleven years. 
 
 Mr. Tyler, whose name introduces this re- 
 view, remained at home with his parents until 
 he entered the service of his country, enlisting 
 April 8, 1865, in the 50th Wis. Y. I. He was 
 with a part of his regiment on detached duty 
 during the whole time he was in the army — 
 a period of nine months. After receiving an 
 honorable discharge from the service Mr. Ty- 
 ler returned to Grant county, and has since been 
 successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits. 
 He was united in marriage with Miss Cornelia 
 C. Merritt, a native of Grant county, and a 
 daughter of William H. and Elizabeth Mer- 
 ritt, and to this union have been born seven 
 children, four sons and three daughters, 
 namely: Horace L., born in Howard county, 
 
 Iowa, where the parents resided for a time ; 
 Mattie E. and Clay, born in Mt. Hope town- 
 ship; and Guy, Gilson J., Carrie J., and Al- 
 mina, all born in Millville township. 
 
 Mr. Tyler, who is one of the most success- 
 ful agriculturists of Millville township, pur- 
 chased his present farm in 1874, at which time 
 there were but eight acres broken on the place, 
 but he now has 100 acres under cultivation, and 
 everything about the farm indicates the good 
 taste and excellent management of the owner. 
 The buildings, both the residence and outbuild- 
 ings, are comparatively new, and modern in 
 their improvements. 
 
 Mr. Tyler's health was much impaired by 
 his army service, and he has never recovered 
 from the effects of the same. He did his duty 
 as a soldier, was honorably discharged, and 
 is now a worthy member of G. A. R. Post No. 
 134, at Bloomington, Wisconsin. 
 
 T. L. CAVANAUGH, stock and grain 
 dealer of Shullsburg, is one of the represent- 
 ative citizens of Lafayette county, where he 
 
428 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 has made his home for over half a century. 
 He was born in Waterford, Ireland, in 1844, 
 son of Peter and Joanna (Carey) Cavanaugh. 
 
 Peter Cavanaugh, the father, was born in 
 County Wicklow, Ireland, March 20, 1818, 
 and learned the trade of shoemaking, which 
 he followed in his native land with . more or 
 less success. He married Joanna Carey, who 
 now resides in White Oak Springs, at an ad- 
 vanced age. In 1846 Mr. Cavanaugh brought 
 his wife and family to America, and found 
 work at his trade in Franklin county, N. Y. 
 In 1852 they came still farther West, and lo- 
 cated at Shullsburg, later removing to White 
 Oak Springs, where the father passed away 
 in 1889. He was an industrious and highly- 
 respected citizen. Eight children were born 
 to them, three in Ireland and five in America, 
 of whom five are vet living: J. L., our subject; 
 Mich ael, of Montana; Emma, wife of Benja- 
 min Lathlane, of Montana; Kate; and Jose- 
 phine, at home. 
 
 J. L. Cavanaugh was but two years of age 
 when brought to this country, and but eight 
 years of age when he came to Lafayette coun- 
 ty, which has ever since been his home. He 
 passed the years of 1862 and 1863 in Colora- 
 do. His general occupation has always been 
 farming and stock raising, and he is the own- 
 er of a fine farm near the city, on which he 
 has resided since 1883. Since 1884 lie has 
 been the chief stock and grain merchant of 
 Shullsburg, and is an enterprising and pro- 
 gressive citizen. His own efforts have won 
 him a substantial standing in the financial 
 world, and he was one of the organizers of the 
 First National Bank of Shullsburg, of which 
 he is still a large stockholder, and the present 
 vice-president. 
 
 Mr. Cavanaugh wedded Miss Mary Jane 
 O'Brien, who was born at White Oak Springs, 
 Lafayette county, in 1846, daughter of John 
 and Jane (Terrell) O’Brien. John O’Brien 
 was a native of Ireland, and came to America 
 in early manhood, while the Terrell family 
 have for several generations resided in New 
 Hampshire. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Cav- 
 anaugh has been brigfitened by seven daugh- 
 ter and one son: John, the only son, born in 
 1870, who died in 1890; Mary Agnes, a suc- 
 cessful teacher ; Laura, a Sister of Charity at 
 Evanston, 111 .; Josephine; Abigail E., a stu- 
 dent at the State University, Madison, class 
 of 1901 ; Jennie, a graduate of the Shullsburg 
 
 high school; Nellie; and Clara. The family 
 are highly respected socially, and their home 
 is one of the most popular in the community. 
 In religious faith they are all communicants 
 of the Roman Catholic Church, and faithful in 
 its work. I11 his political affiliations Mr. Cav- 
 anaugh is a stanch Democrat, and has served 
 efficiently as chairman of the Democratic 
 County Committee, and as chairman of the 
 town board. 
 
 FRANCIS ATKINSON. In almost 
 every progressive town will be found residents 
 who have lived active, busy lives on neighbor- 
 ing farms until advancing years, and a suffi- 
 cient accumulation of wealth, plead for the 
 comforts and associations which may be found 
 within town or city limits. Among these 
 valued citizens of Albany, Green county, is 
 Francis Atkinson, who was born in Yorkshire, 
 England, May 28, 1837. 
 
 Both maternal and paternal grandfathers 
 of our subject were natives of England, and 
 both of them were engaged in agricultural 
 pursuits in that land, where they died, leav- 
 ing few descendants. Our subject was a son 
 of Richard and Mary (Nelson) Atkinson, na- 
 tives of England, who had a family of eight 
 children, six of whom are living: Ellen, 
 
 widow of Andrew Smith, of Green county; 
 William, who resides near Gothenburg, Neb.; 
 John, who lives in Pawnee City, Neb.; Ann, 
 who married Joshua Peckham, and lives in 
 Nebraska; Francis, our subject; and Edwin, 
 a resident of Delhi, Minn. Richard Atkin- 
 son, the father, was a stonemason by trade, 
 but after coming to America engaged in farm- 
 ing, near Springfield, Ohio, where he located 
 in May, 1843. H 1847 Mr. Atkinson decided 
 to buy land in the great State of Wisconsin, 
 and finally found a farm in Green county 
 which pleased him, in that year purchasing 
 120 acres in Albany township, to which he add- 
 ed forty acres, and another forty acres adjoin- 
 ing, making a fine estate, upon which he passed 
 his life. He died at the age of eighty-three 
 years, in 1887. The mother of our subject, a 
 good and worthy woman, known far and wide 
 for her charities and kind neighborliness, died a 
 short time before her husband, having made 
 the world better for eighty-three years. Mr. 
 Atkinson was a consistent Baptist in religious 
 belief, while his wife was connected with the 
 Methodist Church. 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 429 
 
 Our subject, Francis Atkinson, was but 
 six years old when brought to America by his 
 parents, and was reared to manhood in Al- 
 bany township, growing up on his father's 
 farm, and receiving the educational advan- 
 tages of the district schools. After finishing 
 his school course he successfully engaged in 
 farming, and also taught school five winter 
 terms. He continued to follow agricultural 
 pursuits until he retired to his pleasant home 
 in Albany. 
 
 For one year Mr. Atkinson rented a farm, 
 which he then bought, consisting of 112 acres, 
 located in Decatur township, where he spent 
 twenty busy years, during which time he kept 
 on accumulating land, his additions compris- 
 ing, respectively, forty acres, 105 acres, 128 A 
 and another forty, and he finally bought the old 
 homestead where his boyhood had been passed. 
 Mr. Atkinson has advantageously sold all of 
 the old homestead land except eighty acres. 
 
 The marriage of our subject took place 
 on March 17, i860, to Miss Sarah Jones, a 
 daughter of John and Mary (Wilding) Jones, 
 and twelve children were born of this union : 
 Mary E. died at the age of six years; Frances 
 A. at the age of three; and Finley at the age 
 of twenty-four; two died in infancy; Owen O., 
 who married Minnie Evans, lives in Albany 
 township, with one son, Dale; Russell B., who 
 married Myrtle Edwards, lives in Albany 
 township, and has one daughter, Frances; 
 Alta M., who married George Larmar, lives 
 in Albany township, and has one daughter, 
 Maud; Annie M., who married David Conway, 
 lives in Sylvester township, with two children, 
 Harland and Stewart; Lillian M., who mar- 
 ried Lee Gillett, lives in Albany township, with 
 one daughter, Doris; Nellie W. and Etta M. 
 are at home. 
 
 The first wife of Mr. Atkinson died June 
 25, 1888, aged fifty years. She was a con- 
 sistent member of the Methodist Church. O11 
 Aug. 29, 1891, our subject married Miss Mar- 
 garet Bell, a daughter of Peter and Huldah 
 (Miller) Bell, and one son, Francis L., has 
 been born of this union. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
 Atkinson are valued members of the Metho- 
 dist Church, in which he takes an active in- 
 terest and is class-leader. I11 politics our sub- 
 ject is a Prohibitionist, deeming the solution 
 of the drink question can be solved only by 
 the ballot. For many years, while residing in 
 the country, he was called upon to serve as 
 
 clerk of the school district, and has been in- 
 terested in advancing educational matters. 
 Since 1894 his residence has been in Albany, 
 where he purchased a comfortable home after 
 renting his farm, and is respected in the com- 
 munity, well representing the leisurely class of 
 substantial, retired farmers. 
 
 CHARLES S. GRAY, now retired from 
 the operations of active farming, is passing the 
 last years of a busy life in a well-earned free- 
 dom from toil in Brooklyn, Green Co., Whs. 
 He was born in the town of Warsaw. Genesee 
 Co., N. Y., Jan. 25, 1828, son of Sylvester and 
 Louisa B. (Judd) Gray, the former a native 
 of New York, and the latter of Vermont. 
 They were the parents of five children, two of 
 whom are living: Charles S., and Demetrius 
 
 A., of Belleville, Wisconsin. 
 
 Sylvester Gray was a cooper in the East, 
 and in September, 1845, h e bought a farm in 
 the town of Brooklyn. After a time he sold 
 this farm and bought a home in Brooklyn, 
 where he lived until he entered into rest in 
 1874, at the age of seventy-two years. His 
 widow survived his departure many years, and 
 died in 1898, at the age of ninety-one years. 
 Mr. Gray was school director for several years, 
 and was also town supervisor. In early life 
 he was a Wig, and in his later years a Repub- 
 lican. Asahel Gray, father of Sylvester 
 Gray, was a native of England, and in his ma- 
 ture years was engaged in the salt business at 
 Syracuse, N. Y., where he died at an advanced 
 age. He was the father of a small family. 
 The maternal, grandfather of Charles S. Gray 
 was a native of Vermont, where he was fa- 
 ther to a large family, and died in middle life. 
 
 Charles S. Gray was three years old when 
 his parents moved to Pennsylvania from New 
 York. Four years later they moved to Lake 
 county, Ohio. There our subject went to 
 school and helped his father in the cooper shoo, 
 He was eighteen years old when his parents 
 left Ohio, and he accompanied them on their 
 removal to Wisconsin, where he bought a farm 
 of eighty acres, to which he afterward added 
 eighty acres. Fie has sold and bought at dif- 
 ferent times, until his last farm property, which 
 he sold in September, 1900, consisted of 200 
 acres. This he rented in 1877 and moved into 
 town to take the position of manager for the 
 Evansville Mercantile Association, which po- 
 sition he held for eleven years. In 1894 Mr. 
 
430 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Gray and his son Oscar C. started a general 
 store, which they conducted two years, and for 
 the following two years Mr. Gray was not in 
 business. For a time he was again in the store, 
 and is now retired, as noted above. After 
 leaving his father's store. Oscar C. Gray pur- 
 chased P. A. Haynes’ grocery, but at the end 
 of a year sold out the entire stock, and on April 
 i, 1900, bought a livery business in Oregon, 
 Wis., which he successfully conducted until his 
 health failed. 
 
 Mr. Charles S. Gray was married Oct. 6, 
 1850, to Emarilla Smith, the daughter of 
 Stephen and Philura (Love) Smith, becoming 
 by this union the father of four children : 
 Oscar C., Emory Herbert, Isadora Eudelle, 
 and Luta. Oscar C. married Jennie Patter- 
 son, now deceased, and had one child, who is 
 also deceased; for his second wife he married 
 Ellen Zook, and they have one child, DeVer 
 Dwight. Emory Herbert is married to Nettie 
 Doolittle, and lives in Des Moines, Iowa, where 
 he is a member of the City Fire Department; 
 they have one daughter, Myrle. Isadora Eu- 
 delle died at the age of four years. Luta mar- 
 ried the late YVayland Axtell, and lives at 
 Rochester, Wis., where he had established the 
 local Academy ; he died in Denver, Colo., and 
 she returned to Rochester, with her three chil- 
 dren, Wayne, Clarice and Caryl. Mr. Gray 
 is a Republican, and for three terms was super- 
 visor, town treasurer for a number of terms, 
 and school clerk for many years. 
 
 Mrs. Gray's father was a native of Massa- 
 chusetts. and her mother of New York. They 
 were early settlers in Ohio, his people going 
 there in 1811, and her people about the same 
 time, settling in the town of Dover, about nine 
 miles west of Cleveland. Her people came 
 to Wisconsin in 1843, and located in Hudson, 
 which is known to-day as Springfield, where 
 they were engaged in farming for four years, 
 after which they moved to Brooklyn. Here 
 they died, he in 1856, at the age of fifty-eight, 
 and she in 1877, at the age of seventy-three. 
 In early life they were Congregationalists, but 
 later united with the Spiritualists. They had 
 nine children, and four of them are now liv- 
 ing: Jonathan, Emory, Euphrasia, and Ema- 
 rilla. Mrs. Gray’s paternal grandfather was 
 Jonathan Smith, of Massachusetts, and a veter- 
 an of the entire Revolutionary war, never, . 
 however, receiving a pension for his services, j 
 as his property exceeded the limits. He fought l 
 
 on a war vessel and was in many battles. He 
 was owner of a large tract of land, and he died 
 at an advanced age, the father of a numerous 
 family. Her maternal grandfather was a Mr. 
 Love, a native of New York, who was drown- 
 ed. He was the father of one child, a daughter. 
 
 On Oct. 6, 1900, Mr. and Mrs. Gray cele- 
 brated their Golden Wedding, there being a 
 company of forty-eight outside friends. 
 
 ISAAC N. CLIFTON, a well-known re- 
 tired farmer of Platteville, is a worthy rep- 
 resentative of an honored pioneer family of 
 Grant county. He was born in Platteville 
 Jan. 24, 1844, a sen of William and Frances 
 (Basye) Clifton, both natives of Missouri. 
 
 Prior to his marriage the father of our 
 subject came to Grant county with his parents, 
 Bascom and Sarah Clifton, both now deceased, 
 and located in what is now Clifton township, 
 which was named in honor of the family. By 
 occupation William Clifton was a miner and 
 farmer, and in Lima and Clifton townships he 
 improved a farm of 222 acres. For a time he 
 lived in Dakota, and on his return to Grant 
 county took up his residence in Arthur, Lima 
 township. He died in 1891 and his wife 
 made her home in Lancaster until her death, 
 in February, 1900. They were married in 
 Platteville. and became the parents of the fol- 
 lowing children : Dewitt C. enlisted with his 
 
 brother Isaac N., in August, 1862, in the three- 
 years service, and died at Rome, Ga., in 1864; 
 E. W. is a farmer of Lancaster township, 
 Grant county; Isaac N. is mentioned below; 
 James T. is a Congregational minister, now 
 serving as secretary of the Congregational 
 Educational Society, located at Chicago; J. J. 
 is a Baptist minister in Nebraska; Sarah Caro- 
 line, Mrs. Arnett, is a resident of Fairfield, 
 Iowa ; and Anna Bell married Albert Hoppin, 
 and died in La Crosse, Wis., in 1879. 
 
 In the county of his nativity Isaac N. Clif- 
 ton was reared and educated, in much the usual 
 manner of farmer boys of his day, and after 
 starting out in life for himself engaged in 
 farming and carpentering for some years 
 He opened up and improved a good farm of 
 eighty acres in Lima township, which he still 
 owns, and successfully engaged in its opera- 
 tion until his removal to Platteville, in Novem- 
 ber, 1S99. since which time he has lived re- 
 tired. enjoying a well-earned rest. 
 
 On Aug. 9. 1862, at Platteville, Mr. Clif- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 43i 
 
 ton enrolled! his name among the defenders of 
 the Union, enlisting for three years or during 
 the war in Company E, 25th Wis. V. I., which 
 became a part of the 17th Army Corps. He 
 participated in the battle of Resaca, the siege 
 of Atlanta, and the engagement at Decatur, 
 Ga., where he was shot in the leg. For some 
 time he was confined in the field hospital, and 
 then returned home, but was' able to rejoin his 
 regiment in time to go with Sherman on the 
 march from Atlanta to the sea, and to take part 
 in the Carolina campaign. He participated in 
 the grand review at Washington, D. C., and in 
 that city was honorably discharged June 7, 
 1865, being mustered out at Madison, Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 Mr. Clifton was first married, in 1867, to 
 Miss Nancy Sinnett, a daughter of Isaac and 
 Elizabeth (Harris) Sinnett, who died in Mad- 
 isonville, 111 . Mrs. Clifton died in 1874, leav- 
 ing four children, namely: Marvin L., who is 
 married and engaged in farming in Lima 
 township, Grant county ; James W., who died 
 in Lima, Jan. 1, 1895; Floyd G., a farmer of 
 the same township; and Nona Bell. 
 
 At Platteville, in 1893, Mr. Clifton was 
 united in marriage with Mrs. Martha J. (Cal- 
 laway) Rickard, a native of Platteville town- 
 ship, and a daughter of John and Elizabeth 
 (Butson) Callaway, who were born, reared and 
 married in Cornwall, England, and on their 
 emigration to the New World, in 1840, came 
 at once to Grant county, Wis., locating in 
 Platteville township, where Mr. Callaway im- 
 proved a fine farm. There he died in June, 
 1878, and his wife, who survived' him a few 
 years, passed away in Platteville township in 
 1885. Their children were Joseph, who met 
 with an accident in California, and died there 
 in 1872; Elizabeth, Mrs. Woodruff, of Bloom- 
 ington, Grant county; Thomas, a farmer of 
 Jewell county, Ivans’. ; John, a farmer of Lima 
 township. Grant county; Martha J., now Mrs. 
 Clifton; William H., who died at the age of 
 eighteen years; Samson H., who lives on the 
 old homestead in Grant county; George A., a 
 farmer of Harrison township; and Jessie, who 
 died of paralysis May 28, 1893. Mrs. Clifton 
 was first married, in Platteville. to Daniel 
 Rickard, a native of England, and the son of 
 John and Jane Rickard, who came from Corn- 
 wall to this country, and were among the 
 early settlers of Platteville, where both died. 
 John Rickard was a foundryman and black- 
 
 smith, and his son Daniel also followed the 
 blacksmith’s trade. The death of the latter 
 occurred in Platteville. By her first union 
 Mrs. Clifton had two children: Libbie E., 
 
 now Mrs. Eustice, of Belmont, Wis. ; and 
 Wesley H., who is married and lives on the 
 home farm. 
 
 In 1882 Mr. Clifton moved to Hutchinson 
 county, S. Dak., where he was engaged in 
 farming for eight years', and he still holds 
 membership in a Grand Army post in that 
 State. He is a stanch supporter of the Repub- 
 lican party and its principles, and takes an act- 
 ive interest in politics. lie is widely and favor- 
 ably known throughout Grant county, where 
 almost his entire life has been passed, and 1 has 
 the confidence and respect of all with whom he 
 has come in contact, in either business' or social 
 life. 
 
 JOSEPH BARTLETT, the well-known 
 miller at Attica, Green county, was born in 
 Wiltshire, England, Aug. 1, 1825, and in the 
 course of his long and honorable career has 
 demonstrated the possession of manly and 
 commendable qualities far beyond the general 
 run of the world. He has' passed the years of 
 his life engaged in a time-honored occupation, 
 and has made many friends by his upright and 
 genial character. 
 
 Thomas and Sarah (Cool) Bartlett, par- 
 ents of the Attica miller, were both natives of 
 England, and reared a family of five sons and 
 five daughters, six of whom are now living: 
 ( 1 ) Joseph, whose name begins this article, and 
 who is the eldest; (2) Thomas; (3) John; 
 (4) Mary, the widow of Fred Cool; (5) Em- 
 ma, the wife of John Richards' ; (6) Sarah. 
 The father was a farmer, and died in England 
 in 1875, at the age of seventy-three years. 
 His widow died in 1878, at the age of seventy- 
 six. They were both members of the Episco* 
 pal Church. Joseph Bartlett, the paternal 
 grandfather, was a farmer in England, reared 
 a large family, and died in his native country 
 when he had reached the age of seventy-five. 
 The maternal grandfather of Joseph Bartlett 
 was a dealer in meats, and lived to advanced 
 years. 
 
 Joseph Bartlett grew to manhood in his na- 
 tive community, where he received his educa- 
 tion, finishing in a college. When a small boy 
 he began his life-work of milling, which has 
 always been his occupation. In 1849 h e came 
 
432 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to America, locating in Oswego, N. Y., where 
 he remained but a short time, when he went 
 to Canada. After a brief stay in that country, 
 he returned to Oswego and came to Janes- 
 ville, Wis., there working in the mill of Mr. 
 Jackman for a year. Mr. Bartlett then en- 
 gaged in milling at Albany, Wis., where he 
 remained about two years', and in 1853 came 
 to Attica, where two years later he built a 
 watermill having a capacity of forty barrels 
 daily ; this he owns. It is both a roller and a 
 stone mill. 
 
 On Nov. 26, 1853, Mr. Bartlett married 
 Miss Eliza Price, who was born Sept. 18, 
 1835, a daughter of Thomas Price. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Bartlett are the parents of the following 
 children: Emert, who married John Davis, is 
 living in Albany, and is rearing a family of 
 five children; Elizabeth married William 
 Oualley, of Exeter township, and has five chil- 
 dren; Chauncey, who follows carpentering in 
 Attica, married a Miss Maynard, and is 1 the fa- 
 ther of five children; Charlotte married John 
 Nye, of Plover, Iowa, and is the mother of two 
 children; Sarah married Norman Jipson, of 
 Everlv, Iowa, and has a family of children ; Jo- 
 seph died May 30, 1868; Lillie married John 
 Lawhead, of Plover, Iowa, and has one child ; 
 Myrta is the wife of Ralph Swan, of Attica, 
 and the mother of two children; and Gertrude 
 is living at home. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett are members of the 
 Methodist Church. In politics he is a Repub- 
 lican, and was roadmaster a number of years. 
 For over fifty years he has been a resident of 
 this neighborhood. 
 
 EBEN WHITNEY SYLVESTER, one 
 of the most esteemed of the surviving pioneers 
 of Iowa county, is a native of the Pine Tree 
 State, born in the town of Phillips, Franklin 
 county, Aug. 25, 1820. 
 
 Caleb and Joanna (Whitney) Sylvester, 
 his parents, were also natives of Maine, and 
 sprang of families conspicuous in the early an- 
 nals of New England. The former was a 
 descendant of Richard Sylvester, who came 
 to this country in 1630, in the colony headed 
 by Sir John Wentworth. He settled at Scitu- 
 ate, Mass., where he reared a large family, 
 and died in 1663. The family crest and coat 
 of arms, which he brought from England, was 
 preserved until a few years ago, when it was 
 accidentally destroyed. The descendants of 
 
 Richard Sylvester in direct line to our sub- 
 ject are as follows: Capt. Joseph Sylvester, 
 
 who lost his life in 1690 while participating in 
 Sir William Phipps’ expedition to Canada; 
 Amos Sylvester; William Sylvester; William 
 Sylvester (2), who died in 1780, of disabil- 
 ities contracted at the battle of Monmouth; 
 Charles Sylvester, the father of Caleb, and 
 grandfather of our subject, for many years 
 was a ship blacksmith at Bath, Maine, and died 
 at Mt. Vernon, in the same State, March 20, 
 1847, aged seventy-nine years; and Caleb 
 Sylvester, mentioned below. Lucy Barker, 
 wife of Charles Sylvester, was a sister of Capt. 
 John Barker, of Dresden, Maine, a seafaring 
 man, who was captured by a British press 
 gang, and, refusing to enter the royal navy, 
 was sent to prison in London. Upon his re- 
 turn to the United States, during the war of 
 1812, he received a commission from the gov- 
 ernment, took command of a privateer, and 
 captured seven British vessels before the close 
 of hostilities. He was often heard to remark 
 that he had “paid off old scores with interest.” 
 
 Caleb Sylvester was born Aug. 9, 1793, 
 at Bath, Maine, but removed in early life to 
 the town of Phillips, where he followed the 
 business of surveyor and filled numerous offi- 
 cial positions, including that of member of 
 the Legislature. In 1844 he came to Wiscon- 
 sin, and, two years later, settled in the town of 
 Mifflin, Iowa county, where he reached the 
 age of nearly seventy-five years. He was the 
 father of twelve children, all of whom grew 
 to maturity. His wife, Joanna (Whitney), 
 who was distinguished for her industrious and 
 frugal habits, passed away at the age of sixty- 
 three years. She was born at Otisfield, 
 Maine, a daughter of Michael Whitney, who 
 spent seven years in the Continental army. 
 Two of his sons took part in the battle of Lake 
 Champlain during the war of 1812; another 
 son, Joel, became a leading citizen of the town 
 of Phillips, where he operated a store and mill, 
 and he served in the Legislature. Ancestors 
 of this family came to Massachusetts in the 
 seventeenth century, and many of its members 
 were prominent in the civil and military af- 
 fairs of the colony. 
 
 Eben W. Sylvester, whose name heads 
 this notice, enjoyed the advantages of a high 
 school education in his native place, where he 
 taught school for a time. While a student at 
 the Phillips high school, though the youngest 
 
L 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 433 
 
 member of 'his class, he was distinguished 
 for proficiency in mathematics, and still ex- 
 cels many modern students in that science. 
 In 1843 fie came to Wisconsin, and spent the 
 next year or two teaching 'near Platteville. 
 He then “entered” 160 acres of government 
 land in Mifflin township, which he cultivated 
 and improved for about thirty years, meantime 
 adding to his land until he had acquired 520 
 acres in all, which he still owns. Since 1878 
 he has resided in Mineral Point, where he has 
 also made some investments in real estate. 
 He still retains his interest in the cause of edu- 
 cation, and served for some years as superin- 
 tendent of the city schools. In political prin- 
 ciple he has always been a Democrat, but has 
 supported the candidacy and administration 
 of 'William McKinley from the start. He has 
 witnessed the development of the nation for 
 more than fourscore years, and has always 
 been ready to assist in the march of progress. 
 When he first came West there was no rail- 
 road in operation west of Albany. He is a 
 prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, 
 and has filled the principal offices in the local 
 chapter and commandery. 
 
 On April 23, 1856, Mr. Sylvester was 
 married to Miss Nancy Howard, who was 
 born at Bruceville, ne'ar Vincennes, Ind., a 
 daughter of William and Nancy (Young) 
 Howard, of Highland, Wis. This family 
 came to Wisconsin from Indiana in 1851. 
 William Howard was born in Hardin county, 
 Ky., about the beginning of the nineteenth 
 century, and died at Highland, Wis., in Jan- 
 uary, 1856. His wife died Dec. 25, 1879, 
 aged seventy-eight years. Her grandfather, 
 Richard Young, came from England to New 
 Jersey, and later settled in South Carolina, 
 where her father, also named Richard, en- 
 tered the Continental army at the age of nine- 
 teen years. After the war he went to Ken- 
 tucky, and about 1815 removed to Indiana, 
 liberating his slaves, of which he had a consid- 
 erable number. Three sons of William and 
 Nancy Howard served in the Union cause 
 during the Civil war ; WYston went all through 
 the conflict in the 51st Ind. V. I. ; John served 
 in a regiment of Kansas cavalry, and was 
 killed at Coffeyville, Miss. ; and William en- 
 listed at Kerbyville, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Sylvester are the parents of two children, one 
 son and one daughter, both of whom have 
 
 been carefully educated, and reflect credit upon 
 28 
 
 the home training : Homer, a graduate of 
 
 both the Wisconsin and Pennsylvania Univer- 
 sities, is a practicing physician in Milwaukee; 
 Nettie, wife of Colin W. Wright, an attorney 
 of Monroe, Wis., is an artist of noteworthy- 
 talent, and prominent in the Order of The 
 Eastern Star. 
 
 JUDSON Le GRAND ROBINSON, one 
 of the prosperous and representative farmers of 
 Rock county, owns a well-cultivated farm in 
 Section 10, Janesville township, which he has 
 acquired as the fruit of his arduous labors. 
 
 Judson Le Grand Robinson was born in 
 Pike, Wyoming Co., N. Y., May 17, 1844, a 
 son of Hubbard and Betsy Ann (Daine) Rob- 
 inson, natives of New York State. The father 
 of Hubbard Robinson, Aaron Robinson, was a 
 native of Massachusetts, of English descent, 
 was a shoemaker, farmer and tanner, and in 
 time amassed a large fortune. Nine children 
 were born to him and his good wife, and he was 
 over seventy at the time of his death. During 
 his lifetime Aaron Robinson was in the State 
 militia, and in every way proved himself a 
 worthy man and good citizen. The maternal 
 grandfather of our subject, Daniel Daine, a 
 native of New York State, of English descent, 
 followed the occupation of farming. He had 
 a family of nine children, and was about sev- 
 enty-five years old when he passed away. The 
 maternal grandmother, whose maiden name 
 was Hammer, lived to be 108 years old. and 
 was a very worthy and highly esteemed lady. 
 
 Hubbard Robinson, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was a shoemaker by trade, at which he 
 worked until a few years prior to his death. 
 While in New York State he was a member 
 of the school board in the village where he 
 lived, and also served in the State militia. I11 
 1852 Hubbard Robinson came West, locating 
 in Rock county, Wis., in 1856, and buying a 
 home of eleven acres in Janesville, on the west 
 side of Rock river, in Section 10, where he re- 
 sided until his death, in 1889, at the age of 
 seventy-one. Mrs. Robinson still survives, a 
 very estimable old lady, and a consistent mem- 
 ber of the M. E. Church. Three sons were born 
 to this good couple, two of whom are now liv- 
 ing: Judson L. ; and Cornelius Wayne, of 
 Janesville township. 
 
 Judson Le Grand Robinson lived in New 
 York State until twelve years old, when he 
 came to Rock county with his parents, and has 
 
434 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 since resided in this locality. Until the Civil 
 war broke out Mr. Robinson followed farming 
 and shoemaking', attending the district schools 
 when opportunity offered; but as soon as old 
 enough he enlisted, in 1864, in Company A, 
 43d Whs. V. I., and served until the close of the 
 war, participating in the battle of Johnsonville 
 and a number ol skirmishes. After the close 
 of the war Mr. Robinson followed his trade 
 about two years, then engaged in farming, and 
 now owns the fine farm of 190 acres where he 
 resides. 
 
 O11 April 21, 1880, Judson Le Grand Rob- 
 inson married Miss Hattie Knofit, daughter of 
 William and Catherine M. Knoff, and nine 
 children *have been born to them, four sons 
 and five daughters : Roy Le Grand, Arthur 
 
 Wayne, Benjamin Harrison, Judson, Eva 
 Dett, Maude, June, Flora and Luella. 
 
 Politically Mr. Robinson is a Republican 
 in sentiment, and he has been called upon to 
 serve his fellow citizens in several offices, hav- 
 ing acted as justice of the peace one term, and 
 constable several times. Socially Mr. Robin- 
 son is an honored member of W. H. Sargent 
 Post, G. A. R. Both he and his wife are 
 good representatives of the agricultural popu- 
 lation of Rock county. 
 
 W. P. HARTFORD, M. D. For almost 
 a quarter of a century this gentleman has en- 
 joyed a successful and lucrative practice in 
 Grant county, and, as the result of his untiring 
 labors, ambition, energy and well-directed ef- 
 forts, lie is to-day the possessor of a handsome 
 competence and a beautiful home in Cassville, 
 where he spends his leisure hours, enjoying the 
 society of his family and friends in the midst 
 of all the comforts that go to make life worth 
 the living. 
 
 Dr. Hartford was born in Kentucky in 
 
 1853, a son of John and Sarah (Malin) Hart- 
 ford, also natives of that State, who in April, 
 
 1854, came to Grant county, Wis. The father, 
 who was a farmer by occupation, took up a 
 tract of government land in Wyalusing town- 
 ship, to the improvement and cultivation of 
 which he devoted his energies for eleven years. 
 Fie then moved to the village of Wyalusing, 
 but he and his wife now make their home in 
 Cassville. Their children are W. P. ; Jennie 
 (Mrs. Loud) and Taylor, both residents of 
 Wyalusing; Clara, now matron in the reform 
 school at Milwaukee; John, a resident of Great 
 
 Falls, Mont.; and Mary, Mrs. Twining, Gay’s 
 Mills, Wisconsin. 
 
 Coming to Grant county with his parents 
 during infancy, Dr. Hartford was reared here, 
 and educated in the public schools and acad- 
 emy of Patch Grove. He then entered medi- 
 cal college at Louisville, Ky., where he was 
 graduated in 1876, and after practicing for a 
 short time in that State returned to Grant 
 county, opening an office in Wyalusing, where 
 he remained eighteen months. He was then in 
 active practice at Beetown for thirteen years, 
 and in June, 1891, came to Cassville, and pur- 
 chased the business of Dr. Cronin. In the prac- 
 tice of his profession at that place he has been 
 eminently successful, and has acquired some 
 valuable property in Cassville, including three 
 good residences. He also owns the half block 
 on which his own home stands. 
 
 In Milwaukee Dr. Hartford was united in 
 marriage with Miss Ella Kerr, who was born 
 in Grant county, her parents, Edward and Jane 
 (O'Neill) Kerr, being early settlers of Patch 
 Grove. Her father died there in 1896, but her 
 mother is still living. The Doctor and his wife 
 have one child, Neil Alexander. 
 
 Soon after locating at Cassville Dr. Hart- 
 ford was appointed surgeon for the Chicago, 
 Burlington & Northern railroad, and still holds 
 that position. He is prominent in professional 
 circles, and is an honored member of the State 
 Medical Society, the Tri-State Medical So- 
 ciety, and the American Medical Associa- 
 tion. He also holds membership in Cassville 
 Lodge, No. 235, F. & A. M., of which he was 
 worthy master several years ; is a member of 
 the Chapter, R. A. M., at Lancaster; the Or- 
 der of the Eastern Star; the Modern Wood- 
 men of America; the Royal Neighbors; and 
 was one of the organizers of the Knights of 
 Pythias lodge at Cassville. In his political 
 views the Doctor is a Republican. 
 
 EZRA IT. STUART has been engaged for 
 a number of years in the ice business in Brod- 
 head, Green county, and has recently taken up 
 the coal trade. He has had a varied and 
 eventful history, and throughout his life has 
 played the part of an honest and industrious 
 man. 
 
 Mr. Stuart was born in Wayne county, 
 .Ohio, Nov. 15, 1844, a son of Ezra and Caro- 
 line (Lassell) Stuart, natives of Vermont, who 
 moved into New York, and then into Wayne 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 435 
 
 county, Ohio. They had four children, but 
 oniy two grew to maturity. Mary is' the wife 
 of Abner Mitchell, of Rock county, Wis., and 
 Ezra H. is our subject. The father died in 
 Wayne county, Ohio, in 1845, and die mother 
 in 1849, both being about thirty years old at 
 the time of their demise. They were Univer- 
 salists in religious faith, and lived up to their 
 best ideals. Sylvester Stuart, his father, was a 
 native of New York, of Scotch-Irish descent, 
 and was a soldier in the war of 1812. He 
 reared a large family. The founder of the 
 family came to New Hampshire in 1640. 
 Bingham Lassell, the father of Caroline, men- 
 tioned' above, was a native of northern Ver- 
 mont, a farmer by occupation, and was over 
 eighty years of age at his death. He had a 
 large family. 
 
 Ezra H. Stuart was six years old when his 
 grandfather Lassell brought him to Janesville. 
 He was reared by his uncle and aunt, J. W. and 
 L. R. Stuart, in the town of Decatur, Green 
 county, and attended the district school. Mr. 
 Stuart enlisted, Oct. 27, 1861, in Company B, 
 
 1 8th Wis’. V. I., and after serving a little over 
 a year in that regiment was discharged for 
 disability. He came heme, and in August, 
 1863, re-enlisted, in Company B. 1st Wis. Vol. 
 Cav., serving until Tuly 19. 1865. He was 
 mustered out at Edgefield, Term. He was a 
 corporal, and was with Col. Harndon’s squad 
 when he captured Jefferson Davis, receiving 
 as his' share of the $100,000 reward $329. He 
 was in the battle of Shiloh, the relief of Knox- 
 ville, the East Tennessee campaign, all through 
 the Atlanta campaign, during the sieg-e of 
 Nashville, on the pursuit of Lyon, and also on 
 the Gen. Wilson raid through Georgia and 
 Alabama. 
 
 When the war was over Mr. Stuart came to 
 Brodhead and engaged in farming for a few 
 years. He was four years at Kirksville. Mo., 
 then moved into Illinois, and lived near Ham- 
 ilton twenty-two years, engaged' in farming 
 and fruit raising. In 1894 he returned to Brod- 
 head. and engaged in the ice business. In 1898 
 he took on the coal trade, and has a fine pat- 
 ron? p-e all the year around. 
 
 Mr. Stuart and Miss Lacey A. Norther? ft 
 were united in marriage Nov. 20, 1866. She 
 is the daughter of Samuel and Elmira (Daw- 
 son I Northcraft, and became the mother of two 
 children, Francis and Mary, both of whom died 
 when small. Mr. Stuart belongs to Bicknpll , 
 Lodge, Nlo>. 94, A. F. & A. M., and, with his 
 
 wife, to the Order of the Eastern Star. He 
 was master of the lodge at Hamilton, 111 ., five 
 years in succession. He is a member of Wes- 
 ley W. Patton Post, No. 90, G. A. R., at Brod- 
 head, and 1 was commander of the post one term. 
 He was formerly a Republican, but for a num- 
 ber of years has been a Populist. He is su- 
 pervisor of the First ward in Brodhead. He 
 lives at No. 127 North Thomas street, where 
 he bought and has remodeled a very attractive 
 j and elegant home. 
 
 . 
 
 ■ 
 
 r- 
 
 WILLIAM FINLEY GIBSON. Among 
 the old residents of Belmont township, La- 
 fayette county, who have won the esteem of a 
 wide circle of friends, and whose worth is ac- 
 knowledged by the community in which they 
 have so long had a home, are William Finley 
 Gibson and his estimable wife, the former of 
 whom is the subject of this biography. 
 
 The birth of our subject took place in 
 County Wicklow, Ireland, near the city of Dub- 
 lin, May 28, 1826. He is a son of George and 
 Jane (Boyce) Gibson, the former of whom was 
 for many years a revenue officer under the 
 British government, and both parents lived and 
 died in their own land, leaving five children. 
 Our subject is the only one of these who ever 
 came to America. In his own country Mr. 
 Gibson received a liberal education. Having 
 decided to try his fortunes in this land, he 
 reached Chicago sometime in 1848, engaging 
 there at his trade of carpenter for some five 
 years. In 1850 he married Miss Margaret 
 Keegan, daughter of Francis' H. and Margaret 
 Keegan, who were born in Ireland, but came of 
 ' English parentage. Francis H. Keegan came 
 to the city of Chicago in 1848 with his family 
 of ten children, and after a residence of five 
 years there removed to a farm at Mineral Point, 
 Wis., where he passed the remainder of his 
 life. Three of the children still survive : 
 Frank, who resides in Chicago; John, in Min- 
 eral Point ; and Mrs. Gibson. 
 
 Some five years after their marriage Mr. 
 and Mrs. Gibs'on decided to leave the city and 
 become farmers, and with this end in view^ mi- 
 grated to Mineral Point, Wis., where they lived 
 on a farm which Mr. Gibson purchased for 
 some eighteen years. In 1879 an opportunity 
 offered for the sale of that place and the pur- 
 chase of the present home farm, and the famdv 
 moved to Belmont township, where Mr. Gib- 
 son has improved the property very much by 
 
 
436 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the erection of commodious buildings and a 
 comfortable home. For a number of years 
 he continued to cultivate his' new farm, caus- 
 ing it to become one of the most attractive in 
 the neighborhood, but his son William for some 
 time has had complete charge of affairs, and 
 has successfully managed both farm and stock. 
 
 The family born to Mr. and Mrs. Gibson 
 consisted of eight children: (i) George, born 
 
 in Chicago in 1851, married Amelia Delong, 
 of Lafayette county, and they reside in Mont- 
 fort, where he is an extensive buyer of stock; 
 their six children are May, Willie, Holland, 
 Laura, Archie and Edna. (2) Margaret J., 
 born in Chicago, in 1853, married John Fitz- 
 simmons, a merchant of St. Paul, Minn. ; the 
 children of this union are Thomas, Charles, 
 Zelba, Willie and Lillie. (3) William F., 
 born at Mineral Point, Wis., in 1855, received 
 his early education at Mineral Point, later 
 spending two years at the Platteville Normal 
 School. In 1882 he married Mary Jones, and 
 they resided at Cobb, Wis., for some years, 
 then removing to his father’s farm, Mr. Gib- 
 son purchasing the old homestead’ in March, 
 1900. His wife died in December, 1899, leav- 
 ing him with nine children (who reside with 
 him and his parents at the old home), Ethel, 
 William Roy, Samuel,; Ella, May, George, 
 Anna, Burt Clair and Guy J. (4) Mary E., 
 born at Mineral Point in 1859, married Rev. 
 Henry Stewart, of Cadott, Wis., and has two 
 children, Ira and Blanche. (5J Albert, born in 
 Iowa county in 1861, was educated at the State 
 Normal School. He married Libbie Laugh- 
 lan, of Benton, where they reside, Mr. Gibson 
 being in business in that city. Their children 
 are Joseph, Charles and Russel. (6) Joseph, 
 born in Iowa county in 1863, graduated from 
 the State Normal School, and then became prin- 
 cipal of the Bloomer (Wis.) high school. He 
 was taken sick at that place and died in 1895, 
 the county losing one of its finest young men. 
 (7) Dr. O. E., born at Mineral Point in 1865, 
 attended the Platteville Normal School, later 
 graduated with honor from the Chicago Den- 
 tal College, and is now the leading member 
 of his profession in Platteville. He married 
 Alice Gray, of that city, and their two chil- 
 dren are Irvin G. and Helen M. (8) Henry I., 
 born at Mineral Point in 1867, attended the 
 Platteville Normal School, graduated from the 
 Chicago Dental College, and then entered Rush 
 Medical College, one year after graduation lo- 
 
 cating at Menomonie, Wis., in the practice of 
 his profession. He married Katie Doughty, 
 a daughter of Rev. William Edward Doughty, 
 and their children are Obe E., Llenry Irwin, 
 and Dwi ght. 
 
 Politically our subject has always been 
 identified with the Republican party, and he 
 has faithfully served as a justice of the peace 
 for a number of years, both at Mineral Point 
 and in Belmont, his son William having also 
 held that office. For many years both Mr. and 
 Mrs. Gibson were members of the Episcopal 
 Church, but upon locating in Belmont they 
 found difficulty in reaching a church of their 
 preference, and connected themselves with the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, of which they are 
 consistent members, the Christianity of such 
 people not being regulated by the doctrinal 
 name. Throughout the county our subject 
 and family are respected and have a name for 
 generous hospitality which has brought them 
 many friends. None in Belmont township 
 deserve the esteem of the citizens in a higher 
 degree than do William Finley Gibson and his 
 wife. 
 
 MRS. MARY HANEY is a retired busi- 
 ness woman of the town of Ellenboro, Grant 
 county, who since the death of her husband, 
 Phillip Haney, has cared for her estate with 
 much executive skill, and is now living in 
 peace and quiet. 
 
 Mrs. Planey was born in Trumbull county, 
 Ohio, in 1842, daughter of David and Harriet 
 (McKee) Phillips, who came West to Ohio 
 from Connecticut, and made their home in 
 Trumbull county some few years, then moving 
 to Ellenboro, Grant Co., Wis., being among 
 the very early settlers of that town. Mr. 
 Phillips owned a large amount of land, and was 
 one of the wealthy and influential men of 
 Grant county. The latter part of his life was 
 spent at Rockville, Wis., where he and his wife 
 died at a very advanced age. As a promi- 
 nent business man he had a fine reputation, and 
 left ample estate to his family of six children: 
 ( 1 ) George, the eldest son, died in the village 
 of Arthur. (2) Lorinda is the deceased wife 
 of Samuel Poland. (3) Dorns is a resident of 
 Nevada, where he owns a large silver mine. 
 
 (4) Mary is the subject proper of this article. 
 
 (5) Harriet married a Mr. Tighe. (6) David 
 is mentioned below. 
 
 Mary Phillips married William Duncan for 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 437 
 
 her first husband, and they settled on a farm 
 in Ellenboro, 'where he died leaving his wife 
 with two daughters, Harriet M. and Eva. 
 Harriet married John Myers, of California, 
 and is the mother of four children, Joseph, 
 Arthur, Millie and George. Eva married 
 Philo Curley, of Kansas'. Mrs. Duncan later 
 married Phillip Haney, of Grant county, and 
 settled in the town of Harrison, where they 
 were living at the time of his death, in 1886. 
 Mrs. Haney still retains this 'home. To this 
 union there was born one son, David Haney, 
 
 : a prosperous ranchman of Lanagan, Mo. Mrs. 
 
 Haney is a lady of much culture and kindness, 
 showing many traits of character well de- 
 veloped in her distinguished ancestors. 
 
 Dorus Phillips, David Phillips, and Mrs. 
 Haney are all who are left of this old and 
 prominent family. David Phillips, one of 
 California’s old-time gold miners, now a resi- 
 dent of Potosi, Wis., married Miss Mahalla 
 Travis, of the town of Harrison, whose father 
 fought in the Black Hawk war. They have 
 one daughter, Maggie, who is the wife of John 
 Craiger, of Chicago. 
 
 FREDERICK GERBER, a prominent and 
 successful dealer in furniture and undertaking 
 at Monticello, Green county, was born near 
 Booneville, N. Y., Dec. 29, 1858, a son of 
 Nicholas and Katherine (Galli) Gerber, na- 
 tives of Canton Berne, Switzerland. They 
 were the parents of four sons and two daugh- 
 ters : Frederick, whose name appears above; 
 
 Nicholas, a resident of Ohio ; John, a resident 
 of Rockwell, Iowa; Charles, who lives in Min- 
 nesota; Lena, who is the wife of Edward 
 Leibly, of Monroe, Wis. ; Sophie, the wife of 
 Fred Alder, of Brodhead. Nicholas Gerber 
 is now in the cheese business in Esther, Iowa. 
 In 1858 he came to America, and settled near 
 Booneville, N. Y. From there he moved to 
 Wheeling, 111., and in 1868 came to Green 
 county, where he established the two first 
 cheese factories there, one of which was located 
 in the town of New Glarus, and the other in 
 the town of Washington, and was proprietor 
 and manager of both for a number of vears. 
 In 1894 he moved to Esther, Iowa, where he 
 still resides. The first Mrs. Gerber, the mother 
 of Frederick, died in 1868, at the age of thirty- 
 six years. She was a member of the Swiss 
 Reformed Church. After her death Mr. Ger- 
 ber married bliss Katherine Pound, who be- 
 
 came the mother of six children : Louisa, 
 
 wife of Isaac Harrison, of Luverne, Iowa; 
 Edward, of Omaha; Henry, of Cobb, Wis.; 
 Annie, of Esther, Iowa ; William and Robert, 
 at home. Mr. Gerber is a Republican. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of Frederick Ger- 
 ber, of Monticello, died in Switzerland, well 
 advanced in years. He was a farmer and the 
 father of five children. The maternal grand- 
 father was John Galli, who came to New York 
 city, where he died when about eighty years old. 
 He, too, was a farmer, and had five children. 
 
 Frederick Gerber was six years old when he 
 came to Illinois, and spent some eight years at 
 Wheeling, in that State. Then his parents re- 
 moved to Green county, bids., and here he 
 completed his education by attending the dis- 
 trict school. Fie was reared to the business of 
 cheese making, and was an inmate of his fa- 
 ther's home until he reached adult age. For 
 a number of years he followed cheese making, 
 but abandoned the business in 1885, when he 
 came to Monticello and opened up in his pres- 
 ent line. Flis furniture stock is very complete 
 and thoroughly modern and up-to-date, and 
 as an undertaker he has a reputation second 
 to none in this part of the State. 
 
 Mr. Gerber was married Nov. 6, 1879, to 
 Fannie Marty, who was born January 27, 1861, 
 a daughter of Henry and Fannie (Durst) 
 Marty, of New Glarus. Mr. and Mrs. Gerber 
 are the parents of two children, Fannie, who 
 was born in New Glarus, Wis., Feb. 28, 1881 ; 
 and Nichlaus, who was' born in Monticello, 
 Wis., June 19, 1884. The father and mother 
 belong to the Swiss Reformed Church, and he 
 is a member of Monticello Lodge, No. 153, 
 F. & A. M., Lodge 83, I. O. O. F., and the 
 M. W. of A. Mr. Gerber is a Republican and 
 has been trustee of the village for the past three 
 years. In the village he owns a good home 
 which he has thoroughly remodelled since his 
 purchase. 
 
 JOHN J. BRIDGMAN, the oldest citizen 
 of the town of Lament, Lafayette county, was 
 born in the town of Lyme (near Dartmouth 
 College), N. H.. Nov. 5, 1815. His parents, 
 Gideon and Elizabeth S. (Barker) Bridgman, 
 were natives of Haverhill, N. H. Gideon 
 Bridgman, the grandfather of John J.. was a 
 soldier in the war of the Revolution, and fought 
 under Montgomery in his ' ill-starred expedi- 
 tion to Quebec. 
 
43 § 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 John J. Bridgman was the third in a family 
 of seven children, and was reared in the State 
 of Ohio, whither his parents had removed in 
 1818, settling in the town of Williamsfield, in 
 Ashtabula county. There the children grew 
 to adult years, and though the locality was on 
 the frontier line of civilization much attention 
 was devoted to their instruction, both in in- 
 formation of the world and in the elements of 
 character. Mr. Bridgman, was married iin 
 Ohio March n, 1838, to Miss Rhoda Cone, 
 and eleven years later they came to Wisconsin 
 from Cherry Valley, Ohio, settling in the town 
 of Fayette, Lafayette county, where they lived 
 four years. In 1853 they moved to their pres- 
 ent home, and here he has remained to the 
 present time, a period of over forty-seven years. 
 When they settled here the country was new, 
 and neighbors were few and far between. Mr. 
 Bridgman has improved a fine farm with the 
 assistance of his sons, beginning with a tract 
 of 120 acres, which he gradually increased to 
 220 acres. As his sons grew up and married 
 they acquired farms of their own. All are 
 now well situated, and have become honorable 
 and worthy members of society. 
 
 The greatest loss that Mr. Bridgman has 
 ever sustained was the death of his estimable 
 wife, which occurred March 11, 1899, on the 
 sixty-first anniversary of their marriage. She 
 was born June 16, 1815. Mr. and Mrs. Bridg- 
 man became the parents of eight children, of 
 whom three sons and three daughters' are 
 now living: Charles R.. of Darlington; Hiram 
 M., who served in the Union army during the 
 war of the Rebellion, being a member of the 
 31st Wis. V. I., as was also his brother, Charles 
 R. : Mrs. Elizabeth Cook, of Clarksville, Iowa; 
 Mrs. Julia Ann McConnell, of Spencer, Iowa; 
 James, living at the family homestead, who 
 is the present treasurer of the town of La- 
 mont ; and Mrs. Hannah R. McCarty, living 
 in the town of Lament. Henry died when 
 nine years old, and William died in Charles 
 City, Iowa, Nov. 22. 1900, at the age of fifty- 
 one years. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Bridgman came to La- 
 fayette county in 1863, and were drowned in 
 Otter creek, Feb. 13, 1867, while attempting 
 to ford that stream. The father was born 
 April 8, 1787, and the mother June 23, of the 
 same year. 
 
 John J. Bridgman is one of the well known 
 citizens of his town. He has been very suc- 
 
 cessful in his farming operations. Arriving 
 in the county with fifty dollars in his pocket, 
 and a horse and wagon, worth not more than 
 sixty-five dollars, he has become one of the 
 wealthier men of the community, and has am- 
 ple resources for every possible call that may be 
 made on him. In religion Mr. Bridgman has 
 long been associated with the Freewill Baptist 
 Church, and was for forty years one of its 
 active deacons. He is now the only survivor 
 of the original organizers of his church. 
 
 I 
 
 OBED Iv. JONES, a retired farmer of 
 Harrison township, Grant county, is on the 
 “shady” side of sixty, but his step is not feeble 
 nor his arm weak. He has retired from the 
 hard and strenuous labor of active farming, 
 but industry and prudence in his earlier years 
 have brought him an ample competence to make 
 his remaining days comfortable and independ- 
 ent. 
 
 Mr. Jones was born in Trumbull county, 
 Ohio, in January, 1833, a son of Chauncey and 
 Elizabeth (Brown) Jones, both natives of that 
 county, the former born Dec. 19, 1807, and the 
 latter March 1, 1807. They were reared and 
 educated in Trumbull county, and were there 
 married. They followed farming in Ohio un- 
 til 1840, when they came to Grant county, Wis., 
 and made a home where their son Obed K. now 
 resides, Mr. Jones purchasing nearly three hun- 
 dred acres from the government, and putting' 
 up a log house near where his parents, Chaun- 
 cey and Ursula (Crosby) Jones, had estab- 
 lished themselves in 1839. They were born in 
 Connecticut, and moved West at an early day. 
 These are heroic names in American history. 
 The Browns, Crosbys and Joneses were all 
 Plymouth Rock stock, and bore a hand stoutly 
 in the American Revolution. Chauncey Jones, 
 Sr., and his wife remained on their Grant 
 county farm as long as they lived, he dying 
 in 1863, and she in 1876. They had a family 
 of four children, of whom (1) Chauncey, the 
 father of our subject, was the eldest. (2) 
 Obed, the second child, was born in Ohio, 
 came with his parents to Wisconsin, and set- 
 tled on part of his father’s original purchase, 
 thence moving into Platteville township, where 
 he died in 1889, leaving a wife and several 
 surviving children of their familv of six — 
 Mary, now Mrs. Whittenheim, of Lima, Grant 
 county; Albert, now of Sac county, Iowa; 
 Julius, who died in the Civil wtar ; Pluma, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 439 
 
 now Mrs. Robert Duncan, of Prairie du Chien ; 
 Celia, married and living in Missouri ; and 
 Julia, Mrs. Burney, who lives in Nebraska. 
 (3) Clarissa married Jesse Waldorf, and set- 
 tled on a farm in Lima township, Grant coun- 
 ty, where both died. Their only surviving 
 child is Mrs. A. V. Knapp, who lives on the 
 old Waldorf homestead. (4) Harvey came 
 with his parents into Wisconsin, here married 
 Miss Eliza Hull, and shortly removed to Ore- 
 gon, settling on a farm near Puget Sound. 
 They were killed by Indians. Two of their 
 children, Harvey and Eliza, escaped and were 
 brought back to Wisconsin by their grandfa- 
 ther; they died while they were still in their 
 childhood. 
 
 Chauncey Jones, the father of Obed K., 
 lived in the log 'house some years, and when 
 circumstances permitted erected a handsome 
 frame dwelling. This gave way later to a 
 more pretentious structure, which is now the 
 home of the gentleman whose name introduces 
 this article. Chauncey Jones died in 1856, his 
 estimable wife,, who had shared with him all 
 the hardships of frontier life, surviving until 
 1885. He was an old-time Whig, and an ac- 
 tive Republican, served as justice of the peace, 
 and was a member of the school board for a 
 number of years. Both he and his wife were 
 always consistent members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, opening their house for pub- 
 lic worship before the town had either school 
 houses or church buildings. They reared a 
 family of three sons and one daughter : Or- 
 
 lando S. ; Obed Iv. ; Orpha, who died when 
 ten years old; and James H. The last named 
 enlisted when only fifteen years old in the 7th 
 Wis. V. I., and served throughout the war as 
 a member of the celebrated “Iron Brigade." 
 He was taken prisoner and confined at Libby 
 prison and on Belle Isle. While home on a 
 furlough he married Miss Ortha McFall, who 
 died in December, 1899, in Fayette county, 
 Iowa, where she and her husband had resided 
 for some years on a farm. Four of their chil- 
 dren are now living, Archie, Dr. Louie (phy- 
 sician for the Northwestern road at Wall Lake, 
 Iowa), Herrnie, and George. 
 
 Obed Iv. Jones was brought to Wisconsin 
 by his parents when a boy, and here he grew 
 up on the farm and received a district-school 
 education. He married Miss Harriet Gurn- 
 sey, a daughter of Joseph and Charlotte Gurn- 
 sey, of Blue River, Grant county, and old and 
 
 honored residents of the State of New York. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jones lived with his mother 
 after his father's death. She died in 1861, 
 leaving him one son and one daughter : ( 1 ) 
 
 DeForest, a farmer in Sac county, Iowa, grad- 
 uated from the Platteville Normal School. 
 He married Miss Clara Hurlburt, and they 
 have five children, Harry, Olive, Hattie, Burt, 
 and Gordon. (2) Harriet, the daughter, who 
 was educated at the Platteville Normal, mar- 
 ried David Murray, of Grant county, and they 
 are now living on a farm in Iowa. They have 
 a family of five children, Bessie Olive, Frank, 
 Nellie, Genevieve and Ernest. 
 
 Mr. Jones enlisted in Company E, 33d 
 V is. V. I., in the spring of 1862, and served 
 throughout the war. He was in the Western 
 Army under Gen. Sherman, and was in many 
 fiercely-fought battles and long marches, but 
 survived all the perils of that great struggle, 
 and came home in 1865. Two years later he 
 married Miss Susan Janney, a daughter of 
 Nathan and Elizabeth (Grimes) Janney, na- 
 tives of Virginia and Kentucky, respectively. 
 She was born in Wisconsin in 1836, and her 
 parents were among the earliest settlers to take 
 farm property near Platteville. Mrs. Jones 
 was educated in the old academy at Platteville, 
 and was among the successful teachers of 
 Platteville and Galena for over fifteen years ; 
 she is a lady of culture and education, and 'has 
 many warm friends. x\fter their marriage 
 Mr. and Airs. Jones moved to the old Jones 
 homestead farm, where they have resided up to 
 the present time. In 1892 Air. Jones gave up 
 active farm work, and turned the management 
 of the farm business over to his son Frank. 
 One son and one daughter were born to the 
 second marriage. The daughter. Nellie, was 
 born in 1S68, and educated at the Platteville 
 Normal. In 1889 she married Philip Wein- 
 terheiller, of Grant county, and now resides in 
 Pocahontas county, Iowa, where her husband 
 is engaged in the real-estate business and 
 farming. They have two children, Clyde and 
 Clara. Frank C., the youngest son of our sub- 
 ject, was born in 1870, was educated in the 
 Platteville Normal, and was a teacher for a 
 short time. He married Aliss Alaude Johns- 
 ton, daughter of Warren and Phoebe Johnston, 
 one of Grant county’s old and prominent pio- 
 neer families, and is now the manager of his 
 father’s interests on the home farm. They 
 have three children, Frank, Ruth, and Helen. 
 
440 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Jones has been a Republican all his 
 life. He and his wife and children are mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, his 
 wife being- very prominent in the work of 
 same. Fraternally he is a Mason, and he be- 
 longs to Sherman Post, G. A. R. 
 
 WARREN ELISHA GARDNER, of 
 Brodhead, is one of the early settlers of Green 
 county, and his life is a part of its history 
 for more than half a century. Here he spent 
 his boyhood and youth, and here he has lived 
 and labored through all the intervening years. 
 He is a man of character and standing, and 
 may be justly pronounced one of the leading- 
 citizens of this part of the county. 
 
 Mr. Gardner was born in Bennington, Vt., 
 Feb. i. 1839, and is a son of Dewey and 
 Samantha W. (Wadsworth) Gardner, both 
 natives of Vermont. They had a family of 
 three children, of whom Warren Elisha is now 
 the only one living. The father was a farmer, 
 anti came to Wisconsin in 1845, locating in 
 Waukesha for a year. After that he came 
 to Green county, and secured a tract of two 
 hundred forty acres from the Government 
 From time to time he added to this, until he 
 had a magnificent rural estate of five hundred 
 twelve acres. He lived in the town of Decatur 
 until his death in 1873, at the age of sixty-six. 
 His widow survived until 1898, when she died 
 at the age of ninety-one years. They were 
 Universalists in their religious convictions, 
 and lived after the best ideals of their faith. 
 Fie was a man of local standing and was called 
 to fill various town offices from time to time. 
 His father, Sylvester Gardner, was a native 
 of Vermont, of German lineage, and he was 
 born and bred a farmer, following that calling- 
 all his life. Fie reared a large family, and died 
 in the East. The maternal grandfather of 
 Warren Elisha Gardner was Samuel Wads- 
 worth. Fie was a native of Vermont, of Eng- 
 lish descent, and a farmer all his life. Fie 
 lived to be seventy-five years old, and 'reared a 
 large family. He had a brother, Joseph, who 
 served in the Revolutionary war. 
 
 Warren E. Gardner was only six years 
 old when he came with his parents to Wiscon- 
 sin, and he has lived in Green county since he 
 was seven years old, so that he can say 
 that practically his entire life has been 
 passed in this State. He was reared on 
 the farm, and attended the district school, 
 
 finishing his schooling at the seminary at 
 Evansville. When he became a man he 
 taught school, and made a very credit- 
 able record as a teacher. But he was needed 
 at home and he came back to the farm, where 
 he remained assisting his father in its cultiva- 
 tion as long as he lived. When the father 
 died, the farm was divided between the two 
 brothers, Gurdon and Warren E. Warren E. 
 continued on the old homestead until 1886, 
 and it still remains in his possession. He has 
 added to his inheritance until he now owns 
 five hundred eighty-eight acres of as choice 
 land as may be found in the southern part of 
 the State, which is as much as to say any- 
 where in the United States, for Green county 
 is a garden and a delight to the eye. In 1886 
 Mr. Gardner came to Brodhead with his 
 mother to occupy a good home which he had 
 just completed, and here his mother lived until 
 her death. 
 
 Mr. Gardner is a stanch Republican. Fie 
 was chairman of the town board several terms 
 before moving to the city, and here lie has 
 served two terms as a member of the board 
 of trustees of the corporation. For fourteen 
 years he has been a resident of Brodhead, and 
 is one of the most highly esteemed citizens of 
 the place. 
 
 JACOB KARLEN. This gentleman has 
 been a resident of Monroe, Green county, Wis.. 
 for the last twenty years, and in that time has 
 made a large success of the cheese business, 
 both as a producer and a wholesale dealer. He 
 came to it somewhat late in life, but lie was 
 familiar with the cheese methods of his native 
 land. Industrious and not afraid of hard 
 work, he put character into every cheese he 
 offered for sale. He is but a little past sixty 
 years of age, yet he has achieved a very de- 
 cided success, both in the accumulation of a 
 fair fortune and the building up of a wide and 
 prosperous trade. He was born in Canton 
 Berne. Switzerland, Jan. 18, 1840, and is a 
 son of Christ and Maria (Pfuncl) Karlen, both 
 children of the mountain republic. 
 
 Christ Karlen was a stone mason by trade, 
 and his death occurred in his native land in 
 1852, at the early age of forty-five years, the 
 result of an accident while he was engaged in 
 blasting. He left a widow and five sons, four 
 of whom are now living : Christ, of A ilas, 
 
 S. Dak.; Jacob; David, of Booneville, N. Y. ; 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 441 
 
 and Gottfried, of Beemer, Neb. The mother 
 came to this country in 1875, and made her 
 home with her children, dying in Monroe in 
 1898, when over eightv-three years of age. 
 Both she and her husband were members of 
 the Lutheran Church. 
 
 The father of Christ Karlen bore the name 
 of Jacob Karlen, and he, too, was a stone 
 mason by trade, and was a very hard working 
 man. He died in his native land at the age 
 of eighty-three. In 1798 he was drafted by 
 Napoleon when the latter invaded Switzer- 
 land, and made a call for 1,800 men. but Mr. 
 Karlen would not serve, and deserted the 
 French army. In his family were eight sons 
 and three daughters, several of whom are rep- 
 resented in this country. Joseph Pfund, the 
 father of Maria (Pfund) Karlen, was a soldier 
 in the Swiss army, and lived to be over seventy 
 years of age. 
 
 Jacob Karlen, who is widely known as the 
 Monroe cheese maker and dealer, was reared 
 to manhood in his native community. He at- 
 tended the Swiss schools, and had an educa- 
 tion as good as the circumstances of his fam- 
 ily could command. In November. 1862, Air. 
 Karlen and Miss Maryanna Zwahlen, the 
 daughter of Christ and Anna (Beetschen) 
 Zwahlen, were united in marriage, and to this 
 union were born eleven children : Mary Ann, 
 
 Magdalena, Jacob, Jr., Rosina, David, Anna, 
 Gottlieb, Louisa, Samuel, Fritz, and Louis. 
 The first five of these were born in Switzer- 
 land, and the others in this country. Mary 
 Ann married John Becker, and lives in the 
 town of Jefferson; they have five children, 
 Mary, John, Jacob, Emma and Herman. Mag- 
 dalena married John Werren, and lives in 
 South W ayne, Whs. ; they have one child, 
 Edna. Jacob. Jr., married Kathrina Hefty, 
 and has three children, Lillian Kathrina, Her- 
 man Jacob and Florence; Jacob, Jr., is in part- 
 nership with his father. Rosina is Mrs. Fred 
 Schumacher, and lives near Browntown, Wis. ; 
 they have three children, Louisa, Lena and 
 Fritz. David married Miss Malie Hoesli, 
 and is the father of three children, Sylvia, 
 Myrtle and Arthur. Anna is the deceased 
 wife -of John Karlen, of Buffalo, N. Y., and 
 was the mother of three children, David, Hul- 
 dah and Lilly. Gottlieb married Miss Kath- 
 •nna Becker, and is a ’’’grocer in Monroe ; thev 
 have one child, Marie. Louise and Samuel 
 died about the same time, children of seven 
 
 and five years, from diphtheria. Fritz, in 
 business with his father, married Sophia 
 Hoehn. Louis died when twenty-one years 
 [ old. 
 
 In 1869 Mr. Karlen, his wife and five chil- 
 dren, came to this country and located at 
 Booneville, Oneida Co., N. Y., where they 
 spent about a year, and then came on West 
 to Wisconsin. They stopped for some months 
 at Hanover, and presently arranged to have 
 their permanent home in Green county, and 
 for the last twenty years or more Mr. Karlen 
 and his interesting family have been residents 
 of the city of Monroe. He was reared a ma- 
 son, but when he came to this county he saw 
 an opening in the cheese business and was 
 quick to take advantage of it, with marked 
 success. His business extends to all parts of 
 the United States, and with every passing year 
 it is increasing. Mr. Karlen is an independ- 
 ent in politics. His home is on Farmer street, 
 in Monroe. 
 
 BENJAMIN G. JONES. Among the 
 well-known citizens of Grant county is Ben- 
 jamin G. Jones, of Millville, proprietor of a 
 flouring-mil] at that place, and a veteran of 
 the war of the Rebellion, having fought for 
 the Union in the famous Iron Brigade. He 
 enlisted in January, 1864, in Company C, 6th 
 Whs. V. L, and joined the regiment at Cul- 
 peper, Va., participating in the terrible battles, 
 marches and sieges which fell to the lot of 
 the Army of the Potomac during the last 
 desperate struggles of the war. All know the 
 record of the Iron Brigade in the awful cam- 
 I paign of the Wilderness, in the siege of Peters- 
 ; burg, and the desperate battles attending that 
 | sieg'e. Then, when Lee was compelled to 
 , leave his stronghold and flee before the terrible 
 I onslaughts of Grant’s army, the Iron Brigade 
 I was foremost among the troops who pursued 
 the Confederate army, and was present .at the 
 I surrender at Appomattox. Mr. Jones partici- 
 1 pated in many severe battles in which the bri- 
 gade was engaged, and had many narrow 
 escapes, but was never severely injured. At 
 the battle of Hatchie’s Run a ball passed 
 through his hat. and the force was sufficient 
 to knock him down. He is in a fair condition 
 of health, considering the severity of his army 
 life, and yet he has suffered much from causes 
 resulting therefrom, chief among which was a 
 l varicose limb, which compelled him to go on 
 
442 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 crutches for some time; he has never fully re- 
 covered in this respect. 
 
 A native of England, Mr. Jones was born 
 in Northamptonshire Dec. 5, 1846, a son of 
 John and Christina (Carnage) Jones. When 
 he was a mere lad the family, comprising par- 
 ents and four children, emigrated to America. 
 Another child was born after coming to this 
 country. Benjamin G. was the eldest son. 
 The father passed away in 1887 at Bridgeport, 
 Wis., where the aged mother still lives. On 
 coming from England the family first located 
 in Grant county, whence they removed to Craw- 
 ford county. 
 
 Mr. Jones was reared to the occupation of 
 farming, hut also learned the blacksmith’s 
 trade, which he followed for a number of years, 
 in the fall of 1878 he went to Nebraska, where 
 he had come into possession of a milling in- 
 terest, but after operating the mill for a period 
 of twenty-one years he returned to Wisconsin, 
 since which time he has owned and operated 
 the mill at Millville. 
 
 Mr. Jones married Miss Rhoda O. Polley, 
 and to them were born seven children, but 
 the eldest child and only son is now deceased. 
 They have an adopted son, however, David L. 
 Jones. The daughters are all living. Fra- 
 ternally Mr. Jones is a worthy member of W. 
 H. Irwin Post, No. 70, G. A. R., of Nebraska. 
 He takes an active interest in whatever tends 
 to promote the prosperity of the community 
 in which lie lives, and is an extensive reader, 
 keeping well informed on the political and gen- 
 eral issues of the day. As a gallant soldier in 
 the war for the Union, and one of the highly 
 respected citizens of Millville, he is well de- 
 serving of honorable mention in the history 
 of his adopted county. 
 
 THOMAS BRACKEN, of the town of 
 Willow Springs, Lafayette county, is a son of 
 Gen. Charles Bracken, who was one of the 
 more prominent pioneers of Southwestern Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 Charles Bracken was born April 6, 1797, 
 in Pittsburg, Penn., and belonged to a family 
 long established in that State, its first Ameri- 
 can representative having come to America 
 about the time that William Penn established 
 his colony. He was a youth at the time the 
 second war with England broke out, and took 
 an important part in that struggle for one so 
 young. Some time after the close of that war 
 
 Mr. Bracken went to Cynthiana, Ivy., where he 
 was married May 30, 1820, to Sarah Jones, 
 who was born in Baltimore March 1, 1799. 
 
 I he year 1828 found him at Galena, 111 ., which 
 had already become important as the chief 
 point in the lead regions. From that time un- 
 til his death, in 1861, he was intimately identi- 
 fied with the growth and development of South- 
 western Wisconsin. Soon after Mr. Bracken 
 located at Galena he was joined by his family, 
 but on the breaking out of the Black Hawk 
 war he sent them back to Kentucky, where 
 they remained until the close of Indian hostil- 
 ities. Mr. Bracken himself took an active 
 part in that short but sharp struggle with the 
 followers of Black Hawk. He assisted in 
 building Fort Defiance, where he was made a 
 lieutenant, and took part in a number of severe 
 engagements with the Indians. 
 
 Mr. Bracken was one of the earliest to 
 engage in the smelting business m Lafayette 
 county, and carried on that business quite ex- 
 tensively for a number of years. He estab- 
 lished a blast furnace smelter in Section 35, 
 Town 4, Range 3, East, now the township of 
 Willow Springs, where he smelted both cop- 
 per and lead ore. He had previously built sev- 
 eral ash furnaces at different points. Mr. 
 Bracken had entered from the government a 
 large tract of land, and in 1833 settled with 
 his' family where his son now lives, and where 
 he lived until his death, which occurred in 
 April, 1861, when he was aged sixty-four 
 years. Plis wife had passed away in 1849. 
 Gen. Bracken, as he was commonly called, was a 
 man of much more than the average ability. 
 Possessing great energy and perseverance, he 
 contributed as much as any other one man 
 to the development of Lafayette county, and in 
 its early annals deserves a place with such men 
 as Judge Dunn, Col. Parkinson, Elias Pilling, 
 Moses Meeker, Dennis Murphy, Major Shel- 
 don, and other representative pioneers whose 
 names might he mentioned. In Iris political 
 affiliations he was a Whig of the Old School, 
 and he was active and influential in the coum 
 cils of his party, serving as a member of the 
 General Assembly in 1858. 
 
 Gen. Bracken and his wife became the par- 
 ents of nine children, of whom seven lived to 
 mature years, but only three are living at the 
 time of this writing (1901). The oldest of 
 these, Charles James Bracken, is a resident oi 
 Hot Springs, S. Dak.; Mrs. Jane Simpson, the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 443 
 
 only surviving daughter, lives at Mineral 
 Point; Thomas Bracken is the subject proper 
 of this article. 
 
 Thomas Bracken was born Nov. 4, 1838, 
 on the family homestead, the establishment of 
 ^which, in 1833, is noted above. He obtained 
 his education in the common schools, and in 
 what was then Platteville Academy, in i860. 
 His father was a competent surveyor, and the 
 son prepared for that profession, and in the 
 spring of 1862 went to the Northwest Ter- 
 ritories for the purpose of engaging in govern- 
 ment work. Congress had made no appropri- 
 ations for that work, and the young man was 
 disappointed, but remained some nine years in 
 the Far West. 
 
 Mrs. Thomas Bracken was formerly Eliza- 
 beth, daughter of Richard Benson, who 
 brought his family from England to the United 
 States in 1849, and lived for a time in Willow 
 Springs, where friends of the family had long 
 been established. The father died when sixty- 
 two years of age, the mother living to be 
 eighty-two. Their children are all living, and 
 include Daniel, who is a resident of Willow 
 Springs; Joseph, who lives in Iowa; Mrs. 
 Bracken; and John, of Plainfield, Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bracken have one 
 son, William, who is still at home. Thomas 
 Bracken is living where the greater part of his 
 life has been passed. He is one of the most 
 reliable and universally respected members of 
 the farming community in this part of the 
 State. He has a pleasant farm home, and his 
 broad and well-tilled acres show everywhere 
 the work of a man to whom agriculture is not 
 only work but a pleasure. Generally affili- 
 ating with the Democratic party, he has come 
 to take strong ground on the liquor question, 
 and of late he has felt that is the main prob- 
 lem now before the American people. Hence 
 his sympathies go out very largely to the Pro- 
 hibition party. With his family he holds mem- 
 bership in the Primitive Methodist Church. 
 
 E. M. CURKEET, one of the substantial 
 and prominent agriculturists of Elk Grove 
 township, Lafayette county, is known among 
 his neighbors as a successful and prosperous 
 farmer and stock raiser, and is most highly 
 regarded as a representative man, both in pub- 
 lic and in private, in his town. 
 
 The birth of our subject took place on his 
 present homestead, March 1, 1854. He is a 
 
 son of John and Jane (Martin) Curkeet, the 
 former born at St. Martins, England, in Sep- 
 tember, 1810, his wife in Meiore, England, 
 in 1812. Botn grew to maturity in their native 
 country, where they married, coming to Amer- 
 ica in 1843. Their first location was at Galena, 
 111., where Mr. Curkeet engaged some years 
 in mining, and they then moved to Wisconsin, 
 where he purchased a farm near Elk Grove. 
 In 1868 he purchased a farm near Darlington, 
 and moved on it. In 1874 he purchased a home 
 in Hardin county, Iowa, where he died in 1887, 
 our subject’s mother surviving until 1894. 
 Mr. and Airs. Curkeet were good and pious 
 people, Air. Curkeet being a local preacher in 
 the AI. E. Church for a number of years, and 
 one of the founders and supporters of the first 
 M. E. Church in Elk Grove. In his good work 
 lie was ably assisted by his worthy wife, neither 
 ever tiring in their mission of good, in pol- 
 itics Air. Curkeet supported the Republican 
 party. The children born to these worthy peo-’ 
 pie were: Elizabeth A., born in 1838, married 
 Frank McNett, of Lafayette county; later they 
 moved to Georgetown, and still later to Elk 
 Grove, where she died; their children were 
 John, Henry, Elizabeth, and Frank. Robert, 
 born in 1841, married Mary Deselhorst, of 
 Lafayette county, became a large stock raiser 
 in Grundy county, Iowa, where he bred blooded 
 stock, and later moved to Hardin county, 
 where he lived until his death, in 1894. Jennie, 
 born in 1844, lives in Flardin county, Iowa. 
 William J., born in 1846, married Adela 
 Woods, of Darlington, and died in Fonda, 
 Iowa, leaving a daughter, Rena. James, born 
 in 1848, married Emily Julian, of Mineral 
 Point, and lives in Platteville, having one son. 
 Justice, born in 1851, married Lizzie A. 
 Thomas, followed farming for some years, and 
 then engaged in merchandising at Elk Grove, 
 later moving to Darlington; he died in 1892, 
 leaving a wife and two sons, now living in 
 Denver, Colo. E. AI. is our subject. 
 
 Our subject received his early education 
 in the district schools of Elk Grove, and later 
 entered the high school of Darlington. He 
 engaged in farming until his marriage, in 1878, 
 to Aliss Hattie A. Jones, the daughter of J. 
 W. and Catherine Jones, one of the most prom- 
 inent of the old pioneer families. Airs. 
 Curkeet was born May 6, 1855, and as she 
 grew up was educated in the best schools of 
 the county, also receiving a superior musical 
 
444 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 education. After marriage our subject pur- 
 chased the old homestead, and continued to 
 occupy the frame house erected by his father 
 until 1889, when the present elegant, modern 
 home was built. Since that time many im- 
 provements have been made in the way of 
 commodious barns and outbuildings of a sub- 
 stantial character. Our subject and wife own 
 267A2 acres of fine, well cultivated land at 
 their location, and their place is one of the 
 most attractive in the township, all the sur- 
 roundings telling of the culture and refinement 
 of the inmates. 
 
 Three children have been born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Curkeet : Lillian, born in Elk Grove 
 
 Aug. 14, 1879, was educated in the Platte- 
 ville Normal and at St. Clair Academy, of 
 Wisconsin, and is a young lady of superior 
 attainments and attractions; John E., born in 
 1881, is one of the advanced students in 
 the Normal school ; Orvil was born in 
 1891. Politically our subject is a Republi- 
 can, is now a justice of the peace, and has 
 been roadmaster and a member of the school 
 board. For thirty-eight years Mrs. Curkeet 
 has been a necessary adjunct to the choir in 
 the M. E. Church, her duties as organist be- 
 ginning when she was but nine years old. Her 
 musical accomplishments assist in making 
 pleasant the beautiful and hospitable home of 
 our subject, and the whole family is one which 
 the residents of Elk Grove delight to esteem. 
 
 EDWIN JOHNSON (deceased) was 
 numbered among the prosperous retired farmer 
 citizens of Platteville, Grant county, where he 
 enjoyed the comforts of life removed from 
 active business, though he took a deep interest 
 in the welfare of the community. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was born in Avoca, County 
 Wicklow, Ireland, Nov. 2, 1817, a son of 
 Richard and Mary Johnson, who were born and 
 spent their lives in the Emerald Isle. Of the 
 ten children born to them, our subject is the 
 only one who crossed the ocean, and was the 
 last to pass away. Receiving an excellent ed- 
 ucation in his native land, Mr. Johnson fol- 
 lowed a sea-faring life -for a number of years, 
 sailing between Liverpool, New York and 
 New Orleans, after which he located in Balti- 
 more. After a few years, at the time of the 
 Black Hawk troubles, he migrated West, lo- 
 cating at Hazel Green, Grant Co., Wis., and 
 engaged in mining lead and other ores. Later 
 
 Mr. Johnson settled at Belmont, having pur- 
 chased a large tract of prairie and timber land, 
 which he greatly improved, acquiring over 
 1,000 acres in and around Belmont, of which 
 he was the founder. In 1887 Mr. Johnson 
 purchased a pleasant home in Platteville, near 
 the State College, where he resided until his 
 death, Nov. 19, 1900. 
 
 In 1839 Mr. Johnson married Miss Eliza- 
 beth Johnson, of Ireland, and she bore him ten 
 children, four now living : Elizabeth, the eld- 
 
 est living, now Mrs. Samuel Fitzsimmons, of 
 Mineral Point, Wis.; Mary, wife of William 
 Marsh, of Mineral Point; Abigail, wife of Dr. 
 Cronin, of Lancaster, Wis. ; and Sarah, Mrs. 
 Samuel O’Neill, of Chicago; the remaining 
 children died in childhood. In 1865 Mr. John- 
 son lost his wife, and in 1866 he married Emily 
 Stephens, daughter of Michael Stephens, one 
 of the old pioneers of Platteville. To the sec- 
 ond marriage three children were born : Ed- 
 
 win A. is mentioned below ; Eva, born in Grant 
 county, was well educated in the public schools 
 and the Normal at Platteville, and is now at 
 home ; Annie died at the age of seven. In 
 September, 1896, Air. Johnson was again be- 
 reaved, his wife passing away at their home in 
 Platteville. 
 
 Politically Mr. Johnson was a member of 
 the Democratic party, and while residing in 
 Belmont held a number of State and town of- 
 fices, becoming well known for his upright 
 principles and faithful discharge of his duties. 
 In religious matters he was a consistent mem- 
 ber of the Catholic Church. He was instru- 
 mental in forwarding the commercial import- 
 ance of Platteville, at one time dealing quite 
 extensively in real estate, improving property, 
 and enhancing its value. All of his children 
 who attained maturity are a credit to him and 
 the city from which they hail, and our subject 
 was justly regarded as a man of sterling worth, 
 upright integrity, and pleasing personality. 
 He numbered his friends by legions. 
 
 Edwin A. Johnson was born May 14, 
 1870, was educated in the public schools and 
 at the Chicago Veterinary College, receiving 
 the degree of M. D. C. in 1896. He is now 
 engaged in the practice of veterinary surgery. 
 I11 April, 1898, he married Miss Grace John- 
 son, of Montfort, daughter of John Johnson, 
 one of the pioneers of southern Wisconsin, and 
 they have one daughter, Emily, born Dec. 9, 
 1900. 
 

 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 445 
 
 JAMES ROBISON, a worthy representa- 
 tive of one of the prominent pioneer families 
 of Grant county, was too young to enter the 
 service at the inauguration of the Civil war, 
 but in January, 1864, he enlisted, at Platte- 
 ville, in Company E, 25th Wis. V. I., for a 
 period of three years or during the war, being 
 mustered into the United States service at 
 Madison. He entered the army just in time 
 to take part with his regiment in Gen. Sher- 
 man’s Atlanta campaign, participating in its 
 famous battles, beginning with the engage- 
 ment at Resaca. He was in the celebrated 
 march to the sea, and took part in the Caro- 
 lina campaign and the grand review at Wash- 
 ington, D. C., at the close of the war. He 
 continued in the army for some time after hos- 
 tilities ceased, being mustered out at Louisville, 
 Ky., July 16, 1865. 
 
 A native of Grant county, Mr. Robison 
 was born in Platteville township in 1848, a 
 son of William R. and Ann (Gregor) Robi- 
 son. The father was born in Pennsylvania, 
 and when a young man came to Grant county, 
 Wis., where his marriage was celebrated. For 
 many years lie followed farming in Platteville 
 township, where his death occurred 1 in 1886. 
 His widow now makes her home in Dubuque, 
 Iowa. In their family were seven children, 
 namely: Mary Jane, now Mrs. Heinney, of 
 
 Harrison township, Grant county; James, who 
 is next in the order of birth; Oliver Henry, a 
 resident of Iowa; Agnes A., wife of Augustus 
 Cooper, of Dubuque; Elizabeth, Mrs. Nye, a 
 resident of Madison, Wis. ; and Rhoda May, 
 Mrs. Kane, and William R., both of Dubuque, 
 Iowa. 
 
 James' Robison grew to manhood in Har- 
 rison township, Grant county, and for a num- 
 ber of years was engaged in mining, spend- 
 ing part of this time in the mining districts 
 of the far West. Returning to his native 
 county, he located in Cassville township in 
 1892, and has since successfully engaged in 
 farming. In the township of Hazel Green, 
 Grant county, he was united in marriage with 
 Miss Oaklief, daughter of Jacob and Rose 
 Ann (Roselief) Oaklief. The father was a 
 native of Germany, removed from Pennsyl- 
 vania to Ohio, and later came to Grant county, 
 Wis., being at present a resident of Waterloo 
 township. Air. and Airs. Robison have the 
 following children : Charles Henry, Carrie, 
 
 Lottie Alay, Laura, Oscar J., Arthur and Ethel 
 
 D. Mr. Robison uses his right of franchise 
 in support of the men and measures of the 
 Republican party, and gives his influence to 
 all enterprises which he believes calculated to 
 advance the interests of his town and county 
 along any line. 
 
 MICHAEL McKENNA, deceased. The 
 founder of one of the most respected families 
 of Platteville, Grant county, was Francis Mc- 
 Kenna, a native of Ireland, born in County 
 Tyrone. He married Sarah O’Neil, and after 
 some years came with his little family to Amer- 
 ica, in the hope of providing better for his 
 children. 
 
 Remaining in Pittsburg, Penn., for a short 
 time, Air. McKenna followed the influx of set- 
 tlers then drifting toward Wisconsin, and set- 
 tled at Mineral Point, on a farm, some time 
 later securing what became the old homestead 
 near Moscow, Iowa Co., Wis., owning at one 
 time 1,300 acres of land. Francis AIcKenna 
 was an educated man, and became one of the 
 leading citizens of AIoscow, where he and his 
 wife died, leaving a family of four children : 
 Anna, born in Ireland, married a Air. Cox, 
 who resided at Moscow, but is now deceased ; 
 her daughter Ellen is the wife of a Air. Alat- 
 son, of Iona, Minn. Teresa, born in Ireland, 
 married Samuel McWilliams, of Iowa county, 
 and had nine children, Hugh (a well-known 
 lawyer in the State of Oregon), Frank (of 
 Ashland, Oregon), Alary (Airs. Phelan, of 
 Iowa), James, John (of Colorado), Sarah (of 
 Colorado), Terissa, Michael and Jennie (all 
 of Iowa). Eliza is deceased. Michael was 
 the next in the family. John, born in Ireland, 
 who resides with his family in Aladison. Wis., 
 is the only survivor of the family. 
 
 Alichael AIcKenna was a boy of eight years 
 when he accompanied his parents to America. 
 Attending the district school, he received a 
 fair education, and remained with his parents 
 on the farm until his marriage, Jan. 1, 1872, 
 to Miss Alary L. Eddy, daughter of William 
 W. and Eliza (Morgan) Eddy, old and prom- 
 inent pioneers of Lafayette county. William 
 W. Eddy was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, 
 married Aliss Eliza Alorgan, a native of Ver- 
 mont, and after their marriage, which took 
 place at Alanchester. 111 ., where they became 
 acquainted, they settled first at Apple River, 
 111 ., where they lived several years. Leaving 
 there, they made a permanent home in Yellow 
 
446 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Stone, Lafayette Co., Wis., where they both 
 died, the father in 1872, the mother in 1868. 
 Six children were born to them, of whom Mrs. 
 McKenna and her brother Horace, of Kenosha, 
 are the only survivors; the latter has a family 
 of six children. Mrs. McKenna was born in 
 September, 1852, and was well educated, first 
 in the district schools’, later in the Sisters’ 
 Catholic School, at Mineral Point, and be- 
 came one of the successful teachers in that 
 town for a number of terms. 
 
 After marriage Mr. and Mrs. McKenna 
 settled down to agricultural life at the old 
 homestead in Iowa county, known as “River- 
 side stock farm,” which she and her family 
 still own, remaining there until the death of 
 Mr. McKenna, Sept. 9, 1892. In 1896 the 
 remaining members at home moved into Platte- 
 ville, where they have a pleasant home. The 
 father showed his devotion to his children by 
 his care in advancing their educational oppor- 
 tunities, and the home is one o! intelligence 
 and refinement. The following children were 
 born to our subject and wife: Frank J., born 
 in December, 1873, was educated at Sacred 
 Heart College, Watertown, Wis., later taking 
 a course at the State University, Madison, and 
 is now the competent manager of the Conrad 
 Houser ranch, in Dodge county, Wis. ; the old 
 homestead will soon be his permanent home. 
 Hugh C., born in 1875, graduated in the class 
 of 1898 at the Platteville Normal School, and 
 then entered the Medical Department of the 
 State University, at Madison, where he was 
 graduated in June, 1900; he is at present a 
 Sophomore in Rush Medical College, Chicago'. 
 Charles M., born in 1877, graduated 1 from the 
 Platteville State Normal School in the class of 
 1900, and is the principal of the eighth grade in 
 the high 1 school of Darlington. Mamie, born in 
 1879, graduated at the Platteville Normal 
 School in June, 1900, is a teacher at Red Wood 
 Falls, Minn. Alice, born in 1882, graduated 
 from the Platteville Normal School in June, 
 1900. John F., born in 1884, is a student of 
 the Normal School. Alberta was born in 1887, 
 and Joseph M. in 1891. 
 
 Politically Mr. McKenna was a lifelong 
 Democrat, and an active and influential pol- 
 itician, was a delegate to the State conventions, 
 and held all of the minor local offices in the 
 gift of the party. Mr. McKenna reared his 
 family in the Roman Catholic faith, as he had 
 been reared, and through life was a devout ad- 
 
 herent of same, giving liberally of his means 
 to its support, and as nearly as possible fol- 
 lowing its teachings. His family grew up to 
 do him credit, and in all the locality surround- 
 ing the old home where he was 1 known so well 
 none speak of him except in terms of the high- 
 est praise. Mrs. McKenna is still spared to hex' 
 family, and takes pride in the education and 
 advancement of her children, and in the hon- 
 orable positions which they occupy in the com- 
 munity. 
 
 JOSEPH L. BEAR has devoted the bet- 
 ter part of his life to the cultivation of the soil, 
 and may be fairly selected as a representative 
 member of the farming community of Rock 
 county. At the present time he is a resident 
 of the city of Janesville, and takes pride in 
 the fact that he belongs to the State of Wis- 
 consin, both by birth and choice. He has filled 
 various public positions of trust and honor, 
 and in them he has displayed integrity and 
 public spirit. 
 
 Mr. Bear was born in Rock county, Wis., 
 March 20, 1847, an( l G a son °'f J am es' and 
 Sarah (Lawrence) Bear, both born and reared 
 in Pennsylvania, who were the parents of four 
 sons and three daughters. Four of their chil- 
 dren are now living : Hanna is the wife of 
 
 James Slawson, of Rock Creek, Iowa; Louise 
 is the wife of E. R. Jones, of Marshalltown, 
 Iowa; Joseph L. and Sarah J., the wife of B, 
 L. Gage, live in Janesville. James Bear, who 
 was' a farmer, came to Wisconsin in 1845, lo- 
 cating on a farm of seventy-five acres in Janes- 
 ville township, near the city. To this he after- 
 ward added fifty acres, and there he lived and 
 reared his family. His wife died in 1891, at 
 the age of sixty-eight, and with her husband 
 belonged to the United Brethren. He was 
 horn in 1S17, and died Feb. 1, 1900, of heart 
 failure, at the age of eighty-two years, two 
 months and seven days. Mr. Bear was super- 
 visor of the township several times, and was 
 also treasurer of the school board. Lie was a 
 Republican, and a man of strong convictions. 
 His father was a native of Pennsylvania, of 
 German descent, and died in that State 1 in 
 middle life, leaving a large family. Joseph 
 Lawrence, the father of Sarah Lawrence, was 
 born in Pennsylvania, and came of English 
 stock. He was' a farmer, and came into Wis- 
 consin in 1846, locating in Janesville town- 
 ship, not far from the city, and died in 1881, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 447 
 
 when eighty-one years old. He had three 
 children. 
 
 Joseph L. Bear was reared on his father’s 
 farm in the township of Janesville, attended the 
 district school, and began a course of study at 
 Milton Academy, where he was doing very well. 
 But he could not continue in school with the 
 whole country aflame, and he went to the war 
 when only fourteen years old. This was in 
 1862, and notwithstanding his extreme youth 
 he completed a three years’ term of service ; 
 he did not return home until the last ember of 
 the Rebellion was extinguished. He entered 
 the service a private, and was a corporal at the 
 time of his discharge, Sept. 4, 1865. He was 
 a member of Company G, 8th Wis. V. I., and 
 took part in the battles of Iuka, Corinth, the 
 siege of Vicksburg, Banks' expedition up the 
 Red river, Nashville, Mobile, and many skir- 
 mishes, and throughout sustained himself with 
 the spirit of a veteran. In May, 1866, our 
 subject enlisted in the regular army, was at- 
 tached to Company A, 3d United States In- 
 fantry, and completed a second term of three 
 years. In the regular service he was quarter- 
 master-sergeant, and had he elected to con- 
 tinue had prospects of a flattering nature be- 
 fore him. 
 
 Mr. Bear left the army when his second 
 term of enlistment was completed, and coming 
 back to the homestead farm entered upon its 
 cultivation and management. He remained 
 upon the place until 1892, when he bought it, 
 and it is still in his possession. That year 
 he was elected sheriff of Rock county, in which 
 incumbency he served two years with credit. 
 He moved to the city', made his home at No. 
 204 South Main street, and there he has since 
 remained. He has had faith in the future of 
 Janesville, and has made liberal investments 
 m residence property in various parts of the 
 city, most of which he still holds. Mr. Bear 
 and Miss Mary E. Taylor, a daughter of Rob- 
 ert T. and Priscilla M. (Nelson) Taylor, were 
 married Nov. 11, 1873, and they have had 
 three children, Robert J., Maud P., and John. 
 Robert J. is clerk in a grocery store. Maud 
 P. married Herbert A. Griffy. John was sev- 
 enteen years of age when he died. Mr. Bear 
 is a member of W. H. Sargent Post, Grand 
 Army of the Republic, and also holds mem- 
 bership in the Knights of Pythias. He is a 
 Republican ; was supervisor of Janesville town- 
 ship for seven years; was also school director 
 
 and township constable; was treasurer of the 
 township of Janesville four years; for the last 
 three years he has been supervisor of the Third 
 ward in Janesville; and is at present (1901) 
 serving as chairman of the county board of 
 supervisors. 
 
 JOHN BUXTON, one of the prosperous 
 merchants of Lead Mine, New Diggings town- 
 ship, Lafayette county, was born in Yorkshire, 
 England, April 15, 1849. 
 
 Joseph Buxton, his father, was born in 
 Yorkshire in January, 1822, and his wife, Eliz- 
 abeth Harker, in May, 1824. They were mar- 
 ried in England, and in 1862 came to America, 
 settling in Wisconsin. Joseph Buxton engaged 
 in farming and mining in New Diggings town- 
 ship, devoting himself almost exclusively to 
 the former occupation during the latter years 
 of his life. He and his wife were earnest fol- 
 lowers of John AYesley, and liberal supporters 
 of the Methodist Church in their new home. 
 In politics Mr. Buxton was a Republican, con- 
 tinuing firm in the principles of that party until 
 his death, in 1888. His wife passed away in 
 1866. In their family were nine children: (1) 
 John is the eldest. (2) Elizabeth, born in 
 1851, married Albert Merritt, and now lives 
 in Globe, Ariz. They have two children, Rob- 
 ert and Lucy. (3) William, born in England 
 in 1853, engaged in mercantile business with 
 his brother John until his death, in 1S84. He 
 was postmaster of the village for a number of 
 years. (4) Thomas, born in 183=;, is now a 
 farmer in Lead Mine. He married Mary Al- 
 derson, of New Diggings, and has five children, 
 Annie, Luella, Nellie, Ollie, and Edward E. 
 (5) Joseph, born in 1857, moved from Wis- 
 consin to Silver Plume, Colo., where he is en- 
 gaged in gold mining. He married Vinnie 
 Vivian, and his children are named William 
 Marcus, Delores Vivian, James Morton, Et- 
 tienne Vance, Viola May, Fennimore Wendell, 
 Vesta Mary and Joseph Menton. (6) James, 
 born in i860, is engaged in mercantile business 
 in Hazel Green, Wis. He married Hattie 
 Hunt, of Dubuque. Iowa, and has two children, 
 Clifford and*Vanese. (7) George, born in 
 1861, is a city drayman in Sioux Falls, S. Dak. 
 He married Adaline Buxton, of Lafayette 
 county, and has ten children, Orville Ray, Wal- 
 ter Lewis, John Lester, Lorena Essie, Pearl 
 Odessa, Myrtle Ana, Forrest Herrald, Hazel 
 Almeda, Lilah May, and George Otis. (8) 
 
44 § 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mark E., born in New Diggings in 1863, mar- 
 ried Rachel Pedelty, who has borne him three 
 children, and they make their home on the 
 old Pedelty homestead. (9) Matthew M., born 
 in New Diggings in 1865, is a railroad em- 
 ploye, residing at Leadville, Colo., where he 
 married. 
 
 John Buxton received a fair education in 
 the schools of England, and after the removal 
 of the family to Wisconsin studied for one or 
 two winters in the Lead Mine schools. When 
 lie started out in life for himself he first en- 
 gaged in mining, continuing in same until the 
 spring of 1880. That year, in connection with 
 his brother William, he purchased Mr. Hark- 
 er’s general store in Lead Mine, and has met 
 with great success in his mercantile venture. 
 He has held the office of assistant postmaster 
 for many years. He has become quite well-to- 
 do, and now has one of the largest stores in 
 his section of the State, his honorable dealings 
 and pleasant manners having won new cus- 
 tomers, and kept the old ones. 
 
 In 1884 Mr. Buxton was married, to Miss 
 Hannah Pedelty, daughter of James and Sarah 
 Pedelty, of Grant county. She died at her 
 home in Lead Mine in 1885. In 1888 Mr. 
 Buxton wedded Miss Lizzie Ingram, who was 
 born in Lafayette county, daughter of Richard 
 and Elizabeth Ingram. Mr. and Mrs. Buxton 
 are both members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, to which he has given most liberally. 
 I11 his political faith he is inclined toward the 
 principles of the Republican party. 
 
 HON. REUBEN B. SHOWALTER, 
 president of the Meyer Showalter State Bank- 
 ing Institution, an ex-Union soldier, and one 
 of the most substantial and influential resi- 
 dents of Lancaster, Grant county, was born 
 in Pennsylvania June 3, 1842, and represents 
 a prominent family that has been identified 
 with the history of Grant county for half a 
 century. 
 
 Reuben K. Showalter, father of Reuben 
 B., was also a native of the Keystone State, 
 where he passed all his life, dying when his 
 son Reuben B. was a child. Mrs.’ Rachel Sho- 
 walter, the mother of Reuben B., came with her 
 six children — four sons and two daughters — 
 from Pennsylvania to Grant county, Wis., and 
 located in Lancaster township. She passed 
 away at Beetown June 28, 1868. The sons 
 for several years were employed in mining. 
 
 Of these, Robert died prior to the outbreak 
 of the war of the Rebellion; the other three 
 all served in the Union army, and John, who 
 was lieutenant of Company C, 2nd Wisconsin 
 Cavalry, contracted disease while in the serv- 
 ice, from the effects of which he died in 1865, 
 soon after the war had closed. The elder of 
 the two sisters, Sarah, was married to Charles 
 Brownfield, and died many years ago. The 
 younger sister, who was the youngest but one 
 of the family, became the wife of James 
 Hughes, of Glen Haven, Grant county. 
 
 Reuben B. Showalter grew to manhood in 
 the mining districts of Grant county, and was 
 educated in the common schools. At the out- 
 break of the Civil war, in 1861, he was de- 
 sirous of becoming a soldier at once, and en- 
 listed in the fall of that year. But owing to 
 unpropitious conditions outside of his control 
 he did not enter the service until 1864, when 
 he became a member of Company C, 2nd Wis- 
 consin Cavalry, and with his regiment took 
 an active and gallant part in many important 
 raids and expeditions in the Southwest, in- 
 cluding Grierson's raid, the operations in 
 Mississippi in the neighborhood of Vicksburg, 
 including the second battle of Champion’s Hill, 
 and several other sanguinary engagements 
 
 After the Rebellion had been stamped out 
 Mr. Showalter returned to his home, and for 
 several } T ears was again employed in mining. 
 In politics a Republican, he was elected super- 
 intendent of the Poor Farm and Insane Asy- 
 lum, and officiated in that capacity fifteen 
 years. He later represented his district in the 
 State Legislature, serving in the sessions of 
 1886-87-88-89; was elected chairman of the 
 board of supervisors of Grant county in 1891- 
 92-93-94-95-96-97-98 ; and has served the city 
 as alderman and mayor. In 1888 he became 
 connected with the banking interests of Lan- 
 caster, and has been president of the Meyer 
 Showalter Banking Institution, ever since it 
 was incorporated as a State bank, July 1, 1892. 
 
 Mr. Showalter married Miss Martha I. 
 Arthur, a prominent Relief Corps woman, she 
 having held department offices for a number of 
 years. Mrs. Showalter was born in Maquoketa, 
 Iowa, daughter of the Rev. Evan Arthur, a 
 sketch of whose life may be found elsewhere. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Showalter have had three chil- 
 dren, the first of whom died in infancy; Virgil 
 L. is employed in the bank with his father: 
 Estelle is the wife of William B. Carter, of 
 

 
 I 
 
 ! 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAE RECORD. 
 
 449 
 
 Seattle, Wash., who is engaged in the Puget 
 Sound National Bank. 
 
 Mr. Showalter is a Blue Lodge and Chap- 
 ter Mason, and was master of his lodge seven 
 years ; is also prominent in Grand Army cir- 
 cles, a past commander of his post, and at 
 present Department Inspector of G. A. R. posts 
 of the Department of Wisconsin. Socially he 
 and family stand at the front, and their prom- 
 inence in this respect, and their individual 
 traits of character, which are of an exalted 
 standard, naturally command general esteem. 
 
 THOMAS COOMBE, a thoroughly hon- 
 orable and upright man, who is a stock and 
 p-rain farmer' of the town of Hazel Green, 
 Grant county, was born in Lafayette county, 
 Wis., July 30, 1844. 
 
 William and Elizabeth (Rodda) Coombe, 
 his parents, were natives of Cornwall, England, 
 the father born in 1803, and the mother in 
 1813. Mr. and Mrs. Coombe were married in 
 England, and became the parents of three chil- 
 dren before they came to this country, in 1841. 
 The voyage across the ocean was made in a 
 sailing-vessel; from New York to Pittsburg 
 the greater part of the journey was made in 
 a canal-boat ; from Pittsburg they floated down 
 the Ohio; came up the Mississippi to Galena, 
 111 . ; and from there to Lafayette county, Wis., 
 where he was to have work in the lead mines. 
 In 1851 Mr. Coombe purchased eighty acres 
 of land in the town of Hazel Green, two miles 
 west of the village, where he made a home 
 for his family in the wilderness. In those 
 days the Indians were still numerous in the 
 Western States, and gave the adventurous pio- 
 neer settlers no little trouble, and danger 
 as well. In 1851 Mr. Coombe went to the 
 gold fields of California, by the Isthmus route, 
 and remained in the land of gold for three 
 years or more. Returning to Wisconsin in 
 1854, he took up the work of a farmer, and 
 followed it until his death in 1863, leaving a 
 wife and eight children. Two of his sons were 
 in California at that time. Mr. Coombe was an 
 active worker in the Methodist Church, and in 
 politics he was first a Whig and afterward a 
 Republican. Mrs. Coombe lived on the family 
 home until her death, in 1896. 
 
 (1) William, the eldest son, was born in 
 England, and educated in Wisconsin. When 
 a young man he went to California, and was 
 killed in the gold mines. A widow and two 
 
 29 
 
 children, who still live in California, survive 
 him. (2) John, born in England, went to Cali- 
 fornia when a young man, and worked some 
 time in the mines. Turning to the work of a 
 surveyor, he found a calling badly needed at 
 that time, and, qualifying himself, was elected 
 surveyor of the county in which he lived, and 
 became very prominent. He married a Miss 
 Waters, and spent the rest of his life in Cali- 
 fornia, dying in 1892 ; he left a widow, but 
 no children. (3) Elizabeth, born in England, 
 is now the widow of John S. Williams, of 
 Hazel Green. (4) Blanche, born in Lafayette 
 county in 1842, married William Redd, and 
 lives in Dubuque, Iowa. To their union were 
 born eight children, Mamie, Emma, Charles, 
 Allie, Bertha, John, Stella, and Lucile. (5) 
 Thomas is our subject. (6) Emma, born in 
 Lafayette county in 1849, i s Ike wife of 
 Thomas' Pierce, of Georgetown, Grant county. 
 (7) Jane, born in 1851, always remained with 
 her parents until they passed away, and has 
 since lived with her brother Thomas. 
 
 Thomas Coombe obtained his early educa- 
 tion in the district schools of Lafayette and 
 Grant counties, and grew up on the farm, 
 which came under his management when he 
 was only nineteen years of age, his' father dy- 
 ing at that time. He has always remained at 
 the old home, and has had charge of its culti- 
 vation to the present time. In 1869 he bought 
 sixty acres of land adjoining, which he has 
 added to the old homestead, making it one of 
 the choice farms in the region. 
 
 Mr. Coombe has always been a Republi- 
 can, and in religion he supports the Methodist 
 Church. The Coombe family is one of the 
 oldest and most highly respected pioneer fam- 
 ilies in this part of the State. All its members 
 are known for their kindly disposition, and 
 their Christian acts toward their fellow men. 
 
 JOLIN EPLETT, a retired official now 
 living in Platteville, Grant county, has had a 
 varied and eventful history. He has passed 
 through many interesting and suggestive ex- 
 periences, and has kept his hands clean, and his 
 character unstained. 
 
 Mr. Eplett was born June 1, 1825, in Lon- 
 don, England, son of John and Sarah (Mance) 
 Eplett, who were born and married in England. 
 In 1851 they emigrated to this country, and 
 settled at Mineral Point, Wis., living in that 
 town until 1854, Mr. Eplett following his trade 
 
450 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of millwright. In the year mentioned the fam- 
 ily moved to Jo Daviess county, 111., and spent 
 the next two years on a farm, which he then 
 sold, moving to Smelser, near Cuba, Wis., 
 where he spent some time. Reports of the 
 opportunities of getting on in the world that 
 were to be had in southwestern Wisconsin 
 reached the ears of the elder Eplett, and he 
 moved his family to Georgetown, Grant coun- 
 ty, where he and his wife spent the rest of 
 their lives, he dying Aug. 16, 1871, and his 
 wife in 1890. they had a family of six chil- 
 dren: Mary A., born in England in 1820, 
 
 grew to womanhood in that country, and mar- 
 ried William Jennings, and has two children; 
 they still reside in her native land. Elizabeth, 
 born in England in 1822, married John Bur- 
 nette, and is now deceased ; they had one son, 
 John, now living in Iowa. John is our sub- 
 ject. Sarah, born in 1828, married Henry 
 Craze, who died in California, leaving one son, 
 Charles, who died a few years later ; the widow 
 afterward married Herman De Graff, of New 
 York, and they are now living in Illinois; they 
 have two children, Ella and Lawrence, the 
 former the wife of John W. Oliver, of Apple 
 River. Jane, born in 1831, grew up in Eng- 
 land, came with her parents to Wisconsin, and 
 married James Minor, of Cornwall, England, 
 who settled near Galena and remained in Illi- 
 nois for some years, thence moving to Colo- 
 rado, where he held the position of foreman 
 in the mines of one of the large silver com- 
 panies of that State; they have five children, 
 Annie, John, Sarah, Thomas and Herman. 
 Catherine, born in England, married Edwin 
 W. Crockett in 1851; they were in California 
 for a time after their marriage, and then made 
 their home at Alden, Iowa, where they both 
 died, leaving five children — Edwin, deceased ; 
 Emily, wife of a Mr. Poppy; John, county 
 clerk at Eldora, Iowa; Annie, wife of Joseph 
 Byers, of Alden; and Frank, of Eldora. 
 
 John Eplett was educated substantially in 
 the schools of his native country. When a 
 young man he learned the trade of millwright 
 under the instruction of his father, and worked 
 at his trade some years before coming to the 
 United States. In 1850 the young millwright 
 came to Wisconsin, and settled at Mineral 
 Point, where he found employment at his chos- 
 en craft for some years. In 1851 Mr. Elpett 
 married Miss Joanna Vivian, daughter of 
 Francis and Anna Vivian, her parents dying 
 
 in England, where she was born. Mr. Eplett 
 and Ins young wife settled in Grant county, 
 where he maintained himself with credit by 
 working at his trade until 1892. 'that year he 
 was elected county clerk and moved to Lan- 
 caster, living in that city nine years, through- 
 out which time he held the important position 
 mentioned. Before being elected county clerk 
 he held the position of town clerk nine 
 years, was also justice of the peace, and 
 for two years Mr. Eplett served the house 
 at Madison as enrolling clerk, filling that 
 office with satisfaction to all and credit to 
 himself. He is thoroughly versed in public 
 affairs, and has proved himself a capable and 
 trustworthy man. In 1897 Mr.’ Eplett pur- 
 chased real estate, an addition to his home- 
 stead, where he erected a fine house, finished 
 in hard wood, and equipped with all the 
 modern conveniences. Mrs. Eplett died in 
 1885, leaving three children. Elizabeth, born 
 at Mineral Point in 1852, was educated in the 
 schools of the neighborhood, and is' a lady of 
 culture; since the death of her mother she has 
 had charge of the home. Sarah, born in 
 Smelser, Aug. 13, 1857, became the wife of 
 C. B. Gray, a merchant of Galena, 111., and died 
 in October, 1893, leaving three children, John 
 R., Curtis and Harrison; these boys have been 
 reared in the home of their grandfather, in 
 Platteville, by their aunt Elizabeth, who has 
 given them the care and attention of a mother. 
 Mary, born in Smelser, is now the wife of 
 Thomas Dent, a farmer of Smelser ; they have 
 three sons, Floyd, Raymond and Donald. Mr. 
 Eplett has always been identified with the Re- 
 publican party, and cast his first vote for John 
 C. Fremont. He is a member of the Methodist 
 Church, as was also his wife, and fraternally 
 belongs to the Masonic order. He is a man of 
 character and standing in his own community. 
 
 SAMUEL B. LOOMIS, of Brodhead. 
 Green county, has been a farmer and a painter 
 during his more active life, and is now living 
 in the enjoyment of a competence acquired by 
 industry and thrift through long and useful 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Loomis was born at Bennington, Vt., 
 Oct. 18, 1826, and is a son of Jesse and Sarah 
 (Blackmer) Loomis, both natives of that place. 
 Jesse Loomis was born July 11, 1794. an( | 
 
 Oct. 21, 1849. His wife was born March 12, 
 1799, and died in 1865. They had three chil- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 451 
 
 clren, two of whom are now living, Samuel B. 
 and Frances H., the latter the widow of Henry 
 Johnson, of Chicago. The father was a stage 
 proprietor when a young man, and ran all the 
 stages out of Bennington. In later life he was 
 a hotel keeper at North Bennington. His fa- 
 ther also bore the name of Jesse Loomis. He 
 was a native of England, and came to this 
 country about 1777, and served in the Revolu- 
 tionary army, being with Gen. Washington 
 at Valley Forge. He drew a pension for his 
 services in that great struggle, which came to 
 his widow after his death at Bennington, at 
 the age of eighty-eight years. He was a far- 
 mer, and had a family of nine children. The 
 father of Mrs. Sarah B. Loomis was a native 
 of Vermont, and a farmer; he was twice mar- 
 ried, and was the father of eleven children. 
 
 Samuel B. Loomis was reared in a hotel 
 at Bennington, Vt., until he was about eighteen 
 years old. He then learned the painter's trade, 
 which was his calling for fifty-five years. He 
 attended the school at Bennington, and at 
 Hoosick Falls, N. Y. When he was married 
 he took his wife to Troy, N. Y., where he lived 
 a year or more, and then came to YY isconsin. 
 He located at Janesville, where he spent a year, 
 and then bought a farm. This he tilled one 
 year, and then sold it for double the money it 
 cost, and returned to Janesville, where he lived 
 five years. He spent some time in the town 
 of Spring Valley on a farm, and then came to 
 Brodhead, and this city has been his home for 
 many years. 
 
 Mr. Loomis and Miss S. Lorinda Bur- 
 dick were married Aug. 28, 1848. She was 
 the daughter of Joseph T. and Eunice 
 (Scriven) Burdick, and became the mother of 
 nine children, Frances H., Lilly IT., Norman 
 B., Willie H., Emma Josephine, George A., 
 Mae B., James Spencer and Sara E. Fran- 
 ces H. married James T. Smith, and lives at 
 Tacoma, Wash., and has two daughters, Maud 
 and Norma. Lilly H. married James H. 
 Horne, now deceased ; they had six children, 
 Jessie B. (who married Orrin Brewer, and has 
 two children, Rodney and “Bud”), Alice M. 
 (who married William T. Green, and has one 
 son, Orvill), Robert W., Grace E., Tina M., 
 and Harry; Mrs. Horne lives in Brodhead. 
 Norman B. died when twenty-nine years old ; 
 he had married Miss' Sarah L. Spencer, and 
 was the father of one daughter. Bessie M. 
 AY illie H. married Miss Florence AA’eller, and 
 
 lives in South Dakota, where he is engaged in 
 farming; they are the parents of four children, 
 Albert Spencer, George, Samuel R., and Lora 
 Mae. Emma Josephine, who died 111 1871, at 
 the age of eleven years and six months. 
 George A., a graduate of the Brodhead high 
 school, class ot 1880, died in October, 1885, 
 aged twenty-three years and eight months. 
 Mae B., a graduate of the same school, class 
 of 1884, is a teacher in the high school at Brod- 
 head. James Spencer, a stationary engineer 
 in a large elevator at Tacoma, Wash., married 
 Miss Mamie Lauby, and has two sons, Harry 
 Burdick and Jess. Sara E., who was gradu- 
 ated' from the Brodhead high school in 1887, 
 and from the Whitewater State Normal in 
 1899, is a teacher in Madison, Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Loomis belongs to the Bicknell Lodge, 
 No. 94, A. F. & A. M. In politics he is a 
 Democrat. His wife owns a farm of twenty- 
 acres in the corporate limits- of Brodhead. Her 
 parents, Joseph T. Burdick and Eunice Scriven 
 Burdick, were natives of Rensselaer county, 
 N. Y., where they spent their entire lives. He 
 died in 1848, at the age of forty-seven. His 
 widow survived him many years, and died in 
 1884, at a very great age. Fen children were 
 born to them. They were both devout mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Church, and he was a 
 farmer and a blacksmith. His father also bore 
 the name of Joseph Burdick, and was a native 
 of New York, but died in Janesville, AA is. He 
 married Elizabeth Scriven. Mrs. Loomis’ 
 maternal grandparents were John Scriven and 
 his wife, Eunice Chandler, the former of whom 
 attained a very great age. 
 
 Mr. Loomis had a brother, Norman B., who 
 was an auditor in the Illinois Central railroad 
 service at Chicago for some twenty-five years, 
 and died in 1898, at the age of sixty-nine. 
 
 LEWIS F. BENNETT, M. D., is one of 
 the younger physicians of Beloit, Rock county, 
 and has rapidly made his way into the forefront 
 of his profession in this part of the State. He 
 has acquired a wide knowledge of the theory 
 of medicine, and is very skillful in his applica- 
 tion of its great and fundamental principles to 
 the treatment of disease. He seeks to cure, and 
 in the last dozen years has won an enviable 
 reputation in his chosen calling. 
 
 Dr. Bennett was born in the town of Lima, 
 Rock Co.. AA is. , Nov. 10, i860, and is a son of 
 George and Susan F. (Osmond) Bennett, both 
 
452 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 natives of New York. They were the parents 
 ot five children, three of whom are now living: 
 Dr. Lewis F. ; Dr. O. G., deceased, who was a 
 popular dentist in Janesville; Chester C, a shoe 
 dealer at Janesville; James 13 ., a farmer in the 
 town of Lima; and one who died in infancy. 
 The father was a farmer, and came from New 
 York to Wisconsin about 1850, locating on a 
 farm near Lima, where he and his wife still 
 reside. In religious faith they are Baptists, 
 and are recognized by their neighbors as gen- 
 uine Christians. He is a Republican. His 
 father, Nathaniel Bennett, was born in New 
 York, where he followed farming all his days.. 
 He died in middle life, leaving five children. 
 His father was a soldier in the Revolution. 
 The family is descended from English ancestry. 
 Caleb Osmond, the father of Mrs. Susan F. 
 Bennett, mentioned above, was born in Eng- 
 land, and coming to this country in 1829, set- 
 tled in the western part of New York. He 
 soon moved still farther West, and found a 
 home in what was then almost on the frontier 
 line, the vicinity of Mansfield, Ohio, finally re- 
 moving to Wisconsin, where he effected a 
 settlement near Milton Junction about 1855, 
 and engaged in farming until his death, about 
 1880, when he was ninety years old. He was 
 the father of six children. Politically he was 
 a Republican. 
 
 Dr. Lewis F. Bennett spent the first seven- 
 teen years of his life on the farm. He began 
 his education in the neighboring district school 
 and Milton (Wis. ) College, graduating from 
 that old and noted institution in 1883. The 
 next fall he matriculated at Rush Medical Col- 
 lege, Chicago, and was graduated in 1886, 
 with honors. Fie opened an office at Lyons, 
 Wis., and there engaged in the practice of his 
 profession until 1889, in which year he moved 
 to Beloit ; lie has since been identified with the 
 medical history of that city, his office being in 
 the Manchester block. Fie is a member of the 
 staff of the H. P. Strong Hospital. 
 
 Dr. Bennett and Miss Rebecca Alice Stock- 
 man were married May 6, 1886, and to this 
 union two children have been born, George and 
 Howard. Their home is at No. 803 Bluff 
 street, where the Doctor has erected, one of the 
 finest residences in Beloit. Mrs. Bennett is a 
 Presbyterian, and the Doctor attends church 
 with her. He belongs to the American Medi- 
 cal Association, to the State Medical Associ- 
 ation, and to the Wisconsin Central Medical 
 
 Association ; fraternally he is a member of the 
 Knights of Pythias, and is highly esteemed 
 in that order. He is a Republican in political 
 sentiment. Mrs. Bennett’s father, John Stock- 
 man, is Scotch-Irish, and came from the North 
 of Ireland. Her mother, Elizabeth (Nichol- 
 son ) Stockman, was born in England. Gen. 
 White, the prominent officer in the English 
 army operating in South Africa, is Mrs. Ben- 
 nett's father's cousin. 
 
 PETER La BORDE, for many years an 
 honored citizen of Juda, Green county, where 
 his death occurred April 7, 1901, was a son of 
 David 1 and Catherine (Arnold) La Borde, na- 
 tives of Union county, Penn. The La Borde 
 family is of French origin, and David La Borde 
 w y as born in 1793, followed cabinet making as 
 a trade, and died in Stephenson county, 111 ., in 
 1876. Flis wife, Catherine (Arnold), whom 
 he wedded in 1817, was born in 1800, and- died 
 in 1881. They became the parents of the fol- 
 lowing children: Philip, born in 1819, is now 
 
 living in Nebraska; Peter; John, born in 1822, 
 resides in Stephenson county, 111 ; Elizabeth, 
 born in 1824, was killed by the accidental dis- 
 charge of a gun ; Catherine, born in 1826, mar- 
 ried Henry Long, now deceased ; Abraham, 
 born in 1828, resides in Nebraska; David, born 
 in 1830, is dead; William, dead; Samuel, born 
 in 1832, deceased; Eli, born in 1834, also de- 
 ceased; Eliza, born in 1836, married Elias 
 Shaffer, of Nebraska; Joseph, born in 1838, 
 lives in Stephenson county, 111 . ; and George, 
 born in 1840, died twenty years later. 
 
 Peter La Borde was born Sept. 10, 1820, 
 and Aug. 24, 1848, was married to Miss 
 Phoebe E. Nofsker, a daughter of Jacob and 
 Catherine (Miles) Nofsker. Mrs. La Borde 
 became the mother of the folio wdng children : 
 Aaron Lane, born Sept. 12, 1849, died l n child- 
 hood ; Hannah, born Oct. 8, 1850, married 
 James W. Roderick, an extensive farmer of the 
 town of Jefferson, whose biography appears 
 elsewhere; Lydia, born Oct. 13, 1852, is a 
 noble Christian woman, a member of the Juda 
 Baptist Church, in which she is a teacher in 
 the Sunday school; and Clara, born Sept. 21, 
 1856, married Janies Newman, a business man 
 of Cheyenne, Wyo. Mrs. La Borde was born 
 July 15, 1825, and died Oct. 13, 1896. She 
 was an active worker in the Baptist Church. 
 Mr. La Borde began life as a poor boy, and 
 made his own way in the world. He located 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 453 
 
 in Stephenson county, 111 ., in 1857, and came 
 to Juda, Green Co., Wis., in 1858, and followed 
 carpentering- and undertaking for nearly forty 
 years. From 1890 he lived a retired life. 
 Mr. La Borde was the owner of a choice farm 
 of 140 acres, three lots and a nice dwelling in 
 Juda. He first visited Wisconsin at the age 
 of nineteen years, was always fond of travel, 
 and had visited every State from New Jersey 
 to Wyoming. A Democrat in politics, and a 
 member of the Lutheran Church, he was a man 
 of character and standing in the community. 
 Reared on the farm in the early days, he had 
 little or no schooling, but became one of the 
 honest, upright and prosperous men of Green 
 county, with clear views and intelligent ideas 
 regarding questions' of the day. A kind- 
 hearted and generous spirit, he made many 
 friends, and left as part of his legacy to his 
 children and grandchildren the record of an 
 honorable and useful life. 
 
 SAMUEL MLTLLEN is a prominent farm- 
 er of Shullsburg, Lafayette county, and has 
 attained a high place in the financial circles of 
 his native town. He was born Aug. 31, 1853, 
 one of the large family of children of John and 
 Catherine (Nechery) Mullen, who were of 
 Irish birth. He is industrious and enterpris- 
 ing, and' is' looked upon as one of the public- 
 spirited and progressive farmers of the 
 county. 
 
 John Mullen was born in County Tyrone, 
 Ireland, in 1809, and his wife, Catherine Nech- 
 ery, was born in the same county in 1814. 
 They were married before leaving the Emerald 
 Isle, and after a voyage of seven weeks in a 
 •sailing vessel landed in New York. They re- 
 mained in York State some two years, and 
 in 184(1 located in New Diggings township, 
 Lafayette Co., Wis., where Mr. Mullen found 
 employment at smelting ore. In 1852 they 
 purchased, with their savings, forty acres of 
 land, where their son Samuel now lives. Upon 
 this they erected a house, good barns and other 
 buildings, making a most comfortable dwell- 
 ing place. As the years passed Mr. Mullen 
 invested in other real estate in that and in 
 Gratiot townships, until he became the owner 
 of a large amount of land, acquired wholly by 
 his own industrv and economy. After his 
 first purchase he made farming his steady oc- 
 cupation. He died in 1886, and his faithful 
 and devoted wife, who had shared with him all 
 
 the trials and hardships of their early life, 
 passed away at their home in 1893. They 
 were consistent members of the Presbyterian 
 Church. In politics Mr. Mullen was formerly 
 a Whig, but upon the formation of the Repub- 
 lican party affiliated with that organization. 
 Fie was the father of the following children : 
 ( 1 ) John, of Gratiot township, Lafayette coun- 
 ty, born in Ireland in 1838, married Miss Eliza 
 Glass, of Shullsburg, and has six children — 
 Katie, wife of Samuel Farrow, of Darlington, 
 now in England with her husband on a visit ; 
 Elizabeth J., wife of Samuel Urin, of Lamont, 
 W is. ; James, of Gratiot; John and Robert, of 
 Gratiot; and Matilda, wife of George Boning, 
 of Darlington. (2) James, of Monticello 
 township, married (first) Miss Carrie Ouinch, 
 of Shullsburg, who died, leaving two daugh- 
 ters, Cora and Carrie. He married (second ) 
 Miss' Hannah Dickinson, and of this union 
 there are nine children, Louisa, Ida, Josephine, 
 Harvey, George, Charles, Irene, Edna and Isa- 
 bel. (3) Thomas, a farmer of Shullsburg, 
 married Miss Elizabeth Plutclnnson, and has 
 ten children, John, Nellie, James H., Wilbur, 
 Joseph, Edgar, Clyde, Katie, Harrison and 
 Matilda. (4) William, born in New York, 
 enlisted during the Civil war in the 33d Wis. 
 V. I., and was engaged in many battles and 
 skirmishes. After the war he married Miss 
 Sarah Vivous, and now lives retired in Dar- 
 lington. They have seven children, Nettie, 
 Uritt, Annie, Minnie. Bert, Frank and Ernest. 
 
 (5) Mary, born in New Diggings, remains on 
 the old homestead with her brother Samuel. 
 
 (6) Robert, born in New Diggings, now a 
 farmer on land adjoining his father's old farm, 
 married Miss Ella Cook, of New Diggings, 
 and has five children, Jennie, Luella, Wesley, 
 Ethel and Idelle. (7) Matilda, twin of Rob- 
 ert, married James Carr, of Scales Mound, 111 ., 
 and has seven children, Matilda, James, Henry, 
 Harvey, Wilbur, Edgar and Brown._ (8) 
 Jennie, born in 1855, married Edgar Allison, 
 of Alvord, Iowa. (9) Bessie is the wife of 
 Charles Pearson, of Newell, Iowa, and is the 
 mother of twelve children. (10) Samuel is 
 our subject. 
 
 Samuel Mullen grew to manhood on the 
 home farm, and early acquired all the necessary 
 training to farm duties. An education of this 
 sort in his youth is essential to the thorough, 
 up-to-date farmer, and such Mr. Mullen cer- 
 tainty has proven himself. He is enterprising, 
 
454 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and with his energy is calculated to develop 
 any latent resources in the soil he undertakes 
 to cultivate. For fourteen years he farmed 
 in Gratiot township, and then moved back to 
 his father's old home, where he still resides. 
 
 On Dec. 9, 1873, Mr. Mullen was united in 
 marriage with Miss Annie Rock, daughter of 
 Abner S. and Fannie (Field) Rock. She was 
 born in October, 1855, and grew to woman- 
 hood on her father’s farm. Two children 
 have come of this union : Eva, born in Gratiot 
 
 in 1874, married Henry Gille, of New Dig- 
 gings, now engaged in business in Shullsburg ; 
 and Abner, born May 18, 1877, a farmer in 
 Monticello township, married Miss Nellie 
 Moses, and -has one daughter, Delva. Politi- 
 cally Mr. Mullen coincides with the views of 
 the Republican party, and invariably casts his 
 ballot m its support. The Congregational 
 Church has found in him a warm supporter, 
 and Mrs. Mullen has for many years been ac- 
 tively engaged in church work. 
 
 FREDERICK C. DUNN is senior mem- 
 ber of one of the most prosperous mercantile 
 firms of Milton, Rock county, a thriving busi- 
 ness largely the creation of its present owners. 
 Mr. Dunn has amply attested his ability and 
 standard as a business man, his clean-cut meth- 
 ods and sterling integrity winning for him the 
 lifelong respect and friendship of many friends. 
 
 Our subject was born in New Market, 
 Middlesex Co., N. J., June 16, 1850, son of 
 Martin and Margaret (Ayers) Dunn, both na- 
 tives of New Jersey. The paternal grand- 
 father, Joseph Dunn, was also a native of New 
 Jersey, where he lived, a prosperous farmer, 
 to the age of seventy-two years, and died leav- 
 ing two sons. The maternal grandfather of 
 our subject, Joshua Ayers, was for many years 
 a resident of New York, near Lake George, 
 also in Schenectady county, and at Boyleston. 
 Martin Dunn, the father of Frederick C., was 
 a lifelong farmer in his native State. He died 
 in May, 1884, and his wife survived him three 
 years, passing away at the age of sixty-seven 
 years. Both were devout members of the Sev- 
 enth-Day Baptist Church, and in the com- 
 munity in which he lived Martin Dunn was a 
 man of prominence, holding various local 
 offices, and possessing the good-will and esteem 
 of his friends and neighbors. Of his four 
 children, two survive: Ellis j., of New Mar- 
 
 ket, N. J. ; and Frederick C., our subject. 
 
 Frederick C. Dunn was reared on the New 
 Jersey homestead, and received a good com- 
 mon-school education. He left the farm at 
 the age of eighteen, in 1868, to engage in 
 carpenter work. Four years later lie came 
 to Milton, Wis., and for two years was 
 a student at Milton College. Returning to 
 New Jersey, he taught school during portions 
 of three years, then, in partnership, with his 
 brother, Ellis J., he went into the general mer- 
 chandise business at New Market, continuing 
 'thus until 1881. In that year they sold out, 
 and Frederick C. returned to Milton, Wis, 
 For six years he worked for his father-in-law, 
 Robert Williams, in 1887 opening a clothing- 
 store in the adjoining store room. In 1891 
 Mr. Dunn erected his present store builclmg, 
 and three years later admitted to partnership 
 George R. Boss. They purchased the interest 
 of Mr. Williams, and have since then most suc- 
 cessfully conducted a general store under the 
 firm name of Dunn, Boss & Co. 
 
 Mr. Dunn married, June 5, 1879, Miss 
 Flora E. Williams, daughter of Robert and 
 Martha (Dodge) Williams', and seven children 
 have been born to them : Clarence W., Mabel, 
 
 Eleanor M., Charles Ellis, Margaret, Gladys, 
 and one who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Dunn and their older children are members of 
 the Seventh-Day Baptist Church. In politics 
 Mr. Dunn is a Republican. 
 
 DAVID C. SHOCKLEY, whose residence 
 and farm are on Section 25, of the town of 
 Lamont, Lafayette county, was a soldier in 
 the war for the Union, and his long and honor- 
 able career in this community has given him 
 more than a local standing as a thoroughly 
 honorable and upright man. 
 
 Mr. Shockley is a native of the Buckeye 
 State, and was born in Clermont county, 
 Ohio, in 1839, and was a son of John and Eliza 
 Jane (Carpenter) Shockley. The father was 
 a native of Maryland and the mother of Ken- 
 tucky. When the subject of this biography 
 was a bov of some nine years the family moved 
 to the West, and for about a year made their 
 home in northern Illinois, and then effected a 
 permanent settlement in the town of Fayette, 
 Lafayette Co., . Wis. Mr. Shockley was a 
 mason by trade, and followed that occupation 
 for many years, always keeping his home, how- 
 ever, in the town of Fayette. He died about 
 1883, and his widow a year later. David C. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 455 
 
 was one of a family of nine children, of whom 
 three sons and three daughters are living at 
 the present time (1901). 
 
 David C. Shockley was reared to farming 
 pursuits. In i860, when the .excitement was 
 greatest concerning the discovery of gold in 
 Colorado, he went to Pike's Peak, and was ab- 
 sent in tiie mountains some two years. In 
 February, 1865, he enlisted as a member of the 
 50th Wis. V. 1 ., and was honorably discharged 
 with his regiment when the service of soldiers 
 was no longer needed. He was the only one 
 of his immediate family to enter the Union 
 army during that time. 
 
 In March, 1865, after he had enlisted, and 
 before he was sent to the front, Mr. Shockley 
 was married to his present wife, Mary Curry, 
 who was a daughter of William M. and Sarah 
 Curry, prominent farming people of Lafayette 
 county, whose biography may be found else- 
 where. Mrs. Shockley was born in Ohio in 
 1846, and is the mother of three sons and two 
 daughters : Minnie Belle, a teacher ; Hattie 
 
 Luell.a, wife of Doctor Archibald Cuolahan, of 
 Merrill, Wis.; Harlow O., a physician, who 
 graduated from the University of Wisconsin 
 in 1896, and from Rush Medical Colleg-e in 
 1899, and is now interne at the Presbyterian 
 Hospital, in Chicago; Henry Irving, now en- 
 gaged in business at Lamont and at Fayette; 
 and Dale Curry, a student in the State Uni- 
 versity at Madison. Mr. and Mrs. Shockley 
 have had their home in their present habita- 
 tion since his return from the war about thirty- 
 five years ago. He is a member of Harvey 
 Post, G. A. R., at Darlington, where his genial 
 and fraternal qualities, together with his gen- 
 uine manhood and upright character have made 
 him many friends. 
 
 Mr. ohockley has always taken an active 
 part in all the progressive movements in his 
 town and county, and was one of the first to 
 advocate the organization of the township, of 
 which he became the first ebaiiman. He, too, 
 was a prime mover in the establishment of the 
 thriving country store in Lamont, of which his 
 son is now a partner. 
 
 ANDREW JACKSON TRICKEL, for 
 many years one of the representative citizens 
 of Clarno township. Green county, was' born 
 Sept. 10, 1825, at Butler’s Point. Vermilion 
 Co., 111. Robert Trickel, his father, a native 
 of Hampshire county, West Virginia, came to 
 
 Illinois in the early settlement of the State, 
 having first migrated to Ohio, then to Indiana, 
 and later to Illinois. He was a farmer by oc- 
 cupation, and became a factor in the frontier 
 life of all those States. His death took place 
 in Wisconsin, at the advanced age of nearly 
 eighty-two. years. He married Alar}- C. Ben- 
 syl. who died at the age of eighty-two. The 
 children born of their marriage were : Polly, 
 
 who married Riley Curry; Ashford; Y\ illiam; 
 John; Andrew Jackson, our subject; Jesse; 
 Joshua, a resident of the State of Washington; 
 Robert, who resides in Colorado; and. Edward, 
 who lives in Browntown, V is'consin. 
 
 Andrew Jackson Trickel is a self-made 
 man, his early educational advantages having 
 been confined to one month's schooling. 
 Reared on a farm, he settled in Green county 
 in 1850, and soon became thoroughly identi- 
 fied with farming interests, and by his own in- 
 dustry has accumulated the competency he now 
 enjoys. He was considered one of the most 
 substantial agriculturists of his locality, own- 
 ing some 700 acres of fine land, located in both 
 Clarno and Cadiz townships. Much of this 
 land was wild when it came into his possession, 
 and the Indians still roamed through it. Since 
 April. 1901, Air. Trickel has resided in the city 
 of Alonroe. 
 
 Air. Trickel was married, in i8q8, to Eliza- 
 beth Crothers, a native of Ten Aide Grove, 111 ., 
 who was a daughter of John Crothers. Two 
 children were born of this union: John C., 
 
 deceased: and Mary C., who married Elias 
 Frame, of California. Airs. Elizabeth Trickel 
 lived but a few years, and in 1857 our subject 
 married Airs. Charlotte (Alorton) Huffman, 
 the children of this union being : Sarah Ellen, 
 
 Jesse. Charles, William Andrew, Laura E., 
 Martha, Alatilda, Louis. Charlotte, Clara, 
 Olive, Joseph, Albert, and Everett. Sarah E., 
 Charlotte and Everett are deceased. The two 
 children of Airs. Trickel by her previous mar- 
 riage were Mary Elizabeth and Nancy Jane. 
 The posterity of Air. Trickel includes fifty-one 
 grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren, 
 all but four of whom are living. 
 
 Born of a family of Democrats, Mr. Trickel 
 advocates the principles of that party, of which 
 he has been an active member all his life. 
 Travel and a wide acquaintance have aided Air. 
 Trickel to become a very intelligent man, de- 
 spite his early disadvantages, and although 
 seventy-six years of age, he is mentally superior 
 
456 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to many men in the prime of rife. A recent 
 trip to California has benefited his health, and 
 his many friends and neighbors wish him a con- 
 tinued life of prosperity. Among his associ- 
 ates he is highly esteemed, and known to be 
 a worthy citizen, a kind neighbor, and a man of 
 exemplary character in all the relations of life. 
 During his long residence in Green county he 
 has watched with interest the many wonderful 
 changes which have taken place in his locality, 
 and he has done his share in the progress made 
 in Clarno township. 
 
 ERNEST LIPMAN, proprietor of one of 
 the largest dry-g'oods and carpet stores in the 
 Northwest outside of the large cities, has an 
 establishment in Beloit, Rock county, that for 
 completeness of stock, elegance of appoint- 
 ments, and adaptation to the needs of the com- 
 munity, is not to be surpassed anywhere. Mr. 
 Lipman is an active and pushing merchant, 
 studying the public pulse, and quick to discern 
 its changing moods. He is a genial and ac- 
 commodating gentleman, and a popular char- 
 acter in whatever place he may be met. 
 
 Ernest Lipman was born in Milwaukee, 
 Wis., July 14, 1857, and is a son of Louis and 
 Lucy Lipman, both natives of Germany. His 
 mother was a daughter of B. O. von Zastrow 
 von Kuessow, and a descendant of an old and 
 aristocratic house of Germany, tracing its 
 authentic history back to the year 1180, be- 
 ginning with Count Heinrich von Kuessow, 
 and coming down to Friederica Gottliebe, 
 Countess von Kuessow, daughter and only 
 heir of Count Jochen Friedrich von Kuessow, 
 from 1752 a knight of the Order of St. John. 
 She married Obersten Otto Bogislav von Zas- 
 trow, who was the uncle of Mr. Lipman’s 
 grandfather, and as no children were born to 
 this marriage the latter was the only direct 
 descendant and heir to the Countess von Kues- 
 sow, being her nephew. In order that the fam- 
 ily name might not die out or be lost he added 
 the name von Kuessow to his own, and was aft- 
 erward known as Bernhard Otto von Zastrow 
 von Kuessow. He owned considerable prop- 
 erty in Germany as well as in the United States. 
 He was born Feb. 20, 1801, in Pomerania, in 
 the north of Germany, and died July 14, 1872, 
 at Port Washington, Wis. His wife. Henri- 
 etta Othelia von Papstein, was born Feb. 8, 
 1805, in Castle Blumberg, Germany, and was 
 a resident of Port Washington twenty-eight 
 
 years, surviving her husband seven years to a 
 day. She died July 14, 1879, at Port Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 Louis and Lucy Lipman had seven chil- 
 dren, all but one now living: Harriet, wife of 
 Louis Heyn, of Milwaukee; Helen, deceased; 
 Ernest; Miss Freddie, of Milwaukee; Louis 
 W., of Milwaukee; Lucy, wife of E. G. Dall- 
 wig, of Milwaukee ; and Henry, of Milwaukee. 
 The father was a man of artistic temperament, 
 and earned his living as a lithographer. Pie 
 came to this country some time in the ’forties, 
 and for a time lived in New York City, about 
 1855 coming West to Milwaukee and making 
 a permanent home in the Wisconsin metropolis. 
 He followed lithographing there, and was re- 
 garded as one of the best in the city. He 
 died in 1869, at the age of forty-two. His 
 widow still survives, living in Milwaukee. His 
 father lived and died in Germany. 
 
 Ernest Lipman was reared in Milwaukee, 
 and attended the German and English academy 
 in that city. He was not quite thirteen years 
 old when he was obliged to go to work, on ac- 
 count of his father’s early death, commencing 
 as clerk in a store. He clerked from 1870 to 
 1879, and then went on the road for John C. 
 Olsen & Co., of Chicago, as a commercial 
 traveler, for two years. In 1881 Mr. Lipman 
 opened a dry-goods store in Beloit, and met 
 with instantaneous and gratifying success. His 
 business has increased every year, until, now 
 it commands the services of some eight or ten 
 clerks, and is known as one of the popular 
 trade centers of the city. 
 
 Mr. Lipman and Miss Emma Kruger, a 
 daughter of Adolph and Anna (Bruesch) 
 Kruger, were married Sept. 29, 1881. Mrs. 
 Lipman is a lady of most estimable character. 
 She is the mother of three sons and two daugh- 
 ters, Ernest, Carl, Viola, Theodore and Lucile. 
 Ernest died when five years old. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Lipman attend the Episcopal Church. 
 They have a hospitable and well-appointed 
 home at No. 136 Bridge street. He is a promi- 
 nent Mason, belonging to Morning Star 
 Lodge, No. 10, A. F. & A. M., Beloit Chapter, 
 No. 9, R. A. M., Beloit Commandery, No. 6, 
 K. T., and Wisconsin Consistory; ancl is also 
 a member of the Knights of Pythias and the 
 Modern Woodmen of America. Mrs. Lipman 
 belongs to the Order of the Eastern Star. 
 Mr. Lipman is a Republican, and is a man of 
 standing in his party councils. 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 457 
 
 JOHN H. C. SNECLODE is serving as 
 justice of the peace in Cassville, Grant county, 
 a position he has filled continuously since 1855 
 in a most creditable and acceptable manner. 
 He was appointed notary public the same year, 
 and is still serving as' such. He was one of the 
 prominent pioneers and highly respected citi- 
 zens of that place, and it is, therefore, consist- 
 ent that he be represented in a work whose 
 province is the portrayal of the lives of the 
 leading men of this section of the State. 
 
 Mr. Sneclode was born in 1820. in Hol- 
 stein, Germany, of which place his parents, 
 Nicholas and Esther (Plagman) Sneclode, 
 were lifelong residents. The father was a 
 soldier in the German army, and followed farm- 
 ing as an occupation. There were four chil- 
 dren in the family: John; Joachim, who died 
 
 in Holstein in 1868; Airs. Catharine Klindt, 
 who died in Schoenburg, Holstein, in 1S86; 
 and Anna, who died in Kiel, Germany, in 1894. 
 
 The early life of John H. C. Sneclode was 
 spent on a farm in his native land, and'- there 
 he was educated. At the age of fifteen he be- 
 came a sailor and followed that life for some 
 time, making several trips on an emigrant ship 
 to American ports. He was in New Orleans 
 in 1838, and in 1843 came to New York with 
 the intention of making a permanent home on 
 this side of the Atlantic. He first located in 
 Ann Arbor, Mich., and in 1844 settled in Ga- 
 lena, 111., where he worked at the carpenter's 
 trade for about six years. In 1850 Air. Sne- 
 clode came to Cassville, Wis., which place at 
 that time contained only twenty-five houses, 
 and he is now the oldest living resident of the 
 town. Elere he continued to work at the car- 
 penter's trade and also conducted a cabinet 
 shop for some time, but is now engaged in the 
 raising of small fruit. He is propagating a 
 raspberry that is of fine quality and a great 
 producer. In early days he also followed sur- 
 veying, and served as county surveyor of Grant 
 county and as deputy surveyor for a time. He 
 assisted in laying out many lines and bound- 
 aries in territorial days. 
 
 On March 13, 1856, in Cassville, Air. Sne- 
 clode was united in marriage with Miss Jane 
 Va&AY^tsdMey- a—nafive of Virginia. Her an- 
 cestors, who were from Holland, came to this 
 country as early as 1756, and settled in New 
 Jersey. Air. Sneclode lost his wife at Cass- 
 ville July 2, 1871, and three of their children 
 died of typhoid fever the same year. He has 
 
 two daughters still living, namely : ( 1 ) 
 
 Nancy Ann first married William AlcCannsh, 
 by whom she had three children, Anna, Nellie, 
 and Florence. She is now the wife of Charles 
 S. Inglieb, and they have two children, Glad- 
 dys and Henry. (2) Margaret S. is the wife of 
 Benjamin Stevens, of Cassville, and they have 
 two children, Sylva and Belva. Air. Sneclode 
 was again married, in 1872, his second union 
 being with Aliss Amelia Phitteyplace, a native 
 of Iowa, and a daughter of Solomon Phittey- 
 place, who, a's a soldier of the Mexican war, 
 received a land warrant, which he located in 
 Clayton county, Iowa, where he spent his last 
 days. Air. Sneclode was' also in the United 
 States service during the Mexican war, enlist- 
 ing at Galena, 111 ., in 1847, and he took part 
 in the battle of Chapultepec. In early life he 
 was a Democrat in politics, but at the time of 
 the Mexican war he joined the Whig party, 
 with which he affiliated until. 1854, when he 
 was one of the band of forty-three that met at 
 Lancaster and formed the Republican party in 
 this section. He has since been actively identi- 
 fied with that great political organization, and 
 was the only delegate to the first Republican 
 County Convention from Cassville from 
 his section of the county. Socially he 
 he is a prominent member of Cassville Lodge. 
 No. 235, F. & A. M., was' elected senior warden 
 on its organization, and filled the office of 
 worthy master for many years. He is also a 
 member of the Chapter, R. A. AT, and was 
 connected with the Odd Fellows Lodge at Ga- 
 lena for many years. For half a century Mr. 
 Sneclode has been prominently identified with 
 the interests of Grant county, and having pros- 
 pered in his business undertakings here, he is 
 now the owner of about twenty building lots in 
 that place. His life has been one of industry 
 and usefulness, and he well merits the high re- 
 gard in which he is uniformly held by his fel- 
 low citizens. 
 
 JAAIES DAVIS belongs to the older gen- 
 eration of Rock county farmers, who have done 1 
 such brave and noble work in the reclaiming 
 of a wilderness and the building of a great 
 State. Thev came to Wisconsin when it was 
 a vast forest, with stretches of open prairie, and 
 have converted it into a State that is the peer 
 of any in the Union. Aluch of this trans- 
 formation Air. Davis has witnessed, and, so 
 far as his strength permitted, has helped in its 
 
458 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 accomplishment. He lives in a fine home in 
 Section 8, Harmony township, Rock county, 
 and contemplates with wonder the change that 
 has been wrought around him. 
 
 Mr. Davis was born in Oneida county, New 
 York, Dec. 22, 1837, and is a son of David and 
 Elizabeth (Williams) Davis, or, as it was orig- 
 inally written, “Davies.” They were natives 
 of Wales, and had six sons and four daughters, 
 three of their children now living: William, 
 
 of Wallula, Wash.; James, whose name ap- 
 pears at the opening of this article; and Johm 
 of Westmoreland, Kans. The father was' a 
 cooper by trade, and came to this country about 
 1830, locating in Oneida county, N. Y., where 
 he engaged in farming. In 1841 lie came to 
 Wisconsin, and, settling in Racine, engaged in 
 work as a cooper. He died in Racine in 1844, 
 and his wife survived him but two days. They 
 were Calvinistic Methodists. His father died 
 in Wales at a venerable age. Elis wife’s fa- 
 ther came to this country after his daughter's 
 marriage, and spent his last days in Racine; 
 his wife and all his other children died in 
 Wales. 
 
 James Davis lived with a family by the 
 name of Deberard in Racine nearly four years 
 after his parents’ death. In 1849 he came to 
 Rock county, VVis., and made his home with 
 Joseph Spaulding, with whom he lived until 
 he was twenty-one. He attended the district 
 school, and found in Mr. Spaulding and his 
 good wife kind and faithful friends. For the 
 first three years after he had attained his ma- 
 jority he worked out by the month, saving his 
 money, and at that time was fore-handed 
 enough to buy a small farm of seventy-seven 
 and a half acres in Harmony township. This 
 land he has thoroughly improved, and has 
 added to it eighty acres in Section 9, the two 
 making a very complete and productive farm. 
 He has given much attention to fine stock, 
 raising his own horses, hogs and cattle ; of the 
 latter he prefers Durham cattle, although he 
 has some Jersey stock. 
 
 Mr. Davis and Miss RIelen Holmes were 
 married June 22, 1869. She was a daughter 
 of Harvey and Abbey (Waterman) Holmes, 
 and became the mother of two children : Helen 
 A. and John Edward, both of whom are still 
 under the home roof. Airs. Davis died in 
 1S75, at the age of forty-one. She was a mem- 
 ber of the Milton Congregational Church, and 
 a lady of fine character. Mr. Davis is a Re- 
 
 publican, and has served one year as assessor 
 of the town. He has a beautiful home, a mod- 
 ern house, neat and attractive in every particu- 
 lar, and owns a finely improved farm. 
 
 JACOB BAUMGARTNER, of Lancaster, 
 Grant county, was born in Wurlitz, Landge- 
 richt Rehan, Kreis Oberfranken, Bavaria, 
 Germany, Nov. 26, 1830, where he was sent to 
 learn the trade of calico dyer and printer Alay 
 14, 1844. He finished his work in the shop 
 Oct. 12., 1S46, and after the old German cus- 
 tom, was turned out to seek work in different 
 shops and places. He spent three years on the 
 road, and in his travels visited over four hun- 
 dred different cities and villages, and covered 
 over five thousand miles of road on foot. Dur- 
 ing the first six months of this itinerary the 
 young man had a hard time and often suffered 
 for the want of food and shelter. When he 
 began his journeyings to and fro in Germany 
 lie also began the keeping of a diary, which he 
 has maintained to this time. It is full, of curi- 
 ous and valuable information, and is rapidly 
 becoming a historical document. It records 
 the names of all the cities and villages he has 
 visited, the distance from one city to another, 
 the weather, his income and expense, his hard- 
 ships and pleasures, — everything is set down 
 during this long period of time. Mr. Baum- 
 gartner is very proud of this interesting story 
 of personal experiences. 
 
 In the spring of 1850 he came to this coun- 
 try. He left for America on the schooner 
 “Reform" Alay 2, and landed at New York 
 June 17. There were eighty passengers 
 aboard, and the captain was 1 assisted by a crew 
 of five men and a boy. Mr. Baumgartner left 
 New York on the day following his arrival, on 
 a Hudson river steamer, bound for Albany, 
 There he took the canal for Buffalo, where he 
 arrived June 28. Ten days from New Aork 
 to Buffalo is a statement that shows how rap- 
 idly we have advanced. From Buffalo Mr. 
 Baumgartner went around the lakes on the 
 steamer “Allegheny,” under the command of 
 Captain Marsden, to Milwaukee, where he ar- 
 rived July 5, 1850, and found it a city of about 
 nineteen thousand people. He left his trunk 
 with the hotel-keeper and started for Jefferson 
 on foot, for this was before the advent of a 
 railroad in Wisconsin. He had an uncle at 
 Jefferson, who got his trunk, and sent him 
 on to Cassville, where he had a brother living. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 459 
 
 Mr. Baumgartner spent a few days at Cass- 
 ville, and from there took a river steamer to 
 St. Louis, where he sought in vain for employ- 
 ment at his trade. He did any thing that came 
 along, however, and sold fruits' and clerked in 
 the city lunch hotel on Second street, and 
 then worked in a tannery. On Sept. I, 1850, 
 his means did not amount to eig'ht dollars, and 
 if he could, he would have gladly returned to 
 Germany. The following spring he went back 
 to Cassville, where he worked several months 
 on the farm at $8 per month. He returned to 
 St. Louis, and had work in the same tannery. 
 In 1852 he had thoughts of California, but 
 spent the summer in Wisconsin. The following 
 year at Mineral Point he made entry of the fol- 
 lowing described land : The east half of the 
 
 northwest quarter, the southwest quarter of the 
 northwest quarter, and the northeast quarter 
 of the northeast quarter of Section 3. Town 6. 
 Range 2 west, in the town of Fennimore. Mr. 
 Baumgartner moved from Jefferson to Fenni- 
 more, a distance of 105 miles, constructing his 
 own wagon for the journey. This wagon must 
 have been a unique creation. He cut down an 
 oak tree some three and a half feet in diameter, 
 and sawed off five wheels, each three and a half 
 inches thick. He bored holes through the 
 center, and made wooden axle, tongue and box 
 of rough boards. On the way to Fennimore 
 he met a man who asked him to stop a moment 
 while he went into a cabin to get a pencil and 
 paper that he might make a picture of the out- 
 fit. Mr. Baumgartner readilv consented, as 
 he was proud of his work, having had no 
 money to pay for a wagon. He made the jour- 
 ney safely, by making use of the extra wheel 
 he carried along, one wheel having split. 
 L T pon his arrival in Fennimore, Nov. 5. 1853, 
 he at once applied himself to the building 
 of a log house 16x18 feet, which cost him 
 $7.80. He split five hundred rails for his first 
 calf. In 1855 Mr. Baumgartner sold his land 
 in Section 3, and bought the southeast quarter 
 of Section 5, where he lived until 1899, when 
 he moved into his house in Lancaster. 
 
 On Oct. 23, 1852. at Jefferson, Wis., Mr. 
 Baumgartner wedded Anna Maria Winterling, 
 and nine children blessed their union : Louisa, 
 
 born in 1853, married Martin Oswald. Nelson, 
 a farmer, married Lisette Frike. Harrison died 
 in 1850, and Franklin in 1863. Leo married 
 Anna Muesse, and is a hardware dealer at Ar- 
 mour, S. Dak. Peter married Millie Duffner, 
 
 and is a farmer in the town of Fennimore. 
 Frank married Matilda Menkhausen, and is a 
 farmer in Iowa. William married Martha 
 Masow, and is a farmer, having charge of the 
 old homestead in the town of Fennimore. Cora 
 is single, and is living with her parents in Lan- 
 caster. Mr. Baumgartner takes a justifiable 
 pride in the fact that he has led a long and 
 busy life without going to law with any man. 
 Fie has never knowingly swindled a man, and 
 belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 
 where he has been a working member and a 
 liberal supporter. He was elected a member 
 of the board of supervisors in the town of Fen- 
 nimore in 1873, an d again in 1875. In 1876 
 he was chairman of the town board. He was 
 treasurer of the town of Fennimore in 1882, 
 and was re-elected for nine years. He does 
 not waste much time on politics, but usually 
 votes the Republican ticket. 
 
 SIMON HARKER, deceased, cue of the 
 well-known and highly respected merchants 
 and stock dealers of Cuba City, took a very 
 important part in the upbuilding of this por- 
 tion of Grant county, and his loss was deeply 
 felt when death claimed him for its own. He 
 was born in England Sept. 30, 1832. a son of 
 George and Elizabeth Harker, who came to 
 Big Patch. Wis.. settled on a farm, and there 
 lived and died. In their family there were six 
 children: John. George, Isabella. Anna, 
 
 Sarah, and our subject. Anna is still living, 
 and wife of Bonson Spacely; John is a resident 
 of Bremer county, Iowa. 
 
 Simon Harker received his earlv educa- 
 tion in his native land, but also attended the 
 district schools of Wisconsin. While still in 
 England he met with a sad accident in a wool- 
 en mill, which resulted in the loss of his left 
 .arm. In spite of this misfortune Mr. Harker 
 managed to' accumulate sufficient to purchase a 
 farm at Big Patch, and later bought another 
 farm at Elk Grove, where he resided for some 
 years', then removed to Galena, and engaged 
 in smelting ore for eight years. About this 
 time he returned to Big Patch, lived there four 
 or five years, and then came to Cuba City and 
 embarked in business with a Mr. Cooper and 
 a Mr. Wilson under the firm name of R. A. 
 Wilson & Co., continuing this connection until 
 within two years of his death, when he was 
 compelled to retire on account of failing health. 
 His death occurred Feb. 22, 1896. 
 
460 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 On July 9, 1856, Mr. Harker was married 
 to Miss Mary. A. Raw, of Grant county, a 
 daughter of Thomas and Annie (Bonson) 
 Raw, both natives of England, who came to 
 America after marriage, settling in Platteville, 
 Mrs. Raw being the only white woman in that 
 village for a number of years. Later Mr. Raw 
 removed to Big Patch, purchased prairie land, 
 and made a home for his family, remaining 
 there until his death, which occurred in 1868, 
 his wife surviving him until 1890. Their fam- 
 ily consisted of four children : Margaret mar- 
 
 ried Thomas Peters, resided first in Grant 
 county, then removed to Iowa, where Mrs. 
 Peters died, in 1896, leaving a family; Simon 
 is now a resident of Iowa; Mary A. is Mrs. 
 Harker; Sarah, wife of John Bell, resides in 
 Springfield, Mo., and has a family. Mrs. 
 Harker was born at Big Patch Oct. 14, 1838, 
 received a district-school education, and is a 
 very pleasant and agreeable lady. To herself 
 and husband were born children as follows : 
 Annie born in January, i860, wife of Thomas 
 H. Peacock, residing near Big Patch, 'has four 
 children, Mary A., Roscoe, Alice and William. - 
 Edward, born in August, 1862, died when fif- 
 teen years old. Thomas Grant, born in 1865, 
 married Miss Sarah Peacock, and now resides 
 at Big Patch ; he has two sons, William and 
 Alvin. Sarah, born in 1867, wife of George 
 Dent, of Cuba City, has one daughter, Gladys, 
 and one son, Kenneth. Isabella, born in 
 1869, wife of George Hoffman, of Cuba City, 
 has no family. Mary H., born in 1874, grad- 
 uated from the high school of Cuba City, and* 
 in 1899 married Charles AVaters, of Platteville, 
 a farmer of that locality. Hayes D., born in 
 1876, studied in the high school of Cuba City, 
 and is now a watchmaker ; he married Kathryn 
 E. Yeager, of Grundy Center, Iowa. Jennie, 
 born in April, 1879, was educated in Cuba City, 
 and married John Bonson, of Platteville. 
 
 Mr. Harker never took any active part in 
 politics, but was prevailed upon to accept the 
 office of mayor one term, and that of assessor 
 several years, as well as other local positions, 
 his sterling integrity making him peculiarly 
 fitted to hold positions of public trust, a fact 
 which his fellow townsmen recognized. When 
 casting his vote Mr. Harker was always in- 
 fluenced by his conscience, supporting the man 
 he thought best fitted for the office. He took 
 an active part in the erection of the M. E. 
 church building, and, on account of his 
 
 zeal, it may almost be regarded as a memorial 
 of his virtues. Both he and Mrs. Harker early 
 connected themselves with this church, and 
 Mrs. Harker trained her children in the same 
 faith. Strict or rigid integrity, positive con- 
 victions, superior intelligence placed him and 
 kept him to the front in all matters of morals 
 or public interest. The memory of the good 
 man, whose life history here appears, will linger 
 in the minds' of the people of Cuba City for 
 many years, and those among them who can 
 point to deeds of charity and gentle kindness on 
 his part are legion. 
 
 HON. THOMAS JENKINS, retired busi- 
 ness man and ex-representative of Platteville, 
 Grant county, is a native of Cornwall, England, 
 born in June, 1832, and is a son of Benjamin 
 and Martha (Carlvolth) Jenkins, the former 
 of whom was born in 1800, and the latter a 
 few years later. His grandfather, James 
 Jenkins, born in Cornwall, England, died in 
 Guatemala about 1832. 
 
 Benjamin Jenkins in 1837 took his wife 
 and family to Brazil, South America, and there 
 worked in the mines until 1842, when he re- 
 turned to England. Afterward going to Mex- 
 ico, he was a miner there until 1848. In the 
 meantime, in May, 1848, his wife, with two 
 sons, came via New Orleans' to Mineral Point, 
 AVis., where they were joined by the husband 
 in a short time after his leaving Mexico. He 
 next removed to Platteville, and was employed 
 in the lead mines until his death, in 1857, his 
 wife surviving until 1866, when she died, in 
 the faith of the Methodist Church. Nicholas, 
 their eldest son, born and educated in England, 
 accompanied his father to Mexico and thence 
 to Platteville; in 1850 he crossed the Plains 
 to California, but died on his way home, at 
 the Fraser river. James, the second child, 
 came with his mother from England, engaged 
 in mining in Platteville, married Miss Eliza- 
 beth Jenkins, and died in i860, leaving his 
 widow with two children; the widow and son 
 Thomas are now deceased. Martha, the young- 
 est child, is the wife of A. A. Stephens, a dray- 
 man of Platteville. 
 
 Hon. Thomas Jenkins was educated in 
 England, and on coming to America com- 
 menced mining and prospecting for lead in 
 Grant county, Wis. In 1851 he made a trip 
 to California, via New York and the Isthmus 
 of Panama, and after six years of successful 
 

 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 46 1 
 
 mining returned to Platteville. In 1861 he 
 again went to California, via the Plains, spent 
 two years in Helena, Mont., and at other 
 points, and in 1868 came down the Missouri 
 river and relocated at Platteville. 
 
 In October, 1859, Mr. Jenkins married 
 Miss Sheba A., daughter of William and Jane 
 Martin, who came from England in 1848, and 
 settled at Dodgeville, Wis., dying in this State. 
 Mrs. Jenkins was born in England in 1839, was 
 educated in the Platteville Academy, for a num- 
 ber of years taught school in the State, and 
 was a lady of culture and refinement. She 
 always resided in Wisconsin during her hus- 
 band’s long absence in the West. In No- 
 vember, 1899, Mrs. Jenkins passed away in 
 the faith of the Congregational Church, leav- 
 ing her husband with two daughters: Ida A., 
 born in September, 1862, was graduated from 
 the State Normal, Platteville, in 1885, and 
 for six years was a successful teacher in that 
 city and in Milwaukee. Netty E., born in 
 February, 1871, was also graduated from the 
 State Normal, and was for three years a school 
 teacher; in 1898, she married Freeling Fox,' 
 of Hampton, Iowa, where they reside on a 
 farm, and they have one daughter, Frances 
 Marion, born in 1900. Our subject’s son, B. 
 M. Jenkins, now deceased, was born in July, 
 i860, and married Josephine De Voe, of Mus- 
 coda, who survives him with two children, 
 Jesse and Wilma. 
 
 Mr. Jenkins was postmaster at Platteville 
 during Cleveland's second administration, and 
 has been mayor of the city four times. He 
 is a Regent of the Platteville State Normal 
 School, and president of the First National 
 Bank of Platteville. 
 
 SYLVESTER REUBEN STEPHENS, 
 one of the old and highly respected pioneer 
 farmers of Green county, is now spending his 
 last years in a well-deserved freedom from the 
 cares and burdens of an active business life. 
 
 Mr. Stephens is a son of Reuben D. and 
 Sail ie (Milk) Stephens, both natives of the 
 State of New York, where he was born Sept. 
 22, 1822. At the age of twelve he accompan- 
 ied his parents into Erie county, Penn., and in 
 1842 they all came to Green county, Wis. 
 This was in the early days, when the country 
 was wild and rough, and six years before the 
 admission of the Territory as a State into the 
 Federal Union. He drove a team and wagon 
 
 from Erie county to Green county, and 
 two years later made a return trip to Erie 
 county, driving over the route three times 
 in all. For seven years he was engaged 
 in teaming between Green county and Mil- 
 waukee, and he has also drawn Avheat 
 to market at Chicago. After his mar- 
 riage he entered 160 acres of govern- 
 ment land, including the site of the present 
 railroad station at Juda, there being not a 
 single house where that thriving village now 
 stands. He helped to build a log school house 
 there, which was the first building in the place. 
 His father was the prime mover in organiz- 
 ing the school and putting up the building. 
 Mr. Stephens is a musician of considerable 
 local repute. He has a violin which has been 
 in his possession nearly three-score years, and 
 has played for many parties and entertain- 
 ments including the first 4th of July celebra- 
 tion in Monroe, held in 1843. 
 
 Mr. Stephens and Miss Wealthy Ball were 
 married in Green county, Wis., Oct. 16, 1844. 
 Airs. Stephens was born in Springfield, Erie 
 Co., Penn., the daughter of Gary Ball, who set- 
 tled at Joliet, 111 ., in 1836, and granddaughter 
 of Daniel Ball, who came from England, and 
 first settled in Maryland. He died in Erie 
 county, Penn., aged about eighty years. His 
 bachelor brother left a large estate in Phila- 
 delphia and Virginia, of which the descend- 
 ants of Daniel Ball are the rightful heirs, 
 though they have never come into possession. 
 To Mr. and Airs. Stephens were born ten chil- 
 dren : Alfred, now a farmer near Flandreau, 
 
 S. Dak. ; Susan, widow of Quincy Davis, of 
 Shenandoah, Iowa; Wilder, who died at David 
 City, Neb., Jan. 30, 1901, aged fifty-two years; 
 Alba, a resident of Henderson, Neb. ; Edward, 
 living in Juda, Wis. ; James’, in Juda : Theo R., 
 wife of Jehiel Davis, a farmer of Sylvester 
 township; Alalvina, who died Nov. 24. 1886, 
 aged thirty-six years; Ezra and Etta,- who 
 both died in infancy. Air. and Mrs. Stephens 
 have thirteen grandchildren, and fourteen 
 great-grandchildren. 
 
 Mr. Stephens started out in life a poor 
 man, and when he was married was rich only 
 in courage and in hope of the future. After 
 many: years he became the owner of a choice 
 Wisconsin farm of 160 acres, which he has 
 recently sold, that he might move into the vil- 
 lage of Juda, and be care-free. For some forty 
 years he owned and operated a threshing ma- 
 
462 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 chine in the county. Mr. Stephens is an hon- 
 ored veteran of the war of the Rebellion, hav- 
 ing served as a member of Company K, 22d 
 A\ is. Y. I., and is now in receipt- of a liberal 
 pension for injuries sustained during his serv- 
 ice. With his wife lie belongs to the Meth- 
 odist Church. He is a Republican, and a good 
 citizen. During his years of active life he was' 
 a hard-working man, and was known to be 
 very honorable and upright in all his transac- 
 tions. 
 
 FRANK BARNUM, deceased, was a 
 farmer and school teacher by occupation, and 
 was a son of Horace and Caroline (Curtis) 
 Barnum, of the State of Connecticut, the form- 
 er a relative of the late P. T. Barnum, the 
 celebrated showman. Horace Barnum was the 
 father of three children: Frederick, born in 
 
 1832. died in childhood; Frank; and Marietta, 
 born in 1836, married Benjamin Barnhouse, of 
 Albany. Horace Barnum came from Michi- 
 gan to this State, and thence to Kansas', where 
 he died. 
 
 Frank Barnum was born of English de- 
 scent Nov. 6, 1834, and died Aug. 21, 1896. 
 While a child he was taken to Crawford coun- 
 ty, Penn., thence to Cass countv, Mich., where 
 he grew to manhood, and received his educa- 
 tion. In 1856 he came to Wisconsin. In 
 1858 Air. Barnum married Sarah Jane Myers, 
 of Spring Grove township, born March 19, 
 1844, a daughter of Samuel and Sarah 
 (Kline) Myers, early settlers of the countv 
 [See sketch of John Myers elsewhere in this 
 volume], Mrs'. Myers, the mother of Mrs.' 
 Frank Barnum, is still living in Spring Grove 
 in her eighty-fifth year. Mr. and Airs. Bar- 
 num were the parents of the following chil- 
 dren: (1) Josephine, born March 19, 1863, 
 
 Inarried John Ivrider, Sept. 5, 1880. Air. 
 Krider is a farmer of this county, and is the 
 father of two children. (2) George, born 
 April 8, 1865, married Miss Samantha Holmes, 
 of Alonroe, Sept. 6, 1885, and is the father of 
 one child. He resides on the old Barnum 
 homestead farm. (3) Mary E., born Sept. 8, 
 1873, died Jan. 18, 1894. (4) Caroline Ger- 
 
 trude. born Dec. 4, 1881, lives with her mother 
 at I win Grove, and is unmarried. All the 
 daughters are ladies of marked ability and 
 special gifts in the field of music. Aliss Caro- 
 line holds a certificate as a teacher in the pub- 
 lic schools of Green county, and has won a 
 
 very enviable position in the work of musical 
 instruction. She is devoting much attention 
 to the piano and the violin, and if her work in 
 this direction is continued she will undoubt- 
 edly develop into an artist of marked ability. 
 
 When Air. and Mrs. Barnum were married, 
 the united resources of himself and his devoted 
 wife, save their youth, strength and courage, 
 were not worth enumerating. By hard work, 
 economy and wise management they became 
 wealthy, and Air. Barnum owned over four- 
 teen thousand dollars at the time of his death. 
 A member of the Lutheran Church, his life 
 was square and upright. In politics he was a 
 stanch Republican, and as clerk, treasurer and 
 school director he served his town well and 
 faithfully. For some years before his death, 
 he had left the farm, and was living with his 
 family in an elegant home in the village of 
 Twin Grove at the time of his demise. 
 
 HENRY HORSLEY, an active and ener- 
 getic farmer in the town of Benton, Lafayette 
 county, was born on the Isle of Man, Eng., 
 Aug. 16, 1847, and is a son of William and 
 Alary (Bramwell) Horsley, both born in Eng- 
 land. The father was born Oct. 16, 1822, and 
 the mother in August of the following year. 
 They were married in England, where they had 
 a family of six children before their arrival 
 in America. They crossed the ocean on a sail- 
 ing vessel and landed in New York in 1854, 
 coming directly to Benton, Wis., where he 
 was engaged as a miner. This was his occu- 
 pation in Lafayette county until 1882, when 
 he moved to Jerauld county, S. Dak., in which 
 State lie still resides. There he engaged in 
 farming, and there his wife died in August, 
 1889, leaving him with six children. Of their 
 fourteen children, eight died young. Their 
 children were : ( 1 ) Henry, the oldest now 
 
 living, is the subject of this sketch. (2) John, 
 born in England in 1851, was married to Aliss 
 Alargaret A. Alderson, is a farmer in the 
 town of Benton, and the father of three chil- 
 dren, James, Mary, and Rosie. (3) Hudson, 
 born in England, was married to Aliss Lela 
 Hill, of Alinnesota, lives in South Dakota, 
 where he is engaged in farming, and is the 
 father of seven children, Cora, Arlo, Emery, 
 Bertha, Carrie, Alary and Afabel. (4) Will- 
 iam,. born in England, was married to Miss 
 Ella Hewitt, of Lamont, Iowa, where they now 
 reside ; he is a brick manufacturer, and they 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 463 
 
 have two children, Max and Harry. (5) 
 Bramweil, born in Wisconsin in 1858, was 
 married to Miss Rosa Alderson, is now liv- 
 ing on his farm in Beadle county, S. D., where 
 they are rearing a family of six children, 
 Elmer, Guy, Roxie, Alta, Arthur, and Rosana. 
 (6) Sarah J., born in Lafayette county, Wis., 
 in 1856, married James Meikeljon, of Canada, 
 and is living in Washington, where they have 
 one son, Ernest. 
 
 Henry Horsley had bis education in Eng- 
 land, and after his arrival in Wisconsin worked 
 in the mines with his father. During the 
 Civil war he was a member of the 43rd Wis. 
 V. I., and served until the close of the war. 
 Part of this time he was under the command 
 of General Thomas in the Army of the Cum- 
 berland. At Jacksonville he took part in the 
 battle against General Forrest, was with his 
 regiment through all its campaigns, and was 
 discharged in June, 1865, Mr. Horsley learned 
 the trade of a blacksmith after his return from 
 the war, and lived at Linden, Iowa county, 
 while he was engaged in the acquisition of this 
 extremely honorable and useful trade, which 
 he followed for six years, and then began min- 
 ing. which was his business until 1895, when 
 he rented a farm in the town of Benton. In 
 1878 he worked in the Black Hawk Mines of 
 Colorado, and spent about a year with good 
 results in the mines. The career of Mr. Hors- 
 ley has been singularly successful. Beginning 
 hie with only his own resources, he has his 
 own energy to thank for his standing to-day. 
 
 On Christmas Day, 1873. Mr. Horsley was 
 united in marriage with Rosa Murry, who was 
 born Aug. 31, 1857, a daughter of David and 
 Sarah (Adnv) Murry, old pioneer people in 
 this part of the world. David Murry was born 
 in Canada, May 4, 1820. and his wife at Hazel 
 Green, Grant county, Feb. 17, 1829. She is 
 the daughter of William Adny, who lived in 
 Dubuque. David Murry lived in Benton over 
 forty years, and died in March, 1S80. His 
 widow still survives him at the present writing. 
 They were the parents of a larg-e family, of 
 whom nine are still living: Nelson, born Feb. 
 3 - 1846; Harriet, born Oct. 25, 1848: Julia 
 A., born July 1, 1851 ; Samuel, born Jan. 20, 
 1854: Rosa, born Aug. 31. 1857; Joseph H., 
 born Dec. 7, 1862: Sarah E., born June 15, 
 1864; William, born March 21, 1866; David, 
 born Sept. 29, 1869. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Horsley are the parents of 
 
 the following children: Sarah, born in Au- 
 
 gust, 1S74, had her education in the town 
 schools, and is living at home ; William, born 
 Sept. 8, 1876, is now one of the managers of 
 the home farm ; David, born in Lafayette coun- 
 ty in 1882, is single and at home; Lester, born 
 in 1884, is a student of the home school; 
 Clyde, born in June, 1889; and Lola, born in 
 1894. Mr. Horsley is a Republican, and has 
 held the office of constable in Benton for sev- 
 eral years. He belongs to Thomas H. Oates 
 Post, No. 96, G. A. R., of Shullsburg. The 
 wife and family are members of the Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 COLLINS CHAPMAN, an honored vet- 
 eran of the Civil war and a representative 
 farmer of Waterloo township. Grant county, 
 was born in Davenport, Iowa, in 1842, and 
 comes of good old Revolutionary stock, his pa- 
 ternal grandfather, Collins Chapman, having 
 aided the Colonies in their struggle for inde- 
 pendence. He was a native of New England 
 and is said to have been descended from one 
 of the passengers of the famous Mayflower. 
 He made his home in Connecticut until death. 
 In his family were three sons, Amyson, David 
 and Alma, the two latter being soldiers of the 
 war of 1812. 
 
 Amyson Chapman, the father of him whose 
 name introduces this review, was born in 
 Hartford, Conn., Aug. 31, 1800. and about 
 1820 left bis New England home to come 
 West. In 1827 we find him at the lead mines 
 of Galena. 111 ., and the same year he was mar- 
 ried in Quincy, that State, to Aliss Mary Dru- 
 lard, a native of Ohio. For many years he 
 made his home in Jo Daviess county, 111 ., and 
 in 1850 he came to Grant county, Wis., locat- 
 ing in the town of Harrison, where the family 
 lived for several years before going to the 
 town of Waterloo, where the father died June 
 9, 1881, at the age of nearly eighty-one- years. 
 As a pioneer of the West he took in the 
 Black Hawk war, and was identified with 
 other historical events of early days. His 
 wife departed this life in 1858. In their 
 family were twelve children, eight sons and 
 four daughters, of whom four sons and three 
 daughters are living at the present time 
 ,1901). Amyson. the oldest surviving son, 
 was a soldier for the Union in the Civil war, 
 and is now a resident of Cassville, Wis. ; Col- 
 lins is next in order of birth; Peter also lives 
 
464 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in Cassville; Jefferson was a member of the 
 43rd Wis'. V. L, and is now a resident of Ne- 
 braska; Mary Ann, the eldest daughter, is the 
 wife of John Knox, of California; Lois is the 
 widow of Frederick Lang and a resident of the 
 State of Oregon; and Florence is the wife of 
 Hubbard Shelters, of Cassville, Grant county. 
 Those deceased died in early life. 
 
 Collins Chapman came with his father to 
 Grant county, and lived at home and in its 
 vicinity until he entered the service of his coun- 
 try during the dark days of the Civil war. 
 On Aug. 25, 1861, he enlisted in Company F, 
 7th Wis. V. L, and was' in active service with 
 that regiment until Aug. 22, 1862, when he 
 was wounded by a pistol shot in a skirmish 
 at Catlet Station, just after the battle of 
 Gainesville. Being taken prisoner by Mosby’s 
 Cavalry, he refused to accompany his captors, 
 and was shot by one of them in the right hand, 
 the ball coming out of the wrist, which was ren- 
 dered permanently stiff. He determined not 
 to remain a prisoner, and by a well-laid plan, 
 it being night and the flashes of lightning fre- 
 quent, he made his escape. He was confined 
 in the hospital at York, Penn., until Dec. 4, 
 
 1862, when he was discharged on account of 
 his wound and returned home, but in June, 
 
 1863, Mr. Chapman re-enlisted in the one hun- 
 dred day service, becoming a member of Com- 
 pany A, 41st Wis. V. I. Since the close of 
 the war he has resided most of the time in 
 Waterloo township, and has devoted his time 
 and energies to agricultural pursuits, in which 
 he has met with marked success. He is now 
 the owner of a valuable and well-improved 
 farm of 245 acres, and is surrounded by all 
 the comforts which make life worth the liv- 
 ing. 
 
 On July 16, 1865, Mr. Chapman married 
 Miss Frances A. Hall, a native of Fort Madi- 
 son, Iowa, and a daughter of David and Sarah 
 (El well) Hall. During childhood she lost her 
 mother, who died near Hazel Green, Grant 
 county, and her father subsequently went to 
 Missouri, where he married again and made 
 his home for about forty years'. There his sec- 
 ond wife died, and he is now living with Mr. 
 and Mrs. Chapman in this county, the latter 
 being his only child. Mr. and Mrs. Chapman 
 have six children, three sons and three daugh- 
 ters, namely: Minnie, Henry, Frederick, An- 
 
 nie. David and Vesta T. As he grows older 
 Mr. Chapman feels more and more the effects 
 
 of his army life, and -will always carry the 
 mark of a Confederate bullet as a reminder 
 of the famous Mosby Cavalry. He is a Re- 
 publican in politics, and both he and his wife 
 are worthy members of the Seventh Day Ad- 
 ventist Church. A loyal and patriotic citizen, 
 and a true friend and neighbor, he is justly 
 deserving the high regard in which he is held 
 by all who know him. 
 
 CHARLES W. TOMKINS. Among the 
 flourishing industries of Albany, Green county, 
 is that of milling, and a progressive firm doing 
 business in that line is that of Warren & Tom- 
 kins, custom millers, who own a large grist 
 and flour mill, and also manage the city elec- 
 tric light plant. The younger member of the 
 firm is Charles W. Tomkins, the subject of this 
 sketch. 
 
 Mr. Tomkins was born in County Wick- 
 low, Ireland, Feb. 29, 1832, a son of Charles 
 and Margaret (Warren) Tomkins, both of 
 whom were natives of Ireland. A family of 
 nine children was born to them : Elizabeth, 
 
 deceased wife of Simpson Tilley, of Albany, 
 Wis.; John W., of New Town, Ireland; Peter, 
 of Milton, Wis.; Margaret, widow of Thomas 
 James, of Rathdrum, Ireland; Charles W., our 
 subject; Mary Ann, who lives with her brother 
 John in the old home in Ireland; Robert and 
 William, both deceased; and Joseph, who lives 
 in County Wexford, a prosperous farmer. Our 
 subject’s father was a miller by occupation. He 
 died in Ireland at the age of eighty-four, in 
 1861, his wife, who survived a number of 
 years, being ninety-three at the time of her 
 death. In religion she was an Episcopalian, 
 but Mr. Tomkins belonged to, the Walkerites, 
 old Scotch seceders. Two of his brothers be- 
 longed to the Yeomanry. 
 
 Peter Tomkins, the paternal, grandfather, 
 a native of Ireland, was a miller by occupation. 
 He lived to be about ninety years old, and died 
 leaving six children. John Warren, the ma- 
 ternal grandfather, was about eighty-eight 
 at the time of his death. He was a farmer in 
 the old country, and had been a successful busi- 
 ness man. 
 
 Charles W. Tomkins was reared in Ireland, 
 and early taught the value of honest toil, enter- 
 ing his father’s mill as soon as he was old 
 enough to work. He attended the common 
 schools of his .district. In 1830 lie came to 
 America and located at Milton, Wis., where he 
 

 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 465 
 
 remained but a short time, removing later to 
 Janesville, and there securing employment in 
 the mill of Jackman & Smith, in which place 
 he continued for two years. At Albany was 
 located the large mill property of - the Warrens, 
 and at this time Mr. Tomkins entered their 
 employ, in 1868 becoming a partner of Eugene 
 Warren; this partnership has lasted to the pres- 
 ent time, the firm name being Warren & Tom- 
 kins. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Tomkins to Miss 
 Lucy Ann Hoyt, a daughter of Benjamin and 
 Abigail (Emmons) Hoyt, took place Aug. 3, 
 i860, and of the children born of their union 
 one son, Arthur W., survives. He married 
 Miss May E. Lockridge, of Albany, and they 
 have two interesting children, Ethel E. and 
 Charles Neil. Two other children were born 
 to our subject and wife, whose decease cast 
 a lasting shadow over their lives : Warren, 
 
 a brilliant young man, died at the age of twen- 
 ty-two, when within one year of graduation 
 from the Wisconsin State University, at Madi- 
 son; and their only daughter, Estella, passed 
 away at the age of twelve. In 1885 our sub- 
 ject erected his pleasant home in Albany, where 
 he still resides, and is considered one of the 
 most respected citizens of the town. During 
 his years in this locality, Mr. Tomkins has 
 seen many changes, and has borne his part in 
 the advancement of every interest in favor of 
 religion, education and temperance. Politically 
 he calls himself an independent, using his own 
 judgment regarding his ballot. Both he and 
 Mrs. Tomkins belong to the religious society 
 denominated Christians, Mr. Tomkins having 
 been one of the nrime movers in locating the 
 branch in Albany. 
 
 Benjamin Hoyt, Mrs. Tomkins’ father, was 
 born in 1809 in Maine, and married Abigail 
 Emmons, who was born in that State in 1811, 
 and is still living. They had nine children, 
 all yet living, the youngest now (1901) forty- 
 five years of age, a remarkable record. John 
 Emmons, Mrs. Hoyt’s father, was born in 
 Maine in 1787. 
 
 JAMES DOLAN, a popular and rising- 
 young attorney at law of Platteville, Grant 
 county, was born in Belmont, Lafayette Co., 
 Wis., in December, 1863, and is’ a son of Owen 
 and Jane Dolan, the former of whom was born 
 in Ireland June 23, 1833, and the latter in 
 Greenville, Bond Co., 111., March 4, 1842. 
 
 30 
 
 I 
 
 Owen Dolan came to America in 1853, and 
 located at Mauch Chunk, Penn., where he 
 worked two years in the mines, in 1855 coming 
 to Platteville, Wis., and in November, 1861, 
 he was married. He then purchased a farm 
 at Belmont, where he engaged chiefly in stock 
 raising. Later he passed two years in pros- 
 pecting in California, and returned overland, 
 riding one pony a distance of over 1,800 miles 
 from the Golden State to Omaha, Neb.; at 
 that place the pony broke away from a car- 
 riage to which he was tied and escaped with a 
 herd of wild ponies. Mr. Dolan then settled 
 in Lafayette county, Wis., and farmed until 
 1884, when he returned to Platteville. He 
 died Feb. 12, 1899, on his farm in Belmont, 
 in the faith of the Catholic Church ; in politics 
 he was always a Democrat. His estimable wife 
 had passed away in 1892, leaving one son and 
 two daughters. 
 
 James Dolan, the eldest of the family of 
 three children, was educated in the State Nor- 
 mal School, Platteville, and was also gradu- 
 ated from the Law Department of the State 
 University, at Madison, Wis., with the class of 
 1897. In the meantime, however, after hav- 
 ing graduated from the State Normal, in 1891, 
 he was for some years principal of the High- 
 land (Iowa county) schools, and before enter- 
 ing upon the practice of the law. was also 
 principal of the public school in Platteville. 
 In 1897 Mr. Dolan opened his law office, and 
 at once secured an encouraging clientele/ In 
 1898 he was elected a justice of the peace on 
 the Democratic ticket, although the city was 
 largely Republican, and in conjunction with 
 the duties' of this office continued the practice 
 of his profession. It is stated that it was rare- 
 ly that a case he had passed upon as a justice 
 was carried to a higher court. 
 
 Miss Mary E. Dolan, the elder sister of 
 James, was also born in Belmont, and educated 
 in the Platteville State Normal, is a lady of 
 culture and refinement, was one of the success- 
 ful teachers in the State, and now resides at 
 the home in Platteville. Miss Margaret R. 
 Dolan, the younger sister, now deceased, was 
 likewise born in Belmont, was graduated from 
 the State Normal, and was one of the leading 
 young teachers in Grant and other counties. 
 She died in 1898, while on her way from Ari- 
 zona, where she had been for the purpose of 
 recruiting her failing health. She was of 
 a most amiable disposition, and was great- 
 
466 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ly beloved in Platteville, as well as else- 
 where, and stood very high in the esteem of 
 the members of her profession. She was, as 
 are her brother and sister, devout in the 
 Catholic faith. 
 
 James Dolan is a scholarly gentleman, and 
 an able and astute lawyer; is liberal in his 
 views on all questions; is broad-minded; de- 
 spises hypocrisy and sycophancy in any and 
 every form; never takes an unfair advantage 
 of an opponent ; and is therefore held in the 
 highest esteem by his fellow members of the 
 Bar and the incumbents of the Bench. 
 
 PETER GNAGI is one of the prosperous 
 and esteemed citizens of Green Co., Wis., 
 who after a long and busy life has retired-’ from 
 active duties' to a handsome home in the city of 
 Monroe. He is a son of Benedict and Eliza- 
 beth (Gye) Gnagi, and was born in Canton 
 Berne, Switzerland, on Oct. 9, 1828. His par- 
 ents lived and died on a farm in Switzerland. 
 After leaving his native country, in 1847, Mr. 
 Gnagi came first to New York, thence to Ohio, 
 where he remained only for a short time, re- 
 turning to New York, whence after six years 
 he spent about eight years in the State of 
 Michigan. Reared in rather humble circum- 
 stances in his' native country, he there attended 
 school and after coming to America to better 
 his condition, he spent two terms at a sem- 
 inary in Lima, New York. 
 
 In 1865 Mr. Gnagi migrated to Wisconsin 
 and settled in Clarno township, Green county, 
 where he bought over eighty acres of land, 
 which is one-half the farm he now owns, 
 and he has the satisfaction of knowing that 
 his present possessions', of a fine farm with 
 a handsome residence and modern buildings 
 upon it, an equally comfortable home in the 
 city of Monroe, with an accumulation of means 
 sufficient to- maintain the same, have been 
 the result of his personal efforts. At intervals 
 before and after coming to Green county he 
 worked at the carpenter trade. 
 
 On March 4, 1858, Mr. Gnagi was mar- 
 ried to Miss Elvira Marsh, who was born June 
 1, 1830, in the State of New York, of New 
 England ancestry, a daughter of Clark and 
 Amanda ( Drake) Marsh. Mrs. Gnagi came 
 to Michigan in 1845, with her parents, re- 
 ceiving an education in a select school at Battle 
 Creek, and becoming a proficient teacher. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Gnagi became the parents of one 
 
 child, who died in infancy, and they then 
 adopted a son, William B., now a practicing 
 physician in Monroe, Wis. In politics our 
 subject has always been an active Republican, 
 and has served his township in various offices, 
 having been clerk and assessor, and in 1900 
 was census enumerator. He was one of the 
 prime movers in organizing the Farmers 
 Mutual. Fire Insurance Co., of the town of 
 Clarno, and was secretary of the company for 
 over nine years following its incorporation. 
 Both Mr. Gnagi and his wife are consistent 
 members of the M. E. Church, at Monroe, 
 and socially he is a member of the Masonic, 
 fraternity, having become connected with it 
 thirty years ago. With his wife he spent the 
 years of 1882-3-4 in California, but did not 
 make a permanent residence there, as' the old 
 home in Wisconsin proved a stronger attrac- 
 tion. Surrounded by neighbors and friends 
 of years standing, they possess the esteem of 
 all, and richly deserve the ease which attends 
 their advancing years. 
 
 WILLIAM S. HOLMES, a retired farmer 
 residing in Platteville, Grant county, and a 
 valiant ex-soldier of the United States volun- 
 teer army, was born in Sugar Grove, Penn., 
 March 23, 1839, a son of P. A. and Rosanna 
 ( Bulsom ) Holmes, the former a native of the 
 State of New York, and the latter of the Key- 
 stone State. 
 
 P. A. Holmes brought his wife and child 
 to Grant county, Wis., in 1840, and settled on 
 a farm near Platteville, where he died in 1874, 
 leaving his widow with ten children. The 
 widow is at present living in Georgetown, 
 Grant county, at the home of her daughter, 
 Mrs. Mary E. Graham. Of the family of ten 
 children, William S., is the eldest; James W., 
 born in Grant county, Wis., was a soldier for 
 two years in Company F, 3d AVis. V. I., in the 
 Civil war, was wounded at Cedar Mountain, 
 was honorably discharged and settled in Mis- 
 souri, where he died, leaving no family; Mar- 
 tha M. is the deceased wife of John Henderson, 
 of Missouri ; Emmett was a soldier in the 20th. 
 AVis. V. L, was wounded at Prairie Grove, and 
 there died; Mary E. is the wife of James L. 
 Graham, of Georgetown; Joseph W. is married 
 and lives in Wilsonville, Neb., but has no chil- 
 dren ; John C. is' a farmer at Sanborn, Iowa, 
 and has a family of eleven children; Abigail 
 E., deceased wife of Robert Ouinglev, left no 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 467 
 
 family; Robert is a resident of Dubuque, 
 Iowa; Susan, widow of Marshall Cooper, also 
 resides in Dubuque with her children. 
 
 As he was the eldest of the family, Will- 
 iam S. Holmes received but a limited educa- 
 tion when young, and worked on the farm un- 
 til he enlisted in 1861, in Company F, 3d Wis. 
 V. I., with which he took part in numerous 
 battles, including Maryland Heights, Antie- 
 tam, Gettysburg, Chancellorsville and Beverly 
 Ford, and was with Gen. Pope in his retreat 
 across the Potomac ; was also at Winchester, 
 served under Gen. Hooker, and likewise was 
 with Gen. Sherman on his celebrated march 
 through Georgia. His military career ended 
 at Averysboro, N. C., where he was shot 
 through the leg by a minie ball, from the ef- 
 fects of which wound he was confined in hos- 
 pital for four months on David's Island, New 
 York Harbor, and there received an honorable 
 discharge, and returned to Grant county. 
 
 In July. 1873, Mr. Holmes married Miss 
 Selena J. Piddington for his first wife. He then 
 purchased the old home place on which he 
 lived until 1896, when he retired to Platte- 
 ville and erected for himself an elegant dwell- 
 ing. In May, 1897, Mrs. Selena Holmes 
 passed away, leaving him with one daughter, 
 Elizabeth, now the wife of Charles Rouse, of 
 Grant county, and the mother of one child, 
 Ethel. In March, 1898, Mr. Holmes chose for 
 his second wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Hoadley, a 
 sister of his first wife. Mrs. Elizabeth Holmes 
 . was born near Manchester, England, in 1843, 
 and is a daughter of Matthew and Elizabeth 
 Piddington, who came to America in 1849, 
 and settled on a farm in Grant county, on 
 which they passed the remainder of their lives. 
 At their death they left two daughters — Mrs. 
 Holmes, and Mrs. Sarah Hindman, of Harri- 
 son, Grant county. By her first husband Mrs. 
 Holmes became the mother of two children, 
 namely : George W. Hoadley, who resides near 
 the Block House, in Grant county, and is the 
 father of two children, Guy W., and Cynthia 
 E. ; and Gertrude Hoadley, at the age of six- 
 teen years, was graduated from the State Nor- 
 mal School, at Platteville, and is now a pop- 
 ular teacher in the public schools of the county. 
 In politics Mr. Holmes is a Republican, but 
 has never been an office seeker nor an office 
 holder. He apd wife have made many friends 
 since they came to reside in Platteville, and 
 their life would be one of unalloyed enjoyment, 
 
 but for the fact that Mr. Holmes at times suf- 
 fers greatly from the serious wound he re- 
 ceived in his gallant defense of his nation’s 
 flag. 
 
 JOHN WHITEHEAD (deceased), one of 
 the pioneer settlers of Green county, and a 
 man well remembered for his many good 
 qualities, was born in Ohio Aug. 25, 1825, 
 and died at his country home in this county 
 in 1879. Mr. Whitehead was one of the four 
 sons of Edward and Delilah (Hawk) White- 
 head, the others being William, Levi and 
 Henry. 
 
 John Whitehead was married Feb. 16, 
 i860, to a Miss Iseminger, a native of Ohio, 
 and a daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Beatey) 
 Iseminger. They were the parents of the fol- 
 lowing family: Hattie, Sarah (who is Mrs. 
 
 John Whitehead), Mary, Jane, Levi, Rebecca, 
 Frank, Martha, John and Alice. Joseph Ise- 
 minger, the father of the above family, is still 
 living in Graysville. Tenn., at the advanced 
 age of eighty-eight years. Mr. and Mrs. John 
 Whitehead became the parents of the following 
 children : Emma is the wife of Charles 
 
 Palmer, a farmer in the town of Cadiz; Will- 
 iam has charge of the old homestead; Isaac 
 is a farmer in the town of Clarno ; Minnie is 
 the wife of Louis Wolf, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa ; 
 Effie Jane is the wife Ira Long, of South 
 Wayne, Whs. ; and Milton is a farmer in the 
 town of Cadiz. 
 
 John Whitehead was a man of ability and 
 attained a very considerable success in farm- 
 ing, beginning as a poor boy, and at the time 
 of his death, Jan. 6, 1879, owning 300 acres of 
 very fine farming land in Green county, mak- 
 ing a choice farm, well-improved, and provided 
 with good buildings. His success was not an 
 accident, nor the result of the help of friends, 
 though he had many, but it came from hard 
 work and careful and persistent savings'; it 
 came from his development of a trustworthy- 
 character : it came very largely from the help- 
 ful cooperation of his good wife and loyal 
 children. All worked together, and after a 
 time they secured their handsome and attract- 
 ive country home. When Mr. Whitehead set- 
 tled on his farm it was covered with timber, 
 and was barren of all improvements. To-day 
 it is one of the most desirable country estates 
 in the southern part of the State. 
 
 Mr. Wffiitehead was a stanch Democrat, 
 
 
468 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and was a man of much character and resolu- 
 tion. Well liked by his neighbors, he was j 
 upright and honorable in all his dealings. Mrs. 
 Whitehead retains eighty acres of land in the 
 town of Cadiz, from which she receives a cash 
 rental of $225. She has lately removed to 
 Browntown, Wis., where she has made herself 
 a pleasant home, buying a neat and attractive 
 village property. A devoted and faithful mem- 
 ber of the United Brethren Church, she is 
 known as a good Christian woman, and com- 
 mands the unstinted respect and esteem of all 
 who know her. 
 
 WILLIAM W. DAVIS has devoted him- 
 self to the agricultural interests of the town 
 of Flatteville, Grant county, and now in his 
 old age has a wide circle of friends who esteem 
 him for his upright and manly life, and love 
 him for those personal qualities of heart and 
 mind that have been conspicuous throughout 
 his career. 
 
 Mr. Davis was born in Franklin county, 
 N. Y., April 27, 1S33, and is the son of 
 Thomas Jefferson and Mary (Bell) Davis, who 
 were both natives of the State of New York, 
 and born on the shores of Lake Champlain. 
 Thomas Davis was the son of John and 
 Eunice (Butler) Davis, the former born in 
 England, and the latter in the State of New 
 York, where they both died; they left a large 
 family, of whom Daniel Davis was a resident 
 of Canada. Thomas Davis settled in Frank- 
 lin county, and was' a fruit farmer for many 
 years. Fie sold out, and re-established himself 
 in Monroe county, in the same State, and this 
 became his home until his death. They both 
 lived to be very old people, and reared a fam- 
 ily of seven children. ( 1 ) Amelia was born 
 in New York, and died when a young woman. 
 (2) Benjamin married and settled in 'his na- 
 tive State, where he died some years ago, leav- 
 ing a wife but no children. (3) Ruth is the 
 wife of Harvey Chase, and resides near Ro- 
 chester, N. Y. (4) Chauncey was a soldier 
 in the 13th N. Y. V. I. during the Civil war; 
 he married a lady of Monroe county, settled 
 on her farm, and has two children, Frank and 
 Emma, both residents of that State. (5) Jo- 
 seph M. was a soldier in the 140th N. Y. V. I. 
 during the war of the Rebellion, and lived in 
 New York a number of years after the war. 
 He then came West and took up a govern- 
 ment claim near Yorktown, N. Dak., and made 
 
 his home in the Prairie State some years, after 
 which he moved to Minneapolis, and engaged 
 m lumbering. He married a lady from his 
 native State, and she died in Minneapolis, 
 leaving two children, William and Emma. 
 (6) Emma is married and lives on a Minne- 
 sota farm. 
 
 William W. Davis, who completes the 
 above family, was reared to manhood under 
 tlie parental roof 111 Monroe county, where he 
 received an excellent education, and for a time 
 followed the vocation of a teacher. In 1856 
 he came to Platteville on a business errand 
 for a stock firm in New York, and, after tran- 
 sacting the business entrusted to him, con- 
 cluded to remain in Platteville. Here he was 
 engaged in mining and in other work until 
 the breaking out of the Civil war. In 1861 
 he enlisted in Company C, 7th Wis. V. I., and 
 was the first of that noble army that rallied 
 to the support of the imperilled Republic. He 
 was under Captain Naysmith, and was sent 
 to the army of General McDowell in Virginia, 
 and his first experience in real warfare was at 
 the battle of Bull Run. He participated in 
 many , small battles, and was at Fredericksburg 
 and Chancellorsville. His regiment was en- 
 gaged at South Mountain, and here Mr. Davis 
 was seriously wounded, and was detained in 
 the hospital seven months. When the young 
 soldier had regained his health, he rejoined his 
 regiment at Culpeper Court House, in time 
 to bear a hand in the terrible struggle in the 
 Wilderness in May, 1863, and there he was 
 again wounded, in the eye. There was a contin- 
 ued fight until the line of battle was stretched 
 in front of Petersburg, where Mr. Davis was 
 twice wounded. He was knocked down at 
 Gettysburg by an artillery wagon, and had ribs 
 broken and other injuries inflicted on him. 
 While lying on the ground he was taken pris- 
 oner by the Rebels, and imprisoned in Libby 
 prison and on Belle Isle. He was exchanged 
 at City Point, and lie was’ honorably dis- 
 charged from the service at Madison, Wis., 
 in September, 1864. The war-worn veteran 
 resumed peaceful occupations with a zest that 
 only those can know who have led stormy 
 years on the tented field, and engaged in farm- 
 ing near Platteville for two years. 
 
 In 1871 he married Miss Martha E. Ben- 
 nett, the estimable daughter of Anson and El- 
 vira J. Bennett, old and honored residents of 
 Grant county. Mrs. Davis was born in Feb- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 469 
 
 ruary, 1851, and grew up on the Bennett 
 homestead. She was educated in the public 
 schools, and is a lady of character and refine- 
 ment. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
 Davis settled on what was knowli as the Phill- 
 brook farm, where they still live. They are 
 the parents of four children: Benjamin A., 
 
 born in 1872, married Miss Elsie Nicholas, and 
 resides on a Platteville farm ; they have one 
 son, Raymond. William A., born in 1875, 
 married Miss Cora Austin, and has his home 
 on the Davis homestead. Jennie M., born in 
 1881, married Warren Vanetta, and lives on 
 a Harrison township farm. Nellie B. is a 
 student of. the home schools. Mr. Davis has 
 been a Republican since the Civil war, though 
 his father was an old Jackson Democrat. He 
 is a member of Platteville Post, G. A. R. 
 Mrs. Davis' belongs to the Free Methodist 
 Church. 
 
 ABNER S. ROCK, a venerable retired 
 farmer of Shullsburg, is one of the few men 
 living to-day whose knowledge of Wisconsin 
 extends back to the days when Indians and 
 buffalo roamed through the country, and when 
 the cultivated farms of the present were un- 
 broken, uncultivated tracts of wild land. He 
 was born in Logan county, Ohio, Feb. 8, 
 1827, son of George and Clarinda (Snoddy) 
 Rock, the former a native of Kentucky and the 
 latter of Germany. They were married in 
 Ohio, and came to Wisconsin in 1844, settling 
 at New Diggings, where the father followed 
 mining and teaming until his death in 1852, 
 leaving his wife with seven children, five of 
 whom are living: Sarah and Kemper, both 
 
 deceased: Francis, born in Ohio, now a resi- 
 dent of Sioux City, Iowa; George S., a farmer 
 near Sioux City. Iowa; Margaret, wife of John 
 Williams, of Jo Daviess Co., 111 . ; Clarinda. re- 
 siding with her sister. Mrs. Williams ; and Ab- 
 ner S., our subject. 
 
 Abner S. Rock received but a few months 
 schooling during his boyhood in Ohio, and 
 after the removal of the family to Wisconsin 
 he followed mining or teaming until he moved 
 to his farm, which he purchased in 1854. This 
 he greatly improved by the erection of good 
 buildings, and the breaking of the wild land 
 of which it consisted whollv when he made his 
 purchase. He was very poor, and only by his 
 untiring energy and dogged perseverance has 
 he ever succeeded as he has. In 1886 he bought 
 
 the George Proctor farm near the line of White 
 Oak Springs, and now has one of the best 
 farms in the township. 
 
 In 1852 Mr. Rock was wedded to bliss 
 Fanny Field, who was born Feb. 12. 1835, 
 daughter of William and Sarah Field, who 
 came early from Kentucky to New Diggings 
 township. Their union was blessed with three 
 children: Annie, born in T854, married Sam- 
 
 uel Mullen, a farmer of Shullsburg, and has 
 two children, Eva (wife of Henry Girley) and 
 Abner (a farmer of Monticello township) ; 
 Charles H., born in August, 1858, residing on 
 a part of his father’s farm, married May Urin 
 in 1896, and has two children, Fannie E. (born 
 in 1897), and Abner C. (born in June, 1900) ; 
 Eliza, born in 1863, is now deceased. In re- 
 ligious connection Mr. and Mrs. Rock are 
 identified with the Congregational Church, 
 which they.attend regularly, and are interested 
 in its work, contributing to the support of same. 
 Politically Mr. Rock is always found in the 
 ranks of the Democratic party, and has been 
 honored with a number of local offices, such 
 as member of the town board and school di- 
 rector, the duties of which he has conscien- 
 tiously fulfilled. 
 
 THOMAS MARSDEN. The greater por- 
 tion of Mr. Marsden’s long and useful life of 
 sixty-five years has been passed in Grant coun- 
 ty, his father having been among the pioneers 
 of that section of the State, the family com- 
 ing to this country from Yorkshire, England. 
 
 Henry Marsden. father of Thomas, was 
 born in Leeds, England, Aug. 12, 1807. For 
 many years he was engaged in overseeing one 
 of the large woolen manufactories near the 
 place of his birth, continuing in this business', 
 and the difficult business of pattern making, as 
 long - as he remained in England. In 1832 he 
 was married to Hannah Maria Riley, and in 
 1842 they emigrated to America, bringing their 
 family of five children with them. Immedi- 
 ately upon reaching this country they came 
 West, first to Chicago, then to Racine, and a 
 little later to what is now Waukesha county, 
 Wis., where they resided ten years. It was 
 here that Mrs. Marsden died in 1844. In 
 1853 the elder Marsden moved with his chil- 
 dren to Grant county, in the same State, and 
 purchased a farm east of Lancaster, in the 
 township of Liberty. Here, with the assist- 
 ance of his family, he created a home, and lived 
 
470 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 among the old settlers of the county. His five 
 children are all living: Rebecca is now Mrs. 
 
 John Rook, of Lancaster; Thomas and William 
 reside in the township of Fennimore; Jane lives 
 in Kansas, the wife of Zackaria Thomas ; and 
 John lives in California. The elder Marsden 
 lived to see his seventy-fourth birthday, and 
 passed away in 1880, honored by his neighbors 
 and acquaintances for his industry, his moral 
 worth and his irreproachable life. 
 
 Thomas Marsden was born in Yorkshire, 
 England, in 1835, and 1 among the most vivid 
 recollections are the impressions made upon 
 his young mind, when, a boy of seven years, 
 he first landed in New York and crossed more 
 than a third of the continent to find a home 
 whose character and surroundings were totally 
 different from anything with which his previ- 
 ous short experience had made him familiar. 
 As he grew older he aided his father upon the 
 homestead, and soon after reaching manhood 
 he married, his wife’s name being Sarah Fry. 
 Her father, John Fry, was a Pennsylvania far- 
 mer, who had migrated first to Iowa, and after- 
 ward to Grant county, Whs., settling in Ellen- 
 boro township in 1854. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Marsden five children have been born, one of 
 whom, Julia, died at the age of seventeen. 
 Those yet living are Olive, Henry, Cora and 
 Riley. Olive is the wife of W. E. Lathrop. 
 Henry is a practicing physician. 
 
 In 1864 Mr. Marsden moved to the farm in 
 Fennimore which is his present home, and 
 which, through his efforts and energy, has be- 
 come one of the most attractive homes in 
 Grant county. 
 
 MARION F. ROSS. Among the sturdy 
 people of Wisconsin there is an element of 
 New England ancestry, schooled to effort and 
 achievement, typical representatives of enlight- 
 enment and progress, yet standing for the con- 
 servative forces of society. When a lad of 
 nine years' the subject of this sketch was one 
 of a family which, in that steady migration 
 from New England for nearly two centuries, 
 left home and friends to people the West. The 
 father, Augustus Ross, was a man of superior 
 intelligence. ITe was reared on a farm but 
 received a good common school education, and 
 in his youth attained, also, a good medical ed- 
 ucation. He practiced medicine for some 
 years, but later returned to farm life. 
 
 d he Ross family is of Scotch extraction. 
 
 Leonard Ross, the grandfather of our subject, 
 was a native of Connecticut, but removed to 
 Vermont, where he engaged in farming and 
 lived to a good old age, leaving a large family 
 of children. Augustus, his son, was born in 
 Vermont in 1816. In his native State he mar- 
 ried Amanda Smith, daughter of Asahel Smith 
 a native-born farmer of Massachusetts, of 
 English ancestry, who reared a large family 
 and lived to an advanced age. Migrating with 
 his family to Wisconsin in 1854, Augustus 
 Ross bought 100 acres of land in Exeter town- 
 ship, Green county, and there lived ; until his 
 death, which occurred in 1863, when he was 
 forty-seven years of age. Augustus Ross was 
 a prominent citizen in the new community. 
 He served as town superintendent of schools 
 and was elected justice of the peace. Among 
 other local offices, he filled that of town super- 
 visor. Himself and wife were members ot the 
 Universalist Church. His widow still sur- 
 vives, living at the old homestead in Exeter 
 township, now in her eighty-fifth year. Eleven 
 children, six sons and five daughters, were 
 born to Augustus and Amanda Ross, of whom 
 six are now living, namely: Joseph W., of 
 
 Oak Park, 111 .; Marion F., our subject; Ann 
 E., wife of Thomas Parkin, of Pine Islanrl, 
 Minn. ; Ada E., wife of Simeon D. Ace, of Ex-= 
 eter township; Louisa A., wife of Robert Par- 
 kin, of Pine Island, Minn., and Carrie, wife of 
 John Stuckey, of Pine Island, Minnesota. 
 
 Marion F. Ross was born in Ludlow, Vt. f 
 Nov. 15, 1844. Fie attended school in Ver- 
 mont when a boy, and after his long journey 
 to Wisconsin with his father and 'family in 
 1854 he continued his education amid the new 
 surroundings. He early gave his attention to 
 School teaching, beginning while yet a pupil 
 at the district schools and continuing it in all 
 for twelve years. Marion was but nineteen 
 years old when his- faher died, and at the age 
 of twenty years, like his brothers, he was al- 
 lowed his time. At that age he took charge of 
 his father’s farm and conducted it for one year. 
 Then, upon completing his majority, he had 
 the usual aspiration of the young man to seek 
 his fortune, and, an opportunity presenting 
 itself in the selling of sewing machines, he 
 seized it, but this venture did not prove especi- 
 ally rich, and Mr. Ross returned to farming. 
 Buying a farm of 120 acres at Attica, in Brook- 
 lyn township, he lived there for fourteen years, 
 then traded the property for his present farm 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 47i 
 
 in Exeter township, then consisting of 302 
 acres, but now of only 297. This' has been his 
 home since 1882. Mr. Ross has brought the 
 farm to a high state of cultivation, and while 
 he engages profitably in general farming, he 
 devotes considerable attention also to stock 
 raising. 
 
 Mr. Ross married, Nov. 4, 1866, Miss 
 Alma J. Gassett. daughter of Lucius and Sallie 
 B. (Butterfield) Gassett, natives of Ludlow, 
 Vt., who, in 1853, migrated to Exeter town- 
 ship, Green county, Wis., and located on a farm 
 of 160 acres. The paternal grandfather of 
 Mrs. Ross was Darius Gassett, a native of 
 Vermont, of English extraction, and a farmer, 
 who had a large family and lived to the age 
 of almost ninety years. Her maternal grand- 
 father was Joseph Butterfield, a farmer, native 
 of Massachusetts, of English descent, who had 
 six children, and lived to the age of seventy 
 years. To Lucius and Sallie B. Gassett were 
 born three children : Alma J., wife of our sub- 
 
 ject; Almina, unmarried; and Julius L., of 
 Belleville, Wis. In 1880 Lucius Gassett sold 
 his Exeter township farm to Julius', his son, 
 and moved to Belleville, where he died Tan. 28, 
 1901, in his ninety-first year. His wife died 
 Feb. 14, 1893, a g'ed seventy-five years. 
 
 Six children were born to Marion F. and 
 Alma (Gassett) Ross, four sons and two 
 daughters. Of these (1) Archie F. is a trav- 
 eling salesman, living at Mt. Horeb. He mar- 
 ried Florence Cate, and after her death wedded 
 for his second wife Mary Gillett, by whom he 
 has one child living, Vernon L. (2) Lucius 
 A. married Mary E. Christler, lives in Exeter 
 township, and has one child living, Velma M. 
 (3) Curtis IT. married Ada Kirkpatrick and 
 lives at Belleville, where he owns a livery 
 stable. He has one child, Mildred. (4) Mabel 
 A. married Rodney Judd, and lives in Dane 
 county near Belleville. (5) Vernon M. and 
 (6) Winnifred A. are at home. While living 
 at Attica Mr. and Mrs. Ross were members of 
 the Methodist Church located there, but are 
 not now actively identified with any religious 
 society. While at Attica Mr. Ross was for a 
 number of years justice of the peace. He has 
 served as town clerk and as school clerk for 
 many years in both Brooklyn and Exeter town- 
 ships. In politics he is a Republican. In the 
 political and social life of Exeter township he 
 is recognized as a leader, and one whose judg- 
 ments are clean-cut and based upon right think- 
 
 ing, and one who in active life is ever ready 
 to maintain and defend those policies and prin- 
 ciples which work for the public welfare. 
 
 REV. JOHN T. ETTER, after a long life 
 of usefulness, devoted to the ministry of the 
 German Reformed Church, now lives retired 
 in Monroe, Green county, Wis. He was born 
 in Buehler, Canton Appenzell, Switzerland, 
 Dec. 28, 1832, of a family that for several gen- 
 erations was represented in the ministry. 
 
 Rev. John Jacob Etter, his grandfather, 
 was a minister of the German Reformed 
 Church, and passed his life in Switzerland. 
 His death occurred at the age of eighty-eight 
 years, after he had preached for forty years to 
 one congregation. 
 
 Rev. John Ulrich Etter, son of Rev. John 
 Jacob, followed in his father’s footsteps, and 
 for thirty years was in charge of one parish. 
 He married Mary Magdalene Rehsteiner, who 
 died in 1833, at the age of nineteen, leaving 
 one child, Rev. John T. After the death of 
 his first wife, Rev. John Ulrich Etter wedded 
 Barbara Steiger, and four of their five children 
 are yet living: Gottfried, of Monroe, Mich. ; 
 
 Lydia, of St. Gallen, Switzerland ; Ulrich, an 
 artist of Detroit, Mich. ; and Paulina, wife of 
 Jacob Halter, a dentist of St. Gallen, Switzer- 
 land. Rev. John Ulrich Etter died suddenly 
 of apoplexy in 1870, at the age of sixty-one. 
 
 Rev. John T. Etter was reared in his na- 
 tive land and educated in the theological schools 
 in that country. He began preaching about 
 1852, and the next year emigrated to America. 
 In 1854 he returned to Switzerland and was 
 married, returning to America the following 
 year. Llis first charge was in Tennessee, 
 where he remained for two years, and then was 
 transferred to Indiana, where the Synod as- 
 signed to his charge the three counties of Clay, 
 Greene and Owen. He was meeting with 
 much success in his work, but owing to the 
 chills and fever, was obliged to leave and seek 
 a different climate. He preached one year in 
 Sauk City, AVis., when he was called to New 
 Glarus, and there for thirty-seven years he 
 was the spiritual adviser of the German Re- 
 formed Church. His long pastorate there at- 
 tests to his popularity, and it was' with genuine 
 regret that his parishioners allowed him to re- 
 tire, which he did Nov. 8, 1896 purchasing 
 his present home in Monroe, and locating 
 there. 
 
47 2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 On Feb. 26, 1855, Rev. Etter was married 
 in Switzerland to Miss Eliza Zelmer, daugh- 
 ter of John and Katrina (Gross) Ze'hner, 'and 
 seven children were horn to them: John Hul- 
 
 dreich, horn in Tennessee; Robert, born in Clay 
 county, Ind. ; Bertha Rosalia; John Theodore; 
 Johanna Lydia; Bertha Lydia; and one that 
 died in infancy. John Huldreich and Bertha 
 Rosalia both died at the ag'e of six months. 
 Robert married Adelia Campbell, and has two 
 children, Nellie and Inez; he is at present post- 
 master at Monroe. John Theodore, Jr., a dry 
 goods merchant in Monroe, married Mary 
 Wittwer, and has four children, Minnie Lou- 
 isa, John Theodore, Arthur, and Reuben Rob- 
 ert Roland. 
 
 John Zelmer, father of Mrs. Etter, was a 
 manufacturer and dealer in muslins and em- 
 broideries in Switzerland, where he died in 
 1870, aged seventy-three years. His wife, 
 Katrina Gross, died in 1865, aged sixty-nine 
 years. Of their nine children, two are yet 
 living: John, of Heiden, Switzerland; Hein- 
 
 rich, of the same place. Both are widowers. 
 
 On Feb. 26, 1901, Rev. Etter was called 
 upon to mourn the death of his faithful wife, 
 who that day entered into rest. The funeral 
 was held on March 1, 1901. 
 
 HENRY SCFIEEL, a retired farmer of 
 Platteville, Grant county, is the possessor of 
 a handsome property, and is enabled to spend 
 his declining years in the pleasurable enjoy- 
 ment of his accumulations. The record of his 
 early life is that of an active, enterprising, 
 methodical and sagacious business man, who 
 bent his energies to the honorable acquirement 
 of a comfortable competence for himself and 
 family. 
 
 Mr. Scheel was born in Holstein, Germany, 
 May 1. 1818, a son of Hans and Catharine 
 (AVolfe) Scheel, also natives of Flolstein, who 
 in 1846 emigrated to America. The family 
 sailed from Hamburg, Germany, to England; 
 from Hull to Quebec, Canada ; and by the 
 chain of lakes to Chicago, whence they pro- 
 ceeded across the country to Galena, 111 ., where 
 the mother died the same year. The father 
 made his home with his son Henry after com- 
 ing to this State, in 1847, and died in Elk 
 Grove, Lafayette county. In early life he was 
 a sailor and fisherman on the Baltic sea, and 
 also followed farming, owning and operating 
 a tract of land in Germany. Fie had only two 
 
 children, Henry being the only son. Anna was 
 married in Germany to Peter Schroeder, who 
 died in California, and her death occurred in 
 Platteville, in 1896. To their union were 
 born five children: Henry, a resident of 
 
 Platteville; Mary, of Platteville; Frederick, 
 of Elk Grove; Christopher, deceased; and 
 Catherine, of St. Paul, Minnesota. 
 
 Henry Scheel was reared and educated in 
 his native land, and was there married, in 1841, 
 to Miss Catherine Kay, also a native of Ger- 
 many, and a daughter of Joseph Kay, who 
 spent his entire life in that country. On the 
 emigration of the family to America, in 1846, 
 they stopped first in Galena, 111 ., where they 
 spent one winter, and the following year took 
 up their residence in Elk Grove, Lafayette 
 Co., Wis., where Mr. Scheel opened up and 
 improved a farm. For about thirty-five years 
 he was successfully engaged in general farm- 
 ing and stock raising, and is now the owner 
 of a large amount of land at Elk Grove, hav- 
 ing several good farms. This property has all 
 been acquired through his own industry, per- 
 severance and good management, and he well 
 deserves the prosperity that has come to him. 
 In 1881 he moved to Platteville, and has since 
 lived a retired life. 
 
 Mr. Scheel has been called upon to mourn 
 the loss of his estimable wife, who died in 
 Platteville in 1897. To them were born five 
 children, namely: Anna, deceased 1 ; William, 
 
 who died at the age of tweny-two years; John, 
 deceased; Jane, Mrs. Niehaus; and Mary, at 
 home. 
 
 As a Democrat Mr. Scheel has taken quite 
 an active interest in political affairs, and served 
 on the town board in Elk Grove seven years, 
 and in the town council of Platteville two 
 years. Religiously he holds membership in the 
 Lutheran Church. He has been identified with 
 the interests of Wisconsin since Territorial 
 days', and has witnessed almost its entire de- 
 velopment and progress. He is one of the 
 prominent men of Platteville, honored and re- 
 spected by all who know him. 
 
 REV. SAMUEL WHITNEY TROUS- 
 DALE, A. M., Ph. D., D. D., one of the most 
 highly esteemed and prominent residents of 
 Platteville, Grant county, presiding elder of 
 the Platteville district of the M. E. Church, 
 was born at Fayette, Lafayette Co., Wis., Nov. 
 12, 1853, the worthy son — the only one — of 
 
I 
 
 ' 
 
 I 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHIC AL RECORD. 
 
 473 
 
 William P. and Mary Ann (McKee) Trous- 
 dale. Seven half brothers and sisters of our 
 subject are living at this writing: W. W. 
 
 Parkinson; Jane, Mrs. Ellison; William J. 
 Trousdale; Polly Ann, Mrs. Perrigo; Robert 
 M. ; John W. ; and James W. Bashford. 
 
 Samuel Whitney Trousdale is of Scotch- 
 Irish parentage on both sides, and the record 
 of his ancestors is' very interesting. Before 
 the Revolutionary war his paternal ancestors 
 settled in North Carolina, and took such vali- 
 ant part in that struggle that the government 
 presented them with a tract of land in Ten- 
 nessee (the city of Gallatin now occupying 
 that tract), and the family name has been per- 
 petuated in one of the counties of that State. 
 The grandfather of our subject moved from 
 Tennessee to Kentucky, and in that State Will- 
 iam P. Trousdale was born. In course of 
 time he moved to Madison county, 111 ., and 
 thence to Lafayette county, Wis., while the 
 State was still a Territory. He settled on a 
 farm near Fayette, and in that town he died. 
 Sept. 1 8, 1889, at the rine old age of eighty- 
 six. 
 
 Not less interesting is the record of the 
 early maternal ancestors of our subject. His 
 mother was born in Mason county, Ky., Dec. 
 11, 1817, eldest child of Robert and Letitia 
 McKee, the former a grandson of that well- 
 known old pioneer, John McKee, and the lat- 
 ter a great-granddaughter of pioneer Robert 
 McKee, both of whom came to America from 
 the North of Ireland with the Scotch-Irish 
 emigration of 1738. They had settled, with 
 their other brothers, first at Lancaster, Penn., 
 removing in 1757 to Virginia, and locating 
 permanently in Rockbridge county. There 
 Robert died June 11, 1774. His son, William 
 McKee, was a man of great prominence. He 
 served his country as a captain in the Revo- 
 lution, was made high sheriff of Rockbridge 
 county, and was its representative in the Vir- 
 ginia Constitutional Convention of 1788, to 
 consider the plan of Federal government for 
 the United States', as recommended by the Fed- 
 eral Convention that met at Philadelphia. 
 
 William McKee married his cousin, Mir- 
 iam McKee, a daughter of the old pio- 
 neer John McKee, and about the vear 
 tyQO removed with his family to Ken- 
 tucky, settling in Garrard county, where 
 later he was joined by other members 
 of his family connection. However, the 
 
 branches became numerous, and are now 
 to be found in Kentucky, Missouri. Illinois and 
 Indiana, always representing the best element 
 in the community, manv of them having occu- 
 pied very prominent positions^ in the various 
 walks of life. John McKee, the eldest son of 
 William McKee, and the father of Letitia Mc- 
 Kee, was appointed register of the land office 
 at Edwardsville, 111 ,, in 1816, and he and his 
 son, William P., continued in the office for the 
 succeeding twenty years. Robert McKee and 
 his young wife and infant daughter removed 
 to that place in 1818, and settled on the farm 
 where they spent the remainder of their lives. 
 
 Mary Ann McKee, the mother of our sub- 
 ject, when eighteen years old was (first) mar- 
 ried to Carroll Parkinson, and soon after, with 
 her husband, removed to Wisconsin, traveling- 
 overland with teams, and settling in Fayette, 
 Lafayette county, this being then known as 
 Parkinson’s settlement; this was in the spring 
 of 1839. Here this lady made her home until 
 her death, on Jan. 31, 1896. She had lived a 
 good and busy life, and had fully done her 
 part in the pioneer work of building a firm 
 foundation for the great State which came out 
 of the wilderness of the Northwest. 
 
 Samuel Whitney Trousdale, the subject of 
 the present sketch, spent his boyhood days on 
 the farm at Fayette, attending both public and 
 private schools until the fall of 1871, when he 
 took up the preparatory course of the State 
 University of Wisconsin. From this institu- 
 tion he graduated, from the Ancient Classical 
 course, in 1877. Mr. Trousdale seems to 
 have thoroughly understood the reason why 
 he was sent to college, for his average in his 
 studies was uniformly high, while he also 
 found time and opportunity to take charge, for 
 a time, of the editorial columns of the- “Uni- 
 versity Press,’’ the college paper: was presi- 
 dent of the Athemean Literaity Society ; and for 
 a year was president of the college Y. M. "C. A. 
 In his Senior year Mr. Trousdale won in the 
 college oratorical contest, and also represented 
 the State University in the inter-collegiate con- 
 test. After his graduation he was offered a 
 position as tutor of Greek and Elocution in 
 the State University, which position he occu- 
 pied for one year, and then entered the School 
 for Theology in Boston '"University, from 
 which he graduated in 1881. Since that time 
 Mr. Trousdale has received the degrees of 
 A. M., from the State University; Ph. D., 
 
474 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 from the Ohio Wesleyan University; as well 
 as D. D. from Lawrence University. 
 
 While in the Theological Seminary Mr. 
 Trousdale spent two years at West Quincy and 
 Newton Lower Falls, Mass., and in the fall of 
 1882 joined the West Wisconsin M. E. Con- 
 ference, of which he is a member at the pres- 
 ent time. His Conference has honored him by 
 appointing- him to some of the strongest 
 churches, he having served as pastor at Hud- 
 son; First Church, Eau Claire; First Church, 
 La Crosse; and Platteville. For a number of 
 years Mr. Trousdale was chairman of the 
 board of examiners of his Conference, and 
 during this time great advancement was made 
 in the method of conducting such bodies, a 
 change being made in the examination of can- 
 didates from oral to written examinations. 
 Twice has Mr. Trousdale been honored by 
 being elected the head of the delegation to 
 represent his Conference in the General Con- 
 ference. 
 
 Rev. Trouscjale was first married, in the 
 fall of 1882, to Miss Alma L. Baker, a daughter 
 of John U. and Elizabeth Baker, both of whom 
 were English born. Mrs. Trousdale was born 
 near Linden, in Iowa county, on May 17, 1861, 
 and died at La Crosse, Wis., on Oct. 9, 1895. 
 She was a woman of superior character, am- 
 bitious, but discreet, and of such a natural 
 strength of character that she impressed her- 
 self upon all who had even a passing acquaint- 
 ance with her. Of this marriage two children 
 were born : Elizabeth Dale and Paul Whit- 
 
 ney. Mr. Trousdale, for his second wife, wed- 
 ded Miss Minne E. Taylor, a Pennsylvanian 
 by birth, of English-French descent, and an 
 accomplished and estimable lady. Before her 
 marriage to Mr. Trousdale she had charge of 
 the Oral Deaf School at La Crosse, Wis., of 
 which she had been principal for five years. 
 Of this second marriage of our subject two 
 sons' have been born : Theodore and James 
 
 Bashford. Samuel Whitney Trousdale’s ideals 
 have, from childhood, been high ones,' and he 
 has never fallen into the vices and follies of 
 the world, hence his look backward over his 
 life contains nothing which may not appear 
 upon record. He is respected and esteemed, 
 both in church and in the community, and 
 worthily represents the great religious denomi- 
 nation which the immortal John Wesley 
 founded. 
 
 MRS. CATHERINE BOWELL. A rec- 
 ord of Green county would not be complete 
 without mention of this highly esteemed lady, 
 who resides on her well-improved farm of 100 
 acres, located about five miles northeast of 
 Monroe. 
 
 Mrs. Bowell was born in Fayette county, 
 Penn., Oct. 1, 1817, a daughter of Isaac and 
 Sarah (Stowe) Smith, natives of the same 
 county, whose parents were among the early 
 English settlers there. She was one of a fam- 
 ily of eleven children : Samuel Smith, Cath- 
 
 erine (our subject), Sabina, Margaret, Eliza- 
 beth, Moses, Eliza Ann, John, Sarah, Rachel, 
 and Isaac, of whom four survive, Catherine, 
 John, Rachel, and Sarah. Growing to* woman- 
 hood in her native State, Catherine Smith mar- 
 ried a neighbor, William Bell, who survived 
 but a few years, and died, leaving her with a 
 son, John S. Bell, now a citizen of Fort Scott, 
 Kans. Mrs. Bell then became the wife of 
 Thomas A. Bowell, who was born in Fayette 
 county, Penn., Jan. ?i, 1815, and about 1845 
 they came to the State of Wisconsin, locating 
 in Sylvester township. Green county. Allur- 
 ing tales of the fertility of the land, of the 
 beauty and convenience of its many waterways, 
 and its speedy settlement, had attracted the 
 young couple, and tempted them to found their 
 homes in what was then almost a wilderness. 
 During the long life which Mr. and Mrs. Bow- 
 ell were permitted to spend in association, she 
 worthily did her part in accumulating the 
 large fortune which he left at his decease, Dec. 
 25, 1890, for he was at that time the owner of 
 300 acres of the best land in the township. 
 The following named children were born to 
 Mr. and 1 Mrs. Bowell : Frances A., who mar- 
 
 ried William Treastus, of Roswell, S. Dak.; 
 Isaac J., in Shenandoah, Iowa; Sarah E., who 
 married Lewis' Roub, of Clarno township ; 
 Basil B., a farmer of Madison, S. Dak.; Will- 
 iam, a farmer on the old homestead ; Err Kyle, 
 of the Black FT ills, S. Dak. ; and Henry J., who 
 lives in Merrill, Wis. Mrs. Bowell has twenty- 
 eight grandchildren and twenty-five great- 
 grandchildren. No terms are too high in 
 which to speak of Mr. Bowell, for he was an 
 example in every relation in life. 
 
 As a type of the brave, cheerful and de- 
 voted woman of pioneer days Mrs. Bowell is 
 well remembered, and in her own family her 
 record as a faithful, helpful and devoted wife 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 475 
 
 and mother has won the devotion and esteem 
 of every one who has come under her kind in- 
 fluence. For sixty-five years' she has been a 
 consistent member of the Baptist Church, with 
 all that the name implies, living a life full of 
 Christian deeds, and setting an example worthy 
 of emulation. 
 
 THOMAS TIGHE, an old and venerable 
 agriculturist of Grant county, was born in Ros- 
 common, Ireland, Dec. 3, 1820. a son of Hugh 
 and 1 Margaret (Ratekin) Tighe, born, reared 
 and died in Ireland. The father died in Aug- 
 ust, 1836, and his widow a few years later. 
 Seven children were born to them. Thomas, 
 Bridget (who died in New Orleans), and Bar- 
 tholomew (who returned to Sheffield, Eng., 
 where he still resides) were all of the family 
 who came to this country. 
 
 In Ireland, in 1842, Thomas Tighe mar- 
 ried Miss Bridget Carrell, whom he left in the 
 old country with three children, while he was 
 seeking a home for them in America. After 
 leaving them a year and a half he sent for 
 them, and they settled in Trumbull county, 
 Ohio, where they lived some six years. In 
 1852 he came to Wisconsin and purchased 170 
 acres of wild land, two miles north of the vil- 
 lage of Ellenboro. Here he put up a log cabin 
 and began life in the wilderness, seeing many 
 hardships in the early days. Mr. Tighe later 
 purchased eighty adjoining acres, and cleared 
 up a fine farm, which he devoted to farming 
 and stock raising. A few years ago he retired 
 from' active life, having accumulated an ample 
 competence. Many friends have come to prize 
 his plain and rugged character, kindly dispo- 
 sition and downright honesty. A few years 
 ago he lost his home by fire, but now he has 
 a fine modern home. Mrs. Tighe died in Aug- 
 ust, 1865, leaving him a family of seven chil- 
 dren: Michael died in St. Louis; John died 
 
 in Oklahoma, where he had married and set- 
 tled ; Thomas is a resident of Lebanon, Kans. ; 
 Herbert lives in the gold and silver mining 
 region of Arizona ; Mary is the wife of An- 
 drew Omsted, of Oketo, Kans. ; Maggie is 
 the widow of Mack Regan, of Lebanon, Kans., 
 and the mother of seven children ; and Susan, 
 wife of John Head, of Prescott, is the mother 
 of one daughter. 
 
 In 1865 Mr. Tighe married his second wife, 
 Mrs. Freeman Vaughn, nco Phillips, daughter 
 of David and Plarriet (McKee) Phillips, who 
 
 came West from Connecticut to Ohio, and from 
 there to Wisconsin. Here he became wealthy, 
 and was noted as one of the leading men of 
 this county. Mrs. Tighe, his daughter, was' 
 born in Trumbull county, Ohio, in 1838, and 
 is a lady of culture and education, and for some 
 years was one of the most successful teachers 
 m Grant county. There was one son, Dorns 
 \ aughn, who owns a fine farm in Kansas, by 
 her first union, and to Mr. and Mrs. Tighe 
 was born one daughter, Amy, in 1880. She 
 is the wife of John Berregan, and the}^ reside 
 with her father, and are the parents of one 
 child, Ivy. Mr. Tighe has always been a 
 Democrat, but has never aspired to office. 
 Brought up a Catholic, he lias never been able 
 to take part in the church work on account of 
 the remoteness of any organized body of his 
 fellow believers. 
 
 EDA IN TREVITT, a well-known farmer, 
 fruit grower and dairyman of Monroe, Green 
 county, was born in Erie county, N. Y., Nov. 
 26, 1833, son of Constant and grandson of 
 Benjamin Trevitt. 
 
 Benjamin Trevitt was a native of Vermont, 
 of French and English descent. His mother 
 was a granddaughter of Capt. Ben Churches, 
 the New England Indian fighter. By occu- 
 pation Mr. Trevitt was a mechanic, although 
 in early life he was a salt-water sailor. His 
 death occurred in V ermont, when he was well 
 advanced in years. His wife was a member 
 of the Carter family, of which the first repre- 
 sentative in this country came over in the 
 “Mayflower.” 
 
 Constant Trevitt u T as born in Vermont, and 
 was a blacksmith by trade, following it all his 
 life. He came to Wisconsin in 1880. locating 
 in Monroe, where he remained until his death, 
 which occurred in 1885, when he was aged 
 ninety-eight years. He was a soldier in the 
 war of 1812, in the Maryland line, and took 
 part in the defense of Baltimore against the 
 British after the burning of the public build- 
 ings at A'ashington. In religious faith he was 
 a Universalist. He married Louisa Stewart, 
 who was born in New York, daughter of Ben- 
 jamin Stewart, a farmer of English descent. 
 To Constant Trevitt and wife were born eight 
 children, six of whom are yet living, as fol- 
 lows: Constant; Franklin; Diana, widow of 
 
 Harlow Ferry, of Madison, Ohio; Edwin, our 
 subject; George, of Sonoma, Cal.; and Ellen, 
 
476 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 wife of Albert Winters, of Madison, Ohio. 
 1 lie mother of these died in the faith of the 
 Baptist Church, in 1865, when she was' aged 
 sixty-five years. 
 
 Edwin Trevitt passed his early days and 
 grew to manhood in his native county, re- 
 ceiving such literary training as the common 
 schools afforded. He learned all the details of 
 farming in boyhood, but also learned the car- 
 penter's trade, which he followed in Pennsyl- 
 vania. In 1867 he located in Lake county, 
 Ohio, engaging in farming in Madison town- 
 ship, where he met with great success, but in 
 1874 he determined to make his future home 
 in Wisconsin, and accordingly moved his fam- 
 ily westward, making his home in Monroe, and 
 purchased his present home in the south part 
 of the city. He has fifteen acres of highly im- 
 proved land, and raises’ a fine grade of fruit 
 and vegetables, and has engaged to some ex- 
 tent in dairying. His good business methods 
 and his prompt fulfilling of every obligation 
 have won, him a high place in the business 
 world. 
 
 On June 20, 1864, Mr. Trevitt was united 
 in marriage with Miss Harriet Darling, daugh- 
 ter of James and Maria (Hogle) Darling, and 
 to this union have come two children, namely: 
 Charley L., a carpenter of Citronelle, Ala., mar- 
 ried Cora White, and has one daughter, May; 
 Edith D., a graduate nurse from Sherman Hos- 
 pital, in Elgin, 111 ., where she is now located. 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Trevitt are active in the 
 work of the Methodist Church, Mr. Trevitt 
 at present serving as steward. Socially he is 
 a member of the Royal Arcanum, and politi- 
 cally is a stanch Republican, and active in the 
 work of the party, and also for all move- 
 ments he thinks calculated to aid the temper- 
 ance cause. He and his wife are popular 
 among their friends, and are highly respected 
 citizens. 
 
 James Darling, father of Mrs. Trevitt, was 
 a native of New York, as was also his wife. 
 His occupation was that of a mechanic, and 
 his death occurred in 1861, when he was aged 
 sixty-five vears. His wife lived to the ad- 
 vanced age of seventy-eight. Both were faith- 
 ful adherents of the Congregational faith. In 
 their family were eleven children, nine of 
 whom m- e now living: Marv, wife of Alex- 
 
 ander Marvin, of Pierpont, Ohio; James, of 
 Missouri: Oliver, of Conneaut, Ohio; Susan, 
 wife of O. C. Peters, of Winslow, 111 . ; Jennie, 
 
 wife of Jonas Scramling, of Climax, Mich.; 
 Eliza, wife of George De Wolf, of Genoa, 111 .; 
 Caroline, wife of Albert Hildum, of Garland, 
 Penn.; Harriet, Mrs. Trevitt; and Esther, wife 
 of Richard Marvin, of Columbus, Pennsyl- 
 vania. 
 
 SIMON SMITH, junior member of the 
 firm of Johnson & Smith, painting contractors, 
 of Beloit, Rock county, is a man of character 
 and standing, and takes the common-sense 
 business view of any subject proposed to his 
 attention. He is a level-headed, practical man 
 of affairs, and his administrative ability has 
 been recognized by his election to the chief 
 position in the city, he having served as ma)w. 
 of Beloit in 1899, 1900 and 1901. 
 
 Mr. Smith was born Nov. 14, 1839, an d 
 is a son of Samuel and Mary Ann Smith, who 
 had four sons, all of whom are living: Sam- 
 
 uel, Simon, Sidney, and Sandy. In 1856 the 
 parents came to Beloit, where the father en- 
 gaged in painting. He died in 1881, at the 
 age of sixty-nine, and the mother survived him 
 several, years, reaching the age of seventy-five. 
 Both were members of the Episcopal church. 
 He was treasurer of the city at the time of his 
 death. Both the maternal and paternal grand- 
 fathers of Simon Smith died in England. 
 
 Simon Smith grew to manhood in Beloit, 
 where he attended the city schools, and made 
 fair progress in the acquisition of an educa- 
 tion. When the Civil war broke out the young 
 man enlisted in Company D, 15th 111 . V. I., 
 and served as a private from May, 1861, to 
 October, 1865. He participated in the battles 
 of Shiloh, Vicksburg, and all the engagements 
 on the “march to the sea,” closing with the 
 battle at Bentonville, N. C. Aftei the war had 
 ended Mr. Smith returned to Beloit, and took 
 up the painter’s trade, which has been his life 
 calling. For the last twenty years he and J. T. 
 Johnson have been in partnership, and their 
 business has been large and important. 
 
 Simon Smith and Miss Sarah A. Bright, 
 daughter of Henry and Sarah Bright, were 
 married Nov. 2, 1865, and they have a hand- 
 some home at No. 838 Fourth street. Their 
 union has been blessed by the birth of five 
 children, Edith, Stella, Louis. Sidney and Fred. 
 Mr. Smith is a member of Morning Star 
 Lodge, No. 10 A. F. & A. M., Beloit Chapter, 
 No. 9, R. A. M., and Beloit Commandery, No. 
 6, Iv. T. ; is also a member of the Lhiited Work- 
 

 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 477 
 
 men of America, and of the Home Forum. 
 He has been a member of the county board 
 for fourteen years, and in 1898-99 was chair- 
 man of the board, of which he is still a 
 member. 
 
 GEORGE LEE, prominent in agricultural 
 circles, and widely known as one of the lead- 
 ing farmers and stockmen of the town of 
 Lima, Grant county, was born at Allens 
 Heads, in Northumberland, England, April 
 18, 1842. 
 
 John and Ann Lee, his parents, were both 
 also natives of Northumberland, the father 
 born in 1811, and the mother in 1816. In 
 1849 they came to Jo Daviess county, 111 ., by 
 way of New York, Buffalo and Chicago. Mr. 
 Lee was engaged in mining for some seven 
 years, and then moved into the town of High- 
 land, Iowa Co., Wis., where he bought a farm 
 of eighty acres, and had his first experiences 
 in the cultivation of the soil. On this place 
 they lived until 1863, when Mr. Lee sold it, 
 and moved into the town of Lima, two and 
 a half miles northwest of Platteville, where 
 he died the following year. Mr. Lee was well 
 known, and very popular among the early set- 
 tlers, w'ho knew him not onlv as a kind and 
 courteous man, but as a good' neighbor and a 
 trusty friend. Mr. and Airs. Lee were mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Church, and sincerely 
 lived the faith they loved. After his death 
 the widow moved into Platteville, where she 
 lived some years, dying in 1 874. They reared 
 a family of seven children : ( 1 ) John, born 
 
 in 1838 in England, where he was educated, 
 married Miss Ann Leese, of Iowa county, 
 Wis., and settled in Dodgeville. Moving to 
 the Lake Superior country, he followed mining 
 until 1856, in which year he went to Pike’s 
 Peak, Colo., working in the gold mines there 
 until the breaking out of the Civil war, when 
 he enlisted to fight the hostile Indians. After 
 some time he moved his family into Kansas, 
 where they still reside. Returning to the 
 Colorado gold mines, he died in 1897. (2) 
 
 Mary Ann, born in England, died when a 
 young woman, in Illinois. (3) George is the 
 third in the family. (4) Jane, born in 1844 
 in England, married Robert Graham, of Grant 
 countv, and they now reside in Platteville, 
 where Mr. Graham is living retired. John 
 Graham, their son. is a resident of that city. 
 ( 5 ) Hannah F., born in Jo Daviess county, 
 
 111 ., is the wife of James Butson, of Marshall, 
 Minn., where he is known as one of the wealthy 
 farmers of that section. Four children have 
 been born to their union, Annie, Harry, Min- 
 nie, and John. (6) Matthew H., born in Jo 
 Daviess county, 111 ., married a Miss Egan, of 
 Highland, for his first wife. She died soon 
 afterward, leaving him one daughter, Nellie, 
 who now resides with her father in the State 
 of Iowa. Mr. Lee married for his second 
 wife a Miss Newman, of Iowa. (7) Thom- 
 son, born in England, died in childhood in 
 Illinois. 
 
 George Lee accpiired his early education in 
 the district schools in Jo Daviess county, 111 ., 
 and 1 Iowa county, Wis. While still a bov he 
 worked in the lead mines in Illinois, and in 
 Wisconsin did the same work until fully grown. 
 When his parents moved to Lima he became 
 the manager of the farm, and after his fa- 
 ther’s death rented the place until 1872, in 
 which year he pre-empted a quarter section of 
 land in Lyon county, Minn., moving his fam- 
 ily from Platteville by wagon. The grass- 
 hoppers destroyed all farm products, and he 
 came back to Wisconsin in the winter of 1873, 
 after proving up his Minnesota land. Buying 
 the old home farm in the town of Lima, which 
 contained 160 acres, he has added eighty acres 
 of timber land thereto. The quarter section 
 of land in Minnesota he has retained, and it 
 is now a valuable and well improved farm. 
 
 In 1865 Mr. Lee married Miss Susan J. 
 Butson, of Lima, daughter of Thomas and 
 Susan Butson, old pioneers of Grant county, 
 who came from Cornwall, England, among the 
 very early settlers of Grant county. Our sub- 
 ject and wife are now living in the old Lee 
 homestead, where they have reared a family 
 of nine children : ( 1 ) John, their eldest son, 
 
 was born in Grant county in 1867, married 
 Miss Ida Eastman, and is now living on his 
 farm in the town of Lima. They have had 
 two children, Gretta and the baby. (2) 
 Susan, born in 1869, married Thomas Edge, 
 and lives in the town of Ellenboro, on his 
 uncle’s farm ; they have two children, Emma 
 and Harry. (3) George William, born in 
 Grant county in 1872, attained manhood under 
 the parental roof, and is now the manager of 
 his father’s farm in Minnesota. (4) Henry, 
 born in Grant county in 1877, is unmarried. 
 (5) Charles was born in 1881; (6) Minnie, 
 in 1S84; (7) Ernest, in 1886; (8) Frank, in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 478 
 
 1889; and (9) Elsie, in 1891. The younger 
 children are at home. 
 
 In politics Mr. Lee is a Republican, and in 
 religion he and his family are intimately asso- 
 ciated with the Methodist Church. His career 
 affords a conspicuous illustration of the value 
 of pluck and energy, when backed up by a dis- 
 position to make the most of all passing op- 
 portunities, and do the best thing possible 
 every day. He began with nothing, and has 
 gradually accumulated a very handsome prop- 
 erty. Some years ago Mr. Lee met with an 
 accident, receiving a severe injury on the spine, 
 which left him a cripple for life. 
 
 ALPHEUS HAROLD WOODLE, whose 
 venerable figure has' for years been a familiar 
 sight in Monroe, is one of the oldest settlers 
 ot Green county, and he has a personal knowl- 
 edge of early scenes and events that covers 
 more than sixty years in this county. He has 
 seen the transformation of a wilderness, and 
 has rendered no trifling contribution to the 
 making of the great commonwealth where 
 once prevailed the wilderness and the unbroken 
 forest. In his advanced age he commands the 
 respect of a host of friends, and many there 
 are who will sadly learn some day of the break- 
 ing of the golden thread that keeps such men. 
 as he alive to recall the courage and loyalty 
 of a vanished generation. 
 
 Mr. Woodle was born in Fayette county, 
 Penn., Oct. 10, 1823, a son of Joseph and Han- 
 nah ( Batton) Woodle, both natives of that 
 State, F hey had six children, only two of 
 whom are now living: Alpheus Id.; and 
 
 Sarah, wife of Stephen Mackey, of Monroe. 
 The father was a farmer, and came to Wiscon- 
 sin in 1836, selecting a farm in Sylvester town- 
 ship, Green county, and the next year he 
 brought his family to it, and opened a new 
 home in the West. In 1856 Mr. Woodle sold 
 this farm, and went to Fillmore county, Minn., 
 where he remained but a few years. He was 
 then established in Clayton county, Iowa, and 
 later in Jasper county, Mo., where he died 
 when over seventy years of age. His wife 
 died in 1 8 s S - at the age of sixty-five years. 
 Fie was a man of prominence in those early 
 days, and served as sheriff of Green county 
 under the territorial laws. His father, Thomas 
 Woodle, was a native of Delaware, and a life- 
 long farmer, and came West with his son in 
 1836, and entered land. He lived to be about 
 
 seventy years of age, and was the father of five 
 sons and four daughters. Thomas Batton, the 
 father of Hannah Batton, lived in Fayette 
 county, Penn., and died there at an advanced 
 age. He was a farmer, and had a small fam- 
 fly. 
 
 Alpheus H. Woodle was thirteen years old 
 when he came with his parents into Green 
 county, and here he has continuously resided 
 since 1837. He grew to manhood in Sylvester 
 township, and lived there until the fall of 1899, 
 when he moved into the city of Monroe — a 
 brief summary of so long and useful a life, a 
 life of singular modesty and of genuine worth. 
 When a boy Mr. Woodle attended the district 
 school, and lived with his parents until he 
 reached man’s estate. When he became of 
 age, or a little before, he made a claim of 160 
 acres, which he partly improved. He then 
 sold that, and bought his father’s farm, which 
 consists of 126 acres. This he made his home, 
 and still owns, although he has now settled in 
 the city to enjoy whatever comfort there may 
 be in the life of the town, as contrasted with 
 the pleasures that belong to the country. 
 
 On Nov. 7, 1844, occurred the marriage of 
 Alpheus H. Woodle and Miss Hannah Fincher, 
 a union that has proved singularly fortunate, 
 and which has been blessed by the birth of six 
 sons and six daughters, Mahala Jane, Susanna 
 Eslie. Sarah Delilah, Mary Elmira, Joseph 
 William, Joel Allen, John Alpheus, Thomas 
 Emsley, Hannah Cornelia, Ellsworth Sherman 
 Grant, Harvey Lyon, and Theo May. Sus- 
 anna Eslie married William Coldren, and lives 
 in Spring Grove township, Green county; they 
 have two children living, Frederick and Chaun- 
 cey. Sarah Delilah married Seth Austin, of 
 Monroe, and has two children, Rolland and 
 Alice. Mary Elmira died when nine years 
 old. Joseph William married Matild l a Crow, 
 who bore him three children, Grace, Levern 
 and Lucy Fay, and is now dead ; he married for 
 his second wife Rose Reen. Joel Allen died 
 when four years old. John Alpheus married 
 Miss Elizabeth Cato, and lives in Page county, 
 Iowa; they have five children, Alice. Gay, 
 Vesta, Effie and Chauncey. Thomas Emsley 
 married Lelah Stevenson, and lives' in Mon- 
 roe. Hannah Cornelia died when two years 
 old. Ellsworth Sherman Grant lives on the old 
 homestead, with his wife, who was Etta Hill; 
 they have one child, Cassius. Harvey Lyon 
 married Carrie Bowen Nold, and is the father 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 479 
 
 of three children, Reginald Emsley, Mildred 
 Lola, and Dorothy Catharine. Theo May died 
 when seven years old. 
 
 Politically Mr. Woodle is a pronounced 
 Republican. He cast his first' vote for Bu- 
 chanan, but when the division of the parties' 
 became more defined on the question of slavery 
 he ranged himself with the Republicans, and 
 votes that ticket to-day. He was road super- 
 visor one term, and pathmaster several terms. 
 Mrs. Woodle’s father was a native of England, 
 where his father worked in the Queen’s Ward, 
 and her mother was born in South Carolina. 
 Mr. Fincher was the father of four sons and 
 seven daughters, and three of his children are 
 now living, John, of Colfax, Wash.; Hannah, 
 wife of Mr. Woodle; and Emsley, of Pena- 
 wawa, W ashington. 
 
 Mr. Woodle and his noble wife have lived 
 together fifty-six years, and she has faithfully 
 and bravely done her part in the great work of 
 life. A large family has grown to manhood 
 and womanhood under her motherly care, and 
 now they rise up and call her blessed. She 
 has been a member of the Christian church 
 since childhood. 
 
 CAPT. ORRIN E. MINOR, a popular and 
 successful druggist at Belmont, has been inti- 
 mately identified with the business and com- 
 mercial. interests of Lafayette county for many 
 years, and has largely contributed, by his pub- 
 lic spirit and enterprising character to the gen- 
 eral prosperity of this region. Integrity and 
 industry are essential to success, and he pos- 
 sesses these to a marked degree. 
 
 Mr. Minor was born at Michigan City, 
 Ind., April 27, 1842, and is a son of Orrin and 
 Louisa M. (Geer) Minor, born in 1810 and 
 1818, respectively. They were reared and 
 married in New York, and very soon afterward 
 came West to Michigan City, Ind., where they 
 lived until 1844. That year the worthy couple 
 made their appearance in Mineral Point, Wis., 
 where Mr. Minor at once engaged 1 in business 
 as a grocer. Five years later he fell, a victim 
 to cholera, which was' then epidemic in the 
 Northwest. His widow is still living, and 
 makes her home in Chicago, with her grand- 
 daughter, Mrs. Hattie L. Post, the widow of 
 Loring Post, once an eminent lawyer of that 
 city. Three children were born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Minor, two sons and one daughter. The 
 daughter, Celeste, married D. N. Gates, who 
 
 lived in Mineral Point, Wis., where he ac- 
 quired a handsome property; he is now dead, 
 and his widow has her home in Denver, Colo., 
 with her two sons, Minor and Maurice. Her 
 only daughter is Mrs. Post, of Chicago. 
 Maurice J. Minor, the only brother of Orrin 
 E., was born in Mineral Point, married Miss 
 Kate Sterling, and has a family of six children. 
 He is one of the leading business men of his 
 native town. 
 
 Or rin E. Minor acquired his education very 
 largely in the public school of Mineral Point, 
 where his childhood and youth were spent, and 
 where he became a clerk in a store while still 
 a boy. He held this position for five years, 
 and then secured a position with the Ameri- 
 can Express Company, on the Mineral Point 
 railroad, and was in the employment of the 
 express company when the Civil war broke out. 
 He soon enlisted, and became a gallant soldier 
 of the Union. In 1862 lie was mustered in as 
 regimental commissary of the 30th Wis. V. I., 
 a regiment recruited from Mineral Point and 
 the northern part of the State, and remained 
 in the army until the close of the war. He 
 was on duty with his regiment wherever it was 
 sent, and participated in some of the bloodiest 
 scenes of that great strife. In 1864 he was 
 sent with his regiment to join General Sully, 
 and take part in the campaign against the In- 
 dians on the northwestern frontier, and in this 
 expedition he acted as commissary sergeant, 
 and helped to build Fort Wadsworth, on the 
 Missouri river. They went to the Black Hills 
 to protect settlers against marauding Indians, 
 and when the West seemed quiet they went 
 to Louisville, Ivy., where they were mustered 
 out in 1865. Mr. Minor has a record as a 
 soldier that is an enviable one, and when he 
 was no longer a soldier he hastened to resume 
 the occupations of peaceful life with an ardor 
 that was shared by thousands of his comrades. 
 That great army of veteran soldiers, trained 
 and disciplined to a degree unsurpassed any- 
 where in the world, broke up, and disappeared 
 in the great industrial world, with a passion for 
 civil life that astounded old-world critics. 
 Like Mr. Minor, however, they had gone to 
 fight for the Union, and when that was secure 
 they could not get home to friends and neigh- 
 bors and business cares any too soon. 
 
 Mr. Minor came back to Mineral Point, 
 Wis., and engaged in the lumber business as 
 a member of the firm of Geo. W. Cobb & Co., 
 
480 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 acting as general manager. Mr. Cobb was' 
 superintendent of the Mineral Point railroad, 
 and a man of extensive personal associations, 
 which brought a large patronage to the new 
 firm. In 1669 Mr. Minor and Miss Nina D. 
 Garden, of Mineral Point, were united in mar- 
 riage. Mrs. Minor is the daughter of William 
 and Eliza J. Garden, one of the old Mineral 
 Point families. Her father was born in Phil- 
 adelphia, Penn., in 1826, and her mother in 
 Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Garden lived for some 
 years in Pittsburg, where he was a civil engi- 
 neer, attached to the Pennsylvania railroad, 
 with Thomas Scott as superintendent. In 
 1865 Mr. Garden came to Mineral Point and 
 surveyed the Milwaukee railroad from Cala- 
 mine to Platteville. In 1868 he located a sur- 
 vey for the new corporation of Belmont, and 
 engaged in general business in the new and 
 growing town for many years. In 1898 he 
 went out of all business associations, and is 
 now leading a retired life. Mrs. Minor was 
 born in Blairsville, Penn., in 1850, and ob- 
 tained her education very largely in a female 
 seminary in Pittsburg. 
 
 Mr. Minor spent one year at Mineral Point 
 after his marriage, and then moved to Bel- 
 mont, and in 1870 started a general store. He 
 studied pharmacy after his arrival in Belmont, 
 and very soon after his establishment as a gen- 
 eral merchant he added a stock of drugs to his 
 other lines, and has carried on the drug store 
 with his other interests' very successfully. Mr. 
 Minor manufactures and ships to all parts of 
 the country a liniment which is known as 
 “That” Liniment, one of the most popular pro- 
 prietary medicines of the day. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Minor have a family of four 
 children: (1) William E. was born in Bel- 
 
 mont in 1871. was a student in the military 
 academy at Delafield, Wis., for seven years, 
 and graduated from that school with honor. 
 For a time he was editor and publisher of a 
 paper at Clinton, Ilk, and is now baggagemas- 
 ter on the Illinois Central, and is a young man 
 of more than ordinary ability. (2) Charles S. 
 was born in 1S84. and is now a student in the 
 Belmont high school ; he is interested in the 
 photographic business in this town, and seems 
 to have a certain future before him already in- 
 dicated. (3) Amy S., who was born in June, 
 1887. is a student in the local high school. 
 (4) Loring J., born March 15, 1889, is a stu- 
 dent in the Belmont grammar school. Mr. 
 
 Minor is a Republican, and has filled various 
 local offices, but has never been an aspirant for 
 political honors. Mr. Minor and his wife are 
 members of the Episcopal Church, and he be- 
 longs to George A. Legate Post, G. A. R., at 
 Mineral Point, and is one of the leading Ma- 
 sons of his town. He is' one of the charter 
 members of the local lodge of the Knights of 
 Pythias, is also a charter member of the Mod- 
 ern Woodmen, and belongs to the Royal Neigh- 
 bors. He is counted one of the best citizens 
 of the town, and is known all over the county 
 as a man of wide business experience and up- 
 right character. 
 
 JEFFERSON J. NEWMAN, prominent 
 among the prosperous and honorable farmers 
 of Green county, is a son of William and Eliza- 
 beth (Kendall) Newman, of Springhill, Fay- 
 ette Co., Penn., and comes of English ancestry. 
 
 William Newman was born March 20, 
 1798, and died in 1864. Elizabeth Kendali 
 became his wife in 1821. To this union were 
 bom the following children: (1) Hannah 
 
 married John Batty, and died in 1873. (2) 
 
 Samuel died in 1876. He married Mary Rod- 
 erick. (3) Jefferson Jackson is the subject of 
 this writing. (4) Ephraim K. died while serv- 
 ing in the Civil war, at Nicholasville, Ky., 
 where he was serving as second lieutenant of 
 Company K, 22d Wis. V. I. (5) Elizabeth 
 married Jacob Roderick. (6) Nancy resides 
 in the town of Decatur. (7) William S. is a 
 prominent farmer of the town of Jefferson. 
 William Newman, the father of these children, 
 lost his first wife in 1846, and in 1847 married, 
 for his second wife, Vastia De Bolt. That 
 year he came to the Territory of Wisconsin 
 with his family, and here he died in the fulness 
 of years. 
 
 Jefferson J. Newman was born Nov. 2, 
 1827, and was about twenty years of age when 
 the family removed to Wisconsin from his na- 
 tive State, Pennsylvania. Coming with them, 
 lie has made his home here to the present time. 
 On Jan. 27, 1853, Mr. Newman married Miss 
 Lydia Shadwick, of Green county, Wis., daugh- 
 ter of J. Hugh and Polly (Scudder) Shad- 
 wick. Mr. and Mrs. Newman have had chil- 
 dren as follows : (1) James born Jan. 25, 
 
 1854, is now in Cheyenne, Wyo. (2) Mary, 
 born Oct. 28, 1855, is fine wife of Charles Ed- 
 wards, of Albany township, Green county. 
 (3) Gilbert, born Sept. 14, 1857, is a farmer 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 48 1 
 
 of the town of Jefferson. (4) Ira. born May 
 9. i860, is a farmer of Shenandoah, Iowa. 
 (5) William, born Aug. 21, 1862, is a farmer 
 m Spring Grove, Green county. (6) John, born 
 Sept. 10, 1864, died in childhood. (7) Eliza- 
 beth, born March 7, 1867, is the wife of Henry 
 Schnader, of Spring Grove. (8) Frank, born 
 Sept. 3, 1869, is a farmer in the town of Spring- 
 Grove. (9) J. Parker, born March 28, 1872, 
 resides on the old home farm in the town of 
 Spring Grove. (10) Thornton LeRoy, born 
 Ian. 25, 1876, and (11) Ross, born June. 13, 
 1878, died in childhood. 
 
 Mr. Newman was reared on the farm, and 
 received his education in the common schools. 
 Starting out in moderate circumstances, he be- 
 gan farming, and by hard work, good judg- 
 ment and a fortunate combination of circum- 
 stances, lie has come to own 900 acres of 
 choice farm land in Green county, and a number 
 of houses and lots in Juda. He is considered 
 one of the leading farmers of the county. He is 
 a stanch Democrat, and a faithful member of 
 the Baptist Church. His reputation is of the 
 highest character, both as a man and as a 
 citizen. 
 
 CHARLES W. KEMMERER. Few if 
 any better examples' of agricultural success in 
 Rock county could be found than that presented 
 by the life of the subject of this sketch, who 
 has scarcely more than passed the half cen- 
 tury mark. He is a native of Rock county, 
 began life for himself by renting land, and now 
 owns 480 well-tilled acres in La Prairie and 
 Turtle townships, Rock county. His father 
 was a pioneer of Rock county, and one of its 
 successful farmers. 
 
 Our subject was born in Rock township, 
 Rock county, Nov. 12, 1850, son of S. H. and 
 Elizabeth (Gish) Kemmerer, natives of Penn- 
 sylvania. Both grandfathers of Mr. Kem- 
 merer died in Pennsylvania. The paternal 
 grandfather, Conrad Kemmerer, lived to the 
 age of ninety, and had a family of thirteen 
 children. He was born in Pennsylvania, of 
 German extraction, and was a lifelong farmer. 
 The maternal grandfather was a sailor early in 
 life, and after his marriage became a miller. 
 He lived to the age of about sixty years, and 
 had six children. 
 
 It was in 1848 that S. H. Kemmerer, the 
 'father, migrated from Pennsylvania to Wis- 
 consin. He was a farmer, and settled on a 
 
 si 
 
 small tract of forty acres which he purchased 
 in La Prairie township. To this little home- 
 stead he afterward added 212 acres of adjoin- 
 ing property in La Prairie and Turtle town- 
 ships. This he improved, and upon his land in 
 Section 32, La Prairie township, he reared his 
 family. In 1885 he sold his farm and removed 
 to Janesville, where he lived retired until his 
 death, March 6, 1901, at his home in that city. 
 He was a member 'of the Methodist Church, 
 to which his widow also belongs. Six children 
 have been born to them, four sons and two 
 daughters : Abram, of Spink county, S. Dak. ; 
 
 Charles W., our subject; Miss Blandena, of 
 Janesville; John F., of Clinton, Rock county; 
 Louis, of Janesville; and Ida, wife of W. Van 
 Valen, of Atlanta, Georgia. 
 
 Charles W. Kemmerer was reared on the 
 farm, and has passed all his life in Rock county. 
 He attended the district schools, adopted farm- 
 ing as his vocation, and by his industry, thrift 
 and good business judgment 'has had a most 
 successful, career. He began for himself by 
 renting land, and the second year after he be- 
 came of age purchased forty acres. This he 
 sold later, and bought other land. Mr. Kem- 
 merer has dealt cpiite successfully in farming 
 lands, and now owns 480 acres, including the 
 place of 240 acres in Section 32, La Prairie 
 township, where he resided until recently, a 
 tract of eighty acres in the same township, and 
 160 acres in Turtle township. In the Spring 
 of 1901 he retired from farming, and moved 
 to Janesville to reside. 
 
 Mr. Kemmerer married, Sept. 5, 1877, Miss 
 Jennie E. Loucks, daughter of Adam H. and 
 Magdalene Ann (Van Wie) Loucks, natives of 
 New York State. Mr. Loucks in 1854 came 
 West, and located at Shopiere, in Turtle town- 
 ship, Rock county. Two of the great-grand- 
 fathers of Mrs. Kemmerer, both of Holland- 
 Dutch ancestry, were Revolutionary soldiers — - 
 Henry Loucks and Andrew Van Wie; the lat- 
 ter married the sister of Gen. Philip Schuyler, 
 of the Revolutionary war, and a resident of 
 Albany, N. Y. The paternal grandfather of 
 Mrs. Kemmerer, Adam Loucks, was a shoe 
 merchant in New York State, and died com- 
 paratively early in life. Her maternal grand- 
 father, Philip Schuyler Van Wie. a farmer of 
 New York State, migrated to Rock county, 
 Wis., in 1857. He died the year following, 
 aged fifty-seven years. Adam H. Loucks, the 
 father of Mrs. Kemmerer, was a shoemaker in 
 
482 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHIC AE RECORD. 
 
 his earlier years, and later a farmer. After his 
 migration to Wisconsin, in 1854, he was a resi- 
 dent of turtle township for many years, be- 
 coming a prominent citizen. He served as a 
 member ot the school board and as supervisor 
 for a number of years. In 1885 he removed 
 to Janesville, for two years conducted a shoe 
 business, and then retired from the active duties 
 of life. In 1896 he moved with his wife to 
 California, and engaged at Burbank in fruit 
 growing. He died in December, 1897, aged 
 sixty-nine years. Seven children were born 
 to Adam H. and Magdalene Ann Loucks : 
 Mary Catherine; Charles N. ; Annette, wife of 
 George C. Hield, of Chicago; Jennie E., wife 
 of our subject; Clark N., of Chicago; George 
 C., of Chicago; and Olive Belle, wife of George 
 B. Mier, of Daggett, California. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Kemmerer have been born 
 five children, three sons and two daughters : 
 Herbert C, who died, aged four years; Lee C., 
 who died at the age of two years; Eugene M., 
 who died, aged six years; Ina Belle; and Olive 
 May. Mr. and Mrs. Kemmerer are prominent 
 members of the M. E. Church, and Mr. Kem- 
 merer is a member of the board of stewards. 
 He is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of 
 America, and himself and wife are members 
 of the Royal Neighbors. Politically Mr. Kem- 
 merer is a Republican. He is now serving as 
 school clerk, and has held various local offices. 
 He is highly respected and esteemed by his 
 wide circle of friends and acquaintances for his 
 sterling traits of character, for the admirable 
 business results of his career, and for his in- 
 terest and devotion to the many affairs of local 
 welfare, which for their success depend upon 
 the encouragement and support of prominent 
 and influential citizens. 
 
 JOHN W. INGERSOLL. Among the 
 fine stock farms of Lafayette county, Wis., that 
 owned by John W. Ingersoll, in Elk Grove 
 township, would attract the admirer of fertile, 
 well cultivated fields, productive herds, and 
 stock of the best breeds. Mr. Ingersoll owns 
 a large estate, and is considered one of the best 
 farmers and stockraisers of his locality. He 
 was born in Jo Daviess county, 111 ., in August. 
 1845, and was a son of Risley and Mary 
 (Metz) Ingersoll, the former of whom was a 
 native of New Tersey, the latter of Missouri, 
 she being the daughter of Elias' and Lydia 
 (Patterson) Metz, of Kentucky. John Inger- 
 
 soll, the grandfather of our subject, moved 
 from New Jersey to Missouri, and was a local 
 preacher in the M. E. Church for a number of 
 years, and later became a preacher at Mt. Car- 
 mel, 111., preaching on the same circuit with 
 that celebrated apostle of Methodism, Peter 
 Cartwright. 
 
 Risley Ingersoll removed to Apple River, 
 
 111., where he lived a few years before remov- 
 
 ing to Jo Daviess county, one year later mi- 
 grating to Wayne township, Lafayette Co., 
 Wis., where he purchased 160 acres, and died 
 at that place in 1849, leaving his wife with 
 three children, our subject being four years 
 old. The other two children were: Flora, 
 
 born in Calhoun county, 111 ., married Albert 
 Richardson, now of Spokane, Wash., and has 
 a family of nine children, Claribel, Minerva, 
 Flora, Charles. Marvin, Carrie, Adelia, and 
 Roy and Rex, twins; and Lydia, the youngest 
 of the family of three, born in Lafayette coun- 
 ty, received an excellent education and: was one 
 of the early teachers in Lafayette county, later 
 marrying Charles Neff, now of Monticei.lo, and 
 has two children, Clara and Albert. Mrs. In- 
 gersoll married, for her second husband, Joseph 
 Yaw, and remained in Lafayette county, where 
 she died in 1871, leaving by her second mar- 
 riage one son, Joseph Yaw, who resides in the 
 State of Iowa. 
 
 John W. Ingersoll, being so early deprived 
 of a father’s care, was brought up under ma- 
 ternal supervision, and of his good mother 
 learned lessons of industry and honesty which 
 he has never forgotten. His education was ac- 
 quired in the district schools of Lafayette 
 county and one year in the old Platteville 
 Academy. His place seemed to be on the old. 
 family homestead, in Wayne, and there he re- 
 mained, taking an active part in agricultural 
 activities until he enlisted for service in the 
 Civil war, entering Company E, 43d Wis. V. 
 
 1., and was under Gen. Thomas, in the Army 
 of the Cumberland. Mr. Ingersoll saw some, 
 hard fighting during the progress’ of the war. 
 being at the second battle of Nashville, and 
 then being' sent to perform provost duty, guard- 
 ing railroads and other property, returning 
 home without injury. He settled down to 
 farm work, and in 1895 'purchased his present 
 home in Elk Grove. In February, 1871, he was 
 married to Miss Sarah Teasdale, who was born 
 in Cumberland, England, Dec. 24, 1848. a 
 daughter of Thomas and Annie Teasdale, who 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 483 
 
 came from England to Grant county in 1850, 
 locating at Vinegar Hill, where Mr. Teasdale 
 followed mining some four years and then pur- 
 chased a farm in Elk Grove, now Seymour 
 township, where he remained the balance of 
 his life, dying in 1870, his wife in 1869, and 
 they left a family of twelve children, nine of 
 whom are still living. Mrs. Ingersoll received 
 a district school education in Lafayette county. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Ingersoll settled on 
 the old home farm, which he purchased from 
 his mother, and remained there until 1895, 
 when he purchased the Justine Reicher farm 
 of 300 acres of finely cultivated land. Six 
 children have been born to him and his wife : 
 ( 1 ) Mary A., born in Wayne township in 1872, 
 was well educated in the schools of Warren, 
 was a highly accomplished musician, becoming 
 a successful teacher of music, and is now the 
 wife of E. A. Chapman, of the village of South 
 Wayne, Lafayette county, where they are rear- 
 ing their three children, Wesley A., S. Elarold, 
 and Alita B. (2) John, born in 1874, received 
 a common school education, attended Warren 
 high school and Warren Academy several win- 
 ter terms, and now resides on a part of his 
 father's farm, which he purchased, and where 
 he has erected a fine new home since his mar- 
 riage, in 1898. He married Kate Miller, of 
 Elk Grove, Lafayette county, and has one 
 daughter. (3) Hannah F., born in 1875, was 
 a student at the Warren Academy for two 
 3^ears, and was also a student in the Platteville 
 - Normal School, and has taught for twelve 
 terms in Lafayette county. (4) Lydia J., born 
 in 1877. was educated in the Warren Acad- 
 emy, and married Charles Dawson, of Gratiot, 
 Lafayette county. They reside on a farm, and 
 have two sons, James Lyman and Orval I. 
 (5) Bay, born in 1880, graduated from the 
 schools of Elk Grove, and later became a stu- 
 dent at the Platteville Normal, since then being 
 a teacher in the county. (6) Roxv, born in 
 1887. 
 
 Religiously Mr. Ingersoll and wife are 
 members of the M. E. Church, and as a token 
 of the esteem in which out subject is held in 
 his church connection, he has been made a mem- 
 ber of the Quarterly Conference, is a steward, 
 and a member of the church board, and has 
 long taken an active interest in the Sunday 
 school work, for many years being superintend- 
 ent. In public and political life Mr. Ingersoll 
 has done his duty, being ever ready to assist 
 
 worthy objects of civic importance, and as a 
 Republican has always done a voter’s duty. 
 As a member of the town board he has given 
 efficient service, and is socially connected with 
 Warren Post of Lafayette county, and with 
 the United Workmen, of Warren. 
 
 GEORGE H. HORTON, of the town of 
 Fennimore, Grant county, an old settler of the 
 county, is a veteran of the war of the Rebellion. 
 Lie came to Grant county in the early part of 
 1857, and has been identified with all its sub- 
 sequent history. 
 
 Mr. Horton was born Feb. 16, 1835, at 
 Grafton, N. H., to which State his father, 
 Elisha P. Horton, removed from Connecticut 
 after his marriage there to Avis Wheaton, a 
 native of the latter State. Elisha P. Horton 
 was a farmer by occupation. He died in New 
 Hampshire when our subject was a mere child, 
 and left his widow with ten children. Mrs. 
 Horton also died in New Hampshire about 
 twenty-five years after her husband. George 
 H. Horton was reared in New Hampshire, 
 worked at various occupations when a young 
 man, and in 1857, at the age of twenty-two, 
 came to Wisconsin. He was at Prairie du 
 Chien for a time, and then came to Fennimore, 
 where he was employed on the farm of John 
 Switzer, a well-known citizen of the com- 
 munity, working for him a year. He then en- 
 gaged in breaking land by the acre, his first 
 contract being for one hundred acres for 
 Michael Bower — the place now owned by Will- 
 iam Rogers. He bought and sold several 
 pieces of land, continued breaking land, and 
 gradually accumulated considerable money. In 
 1861 he and Miss Mary Switzer were married. 
 Mrs. Horton was born in the town of Fen- 
 nimore Sept. 17. 1844. 
 
 Mr. Horton became a member of Company 
 Iv, of the famous 47th Wis. V. I., the company 
 being under the command of Charles Baxter, 
 and the greater part of our subject’s military 
 service was rendered in Tennessee. The prin- 
 cipal duty of the command was to keep watch 
 of wandering bands of guerrillas that infested 
 that part of Tennessee. Mr. Horton was 
 taken sick on his way to the front, at Louis- 
 ville, and was detained at the hospital at that 
 city. He was anxious to be with his com- 
 mand, and rejoined the regiment at Nashville, 
 only to be rendered worse by the exposure, and 
 at Tullahoma, Tenn., he had to succumb, being 
 
484 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 taken to the hospital, where he was still under 
 treatment when the war was ended. He was 
 honorably discharged at Nashville, Tenn., in 
 1865. Mr. Horton never fully recovered from 
 the effects of his army life, although a quiet 
 farm life has greatly modified his troubles. 
 
 Soon after his return from the army Mr. 
 Horton was appointed administrator for the 
 estate of his father-in-law, who died Jan. 11, 
 1863. He made his home for some time on 
 the Switzer homestead farm, in the meantime 
 investing his own money in a fine farm of 280 
 acres near the village of Fennimore. He also 
 owned a quarter section elsewhere, and has de- 
 voted his life to farming and stock raising. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Horton have had four chil- 
 dren : George G., who married Mary Dun- 
 
 can, now resides in Patch Grove, Grant county, 
 engaged in farming; they have three children, 
 Clarence, Lessen, and Hazel. Charles G. mar- 
 ried Maggie Smith, and they have three chil- 
 dren, Hattie, Grade and Mabel ; he is a farmer 
 in Fennimore township. Frank is engaged at 
 present in railroading. Clyde S. graduated 
 from the Platteville Normal, in the class of 
 1900. Air. Horton is a well-known and highly 
 respected citizen of the county. He is a Re- 
 publican, and he and his wife are members of 
 the United Brethren Church. Socially he be- 
 longs to Sam Monteith Post, No. 173, G. A. R. 
 
 JAMES S. ALEXANDER occupies a con- 
 spicuous place among the honorable and useful 
 citizens of the town of Spring Grove, Green 
 county, where his honest character and indus- 
 trious habits command general respect. He is 
 a son of Hugh and Elizabeth (Stewart) Alex- 
 ander. who came to Green county in 1857, and 
 settled on the place now owned and occupied 
 by their son, James S. Hugh Alexander was 
 born July 3. 1813, and died Nov. 5, 1896, and 
 within these limits led an earnest and useful 
 career. Elizabeth Stewart, his wife, was born 
 Dec. 20, 1820, and died May 3, 1887. They 
 were married Nov. 5, 1840, and became the 
 parents of nine children : Marion, born July 
 
 18, 1841, is the wife of William Bussey, of 
 Durham, 111 .; Josephine, born July 23, 1843, 
 died in 1850; James Stewart, born Nov. 12, 
 1845; Calvin B., born Feb. 8, 1848. resides in 
 Spring Grove ; Annie, who died in childhood ; 
 Robert F., born Aug. 12, 1831, married Olive 
 Taylor; John, born Feb. 9, 1854, lives in Oak- 
 ley; Reed, born Sept. 17. 1856, lives in Vir- 
 
 ginia; and Alfred, born May 22, 1866, lives at 
 Oakley. 
 
 James' S. Alexander was married to Miss 
 Oriiia J. Clark, of Ohio, Nov. 24, 1866. She 
 was the daughter of James and Mary Ann 
 (Stowe) Clark, of Sandusky, Ohio, and her 
 marriage has been blessed with the following 
 children: Mary, born June 2, 1875, married 
 
 Frank Montville, of Spring Grove; Maud, born 
 in 1879, married Ray Ties, of Spring Grove; 
 Jay treat, who is the youngest of the family. 
 
 Air. Alexander was reared on the family 
 homestead, and received Ins education in the 
 common schools. He has made farming his 
 life work, and brings to the cultivation of his 
 fine farm of 155 acres a natural enthusiasm for 
 his work, and a profound conviction that it is 
 the noblest occupation for a strong and honest 
 man at the present time. This farm has been 
 materially improved since it came to his hands, 
 and it is regarded as one of the more desirable 
 farms of the county. In 1863 Mr. Alexander 
 enlisted in Company B, 18th Wis. V. I. He 
 was with his regiment when it was attached to 
 the Army of the Tennessee, and accompanied 
 General Sherman to the sea. Honorably dis- 
 charged in 1865, he counts his army experi- 
 ences among the most sacred of his life. Mr. 
 Alexander is among the most respected citizens 
 of Spring Grove. Never uniting with any 
 church, he holds honesty and square dealing 
 as the fundamental characteristics of all, true 
 living. 
 
 WILLIAM J. ROBINSON, a stock and 
 grain farmer of the town of Platteville, Grant 
 county, has all his life been associated with 
 the agricultural interests of the southwestern 
 part of the State, and is a man whose years and 
 character alike command respect. 
 
 Mr. Robinson was born March 30. 1847, 011 
 the farm on which he is' now living, son of 
 William and Alary S. (McBride) Robinson, 
 and grandson of Mark Robinson, who came 
 to America, and is buried in Grant county. 
 The maternal grandparents were John (Sr.) 
 and Rosa McBride, natives of Ireland, where 
 they were married in 1818; she was born in 
 1798, and died at Elk Grove, Wis., Aug. 26, 
 1883. Our subject’s father was born in York- 
 shire. England, Sept. 22, 1811, and the mother 
 was born in New York in 1824. In 1837 Will- 
 iam Robinson came to Grant county, Wis., 
 where he rented a farm for a few years, and, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 485 
 
 when warranted by his financial condition, he 
 bought the present homestead. It consisted at 
 that time of about two 'hundred acres, to which 
 he added 150 acres by subsequent purchases. 
 In 1851 he erected a brick house, and put up 
 fine barns and other buildings, his propern- 
 being now one of the finest and most attractive 
 farms in Grant count) 7 . In 1866 he moved to 
 Platteviile, and lived retired, having accumu- 
 lated a very handsome competence, and he was 
 regarded as a man of means in the community. 
 In 1840 he married Miss Mary S. McBride, 
 who died in May, 1867, and he survived until 
 June, 1886. They were the parents of eleven 
 children, of whom seven are living. In 1868 
 Mr. Robinson married Nancy Blalock, of 
 Platteviile, who is still living ; she is the mother 
 of four children, three now living. Mr. and 
 Nlrs. Robinson were members of the Episcopal 
 Church, and were regarded as among the best 
 people of the community. A brief mention of 
 the children is herewith given : 
 
 (1) Sarah A., born in May, 1841, married 
 Peter J. Walker, and lives at Algona, Iowa. 
 (2) Eliza J., born in March, 1843, is the wife 
 of John Huntington, of Luverne, Minn. (3) 
 Mary E., born in May, 1845, was the wife of 
 A. W. Bell, now deceased, a prominent lawyer 
 of Milwaukee; they were living at Platteviile 
 at the time of her death, Oct. 3, 1886. They 
 were the parents of three children, Jennie B., 
 Ora (wife of Jesse S. Jones, Jr., of Platteviile), 
 and Robert C. (4) William J. is the subject 
 of this article. (5) Rosanna died in 1869, 
 when a young woman. (6) James, born in 
 July, 1851, died in childhood. (7) Richard 
 H., born in July, 1854, married Etta Robinson, 
 and they live at Richland Center, Wis. (8) 
 Robert S., born Oct. 18, 1856, died in child- 
 hood. (9) Helena L., born in February, 1861, 
 is the wife of James Jones, and has four chil- 
 dren, Clyde, Willie, Ina E. and Raymond. 
 They live at Atchison, Ivans. (10) Emma E., 
 born in October. 1864, is the wife of Fred 
 Pausch, of Atchison, an engineer on the rail- 
 road, and has one son, Frederick. ( 1 1 ) Mar- 
 garet L., born Feb. 12, 1867, lost her mother 
 soon after she was born, and was reared in 
 the home of her sister, Mrs. Eliza J. Hunting- 
 ton; she is now the wife of William Wright, 
 a merchant of Luverne, Minn., and has one 
 son, Stewart. Of the children born to the sec- 
 ond marriage. Benjamin S.. the eldest, was 
 born in January, 1870, and died when a young 
 
 man; he was a student of the Platteviile Nor- 
 mal, and had a bright future before him. Nora 
 A., born in April, 1876, is a graduate of the 
 Normal. Ida R., born in May, 1878, is a 
 student at the same school, as is also Lillie A., 
 born in October, 1882. 
 
 William J. Robinson obtained his education 
 in the Platteviile public school, and when he be- 
 came a young man rented his father's farm, 
 which he cultivated for nineteen years. After 
 the death of his father he purchased the interest 
 of the other heirs in the family homestead, and 
 now owns a handsome and well-appointed farm 
 of 350 acres. On March 29, 1877, Mr. Rob- 
 inson married Mrs. Elizabeth (Atkinson) 
 Johnson, daughter of Archibald and Phyllis 
 (Adams) Atkinson, and widow of William E. 
 Johnson. Her parents were born in England, 
 in 1807 and 1808, respectively, came to Amer- 
 ica in 1S34, locating in Dubuque, Iowa, then 
 removed to Illinois, and in 1843 came to Wis- 
 consin, settling at Hazel Green. Archibald 
 Atkinson died April 12, 1880, at Hazel Green, 
 and Phyllis Atkinson on Nov. 3, 1895, at 
 Minneapolis. They reared a family of eight 
 children: (1) John, born in England April 
 
 29, 1832, married* Miss Annie Roberts April 
 29, 1869, at Hazel Green; they are now living 
 at Hampton, Iowa, and are the parents of five 
 children. (2) Mary, born in New York Tulv 
 7, 1834, is the wife of Rev. John Hooper, of 
 Minneapolis. (3) Joseph, born in Iowa Feb. 
 18, 1837, is now a resident of Hampton, that 
 State. He married Miss Annie Lukey, of 
 Hazel Green, and they have five children. (4) 
 Isabel, born Nov. 1, 1839. near Chicago, mar- 
 ried E. M. Sandford, of East Dubuque, and 
 has three children. ( 5 ) Catherine, born near 
 Chicago Nov. 20, 1842, married Robert Gale, 
 of Colorado Springs, Colo., where he is a con- 
 tractor and builder. They have three sons. 
 (6) Archie, born at Hazel Green Feb. 20, 1844, 
 married Miss Hester Lory, of Platteviile', and 
 has five children. Thev now have their home 
 in Minneapolis. (7) Elizabeth, wife of our 
 subject, was born at Hazel Green May 6, 1846, 
 and was educated in the Platteviile Academy. 
 (8) Phyllis A., born on the old homestead at 
 Hazel Green Dec. 12. 1848. is the wife of Ed- 
 ward Beard, of Britt, Iowa, and has seven chil- 
 dren. 
 
 William Atkinson. Mrs. Robinson’s pater- 
 nal grandfather, was a native of England, 
 where he died. His wife's name was Cath- 
 
486 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 erine. Their children were : Elizabeth, born 
 
 May 27, 1792; Ralph, April 13, 1794; Will- 
 iam, June 24, 1796; Mary, Dec. 9, 1798; Elea- 
 nor, May 26, 1801 ; John, Dec. 8, 1804; Archi- 
 bald, Feb. 8, 1807; Thomas, March 8, 1809; 
 Henry, June 1, 1812. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Robin- 
 son came to the old homestead, where they have 
 lived to the present time. This is' one of the 
 most desirable properties of Grant county. 
 They have two children, a son and a daughter : 
 Ernest E., born Dec. 19, 1877, resides with his 
 parents; he has had a good education, and is 
 a young man of character and enterprise. M. 
 Estella, born Nov. 29, 1879, was educated at 
 the Platteville Normal School, graduated with 
 the class of 1900, and is now teaching at Fen- 
 nimore. By her first marriage Mrs. Robinson 
 had one son, William E., who died Oct. 25, 
 1898, while serving in the Spanish-- American 
 war. Mr. Robinson is a Republican, and has 
 been supervisor for twelve years. The fam- 
 ily are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. 
 
 MILES DIXON COTTINGHAM, a re- 
 tired farmer of Benton, Lafayette county, and 
 one of the well-to-do citizens of that village, 
 was born in Swale Dale, Yorkshire, England, 
 Dec. 5, 18 36, son of Anthony and Jane (Hunt) 
 Cottingham, the former of whom passed away 
 in 1838, the father of eight children, four of 
 whom died young. In 1854 the widowed 
 mother and her four children came to America, 
 and located in Benton, Lafayette county, where 
 her death occurred four years later. The chil- 
 dren were: Timothy, mentioned elsewhere in 
 
 this work; Anthony married Miss Maggie Har- 
 ker, who died, leaving him with three daugh- 
 ters, Mary J., Margaret E. and Emma A., all 
 of whom reside with their father in Cherokee 
 county, Iowa; John married Maggie Metcalf, 
 and has three sons, — John, Miles D. and Tim- 
 othy — and they make their home in Fennimore, 
 Grant Co., Wis. ; and Miles Dixon, the young- 
 est in the family. 
 
 Miles Dixon Cottingham received a fair 
 education in the private schools in England, 
 and, after coming to this country, found em- 
 ployment as a miner, which vocation he fol- 
 lowed until 1866, when he purchased a farm 
 in New Diggings township. He had always 
 hacl a desire to own a farm and engage in agri- 
 cultural pursuits, and during his career as a 
 
 miner practiced rigid economy that he might 
 at some time in his life gratify that desire. 
 Lie commenced on wild land, which he has 
 carefully improved by systematic cultivation 
 and the erection of good buildings. His suc- 
 cess has 1 been entirely due to his own efforts, 
 as he began life a very poor man. He has ever 
 displayed remarkable judgment in business af- 
 fairs, and he now ranks as one of the substan- 
 tial farmers of the county and, with it all, has 
 ever been progressive and public-spirited in his 
 efforts to improve the condition of the com- 
 munity m which lie lives', by the building of 
 churches and schools. In 1894 he retired from 
 business, and purchased his present comfort- 
 able home in Benton. 
 
 In 1858 Mr. Cottingham was united in 
 marriage with Miss Ellen Alton, daughter of 
 William and Esther Alton, natives of England, 
 who came to this country in i860. Mrs. Ellen 
 (Alton) Cottingham was born in England in 
 1838, and came to America in 1853, making 
 her home with her sister, Mrs. William Cal- 
 vert, until her marriage.A large family of chil- 
 dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cotting- 
 ham, all of whom were brought up by their 
 estimable parents to be worthy members of so- 
 ciety. They are as follows: Esther J., born 
 
 in June, 1859, died in 1875, a t the age of six- 
 teen; William, born in February, 1861, now 
 engaged in farming and mining in Benton, 
 married Hulda Looney, daughter of James and 
 Jane Looney, prominent citizens of Benton, 
 and eight children have been born of this union, 
 Charles L., Virl, Orville (deceased), Glenard, 
 Benjamin, Archie L., Letha M. and Gabriella; 
 Mary E., born in February, 1863, married 
 James Ayer, a farmer of New Diggings town- 
 ship, this county, and has two children, Elea- 
 nor and George; Henrietta, born in 1865, died 
 in January, 1887; Timothy, born in January, 
 1867, died the same year ; Timothy (2), born 
 on March 4, 1868, is now a traveling salesman 
 for Rider Wallis & Co., a dry goods house of 
 Dubuque, Iowa; Margaret I., born May 4, 
 1869, married Sherman Dodge, of Benton, and 
 has three children, Henrietta, Catherine and 
 Ellen; John R., born in December, 1870, now 
 a clerk in Buchan & Allen’s store in Benton, 
 married Miss Minnie Stephens; Sarah E., born 
 in February, 1872, died in childhood; Joseph 
 A., born in June, 1873, died in November, 
 1874; Joseph (2), born in May, 1877. is a 
 traveling salesman for a boot and shoe firm 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 487 
 
 of Dubuque, Iowa; Sarah (2), born in March, 
 1879, died in 1880; and Miles D., born Jan. 
 25, 1882, is a bright student in the Benton high 
 school. For forty years' Mr. Cottingham and 
 his wife have been members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, in which he has held the 
 offices of trustee and steward for many years. 
 Politically he has been a voter of the Repub- 
 lican party since its organization, but has never 
 aspired to office. Socially he is identified with 
 the I. O. O. F., being a charter member of 
 Lead Mine Lodge, No. 168. 
 
 E. FRANK NEWTON, superintendent of 
 Laflin & Rand's Powder Mills, at Platteville, 
 Wis., was born in Dubuque, Iowa, June 1 1 , 
 1840, son of Edward and Mary Newton, both 
 of whom were born in England, and, m the 
 early days, came westward to Dubuque, where 
 the former died in 1842 and the latter in 1876. 
 
 The death of the father while his son Frank 
 was yet in infancy made it necessary that as 
 soon as the latter was large enough to do any- 
 thing, he should work to assist in the support 
 of his mother. He returned to Maryland, and 
 there clerked in a Baltimore hardware store 
 until he was twenty-one years of age. In 1862 
 he returned to the West, and entered the em- 
 ploy of the Powder Manufacturing Company, 
 in the capacity of. clerk, and later as traveling 
 salesman, remaining nine years. In 1869 he 
 was appointed to his present fine position, 
 which he has efficiently filled for over a quar- 
 ter of a century. His ability to look after his 
 employer’s interests, as well as his thorough 
 knowledge of the business, made his services 
 invaluable. 
 
 In 1863 Mr. Newton was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Susan Shaffer, daughter of 
 A\ illiam Shaffer, of Illinois, who later located 
 in Platteville, where he died. Mrs. Newton 
 was an invalid for many years, and died in 
 September, 1882. To the marriage of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Newton was born one son. Charles 
 A., who is now sales agent for the Laflin & 
 Rand Powder Co, Charles A. Newton mar- 
 ried Miss Alice A. Yehmeyer. of Chicago, in 
 which city they make their home. 
 
 Mr. E. Frank Newton is a thirtv-second- 
 deg ree Mason, and a member of the Wisconsin 
 Consistory, and of the Mystic Shrine. In pol- 
 itics lie is an ardent Republican, and takes an 
 active interest in party work, and he is the 
 present mayor of his home city. In religion. 
 
 while not identified with any denomination,, 
 he gives liberally to church work, and takes a 
 deep interest in all religious, work. 
 
 JOHN SWITZER, one of the earliest set- 
 tlers of Grant county, Wis., was born in Vir- 
 ginia Feb. 20, 1803, and when he was but 
 three years of age. his parents removed to 
 Ohio, and later to Indiana. In 1840 John 
 Switzer came to Grant county, Wis., settling 
 in Sec. 8, in the town of Fennimore, and two 
 years later he was married to Mary- A. C. 
 Dillon, who was born in Missouri. Of this 
 marriage the following children were born : 
 Mary A., born Sept. 17, 1844 (Mrs. George 
 H. Horton) ; I. W., born Dec. 5, 1846; Sarah 
 E., born Aug. 11, 1849; Eliza, born July 30, 
 1853; Stella, born Oct. 8, 1858; and Ada, 
 born April 7, 1861. Mr. Switzer became one 
 of the well-known and successful farmers of 
 Fennimore, and resided in that town until the 
 day of his death, Jan. 11, 1863. Mrs, Switzer, 
 at this writing, in 1901, resides with one of 
 her daughters, in Fennimore, and is now one 
 of the oldest residents of the town where she 
 has lived such a useful, busy life. 
 
 THOMAS WISEMAN, a prominent and 
 highly respected farmer of New Diggings 
 township, Lafayette county, where he has 
 made his home J’or half a century, was born 
 in Yorkshire, England, Jan. 1, 1843. 
 
 Christopher V iseman, his father, was born 
 in 1813, and his wife, Elizabeth Slack, was 
 born in 1816. They came to America in the 
 year 1845, making the voyage in a sailing 
 vessel to New Orleans, thence by boat up the 
 Mississippi to Galena, 111 . Mr. Wiseman en- 
 gaged in mining in New Diggings for many 
 years, and then purchased a farm two miles 
 west of the village, where he made many im- 
 provements in the way of buildings, and in 
 clearing the land. Out of this he made a good 
 farm in which he took great pride. His death 
 occurred in 1887. His only brother. Henry, 
 came from England to work in the mines at 
 New Diggings, and there met his death. To 
 Christopher Wiseman and wife were born 
 twelve children, of whom three were born in 
 New Diggings and died in infancv: Thomas; 
 Ann is the widow of Christopher Hagelet. and 
 lives in Benton. Lafavette Co. : Mary, born in 
 1840. is the wife of William Page, of South 
 Wayne; Elizabeth, born in 1847. is the wife 
 
488 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of C. Turnbull, of Benton; Sarah, born in 
 Lafayette county, married George Clark, 
 of Clinton Co./ 111 .; James, a farmer 
 of Benton, married Lizzie Beadee; Christo- 
 pher, engaged as a merchant and stock buyer 
 in Benton, married Nellie Marker; Henry, a 
 farmer residing with his brother Thomas, is 
 unmarried; and Tamer married Mark Rich- 
 ardson, of New Diggings. The mother is still 
 living, being now at the advanced age of 
 eighty-five. She makes her home with her 
 son 1 homas, who tenderly cared for both fa- 
 ther and mother until the death of the former, 
 and now is lovingly guarding the latter from 
 all care and responsibility. 
 
 Thomas Wiseman grew to manhood in 
 New Diggings township, and, as he was the 
 eldest in a large family of children, his op- 
 portunities for attending school were most 
 meager, as at a very tender age he was obliged 
 to assist in the support of the family by work 
 in the mines. He studied and read by him- 
 self until he has become well posted on gen- 
 eral topics, and has, in a large measure, over- 
 come his lack of school training. He contin- 
 ued to work in the mines until the breaking- 
 out of the Civil war, when he enlisted in Com- 
 pany G, 46th Wis. V. L, under Capt. Hughes, 
 of Darlington, and participated' in the work 
 under Gen. Thomas, in Alabama and Ten- 
 nessee. He was discharged at Nashville, Tenn., 
 and returned to his Wisconsin home. He pur- 
 chased his father’s farm, and 1 since then has 
 had the care of his parents. 
 
 Mr. Wiseman has ever been a stanch advo- 
 cate of the principles of the Republican party, 
 and has always taken an interest in party af- 
 fairs. The family were communicants of the 
 Church of England before coming to Amer- 
 ica, and have continued in that faith. Mr. 
 Wiseman has been faithful in the discharge of 
 his duty to his country and to his home, and 
 is highly respected in the community in which 
 he has lived so long. 
 
 MATTHEW PRESTON, a retired far- 
 mer. now residing in Plattevill.e, Grant county, 
 is one of the leading representatives of the 
 sturdy pioneers who made the wilderness 
 ‘‘blossom as the rose,” and to whom so much 
 is due as a recompense for their hardships and 
 privations. 
 
 Matthew Preston was born in the North 
 of England March 29, 1829, a son of William 
 
 and Jane (Woodard) Preston, who were na- 
 tives of England, and died there, leaving our 
 subject an orphan at the age of four years. 
 Growing to manhood in his native land, he in 
 1851 came to this country, settling first at 
 Hazel Green, Wis., where he worked at team- 
 ing for two years. At that time he purchased 
 a farm near what is now Preston Station, im- 
 proved it, built substantial buildings, and there 
 resided for twenty-four years. In 1884 he 
 sold this property, removed to Platteville, and 
 purchased his present pleasant residence, a 
 brick structure, on Main street. 
 
 Prior to embarking for the New World 
 Mr. Preston married Miss Elizabeth Little, a 
 native of England, who died at Preston in 
 1865, leaving six children: Jane, born at 
 
 Hazel Green, is now the wife of Ezra C. Hazel- 
 tine, a farmer near Preston; James, born at 
 Preston, is now a business man of Duluth, 
 Minn.; Thomas S., born at Preston, in 1857, 
 died in 1893, leaving a wife and- four children, 
 who now reside in Grant county; John F., 
 born in October, 1859, is now a resident of 
 Minnesota ; Margaret, born in September, 
 1861, is the wife of John McMurray, of South 
 Dakota, and has a family ; Matthew Moreland, 
 born in Preston in 1863, is married and has 
 three children, and resides on a farm near 
 Rewey, in Iowa county, Wis. All are pros- 
 perous. 
 
 In 1868 Mr. Preston was married to Miss 
 A. J. Hazeltine, of Yorkshire, England, who 
 died in March, 1888, leaving seven children: 
 Elizabeth, born in May, 1869, now wife of 
 Edward Tiffany, of Iowa; Charles E., born at 
 Preston in 1870, commercial salesman for a 
 Chicago house (he is married and resides in 
 Highwood, 111 .) ; Albert E., born at Preston 
 in 1871, a salesman now residing in Platte- 
 ville; Wesley, born in Preston in 1873. 
 now a banker and commission merchant 
 of Chicago ; Tirza May, born at Preston 
 in 1874, wife of Dr. Anner, of Potosi, Grant 
 county (they have one child) ; FrecI Chapman, 
 born in Preston in 1876, graduate of a Chicago 
 business college, now teaching at Wausau; and 
 Eli E., born in 1878, a clerk in Burg’s clothing 
 house, Platteville. 
 
 In 1895 Mr. Preston married Miss Fanny 
 E. Perry, daughter of Homer Perry, one of 
 the pioneers of Grant county, where Mrs. Pres- 
 ton was born and reared. They have one 
 daughter, Delia M., born March 31, 1900. 
 

 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 489 
 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Preston are members of 
 the M. E. Church. For many years Mr. Pres- 
 ton voted the Republican ticket, but his prin- 
 ciples now require him to support the candi- 
 dates of the Prohibition party, their platform 
 meeting with his views more nearly than that 
 of any other party. While residing in Pres- 
 ton Mr. Preston held a number of local offices 
 most acceptably. 
 
 JOHN MYERS, a prosperous farmer of 
 Green county, Wis., comes of German an- 
 cestry, and was among the earliest settlers of 
 this county. Born March 22, 1S39, he was 
 the first white child born in the town of Spring 
 Grove, and is the son of Samuel and Sarah 
 (Kline) Myers. Henry Myers, his grandfa- 
 ther, came from Germany when a boy and set- 
 tled in Pennsylvania about 1775. 
 
 Samuel Myers was born 111 Bucks Co., 
 Penn., in 1806, and died in town of Spring 
 Grove, Green Co., Wis., May 2, 1863. He 
 was taken by his parents to Ohio when about 
 a year and a half old. His marriage with 
 Sarah Kline occurred about 1830. Isaac Kline, 
 her father, was one of the early settlers of 
 Ohio, and came of Dutch lineage. This mar- 
 riage was blessed with a numerous' family : 
 Isaac and George, both dead; John; Jane; who 
 is widow of Frank Barnum, and lives in the 
 village of Twin Grove (a sketch of Mr. Bar- 
 num may be found elsewhere) ; Eli, who is a 
 farmer of Fayette county, Iowa; William, de- 
 ceased; James, a farmer in Iowa; Miles, a 
 resident and a farmer of Jefferson township; 
 Samuel, living in Twin Grove, where he is in 
 the sawmill business; and Frank, a farmer of 
 the town of Jefferson. 
 
 John Myers was born March 22, 1839, and 
 was married to Miss Fannie H. Bussey, Spring- 
 Grove, March 19, 1863. Mrs. Myers was born 
 of English ancestry, April 26, 1844, a daugh- 
 ter of G. W. Bussey, of Juda, Green county, 
 who stood high among the early settlers of the 
 county. She was reared on a farm, and educat- 
 ed in the common schools. To the marriage of 
 Mr. and Mrs 1 . Myers the following children 
 were born: Laura J., born Aug. 28, 1864, 
 
 married Samuel Holmes, of the town of Jef- 
 ferson, Nov. 2, 1887, and is the mother of two 
 sons Ransom and Grover; Elmer W., born 
 April 17, 1867, married Miss Anna Wiggins, 
 of Green county, Oct. 3, 1887, and is the fa- 
 ther of two sons, Floyd D. and Alvin R. ; John 
 
 D., born May 1, 1871, is a farmer, and mar- 
 ried Miss Ida Douglas, by whom he has two 
 sons, Herbert and Glenn ; Emily, born Aug. 
 17, 1872, married Frederick Adkinson, of De- 
 catur, and is the mother of one daughter, 
 V era. 
 
 Mr. Myers was educated in the public 
 schools, which were very poor at that time, 
 and began life with no resources except his 
 own strength and courage, but has been great- 
 ly blessed in the years that have come and 
 gone since he began the battle of life. For 
 eight years, when a young man, he taught 
 school in his native county. The farm of 214 
 acres on which he lives is one of the fine coun- 
 try homes of the county, and he has a fine 
 residence property in Brodhead, where he lived 
 about four years, and where he is a stockholder 
 in the Green County Bank. Mr. Myers is a 
 stanch Republican, and cast his first vote for 
 Lincoln in i860, and while living in Spring- 
 Grove township he served as town clerk. 
 Successful in all his undertakings, he attributes' 
 his success largely to hard work and good man- 
 agement. Never uniting with any church, he 
 holds to honesty and right living as funda- 
 mental to any true character. In every rela- 
 tion of life he is highly spoken of by those 
 who know him best. 
 
 HENRY ADAMS, late of Patch Grove. 
 Grant county there lived 'a retired life in 
 the enjoyment of a rest, which by reason of 
 his industrious efforts of former years, he truly 
 earned and richly deserved. Accomplishment 
 and progress' ever imply labor, energy and dili- 
 gence, and it was those qualities that enabled 
 Mr. Adams to rise from the ranks of the many 
 and stand among the successful few. He was 
 one of the highly respected citizens of Patch 
 Grove, and his long residence in Grant county 
 and the active part he had taken in its develop- 
 ment, well entitled him to representation in its 
 history. 
 
 A native of New York, Mr. Adams' was 
 born in Montgomery county, in 1820, a son of 
 Samuel and Jemima (Judd) Adams, and was 
 the first of the familv to come West. Arriv- 
 ing in Grant county, Yds., in the fall of 1841. 
 the following vear he made a claim of govern- 
 ment land in Patch Grove township, which be- 
 came his homestead. To the arduous task of 
 clearing and improving his farm he at once 
 turned his attention, and in due time the tract 
 
49 ° 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 became one of the best cultivated farms in the 
 locality. 
 
 In 1845 Mr. Adams married Miss Han- 
 nah Ashly, since deceased, and of the nine 
 children born of that union six are living at 
 the present writing in 1901. Mr. Adams was 
 again married, Aug. 6, 1865, his second wife 
 being Mrs. Emma J. Hitchcock, a native of 
 Illinois,' born Aug. 15, 1840, and a daughter 
 of Arnos and Rebecca (Fonce) Barrows. Her 
 first husband was Eli Hitchcock, by whom she 
 had three children, but only one is now living. 
 Six children have been born of the second 
 marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Adams, all of whom 
 are living, while Daisy and Henry are still 
 under the parental roof. 
 
 Mr. Adams continued to reside upon the 
 farm until March, 1900, when he removed to 
 the village of Patch Grove to spend his re- 
 maining years in ease and quiet, free from 
 the cares and responsibilities of business life. 
 Notwithstanding he was well advanced in 
 years, he enjoyed good health, though rheu- 
 matism made it difficult for him to go around 
 much, until his death Jan. 1, 1901, from heart 
 disease. For the long period of sixty years 
 he was identified with the interests of Grant 
 county, and in early days when engaged in 
 the work of improving his farm he endured 
 all the hardships and privations incident to 
 frontier life. He watched with interest the mar- 
 velous transformation that had taken place dur- 
 ing his residence here, and as a generous, 
 liberal-minded and progressive citizen aided in 
 the development of his town and county. Mr. 
 Adams’ led a life of honest toil, and his death 
 caused genuine sorrow among his friends. 
 
 WILLIAM BURROWS, whose residence 
 on the farm he now occupies dates from 
 March 1, 1854, is one of the highly esteemed 
 pioneer settlers of Lafayette county. Lie was 
 born in Albany county, N. Y., July 7, 1823, 
 son of Alexander and Rose Burrows, of 
 Scotch-Irish parentage. 
 
 Mr. Burrows’ parents were both born and 
 reared in Ireland, where their marriage was 
 consummated. The young couple at once 
 started for America, and made their first home 
 in Albany county, N. Y., where two of their 
 children were born. From Albany county they 
 removed to Oneida county, N. Y., and there 
 passed the rest of their lives, engaged in farm- 
 ing. Seven children were born to them : John, 
 
 of Oneida county, N. Y., who married Ade- 
 line Ferguson, daughter of Jacob Ferguson, of 
 Booneville, N. Y. ; William; Andrew, of Lewis 
 county, N. Y., who married Lavinia Stimpson; 
 Margaret Jane, widow of John Anderson, of 
 Monticello township, Lafayette county; Sarah, 
 wife of Edward Wetherstine; Miss Mary, of 
 Booneville, N. Y. ; and Nancy, wife of Joseph 
 Carmichael, of Booneville, N. Y. All are yet 
 living, their ages now ranging from sixty to 
 eighty years. William Burrows has in his 
 possession a picture of the entire family, fa- 
 ther and mother included, which was taken 
 many, many years ago, and is now very high- 
 ly prized. The father passed away at the age 
 of ninety years, and the mother when she was 
 aged eighty-five. 
 
 William Burrows was reared on his fa- 
 ther’s farm in Oneida county, and there mar- 
 ried Mary Jane Carmichael, daughter of Jo- 
 seph and Elizabeth Carmichael, owners of the 
 farm adoining the Burrows home. Playmates 
 in early childhood, schoolmates as boy and 
 girl, lovers in youth, and wedded in early man- 
 hood and womanhood! Well may it be said 
 that they have traveled life's pathway hand in 
 hand ! 
 
 Joseph and Elizabeth (McCulloch) Car- 
 michael were born in Ireland, of Scotch-Irish 
 parentage, and came to America in their youth, 
 their marriage occurring in Albany county, N. 
 Y. For a time Mr. Carmichael worked on 
 the construction of the Erie canal, and after 
 its completion served as lock tender. From 
 Albany county he moved to Oneida county, 
 when Mrs. Burrows was but two years of age, 
 and settled on the farm adjoining that owned 
 by Mr. Burrows. Four children were born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael : Mary Jane, born 
 
 Nov. 15, 1830, became Mrs'. Burrows; Mar- 
 garet is the wife of Robert Fillmore, of War- 
 ren, 111. ; Susan is the widow of Robert Glihd fil- 
 ing, of Shullsburg, Wis. ; and Joseph occupies 
 the old home in Oneida county. The father 
 died in 1863, aged seventy years, and the 
 mother passed away at the age of eighty-four, 
 
 Four daughters and one son have bright- 
 ened the home of Mr. and Mrs. Burrows: 
 William married Ida Haffele, daughter of 
 Jacob Haffele, of Monticello; Jennie married 
 Oscar Haffele, son of Jacob Haffele; Josephine 
 is at home; Anna wedded George Haffele. and 
 lives at Apple River, 111. ; Addie married Webb 
 Glindining, of Shullsburg. Three daughters 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 491 
 
 also came who have preceded them to the 
 “great unknown Susan, who died at the 
 age of fourteen years ; Elizabeth, whose earth- 
 ly career ended when she was but one year old ; 
 and Rosetta, who died in early infancy. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Burrows has al- 
 ways been a Democrat, and in religious faith 
 he has for thirty-four years been identified with 
 the Presbyterian Church, while Mrs. Burrows 
 has for forty-five years been a member of the 
 Methodist denomination. Their pleasant home 
 has been the scene of much happiness, and is 
 i open at all times to their many friends. They 
 are very hospitable, and stranger and friend 
 always find them bright and genial companions. 
 
 HON. FRANKLIN MITCHELL, promi- 
 nent in the agricultural circles of Green county, 
 Wis'., is an old and honored resident, and is 
 a son of Abner and Hannah (Leonard) 
 Mitchell. The father was a native of Somerset 
 county, Pennsylvania, and came to Wisconsin 
 in 1857,' and bought the land now owned 
 by his son Franklin. It cost him two dollars 
 an acre from the government, and is now worth 
 at a modest computation at least eighty dol- 
 lars an acre. He was born in 1790, and died 
 in 1874. James and Elsie (Jennings) Mitchell, 
 his parents, were residents of Pennsylvania, 
 and were of English origin. Six children were 
 born to them: Benjamin, James, Abner, John, 
 Ralph, and Elsie. Abner Mitchell was a prom- 
 inent man in his time, a member of the State 
 Legislature, in 1853, and a member of the 
 committee which founded the State Agricult- 
 ural Society. He was long a deacon in the 
 Baptist Church. In 1812 he was married, and 
 became the father of the following children : 
 Jesse, Benjamin, Owen, Cynthia, Julia, Joseph, 
 all of whom are dead; Washington, of Brod- 
 head; Franklin; Louisa, of Janesville, Wis.; 
 Naomi, deceased; Ralph, of Juda; Alexander, 
 deceased in infancy; Elizabeth, who died in 
 childhood; Martha and Judson, both of whom 
 are dead. 
 
 Franklin Mitchell was born Oct. 21, 1824, 
 and married Miss Jane McVean, of Rock coun- 
 ty, Wis’., Oct. 6, 1857. Mrs. Mitchell was a 
 daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Moore) Mc- 
 Vean, who came from New York in 1842, and 
 were among the very earliest settlers of this 
 region. They were of Scotch origin and 
 had all the virtues of that sturdy race. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell were born four 
 
 children: (1) Edward P., born Sept. 12, 
 
 1858, resides in Monroe, Wis., where he is en- 
 gaged in the lumber business. His wife, Meta 
 Gittord, was , born in Green county. (2) Ab- 
 ner, born Nov. 28, i860, married Miss Sylvia 
 Raymond, of Green county, Wis. (3) Eliza- 
 betn, born Sept. 23, 1863, married E. W. 
 Clinton, of Brodhead. (4) Katie L., born May 
 23, 1868, married James Lyman, at the pres- 
 ent time clerk of Green county, and now re- 
 siding at Monroe, Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Mitchell is a self-made man, whose ad- 
 vent in southwestern Wisconsin was made while 
 it was still largely a wilderness, and he has 
 made his way to a comfortable position chiefly 
 by his own thrift and industry. A fine farm 
 owned by him in Spring Grove township con- 
 sists of 273 acres, and he owns another of 120 
 acres, in Decatur township. In addition to 
 this he also owns considerable other property. 
 Mr. Mitchell has served his country in various 
 ways. In 1877, '78 and ’79 he was a member 
 of the Wisconsin Assembly, and he served on 
 the Agricultural Committee at each of those 
 sessions, being chairman of that committee in 
 1879. He secured some valuable legislation in 
 the interests of the farmers of the State, and 
 he also introduced and secured the passage of 
 a bill increasing the fee of witnesses in Courts 
 of Record from one dollar to one dollar and 
 fifty cents per day, although the measure met 
 with strong opposition in both houses of the 
 Legislature. He has been school director, and 
 has filled other local positions. Mr. Mitchell 
 has always been a stanch Republican. For 
 forty-five years he was a deacon and trustee 
 of the Baptist Church of Juda. A great 
 worker in the church, he is known as a solid 
 and substantial citizen. In February, 1901, 
 Mr. and Mrs. (Mitchell removed to Monroe, 
 where he is erecting a fine modern residence 
 and where he expects to finish his days on 
 earth. 
 
 CONRAD K. ELMER, in his life time 
 one of the most prominent and most extensive 
 farmers of Monroe, Green county, was a na- 
 tive of Canton Glarus, Switzerland, born 
 March 6, 1842, and was brought by his parents 
 to America when a little child. 
 
 J. Ulrich Elmer, his father, was a native 
 of Switzerland, where he was' engaged as a 
 trader and stock dealer. He brought his fam- 
 ily to this country in 1850, and setttled in 
 
492 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Green county, W is. , where he followed farm- 
 ing until his death in 1S93. lie had married 
 Ferina Marty, in his native land, and by her 
 had a family of fourteen children, nine of 
 whom are now living: John; Ulrich; Henry; 
 Jacob; Adam; Barbara, wife of Abraham 
 Kubli; Lenke, wife of Isaac Stauffacher; Mary, 
 wife of Peter Stauffacher; and Ferina, wife 
 of Peter Elmer. All but the last named make 
 their homes in Green county, and she resides 
 in Austin, Minn. Mrs. Ferina (Marty) Elmer 
 was a daughter of a Mr. Marty, a native of 
 Switzerland, who came to America and joined 
 the early settlers of Green county, Wisconsin. 
 
 Conrad K. Elmer was early educated to 
 the life of a farmer, and continued to follow 
 it as an occupation throughout his entire life. 
 FLis literary training was all acquired by an 
 attendance at the district schools, although by 
 careful observation and intelligent reading in 
 later life, he became a well-informed man. 
 Y\ hen he first started out in life for himself, he 
 rented land, and his first purchase consisted of 
 120 acres, which he afterward disposed of, 
 and in company with two of his brothers, pur- 
 chased 300 acres in Sylvester township. This 
 partnership continued for two years, at the 
 end of which time Mr. Elmer, purchased the 
 interests of his two brothers, and conducted 
 this large farm alone for three years, and then 
 sold it, purchasing in its stead 200 acres in 
 the township of Monroe, where he made his 
 home the remainder of his life. In all this 
 time he continued to add to his original pur- 
 chase, at one time being the owner of, 520 acres 
 of well improved real estate, but at his death 
 his farm consisted of but 156 acres, the re- 
 mainder having been sold off or divided with 
 his children. He was honest, industrious and 
 a highly esteemed citizen. He was loyal to 
 his adopted country, and when, in 1861, the 
 Civil war threatened the dissolution of the 
 Union he became a member of the 31st Wis. 
 V. I., becoming a private in Company B. and 
 served three years. He took part in Sher- 
 man's famous march to the sea, and was at 
 Washington, D. C. When the war was over, 
 he returned to his farm, and busied himself 
 again with the pursuits of peace. 
 
 On Nov. 23, 1866, Mr. Elmer was united 
 in marriage with Miss Lisetta Wenger, a 
 daughter of John Wenger, who came to Amer- 
 ica in 1854, with his ten motherless 'chil- 
 dren, his wife having passed away in 1847. 
 
 Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. El- 
 mer, one of whom died in infancy. The others 
 are: John A., mentioned below; Freny E., 
 
 who married John Babler, and lives in New 
 Giants township ; and Henry, who died at the 
 age of two years. In their religious belief both 
 Mr. and Mrs. Elmer were faithful and con- 
 sistent members of the German Evangelical 
 Church. I11 politics he was a Republican, and 
 acceptably filled the office of supervisor for one 
 term. Though in feeble health for two years 
 previous, Mr. Elmer’s last illness was in 
 reality but a week in duration, and the end 
 came peacefully Feb. 2, 1901, when he was 
 aged 58 years, 10 months and 27 days. Besides 
 his widow and two children, he left four sis- 
 ters’ and five brothers to mourn his loss. His 
 eldest brother, Mathias, preceded him to the 
 better land by but a few days. 
 
 John A. Elmer, who inherited the old 
 homestead and 200 acres of fine land, is an in- 
 dustrious young farmer, a worthy successor 
 of his highly respected father. He was mar- 
 ried Feb. 11, 1897, to Miss Alice Discher, 
 daughter of John and Louisa (Bruni) Discher, 
 and they have two interesting children: Fred- 
 die Roy and John Conrad. John Discher was 
 a native of Switzerland, as was also his wife, 
 and! his death occurred there in 1883, at the 
 early age of forty years. His widow bravely 
 sought to make a home for her little ones, and 
 with four of the six children came to Amer- 
 ica in 1887, and her other two children, Lou- 
 isa and Alice, followed two years later. The 
 four accompanying their mother were: John, 
 Fred, Rosa and David. Mrs. Discher married 
 again, her second husband being Martin Han- 
 selmann, who has since departed this life. They 
 had three children, only one of whom survives, 
 Andrew, now a resident of Clarno township, 
 Green county. 
 
 AUGUST C. PRIOR, the well-known 
 manager of the general store of Mrs. G. Prior, 
 at Cassville, Grant county, is a native of Wis- 
 consin, his birth having occurred March 5, 
 1850, in Racine. 
 
 Gottfried Prior, his father, was born in 
 Prussia, Germany, and in early life came to 
 America, locating first in Milwaukee. Sub- 
 sequently he was married, in Racine, to Miss 
 Margretha Theiss, a native of Bavaria, Ger- 
 many, and a daughter of Theobold Theiss. 
 
 ' She became a resident of Racine in the early 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 493 
 
 ’forties. In 1856 the family came to Cassville, 
 where Gottfried Prior engaged in the hotel 
 business, continuing same until the spring of 
 1862. In 1861 he was proprietor of the “Den- 
 niston House. - ’ In the spring of 1862 he, with 
 i his son August' C., went to Woodman, YVis., 
 where he had a building erected during the 
 summer, in the fall of the same year commenc- 
 ing the business of general merchandising, his 
 wiie and the other children moving there in 
 the summer of 1863. Mr. Prior continued busi- 
 ness in Woodman until the summer of 1866, 
 when he removed back to Cassville, where he 
 conducted his successful business until his 
 death, in 1891. His widow continues the busi- 
 ness, her son August C. acting as general man- 
 ager. He is the eldest of four living children, 
 the others being Mrs. Mary Holst, a resident of 
 Cedar Bluffs, i\ T eb. ; Mrs. Christena Losch, of 
 Elkader, Iowa ; and Mrs. Gertie Peterson, of 
 Pilger, Nebraska. 
 
 Coming to Cassville with his parents at the 
 age of six years, August C. Prior was reared 
 at that place, and attended the public schools 
 until the spring of 1862, when he had just 
 reached the age of twelve years. This was all 
 the schooling he received, though through ex- 
 perience in business he has acquired a good edu- 
 cation. Throughout his active career he has 
 been interested in business pursuits. From 
 1871 to 1875 was the junior member of 
 the firm of G. Prior & Son, also from 1876 
 to 1879. In 1875 he traveled as a salesman for 
 a Milwaukee dry-goods house. In 1879 he en- 
 gaged in business in Glen Haven, which ter- 
 minated m 1881. He now has full charge of 
 the business established by his father in 1866, 
 and in its management is meeting with excel- 
 lent success. 
 
 August C. Prior was married, at Glen 
 Haven, to Miss Martha Stewart, a native of 
 Beet-own, Grant county, and a daughter of 
 David and Emeline (Hudson) Stewart, who 
 came to this State at a very early day in its de- 
 velopment. As a merchant the father engaged 
 in business first at Beetown, and later at Glen 
 Haven, where his death occurred; her mother 
 is still living". Mr. and Airs. Prior have two 
 children : Mamie, a teacher in the public 
 
 schools of Cassville ; and Gertie, who is also a 
 teacher, but now assists her father in the store. 
 Mr. Prior is connected with Cassville Lodge, 
 1 | 0 - 335 ' F- & A. M. I11 business circles he 
 occupies an enviable position. 
 
 FRANKLIN PATTERSON, whose fer- 
 tile farm at every point shows the most thor- 
 ough cultivation and careful management, has 
 had his residence for many years on Section 
 28, in the town of Brooklyn, Green county, 
 where he is numbered among the oldest and 
 most respected farmers and citizens of the 
 community. 
 
 Mr. Patterson was born in the town of 
 Oak Hill, Allegany Co., N. Y., April 17, 1823, 
 and is a son of James and Sarah (Crawford) 
 Patterson, the father was a native of Mas- 
 sachusetts, ■ and the mother of the town of 
 Madison, Madison Co., N. Y. They had eight 
 children, only two of whom are now living: 
 Franklin, whose name appears above, and his 
 sister, Nancy, who is Mrs. James Kearney, of 
 St. Paul, Mmn. James Patterson was a farm- 
 er and moved from Ins native State to New 
 Tork, where he lived for a number of years. 
 Y\ bile there he served as captain in the State 
 militia. From New York he journeyed west 
 into Lorain county, Ohio, where he died in 
 1840, while still in middle life. His widow 
 survived him until February, 1892, when she 
 passed away in her ninetieth year, at the home 
 of her son Franklin, with whom she had lived 
 for many years. Both father and mother were 
 reared in the Presbyterian fa.th, but in their 
 later years were associated with the Congrega- 
 tional bod}*. 
 
 James Patterson, the father of James Pat- 
 terson, and the grandfather of Franklin, was 
 born in Massachusetts, and was a descendant 
 of one of three brothers, who came into New 
 England from Belfast, Ireland, and were 
 thought to be of Scotch-Irish descent. They 
 followed close after the Mayflower, and their 
 posterity has been prominent in New England 
 for many generations. Air. Patterson was al- 
 ways a farmer, and died when quite old in 
 New York. He had been married three times. 
 His first wife bore him four children; liis sec- 
 ond, one; and his third, two. The father of 
 Sarah Crawford, noted above as the mother of 
 Franklin Patterson, lived in New York many 
 years, and then removed to Michigan, where 
 he died when upwards of ninety years of age. 
 He was a farmer, and was father to three sons 
 and two daughters. 
 
 Franklin Patterson was about six years old 
 when his parents made a new home for them- 
 selves and family in Ohio, and he remained 
 in their home until he was' of age. In 1844 
 
 ! 
 
494 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he made his first appearance in Wisconsin, and 
 for two years traveled extensively through the 
 \\ est and South. He went to New Orleans, 
 hut returned to Milwaukee, busying himself 
 about various things. In 184b he began 
 farming in the town of Brooklyn, where he 
 and his brother, James N., preempted a quar- 
 ter-section from the government. A year later 
 they took separate deeds for eighty acres each, 
 paying the government price for it. Franklin 
 Patterson deeded his eighty to his brother, 
 James N., and then in company with his 
 brother, Emerson, bought 200 acres of land 
 at four dollars an acre. At the present time he 
 owns 260 acres, and has lived here since 1846. 
 His first home was a log cabin, but it was re- 
 placed in 1868 by a brick and frame building. 
 Since his settlement in 1846, Mr. Patterson 
 has moved but once, and that was from the old 
 log house to the new home. 
 
 On Sept. 10, 1847, Franklin Patterson was 
 married to Maria McCredy, a daughter of 
 Thomas and Catherine (Holt) McCredy. 
 Four children were born to that union, three 
 of whom are now living: Sarah Ann died 
 
 in infancy; Hiram H. married Emma Winter, 
 and lives on the old farm in a house adjoin- 
 ing the homestead (he has one child, Nellie) ; 
 William R., of Union township. Rock county, 
 married Rosa Lay, and has two children, Dora 
 E. and Elsie Maud ; Lawrence A. married El- 
 11 ora A eaver, and lives on the old home farm. 
 Mrs. Franklin Patterson died Jan. 20, 1897, 
 at the age of seventy-two years and twelve 
 days. She is remembered as a true-hearted 
 and devoted wife and mother, a good neighbor 
 and a kind friend. Franklin Patterson is 
 quite independent in politics, although during 
 the life of the old Greenback party he was 
 one of its most active workers. In religious 
 belief, he is equally independent, and is identi- 
 fied with no denomination. 
 
 JAMES EDWARDS, a hardware mer- 
 chant and postmaster of Hazel Green, Grant 
 county, was born in that town Nov. 30, 1847, 
 and is a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (In- 
 gram) Edwards, both natives of England, who 
 came to this country when young people, and 
 here were married. In 1837 they both reached 
 the L nited States, and after their marriage 
 they lived at Hazel Green, Wis., until 1831, 
 when he crossed the Plains to New Mexico 
 on his way to the gold fields of California. 
 
 In the spring of 1852 he was killed by the 
 Mexicans on the latter part ol his journey from 
 New Mexico to California. Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Edwards was left with a family of three chil- 
 dren : (1) Thomas PL, born in Lafayette 
 
 county, Wis., in April, 1846', grew to man- 
 hood, and acquired his education in Hazel 
 Green, where he learned the trade of wagon 
 making, which has been his occupation there 
 for many years. He married Miss Agnes 
 Thompson, who was killed in the tornado 
 which passed over this town in March, 1876. 
 Mr. Edwards also lost a son in the same great 
 calamity. Some time afterward he contracted 
 a second marriage with Miss Annie Carter, 
 and is now living in Madison, Wis., where he 
 holds a clerkship in the office of the Secretary 
 of State. They have one daughter, Annie E. 
 (2) James, mentioned below. (3) Eliza J., 
 born in March, 1850, is now the widow of 
 Thomas Major, of Hazel Green. After their 
 marriage they moved to Wyoming, where he 
 died leaving her with eight children, and she 
 now has her home in Baggs, Wyoming. 
 
 James Edwards, whose career forms the 
 subject of this article, began life in the town 
 of Hazel Green, where he received the benefits 
 of a common school education, and when a 
 young man learned the tinner’s trade. In 
 1863 he started a hardware store in his native 
 village, which he has conducted ever since with 
 the exception of one year, when he was a resi- 
 dent of Utah. 
 
 In 1871 Mr. Edwards wedded Miss Mary 
 A. Metters, who ’was born in January, 1848, 
 in Devonshire, England, a daughter of Thomas 
 Metters, now of Hazel Green, who came from 
 England to the United States when Mrs. Ed- 
 wards was a young girl. After their marriage 
 Mr. Edwards settled in the village where he 
 was born, and there he has continued in the 
 hardware business to the present time. Mrs. 
 Edwards died in May, 1900, leaving eight 
 living children: (1) Ada L., born in 1875, 
 
 had her schooling in her native village, and 
 is now Mrs. John Oats, of Flazel Green. (2) 
 Elizabeth A., a graduate of the Hazel. Green 
 high school, was born in 1876, is now one 
 of Grant county’s most successful teachers, 
 having taug'ht for six years in her native vil- 
 lage. (3) George M., born in 1878, is en- 
 gaged in a printing office in Platteville. (4) 
 Thomas P. and (5) John I., twins, were born 
 in August, 1879. John married Miss Stone- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 495 
 
 braker, and lives in Hazel Green. (6) Alice, 
 born in 1883, is a graduate of the Hazel Green 
 high school, and lives at home with her father. 
 (7) Clinton L., born in 1886, and (8) James, 
 born in April, 1891, are both in the village 
 schools. (9) Eva died in May, 1897, at the 
 age of ten years. 
 
 Mrs. Edwards was a member of the Meth- 
 odist Church, where she was regarded as a 
 devoted Christian woman. Mr. Edwards has 
 always been identified with the Republican 
 party, and has been postmaster twelve years, 
 receiving his first appointment from President 
 Arthur, his second from President Harrison, 
 and his third from the present administration. 
 In local affairs Mr. Edwards has taken a 
 prominent part, having been president of the 
 village board for six years, and for the same 
 time has been clerk of the school. He is a 
 member of the town board, and is secretary of 
 the creamery company of the village. Mr. 
 Edwards belongs to No. 43, F. & A. M., Hazel 
 Green, one of the oldest lodges in the State. 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Ed wards was married a sec- 
 ond time, becoming the wife of Thomas Rich- 
 ards. They lived in Hazel Green, and -here 
 she was killed in the tornado of 1876. She had 
 three children by Mr. Richards: Ada E., now 
 the wife of William Oates, of California ; John- 
 son died as the result of injuries received in 
 the same tornado in which his mother lost her 
 life; and Elizabeth A. was killed in the same 
 tornado. Mrs. Edwards, after the death of 
 her husband in the far West, started a small 
 store, and her business so increased under her 
 careful management that she became very suc- 
 cessful. 
 
 GEORGE AY . 1 URNER, a citizen of Dar- 
 lington and a blacksmith by occupation, was 
 born in England July 26, 1856. He came with 
 his parents to the United States when a young 
 boy, in 1869, micl located in New Diggings, 
 Lafayette Co., AAfis. In the year 1877 the fam- 
 ily removed to Darlington, where with his 
 father, he engaged in the work of blacksmith- 
 ing. and continued in that business for more 
 than twenty-one years. 
 
 In 1898 Mr. Turner was elected on the 
 Republican ticket to the office of sheriff of La- 
 fayette county, and held the position for two 
 years, conducting the same in an efficient and 
 satisfactory manner. 
 
 Mr. Turner was united in marriage Octo- 
 
 ber 17, 1882, to Miss Belle Huntington, daugh- 
 ter oi James and Sarah Huntington, of the 
 town ot Seymour in this county ; tliey have one 
 daughter, Jeanette, now in her seventeenth 
 year. 
 
 FREDERICK A. WASHBURN, residing 
 in Section 15, Clifton township, Grant county, 
 bears an honorable record for brave service in 
 the war between the North and South. Re- 
 sponding to his country’s call for aid, he en- 
 listed Dec. 17, 1861, in Company F, 2d Wis- 
 consin Cavalry, and when discharged, on Dec. 
 6, 1863, at Red Bone, Miss., he re-enlisted, 
 the following day, in the same company and 
 regiment, being finally mustered out at Madi- 
 son, Wis., Dec. 16, 1865, after four long years 
 of arduous service on Southern battlefields. 
 He was on active duty with his regiment nearly 
 the whole of this time, being for a brief period 
 confined in hospital during his first enlistment, 
 and a few days in the hospital at Galveston, 
 Texas, during his .second term. 
 
 This gallant soldier was born in Lake coun- 
 ty, 111 ., in 1844, and is a son of B. F. Wash- 
 burn, a native of New York State, who also 
 served in the war of the Rebellion, as a mem- 
 ber of the 20th Wis. V. I. At the time of his 
 enlistment the father owned the farm where 
 his son Frederick now resides. He never re- 
 turned to his family and friends, being one of 
 the large number in every army who are re- 
 ported missing. His fate was never known, 
 though it is supposed that he was a victim of 
 some marauding band of guerrillas. Of his 
 family four sons and two daughters reached 
 adult age. One son, George W. was a member 
 of the same company as our subject, and was 
 with him until his death, in Memphis, Tenn., 
 while another son, Benjamin F., Jr., served 
 throughout the latter part of the war in the 
 • 17th Wis. Vr I., and is now a resident of Ex- 
 celsior, Richland Co.. AA’is. It will thus be seen 
 that the family furnished four defenders of the 
 Union, two of whom, father and son, never 
 came back. 
 
 Frederick A. Washburn has passed nearly 
 all of his mature years on the homestead farm 
 where he new lives. He has been twice mar- 
 ried, his first wife being Miss Senena Taylor, 
 bv whom lie had two children : Albert E.. now 
 in the. Klondike; and Ida D., wife of Henry 
 Franklin. His present wife was in her maiden- 
 hood Miss Clara May Fields, and to them 
 
496 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 have been born five children, namely: Dora 
 
 hi ay, Arthur E., lea L., Roxy M. and Adal- 
 bert L. 
 
 Mr. Washburn's health was greatly im- 
 paired by Ins long service in the army, and as 
 the years pass by his infirmities caused thereby 
 increase in intensity. He is a good citizen, and 
 is highly respected and esteemed by all who 
 know him. 
 
 WILLIAM H. DICK, who is the very effi- 
 cient and popular postmaster at Dayton, Green 
 county, was born here May I, 1844, and is a 
 son of John and Sarah (Lawler) Dick. The 
 father was born in Scotland, and the mother in 
 Ireland. They were the parents of a family 
 of eight children, of whom the following still 
 survive : William H. ; Marion, who is the wife 
 of Byron Babbitt, of Evansville, Wis. ; and 
 Sarah, who is the wife of Norman Hook, of 
 McFarland, Wis. John Dick was a shoemaker, 
 and came to America in 1842, locating on a 
 farm in the town of Exeter, Green county, 
 where he took up a tract of eighty acres from 
 the government. This he afterward sold, and 
 established himself as a shoemaker in the vil- 
 lage of Exeter. In 1854 he removed to the 
 village of Dayton, where he followed the busi- 
 ness of shoemaking until 1862. In the month 
 of August, that year, he enlisted in Company 
 F, 31st Wis. V. I., and was honorably dis- 
 charged in June, 1865, with a record of which 
 his family and friends are justly proud. When 
 the war was over, Mr. Dick returned to Day- 
 ton, where he resumed his work as a shoe- 
 maker. In 1867 he removed to a farm which 
 he had boug J ht near Mt. Vernon, Dane county, 
 where he made his home for fifteen years. At 
 the end of that time he sold his farm and re- 
 moved to Brooklyn, Green county. There he 
 died in the fall of 1897, being at the time of his 
 death in his eighty-fifth year. His first wife, 
 the mother of Postmaster Dick, died in 1881, 
 at the age of sixty years, and lie married for 
 his second wife, a Miss Post, who is still liv- 
 ing. Mr. Dick in his faith was a Presby- 
 terian, though not connected with any church. 
 The first Mrs. Dick was a Catholic. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of William H. 
 Dick was James Dick. He was a coppersmith, 
 and also a tinsmith, and was the father of 
 five sons. He died in middle life from the ef- 
 fect of a paralytic stroke. Mrs. Sarah (Law- 
 ler) Dick was a daughter of Patrick Lawler, 
 
 who died in Ireland before his daughter came 
 to America, which she did when a young girl. 
 He was a farmer, and had seven children. 
 
 William H. Dick spent the first ten years 
 of his life in the town of Exeter, and has since 
 that age lived in the village of Dayton, ex- 
 cept the time he spent in the army. In 1864 
 he enlisted in Company F, 42nd Wis. V. I., 
 and served at the front until the close of the 
 war, making about one year of active duty. 
 When the war ended, Mr. Dick returned to 
 Dayton, and spent another year in school, and 
 then became an apprentice at the tinner’s trade, 
 and that trade has been his occupation to the 
 present time. 
 
 On March 16, 1870, Mr. Dick was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary Francisco, .a daughter of 
 Francis and Elizabeth Francisco. Four chil- 
 dren were born of this marriage : John, Edith, 
 Grace and Bessie. Edith married Perry Wisch, 
 of Janesville, and they have one daughter. 
 T he other three children are all living at home. 
 Mrs. Dick is a member of the Methodist 
 Church. Mr. Dick belongs to Belleville 
 Lodge, No. 74, I. O. O. F., to Joseph Mower 
 Post, No. 12 1, G. A. R., and to the M. W. 
 A. He is a Republican, and cast his first vote 
 for Abraham Lincoln. For one year he has 
 been town clerk and also clerk of the school 
 district. Mr. Dick was appointed postmaster 
 of Dayton, June 17, 1898, and is still satis- 
 factorily performing the duties of that posi- 
 tion. He owns a good home in the village, 
 and is president of the board of health for the 
 town of Exeter. 
 
 f 
 
 JOHN A. YOUNG, of Brodhead, Green 
 county, is a dealer in fresh-water pearls, raw 
 furs and ginseng, and in these rather uncom- 
 mon lines of trade and barter has succeeded 
 in amassing a very comfortable competence. 
 He has had little help from friends or fortune 
 in his life. work, and may be written down as 
 a thoroughly self-made man, the architect of 
 his own fortune. He is a man of good heart, 
 generous disposition and kindly feeling, who 
 has combined keen business sense with the ut- 
 most integrity of purpose, and is known as a 
 thoroughly honorable and reliable gentleman. 
 
 Mr. Young was born in Bern, Albany Co., 
 N. Y., Aug. 5, 1832, a son of Peter and Re- 
 becca (Austin) Young, natives of New York. 
 They had eleven children, nine of whom are 
 now living: John A.; Charles W., of White- 
 
JOHH A. YOUBG 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 A97 
 
 water, Wis. ; William, of Voorheesville, N. Y. ; 
 Henry, of Albany, N. Y; Govnier, of White- 
 water, Wis.; Sarah Van Patten, of Centralia, 
 Ivans. ; Louis V an Patten, of the same place ; 
 Maggie Gemlick, of Albany, N.' Y. ; and Eliza 
 Severson, of Guilderland Center, N. Y. The 
 father was a carpenter and joiner, and in the 
 latter part of his life a farmer in New York, 
 where he died at the age of seventy-eight. His 
 wife survived him, dying when about seventy- 
 seven. They were Methodists. -He belonged 
 to the State militia. The paternal and ma- 
 ternal grandfathers of John A. Young were of 
 Dutch descent, followed farming, and lived 
 to advanced ages. Both reared large families. 
 The latter, John Austin, came to Wisconsin 
 in 1844, and located in Rock county. He 
 owned a tract of 1,100 acres. 
 
 John A. Young was reared in Albany 
 county, N. Y., where he obtained his early 
 education. His father, though a man of lim- 
 ited means, gave him his time from the age of 
 ten. John A. learned the carpenter business 
 with his father, but spent his time principally 
 in farming, beginning work as a farm hand 
 in New York State at the age of fifteen, for 
 a man by the name of Thomas Tygart, with 
 whom he remained something over two years. 
 His wages were $4 per month the first year; 
 the second year he received S8 per month, with 
 the understanding that he should deliver farm 
 produce at Albany, twelve miles distant, by 
 •early daylight, on account of the cholera 
 scourge in the city. In the third year he was 
 taken sick, and had to return to his father’s 
 home for recuperation. In 1858 Mr. Young 
 came to Wisconsin and located on a farm in 
 the town of Lima, Rock county. In 1861 he 
 began the business of keeping hotel at Johns- 
 town Center, Wis., where he spent the next 
 two and one-half years, and in 1S63 he went 
 to Brodhead and engaged in the hotel business. 
 Here he has since remained, continuing the ho- 
 tel business until 1895, since which time he 
 has given his entire attention to the business 
 of buying and selling fresh-water pearls and 
 raw furs. He is considered an expert in the 
 business, and has made it very profitable. He 
 built the “Young House - ’ at Brodhead in 1868- 
 69, a fine building in its day, which still at- 
 tracts admiration ; it is a three-story brick 
 structure, 52x62 feet, its entire cost being about 
 $16,000, and* in it Mr. Young did a large and 
 profitable business. 
 
 32 
 
 Mr. Young and Miss Maria Groat, daugh- 
 ter of Abraham and Julia Ann (Ostrander) 
 Groat, were married June 28, 1S52, and they 
 have had nine children, Julia A. A., Rebecca, 
 John F., Teressa, Alice, Manley, Mary J., 
 Maud, and Florence. Julia A. A. died June 
 11, 1854, when a child; Teressa died Oct. 20, 
 1859; John F., May 4, 1864; Rebecca, July 
 18, 1864; Mary J., Feb. 1, 1867; and Manley, 
 May 18, 1900. The last named married Miss 
 Anna Snyder, who survives him, and they had 
 one son, Loyal, who is now five years old. 
 Alice married E. M. Lyons, of Brodhead, and 
 is the mother of five children, Maud, Eddie, 
 Ray, Alice and Genevieve. Maud married F. 
 K. Vance, of Brodhead. Florence is at home. 
 Mr. and Airs. Young belong to the Dutch Re- 
 formed Church, and he is a member of the In- 
 dependent Order of Odd Fellows, in which fra- 
 ternity he has taken high rank. He has filled 
 all the chairs of the subordinate lodge, is a 
 member of the Patriarchs Militant, and has 
 been .a member of the grand lodge for many 
 years. Mr. Young is a Republican, has served 
 on the county central committee of the party 
 for several years, and has been a delegate 011 
 several occasions to the Republican State Con- 
 vention. He was mayor of Brodhead two 
 successive terms. Air. Young is a member of 
 the State Municipal League, and believes in 
 public ownership of public utilities. 
 
 Mr. Young owns one of the finest resi- 
 dences in the village of Brodhead, built in 
 1895, and thoroughly modern and up-to-date 
 in every respect. He also owns considerable 
 residence and business property in the place. 
 There was not a foot of sidewalk in Brodhead 
 when Air. Young settled there, and he has the 
 honor of having taken the initiative in this im- 
 provement of the city, having laid the first side- 
 walk in the place in the spring of 1864. 
 
 Airs. Young’s parents were born in the 
 town of Guilderland, N. Y., where she. was 
 born in 1S33. Her father always followed the 
 life of a farmer, though he became noted 
 throughout New England as the owner of 
 two superior race horses, “Sorrel Pony” and 
 “Black Alaria." In their old age Air. and Mrs. 
 Groat moved to a new home in Guilderland 
 Center, where he died at the age of seventy- 
 eight years. His widow went to Albany, 
 N. Y., to live- with a daughter, and passed 
 away at the age of eighty-six. They belonged 
 to the Dutch Reformed Church. His father, 
 
498 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Simon Groat, a soldier of the war of the Rev- 
 olution, died when seventy-five. He was the 
 father of nine children. Mrs. Young’s ma- 
 ternal grandfather, John Ostrander, was a 
 shoemaker by trade, but was keeping hotel at 
 the time of his death. He had eight children. 
 He enlisted in the Rensselaer war. Both her 
 grandparents were of Holland-Dutch descent, 
 natives of Albany county, N. Y., and followed 
 farming. 
 
 PRESCOTT W. PUFFER, the present 
 able and courteous local representative of the 
 Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad at 
 Monroe, Green Co., Wis., where he is station 
 agent, was born in Andover, Windsor Co., 
 Vt., Aug. 29, 1833. His parents, Ephraim 
 and Rosamer (Chandler) Puffer, were also na- 
 tives of Vermont, and of their family of chil- 
 dren two are now living: ( 1 ) Rosamer married 
 Ur. Putnam Burton, and both are deceased. 
 (2) Chandler died in Ohio in 1844. (3) Lu- 
 
 cinda is deceased. (4) Ryland is deceased. 
 (5) Elizabeth married Isaiah Lovejoy, and is 
 deceased. (6) Prescott W. is our subject. 
 (7) Augusta is the wife of A. W. Wells, of 
 Shelburn Falls, Mass. Ephraim Puffer was a 
 carpenter, later in life becoming a farmer, and 
 died on the old homestead in Vermont in 1848, 
 at the age of sixty-two. His widow survived 
 to the age of ninety-five years. They were Bap- 
 tists in early life but in after years she became 
 a Universalist. He was a man of considerable 
 local importance, and held various offices. His 
 father died over fifty years ago, when he was 
 past eighty years. He was a farmer, and had 
 reared a family of five children. 
 
 Prescott W. Puffer was reared in Vermont, 
 and received an excellent common-school edu- 
 cation. He attended Black River Academy, 
 a local institution of more than local reputa- 
 tion, and was well prepared for the world 
 when he left home, at eighteen years of age, 
 to work in a woodenware factory. In 1851 
 he went to Troy, N. Y.. where he was employed 
 in the post office some three years. In 1855 
 the young man came to Wisconsin, and en- 
 gaged in the furniture business at Janesville 
 for two years. About that time he secured 
 an appointment as clerk in the office of the 
 Northwestern Railway Co., at Janesville, and 
 was with that company six years', at the ex- 
 piration of which time the St. Paul Company 
 offered him a better position, in their Janes- 
 
 ville freight office. He accepted it, and entered 
 the services of that corporation, with which he 
 has remained to the present time. The fol- 
 lowing year he came to Monroe as station 
 agent, and has been here since January 15, 
 1S66. 
 
 Prescott W. Puffer (and Miss Helen R. 
 Noggle, a daughter of the late Judge David 
 and Anna (Lewis) Noggle, were married Dec. 
 23, 1856, in Janesville, Wis. They have one 
 daughter, May Louise, who became the wife 
 of J. C. Hood, of Monroe, and is the mother 
 of one daughter, Marguerite. Mr. and Mrs'. 
 Puffer are members of the Episcopal Church, 
 and are very popular in church and society. 
 He belongs to Western Star Lodge, No. 14, 
 A. F. & A. VI., Janesville, Wis., and to Pales- 
 tine Chapter, No. 21, R. A. VI., Monroe, Wis. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Puffer and daughter are charter 
 members of St. Omar Chapter, Order of the 
 Eastern Star, Monroe, Wis. He is a stanch 
 Republican, and a man of fine record and un- 
 blemished character. Mr. Puffer has a com- 
 modious and attractive home on the corner of 
 Market and Emerson streets', and has lived in 
 Monroe thirty-five years. 
 
 JOHN ANDERSON was one of the early 
 settlers of VIonticello township, Lafayette 
 county. He was a native of Lancashire, Scot- 
 land, born March 15, 1822, and died of a can- 
 cer at his home in Monticello township, March 
 12, 1900, aged seventy-eight years lacking 
 three days. He came of sturdy Scotch an- 
 cestry, and his mother died in her native land, 
 but his father, William Anderson, emigrated 
 to America in 1830, with his two sons, John 
 and George (the latter died in 1863), and set- 
 tled' in Oneida county. New York. 
 
 John Anderson grew to manhood in Oneida 
 county, and on March 6, 1854, was married to 
 Miss Margaret Jane Burrows, daughter of 
 Alexander and Rose Burrows, and a sister of 
 William Burrows, now of Monticello town- 
 ship. She was born May 17, 1830, and now 
 resides at her pleasant home where she and her 
 husband passed the many happy years of their 
 married life. Soon after his marriage in 1854, 
 Mr. Anderson came to Lafayette county, and 
 became one of the early pioneers of Monticello 
 township. He improved the farm that was his 
 home during the remainder of his life, and be- 
 came a prominent and highly esteemed citi- 
 zen, identified with the growth and develop- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 499 
 
 ment of his town and county. In his political 
 views he was a Democrat, and was always 
 active in the work of his party, serving for a 
 number of years as chairman of- his town, and 
 in 1875 as a member of the State Legislature. 
 All his relations with his fellow men were char- 
 acterized by the strictest integrity, and his 
 word was ever accepted unquestioningly. He 
 was an honored member of the Masonic fra- 
 ternity, having joined the Order at Shullsburg, 
 in 1863, but later, as a matter of greater con- 
 venience, affiliated with the lodge at Apple 
 River, 111 . Eight children were born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Anderson, seven of whom yet sur- 
 vive: Alexander died in New Mexico Nov. 
 
 22, 1884; Sadie is the wife of Robert Charl- 
 ton, of Cherokee, Iowa; Ray resides' at Holly, 
 Colo. ; Cora is the wife of George Pillmore, 
 of Geddes, S. Dak. ; John is at home; Charles is 
 a telegraph operator at Dickens, Iowa ; Libbie 
 and George are at home. 
 
 JAMES W. HARMS, one of the energetic 
 and progressive business men of Platteville, 
 Grant county, who has for many years been 
 prominently identified with the mining inter- 
 ests of that place, is a native of Grant county, 
 born in Smelser township Feb. 20, 1852. 
 
 Mr. Harms is a son of Dedrick and Maria 
 M. (Melvin) Harms. The father was born 
 March 30, 1805, in Hanover, Germany, where 
 he was reared and educated, and in 1834 set 
 sail from Bremen, and after a long and tedi- 
 ous voyage landed in New Orleans. By fiat- 
 boat he came up the Mississippi river to Du- 
 buque, Iowa, where lie at first worked at day 
 labor, and later found employment in the 
 mines. The same year, however, he came to 
 Grant countv, Wis., and commenced working; 
 m the mines here. He was at that time unmar- 
 ried, and in very limited circumstances. In 
 1839 he was joined by his brother John, and 
 together they invested their money in land, 
 I always doing - business under the firm name of 
 D. & J. Harms. Their first purchase was the 
 claim of a Mr. Hazard, who had commenced 
 to break the land, and to it they added from 
 time to time, as their financial resources in- 
 creased, until they owned a large amount of 
 property. The partnership between the two 
 jorothers continued until the death of Dedrick, 
 Sept. 3, 1882. He was married in Galena. 111.. 
 Aug. 6 , 1843, to Miss Maria M. Melvin, a 
 native of Bloomington, Inch, and a daughter of 
 
 Janies A. and Sarah S. (Roberts) Melvin. 
 Her mother was born in Virginia, of Holland 
 ancestry, while her father was born near the 
 city of Baltimore, Md. He brought his fam- 
 ily to Grant county, Wis., about 1831, becom- 
 ing a farmer of Belmont township. He was 
 a soldier in the Black Hawk war, and during 
 those troublesome times his family stayed at 
 the block-house at Mineral Point. Both Mr. 
 and Mrs. Melvin died in Nebraska. After his 
 marriage Dedrick Harms located on the old 
 homestead in Smelser township, where he en- 
 gaged in farming and stock raising through- 
 out the remainder of his life. Although he 
 came to the New World empty-handed, by in- 
 dustry and good management he became one 
 of the most successful and substantial citizens 
 of his community. Politically he was a Demo- 
 crat, and religiously both he and his wife were 
 members of the Lutheran Church. She de- 
 parted this life March 10, 1898. 
 
 To this worthy couple were born the fol- 
 lowing children: (1) John C., born June 6, 
 1844, followed farming until his death, March 
 13, 1871. He was married, Oct. 8, 1866, 
 to Elizabeth Speth, who survives him, and to 
 them were born three children : Emma M., 
 Mary C., and Johanna, all deceased. (2) 
 Mary I., born Oct. 23, 1845, is the widow of 
 Christopher Schroeder, and a resident of 
 Platteville. To them were born four children, 
 George, Anna and James, all living; and 
 Ellen, who died in infancy. (3) Henry H., 
 born Feb. 16, 1848, also a farmer, died Nov. 
 9, 1898. He was married March 16, 1880, 
 to Dora Werfellmann, and to them were born 
 four children, one of whom died in infancy. 
 Those living are Mary, John and Emma. (4) 
 Dedrick William, born Jan. 30, 1850, died 
 April 23, 1856. (5) James W. is mentioned 
 
 below. (6) Louis L., born Oct. 7, 1853. was 
 married. Sept. 16, 1880, to Mary Anna Riege, 
 by whom lie had four children, Benjamin JJ., 
 Lily A. (deceased). Purl L., and Edith J. 
 (deceased). (7) Martha Jane, born April 
 15, 1853, died June 25, 1886. (8) Sarah E., 
 
 born May 8, 1857, was married in 1884 to 
 Dr. Law, of Madison, Wis., and the children 
 born to them were Blossom, Maria (deceased), 
 Robert and John. (9) Emma M., born April 
 9. i860, lives on the old homestead. (10) 
 George L., born April 25, 1862, is also living 
 on the old homestead. ( 1 1 ) The youngest, 
 born Nov. 3, 1864, died in infancy. 
 
 On the home farm James W. Harms grew 
 
 i 
 
500 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to manhood, obtaining- his education in the dis- 
 trict schools of Smelser township, and on start- 
 ing out in life for himself he engaged in farm- 
 ing and mining. Since coming to Platteville, 
 in 1886, he has been interested in mining, and 
 has met with excellent success in business 
 affairs. 
 
 In Platteville, March 1, 1883, Mr. Harms 
 was united in marriage with Miss Sophia M. 
 Logemann, a native of Hanover, Germany, who 
 in 1866 came to the United States with her 
 parents, Cord H. and Gesche A. (Bruning) 
 Logemann, also natives of the same place. The 
 family sailed from Bremen, and landed in New 
 York, whence they came to Platteville, Wis. 
 In 1866 they located on a farm in Platteville 
 township, but Mr. Logemann is now living in 
 Elk Grove, Lafayette Co., Wis. Mrs. Loge- 
 mann died Feb. 1, 1900. They had six chil- 
 dren: (1) Albert H., also a resident of Elk 
 Grove, married Mary Warfellman, and to 
 them were born five children, Sophia, Henry, 
 one who died in infancy, Dora S. and Will- 
 iam. (2) Henry J. died in Grant county Oct. 
 2, 1878. (3) Dora died Oct. 30, 1878. (4) 
 
 Mrs. Harms is next in the order of birth. 
 (5) Mary D., Mrs. Henry Albers, of Platte- 
 ville, is the mother of five children, Laura, 
 Inez, Alta and Herbert, all living, and Clar- 
 ence, deceased. (6) Herman H. married 
 Fredericka Speth, who died in 1894, and they 
 had two children, James, and one who died 
 in infancy. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Harms is a stanch 
 Democrat, and in religious belief both he and 
 his wife are Lutherans. He is a worthy rep- 
 resentative of one of the honored pioneer fam- 
 ilies of Grant county, whose identification with 
 the county dates back to territorial days, his 
 father having located here in 1834, when this 
 region was all wild and unimproved. In the 
 work of development and progress the family 
 have always borne their part, and are justly 
 numbered among the valued and useful citi- 
 zens of the community. 
 
 CHARLES F. DODGE, mine owner and 
 speculator of Shullsburg, Lafayette county, 
 was born in New Diggings township Dec. 
 28, 1850. 
 
 Ammi Dodge, his father, was born in New 
 Hampshire in 1809, son of Alpheus Dodge, 
 of good old New England stock. In 1848 
 he married, in New Diggings, Ann E. Dering, 
 
 who was born in Pennsylvania in 1S28, daugh- 
 ter of John Dering, who located in New Dig- 
 gings m 1840. For the three years following 
 his marriage Mr. Dodge engaged in mining. 
 A typical pioneer, popular with all who knew 
 him, he played an important part in pubic 
 affairs, and in 1855 was elected sheriff of La- 
 fayette county by the old-line Whigs. When 
 j his term of office expired he retired to a farm 
 in New Diggings, determining to engage in 
 agricultural pursuits for the remainder of his 
 life. His wife died in 1889, and after her 
 death he made his home with his daughter, 
 Mrs. Harry C. Martin, of Darlington, who 
 cared for him until he entered into rest, in 
 1894. He was the father of the following- 
 children: (1) John, born in 1848, now makes 
 his home in South Dakota. He married Jen- 
 nie Chamley, and has four daughters. (2) 
 Charles F. (3) William died in boyhood. 
 (4) Thomas, born in December, 1854, settled 
 on the old home farm, which he managed for 
 a number of years, and then moved to Cripple 
 Creek, Colo., where he is now engaged in 
 .mining. He married Miss A. Vickers, and has 
 six children, Ammi, Thomas, Jessie, Mary, 
 Kittle Helen and Charles. (5) Frank, born 
 in 1856, moved to South Dakota, where he 
 died in 1885, leaving five children, who now 
 reside in Shullsburg, William, Katie, Frank, 
 Annie and Harry. The mother died on re- 
 turning to Wisconsin, and left her children 
 under the guardianship of their uncle. Charles 
 F. Dodge. (6) Kittie E., born in 1858, was 
 educated in the Platteville Normal, and is now 
 the wife of Senator Martin, of Darlington. 
 She has one daughter, Anne Dodge. (7) 
 Abby died in childhood. (8) Sherman, born- 
 in 1864, now lives in Madison, where he holds 
 a political position. He married Maggie Cot- 
 tingham, daughter of Miles Cottingham, of 
 Benton, Lafayette county, and has three chil- 
 dren. 
 
 • Charles F. Dodge received a good educa- 
 tion in the district schools and in the Platte- 
 ville Normal, remaining in the latter institu- 
 tion as a student for a number of years. In 
 early life he worked with his father on the 
 home farm, but after the death of his mother, 
 when his father gave up active work, he be- 
 came interested in mining and speculating in 
 ore. In 1896 he discovered and opened the La- 
 fayette Mine in Shullsburg, which has proven 
 a most valuable acquisition. He received 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 501 
 
 $8,000 for a part interest, and it continues to 
 be a good paying investment. In politics Mr. 
 Dodge is identified with the Republican party, 
 and in religious faith, like all his family, is a 
 member of the Episcopal Church, in which 
 his mother was so well known for many years 
 as a most earnest worker in the cause of re- 
 ligion. Socially Mr. Dodge belongs to the 
 Lead Mine Lodge, of the I. O. O. F. He is 
 highly esteemed in the business world, his 
 wisdom and prudence making him a much de- 
 sired adviser. He has also acquired exten- 
 sive mining interests in Leadville, at present 
 being a stockholder in one of the good pro- 
 ducing mines there. 
 
 JAMES T. SHERMAN is a noble repre- 
 sentative of the last business generation of 
 Wisconsin, and is one of the few survivors of 
 that period of stress and strain that made Wis- 
 consin great and rich. He is now spending 
 the late afternoon of his long and useful life 
 in a richly-earned peace and retirement in 
 Brodhead, Green county. 
 
 Mr. Sherman was born in New Haven. 
 Conn., April 17, 1819, and is a son of Charles 
 and Jennet (Taylor) Sherman, natives of 
 Connecticut and New York, respectively. 
 They were the parents of thirteen children, 
 and of this large and interesting family only 
 three remain: James T.; John T., of Brook- 
 lyn, N. Y. ; and Jennet T., of Elizabeth, N. 
 J. Andrew T., of Wilmette, 111 ., was the last 
 to pass to the unseen world. The father was 
 a merchant tailor in New Haven, but late in 
 life retired to a farm near Suffield, in the same 
 State, where he passed a number of years as 
 a gentleman of leisure. He was known as 
 Colonel Sherman, having been at the head of 
 a regiment during the war of 1812. He died 
 in 1844, a t the age of sixty-two; his wife died 
 Aug. 6, 1843, at the age of forty-nine. They 
 were members of the Congregational Church, 
 in which he was a deacon. He was nomi- 
 nated for the position of State Senator in his 
 State the year he died. 
 
 John Sherman, father of Charles Sherman, 
 was the oldest son of Roger Sherman, a na- 
 tive of Connecticut, born in 1750, of English 
 lineage. He was a colonel in the Revolution- 
 ary war, and died at Canton, Mass., in 1801. 
 His wife was Rebecca, the daughter of David 
 Austin, of New Haven, Conn. They had seven 
 children. Roger Sherman was a signer of the 
 Declaration of Independence, and at different 
 
 times held prominent official positions. He 
 was mayor of New Haven for a number of 
 years, and received the degree of M. A. from 
 iale College in 1786. He moved to New 
 Haven in 1761. and was a member of the 
 Continental Congress in 1774. He was one 
 of a committee of five, and was associated 
 with Franklin, Jefferson, Livingston and 
 Adams, in the preparation of the Declaration of 
 Independence. He was United States Senator 
 from Connecticut from 1791 until his death, 
 July 23, 1793, and by John Randolph was 
 termed the “Siccius Dentalus” of the United 
 States Senate. The maternal grandfather of 
 James T. Sherman was John Taylor, of Edin- 
 burgh, Scotland. He was a merchant in the 
 city of New York, where he died at the age 
 of eighty. He was the father of seven chil- 
 dren. 
 
 James T. Sherman was reared from early 
 childhood in Suffield, Conn., where he received 
 his common-school education. He attended 
 the academy at Greenwich, and finished his 
 schooling at Westfield, Mass. He began life 
 for himself as a farmer on the old homestead, 
 and engaged in that occupation until he came 
 West. In 1856 Mr. Sherman came to Brod- 
 head, Wis., where he and his brother Henry 
 opened the first dry goods store at that place. 
 They did not remain in the store very long, 
 and Mr. Sherman went to farming in the town 
 of Decatur, a mile from Brodhead, where he 
 bought two tracts of land, an eighty-acre and 
 a fifty-acre piece. He farmed for several 
 years, and then disposed of the larger piece, 
 keeping the homestead and fifty acres. 
 
 Mr. Sherman and Miss Abigail Talcott 
 Morgan were married Feb. 9, 1842. She was 
 the daughter of Deacon Joseph and Abigail 
 ( Talcott) Morgan, of Windsor, Conn. Ten 
 children were born to this union, James Mor- 
 gan, Abbie T., Eliza Morgan, Anna Maria, 
 Charles Jasper, John Taylor and Jessie Taylor 
 '(twins), Helen Mabel, Edwin D. Morgan, 
 and Fannie Boyington. James Morgan mar- 
 ried Miss Mary E. French, and lives in Chi- 
 cago. where he is a commission merchant on 
 the Board of Trade; they have four children, 
 Edwin M., Roger, Martha E., and Mary F. 
 Abbie T. married Normal Hall, and lives in 
 Chicago : they have two children. Edwin M. 
 and James. Eliza M.. at home, is a writer 
 of marked ability, and is a contributor to sev- 
 eral of the leading papers and magazines ; 
 she has quite a reputation as a writer of hymns. 
 
502 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of which she has composed over three hun- 
 dred. Anna Maria married A. S. Moore, the 
 cashier of the Green County Bank at Brod- 
 head, and has four children, Sherman, Charles 
 A., Roger Sherman and Eunice. Charles Jas- 
 per is a farmer, and lives in Brodhead; he 
 married Miss Kate Rockwood, and has one 
 son, John R. John Taylor died unmarried at 
 the age of thirty years. Jessie Taylor lives at 
 home. Helen married Charles S. French, of 
 Chicago, and had two children, one of whom 
 is now living, Helen; both father and mother 
 died of scarlet fever only about twenty days 
 apart. Edwin U. Morgan died when four 
 weeks old. Fannie B. married George A. Met- 
 calf, of Janesville, and is the mother of three 
 sons, Earl S., Charles Winthrop and George 
 Stanley. Mr. and Mrs. James T. Sherman 
 are members of the Congregational Church, 
 where he has officiated as deacon for many 
 years. Mr. Sherman was a Whig in early life, 
 but on the organization of the Republican 
 party, united with it, and has voted its ticket 
 to the present time. 
 
 The parents of Mrs. Sherman had six chil- 
 dren, and two of these are now living. Cath- 
 erine A., the widow of Charles A. Dressback, 
 of Greenwich, Conn., and Mrs. James T. Sher- 
 man. The father was a farmer, and died at 
 Windsor, Conn., in 1862, at the ripe old age 
 of eighty-seven. His wife died in 1832, at 
 the age of forty-eight. The paternal grand- 
 father of Mrs. Sherman was William Avery 
 Morgan, a native of Georgetown, Conn., and 
 a soldier in the war of the Revolution, partici- 
 pating in the battle of Bunker Hill when he 
 was twenty-one years old. He was the father 
 of seventeen children. The maternal grandfa- 
 ther was Daniel Talcott, of Windsor, Conn, 
 a descendant of that Governor Talcott who 
 presided over the destinies of Connecticut in 
 the old Colonial days. At the golden wedding 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Sherman, celebrated in 1892, 
 there were seventeen relatives present. They 
 have a beautiful home in Brodhead, and a win- 
 ter home in Florida. She is a sister of Gov- 
 ernor Morgan, who was governor of New 
 York during the Rebellion. 
 
 WILLIAM BATCHELOR, a prominent 
 brick and stone mason and one of the leading - 
 contractors of Platteville, Grant county, was 
 born in Pittsburg, Penn., in 1844, a son of 
 Frederick and Elizabeth (Lendon) Batchelor. 
 
 The mother died in that city in 1848, and in 
 1854 the father came to Wisconsin. He lived 
 for some time in Platteville, but now makes his 
 home in Ellenboro, Grant county. By trade 
 he is also a stone mason. 
 
 William Batchelor was only four years old 
 when brought to Platteville, and is indebted to 
 its public schools for his educational privileges. 
 In early life he learned the brick and stone 
 mason's trade, which he has since followed, 
 and as a contractor has met with good suc- 
 cess, receiving a liberal share of the public 
 patronage. 
 
 Mr. Batchelor was among those who went 
 to the defense of his country during the dark 
 days of the Rebellion, enlisting at Platteville 
 Aug. 8, 1862, in Company E, 25th Wis. V. I., 
 for three years or during the war. He was 
 mustered in at La Crosse, Wis., and joined 
 the Army of the Tennessee, taking part in the 
 sieges of Vicksburg and Atlanta, and in Sher- 
 man’s march- to the sea. He was also in the 
 Carolina campaign, and participated in the 
 grand review at Washington, D. C. In June, 
 1865, he was honorably discharged at Madi- 
 son, Wis., and returned to his home in Platte- 
 ville. 
 
 Later in that year Mr. Batchelor married 
 Miss Mary Atkinson, a native of England, 
 and a daughter of George and Mary Atkinson, 
 who were also born in England, and came to 
 Grant county, Wis., in 1850. Mr. Atkinson 
 died in Ellenboro in 1888. The children born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Batchelor are Fred W., Frank, 
 Lillian and Clyde. Fraternally Mr. Batchelor 
 is a prominent member of W. T. Sherman 
 Post, No. 66, G. A. R., in which he has held 
 office. He is identified with the Republican 
 party, and takes an active interest in politics. 
 
 JOHN ALFRED TROW. Among the 
 prominent and influential farmers who have 
 done much toward the improvement of Green 
 county, Wis., is John Alfred Trow, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, who is located on a fine 
 farm of 300 acres in Albany township, where 
 he makes a specialty of the raising of cattle 
 and sheep. 
 
 Mr. Trow was born in Albany township, 
 on Dec. 16, 1852, one of the family of children 
 born to John and Ann (Griffiths) Trow, both 
 of whom were natives of England. Other chil- 
 dren of the family who yet survive are: Mi- 
 chael, who lives in Albany township; Susanna, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5°3 
 
 who married Hugh Mason, of Kingsley, la. ; 
 Mary, who lives in Kingsley, la.; Sarah, who 
 married Albert Richardson, of Plymouth coun- 
 ty, la. ; and Evangeline, who married George 
 Evans, of Kingsley, Iowa. 
 
 John Trow was born in Beguildy Parish, 
 Radnorshire, Wales, in 1805, and grew to 
 manhood on the farm there known as Llan- 
 reese. About 1839 John Trow married Ann 
 Griffiths, a daughter of John and Sarah 
 Griffiths, of Lower House farm, in Radnor- 
 shire, and from there came to the United States 
 in 1846, locating first at Burlington, Wis., 
 where they lived until the winter of 1846. 
 I11 the spring of 1847 John Trow and his fam- 
 ily removed to Albany, Wis., where they 
 bought 220 acres, and there lived until the 
 death of the father, in 1880, aged seventy-five. 
 The mother died in 1875, aged about sixty- 
 seven. Both were consistent members of the 
 M. E. Church. The paternal grandfather was 
 named Horatio Trow, and was a native of 
 England. A farmer by occupation, he pur- 
 sued this calling all his life; had four sons 
 and two daughters, and died in England when 
 about seventy. The maternal grandfather, 
 John Griffiths, was also a native of England, 
 where he died aged about seventy years, hav- 
 ing been a farmer all his life. His family con- 
 sisted of six children. 
 
 John A. Trow was reared in Albany town- 
 ship, attending the district schools, and living 
 with his father until he reached the years of 
 maturity. His first venture on his own respon- 
 sibility was the purchase of eighty acres of 
 fine land in Plymouth county, la., where he 
 remained two years. At that time, having re- 
 ceived a good offer for his property, he sold 
 out and returned to Wisconsin, there buying 
 230 acres in Albany township. Green county, 
 which now forms his present home, although 
 he has since purchased additional land until 
 he now has 300 acres. On his well-cultivated 
 fields Mr. Trow carries on general farming 
 and stock raising, making a specialty of breed- 
 ing fine cattle and sheep, which always com- 
 mand excellent prices. 
 
 On Nov. 21, 1880, Mr. Trow married Miss 
 Almira Tilley, daughter of William and Mary 
 Ann (Griffith) Tilley, natives of England, who 
 had four sons and two daughters, five now 
 living: William, John, Mortimer, Mrs. Trow, 
 and Wallace, all of Albany. Mrs. Trow’s 
 father died when about thirty-eight years of 
 age, but her mother is still living. Sampson 
 
 Tilley, the grandfather of Mrs. Trow, came 
 to America, was a carpenter by trade, and died 
 in Albany township, well advanced in years. 
 In his family there were four sons and three 
 daughters. Airs. Trow’s maternal grandfa- 
 ther, James Griffith, came to America, residing 
 for some years in Green county, Wis., and 
 died in Denver, Colo., aged about sixty-nine. 
 Before coming to America he was a prosperous 
 merchant, but after locating here he engaged 
 in farming. Six children were born to Mr. 
 and Airs. Trow: Wallace, Vira, Horatio, Don, 
 Delle, and Tressie. Fraternally Air. Trow 
 is a member of F. & A. AT, Albany, No. 36; 
 politically he is a Republican, and has served 
 his party as supervisor for five years, and as 
 school clerk a number of years. He and his 
 family are among- the most highly esteemed 
 residents of Green county, where they are well 
 known. 
 
 CHARLES WAAISLEY, one of the well- 
 known and prosperous citizens of Waterloo 
 township, Grant county, justice of the peace, 
 clerk of the school board, and an ex-soldier 
 of the war of the Rebellion, was born in Staf- 
 fordshire, England, in 1837, a son of Charles 
 and Sarah (Alalah) Wamsley, also natives of 
 England. 
 
 In 1842 the mother and four children came 
 to America, the father following two years 
 later, and they were among the first settlers 
 in Cassville, Grant Co., Wis., where both par- 
 ents died many years ago. The father was a 
 silk weaver by trade. To Air. and Airs. Wams- 
 ley four children were born : Ellen, who died 
 in Nebraska; Alary, now Airs. Wells, of Ozark, 
 Mo.; Charles; and Jeremiah, who enlisted in 
 the 25th Wis. V. I., was mustered out after 
 the siege of Vicksburg, re-enlisted in the 42d 
 Wis. V. I., and died at Cairo, Illinois. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated in 
 Grant county, and has followed the occupation 
 of farming. In 1844 he returned to England, 
 but again crossed the ocean, and has since re- 
 sided in America. Air. Wamsley enlisted in 
 Waterloo township, in 1865, in Company D, 
 42d Wis. V. I., for one year or until the close 
 of the war, being assigned to the Army of the 
 West, was mustered in at Aladison. Wis., in 
 February, and joined the regiment at Cairo, 
 111 . On account of his ability in that direc- 
 tion Air. Wamsley was detailed at Cairo to 
 look after the sick and wounded, and was 
 honorably discharged in June, 1865. returning 
 
50 4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to Cassville township. In 1871 he removed 
 to Waterloo. 
 
 In i860 Mr. Wamsley was married to Mary 
 Brady, who was born in Ireland, daughter of 
 Patrick Brady, an early settler of Waterloo, 
 Wis. To Mr. and Mrs. Wamsley four chil- 
 dren have been born : Mary Ann, now wife 
 of Thomas Eversoll, of Waterloo township; 
 Charley, of Waterloo township; Rosa, now 
 Mrs. Welch, of Glen Haven township; and 
 Jeremiah, of Waterloo township. In politics 
 Mr. Wamsley is a Democrat, and he takes an 
 active part in political matters. By his judi- 
 cial discharge of the duties of his office of 
 justice of the peace he has gained the respect 
 of his fellow townsmen, and he enjoys the con- 
 fidence of a large circle of friends and ac- 
 quaintances. 
 
 MRS. MARGARET A. GRINDELL, 
 widow of William Grindell, late a leading fur- 
 niture dealer in Platteville. Grant countv, was 
 born in Quincy, 111 ., in 1830, a daughter of 
 John and Mary McMurray. 
 
 John McMurray was a native of Ken- 
 tucky, born in Washington county in 1801. 
 He was a young man when he migrated to Illi- 
 nois, was there married, and located near 
 Springfield, later moving to Quincy, where he 
 purchased several hundred acres of land, and 
 followed farming and stock raising until 1847. 
 He then brought his family to Lafayette coun- 
 ty, Wis., where he purchased another farm, on 
 which he resided until his death, in 1858. 
 His widow was left with six children: Val- 
 
 entine, who migrated to California, engaged in 
 mining a few years, then embarked in mercan- 
 tile trade, and was so engaged when he died, 
 in 1897, leaving a widow and three children, 
 who still reside in the Golden State; Mary is 
 now the widow of Ephraim Fletcher, of Gales- 
 burg, 111 ., and has had two daughters, Louisa 
 (deceased) and Lizzie (wife of F. Turner, of 
 Quincy, 111 .) ; Margaret A. is the subject of 
 this biographical review ; Caroline is the wife 
 of A. Potter, a leading grocer of Platteville; 
 George is in business at Evansville, Wis. ; and 
 Peter is a stockman of Parker, Mo. Mrs. 
 Grindell was educated in the higher schools 
 of Platteville, there followed teaching for 
 eight years. In 1857 she was married to Will- 
 iam Grindell, the leading furniture dealer of 
 the city. 
 
 William Grindell was born in Ireland in 
 
 1819, came to Platteville in 1845, and here 
 at once engaged in cabinet-making and the 
 manufacture of household furniture in gen- 
 eral, using the material cut by the local saw- 
 mills. In this business he continued until his 
 death, which occurred in 1895. Mr. Grindell 
 was twice married, and by his first wife had 
 three sons : Wesley, now a business man in 
 
 Platteville; William, who was killed by the 
 cars when a young man ; and Samuel, now a 
 resident of St. Louis, Mo. To his marriage 
 with Miss Margaret A. McMurray were bom 
 six children, in the following order : Lydia 
 
 J., born in 1858, was a teacher in the Platteville 
 schools for about six years, and later a teacher 
 in Nebraska; she is now the wife of William 
 Kepner, of Osceola, Neb., and the mother of 
 one daughter. Marguerite, and one son, Will- 
 iam R. J. Fred, born in i860, married Mar- 
 garet Eastman, in Montfort, moved to Arkan- 
 sas, where he followed lumbering until his 
 health failed, and then returned to Platteville, 
 and here died in 1897, leaving a wife, but no 
 family. Clara L., born in 1863, was educated 
 in the State Normal School at Platteville, and 
 has been a teacher in the Milwaukee schools 
 for the past eleven years. Mary, born in 1866, 
 was also educated in the State Normal, taught 
 school one term, later graduated in music at 
 the Dixon ( 111 .) College, and for ten years has 
 been a successful music teacher. Thomas, 
 born in 1869, was graduated from the Platte- 
 ville State Normal in 1890, later attended the 
 University of Wisconsin, at Madison, and was 
 a professor of mathematics in the Territorial 
 Normal School, at Tempe, Ariz., which posi- 
 tion he resigned to become one of Roosevelt’s 
 “rough riders” in the war with Spain; after 
 being mustered out he was appointed deputy 
 United States marshal of Arizona, and he is 
 now clerk of the supreme court of that Terri- 
 tory ; he is unmarried. Edward, the youngest of 
 this family of six, born in 1873, was also edu- 
 cated at the State Normal, but on account of 
 failing health went to Arizona in 1897, and is 
 there living on a ranch ; he is unmarried. 
 
 William Grindell, the father of the above 
 named family, was a man of sincerely relig- 
 ious convictions, and in early manhood united 
 with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which 
 he was class-leader and Sunday-school super- 
 intendent, to which he was a liberal contrib- 
 utor, and in which his work was ever zealous, 
 faithful and active; he was charitable in 
 
WILLIAM GRIHDELL 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 505 
 
 thought and act, and no needy or suffering one 
 sought his aid in vain. In 1848 he became an 
 Odd Fellow, and in 1856 was made a Mason, 
 was ardent in his work in both brotherhoods, 
 and constantly filled some office in each, hav- 
 ing served seven years as Worshipful Master 
 in , the latter, and many times as Noble Grand 
 in the former. In politics Mr. Grindell was a 
 stanch Republican, and, although he never had 
 ambition for public office, served on the school 
 board thirty years as a matter of public duty. 
 He left behind him a pure and spotless name — 
 a legacy to his estimable widow and her chil- 
 dren more precious than his wealth, and one 
 which will be honored as it endures in the 
 memory of the residents of Platteville. 
 
 WILLIAM W. CUR WEN is a well-known 
 miner and farmer of Shullsburg, Lafayette 
 county, whose undertakings have proved emi- 
 nently successful. He was born May 27, 1852, 
 a son of John and Ann (Smith) Curwen, who 
 were both born in Manchester, England, the 
 former on May 1, 1826, and the latter on May 
 12, 1822. 
 
 Our subject’s parents were married in their 
 native country, and came to America shortly 
 after, reaching Wisconsin in April, 1852. They 
 made the voyage in a sailing vessel, the "For- 
 est King,” and were thirteen weeks on the 
 water, landing at New Orleans, whence they 
 came by boat up the Mississippi to Galena, 
 111 . The trip from Galena to New Diggings, 
 Wis., was made overland, and in the latter 
 town the father secured work as a miner. He 
 was successfully engaged in that pursuit until 
 1865, when he purchased what was known as 
 the Harker farm, of 200 acres. He greatly 
 improved that place, and made of it a beautiful 
 home, on which he and his family passed many 
 happy, prosperous years. Of late years he has 
 lived retired in Benton, in a modern home 
 which he owns. He and his wife have cele- 
 brated their Golden Wedding, and were the 
 recipients of many hearty congratulations. 
 They were the parents of eleven children, of [ 
 whom James, John and Ellen are deceased. 
 William W. is the eldest. Margaret, born in j 
 New Diggings March 10, 1859, married Ro- 
 land Chamley, of Egan, S. Dak., and has eight 
 children, William, Charles, Roland, Frank, 
 Joseph, Emma, John 'and Cora. Mary, born 
 Aug. 6, 1856, married Joseph Godfrey, a drug- 
 gist of Benton, and died Nov. 3, 1893, leaving 
 
 four children, Edith S.. John R., Joseph Oaks 
 and Ann F. ; Mr. Godfrey died in 1888. Em- 
 ma M., born Aug. 31, 1861. is the deceased 
 wife of John Harker, who died in 1887, and 
 had one son, John C. Elizabeth, born March 
 3, 1864, married William Richardson, of 
 Mitchell, S. Dak., and died Jan. 18, 1892, 
 leaving three children, Maud, Joseph and Mary. 
 Sarah J., born April 5, 1867, resides on the 
 old home. John H., born Ncv. 2, 1871. mar- 
 ried Mary Wilkinson, of Galena, 111 ., and re- 
 sides 011 his farm in New Diggings ; they have 
 three children, William J., Howard and Emma 
 O. Benjamin F., born in December, 1874, 
 resides on the old home farm. John- Curwen, 
 the father, was a charter member of Lead 
 Mine Ledge, I. O. O. F., was a prominent 
 man among the early settlers, and held a num- 
 ber of local offices. At present he is taking- 
 life easy, full of years and honors. 
 
 Y\ illiam Curwen, brother of John Curwen. 
 and uncle of William W., came to America and 
 became an engineer 011 a railroad, working 
 for the Columbus, Cleveland & Cincinnati Rail- 
 road Co. for over thirty years. Later in life 
 'he made his home in Little Rock, Ark., where 
 he died in 1889, leaving a widow, but no chil- 
 dren. 
 
 A illiam W. Curwen received his education 
 in the district schools of New Diggings, and 
 early in life learned all the details of farm 
 work through a course of practical instruc- 
 tion on his father's farm. When he started 
 out in life for himself he made his first loca- 
 tion in New Diggings, where he was quite 
 successful as a miner, discovering the Crystal 
 Cave Mine and also the Lead Mine Mine. 
 He was the owner of half of the Sally Waters 
 Mine, and made a substantial fortune from his 
 work in that line, all of his mines yielding him 
 large returns. In 1892 he purchased his pres- 
 ent fine farm, known as the De Rocher farm, 
 three miles west of Shullsburg, which he has 
 developed into one of the beautiful country 
 homes of the county. 
 
 On Oct. 30, 1875, Mr. Curwen was united 
 in marriage with Miss Mary Coulthard, who 
 was born Aug. 26, 1856. in the town of New 
 Diggings, a daughter of John and Ann Coul- 
 thard, a pioneer couple of Lafayette county, 
 who came from Durham, England, in the early 
 days. Eight children blessed this union, two 
 of whom, Ann and Emma, died in infancy. 
 Maggie I., born Jan. 18. 1880, was educated 
 
506 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 at the Lead Mine and Shullsburg schools, 
 and was left at her mother’s death the eldest 
 of six children; although but fifteen at that 
 time, she proved herself a capable little woman, 
 and holds with dignity and grace her position 
 as manager of her father's household. Charles, 
 born June 4, 1882, a student in the Shullsburg 
 high school, has much natural mechanical abil- 
 ity. Eva M. was born Aug. 6, 1887. Will- 
 iam Harry, Jan. 17, 1889. Ella N., July 27, 
 1891. John Fred, born Jan. 10, 1893. The 
 mother, a conscientious Christian woman, died 
 at her home April 28, 1895. She was a con- 
 sistent member of the Primitive Methodist 
 Church, and ever active in the work of her cho- 
 sen faith. Politically Mr. Curwen has always 
 been identified with the Republican party, but 
 has never indulged in official aspirations. So- 
 cially he belongs to the Knights of the Globe. 
 He is a man of prominence in the town and 
 county, highly respected among his business 
 associates, and greatly esteemed as a friend. 
 
 WILLIAM LOY, M. D. Prominent 
 among the citizens of Grant county who have 
 witnessed the marvelous development of this 
 section of the State in the past half century, 
 and who have, by their own well-directed 
 efforts, succeeded in acquiring a handsome 
 competence, and are now able to spend the 
 sunset of life in quiet and retirement, is the 
 gentleman whose name introduces this sketch. 
 
 Dr. Loy was born in Trumbull county, 
 Ohio, Sept. 9, 1825, a son of John and Mary 
 Ann (Wesley) Loy, natives of Pennsylvania 
 who at an early day emigrated to the Buckeye 
 State, and spent the remainder of their lives 
 in Trumbull county. They were the parents 
 of the following named children: George; 
 
 Catherine; Esther; John, a physician of Trum- 
 bull county, Ohio; Mildred; Mary; William; 
 Jacob, a physician of Cedar Rapids, la., for- 
 merly of Platteville, Wis. ; and Elizabeth, a 
 resident of Shenandoah, Iowa. 
 
 In his native State Dr. William Loy was 
 reared and educated, and after completing his 
 literary training entered the Ohio Medical Col- 
 lege, at Cleveland, where he prepared for his 
 chosen profession. On Oct. 16, 1849, f> e came 
 to Grant county, Wis., first located in Liberty 
 township, afterward practiced several )^ears in 
 the village of Platteville, and in 1854 settled 
 at Annaton, Wis., where he pm chased a farm, 
 in connection with its operation successfully 
 engaging in the practice of medicine through- 
 
 out that section of the county for forty years. 
 He was also largely engaged in stock raising, 
 and, being a man of good business ability, 
 sound judgment and strict integrity, he pros- 
 pered in his undertakings, becoming one of 
 the most substantial citizens of his community. 
 In 1890 he moved to Platteville, and has since 
 lived a practically retired life, enjoying the 
 fruits of former toil. 
 
 In Liberty township Dr. Loy was married, 
 in 1852, to Miss Susannah E. Wanamaker, a 
 native of Liberty township, Trumbull Co., 
 Ohio. Her parents, Jonas and Esther (Ever- 
 ett) Wanamaker, were born in Pennsylvania, 
 at a very early day moved to Ohio, and in 
 1838 or 1839 came to Grant county, Wis., 
 locating in Liberty township. This was dur- 
 ing Territorial days, when this section of the 
 State was still in its primitive condition, being 
 all wild and unimproved. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
 Wanamaker died in Crawford county, Wis. 
 The Doctor has been called upon to mourn 
 the loss of his wife, who departed this life’ 
 July 1, 1899. Of the seven children born to 
 them, William and Arthur, the fourth and fifth 
 in order of birth, are now deceased. Those 
 living are as follows: (1) Viola F. is now 
 
 Mrs. Dennis, of New California, Grant coun- 
 ty. (2) Sarah Ellen is Mrs. Mellor, of Clif- 
 ton, and has seven children, Anna, Frank, Will- 
 iam, Clara Bell, John, Flossie and Everett. 
 (3) Clara Estella is Mrs. Rosemeir, of Anna- 
 ton, Wis., and has two children, Leon and 
 Archibald. (4) L. W. married Frances Swee- 
 ney, and has three children, William, Donald 
 and Susannah E. (5) A. W., a graduate in 
 law at the State University of Madison, mar- 
 ried Frances A. Burris; he is now serving as 
 city clerk of Platteville. 
 
 During the latter part of the Civil war Dr. 
 Loy enlisted, in Clifton township, and was 
 mustered into service at City Point, Va., March 
 3, 1865, as surgeon of the 6th Wis. V. I. ; 
 while in camp, however, he was transferred 
 to the 7th Regiment, which formed a part ot 
 the famous Iron Brigade. He was stationed 
 in Virginia during his entire service of four 
 months and twenty-four days, and was honora- 
 bly discharged at Madison, Wis., in July, 1865. 
 He now holds membership in W. T. Sherman 
 Post. No. 66, G. A. R. In politics the Doc- 
 tor is a Democrat. During the long - years of 
 his residence in Grant county he has cham- 
 pioned every movement designed to promote 
 the general welfare, has supported every enter- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 507 
 
 prise for the public good, and has materially 
 aided in the advancement of all social and moral 
 interests. After a useful and honorable career 
 he can well afford to lay aside all business 
 cares and live in ease and retirement. 
 
 JOHN F. HEBERLEIN," a worthy and 
 honored citizen of Fennimore, Grant county, 
 was a member of an Ohio regiment in the war 
 for the Union. He was born in Prussia, Ger- 
 many, Sept. 27, 1843, an d i n 1852 emigrated 
 to America with his parents, Philip and Mar- 
 garet (Hoffman) Heberlein. The family lo- 
 cated first in Pennsylvania, but in 1857 moved 
 to Lawrence county, Ohio, where the father 
 died in 1861, leaving a widow and nine chil- 
 dren, all of whom had attained maturity, John 
 F. being the youngest of the family. 
 
 On Aug. 3, 1862, Mr. Heberlein enlisted 
 in Company K, 50th O. V. I., for three years, 
 and was discharged July 21, 1865. His first 
 (service was in Kentucky, under Gen. Buell, 
 and then under Gen. Rosecrans, and he was 
 later transferred to the Army of East Tennes- 
 see, under Gen. Burnside. In the spring of 
 1864 he was placed in Gen. Schofield’s com- 
 mand, and finished his service under that leader. 
 He took part in the famous battle of Perry- 
 ville, Oct. 8, 1862; in Sherman’s Atlanta cam- 
 paign ; the battle of Dallas ; and the fight in 
 front of Atlanta, where Gen. McPherson was 
 killed. He was also in the battles of Kenesaw 
 Mountain, Peach Tree Creek and Jonesboro. 
 After Sherman started on his memorable march 
 through Georgia to the sea, Mr. Heberlein, 
 with his regiment, in the 23d Army Corps, 
 proceeded to Franklin, Tenn., and they were 
 under the command of Gen. Thomas in the 
 battle of Nashville, where the Confederate 
 army met with signal defeat. The Union 
 troops then went in pursuit of Hood to Wil- 
 mington, N. C., and thence to Goldsboro, where 
 they rejoined Sherman's army, remaining in 
 North Carolina until the war ended. Mr. 
 Heberlein’s regiment was stationed at Salis- 
 bury when mustered out. 
 
 Our subject then returned to his home in 
 Lawrence county. Ohio, where he was mar- 
 ried Oct. 15, 1866, to Miss Mary C. Arnold, 
 and started immediately for Grant county, 
 Wis., being accompanied by his bride and moth- 
 er, who made her home with him until her 
 death, in 1871. He located on a farm near 
 Lancaster, and in connection with its opera- 
 
 tion also followed the trade of a mason for a 
 number of years. Since August, 1894, he has 
 made his home in the village of Fennimore. 
 Airs. Heberlein died at Patch Grove, Grant 
 county, in September, 1890, leaving nine chil- 
 dren, five sons and four daughters, namely : 
 Margaret, Wilhelmina, Frederick C., Jacob, 
 Edward A., Sarah L., Frank. Joseph and Mary 
 C. Edward A. was a member of Company 
 C, 4th Wis. V. L, in the late Spanish-Ameri- 
 can war. 
 
 Air. Pleberlein is a worthy member of Sam 
 Monteith Post, No*. 173, G. A. R., of Fenni- 
 more. He served faithfully as a soldier for 
 the Union, and during his long service was 
 only absent from his regiment from April 5, 
 1865, to June 1, same year. During this short 
 period he was confined in hospital by sickness, 
 brought on by long and arduous service and 
 the malaria of North Carolina swamps. He 
 is a patriotic and loyal citizen of his adopted 
 country, and ever stands ready to discharge 
 any duty devolving upon him. 
 
 WILLIAM H. ROSS, a retired farmer in 
 the village of Dayton, Green county, was born 
 in the town of Exeter, that county. Sept. 8, 
 1840, and his entire life has substantially been 
 passed in his native environments. 
 
 Air. Ross is a son of Leonard and Sarah 
 (Burritte) Ross, the former a native of Ver- 
 mont, and the latter of Indiana. They had 
 eight sons, three of whom are now living: 
 Milton and Leonard, of Belleville, Wis., and 
 William H., of Dayton. The father was a 
 cabinet maker in the East, and in his early 
 life conducted a hotel. He left home when 
 quite young, and came to Wisconsin, working 
 in the lead mines at Wiota for a number of 
 years, and marrying there. After a period of 
 several years he came to the town of Exeter, 
 and there bought a farm, gradually increasing 
 his real estate holdings until he became the 
 proprietor of about 900 acres of land. In 1856 
 he died at the comparatively early age of fifty 
 years. Flis widow still survives him, and 
 makes her home with their son, Alilton. in 
 Belleville. Air. Ross was a Universalist, while 
 his widow is a Presbyterian. Air. Ross came 
 to Wisconsin as early as 1836, and was known 
 as Capt. Ross. His widow remarried, and her 
 second husband, a Air. Turner, is also de- 
 ceased. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of William H. 
 
5oS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ross also bore the name of Leonard Ross, 
 was a native of Vermont, where he died when 
 he was an old man, after having reared a large 
 family. Mr. Ross's maternal grandfather bore 
 the name of William Burritte, and was a long- 
 time resident of Indiana. In 1828 he came 
 to Wisconsin, and settled in the town of Wiota. 
 Lafayette county, where he became a well- 
 known farmer. He took an active part in re- 
 storing confidence against the attacks of the 
 Indians, and became a prosperous farmer, dy- 
 ing in Wiota at an advanced age. He was 
 much interested in public affairs. 
 
 William H. Ross has lived all his life in 
 the town of Exeter, with the exception of three 
 years which he spent in the army during the 
 Civil war. Llis education was secured in the 
 district school, ajid in the spring of 1899 he 
 moved into Belleville, where he spent a year, 
 but, not liking the condition of things there, 
 moved to Dayton at the expiration of that time, 
 where he is now found exceedingly pleasantly 
 situated. The farm is rented to his oldest son. 
 
 In the fall of 1861, on his twenty-first birth- 
 day, Mr. Ross ran away from home and en- 
 listed in Company LI, 8th Wis. V. I., serving 
 three years in the ranks. He was a participant 
 in both battles at Corinth, the siege of Vicks- 
 burg, and, in all, fought in twenty-seven heavv 
 engagements. After the war in which he made 
 a creditable record both as a soldier and as a 
 companion and friend on “the tented field,” 
 he returned home and resumed the peaceful 
 occupation of farming, to which he had been 
 trained. 
 
 On Dec. 12, 1871, Mr. Ross was married 
 to Miss Margaret Greidenwise, a daughter of 
 Nicholas and Catherine (Dausch) Greidenwise, 
 and by this union became the father of four 
 children : Duane, Eldora, Bertha and Theron. 
 Duane married Miss Stella Parks, and lives on 
 the home farm. Eldora died at the age of 
 seven years. Bertha was killed when four 
 years old by being run over by a wagon. The- 
 ron is a student at a business college in Monroe. 
 Mr. Ross is a member of the Joseph Morrow 
 Post. No. 121, G. A. R., and in politics is a 
 Republican. His farm contains 174 acres, and 
 all the improvements found on it represent his 
 own hard and honest labor. 
 
 Mrs. Ross’s parents were natives of Ba- 
 varia. ( lermany, and had three sons and two 
 daughters, of whom Margaret, the wife of 
 Mr. Ross, and Joseph, of Jennings, La., are 
 
 now the only survivors. Mr. and Mrs. Grei- 
 denwise came to America, and found a home 
 in the town of Johnstown, Rock county, where 
 they remained three years. They moved after 
 that time into Green county, and settled in the 
 town of Exeter, where he owned at his death 
 170 acres of land. He was a blacksmith, and 
 always followed his trade. He died July 21, 
 1856, at the age of thirty -seven years. His 
 widow survived him until June 2, 1857, when 
 she died at the age of thirty-six years. They 
 were both Catholic in their faith. 
 
 WILLIAM R. SPEARS, an honored sol- 
 dier of the Civil war, was born near Cleveland, 
 Ohio, in 1838, son of William and Eunice 
 Spears. In 1842 the family migrated from 
 Ohio to Wisconsin, and made their home in 
 the town of York, later removing to Moscow, 
 Iowa county, where the parents passed the 
 rest of their lives. Of their children, four 
 sons offered their services to their country in 
 the days of the Rebellion, Earl becoming a 
 member of the famous 8th (or Eagle) Regi- 
 ment of Wisconsin Infantry (he now lives at 
 Eagle Grove, Iowa) ; Dexter, who resides at 
 Valley, Vernon Co., Wis.; James; and our 
 subject, William R. These four met at Chi- 
 cago in August, 1900, during the Grand Army 
 Encampment held in that city, it being the 
 first meeting with Earl in thirty years. 
 
 William R. Spears bears on his body hon- 
 orable scars obtained in battles for his country. 
 In the spring of 1864 he became a member of 
 Company C, 37th Wis. V. I., enlisting in the 
 town of Moscow, and joining the regiment at 
 Madison. They were ordered' to Arlington 
 Heights, and a few days later were in the front 
 in the vicinity of Cold Harbor, participating 
 in one of the bloodiest battles of the war. 
 Mr. Spears remained with his regiment dur- 
 ing Gen. Grant’s Virginia campaign, and took 
 part in the many sharp encounters of that part 
 of the war, including the siege of Petersburg. 
 On June 17, 1864, he was badly wounded 
 by a fragment of a shell, and on the 6th of 
 July, following, was present when the noted 
 mine explosion occurred, taking part with his 
 regiment in the charge and battle following 
 the explosion. In this battle his left hand was 
 badly shattered by the explosion of his own 
 gun. He was sent to the hospital at Alexan- 
 dria, Va., and thence transferred to Fairfax 
 Court House, where he was discharged at the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 509 
 
 close of the war. He was practically an in- 
 | valid for a long- time after his return home, 
 in fact has never been able to do any manual 
 labor. He returned to his farm, and made his 
 home there until March, 1897, when he re- 
 moved with his family to Blanchardville. 
 
 Mr. Spears has been twice married. His 
 first wife, Harriet Yanhorman, whom he wed- 
 ded before the war, died in 1875. She, too, 
 came of a patriotic family, and had three 
 brothers who served in the Union army. Fcr 
 his second wife Mr. Spears married Miss Caro- 
 line Nancy Corbin, who was born in Pennsyl- 
 vania, daughter of Lewis and Jane Corbin, 
 natives of Pennsylvania, who removed to Wis- 
 consin, where they both died, their remains 
 lying at rest in the town of Moscow. Mrs. 
 Spears has three brothers who participated in 
 the Civil war, two of them in the Union army, 
 and one, most unwillingly, in the Confederate. 
 Benjamin served in an Illinois regiment, Ash- 
 ael in a Wisconsin reeiment- Granville, the 
 eldest, was living in Texas at the opening of 
 the war, and his wife was a daughter of the 
 famous Confederate Gen. Morgan. By his 
 first marriage Mr. Spears has three children, 
 Jacob, Polly and George; to the second nine 
 children have been born. Ida, Winnie, Char- 
 lotte, Florence, Warner, Charles, John, Bertie 
 and Richard, all of whom are living except 
 Richard. T he family are highly esteemed by 
 those who know them best, and very popular 
 in a social way. 
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON BRAGG. The 
 Green county pioneers of sixty years ago are 
 rapidly being numbered among the countless 
 thousands who have lived and suffered, played 
 well their part in life’s battle, and been called 
 from the field of action to the rest of the quiet 
 churchyard. Their memory is cherished and 
 revered, and their lives of self-denial will be 
 long remembered; and it is no cause for won- 
 der that the few who yet remain are held in 
 affectionate reverence. Of such is the distin- 
 guished citizen of Monroe whose career forms 
 the subject of this biographical sketch. 
 
 Thomas J. Bragg comes of Virginia stock. 
 His parents were Doshur and Hannah (Mof- 
 fatt) Bragg, and at the time of his birth his 
 father was serving as a soldier in the war of 
 1812. His parents were poor, and the father 
 found it necessary to take the first employ- 
 ment that offered in order to secure a support 
 
 for his rapidly increasing family. He was 
 born and reared in a section where slavery was 
 regarded as a divinely appointed institution, 
 and for fifteen years he was a slave overseer. 
 The position was one repugnant alike to his 
 convictions and his inclinations, and both he 
 and his wife resolved, as soon as circumstances 
 and their slender means would permit, to seek 
 a new home in a latitude where the legal equal- 
 ity of all men was recognized. In 1822 they 
 removed with their eight children to Kentucky, 
 and in that State a ninth was born. Their 
 earnest wish, as has been said, was to remove 
 to a free State; and to aid her husband in the 
 accomplishment of this project Mrs. Bragg 
 weaved and did other work suited to her sex 
 and strength. In 1829 they found that by 
 patient industry and strict economy they had 
 accumulated sufficient means to enable them 
 to cross the Ohio from Kentucky to Illinois. 
 The husband and father settled upon public 
 lands first in Clark and then in Edgar county, 
 in that State, and subdued the unbroken prairie 
 soil to subjection. The following year death 
 called from his side the helpmeet of his life, 
 and in 1841 he followed her to the grave, dy- 
 ing on the farm which he had earned and cul- 
 tivated through so much industry and manly 
 self-denial. Of the nine children born to 
 Doshur and Hannah Bragg only two sons and 
 a daughter survive, although the family may 
 be said to have been noteworthy for its longev- 
 ity. Those who have died were : Louisa, who 
 married Absalom Pitcher, survived her hus- 
 band for many years and died, comparatively 
 recently, at the age of ninety; William; Mary, 
 who became the wife of Rev. Stephen R. Goll ; 
 Lucy, who was married to Rev. Pettigrew ; 
 Elizabeth (Mrs. Samuel Milburn) ; and Cath- 
 erine, the wife of Frederick Shuey. Of the 
 surviving members of the family — Strother, 
 Thomas Jefferson and Hannah — the first 
 named is the eldest. He was the second child 
 and first son, and was born in 1807, and is 
 yet living, in Edgar county, 111 ., at the age 
 of ninety-three. Thomas J. was fifth in the 
 order of birth. Hannah, the youngest daugh- 
 ter, is the widow of George Brown, and also 
 lives in Edgar county, in the Prairie State. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson Bragg was born Jan. 15, 
 1813, in Fauquier county, Virginia. He left 
 the home farm when a young man of twenty- 
 three years, going from Illinois to Wisconsin 
 in May, 1836, making his migration in the 
 
5i° 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 capacity of a teamster for one Jonathan Corey, 
 for whom he drove six yoke of oxen, attached 
 to a wagon bearing the family and all the 
 household goods of his employer. The desti- 
 nation of the party was southern Wisconsin, 
 and the journey, while long and tedious, was 
 by no means uneventful. There were no 
 roads, and the cumbersome vehicle, with its 
 clumsy, heavy method of draught, had to make 
 its way across unbroken prairies, through track- 
 less swamps, and across streams which were 
 at times so swollen as to be scarcely fordable. 
 A rider on horseback was employed as a sort 
 of advance scout, whose movements were close- 
 ly watched, and whose tracks were as closely 
 followed. The laborious (and often painful) 
 toil attendant upon such an expedition can 
 scarcely be appreciated by the luxuriously ac- 
 commodated traveler of to-day, but to the 
 pioneers of sixty years ago it counted for 
 little in comparison with their abiding courage 
 and deep-seated hope. Mr. Corey intended to 
 locate just south of the Illinois State line, and 
 nearly three weeks were spent in reaching 
 that point from Grand View, Illinois. 
 
 Air. Bragg remained with his fellow trav- 
 elers long enough to aid in the erection of a 
 cabin for the shelter of the family; and 1 then 
 set out — with others of the party which had 
 accompanied them — for the locality which is 
 the present site of the city of Monroe. Among 
 these more adventurous explorers was Daniel 
 S. Sutherland, with whom young Bragg made 
 his home for many months. For some two 
 years he worked as an assistant to the early 
 farmers, with their primitive methods of cul- 
 tivation, and in 1838 bought four yoke of 
 steers, a wagon and a breaking plow for him- 
 self. I hese he used with industry and good 
 judgment during the summer months, although 
 the winter found him at work in the lead mines. 
 Ide carried on this mode of life for about five 
 years, and in 1841 he felt that he might take 
 to himself a wife. In October of that vear 
 he married Emily Jane Nobles, whose father, 
 Peter Nobles, had shortly before settled in 
 what is now 7 Green county. At the time of his 
 wedding the hardy young pioneer was making 
 his home with his prospective father-in-law, 
 but immediately after his marriage he entered 
 a claim to government land, in the present 
 township of Monroe. His industry was un- 
 flagging, his energy inexhaustible. His suc- 
 cess exceeded his anticipation, and as time went 
 
 by he found himself the owner of 700 acres of 
 well-improved land. On this farm he resided 
 for more than forty years, and there were 
 born his five children, one of whom, Alice, 
 has died. Those who yet live are : William 
 I ., an influential citizen of Monroe; Emma, 
 wife of R. D. Gorham, of that city; and 
 Thomas J. and Charles, whose homes are in 
 Nebraska. Some two decades ago, his hard 
 work, good judgment and unwavering probity 
 having brought their merited reward, in the 
 shape of a comfortable competence, he aban- 
 doned active toil, and he and his wife took up 
 their home in Monroe. In that pleasant city 
 they are passing their declining years, sur- 
 rounded by every comfort, happy in the mutual 
 love which has weathered many a storm, and 
 serenely awaiting life’s termination in the 
 hope of a glorious immortality. Despite his 
 eighty-seven years Mr. Bragg is vigorous in 
 both mind and body. His memory recalls the 
 new country as he first beheld it; and as he 
 views the great advance made by modern civ- 
 ilization, with its handmaids — steam and elec- 
 tricity — he sometimes wonders whether the 
 glories of nature are not more enduring than 
 those of art, and the handiwork of God grander 
 than that of man. 
 
 HERMAN J. STEVENS is a well-known 
 citizen of the town of Monticello, Lafayette 
 county, and a representative of one of the 
 pioneer German families of the county. 
 
 Casper Stevens, his father, was born in 
 Hessen-Cassel, Germany, in April, 1819, and 
 was early bereft of both of his parents, his 
 mother dying by the time he had reached his 
 sixth year, and his father when he was thir- 
 teen. He was one of four children thus early 
 thrust out to shift for themselves. He grew 
 to manhood in his native land, and in 1847 
 was united in marriage to Miss Theresa Gos- 
 man. A year later they sailed for America, 
 hoping to better their condition in the newer 
 country. They had an infant daughter, 
 Anna, but left her in Germany until they had 
 made a home here, when she followed. Like 
 many other emigrants of that day, they were 
 not possessed of any means, but found it neces- 
 sary immediately upon their arrival to go to 
 work to earn the veriest necessities' of life. 
 Their ambition was to own a farm, and with 
 that object in view they rented some land in 
 Monticello township, Lafayette Co., V is., 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 which they tilled for a time. They then pur- 
 chased eighty acres, which they continued to 
 occupy until 1866, when Mr. Stevens found 
 himself able to purchase the farm upon which 
 their son Herman J. now resides. On this 
 farm Mr. Stevens made a comfortable home, 
 and finally retired from active work, purchas- 
 ing a home in the city of Shullsburg, where 
 he and his wife spent their declining years. 
 Mrs. Stevens passed away April 5, 1882, and 
 Mr. Stevens died suddenly Feb. 15, 1892, at 
 the 'home of his son Herman, aged nearly sev- 
 enty-three years. He had been gifted by na- 
 ture with a powerful frame, and his indus- 
 trious habits had given him greater physical 
 strength than was ordinarily allotted to one 
 man. When in his prime, it was said of him 
 that he was capable of doing the work of two 
 men of ordinary strength. He was prudent' 
 in his investments, and frugal in his habits, 
 and with the faithful assistance of his wife, 
 and also of his children, as each one became 
 old enough to work, was enabled to secure 
 sufficient means' to make himself and his wife 
 comfortable. In politics he was a Democrat, 
 and in religion he and his entire family were 
 members of the Roman Catholic Church. 
 The family consisted of one son and three 
 daughters: Anna, the eldest, and the only 
 
 one born in Germany, is now the , wife of 
 Amand Hillenburnt, of Newton, Ivans. ; Liz- 
 zie became the wife of Joseph Aurit, and died 
 in ShullsDurg June 7, 1875 ; Herman I. is the 
 third in order of birth; and Mary is the wife 
 of John Hebenstreit, of Shullsburg. 
 
 Herman J. Stevens was born in the town 
 of Monticello, within a half mile of his pres- 
 ent home, March 7, 1854. He was but twelve 
 years old when his parents removed to his 
 present farm, and there he grew to manhood, 
 assisting in the work on the farm, and at- 
 tending the district schools, where all of his 
 literary 'training was received. His father 
 was a careful and systematic farmer, and, 
 being the only son, young Herman was quite 
 well acquainted with all _ the details of farm 
 work at an age when most boys are still at 
 play. 
 
 On May 2 2, 1877, Mr. Stevens was united 
 in marriage with Miss Cecelia Hebenstreit, 
 who was born in Prussia, Germany, Feb. 3, 
 t856, daughter of Vincent and Rosa Heben- 
 stieit, who came to America in the early ’six- 
 ties', and now live in Shullsburg. To Mr. 
 
 5ii 
 
 and Mrs. Stevens have come two sons : Her- 
 
 man, born Jan. 27, 1879, and John, born Jan. 
 5, 1881. Mr. Stevens takes much pride in his 
 fine farm, and has greatly improved it with 
 good buildings, modern in every particular. 
 He is highly respected for his fair business 
 dealings and his unswerving integrity. 
 
 ALFRED H. HAWTHORN. Among 
 the prosperous and substantial farmer citizens 
 of Clarno township, Green county, none is 
 better or more highly esteemed than Alfred H. 
 Hawthorn. The large farm of 322 acres 
 which constitutes the home of Mr. Hawthorn, 
 is located two miles southwest of Monroe, 
 Wis., where fine dwellings, commodious barns 
 and outbuildings of modern stvle, proclaim 
 it to be one of the most desirable in the neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 Mr. Hawthorn is a son of James and 
 Mercy (Boyles) Hawthorn, the former of 
 whom was born Oct. 22, 1797, in Orange 
 county, N. Y., of Irish ancestry. In 1817 he 
 decided to visit other states, and with his knap- 
 sack in hand started from his home, in time 
 reaching Pittsburg, Penn., where he tpok pas- 
 sage on an Ohio river boat and made his way 
 to New Orleans, returning to New York by 
 means of a sailing vessel. Soon after this he 
 made his way West, and for a time engaged 
 in mining in Wisconsin, but finally purchased 
 the home where our subject now resides, and in 
 1833 built thereon a small log cabin. Mr. 
 Hawthorn was of the stuff of which real pio- 
 neers are made, possessing the perseverance, in- 
 dustry and courage which have been the means 
 of founding the cities of the world. Amid 
 the rush and strife of modern environment, we 
 too seldom pause to remember the debt we 
 owe to those who have blazed through the 
 wilderness, the path which we so easily follow. 
 Three years later Mr. Hawthorn married Miss 
 Mercy Boyles, who was born in Pennsylvania 
 in 1812, a daughter of William Boyles, one 
 of the early settlers of Green county. She 
 proved a valuable helpmate to the sturdy young 
 pioneer, and her death occurred ten years 
 prior to his, in 1881. Thirteen children were 
 born of this union: Andrew, of Monroe; 
 
 Mary, who married Hickman Bryant, now de- 
 ceased ; Phebe, who married Aaron Eely. re- 
 sides in Monroe; Ellen, who married Thomas 
 Millmon, resides in Monroe: William, of Mon- 
 roe; Matilda, who married Edward Trickel, of 
 
512 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Clarno, and is deceased ; Maria, who married 
 Joseph Bender, deceased; James, deceased; 
 .Lucinda, deceased; French, a resident of Colo- 
 rado; Alfred H., our subject; John E., men- 
 tioned elsewhere in this work; and Charles, a 
 resident of Monroe. 
 
 Alfred H. Hawthorn was born on Jan. iS, 
 1851, and was reared on the home farm, re- 
 ceiving his education in the public schools. His 
 tastes were different from those of his father, 
 his life having been passed in industry on the 
 old homestead, which he has improved and 
 added to until he owns a very large tract, little 
 resembling the place upon which his parents 
 settled nearly seventy years ago. He is ex- 
 tensively engaged in stock raising and feeds’ a 
 considerable number of animals for market 
 annually. He raises Durham cattle, Cotswold 
 and Shropshire sheep and Shire and Norman 
 horses. 
 
 Mr. Hawthorn was married Sept. 14, 1884, 
 to Miss Nettie A. Connet, who was born June 
 ps, 1851, a daughter of Daniel and Hester 
 Connet, of Green county, and four children 
 have been born of this union: Ida Ellen; Al- 
 fred Roy ; Wallace C. ; and John N. An active 
 member of the Republican party, Mr. Haw- 
 thorn has served as school director, and for 
 some time was the efficient road supervisor. 
 He is one of the leading and highly respected 
 citizens of Clarno township. 
 
 HON. JOHN MONTGOMERY SMITH 
 is one of the leading members of the Bar in 
 southwestern Wisconsin, and for nearly half a 
 century has taken an active part in the devel-' 
 opment of its business, political and social in- 
 terests. 
 
 Mr. Smith represents a family which, for 
 at least three generations, has been identified 
 with important affairs of the State and nation. 
 His grandfather, William Moore Smith, was 
 a prominent citizen of Philadelphia, and in 
 1803 was appointed, by the government, one 
 of the commissioners to- England to adjust 
 and settle the demands of British claimants 
 under the sixth article of Jay’s Treaty. His 
 father, William Rudolph Smith, son of the last 
 named, was born at Trappe, Montgomery 
 Co., Penn., Aug. 31, 1787, five years later 
 removed with his father to Philadelphia, and 
 at the age of sixteen went as his private sec- 
 retary to England. While there he began a 
 course of legal study which was continued 
 
 upon his return to Philadelphia, and in 1809 
 he began practice at Huntington, in the same 
 State. Pie served six years as deputy attor- 
 ney general for Cambria county, and was a 
 member of both houses of the Pennsylvania 
 Legislature. During the war of 1812 he did 
 active duty as colonel of the 6acl Regiment 
 of Pennsylvania Reserves, and in 1836 or 
 1837 he and Henry Dodge (afterward gov- 
 ernor of Wisconsin) were appointed commis- 
 sioners to treat with the Chippewa Indians 
 for the purchase of their Wisconsin lands. 
 After concluding this treaty, which was made 
 at Fort Snelling, Mr. Smith settled at Min- 
 eral Point, in 1838. The next year he was 
 appointed by Gov. Dodge as adjutant general, 
 a position which he filled about twelve years. 
 He afterward held various positions of trust 
 and responsibility in the county and State, in- 
 cluding those of chief clerk- of the State Sen- 
 ate and attorney general. In 1852 he was au- 
 thorized by the Legislature to prepare a doc- 
 umentary History of Wisconsin, to which he 
 devoted much diligent labor for the next two 
 years, when the first and third volumes were 
 published by the State, the manuscript of the 
 second volume having been lost in some unac- 
 countable manner. He presided over the first 
 Democratic convention held at the seat of gov- 
 ernment, in 1840, and was a member of the 
 Constitutional convention of 1846. His death 
 occurred while on a visit to a daughter, in 
 Quincy, 111 ., Aug. 22, 1868. Mr. Smith was 
 a man of wide experience and noteworthy at- 
 tainments, commanding the respect of all with 
 whom he came in contact. It had been his good 
 fortune to become acquainted with many of 
 the most distinguished men of the nation, and 
 to participate in many historical events. He 
 had seen every President from Washington to 
 Lincoln, and related many impressive remin- 
 iscences of the former, and other statesmen 
 who participated in the formation of our gov- 
 ernment. His wife, whose maiden name was 
 Alary Van Dyke, was born in Alabama. 
 
 John Montgomery Smith, whose name 
 heads this article, was born at Bedford Springs, 
 Penn., Feb. 26, 1834, and has been a resident 
 of Mineral Point almost continuously from the 
 age of four years. In 1852 he went by the 
 overland route to California, and spent four 
 vears in that famous Eldorado. Upon his re- 
 turn to Mineral Point he studied law in his 
 father’s office, and with J. H. Clary and Judge 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5i3 
 
 Crawford. In 1862 lie was formally admit- 
 ted to practice, and for a time was a partner 
 of the last named jurist, 'but for many years 
 has carried on an independent business. He 
 has been retained on many of the most impor- 
 tant cases in his portion of the State, and 
 holds an enviable position among the mem- 
 bers of his profession. A stanch Democrat 
 in political principle, he has always taken a 
 leading part in the councils of the party; was 
 twice a delegate to national conventions, in 
 1880 and again in 1888; in 1892 was a Presi- 
 dential elector, and cast his vote for Grover 
 Cleveland. In 1879 he was nominated for at- 
 torney general of the State, on the same ticket 
 which was headed by Judge Jenkins, of Mil- 
 waukee, for governor, but shared the disaster 
 which befell his party throughout the State 
 in that campaign. The regard in which he 
 is held by the community in which most of 
 his life has been spent is attested by the numer- 
 ous positions of trust and responsibility which 
 he has filled in the city and county — mayor 
 three terms, superintendent of schools two 
 terms, district attorney two terms, member of 
 the board of supervisors, court commissioner, 
 and other local offices. In 1892 he represented 
 the district in the State Assembly. During 
 President Cleveland's first administration he 
 was appointed a member of the Southern Ute 
 Indian Commission, and during the second 
 term of the same President he served on the 
 Chippewa Indian Commission, a position filled 
 by his father near sixty years earlier. Besides 
 attending to all these interests, Mr. Smith has 
 been a promoter of numerous business enter- 
 prises calculated to advance the welfare of the 
 city of Mineral Point and adjacent country. 
 
 Mr. Smith was married, in 1862, to An- 
 tonia Hildebrand, who died six years later, 
 leaving one son, Richard M. In 1870 he mar- 
 ried Jennie hi. Crawford, widow of his former 
 preceptor and partner, Judge Crawford, of 
 the Supreme Court of Wisconsin. His only 
 daughter, Etta M., is the wife of H. N. Laflin, 
 of Milwaukee. In 1893 he was again be- 
 reaved by the death of his wife, whose health 
 was impaired by her arduous duties while act- 
 ing as a member of the World's Fair Com- 
 mission. 
 
 I. N. BAS YE, a retired business man, now 
 living in the village of Arthur. Grant county, 
 was born in Jacksonville, Ilk, June 8, 1832, 
 
 son of Dr. J. J. and Annie (Watson) Basye. 
 Dr. Basye was born in St. Louis county, Mo., 
 Sept. 24, 1799, and his wife in South Carolina, 
 Dec. 28, of the same year; they were married 
 in Missouri. 
 
 Dr. Basye started life as a merchant in a 
 modest way. He practiced medicine for over 
 fifty years, and was a local preacher in the 
 Methodist Church for more than 'sixty years. 
 In 1836 he came to Grant county, Vv is., and 
 purchased 200 acres of land in the town of 
 Clifton, which is now known as the “Wells. 
 Farm.” There he opened a general store, and 
 wffiile he improved his farm he also dealt in 
 goods' which he shipped from St. Louis and 
 hauled over country from Galena, 111 . Mr. 
 Basye had men employed in prospecting for 
 Galena ore during the remainder of his life, in 
 Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin, but 
 was unsuccessful in locating any lodes. In 
 1840 he sold his farm to Francis Merrit, and 
 located in Platteville, where he opened a gen- 
 eral store with his son-in-law, J. F. Kirkpat- 
 rick. They continued same a few years', when 
 he sold out to his son-in-law, and confined him- 
 self to his medical practice, which had become 
 extended, and occupied his whole time. The 
 Doctor was tendered many political positions 
 of honor and trust, all of which he declined, 
 contending that business and politics would not 
 assimilate. In his later years he was an inmate 
 of the home of his daughter, in the town of 
 Lima. Mrs. Basye, who had shared with him 
 all his early hardships, died in Platteville, in 
 October, 1873, and he followed her to the 
 unknown land Jan. 8, 1877. She was a Chris- 
 tian woman, and reared her family in the 
 church to which her life had been devoted. 
 Twelve children were born to them: 
 
 (1) Eliza J.. born in Illinois in December, 
 1820, married J. F. Kirkpatrick, who was a 
 merchant in Platteville for some years, and 
 then in Cassville. While living in Cassville 
 his wife died, leaving two children, Julia and 
 Benjamin. Julia grew to noble young woman- 
 hood, and died, greatly regretted by a host of 
 friends. Benjamin died when a child. (2) 
 N. M., a farmer, born July 24, 1822, married 
 and settled in Grant county. In 1871 he moved 
 to North Dakota, where he purchased lands, 
 and died, in 1889. leaving a son and a daughter 
 in that State. (3) J. W., born in Illinois in 
 October, 1823, died when a young man. He 
 was an earnest Christian, and very prominent 
 
SH 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 as an Odd Fellow, and was the first noble 
 grand of Platteville Lodge, I. O. O. F. (4) 
 Frances A., born June 9, 1825, was the wife 
 of William Clifton, of Grant county, a farmer 
 and popular citizen and official. They lived in 
 Lima for some years, and then moved to the 
 village of Arthur, where he died in 1885. Mrs. 
 Clifton died in January, 1900, in Lancaster, 
 and is remembered as a woman of unusual 
 ability and strength of character. Four chil- 
 dren are left of this union — Rev. Theodore, of 
 Chicago; Rev. J. J., in the ministry at Omaha; 
 
 I. N., living in Platteville, a retired farmer and 
 veteran pensioner ; and Carrie, Mrs. Arnett, 
 of Fairfield, Iowa. (5) S. T., born Oct. 24, 
 1826, began life as a farmer in Grant county, 
 and afterward was a merchant in the village 
 of Arthur. He owned two or three farms in 
 the county, and has been a prominent man in 
 public affairs and church work, occupying vari- 
 ous offices of trust in his town. He is now liv- 
 ing retired with his daughter, at Grinnell, 
 Iowa. Two daughters were born to him — Mrs. 
 Anson Brown, of Grinned, Iowa; and Mrs. 
 Frank Cushman, of Evansville, Wis. (6) J. 
 
 J. , born in August, 1828, was educated in the 
 
 old academy at Platteville, and studied medi- 
 cine with his father. In 1850 he moved to 
 California, where he was engaged in gold 
 mining for six years. Coming back to Grant 
 county, he there married Miss Hannah E. 
 Williams in 1857, and they settled on a farm 
 in the town of Lima, where they remained un- 
 til 1863, after which he was a merchant and 
 postmaster in the village of Arthur for about a 
 year. In the fad of 1864 he died very sud- 
 denly of dysentery, leaving a wife and two 
 daughters — Annie, wife of Mr. Jewet, cashier 
 in a bank at Fergus Fads, Minn.-; and Bessie, 
 who is the wife of a Congregational minister 
 in Massachusetts, and with whom Mrs. Basye 
 lives. (7) Eleanor S., born in Illinois April 
 28, 1830. died in 1846, in the bloom of her 
 early womanhood, greatly beloved. (8) I. N. 
 is the eighth in the family. (9) Mary M. 
 and (10) Martha L., twins', were born in May, 
 1835. Mary was the wife of John Hamilton, 
 a merchant, who lived in Platteville, where she 
 died in 1864. Martha died in 1843. (11) 
 
 Maria T., born in 1837, died when six years old. 
 (12) Sarah C., born in June, 1839, died in 
 184}, the three last named dying of small pox. 
 
 I. N. Basye began his early education in 
 1837, in a little log school house, practically 
 
 erected by his father, in the town of Clifton, 
 and attended the old Platteville Academy, un- 
 der Profs. Carier, Magoon, and Pickard, who 
 in 1852 erected the old stone academy at 
 Platteville, now the State Normal. He finished 
 his schooling at the M. E. Collegiate Institute, 
 under Prof. John Nolan. One of a Latin class 
 of four students, consisting of J. M. Round- 
 tree, Lois Atwood, and J. M. Harlan, of 
 Kentucky, besides himself, Mr. Bayse feels 
 that in Ins early life he had good company. 
 
 Mr. Basye’ left home after his graduation, 
 and went into southwestern Missouri, seeking 
 for Galena ore, and discovered what are known 
 as the “Granby mines,” in that State. Re- 
 maining there a year, he came back to Platte- 
 ville, studied law with George W. Lakin, and 
 then taught in the public schools of Grant coun- 
 ty. In 1853 he became a photographer, under 
 the instruction of Idesler & Johnson, of Ga- 
 lena and Chicago, 111 ., and established the first 
 gallery in Platteville, which is still continued 
 there, by J. L. Nye. 
 
 In September, 1857, Mr. Basye married 
 Miss Susan Slater, of Platteville, daughter of 
 Rev. Isaac Slater, of Duquoin, 111. After his 
 marriage he taught school in Lafayette county, 
 Wis., for two years, and in i860 came back 
 to Platteville, engaging with G. Hexter & 
 Co. as a' salesman and bookkeeper, jand 
 later with Petti john & Rewey, in the same 
 capacity. In 1863 he took charge of the 
 general store of H. Hoyt, with whom 
 he remained seven months. In 1864 he 
 bought out J. R. Stevens of Platteville, 
 and engaged in the grocery trade, which he 
 continued for some time. At the death of his 
 brother, J. J., who was postmaster and gen- 
 eral merchant in the village of Arthur, he 
 administered his estate, and combined his 
 business, continuing at Arthur some two years. 
 Selling out, he became again an employe of 
 G. Hexter & Co., at Platteville, and continued 
 with them until 1870. That year he became 
 manager for Laughton & Sons, general mer- 
 chants, and was with them some four years. 
 At the end of that time the firm was changed 
 to Laughton Brothers, and a year later Mr. 
 Basye entered again into the grocery business, 
 owning one of the finest stores in the city, 
 and doing a fine trade for some three years. 
 Since 1884 Mr. Basye has lived 1 for the most 
 part retired in the village of Arthur, where 
 he is interested in the poultry business. He 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5i5 
 
 has been commissioner of highways for some 
 six years, and notary public. 
 
 Of the seven children born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Basye, four are now living: (1) Katie, 
 
 born in 1858, was a student of the State Nor- 
 mal at Platteville, and was one of the success- 
 ful teachers of Grant county for several years. 
 Going to California in 1881, she was for some 
 years a teacher, and contributor to the local 
 press, and then married Oscar De Witte, a 
 fellow teacher. Mrs. De Witte died in 1886, 
 leaving one son and one daughter, Eugene and 
 Susie, who are now with their grandmother in 
 Platteville, attending the Normal School. (2) 
 Cora E., born in Grant county in i860, ob- 
 tained her education in the State Normal, and 
 was for some years one of the successful teach- 
 ers who have gone out from that institution. 
 She is now the wife of J. H. Cushman, o'f 
 Platteville, and the mother of four children, 
 Nettie, Dora, Katie, and Leon, all students of 
 the Platteville Normal. (3) George T., born 
 in November, 1864, lives at Pipestone, Minn., 
 where he is engaged in the sale of Indian 
 curiosities and jewelry; lie is known as 
 “Pipestone George” all over the country. (4) 
 William R., born in Platteville, received his 
 education there. When fifteen years of age he 
 became foreman of the Platteville Democrat, 
 and was manager of that paper for a year. 
 Becoming a fine musician, and a composer of 
 music, he was a professor in the musical de- 
 partment of a ladies’ college at Galesburg, 111 . 
 Moving to Milwaukee, he studied under a Ger- 
 man teacher some two years, and taught for a 
 time at La Crosse, Wis. At Winona, Minn., 
 he established a Conservatory of Music. After 
 some four years of work in Winona he found 
 his health shattered, and went to an infirmary 
 in Chicago. There he remained for a year 
 and a half, and was about to return to Platte- 
 ville when he took a sudden relapse, and died 
 June 29, 1900. His remains were interred at 
 Platteville. As a composer and publisher of 
 music he had attained considerable prominence, 
 and from his pen had come a popular book of 
 instruction in music which is quite generally 
 used in schools and by private instructors. ( 5 ) 
 Helen V., born in Platteville in 1872, had a 
 normal training, and a fine musical schooling, 
 appearing frequently before the public as a 
 prominent soprano. She married George 
 Hughes, and they live in Omaha, where Mr. 
 Hughes is a motor conductor. They have two 
 
 children, Lenice and a little son. (6) J. Virgil, 
 born in Platteville, in 1873, the youngest of 
 the family, lives at Owatonna, Minn., where 
 he conducts a temperance billiard hall, tobacco 
 business and news depot. He is married, and 
 has one child. 
 
 Mr. Basye has been an independent Re- 
 publican, and has been active in local affairs. 
 In religion he was reared in the Methodist 
 Church. Mr. Basye studied medicine with his 
 father, and was his prescription and financial 
 clerk for a number of years. He has instructed 
 private and public classes in vocal music for 
 over forty years, and is still active in training 
 children in the Sunday-school and in the 
 church. He established the first choir in the 
 Methodist Church in Platteville, and trained 
 same for eighteen years; he introduced the 
 first organ into a Platteville Church, and or- 
 ganized the first choir in the Episcopal Church. 
 
 PETER S. PEDLEY, a successful stock 
 farmer of New Diggings township, Lafayette 
 county, was born in that township Aug. 11, 
 1853, son of William and Alice (Spensley) 
 Pedley. He grew to manhood on his father’s 
 farm, and received such education as the dis- 
 trict schools of the day and neighborhood af- 
 forded. Early trained to work on the farm, 
 he has made agriculture his life work, and re- 
 sides on a farm his father had purchased previ- 
 ous to his death. He has made general im- 
 provements on his place, and now finds himself 
 the proud possessor of one of the best farms in 
 the township. 
 
 On March 20, 1878, Mr. Pedley wedded 
 Miss Elizabeth A. Garth, who was born in 
 1858, and by this union has become the father 
 of five children, viz. : Walter L., born Jan. 10, 
 1879, was educated in the home school, called 
 the Leadmine Graded School; Ralph W., born 
 in December, 1880, was graduated from the 
 Shullsburg high school ; Alice, born in De- 
 cember, 1882, graduated from the Leadmine 
 Graded School in 1898; Chester A., born in 
 May, 1885. is a graduate of the home school; 
 and George Garth, born in January, 1889, is 
 at home. The family are all members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and! are highly 
 respected residents of the community in which 
 they live. In his political connections Mr. 
 Pedley has always been a Republican, and he 
 has been honored by his townsmen with elec- 
 tion to a number of offices, among them be- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5 16 
 
 in o- those of school treasurer and clerk; he 
 is treasurer at the present writing. 
 
 William Pedley, father of Peter S., was 
 born m Yorkshire, England, April 24, 1817; 
 his wife, Alice Spensley, was born in the same 
 county 111 1819, and came with her husband to 
 America in 1848. Mr. Pedley purchased a 
 farm 111 New Diggings about a quarter of a 
 mile north of Leadmine, which he cleared and 
 improved, this being the first farm cleared up 
 m that section of the town. Mr. Pedley’s 
 industry won for him prosperity and comfort 
 for the last days of his life. Pie and his wife 
 were members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and in company with Mr. Looney and 
 Mr. Johnston Mr. Pedley founded the church 
 in that district. They were all liberal support- 
 ers of the cause of religion, and became prom- 
 inent members of the community, universally 
 respected. To Mr. and Mrs. Pedley were born 
 four children, three sons and one daughter: 
 ( 1 ) John S., born in 1842, was a farmer 011 the 
 old homestead until his death, Dec. 20, 1896, 
 the result of an accident with a corn shredder. 
 He married Miss Mary A. Harker, daughter 
 of Thomas Harker, and by her had three chil- 
 dren, Alice L., William and' Eva. (2) Han- 
 nah, born in 1844, married Joseph Alderson, 
 who died at his home in Mineral Point in 
 September, 1895, leaving a son, John W., of 
 Mineral Point. Joseph Alderson was born in 
 England in 1833, and in 1839 came to Amer- 
 ica, where he engaged in mining and shoe- 
 making. (3) James, born in 1846, now farms 
 the Warren Johnson homestead in New Dig- 
 gings. He married Miss Maggie Alderson, 
 daughter of Joseph Alderson, of Leadmine, 
 and has three children, Wesley, Edward and 
 Nina, (a) Peter S. is the subject proper of 
 these lines. 
 
 ROBERT W. DENNIS was' born in Mis- 
 souri April 28, 1S43, son °f William and 
 Sarah (Sparks) Dennis. The father was born 
 in 1814, in Kentucky, and the mother in 1819 
 in Missouri. They were married in Missouri, 
 and came to Wisconsin in 1841, at that time 
 making a stay of one year only in this State, 
 then a Territory. They returned to Missouri, 
 making the trip homeward by wagon. In 
 1S47 they came back to Wisconsin, and bought 
 a farm in the town of Clifton, making some 
 improvements, and later Mr. Dennis purchased 
 his present home in the same town, where he 
 
 and his wife are passing their last days in 
 peace and comfort. To them were born five 
 children, of whom four are still living. (1) 
 Robert W. is the eldest. (2) Stephen was born 
 m Missouri in March, 1846, married Miss Al- 
 mira Hake, and is now living in Clifton. Mr. 
 Dennis was a prosperous and well-to-do citi- 
 zen of the town of Lima. Ora, their daugh- 
 ter, lives in Platteville, and is a stenographer 
 for Sawyer Ellis. (3) Mary J., born m Mis- 
 souri in 1847, is now the wife of William 
 Kies, of Clear Lake, Iowa, and is the mother 
 of three children, Ethel, Albert and Ray. (4) 
 John J., born in Grant county in September, 
 1850, married Miss Viola Loy, a daughter of 
 Dr. Loy, of Platteville, and is the father of 
 four children, Eugena, Sarah, William and 
 Stella. 
 
 . Robert W. Dennis obtained his education in 
 the district schools. In 1865, in company with 
 an expedition for the gold fields of Colorado, 
 he left Omaha, and crossed the Plains. He 
 was a teamster in the West until December, 
 1867, when he came back to Grant county and 
 bought a farm, and of late years he has been, 
 very successful as a general farmer and a 
 stock raiser. In October, 1869, he married 
 Miss Emma Wannamaker, of Grant county, 
 daughter of Jonas and Esther (Everett) Wan- 
 namaker, who came to this State from Penn- 
 sylvania by way of Trumbull county, Ohio, 
 where Mrs. Dennis was born in 1844. Two 
 years later her parents moved to Liberty, Grant 
 county, where they settled on a farm. They 
 had a family of twelve children, eight of whom 
 are now living. 
 
 Mr. Dennis and his wife settled on a farm 
 in Clifton, which was purchased at their mar- 
 riage, and there they made substantial improve- 
 ments. In 1881 Mr. Dennis bought the 
 “Sparks Farm,” of 280 acres', to which he has 
 added 100 acres, which makes it one of the 
 large farms of the town. Mr. Dennis is a 
 capable farmer, and his land shows in every 
 part the ownership of a practical man. He 
 has at this time one hundred head of cattle and 
 eighty hogs. 
 
 To our subject and his wife have been born 
 children as follows : ( 1 ) Alta May, born in 
 1871, is at home. (2) Lee W., born in 1873 
 .married Miss Agnes Bayley, of Lima, and 
 lives on one of his father’s farms. (3) Cary 
 J. was born in 1874. (4) John Everett died 
 
 when sixteen years old. -(5) Robert P. was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5i7 
 
 born in 1878. (6) Jay, in 1880. (7) Roy, 
 
 in 1882. (8) Clyde, in 1883. (9) Harley 
 
 died when seven years old. (10) Fern was 
 born in September, 18S9. These children have 
 all been students of the Lima- schools. In 
 politics Mr. Dennis is a Democrat, and he has 
 held the position of school director for twenty 
 years. 
 
 JOSEPH WITZIG, one of the prosperous 
 representatives of the agricultural interests of 
 Grant county, residing in Section 6, Clifton 
 township, was born in Prussia, Germany, May 
 15, 1844, a son of Martin and Annie Witzig, 
 both natives of Prussia. 
 
 In August, 1854, the parents left their na- 
 tive land, and after a voyage of five weeks 
 landed in New York. By various means they 
 reached Milwaukee, and thence made their 
 way with ox-teams, the children walking, to 
 Clifton township. Here the father took up 
 160 acres of government land in Section 13, 
 Liberty township, on which he settled in 1855. 
 Here he resided, improving his property, until 
 his death, which occurred July 30, 1862. The 
 mother survived until May 27, 1900, when she, 
 too, passed away, aged ninety. To these 
 worthy people the following children were 
 born:. Adam, who resides in Minnesota; 
 Josephine, now Mrs. Whitish, of Fenni- 
 more; Peter, who died in Fennimore in 
 1874; Mary, Mrs. Stich, who died in Clifton 
 in 1897; John, who died in 1862. on the battle- 
 field, having enlisted in an Illinois regiment ; 
 Frank, who resides in Mt. Ida township. Grant 
 county; Joseph; Johana, Mrs. Bunsell, who 
 died in Iowa county, W is. , in 1875 : Rose. Mrs'. 
 Hufal, who died in Chicago ; and Catherine, 
 Mrs. Abram, of Chicago. 
 
 Our subject was ten years of age when the 
 family came to Wisconsin, and, small as he 
 was, he bore his part in clearing the land, at- 
 tending school as chance offered. As soon as 
 he was able to begin life on his own account 
 he purchased eighty acres', in 1869. in Section 
 13, town of Liberty, to which he added eighty 
 acres in Section 7. Clifton township. To his 
 first purchase in Clifton township, in Sect'on 
 6, Mr. Witzig has added forty acres. All of 
 the property was heavily timbered, and the 
 work of clearing difficult, but he has accom- 
 plished this feat, and has built a good story and 
 a half residence 34 bv 26 feet, and a good barn 
 29 by 29 feet with 16-foot posts, upon his last 
 
 purchase. Upon his first farm he also erected 
 a story and a half house. 16 by 26 feet, with 
 an "ell” 14 by 16 feet, as well as a barn 30 by 
 48, with 16-foot posts and a good basement. 
 The farm is supplied with a windmill, and is 
 all fenced. The land is devoted to grain and 
 stock raising, and the horses, cattle and hogs 
 are bred from excellent strains, therefore com- 
 manding good prices. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Witzig married Miss Ruth 
 Bacon, a native of Ohio, a daughter of John 
 and Sally (Kenyon) Bacon, who were natives 
 of Connecticut and Rhode Island, respectively. 
 They came to Clifton township in 1850, and 
 opened up a farm. Here the father died about 
 June, 1880, aged ninety-four ; the mother died 
 some years later, in 1889, aged eighty-six. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. John Bacon were born ten chil- 
 dren : Mrs. Mary Wanamaker, of Lan- 
 
 caster; Thomas; Mrs. Aurora McLimans, of 
 Fennimore; Joseph, who died in 1884; Janette, 
 Mrs. Kirkpatrick, now of Rewey; Mrs. Sarah 
 Mann, of Dubuque: Mrs. Oral Frye, of Bos- 
 cobel ; Austin, who died in 1842; Mrs. Ruth 
 Witzig; and Miss Ellen, who died in 1894. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Witzig have been born ten 
 children: Bertha, now Mrs. Scheel, of Clifton; 
 John, of Minnesota; Ben, who is married and 
 on the old homestead; Minnie, now Mrs. Ellis, 
 of Iowa county, Wis. : and Joseph, Cora, 
 Willie, Sallie, Beatrice and Emma. 
 
 Having attained his present comfortable 
 circumstances through his own unaided efforts, 
 Mr. Witzig deserves high praise for his in- 
 dustry and thrift, and enjoys the confidence of 
 a large circle of friends, who appreciate his 
 many admirable qualities of heart and mind. 
 
 JACOB REGEZ. The dairy interests of 
 Wisconsin have redeemed the agriculture of 
 the State, and brought a vast flood of wealth 
 into pockets that would otherwise have been 
 empty. Within the lifetime of this generation 
 the advocates of a bold and progressive system 
 of dairying, in harmony with the times, have 
 wrought incalculable good to the people of the 
 State. Particularly is this true of the south- 
 western portions. Here the results of the old 
 methods of farming had become doubtful and 
 uncertain. The farmer was threatened with 
 ruin. Conditions were becoming altogether 
 hostile and unfriendly, but the vast and rapid 
 development of the dairy was his salvation. 
 He is rich, and faces a golden future. But- 
 
5 i8 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ter and cheese, and especially cheese, have done 
 it. In this work the gentleman whose name 
 begins this article, and whose home is in the 
 city of Monroe, Green county, has been very 
 efficient. He has helped the farmer, and the 
 farmer has helped him, and both have become 
 wealthy. 
 
 Jacob Regez was born in Canton Berne, 
 Switzerland, Sept. 18, 1849, and is a son of 
 Jacob and Belle (Lehnherr) Regez, both also 
 natives of Switzerland, and lifelong residents 
 of that country. They had a family of six 
 sons and six daughters, and nine of their chil- 
 dren are now living: Jacob; Rudolph, of 
 
 Monroe ; Ernest, of Blanchardville, Wis. ; 
 Eliza, wife of Fred Meier, of Darlington, Wis. ; 
 Belle, wife of Jacob Roth, of Mineral Point, 
 Wis. ; Amelia, wife of Rudolph Lehnherr, of 
 Blanchardville, W r is. ; Emma, a widow, who 
 first married Charley Regez, and later Fred 
 Rueggseger; August, of Blanchardville; and 
 Emil, of Wimmis, Switzerland, where he is 
 engaged in the cultivation of the old home 
 farm. The father was a notary and a public 
 man in the home country, was mayor of Wim- 
 mis for a period of twenty-one years, and was 
 very highly thought of by those who knew him 
 best. He became a farmer in his later life. 
 He died in 1880, when fifty years old, and his 
 widow in 1888, at the age of fifty-eight. They 
 were Lutherans'. Mr. Regez served' his time 
 in the army, as captain. His father, Rudolph 
 Regez, was a farmer, and met an early death, 
 by drowning, in middle life. He had only 
 two children. Peter Lehnherr, the father of 
 Mrs. Belle Regez, was a farmer, and died in 
 advanced age. He had a family of two daugh- 
 ters and one son. 
 
 Jacob Regez, our subject, came to the 
 United States in 1867, but not long afterward 
 went back to France. In 1871 he again came 
 to this country, with the intention of making 
 a permanent home here, and on this occasion 
 one brother came with him ; later four brothers 
 and four sisters came. They spent a year in 
 Iowa, and in 1873 ma de their first appearance 
 in Monroe. Here they found satisfactory 
 conditions', and here Mr. Regez at once en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of cheese. He struck 
 the chord of success, knew his business thor- 
 oughly, and it rapidly assumed large propor- 
 tions. At one time he was running twenty fac- 
 tories, and had on his regular payrolls the 
 names of more than fifty employes. He now 
 
 has factories in many parts’ of Wisconsin, and 
 his patronage and business reach into Iowa. 
 
 On Jan. 20, 1876, Air. Regez and Miss 
 Louisa Wittwer, daughter of Gottlieb and 
 Kristina (Itten) Wittwer, were married. They 
 have become the parents of six children, Edith, 
 John Jacob, Louisa, Edward, Robert and 
 George Herman. Edith married John Strahm, 
 and lives in Monroe. John Jacob married 
 Ottilie Durst, and is in the employ of his fa- 
 ther. Louisa died at the age of one year, Ed- 
 ward when seven years' old, and Robert at the 
 age of five. Mr. and Airs. Regez are members 
 of the St. John Evangelical Association, and 
 he is a member of the Deutsche Gesellschaft. 
 Politically he is a Democrat, but has never 
 been an office seeker, having given his time and 
 thought to his business. He lives in a beauti- 
 ful home, and owns several fine residences in 
 Monroe. 
 
 ALBERT G. HAWLEY, a well known 
 citizen and prominent business man of Argyle, 
 Lafayette county, is a representative of one of 
 the pioneer families of southwestern Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 Rev. Aaron Hawley, his grandfather, was 
 a missionary of the Alethodist Church, and 
 was sent westward from Vermont in 1826. 
 He was' in charge of the district in north- 
 western Illinois, and his earnest efforts were 
 being crowned with success when the Black 
 Hawk war broke out and turned the Indian 
 from every white man, regardless of any pre- 
 vious friendship. In 1832 Rev. Hawley acted 
 in the capacity of mediator between the white 
 men and the Indians. Black Hawk and his 
 band of bloodthirsty savages were raiding 
 northward through Illinois and Wisconsin. 
 Rev. Hawley approached a camp of warriors 
 at Wadham’s Grove, near Warren, 111 ., on a 
 mission of peace, when he was shot and killed 
 by the savages. A full account of this tragedy 
 is found in the history of the Black Hawk 
 war. 
 
 Daniel S. Hawley, son of Rev. Aaron Haw- 
 ley, was nine years of age when brought by his 
 father to Illinois from the New England home. 
 He married for his first wife Heleann Read, 
 of Brattleboro, V t., and then settled at Orange- 
 ville, 111 . In 1850 he removed to Argyle, 
 Wis., where he was long one of the rromi- 
 nent business men of the town. In 1856 he 
 erected what is known as the Rock hotel, and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5i9 
 
 owned a half interest in the flourmill. His 
 wife died in 1871, leaving- five children, as 
 follows: Albert G., our subject; Henry J., who 
 has resided in Colorado since 1859; Charles 
 
 A. , who died at Worcester, Mass., in 1897; 
 Louisa, who became Mrs. Campbell, and died 
 at Arg-yle; and Theodore A., the youngest, 
 who was accidentally drowned in Colorado, 
 in 1894. After the death of the mother of 
 this family, Daniel S. Hawley was twice mar- 
 ried. Mr. Hawley passed the last years of his 
 life in Evansville, Wis., dying May 18, 1893. 
 His third wife still survives. 
 
 Albert G. Hawley was born in Orangeville, 
 Stephenson Co., 111 ., in 1845, but has been a 
 resident of Lafayette county, Wis., since child- 
 hood. In August. 1862, he enlisted in Com- 
 pany E, 31st Wis. V. I., “for three years or 
 during the war,” and was mustered out with 
 his regiment at St. Louis', Mo., June 20, 1865. 
 Company E was composed principally of volun- 
 teers from the towns of Argyle, Darlington, 
 Fayette and Wiota. Its officers were as fol- 
 lows : Captain, James B. Mason, who died Oc- 
 tober 17, 1863, and was succeeded by Daniel 
 
 B. Dipple; First Lieutenant, Daniel B. Dipple, 
 promoted to captain, and succeeded by Hiram 
 Stevens; Second Lieutenant, Hiram Stevens, 
 promoted, and succeeded by Charles R. Bridg- 
 man. The company rendezvoused at Prairie 
 du Chien, and thence went to Madison. On 
 leaving the State, the regiment went down the 
 Mississippi to Columbus, Ky., and was as- 
 signed to the 6th Division, 16th Army Corps, 
 and was ordered into camp at Fort Halleck. 
 While there it was engaged on picket and 
 guard duty (passing twenty days on guard 
 on the line of the Nashville and Chattanooga 
 railroad), and in reconnoitering the surround- 
 ing country. From Fort Halleck they marched 
 to Murfreesboro. On July 3. 1864, the 31st 
 was transferred to the 3d Brigade, 1st Divi- 
 sion of the 20th Army Corps, and was active- 
 ly engaged during the siege of Atlanta, and 
 took part in the famous march to the sea, par- 
 ticipating in the battles of Averysboro and 
 Bentonville. After the surrender of the Con- 
 federate General Johnson, they marched to 
 Washington, and there took part in the Grand 
 Review. On June 23, 1865, the regiment ar- 
 rived at Madison. Wis., and on July 8, fol- 
 lowing, the men departed for their respective 
 homes, veterans of many of the important en- 
 
 gagements of the greatest struggle the world 
 has ever known. 
 
 After Mr. Hawley returned from the war, 
 he served an apprenticeship to the miller’s 
 trade, and then for eighteen years operated 
 the mill at Argyle, being part owner of the 
 same after 1875. His chief occupation for 
 many years has been the rearing, purchasing 
 and selling of live stock. His sons now as- 
 sist him in the stock business, in which they 
 have been very successful. Mr. Hawley in all 
 his dealings has sustained a high reputation 
 for integrity, and holds the respect of the entire 
 community. 
 
 ’On March 25, 1866, Mr. Hawley was united 
 in marriage with Miss Mary L. Osgood, 
 daughter of Warren and Lydia Osgood. Four 
 children have come to bless their union : Dan 
 S., born in 1869; Elbert E., born in 1872; 
 Ellen M., born 1876; and Homer F., born 
 in 1878. While Mr. Hawley escaped the bul- 
 lets of Confederates, he contracted asthma 
 from the exposure, and is still at times a great 
 sufferer. Fraternally he is a 12th Degree 
 Mason, and a Knight of Pythias. 
 
 Warren Osgood was born in Ontario coun- 
 ty, N. Y. He, too, was a soldier in the Union 
 Army, enlisting at West Union, Iowa, where 
 the family then resided, in Company G. 38th 
 Iowa V. I., and died in the service at New 
 Orleans, La., in January, 1864. The follow- 
 ing year Mrs. Lydia Osgood (who was a na- 
 tive of Virginia) came with her children to 
 Green county, Wis., and her death occurred 
 at Argyle. in 1878. She was the mother of 
 six children, three of whom survive, namely: 
 Lemuel K., of Sac City, Iowa; John A., of 
 Monroe : and Mrs. Hawley, who was born in 
 1848 in Green county, Wis., subsequently re- 
 moving with her parents to Iowa. The family 
 is one of the oldest in the State, and has played 
 an important part in the development of the 
 country. 
 
 JOHN YARWOOD. who has held a con- 
 spicuous position among the successful agri- 
 culturists of Green county, is now living re- 
 tired from active labors in the village of 
 Brooklyn, Wis. He was born in Manchester, 
 England. Tan. 31, 1835, an< ^ is a son of Will- 
 iam and Maria (Barker) Yarwood, both na- 
 tives of England. Thev had four children, 
 two sons and two daughters, and John, 
 
520 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 whose name appears above, is the only one of 
 the family now living. 
 
 William Yarwood was a weaver and a 
 spinner in his early manhood in England, but 
 in middle life he left the mill, and secured em- 
 ployment in locomotive works. In 1894 he 
 died at the age of eighty years. Mrs. Maria 
 Yarwood died some six years prior to that 
 time. They were both members of the Episco- 
 pal Church. 
 
 Hugh Yarwood, the paternal grandfather 
 of our subject, was a gardener by trade, and 
 the father of four children. His widow sur- 
 vived him many years, making her home with 
 her son, and was' over eighty at the time of her 
 demise. The father of Maria (Barker) Yar- 
 wood, noted above, was an Englishman, and 
 died in his native country. 
 
 John Yarwood passed his early life in his 
 English home, where he grew to manhood, and 
 was educated in the local schools. For a num- 
 ber of years lie worked in a warehouse, and in 
 1856 made his way to the United States, seek- 
 ing the larger opportunities that waited on 
 thrift and industry. The first work which came 
 to him was that of a farm hand, in the employ- 
 ment of his father-in-law, on the farm which 
 he subsequently purchased. It contained 240 
 acres, and 1 here he lived until 1898. Another 
 farm of fortv acres was also purchased by him, 
 and he is still the owner of both tracts of land. 
 
 Mr. Yarwood was married Jan. 24, 1859, 
 to Miss Anna, a daughter of Moses and Alice 
 (Potter) Briggs, and by that marriage he be- 
 came the father of a large family of children : 
 Mary Ann, William Henry (deceased), fames 
 Edward, Alice Maud, Moses (deceased) , Moses 
 (2), Walter Frederick, Charles Stewart, John, 
 Frank, and Thomas Richard. William Henry 
 married' Roxie Greatsinger, and had twin chil- 
 dren, Claude William, who died at the age of 
 three months, and Maud Wilda. James Ed- 
 ward died when about sixteen years old. Alice 
 Maud married Rupert Lewis, and has two chil- 
 dren, Mabel Maud and Prentice. The two Mo- 
 seses died in infancy, as did Walter Frederick. 
 Charles Stewart married Lillian West, and they 
 make their home on the old farm, where they 
 are rearing a family of three children, Stanley, 
 Hazel and Archie. John, who married Mary 
 Nelson, also lives on the old farm, where they 
 have one child, Mildred. Frank married Katie 
 Norton and is living on a farm in the town of 
 Brooklyn. 1 homas Richard is still single. The 
 
 wife of Mr. Yarwood,- and the mother of this 
 family, died Jan. 22, 1899, at the age of fifty- 
 seven years. She was a Methodist in faith, and 
 her noble and unselfish life gave a meaning and 
 reality to her religious life. Mr. Yarwood is a 
 believer in Christianity, but has never identified 
 himself with any religious organization. 
 
 In politics Mr. Yarwood has been a Repub- 
 lican since i860, and cast his first vote for 
 Abraham Lincoln. For two terms he has served 
 as a member of the board of supervisors, and 
 he has filled the office of school director and 
 also that of road commissioner for many years. 
 Since the death of his wife he has made his 
 home with his children, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, of 
 Brooklyn. For forty-five years he has been a 
 resident of Brooklyn. 
 
 CHESTER STEPHENS (deceased) 
 long sustained the reputation of a capable 
 farmer and upright man in the town of Jor- 
 dan, Green county, where he had his home at 
 the time of his death. Born in Missouri, Sept. 
 15, 1841, he was a son of John and Elizabeth 
 Stephens, who were among the early settlers 
 in Green county. 
 
 John Stephens, the father of Chester, was 
 born in New York, and made his way to Mis- 
 souri in the early days. In 1849 he came to 
 Green county and settled on section 6, in the 
 northwestern part of Jordan township. He 
 and his wife had a family of six children, 
 four of whom are now living: Mary is the 
 wife of Louis Robb, of Nebraska; Chester is 
 our subject; Nancy is deceased; Lamira, of 
 Illinois, is the wife of George Brass; Helen 
 is the wife of Delavin Pickett, of Iowa; Ma- 
 randa is the wife of Sanford Cluxton, of Oma- 
 ha, Nebraska. 
 
 Chester Stephens was married Nov. 6, 
 1869, to Miss Rosa E. Hobbs, of Green county, 
 Wis., a daughter of John and Eliza (Proctor) 
 Hobbs, her parents both born and bred near 
 Gloucester, England. They came to America 
 in 1846, and very soon made a location in 
 Lafayette county, Wis. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Chester Stephens came children as follows : 
 (1) Ralph, born Oct. 30, 1873, remains at 
 home, and is unmarried; (2) Lettie May, born 
 May 24, 1877, is the wife' of Henry Wieman, 
 of Woodford, Lafayette county; (3) Marble 
 C, born Dec. 30, 1880, is at home, unmarried, 
 as is his younger brother, (4) Clay Irving, 
 who was born May 23, 1882. 
 

 MRS. CHESTER STEPHENS CHESTER STEPHENS 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 521 
 
 Chester Stephens was one of the pioneer 
 settlers in Jordan township, had made his way 
 to a comfortable and independent position, 
 and owned at the time of his death a splendid 
 farm, comprising 360 acres, well improved ; 
 he also had considerable personal property. 
 He passed away May 12, 1896, and is remem- 
 bered as a man who more than met the ex- 
 pectation of his neighbors in many important 
 particulars. 
 
 Mrs. Stephens was born in England Aug. 
 20, 1842, and is now spending her days on 
 the old home place. A woman of more than 
 ordinary character, she has a good memory, 
 is a wide reader, and is well informed on items 
 of current interest. She is a kind neighbor, 
 and enjoys the esteem of a host of friends. 
 For many years in her younger days she was 
 a teacher in Green county, and she has never 
 allowed her intellectual faculties to dull for 
 want of use. Her judgment is good, her man- 
 ners genial and hospitable, Mrs. Stephens 
 knowing full well liow to entertain those whom 
 she receives in her hospitable home. 
 
 JOHN F. TAFMADGE. Among the 
 many prosperous farmer citizens of Albany, 
 Green county, who- have retired to that flour- 
 ishing town to spend at ease their declining- 
 years, is John F. Talm'adge, the subject of this 
 sketch, who is also a veteran of the Civil war. 
 
 Our subject was born in Morris county, 
 N. J., July 23, 1837, a son of Rudolph and 
 Anna (Ayers) Talmadge, both of whom were 
 natives of New Jersey. Of a family of five 
 children, but three now survive: John F., our 
 subject; Virginia, who is the wife of George 
 W. Winter, of Durand, 111 . ; and Samuel V., 
 of Beloit, Wis. Mr. Talmadge’s paternal 
 grandfather was of Holland descent, and was 
 a farmer in the State of New Jersey, where he 
 died in 1856, well advanced in years, leaving 
 a family who have all since passed away. The 
 maternal grandfather was a well-known phy- 
 sician in New Jersey, and died in that State. 
 He reared a large family, and had a son in j 
 the Mexican war. 
 
 Rudolph Talmadge, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was a Jiattejyby. trade, following that line 
 for many years in New Jersey. But when he 
 saw a family growing up about him he de- 
 cided to move to the great West, and secure 
 lands on which to rear them 'and provide for 
 their future comfort. In 1856 he came to 
 Wisconsin, locating at a small place called Jug- 
 
 Prairie, in Union township, Rock county, 
 where he bought sixty acres of land, which he 
 farmed for seven years. Selling this farm, 
 which he had improved, he bought 120 acres 
 in Brooklyn township, Green county, which 
 he later sold to his son, our subject, and bought 
 the adjoining 100 acres, in 1866, living on that 
 place for a number of years; his wife died there, 
 at the age of seventy-two. A number of years 
 later his son Samuel became the owner of the 
 place, Mr. Talmadge moving into Belleville, 
 where his death occurred in 1889, when he 
 was aged seventy-six. Although not identified 
 with any church, he was a good and worthy 
 man; his wife belonged to the M, E. Church 
 for many years. 
 
 John F. Talmadge, our subject, was reared 
 in Morris county, N. J., and attended the dis- 
 trict schools, remaining there until the family 
 removed to Wisconsin. He has been a resi- 
 dent of Green county since 1862. Beginning 
 to make his own way in life, he worked by the 
 month at first, then farmed land on shares for 
 several years, meeting with encouraging- suc- 
 cess. On Jan. 1, 1864, he enlisted in the Union 
 army, for service in the Civil war, entering 
 Company K, 3d Wis. V. I., and faithfully per- 
 formed the duties of a private soldier until the 
 close of the struggle. Returning to his home 
 after the end of the strife, Mr. Talmadge ex- 
 changed his musket for a plow, and settled 
 down to agricultural life upon the 120-acre 
 farm which he purchased from his father. 
 This he rented in 1891, and in 1892 sold it, 
 having- bought a comfortable home in Albany, 
 where he now resides at his ease, enjoying the 
 reward of his early life of toil. 
 
 Our subject was married, Sept. 24, 1865, 
 to Miss Sarah J. Carle, a daughter of B. F. 
 and Mary Carle, and five daughters were born 
 to this union: Francena, who married George 
 S. Smout, lives on a farm in Albany township ; 
 she has two children, Roscoe and Merl. Hattie, 
 who married Sherman Butts, lives in Green 
 county, and has one child, Wesley. Mary, who 
 married Henry Montgomery, lives in Swea, 
 Iowa, and has two children, William and 
 Blanch. Fota keeps house for her father. 
 Gertrude died in her fourth year. Mr. Tal- 
 madge was bereaved by the death of his wife, 
 in 1894, when she was aged forty-eight; she 
 was a devout member of the M. E. Church. 
 
 Politically our subject belongs in the ranks 
 of the Republican party, and has been called 
 upon to fill the position of district clerk a 
 
522 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 number of times. Socially be is connected with 
 Erastus Hoyt Post, No. 69, G. A. R., and is 
 highly esteemed by his comrades. His posi- 
 tion in Albany is considered to be that of a 
 representative citizen, who well typifies the 
 best element of substantial, honest citizenship. 
 
 WILLIAM TENNANT, one of the well- 
 known veterans of the war of the Rebellion, 
 who gladly offered his life for the Union, and 
 fought bravely to maintain the government he 
 loved so dearly, was born in Yorkshire, Eng- 
 land, May 25, 1844, a son of William and Mar- 
 garet Tennant, also natives of England I11 
 1852 the family immigrated to America and 
 located at New Diggings, \\ r is. , in Lafayette 
 county. In 1857 the father and children moved 
 to Mount Ida, the mother having died some 
 time previously, and settled in Section 33. 
 There the father died in 1872. After the death 
 of his first wife he was married again, to a 
 widow with two sons, David and William May, 
 the former of whom is deceased. Our subject 
 was one of a family of seven, three sons and 
 four daughters. 
 
 The war record of William Tennant is very 
 interesting. He enlisted Oct. 19, 1864, in Com- 
 pany C, 25th Wis. V. I., commanded by Col. 
 Rusk. The regiment had already been in the 
 field, and our subject joined it at Atlanta, par- 
 ticipating in the famous march to the sea, and 
 also up through the Carolinas; he was then 
 taken sick with the terrible Southern fever, and 
 sent to hospital. Later he was taken to conva- 
 lescent camp, and finally rejoined his regiment 
 and marched to Washington, where the 25th 
 was mustered out. Mr. Tennant, however, was 
 transferred to Company B, 12th Wis. V. I.. 
 and sent to Louisville, Ivy., where he was hon- 
 orably discharged on July 16, 1865, participat- 
 ing- in the exercises at that city when Gen. 
 Grant reviewed the troops. After the close of 
 the war he returned to Grant county, where he 
 has made his’ home ever since. 
 
 William Tennant was married, in Grant 
 county, to Miss Mary Frances Trapp, daughter 
 of James V. Trapp, a native of Pennsylvania, 
 who removed to New York, where he married 
 Abby Willis, and thence migrated to Wiscon- 
 sin, locating at Mount Ida. Mr. Trapp en- 
 listed in Company C, 20th Wis. V. I., in Capt. 
 McDermott's company, serving three years and 
 thirteen days. His death occurred Feb. 19, 
 1892, at his home in Mount Ida township; his 
 
 wife died some years before. Air. and Mrs. 
 Trapp had three children; George, who died at 
 the age of twenty-two; Alphonso; and Mrs. 
 Tennant. Air; and Airs. Tennant have two 
 children, James William and Cora. 
 
 In politics Mr. Tennant is a Republican, and 
 ardently supports the candidates of that ticket. 
 Upright in all his dealings, he has gained a 
 name for himself throughout the community 
 as a man whose word is never to be doubted, 
 and has many friends. 
 
 JAMES EDMUND McKINNY, for many 
 years a resident of Lancaster, Grant county, 
 represents one of the oldest pioneer families of 
 the county of which he was long one of the 
 most respected and opulent citizens. 
 
 Joseph McKinny, father of James E., was 
 born near Nashville, Tenn., in 1802, a son of 
 John McKinny. He first married, in his native 
 county, Miss Susan Overby, and then moved to 
 Kentucky, thence to Sangamon county, 111 ., liv- 
 ing in the latter county about seven years. 
 Thence, in April, 1835, he came overland 1 with 
 an ox-team and an old-fashioned wagon to 
 Grant county, Wis., and purchased government 
 land in Boyce Prairie, Lancaster township, 
 Andrew Jackson being at that time President 
 of the United States ; the land office was at Min- 
 eral Point. Air. McKinny improved his tract, 
 and resided upon it until 1875. when he sold 
 out and moved with his wife to Texas, for cli- 
 matic reasons. They became homesick, and 
 returned north, but as their youngest daughter 
 had married in Texas and remained there they 
 eventually returned South. Mr. McKinny 
 died in Kaufman, Texas, Jan. 12. 1892, and 
 there his second wife, Mrs. Anna (Robbins) 
 McKinny, whom he married in 1857, is still 
 living, at the age of eighty-one years. Joseph 
 McKinny was a strong man physically, and 
 exceedingly industrious. He joined the Meth- 
 odist Church at the age of twenty-four years, 
 was faithful to his belief to the last, and his 
 doors were always open to the clergy. By his 
 first marriage he became the father of twelve 
 children, only four of whom survive ; Richard, 
 who lives in Pottawattamie county, Iowa: 
 James E., whose name opens this biographical 
 review; Charles Wesley, in Montana; and Jo- 
 seph Henry, in Pottawattamie county, Iowa. 
 Those who passed away were Nicholas LI., the 
 eldest son, who entered the Union service in 
 1861, and died at the close of the war in hospi- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 523 
 
 tal at Nashville, Term. ; Mrs. Sarah Jane 
 Borah; Mrs. Mary Jones, who died in Califor- 
 nia ; Mrs. Susan Ann Richards and Mrs. Emily 
 Utt, in the same state ; and three who died in 
 childhood. By the second marriage there were 
 born four children : George is in Pennsylvania ; 
 Luther died at the age of twelve years; Albert 
 is in Oklahoma ; and Mrs. Luella Lyde lives 
 in Texas. 
 
 James E. McKinny was born on the home- 
 stead in Lancaster township, Aug. 13, 1838, 
 and was the only one of the family to cling 
 to the place of his nativity, where he lived 
 continuously from his birth until 1900, 
 with the exception of three years, when he 
 was first married, during which time he 
 had his residence in Potosi township. Plis 
 marriage took place in 1861, to Miss Eliza 
 Ellen Reed, daughter of John and Sarah 
 (Foraker) Reed, who came from Ohio to 
 Grant county, Wis., in 1858. To this" happy 
 union have been born five children : Laura, Mrs. 
 Fahay, of Lancaster; Ellsworth; Nellie, wife 
 of Mr. Arnes, a teacher at River Falls, Wis.; 
 Cora, Mrs. Hoover, of Illinois; and Marie, who 
 is still under the parental roof. 
 
 Mr. McKinny was one of the most success- 
 ful farmers and stock growers in Grant county, 
 owning a splendid tract of land in Sections No. 
 22 and 23, with a beautiful modern dwelling. 
 On Feb. 28, 1900, he left Grant county and set- 
 tled in Barron, Barron county, Wis., where he 
 built a nice modern dwelling. He and his son 
 Ellsworth bought out the lumberyard in that 
 place, and are now conducting a retail lumber 
 business. The son has also erected a nice res- 
 idence in Barron. For twenty-four years Mr. 
 McKinny voted the Democratic ticket, then be- 
 came a Republican, and is now a strong Prohi- 
 bitionist. In religion he is a Methodist, and 
 there lives no more highly respected man in his 
 community, his wife fully sharing in the esteem 
 in which he is held. 
 
 JACOB MILLER, one of the veterans of 
 the war of the Rebellion, and ex-sheriff of 
 Grant county, is one of the influential factors 
 in the political and social life of Boscobel, 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Miller was born in Des Moines coun- 
 ty, Iowa, in 1845, son °f William and Lucinda 
 (Duke) Miller. William Miller was a na- 
 tive of Kentucky, and was married there, his 
 wife also have been born in that State. After 
 
 their marriage they migrated to Des Moines 
 county, Iowa, in 1843, while it was still a Ter- 
 ritory. About 1849 the family removed to 
 Iowa county, Iowa, where they resided at first 
 on a farm, but later William Miller purchased 
 and operated a sawmill. During the war of 
 the Rebellion he not only served himself, but 
 gladly contributed all of his sons who were 
 old enough to shoulder a musket, David Duke 
 and Solomon J., both of whom were mem- 
 bers of Company I, 28th I. V. I., with their 
 father. The latter served about sixteen months, 
 and then was honorably discharged for dis- 
 ability. David D. Miller entered the regiment 
 at its organization, and served faithfully until 
 the close of the war; while Solomon J. Miller, 
 who was too young at the time of organiza- 
 tion, enlisted as soon as old enough. David 
 D. Miller now resides near Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, 
 and Solomon J. Miller is a resident of South 
 Dakota. Another son, a noted blind musician, 
 resides at Millersburg. Henry Ward Miller, 
 another son, died at the age of fourteen. A 
 daughter, Elizabeth, married George Dedmore, 
 who also served in Company I, 28th 1 . V. I., 
 and died in the service; she is now the wife 
 of Peter Cardy, who served in the same regi- 
 ment and is now a resident of Millersburg. 
 Another daughter, Mary Ellen, married Alfred 
 Redmond, a lumber dealer at Missouri Valley 
 Junction. William Miller, the father, died in 
 1878, and the mother passed away in 1872. 
 
 Jacob Miller passed his boyhood days with 
 his parents. Upon the breaking out of the 
 Civil war he was fired with the same spirit 
 of patriotism which animated his father and 
 brothers. Twice he enlisted, only to be re- 
 jected on account of his youth, but undaunt- 
 ed, the brave boy enlisted for the third time, 
 and was successful, this last enlistment being 
 at Washington, Iowa. The captain of the 
 company wrote his mother, and she. realizing 
 that he was determined to go, gave her con- 
 sent, especially as this officer was a friend of 
 the family and an excellent man. Thus, after 
 many struggles, Jacob Miller became a sol- 
 dier, and a member of Company I. 18th I. Y. 
 I. The regiment went direct from Iowa to 
 St. Louis, thence to Sedalia, and from there 
 to Springfield, Mo., where they did garrison 
 duty for a year. When Gen. Marmaduke at- 
 tacked Springfield the 18th took a prominent 
 part in the conflict, in which the Confederates 
 were defeated and pursued to the Ozark moun- 
 
524 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tains, in Arkansas, where they were overtaken 
 at the toot of Boston Mountain. The 18th then 
 went to Clarksville, Ark., remaining there for 
 a short time ; proceeded to Pea Ridge, and 
 then to Van Buren, Ark., doing garrison duty 
 for several months. They were then ordered 
 to Fort Smith; thence to Darden, on the Ar- 
 kansas river, where they again did garrison 
 duty until Gen. Banks’ Red River expedition, 
 when they were sent to Prairie d’ Ann. There 
 the Union forces repulsed an attack of Gen. 
 Price’s troops, and proceeded to Camden, in 
 the same State, with the expectation of re- 
 enforcing Gen. Steel’s command at Shreveport, 
 La., but, Gen. Banks suffering defeat, that 
 part of the programme was not carried 1 out. 
 However, the 18th participated in a battle at 
 Poison Springs, about sixteen miles from Cam- 
 den, with three companies of the 2d Kansas' 
 Colored Regiment, against a large force of 
 Confederates. The Union troops were guard- 
 ing a wagon train which was engaged in forag- 
 ing. Owing to the superior numbers of the 
 Confederate force the train was captured, but 
 the Union troops escaped, and started for 
 Little Rock. The enemy pursued them, and 
 a battle ensued at Saline river, in which the 
 Confederates were defeated. Crossing the 
 river, the Union troops encountered another 
 force of Confederates, and were thus between 
 two fires, but finally reached Little Rock, and 
 from there proceeded to Van Buren. From 
 this point they marched through the Indian 
 Territory to a place near Fort Scott, Ivans., 
 for the purpose of intercepting Gen. Marma- 
 duke. Returning to Van Buren, the regiment 
 remained at that point until the close of the 
 war. going thence to Little Rock, where it was 
 honorably mustered out July 19, 1865. 
 
 After the war Jacob Miller engaged in 
 teaching school in Iowa for some time ; then 
 worked at the carpenter’s trade, which he had 
 learned before the war, and also farmed. In 
 1877 he became a resident of the town of Lan- 
 caster, Grant Co., Wis., where he worked at 
 his trade, removing to Fennimore in 1884. 
 In 1892 Mr. Miller was elected sheriff of 
 Grant county, and proved himself a very con- 
 scientious and efficient official. In addition to 
 this office he has' served as justice of the peace, 
 town clerk, and trustee in Fennimore, giving 
 unbounded satisfaction. 
 
 In 1878 Jacob Miller was married to Mrs. 
 Mary Ellen Lickel, a native of Pennsylvania, 
 
 and four children, grace their home : Garfield, 
 born Jan. 24, 1880, who, following the ex- 
 ample set by his brave father so many years 
 before, enlisted in the 4th Wisconsin Regi- 
 ment; Vesta, born in 1884; Carrie Anna, born 
 in 1888; and Josephine, born in 1893. 
 
 Mr. Miller is a member of John McDer- 
 mott Post, G. A. R., of Boscobel ; is also a 
 member of the Masonic, Odd Fellows and K. 
 of P. fraternities, and is a Republican in pol- 
 itics. Both Mr. and Mrs. Miller are very 
 popular, and justly so, possessing as they do 
 so many admirable qualities, and may be re- 
 garded as true representatives of ‘the best in- 
 terests of the community in which they live. 
 
 ALONZO B. TEASDALE, a prominent 
 citizen of Cassville, now retired from active 
 business cares, is a native of Grant county, 
 born in Beetown Jan. 21, 1849, a son °f Wil- 
 son and ! Maria S. (Smith) Teasdale, the 
 former a native of New York, the latter of 
 Indiana, where their marriage was celebrated. 
 The father was born in 1810, and in early 
 life came West. In 1844 he moved to Mus- 
 catine, Iowa, and a year later came to Cass- 
 ville, Wis. I11 1847 he located in Beetown, 
 where he worked at his trade, that of a black- 
 smith, for two years. Going overland to Cali- 
 fornia in 1849, he was engaged in blacksmith- 
 ing in Sacramento for a time, and in 1850 re- 
 turned to Beetown, Wis., by way of the Isth- 
 mus and New York City. In 1853 he moved to 
 Cassville, where he continued to follow; his 
 chosen occupation throughout the remainder 
 of his life, dying there in 1879. He was a 
 Democrat in politics, and was widely and fa- 
 vorably known throughout Grant county. His 
 wife also died in Cassville, Jan. 2, 1895. To 
 this worthy couple were born five sons, name- 
 ly: James L., a resident of Cassville; Theo- 
 
 dore, who was killed on the railroad at Cass- 
 ville, in 1898; Alonzo B. ; Frank W., who died 
 in 1898 in Cassville; and Clark, a resident of 
 that place. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of Alonzo B. Teas- 
 dale were spent in Beetown and Cassville, and 
 in the schools of the latter place he acquired 
 his literary education. On starting out in life 
 for himself he entered the government em- 
 ploy, being connected with surveys and harbor 
 work, and for twenty-three years he was en- 
 gaged in similar operations on both the upper 
 and lower Mississippi. A man of good busi- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 525 
 
 ness and executive ability, industrious, ener- 
 getic and persevering, he accumulated a hand- 
 some competence, and in 1895 was able to lay 
 aside all business cares. He is now living a 
 retired life, enjoying the fruits* of his former 
 toil. He is, however, interested in mining. 
 He owns a fine brick residence in Cassville, 
 where he makes Ins home, and also has a good 
 brick business block at that place. 
 
 Mr. Teasdale was married at Cassville, in 
 1895, t0 Miss' Clara Voigt, a native of that 
 place, and a daughter of Peter Voigt, whose 
 sketch appears on another page of this volume. 
 To this union have been born two children, 
 Charles William and Harold T. In his po- 
 litical views Mr. Teasdale is a Democrat, but 
 has never cared for the honors or emoluments 
 of public office, preferring to devote his entire 
 time and attention to his business interests, 
 and he is one of the prominent and influential 
 citizens of his town. His has been an active 
 and useful life, and he well deserves the pros- 
 perity that has come to him. Socially lie is 
 a member of Cassville Lodge, No. 235, F. 
 & A. M. 
 
 ARCHIBALD McKELLAR, M. D., who 
 since 1888 has been engaged in the successful 
 practice of his profession in Blanchardville, 
 Lafayette county, is a young man of fine per- 
 sona] address and high attainments. He was 
 born in the Province of Ontario, Canada, in 
 1862, son of Archibald McKellar, Sr., who 
 \ still resides in Canada, his family consisting of 
 three children, Archibald and two daughters. 
 
 Dr. McKellar was educated at the Western 
 University and Collegiate Institute, in Lon- 
 don, Canada, and was graduated in his medical 
 course in 1888, after which he went immedi- 
 ately to New York City, where for six months 
 he pursued a post-graduate course in poly- 
 clinics. He then located in Belleville, Wis., 
 but the removal of Dr. K. T. Rostad, who 
 for eleven years had been Blanchardville’s pop- 
 ular physician, to a new field of labor at Spring 
 Valley, Wis., caused him to relinquish his' 
 office at Belleville, and remove to Blanchard- 
 ville. Th rough his Scottish ancestry he in- 
 herits careful business qualifications, and has 
 opened a drug store in connection with his 
 I practice, which has proven a most successful 
 venture. He has built up a large and lucrative 
 practice in his profession, and is one of the 
 most popular physicians in the county. Out- 
 
 side of his profession, Dr. McKellar is highly 
 educated, and is a great student, spending near- 
 ly all the time not actually demanded by his 
 business' and profession 111 close study and 
 reading. ‘For five years before entering upon 
 his medical course he engaged in teaching. 
 
 Dr. McKellar wedded Miss Jessie Mon- 
 teith, daughter of William Monteith, who with 
 several brothers settled early in southwestern 
 Wisconsin and became prominent in public 
 affairs. The Doctor’s happy home has been 
 brightened by one daughter, Jessie May, and 
 the entire family are very popular. 
 
 C. D. BLANCHARD, one of the prosper- 
 ous farmers and enterprising citizens' of Ma- 
 rion township, Grant county, is one of the 
 native sons of that settlement, having been 
 born there April 15, 1831, a son of David L. 
 and Clarissa (Walker) Blanchard, both na- 
 tives of New York. 
 
 The father of our subject was a single man 
 when he came to Grant county, entering land 
 from the government, and settling in Section 
 36. Here he married, his wife being a daugh- 
 ter of Robert and Lydia Walker, who were 
 also born in New York. The newly-married 
 couple settled down to farm life upon the place 
 our subject now occupies, but in 1862 the fa- 
 ther removed to Boscobel, and died the fol- 
 lowing year. His wife survived until 1865. 
 In politics he was an ardent Republican, and 
 he left an untarnished name to his four chil- 
 dren : C. D. ; George, a resident of Fenni- 
 
 more; Lydia, now Mrs. Clark, of Fennimore 
 township; and R. D., who enlisted in the Span- 
 ish- American war, was located at Anniston, ‘ 
 Ala., and is now collector at one of the ports 
 in the Philippines. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated in 
 Boscobel, after which he worked until he ac- 
 cumulated sufficient money to purchase the old 
 homestead. After coming into possession of 
 same Mr. Blanchard made many improve- 
 ments, erected new buildings, and now has one 
 of the finest farms in the county. 
 
 In 1877 Mr. Blanchard married, in Marion 
 township, Mary Ann Reeve, daughter of Will- 
 iam and Ann (Feer) Reeve, natives of Eng- 
 land, who came to Marion township in the 
 early days of Grant county. Mr. Reeve died in 
 Marion township in 1891, but his wife still 
 survives, living at Elroy, Wis. Six children 
 have been born to our subject and his wife; 
 
526 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD . 
 
 Leon Manuel (a resident of Hickory Grove 
 township), Burton, David, Paul, Mattie and 
 Gladys. 
 
 Mr. Blanchard is a member of the school 
 board, and has served as school clerk. He is 
 an active Republican in politics. He is high- 
 ly respected throughout the community, and is 
 justly regarded as one of the representative 
 men of Grant county. 
 
 REUBEN T. HOLCOMB, the present 
 popular and efficient clerk of the circuit court 
 of Green county, has been a resident of Mon- 
 roe, M is., for a number of years, and is re- 
 garded as one of the brightest and most pro- 
 gressive representatives that the younger gen- 
 eration of the State presents. Mr. Holcomb 
 was born in the town of Adams, Green county, 
 Feb. 12, 1864, and is a son of Reuben and 
 Sarah (Wilderman) Holcomb, the father 
 being a native of New York and the 
 mother of Illinois. They were the par- 
 ents of three sons and two daughters, 
 and four of their children are now living: 
 James A., of Woonsocket, S. Dak.; Ernest H., 
 of Adams township; Reuben T. ; and Jennie, 
 the wife of Henry Knowlton, of Canton, S. 
 Dak. The paternal Holcomb was born in Mon- 
 roe county, New York, May 16, 1816, and was 
 brought by his parents to the town of Hart- 
 land, in that State, when a year old. Five 
 years later his father died, and his childhood 
 and youth were passed in the homes of vari- 
 ous kinsmen. When he was' twenty-five he 
 went west into Michigan, and had homes first 
 in Lapeer county, and afterwards in Oakland 
 county. In 1844 he made a brief visit to what 
 was then the Territory of Wisconsin. He re- 
 turned to Michigan to spend the summer, and 
 late in the fall of the same year he returned to 
 what was then Iowa county, and entered land 
 near the town of Fayette. He spent several 
 years working at his trade of carpenter and 
 joiner, and in 1849 became the owner of eighty 
 acres of land in the town of Adams, Green 
 county. This was in Section 13, and he soon 
 ■after entered adjoining land, and was the 
 owner of a very considerable farm. In 1855 
 Mr. Holcomb and Sarah E. Wilderman were 
 married, and began their domestic life in a 
 small log house that was standing on the farm 
 in Section 13. In 1866 they put up a large 
 and attractive frame house which was their 
 home until they left the farm to live in Mon- 
 
 roe, in October, 1897. When Mr. Holcomb 
 retired from active farming he was the owner 
 of three hundred acres of land, and for sojne 
 years had been actively engaged in cattle breed- 
 ing. He died May 12, 1899. His father, 
 Apolas Holcomb, died when a young man, 
 leaving three sons and one daughter. James 
 Wilderman, the father of Sarah, whose name 
 appears above, was born in Pennsylvania, of 
 Dutch descent, and all his life was a farmer. 
 He moved to Illinois in the early days, and 
 settled in St. Clair county, near East St. Louis, 
 where he died well advanced in years. He had 
 a numerous family. 
 
 Reuben T. Holcomb, the present clerk of 
 the circuit court of Green county, grew to 
 manhood on the farm in Adams township, 
 and received a very fair schooling in the local 
 schools. He became especially proficient in all 
 matters relating to a business and commercial 
 life, and early turned 1 his attention to trade 
 as an appropriate field for his energies. He 
 was clerk in a store at Monticello two years, 
 and in the fall of 1896 was elected clerk of 
 the circuit court, again in 1898, and again in 
 the fall of 1900, and is serving the county in 
 that position to the general satisfaction of all 
 with whom he comes in contact. 
 
 Mr. Holcomb was married Nov. 6, 1890, 
 to Miss Amber Fessenden, a daughter of El- 
 liott and Aurilla (Loveland) Fessenden, and 
 two children have been born of this union : 
 Trella May and Ralph Elliott. Mr. Holcomb 
 belongs to the Masonic order, and is a member 
 of Smith Lodge, No. 31, A. F. & A. M. He 
 also holds membership in the Knights of the 
 Globe. He is a Republican, and lives at No. 
 830 East Russell street. He owns a quarter 
 section of land in Roberts county, South Da- 
 kota, and, with his two brothers, holds an un- 
 divided interest in the old homestead in the 
 town of Adams. 
 
 SAMUEL IT HAMAN is one of the pros- 
 perous farmers of Sylvester township, Green 
 county, owning a finely improved farm of 200 
 acres- located within five miles of the pleasant 
 little city of Monroe. 
 
 Frederick W. Hainan, his father, was born 
 in Saxony, Germany, June 20, 1808, and came 
 to America in his' youth, settling at Reading, 
 Penn. In 1834, in Berks county, that State, 
 he married Mary Edelman, a daughter of 
 Peter Edelman, the latter one of the early 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 527 
 
 German settlers of the county. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hainan removed to Green county, Wis., in 
 1852, their family consisting of two children: 
 Margaret C., Mrs. C. Meythaler, died in April, 
 1899, in her fifty-ninth year; Samuel H. is 
 the only survivor. The death of the father 
 took place in Monroe in 1884, and Mrs. Mary 
 Hainan died in July, 1885, aged seventy-five 
 years. 
 
 Our subject was born in Berks county, 
 Penn., Aug. 6, 1844, and was reared to man- 
 hood on the farm in Green county, where he 
 attended the district schools, and where he has 1 
 been engaged almost all his life. During the 
 war of the Rebellion he was among those who 
 volunteered to preserve the Union, on Aug. 
 10, 1862, entering Company H, 3d Wisconsin 
 Cavalry, under Capt. Stout; he was principally 
 connected with the Army of the West as a 
 scout, being honorably discharged on June 10, 
 1865, at Lhtle Rock, Arkansas. 
 
 Returning to his home in Sylvester town- 
 ship, Mr. Hainan resumed farming, and has 
 attained great success, liis fertile land, brought 
 to a perfect state of cultivation, his fine house, 
 and excellent barns and buildings, testifying 
 to the success which has rewarded his efforts. 
 He is quite extensively engaged in dairying, 
 and in 1894 built a cheese factory on his farm, 
 which is still in successful operation, being 
 liberally patronized by many of his neighbors. 
 Although he started in life a poor man, he 
 has by his own efforts accumulated possessions, 
 and at the same time has retained the esteem 
 of the neighbors among whom his life has been 
 passed. 
 
 Mr. Haman’s first marriage, to Miss An- 
 geline Stauffacher, of Green county, took 
 place on Jan. 6, 1870. She was a daughter of 
 Jacob and Elizabeth (Speich) Stauffacher, of 
 Sylvester, who were born in Canton Glarus, 
 Switzerland, and were among the old settlers 
 of Green county. Seven children were born to 
 this union: Jacob F., born in 1870, is sta- 
 
 tion agent of the Illinois Central railroad at 
 McConnell, 111.; Mary E., born in 1872, is 
 the wife of Edward Kundert, a hardware mer- 
 chant of Monroe; John W., born in 1873, is 
 studying theology in the Evangelical College 
 at Naperville, 111 .; Samuel W. was born in 
 1876; Levi H. was born in 1878; Lydia A., 
 born in 1880, is a teacher in the common 
 schools of Green county ; and George L. was 
 born in 1883. Mrs'. Hainan died Oct. 24, 
 
 1885, and our subject was married (second) 
 to Miss Minnie C. Schaffer, of Monroe, Wis., 
 on Feb. 16, 1887. Mrs. Hainan is the daugh- 
 ter of Karl G. and Augustina L. (Giese) 
 Schaffer, who were natives of Germany, and 
 came to America about a half century ago, 
 settling in Monroe, where Mr. Schaffer fol- 
 lowed the trade of blacksmith for many years. 
 Of this union have been born four children: 
 Karl H., in 1888; Howard M., in 1890; E. 
 Eugene, in 1893; and Theodora L., in 1897. 
 
 Mr. Hainan is a stanch and ardent Repub- 
 lican, and has been called to serve in many 
 of the local offices of the town, efficiently per- 
 forming the duties of school director, treas- 
 urer and member of the township board. For 
 thirty-seven years he has been a member ,of 
 the Evangelical Church of Juda, giving freely 
 to every good cause, and by precept and ex- 
 ample testifying to the honesty of his pro- 
 fessions. His aim has been to thoroughly equip 
 his children with good educations, and he has 
 taken a deep interest in the progress of every- 
 thing looking to the advancement of his sec- 
 tion, being justly regarded as one of the best 
 citizens of Sylvester township. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY JACQUES. Promi- 
 nent among the soldier citizens of Fayette, 
 Lafayette county, whose gallant deeds con- 
 tributed toward the making of history during 
 the stirring days of the Civil war, is the well- 
 known subject of this sketch. 
 
 William Henry Jacques was born in Lu- 
 zerne county, Penn., in 1846, a son of Lewis 
 V. Jacques, who had a family of four sons 
 and five daughters. One of the brothers of 
 our subject, Isaac Jacques, is well known 
 throughout Lafayette county. 
 
 The war record of our subject commenced 
 with his enlistment, in February, 1864, and 
 closed with his honorable discharge, on June 
 17, 1865. Prior to his enlistment he had 
 gained valuable experience in the Pennsylvania 
 State militia, and he was actively engaged in 
 the field at the battle of Gettysburg. He took 
 part in the siege of Petersburg, as well as 
 Richmond, at which latter city he remained 1 on 
 duty until his discharge, on account of a severe 
 injury received at Petersburg, from which he 
 has never fully recovered. While our subject 
 was engaged in defending his country his par- 
 ents removed to Wisconsin, settling in La- 
 fayette county, and upon the young man's re- 
 
528 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 turn from the scene of battle he also located in 
 Lafayette county. 
 
 Air. Jacques was married to Miss Sarah 
 Elizabeth Ethridge, and their home has been 
 made happy by the birth of three sons and two 
 daughters. Mr. Jacques is a member of Har- 
 vey Post, No. 45, G. A. R., and is very pop- 
 ular in the organization, as well as among the 
 people in the community, where he bears an 
 honored name. 
 
 WILLIAM C. MEYER, retired harness 
 merchant of Platteville, Grant county, is a na- 
 tive of Wurtemberg, Germany, born Sept. 22, 
 1828, and in that country his parents, Carl 
 and Regina Meyer, passed their entire lives. 
 
 Mr. Meyer was quite well educated in his 
 native city, where he also 1 learned harness- 
 making, upholstering and paper-hanging. He 
 was a soldier in the German army in 1849, 
 at the time of the Italian revolution under the 
 leadership of Garibaldi, and in 1852 came to 
 America in a sailing-vessel, landing at New 
 Orleans during a yellow fever epidemic. He 
 started by steamboat up the Mississippi river, 
 and was quarantined two weeks at St. Louis. 
 Eventually, in company with a friend, he 
 reached Galena, 111 ., before the expiration of 
 the year, found work as a day laborer, and 
 later at his trade, for a Mr. Miller. At Ga- 
 lena, the same year, he (first) married Miss 
 Fredericka Kohler, who was born in Germany 
 in 1831, and came to America in the same 
 vessel with himself. In the same year, 1852, 
 Mr. Meyer brought his bride to Platteville, 
 which city has ever since been his home. In 
 Platteville Mr. Meyer worked at his trade of 
 harness-maker for a Mr. Lambert, and then 
 purchased a farm near the city, cleared off 
 the superfluous timber, erected a dwelling and 
 other necessary buildings, and in 1861 placed 
 his father-in-law in charge, while he returned 
 to the city and resumed work at his trade. He 
 is interested in the Platteville Canning Factory, 
 and is a member of the board of directors of 
 that concern. 
 
 In 1869 our subject had the misfortune 
 of losing his wife, who left him five children, 
 viz. : William, who was born in Platteville, 
 married a Miss Kopp, who has borne him six 
 children, Charles, Paulina, Samuel, Laura, El- 
 sie and Emma; the father now carries on a 
 harness trade in partnership with a brother- 
 in-law, Peter -Pitts. Rosie, the wife of Peter 
 
 Pitts, is the mother of seven children, Leora, 
 Mabel, Albert, Edward, Ella, Herbert and 
 W ilbur. John, also a harness-maker, lives in 
 \\ hittemore, Iowa ; he has one child, Edna. 
 Samuel, a carriage trimmer at Dodgeville, 
 Iowa Go., Wis., is a married man, and the 
 father of .two children, Reuben and Lanette. 
 Martha was educated in the State Normal 
 School in her native city of Platteville, where 
 she is at present a teacher in the graded schools. 
 
 In 1871 William C. Meyer married for his 
 second wife Miss Paulina Geyer, a resident of 
 Platteville, but a native of Potosi, born in 1851, 
 and a daughter of George G. Geyer, who came 
 from Germany, settled on a farm in Grant 
 county, and here passed the remainder of his 
 life. To this second union was born, in Au- 
 gust, 1872, George F. Meyer, who was edu- 
 cated at the State Normal of Platteville, and 
 is at present engaged in the lumber business 
 with Thomas Metcalf; he married Miss Ida 
 Frederick, daughter of A. B. Frederick, a 
 graduate from the State Normal and a school 
 teacher. 
 
 In politics Mr. Meyer is a Republican, and 
 served as alderman from 1880 until 1887 ; was 
 one of the committee appointed to- superintend 
 the erection of the city hall ; has also served 
 on the school board twelve years, and for eleven 
 years was treasurer of that board, of which re- 
 sponsible position he is the present incumbent. 
 In religion Mr. Meyer and family are devout 
 Presbyterians, Mr. Meyer having been an ar- 
 dent worker in his congregation for upward 
 of forty-five years. 
 
 Mr. Meyer has seen Platteville grow from 
 a small village to a thriving city of magnificent 
 homes and prosperous business industries, and 
 has been no small factor in promoting that 
 progress. In 1861 he purchased a lot on which 
 he erected his pleasant home, and drew to his 
 neighborhood many others who made similar 
 improvements. Although comparatively poor 
 when he first came to the city, his integrity 
 and excellent management have brought him 
 to the front, and he and his family now stand 
 among the most substantial and most highly 
 esteemed residents of Platteville and Grant 
 county. 
 
 REV. H. H. BROCKHAUS. Few his- 
 torical topics are more replete with interest 
 than the story of the development and growth 
 of the church upon the' frontier, when the 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 529 
 
 minds and energies of men and women alike 
 were concentrated chiefly upon material 
 growth, and brawn usurped the place of piety. 
 It was in such soil (far from fertile) that the 
 Evangelical Association first dropped its seed, 
 prayerfully, perhaps fearfully. The primal 
 gatherings of the denomination were held in 
 one of the early school houses, Rev. J. Sill be- 
 ing the first preacher. He was stationed at 
 New Glarus, Green county, but found time to 
 minister, as occasion required, to the spiritual 
 needs of the mission at Monroe. He was suc- 
 ceeded by the Rev. L. Buehler, under whose 
 direction a Sunday school was organized in 
 1858, the first church edifice being erected’ two 
 years later. His structure was primitive, alike 
 in its exterior and in its furnishings ; its cost 
 exceeding $160. The sum seems ridiculously 
 small, yet it must be borne in mind that the 
 amount named covered only the cost of ma- 
 terial, the labor of erection being cheerfully and 
 gratuitously rendered by willing hands. It 
 was the first church to be erected in Monroe 
 where the truths of the Gospel were proclaimed 
 to the people in the German tongue. The 
 members of the church were liberal in their 
 conception of the niceties of creed, and broad 
 in their treatment of their fellow Christians. 
 They esteemed their brethren of the Lutheran 
 Church, and for a time all dwelt in spiritual 
 harmony, the comparatively small number of 
 German families virtually necessitating a com- 
 munity of religious effort, and a homogeneity 
 of worship. Little by little, however, the nu- 
 merical strength of the Lutherans increased, 
 and the members of this sect erected their own 
 house of worship, thus virtually separating 
 themselves from their former colaborers' in the 
 religious field. The history of the denomina- 
 tion in Green county is, however, full of in- 
 terest. After Mr. Sill’s time services were 
 conducted at the mission by Rev. L. Buehler, 
 and the first resident pastor was the Rev. T. 
 Von Wald. who remained for two years, fol- 
 lowed by the Rev. Andrew Taruntzer, and 
 after one year Rev..J. G. Esslinger succeeded 
 him, and he in turn was followed by Rev. W. 
 F. Schneider, whose pastorate extended over 
 one vear. He was a man of ripe learning, and 
 subsequently became connected with the pub- 
 lishing house of the denomination, and con- 
 tinued to sustain that relation until his death. 
 During his term of service here a new church 
 34 
 
 building, costing $1,800, was erected, which 
 was dedicated by the presiding elder, Rev. C. 
 A. Schake. After Mr. Schneider’s departure 
 in 1864, Rev. J. G. Esslinger returned. Suc- 
 ceeding pastors were Revs. C. F. Finger, Will- 
 iam Huelster, and J. M. Hammetter. The last 
 named was succeeded by Rev. L. Buehler, in 
 1871, and he was followed by Rev. J. C. 
 Brendel, in 1876. In the spring of that year 
 the first Conference of the Association was held 
 in Monroe. Rev. H. Uphoff followed, remain- 
 ing three years, when he gave way to Rev. 
 Peter Held, and he in turn to Rev. C. Gruen, 
 who remained for only one year, being sent by 
 the Conference as a home missionary to Cali- 
 fornia. He was followed by Rev. C. Lahr, who 
 is now living in retirement at Judd, Monroe 
 county. Then came Rev. P. Speich, at present 
 pastor of a church at Milwaukee, and he was 
 succeeded 1 by Rev. N. H. Messerschmidt, the 
 present Presiding Elder of the Illinois Confer- 
 ence. His pastorate began in 1891, and dur- 
 ing its continuance the present church (the 
 third built by the congregation at Monroe) was 
 erected, the membership having increased to 
 232. Rev. C. C. Wellso came after Mr. Mes- 
 serschmidt. Rev. M. Gaurke followed him, 
 and both these gentlemen are now stationed at 
 Milwaukee. Mr. Gaurke was succeeded by the 
 present pastor, the Rev. H. H. Brockhaus. 
 The present church membership numbers 270, 
 and the church itself, under the devoted zeal 
 and piety of the eloquent clergyman who is its 
 spiritual head, is in a most flourishing condi- 
 tion, and a potent element for good in the 
 community. The congregation owns a com- 
 modious house of worship and a good’ par- 
 sonage. 
 
 Frederick Brockhaus, the father of Mr. 
 Brockhaus, emigrated from Germany, and set- 
 tled in Brown Co., Wis., in 1845, and there the 
 reverend gentleman himself was born, in i860. 
 Both parents are yet living, the father at the 
 age of eighty and the mother, Mary Brock- 
 haus, ten years her husband’s junior. Mr. 
 Brockhaus received his early educational train- 
 ing in the schools of Brown county, and was 
 educated for the ministry at the Northwestern 
 College. His first pastoral charge was at 
 Forest Junction in Calumet county, Wiscon- 
 sin, where he remained for two years. The fol- 
 lowing year he was pastor at Arlington, in this 
 State, and afterwards spent two years at Ar- 
 
530 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 cadia, three at Alma and four at Mauston. 
 From the last named place he came to Monroe, 
 in May, 1899. 
 
 O11 Jan. 6, 1886, Mr. Brockhaus was mar- 
 ried to Miss Augusta Barnetzke, daughter of 
 William and Johanna Barnetzke, and seven 
 children have blessed their union — three sons 
 and four daughters. 
 
 THOMAS KINSMAN is' one of the high- 
 ly respected citizens of Platteville, Grant coun- 
 ty, whose useful and well-spent life has not 
 only gained for him the confidence of his fel- 
 low men, but has also secured for him a com- 
 fortable competence, which enables him to 
 spend his declining days in ease and retire- 
 ment. 
 
 A native of Wisconsin, Mr. Kinsman was 
 born at Mineral Point Feb. 17, 1843, a son 
 of Thomas' and Mary (Wasley) Kinsman, 
 natives of Cornwall, England, who at an early 
 day crossed the Atlantic, taking up their resi- 
 dence in Iowa county, Wis., in 1841. There 
 the father followed mining, but after his re- 
 moval to Lafayette county, in 1849, he pur- 
 chased land in Fayette township, and turned 
 his attention to agricultural pursuits. There he 
 died in 1871. He was one of the first settlers 
 of Iowa county, and was prominently identi- 
 fied with the early development and upbuilding 
 of the State. Mrs. Kinsman also died in La- 
 fayette county, in 1873. To them were born 
 three children: Nicholas, now a resident of 
 
 Dubuque, Iowa ; Joanna, who died in Lafayette 
 county, Wis., in 1869; and Thomas, Jr., our 
 subject. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of Thomas Kins- 
 man, Jr., were passed in Lafayette county, and 
 after reaching mail’s estate he engaged in farm- 
 ing there, still owning a good farm, which he 
 himself improved and placed under cultiva- 
 tion. I11 March, 1893, he laid aside all busi- 
 ness cares, and is now living retired in Platte- 
 ville. He was one of the gallant soldiers of 
 the Civil war, having enlisted in Fayette town- 
 ship, Lafayette county, Aug. 14, 1862, in Com- 
 pany L. 31st Wis. V. I., for three years or 
 during the war. After being - mustered in, at 
 Prairie du Chien, the regiment was assigned to 
 the 20th Corps, Army of the Cumberland, and 
 with that command participated in the battles 
 of Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Averysboro and 
 Bentonville. Mr. Kinsman was all through 
 the Carolina campaign, was in the grand re- 
 
 view at Washington, D. C., and was honorably 
 discharged at Madison, Wis., July 7, 1865, after 
 three years of faithful and arduous service on 
 Southern battlefields. 
 
 In Lafayette county Mr. Kinsman was mar- 
 ried, in 1S05, to Miss Emma Jerusha Harris, 
 who was born in Cornwall, England, and came 
 to the United States in 1853, with her parents, 
 John and Jerusha (Francis) Harris, also na- 
 tives of Cornwall. The family located in La- 
 fayette county, Wis., where the father was first 
 engaged in mining, but he later turned his at- 
 tention to farming, and improved a good farm 
 in Fayette township, where he died in 1888. 
 His widow now makes her home in Mineral 
 Point. Their family numbered eight children, 
 namely: Mrs. Emma Jerusha Kinsman; 
 
 Mrs. Celia Fared, of Iowa county, Wis.; Mrs. 
 Eliza Reynolds, of Mineral Point; John H., 
 of Fayette township, Lafayette county; Mrs. 
 Jane Cookings, of the same township; Mrs. 
 Anna Dawe, of Mineral Point ; George, of Des 
 Moines, Iowa ; and Melvina, of Mineral Point. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Kinsman have six children : De- 
 los, Marietta, Mabel, John, Llora and Thomas. 
 Delos is a graduate of the Platteville Normal 
 School, was at one time an instructor in the 
 University of Chicago, and is now a teacher in 
 the Wisconsin State University at Madison. 
 He married Nellie Williams, of Cuba City, 
 Grant county, and has one child, Georgia. 
 
 Fraternally Mr. Kinsman is a member of 
 W. T. Sherman Post, No. 66, G. A. R., and 
 religiously both lie and his wife are active 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 Flis political support is always given to the 
 men and measures of the Republican party, 
 and he takes quite an active interest in politics, 
 having served as town treasurer six years, as- 
 sessor one year, and chairman of the town 
 board one year while a resident of Fayette 
 township, Lafayette county. As a citizen he 
 ever stands 1 ready to discharge any duty de- 
 volving upon him, and has manifested the 
 same loyalty in days of peace as when he fol- 
 lowed' the old flag to victory in the Union 
 cause. 
 
 JACOB HUFFMAN, a thrifty and weal- 
 thy farmer, resides on his well improved land, 
 located three and one-half miles west of Mon- 
 roe, Green county. 
 
 Our subject is a s'on of Jacob and Eliza- 
 beth (Jones) Huffman, who were among the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 53i 
 
 pioneer settlers of Green county, coming here 
 about 1845. By trade Mr. Huffman was a 
 carder, and 1 he built a carding mill in Jordan 
 township in the early days, and -also engaged 
 in farming. He died in 1853. To him and his 
 first wife were born eight children who reached 
 mature years: Absalom, deceased; Solomon, 
 
 deceased; William, deceased; James, a thrifty 
 farmer of Clarno township; Ellen, who mar- 
 ried Isaac Miller, and died in 1862, while on 
 the overland trip to California, to join her hus- 
 band in that State ; Christina, who married 
 John B. Starr, and now reside* in Hardin 
 county, Iowa ; Elizabeth, who married Andrew 
 Hiserote, of Nebraska; and Jacob. The sec- 
 ond wife of Jacob Huffman, Sr., was Barbara 
 Day, by whom he had two children : Daniel, 
 who lives in Nebraska; and Mary, who married 
 Herbert Barnes, of the same State. Mrs. Bar- 
 bara Huffman, now Mi's. Block, lives near 
 Oakdale, Nebraska. 
 
 When only one day old our subject lost 
 his mother, but her place was supplied as near- 
 ly as possible by Abner and Anna Drake, close 
 friends and schoolmates of Mrs. Huffman, 
 who took him when a babe and gave him the 
 love and tender care of parents. They were 
 among the estimable and honored citizens of the 
 community. Our subject was born in the town 
 of Cadiz, April 8, 1847, reared on the farm now 
 known as the John E. Hawthorn farm, and 
 received his education in the district schools. 
 Choosing an agricultural life, he is now one 
 of the wealthy farmers of Clamo, his estate 
 aggregating about 400 acres, well improved, 
 with comfortable dwellings' and a fine barn — 
 the latter just completed — on the home place. 
 Since 1877 Mr. Huffman has given considera- 
 ble attention to bee culture, his apiary at one 
 time comprising 225 swarms. He gathered 15,- 
 000 pounds of honey one season. On several oc- 
 casions he has been called upon to prepare and 
 read articles on bee culture at Farmers Insti- 
 tutes held at different points in the State. In 
 recent years he has devoted much of his at- 
 tention to dairying and the breeding of Poland 
 China swine and Durham cattle. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Huffman to Adelaide 
 Day. a native of Jordan township. Green Co., 
 Wis., was celebrated on April 7, 1871. She is 
 a daughter of John and Maria (Tree) Day, 
 of German origin, who were among the early 
 settlers of Green county. A family of six 
 children has been born of this union : Everett 
 
 A., born in 1872, resides at home, on the farm; 
 John L., born in 1873, died in 1890; Annie 
 May was born 1875; William E., in 1877; 
 Cora Ellen, in 1881 (died in 1883) ; and 
 Florence, in 1884 (died in 1889). 
 
 Although his ancestors and brothers are 
 Democrats, our subject is a stanch Republican, 
 and has been active in that party, upholding its 
 principles. For the past twenty-five years he 
 has held the office of school director, has served 
 on the township board, and has been both 
 agent and president of the Clarno Fire In- 
 surance Co. Both he and his wife have long 
 been consistent members of the U-. B. Church, 
 in which Mr. Huffman has held many of the 
 offices, and has done much for the interests 
 of the Sunday-school. Mr. Eluffman has lived 
 a life above reproach, and takes a just pride 
 in the fact that he has neither sued a neigh- 
 bor nor been sued, all differences of opinion 
 having been amicably settled. A kind and in- 
 dulgent man in domestic life, he is known as an 
 honest citizen, and no man has lived for fifty- 
 four years in Green county who enjoys higher 
 regard than does our subject, Jacob Huffman. 
 
 ADOLPH LOEWI, the proprietor of a 
 fine clothing and furnishing store in Beloit, 
 Rock county, illustrates in his own career the 
 possibilities of life in this country. He began 
 life with little or nothing save a brave spirit, 
 good natural abilities, and a profound de- 
 termination to win out ; and to-day, while he 
 is by no means an old man, he has already 
 achieved a success that many men fail to 
 reach in a long life. 
 
 Mr. Loewi was born in Germany, near 
 Nurnberg, Bavaria, June 2. 1854, and is a 
 son of Jacob and Minnie (Scherer) Loewi, 
 both German born and bred. They were the 
 parents of six sons and six daughters, and six 
 of their children are now living: Louise, wife 
 of Abraham Strauss, of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; 
 Herman, of Philadelphia ; Joseph, of Balti- 
 more ; Sigmund, of Adelsdorf, Germany; 
 Adolph; and Fannie, wife of Simon Strauss, 
 of Adelsdorf. The senior Loewi was a dealer 
 in leather, shoemakers’ supplies, and crock- 
 eries, and afterward in grains and hops, in ad- 
 dition to the other lines. He died in 1878, at the 
 age of seventy-six. His wife died in 1870, 
 when fifty-seven. They were Hebrews, and 
 always held loyally to their ancestral faith. 
 His father lived to be ninety years old, and 
 
532 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 reared a family of three sons and five daugh- 
 ters. Mrs. Loewi’s father died in Germany 
 after reaching the age of ninety. 
 
 Adolph Loewi received his early schooling 
 in Germany, attended business college at Bam- 
 berg for a year or more, and was well fitted 
 for a commercial life. In 1868, when he was 
 fourteen, he left home, and emigrated to the 
 United States. He landed in Brooklyn, and 
 secured an engagement as clerk in a clothing 
 store the day after his arrival. He was stead- 
 ily employed as a clerk until 1881, in March 
 of which year he came to Beloit, and opened 
 his present establishment, which under his 
 efficient management has become a pronounced 
 success. For twelve years Mr. Loewi was a 
 partner with Moses Reitler, under the firm 
 name of M. Reitler & Co. At the end of that 
 time Mr. Loewi bought out his partner, and 
 the style of the firm since the purchase has been 
 A. Loewi & Co. His store is known as the 
 Golden Eagle Clothing Blouse, and he requires 
 the help of four clerks and a lady cashier. Our 
 subject was a director in the Second National 
 Bank of Beloit for three years. 
 
 On Oct. 8, 1884, Adolph Loewi and Miss' 
 Sarah Cohen were united in matrimony, and 
 they have one son, J. Victor. Mrs. Loewi’s 
 mother is Mrs. Rosina Cohen. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Loewi are of the Hebrew faith, and are true 
 to their faith and blood. He belongs to the 
 Odd 1 Fellows and the Modern Woodmen, and 
 is much esteemed as a devoted and reliable 
 member of these fraternities. He is a Repub- 
 lican, and prides himself upon the fact that he 
 votes a straight ticket. His home is at No. 623 
 Park avenue, where he built a fine residence in 
 1898. 
 
 Mr. Loewi is a prosperous and successful 
 merchant, has an elegant store, and does a 
 large business, which he has very largely de- 
 veloped by his own capacities and business en- 
 ergies. He is a typical self-made man, as he 
 began a poor boy, and has conquered fate un- 
 aided, and is a highly respected citizen of the 
 community. 
 
 AUGUST KETTLER, a retired business 
 man of Platteville, Wis., came from the Fa- 
 therland. and the strongest and most creditable 
 characteristics of the Teutonic race have been 
 marked elements in his life, and have enabled 
 him to win success in the face of opposing 
 circumstances. He possesses the energy and 
 
 determination which mark the people of Ger- 
 many, and by the exercise of his powers he 
 has steadily progressed, and has not only won 
 a comfortable competence, but has commanded 
 universal respect by his straightforward busi- 
 ness methods. 
 
 Mr. Pettier was born in Hanover, Ger- 
 many, July 3, 1837, a son of Henry and Louise 
 (Kraus) Ivettler, also natives of Hanover. 
 The father, who was a farmer by occupation, 
 came to the New World in 1856, taking pas- 
 sage at Bremen on a sailing- vessel, and land- 
 ing in New .York after a voyage of six weeks. 
 
 He came at once to Platteville, Wis., and 
 opened up a farm in Smelser township, Grant 
 county, to the improvement and cultivation of 
 which he devoted his energies throughout the 
 remainder of his life. His death occurred in 
 1877, and his wife died in the same township 
 in 1886. They had four sons: Henry, a resi- 
 dent of Platteville ; Conrad, who died in that 
 city in December, 1899; August, of this re- 
 view: and Frederick, a resident of Nebraska. 
 
 August Ivettler passed his boyhood and 
 youth in his native land, and was there edu- 
 cated. Coming to America in 1856, he has, 
 since November of that year, made his home 
 in Grant county, Wis. He learned the trade 
 of a shoemaker, which he followed in Platte- 
 ville until 1863, and then embarked in general 
 merchandising at that place, successfully con- 
 ducting a store there until 1888. The first 
 building he owned on Second street was de- 
 stroyed by fire, and he then erected a two- 
 story frame building on the same street, which 
 he occupied until purchasing a building on the 
 corner of Main and .Second streets. This build- 
 ing on Second street, and later (in 1873), his 
 building on the corner of Main and Second 
 streets, which he was occupying as a dry-goods 
 store, were also destroyed by fire. Since then 
 he has erected a good two-story brick block 
 on the corner of Main and Second streets, 
 which he still owns and which is now occupied j 
 by Plenry Sanders as a general store. 
 
 In i860, in Grant county, Mr. Kettler was | 
 married to Miss Julia Thompson, a native of 
 Norway. Her father, Thomas Thompson, 
 brought his family to America in 1849, ai1 ^ 
 located on a farm in Green county, Wis., where 
 he continued to make his home until death. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Kettler have two children: 
 Louise, wife of Henry Schambow. of Platte- 
 ville, by whom she has one child, Clara; and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 533 
 
 Carrie, wife of Frank Burg, a clothing mer- 
 chant of the same place, by whom she has two 
 children. Frankie and Leo. In his political 
 views Mr. Kettler is a Republican, and has 
 faithfully served his fellow citizens as a mem- 
 ber of the city council. He has also filled the 
 office of jury commissioner of the county for 
 the past three years, and has ever taken an 
 active and commendable interest in public af- 
 fairs. Religiously he and his wife hold mem- 
 bership in the Lutheran Church. Pleasant and 
 genial in manner, he makes friends of those 
 with whom he has come in contact either in 
 business or social life, and is one of the pop- 
 ular and honored citizens of Platteville. 
 
 HENRY RODERICK, one of the old and 
 honored citizens of the village of Juda, Green 
 county, comes from German ancestry, and was 
 born in Pennsylvania Nov. I, 1816, where his 
 parents, David and Magdalena (Landis) Rod- 
 erick, were thrifty farming people of Fayette 
 county, Penn. They had a family of seven 
 sons and one daughter, John, Daniel, David, 
 Tacob, Andrew, Samuel, Henry and Elizabeth. 
 All except Henry are now deceased. The 
 daughter married Daniel Smith. The Rod- 
 erick family came from Germany some gen- 
 erations ago, and the remote ancestors of our 
 subject were all Dunkards. 
 
 In 1842 Henry Roderick married Miss 
 Mary Greenlee, of Fayette county. Penn., 
 daughter of Jacob Greenlee, of the same coun- 
 ty. They had ten children: Thomas J., de- 
 
 ceased; William, of Green county; Samuel, 
 who died, in August, 1900 ; Jacob L., a farmer 
 in the town of Decatur; Charles, deceased; 
 David, a farmer in the town of Spring Grove; 
 Lydia Ann, at home; Oliver, who died in child- 
 hood ; Albert, a farmer in Sylvester ; and 
 Emma, wife of George Hemstreet, of Juda. 
 
 Henry Roderick was reared in the coun- 
 try, and obtained his education in the public 
 schools. He grew to manhood on the farm, 
 and removed from Fayette county, Penn., to 
 Green county, Wis., in 1862. He began life 
 a poor boy, and has made his own way in the 
 world, and what he has he owes to his own 
 courage, strength and persistence. Success has 
 crowned his years in this State, and he owns 
 a fine farm, consisting of 425 acres of well- 
 improved land, worth at a low valuation at the 
 present time, on a depressed market, at least 
 sixty dollars an acre, together with much per- 
 
 sonal property. Mr. Roderick is now living in 
 Juda, where he is retired from the cares of an 
 active business life. He is a stanch Repub- 
 lican, and 1 a consistent member and deacon of 
 the Baptist Church. Mrs. Roderick was born 
 in 1822, and died Oct. 17, 1900. She was a 
 good Christian woman, and had proved her- 
 self a faithful wife and mother through fifty- 
 eight years of married life. Mr. Roderick has 
 a retentive memory, and is well posted on all 
 the topics of the time. An honorable and 
 upright life has been his ; he has fashioned a 
 noble character, and will leave behind a name 
 of which his posterity may well be proud. 
 Over sixty years ago he signed the Washing- 
 tonian pledge, and all these years has been a 
 total abstainer from the use of intoxicating 
 liquors and tobacco. His children have wisely- 
 followed in his teachings, and he earnestly ad- 
 vocates abstinence from the use of intoxicating 
 beverages and tobacco for all young people. 
 
 ALLEN KIES. It is a well proved fact 
 that the United 1 States has shown above other 
 countries examples of men rising by their own 
 efforts, and also that here the tillers of the 
 soil have had advantages over other profes- 
 sions. Every neighborhood has its worthy ex- 
 amples. and our subject, Allen Kies, of Bel- 
 mont township, Lafayette county, has shown 
 how successful a man may be when he devotes 
 proper energy and industry to the development 
 of a fertile soil. 
 
 Mr. Ivies: was born in Chenango county. 
 New York, on July 14. 1828. and was a son 
 of Daniel and 1 Celia (Cole) Kies, who were 
 both born in Massachusetts, the grandfather 
 having been a soldier in the war of 1812, a 
 son of Harry Kies, who bravely bore a musket 
 in the Revolutionary war. Daniel Kies re- 
 moved to the State of New York with his par- 
 ents when a boy, developed there into man- 
 hood, married and remained until 1836. when 
 he moved to Coles county. 111 ., where he fol- 
 lowed farming for some eight y-ears. In June, 
 1844, he removed to Smelser. AVis., in which 
 township he bought eighty acres of land and 
 made his permanent home there, his death tak- 
 ing place in 1863. his wife surviving for three 
 years. The family consisted of six members : 
 Daniel, a soldier in the Civil war, married 
 and settled at Fennimore, where he died; 
 Ursula, deceased, married Isaiah Moody ; Lu- 
 cinda, deceased, married James Patterson; 
 
534 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Cynthia, deceased, married Samuel Vanatta; 
 Louisa, the widow of James Ashmore, of Fen- 
 nimore; our subject and Mrs. Ashmore being 
 the only survivors of the family. 
 
 The educational advantages of our subject 
 were limited to a few years while living in 
 the State of New York, the family being in 
 straitened circumstances, when removal was 
 made to the West, and his help was required 
 to assist in the upbuilding of a new home. In 
 1851 Mr. Kies married Miss Katherine Ash- 
 more, of Belmont, Lafayette county, who be- 
 longed to one of the old pioneer families of 
 Lafayette county. Samuel Ashmore, her fa- 
 ther, was born in Tennessee in 1800, and mar- 
 ried Margaret Loveless, a native of Kentucky. 
 The young couple moved to Coles county, 111 ., 
 in 1828, and in 1846 located on a farm near 
 Platteville, where they made a permanent home 
 until late in life, his death occurring at the 
 home of his son, in Dakota. Mrs. Kies was 
 born in Coles county, 111 ., attended the dis- 
 trict schools and married there. Soon after 
 locating in Smelser our subject entered 160 
 acres of government land, paying $1.25 per 
 acre, and upon this he made many improve- 
 ments, and in the fall of 1865 was. able to sell 
 at a very good price. After the sale of his 
 first farm so advantageously, Mr. Kies pur- 
 chased 400 acres near the Mound, in Lafay- 
 ette county, this property having. a few im- 
 provements, a small house and stable being 
 included. Here our subject made preparations 
 to carry on extensive farming and stock- 
 raising, erecting a barn 126 feet in length for 
 his cattle, and also put up other barns, and out- 
 buildings. This property remained the family 
 home until 1890, when he bought the place of 
 Thomas Bramley, consisting of 168 acres, near 
 the line of Platteville township, and here be 
 erected a new house and made many substan- 
 tial improvements which have given him com- 
 fort for the declining years of himself and be- 
 loved helpmate, to whose cheerful companion- 
 ship he owes so much. 
 
 The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Kies 
 were: Albert, born in 1852, married 1 Alice 
 Vanatta and they reside in Belmont, with six 
 children, Cora, Emily, Walter, Edwin, Lewis 
 and Jennie; Mary, born in 1854; George, born 
 in 1856, married Mary Ganame, of Belmont, 
 and has one daughter, Mary; Jamds, born in 
 i860, married Etta Trenary, lives on a farm 
 in Belmont township, and has one daughter, 
 
 Gladys; David, born in 1863, married Delia 
 King, of South Dakota, and resides on a farm 
 in Clark county, Wis., with two children, 
 Katie and Frederick; Daniel, born in. 1865, 
 married' Nellie Bazinet and they reside near 
 the Mound, with six children, Allen, Charles, 
 Webster, Gideon, Helen and Frank; Amos, 
 born in 1868, married Edith Nicholas, lives 
 near his father’s farm, and has one daughter, 
 Ada; Eliza, born in 1870, was educated in the 
 Platteville Normal school ; Bertha, born in 
 1874, married George Ascott, and resides in 
 Clark county, Wis. ; Katie, born in 1878, was 
 educated at the Platteville Normal school, 
 where she was also thoroughly educated in 
 music, and is now a successful teacher of the 
 same. Politically Mr. Kies in his earlier years 
 was a Democrat, but for the past twenty years 
 has affiliated with the Republican party. Both 
 he and wife are valued members of the M. E. 
 Church and possess the esteem of every one in 
 the communitv. Although Mr. Kies began life 
 with many discouragements, his success is all 
 the more creditable. During the many years 
 he has lived in Wisconsin he has seen many 
 changes and has been an active factor in the 
 development of the township and county, ever 
 ready to encourage any measure for the benefit 
 of either. 
 
 SAMPSON UREN TREGONING, for 
 the past fifty-five years a resident of Iowa 
 county, and now living retired in the village 
 of Cobb, is a native of Cornwall, England, 
 born Feb. 21. 1830, in Redruth. 
 
 Barnard Tregoning, father of our subject, 
 was also born in Cornwall, coming to the 
 United States in 1845, and settling in the town 
 of Linden, Iowa Co., Wis., where he success- 
 fully followed mining and farming. He died 
 there in 1857, aged seventy-five years, a Whig 
 in politics, and member of the M. E. Church, 
 although reared in the Episcopal faith. In 
 Cornwall he had married Frances T. Uren, who 
 died in Linden township, Iowa Co., Wis., in 
 i860, aged sixtv-eight years. This honored 
 couple were the parents of four children : Eliz- 
 abeth (Mrs. William Harris), who died in 
 Michigan; John, who’ died at Mineral Point, 
 Wis.; Frances (Mrs. T. Jaffray), who died in 
 Australia; and 1 Sampson U. 
 
 Sampson L T . Trep-onmg came to the United 
 States in 1846, and joined his father and 
 brother in Iowa county, Wis. At the age of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 535 
 
 about twenty-seven years he bought a 160-acre 
 farm in Eden township, then a part of High- 
 land township, which he still owns, and which 
 at that time was wild land, but under his dili- 
 gent care became one of the finest and most 
 productive farms in the township. Since 1891 
 Mr. Tregoning has lived in the village of Cobb. 
 
 On March 14. 1857, our subject was mar- 
 ried to Mary Hallam, who was born in Great- 
 ham. County of Rutland, England, a daughter 
 of William and Mary (Clark) Hallam, both 
 English people. Mrs. Tregoning came to the 
 United States in 1855. Three children came 
 of this union: William B., living in Nobles 
 county, Minn. : and John C. and Mary Frances 
 (Mrs. George Billings), both residing in Cobb, 
 Wis. All the children have received liberal 
 education, and are capable, useful citizens. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Tregoning have nine grandchil- 
 dren. In politics he is a lifelong Republican, 
 and in religious faith he and his wife are con- 
 sistent members of the M. E. Church in Cobb, 
 which they helped to organize. 
 
 WILLIAM F. JOHNSON holds an en- 
 viable position among the prosperous and time- 
 honored citizens of the town of Sylvester, 
 Green county, in which town he owns a fine 
 farm, on which he makes his home. He has 
 become noted for his industrious habits and 
 neighborly spirit. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was born in the East, a son 
 of John and Nancy (Leeper) Johnson, both 
 of whom were natives of Lawrence county, 
 Penn., where John Johnson was born Sept. 9, 
 1797, and where he died Jan. 21, 1837. He 
 was a son of John and Margaret Johnson, both 
 natives of Ireland, from which country they 
 came to America in the days preceding the 
 American Revolution. John Johnson and 
 Nancy Leeper were married about 1820, and 
 to them were born seven children, the eldest 
 of whom. ( 1 ) Margaret, became the wife of 
 Harvey Baldwin, and both are now deceased. 
 (2) David C. was married to Mary Cale, of 
 Ohio, and is now living at Johnsonville, in that 
 State. (3) Mary married Arney Biddle, and 
 both are now deceased. (4) Robert was mar- 
 ried to Miss Delia Dunn, of Pennsylvania, and 
 both are now deceased. (5) William F. was 
 born Feb. 1, 1830. (6) John is living in 
 
 Ohio. (7) Martha, the widow of John Hoy- 
 ette. lives at Newcastle, Pennsylvania. 
 
 William F. Johnson wedded Miss Sarah 
 
 Catherine Gilson, of Illinois, the marriage tak- 
 ing place at Newcastle, Penn., May 13, 1856. 
 She was the daughter of James Gilson, a tailor 
 by trade. To this union were born five chil- 
 dren: (1) Annie M., born Feb. 24, 1857, is 
 
 now the wife of George H. Pengra, a thrifty 
 farmer of the town of Svlvester. (2) Frank- 
 lin R., born Aug. 11, 1861, married Miss Fan- 
 nie Ostrander, of the town of Jefferson, and 
 is a prosperous farmer near Brooking, S. Dak. 
 (3) Mary L., born March 25, 1864, is the 
 wife of Charles Coats, of Juda. (4) Ada M., 
 born Nov. 30, 1867, married Frank Mitchell, 
 of Rock county, Wis. (5) Ira D., born Aug. 
 23, 1876, is unmarried, and is living at home. 
 Mrs. Sarah Catherine Johnson died May 21, 
 1899, aged sixty-four years, seven months, one 
 day. She was a consistent Christian, a devout 
 member of the Methodist Church, and a loving 
 wife and mother, and was a great help to her 
 husband during the forty-five years they were 
 together. She was a good woman, a cheerful 
 and inspiring companion, and much of the suc- 
 cess our subject has attained may fairly be at- 
 tributed to her co-operation. 
 
 In the fall of 1856 Mr. Johnson came to 
 the town of Sylvester and effected a settle- 
 ment on section 14, and here he has followed 
 farming for the last forty-five years. \\ hen 
 he entered Wisconsin he was a poor man, but 
 in the intervening years, by industry, thrift and 
 wise management: he has become the owner 
 of a fine farm of 210 acres, well equipped with 
 everything that makes modern agriculture .suc- 
 cessful and attractive. He occupies a comfort- 
 able and cosy residence, and has erected farm 
 buildings suited to all the needs of his work. 
 In politics he is a Republican, and in religion 
 a Methodist. His character and standing in 
 the community are above question, and his long 
 and useful life merits and receives the good 
 will of the people of the town. 
 
 ALEXANDER MORTON is one of the 
 highly esteemed citizens of Green county, and 
 enjoys the distinction of being the oldest pio- 
 neer settler of the county, having located there 
 in 1836. Mr. Morton's grandfather. Thomas 
 Morton, was a colonel in the war of 1812. serv- 
 ing at the battle of New Orleans with Andrew 
 Jackson, in 1815. The father of our subject. 
 Tames Morton, was a native of Tennessee, and 
 married Mary Montgomerv. They became 
 the parents of twelve children : Elizabeth, 
 
536 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mary, Alexander (our subject), Thomas, 
 William, Jane, James, Nancy, Francis, Sarah, 
 Susan and Lottie. 
 
 Alexander Morton was born Nov. 29, 1814, 
 in Spencer county, Ind., and spent the early 
 part of his life on the frontier, in early life 
 learning to swing an ax, drive a plow and fight 
 both Indians and the wild beasts of the forests. 
 Little of what we now deem an education was 
 afforded the youth of that time in the frontier 
 schools. Mr. Morton possessed an active mind, 
 and his knowledge is that of experience, which 
 is often of much more value than all the learn- 
 ing of books to a poor man struggling to con- 
 quer the -hard conditions of pioneer life. The 
 present home farm, consisting of 200 acres of 
 fine land, worth $100 per acre, has been won 
 by his own energy and honest toil, and he de- 
 serves credit for it, and the ease of life it 
 enables him to enjoy. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Morton took place in 
 1848, to Amy Kelley, of Green county, who 
 was born May 3, 1829, in Vermilion county, 
 Ind., her parents being among the first settlers 
 there. The family came to Green county, 
 Wis., in 1836. The marriage has been blessed 
 with children as follows: Joseph, born in 
 
 1850: James, in 1852; Mary, in 1854; Olive, 
 in 1859; Elizabeth C., in 1861; Laura Ellen, 
 in 1863: and Charlie, in 1867. Mr. and’ Mrs. 
 Morton have twenty-seven grandchildren, and 
 five great-grandchildren. During his early 
 years Mr. Morton was a strong Whig, but 
 ever since the formation of the Republican 
 party has advocated its teachings. Since re- 
 siding in Green county he has been a witness 
 to its wonderful development, and has always 
 taken an active part in whatever seemed to 
 promise benefit to his neighborhood. With 
 his neighbors he has lived in peace and amity, 
 and as an honorable citizen he well represents 
 the prosperous township of Clarno. 
 
 WILLIAM MONROE, M. D., a member 
 of the medical firm of Monroe & Monroe, is 
 an old settler of Monroe, and has a host of 
 friends throughout Green county and south- 
 ern Wisconsin. 
 
 Dr. Monroe was born July 30, 1818, near 
 Cincinnati, Ohio, son of William and Harriet 
 ( Thurston) Monroe, both natives of New 
 York. They had two children, Lucy Ann and 
 William, the former of whom married Major 
 Robert W. Gray, of South Carolina, and is 
 
 now deceased. The father was a student from 
 boyhood, and when he became a man took up 
 the practice of medicine, which was his call- 
 ing throughout life. He prepared for his pro- 
 fessional career in New York, and practiced 
 in Ohio, dying near Cincinnati, when his son 
 William was an infant of two months. His 
 widow married, in 1831, Dr. John Loofbou- 
 row, and died in 1835, when forty-six years 
 old. She and her first husband were mem- 
 bers of the Baptist Church. Lemuel Monroe, 
 the grandfather of our subject, was a veteran 
 of two wars, the Revolution and the war of 
 1812. He lived to> old age, was twice married, 
 and had children by both wives. Daniel Green 
 Thurston, the Doctor's maternal grandfather, 
 was of English descent, and was a relative of 
 Gen. Green, of Revolutionary fame. By oc- 
 cupation he was a farmer. He reached the age 
 of eighty-two, and was the father of fourteen 
 children. 
 
 Dr. William Monroe, whose name intro- 
 duces this article, came to Mineral Point, Wis., 
 in 1831, with his mother, sister and stepfather, 
 and grew to manhood under their fostering 
 care. He attended the Mineral Point school, 
 and when he had completed the course of in- 
 struction there went back to Blendon, Ohio, 
 that he might attend Washburn’s College, then 
 a celebrated Ohio institution. When a young 
 man he followed lead mining near Mineral 
 Point for several years, in the meantime read- 
 ing for the medical profession, his preceptor 
 being Dr. O. E. Strong, and later his step- 
 father, Dr. Loofbourow. He began the prac- 
 tice of medicine in the village of Fayette, twelve 
 miles from Mineral Point, having an office 
 there from 1844 to 1868, in which latter year 
 he came to Monroe, where he has since re- 
 mained, a diligent student of the more ab- 
 struse phases of his profession, and a faithful 
 practitioner in the city and adjoining country. 
 
 Dr. Monroe and Miss Mary Jane, daugh- 
 ter of Zera and Caroline Beebe, were united 
 in marriage Nov. 28, 1841, and five sons and 
 five daughters have been born of this union. 
 Six died in infancy and early childhood, four 
 living to maturity, namely: Harriet L., Met- 
 tie Jane, William B. and Zera W. Harriet 
 L. married Rev. M. B. Balch, a Methodist 
 minister, now deceased, and she is living at 
 Minneapolis; they had one child, William B. 
 Mettie Jane lives at home. William is a phy- 
 sician, associated with his father; he is a 
 
fjftUwM/'Jflia wuru P&Q — 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 537 
 
 graduate of Bellevue Hospital Medical College. 
 Zera W. is also a practicing physician, asso- 
 ciated with his father and brother, and is a 
 graduate of Rush Medical, of _ Chicago ; he 
 married Miss Annie Benson, lives at Argyle, 
 Wis., and has four children, Marie, Helen, 
 Frances and Catharine. 
 
 Dr. and Mrs. Monroe are members of the 
 Christian Church at Monroe, and he is one of 
 its trustees. He is a member of Smith Lodge, 
 No. 31, A. F. & A. M., Palestine Chapter, 
 No. 2, R. A. M., and Janesville Commandery, 
 No. 2, K. T. ; also belongs to the I. O. O. F., 
 and the Knights of Pythias. He is a valued 
 member of the State Medical Society, and at an 
 early day was associated with the physicians in 
 the southern part of Wisconsin in what was 
 known as the Southwestern Medical Society. 
 Politically he is a Republican, and he was treas- 
 urer of Fayette township, Lafayette county, 
 two terms. In 1867 Dr. Monroe was a mem- 
 ber of the State Assembly, and made a good 
 record in that body. He was a private in the 
 Black Hawk war, and now draws a pension 
 for his services in that struggle. He has made 
 his home in Monroe thirty-two years, now 
 living on West Washington street, and has 
 been a resident of Lafayette and Green counties 
 for over seventy years. 
 
 WILLIAM BEEBE MONROE, M. D„ 
 a representative of a family in which the prac- 
 tice of the healing art seems a kind of hered- 
 ity, is now associated with his father and 
 brother at Monroe, Green county, as a partner 
 in the medical firm of Monroe & Monroe, and 
 has built up a wide and flattering practice. 
 
 Our subject was born at Fayette, Wis., 
 Oct. 5, 1861, a son of Dr. William and Mary 
 J. (Beebe) Monroe, whose biographical his- 
 tory appears elsewhere. Fie was about nine 
 years old when his parents removed to Monroe, 
 and here he has since resided, with the excep- 
 tion of his school days abroad, and the time 
 he was engaged in practice at Brooklyn. The 
 elder Monroe believed in laying broad and deep 
 the foundations for any career, and young Will- 
 iam B. was kept in the Monroe schools until 
 he had completed the high-school course, in 
 1877. He went from home to matriculate at 
 Madison as a student of the ancient classical 
 course in the State University. This was com- 
 pleted with honor in 1884, and the young col- 
 legian became a student of medicine at Belle- 
 
 vue Hospital Medical College, New York, in 
 the same year. He graduated in 1887, and re- 
 turned to Monroe to open an office and prac- 
 tice his profession, after one year going to 
 Brooklyn, Wis., and building up a general 
 practice there, remaining eight years. At the 
 expiration of that time his father began to feel 
 the need of assistance, and Dr. William B. 
 returned to Monroe and formed a partnership 
 with his father, under the name of Dr. Will- 
 iam Monroe & Son, taking the brunt of the 
 hard work off his father's shoulders. In 1901 
 Dr. Z. W. Monroe moved to Monroe, and 
 formed a partnership with his father and elder 
 brother under the firm name of Monroe & 
 Monroe. 
 
 Fraternally our subject is a member of 
 Smith Lodge, No. 31, A. F. & A. M., and also 
 of the Knights of Pythias, and he was a mem- 
 ber of the Wisconsin National Guard for some 
 five years. He is a member of the State Med- 
 ical Society, and is the present health officer 
 of the city of Monroe. Politically he is a Re- 
 publican. 
 
 THOMAS BUTSON (deceased) during 
 his life time was closely identified with the 
 agricultural interests of Grant county, where 
 he was known as a representative stockman 
 and farmer; and, in the town of Lima, where 
 he made his home, he had a large circle of 
 warm friends, who admired his sterling worth, 
 and appreciated at its true value his genuine 
 character. 
 
 Mr. Butson was born in Cornwall, Eng- 
 land, Aug. 29, 1839, and was the son of Thom- 
 as Butson, Sr., and Susan (Richards) Butson. 
 both English born and bred. The marriage of 
 this worthy couple occurred in their native 
 land, and they came to this country as early 
 as 1840, settling on a farm in the town of 
 Platteville, and then moving to a tract of wild 
 land in the town of Lima, which he had pur- 
 chased from the government. There Mr. But- 
 son erected a substantial log house, and made 
 many improvements, making his home on this 
 farm until his death in 1871. Mrs. Butsoif 
 died five years previously. Eight children 
 constituted their family circle : Thomas, 
 
 whose name appears above, was their oldest 
 son; Mary A., born in Grant county, married 
 Thomas Dobson, of the town of Lima, and is 
 now deceased ; Isaac is a resident of Pomeroy, 
 Iowa; James, born in Grant county, is a resi- 
 
538 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dent of Marshall, Minn., where he has a fam- 
 ily: Susan is the wife of George Lee, whose 
 biography appears elsewhere; John married 
 Miss Jennie Bratton, of this county, and is 
 now a farmer in Franklin county, Iowa; Eliz- 
 abeth married George Smith, and lives in Col- 
 orado ; Eliza is the wife of Thomas Smith', of 
 Colorado. 
 
 Mr. Butson reached his manhood on the 
 farm of his parents, and had the benefits of a 
 common-school education. On March 30, 
 1865, he married Miss Mary M. Gill, the 
 worthy and estimable daughter of Isaiah and 
 Jane (Bonson) Gill, long settled in Lafayette 
 county. Wis., where they were well and favor- 
 ably known. Mr. Gill and his wife were both 
 born in England, and came to this country 
 where they were married. Mr. Gill found a 
 home for his family at Elk Grove, Lafayette 
 county, and' was for many years the honored 
 and useful local minister of the Plymouth 
 Methodist Church, working in Grant and La- 
 fayette counties, where he was much esteemed 
 for his sincere convictions and fine character. 
 Mr. Gill died at his home Feb. 1, 1892, and 
 the wife, who had shared with him the priva- 
 tion? of their early life, passed away Feb. 16, 
 1894, the mother of twelve children: (1) Abel 
 married Miss Sarah Chapel, and resides at 
 Corning, Iowa, where he has a family of eight 
 children. (2) Mary M., born in December, 
 1848, had her education in the public schools, 
 and married Thomas Butson. (3) Robert mar- 
 ried Miss Carrie Pierce, of Elmo, and settled 
 in Iowa. While attending his mother’s funeral 
 he was taken, sick, and died in a very short 
 time. His widow and their three children, 
 Nettie, Roy and Walter, still live on the home 
 farm in Iowa. (4) Thomas, born in Lafay- 
 ette count)', married Miss Ollie Mace, and lo- 
 cated at Lemars, Iowa. Both husband and wife 
 are now dead, leaving four children, Jessie, 
 Hattie, Roy and Mirtie, and the two* oldest 
 are now adopted in the family of John Ivittoe, 
 of Benton. (5) Richard married Miss Dun- 
 bar, and lives in Iowa, where they have a fam- 
 ily. (6) Jane died when a young lady. (7) 
 James married Miss Mary Bell, of this county, 
 and lives in Platteville, where two children 
 were born to him, Percv and Donald. (8) 
 Isaiah is now the teller in the First National 
 Bank of Platteville. (9) Rose is single, and 
 lives in Platteville. ( 10) Frank lives in Iowa. 
 ( 1 1 ) Maggie died when twenty-two years old. 
 
 (12) Sarah is the wife of Ally Chapel, and 
 lives' in Iowa, where they have four children. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Thomas 
 Butson settled on a rented farm in the town 
 of Smelser, and then moved to the town of 
 Platteville, where they lived a year. Here 
 Mr. Butson rented a farm and they lived on it 
 four years, when, he moved to Darlington, 
 Iowa county. In 1872 Mr. Butson bought a 
 farm of 140 acres in the town of Lima, and 
 improved it with a new residence and many 
 other necessities and 1 conveniences, and. closely 
 cultivating it, made a fine country home, in 
 which he lived until his death, July 11, 1898. 
 This sad event cast a gloom on the commu- 
 nity. which had come to highly appreciate his 
 unaffected manliness and genuine goodness. A 
 good Christian, he was a member and worker 
 in the' Methodist Episcopal Church. In pol- 
 itics he was a Republican, and had held the 
 office of school treasurer for a number of years. 
 Mr. Butson left his wife with seven children: 
 ( 1) Jennie, born in Smelser township in April, 
 1866, married Henry Manny, of the town of 
 Lima, and is the mother of three children, 
 Arthur. Marv and Clarence. (2) Susan, born 
 Feb. 10. t868, is the deceased wife of Dewatie 
 Hall, of Lima, and had one daughter, Jessie, 
 (3) Isaiah, born Feb. 23, 1870, married Miss 
 Fannie Johnson, resides on his farm in the 
 town of Lima, and has three children, Susan, 
 Warren and Ina. (4) Mary A., born Nov. 
 8, 1872, is the wife of Benjamin Edge, lives 
 on his farm in the town of Lima, and has one 
 son, Raymond. (5) Thomas. A., born May 
 27, 1875, educated in the district school, re- 
 mained at home until his marriage, in Feb- 
 ruary, 1897. to Miss Emma Edge, a member 
 of a well-known Grant county family, and is 
 now living on a rented farm, where he is the 
 father of two children, May and Jennie. (6) 
 Charles W., born Oct. 3; 1877, married Miss 
 Annie Edge, daughter of William and Sarah 
 Edge, an honored couple in the town of Lima, 
 and lives at home, where he has charge of its 
 cultivation. (7) Sarah L., born Aug. 11, 
 18S0. married J. W. Edge, who owns and lives 
 on a farm in Lima. (8) Harry G., born Sept. 
 30, 1882, is the youngest son of his parents, 
 and assists his brother Charles in the cultiva- 
 tion of the home farm. Mr. and Mrs. Butson 
 reared a family of honorable and useful men, 
 who have a work to do in the world, and are 
 a comfort to the mother in her declining years. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 539 
 
 ALBERT POOLE, of the town of Dar- 
 lington, Lafayette county, is a son of John 
 Poole, Jr., who was born in Johnstown, N. 
 Y., Nov. 12, 1803, and a grandson of John 
 and Esther (Van Antwerp) Poole, both of 
 whom were native to New York, and descend- 
 ants of old Holland-Dutch stock. The grand- 
 father was born in 1783, and died Dec. 23, 
 1861. The grandmother was born Oct. 18, 
 1784, and died March 1, 1836. They were 
 married Nov. 9, 1802. At its introduction to 
 this country the family name was Vanderpool, 
 but in time became shortened to its present 
 form. 
 
 John Poole, Jr., was one of a family of 
 seven children, and was the eldest child of his 
 parents. (2) Maria, born Feb. 17, 1803. be- 
 came Mrs. Knight, and died in her native State, 
 New York. (3) Eleanor, who became Mrs. 
 Grout, was born Feb. 21, 1807, moved to Wis- 
 consin with her husband, and settled at Fall 
 River, where she died in 1870. (4) Rachel, 
 
 born Dec. 23, 1808, married Daniel Grems, 
 and they located with their family in the town 
 of Wiota, Lafayette county. In 1857 they 
 moved to Minnesota, and settled near Man- 
 torville, Dodge county, where she died in 1866. 
 (5) Abram, born July 25, 1819, came West, 
 locating in Delaware county, Iowa, and after- 
 ward moved to Kansas, settling near Lovewell, 
 where he died Feb. 13, 1901. (6) David, born 
 
 March 7, 1821, is still living in New York. 
 (7) Catherine, born Aug. 5, 1823, married 
 Stephen Cowan, and came to Wisconsin with 
 her husband and family in 1855. They lived 
 in Lafayette county until the spring of 1857, 
 when they moved to Minnesota, living near 
 Mantorville in that state for several years. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Cowan afterward moved to Luverne, 
 Rock Co., Minn., where she died in 1898. 
 About 1820 John Poole, Sr., transferred his 
 family from Montgomery county to Jefferson 
 county, New York. 
 
 John Poole, Jr., as did the other children 
 of the family, attained adult years in his na- 
 tive State, where he was; married, March 2, 
 1826, to Miss Elizabeth Coates. This union 
 was but a brief one, as it was broken June 5, 
 1826, by the death of the wife. On April 5, 
 1828. he was again married, to Miss Barbara 
 Crowner, who was the mother of all his chil- 
 dren. In 1854 they made their first appear- 
 ance in Lafayette county, and for a short time 
 were located in Wiota township, later in the 
 
 same year settling in the town of Darlington, 
 where they passed their remaining years. The 
 wife and mother w^as the first to go, her death 
 occurring Jan. 9, 1885. The husband and fa- 
 ther died June 29, 1890, in the eighty-seventh 
 year of his age. The story of his life is in- 
 teresting, as it shows the power of energy and 
 industry, when united with a good character 
 and laudable ambition to carve success out of 
 most unpromising material. Mr. Poole be- 
 gan life with but little money, and reared his 
 family well, leaving an ample competence at 
 his death. He possessed native ability of a 
 high order. In early life he was a Democrat, 
 but later became a Republican, and at one time 
 he was a member of the New YYrk State Leg- 
 islature. Both husband and wife belonged to 
 the Methodist Church. 
 
 Of the four sons born to this estimable 
 couple, Albert is the only one now living. John 
 C., the eldest son, born Jan. 5. 1829. was a 
 soldier in the war for the Union, belonging 
 to Company D, 21st Iowa Y. I., and died July 
 17, 1863, when coming home on sick leave. 
 George, the second son, who was born Aug. 
 28, 1837, also wore the Union blue in the Civil 
 war. a?: a member of Company I, 16th Wis. 
 V. I.; his death occurred May 14, 1862. The 
 similarity attending the death of these two 
 brothers is noteworthy. Both started for home 
 on sick furlough, and both died on the way, 
 between Cairo and St. Louis, while ascending 
 the Mississippi river on steamboats. Ambrose, 
 a third son, died in 1839, while yet a child. 
 
 Albert Poole, the only surviving member 
 of his father’s family, was born at the paternal 
 home in Jefferson county, N. Y., June 23, 1823, 
 and was about eleven years of age when he 
 came to Wisconsin with his father’s family. 
 His Wisconsin or western home has always 
 been where he is now living, or in its immediate 
 vicinity. His education was obtained in the 
 public schools of Darlington, and in his youth 
 he gave special attention, to surveying. In 
 1876 he was elected surveyor of Lafayette 
 county, and re-elected in 1878. Mr. Poole 
 has- given his attention chiefly to farming and 
 dairying, and owned and operated a creamery 
 for a number of years, but converted it into 
 a cheese factory in 1899, and is now quite ex- 
 tensively engaged in the cheese business. 
 
 Mr. Poole was married, Feb. 24, 1876, to 
 Miss Sarah Ann Colebeck, who was born in 
 the town of Darlington July 10, 1855, a daugh- 
 
540 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ter of Henry and Jane (Tyson) Colebeck. 
 Her father was: a well-known citizen of La- 
 fayette county, coming here from England 
 (where he was born May 3, 1821) in company 
 with several of his friends, in 1843. For a 
 little time he lived in New York State, and later 
 near Kirkland, 111 ., but in 1846 he located in 
 Darlington, which was the home of his family 
 until death. In 1850 he went to California, 
 where he spent two years in the gold fields, 
 returning to Wisconsin in 1852. On Jan. 1, 
 1853, he was married to Miss Jane Tyson. 
 Mr. Colebeck became in later years: a promi- 
 nent citizen. He carried on extensive farming 
 operations, dealt in stock, and imported fine 
 sheep. He died Dec. 3, 1891, in his seventy- 
 first year. His first wife died June 29, 1873, 
 and on March 15, 1877, he was married to 
 Mrs. Jane Davis. By the first union he was 
 the father of twelve children, of whom eight 
 died in early life. Of the four who reached 
 maturity, Sarah Ann married Albert Poole; 
 Emily Jane became the wife of Richard Thom- 
 as; George married Jane Hanning April 10, 
 1890; Julia Ella married William Chapman, 
 of Darlington, Oct. 10, 1899. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Albert Poole have three chil- 
 dren : Ambrose C., born July 3, 1878; Arthur 
 G., Aug. 14, 1880; and Beulah B, Aug. 27, 
 1884. Blanche, who was born Dec. 31, 1887, 
 died Nov. 23, 1895. 
 
 GEORGE JAMES SMITH, a well-known 
 citizen of Linden, Iowa county, is with one 
 exception the oldest living native of that place. 
 He was born May 28, 1836, a son of Mark 
 and Mary (Stephens) Smith, natives of Cam- 
 borne, England. 
 
 Mark Smith followed tin mining in Eng- 
 land, and in 1836 came to the United States, 
 making his way at once to Wisconsin and 
 locating in what is now the village of Linden, 
 but which then consisted of a few rude log 
 cabins. His own first home was in a “dug- 
 out.” He combined mining and farming until 
 1850, when he went to California, by way of 
 the isthmus. During his four years’ sojourn 
 in the gold fields of the Far West he met with 
 fair success, and at the end of that time re- 
 turned to Linden, and began making improve- 
 ments on the land he had secured from the 
 United States government. His death occurred 
 May 14. 1876, when he was aged sixty-eight 
 years. His wife, Mary (Stephens), passed 
 
 away in February, 1887, at the age of sev- 
 enty-two years. Pier mother, Mary Stephens, 
 came from England, and made her home with 
 her daughter for some time, dying at the ven- 
 erable age of fourscore years. Of the children 
 born to Mark and Mary (Stephens:) Smith, 
 three died in childhood. The others were: 
 George J. ; Mark, who served three years as a 
 member of Company E, 7th Wis. V. I., in the 
 Civil war, and now resides in Madison, Wis. ; 
 James S., who was a member of the 30th Wis. 
 V. I. during the Rebellion, and died at Lin- 
 den Dec. 24, 1889, a t ^e age of forty-nine, 
 leaving a widow and family ; Richard, born 
 June 22, 1842, who died in Linden Nov. 18, 
 1884; Caroline M., who married James Smith, 
 and died in Dodgeville. April 11, 1872, aged 
 twenty-eight years; Elizabeth Jane, married 
 to James J. Rule, of Linden; Samuel, born in 
 March, 1848, who resides, in Linden; and La- 
 vinia, born in September, 1850, the widow of 
 John Ouillesh, living in Sanborn, Iowa. 
 
 George J. Smith had but little opportunity 
 for schooling in his boyhood, but after he was 
 grown took advantage of night instructions. At 
 the age of twenty-one he began mining, and 
 in 1865 went to Virginia City, Nev., thence to 
 Idaho, and Plelena, Mont., passing in all four 
 years in gold mining. Upon his return to his 
 native county, in company with his brother 
 Richard, he engaged in general merchandising 
 for a time. His next venture was in farming, 
 in which lie was very successful, and he now 
 lives in practical retirement in a substantia] 
 home built in 1892. He has taken a prominent 
 part in public affairs, and has served as a mem- 
 ber of the village council. In politics he is a 
 lifelong Republican. 
 
 On Jan. 8, 1863, Mr. Smith was married 
 to Miss Mary Ann Lleathcock, daughter of 
 William and Mary (Thomas) Heathcock. She 
 was born April 12, 1837, and died Jan. 26, 
 1901. In religious: connection she was a mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Church, with which she 
 had been united for forty-five years. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Smith were horn seven children, of 
 whom five survive : Minnie Edith, born July 
 6, 1867, married Eli H. Horsch, of Corwith, 
 Iowa; Mary Jane, born June 9. 1868, married 
 John W. Batten, of Midway, Kans. ; Ida La- 
 vinia, born Dec. 3, 1870, married H. J. Hicks, 
 of Linden; George Albert, born Nov. 10, 1875- 
 resides in Linden ; and Susie Eva'lena, born 
 Dec. 18, 1877, is at home. All of the children 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 541 
 
 have been highly educated, and are cultured, 
 refined members of society. Mr. Smith has 
 been a liberal supporter of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, and fraternally is a Mason, 
 identified with the local lodge, Iowa Chapter, 
 and Mineral Point Commandery, Knights 
 Templar. 
 
 William and Mary Heathcock, parents of 
 Mrs. Smith, were the first couple married in 
 Linden. Mr. Heathcock came to Wisconsin 
 from Staffordshire, England, during the Black 
 Hawk war, and settled at Linden in 1833. He 
 was successfully engaged in mining for the 
 greater part of his life. In religious work he 
 was 1 most enthusiastic, and was a member of 
 the Methodist Church, the first service of that 
 church in this place having been held in his 
 home. He died March 4, 1891. aged seventy- 
 one years. His wife, Mary (Thomas), was 
 born in Cambridge, South Wales, and died 
 Dec. 8, 1868, aged fifty-six years. 
 
 ENOCH J. BLACKFORD, a retired 
 farmer and business man, as. well as the for- 
 mer postmaster of Juda, has been for many 
 years a prominent figure in the business and 
 commercial activities of Green county, and is 
 now one of the time-honored and venerable 
 residents of Juda. 
 
 Mr. Blackford is the son of William and 
 Rachel (Johns) Blackford, both natives of 
 Fayette county, Penn., who came of Welsh 
 ancestry. They were married in 1822, and to 
 their union were born seven children, of whom 
 Enoch J., the eldest, was born May 12, 1824, 
 in Fayette county, Penn. Thomas died in 
 Nodaway county, Mo. William lives in Mon- 
 roe, Wis. Samuel is a resident of Louisiana. 
 Rebecca is the wife of Stephen Mann, and has 
 her home in Page county, Iowa. Lavina was 
 the wife of Samuel Hutzel, of Juda, Wis. 
 Rachel married Peter Roub, and is a resident 
 of Chickasaw county, Mississippi. 
 
 Mr. Blackford was married to Miss Mar- 
 garet Chryst in 1848, and' to this union were 
 born seven children : John W., of Albany, 
 Wis. ; Rebecca R., wife of James Stull, a farm- 
 er in Missouri; James E., who died in Hamp- 
 ton, Iowa ; Martin, who died in childhood ; 
 Franklin, who died in childhood; Thomas J., 
 of Juda ; and Clella May, who died in Page 
 county, Iowa. Mr. Blackford's wife died while 
 they were returning from Iowa to his native 
 State, in 1869. In 1870 he married Mrs. Jane 
 
 Clemmer, of Green county, Wis., who died in 
 1891. Mr. Blackford married Miss Harriet 
 Mitchell, of Green county, Aug. 3, 1893. She 
 is the daughter of Washington Mitchell, and 
 was born in the town of Decatur, Green coun- 
 ty. where her father was one of the pioneers. 
 
 Mr. Blackford came to Wisconsin in 1845, 
 and was rich only in courage and the resources 
 of an honorable and upright manhood. Hir- 
 ing out to work on the farm of Rev. G. R. 
 Patton, he gained a standing for himself. 
 Afterward he taught school on the Sugar river, 
 and began farming for himself in Green coun- 
 ty while yet a young man. In 1867 he moved 
 to Iowa, and in 1870 located 1 at Juda, where 
 he engaged in carpentering, and where his 
 home has been to the present time. Mr. Black- 
 ford has been justice of the peace for ten years, 
 and was made postmaster at Juda under the 
 second administration of President Cleveland. 
 He was the first town clerk in the town of 
 Jefferson, in which he has also served as chair- 
 man, and filled all the principal offices, and was 
 several times nominated by his party for the 
 position of county clerk. Mr. Blackford is a 
 member of the Baptist Church, and is a man 
 highly esteemed by the community in which 
 he has lived for so many years. His life has 
 been honorable and upright, and he is a good 
 neighbor and an honorable citizen. 
 
 LION. JOHN HAWKINS ROUNTREE, 
 Platteville. The ancestral record of this emi- 
 nent and venerable pioneer settler of Grant 
 county is as ‘follows: Randall Rountree, his 
 
 great-grandfather, emigrated from Ireland in 
 1720, settling in Virginia, where he resided 
 until his death. His grandfather, Thomas 
 Rountree, in 1795, moved with his family from 
 Virginia to the vicinity of the Mammoth Cave, 
 Warren Co., Ky., where he remained until he 
 died. John Rountree, his father, also settled in 
 the same place, and there resided until his de- 
 cease. In the same locality John H. Rountree 
 was born, March 24, 1805. The education 
 received by “the Major” at this period he him- 
 self described as “very common-school,” the 
 school house being one of those primitive af- 
 fairs so common in earlier times, constructed 1 
 of unhewn logs, with holes cut for windows, 
 while a broad fireplace, with its huge open 
 chimney, furnished the heat for the room in 
 frosty weather. Major Rountree moved from 
 Kentucky to Hillsboro, (Montgomery Co., 111 ., 
 
542 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ip February, 1824, was there appointed deputy 
 sheriff, and served as such until he reached his 
 twenty-first year, when he was elected sheriff, 
 an office that he held until his resignation, upon 
 his return trip to Wisconsin, in 1827. On 
 May 24 of that year he reached New Diggings 
 (now a portion of Lafayette county), and after- 
 ward came to Platteville, then just coming into 
 notice ; there lie ever after resided. On Aug. 
 7. 1828, Major Rountree was married to Mary 
 Grace Mitchell, of Galena, 111 ., and the next 
 day, with his bride, moved to his log cabin 
 in Wisconsin. Mrs. Rountree died in 1837. 
 On Sept. 3, 1839, lie was again married, to 
 Miss Lydia LI. Southworth, of Platteville, 
 who after a long and pleasant companionship, 
 extending over nearly a half-century, passed 
 on to her reward, her death occurring Tune 
 16, 1881. 
 
 The numerous positions held by Major 
 Rountree are the best evidence of his high 
 standing among his neighbors for the numerous 
 decades hidden beneath the swiftly-revolving 
 wheel of Time. In May, 1826, he was com- 
 missioned major of Illinois militia, and the 
 same year elected sheriff of Montgomery coun- 
 ty. in the same State. In 1829 he was ap- 
 pointed postmaster at Tlatteville, and was sev- 
 eral times re-appointed; also, the same year, 
 appointed and commissioned justice of the 
 peace for Iowa county, Michigan Territory, 
 of which Wisconsin then formed a part. In 
 1832 lie was elected captain of a company of 
 mounted volunteers enlisted by him to serve 
 in the Black Hawk war. In 1834 he was ap- 
 pointed Chief Justice of the County Court of 
 Iowa County by the governor of Michigan, 
 which position he held until the Territory of 
 Wisconsin was organized, in 1836. In 1837 
 lie was appointed Judge of Probate of Grant 
 county, which was organized that year. In 
 1839 he was commissioned as aid to the gov- 
 ernor, with the rank of colonel. In 1838 he 
 was elected a member of the Territorial Coun- 
 cil for four years, with the rank of colonel, 
 and in 1842 was re-elected to that position. 
 In 1847 l ie was elected a member of the Con- 
 stitutional Convention, serving in that body 
 on the committee on General Provisions (which 
 embraced a large number of the most import- 
 ant articles under consideration), as well as 
 unon several select committees. In 1850 
 Major Rountree was elected 1 to the State Sen- 
 ate, and the following year was appointed a 
 
 Regent of the State University. In 1853 he 
 was appointed major-general of militia of the 
 Second District of Wisconsin. In 1857 he was 
 appointed postmaster of Platteville. In 1863 
 he was elected member of Assembly, and in 
 1866 was again elected to the State Senate — 
 thus serving in the Territorial and State Leg- 
 islature longer than any other citizen. 
 
 From early life Major Rountree was a 
 leader in church affairs, and his judgment and 
 counsel were always sought and trusted. It 
 is recorded that, as early as 1832, he with his 
 wife and two others met in the Rountree log 
 cabin and took the preliminary steps towards 
 organizing a Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 which is claimed to have been, the first organ- 
 ized church of that denomination in Wisconsin. 
 Through the vicissitudes of church life he was 
 loyal and constant in his affections for the 
 church, which he loved and revered as a dutiful 
 son would his mother. Time and again, as 
 the church edifice grew old and became too 
 contracted for the needs of the growing con- 
 gregation, Major Rountree was one of the 
 chief planners and most liberal contributors 
 in devising for the new and greater edifice. 
 
 Major Rountree had a notable Masonic 
 record, covering a period of sixty-two years. 
 He received the Master’s degree in Far West 
 Lodge, Galena, 111 ., in 1828. As soon as there 
 were a sufficient number of representatives of 
 the order in Platteville and vicinity he took an 
 active part in organizing a lodge, and became 
 a charter member of Melody Lodge, No. 2, 
 which received its first charter from the Grand 
 Lodge of Missouri. In 1844, there being three 
 lodges in Wisconsin, delegates from these met, 
 and organized the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin, 
 in which organization Major Rountree took 
 an active and prominent part ; he served as 
 Grand Treasurer in 1846, and' Grand Junior 
 Warden in 1847. He was one of the founders 
 of the Grand Chanter of Royal Arch Masons 
 of Wisconsin, which was organized in 1850, 
 and at this organization was elected Grand 
 King, serving one year; the next five years 
 lie was Grand Treasurer, and in 1861 was 
 elected Grand High Priest — the highest honor 
 in the State within the gift of his brethren. 
 Pie became a member of the order of Knights 
 Templars at Madison in 1869. For over sixty 
 years he was an ardent and zealous member of 
 the different orders of Masonry, and until the 
 infirmities of ag'e weighed down upon him he 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 543 
 
 took an active part in the work, through which 
 he could see an avenue of dispensing charity 
 without heralding it to the world. He was a 
 Knight Templar, and Knight .Templarism 
 points to the end. The cross and crown con- 
 stitute one of the most interesting and in- 
 structive emblems — the cross of trial sur- 
 mounted by the crown of victory; the cross 
 of struggle and the crown of triumph; the 
 cross of earth and the crown of heaven ; and in 
 the golden halo which surrounds these em- 
 blems is the legend, “Be thou faithful unto 
 death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” 
 This lengthy recital of honors and official 
 positions bears upon its face the highest testi- 
 monial that could be furnished of the unbound- 
 ed esteem and confidence of the communities 
 in which the Major lived in the sterling worth, 
 integrity and ability of this veteran representa- 
 tive of pioneer times. When he first entered 
 the present State it was divided into two coun- 
 ties, and contained but a few thousand inhab- 
 itants, scattered over the vast territory ; to-day 
 it numbers its inhabitants by hundreds of thou- 
 sands. Major Rountree was the witness of the 
 growth of a new empire; took part in an In- 
 dian war ; saw the aboriginal inhabitants pushed 
 back, foot by foot, until they now possess hardly 
 a rood of land which they can call their own. 
 He saw the commencement, growth and pros- 
 perity or obliteration of every city and village, 
 with the exception of two or three military 
 posts, in the State — all the improvements, in- 
 deed, that in fifty years have converted a great 
 and uncivilized wilderness into a series of 
 powerful States. In the immediate vicinity of 
 his own home the change has been no less 
 
 ! great; in place of the rude miner’s cabin is. seen 
 the stately mansion; the few hundred seekers 
 after mineral have been swallowed up in the 
 many thousands whose cozy farm houses dot 
 the landscape in every direction. To but a 
 few has such an experience been vouchsafed; 
 
 B Gen. Rountree may well have been regarded 
 as a landmark between the past and the pres- 
 ent, one who lived over the whole term of our 
 local history, and served as a prominent factor 
 in making it. 
 
 The end of life came to this venerable pio- 
 neer June 30, 1890. The funeral service was 
 held under the auspices of the Masonic fra- 
 
 I ternity, of which hie had so long been an hon- 
 01 ed member. Brethren of the order and many 
 friends from different parts of the State as- 
 
 sembled to pay tribute to his memory, the 
 crowd being SO' great that the services were 
 held in the beautiful park which surrounds the 
 Rountree home. Six of his children survive 
 him: Mrs. Ellen R. Jewett, of Chicago; Mrs. 
 Laura R. Smith, who with her two daughters 
 lives in the old homestead; Mrs. Cora Hatha T 
 way, of New York; and Miss Lilly T. Roun- 
 tree, Philip S. Rountree and Harrison H. 
 Rountree, who' all live in Chicago. 
 
 SAMUEL R. AUSTIN is one of the 
 highly respected and prominent farmers of Bel- 
 mont township, Lafayette county, who have 
 retired from the active duties of an agricult- 
 ural life to enjoy the fruits of their honest 
 labor. 
 
 Mr. Austin was born in Sumner county, 
 Tenn., Jan. 31, 1825, his parents being Will- 
 iam and Edith (Dickinson) Austin, both of 
 whom were natives of Maryland. W illiam 
 Austin moved to Tennessee, where for twenty 
 years he followed farming and conducted a 
 large tobacco plantation, in 1828 removing to 
 Coles county, 111 ., where he purchased an im- 
 proved farm and passed the balance of his life. 
 The mother of our subject dying when he was 
 a little child, his father later married 1 Rebecca 
 Woodhall, and many children were born to 
 this union, seven daughters and five sons. Of 
 this large family only our subject and his 
 brother James B., of Oklahoma, are living. 
 
 Our subject grew up' on the farm in Illi- 
 nois, where he became the manager of a large 
 estate while he was quite young. In 1845 he 
 married Maggie M. Ashmore, who was born 
 in Illinois in 1826, a daughter of Samuel and 
 Margaret Ashmore, who were born in Ken- 
 tucky, and settled in Illinois. In 1846 Mr. 
 Austin, with his wife and one child, came to 
 Wisconsin, and lived for a short time in Lima, 
 Grant county, but in 1847 he bought a quar- 
 ter-section of land from the government, in 
 Lafayette county, where settlement was made, 
 and "the home in the new country instituted. 
 The early days of his pioneer life Were full of 
 hardship, but toil and energy accomplished 
 wonders. Mr. Austin has been one of the men 
 who have made Wisconsin what it is. for the 
 tillers of the soil have been the real elements 
 in the progress of this great State. While 
 there was much that was picturesque and ex- 
 citing in the new life to those who had come 
 from a thoroughly civilized community there 
 
544 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 were also many elements of danger, and the 
 deprivations which only heroic spirits can en- 
 dure. The first desire of Mr. Austin was to 
 complete buildings to* make his family and 
 stock and cattle comfortable, and these in time 
 were erected, some of them still standing, in 
 good repair. When the Civil war broke out 
 our subject made three applications for enlist- 
 ment before he was accepted, finally joining 
 Company K, 44th Wis. V. I., but his discharge 
 followed, on account of disability, and he re- 
 turned to his farm, where lie has lived 'ever 
 since. 
 
 The children born to our subject and wife 
 are among the esteemed residents of this lo- 
 cality, and, as he 'has always taken a deep in- 
 terest in their welfare, it is with pleasure that 
 he can see their worldly prosperity, many of 
 them settled around him. William is a resident 
 of Belmont; Elizabeth is the widow of Elijah 
 Bushnell ; John is a resident of Platteville; 
 Eliza, who married Sidney Stephens, resides 
 in Lima, Grant county ; Margaret is deceased ; 
 Samuel is a resident of Dubuque, Iowa; Frank 
 resides in Platteville; Ellen, who married Will- 
 iam Shepherd, lives in Platteville; Edith (de- 
 ceased) married William Thomas; Emma is 
 the widow of Eldrerl Trenary, and lives in 
 Platteville; James resides on a part of his fa- 
 ther’s homestead. The grandchildren which 
 gather around Mr. and Mrs. Austin are happy 
 and healthy, and give fair promise that the 
 good old name will not soon die out in Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 For some twelve years Mr. Austin has been 
 retained on the school board, an evidence of 
 the confidence and esteem in which this worthy 
 citizen is held in an intelligent community. 
 His connection with the Republican party has 
 been long and active, as he fully believes in 
 the principles hie 1 professes. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
 Austin are highly valued in their connection 
 with the M. E. Church, and socially he is con- 
 nected with Sherman Post, G. A. R., of Platte- 
 ville. Mr. Austin has always been a hard- 
 working man, and thoroughly believes in the 
 value' of toil, having proven its worth, as by it 
 he has been able to accomplish so much. 
 
 RUFL T S M. DAY, a leading business 
 man of Mount Hope, Grant county, ex-soldier, 
 ex-legislator, is a native of the State of Ken- 
 tucky, having been born near West Liberty, 
 Morgan Co., that State, Nov. 18, 1835, a son 
 
 of John and Elizabeth (McKinnie) Day, na- 
 tives of Virginia. 
 
 About 1840 John Day and his family mi- 
 grated to Wisconsin, coming directly to Grant 
 county, and settling on land near Lancaster. 
 Here Mr. Day died April 1, 1846. Mrs. Day 
 survived many years, dying in the same town- 
 ship, but not upon the original land taken by 
 her husband. Of the three children in this 
 family, Jemima, the eldest, became the wife 
 of Antone Bailey, and now resides in Kansas; 
 Theodore enlisted, at the outbreak of the Civil 
 war, in Company C, 2d Wis. V. I., took part 
 in the first battle of Bull Run, in July, 1861, 
 and after his three months’ term expired re- 
 enlisted, and served through the war, now re- 
 siding in the State of Oregon ; Rufus M. is our 
 subject. All are highly respected. 
 
 Rufus M. Day enlisted, Aug. 14, 1862, in 
 Company 1 , 20th Wis. V. I., and participated 
 in many of the important events of the war, 
 taking part in the battle of Prairie Grove and 
 the siege of Vicksburg. Lie was subsequently 
 on detail duty at Gen. Herron’s headquarters 
 for about a year ; was then transferred to the 
 corps headquarters of Gen. Granger, where he 
 remained until the end of the war, on duty 
 constantly as orderly ; and was mustered out 
 of the service at Galveston, Texas, when the 
 war closed. 
 
 Upon his return from the army Mr. Day 
 resumed farming in Mount Hope, but later 
 retired from farm life, and engaged in rfier- 
 cantile pursuits in the same town, being very 
 successful. In political matters Mr. Day has 
 always been a Republican, and he was honored 
 by election to the State Legislature in 1885, 
 1886, 1887 and 1888. While in the Legis- 
 lature Mr. Day proved himself worthy of. rep- 
 resenting his constituents, and may well be 
 proud of his record in that body. Taking an 
 active interest in town affairs, he is an im- 
 portant factor in the conduct of the affairs of 
 the municipality, and has served most accept- 
 ably as chairman of the town for eleven years, 
 and was a member of the board for many 
 years prior to his occupancy of the head po- 
 sition. 
 
 In September, 1866, Mr. Day was mar- 
 ried to Miss Almira Whiteside, daughter of 
 William Whiteside, and two daughters have 
 been born of this union : Jennie E., widow of 
 Augustus Milner ; and Alta, wife of W. J. 
 Lambert. Socially Mr. Day is a member of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 545 
 
 the Odd Fellows and Masonic fraternities, and 
 is very popular in the lodges. Being by na- 
 ture genial, and possessing the faculty of gain- 
 ing friends, he may well be regarded as one 
 of the most popular as well as representative 
 men of Mount Hope and the surrounding 
 country. 
 
 EVAN ARTHUR, a well-known and es- 
 teemed pioneer of Grant county, was born in 
 Tredegar, South Wales, England, about the 
 year 1815. At an early age he was apprenticed 
 to the trade of tool turner in a rolling mill, 
 and before his term of service was over his fa- 
 ther was killed in the mill, leaving a wife and 
 four children, of whom Evan was the young- 
 est. However, the family was left in fair cir- 
 cumstances, and all of the children were given 
 a common-school education, in Welsh. 
 
 At the age of eighteen Evan Arthur left 
 his native land for America, and after a voy- 
 ag'e of nine weeks landed in New York City, 
 where he secured a position as master work- 
 man in the iron works. Attending night 
 school, he soon perfected himself in the Eng- 
 lish language. Some years later he was sent 
 to the Pennsylvania rolling mills, and a year 
 and a half later to the rolling mills at Rich- 
 mond, Va., where he remained about two years. 
 His next removal was to Nashville. Tenn., 
 where he took charge of a rolling mill, and 
 remained until the gold fever broke out and 
 he migrated to Iowa, settling upon a farm 
 about thirty miles below Dubuque. Later Mr. 
 Arthur sold this farm and bought another, 
 about four and one-half miles from Dubuque, 
 at Table Mound. The excitement over the 
 discovery of lead soon induced him to sell his 
 farm and engage in mining, which 1 pursuit he 
 followed until a few years before, his death, 
 March 21, 1881, at the old homestead, at 
 Muscalonge, Grant county. In 1850 Mr. 
 Arthur and 1 his eldest son, David, bought a 
 mine at Cassville, Wis., to which place he re- 
 moved his family in 1851. Later they removed 
 to Beetown, and then to Muscalonge, where a 
 son. Christmas E. Arthur, still resides. 
 
 About 1833 Mr. Arthur married Martha 
 Bi van, who bore him eleven children, seven of 
 whom are still living. Airs. Arthur died at 
 Cassville with her infant son, in 1852. Of a 
 happy, jovial disposition. Mr. Arthur made 
 many friends, and was a man of deeds as well 
 as words. Earlv in life he became a devoted 
 35 
 
 Christian, and his first thought in settling in 
 a new home was to organize a church and Sun- 
 day-school. When he came to Cassville there 
 were four stores and two saloons, but no school 
 house or church, in the town of 350 souls. 
 Soon after his arrival rooms were secured, ,a 
 Sunday-school organized, and a minister en- 
 gaged to come occasionally from Beetown ; 
 thus a church was commenced. When it was 
 impossible for the clergyman to be present 
 “Father" Arthur, as he was usually called, 
 preached in his stead, and he was afterward 
 ordained as elder, with the privilege of admin- 
 istering the sacraments, burying the dead, and 
 performing the marriage ceremony. The ill- 
 ness of this good man was very short, and his 
 last words were : “I am ready .to go. My 
 peace was made with God many years ago.” 
 
 GOTTLIEB HARTWICH, an old and 
 highly respected’ citizen of Green county, was 
 born in Germany March 23, 1831, and for 
 many years has been a resident of the village 
 of Juda. Christian and Sophia (Zimmer- 
 mann) Hartwich, his parents, were honorable 
 and industrious people of Danzig. Prussia, 
 where the father followed cattle herding and 
 farm labor. Soon after coming to this coun- 
 try, in 1870, he died at the town of Sylvester, 
 Green Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 Gottlieb Hartwich married Miss Frezeka 
 Reasa in 1835, and the following year the 
 newly-married couple came to this country, 
 where they have had a family named as fol- 
 lows : (1) Wilhelmina, born Sept. 22, 1855, 
 
 died Feb. 15, 1865. (2) Herman, born May 
 
 16, 1857, is now a farmer in South Dakota. 
 (3) Carl, born Oct. 22, 1858. is a farmer in 
 Lafayette county, Wis. (4) Julia, born July 
 11, i860, is the wife of William Bronco, of 
 Green county, Wis. ( 5 ) Louisa, born Sept. 
 23, 1861. married Ferdinand Miller, of Green 
 county, Wis. (6) Elizabeth, born Oct. 1, 
 1867, married John Fox, of Nebraska. (7) 
 Henry, born Feb. 28, 1873. is a farmer at Brod- 
 head. (8) Martha, born Oct. 24, 1871, died 
 in 1873. Mr. Hartwich lost his 1 wife June 16, 
 1896. She was born Aug. 3, 1832, and through 
 her useful life proved herself a faithful wife and 
 a true Christian woman. Mr. Hartwich and his 
 devoted wife came to this country very poor 
 pe'ople. but before she died their circumstances 
 had greatly changed, and their last years to- 
 gether were very comfortable. Mr. Hartwich 
 
546 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 recently sold a half-section of good farming 
 land in South Dakota, and has recently dis- 
 posed of two farms in Green county. He is 
 now spending his last years in a very comfort- 
 able home in Juda. Mr. Hartwich has always 
 been a stanch Republican, and for forty years 
 was a consistent member of the Evangelical 
 Church. 
 
 ROBERT McBRIDE, late of Platteville, 
 Grant county, a skillful mechanic, prosperous 
 farmer and highly respected citizen, was a 
 native of the State, born Jan. 20, 1833. 
 
 John and Rosa McBride, parents of Robert, 
 were born and married in Ireland, and early 
 came to the United States, landing in New 
 York City. John McBride for some time 
 worked on the Erie canal, aiding in its con- 
 struction, and later went to Philadelphia, Penn., 
 where he worked as a linen weaver. After a 
 short sojourn there he came to Wisconsin, 
 purchasing a farm in Lafayette county, on 
 which he spent the remainder of his life. He 
 raised a family of ten children, of whom two 
 live in Platteville, John and Mrs. Robert 
 Brown. The children were all well educated 
 in the old Academy of Platteville. 
 
 When a young man Robert McBride 
 purchased a farm near Platteville. In Decem- 
 ber, 1861, he married Miss Sabina Robinson, 
 of Platteville, a daughter of Joseph and Han- 
 nah (Bratton) Robinson, natives' of England, 
 who were prominent pioneers of Grant county. 
 On coming to Wisconsin, in 1841, Mr. Rob- 
 inson settled on the farm near Platteville on 
 which he died in 1888. He was three times 
 married, and Mrs. McBride, who is the eldest 
 child of the first wife, was born in 1841, and 
 was educated in the schools of Platteville. At 
 his marriage Mr. McBride located on a farm, 
 and there lived until 1889, when he removed 
 to Platteville, where he had purchased a beau- 
 tiful residence and other real estate. Here he 
 died May 20, 1890, and here his estimable 
 widow still has her home. 
 
 The union of Mr. and Mrs. McBride was 
 blessed with four children, viz. : Jesse, who 
 was born in Lafayette county, Wis., in 1862, 
 was graduated from the State Normal School 
 of Platteville, and married Miss Georgia Mee- 
 ley, of Kansas, who has borne him three chil- 
 dren, Robert B., Eunice and Douglas; the fam- 
 ily now reside in Minneapolis, Minn., where 
 Jesse is bookkeeper for a milling firm. Lucina, 
 
 born in 1865, was likewise graduated from 
 the State Normal, is a stenographer, and has 
 an office in the Bailey block. Robert Lester, 
 born on the home farm in September, 1869, 
 also graduated from the State Normal, mar- 
 ried Miss Lillie Eastman, of Platteville, and 
 is at present stenographer for the Minneapo- 
 lis Implement Machine Co. Lillian R., born in 
 1872, graduated from the State Normal and 
 the State University, and is now principal of 
 the graded schools of Plymouth, Wisconsin. 
 
 in religion Mr. McBride was a devout 
 Methodist, and 1 Mrs. McBride, a lady of strong 
 religious convictions, has always taken an act- 
 ive part in the work of the church, in the faith 
 of which she has carefully reared her children. 
 In politics Mr. McBride was a stanch Repub- 
 lican, held several local offices when living on 
 his farm, and in 1880 was census enumerator 
 of his district. ITe was a loving and devoted 
 husband, a fond and indulgent father, a sin- 
 cere friend, and his death was truly mourned 
 by all who knew him. His widow, than whom 
 no more estimable lady resides in Platteville, 
 is passing her days in ease and comfort, es- 
 teemed and beloved by a large circle of true 
 friends. 
 
 DANIEL B. BECHTOLT, whose resi- 
 dence in Jordan township, Green county, cov- 
 ers half a century, is a native of Ohio, born 
 Feb. 22, 1837, in Licking county, where he 
 passed his early years. 
 
 Mathias Bechtolt, Sr., his grandfather, 
 was a native of Germany, whence he emigrated 
 to America before the Revolutionary war, set- 
 tling in Berks county, Penn. His family con- 
 sisted of eleven children, namely : Isaac, 
 
 George (who was a minister), Frederick, Dan- 
 iel, Mathias, Jr., William, Elizabeth, Cather- 
 ine, and three who died young. Of these, 
 Mathias, Jr., father of Daniel B. Bechtolt, was 
 born July 6, 1788, in Berks county. Penn., 
 and in 1813 married Miss Christina Epler, 
 of Berks county, born June 10, 1 795 ’ who bore 
 him eigffit children: Christina, Catherine, Ma- 
 thias, Lydia, Peter, Permelia, Elizabeth and 
 Daniel B., all deceased except Mrs. Permelia 
 Dewit, of Iowa, and Daniel B. The family 
 came to Wisconsin when our subject was four- 
 teen years of age, settling in Jordan township, 
 Green county, where the father homesteaded 
 forty acres of government land. He died Nov. 
 19, 1872, the mother on Sept. 21, 1856. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 547 
 
 Daniel B. Bechtolt received his education 
 in Ins native State, and was trained to agricul- 
 tural pursuits on his present farm, which he 
 has continued to carry on most profitably, hav- 
 ing a well-improved farm, now comprising 
 i bo acres, equipped with good barns, etc. 
 When he commenced life on his own account 
 he had not a dollar to his name, but he has 
 succeeded by dint of perseverance in acquiring 
 a comfortable competence, and at the same 
 time has made for himself an honorable name 
 among the best citizens of his community. As 
 one of the leading farmers of the township 
 his influence in local affairs is strong, and al- 
 ways exercised in the cause of right. His po- 
 litical support is given to principle and not to 
 party, and he may always be depended upon 
 to aid by his ballot the best men and the best 
 measures, regardless of their political spon- 
 sors. In religion he is inclined toward the 
 faith of the United Brethren. 
 
 On March 12, 1857, Mr. Bechtolt was 
 united in marriage with Miss Matilda Wagner, 
 who was born Feb. 19, 1839, in Pennsylvania, 
 a daughter of Charles and Lydia (Shultz) 
 Wagner, and eight children blessed this union, 
 namely: Maria, who died Feb. 3, 1861; Al- 
 bert B., who is a minister and farmer, resid- 
 ing in Cadiz township, Green county; Lydia, 
 wife of Charles Blain, of Jordan; Samuel, of 
 Iowa, who married Ettie Lafever; George, of 
 Monroe township, Green county, who married 
 Ina Wells; Ervin, who remains on the old 
 home place, and is married to Isa Wells; Ida 
 Elmedia, wife of Walter Kessler, of Jordan; 
 and Orpha Lois, who died in infancy, Feb. 
 19, 1879. Mrs. Bechtolt passed away June 
 19, 1880. She was a true Christian woman, 
 sharing in the high esteem in which her hus- 
 band has always been held, and was deeply 
 mourned by her neighbors and friends through- 
 out the township. 
 
 PHILLIP GERHART, a retired farmer 
 of Harrison township, Grant county, richly 
 deserves the rest and peace that have come to 
 him in his last and declining years. He has 
 been all his life an industrious and hard-work- 
 ing man, has kept close to the soil, and wrought 
 a good work in the oft-recurring sowing and 
 reaping. Now that the sun is casting the long 
 shadows, it is fitting and proper that he should 
 surround himself with those things that he 
 has accumulated by honest toil, to comfort 
 the afternoon of his day on earth. 
 
 Mr. Gerhart was born on the river Rhine, 
 in Germany, in 1837, and is a son of Valentine 
 and Mary (Post) Gerhart, who lived and died 
 in the Fatherland. His father followed the 
 work of a weaver, and in his time served as a 
 soldier in the German army. Phillip Gerhart, 
 with one brother and one sister, came to this 
 country in 1855, and worked in the coal mines 
 at Pottsville, Penn., for a year. He then came 
 West to Grant county, Wis. The brother, 
 V alentine, settled on a farm near Platteville, 
 and married Miss Mary J. Lory, who was born 
 in England. They have had six children : 
 Susan, who married Rev. Mr. Farnsworth, of 
 Grant county, and is now deceased; Jane, of 
 Iowa ; Mary, who married Rev. Richard Cams, 
 of Iowa; Miss Louisa; and Carrie and Jessie, 
 also unmarried. Charlotte Gerhart, sister of 
 Phillip, married Lewis Liable in Germany; 
 they came to Wisconsin, and settled on a farm 
 in Harrison township, where he died in May, 
 1900, leaving a widow and six children : Mary, 
 wife of Charles Brunton, of Harrison town- 
 ship; Lewis; Lizzie, Mrs. Eslip; and Carrie, 
 Mrs. Edward Ivan — all of Harrison township; 
 Frank, of Platteville; and Nettie, who died 
 at the dawn of womanhood. 
 
 Phillip Gerhart was eighteen years old 
 when he came to America, and though he had 
 been thoroughly educated in the German 
 schools his English education was mostly ac- 
 quired after coming to this country. Fie did 
 farm work by the month in Grant county 
 until the breaking out of the Civil war, when 
 he enlisted in Company B, 43d Wis. V. L, 
 and served mainly in the Army of the Ten- 
 nessee, under Gen. Thomas. His regiment 
 was badly cut up at Nashville, and through- 
 out the war he saw many hard-fought battles, 
 and made many long and dreary marches. Fie 
 was mustered out in November, 1865, and, 
 coming back to Grant county, married Miss 
 Mary Lawrence, the estimable daughter of 
 Henry and Sophia (Faacier) Lawrence, both 
 of whom were German born and bred. After 
 coming to America they spent some years in 
 the hard coal region near Pottsville, Penn., 
 where they were married. In 1845 they came 
 to Grant county, Wis., and settled on the farm 
 near Platteville which was their home until 
 death. Four of their children are still living: 
 Charles, of Grant county; Maggie, Mrs. Peter 
 Cabley, of Harrison township ; Carrie, Mrs. 
 Tohn Lory, of Crawford county, Wis.; and 
 Mary, Mrs. Phillip Gerhart. The last named 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5 43 
 
 was born in Pennsylvania in March, 1845, 
 and came to Wisconsin when a child. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. Gerhart and his 
 wife settled at Platteville, where he went into 
 business as a general merchant. He did well, 
 and displayed good business habits, but his 
 health so failed that he was compelled to seek 
 out-of-door work, and he rented a farm near 
 Platteville, which he continued to cultivate 
 until he purchased it, in 1896. He has erected 
 a new home, and made extensive improve- 
 ments. Mr. and Mrs. Gerhart have reared a 
 family of seven children: Henry was born in 
 Platteville in 1870, married Miss Ida Burk- 
 holder, of the town of Harrison, and resides 
 on a part of the present homestead ; they have 
 two sons, Arche and Earle, Edith, (deceased), 
 married Edward Morshead, of Grant county, 
 and bore him two sons, John and Roy. Han- 
 nah, born in 1875, married Jefferson Rice, and 
 resides in the town of Platteville, on a farm; 
 they have six sons, Frank, Alvin, Charles, Or- 
 nie, Samuel and Harry. Carrie died when 
 eleven years old. Charles, born in 1878, mar- 
 ried Okie Lauthain, and lives in the town of 
 Harrison. Frank, born in 1880, married Rena 
 Burkholder. Mabel, born in 1882, is now the 
 wife of Charles Moses, and lives on a farm 
 in Grant county. 
 
 Mr. Gerhart has always been a member of 
 the Republican party, and he and his wife were 
 brought up in the Lutheran Church. They 
 are honorable and upright people, and are 
 highly respected by all who know them. 
 
 EDWIN L. McNETT, deceased. Among 
 the sturdy pioneer families of Wisconsin, who 
 as early as 1836 located on what was then the 
 remote northwest frontier of civilization, that 
 of McNett was well known as one of the most 
 prominent ; and during the succeeding years, 
 as the wild country has been subdued and 
 changed into one of the best cultivated and 
 most desirable regions of that part of the 
 Union, the same family is known as honest 
 and energetic, still displaying those qualities 
 which assisted in the founding of the social and 
 commercial life of those early days. 
 
 A worthy representative of the McNett 
 family was to be found in the lamented sub- 
 ject of this sketch, Edwin L. McNett, who 
 passed out of life, in the old homestead where 
 he was born, June 12, 1897. His birth oc- 
 curred Nov. 24, 1836, in Elk Grove, Lafay- 
 
 ette Co., Wis. The parents of our subject 
 were Lorenzo and Roxie (McCumber) Mc- 
 Nett, the former of whom was a son of Capt. 
 Samuel McNett, a native of Massachusetts, 
 who located in Otsego county, N. Y., early in 
 the last century, for we learn that he was a 
 soldier in the war of 1812, and was appointed 
 light-keeper on Horse Island, near his home 
 in Smithfield. Flis official position was con- 
 ferred upon him by Gen. Brown, for gallant 
 conduct at the battle of Sackett’s Harbor, 
 where his last days were spent, his death oc- 
 curring at the age of eighty-nine. 
 
 Lorenzo McNett was born Aug. 11, 1807, 
 and in 1S33 married Roxie McCumber, of the 
 State of New York, soon after migrating to 
 Lafayette county, Wis., and locating upon gov- 
 ernment land near the line of Grant county, 
 in Elk Grove township. Here Mr. McNett 
 made his home in a log house, where his fam- 
 ily lived and thrived until 1841, when lie erect- 
 ed one of the first frame houses built in the 
 section. He added to his purchase of land, 
 which he cleared and improved until he made 
 it one of the best farms in Elk Grove. Here 
 his wife died March 30, 1870, he surviving 
 her thirteen years. Two sons and two daugh- 
 ters were born to them, the eldest being Edwin 
 L., our subject; Frank, born in 1838, married 
 Elizabeth Curkeet, of Elk Grove, and after the 
 death of his wife, in Elk Grove, he removed 
 to New York; Mary married John McBride, 
 of Platteville; Julia, born in 1842, married 
 Evan Barnes, of Platteville. 
 
 Our subject received the major part of his 
 education in the little district school house 
 located on the farm which he owned at the 
 time of his death, later being given one term 
 in the Platteville Academy. The usual occupa- 
 tion of the young men of the locality was 
 farming, and our subject entered into it in all 
 its branches, making an innovation in the 
 methods of some of the laborious work by the 
 purchase of a thresher, his being among the 
 first in the neighborhood. 
 
 The marriage of our subject was celebrated 
 in 1863, to Miss Amanda Whitham, a daugh- 
 ter of Emanuel and Isabel (Cameron) Whit- 
 ham. Mr. Whitham was born in Yorkshire, 
 England, March 22, 1797, and came to Amer- 
 ica as early as 1819, although he returned to 
 England, coming again to America in 1829. 
 Then settling in Pennsylvania, he engaged in 
 business there until 1846, when he moved to 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 549 
 
 Elk Grove, and later to the village of Elmo, 
 where he afterward resided, with the excep- 
 tion of some years spent in Galena. The death 
 of Mr. Whitnam took place in January, 1887. 
 Ele was twice married, the children of the first 
 union being Mrs. Sophie Wade, of England, 
 and Mrs. Mary Hilt, of Philadelphia, in the 
 spring of 1829 he married Isabel Cameron, a 
 native of England, the children of this union 
 bemg: Mrs. Jane Beebe, of Cherokee, Iowa; 
 Caroline, of Elmo, Wis. ; William, of Elk 
 Grove; John, of St. Joseph, Mo. ; Emanuel, 
 of Platteville, Wis. ; Wesley, of Webster City, 
 Iowa; Mrs. McNett; Annie, of Platteville; 
 and Mrs. Martha Hahn, of Philadelphia. Mrs. 
 McNett was born in Doylestown, Penn., in 
 December, 1839, and was educated in the 
 schools of Grant and Lafayette counties. 
 
 After marriage our subject and wife set- 
 tled on the farm which his father owned, fol- 
 lowing farming there some four years, when 
 he purchased the old Capt. Leslie homestead, 
 where the old fort once stood. In this home the 
 family lived for fifteen years, and then Mr. 
 McNett bought the. old family homestead, 
 joining the two farms. Many improvements 
 were being continually made on both places, 
 our subject being a man who thoroughly un- 
 derstood farming, and the value of substantial 
 buildings, good implements and careful culti- 
 vation of the land. 
 
 The family left by our subject is well known 
 through the neighborhood : Mary, born in 
 
 1864, married Lewis Bunt, resides in Elk Grove 
 and has children, Hazel, Edna and Lenys. 
 Lewis, born in 1866, married Amy Bunt, and 
 lives near Elmo; he has two children, Ethel 
 and Velma. Julia, born in 186S, is residing 
 at home. Howard, born in 1870, married Bes- 
 sie Webster, and resides on a farm near the 
 old home; they have three children, Odessa, 
 Lois and Dow. Frank, born in 1872, assists 
 in the management of the home farm. Cam- 
 eron, born in 1874, married Lizzie Fox, of 
 Big Patch, and resides in Kendall township ; 
 they have one son, George. Caroline, born 
 in 1879, is a student. George was born in 
 1876; Elmer, in 1882; and Harry, m 1885. 
 
 In politics Mr. McNett was a Republican, 
 and efficiently filled the greater number of the 
 local offices of his town. The whole family 
 has been reared in the M. E. Church, where 
 they are held in high esteem. The affection- 
 ate name of "Grandmother” is given Mrs. Mc- 
 
 Nett in the community, her kind and benevolent 
 nature making her beloved by all. Many in- 
 teresting tales are told by her of the early 
 pioneer days, when she and her late husband 
 struggled through many difficulties, but she 
 is now surrounded by the loving care of chil- 
 dren and grandchildren, with every comfort 
 of life. 
 
 PFIILIP KOLB, a highly respected citi- 
 zen of Platteville, Grant county, and an hon- 
 ored veteran of the Civil war, was born in 
 Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, in 1827, and 
 came to America with his parents, John and 
 Amelia (Junge) Kolb, the family locating in 
 Mercer county, Penn., in which State the father 
 died in 1849. The mother's death occurred in 
 Platteville, Wis. In their family were six sons 
 and three daughters, of whom are named : 
 Elizabeth; Philip; Henry, who died en route 
 to California, in 1850; Jacob, a resident of St. 
 Paul, Minn.; William, of Platteville; John, 
 also a resident of Platteville, who was in the 
 Union army during the Rebellion; George, of 
 Vermilion, S. Dak.; and Mrs. Frances Elgar, 
 of Platteville. 
 
 Philip Kolb began his education in the 
 schools of his native land, and during the resi- 
 dence of the family in Mercer county, Penn., 
 he attended school to some extent. In 1850, 
 at the age of twenty-three years, he came to 
 Platteville, Wis., where he at first worked on 
 a farm, and later engaged in carpentering. 
 In that city he was married, in 1853, to Miss 
 Barbara Leibert, a native of Bavaria, Germany, 
 and a daughter of Chrisman and Mary (Sam- 
 son) Leibert, who were also born in that king- 
 dom, and on coming to America, in 1856, 
 located at Galena, 111 . There the family lived 
 on a farm for some time, and then moved to 
 Hazel Green, Grant Co., Wis., where Mr. Lei- 
 bert died in 1869, his wife in 1868. Their 
 children were Andrew, a resident of Nebraska; 
 Mary, deceased ; Amelia ; Mary ; Margaret ; 
 Nicholas; Frederick; Eva, Mrs. Oettiker ; and 
 Barbara, Mrs. Kolb. Mr. and Mrs. Kolb have 
 six children, namely : ( 1 ) John makes his home 
 in Chicago, 111 . (2) Joseph, a resident of 
 
 Lewistown. 111 ., married a Miss Hillyer, and 
 they have four children, Earl, Flo. Beulah 
 and Anna, f 3 ) Flo. also of Lewistown, 111 ., 
 married a Miss Hoffman, and has one son, 
 Percy. (4) Philip is a teacher of music in 
 the Platteville State Normal. (5) Mary is 
 
550 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the wife of Thomas Brooking, of Macomb, 
 ill., and they have four children, Melvin, 
 Philip, Flo and Vivian. (6) Christine, Mrs. 
 Harris, of Platteville township, Grant county, 
 has one child, Bertie. 
 
 At Platteville, in 1865, Mr. Kolb enlisted 
 in Company K, 44th Wis. V. I., for one year 
 or during the war, and was mustered into the 
 United States service at Madison, Wis. He 
 was on regular duty at Nashville, and later 
 at Paducah, Ivy., where he was honorably dis- 
 charged in September, 1865, the war having 
 ended and his services being no 1 longer needed. 
 He is now an honored member of W. T. Sher- 
 man Post, No. 66, G. A. R., and is a stanch 
 supporter of the Republican party, in the wel- 
 fare of which he takes an active interest. Mr. 
 Kolb and his wife both hold membership in 
 the Congregational Church, and are among the 
 prominent representative citizens of Grant 
 county. 
 
 JOHN M. COTTIN GIT AM is a son of 
 Timothy Cottingham (deceased), who was 
 born in Yorkshire, England, Feb. 18, 1829, 
 and for some years before his death lived re- 
 tired in the town of Benton, Lafayette coun- 
 ty. He had been an active miner and a miller, 
 and was favorably known as a good workman 
 and an honest man. His parents were Anthony 
 and Jane Cottingham, the former of whom 
 died in England, and years afterward the 
 widow came to her son in Wisconsin, where 
 she died Jan. 18, 1858. 
 
 Timothy Cottingham was reared in Eng- 
 land, where he married Miss Jane Metcalf, 
 daughter of John and Sarah Metcalf, both of 
 whom were born in England, where they lived 
 and died. Of their children, ten in number, 
 Mrs. Cottingham is the only one in this coun- 
 try. In 1853 Mr. and Mrs. Cottingham came 
 to New York in a sailing vessel, being five 
 weeks on the way. They made the journey 
 to Buffalo by rail, and from that city to Big 
 Patch, Grant county, they made the journey 
 by wagon. There they lived a short time, 
 and then moved into the town of Benton, 
 where he was engaged in mining for several 
 years before he took up the milling business. 
 For many years he was an extensive shipper 
 of grain and flour, investing very largely in 
 good farm lands in this State and in Iowa. 
 Mr. Cottingham was an active business man 
 almost to the time of his death, which occurred 
 
 Aug. 6, 1898. He was an active worker in 
 the Methodist Church, frequently filling pul- 
 pits in Cuba, Hazel Green, Benton, and other 
 stations for many years. An ardent Republi- 
 can, he took an enlightened interest in public 
 affairs. Previous to his death he had pur- 
 chased a building lot and begun the erection 
 of a beautiful home, which has been carried 
 on to completion. Of the ten_ children born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cottingham, seven attained ma- 
 ture years : ( 1 ) Anthony H. is living on his 
 
 father’s old farm near Lead Mine; he mar- 
 ried Miss Lizzie Caton, and is the father of 
 seven children, of whom are named Lona M., 
 Jay T., Russell A., Ethel J., and Irwin. (2) 
 Sarah M., born in England, married William 
 Nattrass, and settled in Aurelia, Iowa, where 
 he is engaged in the hardware business. She 
 died in March, 1893, leaving the following 
 children — Zella (who is the wife of Bertram 
 E. Lloyd, of Aurelia, the editor of the Sentinel 
 of that place, and has one daughter, Dorothy), 
 Marietta, Olliver, Alma, Josephine, Sadie E., 
 and Cedric. (3) Jane E., born in Grant coun- 
 ty, became the wife of William ITarker, who 
 settled in Aurelia, Iowa, where Mrs. Harker 
 died in 1885, leaving five children, \\ alter (de- 
 ceased), Willie (of Billings, Mont.), Joseph 
 FI., Mamie (with her father at Preston, Wis.), 
 and Jennie E. The last named, adopted by her 
 grandparents, lives in Benton, where she at- 
 tends the high school. (4) John M. is men- 
 tioned more fully below. (5) Joseph H., who 
 was educated in the State Normal at Platteville, 
 married Miss Josie L. Bratton, and they are 
 the parents of three children, Aletha, Claude 
 and Lucile. They are living in Oklahoma. 
 (6) May A., who remains at the family home 
 with her mother, was educated in the State 
 Normal at Platteville, making a good reputa- 
 tion as a student and a musician of marked 
 ability. She leads the church choir. (7) Tim- 
 othy J. is now a traveling salesman for the 
 FI. B. Glover Co., Dubuque, Iowa. He mar- 
 ried Miss Minnie Clarkson. Mrs. Cottingham 
 and the family are members of the Methodist 
 Church, in which all are known as devoted 
 and faithful workers. 
 
 John M. Cottingham was born in Benton, 
 and was educated in the Lead Mine schools. 
 O11 reaching manhood he engaged in farming, 
 and learned the miller’s trade with his father, 
 and for a number of years previous to the 
 death of that gentleman the milling interests 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 55i 
 
 of the family were in his hands. He married 
 Miss Mary M. Side, who was born in 1859, 
 and whose parents, John and Mary Side, were 
 old and respected citizens of Lafayette county, 
 locating here at an early day. Mrs. Cottingham 
 obtained her education in the Lead Aline 
 schools. Air. and Airs. Cottingham have had 
 the following named children : Rupert N. 
 
 (born in June, 1880), George, Alary, Alamie, 
 and Bessie (born in 1896). 
 
 After his marriage John AI. Cottingham 
 moved to the milling property, which he pur- 
 chased in company with Thomas Miller, under 
 the firm name of Cottingham & Miller, and 
 is now engaged in grain dealing and milling. 
 They have one of the largest roller mills in 
 Lafayette county, and are doing an extensive 
 business. Politically Air. Cottingham is a Re- 
 publican. His wife and children are members 
 of the Methodist Church. Socially he is a 
 member of Lodge No. 268, F. & A. AL, of 
 Benton; Lodge No. 134, K. of P. ; Lodge No. 
 21, I. O. O. F., and with his wife belongs to 
 the Order of Rebekahs. 
 
 SAMUEL JENK-IN enjoys the distinction 
 of having been actively engaged in mercantile 
 life in Mineral Point. Iowa county, longer 
 than any other citizen of that thriving munici- 
 pality. In the course of his long business ca- 
 reer he has acquired an enviable reputation 
 both as a man and as a citizen. 
 
 Air. Jenkin was born in Redruth. Cornwall, 
 England. Oct. 28, 1824, a son of Samuel and 
 Jenny (Repper) Jenkin, both also natives of 
 Cornwall, where the ancestors of the Jenkin 
 family have lived for many generations. John 
 Jenkin, the grandfather of our subject, was an 
 assayer by profession, and was employed in tin. 
 copper and lead mines. The elder Samuel 
 Jenkin was born in Redruth, where he learned 
 the stone-mason’s trade. I11 1841 he came to 
 the United States, reaching Alineral Point in 
 July of that year, and immediately entered upon 
 the work of his trade, building upon an exten- 
 sive scale, and having in charge the construc- 
 tion of a number of the most important busi- 
 ness blocks in Mineral Point ; he became wide- 
 ly known as an upright and thoroughlv relia- 
 ble contractor and builder. He died in 1880, 
 at the advanced age of eighty years. Airs. 
 Jenkin passed away some years previously, 
 and she was about seventy when called 
 away. She was born near St. Austell, Corn- 
 
 wall, where her mother lived to reach a 
 great age. Samuel and Jenny Jenkin were 
 the parents of three sons ana eight daugh- 
 ters, of whom one daughter, Airs. Catherine 
 Collins (a widow, and now a resident of Wau- 
 kesha), and Samuel are the only survivors. 
 Only one of these eleven children died before 
 reaching maturity. 
 
 Samuel Jenkin attended school up to the 
 age of twelve years, when he began to learn 
 the stone-mason’s trade. In his seventeenth 
 year he came to Alineral Point, and took a 
 place in the lead mines, where he spent the 
 ensuing five years. At the expiration of that, 
 time he set himself to the learning of the 
 tinner’s trade, which to a very large degree has 
 been bis occupation up to the present time. 
 In 1851 Air. Jenkin made the journey to the 
 California gold fields, overland, being six 
 months on the way, and spent one year pros- 
 pecting and mining in that distant State. He 
 then returned to his home by way of the Isth- 
 mus and tl^£ city of New York. Coming back 
 to Alineral Point, he was for a time in the 
 grocery and dry goods line, and in 1861 went 
 to Leavenworth, Kans., but did not make a 
 prolonged stay in that frontier town. Com- 
 ing back to Mineral Point, be resumed his 
 trade, and since 1866 has dealt continuously in 
 hardware. In 1876 he took up several new 
 lines, adding agricultural implements, wagons, 
 carriages and sleighs, in which he has dealt up 
 to the present time. Air. Jenkin also does all 
 kinds of plumbing and tinning work, and has 
 built up a very extensive trade. 
 
 Our subject was married, in Alarch, 1853, 
 to Aliss Elizabeth Waters, of New York City, 
 and of the children born to this union nine 
 are living, all of whom have enjoyed excellent 
 social and 1 educational advantages. ( 1 ) Alar- 
 tha died when fifteen years' old. (2) One 
 child died in infancy. (3) Nettie, who married 
 Christian Weiber. lives in Chicago. (4)- Sam- 
 uel is also a resident of Chicago. (5) Agnes, 
 who married Dr. H. P. Alix, lives in Highland, 
 Wis. (6) Sally is in Chicago. (7) John 
 and (8) Edward are interested in business 
 with their father. (9) Gertrude, who mar- 
 ried Frank De Volt, lives in Chicago, as does 
 (10) Anna, who married James Green, ( 1 if 
 Amy is at home. Air. and Airs. Jenkin have 
 nine grandchildren. 
 
 Airs. Jenkin is a member of the Alethodist 
 Church, but others of the family belong to the 
 
552 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD . 
 
 Episcopal Church. Mr. Jenkin has been re- 
 peatedly elected city treasurer, and for a num- 
 ber of years was supervisor, during which 
 time he supported the measure to erect a county 
 asylum. As alderman of Mineral Point he 
 did much to promote the general interests of 
 the city, and he has always been classed among 
 the enlightened and progressive residents of 
 that place. 
 
 DAYTON D. TYLER, the prosperous 
 proprietor of a sawmill in Cadiz township, 
 Green county, and one of the foremost citi- 
 zens of his community, was born in Chenango 
 county, N. Y., Dec. 5, 1843, son °f Simeon 
 and Martha Jane (Card) Tyler, natives of 
 New York State, who- were wedded in 1830. 
 
 Simeon Tyler was a son of Broadstreet 
 Tyler, who was' born in Connecticut, and after 
 the close of the Revolution located in New 
 York. He was of English parentage, and 
 served with great bravery throughout the war 
 for independence, enduring the hardships of 
 the terrible winter at Valley Forge, and serv- 
 ing under George Washington. He lost an 
 eye at the battle of Brandywine. Thrice mar- 
 ried, he became the father of twenty-one chil- 
 dren. His death occurred when he was aged 
 ninety-eight years. Simeon Tyler, father of 
 Dayton D., was the father of six children, as 
 follows: Martha J., deceased; Dolphus', who 
 
 resides in Tennessee; Aurelia, wife of H. B. 
 Mack, of California; Nathan C., of Martin, 
 Wis. ; Lucian D., who died at the age of twen- 
 ty; and Dayton D. 
 
 Dayton D. Tyler came with his parents 
 from New York to Stephenson county, 111 ., 
 when he was but six years of age, and two 
 years later was left an orphan by the death of 
 both his parents, and, when a little past seven- 
 teen, was thrown out in the world to depend 
 entirely upon his own resources. On 1 Sept. 
 10, 1861, he became a member of Company B, 
 46th 111 . V. I., and served four years and 
 twelve days. He participated in the battles 
 of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, siege of 
 Vicksburg, Hatchie, siege of Jackson, Miss., 
 and was taken prisoner while moving on Mo- 
 bile, Ala., in March, 1865. He received an hon- 
 orable discharge Sept. 22, 1865. His brother 
 Dolphus served in the 92d 111 . V. I., and his 
 brother Nathan was a member of Company A, 
 92d 111. Mounted Infantry, was taken prisoner, 
 and passed eleven and one-half months in An- 
 
 dersonville. Mr. Tyler now conducts his saw- 
 mill on the old Saucerman farm, and is meet- 
 ing with well-deserved success. He has ever 
 been active in all that tended toward the wel- 
 fare of his town and county, and is one of 
 its most influential citizens. In politics he is 
 a Democrat, has filled the office of justice 
 of the peace at Browntown, Winslow, 111 ., and 
 Blanchardville, Wis., and was deputy sheriff 
 of Green county for six years under S. Morse 
 and Edward Reuger. Fraternally he is' iden- 
 tified with the Masons, becoming a member of 
 that great order in 1866, and- being a charter 
 member of Winslow Lodge, No. 564; he now 
 belongs to Smith Lodge, No. 31, Monroe, Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 O11 Oct. 5, 1865, Mr. Tyler was married 
 to Miss Mary A. Rodebaugh, daughter of 
 Thomas and Luvina (Ferguson) Rodebaugh, 
 early settlers of Stephenson county, 111 . Five 
 children have come to bless their marriage, 
 namely: Jennie L., wife of W. P. Steer, of 
 Winslow, 111 .; Mary M., wife of Simon P. 
 Lynch, a farmer of Cadiz township; Charles 
 D., in partnership with his father (he married 
 Kate Kelley, and has two children, Mary and 
 Retha) ; Annie V., wife of William Clarno, 
 of South Wayne, Wis. ; and Florence E., a 
 dress maker at home. The family are highly 
 esteemed socially, and their friend's- are all as- 
 sured of a hearty welcome in the hospitable 
 Tyler home. 
 
 BURR SPRAGUE, a lawyer at Brodhead, 
 Green county, is one of the most prominent 
 and influential citizens of that place. His thor- 
 ough knowledge of the principles of law, and 
 his' wide familiarity with business forms and 
 proceedings, give his counsel high value. He 
 is an excellent pleader, and presents a case to 
 the court and jury in a calm and dispassionate 
 manner, which carries conviction by its sincer- 
 ity and candor. 
 
 Mr. Sprague was born in Cattaraugus 
 county, N. Y., April 30, 1836, a son of Al- 
 merin and Asenath (Noyes') Sprague, both 
 also natives of New York. Seven children 
 were born to our subject’s parents, of whom 
 three are now living: Edwin R., of DeFuniak 
 Springs, Fla. ; Burr ; and Sylvia A., wife of Dr. 
 L. B. Beebe, of Evansville, Wisconsin. 
 
 Almerin Sprague, an old and experienced 
 school teacher, having a record of thirty terms 
 in the school room, was also a cabinet maker 
 

 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 553 
 
 and wood worker. He was town school su- 
 perintendent and justice of the peace in New 
 York, and also' served as justice of the peace 
 several years in Wisconsin. In an early day 
 he served as an appraiser of Wisconsin Uni- 
 versity lands'. Moving to Wisconsin in 1846, 
 he located in the township of Spring Valley, 
 Rock county. Here he took up a farm of 160 
 acres, and afterward bought more land from 
 time to time. He was one of the first Free 
 Sobers, a Republican at the organization of 
 that party, a radical opponent of the Fugitive 
 Slave Law, and always an influential and leach- 
 ing citizen. In October, 1868, he moved to 
 Brodhead, where he died in 1887, in his eighty- 
 sixth year. 
 
 Asenath (Noyes) Sprague was a daugh- 
 ter of John B. Noyes, a descendant of one of 
 the early settlers of Massachusetts. She was 
 a woman of rare strength of character. Ambi- 
 tious and hard-working, amid all the toil and 
 privations of pioneer life she yet kept the 
 strength and sweetness of a generous and lov- 
 ing nature, and her memory still lives in the 
 hearts of all who knew her. She died in No- 
 vember, 1893, in her ninetieth year. She and 
 her husband were Unitarians. 
 
 Burr Sprague was ten years old when he 
 came with his parents to Rock county, Wis., 
 and he lived with them until he was seventeen, 
 attending the district school at Spring Valley 
 Corners. In 1853 he began teaching, and 
 followed that profession, in connection with 
 other occupations, for nine terms, also con- 
 ducting an evening Writing school for 
 several terms. In 1854 he bought out the 
 general store at Spring Valley Corners', 
 and took charge of the post office, remain- 
 ing there from 1854 to 1861, excepting 
 one year, in 1857-58, when he attended a busi- 
 ness college in Rockford, 111 . He then moved 
 his store to Orfordville, in the same township, 
 where he sold goods for six years, was post- 
 master five years, and served as justice of the 
 peace and assessor. He was clerk of the town 
 of Spring Valley ten years. It was during 
 these early years of business contact and asso- 
 ciation with the people of Rock county that he 
 laid the foundations of the confidence and es- 
 teem in which he is held in that county, and 
 which are so marked a feature of his later 
 years. Mr. Sprague mpved to Brodhead, Green 
 county, in 1868, and went into a general store 
 as salesman. In 1871 he established a book 
 
 store, and was appointed postmaster under 
 President Grant. He was postmaster eight 
 years, and served as justice of the peace ten 
 years. For six years he also held the position 
 of school superintendent, and identified him- 
 self closely with the educational interests of 
 the growing town. 
 
 On Nov. 14, 1859, Mr. Sprague was mar- 
 ried to Miss Vina B. Abbott, of Monroe, Wis. 
 Mrs. Sprague is the daughter of Luke and 
 Tamar (Davis) Lanphear, who were natives 
 of Massachusetts, and early settlers near Mil- 
 ton, Wis. After the death of her mother, 
 Mrs. Sprague was adopted by Dr. and Mrs. 
 S. W. Abbott, then of Spring V alley Corners'. 
 To her excellent womanly qualities, literary 
 attainments, love of home, genuine home-mak- 
 ing and cheerful encouragement, Mr. Sprague 
 is largely indebted for the measure of success 
 and enjoyment that has fallen to his lot. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Sprague are the parents of three 
 children: Louis A., Jessie E. and Wilson Ab- 
 bott. Louis A. Sprague married Miss' Martha 
 E. Barber, of Brodhead, and lives in Elgin, 
 111., where for eight years he was the foreman 
 of the printing department at the Elgin Watch 
 Factory, and is now with the Willson Print- 
 ing Co., of that city: he has two daughters, 
 Leila and Gladys. Wilson A. Sprague mar- 
 ried Miss Marguerite K. Brice, of Brodhead, 
 and is employed in his father’s office ; he has 
 two children, Jessie Brice and Burr Sprague, 
 Junior. 
 
 Mr. Sprague and his wife are Unitarians. 
 He is a member of the Ancient Order of Uni- 
 ted Workmen, but is best known fraternally 
 in the Masonic order, of which he has been an 
 active member for over thirty years. He has 
 been six times elected master of Bicknell Lodge, 
 No. 94, A. F. & A. M. He is a Royal Arch 
 Mason, having joined Evansville Chapter, No. 
 35, in 1867, and is thoroughly versed in the 
 mystic lore of the craft. Many brother Masons 
 have requested him to conduct the ceremonies 
 of the order at their burial, and in response to 
 such requests Mr. Sprague has officiated at 
 nearly forty Masonic funerals in Wisconsin 
 and Illinois. 
 
 Mr. Sprague has been identified with the 
 Republican party ever since its organization, 
 and for many years has' been a leader in local 
 and county politics. The last year of his resi- 
 dence in Orfordville he represented his district 
 in the State Legislature, being the youngest 
 
554 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 member, but one, of that body. In 1879 be 
 was again chosen to represent bis district in 
 the State Legislature, and at the following 
 election he was a third time made a member 
 of that body. During these winters at Madi- 
 son he formed valuable and lasting associa- 
 tions with men of prominence throughout the 
 State, and has always remained a well-known 
 figure at the Capitol. In the winters of 1880 
 and 1881 he served on the Judiciary committee, 
 and was one of the leaders of the Capital Pun- 
 ishment debate, which was the most hotly con- 
 tested matter before the House in 1880. 
 
 Mr. Sprague began the study of law in 
 1867, but did not devote his entire time to his 
 profession until about 1879. During the years 
 1889 and 1890 he served as district attorney 
 for Green county, removing temporarily to 
 Monroe during his term of office. In 1890 he 
 returned to Brodhead. During nearly the 
 whole of Mr. Sprague’s active business life he 
 has conducted a real-estate and loan business, 
 which has been carried on with such quiet care 
 and uniform reliability that few, if any, of his 
 clients realize the extent of his operations in 
 this line alone. For many years his annual 
 loans have amounted to fifty thousand dollars, 
 and the sums safely entrusted to his direct 
 care by non-resident parties have aggregated 
 hundreds of thousands of dollars. Always 
 taking cheerfully upon himself more than his 
 full share of the duties and cares of good citi- 
 zenship, he has yet given to these multitudinous 
 business cares such unfailing personal atten- 
 tion, such keenness of judgment and strict in- 
 tegrity of conduct, as to establish himself un- 
 assailablv in the confidence and respect of all 
 who* know him. So well known is his charac- 
 ter that never, even in the beat of political cam- 
 paigns, is the question of his honor raised. 
 
 His ancestry reaches back through succes- 
 sive generations of American citizens, through 
 the Revolutionary period, to the early Colonial 
 history of our country. Bred upon American 
 soil, and thoroughly imbued with American 
 principles, stanch, patriotic and reliable. Burr 
 Sprague presents an example of good citizen- 
 ship which the rising generation may well 
 emulate. 
 
 JOHN STEPHENS, one of the organiz- 
 ers and most prominent men of Cuba City, 
 Grant county, is the well-known and popular 
 station agent for the Chicago & Northwestern 
 
 Railroad at that point, which position he has 
 held since the establishment of the station, 
 twenty-eight years ago. 
 
 Mr. Stephens was born in Cornwall, Eng- 
 land, in June, 1843, being a son of William 
 and Catherine (Dadow) Stephens, who were 
 born and married in England. Later these two 
 came to Wisconsin, with their family, settled 
 at Benton, Lafayette county, and engaged in 
 farming, and here they died, the father in 
 1888, the mother in 1894. They had a family 
 of five boys and three girls : Alexander, born 
 in England, is now married and a resident 
 of Bremer county; William, born in England, 
 married Miss Harriet Pascoe, of Grant county, 
 and settled at Cuba City, where lie died, in 
 1895, leaving a widow and four children, Fran- 
 cis, Ada. Everett and George; Richard M., born 
 in England, married Alary Pascoe, and is a 
 prominent clergyman of Perry, Iowa; Agnes, 
 born in Wisconsin, is now the wife of Will- 
 iam Goldsworthy, of Cuba City, and 1 has four 
 children, John, Roscoe, Kate and Eva; Sam- 
 uel, born in Wisconsin, married Mary Hannah 
 Rowe, is a resident of Lafayette county, and 
 has six children, Lillie (now Mrs’. Buchan, 
 of Benton), Minnie (married 1 to a prominent 
 merchant of Benton), Nellie, Annie, Pearl and 
 Roy ; Mary J., sixth child of William and Cath- 
 erine Stephens, married Rev. James Barnett, 
 a prominent divine of Wisconsin, but is now 
 deceased, having been called away in 1889, 
 leaving no family; Martha, born in Lafayette 
 county, married William Tarrell, and moved 
 to McCook county, S. Dak., where Mrs. Tar- 
 rell died in 1896, leaving a family of five chil- 
 dren, who still reside in South Dakota; John 
 is our subject. 
 
 John Stephens grew to manhood in Ben- 
 ton. Lafayette county, where he pursued the 
 ordinary life of a country boy, attending school 
 during the winter months', and working on the 
 farm in the summer. When the war broke out 
 Mr. Stephens was fired with patriotism, al- 
 though still a boy; and in 1863 he enlisted in 
 Company C, 2d Wis. Vol. Cavalry, joining 
 his regiment at Memphis, Tenn. He was in 
 active service for two years, until the close of 
 the war, participating in a number of engage- 
 ments, including Bentonville, New Madrid, 
 the noted Grierson raid into'' Louisiana, and 
 siege of Vicksburg, and was always at bis post 
 of duty. At the close of the war Mr. Stephens 
 was honorably discharged at St. Louis as first 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 sergeant, but afterward detailed for special 
 duty. The climate so affected Mr. Stephens 
 that he was taken sick, was sent to a hospital, 
 where he remained twO' months, and it was 
 three years after his return home before he in 
 any way recovered. 
 
 After the' war Mr. Stephens settled in 
 Smelser township, Grant county, Wis., where 
 he opened a country store, and was appointed 
 postmaster of the Saint Rose postoftice. In 
 October, 1874, the Chicago & Northwestern 
 railroad was built, established a station, call- 
 ing it Cuba City, and appointed Mr. Stephens 
 station agent, he also retaining the postoffice 
 for twelve years after. The position of sta- 
 tion agent he still holds, to the entire satisfac- 
 tion of the railroad company, as well as the 
 patrons of the road. For twenty-four years 
 Mr. Stephens served most acceptably as post- 
 master, and has been chairman of the council 
 board since the town was incorporated, for six 
 different times, has been justice of the peace 
 continuously for twenty-eight years, as well 
 as holding various other local offices, his fel- 
 low townsmen feeling that Mr. Stephens is the 
 man to represent them in almost any capacity 
 which requires honesty, ability and upright- 
 ness of purpose. Upon coming to Cuba City 
 Mr. Stephens invested largely in real estate, 
 a portion of which he has sold, and owns two 
 large farms, well improved, in Lafayette 
 county. 
 
 In 1864 Mr. Stephens came home on a 
 furlough and married Miss Elizabeth Read, 
 of Wisconsin, daughter of Samuel Read, a 
 native of Missouri, whose strong Union senti- 
 ments forced him to remove to Wisconsin. 
 Mrs. Stephens was born in Missouri in 1844, 
 and was well educated in her native State. 
 Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 .Stephens: (1) Samuel W., born in Cuba City 
 in 1868, entered his father’s office when thir- 
 teen years old, learned to be a telegraph ope- 
 rator and became his father's assistant, and 
 now has charge of the office, on account of 
 Mr. Stephens’ health. In 1889 Samuel married 
 Miss Laura Clemens, of Cuba City, her father 
 being one of the pioneers and a prominent 
 merchant of the town. Samuel and his wife 
 have two children: Fred C, born in Cuba 
 
 City in 1894, and Dwight, born in September, 
 1899. ( 2 ) Charles, born in Cuba City in 1875, 
 was for eight years station agent at Layton 
 Park, Milwaukee, for the Chicago & North- 
 
 555 
 
 western, and is now holding a very lucrative 
 and responsible position in the cashier’s office 
 of that road at Chicago. (3) Frank H., born 
 in Cuba City in 1878, learned railroad work 
 in his father’s office, and is now one of the 
 trusted employes of the Chicago & Northwest- 
 ern railroad, serving as relief agent and ope- 
 rator of the Madison division. 
 
 Politically Mr. Stephens has for many years 
 been a Republican, but late issues have made 
 an independent of him, and he now votes as 
 his conscience dictates. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
 Stephens are earnest members of the M. E. 
 Church, and Mr. Stephens is a member of the 
 G. A. R. Post of Hazel Green, and also the 
 one at Cuba City. The home of these estimable 
 people is one of the finest residences in the 
 town, and Mr. Stephens is constantly improv- 
 ing it. So 1 closely is Mr. Stephens identified 
 with the growth of Cuba City that the history 
 of one is but the account of the progress of 
 the other. During all the years of his steady 
 advancement Mr. Stephens has made few, if 
 any, enemies, while he can scarcely count all 
 his friends, their number being legion. Kind, 
 genial, hospitable, faithful in the discharge of 
 his duties, both as a private citizen and as a 
 public official, Mr. Stephens is one of the best 
 types of the veteran in private life, under his 
 own “vine and fig tree,” surrounded by “ol.ve 
 branches.” 
 
 GEORGE TL'FFLEY, a retired farmer 
 living at Lancaster, Grant county, and an ex- 
 soldier of the United States volunteer army, 
 was born in Warwickshire, England, April 10, 
 1818. His parents, John and Margaret (Hop- 
 kins) Tuffley, removed when George was about 
 six years old to Birmingham, where at the 
 age of eight he began to work at making pearl 
 buttons, and so continued two years. Dis- 
 satisfied with this trade, he tried several others, 
 and at the age of fourteen years was appren- 
 ticed to a gunmaker, learned the trade thor- 
 oughly, and followed it in both England and 
 America. 
 
 When twenty-three years of age Mr. Tuf- 
 fley married Miss Mary Ann Darby, a native 
 of Birmingham. Having already decided to 
 sail for America, Mr. Tuffley, in February, 
 1850, with his wife and three children, em- 
 barked on board the sailing vessel ‘‘Camillius” 
 for the port of New Orleans, and after a voy- 
 age lasting seven weeks and four days arrived 
 
55*5 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in safety. He had early formed a high opinion 
 of American institutions, and longed to be- 
 come a citizen of the country in which every 
 voter had a voice in shaping the laws, and 
 within thirty minutes after landing in the Cres- 
 cent City he had sought out a justice of the 
 peace, and had taken the oath of allegiance 
 to the United States government. 
 
 From New Orleans Mr. Tuffiey and his 
 family went on a large steamer to St. Louis, 
 and there transferred themselves and their bag- 
 gage to a smaller one, bound for Galena, 111 ., 
 at which place Mr. Tuffiey worked three weeks 
 at his trade. He then came to Grant county, 
 Wis., April io, 1850, for five years worked at 
 gunsmithing in Platteville, then abandoned it 
 for farming, buying government land in Ma- 
 rion township for fifty cents an acre. Within 
 two years from the time of his first purchase 
 he was the owner of 400 acres of fine woodland, 
 and although he had no experience in farm life, 
 or as a woodman, he acquired the necessary 
 knowledge quite rapidly, and eventually be- 
 came one of the best and most prosperous 
 farmers of the county. As time passed on, 
 however, the clouds of war began to lower, 
 and soon the cry of secession rang through- 
 out the land. Mr. Tuffley, as a patriotic Amer- 
 ican citizen, almost at once responded to the 
 call to arms, although the day was fast ap- 
 proaching when lie would be exempt from mil- 
 itary service. But a desire to preserve the in- 
 tegrity of the flag of his adopted country filled 
 his heart, and he enlisted in October, 1861, 
 in Company Iv, 12th Wis. V. I., and served 
 three years and twenty days, his discharge pa- 
 pers being dated Oct. 30, 1864. For nearly 
 a year and a half Mr. Tuffiey was with his 
 regiment in Kansas, engaged in active opera- 
 tions, but the first severe fighting in which he 
 took part was at the siege of Vicksburg, Miss., 
 in which the gallant 12th Wisconsin held a 
 prominent and 1 conspicuous position. Mr. 
 Tuffley also served with his regiment in the 
 Atlanta campaign, participating in its most 
 deadly battles, including the battle of Atlanta 
 itself — the deadliest of all — on July 22, 1864. 
 He also fought at Kenesaw Mountain, and 
 in many other important engagements. About 
 the time that Gen. Sherman was prepared to 
 start on the famous march to the sea the term 
 of enlistment of the 12th Wisconsin expired, 
 and it was honorably discharged and mustered 
 out. Thomas Tuffley, eldest son of George, 
 
 enlisted at the same time with his father, served 
 until the end of the war, and is now a resident 
 of Boscobel, Grant county. 
 
 Mr. Tuffley, although he resumed farming 
 on his return from the war, and calls the old 
 farm his home, passed 1 much of his time, to- 
 gether with his son Thomas, in the city of 
 Lancaster. To the marriage of George and 
 Mary Ann (Darby) Tuffley came twelve chil- 
 dren, of whom seven were left with their moth- 
 er when the father started off for the war, 
 and two were born during his term of service. 
 Five are still living, viz. : Thomas, mentioned 
 above ; Margaret, wife of Joseph Frazier, who 
 resides near Mount Flood, Oregon ; Clara, wife 
 of Matthew Lambert, of Marion township, 
 Grant county ; George, the present recorder of 
 deeds of Grant county ; and Lincoln, the young- 
 est, who resides on the old home farm in 
 Marion. Mr. Tuffley has had his share of 
 family afflictions. While in the service of his 
 adopted country five of his children were called 
 away, between the ages of eight months and 
 seventeen years. His lamented and estimable 
 wife, who was three years younger than him- 
 self, died in April, 1886, most deeply mourned 
 by her husband and surviving children. 
 
 In politics Mr. Tuffley has been a Repub- 
 lican from the time he became entitled to a 
 vote, and exercised his first Presidential fran- 
 chise for John C. Fremont, in 1856. He has 
 himself been honored with election to several 
 offices, having served as chairman of the Ma- 
 rion town board two years, as town clerk for 
 five years, and for many years as justice of the 
 peace, and he has proven himself to be at heart 
 a true and patriotic American. His record is 
 one in which his descendants may well take 
 pride in years after he has, in due course of 
 nature, succumbed to the inevitable. His re- 
 ligion is governed by the Golden Rule of the 
 Master, “Whatsoever ye would that men should 
 do to you, do ye even so to them,” and no 
 man in need ever passed unaided from his 
 door. 
 
 WALTER LITTLE, one of the prominent, 
 representative farmers of Janesville township, 
 Rock county, residing in section 19, was born 
 in Roxburghshire, Scotland, Aug. 12, 1839. a 
 son of John and Elizabeth (Blythe) Little, also 
 natives of Scotland. His paternal grandfather 
 died in Scotland. The father of our subject 
 wasi an only son. The maternal grandfather, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 557 
 
 Thomas Blythe, who also died in Scotland, 
 when about eighty-six, was by occupation a 
 farmer. His had two children, one son and 
 one daughter. 
 
 John Little, father of Walter Little, was a 
 contractor, and also operated a limekiln in 
 Scotland. Coming to America in 1853, and lo- 
 cating in Janesville, Wis., he died there in 1865, 
 aged seventy-six. John Little was married 
 twice, and 1 his first wife, mother of our sub- 
 ject, died in Scotland in 1841 ; both were stanch 
 Presbyterians. Nine children were born to 
 them, eight sons and one daughter, five now 
 living: Thomas, John, James and Walter, all 
 of Janesville township ; and Andrew, of Blue 
 Earth, Minnesota. 
 
 Coming to America with his father when 
 fourteen years of age. Walter Little worked 
 upon the home farm until old enough to start 
 out in life for himself. In order 'to gain nec- 
 essary funds to carry out his plans, he hired 
 himself to his father for two years ; then 
 bought a yoke of oxen and broke ground. In 
 time he came to have six yoke of oxen, and 
 also ran a threshing machine for a number of 
 years. “All things come to him who waits,” 
 as the saying goes, and, after some years of 
 patient, persistent endeavor. Walter Little had 
 sufficient money to purchase, in 1864, a fine 
 farm of 260 acres in Janesville township, in 
 section 19, where he has since resided, and 
 which he has greatly improved. 
 
 On Dec. 31, 1864, Walter Little was mar- 
 ried to Miss Lizzie Spence, daughter of Bar- 
 tholomew Walker and Elizabeth (Dixon) 
 Spence, and five children have been born of 
 this union: Joseph W., George Dixon, Harvey 
 Henry, Ellen Elizabeth and Walter Blythe, 
 all of whom are still unmarried and residing 
 at home. 
 
 Mr. Little's life is a good example of what 
 can be accomplished by hard work and careful 
 management, and his: success is something to 
 be justly proud of, as it has been won by his 
 own efforts, and in the face of business ad- 
 versities which would have overwhelmed many 
 a man. In the early part of his business career 
 he had a partner in the buying, selling and ship- 
 ping of stock, to the Eastern markets, and when 
 they ceased to do business together, unfor- 
 tunately for Mr. Little, no settlement was 
 made. Taking advantage of this, the former 
 partner took the matter to the courts, and, 
 after many years of litigation, Mr. Little was 
 
 left, as he says, "With $25,000 less than noth- 
 ing." However, his credit was: good, and he 
 was trusted for a few Short Horn cattle and 
 Clydesdale horses, which enabled him to begin 
 again, with what success his present position 
 amply testifies. He makes a specialty of breed- 
 ing blooded stock, of the best strains' only, 
 among which are Short Horn catrle, Clydes- 
 dale horses, and blooded hogs of several 
 varieties. Although he had but little time to 
 devote to educational purposes after coming to 
 this country, he had been thoroughly grounded 
 in the common branches in Scotland, and his 
 own native intelligence supplied the rest. Po- 
 litically Mr. Little is independent in his ideas, 
 with a leaning toward the Democratic party, 
 and has: served most acceptably as town super- 
 visor, township assessor, and chairman of the 
 school board. Mr. and Mrs. Little have a 
 very pleasant home, on their highly cultivated 
 farm, and are highly esteemed by a wide circle 
 of friends. 
 
 FORDYCE R. MELVIN, who is spend- 
 ing the last years of his honorable and upright 
 life in Brooklyn, Green county, in a well-earned 
 freedom from the cares! of active life, was born 
 in Geauga county, Ohio, July 23, 1832, a son 
 of Alonzo and Roenna (Lyman) Melvin, both 
 natives of Massachusetts. They were the par- 
 ents of a family of thirteen children, six of 
 whom are now living, viz. : Fordyce R. ; Sarah 
 E., wife of J. G. Rowley; Elihu Oliver, of 
 Washington ; Austin A., of Sioux Falls, S. 
 Dak. ; Crisilda R. : and Edward P., of San- 
 born, Iowa. The father was always a farmer, 
 and when he came to Coshocton county, Ohio, 
 about 1817, located on a farm. A few years 
 later he went to near Natchez, Mis's., where he 
 stayed five years, and then went to Massa- 
 chusetts, soon after moving with his father to 
 Geauga couny, Ohio, as early as 1823, and 
 there he made his home until 1848. in which 
 year he went to Cattaraugus county. N. Y. In 
 1851 ha came to the town of Brooklyn, and set- 
 tled on what is now the Alsop place, where he 
 owned 500 acres. Here he died in 1873, at the 
 age of seventy-eight; his widow survived un- 
 til the spring of 1880, when she died at the 
 age of seventy-five. They were both members 
 of the Congregational Church, and their worthy 
 lives reflected no discredit on their faith. In 
 Ohio Mr. Melvin was town supervisor, and 
 there he also filled other positions. Reuben 
 
 i 
 
553 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Melvin, his father, was a native of Massachu- 
 setts, and of Scotcb-Irish descent. He was 
 the only son of an only son, and moved from 
 Massachusetts to Ohio, where he settled, and 
 died m Geauga county at the age of seventy- 
 eight years. When a boy he was old enough 
 at the closing of the Revolutionary war to 
 bear arms, and had started for the seat of war 
 with his gun on his shoulder when he heard 
 that peace had been concluded. By occupa- 
 tion lie was a farmer. The maternal grandfa- 
 ther of F. R. Melvin was Azariah Lyman, a 
 farmer and a native of Massachusetts. Fie was 
 of English descent, and could trace the Lyman 
 ancestry back to the time of William the Con- 
 queror. The Lymans were among the early 
 settlers of New England. 
 
 Fordyce R. Melvin lived, until he was six- 
 teen years of age, in Ohio, where lie was reared 
 on a farm. He was instructed in the district 
 schools, and in Geauga Seminary, at Chester, 
 Ohio. In the spring of 1851 he came to Wis- 
 consin with his parents, and settled on a farm, 
 which is now a part of the present village of 
 Brooklyn. Fie remained under the parental 
 roof until he reached adult years, when he 
 went to- farming 011 rented land. In May, 1861, 
 he enlisted in Company D, 2d Wis. V. I., serv- 
 ing until the following August, when he was 
 discharged 011 account of sickness. Recover- 
 ing his health, he again entered the service as 
 a member of Company K, 24th N. Y. V. I., 
 where he continued until October of the fol- 
 lowing year, when he was again discharged 
 for disability, on account of being shot through 
 both arms in the second battle of Bull Run. 
 During this time lie had been promoted to 
 corporal. While in the 2d Wisconsin he 
 fought in the first battle at Bull Run. Mr. 
 Melvin was under fire in several other smaller 
 engagements, and always bore himself as a 
 gallant soldier. After his discharge from the 
 service he spent some time canvassing, and do- 
 ing other work, such as his wounded arms 
 would permit. 
 
 I11 politics Mr. Melvin is a stanch Repub- 
 lican. In 1868 hie was elected county commis- 
 sioner, and was filling that office in 1869. when 
 the law creating it was declared unconstitu- 
 tional by the Supreme Court. Mr. Melvin was 
 elected cunty treasurer in 1870 and filled the 
 office six years, during which time he lived at 
 Monroe, but always claimed Brooklyn as his 
 home. When Mr. Melvin retired from office 
 at Monroe he came back to Brooklyn, and for 
 
 two years carried on the farm belonging to his 
 father’s estate. Fie was elected to the General 
 Assembly in 1879, and served one term. For 
 ten years following thisl he was agent for the 
 American Express Company, at the same time 
 doing- fire insurance and public conveyancing. 
 He is still a notary public, insurance agent and 
 conveyancer. 
 
 On May 27, 1874, Mr. Melvin married Miss 
 Emily Bartlett, a daughter of Joseph and Ann 
 P. (Willetts) Bartlett. Mrs. Melvin holds to 
 a faith that is both of the Quaker and Pres- 
 byterian persuasion. Mr. Melvin belongs to 
 Brooklyn 1 Lodge, No. 251, F. & A. M. As 
 might well be expected from his devoted and 
 loyal service, he is a member of T. L. Sutphan 
 Post, G. A. R., of Evansville, Wis. For fifty 
 years Mr. Melvin has been a resident of this 
 town, and here he erected a fine home in 1881. 
 
 E. D. PEAKE, Eso., the popular and genial 
 postmaster at Jamestown, Grant county, is one 
 of the representative men of his part of the 
 county, and well deserves mention in a volume 
 like this, devoted as it is to the earnest and 
 capable men who have brought Southwestern 
 Wisconsin to its present position. 
 
 ’Squire Peake, as he is commonly called, 
 was' born in Delaware county, N. Y., in July, 
 1836, son of Warern L. and Amy (Chase) 
 Peake, both natives of Delaware county, where 
 the father was born in 1814, and the mother 
 two years later. Their marriage was celebrated 
 in their native county, and there they settled. 
 Mr. Peake was a lumberman and farmer dur- 
 ing the greater part of his life, and died 1 in 
 Delaware county in 1862. .Mrs. Peake is still 
 living, in Greene county, N. Y., and has a home 
 near the Hudson river. Two of their four 
 children are still living: George, born in 1845, 
 died when a young man. Adaline was drowned 
 when a child, in 1862. Matilda, born in 1837, 
 is the wife of Donald B. Smith, of Greene 
 county, N. Y., and is the mother of three chil- 
 dren, Amy, Edward and Jamesi B. 
 
 E. D. Peake was the eldest of his father’s 
 children, and grew up under the parental roof, 
 receiving unusually good educational advant- 
 ages, both in the public schools and in Walton 
 Academy, a somewhat celebrated school of 
 Delaware county. When he was eighteen 
 years of age he engaged in school teaching, 
 which he followed with considerable success 
 until 1865. During the Civil war, however, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 559 
 
 he was a lumber contractor for a time at Jack- 
 sonville, Fla., dealing with the Quartermaster’s 
 Department, and acting therefor. 
 
 In 1865 Mr. Peake came West to Illinois, 
 and settling in the northwestern part of the 
 State followed mining during the summer and 
 public-school teaching during the winter. In 
 April, 1866, he came to Grant county, Wis., 
 and opened a school at Georgetown, where he 
 spent slome months teaching. This did not 
 seem to be a satisfactory location, and he later 
 came to Jamestown, where lie followed the 
 same lines, mining and teaching. 
 
 Mr. Peake and Miss Martha E. Judd were 
 married in 1871, in Varysburg, Wyoming Co., 
 N. Y. Mrs. Peake is the daughter of Jefferson 
 and xAmy (Nichols) Judd, both born in Ver- 
 mont, and both died when Mrs. Peake was a 
 child. They located in Genesee county, N. 
 Y., where she was born in 1844, and she was 
 well educated, being for a time a teacher in the 
 public schools of her native State. Airs. Peake 
 has three brothers living : ( 1 ) Harvey C. Judd, 
 born in Genesee county, N. Y., lives at De- 
 troit City, Minn. (2) Henry C, a resident of 
 Bloomington, Wis., is 'a prosperous' farmer. 
 (3) Jefferson D. lives at Monticello, Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Peake settled on a farm in 
 Jamestown, Grant Co., Wis., where they have 
 lived to the present time. They have no chil- 
 dren, but their kindly disposition is felt 
 throughout the community. In politics Air. 
 Peake hasi always been a Republican, and he 
 cast his first vote for John C. Fremont. For 
 about eight years he has been justice of the 
 peace, and for a long time has been notary 
 public. He has been comparing clerk for the 
 State Senate. Under President Harrison he was 
 appointed postmaster, and holds the position to 
 the present time. In religion Air. Peake and 
 his wife are members of the Afethodist Church, 
 and they are among the best people of the 
 community. 
 
 JOHN BUNT, deceased. Ever since its 
 settlement Lafayette county, Wis., has been 
 noted for its fertile land and attractive induce- 
 ments! to settlers, but for many years the farm- 
 ing was so conducted as to bring no great meas- 
 ure of success to the resident. A change was 
 wrought when a number of English agricult- 
 urists settled upon this beautiful rolling coun- 
 fry, and 1 began to practice those thrifty and 
 
 thorough methods of cultivating the soil which 
 make of their own country a garden spot the 
 world delights to see. Among those who made 
 here an attractive home and almost revolu- 
 tionized farming method's in his immediate lo- 
 cality was John Bunt, the subject of this sketch. 
 
 John Bunt was born in Cornwall, England, 
 Afay 8, 1825, a son of Nicholas and Alary 
 (Kay) Bunt, both of whom died in England, 
 where John grew to manhood. In 1848 he 
 there married Aims Elizabeth Sowden, a na- 
 tive of Cornwall also, born June 24. 1826, 
 daughter of William and Elizabeth Sowden, 
 both of whom lived out their honorable lives 
 in their native country. Not long after mar- 
 riage Air. and Airs. Bunt came to America, and 
 soon settled in the locality where they con- 
 tinued to make their home. Attracted to Cali- 
 fornia by the tales of the riches of that coun- 
 try, Mr. Bunt went there in 1852, and re- 
 mained until 1854, when he returned and 
 bought the farm which he afterward converted 
 into one of the finest in the county. Many of 
 those who came to Wisconsin had been miners 
 in England, but Mr. Bunt had been a farmer, 
 and thoroughly understood the business in a 
 scientific way, which was soon evidenced in 
 the improvement which took place in the land 
 he owned and operated. These methods of 
 farming have since been adopted by many 
 others in the locality, resulting in a state of 
 perfection in agricultural activities which may 
 well call forth words of admiration. This is 
 conceded to be one of the richest agricultural 
 districts in the whole State, and the farmers 
 live as do the landed gentry of other countries, 
 with their blooded cattle and s/tock, their hand- 
 some, modern residences, and all the culture 
 and refinements of life. 
 
 Children weriei born to Mr. and Airs. Bunt 
 as follows: Alary J., born in Elk Grove, La- 
 fayette Co., Wis., married John Reed, a farmer 
 near Galena, 111 ., and has two children, Charles 
 W. and Alyrtle; Anna E. married James Nich- 
 olas, who resides at Cuba City, and 1 has one 
 son, John E. ; William S. married a Mrs. Slater, 
 of Pennsylvania, and resides on his farm in 
 Ipswich, Wis. : John H. married Dorothy Clay- 
 ton, of Elk Grove, and they reside on the old 
 homestead at Elk Grove, with one son, John 
 C. : Delia, a cultured, educated lady, has de- 
 voted filer life to the care of her aged mother; 
 Lewis AI. married Alary AlcNett. and they re- 
 side on a part of the old homestead, it being 
 
560 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 divided into two farms (they have three daugh- 
 ters, .Hazel, Edna and Louise) ; Amy L. mar- 
 ried Lewis McNett, who resides on a farm near 
 Elmo, and they have two children, Ethel and 
 Velma; Richard, after finishing a disitrict- 
 school education, graduated at the Platteville 
 Business College, and then entered the North- 
 western University, at Evanston, 111 ., but on ac- 
 count of ill health gave this up, and with his 
 brother Charles located for a time on a ranch 
 in Iowa ; Charles, who was educated in the 
 State Normal School, conducts the Iowa 
 farm. 
 
 The death of Mr. Bunt took place on June 
 8, 1888. He left his family two large farms at 
 Elk Grove!, comprising several hundred acres 
 of land under a, high state of cultivation. As 
 a stock raiser he had been very successful, his 
 products in this line being always the best in 
 the market. The home of Mr. Bunt had been 
 made by him one of the most attractive in this 
 part of the State, a beautiful lawn surrounding 
 the elegant brick mansion, giving it an air of 
 seclusion and refinement seldom observed in 
 the ordinary country home. 
 
 For some time previous to his death Mr. 
 Bunt hadi bear troubled by a serious affection 
 of the kidneys, but a naturally robust constitu- 
 tion prolonged his life. When the time of his 
 release came he was sincerely mourned by the 
 whole community, as he wasi universally re- 
 spected and esteemled'. Many in his. vicinity 
 had reason to know of his generosity and lib- 
 erality, and, although be was never formally 
 connected with any religious denomination, he 
 was a liberal supporter of the M. E. Church, 
 and his influence was always in the direction 
 of morality. In 1897 Mrs. Bunt and her 
 daughter Delia removed to Platteville, where 
 they have rented a beautiful home, and they are 
 among the most highly esteemed residents of 
 that city. 
 
 EDWARD MacDONALD, M. D ;j one of 
 the leading representatives of the medical pro- 
 fession at Cuba City, Grant county, has been 
 very successful and built ttp a large and con- 
 stantly increasing practice. Being a native of 
 Grant county, the people of Cuba City feel 
 especially proud of his distinction, recognizing 
 in him a son of the county who is a credit to 
 his birthplace. 
 
 Edward MacDonald was born at Rockville. 
 Grant county, in July, 1851, a son of Plenry 
 
 and Mary (Hall) MacDonald, of Scottish 
 parentage, who married in the East and came 
 to Wisconsin in the early days of this section 
 of the country, settling in Grant county, where 
 the mother died in 1878. Later Plenry Mac- 
 Donald married again, and moved to Wausau, 
 VVis., where he died in June, 1898, deeply 
 mourned by all who knew him. By his first 
 marriage he had two sons, Edward (our sub- 
 ject) and William, the latter born in Harrison, 
 Grant county, where he received a good com- 
 mon-school education ; he is now a railroad 
 man, residing in Tomahawk, Wis., is married 
 to a native oi the State, and has two daughters. 
 
 Our subject received his early education at 
 the Platteville Normal, attending that institu- 
 tion of learning from 1869 to 1874, after which 
 he taught school in Iowa and Lafayette coun- 
 ties for several terms. Pie then entered the 
 Miami Medical College, Cincinnati, Ohio, and 
 later Rush Medical College, Chicago, graduat- 
 ing from the latter in the class of 1879, with 
 honors. After his graduation Dr. MacDonald 
 located at Plawkeye and New Albin, Iowa, 
 where he followed his profession until his re- 
 moval, in 1891, to Cuba City, where he pur- 
 chased a beautiful home on Main street; he 
 has since resided in the city, engaged in very 
 successful practice. Keeping fully abreast of 
 all the new discoveries in Ins profession, Dr. 
 MacDonald brings to bear in his practice not 
 only skill, but knowledge, and wisely treats 
 his cases according to the latest scientific 
 methods. 
 
 In 1881 Dr. MacDonald married Miss Mag- 
 gie Gunand, of Belmont, Lafayette county, 
 daughter of Justin and Margaret Gunand, old 
 pioneers, of French extraction, of Lafayette 
 county. Mrs. MacDonald was born in Lafay- 
 ette county, where she grew to womanhood, 
 and received her education. To this union one 
 daughter has been born, Emily, a member of the 
 class of 1902, Cuba City high school. 
 
 Politically Dr. MacDonald is a stanch Re- 
 publican, but has never aspired to office. Fra- 
 ternally he is a member of the F. & A. M'., 
 Lodge No. 185, Georgetown, Wis.; of the or- 
 der of K. of P., Benton Lodge, No. 134; and 
 of the Modern Woodmen, of Georgetown, 
 Lodge No. 6084. Although Dr. MacDonald 
 has lieen forced to rely upon his own efforts 
 in the struggle of life, he has already succeed- 
 ed wonderfully well, and is destined to secure 
 still greater honors in his profession, as well 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 561 
 
 as in private life, for he enjoys the confidence 
 and esteem of his fellow townsmen, and the re- 
 gard of a large circle of friends. 
 
 SAMUEL ARTHUR is one of the prom- 
 inent stock raisers and influential farmer citi- 
 zens of Elk Grove township, Lafayette county. 
 He was born in Hazel Green, Grant Co., Wis., 
 Nov. 30, 1851, and his parents were John and 
 Mary A. (Rolins) Arthur, both of whom were 
 born in England. They came to this country 
 and settled at Hazel Green as early as 1845, 
 later moving to. Platteville, where Mr. Ar- 
 thur successfully followed mining for a num- 
 ber of years. His trade was that of a plasterer, 
 which occupation he followed for some years 
 prior to his retirement from active life, and 
 he is now one of the respected residents of 
 Platteville. The mother died in 1853, two 
 sons surviving her, James and our subject. 
 
 James Arthur was born in Elk Grove town- 
 ship, grew to manhood in that locality, and 
 learned the trade of plasterer, which he fol- 
 lowed during his younger years. He married 
 Emma Phillips, of Elk Grove, and they re- 
 moved to Sioux City, Iowa, where he became 
 a contractor, and then' moved to Oto, Iowa, 
 where he still resides, and is one of the promi- 
 nent citizens of that town. 
 
 Our subject was educated 'in the Platteville 
 schools and learned the trade of plasterer with 
 his father, following same for some years'. 
 On account of ill health he was obliged to give 
 up that work, and commenced to farm. In 
 1873 'h e was married to Miss Lydia Bennett, 
 a daughter of Anson and Elvira Bennett, who 
 was a graduate of the Platteville Normal 
 School, and taught for a number of years in 
 Lafayette and Grant counties. Our subject set- 
 tled on the George Huntingdon farm, and 
 there Mrs. Arthur died in June, 1876. In Jan- 
 uary, 1878, Mr. Arthur married Miss Sadie 
 Robinson, who was born in Grant county in 
 July, 1853, a daughter of Winthrop and Mary 
 A. (Umpstead) Robinson, and received a fair 
 education in East Dubuque and in Grant coun- 
 ty. After this marriage our subject settled on 
 his father’s farm for the following three j^ears, 
 and then, in 1881, rented the Henry Scheel 
 farm, near the Grant county line, in Elk Grove, 
 which he still continues to occupy. It is a 400- 
 acre farm, and Mr. Arthur’s case in this 
 respect is probably without a parallel in his 
 section, he having paid Mr. Scheel over $26,- 
 
 36 
 
 000, in cash, for rental. On this place he has’ 
 erected good, substantial buildings, and lie has 
 one of the best cultivated farms in his locality. 
 He owns a farm of 334 acres near Lancaster, 
 which he rents. 
 
 The children of our subject's second 
 union are: Samuel Willie, born in 1880, a 
 bright young man, now taking a course in the 
 Platteville Business College; Charles', born in 
 1884; Eva May, in 1886; Jennie, in 1889; 
 John Lester, in 1890; Nelson, in 1892; and 
 Clarence, in 1894. All of them are students 
 in school. 
 
 Politically Mr. Arthur has been identified 
 with the Republican party, and for a long time 
 has held the office of road commissioner. He 
 is one of the largest and most successful stock 
 raisers of the locality, and is considered an au- 
 thority on many agricultural matters. The 
 esteem in which he and his refined and culti- 
 vated wife are held in the community is very 
 genuine, and they may be justly regarded in 
 the light of representative people of Elk Grove 
 township. 
 
 FRANKLIN R. DERRICK is engaged in 
 the fire insurance business in Brodhead, Green 
 county, and is one of the leading men of the 
 place in regard to general character, standing 
 and personal integrity. He is a genial and 
 courteous gentleman, and enjoys a wide circle 
 of personal friends. 
 
 Mr. Derrick was born in Spring Grove, 
 Green county, Wis., May 25, 1850, and is a son 
 of Franklin PI. and Harriet A. (Boslow) Der- 
 rick. natives of New York and Canada, respect- 
 ively. A sketch of his father appears elsewhere 
 in this work, to which the reader is referred for 
 fuller information as to family history and an- 
 cestral data. It is said that the grandfather of 
 Franklin R. walked from Illinois to New York 
 guided by his compass. His maternal grand- 
 father was John Boslow, was a native of Can- 
 ada, and of German descent. He moved into 
 Ohio, and early in the ’40s came to Wisconsin, 
 and followed farming in Green county, where 
 he died: well advanced in years. He was the 
 father of a numerous family. 
 
 Franklin R. Derrick grew to manhood 
 under the parental roof in the town of Spring 
 Grove, and secured his education at the district 
 school, and at the high school in Brodhead. He 
 studied: dentistry in this city, and was engaged 
 in its practice about fifteen years. Tiring of 
 
562 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 office practice he went on the road, and sold 
 specialties for five years. In 1898 he bought 
 the lire insurance business of Joseph Thompson, 
 and is devoting himself to its expansion. Mr. 
 Derrick was married, August 22, 1876. to Miss 
 Arabella N. Moore, daughter of William H. 
 and Susan (Moore) Moore. To their union was 
 born one daughter, who died in infancy. Mr. 
 Derrick was formerly a Republican, but is now 
 a Prohibitionist, and is a candidate on the State 
 ticket of that party for the office of railroad 
 commissioner. 
 
 BENJAMIN SHINOE (deceased) was a 
 farmer in the town of Paris, Grant county, 
 where he long sustained an enviable reputation 
 as an honorable and upright man, a good citizen 
 and an industrious and successful farmer. 
 
 Mr. Shinoe was born in Virginia Jan. 26, 
 1817, a son of Jeremiah and Deborah (Reed) 
 Shinoe. The father was born in Rouen, 
 France, and came to this country in 1806, set- 
 tling first in Virginia, and then moving to Ohio. 
 In 1853 he moved to Wisconsin, and made this 
 State his home until his death. With his wife 
 he is buried near Platteville. They had a large 
 family, all of whom are deceased except four : 
 (1) Oliver resides in the town of Waterloo, 
 Grant county. (2) Jane is the wife of W. H, 
 Cooper, of Cuba City. (3) Margaret is the 
 widow of Joseph Head, of Platteville. (4) An- 
 nie is the wife of James Crisop, of Ohio. 
 
 Benjamin Shinoe reached his majority in 
 Ohio, and there received part of his education 
 in the public schools; he was also for a time in 
 attendance upon a school in Virginia. When a 
 young man, in Illinois, he married Miss Eliza- 
 beth McClees, daughter of William and Diana 
 (Wells) McClees. William McClees was a 
 native of Edinburgh, Scotland, and his wife 
 was a native of Columbus, Ivy. They mar- 
 i ied in Kentucky, but very soon afterward 
 removed to Tazewell county, 111 ., where he fol- 
 lowed farming and died in 1841, his wife sur- 
 iving him many years, and passing away in 
 1875, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Shinoe, 
 who is the only one of the family now living. 
 She obtained her education in the public schools 
 of Tazewell county. After their marriage Mr. 
 and Mrs. Shinoe found a home in the town of 
 Paris. Grant county, in 1847, while it was still 
 a part of the territory. Mr. Shinoe secured a 
 quarter section of good farm land, one and a 
 half miles east of Dickeysville, and here he 
 
 cleared up a fine farm, making his home thereon 
 until 1S83. 'that year he purchased the “Big 
 Platte Ferry Farm," a magnificent estate of 
 260 acres, where he made his home until his 
 death, in 1899. Mr. Shinoe was a Republican, 
 and long took an active part in political work. 
 
 To our subject and wife were born twelve 
 children : ( 1 ) Lewis, the eldest son, born in 
 Grant county, grew up at home, married Miss 
 Nancy Rister, and is now residing on his farm 
 in the town of Paris. His family consists of 
 two children, William Id. and Cora, the latter 
 now the wife of Martin Bolan, of Pans. (2) 
 Mary, born in February, 1849, is now the 
 widow of Cyrus A. Hornbeck, a veteran of the 
 Civil war : she has had six children, Melvin Id., 
 Albert, Orvil L., George, Minnie E., and Earl. 
 (3) Josephine, born in Paris in 1850, married 
 Henry Harvey, and moved to Farley, Iowa, 
 where he died, leaving a wife and five 
 children, Alfred, Mortimer, Guy E., Viola 
 and Walter. (4) Albert, born Oct. 24, 
 1852, has had an extensive and varied experi- 
 ence. He obtained his education in the 
 public schools. When a boy of seventeen years 
 lie lost his right hand by accident, in a threshing 
 machine. During his early manhood he was 
 engaged in railroading, and had a situation on 
 the barges on the Mississippi river. As a home- 
 steader he located near Lake Superior, in Wis- 
 consin, where he remained three years, and in 
 1894 went to Montana, spending some months 
 as a prospector in that region. On the death 
 of his father he came back to Wisconsin, and 
 has remained with his widowed mother to the 
 present time, never having married. (5) 
 Sophia, born in January, 1855, is the wife of 
 George Rich, of Dubuque, Iowa, where he is 
 engaged as a ship carpenter. They have a fam- 
 ily of four children, Florence, Lottie, Jessie and 
 Raymond. (6) Dianna D., born in Paris Feb. 
 28, 1857, is the wife of Henry Miller, a ma- 
 chinist of Minneapolis. (7) Viola, born Nov. 
 18, 1859, is the wife of Capt. L. Brenen, of 
 West Superior, Wis.-, where he has a good 
 standing as one of the leading steamboat cap- 
 tains on the Lakes. They have two children, 
 Olive and Ethel. (8) Margaret J,, born in No- 
 vember, 1861, married William Sheffield, and is 
 now living in Dubuque, Iowa, where their two 
 sons, Claude and Clarence, are attending the 
 city schools. (9) Elizabeth, born in April, 1864, 
 married Fred Johns and lived in Cuba City, 
 where he died, leaving one daughter, ITuldah. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 563 
 
 Mrs. Johns later married Benjamin Magner, 
 and now resides in Minneapolis. To this union 
 one son has been born. (10) Benjamin, 
 born in September, 1866, married Miss Cather- 
 ine Jungles, and they have one daughter, Maud 
 S. He is now a ship builder in West Superior, 
 Wis. ( 1 1 ) Charles H., born June 9, 1869, 
 grew up on the homestead, where he is still 
 living with his mother. (12) Minnie died in 
 childhood. Mr. and Mrs. Sliinoe celebrated 
 their Golden Wedding, and she now holds her 
 badge as one of the members of the Wisconsin 
 State Centennial. 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Shinoe is a member of the 
 Christian Church, with which she united when 
 a young girl. She is a lady of character and 
 ability, is the present health officer of the town 
 of Paris, and is now vice-president of the Union 
 Church Society. She was elected president of 
 the Soldiers Aid Society, serving during the 
 Civil war. Mrs. Shinoe comes of old patriotic 
 stock, and her grandfather was a soldier in 
 the Revolutionary war. .She is w r ell versed in 
 national affairs, is a strong advocate of pro- 
 hibition, and is a cultured lady, engaging in her 
 manners, and of charming conversational abil- 
 ity. 
 
 GEORGE ZIMMERMANN, one of the 
 well-known veterans of the war of the Rebel- 
 lion located in Grant county, is a native of 
 Bavaria, Germany, where he was born, May 
 28, 1836, a son of Joseph and Mary Ann Zim- 
 mermann. When the subject of this sketch 
 was still a boy his parents decided to leave their 
 native land and seek a new home across the 
 ocean. Severing the ties of a lifetime, these 
 worthy people made the long and dangerous 
 journey, and after landing in the United States 
 located at Buffalo, where they remained until 
 their death. 
 
 The spirit of emigration burned, however, 
 in the breast of their son, and in 1854 George 
 Zimmermann left the parental rooftree, and 
 setting his face westward, journeyed through- 
 out the West, and finally, in 1858, settled in 
 Prairie clu Chien, Wis., the next year lo- 
 cating in Elgin, Fayette county, Iowa. In his 
 native land this young man had learned 1 the 
 trade of wagonmaker, and he has followed it all 
 his life. When the Civil war broke out, like 
 so many German-Americans, George Zimmer- 
 mann entered the service of the United States’ 
 army, being enrolled in 1862 as a member of 
 
 Company H, 38th Reg., I. V. I., for three 
 years. Mr. Zimmermann was mustered in- at 
 Dubuque, Iowa, and soon after left for the seat 
 of war, participating in many important en- 
 gagements, including the siege of Vicksburg, 
 under Gen. Grant; capture of Forts Morgan 
 and Blakely, and many others. At Houston, 
 Texas, Mr. Zimmermann received an honor- 
 able discharge, in 1865, and obtained his final 
 pay, from the government, at Davenport, 
 Iowa. Shortly after the war Mr. Zimmer- 
 mann located at Prairie clu Chien, Wis., where 
 he successfully followed his trade, and re- 
 mained until 1873, removing then to Mount 
 Hope, and two years later to the neighboring 
 village of Patch Grove, where he lived about 
 eight years, and then returned to Mt. Hope, 
 where he has since made his home, and is now 
 engaged in the repairing and making of 
 wagons. 
 
 In 1859 Mr. Zimmermann was married to 
 Miss Henrietta Koepp, a native of Germany, 
 and seven children have been born to this 
 worthy couple: A. G., an attorney of Madi- 
 
 son, Wis., recently elected county judge; Mary, 
 now Mrs. U. T. Schnever, of Mount Hope; 
 Oscar S., who displayed the same patriotic 
 spirit that so many years ago animated’ his 
 good father by enlisting at Tomah, Wis., and 
 going to Porto Rico, as a member of Company 
 Iv, 3d Wis. Regt., in the late war with Spain, 
 and his family mourn his death, which oc- 
 curred in Porto Rico in 1898; George J., prin- 
 cipal of the Mt. Hope high schools; Fred J., 
 cashier and stockholder in a mercantile estab- 
 lishment at Fennimore, Wis.; Edwin L., a 
 journalist at Fargo, N. Dak.; and Miss' Lou, 
 a teacher. 
 
 Few men have better demonstrated their 
 love for their country than has this brave old 
 soldier, who not only risked his own life, but 
 offered up his young son on the altar of his 
 country’s honor ; and during the long years of 
 peaceful citizenship has done his duty as a 
 man, a husband and a father, and therefore 
 justly enjoys the respect and confidence of his 
 fellow townsmen. 
 
 JOHN R. MUFFLEY is one of the earliest 
 residents of Boscobel, and among the pioneers 
 of the State, having emigrated to Wisconsin 
 in 1846, two years before it was admitted to 
 the Union. 
 
 Mr. Muffley was born in Westmoreland 
 
564 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 county, about thirty miles from Pittsburg, 
 Penn., Jan. 22, 1824, son of Joseph and Eliza 
 (Echols) Aluffley, both natives of Pennsyl- 
 vania. Joseph Muffley was a son of John 
 Mulfley, a soldier of the Revolution, who 
 fought in that war for six years, was a school 
 teaciier, and when the subject of this sketch 
 was ten years old, removed his family from 
 the old homestead of the grandfather to a new 
 home, a few miles from Greensburg, the coun- 
 ty seat, where he continued teaching, both 
 English and German. When he died he was 
 buried in the old cemetery where his father 
 was interred, not far from the old homestead. 
 The mother made her home with her children 
 after his death, finally passing away at the age 
 of eighty-nine, in 1894, while residing with 
 her daughter, Mrs. Barbara JToughtatalling, 
 in Martin county, Minn. There were eight 
 sons and two daughters in this family, and six 
 of the sons and one daughter are still living 
 at this writing, in 1900. 
 
 John R. Muffley grew to manhood in his 
 native State, learning the trade of cabinet- 
 maker, but as soon as lie had served his ap- 
 prenticeship he decided to come West, and 
 started with a young man named John Fritz, 
 who had been a fellow apprentice, and the lat- 
 ter's brother, Conrad Fritz. These three 
 started from home March 17, 1846, and 
 
 reached Galena, 111 ., April 3 following, making 
 the trip from Pittsburg by water, down the 
 Ohio to St. Louis, and thence to Galena, on a 
 boat named "La Clede.” From Galena they 
 went directly to Fairplay, town of Jamestown, 
 Grant Co., Wis., where our subject made his 
 home, has worked for a short time at his trade, 
 but soon engaged in carpenter work, and fol- 
 lowed that occupation for many years. Among 
 other things, John R. Muffley also tried min- 
 ing, meeting with considerable success, and in 
 1854 entered a half section of land in the town 
 of Watterstown, about two miles east of Bos- 
 cobel. T wo years later, a few months before 
 the completion of the railroad to this point, 
 Air. Aluffley removed to Boscobel and pur- 
 chased two lots in anticipation of the growth 
 of the place, erecting a residence on his lots. 
 1 he winter following was so severe that but 
 little work of any kind was done, but the fol- 
 lowing spring he found plenty of employment 
 as a carpenter and also throughout the season. 
 In the fall of the same year Mr. Muffley pur- 
 chased a carload of furniture and embarked in 
 
 the furniture business, which he has success- 
 fully pursued ever since. In 1858 Mr. Muffley 
 erected the building he has since occupied as- 
 a place of business. 
 
 On May 18, 1851, John Aluffley was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary Jane McCormic, a native 
 of Ohio, born April 20, 1833, a daughter of 
 Ezekiel AlcCormic, one of the pioneers of 
 Grant county. Seven children have been born 
 of this union, four sons and three daughters, 
 of which three sons and two daughters are liv- 
 ing in 1901: Eliza J., born April 11, 1852, 
 
 on Easter Day, married Morris Wells, of 
 Northfield, Minn.; William A., born July 17, 
 1856, a resident of Kansas City, Mo. ; Charles 
 E., born in the building which has been occu- 
 pied so many years, Aug. 12, 1863, and asso- 
 ciated with his father in business; John R., 
 born Sept. 8, 1872, a resident of Boscobel; 
 Harriet P., born Jan. 11, 1854, widow of H. 
 P. Hackney, who died in Nebraska in Decem- 
 ber, 1809. Those deceased are : Franklin J.,. 
 
 born Alay 17, 1S58, died July, 1891, and Lu- 
 ella May, who died at the age of two. 
 
 John R. Muffley has seen Boscobel grow 
 from a hamlet to its present size, and has been 
 an important factor in its material welfare. 
 For fifty-four years he has been in business 
 here, and is still hearty and active, notwith- 
 standing his age. Although reared in the Dem- 
 ocratic school, Air. Muffley entered the ranks 
 of the newly formed Republican party, voted 
 for John C. Fremont, and has ever since sup- 
 ported the candidates of that organization. 
 For thirty-six years Mr. and Mrs. Muffley 
 have been consistent members of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, and both are worthy and highly 
 esteemed people. 
 
 THOMAS AIAHER. Coming from his 
 native Ireland to America when a young man, 
 our subject, by energy and economy, combined 
 with the honest qualities which have gained 
 him friends 1 all throup'h life, has conquered 
 the disadvantages which limited means en- 
 tailed, and is now one of the substantial and 
 esteemed citizens of Sylvester township, Green 
 county. 
 
 Thomas Maher was born June 28, 1827, in 
 Kilkenny, Ireland, where he grew to manhood. 
 He became anxious to make a home and com- 
 petency under more favorable conditions than 
 were offered in his own locality, and, leaving 
 his parents, Dennis and Honor (Whalen) 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 565 
 
 Maher, in the old country, he set sail Feb. 25, 
 1852, and reached New York on the 28th of 
 the following month. He remained in that 
 State, engaged at various kinds of work, until 
 1857, when he came to Milwaukee, soon after- 
 ward 1 — about 1858 — locating in Green county, 
 and settling on the fine farm he now owns in 
 1890. Mr. Maher has been one of the most 
 energetic and industrious farmers of his lo- 
 cality. 
 
 Our subject was united in marriage in 
 1862 to Miss Julia McDonall, a native of Os- 
 wego. 111 ., born Sept. 27, 1846, and this union 
 has been blessed with a most excellent and in- 
 teresting family, who have become esteemed 
 citizens of the neighborhood, viz. : Dennis, 
 
 born in 1863; James, in 1864; Nora, in 1866; 
 Catherine, in 1867; Michael, in 1869; Mar- 
 garet, in 1871; John, in 1873; Charles, in 
 1875; Thomas, Jr., in 1876; Julia Ann, in 
 1878; Ellen, in 1882; Mary, in 1885; Edmond, 
 in 1887. 
 
 Born in the faith of the Catholic Church, 
 Mr. Maher has- continued an earnest advocate 
 of its principles. The views of the Demo- 
 cratic party are those best suited to his own, 
 and he has voted the ticket of that organiza- 
 tion since he obtained the rights of a citizen of 
 this country. By sheer pluck Mr. Maher has 
 worked his way to his present position among 
 his neighbors, and receives from them well- 
 deserved esteem for his many excellent traits 
 of character. 
 
 JOHN McCLAIN is a well-known farm- 
 er in the town of Paris, Grant county, who 
 has lived a long and useful life, devoted to hon- 
 est industry and manly purposes, and is still 
 alert and vigorous. 
 
 Mr. McClain was born in Warren county, 
 Tenn., Sept. 15, 1827, and is a son of Matthew 
 and Mary (Holland) McClain. The father 
 was born in South Carolina in 1797, and the 
 mother came from North Carolina. They 
 were married in Tennessee, and lived in that 
 State until 1830, the time of her death, when 
 father and son journeyed westward to Jeffer- 
 son county, 111., where they found a home for 
 some two years, and in June, 1843, came into 
 Wisconsin to work in the lead mines near 
 Potosi. 
 
 In the spring of 1830 John McClain crossed 
 the Plains to seek a fortune in the gold fields 
 of California. Four months were required to 
 
 make the journey. The Indians were numer- 
 ous and dangerous, and the little company in 
 which he traveled had many close calls for their 
 lives. John McClain met with remarkable 
 success in mining, and in three months took 
 thirteen thousand dollars from his claim. 
 With this he returned to Wisconsin and pur- 
 chased from Nelson Dowey a tract of wild 
 land near Potosi, on which he made extensive 
 improvements', clearing it up, and making a 
 fine farm, on which he lived for some years. 
 In 1852 he married Miss Annie Rupp, the 
 daughter of John and Margaret (Houff) 
 Rupp, both born in the Rhine country, Ger- 
 many. Mr. Rupp and his family came to 
 Pennsylvania in 1836, where he worked as a 
 mason until 1842, when he came West to Wis- 
 consin. Mrs. Rupp died in Pennsylvania a 
 short time before the removal of the family 
 to the West. Mr. Rupp died at Potosi. Mrs. 
 McClain was born in Germany in 1S34, and 
 spent the latter part of her girlhood in Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Mc- 
 Clain went to Kansas in 1857, with the inten- 
 tion of making a permanent home in that 
 State. After a thorough inspection they were 
 satisfied Grant county offered more attractions 
 for a farming career, and they came back to 
 Wisconsin. Mr. McClain purchased an ex- 
 tensive tract of wild land in Grant county, to 
 which he has added from time to time until he 
 now owns a choice farm of five hundred acres, 
 over half of which is under cultivation. In 
 1868 he put up fine and substantial farm build- 
 ings', and from time to time has improved and 
 beautified his residence until this has become 
 one of the more desirable country homes in 
 Southwestern Wisconsin. For many years, in 
 addition to his ordinary farming, he has car- 
 ried on extensive operations in raising stock. 
 Mr. and Mrs. John McClain have had a family 
 of twelve children: (1) John, born in Grant 
 
 county in 1853, married Miss Grace Thurtell, 
 and lives on his farm and cattle ranch in South 
 Dakota. They have five children : John, 
 
 Grace, Bertha, Glenn and Henry. (2) 
 George, born in Grant county in 1855, mar- 
 ried Miss Laura Shadrick, and is a farmer in 
 the town of Paris. They have three sons, 
 Charles, Arthur, and Willard. (3) Mary, 
 horn in 1837, is the wife of David Wilson, and 
 lives in the town of Paris. They have three 
 children: George, John and Alice. (4) Mar- 
 
566 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 garet, born in 1859, married S. S. Vannatta, 
 who is a farmer in the town of Harrison. 
 '1 hey have four children: Albert, Maggie/Hat- 
 tie, and Lillian. (5) Albert, born in 1861, 
 married Miss Alice Richards, of British Hol- 
 low, and lives in South Dakota, where he does 
 an extensive business as a horse dealer, buy- 
 ing for the eastern markets. They have two 
 children, Bessie and Mabel. (6) Charles, 
 born in April, 1864, died in 1879, in the flower 
 of his early manhood. (7) Laura, born in 
 May, 1866, is the wife of Antone Rupp, a resi- 
 dent farmer in the town of Harrison. They 
 have three children : George, Archie, and 
 
 Florence. (8) Edward, born July 8, 1868, 
 had a. good education in the high school at 
 Valparaiso, was for some eight or ten years 
 a miner in Colorado, and now lives at Dead- 
 wood, S. Dak. (9) Henry, born at the pres- 
 ent family home in September, 1870, went to 
 the Alaska gold fields in 1895, making three 
 journeys to that region, and met with a rich 
 reward for all his privations and perils. The 
 young man returned in 1899, and is now a 
 resident of his father’s home. (10) Thomas, 
 born in 1872, died when fifteen years of age. 
 
 (11) Annie, born in July, 1875, is 110W the 
 wife of George Woodrome, of Jefferson coun- 
 ty, 111 ., and the mother of one son, George H. 
 
 (12) Archie, born in April, 1882, was a stu- 
 dent in the Normal, preparing at Platte ville 
 for a teacher’s career, and is now at home. 
 
 Mr. McClain was formerly a Whig, but 
 later supported the Democratic party. In 
 1896 he voted the Republican ticket, and is 
 now strongly in favor of territorial expansion. 
 For forty-one years without a break he has 
 held the office of school district treasurer in 
 the town of Paris, and has never been requested 
 to give bonds. Mr. McClain has also served 
 on the town board. He started in life without 
 a dollar, and by his own industry and thrift 
 has come to be one of the most prosperous 
 and extensive farmers and stock dealers of this 
 part of the State. The confidence and esteem 
 of the community are extended' to him with- 
 out measure, and his reputation for honesty 
 and integrity is not questioned. 
 
 ALPHEUS N. MCDONALD. Among 
 the respected citizens of Beetown township, 
 Grant county, is the subject of this review. A 
 native of the township, he was born March 
 21, 1837, a son of Joseph and Rebecca McDon- 
 
 ald, the former of whom came to Grant county 
 among the earliest pioneers. The mother of 
 our subject came to the county some time later 
 than her husband, and here they passed the re- 
 mainder of their lives, the father dying in 1854, 
 the mother surviving until 1876. The surviv- 
 ors of their family are: Alpheus N., our sub- 
 ject; William; Mrs. Minerva McElhaney; and 
 Mrs. Margaret McGahan. William served in 
 the Civil war from 1861-65, as a member of the 
 44th Wis. V. I., valiantly doing his duty to his 
 country. 
 
 Our subject became a soldier in the Union 
 army in August, 1864, entering Company H, 
 43d Wis. V. I., and was with his regiment dur- 
 ing the whole term of his enlistment, except for 
 about two months, when he was sent to a hos- 
 pital at Nashville, later to Louisville, Ky., and 
 thence to Quincy, 111., the surgeon fearing for 
 his life unless he was sent into northern air. 
 Mr. McDonald has never fully recovered, and 
 he has just cause for pride in his record as a 
 soldier. 
 
 The marriage of our subject to Miss Mary 
 Jane Hayden, a sister of J. M. Hayden, of Bee- 
 town, was celebrated in 1S55, and a family of 
 nine children has been born to them, two sons 
 and three daughters living. Mr. McDonald is 
 one of the respected and industrious citizens of 
 Beetown, where he and his family have resided 
 so long. 
 
 WILLIAM HARTWIG in his life filled an 
 honorable place among the industrious and use- 
 ful citizens of Green county, who were con- 
 tent to return an honest day for a day’s wages, 
 and glad to deal squarely and fairly with all 
 they met. 
 
 Mr. Hartwig was born in Germany in 1825, 
 and married Sophie Haberman in his native 
 land, the young couple coining to the United 
 States in 1849. Here Mr. Flartwig made the 
 beginning of an industrious and highly useful 
 career by doing day’s work. His children were : 
 (1) Christian, born in 1850, married Elizabeth 
 Flenn. (2). William, born in 1852, married 
 Mary Ansmeir, and died in 1887. (3) Ferdi- 
 mand, born in 1855, died thirty years later. 
 (4) Mary, born in 1S61, married Ferdimand 
 Ausmus, a farmer in. Green county. Mrs. 
 Sophie Hartwig, born in 1825, survives her 
 husband, who died in 1890. 
 
 Mr. Hartwig was in very desperate circum- 
 stances at the time of his arrival in Wisconsin, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 567 
 
 but his industry, economy and unflinching 
 integrity, aided by the efforts of his faithful 
 wife, in the course of a few years greatly 
 changed conditions, and he soon became one of 
 the large land owners of the county. He was a 
 Republican politically, and a member of the 
 Evangelical Church at Juda, Wis. Mr. Hartwig 
 in his later years disposed of the greater part 
 of his farming- land, and was about to move to 
 Juda, where he had bought property and 
 planned to spend his old age with his cherished 
 wife, when he died. Mrs. Hartwig lives in 
 Juda, and her granddaughter. Miss Lydia 
 Hartwig, lives with her, and is highly cherished 
 by her acquaintances. Mrs. Hartwig has been 
 a member of the Evangelical Church for many 
 years. 
 
 NICHOLAS FUNK, deceased. This is 
 the name of an honest and hard-working son of 
 Germany, who came to Wisconsin, and gave his 
 life to- the development of Grant county. He 
 was modest and unassuming in his personal 
 habits, but was a man of genuine worth, and he 
 is remembered most kindly and regretfully by 
 those who knew him best. 
 
 Mr. Funk was born in Prussia in 1827, 
 where he was reared to manhood. He had his 
 education in the Prussian schools, and re- 
 mained in the Old World until he was a full- 
 grown man. In 1856 he emigrated to this 
 country, and settled in Grant county, Wis., 
 where he followed the ocupation of a lead miner 
 at Potosi. In 1859 he married Miss Mary 
 Schordt, who was born in Germany in 1841. 
 She was the daughter of John and Mary (Pick) 
 Schordt, and her mother died in the old coun- 
 try in 1856. Her father with his two children, 
 Mary and her brother, Frank, now of Grant 
 county, came to this country. In 1866 Mr. 
 Funk bought a farm of eighty-two acres on the 
 line of Harrison and Platteville townships. 
 There he erected good substantial buildings, 
 and made his home until he died, in May, 1891, 
 leaving a wife and ten children. ( 1 ) Katie, the 
 eldest, is now the wife of Frank School; they 
 live in Rockville, Iowa, and in their family of 
 children are, Peter, Nicholas, Albert, Jennie, 
 Nellie, Arthur and Leo. (2) Mary is the wife of 
 Herman Lankamp, of the town of Harrison, 
 and is the mother of two children. Mary and 
 I Susan. (3) Gertie is the wife of Nicholas 
 Heinze, of Grant county, Wis., and is the 
 mother of Louisa, Annie, Herman, William and 
 
 Tressie. (4) Annie, born on the present 
 homestead, in Grant county, married Joseph 
 Reiter, of Bremer county, Iowa, and is 
 the mother of Mary, Susan, Frankie and 
 John. (5) Lizzie is the wife of Nicholas 
 Lipfred, resides at Sherburne, Martin coun- 
 ty, Minn., and has eight children. (6) Su- 
 san, now the wife of Peter Linden, lives in 
 the town of Platteville, and is the mother of 
 four children, Katie, Mary, Laura, and Joseph. 
 
 (7) Maggie, wife of John Langkamp, now re- 
 sides in the town of Harrison, and is the mother 
 of three children, Willie, Leo and Josephine. 
 
 (8) Nicholas H. Funk, the only son, was 
 born on the old homestead, Feb. 17, 1877, and 
 was educated in the public schools. Since the 
 death of his father the charge of the homestead 
 has fallen upon his shoulders, and he has ten- 
 derly cared for his aged mother. His ability as a 
 farmer, and his honest and open-hearted nature, 
 have brought him to the front. O11 May 30, 
 1900, he married Mary A. Doyle, of Platteville, 
 where she acquired a fine education in the Nor- 
 mal School, attending that institution in 1896 
 and 1897. Her parents are highly respected cit- 
 izens of Platteville. Through his careful man- 
 agement the farm has constantly improved in 
 value. (9) Josephine is now the wife of Robert 
 Lyght, of Big Patch, Grant county, and has one 
 son, Lester. (10) Lena was born at the old 
 homestead, and lives with her mother. Mr. 
 Funk was a Democrat, and Nicholas H., his 
 son, votes the same ticket. The Funk family 
 are members of the Catholic Church at Platte- 
 ville, and are counted among the best people of 
 the county. Its various members have led clean 
 and careful lives, avoided the tongue of slander, 
 and have developed an enviable reputation for 
 charity and neighborly deeds. 
 
 ISAAC G. DeWITT, ex-postmaster of 
 Wingville, Grant county, is a veteran soldier of 
 the Civil war, and a man of prominence' in his 
 locality. He was born in Morrow county, Ohio, 
 in 1843, a son °f Peter and Lavina (Bowles) 
 DeWitt. Peter DeWitt was a native of New 
 Jersey, and a prominent physician and surgeon, 
 who came with his family, to Grant county, 
 in 1853, locating later at Montfort, Lafayette 
 county, where he remained until his death, on 
 Nov. 21, 1882. His second wife did not long 
 survive. To Peter DeWitt were born children 
 as follows : Mrs. Elizabeth Loy, who died in 
 1899, the widow of an ex-soldier; Martin, resi- 
 
568 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dent of Kansas; Mary A., married and residing 
 in Nebraska; Thomas B., of Montfort; John, 
 who enlisted in 1861, in the 6th Missouri; and 
 was killed in April, 1866, while in old Mexico; 
 and Isaac G. 
 
 Isaac G. DeWitt was educated in Wiscon- 
 sin. In July, 1862, he enlisted at Montfort, 
 in Company F, 20th Wis. V. I., and served for 
 three - years, participating in the battles of 
 Prairie Grove, Yazoo City, siege of Vicksburg; 
 was stationed at New Orleans, at Spanish Fort, 
 and at Fort Blakely, and other points, being 
 honorably discharged, in August, 1865, at Mad- 
 ison, where each soldier received the money due 
 him. During the entire war, Mr. DeWitt 
 proved himself a brave soldier, and his record 
 is one of which he and his children may well 
 be proud. After the war he engaged in news- 
 paper work. During President Harrison’s ad- 
 ministration, Mr. DeWitt was honored by the 
 appointment of postmaster, which office he 
 filled with credit. 
 
 In 1884, Mr. DeWitt married Miss A. Tay- 
 lor, a native of Hazel Green, Grant county, and 
 a daughter of James T. and Anna Taylor, 
 a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere in 
 this work, who settled in Hazel Green in 1848. 
 Mrs. DeWitt’s father is still living, residing in 
 Montfort, but her mother died some years ago. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. DeWitt were born three in- 
 teresting children: Martin Roy, Jesse Alfred 
 and Daisy L. 
 
 In political matters, Mr. DeWitt has always 
 been an adherent to the principles of the Repub- 
 lican party, and takes an important part in local 
 affairs. Coming of one of the old pioneer fam- 
 ilies of the State, being himself a man of educa- 
 tion, well read, conversant with the leading 
 questions of the day, Mr. DeWitt is a pleasant 
 companion, and has made his influence felt in 
 the community in which he resides, and where 
 he is so highly respected. 
 
 PETER B. LIPPOLT, a popular and suc- 
 cessful farmer in the town of Paris, Grant coun- 
 ty, is a native of the Grand Duchy of Baden, 
 Germany, where he was born March 6, 1S31, 
 and there his parents, Wende and Christina 
 Lippolt, were also born and died. 
 
 Mr. Lippolt came to this country alone in 
 1857, worked a year in a factory near Free- 
 port, Penn., and then removed to Philadelphia, 
 where he had factory work until i860, the year 
 of his coming West. While in Philadelphia he 
 
 married Miss Elizabeth Harmon, a German 
 born and bred young lady. Together they came 
 to Wisconsin and settled at Platteville, where he 
 found work for a time among the neighboring 
 farmers, and then purchased a small farm near 
 the line of the towns of Platteville and Paris, 
 settling down to the work of making a home. 
 The breaking out of the Civil war stirred the 
 military fever of his race, and he enlisted in 
 Company B, 43d Wis. V. I., serving in the 
 Army ot. the Tennessee, and receiving his hon- 
 orable discharge at Nashville in June, 1865. 
 As a soldier he did his duty well, and partici- 
 pated in several serious battles. 
 
 After the war Mr. Lippolt came home sick 
 and broken in health, and was able to do very 
 little work for several years. Mrs. Lippolt died 
 in March, 1875, leaving one daughter, Fredei 
 icka, who is now the wife of John Shambo, liv- 
 ing near Platteville. Mr. Lippolt subsequently 
 married Miss Louisa Clare, a daughter of John 
 and Magdaline Clare, old pioneers of Grant 
 county, and to this union have been born four 
 children: (1) George, born in 1877, is unmar- 
 ried, and is a resident of Grant county. (2) 
 Louisa, born in 1879, is the wife of Melvin 
 Bowman, who resides on his farm in Paris, 
 Grant county. They have one daughter, Gladys. 
 (3) Miss Lena, born in June, 1882, lives at 
 home. (4) William, born in 1885, is at home. 
 
 In politics Mr. Lippolt has always been a 
 stanch Republican, and he is a member of Sher- 
 man Post, G. A. R., at Platteville. He is also a 
 member of the German Hutten Lodge, of Phil- 
 adelphia. In religion both he and his wife 
 are members of the Platteville Lutheran 
 Church, to which for many years he has been 
 a liberal contributor, and while it was building- 
 lie took an active part in its behalf. He is still 
 one of itsi strongest friends, and was an officer 
 in the organization for a number of years. As a 
 worthy citizen and an upright man his standing 
 is beyond reproach. 
 
 THOMAS LEWIS, one of the wealthy re- 
 tired farmers of Albany, Green county, is the 
 subject of this review, and his life history be- 
 gins away across the ocean, in Radnorshire, 
 Wales, where he was born Oct. 19, 1829. His 
 paternal and maternal grandfathers, John 
 Lewis and Robert Lewis, respectively, were 
 natives of Wales, and spent their whole lives 
 in that land, where they were agriculturists. 
 
 David Lewis, the father of our subject, 
 
t 
 
 
 ; 
 
 I 
 
 » 
 
 \ 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 569 
 
 was born in Wales, and there married Sarah 
 Lewis, to which union came a family of seven 
 children: Thomas (our subject), John, Emma, 
 Martha, Richard, Sarah and Frances. John, 
 Emma, Sarah and Frances are still residing in 
 Wales; the others are deceased. David Lewis 
 died when about sixty years old, and his wife 
 has also passed away. She was one of thir- 
 teen children. 
 
 Thomas Lewis was reared on a farm in 
 Wales, and came to America in 1854. His 
 educational advantages were meager in his na- 
 tive land, but since his location in the United 
 States he has not only learned the language, 
 but has become a well-informed man. The 
 first nine months in America he passed in 
 Waukesha county, Wis., and later came to 
 Green county, where he first purchased forty 
 acres of fine land in Albany township, subse- 
 quently adding 160 acres in Brooklyn, and 
 another 149 acres in Albany. Mr. Lewis lived 
 in Albany until 1888, at which time he rented 
 cut his farms and moved into the town, where 
 he purchased a very comfortable home. 
 
 In 1855 our subject was married to Mrs. 
 Margaret (Jones) Swancott, the widow of 
 John Swancott, and a daughter of John and 
 Mary (Sheen) Jones, both of whom were na- 
 tives of Wales, where Mrs. Lewis was born 
 Nov. 7, 1823. Her father died in Albany town- 
 ship, aged sixty-eight years; his father, who 
 bore the name of Edward Jones, died in Wales. 
 The mother of Mrs. Lewis died March 31, 
 1845, aged fifty-seven years; she was a worthy 
 woman, and had long been identified with the 
 Episcopal Church. William Sheen, the ma- 
 ternal grandfather of Mrs. Lewis, was a farmer 
 in Wales. By her first marriage Mrs. Lewis 
 had nine children: Philip, John, David, Mary, 
 Elizabeth, David (2), Thomas, David -( 3 ) , 
 and John (2), all now deceased except Philip 
 and John (2). Philip married Kate Flint, 
 and resides in South Dakota ; he has two chil- 
 dren, Earl and Maggie. John married Judie 
 Butts, and has one daughter, Luella; they re- 
 side in Brooklyn, on a farm. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lewis have had two children : Hiram, who 
 died when five years old; and William A., who 
 married Miss Jane Williams, and resides on 
 the farm ; they have five children, Della, Orrin, 
 Ray, Inez and Birdie. 
 
 Mrs. Lewis ownl a fine farm of eighty 
 acres in Albany township, Mr. Lewis also re- 
 taining a farm of 189 acres, having sold his 
 
 tract of 160 acres in the fall of 1900. Since 
 1888 our subject and estimable wife have re- 
 sided in comfort in the pleasant town of Al- 
 bany, where they enjoy the comforts suited 
 to their age and circumstances. Although no 
 politician, and opposed to joining any of the 
 political parties, Mr. Lewis exercises his right 
 to the ballot, but reserves to his own judgment 
 the decision as to which is the best man for the 
 position. Although not formally connected 
 with any religious denomination, both Mr. and 
 Mrs. Lewis are Christian people in their daily 
 living, kind to the needy, generous to worthy 
 objects, and they are among the most respected 
 citizens of Albany. 
 
 GUSTAV CANDLER, an honored pio- 
 neer settler of Cassville, Grant county, and one 
 of the brave defenders of the Union during 
 the Civil war, was born in Brandenburg, Ger- 
 many, in 1822, a son of John and Catharine 
 (Schon) Candler, lifelong residents of that 
 country, where the father died in 1865. He 
 served as a soldier in the German army in 
 1813. Idis wife long survived him, dying in 
 1885, at the advanced age of ninety-two years. 
 Only two of their family came to America, 
 these being Gustav and Adolph. The lat- 
 ter located in Chicago in 1851, but is now a 
 resident of Colorado. 
 
 The boyhood and youth of Gustav Cand- 
 ler were passed in his native land, and he 
 served in the German army from 1842 to 1844, 
 and again during part of the years 1849, I 85° 
 and 1851. Bidding good-by to home and 
 friends in 1852, he sailed from Hamburg, and 
 after a long and wearisome voyage of sixty- 
 three days landed in New York. After stop- 
 ping for a short time in Chicago, he went to 
 Minnesota, and in 1855 took up his residence 
 in Cassville, Wis., where he still makes his 
 home. He is now interested in bee culture, 
 and has an apiary of seventy stands. For 
 many years, however, he followed the carpen- 
 ter’s trade, but has now retired from that busi- 
 ness. 
 
 His loyalty to his adopted country was' 
 manifested during the Civil war by his enlist- 
 ment. in 1862, in Company C, 25th Wis. V. I., 
 for three years or during the war. Mr. Cand- 
 ler was mustered into service at Cassville as 
 fourth corporal, and was promoted to sergeant 
 in July, 1864. His regiment became a part of 
 the 1 6th and later the 17th Army Corps, of the 
 
5/0 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Western Army, under command of Gen. Sher- 
 man, and was in the battles of Buzzards' Roost, 
 Atlanta and Dalton. Mr. Candler was on 
 picket duty at Dalton for a time, later was. in 
 the Carolina campaign, and participated in the 
 Grand Review at Washington, D. C. Before 
 being sent to the actual seat of war the 25th 
 Wisconsin was sent to Minnesota, against the 
 Indians at New Ulm. From there they went 
 to Vicksburg, where the whole regiment, with 
 the exception of sixty men, became sick. They 
 then proceeded to Chattanooga and Atlanta. 
 Being laid up with a bad foot, Mr. Candler 
 was away from his regiment some time, but 
 returned in the spring oi 1865. This regiment 
 lost 365 men from sickness alone, and fifty-six 
 in battle. He received his discharge in Wash- 
 ington, D. C., in June, 1865, and was paid off 
 and mustered out of service at Madison. 
 
 In 1S66, at Galena, 111 ., Mr. Candler was 
 united in marriage with Miss Johanna 
 Baensch, also a native of Germany, and to 
 them were born two children : Matilda and 
 
 Adolph, both residents' of Chicago. Socially 
 Mr. Candler affiliates with Joseph Mueller 
 Post, No. 218, G. A. R., of Cassville, and 
 politically is identified with the Republican 
 party. He was a member of the town council 
 of Cassville for two years, and is one of its 
 most highly respected and honored citizens. 
 
 IYER JACOBSON, the proprietor of the 
 well-known Jacobson homestead farm of 200 
 acres in Sections 33 and 34, in the town of 
 Clinton, Rock county, is in possession of a 
 magnificent rural estate, which has long been 
 held by the family, and which became his in 
 1890. He is a good type of the American far- 
 mer, intelligent, courteous and hospitable, a 
 man of steady habits, inured to hard work, and 
 doing his business with his mind as well as 
 with his hands. 
 
 Mr. Jacobson was born in Beloit, Rock 
 county. May 22, 1855. He was reared to man- 
 hood under the parental roof, and attended the 
 district school and Clinton Academy, working 
 for his father until 1876. That year he began 
 to work as a carpenter in Clinton, and followed 
 the trade for two years. Then he went to 
 South Dakota, and took up a homestead of 
 160 acres in Brookings county. In 1879 he 
 constructed the first building in Brookings, 
 now a city of considerable importance. In 
 1880 Air. Jacobson returned to Rock county, 
 
 where he worked at his trade two years. He 
 spent about the same time in North Dakota, 
 as a foreman of an elevator building company, 
 and was grain buyer two seasons. In 1884 
 he came back once more to Rock county, this 
 time to stay, and took charge of his father’s 
 farm, which he managed for him several years, 
 buying it in 1890. 
 
 Mr. Jacobson and Aliss Bessie Larson were 
 married in Clinton May 29, 1890. Mrs. 
 Jacobson is a daughter of Nels and Martha 
 Larson, who were at that time living in Clin- 
 ton, Mr. Larson having come here from Chi- 
 cago, where he was a wagon maker, that he 
 might spend his last days on a farm. He died 
 on his farm in the town of Clinton Nov. 20, 
 1894, at the age of seventy-two. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jacobson have four children, 
 Martha, Nina, Julius and Ella. He has held 
 the office of supervisor five years in succession, 
 and was on the county board for two years. 
 He is a steadfast member of the Lutheran 
 Church, and politically a strong adherent of 
 the Republican party. 
 
 Jacob Jacobson, the father of Iver, was 
 born in Norway in November, 1824, a son of 
 Jacob Jacobson, a farmer. Lie was married 
 in 1850 to Miss Randie Iverson, at Racine, 
 Wis., having come to Wisconsin two years be- 
 fore his wedding, and worked at the carpenter 
 trade two years’ in that city. He spent two 
 years each at Janesville and at Beloit, and from' 
 Beloit came to Clinton, where he bought 100 
 acres, the nucleus of the present farm. He 
 and his wife still live here, in the home of their 
 son Iver. They have had ten children, of 
 whom six are now living. 
 
 NATHANIEL PRESTON (deceased) 
 was 'long and favorably known in Green coun- 
 ty. Born June 13, 1822, in Portsmouth, Eng- 
 land, he was the only child of Nathaniel and 
 Mary (Peters) Preston, both of London, the 
 former of whom kept a shoe store at Ports- 
 mouth. 
 
 Nathaniel Preston, Jr., came to this coun- 
 try after the death of his father, bringing his 
 mother with him, and lived for a time in Cin- 
 cinnati. Ohio. From that city they removed 
 to Alonroe, Wis., and later to the town of Jef- 
 ferson. In England he married Alary Dixon, 
 who died there, leaving two sons : William, 
 
 now a farmer of Brownsville, Ore., who mar- 
 ried' Lizzie South, of Monroe; and Nathaniel, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 57i 
 
 a miner of Butte, Montana. Both were reared 
 to manhood by Mrs. Charlotte Preston, whom 
 they still regard with filial affection. On June 
 12, 1852, Mr. Preston married Miss Charlotte 
 Cook, of Rock county, Wis., who was the 
 daughter of John J. and Charlotte E. (Stop- 
 forth) Cook, both natives of England, of pure 
 Saxon origin. Two children were born to 
 them, one son and one daughter : Mary Ellen 
 
 Preston, born Nov. 2, 1853, is now the wife 
 of W. S. Pengra, a retired farmer, living in 
 Madison, Wis. ; and Arthur T. Preston, born 
 July 18, 1856, married Susan Newman, and 
 owns a fine farm in the town of Jefferson. 
 Nathaniel Preston died in 1857, an exemplary 
 citizen, a kind neighbor, and a loving husband 
 and father. A strong advocate of the prin- 
 ciples of the Republican party, he gave that 
 party his adhesion on its formation, having- 
 been an Abolitionist previous to that time. 
 
 Mrs. Preston, when left a widow, had noth- 
 ing but their farm of eighty acres, which was 
 partially paid for. However, by hard work 
 and good judgment, she managed to remove 
 the encumbrance from it, reared her children 
 to a useful life, and is now prosperous' and well 
 thought of in the community. Coming from 
 a fine old English family, she was born June 
 21, 1831. Having come with her father and 
 her stepmother into Wisconsin in 1843, prac- 
 tically her entire life has been spent in this 
 State. John J. Cook, her father, became one 
 of the leading citizens of Rock county, and 
 was justice of the peace for more than twenty 
 years. Farming was his life work. Mrs. 
 Preston is now residing with her son on the 
 home place, where they have a fine home and 
 splendid outbuildings. As honorable people 
 and upright members of the community their 
 standing is without question. Mrs. Preston is 
 a bright and interesting lady. With a good 
 education, in her younger days she taught 
 school in Green county for six years, contin- 
 uing one year after her marriage. Like her 
 husband, she has been associated during her 
 entire life with the Episcopal Church. A good 
 woman, a Christian spirit, a loving mother, and 
 a devoted grandmother, her name is very pre- 
 cious to those who know her best. 
 
 MRS. MARY J. SHINOE, not now ac- 
 tively interested in the business cares which 
 absorbed her attention for many years, and liv- 
 ing quietly and at her ease in the town of Paris, 
 
 Grant county, was born in Allegheny county, 
 Penn., Aug. 18, 1838. 
 
 Alexander and Jane (Dalgril) McPherson, 
 her parents, were both natives of Scotland, 
 where they were reared. While they were still 
 young people they came to Allegheny county, 
 Penn., and there they were married and made 
 their home some five or six years. Mr. Mc- 
 Pherson was a shoemaker, and followed his 
 trade while living in Pennsylvania. In 1844 
 Mr. and Mrs. McPherson, with their family, 
 moved West, and effected a settlement at the 
 mouth of the Big and Little Platte rivers, in 
 Grant county, where he ran a ferry boat for 
 a number of years. While living on the Platte 
 he purchased a farm of 160 acres of wild land 
 two miles west of Dickeysville. This place he 
 cleared up, erected good farm buildings, and 
 made a comfortable home for his family, oc- 
 cupying same until 1881, when he sold out and 
 moved to Phillipsburg, Ivans. There he pur- 
 chased a home and lived until his death, in 
 1898. Mrs. McPherson died in 1882, in 
 Kansas. Of their family of nine children, 
 three died while children: (1) Mary J., Mrs. 
 
 Shinoe, was their eldest child, and received 
 her education in the common schools of Grant 
 county. (2) James McPherson, the eldest 
 son and second child, was born in Pennsyl- 
 vania in 1840, and died while a soldier in the 
 Civil war. He was a member of Company I, 
 25th Wis. V. I. (3) Robert McPherson, born 
 in Pennsylvania in 1844, was a soldier in the 
 Civil war, serving until its close as a member 
 of the 33d Wis. V. I. He married Miss Mon- 
 tie Dickey, of Dickeysville, Grant county, and 
 now resides on a farm near Phillipsburg, 
 Ivans. They have three children, Frank, 
 Estella 'and Maggie. (4) Alex McPherson, 
 born in Grant county, enlisted when a boy of 
 sixteen in the 43d Wis. V. I., and served until 
 the close of the Rebellion. Returning from 
 the war, he married Miss Henrietta Meighey, 
 and now resides on his farm in the town of 
 Paris. They a family of nine children, Estella, 
 Alex, John, Arthur, Emaline, Bessie, Maggie, 
 Gertrude, and Etta. (5) William McPher- 
 son, born in Grant county, is married, and now 
 lives in Ironton, Iowa. He is the father of four 
 children; we have record of three. Susan. Jen- 
 nie. and William. (6) Julia McPherson, born 
 in Grant county, is now the wife of John Fer- 
 guson. who lives near Phillipsburg, Kans. 
 They have one son. James. 
 
572 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In March, 1856, Mary J. McPherson was 
 married to Lewis Shinoe, a native of Virginia, 
 then living in Grant county. Jeremiah Shinoe, 
 his father, moved into Ohio when Lewis was 
 very young, and after a short stay in that State 
 came to Wisconsin, where the family made a 
 permanent location. During the Civil war, in 
 September, 1862, Mr. Shinoe enlisted in Com- 
 pany I, 25th Wis. V. I., and served with his 
 regiment on the Minnesota frontier, in Ken- 
 tucky and Missouri, and then with Gen. Sher- 
 man on his famous March to the Sea. While 
 in the campaign around Atlanta Mr. Shinoe 
 was taken sick, and his malady proving seri- 
 ous, he was sent home on a furlough. He 
 died in January, 1864, after having faithfully 
 performed his every duty as a citizen and a 
 soldier. Mr. Shinoe was greatly honored and 
 esteemed by his comrades, as well as by the 
 people of his own community. Mrs. Shinoe 
 was left at the home in Dickeysville with four 
 little children. After her husband’s death she 
 bought the Allen Taylor farm, and there lived 
 until recently, now making her home with her 
 daughter, Mrs. Benjamin Folts. (1) Martha 
 
 J. Shinoe, the eldest child of this estimable 
 lady and her honored husband, was born in 
 the town of Paris’ in 1857, and is now the wife 
 of James Idarvey, of Remsen, Iowa. They 
 are the parents of six children, Orvil, Maud, 
 Bessie, Benjamin, Roy and Carl. (2) John 
 L. Shinoe, born in Grant county in 1858, mar- 
 ried Miss Othie Rister, and is now living in 
 Bottineau county, N. Dak. They have six 
 children, Pearl, Ernest, Effie, Nellie, Burt and 
 Bertha James. (3) Nora Shinoe, born in 
 February, 1861, married Benjamin Folts, now 
 of the town of Paris, a veteran of the Civil 
 war, in which he was a member of Company 
 
 K, 44th Whs. V. I., serving throughout that 
 desperate struggle. They have one son, Leslie 
 B. Mr. Folts was born in Milwaukee in 1846, 
 a son of David and Mary Folts, who came 
 West from Pennsylvania, and settled in James- 
 town, Grant county, where the father is still 
 living at a ripe old age. In 1891 Mr. Folts 
 purchased his present home in the town of 
 Paris, and here he has since followed farming. 
 (j! Benjamin F. Shinoe, born in 1863, is un- 
 married, and resides on his farm in North Da- 
 kota. 
 
 Mr. Shinoe was always a Republican in 
 politics. Mrs. Shinoe is a member of the Con- 
 gregational Church of Mount Zion. She de- 
 
 serves more than passing mention in a work 
 like this. Left a widow, with a family of 
 small children, and smaller resources, she has 
 battled successfully with the difficulties of life, 
 and has’ reared a family of children in whom 
 she takes much pride and comfort. 
 
 MRS. NANCY E. BAREMORE, an old 
 and honored resident of Green county, has the 
 distinction of being one of the oldest settlers 
 of this part of the State in point of continuous 
 residence, and was among the very earliest pio- 
 neers of this region. 
 
 Mrs. Baremore is a daughter of Deacon 
 David and Mary (Ross) Davis, of Fayette 
 county, Penn., who were married in 1815, 
 and had the following family: (1) Joshua 
 P., who was born Sept. 15, 1816, and 
 died in Green county, Wis.; (2) Nancy 
 E., born Oct. 7, 1818; and (3) Kezia S., 
 born July 18, 1820, who married James Kil- 
 dough, of Fayette county, Penn., and is now a 
 widow, living in the town of Spring Grove, 
 Green Co., Wis. Deacon Davis was born in 
 1793, and died in 1882. His first wife, 
 “Pollie” Poss, was born in 1798, and died in 
 1821. Mary Woodle, his second wife, was born 
 Nov. 2, 1802, and they had the following chil- 
 dren: Thomas W. ; James N., of Green county, 
 Wis.; David M., born Nov. 22, 1829, a farmer 
 of Monroe, Wis.; Joel P., Jr., born Jan. 8, 
 1832, a farmer in Green county, w T ho died Jan. 
 2, 1890; Samuel, born March 8, 1834, now- 
 living in Iowa; Henry, born Nov. 20, 1836, 
 died Oct. 25, 1865; Doctor E., born April 12, 
 1839, residing at Albany, Wis.; Zachariah P., 
 born Jan. 2, 1841, who was killed in the bat- 
 tle of Resaca, having enlisted in Company K, 
 22d Wis. V. I. ; Joseph J., born Nov. 18, 1843, 
 who died June 13, 1871 (he served as a soldier 
 in the Civil war, in the same regiment as his 
 brother Zachariah) ; John O., born May 26, 
 1848, who died in 1876; and Nancy E. 
 
 On Oct. 7, 1840, Nancy E. Davis married 
 for her first husband James Chadwick, a son 
 of J. Hugh and Mary (Jameson) Chadwick, 
 and to this union came the following children : 
 ( 1 ) James was born April 2, 1841, in the Ter- 
 ritory of Wisconsin; (2) Louisa married Will- 
 iam Penn, of the town of Jefferson; (3) Mary 
 J.. born Dec. 3, 1844, was the wife of J. M- 
 South, of the town of Jefferson, and died in 
 1896. Mr. Chadwick died Sept. 17, 1846, and 
 our subject was married, a second time, Feb. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 573 
 
 21 , 1850, to Alfred Baremore, of Green county, 
 who was a thrifty farmer. He was born June 
 30, 1818, and died Aug. 14, 1882, leaving a fine 
 name. He was a consistent member of the 
 Baptist Church. To this union came: (1) 
 Harvey D., born Oct. 28, 1851, is a farmer in 
 the town of Sylvester. (2) Thomas J., born 
 March 14, 1855, is a farmer on the old home 
 place in the town of Sylvester. (3) Kezia, born 
 July 2, 1859, died in 1862. 
 
 Mrs. Baremore is one of the pioneer set- 
 tlers of the Northwest. She has been a mem- 
 ber of the Juda Baptist Church for more than 
 sixty years, and was one of the original four- 
 teen who formed this church when it was or- 
 ganized, by Rev. William Stillwell, in 1840. 
 Mrs. Baremore and her sister are the only ones 
 now living who united with the church at that 
 time. Mrs. Baremore has a good property, 
 and uses it to the advancement of the church 
 and the comfort of those who need it. She is 
 a worthy Christian woman, with a kind heart 
 and a broad spirit. 
 
 ANTON SCHMITT, for years the princi- 
 pal horticulturist of Lancaster township, Grant 
 county, was born in the grand duchy of Hessen- 
 Darmstadt, Germany, Nov. 4, 1830, a son of 
 Jacob and Marie (Briel) Schmitt. 
 
 Jacob Schmitt, father of Anton, was a 
 miller and farmer by occupation. His father 
 was also named Jacob. Our subject's father 
 died when Anton was sixteen years old, and 
 left his wife with three sons and one daughter, 
 Anton being the eldest. The latter had at- 
 tended school until fourteen years of age, and 
 had assisted his father in the mill until the 
 latter’s death, when he took charge of the busi- 
 ness. In 1852 he married Miss Anna Eliza- 
 beth Weber, a most estimable young lady, and 
 in April, 1854, he and his wife and child sailed 
 from Bremen, and after a voyage of thirty-six 
 days landing in New York, whence they came 
 direct to Lancaster, Wis. They arrived June 
 10, of the same year, and located in the town- 
 ship of Beetown, Grant county. Mr. Schmitt, 
 in April, 1855, moved to the farm of Allen Bar- 
 ber, in the township of Lancaster, which he 
 worked, also operating his mill for about two 
 years, when he bought the property. In 1869 
 he sold the mill and farm and settled in what 
 is now the city of Lancaster, engaging first in 
 merchandising, and later entering upon the 
 great enterprise of his life in horticulture. He 
 
 succeeded wonderfully in fruit culture, and not 
 only prospered in this particular fine of indus- 
 try, but by his example, advice and teaching led 
 many others to follow in his footsteps, and to 
 make the horticultural region of Wisconsin 
 what it is to-day. In 1895 lie sold his orchards 
 and nurseries and built a fine residence, one 
 block south and west of his old home. In 1896 
 he laid out a tract of land adjoining his present 
 home, into blocks and streets, platted and re- 
 corded as Schmitt’s Addition to the city of 
 Lancaster. Since then a number of residences 
 have been built thereon, and in a short time 
 this will become the continuation of one of the 
 nicest streets in Lancaster. 
 
 In 1891 Mr. Schmitt began building ice- 
 houses and constructing ice-ponds, with the 
 intention of supplying the residents of Lancas- 
 ter with the purest possible ice during the sum- 
 mer months. These he still owns, but he has 
 relinquished all active participation in the trade, 
 and leased the premises and industry as already 
 established to others, advancing years preclud- 
 ing his giving them further attention. Mr. 
 Schmitt began life as a business man with but 
 little of this world's goods, yet during his for- 
 ty-six years in Wisconsin he has not only real- 
 ized a competence, but has himself aided in 
 the remarkable development of Lancaster and 
 Grant county, and is to-day recognized as an 
 influential and substantial citizen. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Schmitt were born five 
 daughters and two sons, of whom Carl was 
 called away in 1872, when fifteen years of age. 
 This was to Mr. Schmitt one of the saddest 
 events of his life, although his second son, 
 Adolph, met with a tragic death in a railroad 
 accident in California, May 10, 1890, when 
 thirty-one years old. The eldest daughter, 
 Louise, is the wife of James Knott, of Oakland, 
 Cal.; Caroline is married to J. W Graves, of 
 Lathrop, in the same State; Amelia, now Mrs. 
 Charles Lischerness, lives in Lancaster, Grant 
 Co., Wis. ; K. Elizabeth and Veronica are still 
 at home. On Aug. 8, 1900, Mrs. Schmitt met 
 with an accident which resulted in her death 
 on the nth of the same month. 
 
 In politics Mr. Schmitt was first a Republi- 
 can. He became entitled to the rights of cit- 
 izenship as soon as possible after his arrival in 
 the country by “declaring his intentions,” and 
 two years later voted for John C. Fremont, the 
 first nominee of the Republican party for the 
 Presidency of the Lhiited States; he also voted 
 
574 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 for Abraham Lincoln, at each of the two elec- 
 tions which seated the martyr in the Presiden- 
 tial chair, and continued a Republican until the 
 second nomination of Stephen Grover Cleve- 
 land for the Chief Magistracy of the Union, 
 when, being a man capable of thinking for him- 
 self he changed his politics, and has since voted*, 
 the Democratic ticket, especially at National 
 elections. 
 
 In religion Mrs. Schmitt was reared in the 
 Lutheran Church, but the younger of the two 
 daughters at home is a member of the Congre- 
 gational Church. Socially the family stand 
 very high, and deservedly so. Mr. Schmitt, 
 beginning with a home in a log cabin in the 
 township of Beetown, Grant county, has 
 reached affluence, and occupies as fine a dwell- 
 ing as there is in Lancaster city. 
 
 JOHN CLARE, a miner of Platteville, 
 Grant county, and for many years a tiller of 
 the soil in that county in connection with his 
 mining, was born in Prussia in April, 1817. He 
 was reared to manhood in his native country, 
 and was given a fair education in the schools 
 there. In 1842 he came to Pennsylvania', and 
 found employment in the sawmills and coal 
 mines of that State for about two years. In 
 1844 the young man made his first appearance 
 in Wisconsin, and was given work in the lead 
 and zinc mines near Platteville. Fired by the 
 stories of the golden West, he crossed the Plains 
 to California in 1850, and John Harms, of 
 Grant county, is the only one now living of all 
 the brave and goodly company who made that 
 eventful journey with him. Mr. Clare was one 
 of the few successful prospectors who sought 
 the mines. He spent two years in the far 
 West, and then returned to Platteville, bringing 
 with him fine results of his enterprise and judg- 
 ment. Around Platteville he was a lead miner 
 some years. 
 
 Mr. Clare married Miss Magdaline Kramer, 
 who was also of German birth, born in 1822, in 
 the same kingdom as her husband. They set- 
 tled in Platteville, and lived in the city a short 
 time before going to their farm of eighty acres. 
 He bought it as wild land, and presently con- 
 verted it into a home for his wife ancl family, 
 and they have resided there to the present time. 
 Mrs. Clare died in 1891, leaving him eight chil- 
 dren : Louisa is the wife of Peter B. Lippolt, a 
 farmer of the town of Paris, and has four chil- 
 dren, George, William, Lena and Louisa. 
 
 Maggie is the wife of William Martin, of 
 Platteville. John married Dora Wickendoll, 
 and resides in Platteville; they have two chil- 
 dren, Florence and Edward. Mary is the wife 
 of Jacob Davis, of Pleasant View, and has a 
 large family. Peter is unmarried, and lives at 
 home ; he is a member of the Modern Woodmen 
 of America. Frances married Henry Snyder, 
 of Grant county, Wis., and has a family. Val- 
 entine, born in February, 1861, was educated in 
 the public schools, ancl always remained with 
 his parents on the farm; he has charge of his 
 father’s business, and is a young man of many 
 good qualities. Carrie, the youngest of the fam- 
 ily, is now the wife of George Carl, and resides 
 near the blockhouse in the town of Platteville; 
 she has two sons, Robert and Harry. 
 
 Mr. Clare has always been a Republican. 
 Mrs. Clare was a member of the Lutheran 
 Church, and our subject was reared a Catholic. 
 Since coming to this country he has never been 
 actively associated with any denomination. He 
 is one of the old-time pioneers of this State, 
 and has always held the respect of his fellow 
 townsmen. 
 
 GEORGE M. BROWN, a pushing and en- 
 ergetic business man of Belmont, Lafayette 
 county, knows very well that the high road to 
 permanent success lies only along the way of in- 
 dustry, thrift, and the wise economy that counts 
 real generosity and appreciation of friends its 
 most potent weapons. He is willing to work, 
 willing to stand by his friends, and willing to 
 accommodate and assist his patrons to the best 
 the market affords. By occupation he is a 
 lumberman and a farmer. 
 
 Air. Brown was born in the town of Hazel 
 Green, Grant Co., Wis., in November, 1861, 
 and is a son of William and Mary Brown, 
 natives of County Wicklow, Ireland, where 
 they grew up and were married. They 
 came from Ireland in an early day, and 
 settled at Hazel Green. The father en- 
 gaged in mining during his life, and died 
 in 1898, after reaching the venerable age 
 of eighty-reight years. The mother passed 
 away in 1869, leaving five sons and one daugh- 
 ter. The eldest of these children, ( 1 ) Thomas, 
 was born in Grant county, and after he had at- 
 tained his majority went to Colorado, where he 
 devoted himself to gold mining near Leadville. 
 and at other points. He bought ground, ancl 
 became very successful as a mine owner. He 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 575 
 
 died at Cripple Creek, Colo., and his remains 
 are interred m the cemetery at Platteville, Wis. 
 (2) John was born in Grant county, obtained a 
 good education, and when he reached manhood 
 followed the calling- of a civil engineer at 
 Tower, Minn. One extensive firm gave him all 
 their business for twenty-five years. He has a 
 wife and three children. (3) William, born in 
 Grant county, is also located at Tower, Minn., 
 where he is engaged in business. He has a 
 large family. (4) Kate, the only daughter, was 
 born in Grant county, where she grew up and 
 received a common-school education. She is 
 now the wife of Lewis Hebe, of Dubuque, 
 Iowa, and has two daughters, Clara and Lulu. 
 (5) George M. is fifth in the order of birth. (6) 
 James, born in Grant county, for twenty years 
 has been clerk of the “Park House,” at Platte- 
 ville. He is unmarried. 
 
 George M. Brown was partly educated in 
 the schools of Hazel Green, and largely in the 
 Dominican Sisters’ School at Benton, where 
 when a boy he lived in the home of Father Pen- 
 degrast until he was sixteen years old. He 
 was well instructed in the requirements for a 
 successful business life. When Mr. Brown be- 
 came a young man he secured a position with 
 Bradley Brothers, of Milwaukee, as general 
 lumber salesman and manager, doing business 
 for that firm at Belmont. In 1887 he pur- 
 chased their interest in the lumber yard and 
 business which is now in his hands. He has 
 done well for himself, and manifests the same 
 stirring and practical methods that made him 
 successful as a salesman for the Milwaukee 
 firm. He handles all kinds of worked and 
 rough lumber, as well as sash and doors, and 
 for a number of years has done. a business ex- 
 ceeding $20,000 per annum. 
 
 Mr. Brown and Miss Mary T. McDermott 
 were married in 1887. Mrs. Brown is a daugh- 
 ter of Bernard and Johanna McDermott, old 
 and prominent pioneers of Lafayette county. 
 She was born in May, 1863, was well educated 
 in the county schools, and for a number of 
 terms was a successful and popular public- 
 school teacher. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Brown 
 settled in the home in Belmont, which he had 
 just purchased and extensively remodeled. It 
 is one of the most desirable residences in the 
 city. They have two sons and one daughter : 
 Mary Mabel, born on St. Patrick’s Day, 188S; 
 Henry H., in September, 1890; and George E., 
 
 in August, 1892. They are students in the 
 Belmont local schools, and are bright and prom- 
 ising children. 
 
 Mr. Brown has always been a Democrat, 
 and has served as a member of the village 
 board. Socially he is a member of the Catholic 
 Knights of Wisconsin, and of the Modern 
 \\ oodmen, and with his wife belongs to the 
 Catholic Church. He is an active and enter- 
 prising young business man, and is well posted 
 m the various industries of his region ; his 
 large experience in the lumber business has 
 given him an extensive acquaintance among the 
 prominent men of the State. He has a ciear 
 head and good judgment, and is often con- 
 sulted by oider men regarding business enter- 
 prises, his opinions having great weight. He 
 is popular, and highly esteemed by the people of 
 Belmont. 
 
 SAMPSON H. CALLAWAY, a leading- 
 dairy farmer and prominent citizen of the town 
 of Platteville, Grant county, is now in the prime 
 of life, and commands the respect of the gen- 
 eral public, both for his conspicuous business 
 ability and for his manly and attractive per- 
 sonal qualities. 
 
 Mr. Callaway was born in the town of 
 Platteville March 7, 1852, and is a son of John 
 and Elizabeth (Butson) Callaway, who were 
 both born in Cornwall, England, the former 
 on Aug. 3, 1807, and the latter on June 23, 
 1 S 1 1 . They were married in England in 
 1834, and some six years' later came to Wis- 
 consin, and settled two and one-half miles 
 north of Platteville. He mined in the winter 
 and farmed in the summer. In 1850 he pur- 
 chased one hundred acres of timber land two 
 and one-half miles west of Platteville, from 
 Major Rountree. Here he built a log house 
 and barn, later a frame house, and made it his 
 home for the remainder of his life. Later he 
 purchased eighty acres of J. Aultland, in- Lima 
 township. He came to this country a poor 
 man, and by constant and unflagging industry 
 and careful management became fairly pros- 
 perous. He died June 26, 1878, and his 
 widow Nov. 29. 1884. They were members 
 of the Methodist Church, and were numbered 
 among the Christian people of the town. He 
 was a Republican, and his sons without ex- 
 ception follow in his steps in this respect. Jo- 
 seph, their eldest son, was born in England, 
 and died unmarried; he had a district-school 
 
5/6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 education, and when a young man of twenty- 
 one crossed the Plains for California, and was 
 a gold miner some seventeen years, being fairly 
 successful; in 1872 he received injuries from 
 a runaway, which proved fatal. Elizabeth, 
 born in England, is now the widow of Francis 
 Woodruff, of the town of Lima, and has two 
 children, — A. J. and Elsie May (who is the 
 wife of George Maiben) ; all this family re- 
 side in and near Lancaster. Thomas, born in 
 England, married Miss Sarah Hale, and 1 now 
 resides in Jewell county, Kansas, where he is 
 a farmer; they have the following children: 
 John, Charley, Lester, Belle, Maria, Tom, 
 Archie and Jennie. John married Lizzie 
 Hale, and lives on the farm purchased by his 
 father ; they have had seven children, Leora 
 (deceased), Sampson LI., Minnie, Nellie, 
 Ruby, Nettie and Frank. Martha J. is the 
 wife of I. N. Clifton, and lives in Platteville; 
 she has two children, Welsey and Libbie Rick- 
 ard, by her hrst husband, Daniel Rickard. 
 Sampson FI. is the subject of this article. 
 George A. lives' in the town of Plarrison, and 
 is the subject of a biographical article appear- 
 ing elsewhere in this volume. Jesse, when a 
 young man, went with Sampson H. to Cali- 
 fornia, and drifted to Arizona, where he be- 
 came a railroad engineer; he was stricken with 
 paralysis, and brought home, dying in May, 
 1892. William, born at the old home near 
 Fdatteville, died March 28, 1866, aged eighteen 
 years and twelve days. 
 
 Sampson H. Callaway was educated in the 
 schools of Platteville. In the spring of 1873 
 he went to California, and spent nine years in 
 that State, engaged in various' labors. In 1880 
 he came back to Platteville, and married Miss 
 Emma C. Weittenhiller, a lady of that city. 
 She was born in 1858, a daughter of Sebastian 
 and Annice Weittenhiller, old and respected 
 residents of Grant county, and was educated 
 in the Platteville schools. After his marriage 
 Mr. Callaway purchased a farm in Jewell 
 county, Kansas, where they resided two years. 
 Kansas did not please him for a permanent 
 residence, and he sold out, came back to Wis- 
 consin, and purchased his father’s old home- 
 stead. Lie built two new barns, thoroughly 
 remodeled the house, and now owns one of the 
 choicest farms of the county. He owns 160 
 acres in his home farm, and 240 acres in Lima 
 township. Seven children have brightened 
 his home : Arthur L. was born in Jewell 
 
 county, Kansas. Ethel G. was' born in Grant 
 county, as were Myrtie M., Jessie H., Adel- 
 bert b., Clara E., and Hazel E. The younger 
 children are earnest and bright students of the 
 Platteville schools. The family attends the 
 Congregational Church. Mr. Callaway be- 
 longs to the Masonic order, and holds his mem- 
 bership in Melody Lodge, No. 2. 
 
 HENR\ RUSH, an honored veteran of 
 the Mexican war, bears on his body the scars 
 won in active service of his adopted country. 
 He was born near Mannheim, Rhenish Bavaria, 
 Germany, Feb. 24, 1821, a son of Adam and 
 Eve (Beobel) Rush, who came to America in 
 1830, with the hope of making - a new home 
 in Seneca county, Ohio. The mother died in 
 Massillon, Ohio, and two years later the father 
 followed her to the grave. Of their ten chil- 
 dren, all but Henry died in childhood. 
 
 Llenry Rush grew up in Ohio, and, as might 
 be supposed, received but little schooling. In 
 May, 1846, he volunteered for service in the 
 war with Mexico-, becoming a member of Com- 
 pany F, 3d Ohio Volunteers, and served with 
 Col. Samuel R. Curtis, under the command of 
 Zachary Taylor. He took part in many of the 
 hard-fought battles of the war, and was wound- 
 ed three times at the battle of Buena Vista. 
 He was honorably discharged from the serv- 
 ice in June, 1847, and then went to Wisconsin, 
 where he bought 200 acres of government 
 land in Cadiz township, Green county. His 
 energy and courage under all difficulties won 
 him a substantial place in the world, and he 
 is now the possessor of 500 acres of valuable 
 land, and is the heaviest tax-payer in his town- 
 ship. For forty years he engaged in farming 
 almost exclusively, and then went into the saw- 
 mill business, but after six years he sold out 
 and engaged in the hardware, wood and lum- 
 ber business in Martintown. Of late he has 
 lived retired, making his home in Martintown, 
 where he owns a number of buildings, and 
 he is one of the most highly esteemed citizens. 
 
 In 1847 Mr. Rush was united in marriage 
 with Miss Nancy FI. Warren, who died in 
 1857, leaving five children : Roderick and Mary 
 J., who died young; Lucetta E., wife of Willis 
 Breon, of Juneau county, Wis. ; Nancy, wife 
 of J. J. Parker, a farmer of Cadiz township; 
 and Rufus, who married Mary A. Robinson, 
 and lives in Boone county, Iowa. In October, 
 1857, Fir. Rush wedded Maria Shockley, who 
 

 HENRY RUSH 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5 77 
 
 became the mother of two children : Elgin, 
 of South Wayne, Wis. ; and Flora B., wife 
 of Franklin Holoway, of Akron, Ohio. For 
 his third wife Mr. Rush married Katie Ann 
 Frame, of Cadiz township, and to this union 
 was born one child, now deceased. His pres- 
 ent wife, a native of Norway, was Mrs. Mary 
 Golaxson, who was born July 5, 1854, and 
 came to Green county with her parents when 
 six years of age. In politics Mr. Rush is a 
 stanch Democrat, and he has served in a num- 
 ber of township offices, having been member 
 of the town board (of which he served eight 
 times as chairman), member of the county 
 board, and also school director and road su- 
 pervisor for many years. He has always been 
 an active, industrious man, and during his life 
 of over eighty years has missed very few days. 
 Now as the evening of his day gradually passes 
 into night, he can look back over a well-spent 
 life. He has been a member of the Masonic 
 fraternity since 1856, and is connected with 
 Palestine Chapter, No. 21, R. A. M., at 
 Monroe. 
 
 CYRUS A. HORNBECIv, deceased, was, 
 in his time, a prosperous and successful farmer 
 in the town of Paris, and was known through- 
 out this part of Grant county, as a thoroughly 
 honorable and upright man of good intentions 
 and a fine spirit. 
 
 A native of Indiana, Mr. Hornbeck was 
 born Feb. 28, 1842, a son of Isaac and Eliza- 
 beth (Mitts) Hornbeck, old and prominent 
 settlers in this part of Wisconsin, who were 
 born in 1812, in Pickaway county, Ohio. They 
 were married Feb. 14, 1832. Moving from 
 Ohio to Indiana, they located on the Tippecanoe 
 river, three miles from the historic Tippecanoe 
 battle ground, now known as Fafayette, where 
 the Old Soldiers Home is located. This was 
 the birthplace of our subject. In 1844 Mr. and 
 Mrs. Hornbeck came overland to Paris, Wis., 
 with teams, one an ox-team, named Polk and 
 Dallas, after the 1844 candidates for the Pres- 
 idency and Vice-Presidency. The family set- 
 tled on a farm a half mile north of the village of 
 Dickeysville, where their home was maintained 
 until their removal to the village in 1899. Mr. 
 Hornbeck died in July, 1900, and his aged wife 
 is still a resident of the village. Out of a fam- 
 ily of twelve children born to them five are still 
 living: M. V., born in Ohio, is now a resident 
 
 of Butte, Nebraska; Sarah is the widow of 
 37 
 
 Lewis Beckett, of Dickeysville; Martha J. is 
 Mrs. Henry Smith, of Centerville, S. Dak.; 
 Cynthia A. is Mrs. W. Williams, of Lancaster, 
 \V is. ; and Mary E. is unmarried and is living 
 at home. 
 
 Cyrus A. Hornbeck was the sixth child born 
 in his parents’ family, was reared in Grant 
 county, and had his education in the village 
 schools. At the outbreak of the Civil war he en- 
 listed, when but nineteen years of age, in Com- 
 pany I, 25th Wis. V. I., serving under Capt. 
 Nash, and seeing much of the most tremendous 
 struggles of that great war. One of the magnifi- 
 cent army that Gen. Sherman led to the sea, he 
 had part in the grand review at Washington, 
 and was mustered out at Madison. Returning 
 to his own home, he bought a farm northwest 
 of Dickeysville, and when he was married, in 
 1870, this became his home during the first 
 years of his married life. Mrs. Hornbeck is 
 the estimable daughter of Benjamin and Eliza- 
 beth (McLees) Shinoe, an old and prominent 
 family in Grant county. She was born in the 
 town of Paris, Feb. 2, 1849, an d had h- er 
 schooling in the village of Dickeysville. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hornbeck made their home 
 on the place mentioned for seven years, when 
 they sold out and purchased of George W. 
 Griffin the property known as the Archer 
 estate, situated on the Big Platte river, on the 
 road leading from Dickeysville to Potosi, and 
 where the Archer ferry, known later as Hick- 
 ory Dell ferry, was operated. At this home 
 for eight years every opportunity was improved 
 that presented itself, and their labors were 
 crowned with success. Mr. Hornbeck owned 
 and operated the ferry, and when in the spring 
 the head waters of the Mississippi backed the 
 waters at times to the depth of sixteen feet over 
 the bottom land of his farm, the small steamers 
 from Dubuque, Iowa, would tow wood barges 
 up to his place. Mr. Hornbeck would load 
 them with wood, and ship to Dubuque- to be 
 sold. He also made several rafts from the large 
 elms which grew in the bottom, and floated 
 them to the sawmills at Dubuque to be sawed 
 for paddles, to be used in making stern-wheels 
 for the boats that plied the Mississippi. 
 
 In the spring of 1888, Mr. and Mrs. Horn- 
 beck bought the Piddington Farm, on the Lit- 
 tle Platte, three miles east of Dickeysville. On 
 this farm of 239 acres new and valuable build- 
 ings were erected, and the place improved in 
 every possible way as time, money and 
 
578 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 strength permitted, until it became one of 
 the most desirable country homes in the 
 town of Paris, and was known as the Iron 
 Spring farm. 1 here Mr. Rornceck died 
 in December, 1898. He was reared in the 
 faith of the Christian Church, and lived 
 the life of a good and just man, with 
 many friends and few enemies. He was a Re- 
 publican and entertained strong political views. 
 For many years he was assessor of the town, 
 and during hisi long incumbency of a trying 
 position he was held in high esteem by the 
 people for his honest and upright conduct of the 
 office, and his fair and accurate judgment. With 
 the Sherman Post, No. 66, G. A. R., of Platte- 
 ville, he was connected for many years, and had 
 a host of friends among the old veterans. He 
 was also a member 01 the State Centennial 
 Veterans of Madison. Mr. Hornbeck left his 
 wife with five sons and one daughter: (1) 
 
 Melvin PI., born in Paris, Dec. 12, 1870, mar- 
 ried Miss Sophie Reese, of Grant county, who 
 died some s.x years after marriage, leaving 
 three children, Huldah L., Hettie L., and Virgil 
 L. (2) Albert O., born Oct. 2, 1S72, is living at 
 home with his mother. (3) Orvil L., born Nov. 
 7, 1874, graduated from the State Normal at 
 Platteville, in 1897, and is one of the highly ed- 
 ucated young men; he is living at home. (4) 
 George H., born Jan. 15, 1877, married Miss 
 Christina Lange, of this town, and now lives at 
 Cuba City. (5) Minnie E., the only daughter, 
 was born July 21, 1881, and educated in the 
 State Normal at Platteville. She is a young- 
 lady of much culture and refinement. (6) Earl 
 D. V., born Nov. 29, 1884, is at home with 
 his mother. Mrs. Hornbeck is a member of 
 the Congregational Church, Cornelia, Wis., 
 and is known as one of the Christian women of 
 this community. She is a member of the 
 Ladies’ Relief Corps of Platteville. She is still 
 in the prime of life, and has manifested much 
 business ability in the management of her farm 
 and other valuable interests, and is the mother 
 of a family which is a credit to any mother- 
 hood. Their honorable instincts, refined and 
 cultured manners, and sound moral qualities 
 evidence the guiding of a gentle hand and lov- 
 ing heart. 
 
 DANIEL W. VANCE was for many years 
 one of the most respected and esteemed citizens 
 of the town of Sylvester, Green county. Of 
 late he lias been retired from active farming, 
 
 and on March 1, 1901, moved into the city of 
 Monroe with his family, to spend his last days 
 m well-earned rest and repose. 
 
 Mr. V ance is a son of Samuel and Lavina 
 (Johns) Vance, both natives of Fayette 
 county, Penn., who came to Green county, 
 Wis., about 1845, four years after their mar- 
 riage. Samuel Gance was the son of Hugh 
 and Margaret (Detrick) Vance, who were 
 among the early settlers of Fayette county, 
 Penn. Hugh Vance was born in 1784, and 
 died Jan. 11, 1827. About 1809 he married 
 Margaret Detrick, who was born in 1790, and 
 to them came the following children : Marie, 
 
 born Sept. 15, 1810; Melinda, May 9, 1812; 
 Elia, March 5, 1814 Samuel (whose name ap- 
 pears above), Feb. 21, 1816; Ezekiel, Feb. 1, 
 1818; Keziah, Feb. 26, 1820; Robert A., May 
 30, 1823; George, March 27, 1825; Hugh, Jr., 
 May 16, 1827. All are deceased. Samuel 
 Vance died Oct. 11, 1898, his wife on April 
 4, 1883, at the age of sixty-nine years. They 
 were the parents of seven children : James P., 
 
 who died in the town of Sylvester May 19, 
 1871, aged twenty-eight years, four months, 
 nineteen days; George D., of Kansas; John B., 
 a farmer in the town of Sylvester; Hugh J., 
 a miner in California; Ezekiel T., a retired far- 
 mer, in Monroe, Wis. ; Daniel W. ; and Re- 
 becca R., the wife of William Roderick, of the 
 town of Jefferson. 
 
 Daniel W. Vance was born Jan. 13, 1855, 
 and Sept. 19, 1888, was married to Miss Eliza 
 M. Deal, of Green county, a daughter of Isaiah 
 and Veronica (Hutzell) Deal, the former a 
 thrifty farmer of Green county. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Vance are the parents of one daughter, 
 Mae Erma, born Dec. 11, 1889. Mrs. Vance 
 was one of a family of nine children, and was 
 born July 4, 1865. 
 
 Mr. V ance grew to manhood under the 
 parental roof and acquired his education in the 
 district school. Bred to farming, he has made 
 that business his life work. He began poor 
 at the age of twenty-one, but by hard work, 
 industry, honesty and economy he has come to 
 own a half section of land, well cultivated and 
 provided with all modern improvements, which 
 he now rents'. He is comfortable and inde- 
 pendent in his situation beyond the general run 
 of men. In politics he is a Democrat, and in 
 religion a member of the Baptist Church. 
 Though never seeking office, he has from time 
 to time been called upon to fill local positions as 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 579 
 
 part of the obligations of his citizenship, having 
 served as judge of election, school director, 
 and in other minor positions. In his own com- 
 munity he has a good standing, and is spoken 
 of as one of the representative farmers of his 
 region. 
 
 H. L. WIXSKELL, who by business fore- 
 sight and acumen in his younger days is now 
 enabled to live retired from active work, is one 
 of the citizens of whom Benton township, 
 Lafayette county, is most justly proud. 
 
 Mr. Winskell is a native of Lafayette coun- 
 ty, born in New Diggings township, Jan. 17, 
 1853, son of Joseph and Eliza A. (Laforce) 
 Winskell, the former of whom was born near 
 Carlisle, Cumberland, England, Aug. 20, 1821, 
 and came to this country when a young man, 
 arriving in New Diggings, Lafayette Co., Whs., 
 in 1846. He engaged in mining, an occupation 
 he had also followed in England. On Oct. 4, 
 1849, h e married Mrs. Eliza A. (Laforce) 
 Bethel, who was born Oct. 11, 1823, in Clarks- 
 ville, Mo., daughter of Randolph and Martha 
 (McGee) Laforce. Her father, a native of 
 Virginia, was of French descent; her mother, a 
 native of Kentucky, was of Scottish descent. 
 Our subject's mother arrived at Galena April 
 29, 1844, coming by steamboat, and immediate- 
 ly proceeded to New Diggings, Whs., where on 
 Jan. 27, 1846, she married Seaton Bethel, of 
 that township ; they resided there until his 
 death, Feb. 4, 1848. One son was born of this 
 union, James W., who grew to manhood in 
 Lafayette county, there wedded Annie Gibson, 
 and then removed to Wright county, Iowa, 
 where he followed farming until his death, in 
 May, 1890. He left a widow and four children, 
 Jennie, Carrie M., Robert G. and Alice all res- 
 idents of Clarion, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Win- 
 skell made their home in New Diggings town- 
 ship until his death, Feb. 21, 1856. To this 
 marriage were born two children : H. L. is our 
 subject. Octavia, born in 1855, married L. 
 N. Townsend, of Shullsburg, Wis., where he is 
 engaged in stock buying ; they have three chil- 
 dren — Laurena, a student at the Platteville 
 Normal; Almeda, wife of Fred Hammond, a 
 banker of Stockton, 111 . ; and Clyde, a student at 
 the Wisconsin State University, Madison. 
 After Mr. Winskell’s death Mrs. Winskell mar- 
 ried, Oct. 10, 1861, Nimrod Brown, who was 
 born near Baltimore, McL, Oct. 8. 1808. In 
 1842 he came to the Wisconsin mining region. 
 
 where he engaged in mining until 1850. when 
 he crossed the Plains, and later was one of the 
 men who helped to cut the Sutro mill dam away 
 in search of gold. Not having much success in 
 the gold region, he returned to Wisconsin, by 
 way of Panama, and after a visit to his old 
 Maryland home reached Benton, Wis., in 1852. 
 In 1861 he opened up and worked what is still 
 known as the Brown range or mine of lead, one 
 which was a large producer. He died March 
 16, 1896, at .New Diggings, to which place he 
 removed in 1873. -i-hey had one daughter, 
 Antoinette, who died at the age of two years. 
 
 H. L. \V inskell received a good education, 
 attending the Shullsburg high school, and when 
 still quite young engaged in mining in New 
 Diggings township, spending six years at that 
 work. In 1878 he purchased a farm in Wright 
 county, Iowa, and there engaged in farming 
 and stock raising. For a short time Mr. 
 Winskell resided in New Diggings, and then 
 purchased real estate in the town of Benton, 
 where he put up a fine modern home, equipped 
 with all the improvements and conveniences, 
 comfort and luxury dictate. This home was 
 erected in 1895, and has since been one of the 
 social centers of the county. Mr. Winskell is 
 largely interested in real estate in Iowa, and is a 
 stockholder in the State Bank of Benton. He 
 is one of the wide-awake men of the town, in 
 fact has been a prominent factor in the business 
 life of whatever town he has made his home. 
 
 In February, 1879, Mr. Winskell was uni- 
 ted in marriage with Miss Sarah Strowbridge, 
 who was born April 21, 1854, daughter of John 
 and Sarah Strowbridge, old pioneers of Lafay- 
 ette county, who originally came from Ireland. 
 Mrs. Winskell died at her home in Wall Lake 
 township, Wright Co., Iowa, July 23, 1890. 
 She was a devout member of the Protestant 
 Methodist Church, and was a loving wife and 
 mother. To this union were born three chil- 
 dren: J. N., who died in infancy; Horace E., 
 who died one month after his mother; and 
 Maud, born in August, 1880, a bright little 
 girl, who died June 9, 1892. In October, 1893, 
 Mr. Winskell was married to Miss Elizabeth A. 
 Turnbull, daughter of Joseph and Ann (Hewit- 
 son) Turnbull; she was born in August, 1865, 
 and was educated in the schools of New Dig- 
 gings. Three children have come of this union : 
 Alma A., born Sept. 28, 1894; Joseph Alvin, 
 April 3, 1896; and Horace L., March 4, 1898. 
 In political life Mr. Winskell is known as a firm 
 
580 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 believer in the principles of the Republican 
 party, and has always taken an active part in 
 politics. During his residence of thirteen years 
 in Iowa he was a member of the town board for 
 seven years, also holding a number of other 
 offices. He has also been a member of the 
 town board of Benton, and for three years was 
 a member of the village board, and one year 
 president of the same. Socially he belongs to 
 the I. O. O. F., at Lead Mine, Wis., and to 
 the K. of P., Sylvan Lodge, No. 134, of Ben- 
 ton, having been an officer since the lodge was 
 organized, in March, 1896. Mr. Winskell is 
 responsible for his own success, which may be 
 attributed to his own industry and attention to 
 business, Ins honesty in his dealings with his 
 fellow men, and his loyalty to his friends. 
 
 Joseph Turnbull, father of Mrs. Winskell, 
 was born in Brough, County of Durham, Eng- 
 land, as was also his wife, and came to this 
 country in an early day, locating in New Dig- 
 gings, where he followed farming and mining, 
 and there died in May, 1866. His wife, who 
 has since wedded John Vickers, still resides 
 in New Diggings. Mr. and Mrs. Turnbull 
 had two children: Elizabeth A., Mrs. Win- 
 skell ; and Joseph H., who married Susan Willy, 
 of Benton township, and has three children, 
 Francis O., Edna and Willard. 
 
 LYCURGUS HAKE, a prosperous farmer 
 in the town of Lima, Grant county, was born 
 in Clifton township, that county, Aug. 14, 
 1859, son of George W. and Phoebe ( Der- 
 water) Hake. The father was born in Penn- 
 sylvania, and the mother in Ohio, and both 
 came to Wisconsin with their parents when 
 young people. George Hake, the grandfather 
 of Lycurgus, came to Wisconsin from Ohio at 
 a very early day, and settled in Liberty, 
 Grant county. There were five sons and one 
 daughter in his' family : Eh, William, Levi, 
 
 George W., Israel, and Caroline (who became 
 the wife of John Sparks, of Iowa). 
 
 George W. Hake located for a time in the 
 town of Clifton, where he owned a consider- 
 able tract of land, at one time over six hun- 
 dred acres. The farm where Lycurgus Hake 
 is now living was bought by him, and thor- 
 oughly improved. In 1889 he retired from 
 active life and settled in Platteville, dying at 
 his home there in February, 1896. Mrs. 
 Phcebe Hake is still living in Platteville, at the 
 age of seventy-four. To this estimable couple 
 
 were born five children : ( 1 ) Laura, born in 
 
 the town of Clifton, married Riley Dennis, and 
 settled on the present home of her brother^ 
 Lycurgus ; she died soon afterward, leaving no 
 family. (2) Almira, born in Grant county, is 
 now the wife of Stephen Dennis, and lives in 
 Clifton. To this marriage was born ;one 
 daughter, Ora, who is a graduate of the Platte- 
 ville Business College. (3) Lycurgus is our 
 subject. (4) Grant, born in Clifton township 
 in 1874, married Miss' Nora Bushnell, and is- 
 now residing on his farm in Clifton. They 
 have three cnildren, Mabel, Wesley, and Mel- 
 vin. (5) Mirtie, born in Clifton, married 
 Cirtus Craven, a farmer in the town of Lima. 
 
 Lycurgus Hake grew up on the old home 
 farm in the town of Clifton, where he received 
 a good common-school education. He re- 
 mained with his parents until his marriage, in 
 December, 1880, to Miss Annie Bushnell, of 
 the town of Lima, Grant county. Hiram and 
 Louisa Bushnell, her parents, came from Trum- 
 bull county, Ohio, to the town of Harrison, 
 Grant county, at a very early day, and were 
 numbered among the most honorable and high- 
 ly respected families of this’ part of the State. 
 Mrs. Hake was born in 1858, and obtained 
 her education in the local public schools. After 
 their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hake settled on 
 the farm, where they made their home until 
 1888, that year moving back to the old Hake 
 farm in the town of Clifton, where he spent 
 five years in farming and stock raising. In 
 1893 Mr. and Mrs. Hake came back to their 
 present home, and the next year put up a large 
 barn, also building one of the modern com- 
 modious homes of the town. The house is 
 finished in hard wood, and has every modern 
 convenience possible to obtain in a farm home. 
 In this fine estate there are 180 acres of as 
 choice land as southwestern Wisconsin af- 
 fords. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hake have had- five children : 
 (1) Leslie, born in 1882, in the town of Lima, 
 has studied at the State Normal in Platteville 
 for some years, and is a bright and charm- 
 ing young lady, living at home. (2) Ira, born 
 in 1884, (3) Jessie, born in 1885, (4) Sadie, 
 born in 1891, and (5) Donald, born in 1897, 
 are also at home. In politics Mr. Hake has 
 been a Republican. He and his wife are 
 church-going people. They are courteous and 
 kindly, possessed of high character, and high- 
 ly esteemed by all who know them. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 581 
 
 HERMAN BERGHEGER has been en- 
 gaged in the mercantile business at Stitzer, 
 Grant county, since 1880, and is one of the 
 earlier merchants of that place. He came to 
 the town of Liberty in 1870, engaged in farm- 
 ing, and still owns a handsome farm near the 
 village. 
 
 Mr. Bergheger was born in 1845 * n Ger- 
 many, where his father died when he was a 
 small child. His mother married A. Wefel 
 not many years' afterward, and Mr. Wefel 
 brought his family to America in 1859. Her- 
 man was the only child of the first union, and 
 three children were born to his mother’s second 
 marriage. She died in the fall of 1899. In 
 1870 Mr. Bergheger returned to Germany to 
 settle up his father’s estate, and was there mar- 
 ried to xVfiss Louise Piper; her parents are now 
 deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Bergheger are the 
 parents of two sons and one daughter, Adolph, 
 Edward and Louise. They have lost one daugh- 
 ter, Lydia, who died at the age of sixteen 
 years. Mr. Bergheger is a Republican politi- 
 cally, and a man of character and standing in 
 the community. 
 
 C. PI. RUSSELL, M. D., of Darlington, 
 Lafayette county, may almost be said to be a 
 physician by heredity, his great-grandfather, 
 Dr. G. W. Russell, having been a noted physi- 
 cian in his home in Wethersfield, Conn., where 
 he was born in 1754, and he left his' business 
 and reputation to his son, George Washing- 
 ton Russell, grandfather of our subject. 
 
 Dr. George Washington Russell was born 
 at Litchfield, Conn., Sept. 21, 1800. In 1801 
 his parents removed to Bradford, Penn., the 
 following year going to the State of New 
 York, and in 1815 returning to Connecticut, 
 where 'his mother died the following year. 
 After various experiences he studied medicine 
 at Windham, Penn., and was prominent as an 
 officer of militia, in Bradford county, that 
 State, both as adjutant and as major. For 
 some time he acted as agent for the obtain- 
 ing of land bounty for the soldiers of the war 
 of 1812, and finally obtained possession of 
 many hundred acres of land in Wisconsin and 
 Iowa. In 1857 he became a resident of La- 
 fayette county, his death occurring there Nov. 
 2, 1870. His wife survived him, passing away 
 Oct. 1, 1879. They were the parents of eleven 
 children, one of whom, Read Russell, is the 
 father of our subject. The mother of Dr. 
 
 Russell was formerly Miss Sarah Schellenger, 
 a daughter of Rev. George Schellenger, who 
 came to Lafayette county in 1828. Later Mr. 
 Schellenger married Miss Beulah Lamb, who 
 111 the summer of 1828 opened a private school 
 near Gratiot’s Grove — in a log building erect- 
 ed for school purposes, clnetiy through the 
 influence of Henry Gratiot- — becoming the first 
 school teacher in Lafayette county. This most 
 estimable lady is still living, at the advanced 
 age of eighty-seven years, her home being in 
 the town of Wiota. 
 
 Dr. C. H. Russell, our subject, was born 
 in 1862, in the town of Gratiot, where his 
 parents were residing. His early education 
 was obtained at the common schools. Later 
 he attended the high school at Warren, ill., 
 from which he graduated in 1885, and he grad- 
 uated from the College of Physicians and Sur- 
 geons, at Keokuk, Iowa, in 1888. Dr. Russell 
 first located at Shullsburg, where he began the 
 practice of his profession, later removing to 
 Darlington. 
 
 The marriage of Dr. Russell took place 
 Dec. 18, 1890, to Miss Anna Rose, a daughter 
 of James R. and Phoebe A. (Budlong) Rose, 
 the former long a well-known lawyer of Dar- 
 lington ; he was the father of the present mayor 
 of Milwaukee. Two children have been born 
 to Dr. and Mrs. Russell, one daughter and one 
 son. Phebe R. and Charles R. Since locating 
 in Darlington Dr. Russell has built up an ex- 
 tensive and lucrative practice, and thoroughly 
 deserves the high regard and esteem in which 
 he is held by the community. 
 
 GEORGE W. THURMAN. Within the 
 last few years an extensive industry has been 
 developed in southwestern Wisconsin, where 
 it is found that the fresh water clams are pe- 
 culiarly rich in pearls'. Many very valuable 
 ones have been discovered, and thousands of 
 dollars paid out along every water course in 
 this part of the State. Their proper handling 
 and most profitable conversion into cash re- 
 quires considerable capital and not a little 
 business ingenuity. Mr. Thurman, of Albany, 
 Green county, has taken it up, and become 
 widely noted as an extensive dealer in fresh 
 water pearls. For many years back he has 
 dealt in horses, and still continues in this line. 
 
 Mr. Thurman, born in the town of Mag- 
 nolia, Rock county, Wis., April 10, 1848, is 
 a son of Richard and Minerva P. (Roberts) 
 
582 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Thurman, natives of Troy and Plattsburg, N. 
 Y., respectively. They had four children, Car- 
 rie, George YV., John and Mary, of whom two 
 are now living. Mary married J. G. Babcock, 
 and lives in the town of Magnolia. George 
 W. is at Albany. The father was a nail cutter 
 in the city of Troy, N. Y., and came to Wis- 
 consin in the early days. He bought forty 
 acres in the town of Magnolia, and after a time 
 took an interest in a sawmill. He died in Mag- 
 nolia in i860, at the comparatively early ag'e 
 of forty-seven. His widow survived him un- 
 til 1898, and reached the age of seventy-four. 
 He was a Universalist and she a Methodist. 
 Richard Thurman, the grandfather of George 
 W., was born in New York, of English line- 
 age, and was a man of strong character. He 
 followed the trade of a wiieelwrig'ht, and 
 died in the South, while engaged in bridge 
 building near Nashville. He had four sons 
 and several daughters, and died when about 
 eighty years of age. The father of Minerva 
 P. Roberts, referred to above, was also a native 
 of the State of New York, of Holland-Dutch 
 descent, and died in middle life. He was the 
 father of one son and two daughters. 
 
 George W. Thurman was reared on the 
 farm, and attended a district school for one 
 year only. He began life for himself by work- 
 ing by the month, and presently had saved 
 enough to buy a horse. He had something 
 of an instinctive sense of the value of a horse, 
 and became quite a successful dealer in horses, 
 buying and selling on a large scale. Pie bought 
 a farm of eighty acres in the town of Mag- 
 nolia, and lived there a year, and then sold, 
 moving into the town of Sylvester, where he 
 lived on a rented farm a year. In 1886 Mr. 
 Thurman became a resident of the village of 
 Albany, and here he has since had his home. 
 Mr. Thurman donned the Union blue in 1864, 
 when lie went out as a member of Company 
 H, 42b Wis. V. I., and served until the close 
 of the war. 
 
 Mr. Thurman and Miss Helen F. Bump, 
 daughter of W. PI. and Fannie (Briggs) 
 Bump, were married in August, 1866. To this 
 union twelve children were born, Carrie, Alice, 
 Dell, Fannie, Richard, Otis, Hattie, Helen, 
 George, John, Grace and Allen G. Carrie 
 married Edward P.ee, of the town of Decatur, 
 and has three children, Orrie, Marvin and 
 Helen. Alice married Allen C. Ballard, and 
 lives one mile east of Evansville ; they have 
 
 two sons, Floyd and Lyle. Hell married P. 
 O. Heide, and lives in Prairie du Chien ; they 
 have one daughter, Marie. Fannie married 
 Frank Barton, of Albany, and has two chil- 
 dren, Morris and Alice. Richard is a painter 
 and is single. Otis married Maud Barney, 
 and lives in Albany. Hattie is single. Helen 
 married Elmer Seeley, and lives in Albany. 
 The other children are all unmarried. Allen 
 G. died in the winter of 1898, at the age of six 
 months. 
 
 Mr. Thurman belongs to the William 
 Hoyt Post, G. A. R., and also the Modern 
 Woodmen of America. Pie is a Republican, 
 as are all his sons. He has served as a trus- 
 tee of Albany two terms, and is a highly re- 
 spected member of the community. He owns 
 a hue home in Albany, and is becoming 
 wealthy. As mentioned at the introduction of 
 this article he is a very extensive dealer in 
 fresh water pearls, in which he became inter- 
 ested as early as 1890. In these ten years he 
 has built up a reputation throughout the 
 United States as an expert dealer. Pie buys 
 and sells entirely on his own judgment, and is 
 quick in his decision. He sold one pearl for 
 eight thousand dollars recently, and completes 
 some of his most important transactions, in- 
 volving many hundred dollars, in from three 
 to five minutes. He frequently makes long- 
 journeys to buy some article that is considered 
 perfect in this line. 
 
 FREDRICPI KROG, the well-known pro- 
 prietor of the creamery in Platteville, Grant 
 county, is a man who thoroughly understands 
 his business. 
 
 Mr. Ivrog was born June 4, 1856, in Meck- 
 lenburg-Strelitz, Germany, and is a son of 
 John and Christine Krog, the former of whom 
 died when our subject was but seven years of 
 age. He was educated in the public schools 
 of his native land, and in 1873 he came with 
 his mother to the United States, locating at 
 Chicago, 111 . For four years he worked on a 
 farm- in the vicinity of the city, and there 
 learned the business which he now follows. 
 He advanced to the position of manager, and 
 later became the owner of two or three cream- 
 eries near Elgin, 111 ., from which he realized 
 fair profits. Afterward, he was joined by his 
 father-in-law, Charles F. Schultz, and together 
 they carried on the business about five years, 
 when Mr. Krog sold out his interest. In 1894 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 533 
 
 lie came to Platteville and became half-owner 
 in the Platteville Cheese & Produce Associa- 
 tion, which is officered as follows : President, 
 Thomas Dyer, of Chicago; secretary, J. C. 
 Ivackle; treasurer, Fredrich Krog, who is also 
 manager of the company's business in Grant 
 county. Before locating in Platteville Mr. 
 Krog was interested in the creamery business 
 at Ontarioville, 111 . At present he is connected 
 with seventeen different creameries in Wiscon- 
 sin, the office for all these companies being at 
 Platteville, under the general supervision of our 
 subject. He is secretary-treasurer of the Bel- 
 mont Creamery Co., of Belmont, Wisconsin. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Krog took place in 
 1880, to Miss Sophie Schultz, daughter of 
 Charles F. Schultz, a native of Germany, now 
 residing in Bartlett, Cook Co., 111 . Mrs. Krog 
 was' born and educated in Illinois. This union 
 has been blessed with seven children : Edwin, 
 
 who was born July 1, 1881 (at the same hour 
 that President Garfield was assassinated ) , is at 
 present -bookkeeper for the firm of which his 
 father is a member; Amelia, born in 1883, 
 is a student in the Platteville high school ; Bern- 
 hardt was born July 20, 1885; Alfred, Nov. 
 I,. 1887; Lucy, in 1893; Walter, in February, 
 1897; and Gertrude, in February, 1899. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Krog are members of the Lutheran 
 Church. In politics Mr. Krog has always been 
 a Republican, and in his fraternal relations is 
 a member of the American Order of Wood- 
 men and the Equitable Fraternity Union of 
 Neenah, Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Krog, although he started life in his 
 adopted country a poor young man, 'has, by his 
 keen observation of the details of the business in 
 which he is engaged, his industrious habits, 
 energy and perseverance, in the pursuit of one 
 main end or object, succeeded in acquiring a 
 fortune, and stands among the respected- and 
 honored men of the community, with a name 
 that bears not a blemish. 
 
 JOHN E. HAWTHORN is a prominent 
 and substantial farmer, who resides in comfort 
 on his farm three and one-half miles southwest 
 of Monroe, Green county. 
 
 Mr. Hawthorn is a son of the late James 
 and Mercy (Boyles) Hawthorn, the former of 
 whom was born in Orange county, N. Y., Oct. 
 22, 1797, and died Oct. 20, 1888, being buried 
 on his birthday. His marriage took place in 
 1836, and children were born to this union as 
 
 follows : Andrew, a retired farmer of Mon- 
 
 roe, Wis. ; Mary, who married Hickman 
 Bryan, now deceased ; Phebe, the widow of 
 Aaron Eely, of Monroe; Ellen, the widow of 
 Thomas Millmon, of Monroe; William, a re- 
 tired farmer of Monroe ; Matilda, who mar- 
 ried Edward Trickel, deceased; Maria, who 
 married Joseph Bender, deceased; James and 
 Lucinda, twins, deceased; French, who lives 
 in Colorado; Alfred H. ; John E., our subject; 
 and Charles, a retired farmer living in Monroe. 
 
 James Hawthorn, the father ot our subject, 
 was one of the very first settlers of Green 
 county. During the war of 1812 he was a 
 soldier in active service, stationed at Brook- 
 lyn, as a substitute tor another man. At the 
 age of seventeen he walked from New York 
 to Pittsburg, and from there to Ohio ; thence 
 taking passage on a flat-boat, he went down 
 the rivers to New Orleans, and from there 
 on a sailing vessel to New York, being of an 
 adventurous and investigating spirit. Soon 
 after he reached New York he decided to re- 
 turn to Illinois, going West with a party of 
 miners, and again returning to New York. 
 In 1833 he decided to make a home in Wis- 
 consin, and located in Green county, on Sec- 
 tions 8 and 9, in the town of Clarno, where 
 he- became one of the leading citizens and 
 farmers, and also one of the wealthiest land 
 owners. When Mr. Hawthorn made settle- 
 ment in Green county his first home was a log 
 cabin, with but one room, but peace, happiness 
 and industry reigned there, and when the fam- 
 ily grew larger a more commodious home was 
 ready to accommodate them. His long life was 
 spent in the development of his Western home, 
 and before death he had the pleasure of see- 
 ing his chosen State become one of the best 
 cultivated in the Union, and fostering some 
 of the most highly intelligent and worthy in- 
 terests. 
 
 John E. Hawthorn, our subject, was born 
 April 10, 1854, and on June 14, 1885, married 
 Clara E. Carson, of Monroe, Wis., a daugh- 
 ter of Charles and Frances IT. (Davison) 
 Carson, who were among the early settlers of 
 Green county. An interesting little adopted 
 daughter Gladys Ruth, born Sept. 5, 1897, 
 is the only child in the home, she receiving all 
 the love and care of our subject and his es- 
 timable wife. Mr. Hawthorn is one of the 
 reliable and substantial citizens of Clarno 
 township, has successfully followed farming 
 
584 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 all his life, and is now the owner of a fine 
 farm of 327 acres of fertile Wisconsin soil. 
 For some years past he has been quite exten- 
 sively engaged in breeding and feeding live 
 stock, and has quite a village of first-class 
 buildings to accommodate this' branch of his 
 business. In politics Mr. Hawthorn is a Re- 
 publican, and although not a member he is 
 an attendant of the Methodist Church, and a 
 cheerful contributor to its support. An hon- 
 orable and honest citizen, a man of exemplary 
 life and character, John E. Hawthorn may be 
 justly called one of the representative citizens 
 of Green county. 
 
 JACOB LOUIS SPELLMAN, a whole- 
 sale and retail dealer in tobacco and manufac- 
 turer of cigars in Janesville, Rock county, is 
 a capable business man, a thorough workman, 
 and a man of pronounced integrity. Those 
 who know him best speak most highly of his 
 many commendable qualities, and at home and 
 abroad he is much respected. 
 
 Mr. Spellman was born in Rotterdam, Hol- 
 land, July 24, 1844, a son of Louis and Sophia 
 (Harpman) Spellman, both also natives of 
 Holland. To them were born six sons and 
 two. daughters, seven living, viz. : Henrietta, 
 the widow of Mr. Heilagas; Annie; Samuel, 
 of Columbus, Ohio ; Jacob Louis, whose name 
 appears above; Emanuel, of the city of New 
 .York; and Anthony and Andrew, of Rotter- 
 dam, Holland. The father was a surgical den- 
 tist in Holland, and was a man of much medi- 
 cal erudition. In 1852 he came to this coun- 
 try and located at Syracuse, N. Y., where he 
 did not remain long, however, being success- 
 ively established at Cincinnati and Memphis, 
 and again at Cincinnati, where he lived until 
 1865, when he returned to Holland. He died 
 in 1892, at the age of eighty-three. His first 
 wife died in 1850, and he married her sister 
 Florence, by whom he had a family of six chil- 
 dren, Isaac, Sophia, Annie, Mary, Rachel and 
 Mitchell. Louis Spellman was a soldier dur- 
 ing the Civil war, and helped to drive Morgan 
 out of Ohio. 
 
 Jacob L. Spellman was eight years old when 
 his parents came to this country, and had al- 
 ready made some progress in school in Hol- 
 land. He attended school at Syracuse, and in 
 that city began learning the trade of cigar mak- 
 ing with an uncle, when about ten years old. 
 Y hen the Rebellion broke out he was resid- 
 
 ing in Jackson, Miss., and, yielding to the war 
 fever that overswept the country, he enlisted 
 in Company C, . of the Jeff. Davis Legion, 
 Hampton’s Brigade, and served the lost cause 
 well and faithfully for four long years. He 
 was a courier on Gen. Hampton’s staff, and 
 took part in many of the bloodiest scenes of the 
 great war, being in the seven days’ fight before 
 Richmond, the battles of the Wilderness, An- 
 tietam, Second Bull Run and many other fierce 
 and bloody combats. He was wounded in the 
 nose and the right thigh at Antietam. Dur- 
 ing the war he was assigned with his company 
 from the Jeff. Davis Legion to the 10th Ken- 
 tucky, under the command of Gen. Basil Duke, 
 together with nine other companies, selected 
 from other regiments, to join Gen. Morgan. 
 The day before the death of that distinguished 
 officer Mr. Spellman was taken prisoner at 
 Paris, Tenn., and sent to Camp Douglas, Chi- 
 cago. In April, 1865, he took the oath of alle- 
 giance to the United States, in company with 
 twenty-six others, and was at once set at lib- 
 erty. He resumed his trade of cigar maker, 
 and was engaged in various cities. In 1885 
 he came to Janesville, and opened a cigar man- 
 ufactory and a tobacco jobbing house for plug 
 and smoking tobaccos, which he still owns and 
 operates. 
 
 Mr. Spellman and Miss Melinda Minney, 
 a daughter of Peter and Susan (Martin) Min- 
 ney, were married Nov. 27, 1873, an d they 
 have two daughters, Jessie and Llorence. Mrs. 
 Spellman belongs to the Episcopal Church, 
 while her husband is welcomed in many irater- 
 nal societies. He is a Mason of high degree, 
 belonging to Janesville Lodge, No. 55, A. F. 
 & A. M. ; Janesville Chapter, No. 5; Janes- 
 ville Commandery, No. 2, K. T. ; and the Ce- 
 dar Rapids (Iowa) Consistory; he also be- 
 longs to the Janesville Lodge, No. 14, I. O. 
 O. F., and the Knights of the Maccabees. He 
 is a Republican, though never a politician. His 
 home is at No. 308 South Jackson street, and 
 he has been a resident of Janesville for four- 
 teen years. Mr. Spellman has had an event- 
 ful and varied career, and is an interesting con- 
 versationalist. 
 
 JOSEPH UNOSPI, one of the representa- 
 tive men of Muscoda, Grant county, and a 
 veteran soldier, enjoys the distinction of hav- 
 ing been a member of the famous 6th \\ is. 
 Y. I., which formed a part of the Iron Brigade, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 585 
 
 and rendered such efficient service in the great 
 civil struggle between the North and the South. 
 
 Mr. Unosh was born Jan. 6, 1844, in Bo- 
 hemia, a son of Joseph and Catherine Unosh, 
 and in 1856 was brought to America by his 
 parents. The family had originally consisted 
 of six children, but four had died prior to the 
 immigration to this country, so that Joseph 
 and his sister Ellen were the only survivors; 
 the latter, after attaining womanhood and mar- 
 rying, also died. Upon coming to America 
 Mr. and Mrs. Unosh located on land in the 
 town of Castle Rock, Grant county, and re- 
 mained there for years. The mother died in 
 Castle Rock; the father, surviving her, passed 
 his last days at Muscoda, and died highly re- 
 spected by all. 
 
 Joseph Unosh, the subject of this sketch, 
 enlisted in Company B, 6th Wis. V. I., in 
 October, 1864, and participated with his regi- 
 ment in Gen. Grant’s Richmond and Peters- 
 burg campaign, being badly wounded in the 
 right leg at the battle of Hatcher’s Run, Feb. 
 6, 1865. T musket ball struck his right ankle, 
 shattering the limb, and Mr. Unosh lay where 
 he fell until captured by the enemy, who had 
 obtained possession of the part of the field in 
 which he had fallen. Owing to poor facilities 
 for caring for the wounded, and the large 
 number of both Union and Confederate sol- 
 diers who needed attention, Mr. Unosh suf- 
 fered untold pain, and has never fully recov- 
 ered from the effects of the neglect then ex- 
 perienced. Gangrene ensued, and the wound 
 has never permanently healed, although after 
 the close of the war, when he was released 
 from captivity, Mr. Unosh remained in a hos- 
 pital at Madison, Wis., for some time, and 
 was honorably discharged from the service in 
 that city. For a number of years succeeding 
 the war Mr. Unosh resided on Blue river, and 
 then removed to Muscoda, which has since 
 been his home. 
 
 On Aug. 16, 1893, Mr. Unosh was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary J. Sedivy, a native of Bo- 
 hemia, who was born Nov. 18, 1871, daugh- 
 ter of Frank and Veronika Sedivy. and came 
 to America with her parents in 1885. Mr. 
 --sa-nd Mrs. Sedivy are well known and highly 
 respected residents of Orion, Richland Co., 
 V is. Mr. and Mrs. Unosh have three living 
 -c-hildren, Jennie, Freddie and Celie; their 
 youngest, Frank J., died when an infant of a 
 few days. 
 
 Mr. Unosh and his family are pleasantly 
 located at their comfortable home in Mus- 
 coda, and enjoy the esteem of a large circle 
 of friends. In the G. A. R. Post of Muscoda 
 Mr. Unosh is a prominent member, and he 
 is justly regarded as an estimable and repre- 
 sentative citizen. 
 
 THOMAS H. PEACOCK. Tourists who 
 come from foreign countries to criticise pause 
 to admire when they reach some of the beau- 
 tiful, cultivated farms of Wisconsin. Among 
 these there is none more attractive than that 
 owned by Thomas H. Peacock, the subject 
 of this sketch. He was' born in Smelser, Grant 
 county, in January, i860, a son of William and 
 Alary A. (Thomas) Peacock, both of York- 
 shire, England. 
 
 \Y illiam Peacock came when a young man 
 to Grant county, where he married and settled 
 on a farm. He was one of the pioneers of the 
 county, rearing his family here, and clearing 
 up the land. At the time of his death he owned 
 considerable property and a comfortable resi- 
 dence in Big Patch, where he died in 1884, 
 his wife passing away in 1878. They were 
 members of the Primitive Methodist Church 
 of Big Patch. They left a family of six sons 
 and one daughter, of whom John W., born 
 in 1858, married Caroline Fathers', of Dar- 
 lington, Lafayette county, and they live on the 
 old home farm with their four children, 
 Eunice. Clinton, Wonda, and Lawrence. Ab- 
 raham Lincoln, born in 1862, married Ellen 
 Hilton, of Platteville, and resides on his farm 
 near Smelser; they have three children, Sarah. 
 Charles, and Flossie. Isaiah, born in Smelser 
 in 1865, married Annie Hilton, and they first 
 lived on a farm, but now reside in Platteville ; 
 they have one daughter, Mary. Sarah, born 
 in Smelser township, is now the wife of 
 Thomas G. Harker, who lives in the old 
 Harker home in Big Patch ; they have two chil- 
 dren. William and Alvin. Samuel, born in 
 Smelser in 1868, married Sarah Hilton, and 
 resides on a farm in Smelser. James', born in 
 1870, married Jennette Yanetta, of German- 
 town, Grant county, and resides near Big 
 Patch ; they have one daughter. Fleta. 
 
 Our subject received a district-school edu- 
 cation in the township of Smelser, grew up 
 on his father’s farm, and was taught in the 
 home circle those lessons of thrift, honesty 
 and industry which have been of value to him 
 
586 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 since. Purchasing a farm in that township, 
 after marriage he settled upon it, later selling 
 that place and renting land for six years, in 
 March, 1900, he purchased what is known as 
 the Henry Harbicutt farm in Smelser, cou- 
 taining 240 acres, all in a fine state of culti- 
 vation ; there are fine barns, and a comfort- 
 aide, modern house. This is. considered one 
 of the finest farms in Smelser township. Mr. 
 Peacock is a progressive man, believing in up- 
 to-date machinery, of which he has purchased 
 considerable, and he has stocked his farm with 
 improved and reliable breeds of cattle. 
 
 The marriage of our subject was celebrated 
 in March, 1884, the bride being Miss Anna 
 Harker, the worthy daughter of Simon and 
 Mary A. Harker, old and prominent residents 
 of Grant county. Mr. Harker was a well- 
 known merchant in Cuba City for a number 
 of years before his death. Mrs. Peacock was 
 born in January, i860, and grew up in the 
 township of Smelser. Children as follows 
 have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Peacock: 
 Mary A., born in 1884; Roscoe, in May. 1 888 ; 
 Alice, in June, 1893; an d William, in Novem- 
 ber, 1899. 
 
 Since early manhood our subject has been 
 a member of the Republican party. He and his 
 family attend religious services, and are cheer- 
 ful supporters of church work. Mr. Peacock 
 takes a pardonable pride in his fine farm and 
 excellent stock, as he realizes that he has 
 earned all these pleasant rewards' by his appli- 
 cation, and the memory of the lessons learned 
 at his mother’s knee. 
 
 D. J. GARDNER, a native of Platteville, 
 Grant county, and a distinguished lawyer in 
 the prime of life, was born Feb. 26, 1853, son 
 of David and Mary (Murphy) Gardner, both 
 natives of Ireland. 
 
 David Gardner was born in County Meath. 
 Ireland, March 4, 1818, and came to the United 
 States' in 1836. In 1844 he married Miss 
 Mary Murphy, a native of County Cork, Ire- 
 land, and a daughter of Dennis Murphy, who 
 seeded in New Orleans, La., in 1840, and died 
 there the same year. David Gardner came up 
 the Mississippi river from Grand Gulf, Miss., 
 to Ottawa, 111 ., in 1S38, and to Platteville, 
 VV is., in April. 1842, settled on a farm one and 
 a half miles southwest of the then village, and 
 began prospecting for lead. He first discovered 
 the Boots mine, and later the Gardner and 
 
 Hayden mines, both the latter on the Gardner 
 homestead, and successfully operated them a 
 number of years, also following farming. Mr. 
 Gardner was a man of energy and of splendid 
 character. He died on his homestead in 1876, 
 a devout member of the Catholic Church, and 
 his widow, who was a lady of culture and re- 
 finement, descended from a family noted for 
 generations back as highly educated people, 
 survived until Dec. 12, 1893. Mr. and Mrs. 
 David Gardner reared a family of seven chil- 
 dren : John M., a retired farmer and surveyor, 
 was born in 1845, an( l h as always been a use- 
 ful citizen; he has never married, and resides 
 with) his brother, D. J. David married Miss 
 Drusilla Works, who has borne him two chil- 
 dren, Dorothy and Helen, and lives on the old 
 homestead at Platteville. James V., who was 
 educated in the Platteville State Normal 
 School, has recently retired from the general 
 merchandise business; he married Miss Kate 
 Martin, of Belmont, and they have had five 
 children, David, Jr., Mary, Marguerite, Cyril 
 and Claude. Mary E. is housekeeper for her 
 brother D. J. Our subject is next in the order 
 of birth. Bee A., a graduate of the State Nor- 
 mal, is the librarian of that institution. Ce- 
 celia, who was also educated at the State Nor- 
 mal School, is a successful teacher in the public 
 schools of Platteville. 
 
 D. J. Gardner, after graduating from The 
 State Normal School, in his native city, was 
 engaged as principal of the Cassville school 
 for three years. In 1880 he entered the law 
 office of Carter & Cleary, as a student, was 
 admitted to the Bar in 1882, and opened his' 
 office for practice in the same year; in De- 
 cember, 1885, he was admitted to practice in 
 the Supreme court of the State, and to the 
 United States courts in April, 1888. In 1887 
 Mr. Gardner associated with J. W. Murphy 
 in practice, and until the dissolution of the 
 firm, in 1895 they did a vel T extensive busi- 
 ness. Mr. Gardner has continued practice at the 
 old office until the present time. In 1891 he was 
 appointed a member of the Board of Regents 
 of Normal Schools of Wisconsin, on which he 
 served five years', being vice-president of the 
 Board the last year. During his membership 
 the Board erected two Normal School edifices, 
 one at Superior and one at Stevens Point, 
 and Mr. Gardner was present at the dedica- 
 tion of both buildings, and delivered an ad- 
 dress at the dedication of the Superior build- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 53 7 
 
 ing, in 1896. Through his efforts the Platte- 
 ville school has been very much enlarged, and 
 it is now furnished with every modern appli- 
 ance, and is a credit to the State. In Febru- 
 ary, 1893, Mr. Gardner greatly aided in the 
 organization of the Platteville State Bank, was 
 elected its vice-president, being a man of busi- 
 ness ability as well as a stockholder, and 1 held 
 that position until October, 1899, when 'he dis- 
 posed of his stock. 
 
 In politics Mr. Gardner is a hard-working 
 Democrat, and has been honored by his party, 
 having been elected to various offices, includ- 
 ing those of town clerk, justice of the peace 
 and city attorney, bolding the last named for 
 five years'. He has always been one of the 
 foremost public-spirited men of the city, ever 
 keeping in view and aiding its progress. In- 
 dividually he is one of the most generous and 
 broad-minded of men, and to aid a friend there 
 is no task too arduous for him to undertake. 
 As a professional man, his career, as even 
 here inadequately recorded, is sufficient to 
 show that he is far in advance of the average 
 lawyer who has had the same educational ad- 
 vantages and the same professional opportu- 
 nities. 
 
 FRANK I. MOORE, engaged in the gro- 
 cery business at Brodhead, Green county, 
 where he carries a full line of everything usual- 
 ly found in a first-class establishment of the 
 kind, including provisions and queensware, has, 
 by strict attention to his business, and a very 
 clear understanding of the requirements of 
 his trade, built up a large and profitable pat- 
 ronage. 
 
 Mr. Moore was born in Danville, Vt.. 
 March 21, 1855, and is a son of Isaac and 
 Amelia (Snow) Moore. Plis father was born 
 in New Hampshire, and the birthplace of his' 
 mother is now lost to memory. Their children 
 were: Amanda, wife of A. A. Ten Eyck, of 
 the town of Decatur ; Adin S., of Brodhead ; 
 Belle C., the widow of T. H. White, of Aurora, 
 Hi.; Ella M„ of the same city; Frank 1 .; and 
 Anna J., wife of E. L. Whitney,, of Mendota, 
 111 . The father was a farmer, and came to 
 Wisconsin in i860, locating on a farm of 125 
 acres, to which he subsequently added about 
 sixty acres. After the death of his wife, in 
 1894, at the age of seventy-four, he made 
 his home with his daughter, until his own death 
 in 1898, at the age of eighty-two. They were 
 
 First-Day Adventists. He was justice of the 
 peace in Vermont, and held various town of- 
 fices in his more active days. His father, John 
 Moore, was a native of Scotland, who came to 
 this country, and settled in New Hampshire. 
 Fie died in Vermont when old. He was a 
 farmer, and had a large family. Adin Snow, 
 the father of Amelia (Snow) Moore, was the 
 father of five children. He was of English 
 descent, and was engaged in milling in New 
 Hampshire, at the time of his death from an 
 accident in the mill. 
 
 Frank I. Moore was six years old when he 
 came to Green county, Wis., with his parents. 
 He attended the district school and was a stu- 
 dent in the State Normal, at Whitewater. Fie 
 began for himself as a clerk in Brodhead, and 
 was in the same store for eight years. For 
 the last twelve years he has been engaged in 
 the grocery business for himself, and in that 
 time has come to the front as a capable business 
 man. 
 
 In May, 1877, Mr. Moore was united in 
 marriage with Miss Carrie M. Cortelyou, a 
 daughter of Timothy T. and Ann (Stillwell) 
 Cortelyou. Mr. and Mrs. Moore have two 
 children, F. Stillwell and Carrie Ella. The 
 family are members of the Methodist church, 
 where he serves as trustee and treasurer. So- 
 cially he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of 
 America, and politically has always been a 
 Democrat. The family reside in a pleasant 
 home on South Center street. 
 
 SAMUEL BIRKBECK, Ph. G, M. D„ 
 of Gratiot, Lafayette county, succeeded Dr. 
 A. L. Bushby in practice in April, 1898. The 
 latter is now a resident of Primghar, Iowa. 
 
 Dr. Birkbeck is a native of Illinois, born 
 in 1866 at Council Hill, Jo Daviess county, 
 where his father, Thomas T. Birkbeck, was' 
 also born. Samuel Birkbeck, the grandfather 
 of Dr. Birkbeck, was born in England. ' He 
 went into the lead regions of northwestern 
 Illinois, where in company with his brothers- 
 in-law he owned one of the earliest lead smelt- 
 ing works established in that part of the West. 
 
 Dr. Birkbeck received his early education at 
 the common school, and for a time was a stu- 
 dent at the German-English College in Galena, 
 after which he taught in the common schools 
 for three years. He entered Highland Park 
 College of Pharmacy, and graduated from that 
 institution in 1894. Having decided to enter 
 
588 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the medical profession, he entered upon the 
 study of the healing art in 1895, an d graduated 
 from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, 
 at Keokuk, Iowa, in 1898. Soon after leav- 
 ing college he located at Gratiot, and here he 
 has won many friends. Dr. Birkbeck has es- 
 tablished an extensive practice, and both as a 
 citizen and as a physician he is held in high 
 esteem. 
 
 Mrs'. Birkbeck was formerly Miss Hattie 
 Lauterbach, and is a lady of many charms and 
 attractions. 
 
 PATRICK J. BRIDE, a prosperous and 
 highly respected dairyman farmer in the town 
 of Platteville, Grant county, was born in To- 
 ronto, Canada, in March, 1847. 
 
 Patrick and Catherine (Redmond) Bride, 
 his parents, were natives of Dublin, Ireland, and 
 were married in their native city. In 1844 
 they came to Canada, where they followed an 
 agricultural life. In 1852 they entered Wis- 
 consin, and settled on a farm in the town of 
 Lima, Grant county. Four years later they 
 moved to Platteville, where they spent the rest 
 of their days. He died in 1880, and she in 
 1891. They were both members of the Cath- 
 olic Church, and he was' a Democrat. They 
 were the parents of eight children, of whom 
 James, Patrick and Mary A. died young. Ed- 
 ward, born in Ireland in 1839, served in the 
 3d Wisconsin Cavalry during the Civil war; 
 he married Miss Catherine Dongan, of Oma- 
 ha, and made that city his 'home until his death, 
 in 1898; he left a wife and four children, John, 
 James, Anna and Mary, who still reside in 
 Omaha. Michael, born in Canada in April, 
 1845, was a small child when his parents came 
 to Wisconsin; he married 1 Miss Nettie Mace, 
 and now resides in Kingsley, Iowa, where he 
 is engaged in farming; they have had a family 
 of fourteen children, twelve living — John, Ed- 
 ward, Fannie, Katie, May, Nellie, James, 
 Annie, Walter, Adaline, Cecilia, and Clara. 
 Patrick J. is our subject. John, born in Can- 
 ada in 1849, obtaining his education in the Wis- 
 consin schools; he married Miss Jane Welch, 
 of Lima, where they lived until her death, in 
 1889; she left four children, Thomas (born 
 in 1S70), Mary (1872), Nellie N. (1874), 
 and Jane, 1880. John Bride subsequently mar- 
 ried Miss Katie Holzer, and is now living on 
 his farm north of Platteville. 
 
 Patrick J. Bride was reared and educated 
 
 in Grant county, and here he has been engaged 
 in farming during the greater part of his life. 
 
 In February, 1870, he married Miss Annie 
 Connor, daughter of Patrick and Annie 
 Connor, of Ireland ; her mother belonged to 
 the Doyle family. Her parents came to To- 
 ronto, Canada, while still young people, and 
 lived there some years. In 1851 they came to 
 Platteville, where the father died nine years 
 later. The mother later married Peter Clark, 
 and died in 1887. Mrs. Bride was born in 
 January, 1847, an d is the only surviving mem- 
 ber of a family of eight children. She received 
 her education in the public school. After their 
 marriage Mr. and Mrs. Bride took up their 
 abode in the town of Platteville, where he 
 bought what was known as the old Bass farm. 
 To this he added fifty acres, and is' now the 
 owner of 100 acres of fine farming land, two 
 miles north of Platteville. He has comfortable 
 buildings, and has made a choice farm. -Mr. 
 and Mrs. Bride were blessed with no children 
 of their own, but are rearing two : Cordelia 
 
 Holzer, born Aug. 5, 1884, in Platteville; and 
 Leo Pitts, born in July, 1882. They are bring- 
 ing up these, children as they would their own, 
 and both are now students in the public school. 
 Mr. and 1 Mrs. Bride are members of the Cath- 
 olic Church, and he is a member of the Cath- 
 olic Knights. He is a Democrat, and though 
 never an aspirant for public office was clerk 
 of the school district a number of years, and is 
 a man held in the highest esteem by all who 
 know him. 
 
 1 
 
 J. R. WALKER, one of the leading repre- 
 sentatives of the agricultural interests of Wat- 
 terstown township, Grant county, owns and 
 occupies a fine farm, which, by his efforts, 
 has been developed into a very productive piece 
 of property. 
 
 Mr. Walker was born in Hickory Grove 
 township, Grant county, April 14, 1857, a son 
 of Joseph Newcomb and Isabella (Ham) 
 Walker. The paternal grandfather of our sub- 
 ject came to Hickory Grove township some ten 
 years before his death, which occurred in Bos- 
 cobel, when he was aged eighty-one. His 
 wife died at the age of seventy-eight. Both 
 were very highly respected. J. Newcomb 
 Walker, the father of our subject, was born in 
 Michigan in 1823, was reared in that State, 
 and came with his parents to Grant county, 
 settling in Hickory Grove township. Here 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 589 
 
 he took up government land, improved it, and 
 is now one of the leading farmers of Ins sec- 
 tion as well as a prosperous banker, being 
 prominently identified with one of the bank- 
 ing institutions of Boscobel. His marriage 
 occurred at Fennimore, and to himself and 
 wife were born thirteen children, of whom are 
 mentioned : Norah, Mrs. Murley, of Hickory 
 Grove; Justin, of Hickory Grove; Cornelius, 
 of Hickory Grove; Lizzie, of Rockton, 111 .; 
 Leona, Mrs. Richter, of Centerville, Wis. ; 
 Gertrude, Mrs. Sabins, of Hickory Grove; 
 Myrtie, Mrs. Botten, of Hickory Grove; 
 Leatea, Mrs. Updyke, of Hickory Grove. 
 
 J. R. Walker was reared and educated in 
 Hickory Grove township, remaining there until 
 he attained his majority, when he went upon 
 the road as a traveling salesman for machinery, 
 in Illinois. Later he located in Boscobel, hand- 
 ling machinery and vehicles, pianos, organs 
 and sewing machines, until 1899, when he pur- 
 chased a fine farm of 173 acres in Watters- 
 town township, from C. Olesen, and has since 
 devoted his attention to its cultivation and im- 
 provement. 
 
 On Feb. 18, 1893, Mr. Walker was mar- 
 ried to Miss Helen Botten, a native of Nor- 
 way, daughter of Martin Botten, of Hickory 
 Grove township. Four children have been born 
 of this union: Leonie Isabel, Jerome New- 
 
 comb, John Fulten, and Stella Annetta. In 
 politics Mr. Walker is a stanch Republican, 
 and takes an active part in the work of that 
 party. Thoroughly identified in all move- 
 ments having for their object the advance- 
 ment of the material welfare of the community, 
 Mr. Walker is well known throughout the 
 county, and is highly respected for 'his many 
 excellent qualities. 
 
 ISAAC LEWIS WILLIAMS, whose 
 well-cultivated farm of 120 acres in Section 
 19. Monroe township, Green county, speaks 
 well for the thrift and industry of its owner, 
 was born July 13, 1851, in Punxsutawney, Jef- 
 ferson Co., Penn., where his father still re- 
 sides. 
 
 Stacy B. Williams, his father, was born 
 in New York State, and when quite small was 
 brought by his father to Pennsylvania. He is 
 I a merchant and lumberman, and has engaged 
 in school teaching to some extent, although of 
 late years he has given the major portion of 
 his attention to farming, residing within a 
 
 mile of his father's old home. He married 
 Caroline Lewis, daughter of Isaac Lewis, and 
 of this union ten children were born, four of 
 whom survive : Thomas M., of Punxsutaw- 
 
 ney; Isaac Lewis; George, of Jefferson county, 
 Penn.; and John C., of western Virginia. 
 The mother of these children died in 1864, 
 and Mr. Williams married for his second wife, 
 Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Law, widow of Harri- 
 son Law, and daughter of Theodore and Ma- 
 tilda Morris. To this second union came six 
 children, but Joseph and Martha alone survive. 
 Stacy B. Williams was a son of Thomas Will- 
 iams, a native of New York State, who mi- 
 grated with his family to Pennsylvania, Stacy 
 B. being the youngest of fourteen children. 
 Isaac Lewis, the maternal grandfather of Mr. 
 Isaac Lewis Williams, was a farmer of Penn- 
 sylvania, where he raised his family of five chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Isaac Lewis Williams lived on his father’s 
 farm until he had attained to man’s estate, 
 and received his education in the common 
 schools of Punxsutawney, after which he 
 worked at the lumbering business in the em- 
 ploy of his father for nine years. In 1877 
 he located in Green county, Wis., and for five 
 years worked by the month. In 1882 he pur- 
 chased his present farm of 120 acres, which he 
 has since improved and brought to a high state 
 of cultivation. He has seen his efforts crowned 
 I with success, and can now look over his broad 
 fields, and see the wonders his systematic labors 
 have wrought. 
 
 On Feb. 23, 1882, Mr. Williams was 
 united in marriage with Miss Clara Russell, 
 who was born in Beloit. Wis.. Jan. 31. 1850, 
 a daughter ofi John Milton and Teressa J. 
 (Morris) Russell, and one son, Stacy Hurley 
 Williams, born July 29, 1883. has come to bless 
 this union (he is a graduate of the business col- 
 lege in Monroe). Socially Mr. Williams be- 
 longs to the Modern Woodmen, and he and his 
 wife in their religious belief are Methodists, 
 but not identified with any one church. 
 
 Mr. John Milton Russell was born in I11- 
 | diana, and when quite small accompanied his 
 parents to California, but later returned East, 
 
 | and was married when quite young in Monroe, 
 Wis. A year after his marriage he started 
 back to California across the Plains, but he was 
 not heard of again ; it is believed he was mur- 
 dered while on the way. His wife, Teressa 
 J. (Morris) Russell, never married a second 
 
590 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 time, but makes her home with her daughter. 
 She is a Universalist in religious belief. John 
 Russell, father of John Milton Russell, was a 
 native of Indiana, and after his removal to 
 California engaged in farming and became the 
 owner of a large ranch. He died there aged 
 sixty-seven years, and his wife, Margaret, 
 died Jan. it, 1892, at the residence of her 
 daughter, Mrs. Muzzy, in her ninetieth year; 
 she was a devout member of the Baptist 
 Church, having been converted in her girlhood, 
 and her love of prayer and deep attachment 
 to the Bil:ile characterized her private Christian 
 life. William Morris, father of Mrs. Teressa 
 J. (Morris) Russell, and grandfather of Mrs. 
 Williams, was a native of Virginia, of English 
 descent, was a farmer, by occupation, and was 
 a soldier in the war of 1812. He married 
 Mary Kilgore, who died in 1884, aged eighty- 
 one. He came to Wisconsin in 1844, and lived 
 in Green county until 1877, when he passed 
 away. 
 
 MARTIN McNEIL, the manager of the 
 McNeil estate in Section 25, Clinton township, 
 Rock county, is a man of much character and 
 energy. He is not afraid of hard work, and is 
 a student of modern and progressive farming, 
 joining thrift and industry, in his personal 
 career, and is getting ahead in the world. 
 
 Mr. McNeil was born in Beloit, Rock coun- 
 ty, July 15, 1861, and obtained his education 
 in the district schools of the town of Clinton. 
 When he became a young man he worked on 
 the farm for his father, and in 1885 and 1886 
 was a train hand on the Burlington & Missouri 
 River railroad in Nebraska. In 1887 he re- 
 turned home, and since that time has had 
 charge of the paternal homestead, managing 
 his father’s property in a most satisfactory 
 manner. He is capable and pushing, knows his 
 business, and is popular among the neighbor- 
 ing farmers. He is well read, and takes' much 
 intelligent interest in public affairs. He is a 
 strong Democrat, and religiously a member of 
 the Catholic Church. 
 
 Martin McNeil, the father of the gentleman 
 whose name introduces this article, was born 
 in Ireland Nov. 11, 1817, and came to this 
 country in 1842, settling first in Providence, 
 R. I., and going from there to California in 
 ] 8,50. He spent two successful years in the 
 gold mines, and then returned 1 to Providence. 
 In 1857 Mr. McNeil came to Wisconsin, and 
 
 bought the present McNeil estate, paying for 
 it in gold. Here he resided until his death, 
 June 20, 1890. In November, 1S57, he was 
 married to Miss Eliza Lannon, a daughter of 
 Michael and Winifred (McIntyre) Lannon, 
 of Providence, R. I., who came to Wisconsin 
 in 1862, and remained here thirteen years. 
 They then returned to Providence, where they 
 died in 1880. Mrs. McNeil is still living, at 
 the age of sixty-one, with a daughter who is 
 teaching school in Sharon, Wis. She is the 
 mother of eleven children, Martin, John, 
 Hugh, Charles, George, Mary, Ellen, Mar- 
 garet, Agnes, Winifred and Frances. Hugh 
 died at the age of sixteen. Ellen married Ar- 
 thur Friedendahl, of Clinton, and has five chil- 
 dren, Martin, Guy, Howard, Myrtle and 
 Marie. 
 
 REV. P. J. JONES, pastor of St. Charles 
 Catholic Church, of Cassville, Grant county, 
 was born at Holy Cross, Ozaukee Co., Wis., 
 Jan. 27, 1861, a son of Peter and Margaret 
 (Schumacher) Jones. The father was born 
 in Brussels, Belgium, in December, 1832, and 
 was eleven years of age when he came to Wis- 
 consin, locating in Ozaukee county. Peter 
 Jones attended a college in Michigan, and for 
 thirty-two years was engaged in teaching in 
 the schools near Port Washington, Ozaukee 
 Co., Wis. He served as town clerk thirty- 
 five years, and also filled the office of post- 
 master. There he married Margaret Schu- 
 macher, a native of Luxemburg, Germany, who 
 came to Ozaukee county at the age of seven 
 years. To this union were born six children: 
 Nicholas, a resident of Appleton, Wis.; P. J. ; 
 Mary, Mrs. Clohisy, of Eagle, Waukesha Co., 
 Wis. ; Michael and Maggie, Mrs. Corey, both 
 of Milwaukee; and Anna, at home. 
 
 Father Jones attended the public schools 
 of his native place, and at the age of eleven 
 years entered Calvary College, Fond du Lac, 
 Wis., where he was a student for five years. 
 For two years he attended Grand Seminary, 
 Montreal, Canada, and for three years pursued | 
 ’his studies at St. Francis College, where he 
 was graduated June 29, 1885. After his or- 1 
 dination as priest he became pastor of the 
 church at Eagle, Wis., where he remained six- 
 teen months, and then took pastoral charge of 
 the Catholic Church at Mazo Manie, Dane 
 county, where he was located for twelve and a 
 half years, at the’ same time having charge 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 59i 
 
 of two missions, at Blue Mounds and Mill 
 Creek. He built St. Barnabas Church, at Mazo 
 Manie, which was commenced in 1890, com- 
 pleted in 1891, and cost $18,000. He also 
 erected a frame school house, and opened a 
 parochial school, in charge of the Dominican 
 Sisters, in 1889. From Mazo Manie Father 
 Jones came to Cassville, July 16, 1899, and 
 has since done a great work in building up the 
 church at this place. He is a member of the 
 Order of Catholic Knights. Broad in his views 
 and sympathies, a friend of the poor and op- 
 pressed, ever ready with helpful counsel for the 
 perplexed and sorrowful, he has a wide field 
 for labor, and well does he discharge its ardu- 
 ous and sacred duties. 
 
 St. Charles Catholic Church. Services 
 were first held in Cassville by Rev. Father L. 
 Galthier, of Prairie du Chien, and a father 
 from Sinsinawa also made occasional visits 
 here. Early in the 'fifties Rev. Hobbs, then sta- 
 tioned at Potosi, said mass in private resi- 
 dences near Cassville, there being five or six 
 Catholic families in the neighborhood at that 
 time. In 1856 Rev. Vivaldi, of Potosi, held 
 services in the public school building of Cass- 
 ville, and this became a regular mission of 
 Potosi, with Rev. Gibson for the English- 
 speaking people, and Rev. Zuber for the Ger- 
 man. Before the close of 1857 a brick church 
 was erected by Rev. Vincent Verhof and J. 
 M. Albers, both of Potosi. In August, 1865, 
 Father Thiele took charge here, becoming the 
 first resident pastor, and within two months 
 had built a parsonage. In February, 1867, he 
 was succeeded by Rev. J. A. Moes, who built 
 the church at Glen Haven, and 1 established a 
 mission at that place. He was followed by 
 Rev. J. M. Albers, who was stationed here 
 from 1868 to 1871, and was succeeded by Rev. 
 M. DeBecke, who was pastor here from May, 
 1871, to January, 1873 ; Rev. T. F. Schrauden- 
 bach officiated from March, 1873, to January, 
 1876. The latter died at Boscobel, Wis. The 
 next in charge was Rev. J. Gemeiner, from 
 February, 1876, to September, 1878. During 
 his pastorate a frame school house, now the 
 parsonage, was built. Father Meurer was 
 pastor of St. Charles from October, 1878, to 
 April. 1880, and was followed by Rev. J. 
 Decker, who assumed his duties in Cassville 
 the following May, but remained here only 
 until November, during which time the parson- 
 age was sold, and the former school building 
 
 converted into a parsonage ; he is now connect- 
 ed with the Milwaukee diocese. From April, 
 1881, to March, 1882, the church was under 
 the pastorate of Rev. A. Gardthaus, now of 
 Minneapolis, and of Rev. L. C. Drexel, now a 
 professor in St. Francis Seminary, Milwaukee, 
 from August, 1882, to April, 1888, when he 
 was succeeded by Rev. A. M. Rossbach. In 
 the spring of 1889 the latter began the erec- 
 tion of the present church, the corner-stone 
 being laid April 30, that year, and the church 
 dedicated Nov. 20, by Rt. Rev. K. Flasch, of 
 La Crosse, Wis. It is a fine brick structure, 
 50x100 feet, in the Gothic style of architecture, 
 and cost $14,000, not including the inside fur- 
 nishings. In June, 1893, the present school 
 building was commenced, the corner-stone was 
 laid Feb. 1, 1S94, and the building was dedi- 
 cated March 7, same year, by the Most Rev. 
 F. X. Kratzer, Archbishop ot Milwaukee, and 
 the Very Rev. A. Salick, of the same place. 
 The building contains two school rooms and 
 an apartment for the Sisters and boarders, the 
 school being under the direct control of the 
 Franciscan Sisters, of Alvarno, Manitowoc 
 Co., Wis. It was opened with sixty-two pu- 
 pils in attendance, and now has' ninety-five, 
 while the church now has a membership of 
 about 180 families. Rev. A. Rossbach was 
 pastor from 1888 to 1897, and was succeeded 
 by Rev. Francis O. Pichery, who in turn was 
 succeeded by Rev. P. J. Jones, the present 
 pastor, July 16, 1899. During the pastorate 
 of Father Jones the church indebtedness has 
 been raised, and there is now money in the 
 treasury, while a contract has been made with 
 Henry Gaertner, of Milwaukee, for inside 
 decorations to cost $1,200. In connection with 
 the church there is a society, known as the 
 Catholic Order of Knights, which now has 
 about sixty-five members, with Patrick Mc- 
 Dermott, president; G. P. Diedrich, vice-presi- 
 dent; J. W. Niemer. treasurer; Michael Esser, 
 trustee; and A. J. Diedrich, sentinel. 
 
 LEWIS W. TERRY, a general merchant 
 of Brodhead, Green county, has by close appli- 
 cation to his business, together with a readiness 
 to accommodate and please his customers, and 
 a uniform integrity and fair dealing with all, 
 built up a large and flattering trade, and is 
 placed among the representative men of the 
 county. 
 
 Mr. Terry was born in Durand. 111 ., Sept. 
 
592 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1 7, 1855, and is a son of Nine and Sarah 
 (Quisley) Terry, natives of Norway. They 
 were the parents of seven children : Thomas, 
 
 of Sweetwater, Neb.; Lewis W., of Brod- 
 liead; Bessie, the wife of Fred Ivrogh, of Chi- 
 cago; Ole E., of Stoughton, Wis. ; Carrie, the 
 wife of W. Lee, of Sweetwater, Neb.; Tillie, 
 of Chicago; and John, of Sweetwater, Neb. 
 The father was a farmer and came to America 
 about 1845, locating at Durand, Bl. He 
 worked in the northern pineries for several 
 years during the winter season. After a time 
 he married, and bought a farm near Durand, 
 Bl., where he lived some twenty-five years. 
 At the expiration of that period this land had 
 become too valuable for farming purposes, and 
 the senior Terry sold it and moved to Brod- 
 head, Wis'., living here for some two years. 
 After this he went to Nebraska, and settled at 
 Sweetwater, which is his present home. His 
 wife died in 1873 at the a §‘ e °f forty-eight. 
 They were both Lutherans in their religious 
 faith. His father died in Norway. Mrs. Ter- 
 ry’s father bore the name of Lars Quisley, and 
 was a Norwegian farmer, dying in his native 
 country at an advanced age. He was the father 
 of a numerous family. 
 
 Lewis Terry was reared on the farm at 
 Durand, attending the high school at that 
 place, and the Rockford business college. He 
 was a farmer for a time, and then entered a 
 store at Lyle, Minn., where he was a clerk for 
 some months, and then for a year engaged in 
 similar work at Clear Lake, Iowa. After this 
 he came back to Brodhead, where Jan. 1, 1877, 
 he entered the store of B. R. Clawson, and was 
 in his employ three years. In 1880 he formed 
 a partnership with G. C. Aurand, and bought 
 out Mr. Clawson. The firm was Aurand & 
 Terry until 1885, in which year Mr. Aurand 
 sold his interest to Ole E. Terry, and the firm 
 was changed to Terry Brothers. In 1897 
 Lewis W. Terry bought his brother’s inter- 
 est and has since continued the business alone. 
 He has made a large success of it, dealing ex- 
 tensively in wool and tobacco, and is one of the 
 leading country merchants in the southern part 
 of the State. 
 
 On Sept. 8, 1880, Mr. Terry was married 
 to Henrietta M. Bavliss, a daughter of Henry 
 M. and Angelette (Batc'helder) Bayliss. Two 
 children were born to this union, Mabel E. and 
 Maude L. Mrs. Terry died in 1890, when only 
 twenty-nine years old, and her loss was deeply 
 
 felt by a large circle of friends and relatives. 
 She was a woman of much character and a 
 fine spirit. On Oct. 5, 1895, Mr. Terry wedded 
 Miss Anna B. Burtness, the daughter of H. 
 T. Burtness. Socially Mr. Terry belongs to 
 Bicknell Lodge, No. 94, A. F. & A. M., the 
 Knights of Pythias, and the Modern Wood- 
 men of America, and is a valued member of 
 these various organizations. Politically he is 
 a Republican. 'He resides in a comfortable 
 home on Main street. 
 
 SAMUEL HUTZEL, a wealthy and re- 
 tired farmer of Green county, who is spending 
 his last years in peace and comfort at Juda, 
 was born Dec. 3, 1827, and is a son of John 
 G. and Elizabeth (Shultz) Hutzel, of Som- 
 erset county, Pennsylvania. 
 
 The Hutzel family is of German origin, 
 and George Hutzel, the grandfather of Sam- 
 uel, was a native of Germany, coming to Amer- 
 ica before the breaking out of the American 
 Revolution. John G. Hutzel and Elizabeth 
 Shultz were married in 1826, and to this union 
 were born ten children, the eldest being Samuel, 
 whose name introduces this article; Veronica, 
 who married Isah Deal, of Pennsylvania, and 
 died in Wisconsin; Jeremiah; George, de- 
 ceased; Abraham, deceased; Joel, deceased; 
 William, deceased; Peter, deceased; Eliza, wife 
 of John Geise, of Wyoming; and William. 
 The mother of these died in 1848, and Mr. 
 Hutzel married for his second wife Miss Han- 
 nah Suder, of Pennsylvania. To this union 
 were born five children, all of whom are re- 
 siding in Nebraska. 
 
 Samuel Hutzel came to Wisconsin in 1852, 
 and the following year married Miss Lavina 
 Blackford, daughter of William Blackford, of 
 Green county. To them were born the follow- 
 ing children : ( 1 ) Elizabeth married William 
 Baird, a Green county farmer; (2) Rebecca 
 is the wife of Daniel Stull, of Shenandoah, 
 Iowa; (3) John married Miss Alice Gans, and 
 lives in Iowa; (4) Ida is the wife of William 
 Keefer, of Green county; (3) James married 
 Miss Edith Bloom, and is a farmer in Nebras- 
 ka ; (6) Alice married Emry Blackford, and 
 is now deceased; (7) Ada married Frank Car- 
 ter, of the town of Jefferson; (8) Nora is the 
 wife of Edward Hefty, of Iowa. 
 
 Mr. Hutzel lost his first wife in 1881 ; she 
 was born in 1835. For his second wife he 
 married Miss Mary Berryman, who died in 
 

 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 593 
 
 1888, after four years of wedded life. Mr. 
 Hutzel’s third wife was Airs. Minerva Har- 
 rington, the widow of Abraham Harrington. 
 She was born in 1834, and married our subject 
 in 1893. Mr. Hutzel was reared on the farm, 
 where he received a common-school education 
 and invaluable lessons in honor, manliness 
 and self-reliance from the teachings and exam- 
 ple of his parents. Mr. Hutzel began life for 
 himself with an axe and a grubbing hoe, and 
 worked in Pennsylvania at grubbing and clean- 
 ing up forest lands. In 1852 he came to Wis- 
 consin, and settled in Green county, and up 
 to this time had scarcely made any headway. 
 Here he has worked hard, taken advantage of 
 the opportunities, and, by industry, economy 
 and perseverance, is now counted among the 
 wealthier farmers of this region. Two farms 
 belong to him, and he owns over 500 acres of 
 land, in a high state of cultivation. Mr. Hut- 
 zel is a Prohibitionist, and' belongs to the Bap- 
 tist Church. He is a man of strong domestic 
 virtues, and has lived a life of honor and 
 integrity. 
 
 BENNETT W. NIEHAUS is one of the 
 well-known veteran soldiers of the war of the 
 Rebellion who are residents of Fennimore, 
 Grant county. Mr. Niehaus was born in Han- 
 over, Germany, Aug. 4, 1845, a son oi ' Her- 
 man Niehaus, and eleven years later the fam- 
 ily came to Wisconsin, locating in Platteville, 
 where the elder Niehaus found work at his 
 trade as a merchant tailor. He died in Platte- 
 ville in 1861. Plis wife died before he left 
 Germany. Four of the children accompanied 
 him to the United States, Bennett W., Charles 
 W., Minnie and Frederica Alay, all of whom 
 are yet living except Minnie. 
 
 Bennett W. Niehaus learned the wagon- 
 making trade at Platteville, in the shop of 
 Alexander Butler, and was becoming an ex- 
 cellent workman when he determined to enlist, 
 in 1864. In Alay of that year he became a 
 member of Company A, 41st Wis. Y. I., which 
 became a part of the Western Army, and was 
 engaged most of the time in guard and garrison 
 duty. His first term of enlistment expiring, 
 our subject re-enlisted, in January, 1865, as a 
 member of Company K, 47th Wis. V. I. Pie 
 served in the Army of the Tennessee, in the rear 
 of Gen. Sherman. Mr. Niehaus was finally 
 discharged from the service in September, 
 1865, and came back to Wisconsin much broken 
 
 38 
 
 in health, but proud of the fact that he had 
 been permitted to fight for the nation that had 
 welcomed him as a son. He brought out of 
 the service a severe case of hernia, the result 
 of some painful injuries received while on 
 duty, and lie has never fully recovered. 
 
 Mr. Niehaus came back to Platteville, and 
 resumed work at his trade. In 1866 he re- 
 moved to Annaton, Grant county, and thence 
 to Danville, 111 ., only remaining fourteen 
 months at that point, however, and returning 
 to Annaton. There he made his home until 
 1S70, when he became a resident of Fennimore,, 
 and here he has since carried on wagon-mak- 
 ing and repairing, with a good patronage and 
 many friends throughout that part of the 
 county. 
 
 Mr. Niehaus married Aliss Mary Schmidt, 
 and they have one son and one daughter. 
 Their daughter, Minnie, is the wife of Albert 
 Weber; and their son, Charles J., is a drug 
 merchant at Fennimore. Mr. Niehaus belongs 
 to Sam Monteith Post, Grand Army of the 
 Republic, at Fennimore, and is popular among 
 its members. He was a good soldier in the 
 war for the Union, and is a worthy and re- 
 spected citizen at home. 
 
 EDWIN A. LOVELAND, a contractor 
 and builder at Monticello, Green county, was 
 born in the town of Washington, that county, 
 May 7, 1855, and is a son of Argalus and 
 Jane (Orwick) Loveland, the former a native 
 of New York, and the latter of Ohio. They 
 were the parents of nine sons and four daugh- 
 ters, and eight of their children are now liv- 
 ing: Franklin, of the town of Washington; 
 Orrilla, wife of E. N. Fessenden; Emina, wife 
 of Thomas Lemon, of Iowa ; Temperance, wife 
 of I. W. Wilson, of Albany, Wis. ; William 
 A., of Coggon, Iowa; Edwin A.; Alfred E.,. 
 of Coggon, Iowa; and Silas E., of Corona, 
 South Dakota. 
 
 Argalus Loveland 'was a farmer, and came 
 to AVisconsin in 1S54, locating on a farm of 
 160 acres in the town of Washington, where 
 he reared his family. He died in 1896, at the 
 age of eighty-three years; his widow died in 
 1898, when eighty-one years old. In religion 
 he was a Seventh Day Adventist, but she never 
 identified herself with any church. In politics 
 Mr. Loveland was a Republican, and took quite 
 a leading part in local matters, having served 
 on the board of supervisors for a number of 
 
594 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years, and also as treasurer of the town some 
 ten or twelve years. Andrew Loveland, his 
 father, was a native of Pennsylvania, of En- 
 glish descent, followed farming as an occu- 
 pation, and he died in 1869, at the advanced 
 age of ninety-six years. He was four times 
 married, and had twenty-two children by his 
 first two wives. The maternal grandfather of 
 Mr. Loveland, of Monticello, was also a na- 
 tive of Pennsylvania, and came of Dutch de- 
 scent. He married an Irish woman, who bore 
 him ten children. His death occurred when 
 he was about fifty years of age, after having 
 devoted his life to farming. 
 
 Edwin A. Loveland was reared on the 
 farm in the town of Washington, and acquired 
 his education at the district school. After his 
 marriage he learned the carpenter’s trade, and 
 this has been his main occupation through life, 
 although for several years he was a railroad 
 man, and was foreman of the yards at Kearney, 
 Neb., for the Black Hills & Kearney railroad 
 up to 1891. That year he returned to Mon- 
 ticello, where he has remained to the present 
 time, engaged in carpentering and contract- 
 ing. 
 
 On June 27, 1875, Mr. Loveland was mar- 
 ried to Miss Sarah Hutchins, a daughter of 
 Ward and Mary (Parcell) Hutchins. To them 
 were born eight children : Harry, Thomas Ben- 
 jamin, Iva, Edwin, Virgil, Frances, Merle and 
 Joy. Harry died at the age of fifteen years; 
 Thomas B. died at the age of two years, and 
 Edwin at the same age; iva is a teacher; and 
 the other children are living at home. Mr. 
 Loveland, his wife and children have many 
 friends in the community. He is a member 
 of the Masonic fraternity, being enrolled in 
 Riverton Lodge, No. 63, F. & A. M. Fie also 
 belongs to the I. O. O. F., Monticello Lodge, 
 No. 83; to Garrison, No. 6, Knights of the 
 Globe ; and to the Pilgrim Knights, or Oriental 
 Order of the Palm and Shell. In politics he 
 is a Democrat, and has been village clerk for 
 the past four years. His home, which he built 
 in 1892, is in the eastern part of the village. 
 
 HENRY H. FASSBENDER, one of the 
 successful agriculturists of Wyalusing town- 
 ship, Grant county, is numbered among those 
 who fought for the Union when the States of 
 the South threatened its dissolution. He was 
 born in Germany, in 1836, a son of Adolph 
 Fassbender, and was about nine years of age 
 
 when the family emigrated to the United 
 States, locating m Dane county, Wis., where 
 the parents spent the remainder of their lives. 
 Of their nine children Henry H. was the only 
 one in the war. 
 
 Our subject entered the service as a mem- 
 ber of Company F, 1st Wisconsin Cavalry, 
 being enrolled Nov. 19, 1863, as a private, 
 but when discharged, July 19, 1865, he was 
 holding the rank of corporal. He was in act- 
 ive service during the whole time, either with 
 his regiment or on detached duty, and took part 
 in the Chattanooga and Atlanta campaign, 
 and also in Wilson’s famous raid, near the 
 close of the war. 
 
 Mr. Fassbender has resided on the farm 
 in Wyalusing township, Grant county, which 
 he now occupies, since 1862, and has success- 
 fully engaged in agricultural pursuits. Plis 
 wife, who bore the maiden name of Miss Me- 
 linda Sutton, came to the county with her par- 
 ents when but two years old, and here made 
 her home until called to her final rest, March 
 18, 1896, at the age of fifty-three. By her 
 marriage to Mr. FTssbender she became the 
 mother of ten children, four sons and six 
 daughters, of whom all the sons and three 
 daughters are living at the present writing 
 (1900). The family have quite a comforta- 
 ble home, and its members are people of prom- 
 inence in the community where they reside. 
 Notwithstanding his arduous service, Mr. Fass- 
 bender still enjoys fairly good health. He was 
 a faithful soldier, is a good citizen, and is an 
 honored member of Grand Army Post, No. 23. 
 
 RANSOM B. FOLTS, a well-known farm- 
 er of Jamestown, Grant county, was born in 
 Onondaga county, N. Y., in 1843, a son 
 David and Mary (Hoag) Folts. 
 
 The parents of our subject were born in 
 New York, the father in 1813, and the mother 
 in 1811. They received a limited education, 
 were married in 1836, and lived in New York 
 until 1843, i n which year they came West to 
 Milwaukee, which was their home for a time. 
 They moved into Kansas, and then came back 
 to Wisconsin. Here Mr. Folts had one or 
 two locations, and then settled at Louisburg, 
 where he has lived for over forty years, now 
 aged eighty-seven. Mrs. Folts died* in James- 
 town in June, 1875. Mr. Folts has been a 
 Whig and a Republican. In religion he and 
 his wife were connected with the Methodist 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 595 
 
 Church. Of their seven children, three are 
 now living : ( I ) Albert died in Milwaukee 
 
 when a boy. (2) Richard, born in New York 
 in 1840, enlisted in Company I, 3d Wis. V. I., 
 was taken sick, and died in hospital at Fred- 
 ericksburg in the fall of 1861. (3) William 
 
 died when a young man while his parents lived 
 • at Fair Play, Wis. (4) Fred C., born in New 
 York, enlisted in Company I, 3d Wis. V. L, 
 served three years in the Army of the Potomac, 
 and saw much hard fighting. Fie manned 
 Miss Jennie Wilson, of Grant county, settled 
 in Iowa, and engaged in milling. He died in 
 1889, leaving a widow and six children, who 
 settled in Wisconsin. (5) Ransom B. is our 
 subject. (6) Mary M. is the wife of Edward 
 Cummins, lives in Platteville, and has five chil- 
 dren. (7) David B. when a boy enlisted in 
 Company K, 44th Wis. V. I., and served in 
 the Army of the Tennessee. He married Miss 
 Nora Shinoe, and is living on his farm near 
 Dickeysville ; they have one son, Lisle. 
 
 Ransom B. Folts obtained a limited edu- 
 cation in the common schools of Wisconsin. 
 When nineteen years of age he enlisted in Com- 
 pany I, 25th Wis. V. L, and served in the 
 Army of the Cumberland, Gen. Grant com- 
 manding. In 1863 Mr. Folts re-enlisted, in 
 Company D, 43d Wis. V. I., and served until 
 the close of the war under Gen. Thomas. 
 
 In 1869 Mr. Folts married Miss Annie 
 Thurtell, daughter of Edward B. and Amy 
 (Burns) Thurtell, old pioneers of Grant coun- 
 ty. Mr. Thurtell was born in England, and 
 his wife in North Carolina in 1820. They set- 
 tled on a farm one mile north of Louisburg, 
 where they lived until his death, in 1876. Mrs. 
 Thurtell still survives, at the age of eighty. 
 There were nine children in their family : ( 1 ) 
 Edward died in the Civil war. (2) Walter 
 is a resident of Honolulu. (3) Mary is the 
 wife of George Withrow, of Chicago, and is 
 now in the Klondike. (4) Frank is a farmer 
 in Iowa. (5) Frederick is a resident of the 
 State of Washington. (6) Harriet is the wife 
 of Hugh Cattnach, of Minnesota. (7) Grace 
 is the wife of John McKann, of South Da- 
 kota. (8) Belle is the widow of Henry Trav- 
 ers. (9) Annie is the wife of Mr. Folts, was 
 born in 1844, and received a district-school 
 education in Jamestown. 
 
 Soon after his marriage Mr. Folts pur- 
 chased the present home near Louisburg, wtiere 
 he and his family are living. Children have 
 
 come to Mr. and Mrs. Folts as follows: (1) 
 
 Edward R., born in March, 1870, obtained 
 his education in the Louisburg schools, and 
 for six years was one of the successful teach- 
 ers of Grant county. He married Miss Julia 
 Howard, and is now living on his farm in 
 Dickeyville. (2) Eva May, born in James- 
 town, in October, 1874, was a student of the 
 State Normal at Platteville for two years, and 
 was then a teacher for four years. She is 
 now the wife of Harry Howard, a young busi- 
 ness man of Platteville. (3) Mary A. died 
 in childhood. 
 
 Mr. Folts has always voted with the Re- 
 publican party. Fie and his wife both belong 
 to old and honored pioneer families of the 
 county, and for many years have been asso- 
 ciated with all forward movements in the com- 
 munity. Both families were noted for their 
 loyalty in the war, and were largely repre- 
 sented on the “firing line.” 
 
 REV. THOMAS DEMPSEY. The face 
 and figure of the Rev. Father Dempsey, pastor 
 of St. Victor's Catholic Church at Monroe, 
 Green county, are familiar, he having been 
 in charge of that parish for more than eight 
 years. Nor is it too much to add that by his 
 gentle manners, kindly sympathy and consist- 
 ent Christian life he has endeared himself, not 
 only to his flock, but to the community at large, 
 without distinction of creed. 
 
 St. Victor's was originally a mission sta- 
 tion, established about 1850, and the first mass 
 was celebrated by Rev. J. Colton, of Shulls- 
 burg. Masses were said from time to time, 
 and the sacraments administered, as occasion 
 permitted, by clergymen from that point and 
 from Janesville until i860, when the number 
 of the Catholics in the locality appeared to 
 the Bishop of the diocese to be sufficient to 
 justify the establishment of a parish, and the 
 appointment of a resident pastor. Rev. T. 
 Sullivan was the first to fill the position. Dur- 
 ing his pastorate, which extended over a period 
 of six years, the first church edifice was erect- 
 ed. Father Sullivan was transferred to Be- 
 loit, July 1, 1866, where he died, many years 
 ago. He was succeeded by Father William 
 O’Connell (until May, 1867), John Murphy 
 (until June 18, 1868) and John Casey. Fa- 
 ther Casey was a believer in the efficacy of a 
 well-conducted religious paper, and in asso- 
 ciation with Dr. Nolan he founded the “Catho- 
 
 
596 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lie Vindicator,’’ the office of publication being 
 subsequently removed to Milwaukee, and the 
 name of the journal being changed to the 
 “Catholic Citizen," under which caption it has 
 attained a widespread influence and a large 
 circulation. Father Casey was assigned to 
 another parish in July, 1871, and finally closed 
 his long' life of active service and good works 
 at Milwaukee, in the spring of 1900. His 
 successor at St. Victor’s was Rev. Michael 
 Wenker, who was followed by Rev. E. Mc- 
 Ginty. The latter, in 1880, was transferred 
 to a parish at Janesville, where he still re- 
 mains. The next pastor of the church at Mon- 
 roe was the Rev. Father Wrynn, who gave 
 way, in 1883, to the Rev. H. O’Brien. He 
 remained until 1892, in which year began the 
 pastorate of the devoted and zealous clergy- 
 man whose life is briefly sketched in the suc- 
 ceeding paragraphs. 
 
 In 1891 fire destroyed the sacred edifice 
 around which centered, for thirty years, the 
 pious aspirations of St. Victor’s parishioners, 
 and which was the focus of so many tender 
 and sacred memories. It may be perceived, 
 therefore, that the task confronting the new 
 rector was no easy one. A weaker man, or 
 one who had less faith, might have been ap- 
 palled. But Father Dempsey’s courage never 
 faltered nor did his confidence in the sustain- 
 ing grace and power of God for a moment 
 desert him. He at once set about the task of 
 rebuilding, in which he found the self-sacri- 
 ficing piety of his people a cause for thanks- 
 giving. In September, 1893, a new building 
 was dedicated, in which the congregation still 
 worship. It is a handsome structure of brick, 
 and stands surrounded by large, well-kept 
 grounds, on which has been built a neat, yet 
 commodious parochial residence, flhe church 
 and rectory are a monument — silent yet speak- 
 ing — to the piety, self-denial and earnest zeal 
 of the Roman Catholics of Monroe. The con- 
 gregation comprises some 125 families, and in 
 1899 a new altar was built in the church, at 
 a cost of eleven hundred dollars. 
 
 The Rev. Thomas Dempsey is a native of 
 the State which he well loves, having been 
 born in Dodge county, of which his father, 
 Cornelius, was one of the pioneers. The fa- 
 ther is deceased, but his widow (Father Demp- 
 sey's mother) is yet living, her home being at 
 Spokane Falls. To them were born fourteen 
 children, three of their sons having served with 
 
 gallantry through the war for the preservation 
 of the national integrity, one of whom laid 
 down his life in the service of his country. 
 Michael was a member of the 14th Wis. Inf.; 
 James, who was killed in the battle of Corinth, 
 was in the 17th Inf.; and Edward belonged 
 to the First Heavy Artillery; another son, Dr. 
 Peter Dempsey, was for several years a suc- 
 cessful physician at Milwaukee, but failing 
 health enforced his retirement from practice; 
 he sought health in Mexico, and died in that 
 country. The only surviving daughter of the 
 family is in the convent of Notre Dame, and 
 is known as Sister Edgar. 
 
 Father Dempsey received his early educa- 
 tion in the public schools, and studied theology 
 at St. Francis Seminary, near Milwaukee, 
 where he was ordained to the priesthood in 
 June, 1876. For six months after ordination 
 he was assistant to Rev. George Willard, of 
 St. Joseph’s, Fond du Lac, where he was given 
 pastoral charge of the congregations at Eden 
 and Byron, in Fond du Lac county. His next 
 charge was at Highland, Iowa county, from 
 which post he was transferred to Monroe. 
 
 DAVID B. WALKER, a worthy repre- 
 sentative of an old and prominent pioneer fam- 
 ily of Grant county, was born there April 2, 
 r847- 
 
 Our subject is a son of John and Jane 
 (Bradbury) Walker, both of whom were born 
 in Yorkshire, England, in 1814, and came to 
 Wisconsin in 1840. Both at that time were 
 unmarried. Mr. Walker came immediately to 
 this State, feeling confident that plenty of work 
 awaited him. Mrs. Walker, then Jane Brad- 
 bury, went to visit with friends in Meadville, 
 Penn., remaining there several years. After 
 she came to Grant county the old friends met 
 and were married in Potosi, where they lived 
 until 1846, Mr. Walker in that year buying 
 eighty acres of land in Smelser township, Grant 
 county. This farm was purchased from Henry 
 Snowden, who bought the eighty acres adjoin- 
 ing, paying $25 per acre. On this place Mr. 
 Walker erected a house, and the young people 
 settled down to pioneer life in the great North- 
 west, as it was then regarded. Until 1873 
 the family resided there, and Mr. Walker then 
 purchased a small farm near Big Patch, on 
 which place they remained until their deaths, 
 which occurred in 1892 and 1895, respective- 
 ly. Always to be found at the post of duty, 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 597 
 
 it is no wonder that these good people were 
 sincerely mourned, not only in the P. M. 
 Church, where they had long been members, 
 but in the community at large. In politics 
 Mr. Walker was a Whig, then a Republican, 
 and for many years his services were in de- 
 mand on the school board of the township. 
 The family born to the parents of our subject 
 numbered six: David B. ; Margaret A., who 
 died in childhood ; Mary E. ; Harriet A. ; Sarah 
 E., born in Grant county in 1849, who married 
 James D. Bell, of Seymour, Wis., and has six 
 children, Margaret, John W., Nellie, Jennie, 
 Edward and Woodward; and Hannah A., born 
 in 1852, who married James Kay, and now 
 lives in Platteville, Wis. (she has one son, 
 Albert) . 
 
 Our subject was reared in the present home 
 and was educated in the district schools of 
 Smelser township. Being his father's only 
 son, he remained on the farm, where his serv- 
 ices were needed, and became the efficient man- 
 ager of the farm some years before his father’s 
 demise. On Jan. 16, 1873, he was married 
 to Miss Mary J. Douglass, of Hazel Green, 
 the estimable daughter of John and Jane (Brad- 
 ley) Douglass, both of whom were born in 
 Scotland, and on coming to America located 
 in Michigan, later moving to Hazel Green, 
 Wis., where Mr. Douglass engaged in mining. 
 Mr. Douglass became interested in the mines 
 of California, and crossed the plains to that 
 State, but accident must have terminated his 
 life, as he has never returned ; Mrs. Douglass 
 is still a resident of Big Patch, Wis. Five 
 children were born to them : John resides in 
 California; James resides in California; Weal- 
 thy married John Jones, of Smelser; Abner 
 resides in California; Mary J. is the wife of 
 Mr. Walker. 
 
 After his marriage our subject made a 
 great many improvements about the farm, 
 making it one of the finest homes in the town- 
 ship. He owns 500 acres of fertile land, and 
 has been for some time one of the largest cat- 
 tle dealers in the county. To him and his 
 wife have come four children: John D., born 
 in November, 1873, was graduated from the 
 Platteville Normal School in the class of 1895, 
 engaged in teaching in the public schools for 
 one year, and followed that with a year in the 
 great University of Chicago, where he took 
 up the study of vocal music, now occupying 
 that chair in one of the institutes at Fort 
 
 Worth, Texas; Nellie J., born in 1S77, was 
 educated in the Platteville Normal School; 
 James E. was born in October, 1883; and 
 George W., in August, 1887. 
 
 Mr. Walker has been identified with the 
 Republican party, has served as chairman on 
 the town board, and has been school director. 
 Both he and wife are valued members of the 
 M. E. Church, to which he liberally contrib- 
 utes. He has taken a great pride in the adorn- 
 ment of his farm, and has made his property 
 a beautiful and ideal spot. The family has the 
 respect of the neighborhood, where all are per- 
 sonally popular. 
 
 CHARLES P. SCHNEIDER is one of 
 the honored veterans of the Civil war and one 
 of the highly esteemed citizens of Lancaster 
 township, Grant county. He was born May 
 25, 1843, near Sinsinawa Mound, Grant coun- 
 ty, a son of Frederick and Mary (Fager) 
 Schneider. 
 
 Frederick Schneider, his father, emigrated 
 from Germany with his family in 1839. In 
 the Fatherland he was a comb maker, but after 
 coming to this country he was employed in 
 lead mining, and later followed the life -of a 
 farmer. His home was near Hurricane, Grant 
 county, where he died in 1S99, after reaching 
 the age of eighty-five years, having buried his 
 wife many years before. Of his thirteen chil- 
 dren, nine — five sons and four daughters — are 
 yet living: Charles P., Lewis, Joseph, Mary 
 (Mrs. Hoffman), Frederick, Samuel, Louisa, 
 Emma (Mrs. Schaub), and Carrie (Mrs. 
 Pollock). 
 
 Charles P. Schneider, together with a 
 younger brother, Lewis, enlisted in Company 
 Iv, 47th Wis. V. I., and served with that or- 
 ganization, with marked gallantry, until the 
 regiment was mustered out, at the close of the 
 conflict. At the outset he was chosen corporal, 
 and was later made color-bearer, and as such 
 bore the regiment’s standard safely and tri- 
 umphantly home at the end of the war. He 
 keeps his memory of these stirring experiences 
 green, and at the same time perpetuates old 
 comradeship by membership in Tom Cox Post, 
 No. 132, G. A. R., of Lancaster. Mr. Schnei- 
 der’s health was badly shattered through ex- 
 posure and privation while in the service, and 
 it is unlikely that he will ever regain his former 
 strength and vitality. 
 
 On March 24, 1874, our subject married 
 
598 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mary Magdalena Schneider, who was born at 
 Platteville, Grant county. The issue of the 
 marriage has been ten children, three sons and 
 Seven daughters, namely : Lydia A., Minnie 
 M., William C., Elsie E., Martha M., Lillian 
 LI., Estelle LI., Alberta J., Edgar P. and El- 
 gar LL 
 
 JOHN A. BOSSI, an honored and highly 
 respected citizen of Grant county, whose home 
 is on section 34, Wyalusing township, is a 
 veteran of the war of the Rebellion, having 
 served his adopted country faithfully and well 
 as a member of Company I, 43d Wis. V. I. 
 A native of Switzerland, lie was born in Can- 
 ton Graubunden Sept. 1, 1844, a son of John 
 Francis and Barbara Bossi. He lost his mother 
 when he was a small child, and his father died 
 about 1861. 
 
 In 1863, at the age of eighteen years, Mr. 
 Bossi came to America, leaving Switzerland 
 June 15, and arriving in Grant county, Wis., 
 July 15. Lie is the only one of his father’s 
 family who ever came to the New World. 
 On reaching the shores of this country he 
 could not speak a word of English, but after 
 working- on a farm one summer he entered 
 school at Bradtville, Wyalusing township, and 
 made such rapid advancement in his studies 
 during the winter that he was soon able to 
 speak English with very little foreign accent. 
 
 On Aug. 29, 1864, Mr. Bossi entered the 
 service in defense of his adopted country, as 
 a member of Company I, 43d Wis. V. I., and 
 with his regiment went directly to Nashville, 
 and thence to Johnsonville. He fought under 
 Gen. Schofield, in the 23d Army Corps, in the 
 engagement at the latter place, and was with 
 Gen. Thomas in the famous battle of Nashville. 
 After that engagement the command to which 
 he belonged, like a large part of Thomas’ army, 
 did guard duty most of the time until the close 
 of the war. Mr. Bossi had many narrow es- 
 capes from the bullets of the enemy, but was 
 never seriously injured. He was honorably dis- 
 charged at Nashville June 24, 1865, and is to- 
 day the youngest but one of those belonging 
 to Grand Army Post No. 23. 
 
 After receiving his discharge Mr. Bossi re- 
 turned to Wyalusing township, Grant Co., 
 Wis., where he has always made his home 
 since coming to the Lhiited States. On Sept. 
 30, 1869, he married Mrs. Martha G. Gulick, 
 widow of Edward D. Gulick, who: was also a 
 soldier in the war for the Union, being a mem- 
 
 ber of Company C, 2d Wisconsin Cavalry; 
 he died in the service, at Helena, Ark., Oct. 
 2, 1862. Mrs. Bossi was born in the town of 
 Sherman, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., in 1840, and 
 bore the maiden name of Martha Goodrich 
 Barnes, being a daughter of Charles D. and 
 Sophia Barnes. Her family came to Grant 
 county, Wis., in 1853, and the parents made 
 their home in Wyalusing township until death. 
 Of their nine children, Mrs. Bossi is now the 
 only survivor. Her brother, Allen J. Barnes, 
 enlisted at the age of eighteen years in the 
 33d Wis. V. L, and died at Memphis, Tenn., 
 in March, 1863. Mr. and Mrs. Bossi have one 
 daughter living, Mrs. Catherine Isadore Glass, 
 of Wyalusing township. They have lost two 
 children : Barbara Sophia, the eldest, who was 
 married March 19, 1890, to Clarence E. Patch, 
 of Patch Grove, and died Jan. 1, 1900, at the 
 age of twenty-nine years; and Charles Francis, 
 who died at the age of twenty months. Mrs. 
 Bossi has two daughters by her first marriage : 
 Ann, now the wife of Charles Schuyler, living 
 near Sioux City, Iowa; and Rosa, wife of 
 Llenry Day, of Wyalusing township. Her 
 stepdaughter, Nancy Jane Gulick, born Aug, 
 5, 1855, married Christopher Eggleston, a sol- 
 dier, who died three years ago; Mrs. Eggles- 
 ton now resides at her old home in the town of 
 Wyalusing. 
 
 Mr. Bossi’s army life broke down his health 
 and from the effects of the same he has never 
 recovered. To add to his misfortunes he has 
 become almost entirely deprived of his eye- 
 sight, being practically blind. In many re- 
 spects he is quite a remarkable man. As stated, 
 he came to this country when but a youth, 
 and found himself a stranger in a strange 
 land, ignorant of the habits and language of 
 the people; but applying himself to study he 
 soon mastered the language,, and adapted him- 
 self to the conditions of his new surroundings. 
 Scarcely had he been in the country a year 
 when he volunteered to fight in defense of the 
 flag of his adoption, and his war record was 
 an honorable one, being that of a good and 
 faithful soldier. 
 
 To the general public, perhaps, Mr. Bossi 
 is best known for his skill as a musician. He 
 organized the Wyalusing Cornet Band, of 
 which he was long the popular leader. He is 
 a natural musician, playing with equal facili- 
 ty all musical instruments. His daughter 
 seems to have inherited much of her father’s 
 talent in this direction, while the little son, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 559 
 
 though not two years old at the time of his 
 death, displayed a remarkably musical ear and 
 discernment of harmony in musical sounds. 
 Mr. Bossi's first vote was cast, in 1864, while 
 at the front, and he is pardonably proud of 
 the fact that he supported Abraham Lincoln 
 for the Presidency. 
 
 Mrs. Bossi, the only living representative 
 of one of Grant county’s early families, de- 
 serves more than a mere passing mention in 
 this article. I11 early life, only a short time 
 before the inauguration of the Civil war, she 
 married Mr. Gulick, and when the struggle 
 began her young husband departed for the field 
 of strife, never to return. She was thus left 
 with two small children, one two years old, 
 the other but two months. However, she bore 
 her troubles with patience and resolution, as 
 became the widow of a soldier. Like her hus- 
 band, Airs. Bossi is held in high esteem. 
 
 JOHN B. VANCE. Among the many ex- 
 cellent citizens and honest and prosperous resi- 
 dents of Sylvester township, Green county, 
 none is more esteemed by his neighbors, or 
 holds a higher degree of respect in every re- 
 lation of life, than does our subject, who oc- 
 cupies a fine farm about four miles east of 
 Monroe, Wisconsin. 
 
 The grandfather of our subject, Hugh 
 Vance, was born in Pennsylvania June 13, 
 1784, and died in 1827. In 1809 he married 
 Margaret Deitrick, who was born Oct. 20, 
 1790, and they reared a family of nine chil- 
 dren : Alary, Alalinda, Eliza, Samuel, Ezekiel, 
 Keziah, Robert, George and Hugh, all of whom 
 are deceased. 
 
 Samuel Vance, the father of our subject, 
 was a native of Fayette county, Penn. In 
 1841 he married Lavina Johns, who was born 
 Nov. 12, 1814, and died April 4, 1883. They 
 came to Green county, Wis., about 1845, set " 
 tling in Sylvester township. Air. and Airs. 
 Vance reared seven children: James P., de- 
 ceased; George D., who resides in Kansas; 
 John B., our subject; Hugh J., who resides in 
 California; Ezekiel T., a retired farmer, of 
 Alonroe; Daniel W., a retired farmer, of Afon- 
 roe ; and Rebecca R., the wife of William 
 Roderick, a farmer of Jefferson. Samuel 
 Vance died Oct. 11, 1898. He was a well- 
 known citizen, and one of the first settlers in 
 the township, where throughout life he fol- 
 lowed agriculture. He was a consistent mem- 
 
 ber of the Democratic party, and religiously 
 one of the supporters of the First Baptist 
 Church of Juda, Wisconsin. 
 
 John B. Vance, the subject proper of this 
 sketch, \Vas born Nov. 26, 1846, and grew to 
 manhood, on the farm, receiving his education 
 in the district schools. As an agriculturist 
 he has worked industriously all his life, and 
 although he began as a poor boy his success 
 has been as gratifying as that of many others 
 who also began on a farm and later entered 
 other professions. Air. Vance is now the owner 
 of one of the fine farms of Green county, com- 
 prising 120 acres of well-improved land, with 
 excellent buildings and fences, and a com- 
 fortable and substantial dwelling. All the 
 buildings are new, both house and barn hav- 
 ing been destroyed by fire and rebuilt since 
 1894. 
 
 The marriage of our subject was celebrated 
 on Nov. 26, 1871, to Alary E. West, who was 
 born April 24, 1852, the daughter of George 
 W. West, a retired farmer of Brodhead, Whs., 
 and eleven children have been born of this 
 union: Allie R., born in 1873, is now Mrs. 
 W. J. Harper; Jessie AL, born in 1874, is the 
 wife of Patrick H. Ward; Nettie L., born in 
 1875, is the wife of James L. Stevenson; 
 George N. was born in 1876; Clara Zoe, in 
 1880; Samuel J., in 1882'; Susan Zell, in 1884; 
 Kate W., in 1886; John G., in 1891; James 
 B., in 1893 (died in 1894) ; and Alary G., in 
 1897. Both father and mother are still spared 
 to this happy family. 
 
 In politics Air. Vance has inherited his 
 Democratic belief, all his family having been 
 adherents of that party in the past. Although 
 he does not belong to any particular religious 
 denomination, our subject has always given 
 his influence in the interests of morality, and 
 lives up to the doctrine that honesty and fair 
 dealing are necessary requisites in a man, 
 whether he is bound by church discipline or 
 not. Lie has reared a large family, and has 
 been blessed with prosperity, and he possesses 
 the esteem not only of his relatives, but of 
 the whole neighborhood in which he has 
 founded his home. 
 
 JOHN WARRICK, a well-to-do farmer 
 in the town of Paris, Grant county, was born 
 in his present home Alarch 8, 1857. and is a 
 son of Joseph and Annie (Esterbrook) War- 
 rick, natives of Cornwall, England. They 
 
6oo 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 came to Pennsylvania in 1854, where he worked 
 a year in the coal mines, then coming West to 
 work in the mines at Jamestown, Grant coun- 
 ty. In 1856 he purchased a large tract of 
 farm land, one mile south of Dickeysville, and 
 erected good buildings thereon, and has con- 
 verted the land into a fine farm. The build- 
 ings which he put up almost half a century 
 ago are still in a good state of preservation. 
 The worthy wife, who shared with him the 
 hardships and trials of a pioneer life, died in 
 1882, and he passed away in 1897. Both be- 
 longed to the Methodist Church, and were lib- 
 eral supporters of its work. Mr. Warrick was 
 in early life a strong opponent of human slav- 
 er}-. and always acted with the Republican 
 party. To this marriage only one son was 
 born, John, whose name introduces this article. 
 
 John Warrick had his early education in 
 the home schools, and finished his school days 
 in the State Normal at Platteville. Always 
 remaining at home with his parents, the care 
 and management of affairs naturally fell into 
 his hands as his father grew old and feeble. 
 In March, 1883, he married Miss Elizabeth 
 Tracy, a daughter of William and Ellen (Carr) 
 Tracy, natives of Ireland, and settlers of Grant 
 county at an early day. William Tracy crossed 
 the plains and spent some time in the Cali- 
 fornia gold fields, but came back and died in 
 3869, his wife following him in the same 
 year. Mrs. Warrick is one of twelve children, 
 and she was born at Council Hill, Lafayette 
 county, in 1856. 
 
 After their marriage John Warrick and 
 his wife settled on the old homestead, where 
 they have lived to the present time, becoming 
 prosperous and universally respected. Their 
 family consists of five children : Annie, the 
 oldest, was born in 1884, and is now a stu- 
 dent at the State Normal at Platteville; Will- 
 iam J., born in 1886; Lillie, born in 1887; 
 Cora, born in 1891 ; and Bessie, born in 1897. 
 Mr. Warrick has followed his father's foot- 
 steps in politics, and has always been identified 
 with the Republican party. For fourteen years 
 he has been school treasurer. Mr. Warrick 
 is one of the leading farmers of this section 
 of the county, and is respected alike for his 
 industrious habits and upright character. 
 
 CHARLES C. DICKINSON, sheriff of 
 Grant county, and an extensive stockman, 
 cheese maker and farmer of the town of Lima, 
 
 that county, was born at his present home Aug. 
 29, 1861, a son of Ensign P. and Fannie S. 
 (Whitcher) Dickinson, old and much respect- 
 ed pioneers of the county. 
 
 The father of our subject was born in 
 Trumbull county, Ohio, in May, 1819, son of 
 Samuel and Elizabeth Dickinson, who moved 
 from Massachusetts to Ohio, where they found 
 a home in the wilderness at a very early day, 
 and reared their children. Ensign P. Dickinson 
 grew up in Ohio, where he was married. Fan- 
 nie Whitcher, his wife, was born Jan. 23, 1823, 
 daughter of John and Anna (Culver) Whitch- 
 er, who migrated from Ohio to Wisconsin as 
 early as 1844, and settled in the town of Lima, 
 where they lived until their death. Mr. Dick- 
 inson and his wife came to the town of Lima, 
 Grant county, as early as 1843, ma de their first 
 location on the property in the town of Platte- 
 ville which A. Rewey now owns, and there put 
 up a hewed log house on ground purchased 
 from the government, making it their home 
 for about three years. At the end of this pe- 
 riod Mr. Dickinson bought eighty acres of 
 good land in the town of Lima, and increased 
 his real estate holdings from time to time until 
 he owned nearly 300 acres of choice land. In 
 politics he was a Republican, and for eighteen 
 years served as treasurer of the town of Lima, 
 also serving the people very efficiently as a 
 member of the county board. In 1883 he was 
 elected a member of the General Assembly, 
 and served with distinction. During 1881 he 
 made a journey to California, and returned 
 with freshened devotion to his home in Wis- 
 consin. Lie was a farmer, and by general con- 
 sent a representative of the best farming in- 
 terests of his generation. Mr. Dickinson was 
 more or less intimately identified with the 
 Methodist Church. He died Oct. 10, 1897, 
 and his aged widow still survives, at the age 
 of seventy-eight years. Eight children are 
 living out of the family of eleven born to 
 them: (1) Elizabeth, born in Ohio in Octo- 
 ber, 1842, married Eli McKee, who died March 
 10, 1901, of heart failure. Mrs. McKee lives 
 in California with her family of seven chil- 
 dren, Ida, John, Frank, Charles, Lilia, Flora 
 and Anna. (2) John, born in September, 
 1844, was a soldier of the 43d Wis. V. I., in 
 the Civil war. He married Clara Hiding, of 
 Grant county, and they have three children. 
 Ensign, Fannie and Inez. He now resides at 
 Lincoln, Neb., where he has become very prom- 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 601 
 
 inent, and has been sent to the State Legisla- 
 ture. (3) Lorain, born in Grant county in 
 September, 1846, is now the wife of Wright 
 Cowell, of Stockton, Cal., who is an extensive 
 ranchman. They have two children, Ensign 
 and Francis. (4) Samuel, born in August, 
 1848, married Miss Luna Barstow, of Grant 
 county, and lives in Stockton, Cal. ; they have 
 had threfi children, Frances (now married to 
 JC Jones, of that State), Rosa, and Bert (who 
 was accidentally shot while on an outing, in 
 1897). ( 5 ) Lhoebe, born in June, 1850, is 
 
 the wife of Warren Johnson, of Lima, Grant 
 county. (6) William, born in 1852, is a miner 
 in Arizona. (7) Everett C., born Nov. 18, 
 1854, was married May 14, 1882, to Miss 
 Nellie L. Yaple, of Ripon, Cal., and they have 
 had two sons — Clarence, born March 30, 1883, 
 and Perry Yaple, Aug*. 14, 1889. E. C. Dick- 
 inson graduated from the State Normal at 
 Platteville. In 1878 he went to California, 
 where he still resides. He followed school 
 teaching there for some years, and is now a 
 member of the firm of Wright & Dickinson, 
 wholesale and retail dealers in grain and hay, 
 warehousemen, and manufacturers of steam- 
 boats. At present they have a steam barge 
 of 600 tons burden running on the San Joa- 
 quin and Sacramento rivers and San Francisco 
 bay. At one time Mr. Dickinson had three 
 general stores and three large warehouses in 
 the State, located, respectively, at Whitton, 
 LeGrand and Dickinson. The latter place was 
 named in his honor. (8) Ida died in infancy, 
 in Wisconsin. (9) Ina, born in October, 1859, 
 married Allie Grindell, of Platteville, now liv- 
 ing in California, and died in 1884, leaving 
 one daughter, Ina. (10) Charles C. is our 
 subject. 
 
 Charles C. Dickinson Was reared to man- 
 hood on the home farm, and had the benefit of 
 the excellent schools to be found in Grant 
 county, including attendance at the State Nor- 
 mal, at Platteville. For several years previous 
 to his marriage he was manager of his father’s 
 farm and business. In 1881 he married Miss 
 Eva Stevens, of the town of Harrison, daugh- 
 ter of Leonard and Martha Stevens, old pio- 
 heffsAsWGfSnF county, originally from Penn- 
 sylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson settled on 
 the old homestead, which had come into his 
 possession some years previously. In 1897 
 Mr. Dickinson erected a large modern dwell- 
 ing, finished in hard wood, with every modern 
 
 improvement, and this is counted one of the 
 choice homes in the county. He has also erect- 
 ed 011 his farm a large cheese factory, and is 
 doing a very extensive business in that line. 
 To the old farm he has added 120 acres ad- 
 joining, and it is now one of the fine places 
 111 the town. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson have been born 
 seven children: Mabel, in May, 1882; Walter 
 C., in December, 1883; Guy E., in October, 
 1885; Flora P., in November, 1887; Eliza- 
 beth, in August, 1889; Edward P., in April, 
 1894; and Susie W., in October, 1897. 
 
 Mr. Dickinson is a member of the Repub- 
 lican party, has been a member of the town 
 board for several years, and on Nov. 6, 1900, 
 was honored with election to the office of sheriff 
 of Grant county, receiving a majority of 2,302, 
 the largest ever given any candidate for the 
 office in Grant county. Mr. Dickinson is a 
 member of the Masonic fraternity, and is a 
 leading spirit in the Knights of the Maccabees. 
 The Dickinson family has long been held in 
 high esteem, and our subject is one of the lead- 
 ing men of his town. 
 
 JACOB D. SCPIINDLER. Canton Glams, 
 Switzerland, has contributed a number of 
 the most highly respected citizens of Green 
 county, prominent among whom is Jacob D. 
 Schindler, now a retired merchant living at 
 No. 221 West George street, Monroe. He 
 was born April 4, 1852. son of Andreas Schind- 
 ler, who was born in Schwandi, Canton Glarus, 
 Switzerland, Feb. 14, 1821. 
 
 Andreas Schindler was a carpenter in 
 Switzerland, where his father. Andreas Schind- 
 ler, and his mother, Anna Zimmerman, both 
 lived and died, the former at the age of seventy 
 years, and the latter when she was aged sixty- 
 nine years. Andreas Schindler, father of Ja- 
 cob D., came to America with his family in 
 February, 1855, and passed the first year in 
 Monroe, Wis., and then removed to New 
 Glarus, a settlement largely composed of peo- 
 ple from his native canton, where he remained 
 for eleven years, when he again located in Mon- 
 roe, where his death Occurred in the spring 
 of 1897, at the age of seventy-six years. He 
 married Katharina Knobel Oct. 3, 1844, who 
 was born March 24, 1824, daughter of Adam 
 and Anna (Schiesser) Knobel. Adam Knobel 
 was an employe in a cloth factory in Switz- 
 erland, and lived until he had attained the a°:e 
 
 o 
 
602 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of seventy-three; his wife entered into rest 
 when she was aged forty-seven years. Twelve 
 children, of whom seven are yet living, were 
 born to Andreas Schindler and' wife : Anna, 
 widow of Paschal Monti, of Denver, Colo. ; 
 Andrew, of Monroe ; Katharina, wife of A. T. 
 Thayer, of Denver, Colo.; Emma, of Monroe; 
 Rose, of Monroe; Jacob D., our subject; and 
 Fridolin, also of Monroe. Mrs. Katharina 
 Schindler died April 23, 1900. Both she and 
 her husband originally belonged to the Swiss 
 Reformed Church, but later united with the 
 German Evangelical. Mr. Schindler had been 
 a soldier in the Sonderbund war in Switzer- 
 land in 1847, an d for nine months he was a 
 member of the 46th Wis. V. I. during the Civil 
 war. 
 
 Brought to this country when but three 
 years of age, Mr. Jacob D, Schindler has passed 
 the greater part of his life in Green county, 
 acquiring his education in the public schools. 
 In his youth he learned the blacksmith’s trade, 
 working at it some three years, and now is a 
 general mechanic. In 1879 he formed a part- 
 nership with Baltzer Heitz, and engaged in 
 the grocery business in Monroe. A few months 
 later Mr. Heitz sold his interest in the estab- 
 lishment to Mr. Schindler’s brother Andrew, 
 the firm then becoming known as Schindler 
 Brothers, which continued with uninterrupted 
 success for several years, when Andrew sold 
 his interest to his brother, shortly after repur- 
 chasing it, and in 1888 Mr. Jacob D. Schind- 
 ler sold out to Andrew, who then assumed 
 entire charge of the store. In 1883 our sub- 
 ject purchased a beautiful home which he still 
 occupies, and which originally had eight acres 
 of ground. This ground, with the exception 
 of some five or six lots, has since been sold. 
 When Mr. Schindler retired from business it 
 was to leave behind him an untarnished repu- 
 tation for business integrity. His genial man- 
 ners won him many personal friends who have 
 heartily rejoiced with him in his prosperity. 
 
 On Oct. 26, 1879, Mr. Schindler was uni- 
 ted in marriage with Miss Rosina Burgi, 
 daughter of Jacob and Barbara (Luchsinger) 
 Burgi, and to brighten their home have come 
 seven children : Frank S., a photographer at 
 Monroe; Arthur J., a dental student in Chi- 
 cago ; Herman L. ; Edna R. ; Charles A. ; Alice 
 E. ; and Olive E. Mrs. Schindler is an active 
 worker in the. Evangelical Church. Socially 
 Mr. Schindler is a member of the Royal Arca- 
 
 num, and politically is a strong Republican, 
 although in no sense can he be called a politi- 
 cian. 
 
 Jacob Burgi, father of Mrs. Schindler, was 
 born in Switzerland Jan. 23, 1837, and was a 
 farmer by occupation. He came to America 
 when twelve years of age, and located in Green 
 county, Wis., about 1851, where he purchased 
 land in New Glarus township. Abbut 1893 
 he removed to Monroe, where he lived retired 
 until his death in 1895. O11 July 1, 1858, he 
 married Barbara Luchsinger, who bore him 
 eleven children, one of whom died in infancy. 
 Mrs. Burgi was born in Philadelphia Jan. 16, 
 1842, a daughter of John Luchsinger, and a 
 sister of John Luchsinger, now a prominent 
 attorney at Monroe, Wisconsin. 
 
 Jacob Burgi was a son of Jacob Burgi, 
 Sr., who was a Swiss soldier in the French 
 service, and participated in the wars of the 
 restoration after Napoleon’s downfall, later 
 coming to this country. Fie died in Washing- 
 ton township, Green county, aged eighty-one 
 years. 
 
 GEORGE W. BARROWS, of Cassville, 
 Grant county, is carrying on an extensive busi- 
 ness as a manufacturer of brick, and, being a 
 man of superior executive ability and sound 
 judgment, he occupies a good position in the 
 commercial world. 
 
 A native of Grant county, Mr. Barrows 
 was born in Cassville in 1858, a son of Joseph 
 and Adelle (Lovely) Barrows, who were born 
 in Canada, and came to Wisconsin in 1857, 
 in company with the grandfather, John Bar- 
 rows. After working for a time in the village 
 of Cassville Joseph Barrows engaged in farm- 
 ing in Cassville township for some years, and 
 also in the manufacture of brick. Returning 
 to Cassville in 1867, he established a yard at 
 that place, which he successfully conducted 
 up to the time of his death, dying at his post 
 of duty in the yard, May 24, 1899. In re- 
 ligious belief he was first a Baptist, but later 
 in life united with the Methodist Church, of 
 which he remained an active and consistent 
 member. Politically he was a stanch supporter 
 of the Republican party. His widow still sur- 
 vives, and continues to reside in Cassville. 
 In their family were six children, two sons 
 and four daughters. The latter, Mrs. Jane 
 Totman, Mrs. Lilly Groom, Mrs. Olive Bry- 
 ant and Mrs. Alice Wright, are all living in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 603 
 
 Storm Lake, Iowa; while William is engaged 
 in the manufacture of brick at Lancaster, Wis. ; 
 and George W. follows the same business at 
 Cassville. 
 
 George W. Barrows was reared and edu- 
 cated at Cassville, and at the age of eighteen 
 years went West, making Denver, Colo., his 
 headquarters while he traveled all through the 
 Western country. In 1888 he returned to Cass- 
 ville, where he has since engaged in the manu- 
 facture of brick, having charge of the yard 
 established by his father in 1867. He is also 
 a member of the firm of Barrows, Knapp & 
 Millard, who are extensively engaged in the 
 manufacture of all kinds of building brick at 
 Oelwein, Iowa. He is thoroughly familiar 
 with every department of the business, and in 
 his operations is meeting with well-deserved 
 success. 
 
 At Cassville, in 1889, Mr. Barrows was 
 united in marriage with Miss Fannie Law- 
 rence, a native of that place, and a daughter 
 of Thomas and Deborah (Smith) Lawrence. 
 Her father was born in Ireland, and was mar- 
 ried in New York, where he made his home 
 for a time, but in the early 'fifties came to 
 Grant county, Wis., and took up his residence 
 in Cassville. During the war he entered the 
 Union army, and died in the service. His 
 widow is still a resident of Cassville. 
 
 Fraternally Mr. Barrows is a member of 
 the Knights of Pythias, and as one of the pop- 
 ular and influential citizens of Cassville he has 
 been called upon to serve as a member of the 
 town council. 
 
 FREDERICK W. BYERS, M. D, physi- 
 cian and surgeon, whose home and office are 
 in Monroe, Green county, has a reputation ex- 
 tending throughout the Northwest for both 
 professional and personal qualities. He is an 
 eminent physician, a skillful surgeon, and a 
 genial and accomplished gentleman, with a 
 legion of friends. His career has been in every 
 way honorable and successful, and its record 
 is a pleasing task for the historian’s pen. 
 
 Dr. Byers was born in Shippensville, Penn., 
 Feb. 10, 1837, a son of Jacob and Mary 
 (Shakeley) Byers, natives of Maryland and 
 Pennsylvania. They were the parents of six 
 sons and four daughters, and six of their chil- 
 dren are now living: Samuel W., of Nashua, 
 Iowa; Elizabeth, wife of Daniel Kepple, of 
 Ionia, Iowa; Jacob L., of Queenstown, Penn.; 
 
 Dr. Frederick W. ; Maria, wife of Jacob W. 
 Kahl, of Shippensville, Penn.; and Albert L., 
 who lives on the old home farm at Venus, 
 Venango Co., Pennsylvania. 
 
 Jacob Byers began life as an apprentice 
 and mechanic, but after some years he turned 
 to keeping tavern, became a* farmer in middle 
 life, and spent many years on a farm near 
 Venus, in Venango county, where he died in 
 1876, at the age of seventy-eight. His widow 
 survived him three years, and died at the age 
 of sixty-seven. They were members of the 
 Evangelical Lutheran Church, and he was a 
 very active worker in that denomination. He 
 was a Democrat up to near the breaking out. 
 of the Civil war, when he joined the Repub- 
 lican party, as did his sons. His father, Fred- 
 erick Byers, was killed in 1800 while engaged 
 in felling trees. He was of Irish descent, and 
 two of his ancestors participated in the siege 
 of Londonderry. There were four brothers 
 of this name who came to America, settling 
 in Virginia and Maryland, and from them the 
 family under consideration has sprung. Henry 
 Shakeley, the maternal grandfather of Dr. By- 
 ers, was of German descent, and a native of 
 Pennsylvania. He was a soldier in the war of 
 1812, and survived the dangers of the battle- 
 field to be killed long afterward by accident 
 at a house raising. He left a large family. 
 Dr. Byers’ maternal great-grandmother, who 
 was in her maidenhood a Miss Snyder, was 
 scalped by the Indians, when a girl, and left 
 for dead. She recovered, and afterward mar- 
 ried Nikolas Allimonge, who spoke both French 
 and German, and is supposed to have come 
 from Alsace or Lorraine. 
 
 Frederick W. Byers was reared to man- 
 hood on his father’s farm in Pennsylvania, 
 and spent his youth in hard work and study. 
 He attended the public schools, and Coopers- 
 town Academy, and then taught school for 
 seven years, partly in the East and partly in Illi- 
 nois, to which State he had come in 1857, seek- 
 ing the opportunities that are said to abound in 
 a new country. The young man taught school 
 in that State four years, and in the meantime 
 kept up his medical studies, with a view to 
 adopting the healing art as a life calling. Early 
 in 1862 he obtained appointment as nurse and 
 hospital assistant in Camp Douglas, Chicago, 
 and in February, 1863, was graduated from 
 Rush Medical College. The young physic : an 
 was appointed assistant surgeon of the 96th Illi- 
 
604 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 nois Infantry, and served with much credit 
 throughout the war. His career was a com- 
 mendable one, and he was promoted to chief 
 surgeon of the artillery brigade of the 4th 
 Army Corps, and later, while at Atlanta, was 
 detailed to the field hospital of the corps. He 
 was on continual duty with that hospital in the 
 field until mustered out at Chicago July 7, 
 1865. 
 
 With a professional reputation thoroughly 
 established, and an experience in the common 
 ills and pains of mankind, as well as a fine 
 knowledge of operative surgery, Dr. Byers es- 
 tablished himself at Lena, 111 ., and for twelve 
 years was engaged in professional work in that 
 part of the West. In 1877 he came to Monroe, 
 and at once entered upon a lucrative practice. 
 Dr. Byers received the appointment of United 
 States examining surgeon for pensions in 1880, 
 and is still serving in that position. 
 
 Frederick W. Byers and Miss Olive De- 
 Haven were united in marriage July 5, 1865. 
 The DeFIavens were Huguenots driven from 
 France. They went to Holland, but before the 
 American Revolution, emigrated to Pennsyl- 
 vania. Mrs. Byers is a daughter of Alpheus and 
 Eliza (Hawley) DeHaven, and is of an unas- 
 suming and womanly character, devoted to 
 home and church. To Dr. and Mrs. Byers have 
 been born ten children : Morna, Winifred, Stan- 
 ley, Harry. Mary, Joe Rodney, Grace, Amy, 
 Fred and Ben B. Morna lives with her par- 
 ents. Winifred married E. C. Cornelius, and 
 died Sept. 20, 1899, leaving one child, Alice, 
 now ( 1901 ). eleven years old. Stanley died 
 Nov. 5, 1872, when three years of age. Harry 
 lives in San Francisco, Cal., where he is in the 
 service of a telephone company; he is married 
 and has one daughter named Olive. Mary, 
 Amy and Fred died in infancy. Joe Rodney 
 was teller in a bank at Monroe six years, 
 and now holds a similar position in a bank 
 at Minneapolis. Grace is a teacher in the 
 Monroe schools. Ben B. is a pharmacist 
 at Janesville, Wis. Joe Rodney and Ben 
 B. both enlisted in the Spanish-American 
 war in 1898, the former being a first ser- 
 geant and the latter a bugler in the 1st Wis- 
 consin Infantry. The family home at Monroe 
 is quite a social center. 
 
 Dr. Byers had three brothers, Samuel W., 
 Jacob L., and Joseph K., who were soldiers in 
 the Union army during the war of the Rebel- 
 lion, and served until its close. Joseph Iv. en- 
 
 tered the service as a lieutenant in the volunteer 
 service, was transferred to the regular army, 
 and retired a major. He lost an arm at Freder- 
 icksburg, and was a prisoner of war five months 
 in Libby prison. He is buried in the National 
 Cemetery at St. Louis. 
 
 Mrs. Byers is a member of the Episcopal- 
 Church, while her husband is of the Lutheran 
 persuasion. He is well versed in Masonic lore, 
 and his name appears on the membership rolls 
 of Lena Lodge, No. 174, A. F. & A. M. ; 
 Lena Chapter, No. 105, R. A. M. ; Free- 
 port Commandery, No. 7, K. T. ; and the Ma- 
 sonic Veteran Association of Illinois. This last 
 body meets once a year, and lie is its assistant 
 chief. Gen. Byers has been an active worker in 
 the Grand Army of the Republic since its or- 
 ganization and is past post commander and 
 past medical director of the Department of 
 Wisconsin. He is a member of the Wis- 
 consin Commandery of the Loyal Legion, 
 has been vice-commander, and is also a member 
 of the commandery-in-chief of the United 
 States. 
 
 The Doctor has received political honors of 
 no slight importance from his fellow citizens. 
 I11 1885 and 1886 he represented his district in 
 the State Legislature, was chairman of and. 
 rendered important service on the military com- 
 mittee, introducing and securing the passage 
 of the bill that effected the reorganization of 
 the National Guard of Wisconsin. He was sur- 
 geon in the National Guard of the State from 
 1882 to 1895, with the rank of major. In 1895 
 he was made surgeon general of the State of 
 Wisconsin with the grade of brig'adier general, 
 which position he held until Jan. 7, 1899, when 
 he was retired from active service with that 
 rank. General Byers assisted in the organiza- 
 tion and equipment of Wisconsin’s Spanish- 
 American volunteers, and officially inspected 
 the camps and hospitals at Chickamauga Jack- 
 sonville, Fla., and Charleston, S. C. He is a 
 Republican. 
 
 Dr. Byers belongs to the Wisconsin State 
 Medical Association, and the Southern Wiscon- 
 sin Medical Association, and is an honorary 
 member of the Association of Military Sur- 
 geons of the United States. In addition to his 
 course at Rush Medical, he attended lectures in 
 the Medical Department of the University of 
 Nashville; also the Missouri Medical College, 
 St. Louis; completed the Sophomore year in 
 Wittenberg College, Springfield, Ohio; and all 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 605 
 
 his life has been a close student, a thorough 
 reader and a hard worker. 
 
 Our subject's commander, Gen. John C. 
 Smith, once wrote of Dr. Byers, and with his 
 words this biographical sketch concludes : 
 
 So it is of the surgeon, to whom the writer once 
 owed his life, who, in disobedience of his commander's 
 orders, remained on the battlefield, up in what our com- 
 rades of the bpanish-American war would call the firing 
 line, and in that dread night assault on Kenesaw Mount- 
 ain, was beside his commander when he tell, stricken by 
 a bullet, assisted him from the field, and carefully aided 
 in dressing his wounds. There are three who will not 
 forget that wild night in Georgia, Corporal Barnum, Sur- 
 geon Fred. VV. Byers, and their commander. Brother 
 and Sir Knight Dr. Byers, now surgeon general of the 
 State of Wisconsin, is also . a great sufferer from expo- 
 sure and hardship endured in that famed Atlanta cam- 
 paign' and other marches and battles of the war of 
 1861 - 65 . 
 
 Lying upon a rudely constructed table, with surgeons 
 probing my wounds to extract the bits of flannel shirt, 
 vest, uniform and over-coat, which had been driven by 
 the bullet into the wound, i well remember one of the 
 surgeons forcing a finger from opposite directions into 
 my wound to find it clean, saying to Dr. Byers, “ Keach 
 hither thy hand, and put thy finger into the wound in his 
 side,” but the Doctor, who had been on the firing fine, 
 needed no such proof, and promptly answered, “ f was 
 with my colonel when he received the shot, and assisted 
 him here that you may dress his wound.” 
 
 Surgeon General and Sir Knight Fred. W. Byers 
 was a member of my military family all through that 
 long and dreadful struggle for our National existence; 
 he is still of my family, and loved by every member ot 
 it as he is by myself. 
 
 JOSEPH GUNDRY, whose death oc- 
 curred at Mineral Point July 17, 1899, was 
 one of the most successful business men of 
 that city, and was recognized by his associates 
 as one of the most worthy and progressive 
 citizens of Iowa county. During Ins residence 
 of more than a half century there he advanced 
 to a position of independence and influence 
 in the community, and it was no fault of his 
 if the material, moral and intellectual develop- 
 ment of that community failed to keep pace 
 with his individual progress, or if any of his 
 fellow citizens did not attain the ideals which 
 lie sought to encourage by precept and ex- 
 ample. 
 
 Mr. Gundry was born at Porkellis, parish 
 of Wendron, Cornwall, England, May 11, 
 1822, a son of Richard and Jane (Murton) 
 Gundry. The original home of his ancestors 
 was in the south of Ireland, where, being 
 Protestants, members of the family suffered 
 more or less persecution in the time of Oliver 
 Cromwell, and emigrating to Cornwall were 
 numbered among the sturdy yeomen of the 
 parish of Wendron for a number of genera- 
 
 tions. Richard Gundry passed his life there 
 in peace and comfort. Having received such 
 intellectual training as was afforded by the 
 parish school, Joseph Gundry came to the 
 United States in 1845. Following the example 
 of many of his countrymen, he located at Min- 
 eral Point, Wis., where he purchased land and 
 set about the improvement of his condition 
 with a will and determination, while, by the 
 exercise of good judgment and integrity, he 
 established a reputation which secured the con- 
 fidence and good will of those with whom he 
 came in contact. For the next few years he 
 gave most of his attention to lead mining, but 
 in 1849 engaged in mercantile business. 
 Next year was virtually formed the firm of 
 Gundry & Gray, which has ever since been 
 one of the leading business houses of Mineral 
 Point, being now entirely in the hands of the 
 second generation of both branches of the part- 
 nership. Mr. Gundry retained an interest in 
 the establishment until his death, though, on 
 account of his health, he retired from active 
 participation in the business in 1866. He also 
 became interested in other important enter- 
 prises, among which may be mentioned a zinc 
 smelting plant at La Salle, 111 ., the ore being 
 shipped from Mineral Point to that place on 
 account of the advantages in the way of cheap 
 fuel, etc., to be obtained there. He was also 
 a stockholder in the First National Bank of 
 Mineral Point, and a member of its board of 
 directors for some years. He continued to be 
 interested to some extent in agriculture and 
 mining, and was always ready to assist in pro- 
 moting any undertaking calculated to serve the 
 best interests of the town. The large stone 
 mansion which he built, upon an eminence over- 
 looking the town, and the double stone store 
 erected by the firm of Gundry & Gray in 1869, 
 are still among the most conspicuous buildings 
 in the city. A Republican in sentiment, Mr. 
 Gundry never sought official position, but 
 served his constituents well when chosen, in 
 the capacities of alderman and member of the 
 county board of supervisors. 
 
 In 1847 Mr. Gundry made a trip to his 
 native land, where he was married, and re- 
 turned the next year to the home of his adop- 
 tion. The now venerable lady who became the 
 partner of his joys and sorrows, and who sur- 
 vives him, was Miss Sarah Perrv, daughter 
 of William and Sarah Botterell (Reed) Perry, 
 and was born in Carthew, parish of Wendron, 
 
6o6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Her ancestors having also been among the 
 Protestant emigrants from Ireland who settled 
 m Cornwall during the wars of Cromwell. Of 
 the ten children born to Joseph and Sarah 
 Gundry, seven reached mature years, as fol- 
 lows : Joseph H., who died at Mineral Point 
 in 1893; Richard, who died at El Reno, Okla., 
 in 1900; William P., who succeeds his father 
 in business ; Jane, deceased wife of G. M. Lam- 
 bertson, of Lincoln, Neb.; Mary R., of Min- 
 eral Point; John M., a banker of Cleveland, 
 Ohio; and Margery, Mrs. H. W. King, of the 
 same city. 
 
 William Perry Gundry, of the present 
 firm of Gundry & Gray, and a well-known citi- 
 zen of Mineral Point, was born in that place, 
 receiving his early education in its public 
 schools. Thence he went to the University of 
 Wisconsin, but, his health failing, he aban- 
 doned the course in the Senior year, and went 
 abroad, spending one winter in a French school 
 in Paris. Having recuperated his health, he 
 returned to the United States, and in 1876 be- 
 came bookkeeper for the La Salle Zinc Co., 
 of La Salle, 111 ., in which concern his father 
 was interested. In 1879 he went abroad and 
 accepted a similar position with the London 
 branch of the famous stationery house of Cam- 
 eron, Amberg & Co., of Chicago, the junior 
 member of which firm had once been a clerk 
 in his father’s store at Mineral Point. Since 
 1893 he has been a member of the firm founded 
 by his father more than fifty years ago, and 
 which is now the oldest customer of the whole- 
 sale house of Marshall Field & Co., Chicago, 
 and one of the oldest mercantile houses in the 
 State of Wisconsin. Socially Mr. Gundry is 
 identified with the Masonic fraternity and the 
 Knights of Pythias, and is a member of the 
 Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Madison. He is a 
 liberal Republican, though in no sense a poli- 
 tician, and enjoys the confidence and esteem 
 of the people among whom most of his life 
 has been spent. 
 
 PETER LESER, of Fennimore, Grant 
 county, is one of the early settlers of this 
 region, and a veteran soldier, who fought 
 bravely to uphold the Union, when it had need 
 of just such men as he. 
 
 Peter Leser is a native of Saxony, Ger- 
 many, where he was born Feb. 18, 1835, a son 
 of William Leser. In 1843, William Leser, 
 his wife and five children, came to the United 
 
 States, and settled in Albany, N. Y., where the 
 mother died shortly after. William Leser died 
 at the home of his son, Peter Leser, in Grant 
 county, in March, 1887. Of the three sons 
 and two daughters who came with the parents 
 to America, four are living, in 1901 : Adolph, 
 a resident of Upper Sandusky, Ohio; Rachel, 
 a resident of Albany, N. Y. ; Peter; Regine’ 
 also in Albany. The other son, Albert, went to 
 California, in i860, and, as he has not been 
 heard from for a good many years, his rela- 
 tives are convinced that he is no longer living. 
 
 In 1855 Peter Leser came to Grant county, 
 where he engaged in farming. On May 10, 
 i860, in company with Mike Conkel, and 
 others, Mr. Leser started for Denver “across 
 the Plains” — a most dangerous journey at that 
 time, owing to the state of war existing be- 
 tween the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians i and 
 the wild animals that then infested the unset- 
 tled country. The Indians were so afraid of 
 one another that both tribes had forsaken their 
 respective hunting grounds. Antelope and 
 buffalo were frequently seen, and Mr. Leser 
 was fortunate in killing several of the latter.. 
 He met Beckwith, the Crow Indian and old 
 mountaineer, who raised the noted Kit Carson, 
 and who, though over seventy years of age, 
 was very influential with the Indians. Mr. 
 Leser arrived in Denver about July 4, and 
 then went about 120 miles back into the moun- 
 tains. Three of the party engaged in digging 
 a trench to drain a branch of the Platte river, 
 for the purpose of finding gold in the old river 
 bed. They found an abundance in the quartz, 
 but as there were no crushers that was value- 
 less to them. They were within the snow line, 
 and water froze every night during July and 
 August, but the days were quite warm. They 
 left that region the latter part of August, at 
 which time there was a four-inch snow on the 
 ground. In Denver Mr. Leser hired out at 
 $1.25 per day to make hay, and in September, 
 in company with Bert Marshal, started home, 
 with a pair of cows and a span of mules. They 
 forded the Platte near Fort Kearney, and ar- 
 rived home on election day — the day Abraham 
 Lincoln was elected. Neither voted, as they 
 had “paired off.” 
 
 When the war broke out Mr. Leser de- 
 cided to defend the Union at any cost, and en- 
 rolled, Aug. 11, 1862, in Company C, 25th 
 Wis. V. I., and was honorably discharged June 
 7, 1865, after serving two years, nine months 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 607 
 
 and twenty-six days. The company was organ- 
 ized at Lancaster under Capt. Farquharson ; the 
 regiment rendezvoused at Camp Solomon, La 
 Crosse, and was mustered into the United 
 States service Sept. 14, 1862. On Oct. 19, 
 1862, the regiment left for St. Paul, to assist in 
 quelling the noted Indian uprising of that year, 
 after which the regiment was divided, part 
 being sent to New Ulm and the remainder to 
 Sauk Center. The insurrection was about sub- 
 dued when they arrived, and in the latter part 
 of November the regiment returned to La 
 Crosse, and thence to Camp Randall. On 
 Feb. 17, 1863, the regiment left for the South, 
 reporting first at Cairo, and proceeded to Co- 
 lumbus, Ky. Here it was attached to Gen. 
 Hulbert’s command, and engaged in picket 
 duty. In May, 1863, the 25th Wisconsin 
 moved down the Mississippi to Young's Point, 
 and thence to Satartia, on the Yazoo river. 
 Their next stopping place was Snyder’s Bluff, 
 where they formed part of the force assailing 
 Vicksburg. During this time the ranks were 
 thinned by sickness as well as by the enemies’ 
 bullets. On July 26th the regiment left Sny- 
 der’s Bluff, moved up the Mississippi to 
 Helena where it was detached from the brigade 
 and assigned to provost guard duty. The rapid 
 marching, climate and excessive heat told upon 
 the men and at one time scarcely any of them 
 were fit for duty, but the regiment remained at 
 Helena until Feb., 1864, when it moved down 
 to Vicksburg, and joined Gen. Sherman’s 
 Meridian expedition, in which it did good 
 service. From this time on, until May, 1864, 
 the regiment did good service in Tennessee 
 and Alabama, and at that date proceeded to 
 Chattanooga to join the forces under Gen. 
 Sherman, where, as part of the 1 6th Army 
 Corps, they formed a part of the Army of the 
 Tennessee, under Gen. McPherson. They 
 took part in both advances on Resaca, and on 
 the 14th joined the 17th Corps for an attack 
 on the enemy’s works on the left, and on that 
 day distinguished themselves by charging 
 across an open plain to relieve the 30th Iowa, 
 which had run out of ammunition, and holding 
 the crest of the hill in the face of three charges, 
 in which the enemy sustained heavy losses. 
 All the way to Atlanta the regiment took part 
 in the various engagements, participating in 
 the siege of that city, and also in the pursuit 
 of Flood after the evacuation. Afterwards it 
 returned to Atlanta and began to prepare for 
 
 the march to the sea. All through Georgia to 
 Savannah, the gallant 25th Wisconsin bore its 
 part bravely; thence it moved to Beaufort, en- 
 camping there in January, 1865. The next move 
 was through the Carolinas to Washington, 
 where the brave soldiers' of this noted regiment 
 took part in the Grand Review, and returned 
 to their homes, private citizens once more. 
 Peter Leser was with his regiment during the 
 whole term of its service, except a short period 
 after the surrender of Vicksburg, when, being- 
 taken sick, he was sent to a hospital at Mem- 
 phis, and remained about six weeks, rejoining 
 his regiment at Helena, Ark., in time to par- 
 ticipate in the Meridian raid ; and thirty days 
 after the siege of Atlanta, when he procured 
 a furlough and returned home. At the expira- 
 tion of this time, upon its return from the pur- 
 suit of Hood to Atlanta, Peter Leser rejoined 
 his regiment. Here Mr. Leser was taken very 
 sick, and had to be cared for by the surgeon as 
 though in a hospital. Finally he was sent, 
 in an ambulance, to Nashville, where with 
 other convalescents he assisted in the defense 
 in that place under Gen. Thomas', when it was 
 attacked by Flood, and in the pursuit, after 
 the battle. During the engagement Mr. Leser 
 was so situated that he had a fine view of the 
 conflict, and remembers it was a grand and 
 thrilling sight. The regiment was then on its 
 way to the coast, and Mr. Leser, with others, 
 joined the command, traveling via Baltimore 
 and Newbern. N. C. At Goldsboro Mr. Leser 
 met his regiment, and took part in all the suc- 
 ceeding engagements in which it was a partici- 
 pant, including the Grand Review. 
 
 After his return from the army Mr. Leser 
 resumed farming in the town of Liberty. In 
 March, 1888, Mr. Leser with his family moved 
 to Palo Alto Co., Iowa, where he resided five 
 years, engaged in farming. In March, 1893, 
 he returned to Fennimore, where he has since 
 resided. Having acquired a competence,' Mr. 
 Leser retired, feeling he had worked hard long 
 enough. 
 
 Peter Leser was married, in 1859, to Miss 
 Sarah Short, a native of Missouri, who died 
 May 1, 1884. Later Mr. Leser married Mrs. 
 Flulda A. Doolittle, whose first husband was 
 also a soldier in the war of the Rebellion. 
 Four children were born of the first marriage: 
 Carrie, Mary, Rena (who died in February, 
 1887), and Adolph. Fennimore has no better 
 citizen than Mr. Leser, and he is prominent 
 
6o8 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in the G. A. R., being a charter member of 
 bam Aionteith Rost, No. 173. In political 
 opinions he is a Republican, and takes an in- 
 terest in the various campaigns. Genial, kind- 
 hearted, beloved at home, -and with many 
 friends throughout the county, Mr. Leser is 
 now enjoying the results of his years of labor, 
 and taking comfort in Ins surroundings. 
 
 WILLIAM LAN YON represents a family 
 which has been prominent in Mineral Point, 
 Iowa county, for over sixty years. He was 
 born in Henver, Parish of bt. Allen, England, 
 111 1833, son of William, Sr., and Mary Ann 
 (Bennett) Lanyon. 
 
 Plis grandparents, John and Peggy Lan- 
 yon, were prominent members of St. Allen’s 
 Church, where a beautiful window has been 
 placed to their memory. Other members of 
 the Lanyon family were well known in Eng- 
 land, five generations having resided 111 the one 
 parish. Henry Lanyon, brother of John, won 
 no little renown as an officer in the British 
 Navy under Lord Nelson, by whom his skill 
 and gallantry were frequently recognized. 
 Another member of the family, Llenry Searle 
 Lanyon, of the Cornish Yeomanry Cavalry, 
 was distinguished for athletic feats. 
 
 W illiam Lanyon came to Wisconsin with 
 his parents about 1837, and made his home in 
 Mineral Point, where the father, William, Sr., 
 followed blacksmithing many years, and died 
 Feb. 7, 1898, aged eighty-six years. He was 
 a thorough business man, and taught his son 
 habits of industry and economy, and early in- 
 structed him in the blacksmith’s trade, which 
 he successfully carried on for a number of 
 years, after which he opened a tinshop, later 
 dealing in merchandise and grain. Since 1887 
 Mr. Lanyon has' been interested in a large zinc 
 works at Pittsburg and Iola, Kansas, where 
 he spends much time, although he retains his 
 residence at Mineral Point. 
 
 On Aug. 2, 1855, Air. Lanyon was united 
 in marriage with Miss Maria Thomas, daugh- 
 ter of Samuel Thomas, Esq., and born in Alin-' 
 eral Point, Oct. 20, 1836. Five children have 
 brightened their home — William,' of Pittsburg, 
 Ivans'. ; Ella, now Airs. Vaughan, of Kansas 
 City, AIo. ; Colonel, of Iola, Ivans. ; Alyrtle, 
 now Airs. Aleserole, of Alineral Point ; and 
 Daisy. Airs. Posev, of Chicago. The family 
 are active in the work of the Methodist Church, 
 and Air. Lanyon is affiliated with the Masonic 
 
 Order and the Eastern Star. The success Air. 
 Lanyon has attained has been largely the result 
 of Jus own sagacity and intelligence, and he 
 has conducted his business affairs both wisely 
 and honorably. 
 
 THOMAS WILEY was one of the well- 
 known pioneers of Lafayette county, where he 
 arrived in April, 1827. His birth occurred in 
 Maury county, Tenn., Feb. 3, 1808, and some 
 time afterward the family removed to the 
 State of Missouri, where the parents died, 
 leaving four sons and two daughters. Air. 
 Wiley came to Wisconsin from Missouri, and 
 made his first stop at Gratiot’s Grove, soon 
 after settling on land in Monticello township 
 which lie secured from the government, and 
 upon which his sons now live. For a con- 
 siderable length of time he was engaged in 
 mining, being among the first to follow that 
 occupation in the newly opened lead mines of 
 southwestern Wisconsin. In 1850 soon after 
 the discovery of gold in California, Mr. Wiley 
 went overland to the Pacific coast, where he 
 worked for some time in the gold mines, but 
 eventually returned to his possessions in Wis- 
 consin. Lie took an active part in the events 
 of those early days, being a soldier in the 
 Black Hawk war in 1832, and for his services 
 received a pension during the latter part of 
 his life. One of the several forts erected for 
 the protection of the settlers against the In- 
 dians was located on his land, near the site 
 of the present residence. Honest and indus- 
 trious, he accumulated an estate of about 900 
 acres of the most valuable land in the town- 
 ship. 
 
 On May 28, 1839, Mr. Wiley married Miss 
 Esther J. Houghton, who was born in Sun- 
 bury, Union Co., Penn., Oct. 31, 1820, and 
 came to Wisconsin with a married sister, Airs. 
 Carpenter Miller, in June, 1827. After their 
 marriage they settled on the land obtained by 
 Mr. Wiley from the government in 1828, and 
 there they passed away. Mr. Wiley’s death oc- 
 curred June 9, 1895, and Airs. Wiley’s Feb. 
 6, 1900. This aged couple now rest side by 
 side on the home farm near the family resi- 
 dence, on land selected by Mr. Wiley as a last 
 resting place for himself and wife when their 
 long earthly pilgrimage was over. Four sons 
 survive them, John S., Albert, Benjamin and 
 Wesley. One son, Silas, offered his life a 
 willing sacrifice to his country in the war of 
 

 
 
 
MRS. ESTHER H. WILEY 
 

 ,v.- - ;-,. ■ ; : " . M ' - 
 
 
 THOMAS WILHY 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 609 
 
 the Rebellion, and was killed at the battle of 
 Shiloh in 1862. The sons occupy the old 
 homestead where they were born, and are num- 
 bered among the prominent and wealthy citi- 
 zens of the county. 
 
 GEORGE FARWELL. Prominent among 
 the veteran soldiers of the Civil war 
 residing in Ridgeway, Iowa county, is George 
 Farweli, a worthy representative of one of the 
 early families of this part of the county. Mr. 
 Farweli was born in Stephenson county, ill., 
 Oct. 3, 1838, a son of Russell and Patience 
 (Vanvalkenburg) Farweli, both of whom were 
 natives of the State of New York. 
 
 The genealogy of the Farweli family shows 
 that two Farweli brothers came to America 
 from England, previous to the Revolutionary 
 war, one of whom, John Farweli, was the head 
 of the branch in America to which George 
 Farweli, of this biography, belongs. Russell 
 Farweli grew to manhood in his native State, 
 and there married, but in 1836 or 1837 emi- 
 grated to Stephenson county, 111 ., and there 
 opened up a new farm. In 1842 he removed 
 to Shullsburg, Eafayette county, this State, 
 where he engaged in mining, later removing 
 to Darlington, and continuing there until the 
 fall of 1851, when he removed to Blue 
 Mounds, Wis. In this new home he carried 
 on farming and also did some mining, until 
 1859, when he located on a farm in Ridgeway, 
 Iowa county, and here passed the remainder 
 of his life. The death of Russell Farweli oc- 
 curred in April, 1895, at the age of eighty- 
 three, and his wife passed away in 1890. 'They 
 were the parents of three sons and two daugh- 
 ters', all of whom are still surviving, these 
 being: Mrs. Minerva Ward, of Black Garth, 
 
 Wis.; George; Frank, a resident of Dodge- 
 ville, who served in the 42c! Wis. V. I. during 
 the Civil war; Frederick, a resident of the town 
 of Ridgeway; Ella, the widow of Daniel Jarvis, 
 of Madison, Wisconsin. 
 
 George Farweli, the immediate subject of 
 this sketch, resided under the parental roof 
 until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he 
 determined to enter the army, enlisting on 
 Aug. 15, 1861, in Company G, nth Wis. V. I., 
 which rendezvoused at Madison, going thence 
 to Missouri. The following winter was' spent 
 by this regiment in guarding the railroad be- 
 tween St. Louis and Pilot_Knob, but in the 
 spring of 1862 it marched South, through 
 
 Missouri and Arkansas. The summer of 1862 
 was spent at Helena, Ark., and in the following 
 September it moved up the river to the State 
 of Missouri, and engaged in the campaign 
 against the Confederate General Price, in 
 the opening of the spring of 1863 the regiment 
 returned to Sainte Genevieve, Mo., where it 
 joined 1 the army under Gen. Grant, in the cam- 
 paign against Vicksburg, and took part in the 
 battle ot Port Gibson and other important 
 events immediately preceding the siege of 
 Vicksburg, including Raymond, Champion 
 Hills and Black River Bridge. With his regi- 
 ment Air. Farweli took part in the famous 
 charge on the Confederate works at Vicksburg, 
 May 22, 1S63, where he was severely wounded 
 by a gunshot, which resulted in his confinement 
 in the Union Hospital, at Memphis, Tenn., for 
 a period of three months, when he rejoined his- 
 regiment, then at Brazier City, La., west of 
 New Orleans, marching thence to Opeloosas',. 
 a distance of 200 miles, to near the Texas line. 
 Upon the return of the regiment to New Or- 
 leans it joined the army under Gen. Banks and 
 crossed the Gulf to Texas. In the spring of 
 1864 Mr. Farweli re-enlisted, and upon his re- 
 turn to New Orleans he was given a furlough 
 of thirty days, by virtue of his re-enlistment. 
 The second rendezvous' was at Milwaukee, in 
 the last of April, and from there Mr. Farweli 
 went with the regiment to Alemphis, where it 
 became a part of an expedition to Central Ten- 
 nessee, thence to New Orleans, and a second 
 time to Brazier City, in which locality the regi- 
 ment was put on garrison duty for ten months. 
 In March, 1865, the regiment returned to New 
 Orleans, and joining Gen. Canby, took part in 
 the Mobile expedition, and the last battle of 
 the regiment was in April, 1865, in which 
 Company G lost a number of men. The com- 
 mand marched then to Montgomery, Ala., 
 where it remained until August, when it went 
 to Mobile, and here was placed on police duty 
 until in September of the same year, when it 
 was mustered out, and soon after departed for 
 Madison, where it was duly discharged, on 
 Sept. 29, 1865, and these brave and loyal 
 soldiers dispersed to the homes they had so 
 valiaUtly fought to preserve. 
 
 As soon as Mr. Farweli could again ac- 
 custom himself to the ways of peace, he en- 
 tered upon farming, and continued in agricul- 
 tural pursuits for seven years, and then opened 
 up a mercantile business, in which he was en- 
 
 i 
 
6io 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 gaged for the succeeding fourteen years, but 
 again returned to a farming life for a time. 
 This he found laborious, and again became in- 
 terested in merchandising, but four years later 
 retired from active duties, the wound in his 
 arm, received in his country’s defense, causing 
 him much inconvenience and continual suffer- 
 ing. 
 
 In March, 1866, George Farwell was mar- 
 ried to Miss Flora Meigs, a daughter of 
 Brownson and Rebecca (Tuller ) Meigs, early 
 settlers who came to this county in 1857. Mrs. 
 Farwell passed away in June, 1884. By this 
 marriage Mr. Fanvell has one daughter, Car- 
 rie M., who married Joseph Roberts, of Bara- 
 boo, Wis. The second marriage of Mr. Far- 
 well was in September, 1885, when Miss' Car- 
 rie Chamberlain, a niece of Mr. Farwell’s first 
 wife, and a daughter of Henry and Celia 
 ( Meigs ) Chamberlain, became his bride. Mrs. 
 Farwell was born in St. Johnsbury, Ft., and 
 when a child of two years she removed to the 
 State of Xew York with her parents. After the 
 marriage of their daughter Mr. and Mrs. 
 Chamberlain resided at the home of their son- 
 in-law, kindly cared for until the death of the 
 mother in 1889, and the father, in 1895. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Farwell have one son, Byron Cham- 
 berlain, a bright and intelligent boy, born in 
 1893. 
 
 At the time of the breaking out of the war 
 Mr. Farwell had in view a professional career, 
 and for some time had been a student in the 
 high school in Madison, expecting to pursue a 
 course of study in that city, but he yielded to 
 his duty, and for four long vears, or as long 
 as his aid was needed, he stood at his post, with 
 other wishes subdued. Entering the service as 
 a private, he was promoted to sergeant, and 
 finally, in March, 1865, for faithfulness, to 
 lieutenant, and was mustered out as such. 
 Returning with shattered constitution, he re- 
 nounced, with little repining, his hope of a pro- 
 fessional career, and pursued, as he was' able, 
 the occupations of farmer and merchant. Of 
 such stuff our heroes are made. Although for 
 many years he faithfully performed his duties 
 as a civilian, it was under difficulties, as the 
 wound in his arm has annoyed him greatly, and 
 rheumatism, also, which afflicts many a brave 
 veteran, has given him much trouble, and has 
 been a leading cause of his retirement from ac- 
 tive business life. In politics Mr. Farwell is a 
 stanch Republican, and has ever been deemed 
 
 a worthy and honorable citizen. Mrs. Far- 
 well is a member of the Christian Advent 
 Church, and also of the Woman’s Relief Corps, 
 while Mr. Farwell, is socially connected with 
 
 Williamson Post, G. A. R., of Dodgeville. 
 
 EDWARD E. BURNS, member of the 
 State Senate from the 16th District, is one of 
 the leading representatives of the Bar in Grant 
 county, is a gentleman of unusual attainments, 
 successful in the practice of his profession, 
 and highly respected by his colleagues as well 
 as his fellow citizens. 
 
 Mr. Burns was born at East Dubuque, 111 ., 
 Jan. 20, 1858, a son of Edward and Clara 
 (Fairbanks) Burns, the former a native of 
 Ottawa, Canada, the latter born near Water- 
 town, N. Y. The father was born in 1828, 
 of Scottish parents. The mother was born in 
 1832, and was the daughter of Silas and Caro- 
 line Fairbanks, descendants of prominent New 
 England families', who were well known dur- 
 ing the early days of the country. Edward 
 Burns settled in Chicago, and for some time 
 was in the employ of the Illinois Central Rail- 
 way Co., later conducting a lumber yard at 
 East Dubuque, 111 ., where his first marriage — 
 with the mother of our subject — occurred. 
 After some years’ residence there Mr. Burns 
 removed to Jamestown, Wis., where he pur- 
 chased the farm on which he still resides. In 
 1863 Mrs. Clara Burns passed away, leaving 
 him with two children : Edward E. is our sub- 
 ject; Carrie L., a native of Jamestown, where 
 she grew to womanhood, married Frank Neat, 
 of Ypsilanti, Mich., and died in November, 
 1891, leaving no family. For his second wife 
 Edward Burns married Miss Mary Tupper, and 
 to this union two sons were born : Frank L., 
 
 a graduate of the State Normal School at 
 Platteville, of the class of 1896; and Clifford, 
 now fourteen years old. 
 
 Our subject received an academic educa- 
 tion in the State Normal School at Platteville, 
 after which he entered the University of Wis- 
 consin law school, at Madison, graduating in 
 the class of 1887. The following, year 'he 
 opened an office for the practice of his pro- 
 fession at Sioux Falls, S. Dak., but after a 
 short residence there returned and formed a 
 partnership with W. G. Palmer, of Boscobel, 
 Grant county. At the close of one year Mr. 
 Burns removed to Platteville, forming a part- 
 nership with W. E. Carter on Dec. 1, 1890. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 61 1 
 
 Five years later this partnership was dissolved, 
 Mr. Carter locating in Milwaukee, Wis., and 
 Mr. Burns continuing in Platteville. 
 
 When the war with Spain broke out Mr. 
 Burns offered himself as a private, but was 
 rejected on account of a defect in his left eye. 
 Determined to serve his country, he returned 
 to Platteville, and raised a company, of which 
 he was elected captain, and which was mustered 
 into the service as Company C, 4th Wisconsin 
 Volunteers, at Camp Douglas, Wis. Later 
 they were forwarded to Anniston, Ala., where 
 they remained until Feb. 28, 1899, when the 
 regiment was mustered out. 
 
 After the muster-out of the regiment Mr. 
 Burns returned to Platteville and the peaceful 
 practice of law. Fie is notably successful in 
 his cases. In recognition of his ability, the 
 common council of Platteville in 1897 elected 
 him to the position of city attorney, and he has 
 since been honored with election to the State 
 Senate from the 16th District, in which body 
 he is now serving, discharging the arduous 
 duties of this incumbency with marked dis- 
 tinction. In addition to this honor Mr. Burns 
 has also served as member of the county board, 
 and brought to the deliberation of that body 
 not < only his legal knowledge, but also a calm, 
 impartial judgment. In politics lie is a mem- 
 ber of the Republican party, whose principles 
 he upholds upon all occasions. Mr. Burns is 
 not connected with any religious body, but ac- 
 cords to every man the right to worship as his 
 conscience dictates. In April, 1899, Mr. 
 Burns purchased a fine building site on Round- 
 tree avenue, erected a very comfortable home, 
 and now resides there. Public-spirited, genial, 
 thoroughly conversant with his profession, the 
 future before this young man is a very brilliant 
 one. Judging the future by the light of the 
 past, his name is destined to become one of the 
 b-est known in the State, even if lie is not called 
 to fill higher positions. Socially he is a very 
 prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, 
 and also of the K. of P. lodge of Platteville. 
 
 HON. JOEL WHITMAN. The early 
 settlers of Wisconsin are rapidly yielding their 
 places to the generations who have succeeded 
 them. With silvered hair, and sometimes with 
 faltering steps, they are silently marching 
 toward a land where faith is succeeded by 
 vision, and hope gives place to realization. To 
 chronicle their achievements and tell the story 
 
 of their lives is, with the historian, a task at 
 once of duty and of love ; and among those 
 who for more than half a century have been 
 prominently identified with the material, eco- 
 nomic and political development of the south- 
 western portion of the State, the names of few 
 are better known or more widely respected 
 than that of Joel Whitman. 
 
 Mr. Whitman comes of English lineage, as 
 well as of “fighting stock.” His American an- 
 cestors were among the early settlers' of Long 
 Island, when New York was a colony of the 
 Crown, and his grandfather, Isaiah Whitman, 
 a tailor by trade, was one of the intrepid army 
 which, under the leadership of Washington, 
 freed the new republic from the yoke of Brit- 
 ish domination. Isaiah Whitman, the elder, 
 some years after the conclusion of the war for 
 independence settled in Fulton county, N. Y., 
 where he died in 1799, at the age of eighty- 
 eight years. He was twice married. His first 
 wife bore him one son and one daughter, Jesse 
 and Phoebe. A few years after her death he 
 was united to a Miss Platt, a member of the 
 distinguished and historic family in whose 
 honor Plattsburg, N. Y., was named. The 
 issue of that union was three sons and five 
 daughters, the youngest of the family, whose 
 Christian name was also Isaiah, being the 
 father of the eminent pioneer, public servant 
 and man of affairs whose career constitutes 
 the subject of this narrative. 
 
 Isaiah Whitman, Jr., spent his entire life 
 chiefly in farming. He married Hannah Tur- 
 ner, and became the father of ten children, all 
 of whom grew to maturity, and of whom five 
 are yet living. Nelson, Joel, Phoebe, Clarissa 
 and Louisa. Phoebe and Clarissa are widows, 
 and make their homes in New York. Louisa 
 is the wife of Judge W. H. Fry, of that State. 
 Nelson is an ordained clergyman in the .Meth- 
 odist Church, and is now a resident of Fulton 
 county, N. Y., where he was born. For four 
 years he carried a captain’s commission and 
 did service in the army of the Union during 
 the war of the Rebellion ; about 1858 he came 
 West, and was for a time connected with the 
 Wisconsin Conference, having previously been 
 attached to the Troy Conference for a number 
 of years. Henry Whitman, a son cf Rose 
 Whitman (deceased), the eldest of the family, 
 was also a soldier, and lost his life in the serv- 
 ice of his country in the second battle of Bull 
 Run. in 1862. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 6 1 2 
 
 From the narrative given above it may be 
 seen that Joel Whitman is the only member 
 of his father’s family to become a permanent 
 resident of Wisconsin. Fie was born Feb. 2, 
 1823, in the town of Wells, N. Y., which was 
 then a part of Fulton county, but is now, owing 
 to a readjustment of county lines, within the 
 limits of Hamilton county. His early educa- 
 tional advantages were of the sort enjoyed by 
 the sons of well-to-do farmers of his time and 
 locality, and he learned the trade of a carpenter 
 in his early youth. In 1856 he settled in the 
 town of Ridgeway, Iowa Co., Wis., entering 
 a claim to government land. His natural abil- 
 ity soon won recognition, and, together with 
 his innate energy, early brought him to the 
 front in public affairs. Quick of comprehen- 
 sion, facile of speech, broad in conception, and 
 resolute of purpose, the people found in him 
 a most intelligent servant ; while at the same 
 time his high moral sense, which appeared in- 
 born, insured his fidelity to every public trust. 
 In i860 he was first elected clerk of the circuit 
 court of Iowa county. At that time the coun- 
 ty seat was at Mineral Point, and there he re- 
 sided until, in July, 1861, the seat of county 
 government was changed to Dodgeville, when 
 he removed to that town. With such ability 
 and fidelity did he discharge every official duty 
 that he was twice re-elected to the same im- 
 portant position, with its grave and sometimes 
 perplexing responsibilities, filling the office for 
 six years. So great has been the public con- 
 fidence in him, however, and so deep-seated 
 has been the faith of the people in his intelli- 
 gence and integrity, that other offices have been 
 thrust upon him. In 1866 he was chosen to 
 represent his district in the State Senate, in 
 which body he occupied a seat for two years. 
 Of minor and local honors he has been a fre- 
 quent recipient, having filled the offices of mem- 
 ber of the board of town trustees, president of 
 the village, and president of the Iowa County 
 Agricultural Society. Between 1875 and 
 1879 he was postmaster at Dodgeville, filling 
 the position for over four years. 
 
 Mr. Whitman’s marriage took place in 
 t866, when be was united to Anna Belle Mc- 
 Clure. Her father, Donald McClure, was a 
 native of Prince Edward Island, where she, 
 too, was born. The family seat was in Scot- 
 land, whence Mrs. Whitman’s grandparents 
 emigrated before her father’s birth. In 1849 
 the family removed to Wisconsin, their home 
 
 being in Dane and Iowa counties. Donald 
 McClure long since entered into eternal rest, 
 but his widow is yet living, at the age of 
 eighty-two, and has her home with a daugh- 
 ter, in Omaha, Neb. Mrs. Whitman i_s the 
 second of a family of four children. Her elder 
 sister, Christina, is the widow of Willard 
 Fisher, and lives near Omaha. Her two 
 brothers are named George and Chester A. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Whitman have come three 
 sons, George R., Platt and Ross. Geo rge R. 
 Whitman was born in Dodgeville, Dec. 18, 
 1867, and, after graduating from the high 
 school, he studied two years in the academic 
 department of the State University, graduating 
 from the law department in 1892; he was at 
 once elected district attorney for Iowa county, 
 re-elected in 1894, and subsequently he was 
 chosen a member of the board of supervisors, 
 an office which he held until his death, on Aug. 
 19, 1898. He also served with distinction as 
 agent for the State Board of Immigration, and 
 just before his death had been notified of his 
 appointment as United States inspector of 
 flour at Chicago. In January, 1896, he was 
 married to Miss Nellie S. Bennett, of Mineral 
 Point. He belonged to the Masonic fraternity, 
 to the Knights of Pythias, and to the Rgyal 
 Arcanum, and as a Pythian was Grand Master- 
 at-Arms of the Grand 1 Lodge of the Domain 
 of Wisconsin at the time of his death. Platt 
 Whitman, the second son of our subject, was 
 born Feb. 6, 1871, and he, too, is a member of 
 the Bar, having received the degree of A. B. 
 from the State University in 1893, and grad- 
 uating from the law department in 1895; he 
 began the practice of his profession at High- 
 land, Iowa county, but not long afterward re- 
 moved to Boscobel, where his success has been 
 commensurate with his' recognized ability. 
 Ross Whitman, the youngest son, was born 
 June 5, 1881, and is a student at the Wisconsin 
 University. 
 
 JOFIN WALSH, a popular dealer in fur- 
 niture, and undertaker, at Benton, Lafayette 
 county, was born in Walshford, Ireland, Nov. 
 24, 1850, a son of John and Johanna (Day) 
 Walsh. They were born and married in Ire- 
 land, and came to America in 1851, settling 
 near Galena, where he engaged in the work 
 of mining. In the early days of gold mining 
 he crossed the Plains, and for four years was 
 engaged in the mines in California. He did 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 613 
 
 well in that distant land, where he remained 
 four years. Coming- back to Wisconsin with 
 considerable wealth, he bought a farm on the 
 pike in Jo Daviess county, where he lived until 
 his death, in 1885. His widow and 'her son, 
 John, whose name appears above, moved to 
 Hazel Green, where she died in 1886. They 
 were both devout Catholics, and were highly 
 regarded by those who knew them best. Of 
 their family of six children, (1) Thomas, the 
 oldest, was born in Ireland. When a young 
 man he enlisted in the Navy under Admiral 
 Farragut, and was with him when he de- 
 stroyed the rebel fleets in the Mississippi river. 
 Later he enlisted in Company B, 45th 111 . Y. I., 
 serving until the close of the war. He is a 
 single man, and lives at Dubuque. (2) Rob- 
 ert, born in Ireland, grew up in Jo Daviess 
 county, enlisted in the 13th Ind. V. I., which 
 became a part of the Army of the Potomac, 
 and, with his regiment, participated in many 
 battles. Fie was wounded by a bursting shell 
 at Lookout Mountain. He is now living in 
 Indianapolis, where he was married. (3) 
 James, born in Ireland, is a saddler by trade, 
 and lives in Hazel Green. (4) Johanna, born 
 in Ireland, is the wife of Christopher McCane, 
 a merchant in Hazel Green. ( 5 ) Mary, born 
 in Jo Daviess county. 111 ., is the wife of J. E. 
 Kenney, of Cuba City, who is an undertaker 
 and a furniture dealer. (6) John. 
 
 John Walsh had his early education in the 
 district schools of Jo Daviess county, 111 . 
 When a young man he learned the trade of a 
 carpenter and builder, and this was his occu- 
 pation for many years. Many public build- 
 ings and private residences through this part 
 of the State attest his ability as a workman. 
 The large school building at Cuba City was 
 put up under his contract, as well as mairy 
 other notable buildings in this section. In 
 1878 he went to the Black Hills, where he 
 worked for four dollars a day framing timber 
 for the mines. He was in that country when 
 Deadwood City was destroyed by fire. For 
 four years he remained in the Hills, and then 
 came back to Wisconsin to take up the work 
 of farming, which he followed until 1888. 
 when he purchased ground and erected a fur- 
 niture and undertaking establishment at Cuba 
 City. In this business he continued for six 
 years, and in 1803 disposed of his business in 
 Cuba City to J. E. Kenney, and started a simi- 
 lar business in the town of Benton, which 'has 
 
 proved highly remunerative, and where he is 
 now engaged in business. 
 
 In July, 1889, Mr. Walsh was married to 
 Miss Minnie, the daughter of Frank and Marv 
 (Griffith) Brock, a pioneering and prominent 
 family in Grant county. Mrs. Walsh was 
 born at Big Patch in 1865, and her father was 
 born near East Dubuque. 111., and her mother 
 in Delaware. They lived at Big Patch for a 
 number of years, and then moved to Cuba 
 City, where Mr. Brock died in 1892. Then 
 family of children is as follows : Emma, now 
 
 Mrs. Amos Cook, of South Dakota ; Mary, who 
 lives with her mother in Cuba City; Minnie, 
 who married John Walsh; and Ira, a traveling 
 salesman. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Walsh were born the fol- 
 lowing children: (1) Mary A., born in Cuba 
 
 City in July, 1890; (2) John F., born in the 
 same place in 1802 ; (3) Lynn S., born in 1895 ; 
 (4) Georgie O., born in 1897; (5) Clifford, 
 born in September, 1900. The entire family 
 are devoted adherents of the Catholic Church. 
 Mr. Walsh has always voted with the Demo- 
 cratic party. 
 
 Mr. Walsh belongs to the order of Catholic 
 Knights, where his loyalty and enthusiasm are 
 much esteemed. As a man he has many 
 friends, who know and admire his good qual- 
 ities. 
 
 OLE JEREMIASON holds an enviable 
 place among the farming people, as well as the 
 citizens of the town of York, Green county, 
 where he has his pleasant and inviting home on 
 a farm of some 400 acres on Section 16. Born 
 in Norway June 16. 1830. he is a son of Jere- 
 mias Oleson, and accompanied his parents' to 
 \\ isconsin in 1853, an d here they made their 
 home in Green county. 
 
 Jeremias Oleson was the father of the fol- 
 lowing children : Ole, Lena, and four that 
 
 are now deceased. Lena married Elliott Han- 
 son, and is living in Iowa. Ole Jeremiason, 
 following the Norwegian habit, took his fa- 
 ther’s given name, and added to it “son.” 
 Jeremias Oleson was born in Norway Feb. 6, 
 1706, and died in the town of York Nov. 16, 
 1881. His wife was born Jan. 1. 1800. in 
 Norway, and died in York June 30. 1886. 
 Both were buried in the Norwegian Cemetery 
 in that town. 
 
 Ole Jeremiason and Miss Margaret Ever- 
 son were married Nov. 26, 1876, and to them 
 
614 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 were born the following children : Ida, born 
 
 Oct. 6, 1877; Julia, born Dec. 18, 1880; Nettie, 
 born Dec. 21, 1882; Sophia, born June 14, 
 1884; Martin, born Feb. 2, 1887; and Milla, 
 born Feb. 12, 1892. Mrs. Jeremiason was 
 burn March 19, 1854, near Brod'head, and was 
 one of a family of six children : Sveino, of 
 
 Rock county; Peter, of Brodhead 1 ; Even, of 
 Dane county; Helena, the 'wife of Mangus 
 Freeman, of Rock county; Margaret; and 
 Amon, of Rock county. 
 
 Air. Jeremiason was in very poor circum- 
 stances when he arrived in this country, and 
 made the journey from Janesville to York 
 township on foot. There he and his father 
 took up a small tract of government land, and 
 by hard work, economy and industry he has 
 come to own one of the largest farms' of Green 
 county, which is entirely free from encum- 
 brance. Mr. Jeremiason is a stanch Repub- 
 lican and a devoted member of the Lutheran 
 Church, and is honest and square in all his 
 dealings. At the present time he is engaged 
 in farming and the dairy business. He milks 
 some forty cows, and belongs to the Co-opera- 
 tive Cheese Manufacturing Company. 
 
 In the spring of 1865 Mr. Jeremiason en- 
 listed in the 46th Wis. V. I., and served until 
 the following fall. Fie made a g _ ood record, 
 though late in entering, and his children may 
 well be proud of their father’s good name in 
 every walk of life. 
 
 JAMES P. COX enjoys the double dis- 
 tinction of being a son of one of Wisconsin’s 
 pioneers, and a gallant veteran of the war for 
 the preservation of the Union. He was born 
 in the town of Potosi, Grant county, Jan. 11, 
 I 836, his father being Judge James P. Cox, 
 one of the foremost pioneers of this section of 
 the State, whose name is held in reverential 
 esteem. 
 
 Judge Cox was born in Philadelphia in 
 1802, and, being left an orphan at the age of 
 eight years, was reared in a Quaker family, 
 who gave him the ordinary advantages of 
 rudimentary education and apprenticed him to 
 learn the trade of a tanner. The occupation 
 did not prove to his liking, and on reaching 
 the age of twenty-two years, his mind was 
 made up to seek fresh fields and pastures new 
 in what was then regarded as the extreme 
 West. Accordingly, in 1S24 he came to Wis- 
 consin, settling in that portion of the (then) 
 
 territory which is now Grant county. By vir- 
 tue of intelligence and industry, perception and 
 probity, he soon forged to the front. During 
 those early days when Wisconsin was yet a 
 Territory, he held the office of sheriff, his 
 official jurisdiction extending over the region 
 which now embraces the counties . of Grant, 
 Iowa and Crawford. He was at Prairie du 
 Chien, when the grizzled old veteran, Zachary 
 Taylor, commanded the garrison and when 
 Jefferson Davis, afterward the president of the 
 extinct Southern Confederacy, was a success- 
 ful, suitor for the hand of Taylor’s daughter. 
 Judge Cox was a soldier in the Black Hawk 
 war, and his widow yet draws a pension for 
 his services in that conflict. Mrs. ( Judge 
 James P. ) Cox was Miss Caroline Dawson 
 before marriage, and her birthplace was Shaw- 
 neetown, in Southern Illinois. Judge Cox 
 finally settled on a farm near Potosi, Grant 
 county, giving the place the name of Osceola, 
 by which it is still known. Fie served in the 
 territorial legislature, and was a man of wide 
 influence, and was made one of the judges of 
 the Territory. He was a man of broad mind 
 and deep convictions, to which he was inflex- 
 ibly loyal. A Whig before the formation of 
 the Republican party, he acted with the latter 
 from the outset of its existence, and was one 
 of its chief organizers in Wisconsin. An ar- 
 dent patriot, he warmly supported the war 
 policy of President Lincoln, and lived to see 
 the triumph of the old flag and the restoration 
 of the Union. He pre-empted 400 acres of 
 government land in the township of Lancaster, 
 Grant county, and passed his later years in 
 farming. He passed from earth in 1866. leav- 
 ing an unblemished record in every relation of 
 life, both public and private, and his demise 
 was widely and deeply mourned. He was the 
 father of nine children, all of whom attained 
 maturity, although only four are yet living. 
 Two of his sons, James P., Jr., and Thomas 
 D., served in the Union army during the war 
 of the Rebellion. Thomas D. was a member 
 of Company C (Captain McKee’s command), 
 of the 2d Wis. V. I., and was killed in the 
 first battle of Bull Run. July 21, 1861, two 
 days before completing his twenty-first year; 
 he was the first soldierHrom Grant county to 
 lay down his life as a sacrifice upon his coun- 
 try's altar, and his memory is honored and 
 preserved in the naming of the Grand Army 
 Post at Lancaster “Tom Cox.” 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 615 
 
 A brief mention of the other members of 
 the family cannot fail to prove of interest. 
 Those who have died were Mrs. Harriet R. 
 Clise, the eldest child, Mrs. Ann M. Clise, 
 Henrietta and Rufus' W. Besides Mr. James 
 P. Cox there are yet living Charles, whose 
 home is near his brother James P., on the old 
 homestead; John T., a resident of the town- 
 ship of Paris, Grant county; and Mrs. Eliza- 
 beth Language, on an adjoining farm. Mrs. 
 James P. Cox, Sr., 'the mother of this family, 
 is still living, at the age of ninety years. 
 
 James P. Cox, the subject of this narrative, 
 remained upon his father’s farm until the out- 
 break of the Civil war. On Aug. 11, 1862, 
 he enlisted as a private in Company H, 25th 
 Wis. V. I. The regiment was mustered into 
 service at La Crosse, and after taking part in 
 the suppression of an Indian outbreak was dis- 
 patched to Columbus, Ky., proceeding thence 
 to Vicksburg, Miss., where it participated in 
 the celebrated siege of that city. After the 
 surrender of the Southern stronghold, the 
 young volunteer became ill, and was sent home 
 on furlough. He rejoined his regiment, how- 
 ever, at Helena, Ark., in time to take part in 
 the famous raid on Meridian, Miss. His health 
 giving way a second time, he was sent to the 
 hospital at Vicksburg, whence he was trans- 
 ferred to Jefferson Barracks, in Missouri, and 
 from that point to Prairie du Chien, Wis., 
 where he remained until honorably discharged, 
 at the close of his term of enlistment. His 
 service as a soldier left him physically en- 
 feebled, and he is yet a victim to those twin 
 maladies of the old veterans — rheumatism and 
 chronic diarrhoea. In 1866 he was elected 
 sheriff of Grant county, and filled that respon- 
 sible office for two years. In 1868 he retired 
 to his 1 farm, where he yet resides, broken in 
 health, but with mental faculties undimmed, 
 and happy in the recollection of a life well 
 spent. 
 
 He was married in 1874 to Miss Margaret 
 H. McKenzie, a daughter of the late James 
 McKenzie, one of Grant county’s honored pio- 
 neers, who was born in Philadelphia in 1794, 
 a son of Alexander McKenzie, a native of Glas- 
 gow, Scotland, the story of whose life reads 
 like a romance. While walking along the 
 beach near his home, a mere youth, he was 
 seized by the hated and dreaded “press gang,” 
 and forced aboard a British man-of-war, where 
 he did compulsory service for three "years. 
 
 During the war of the Revolution the vessel 
 on which he was virtually a prisoner was 
 cruising in American waters, and young Mc- 
 Kenzie, with eleven companions, resolved to 
 make an effort to escape. The coast was seven 
 miles distant, yet they jumped overboard and 
 swam for shore. Of the party that made this 
 daring plunge for freedom, only five regained 
 their liberty, the others sinking beneath the 
 waves through exhaustion, or being struck by 
 shot from the vessel’s guns, which, after the 
 fact of the escape was ascertained, kept up a 
 perpetual firing. After landing upon Ameri- 
 can soil Alexander McKenzie lost no time in 
 joining the patriotic army, and after a service 
 of four years, had the pleasure of seeing the 
 independence of the colonies recognized by the 
 Crown. The remainder of his life was passed 
 near Philadelphia, and there he died while his 
 son James (the father of Mrs. Cox) was yet 
 a child. He was the son of a royal house in 
 Scotland, but unfortunately Mrs. Cox does not 
 know its history well enough to relate it. 
 James McKenzie was one of a family of five 
 children, three of whom were sons. The 
 eldest child is Mrs. Elizabeth Ellison, of Phila- 
 delphia ; the second, Mrs. Margaret Hanley, 
 resided with her husband on a large plantation 
 in Kentucky, and died there many years ago ; 
 Thomas (also deceased) was an esteemed citi- 
 zen of Terre Haute, Ind. ; Alexander, a twin 
 brother of James, lived and died on a Ken- 
 tucky plantation, adjoining that of his sister. 
 
 James was apprenticed to the trade of cab- 
 inet maker while a youth, but before the close 
 of his apprenticeship had expired he enlisted 
 in the army to take part in the war of 1812. 
 He served as second lieutenant in the regiment 
 commanded by Col. Cadwallader, and at the 
 close of the struggle was given the honorary 
 title of Colonel, by which he was known dur- 
 ing - the remainder of his life, and his figure 
 and martial bearing well substantiated his claim 
 to the distinction. The name was long known 
 and honored in both Kentucky and Wisconsin. 
 It was in Kentucky that he married Lucintha 
 Roundtree, and it was in the early days of their 
 married life (in 1836) that the young couple 
 removed to the Territory of Wisconsin, be- 
 coming the first settlers in what is now the 
 township of Ellenboro. He erected a saw- 
 mill and a flouring mill there, and “McKen- 
 zie’s mill” soon became famous far and near. 
 He was a man of cpiick intelligence, kindly 
 
6 i6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 disposition and absolutely unflagging energy. 
 He was eminently social, a genial host, and 
 while remarkably successful in business, his 
 native generosity was a constant bar to his ac- 
 cumulation of wealth. He was a Mason of 
 high degree, and in no relation of life was he 
 ever found derelict. In 1850 he made a trip 
 to California, returning after an absence of 
 two years. In early life he was a Whig, but 
 later affiliated with the Democratic party. He 
 died upon his farm in Ellenboro Aug. 21, 1881, 
 having rounded out a life of earnest persever- 
 ance and good work, honored by the com- 
 munity whose best interests he had labored to 
 advance, and sincerely mourned by the many 
 friends who had learned to love him for his 
 many virtues, not the least of which was his 
 quick, tender sympathy for all who were in 
 distress. 
 
 To James McKenzie and his wife were 
 born seven children, three of whom are de- 
 ceased. Henry, the eldest son, died at Ellen- 
 boro in 1885. The youngest son, Harrison 
 McKenzie, enlisted in May, 1861, in Company 
 C, 2d Wis. V. I., and lost his life on the field 
 of Antietam Sept. 17, 1862. John, whose 
 home was near Stockton, Cal., died there at 
 6 o’clock on the morning of Jan. 4, 1901. 
 I hose of the family who yet survive, besides 
 Mrs. Cox are Mrs. Barnett, of Milwaukee, 
 Mrs. Nancy Clise. of Seattle, Wash., and Mrs. 
 Belle Spencer, of Minneapolis. 
 
 ^ MYRON A. BISHOP, proprietor of the 
 “Gates House” at Platteville, Grant county, 
 was born in Huron county, Ohio, Dec. 19, 
 1845, a son of Alonzo and Louisa (Rey- 
 nolds) Bishop, the former of whom was born 
 Dec. 28, 1809, in New York State, the latter 
 Sept. 28, 1 81 3, in Connecticut. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Alonzo Bishop lived in the 
 Empire State for six years after their mar- 
 riage, then removed to Huron county, Ohio, 
 and in 1854 came to Wisconsin, locating in 
 Beloit, where the father was engaged in farm- 
 ing. The latter days of the parents were 
 passed, however, at the home of their son 
 Myron A., in Platteville, where they passed 
 away in 1881, the mother on Nov. 13, and the 
 father on Nov. 18. They had born to them 
 thirteen children, eight of whom reached ma- 
 ture years, the seven besides Myron A. being 
 (1) George W., who was born in New Yhork 
 State in 1836, was educated in Ohio, and when 
 
 a young man came to Wisconsin and engaged 
 in the lumber business in the pineries. At the 
 breaking out of the Civil war he enlisted in 
 the 10th Wis. V. I., and served through the 
 entire struggle. After the war was over he 
 purchased a farm in Perry, Dallas Co., Iowa, 
 and married Miss Esther Arthur, of Wiscon- 
 sin, who bore him three sons, George, Dr. 
 Earnest and Ora, all residents of Iowa. George 
 W. Bishop died in 1898. (2) Thomas, born 
 
 March 25, 1844, was also a soldier in the Civil 
 war, and was killed before Petersburg, Va., 
 June 17, 1864. (3) W. H., born in 1847, 
 
 came with his parents to Wisconsin, where he 
 worked on his father's farm until enlisting, in 
 the fall of 1864, in the 12th Wis. V. I., and 
 served until the close of the war; he was with 
 Sherman on the march to the sea, and while 
 in the service sustained a sunstroke that left 
 him in poor health for some time. He mar- 
 ried Miss Sarah A. James, of Wyoming, Iowa 
 Co., Wis., was for many years employed as 
 United States mail carrier between Mineral 
 Point, Dodgeville and Arena, and in 1877 set- 
 tled in Platteville, where he carried on a livery 
 business until his' death, in 1893; he left his 
 wife with one son. Dr. T. W. Bishop, of Platte- 
 ville. Of the surviving daughters of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Alonzo Bishop, (4) Amanda, born in 
 New York in 1834, became the wife of A. W. 
 Greene, of Beloit, Wis., who in 1857 settled 
 in Arena, Iowa county, where Mr. Greene 
 farmed until his death, in 1863. He left his 
 widow with two children, Della and Lydia, 
 the former of whom is the wife of D. C. Mun- 
 yon, of South Dakota, and the latter the widow 
 of George Burrow, and a resident of Minne- 
 sota. Mrs. Greene was married after her first 
 husband’s' death to Frederick Beaumont, and 
 resided at Lone Rock, Wis., until her death, 
 Dec. 17, 1900. By her second marriage she 
 became the mother of two children, Alonzo 
 and Frances. (5) Mary J., born in Ohio in 
 1838, is the wife of J. N. Dodge, a farmer 
 of Round Lake, Minn., and has three children, 
 George, Minnie and William; the latter was 
 educated at the Platteville State Normal 
 School and the Chicago Dental College.. (6) 
 Sarah Louisa, born in Ohio in 1842, is the 
 widow of George W. Billington, of Arena, 
 Wis., who died Jan. 5, 1900. She now resides 
 in Wyoming Valley and has six children liv- 
 ing - , Cora (wife of Robert Edwards, of Sib- 
 ley, Iowa), Frankie (married to Dana Hickox, 
 

 i 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 6 1 7 
 
 of Clarion, Iowa), Minnie (wife of Louis 
 Billington, of South Dakota), Iva (wife of 
 Allen Olson, of Iowa county, Wis.), and Will- 
 iam and Roy, at home. (7) Eva, born in 
 Ohio in 1852, was 1 married to Albert Green, 
 who died in Brandon, Wis., leaving his widow 
 with four daughters, Carrie, Sylvia, Anna and 
 Minnie. Mrs. Green was later married to 
 Hiram Dodge, and died in July, 1899, leaving 
 two sons and one daughter by Mr. Dodge. 
 
 Myron A. Bishop was educated in the com- 
 mon and 'high schools of Beloit, Wis. At the 
 early age of sixteen he enlisted in Company 
 B, 34th Wis. V. I., under Capt. James M. 
 Ruby, took part in several skirmishes, and was' 
 honorably discharged at the close of his one 
 year’s term of enlistment. After his return 
 he again attended school six years, and then 
 engaged in teaching, a vocation he followed 
 about seven years. 
 
 On Aug. 19, 1868, Mr. Bishop married 
 Miss Carrie Ward, daughter of William A. and 
 Elizabeth Ward, of Arena, Wis. Mrs. Bishop 
 was born in Nova Scotia Dec. 9, 1845, but 
 early came to the Wolverine State, and here 
 engaged in school teaching. After marriage 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bishop taught school a year in 
 Perry, Dallas Co., Iowa, and then returned 
 to Wisconsin. For three years Mr. Bishop was 
 engaged in mercantile trade, then for two years 
 ran a stage between Platteville and Boscobel, 
 and next conducted the “Park House,” at 
 Platteville, for about six years, at the end of 
 which time he sold out and engaged in mer- 
 chandising at Mount Hope for two years. He 
 then disposed of his mercantile business and 
 kept a hotel in Cassville for about five years, in 
 1893 purchasing the “Gates House,” in Platte- 
 ville, of which he has since continued to be 
 the genial and popular proprietor. He and 
 his wife are both well fitted for this business', 
 and the kindly and hospitable faces of both 
 are familiar to all travelers in the habit of 
 visiting the town. The hotel is conducted on 
 the temperance plan, and in the most orderly 
 and homelike manner; the table is supplied 
 with the best viands afforded 1 by the local and 
 city markets, and the sleeping- apartments are 
 clean, neatly furnished and comfortable in 
 every respect. Mrs. Bishop is a lady of culture 
 and refinement, and, she possesses the happy 
 faculty of making her numerous guests feel 
 at home. For the past fifteen years, also, Mr. 
 Bishop has acted as an auctioneer throughout 
 
 Grant and adjoining counties, and has gained 
 for himself the reputation of being one of the 
 best salesmen in this section. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Bishop have been born 
 three sons: Bert M., now the only survivor, 
 
 born Jan. 15, 1875, is a graduate of the Platte- 
 ville Business College, 1894, and of the State 
 Normal School, Platteville, class of 1898, is 
 well advanced in literature and music, and 
 socially is one of the leading young men of 
 the town; Willet J., born April 10, 1877, died 
 the same month; and Harold, born Sept. 3, 
 1881, died April 22, 1886. 
 
 In politics Mr. Bishop has always identi- 
 fied himself with the Republican party, and has 
 been very active in party work, especially in 
 local matters. He is a member of Sherman 
 Post, No. 62. G. A. R., of Platteville; of Platte- 
 ville Lodge, No. 125, K. of P. ; of the Knights 
 of the Globe; and of the M. W. A. 
 
 During the drought in Nebraska, in 1894, 
 when the farmers and others of that State had 
 suffered heavy losses, an agent was sent to 
 Platteville to solicit money for the relief of 
 the more pressing immediate wants, and oats 
 for the coming spring season. Through the 
 efforts of Mr. Bishop and his influence with 
 the G. A. R. 1,100 bushels of oats were con- 
 tributed, and these, with a neat sum in cash, 
 were freely divided among the veterans and 
 Nebraskans in want. In 1899 Mr. Bishop pur- 
 chased a farm of 160 acres in Petersburg, 
 Neb., which he rents. 
 
 T. W. Bishop, M. D., a nephew of our 
 subject, was graduated from the Platteville 
 Normal in 1890. and from Bellevue Medical 
 College, New York, in 1894, and is now a 
 physician of Platteville. In 1896 he married 
 Miss Floy Wheeler, of Baraboo, Wis., daugh- 
 ter of Rev. Bert Wheeler. D. D., of the M. E. 
 j Church. 
 
 William A. Ward, Mrs. Bishop’s father, 
 was born in Nova Scotia in 1804, son of Rob- 
 ert Ward, and was of English extraction. In 
 1827 he married Elizabeth Reid, a native of 
 Nova Scotia, born in 1802, and they came with 
 their family to Wisconsin in 1846, locating 
 at Ridgeway, where he engaged in farming. 
 He died in April, 1883. Mrs. Elizabeth Ward 
 died in July, 1854. and in 1857 he married 
 for his second wife Margaret McKenzie, of 
 Ridgeway. By the first wife he had the fol- 
 lowing children who grew to maturity: G. 
 
 S., born in November, 1828, now of Iowa; 
 
6 1 8 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Kate E., born in 1830, who married Alexander 
 McKenzie; Sarah A., born in 1832, who mar- 
 ried William J. Laughlin, and is deceased; 
 John W., born Jan. 27, 1835, who died in 
 1900; James E., born in November, 1836, of 
 Hollandale, Wis. ; Nancy V., born June 28, 
 1838, who married William A. McKenzie; and 
 Carrie, Mrs. Bishop. By the second marriage 
 there were three children: ' Etta, born in 1858, 
 wife of Robert Clark, of Chicago; William 
 A., born in 1861, of Chicago; and Zella B., 
 born in 1864, who is unmarried. 
 
 MATHEW BAINBRIDGE. Among the 
 wealthy and leading farmers of Lafayette coun- 
 ty, is Mathew Bainbridge, of Blanchard town- 
 ship, his finely improved farm lying two and 
 one-half miles south-west of Blanchardville. 
 This comprises 436 acres of fertile and well 
 cultivated land, and its location on Sections 26, 
 27, 34, and 35, comprises some of the most val- 
 uable land in this part of Wisconsin. 
 
 Mathew Bainbridge was born in Durham 
 county, England, July 13, 1846, a son of Henry 
 and Jane (Hutchinson) Bainbridge, both of 
 whom were natives of England, although the 
 Hutchinson family originated in Scotland. 
 These parents had a family of twelve children, 
 nine of whom grew to maturity: John, Eliza- 
 beth and Henry, deceased; Thomas, a retired 
 farmer of Lafayette county; Anthony, a resi- 
 dent of Benton, in this county; Dinah, de- 
 ceased ; George, who remains on the old Eng- 
 lish homestead; Mathew, of this biography; 
 and Isabella, deceased. 
 
 Previous to coming to the United States, 
 Mathew Bainbridge married Miss Hannah 
 Bainbridge, in 1868, a daughter, of Joseph Bain- 
 bridge, and her birth was in 1848. Eleven chil- 
 dren have blessed this union: Joseph, at home; 
 Jane died at the age of twenty-two ; John IT., at - 
 home ; Margaret E. married Columbus Johns, 
 of North Dakota; Charlotte married Clyde 
 Robinson, of Ohio; Etta, at home; Mathew W., 
 at home; Annie, at home, as are also Thomas- 
 S., Archie and Bessie B. In 1S70, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Bainbridge came to America and first set- 
 tled near Benton, in Lafayette county, where 
 the former engaged in mining and successfully 
 pursued this for the succeeding five years, and 
 then began farming, renting land for the next 
 five years, at the expiration of which he bought 
 his present most desirable estate. In ad- 
 dition to this valuable property, he also owns a 
 
 fine farm of 220 acres in the township of Ben- 
 ton, which may be of still greater value, as it 
 has every indication of mineral wealth. . 
 
 Mr. Bainbridge is a man of ideas, and not 
 only successfully conducts extensive farming- 
 operations, but is also engaged in the dairy and 
 cheese business on a large scale, and much of 
 his time is occupied in the breeding of fine 
 horses from imported stock. In politics, he is 
 a Republican, and has taken an active interest 
 in township affairs, efficiently filling the office 
 of school director and has been chairman of the 
 township board. The family is connected with 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which Mr. 
 Bainbridge gives liberal support. Remember- 
 ing that Mr. Bainbridge came to this country a 
 poor man, there is something admirable in the 
 success which he has won by his energy and 
 business ability. His standing in the commu- 
 nity is very high, and no one in Lafayette coun- 
 ty can be named as a better husband, father, 
 friend or citizen,- than he. 
 
 LEWIS WHITEHEAD (deceased) was 
 among the honorable and useful citizens of his 
 time. As a neighbor and a citizen he was 
 highly esteemed for his kind heart, his sympa- 
 thetic disposition, and his manly and upright 
 character. 
 
 Mr. Whitehead was a native of Berne, 
 England, born June 15, 1815, spent his boy- 
 hood and youth in the community where he 
 was born, and there obtained his schooling. 
 He descended from a family of the purest 
 Anglo-Saxon lineage, which far away was 
 mingled with a royal strain. William and An- 
 nie (Tone) Whitehead, his parents, were born 
 in Berne, England, where the father followed 
 the double occupation of farming and fishing, 
 and they were known as honorable and indus- 
 trious people. They were the parents of thir- 
 teen children, those who came to this country 
 being William, Lewis and John. 
 
 Lewis Whitehead, after coming to this 
 country, in June, 1850, settled in Wisconsin, 
 and became well established here. He was 
 married in Green county June 3, 1866, to Miss 
 Olive L. Minor, a daughter of Hiram and 
 Parmelia (Grant) Minor. Mrs. Parmelia 
 (Grant) Minor was a distant relative of Presi- 
 dent Grant. Mr. and Mrs. Whitehead became 
 the parents of the following children: (1) 
 
 John W., born April 10, 1867, married Miss 
 Statire Foote, of Medina, Ohio, and is now a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 6 1 9 
 
 farmer in that locality. (2) George Henry, 
 born Aug. 21, 1868, married Miss Nettie Lich- 
 tenwaller, of Monroe, Wis., and is a farmer in 
 the town of Jefferson. (3) Alvin R., born 
 March 28, 1870, is a farmer in Iowa, and on 
 Feb. 13, 1901, he married Elizabeth Greves. 
 (4) Annie Maria, born Nov. 3, 1871. (5) 
 
 Wakeman D., born March 25, 1873. resides 
 with his mother on the home farm, and is en- 
 gaged in its cultivation. (6) Parker M., born 
 ■ Sept. 24, 1874, is a merchant at Elgin, Neb. 
 (7) Frank B., the youngest in the family, was 
 born March 14, 1876, and is now engaged in 
 farming in Indiana. 
 
 Mrs. Olive L. Whitehead was born Dec. 
 3, 1841, the eldest child in a family of nine, 
 the others being Ruby J., William 1VL, Cyrus 
 T., Truman J., Perry, Franklin, Belinda, and 
 Serepta (who died in childhood). Hiram 
 Minor was born in 1812, and died in 1886, and 
 was totally deprived of sight for twelve years 
 previous to his death. Mbs. Hiram Minor 
 was born in 1818, and died in 1855. 
 
 Lewis Whitehead began life in this coun- 
 try as a day laborer, but soon became a farmer, 
 and at the time of his death, in 1884, owned a 
 fine estate of 180 acres of very desirable farm- 
 ing land in the town of Jefferson. Mrs. Olive 
 L. Whitehead is now making her home on the 
 old place. Mr. Whitehead was a Republican, 
 and thoroughly posted on the topics of his time. 
 Honest and true to his convictions, he was 
 well liked by his neighbors, and acted the part 
 of a man wherever placed. To his family he 
 left a good property, and his widow is passing 
 her last years in peace and comfort. She is a 
 woman of more than the usual force of char- 
 acter, and is highly spoken of by those who 
 know her best as a sincere Christian, of kindly 
 spirit and generous impulses. 
 
 HON. ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL, a 
 resident of the town of Brigham, Iowa county, 
 since July, 1850, is one of the representative 
 men of Southwestern Wisconsin, and his hon- 
 1 orable and useful career since his arrival here 
 deserves high commendation in this record. 
 
 Mr. Campbell comes of Scotch ancestry, 
 and was himself born on Prince Edward Island 
 April 28, 1828, 1 3eing a son of James and Eliza- 
 : bet'h (Montgomery) Campbell. The first 
 Montgomery of this family to come to America 
 bore the name of Donald, and was a thorough- 
 bred Scotchman. Both the Campbells and 
 
 Montgomerys were among the very early set- 
 tiers of Prince Edward Island. 
 
 Archibald Campbell attained his majority 
 in bis native island. When he had reached 
 man’s estate he came, in company with a half 
 brother, to Wisconsin, where another brother 
 had already come, and established a home. 
 James I . Campbell, who came with him, is in 
 South Dakota ; Alexander Campbell, who was 
 already established here, is in Washington. 
 Donald Campbell, a full brother of Archibald, 
 is now living in Boston, Mass. For a time 
 after his arrival in Wisconsin, Archibald 
 Campbell was an inmate of the home of ’Squire 
 Brigham, a well-known pioneer, whose name 
 the township in which he settled bears. 
 
 Mr. Campbell was one of the early teach- 
 ers in Wisconsin, teaching in the townships of 
 Blue Mounds and Vermont, in Dane county. 
 A farm was improved by him near Blue 
 Mounds, where he made his home until Feb- 
 ruary, 1865, when he settled on bis present 
 beautiful home farm in Section 3, in the town 
 of Brigham. Early in 1865 I'd!-. Campbell en- 
 listed in Company A, 49th Wis. V. I., and was 
 made a sergeant of the company at its organi- 
 zation. Actively engaged with his regiment, 
 he saw many of the stirring scenes of the clos- 
 ing months of the Great Rebellion, and though 
 his military experience was brief, it was in 
 every way creditable. Since the close of the 
 war Mr. Campbell has resided on his present 
 farm, and has passed his years in. the quiet 
 pursuit of his useful calling. His character 
 is above and beyond all possible serious criti- 
 cism. 
 
 Mrs. Campbell was formerly Miss Frede- 
 rika Helmenstine, and she is a -daughter of 
 John A. Helmenstine, a well-known pioneer 
 settler. To Mr. and Mrs. Campbell were born 
 three daughters and six sons. A sad affliction 
 befell them in the death of their oldest daugh- 
 ter, Elizabeth, who was killed by a cyclone in 
 1879, due town of Moscow, Iowa county, 
 where she was teaching school at the time. At 
 the approach of the storm, which seemed to 
 threaten the school house, she tried to escape 
 with the children, but was killed, while the 
 house was left uninjured. 
 
 Mr. Campbell was prominently identified 
 with the early political history of Wisconsin, 
 and enjoyed the acquaintance of many of the 
 leading men of the State who have since 
 passed from the stage of action. Fie voted 
 
620 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 for Gen. Scott in 1852, and was a delegate to 
 the first Republican convention held in Madi- 
 son in 1854, and since that event has been a 
 steadfast Republican. In 1878 he was sent to 
 the State Senate, where he made a creditable 
 record. Before the adoption of the present 
 system he was' a county commissioner, and has 
 since served on the county board a number 
 of terms. Mr. Campbell has taken an active 
 interest in educational affairs, and long served 
 as school director, being treasurer for eighteen 
 years. There are few men who have a wider 
 acquaintance in this part of the State, or are 
 more highly regarded than the gentleman 
 whose name introduces this sketch. Keeping 
 in touch with the best thought of the time, he 
 is universally recognized as a progressive and 
 valuable citizen. 
 
 JAMES H. EARNEST, for over three 
 score years identified with the farming and 
 mining interests of Lafayette county, Wis., 
 died at his old home June 12, 1900. His birth 
 occurred in Franklin county, Ivy., Jam 11, 
 1818, and in that State his parents died 1 while 
 he was still quite young, and he was early 
 thrown upon his own resources. 
 
 In 1836 Mr. Earnest came alone to Wiscon- 
 sin, and found work in the mines in New Dig- 
 gings township, where he remained for four- 
 teen years. About 1850 he purchased his farm, 
 which was then unimproved, and erected good 
 buildings for his family, with spacious barns 
 and outbuildings for animals, of which he 
 kept many. In politics Mr. Earnest belonged 
 to the old Democratic party, and for sixteen 
 3 r ears represented his county in the State Legis- 
 lature. He was very prominent as a member, 
 and was active in the promotion of many a 
 law having for its object the welfare of the 
 State. In the political work of his own coun- 
 ty he was always in the front rank of workers' 
 and was looked upon as one of the most suc- 
 cessful leaders. 
 
 In 1S46 Mr. Earnest wedded Miss Mary 
 E. McCoun who was born in Kentucky in 
 February, 1824. daughter of Joseph and Esther 
 (Eccles) McCoun, who were both born and 
 raised near Harrodsburg, Ky., in which State 
 they both died, the former when Mrs. Earnest 
 was quite small, and the latter when eighty 
 years of age. There were four children in the 
 family of Mr. and Mrs. McCoun, namely : 
 Arethusa is the deceased wife of Merritt Cun- 
 
 ningham ; William, born in 1822, married 
 Miss Vienna Peters, and settled in Missouri, 
 where he was engaged as a merchant, later go- 
 ing to Arizona, where he was killed by the 
 Indians, leaving his widow with three chil- 
 dren, the latter now residing in Missouri; Jo- 
 seph, born in 1826, married Miss Louisa 
 Pepper, and engaged in farming and distilling 
 in Kentucky, later removing to Fort Worth, 
 Texas, where his wife died, after which event 
 he returned to Kentucky and there died in 
 1897, the father of three sons and three daugh- 
 ters — Perla, Hetty, Lueta, Robert, Samuel, and 
 Joseph; and Mrs. Mary E. Earnest completes 
 the family. Mrs. Earnest was educated in the 
 Springfield Convent in Kentucky, and received 
 a musical and literary education. She has, 
 notwithstanding her life on the frontier, man- 
 aged to keep up her education and is to-day 
 a highly cultured woman and a fluent conver- 
 sationalist. Her long years in home making 
 in the early days are intensely interesting, and 
 it is difficult to believe that one is listening to 
 her own experiences. She proved herself a 
 true helpmeet of her husband, ably seconding 
 him in all his efforts, and taking an interest 
 in the things about her. Eight children blessed 
 their union: (1) Laura, born in New Dig- 
 
 gings' in May, 1847, was educated partly by 
 the Sisters of Sinsinawa, Wis., and later in 
 Miss Edwards Seminary in New Haven, 
 Conn., where she acquired a good classical and 
 musical education. She married William H. 
 Hughes, an employe in the post office at Mil- 
 waukee. She has no children of her own, but 
 has adopted the daughter, Marie, of 'her de- 
 ceased sister. (2) Kate, born in August, 1849, 
 was educated in the Sinsinawa Mound Sisters 
 School, whence she was graduated. She mar- 
 ried John Dunlop, a railroad man, and has 
 three children, Laura, Earnest and John. (3) 
 Arethusa, born April 15, 1851, was gradu- 
 ated from the Sisters School at Sinsinawa 
 Mound, and married Walter Le Clerc, of 
 Prairie du Chien, Wis., now of Milwaukee, 
 and has one daughter, Genevieve. (4) James 
 E., born April 4, 1853, was educated in the high 
 school of Shullsburg, and is now engaged in 
 farming in Lafayette county. He married Miss 
 May Patton, and has four children, Edna, 
 Clara, William and Bertha. (5) Ida B., born 
 April 1, 1855, was educated at the Sisters 
 School at Sinsinawa Mound, and married 
 Frank A. Porter, a farmer, and died June 29, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 621 
 
 1892, leaving two children, Eugene and Marie. 
 (6) Grattan, born in May, 1857, received a 
 high-school education, and now superintends 
 his mother’s farm. He married Jennie Frank- 
 lin, and has one son, Roswell. (7) Walter, 
 born Feb. 22, 1859, received a good education, 
 and is now chief clerk of the mail, service at 
 Helena, Mont. He married Miss Bertha Cun- 
 ningham, of St. Paul, Minn, (although a na- 
 tive of Toledo, Ohio), and became the father 
 of three children, all of whom died young. 
 (8). Charles D., born Nov. 8, 1861, was edu- 
 cated in the home schools, and married Miss 
 Eva Willcox, of Milwaukee, where he is em- 
 ployed by the St. Paul R. R. They have three 
 children, Chester, Earling and Viola. This 
 family is Roman Catholic" in religion. 
 
 JOHN H. COOK, an energetic and pro- 
 gressive farmer residing on section 3, Water- 
 loo township. Grant county, was born July 
 5, 1839, in Lewisburg, Greenbrier Co., W. 
 Va., a son of Richard and Mary Ann (Smith) 
 Cook, also natives of that State. The family 
 have been residents of Virginia for several 
 generations. In 1849 Richard Cook, his wife 
 and eight children emigrated to Ohio. He 
 died in Kentucky, while visiting a brother, 
 after which his widow came to Grant county, 
 Wis., but spent her last days at the home of 
 a daughter in Minnesota, where her death oc- 
 curred. Of their eight children, only three 
 are now (1901) living: Addison, a resident 
 of Little Grant, Grant county; Airs. Elizabeth 
 Mooney, of Cassville; and John H., of this 
 sketch. All but one of the five who have passed 
 away grew to mature years, Thomas dying at 
 the age of fourteen. The others were Davis, 
 William, James and Francis. 
 
 John H. Cook, the immediate subject of 
 this biography, came to Grant county from 
 Ohio in 1861, and was engaged in mining for 
 a time. In 1862 he was married to Miss Le- 
 titia Tindell, a daughter of James Tindell, and 
 to them were born nine children, four sons and 
 five daughters, namely: Nettie, wife of Arthur 
 Shanilley; Thomas, a resident of Lancaster 
 township. Grant county ; Mary, wife of John 
 Wilson; Alaria, wife of William Good, of Bar- 
 ron county, Wis. ; Davis, a student at the Keo- 
 kuk Afedical College, where he was graduated 
 in the class of 1901 ; William; Olive, wife of 
 James Kendall; Everett, a student of dental 
 surgery; and Theresa. 
 
 After his marriage Air. Cook continued 
 mining until, he entered the service of his coun- 
 try during the Civil war. On Sept. 1, 1864,. 
 he enlisted in Company H, 43d Wis. V. I., and 
 remained at the front until hostilities ceased, 
 being honorably discharged at Nashville, 
 Tenn., June 24, 1865. He was in active service 
 with his regiment all of the time with the ex- 
 ception of about two months, when confined in 
 the hospital by illness, being taken sick at 
 Johnsonville by drinking foul water. Since the 
 war Mr. Cook has engaged in farming, and 
 now has a pleasant home in Waterloo township, 
 where the family reside. His health was great- 
 ly impaired by his army service, and he has 
 since suffered from heart trouble. He is one 
 of the well-known citizens of his township and 
 is justly deserving of honorable mention in the 
 history of his adopted county. 
 
 THOAIAS BUNBURY, who resides on 
 Section 20, Town 6, Range 5, East, town of 
 Brigham, Iowa county, is a veteran of the 
 Civil war, in which he served as a member of 
 Company A, 49th Wis. Vol. Infantry. 
 
 Mr. Bunbury was born in County Wick- 
 low, Ireland, Jan. 4, 1827, and is a son of 
 Patrick and Alary Bunbury. When he was a 
 small boy he lost his mother, and his father 
 came to this country to make a home for his 
 children, stopping for a time in Pennsylvania, 
 and then making his way to Michigan, where 
 he secured a large tract of government land, 
 where he was presently joined by his children 
 Thomas, Henry, and a daughter who has 
 been dead these many years. Henry Bunbury 
 lives in St. Joseph, Alich., where he is greatly 
 respected. 
 
 Thomas Bunbury came to the United 
 States when a lad of ten years, in the company 
 of his uncle, John Bunbury, and two sisters 
 of that gentleman, and for a number of years 
 lived 1 with his father in Michigan. In the fall 
 of 1846 he made his first appearance in Wis- 
 consin, locating first in Alineral Point, and has 
 made his home in Iowa county to the present 
 time. For a time he was engaged in farming 
 and mining, and then located on the farm noted 
 above. This was in Alarch, 1853, and under 
 his industrious cultivation it has become one 
 of the choice and desirable farms of the county. 
 
 Air. Bunbury was married in November, 
 1852, to Aliss Bridget AIcCann. by whom he 
 had the following children : William Henry, 
 
622 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 John Edward, Thomas, Mary, Jane, Amelia, 
 Anna, Jane, Bertha, and Agnes. Mrs. Bridget 
 Bunbury died in 1870, and the following year 
 Mr. Bunbury was married to Miss Ann Will- 
 iams', by whom he has had one son, Thomas P. 
 
 Thomas Bunbury enlisted in the Union 
 Army in February, 1865, and did faithful 
 work in camp and held with his regiment until 
 he received an honorable discharge at the close 
 of the war. Returning fo his farm when he 
 laid aside his soldier blue, he has proved him- 
 self a thorough farmer, an honest and hard- 
 working man, and is regarded as an upright 
 and honorable man in every respect. His 
 health was quite impaired by his military life, 
 and he has never been perfectly well since his 
 return to civil life. He was a good soldier, 
 and is an honorable and conscientious citizen 
 of the community in which he lives. 
 
 FREDERICK FREDRICKSEN, a ven- 
 erable member of the farming community of 
 Bergen, Clinton township, Rock county, has a 
 personal character which intensifies the re- 
 spect his years command. 
 
 Mr. Fredricksen was born June 25, 1829, 
 near Stavanger, Norway, and he was brought 
 up under the most unfriendly conditions. His 
 father died when he was only three years old, 
 and his mother seven years later, and the 
 young lad was left to push his way unaided 
 among strangers. Fie had practically no 
 school education, having spent but three weeks 
 in a school in all. his youthful years ; but he 
 was attentive and observant, and has learned 
 much as he has journeyed through life. At 
 twenty-one Mr. Fredricksen came to the 
 United States, and straightway made his way 
 to Wisconsin, where he at once found farm 
 work. He was a farm laborer for four years, 
 saved his money, and was fore-handed enough 
 at the end of that time to buy the farm that is 
 now known as “Oak Hill” and consists of 
 1 13 acres located near the town of Bergen, 
 in Clinton township. 
 
 Mr. Fredricksen and Mrs. Martha Lar- 
 sen. daughter of a farmer in Norway, and the 
 widow of Sven Larsen, we're married in 1852. 
 Mrs. Fredricksen came to this country in 
 1846, when a girl, in company with her 
 brother. By her first marriage she had one 
 son, Louis Larsen, who is now a resident of 
 Chicago, and she has borne Mr. Fredricksen 
 one daughter, Betsv, now the wife of A. V. 
 
 Peters, the manager of a coal and lumber com- 
 pany in Clinton. Mir. and Mrs. Peters have 
 had five children, three living: Martha Eliza- 
 beth, Mary Frances and Luella ; two sons died 
 in infancy. Fir. Fredricksen’ s father, also 
 named Frederick, was a sailor. Fie died in 
 about 1832, at the age of forty-five. He mar- 
 ried Carrie Johnnason, who died in 1839, at 
 the same age as her husband. 
 
 Mr. Fredricksen is a member of the Lu- 
 theran Church, and a man of sterling char- 
 acter. Fie is a Republican, and has been active 
 in promoting the advancement of that party 
 since its organization. He is a highly respected 
 citizen of the community. 
 
 A. W. MOORE, proprietor of the “Park 
 Hotel" in Platteville, Grant county, was bom 
 in Lafayette county, same State, in March, 
 1830, and was the first white child born there. 
 His father, Col. John Moore, was born in 1784 
 in North Carolina, and his mother, Nancy 
 (Stalcup) Moore, was born in Tennessee in 
 1800. They came to Wisconsin after marriage, 
 in 1827. 
 
 John Moore was a colonel of Reserves in 
 the war of 1812, and fought under Gen. Jack- 
 son at the battle of New Orleans, and in 1832, 
 during the Black Hawk war, had command of 
 the fort at Mineral Point, Wis. In 1833 he 
 settled on a farm near Belmont, Iowa county, 
 Wis., on which he lived until 1849, when he 
 passed away, his wife surviving until 1864. 
 Both were members of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church, and in politics Col. Moore was a 
 Jackson Democrat, and a leader in the early 
 politics of the state. He was a lifelong and 
 close personal friend of Gen. Jackson. To 
 Col. Moore and his wife came six children, 
 in the following order: (1) Elvira J., born in 
 Tennessee, in 1820, married Moses Whiteside 
 in 1836, lived for a few years in Galena, 111 ., 
 and then moved to Belmont, Lafayette Co., 
 Wis., where Mr. Whiteside died, leaving no 
 children ; Mrs. Whiteside then came to Platte- 
 ville, where she died in 1899 at the home of 
 her brother, A. W. Moore. (2) Emily P. 
 Moore was born in Missouri in 1827. was prin- 
 cipally educated in the schools of Lafayette 
 county, Wis., and in 1845 was married to Dr. 
 Edward Cronin, a native of Philadelphia, 
 Penn., and a son of Edward Cronin, who was 
 born in Ireland. Dr. Cronin was graduated 
 from the Jefferson Medical College, of Phila- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 623 
 
 delphia, began practice in Platteville in 1844, 
 and died 1893, leaving- his widow with one 
 son, Dr. Frank M. Cronin, at present practic- 
 ing in Lancaster, Wis. Edward Cronin was 
 the leading physician of Platteville in his day, 
 was a profound scholar, having a knowledge 
 of several languages, and was prominent in 
 the better circles of society ; his widow assisted 
 in the management of the Park Hotel, in con- 
 junction with her brother, A. W., until her 
 death in April, 1900. (3) A. W. Moore is 
 
 mentioned below. (4) Mary T. Moore, born 
 in Lafayette county in 1832 was educated at 
 the convent at Galena, 111 ., and was married 
 to E. B. Eastman, of the State of Maine, and a 
 prominent merchant of Decorah, Iowa, who at 
 his death left his widow with one son — 
 Chaunce)'- B. Eastman, now proprietor of the 
 De Soto House at Galena, 111 . Mrs. Eastman 
 subsequently married Thomas Plugin, but is 
 again a widow and lives at the Park Llotel in 
 Platteville, of which she is part owner. (5) 
 Sarah A. Moore, born on the old .homestead 
 at Belmont, Lafayette county, was married 
 to Peter Parkinson, a prominent and wealthy 
 citizen of the county. This lady died at the 
 home of her daughter, Mrs. Dr. W. Peck, in- 
 Darlington, Wis., April 7, 1899, leaving three- 
 children: Nancy M., wife of Dr. Peck, the 
 
 leading physician of Darlington; Philip A., 
 on the old homestead in Lafayette township; 
 Mrs. Elizabeth E. Parkinson, a graduate from 
 the State University at Madison, and now re- 
 | siding in Darlington with her brother-in-law, 
 Dr. Peck. (6) Capt. John P. Moore, the young- 
 est of the family, was born in Lafayette county, 
 and when the Civil war broke out, raised a 
 company of volunteers, of which he was com- 
 missioned captain, served over four years, was 
 wounded in battle and still carries a rebel bul- 
 let in his leg. He is now employed at Fort 
 Worth, Tex., as live stock agent for the Frisco 
 Railroad Company. 
 
 A. W. Moore was educated in an academical 
 
 1 course under J. L. Packard in Lafayette 
 county. In 1850 he went to California, and 
 for nine years was engaged in merchandising 
 
 I and in freighting his goods to the mines. In 
 1859 he returned to Lafayette county, lived on 
 the family farm until 1878, when he married 
 Mrs. Helen Ruble, of North McGregor, Iowa, 
 widow of Henry Ruble, and then removed to 
 Cassville, Grant county. In 1883 he came from 
 Cassville to Platteville and has ever since had 
 
 charge of the Park Hotel. Politically he is a 
 Democrat. Mr. Moore is' a genial, whole- 
 souled man and one of the most popular land- 
 lords in Grant county. His hotel is equipped 
 with every modern convenience, and his table 
 is unsurpassed by any in a city of the size 
 of Platteville, East, West, North or South. 
 
 RHEINHARD EVERSOLL. Among 
 the honored pioneers of Grant county must 
 be numbered Rheinhard Eversoll, a well-known 
 farmer of Waterloo township, and one of the 
 gallant defenders of the Union during the Civil 
 war. He was born May 7, 1827, a son of 
 Christopher and Elizabeth Eversoll, both na- 
 tives of Switzerland, where they were reared 
 and married. On their emigration to America 
 they proceeded to Lord Selkirk’s settlement 
 in British America, and from there went to 
 St. Louis. In the latter part of the year 1826, 
 the family came to Grant county, and located 
 at what is now Hazel Green, but was then 
 known as Hard Scrabble. There the father 
 engaged in mining for a time, and then re- 
 moved with his family to Beetown, where the 
 mother died.. Subsequently he returned to 
 Hazel Green, where he passed the last years 
 of his life at the home of a daughter. Dur- 
 ing the greater part of his business career he 
 followed the occupation of mining, and was al- 
 ways esteemed as a good citizen. His death 
 occurred May 18, 1872, a few days after hav- 
 ing celebrated the seventy-eighth anniversary 
 of his birth. He and his wife became the par- 
 ents of eight children, but only two, Rhein- 
 hard and Mrs'. Elizabeth Dudley, of Lancaster, 
 are now living, in 1900. All but three reached 
 adult age. One son died on the ocean when 
 the family were coming to the New World. 
 The youngest son, Ferdinand, was a member 
 of the 6th Wis. V. I., during the Civil war, 
 which was a part of the Iron Brigade, and 
 was killed in the battle of Gettysburg. 
 
 Rheinhard Eversoll has made his 'home in 
 Grant county, of which his parents were early 
 settlers. He was reared to the occupation of 
 mining, but since the war of the Rebellion has 
 engaged in farming. On Aug. 6, 1862, he 
 donned the blue, becoming a member of Com- 
 pany G, 33d Wis. V. I., which was a part of 
 the Army of the Cumberland. He participated 
 in many important engagements', including the 
 battle of Coldwater, Miss., April 19, 1863; 
 the siege of Vicksburg; and Banks’ Red river 
 
624 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 expedition. He was also in the battles of 
 Yellow Bayou, May 18, 1864; Tupelo, July 14, 
 1864; and Old Town Creek, the following- day. 
 He was at Nashville under the command of 
 General Thomas, and then went to Mobile, 
 taking- part in the siege of Spanish Fort. The 
 war having ended, and his services being no 
 longer needed, Mr. Eversoll was honorably dis- 
 charged at Vicksburg, Aug. 9, 1865, and 
 
 reached home just three years from the time 
 he entered the service. 
 
 In 1848 Mr. Eversoll married Miss Sarah 
 Bryant, and nine children were born of this 
 union, but only three are now living, namely : 
 Thomas, Adeline and Lincoln. Ihe others 
 had nearly all attained to mature years when 
 they passed away. The eldest daughter, Mar- 
 tha jane, was her father's housekeeper for a 
 number of years. For a short time Mr. Ever- 
 soll lived in Cassville township, but has made 
 his home in Waterloo township for many 
 years. He has witnessed amost the entire 
 growth and development of this region, and 
 has been actively interested in its progress. 
 In his political relations he is a Republican, 
 having supported every presidential candidate 
 of that party since voting for Fremont in 
 1856. Religiously he is an earnest and' con- 
 sistent member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. As has been seen from the above 
 record, Mr. Eversoll was actively engaged dur- 
 ing the whole of his military service, and took 
 part in many of the most important engage- 
 ments of the war. Considering the weary 
 marches, the arduous campaigns and severe 
 battles in which he participated he is still well 
 preserved, though as he grows older he feels 
 the effects of his army service more. As an 
 honored veteran of the Rebellion, a prominent 
 pioneer of the county, and a representative man 
 of his community, he is worthy of the high 
 regard in which he is uniformly held 1 . 
 
 JOSEPH J. HEATHCOCK, one of the 
 most influential and patriotic citizens of the vil- . 
 lage of Linden, Iowa county, Wis., was born 
 there September 23, 1841, a son of John and 
 Ann (Jones) Heathcock, who were among the 
 earliest pioneers of that place. 
 
 John Heathcock was born in Staffordshire, 
 England, where his father lived and died, al- 
 though he once paid a visit to the United States. 
 About 1830, John Heathcock came to the New 
 World, and found employment in the Pennsyl- 
 
 vania cold fields, and then, in company with his 
 bi other \\ illiam, came to Wisconsin, reaching 
 Mineral Point during the Black Hawk war. 
 I hey helped to build and garrison the fort at 
 that place, and when the excitement subsided, 
 they located at Linden. Mr. Heathcock took 
 up government land in Grant and Iowa coun- 
 ties, and speculated to some extent in real 
 estate. He engaged in mining quite extensive- 
 ly, the ore being smelted at Linden, and then 
 drawn by ox teams to Galena, 111. He was 
 very enterprising and assisted in the building of 
 the first church and school house in the place, 
 both buildings being of logs, and was, in all 
 ways, a most useful and exemplary citizen. In 
 politics he was first a Whig, and later a Repub- 
 lican, and was the first to hold the office of town 
 treasurer. He died Sept. 18, 1887, a t the age 
 of seventy-nine years. His wife, Ann Jones, 
 who was also born in Staffordshire, where her 
 marriage was consummated, died in April, 
 1881, aged sixty-seven years. They were the 
 parents of ten children, of whom nine are liv- 
 ing; Catherine Ann, now Mrs. W. H. Phillips, 
 of Linden; John W., of Butte City, Montana; 
 Joseph J., of this sketch; Sarah, now Mrs. 
 Christopher Dolphin, of the town of Mifflin; 
 Thomas J., of Linden; Martha Jane, now Mrs. 
 John T. Wicks, of Bessemer, Mich. ; Mary Jo- 
 sephine, now Mrs. William Passmore, of Pick- 
 ford, Mich.; Daniel Clark, of Leadville, Colo.; 
 Charles W., who died in 1887; an d Samuel, of 
 Linden, Wisconsin. 
 
 Joseph J. Heathcock grew up on his father’s 
 farm and received a common school education. 
 In August, 1861, he enlisted in Co. H., 7th 
 Wis. V. I., and was discharged in July, 1865. 
 He took part in the second battle of Bull Run, 
 Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and thirteen or 
 fourteen minor engagements. At South Moun- 
 tain, Maryland, he was wounded in the right 
 side and disabled for six weeks, and at the bat- 
 tle of the Wilderness was captured and passed 
 ten months in Andersonville, Florence and 
 other prisons, and when finally exchanged, was 
 sent home on veteran furlough, just before the 
 assassination of President Lincoln. After the 
 war was over Mr. Pleathcock went to Tennes- 
 see, where he located coal mines and passed 
 four years in their operation, and then returned 
 to Linden, where he owns a fine farm of 170 
 acres with good improvements, and operates 
 valuable mines of lead and zinc on his own land. 
 These mines produce about 600 tons per annum, 
 


COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 625 
 
 the greater part of which is marketed at Min- 
 eral .Point. 
 
 On Oct. 19, 1887, Mr. Heathcock was mar- 
 ried to Miss Louise .Humbert, daughter of 
 David and Mary Elizabeth (Spencer) Hum- 
 bert, who located in Mineral Point about i 855 - 
 David Humbert was born in Bradford Co., 
 Penn., and died in the town of Waldwick, Iowa 
 county, Aug. 11, 1885, aged seventy-nine 
 
 years ; he was a carpenter by trade. Mrs. 
 Humbert was born in Jersey Shore, Lycoming 
 Co., Penn., of English descent in paternal lines, 
 and Scotch-Irish m maternal, and died March 
 9, 1861, at the age of thirty-three. Mrs. Louise 
 (Humbert) Heathcock was educated at the 
 Platteville Normal School, and for four years 
 thereafter was a successful teacher. By her 
 marriage with Mr. Heathcock she has become 
 the mother of one son, Ernest Harrison. The 
 family is connected with the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church, in which Mr. Heathcock is a trus- 
 tee. In politics he is a stanch Republican, and 
 for eleven years served as town clerk, and for 
 three years as chairman of the town and a mem- 
 ber of the county board. Socially he belongs 
 to a number of local societies, and is a charter 
 member and past master of Linden Lodge, No. 
 206, F. & A. M., Iowa Chapter No. 6, and Min- 
 eral Point Council, and is a most active worker 
 in Geo. H. Legate Post, G. A. R., at Mineral 
 Point. 
 
 LEWIS McKAHAN. Among the well- 
 known and highly esteemed farmer-citizens, of 
 Albany, Green county, is Lewis McKahan, 
 who has been a resident of the village since 
 1886, where he owns a comfortable home. Mr. 
 McKahan was born in Washington county, 
 Penn., thirty miles' south of Pittsburg, March 
 18, 1821, a son of Daniel and Esther (Irwin) 
 McKahan, the former a native of Pennsyl- 
 vania, the latter of Ireland. The grandparents 
 of our subject were all natives of Ireland, who 
 settled in Pennsylvania, where they died, leav- 
 ing large families. The children born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. McKahan were : Lewis, our sub- 
 
 ject; Mary, the widow of Alexander Cun- 
 ningham, lives in Middletown, Penn. ; Esther 
 M., the widow of Berry Mellick, of Knox 
 county, Ohio; and Robert, who lives in Wash- 
 ington county, Penn. The father of our sub- 
 ject was a farmer and stock raiser, who moved 
 to Knox county, Ohio, where he remained for 
 some time, but returned to Pennsylvania, where 
 
 he died about 1879, aged seventy-seven years. 
 His first wife died in 1857; she was a mem- 
 ber of the United Presbyterian Church. His 
 second wife was Mary Moffit, who survived 
 him several years. 
 
 Lewis McKahan was reared on the farm 
 in Washington county, Penn., receiving his ed- 
 ucation at the district schools, and becoming 
 proficient enough to engage in teaching while 
 quite a young man. After the family’s re- 
 moval to Ohio, Mr. McKahan gave some time 
 to teaching, but subsequently made arrange- 
 ments to enter the business of sheepraising, 
 in connection with farming, and was immedi- 
 ately successful. In October, 1861, he left 
 Ohio, came to Wisconsin, and settled on a farm 
 of 140 acres three miles northeast of Monroe, 
 and there the family lived until 1881, when 
 he rented his farm and removed to Monroe, 
 where he was pleasantly located for five and 
 one-half years. In the spring of 1886, our 
 subject and family moved to Albany and have 
 now one of the most comfortable homes in the 
 village, where he lives retired from active life, 
 although local matters engage his leisurely at- 
 tention. 
 
 In 1846 Mr. McKahan was married to 
 Ziporah Ealy, a daughter of Peter and Mary 
 (Horn) Ealy, and three children were born 
 of this union: George W., Mary Ellen, and 
 
 James H. Mary Ellen, the only survivor, 
 married Rev. N. A. Sunderlin, a Methodist 
 minister, stationed at Woodstock, 111 ., and 
 has three children : Lulu B., wife of Willard 
 
 Chilcote ; Gertrude, and Harold. Mrs. Mc- 
 Kahan died in Feb., 1854, aged twenty-eight 
 years, having been a consistent member of the 
 Christian Church. The second marriage of 
 Mr. McKahan was celebrated on Sept. 5, 1856, 
 when Miss Keziah Parks, who was born April 
 23, 1836, a daughter of James and Christianna 
 (Ealy) Parks, became his wife. Mr. and. Mrs. 
 Parks were born and reared in Pennsylvania, 
 and of their family of thirteen children the 
 following are now living: William; Keziah; 
 
 James, of Sutherland, Iowa; John, of Chica- 
 go; Mary, wife of Fletcher Busick, of Topeka, 
 Ivans.; Isaiah, of Oskaloosa, Iowa; Florence 
 Jeanette, wife of Corwin Johnson, of Huron, 
 S. Dak. ; and Leonard, of Marshalltown, Iowa. 
 Mr. Parks came from Ohio to Wisconsin and 
 entered 300 acres of land, seven miles north of 
 Monroe, in 1849. there reared his family and 
 died in 1897, aged eighty-six, his wife dying 
 
<526 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in the spring of 1899, at the same age. Both 
 they and family have always' been connected 
 with the Christian Church. The grandparents 
 of Mrs. McKahan were John Ealy and James 
 Parks. For more than forty years Mr. Mc- 
 Kahan and his estimable wife have been mem- 
 bers of the Christian Church, where they are 
 highly esteemed. Formerly our subject was a 
 Democrat, but since the organization of the 
 Republican party, has espoused its principles. 
 Both he and 1 his wife possess the respect of the 
 community where they have lived upright lives 
 and been worthy descendants of fine old fam- 
 ilies. 
 
 CYRUS W. PATTERSON, a prosperous 
 and prominent representative of the farming 
 population of Grant county, was born July 18, 
 1858, a son of Parious P. and Elizabeth (Deb- 
 son) Patterson. 
 
 The father of our subject was born in the 
 town of Potsdam, N. Y., in July, 1812, of 
 Scottish parentage, and at the time of his birth, 
 his father, who took an active part in the war 
 of 1812, was a prisoner of war. His mother 
 was a cousin of Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary 
 fame. Parious P. Patterson married Elizabeth 
 Dobson, who was born in 1826, in Yorkshire, 
 England. When a young man he moved from 
 New York into Illinois, where he lived a year 
 before coming to Hazel Green, in 1833. tie 
 went to work in the lead mines, and for a 
 number of years this was his' employment. In 
 1837 he “took up” a quarter section of gov- 
 ernment land, and, clearing it, made his home 
 there during his remaining years. The first 
 house in which he lived was a small log shanty, 
 which gave way to a large brick house in 1865, 
 and there he lived until his death, in Septem- 
 ber, 1899. Mrs. Patterson died in December, 
 1894. They were members of the first Meth- 
 odist Church organized in this community, and 
 Mr. Patterson contributed liberally to the first 
 building. In the building of the first school 
 house in Hazel Green he also took a prominent 
 part. He was a Whig and a Republican in 
 politics, holding a number of local offices in 
 his lifetime. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Patterson were the parents 
 of eight children, and four of their sons lived 
 to maturity : ( 1 ) Enoch R. was born at the 
 present home June 26, 1851, attended the State 
 Normal at Platteville, where he received a 
 good education, and for several terms taught 
 
 school in Hazel Green township. At one time 
 he was a merchant in Fair View. He is' now 
 a teacher, being principal of the school at 
 Gratiot, Wis. Mr. Patterson married Miss 
 Alice Straw, of Grant county, and they have 
 five living children — Laura (graduate of the 
 State Normal at Platteville), Percival, Jessie, 
 Roy, and Delbert. (2) Charles, born Nov. 
 23, 1853, engaged in stock farming in Oregon. 
 He married Miss Almyra Eastman, a lady of 
 Canada, and is the father of seven children, 
 Frank, Ethel, Asenath, Mabel, Cyrus, Bertha, 
 and Albert. (3) Parious, born in July, 1856, 
 was an invalid throughout his life, and died in 
 July, 1895. ( 4 ) Cyrus' W. is the subject of 
 
 this article. 
 
 Cyrus W. Patterson obtained his early ed- 
 ucation in the local schools of Hazel Green, 
 and for three years was a pupil in the State 
 Normal at Platteville. After leaving school 
 he taught a term in the town of Hazel Green, 
 and then became manager of the home farm, 
 an arrangement which continued during the 
 later years of his father’s life. 
 
 In 1886 Mr. Patterson married Miss Mary 
 E. Gray, of Lafayette county, daughter of 
 Samuel and Mary Gray, very prominent Eng- 
 lish people of Platteville; Mrs. Patterson was 
 a student of the high school of Galena before 
 her marriage. They came to the old home- 
 stead, here making a permanent home, and Mrs. 
 Patterson died in 1898, leaving one son, Cyril 
 O., born in 1889. Mrs. Patterson was a mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Church, and a woman of 
 a fine character and sweet spirit. Our sub- 
 ject has been for many years one of the lead- 
 ing Republicans of the town, serving on the 
 town board, and holding other positions of 
 honor and trust, and is a man of sterling 
 worth and genuine character. He belongs' to 
 the Modern Woodmen of America. 
 
 F. A. ELWELL, a prominent retired farm- 
 er and wealthy citizen of Cassville, has been a 
 resident of Grant county for almost sixty 
 years', and has not only watched with interest 
 its growth and development, but has borne 
 an active part in the work of improvement. It 
 was in 1S42 that he came from Lee county, 
 Iowa, to Hazel Green, Wis., and he has since 
 been identified with the interests of this section 
 of the State. 
 
 Mr. Elwell was born in Preble county, 
 Ohio, in 1831. a son of James Elwell, a soldier 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 627 
 
 of the war of 1812, who enlisted at Philadel- 
 phia and was in active service. The father 
 was born in New Jersey Jan. 4, 1789, and at 
 an early day left his native State, moving to 
 Preble county, Ohio, where he was' united in 
 marriage with Miss Frances Kellow, a native 
 of Virginia, and a daughter of John and Fran- 
 ces Aminza (Atkins) Kellow. Her father was 
 one of the heroes of the Revolutionary war, 
 and an early settler of Ohio, where both he 
 and his wife died. About 1834 or 1835 James 
 Elwell moved to Lee county, Iowa, and made 
 'his home there until coming to Hazel Green, 
 Grant Co., Wis., in 1842. There he was first 
 engaged in mining, but having received a land 
 warrant for his services in the war of 1812 
 he in 1852 secured a tract of land in Waterloo 
 township, and in the midst of the wilderness 
 developed and improved a farm, making his 
 home thereon until his death, which occurred 
 March 23, 1877. His wife died on the home 
 farm in Waterloo township about 1861. In 
 their family were nine children, namely: Joel, 
 who died in Lee county, Iowa, at the age of 
 twenty-seven years ; Mary Ann, Mrs. Robin- 
 son, who died near Topeka, Ivans., in 1893; 
 John, who was drowned in the Mississippi 
 river in 1855; Sarah, Mrs. Hall, who died in 
 Hazel Green, Grant county, in 1846; James, a 
 retired farmer of Waterloo township, who died 
 in Cassville in January, 1897; Theodore, who 
 died on the old homestead in Waterloo town- 
 ship in August, 1898, in his seventy-second 
 year; William, who died in the same town- 
 ship in 1872, aged forty-three; F. A., the only 
 one now living; and Eliza, Mrs. Droulard, 
 who died in Lincoln, Neb., in 1885. 
 
 At the age of eleven years F. A. Elwell ac- 
 companied his parents on their removal to 
 Grant county, and after completing his edu- 
 cation in the public schools here followed min- 
 ing at Hazel Green for a time. In 1852 he 
 purchased an eighty-acre tract of land in Wa- 
 terloo township, and immediately turned his 
 attention to its improvement and cultivation. 
 Meeting with success in his farming operations, 
 he added to his landed possessions from time to 
 time, until he owned 500 acres of valuable 
 land, in one body. This place he improved in 
 an excellent manner, and continued to success- 
 fully engage in general farming and stock rais- 
 ing for many years, but is now living a retired 
 life, in Cassville. 
 
 In Waterloo township Mr. Tidwell was mar- 
 
 ried, in 1859, to Miss Harriet Zimmerman, a 
 native of Wayne county, Ohio,, and a daugh- 
 ter of Daniel and Sarah (Kaley) Zimmerman 
 natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio, respective- 
 ly. At an early day her father moved to 
 Potosi, Grant Co., Wis., and his last days were 
 spent in Beetown. By occupation he was a 
 farmer. His first wife, the mother of Mrs. 
 Elwell, died in Wayne county, Ohio. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Elwell have five children : Minnie, 
 Mrs. Doll, of Waterloo township, who has 
 four children, Mary, Otho, Frank and Hobart 
 Elwell ; Alma, who married May Smith, and 
 lives on the home farm; Frank S., who mar- 
 ried Ella Smith, and is also on the farm; Will- 
 iam, who is now residing in Colorado; and 
 Ida, Mrs. Alcorn, a resident of Boulder, Col- 
 orado. 
 
 In 1891 Mr. Elwell and his wife left the 
 farm and moved to Cassville, where they have 
 a pleasant home, and are surrounded by all 
 the comforts of life. They are earnest and 
 consistent members of the Seventh-day Advent 
 Church, and are highly respected and es- 
 teemed by all who know them. Socially Mr. 
 Elwell. is a member of Cassville Lodge, No. 
 235, F. & A. M., of which he is senior deacon, 
 and politically he is a stanch supporter of the 
 Republican party. He formerly took quite an 
 active and prominent part in public affairs, as- 
 sisted in organizing the school districts' of his 
 township, was a member of the town board, 
 and efficiently served as justice of the peace 
 for several years. 
 
 JOSEPH DELLER. The story of Mr. 
 Deller's life reads almost like a romance. Born 
 in Bavaria Jan. 12, 1829, he has been the archi- 
 tect of his own fortune. Beginning life in a 
 strange land at an early age as a peddler, car- 
 rying a pack on his back, he has blazed out his 
 own path to success through shrewd common 
 sense, unflagging industry and unvarying in- 
 tegrity. But the narrative speaks for itself, 
 and had best be told in plain, invariable de- 
 tail. In reciting the events of such a life as his 
 brevity is better than buncombe, and facts are 
 to be preferred to adulation. 
 
 Joseph Deller was one of a family of three 
 sons and five daughters born to his father, 
 Isaac Deller. His parents were satisfied with 
 their life and position in the country in which 
 they had grown to maturity, married and raised 
 their children, and they died in their native 
 
628 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 land, respected for their upright life no less 
 than for fidelity to their faith. But the young- 
 are fond of change and adventure, and quick 
 to perceive and grasp an opportunity to im- 
 prove their condition in life, and the children 
 of this worthy couple turned their eyes toward 
 the New World, with its broader freedom and 
 its wider possibilities. The first to cross the 
 water was a sister of Joseph Deller, Janet, 
 who accompanied her husband, Abraham 
 Michaelbacher, about 1840. They settled in 
 the city of New York, where they died in 
 February, 1900, leaving a family. In 1846 
 Joseph and his brother Abraham also came to 
 this country. Mrs. Sarah Hirsch, of New 
 York City, and Joseph, our subject, are now 
 the only survivors of the family. 
 
 For a time Mr. Deller carried a peddler’s 
 pack through New Jersey, but, believing that 
 he would meet with better success in a territory 
 where stores were less numerous, he made 'his' 
 way to Michigan. There he carried around 
 a stock of miscellaneous merchandise weigh- 
 ing seventy-five or eighty pounds, selling his 
 wares at a remunerative profit to the dwellers 
 in sparsely settled districts. At that period of 
 Michigan's history, however, malaria was al- 
 most universally prevalent, and the young 
 Bavarian fell an easy victim to the scourge. 
 Upon recovering his health, in a measure, he 
 turned his back upon the Northwest, return- 
 ing to New York City, where he found em- 
 ployment from 1847 t° I § 5 1 as a tailor. Yet 
 his quick comprehension had perceived the pos- 
 sibilities of the Northwest, and in the latter 
 year, together with a friend, A. Boscowitz, 
 he went from New York to Mineral Point, 
 Wis., where they engaged in business as pro- 
 prietors of a general store. After a partnership 
 extending over several, years Mr. Boscowitz 
 withdrew from the firm to engage in business 
 as a wholesale furrier, elsewhere. Mr. Deller 
 continued' to carry on the establishment alone, 
 and became one of the most prosperous mer- 
 chants at Mineral Point. After 1865 he con- 
 fined his energies solely to the sale of dry 
 goods and clothing, opening a merchant tail- 
 oring establishment which proved highly suc- 
 cessful. For thirty years Mr. Deller engaged 
 in trade at Mineral Point, and in 1891, having 
 acquired a handsome competence through the 
 exercise of sound business judgment and fair 
 dealing, he retired' to enjoy a richly earned 
 rest. 
 
 Not long after settling in his new home: 
 Mr. Deller married the widow of his brother 
 Abraham, who, as has been said, emigrated 
 from Bavaria with him, in 1846. The maiden 
 name of this lady was Regine Gundelfinger.. 
 She was born April 12, 1825, and married Mr. 
 Deller Dec. 31, 1855, l ier first husband having 
 died two years previously. Two children were 
 born to her first marriage, and six to her sec- 
 ond. Fannie, the eldest, is the wife of Henry 
 Gunzy, who is in the employ of the United 
 States Government at Caibarien, Cuba, where 
 they reside. Emma married William Strouse,. 
 of La Crosse, Wis. Abraham married Tillie 
 Guttenstein, and has his home in Mineral Point. 
 Lillie is now Mrs. M. Iskowich, of Streator, 
 111 . Minna is the wife of Leopold Freuden- 
 feld, of Milwaukee. Nettie married Henry 
 Zimmer, of that city. Clara is Mrs. Adolph 
 Iskowich. Isaac, the youngest of the family, 
 married Nettie, daughter of John j. Oswald, 
 of Lancaster, Grant county. There are twenty 
 grandchildren. Mrs. Deller died in 1891, and 
 our subject was married a second time, to Eva 
 Baer, who was born at West Bend, Wis.,. 
 daughter of Lazer and Dina (Kahn) Baer, 
 natives of Alsace, France, who came to Wis- 
 consin about 1854. Mr. Baer engaged in mer- 
 cantile business at West Bend, where he died 
 about 1866. His wife died in Milwaukee, 
 Sept. 26, 1889. 
 
 Mr. Deller is a prominent member of the 
 Masonic fraternity, having joined the same in 
 1853, an d took the Royal Arch degree in 1855. 
 For over half a century he has been a resident 
 of Mineral Point, taking a deep and active in- 
 terest in all that 'has tended toward its up- 
 building, and, at the age of seventy-two years,, 
 enjoys the undisguised and universal esteem 
 of his fellow citizens. His palatial residence,, 
 built in 1883, is considered the finest home in 
 the city. 
 
 JOHN PHILLIPS WILLIAMS, a suc- 
 cessful business man of Linden, Iowa county, 
 was born in Machen, Monmouth, Wales, March 
 3, 1854, a son of John and Ann (Branch) 
 Williams', natives, respectively, of Withe], and 
 Guennap, Cornwall, England. 
 
 John Williams, the father, was the son of 
 an inn-keeper at Withel, Cornwall. He had 
 in his possession a seal used by his ancestors 
 for many generations, which is now in the 
 possession of our subject. John Williams' en- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 629 
 
 gaged in mining in Wales and elsewhere, in 
 1858 came to the United States, and is sup- 
 posed to have been killed in a mine soon after 
 his arrival. He married Ann Branch, daugh- 
 ter of John and Ann Branch, the former of 
 whom was a chain maker, and lived and died 
 in Cornwall ; the latter passed away at the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty years. Mrs. Ann 
 (Branch) Williams became the wife of a Mr. 
 Harper, of Bodmin, Cornwall, and is still liv- 
 ing. By her first marriage, besides John Phil- 
 lips, there were a son George, who now re- 
 sides in northern Minnesota ; and two daugh- 
 ters, Mrs. Ellen S. Oke, of Nanstallon, Corn- 
 wall ; and Mrs. Celia Simpson, of Paington, 
 Devonshire. 
 
 John Phillips Williams passed the greater 
 part of his boyhood in Devonshire, and when 
 fifteen years of age he joined the English Navy, 
 passing three years in the service of his coun- 
 try ; he also had a taste of land service during 
 the Ashantee war. After leaving the govern- 
 ment service he engaged in lead mining in 
 Scotland, and in gypsum mining in Sussex. 
 In 1876 he came to the United States, locat- 
 ing in Colorado, and spending two years in 
 gold and silver mining there. He then came 
 to Linden, Wis., but after two months went to 
 Quinnesec, Mich., and there engaged in iron 
 mining until 1884, in the meantime passing 
 six months in Iowa, in the coal mines of that 
 State. In 1884 Mr. Williams went to Tower, 
 Minn., but after spending two years in the 
 iron mines engaged in the flour and feed busi- 
 ness, until 1891, in that year locating in Lin- 
 den, where he has since been engaged in zinc 
 mining, meeting with great success in his 
 work, as indeed he has' wherever he has made 
 his home. He now employs some dozen or 
 more men, and his mine produces from twenty 
 to thirty tons per month, the ore being drawn 
 by teams to Mineral Point. Besides his min- 
 ing interests in Wisconsin he is the owner of 
 considerable real estate in Minnesota, and also 
 owns a charming cottage in Linden, where he 
 resides. 
 
 Since becoming a citizen of the United 
 States Mr. Williams has ever found himself 
 in accord with the principles of the Republican 
 party, and has taken an active interest in the 
 political questions of the day. He has served 
 three times as president of Linden village, and 
 was a delegate to the Senatorial Convention 
 held at Darlington in 1892. He has also served 
 
 most acceptably as delegate to the State Con- 
 vention, going to Milwaukee in 1896, and also 
 in 1898, and declined to accept the office again 
 in 1900, although an active supporter of the 
 candidacy of Robert La Follette in both 1898 
 and 1900; he did considerable campaign work 
 in northern Wisconsin in 1900. He has been 
 a public-spirited man wherever his lot has been 
 cast, and he served as city recorder of Tower, 
 Minn., and as deputy coroner of Vermilion 
 Iron Range. Mr. Williams became a member 
 of the Knights of Pythias in 1886, and is a 
 charter member of Achilles Lodge at Linden, 
 of which he has served as secretary the greater 
 part of the time, and has passed all the chairs ; 
 lie is also a member and secretary of High- 
 land Lodge, I. O. O. F., and Duluth Encamp- 
 ment, having joined the order in Perry, Iowa, 
 in 1880. 
 
 On March 10, 1880, Mr. Williams was 
 united in marriage with Miss Mary Ann Poad, 
 who was born in Linden, daughter of Sam- 
 uel and Ann (Bice) Poad, who came from 
 Cornwall in the early days, and made their 
 home on the frontier. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON RYLAND, 
 ex-lieutenant-governor of the State of Wis- 
 consin, and retired banker of Lancaster, Grant 
 county, was born Dec. 19, 1827, near Selbys- 
 port, Garrett Co., Md., a son of Sylvester 
 Ryland. 
 
 Our subject’s father was born in 1796 on 
 a farm, on which 'place he died at the age of 
 seventy-eight years. His ancestor, Paul Ry- 
 land, came from England to America in 1750, 
 when twenty years old, settled in Berks county, 
 Penn., was there married, and became the fa- 
 ther of three sons, John, Andrew and James, 
 the eldest of whom, with the father, served 
 in the Continental army with Washington. 
 John settled in Maryland after peace was de- 
 clared, and from him is descended the gentle- 
 man whose name opens this biographical 
 sketch ; "Andrew settled in Kentucky, and a 
 number of his descendants went to Missouri, 
 where they attained prominence — one as a 
 judge of the Supreme Court of the State, 
 and others as judges of lesser courts; James 
 died young. The mother of George W. Ry- 
 land bore the maiden name of Hannah Collier, 
 was born in Somerset county, Penn., in 1803, 
 and died at the age of sixty-two years. Her 
 father, who was born in 1766, was of English 
 
630 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and Dutch parentage. Her mother was born 
 in 1764, and was of German extraction. 
 
 George W. Ryland had but limited opportu- 
 nities for an education in early youth, and af- 
 ter he left home, at the age of twenty-one 
 years, he attended a graded school five months, 
 working mornings, noons and evenings for his 
 board. Subsequently he worked on a farm 
 at $12 per month, taught a district school in 
 the winter season, and in April, 1853, settled 
 permanently in Lancaster. His first employ- 
 ment here was in the hay field for Gov. Dewey. 1 
 The same season he engaged as a clerk in the 
 store of John Alcorn, where he was emp.oyed 
 for fourteen months. In the fall of 1854 the 
 mercantile firm of G. W. Ryland & Co., of 
 which Simon E. and John P. Lewis were mem- 
 bers, was organized. The Alcorn store was at 
 the present Ivey & Webb stand. I he new 
 firm was in the building across the alley, the 
 first one to burn in the big fire of 1888. lhe 
 firm continued in business until May, 1S60, 
 when it was dissolved. In i860 a low two- 
 story building, with gables to the nort'u and 
 south, stood on the ground now occupied by 
 the Baxter block. George Cox kept a grocery 
 store there. Mr. Ryland bought out his busi- 
 ness, and in September of that year J. C. Hol- 
 loway became associated with him, the firm 
 establishing a new general merchandise busi- 
 ness, including dry goods. T he old building was 
 pulled down, and they built the Milwaukee 
 brick block which now stands there, and which 
 was the first three-story house erected in Lan- 
 caster. 
 
 Here the firm began, in the fall of i860, 
 to buy and sell exchange, for this purpose 
 keeping an account with a New York house. 
 They purchased drafts on New York and on 
 London. This business in exchange was con- 
 ducted by the firm until 1865, in which year 
 they put up a sign across the west end of the 
 building inscribed, “Ryland & Holloway, 
 Bankers.” A room in the southwest corner 
 of the building, with glass partitions, was set 
 off from the store as the banking apartment. 
 This was continued in connection with their 
 mercantile business until the year 1869, when 
 the latter branch was sold to Anton Schmitt, 
 and Ryland & Holloway continued exclusively 
 in the banking business until 1874. For this 
 purpose they built and removed into the two- 
 storv block adjoining, east of the original 
 block. In this there was a secure vault, the 
 
 first in the place constructed for banking pur- 
 poses. In 1874 Mr. Ryland bought out Mr. 
 Holloway and became sole owner of the bank, 
 continuing alone in the business until Oct. 1, 
 1880. At this date Richard Meyer, who had 
 been the bank bookkeeper for a number of 
 years, and his son, Richard Meyer, Jr., be- 
 came partners, and the firm constituted of these 
 three was organized under the name of “G. 
 W. Ryland & Co.” The existence of this firm 
 lasted six and a half years. It was dissolved 
 May 1, 1887, when Mr. Ryland retired, dis- 
 posing of his interest to his partners. 
 
 At this time Mr. Ryland took a rest. He 
 was out of business until the 1st of October, 
 1888, when, with others, he established the 
 “State Bank of Grant County.” Its officers 
 were John Schreiner, president; G. VV. Ry- 
 land, vice-president; Joseph Bock, cashier. 
 The firm, with the same officers, continued 
 in business for ten and a half years. Mr. 
 Ryland resigned and withdrew April 1, 1899. 
 This date marks the end of a business career 
 running from 1853 to 1899, all but a few. years 
 in the banking business, and with no cessation 
 except the short period above mentioned be- 
 fore the opening of the State Bank. 
 
 In politics Mr. Ryland is a Republican, 
 was chairman of the. town of Lancaster, for 
 twenty years, and for seventeen years chair- 
 man of the county board. He was for two 
 terms State Senator from Grant county, and 
 for two terms was lieutenant-governor. He 
 was postmaster at Lancaster when Pierce was 
 President, and again when Lincoln was Presi- 
 dent. In 1872 he was a delegate from his. 
 district to the National Republican Conven- 
 tion at Philadelphia that renominated Grant.. 
 
 CALVIN MORSE, now living a retired life 
 in Monroe, Green county, was born in Erie' 
 county, N. Y., Aug. 10, 1832, a son of Milton 
 M. and Marie R. (Pierce) Morse. The fa- 
 ther was born in New Hampshire, and the- 
 mother in Connecticut. They had five chil- 
 dren, three of whom are now living: Calvin; 
 Elias C., of Belleville, Wis. ; and Mrs. Orrin 
 Byington, of Wonewoc, Wis. The father was 
 a shoemaker, and a school teacher for a num- 
 ber of years in the East, and in 1854 he came 
 West, and bought land in Exeter township, 
 Green Co., Wis., where he spent the balance 
 of his days, dying in December, 1891, at the 
 age of eighty-five years and five months. His' 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 631 
 
 wife died in 1890, when eighty-three years and 
 six months old. They were liberal in their 
 religious faith ; he held various town offices 
 when in his prime, being supervisor a number 
 of terms. 
 
 Josia'h Morse, the father of Milton M., 
 and the grandfather of Calvin, was a native of 
 New Hampshire, and had an English parent- 
 age. He died in the East when about sev- 
 enty-five years old. Calvin Pierce, the father 
 of Marie R., was a native of Connecticut. A 
 farmer, and the father of several sons and 
 daughters, he died in Erie county, N. Y., at 
 the advanced age of eighty-five years. 
 
 Calvin Morse spent the first twenty-two 
 years of his life in Erie county, N. Y., where 
 he was reared on the farm, and given an edu- 
 cation in the district school. He was a stead- 
 fast farmer until 1878, when he was elected 
 sheriff of Green county. In 1884 Mr. Morse 
 was again elected sheriff of the county, 
 and in 1890 was appointed game war- 
 den of southwestern Wisconsin, and served 
 about two years. Mr. Morse came West 
 in 1854, and landed in Green county on 
 the first day of May. In company with 
 his father he bought the farm in the town of 
 Exeter, noted above, and here he made his 
 home until his first election to the position of 
 sheriff. When he had served his term-'he re- 
 turned to the farm, moving to Monroe per- 
 manently in 1881. The farm, which had been 
 increased to 200 acres, was rented until 1898, 
 when it was sold. Mr. Morse owned a half 
 interest in it. 
 
 Calvin Morse enlisted in August, 1862, in 
 Company F, 31st Wis. V. I., and served three 
 years at the front. He was in the battles of 
 Peach Tree Creek, the siege of Atlanta, was 
 with Sherman in his march to the sea, par- 
 ticipated in many battles and 1 skirmishes, and 
 bore himself as a gallant and loyal soldier 
 throughout that terrible strife. Entering the 
 service as a private, he was discharged a non- 
 commissioned officer. The regiment was in 
 the Grand Review at Washington, and was 
 mustered out at Louisville, Ivy. Mr. Morse 
 returned to the home farm in Exeter when the 
 war was over, and resumed the occupations 
 of peaceful life as assiduously as if he had only 
 been away over night. 
 
 On April 18, 1872, Mr. Morse was married 
 to Mrs. Martha A. Dunham, daughter of Asa 
 and Caroline (Norton) Wilson. Mr. Morse 
 
 is a Mason, and is enrolled in Belleville Lodge, 
 No. 74, I. O. O. F., where he has been active 
 for forty-six years. He also belongs to O. F. 
 Pinney Post, No. 102, G. A. R. He is a Re- 
 publican, and takes pride in the fact that he 
 cast his first vote for John C. Fremont. Mr. 
 Morse owns a good home in Monroe, where 
 he has lived about twenty years, and is very 
 highly respected. The parents of Mrs. 
 Morse were both born in New York. Her 
 father was born near Albany, in Schoharie 
 county, and the mother in Yates county. They 
 had two daughters and one son, and Mrs. 
 Morse is now their only living child. They 
 came to the town of Exeter in 1854, and en- 
 gaged in farming, buying a tract of fifty-eight 
 acres. In 1864 he died, at the age of fifty-four 
 years. His widow survived until. 1S85, when 
 she died at the age of seventy years. He was 
 a member of the Christian Church, and his 
 widow united with the Methodist Church. 
 William Wilson, the father of Asa, followed 
 farming, reared a large family, and died when 
 about seventy years old. Mrs. Morse's ma- 
 ternal grandfather was William Norton, a 
 New York farmer, of Scottish descent. In 
 1846 he came into Green county, Wis., and 
 took up land from the government in the town 
 of Exeter, where he died in 1852. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Morse are well known 
 throughout the county, and are highly es- 
 teemed by a wide circle of warm friends. 
 Their long residence in the county, their genial 
 disposition, and their warm-hearted hospitality, 
 make them deservedly popular. 
 
 JUDGE JOSEPH T. MILLS was one of 
 the men prominent in the early history of 
 Southwestern Wisconsin. He fought the great 
 battle of the anti-slavery party in the Federal 
 court, and by both word and pen helped to 
 form that public opinion which made the cre- 
 ation of the Republican party a necessity. He 
 was an abolitionist from conviction, when it 
 was considered disgraceful to be one. His 
 childhood was spent in Kentucky, where he 
 had seen the evil of slavery with his own eyes. 
 He was always ready to battle for the right,, 
 at any cost to himself, as this incident shows :: 
 At one time an Abolitionist lecturer came to 
 Lancaster. He was mobbed, and took refuge 
 with Mr. Mills. The mob followed him to 
 the home, and, planting an old cannon near the 
 house, threatened to blow the house and its 
 
632 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 occupants into eternity if the lecturer were not 
 delivered into their hands. Mr. Mills was in 
 no wise dismayed. Taking his rifle, he warned 
 them that the first man who moved near that 
 cannon or entered that yard would be shot. 
 His wife stood by him, also armed, and, like 
 many frontier women, she was known to be 
 a sure shot. Gradually one after another of the 
 scowling, howling mob withdrew, until the 
 intrepid couple were left in quiet possession 
 of their home and of the cannon. Meanwhile 
 the lecturer had escaped by a back window, 
 into the woods which surrounded the house. 
 He was not of the heroic mold. 
 
 One other time Mr. Mills faced a mob, and 
 nearly unaided cowed it. It was when a young 
 recruit deserted from the garrison at Prairie 
 du Chien. Pie was followed by a detail from 
 the garrison, and was overtaken near Lancaster. 
 As he did not halt at the command he was 
 shot and killed by the officer commanding the 
 party. This officer was quickly arrested by 
 the civil authorities. The youth of his victim, 
 the feeling that the act, in a time of peace, 
 was unwarrantedly brutal, possessed the peo- 
 ple, and lynch law was threatened. The mob 
 was led by “some of our best citizens,” and 
 they dangled the rope before the eyes of the 
 guilty man. Then Mr. Mills put himself be- 
 tween them and the murderer. Pie appealed 
 to their sense of honor, their civic pride. He 
 showed them the evil consequences which al- 
 ways follow a community when the law is out- 
 raged, and gradually their better sense pre- 
 vailed. The writer has heard men character- 
 ize this protest of Judge Mills as the most 
 eloquent defense of law and the most wither- 
 ing denunciation of lynch law which were ever 
 made in that section of the country. In either 
 of the above instance’s one can discern the 
 splendid courage of the man, for it has been 
 often said that a man who would face a pack 
 of wolves may well run from a mob of angry 
 men. 
 
 Judge Mills was apparently a timid man, 
 but sometimes he dared fate to the extreme. 
 He never sought a fight. In ordinary matters 
 he was pacific to the extreme, but once roused 
 he would not be downed. He was repeatedly 
 told that he would never present his bill of ex- 
 ceptions in the Sherman Booth case to Judge 
 Miller. He never said he would, but the bill 
 was prepared, and when the time came he 
 walked into the court and presented it. Miller 
 
 1 ■ .ii 1 
 
 refused to sign. Mr. Mills said: “I present 
 you this bill of exceptions for your signature.” 
 Miller again refused. Mr. Mills said, “That 
 bill will be signed before you leave the bench,” 
 and Miller signed it then and there. 
 
 There was a moral force in Mr. Mills which 
 no coward or evil doer could withstand. He 
 was incorruptible. He was a member of the 
 Legislature at the time of the “forty thieves.” 
 In the investigation which followed the expo- 
 sure of that session the agent was asked if he 
 approached J. T. Mills. “No,” he replied, 
 "there isn't money enough in the whole United 
 States to buy him.” To his profession he has 
 bequeathed the code. Of the Wisconsin code, 
 copied closely from the New Yorx code, he 
 was the father and defender. As a writer re- 
 cently said of him, “he was ever the advo- 
 cate of reforms that reformed.” 
 
 Judge Mills was born in Kentucky in i8ii. 
 He died in Denver, Colo., in 1897. During 
 his whole life he was a great student, not only 
 of the law, but of mathematics, sciences and 
 literature. He was a man of extreme modesty, 
 and his sense of innate worth would not allow 
 him to push himself. If his merit was not 
 recognized he would not vaunt it, and many 
 times he was supplanted by those who were 
 much his inferiors. His neighbors and friends 
 thought nothing too good for him. He was 
 judge of the 5th circuit from 1864 to 1872, 
 an office he filled with honor to himself and 
 the circuit, but probably no title ever gave him 
 greater pleasure than the one by which he was 
 universally known in Grant county, “Honest 
 Joe Mills.” 
 
 RUFUS CLARK WHITCOMB has for 
 the past twenty-two years been the efficient and 
 highly esteemed superintendent of the Poor 
 Fann and County Insane Asylum of Green 
 county, having assumed the responsible and dif- 
 ficult position at the age of thirty years. His 
 long continuance in the office is the best testi- 
 monial to his eminent fitness in caring for the 
 wards of the county, where he has resided since 
 he was a year old, or more than 'half a century. 
 He is a native of the Badger State, having 
 been born in Rock county July 6, 1848. 
 
 James Whitcomb, his father, one of the 
 pioneers of Wisconsin, was born May 17, 1812, 
 in New York State, and there married Nancy 
 Goltry, a native of the same State, born Aug. 
 7, 1814. A farmer by occupation, James 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD . 
 
 633 
 
 Whitcomb early in his 1 married life moved 
 West, and lived for four or five years in In- 
 diana. He then purchased eighty acres of land 
 in Rock county, VVis., which he occupied until 
 1849, in that year trading it for a farm of 120 
 acres in Mt. Pleasant township, Green county, 
 to which he moved, and where he lived until 
 •his death, in 1854, at the age of forty-two. 
 His wife survived him until May 22, 1883, 
 and was sixty-nine years of age at her death. 
 They were devout members of the Baptist 
 Church, in which he was for many years a 
 deacon. Of the seven children of James and 
 Nancy Whitcomb, three sons and four daugh- 
 ters, four survive: Rhoda M., wife of John 
 
 A. Clemmer, of Monroe; Roxana, wife of E. 
 L. Neal, of Clarksville, Iowa; Rufus C. ; and 
 James M., of Albany, Wisconsin. 
 
 Isaac Whitcomb, father of James, was 
 born in Maine May 25, 1769, and died Feb. 
 26, 1816. His wife, Susanna Gregory, was 
 born Sept. 1, 1784, and died July 7, 1839. 
 Paul Goltry, the maternal grandfather of our 
 subject, was born in New Jersey May 24, 
 1767, and died Sept. 28, 1845. His wife was 
 Rachel Moffett. He was a fine musician, a 
 talented violinist. 
 
 Rufus C. Whitcomb was reared in Green 
 county, on a farm. He received his education 
 in the district schools, and, possessing musical 
 talent, he taught singing school for some 
 time in his younger years. He was only six 
 years old when his father died, and by the 
 efforts of his boyhood and youth assisted in 
 the support of his widowed 1 mother and her 
 family. He worked on the home farm, and 
 also rented other lands which he farmed, re- 
 maining with his mother until his marriage, 
 June 8, 1874, to Miss Margaretta Fitch, 
 daughter of Benjamin and Sarah J. (Smith) 
 Fitch, natives, respectively, of Ohio and Ire- 
 land. James Fitch, the grandfather of Mrs. 
 Whitcomb, served in the war of 1812. He was 
 a farmer of Washington county, Penn., and 
 moved to Ohio, where he died at an advanced 
 age, leaving a large family. His father. James 
 Fitch, was killed in the Revolutionary war. 
 Robert Smith, the maternal grandfather of 
 Airs. Whitcomb, was a native of Ireland, of 
 Scottish lineage. About 1822 he emigrated 
 with his family to America, and settled in 
 Ohio, where he engaged in farming, reared 
 a large family, and lived to the age of eighty- 
 four years. Benjamin Fitch, the father of 
 
 Mrs. Whitcomb, moved from Ohio to Wis- 
 consin in 1854, settling in Sylvester township, 
 Green county, where he remained until 1869. 
 In that year he moved to Oskaloosa, Iowa, 
 and died in 1897, aged seventy-seven years. 
 His widow survives, a resident of that city. 
 Of their six children five survive : Margaretta, 
 wife of Mr. Whitcomb ; Mary, wife of L. P. 
 Stanton, of Oskaloosa, Iowa; Dr. Edwin L.. 
 of Oskaloosa; and R. F. and Walter P., both 
 of Oskaloosa. 
 
 Mrs. Whitcomb was educated in the pub- 
 lic schools of Wisconsin and at Oskaloosa 
 (Iowa) College, and taught in Iowa and Wis- 
 consin for several years prior to her marriage. 
 She was for some time the president of the 
 local AVoman’s Relief Corps', is now serving 
 her eighth year as treasurer of same, and has 
 held the office of secretary. She is a mem- 
 ber of the Woman's Club. 
 
 To Rufus C. and Margaretta AAdritcomb 
 have been born two children, Eva Grace and 
 Walter J., both living at home. In religious 
 faith Mr. and Mrs. AAdiitcomb are members 
 of the Baptist Church. Among the fraternal 
 orders Mr. Whitcomb holds membership in 
 the Knights of Pythias, in which he is past 
 chancellor, and was' deputy grand chancellor 
 for five years : the Royal Arcanum, in which 
 he has been representative to the Grand Lodge, 
 and was also vice-grand regent ; and the 
 Knights of the Globe. Politically he is a 
 stanch Republican, and he is recognized as 
 one of the political leaders of Green county. 
 He has been twice elected county coroner, 
 now serving his second term in that office, and 
 has also served twice as chairman of the town 
 board. He has been one of the most prominent 
 members of the Green County Agricultural 
 Society and Mechanics Institute, and has 
 served that organization one year as treas- 
 urer, one year as president, and three years 
 as corresponding secretary. Mr. \\nfitcomb 
 possesses great force of character and a win- 
 ning personalitv, and his wide acquaintance- 
 ship among influential people extends beyond 
 the limits of his own county. 
 
 HON. GEORGE G. COX. a well-known 
 citizen of Iowa county, has passed the greater 
 part of his life on the farm in Waldwick town- 
 ship which he now occupies, having been a 
 resident thereof since 1849. 
 
 Mr. Cox was born on Long Island, in Suf- 
 
634 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 folk county, N. Y., Nov. 24, 1842, son of 
 Stephen and Mary A. (Halleck) Cox, and 
 is descended from old New York families. 
 His mother was a distant relative of Gen. Hal- 
 leck, who rendered distinguished service to 
 his country in the war of the Rebellion. There 
 were six children in the family, four daughters 
 and two sons, our subject and two of his sisters 
 now surviving — Phebe, wife of William Comp- 
 ton, and Betsy, wife of Thomas Van Matre. 
 The first of the family to come West was our 
 subject’s brother Charles, who settled in Wis- 
 consin in 1846, and became a prominent mer- 
 chant at Mineral Point. He entered the serv- 
 ice of the Union during the Civil war, in the 
 capacity of quartermaster of the 2d Wisconsin 
 Cavalry. Resigning this position, he came 
 home and raised a company of the 50th Wis. 
 V. I. He was killed while in the service, by 
 an insane soldier. Our subject's parents came 
 to Wisconsin in 1849, settling on the farm 
 where he now lives, in Waldwick township, 
 Iowa county, and the father died three years 
 later. The mother survived him many years. 
 
 George G. Cox passed the first few years 
 of his life in his native State, and was but 
 seven years old when the family settled in Wis- 
 consin. He grew to manhood on the home 
 farm, and attended the local public schools, 
 receiving a good practical education. When 
 the Civil war broke out he decided to enter 
 the service, and in February, 1862, v, as en- 
 rolled as a member of Company D, 2d Wiscon- 
 sin Cavalry, in which he served his full term, 
 receiving an honorable discharge in March, 
 1865. This regiment entered the service in 
 command of Gen. C. C. Washburne, and after 
 his promotion was given to Lieut. -Col. Ste- 
 phens. They took part in many important 
 battles and campaigns, including the engage- 
 ments at Prairie Grove, Hall’s Plantation, 
 Woodville, Yazoo City, and Egypt Station, 
 and various raids through the States of Mis- 
 souri, Arkansas, Mississippi, etc. The 2d was 
 one of the most efficient cavalry regiments of 
 the Civil war. 
 
 Since his return from the army Mr. Cox 
 has devoted the greater part of his time and 
 attention to agricultural pursuits. He has a 
 fine farm, and a beautiful home, and he at- 
 tends systematically to all the details of the 
 management of his estate, with what results 
 the appearance of the place best testifies. How- 
 ever, though he has looked after his business 
 
 affairs so carefully, he has found time to de- 
 vote to public matters also, and takes the in- 
 terest which every public-spirited citizen should 
 feel in the general welfare. His fellow citizens, 
 recognizing this, have chosen him for some 
 of the most responsible positions in their gift, 
 and he has four times represented his district 
 in the State Legislature, being first elected in 
 1879. His re-elections are sufficient praise 
 for the acceptability of his services. He is the 
 present chairman of the town of Waldwick. 
 Mr. Cox’s political affiliations are with the 
 Republican party, and he has been chairman 
 of the town committee of that party for many 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Cox has been for years connected with 
 the Southwestern Wisconsin Fair, which he 
 helped to reorganize as a stock company in 
 1883. For a number of years past he has been 
 president of the association, which annually 
 holds one of the best fairs in the State at Min- 
 eral Point, and the success of the enterpr se can 
 be attributed to a great degree to his disinter- 
 ested efforts. Since 1898 he has been a mem- 
 ber of the State Board of Agriculture, and has 
 devoted much of his time to the interests of 
 that position. In 1901 he was elected general 
 superintendent of the State Fair Gi\ unds at 
 Milwaukee. He is a man of much native abil- 
 ity and force of character, and his honorable 
 and useful life has commanded universal es- 
 teem. Socially he is a member of George Le- 
 gate Post, No. 125, G. A. R., of Mineral Point, 
 and of the Modern Woodmen of America. 
 
 Mr. Cox was married Sept. 22, 1865, to 
 Miss Sarah Whitford, daughter of Christopher 
 Whitford, an early settler of Mineral Point, 
 where Mrs. Cox was born, and six children 
 have blessed their union, viz. : Amelia, Charles, 
 George, Fannie, Dwight and Joseph D. Charles 
 was in Chicago when the Spanish-American 
 war broke out, and he enlisted in the 1st Illi- 
 nois Volunteers, accompanying the regiment 
 CO' Cuba, where he saw active service. 
 
 BOTOLF TOLLEFSON was one of the 
 early settlers of Jordan township, Green coun- 
 ty. He was born in Gorsvig, Flo-Anex, Hal- 
 lingdal, Norway, Aug. 5, 1828 (Hallingdal 
 is at some distance west from Christiana), 
 and came to America with his mother, brother 
 and sister in 1846. He settled first in Rock 
 county, Wis., near the present town of Orford- 
 ville. In 1850 he came to Jordan township 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 635 
 
 and settled on the farm which was ever after 
 his home, engaging in agricultural pursuits. 
 Though he was in very limited circumstances 
 at the time of his emigration, Mr. Tollefson 
 succeeded in acquiring a handsome property, 
 and at the time of his death, Sept. 29, 1900, 
 was the owner of 324 acres of valuable land, 
 well improved and stocked, and without in- 
 cumbrance of any kind. He was considered 
 one of the best farmers in his section, and was 
 highly respected by his neighbors and friends 
 for his honorable, upright life and his many 
 sterling qualities of head and heart, which won 
 their srood will as well as their esteem. He 
 
 o . .... 
 
 was a stanch Republican in political faith, and 
 a Lutheran in religious connection. 
 
 Mr. Tollefson was thrice married. In 1853 
 he wedded Anna Reiersdater, who was born 
 in Sigdal, Norway. Two children were born 
 to them: Gunhil, who is the w.fe of Hans H. 
 Haug, of Willow Lake, S. Dak. ; and Currie, 
 wife of Elling Ellingson, of Sicux City, Iowa. 
 Mrs. Tollefson died in 1858, and her remains 
 were buried in the Norwegian Lutheran ceme- 
 tery of Wiota township, Lafayette Co., Wis. 
 In i860 Mr. Tollefson married Anna Erick- 
 son, who was born in Fosse, Yttre-Sogn, Nor- 
 way, Sept. 5, 1822, and four children came of 
 this union : Thomas, who now owns the farm ; 
 Anna, wife of Golick Golickson, a farmer of 
 Jordan township; Lena, wife of Lewis Boyn- 
 ton, a farmer of Jordan township; and Erick, 
 who married Clara Olson, and resides at Wil- 
 low Lake, S. Dak. The mother of these chil- 
 dren died March 25, 1880, and her remains 
 were laid to rest in the Norwegian Lutheran 
 cemetery of Jordan township. In 1882 Mr. 
 Tollefson was united in marriage with Marit 
 Aslesen, who was born in Krodsherad, Nor- 
 way, in 1845, and now lives on the old Tollef- 
 son homestead. On Sept. 29, 1900, after more 
 than five years of sickness, Mr. Tollefson died, 
 and his remains rest in the Norwegian Lu- 
 theran cemetery, beside those of his second 
 wife. 
 
 Thomas Tollefson was born in Jordan 
 township June 7, 1861, and has passed his en- 
 tire life on the farm which is now his. His 
 education was acquired in the local public 
 schools, and he received a good practical train- 
 ing, which, aided by a retentive memory, has 
 been of much use to him in his business life. 
 He has given all his attention to farming, 
 finding ample scope for his ability and energy 
 
 in the management of his large property, which 
 is under a fine state of cultivation, and has 
 yielded good returns. However, he has found 
 time for public affairs, and has served accepta- 
 bly as school director, judge of election, justice 
 of the peace and notary public, and member 
 of the township board, in all these positions 
 displaying clear judgment and an appreciation 
 of all that is best for the advancement and 
 welfare of his community. His high standards 
 of citizenship and useful career have won him 
 the unqualified respect of his neighbors and 
 friends, and deservedly, for he is a man true 
 to his convictions of right and sincere in his 
 approval of every movement which promises 
 to benefit the moral or material condition of 
 mankind in general. He is a member of the 
 Lutheran Church, and an ardent Republican 
 in politics. 
 
 JAMES J. DODDS, of the town of Mt. 
 Hope, Grant county, is one of the veteran sol- 
 diers of the Civil war, in which he played 
 the part of a man, and made a record of which 
 his friends are justly proud. He was one of 
 the first to enlist from the town of Woodman, 
 which was then a part of the town of Millville. 
 
 Mr. Dodds was born in Yorkshire, Eng- 
 land, May 18, 1832, son of William and Ann 
 (Jackson) Dodds, who never came to this 
 country, and he was but six years old when 
 his mother died. He was the eldest of several 
 children, and is the only member of his fam- 
 ily who ever set foot on American soil. Hav- 
 ing read of this country, and learned some- 
 thing of its institutions, he had resolved when 
 a mere boy that he would come to “the land 
 of the free” at some future time. In 1849, 
 when seventeen years old, he came to this coun- 
 try with a paternal aunt, Mrs. Ann Solitt, and 
 her family. They landed in New York Feb. 
 22, 1850, and, Chicago being their destination, 
 they were soon on the way westward. They 
 reached that city in about two weeks after 
 leaving the ocean, and from Chicago went to 
 Rockford, 111 . His friends went from there 
 to Will county, that State, but young Dodds 
 remained in Rockford some two years, and then 
 went East to Meriden, Conn., where he mar- 
 ried Miss Harriet Pearson, a native of his na- 
 tive town. A year and a half later the young 
 married couple went back to Rockford, and 
 in 1858 they came to Grant county, Wis., to 
 enter government land, within two miles of 
 
'636 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 our subject's present residence. He improved 
 his land, and after his return from the war 
 sold it, buying the farm which is his present 
 home. 
 
 Mr. Dodds enlisted, Aug. 24, 1864, in Com- 
 pany D, 42d Wis. V. I., and was honorably 
 discharged May 29, 1865. He was wiih his 
 regiment during his entire term of service, 
 though a portion of the time he was detailed 
 for special duty. His health was somewhat 
 broken by his military service, and as he grows 
 older he feels more keenly that his vitality 
 was weakened on account of his experience 
 in the Union army. 
 
 After the war Mr. Dodds followed the 
 trade of stone cutting, which he had learned 
 at Rockford. He also gave his attention to 
 farming, but he lately sold his farm, and in- 
 tends changing his location to Mt. Hope. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Dodds have four children: William 
 H., of Nebraska; Jane Elizabeth, wife of James 
 Crubaugh, of Mt. Hope; Clara H., wife of 
 ■John Crubaugh ; and Lillie, at home. Clara 
 Augusta died when ten years old. Mr. Dodds 
 is a Republican politically. With his family 
 he belongs to the Methodist Church. 
 
 ORVILLE STRONG. The name of 
 ’Strong is indissolubly associated with the 
 early settlement and subsequent development 
 of Iowa county. The successful banker and 
 financier whose life story forms the subject of 
 this brief biographical sketch is the son of 
 Judge Luman Mastin Strong, pioneer and 
 jurist, who was born in Orange county, Vt., 
 Oct. 24, 1803. The sons of the Green Mountain 
 State have left their impress and their influence 
 in every nook and corner of the West, yet 
 among them all there are few whose names 
 deserve to be cherished with more respectful 
 veneration than that of Luman Mastin Strong. 
 The story of the life of such a man is at once 
 an incentive and an inspiration, a harbinger 
 and a benediction. 
 
 Judge Strong, as has been said, was born 
 Oct. 24, 1803. When about two years of age 
 his father died, and a few years later he was 
 adopted by a Mr. Mastin, who 1 soon afterward 
 migrated to Ohio, settling on the Tuscarawas 
 river. There he grew to manhood, working 
 on the farm during the farming season, and 
 attending the district school during the winter, 
 acquiring a common-school education as taught 
 in those times. At nineteen years of age he 
 
 taught the district school himself. On March 
 7, 1824, he married Nancy Griswold. At the 
 age of twenty-five he visited his own mother, 
 walking the whole distance from Ohio to Ver- 
 mont and return. His wife died March 25, 
 1835, and he found himself left alone with six 
 small children. Leaving them in the care of 
 friends, he pushed out for Iowa, then called 
 the “Ear West.” He was one of the pioneers 
 of Linn county, that State, and erected the 
 first house in what is now the beautiful little 
 city of Marion, the county seat of Linn county. 
 On Oct. 30, 1837, he married, for his second 
 wife, Mary Gabbert, who was born at Abing- 
 don, within the limits of the present State of 
 West Virginia. He then returned to Ohio, 
 and brought his little family to Iowa. For 
 many years he was prominently identified with 
 the material and political development of Linn 
 county, being elected to many minor offices, 
 although always against his inclination. 
 Among these were those of justice of the peace 
 and county commissioner. He was also a dele- 
 gate to the convention which framed the con- 
 stitution for the State of Iowa, and was the 
 first postmaster at Marion, being appointed by 
 Van Buren. 
 
 The admission of Wisconsin to the Fed- 
 eral Union as a State in 1848 attracted many 
 settlers to its borders. Among them was Judge 
 Strong, who with his family settled in the 
 town of Highland, Iowa county, in the midst 
 of the lead mine region. His first location was 
 near the present village of that name. Few 
 of the early pioneers worked harder than he. 
 He felled the timber and cleared and plowed 
 the soil, and also found time to carry loads 
 of lead to Galena, returning with loads of mer- 
 chandise. Later he removed his residence to 
 the village of Highland. In 1852 he was elect- 
 ed a representative to the Legislature from the 
 northern district of Iowa county. His capacity 
 for public affairs was too manifest to be over- 
 looked, and his fellow citizens soon thrust other 
 offices upon him, making him justice of the 
 peace and town clerk. President Pierce ap- 
 pointed him postmaster at Highland in 1853, 
 and he held the position until 1856. Mean- 
 while, despite his numerous and exacting du- 
 ties, tO‘ the discharge of each of which he 
 brought the power of his strong, clear mind, 
 he had found leisure time to devote to the 
 study of law, and had been admitted to the 
 Bar in 1852. He continued in the active prac- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tice of that profession until his death. In 1854 
 he was chosen county judge, and re-elected in 
 1857, holding his seat upon the bench for eight 
 years. During this time he had removed to 
 Dodgeville. in 1865 he was once more re- 
 elected judge, continuing to discharge the du- 
 ties of the office until his demise, on Dec. 4, 
 1867, at the age of sixty-four years. Judge 
 Strong may be said to have been a self-made 
 man, in the truest and best sense of that fre- 
 quently misused term. His early educational 
 advantages were but meager, but on this foun- 
 dation he reared a solid structure. Of strong 
 physique, robust mentality, and incorruptible 
 integrity, he attained success by virtue of his 
 intense personality as well as his unwearying 
 energy. His death was considered a public 
 calamity, and was felt by scores of his per- 
 sonal friends as an individual loss. He was 
 a sincere member of the Methodist Church, 
 and in politics a Democrat. Fraternally he 
 was a prominent Mason, being a member of the 
 Blue Lodge at Dodgeville, and of the Chapter, 
 R. A. M., at Mineral Point. 
 
 Judge Strong was the father of ten chil- 
 dren, the issue of his first marriage having 
 been seven, and of his second three. Three 
 of the children by the first wife are yet living: 
 Eliza, Mrs. Ringo, at St. Louis, Mo. ; and 
 Amanzer and Henry, who are both residents 
 of Iowa, the home of the former being at Lake 
 City, and that of the latter at Kenwood Park. 
 Amanzer served with distinguished gallantry 
 in the Civil war, carrying a lieutenant's com- 
 mission in the 27th Wis. V. I. for three years. 
 Of the three children born to Judge Strong by 
 his second wife, the two eldest died in child- 
 hood, Orville Strong being the sole survivor 
 of the family. 
 
 Orville Strong was born at Marion, Linn 
 Co., Iowa, March 25, 1843, an d accompanied 
 his parents to Iowa county, Wis., when a child 
 of five years. Highland and Dodgeville have 
 since been his places of abode, with the excep- 
 tion of three years spent at the front during 
 the war of the Rebellion. He received a good 
 English education at the public schools and at 
 Platteville Academy, his preceptor at that in- 
 stitution being Prof. Pickard, long justly famed 
 as one of the most eminent educators within the 
 State. In August, 1862, Mr. Strong — then a 
 youth of nineteen years — enlisted, becoming a 
 private in Company C, 31st Wis. V. I. His 
 intelligence, correct habits and soldierly bear- 
 
 637 . 
 
 ing soon won him the stripes of a sergeant 
 major, and not long afterward he wore the 
 uniform and shoulder straps of a second lieu- 
 tenant. His regiment left the State in March, 
 1863, proceeding first to Columbus, Ky., and 
 thence to Nashville, Tenn. While at Columbus 
 it was assigned to the 6th Army Corps. From 
 Nashville it was ordered to LaVergne, and 
 thence to Murfreesboro, where it was trans- 
 ferred to the 2d Corps. Up to this time the 
 regiment had been chiefly engaged in doing 
 guard and provost duty, although making oc- 
 casional raids into the enemy's country. From 
 Nashville it was ordered, July 1, 1864, to join 
 the forces of Gen. Sherman, before Atlanta. 
 They reached the trenches before that city on 
 July 21, and were then once more transferred, 
 this time to the 20th Corps. The command 
 took a prominent part in the siege, and after- 
 ward followed Sherman on the march to the 
 sea, proceeding North through the Carolinas 
 and Virginia, and taking part in the grand re- 
 view at Washington May 20, 1865. 
 
 On his return home, after leaving the serv- 
 ice, Mr. Strong- entered the office of his father, 
 who was then serving his third term as county 
 judge. In 1868 he was chosen village clerk, 
 an office which he held for eleven years. The 
 same year he was elected county clerk, and 
 served Iowa county in that capacity for three 
 terms of two years' each; in 1878 he was ap- 
 pointed deputy county treasurer, discharging 
 the duties of that position during one term. 
 It was in 1874 that Mr. Strong first embarked 
 in business for himself, as a real-estate agent 
 and loaner of money on mortgages. He has 
 done business along these lines for a quarter 
 of a century, gradually increasing his capital, 
 and each year gaining fresh and stronger hold 
 upon the respect and confidence of his fellow 
 townsmen. In 1881, in partnership with A. 
 McArthur, he engaged in banking, the style 
 of the firm being Orville Strong & Co.- This 
 copartnership was formed Jan. 8, of the year 
 mentioned, and continued until 1883. Since 
 its dissolution Mr. Strong has carried on busi- 
 ness alone, his establishment being popularly, 
 designated “Strong’s Bank.” Mr. Strong has 
 shown his faith in the little city where he makes 
 his home by. the erection of two buildings, 
 which are a credit to the place — a business 
 block, comprising a bank, stores and offices, 
 with G. A. R. post room, and a beautiful resi- 
 dence, built in the latest style of architecture, 
 
638 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and equipped with all the modern conveni- 
 ences. 
 
 That the son of so eminent a father should 
 have made life a success is no cause for sur- 
 prise, yet in reviewing Mr. Strong’s career 
 the impartial reader will not fail to perceive 
 that his own resolute spirit, sound judgment 
 and tried honesty have been the corner stones 
 upon which he has built his fortune. He is a 
 Freemason of high degree, being a member 
 of the Blue Lodge and a Royal Arch Mason. 
 The memories of his army life he keeps per- 
 petually green through membership in William- 
 son Post, No. 109, G. A. R. 
 
 Mr. Strong has been twice married. His 
 first wife, Louisa Sims, to whom he was united 
 Jan. 9, 1869, became the mother of two sons 
 and one daughter, and died in 1874. The 
 daughter survived the mother but a short time, 
 dying in infancy. The elder of the sons, 
 George, resides at Prineville, Oregon, and is 
 foreman of the Crook County Journal. The 
 younger, Luman M., is at Chicago, in the West- 
 ern Union building. Mr. Strong’s second mar- 
 riage took place in January, 1877, when he was 
 united to Miss Minnie Carkeek. Her father, 
 Thomas Carkeek, was born in Cornwall, Eng- 
 land, came to America while a young man, 
 and was for many years a prominent and in- 
 fluential citizen of Dodgeville, where he died 
 in 1881, leaving five children. His eldest son, 
 also named Thomas, is one of Dubuque’s most 
 distinguished architects. To Mr. Strong’s sec- 
 ond marriage six children have been born : 
 Molly L., Throop M., Harry C., Arthur, Emily 
 C., and Marjorie. The eldest daughter is a 
 graduate of the State University at Madison, 
 and Throop M., the eldest son, holds the po- 
 sition of cashier in his father’s bank. Harry 
 C. is with Marshall Field & Co., Chicago. 
 
 ISAAC CHARNNESS, a retired farmer 
 of Monroe, Green county, was born in Wayne 
 county, Ind., April 5, 1820, a son of William 
 and Margaret (Hinshaw) Charnness. 
 
 Our subject’s parents were both natives 
 of North Carolina. To them were born nine 
 children, four of whom are now living: Isaac, 
 of Monroe ; Joshua, of Indiana ; Ruth, the wife 
 of Lindsay Love, of Kansas; and William, of 
 Valton, Sauk Co., Wis. The father was a 
 farmer all his life. He moved from North 
 Carolina to Indiana in 1819, and in 1846 came 
 to Wisconsin, for three years making his home 
 
 in Green county, and then returning to his old 
 Indiana home, where he died when over ninety- 
 six years of age. Fie was born June 17, 1793. 
 His wife, born Oct. 17, 1800, died in 1846. 
 Reared a Quaker, he was married outside of 
 the faith, and he and his wife united with the 
 Methodist Church. In his more active years 
 he held several local positions, and he was a 
 man highly esteemed in his community. 
 
 Joshua Charnness, the father of William, 
 and the grandfather of Isaac, was born in 
 North Carolina, where he lived and died. Bred 
 to agricultural pursuits, he was also a miller, 
 and operated a mill on Deep river. A Quaker 
 in his religious convictions, he was much op- 
 posed to war, and was a man of strong per- 
 sonality. He reared a large family, and died 
 when well advanced in years. Isaac Hinshaw, 
 the father of Mrs. Margaret Charnness, was 
 also a Quaker, a native of North Carolina, 
 and a life-long farmer. A goodly family re- 
 mained to perpetuate his name. 
 
 Isaac Charnness, whose name introduces 
 this article, was reared on the farm in Indiana 
 where his parents resided, and obtained his edu- 
 cation in the public and subscription schools 
 of the day. When a small boy he walked five 
 miles to school and home again every day, such 
 was the price the pioneer lads had to pay for 
 their schooling. Mr. Charnness was married 
 Oct. 5, 1837, to Miss Mary Millman, daugh- 
 ter of Robert and Abigail (Adamson) Mill- 
 man. Both parties were very young, the hus- 
 band but seventeen, and the bride just past 
 sixteen. To this union were born four chil- 
 dren : Louisa, Abigail, William Martin and 
 Evangeline. ( 1 ) Louisa Charnness married 
 Cyrus Dye, and lives in Monroe. They are the 
 parents of two children, Mary Idell and Ida, 
 the former of whom married Robert Crow, of 
 the town of Monroe, and is the mother of six 
 children, John, William, Ida, Elsie. Bertha 
 and the baby. Ida married Gary Wells, and 
 lives in Monroe. She has a family of three 
 children, Vernie, Plorace and the baby. (2) 
 Abigail Charnness married Andrew J. Haw- 
 thorne, and has her home in Monroe. They 
 have one living child, Isaac William, who was 
 married to Jennie Shank, and is the father of 
 four children, Josie, Vernie, and the twins, 
 Everest and Arthur. (3) William 'Martin 
 Charnness was born in 1846, and died at the 
 age of nine years. (4) Evangeline Charnness 
 married Stephen Potter, and lives at Chippewa 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 639 
 
 Falls, Wis. ; they have a family of three chil- 
 dren, Fred, Cora and Ray, of whom Fred 
 married Emma Baker. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Charnness are both Method- 
 ists, and attend church whenever their strength 
 permits, which is now not so often as they 
 might wish. Mr. Charnness is a strong Re- 
 publican. For more than twenty years he was 
 district school treasurer, and was also road 
 commissioner for many years. Fie is a total 
 abstainer, and takes a justifiable pride m the 
 fact that during a long and busy life, in times 
 and scenes where it \\40uld not have been at all 
 incongruous, he has never drunk a glass of liq- 
 uor; he never smoked a cigar or pipe in his life. 
 
 Mr. Charnness and his wife came from 
 Indiana to Green county, Wis., in 1843, ma -k- 
 ing the journey in a lumber wagon drawn by 
 two horses, and were seventeen days on the 
 way. They brought along a cow and a calf, 
 and a dozen sheep. They had two children, 
 and three dollars in money. During the first 
 winter Mr. Charnness got out rails to fence 
 forty acres of what is at present the county 
 farm. When he arrived in Wisconsin he had 
 one good horse and one poor animal. The 
 better horse, the wagon, and a hundred dollars 
 he traded for eighty acres of farm land, which 
 had been entered and contained some improve- 
 ments, and on this place the family lived for 
 twelve years. In 1855 this farm was sold, 
 and another of 108 acres purchased, the fam- 
 ily remaining there until 1892. That year the 
 farm was rented, and a house and six acres 
 of land in Monroe were bought, where Mr. 
 Charnness and his good wife now live, in the 
 enjoyment of many comforts — the result of 
 long and honorable industry. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Charnness, Robert Mill- 
 man, was born in Delaware, and he married 
 a native of Tennessee. They were pioneer set- 
 r tiers of Indiana before that region of the West 
 was freed of the Indians. They were the par- 
 ents of eleven children, eight sons and three 
 daughters, of whom at the present writing 
 only three 'are living: William Millman, of 
 Winston, Daviess Co., Mo. ; Mary, who is the 
 honored wife of Isaac Charnness; and John 
 H., of Oakland, Cal. Mr. and Mrs. Millman 
 came to Wisconsin in 1845, and located in 
 Green county, where be died in 1877, at the 
 age of seventy-nine years and eight months. 
 His wife died some years prior to this date, 
 
 when she was aged sixty-four years. They 
 were both devout Methodists, and were buried 
 in the Hawthorne cemetery. 
 
 JOEL W. WALKER (deceased) was one 
 of the pioneer settlers of the town of York, 
 and in his active days one of its representative 
 farmers and influential citizens. He was born 
 in New York, June 29, 1838, and died Dec. 
 7, 1894. Ira and Lucina (Miller) Walker, his 
 parents, were both natives of New York, of 
 English origin, and came to Wisconsin in 1842. 
 making a home on section 26, of the town of 
 York, Green county. Ira Walker was the fa- 
 ther of six children, all of whom are dead, 
 with the exception of Minerva, who is living on 
 the home place in the town of York, with her 
 mother; and Clarinda, who is the wife of Nel- 
 son Robb, of the town of York. 
 
 Joel W. Walker was married Oct. 13, 
 1867, to Miss Anna R. Everett, of Monroe, 
 a daughter of Lawrence and Matilda (Jen- 
 nings) Everett, of New Jersey. Her parents 
 were among the early settlers of Green county, 
 where Mrs. Walker was born Sept. 29, 1846, 
 one of a family of seven children, of whom 
 Byron is in Michigan ; Clayton is in Minne- 
 apolis; Jane is the deceased wife of William 
 Campbell, of Green county ; Anna is the wife 
 of Joel W. Walker; Helen is the wife of 
 James Green, of Beloit, Wis.; Lydia is dead; 
 and Charles lives in Monroe. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Joel Walker became the parents of the follow- 
 ing family: Minnie, born June 10, 1870, died 
 in infancy; Lucina, born Jan. 22, 1872, is the 
 wife of Clarence Devoe, of the town of Adams, 
 and has two children, Roy and Helen; Charles, 
 born Jan. 5, 1874, has charge of his mother’s 
 farm in the town of York, where he married 
 Mary Soper, of the same town, who has borne 
 him two children, Raymond and Hazel; Flor- 
 ence, born Jan. 5, 1874, was a twin to Charles, 
 and died in infancy; Helen, born Aug. 22, 
 1875, is the wife of George Soper, of Blanch- 
 ardville, Wis., and has three children, Minnie, 
 Earl and Everett; Harry M., born Sept. 15, 
 1877, died young; B. W., born Oct. 14, 1880, 
 is the youngest of the family, and remains at 
 home, unmarried. 
 
 Joel Walker was four years of age when 
 brought by his parents to Wisconsin, and was 
 reared in the town of York, where he had his 
 education in the public schools. In his politics 
 
640 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lie was a stanch Republican, and in his 
 belief a Baptist. Beginning life a poor man, 
 by industry, economy and a wise appreciation 
 of the opportunity for progressive and intelli- 
 gent farming in southwestern Wisconsin, he 
 had become the owner of a fine farm of 230 
 acres, which was well cultivated, and equipped 
 with all the modern conveniences for success- 
 ful farming. During the war of the Rebellion 
 he bore an honored part, as a loyal and intel- 
 ligent soldier from his native State. In 1861 
 he enlisted in Company E, 8th Wis. V. I., and 
 did a soldier's duty until he was discharged 
 in 1864, on account of disability. The com- 
 mand to which he belonged was attached to 
 the Army of the West, and Mr. Walker par- 
 ticipated in many bloody battles along with his 
 regiment, the most important being the battles 
 of Corinth, Vicksburg, Iuka and Iron Mount- 
 ain. He survived these and many other hard- 
 fought fields, and returned home in safety. 
 
 Mr. Walker attained a prominent position 
 in his community, where he served as school 
 director and town assessor for years. As a 
 citizen and a neighbor he was beyond reasona- 
 ble criticism, and as a husband and a father 
 he was all that love could desire. Mrs. Walker, 
 his widow, is still living on the old homestead, 
 which she rents. A devoted Christian woman, 
 and an educated lady, in early life she was a 
 successful teacher, and in her later years has 
 been all that a devoted wife and a faithful 
 mother should be. 
 
 ISAAC CLENDENING COMFORT, one 
 of the most successful and public-spirited cit- 
 izens of the village of Cobb, Iowa county, was 
 born in Tioga county, N. Y., April 6, 1823, son 
 of Thomas and Abigail (Deved) Comfort. The 
 Comfort family came from England in Colo- 
 nial times, and Richard Comfort, father of 
 Thomas, and grandfather of Isaac C., served in 
 the Continental army from New York all 
 through the war of the Revolution. 
 
 Thomas Comfort was born in Orange coun- 
 ty, N. Y., and served in the New York militia 
 during the war of 1812. His company was 
 called out at the time Buffalo- was burned, but 
 did not arrive in time to assist in the defense of 
 the town. In 1833 he removed to Oakland 
 county, Mich., living there until about i860, 
 when he came to Wisconsin, locating in Iowa 
 county. His death occurred in the town of 
 
 Eden, that county, July 4, 1880, when he was 
 in his eighty-seventh year. He was a member 
 of the Congregational Church in New York, 
 but after his removal to Michigan, united with 
 the Methodist. He was a man of good educa- 
 tion, and for a number of years taught school 
 in New York, and also in Michigan. He mar- 
 ried Abigail Deved, who died early, and he af- 
 terward wedded Sarah Odell, who died in Iowa 
 county. Six children were born to the first 
 union, and eight to the second. Of the chil- 
 dren of the first marriage there are living, be- 
 sides Isaac C., Atnasa, novv eighty-seven years 
 of age, residing at his home in Stillwater, 
 Minn. ; and Elam T., living in Cobb, Wiscon- 
 sin. 
 
 Isaac C. Comfort attended the district 
 schools in Michigan, and for a short time was 
 a student in a private school in Birmingham, 
 Mich. At the age of twenty-one he began 
 teaching, and continued in that profession with 
 much success for five years. In 1848 he came 
 to Wisconsin, taught one winter in the town 
 of Waldwick, Iowa county, and the following 
 year purchased wild land in the town of Lin- 
 den, upon which he located two years later, and 
 began making Improvements. He had 230 
 acres, and this occupied his time and attention 
 for some time, when he sold it, and purchased 
 160 acres near the village of Cobb, as well as 
 forty acres of timber. He was quite success- 
 ful in his farming ventures, and for the last fif- 
 teen years of his residence on his farm, devoted 
 himself to the breeding of Shorthorn cattle. He 
 bred from the best stock obtainable, and his 
 example and influence greatly improved the 
 stock of the community; his herd, of sixty full- 
 bred and high-grade cattle, all ages, sold finally 
 for $6,000. In this we have one example of 
 our subject’s most distinguished characteristic 
 — the thoroughness with which he carries out 
 all his undertakings. Since December, 1883, 
 Mr. Comfort has lived in the village of Cobb, 
 where he erected a fine residence, the best in the 
 town, with all modern improvements, sur- 
 rounded by a spacious lawn, to tlie care of 
 which he devotes much of his time. He has 
 many choice fruit and ornamental trees, and, 
 taken all together, his home is one of the most 
 picturesque in the county. 
 
 Mr. Comfort has always been a student of 
 public questions, and has spent considerable 
 time in endeavoring to advance the moral and 
 

• COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 641 
 
 intellectual standing of the community. He 
 was one of the prime movers in organizing tile 
 Grange of Cobb, and for two years acted as its 
 master; this branch has since disbanded. For 
 a number of years he was a member of the vil- 
 lage board of education, and the development of 
 the present excellent high school, which is prob- 
 ably the best to be found in a town of the size, 
 is due more to his efforts than to those of any 
 other one citizen. .About 1870, with other 
 farmers of Linden, Mr. Comfort organized a 
 Farmers’ Fire Insurance Company, of which he 
 was vice-president for years, and did a great 
 deal of the business, making surveys, etc. This 
 company is still prospering, has a surplus to 
 meet all demands, and is a great benefit to the 
 farmers. The general confidence in his integ- 
 rity has been shown by his neighbors and 
 friends in his selection as administrator of a 
 number of estates, and in several instances he 
 has served without pay. He has rendered 
 financial assistance to many of his fellow citi- 
 zens, which in some cases has been but slightly 
 appreciated. 
 
 Our subject’s first vote was cast in 1844, 
 for James K. Polk, and he has been a consistent 
 Democrat, upholding the principles of tariff for 
 revenue only and anti-imperialism. For one 
 year he served on the county board of trustees 
 of the Insane Asylum and Poor Farm, and for a 
 number of years on the board of supervisors 
 from both Linden and Eden townships. He 
 assisted in organizing the Adventist Church in 
 Cobb, and is one of the elders and trustees of 
 same. Mr. Comfort is also identified with the 
 Masonic fraternity, being a member of the 
 lodge at Montfort, Mineral Point Chapter No. 
 6, and Mineral Point Commandery, No. 12, 
 Knights Templar. 
 
 Mr. Comfort has been twice married, his 
 first union taking place on Oct. 16, 1850, to 
 Miss Maria Martin, daughter of Ebenezer Mar- 
 tin; she was born in New York, and died in 
 Cobb in 1889, aged sixty-'one years. On Aug. 
 20, 1890, Mr. Comfort married Miss Rebecca 
 Meigs, who was born in Iowa county, daughter 
 of Gardner C. and Lovisa (Barnard) Meigs, 
 and one daughter, Lovisa Ruth, has been born- 
 to this union. Mr. Comfort also 1 reared and ed- 
 ucated two children, of whom he was appointed 
 guardian, Henry and Irene Robinson. He and 
 his family are highly respected residents of the 
 county in which so many years of their lives 
 have been passed, and their beautiful home 
 is ever open to their friends and neighbors. 
 
 WILLIAM NOBLE BILLINGS, a pro- 
 gressive and public-spirited business man of 
 Cobb, represents one of the leading pioneer 
 families of Iowa county. He was born in the 
 town of Eden (then a part of Highland town- 
 ship) Jan. 1, 1852. 
 
 Henry Mortimer Billings, his father, was 
 born in Vermont, a son of John Billings, who 
 was born in Massachusetts, of Scottish descent, 
 and served in the Revolutionary war, after 
 which he removed to Vermont, where his death 
 occurred at a ripe old age. Henry M. Billings 
 came West in 1836, and for a few years was 
 engaged in mining at Galena, 111 ., whence he 
 came to Mineral Point, Wis., to engage in mer- 
 cantile business. In 1845 he went to Center- 
 ville, where he was one of the first to discover 
 the existence of lead ore. He rvorked in the 
 newly discovered mining fields until 1849 or 
 1850, when he purchased land in the present 
 township of Eden, and passed the rest of his 
 life in agricultural pursuits. He was acci- 
 dentally killed in 1862, by the kick of a horse, 
 when he was aged fifty- two years He was 
 a very prominent man in public affairs, repre- 
 sented his district in the Territorial and State 
 Legislatures, and also in the State Senate. 
 In political principles he w r as a Democrat, and 
 in his fraternal relations he was a well-known 
 Mason, having been grand master of the Grand 
 Lodge in Wisconsin. Mr. Billings married 
 Ann Bray, who was born in Kentucky, a 
 daughter of John Bray, who died in Missouri 
 during her childhood. John Bray was a son 
 of a Revolutionary soldier. Mrs. Ann (Bray) 
 Billings is a lady of many virtues and admira- 
 ble executive ability ; she now makes her home 
 in Madison. Children were born to Henry 
 Mortimer and Ann (Bray) Billings as fol- 
 lows: John Henry, of Cobb, Wis.; Douglas 
 Mortimer, of Nevada, Mo. ; William N., our 
 subject; Frank, a prominent physician of Chi- 
 cago ; Charles Lewis, an attorney of Chicago ; 
 George A., a farmer near Cobb, AVis. ; and 
 Mary E., now Mrs. William Ferguson, of 
 Madison, Wisconsin. 
 
 William Noble Billings received his educa- 
 tion in the public schools and in the Platteville 
 Normal, which latter institution he attended 
 for a short time. He made his home on his 
 father’s farm until 1881. when he entered the 
 employ of the Chicago & Northwestern Rail- 
 road Co., as station agent at Cobb, remaining 
 there seventeen years, and giving good satis- 
 faction to his company and its patrons. In 
 
642 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1898 he purchased a stock of goods, and has 
 since dealt in general merchandise, including 
 dry goods, clothing, groceries, etc. The firm 
 is now Billings & Spencer, and as the trade 
 has increased the stock has increased, the es- 
 tablishment being now a credit to a town the 
 size of Cobb. In politics Mr. Billings is inde- 
 pendent, casting his ballot for the men and 
 measures he thinks best calculated to contrib- 
 ute to the general welfare of his town, State 
 or country. In religious belief he is a mem- 
 ber of the Adventist Church, in which lie holds 
 the office of deacon. His name appears on 
 the rolls of Ferrin Lodge, F. & A. M., of Mont- 
 fort, as a member in good standing. 
 
 On Aug. 15, 1884, Mr. Billings was united 
 in marriage with Miss Florence Eiger, daugh- 
 ter of Stephen and Mary Eiger, of Piatteville, 
 and three children have been born of this union : 
 Roxena, Eugene and Leonard. 
 
 JOHN P. WILLIAMS, miner and farmer 
 in the town of Hazel Green, Grant county, was 
 born in Devon, England, March 30, 1821, a 
 son of Thomas and Ann Williams, both of 
 whom lived and died in their native land. 
 John P. and his brother Thomas, who settled 
 and died in Pennsylvania, were the only mem- 
 bers of the family who came to this country. 
 
 John P. Williams came through New York 
 on his way to Wisconsin in 1848, and follow- 
 ing his arrival in Grant county was engaged 
 in lead mining for a number of years. While 
 in England he married Miss Jane Thomas, 
 who died in Hazel Green in 1879, leaving him 
 with two children: (1) John, the eldest, was 
 born in England in 1845, and acquired his edu- 
 cation in the academy at Piatteville. Miss 
 Alice Cooper became his wife, and they live 
 in Plainfield, Wis., where he is a hotel-keeper. 
 They have a family of eleven children, Ida, 
 Emil, John, Frank, Lute, Alice, Antes, Thom- 
 as, Robert, Una, and Florence. (2) Thomas, 
 born in Grant county in 1851, married, and 
 is now a hardware merchant in Necedah, Wis. 
 He has three children, Irene, John M., and 
 Jennie. 
 
 In 1850 John P. Williams made the jour- 
 ney to California by way of the Isthmus of 
 Panama. His labors in the gold fields were 
 attended with very good results, and he spent 
 three years there, at the end of that time re- 
 turning to Wisconsin, and working in the lead 
 mines of this State until 1856. That year he 
 
 went back to California, and was gone some 
 ten years, engaged in business in that State. 
 In 1864 Thomas Stephens sold him a fine farm 
 in Hazel Green township, on which he made 
 many improvements, and thereon made his 
 home. In 1880 he married Miss Hannah Ped- 
 elty, of Hazel Green, a daughter of John and 
 Hannah Pedelty, natives of Yorkshire, Eng- 
 land, who came to this country in 1849, an d 
 settled in the town of Hazel Green, where Mr. 
 Pedelty followed smelting on his homestead 
 in that town. In the spring of 1864 he and 
 his family moved to Piatteville. In the fall 
 his wife died, and in the spring of 1865 Mr. 
 Pedelty moved back to Hazel Green; he died 
 in 1879. Mrs. Williams was born in England 
 in 1849, and received her education in the 
 Grant county schools. She is one of four 
 daughters: Mary A., wife of Anthony Shep- 
 erd; Hannah, Mrs. Williams; Jane, wife of 
 Simon Nicholas, of South Dakota; and Ruth, 
 widow of Henry Ingraham, of Lafayette 
 county. 
 
 After his second marriage Mr. Williams 
 settled on his farm, where he is now living 
 retired. To this union came one child, Avis, 
 who was born in 1882, and is now a student 
 in the Hazel Green school. In politics Mr. 
 Williams is a Republican, and in religion he 
 and his wife are members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church. They are highly respected 
 people, and he has been very successful in his 
 life work. 
 
 NELSON ROBB is an old settler of the 
 town of York, Green county, where he has 
 won more than a local reputation as a success- 
 ful farmer and an honorable and upright man. 
 Mr. Robb was born in Stephenson county, 111 ., 
 a son of Davis and Lucinda (Makepiece) Robb, 
 of English and German parentage, who came 
 to Green county when young Nelson was only 
 five years of age, and were among the very 
 earliest settlers of York. 
 
 Davis Robb was born in Pennsylvania July 
 4, 1814, and died Jan. 11, 1895, and his wife, 
 Lucinda Makepiece, was born in Ohio May 5, 
 1822. They were married in 1840 and to 
 them were born the following children : Nel- 
 son, whose name appears above; Mary, the 
 wife of John Hollister; Hiram, of Monroe; 
 Louisa, the wife of F. Ivnorr, of Blanchard- 
 ville; Frank, of the town of York; Joseph, 
 of the town of Moscow, Iowa county; and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 643 
 
 Josephine, the wife of George Rickey, of the 
 town of York. 
 
 Nelson Robb was married March 18, 1866, 
 to Miss Clarinda Walker, a daughter of Ira 
 Walker, one of the first settlers of Green coun- 
 ty. To this union were born: Esther, born 
 Dec. 19, 1866, married Charles Altemus, of 
 Chase county, Ivans., and has had three chil- 
 dren, Emma, Ray and Phyllis, but Ray is de- 
 ceased; Jesse, born June 26, 1869, died March 
 11, 1874; Myrtle, born June 7, 1875, is the 
 wife of Edgar Altemus, of Chase county, 
 Ivans., and has two children, Nicholas and 
 Hazel; Alta L., born April 20, 1879; Ralph, 
 born April 25, 1884; Ella, born June 29, 1886, 
 are all three at home. Mrs, Robb was born 
 July 26, 1845, and is the daughter of Ira 
 and Lucina (Miller) Walker, and was reared 
 in a family of the following children : Esther, 
 Joel and Edwin, all deceased ; Minerva is at 
 home, unmarried ; Clarinda, whose marriage 
 to Nelson Robb is noted above; and Rosetta, 
 deceased. Ira Walker was born Oct 1, 1811, 
 and died Nov. 17, 1889. His widow is still 
 living on the old home place with her daugh- 
 ter, Mrs. Robb. She was born March 3, 1816, 
 and notwithstanding her advanced age bears 
 herself surprisingly well. 
 
 Nelson Robb is a stanch Republican, and 
 is a man of moral character and high princi- 
 ples. Beginning in life with nothing but him- 
 self to depend upon, he now owns a good farm 
 which consists of some 200 acres, with a good 
 dwelling and substantial farm buildings. Dur- 
 ing the Civil war Mr. Robb enlisted in Com- 
 pany A, 46th Wis. V. I., and in the fall of 
 1865 received an honorable discharge. Per- 
 sonally he is a good citizen, a kind neighbor, 
 a devoted husband, an indulgent father, and 
 his many good qualities have won him a host 
 of friends. 
 
 SAMUEL RUNDELL. Perhaps no por- 
 tion of the United States, of equal extent, can 
 boast of a. larger number of pioneers who hail 
 from that famous mining region of England 
 known as Cornwall than can Iowa county, 
 Wis. They were a strong, hardy, honest class, 
 drawn, naturally as by a magnet, to the rich 
 mining country of southwestern Wisconsin, 
 and their strong arms and willing industry 
 have aided no less in developing the agricul- 
 tural than the mining industries of the State. 
 Among these should be mentioned prominent- 
 
 ly the name of Samuel Rundell, now living 
 retired, who was long an active and successful 
 resident of that section. 
 
 Mr. Rundell was born in Cornwall, Dec. 
 14, 1822, grew to manhood there, and on 
 March 31, 1848, married Kezia Biddick, who 
 was born in the same county April 28, 1826. 
 Not long after their marriage the young cou- 
 ple came to America, and their first settlement 
 was made at Platteville, Grant Co., Wis., where 
 Mr. Rundell engaged in farming. Six years 
 later they removed to the town of Mifflin, in 
 Iowa county, where Mr. Rundell purchased a 
 farm, and he continued to occupy that place 
 until December, 1900, when he retired, taking 
 up his home in the village of Livingston, Grant 
 county. By industry and good management 
 he was enabled to add to his original purchase 
 from time to time, eventually becoming one 
 of the prosperous and substantial farmers of 
 the town, as well as one of its most respected 
 citizens. His faithful wife, who assisted him 
 so bravely in their early struggles, passed 
 away Jan. 10, 1891. They were the parents 
 of fourteen children, twelve of whom attained 
 mature years, and ten — four sons and six 
 daughters — are still living, all residing in the 
 neighborhood of the homestead but one, Eli 
 C., who resides in Hurley, South Dakota. 
 
 The generation of his family to which 
 Samuel Rundell belongs is cpiite remarkable, 
 for both numbers and longevity. At one time 
 there were eleven living whose ages averaged 
 sixty-five years, six months. Eight are liv- 
 ing at this writing (1901), five brothers and 
 three sisters, all residents of southwestern 
 Wisconsin but Mrs. Eliza Carhart, whose home 
 is in Mapleton, Iowa ; she is now ninety years 
 of age. Four have celebrated their Golden 
 Weddings. 
 
 John S. Rundell, eldest living member of 
 the family of Samuel Rundell, was born Jan. 
 5, 1851, in Platteville, Grant Co., Wis., and 
 was about four years old when the family set- 
 tled in the town of Mifflin, Iowa county, which 
 has ever since been his home. He was edu- 
 cated in the common schools, and has engaged 
 in farming, with what success is attested by 
 the size and condition of his beautiful farm, 
 which contains 200 acres, and is one of the 
 most desirable places in the locality. On March 
 21, 1872, Mr. Rundell was married to Hannah 
 Livingston, daughter of Joseph Livingston, a 
 pioneer of the county, and five children have 
 
644 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 blessed their union : Lillie, the eldest, is the 
 wife of Dr. C. W. Bushnell, a practicing dent- 
 ist in Chicago; Nellie was educated at the 
 Platteville State Normal School, and is a suc- 
 cessful teacher; Charles L., Ada E. and Edgar 
 are at home. Mr. and Mrs. Rundell have one 
 grandchild, Florence Bushnell, a representa- 
 tive of the fourth generation now living. 
 
 Joseph Livingston, father of Mrs. Rundell, 
 was a native of County Wicklow, Ireland, and 
 came to America in 1846. In 1852 he mar- 
 ried Miss Jane Mates, and six children were 
 born to them, four of whom grew to mature 
 years and are still living : Mary A., wife of 
 Hiram A. Rundell; Hannah, wife of John S. 
 Rundell; Robert F. ; and Lizzie, wife of Her- 
 cules Rundell. Mrs. Livingston passed away 
 Feb. 14, 1865, and Mr. Livingston survived her 
 many years, his death occurring March 18, 
 1897. Air. Livingston was an honest and use- 
 ful citizen, and possessed many noble traits 
 of character, his benevolence and readiness to 
 assist the needy being proverbial among those 
 who knew him best. By untiring industry and 
 economy he acquired a competence, which he 
 devoted to the good of his fellow men as well 
 as to his own comfort, and he was highly hon- 
 ored in the locality where so many years of 
 his life were passed. His integrity was above 
 question, and in his death the community lost 
 one of its most highly esteemed members, a 
 man whose many sterling qualities of head 
 and heart commended him to the affectionate 
 regard of all who knew him. 
 
 JODERICH KUBLI, whose death June 
 11, 1901, removed one of the retired farmers 
 of Jordan township, Green county, held high 
 rank as a successful farmer, a wealthy and 
 honorable citizen, and wen sustained the honor 
 and good name of the Swiss in America. Born 
 in Canton Glarus, Switzerland, Jan. 4, 1838, 
 he was a son of Peter and Barbara (Marta) 
 Ivubli, both of whom lived and died in their 
 native Switzerland. Joderich Kubli, the father 
 of Peter, had three sons, Peter, Jacob and John. 
 Peter Kubli was the father of the following 
 children: Annie, the wife of Jakob Freikag, 
 died in California; John remained in Switzer- 
 land; Joderich, whose name appears above; 
 Peter remained in Switzerland; and Jacob 
 made his home in Jordan township. 
 
 Joderich Kubli was married in 1868 to 
 Miss Alary Hafty, who was born in Switzer- 
 
 land Nov. 22, 1844. To' this union were 
 born eleven children, as follows : Barbara, 
 
 born Nov. 8, 1868, married John Kundert, of 
 the town of Jordan; John P., born Jan. 18, 
 1870, now resides in Minnesota; Mary, born 
 Nov. 18, 1873, is at home; Annie, born Nov. 
 13, 1875, is the wife of Otto Blum, of the 
 town of Jordan; Minnie, born June 4, 1884, 
 is unmarried and at home; John Henry, born 
 Oct. 22, 1886; William, born April 12, 1891; 
 and four others, now deceased. 
 
 The career of Air. Kubli illustrates the 
 power of pluck and push when combined with 
 good character and a high degree of health. 
 Air. Kubli came to this country without money 
 or friends to help him on his way, and by the 
 most industrious and saving habits became the 
 owner of a fine farm of 210 acres, on which 
 he made his home, and a second farm of 
 eighty acres, for which he had a cash rental. 
 Mr. Kubli’s broad acres showed the work of 
 a faithful and intelligent farmer. 
 
 In politics Air. Kubli was a Republican, and 
 both himself and his wife belonged to the 
 Methodist Church. A hard-working man all 
 his life, he never had any trouble with his 
 neighbors, and was never involved in any kind 
 of a law suit. During his last years he retired 
 from active farming, and enjoyed that peace 
 and comfort to which he was so well entitled. 
 Throughout his life he was guided by honesty 
 and neighborly kindness, and lived to enjoy the 
 rich results of these great principles in the re- 
 spect of the community and in the warm affec- 
 tion of a host of friends. 
 
 JABEZ CLARK. The beautiful little 
 town of Monticello, Green county, is' fortunate 
 in having located within its limits, a number 
 of solid, substantial farmer-citizens, w'ho by 
 industry and energy have accumulated a com- 
 petency which enables them to pass their ad- 
 vancing years in comfort. Among those so 
 located may be mentioned Jabez Clark, whose 
 birth took place March 8, 1828, near Lincoln, 
 Lincolnshire, England. He was the son of 
 John and Mary (Sims) Clark, both natives 
 ■of England. The paternal and maternal grand- 
 parents were of English birth and rearing, the 
 former being John and Mary Clark, who be- 
 came the parents of six children. The maternal 
 grandfather was William Sims, who lived to 
 the unusual age of 101 years, leaving six chil- 
 dren. The ancestors in both lines led agn - 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 645 
 
 cultural lives, and were much esteemed in their 
 respective neighborhoods. 
 
 John Clark, the father of our . subject, was 
 a farmer, stockman and shepherd in England, 
 but died about 1828, his wife surviving until 
 1856, when she was sixty-six years old. Both 
 had been consistent members of the Methodist 
 Church. 
 
 Jabez Clark was reared on a farm in Eng- 
 land,' and had few educational advantages, 
 attending no school after his seventh year, and 
 receiving no instruction except that obtained 
 in the Sunday school, where he was religiously 
 sent by his parents. In 1857 our subject came 
 to America, making his way finally to Mt. 
 Pleasant township, Wis., where he bought 
 forty acres of land two miles south of Monti- 
 oello. Being possessed of limited means, 
 great industry and perseverance, combined 
 with self-denial, were required to enable him 
 to keep adding to this first purchase until he 
 had accumulated 240 acres, which he owned 
 when he decided that his toilsome days were 
 past and that he could enjoy the fruits of his 
 labor. In the spring of 1900 Mr. Clark sold 
 120 acres of his estate to his son, rented 120 
 and removed to this town, where he and wife 
 live in quiet, with comfortable surroundings. 
 
 Mr. Clark was' married Jan. 1, 1858, to 
 Miss Julia Dyson, a daughter of John and 
 Esther (Royson) Dyson, and a family of six 
 children were born of this union: Mary E., 
 
 who married Anson Wood, of Decatur town- 
 ship, and has three children, Walter, Calista, 
 and Burnett; William S., who married Genevra 
 Button, and resides in Kansas, near S’horey, 
 with three children, Lloyd S., Julian J., and 
 Vita; George H., who married Emma Hick- 
 man, resides in Mt. Pleasant township ; Eliza- 
 beth J. and Linda B., living on the old home 
 farm ; and Burnett L. is’ a veterinary surgeon, 
 located in Monticello. The mother of these 
 children died in 1897, aged seventy-four years, 
 having been a member of the Christian Advent 
 Church. The second. marriage of our subject 
 took place on April 18, 1897, to Mrs. Emma 
 (Wood) Knight, widow of Ralsey Knight, a 
 soldier in the Civil war, and a daughter of 
 Samuel and Paulina (Upham) Wood. Mrs. 
 Clark had two children by her first marriage, 
 Ralsey Adelbert and George E. Ralsey Adel- 
 bert married (first) Imogene Taft, and had 
 one child, Carrie; he married (second) Nellie 
 Rice, and they live in Sibley, Iowa. George 
 
 E. Knight married Clara Hilliard, and resides 
 in Coggon, Iowa, with one child. Charles. 
 The parents of Mrs. Clark were natives' of 
 New York, and reared four children: Sarah, 
 
 who married a Mr. Wakefield, of Durand, 
 Wis.; John Albert, who resides in Orleans 
 county, N. Y. ; Emma, who is Mrs. Clark ; and 
 Artemus, who lives in San Francisco, Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 Although Mr. Clark is a stanch Prohibition- 
 ist, and always ready to uphold his views, he 
 has never aspired to any office. In religion 
 he is a consistent member of the Christian Ad- 
 vent Church, while Mrs. Clark is identified 
 with the Free-Will Baptist Church. Both are 
 highly esteemed. 
 
 ISAAC W. NEWTON, the subject of this 
 sketch, is an honored citizen and substantial 
 farmer of Lamont township, Lafayette county. 
 
 Our subject’s father, John Newton, was a 
 well-known citizen. He was born in Lanca- 
 shire, England, March 9, 1823, his boy- 
 
 hood and early youth being spent in his native 
 place. In 1845 be married Elizabeth Wilde, 
 and with ’his young wife came to America, 
 locating in the State of Pennsylvania until, the 
 spring of 1853, when the family migrated to 
 Darlington township, Lafayette Co., Wis. 
 About two years later Mr. Newton removed 
 to that part of Fayette township which has 
 since become a part of Lamont. In the spring 
 of 1866 he removed to the farm now owned 
 and occupied by his son Isaac, and this was 
 his home until his death, although he passed 
 away at La Plata, Mo., while on a visit to a 
 sister residing there, on April 25, 1893, when 
 a little over seventy years of age. His wife 
 died in 1885. The surviving members of the 
 family are: Mrs'. A. R. Mumford, of Free- 
 
 man, Neb.; Isaac W., our subject; and John 
 T., who lives near Newell, Iowa. 
 
 During life Mr. Newton was a rejx'esenta- 
 tive citizen and was 'held in high esteem. His 
 progressive methods and industrious habits 
 were commended by the community, he im- 
 proved considerable land and held many official 
 positions, and for a number of years was the 
 efficient chairman of the town of Fayette. 
 
 Isaac W. Newton, the only representative 
 of the family now residing in Lafayette county, 
 was born in Pennsylvania in 1852, and was 
 about one year old when he came with his 
 parents to Lafayette county, where he has al- 
 
646 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ways made his home, his residence being the 
 old family homestead. Our subject married 
 Mary A. Dixon, a daughter of Alvin M. and 
 Mary E. Dixon, the former of whom was born 
 at Platteville March 18, 1843, his father, who 
 still survives, being one of the pioneers of 
 Grant county, Wis. The death of Mr. Dixon 
 occurred in Lamont township Dec. 27, 1900. 
 For two years he served in the army in the war 
 of the Rebellion, and although thirty-five years 
 had elapsed since the close of the war his death 
 was doubtless hastened by the hardships, pri- 
 vations and exposures incident to his army 
 service. Mr. Dixon was an honored member 
 of Harvey Post, No. 45, G. A. R., of Darling- 
 ton. Mr. Dixon was twice married, and to the 
 first union was born one daughter, Nellie, now 
 Mrs. Brooks, of Freeport, 111 . The second 
 marriage was to Mary Elizabeth Wood, who 
 survives, and is the mother of Mrs. Newton, 
 the latter having been born in Lafayette county 
 in 1872. Two children have been born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Isaac W. Newton, Harland V. and 
 Alice R. In his neighborhood Mr. Newton 
 is highly esteemed, and is justly regarded as 
 one of the substantial citizens. 
 
 THOMAS WATSON, one of the pioneer 
 settlers of Green county, now living retired 
 from active work in Browntown, is a native of 
 Ohio, born Feb. 4, 1824, son of John and Eliza- 
 beth (Binger) Watson, who were of Irish de- 
 scent. William Watson, the grandfather, was 
 born in Virginia, and took part in the Revolu- 
 tionary war, being with the army during the 
 terrible suffering of the winter of 1777 in Val- 
 ley Forge. He married a lady named Boyd, 
 who was from Ireland. 
 
 John Watson, father of Thomas, was mar- 
 ried in 1823, to Elizabeth Binger, daughter of 
 John Binger, a native of Maryland. John Wat- 
 son and his wife Elizabeth reared ten children 
 to maturity : Thomas, Emily, Elaira (widow of 
 Enoch Patterson), Sarah, Nancy (wife of 
 Henry Host, of Ohio), Eliza (wife of William 
 V hite, of Ohio), Jane (wife of James Wesley, 
 of Ohio), John William, Joseph and Maria 
 (wife of Daniel White, of Ohio). 
 
 I homas Watson has received his education 
 in the school of experience, as the public schools 
 in his boyhood days were very limited in num- 
 bers and the scope of their work. In the early 
 thirties he attended a little log cabin school. 
 So far as farm work was concerned his educa- 
 
 tion was not by any means neglected. In 1850 
 he came to Wisconsin, and settled in Cadiz 
 township, which has been his home for the past 
 fifty years. He began life without any capital 
 whatever, but his indomitable will and natural 
 energy, and by good management and untiring 
 industry he has accumulated a competence, 
 owning a good farm of nearly two hundred 
 acres in Cadiz township, and a good home in 
 Browntown, where he is now living at rest. 
 Strictly honest in all his dealings, he has an 
 untarnished reputation in the business world, 
 and is a most highly esteemed citizen. In pol- 
 itics he is an ardent Republican, and, while a 
 member of no church, is very charitable, and is 
 a liberal contributor to worthy causes. 
 
 On March 29, 1846, Mr. Watson was 
 united in marriage with Miss Mary Lynch, 
 daughter of William Lynch, of Ohio. She was 
 born in Ohio Dec. 24, 1828, one of a family 
 of nine children, the others being John, Simon, 
 Hueh, Absalom, Cornelius, Hattie, Susan and 
 Katie. Mr. and Mrs. Watson became the par- 
 ents of ten children, of whom five are now liv- 
 ing: Jane is the wife of Wallace Skinner, of 
 Winslow, 111 .; Luvina married Elias Martin, of 
 Green county ; Catherine is a teacher in the 
 Green county schools; Viola is the wife of 
 William Smith, of Wisconsin; and Aurora is 
 the wife of James Robb, of Illinois. The others 
 died in childhood. Mr. Watson was called 
 upon to mourn the loss of his wife Feb. 19, 
 1896. She was a devoted mother and loving 
 wife, and passed to her rest in the faith of the 
 Methodist Church, of which she had long been 
 a faithful member. 
 
 JOHN CORRELL, a successful farmer 
 now living in retirement at Mineral Point, 
 Iowa county, Wis., was born in Avoca, County 
 Wicklow, Ireland, Aug. 27, 1837, son of 
 Richard and Ann Correll, natives of the same 
 locality. 
 
 Richard Correll was a farmer, as had been 
 his father and grandfather before him. He 
 died at the age of sixty-two years, and his wife, 
 Ann, passed away at the age of sixty. They 
 were the parents of thirteen children, of whom 
 four still live in Ireland, and Mary, now Mrs. 
 Green, in Scranton, Penn., and cur subject, 
 are the only ones in America. 
 
 John Correll received fair educational ad- 
 vantages, and at the age of fifteen began to 
 learn the grocery business, which he followed 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD . 
 
 647 
 
 until May, 1861, when he embarked for Aus- 
 tralia, passing four years there as clerk in a 
 cattle station at Rockhampton. Upon his return 
 to Europe, he passed one year in London and 
 his native town, and in 1868 came to the United 
 States,’ making his first home on a farm in the 
 township of Clifton, Grant county, Wis. In 
 1882, he purchased a fine farm of 170 acres 
 near Cobb, Iowa county, which he still owns. 
 For some years he has devoted his attention to 
 the breeding of short-horn cattle, having bred 
 some of the best stock in the county. Among 
 the animals he has owned was the 2-year-old 
 bull ‘‘Chancellor” (106,791) which took the 
 second premium at the World’s Columbian Ex- 
 position in 1893. and the cow “Lovely Pride,” 
 which took fourth premium at the same place, 
 and first at the Wisconsin State Fair in 1894. 
 Stock owned by him has also taken many 
 other premiums at fairs and exhibitions. Since 
 1898 Mr, Correll has lived in practical retire- 
 ment at Mineral Point, where he has built a 
 substantial modern residence on an eminence 
 overlooking the greater part of the city, as well 
 as of the beautiful surrounding country. 
 
 In September, 1869, Mr. Correll was mar- 
 ried to Isabella Jane Greville, who was born at 
 Shank Hill Castle, County Dublin, Ireland, a 
 daughter of Henry and Mary (Robinson) Gre- 
 ville, who came to America in 1855, and 
 reached Grant Co., Wis., on May 19, of that 
 year. Mr. Greville purchased a farm in Clif- 
 ton township, near the Crow Branch mines, 
 and in 1882 moved to Montfort. His death oc- 
 curred at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Cor- 
 rell, Feb. 21, 1895, when he had attained the 
 venerable age of eighty-three years. His wife, 
 Mary Robinson, died 111 Grant county. Dec. 27, 
 1880, at the age of sixty-six years. George 
 Washington Greville, grandfather of Mrs. Cor- 
 rell, was a printer in Dublin, and passed away 
 in his eighty-fourth year, and his brother, who 
 also attained an advanced age, operated the only 
 coach factory in Dublin at that time. Mrs. 
 Mary (Robinson) Greville was a daughter of 
 Henry and Mary (Tuke) Robinson, the former 
 being a damask weaver in County Roscommon, 
 Ireland. 
 
 Five children blessed the union of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Correll : Washington, a druggist at 
 Prairie du Sac, Wis. ; Richard Joseph, on the 
 home farm ; Henry Robinson, born Oct. 22, 
 1874, died Sept. 15, 1897; William Horace, a 
 grocery salesman at Mineral Point; and James 
 
 Archibald, who died Sept. 25, 1897, at the age 
 of twelve years and eight days. The parents 
 have taken care in the education of their chil- 
 dren, who bid fair to add laurels to the honored 
 name they bear — Washington being a graduate 
 of the State University of Wisconsin, and 
 William H., of the Platteville Business College. 
 In religious views Mr. Correll is a member of 
 the Methodist Church, and Mrs. Correll is a 
 communicant of the Episcopal Church. So- 
 cially he is a member of Washburn Lodge, I. 
 O. O. F., and politically has always affiliated 
 with the Republican party, but has never yet 
 consented to accept the honors of public office 
 as well as the duties of citizenship. 
 
 DUDLEY C. BRIDGES, a venerable 
 farmer of Platteville, Grant county, has led a 
 long and useful life, influenced by noble mo- 
 tives, and is now passing his last years sur- 
 rounded by a circle of kind and sympathetic 
 friends. 
 
 Mr. Bridges was born in Vermont in Sep- 
 tember, 1816, a son of Chase and Cornelia 
 Bridges, both of whom were born and reared 
 in that State. When Dudley C. was a child 
 his father moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he 
 engaged in farming some twelve or thirteen 
 years, and then moved to Clinton county. 111 . 
 While living in Ohio Mrs. Bridges died. Of the 
 children who survived her ( 1 ) Densey married 
 Lorenzo Dow, and settled in Bond county, 111 ., 
 where she died, leaving three children, Mary, 
 lames and Milan; the sons reside in Kansas, 
 and Mary, the wife of William Alexander, lives 
 in Illinois. (2) Edward married and settled in 
 Clinton county. 111 ., where he died. (3) 
 Omeerie died, a bachelor, in Clinton. ( 4) Mary, 
 born in Ohio, married Henry Harmon, who 
 died, leaving one daughter, now also deceased. 
 Mrs. Harmon later married John Hull, and set- 
 tled on a farm in Clinton county, 111 ., where 
 they both died, leaving one daughter. 'who did 
 not long survive her parents. Chase Bridges 
 later in life married Miss Nancy Hull, and to 
 this union were born four children, all of whom 
 are deceased but Lucretia, the wife of William 
 A. Abbott, of California. 
 
 Dudlev C. Bridges received the major part 
 of his education in Ohio, at the winter sessions 
 of the district school. In 1844 he married Miss 
 Martha Crucey, of South Carolina, and settled 
 in Bond county, 111 ., where his wife died four 
 years afterward, leaving no children. In 1848 
 
648 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he married his present wife, Miss Nancy Casey, 
 of Georgia, a daughter of William and Ange- 
 line Casey, who were born in the South, though 
 of old Puritan stock. When she was a child 
 her father was killed by the Indians, and her 
 mother taken a captive into Arkansas. The 
 young orphan was received as a member of the 
 family of Dr. Wood, who moved into Illinois. 
 When she was sixteen she took upon herself the 
 burden of her own support. After marriage 
 she and Mr. Bridges came by wagon to Grant 
 county, Wis., where they rented what is now 
 known as the Long farm, making their home 
 there for three years, and then Mr. Bridges 
 purchased eighty acres from Mr. Snowdon. 
 There they made their home, and here they still 
 reside. They began housekeeping in a small 
 leg house, and soon erected their present dwell- 
 ing, where they reared a large and prosperous 
 family, and have lived to see their children 
 grow up and take honorable places in life. In 
 1898 they celebrated their Golden Wedding. 
 Mrs. Bridges united with the Presbyterian 
 Church when a young woman and has led a con- 
 sistent Christian life. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bridges have had twelve chil- 
 dren, all of whom were born in Grant county. 
 (1) Flora, born in 1850, married Thomas 
 Nixon, resides in Iowa on a farm, and is the 
 mother of nine children, John, Flora, Irene,- 
 George, William-, Joseph, Thomas, Theodore 
 and Martha. (2) Alice, born in 1852, married 
 Joseph Nixon, resides on his farm near Rock- 
 ville, and is the mother of six children, Edwin, 
 Nellie, Mamie, Ivippie, Ernest, and Delbert H. 
 (3) Filena, born in 1854, married William 
 Long, who resided in Platteville, both are now 
 deceased; they left two children, James and 
 Elvina. (4) Nora, born in 1856, is Mrs. George 
 Womack, of the town of Platteville, and is the 
 mother of five children, George, Thomas, Dora, 
 Adolph and Dudley. (5) William Judd married 
 Miss Lou McKinney, and resides in Mineral 
 Point. He is the father of four children, 
 Thomas, Walter, Daniel and Chase. (6) Alvin, 
 born in 1862, married Miss Laura Stanover, 
 and is a farmer in the town of Platteville; they 
 have three daughters, Mamie, Jemima, and 
 Sylvia. (7) Thomas, born in 1861, was killed 
 while engaged in seeding grain, by a run-away 
 team, when a boy of seventeen years; he was a 
 bright young man and the pride of his parents. 
 (8) Irena, born in 1863, was educated in the 
 public schools, and in 1880 married Samuel 
 
 Clifton, who was born and reared in England; 
 they are living on a farm in the town of Platte- 
 ville, and are the parents of six children — 
 Nancy E., born in 1880; Gertrude, June 24, 
 1885; Charles C., in 1889; Alice and Ada A. 
 (twins), in 1894; and John Dewey Clinton, in 
 1898. (9) Harry M., born in 1866, married 
 Miss Emma Quarles, and settled on a farm in 
 the town of Lima. He has two daughters, 
 Ella and Ruby Quarles. (10) Mary Esther 
 married James Appleby, resides in Minneapolis, 
 and has one son, Willis. ( 1 1 ) Dudley C. is mar- 
 ried, and when last heard from was in Iowa; 
 he has no children. *(12) John is mentioned be- 
 low. There are thirty-eight grandchildren, and 
 seven great-grandchildren. 
 
 John Bridges, born in June, 1872, is now 
 manager of the old home farm. He received a 
 fair education in the home schools, and was well 
 prepared for the duties of an active life. In 
 October, 1896, he married Miss Emma Doelz, a 
 daughter of G. C. and Philopenie Doelz, an old 
 and prominent family in Dubuque, Iowa, and 
 they live on the farm, caring for his parents in 
 their old age. They have two daughters, Freda 
 Viola and Irene May. John Bridges has been 
 long identified with the Republican party, fol- 
 lowing in his father's footsteps in this respect, 
 and is a leading man of the community. Frater- 
 nally he is a member of the United Workmen. 
 
 GEORGE H. CRAM, of Beloit, Rock 
 county, is a well-known shoe dealer in the col- 
 lege city, and his store is the center of trade 
 for those who demand good values for their 
 money and are sensitive to fair dealing and 
 courteous treatment. 
 
 Mr. Cram was born in Missouri City, Mo., 
 June 4, 1 861, and is a son of George H. and 
 Hattie (Brittan) Cram, of Vermont and New 
 York, respectively. They were the parents of 
 two children, Arthur and George FI., the for- 
 mer of whom died at the age of two years. 
 The father came West to Chicago in the 'fif- 
 ties, and later spent a few months in Missouri 
 City, Mo., but kept his home in Chicago, in 
 which city he died in 1861, at the early age of 
 twenty-eight. The mother still survives. She 
 is a Congregationalist, as was also Mr. Cram. 
 He joined the Lhiion army for service in the 
 Civil war, and was a first lieutenant in the 
 14th 111 . V. I., was wounded in the battle of 
 Fort Donelson, and died a week later. Mrs. 
 Cram subsequently married E. B. McClure, 
 

 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 649 
 
 ■ and now lives in Visalia, Cal. They have 
 four children, Hattie, Frank, Harry and Fred. 
 The paternal grandfather of our subject came 
 from England, and died in middle life, soon 
 after his arrival in this country. He was the 
 father of four children. Francis Brittan, the 
 father of Hattie, mentioned above, was a na- 
 tive of England, and was the first silk and em- 
 broidery merchant in the United States. He 
 was a prominent merchant in Brooklyn, and 
 also had a store in New York. Late in life he 
 came to Wisconsin, settling at Mineral Point, 
 at that time a more important city than Chi- 
 cago, and he spent some portion of his later 
 years in Beloit, with his son Arthur. He was 
 the father of a large family. 
 
 The early childhood days of George H. 
 Cram were spent in Monmouth and Galesburg, 
 111 ., and at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. He attended 
 the public schools and college at Galesburg, 
 and later a public school at Springfield, Ohio. 
 In 1876 he came to Beloit, and has since made 
 that city his home. Mr. Cram began clerking 
 in the shoe store of his uncle, Arthur Brittan, 
 soon after his arrival, and continued in his 
 employ until 1886. That year he entered busi- 
 ness on his own account, and opened a shoe 
 store in partnership with George A. Lowns- 
 bury, who retired from the enterprise after one 
 year. Mr. Cram has since carried on the busi- 
 ness alone, and has won a good patronage, 
 being now among the solid and prosperous 
 men of the city. In 1896 he opened a shoe 
 store in Janesville, and later associated him- 
 self with C. C. Bennett, who presently became 
 the owner of the Janesville enterprise. Since 
 that time Mr. Cram has confined his business 
 to Beloit. He has carried through several im- 
 portant deals in real estate, and is' agent for the 
 business of Arthur Brittan. 
 
 George H. Cram and Miss Cora A. Will- 
 iams, daughter of George and Harriet Will- 
 iams, were united in marriage Aug. 3, 1883. 
 To this union two children have been born : 
 Mildred and Arthur. The pleasant home in 
 which they live, at No. 431 Park avenue, was 
 erected by our subject in 1892. Mrs. Cram 
 and children are members of the Episcopal 
 Church, which Mr. Cram also attends. He 
 is a member of Morning Star Lodge, No. 10, 
 A. F. & A. M., Beloit Chapter, No. 9, R. A. 
 M., and Beloit Commandery, No. 6, and with 
 his wife belongs' to the Order of the Eastern 
 Star. He is a Modern Woodman and LLiited 
 
 Workman, and has risen to a high standing 
 in the Knights of Pythias, having taken the 
 uniform degree, was elected a major on the 
 staff of Gen. Halsey, and served under him a 
 full term. Politically he is a Republican, and 
 has represented the Second ward one term in 
 the common council. Mr. Cram has been on 
 the county board several terms, and is a gen- 
 tleman of prominence in local affairs. 
 
 WILLIAM LEWIS, of Lancaster, dates 
 his coming to Grant county, Wis., from half 
 a century ago, having arrived here in 1850. 
 He is a native of Delaware county, N. Y., born 
 Dec. 21. 1829, and was reared to agricultural 
 pursuits. 
 
 William Lewis, Sr., father of William 
 Lewis, named above, was a native of Scotland, 
 and came to the United States when a young 
 man. About the first employment he found 
 here was in assisting in the construction of the 
 Erie canal in the State of New York — the most 
 important artificial waterway used for passen- 
 ger and freight traffic in the United States. 
 It was completed in 1825, and has since con- 
 veyed, besides merchandise, thousands of pio- 
 neers from Albany to Buffalo, N. Y., on their 
 way to the far West. Mr. Lewis married, in 
 the Empire State, Nancy Burns, a native there- 
 of, but whose father was from the north of 
 Ireland. Soon after his marriage Mr. Lewis 
 settled on a tract of heavily-timbered land, 
 cleared up a farm, on which he resided until 
 1858, and then, eight years after his' son had 
 arrived here, came to Grant county, Wis., 
 where he purchased what was known as the 
 Luther Brown farm, where he passed the re- 
 mainder of his life, his widow surviving him 
 for a number of years. They were the par- 
 ents of eleven children, of whom one only was 
 a daughter, and she is now Mrs. Catherine 
 Ryan, of North Anderson, Grant county. One 
 son, James, died in early life, but the others all 
 attained mature years'. Four of the sons 
 served in the Union army during the Civil war, 
 viz. : Moses, Walter, James and Andrew. 
 The last named died in the service just before 
 the cessation of hostilities, and James died at 
 I home soon after the close of the war. of disease 
 ! contracted in the army. The surviving broth- 
 ers are John, Thomas. William, Walter and 
 Wilson. 
 
 William Lewis, whose name opens' this 
 sketch, for a number of years after his arrival 
 
650 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in Grant county, in 1850, worked out as a 
 farm hand, but in 1865 he purchased the Pre- 
 serve Albee farm in Patch Grove township, on 
 which he made his home for thirty years, be- 
 fore retiring from active life. Pie was united 
 in marriage Nov. 11, 1854, with Miss Cath- 
 erine Ryan, who was born in Albany, N. Y., 
 Aug. 7, 1835, a daughter of John and Debora 
 (Shedv) Ryan, and this union has been blessed 
 with eleven children, of whom further mention 
 will later he made. In 1836 or 1837 the Ryan 
 family came from New York to Grant county, 
 Wis., and after residing for some time in Cass- 
 ville, the parents removed across the Missis- 
 sippi river to Clayton county, Iowa, where the 
 father died, after which occurrence Mrs. Ryan 
 returned with her children to Cassville, and 
 was married to James Carey. By her first 
 marriage she was the mother of five children, 
 and by her second became the mother of 'two. 
 
 Of the eleven children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lewis, Dr. James Monroe resides in Blooming- 
 ton, Grant county; Nancy Debora is the wife 
 of Joseph Donnellv, also of Bloomington; Mil- 
 lie is married to Mr. Foley, proprietor and edi- 
 tor of the Cassville Index ; William Elmer lives 
 in Patch Grove; Dr. Walter Haines is in prac- 
 tice at Alden, Iowa ; Andrew E. lives in Lan- 
 caster, Wis. ; Dr. Ulysses Simpson resides in 
 East Dubuque, 111 . ; John Forrest is the next 
 in order of birth; Luther L. and Frank Clar- 
 ence went to Alaska in 1898; and Lela is the 
 wife of Ray D. Walker, of Lancaster, Wis. 
 These eleven children have all been well edu- 
 cated. and all save one have been school teach- 
 ers. The three sons who are practicing medi- 
 cine were graduated from Rush Medical Col- 
 lege, Chicago, and are useful and greatly 
 respected citizens. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have 
 a delightful home, and are possessed of all the 
 comforts' of life, the fruit of their well directed 
 industry and intelligent management of their 
 affairs. They mingle with the most worthy 
 and reputable residents of Lancaster, and then- 
 friends are countless. 
 
 JAMES COCPIRAN KIRKPATRICK is 
 one of the oldest surviving pioneers of the Wis- 
 consin lead region, having lived there for nearly 
 three quarters of a century. He has witnessed 
 the remarkable development of that locality 
 from a frontier wilderness, inhabited chiefly 
 by Indians, and has always been ready to assist 
 in promoting the cause of progress and im- 
 
 provement, while he deplores the moral degen- 
 eracy and other follies of the present age. 
 
 Mr. Kirkpatrick was born in Mina Bur- 
 ton, Washington Co., Mo., Dec. 4, 1823, the 
 second son of Francis Creswell and Frances 
 (Sparks) Kirkpatrick, natives of Georgia and 
 Tennessee, respectively, w'ho were married in 
 Illinois. The grandfather of Francis C. Kirk- 
 patrick sprang of a Scottish Jacobite family, 
 which was exiled from Great Britain after the 
 war of 1745, when the Duke of Cumberland 
 was obliged to abandon the hanging of the so- 
 called “rebels.” This gentleman came to 
 America with six of his brothers, all of whom 
 were over six feet in height. They settled in 
 Georgia, where they became distinguished for 
 bravery and patriotism, as well as for physical 
 prowess. All of them did valuable service 
 under Gens. Washington and Marion, and 
 after the Revolution they scattered to different 
 States, some of them settling in Ohio. The 
 grandfather of Francis C. Kirkpatrick was be- 
 trayed while at home on a furlough, by a Tory 
 neighbor whom he had befriended, and the 
 Tories' gathered and shot him in his own 
 house. His wife, formerly a Miss Gilliam, ■ 
 of Scottish descent, bore him four sons. Her 
 brother, Isaac Gilliam, also served in the Con- 
 tinental army, and was once left for dead upon 
 the field ; he always bore the saber scars upon 
 his head, though he attained a vigorous old 
 age in Illinois. The subject of this sketch 
 well remembers a visit which he paid to Iowa 
 county in 1836, at which time he was over one 
 hundred years of age. During the Revolution 
 some children of the Gilham family were cap- 
 tured by Indians and taken to the “Illinois 
 Country.” Afterward members of the family 
 heard of them through some traders, and went 
 from Georgia to bring them home. From 
 Illinois they were traced to Kentucky and res- 
 cued. This party was so much pleased with 
 the country that they formed a colony of over 
 two hundred people among their relatives and 
 neighbors, and migrated to what is now Bond 
 county. 111 . James Kirkpatrick, fathei of 
 Francis C., joined this colony early in the nine- 
 teenth century. In 1834 he came to Wiscon- 
 sin. and his death occurred in the town of Mif- 
 flin, Iowa county, when he was aged seventy- 
 seven years. His wife, Sarah Pettijohn Kirk- 
 patrick. died in the same place, at the age of 
 seventy-four years. 
 
 In 1827 Francis C. Kirkpatrick father of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 651 
 
 the subject of this sketch, with his family lo- 
 cated at Galena, 111 . The Indian title to south- 
 western Wisconsin then a part of Michigan 
 Territory, having been extinguished, the fol- 
 lowing year he came to Iowa county, and en- 
 gaged in smelting in whr/c is now the town of 
 Lima, Grant county. With a wooden plow 
 'he broke up the first ground ever cultivated in 
 the county, though he gave but little attention 
 to agriculture for some years ; this plow was 
 made from a crotched tree, combined with a 
 miner’s pick. As most of the provisions for 
 the lead region were brought to Galena by 
 steamer, supplies' sometimes became very 
 scarce before the opening of spring navigation, 
 and at one time he and his family were without 
 food for three days. He took part in the Win- 
 nebago war, and with his brother William 
 served under Capt. Strode through the Black 
 Hawk war during which time he sent his fam- 
 ily to Galena for protection. He was one of 
 the commissioners appointed to locate the seat 
 of Grant county, and also one of the first com- 
 missioners of Iowa county. He departed this 
 life in Lima, Grant Co., at the age of sev- 
 enty-six years, most of which had been spent 
 upon the frontier. Llis wife was born in 1804, 
 near Nashville. Tenn., and died at Lima, Grant 
 Co., Jan. 15, 1881. Her father, Abel Sparks, 
 came, in 1838 to Iowa county, where he at- 
 tained the age of nearly one hundred years. 
 Her mother, whose maiden name was Sarah 
 Cochran, was born in New Jersey. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Kirkpatrick were the parents of seven 
 sons and four daughters. The eldest, George 
 A.,- died in infancy. George W., and Sarah 
 J., are also deceased. The names and locations 
 of the others, besides James C., are as follows: 
 William D., lives in Mifflin township, Iowa Co., 
 Wis. ; Elizabeth A. (Mrs. Jesse Jones), of 
 Platteville, Wis.; Vance L., at Livingston, 
 Wis.; Martha E. (Mrs. D. Bull), in Califor- 
 nia; Elvira (Mrs. H. Pauley), in Grant coun- 
 ty, Wis.; Francis M.. at Edmund, same State; 
 and Frederick C., in Colorado. 
 
 James C. Kirkpatrick spent most of his 
 boyhood in Iowa county. In March, 1850, he 
 started for California, and drove a team across 
 the Plains, reaching his destination on the last 
 day of July, a quicker trip than was made by 
 most of the overlanders. After spending two 
 years there he returned by way of the Isthmus, 
 where he took a boat to Havana, reaching that 
 city a few days after the execution of the notor- 
 
 ious filibuster, Lopez. Considerable excitement 
 prevailed there, but he and his companions were 
 allowed to continue their journey without 
 serious interruption. Since his return he has 
 been extensively engaged in mining and farm- 
 ing in Mifflin township. For some years he 
 gave considerable attention to standard bred 
 horses and Galloway cattle. Among his horses 
 were some of the progeny of "Selim,” the fa- 
 mous stallion captured from the British by Mc- 
 Donald, an officer under Gen. Marion's com- 
 mand. The stock was brought to Illinois by 
 relatives of Mr. Kirkpatrick. Live stock bred 
 by him have been exhibited at many fairs, and 
 have captured many premiums. In the fall 
 of 1887 he took sixty head of Galloways to the 
 State fair at Denver, Colo., finding a ready 
 sale for the entire number in that State. Since 
 1894 he has kept a hotel, "The Kirk House,” 
 at Rewey. 
 
 Though his early educational advantages ■ 
 were quite limited, Mr. Kirkpatrick has been 
 an extensive reader and a close observer. For 
 many years past he has been collecting histori- 
 cal relics, geological specimens, and other curi- 
 osities, and now has quite a museum, gathered 
 from all parts of the world, but no objects more 
 curious than some which he has exhibited near 
 his home. These include the gigantic tooth of 
 a mastodon and a piece of the tusk of another, 
 found near Anderson’s Mill, Grant county, the 
 skeleton of which is preserved in the Historical 
 Museum at Madison. Lie also has sharks’ 
 teeth taken from a mound near Avoca, and 
 several hundred specimens of ore and minerals. 
 He has become familiar with several Indian 
 dialects, and understands much of the lore and 
 legends of the aborigines. Soon after the 
 Black Hawk war the neighborhood of Mifflin 
 was visited by a party of peaceable Indians. 
 Most of the men were away at work, and, 
 though a small boy, he felt himself called to 
 defend the home, and would have shot at them 
 had he not been restrained by the ladies of the 
 house. His hostility disappeared, however, as 
 he became more acquainted with the race, and 
 he never had any serious trouble with them, 
 though spending much of his time in their 
 midst. 
 
 In political sentiment our subject, is a Dem- 
 ocrat. He was made a member of the Masonic 
 fraternity Sept. 6, 1858, at Melody Lodge, No. 
 
 2. Platteville, and in 1865 became a charter 
 member of Mifflin Lodge, No. 153, which has 
 
652 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 since removed to Rewey. In 1893 he was 
 initiated in the Oriental Order of the Palm 
 and Shell, at Dodgeville, by H. R. Coleman, 
 of Louisville, Kentucky. 
 
 On Feb. 25, 1846, Mr. Kirkpatrick was 
 married to Mary Mundon, who was born in 
 Jackson county, 111 ., Oct. 18, 1827, and died 
 at Mifflin, Wis., Jan. 25, 1895. Of their six 
 sons, three are living. Frederick is one of the 
 most extensive farmers of southwestern Wis- 
 consin, operating over 700 acres in Iowa, and 
 Grant counties; James lives in Kossuth county, 
 Iowa; and Frank Leslie is' connected with the 
 hotel at Rewey. 
 
 WILLIAM JOHNSON is a leading and 
 representative citizen of the town of Spring 
 Grove, Green county, residing on his farm one 
 mile south of Oakley. 
 
 Mr. Johnson is a son of Jacob and Eliza- 
 beth (Morey) Johnson, of Northampton 
 county, Penn., who were of German origin. 
 Jacob Johnson was born in 1782, son of Henry 
 Johnson, was among the early settlers of 
 Easton, Penn., and was a soldier in the war of 
 1812, and died in 1867. About 1812 he mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Morey, and they became the 
 parents of eight children : Sally, who married 
 
 Benjamin Barto; John, deceased; Rebecca, 
 who married Amos Gumm, and is now de- 
 ceased; Jacob, who died in Pennsylvania; 
 Philip, who resides in Northampton county, 
 Penn. ; William, born May 7, 1825 ; Jesse, who 
 died in Pennsylvania; and Wilson, who lives 
 in Rochester, Michigan. 
 
 William Johnson, the subject proper of this 
 article, came West to Lee county, 111 ., in 1855. 
 and four years later removing to Green county. 
 Wis., settled on the place he now owns, and 
 where he is found to-day, a good type of the 
 prosperous and contented farmer. On Oct. 7, 
 1854, William Johnson was married to Kath- 
 erine Long, who was born Aug. 31, 1829, the 
 eldest of the six children of John and Elizabeth 
 (Eyer) Long, good farming people, of Eng- 
 lish descent, who ranked among the foremost 
 residents of Northampton county at that time. 
 This marriage has been blessed with five chil- 
 dren : (1) Elizabeth, born in Illinois in 1857, 
 
 married John Straley, and died in Houston, 
 Tex., in 1899. (2) Hebron, born Aug. 26, 
 
 i860, died Sept. 13, 1895, leaving a widow 
 and two children. (3) John E., born March 
 22, 1863, died in infancy. (4) Mary, born 
 
 Feb. 7, 1866, is the wife of Frank Zimmerman, 
 a farmer of Stephenson county, 111 . (5) Ella, 
 
 the youngest of the family is the wife of Rev. 
 J. W. Zimmerman, of Green county, Wiscon- 
 sin. 
 
 William Johnson was reared on the farm, 
 and acquired his education in the district 
 school. When he came West he was a poor 
 man, but by the exercise of industry, economy 
 and wise judgment he has come into the pos- 
 session of a good farm, with all modern im- 
 provements', and in his old age is released from 
 the necessity of care and worry. Ide owns 400 
 acres of good land, in good condition. In poli- 
 tics he is a Democrat. He has been a consist- 
 ent member of the United Brethren Church for 
 many years, and is a respected citizen of his 
 community. He is a good man, a devoted hus- 
 band, a kind and faithful father, and an oblig- 
 ing and generous friend and neighbor. 
 
 GEORGE WINTER, whose standing 
 among the older and more prominent farmers 
 of Green county is secure, has a fine farm in 
 the town of Brooklyn. He was born in County 
 Suffolk, England, Jan. 12, 1827, a son of John 
 and Sarah (Peck) Winter, both natives of 
 England. Twelve children were born to them, 
 of whom four are now living; George; James, 
 of Evansville; Catherine, the wife of- John 
 Webb, of Australia, and Emma, wife of 
 Thomas Moore, of London, Eng. The father 
 was a farmer and died in England at the age of 
 eighty-three years'; the mother died when 
 she was seventy-nine years old. He was a 
 member of the Established Church, but she was 
 allied with the Dissenters. The paternal grand- 
 father died at an advanced age in England, 
 having reared a small family. The maternal 
 grandfather of George Winter was James 
 Peck; he was a farmer and died in England 
 when quite advanced in years, leaving a family 
 of several children. 
 
 George Winter was reared on a farm, and 
 had his education in the English schools. In 
 1854 he came to America and made his location 
 on trackless prairie in Rock county, Wis. The 
 next year he came to Green county, and bought 
 160 acres of land in both the towns of Union 
 and Brooklyn, with his residence in the last 
 town. 
 
 Mr. Winter was married Nov. 12, 1855, to 
 Elizabeth, daughter of William and Elizabeth 
 (Wood) Winter. To them were born the fol- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 653 
 
 lowing children: Fred William, who died 
 
 when he was six months old; Albert George, 
 who married Sophia Keepins, and is the father 
 of two daughters, Ethel and Ava Fern; Walter 
 William, unmarried, and lives at home; Ellen 
 Mary, who married j. C. Ellis, and lives in 
 Union township, where they are rearing a 
 family of four children, Verne, Eddie, Arthur 
 and Clifford; Ernest Edward, who wedded 
 Mary Pope, and lives in Union township, and 
 has one son, Merlin. Mr. and Mrs. Winter be- 
 long to the Methodist Church, where he was 
 elected honorary class leader, having acted in 
 that position many years. He was also trustee 
 and Sunday school superintendent for many 
 years. In his politics Mr. Winters is strictly 
 independent, although he cast his last vote for 
 William J. Bryan. 
 
 Mrs. Winter’s parents were both natives of 
 England. They came to America in 1856, 
 and located in Brooklyn township, Green coun- 
 ty, where he died in 1858, at the age of fifty- 
 four years. His widow lived to be seventy- 
 two years, and died in 1889. They were the 
 parents of seven children, of whom four are 
 now living: George W., of Durand, 111 .; 
 Charles, a resident of Wisconsin; Elizabeth, 
 Mrs. Winter, and Louisa Sarah, widow of 
 Thomas Dorman, lives in Footville. The 
 father and mother were Episcopal com- 
 municants of the church in England. Af- 
 ter the death of her father, her mother 
 married for her second husband, Jacob 
 Kersher, who died in 1884. Her paternal 
 grandfather was John Winter, a farmer, who 
 died in England when eighty years old, the fa- 
 ther of five children. Her maternal grandfa- 
 ther was John Wood, a hotel keeper of Eng- 
 land, and a prominent man, and at one time 
 quite wealthy. He had six children. 
 
 Frederick Winter, the brother of George, 
 was at one time mayor of Stratford-on-Avon. 
 He was a Sunday School teacher in the Congre- 
 gational Church, and a prominent man. At his 
 death a monument was erected by the Sunday 
 School and the citizens generally in attestation 
 of his good life. 
 
 LEMUEL H. WARREN, one of the 
 founders of the town of Albany, Green county, 
 is a representative of one of the early Colonial 
 families. 
 
 Lovewell Warren, his grandfather, was a 
 native of Marlboro, Mass., where his father 
 
 followed his trade, that of blacksmith, and 
 whence he had gone to participate in the French 
 war near Quebec. Being deprived of his fa- 
 ther by death at the opening of the Revolu- 
 tionary war, Lovewell Warren early left his na- 
 tive home at Marlboro, the home also of the 
 Howe family, to whom he was related on his 
 mother’s side, and located near the village of 
 Montpelier, where he cleared up a farm, and 
 passed the rest of his life, his death occurring 
 in 1834, when he was nearly seventy years of 
 age. He was twice married, his first marriage, 
 to Emma Holden, taking place Dec. 23, 1790; 
 her death occurred Jan. • 20, 1813. On her 
 mother's side she was related to the Adams 
 family of Leominster, Mass. On Jan. 2, 1814, 
 Mr. Warren married Olive Bohonon. To the 
 first union five sons and two daughters were 
 born, and to the second came one son. 
 
 Lemuel Warren, son of Lovewell, was born 
 in Washington county, Vt., and in early man- 
 hood engaged in teaching school, later becom- 
 ing a mechanic. He was a soldier in the war 
 of 1812, and was present dt the battle of Platts- 
 burg. In 1838, ten years before Wisconsin 
 became a State, he left his New York home 
 and located on a 160-acre farm in Rock town- 
 ship, Rock county, two and one-half miles from 
 Janesville. This was his place of residence 
 for three years, when he sold out and moved 
 to Center township, purchasing 320 acres of 
 land, on which he lived until his death, in 1846, 
 at the age of fifty-five years. He was well 
 educated for the times, and held many im- 
 portant positions in the town, being justice of 
 the peace for many years, doing much clerical 
 work for his neighbors, and marrying many 
 of the pioneer couples. He was also super- 
 visor, and numbering among his accomplish- 
 ments a knowledge of surveying, his services 
 in that line were much in demand. He mar- 
 ried Betsey Richardson, who was born in New 
 York State, daughter of William Richardson, 
 a blacksmith, who died at Granville, N. Y., 
 aged eighty-five. Three of the eight children 
 born to Lemuel and Betsey (Richardson) 
 Warren are yet living: John H., of Cincin- 
 
 nati, Ohio ; Lemuel H. ; and Eugene, of Al- 
 bany. After the death of the father the 
 mother removed to Albany, and made her home 
 in a comfortable cottage built for her by her 
 sons Lemuel and Eugene. She died in 1870. 
 In early life she was a Presbyterian, but after 
 her marriage united with the Universalist 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 654 
 
 Church, of which her husband was a mem- 
 ber. 
 
 Lemuel H. Warren was born in Franklin 
 county, N. Y., Sept. 30, 1830, and was but 
 eight years of age when brought by his par- 
 ents to Wisconsin. He was reared to man- 
 hood on the farm in Center township, Rock 
 county, and received such education as the dis- 
 trict schools of the day afforded. In 1854 he 
 gave up farming, and joined his brothers John 
 H. and Eugene in the mercantile and milling 
 business in Albany. They were always spoken 
 of as the “Warren boys," and had their sign 
 painted “The Warren Boys.” For many 
 years they continued together with great suc- 
 cess, but on account of failing health Lemuel 
 was obliged to sell, his interest, which his 
 brothers took, and engage in other work. He 
 moved to Juda, Wis., and there engaged in the 
 lumber business for five years, and then, in 
 partnership with his brothers, took mail con- 
 tracts for several thousand miles of routes, 
 some of which they sub-let. This kept Mr. 
 Warren out a great deal, and 1 the traveling 
 proved very beneficial. His next work was on 
 a farm which he bought, near Madison, but in 
 1883 lie returned to Albany to make his per- 
 manent home there, where he has since lived 
 retired, in his charming home. Besides his 
 other property in Wisconsin, he owns 160 
 acres of good farm land in Jackson county, 
 Minn. In his political affiliations he has al- 
 ways been a stanch Republican, and while in 
 no sense of the word an office seeker, he has 
 served in several official positions, being ap- 
 pointed postmaster under President Harrison, 
 and continuing in office through half of the 
 term of Grover Cleveland. For three terms 
 he proved a most acceptable president of the 
 village board. 
 
 On March 26, 1854, Mr. Warren was 
 united in marriage with Miss Martha Stanley, 
 daughter of Archy and Arlutia (Cox) Stan- 
 ley, and to this marriage came four children : 
 Frank S., of Escanaba, Mich., married Clara 
 I rousdale, and' has four children, Bessie and 
 Jessie ( twins), Lona and Harriet; Carrie mar- 
 ried Charles Morgan, of Mt. Pleasant, and has 
 one daughter, Flossie; Fred L., of Albany, 
 married Ella Lemmel, and has two children, 
 I essie and Catharine ; and Eva L. passed away 
 Feb. 18, 1900. aged twenty-nine years. In 
 their religious faith, the family find hope and 
 comfort in the doctrine of the Spiritualists. 
 
 Archy Stanley, father of Mrs. W arren, was 
 an early resident of Susquehanna county, 
 Penn., and came to Wisconsin in 1850, locating 
 in Sylvester township, Green county. Two 
 years later he lost his life while at work in the 
 timber, when he was aged fifty-four years, 
 four months. He was twice married, and his 
 first wife, Arlutia Cox, died in 1837, the 
 mother of seven children, all now deceased ex- 
 cept Mrs. Warren. Two of the sons, Edward 
 and James, were soldiers in the Civil, war, the 
 latter dying in a hospital in Memphis, Term. 
 In 1839 Mr. Stanley married, for his second 
 wife, Miss Olive Glidden, of Friendsville, 
 Penn., and to their union came eight children, 
 of whom six are living: Benjamin, of Ross- 
 
 ville, Iowa; Susan, of the Odd Fellows Home, 
 Green Bay, the widow of J. B. Perry; Jeffer- 
 son, of Lyon county, Minn. ; Archy, of Cham- 
 berlain, S. Dak.; Major, of Juda, Wis.; and 
 Ellen, wife of Thomas Summeril, of Monroe. 
 
 Matthew Stanley, grandfather of Mrs. 
 We irren, was a native of England, and on emi- 
 grating to this country located in Orange 
 county, Vt., thence to Friendsville, Penn., 
 where he died at a good old age. He was a 
 typical gentleman of the old school, always 
 very particular about his dress, and wore his' 
 hair braided in a queue. 
 
 OSCAR L. BLACKMAN, a typical farmer 
 and stockman of the town of Platteville, Grant 
 county, has by strict attention to business be- 
 fore him, and an unswerving integrity, made a 
 name for himself, and won a place in the world 
 that entitles him to be classed among the rep- 
 resentative men of Grant county. 
 
 Mr. Blackman was born in Oneida county, 
 New York, in the month of December, 1839, 
 and is a son of Elisha and Lavina (Henderson) 
 Blackman. They were born in Chenango coun- 
 ty, New York, and spent their early lives in 
 their native county. There they were mar- 
 ried, and there Mr. Blackman followed 
 the shoemaker’s trade until 1853. That 
 year they came West to Wisconsin, mak- 
 ing the long and tedious journey in a 
 moving wagon. Mr. Blackman brought 
 along a peddler's stock, and sold it on the 
 way. Thev settled at Platteville, on a tract of 
 land consisting of 160 acres, which he bought, 
 not far from the village. They made this farm 
 their home during their lives, and it is now 
 owned by Oscar L. Mr. Blackman died in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 655 
 
 1893, surviving his wife eight years. They 
 were members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and were widely known as good Chris- 
 tian people. He was a Republican, and held a 
 number of local offices during life. Of their 
 children, 
 
 Almanzo Blackman was the eldest, and was 
 born in Oneida county, N. Y., in 1836. He ob- 
 tained his education in his native county, and 
 when he was sixteen years old came West with 
 his parents. He married Miss Ursula Hender- 
 son, who was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, 
 and reared in Grant county. They went West 
 but came back in 1893, and he was killed by 
 the kick of a horse, in 1896, leaving a wife, but 
 no children. Zelora Blackman was born in 
 New York in 1838, and remained single all his 
 life; he has had poor health for many years, 
 and makes his home with his brother, Oscar L., 
 on the farm. 
 
 Oscar L. Blackman received his early educa- 
 tion in the schools of his native State, and at- 
 tended school during- the winter for a time after 
 his arrival in Wisconsin. In 1861 he left his 
 home in Belmont, and started with teams for 
 California, with a man by the name of Basit. 
 They camped along the Missouri River for two 
 or three weeks, and then went on as far as 
 Fort Bridger, where our subject left Mr. Basit, 
 and began to work for the overland stage com- 
 pany, remaining; one month. He then contin- 
 ued his journey as far as Salt Lake City, where 
 he hired out to drive team to Denver, Colo., 
 making two trips. That winter he remained 
 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and in the spring went 
 through to the Powder river, in Oregon, spend- 
 ing one year there mining. The following 
 spring he went to Idaho, and remained till fall, 
 working in the mines. From there he went to 
 Fort Walla Walla, Wash., and staid until the 
 next spring, when, with others, he started with 
 pack trains to the Kootenay mines, British 
 Columbia ; thence again with pack trains they 
 came to Helena, Mont., where Mr Blackman 
 worked until late in the fall, when he went to 
 Baker City, Oregon, and worked for the over- 
 land stage company, continuing in their employ 
 for two years at that place, and a like period of 
 time for the same company in Boise City, 
 Idaho. In the spring of 1870 he left there for 
 Wisconsin, taking the train at Ogden, and upon 
 his arrival resumed the occupation of farming, 
 which has since been his life work. 
 
 Mr. Blackman was united in marriage with 
 
 Miss Hulda'h J. Hackett, who was born in 1845, 
 a daughter of John K. and Orilla Hackett, of 
 Trumbull county, Ohio, the former a native of 
 New Hampshire, born in 1804, and the latter 
 born in Vermont in 181 1. They came to Platte- 
 ville in 1855, and lived in this town until they 
 died in 1865 and 1899, respectively, Mrs. Hack- 
 ett at the venerable age of nearly eighty-nine. 
 Mrs. Blackman was mainly educated in the 
 Platteville schools. After their marriage they 
 spent three years in Fayette county, Iowa, Mr. 
 Blackman engaging in farming. He sold out 
 and repurchased in Cherokee county, in the 
 same State, spending seven years in that splen- 
 did agricultural region. After the expiration 
 of that time they returned to Wisconsin, and 
 took charge of the old homestead. They are 
 the parents of four children. Charles, the eld- 
 est, born in Iowa in 1880, was a student at the 
 Platteville schools ; Zelora, born in Iowa in 
 1882, Helen, born in Cherokee county, in 1884, 
 and George, born in Platteville in 1889, are 
 all bright young people, and are students at the 
 Normal. Mr. Blackman is a Republican, and 
 was brought up in the faith of the Methodist 
 Church. 
 
 JOB SLACK, one of the leading represent- 
 atives of the agricultural interests of Grant 
 county, was borne in Devonshire, England, on 
 March 1, 1832, a son of Job and Anna Slack, 
 both natives of Yorkshire, England, the father 
 having been born in 1803 and the mother in 
 1805. They came to Lafayette county in 1848, 
 where the father worked in the lead mines of 
 New Diggings, for one year, then moved back 
 to Grant county, and settled on wild land, one 
 mile south of Big Patch, there dying in March, 
 1851, leaving a wife and four children: Job, 
 our subject, is the eldest; Elizabeth, born in 
 England, is now wife of John Green, and has 
 two children, Frederick and Herbert, both 
 teachers in the high schools of Chicago;- Ruth, 
 born in England, is the wife of John Harker, 
 and has three children, George, James and 
 Lydia; Annie, born in England, is now the wife 
 of Thomas Wilkinson, and has the following- 
 children, Albert, Edward, Nellie, Annie, 
 Thomas, Emma, James, Hall, Milford and 
 Yetta. The mother of our subject remained 
 on the old homestead until her death in 1869. 
 Both she and her husband were stanch members 
 of the Church of England and good Christian 
 people. 
 
656 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 When about seventeen years old, Mr. Slack 
 came to America where he worked in the lead 
 mines of southwestern Wisconsin for several 
 years, afterward going to Montana, where he 
 worked in the gold mines for two years. Upon 
 returning from Montana, he purchased more 
 land in Grant county, and engaged in farming. 
 In 1871 Mr. Slack married Miss Annie F. Fox, 
 who was born in Lincolnshire, England, in 
 1848, and who came with her brothers, George, 
 Charles and Thomas, to Grant county, where 
 she met and married our subject. She was 
 a very worthy lady, kind in her home and 
 charitable to the poor, and her death, in 1876, 
 was the cause of great sorrow, not only to her 
 bereaved husband, but to her many friends. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Slack were the parents of 
 three children : Elizabeth, born at the old home, 
 on July 8, 1872, a student of the Platteville 
 Normal, was graduated from the Platteville 
 Normal, class of 1896, and became a successful 
 teacher in Smelser, later entering the State Uni- 
 versity, where she pursued classical studies ; 
 George, born in 1874, married Etta Newton, 
 and resides at Big Patch, where he has a family 
 of four children, Luverne, Virgil, Albert and 
 Nellie; and Job, who died in infancy. 
 
 Politically Mr. Slack has always identified 
 himself with the Republican party, and given 
 his services to it and to the community as treas- 
 urer of the school board for thirteen years, was 
 a member of the town board, and has been over- 
 seer of the many excellent roads for seven years. 
 In religion he is a member of the Primitive 
 Methodist Church, as was his wife, and when- 
 ever any good deed is proposed, Mr. Slack s 
 contribution and influence are confidently ex- 
 pected, and always given. 
 
 FRANCIS BAKER (deceased) was' one 
 of the worthy pioneers of the town of Linden, 
 and represented one of the most prosperous 
 and influential families of Iowa county. 
 Though his early opportunities were rather 
 limited, he possessed natural business qualifi- 
 cations, and besides being a successful farmer 
 was distinguished for his public spirit and be- 
 nevolent contributions to religious and philan- 
 thropic enterprises. 
 
 Mr. Baker was born in the Parish of Week 
 St. Mary, Cornwall, England, Dec. 24, 1817, 
 and died at Dodgeville, Wis., Dec. 16, 1897. 
 thereby lacking but eight days of completing 
 the age of fourscore years. His father, Digory 
 
 Baker, was the son of one of the most pros- 
 perous tenant farmers of Cornwall, and him- 
 self accumulated a small fortune. He wisely 
 sought to install his posterity in the New 
 World, which afforded better advantages for 
 material and intellectual development than 
 could be had for them in his native land. He 
 became a citizen of Iowa county, Wis., and 
 died in the town of Linden in 1847, at the age 
 of seventy-one years. His wife, whose maiden 
 name was Thomasine Uglow, died in Eng- 
 land. The members of the Uglow family were 
 the rightful heirs of a large estate, the settle- 
 ment of which has been pending in the English 
 chancery courts for more than one hundred 
 years. This venerable couple were the parents 
 of seven sons and two daughters, of whom the 
 following is a brief record: William died in 
 
 England; Thomas died at Edmund, Wis., Feb. 
 5, 1888, aged eighty-three years; Edmund 
 died at the same place, after donating ground 
 for a station, which has since been known by 
 his given name; John U. resides in Madison, 
 at the age of eighty-six years; Francis was 
 next in order of birth ; Henry, whose biography 
 will be found upon another page of this vol- 
 ume, resides in Lancaster, Wis.; Digory was 
 for some years a resident of Iowa county, but 
 died in England, at the age of seventy years; 
 Elizabeth (Mrs. Henry Sampson) died at Ed- 
 mund; and Joanna (Mrs. John Pierce) died in 
 Mineral Point. 
 
 At the age of twenty years Francis Baker 
 left home and joined his brother Thomas and 
 other members of the family, who had pre- 
 ceded him to this country and located at Hones- 
 dale, Penn., in 1833. At that place he fol- 
 lowed the trade of stone mason, in connection 
 with farming, until 1844, when he came to 
 Wisconsin and took up government land in 
 the town of Linden, Iowa county. The lo- 
 cality was then a comparative wilderness, and 
 but little attention had been given to its agri- 
 cultural development. Being a man of varied 
 resources, he spent a portion of his time at the 
 carpenter’s trade, and, discovering lead ore 
 upon the premises, he extracted sufficient min- 
 eral to pay for his land, and gave most of his 
 time to mining for several winters. From 
 time to time he made additions to his original 
 purchase, and ultimately became the owner of 
 several hundred acres of the best lands in Iowa 
 county. In 1887 he retired from active pur- 
 suits, and spent the balance of his life in the 
 


COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 °57 
 
 city of Dodgeville. He took an active inter- 
 est in the affairs' of the town and county, serv- 
 ing as a member of the board of supervisors 
 and in other official capacities. In early life 
 he was a Whig, and after the formation of the 
 Republican party became one of its stanch and 
 consistent supporters. 
 
 On Oct. 13, 1842, Mr. Baker was united 
 in marriage to Mary Dony, who still survives 
 him. She was born at Penryn, Cornwall, 
 England, daughter of Henry and Jennifer 
 Dony, who came to the United States about 
 1832, settling at Honesdale, Penn., where both 
 attained old age; Mr. Dony passed away at 
 Greenfield, in the same State. Mrs. Baker has 
 reached the age of seventy-seven years, and is 
 still in the enjoyment of fair health. She is 
 the mother of six sons' and six daughters, as 
 follows : William H. died at Britt, Iowa, at 
 
 the age of fifty-five years ; John Wesley is a 
 well-known farmer near Cobb, Iowa county ; 
 Francis Asbury lives at Bruning, Thayer Co., 
 Neb. ; Edwin Alonzo is a citizen of Dodge- 
 ville; Mary Emmaline (Mrs. P. Sangwin) 
 died at the age of thirty years, near Bruning, 
 Neb.; Julia Ann (Mrs. Tames Dony) lives in 
 Washington, D. C. ; Thomas James, at Oto, 
 Iowa; Eva Jane (Mrs. Jonathan Jones), at 
 Dodgeville; Sophia Ellen (Mrs. Jabez B. 
 Webb), at Spencer, Iowa; Oscar Louis, at 
 Minneapolis, Minn.; Florence Irene (Mrs. 
 Charles R. Fox), at Cobb, Wis’. ; and Eliza 
 Melissa (Mrs. Joseph W. Parmley), at Ips- 
 wich. S. Dak. The living posterity of Mrs. 
 Baker includes twenty-nine grandchildren and 
 five great-grandchildren. Though they live in 
 many different places, she has visited most 
 of them, and has had the pleasure of seeing all 
 but one of her descendants. For nearly thirty 
 years 1 she has been an earnest member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, with which her 
 husband united while living at Honesdale, 
 Penn. Mr. Baker was a class-leader of dif- 
 ferent societies in Iowa county for more than 
 a quarter of a century, and always ranked 
 among the most liberal supporters of the 
 church. 
 
 J. A. TODD. Among those people who 
 have devoted long and useful lives to the till- 
 age of the soil, who have been honorable and 
 upright in their every transaction, and have 
 now come to a serene old age, holding the re- 
 spect and confidence of all who know them, 
 
 42 
 
 and passing their declining years with a richly 
 deserved competence 111 southwestern \\ iscon- 
 sin, especially in Grant county, the venerable 
 man whose name introduces this article is con- 
 spicuous. He is a retired farmer of Harrison 
 township, and with his years reaching beyond 
 the Psalmist’s limit of three score and ten, he 
 is' strong and active, and affords in his own 
 person a beautiful, illustration of the results of 
 clean and wholesome living on the farm. 
 
 Mr. Todd was born in Chautauqua county, 
 N. Y., Oct. 28, 1825, and is a son of Elam and 
 Betsy (Gilmore) Todd, natives of Vermont 
 and New York, respectively. Elam Todd was 
 the son of Jerred Todd, a Revolutionary 
 soldier, and the grandson of Benager Todd, 
 who was born in Maine. He in turn was the 
 son of Jobe Todd, who was born on the river 
 Rhine, in Germany. Jerred Todd came to 
 Michigan at a very early day and settled at 
 Litchfield, where he died at the advanced age 
 of one hundred and three years. He had a 
 large family, all of whom remained in Michi- 
 gan, except Elam. He married, returned to 
 New York, and was a Methodist Episcopal 
 minister in Chautauqua county for many years. 
 He and his wife both lived to be very old. 
 They had five children: (1) Sidney B., born 
 
 in New York in 1817, was a stock dealer, and 
 died in that State, leaving a wife and one 
 daughter, who is now a resident of Michigan. 
 (2) Benager W., now deceased, born in Chau- 
 tauqua county, N. Y., in 1821, married Eliza- 
 beth Burchard, of the same county, and set- 
 tled in Buffalo ; he had two children, Frank, an 
 artist in Buffalo, and a daughter, the wife of 
 Dr. Sprague, of Jamestown, N. Y. (3) Mor- 
 ris, born in Chautauqua county, N. Y., in 1835, 
 married, came West, and settled in George- 
 town. Grant county, Wis., where he followed 
 the trade of a carpenter some years, and then 
 moved to Des Moines, Iowa, where he was a 
 merchant the rest of his life; five of his chil- 
 dren are living: Frank (a Des Monies mer- 
 
 chant). Lillian (Mrs. Joseph Deamer, of Des 
 Moines), a daughter residing in Iowa, Nettie 
 (of Des Moines), and Jack (a bookkeeper in 
 a bank at Pittsburg). (4) Clarissa, born in 
 Chautauqua county, N. Y., is Mrs'. Martin 
 Delaney, of Erie, Penn., and has one child, 
 Harriet, now Mrs. George Jackson, of Chau- 
 tauqua county. 
 
 J. A. Todd, who completes the family, grew 
 to manhood in his native county, and received 
 
658 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPEIICAL RECORD. 
 
 a very fair education in the common schools. 
 When he reached the age of eighteen he en- 
 tered a blacksmith shop to learn the trade, and 
 finished his apprenticeship in Warren, Penn. 
 For some years he led a roving life, working 
 at Pittsburg, and then at Montreal, Canada, 
 and later at Litchfield, Mich. From Litchfield 
 he returned to his old home in Chautauqua 
 county, and engaged in business'. There in 
 1847 he married Miss Huldah A. Francis, who 
 was born .April 12, 1828, daughter of Amos 
 and Isabel (Dowd) Francis, an old and prom- 
 inent pioneer couple in Genesee county, N. Y. 
 The young couple came to Grant county, Wis., 
 the year of their marriage, and lived some six 
 months at Big Patch, then a mining village, 
 lie worked at his trade two years in the town 
 of Elk Grove, and three years in Mineral Point. 
 He bought property, and put up the second 
 house and the first blacksmith shop in George- 
 town, and was located there nine years, when 
 he bought a farm near Flazel Green, and en- 
 gaged in farming in connection with black- 
 smithing. After a time he sold out at Hazel 
 Green, and moved to Jamestown, where he 
 followed shop work seven years. In 1872 he 
 gave up his trade, and bought the farm on 
 which he is now living, and which has been 
 his home for nearly thirty years. lie has 
 made many extensive improvements, clearing 
 up the land, erecting suitable and commodious 
 buildings, and bringing the End to a high 
 state of cultivation. 
 
 Mr. Todd experienced a heavy blow, Sept. 
 6, 1895, i n the death of his worthy wife, the 
 dear and faithful companion of almost a half 
 century of toil and struggle. She was the 
 mother of three children who attained mature 
 years : ( 1 ) Mortimer died in childhood. 
 
 (2) Melvina, born in Georgetown, Wis., in 
 February, 1850, married Henry Harbican, now 
 a wealthy and retired farmer of East Dubuque, 
 111 ., and has had ten children, Frank, Walter, 
 Anne, John (deceased). Morton, Jerred, Hi- 
 ram, Burton, Logan and Henry. (3) Walter, 
 born Dec. 15, 1852, married Lillie A. Stephens, 
 of Platteville, daughter of John and Emily 
 Stephens, pioneers in Grant county. Mrs. Lillie 
 ( Stephens) Todd was born in Platteville in 
 1856, and was educated in the old academy at 
 Platteville, and her death occurred at their 
 home in the town of Ellenboro Oct. 28, 1884, 
 leaving three children: Flora M., a very 
 
 charming young woman, born Nov. 14, 1876, 
 
 and educated in the Normal, has had charge 
 of her grandfather’s home for some five years; 
 Ira, born in October, 1879; and Mabel, born 
 April, 8, 1882, are at home. Walter Todd 
 married for his second wife Sophia Cooper, 
 of Grant county, and she died Aug. 20, 1894, 
 leaving one son, Gernal G., born in October, 
 1886. Walter Todd is manager for the Cli- 
 max Feed 1 Mill Company for Grant, Iowa, La- 
 fayette and other Wisconsin counties, and also 
 has charge of his father’s home farm. He is 
 a member of the Masonic order and the Knights 
 of the Maccabees. (4) Helen, born in Grant 
 county in July, 1857, is now the wife of A. H. 
 Fuller, of the town of Platteville, where they 
 now reside ; they have three children, Plulda 
 F., Alma F., and Isabel D. 
 
 Mr. Todd has been identified with the 
 Republican party since its organization, and 
 has held a number of local offices in the towns 
 in which he has resided. He and his wife 
 were formerly members of the Christian 
 Church, and were active workers in its behalf. 
 
 HON. JAMES SPENSLEY, of the city of 
 Mineral Point, Iowa county, is one of the old 
 settlers of that locality, and a man well known 
 in the early history of Wisconsin. 
 
 Janies Spensley was born April 17, 1833, 
 in Yorkshire, England, a son of Richard and 
 Alice (Bonson) Spensley. Richard Spensley 
 was also born in England, a son of James and 
 Rosamond (Mason) Spensley, natives of York- 
 shire, of Scottish descent. James Spensley, Sr., 
 grandfather of our subject, after the death of 
 his wife came to Dubuque, Iowa, where he died. 
 To him and his wife were born five sons and 
 one daughter : John, who- lived and died in 
 England; James, who died in England; 
 Richard, father of our subject; Mason 
 (deceased), who came to Dubuque, Iowa, 
 then to Platteville, Wis., opened up a farm 
 in Grant county, and died there in 1870; 
 William, a resident of South Dakota; and 
 Margaret, now Mrs. Richards, of California. 
 
 Richard Spensley, the father of our subject, 
 was reared and married in England. In 1839 
 lie left his native land on the sailing vessel 
 “Rocious,” and after a voyage- of seven weeks 
 landed in New York, whence he went to Chi- 
 cago via the Erie canal to Buffalo, and thence 
 on the lakes. From Chicago he traveled by 
 team to Dubuque. Later he removed to Galena, 
 I where he mined and operated a smelter, dying 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIO GRAPH ICAE RECORD. 
 
 659 
 
 in Galena in 1892. His wife passed away in 
 1886, aged eighty-three. In politics he was a 
 Republican, and he was a worthy man, highly 
 esteemed. To- himself and wife were born six 
 sons and six daughters : Robert, who died in 
 Yorkshire; Rosamond, now Mrs. Spensley, of 
 Dubuque, Iowa; Mary, Mrs. Mather, who died 
 at Fort Dodge, Iowa ; Elizabeth, Mrs. Ferris, 
 who died in Dubuque, Iowa; James, our sub- 
 ject; Bonson, who died at Shullsburg, Wis. ; 
 William, a resident of Galena, 111 ., probate 
 judge and attorney-at-law; Margaret, Mrs. Al- 
 lison; Alice Ann, Mrs. Bailey, of Colorado; 
 Richard, a resident of Galena, 111 ., and county 
 clerk; Ellen, Mrs. Gray, of Galena, 111 .; and 
 John Robert, who enlisted at Madison in 1861, 
 in the 16th Wis. V. I., was in the battle of Shi- 
 loh, serving through the war, was honorably 
 discharged at Washington, and died at Galena 
 in 1868. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated at Gal- 
 ena, 111 ., and in 1850 crossed the Plains to Cal- 
 ifornia, driving an ox-team, and remaining in 
 that State three years. In 1853 h e returned to 
 Galena, and in 1856 migrated to Mineral Point, 
 engaging in .mining, smelting and farming. 
 Later he began to raise stock, built a creamery, 
 and in 1893 embarked in the creamery business. 
 At present he owns and operates creameries at 
 Mineral Point, Linden and Bloomfield, Wis., 
 and at Stacyville, Mitchell Co., Iowa — all well 
 equipped with the modern appliances. 
 
 In Galena Mr. Spensley married Miss Eliza- 
 beth Todd, who died at Mineral Point in 1873, 
 leaving him with a family of eight children : 
 Francis, a merchant in Iowa; Shirley, now Mrs. 
 Phillips of Chicago; Jennie, now Mrs. Skewis, 
 of Inwood, Lyon Co., Iowa; James Eddy, of 
 Montana; Richard Todd, of Montana; Nellie 
 Vesta, at home; John Bismarck, in charge of 
 creamery at Linden, and a partner of his fa- 
 ther; and George, in charge of the Stacyville 
 creamery. In 1874 Mr. Spensley went to Eng- 
 land, and while there married Miss Elizabeth 
 Ann Spensley, born in Yorkshire, England, re- 
 turning with his wife to Mineral Point. Here 
 Mrs. Spensley died in 1875, leaving one son, 
 Montford B., who has just returned from the 
 Philippines, having enlisted at Drake College, 
 Des Moines, Iowa, under Col. Loper; he was in 
 the Signal Service. In 1880 Mr. Spensley was 
 married to Miss Annie Osborne, born in La- 
 fayette county, a daughter of Henry and Nan- 
 nie (Skewis) Osborne, natives of Cornwall, 
 
 England, and early pioneers of Lafayette coun- 
 ty. Mr. Osborne was a merchant of Shulls- 
 burg, and later of Mineral Point, where he died 
 in 1897, his wife passing away some years pre- 
 viously. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Spens- 
 ley one child, Alice Aneta, has been born. 
 
 In politics Mr. Spensley is a Republican, 
 and has always been very actively identified 
 with the party. In 1866 he was a member of 
 the State Legislature; has been chairman of the 
 county board for ten years ; was instrumental 
 in the erection of the county asylum building in 
 1885; was chairman of the town board of Min- 
 eral Point township for twenty years; and in 
 1899 was elected mayor of the city. In all the 
 positions of trust he has held Mr. Spensley has 
 made an enviable record, has proven himself a 
 man of honor and ability, and enjoys the re- 
 spect and esteem of a wide circle of friends. 
 Our subject is very active in church work, being 
 a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and has been Sunday-school superin- 
 tendent for thirty-three years. Fraternally he 
 is a member of Mineral Point Lodge No. 1, 
 F. & A. M. 
 
 HENRY MUESSE, of Lancaster, Grant 
 county, Wis., was for many years the leading 
 contractor and builder of this city, but is now 
 living in retirement. He was born in Prussia 
 June 22, 1836, a son of Philip and Eliza (Rick) 
 Muesse, the former of whom was born in 1806, 
 and the latter two years later. In 1848 the 
 Muesse family, then consisting of the parents 
 and four children, embarked in a sailing-vessel 
 at Bremen (steam navigation at that time being 
 little known on the ocean), and after a voyage 
 of eight weeks landed at Baltimore, Md., 
 whence they went to Philadelphia, Penn., where 
 the father, who was a weaver, found employ- 
 ment in a cotton-mill, and where the parents 
 passed the remainder of their lives, the mother 
 dying in 1864, at the age of fifty-five years, and 
 the father in 1878, in his seventy-third year. 
 Of the five children born to them they brought 
 four to America and these all reached mature 
 years, and were named Elizabeth, now Mrs. 
 Kramer, of Lancaster township, Grant county, 
 Wis. ; Henry and George, of the same city; and 
 Wilhelmina, who was married to Albert Weber, 
 and died in Philadelphia. A twin of George 
 died in Germany in infancy. 
 
 Henry Muesse learned the trade of carpen- 
 ter in Philadelphia, and upon his arrival in Lan- 
 
66o 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 caster, YVis., in 1855, actively engaged as a 
 builder and contractor until 1895, when he re- 
 tired. He erected by contract many of the 
 better class of buildings in Lancaster, including 
 the Congregational and the Methodist 
 churches; Mr. Baxter's store building; both 
 bank buildings; besides numerous other edifices 
 of more or less pretentions ; and in addition to 
 his contracting business conducted an exten- 
 sive lumber yard. 
 
 In politics Mr. Muesse has always been a 
 stanch Republican, but in local politics he looks 
 upon the best man as the person to vote for, and 
 is never so set but that lie can see right from 
 wrong. He has been an alderman of the city 
 of Lancaster a great many times since he re- 
 sided there, and is now an alderman from his 
 ward, having been re-elected three times to suc- 
 ceed himself, the office always seeking him. 
 The citizens of the city have many times re- 
 quested him to run for mayor, but he has al- 
 ways declined. Mr. Muesse is a model citi- 
 zen, paying strict attention to his own busi- 
 ness, leaving others to attend to their own — - 
 a quality that can not be too highly commended, 
 especially in a small city like Lancaster. 
 
 Mr. Muesse was joined in marriage, in 
 Lancaster, with Miss Eliza Reynolds, daugh- 
 ter of Thomas Reynolds, a native of England, 
 but who came from Cleveland, Ohio, to Lan- 
 caster, Wis., in 1852. To this marriage have 
 been born children as follows: Olive, the wife 
 of Prof. Emery M. Wood, of Baldwin, Ivans., 
 where he occupies the chair of mathematics 
 in the University; John H., who is now and 
 for some years past has been a bookkeeper and 
 cashier in the Lumber Exchange building in 
 Minneapolis, Minn. ; Harriet, wife of Frank 
 Nathan, a clothing merchant of West Supe- 
 rior, Wis. ; Harry, who studied law with Col. 
 Clark, of Lancaster, Wis., afterward gradu- 
 ated from the law department at Baldwin Uni- 
 versity, Kansas, and is now practicing law in 
 Ottawa, in the same State; Frank P., who is 
 now a traveling lumber salesman, and makes 
 his home with his father; and Susan and Ralph 
 are still at home. Mr. Muesse has been a mem- 
 ber of the I. O. O. F. since i860, and he and 
 his family are members of the Episcopal 
 Church. 
 
 Thomas Reynolds, the father of Mrs. 
 Muesse, was a soldier in the Union army dur- 
 ing the war of the Rebellion, and died in Cleve- 
 land soon after its close. His widow remained 
 
 in Lancaster, Wis., and for thirty years prior 
 to her death lived with Mr. and Mrs. Muesse. 
 
 George Muesse, youngest brother of Henry 
 Muesse, whose life sketch is given in the fore- 
 going paragraph, was born .in Germany April 
 5, 1839, and was about nine years old when 
 brought by his parents to America. He was 
 reared to manhood in Philadelphia, and there 
 learned carpentering. In 1859 he came to 
 Lancaster, Wis., and remained one year only, 
 then returning to Philadelphia. In 1870 he 
 came back to Lancaster, Wis., to reside perma- 
 nently, and, like his brother, engaged in con- 
 tracting and building, and also entered the 
 lumber trade. He made a thorough success 
 of both lines of business, realizing a compe- 
 tence, and is now enjoying the fruits of his 
 early industry and enterprise in the quiet re- 
 tirement of private life. He was also city 
 weighmaster for many years, but was never 
 what is known as an office-seeker. 
 
 In Tuly, 1863, George Muesse was married 
 in Philadelphia to Miss Elizabeth Humric- 
 house, a native of Germany, who came to 
 America with friends of the family in 1858, 
 her parents being then deceased. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Muesse eight children have been born in 
 the following order: Anna E., wife of Leo 
 Baumgarter, of South Dakota; George H., a 
 lumberman of Clinton, Iowa; Elizabeth, wife 
 of Adolph Grimm, of Dubuque, Iowa; Carrie 
 M., wife of Walter Ivlempell, of Cassville, 
 Wis.; Fred, a druggist of Clear Lake, Iowa; 
 Charles L., a lumberman living in Erie, 111 .; 
 Edward (a twin of Charles) and Cornelia, 
 still at home. Mr. and Mrs. Muesse and the 
 members of the family at home belong to the 
 Evangelical Lutheran Church, and socially 
 they mingle with the best circles in Lancaster, 
 by whom they are held in the highest esteem. 
 
 WILLIAM G. RODERICK, one of the 
 wealthy farmers and honorable citizens of 
 Clarno township, Green county, where he re- 
 sides on his fine farm of 320 acres, six miles 
 southwest of Monroe, was born in Fayette 
 county, Penn., Sept. 11, 1845, son of Henry 
 and Mary (Greenlee) Roderick. 
 
 Henry Roderick was born in Fayette coun- 
 ty, Nov. 1, 1817, son of David Roderick, a na- 
 tive of Maryland, who in early life moved to 
 Pennsylvania, and became one of the early set- 
 tlers of Fayette county, where he raised the fol- 
 lowing named children : John, Daniel, Andrew, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 66 1 
 
 .Jacob, Samuel, Henry, David and Elizabeth, all 
 now deceased, except Henry. Henry Roderick 
 was married June 20, 1842, to Miss Mary 
 Greenlee, who was born March 21, 1822, and 
 died October 17, 1900. Their union was 
 
 blessed with ten children, a record of whom fol- 
 lows : Thomas J., deceased; William G. ; Sam- 
 uel married Clara Humphrey, and died August 
 10, 1900; Jacob L., a thrifty farmer of Decatur 
 township, married Allie Fleek; Charles, de- 
 ceased; David married Susan West, of Sylves- 
 ter township; Oliver, deceased; Lydia A., un- 
 married, resides with her father in Juda, Wis.; 
 Albert married Lucy Miles; and Emma married 
 George Hemstreet, a farmer of Jefferson town- 
 ship. 
 
 William G. Roderick was brought by his 
 parents from his Pennsylvania home to Green 
 county, Wis., in 1862, and has continued in 
 farming all his life, having been trained from 
 childhood to that occupation. He is very in- 
 dustrious and equally progressive and his 
 broad acres give evidence of his careful at- 
 tention. The substantial nature of the build- 
 ings he has erected has added much to the 
 beauty of the place, and, taken altogether, he 
 has one of the finest and most highly culti- 
 vated and improved farms in Clarno township. 
 
 On Feb. 23, 1871, Mr. Roderick was united 
 in marriage with Miss Mary Mitchell, daughter 
 of Washington and Pamela (Newman) Mit- 
 -chell, early settlers of Green county. Six chil- 
 dren blessed this union, namely : Charles, a 
 farmer of Sylvester, married Adeline Elmer, 
 and has four children, Mary, Elmer, Pearl and 
 Alvin; Frank married Addie Trumpy, of 
 Clarno, and has one child, Edith ; Addie mar- 
 ried Charles Stair, a farmer of Clarno, and has 
 two children, Henry and Joseph ; George C., 
 Harry and Henry, are at home. Mrs. Roder- 
 ick was born July 19, 1851, and was the eldest 
 in a family of five children, the others being ; 
 Isaac, who wedded Sophia Row, and now lives 
 in Iowa; Harriet, who married Enoch J. 
 Blackford, of Juda, Wis. ; Hannah, who mar- 
 ried John Merris, of Iowa ; and Addaline, wife 
 ■of George Gracy, of Iowa. The mother of these 
 children Mrs. Mitchell, died Oct. 7, 1864, and 
 the father, Washiiigton Mitchell, son of Abner 
 Mitchell, an early settler of Green county, mar- 
 ried for his second wife, Alary McVane, who 
 bore him three children : Cora, wife of Walter 
 Parke, of Milwaukee ; Bertha, of Chicago, and 
 Charles, of Brodhead, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. 
 
 Mitchell live in Brodhead, the former having 
 retired from active labor on his farm. 
 
 In his political faith Air. William G. Roder- 
 ick is a stanch Republican, and has held a num- 
 ber of town offices in the gift of the people. 
 His own education was acquired in the district 
 schools of Green county, and the interest then 
 engendered has never been lost, and he still 
 takes an active part in everything pertaining 
 to educational matters, and has served most 
 efficiently as school director. For forty years 
 he has been a consistent member of the Juda 
 Baptist Church. In every walk of life he has 
 been found steadfastly endeavoring to be frank, 
 honest and upright, and is one of the most 
 highly respected citizens of Clarno township. 
 
 DAVID FAWCETT, pioneer farmer and 
 miner of New Diggings, Lafayette county, is 
 one of the few living representatives of those 
 early days of Wisconsin Territory when the 
 inhabitants were chiefly red men. 
 
 Mr. Fawcett was born in Yorkshire, Eng- 
 land, Aug. 22, 1819, son of Ralph and Isabella 
 Fawcett, both of whom died in England. He 
 grew to manhood in his native country, and 
 in 1844 located in New Diggings township, 
 Lafayette Co., Wis., where he engaged in 
 mining until his marriage, and for some time 
 after. In 1870 he purchased the James Har- 
 ker farm, one mile west of the village of New 
 DiEeinsrs, a nd has since made that his home. 
 He married Airs. Elizabeth Hutchinson, 
 daughter of Frank and Elizabeth Raw, the 
 former for many years manager of the York- 
 shire mines, where he had the confidence and 
 respect of all who came in contact with him. 
 Mrs. Fawcett was born in Yorkshire, England, 
 Sept. 2, 1825, and was one of eight children, 
 four of whom came to Wisconsin. In England 
 she wedded James Hutchinson, who came to 
 Hazel Green. Grant Co., V is., in 1845, an d 
 died two weeks after their arrival, leaving two 
 little daughters ; Isabella, now the wife of 
 John Eastwood, of Nebraska; and Mary, who 
 married Henry Coulthard, and died at their 
 home in Taylor county, Iowa, in June, 1900, 
 leaving her husband with ten children. To 
 Mr. and Airs. Fawcett have been born a large 
 family of children, as follows : ( 1 ) Ralph, 
 
 born in November, 1846. married Miss Betsy 
 Eastwood, and is a retired miner, living at 
 South Wayne, Wis. (2) Elizabeth, born in 
 October. 1849. married Ralph Spencely. of 
 
662 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Dubuque, Iowa, and has six children, Mary, 
 Minnie, Frank, Annie, Dave and George. (3) 
 Alice, born June 13, 1852, died April 13, 1854. 
 (4) Frank, born in February, 1855, married 
 Miss Lizzie Pedley, of Cobb, and with their 
 family of seven children, Mary, David, Lillie, 
 Pedelty, Harrison, George and Birdie, they 
 make their home in Taylor county, Iowa. (5) 
 Thomas, born in May, 1858, now a farmer of 
 Nebraska, married (first) Jennie Hird, of 
 Dubuque, Iowa, who died in June, 1898, leav- 
 ing one daughter, Alice, who died: June 9, 
 1900. He married (second) Lizzie Brown, of 
 New Diggings, and has one daughter, Eva. 
 (6) James A., born in October, i860, resides 
 on the homestead with his parents. (7) 
 Sarah Alice, born Dec. 31, 1862, married Jofin 
 Calvert, of Dubuque, and has three children, 
 Roy, Grace and David. (8) George, born Dec. 
 11, 1865, married Katie Horsley, of Benton, 
 and has one daughter, Mary E. ; he lives on a 
 part of his father’s farm, acting as manager 
 of the estate. (9) William, born March 17, 
 1869, now of Lead Mine, Wis., married Annie 
 Howe, and has one son, David W. In re- 
 ligious belief this entire family has long been 
 connected with the Primitive Methodist 
 Church, Mrs. Fawcett having joined over 
 forty years ago. In political sentiment 
 Mr. Fawcett coincides with the princi- 
 ples of the Republican party, and he keeps 
 well in touch with public events. Fie has been 
 eminently successful in his work, and has ac- 
 quired a competence to keep him and his wife 
 in comfort and ease during the evening of 
 their lives, and, while too much could not be 
 said regarding his own good management, Mr. 
 Fawcett attributes this success largely to his 
 good wife’s noble example, good counsel, and 
 loving help. 
 
 J. C. ULA was, in his life time, one of the 
 leading citizens of York township, Green coun- 
 ty, and his memory survives in the hearts of 
 many warm and admiring friends. He was 
 born in Norway Aug. 31, 184.0, and was a son 
 of Christen and Olaug (Olson) Ula, both na- 
 tives of Norway. His parents came to this 
 country in 1852, and for a time were settled 
 in Albany, Wis. They removed to Section 
 17, of the town of York, where they took up 
 government land, and made their home the 
 remainder of their lives. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Christen Ula were the par- 
 
 ents' of five children: John C., born as stated 
 
 above, and brought to this country when a lad 
 of twelve years; Julia, born Oct. 16, 1841, is 
 the wife of E. L. Soaper, of the town of York; 
 Hans, born July 12, 1843; Ole, born Aug. 15, 
 1845, ’ s a farmer in Buffalo county, Wis. ; and 
 Inger, born in 1847, is now dead. Christen 
 Cla was born in 1808, and died in the town 
 of York, in 1888. His wife was born in 1804, 
 and died in 1891. Both were buried in the 
 Ula Cemetery, on the Ula homestead. They 
 are well remembered among the early settlers 
 of Green county, and were faithful and de- 
 voted members of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 John C. Lda was married to Miss Thora 
 Anderson, of the town of York, June 27, 1864, 
 and to this union were born the following chil- 
 dren : (1) A. C., born May 12, 186s, is a 
 
 thrifty farmer of the town of York, and his 
 sketch appears in another place; (2) Andrew, 
 born July 17, 1866, was a merchant in Argyle, 
 Wis., where he died Sept. 25, 1889; (3) Lena, 
 born Dec. 7, 1867, is the wife of Edwin Iver- 
 son, of Emmet county, Iowa; (4) Gertie, born 
 April 6, 1869, is the wife of Melren Eidsmore,, 
 of Moscow, Iowa county; (5) Nettie, born 
 Dec. 17, 1870, died at the age of fifteen years;, 
 (6) Olie, born May 2, 1872, married John 
 Ellestad, and was left a widow, with one 
 child, Norman J. ; both have returned to the 
 home of her mother on the old farm; (7) 
 Hannah, born March 19, 1874, is the wife of 
 A. O. Brager, of North Dakota; (8) Peter O., 
 born Feb. 5, 1876, remains on the old 1 home- 
 stead, and is now engaged in its cultivation for 
 his mother; (9) John, born Feb. 1, 1878, is 
 also at home; (10) Tena, born Dec. 25, 1879, 
 has charge of the post office at Ula; (11)' 
 Anna, born Nov. 29, 1879, died at the age of 
 three years; (12) Clara, born Jan. 30, 1884,. 
 is at home; (13) Anton, born Feb. 27, 1886; 
 (14) Oscar F., born Dec. 9, 1888; ( 15) a child, 
 born May 2, 1892, died when three years 
 old; (16) Alma, born Feb. 17, 1893, is the 
 youngest of this interesting family of sixteen 
 children. Mrs. Ula was born Aug. 11, 1847, 
 a daughter of Andrew and Gertrude (Paul- 
 son) Anderson, of Adams township. When 
 her parents came to this country in 1857 she 
 accompanied them, and was educated in the 
 local schools. 
 
 John C. Ula was reared on the home farm, 
 and had his education in the public school! 
 Choosing farming as his life work, he made 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 663 
 
 himself prominent in the community in which 
 he lived by his character, industry and in- 
 tegrity. For many years he was justice of 
 the peace, and at different times was con- 
 stable, notary public, and for eleven years con- 
 tinuously was chairman of the town board. 
 In the spring of 1865 Mr. Ula enlisted in the 
 46th Wis. V. I., and served until the close of 
 the war. The Ula post office was established 
 by him, and he was its first postmaster. He 
 was a good neighbor, and one of the leading- 
 men, filling a marked place in local affairs, and 
 dying Jan. 24, 1898. Mr. Ula began life a 
 poor man, and before his death was the owner 
 of 200 acres of choice farm land, on which 
 he made his home, and where he reared a large 
 family, the surviving members of which are 
 all filling honorable and useful places in the 
 world. Well does he deserve a conspicuous 
 place in these pages, devoted to the men who 
 accomplished much in Green county, the effect 
 of which is to make it one of the banner coun- 
 ties of the State. 
 
 SAMUEL THOMAS, Eso., one of the 
 most worthy citizens of Iowa county, was a 
 resident of Mineral Point for nearly a half- 
 century, and well-known to the pioneers of that 
 city and adjacent places. For over thirty 
 years he upheld the dignity of the law, and 
 his conscientious efforts to balance the scales 
 of justice with wisdom and impartiality won 
 the unanimous approbation of his associates, 
 and the courteous and affable manner in which 
 he discharged the minor duties of his position 
 added much to his personal popularity. 
 
 Mr. Thomas was born in Cambourn, Corn- 
 wall, England. Nov. 24, 1806, and his death 
 occurred at Mineral Point, Aug. 3, 1879. But 
 little is known of his ancestry or early life, 
 but he evidently enioyed excellent moral and 
 religious training, while his secular education 
 was supplemented by a discerning mind and 
 ample business experience. His father, after 
 whom he was named, spent most of his life 
 mining at Cambourn, but came to this country 
 in old age and died in Mineral Point. About 
 3:833, the subject of this notice arrived in 
 Mineral Point, which he found to be a frontier 
 village comprising a few miners’ cabins, and 
 the log fort which had been erected a year or 
 two previous, near the present intersection of 
 Commerce and Fountain streets, to defend 
 the settlement from the notorious Black Hawk 1 
 
 and hig followers. Peace had been restored, 
 however, and he secured some of the richest 
 diggings in the vicinity, to the operation of 
 which he gave his attention for some years. 
 His first home was near the present location 
 of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
 way station, but as no such route of trans- 
 portation had even been thought of at that 
 time, 'he was obliged to drive to Galena for 
 most of his provisions and supplies, two days 
 being required to make the trip. Wild deer 
 often came to drink at the spring near his 
 cabin, wolves prowled within the present city 
 limits, and the Indians were frequent callers, 
 though their greatest offense consisted in 
 begging for food and clothing. 
 
 Having met with success in mining, Mr. 
 Thomas devoted most of his time in later life 
 to the office of justice of the peace, which he 
 filled for more than three decades previous to 
 his death. This position gave him a wide ac- 
 quaintance, and in his day there was probably 
 no man in southwestern Wisconsin who was 
 more widely known or more deservedly popu- 
 lar than he. There was a great demand for 
 his services at weddings, and he often drove 
 long distances into the surrounding country 
 to perform that ceremony, or other official du- 
 ties. He was a man of decided views on most 
 public questions, but did not seek to make his 
 convictions offensive to those who might enter- 
 tain different principles. 
 
 Mr. Thomas was identified with the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, and in political senti- 
 ment was a Democrat, exercising no incon- 
 siderable influence in the local councils of the 
 party. He had long been identified with the 
 Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and filled 
 numerous positions in that fraternity. His 
 name appears among the applicants for a re- 
 newal, of the charter of Miner’s Lodge, No. 1, 
 in 1873. The last named lodge, which, is now 
 in a very flourishing condition, is the oldest in 
 the Northwest, having first been instituted in 
 1835 by Special Deputy Grand Sire Stephen 
 Taylor, who came from Pottsville, Pennsyl- 
 vania, expressly for that purpose. 
 
 On Aug. 13, 1832, Mr. Thomas was mar- 
 ried to Mrs. Elizabeth Bennett, widow of James 
 Bennett, who was killed by accident in a mine 
 in Cornwall. Mrs. Thomas was born in Cam- 
 bourn, England, Nov. 18, 1800, and died at 
 Mineral Point, Jan. 14, 1888. Her maiden 
 name was Rule, and her parents both lived and 
 
 ! 
 
66\ 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 died in Cornwall. By her first marriage she 
 had one daughter, Elizabeth Bennett, now the 
 wife of Edward Prideaux, of Mineral Point. 
 Air. and Airs. Thomas were the parents of 
 two daughters: Alary Ann, now Airs. AI. A. 
 Jenkins, of Fall City, Neb. ; and Maria, now 
 Airs. William Lanyon, of Mineral Point. 
 
 NICHOLAS SHERWIN, a retired farm- 
 er of the town of Lima, Grant county, was 
 born in County Dublin, Ireland, Aug. 6, 1819, 
 and is a son of Christopher and Jane Sherwin, 
 who were born, reared and died in that county. 
 Four of their children came to the United 
 States. William Sherwin, the oldest son, came 
 to Wisconsin in 1846, and worked in the lead 
 mines of Grant county some years, and then 
 crossed the Plains to California, meeting with 
 good success in the gold mines. In 1853 
 returned to Grant county, and bought the farm 
 adjoining that on which Nicholas has lived 
 for years, and died in 1896, leaving a widow, 
 but no children. Ellen and> Mary Sherwin 
 came to Philadelphia where they lived some 
 years, and then came on to Benton, Grant 
 county, where they lived until their death. 
 Ellen married Thomas Hines, and left four 
 children, who now live in the West. 
 
 Nicholas Sherwin grew to manhood in Ire- 
 land, and in 1850 crossed the ocean to New 
 York, worked there a year, and then went to 
 Philadelphia, where for two years he found em- 
 ployment with a Catholic priest. In 1855 he 
 came West to Grant county, Wis., with his 
 brother William, then returning by way of 
 Philadelphia from California. Before leaving 
 Philadelphia for a home on the western fron- 
 tier Nicholas Sherwin was that year married 
 to Miss Margaret Archibald, who was born 
 in Ireland in 1837, where she had her educa- 
 tion in one of the Sisters’ schools, and came to 
 this country in 1855. Reaching his destina- 
 tion in Grant county, Mr. Sherwin, in company 
 with his brother William, purchased his pres- 
 ent home, and together they cleared it up and 
 put it in order; after this was done they divided 
 the land, each building separate homes. Here 
 Air. Sherwin and his wife reared their family, 
 and here Airs. Sherwin died in December, 
 1894. She was a loyal daughter of the Roman 
 Catholic Church, and lived the life of a de- 
 voted Christian woman. She reared a large 
 family, of whom Annie and Elizabeth, who 
 passed away in their young womanhood, were 
 
 bright and promising girls. Christopher, the 
 oldest living child, was born in 1856, and is 
 still living in the home, unmarried; Nicholas, 
 born in 1859, married Afiss Eugenia Freshette, 
 of Potosi, and lives' on his farm in the town 
 of Lima, where they are rearing a family of 
 three daughters, Eulalia, Annie M., and Mary 
 T. ; Jennie, born at the old homestead in 1862, 
 had a good common-school education, and has 
 been in charge of the home since her mother’s 
 death, and takes an active part in the work of 
 the Catholic Church, of which she is a devout 
 member; William, born in 1865, married Miss 
 Alaria J. Henry, of Grant county, and settled 
 on his farm in the town of Lima, where she 
 died in 1894, leaving no family; Alary E., born 
 in July, 1871, was educated in the home 
 schools, and lives at home; John T., born in 
 1874, is living unmarried at the home; James 
 P., born in 1877, Joseph R., are both living at 
 home, and assisting in the care of the farm. 
 
 Nicholas Sherwin came to this country 
 without a dollar when a young man, and has 
 made his way in the world to an enviable po- 
 sition against many serious difficulties. He is 
 frugal and industrious and with the help of 
 his children, has made one of the choice homes 
 of the county. His children are a credit to 
 any parentage, and his third son, William, has 
 become a prominent man in his community, 
 having been elected district school clerk at the 
 age of twenty-one years, filling that office for 
 twelve successive years, when he resigned 
 feeling that some one else ought to serve for 
 a time, and he has also filled the office of as- 
 sessor. 
 
 DEDRICK HARMS (deceased) was num- 
 bered among the early pioneers of Wisconsin, 
 who, braving the dangers from savages and 
 wild beasts, pushed on into the wilderness, 
 breaking the virgin soil, felling the mighty 
 trees of the forest, and bringing well cultivated 
 farms and populous cities from a seeming 
 chaos. Those who enjoy the advantages now 
 offered by the civilization of the mighty Com- 
 monwealth of Wisconsin should never forget 
 to whom all this luxury is due, nor fail to ren- 
 der just tribute to the memory of those who 
 went before to “prepare a way” for following 
 generations. 
 
 Dedrick Harms was born in Ottimania, 
 Hanover, Germany, March 5, 1805, a son of 
 Cord and Catharine Harms, who lived and died 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 665 
 
 in their native land, Germany. Our subject 
 received a fair education in Germany, in 1834 
 crossed the ocean, and landing at New Orleans, 
 was engaged in a sugar factory for two or three 
 years. Later he removed to Dubuque, Iowa, 
 worked there for a short season, and then went 
 to Platteville, Wis., following mining. In 
 1843 Mr. Harms purchased forty acres of land 
 in Smelser township, near Platteville, to which 
 he added, from time to time, until he finally 
 owned an entire section, and improved all of it. 
 The first home was a tiny log house, built by 
 himself, in which he and his wife began their 
 married life, but as time progressed, and he 
 prospered, Mr. Harms erected a comfortable, 
 substantial brick residence, in which he lived 
 until his death. Sept. 4, 1882. The loving help- 
 mate of his life survived until March 10, 1898. 
 Both of these worthy people were consistent 
 members of the Lutheran Church, and were 
 instrumental in founding the first church of 
 that denomination in Platteville. In political 
 matters Mr. Harms was a Democrat, but never 
 aspired to office, and in this, as in all things, he 
 was conscientious, always voting as he deemed 
 right. The marriage of Dedrick Harms oc- 
 curred Aug. 6, 1843, to Miss Mariah M. Mel- 
 vin, daughter of James A. and Sarah S. (Rob- 
 erts) Melvin, natives of Maryland and Vir- 
 ginia, respectively. Mrs. Harms was born in 
 Bloomington. Ind., Jan, 25, 1823, and was 
 brought to Wisconsin in 1841, by her parents. 
 The mother of Mrs. Harms was very highly 
 educated in Virginia, and taught school for a 
 number of years after locating in Wisconsin. 
 Eleven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Dedrick Harms: John C., Mary E., Henry H., 
 Dedrick W., James W., Louis L., Martha J., 
 Sarah E., Emily M., George L., and one that 
 died in infancy. ( 1 ) John C. Harms, the eld- 
 est, was born in Grant county, in June, 1844, 
 and grew to manhood on the farm, receiving 
 his education in the district school and 
 in the Platteville high school. In Octo- 
 ber, 1866, he was married to Elizabeth Spet’n, 
 and took up his home on a portion of the old 
 homestead, but died in Platteville, leaving a 
 wife and three, children, Emma M., Mary C. 
 ancP]nlr$tina, aff'how deceased ; the mother is 
 living, and resides in Platteville. (2) Mary E. 
 Harms was born in October, 1845, received her 
 education in the district schools and the Platte- 
 ville Acadenly, and in January, 1868, married 
 Christopher F. Schroeder, of Platteville, who 
 
 died March 17, 1894, leaving three children, 
 George; James, now residing on the old home- 
 stead ; and Annie, now Mrs. Brugger, of Platte- 
 ville, for sketches of whom see elsewhere; Airs. 
 Schroeder now resides in Platteville, and is a 
 very agreeable lady. (3) Henry H. Harms was 
 born Feb. 16, 1848, grew to manhood on the 
 old homestead, and on March 16, 1880, married 
 Miss Dora L. Walferman, of Elmo, Wis., for- 
 merly of Germany; they resided on one of the 
 farms of Dedrick Harms, in Lafayette county, 
 where Henry H. died Nov. 11, 1898, leaving a 
 wife and three children, John, Alamie and 
 Emma, all of whom are still living on the farm. 
 (4) Dedrick William Harms, born Jan. 30, 
 1850, died April 23, 1856. (5) James W. 
 Harms, born Feb. 20, 1852, married in March, 
 1883, Sophia Logemann, of Germany, and 
 they reside in Platteville ; they have no fam- 
 ily. James W. Harms w r as educated at 
 the Platteville Normal, and is one of the 
 prominent men of that city. (6) Louis 
 L. Plarms, born in October, 1853, married 
 Annie M. Riege, in September, 1880; they 
 reside in Platteville, on Pine street, and 
 have two children, Benjamin D. (who is 
 the proprietor of one of the leading hotels of 
 Dubuque) and Pearl L. (7) Martha J. Harms, 
 born in April, 1855, died while a young lady, 
 •mourned by all, in June, 1886. (8) Sarah E. 
 Harms, born in May, 1859, educated in the 
 Platteville Normal, was married to Dr. A. R. 
 Law, of Belmont, now a resident of Madison, 
 Wis., and one of its leading physicians. Three 
 children have been born to them, Blossom C., 
 Robert A. and John. (9) Emily Al. Harms, 
 the youngest daughter, was born in April, 
 i86o ; educated at the State Normal and at St. 
 Clair Academy of Wisconsin, and is a lady of 
 refinement and culture; at present she manages 
 the old homestead, and also owns a fine farm in 
 the vicinity, which was bequeathed to her by 
 her father. (10) George L. Harms, born April 
 25, 1862, received his education at the State 
 Normal, and now resides at the old homestead, 
 managing the large property left by his father, 
 in addition to a well-cultivated farm of his own, 
 adjacent; at the present writing he occupies the 
 office of school treasurer, and is very popular 
 in the community, being well-known for his 
 honesty, integrity and uprightness of principles. 
 ( 1 1 ) The youngest, born Nov. 3, 1864, died in 
 infancy. All the members of this old pioneer 
 family have adhered steadfastly to the princi- 
 
666 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 pies of the Democratic party, and in religious 
 matters to the Lutheran Church. 
 
 John Harms, or “Uncle John Harms,” as 
 he is affectionately called by his neighbors, as 
 well as family, the brother of Dedrick Harms, 
 is a venerable old gentleman of some eighty- 
 nine years, and is as hale and hearty as many 
 who have scarcely passed the fourscore mile- 
 stone. The birth of this good old man oc- 
 curred at Ottimania, Hanover, Germany, Feb. 
 26, 1812. In 1838, after he had given the com- 
 pulsory military service, John Harms decided 
 to join his brother Dedrick, in America, and 
 upon arrival in this country proceeded direct to 
 Dubuque, Iowa; his first work was fencing the 
 lot on which the “Kansas City House” now 
 stands. Later he removed to Platteville, and 
 followed mining with his brother on what was 
 then known as “Dutch Range.” In time he 
 purchased land, added to it, and became the 
 owner of one of the finest farms in Grant 
 county. 
 
 When the gold fever broke out John 
 Harms, with a party of others, crossed! the 
 Plains to the gold fields of California, remain- 
 ing two years. The trip across the Plains 
 consumed three months, and while journeying 
 Mr. Harms learned to read English. After re- 
 turning from California he resumed farming, 
 continuing this occupation until 1872, when 
 he visited his native land. As a citizen, John 
 Harms is distinguished as a type of the Chris- 
 tian gentleman, honest, upright in his dealings, 
 and considerate of the unfortunate. Having 
 amassed a large property, by his own unaided 
 labors, he is deserving of much respect and 
 esteem. Taking a deep interest in political 
 matters, Mr. Harms soon made himself felt 
 as a factor in the workings of the Democratic 
 party, and was finally chosen, in 1863, to rep- 
 resent his district in the .State Assembly, where 
 he made a record of which he may well be 
 proud. In addition to this office Mr. Harms 
 has also acceptably filled many local positions, 
 and has always discharged the trusts reposed 
 in him honorably and satisfactorily. In relig- 
 ious convictions, like the other members of the 
 family, he has always been a steadfast Lu- 
 theran, and an active worker in that church. 
 Too much respect cannot be paid this true, 
 loyal, upright old man, who, after a lifetime 
 of hard labor, is still a recognized factor in 
 the life of his family and neighborhood, and 
 
 a living example of all that is best and noblest 
 m human nature. 
 
 When the two brothers, Dedrick and John 
 Harms, came to . Platteville, it was a small 
 village, and Wisconsin was but a territory. 
 Year by year they saw civilization advance, 
 the inhabitants increase, until now Wiscon- 
 sin stands among the largest and most import- 
 ant States of the Union, and Platteville is 
 a flourishing city. The part borne by these 
 brothers in the development of Grant county 
 was an important one, and their names will 
 always be remembered among the sturdy and 
 successful pioneers of the locality. 
 
 HOMER P. MIX, M. D., homeopathic 
 physician and' surgeon, Highland, Iowa coun- 
 ty, is well known, both professionally and so- 
 cially, in southwestern Wisconsin. Since 1881, 
 a period of twenty years — with the exception 
 of an interval during 1886-87, when he was 
 sojourning at Mineral Point — he has practiced 
 his profession at Highland. 
 
 Dr. Mix is a native of Wisconsin, born in 
 1851, in Orion, Richland county, and comes 
 of good old New England stock, his father, 
 E. N. Mix, having been born in Connecticut, 
 of an early New r Haven family. When a young 
 man he came West to Illinois, and there mar- 
 ried Lucinda Pease, afterward, about the year 
 1850, removing to Wisconsin, and settling in 
 Richland county. Later they made their home 
 in Green county, where they both died several 
 years ago, the mother surviving the father 
 about a couple of years. By occupation E. N. 
 Mix was a carpenter and! builder. In all 
 things he was a typical New Englander, and 
 was an Abolitionist in slavery days. In early 
 life he was identified with the Lhiited Brethren 
 Church, but in later years united with the M. 
 E. Church, of which he and his wife were 
 communicants till their death. They had a 
 family of four children, three of whom are 
 living at this writing: Homer P., our sub- 
 
 ject; Bessie, wife of J. Pile, of the town of 
 Clyde. Iowa Co., Wis. ; and Ethiel N.. a Con- 
 gregational minister in the town of Clyde. 
 
 Homer P. Mix received his earlier edu- 
 cation at the common schools of his native 
 place, and, having decided on taking up the 
 study of medicine in the homeopathic school, 
 entered Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, 
 graduating therefrom in the class of ’80. Dur- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 667 
 
 ing his college course he was a member of the 
 private class that received clinical and didactic 
 lectures on the eye and ear. For a short time 
 after graduation he practiced in Chicago, a'nd 
 then returned to Wisconsin, locating in High- 
 land. 
 
 In 1883 Dr. Mix married Agnes Jenkin, 
 daughter of Samuel Jenkin, an early settler 
 of Mineral Point, Wis., a sketch of whom ap- 
 pears elsewhere. Four children have graced 
 this union : Agnes, Homer, Amy and Bessie. 
 The entire family are members of the M. E. 
 Church, toward which the Doctor contributes 
 liberally in a material way, and in which he is 
 an active and earnest worker. Dr. Mix is 
 possessed of high literary attainments, and has 
 written many short stories and poems which 
 have appeared in the Chicago Inter Ocean and 
 other publications. Among the poems that 
 possess special merit may be mentioned the 
 following: “Only a Sunbeam,” “A Sea-Shell’s 
 Story,” “After the Rain,” “The Sunset Sky” 
 and “The Silent City.” In the cause of tem- 
 perance and education he takes earnest inter- 
 est, in fact, in whatever tends to promote the 
 moral and religious growth of the community 
 in which he lives, and where he is held in the 
 highest esteem. 
 
 HUBERT SCHUELTER, a well-known 
 shoemaker, who has efficiently served as mar- 
 shal in Cassville, Grant county, for the past 
 eight years,' and deputy sheriff and constable 
 for twenty-three years, was born in Prussia, 
 Germany, in 1847. He came to the New 
 World in 1854 with his parents, Mathias and 
 Gertrude (Fux) Schuelter, also natives of 
 Prussia. Coming directly West, the family 
 located in Potosi, Grant Co., Wis., in Oc- 
 tober of that year, and there made their home 
 for some time. In 1867, however, the father 
 moved to Harrison township, same county, 
 where he continued to reside until called from 
 this life, in 1879. The mother died in the 
 same township in 1874. To them were born 
 six children, of whom four are still living, 
 namely : Hubert ; Mrs. Kate Brockert, of 
 
 AVaterloo township, Grant county; Mrs. Mar- 
 garet Grooms, of Cassville ; Mrs. Barbara Den- 
 ney; and Gertrude and Francis, deceased. 
 
 Since the age of seven years Hubert 
 Schuelter has been a resident of Grant county, 
 and in Potosi he was educated and learned 
 the shoemaker’s trade, which he has followed 
 
 during his business career. In 1885 he came 
 to Cassville, and has since been identified with 
 its business affairs. At Platteville, Wis., Dec. 
 31, 1869, Mr. Schuelter was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Florence Chapman, a native 
 of Harrison township, Grant county, and a 
 daughter of Ammyson and Mary (Drulard) 
 Chapman, pioneers of this section of the State, 
 who are mentioned more fully in the sketch 
 of A. B. Chapman, elsewhere. Both are now 
 deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Schuelter have seven 
 children : Lena, Anna, Henry, Minnie, Wes- 
 ley, Freddie and Burdean. 
 
 During the war . of the Rebellion Air. 
 Schuelter enlisted at Potosi, in 1864, in the 
 1st Wisconsin Cavalry, for one year or dur- 
 ing the war, and was mustered into the 
 United States service at Madison, AVis., the 
 regiment being assigned to the Western De- 
 partment of the Army of the Potomac. He 
 took part in many scouting expeditions in Ten- 
 nessee, Georgia and Alabama, and as a mem- 
 ber of Wilson’s cavalry was in many skirmishes 
 with Gen. Forrest’s command. Mr. Schuelter 
 was personally connected with the capture of 
 Jefferson Davis. He was honorably discharged 
 at Edgeville. Term., Aug. 27, 1865, and re- 
 turned to his home in Potosi. He became one 
 of the charter members of Beetown Post. G. 
 A. R., but is now connected with Joseph Muel- 
 ler Post, No. 218, of Cassville, which has 
 eighteen members in good standing, and a 
 strong Ladies Relief Corps. Air. Schuelter is 
 quite prominent in Grand Army circles, and is 
 now serving as commander of his post. A 
 stanch supporter of the Republican party, he 
 takes an active interest in political affairs, and 
 never withholds his aid from any enterprise 
 which he believes will prove of public benefit. 
 
 THOMAS SIMMONS, now a retired 
 farmer of Belmont, Lafayette county, has led 
 a long and useful life from the highest motives, 
 and well deserves the universal respect and con- 
 fidence which come to him from all who know 
 him. 
 
 Mr. Simmons was born in Richland coun- 
 ty, Ohio. Oct. 16, 1833, son of Jacob and Re- 
 becca (Keifer) Simmons, who came from the 
 East and settled in Richland at a day when it 
 was still, frontier territory. After some years 
 they came still further \\ r est, and secured a 
 home in Richland county. 111 ., where Mr. Sim- 
 mons bought a farm. I11 1846 they came to 
 
‘668 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Wisconsin, and bought and preempted govern- 
 ment land in Elk Grove, Lafayette county, 
 after a stay of two years in Big Patch, Grant 
 county. Here they spent their remaining 
 years. Mr. Simmons died in 1868, and his 
 widow survived several years, dying in 1878, 
 at the age of eighty-two. They were old-time 
 Methodists, good religious people, and their 
 simple and unassuming virtues well deserve 
 commemoration. Pie helped to erect the first 
 church building in this section, and served as 
 one of the trustees for many years. Mrs. Sim- 
 mons was widely known for her kindly and 
 helpful visits whenever sickness appeared among 
 her neighbors. They had a family of eight 
 children, of whom (1) Julia A., born in Ohio, 
 is now the widow of George Wymen, and lives 
 in Iowa, with her son Charles ; her daughter, 
 Virginia, is' Mrs. John Hills, of Dubuque, 
 Iowa. (2) Rebecca, born in Ohio, married 
 Alfred Bray, and moved to Iowa, where he 
 died leaving her with two sons — Alonzo, of 
 Missouri; and Thomas, who died at Madison 
 a few years ago. Mrs. Bray is now living on 
 her father’s farm in Elk Grove township. (3) 
 Plettie died when a young woman, at her par- 
 ents’ home. (4.) Emily, born in Ohio, mar- 
 ried Robert Ray, of that State, and lived some 
 years in Lafayette county. They moved to 
 Sparta. Wis., where she died, leaving a family. 
 (5) Jane, born in Ohio, married Samuel 
 Miles, and died, leaving four children, all of 
 whom are residents of Omaha, ‘Neb. (6) 
 Lydia, born in Ohio, married William An- 
 drews', of Lafayette county, Wis., and now 
 lives in Benton, Iowa. (7) John Simmons 
 married Miss Ellen Huntington, of Lafayette 
 county, and his one son, Eli. He lives on a 
 farm in the town of Elk Grove. 
 
 Thomas Simmons received but a scanty 
 education in the public schools during his boy- 
 hood, the schools of that day being very far 
 from what they have since become. He grew 
 up under the parental roof, and in 1856 mar- 
 ried Miss Kate Smith, of Lafayette county, 
 Wis., the estimable and worthy daughter of 
 William and Mary (Howie) Smith, both of 
 whom were born and reared in Scotland 
 where they married. They emigrated to this 
 country early in life, and made their home for 
 a few years in the State of New York, mov- 
 ing thence to Maryland, where Mr. Smith en- 
 gaged in business as a contractor and builder 
 of masonry and wood work, doing a large 
 
 amount of work on public enterprises in that 
 State. In the early ’forties they moved to 
 Galena, 111 ., Mr. Smith continuing contracting 
 work for some, two years, at the expiration of 
 which time he bought a farm in Lafayette 
 county, settled his family thereon, and en- 
 gaged in its cultivation as long as he lived. 
 Pie died in 1888, and his widow survived until 
 April, 1897, making her home with her daugh- 
 ter Mary, in Iowa. They had five children : 
 Mary E., who is the wife of Harvey Yaw, 
 of Franklin county, Iowa ; Lizzie, Mrs. Joseph 
 Sheirbon, of Iowa ; George, a prosperous farm- 
 er of Nebraska ; Robert, of Iowa ; and Kate, 
 Mrs. Thomas Simmons. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Sim- 
 mons purchased the old home farm of his fa- 
 ther, and also that of her father, consolidated 
 them, and now own a magnificent rural es- 
 tate of 260 acres. Mr. Simmons put up a new 
 house on the farm, and thoroughly remodeled 
 all the old buildings, making his property one 
 of the choicest farms to be found in the south- 
 western part of the State. They made this 
 their home until 1894, when they moved into 
 a fine house on Main street, Belmont, which 
 Mr. Simmons had purchased, and he is now 
 retired from the labor of active life. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Simmons have 'reared a family of nine 
 children: (1) William J., born in 1857, mar- 
 
 ried Mollie Prichiard, and resides in Belmont, 
 where he is a contractor and builder. They 
 have four children, Willie, Myrtle, Matte and 
 Even. (2) Jennie Simmons was born on the 
 farm in 1859, was given a good education at 
 the Platteville Normal, became a teacher, and 
 taught several terms in Illinois. She is now 
 Mrs. W. T. Owens', of Loup City, Neb., where 
 her husband is a successful contractor and 
 builder. They have four children, Pearl, Wil- 
 ber, Bessie and Roscoe. (3) John E., born 
 in 1864, married Miss Susan Riter, resides in 
 Belmont, and has two children, Charles and 
 Orval, He is one of the large cattle dealers 
 of this section, and owns the “Warr House.” 
 and other real estate and building property in 
 the city. (4) Arthur, born in 1866, married 
 Miss Elizabeth Teasclle, of Warren, 111 ., and 
 they reside on the old home farm of his fa- 
 ther. (5) Etta, born in 1868, is Mrs. Joseph 
 Metcalf, and lives near Shullsburg. (6) Edith, 
 born in 1871. is Mrs'. Joseph Riter, of Bel- 
 mont. (7) Charles L., born in 1873, gradu- 
 ated from the Normal at Platteville, and is 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHIC AE RECORD. 
 
 069 
 
 now principal of the high school. He married 
 Miss Alberta Chapman, of Colorado, a grad- 
 uate of the University at Denver, and a lady 
 of culture. (8) Howard R., born in 1875, 
 is unmarried, and is in the employ of his 
 brother John. He is a graduate of Platteville 
 Business College. (9) Durward, born in 
 1879, has just graduated from a business col- 
 lege at Rockford, 111. ; he is unmarried. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Simmons have belonged to 
 the local Methodist Episcopal Church for many 
 years, have worked hard to build up its inter- 
 ests, and have generously contributed to its 
 coffers. Politically he has always been a Re- 
 publican but has never aspired to official 
 honors. 
 
 KNUDT THORSON, who at the time of 
 his death ranked among the well-to-do farmers 
 of Jordan township, Green county, had won his 
 substantial position by well-directed industry 
 and a life of persevering energy, and was held 
 in the highest esteem by his numerous friends 
 in that section. 
 
 Mr. Thorson was born Sept. 13, 1825, in 
 Norway, of which country his parents, Thors- 
 ten and Mary (Knudtson) Thorson, were also 
 natives, the family coming thence to America 
 in 1846, and settling in Green county, Wis. 
 They were among the early settlers of Jordan 
 township. Of the six children in this family, 
 Knudt, the eldest, is our subject. Ole is de- 
 ceased. Aslag is a farmer in Iowa. Carrie 
 is the wife of Lars Dustrand, of Dane county, 
 Wis. Mary is the wife of Kittil Klabo, of 
 Iowa. Carrie is the wife of Harold Stone, of 
 Iowa. The parents are buried in the Nor- 
 wegian cemetery in Jordan township. 
 
 Knudt Thorson adopted farming as his life 
 vocation, and by good management and thrift 
 acquired a handsome property, owning at the 
 time of his death a fine tract of 340 acres, high- 
 ly improved, on which his family still reside. 
 It is located in Sections 33 and 34, Jordan 
 township, one mile north of Browntown. A 
 fine barn and handsome two-story dwelling 
 are among the improvements on this place, 
 which takes rank with the best in the locality. 
 Mr. Thorson commenced his business career 
 under adverse circumstances. He was obliged 
 to work hard from boyhood, thus being denied 
 the advantage of a good education, but his hon- 
 orable and industrious life had its' reward in 
 spite of all the discouragements occasioned by 
 
 a lack of early opportunities. Mr. Thorson 
 died in 1890, deeply mourned throughout the 
 community where his active life had been 
 passed. He was a consistent member of the 
 Lutheran Church, and his political, affiliations 
 were with the Republican party. 
 
 On June 10, i860, Mr. Thorson was united 
 in marriage with Miss Sarah Everson, of Jor- 
 dan township, daughter of Ever and Julia 
 (Christopher) Everson, who came to this 
 country and to Green county, Wis., in 1852,, 
 from Norway, where Mrs. Thorson was born 
 in 1830. She was one of six children: Rachel, 
 who died unmarried ; Christopher, of Kansas ; 
 Gora, wife of Ole Ellingson ; Ingebor, wife 
 of Ole Tollefson, of Iowa; Sarah, Mrs. Thor- 
 son; and John, who died in Norway. Eight 
 children were born to our subject and wife,, 
 five of whom grew to maturity: Mary is the 
 wife of Ever Gordy, of Jordan township; 
 Rachel is the wife of Sever O. Severson, a 
 thrifty farmer of Jordan township; Carrie is 
 at home; Thomas is at home, and now has 
 charge of the farm; Nellie died at the age of 
 nineteen years. All the members of this fam- 
 ily command the respect and esteem of their 
 neighbors, and they take a high place among 
 the best citizens of the township. 
 
 ORRIN J. BENNETT, a bright and pro- 
 gressive young man, is making a place for 
 himself and accumulating a competence for his 
 old age as a stock dealer and farmer in the. 
 town of Platteville, Grant county, and is be- 
 coming widely known as a thoroughly hon- 
 orable and trustworthy business man. 
 
 Mr. Bennett was born in the home in which 
 he is now living, in February, 1865, and is a 
 son of Anson and Elvira J. ( Jones) Bennett, 
 who were born and reared in the East. His 
 father was born in Vermont in 1812, and his 
 mother in Oswego, N. \ ., in August, 1824. 
 The father came to Grant county in 1836, and 
 was in the employ of Major Rountree. On 
 April 23, 1830, he married Miss Elvira J. 
 Jones of Platteville, daughter of Lyman and 
 Abigail Jones, who were among the earliest 
 setters of the county. Mr. Bennett had pur- 
 chased from Major Rountree a quarter sec- 
 tion of land two and a half miles northeast of' 
 Platteville. in 1843. Upon this valuable tract 
 he made many important improvements, and 
 converted the wild land into a choice farm, 
 which was his home during life. Airs. Ben- 
 
670 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 nett died in 1882, and he in 1897. They were 
 both members of the Free Methodist Church, 
 of Platteville, qf which he was a founder. Po- 
 litically he was a Republican, and held town 
 and school offices. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett had 
 eight children : Martha E. is the wife of W. 
 W. Davis, and is the mother of four children, 
 Benjamin A., William A., Jennie M. (Mrs. 
 Warren Vanetta), and Nellie B. Lydia mar- 
 ried Samuel Arthur, of Lafayette county, and 
 is now deceased. Susan E. is the wife of W. 
 H. Lory, of the town of Lima; she has no 
 family. Charles L. married Miss Mary E. 
 Aiken, who died leaving no children; he mar- 
 ried again, Miss Alice Merry becoming his 
 wife; he is now deceased. Nelson married 
 Miss Rosa Nasmith, and is a resident of Platte- 
 ville, engaged as a stock buyer ; they have one 
 child, Elva. Anson was killed by a falling rock, 
 while engaged in mining sand, at the age of 
 sixteen. Orrin J. is the subject of this article. 
 Annie M. married Joseph Barrett, and lives 
 on a farm in the town of Lima; they have one 
 daughter, Ruby E. 
 
 Orrin J. Bennett was educated in the Platte- 
 ville Normal, and was thoroughly prepared for 
 all, the practical duties of life. In 1888 he 
 married Miss Ella M. Adamson, of Le Mars, 
 Iowa, daughter of Thomas and Mary E. 
 Adamson, old and prominent residents of Le 
 Mars, where they are still living. Mrs. Ben- 
 nett was born in 1865, and was well educated 
 in the high school of her native place. Mr. 
 Bennett and wife settled on the Bennett home- 
 stead, where they are now living. He owns a 
 farm in the town of Platteville, and is counted 
 one of the most prosperous farmers of Grant 
 county. He and his wife have three children : 
 Cora M., born in 18S8; Anson J., in 1890; and 
 Clarence V., in 1893. Our subject has al- 
 ways been a Democrat, and fraternally is a 
 member of the Masonic order, belonging to 
 the Blue Lodge, Chapter, and Commandery; 
 of the Modern Woodmen; and of the Knights 
 of the Globe. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett are mem- 
 bers of the Order of the Eastern Star. 
 
 GEORGE A. CALLAWAY, an energetic 
 and hustling farmer of the town of Harrison, 
 Grant county, has won a very commendable 
 position in the world by industry, honesty and 
 a general spirit of fair play. He works hard, 
 and gives good measure, and he expects as 
 much in return. He is well spoken of by 
 
 those who know him best, and may fairly be 
 said to be far advanced on the highway to 
 success. 
 
 Mr. Callaway was born in Platteville, Wis., 
 m January, 1854, son of John and Elizabeth 
 Callaway, both natives of England, being the 
 sixth son of their family. He grew up under 
 the fostering care of his parents in their Wis- 
 consin home. He is a farmer not only by 
 heredity, but more largely by choice, as he feels 
 it is the noblest and freest of all occupations. 
 Mr. Callaway and Miss Lucy Poland, daugh- 
 ter of H. and Lorinda (Philips) Poland, were 
 married March 17, 1875. Her parents were 
 old-time pioneers in Grant county. Mrs. Cal- 
 laway was born June 19, 1855, and grew to 
 womanhood in the town of Lima, where she 
 had the advantage of good schooling, and be- 
 came a very scholarly and accomplished young 
 lady. Mr. and Mrs. Callaway moved to the 
 old farm after their marriage, and devoted 
 themselves to its management and the tender 
 care of Mr. Callaway’s' parents. In 1883 he 
 purchased the Obed Jones farm, in the town 
 of Harrison, and has either erected or remod- 
 eled all the farm buildings, so that they conform 
 to modern notions as to what is needed on 
 the farm for comfort and welfare of the farmer 
 and the rapid performance of farm labor. Mr. 
 Callaway owns a well-appointed rural estate 
 of 173 acres. He and his wife have had nine 
 children : Willie, born in Platteville, in 1876, 
 is unmarried, and living at home. Mabel L., 
 born in Platteville in 1879, married Fred 
 Schroder, and lives on a farm in the town of 
 Ellenboro. Georgie Viola was born in the town 
 of Harrison in 1885. Archie C., born in 1889, 
 died when four years' old. Clement W. was 
 born in 1890. Edna G. was born in 1892. 
 Della and Stella, twins', died in infancy. 
 Clarence died in infancy. Mr. Callaway is 
 a Republican, has held the office of supervisor 
 two terms, and is a member of the board at 
 this writing. His wife and family are mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he 
 takes an active part with them in church work. 
 He belongs to the Order of Foresters in Platte- 
 ville, and is a genial and companionable good 
 fellow wherever met. 
 
 JAMES W. LAUGHLIN occupies, as ed- 
 itor and proprietor of the Hollandale Review, 
 an influential position in Iowa county, of 
 which he has been a resident for several years. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Laughlin comes of Huguenot ances- 
 try. His grandfather was a native of South 
 Carolina, but being a strong opponent of slav- 
 ery he left that State when a comparatively 
 young man, and lived for a time in Kentucky. 
 Later he moved to Illinois, and in 1836 to the 
 then Territory of Wisconsin, locating in Grant 
 county, where the remainder of his active life 
 was passed. After the death of his wife he 
 lived with his children, his death occurring 
 in 1866 in Missouri, when he was well ad- 
 vanced in years. 
 
 William J. Laughlin was’ born in 1819, in 
 Washington county, III, moved with his fa- 
 ther to Wisconsin in 1836, and in 1865 went 
 to Caldwell county, Mo., where he resided for 
 thirteen years. He then removed to Kansas, 
 in which State he spent the balance of his life, 
 dying Feb. 10, 1883. On Feb. 27, 1856, in 
 Dodgeville, Iowa Co., Wis., he married Sarah 
 Ward, who survived him, passing away April 
 15, 1899. They became the parents of six chil- 
 dren, but only three reached maturity, namely : 
 James W., whose name introduces these lines'; 
 William J., now a resident of Waunakee, Wis. ; 
 and Elizabeth, Mrs. Skinner, of Hollandale, 
 Iowa Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 James W. Laughlin was born March 1, 
 1859, in the town of Mazomanie, Dane Co., 
 Wis., and accompanied his parents on their 
 various removals, remaining at home until the 
 death of his father, in 1883. He then returned 
 to Wisconsin, residing in Dane county for five 
 years, after which he came to Hollandale. 
 This was not long after the extension of the 
 Illinois, Central railroad to Hollandale. Mr. 
 Laughlin was for several years connected with 
 the mill and warehouse here, but after his 
 marriage he removed with his wife to Ten- 
 nessee, where, in Deer Lodge, Morgan county, 
 he made his first newspaper venture, buying 
 an interest in a paper. After sixteen^ months’ 
 experience at that point he returned to Hol- 
 landale, and established the Review, which he 
 has since conducted with constantly increas- 
 ing success. The subscription list now num- 
 bers about six hundred. Though small in 
 size, the paper is well conducted, complete in 
 matters of local interest, and a valuable medi- 
 um of advertising for local business men, who 
 have given it their hearty support. Mr. Laugh- 
 lin has, since, entering into business on his own 
 account, maintained an enviable reputation for 
 integrity and honor in his dealings, and he 
 
 67 1 
 
 has the good-will of his fellow citizens gen- 
 erally. 
 
 On May 2, 1892, Mr. Laughlin married 
 Miss Addie L. Skinner, daughter of William 
 Skinner, an early settler of this locality, and a 
 veteran of the war of the Rebellion. Mrs. 
 Laughlin renders her husband able assistance 
 in the conduct of the Review. 
 
 EDWARD M. WILMOTT, justice of the 
 peace and town clerk of Potosi, Grant county, 
 is one of the leading business men and promi- 
 nent citizens of that town, where he was born 
 in 1848, a son of Isaac and Mary (Auberla) 
 Wilmott, early settlers of Wisconsin. 
 
 Isaac Wilmott was a native of Canada, but 
 came to Potosi in 1833, was a miner by occu- 
 pation, and followed that calling all his life. 
 His death occurred in Potosi, in 1871. The 
 mother of our subject was a native of Switzer- 
 land, whence she came, in 1826, to Galena, 111 ., 
 and then to Wisconsin, locating in Lafayette 
 county, then in Grant county, finally locating 
 in Potosi, where she met and married Isaac 
 Wilmott. Prior to her marriage to Mr. Wil- 
 mott, the mother had been married to Francis 
 Nichols, and bore him the following family: 
 Sophia; Mary; Theodore; Edward; John; 
 Adelle, wife of Joseph Millet, of Minneapolis; 
 Peter, of Minneapolis, who enlisted in 1862, 
 in Co. H, 25th Wis. V. I., and served until 
 the close of the war; Frank enlisted in 1861 in 
 the 2d Wis. V. I., and served three years and 
 four months, dying at Potosi, May 14, 1891; 
 and by her second marriage there were : Eliza- 
 beth, deceased ; Edward M. ; Samuel, de- 
 ceased; and Henry, who died in Colorado in 
 1878. 
 
 Edward M. Wilmott was reared and edu- 
 cated at Potosi, and has always been a resi- 
 dent of the town. He is bookkeeper for the 
 Potosi Brewing Co., and is interested in the 
 insurance business. In 1882 he was .elected 
 justice of the peace, and has held that office 
 ever since, and is also a notary public. 
 
 Mr. Wilmott was married in Potosi, in 
 1876, to Miss Kate Lingscheid, who was born 
 in that town, a daughter of Anton and Eliza- 
 beth Lingscheid, natives of Germany, who 
 came to Milwaukee in 1848, thence to Potosi 
 in 1850. The father was a shoemaker by 
 trade, and died in August, 1880, his wife sur- 
 viving him until January, 1885. Five chil- 
 dren have been added to the family of our 
 
6/2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 subject and wife: Mary Florence, county 
 
 teacher; Henry, Samuel, Eva and James Ed- 
 ward. The Wilmotts have their own band, 
 as each one plays some instrument, and the 
 Wilmott Family Band is well known in this 
 section. In sentiment Mr. Wilmott is a Dem- 
 ocrat, and takes an active interest in politics. 
 Fraternally he is a member of the order of 
 Modern Woodmen and of the A. O. U. W., of 
 Lancaster, and the Knights of the Globe. 
 Throughout the county, Mr. Wilmott and his 
 family are known and highly esteemed for 
 their many excellent qualities, and their friends 
 are many. 
 
 AMO C. STEPHENS, a successful stock 
 farmer of the town of Platteville, Grant county, 
 is now in the prime of life, and holds an en- 
 viable position in the agricultural circles of this 
 part of the State. 
 
 Mr. Stephens was born in Platteville in 
 January, 1857, and is a son of William C. 
 and Ann (Mitchell) Stephens, who were born 
 in Cornwall, England, he in 1820, and she in 
 1822, and 1 were married in their native land. 
 Coming to Platteville, they made this their 
 permanent home, Mr. Stephens dying Feb. 27, 
 1897. Mrs. Stephens died in 1885. Her par- 
 ents died in England. Mr. Stephens was a 
 great traveler, and conversant with the W estern 
 part of the United States, having been one of 
 the gold seekers in California. He was also 
 a boatman on the Mississippi, working with 
 Capt. Langton for a number of years. Mr. 
 Stephens made many improvements after set- 
 tling on the family home, and put up the stone 
 house which his son Amo now occupies. For 
 the last twenty-eight years of his life he was 
 not engaged in active labor. To him and his 
 wife were born six children, of whom Thomas 
 and Harlan died when young. Mary M. is 
 now Mrs. Smith, of Platteville. Allie A., 
 born in 1850, married Miss Martha Jenkins, 
 and lives in Platteville, where he is engaged 
 in the dray business'; to them were born two 
 children, Percival and Edna. George H., born 
 in i860, was educated in Platteville. He mar- 
 ried Miss Carrie Wrape, of Iowa, and they 
 live in Fairfield, that State; they have one 
 daughter, Hilda, living, and have lost one son. 
 
 Amo C. Stephens was educated in the 
 Platteville schools, and grew to manhood on 
 the old home farm. In 1873 he married Miss 
 Margaret Nicholas, of Mifflin, Iowa county, 
 
 daughter of William and Sarah Nicholas, na- 
 tives of England, who came to Grant county 
 in 1848. Returning to England, they lived 
 there sixteen years. Coming a second time to 
 Wisconsin, they settled in Iowa county, where 
 Mr. Nicholas lived until a short time previous 
 to his death, when he came to live with Mrs'. 
 Stephens, in Platteville, dying in 1891. The 
 widow is still living with this daughter. Mrs. 
 Stephens was born May 20, 1856, and her ed- 
 ucation, begun in England, was completed in 
 the public schools of Wisconsin. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Ste- 
 phens moved to the old home of his father, 
 which in after years came into his possession. 
 Here he has erected new barns and made many 
 improvements. Three children have been born 
 to them: (1) Walter E., born in 1876, grew 
 
 up at home. He learned the printing trade with 
 Mr. Rindlaub, and is publishing a paper in 
 Oshkosh, Wis. (2) Leslie M., born in 1880, 
 is living at home. (3) Ada L., born in 1883, 
 obtained her education in the Platteville high 
 school, where she was counted one of the 
 brightest students. She died in 1900, and will 
 be sorely missed from the home from which 
 she has been so early taken away. 
 
 Mr. Stephens is a Republican, and has been 
 a member of the town board for some years. 
 In the field of local politics he is a prominent 
 figure. He and his wife are members of the 
 Primitive Methodist Church. 
 
 ROBERT WESLEY TRICKLE, who in 
 his lifetime was connected with all the promi- 
 nent business enterprises of Browntown, Green, 
 county, passed to his last rest June 23, 1894, 
 when he was aged fifty years, three months,, 
 five days. He was born in Clarno township, 
 Green county, March 18, 1844, and had passed 
 his life in Wisconsin. Successful in his busi- 
 ness ventures, his good management had ac- 
 quired for him a considerable fortune, and at 
 his death he left two large farms and five- 
 houses and lots. During the Civil war he en- 
 listed in Company A, 3d Colorado Cavalry, 
 and served until, the close of the struggle, his 
 discharge bearing the date 1865. By virtue of 
 his army service he was a member of the G. 
 A. R., and active in its work in emulating the 
 illustrious dead. 
 
 On Sept. 26, 1866, Mr. Trickle was united 
 in marriage with Miss Mary St. Clair, who 
 was born July 13, 1850, daughter of Samuel 
 
ROBERT WESLEY TRICKLE 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 673 
 
 and Eliza (Rulow) St. Clair, the former a na- 
 tive of Virginia, and the latter a native of 
 Canada. Mr. and Mrs. St. Clair had five chil- 
 dren : Lucinda, deceased; Virginia Boid, of 
 
 Browntown; Robert L., deceased; Joseph, de- 
 ceased ; and Mary E. Mr. St. Clair was a 
 machinist by trade, and worked for some time 
 in Detroit, Mich., where Mrs. Trickle was 
 born, but in 1855 located in Green county, 
 Wis., later going to California, where he died. 
 Mrs. St. Clair died in Freeport, 111 ., at the age 
 of seventy years. To Mr. and Mrs. Trickle 
 were born two children: Emma E., who mar- 
 
 ried Ellis Stover, and died, leaving two sons, 
 Wesley and Eddie; and Charles W., born Oct. 
 28, 1870, who married (first) Edith McGill, 
 and (second) Emma Keehl, the latter of 
 whom has borne him two children, Robert and 
 Eva. Mrs. Trickle has proven herself a most 
 competent business woman in her wise man- 
 agement of her husband’s estate, and is now 
 living in one of the handsomest dwellings in 
 Browntown, with her sister Virginia as a 
 companion. These ladies are highly cultured, 
 and greatly liked by their numerous friends. 
 
 Robert Wesley Trickle was a son of Ash- 
 ford and Eliza J. (Morton) Trickle, of Clarno 
 township, where the latter is yet living, now 
 over eighty-one years of age. They were the 
 parents of children as follows: INIary, Rob- 
 
 ert, Julia, Lydia. Joshua, John, Jane, George, 
 James, Sarah and Ellen. 
 
 JOHN LUCHSINGER, a widely known 
 attorney at law and justice of the peace, at 
 Monroe, Green county, is a scholarly man, with 
 a good knowledge of his profession, its prin- 
 ciples. and its rules of procedure, and an ex- 
 tended reputation as a historical and political 
 writer of thorough information and incisive 
 style. 
 
 John Luchsinger was born in Schwanden, 
 Canton Glarus, Switzerland, June 29, 1839, 
 a son of John and Barbara (Wild) Luchsinger, 
 both also natives' of Switzerland. They had 
 four sons and four daughters, and six of their 
 children are now living: Nicholas, of Vine- 
 
 land, N. J. ; Julia, widow of George Ditt- 
 man, of Philadelphia; Sybilla, widow of John 
 Ritter, of Philadelphia ; John ; Barbara, widow 
 of Jacob Burgy, of Monroe; and Frederick, 
 of Belleville, Wis. The father, who was a 
 mason, stone-cutter, and builder, came to the 
 United States in 1845, lived for a few months 
 
 at Syracuse, N. Y., and then moved to Phila- 
 delphia. In 1852 he went to California, and 
 followed mining there for four years, being 
 fairly prosperous. In 1856 he came back to 
 Philadelphia, gathered up his household goods 
 and possessions, and brought his family to 
 New Glarus, Wis., then the center of an ex- 
 tremely interesting Swiss settlement. There 
 he bought a farm, and engaged in its cultiva- 
 tion until 1862. when he died, at the com- 
 paratively early age of fifty-one. His widow 
 survived until 1868, and was fifty-eight years 
 old at the time of her death. They were mem- 
 bers of the Swiss Reformed Church. His fa- 
 ther, Nicholas Luchsinger, also followed the 
 trade of stone-cutter and mason, and lived to 
 the age of eighty-six. He reared a family of 
 eight children. Samuel Wild, father of Bar- 
 bara \\ ild, mentioned above, was a dairyman, 
 and died in Switzerland when eighty-five years 
 old. 
 
 John Luchsinger received his schooling 
 principally in the city of Philadelphia. He 
 was seventeen years old when he accompanied 
 his parents to their new home in New Glarus, 
 Wis., and, though the city-bred lad found 
 many things strange to him, he took hold read- 
 ily of the farm work. When his father's death 
 threw the burden of the family support upon 
 himself and his' younger brother,, he did not 
 hesitate, but bravely “buckled to,” and carried 
 on the home farm as long as the mother lived. 
 When she died John sold his interest in the 
 family estate, and bought a farm of 184 acres, 
 in the same town, continuing an agricultural 
 career until 1878. That year he disposed of 
 his farming property and interests, and moved 
 to Monroe, where he has lived to the present 
 time. He bought a thirty-acre farm at that 
 time within the city limits. In 1880 and 1881 
 he had a lumber yard at Albany, but since his 
 first removal to the city, his home has always 
 been in Monroe. 
 
 Mr. Luchsinger has been a resident of 
 Green county forty-six years, and of Monroe 
 twenty-three years. In 1882 he was elected 
 county treasurer, was re-elected in 1884, and 
 proved a popular and capable official. During 
 this time he took up the study of the law, 
 and was admitted to the Bar in 1885, since 
 which time he has been a practicing attorney 
 in Green county. He is eminently fair and 
 judicial in his' thought and temper. In 1872 
 Mr. Luchsinger was elected to the General 
 
6/4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Assembly. He was elected again in 1875, 
 1876 and 1877, and a fifth time in 1886. He 
 has been a member of the board of education 
 m Monroe for twelve years, and of the county 
 board a number of times, one term serving as 
 its chairman. He was mayor of the city of 
 Monroe from 1894 to 1896, and it was during 
 his administration that the sewerage system 
 now in use was introduced. While living in 
 New Glarus lie was chairman of the town board 
 several years. He is vice-president of the Citi- 
 zens Bank of Monroe. Mr. Luchsinger is a 
 Republican, and cast his first vote for Abra- 
 ham Lincoln. He has been delegate to nu- 
 merous State and Congressional conventions, 
 and was alternate delegate to the National con- 
 vention of 1900. 
 
 John Luchsinger and Miss Elsbeth Kun- 
 dert, daughter of Henry and Elsbeth (Kun- 
 dert) Kundert, were married Aug. 8, 1868. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Luchsinger are the parents of 
 seven sons and three daughters : John, Henry, 
 Samuel, William, Frank, George, Elsbeth, 
 Barbara, Edna, and one who died in infancy. 
 Seven are still living. John married Ellen 
 O'Donnell, and they have four children; they, 
 live in Fargo, N. Dak., lie being in the employ 
 of the Northern Pacific Railway Co. Henry 
 married Maude Cunningham, and is a farmer 
 near Dix, 111 . ; they have two children, Ray and 
 Louisa. Samuel, who was a physician, died 
 June 23, 1900, from an operation for appendi- 
 citis; he married Julia Me'hring, and left two 
 sons. William, who was a machinist, died 
 from an accident April 7, 1896, when lie was 
 twenty-two. Frank is a p Limber. George 
 
 lives' at home. Elsbeth married Edward Stauf- 
 facher, lives at St. Paul, and has one child. 
 Barbara and Edna are at -home. John Luch- 
 singer belongs to .the Swiss Reformed Church, 
 and his wife to the Evangelical Association. 
 He is a member of Monroe Lodge, No. 72, 
 I. O. O. F. 
 
 While on the farm Mr. Luchsinger made 
 cheese, and as he has given a great amount of 
 study to the problems the cheese business 
 presents', he may be regarded as authority on 
 the subject. After abandoning the lumber 
 business he bought and sold cheese for several 
 years, and was instrumental, with others, in 
 establishing cheese factories in the county ; this 
 business has grained great importance in the 
 southern part of the State, and there are now 
 over two hundred cheese factories and thirty- 
 
 five creameries in Green county. Our subject 
 has been unceasing in Ins efforts to make 
 known the good qualities of the cheese made, 
 and the vast growth of its production, and is 
 president of the Green County Cheese Makers 
 Association. He has contributed numerous 
 and valuable articles to the public press on the 
 cheese making industry of the county. A val- 
 uable historical monogram on the history of 
 the cheese making business in southern Wis- 
 consin, under the head of “The History of a 
 Great Industry,” was' read by him before the 
 State Historical Society in 1898, and printed 
 by them in 1899. It has been very widely read, 
 and has elicited words of strong commendation 
 from those most familiar with the subject. 
 His address to the Wisconsin State Dairy- 
 men’s Association, in 1891, “Cheese as an 
 Army Ration,” has been widely copied and pub- 
 lished throughout the country. 
 
 Mr. Luchsinger is historian of the Swiss 
 Colony of New Glarus, and has translated from 
 the original some of the diaries and papers of 
 the first colonists, bearing upon the settlement 
 of this remarkable colony. I11 1895, at the 
 great semi-centennial celebration of its found- 
 ing, he delivered the English anniversary ad- 
 dress. He has been engaged in nearly all of 
 the political campaigns during the last twenty 
 years, speaking and writing in both English 
 and German in the interests of the Republican 
 party. 
 
 NICHOLAS CORNELIUS enjoys the 
 reputation of being the oldest living settler of 
 the city of Monroe, Green county, and certainly 
 the changes that have taken place in southern 
 Wisconsin under his personal observation, if 
 fully told would far transcend the limits of 
 a volume like this. He has lived a long and 
 useful life, and is spending the evening of his 
 days surrounded by warm friends and a ven- 
 erating public. 
 
 Mr. Cornelius was born in St. Clair county, 
 Illinois, March 3, 1815, and is a son of Jo- 
 seph and Mary (Rutter) Cornelius. Eight 
 children were born to them, and their son, 
 whose name appears above, is the only one 
 now alive. The father was a farmer, and 
 moved to St. Clair county, Illinois, in 1804, 
 making the overland journey with a four- 
 horse team and settling near the city of St. 
 Louis, though the nearest postoffice was at 
 Ivaskaskia, forty miles distant. He bought 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 675 
 
 Spanish claims' to five hundred acres nine miles 
 east of what was then the metropolis of the 
 West, and engaged in farming the rest of his 
 life. When he came from Maryland to Illi- 
 nois he brought with him a family of six 
 slaves, whom he subsequently freed. They 
 went to St. Louis, where one of them was 
 kidnapped and sold into slavery in New Or- 
 leans. Upon learning this fact, Mr. Cornelius 
 made a journey to that city on purpose to se- 
 cure her release, although the trip cost him 
 ■over $400. He died in 1825, while still in 
 middle life. His wife died in 1819. They 
 were both Baptists in faith. It is said the Cor- 
 nelius family descended from three brothers 
 who came from Scotland early in the seven- 
 teenth century. The given name of the fa- 
 ther of Mary Rutter is not now known, but 
 he was of German descent, and died in Mary- 
 land. 
 
 Nicholas Cornelius grew to manhood in 
 St. Clair county, Illinois, attended' an old- 
 fashioned subscription school, held in a log 
 cabin with no floor but the ground, and was 
 reared on the farm. In 1834 he came to Wis- 
 consin, and took up a claim of 160 acres in 
 what is now Clarno township, in the county of 
 Green. He failed to perfect his title, and two 
 years later secured a quarter-section in Monroe 
 township, the name of President V an Buren ap- 
 pearing on the patent. This farm he presently 
 exchanged for another, consisting of 150 acres, 
 a half mile nearer the present city of Monroe, 
 and now adjoining the western limits of the 
 corporation, which he has owned for over sixty 
 years, and was actively engaged in its culti- 
 vation until 1885. That year he moved into 
 Monroe, where he has lived since, his son 
 Erwin now taking charge of the farm, and he is 
 making a fine farmer, although engaged as 
 principal of schools at Wauwatosa, Wis., for 
 several years past. 
 
 On June 10, 1849. Mr. Cornelius married 
 Miss Phillippa Trizetter, who was born in 1832 
 in England, daughter of Andrew and Susanna 
 (Bulin) Trizetter. who came to America the 
 same year, locating, a few years later, near 
 Columbus, Ohio. Th ree children have been 
 born to their union, Erwin C., Alice, and one 
 who died in infancy. ( 1 ) Erwin C. married 
 Miss Winnie Byers, a daughter of Dr. Byers, 
 of Monroe, and they had one daughter. Alice ; 
 Mrs. Cornelius died, and he married a second 
 time Mrs. Bertha Perkins, and has one child 
 
 by that union. (2) Alice Cornelius married 
 Charles Goddard, of Monroe, and they have 
 four children, Harry, Wilbur, Grace and Phil- 
 lippa. Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius have been mar- 
 ried fifty-two years. He voted for William 
 Henry Harrison in 1840, and cast his lot with 
 the Republican party when it was formed, and 
 acted with it until 1900. He says he believes 
 in Americanism, but not in plutocracy. Mr. 
 Cornelius has been on the grand jury twenty 
 years. 
 
 Nicholas Cornelius came to this locality 
 when the country was wild and full of In- 
 dians, and helped to ferry three hundred In- 
 dians across the Pecatonica on their way to 
 Chicago in 1S34. There was no Milwaukee, 
 Janesville or Monroe then. He is the oldest set- 
 tler here, not in age, but in point of length of 
 residence, only three families having settled in 
 Green county before his arrival. He remem- 
 bers visiting St. Louis when it was a town of 
 less importance than the present city of 
 Monroe. When he first came up the Missis- 
 sippi, there was no settlement on the river north 
 of Narvoo except Ft. Snelling. Steamboats ran 
 to Galena, the lower river then being navigable. 
 After coming to Wisconsin, Mr. Cornelius 
 spent about fifteen years in the lead mines, 
 and while there he made the acquaintance of 
 Gov. Dodge, William S. Hamilton, and other 
 prominent pioneer citizens of the State. His 
 father’s farm of 500 acres was sold after his 
 death to satisfy a mortgage of $300 which, 
 owing to the depreciation of the currency was 
 paid with $80 in specie. This circumstance 
 made a deep impression upon the mind of our 
 subject, and he has never mortgaged any prop- 
 erty during his life. His strict business prin- 
 ciples and unswerving honesty have given him 
 an enviable reputation in the business' world. 
 
 JOHN HENRY OSTRANDER is one of 
 the leading representatives of the farming in- 
 terests of Green county, and is living on his fine 
 place four miles south of Juda. He is the 
 son of James and Maria (Loring) Ostrander, 
 who were born and reared near Schenectady, 
 N. Y., the former the son of Samuel Ostran- 
 der, who came to New York from Holland 
 about 1774. 
 
 James Ostrander was born Aug. 15, 1810, 
 and died in Green county March 30, 1892. 
 He was a paper-hanger by trade, and followed 
 that as a means of livelihood in New York in 
 
6/6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the winter, and engaged in farming in the 
 summer, in 1851 lie moved from tnat State 
 to Walworth county, Wis., where he bought 
 a farm and cultivated it for four years, and 
 then moved into Green county. After his re- 
 moval to the West he followed farming exclu- 
 sively. A stanch Democrat, he was a man of 
 some influence in the world of politics. As 
 a member of the United Brethren Church, he 
 lived an honorable and upright life. Maria 
 Loring became his wife in New York in 1831, 
 and died in 1865, aged fifty-five years. She 
 was the mother of six children: William, 
 born in 1832, was living in Kansas when last 
 heard from; Jeremiah, born Aug. 8, 1834, 
 lives in Wilson county, Ivans. ; John H. ; Thom- 
 as L., born in 1838, died while a member of 
 the 1 st Wis. Heavy Artillery, at Berwick, 
 La., Sept. 8, 1864; Mary, born in 1840, mar- 
 ried Charles M. Ball, a veteran of the 1st Wis. 
 Heavy Artillery, now living in Kansas; and 
 Susan, born in 1842, married Baird Stephen- 
 son, of Benton county, Iowa, where they still 
 live. 
 
 John H. Ostrander was born Aug. 28, 
 
 1836, and married Miss Sarah C. Davis, June 
 15, 1856. Mrs. Ostrander was born Oct. 6. 
 
 1837, a daughter of Archibald and Elizabeth 
 (Dever) Davis, pioneer settlers of the county. 
 To this union were born the following chil- 
 dren: Viola H., born Sept. 11, 1858, is the 
 wife of John Zimmerman, a farmer near Oak- 
 ley, Wis.; Cynthia M., born Sept. 3, i860, 
 married William IT. Zimmerman, a farmer in 
 the towm of Spring Grove; Clarence D., born 
 Aug. 9, 1862, died Aug. 14, 1862; John W., 
 born June 23, 1863, died May 4, 1864; Archie 
 J., born April 17, 1866, married Lillie Bennage 
 and is a farmer in the town of Jefferson; An- 
 nie E., born Jan. 26, 1868, married Jesse Rowe, 
 a farmer of Spirit Lake, Iowa; Walter L., 
 born Dec. 30, 1869, married Carrie Tracy, 
 and is a farmer in the town of Jefferson; Ed- 
 gar O., born Oct. 18, 1871, resides at home 
 with his parents; Dora M., born Jan. 9, 1874, 
 died April 1, 1876; General O., born Feb. 7, 
 1876, married Miss Kate Zimmerman; Blanche, 
 born Oct. 25, 1877, married Burt G. Wonchell, 
 of Jefferson. 
 
 Mr. Ostrander was reared on the farm, 
 and had his education in the public schools. 
 All his life he has been a farmer, and every- 
 thing he has or is he has accumulated with 
 the help of his faithful wife. A fine farm of 
 
 430 acres is their home, and here they occupy 
 a roomy and commodious house, and have all 
 the equipments such a place demands. Mr. 
 vMrancLer was a member of the 1st Wis. 
 Heavy Artillery (in which all his brothers 
 served), entering the service in July, 1863, 
 as a member of Company D, and was honora- 
 bly discharged in July, 1865. The greater 
 part of his time in the army was spent at Fort 
 Jackson, Brazier City, and New Orleans. Mr. 
 Ostrander has been school director for many 
 years, and was on the town board a number of 
 years. For fifteen years. he has been justice of 
 the peace, and is a Republican. The first vote 
 which he cast for President was given to John 
 C. Fremont. Mr. Ostrander has never united 
 with any church, but holds to the Golden Rule 
 as the fundamental law of all right living. 
 He is a man of high character and fine repute, 
 and has lived a creditable life. 
 
 CONRAD J. WEITTENHILLER, a 
 prosperous and successful stock farmer of the 
 town of Lima, Grant county, was born in 
 Platteville Sept. 27, 1855. 
 
 Sebastian and Annie (Scheel) Weitten- 
 hiller, his parents, were both natives of Ba- 
 varia, the father born April 27, 1824, and the 
 mother in January, 1822. They reached ma- 
 turity in their native country, where they were 
 married in 1843. Seven years later Mr. Weit- 
 tenhiller came to this country, leaving his fam- 
 ily in their German home. Landing at New 
 York, he made his way to Buffalo, where he 
 followed his trade of glazier. In 1853 he came 
 to Platteville, Wis., where he met his wife 
 and family, just arrived from Germany. Here 
 he worked at the cooper’s trade until 1862, 
 when he purchased a farm in the town o! 
 Platteville, upon which he erected substantial 
 buildings and made many improvements. On 
 this farm he passed his remaining days, dying 
 in 1898. Mr. Weittenhiller was a member of 
 the Presbyterian Church, and a Republican in 
 politics. To him and his wife came a family 
 of fourteen children, of whom nine are living, 
 viz.: (1) Charles, born in Germany in 1844, 
 married Miss Jennie Marshall, of Platteville, 
 and is the father of five children. They sti.I 
 reside in Platteville, where he is a merchant. 
 (2) Mary, born in Germany in 1848, resides 
 with her mother in Platteville. (3) Annie, 
 born in Germany in 1850, unmarried. (4) 
 Conrad J. is our subject. (5) Emma, born in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 677 
 
 Platteville in '1858, is the wife of Sampson 
 Callaway. (6) Phillip, born in 1859, mar- 
 ried Miss Nellie Jones, daughter of O. K. 
 Jones, of the town of Harrison, and lives in 
 Pocahontas county, Iowa. (7) Lena, born 111 
 Grant county in i860, is the wife of Charles 
 Secord, of Spokane, Wash., where he is em- 
 ployed as a railroad engineer. (8) Jennie, 
 born in Grant county in 1862, is the wife of 
 John Miller, a railroad man at Spokane. Wash. 
 (9) Esther M., born in 1866, married Fred- 
 erick May, a resident of Helix, Oregon. 
 
 Conrad J. Weittenhiller received his edu- 
 cation in the public schools and at the State 
 Normal at Platteville, and grew up on the old 
 homestead. In 1874, when a young man, he 
 went to California, where he worked on a 
 fruit farm for one year, and then returned 
 home. Here he learned the cooper’s trade, at 
 which he engaged for some years during the 
 winter, working on the farm during the sum- 
 mer. In 1881 he bought what was known as 
 the F. Johns farm, in the town of Platteville. 
 
 On March 5, 1882, Mr. Weittenhiller mar- 
 ried Miss Mary Jones, of Platteville, daugh- 
 ter of Obed C. and Ursula A. Jones. Her 
 parents were old pioneers of Grant county, 
 coming from Trumbull county, Ohio, at a very 
 early day, and he was well known as a local 
 minister in the Christian Church. Mr. Weit- 
 tenhiller made many handsome improvements 
 on his farm-, and brought it into fine condition. 
 After selling the farm to Mr. Reddy he lived 
 on the old homestead a year, and then bought 
 a half section of August Kamm, in the town 
 of Lima, where he now owns as fine a prop- 
 erty as is to be found in Grant county. For 
 the last few months he has been largely en- 
 gaged in shipping stock to the Chicago mar- 
 kets. 
 
 Nine children have been born to our sub- 
 ject and his wife: (1) Byron, born in 1884, 
 
 in the town of Platteville, who has graduated 
 from the Platteville Business College; (2) 
 Merton F., born July 29, 1886; (3) Blanche, 
 born Feb. 29, 1888, who died aged twelve 
 days; (4) Willie, born May 22, 1889; (5) 
 May, May 6, 1891; (6) Alma, March 16, 
 1893; (?) Clarence, in July, 1895; (8) Albert, 
 Sept. 11, 1897; and (9) Victor Walter, July 
 4, 1900. 
 
 In politics Mr. Weittenhiller has always 
 been a Republican, and is a prominent worker 
 in the party. For eight years he has been a 
 
 delegate to the county convention, and one year 
 was a delegate to the State convention, when 
 it was held at Milwaukee. The family belong 
 to the Methodist Church, and Mr. Weitten- 
 hiller takes an active interest in church work. 
 He has been associated for some years with 
 the order of K. P., and also with the M. W. 
 of A. Mr. Weittenhiller began with nothing 
 to help him except his own courage and will- 
 ingness to take hold, and since his advent here 
 has achieved substantial results. 
 
 BENJAMIN F. NEELY, a dairyman 
 farmer of the town of Platteville, Grant coun- 
 ty, is a young man of energy and enterprise, 
 and has already attained an enviable standing 
 among the younger farmers of this portion 
 of the State. He is known as a man of his 
 word, and his farm reflects his industry. 
 
 Mr. Neely was born in the house in which 
 he is now living, in November, 1868, and is 
 a son of Robert and Helen (Chase) Neely. 
 Robert Neely was born in Westmoreland coun- 
 ty, Penn., July 15, 1815, and Helen Chase in 
 Royalton, N. Y., in March, 1828. Mr. Neely 
 grew to manhood in Pennsylvania, and was 
 educated for the ministry at Oberlin College. 
 On account of confirmed ill health, he gave 
 up the work of the ministry, and came to Wis- 
 consin as early as 1839. Here he took up a 
 government claim and devoted himself to min- 
 ing and farming as long as lie lived. He died 
 April 15, 1895. When he had been but ten 
 years in this State he went back to Pennsyl- 
 vania, and married. The young couple re- 
 turned to Wisconsin and lived a life of close 
 companionship until his death. His widow 
 only survived his loss five months. They were 
 consistent and devoted members of the Con- 
 gregational Church, in which he was a dea- 
 con for twenty-five years. They assisted m 
 the establishment of the Congregational Church 
 at Platteville, and were always identified with 
 good movements and measures at home and 
 abroad. They left a family of seven children : 
 
 ( 1 ) Henry D., born Dec. 23, 1851, was a grad- 
 uate from the State Normal at Platteville, 
 and studied law, was admitted to the Bar, 
 and practiced law, but he now resides in Oma- 
 ha, where he is State manager for the Equita- 
 ble Life Assurance Co. He married Miss. 
 Emma Johns, of Winona, Minn., and they have 
 two sons, Henry Fay and Robert Donald. 
 
 (2) Mary F., born Oct. 9, 1853, was a gradu- 
 
678 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ate of the State Normal, and a successful 
 teacher in Grant county for some years. She 
 is now the wife of George C. Thompson, chief 
 clerk of the U. P. freight office at Omaha, and 
 has three children, Ruth, Mayone and Robert. 
 (3) Katie M., born in January, 1858, is the 
 wife of Lester C. Hine, of Trumbull county, 
 Ohio, where they live on a farm. In their 
 family of children are Frank, Helen, Neely, 
 Mary, Bessie, Ronald and Fay R. (4) Nell.e 
 5 ., born in March, i860, is the wife of R. P. 
 Perry, one of the leading lawyers and bankers 
 of Reedsburg, Wis., and they have three chil- 
 dren, Edna, Mildred and Catherine. (5) 
 Fannie, born in March, 1862, a bright and 
 scholarly young lady, is one of the successful 
 teachers of the Reedsburg high school, in which 
 position she has been for ten consecutive years. 
 (6) Robert S., born in July, 1864, married 
 Miss Josephine Cook, and resides in Omaha, 
 where he is employed in the yards of the Union 
 Pacific railroad. 
 
 Benjamin F. Neely, who completes this 
 family, was educated in the Platteville Normal, 
 and he has remained on the old homestead, 
 having had charge of the farm previous to the 
 death of his father. In 1893 he married Miss 
 Fannie Bell, the daughter of Edward and Annie 
 (Rawson) Bell, an old and prominent family 
 of Grant county. Mrs. Neely was born in 
 Platteville, in June, 1872, and was educated 
 in the local high school. She is a lady of cul- 
 ture and refinement. They settled on the old 
 Neely farm, and devoted themselves to farm- 
 ing. They have two sons, Robert C., born 
 in August, 1896, and Edward, in July, 1899. 
 Fir. Neely and his father were prominent Re- 
 publicans, and were both brought up in the 
 Congregational Church. Fie is a member of 
 the Foresters at Platteville, the Maccabees, 
 the Modern Woodmen of America, and the 
 Equitable Fraternal Union. The senior Neely 
 was a Mason, and was an industrious and 
 highly respected man, and was an affectionate 
 husband, and was greatly loved in the com- 
 munity where he lived. Benjamin F. Neely is 
 one of the leading and prosperous farmers of 
 the town, and is well known. 
 
 JOHN ROBINSON, an enterprising farm- 
 er of Platteville township. Grant county, and 
 one of its most respected citizens, was born in 
 Fennimore, in the same county, in December, 
 1845. His parents were John and Catherine 
 
 (Coy) Robinson, the former of whom was 
 born in Manchester, England, and on coming 
 to the United States found his way to Galena, 
 111 ., in 1836, and later to Fennimore, Wis., 
 near which village he purchased a farm. He 
 served in the 7th Wis. V. I. about a year, hav- 
 ing enlisted in 1861, and being discharged on 
 account of disability, some time in 1862. He 
 had lost his wife in 1852, and his own death, 
 in 1872, resulted from the bite of a rattlesnake 
 while he was loading hay in his meadow. 
 There were born to Mr. and Mrs. Robinson 
 four children besides the gentleman whose 
 name opens this biographical review, and of 
 whom a brief notice of each is made as fol- 
 lows : George, the eldest of the family, was 
 
 born in Iowa county, Wis., in 1839, enlisted 
 in the 20th Wis. V. I., was promoted from pri- 
 vate to orderly sergeant, then to first lieuten- 
 ant, and died on a march near Springfield, 
 Mo.; Mary D., born in Grant county, is now 
 Mrs. Evan Johnson, resides on the old Rob- 
 inson homestead, and is the mother of five chil- 
 dren, all living in the vicinity; Frank is at 
 present in Colorado ; Agnes, born in Fennimore, 
 is the wife of Peter Finnegan, a wealthy 
 farmer at Fennimore, and has a family of 
 seven children, Emma, Mary, George, Albert, 
 Robert, Mabel and Clements. 
 
 John Robinson, the subject proper of this 
 sketch, was reared to farming on the homestead 
 and educated in the district schools. In 1871 
 he married Miss Marietta Byerly, of Feani- 
 more, daughter of George and Mary A. (Ma- 
 son) Byerly, who were born in Westmore- 
 land and Crawford counties, Penn., respect- 
 ively, but for some years lived on a farm in 
 Mercer county, whence they came in 1867 to 
 Wisconsin, and located at Fennimore, where 
 Mr. Byerly bought a farm, and also established 
 a hotel, prospering in the conduct of both. 
 Mrs. Byerly died the same year in which she 
 arrived in Wisconsin, leaving nine children, 
 viz.: Sylvester, now in Omaha, Neb.; Lavinia 
 (deceased), wife of John Parker, of Missouri; 
 Joseph, of Spencer, Iowa ; Mrs. Robinson, who 
 was born in Mercer county, Penn., in 1852, and 
 there educated; George, of Fennimore, Wis.; 
 James and Leonard, deceased; Theressa, wife 
 of Walter Bradley, of Iowa; and Linda, wife 
 of Lewis Patterson, of Dexter, also in the 
 Hawkeye State. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Rob- 
 inson resided on the Robinson homestead until 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 6 79 
 
 1872, when, his father dying, Mr. Robinson 
 purchased a farm in Fennimore, on which they 
 resided until the fall of 1892, when he moved 
 to and bought a home in Platteville, in order 
 to educate his children, Annetta, Bertha L., 
 Pearl M. and Linda C. Annetta, born in Fen- 
 nimore in 1873, is a graduate of the State 
 Normal School of this State, and a graduate 
 and post-graduate of the Emerson School of 
 Oratory, and was married in June, 1891. to 
 G. W. Moody, a leading business man of Bos- 
 ton, Mass., where she now resides. Bertha 
 L. was born in Fennimore in 1875, was also 
 graduated from the State Normal, as well as 
 the State University at Madison, and is at 
 present a teacher in the high school at Neills- 
 ville, Wis. Pearl .M., born in 1878, in Fenni- 
 more, likewise was graduated from the State 
 Normal, and is now a student in vocal and in- 
 strumental music in Platteville. Linda C., born 
 in Fennimore in 1886, is a student in the State 
 Normal, and is being prepared for the profes- 
 sion of teaching. In religion Mr. Robin -on 
 is a devout Catholic, while his wife and daugh- 
 ters are members of the Congregational Church. 
 Mr. Robinson and his wife, while not among 
 the very wealthy people of Platteville, are quite 
 well-to-do, owning a large farm and a com- 
 fortable city home, and have many warm 
 friends, in whose esteem they stand very high. 
 They have given their children excellent edu- 
 cational training, the result of which is that 
 all four are ornaments to the society in which 
 they respectively live. 
 
 WILLIAM BLOUNT PARKISON, an 
 influential farmer of the town of Mineral 
 Point, Iowa county, represents one of the ear- 
 liest pioneer families of A isconsin. Lie was 
 born near Highland, Madison Co., 111 ., Oct. 
 24, 1820, a son of Col. Daniel Morgan Parki- 
 son and his wife, Mary Elizabeth (Hyder). 
 
 Peter Parkison, father of Col. Daniel Mor- 
 gan Parkison, came to America from England 
 about 1770, and settled in Virginia. He be- 
 came a soldier in the Continental army, hold- 
 ing the rank of captain. After the close of 
 that memorable struggle he located in Carter 
 county, Tenn., where he married Miss Mary 
 Mars, a native of that county, but of German 
 extraction. Capt. Peter Parkison died in Ten- 
 nessee, and his widow with her six sons moved 
 to Madison county, Ilk, in 1818, and there 
 her death occurred. Of the six children, Wash- 
 
 ington died in Madison county, 111 . ; George, 
 in La Fayette county, Mo. ; Emanuel, in Knox 
 county, Tenn.; John, in Mississippi; William, 
 in Lafayette county, Wis. ; and Daniel Morgan, 
 in Wisconsin. 
 
 Daniel Morgan Parkison passed a number 
 of years of his life in Sangamon county, 111 ., 
 and in 1827 moved to Wisconsin, passing a 
 year or two near Shullsburg. He then went 
 to Mineral Point and erected a row of log cab- 
 ins near the present corner of High and Com- 
 merce streets, in which he kept a hotel, the 
 first in the place. His next location was Wil- 
 low Springs, Lafayette county, where he en- 
 tered about one section of land, on which he 
 passed the remainder of his life, dying during 
 the Civil war, at the age of seventy-seven. 
 He attained great prominence in the affairs 
 of his town, county and State. During the 
 Black Hawk war he recruited a company and 
 commanded it throughout that conflict. He 
 became a member of the first Territorial Legis- 
 lature, which convened at Old Belmont, and 
 was also a member of the second, which was 
 held in Burlington, Iowa, then a part of Wis- 
 consin. This did not end his service in the 
 Legislature, however, as he continued to rep- 
 resent his district for some time after the cap- 
 ital was located at Madison, and was a mem- 
 ber of the first Constitutional Convention of 
 the State. As may be inferred, he was a man 
 of great influence in those early days, and, 
 when he passed away full of years and hon- 
 ors, it was to leave behind him the priceless 
 heritage of an untarnished reputation. His 
 wife, Mary Elizabeth Hyder, was born in Car- 
 ter county, Tenn., and died in Sangamon 
 county, 111 ., about 1826. She was the mother 
 of eight children, as follows : Jonathan, who 
 died in Madison county, 111 . ; Rosanna, who. 
 became Mrs. Thomas Connor, and died in 
 Bond county, 111 .; Peter, who died in. Lafay- 
 ette county, Wis. ; Mary, who became Mrs. 
 William McAdams, and died in Bond county, 
 111 . ; Nathaniel, who passed away in Lafayette 
 county, Wis. ; William Blount, Our subject; 
 Jane, who died in childhood in Lafayette coun- 
 ty, Wis. ; and Ann, whose death occurred in 
 the same place. 
 
 After the death of his mother in Illinois, 
 William Blount Parkison made his home with 
 an uncle until he reached the age of fifteen, 
 when he joined his father in Wisconsin. In 
 1S54 he purchased wild land in the town of 
 
68o 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mineral Point, where he has since made his 
 home, now owning 270 acres of arable land, 
 all in a high state of cultivation, well improved 
 with good buildings, etc. 
 
 In 1847 Mr. Parkison was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Nancy Padon, born in Leban- 
 on, St. Clair Co., 111 ., daughter of James and 
 Melinda Padon, and died March 20, 1897, 
 aged seventy-two years. Five children blessed 
 this union: James Daniel, of Washta, Cher- 
 okee Co., Iowa; Adaline Melinda, at home; 
 Charles Barton, of Kirkham, Shelby Co., 
 Iowa; Virginia C., now Mrs. O. L. Parkison, 
 of Mineral Point; and William V., of Iowa. 
 Mr. Parkison has seven grandchildren and two 
 great-grandchildren. In religious belief the 
 family are all Methodists, in which faith the 
 mother died. 
 
 In his political affiliations Mr. Parkison 
 is a Democrat, and has led a strictly temper- 
 ate life, for a time supporting the Prohibition- 
 ists in local elections. He has been prominent 
 in the affairs of his locality for many years, 
 and has held a number of local offices, among 
 them being chairman of the town board, an 
 office held for eight years, for three years was 
 one of the superintendents of the County 
 House, justice of the peace, etc. In 1845 ^ ie 
 went overland to Oregon, driving an ox-team. 
 His party, which consisted of 120 wagons, 
 started from Independence, Mo., and was the 
 first to cross the plains to that now prosperous 
 State. They were six months on the road, 
 and Mr. Parkison returned on horseback the 
 following season. They suffered the usual 
 hardships incident to such a journey, had two 
 or three encounters with hostile Indians, but 
 suffered no serious damage. In 1850 he went 
 to California with a horse-team, and returned 
 by water to Acapulco, Mexico, thence over- 
 land to V era Cruz, where he took the steamer 
 to New Orleans. 
 
 ALVIN BLANCHARD, of Blanchard- 
 ville, Lafayette county, in honor of whom 
 the village and township were named, is a well- 
 known pioneer citizen, and one of the leading 
 business men and large land owners in the 
 county. He was born in Cortland Co., New 
 York, Jan. 12, 1830, son of Asahel and Eliza- 
 beth Blanchard, the former of whom was a 
 native of the State of New York, and the lat- 
 ter of Massachusetts. In 1840 the family em- 
 igrated to Wisconsin and located in Dodge- 
 
 ville, Iowa county, where the father engaged 
 in mining a short distance east of that town. 
 He afterward purchased a farm and passed 
 the rest of life at that place. His death oc r 
 curred in July, 1852, the result of an acci- 
 dent in a runaway. He left the reputation of 
 a just and upright man, a progressive citizen 
 and a man of much natural ability. He had 
 held prominent places in the county, having 
 at one time served as county commissioner. 
 During his early life he had been employed 
 on the construction of the New York and Erie 
 Canal. His wife survived her husband many 
 years, passing away at Blanchardville Aug. 
 26, 1872. Besides the subject of this sketch, 
 they had a daughter, Eliza, who became the 
 wife of John Adams, of Dodgeville. 
 
 John Adams was a prominent pioneer cit- 
 izen, and laid out the village of Adamsville, 
 Iowa county. He was for many years a suc- 
 cessful merchant in Black Earth, Wis., and 
 now resides in Pasadena, Cal. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Adams had a family of children, several of 
 whom have become known in national affairs : 
 Alva is an ex-Governor of the State of Col- 
 orado, and was a candidate for United States 
 Senator in 1900 (he makes his home in Pu- 
 eblo, that State) ; Frank, William H. and John 
 are all prominent in business and politics in 
 Colorado. 
 
 For several years after his father’s death, 
 Mr. Alvin Blanchard worked the homestead 
 farm, and during the time he managed the 
 home farm purchased one of his own. But 
 it is in Blanchardville that nearly his entire 
 business life has been passed. While still a 
 very young man he engaged in the milling 
 business, and purchased the mills at what was 
 afterward called Blanchardville, where he was 
 extensively engaged in milling for many years. 
 In 1856 he entered upon a mercantile career, 
 erecting the first store in the town and passed 
 many years in general merchandising. About 
 1880 he opened a hardware business, which he 
 still continues. He has erected and still owns 
 many of the principal buildings in the village, 
 and besides owns a large amount of land. For 
 years he has been the leading business man in 
 this part of the county, and, now, although 
 passed the allotted three score years and ten, 
 is still actively engaged in conducting his va- 
 rious interests. 
 
 In October, 1851, Mr. Blanchard w-as mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary Skinner, and their children, 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 three in number, are: Clarence A., who makes 
 his home in Blanchardville, but who has for 
 many years been a commercial traveler ; Kate, 
 wife of Samuel Corbin, of South Dakota; 
 and William, of Blanchardville. For his sec- 
 ond wife Mr. Blanchard wedded Miss Ara- 
 bella Stoneburner, who died in June, 1897. 
 Nine children were born of the second mar- 
 riage, those living- being : Daniel, born in 
 11558; Charles, in 1863; James, in 1869 : and 
 Lulu, in 1877, now the wife of C. R. Chandler, 
 editor and lawyer of Blanchardville. Those 
 deceased were: May, born in i860, married 
 John Munson; Elizabeth, born in 1859, died 
 m infancy; Samuel, born in 1861, died in 1866; 
 Alvin, born in 1865, died in 1866; and Mazie, 
 born in 1875, died in 1880. Mr. Blanchard 
 has a wide acquaintance, and is held in high 
 esteem. He comes of good Revolutionary 
 stock, his great-grandfather having held the 
 rank of Colonel in the Continental army. In 
 politics he is a Democrat, and has held a num- 
 ber of important positions, being postmaster 
 from 1857 to 1888; school director, chairman 
 of the town board, etc. Although not a mem- 
 ber of any church, Mr. Blanchard was the first 
 Sunday school teacher in the town, and has 
 always contributed liberally to the support of 
 the Church, and other worthy causes. He 
 was the prime mover in securing the incorpora- 
 tion of the village of Blanchardville and de- 
 voted considerable time and money to that end. 
 The village has one of the finest systems of 
 water works to be found anywhere in a town 
 of its size. 
 
 Mr. Blanchard was one of the leading men 
 of the county in securing the Illinois Central 
 Railroad through the east side of Lafayette 
 county, and was one of the first directors of 
 the above named road from Freeport, 111 ., to 
 Dodgeville, Wis. About 1872 he gave con- 
 siderable time and money in an effort to secure 
 a narrow gauge railroad. He has been very 
 energetic in the improvement and development 
 of the town and country. His many business 
 enterprises furnished a great deal of labor, 
 thereby starting many on the road to inde- 
 pendent fortunes, and afforded for all a mar- 
 ket for produce of the surrounding rural dis- 
 tricts. Many of the old settlers relate that 
 they would have suffered in an early day had 
 it not been for Mr. Blanchard. He established 
 the first mail route into Blanchardville, paying 
 for the services himself. He drove cattle io 
 
 681 
 
 Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison, when those 
 cities were our nearest markets ; and it is con- 
 ceded by all that he has been a great and good 
 man for this locality. 
 
 BRLNGEL SEVERSON, who resides in 
 York township, Green county, four and a half 
 miles east of Blanchardville, holds a credita- 
 ble position in the confidence and respect of his 
 neighbors, among whom he has been settled 
 many years. 
 
 Mr. Severson was born in Vas, Bergen 
 Stitt, Norway, Feb. 10, 1844, a son of Sever 
 and Martha Severson, both now deceased. 
 They came to America and settled in Wal- 
 worth county, Wis., in 1844, when young 
 Bryngel was an infant of only five months. 
 Eleven years later they removed to Green 
 county, to make their home on the farm in sec- 
 tion 5, town of York, which is now owned 
 by the gentleman whose career is the subject 
 of this writing. In 1856 Sever Severson died, 
 and his widow survived until 1898. They had 
 only one child, Bryngel. 
 
 Bryngel Severson has spent almost his en- 
 tire life m Wisconsin, where he received his 
 education in the public schools, and has led a 
 useful life. In 1868 he married Miss Eliza 
 Sandmark, of the town of Moscow, who died 
 two years later, leaving one son, Sever Sever- 
 son, now a farmer and engineer. In 1873 
 Bryngel Severson married for his second wife 
 Miss Ellen Hanson, of Trempealeau county, 
 Wis., and to this union were born the follow- 
 ing children : Henry, at home, who is working 
 the farm; Minnie; Alary; Melvin; Albert; 
 Ida : Benjamin ; Josephine ; William ; Dora ; and 
 Raymond. 
 
 Air. Severson was reared on the farm in 
 the town of York, and obtained his education 
 in the public schools. At the present time he 
 owns a fine farm of some 200 acres, on which 
 he lives, in a comfortable and attractive home, 
 and where he has built large and convenient 
 modern farm barns. In his political views Air. 
 Severson is a Republican, and in religion a 
 consistent and devout member of the Lutheran 
 Church. In York he has long since won rec- 
 ognition as one of the leading citizens of the 
 community, and has served the town as mem- 
 ber of the board of supervisors, and as school 
 director, as well as in other positions. 
 
 In 1861 Air. Severson hastened to respond 
 to the call of his imperiled country, and en- 
 
682 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 listed in Company E, 15th Wis. V. I. This 
 command was attached to the Army of the 
 Tennessee, and our subject participated in the 
 bloody battles of Stone River, Island No. 10, 
 Union City, Tenn., and Perryville, after which 
 he was discharged from service on account of 
 disability. Recovering- somewhat from his in- 
 juries, he re-enlisted, in the 46th Wis. V. I., 
 being- a member of Company A. This was in 
 the spring of 1865, and he served until the 
 close of the war. On his return to Wisconsin 
 he resumed the occupation of farming, though 
 he has had poor health for many years on ac- 
 count of the exposures lie endured while a sol- 
 dier in the army. Mr. Severson belongs to 
 the G. A. R., and is commander of John E. 
 Gurley Post, No. 224, at Blanchardville. Per- 
 sonally he is well liked, and has the confidence 
 and respect of the community. One of the 
 earlier settlers of the town of York, there are 
 few remaining who were living- here when he 
 came. Popular among his neighbors, he is a 
 man well liked by all who know him, and his 
 upright and manly character well deserves the 
 warm friendship, it has won. 
 
 KNUDT THOMPSON in his life time 
 took a prominent place among the thoroughly 
 honorable and influential citizens of the town 
 of York. Born at ITallingdal, Norway, Aug. 
 28, 1839, he was a son of Thor Truo, and 
 came to this country in 1861. It- was in Dane 
 county, Wis., that his first home was estab- 
 lished on American soil. At the end of a year 
 he sold out at that place and came to the town 
 of York, where he bought a farm on section 
 6, which is still a part of the extensive Knudt 
 Thompson estate. His death occurred in the 
 town of York Jan. 26, 1899, and he was buried 
 in the old Norwegian cemetery in that town. 
 Thor Truo was the father of the following- 
 children : Knudt, whose name appears at the 
 opening of this article ; Paul, of I rempealeau 
 county, Wis.; and Guri, who is the wife of 
 Kittle Jeglum. 
 
 Knudt Thompson married Miss Birgit 
 Bjornson, of Norway, in 1861. and to this 
 marriage were born the following children : 
 Ole K., born Oct. 6, 1862, is still unmarried, 
 and is engaged in farming the old homestead 
 in York; he is a Republican, and has made 
 himself a name as one of the leading men of 
 the community; (2) Thury, born May 16, 
 1863, is the wife of O. M. Peterson, of Dane 
 
 county; (3) Julia, born May 20, 1865, is the 
 wife of G. O. Paulson, of Dane county; (4) 
 Gurine, born May 20, 1867, is the wife of C. 
 E. Paulson, of Dane county; (5) Thor was 
 born Oct. 10, 1869, and is a minister of the 
 Lutheran Church at Estherville, Iowa; (6) 
 Mollie, born Jan. 13, 1872, is the wife of Rev. 
 Edward Plegland, a minister of the Lutheran 
 Church; (7) George and (8) James are twins, 
 and were born Oct. 19, 1875; both were grad- 
 uated at the University of Wisconsin, from 
 which institution they received the degree of 
 B. L. ; James is a graduate from the School 
 of Law, University of Michigan, in the class 
 of 1901, receiving the degree of LL. B., while 
 George graduated from the law department 
 of the University of Wisconsin with the class 
 of 1901, with the degree of LL. B.; they are 
 bright young men, and have a promising fu- 
 ture; (9) Gena, born Sept. 29, 1883, is attend- 
 ing the high school at Menominee, Michigan. 
 Mrs. Thompson remains on the home place. 
 She was born Jan. 16, 1837, and is a woman 
 of fine Christian character, very proud of her 
 children, and much respected and beloved in 
 the community. 
 
 Knudt Thompson made a name for himself 
 as one of the most successful farmers of Green 
 county. Coming to this country a poor man, 
 by his unremitting industry, wise economy 
 and business acumen, he became the owner of 
 an extensive estate of 305 acres before his 
 death, not mentioning- much valuable personal 
 property, as well as financial investments of a 
 high character. Politically he was a Repub- 
 lican, and in religion a faithful and zealous 
 member of the Lutheran Church. In the com- 
 munity he was regarded as a man of strong 
 character, and was known to be a good neigh- 
 bor, and a devoted husband and father, taking 
 much pride in the higher education of his chil- 
 dren. Plis is a name that is worthy of long- 
 remembrance. 
 
 JOHN DAVIS, deceased, was a farmer 
 and stock raiser of the town of Lima, Grant 
 county, and was born in North Wales, Eng- 
 land, in 1807, where he grew up, and married 
 Miss Sarah A. Kent, born in the same country 
 in 1817. In 1845 they came to this country, 
 by way of New Orleans and the Mississippi 
 river to Galena, settling at Smelser, Grant 
 county, where he was engaged in mining for 
 some time. In 1848 he bought a tract of wild 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 683 
 
 land consisting of 360 acres, in the town of 
 Lima, where his daughter now resides. A 
 good log house was the family abode during 
 his life. In 1849 Mr. Davis crossed the plains 
 to the gold fields of California, where he met 
 with rather good success. Coming back to 
 his wife and family in their Wisconsin home, 
 he remained here the rest of his life, dying in 
 April, 1875, while (?n a visit to his sisters 
 near Holywell, England. Mrs. Sarah A. Da- 
 vis survived her husband’s loss some twelve 
 years, and died Nov. 22, 1887, at her home 
 in Lima. 
 
 ( 1 ) Emma Davis, the oldest child of this 
 worthy couple, was born in Wales in July, 
 1844, an( l married Thomas Day, of Grant 
 county. Mrs. Day is now a widow, and lives 
 in Lancaster, with a family of eight children : 
 Etta, Nettie, John, Delia, Bertha, Oscar, Fred, 
 and Flossie. 
 
 (2) Catherine M. Davis, born in Wisconsin 
 in 1845, married Pleasant Prichett, a farmer 
 in the town of Lima, where she died on Christ- 
 mas Day, 1875, leaving three children: Hugh 
 is married and living in Lima; John, deceased 
 in young manhood ; and Curtis, who died in 
 childhood. 
 
 (3) Mrs. Sevan, the youngest of the Da- 
 vis family,, was born in Smelser. Sept. 30, 
 1846, and had her education in the public 
 schools of Grant county. In September, 1870, 
 she married Johnson Bevan, who was born in 
 Clinton county, Ohio, Feb. 16, 1845. His 
 parents died when he was a mere child, and 
 he grew up in the home of his uncle, Joshua 
 Fawcett, who came to Wisconsin in the fall 
 of 1859. Mr. and Mrs. Bevan settled at Lit- 
 tle Platte, where he owned a farm which he 
 sold in 1876, and moved to the Davis home- 
 stead, the childhood home of his wife, and 
 here they have lived to the present time. Soon 
 after settling on the place he built a new and 
 modern house, and in 1888 put up barns and 
 other farm buildings, and by his assiduous 
 labors he has made it one of the fine farms of 
 the county. It consisted at the time of his 
 purchase of 140 acres. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bevan are the parents of 
 five children who are now living: Luella, 
 born May 23, 1872, had her education in the 
 public schools and in the State Normal at 
 Platteville, and for ten years has been a popular 
 and successful .school teacher; Sartoris, born 
 June 27, 1875, lives at home, and assists in the 
 
 farm work; Georgie, born Nov. 2, 1877, died 
 in childhood; Virgil, born Sept. 4. 1879, is at 
 home; Celia, born March 27, 1883, is now 
 attending the State Normal at Platteville, and 
 is preparing herself for teaching; and Hums, 
 born June 4, 1887, is the youngest of this 
 family. 
 
 During the Civil war Mr. Bevan enlisted 
 in Company A, 33d Wis. V. I., and served in 
 the V estern Army, under Gen. Banks, and 
 then under Gen. Thomas, participating in a 
 number of fiercely contested battles on the Mis- 
 sissippi, and in front of Nashville. From that 
 city the 33d Y\ isconsin went to Mobile, and 
 assisted in the capture of that city and its pro- 
 tecting - forts. It remained in the service until 
 September, 1865, and had many difficult ex- 
 periences. After the war Mr. Bevan went back 
 to his old home in Ohio, where he remained 
 for a time. His political views coincide with 
 the principles of the Republican party, and he 
 has held the office of justice of the peace some 
 eight years. As one might expect from his 
 military record, he takes an interest in his old 
 comrades of the tented camp and battle-field, 
 and belongs to Sherman Post, No. 66. G. A. 
 R., at Platteville. In religion Mr. and Mrs. 
 Bevan are associated with the Baptist Church, 
 though his own people are Quakers. Mr. 
 Bevan is a man highly respected for his many 
 good qualities, and is esteemed for his sterling 
 worth and genuine character. Mrs. Bevan is a 
 worthy companion of her honorable and up- 
 right husband, and is highly regarded for her 
 womanly character and estimable spirit. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Bevan were John and 
 Nancy (Fawcett) Bevan, natives of Virginia, 
 and settlers in Ohio at an early day, where 
 they both died. There are three sisters and 
 one brother living. Lydia is the wife of James 
 Ellis, of Clinton county, Ohio ; Lucinda is the 
 wife of Hugh Johnson, of the same county; 
 Sarah J. is the wife of Joseph Arnold, of the 
 same county; and Samuel married and settled 
 at Bloomington, Illinois. 
 
 THOMAS STEWART. Among the well- 
 known citizens of Ridgeway, Iowa county, is 
 Thomas Stewart, a worthy representative of 
 an old and prominent pioneer family of the 
 State of Wisconsin, and one who bears a record 
 for faithful .service during the Civil war. The 
 family distinguished itself during the early 
 struggles against the Indians, and was iden- 
 
684 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tified with much of the advancement, along 
 every line, which has placed Wisconsin in its 
 proud position in the sisterhood of States. 
 
 Hie founder of the Stewart family in Amer- 
 ica was Thomas Stewart, a native of Tipper- 
 ary, Ireland, who came to the United States 
 when a young man and settled in the city of 
 Philadelphia, but later in life came to Wis- 
 consin, where he died ; he was buried in Prairie 
 du Chien. His family numbered five sons: 
 William, Thomas, Robert, John and James, 
 of whom William, Robert and Thomas served 
 in the Black Hawk war, under the distinguished 
 Gen. Henry Dodge. 
 
 Robert Stewart, the third son of Thomas, 
 was born in Philadelphia, Penn., about 1814, 
 came with his father to Wisconsin, and dur- 
 ing his long life took an active part in public 
 affairs, being for many years a leading man 
 in his locality. With his brothers he engaged 
 in the Black Hawk war, and in later years, 
 when only peaceful scenes surrounded the com- 
 fortable home, would relate many, exciting 
 events of those stirring times. In several of the 
 noted battles of that war he took a leading- 
 part, and in the celebrated engagement at 
 Broadaxe he was able to take three shots at 
 the old chief, Black Hawk, as he was urging 
 his warriors to action. After the close of the 
 war Mr. Stewart settled on land near Potosi, 
 w here he carried on farming, but subsequently 
 removed to Dodgeville and engaged in lead 
 mining, and there his death took place in 1877. 
 His associations were with men whose names 
 are known all over the Union, among these 
 being Gen. Dodge, Jefferson Davis and Zach- 
 ary Taylor. 
 
 The marriage of Robert Stewart took place 
 in 1842, to Charlotte Billings, who belonged 
 to another pioneer family of the Northwest, 
 and to them were born three sons and four 
 daughters, all of whom still survive : Thomas, 
 subject of this biography; Abby Ann, a resi- 
 dent of Chicago; William, of Dodgeville; Es- 
 ther, wife of Simon Davie, of Dodgeville; 
 Eliza, wife of Louis Steinhagen, of Oelwein, 
 Iowa; Nellie, the wife of Louis Hartstein, of 
 Chicago ; the youngest being Henderson, a 
 resident of Dodgeville. The beloved mother 
 ol the family died in Dodgeville in February, 
 T901. Robert Stewart was a typical pioneer, 
 honest, upright and progressive, one of those 
 to whom \\ isconsin owes a debt she can never 
 repay. The family has been noted for its 
 
 patriotism, the fathers having proved their 
 love of country in the early days, and four of- 
 the sons displaying the same spirit during the 
 progress of the Civil war — Thomas and his 
 three cousins, Oliver, a son of William, who 
 served in the 31st Wisconsin Regiment; James, 
 a son of John, who was a member of Com- 
 pany C, of the 6th Wisconsin; and John, a 
 son of John, who served ifi an Illinois regiment, 
 all of them gallantly upholding the family 
 prestige. Owing to the death of their parents, 
 these cousins of Thomas, our subject, were 
 reared in the family of their uncle Robert. 
 
 Thomas Stewart was born at Potosi, Grant 
 Co., Wis., May 9, 1844, and his boyhood and 
 youth were spent at that place and at Dodge- 
 ville, where he was educated. When the Civil 
 war broke out his patriotic enthusiasm carried 
 him into the army, his enlistment in Company 
 C, 31st Wis. V. L, taking place Aug. 13, 1862, 
 and his discharge dating June 20, 1863. Dur- 
 ing the whole term of his service he remained 
 with his regiment, which took part in many 
 of the severest engagements of the war. This 
 regiment was organized at Fort Crawford, 
 then went to Madison, and from there to Ra- 
 cine, going south to Columbus, Ky., where it 
 was placed on provost duty for several months. 
 The next move of the regiment was to Mur- 
 freesboro, where it was required to guard the 
 Nashville & Chattanooga railroad, and three 
 months later was sent as a part of Sherman’s 
 army to Chattanooga, in time to take part in 
 the battle of Peach Tree Creek. From this 
 time on the regiment took up its burden of 
 work in the Atlanta campaign, marching with 
 Sherman to the sea, and was engaged in the 
 battles of the siege of Savannah, of Averys- 
 boro, and of Bentonville, following which came 
 the surrender of Johnston, and the final grand 
 review in Washington. The regiment was 
 mustered out in Louisville, and soon after- 
 ward came to Madison, where it was dis- 
 banded. 
 
 After the close of the war, and the final 
 establishment of peace, Mr. Stewart engaged 
 in mining, and in this industry met with great 
 success. For a number of years he has lived 
 retired. He married Miss Ann Jones, a na- 
 tive of South Wales, who came to America 
 with her parents when but sixteen years of 
 age, and to Mr. and Mrs. Stewart have been 
 born a family of nine children, six of whom 
 still survive, namely : Thomas, a resident of 
 
! 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 689 
 
 Mr. Owen married, Oct. 26, 1887, Miss 
 Margaret E. Paul, daughter of Alexander and 
 Mary (Black) Paul, of Milton Junction. To 
 our subject and wife have been born four chil- 
 dren, Jessie L., Alexander Paul, George B., 
 and Margaret. Mr. Owen is a prominent 
 member of the Methodist Church, now serving 
 as trustee and steward. Fraternally he is a 
 prominent Mason, and a member of Milton 
 Lodge, No. 161, F. & A. M. ; Janesville Chap- 
 ter, No. 5, R. A. M. ; and Janesville Command- 
 ery, No. 2, K. T. Politically Mr. Owen is a 
 Republican. He served four years as post- 
 master, and for two years was a member and 
 president of the school board. 
 
 JOHN W. STEWART came of an old 
 pioneer family in Green county, where he was 
 born in the town of York, Sept. 4, 1844. His 
 death occurred Dec. 21, 1894, and within these 
 somewhat brief limits were compassed the 
 activities of an honorable and upright life. 
 
 John and Adaline (Robinson) Stewart 
 the parents of John W., were born in Ohio, 
 and came of English origin. In 1837 they 
 entered the Territory of Wisconsin and set- 
 tled in Wiota township, Lafayette county, and 
 in 1838 he made the first settlement in the 
 town of York, Green county, on Section 27. 
 The husband and father was born in 1806, and 
 died at the age of sixty-one years; the wife 
 and mother was born in 1804, and died in 
 1844. They were married in 1830, and be- 
 came the parents of the following children : 
 Decatur, now living in Parker, Turner Co., 
 S. Dak.; Jerusha, deceased; Ellen, wife of 
 Charles Green, Meadow Grove, Neb. ; George, 
 deceased in California; J. W., killed in child- 
 hood by falling upon a horn with which he 
 was playing; Adeline, who died when a child; 
 and John W. John Stewart was twice mar- 
 ried, his second wife being Hulda Brown, who 
 bore him two children : Banks, who lives in 
 
 Nebraska, and Grant, in Colorado. 
 
 John W. Stewart was married Oct. 30, 
 1870, to Miss Carrie Lunda, daughter of Nels 
 Erickson Lunda. one of the very earl)- settlers 
 of the town of York. Tier birth occurred May 
 20, 1852, on the Atlantic Ocean, while her par- 
 ents were on the voyage to the United States, 
 and she was one of the following family : 
 Carrie: Erick, who is now dead; Helge; Ed- 
 ward ; Emma ; Betsy, deceased, and Anton. 
 Mr. Stewart and his wife became the parents 
 
 of three children: (1) John W., Jr., born May 
 1 1, 1872, resides on the old home farm with his 
 mother and sisters. He is a Republican, and 
 takes a prominent part in local affairs, at the 
 present time being town clerk, and enjoys a 
 good reputation as a capable farmer and re- 
 liable man. (2) Adaline I., born Aug. 25, 
 1874, and (3) Nellie M., born July 7, 1883, 
 both live at home. 
 
 John W. Stewart was a thrifty and ener- 
 getic farmer, ambitious of success, and willing 
 to pay the price of hard work. Never unit- 
 ing with any church, he held to the principles' 
 ot the Christian religion, and exemplified in 
 his daily life its high teachings. In politics 
 he held to the Republican party, and was one 
 of the influential men of his day, serving on 
 the town board, and filling other town offices. 
 Mr. Stewart enlisted in the 31st Wis. V. I. in 
 1862, serving in Company G, of that command, 
 and participating in many of the most hotly 
 contested battles of the war, and being in Gen. 
 Sherman’s army when he made his celebrated 
 march to the sea. Before the end of his en- 
 listment he became a corporal, and was regard- 
 ed as a brave and reliable soldier. Air. Stew- 
 art was popular among his neighbors, and was 
 well liked by all, who knew him. His was a 
 genuine and reliable manhood, and on every 
 occasion the real man rang true to the touch of 
 trial and testing. In the business world and at 
 home, he was a good and faithful man and 
 citizen, doing his duty modestly but well, and 
 meeting all the responsibilities placed upon him 
 to the satisfaction of all concerned. 
 
 Mrs. Stewart and her children remain on 
 the home place, and hold an enviable place in 
 the good opinion of the community. They 
 have a good home, and cultivate the farm ac- 
 cording to modern and up-to-date ideas. The 
 mother is regarded as a person of good char- 
 acter, and the young people have many friends, 
 and rank well in the community. 
 
 GEORGE HAWK, one of the solid, sub- 
 stantial citizens of Platteville, Grant county, 
 a veteran of the war of the Rebellion, and a man 
 who has few, if any, enemies, was born in Corn- 
 wall, England,, in October. 1833, a son of 
 George and Johanna Hawk, natives of Eng- 
 land. George Hawk, Sr., started with his family 
 to America, in 1846. but the good mother died 
 during the passage, and he landed with his 
 children at Potosi, Wis., where he engaged in 
 
690 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lead mining for seven years, later removing to 
 Harrison, 111 ., and dying. To himself and 
 wife were born (all in England) the following 
 family: Johanna, wife of William Gilbert, of 
 
 Missouri; our subject; Elizabeth, wife of 
 Philip Knapp, of Oregon; Alice, widow of 
 William Chester, of Missouri; Mary A., widow 
 of John Forsythe, of Illinois; and William, a 
 resident of Platteville. 
 
 George Hawk was reared and educated in 
 Grant county, commencing work in the lead 
 mines while still a boy, which occupation he 
 followed successfully for a number of years, 
 but later engaged in farming in Harrison town- 
 ship, and then removed to Platteville, where, in 
 1884, he was honored with appointment as 
 road commissioner, having jurisdiction over 
 eight townships, and still holds the office. 
 During this time Mr. Hawk has also served one 
 year as city commissioner of roads. 
 
 In 1856 Mr. Hawk married Miss Sarah 
 Ashworth, who was born in England in 1839, 
 a daughter of Mrs. Elizabeth Ashworth, whose 
 second husband was Edmund Grindrod, and 
 died in Platteville. Seven living children are 
 in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Hawk : Martha, 
 born in 1857, wife of William R. Wallace, a 
 resident of Platteville, and has one son, 
 George; Carrie, born in 1859, widow of Rob- 
 ert Trenary a resident of Pocahontas, Iowa, 
 has two children, Flossie and Earl L. ; George 
 E., born in 1862, married Mary Dean, and re- 
 sides at 'Pocahontas, Iowa, and has two chil- 
 dren, Arthur and Frank; Mary I., born in 
 1865, wife of John Morman, of Iowa, has one 
 son, Bertie; Robert E., born in 1869, married, 
 is a farmer in Charles Mix county, S. Dak., 
 and has two children, Rufus and Basel; Lizzie 
 A., born in 1870, educated in the Platteville 
 school, and is now the wife of James Hayden, 
 a farmer of Platteville township, has two chil- 
 dren, Robert and Estella; Estella died in child- 
 hood; Arthur, born in 1879, was a student of 
 the Platteville school and now is farming in 
 South Dakota. 
 
 When the war between the States broke 
 out, one of the first to offer his services was 
 our subject, who entered Company F, 21st 
 Wis. V. I., and served with the Western Army 
 until the close of the struggle, when he was 
 honorably discharged, having made for him- 
 self a record for bravery, of which he may well 
 be proud. In memory of those days Mr. 
 Hawk is an active member of Sherman Post, 
 
 G. A. R., of Platteville. Politically Mr. Hawk 
 is a consistent member of the Democratic party. 
 Both as a private citizen and as a public official 
 Mr. Hawk has proven himself worthy of the 
 confidence of his fellow townsmen, and enjoys 
 a widespread popularity, which is richly de- 
 served. 
 
 AMOS S. SMITH is a live stock dealer 
 of Green county, and makes Juda his head- 
 cpiarters for a very considerable business. 
 John and Ann (Sanders) Smith, his parents, 
 were of English and Welsh descent, and were 
 from the East, the mother a native of Dela- 
 ware and the father of Pennsylvania, where 
 he died. The mother came to Wisconsin at a 
 very early day, and made her home in this 
 State until her death. They were the parents 
 of the following children: Sarah Ann mar- 
 
 ried Newton Wickersham, of Pennsylvania; 
 Caleb P. left home many years ago, went to 
 sea, and has not been heard from for several 
 years ; Ellis H. was a carpenter, and died in 
 this State ; Mary J. married N. H. Hanson, 
 deceased ; Charlotte W. and Hannah B. reside 
 in Monroe, Wis., unmarried; Elizabeth mar- 
 ried James Quick, of Kansas; Amos S. 
 
 Amos S. Smith was born Feb. 1, 1845, an d 
 came to Wisconsin in 1867, making a home in 
 Green county. O11 Oct. 28, 1869, Mr. Smith 
 wedded Miss Emma L. Wickersham, of Penn- 
 sylvania, a daughter of E. P. and Phebe 
 (Gatchell) Wickersham, who came to Wiscon- 
 sin in 1868, and were Quakers in their relig- 
 ion. To this marriage have been born two 
 children, Martha Gertrude, who was born in 
 1871, and died Aug. 24, 1895; and Phebe 
 Maud, who was born in 1876, was a very suc- 
 cessful. teacher in the schools of Green county 
 for a number of years, and is now attending 
 the University of Wisconsin at Madison. 
 
 Amos S. Smith enlisted in the war of the 
 Rebellion as a member of the 101st Penn. V. I., 
 and did acceptable service for the government 
 and the nation. An honorable discharge was 
 given him in the summer of 1865. Mr. Smith 
 served in the Army of the Potomac, and par- 
 ticipated in some of the hardest-fought battles 
 of the war. Taken prisoner April 20, 1864, 
 he was detained for some time at Anderson- 
 ville. 
 
 Mr. Smith came West after his return 
 from the war, and located in Illinois in 1866. 
 The next year lie entered Wisconsin, and set- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 691 
 
 tling in Green county, made this his permanent 
 home. For twenty-five years he was a farmer, 
 and in 1883 made his home at Juda, Wis. 
 Here he began buying live stock for John Leg- 
 lor in 1893, and is still engaged in this busi- 
 ness. Mr. Smith has a fine residence in Juda, 
 and is a careful and fore-handed man. From 
 the United States he receives a pension of $8 
 a month. Mr. Smith has never identified him- 
 self with any church, but believes that honesty 
 and fidelity are the fundamental principles. In 
 politics he is a Republican. He began life 
 without a dollar, but by hard work, economy 
 and industry he has been able not only to live 
 in comfort but to get ahead in the world. Mr. 
 Smith is a member of Ben Davis Post, G. A. R. 
 
 HON. JOSEPH BENNETT. Among its 
 most highly honored pioneers, Iowa county 
 reckons those stalwart settlers of English 
 stock, whose courage, hardihood and persever- 
 ance have done so much toward the develop- 
 ment of its mineral resources, as well as to- 
 ward the upbuilding of its moral and educa- 
 tional forces. To this class belongs Joseph 
 Bennett, the mention of whose name always 
 challenges respect. Born in Cornwall county, 
 England, on July 6, 1S22, he has been a resi- 
 dent of Wisconsin for fifty-six years. The 
 story of his life is replete with interest and 
 instruction, and it is from the careers of such 
 men that the youth of the present generation 
 can find enlightenment and encouragement. 
 His life has been an eventful one. His father, 
 Joseph, married Eleanor Berryman. He was a 
 miner and died in 1832, the father of a family 
 of two sons and three daughters. The eldest 
 son, Henry, settled in Wisconsin in 1847. Six 
 years later he emigrated from America to Aus- 
 tralia, dying there after meeting with moderate 
 success. A sister, Elizabeth, was married to 
 Thomas S incock before leaving the old coun- 
 try in 1847, and is now deceased. Another 
 sister, Sarah, is living in Australia, and the 
 youngest member of the family, jane, died in 
 Cornwall. 
 
 It is with the career of Joseph Bennett, 
 the younger, however. — the eminent citizen of 
 Dodgeville, — that this narrative is especially 
 concerned. He grew to manhood in his na- 
 tive shire, and in 1845 married Mary Berry- 
 man, who has shared his joys and griefs for 
 more than half a century. Her father was 
 Richard Berryman and her mother, before 
 
 marriage, was Martha Williams. She was her 
 parents’ only daughter, although she had 
 eight brothers. In 1848 the elder Berryman, 
 accompanied by his third son, William, crossed 
 the Atlantic on what may be said to have been 
 a tour of inspection. 1 he outlook appearing 
 satisfactory, the other members of the family 
 followed the succeeding year. Their new home, 
 in which they must have found a reversal of 
 all previous experiences, was at Hazel Green, 
 Grant county, and here Mrs. Bennett’s mother 
 died in 1851. After the death of his first wife 
 Mr. Berryman married Christian Williams. 
 His declining years were passed at the home 
 of his son, William, in Dodgeville township, 
 where he died on Aug. 24, 1868, at the age of 
 sixty-nine years. He was a man of deep relig- 
 ious conviction and earnest piety, a class leader 
 in the Methodist Church, and a liberal contrib- 
 utor to the cause of religion. A brief mention 
 of his children will prove of interest. Richard, 
 the eldest, died April 15, 1893, at the age of 
 seventy years, at the home of his son, William. 
 John, the second son of the first marriage of 
 Richard Berryman, died on his farm in Jo 
 Daviess Co., III., Feb. 4, 1880, in his fifty-third 
 year. The. third son is William Berryman, of 
 Dodgeville. Henry lives at Bridgewater, S. 
 Dak. James is a resident of the State of 
 Washington. George has his home in To 
 Daviess Co., 111., while the residence of Charles 
 is at Blackfort, Idaho. 
 
 Joseph Bennett came from Cornwall to 
 America not long after his marriage, in 1845, 
 leaving his wife in their English home, until 
 he had found another shelter in what was then, 
 to both of them, a strange land. She joined 
 him the following year, settling in Dodgeville, 
 which has been their home for fifty-five years. 
 To a native of Cornwall, the most natural vo- 
 cation was mining, and this he followed until 
 1858, when, in company with James Perkins, 
 Joseph George and a Mr. Arthur, he erected 
 a smelting furnace. Arthur withdrew in 1861, 
 and was succeeded by James Roberts, who 
 continued in the firm until 1864; Mr. Perkins 
 retired in 1869, and in that year the business 
 of Mr. Bennett was consolidated with that of 
 the old firm of Hoskins, Cholvin & Co., and the 
 style of the amalgamated concern became Ben- 
 nett, George & Co. Later Messrs. Cholvin & 
 George withdrew, and the firm of Bennett & 
 Hoskins came into existence. Mr. Hoskins 
 died in 1889, and for seven years Mr. Bennett 
 
692 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 carried on the business alone, retiring in 1896. 
 The business was for many years an extensive 
 one and proved exceedingly profitable, our 
 subject's keen sense and sound judgment prov- 
 ing prominent factors in its success. 
 
 It is not only in the business affairs of 
 Dodgeville and Iowa county that Mr. Bennett 
 has played an important part. His fellow citi- 
 zens have alike honored him and demonstrated 
 their own political wisdom by electing him to 
 numerous posts of honor and responsibility, 
 among them being the presidency of the vil- 
 lage, the chairmanship of the town and county 
 boards, the county superintendence of the poor 
 and (in 1876) a seat in the State Legislature. 
 He was also chosen as one of a board of three 
 commissioners to adjust the railroad debt of 
 Iowa county, his associates being Dr. Vivian 
 and Hon. W. L. Joiner. This committee suc- 
 ceeded one previously appointed for the same 
 purpose composed of Mr. Bennett, Dr. Van 
 Dusen, of Mineral Point, and G. Meigs, of 
 Arena. Mr. Bennett is a Republican in 
 politics, and, in religious views, both he 
 and his estimable wife are active and con- 
 sistent members' of the Methodist Church, Mr. 
 Bennett having been, for many years, the effi- 
 cient superintendent of its Sunday-school. 
 
 The union of Joseph and Mary (Berry- 
 man) Bennett has been blessed by the birth of 
 four daughters and a son: Ellen, born July 
 
 26, 1847, died May 30, 1877'; Martha married 
 Reuben Lanyon, of Mineral Point, and now 
 resides with her husband, at Joplin, Mo. ; Edith 
 is the wife of the Rev. VV. H. Otjen, pastor 
 of the Methodist Church at Oregon, 111 .; Jo- 
 seph T., the only son, is' a druggist at Lan- 
 caster, in Grant county; and Flora M. is Mrs. 
 F. A. Carr, of Dodgeville. Their home is one 
 of the most delightful in Dodgeville, religion, 
 with love its handmaid, presiding over its 
 economy. And here this venerable couple, 
 whose lives have been without reproach and 
 whose life work is well nigh done, await the 
 summons which shall call them to a glorious 
 immortality. 
 
 JOHN- BLOTZ. Time, in its unfaltering 
 march, leaves little unchanged, and the begin- 
 ning of a new century finds living compara- 
 tively few of the early settlers of southwestern 
 Wisconsin, who came to the State in the 
 forties, and have left their impress upon its 
 material, economic and political development. 
 
 Among those who are left, however, few can 
 more justly claim a title to honor and respect 
 than Mr. John Blotz, of Dodgeville, Iowa coun- 
 ty, Lie was born Aug. 29, 1826, in Nassau, then 
 an independent duchy, but now an integral part 
 of the German empire. His grandfather was 
 named Jacob, and his parents, Martin and Mary 
 Blotz, emigrated to America in 1846. Of their 
 seven children two, Martin and Josephine, re- 
 mained in Germany, where they passed their 
 lives. The five who crossed the ocean in com- 
 pany with their parents were named Andrew, 
 Margaret, John, Barbara and Catherine. The 
 family was obliged to wait six weeks at Ant- 
 werp before being able to secure passage, so 
 great was the tide of emigration and so inad- 
 cjuate the provision for caring for it. Finally, in 
 March, 1846, the party embarked on a sailing 
 vessel bound for New York, and after a 
 voyage, lasting sixty-five days landed at 
 their port of destination. Thence they pro- 
 ceeded without delay to 1 Milwaukee Co., 
 Wis., where the father settled upon land which 
 he began to clear. Within a short time lie met 
 an untimely death through an accident, which 
 occurred while he was felling trees in the for- 
 est. After this sad bereavement the family re- 
 solved to leave the new home which had thus 
 become the scene of such painful associations, 
 and accordingly in the summer of 1847 re " 
 moved to Mineral Point, Iowa county. There 
 the loving care of her children provided a home 
 for the widowed mother, where she continued 
 to reside until in 1884, after she had reached the 
 ripe old age of eighty-three, the angel of death 
 summoned her to join the husband of her 
 youth. 
 
 A brief mention of other members of the 
 family cannot fail to be of interest. Andrew 
 and Margaret were both married before leav- 
 ing Nassau. Andrew lived for many years in 
 Wisconsin but finally removed to- Nebraska, 
 where he died several years ago, leaving four 
 children. Margaret was the wife of Philip 
 Branger, who is also deceased. Barbara, after 
 coming to America, married Theodore Engles, 
 and lives at Mineral Point. Catherine is Mrs. 
 Christopher Schlosser, of Chicago. 
 
 Mr. John Blotz, who is the only surviving 
 son of his father, was a sturdy youth of twenty 
 years when he accompanied his parents to the 
 New World. For three years he was employed 
 in work upon a farm, but in 1849 became in- 
 fected with the “gold fever” which drew so 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 693 
 
 many brave, hardy adventurers to a nameless 
 grave upon the western plains. He set forth for 
 the California gold fields in March of that year, 
 being one of a party of five, formed of deni- 
 zens of Dodgeville and Mineral Point. The 
 tedious journey was made in a wagon drawn 
 by an ox-team, and the time consumed was six 
 months. As far as is known Mr. Blotz is the 
 only member of the little band of gold seekers 
 yet living. He followed placer mining for fif- 
 teen months when he turned his face home- 
 ward, his return being hastened by a serious 
 accident sustained while at work. He came 
 home by way of the Nicaragua route, and the 
 crossing of Central America was a perilous 
 undertaking, which occupied some two months. 
 Soon after his return in the spring of 1851 he 
 purchased a farm, which he began at once to 
 improve. Having reached the age of twenty- 
 five, and his thirst for adventure being satiated, 
 he determined to settle down in a home of his 
 own, and to take to himself a wife. He chose 
 Avisely and, fortunately for himself, his pro- 
 posal met with favor. It Avas in the autumn 
 of 1851 that he Avas married, his wife being 
 Lena Berg, Avho Avas born in Nassau in 1834, 
 and Avas brought to America by her parents 
 Avhen a child of nine years. Not many years 
 afterward Mr. Blotz disposed of his farm, and 
 purchased the flouring mill of Peter Theno. 
 The plant had been in operation for several 
 years, but the neAV proprietor, with characteris- 
 tic foresight and energy, remodeled it, putting 
 in neAV and modern machinery and for a long 
 time conducted it with decided success. He is 
 also the owner of an undivided tract of 470 
 acres of choice land, lying partly in Dodgeville 
 and partly in Mineral Point township. 
 
 To Mr. Blotz and his Avife seven children 
 have been born, six of whom are yet living. 
 Theresa, the sixth, in order of birth, died 
 shortly after her marriage to Joseph Phillips. 
 The eldest son, Joseph, is a farmer. John re- 
 sides on the homestead farm. Elizabeth is the 
 Avife of George Phillips. Kate is unmarried and 
 makes her home with her parents. Leonard is a 
 harness maker of Dodgeville. Frederick resides 
 in Nebraska. Nineteen grandchildren also ap- 
 peal to the lo\ r e of this elderly couple, Avho are 
 descending the hill of life together, Avith ther 
 spiritual Ausion uplifted tOAvard a better land. 
 Their home is one of the happiest in Dodge- 
 Adlle, and no family can claim more universal 
 respect. As practical Catholics they haA r e 
 
 passed their long and useful lives, and they look 
 forward to death's summons Avith serene and 
 abiding hope. 
 
 JOSEPLI HINN, Sr., is one of the Avell 
 knoAvn early settlers of Marion township, Grant 
 county, and Avas born in Baden, Germany, near 
 the famous Black Forest, March 19, 1827, a son 
 of Sebastian Hinn, and a grandson of Michael 
 Hinn. The latter A\ T as what Avould be called a 
 farmer and stock dealer, in this country. He 
 had three sons and one daughter. The name 
 of the eldest son is unknoAvn; the second son 
 was Lindoline, and the third, Sebastian. 
 Michael Hinn Avas the only male member of 
 his father’s family. 
 
 Sebastian Hinn Avas tAvice married, and by 
 his first union became the father of six children, 
 three sons and three daughters : Andreas ; Lin- 
 doline; John; Maria; Catherine and Francisca. 
 By his second marriage, Sebastian Hinn had 
 tAvo sons and tAvo daughters ; Mathias, Joseph, 
 Barbara and Theresa. Joseph Hinn, Sr., is the 
 only member of his father’s family who came 
 to America, and he immigrated on account of 
 participation in the famous revolution of 1848. 
 
 Having lost his parents in early boyhood, 
 Joseph Hinn \A - as thrown upon his own re- 
 sources Avhile yet a child, and Avas still a young 
 man Avhen he crossed the ocean. In 1849, J°~ 
 seph Hinn located at Kingston, N. Y., Avhere 
 he remained five years, employed in the stone 
 quarries and on the canal there ; then emigrated, 
 Avith his family to Grant county, Wis., settling 
 on land in Marion tOAvnship, that he had en- 
 tered from the government the previous year. 
 This land, Avhich is a part of Sec. 22, became 
 the homestead of the family, and here nine of 
 their ten children Avere born, and all reared. 
 The farm contained 200 acres, which Joseph 
 Hinn improved, until he became one of the 
 most prosperous farmers of the community. As 
 he advanced in years, Mr. Hinn retired from 
 active life, and norv he and his Avife reside with 
 their children, some of Avhom still reside in 
 Grant county, Wis., and others in Iorva. 
 
 In 1850, Joseph Hinn married Miss Cather- 
 ine Brechlar, a native of Baden, Germany, 
 Avhose father died in his native land, Avhen she 
 Avas young, and she came to America Avith her 
 mother. There Avere born to these good people 
 five sons and five daughters : Charles P. (born in 
 the State of New York. Aug. 15 1853). Chris- 
 topher (born June 6, 1855, the first born in 
 
694 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Grant county), Joseph (born March 6, 1857), 
 all three prominent business men of Fennimore, 
 \Yis.; Magdalena (born Feb. 11, 1859), Cath- 
 erine (born Nov. 4, 1862), Mary (born Sept. 
 30, 1864), William (born Aug. 19, 1867), 
 George (born Nov. 19, 1869), Theresa (born 
 Dec. 25, 1872), and Emma (born Feb. 7, 
 1875). Mr. and Mrs. Hinn, by hard work and 
 good management, accumulated a large prop- 
 erty, reared their children carefully, and now 
 enjoy well-earned peace and comfort, sur- 
 rounded by the love of their children. 
 
 JOSHUA H. BERKEY, the eloquent and 
 popular pastor of the Christian Church of Mon- 
 roe, Green county, is in the prime of life, and 
 full of the ardor of great convictions. He is an 
 ardent churchman, a profound believer in the 
 saving and uplifting power of the Christ gos- 
 pel, and an unhesitating advocate of its applica- 
 tion to the problems of the modern world. He 
 is a forcible and popular speaker, and a lecturer 
 and orator of more than State reputation. 
 
 Mr. Berkey was born at Post Oak Springs, 
 Roane county, East Tennessee, March 11, 
 1852, and is a son of Jacob W. and Mary R. 
 (Moore) Berkey, natives of Indiana and Ten- 
 nessee, respectively. They were the parents of 
 two children : Joshua H. ; and John L., of Mon- 
 ticello, Wisconsin, who was in the employment 
 of the United States government some years at 
 Fort Hauchuca, Arizona. He is a master 
 painter. The father was a showman, and had 
 traveled over a large part of the United States. 
 ITe died at Merom, Ind., March 21, 1871, at 
 the age of forty-seven years, seven months and 
 three days. His widow still survives and lives 
 with her son, the Monroe clergyman. Henry 
 Berkey, the paternal grandfather of Joshua FI. 
 Berkey, was a native of Somerset county, 
 Penn., and of Dutch descent; he had two sons 
 and several daughters, and died in middle life. 
 Joshua Moore, the father of Mary Moore, was 
 a native of North Carolina, of English and 
 Welsh descent, and began life as a tanner, in 
 later life becoming a farmer; he moved to Wis- 
 consin, and there made his home until some- 
 what advanced in years, when he moved to 
 Sumner county, Kansas, where he died at the 
 age of eighty-eight. In religious views he was a 
 Quaker. His widow survived him, and 
 reached her ninetieth year. 
 
 Joshua Id. Berkey has made his home prin- 
 cipally in Wisconsin since i860. In his younger 
 
 days he passed about nineteen years on the 
 road with his father. On Sept. 30, 1875, he 
 married Miss Sarah M. Sears, a daughter of 
 Thomas and Adaline Sears, and six children 
 were born of this union : Ada Almeda, Iva Ida- 
 lia, Ena Elvina, Ola Olivia, Ura Uretta and 
 Carol Beatrice. Mr. Berkey had studied phar- 
 macy in Monroe, and aider his marriage opened 
 a drug store in Monticello, Wis., continuing in 
 that business several years, during which time 
 his attention was arrested by the pressing char- 
 acter of the temperance reform. He sold out 
 his drug store and went to Denver, Colo., 
 where in 1880 he became the secretary of a 
 mining company, and a little later was chosen 
 as the business manager of Pomeroy’s Great 
 West, a weekly newspaper. During this time 
 in company with Col. Will L. Visscher, Mr. 
 Berkey started and ran a humorous, dramatic 
 and literary weekly newspaper, under the title 
 of Hello. In 1883 Mr. Berkey disposed of his 
 interests in Colorado, and went to Kansas, 
 where he bought a farm in Sumner county, de- 
 voting eig'ht years to its development. During 
 this time he founded and conducted a paper at 
 Geuda Springs, Kan., to which he gave the 
 name of The Crank. It was a strong temper- 
 ance paper, and had a wide circulation. While 
 Mr. Berkey lived in Kansas, he was called into 
 the lecture field as a speaker on temperance, 
 and other timely themes. For several years he 
 was a member of the First Day Adventist 
 Church, but was never in pastoral charge of any 
 church until he was called in 1898 to the pulpit 
 of the Christian Church at Monroe, and this- 
 charge he still holds. Monroe has been his home 
 for the past six years. 
 
 In 1896 Mr. Berkey was nominated on the 
 Prohibition ticket for Governor of Wisconsin, 
 and made a campaign of four months in the 
 proper presentation of his candidacy. He re- 
 ceived several hundred more votes than Joshua 
 Levering, the candidate for president of the 
 United States. He carries the flag of his coun- 
 try and his Bible wherever he lectures, 
 and never resorts to personal abuse. His suc- 
 cess in making converts has been almost phe- 
 nomenal. From those who know him best, and 
 have known him longest and most intimately, 
 he has received the warmest encomiums. He 
 is a broad-minded and eloquent advocate of 
 great reforms from the standpoint of the needs 
 of the world, and is full of sympathy and love 
 for those who suffer the ills of the present order 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 695 
 
 Of him the Northwestern Mail , of Madison, 
 Wis., in issue of Aug. 23, 1900, says: 
 
 “Few men have ever been in the State who 
 commanded better audiences or have given bet- 
 ter satisfaction to earnest, thinking men than 
 Mr. Berkey. We believe he has been called of 
 God to this peculiar work, and we know that 
 God has placed his seal of approval upon his 
 labors. He is not partisan or sectarian in 
 spirit, but seems to be thoroughly consecrated to 
 the great work of human redemption." 
 
 WILLIAM H. NEHLS, hardware mer- 
 chant of Benton, Lafayette county, is one of 
 the young business men of German descent 
 who are playing an important part in the com- 
 mercial circles of the county. He was born 
 in Platteville June 25, 1867, a son of Hen- 
 ning and Bertha (Richter) Nehls, and grand- 
 son of Jacob and Anne Nehls, all natives of 
 the Fatherland. 
 
 Jacob Nehls was born in Germany, and 
 made that country his home throughout life. 
 He was a sea captain and perished in a storm 
 at sea when his son Henning was yet a child. 
 His widow and her three children came to this 
 country in 1852, and lived in New York City 
 for some three years, and then located in 
 Platteville, Wis., where the children grew to 
 maturity. Her death occurred in 1894, at the 
 home of her son Henning, with whom she had 
 lived for twenty-six years. The three chil- 
 dren were : Helen, who married Richard 
 
 Boldt, and died, leaving a family of five chil- 
 dren, Etta (wife of William Thomas, of 
 Platteville), John, George, Louisa and Mat- 
 tie; Frederick, who is engaged in fruit grow- 
 ing in Platteville, and Henning, mentioned 
 below. 
 
 Henning Nehls was born in Hanover, 
 Germany, Oct. 13, 1835. After the family 
 had located in Platteville he engaged in smelt- 
 ing, and for thirteen years was in the employ 
 of Leonard Cates. He also followed lead 
 mining to some extent for a number of years, 
 meeting with much success in whatever he un- 
 dertook. After his marriage, in i860, to Miss' 
 Bertha Richter, he located in Platteville, where 
 he has since made his home, with the exception 
 of three months passed in Louisville, Ivy., 
 whither they had gone for Air. Nehls’ health. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Nehls were born six children : 
 Mattie, born in March, 1861. married the late 
 Frederick Wirth, and has four children, Ber- 
 
 tha, Lydia, Julia, and William; Lydia, born 
 in 1865, married Charles Doran, of Galena, 
 111 ., and has two sons, Edwin and Walter; 
 William, born in 1867, now a hardware mer- 
 chant of Benton, married Nettie Bonson, of 
 Platteville, and has two daughters, Nettie and 
 Helen; Edward, born in 1873, a highly re- 
 spected young man, met an untimely death by 
 being caught in an elevator in Dubuque, Iowa ; 
 Arthur, born in August, 1880, was educated 
 in the Rock school, and is now engaged 
 in the stationery business; Frank L., born 
 in 1884, died in childhood. Both Mr. and 
 Mrs. Nehls are members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and Mrs. Nehls is a mem- 
 ber of the Woman’s Christian Temperance 
 Union, which she joined twenty-four years 
 ago, and for twelve years served as its presi- 
 dent. In politics Mr. Nehl.s is a Republican, 
 and takes an intelligent interest in public af- 
 fairs, and is well posted on the topics of the 
 day. 
 
 Mrs. Bertha (Richter) Nehls was born in 
 Berlin, Prussia, April 18, 1843, daughter of 
 Rev. Herman and Amelia Richter, of that 
 city. She was brought by her parents to this 
 country in 1844, and her first home was in 
 New York City, whence the family removed 
 to Bridgeport, Conn., where her father stud- 
 ied for the ministry. Rev. Richter later came 
 to Michigan City, Ind., where he built the 
 German Methodist Church, and for twenty- 
 two years was a member of the Northwestern 
 German Conference, and the Rock River Con- 
 ference. He died in the triumph of faith at 
 the home of his daughter. Mrs. John P. Samp- 
 son, in 1885, leaving seven children, Helen, a 
 widow, now residing in Chicago, 111. ; Emma, 
 Mrs. William Grover, of La Crosse, Wis. ; 
 Mrs. John P. Sampson, of Greeley, Neb. ; 
 Mattie, Mrs. C. H. Morse, of Greeley, Neb. ; 
 Lydia, Mrs. George Simpson, of Oklahoma ; 
 William, of Illinois; and Bertha, Mrs. Nehls, 
 who was highly educated, and for some years 
 a most successful, teacher near Dubuque, 
 Iowa. 
 
 William H. Nehls, son of Henning Nehls, 
 received his education in the old Rock School 
 at Platteville, and later became a student in 
 the State Normal School of that place. In 
 1882 he became a journeymlan with H. S. 
 Bailey & Co., in the hardware and tinning 
 business, and remained with them until 1886, 
 when, in company with William Raisbeck, he 
 
696 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 started in the hardware business in the town 
 of Benton, under the firm name of Raisbeck 
 & Nehls. At the end of a year Mr. Nehls 
 purchased his partner's interest, and has suc- 
 cessfully continued the business alone up to 
 the present time. He has' since purchased the 
 store building, and the dwelling in which he 
 resides, and is rapidly progressing on the road 
 to fortune. 
 
 in November, 1888, Mr. Nehls was wed- 
 ded to Miss Nettie Bonson, daughter of John 
 and Fannie Bonson, and of this union two 
 daughters have been born : Nettie, in Ben- 
 
 ton, in 1890; and Flelen, in May, 1895. The 
 Republicans of the county know Mr. Nehls to 
 be one of their unfaltering adherents, and he 
 takes an active part in the political, work in 
 his town. He has held membership in the vil- 
 lage board and the county board. Socially he 
 is a member of the K. of P., Sylvan Lodge, 
 No. 134, Modern Woodmen, and is also a 
 member of the Masonic fraternity, being iden- 
 tified with Benton Lodge, No. 268. For five 
 years, in addition to his own affairs, he has 
 been inspector for the Standard Oil Company. 
 In his religious faith he is a Methodist. Mr. 
 Nehls and his charming wife are very popular 
 in the social life of the town, and are highly 
 respected by all who know them. 
 
 CHARLES D. STEVENS, proprietor of 
 a leading grocery house of Janesville, Rock 
 county, holds an enviable position in that city, 
 both as a keen and pushing business man and 
 a genial and popular gentleman. He is still 
 a young man, and what he has already accom- 
 plished is suggestive of a yet more brilliant 
 future. 
 
 Mr. Stevens was born in Evansville, Rock 
 Co., Wis., March 28, 1857. His parents, 
 
 Samuel and Fannie M. (Burt) Stevens, both 
 native to the soil of V ermont, had fourteen 
 children, several of whom are now living : 
 Jack L., of Greenwood, Wis.; Kate, widow of 
 John MclVIartin, of Helena, Mont.; Lorinda 
 F., wife of E. S. Williams, of Janesville; Ca- 
 lista A., widow of H. Kelsey, of Janesville; 
 John D., of Janesville; Perry M., of Green- 
 wood ; and Charles D. Samuel Stevens was 
 devoted to the cultivation of the soil. Fie 
 came to Wisconsin in 1848, and made a loca- 
 tion near Evansville, where he lived ten years. 
 In 1858 he retired from active labor, and 
 made his home in Janesville until 1869; he 
 
 died in 1871, in South Wayne, Wis., at the 
 age of sixty-two. His wife died in 1881, aged 
 sixty-five years. Both were members of the 
 Congregational Church, and he was a lifelong 
 Democrat. His father, James Stevens, died 
 in Vermont, well advanced in years. 
 
 Charles D. Stevens was reared in Rock 
 county, and until he was sixteen years old lived 
 on the farm, located in what is now the north- 
 western part of the city; it was devoted to 
 dairy interests. He attended the Janesville 
 schools, receiving a very fair education, which 
 has stood him well in hand throughout his 
 career. When he was sixteen he left his boy- 
 hood home, and became a clerk in the drug 
 store of S. Heimstreet & Son, remaining with 
 them seven years, and was counted very effi- 
 cient in every department of the business. 
 Leaving Janesville he went to Aurora, 111 ., 
 where he spent a year as clerk in a drug store. 
 He returned to Janesville to take a similar po- 
 sition with Croft & Whiton, which he held for 
 two years, at the expiration of that time form- 
 ing a partnership with W. G. Palmer, and buy- 
 ing out the business of A. J. Roberts. This 
 firm existed twelve years, when it was ended 
 by the sale of Mr. Palmer’s entire interest to 
 Mr. Stevens, who conducted it alone for three 
 years'. The business had assumed such exten- 
 sive proportions by that time that Mr. Stevens 
 had no trouble in forming a stock company to 
 continue its management. He became presi- 
 dent of the new corporation, and retired from 
 active connection with what was known as 
 the People’s Drug Co. 
 
 Mr. Stevens is not of a disposition to- re- 
 main idle or take life easily, and he purchased 
 a half interest in the “Hotel Myers” in com- 
 pany with E. C. Johnson, the firm being known 
 as Johnson & Stevens. “Hotel Myers” is the 
 largest in the city, and under their manage- 
 ment it has become one of the popular resorts 
 of the traveling public. Commercial men 
 largely make it a Sunday stopping-place. In 
 -May, 1899, Air. Stevens formed a partnership 
 with W. J. Bates, and purchased the grocery 
 business of Ball & Bates, entering into busi- 
 ness under the firm name of Stevens & Bates ; 
 this partnership was dissolved Sept. 20, 1900, 
 Air. Stevens now conducting the business 
 alone and he commands the confidence of the 
 public, and has secured a large and profitable 
 patronage. In all these enterprises our sub- 
 ject has displayed the same admirable busi- 
 

697 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ness qualities which command success any- 
 where, and throughout has shown himself an 
 upright man and a genial gentleman. 
 
 On Nov. 12, 1889, Mr. Stevens married 
 Miss Clara Judd, who was born Oct. 1, 1858, 
 in Janesville, daughter of Dr. S. S. and Juli- 
 ette Judd ; the former was a physician of Janes- 
 ville, and a son of Samuel and Ann (Barnum) 
 Judd, of Bethel, Conn. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens 
 have had two children, Edwin and Arthur B. 
 Judd, the former of whom died in infancy. 
 They are members of the Episcopal Church, in 
 which Mr. Stevens is a vestryman. He is a 
 Republican in political sentiment. Fraternal- 
 ly he holds membership in the Knights of 
 Pythias. 
 
 JAMES BARRON is an example of what 
 may be accomplished by steady perseverance 
 and honest industry, as he came to America a 
 poor boy, among strangers, and now is the 
 owner of one of the finest farms in Wisconsin, 
 with much other property, and every man is 
 his friend. 
 
 Mr. Barron was born in Cornwall, Eng., on 
 Jan. 27, 1844, a son of John and Susannah 
 (Ennor) Barron, who were born, reared and 
 died in England. They reared a family of five 
 children, of whom four left the old home in 
 1863 and came to America, landing in Cali- 
 fornia, where our subject, with two brothers 
 and one sister, located, and where the brothers 
 worked in the mines for seven years prior to 
 coming to Wisconsin. John and Thomas Bar- 
 ron both died in California, and Catherine, now 
 Mrs. Tremaine, still resides in that State. Of 
 the children of John and Susannah (Ennor) 
 Barron, one daughter, Mrs. Nettle, remained 
 in England. 
 
 In 1871 Mr. Barron, our subject, came to 
 Grant county, where he purchased his present 
 farm, which is located three miles west of 
 Georgetown. In 1871 he was married to Miss 
 Mary J. Kemp, of Grant county, a daughter of 
 Joseph and Sarah (Chambers) Kemp, old pio- 
 neers of Grant county, coming here previous to 
 the Black Hawk war. Joseph Kemp, the grand- 
 father of Mrs. Barron, fought the Indians in 
 this war. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kemp were na- 
 tives of England, and their marriage occurred 
 in Grant county, Wis.,,. in 1847. They lived 
 there until 1849, when Mr. Kemp crossed the 
 Plains to California, and worked there in the 
 mines some fifteen years. Removing his family 
 
 to the West in 1851, he came back to Smelser 
 township in 1867, and remained until the time 
 of death, which occurred in 1877. His wife 
 died in 1896, leaving three children: John W., 
 born in 1849, died at McPherson, some years 
 ago, his children now living in Iowa; Joseph J., 
 born in 1859, married in Smesler, and now' 
 lives on the old Kemp home in this township. 
 Mrs. Barron v ? as born in California in Octo- 
 ber, 1853, and was partly educated in that 
 State, although she attended school after the 
 return of the family to Wisconsin. 
 
 James Barron received a good education in 
 the schools of his country, and after his mar- 
 riage and return from the West settled on his 
 present farm, in 1871, where he has made many 
 improvements which have enhanced the value 
 of the property, and made it one of the attrac- 
 tive places of the county. To his first pur- 
 chase of eighty acres, he, with the noble assist- 
 ance of his wife, has added, until now he is the 
 owner of 250 acres of well cultivated land, and 
 also a farm near Ipswich, Lafayette county, 
 and still another farm in Smelser. A family 
 of eight children have been born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Barron, the survivors being: Sarah J., 
 born in March, 1872, educated in the Platteville 
 Normal school, for six years one of the suc- 
 cessful and acceptable teachers in the public 
 schols, in 1898 married Everett Louthain, of 
 Grant county, and they reside on his farm; 
 Mary K. born Dec. 1, 1876, educated in the 
 Platteville Normal, a successful teacher for two 
 years in the public schools, married James Shep- 
 hard, of Smelser, and resides on a farm of 
 our subject in Lafayette county (she has one 
 daughter, Retta, born in August, 1900) ; 
 Richard, born in September, 1878; Edith, 
 born in October, 1880, is a student at the Nor- 
 mal ; Bessie F., born July 23, 1887. and James 
 E., born in June, 1893, are. students at school. 
 
 This family has been brought up in the M. 
 E. Church, to which Mr. Barron cheerfully con- 
 tributes. Politically he has always been a Re- 
 publican, and although he has a natural love 
 for his own land, he is an American now and 
 proud of her government and institutions. For 
 some twelve years he has field the position of 
 clerk of the school board, and at present is a 
 member of the town board. I11 1898 Mr. Bar- 
 ron made a visit to his old home to gratify a 
 lono-insf to recall old associations, but came back 
 with no 1 desire to remain. The success which 
 has attended him on this side of the ocean, the 
 
698 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 home he has earned, and the friends he has 
 made, all tend to make him more American 
 than English. 
 
 BENJAMIN J. DAVIS. One of the few re- 
 maining pioneers of Iowa county, whose com- 
 ing dates from the time when Wisconsin was a 
 territory, is Benjamin J. Davis, of the village of 
 Barneveld, who located here in October, 1846. 
 
 Benjamin J. Davis was born in Wales, a 
 land which has contributed to America, not 
 only many sweet singers, but also men of brain 
 and brawn, who have become leaders in those 
 lines which require industry, activity and pa- 
 tience, combined with high morality. The 
 birth of Mr. Davis was in July, 1814, and in 
 1842 he landed in the city of New York. After 
 a trip through Ohio, Mr. Davis made his way to 
 Milwaukee and there engaged in his trade, that 
 of blacksmith, but as a few Welsh families had 
 already settled in Iowa county, Wis., he deter- 
 mined to join them and become the owner of 
 some of the Government land which, about this 
 time, was opened up for settlement. Leaving 
 his family in Milwaukee, he started on foot for 
 Iowa county, in order to make his selection and 
 entry of land, and upon reaching there, located 
 a quarter section on Section 4, Town 6, Range 
 5, East, and then continued his journey to the 
 land office which was situated at Mineral Point, 
 where he made his entry an’d then returned to 
 his family in Milwaukee, as he had come, on 
 foot. To Mineral Point and return by the 
 route he pursued involved a travel of at least 
 250 miles, through almost a wilderness, as in 
 the whole distance he found only an occasional 
 settler's lonely cabin keeping guard in the great 
 woods. That he was expeditious may be im- 
 agined, when it is recorded that the trip con- 
 sumed but a week. When the food which he 
 had taken with him gave out he would, as far 
 as possible, appease his hunger with the small 
 fruit he found on the way, although much of it 
 was not very sustaining. 
 
 In October, 1846, Mr. Davis arrived with- 
 his family from Milwaukee, and settled on the 
 land that he had entered. He set to work im- 
 mediately to erect a small cabin as a shelter for 
 the family, and also to build one in which to 
 carry on his trade. As the first, and, for a long 
 period, the only blacksmith in this locality, he 
 found plenty of work, and very soon was rec- 
 ognized as a thorough workman, trade coming 
 to “Blacksmith Davis’’ from long distances. 
 
 As time went on, Mr. Davis added to his land 
 and became the owner of 500 acres, and cleared 
 it as he could, still following his trade, while 
 the country progressed and built up about him. 
 At length advancing years admonished him that 
 he had earned an easier life, but it was not until 
 in March, 1883, when he was bereft of his 
 faithful wife, that he consented to retire, and 
 then removed to the village of Barneveld, a 
 hamlet which had grown into being since his 
 settlement in Wisconsin. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Davis were born twelve 
 children : ten noble sons and two beautiful 
 daughters, all but one of whom survive to do 
 honor to their venerable father and the name 
 they bear. The father’s namesake, Benjamin 
 J., died at the age of twenty-seven years. The 
 daughters are: Mary, born on Jan. 12, 1854, 
 maried O. C. Evans, and resides in the town of 
 Brigham; and Nellie J., born March 15, 1875, 
 married Leyellan Jones, of Chatsworth, Iowa. 
 The family of sons which Mr. Davis has reared 
 into honorable citizenship deserves more than 
 passing notice. The nine survivors are stal- 
 wart men of fine presence, averaging 200 
 pounds in weight and standing six feet in 
 height. A most effective photograph taken of 
 this justly proud father, and equally proud fam- 
 ily of sons, recalls the tales of Welsh folk-lore, 
 when giants held the fastnesses of the mountain 
 heights, and the world knew naught of their 
 struggles in the clouds. It is an inspiring pic- 
 ture, telling of physical perfection, and mental 
 endowment. In order of their birth, these sons 
 are: John J., born Nov. 15, 1845; Daniel J., 
 born Feb. 1, 1848; Thomas J., born Jan. 1, 
 1852; George W., born Dec. 24, 1S56; William 
 I ., born May 25,1858 ; Stephen J., born Dec. 1 1, 
 i860; Joseph j., born April 1, 1863; Albert J., 
 born March 7, 1866; and Alfred J., born March 
 10, 1871. The city of Chicago is fortunately 
 the home of all of these sons of Mr. Davis, with 
 the exception of one, where they increase the 
 city’s prosperity by their business ability and 
 progressive methods. Mr. George W. Davis 
 formerly lived in Chicago, but now resides on 
 a fine farm which he owns in Arena township, 
 in Iowa county, Wis. Joseph J. Davis is a well- 
 known physician of Chicago, a graduate of 
 Rush Medical College, a man of skill and med- 
 ical prominence: and Alfred J., is a lawyer who 
 has been prominently identified with public 
 affairs in Chicago, and in 1896, was the candi- 
 date of his party for Congress. These brothers, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 699 
 
 in union, comprise the Davis Cream Separator 
 Company, with offices located at 88-90-92, 
 West Jackson street, Chicago, 111 ., the product 
 of this company receiving medals at the 
 World's Fair, in 1893. The father of this re- 
 markable family, stills owns the homestead 
 farm, in the town of Brigham. Few men are 
 better known throughout Iowa and adjoining 
 counties than Mr. Davis. By nature he pos- 
 sesses a social and genial disposition, and has 
 always won friends in every community. Na- 
 ture, also, gave him a fine constitution and an 
 exemplary life has preserved it to a wonderful 
 degree. His memory of the early days makes 
 of him a delightful companion, as he can relate 
 so many thrilling experiences of his own pio- 
 neer life. When Mr. Davis came to Iowa coun- 
 ty, the Indians still roamed the country which 
 they still claimed as their hunting grounds. 
 With these natives he often came into contact, 
 and this gave him an admirable chance to learn 
 the Indian character. Mr. Davis places a high 
 estimate on the honor of the Red man as he 
 knew him more than a half century ago. The 
 Indian was almost sure to return any kindness, 
 and as an instance, he relates that upon one oc- 
 casion, havinp' divided his scanty supply of 
 bread with an Indian who had asked for food, 
 he found, on rising the next morning, a quarter 
 of venison hanging at his door. Many times 
 Mr. Davis has been heard to remark that he 
 would much rather meet an Indian when alone 
 than a white man whom he did not know. All 
 his life Mr. Davis has enjoyed most robust 
 health, and his children inherit his excellent 
 constitution. The skill of a physician has sel- 
 dom been needed in his household. His prom- 
 inence as an intelligent man and old settler as 
 well as his substantial condition, long gave him 
 somewhat of a leadership in township affairs, 
 and he was called upon to serve in many local 
 offices and for many years was a justice of the 
 peace. 
 
 REV. ARTHUR C. KEMPTON, who 
 died Dec. 4, 1900, was the capable and eloquent 
 pastor of the First Baptist Church of Janes- 
 ville, and achieved a reputation that reaches far 
 beyond the limits ol Wisconsin for piety and 
 devotion to his sacred calling. Fie was born in 
 Nova Scotia, May 6, 1870, a son of the Rev. 
 Joseph F. Ivempton, a well known Baptist min- 
 ister. He was graduated from Acadia College 
 with honors in 1890, and from Rochester The- 
 
 ological Seminary four years later. Because of 
 special work he also won the degree of M. A. 
 in 1893. 
 
 Mr. Kempton’s first pastorate was with the 
 First Baptist Church of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, 
 where in three years he made the remarkable 
 record of nearly three hunred additions to the 
 membership of the church, building a new house 
 of worship, and making this the largest Baptist 
 Church in Wisconsin. During this period he 
 also served two years as president of the Bap- 
 tist Young People’s Union, of Wisconsin. 
 
 In 1897 Mr. Ivempton made an extended 
 tour of Egypt, Palestine, Turkey and Europe, 
 after which he was called to the First Baptist 
 Church of Janesville. The success attending 
 his work here equaled that which crowned his 
 labors at Eau Claire. In October, 1899, he 
 was unanimously elected president of the twen- 
 ty-five thousand Christian Endeavorers of Wis- 
 consin, and with the hearts of the young peo- 
 ple of the State beating responsively to his ap- 
 peals he hoped great things for the church in 
 the immediate future. His death cut short a 
 most useful career, and caused universal sor- 
 row wherever he was known, but while 
 “He died young, there are silvered heads, 
 
 Whose race of duty is less nobly won.” 
 
 JONATPIAN SMITH, one of the older 
 and more prominent representatives of the 
 farming interests of the town of Brooklyn, 
 Green county, is a man whose high character 
 and conceded integrity add to the reverence 
 his eighty years command. He owns a farm 
 situated in Section 11, of the town of Brook- 
 lyn, where he has long identified himself 
 with the best interests of the community. He 
 was born at Dover, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 
 March 7, 1820, and is a son of Stephen and 
 Filura (Love) Smith, the former born in 
 Massachusetts, and the latter in New York. 
 They were the parents of four sons and five 
 daughters, four of whom are now living: 
 Jonathan; Emorilla, the wife of C. S. Gray, 
 of Brooklyn; Euphrasia, wife of Hans Chris- 
 tianson, of the town of Brooklyn ; and Emory, 
 of Brooklyn. Stephen Smith was a farmer, 
 and came West to Wisconsin in 1843, an d in 
 July of that year bought a farm of eighty acres 
 in Walworth countv, five miles north of Lake 
 Geneva, which he very soon sold, and the fol- 
 lowing year came to Green county, and in May 
 located on the farm in the town of Brooklyn, 
 
700 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 on which his son Jonathan may now be found. 
 There he lived with this son until his death, 
 in 1852, at the age of fifty-eight. His widow 
 died in 1877, when seventy-five years old. 
 They were both members of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. 
 
 Jonathan Smith, the father of Stephen 
 Smith, and the grandfather of Jonathan 
 Smith, whose name appears above, was a na- 
 tive of Massachusetts and one of the early set- 
 tlers of Ohio. For six years he was' in the 
 Revolutionary war. He was a farmer, and 
 was seventy years old at the time of his death, 
 in Cuyahoga county, Ohio. He was the fa- 
 ther of three sons and four daughters. The 
 maternal grandfather of Mr. Smith was a na- 
 tive of one of the eastern States and he was 
 married in New York. There was only one 
 child born to his marriage, she who afterward 
 became the mother of Jonathan Smith. 
 
 Jonathan Smith lived in Ohio until he 
 reached the age of twenty-three years, where 
 he was bred a farmer, which has been his oc- 
 cupation through life. He learned the plas- 
 tering trade, and followed it for thirty years, 
 although at the same time he was engaged in 
 farming. When his father came to Wiscon- 
 sin he accompanied him, making the journey 
 from Ohio by team, and he remained with his 
 parents as long as they lived. Since their 
 death he has continued on the home they made. 
 
 Jonathan Smith was married Jan. 28, 1877, 
 to Mary A. Thompson, who was a daughter of 
 Otis and Polly (Hunt) Thompson. They 
 have one son. Forest A., who is now twenty- 
 one years of age, to whom the active manage- 
 ment of the farm is committed. It contains 
 eighty acres, and is cultivated according to the 
 latest and most progressive agricultural meth- 
 ods. Mr. Smith was formerly a Whig, but 
 he became a Republican at the organization 
 of that party. He has never held an office, 
 and has never had the least desire for one, as 
 his own business was all he felt he could ade- 
 quately manage. 
 
 Otis Thompson was a native of Vermont, 
 and his wife Polly (Hunt) of New Hamp- 
 shire. They were the parents of six sons and 
 two daughters, and three of their children are 
 now living: Rufus, of Belgrade, Mont.; 
 
 Mary A. is the wife of Mr. Smith; David S. 
 r \ hompson, of the town of Brooklyn. Mr. 
 I hompson was a farmer, and brought his fam- 
 ily AVest to Wisconsin in 1848, locating them 
 
 on an eighty-acre farm in the town of Brook- 
 lyn, Green county. Mr. Thompson was a 
 soldier in the Civil war, and belonged to the 
 8th Wis. V. I., in which he enlisted in 1861. 
 He participated in the battles of Fredericks- 
 town, New Madrid, Island No. 10, Farming- 
 ton, Iuka and Corinth, Jackson and Vicksburg, 
 and it is recorded of him that lie was always a 
 brave soldier, and would be found in the very 
 forefront of danger. Fie was a member of 
 T. L. Sutphen Post, G. A. R., at Evansville. 
 Mr. Thompson was born July 28, 1807, at 
 Richmond, AY., and was married June 17. 
 1829. In 1836 he removed with his family 
 to Portage, N. Y., where he lived twelve years'. 
 He died in September, 1899, at the age of 
 ninety-two years and two months. His wife 
 died in 1888, at the age of seventy-five years. 
 Timothy Thompson, his father, was a native 
 of A^ ermont, and was a soldier in the war of 
 1812. He was a carpenter in his younger 
 days, and reared a family of eight children. 
 In the early forties he came from Pennsylvania 
 into Wisconsin, where he lived a number of 
 years, and died at his home in Oreg'on, Dane 
 county, aged about seventy-eight years. 
 Mrs. Smith’s maternal grandfather was James 
 Hunt, who was born in New Hampshire. He 
 was a farmer and had a large family. He 
 reached the age of eightv-eight years, and died 
 in his native State. 
 
 Mrs. Jonathan Smith, born in Erie county, 
 Penn., Dec. 14, 1834, married for her first 
 husband Amos C. Anderson, an early settler 
 in the town of Brooklyn. They had one 
 daughter, Sarah E., who married Judson E. 
 James, and is the mother of four children: 
 Floyd C., Layle A., Paul, and Jessie M. Mr. 
 Anderson died in 1866, while engaged in pros- 
 pecting in California. He and his wife crossed 
 the Plains in i860, requiring about four and 
 a half months to make the journey. 
 
 JESSE RAYMER, a retired farmer of 
 Browntown, Green county, whose death on July 
 1, 1897, removed one of the most public spirited 
 and respected citizens, was born in Greene 
 county, Penn., Dec. 5, 1843. 
 
 His parents, Jesse Sr., and Mariah (Kelly) 
 Raymer, were of German descent, and brought 
 their family from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin 
 about 1843. They made their home in Cadiz 
 township, and there reared their family of seven 
 children: AVilliam, deceased; John, a retired 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 701 
 
 farmer of Monroe; Jesse; Freeman, of Monroe; 
 Jane, wife of Luke Bradley, of Adams Co., 
 VVis. ; Harriet and Mary, deceased. The mother 
 is yet living and makes her home in Cadiz 
 township. 
 
 Jesse Raymer received such education as 
 the common schools of the neighborhood 
 afforded, and continued to work at farm work, 
 to which he had been trained from childhood, 
 until 1893, when he removed to Browntown, 
 and there erected for himself a modern eight- 
 room dwelling, in which he passed his last days. 
 He began life as a very poor boy, but his untir- 
 ing industry and natural business ability won 
 for him a place among the substantial men of 
 the county. At his death he possessed a com- 
 fortable home, and about one thousand dollars 
 in personal property. During the Civil war he 
 enlisted in Co. B, 31st Wis. V. I., under Capt. 
 Nat Treat, of Monroe, and took part in some of 
 the hard fought battles of that terrible strug- 
 gle. He received an honorable discharge in 
 1865, and while never wounded, his health was 
 so shattered by his hard service that he was 
 granted a pension, which his widow continues 
 to receive. In politics he was a Democrat, and 
 in religious connection a Methodist. The build- 
 ing of the new Methodist Church at Brown- 
 town aroused in him the deepest interest, and it 
 was while working there that he was taken ill. 
 He was a splendid citizen and a good, kind 
 neighbor, and his genial smile will be missed 
 for many years by those who, by knowing him 
 best, learned to love him. 
 
 In Cadiz township, Green county, on March 
 18, 1866, Mr. Raymer was married to Miss 
 Amelia Loomis, who was born Nov. 16, 1851, 
 daughter of Cornelius and Jane (Van Harne) 
 Loomis, the former of whom came to Wiscon- 
 sin from Ohio about 1843, an d took up gov- 
 ernment land in Cadiz. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Loomis were born nine children, of whom five 
 lived to reach maturity: Mary, now deceased; 
 Fidelia, wife of Isaac Michaels, a farmer of 
 Cadiz; Amelia, Mrs. Raymer; Hattie, wife of 
 Charles Phillips, of Browntown; and Cyrus, 
 who married Eliza Michaels, of Cadiz. Will- 
 iam Loomis, father of Cornelius, and grand- 
 father of Mrs. Raymer, was an early settler of 
 Ohio. To Jesse Raymer and wife were born 
 nine children, as follows : Alfred, of Picket Sta- 
 tion, Wis., married Mary Denny, of Cadiz 
 township; Ephraim married Ida Divan of 
 Browntown; Hattie is the wife of James Land, 
 
 of Browntown; George, of Winslow, 111 ., mar- 
 ried Lois Beldon, of Minnesota; Ansel married 
 a Miss Forsythe, of Lafayette county, Wis.; 
 Oney resides at home with his mother, as do 
 Belle and Roy. The ninth child, Cyrus H. 
 died in infancy. 
 
 Mrs. Raymer is a noble Christian woman, 
 and takes great interest in the work of the 
 Methodist Church and its Sunday school, serv- 
 ing as teacher and class leader. 
 
 MARSHALL PEASE RICHARDSON is 
 one of the young and successful professional 
 men of Janesville, and is himself one of the 
 products of that beautiful and growing city 
 of the Northwest. 
 
 Mr. Richardson was born in Janesville. 
 After passing through the common schools, 
 he entered Beloit College, later becoming a 
 student in the State University at Madison, 
 from which he was graduated in 1889. His 
 mind was of that perceptive and analytic cast 
 which naturally inclined him to the study of 
 law, and in 1893 he was admitted to the Bar. 
 He has risen steadily in his profession, and has 
 identified himself with the best interests of his 
 native city; has served three terms as justice of 
 the peace; and in the spring of 1900 was the 
 Republican nominee for the office of city attor- 
 ney. Socially he is a member of the Knights of 
 Pythias. He is a member of the Christian 
 Science Church known as “The First Church of 
 Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts. ’ 
 
 ROLLA M. STRONG is a product of 
 Grant county, and was born in the town of 
 Platteville, Jan. 14, 1848. Thomas and Martha 
 M. (Bond) Strong, his parents, were both born 
 in North Carolina, and in that State were 
 reared and married. Thomas Strong was the 
 son of Thomas Strong, Sr., who died in Platte- 
 ville, in the home of his son. Thomas Strong, 
 Sr., was a soldier in the war of 1812, and the 
 ancestry of the family antedates the American 
 Revolution in New England. 
 
 After their marriage our subject’s parents 
 spent some three years in Tennessee, and in 
 1838 came to Platteville, W is., where Mr. 
 Strong followed mining very successfully 
 throughout life. He purchased a farm of 160 
 acres near Platteville, and lived thereon until 
 1850, when he disposed of it and moved into 
 Platteville, making his home there during the 
 brief remainder of his life. Mr. and Airs. Strong 
 
702 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 both died previous to the breaking out of the 
 Civil war. 
 
 The Strongs were Whigs in political senti- 
 ment. Our subject’s father was a supporter of 
 the Methodist Church, of which the mother was 
 a member. They reared a family of eight chil- 
 dren : ( i ) Henry was born in Tennessee, and 
 came with his parents to Wisconsin. During 
 the gold excitement he and his brother John, 
 each with a wagon and four yoke of oxen, 
 crossed the Plains to that distant land of gold, 
 and were quite successful in their mining ven- 
 tures, Henry spending some years in the mines 
 in Colorado and Nevada before returning to 
 Platteville, where he died in June, 1898. (2) 
 John made his homeward journey from the far 
 West successfully, and is now living in Platte- 
 ville, where he is married and has a family. (3) 
 Martha, born in Platteville, is the widow of 
 Christopher Williams, and lives in Vernon 
 county, Wis., where she has reared a large fam- 
 ily. (4) Mary, born in Grant county, is the 
 widow of George Fry, of Highland, Wis., 
 where she is living with her family. (5) 
 Jane, born in Platteville, is the widow 
 of Wesley Williams, and lives in Indiana. (6) 
 Thomas, born in Platteville, married Miss Lucy 
 Shafer, of Grant county, and they are now 
 residents of Iowa. They have one daughter, 
 Nellie. (7) Samuel, born in Platteville, is now a 
 resident of the State of Washington, and is 
 engaged in mining in British Columbia. (8) 
 Rolla M., the youngest member of the family, 
 is the subject of this article. 
 
 Rolla M. Strong was born in Grant coun- 
 ty, and educated in the common schools of the 
 State, attending for the most part what was 
 known as the old Rock school of Platteville, 
 where he was very well fitted for an active 
 life. When a young man he followed mining 
 in the lead regions of Grant county, and when 
 the Civil war broke out was ready to go to 
 the front. Pie enlisted in Company B, 43d 
 Wis. V. I., and faithfully did his duty as a 
 soldier until the close of the war. The regi- 
 ment was a part of the Army of the Tennessee, 
 and Mr. Strong witnessed some of the most 
 tremendous struggles of the great war. At 
 Nashville, Tenn., he was honorably discharged 
 from the service, and, making his way back 
 to his old home in Wisconsin, he resumed 
 work as a lead miner, which has been his oc- 
 cupation more or less to the present time. 
 
 Mr. Strong and Miss Martha Himan were 
 
 married in 1875. Mrs. Strong is a daughter 
 of Perry and Jane Himan, old pioneers in 
 Grant county, and was born in the town of 
 Harrison, May 11, 1851. Mr. Strong and 
 his’ wife lived some years on a rented farm 
 in the town of Harrison, when he purchased 
 his present farm in the town of Paris. That 
 was some fifteen years ago, and under his en- 
 ergetic management the farm has been greatly 
 improved, and is to-day one of the most at- 
 tractive places in this portion of the county. 
 They have four children: (1) Alta, born in 
 1876, was educated at the State Normal School 
 at Platteville, and for several years was a 
 teacher in Grant and Vernon counties. She 
 married James Conley, a printer of Oconomo- 
 woc, Wis. (2) Harry, born in 1878, is un- 
 married and at home; he is a worker in the 
 lead mines. (3) Lennice, born in 1881, is 
 now a student at the Normal in Platteville. 
 
 ■ (4) Roy, born in 1884, is at home, and under 
 his father’s supervision is managing the home 
 farm. 
 
 Rolla M. Strong is a steadfast Republi- 
 can, and cast his first vote for Abraham Lin- 
 coln. Before he was eighteen years of age 
 he donned the Union blue, and all through 
 his life has given evidence of patriotism ade- 
 quate to any demand that might be made upon 
 it. Mr. and Mrs. Strong both belong to the 
 Congregational Church of Mt. Zion, where he 
 has always taken an active part in church work, 
 and is a liberal supporter of his denomina- 
 tion. Mr. Strong is a member of Sherman 
 Post, No. 66, G. A. R., at Platteville. 
 
 Mr. Strong comes from one of the good 
 old Southern families whose ancestry dates 
 back to a period long antedating the Revolu- 
 tion, and he is worthy of the name he bears. 
 
 W. R. SNOWDEN. Prominent among 
 the business men of Platteville, Grant county, 
 is numbered the subject of this review. No 
 one in the vicinity is better known, for here 
 almost his entire life has been passed, and all 
 his interests from boyhood have been closely 
 associated with those of the locality. In his 
 special line of business he has met with excel- 
 lent success, and by the energy and zeal which 
 he has manifested has won the confidence and 
 esteem of the public. 
 
 Mr. Snowden was born in New York City 
 in 1845, and is of English descent. His fa- 
 ther, Randolph Snowden, was born in England 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7 03 
 
 Jan. 5, 1820, and in 1828 came to the United 
 States with his parents, Randolph and Emaline 
 Snowden, locating in New York City, where 
 the grandfather followed the machinist’s trade, 
 though in England he had engaged in weav- 
 ing". Both he and his wife died in New York. 
 In their family were five children, namely: 
 Randolph, Jr.; Edward, who died in Nerv 
 York; George, a resident of Jersey City; John 
 W., who. died in that city; and Emaline, who 
 died in New York. 
 
 Randolph Snowden, Jr., was reared in 
 New York City from the age of eight years, 
 and in Paterson, N. J., he learned the machin- 
 ist’s trade. On coming to Platteville, Wis., 
 in 1849, he built a foundry, the first west of 
 Chicago, which he and his brother George 
 owned and operated together for some time, 
 but later the latter sold his interest to Randolph 
 and went to California, remaining there two 
 years. He then returned to Platteville, where 
 he followed farming for some time, but is now 
 a resident of Jersey City, N. J. Randolph 
 Snowden continued in active business in Platte- 
 ville for many years, and was one of the lead- 
 ing men of the place. In New York he mar- 
 ried Miss Elizabeth J. Price, a native of that 
 city, and to them were born three sons and 
 one daughter, namely: W. R. ; Edward H., 
 
 who went West; Robert L., a resident of Mil- 
 waukee; and Mary E., Mrs. Pollock, of San 
 Francisco, Cal. The father died in Platteville 
 Jan. 13, 1883, the mother Feb. 5 > l8 / 7 - 
 
 At the age of four years W. R. Snowden 
 was brought by his parents to Platteville, and 
 in its public schools he obtained his education. 
 After reaching manhood he engaged in general 
 farming and stock raising for ten years, and 
 since that time has devoted his attention to 
 fruit farming and dairying, in which business 
 he has met with marked success, being ener- 
 getic, progressive and enterprising. He owns 
 a fine fruit farm adjoining Platteville. Mr. 
 Snowden was interested in the building of the 
 Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul and the Chi- 
 cago & Northwestern railroads into Platte- 
 ville, and has been actively identified with all 
 enterprises which have for their object the 
 upbuilding and development of his adopted 
 town and county. He is superintendent of 
 the Platteville Canning Co., whose plant was 
 built in 1893. 
 
 At Platteville, in 1870, Mr. Snowden wed- 
 ded Miss Mary E. Bondurant, a native of 
 
 Hazel Green, Grant county, and a daughter 
 of Edward and Henrietta Bondurant, natives 
 of Kentucky. On coming to Grant county, in 
 1833, her father was unmarried, and here he 
 was married in 1842. His wife died in 1895, 
 but he is still living, and now makes his home 
 in Platteville. By occupation he was a miner 
 and farmer. His children were Mary E., Mrs. 
 Snowden; Julia, Mrs. Shrigley, of Platteville; 
 Jefferson, also of that place; and Sarah, Airs. 
 Berry, who died Oct. 1, 1898. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Snowden have six children: George B.. pro- 
 
 prietor of the Platteville Laundry ; Anna L., 
 at home; Frederick, who is a partner of his 
 brother in the laundry business; and Nellie E., 
 William J. and Bessie, all at home. 
 
 During the Civil war Mr. Snowden en- 
 listed at Platteville in Company K, 47th Wis. 
 V. I., for one year, and was mustered into the 
 United States service at Madison, the regi- 
 ment being attached to the Army of the Ten- 
 nessee. He did garrison duty at Tullahoma 
 and Nashville, and received an honorable dis- 
 charge at Madison in September, 1865. He 
 is now a prominent member of W. T. Sherman 
 Post, No. 66, G. A. R., in which he is now 
 filling the office of senior vice-commander, and 
 also belongs to Melody Lodge, No. 2, F. & A. 
 M. ; Washington Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M. ; 
 and Miriam Chapter, No. 15, O. E. S. Relig- 
 iously both he and his wife hold membership 
 in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and politi- 
 cally he is identified with the Republican 
 party. His genial, pleasant manner has made 
 him quite popular in business and social circles, 
 and as a public-spirited, enterprising man he 
 is recognized as a valuable citizen of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 WILLIAM SMILEY. Perhaps in these 
 days' of rapid progress, we find too little time 
 to remember those who bravely endured hard- 
 ship and privation, in the great States of the 
 Northwest, in order to extend the domain of 
 civilization, and to secure for their descendants 
 the comforts and resources which it brings. 
 A true history of pioneer days would be as 
 full of adventure as the most thrilling romance 
 produced by one who draws from an unbridled 
 imagination. 
 
 A worthy son of one of the early pioneers 
 of Green county, Wis., who has passed his life 
 here, and with wonder has seen its mighty de- 
 velopment, is William Smiley, the subject of 
 
704 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 this sketch, who is one of the most substantial 
 and influential citizens of Albany township. 
 He was born on his present farm, on Sept. 6, 
 1854, a son of Daniel and Eleanor (Bemus) 
 Smiley, both of whom were natives of New 
 York. A family of six children were born to 
 them: Lorinda, who married John Hulburt ; 
 
 Sarah, who is the widow of William Gould, 
 of Minneapolis, Minn.; Charles B. ; Julia, who 
 married Dr. Broughton, of Dwight, 111 . ; Flor- 
 ence E., who married Lorraine Hulburt, of 
 Albany; and William, our subject. 
 
 The paternal grandfather was Joseph 
 Smiley, a native of New York, of Scotch-Irish 
 descent, who was a farmer by occupation ; 
 was a minute man in the war of 1812; was 
 present at the burning of Buffalo; and died 
 at an advanced age. The maternal grandfa- 
 ther of our subject was Charles Bemus, who 
 was a farmer and drover in New York; was 
 a lieutenant of minute men, in the war of 1812 ; 
 reared a large family and died 1 when full of 
 years. 
 
 Daniel Smiley, the father of our subject, 
 engaged in milling before he removed to Wis- 
 consin, in the early days of the State, settling 
 near what is now the city of Janesville for a 
 few years, then moving into Exeter township, 
 where he engaged in mining and boarding for 
 about three years, then came to Albany, Green 
 county, where he bought 280 acres of land, 
 living upon that property until his death, when 
 about seventy-four years old. His wife sur- 
 vived for some years, dying at the age of 
 eighty-four. Both of them had been consist- 
 ent members of the Baptist Church, and Mr. 
 Smiley had been a member of the Wisconsin 
 legislature. 
 
 William Smiley has had the advantage of 
 residing in his boyhood home all his life, his 
 youthful associations clustering around this 
 place. His landed possessions are large, con- 
 sisting of the home farm, containing 340 acres' 
 (this being generally conceded to be one of the 
 very finest in this part of the State), also an 
 interest in eighty acres on Section 28, a one- 
 third interest in a section in Lamoure county, 
 N. Dak., near the town of Edgely, and a half 
 section in Lyon county, Minnesota. 
 
 Mr. Smiley was married on Oct. 8, 1876, 
 to Miss Ida May Flint, a daughter of Capt. 
 Thomas and Mary (Simmons) Flint, and 
 eight children have resulted from this union : 
 Arnold B., who married Miss Daisy Cartelyou, 
 
 and resides in Lyon county, Minn.; Sarah 
 Edna; James Bemus; Lorraine; Robert F. ; 
 Harry L. ; Florence Ida; and Mary. Both Mr. 
 and Mrs. Smiley are valued members of the 
 Baptist Church in Albany, in which Mr. Smiley 
 is a deacon, and to which he gladly and cheer- 
 fully gives a generous support. In politics he 
 belongs to the Prohibition party, and is so- 
 cially connected with the Modern Woodmen 
 of America. In public affairs in county and 
 township, our subject has taken an active in- 
 terest, acting as supervisor for several terms, 
 also as town assessor, and has given his 
 services as school director for many years. 
 Mr. Smiley has taken the intelligent po- 
 sition that life on a farm may be just 
 as pleasant and comfortable as in any 
 other place, if properly provided for, and has 
 made improvements which render his home a 
 model. Possessing the esteem of neighbors 
 and associates in a business way, looking back 
 upon a well-spent life, he can estimate the 
 value of a quiet, temperate existence as an ag- 
 riculturist of Green county. 
 
 DR. GEORGE IT. WEBSTER has at- 
 tained a wide reputation as a clairvoyant phy- 
 sician and healer in the city of Janesville, Rock 
 county. He has his office at the corner of 
 North Jackson and West Milwaukee streets, 
 and is now, at the very prime of his manly 
 powers, commanding a good practice, and ac- 
 complishing many strange and remarkable 
 cures. 
 
 Dr. Webster was born at Spring Lake, 
 Mich., Feb. 28, i860. His parents, John and 
 Mary (Pedley) Webster, were born in Had- 
 denham, Cambridgeshire, England, and had 
 a family of six sons and one daughter, three 
 now living. Alice is the wife of C. H. Pierce, 
 of Grand Rapids, Mich.; and Tom and George 
 H. have their home in Janesville. John Web- 
 ster, who was a farmer in England, emigrated 
 to this country in 1849, finding a home in 
 Spring Lake, Mich., where he engaged in the 
 lumber business. He was expert with ma- 
 chinery, fond of the railroad, and after he had 
 been selling lumber for some fifteen years 
 secured a place as engineer on the Detroit, 
 Grand Haven & Milwaukee railroad, which 
 he held for many years. Fie was a man of 
 good character, and a devout Christian, was' 
 always in his place at church, and loved the 
 sanctuary. He was a deacon in the Baptist 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 70S 
 
 Church, of which he and his wife were mem- 
 bers. He died at Spring Lake Jan. 17, 1895. 
 at the age of sixty-nine years, eight months and 
 fourteen days. His wife died August 2, 1890, 
 aged sixty-four years, three months and 
 twenty-six days. His father lived and died 
 in England, reaching a ripe old age, and 
 had a large family. His wife’s father was also 
 English born and bred, reached a great age, 
 and was the father of some sixteen or seven- 
 teen children. 
 
 Dr. Webster spent the first ten years of 
 his life at Spring Lake, Mich., where he made 
 a fair start in the local school. Then he left 
 home and came to Oregon, Wis., to live. He 
 made the most of the advantages afforded bv 
 the Oregon schools, and then attended the 
 Northwestern Business College, at Madison. 
 When he had completed his schooling he made 
 his way -to Chetek, Barron Co., Wis., where he 
 took up a homestead claim of sixty- two acres 
 of exceptionally valuable land, making his 
 home there for ten years, and finally disposing 
 of his real estate. He returned to Oregon to 
 become a clairvoyant physician, having devel- 
 oped strange powers in that direction, and a 
 multitude of people have implicit faith in his 
 abilities. He had an office in Madison for a 
 year, and then moved to Albany, this State, 
 where he spent six years. There he was' mar- 
 ried, Nov. 23, 1892, to Miss Mary Alverson, 
 who was born June 21, 1876, and is a daughter 
 of Thomas and Susan (Carle) Alverson. Dr. 
 Webster is a Mason, and belongs to Albany 
 Lodge, No. 36, A. F. & A. M. He is also a 
 member of the Order of the Eastern Star, 
 with which his wife is associated. He has 
 united with the fraternal insurance orders of 
 the Modern Woodmen of America and the 
 Knights of the Maccabees. The Webster 
 family has a record of unusual vitality, and 
 many of its representatives have attained great 
 age. A great-uncle of the Doctor, Tom Web- 
 ster, lived to be one hundred and six years old, 
 and was able to read without glasses at that 
 age. 
 
 DANIEL STANTON is a well-known 
 stock and dairy farmer of the town of Harri- 
 son, Grant county, and is far along the high- 
 way of success. He is an earnest and ambi- 
 tious' man, and is willing to be industrious and 
 prudent, that he may win an honorable posi- 
 tion in the world, and gain a competence that 
 
 will make life easy in the years when work 
 shall be forbidden him. 
 
 Mr. Stanton was born in the town of Har- 
 rison, Grant county, May 24, 1857, a son of 
 S. W. and Catherine (McKemmy) Stanton, the 
 former born in New York in 1820, and the 
 latter in Scotland. The parents came to Wis- 
 consin, when they were young people, and here 
 they were married and settled on the farm 
 where their son Daniel now resides, and made 
 it their home until 1892, when Mrs. Catherine 
 Stanton died. After her death the bereaved 
 husband moved into Platteville where he is 
 still living. Five children were born to them. 
 Janette, the eldest, was born in 1855, in 
 Grant county, was educated in the Platteville 
 schools, and became a successful teacher, but 
 is now married and lives in Wood county, 
 Wis., the mother of six children; Daniel; Mar- 
 tha, born in 1861, is now the wife of Peter 
 Hatfield, of Platteville; Phineas, born in 1863, 
 now a farmer of Harrison, married Miss Adda 
 Willis, and has one daughter, Dora; Grace, 
 born in 1872, attended the Platteville Normal, 
 and was a teacher for several years, and mar- 
 ried Frank Yerke, a dentist in Iowa. 
 
 Daniel Stanton spent his boyhood and 
 youth on the parental farm, and received his 
 education from the district school. He has 
 always followed farming, and regards it as the 
 noblest occupation a man can follow. In May, 
 1879, Mr. Stanton wedded Miss Edith With- 
 row, the estimable daughter of William and 
 Martha Withrow, an old pioneer family of 
 Grant county. Her father was a native of Penn- 
 sylvania and her mother, Martha (Cooper), of 
 Delaware. They came West at a very early 
 day, and were married in 1840 at Potosi, Grant 
 county, where they lived some years. Later 
 in life they settled in the town of Paris, where 
 he died in 1879, and she in 1885. They had 
 eight children, of whom Mrs. Edith Stanton, 
 the youngest, was born in December,' 1859. 
 and attained womanhood on the farm in the 
 town of Paris. Mr. Stanton bought 120 acres 
 adjoining his father’s farm after his marriage, 
 put up a comfortable home, and lived there 
 until 1892, when he purchased the old home- 
 stead of 230 acres. He has recently erected a 
 fine house, ample and commodious, with all the 
 modern improvements, finished throughout 
 with hard wood, and every convenience a mod- 
 ern farm house can demand. It is one of the 
 most valuable and handsome residences in the 
 
706 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 entire town. Mr. and Mrs. Stanton are the 
 parents of six children: Ernest, born in Feb- 
 
 ruary, 1880; Eldridge, in February, 1882; 
 Warner, 'in December, 1884; Norman, in Au- 
 gust, 1886; and Virgil, in February, 1895. 
 Nellie, their only daughter, was born in May, 
 1888; when she was eight years old she was 
 accidentally shot through the spine by a neigh- 
 bor boy, and for over three years she has been 
 a great sufferer, having no use of her lower 
 limbs, but is a bright and lovely young girl, 
 and her misfortune is a constant grief to her 
 friends and loving parents. The family are 
 associated with the Congregational Church, and 
 Mrs. Stanton and her children are members 
 of that fold. The Stantons, both father and 
 son, are Republicans. They are prominent 
 people and all their representatives are highly 
 respected by all who know them. 
 
 William and Martha Withrow had eight 
 children: (1) John was born in Potosi, Wis., 
 in 1841. He was a soldier in the Union army, 
 enlisting in Company H, 25th Wis. V. I., and 
 .served throughout the Civil war. He married 
 .Miss Margaret Wilson, and settled on the old 
 homestead in the town of Paris, where he died 
 Jan. 6, 1890, leaving a wife and seven children. 
 (2) Jane, deceased. (3) Rebecca, deceased wife 
 of Payton Vaughn, of Femars, Iowa. (4) 
 George, now a miner of the Klondike, while 
 his wife and four children live in Chicago. 
 (5) James, a conductor on the street cars in 
 Omaha. (6) Wesley, married and is a farmer 
 at Waukon, Iowa. (7) Lavinia. now the wife 
 of Silas Vanetta, of Harrison. (8) Edith, 
 the wife of Daniel Stanton. Mr. Withrow 
 and his wife were among the old pioneers, 
 and were religious people, both being members 
 of the Congregational Church. 
 
 JOHN S. BELF, the popular and efficient 
 postmaster at Brooklyn, Green county, was 
 born near Stanhope, N. J., Feb. 9, 1842. son 
 of Almon and Mary (Shampnor) Bell, both 
 natives of New Jersey, and the parents of eight' 
 sons' and four daughters. Ten of these are 
 now living: John S. ; Winfield Scott, of Hand 
 county, S. Dak. ; Anson, deceased ; Theodore 
 F., of Buffalo, Mo.; Aaron, .of Madison, 
 Wis.; William H., of Elgin, 111 .; Mary Ade- 
 line, the deceased wife of Alonzo Devine, who 
 is also dead; Laura E., wife of John Parish, 
 of Stoughton, Wis. ; Almon PI., of Verona, 
 Wis. ; Orson H., of Chetk, Wis. ; Eva L., 
 
 wife of Charles Devine, of Oregon township; 
 and Hattie, wife of William Hautby, now re- 
 siding on the homestead. 
 
 Almon Bell was a farmer, and settled in 
 Dane county, Wis., as early as 1848. In 1852 
 he made the journey overland to the California 
 gold mines, driving through with oxen and 
 cows. On the way the hoofs of the oxen were 
 burned off in the sands of the desert- — so they 
 yoked up the cows and completed the jour- 
 ney. Mr. Bell worked in the mines for three 
 years, six months of the time in the Frazier 
 river up to his arm pits in water. In 1855 he 
 returned to his Wisconsin home, to remain 
 until, his death, which occurred April 28, 1900, 
 at the age of eighty-two. His widow is still 
 living, and is over seventy-nine years of age. 
 Both were Baptists in religion, and in politics 
 he was a Republican until the organization 
 of the Greenback party. He ran for the State 
 Legislature on that ticket, having previously 
 filled various town offices such as supervisor, 
 treasurer, and assessor. 
 
 Joseph Bell, the father of Almon and the 
 grandfather of John S., was a native of New 
 Jersey, of Scotch-Irish descent, and proved 
 himself of the most devoted patriotism in the 
 Continental army. Pie crossed the Delaware 
 river on the ice bare-footed, leaving the blood 
 of his feet on the ice as he walked. He was 
 a farmer by occupation, and lived to be ninety- 
 eight years old, but was blind for some years 
 before his death. He was the father of a nu- 
 merous family. 
 
 The maternal grandfather of Mr. Bell was 
 Thomas Shampnor, who was born in New Jer- 
 sey, of Dutch descent, and followed shoemak- 
 ing all his life. In 1850 he came to Dane coun- 
 ty, Wis., and here died in 1868, the father of 
 eight children. 
 
 John S. Bell was six years old when his 
 parents removed from their eastern home and 
 settled in Wisconsin, and he was reared to 
 manhood on the Dane county farm. Pie was 
 attending the district school at the time the 
 Civil war broke out, and at once enlisted in the 
 Randall Guards, Company H, 2nd Wis. V. I., 
 but was rejected on account of his size. At 
 Janesville he enlisted again in Company D, 
 of the same regiment, and was accepted. -His 
 long and honorable career in the army was 
 abundant justification for his acceptance the 
 second time. He enlisted a private, and was 
 mustered out as a captain by brevet. He had 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 707 
 
 charge of his company from May 5, 1864, un- 
 til. it was disbanded. Captain Bell was in the 
 army exactly four years, two months and nine 
 days. Enlisting May 19, he was sworn June 
 16, 1861, and was mustered out at Jefferson- 
 ville, Ind., July 25, 1865. The first battle in 
 which he participated was at Bull Run, where 
 he was shot in the head, and left on the field, 
 as it was supposed, all but dead. He rallied, 
 andl was taken prisoner by the rebels, being 
 kept at Manassas Junction twelve days with- 
 out so much as having his wound washed with 
 cold water. Taken to Libby prison he was 
 transferred to the hospital, where his skull was 
 trepanned with silver, and on his recovering 
 he was sent to Tuscaloosa, Ala., where he was 
 kept four months. Salisbury, N. C., was his 
 next place of detention, and there he was 
 paroled, and came home by way. of New York 
 City. After being home a few days he was 
 sent with fractions of companies to Benton 
 Barracks, St. Louis. When the Indian troubles 
 broke out in Minnesota he was sent to Byfield, 
 near Ashland, to protect the settlers. In the 
 spring these soldiers were exchanged, and or- 
 dered to report to their respective regiments. 
 They had made their way as far as Philadel- 
 phia, when they were held there to protect 
 the city against the advancing rebels under 
 Lee. While there the battle of Gettysburg was 
 fought, and then the troops who had been 
 halted at Philadelphia found their regiments. 
 The Second Wisconsin was actively engaged 
 in the service, and Mr. Bell participated in 
 every battle in which it was engaged during 
 its organization, except those that occurred 
 while he was in the southern prison pens and 
 on the northwestern frontier. Finally the 
 regiment, greatly reduced, was united with the 
 6th Wisconsin. Mr. Bell was all through the 
 battles of the Wilderness, and at the second 
 battle of Hatcher’s Run he was again wounded 
 in the head, and was in the field hospital for a 
 short time. During the final movements of 
 the war that forced the surrender of Gen. 
 Lee, Mr. Bell’s regiment was continually on 
 the march, not stopping more than two hours 
 at a time. After the surrender, April 9, he 
 with others, divided their rations with the 
 hungry rebels. 
 
 When peace smiled over the land again Mr. 
 Bell worked on his farm for a year, and then 
 sold it, and rented another for a year. For a 
 few months he was in a flouring mill at Steb- 
 
 binsville, and for about a half year he was at 
 Dunkirk Mills. After this he began farming 
 in the town of Rutland, which was his occupa- 
 tion until 1881, when he opened a depot of 
 agricultural, implements at Brooklyn, and for 
 twelve years met with marked success ; during 
 three of these years he also managed a hotel. 
 In 1882 Mr. Bell bought and platted 1 land, and 
 sold it in lots, since which time the village has 
 grown continuously. There have been several 
 very destructive fires in the village, in which 
 Mr. Bell has' suffered a considerable loss. 
 Since June 15, 1897, Mr. Bell has officiated as 
 postmaster at Brooklyn, and at the same time 
 has been engaged in farming. 
 
 On Nov. 4, 1873, Mr. Bell was married to 
 Miss Elenora Colburn, daughter of Hobart 
 and Catherine (Proutty) Colburn. They be- 
 came parents of five children: Bertha N., 
 
 Hugh R., Harvey H., Leslie H., and Legrand 
 L. Bertha married Frank Winkler, and 1 has 
 one child, and is living near Sac City, Iowa. 
 Mr. Bell belongs to Brooklyn Lodge, No. 251, 
 F. & A. M., of which he is a charter member, 
 and he also' sustains the same relation in the 
 local lodge of the I. O. O. F., and the Modern 
 Woodmen of America, and the T. L. Sutphen 
 Post, No. 41, G. A. R., of Evansville. In 
 politics he is a Republican, and was treasurer 
 of the town of Rutland several years. Mr. 
 Bell was the first Master of the Masonic Lodge 
 at Brooklyn, being master for five years con- 
 tinuously. Mr. Bell was made a Mason in 
 1871, at Cookville, Wis., in Waucoma Lodge, 
 No. 90. 
 
 JOHN A. JOHNSON, hardware mer- 
 chant of Hollandale, Iowa county, and the 
 present clerk of Moscow township, which office 
 he has held continuously since 1893, has, in his 
 long service in that incumbency, come prom- 
 inently and favorably before his fellow towns- 
 men, among whom he has grown in regard as 
 the years have passed, both on account of his 
 ability and of his integrity. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was born Dec. 5, 1856, in 
 Moscow township, son of John and Johanna 
 Anderson, natives of- Norway, who were reared 
 and married in their native country. Coming 
 to America, they settled on a farm of 160 acres 
 in Moscow township, Iowa Co., Wis., in which 
 locality they were among the early settlers. 
 Mr. Anderson had come to America in the 
 hope of bettering his financial condition and 
 
708 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 making a comfortable home for his family, 
 and he began bravely, but he did not survive 
 many years after his emigration, his death oc- 
 curring May 15, 1856, several months before 
 our subject was born. The family consisted 
 of four children, two sons and two daughters. 
 The mother still survives, and resides on the 
 old homestead. 
 
 John A. Johnson, whose name introduces 
 these lines, lias passed his entire life in the town 
 of Moscow. He attended the district schools 
 in the locality of the home place during his 
 boyhood, acquiring a practical foundation for 
 the commercial training which he received later. 
 It was his ambition to enter mercantile life, 
 and in order to prepare himself for the proper 
 conduct of such affairs as should confront him 
 in that line, he studied at the Mt. Morris ( 111 .) 
 Business College for a time, and later at the 
 Northwestern Business College, at Madison, 
 Wis. His studious habits and quick compre- 
 hension attracted the favorable notice of his 
 instructors, and when he left the last-named 
 institution he received a very high testimonial, 
 in the form of a recommendation, from Prof. 
 R. G. Deming, of that college. Not long' after- 
 ward, desiring to see something of the world, 
 he went to St. Paul, Minn., where he was en- 
 gaged as clerk in a store for a time, and thence 
 went to Minneapolis, Minn., where he was 
 similarly engaged by another business house. 
 In 1888, after about one year’s stay in Minne- 
 apolis, he returned to Wisconsin, and for two 
 and a half years carried on a hardware busi- 
 ness in Blanchardville, Lafayette county, on 
 his own account. Pie has since been engaged 
 in that line in Hollandale, Iowa county, with 
 constantly increasing success, and he has won 
 a high standing among the substantial, mer- 
 chants of that place. Fair dealing and good 
 values have been the special characteristics of 
 his establishment, which now does a thriving 
 trade. 
 
 Mr. Johnson’s fellow citizens, believing 
 that his business ability would be as valuable 
 in the public service as in the management of 
 his private interests, and knowing well his up- 
 right character, elected him in 1893 to the office 
 of clerk of the town, and he has served in that 
 office ever since, a record probably unparalleled 
 in the records of Iowa county. His' last nom- 
 ination — the ninth — was bv acclamation, the 
 highest recommendation of his faithful dis- 
 charge of the duties of his office which a public 
 
 official of any kind could ask. Mr. Johnson’s 
 enterprise and spirit of progress are in keep- 
 ing with his energetic disposition, and he has 
 done his full share in advancing every project, 
 looking toward improvement in his locality. 
 He is a Republican in political sentiment. 
 
 On Aug. 30, 1889, Mr. Johnson married 
 Miss' Gusta Winden, and three children have 
 blessed their union, Blanche J., Ulysses A. and 
 Herlaug G. Mrs. Johnson is well educated, 
 having graduated from the high school at 
 Monroe, Wis. Her father, Andrew G. Win- 
 den, a native of Norway, is now a resident of 
 Monroe, Green Co., Wis. His family consisted 
 of four children, two sons and two daughters, 
 of whom Julius Winden, a graduate from 
 three different institutions, Monroe high school 
 in 1893, Milwaukee Normal School in 1898, 
 and 1 the University of Wisconsin in 1900, is 
 at present principal of the high school at Mon- 
 tello, Wisconsin. 
 
 ALBURTUS C. BEAN, one of the repre- 
 sentative citizens of Wyalusing township. 
 Grant county, enlisted on Sept. 9, 1864, in 
 Company I, 3d Wis. V. I., being credited to 
 Watterstown township. He joined his regi- 
 ment at Atlanta, Ga., and went with Gen. Sher- 
 man’s army on the famous March to the Sea, 
 and thence to Washington, D. C. He took part 
 in the severe engagements at Bentonville and 
 Averysboro, which were the last battles of im- 
 portance between the armies of Sherman and 
 Johnston. With his regiment, Mr. Bean was 
 honorably discharged at Madison, Wis., but 
 his service in the war for the Union does not 
 constitute all of his military career, as' he re- 
 enlisted Sept. 11, 1868, as a member of the 
 5th United States Cavalry. In the regular 
 army he served chiefly in Kansas andi Ne- 
 braska, and with his regiment had several en- 
 counters of more or less importance with die 
 Indians, perhaps the severest of which was 
 what is known as the Tall Bull fight. In this 
 battle Mr. Bean received a severe gunshot 
 wound in his left knee, which resulted in his 
 discharge Nov. 10, 1869, and from the effects 
 of which he has never fully recovered. 
 
 Mr. Bean is a native of New York, hav- 
 ing been born at Saratoga Springs, on June 
 1, 1847. His father is John C. E. Bean, who 
 now, at an advanced age, resides with, and 
 is cared for by, his son. The wife and mother, 
 died many years ago. The family came West 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7 09 
 
 in 1859. Alburtus C. is the only one of his 
 father’s children who entered the army. He 
 was married in 1872 to Miss Cynthia' Parker, 
 and they have become the parents of three chil- 
 dren, namely: Jane, Nina and Charlotte. Mr. 
 Bean did his duty well as a soldier, and as a 
 citizen is highly esteemed. Fraternally he is' 
 an honored member of the Grand Army Post 
 at Bloomington, and politically is' a stanch sup- 
 porter of the Republican party. 
 
 REV. ALBERT B. BECHTOLT, who 
 owns and conducts a fine farm one mile north 
 of Browntown, in Cadiz township, Green 
 county, is well known in that locality both as 
 an earnest preacher of the L T nited Brethren 
 persuasion and as a thrifty farmer, active in 
 all good works for the moral and material 
 growth of the community in which he has 
 taken up his residence. 
 
 Mr. Bechtolt is a native of Green county, 
 born March 24, 1861, in Jordan township, 
 where his father, Daniel B. Bechtolt, has re- 
 sided for half a century. The family is of 
 German origin, our subject’s great-grandfa- 
 ther, Mathias Bechtolt, Sr., having been born 
 in Germany, whence he emigrated to America 
 before the Revolutionary war, settling in Berks 
 county, Penn. His family consisted of eleven 
 children, namely: Isaac, George, Frederick, 
 
 Daniel, Mathias, Jr., William. Elizabeth, Cath- 
 erine, and three who died young. Of these 
 Mathias, Jr., grandfather of Rev. Albert B. 
 Bechtolt, was born in 1788 in Berks county, 
 Penn., and in 1813 married Miss Christina 
 Epler, of Berks county, who bore him eight 
 children : Christina, Catherine, Mathias, Lydia, 
 Peter, Permel.ia, Elizabeth and Daniel B., all 
 deceased except Permelia and Daniel B. The 
 family came to Wisconsin in about 1851, set- 
 tling in Jordan township, Green county, where 
 the father homesteaded forty acres of govern- 
 ment land. There the parents passed the re- 
 mainder of their days, and they lie buried in 
 the old Kelly graveyard in Cadiz township. 
 
 Daniel B. Bechtolt was born Feb. 22, 1837, 
 in Licking county, Ohio, received his education 
 in his native State, and was trained to agri- 
 cultural pursuits on his present farm, which 
 he has continued to carry on most profitably, 
 having a well-improved place, now compris- 
 ing 160 acres, equipped with good barns, etc. 
 When he commenced life on his own account 
 he had not a dollar to his name, but he has 
 
 succeeded by dint of perseverance in acquir- 
 ing a comfortable competence, and at the same 
 time has made for himself an honorable name 
 among the best citizens of his community. As 
 one of the leading- farmers of the township 
 his influence in local affairs is strong, and al- 
 ways exercised in the cause of right. His po- 
 litical support is given to principle and not to 
 party, and he may always be dpeended upon to 
 aid by his ballot, the best men and the best 
 measures, regardless of their political sponsors. 
 In religion he is inclined to the faith of the 
 United Brethren. 
 
 On March 12, 1857, Mr. Bechtolt was 
 united in marriage with Miss Matilda Wag- 
 ner, who was born Feb. 19, 1839, in Pennsyl- 
 vania, a daughter of Charles and Lydia 
 (Shultz) Wagner, and eight children blessed 
 this union, namely : Maria, now deceased ; 
 
 Albert B., our subject; Lydia, wife of Charles 
 Blain, of Jordan; Samuel, of Iowa, who mar- 
 ried Ettie Lafever ; George, of Monroe town- 
 ship, Green county, who married Ina Wells' ; 
 Ervin, who remains on the old home place, 
 and is married to Isa Wells; Ida Elmedia, wife 
 of Walter Kessler, of Jordan; and Orpha, who 
 died when an infant. Mrs. Bechtolt passed 
 away June 19, 1880. She was a true Chris- 
 tian woman, sharing in the high esteem in 
 which her husband has always been held, and 
 was deeply mourned by her neighbors and 
 friends throughout the township. 
 
 Albert B. Bechtolt was reared on the old 
 home place in Jordan, and received his early 
 education in the public schools of that neigh- 
 borhood. later taking a special three-vears 
 course for the ministry, while in Nebraska and 
 Iowa. Having been reared to farm work, he 
 came to Cadiz township at the age of twenty- 
 one years, and hired out on the farm to Thomas 
 Watson for a time. His next move was to 
 Hampton. Iowa, where he remained five vears, 
 thence removing to Litchfield. Neb., ‘of which 
 place he was a resident eleven years, until his 
 return, in 1900, to Green county.. Here he 
 purchased, from Joseph Woodle, of Monroe, 
 a large farm of 230 acres, in Cadiz township, 
 in the cultivation of which he is now engaged. 
 Mr. Bechtolt was in Nebraska during the ter- 
 rible drought of 1894, when the farmers were 
 obliged to depend upon the charity of the East 
 for support and grain for the next year’s 
 crops. 
 
 While at Hampton, Iowa. Mr. Bechtolt 
 
7io 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was converted, uniting with the United Breth- 
 ren Church, and he has been a preacher 
 of that denomination since 1888, during which 
 time — with the exception of three years — he 
 has also engaged continuously in agricultural 
 pursuits, his work as a minister of the Gospel 
 being conducted solely with the aim of doing- 
 all in his power for the betterment of his fel- 
 low men, by the advancement of the cause of 
 Christ. While in Nebraska he was the leader 
 in the building of two churches. Mr. Bechtolt 
 is a man whose high moral worth and strength 
 of character are no small factors in his suc- 
 cess as a religious worker, and his' intelligence, 
 thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, and 
 fluency as a speaker are naturally valuable aids 
 to him in this respect also. However, it is 
 his earnestness, kindliness and real, desire to do 
 good, traits which are shown forth strongly in 
 his consistent Christian life, which win most 
 readily, and his efforts have met with rich re- 
 ward. That he has executive ability of a high 
 order is apparent from the fact of his active 
 continuance of agricultural pursuits, in which, 
 he has succeeded so well, even though they 
 have not received his entire attention. Rev. 
 
 • Mr. Bechtolt is a prominent citizen of his 
 township in more ways than one, and his influ- 
 ence is directed into those channels where, in 
 his opinion, it will do the greatest good to the 
 greatest number. His political support is given 
 to the man, not to the party. Fraternally he 
 is a member of the I. O. O. F. and the 
 M. W. A. 
 
 On Sept. 23, 1886, in Hampton, Iowa. Mr. 
 Bechtolt was united in marriage with Miss 
 Mary Trindle, of that place, who was born 
 Dec. 25, 1865, daughter of James and Mar- 
 garet (Baird) Trindle, of Hampton, and is of 
 Scotch-Irish origin. Six children have been 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Bechtolt, as follows : 
 James D., June 12, 1887; Ervin, May 10, 
 1889; George, July 7, 1892; J. Earl, July 7, 
 1894; Blanch, Dec. 20, 1897; Viola, Dec. 15, 
 1899. All are living except Earl, who died 
 Nov. 15, 1895. 
 
 Mrs. Bechtol.t’s parents had children as fol- 
 lows: William, who is deceased; George W., 
 of Kearney, Neb. ; Jane, wife of D. J. Sweeley, 
 of Kearney, Neb. : Martha, deceased, who mar- 
 ried V illiam Hall; John, a resident of Kear- 
 ney, Neb.; Julia S., wife of J. S. Silvius, of 
 Browntown, Wis. ; Orphia, deceased wife of 
 B. E. Claypoole : and Mary, Mrs. Bechtolt. 
 
 Mrs. Bechtolt's grandfather Baird was a prom- 
 inent resident of Bairdstown. Penn., which 
 place was named in honor of the Bairds. 
 
 A. W. WELLERS, engineer and miller of 
 Platteville, Grant county, and a representative 
 of one of the old pioneer families of this part 
 of Wisconsin, is a prosperous clerk of the city 
 in which he resides, and highly esteemed. 
 
 A. W. Wellers was. born in Germany, in 
 April, 1845, a son of A. W. and Wilhelmina 
 (Myer) Wellers, natives of Germany, who 
 came from that country to America, in 1846, 
 when our subject was but one year old. A. 
 W. Wellers, Sr., was a cabinetmaker by trade, 
 and was the first of that trade to locate in this 
 portion of the State, settling as he did in Platte- 
 ville, where he resided until 1865, when he re- 
 moved to Hurricane Grove, and died one year 
 later. The mother survived until 1888, when 
 she, too, passed away in Grant county. Four 
 children are still living, of the family born to 
 these worthy people : ( 1 ) Elizabeth, born in 
 
 Germany, in 1838, grew to womanhood in 
 Platteville, married John Tobler, who died in 
 the Civil war, leaving one son, John, now of 
 Chicago ; Elizabeth then wedded Andrew 
 Govier, of Fennimore, and they have four 
 children, Edward, Burton, Grant and Ida. 
 (2) Meta, second' child of Mr. and Mrs. A. W. 
 Wellers, Sr., was born in Germany, in 1842, 
 was educated in the public schools' of this city 
 and Lancaster, and is now a successful teacher 
 and palmist in Chicago, being a great linguist, 
 and speaking fluently, German, Latin, Greek, 
 and French. (3) A. W., our subject. (4) 
 Mary, born in Platteville, in 1849, married, 
 is now a resident of Oakland. Cal., with one 
 daughter, Laura, who is also married, and a 
 resident of Buffalo, New York. 
 
 A. W. Wellers, Jr., grew to manhood in 
 Grant county, where he received a common- 
 school education, later removing, with his par- 
 ents, to Hurricane Grove, and at the time of 
 his' father’s death, the entire support of the 
 family fell upon his shoulders. For twelve or 
 fourteen years thereafter the family continued 
 to reside upon the farm, but at the expiration 
 of that time Mr. A. W. Wellers removed 
 with his mother to Platteville, where he en- 
 gaged with his uncle, John Kemler, as a clerk, 
 and where he learned the trade of miller. This 
 trade Mr. Wellers has followed continuously 
 ever since, in various parts of the county, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7 ii 
 
 and for eighteen years was employed by Noah 
 Virgin, one of Platteville's pioneer business 
 men, but is now a clerk in Platteville. 
 
 In 1877 Mr. Wellers married Miss Maria 
 Seitz, of Grant county, a native of Germany, 
 daughter of Henry Seitz, now deceased. After 
 their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Wellers pur- 
 chased property on Furnace street, where they 
 resided until 1895, when they sold this resi- 
 dence, and purchased another in the Home- 
 stead Addition to Platteville. Here they erect- 
 ed a substantial home, and are surrounded by 
 all modern comforts'. To them were born six 
 children : Margaret, born in Platteville, a grad- 
 uate of the State Normal, and a young lady of 
 culture and refinement; Georgia C., a student 
 in the Normal School of Platteville; Emma 
 A., student in Platteville Normal School ; Al- 
 bert W., a student in the high school ; Charles 
 H., a student in the Norma], School ; and Marie, 
 in the Platteville schools. Politically Mr. 
 Wellers has always been identified with the 
 Republican party; is' a member of the Modern 
 Woodmen, and of the Knights of the Globe, 
 as well as of the Platteville fire company. The 
 entire family are members of the Lutheran 
 Church, in which they are deservedly promi- 
 nent. The Wellers family is well known 
 throughout Grant county, and Mr. and Mrs:. 
 Wellers are good representatives of the solid 
 people of Platteville. 
 
 CHARLES WEITTENHILLER, For a 
 third of a century this gentleman has been 
 prominently identified with the industrial and 
 business interests of Platteville, Grant county, 
 and is to-day one of the leading merchants of 
 that place. His early home was on the other 
 side of the Atlantic, as he was born in Bavaria, 
 Germany, in 1844. His father, Sebastian 
 Weittenhiller, was a native of the same prov- 
 ince, born in Eichstadt, Bavaria, April 27, 
 1824, and there married Annie Schiell, whose 
 birth occurred in that village in 1822. In 
 1849 be crossed the ocean to America, and 
 after spending eighteen months in New York, 
 came West to Galena, 111 ., and in May, 1853, 
 took up his residence in Platteville, Wis., 
 where he was joined by his wife and children 
 the following November, they having remained 
 in the Fatherland until that time. In Roches- 
 ter, N. Y., he learned the cooper’s trade, which 
 he followed in Platteville for eleven years, and 
 then, in 1864, purchased a farm of 164 acres. 
 
 and turned his attention to agricultural pur- 
 suits. He died in Platteville in 1898, but his 
 wife is still living, and continues to reside at 
 that place. Of their children Charles is the 
 eldest; Conrad, the second son, is a farmer 
 of Platteville township ; Mrs. Emma Callaway 
 is the next of the family; Philip is' a farmer of 
 Laurens, Iowa ; Mrs. Lena Secord resides in 
 Washington, as does also Jennie; Mary makes 
 her home in Platteville, and Mrs. Etta May 
 is a resident of Washington. In religious be- 
 lief the family ,are Presbyterians. 
 
 Since the age of nine years Charles Weit- 
 tenhiller has made his home in Platteville, and 
 in early life he learned the cooper’s trade with 
 his father. He began business for himself in 
 1867 as a manufacturer of cooperage, and con- 
 tinued to carry on operations along that line 
 until 1890, when he embarked in merchandis- 
 ing-. He carries a large and well-selected stock, 
 and by fair and honorable dealing has built 
 up an excellent trade. 
 
 During the war for the Union, Mr. Weit- 
 tenhiller enlisted at Platteville, Jan. 24, 1864, 
 in Company E, 25th Wis. V. 1 ., under Capt. 
 J. M. Scott, for three years or during the war. 
 His command was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 
 2nd Division, 16th, and later the 17th, Corps, 
 Army of the Tennessee, and participated in the 
 engagements at Snake Creek Gan, Ga., Resaca, 
 Dallas, Big Shanty, Kenesaw Mountain, 
 Nickajack and Atlanta. With four comrades 
 Mr. Weittenhiller was captured at Decatur, 
 July 22, 1864, and sent to Andersonville prison, 
 where he was incarcerated two months, being- 
 exchanged Sept. 23, 1864. After rejoining 
 his regiment at East Point, Ga., he was sent 
 to the convalescent camp, and after four weeks 
 spent at Marietta, Ga., again joined his regi- 
 ment in time to take part in the March to the 
 Sea. He was all through Georgia, and the 
 Carolina campaign, in the battle of Salka- 
 hatchie River, in January, 1865, and later took 
 part in the engagements at River Bridge, South 
 Edisto, Bentonville and Goldsboro. He was 
 transferred to Company K, 12th Wis. V. I., 
 and with that command was honorably dis- 
 charged at Louisville, Ivy., July 16, 1865. 
 
 In 1867, at Platteville, Mr. Weittenhiller 
 married Miss Jennie Marshall, a daughter of 
 E. H. Marshall and his wife, Johanna. Her 
 father, who was a native of New Hampshire 
 and a farmer by occupation, came to Grant 
 county, Wis., as early as 1836, but spent his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 712 
 
 last days in Iowa, where his death occurred in 
 1898. Mr. and Mrs. Weittenhiller have a fam- 
 ily of five children, namely : Cora, Addie, 
 
 Marenus, Charles and Jennie. Mr. Weitten- 
 hiller uses his right of franchise in support of 
 the men and measures of the Republican 
 party, and has taken quite an active in- 
 terest in local politics, being elected' a mem- 
 ber of the city council and justice of the 
 peace, both of which offices he most capably 
 and satisfactorily filled. Fraternally he is a 
 member of the Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
 ica; Melody Lodge, No. 2, F. & A. M. ; and 
 Washington Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M. Fie is 
 one of the most prominent and influential busi- 
 ness men of his adopted city. 
 
 BERNT WILLIAM QUALLEY. Among 
 the many monuments which throughout Wis- 
 consin have been erected to unflagging indus- 
 try and sound business judgment, there are 
 few superior to the highly improved farm of 
 160 acres in Exeter township, Green county, 
 owned and, until lately, operated by the sub- 
 ject of this sketch. Migrating when a lad of 
 seventeen years from Norway, his native land, 
 to Wisconsin, Air. Oualley worked for a time 
 as farm laborer, then at a trade until he could 
 save the purchase payment for a little home of 
 forty-eight acres. To this he has added from 
 time to time until the valuable and well tilled 
 farm he now owns became the merited fruit 
 of his persevering efforts. 
 
 He was born near Bergen, Norway, Feb. 
 13, 1848, son of Ryer and Helga Oualley, and 
 grandson of Bartle Oualley, a life-long resi- 
 dent of Norway, who had a family of six or 
 seven children. Helga Oualley was a daughter 
 of Tron Oualley, a Norwegian farmer who 
 had two sons and three daughters. Ryer Oual- 
 ley, the father, was a tailor by occupation. 
 He came to America about 1867 and located in 
 Dane county, Wis., where he farmed for sev- 
 eral years, then moved to Brooklyn township, 
 Green county. Fie died in Exeter township 
 in 1877, aged fifty-six, and his wife in 1885, 
 aged seventy-four years. They were devout 
 members of the Lutheran Church. To Ryer 
 and Helga Oualley were born six children, four 
 sons and two daughters, of whom four are now 
 living, namely: Thomas, of Brookings, S. 
 
 Dak. ; Bernt William, our subject; Bertha, 
 wife of Stark Himle, of Ivasson, Minn.; and 
 James, of Brookings, South Dakota. 
 
 In his native land Bernt William Qualley 
 received a good common-school education, and, 
 as a boy, found occupation in a match factory. 
 In 1865, when about seventeen years of age 
 he came to America, landing at Stoughton, 
 Wis., where he began work by the month on 
 a farm. Later, at Whitewater, he acquired the 
 shoemaker’s trade, which he followed for about 
 ten years. Possessing a fondness for the in- 
 dependence and activity of farm life, Aljr. 
 Oualley then purchased 1 forty-eight acres, a 
 portion of his present farm of 160 acres in 
 Exeter township. Here he made a homestead 
 that ranks high among those of the township. 
 In February, 1901, Air. Oualley bought a stock 
 of dry goods and groceries from J. E. Lite!., 
 and renting his farm to his son-in-law, Stan- 
 ley Dietz, he, on March 1, 1901, moved to 
 Attica, Wis., to enter upon a mercantile career. 
 
 Mr. Oualley was' married, July 3, 1875, 
 to Aliss Elizabeth Alelvina Bartlett, daughter 
 of Joseph and Eliza (Price) Bartlett. Six 
 children, two sons and four daughters, have 
 been born to them, namely : Derwin, who died 
 aged two months and twenty-five days ; Har- 
 riet, a teacher in Exeter ; Sarah, who married 
 Stanley Dietz, of Monroe, Wis., and has one 
 child, Wesley; and Verna, William and Grace, 
 at home. Mr. Qualley, in religious faith, is 
 a Lutheran, and his wife is a member of the 
 Methodist Church. Politically he is a Repub- 
 lican, and is now serving as one of the super- 
 visors of Exeter township. Among the social 
 orders he is a member of Dayton Lodge, F. 
 & A. M., and of the Modern Woodmen of 
 America. He is one of the most industrious, 
 progressive and ! successful men of Exeter 
 township. 
 
 MRS. CHRISTOPHER F. SCPIROE- 
 DER, a well -1 mown resident of Platteville, 
 and a representative of a prominent pioneer 
 family of Grant county, was born in Smelser 
 township Oct. 23, 1845, and is a daughter of 
 Dedrick and Maria M. (Melvin) Harms. 
 
 The father was born March 30, 1805, in 
 Hanover, Germany, where he was reared and 
 educated, and in 1834 sailed from Bremen, and 
 arrived in New Orleans after a long and tedi- 
 ous voyage. By flat-boat he came up the Mis- 
 sissippi river to Dubuque, Iowa, where lie 
 worked at day labor, and later found employ- 
 ment in the mines. The same year, however, 
 he came to Grant county, Wis., and com- 
 
MRS. CHRISTOPHER F. SCHROEDER CHRISTOPHER F. SCHROEDER 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7i3 
 
 menced working in the mines here. At that 
 time he was unmarried, and in very limited 
 circumstances. In 1839 he was joined by his 
 brother John, and together they invested their 
 money in land, always doing business under 
 the firm name of D. & J. Harms. Their first 
 purchase was the claim of a Mr. Hazard, who 
 had commenced to break the land, and to it 
 they added from time to time, as their finan- 
 cial resources increased, until they owned a 
 large amount of property. The partnership 
 between the two brothers continued until the 
 death of Dedrick, Sept. 3, 1882. He was mar- 
 ried in Galena, 111 ., Aug. 6, 1843, to Miss 
 Maria M. Melvin, a native of Bloomington, 
 Ind., and a daughter of James A. and Sarah S. 
 (Roberts) Melvin. Her mother was born in 
 Virginia, of Holland ancestry, while her fa- 
 ther was born near the city of Baltimore, Md. 
 He brought his family to Grant county, Wis., 
 about 1831, becoming a farmer of Belmont 
 township. He was a soldier in the Black 
 Hawk war, and during those troublesome 
 times his family twice went to the fort at Min- 
 eral Point for protection. Both Mr. and 
 Mrs. Melvin died in Nebraska. After his 
 marriage Dedrick Harms located on the old 
 homestead in Smelser township, where he en- 
 gaged in farming and stock raising through- 
 out the remainder of his life. Although he 
 came to the New World empty-handed, by in- 
 dustry and good management he became one 
 of the most successful and substantial citizens 
 of his community. Politically he was a Demo- 
 crat, and he and his wife were members of the 
 Lutheran Church. She departed this life March 
 10, 1898. Their children were as follows: 
 John C., born June 6, 1844, died March 13, 
 1871 ; Mary I., born Oct. 23, 1845, is the next 
 in order of birth; Henry H., born Feb. 16, 
 1848, died Nov. 9, 1898; Dedrick W., born 
 Jan. 30, 1850, died April 23, 1856; James W., 
 born Feb. 20, 1852, and Louis L., born Oct. 
 7, 1853, are both represented elsewhere in this 
 volume; Martha J., born April 15, 1855, died 
 June 25, 1886; Sarah E., born May 8, 1857, 
 is the wife of Dr. A. R. Law, of Madison, 
 Wis.; Emily M., born April 9, i860, and 
 George L., born April 25, 1862, live on the old 
 home farm; and the youngest, born Nov. 3, 
 1864, died in infancy. 
 
 Mary I. Harms grew to womanhood on 
 her father’s farm in Smelser township, and 
 there she was married, Jan. 16, 1868, to Chris- 
 
 topher F. Schroeder, a native of Holstein, Ger- 
 many, and a son of Peter and Anna (Scheel) 
 Schroeder, who were also born in Germany, 
 and on coming to this country first settled in 
 Galena, 111 . In 1847 they became residents of 
 Grant county, Wis., and later made their home 
 in Lafayette county, this State, where the fa- 
 ther improved a farm. He died in California, 
 but the mother’s death occurred in Wisconsin. 
 Their children were Henry ; Catharine, Mrs. 
 Niehaus, of St. Paul, Minn.; Christopher F. ; 
 Frederick, of Lafayette county, Wis.; and 
 Mary, of Platteville. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Schroeder pur- 
 chased a farm in Iowa county, Wis., where he 
 made his home for fifteen years, at the end of 
 which time he sold that place and bought a 
 farm in Platteville township, Grant county, 
 known as the "Block House farm.’Tt is the old- 
 est farm in the county, and was first owned by 
 Mr. Krusen, then by John Stiles, later by Mr. 
 Huntington, and then by Mr. Schroeder. 
 This well improved and valuable tract of 360 
 acres is still owned by Mrs. Schroeder. Her 
 husband died March 17, 1894. He was a 
 Democrat in politics, and had served on the 
 jury. With his wife he held membership in the 
 Lutheran Church at Platteville. He was a 
 man of exemplary habits, commendable pur- 
 pose, and unbending integrity, and in all life’s 
 relations merited the confidence which was so 
 freely accorded him. Mrs. Schroeder is a 
 most estimable lady, and like her husband 
 makes many friends. In their family were 
 four children : ( 1 ) Anna Maria is now the 
 wife of Jacob Brugger, Jr., of Platteville town- 
 ship, and they have four children, Clarence 
 Elmer, Fernie Isabelle. Hazel May, and Her- 
 bert D. (2) George William, a resident of 
 Plymouth county, Iowa, married Anna Scheel, 
 and they have three children, Mabel Gert- 
 rude, Ethel Isabelle and Bessie Helen. (3) 
 Tames F. married Etta Johnson, and resides 
 at home. (4) Ellen Jane died at the age of 
 ten months. 
 
 JOHN ANTHONY, a leading stock and 
 grain farmer of the town of Lima, Grant coun- 
 ty, widely known as a capable and progressive 
 man, was born in Pennsylvania, in January, 
 1857, and is a son of John and Louisa (Case) 
 Anthony, both natives of Cornwall. Eng., 
 where they were married. In 1856 they came 
 to Wisconsin, and settled in Lafayette county, 
 
7 1 4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 where Mr. Anthony followed the tailoring 
 trade for a time, and then engaged in mining. 
 The celebrated Raisbeck mines at Meeker’s' 
 Grove in Lafayette county, were discovered by 
 him, and these mine's he worked by lease for 
 fifteen years, and met with large success in his 
 mining operations, clearing up a considerable 
 sum of money. In 1888 he purchased the farm 
 where his son John now resides, and there died 
 in 1889, leaving his wife with one son, John. 
 I11 politics he was a Republican, and in re- 
 ligion he and his wife were members of the 
 Methodist Church. Mrs. Anthony still resides 
 at her home in Meeker’s Grove. 
 
 John Anthony had his early education in 
 the district schools of Lafayette county, and 
 when a young man he learned the blacksmith 
 trade, which has been his occupation for twelve 
 years. In 1884 he married Miss Eva McRey- 
 nolds, the daughter of Wilson and Jane Mc- 
 Reynolds, an old and respected pioneer couple 
 of Grant county. After marriage he settled on 
 his present home property, which has been his 
 home since that time, with the exception of two 
 years which lie spent in the Raisbeck mines. 
 Mr. Anthony has given up the trade of black- 
 smithing, and confines himself to the operation 
 of his farm. To him and his wife were born 
 three children, all in the town of Lima: Frank 
 W., born in 1885; Louisa J., born in 1887; 
 and John, born in 1889, all of whom are stu- 
 dents in the home school. 
 
 In politics Mr. Anthony has always been 
 a Republican, and has been constable for eight 
 years, andhas been a delegate to the county con- 
 vention several terms. Mr. Anthony is a mem- 
 ber of the Washburn Lodge of the I. O. O. F., 
 and in religion he has been reared in the Meth- 
 odist Church. Lie is a young man of excellent 
 business qualifications, and for a number of 
 years has bought horses largely for the Chi- 
 cago and eastern markets. Known through- 
 out the community for his integrity and fair 
 dealing, he has many friends and is highly es- 
 teemed. 
 
 J. E. KENNEY is numbered among the 
 prominent business men of Cuba City, Grant 
 county, where he conducts a large furniture 
 and undertaking establishment. 
 
 Mr. Kenney was' born in Jo Daviess coun- 
 ty, 111 ., Sept. 26, 1851, a son of Edward and 
 Catherine (Fitzpatrick) Kenney. Edward 
 Kenney was born in County Kilkenny, Ire- 
 
 land, in 1800, and his wife in Tipperary, Ire- 
 land, in 1811. They were married in Ireland 
 in 1833, and four years later the father came 
 to America, settling in Illinois, where lie was 
 joined by his wife and one daughter in 1844. 
 The family located at the lead mines in Jo 
 Daviess county. 111 . Here the father followed 
 mining until 1855, when he purchased a farm 
 in the southwestern part of Lafayette county, 
 Wis., and remained thereon until his death, in 
 November, 1884. His wife passed away in 
 1873. Both of these good people were earnest 
 members of the Catholic Church, and the fa- 
 ther was a Jacksonian Democrat, although he 
 never took an active part in politics. Their 
 family consisted of six children : ( 1 ) Mary, 
 
 born in Ireland in October, 1834, came to 
 America when ten years of age. She married 
 William Nagle, of Jo Daviess county, a soldier 
 of the Mexican war and one of the “’49” Cal- 
 ifornians', who purchased land in Wisconsin. 
 Mr. Nagle died in i860 in the West, where 
 he had gone to look after some of his inter- 
 ests. He left his wife and one daughter, Mary 
 C., the wife of Allen Vandiver, of Missouri, 
 later of Illinois, where she died, leaving three 
 children, John E., Anice and William J. (2) 
 Bridget T., born Oct. 17, 1845, died in 1867. 
 (3) Ellen A., born Feb. 1, 1847, married Will- 
 iam O'Rourke, of Lafayette county, who served 
 three years in the Civil war, after which he 
 moved to Lawler, Towa. There Mrs. Ellen 
 O’Rourke died, leaving ten children, John E., 
 Mary C., Theressa, Lewis', Rose, William, 
 Cyrillus, Thomas, Alice, and Maggie. (4) 
 Michael J., born Sept. 14, 1848, who was edu- 
 cated in common schools of Wisconsin, mar- 
 ried Bridget Brannon, of Missouri, and set- 
 tled near St. Jo, that State, where the family 
 still reside. In 1883 he went to Mexico for 
 his health, later to Idaho, where he died in Jan- 
 uary, 1898, leaving a wife and four children, 
 Mary C., Theressa, John and Thomas. (5) 
 Catherine, born in February, 1850, died in 
 •April, 1869. (6) J. E. is our subject 
 
 1. E. Kenney was' educated in the public 
 schools of Lafayette county. In 1879 he went 
 to Salt Lake City, Utah, and successfully fol- 
 lowed silver and lead mining for two years; 
 then moved to the Wood river country, Idaho, 
 and following mining for six years, part of 
 which time he was manager for a Salt Lake 
 City company. In 1886 he came back to Jo 
 Daviess county, married, and returned with 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7i5 
 
 his young wife to Idaho. In 1888, coming 
 to Grant county, Wis., he settled in Cuba 
 City, where he formed a partnership with 
 John Walsh in a furniture and undertaking 
 business, buying the latter out in 1894, since 
 which time he has continued the establishment 
 alone. In addition to their furniture and un- 
 dertaking business Mr. Kenney and his part- 
 ner were contractors and builders, and among 
 their best contracts is the fine graded school 
 building in Cuba City, as well as a number of 
 business' blocks and private residences. Mr. 
 Kenney is a graduate of the embalming school 
 of Illinois, and thoroughly understands every 
 detail of his business. His undertaking estab- 
 lishment is furnished with all appliances; a full 
 line of caskets is carried, and all the appoint- 
 ments are in excellent taste. In the furniture 
 department purchasers find a full stock of the 
 finest, as well as most substantially constructed, 
 furniture, while prices are uniformly the low- 
 est, taking into consideration the excellence 
 of the articles. 
 
 In 1886 Mr. Kenney was married to Miss 
 Mary M. Walsh, of Jo Daviess county, 111 ., 
 daughter of John and Johanna (Day) Walsh, 
 pioneers of that county. Mrs. Kenney was 
 born and reared in Jo Daviess county, growing 
 to womanhood upon a farm. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Kenney have come three children : Mary 
 Calista, born in Cuba City in August, 1889, 
 who is now attending school; and Oscar and 
 Oswald, twins, who died when seven months 
 old. 
 
 Politically Mr. Kenney has always been 
 identified with the Democratic party, has 
 served most acceptably as alderman for four 
 terms, treasurer two years, assessor two years, 
 and was one of those who had the village in- 
 corporated. He has always taken a deep in- 
 terest in local affairs, and is ready and willing 
 to promote anything tending toward the ad- 
 vancement of the material prosperity of Cuba 
 City. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kenney are consist- 
 ent members of the Catholic Church, and he 
 is a charter member of Branch No. 96, Cath- 
 olic Knights of Wisconsin. 
 
 ALA IN F. ROTE, the capable and effi- 
 cient superintendent of public schools in Mon- 
 roe, Green county, is universally conceded to 
 be one of Wisconsin’s best equipped, most con- 
 scientious and most thorough educators. 
 
 Lewis Rote, our subject’s father, was one 
 
 of Green county’s most prominent and influ- 
 ential citizens, and a brief outline of his life 
 is given in a succeeding paragraph. His moth- 
 er's maiden name was Vashty C. Hitchcock, 
 and her birthplace was Trumbull county, Ohio. 
 She was a lady of rare refinement, innate grace 
 and superior education, being a student of Hi- 
 ram College, Ohio, of which President James 
 A. Garfield was an alumnus. Prof. Rote lost 
 her maternal love and care when he was but 
 fifteen years old, but her memory yet remains 
 to him fresh and sacred. She left two chil- 
 dren, of whom Alvin F. was the elder. A 
 daughter, Mary, was educated at the Monroe 
 high school, and married F. F. White; she 
 died years ago, leaving two daughters, and 
 her husband has since followed her to the grave. 
 
 In order to get a correct comprehension 
 of the career and services of Prof. Rote, it is 
 necessary to recount the salient events in the 
 life of his father, Lewis Rote, a man whose 
 moral worth, blameless life and high intellec- 
 tual attainments at once challenged admiration 
 and enforced respect. Lewis Rote was born 
 in Center county, Penn., Aug. 3, 1827. His 
 parents removed to V enango county, in that 
 State, and settled near Oil City, when he was 
 a mere child of three years. At the age of 
 sixteen he began the battle of life for himself, 
 alternately working and teaching school until 
 he found himself qualified to enter the college 
 at Meadville, Penn. After three years’ attend- 
 ance at that school he began the study of law, 
 and in 1853 came to Wisconsin. After halting 
 at several points in the lead mining district he 
 finally settled in Monroe. Here he taught 
 school for several years before engaging in 
 the practice of his profession. After the death 
 of his first wife Lewis Rote married Edna 
 Bancroft, of Portage county, Ohio, who sur- 
 vived him. In 1884 he moved to Pierce. Neb., 
 and engaged in farming, which vocation he 
 followed until his death, on Nov. 23,- 1899. 
 During his residence in Monroe he was a prom- 
 inent and influential citizen, being several 
 times elected village clerk, a member of the 
 school board, and justice of the peace. He 
 was a man of uncompromising integrity, and 
 absolutely fearless in maintaining what he be- 
 lieved to be the truth. Quiet and unobtrusive 
 in demeanor and habits, he was none the less 
 genial of temperament and generous at heart. 
 After settling in Nebraska he was elected coun- 
 ty judge, but resigned the office before the ex- 
 
716 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 piration of his term. He was an uncompro- 
 mising- Republican, and an earnest worker for 
 his party, being an effective speaker and an 
 admirable organizer. Many of the older resi- 
 dents bear testimony to his ability as an edu- 
 cator, and he was for many years one of the 
 leaders of the Green county Bar. 
 
 Alvin F. Rote was born July 6, 1858, in 
 Monroe. Immediately upon graduation from 
 the Monroe high school he matriculated at 
 the State University at Madison. At the close 
 of his Sophomore year he taught in the high 
 school in the city of his birth, discharging the 
 duties of that position with a fidelity and ability 
 which won universal commendation. Return- 
 ing to the university, he completed his course, 
 and graduated in 1882. He was at once ap- 
 pointed principal of the high school at Neenah, 
 Wis., where he remained four years. The nine 
 years following were passed, four at Berlin 
 and five at Beloit, and in 1895 he entered upon 
 the duties of his present office. 
 
 While teaching at Neenah Mr. Rote was 
 married to Miss Mary W. Krueger, of that 
 place, whose father, William Krueger, was one 
 of the early pioneers of Winnebago county. 
 They have one son, Robert, who was born in 
 Berlin in 1888. 
 
 Prof. Rote is an enthusiast in his work, 
 and under his skillful management and watch- 
 ful oversight the schools of Monroe compare 
 favorably with those of any other city of like 
 size in the State, the diploma of the high school 
 being accepted at Madison as sufficient evi- 
 dence of fitness to enter the university. Fra- 
 ternally our subject is a Royal Arch Mason, 
 being affiliated with the Beloit Chapter. In 
 religious faith he is a Universalist. 
 
 IOHN LONGBOTHAM, merchant, bank- 
 er and real-estate dealer in Dickeysville, Grant 
 county, was born in the town of Paris, that 
 county, in 1852, a son of Thomas and Hannah 
 ( Wreakes ) Longbotham. 
 
 Our subject's parents were natives of York-, 
 shire. England, the father born May 13, 1807, 
 and the mother in June, 1821. They came to 
 Grant county in 1841, and here Mr. Long- 
 botham was engaged in selling ore for a time, 
 after which he went into farming, in Paris. 
 He bought a good farm, where he made his 
 permanent residence. Here his wife died in 
 1880, and he on Sept. 22, 1892. Mr. Long- 
 botham in his earlier days voted the Demo- 
 
 cratic ticket, and later was a Republican. A 
 prominent and popular man in his section,, 
 he was called upon to fill many local offices, 
 and was widely known for his ability and un- 
 swerving integrity. Fie was the father of six 
 children: (1) William, who was born in Po- 
 tosi, Grant county, obtained his education in 
 the Platteville public schools, and is engaged 
 in business at Lawrence, Neb., where he is 
 living. He is unmarried. (2) Elijah, born 
 at Potosi, married Miss Celia Taylor, and set- 
 tled at Rockford, Iowa, where he died recent- 
 ly, leaving two children, Ella and Overton. 
 (3) Thomas, born at Dickeysville, married 
 Miss Alvira Gillmore, of Dubuque, Iowa, and 
 they have one son, Thomas. He is now in 
 business at Platteville, being one of the leading 
 liverymen of Grant county. (4) Rebecca A., 
 born in the town of Paris, was educated in 
 the home schools and in the Platteville Nor- 
 mal, and became a partner with her brother 
 John in the store, which partnership has con- 
 tinued for some eighteen years. Miss Long- 
 botham was appointed postmaster at Dickeys- 
 ville under the first administration of Presi- 
 dent Cleveland, and is still holding that posi- 
 tion. (5) John is the fifth child of his par- 
 ents. (6) Joseph, born in Paris, grew to man- 
 hood on the old homestead, and is now cashier 
 of the Farmers Bank of Cuba City, where he 
 is doing a fine business. For some years he 
 lived at Platteville, moving to his present lo- 
 cation and business in 1898. He married Miss 
 Kittie Matthews, of Dickeysville. The Long- 
 bothams are all Republicans, and have all befen 
 more or less prominently identified with the 
 Methodist Church. 
 
 John Longbotham was reared on the fam- 
 ily estate, and acquired his education in the 
 common schools. While still quite young he 
 had charge of his father’s business to a con- 
 siderable extent, and in 1880, in company with 
 his sister, engaged in a general mercantile busi- 
 ness in Dickeysville. During the intervening 
 years he has continuously dealt in real estate, 
 making a specialty of desirable farm lands, 
 and has handled some of the choicest farm 
 property in this part of the State. He belongs 
 to a syndicate extensively interested in lands 
 in the northern part of the State. By close 
 attention to business and wise management 
 Mr. Longbotham has become one of the weal- 
 thy men of his part of the county. In 1890, 
 and again in 1892, he was elected to the Gen- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 717 
 
 eral Assembly, and has served his constitu- 
 ents most acceptably. In financial affairs Mr. 
 Longbotham has taken a conspicuous part, in 
 1890 organizing the Farmers Bank of Cuba 
 City, of which he is president. He also found- 
 ed a bank at Stevens Point, of which he is 
 vice-president. He is one of the prominent 
 figures in the business world in this part of 
 the State, and sustains a high reputation for 
 honesty and integrity in all his business deal- 
 ings. Mr. Longbotham has never married. 
 
 HARLAN J. JOHNSON, Lancaster, Wis. 
 This gentleman is the owner and publisher of 
 the Grant County Herald, the oldest estab- 
 lished weekly paper in Southwestern Wiscon- 
 sin. It was founded in 1843 by J- C. Cover, 
 and has occupied an important place in jour- 
 nalistic circles ever since. Mr. Johnson took 
 charge of the Herald in April, 1900, purchas- 
 ing the same from C. R. Showalter. It is not 
 his first experience in newspaper work, he hav- 
 ing founded the Dial-Enterprise, at Boscobel, 
 in company with Fred A. Myers, which was 
 conducted most successfully under his man- 
 agement until March 1, 1900, at which time 
 he disposed of his interests to Mr. Myers and 
 removed to Lancaster, the county seat, where 
 a broader field of work was open. 
 
 Harlan J. Johnson was born in Boscobel 
 Dec. 23, 1872, and is a son of Jens O. John- 
 son, a native of Norway, and an emigrant to 
 this country at the age of sixteen years. The 
 paternal Johnson located at Boscobel after he 
 had attended the academy at Albion, Wis., 
 where he was graduated. In this city he en- 
 gaged in insurance and became quite success- 
 ful. In 1874 he removed to Northfield, Minn., 
 and soon after received the appointment of ad- 
 justor for the German Insurance Co., of Free- 
 port. He was holding this position at the time 
 of his death, March 15, 1885. He was a sol- 
 dier of the Civil war. Fraternally he was a 
 Mason, and also belonged to the Grand Army 
 of the Republic, taking a lively interest in 
 everything that tended to preserve the feeling 
 of comradeship and fraternity among the old 
 veterans. Fie began life for himself as a poor 
 boy, and though he died early was able to 
 leave a very considerable competence for those 
 who came after him. Mrs. Jens O. Johnson, 
 born Betsy J. Rice, was a daughter of Moors 
 and Clarissa (Phillips) Rice. She was born 
 in New Hampshire Aug. 4, 1840, and married 
 
 Mir. Johnson Dec. 23, 1866. She is still living 
 in Boscobel. Mr. and Firs. Jens O. Johnson 
 were the parents of four children, of whom 
 only two are living : Cora died at the age of 
 nineteen years; Harlan J. is our subject; Ger- 
 trude is living at home; and Louise died when 
 she reached the age of nineteen years. 
 
 Harlan J. Johnson had his early education 
 in the public schools of Northfield, Minn., and 
 at Boscobel, Wis. In the month of February, 
 1892, he entered the office of the Boscobel 
 Dial, and in the month of May, three years 
 later, he purchased the Boscobel Leader, in 
 company with Fred A. Myers. They changed 
 the name to the Enterprise, and in October, 
 1895, consolidated it with their newly-pur- 
 chased property, the Dial, and gave the new 
 paper the name of The Dial-Enterprise. 
 
 Harlan J. Johnson was married to Miss 
 Mildred Muffley, June 23, 1896. She is a 
 daughter of L. Muffley, and was born in Bos- 
 cobel Oct. 7, 1878. They are the fond par- 
 ents of three children, Carl M., Mildred L. 
 and Frances R. 
 
 DAVID BURRINGTON, who owns a fine 
 farm of forty acres in the village of Brown- 
 town, Green county, is a descendant of a fam- 
 ily who came to America shortly after the ar- 
 rival of the “Mayflower,” and whose progeny 
 are scattered all over the LTiited States. Ami 
 Burrington, the great-grandfather of David, a 
 native of Connecticut, was the father of four 
 children that grew to maturity, namely : Ed- 
 ward, Hulda, Rensselaer and Lucinda. 
 
 Edward Burrington, son of Ami, married 
 Lydia Merritt, of Vermont, and reared a fam- 
 ily of five children : Reuben ; Wilber, of Min- 
 nesota; Amanda, who wedded Lucius Gris- 
 wold; Lewis, deceased; and Perry, of Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 Reuben Burrington, son of Edward, was 
 born May 5, 1829, in Orleans county, AT., 
 and at the age of seven years was taken by his 
 parents to Pennsylvania, where they remained 
 some years, and then moved to Ohio. On 
 Jan. 1. 1857, he married Miss Cordelia Flea- 
 cham, daughter of Hosea and Mary (Nichols) 
 Meacham, who originally came from New 
 York State, and were of Scottish origin. Fir. 
 and Mrs. Fleacham had a family of six chil- 
 dren : L. R., of Clark county, Wis. ; Cordelia, 
 Firs. Burrington, born in 1834; AATlliam R., 
 killed at Fort Jackson, La., in the Civil war; 
 
7 18 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Fannie B., wife of Jacob Dietz, of Monroe, 
 Wis. ; John, a farmer of Cadiz township; and 
 Horace, a farmer in Clark county, Wis. Wal- 
 ter W., an adopted son, resides in Brodhead, 
 Wis. Hosea Meacham was a son of Lyman 
 Meacham, who was born in New York, and 
 was the father of the following children : Ho- 
 sea, Bettie, Lydia, Nancy, Lucina, Sallie, Ann, 
 Milo, Daniel, Jeremiah, Jeannette, Lucy, Noah, 
 Lucinda. To Reuben Burrington and his wife 
 were born nine children, of whom seven sur- 
 vive, those beside our subject being: Eva, 
 
 wife of Boyd Niles, of Green county; Hosea, 
 who married Ellen Bouffman ; Daniel, who 
 married Minnie Mohow, of Chicago; William, 
 who wedded Hattie Murr, of Naperville, 111 .; 
 Fannie, wife of James Flannery, of Jordan 
 township; and Mabel, wife of Charles McCoy, 
 of Argyle, Wis. Reuben Burrington served 
 in the Civil war as a member of Battery D, 
 1st Wisconsin Volunteer Heavy Artillery. 
 
 David Burrington, son of Reuben, was 
 born July 4, 1862, and was reared to manhood 
 on the farm in Green county, receiving such 
 literary training as could be obtained in the 
 neighborhood schools. At the age of twenty 
 he went to Colorado, remained one year, and 
 then, returning to Wisconsin, found employ- 
 ment on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
 road as section foreman, with headquarters at 
 Gratiot, Wis. Fie efficiently discharged the 
 duties of this position until 1899, when he re- 
 signed, removing to Browntown, where he had 
 purchased land. He is now engaged in the 
 dairy business in connection with farming, and 
 is meeting with no little success. 
 
 On April 5, 1888, Mr. Burrington was 
 married to Miss Minnie Huebner, daughter of 
 C. F. and Mary Huebner, and by her had four 
 children, three of whom are now living: 
 Charles, Ervin and Florence. Mrs. Burring- 
 ton died Dec. 19, 1894, and on May 23, 1896, 
 Mr. Burrington married Miss Marguerite 
 Long, daughter of Casper and Elmira (Long) 
 Long, residents of Browntown, Wis., of Ger- 
 man descent. Two children have been born 
 of this second union, one that died in infancy, 
 and Hazel. Mr. Burrington has taken an 
 active interest in public affairs, and during his 
 residence at Gratiot was a member of the vil- 
 lage board. Politically he always votes the 
 Republican ticket. As a member of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church he takes a part in all 
 church work. Socially he belongs to Gratiot I 
 
 Lodge, No. 1 18, of the Masonic fraternity, 
 of which he has served as secretary for a 
 number of years, and at Browntown is a mem- 
 ber of the M. W. A., Pearl Camp, No. 1141. 
 
 R. B. LUCRE Y, one of the leading mer- 
 chants of Cuba City, Grant county, and a man 
 who plays an important part in the commer- 
 cial life of that locality, was born in Iowa in 
 September, 1867, a son of Stephen and Sophia 
 (Day) Luckey. 
 
 Stephen Luckey was born in Pennsylvania, 
 in 1829, while his wife was born in Ohio, in 
 1844, and, her parents dying When she was 
 but a child, she was reared by a sister. Ste- 
 phen Luckey was reared to manhood in Penn- 
 sylvania and New York, later coming West 
 to Rock county, Wis., where he remained until 
 1865. Then he moved to Iowa, was a travel- 
 ing salesman until his death, which sad event 
 occurred at Mt. Hope, Wis., in 1891, his wife 
 having passed away in 1883. Mr. Luckey had 
 been twice married. His first wife, Mariah 
 Ward, an eastern lady, became the mother of 
 two sons: John, born in Wisconsin in 1850, 
 moved to Colorado in 1879, married, and is 
 now a prosperous real-estate agent ; and George, 
 born in Wisconsin in 1852, married Ella Hayse, 
 resides at Richland Centre, where he is engaged 
 in the livery business (they have two children, 
 Bessy and Blanch). By his marriage with 
 Sophia Day Mr. Luckey became the father of 
 three sons : Jay, born and educated in Iowa, 
 married a Miss Dax, of Dubuque, Iowa, and 
 has been traveling salesman for the Miller 
 Broom works for some sixteen years ; Guy is 
 single, and in business at Richland Centre as 
 a liveryman; and our subject. 
 
 R. B. Luckey grew to manhood in Iowa, 
 attending the graded schools, and later engaged 
 as clerk in the general store of W. H. Proc- 
 tor, at Monticello, for some eight years. In 
 the fall of 1886 he embarked as a merchant 
 at Fillmore, Iowa, continuing there until 1893, 
 when he removed to Cuba City, opened a gen- 
 eral store, and now has the largest establish- 
 ment of its kind in the city, Mr. Luckey mak- 
 ing a specialty of boots and shoes. The stock 
 carried is a fine one, averaging about $10,000, 
 and every facility is afforded for the accom- 
 modation of the patrons, while the goods are 
 of the latest design. By his upright methods 
 he has firmly established himself in the busi- 
 ness life of Cuba City. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7 19 
 
 In 1893 Mr. Luckey married Miss Rachel 
 Longendyke, of Fillmore, Iowa, daughter of 
 Peter and Eliza Longendyke, of Kingston, 
 N. Y. Mrs. Luckey was born at Kingston, 
 N. Y., and well educated in her native State. 
 Her parents moved to Monticello, Iowa, where 
 they both died. Mr. and Mrs. Luckey have 
 one son, Cort, born m Iowa, who is a 
 student 111 the Cuba City schools. Politically 
 Mr. Luckey has always adhered to the princi- 
 ples of the Republican party, and for five years 
 has served as a member ot the board of coun- 
 cilmen, giving entire satisfaction. Mr. Luckey 
 is an active member of Modern Woodmen 
 Camp, No. 2753, of Cuba City. Both Mr. 
 and Mrs. Luckey are prominently identified 
 with the M. E. Church, although not mem- 
 bers, and very generous in the support of all 
 church work. I hey are pleasant people, whose 
 circle of friends is daily widening, while Mr. 
 Luckey is highly esteemed for his reliable way 
 of doing business, and his ability to keep in 
 touch with public demands, so as to provide 
 exactly what is most desired. 
 
 ARTHUR DOYLE is one of those sturdy 
 natives of old Ireland who have made their 
 adopted country proud to call them her own. 
 
 Born in County Wicklow, Ireland, March 
 17, 1840, Mr. Doyle is a son of Andrew and 
 Mary A. (Byrne) Doyle, both of whom were 
 natives of Ireland, born about 1808, and mar- 
 ried in that country. I11 1853 the family 
 reached Hazel Green, Grant county, where 
 Mr. Doyle settled down to farming, and there 
 spent the remainder of his life, owning at the 
 time of his demise a fine farm’ of many acres. 
 He lived to be seventy-four years old, his wife 
 surviving until 1894. Both were consistent 
 members of the Catholic Church. They left 
 the following named children : Catherine, who 
 married John O’Sullivan, of Smelser, died leav- 
 ing six children. Sarah is Mrs. Joseph Bau- 
 field of Cuba City, Wis., and has a family of 
 five children, one of whom, Thomas F., is now 
 a priest, in charge of St. Joseph’s Church, 
 Houston, Texas. Margaret married Patrick 
 Merrigan, of Jo Daviess county, 111 ., and is 
 now a widow residing in Union county, S. 
 Dak. ; she has a large family. Patrick married 
 Mary Quinlan, and moved to Nebraska, where 
 he died in 1897. Julia A. is the widow of 
 Thomas Badsfuid, of Smelser, and has a large 
 family, one son, William, being a Catholic 
 
 priest in Bankston, Iowa. Andrew married 
 Mary Morgan, of his own country, and resides 
 in Tankton, S. Dak. Bridget married George 
 Schroer, and resides in Cuba City, with two 
 children, Lulu and Mary. Charles, the first 
 born in Grant county, married Maggie Byrne, 
 and settled on the old homestead in Hazel 
 Green township, where he died in 1893, leav- 
 ing six children, who reside in Platteville. 
 
 Our subject was a student before coming 
 to America, and continued his education in 
 Hazel Green. In 1862 he enlisted in Com- 
 pany B, 90th 111 . V. I., termed the “Irish 
 Legion” because of the large number of gal- 
 lant sons of Erin in its ranks, and served un- 
 der Grant and Sherman, participating in the 
 battle of Vicksburg, and both battles of Mis- 
 sionary Ridge. He suffered from three 
 wounds, one of these being in the breast, and 
 saw much hard service, being in many engage- 
 ments and making long marches. On account 
 O'f his wounds he was honorably discharged, 
 and came home a sergeant, having risen from 
 the ranks. 
 
 Returning to his old home in Hazel Green 
 township, our subject again took up peaceful 
 pursuits, but the hand that has wielded a gun 
 needs time before it can accustom itself to 
 the plow, and it was not until 1866 that Mr. 
 Doyle settled down to hard work on a farm. 
 Owning eighty acres of prairie land near Cuba 
 City, given him by his father, he began its 
 improvement, adding to it until at present he 
 ; owns a’ fine estate of 280 acres, so improved 
 and cultivated that it ranks with any in Grant 
 county. His comfortable, modern dwelling, 
 excellent buildings and flourishing orchards, 
 make his place an ideal country home. 
 
 Mr. Doyle was married in 1865 to Miss 
 Catherine Walsh, a daughter of Nicholas and 
 Mary Walsh, old pioneers. Her father was 
 born in Ireland, her mother in Kentucky, and 
 they resided in Illinois at the time of the birth 
 of Mrs. Doyle, in October, 0:842. She received 
 her education at the Sisters’ school in Benton, 
 and is an estimable lady. Children as follows 
 have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Doyle : Mary 
 A., Charles and Sarah are deceased. Andrew 
 died when a young man, in 1887. Mary, born 
 in 1872, died in 1890; she was a student at 
 St. Clair Academy. Rev. Nicholas, born Nov. 
 3, 1869. received his early education in the 
 Georgetown school, entered St. Francis Semi- 
 nary, at Milwaukee, where he was educated 
 
720 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 for the priesthood, spending ten years in that 
 school, and was ordained in July, 1892. He 
 had charge first of Ridgeway parish, and died 
 April 29, 1895, 111 Shullsburg, his death being 
 a terrible affliction to his family. Patrick M., 
 born in 1873, was a student at Cuba City, and 
 finished his education at St. Joseph’s College, 
 Dubuque, but 011 account of failing health spent 
 five years in Texas, and is now a member of 
 the mercantile firnu of Donohoo, Splinter & 
 Co., in Cuba City. Charles P., born in 1877, 
 received a finished education at St. Joseph’s 
 College, and is one of the partners in the above 
 mentioned firm. Thomas F., born in 1881, 
 is a graduate of the Cuba City high school, 
 and now a student at St. Joseph’s College. 
 Malda, born in 1883, is a graduate in the class 
 of 1900, of the Cuba City high school, and 
 now attending school at St. Clara’s Academy, 
 Sinsinawa, Wis. Maggie E., born in 1885, 
 is a student in the high school at Cuba City. 
 
 After his return from the army our sub- 
 ject was made town treasurer, continuing in 
 office during 1864-65. Politically he has al- 
 ways been identified with the Democratic par- 
 ty, and he has efficiently filled the position of 
 chairman of his township and also that of 
 assessor. As a leading and prominent politi- 
 cian Mr. Doyle has been before the public 
 many years, and has always been found one 
 upon whom the lime-light of public criticism 
 discloses no flaw. Devoted to his church, he 
 is one of its cheerful and generous supporters, 
 and of every Catholic charity that comes to 
 his notice. Generous to his family, he has 
 spent large sums of money on their education, 
 and they reflect credit upon him, being among 
 the most intelligent and cultured members of 
 the community. Grant county has no finer 
 specimen of politician, farmer, or veteran of 
 the Civil war than she finds in Arthur Doyle. 
 
 WALTER WILLIAM PECK, M. D., one 
 of the leading physicians and surgeons of 
 southwestern Wisconsin, is a native of the 
 State, born Jan. 19, i860, in Lafayette coun- 
 ty, at Darlington, a son of L. S. and Lovisa 
 (Robinson) Peck, both of whom were natives 
 of New York, and became residents of La- 
 fayette county in 1858. They now reside in 
 the city of Kilbourn, Wisconsin. 
 
 Our subject is one of a family of three 
 members; George is a pharmacist, residing in 
 Chicago; and Clara resides with her parents. 
 
 Dr. Peck received a high-school education in 
 Darlington, and began the study of medicine 
 with Dr. Smith, finally graduating at Rush 
 Medical College, Chicago, in the class of 1883. 
 The whole ot his medical career has been 
 passed in Lafayette county. He was located 
 m Fayette six and one-half years, having- 
 moved thither immediately after graduation, 
 and for twelve years has been kept busy with 
 his growing practice in Darlington. In 1895 
 he was graduated from the New York Post- 
 Graduate Medical School, making a specialty 
 of surgery and diseases of the eye, ear, nose 
 and throat. Dr. Peck is recognized as a man 
 of marked ability in his profession, and has 
 become one of the most trusted members of 
 the medical fraternity in the State. In sur- 
 gery, especially, is he considered very skillful. 
 He has been prominently identified with the 
 city’s interests, and has gained the esteem of 
 the community. He is chairman of the town 
 and county boards. Socially he is a member 
 of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the 
 Blue Lodge and Commandery, and also of the 
 K. of P. 
 
 On May 3, 1888, Dr. Peck married Miss 
 Nannie Moore Parkinson, a daughter of Peter 
 Parkinson, and a granddaughter of Daniel 
 Morgan Parkinson. One daughter has come 
 to Dr. and Mrs. Peck, Helene, born Feb. 
 9, 1891. 
 
 COL. DANIEL MORGAN PARKIN- 
 SON. No name in the pioneer history of 
 Lafayette county is entitled to greater honor, 
 or more worthy a place in the Commemorative 
 Record of Southwestern Wisconsin, than that 
 of Parkinson. The head of the family was 
 Daniel Morgan Parkinson, who was born in 
 Carter county, East Tennessee, Oct. 20, 1790. 
 His father, Peter Parkinson, was a sturdy 
 Scotchman, and on the maternal side he was 
 descended from famous Revolutionary ances- 
 try, his mother being Mary Morgan, a sister 
 of Gen. Daniel Morgan, the commander of 
 Morgan’s famous riflemen in the war for in- 
 dependence. 
 
 Col. Parkinson’s father died when he was 
 a child of two years, the mother being left 
 with seven small children to support, and in 
 a wilderness of the new Southwest, which 
 was overrun by savages, and whose forests 
 had but just begun to echo to the blows of the 
 axe of the white man. But the faithful and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 72 1 
 
 energetic mother proved equal to the condi- 
 tions in which she was placed, and reared her 
 children, though without the advantages of 
 education, to be esteemed and honorable citi- 
 zens. On attaining to manhood our subject 
 left his native place and located in White coun- 
 ty, in his native State, later removing to Madi- 
 son county, 111., thence to Sangamon county, 
 in the same State. 
 
 At about this time the tide of migration 
 set in toward the lead regions of southwest- 
 ern Wisconsin, and in 1827 Mr. Parkinson 
 located at New Diggings, then in Iowa county. 
 In 1829 he removed to Mineral Point, and 
 there erected the third cabin at that place, 
 this cabin becoming known as “Mineral Point 
 Hotel,” and here many a tired miner and 
 weary traveler found refreshment and rest. 
 In 1833 he entered a quarter section of land 
 in what is now the town of Willow Springs, 
 and later erected a house thereon, and this be- 
 came the homestead of the family. Here Dan- 
 iel Parkinson died, on Oct. I, 1868, at the 
 age of seventy-eight. This place was known 
 among the early settlers as “Prairie Spring- 
 Hotel.” No man was better known or more 
 highly esteemed among the pioneers than he, 
 and among his intimate friends were such men 
 as Gov. Henry Dodge, Ebenezer Bingham, 
 William D. Hamilton, Charles Bracken, Ab- 
 ner Nichols, J. P. Cox, Levi Sterling, Judge 
 J. W. Blackstone, and many other men of 
 prominence. 
 
 Mr. Parkinson served as captain, major 
 and colonel, successively, of Territorial militia, 
 and saw service in the Winnebago war as lieu- 
 tenant, later, in the Black Hawk war, com- 
 manding- the 5th Company, Mich. Mounted 
 Volunteers, where he earned great praise as 
 an Indian tactician. Three times he was elect- 
 ed to the Territorial Legislature, and often 
 held a seat on the county board of supervisors 
 of Iowa county. In 1846 he was elected to rep- 
 resent the county of Iowa in the Constitutional 
 Convention of that year. Despite the dissolute 
 associations of the early days Col. Parkinson 
 was a sturdy exponent of temperance tenets, 
 and never indulged, nor allowed liquor to ap- 
 pear in his household. So thoroughly did he 
 instill temperance principles into the minds 
 of his three sons that they all arrived at ma- 
 turity without knowing- the taste of liquor. 
 
 In physical form Col. Parkinson was of 
 herculean build, having been six feet, six inches 
 
 46 
 
 in height, and well proportioned. In politics 
 he was a stanch adherent of Andrew Jackson, 
 and on all occasions, and in all places, main- 
 tained his Democratic sentiments. Previous 
 to coming to Iowa county he had contracted 
 his first marriage, with Elizabeth Hyder, who 
 was a first cousin of Gen. Wade Hampton's 
 father. To this union three sons were born, 
 Peter, William and Nathaniel. Col. Parkin- 
 son married twice subsequently, and his last 
 wife, like the others, preceded her husband to 
 the better land. The only surviving member 
 of his immediate family is his son William, 
 who, at a very advanced age, resides at Min- 
 eral Point. 
 
 Peter Parkinson, the eldest son, was born 
 in Carter county, Tenn., Jan. 22, 1813, and 
 became no less distinguished in Lafayette coun- 
 ty than was his honored father. In 1819 the 
 family removed to southern Illinois, and set- 
 tled in Silver Creek, twenty-five miles east of 
 St. Louis, which was then on the Western 
 frontier, and St. Louis but a small village. 
 In August, 1828, he came to Wisconsin, his 
 father and the rest of the family having come 
 the previous year. In 1832, with his brother, 
 Nathaniel T. Parkinson, he settled in the town 
 of Fayette, which was ever after his home.. 
 In that year lie and his brother broke sixty 
 acres of land, which was the first farm of any 
 considerable size made in the town. On this 
 farm he and his brother, both then unmarried, 
 lived together for five years, and increased its 
 extent to 400 acres. 
 
 In 1832, when but nineteen years of age, 
 young Parkinson took an active part in the 
 Black Hawk war, participating in the famous 
 battle of Pecatonica, in which every Indian en- 
 gaged was slain, and when he died the last 
 survivor of the bloodiest battle of the Black 
 Hawk war passed away. In the battle of Wis- 
 consin he also took part, and assisted in the 
 burying of many of the men who were slain. 
 I11 1854 he was a member of the State Legis- 
 lature from Lafayette county, and one of the 
 four members who had the courage to vote 
 against the Kansas-Nebraska resolutions of 
 that body. As a legislator he was active and 
 influential in the passage of several laws in 
 the interests of the people at large, and was the 
 author of that part of the Mechanics’ Lien 
 Law which extended its provisions, which have 
 now been embodied into the laws of every 
 State in the Union. In 1855, during- the Kan- 
 
722 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 sas-Nebraska troubles, he was appointed by 
 President Pierce to the office of lieutenant in 
 Company A, Dragoons, 3d Cavalry, U. S. A. 
 While at St. Louis, on his way to report at 
 Jefferson Barracks, the sudden and dangerous 
 illness of his wife compelled him to resign at 
 once; had not the unfortunate event occurred; 
 there is no doubt but his military career, be- 
 gun so auspiciously, would have increased the 
 lustre of that gallant regiment. Col. Parkin- 
 son served as county commissioner, chairman 
 of the town board, and justice of the peace, 
 although he had never sought office nor posi- 
 tion. A number of times he was president of 
 the Agricultural Society of his county; of the 
 Old Settlers Society; and of the Pioneer Asso- 
 ciation, which he organized. 
 
 While never engaged in the practice of 
 law, Col. Parkinson was familiar with its prin- 
 ciples, possessed an excellent knowledge of 
 the provisions of the statutes, and argued a case 
 before a justice of the peace as well as a prac- 
 ticing attorney. As a writer he was strong 
 and vigorous, and on some topics was con- 
 sidered the best writer in Lafayette county. 
 The prominent traits of his character were 
 firmness and decision ; he was sincere and ar- 
 dent in his friendships, had no sympathy or 
 patience with littleness or meanness, and was 
 ever severe in condemnation of the evil doer. 
 An old neighbor said of him that he was ever 
 ready to do right himself, and to make others 
 do right. Prominently identified with town, 
 county and State, to the close of his life, he 
 was able to relate many interesting incidents 
 of the early days. 
 
 In December, 1837, Mr. Parkinson was 
 married to Lucy McCollum, and theirs was the 
 first marriage ceremony performed in Lafay- 
 ette county. Two sons and a daughter were 
 born to this marriage: The elder of the sons 
 is Judge John D. Parkinson, who has for many 
 years been circuit judge of the 25th district 
 of the State of Missouri, with residence at 
 Kansas City ; the younger son, Thomas Ben- 
 ton, was killed at Little Rock, in the war of 
 the Rebellion ; the daughter died in infancy. 
 Mrs. Lucy Parkinson died April 5, 1842. In 
 1847 h e married Cleantha S. Welch, of Madi- 
 son, \\ is., and by this marriage four daugh- 
 ters were born : Lucy Helena became Mrs. 
 Derrick, of Oil City, Penn., and died many 
 years ago; Iantha Corinne is now Mrs. Abby, 
 of Beebe, Ark.; Tessie Alberta is now Mrs. 
 
 Jenkins, of Cheyenne, Wyo. ; and Mary. Mrs. 
 Parkinson died in 1862, and in November, 
 1864, Mr. Parkinson married Sarah A. Moore, 
 of Old Belmont, youngest daughter of the late 
 Col. John Moore, an old pioneer of this coun- 
 ty. Three children were born of this union : 
 Nannie Moore, the wife of Dr. Walter Will- 
 iam Peck, of Darlington; Philip, who resides 
 on the old homestead; and Elizabeth, who is 
 now a student in the University of Wisconsin. 
 The honored father died in his old home in 
 Fayette, May 30, 1894, in his eighty-second 
 year. 
 
 In many respects Mr. Parkinson was a re- 
 markable man, having inherited from his an- 
 cestors a strong constitution, and he possessed 
 a large and powerful frame, with a dignified 
 and commanding presence. Thoroughly un- 
 derstanding the politics of the country, and 
 possessing a remarkable memory, he was en- 
 abled to make valuable contributions to the 
 State Historical Society. It was the universal 
 sentiment, of the county and of the State, 
 when Peter Parkinson passed away, that his 
 example and influence had been such as to leave 
 lasting marks upon the generations to come in 
 the state he loved and served so well. The last 
 Mrs. Parkinson survived her distinguished hus- 
 band a few years, passing away on April 7, 
 1898. 
 
 CHARLES E. BONSON, proprietor of 
 the Platteville bus line, one of the solid and sub- 
 stantial men of that place, is a representative of 
 one of the old pioneer families of Grant county. 
 His birth occurred in Platteville Dec. 12, 1850, 
 and he is the son of John and Fannie S. (Ste- 
 phens) Bonson. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of Charles E. 
 Bonson, Dr. Richard Bonson, with his wife, 
 Isabella, came to Platteville in 1836, being an 
 old pioneer of Grant county. He engaged in 
 smelting ore, and. followed that occupation 
 the remainder of his life. At his death he left 
 two sons, Edward and John, the former of 
 whom was killed by lightning when yet a young 
 man. 
 
 John Bonson, the father of our subject, 
 was born in England in 1827, and his wife in 
 Cornwall, England, in 1833. Their marriage 
 occurred in 1850. At that time John Bonson 
 was a butcher, but later he purchased a farm, 
 which he conducted until his death, in 1872; 
 his wife is still living, residing in Platteville. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 723 
 
 Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. John 
 Bonson, four of whom died in infancy. Charles 
 E. is our subject. Isabel is now the wife of 
 Robert Chapman, of Kansas City, and has a 
 family of seven children. Frank, Thomas, Em- 
 ma, Cora, Faye, Ella and Fannie. Frank, born 
 in Grant county, married Mary Churchill, and 
 resides in Platteville, being assessor of the 
 town; they have seven children, Harry E., Jes- 
 sie, Nellie, Feta, Charles, Frank and Bessie. 
 Annie F., born in Platteville, is now the wife 
 of Cyrus Huntingdon, and has three sons, 
 Alden, Jesse and Eddie. Nettie F. was born 
 and educated in Platteville, receiving a fine 
 musical training; she is now the wife of Will- 
 iam Nehls, formerly a hardware dealer of 
 Platteville, but now residing at Benton, Wis., 
 and there are two daughters in this family, 
 Nellie W. and Helen. Ella, a very charming 
 young lady, was taken away by death when 
 still a young girl. 
 
 The mother of our subject was a daughter 
 of Michael and Alary (Cowlin) Stephens, who 
 were both born in Cornwall, England, and 
 came to this country in 1842, the father’s twin 
 brother, John, having made the trip one year 
 previously. Ten years later, in 1852, they 
 crossed the plains to California, working in 
 the mines for some two years, after which they 
 returned to Platteville, locating' on a farm, 
 where they remained the rest of their lives. 
 Airs. Stephens died in 1881, and Mr. Stephens 
 in 1886. Of the ten children born to this 
 worthy couple, William C., Jane J., John, Fan- 
 nie S., Elizabeth A., Samuel C., Alary A., J. 
 C., Emily and Ellen, five are still living. Will- 
 iam C. married, and settled in Platteville, 
 where he died in 1897. Jane J. is the wife of 
 J. Stevens, and now resides in Platteville. 
 John, now a resident of California, has a fam- 
 ily of three daughters. Fannie S. was the 
 mother of our subject. Elizabeth A. married 
 John Trenary, and now resides at Belmont, 
 Wis. Samuel C., born in England, is now a 
 resident of Sioux City, Iowa, is married, and 
 has two; sons, Arthur and Frank, both resi- 
 dents of Laura, Neb. Mary A. married James 
 Nicholas, and died leaving two daughters, 
 Airs. John McCabe and Mrs. Louella Graham, 
 wife of Joel Graham, both of Platteville. Em- 
 ily married Edwin Johnson, and died leaving 
 two children, Edwin A. and Eva J., of Platte- 
 ville. Ellen was born in Platteville in 1842, 
 the only one of this family born in America; 
 
 in September, 1876, she became the wife of 
 Ambrose Tregenown, of Platteville; they have 
 no family. Mr. Stephens, the father of this 
 large family, was counted among the promi- 
 nent pioneer citizens of the State, and was act- 
 ively identified with the interests of Platte- 
 ville, being very popular on account of his 
 pleasant, genial manner, and many excellent 
 qualities. In religious matters he was an ear- 
 nest member of the M. E. Church, and in poli- 
 tics was first a Whig, when that party was 
 merged into the Republican party becoming 
 an ardent adherent of its principles. 
 
 Charles E. Bonson, our subject, was edu- 
 cated in the excellent schools of Platteville, 
 after which he engaged in farming until 1882, 
 when he embarked in his present enterprise. 
 His stables are well equipped, and his vehicles 
 thoroughly modern in every respect. By 
 prompt service and an accommodating spirit 
 Mr. Bonson has built up a very flourishing 
 business, which is constantly on the increase. 
 
 I11 1874 Charles E. Bonson married Miss 
 Alary Hough, of Platteville, who was born in 
 1854, daughter of Ephraim Hough, one of the 
 old pioneers of Grant county, and was a lady 
 of culture and education. In 1898 Airs. Bon- 
 son died, at her home in Platteville, leaving 
 her husband and four children: Fannie I., 
 born and educated in Platteville, married, in 
 1896, Scott Loveland, of Platteville, and has 
 one daughter, Mary; John, born and educated 
 in Platteville, a graduate of business college, 
 is not married, and resides at home; Aliss Ella, 
 born and educated in Platteville, is attending 
 the State Normal ; Ora, born in Platteville, is 
 still a student at the State Normal. 
 
 In December, 1898, Mr. Bonson married 
 Mrs. Sarah R. Thomas, a most estimable lady, 
 who is highly esteemed by a large circle of 
 friends. Politically Mr. Bonson has always 
 been identified with the Republican party, and 
 socially he is connected with the lodge of Alod- 
 ern Woodmen of America. 
 
 WILDER B. JACOBS, of Avoca, Iowa 
 county, is one of the most highly esteemed 
 citizens, and an honored survivor of years of 
 dangerous service in the war of the Rebellion. 
 Worthily has he been placed in the position 
 of commander of the Henry Lawton Post, 
 No. 279, G. A. R., at Muscoda, Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Jacobs was born in the town of Dans- 
 ville, Livingston Co., N. Y., in November, 
 
724 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1843, a son of Gustavus and Harriet (Per- 
 kins) Jacobs, both of whom were born in the 
 town of Rutland, Rutland Co., Vt. Gustavus 
 Jacobs was a sergeant in the war of 1812, and 
 his father, the grandfather of Wilder B., was 
 a captain in the war of the Revolution, and 
 perhaps the patriotic blood of his forefathers 
 flowed with vigor in the veins of our subject, 
 and produced the results which won for him 
 such a record for gallantry. By trade Gus- 
 tavus Jacobs was a ship carpenter, and his as- 
 sistance was required in the building of the 
 fleet by which Commodore Perry grained the 
 victory of Lake Erie. For many years he fol- 
 lowed his trade, and at the time of the birth of 
 our subject he was engaged in boat building 
 on the Genesee Valley canal at Mt. Morris, 
 N. Y., but later removed to Angelica, Alle- 
 gany county, but in 1855 the family, compris- 
 ing the parents and three sons, came to Wis- 
 consin and settled in Sauk county, the children 
 being: Palmedus P., Burley A., and Wilder B. 
 In the fall of 1855 another son, Henry, with 
 his family, also came to Wisconsin, these be- 
 ing all who located in this State. The present 
 survivors of the family are: Gustavus, Jr., 
 Palmedus, Wilder B. and Hannah. The par- 
 ents removed from Sauk county to Platteville, 
 Wis., about 1869, where they died in 1875, 
 the father surviving the mother by a few 
 months. They were far advanced in life, the 
 father aged ninety-four, and the mother but 
 a few years younger. Both were highly es- 
 teemed and consistent members of the M. E. 
 Church. Mr. Jacobs was a powerful man 
 physically and intellectually, and was a pro- 
 found student of the Bible, his knowledge of 
 that Book being remarkable. 
 
 Wilder B. Jacobs passed his young man- 
 hood on the farm in Sauk county until his en- 
 listment at Prairie du Sac, on Sept. 23, 1861, 
 in the 6th Battery, Wis. Light Artillery, as a 
 private, and remained in the service until July 
 3, 1865. This battery served in Mississippi, 
 Missouri, Alabama and Georgia, and Mr. Ja- 
 cobs participated, with his command, in these 
 battles, which are enrolled upon the pages of 
 American history as examples of bravery for 
 which a nation must ever be proud : Island 
 No. 10; siege of Corinth, in the spring of 
 1862; battle of Corinth, on Oct. 3-4, 1862; 
 Port Gibson ; Willow Springs ; battle of Ray- 
 mond; battle of Jackson; Champion Hills; 
 siege of Vicksburg; Missionary Ridge; and 
 
 battle of Nashville, and other minor engage- 
 ments. This battery lost a large number of 
 men ; at the battle of Corinth alone it lost 
 eighteen brave men, while twenty-three were 
 wounded. As worthy of mention, Mr. Jacobs 
 took part in all these battles, and was never 
 absent from the battery when even a skirmish 
 took place. 
 
 After the. close of the war Mr. Jacobs was 
 engaged by the Prairie du Chien division of 
 the Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad as 
 a conductor, and in this position he remained 
 for seventeen years. In 1879 he went to Min- 
 nesota and South Dakota, running in the same 
 capacity from St. James, Minn., to Sioux Falls, 
 S. Dale., for the following three years, and 
 was then employed on the St. Paul system, 
 running from Sanborn, Iowa, to Mitchell, S. 
 Dak. In the fall of 1896 he came to Avoca, 
 where he has since resided. His long and ex- 
 hausting army service told upon his health, 
 and it has never been satisfactory since, al- 
 though he did not allow it toi prevent a busy 
 life. His brother, Henry Jacobs, was a mem- 
 ber of Company K, 23d Reg. Wis. Vols., and 
 died on the steamer “John H. Dickey,” from 
 a wound received at Arkansas Post, while his 
 brother-in-law, Philander S. May, served in 
 the same company, and also gave up his 
 life. 
 
 Wilder B. Jacobs was married Sept. 1, 
 1865, to Miss Mary V. Parish, a native of the 
 town of Muscoda, who has the distinction of 
 being the oldest white native living in that 
 place. Her father was a lieutenant in Com- 
 pany F, 44th Wis. V. I., and was honorably 
 discharged in August, 1865. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Jacobs have an adopted daughter, Lila C., who 
 is the wife of Norman J. Luther, train dis- 
 patcher for the Great Northern railroad at 
 Larimore, N. Dak., and they have two chil- 
 dren, Mary E. and Norman W. 
 
 Mr. Jacobs assisted in the organization of 
 Henry W. Lawton Post, G. A. R., in 1899, 
 since which year he has held the post of com- 
 mander, and is regarded with the highest es- 
 teem by his comrades, and is serving on the 
 Department staff. He also assisted in organ- 
 izing Henry W. Lawton, W. R. C., No. 34, 
 in January, 1900. In his pleasant home in 
 Avoca this brave soldier enjoys the rest “his 
 valor won.” Both he and wife are consistent 
 members of the M. E. Church and most re- 
 spected citizens. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ALBERT F. LICHTENWALNER, a 
 hustling and energetic business man of Mon- 
 roe, Green county, has been a tradesman of 
 this city for something over twenty years, and 
 in that time has achieved a decided success in 
 the acquisition of a host of friends. He has 
 been industrious and accommodating, with a 
 commendable spirit of enterprise and a laudable 
 ambition to lead in the lines in which he is 
 engaged. 
 
 Mr. Lichtenwalner was born in Lehigh 
 Bounty, Penn., March 28, 1854, and is a son of 
 Joseph S. and Mary Ann (Fenner) Lichten- 
 walner, both natives of that State. They were 
 the parents of six sons and three daughters, 
 and seven of these children are now living: 
 Albert F. ; Valentine, of Jefferson township; 
 Mantana, of Monroe; Mary C., wife of Mil- 
 ton Keller, of Jefferson township; Simon, of 
 Monroe; Nietta, wife of George Whitehead, 
 of Jefferson township; and Harvey, of West- 
 field, Wis. The father was a farmer, and came 
 to Wisconsin in 1868, locating in Clarno town- 
 ship, Green county, 'where he bought a farm 
 of seventy-six acres, and added more land to 
 it until he had 125 acres. This farm contin- 
 ued to be his home until his death in 1885. 
 His widow still survives, and has her home 
 in Monroe. She is a member of the German 
 Reformed Church, while her husband was a 
 Lutheran. His father, Joseph Lichtenwalner, 
 father of Joseph S., and grandfather of Albert 
 F., was born in Pennsylvania, and came of 
 German ancestry, the family history beginning 
 on the river Rhine, and dating back, in Amer- 
 ica. to about the year 1735. Barnet Fenner, the 
 father of Mary Ann Fenner, mentioned above, 
 was a native of Pennsylvania, where he was a 
 farmer and reared twelve children, all of whom 
 lived to be married. 
 
 Albert F. Lichtenwalner spent the first 
 fourteen years of his life in his native State, 
 and then came to Wisconsin. He had his 
 education in the common schools, and was 
 reared on the farm. When a young man of 
 eighteen he began to teach school, and taught 
 two terms with fair success. Very early in 
 life, however, he had determined to be a drug- 
 gist, and accordingly began the study of phar- 
 macy in Monroe, almost before he had attained 
 his majority. He mastered the details of the 
 business in a most thorough and competent 
 manner, and in 1878, in company with F. Iv. 
 Studley, bought out his former employer, C. 
 
 7 2 S 
 
 E. Adams, under the firm name of Studley & 
 Lichtenwalner. In 1887 Air. Studley disposed 
 of his interest to Air. Lichtenwalner, who has 
 since conducted the establishment without a 
 partner. He has done well, and keeps a full 
 and complete line of drug goods and drug ap- 
 pliances, such as would be found in a well-kept 
 and prosperous pharmacy, and has also for 
 many years carried a well-selected stock of 
 groceries. 
 
 On Feb. 4, 1877, Air. Lichtenwalner mar- 
 ried Aliss Alary C. McCammant, daughter of 
 John and Adaline (Wells) McCammant. No 
 children have brightened their home. Airs. 
 Lichtenwalner is a very popular woman, and 
 a consistent member of the Lutheran Church. 
 Air. Lichtenwalner has various fraternal asso- 
 ciations, belonging to. the I. O. O. F., the A. 
 O. U. W, and the Alodern Woodmen, and 
 politically is a stanch Republican. He was 
 city clerk four years, and served as alderman 
 from the 4th ward three years. He lives on 
 Liberty street, and has had his home in Alon- 
 roe since 1874. 
 
 CHRIST F. HARTWIG, residing on a 
 fine farm of 400 acres four miles north of Juda, 
 Green county, is a son of Y\ illiam Ludwig 
 and Sophia (Hebberman) Hartwig, who were 
 born in Delitzsch, Germany, and were married 
 in 1849. They came to Wisconsin in 1855. 
 They were the parents of four children, of 
 whom the eldest, (1) Christ F., is our sub- 
 ject. (2) William, born in 1853, married 
 Alary Ansmeir, and died in 1887. (3) Ferdi- 
 
 nand, born in 1855, married Alary Aus- 
 mus, and is now dead. (4) Alary, born in 
 1865, is now the wife of Ferdinand Ausmus, 
 a farmer in Sylvester. V illiam Ludwig Hart- 
 wig was born in 1825, and died in 1890. Mrs. 
 Sophia Hartwig, his widow, was born in 1824, 
 and is still living in Juda, much respected by 
 all who know her. 
 
 Christ F. Hartwig was born Feb. 4, 1850, 
 in Delitzsch, Germany, and was about five years 
 old when he came to this country with his par- 
 ents. He has followed farming all his life, 
 and has been an active and industrious man. 
 Part of the home place, which was taken by his 
 father in 1858. is included in his own exten- 
 sive landed possessions. On Jan. 15, 1874, 
 Air. Hartwig was married to Aliss Libbie, 
 daughter of Phillip Henn, of the town of Jef- 
 ferson, a German by birth. This union has 
 
726 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 been blessed with six children : Lydia, who 
 is living with her grandmother, Mrs. Sophia 
 Hartwig, in Juda; and Minnie, Clara, Edward, 
 George and Lillie, all at home. 
 
 Mr. Hartwig was reared on the paternal 
 estate, and acquired his education in the com- 
 mon schools. Beginning life a poor boy, he 
 has worked hard, taken advantage of every 
 opportunity, and prospered, now owning 400 
 acres of fine land in the town of Sylvester, 
 which is worth at the very lowest calculation 
 eighty dollars an acre. There are fine buildings 
 and ample equipments on the place, and high 
 grade and profitable farming is the order. 
 Politically Mr. Hartwig is a Republican, and 
 has served his town as school director and in 
 other local offices. He has been a consistent 
 member of the Evangelical Church at Juda, 
 Wis., for many years. He has an unquestioned 
 standing as a progressive farmer, and an hon- 
 est and upright man. Our subject was named 
 after his grandfather, Christian Hartwig, who 
 came to this country about thirty-five years 
 ago, and died in the town of Sylvester soon 
 after his arrival, at the age oif seventy-five 
 years. 
 
 FREDERICK BEILHARZ, who, as a 
 "blacksmith and wagonmaker, was for many 
 years prominently identified with the indus- 
 trial and business interests of Cassville, Grant 
 county, has made his home in that place since 
 1855, locating there when it was a village of 
 about a dozen houses. As a public-spirited 
 citizen he was actively connected with its early 
 development and progress, and after a useful 
 and well-spent life he is now living retired, 
 enjoying a well-earned rest. 
 
 Mr. Beilharz was born in Wurtemburg, 
 Germany, Oct. 17; 1831, a son of Christian 
 and Barbara (Kubbler) Beilharz, who spent 
 their entire lives in that country. In their fam- 
 ily were eight children, namely : Mrs. Chris- 
 tiana Christ, a resident of Buffalo, N. Y. ; 
 Frederick; Mrs. Barbara Hunter, of Germany; 
 Mrs. Christ, who died in Clayton county, Iowa ; 
 Fredericka, a resident of Germany; Dora, who 
 resides at the old home in the Fatherland; 
 Mrs. Caroline Hoover, of Cassville, Wis. ; and 
 John, who came to Cassville in 1859, and three 
 years later enlisted in the 27th Iowa V. I., with 
 which he served three years, and is now living' 
 at the Soldiers Home in Iowa. 
 
 Frederick Beilharz was the first of the fam- 
 
 ily to come to America. He sailed from Rot- 
 terdam in April, 1852, and after a long and 
 tedious^ voyage of fifty-eight days landed in 
 New York, June 17, whence he proceeded at 
 once Jo Buffalo, N. Y. In that city he worked 
 at his trade for two years before coming to 
 Wisconsin. In 1854, at the land office in Min- 
 eral Point, Wis., he entered a tract of land in 
 Cassville township, Grant county, and imme- 
 diately located thereon, devoting his time and 
 energies to its improvement and cultivation 
 until his removal to Cassville in 1855. Since 
 then he has made his home on the block where 
 he now resides. Erecting a shop, he success- 
 fully engaged in blacksmithing and wagon- 
 making for many years, but has now laid aside 
 the cares and responsibilities of business life, 
 and is living retired, enjoying the fruits of for- 
 mer toil. Besides the property he owns in 
 Cassville, he still has a good farm in Cassville 
 township, which he rents. 
 
 Ih 1855, at Cassville, Mr. Beilharz was 
 united in marriage with Miss Mary Munch, 
 a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, and 
 a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Rietz) 
 Mu neb, who, on coming to this country, first 
 located in Hoboken, N. J., and in 1855 became 
 residents of Cassville, Wis. Later Mr. Munch, 
 who was a farmer by occupation, moved to 
 Emmetsburg, Iowa, where both he and his 
 wife died at, an advanced age, she being nearly 
 ninety-two at the time of her death. Their 
 children were Mrs. Mary Beilharz ; Mrs. Eliza- 
 beth Engler and Mrs. Catharine Adrain, both 
 residents of Emmetsburg, Iowa; Lizzie, wha 
 died in that State ; and Henry, who died in 
 Whittemore, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Beilharz 
 have four children : ( 1 ) Mrs. Lusetta Eisen- 
 aggerich, of Dubuque, Iowa, has three children, 
 Freddie, Lucy and Arthur. (2) Fritz, a black- 
 smith of Cassville, married Lucy Bishop, and 
 they have two children, Fred and Emma. (3) 
 Mrs. Mary Shatkin, whose husband is a mer- 
 chant of Minneapolis, Minn., has four chil- 
 dren, Henry, Arnold, Edwin and Fred. (4) 
 Henry, also a blacksmith of Cassville, married 
 Lizzie Gallebrant, and they have three chil- 
 dren, Ray, Mabel and Blanche. 
 
 In his political affiliations Mr. Beilharz is 
 a Republican, having always voted with that 
 party since its organization, and he is now 
 efficiently serving as a member of the city 
 council. He is one of the prominent pioneers 
 of Cassville, and is still one of its leading and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 727 
 
 influential citizens. Socially he is connected 
 with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, 
 and religiously is a member of the Lutheran 
 Church. 
 
 DAVID E. JACOBS. The life of this 
 influential and honored citizen of Iowa county, 
 who at present fills the office of county treas- 
 urer, has been filled with more than the custo- 
 mary measure of adventure and change. His 
 father migrated from New York to Ohio early 
 in life, and later removed to Canton, Fulton 
 Co., 111 . There he married Matilda Emery, a 
 native of Ohio, descended from one of the Ger- 
 man-American families of Pennsylvania, a 
 sturdy stock, whose branches have spread all 
 over the central West, leaving everywhere the 
 impress of keen acumen and sterling honesty. 
 
 The “Colonel,” as he is commonly ad- 
 dressed, has a deep hold upon the hearts and 
 respect of the community. He was born in 
 Fulton county, Ilk, Feb. 9, 1845, grew to early 
 manhood on his father’s farm, and’ his natural 
 bent was toward an agricultural life. The 
 outbreak of the Rebellion, however, stirred 
 every patriotic impulse of his nature, and on 
 June 2, 1862, he enlisted in Company I, 65th 
 111 . V. I. On Sept. 15, following, he was cap- 
 tured at Harper’s Ferry, and remained a pris- 
 oner of war until the following spring, when 
 he was exchanged. He was at once attached 
 to the command of Gen. Sherman on the Geor- 
 gia campaign, and took part in the memorable 
 battles' at Franklin and Nashville, Term., as 
 well as in the preliminary campaign ag'ainst 
 Atlanta. His department commander was 
 Gen. Thomas, the “Rock of Chickamauga.” 
 He participated in the annihilation of Hood’s 
 army, and followed its shattered remnants as 
 far as Clifton, Tenn. From that point the 
 command to which he was attached was or- 
 dered to join the forces of Gen. Sherman, but 
 to proceed by way of Washington, and was 
 present at President Lincoln’s second inaugu- 
 ration, afterward proceeding South as far as 
 Raleigh, North Carolina. 
 
 After being mustered out Mr. Jacobs, in 
 common with other volunteers, returned home, 
 to be greeted with laudation and glad ‘acclaim. 
 A spirit of restless activity, however, still pos- 
 sessed him. For some years he made his home 
 at Galva, 111 ., going thence to Chicago', and 
 later to Shelbina, Mo. From the latter point 
 he returned to Galva, where for several years 
 he successfully conducted a stock farm near 
 
 Bishop’s Hill. For twenty years he was in 
 the employ of McNeil & Higgins, of Chicago, 
 as a traveling salesman. For some sixteen 
 years preceding his first election to the county 
 treasurers'hip, in 1898, his home was at Min- 
 eral Point. In 1900 he was re-elected by a 
 majority of 1,627 votes, the largest ever re- 
 ceived by a county officer in Iowa county. 
 
 As has been pointed out, the life of Mr. 
 Jacobs has been eventful ; it has been no less 
 successful. His courage has been tested, and 
 found not wanting; his energy is of the sort 
 which never tires; his shrewd native ability 
 is rarely deceived ; and his fidelity to every trust 
 reposed in him has ever been beyond question. 
 Of a genial and generous nature, he readily 
 wins friends, whom he keeps by virtue of his 
 strong character and uncompromising fidelity. 
 In Grand Army circles he is well known and 
 prominent, being past commander of George 
 H. Legate Post, No. 125, Mineral Point; has 
 served as aid-de-camp to the National Com- 
 mander ; and has been repeatedly chosen a 
 delegate to National Encampments. 
 
 Mr. Jacobs was married, Dec. 2, 1867, to 
 Miss Mary L. Welton, of Galva, 111 ., and to 
 their union have been born four sons and two 
 daughters: Clyde W., Jessie, Myron R., Nel- 
 
 lie M., Ernest R. and Arthur V. Mrs. Jacobs’ 
 father, Seymour Welton, died while in the 
 United States service during the Civil war, as 
 a member of the 6th Missouri Battery, in 
 which two of his sons, Virgil and Nelson, both 
 attained the rank of sergeant. 
 
 M. M. RICE, one of the prominent farm- 
 ers of Marion township, Grant county, is one 
 of the pioneers of that locality, having located 
 there in 1854. 
 
 Mr. Rice was born in Allegany county, 
 N. Y., in 1850, a son of Moors and Clarissa 
 (Phillips) Rice, natives of Massachusetts and 
 New Hampshire, respectively. They were 
 reared in New Hampshire, in 1854 came to 
 Grant county, where the father opened up gov- 
 ernment land and speculated largely in real 
 estate, paying $1.25 an acre for the fine farm 
 adjoining the farm now occupied by our sub- 
 ject. Later in life he removed to Boscobel, 
 where his death occurred in 1879, his wife 
 surviving him until 1883. In politics he was 
 a Republican, and he was honored by being 
 chosen to the office of commissioner in 
 Marion. To himself and wife were born eight 
 children : Myra, Mrs. Rieks, died in Boscobel 
 
728 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in 1887; Oliver A. is a resident of Boscobel; 
 Lucy, Mrs. A. D. Reed, died in 1891 ; Betsy, 
 Mrs. Risks, is a resident of Boscobel ; Ben- 
 jamin died in Boscobel in August, 1892, from 
 the effects' of wounds received in the war, he 
 having served in a Wisconsin regiment; An- 
 son enlisted, and died at Nashville, Tenn., in 
 1864; Clarissa is now Mrs. Deyoe, of Wis- 
 consin; M. M. is our subject. 
 
 M. M. Rice was but four years old when 
 the family came to Wisconsin, and so has 
 grown up with the State. His farm now con- 
 sists of 196 acres, in a fine state of cultiva- 
 tion, a part of which was comprised in the 
 old homestead. Mr. Rice devotes a part of 
 his attention to the growing of honey, having 
 ninety-five hives, and his product commands a 
 high price on account of its excellence. 
 
 I11 1872 Mr. Rice married, in Marion town- 
 ship, Emma Rieks, daughter of Reuben and 
 Emrancy (Ortrander) Rieks, natives of New 
 York, and early pioneers of Wisconsin. The 
 father is still living, residing at Boscobel; the 
 mother died April 29, 1895. To our subject 
 and wife six children have been born : Leta, 
 
 now Mrs. Tuffley, of Marion township; Albert, 
 attending college at Beloit, Wis. ; George, who 
 is married and resides in Marion, operating a 
 cheese factory; and Harry, Ora and Warren, 
 still at home. 
 
 Politically Mr. Rice is a Republican, has 
 been a member of the town board, and chairman 
 of the Marion township board. Both he and 
 his wife are Consistent members of the Con- 
 gregational Church of Boscobel, in which Mr. 
 Rice is a deacon, and they are well known and 
 highly esteemed throughout the county where 
 they have resided, practically, all their lives. 
 
 F. M. CRONIN, M. D., one of the very 
 prominent physicians of Lancaster, Grant 
 county, was born in Platteville, same county, 
 June 16, 1846, the only child born to Dr. Ed- 
 ward and Emily (MoOre) Cronin. 
 
 Dr. Edward Cronin was born in Phila- 
 delphia, Penn., Feb. 22, 1822, and died in 
 Platteville, Grant Co., Wis., in 1894. His 
 elementary education was acquired in his na- 
 tive city, but he afterward attended, and 1 in 
 1842 was graduated from, the Literary De- 
 partment of the University of Pennsylvania. 
 He then entered upon the study of medicine, 
 under Prof. John K. Mitchell, of Jefferson 
 Medical College, from which institution he was 
 graduated in 1844, and the same year came | 
 
 to Wisconsin and settled down to practice in 
 Platteville, Grant county. Here he secured a 
 large list of patients, and was quite successful 
 in his treatment of them, continuing in prac- 
 tice until 1850, when, like thousands of others 
 throughout the country, he was attracted to 
 the newly discovered gold field’s of the Pa- 
 cific slope. He reached Sacramento during 
 the prevalence of the cholera scourge of that 
 year, and his professional services were at once 
 eagerly demanded. He remained in the city 
 until the epidemic was' conquered, and then 
 sought the Fraser river region, tarrying there 
 until 1853, when he returned to the States 
 and located at Galena, 111 . There he resided 
 until i860, when, with a desire to better qual- 
 ify himself in the more modern system of prac- 
 tice in his profession, he returned to Phila- 
 delphia and attended an additional course of 
 lectures at Jefferson College. After practic- 
 ing in Platteville, Wis'., until 1864, he went 
 to Philadelphia and practiced until 1867, when 
 he again came West, and followed his pro- 
 fession at Mineral Point, Iowa Co., Wis., un- 
 til 1872, when he settled in Platteville, there 
 passing the remainder of his life. Dr. Ed- 
 ward Cronin was a man of great energy and 
 force of character, was an able and successful 
 physician’ and a truly public-spirited citizen, 
 and his amiable wife, who survives him, still 
 has her residence in Platteville. She is a 
 
 daughter of Col. Moore. 
 
 Dr. F. M. Cronin, when young, owing to 
 the frequent removals of his parents, received 
 his literary education at various places, at- 
 tending at Sinsinawa Mound, Platteville (at 
 the academy under Prof. Guernsey), and the 
 Northwest grammar school in Philadelphia, 
 from which latter he wasl graduated. He be- 
 gan the study of medicine under his father, 
 and was graduated from the Medical Depart- 
 ment of the University of Pennsylvania in 
 1876. Lie commenced active practice at Platte- 
 ville in conjunction with his father, and later 
 went to Texas as surgeon for the Texas & Pa- 
 cific Railway Co., with headquarters at Dallas, 
 continuing as such three years. He returned to 
 Wisconsin, locating at Mineral Point, whence 
 he removed to Cassville, and in 1891 settled 
 in Lancaster, where his professional ability 
 and skill were at once recognized, and where 
 he has since been favored with an extensive 
 patronage. 
 
 The Doctor married Miss Abby Johnston, 
 of Platteville, a daughter of Edwin Johnson, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 729 
 
 and this union has been blessed with two chil- 
 dren, one of whom, Frank M., is deceased; 
 the 'survivor is a daughter named Emily. The 
 Doctor is a Knight Templar Mason, and is 
 also a Knight of Pythias. Politically his 
 sympathies are with the Democratic party, but 
 he has never taken any very active part in po- 
 litical affairs. He is very highly esteemed as 
 a physician, and as a citizen, and he and his 
 wife move in the best ■ social circles of Lan- 
 caster. 
 
 JOHN H. STEINHOFF, a very success- 
 ful stock and dairy farmer of Harrison town- 
 ship, Grant county, has achieved very satisfac- 
 tory results by industry, thrift and integrity, 
 and holds an enviable position in the business 
 world because he is an upright and honorable 
 man, not afraid of hard work, and willing to 
 meet every engagement. 
 
 Mr. Steinhoff was born in Platteville, Grant 
 Co., Wis., Feb. 3, 1867, son of William F. and 
 Amelia (Sue) Steinhoff, both natives of Han- 
 over, Germany, where the father was born in 
 1832, and theunother in 1831. They married 
 in Germany, and remained in their native land 
 until 1857, in which year they came, by way 
 of New' Orleans and the Mississippi river, to 
 Platteville. They crossed the ocean in a sail- 
 ing vessel, and the voyage was tedious and 
 protracted to a degree. They bought a small 
 home in Platteville and occupied it for some 
 time, leaving it to go on a rented farm in the 
 town of Belmont, Lafayette county, on which 
 they lived for several years. Mr. Steinhoff 
 rented another farm in Elk Grove, that coun- 
 ty, where they made their home for several 
 years, finally buying the home farm on which 
 their son, John H., may now be found. It 
 contained 150 acres, which Mr. Steinhoff in- 
 creased to 19 1 acres, and there he lived until 
 1894, when he moved into Platteville, where 
 he purchased the house and lot where he now 
 resides. He made many important improve- 
 ments on the farm, remodeling the old home 
 in many ways, and putting up a large barn in 
 1892. In 1883 his estimable wife passed away. 
 She was the mother of thirteen children, twelve 
 of whom survive, one son, Henry, dying when 
 two days old. Lena, born in Germany, is liv- 
 ing with her father. William was born in 
 Har rison township, and is now a farmer there ; 
 he married Annie Wachter, of Illinois, and has 
 one daughter, Clara. August, born in Platte- 
 
 ville in i860, married Miss Minnie Miller, and 
 is a farmer in the town of Harrison. Minnie 
 was born in Platteville in 1862, married Henry 
 J. Opperman, of Clayton county, Iowa, and 
 lives on a farm in Iowa ; they have two children, 
 Albert and Irvin. Mary, born in 1864, married 
 Albert Nehls, and lives in Platteville; they have 
 one son, Freddie. Emma resides with her fa- 
 ther. Annie, born in 1871, is now the wife of 
 Peter Karman, and has three children, Ber- 
 nard, Walter and Mabel. Frederick, born in 
 Elk Grove in 1873, married Flora Golmar, and 
 lives on his farm in the town of Platteville, 
 with his wife and two children, Guerdon and 
 Margaret. Lizzie lives with her father. Miss 
 Amelia lives with her father. Frank, born in 
 1878, was educated in the Platteville Business 
 College ; he is unmarried. 
 
 John H. Steinhoff acquired a very fair edu- 
 cation in the schools of Platteville and Elk 
 Grove, and his life has been spent to a very 
 large degree on the farm where he grew up. 
 He is a thorougdi farmer, and brings to the 
 cultivation of the soil good judgment of busi- 
 ness opportunities and unflagging industry. In 
 September, 1896, Mr. Steinhoff and Miss 
 Laura Kliebenstein, daughter of August and 
 Margaret Kliebenstein, were united in mar- 
 riage. Her parents were born in Grant coun- 
 ty, of German parentage, and Lewis Klieben- 
 stein, her grandfather, was an old pioneer set- 
 tler in Grant county. Mrs. Steinhoff was born 
 there in July, 1873, finished her education in 
 the Platteville Normal, and is a cultured and 
 scholarly woman ; she was one of the successful 
 teachers of Grant county for some five years, 
 until her marriage. After their marriage the 
 young couple purchased the old Steinhoff home- 
 stead, which now contains, by recent addition 
 of thirty-nine acres, 230 acres. They have one 
 son, Edward Loraine, who was born May 10, 
 1899. Mrs. Steinhoff lost her father when she 
 was a small child, but her mother and a brother 
 are still living. The latter, Edward Klieben- 
 stein, of St. Cloud, Minn., is engaged as clerk in 
 the shoe business. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Steinhoff are members of 
 the German Lutheran Church, as were their 
 parents before them. He is a Republican, fol- 
 lowing the footsteps of his father also in 
 this respect. His father was a member of the 
 school board and a supervisor for a number of 
 terms, and John H. has been township treas- 
 urer for the last five years, and also clerk of 
 
730 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the school board. Socially he belongs to the 
 Modern Woodmen of America. Our subject is 
 one of those enterprising and active young men 
 who are bound to come to the front in local 
 affairs through native honesty and manifest 
 ability. He and his excellent wife command 
 the respect and confidence of all who know 
 them. 
 
 G. E. REAR, one of the old settlers of the 
 towns of Adams and York, Green county, re- 
 sides in his handsome and well appointed coun- 
 try home, six miles southeast of Blanchardville, 
 and eig'hteen miles northwest of Monroe. The 
 farm contains 174 acres, and is counted one of 
 the finest places in this part of the State. 
 
 Mr. Rear was born in Waldrus, Norway, 
 June 23, 1845, and is a son of Holver E. and 
 Julia Rear, who came to Dane county, Wis., in 
 1852. Two years later they removed to the 
 town of Adams, Green county, making a loca- 
 tion on Sections 10 and 11. They were the 
 parents of a family of eight children: Easton 
 and Clayton, both living in Iowa; Ole, of the 
 town of Adams; Oliver, of Minnesota; Bettie 1 , 
 who is now deceased; Mary, deceased; Carrie, 
 wife of Andrew Hauge, of Minnesota; and G. 
 E., whose name introduces this article. 
 
 G. E. Rear was married May 16, 1866, to 
 Miss Annie Avok, who was born in Norway, 
 daughter of Nels Avok. This union was blessed 
 with the following children: Julia, born July 
 21, 1870, married Ever Coldron, and died Sept. 
 10, 1897; Henry, born April 28, 1874, is at 
 home, and is unmarried ; Albert was born April 
 27, 1877; Caroline, June 4, 1880; Annie, Jan. 
 24, 1883. Mrs. Rear died Jan. 20, 1890, and 
 was buried in the cemetery connected with the 
 Lutheran Church in Adams township, of which 
 she was a devout member. She was a hard- 
 working woman, a good wife and a kind 
 mother, and her memory survives in many lov- 
 ing and grateful hearts. 
 
 Mr. Rear was married Sept. 1, 1890, to 
 Miss Carrie Rood, of the town of York, a 
 daughter of Ole and Julia Rood, who were born 
 in Norway. To this union have come the fol- 
 lowing children: Oscar, born in 1891; Gena, 
 Sept. 6, 1892; Alma, Aug. 10, 1894; Gilmon, 
 Jan. 20, 1896; Bennett, Oct. 4, 1897; Clifford, 
 May 20, 1899; and Eornes Selmer, May 
 2, 1901. 
 
 Mr. Rear is a Republican, and has proved 
 himself a good citizen. In the town of York 
 
 he has served as clerk, school director and as- 
 sessor, filling - these positions for many years. 
 His home place consists of 174 acres, and he 
 owns a half section of choice land in South Da- 
 kota. Mir. Rear is an energetic and progressive 
 farmer, engaged in general farming, stock rais- 
 ing and cheese making, for which latter branch 
 he furnishes the milk of some twenty-five cows 
 daily. Well supplied with this world’s goods, 
 and commanding the confidence of the com- 
 munity in which he lives to a marked degree, his 
 present circumstances present a great contrast 
 to the conditions of poverty under which he be- 
 gan life. Industry, integrity and a readiness to 
 embrace the opportunity that agriculture in 
 southwestern Wisconsin presented in his early 
 life have lifted him to his present enviable po- 
 sition as a prosperous and wealthy farmer. 
 
 CHARLES ALLEN ARMSTRONG, 
 M. D., Boscobel, Grant county, is a rising 
 young physician, and one who is well fitted for 
 his work, not only by a careful and extended 
 training at school, but by a natural aptitude, 
 and the teachings and example of his father, 
 who was one of the most noted members of his 
 profession in the State. 
 
 Dr. Armstrong was born in Lima, Rock 
 Co., Wis., Nov. 30, 1862, and obtained his early 
 education at Boscobel, being the only graduate 
 from the high school in 1880. He spent the 
 fall of that year at Madison in attendance at 
 the State University, and in the winter taught 
 school in Blue River. The fall of the following 
 year he entered Milton College, where he spent 
 two years, again entering the University of 
 Wisconsin in 1883, as a member of the class 
 of 1886, Ancient Classical Course. He left the 
 University owing to the destruction of Science 
 Hall by fire, in December, 1884, as his pre- 
 medical work was all laboratory at that time, 
 and at once entered Rush Medical College, from 
 which institution he was graduated in 1887. He 
 came back to Boscobel after his graduation, 
 and entered into the practice of medicine. In 
 1 888 he spent some time at Black Earth, attend- 
 ing to- the practice of Dr. Kester during his 
 extended absence. In 1889 he came back to 
 Boscobel, and entered into partnership with 
 Dr. L. G. Armstrong, with whom he was as- 
 sociated until 1895. Since that year he has 
 been alone in practice. 
 
 Dr. Armstrong and Miss Matie E. Sprague 
 were married March 5, 1890. At the time of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 73i 
 
 her marriage Mrs. Armstrong was living in 
 Cortland, Neb. She was born at Eagle, Wis., 
 a daughter of Bingham and Elizabeth (Hurst) 
 Sprague, and in 1880 accompanied her family 
 to Nebraska, where her father and brothers 
 George and William are settled. The Doctor 
 and his wife are the parents of two sons : Roy 
 Allen, born April 1, 1891 ; and Robert W., born 
 Aug. 19, 1896. Mrs. Armstrong is a lady of 
 many charms and graces. The Doctor is a Re- 
 publican, and was mayor of the city in 1892. 
 He is a charter member of Alpha Lambda 
 Chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity of the 
 University of Wisconsin. His Masonic educa- 
 tion has been acquired in Grant Lodge, No. 
 169, A. F. & A. M., of which he is a past mas- 
 ter, and Boscobel Chapter, No. 52. He belongs 
 to the Knights of Pythias of Fennimore, Wis., 
 is a member of the I. O. F., the K. O. T. M., 
 the M. W. of A., and in 1901 was elected head 
 physician of the Modern Woodmen, having 
 been a member of the various head camps for 
 eleven years. He is the surgeon of the St. Paul 
 railroad in this division. For several years he 
 was surgeon of the Wisconsin Division, Sons of 
 Veterans. Dr. Armstrong is a member of the 
 Wisconsin State Medical Society and of the 
 Central Medical Society, and is highly respected 
 in his calling. 
 
 HERMAN P. DAILEY, a skillful and 
 highly successful photographer of Beloit, Rock 
 county, has caught the loftier ideals of his call- 
 ing, and his work is warm with artistic glow. 
 His pictures are not onlv true to nature, but 
 they are refined with the touch of culture, and, 
 while they are a lasting delight in that they 
 preserve cherished form and feature, they also 
 keep the light of the smile and the sparkle of 
 the eve, so that every photograph has a voice 
 of affection for friend and acquaintance. 
 
 Mr. Dailey was born in Washington coun- 
 ty, N. Y., Sent. 7, 1866, and is a son of Perry 
 and Polly (Dake) Dailey, both natives of 
 New York. His parents had a family of ten 
 children, all but one now living: Henry, of 
 
 Woodstock. 111 . : Elvin. of Detroit. Mich. : 
 Charles, of Tanesville. Wis. : Ida, widow of 
 William Wilson, who has her home in Huron, 
 S. Dale.: Fred, of Chicago: Arthur, of Madi- 
 son. Wis.; Delia, wife of Henry Simdraker. 
 of Woodstock, 111 .: Herman P., of Beloit; and 
 William, of Greenwood, 111 . Perry Dailey 
 owned the famous Sandy Hill Stone Quarry 
 
 at Sandy Hill, N. Y., which he operated until 
 he came to Illinois', in 1868. He located on 
 a farm near Greenwood, in McHenry county, 
 and engaged in its cultivation for a number of 
 years. In 1888 he gave up active farming, 
 and made his home in the village of Green- 
 wood, where he is still living. He has become 
 quite an extensive dealer in real estate, and 
 owns most of the business houses in Green- 
 wood. Mrs. Dailey died in 1895, at the age 
 of sixty-seven. She was a Baptist in her re- 
 ligious convictions. Mr. Dailey enlisted in 
 the Union army, and served three years as a 
 soldier. Politically he is a Republican, and 
 'has held various town offices. His father, 
 Henry Dailey, was a native of New York, of 
 Scottish descent, and lived to see ninety-three 
 years. He reared nine children. He was en- 
 gaged in the livery business. Henry P. Dake, 
 the maternal grandfather of our subject, was' 
 of Scottish descent, and lived to be ninety-four 
 years old. He had six children. 
 
 Herman P. Dailey lived on his father’s 
 farm near Greenwood until he reached the age 
 of fifteen. He was a bright student in the 
 local school, and was sent to Valparaiso, Ind., 
 to take a year’s instruction at the Normal, 
 after which he had a year at the Chicago Uni- 
 versity, and another year at Beloit College. 
 He began photographic work at Chicago, 
 where he spent three years in a studio, and 
 with the experience thus gained he in 1893 
 came to Beloit and opened a studio for himself. 
 His excellent work attracted attention, and he 
 has gone steadily onward since coming to this 
 city, with an ever-increasing patronage and a 
 widening circle of friends. Mr. Dailey is an 
 artist of fine ability, who thoroughly under- 
 stands his calling, and his business is growing 
 on his hands every day. Personally he is an 
 affable and agreeable gentleman, who enjoys 
 the confidence and esteem of all his acquaint- 
 ances. 
 
 Mr. Dailey and Miss Abagail Burpree were 
 united in marriage Nov. 9, 1890, and they have 
 one daughter, Marian, born Aug. 6, 1900. 
 Mrs. Dailey is a daughter of Charles and Helen 
 (Day) Burpree. and is a lady of many gifts 
 and graces. He is a Republican, and takes 
 a deep interest in the welfare of the country. 
 
 JAMES JONES well deserves honorable 
 mention among those industrious and useful 
 citizens of Jordan township, Green county, 
 
732 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 whose busy lives have contributed so much to 
 the moral and material welfare of the com- 
 munity where he is now living. He was born 
 in Dutchess county, N. Y., Dec. 2, 1856, and 
 is a son of Peter and Margaret (Sweany) 
 Jones, both born and reared in Ireland. His 
 parents came to this country about 1848, and 
 were married in the State of New York in 
 1855. To them were born two sons, James 
 and John, the latter of whom, born Jan. 17, 
 1865, is now a traveling salesman for the 
 Heinz Pickle Company, a well-known Chicago 
 house. Peter J ones, who was born about 1827, 
 died in Monroe, where he had been living some 
 time in retirement, in 1890. Mrs. Margaret 
 Jones, who was born about 1827, died in 1896. 
 
 James Jones married early in life, becom- 
 ing the husband of Miss Mary Knight, of the 
 town of Adams, April 13, 1877. Mrs. Jones 
 is the daughter of John and Margaret (Con- 
 way) Knight, of Irish birth and rearing, and 
 among the very earliest settlers of the town of 
 Adams. Mr. and Mrs. Knight had the follow- 
 ing family: Thomas, Mary (who is Mrs. 
 
 Jones), Ann, John, William, Michael, James, 
 Katie, Margaret and Dennis. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Jones are the parents of the following 
 children: Margaret, born Jan. 20, 1880, is 
 
 a teacher in the Green county public schools; 
 John, born June 14, 1881 ; Katie, born March 
 16, 1884, is a bookkeeper and stenographer in 
 Monroe; Peter, born Nov. 20, 1885; Mary, 
 born May 24, 1890; Edna, born Dec. 28, 1896; 
 James C, born Sept. 26, 1898. 
 
 Mr. Jones was born on the farm, where 
 he was reared, and had his' education in the 
 district school. Starting out a poor boy, he 
 selected farming as his life work, and by dint 
 of industry and the help of a good character 
 he has accumulated a very handsome compe- 
 tence. He owns a choice farm of 240 acres, 
 well improved and provided with a very cred- 
 itable home and fine barns, and has established 
 more than a local reputation as an upright and 
 honorable man. Mr. Jones is engaged in both 
 general and dairy farming, being a partner in 
 a cheese factory which is located on his land. 
 His various enterprises, which have been con- 
 ducted with a business management of a high' 
 order, have met with success, and his standing 
 in the community in which he lives is very 
 high. As a farmer he is enlightened and pro- 
 gressive, and as a stock raiser he seeks the 
 more valuable strains, and his stock go to mar- 
 
 ket in the first grade. In local and town af- 
 fairs Mr. Jones takes a leading part, and is a 
 stanch Democrat. Pie has served as school 
 director and judge of elections many years, 
 and is at present on the town board. His chil- 
 dren are bright and pleasant young people and 
 show careful home training. Mr. Jones and 
 his wife are both members of the Catholic 
 Church, and their good lives, kind hearts and 
 unassuming nature do no discredit to their 
 religious profession. 
 
 GEORGE W. McPHERSON was born 
 in the town of Ellenboro, Grant county, in 
 April., 1S47, the second son of John and Sarah 
 (Star) McPherson. 
 
 Our subject’s father was born in Maine, 
 and his mother in Ireland. They were married 
 in the State of Maine, and coming to Grant 
 county in 1845, with five children, made their 
 home on a tract of wild land in the town of 
 Ellenboro, entering 160 acres by pre-emption, 
 which in time were thoroughly improved. A 
 log house furnished the first home for the fam- 
 ily. In 1850 Mr. McPherson crossed the 
 Plains with an ox-team to seek his fortune in 
 the gold fields of California. After a two 
 years’ stay in that distant land he came back 
 to Grant county, and he died in 1856. Mrs. 
 McPherson was left a widow with five living 
 children out of ten who had come to them, the 
 others dying in childhood. ( 1 ) Thomas, 
 their eldest son, was born in Maine in 1845, 
 and married Miss Jane Downing, a lady of 
 Ellenboro. Previous to his marriage he was 
 a Union soldier, in the 45th Wis. V. I., and 
 served until the close of the war, after which 
 he went to Arizona, living- there sixteen years'. 
 Coming back to Grant county, he married, and 
 was a merchant in Ellenboro for two years be- 
 fore going to Oklahoma, where he owned a 
 farm at the time of his death, in 1895. Mis 
 widow and three children survive him, Jessie, 
 Lloyd and Lela. (2) George W. is our sub- 
 ject. (3) Sarah Jane, born in 1849, died in 
 1865. (4) John A., born in Grant county in 
 
 1850, acquired his early education in the dis- 
 trict school, later attended the State Normal 
 at Platteville, and for several years taught 
 school. He married Miss Libbie Elliot, of 
 Hawkeye, Iowa, where he settled, engaging 
 in business up to the time of his death, in July, 
 1890. (5) James A., born in Grant county 
 
 in 1854, the youngest of the family, grew up 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 733 
 
 at the ol.d homestead, which, he now owns, and 
 married Miss Austa Clark, daughter of Henry 
 and Hannah Clark, a long established family 
 in Grant county. One daughter, Alpha C., 
 has been born to them. 
 
 George W. McPherson grew to manhood 
 on the old homestead, and took charge of his 
 mother’s farm when old enough to assume 
 such a responsibility, remaining with her until 
 her death, in June, 1877. Mrs'. McPherson 
 was well known in this community for her 
 generous Christian acts. With her husband 
 she belonged to the Episcopal Church. In 
 1879 George McPherson homesteaded land in 
 Kansas, and the next year he crossed the Plains 
 to the silver and copper mines of Arizona, 
 going by way of San Francisco. Some three 
 years later he came back to the old home in 
 Wisconsin, and resumed agricultural life. In 
 1887 he married Miss Carrie Clark, a daugh- 
 ter of Henry and Hannah Clark, noted above, 
 who came from Trumbull county, Ohio, in 
 1845, an d settled in the town of Ellenboro. 
 Her father was born in 1812 in Trumbull 
 county, Ohio, and her mother in 1820 in Mer- 
 cer county, Penn., where they were married, 
 and thence presently came to their Wisconsin 
 home. Both died in the month of August, 
 1879, leaving a family of seven children, of 
 whom Mrs. McPherson is the fourth in order 
 of birth. She was born in February, 1856. 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. McPher- 
 son settled in the village of Ellenboro, on a 
 part of the old Clark homestead, where he 
 erected a fine modern house in 1894. To this 
 union has' been born one daughter, who died 
 in infancy. 
 
 In politics Mr. McPherson has always been 
 a Republican, has held the office of chairman 
 of the town board for nine years, and has been 
 school treasurer for fifteen years. Fraternally 
 he is a Modern Woodman, belonging to the 
 Camp at Ellenboro. Mr. and Mrs. McPher- 
 son are prominent and highly respected people, 
 and are much esteemed by all who know them. 
 
 GEORGE HENRY PENGRA, residing 
 on his fine farm about four miles north of 
 Juda, Green county, is a son of the late George 
 S. and Maria (Waltz) Pengra. The history 
 of the family in America antedates the Revo- 
 lution, the Pengra brothers coming to the Col- 
 onies at an early date. 
 
 The father of our subject was born in the 
 
 town of Darien, Genesee Co., N. Y., April 12, 
 1821, and died July 1, 1890. He was of 
 Welsh and English descent, being a son of 
 Moses and Sarah (Johns) Pengra, the latter, 
 a native of Wales, coming to this country when 
 two years old. Moses Pengra was a native 
 of Vermont. His father, Marshall. Pengra, 
 came to the colonies in the early part of the 
 eighteenth century, and settled in Massachu- 
 setts. Moses Pengra, grandfather of George 
 H., was born Jan. 11, 1799, and married Sarah 
 Johns March 25, 1818. To them were born 
 the following children : Marshall ; George S. ; 
 Bynon J., of Crook county, Oregon; Honor 
 E., the widow of Benjamin Herring, of Iowa; 
 William, who died in Oregon; and Elisiph, 
 who died in childhood. 
 
 George S. Pengra, whose name occurs 
 above, was married in 1848 to Maria Waltz. 
 She was born Nov. 10, 1827, and came of 
 Dutch, Scottish and Irish ancestry through her 
 parents', Alpheus and Jane (Ferguson) Waltz, 
 of New York. Peter Waltz, her grandfather, 
 who was a soldier in the war of the Revolu- 
 tion, came to the Colonies from Holland 
 when a boy. After their marriage Mr. and 
 Mrs. Pengra came directly to Wisconsin, to 
 settle in Green county. To them came the fol- 
 lowing children : ( 1 ) Wallace A., born Oct. 17, 
 1851, is a farmer in the town of Sylvester; 
 (2) George H. is our subject proper; (3) 
 William S., born May 26, 1856, died unmar- 
 ried in 1881 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. 
 
 George H. Pengra was born Dec. 23, 1853, 
 and married Oct. 5, 1876, Miss Anna M., a 
 daughter of William F. and Catherine (Gil- 
 son) Johnson, a prominent family in the town 
 of Sylvester. To this union one child has 
 come, Stella May, born Aug. 22, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Pengra was reared on his father's 
 farm, and obtained his education in the dis- 
 trict school. When twenty years old he be- 
 gan teaching in the public schools, and fol- 
 lowed that profession for eight years, teaching 
 in the winter and farming in the summer. 
 Mr. Pengra is a thorough farmer, and has a 
 farm of 360 acres, in which his brother W. A. 
 holds a half interest, with fine buildings and 
 ample improvements'. He is regarded as one 
 of the substantial citizens of Green county, a 
 man of character and standing, straightfor- 
 ward, and has a multitude of friends. 
 
 Mr. Pengra was reared a Republican, but 
 holds to Prohibition principles. He served as 
 
734 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 town clerk for three years, is the present chair- 
 man of the town, and has also been school 
 director for sixteen years. In religion Mr. 
 Pengra holds' that he who lives up to the 
 Golden Rule, “Do - unto others as you would 
 that they should do unto you,’’ has all the re- 
 ligion that any one can have or need have. 
 And on this belief he is willing to rest the fu- 
 ture with Him who knew neither denomina- 
 tion nor creed. 
 
 GEORGE M. CRULL, a young and hust- 
 ling stock farmer of the town of Harrison, 
 Grant county, has already won a prominent 
 place among the well-known agriculturists of 
 the southwestern part of the State, and has at- 
 tained an enviable standing as a fair-dealing 
 and upright man. 
 
 Mr. Crull was born on his present home- 
 stead Nov. 4, 1854, a son of George W. and 
 Mary (Kyle) Crull, natives of Ohio and 
 Pennsylvania, respectively. His father was 
 born Jan. 1, 1814, and his mother Dec. 22, 
 1823. When a young man George W. Crull 
 journeyed from Ohio to Illinois on horseback, 
 and very shortly entered Wisconsin, settling 
 in the town of Harrison, where he was a miner 
 for some time. In 1845, under James Iv. 
 Polk, then President of the United States, he 
 secured a farm of eighty acres of government 
 land in Harrison, and added eighty acres to 
 this by subsequent purchases from the gov- 
 ernment, making a farm of 160 acres, which 
 was his home during his remaining years. 
 There he cleared over one hundred acres of 
 land. He raised a log cabin, which he occu- 
 pied until he was able to build a better house, 
 in 1869. He died in 1893, and his wife in 
 February, 1898, in Iowa; they were both 
 buried in the cemetery in the town of Harri- 
 son, known as the Travis cemetery. He was 
 a member of the town board, and held other 
 town offices, and they were honest Christian 
 people, highly respected. He was a Strong 
 Democrat. Mr. and Mrs. Crull had ten chil- 
 dren, eight of whom are living: Flora died 
 
 when thirteen years old, and Washington died 
 when a child. Lizzie, born Oct. 17, 1849, is 
 now the wife of Silas V. Hoff, of Fair Haven, 
 Wash. ; they have five children. Will, Ida, 
 George, Frank, and Irvin. Sarah, born Dec. 
 i 3. 1852, is Mrs. Frank Moore, of Short Reed, 
 British Columbia, and is the mother of four 
 children, Jennie, George, Mary and Lydia. 
 
 George M. is the subject of this article. 
 Amanda, born Oct. 31, 1856, is Mrs. R. Hub- 
 bard, of Lancaster, Wis., and has six children, 
 Myrtle, Jessie, Mary, Artie, Hazle and Glen. 
 William J., born in November, 1858, went to 
 British Columbia, and married Lucy Shep- 
 erd, who died in May, 1900, leaving him with 
 three children, Gladys, Stanley and Albert; he 
 has a ranch at Alberta, Canada. Charles T., 
 born in February, 1861, went to Colorado in 
 1883, and there married Miss Phoebe Long- 
 well, and is a miner in the gold fields; they 
 have a family of three children, James', Ruth 
 and . Levi, born Feb. 21, 1864, mar- 
 
 ried Sarah Heslup, of Dubuque, Iowa, and 
 has one daughter, Mary. Clara S., born in 
 December, 1866, married Christopher Heslup, 
 of Dubuque, and resides on a farm in Iowa; 
 they have five children, Gertrude, Dora, Mabel, 
 Thomas and Ethel. 
 
 George W. Crull was the son of Charles 
 and Elizabeth Crull, who died in Ohio. Most 
 of his brothers and sisters settled in Illinois. 
 His wife, Mary (Kyle), was the daughter of 
 Joab and Elizabeth Kyle, who drove a team 
 from Mercer county, Penn., to Platteville, 
 Wis'., where they settled. He was a black- 
 smith. Mr. Kyle moved his family to Platte- 
 ville, and left them there during the gold ex- 
 citement in California, to make the journey 
 across the Plains with his son Charles. Both 
 died in that distant El Dorado, Mr. Kyle leav- 
 ing a widow and seven children in Wisconsin. 
 Of these Thompson died a few years ago. 
 Mary, the mother of George M. Crull, died 
 in Iowa. John died in the Civil war. Louisa 
 is the wife of a Mr. Crandal, of La Clair. 
 Martha married John Forsythe, and settled in 
 Cedar Rapids, where she died. Jemima is 
 the wife of Deloss Crandal, and resides at 
 Aurora, Illinois. 
 
 George M. Crull remained under the pa- 
 rental roof until he reached his majority, work- 
 ing on the farm, and attending school during 
 the winter. In 1876 he secured a farm in 
 Smith county, Kans., by taking advantage of 
 the homestead law, made thorough improve- 
 ments, and occupied that farm until 1893. 
 While in the State of Kansas, in 1879, he mar- 
 ried Miss Sarah Thompson, who was born in 
 1861 in Iowa, a daughter of Thomas Thomp- 
 son, formerly of that State. She had poor 
 health, and with her husband spent two years 
 in Colorado, where she died Feb. 14, 1881, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 735 
 
 and was interred in that State. Mr. Crull re- 
 turned to Kansas, and carried on his farm 
 there until February, 1893, when he came back 
 to Wisconsin, and bought the old home farm 
 from the other heirs of the estate. It has been 
 his home to the present time, and he has added 
 to the old homestead ninety-three acres, mak- 
 ing a compact and desirable farm. Mr. Crull 
 and Miss Jennie Clark were married in De- 
 cember, 1894. She was born November 23, 
 1866, daughter of Norman and Jane Clark, 
 long and favorably known throughout Grant 
 county, and was educated in the schools of the 
 town of Harrison, where she grew to woman- 
 hood. She is the mother of two children : 
 Margaret E., born May 11, 1896; and George 
 W., born March 17, 1898. Mr. Crull is a 
 Republican, but has never sought office. He 
 is a religious man, though not a member of 
 any denomination. He stands well among the 
 leading men of Grant county, and is one of its 
 solid and substantial citizens. 
 
 SAMUEL WEST, a prosperous farmer 
 and stock dealer of Sylvester township, Green 
 county, lives on the old West homestead, about 
 two miles north of Juda. 
 
 Mr. West is a son of George and Susan 
 (Winchell) West, of Erie county, N. Y., 
 where the father was born Jan. 7, 1818. 
 
 George West was a son of John and Avis 
 (Bowen) West, the former a native of Cayuga 
 county, N. Y., of Irish lineage, and the latter 
 of Scottish descent, born in the State of Ver- 
 mont. John West was the father of ten chil- 
 dren: George is a retired farmer of Brod- 
 
 head, Wis. ; Armida, born Nov. 6, 1820, mar- 
 ried Stephen Estay, of New York, and both 
 are deceased; Susan, born Feb. 6, 1822, mar- 
 ried Richard Sherman, of Erie county, N. Y. ; 
 Matthew, born May 31, 1824, married Sarah 
 Decker; Thomas S. B., born April 24, 1827, 
 is living in Erie county; Sarah, horn July 19, 
 I ^ 3 i> married Peter Willoughby, of New 
 York; Elizabeth, born in June, 1833, married 
 Nelson Park, of Illinois; Jonathan and John 
 (twins') were born Sept. 10, 1837; and An- 
 nis was born March 6, 1839. 
 
 George West, father of Samuel West, was 
 married to Susan Winched Sept. 1, 1840. 
 Her parents, Ira and Betsy Winched, were 
 then living in New York. To this union came 
 Samuel, our subject; Louisa, born Sept. 29, 
 1844; George, Feb. 14, 1846; Avis E., Nov. 
 
 29, 1847 (died in 1896 at Hampton, Iowa) ; 
 Clara, Sept. 7, 1849; Mary, April 24, 1854; 
 Alice E., Nov. 27, 1855 ; Ida N., July 10, 1857 ; 
 Nelson P., Nov. 10, 1859 (died aged nineteen 
 years) ; Minnie, Nov. 2, 1865 (died in in- 
 fancy). 
 
 Samuel West, whose name introduces this 
 article, was born in the town of Sylvester, 
 Green Co., Wis'., March 11, 1843, five years 
 before the admission of Wisconsin as a State 
 into the Federal Union. On March 23, 1867, 
 he married Miss Kate Read, of Juda, Wis., 
 who was born June 2, 1849, i n Cortland coun- 
 ty, N. Y., daughter of Charles W. Read. Mr. 
 Read 1 came from New York to Genoa Junc- 
 tion, Wis., about 1852. He died June 14, 
 1899, in Gates, Oregon. To this union of our 
 subject and wife have come five children: 
 George, born April 8, 1869, married Miss Let- 
 tie Had, of Sylvester; Mattie, born June 11, 
 1871, married Charles Had, a merchant in 
 Juda, where he is postmaster; Susan I., born 
 Oct. 8, 1873, died March 18, 1896; Nettie M., 
 born Feb. 16, 1876, married Eldridge Ander- 
 eck, son of Rev. J. Andereck, of Juda; Bertha 
 C., born Aug. 22, 1878, married Oscar Mol- 
 denhauer, of Juda. 
 
 Samuel West was reared on the farm of 
 Sylvester, and has memories of Wisconsin as 
 a wilderness which few possess at the present 
 time. On Aug. 9, 1862, he enlisted in Com- 
 pany Iv, 22d Wis'. V. I., and served with honor 
 and credit to the close of the war. He was 
 with Gen. Sherman when he broke the back- 
 bone of the Rebellion, and was taken prisoner 
 at Brentwood Station March 25, 1864, being 
 incarcerated in Libby prison, but was soon 
 paroled, and afterward exchanged. Honor- 
 ably -discharged June 12, 1865, he returned 
 home with a record of which any man might 
 he justly proud. For six months he was pri- 
 vate orderly for Major Gen. Mower, and for 
 six months previous was detailed as an order- 
 ly and employed on special duty, carrying de- 
 spatches' a portion of the time. 
 
 Mr. West has been engaged in farming, 
 and has dealt in stock and fine horses for the 
 last thirty years, having reared a number of 
 the best horses ever bred in Green county. 
 No citizen of the county has done more to im- 
 prove the grade of its live stock. Our sub- 
 ject has served as school clerk, and chairman 
 of the town, and is an honorable and esteemed 
 member of the community. He has never 
 
73 ^ 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD , 
 
 united with any church, but is a splendid neigh- 
 bor, a trustworthy friend, and a man of the 
 most irreproachable domestic habits and char- 
 acter. 
 
 EDWARD E. BERRY, M. D., a promi- 
 nent and popular physician and surgeon of 
 Platteville, Grant county, was born in Chau- 
 tauqua county, N. Y., a son of Isaac M. and 
 Elannah E. Berry, the latter of whom died 
 when the Doctor was a child. 
 
 Dr. Berry was' primarily educated in Ga- 
 lena, 111., acquired his academic education in 
 the same State, and then entered Rush Medi- 
 cal College, Chicago, from which he was grad- 
 uated with the class of 1858. In 1862 he en- 
 listed, in the 33d Wis. Y. L, under Col. J. B. 
 Moore, was appointed hospital steward, and 
 held the position until the close of the war, in 
 1865, when he resumed private practice in 
 Lafayette county, Wis. He took a post-grad- 
 uate course at Rush Medical College, securing 
 a second diploma in 1866. 
 
 In July, 1866, the Doctor married Miss 
 Helen M. Lee, a native of New York State, 
 and a daughter of George W. and Cordelia M. 
 (Bishop) Lee, the former of whom was a 
 grand-nephew of Robert E. Lee, of Virginia. 
 In August, 1867, the Doctor brought his wife 
 to Platteville, where he has since been con- 
 stantly engaged in the active practice of his 
 profession, and has been favored with a large 
 and remunerative patronage. In July, 1879, 
 Mrs. Helen M. Berry passed away, leaving 
 him with three children, viz. : Mary, who was 
 educated in the Platteville high school, is the 
 wife of Charles McAtee, and has’ two chil- 
 dren, Oleta and Lavanca; Cordelia, wife of 
 Benjamin Dorscher, is the mother of one child; 
 and Ernest E., born in 1876, is now engaged 
 in Wright’s drug store in Platteville. In Feb- 
 ruary, 1895, Dr. Berry married, for his sec- 
 ond wife, Miss Sarah E. Bondraunt, who was 
 born in Lafayette county, Wis., in 1855; s l ie 
 died two years after marriage, without issue. 
 
 In politics Dr. Berry is a Democrat, but 
 lias never cherished any desire for public office, 
 his professional engagements demanding' all 
 his attention. He is a member of W. T. Sher- 
 man Post, No. 66, G. A. R., of Platteville, in 
 which he has held the office of surgeon of post. 
 Dr. Berry has risen to his present elevated sta- 
 tion in life through his individual exertions, 
 having started out a poor young man, and hav- 
 
 ing earned even the means to pay for his edu- 
 cation, literary and professional. He is of a 
 kindly disposition, and has never been known 
 to retuse his services to the needy, regardless 
 of compensation, nor to slight a case of this 
 kind any more than he would one for which 
 he was sure of receiving the highest fee. He 
 ,has deservedly prospered, and he and his fam- 
 ily are among the most highly respected resi- 
 dents of Platteville. 
 
 DAVID BARRETT was born in Ohio, in 
 the Mohawk Valley, May 1, 1845, son of Abra- 
 ham and Elizabeth (Little) Barrett, who came 
 to Wisconsin the same year, locating in Mon- 
 roe. 
 
 Abraham Barrett was born in Ohio in 
 April, 1820, and his wife in 1819; they were 
 married in 1843. Ih 1847 they moved to the 
 town of Lima, Grant county, and settled on a 
 farm in the vicinity of the little village of 
 Arthur, where they made a permanent home. 
 While living there Mrs. Barrett died, Feb. 16, 
 1866, leaving six children, David, our subject, 
 being the eldest. Of the others, Joseph, Will- 
 iam and Sarah (Mrs. Gunther) live in Ne- 
 braska, and John lives on has farm in Iowa. 
 All have families. In 1866 the father mar- 
 ried, for his second wife, Miss Jane Lowell, 
 of Grant county, and four children were born 
 of that union. Mr. Barrett moved from Wis- 
 consin to Stockham, Hamilton Co., Neb., 
 where he was' engaged as a merchant up to the 
 time of his death, in 1889. An active business 
 man during bis entire life, he had many friends 
 wherever he lived. Mr. Barrett was a soldier 
 in the Rebellion, serving in Company E, nth 
 Wis. V. I., and participated in many fierce 
 battles, having much severe experience during 
 the three years in which he followed the flag. 
 
 David Barrett attained his manhood on the 
 home farm, and received his education in the 
 public schools. During the Civil war he en- 
 listed in Company C, 37th Wis'. V. I., and was 
 promoted to the rank of fourth orderly ser- 
 geant. The 37th Wisconsin served in the 
 Army of the Potomac under Gen. Grant. 
 Mr. Barrett was in the fighting before Peters- 
 burg and in other hard-fought battles. Taken 
 prisoner in 1864, he made his escape in com- 
 pany with his companions, and remained with 
 his regiment until the close of the war, par- 
 ticipating with his command in the grand re- 
 view at Washington, where he was discharged. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 737 
 
 Mr. Barrett was injured while engaged in 
 building breast works during the war, which 
 left a lasting injury of his spine. Two years 
 ago he lost the use of his limbs, and is now an 
 invalid, confined to his home. The mind is 
 bright and active, but the body is helpless, and 
 Mr. Barrett has been a patient sufferer for 
 many years. His business and the farm have 
 had his close supervision until within a very 
 few years. He is a man of sterling qualities, 
 and loved and honored by his' neighbors. Mrs. 
 Barrett has proved herself a capable wife, and 
 her devotion has been a great comfort to him. 
 
 Mr. Barrett and Miss Minerva J. Hooks 
 were married in March, 1866. Elijah and 
 Harriet (Kiggins) Hooks, her parents, were 
 old pioneers of Grant county. Born in Ohio, 
 they came to Grant county in 1842, and set- 
 tled in the town of Lima, on wild land, begin- 
 ning their life in Wisconsin in a log cabin; 
 Mr. Hooks became one of the successful farm- 
 ers in this section of the country. He died 
 May 3, 1893. Mrs. Hooks lives with her 
 daughter, at the venerable age of seventy-three 
 years. Mr. Hooks was a soldier in the Civil 
 war, serving in the 3d Cavalry, from Wiscon- 
 sin, under Gen. Phil. Sheridan. 
 
 Mrs. Barrett was born in the town of 
 Lima, Grant county, in March, 1849. After 
 their marriage our subject and wife settled on 
 the old Barrett home for one year, and in 1869 
 bought a farm in Cass county, Neb., where 
 they lived until 1875. That year he sold 1 out, 
 and the family returned to Grant county. In 
 1878 he purchased a tract of wild land, which 
 he cleared up, and erected a good dwelling- 
 house in 1881. There are substantial barns 
 and ample outbuildings on the place, and it is 
 one of the desirable rural estates in this part of 
 the State. To Mr. and Mrs. Barrett have 
 been born four children : ( 1 ) Carrie died 
 
 when a young lady of seventeen years. (2) 
 Joseph, born in January, 1867, married Miss 
 Annie E. Bennett, of Platteville, and lives on 
 his farm (which joins his father’s) in the town 
 of Lima. They are rearing an adopted daugh- 
 ter, Ruby. (3) Calvin, born in Fennimore, 
 Wis., in August, 1868, married Miss Jennie 
 Hull, and lives on his farm in the town of 
 Lima. Four children were born to this union, 
 Pearl David, Abraham, Ethel and Elva. (4) 
 Orvil W., born in 1875, married Miss May 
 
 Selleck, of the town of Harrison, and resides 
 47 
 
 on his farm in the town of Lima ; they have 
 one son, Walter E. 
 
 Mr. Barrett was formerly a Republican, 
 but within the last few years he has been 
 voting the Prohibition ticket. For five years 
 he has been roadmaster in the town of Lima. 
 Mr. and Airs. Barrett are members of the Free 
 Methodist Church. 
 
 JACOB S. BRUGGER, a fruit farmer of 
 the town of Platteville, Grant county, has done 
 the people of southern Wisconsin valuable serv- 
 ice by showing in his own career the possibili- 
 ties of this region for the cultivation of many 
 kinds of fruit the profitable raising of which 
 was long supposed to be confined to more favor- 
 able conditions. 
 
 Mr. Brugger is a native of the county, born 
 in August, 1870, a son of J. J. and Alary (Carl) 
 Brugger. His mother is a daughter of Jacob 
 Carl, an old pioneer of Grant county. J. J. 
 Brugger was born in Grant county in 1846, and 
 his wife in 1848. The Bruggers came from 
 Switzerland, and the Carls from Germany. It 
 is not too much to say that the best characteris- 
 tics of both nationalities have passed down the 
 line of heredity, and appear in the young man 
 who is the subject of this article. J. J. Brugger, 
 who was a harness maker and farmer, is now 
 leading a retired life in Platteville. He and his 
 wife have ten children: William, born in 1868, 
 lives in this State. Jacob S. is the second son. 
 John, born in 1872, married a Aliss Snee, and 
 they live on the old homestead; they have one 
 child, Catherine. Frank, born in 1874, is in 
 Dubuque, Iowa. Mary, born in 1876, is living 
 at home. Daniel, born in 1878, Charles in 1880, 
 Annie, in 1882, Ella in 1883, and Alaggie, in 
 1886, are attending the Platteville schools. 
 
 Jacob S. Brugger obtained his education 
 very largely in school No. 8, and remained with 
 his parents until he was twenty-one. He has 
 mastered the science of farming thoroughly, 
 and carries on his place according to the most 
 modern methods. He was a well driller for 
 some two years, and bought and sold horses for 
 a year, shipping to the Alinnesota markets. In 
 1893 Air. Brugger married Aliss Anna M. 
 Schroder, the only daughter of C. F and Alary 
 I. Schroder, old and prominent residents of 
 Grant county. Airs. Brugger was born in 186S, 
 was a student of the Platteville Normal and is 
 one of the valuable women of her community, 
 most highly esteemed by all who know her. 
 
733 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Brugger 
 spent three years on his father’s farm, and 
 during the season he was engaged in running a 
 threshing machine for his neighbors. In No- 
 vember, 1896, he purchased the John Gilman 
 property, in Platteville, where he is now raising 
 grapes, apples, and all kinds of small fruits.. 
 Since taking possession of this place Mr. Brug- 
 ger has erected all new buildings with the latest 
 modern improvements, and this is one of the 
 handsomest and best maintained tracts of real 
 estate in the section, showing the master touch 
 in every department. Mr. Brugger is a share- 
 holder in the Toadville mine, Grant county. 
 He is a stockholder in the Belgian horse “Baron 
 de Hauntes,” known as the finest bred draught 
 horse in this State. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Brugger are the parents of a 
 family of four children: Clarence E., born Feb. 
 18, 1895 ; Ferney L, July 25, 1896; Hazel N., 
 May 13, 1898; and Hurbert D., 1900. They 
 attend the Primitive Methodist Church, and he 
 has always been a Democrat, as was his father. 
 Fraternally Mr. Brugger belongs to the Order 
 of Foresters. 
 
 THOMAS D. NAGFE, a leading and rep- 
 resentative citizen of Patch Grove township, 
 Grant county, now owns and operates the farm 
 on which he was born, in 1844, his parents, 
 Thomas and- Elizabeth (Brown) Nagle, being 
 pioneers of Grant county. 
 
 The father of our subject was a native of 
 County Cork, Ireland, born Jan. 13, 1806, and, 
 being left an orphan at an early age, he came 
 to America during his youth. For some time 
 he resided in Canada, and there married Eliza- 
 beth Brown, who was born in Scotland Jan. 
 30, 1812. In 1836 they came to Cassville, 
 Grant Co., Wis., which town was then “on the 
 boom,” and gave promise of being an important 
 place, in fact it was even mentioned as being 
 a future State capital. Mr. Nagle entered con- 
 siderable land, including that on which his son 
 Thomas D. resides, but at the end of two years 
 he returned to Ohio, where he had lived for a 
 time after his marriage. In 1842 he again 
 came to Grant county, and settled on the land 
 which became his homestead. He was an in-' 
 dustrious, intelligent and upright citizen, and 
 in early days took an active part in the develop- 
 ment and upbuilding of his township. At one 
 time he served as Territorial commissioner, and 
 was town clerk when what is now Patch Grove 
 
 contained several other townships. In his 
 political relations he was a Republican, sup- 
 porting Fremont, the first candidate of that 
 party for the Presidency, and voting for each 
 succeeding candidate as long as he lived. Both 
 he and his wife were faithful and consistent 
 members of the Methodist Church, and were 
 highly respected by all who knew them. His 
 death occurred on the old homestead April 14, 
 1884, and she departed this life on Dec. 16, fol- 
 lowing. Their family numbered five children, 
 two sons and three daughters: Tamer, Jane, 
 John, Thomas D. and Eliza, all living at the 
 present writing (1901). John was a soldier in 
 the war for the Union, and is represented else- 
 where. 
 
 Thomas D. Nagle has spent his entire life 
 on the old homestead, which he inherited from 
 his father, and which has never passed from the 
 family since the land was entered from the 
 government. As a tiller of the soil he has met 
 with excellent success, and now has his fine 
 farm under a high state of cultivation. Mr. 
 Nagle married Miss Paura Brown, a daughter 
 of Luther Brown, an honored pioneer of Patch 
 Grove township, and of this union have been 
 born four children, two sons and two daugh- 
 ters, namely: Nellie (now the wife of Ivan 
 Russell), Edward, Laura and Lee. 
 
 Mr. Nagle is one of the most prominent and 
 progressive citizens of his township. In his 
 political affiliations he was originally a Repub- 
 lican, but as issues changed he believed he saw 
 his duty along other political lines. The liquor 
 traffic he regards as the chief source of suffer- 
 ing, crime and poverty, and he is now a stanch 
 supporter of the Prohibition party. He and his 
 wife and family are members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, in which he is an active and 
 efficient worker, and his life has ever been such 
 as to commend him to the confidence and high 
 regard of those with whom he has come in con- 
 tact. 
 
 JAMES ANDREW HOARE, one of the 
 prominent and well known citizens of Mineral 
 Point, Iowa county, and a veteran of the war 
 of the Rebellion, is a native of the township, 
 born in 1845, a son '°’f J°fi n an d Sally (Mur- 
 rish) Hoare, both natives of Cornwall, Eng- 
 land. 
 
 The father, who was a miner by occupation, 
 in 1843 came with his wife to Mineral Point, 
 Wis., where he prospected for some years, in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 739 
 
 1847 settling- on the farm where our subject 
 now resides. Here he died in 1886, aged sev- 
 enty-four years, but his wife survives, residing 
 with our subject; she was born Aug. 5, 1815. 
 To them were born : William, who resides with 
 our subject; Mary Jane ; John, who enlisted in 
 Missouri, and died in St. Louis, of cholera, in 
 1865; James Andrew; Richard, residng ’in 
 Mineral Point; Joseph, of Kansas City, Mo.; 
 Martin, of Duluth, Minn.; and Frank E., of 
 Mineral Point. In politics the father was a 
 Republican, and he served as county clerk and 
 as town clerk for sixteen years. Both he and his 
 wife were members of the Primitive Methodist 
 Church. 
 
 James A. Hoare was reared and educated 
 at Mineral Point, where he learned the trade of 
 stone mason, following same for twenty-five 
 years, after which he became a farmer and stock 
 raiser, and also a miner. His farm, which he 
 owns jointly with his brother William, is one 
 of the finest in the county, well stocked and pro- 
 vided with a comfortable house, large barn and 
 ample outbuildings. They are also interested 
 in the Mineral Point Creamery. 
 
 In July, 1866, our subject was married to 
 Mary A. Goldsworthy, who was born in Min- 
 eral Point, a daughter of Richard and Eliza- 
 beth (Carbis) Goldsworthy, natives of Corn- 
 wall, England, who came to Mineral Point in 
 1849. Mr. Goldsworthy was a stone mason by 
 trade. He went to California during the gold 
 excitement, and afterward returned to Mineral 
 Point, where he died in 1892, his wife preceding 
 him to the grave by a few weeks. To our sub- 
 ject and wife were born six children: Tassie 
 
 L, Mrs. Frank Ivey; Cora B., Mrs. Elbert 
 Spooner, of Mineral Point; John H. ; William 
 R. ; Fannie and Charles J. 
 
 On March 27, 1864, our subject enlisted, at 
 Mineral Point, in Company C, 37th Wis. V. I., 
 which was being mustered in at Madison, Wis., 
 and assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 
 9th Army Corps. Among the engagements in 
 which he participated were the siege of Peters- 
 burg, the raid on Weldon railroad, Poplar 
 Spring, Hatcher’s Run, etc. At the close of 
 the war only 150 men returned of the first 800 
 enrolled in the regiment, all the others being 
 either killed or discharged on accbunt of dis- 
 ability. After many hard-fought battles and 
 many hardships, our subject was honorably dis- 
 charged, on July 27, 1865, at Washington D. 
 C. In memory of those stirring days Mr. 
 
 Hoare takes a deep interest in the G. A. R., and 
 is an active member of George Ii. Legate Post, 
 No. 125, which has a membership of seventy.- 
 He is also a member of Iowa Lodge, No. 1, 
 I. O. O. F. 
 
 On Sept. 14, 1897, Mr. Hoare met with a 
 sad loss in the death of his faithful wife, who 
 passed away at the age of fifty years. On Oc- 
 tober 24, 1900, our subject wedded Mrs. Eliza 
 M. Stephens, of Mineral Point, who was born 
 in Cornwall, England, and came to Wisconsin 
 in 1869. She was first married to Joseph 
 Thomas, and after his death, at Hazel Green, 
 in 1872, married James W. Stephens, who- died 
 at Mineral Point, in June, 1897. 
 
 In political matters Mr. Hoare follows in 
 the footsteps of his honored father, and adheres 
 to the principles of the Republican party. He 
 is now serving as treasurer of the school board 
 in District No. 1. 
 
 REV. SAMUEL GAYLEY HUEY, the 
 faithful and well-beloved pastor of the United 
 Presbyterian Church at Rock Prairie, Rock 
 county, was born May 7, 1864, at McAlevys 
 Fort, Huntingdon Co., Penn., a son of Robert 
 and Elizabeth (Barr) Huey, both of whom 
 were of Scotch-Irish extraction. 
 
 Our subject obtained the rudiments of his 
 education in the common schools, and then 
 passed four years in the Stone Valley Academy, 
 in his native town, whence he passed to West- 
 minster College, at New Wilmington, Penn., 
 graduating in 1888. The following fall he en- 
 tered the Allegheny Theological Seminary, and 
 was graduated in March, 1891. On April 15, 
 1890, he was licensed to preach by the Presby- 
 tery of Mercer, and the summer following he 
 passed doing missionary work at Benkelman, 
 Neb. Early in life he had united with the 
 Stone Valley United Presbyterian Church, in 
 his native town, and had consecrated his future 
 years to the service of his Maker. No falter- 
 ing, no wavering, but onward, diligently striv- 
 ing to do the Master’s will. Rev. Huey has la- 
 bored in the interests of humanity. In the 
 autumn of 1890, he was called to the pastorate 
 of the Rock Prairie (Wis.) congregation, and 
 on May 7, 1891, entered upon his duties there. 
 On Aug. 19, 1891, he was ordained to the 
 Gospel ministry by the Presbytery of Wiscon- 
 sin, and finally installed as pastor at Rock 
 Prairie. Under the earnest ministration the 
 congregation has increased from ill to 192 
 
740 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 members, over 150 persons having been re- 
 ceived into the church. In this time Rev. Mr. 
 Huey’s good works are known far beyond the 
 confines of his own parish, and he holds Ugh 
 rank among other ministers of the same denom- 
 ination. For the past eight years he has been 
 Stated Clerk of the Wisconsin Presbytery, and 
 has ably discharged the duties appertaining to 
 that office. In 1895-96 he was Moderator of 
 the Synod of Illinois, and served a three-years 
 term as a member of the board of managers of 
 the Xenia Theological Seminary at Xenia, 
 Ohio. 
 
 On Sept. 10, 1891, Rev. Mr. Huey was 
 united in marriage with Miss Eva Donaldson, 
 of New Wilmington, Penn., a daughter of 
 Zechariah and Mary Donaldson, the former a 
 nephew of Rev. Dr. Donaldson, of Elders 
 Ridge, Penn. Mrs. Huey, a highly cultured 
 woman, was graduated from Westminster Col- 
 lege June 20, 1888, and passed the next two 
 years as a teacher. Rev. Mr. Huey and wife 
 are the parents of three children : Grace Don- 
 
 aldson, born Dec. 29, 1894; Helen Barr, Oct. 
 27, 1896; and Ruth Crawford, April 29, 1900. 
 
 SAMUEL C. ROSS is one of the success- 
 ful miners and farmers who have made Wiscon- 
 sin what it is to-day, one of the foremost States 
 among the great commonwealths of the coun- 
 try. Through the efforts of such men the fields 
 bring forth their produce, and the depths of 
 the earth are called upon for their treasures. 
 
 Mr. Ross was born in Mineral Point, Iowa 
 county, in 1859, a son of John James and Sarah 
 (Sproule) Ross. The father was born in Coun- 
 ty Tyrone, Ireland, Nov. 29, 1819, and there 
 reared, remaining in Ireland until July, 1839, 
 when he came to Mineral Point, a poor boy. 
 He engaged in mining, later in farming and 
 stock raising. In 1849 he went to California, 
 but returned to Mineral Point and again en- 
 gaged in farming, becoming very successful, 
 taking his place among the prominent citizens 
 of the county. At the time of his death he 
 owned 3,000 acres of land. He was one of the 
 men instrumental in having the Mineral Point 
 railroad run through the place, and at his death, 
 which occurred March 3, 1899, Mineral Point 
 lost its leading business man, as well as 
 one of the kindest hearted and noblest of its 
 citizens. Not only was he a successful farmer 
 and miner, but he was extensively engaged in 
 stock-raising, and handled large quantities of 
 
 grain. His good wife, who was also a native 
 of Ireland, died at Mineral Point in 1892. To 
 these most worthy people were born four sons : 
 William S., a farmer and stock raiser of Min- 
 eral Point; Samuel C., our subject; Charley,, 
 a physician and surgeon of Mineral Point; 
 and David, who died in childhood. 
 
 Our subject was' reared to manhood in 
 Mineral. Point, has always been engaged in 
 mining and farming, and makes a specialty 
 of raising fine blooded horses, cattle and hogs.. 
 I11 1892 Mr. Ross built a fine home in Mineral 
 Point, where he and his family reside, sur- 
 rounded by the comforts and luxuries of life. 
 The marriage of our subject to Miss Anna J. 
 Sproule, a native of Missouri, occurred in 
 1891, and 1 to this union three children have 
 been born, Andrew, Emily and Samuel. 
 
 The Ross family is among the early set- 
 tlers of the county, and none is more highly 
 respected. The father was a Democrat po- 
 litically, and a Presbyterian in religious mat- 
 ters, and his son follows in his footsteps. 
 Neither have ever sought office, although John 
 Ross did consent to serve on the board of super- 
 visors. Socially our subject is a member of 
 Raven Lodge, No. 18, K. of P., Mineral Point. 
 He is well known throughout the entire State, 
 and always takes a deep interest in anything 
 destined to advance the material prosperity <of 
 the city of Mineral Point, Iowa county, or the 
 State of Wisconsin. 
 
 DR. CLAY W. BENNETT, a rising 
 young member of the dental profession at 
 Monroe, Wis., belongs to one of the more 
 notable families of Green county, and is him- 
 self no unworthy representative of its better 
 characteristics. He is well versed both in the 
 theory and practice of the calling which he has 
 made his life work, and is determined to keep 
 to the front. He is a genial and social gentle- 
 man with many friends, and enjoys an envi- 
 able reputation for probity and fair dealing. 
 
 Dr. Bennett is a native of Green county,, 
 born July 9, 1865, a son of Felix and Catha- 
 rine (Bell) Bennett, whose personal and fam- 
 ily history has been written up under the name 
 of Felix C. Bennett. They are classed among 
 the leading people of Monroe, and are active 
 workers in all social, humanitarian and 1 re- 
 form movements that address the better im- 
 pulses and convictions of the world. Dr. 
 Bennett has one living sister, Estella, who 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 74i 
 
 married George King, of Janesville, and is a 
 charming and talented lady. As noted else- 
 where, the father of Dr. Bennett was in the 
 early days a settler upon a Wisconsin farm, 
 and upon this farm the first years of the Mon- 
 roe dentist were passed. When ten years old 
 he was taken into Monroe by his parents, and 
 there he completed his boyhood and youth, 
 passing through the Monroe schools in order, 
 and in 1888 he was graduated from the Chi- 
 cago college of dental surgery. He set up in 
 the practice of his profession the same year in 
 Monroe, and here he has lived and labored 
 to the present time. 
 
 Dr. Bennett and Miss Ida Roderick were 
 married Feb. 5, 1890. Mrs. Bennett is a 
 daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Newman) 
 Roderick, and is the- mother of three children, 
 Byron R., Catherine E. and one who died in 
 infancy. Dr. and Mrs. Bennett belong to the 
 Christian Church, and he is a member of the 
 Knights of Pythias. He is an active worker 
 in the Wisconsin Dental Society, and also in 
 the Southern Wisconsin Dental Society. The 
 Doctor has been a Democrat, and knows the 
 reason of the faith that is in him. He has 
 been the recipient of complimentary notice on 
 the part of his professional associates, and in 
 1899 was elected president of the State Dental 
 Society. Dr. and Mrs. Bennett occupy a pleas- 
 ant home on East Russell street, which has 
 become the center of many social and friendly 
 interests. 
 
 WALLACE ALPHEUS PENGRA, a 
 worthy representative of the agricultural in- 
 terests of Green county, resides on his farm 
 about four miles northwest of Juda, and is 
 well known as a thrifty and successful farmer. 
 
 Our subject is a son of George S. and 
 Maria (Waltz) Pengra, and a grandson of 
 Moses and Sarah (Johns) Pengra. His par- 
 ents came from Genesee county, N. Y., and 
 located in the town of Sylvester, Green Co., 
 Wis., in 1849. Moses Pengra was a son of 
 Marshall Pengra, of Bennington county, Vt., 
 whose father came to the New England Col- 
 onies in company with two brothers long be- 
 fore the Revolution. One brother, Orin, lost 
 his life during that struggle ; the other brothers 
 were separated, and in their separation the 
 name was changed in its spelling. Gov. Pin- 
 gree, of Michigan, is thought to be a mem- 
 ber of the same family. 
 
 Moses Pengra was born in 1799, and mar- 
 ried, March 25, 1818, Sarah Johns, who was 
 born in Wales, and came to this country when 
 a small girl. They had the following chil- 
 dren : Marshall ; George S., the father of W. 
 
 A. ; B. J., now residing in Oregon; Honor E., 
 a widow, in Iowa; William, deceased; and 
 Elisiph, who died in childhood. George S., 
 father of Wallace A., was born in Darien, 
 Genesee Co., N. Y., in 1821, and died in Syl- 
 vester July 1, 1890. In 1849 he married Maria 
 Waltz, who was born Nov. 10, 1827, in Cat- 
 taraugus county, N. Y., and is still living, 
 making her home with her son Wallace A., 
 on the old homestead. She is a daughter of 
 Alpheus and Jane (Ferguson) Waltz, who 
 were of Dutch and Scotch-Irish descent. Peter 
 Waltz, grandfather of Airs. Pengra, enlisted in 
 the Revolution, and bore arms for seven years 
 in the cause of independence. His father 
 came from Holland. Thomas Davey, the ma- 
 ternal great-grandfather of W. A. Pengra, was 
 killed at the battle of Fort Stanwix. He came 
 of English blood. 
 
 The marriage of George S. Pengra to 
 Maria W altz was blessed with three children : 
 (1) Wallace Alpheus; (2) George H., born 
 Dec. 23, 1853, a thrifty farmer of Sylvester, 
 whose sketch appears elsewhere; and (3) 
 William S., born May 26, 1855, who died in 
 Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1881. 
 
 Wallace Alpheus Pengra was born Oct. 17, 
 1851, and was married to Miss Nancy J. Bald- 
 win, of the town of Sylvester, Nov. 11, 1875. 
 Mrs. Pengra was the daughter of Harvey and 
 Margaret (Johnson) Baldwin, of Green coun- 
 ty, who came here in 1854. They were of 
 English and Irish ancestry, the maternal 
 grandmother coming from Ireland. Mr. Bald- 
 win was born in 1814, and died in 1899; his 
 wife was born Oct. 8, 1824, and died March 
 14, 1900. They were good people, and much 
 respected in their day. Mrs'. Nancy J. Pengra 
 was born July 30, 1854, in Ashtabula coun- 
 tv, Ohio, and was brought to Wisconsin when 
 a babe in arms. Our subject and his wife 
 have the following children: Hugh S., born 
 
 Tuly 22, 1878; Frank E., born March 27, 
 1884; and Maria Antoinette, born Nov. 5, 
 1887. all at home. 
 
 Mr. Pengra was reared to manhood on the 
 paternal acres, and acquired his education in 
 the district school. In his agricultural labors 
 he has met with marked success, and is one of 
 
742 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the most successful in the county in his chosen 
 work. In politics he is a Prohibitionist, and 
 he has served his town as road supervisor, 
 member of the town board, and treasurer of the 
 school board for a number of years, and com- 
 mands the respect of all. He began life a poor 
 man, but now owns a farm of 140 acres in his 
 own name, and a half interest in 360 acres with 
 his brother George H. He is a man of fine 
 character and high standing. 
 
 REV. ARTHUR LONGFIELD, the zeal- 
 ous and devoted minister of the Free Baptist 
 Church at North Johnstown, Rock county, 
 was born in Magnolia, in that county, and ed- 
 ucated in the public schools and in the sem- 
 inary at Evansville. He graduated from this 
 school in 1886, and immediately began min- 
 isterial work in the Free Methodist Church. 
 For a number of years he served that organi- 
 zation in Wisconsin and in South Dakota. In 
 this State he was pastor of the church at Mar- 
 shall, Dane county, and has had several other 
 charges, in which he distinguished himself by 
 his zeal for his Master’s cause, and his earnest 
 presentation of a simple Gospel. 
 
 Air. Longfield withdrew from the Free 
 Methodist fellowship in 1897, and became 
 pastor of the Free Baptist Church at Rutland, 
 Wis., preferring to be associated with this 
 church, as' more thoroughly in harmony with 
 his mature convictions. I11 1899 Air. Long- 
 field was called to his present charge. It is 
 one of the oldest Free Baptist Churches or- 
 ganized in Wisconsin, and was for many years 
 regarded as one of the most prominent in the 
 denomination in the State. It was organized 
 at an early day by Elder Cary, who served 
 as its pastor for many years. It has suffered 
 during the later years of its history from the 
 changing and shifting that have been going 
 on in the population of the adjacent territory, 
 but it is still in a fairly vigorous condition; 
 and during the last year ten additions have 
 been made to its membership, the new comers 
 being mostly young people. 
 
 Mr. Longfield and Miss Anna R. Patch 
 were married March 12, 1889. Mrs. Long- 
 field is a daughter of Uriah and Christie A. 
 (Barns) Patch, and was living in Platteville 
 at the time of her marriage. Her father was 
 a farmer of Richland county, Wis . during his 
 active years. Pie died at Calamine, Wis., Feb. 
 6, 1884, when seventy-seven years old. Her 
 
 mother died at Platteville, Wis., June 9, 1888, 
 at the age of seventy-one. They came to Wis- 
 consin from Ohio in 1853. Mrs. Longfield 
 is the youngest of a family of eleven children. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Longfield have come five 
 children to bless their union : Arthur Brom- 
 ley, Edna Grace, Henry Spencer, Miriam 
 Vashti and Elsie Lucile. They are a band of 
 bright and promising children, and will make 
 their way in the world. 
 
 Henry Longfield, the father of Rev. Ar- 
 thur, was born Dec. 11, 1820, in Northumber- 
 land county, Penn., and was taken by his par- 
 ents to Hartford, I rumbull Co., Ohio, when 
 quite young. He came to Wisconsin when a 
 young man, and in 1851 bought a farm in the 
 town of Magnolia, Rock county, which became 
 his home during his active life. When ad- 
 vancing age compelled him to abandon the life 
 of a farmer he moved into Evansville, where 
 he lived thirteen years, and where he died 
 Aug. 23, 1897. Henry Longfield and Miss 
 Orrilla Spencer were married Nov. 25, 1852, 
 and the union proved a happy one. She was 
 born Jan. 12, 1824, in Clayton, Jefferson Co., 
 N. Y., the youngest of a family of twelve chil- 
 dren, and is the sole survivor of her father’s 
 family. She is making her home with her only 
 son, Rev. Arthur Longfield. 
 
 RICHARD SCADDEN, a young and 
 thrifty farmer in the town of Hazel Green, 
 Grant county, was born at his present home 
 Alay 17, 1867, son of Richard and Fannie 
 (Jennings) Scadden, both natives of Cornwall, 
 England, where the father was born in 1815, 
 the mother in 1825. 
 
 Richard Scadden brought his family to 
 Wisconsin in 1850, and worked in the lead 
 mines of Grant county for a number of years, 
 then purchasing a farm, three miles northwest 
 of the village of Hazel Green, held same for a 
 short time. Selling it, he bought a farm near 
 Alorgan’s AI ills, and in 1866 moved to the 
 farm where his son Richard now lives, one 
 mile south of the village of Hazel Green, on 
 the Galena Pike. There he settled, and made 
 substantial improvements, intending to make 
 this his home for life, which indeed it proved 
 to be. Mr. Scadden there died in 1897, out- 
 living his wife ten years. Belonging to the 
 Methodist Church, they “lived the doctrines 
 they professed,” and were widely known as 
 good Christian people. Mr. Scadden was a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 743 
 
 Republican, and in his prime had filled sev- 
 eral local positions of honor and trust. Nine 
 children were born to him and his wife: (i) 
 
 John, born in 1850, married Miss Hester 
 Williams, and has three children, Albert, Edna 
 and Ernest ; he is now a grain dealer in South 
 Dakota. (2) Thomas, born in 1856, married 
 Miss Martha Pierce, of Hazel Green, and has 
 a farm in Illinois. There are four children 
 in his family, Andrew, Saul, Roy, and Morris'. 
 (3) Lizzie, born in Hazel Green, married 
 Harvey Smith, and is living in her native vil- 
 lage, with one daughter, Pearl. (4) Hannah, 
 born in Hazel Green, married Richard 1 Shelli- 
 van, and lives in the town of Hazel. Green. 
 There are three children in their family, Orvil, 
 Edward, and Fannie. (5) William, born in 
 Grant county in 1861, married Miss Lizzie 
 Pearce, and is a farmer in the town of Hazel 
 Green. They have three daughters, Fannie, 
 Lulu, and Ollie. (6) Tillie, born in Hazel 
 Green in 1863, is the wife of Rev. Etla Ralph, 
 who resides near Chicago. There are four 
 children in their family, Lloyd, Roy, 
 Walter, and Harry. (7) Ella, born in Hazel 
 Green, is now the wife of John Pierce, of 
 Illinois. (8) Richard is our subject. (9) 
 Edward, born in 1872, married Sarah Scott, 
 and is a farmer in Wisconsin. 
 
 Richard Scadden was educated, like his 
 brothers and sisters, in the high school of the 
 town of Hazel Green, where he grew to man- 
 hood, on his father’s farm. In 1889 he mar- 
 ried Miss Abbie Scott, daughter of Thomas 
 Scott, of Hazel Green, one of the old pioneer 
 settlers of Grant county. Mr. and Mrs. Scad- 
 den are the parents of four children : Lance- 
 
 lot. born in 1891; Hildred, born in 1892; 
 Loraine, born in 1893; and Lloyd, born in 
 1898. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
 Scadden settled on the Joseph Harris farm, 
 in the town of Hazel Green, where they re- 
 mained one year, and were one year on the 
 White farm. Mr. Scadden rented the old 
 homestead of his father, and engaged in its 
 cultivation until the death of that gentleman 
 made it possible for him to purchase the farm 
 of the other heirs. Here he now owns a choice 
 place of 160 acres, under high cultivation, 
 thoroughly improved, and equipped with all 
 necessary farming appliances. 
 
 In politics Mr. Scadden is a Republican. 
 He attends, with his wife, the Methodist 
 Church, to which she belongs. Socially he 
 
 is a member of the M. W. A. and the Knights 
 of the Globe. Mr. Scadden is an enterprising 
 young man, well known in this part of the 
 county. He is largely engaged in stock farm- 
 ing, and is forging his way to success rapidly. 
 
 JAMES M. HARCLEROAD, one of the 
 enterprising and successful business men of 
 Platteville, Grant county, owns and operates' 
 one of the largest livery stables in that city, 
 and is a man universally respected. Our sub- 
 ject was born in Grant county in November, 
 1856, son of Solomon and Mary J. (Castley) 
 Harcleroad. 
 
 Solomon Harcleroad was born in Bradford 
 county, Penn., where he grew to manhood. 
 His wife was born in Missouri, her father be- 
 ing Pierce Castley, a farmer, who died while 
 yet a young man, and the mother migrated to 
 Grant county, -where Solomon Harcleroad met 
 her daughter, and they were married. After 
 marriage the parents of our subject located 
 in Grant county, and the father followed min- 
 ing until the Civil war broke out, when he en- 
 listed in Company F, 10th Wis'. V. I., and 
 served three years, participating in a number 
 of hard-fought battles. Returning home after 
 the war, he settled on a farm near Platteville, 
 where he died in 1876. The mother still sur- 
 vives, and makes her home with our subject, 
 in Platteville. There were seven children in 
 this family, and all are now living except one 
 daughter, Effie, who married A. E. YV eller, 
 of Des Moines, Iowa, and left one son, Will- 
 iam, who still resides in Iowa. 
 
 Our subject was the eldest of the family, 
 and was reared and educated in Grant county. 
 When a young man he was a foreman of con- 
 struction on the Chicago & Northwestern and 
 other railroads, but in 1887 he settled at Lan- 
 caster, where he embarked in the livery busi- 
 ness, and drove a stage between that city and 
 Potosi for five years. About 1889 he removed 
 to Platteville, where he established his pres- 
 ent stables, and conducts business upon the 
 latest methods. His horses are fine animals, 
 the drivers careful, while his carriages, bug- 
 gies, carts, and other equipages are of the latest 
 design and best workmanship. The service is 
 very efficient, and patrons are certain of re- 
 ceiving honorable treatment. 
 
 In 1887 Mr. Harcleroad married Miss 
 Alma Burress, daughter of Jonathan and Sarah 
 Burress, old pioneers and well-to-do farming 
 
744 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 people of Belmont, Lafayette county. Mrs. 
 Harcleroad was born in Grant county in 1862. 
 Three children have been born to our subject 
 and wife, James, Edward and Ruth, the first 
 named being a student at the State Normal, 
 and a very bright boy. 
 
 Politically Mr. Harcleroad has been identi- 
 fied with the Republican party, and fraternally 
 he is a member of Platteville Lodge, K. of 
 P. ; and Lodge No. 7, of the Modern Wood- 
 men. Mr. Harcleroad is special treasury agent 
 of his city, and in the spring of 1900 was elect- 
 ed a member of the city board from the First 
 ward. Although deeply engrossed in the busi- 
 ness of his establishment, Mr. Harcleroad al- 
 ways finds time to give his support to any- 
 thing tending toward the advancement of the 
 material interests of the city, and he enjoys 
 the respect of his acquaintances as an hon- 
 orable man and a public-spirited' citizen. Mrs. 
 Harcleroad is a consistent member of the M. 
 E. Church, and takes an active interest in the 
 work of that denomination. 
 
 JOHN W. GARDNER, the efficient sheriff 
 of Green county, has made his home in Mon- 
 roe for a number of years. He enjoys an 
 enviable reputation as an upright and honorable 
 man, and as a police officer has repeatedly dis- 
 played both nerve and judgment in a high de- 
 gree. Mr. Gardner was born Oct. 6, 1855, 
 in Stephentown, Rensselaer Co., N. Y., and 
 was brought to Wisconsin early the following 
 year, so that practically his entire life has been 
 spent in this State. 
 
 The parents of our subject, George and 
 Aucelia (Rose) Gardner, were both natives 
 of New York. They had three sons and one 
 daughter, the latter dying in infancy. The 
 sons are all living: Burton J., at Brodhead, 
 
 W 'is. ; Charles Francis, near Brodhead; and 
 John W. The father was a butcher in New 
 York. He came to Rock county, Wis'., in 
 March, 1856, and very soon afterward located 
 at old Decatur, in Green county, where he 
 set up a meat market, and carried on a butcher 
 business for several years. He then went to 
 Texas, but after an absence of a year all news' 
 as to his whereabouts ceased, and he has never 
 been heard of since. The mother died in 
 March, 1S77, at the age of fifty-two. She was 
 a member of the Methodist Church, and a good 
 woman, always kind and generous. The pa- 
 ternal grandfather of John W. Gardner bore 
 
 the name of George W. Gardner. He was' a 
 native of New York, of English descent, was 
 a fifer in the war of 1812, and was a man of 
 influence wherever he lived. He followed farm- 
 ing, and was an early settler of Wisconsin, 
 coming to Rock county when the Territory was 
 largely a wilderness, buying land in Rock, and 
 dying there about 1864, when about eighty 
 years of age. The father of Mrs. Aucelia 
 (Rose) Gardner bore the name of Rufus Rose. 
 He was born in the State of New York, a de- 
 scendant of an old English family, followed 
 farming, and died in New York at the age of 
 fifty-five. He reared a numerous family. 
 
 John W. Gardner grew to manhood under 
 the home roof, on the farm near Brodhead, 
 Wis. He obtained his education in the local, 
 school and early took upon himself the burden 
 of his own support, beginning his business ca- 
 reer by renting a farm. He was engaged in 
 farming until 1892. In 1895 he was appointed 
 deputy sheriff, under N. S. Durst, and ac- 
 quitted himself so creditably that he received 
 a similar appointment under Stearns. In 1898 
 he was himself elected to this high office, en- 
 tering upon its duties' Jan. 1, 1899. 
 
 Mr. Gardner and Miss Dollie E. Springsted 
 were married Jan. 14, 187^, and they have 
 three children, Harry, John and Sadie. Mrs. 
 Gardner is a daughter of David and Cordelia 
 (Ward) Springsted, and was born near Ham- 
 ilton, Canada, July 11, 1853. She is a woman 
 of fine feelings and neighborly spirit, and has 
 many friends. Sheriff Gardner belongs to 
 several of the leading fraternities of the city, 
 holding membership in the Odd Fellows, the 
 Woodmen of the World, and the Knights of 
 the Globe, and he is highly esteemed wherever 
 known. He is a Republican politically, and is 
 one of the strong men of the organization in 
 the county, taking a keen interest in its work- 
 ings, and is alive to whatever concerns the pub- 
 lic welfare. 
 
 HENRY SOLOMON WEIL is one of the 
 most thoroughly up-to-date citizens of Min- 
 eral Point, Iowa county, and has taken an act- 
 ive interest in the development of his home city. 
 
 Mr. Wei], was born at St. Louis, Mo., Dec. 
 19, 1855, a son of David and Theresa (Loe- 
 wenthal) Weil, and received his early educa- 
 tion in the schools of Dubuque, Iowa, later 
 passing some time in a machine shop there. 
 At the age of twenty-one he was clerk in a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 745 
 
 store in New York City, and about the year 
 1877 moved to Milwaukee, Wis., where he 
 passed two years as traveling- salesman for a 
 tobacco and cigar house, and for the Singer 
 Sewing Machine Co. The next year he came 
 to Mineral Point, as general agent of the 
 Singer Sewing Machine Co. for several coun- 
 ties. In 1884 he became connected with the 
 McCormick Harvester Co., as special agent, 
 which position he successfully tilled until 1891, 
 when he assumed charge of the Mineral Point 
 Electric Light Plant, and has since efficiently 
 discharged the duties of that office ; he also has 
 charge of the pumping of the city water. Mr. 
 Weil is ambitious to see his town have all 
 the improvements possible in a city of its size, 
 and has helped to organize the Volunteer Fire 
 Department, of which he is treasurer. He was 
 one of the organizers of the Southwestern Wis- 
 consin Fair Association, for several years 
 served as its secretary, and is yet one of the 
 stockholders. In politics he has been a Demo- 
 crat, but advocates the gold standard. For 
 three years he held the office of alderman, for 
 four years that of city clerk, and for six years 
 was member of the board of education. 
 
 In 1881 Mr. Weil married Miss Clara M. 
 Jones, daughter of Joseph and Ann (Sanguin) 
 Jones, and two children, Helen and Grace, 
 have brightened their home. The family re- 
 side in a beautiful residence erected by Mr. 
 Weil in 1890, and are very popular in the so- 
 cial life of Mineral Point. Mr. Weil, is a 
 member of the Masonic fraternity, the I. O. 
 O. F., the K. of P., the I. O. F., the Knights 
 of the Globe, and the M. W. A.. 
 
 David Weil, father of Henry S. Weil, was 
 born in Prussia, but passed most of his boy- 
 hood and youth in London, England, where he 
 learned the trade of brushmaker. About 1848 
 he came to America, locating in St. Louis, 
 where he engaged in mercantile business, later, 
 about 1859, moving to Dubuque, Iowa, and 
 remaining there until 1878, when he moved to 
 Milwaukee, Wis. There he engaged in the 
 real-estate and insurance business, and he died 
 in that city in September, 1895, aged sixty- 
 seven. He married Theresa Loewenthal, who 
 was-ffiorn in Prussia, daughter of L. Loewen- 
 thal, a hotel-keeper in that country, and came 
 to America with her parents in 1849. Her 
 ther died in Chicago! at the age of ninety 
 years. 
 
 Joseph Jones, father of Mrs. Weil, was 
 
 born in Bedford county, Penn., March 6, 1818, 
 and died in Mineral Point in 1889. He came 
 West in 1834 with his step-father, Abner 
 Nichols, who kept the “Mansion House," the 
 leading hotel of the mining district, for some 
 years. This hotel was composed of several 
 log cabins joined together, and was famous 
 for the hospitality of the landlord, and the 
 many social gatherings held there. Mr. Jones 
 engaged in mining, and later kept a meat mar- 
 ket. He soon attained a prominent position 
 in local, affairs, held several offices, and at one 
 time was messenger of the Territorial Legis- 
 lature, appointed by Gov. James Doty. He 
 passed a year in California in 1850, but re- 
 turned to Mineral Point, where he was one of 
 the most popular of the pioneers. 
 
 GEORGE CULLEN. When we meet 
 early settlers of the great northwestern coun- 
 try we are pretty sure to find them most worthy 
 specimens of a worthy type — plain, sensible, 
 honest men, who have never begged favor, or 
 asked odds' in the game of life, and whose 
 strongest wish has seemed to be to stand square 
 with their fellows. A representative of one of 
 these honest tillers of the soil who assisted in 
 making Grant county, Wis., the prosperous 
 locality it now is, is George Cullen, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch. He was born in Chester 
 county, Penn., Nov. 25, 1841, son of Joseph 
 and Hannah (Waters) Cullen, of the Key- 
 stone State, the father born in Dublin, Ire- 
 land in 1806. 
 
 After marriage Joseph Cullen carried on 
 farming in Chester county, Penn., until 1843, 
 when he came to Wisconsin, and engaged in 
 work in the lead mines at Hazel Green, until, 
 in 1849, h e purchased a tract of wild land from 
 the government, in Smelser township, Grant 
 county, and settled upon it. Our subject now 
 resides upon this place, which was literally re- 
 claimed from the wilderness, and in this work 
 Mr. Cullen was ably assisted by his son. The 
 clearing up of a tract of wild land requires 
 strength, and persistent and steady labor for 
 a long time. Upon this farm Mr. Cullen passed 
 the remainder of his life, dying in 1891, his 
 wife passing away in 1866. Both were devout 
 members of the Catholic Church, he being one 
 of the founders of the church in Benton. In 
 his early life he was a Jacksonian Democrat, 
 but at the outbreak of the Civil war, oppos- 
 ing slavery, he became a stanch Republican. 
 
746 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In all his beliefs' ancl prejudices he was a 
 strong man ; fully convinced of right, he was 
 never afraid to follow his convictions. Three 
 children were born to this worthy couple: 
 George, our subject; Anna, born in Chester 
 county, Penn., who married Fred Hiel, and 
 now lives in Smelser, with a family of six chil- 
 dren ; and Hannah May, born in Chester coun- 
 ty, Penn., in 1843, who became the wife of 
 Henry Wiley, of Hamilton county, Iowa, 
 where she died Aug. 1, 1897, leaving six chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Our subject was reared on the farm, and 
 educated in Grant county, remaining at home, 
 and taking charge of the farm at his parents’ 
 death. He knew all the deprivations of pio- 
 neer life when a lad. In 1870 he was married 
 to Miss Mary E. Quick, of Grant county, a 
 daughter of Joseph and Isabel (Clark) Quick. 
 Joseph Quick was born in Virginia in 1821, 
 his wife in Tennessee in 1825, and after their 
 marriage, which took place in Kentucky, they 
 located in Big Patch, Wis., remaining there 
 until 1851, when they removed to the farm ad- 
 joining that of our subject. There Mr. Quick 
 died in August, 1877, and his wife in 1875. 
 Mrs. Cullen was educated in Grant county, 
 where she grew to be an estimable young 
 woman. 
 
 Mr. Cullen lived on the old homestead, in 
 the old house, until 1893, when he erected the 
 fine modern dwelling which reflects great 
 credit to his taste, and makes a delightful home 
 for his family. Much of his attention has 
 been given to fine stock, and in every way he 
 has been successful, and deems this part of 
 the great State of Wisconsin the garden spot. 
 To him and his wife a large family has been 
 born : Lavinda, born in Smelser in 1871, mar- 
 ried Wesley John, and has two children, Ret- 
 ta and Mary. Joseph H., born in 1872, mar- 
 ried Miss Mildred Johns, resides on a farm 
 in Wisconsin, and has two children, Ethel and 
 Delvin. John E., born in December, 1873, 
 married Miss Sarah Clayton, and resides on 
 a farm. George E., born in 1876, resides on 
 the farm. Nettie E., born in 187Q, married 
 William Johns, who is a hotel-keeper in George- 
 town. Hubert O. was born in March, 1884. 
 Leland, born in 1885, died! in infancy. How- 
 ard A. was born July 3, 1887; Melvin H., in 
 1889: and Roscoe E., in 1892. The younger 
 sons all attend the home school. 
 
 Politically Mr. Cullen has always been 
 
 identified with the Republican party, and he 
 has served as a member of the town board of 
 Smelser for many years. Mrs. Cullen is a con- 
 sistent member of the M. E. Church. Mr. 
 Cullen is associated with the I. O. O. F. and 
 George and Joseph Cullen are members of the 
 Order of Woodmen. The family possesses 
 the esteem of all the residents of Smelser 
 township. In it are connected a number of 
 prominent old pioneer families, and it is a rep- 
 resentative one, without a record of which no 
 history of Grant county would be complete. 
 
 L. H. TREGLOWN, M. D., a popular and 
 highly respected physician, whose home is in 
 the village of Arthur, in the towm of Lima, 
 Grant county, was born at Linden, Iowa Co., 
 Wis., Oct. 11, 1878, and is a son of Henry 
 and Mary (Crase) Treglown, who were na- 
 tives of England. 
 
 The father of our subject was born in 
 1824, and the mother in 1835. In their native 
 country they reached maturity, and came when 
 young people to Iowa county, Wis., where they 
 married and settled over forty years ago. Two 
 years after their marriage the young husband 
 left his wife in Wisconsin and crossed the 
 Plains to California, making the journey with 
 an ox-team. Mr. Treglown came back in a 
 few years, and subsecpiently made the same 
 journey twice, with horses. Returning to his 
 home in Linden, Wis., he followed- mining, 
 and also worked in Montana, where he met 
 with fair success. They have a fine home, 
 where he lives retired. Mr. Treglown is a 
 stanch Republican, and with his wife belongs 
 to the Methodist Church. To them were born 
 a family of ten children : ( 1 ) Alfred, born in 
 
 Iowa county, married Miss Julia Vial, of Lin- 
 den, and moved to the copper mines of Michi- 
 gan, where he was a miner until 1899. That 
 year he went to California for his health, but 
 too late for any benefit, and he died in Febru- 
 ary, 1900, leaving a wife and four children, 
 three of whom are married. His widow and 
 Phillip, Edith and Alvie, live in Butte, Mont. 
 Annie married Robert Hancock, and lives in 
 California. Alfred Treglown was a member 
 of the Masonic fraternity for twenty-five years'. 
 (2) Jennie is the wife of Thomas Jeffrey, of 
 Linden. Their children are Ray, Ella, Ocea 
 and Glenn. (3) William married Miss Emma 
 J. Hosking, of Colorado, and purchased a home 
 in Linden, where he lived for some years. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 747 
 
 He then moved to Montana, where his wife 
 died, in Butte, in 1895, leaving three children, 
 Mamie, Willie and Maud. Mr. Treglown later 
 married Mrs. Richards, of Dodgeville, Wis., 
 and they now reside in Butte, Mont., where he 
 is engaged in mining. (4) Olivia, born in 
 1858, married Thomas Faull, and is living in 
 Linden, where they are rearing a family of 
 eight children, Willie, Pearl, Maud, Clyde, 
 Laura, Ernest, Roscoe, and Glenn. (5) Fred- 
 erick A., born i860, married Miss Maggie 
 Duggan, of Calumet, Mich., to which union 
 were born five children, and is now living in 
 Iron Mountain, Mich. Mr. Treglown is ex- 
 tensively interested in business at Butte, Mont. 
 (6) Etta, born in 1862, obtained her educa- 
 tion at the home schools, and is now living in 
 Milwaukee; she is unmarried. (7) Allie, born 
 in 1867, is the wife of Morris Moriarty, of 
 Fond du Lac, Wis., and they reside in 
 Champion, Mich., where he is engaged in 
 business. The children of this' union are 
 Walter, Ella and Jack. (8) Walter was born 
 in Iowa county, Wis., is unmarried, and has a 
 livery stable at Calumet, Mich. (9) Alden, 
 born in 1873, married Miss Millie Smith, and 
 is now a resident of Butte, Mont., where he 
 is working in a printing office. There is one 
 daughter in his family. 
 
 Dr. Treglown received his elementary ed- 
 ucation in the home schools, and read medicine 
 with Dr. Stull, of Linden, for half a year. In 
 Keokuk, Iowa, he took a medical course, and 
 a course of dentistry in the Iowa State Uni- 
 versity, graduating from the Keokuk Medical 
 College in 1896. His first practice was at 
 Linden, and for eight months he was at 
 Champion, Mich. After that he established 
 himself at Arthur, and is building up a fine 
 clientele. He is regarded as a bright and capa- 
 ble young physician, with a good knowledge 
 of his profession, and well up in all modern 
 and progressive ideas. 
 
 Dr. Treglown and Miss Lillian Heathcock 
 were married in December, 1898. Mrs. Treg- 
 lown is the daughter of Thomas and Eliza- 
 beth Heathcock, old pioneers of English de- 
 scent, who are still living in Linden. She was 
 born in December, 1875, and was educated in 
 the schools of Iowa county. 
 
 Dr. Treglown is a Republican, and is health 
 officer of the town of Lima. The Doctor be- 
 longs to Washburn Lodge, No. 228, I. O. O. 
 F., is a charter member of Camp No. 5638, 
 
 M. W. of A., at Rewey, Wis., and is also 
 affiliated with the Masonic fraternity at Rewey. 
 Though a young man he is a capable physi- 
 cian, and has met with a surprising success 
 since coming to his present location. 
 
 JAMES D. ROGERS, farmer, town of 
 Smelser, Grant county, Wisconsin. 
 
 A. M. EIDSMORE holds an enviable po- 
 sition as a capable and progressive young farm- 
 er in the town of York, Green county, where 
 he 'resides on his handsome and well appointed 
 farm. The place comprises 162 acres in Sec- 
 tions 10 and 15, six miles east of Blanchard- 
 ville. 
 
 M. O. and Anna (Helland) Eidsmoe, his 
 parents, were born in Norway, and came to 
 Dane county, _Wis., in 1855. Two years later 
 they removed to the farm in the town of York 
 where their son A. M. is now found. They 
 had the following children: O. M., a public- 
 
 school teacher of Dane conuty, married Mary 
 Helland; G. O. is deceased: Tul.ia is the wife 
 of a Mr. Peterson, formerly of the town of 
 Moscow, Iowa county, now of Wausau, Wis.; 
 M. M. is in the town of Moscow, Iowa county ; 
 A. M., whose name appears above, is our sub- 
 ject proper. M. O. Eidsmoe is now living in 
 the town of Moscow, at the age of seventy- 
 eight years ; his wife is six years younger. 
 They came to this country very poor, but they 
 prospered, and at one time owned over 200 
 acres of land. Mr. Eidsmoe was a soldier in 
 his home country, and in 1861, when the first 
 call for troops was made, he was the first man 
 in his town to enlist, becoming a member of 
 Company I, 15th Wis. V. I.. serving through- 
 out the war, and being mustered out in 1865. 
 In politics he is a Democrat, and in religion a 
 member of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 A. M. Eidsmore, whose career is the theme 
 of this writing, was born Dec. 15, 1863, and 
 was reared on the farm in York township, re- 
 ceiving his education in the local schools. 
 Mr. Eidsmore was married Oct. 12, 1889, to 
 Miss Caroline Ryer, whose parents, Andrew 
 and Mary Ryer, were natives of Norway, and 
 were numbered among the earliest settlers of 
 Green county. To this union were born : Paul 
 G.. July 14, 1890; Merton W., Aug. 21, 1892; 
 Hector L., April 14, 1895; Constance A., July 
 19, 1897; Florence L., June 20, 1899. Mrs. 
 Eidsmore was born March 25, 1869, one of a 
 
7 4-8 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 family of six children: (i) Mary, the wife 
 
 of William Ivey, of the town of Moscow; 
 (2) Sarah, the wife of Andrew Rye, of Min- 
 nesota; (3) Isabella, (4) Amelia, and (5) 
 Ella, all three unmarried; and (6) Caroline, 
 Mrs. Eidsmore. 
 
 Mr. Eidsmore is one of the leading men. 
 in his town, where he takes a prominent part 
 in the councils of the Democratic party, hav- 
 ing been member of the Democratic county 
 committee, and national precinct representa- 
 tive. He has served on the town board, has 
 been judge of elections, school director, and 
 justice of the peace, and in the campaign of 
 1898 was a candidate on the Democratic ticket 
 for the position of register of deeds in Green 
 county. Mr. Eidsmore owes his present com- 
 fortable condition to his own exertions, as he 
 had to depend on himself when he began life. 
 He now owns a fine place, supplied with all 
 the modern requisites for profitable farming. 
 Devoting his farm to general purposes, he yet 
 gives special attention to dairying, and is the 
 president of a cooperative cheese company, 
 whose factory is on his farm. 
 
 In his- religious affiliations Mr. Eidsmore 
 is a member of the Lutheran Church, and in 
 his career exemplifies the influence of a high 
 moral character and strong* convictions. In 
 every walk of his active and useful life he has 
 proved himself genuine and upright. In his 
 domestic relations he is a good husband and 
 a kind father, and in the community he is a 
 broad and progressive man, standing for the 
 best ideals of American citizenship, and giving 
 his influence to measures and enterprises that 
 look to the public good. 
 
 F. W. MARCUSSEN, the popular and ris- 
 ing young hardware merchant of Platteville, 
 Grant county, was born in the northern part 
 of Germany, in May, 1861, and is a son of 
 M. H. M. and Marguerite Marcussen, who still 
 have their home in the Fatherland. 
 
 F. W. Marcussen was educated in the com- 
 mon schools of his native country, and was 
 reared on a farm. In 1878 he came to Amer- 
 ica, first locating near Davenport, Iowa, where, 
 he worked three years as a farm hand for an 
 uncle, C. D. Marcussen, and in 1882 went to 
 Victor, same State, and was again employed 
 on a farm for three years. He then returned 
 to Davenport, and worked for W. P. Bissell, 
 in the hardware trade, until 1888, receiving 
 
 thorough instruction in the business. From 
 Davenport he went to Sioux City, still in the 
 employ of Mr. Bissell, who had an extensive 
 wholesale hardware store in that city. In June, 
 1890, Mr. Marcussen came from Sioux City 
 to Platteville, Wis., purchased the stock of 
 John F. Seubert, and engaged in the hardware 
 business on his own account, in which lie has 
 met with the most flattering success up to the 
 present time. 
 
 In 1889 Mr. Marcussen was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Hannah Bevers, the accom- 
 plished daughter of J. N. and Hannah Bevers, 
 an old pioneer family of Platteville, of German 
 origin, although Mrs. Marcussen was born, 
 educated and reared to womanhood in Platte- 
 ville. To this union one daughter and one 
 son, Ida and Edward (twins), were born in 
 Sioux City in 1890; they are now attending 
 school in Platteville. Mr. and' Mrs'. Marcus- 
 sen are members of the Lutheran Church, to 
 the support of which they are liberal contrib- 
 utors ; fraternally Mr. Marcussen is a mem- 
 ber of the F. & A. M., Melody Lodge, No. 2, 
 of Platteville, and politically he is a Demo- 
 crat. 
 
 Mr. Marcussen began life in his adopted 
 country a poor boy, but by his industry, econ- 
 omy and strictly business habits has brought 
 himself to the front as a leading merchant. 
 His extensive store is stocked with everything 
 in domestic and imported shelf and heavy hard- 
 ware, and similar articles usually found in 
 such establishments, for Mr. Marcussen thor- 
 oughly understands the business, and is al- 
 ways affable, obliging and anxious to please 
 his customers. As a citizen he is highly re- 
 spected, and in society he and wife mingle 
 with the best people in Platteville. 
 
 SEVER O. SEVERSON, who is known 
 as one of the most progressive and successful 
 young farmers of Jordan township, Green 
 county, was born in Manitowoc county, Wis., 
 Jan. 1, 1868, and he is a typical representative 
 of the up-to-date agricultural element of south- 
 western Wisconsin. 
 
 Ole Severson, father of our subject, was 
 born in 1818, in Hallingdal, Norway, and re- 
 mained in his native land until 1850. Having 
 concluded that if he would better his fortunes 
 he must make a start somewhere elsej he de- 
 termined to come to the United States', and, 
 after working industriously and saving for 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7 49 
 
 some time to accumulate enough to pay his 
 passage, he embarked for America on a sail- 
 ing vessel used as a cotton freighter. The 
 ocean voyage took seventeen weeks, during 
 which time they were nearly shipwrecked sev- 
 eral times, and their provisions' gave out, so 
 that they almost starved before reaching port. 
 After land Mr. Severson came West immedi- 
 ately, reaching Milwaukee, Wis., in about a 
 week, and he made his first location in Mani- 
 towoc county, and in 1880 located in Green 
 county, buying land in Jordan township on his 
 settlement here, which he cultivated until the 
 close of his life. In 1862 Mr. Severson mar- 
 ried Mrs. Bertha (Ouala) Agern, and two chil- 
 dren were born to their union, Rachel and 
 Sever O. The daughter, born June 24, 1864, 
 married Marcus Iverson, of Marathon county, 
 ,Wis., and they have five children, Iver, Oscar, 
 Alfred,* Earl and Earnest. Ole Severson passed 
 away March 12, 1889, his wife preceding him 
 to the better land June 7, 1878. Mrs. Sever- 
 son was buried in Yalders cemetery, Manito- 
 woc Co., Wis., while Mr. Severson was buried 
 in the Norwegian cemetery in Jordan town- 
 ship, Green county. He was a member of the 
 Lutheran Church, and a Republican in po- 
 litical sentiment. Sever Severson, father of 
 Ole, passed his entire life in Norway. 
 
 Mrs. Bertha (Ouala) Severson was born 
 in Norway, and there married Knudt Agern, 
 by whom she had six children, viz. : Ole, who 
 is a farmer in Pierce county, Wis. ; Thomas, 
 who is in business in Fergus Falls, Minn. ; 
 John, of Lake Geneva, Wis., who is in the em- 
 ploy of C. C. Boyle, of Chicago ; Caroline, 
 deceased wife of Erick Johnson, of Chicago; 
 Bertha, wife of Ole Rollendson, of Battle 
 Lake, Minn. ; and Emma, who died unmarried. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Agern came to America in an 
 early day and settled in Wisconsin. He was 
 drowned in the Manitowoc river, while cross- 
 ing on the ice. 
 
 Sever O. Severson was reared on the home 
 farm, received his education in the public 
 schools of the locality, and when old enough 
 to choose his life work decided on farming, 
 for which, and its various branches, he pos- 
 sesses decided ability. In addition to general 
 agricultural pursuits he has engaged in dairy 
 farming and the creamery business', and has 
 met with unvarying success in all his undertak- 
 ings, proving himself a man of sound judg- 
 ment and a capable manager. Recently he 
 
 sold the old place, a highly improved farm, to 
 Adolph Mier, receiving $9,800 for the tract, 
 though his father paid but $1,600 for it, and 
 the difference in value is sufficient testimony 
 of the attention the land received from our 
 subject and his father. Mr. Severson now re- 
 sides on a farm of fifty-three acres in Jordan 
 which he purchased, and he has also bought 
 the Ned. Trickel farm, in Cadiz township, 
 Green county, located three-quarters of a mile 
 north of Browntown, paying $7,700 for that 
 property. Lie ranks high among the thrifty, 
 well-to-do farmers of his section, and bids fair 
 to keep unsullied the honorable name which his 
 father made in the community. 
 
 On Nov. 5, 1 89 1, Mr. Severson was united 
 in marriage with Miss Rachel Thorson, who 
 was born Aug. 25, 1863, in Jordan township, 
 daughter of Knudt and Sarah (Everson) 
 Thorson, early settlers of Jordan township, 
 where Mr. Thorson became a well-to-do farm- 
 er. Two children have been born to our sub- 
 ject and his wife: Raymond, on Oct. 28, 
 
 1892; and Selma, on Jan. 23, 1895. Mr. Sever- 
 son is a member of the Lutheran Church. In 
 political, opinion he is a Republican, but he 
 uses his ballot in support of principle, not of 
 party. He has served as school director and 
 member of the township board, and in the dis- 
 charge of the duties connected with those in- 
 cumbencies showed a high order of citizenship. 
 He is a good neighbor and a firm friend, and 
 is liked as well as respected by all who know 
 him. 
 
 REV. SYLVESTER J. DOWLING. In 
 material things the degree of success attained 
 is measured by the concentration required to 
 attain it, but who can estimate the success that 
 comes from a life consecrated to the uplifting 
 of mankind? All personal aims and ambitions 
 laid aside, every energy of body and mind di- 
 rected in one all-absorbing passion — the de- 
 velopment and consequent elevation of the 
 spiritual life in his fellow men ! That is the life 
 of a priest, a man called by the Master Himself, 
 and of such is Rev. Father Dowling, of 
 Argyle, whose patience, devotion, and sincerity 
 have endeared him not alone to the members' 
 of his own parish, but to all. who know him. 
 
 Rev. Sylvester J. Dowling is a native of 
 the State of Wisconsin, and was born at 
 Racine Se'pt. 6, 1872, a son of Sylvester Dow- 
 ling, long since deceased,. and his wife, Maria 
 
750 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Hughes, the daughter of a pioneer of Racine, 
 who huilt the second house in that city. Our 
 subject >vas one of a family of eight children, 
 seven of whom are yet living: John C., a 
 
 resident of Chicago; Edward F., an architect 
 of Chicago ; Anna, who makes her home with 
 our subject; Agnes, an artist of exceptional 
 ability, with a studio in Milwaukee; and Clara 
 and Alice, at home. Father Dowling ob- 
 tained his early education in the public schools 
 at home, and in September, 1887, entered St. 
 Francis Seminary, near Milwaukee, where he 
 remained nine years. His ordination took 
 place June 21, 1896, the service being con- 
 ducted by Archbishop Katzer. During the 
 time he was at the Seminary his' mother moved 
 to Milwaukee, and there he celebrated his first 
 mass a few days after the impressive ceremony 
 that had made him a priest in the Roman 
 Catholic Church. His first appointment was 
 at Whitewater, Wis., where he acted as as- 
 sistant to Rev. Father Fitzgibbon, and on the 
 death of that esteemed pastor, in January, 1897, 
 was appointed his successor. In August, 1897, 
 he was transferred to St. Patrick’s Church, 
 Milwaukee, as assistant to Rev. Father Fair- 
 banks, and in August, 1898, received the ap- 
 pointment at Argyle. 
 
 At the time Father Dowling received the 
 appointment to Argyle there was no church 
 there; the large number of Catholic families 
 in the vicinity had been attending St. Francis 
 Church, in Adams, Green Co., Wis., a little 
 town about five miles east. Upon Father 
 Dowling’s arrival, in 1898, he immediately be- 
 gan making preparations for the erection of a 
 church building, and so promptly did the peo- 
 ple respond to his solicitations, and so ener- 
 getically did he work, that in October, 1899, 
 the present beautiful and commodious edifice 
 was dedicated, the services being conducted by 
 Rev. Dean Eugene McGinnity, of Janesville, 
 Whs. The original cost of the building was 
 $4,000, and it is tastefully decorated and fur- 
 nished. Since then a modern equipped home 
 for the priest has been purchased, and the 
 grounds of all finely improved, the whole 
 amount expended being about $10,000. When 
 St. Joseph’s 1 church was erected, at Argyle, the 
 church at Adams, in Green county, formerly 
 attended by the Argyle parishioners, was at- 
 tached to Argyle as a mission. Father Dow- 
 ling is now engaged in the erection of a new 
 church at Adams, which, when completed, will 
 
 cost $5,000, but the money is on hand, and 
 the people will not be burdened with debt of 
 any description. The financial condition of 
 his Argyle parish is good, the parish being en- 
 tirely free from debt. 
 
 Among the societies of the church are the 
 “Altar Society,” the “Children of St. Mary,” 
 and the “Choir Society.” In the last named 
 there are twenty-one voices', all trained by the 
 Father himself, who has made a specialty of 
 music, and who possesses a remarkably sweet- 
 toned voice. Father Dowling is a devoted and 
 earnest temperance worker, and has organized 
 societies in this line in both Argyle and Adams, 
 the Society of Total Abstainers at Argyle num- 
 bering fifty-one members, and at Adams, 
 eighty-three members. His work in temper- 
 ance is strictly non-sectarian, and many of the 
 members are Protestants. 
 
 Father Dowling is broad-minded, charitable 
 and public-spirited, and, while ardently at- 
 tached to the Church of Rome, his nobility of 
 character has won him the esteem of all sects, 
 and the respect of all men. 
 
 CHRISTIAN VINGER stands well 
 among the prosperous and wealthy young 
 citizens of the town of York, Green county, 
 where he was born Nov. 3, 1864, a son of Gul- 
 brand G. Vinger, who now resides in Argyle, 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Gulbrand G. Vinger was born Jan. 2, 1830, 
 in Norway, and came to this country in 1850, 
 being the first member of his family to emi- 
 grate to the United States. He has since 
 made his home in Green and Lafayette coun- 
 ties, Wis., occupied in farming. During his 
 first five years here he worked out, in 1855 
 homesteading and buying from the govern- 
 ment the 400 acres now included in the origi- 
 nal Vinger homestead, which he yet operates. 
 In 1855 Mr. Vinger married Martha Carlson, 
 and to them were born twelve children : 
 Gust and Lewis, both of Argyle ; Christ, de- 
 ceased; Edward, of the town of Adams, where 
 he is engaged in farming; Martin, who is de- 
 ceased ; Christian, whose name introduces this 
 article ; Oliver, a merchant of Argyle ; Brown, 
 of the town of York; Henry, of Lafayette 
 county; Theodore, a farmer of Argyle town- 
 ship; Matilda, wife of Nim Nelson, a merchant 
 in the village of Argyle; and Caroline, the 
 wife of Nels Nelson. Gulhrand G. Vinger 
 served as a soldier in the Union army during 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7 5i 
 
 the Civil war, making a record as a gallant 
 and loyal son of his adopted country. He is 
 now retired, enjoying the fruits of a useful and 
 well-spent life. 
 
 Christian Vinger has his home on Section 
 34, York township, six miles east of Blanchard- 
 vil.le, and sixteen miles northwest of Monroe, 
 his being a large and attractive farm of 334 
 acres, with a new dwelling, and farm build- 
 ings ample to the demand, and provided with 
 all the requisites for modern and progressive 
 farming. 
 
 Mr. Vinger and Miss Carrie Mann were 
 married March 15, 1888, and to this union 
 came two children: Melvin, born March 14, 
 
 1889, and Clarence, born Aug. 19, 1891. 
 Mrs. Vinger was born Oct. 28, 1869, and died 
 March 15, 1901, regretted by all who knew 
 her. She was one of the following family, 
 all four of whom lived to maturity: Andrew, 
 
 who is deceased ; Olena, who married Edward 
 Vinger, and died in 1900; Carrie, noted above 
 as the wife of Christian Vinger; and Mattie, 
 living at home with her parents in the town of 
 Adams, who is the only one of this family now 
 surviving. Mrs. Vinger was a noble and 
 high-minded young woman, of charming 
 Christian character, and was kind and good 
 to all. Her loss was a great affliction to Mr. 
 Vinger and his children, and her memory will 
 long survive in their hearts and in the remem- 
 brance of her many friends. 
 
 Mr. Vinger is a stanch Republican, has 
 served on the town board, and filled other town 
 offices as well, being at the present time one 
 of the leading farmer citizens of the town, 
 where his reputation is very high by reason of 
 his good character and moral habits. In re- 
 ligion he is a Lutheran, and is devoted to his 
 church, of which he is a valuable factor. 
 
 SHANNON W. WARWICK is one of 
 the leading farmers of Wyalusing township, 
 and a worthy representative of an honored 
 pioneer family of Grant county. 
 
 William C. Warwick, his father, was born 
 near Hamilton, Butler Co., Ohio, June 17, 
 1816, and on reaching manhood was there mar- 
 ried, in 1843, 1 ° Miss Nancy Longfellow, who 
 was also born near Hamilton, Nov. 15, 1822, 
 a daughter of Jacob G. and Mary S. Longfel- 
 low, and a cousin of the illustrious poet, Henry 
 W. Longfellow. In 1S46 William C. War- 
 wick, with his wife and two small children, 
 
 Walter D. and Shannon W., left Ohio with the 
 intention of making his home farther West. 
 Traveling in those early days was slow and 
 tedious. Their course after reaching the Mis- 
 sissippi river was up that stream by steam- 
 boat to Galena, and, with the team brought 
 with them, they then drove across the country 
 to Lancaster, Grant Co., Wis., which place at 
 that time was a small village, with but few 
 inhabitants. Mr. Warwick located on Blake's 
 Prairie, where he opened up a farm, being one 
 of the first to settle there. Later he sold that 
 place to a Mr. Weed, and bought another farm, 
 near Bloomington, finally removing to that 
 village, where he died in August, 1885. He 
 had learned the miller’s trade in Ohio, and 
 when the mil] was erected at Blooming-ton 
 he was induced 1 to take charge of the same, 
 being the first to operate it. He possessed 
 a thorough knowledge of the milling business, 
 and it was a fortunate thing for the community 
 in those early days that so able a miller was to 
 be found among the pioneers. Mr. Warwick 
 was an industrious and capable citizen, and 
 left an enviable record for honesty and upright- 
 ness of character as an inheritance to his chil- 
 dren. He was especially well known for his 
 kindness of heart and liberality, and seldom 
 or never said an unkind word of any one. His 
 worthy wife survived him, and passed away 
 March 19, 1888. She was of a kind and af- 
 fectionate nature, ever ready to help those in 
 need, and was a devoted wife and mother, and 
 a worthy partner of her honored husband. 
 They were the parents of ten children, seven 
 of whom are living at the present writing 
 (1900), but only two are residents of Grant 
 county: Shannon W., our subject; and Mrs. 
 
 Minnie R. Fox, of Bloomington, Wisconsin. 
 
 Shannon W. Warwick was born in Ohio 
 Sept. 11, 1846. and was only a few weeks old 
 when brought by his parents to Wisconsin. He 
 was reared in Bloomington, and educated in 
 the public schools of that place, and early be- 
 came familiar with the work of the farm, also 
 gaining some knowledge of the milling busi- 
 ness by assisting his father in the mill. His 
 brother Walter D. thoroughly learned the mill- 
 er’s trade with the father; lie died a number of 
 years ago. 
 
 On Nov. 1. 1877, Shannon W. Warwick 
 married Maggie L. Mahood, who was born 
 in Lancaster, Wis., May 3, 1858, a daughter 
 of Charles and Margaret (Parker) Mahood, 
 
752 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 pioneers of Grant county. The Parkers lo- 
 cated here about 1845. Mr. Mahood died in 
 1866, but his widow still survives, and con- 
 tinues to make her home in Lancaster. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Warwick have four children, namely : 
 Charlotte E., wife of George S. Glenn ; Mary 
 A. ; Kittie F. ; and Lou L. They have spent 
 their entire married life on the farm in Wya- 
 lusing township, where they now reside, and 
 are numbered among the highly esteemed and 
 valued citizens of that locality. They have a 
 comfortable home and a well-improved and 
 valuable farm. 
 
 MATTHEW MURPHY, lawyer and sur- 
 veyor of Benton, Lafayette county, was born 
 in St. Louis, Mo., Jan. 4, 1826. He is a son of 
 Dennis and Eliza (Broughelton) Murphy, the 
 father born in Ireland in 1800, and the mother 
 in Allegheny county, Penn., in 1808. 
 
 Dennis Murphy came to this country in 
 1820, and was married in Pennsylvania sev- 
 eral years later. After his marriage he moved 
 with his wife to Louisville, Ky., and very soon 
 came to Wisconsin, as early as 1827 making 
 his appearance in the town of Benton, where 
 he purchased a tract of land on which he built 
 the first sawmill in this section of the State. 
 A few years later he added a flouring-mill, us- 
 ing the same power for both. He was' one 
 of the early pioneers, and a prominent man in 
 his day. He owned wide tracts of land, grad- 
 ually became very prosperous, and here spent 
 his life, dying in 1870. In religion he was a 
 Catholic, and he was one of the builders of the 
 first church erected in this part of the country. 
 His first wife died at their home in 1842, 
 leaving him four children, and he subsequently 
 married a lady of Lafayette county, by which 
 union there were two children, one of whom, 
 Mrs. John Morgan, is living in Iowa. The 
 other died some years ago. ( 1 ) Matthew is 
 the eldest of the children born to the first 
 marriage. (2) Mary, Mrs. Pardee, lives in 
 Iowa. (3) Rebecca is the widow of John 
 Malone, and lives in Dubuque, Iowa. (4) 
 Daniel, born in Lafaj^ette county, died when 
 a young man of twenty-two years, under tfie 
 parental roof. Mr. and Mrs. Murphy are well 
 remembered for their kindly spirit and open- 
 hearted hospitality; their home was always 
 open to the stranger. During the Black Hawk 
 war he was a soldier in Gen. Armstrong’s 
 
 regiment, and his early life was full of hard- 
 ship and adventure. 
 
 Matthew Murphy obtained his early edu- 
 cation in the Galena schools, and when a young 
 man took up the study of law, which was his 
 calling for many years, and in which he did 
 remarkably well. He also learned surveying, 
 and for more than forty years he has ever 
 been ready to assist in the more accurate com- 
 putation of areas. During these years lie has 
 dealt largely in mining stock and real estate, 
 and has gradually become one of the wealthiest 
 men of his section. Mr. Murphy was always a 
 hard-working and active business man, de- 
 termined to keep everything in which he had 
 an interest going at full speed. For ten years 
 or more he was interested in a store in Benton, 
 under the firm name of Murphy & Horr. 
 Since 1888 Mr. Murphy has been retired from 
 active life, and makes his home in Benton, 
 where he owns a large amount of real estate. 
 From early manhood Mr. Murphy has taken 
 an active interest in the political affairs of 
 the county. He was .chairman of the county 
 board, and was a delegate to the State con- 
 vention on several occasions. All the local 
 offices of the town have, at one time or another, 
 been filled by him. 
 
 Mr. Murphy has never married, but his life 
 .has been open and helpful to his community, 
 where his acts of charity are well, known. 
 Fraternally he is a Mason, and was instru- 
 mental in the establishment of the order in this 
 part of the State as early as 1842. In 1894, 
 when the State Bank of Benton was established, 
 Mr. Murphy became one of its officers and 
 stockholders, with Judge Orton as president, 
 and J. Buchan as cashier. It does an ex- 
 tensive business. Mr. Murphy is one of the 
 wealthy and influential citizens of Lafayette 
 county, where his residence dates from 1828, 
 making him one of the oldest business men in 
 this part of the State. His manly qualities 
 and kindly spirit have given him a place in the 
 hearts of the people which will long remain 
 to him. 
 
 FIERMAN VOGEL, of Cassville, Grant 
 county, was born in Cassville Dec. 22, 1862, 
 and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Hanbach) 
 Vogel, both natives of Germany, the former 
 born in Bavaria, the latter in Wurtemberg. 
 On coming to the New World the father first 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7 53 
 
 located in Pittsburg, Penn., whence he re- 
 moved to Indianapolis, Ind., later to Montrose, 
 and in 1854 settled in Dubuque, Iowa. A year 
 later he became a resident of Cassville, Wis., 
 and, being a butcher by trade, he opened a 
 meat market at that place, which he conducted 
 with good success for many years. He died 
 in Cassville in 1889, respected by all who knew 
 him; in fact, no more honorable man ever 
 lived. His estimable wife, who still survives 
 him, continues to make her home at that place. 
 Of the four children born to them, three are 
 living, namely : Elizabeth, at home ; Her- 
 
 man; and John, a resident of Iowa. 
 
 Herman Vogel passed the days of his boy- 
 hood and youth in his native town, and is in- 
 debted to its public schools for his educational 
 advantages. On starting out in life for him- 
 self he was engaged in the meat market busi- 
 ness with his father until 1889, when he em- 
 barked in business' as a dealer in groceries and 
 dry goods. 
 
 G. W. GEHRAND, principal of the Bos- 
 cobel High School, Boscobel, Grant county, 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 HENRY SYLVANUS ANDERSON, 
 merchant and postmaster at Bergen, Rock 
 county, was appointed by President McKinley, 
 his appointment bearing date of March 29, 
 1898, and the name of Postmaster-General 
 James H. Gray. 
 
 Mr. Anderson was born in Racine county, 
 Wis., in 1864, and is still a young man, with 
 his life before him. He received his educa- 
 tion in the old stone school house still standing 
 in Le Roy, 111 ., leaving school, however, at an 
 early age, and he worked on his father’s farm 
 from his fourteenth to his twenty-fourth year. 
 His first business venture was made at Ash- 
 land, Wis., where he set up a grocery business, 
 catering especially to the needs of the lumber 
 camps. He was engaged there for two years, 
 selling out in order to take a place as fireman 
 on the Great Northern railroad, and had a run 
 out of St. Paul, which he held for five years. 
 In 1897 Mr. Anderson came to Bergen, and 
 bought a property consisting of a general store 
 and three acres of land in the corner of the State 
 Line and Clinton streets. He has carried on 
 this business with marked success - , and built 
 up a trade that promises still larger results in 
 the near future. 
 
 48 
 
 On Oct. 7, 1892, Mr. Anderson married 
 Miss Ann Emilia Skofstad, a daughter of Ole 
 and Annie Melinda (Anderson) Skofstad, 
 farming people in Boone county, 111 . Mr. and 
 Mrs. Anderson are the parents of two chil- 
 dren, Peter Sylvanus and Ann Melinda. He 
 belongs to Lodge No. 92, I. O. O. F., at St. 
 Cloud, Minn., where he joined the order in 
 1894; and to the camp of the Modern Wood- 
 men of America at Clinton, Wis. He is a Re- 
 publican, and in religious connection is a con- 
 sistent member of the Norwegian Lutheran 
 Church, having been christened and confirmed 
 by Rev. Ole Andrewson, whose biography ap- 
 pears elsewhere. 
 
 Peter Anderson, the father of Henry Syl- 
 vanus, was born in Norway Dec. 4, 1817, and 
 died at his home in Boone county, 111 ., April 
 20, 1898. He was a farmer, and a man of 
 more than usual force of character. His wife, 
 Sonva, born in 1822, in Norway, died in En- 
 glewood, Chicago, in 1900, and her remains are 
 interred in Bergen, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Ander- 
 son came to this country in 1849, after a voyage 
 of sixteen weeks on the ocean in a sailing-ves- 
 sel. They landed at New York, and went from 
 there to Albany, making the journey from that 
 point to Buffalo by the canal, and from Buffalo 
 to Milwaukee by the Great Lakes. They set- 
 tled in Yorkville, Racine Co., Wis., living 
 there until 1868, when they moved to the 
 Boone county homestead. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were the parents 
 of nine children. Their eldest son, Peter, en- 
 listed in the Union army as a member of Com- 
 pany C, 15th Wis. V. I., and re-enlisted as a 
 veteran in 1864. He served throughout the 
 war, was discharged, and died in 1879. Ole, 
 their second son, died the same year. Mary 
 Ann married C. E. Powers. Martin, the third 
 son, lives on the family homestead. Henry 
 S., the gentleman whose name begins this ar- 
 ticle, is the youngest child of the family. 
 Four of the children died at an early age, three 
 being carried off by a cholera visitation that 
 swept through this country. 
 
 FRANK WOODWARD METCALF. 
 Rarely do the electors of a county, by popular 
 ballot, secure for an office of grave public trust 
 an incumbent so thoroughly qualified — through 
 ability, experience and devotion to his work — - 
 as did the voters of Iowa county when they 
 chose Mr. Metcalf superintendent of county 
 
754 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 .schools. As yet a young man of twenty-five 
 years, he has already won a wide reputation 
 as an educator, and has made his impress felt 
 upon the school system of the county. His 
 parents, George and Sarah (Woodward) Met- 
 calf, were of English birth, having been born 
 in the County of York. Both are numbered 
 among those who have passed away, Mrs. 
 Metcalf dying Sept. 8, 1890, and her husband 
 in February, 1899. She was taken by her par- 
 ents, while a young girl, to County Wicklow, 
 Ireland, and thence the family emigrated to 
 America, settling in Highland township, Iowa 
 Co., Wis. They were among the early set- 
 tlers there, and both were held in high esteem 
 for their many admirable qualities of mind and 
 soul. 
 
 Frank W. Metcalf is one of a family of 
 seven children, and was born in Wyoming 
 township, Iowa county, Oct. 8, 1875. After 
 graduating from the public schools he matricu- 
 lated at the State University, at Madison, and 
 after a year's attendance at that institution 
 entered the State Normal School, at White- 
 water, graduating therefrom in 1898, after one 
 year’s attendance. He began his work as a 
 teacher as early as 1893, and was for two years 
 principal of public schools at Mifflin. There 
 his success was so pronounced that in 1898 he 
 received the Republican nomination for the 
 county superintendency, and was triumphantly 
 elected to that position, than which in view of 
 its perplexing problems and its far-reaching 
 influence no county office is of greater im- 
 portance. To the discharge of Ins arduous 
 duties Mr. Metcalf brought a clear mind and 
 a ripe training, earnest purpose and successful 
 experience. In their fulfillment he has neither 
 faltered nor failed. Within the limits of Iowa 
 county are 127 school districts, and about 175 
 applicants for positions as teachers are ex- 
 amined every year. A general institute, 
 whose sessions usually consume a fortnight, is 
 held at the county seat every summer, and in 
 neighboring villages several Saturdays during 
 the year are devoted to purposes of a kindred 
 character. 
 
 Du ring his comparatively brief term of 
 office Mr. Metcalf has succeeded in introducing 
 some important and valuable improvements on 
 former educational methods. It is through 
 his efforts, chiefly, that educational exhibits 
 have become an important feature of county 
 fairs', the first having been made at the Iowa 
 
 County Fair, in 1899. Upon his advice, more- 
 over, and largely through his influence, the 
 county board has made an appropriation for 
 the examination of applicants for elementary 
 public-school diplomas. 
 
 Before a man of his keen intelligence, 
 quick perception, and personal force there lies 
 a future of bright promise. 
 
 U. L. HOLFORD, M. D., is a skilled 
 physician and surgeon of Cassville, Grant 
 county, one whose knowledge of the science of 
 medicine is broad and comprehensive, and 
 whose ability in applying its principles to the 
 needs of suffering humanity has gained him 
 an enviable prestige in professional circles. 
 
 The Doctor is one of Wisconsin’s native 
 sons, his birth having occurred in Blooming- 
 ton, Grant county, in 1870. His father, Will- 
 iam H. Holford, was born in Pennsylvania, and 
 in early life came to this State with his parents, 
 William and Flora (Benson) Holford, who 
 made the journey West by the Great Lakes to 
 Chicago, and from that city by ox-team to 
 Beetown, Grant county, in 1834. The Doc- 
 tor’s grandfather was a farmer by occupation, 
 and was also one of the early teachers of the 
 county. For some time he filled the office of 
 justice of the peace. He died at his home in 
 Beetown in the early sixties. William H. 
 Holford, the Doctor’s father, grew to manhood 
 at that place, and is now a prominent merchant 
 of Bloomington, Grant county. His wife is a 
 native of the county, born in Potosi, and a 
 daughter of Levi and Elizabeth (Loveland) 
 Benson, who about 1839-40 came to Wiscon- 
 sin from Connecticut, and took up their resi- 
 dence in Potosi, where Mr. Benson engaged 
 in the hardware business, hauling his goods 
 from Milwaukee. Later he carried on the 
 same trade in Bloomington where he died in 
 1874. His wife, who long survived him, 
 passed away at the same place in 1897. Dr. 
 Holford is the second in a family of three chil- 
 dren, the others being Elva, a teacher in Graf- 
 ton Hall, Fond du Lac, Wis.; and Laverne, 
 who was graduated at Lawrence University, 
 Appleton, Wis., in 1900, and published the col- 
 lege paper, at the same time doing job printing. 
 
 The early life of Dr. Holford was passed 
 in his native town, and in its public schools he 
 acquired his literary education. Later he en- 
 tered Rush Medical College, Chicago, where 
 he was graduated in 1892, and the same year 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 755 
 
 began practice in Beetown, Grant county, re- 
 maining there about two years. On Feb. 14, 
 1894, he opened an office in Cassville, and has' 
 since engaged in practice at that place. He 
 has met with marked success in his chosen 
 calling, and to-day ranks high among the 
 prominent professional men of Grant county. 
 
 Dr. Holford was married, in Cassville, in 
 1894, to Miss May Okey, also a native of 
 Grant county, and a daughter of Samuel W. 
 and Frances (Joiner) Okey, who reside on a 
 farm in Cassville township. The Doctor and 
 his wife have three children, namely: Fran- 
 
 ces E., Eunice and Reginald. 
 
 DAVID KNOBEL, who has long held an 
 enviable position among the honorable and suc- 
 cessful farmers of Jordan township, Green 
 county, is living on his handsome and well- 
 tilled farm, which is located in Section 12, just 
 across the Monroe line. Mr. Knobel comes 
 from Canton Glarus, Switzerland,' where he 
 was born Oct. 15, 1842, and is a son of An- 
 drew and Rachel (Hafty) Knobel, both of 
 whom lived and died in Switzerland. 
 
 David Knobel came to this country in 
 1864, and for ten years remained in New 
 York, where he was steadily engaged in work. 
 There on Sept. 12, 1874, he was married to 
 Miss Louisa Stanfield, a native of old Eng- 
 land, but for a number of years a resident of 
 this country. Immediately following their 
 marriage Mr. and Mrs. Knobel came to Green 
 county, Wis., and here their home has been 
 maintained to the present time. To them 
 were born the following children : Annie, 
 
 born Feb. 6, 1876, married Jacob Stauffacher, 
 a prosperous young farmer of the town of 
 Jordan; Emma, born Nov. 4, 1879, is. at home; 
 and Alfred George, born Aug. 31, 1883, is at 
 home. 
 
 Mr. Knobel was reared under conditions 
 of not uncommon privation in the old coun- 
 try, and was inured to hard work from a very 
 early age. Landing in this country a poor 
 man, his subsequent prosperity has come en- 
 tirely from his own thrift, energy and honor- 
 able character. In his boyhood and youth he 
 worked in the mills of the old country, and for 
 some time after coming to the United States 
 he worked for wages. In 1882 he bought the 
 farm where he is found to-day, and to its care 
 and improvement he has devoted his strength 
 and enthusiasm. The family find shelter in 
 
 a splendid two-story farm house, there are 
 ample barns and outbuildings, and the land is 
 under a high state of cultivation. The owner 
 is a hard-working and thoroughly practical 
 farmer, and his broad acres show the character 
 and industry of the man. Beside his general 
 farming, Mr. Knobel is deeply interested in 
 dairy work and stock raising. At the present 
 time he is milking some thirty cows, and is a 
 partner in a co-operative creamery on his 
 farm. 
 
 Mr. Knobel is a Democrat, and both him- 
 self and his wife are members of the Presby- 
 terian Church of Monroe. They are good 
 people, and are much respected by all who 
 know them. Mr. Knobel is noted for his hon- 
 est disposition and unswerving integrity, and 
 his wife is a lady of unusual attainments and 
 fine character. She is a devoted Christian 
 wife and mother. 
 
 NATHANIEL MARTIN, whose name 
 in Cadiz township. Green county, is “familiar 
 as household words,” is a native of Virginia, 
 born Dec. 14, 1816. 
 
 James and Rebecca (Pearcy) Martin, his 
 ■parents, were also Virginians, and came of 
 Irish and English ancestry, respectively, Grand- 
 father Martin having been born in Ireland, 
 and Grandfather Pearcy in England. James 
 and Rebecca Martin had ten children : Sidney, 
 Redmond, Isaiah, Elias, Nathaniel, Rebecca, 
 Nancy, Charles, Polly (who died in child- 
 hood), and one whose name is not given, all 
 now deceased except Nathaniel and Rebecca 
 (Mrs. Burrell), the latter of whom is residing 
 in Nora, Illinois. 
 
 Nathaniel Martin was reared and educated 
 in Virginia, whence, at the age of twenty, he 
 went to St. Louis, Mo., and chopped wood 
 for one winter. In the spring of 1837 he re- 
 moved to Stephenson county, 111., where for 
 several years he worked at day wages. In 
 1848 he came to Green county, Wis., and 
 built a dam on the Pecatonica river, at a point 
 where the present village of Martintown now 
 stands, and the same year he erected a saw- 
 mill and later a gristmill. Here for over fifty- 
 two years he has conducted a general milling 
 business with remarkable success. Mr. Mar- 
 tin commenced life a poor boy, but by hard 
 work, persistent and judicious economy he has 
 become one of the wealthiest men of Green 
 county, at one time owning 1,200 acres of 
 
756 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 fine land, over 200 of which were under cul- 
 tivation. However, he has given away most 
 of his land, and is now devoting his time exclu- 
 sively to operating the mills. For m re than 
 half a century he has been one of the leading 
 business men of Cadiz township, and the vil- 
 lage of Martintown (known as “Martin” be- 
 fore the railroad was built to that point), 
 where he has his home, was platted by and 
 named for him. 
 
 O11 Feb. 25, 1847, Nathaniel Martin mar- 
 ried Miss Hannah Strader, daughter of Jacob 
 and Rachel (Starr) Strader, who were among 
 the early settlers of Green county, and four- 
 teen children were born of this union, viz. : 
 Elias, who lives at Cripple Creek, Colo., mar- 
 ried Lavina, daughter of Thomas Watson; 
 Alice is deceased; her twin sister, Eleanor A., 
 married John Warner, of Winslow, 111 .; Jen- 
 nie Edith, now deceased, was the wife of Jacob 
 Hodge, late of Minnesota; Horatio makes his 
 home in Martintown, Wis., being in partner- 
 ship with his father in the milling business 
 (he married Laura Flart, and has four chil- 
 dren) ; William and Charles are both deceased; 
 Emma is the wife of Cullen P. Brown, of Saint 
 Marys, Mo.; Christa B. and Abraham L. are 
 deceased; Mary L. is the wife of Elwood 
 Bucher, of Illinois; James F. is deceased; Juliet 
 B. is the wife of Edwin E. Savage, a machin- 
 ist of Seattle, Wash.; and Hannah is deceased. 
 There are twenty-eight grandchildren and six 
 great-grandchildren. In politics Mr. Martin 
 leans toward Prohibition, but was originally a 
 Whig, later a Republican, and during his long 
 career in Green county has always declined to 
 fill any offices of honor and trust. In religious 
 faith he accepts the strict interpretation of the 
 Scriptures, and is opposed to all dogmas and 
 creed doctrines. He and his estimable wife, 
 who has been his faithful helpmeet for fifty- 
 four years of joys and sorrows, live in the 
 enjoyment of the respect and esteem of a wide 
 circle of friends and acquaintances. 
 
 MRS. ANN LEADBETTER. Rarely 
 does the biographical writer find a task more 
 congenial than to tell the life story of tone 
 whose maternal love has reared two families 
 of children, and who, at the advanced age of 
 eighty-six years, enjoys the marked esteem of 
 her community, the genuine affection of her 
 friends and the devoted love of her children 
 and grandchildren. Such a one is Mrs. Ann 
 
 Leadbetter, of Montfort, who has witnessed 
 and participated in the growth of Grant coun- 
 ty for more than fifty years. 
 
 This venerable lady was born in Butler 
 county, Ohio, on Jan. 20, 1814. Her father, 
 Alexander George, was a Virginian, and her 
 mother, whose name before marriage was 
 Sarah Love, was a Kentuckian. Mrs. Lead- 
 better was a young girl of thirteen when her 
 parents removed from Ohio to Jo Daviess 
 county, 111 ., settling near Galena. Lead min- 
 ing was then one of the chief industries of 
 that section, and she well remembers all the 
 hardships and pleasures of life among the mines 
 in those early days. She is the eldest of a 
 family of nine children, of whom only herself 
 and her youngest sister, Mrs. Mary Wansey, 
 are yet living. The latter has her home m 
 Marysville, Kans. Mr. George engaged in 
 farming as well as mining, and both he and 
 his wife died at Hanover, Jo Daviess county, 
 the mother of the family passing away first 
 and the father a few years later, his demise 
 occurring about 1849. 
 
 Mrs. Leadbetter has been twice left a wid- 
 ow. She was first led to the altar by Samuel 
 Moore, of Galena, when she was a girl of four- 
 teen years, the marriage being solemnized in 
 1828. Pier second marriage took place twenty 
 years later, the bridegroom being Asaph Lead- 
 better. Four children were born to the first 
 union, and to the latter three. Mr. Moore’s 
 children were Nancy [., Eugene J., Alexander 
 and Susan. All these make their home with 
 Mrs. Leadbetter, with the exception of the 
 youngest, Susan, who is now Mrs. Parish. 
 The issue of the second marriage was three 
 daughters : Martha, the wife of Samuel Gre- 
 den; Asaphina, Mrs. George Weaver; and Lu- 
 cretia Ann, deceased. 
 
 Shortly after her second marriage Mrs. 
 Leadbetter and her husband removed from 
 Illinois to Montfort, Grant county. In 1850 
 he went on a prospecting tour to California, 
 returning after an absence of two years. In 
 1854 he started on a second expedition to the 
 Pacific coast, but he and his party were mur- 
 dered en route. Mrs. Leadbetter recalls, with 
 vivid distinctness, the stirring scenes of the 
 Black Hawk war, and the tribulations, perils 
 and pleasures of early settlers in the great cen- 
 tral West are as fresh in her recollection as 
 they were thirty years ago. Such women, ven- 
 erable in years and clear in intellect, ripe in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 757 
 
 experience and unfaltering in hope, constitute 
 the glory of a community, while their lives are 
 in themselves a benediction. 
 
 ARTHUR HERN. Both as a business 
 man and as a farmer the subject of this sketch 
 has been successfully engaged in Rock county, 
 though farming has been and still is his chief 
 occupation. He possesses an active, energetic 
 temperament, which, combined with his cool 
 judgment and good principles, has smoothed 
 the pathway of life and won for him the es- 
 teem of the people among whom he has lived 
 for so many years. 
 
 Timothy Hern, his paternal grandfather, 
 was a native of Ireland, and emigrated to 
 America when about eighteen years old, set- 
 tling in Maine. He was educated for the 
 Catholic priesthood, but gave up that faith, 
 and for many years engaged in teaching school 
 in Maine, being a fine scholar. He married 
 Miss Sally Malcom, who was born in Maine, 
 of Scotch descent, and was one of a family of 
 seven children, four sons and three daugh- 
 ters, of whom the boys were all sailors, and 
 captains of vessels, having learned navigation 
 from' Mr. Hern. The father of Mrs. Timothy 
 Hern was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. 
 
 William Hern, the father of our subject, 
 was born in Maine about 1807, and in his 
 youth acquired the trade of a ship caulker. He 
 married Miss Rachel Hunter, daughter of Da- 
 vid Hunter, a wealthy shipbuilder and lumber- 
 man of Scottish and English ancestry, and a 
 man of unusual energy and ability. David 
 Hunter erected a sawmill and a gristmill at 
 a point known as Hunter’s Mills, and was 
 thus the founder of the town afterward called 
 Clinton. He held many offices of honor and 
 trust, and lived to the good old age of eighty- 
 seven years, leaving a family of ten children, 
 six sons and four daughters. William Hern 
 served as captain of an artillery company of 
 the Maine State militia for a number of years. 
 In 1844 he moved with his family to Lowell, 
 Mass., and there worked at the carpenter’s 
 trade for four years. In 1848 he resolved to 
 try his fortunes in the West. He lived for a 
 year in Chicago, then in 1849 came to Rock 
 county, Wis., locating in Bradford, where he 
 followed carpentering for several years. In 
 1851 or 1852 he bought a farm of eighty acres, 
 to which he afterward added 100 acres. It 
 was unbroken prairie land, but he reduced it to 
 
 cultivation, and here he remained until his 
 death, in 1865, at the age of fifty-eight years. 
 His wife survived until Jan. 5, 18S7, passing 
 away at the age of seventy-five years. They 
 were Universalists in religious faith. To Will- 
 iam' and Rachel Hern were born five children, 
 three sons and two daughters. Two of the 
 sons, Hartwell C. and David W., served in 
 the Civil war. Hartwell C. had served as 
 ship carpenter on a United States vessel be- 
 fore the war, and was in the South when 
 Fort Sumter was fired upon. He at once 
 came North, and in 1861 enlisted in Com- 
 pany E, 5th Wis. V. I., for three years. He 
 was orderly sergeant, and for gallant conduct 
 a commission as second lieutenant was issued 
 to him, but before it reached him the young 
 soldier fell' in battle at Williamsburg, May 5, 
 1862. David W. Hern enlisted in the 2d 
 Minn. V; I., and served during the Civil war, 
 also in the Indian war in Minnesota. He is 
 now a resident of St. Paul, Minn. Of the two 
 sisters of our subject one survives, Martha, 
 wife of William Getty, of Minneapolis. 
 
 Arthur Hern was born in Clinton, Kenne- 
 bec Co., Maine, Dec. 14, 1836. At the age of 
 seven years he moved with his parents to Low- 
 ell, and four years later, when the father came 
 West to try his fortune, the mother and our 
 subject returned to Clinton, Maine, for a few 
 years. Arthur Hern settled in Bradford town- 
 ship with his parents in 1851. and has remained 
 in Rock county ever since. He had attended the 
 common schools in Maine and the grammar 
 school at Lowell, Mass. After coming to Wis- 
 consin he entered Milton (Wis.) College as a 
 student. At the death of his parents he came 
 into posesssion of the home farm, containing 
 about 200 acres, in Bradford township. His 
 present home of 272 acres in La Prairie town- 
 ship he has occupied since 1S79. For a number 
 of years he successfully operated a cigar factory 
 
 On Dec. 10, 1868, Mr. Hern married Miss 
 Harriet E. Lawrence, daughter of Clark W. 
 and Hannah M. (Lewis) Lawrence. They had 
 a son, Herbert A. Politically Mr. Hern is a 
 Democrat, and served as justice of the peace 
 for one term. Fraternally he is a member of 
 Good Samaritan Lodge, No. 135, F. & A. M. 
 He is one of the most prominent citizens of 
 La Prairie township, and is most highly re- 
 spected by all who know him. 
 
 On April 13, 1893, the entire community 
 was shocked to hear of the sad death of Mrs. 
 
753 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Arthur Hern. Matthew Bitson and his wife 
 had for some months occupied a house on Mr. 
 Hern's estate, and it was well known in the 
 community that their relations were not pleas- 
 ant, Mr. Bitson having frequent quarrels with 
 his wife. On these occasions Mrs. Hern had 
 frequently acted as a peacemaker, her kindly 
 disposition often causing- her to be called upon 
 to smooth the rough paths of her friends. 
 This was the case on that ill-fated April morn- 
 ing, when, in response to Mrs. Bitson’s appeal 
 for aid against the violence of her husband’s 
 temper, Mrs. Hern entered the Bitson house. 
 Mr. Bitson, enraged at her appearance, shot 
 both his wife and Mrs. Hern, and then fired 
 the house to conceal his crime. The charred 
 remains of both women were found in the 
 cellar, and a night-and-day search for the mur- 
 derer was successful. He plead guilty and 
 received a life sentence. Mrs. Hern 'had been 
 deeply beloved, and her tragic death, while on 
 a mission of benevolence, was the cause of 
 great indignation, as well as of the most uni- 
 versal sorrow. 
 
 JOHN EINERSON (deceased), long an 
 honored and industrious resident of the town 
 of York, Green county, was born in Bergen, 
 Norway, Aug. 6, 1820, and died in York Jan. 
 19, 1900. It was not until he reached mid- 
 dle life that he came to this country, arriving 
 here in 1854, and making his home on section 
 18, York township, two years later. I11 1873 
 he bought the farm which now belongs to his 
 estate and brought it up to a high state of fer- 
 tility before his death. 
 
 John Emerson was married to Miss Christe 
 in Norway, and to them were born six children, 
 two of whom are now living, Gertrude and 
 Ole. Mr. Emerson was left a widower, and 
 was a second time married, in 1865, to Miss 
 Bertha Dahle. To this union were born the 
 following children: Carrie lives in the town 
 of Moscow ; Susie is in South Dakota ; Ed- 
 ward is in Browntown, Green county, in 
 charge of the store of George W. Larse & Co. ; 
 Benjamin is in Perry township; Martin and 
 Sever are on the old farm which is now in 
 their charge ; Clara is the wife of Clarence 
 Blunt, of A r gyle, AVis. ; Annie is at home. 
 Two others died in early youth. Mr. Emer- 
 son was a Republican, and a devoted mem- 
 ber of the Lutheran Church. For many years 
 he was a school director in his adopted home, 
 
 and stood high in the confidence of his fellow 
 townsmen. 
 
 Mr. Emerson came to this country a very 
 poor man, and like thousands of his compat- 
 riots, presently came to comfort if not afflu- 
 ence, doiilg this not by chance or favor, but 
 by hard work, prudence and integrity. When 
 he died he owned a fine farm, well provided 
 with a dwelling house, both comfortable and 
 commodious, and ample farm buildings. For 
 about eight years before his death Mr. Emer- 
 son was in very poor health, and for seven 
 years was confined to his bed. Elis was a 
 wasting and painful sickness, but it was en- 
 dured with Christian grace and fortitude. He 
 is deservedly remembered as a man of high 
 character, an unblemished good name, and of 
 unswerving integrity, always honest and true 
 to his convictions of the right. His name is a 
 source of just pride to his posterity. Elis re- 
 mains are resting in the old Norwegian ceme- 
 tery in the town where his long and useful 
 years came to an end. 
 
 Mrs. John Emerson still survives, and has 
 her home on the old farm, and is known as 
 a good Christian woman. She was born in 
 Norway in 1839, and she still keeps good com- 
 mand of her faculties. 
 
 Martin J. and Sever Emerson, who have 
 charge of the home farm, are among the bri ght 
 and capable young farmers of this section of 
 country, where they are pushing rapidly to the 
 front. Martin J. obtained his education in the 
 public schools and Dixon College, and during 
 the winter season lie engages in teaching, de- 
 voting himself to the farm during the sum- 
 mer. In political relations both Martin and 
 Sever are Republicans, and in their religious 
 associations Lutherans, following the ancestral 
 faith, and taking much interest in the welfare 
 of the church in which they were confirmed 
 in early youth. The Emerson family is much 
 esteemed in the community, where its various 
 representatives have taken high rank as up- 
 right and reliable people, 
 
 JOEIN D. DAVIES, a much respected resi- 
 dent of Ridgeway township, Iowa county, was 
 a soldier in the war of the Union, serving as 
 a member of Company C, 49th AVis. V. I., 
 under Capt. Richard A. Wareham. Mr. Da- 
 vies enlisted Feb. 20, 1865, and was in at the 
 exciting- finish, his term of enlistment running 
 one year, or during the war. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 759 
 
 John D. Davies was born in Wales, Jan. 
 23, 1828, and was reared in his native com- 
 munity, where, in 1851, he married Miss 
 Hannah Williams. The young- married 
 couple immediately made their way to the 
 United States, and on June 10, 1851, ar- 
 rived in Dodgeville, Wis. Here Mr. Davies 
 soon after bought a farm, which he still 
 owns in the town of Ridgeway. Mrs. Da- 
 vies passed away Jan. 10, 1865, leaving 
 her husband with a family of seven chil- 
 dren, the oldest being fourteen years of age. 
 But a week after the death of his wife he en- 
 listed, leaving his children at home under the 
 watchful supervision of the neighbors. While 
 he was at the front one of his children was 
 taken seriously ill, and Mr. Davies was noti- 
 fied. Applying for a furlough that he might 
 come and care for his children, he received it, 
 and returned on a thirty days’ furlough to 
 watch over the sick bed. The child rapidly re- 
 covered, and Mr. Davies went back to the 
 army to finish his service, and in due time re- 
 ceived an honorable discharge. 
 
 When Mr. Davies again became a civilian 
 he found his health badly broken by the hard- 
 ships of the life through which he had passed, 
 and for a time the outlook was discouraging. 
 The boys came on quickly, however, and as- 
 sisted him so effectively that presently the farm 
 became very profitable, and was known as one 
 of the choice places of the town. 
 
 The present Mrs. Davies was a Miss Jane 
 Jones, who was born in Ohio in 1843 a daugh- 
 ter of James and Mary Jones, both natives of 
 Wales. In 1850 they removed from Ohio to 
 this State, and both of them have long since 
 passed away. Mrs. Davies was one of a fam- 
 ily of seven children, four of whom are still 
 living. Three of her brothers were soldiers 
 in the Union army during the war of the Re- 
 bellion. David Jones was a member of the 
 31st Wis. V. I., and died many years ago. 
 Evan Jones served in the same regiment, and 
 is living in Missouri. William Jones was 
 wounded and died in a hospital at Vicksburg, 
 leaving a widow and one daughter. Three of 
 the children born to Mr. Davies by his first 
 wife are still living: James, Isaac and Eliza- 
 beth (who married Fred Oldenburg, of Rich- 
 land Center, Wis.). To Mr. Davies, by his 
 present wife, were born three sons and a daugh- 
 ter: Thomas, Benjamin, Albert, and Mar- 
 
 garet, wife of Reuben Hemstock. Mr. and 
 
 Mrs. Davies retired from the farm March 28, 
 1898, leaving it in the care of their sons. He 
 was a good soldier, and is a Republican and a 
 good citizen, as are all his sons. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Davies are both worthy members of the 
 Baptist Church, and are highly esteemed in the 
 community in which their useful lives are 
 passing. 
 
 ELISHA ULLOM. Prominent among the 
 surviving old settlers of Cadiz township. Green 
 county, stands the venerable gentleman whose 
 name here appears, and who is now living re- 
 tired. Born Dec. 4, 1819, in Greene county, 
 Penn., Mr. Ullom is a son of Peter and Mary 
 (Cather) Ldlom, natives of Pennsylvania, the 
 former of German origin. Peter and Mary 
 Ullom had a family of four children : Eliza- 
 beth (who married Samuel Raymer), Nancy 
 (Mrs. John Robson), Elisha and Harrison, 
 all now deceased except Elisha. He com- 
 menced life a poor boy, and with but little edu- 
 cation, most of his boyhood days being passed 
 in assisting on the home farm. In 1842 he 
 came to Wisconsin and settled on an uncleared 
 farm in Cadiz township, at one time owning- 
 over 400 acres of land. This, by assiduous 
 labor and persevering industry, he soon made 
 to “blossom as the rose,” and become one of the 
 finest farms in the county. Mr. Ullom is now- 
 living retired, esteemed and respected as only 
 one who has led so long and useful a life 
 could be. Sober and temperate in all his habits, 
 neighborly and kind in his treatment of all, 
 devoted to his home and family, his career has 
 been one of honor in all the relations of life. 
 He possesses a retentive memory, a special 
 blessing to one who has such ripe stores of 
 experience to draw on. 
 
 Mr. Ullom was married, in Ohio, to Miss 
 Julia Kerr, of Knox county, that State, who- 
 was a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Mc- 
 Cullough) Kerr, her parents being among the 
 early settlers of Ohio. Ten children blessed 
 this union, viz. : Ellen, who is deceased ; Mi- 
 nerva, Mrs. William Deniston, of Stafford, 
 Ivans.; Frank; Elmira, wife of Henry Shank, 
 a farmer of Cadiz township; Joseph, of Mis- 
 souri; William, of Jo Daviess county, 111 .;. 
 Charles, of Missouri ; Homer, of Kansas ; Ade- 
 line, deceased wife of H. H. Puterbaugh; and 
 Laura B., who died unmarried. Mr. Ullom’s 
 posterity includes thirty-two living grandchil- 
 dren, and seven great-grandchildren. Mrs. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 760 
 
 Ullom, who was born in Knox county, Ohio, 
 in 1822, passed away April 10, 1891, at the 
 home in Cadiz township. She was a thorough 
 Christian woman, a loving wife and mother, 
 and was sincerely mourned throughout the 
 community. 
 
 Our subject is a stanch Democrat, of the 
 Jeffersonian stripe, and has supported that par- 
 ty for the past sixty years. He has served his 
 fellow citizens faithfully in various local offices, 
 having been a member of the township board, 
 school director, treasurer and assessor. For 
 many years he has been a consistent member 
 of the German Baptist Church. 
 
 JACOB PAULSON, a well-known citizen 
 of the town of Moscow, Iowa county, where 
 he has been engaged in farming for over forty 
 years, is, like many of the most substantial 
 and respected citizens of that part of Wisconsin, 
 a native of Norway. 
 
 Mr. Paulson was born July 2, 1827, and 
 grew to manhood in his native land, where he 
 also married his wife, Rachel. Having de- 
 termined to seek better opportunities in the 
 New World, he came to America in 1852, 
 his destination being the State of Wisconsin. 
 For the first two years he resided in Dane 
 county, thence coming to Iowa county and 
 settling in Moscow township, where he has 
 ever since made his home. Mr. and Mrs. Paul- 
 son have had seven children, two sons and 
 five daughters. 
 
 On March 11, 1865, Mr. Paulson was en- 
 rolled as a member of Company H, 50th Wis. 
 V. I., and though the Civil war was fast 
 drawing to a close, there was ample need for 
 their services on the frontier, as the Indians 
 had taken advantage of the absence of so many 
 men in the Lhfion service to commit numerous 
 depredations in the Northwest. Our subject 
 went with his regiment from Madison, Wis., 
 to St. Louis, and soon afterward to Jefferson 
 City, Mo., thence to Fort Leavenworth, Kans., 
 and finally to Fort Rice, Dak., where the com- 
 mand completed its term of enlistment by 
 keeping the red men in check. Mr. Paulson 
 was discharged June 18, 1866, at Madison, 
 with the regiment, after about fifteen months 
 of active service. The severity of his military 
 experiences was exceedingly trying to a con- 
 stitution none too robust to begin with, and 
 his health has been very poor ever since. When 
 he entered the service he was afflicted with 
 
 hernia, although he was unaware of the cause 
 of his trouble, and the examining surgeon 
 either overlooked or did not discover the fact, 
 with the result that he grew constantly worse 
 during the strain of western army life. He 
 has had to endure continuous suffering ever 
 since, and, though he receives a small pension 
 for other disability, he has been allowed noth- 
 ing on this account. Mr. Paulson was thirty- 
 seven years of age when he entered the serv- 
 ice, and he is now well advanced in life. His 
 honorable private life, as well as the service he 
 rendered his adopted country in her hour of 
 need, has won him the highest esteem of all 
 who know him, and he is justly ranked among 
 the valued citizens of his community. 
 
 HON. MARSHALL H. PENGRA, now a 
 retired farmer, is spending the last years of 
 an honorable and useful life on his farm about 
 four and a half miles northwest of Juda, 
 Green county. He is the eldest son of Moses 
 and- Sarah (Johns) Pengra, natives of Ben- 
 nington county, Vt., and Wales, respectively. 
 Sarah Johns came to this country with her 
 parents when a young child. Moses Pengra 
 was born Jan. 11, 1799, son of Marshall Pen- 
 gra, O'f Vermont, whose father was one of 
 three brothers who came to this country from 
 England before the Revolution. The Pingree 
 family, of Michigan, is supposed to have de- 
 scended from the same source, the spelling of 
 the name changing in the intervening years. 
 
 Marshall H. Pengra was born Jan. 18, 
 1819, in the town of Darien, Genesee Co., 
 N. Y., and came to Green county, Wis., in 
 1845. Since that year he has made his home 
 on one farm, and presents an encouraging ex- 
 ample of the rich rewards that wait on in- 
 dustry and honesty in agricultural life. In 
 all these years he has been very active and 
 industrious, and only the increasing weight of 
 age prevents his continued application to the 
 practical work of the farm. His close atten- 
 tion to his own business has not hindered an 
 enlightened public service, and he has filled 
 creditably several local offices of honor and 
 trust. He has been chairman of the town, 
 'school director, and justice of the peace for 
 thirty-five years. At the time the office of 
 county commissioner was abolished he was 
 holding that position. From 1870 to 1872 
 Mr. Pengra was a member of the State Legis- 
 lature, and took an active part in the delib- 
 
MRS. ELVIRA PEHGRA MARSHALL H. PEHGRA 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 761 
 
 erations of that body. Mr. Pengra has stud- 
 ied law, and practiced in the justice courts of 
 the county for many years. Twelve different 
 estates have been settled by him, and in every 
 case his administration proved satisfactory to 
 all parties concerned. 
 
 Mr. Pengra and Miss Elvira Lyon were 
 married April 16, 1840. She was born in 1819 
 in Franklin county, Mass., a daughter of Mar- 
 shall and Chloe (Sherman) Lyon. The Ly- 
 ons were one of the old families of New Eng- 
 land, and their history runs back to English 
 origin. When a young woman Elvira Lyon 
 moved with her parents from Franklin county, 
 Mass., to Erie county, Penn., where she taught 
 school for several years before her marriage. 
 Her parents -died in Erie county. Marshall 
 H. Pengra and his wife had seven children, 
 of whom the eldest, (1) Marshall Pembroke, 
 'born May 15, 1841, is now a resident of Brocl- 
 head. He was a soldier in the 22d Wis. V. I. 
 during the Civil war, and acquitted himself 
 with much credit in that great struggle. (2) 
 George INI. died in childhood. (3) Delia El- 
 vira, born April 27, 1844, married Charles 
 Madison, and died at home. (4) Winfield 
 Sherman, born Nov. 2, 1847, married a Miss 
 Preston, and resides in Madison. (5) Mary 
 E., born Feb. 6, 1850, married Edward Fes- 
 senden, and is now deceased. (6) Moses B., 
 born April 29, 1851, is living in Minnesota. 
 (7) Charles Fremont, born March 27, 1857, 
 married Miss Etta Feathers, of Albany, and 
 they are living on the home place of his father. 
 Mrs. Elvira Pengra departed this life Jan. 26, 
 1901. She was a member of the M. E. Church 
 from the age of eighteen years. 
 
 Mr. Pengra and his devoted companion 
 always commanded the highest respect of all 
 who knew them. Mr. Pengra is among the 
 oldest pioneers of the county now living, and 
 his career has been honorable and useful in the 
 extreme. Politically he is a Republican, and, 
 as this sketch shows, a capable and efficient 
 man in every walk of life. 
 
 FREDERICK M. BRADFORD, of Cadiz 
 township, Green county, was born in Plymp- 
 ten,- Mass., Oct. 27, 1834, and springs from 
 ancestry distinguished in the history of the 
 New England Colonies fjor many generations. 
 He was one of the very darly settlers in Green 
 county. 
 
 Mr. Bradford is a direct descendant of 
 
 W illiam Bradford, who came over in the “May- 
 flower,” and who was the second governor of 
 Plymouth Colony, the line of descent being 
 through (II) William, (III) John, (IV) 
 Capt. John, (V) Capt. John, (VI ) Lieut. John 
 and (VII) John, our subject's father. Mr. 
 Bradford's son John has in his possession the 
 identical baptismal blanket that was brought 
 over the ocean by his historic ancestors, and 
 which was left by the will of the Governor to 
 the eldest child of each succeeding generation, 
 whom he desired should always bear the name 
 of John. 
 
 (V) Capt. John Bradford commanded a 
 company of minute men during the Revolution- 
 ary war. 
 
 (VI) Lieut. John Bradford, grandfather 
 of our subject, married Patience Perkins, and 
 they had the following named children : Eu- 
 nice, John (father of our subject), Daniel P., 
 Maria, Patience, Thomas, William and Han- 
 nah. Daniel P., ex-county judge of Bon 
 Homme county, S. Dak., is the only survivor. 
 
 John Bradford, the father of Frederick 
 M., was born July 10, 1809, and was married 
 April 25, 1832, in Plympton, Mass., to Sarah 
 Fuller Bradford. They became the parents of 
 the following children: (1) John, a sergeant 
 major in Company A, nth 111 . V. I., at one 
 time under the command of Gen. Lew Wal- 
 lace, died while in the service, June 4, 1862. 
 (2) Frederick M. is our subject proper. (3) 
 Arabella, born Sept. 19, 1837, married Fred- 
 erick Knickerbocker, and makes her home in 
 Los Angeles, Cal. (4) Mary Winslow, born 
 in Winslow, 111 ., Jan. 31, 1841, died Aug. 20, 
 1898. She married Gerard Kneeland, now of 
 Monroe, Wis. (5) Sarah M. died in child- 
 hood.^) Luella B., born Dec. 24, 1847, is the 
 wife of Dr. J. W. Saucerman, of Winslow, 
 111 . (7) Thomas G., born Aug. 21, 1852, is 
 
 a carpenter at Winslow, 111 . The parents be- 
 came residents of the town of Winslow, III, 
 in 1838. John Bradford, the father, was a 
 man of marked ability, possessed inventive ge- 
 nius of a high order, was well informed and 
 was highly regarded in his day. The shot 
 tower at Helena, Wis., was put up by him for 
 C. W. Washburn and Cyrus Woodman, and 
 he also invented a machine for finishing shot, 
 which was put in operation in the Chicago shot 
 tower, where he held the position of superin- 
 tendent for E. W. Blatchford ; there he also 
 invented a machine for cutting, folding and 
 
762 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 printing shot sacks ready for sewing. Both of 
 these machines are still in operation. 
 
 Frederick M. Bradford, whose name intro- 
 duces this article, was married to Miss Cynthia 
 Vashti Peters Feb. 20, 1859, who was born 
 Sept. 22, 1835, a daughter of Comfort Peters, 
 of Ohio, and a direct descendant of Rev. Hugh 
 Peters, a compatriot of John Wesley, the 
 founder of Methodism, and her ancestors were 
 among the very earliest settlers of New Eng- 
 land. Thomas Peters, founder of Yale Col- 
 lege, was a brother of Hugh Peters. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Bradford have been born two chil- 
 dren : Corah Blanche, born April 25, 1862, 
 married Dr. \\ illiam Burton Bunker, who died 
 in 1892. She is the mother of two children, 
 Beryl Bradford (deceased) and Kathleen Al- 
 den. Mrs. Bunker is now residing with her 
 father on the old home place in Cadiz. She 
 is a very accomplished lady, and is a line mu- 
 sician. John, the second child of Frederick 
 M. and Cynthia Bradford, was born Dec. 24, 
 1868, and remains at home, carrying on the 
 old farm. Kathleen A. Bunker is in the tenth 
 generation from Gov. Bradford, of Colonial 
 fame. The ancestors have always been identi- 
 fied with the best element of the communities 
 in which they have lived, for many hundred 
 years back of the present time. 
 
 Frederick M. Bradford began life for him- 
 self with little to depend on save his own strong 
 right arm and stout heart. Fie purchased the 
 farm on which he is living while it was still 
 in its natural state, and the country surround- 
 ing was wild and unimproved. By close at- 
 tention to his work, careful management and 
 unflagging industry he has converted the wild 
 land which he bought into one of the most 
 desirable farms in Green county. He has good 
 dwellings and farm buildings, and is proud of 
 owning one of the finest cherry orchards to 
 be found in the entire county. The sum of 
 $11,000 was recently refused by him when 
 offered for this place of 120 acres. 
 
 Mr. Bradford is a stanch Republican po- 
 litically. and is a man with liberal religious 
 convictions. He and his family are widely 
 known for hospitality and charitable actions. 
 For nearly thirty-eight years he has been a 
 member of the Masonic fraternity, and in town 
 affairs has taken a prominent place, holding 
 the positions of justice of the peace, school 
 director and town clerk, as well as serving on 
 the town board. 
 
 William B. Bunker, M. D., was born 
 Aug. 1, 1857, in Pennsylvaniaburg, Ripley 
 Co., Ind., the second son of Dr. Ledyard Cuy- 
 ler and Adaline E. (Alden) Bunker, the lat- 
 ter a direct descendant of John Alden, of the 
 Plymouth Colony. William B. Bunker gradu- 
 ated at Rush Medical College, Chicago, in 
 1884, and was engaged in practice at Winslow 
 and Warren, 111 ., until his death, June 4, 1892. 
 He was married Oct. 27, 1885, to Corah 
 Blanche Bradford. Dr. Bunker was promi- 
 nent in the Masonic order, and among the 
 relics cherished by his daughter is a Masonic 
 apron, of lambskin, made in 1742, for Alex- 
 ander Pennock, a maternal ancestor of Dr. 
 Bunker, and worn by his son, Alexander Pen- 
 nock, at the funeral of George Washington. 
 
 WILLIAM HOLMES, one of the few re- 
 maining of the early pioneers of southwestern 
 Wisconsin, has been a resident of this part of 
 the State since 1842, and has occupied his 
 present farm in Mifflin township, Iowa county, 
 since 1856. He has, during his long and 
 active life, been prominently identified with the 
 development of both mining and agricultural 
 interests in his section, and has taken his part 
 in the conduct of public affairs in his locality. 
 
 Mr. Holmes is a native of Virginia, born 
 April 21, 1820, in what is now Pulaski (then 
 Montgomery) county, and is of Irish descent, 
 his first American ancestor, John Holmes, hav- 
 ing emigrated from the Emerald Isle in 1757. 
 An interesting paper in the possession of our 
 subject, is a copy of the recommendation given 
 to this John Holmes when he departed for the 
 New World nearly 150 years ago, which reads 
 thus: “The bearer, John Holmes, has lived 
 
 in this place from his infancy, and has always 
 behaved in a sober, honest and inoffensive 
 manner, and has no blemish or stain on his' 
 character as a citizen.” The paper is certified 
 to by Robert Higinbotham, and dated Cole- 
 raine, June 8, 1757. So we have evidence 
 that the founder of the family on American 
 soil was an honorable man, and was doubtless 
 held in equally high esteem in the new land to 
 which he emigrated. 
 
 William Holmes, father of our subject, 
 was born in Virginia. He had one bother, 
 Joshua. He married Mary Caffee, who was of 
 Scottish ancestry, being a daughter of James 
 and Jane Caffee. His father settled in Wythe 
 county, Va., in 1780, and died there Oct. 1, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7<53 
 
 1820, aged fifty-eight years. Her mother died 
 Sept. 22, 1828. Mr. and Mrs, William Holmes 
 made their home in Montgomery county, Mrs. 
 Holmes dying there Aug. 14, 1825, Mr. 
 Holmes on Oct. 30, 1830. He was a soldier 
 in the war of 1812. By occupation he was a 
 carpenter, and he left the record of an hon- 
 orable and useful man. In religion he and his 
 wife affiliated with the Baptist Church. Of 
 the children born to them seven grew to ma- 
 turity, five sons and two daughters, but Will- 
 iam, our subject, is now the only survivor. 
 The deceased were James, John, Jane, Cather- 
 ine, Atchley, and David. 
 
 William Holmes, whose name introduces 
 this sketch, grew to manhood in his native 
 State. His boyhood was uneventful, and he 
 received but limited advantages for education. 
 He came West in 1836, in which year he lo- 
 cated in Orange county, Inch, where, on Aug. 
 26, 1839, he was united in marriage with Miss 
 Rebecca Scott. In 1842 the young couple 
 came to southwestern Wisconsin, their first 
 home in this region being at Glen Haven, in 
 Grant county, where Mr. Holmes erected a log 
 cabin on the place of his brother-in-law, Wash- 
 ington Scott, who had preceded them. He 
 took up farming, which he followed exclusive- 
 ly until the death of his wife, on June 12, 
 1:844, after which he engaged in mining, fol- 
 lowing that occupation alone and in connec- 
 tion with agricultural pursuits for twenty-two 
 years. In 1848, as above stated, he became 
 a resident of Mifflin township, Iowa county, 
 in 1856 settling on the farm which he has 
 ever since occupied, and to the cultivation and 
 improvement of which he has given his ex- 
 clusive attention for many years ; it now com- 
 prises 320 acres. Though now past eighty, 
 Mr. Holmes is still hale and heart)?-, and able 
 to do a good day’s work. He commenced life 
 poor, and during his boyhood, in Virginia, 
 received but $6 per month wages. In the 
 summer of 1842 he was employed as a teamster 
 in Springfield, 111., at $15 per month, but as he 
 received his' pay in depreciated currency, it was 
 hardly half that amount. Industry has always 
 been one of his marked characteristics, and he 
 can feel that he has done his full share in the 
 development of his State from the wild condi- 
 tion in which he found it, to its present beau- 
 tiful fertility. Few remain of the old pio- 
 neers who lived and suffered in those hard 
 days, and Mr. Holmes is justly honored for 
 
 the part he has borne in the advancement of 
 this section, as well as for his upright and 
 helpful life — a career which would be a credit 
 to any community. 
 
 In 1850 our subject married, for his second 
 wife, Miss Amanda Hamlet, a native of Ken- 
 tucky, who died June 15, 1872. On Sept. 30, 
 1877, he was married to Miss Laura Hanna- 
 well, a native of Norway, who is still spared to 
 him. Mr. Holmes is the father of twenty-one 
 children, a record perhaps not equalled in this 
 part of the State, most of whom grew to ma- 
 turity, and seventeen are still living. There 
 were two children born to his first union: 
 John C., a resident of Mineral Point. Wis.; 
 and Martha Jane, who died in 1885. By the 
 second marriage there were eleven : William, 
 
 James, Elizabeth, Annette, David, Atchley, 
 Catherine, Emma, Andrew, Amanda and 
 Wallace. Eight children have blessed the 
 third union : Mary, Montgomery, Bolivar, 
 
 Harvey, Oliver, Martin and Laura, living, and 
 a twin sister of Mary that died in early in- 
 fancy. At the present writing Mr. Holmes 
 has living seventeen children, fifty-two grand- 
 children, and forty-four great-grandchildren. 
 There are deceased four children, five grand- 
 children, and six great-grandchildren. The 
 family was represented in the Civil war bv 
 John C. Holmes, who served in the 43d Wis. 
 V. I. ; and James Holmes, another son, served 
 in the Spanish-American war, as a member of 
 the 4th Wisconsin Volunteers. 
 
 In his early life Mr. Holmes was a Whig- 
 in political sentiment, his first vote having been 
 cast for William Henry Harrison. He has 
 been a Republican since the organization of 
 that party. Our subject has been called upon 
 to fill various local offices, which he has done 
 with credit to himself and universal satisfac- 
 tion to his constituents. For six years he was 
 a member of the town board, serving as chair- 
 man of same during three years of that period, 
 and he was justice of the peace for twelve 
 years. Mr. Holmes voted for delegate to both 
 the first and second Constitutional Conven- 
 tions of Wisconsin, and voted for the adop- 
 tion of the present constitution. He has been 
 a Royal Arch Mason for thirty-five years. 
 
 JOHN C. SPENCER, of Janesville, Rock 
 county, was born in the village of Little Falls, 
 Herkimer Co., N. Y., May 17, 1838, the third 
 son of A. C. and Lucina (Dye) Spencer. The 
 
764 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 father was a native of Vermont, and of En- 
 glish descent; the mother was born in Catta- 
 raugus county, N. Y., and came of Irish an- 
 cestry. In the autumn of 1845 our subject 
 came with his parents to Danville, 111 ., where 
 his father followed the profession of school 
 teacher. Later the family moved to Coving- 
 ton, Ind., and from there to Bloomington, 111 ., 
 in December, 1852, coming to Janesville. 
 
 John C. Spencer obtained the greater part 
 of his education, which was somewhat limited, 
 in the private schools of that early day. In 
 the winter of 1849 he attended the school at 
 Covington, the first term of the free public 
 schools in Indiana. In his earlier boyhood he 
 was employed during the summer in herding 
 sheep and cattle on the Illinois prairies. In 
 the summer of 1852 the young man drove 
 team, hauling earth in the construction of the 
 Illinois Central railroad, between Bloomington 
 and Randolph Grove, and also north of Bloom- 
 ington to the present site of Normal. He also 
 drove one of the ox-teams (four yoke) em- 
 ployed in breaking the ground for the Phoenix 
 nursery at Bloomington. The same year he 
 secured employment with the Janesville Ga- 
 zette , to carry papers one day each week; the 
 newspaper was owned at that time by Levi 
 Alden and Charles Holt. In March, 1853, he 
 entered the office to learn the printing trade, 
 and with the exception of January and Febru- 
 ary, 1854, was constantly employed there for 
 many years, filling in turn every mechanical 
 position in the establishment. In 1877 he took 
 charge of the local department of the Gazette 
 as city editor, continuing in this position un- 
 til 1896. 
 
 At the formation of the Janesville fire de- 
 partment, in 1855, Mr. Spencer was appointed 
 torch boy of Water Witch No. 2. and had 
 George Peck, afterward governor of the State, 
 as his associate. He is still a member of that 
 organization, having filled every official posi- 
 tion in his company, and was secretary of the 
 department for twelve years ; assistant chief 
 engineer for two years, and in 1885-86 chief 
 of the department. He was assistant chief un- 
 til 1892, when he was appointed chief engineer 
 by Mayor Rowe, and holds that office to the 
 present time. Many changes and much reor- 
 ganization have taken place in the department 
 during Mr. Spencer’s connection with it, each 
 move advancing its efficiency, and many of 
 these innovations have been brought about by 
 
 Chief Spencer, until at the present time the 
 city of Janesville can take great pride in the 
 possession of one of the very best fire depart- 
 ments in the West. No city of the same size 
 can present a superior equipment or a better 
 fire record. Mr. Spencer is frequently appealed 
 to for information regarding the history of 
 Janesville and Rock county, so well versed is 
 he in its every detail. Socially our subject 
 belongs to the A. F. & A. M. and the I. 0 . 
 O. F., and politically he is an outspoken Re- 
 publican, though he never allows his politics 
 to cause estrangements from his friends. 
 
 Mr. Spencer and Miss Helen M. Brown, 
 a native of Portage, Wis., and a daughter of 
 the late Daniel G. Brown, of Janesville, were 
 united in marriage Oct. 30, 1870. This union 
 has been blessed with six children: Marion 
 E., born Aug. 28, 1871; Clara, Feb. 6, 1874; 
 Llewellyn R., Jan. 30, 1882; Jessie, Nov. 13, 
 1884; Harrison M., Nov. 11, 1887; and Percy 
 R., May 24, 1890. Marion was married to 
 Joseph L. Hay, of Janesville, Aug. 1, 1897, 
 and makes her home in the city, her husband 
 being employed in the office of the Janesville 
 Machine Co. Clara was married July 20, 
 1898, to Arthur H. Boedeker, of Blue Earth, 
 Minn., where he is engaged in the mercantile 
 business. The other children are still in the 
 home of their parents, at No. 217 North Bluff 
 street. 
 
 GEORGE W. ROBERTS, M. D„ is' a 
 prominent physician and surgeon, as well as 
 one of the more influential citizens of Albany, 
 Green county, and for many years has taken 
 a leading part in the public affairs of his com- 
 munity. 
 
 Dr. Roberts was born in the town of Ben- 
 nington, Licking Co., Ohio, April 10, 1841, a 
 son of Jonathan and Maria (Davis) Roberts, 
 both born in Maine. Of their three children, 
 two are now living. Dr. George W. and Free- 
 man L., and both make their home in Albany. 
 The father, who was a farmer, moved from 
 Ohio to Wisconsin late in 1844, and located 
 on a farm of 160 acres five miles north of 
 Janesville, Rock county. There his wife died 
 in 1871, at the age of sixty-nine. He sur- 
 vived her many years, and spent the last twenty 
 years of his life in the home of his son, Dr. 
 George W., dying in 1894, at the venerable 
 age of eighty-nine years and seven months. 
 Early in life he and his wife united with the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 765 
 
 Free-Will Baptist Church, but for many years 
 before his death he had been an ordained min- 
 ister of the Church of the United Brethren 
 in Christ. Thomas Roberts', his father, a farm- 
 er, was born of Welsh ancestors, in Maine, 
 where he spent his entire active life, and lacked 
 only a few months of being one hundred years 
 old at the time of his death. He served in 
 the war of 1812. In his later years he came to 
 Wisconsin, and lived with his children near 
 Sheboygan. He reared a large family. Sam- 
 uel Davis, the father of Mrs. Maria (Davis) 
 Roberts, was a physician, of Irish descent. 
 He died in the East, when about sixty years 
 old, and left a large family. 
 
 George W. Roberts was only three years 
 old when he was brought into Rock county 
 by his parents, on their removal to Wiscon- 
 sin. He was reared on the farm, and attended 
 the district school. For some time he was a 
 student at Milton College, and in 1866 took up 
 the study of medicine, and was graduated from 
 Rush Medical College in Chicago in 1869. 
 The first year of his professional life was spent 
 in Cooksville, Wis., and then he came to Al- 
 bany, where he had practiced to some extent 
 since 1867. 
 
 Dr. Roberts and Miss Betsy Olson were 
 married May 3, 1857, when he had just passed 
 his sixteenth birthday. She was a daughter 
 of Ole Olson, and became the mother ot five 
 sons, Walter C., William D., Frederick W., 
 Leonard G., and Eugene W. Walter C. be- 
 came a physician, and opened an office in May- 
 wood, where he died in June, 1897; he married 
 Miss' Minnie Jennison. William D. married 
 Miss Carrie Burns, who is now dead, and they 
 had one daughter, Sherlie N. ; he is a grad- 
 uate from the department of pharmacy of the 
 University of Wisconsin, and since 1893 has 
 been a druggist in Albany, in partnership with 
 his father, the firm being G. W. Roberts & 
 Son. Frederick W. is a dentist at Burlington, 
 Wis. ; he married Miss Anna Hedgan. Leon- 
 ard G. died when a little under two years old. 
 Eugene W. is still in school. Mrs. Roberts 
 is a member of the Methodist Church, and her 
 husband belongs to Albany Lodge, No. 36, 
 A. F. & A. M., and Evansville Chapter, No. 
 35, R. A. M. He is a member of the Wis- 
 consin State Medical Society, and the Central 
 Wisconsin Medical Society. He is a Repub- 
 lican politically, and is highly considered by 
 those who know him best. 
 
 ELEAZER HOVEY, now living in Dar- 
 lington, is the only representative of the fam- 
 ily of Alfred Hovey, now to be found in La- 
 fayette county. Alfred Hovey was a well- 
 known pioneer of this region, whose history 
 in this community begins as early as 1848. 
 Born in New Hampshire April 20, 1791, he 
 was a son of Amos Hovey, and the ances- 
 tors of this family were among settlers of New 
 England in remote colonial times. A geneal- 
 ogy of the family prepared and published a 
 number of years ago gives the name of Dan- 
 iel Hovey, born in 1618, who is supposed to 
 have come to America from England not many 
 years after the* landing of the Pilgrims. 
 
 Amos Hovey lived in Vermont until his 
 death. He had two sons, Alfred and Eleazer, 
 from whom the subject of this biography de- 
 rives his name. Alfred Hovey and his im- 
 mediate family were the only members' of the 
 Vermont Hoveys to come to Wisconsin. He 
 attained manhood in his native State, where 
 he married Abigail Howard, who was also 
 born in Vermont. Eleazer Hovey was the 
 tenth in a family of eleven children, a sister 
 being the youngest. When he was a lad of 
 about seven years his mother’ died, and after 
 a time his father married Sarah Hendricks. 
 In 1848 Alfred Hovey left Vermont, and 
 came into Lafayette county, making his home 
 in what is now the town of Darlington. 
 With him came his wife, his son Eleazer 
 and three daughters, who were the younger 
 members of the family. Other children, who 
 were older, had already corne into the West, 
 and had established themselves in Lafayette 
 county. Mr. Hovey secured from the Gov- 
 ernment a section of land, and both father 
 and sons engaged in its improvement. The 
 process was slow and laborious, however, as, 
 in common with other pioneers', money was 
 the one thing lacking in their catalogue of re- 
 sources. Finally, however, they accomplished 
 their laudable ambitions, and became well set- 
 tled in the county, where they were long known 
 and highly esteemed, not only for their in- 
 dustrious habits, but also their upright char- 
 acter, general intelligence and neighborly 
 spirit. All have now passed over the river, 
 except the gentleman whose name introduces 
 this article. The father died April 10, 1872, 
 and his widow April 14, ten years' later. Al- 
 fred Hovey was a leading figure in the af- 
 fairs of the town, and took an active part in 
 
766 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the organization of the First Baptist Church 
 of Darlington, where he was a deacon and 
 leader. He was a man of strong convictions 
 and endeavored to conform his daily life to his' 
 faith. Highly regarded by all who knew him, 
 he was well worthy of a place in a commem- 
 orative record of Lafayette county. The fam- 
 ily around his hearth consisted of seven sons 
 and four daughters, those besides Eleazer be- 
 ing - : General Charles E. Hovey served in the 
 Civil war, where he was distinguished alike 
 for his gallantry and faithful discharge of 
 every soldierly duty that came to him in the 
 rapid promotion, which was a grateful 
 acknowledgment of his manifest ability; he 
 died in Washington, Nov. 17, 1897. Amos 
 W. Hovey is living in Bristol Springs, N. Y. 
 Dr. Alvah Hovey is in Newton, Mass., where 
 he was president of the Newton Theological 
 Seminary for many years, finally retiring on 
 account of advanced age. William Hovey 
 lives in California, and Leland A. at Blooming- 
 ton, 111 . Oramel F. is at Sheffield, Iowa. Mrs. 
 Leantha Paddock is a resident of Madison, 
 Wis., and Mrs. Frances Chapman at Forest, 
 Miss. Mary Ann Hovey died in Vermont at 
 an early age, and Mrs. Clara Chaffee died at 
 Richland Center, Wisconsin. 
 
 Eleazer Hovey was born June 8, 1829, and 
 was nearly nineteen years of age when he 
 came into Wisconsin with his parents. Fie 
 well remembers the wilderness, as this country 
 appeared more than half a century ago. He 
 actively assisted his father and older brothers 
 in reclaiming the land and converting it into 
 a fertile farm, and here has been his home to 
 the present time. 
 
 Mr. Hovey was married Aug. 3, 1855, to 
 his excellent wife, then Clara A. Scofield, a 
 daughter of James and Rachel D. (Rand) 
 Scofield, both natives of Vermont and descend- 
 ants of old New England families. Three 
 Scofield brothers came over from England in 
 Colonial times, one of whom was Mrs. Hovey’s 
 great-grandfather. Frederick Scofield was her 
 grandfather. James Scofield, his wife, and 
 four children, came from Vermont, where they 
 were reared, and in 1854 located in Wiscon- 
 sin. I here were eight children in the family, 
 and the oldest daughter preceded her parents 
 to Lafayette county, as the wife of a brother 
 of Eleazer Hovey, and other children came on 
 to Wisconsin later. James Scofield died here 
 in 1875, an d his widow in 1880. Mrs. Hovey’s 
 
 ancestry on both sides participated in the Rev- 
 olution. Her grandfather, known as Capt. ' 
 Zach Rand, served under Gen. Stark, while 
 one of her great-grandfathers, Capt. Mott, 
 served under Washington in the French and 
 Indian war, and for a time was commander 
 at Fort Defiance, built by Washington at the 
 outbreak of hostilities. James Scofield and his’ 
 wife were warmly cherished in the old pio- 
 neer associations as worthy and estimable peo- 
 ple. Like the IToveys, they were also allied 
 with the Baptist Church. James Scofield was 
 a Whig in his early life, but as he held strong 
 anti-slavery views, when the slavery question 
 became the vital issue he united with the Re- 
 publican party and voted its ticket in his later 
 years. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hovey have a son, Harry, 
 born June 27, 1862. He was reared on the 
 homestead in the town of Darlington, and 
 married Leda Blackburn, by whom he has two 
 daughters, Helen and Mildred. Mrs. Leda 
 Hovey was born in Canada, only child of John 
 and Priscilla (Richards) Blackburn, natives' 
 of England, who came into Lafayette county 
 from Kansas, when their daughter was a 
 child, and both are now deceased. Mr. Black- 
 burn was a man of liberal culture, and had 
 his education in London. He was a printer, 
 but did not follow that trade after locating in 
 this county. Mr. and Mrs. Eleazer Hovey 
 have now retired from the farm, which is oc- 
 cupied by their son and his family, and are 
 living in their pleasant and attractive home in 
 the city of Darlington, where they are pass- 
 ing a serene and beautiful old age. 
 
 ABRAHAM STAUFFACHER, of Jor- 
 dan Center, Jordan township, Green county, 
 one of the leading and most progressive citi- 
 zens of the locality, is a native of Switzerland, 
 born April 21, 1843, i n the village of Matt, 
 Canton Glarus. 
 
 Jacob Stauffacher, his father, was born 
 July 10, 1788, and died Feb. 11, 1858, hav- 
 ing passed all his days in Switzerland, where, 
 in Canton Glarus, he was for many years a 
 mail carrier and postmaster. He was a son of 
 Tacob Stauffacher, a farmer in the land of 
 William Tell. Jacob Jr., married Catherine 
 Wild, who was born June 6 , 1798’ an< d died 
 in Switzerland Aug. 11, 1865. Phey had a 
 family of ten children, four of whom died in 
 infancy, the others' being: Flenry, Barbaia, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 767 
 
 Rosina, Jacob, Catherine and Abraham, all 
 now deceased except the last named. 
 
 Abraham Stauffacher was reared on a farm 
 in, and received his education in the district 
 schools of, his native land. When old enough 
 he learned the trade of locksmith, which lie 
 followed for several years. In 1867 he came 
 to this country, reaching his destination, Green 
 county, Wis., on June 21, 1867, and for some 
 months worked at his trade in New Glams', 
 in the employ of Constantine Hegely, after 
 which, in the same town, lie entered into a 
 partnership with G. Schindler, which contin- 
 ued about two years. He then built a shop, 
 and pursued his trade, alone, some three years, 
 when he sold out to Michael Smith, and re- 
 moved to the city of Monroe, where for a year 
 he was in the employ of a manufacturing com- 
 pany. In 1874 Mr. Stauffacher came to Jor- 
 dan township and purchased a blacksmith shop, 
 carrying on that trade about two years, at the 
 end of that time buying thirteen acres of 
 farm land, on which he built his present shop, 
 and where he has met with excellent success. 
 From time to time he added to this property 
 until he has now 320 acres of good farm land, 
 equipped with a comfortable dwelling, and two 
 of the most commodious bank barns in the 
 township. 
 
 O11 Feb. 13, 1866, Abraham Stauffacher 
 was married in Switzerland to Miss Elsbeth 
 Baebler, of Canton Glarus, a daughter of Al- 
 bright and Elsbeth Baebler. Children as fol- 
 lows have come to this union, all natives of 
 Wisconsin except the eldest: Jacob, born in 
 
 Switzerland Nov. 7, 1866, married Anna 
 
 Knobel, of Jordan, Green county; Albert FI., 
 born July 4, 1868, in New Glarus, Wis., re- 
 sides in South Dakota; John, born Oct. 21, 
 1869, is a widower with five children, and re- 
 sides on the home place ; Ernst Abraham, born 
 Feb. 6, 1871, resides in South Dakota; Cath- 
 erine, born Aug. 4, 1872, married Miles O. 
 Newman, of Peterson, Iowa; Edward, born 
 April 12, 1874, lives in Monroe, Green coun- 
 ty; Rosa, born April 15, 1876, is the wife of 
 Franklin Ellis, a farmer of Jordan township, 
 Green county; Henry, born Dec. 2, 1877; Will- 
 iam D., April 12, 1879. Miss Elsbeth, June 
 19, 1881, and Otto, Oct. 28, 1885, are all at 
 home. Mr. Stauffacher has been remarkably 
 fortunate in his family his eleven children all 
 enjoying excellent health. The most serious 
 accident in the family occurred July 31, 1889, 
 
 when his daughter Catherine, received a slight 
 shock of lightning, at the time she was milk- 
 ing a cow, which was instantly killed. 
 
 In politics our subject is a stanch Demo- 
 crat, and has served in various public offices, 
 including those of school director, treasurer, 
 clerk, and chairman of the township board six 
 years in all, also township treasurer for five 
 years. For seven years he was postmaster 
 at Jordan. In addition to farming pursuits, 
 he is interested in the Cooperative Cheese 
 Factory, and carries on blacksmithing in his 
 shop -on the home place. He is a representa- 
 tive self-made man, having come to America 
 without a dollar, and, by his own persistent 
 effort and the aid of his' industrious wife and 
 children, has accumulated a nice competence. 
 
 DARIUS DANIELS WINKLEY. The 
 family name of Winkley (or, as it is sometimes 
 spelled, Winckley) is one of the oldest and 
 most respected in New England. Its Ameri- 
 can founder, Samuel Winckley, Esq., emigrat- 
 ed from Lancashire, England, and it ap- 
 pears that his first place of residence was Lit- 
 tery, Maine. There he first settled in 1680, 
 and there in 1684 he married Sarah Trickey, 
 whose father, Thomas, dwelt upon land grant- 
 ed him by the town council as early as 1656. 
 After his marriage Samuel Winckley removed, 
 about 1684, to Portsmouth, N. H., where he 
 became engaged in trade and commerce, and 
 where he died in 1736, aged about seventy, 
 years. From this ancestor the gentleman 
 whose name is mentioned above traces an un- 
 broken line of descent. The family arms : An 
 eagle displayed counter charged, argent and 
 gules; motto, Spes. 
 
 Of the seven children born to the sturdy 
 English emigrant, the second, Francis Wink- 
 ley ( 1 ) , was the great-great-grandfather of 
 Darius D. He was born in 1689, and died in 
 1776. Pie made his home in Kittery, Maine, 
 and was a boat builder. He married Mary, 
 a daughter of Rev. John Emerson, of Ports- 
 mouth, N. H., and by her became the fa- 
 ther of seven children. The fourth of these, 
 Francis Winkley (2), was born in 1733, and 
 died Oct. 9, 1818. He married Martha, 
 
 daughter of Mark Hunking, of Barrington, 
 N. H. She was born in 1734, and died Jan. 
 16, 1807. They were the parents of six chil- 
 dren, the fifth of whom, also 1 named Francis 
 (and known as Francis (3) in the genealog- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 76a 
 
 ical tree), was the grandfather of Darius D. 
 Winkley. Francis Winkley (3) was born in 
 1774, and died in April, 1855. He married 
 Sarah Drew, who was born in 1778, and died 
 March 26, 1846. She bore her husband nine 
 children. Of these the fourth, Darius, was 
 the father of the subject of this memoir. He 
 was three times married, first to Ursula Hall, 
 second to Maria Daniels, and lastly to Sarah 
 Cate. Darius Daniels was the child of the 
 second marriage, and his mother died at his 
 birth. 
 
 Our subject was born at Barrington, N. 
 FL, Aug. 15, 1847. His early educational ad- 
 vantages were those afforded by the district 
 schools of that period, but, limited as they 
 were, he improved them as far as his .limited 
 opportunities would permit. When a young 
 man of seventeen years he determined to seek 
 his fortune in a broader field. His uncle, 
 Cyrus Winkley, had acquired a patent to land 
 in what is now the township of Clinton, Rock 
 Co., Wis., and thither young Darius turned his 
 steps. He had little in his pocket, but he was 
 endowed with that pluck, energy, fortitude and 
 integrity which have stood him in good stead 
 all his life. For several years he worked as a 
 farm laborer, but through the combination 
 of the traits above indicated he is to-day one 
 of Rock county’s most prosperous farmers, 
 owning 236 acres of fertile, well-improved 
 land, which he manages after the best methods, 
 and in the cultivation of which he employs 
 the most approved machinery. 
 
 In 1876 Mr. Winkley was married to Miss 
 Nellie Griswold, daughter of Cyrus and Fan- 
 nie Adelia (Eggleson) Griswold. Her father, 
 Cyrus Griswold, was not only one of Clinton’s 
 prosperous farmers, but a man of affairs as 
 well, having been a member of the board of 
 supervisors for many years before his death, 
 which occurred in March, 1900, after he had 
 spent a useful and honored life extending over 
 fourscore and five years. The union of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Winkley has been blessed with three 
 children, Elsie M., Cyrus A., and George R. 
 
 Mr. Winkley is a Republican politically, 
 yet his sterling character commands the re- 
 spect of men of all political creeds, while his' 
 unflinching, unwavering integrity, his enlight- 
 ened public spirit, his generous disposition, and 
 his kindly ways, endear him to all classes of 
 the community. 
 
 A. N. RANDALL is a distinguished rep- 
 resentative of the legal profession at Brod- 
 head, Green county, and his years of experi- 
 ence and practical knowledge of men and busi- 
 ness, backed by an upright character, give 
 weight to his legal lore in the minds of both 
 judge and jury. He was admitted to the Bar 
 m 1869, and for over thirty years has devoted 
 himself to his profession. 
 
 Mr. Randall was born in Erie county, N. 
 \ ., Aug. 22, 1830, a son of Archibald R. 
 and Eunice (Cheney) Randall, natives of New 
 York and Connecticut, respectively. They 
 were the parents of eight children, two of whom 
 are now living: Irene, the wife of William 
 Fludson, of Spring Valley, Rock Co., Wis.; 
 and A. N. The father was a farmer in Erie 
 county, N. Y., and died there Feb. 28, 1830, 
 at the early age of thirty-eight years. His 
 widow came west and settled in Rock county, 
 Wis., in 1850, and lived there a number of 
 years. She spent her last years, however, in 
 Brodhead, where she died in 1889, at the age 
 of eighty-nine. They were Methodists, and 
 he served in the war of 1812. His father, Elisha 
 Randall, was a native of Massachusetts, and 
 moved into New York, where he died in 1846, 
 at the age of ninety-one. He was of English 
 descent, and served in the Revolution. He 
 was the father of five children. Daniel Cheney, 
 the father of Eunice referred to above, was 
 born in Connecticut, near the Massachusetts 
 line, and came of English ancestry. He was 
 a farmer, was the father of three daughters 
 and two sons, and died at the age of sixty- 
 seven. 
 
 A. N. Randall was reared on the family 
 farm, and attended the district school, finish- 
 ing his schooling at the Brockport Collegiate 
 Institute. He lived in the State of New York 
 until 1847, when he came to Wisconsin, and 
 located in the town of Avon, Rock county, 
 where the next year he bought eighty acres 
 of land, and at a subsequent period added to 
 it 105 acres. He engaged in the cultivation 
 of his land during the summers, and taught 
 school winters until the breaking out of the 
 Civil war. He enlisted in Company G, 13th 
 Wis. V. I., and served until Feb. 1, 1865. He 
 was captain of that company, and in 1862 com- 
 manded a battalion, consisting of his own 
 company, a company of regulars, and two In- 
 diana companies, protecting the lines of com- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 769 
 
 munication from Smithlancl, Ivy., to Forts 
 Henry and Donelson. He cleared that part of 
 the country of guerrillas, and rejoined his regi- 
 ment at Fort Henry late in the tall of the year. 
 During the following year his regiment was 
 brigaded with the 71st Ohio, the 83d Illinois 
 and the 5th Iowa Cavalry, under the command 
 of Col. YV. W. Low. During that winter 
 this brigade pursued and drove Gen. Forrest 
 over three hundred miles in eleven days. It 
 then turned to pursue Gen. Woodward, and re- 
 captured Clarksville. The following summer 
 Capt. Randall was detailed to command a bat- 
 talion of mounted infantry, and had numerous 
 skirmishes and light battles with the guerrillas, 
 notably with those under Henderson, Lytle 
 and Dick McCann. ' He cleared the country of 
 guerrillas from the Ohio south to Duck river, 
 in West Tennessee. The following year Capt. 
 Randall was detailed on a court-martial, and 
 served as its president for fourteen weeks at 
 Nashville. During the sessions of this court 
 the noted guerrilla chief, Gurley, was tried and 
 sentenced to death for the murder of Col. Mc- 
 Cook. Capt. Randall rejoined his regiment in 
 camp near Nashville, and was soon after de- 
 tailed on the staff of Maj.-Gen. Lovell H. Ros- 
 seau, as Inspector General of the District of 
 Tennessee. He was still serving in this ca- 
 pacity when mustered out in 1865. While on 
 staff duty with Gen. Rosseau he participated 
 in the following battles: Five battles against 
 Gen. Joe Wheeler; two against Gen. Forrest; 
 the battle of Franklin; and the battle of Nash- 
 ville. 
 
 While on duty at Nashville, Capt. Randall 
 became acquainted with Miss Emma C. Loof- 
 bourow, daughter of Judge Wade and Nancy 
 (Swinney) Loofbourow, of Washington. Fay- 
 ette Co., Ohio, and on March 27, 1865, she 
 became his bride. They have had two children : 
 Margaret M., who died in 1881, at the age of 
 fifteen years; and Louis A., who lives in Brod- 
 head. Mr. Randall belongs to the Bicknell 
 Lodge, No. 94, A. F. & A. M., and also Wes- 
 ley W. Patton Post, No. 90, G. A. R. He and 
 his wife are members of the Brodhead chapter 
 of the Eastern Star. Politically he is a Re- 
 publican, and for five years was a member of 
 the county board. In 1882 and 1883 he served 
 a term in the State Senate. He owns a quar- 
 ter section of very desirable Dakota property, 
 and has a fine home in Brodhead. 
 
 Mrs. Randall’s father was a soldier in the 
 49 
 
 war of 1812, and died at the age of sixty- 
 seven years. Fie was twice married, and each 
 wife bore him four children, and two children 
 of each wife are now living : Narcissa is the 
 widow of Bennett P. La Wright, of Litch- 
 field, 111 . ; Helen, widow of Peter Harris, of 
 Brodhead; those of the second marriage are 
 David T., of Los Angeles, Cal. ; and Emma 
 C., the wife of Capt. Randall. Her father 
 was born in New Jersey, and her mother in 
 Ohio. Mr. Loofbourow was circuit judge for 
 many years, and for about forty years prac- 
 ticed law in Ohio, whither he went about 1815. 
 He was a delegate to the convention that nom- 
 inated Martin Van Buren for President of the 
 United States. During the Civil war he was 
 an ardent partisan of the Union cause. His 
 second wife, Mrs. Randall’s mother, died the 
 day she was forty-seven. 
 
 ROLLIN OLSON (deceased), who in his 
 lifetime was one of the best known and most 
 highly respected citizens of Jordan township, 
 Green county, is worthy of more than mere 
 passing notice in the pages of this work. 
 
 A native of Norway, Mr. Olson was born 
 Nov. 10, 1831, near the city of Christiania, 
 a son of Ole and Carrie (Iverson) Olson, who 
 passed their entire lives in Norway. In 1846, 
 then a lad of fifteen summers, Rollin Olson 
 came to the United States, and first located in 
 Dane county, Wis., later living in Iowa and 
 Lafayette counties, and afterward removing 
 to Jordan township, Green county, where he 
 purchased 120 acres of land, and followed 
 farming pursuits during the rest of his life. 
 
 On Aug. 5, 1854, Mr. Olson married Mary 
 Peterson, of Lafayette county, Wis., born near 
 Christiania, Norway, Oct. 16, 1837, a daugh- 
 ter of Peter and Mary (Hanson) Peter- 
 son, also natives of Norway. Mr. Peter- 
 son died in that country, and his widow came 
 to Wisconsin, settling in Lafayette county, 
 when their daughter, Mary, was fifteen years 
 old. To this union were born six children, a 
 brief record of whom is here given : ( 1 ) 
 
 Caroline, born April 5, 1855, is the widow of 
 Lars O. Grove, a sketch of whom appears 
 elsewhere. (2) Morgan P., born June 17, 
 1859, married Miss Planson, of Jordan town- 
 ship, Green county, and died Nov. 14, 1892, 
 in Clark county, S. Dak., leaving a widow and 
 five children. (3) Clara A., born Dec. 26, 
 1866, is the wife of E. B. Tollefson, of Clark 
 
77 o 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 county, S. Dak. (4) Oscar R., born March 
 24, 1869, married Carrie J. Johnson, of York 
 township, Green county ; he was register of 
 deeds for Green county some six years; in the 
 Spanish- American war he served in the 1st 
 Wis. V. I. as adjutant, with the rank of cap- 
 tain. (5) William I., born Oct. 11, 1873, 
 married Miss Emma Boynton, of Jordan town- 
 ship, Green county ; he is a farmer by occupa- 
 tion. (6) Henry E., the youngest in the fam- 
 ily, born March 29, 1879, received his edu- 
 cation in part at the common schools of Green 
 county, in part at Stoughton Academy and 
 Albion (Wis.) Academy. As a farmer, he 
 is operating part of the old Olson homestead, 
 also 120 acres adjoining, and has already 
 made his mark as a scientific agriculturist, 
 dairyman and cheese manufacturer. On Feb. 
 7, 1901, he married Miss Emma Olson, of 
 Jordan township, Green county. In politics' he 
 is a Republican. 
 
 Rollin Olson, the subject proper of these 
 lines, during the war of the Rebellion enlisted 
 in Company E, 15th Wis. V. I., and served 
 from Feb. 14, 1862, until Dec. 20, 1864, being 
 both mustered in and mustered out at Madi- 
 son, Wis. His regiment was attached to the 
 Army of the Cumberland, and participated in. 
 the following battles: Island No. 10; Union 
 City, Tenn. ; Perryville ; Missionary Ridge ; 
 Chaplin Hills ; Stone River, where Mr. Olson 
 received a severe wound ; and Chickamauga. 
 In these last two battles the 15th Wisconsin 
 took prominent part, and at the last named 
 en §‘ a §‘ emen t Mr. Olson was taken prisoner. 
 For many months he was confined in Libby 
 prison, where he was nearly starved to death, 
 but he returned home alive in 1864. He 
 proved a brave and true soldier, and wore his 
 laurels well, going to the front as a private, 
 and returning with the rank of first lieutenant. 
 
 Mr. Olson then resumed the vocations of 
 peace, buying 120 acres of land in Jordan 
 township, Green county, which he continued 
 to cultivate up to his death. A leading citi- 
 zen of his township, he served in various po- 
 sitions of honor and trust : as member of the 
 board ; school director ; chairman of the town- 
 ship board; assessor, three terms'; and as 
 census ^numerator for both 1880 and 1890. 
 In politics he was always a stanch Republican, 
 and in religious faith a consistent member of 
 the Lutheran Church. Mr. Olson was called 
 from earth March 31, 1898, and his remains 
 
 were interred in the Norwegian cemetery in 
 Jordan township, Green county. A man pos- 
 sessed of high moral character, a brave sol- 
 dier, an honorable citizen, a noble father and 
 model husband, he died deeply lamented by all 
 who knew him. 
 
 JOHN ELLSWORTH, a well-known 
 early settler of the town of Mifflin, Iowa coun- 
 ty, is a native of New York State, born Jan. 
 9, 1823, in Penn Yan, Yates county, and is 
 one of a family of eight children. 
 
 Jonathan Ellsworth, his father, belonged 
 to a well-known Connecticut family, which was 
 identified with that State when it was a colony 
 of Great Britain. In the genealogy of the fam- 
 ily it is recorded that four brothers emigrated 
 from Wales to this country, during the in- 
 fancy of the American Colonies, t>ecoming 
 prominently identified with the early history 
 of the country, and their descendants are nu- 
 merous throughout the Union. William W. 
 Ellsworth, great-grandfather of the subject of 
 this' sketch, was at one time governor of Con- 
 necticut. Jonathan Ellsworth, father of John, 
 of whom we write, died in Yates county, N. 
 Y., after which the widowed mother, with her 
 eight children, removed to Ontario county, 
 same State, but, eventually, she and five chil- 
 dren (three having died in the East) came 
 West. The three children surviving at this 
 writing are John, our subject; Amanda, Mrs. 
 Chapin, of Dane county, Wis. ; and Capt. S. 
 K., of Madison. Those who died in the West 
 were Mrs. Elista Palmer, who passed away in 
 Baraboo, Wis., in 1897; and Reuben, who 
 went to California in the early days of that 
 State, dying there some time in the ’fifties. 
 
 John Ellsworth, whose name opens this 
 sketch, was the first member of the family to 
 came West, his first location being, in 1846, 
 on a farm in Oregon, Dane Co., Wis. In 
 1857, he settled on a farm in Mifflin town- 
 ship, Iowa county, where he has ever since made 
 his home. But little improvement had been 
 made thereon when Mr. Ellsworth settled on 
 it, much of the land being in a wild state. He 
 eventually became the owner of 640 acres, 600 
 of which, in one body, are now in excellent 
 condition for agricultural purposes. For many 
 years after his removal to Iowa county Mr. 
 Ellsworth continued to own his Dane county 
 farm. 
 
 On Oct. 20, 1842, John Ellsworth was 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 71 1 
 
 married in Canandaigua, N. Y., to Eliza Ann 
 Green, a native of Yates county, N. Y., born 
 June 14, 1825. Ten children were the result 
 of this union, eight of whom — four sons and 
 four daughters — -are yet living: Amanda E., 
 
 Mrs. David, of Montana; Henry G., of Bar- 
 ron, Wis. ; John M., sketch of whom follows; 
 Eliza, Mrs. Baker, of Edmund, Wis. ; Mary 
 F., Mrs. Packard, of Paoli, Wis'. ; Reuben, 
 sketch of whom follows; Elmer E., of Living- 
 ston, Wis. ; and Rachel, wife of Morland Pres- 
 ton, of Rewey, Wis. Two children died in 
 early life, Lydia and Kellogg. Mr. and Mrs. 
 John Ellsworth are numbered among the well- 
 known early settlers of southwestern Wiscon- 
 sin, and together they have traveled the path 
 of life nearly sixty years, rearing their children 
 to honorable and useful citizenship. Two of 
 their sons, John M. and Reuben, manage the 
 large farm which their father, owing to the 
 physical infirmities incidental to advancing 
 years, is no longer able to conduct. 
 
 John M. Ellsworth, the elder of these 
 brothers, was born May 5, 1852, in Oregon, 
 Dane Co., Wis., and was reared on the old 
 homestead. In the way of education lie was 
 given liberal advantages, he having for three 
 years been a student at the State Normal 
 School, at Platteville, Grant county, and for 
 two years' pursued the modern classical course 
 at the Wisconsin State University. Afterwards 
 he returned to the home farm, chiefly on ac- 
 count of his father’s failing health. For several 
 years John M. dealt in fine-bred horses, and 
 for some time was superintendent of Capt. 
 Pabst’s stock farm, at Wauwatosa, Wis., 
 where were to be found some of the finest- 
 bred horses in the country. He is prominent 
 in the Masonic order, and a member of Min- 
 eral Point Commandery, Knights' Templar. 
 
 In 1877 John M. Ellsworth was married to 
 Miss Elvira B. Hutchens, daughter of Noah 
 Hutchens, and two children have blessed this 
 union : Eastman D. and Earnest H. The par- 
 ents are highly esteemed in the community 
 where they live. In politics Mr. Ellsworth is 
 a stanch Republican. Mrs. Ellsworth is also 
 a native of Wisconsin, born in Platteville. 
 She received an excellent education, mainly at 
 the State Normal School of that place, and for 
 some years prior to her marriage she was a 
 successful teacher. 
 
 Reuben Ellsworth, a younger brother of 
 John M., was born Feb. 26, 1861, on the 
 
 homestead whereon he now lives. When old 
 enough he assisted on the farm, at the same 
 time attending the public schools of the dis- 
 trict; for two years he also attended the State 
 Normal School, Platteville. When he reached 
 his majority he engaged in operating a farm 
 near the village of Cobb, Iowa county, and 
 conducted same for three years, after which he 
 carried on a livery in that village four years. 
 During the succeeding ten years he was en- 
 gaged in business in Keith and Lincoln, Neb., 
 at the end of that time returning to Mifflin 
 township, Iowa Co., Wis., where he operates 
 300 acres of the homestead farm. 
 
 On Nov. 9, 1881, Reuben Ellsworth was 
 married to Charlotte, daughter of John and 
 Adelaide Cocker, the former a native of Corn- 
 wall, England, and now a well-known and 
 highly respected resident of Sutherland, Lin- 
 coln Co., Neb. Many years ago a sad event 
 happened in the Cocker family, the paternal 
 grandfather of Mrs. Charlotte Ellsworth hav- 
 ing been accidentally drowned at sea, while 
 returning to England after a pleasant visit 
 among relatives in America. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Ellsworth have a family of ten children — five 
 sons and five daughters — as follows : Eliza, 
 
 Ida May, Edith, Joyce, Elmer, Reuben, Ralph, 
 Frank, John and Doris. In politics Mr. Ells- 
 worth was originally a Democrat, but since 
 1896 he has affiliated with the Republican 
 party. Socially he is a member of the Ma- 
 sonic fraternity, and of the Modern Wood- 
 men. 
 
 JAMES A. FATHERS has for six years 
 filled the office of city treasurer of Janesville, 
 Rock county, alike with fidelity to his im- 
 portant trust and satisfaction to the people. 
 
 Mr. Fathers’ parents, John and Ann 
 (Hart) Fathers, were both natives of England, 
 where they were married, and where they re- 
 sided until 1857. John Fathers was one of 
 three sons of a government official. By trade 
 he was a malster, and he was for many years 
 in the employ of Bass & Co., the famous Eng- 
 lish brewers. So capable was he in his call- 
 ing, and so well established was his reputation, 
 that in the year named the Lill & Diversey 
 Brewing Co., of Chicago, sent for him to come 
 to America and enter their service. He re- 
 mained in that city for two years, and in 1859 
 was sent by the concern to Janesville. The 
 firm’s losses in the fire of October, 1871, neces- 
 
77 2 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 sitated a suspension of business, and from that 
 time until his death — in 1882, at the age of 
 fifty-seven — Mr. Fathers led a life of retire- 
 ment and ease. Both he and his wife were 
 members of the Church of England. She still 
 survives him, at an advanced age. Their fam- 
 ily consisted of five children, three of whom are 
 yet living : William, whose home is in Har- 
 mony township, Rock county; James A.; and 
 Nellie, wife of William Green, of Janesville. 
 
 James A. Fathers was born in Chicago 
 May 5, 1859, and was but an infant when his 
 parents removed to Janesville. He attended 
 the public schools until he was fourteen years 
 old, when he entered the woolen mills of 
 Wheeler & Sons, intending to learn the trade 
 of a carder. Not liking the pursuit he aban- 
 doned it, and subsecjuently acquired the har- 
 ness making trade in the establishment of C. 
 
 H. Payne. After working four years as a 
 journeyman he bought out Mr. Payne, and 
 successfully conducted the business until 1889, 
 when ill health compelled his retirement from 
 active labor. For about three years he con- 
 ducted a meat market, but abandoned this en- 
 terprise upon his election to the city treasurer- 
 ship, in 1894. This office he has held con- 
 tinuously up to the present time, by successive 
 re-elections. To the discharge of his official 
 duties he brought a large fund of common 
 sense, a considerable knowledge of public af- 
 fairs, and unswerving integrity, which quali- 
 ties, joined to gentleness of disposition and 
 urbanity of manner, admirably qualify him for 
 a post of grave responsibility, whose occu- 
 pant is daily called upon to do business with 
 “all sorts and conditions of men.” The year 
 .1894, however, did not mark Mr. Fathers’ 
 debut in the arena of public life. At the age 
 of twenty-two he was chosen, on the Republi- 
 can ticket, to represent the Third ward upon 
 the board of aldermen. He occupied a seat 
 in that body for four years, and for three years 
 served as president of the council. He is uni- 
 versally popular, and is regarded as one of 
 Janesville’s most influential citizens. He is 
 a stockholder in the Bower City Bank. Mr. 
 Fathers belongs to both the Masonic and Odd 
 Fellows fraternities, being a member of Janes- 
 ville Lodge, No. 55, A. F. & A. M., and high 
 priest of Janesville Chapter, No. 5, R. A. M. 
 He belongs to Janesville City Lodge, No. 90, 
 
 I. O. O. F., has filled all the chairs in the 
 encampment, and was chosen grand repre- 
 
 sentative for 1893-94. Some fifteen years ago 
 he bought his present pleasant home, at No. 
 259 South Main street. 
 
 S^i VER H. BOHN. One of the most de- 
 sirable farms of Green county is located on 
 Section 10, in Adams township, eighteen miles 
 northwest of Monroe, and is the valuable 
 property of one of the wealthy and highly es- 
 teemed farmers, Syver H. Bohn. 
 
 Mr. Bohn was born July 17, 1846, near 
 Walders, Norway, a country which has con- 
 tributed some of the best types of citizenship 
 which Wisconsin is proud to acknowledge. 
 His father was Flermon Hermonson, who 
 died in his' native country, and when Mr. Bohn 
 came to America, he adopted his present name. 
 Mr. Bohn came to Green county in 1870, and 
 three years later married Miss Julia Nelson, 
 of Adams township, a daughter of Andrew 
 Nelson, who was also ;a native of Norway. 
 Seven children have been born to this union: 
 Annie, who died at the age of twenty; Inga, 
 married to B. G. Vinger, and lives four miles 
 from her old home ; Hannah, who passed away 
 when young; Andrew, who died when twenty- 
 one; Hannah, at home; Julia and Ida, also at 
 home. Mr. Bolm has been sorely bereft, as in 
 1898 his beloved wife was removed by death, 
 at the early age of forty-one. She was a most 
 estimable, Christian lady, a devoted wife and 
 an affectionate and self-sacrificing mother. 
 Fler mother, Mrs. Nelson, makes her home 
 with our subject, and in spite of her eighty- 
 four years, is enjoying good health. 
 
 Before coming to America, Mr. Bohn re- 
 ceived a fair education, and his natural intelli- 
 gence has given him a prominent position in 
 township affairs, where he has been called upon 
 to serve as school director and road supervisor, 
 and he is particularly active in the Lutheran 
 Church, in which he is an official, and a liberal 
 and cheerful contributor. 
 
 The fine farm owned by Mr. Bohn con- 
 sists of 200 acres, and upon it is a commodious 
 and comfortable dwelling, with excellent barns 
 and other improvements, and lie is entirely out 
 of debt, and is so situated that he has no reason 
 to fear that “rainy day,” which it is wise to 
 prepare for. Mr. Bohn has earned all these 
 comforts by his own efforts, being an indus- 
 trious and careful as well as energetic and pro- 
 gressive farmer. He is engaged in general 
 farming, and in connection conducts a dairy- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ill 
 
 ing business and manufactures' cheese, milking 
 as many as 25 cows per day. While accumu- 
 lating his property he has also built up a repu- 
 tation for honesty and upright dealing, which 
 has gained for him the confidence and respect 
 of all with whom he comes in contact. In 
 politics, Mr. Bohn is an ardent Republican and 
 exerts considerable influence in favor of his 
 chosen party. His standing is high, and it 
 is a matter of congratulation with him, that no 
 business dealing of his 'has ever made it neces- 
 sary for him to call in the law. 
 
 JOHN B. ORTSCHEID, a prominent 
 real estate dealer, notary public and convey- 
 ancer, of Cassville, Grant county, was born 
 in Alsace, France, Dec. 2, 1842, a son of Jo- 
 seph and Mary Ann (Blint) Ortscheid, also 
 natives of Alsace; there the father died in 
 1851. Six years later the widowed mother, 
 accompanied by her son, John B.,- and daugh- 
 ter, Magdalena, came to America. They took 
 passage on board a sailing vessel at Havre, 
 and after fifty-six days spent upon the At- 
 lantic, reached New York in safety. They 
 crossed the country by rail to East Dubuque, 
 111., and from there came up the river on 
 a steamer to Cassville, Wis., landing here Aug. 
 27, 1857. The mother died at this place in 
 1869. She had nine children, five of whom 
 became residents of Cassville, and of these 
 we have record of Frank Joseph, who located 
 here in 1856, but is now living in East Galena, 
 111., and owns a valuable farm of 640 acres of 
 land; Andrew also came to Cassville in 1856, 
 and now makes his home at North Andover, 
 Grant county ; Magdalena died in Cassville ; 
 •and John B., still a resident of this place. 
 
 John B. Ortscheid was a lad of fourteen 
 years when he arrived in Cassville, which town 
 at that time contained but twelve or fourteen 
 families'. Here he at first worked as a day 
 laborer, but later learned the baker’s trade at 
 Dubuque and Galena, and in 1864 embarked 
 in the bakery and saloon business at Cassville, 
 continuing until April. 1865. Four years later 
 he erected a good frame building, where he 
 successfully conducted a bakery and restaurant 
 for thirty-one years, or until 1899, when he 
 sold out. For a number of years he has han- 
 dled real estate, and now devotes his entire 
 time to that business, being the only exclusive 
 real estate dealer in Cassville. He handles 
 both village and farm property in Cassville and 
 
 Patch Grove townships, has property for sale 
 in the Red River valley, Minn., and is doing 
 quite a large and profitable business. 
 
 At Dubuque, Feb. 4, 1864, Mr. Ortscheid 
 was united in marriage with Miss Catharine 
 Zeug, a native of Potosi, Grant county, and a 
 daughter of Peter and Barbara (Caternine) 
 Zeug. Her father was' born in Germany, and 
 on coming to this country in 1830, located in 
 Dubuque, but the following year took up his 
 residence in Potosi, where he now lives at the 
 advanced age of ninety-eight years. During 
 his active business life he followed mining and 
 farming. His wife died in 1886. In their 
 family were the following children : Peter, 
 
 who died in San Francisco, Cal.; Frank and 
 Burnhard, both residents of Iowa; William, 
 now in the Klondike ; John, who was drowned 
 in Grant river; John (2), who died young; 
 Mrs. Barbara Bluemer, of Potosi ; Mrs. Bar- 
 bara Caspars, of Cassville; and Mrs. Cath- 
 arine Ortscheid. Fourteen children have been 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Ortscheid, namely : Ed- 
 ward P., who died at Seattle, Wash., in 1897, 
 aged thirty-two years ; Amelia, who died in 
 Cassville, in 1867; Josephine Clara, a Sister 
 of Notre Dame, Grand Rapids; Mary Barbara, 
 a Sister of Notre Dame, Prairie du Chien; 
 Lena, who married Charles Starr, of La 
 Crosse, Wis., and died in 1896; Anna, who 
 married Jacob Sc'huh, and has three children, 
 Clarence, Paul, and Irma, of Milwaukee. 
 Wis.; William P., a jeweler, of Cassville; 
 Maggie, who married Frank B. Burdick, and 
 has three children, Edward McKinley, Flor- 
 ence and Agnes; Bernhart William, who was 
 born in Cassville, Jan. 17, 1873, an d died on 
 the 2 1 st of the following February; Louisa 
 Mary, wife of Albert Kleinpell, of Colesburg, 
 Iowa; Matthew Bernard, now a barber, and 
 real estate and collection agent of Chicago, 
 who enlisted in the State Guards of Wiscon- 
 sin, and was a member of Company G, 4th 
 Wis. V. I., in the Spanish- American war; 
 George Washington; Florence Mary, a resi- 
 dent of Milwaukee; and Agnes' Otillia, at 
 home. 
 
 Mr. Ortscheid and his family hold mem- 
 bership in the Catholic Church, and he is also 
 a charter member of Branch No. 34, Cath- 
 olic Knights. In connection with his other 
 business he is also interested in mining and in 
 quarrying stone for building purposes. His 
 home property consists of about twenty-six 
 
774 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 acres in the village corporation, upon which he 
 has erected a pleasant residence. In 1862, dur- 
 ing the Civil war, he tried to enlist in the 12th 
 Iowa V. I., but being under age he was re- 
 jected. Politically Mr. Ortscheid was first a 
 Republican, but is now a supporter of the Dem- 
 ocratic party. Being one of the leading and 
 influential 'citizens of his town, he has' been 
 called upon to fill several local positions of 
 honor and trust. He has served as road over- 
 seer and township treasurer ; was village treas- 
 urer from 1893 to 1898; constable from 1876 
 to 1880; justice of the peace from 1880 to 
 1894, during which time he married sixty- 
 three couples; and was member of the village 
 trustees in 1900. He is a man of excellent 
 business and executive ability, whose sound 
 judgment, unflagging enterprise and capable 
 management have brought to him a well-merit- 
 ed success'. 
 
 CHARLES A. LYTLE, a reputable citi- 
 zen and formerly a druggist of Monroe, Green 
 county, had, during his business career, a pat- 
 ronage that extended far out into the adjacent 
 country, and he has ever borne a good name 
 that is the result of years of industry and in- 
 tegrity. 
 
 Mr. Lytle was born in Mount Joy, Lan- 
 caster county, Penn., March 24, 1845, a son 
 of Samuel S. P. and Anna Belle (Hendrick- 
 son) Lytle, both natives of that county. Three 
 sons and four daughters were born to them, 
 four of their children are now living: Charles' 
 A.; Samuel S. P., Jr., of Mount Joy; Jennie 
 R., the wife of Michael Detweiler, of Mt. Joy; 
 and Anna Belle, of the same place. The fa- 
 ther was a farmer, and died at his home in Mt. 
 Joy, in January, 1898, at the age of seventy- 
 nine, and his wife died in 1886, when sixty- 
 two. They were Presbyterians. Joseph Lytle, 
 his father, was a native of Scotland, and a 
 farmer. He had seven children, and lived to 
 be over eighty years of age. Okey Hendrick- 
 son, the father of Anna Belle whose name ap- 
 pears above, was a native of Pennsylvania, and 
 of Scotch descent. He built the first hotel in 
 Mt. Joy and reached an advanced age. He 
 was the father of two daughters and five sons. 
 
 Charles A. Lytle spent his earlier life in 
 Mt. Joy, Penn., where he attended the public 
 schools and the academy, and obtained a very 
 fair education for the times. He entered a 
 drug store in Harrisburg, Penn., Jan. 1, 1862, 
 
 and two years later stood the medical exam- 
 ination, and received the appointment as sur- 
 geon steward on board the United States 
 steamer '‘Stettin,” where he served until the 
 close of the war. Mr. Lytle left the naval 
 service at the conclusion of the war, and re- 
 turned to the drug store in Harrisburg, where 
 he remained until the spring of 1866. That 
 year he made his first appearance in Wiscon- 
 sin, and began clerking for J. K. Eilert, who 
 was the first druggist in Green county, and 
 who had been a resident of Monroe for many 
 years. Warm bonds of personal attachment 
 soon came to exist between the two, and Mr. 
 Lytle continued with Mr. Eilert as long as 
 that gentleman lived, and when he died in 
 1892, succeeded to the business, which he con- 
 ducted until December, 1900. 
 
 Mr. Lytle and Miss Alice S. Banks were 
 married Dec. 20, 1871. Mrs. Lytle is a daugh- 
 ter of James A. and Grace M. (Walker) 
 Banks, of Leeds, England, and is a lady of 
 most charming character. She is the mother 
 of two children, Grace M. and Samuel. J., both 
 single. Mr. and Mrs. Lytle are members of 
 the Catholic Church, and he is affiliated with 
 the Royal Arcanum, and O. F. Pinney Post, 
 No. 102, G. A. R. He is a Republican, and 
 is a highly esteemed business man and citizen. 
 His home is at the corner of Main and Farmer 
 streets, in Monroe, which town has been his 
 abiding place for thirty-four years. 
 
 FRANCIS METCALFE, a retired busi- 
 ness man of Benton, Wis., was born in York- 
 shire, England, Jan. 10, 1837, and is a son of 
 James and Margaret (Netterson) Metcalfe,, 
 both born in England. The father was born 
 in 1806, and the mother in 1814. They had 
 a family of seven children, when they came to 
 America in 1849. They landed in this coun- 
 try at New Orleans, and journeyed up the 
 Mississippi river to Galena, 111., where the 
 father worked in the mines, and then pur- 
 chased a farm in Benton, on which he made 
 very liberal improvements. In 1868 he pur- 
 chased a farm in Dubuque county, Iowa, where 
 ■ he made his home until his death in 1884. His 
 widow died in 1892. Mr. Metcalfe was one 
 of the founders of the Methodist Church in 
 Benton, with which both were connected in 
 England. They were active in the work of 
 the Church. Mr. and Mrs. Metcalfe were the 
 parents of seventeen children, thirteen of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 775 
 
 whom grew to maturity : ( i ) Leonard was 
 married to Jane Kendall, and for some years' 
 lived in Benton. He was a member of the 
 96th 111 . V. I. during the Civil war. (2) 
 Matthew is in O’Brien, O’Brien Co., Iowa, 
 and has a family of six children. (3) Fran- 
 cis. (4) Thomas enlisted in the 96th 111 . V. 
 I., and served until his death near Nashville, 
 Tenn. (5) James was a member of the 96th 
 111 . V. I., and served until the close of the war. 
 He was married after his return from the war 
 to Margaret Alton, of Hazel Green. For 
 many years he was one of the prominent busi- 
 ness men of Benton. He is living in Minne- 
 apolis, where one of his four sons is being ed- 
 ucated at the State University. (6) Chris- 
 topher, a soldier of the 96th Illinois, is now 
 living near Dubuque, Iowa. (Four brothers 
 were in the one regiment.) After the war 
 he was married to Miss Mary A. Robson, of 
 Benton, and is now living on his farm near 
 Dubuque, Iowa. (7) Mary A. married John 
 Harker, who still lives in Cuba City, where 
 Mrs. Harker died in 1894, leaving a family of 
 five children. These seven members of the 
 family of Mr. and Mrs. Metcalfe were all born 
 in England. (8) Margaret, born in Benton, 
 married John Alexander, of Dubuque, and is 
 the mother of two children, William and Irene. 
 (9) John W., now a resident of Idaho Springs, 
 Colo., is unmarried. (10) Isabella, the wife 
 of Joseph Lewis, who resides on a farm near 
 Dubuque, is the mother of three children. ( 1 1 ) 
 Reuben is married, and resides in Dubuque ; he 
 has three children. (12) David married 
 Phoebe Dawson, of Dubuque, where they re- 
 side. He is engaged in the butcher business 
 in that city. They have one son, Earl Metcalfe. 
 (13) Emanuel, who married Miss Sweeney, of 
 Dubuque, resides in Des Moines. All the chil- 
 dren of Mr. and Mrs. Metcalfe who were not 
 natives of England were born in Lafayette 
 county. 
 
 Francis Metcalfe acquired his education in 
 the old country, and came with his parents to 
 this country when he was' eleven years of age. 
 In England he worked with his father four 
 years in the mines. After coming to this State 
 he pursued the same labor until he became a 
 young man. In 1862, with a company of 
 young men, he walked to British Columbia, 
 where they worked in the gold mines some 
 four years. As an experienced miner he com- 
 
 manded a daily wage of nine dollars, and was 
 quite successful in his work in that distant 
 country. 
 
 Francis Metcalfe was' married in 1868 to 
 Miss Sarah Alexander, of Benton, daughter 
 of William and Mary Alexander, pioneers in 
 the settlement of the State. Mrs. Metcalfe 
 was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1842, 
 and when eight years old came to Wisconsin 
 with her parents. Her education was obtained 
 in the public schools of the town of Benton. 
 
 Mr. Metcalfe purchased a residence in 
 Benton, and was engaged in active business 
 life until 1894, when he retired. His wife died 
 the preceding year, leaving seven children: 
 (1) Ida, born in 1869, is the wife of Arthur 
 Emerson, clerk of Lafayette county, and has 
 her home in Darlington. (2) Thomas J., born 
 in December, 1870, was graduated in the class 
 of 1892, from the Platteville Normal, and for 
 six years taught school. He is now a gradu- 
 ate of a dental school in Chicago, and is a 
 practicing dentist in Merrill, Wis. He was 
 married to Miss' Alice Harris, of Cuba City, 
 a daughter of Joseph Harris, one of the lead- 
 ing business men of that place. They have one 
 son, Harold H. (3) Clyde C., a graduate of 
 the Benton school, was married to Miss Susan 
 Sandefur, of Darlington, where they reside, 
 and where he is engaged in business as a liv- 
 eryman. They have one daughter. (4) James 
 W., born in March, 1876, is a graduate of the 
 Benton high school. He learned the trade of 
 tinner with W. H. Niles, and is now holding 
 the office of chief of police in Benton. In July, 
 1897, he was married to Miss Annie Buchan, 
 of Benton, daughter of Joseph Buchan, the 
 cashier of the Benton Bank. They reside in 
 Benton, and have one son, James Lloyd. (5) 
 Jessie I., born in 1878, was' a graduate of the 
 Platteville Normal in the class of 1896, and for 
 two years taught in the high school at Benton. 
 She died in December, 1898, a young lady of 
 much culture and many charms, with a host 
 of friends in the community. (6) Francis, 
 born in 1883, is now a student in the State 
 Normal at Platteville, after having graduated 
 from the Benton high school. (7) May O., 
 born in 1885. is a student in the Benton public 
 school. 
 
 Francis Metcalfe is a Republican, and is 
 identified with the Methodist Church, of which 
 he has always been an active member, as was 
 
776 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 also his wife. One of the solid men in the ! 
 community, Mr. Metcalfe has' for many years 
 been known by his honesty and manifest in- 
 tegrity. 
 
 FRANK D. KIMBALL. This gentleman 
 is well and favorably known throughout south- 
 ern Wisconsin as a business man of charac- 
 ter and standing in the city of Janesville, Rock 
 county. Lie began life with little to help him 
 beyond a sound constitution, a fairly good 
 education and an unusual endowment of force 
 and character, but by industry and thrift has 
 won for himself a position of affluence while 
 still in middle life. 
 
 Mr. Kimball was born in East Greenwich, 
 R. I., Dec. 12, 1848, only child of Fermer 
 and Adeline (Allen) Kimball. His father was 
 a native of the same State, while his mother 
 was born in Massachusetts. Fermer Kimball 
 was a carpenter and cabinet maker, and later 
 in life learned the trade of painting, and at 
 different times worked at all these trades. He 
 rmoved to Wisconsin in 1855, locating on a 
 200-acre farm in La Prairie township; he de- 
 voted himself to the improvement of this hand- 
 some tract, and soon converted it into a valua- 
 ble estate. In 1865 he became a resident of 
 Janesville, and for two years followed the trade 
 of painting. He did well, and went into the fur- 
 niture and manufacturing business, and pres- 
 ently acquired an interest in the Thoroughgood 
 box factory. He also owned a hardware store, 
 and besides maintaining his interest in the fac- 
 tory, conducted the store for a number of years. 
 During the last few years of his life he gave 
 his entire attention to the box factory, and 
 developed a large trade in cigar boxes and 
 cigar-box lumber. He was one of the organ- 
 izers of the Bower City Bank, and was once 
 its president. Lie died March 6, 1899, at the 
 age of seventy-six years and six months.. His 
 widow still survives, and occupies the old 
 home at the corner of Bluff and South Second 
 streets. She and her husband were regular 
 attendants of All Souls’ Church. Mr. Kim- 
 ball was a Republican, and served as supervisor 
 from the Third ward in Janesville for eight- 
 een years. He was chairman of the building 
 committee, under whose direction the Insane 
 Asylum was erected, and for two terms served 
 as chairman of the board. He was a member 
 of the Wisconsin Legislature in 1878, and 
 again in 1894 and 1895. 
 
 Dean Kimball, father of Fermer Kimball, 
 was a native of Rhode Island, and was of En- 
 glish descent. The family in America begins 
 its history with the story of three brothers, 
 who came to New England about 1638, find- 
 ing locations in Rhode Island, Vermont and 
 Pennsylvania. Dean Kimball was a farmer, 
 and died in Rhode Island when over eighty- 
 one, the father of eight children. The mater- 
 nal grandfather of Frank D. Kimball was 
 Abram Allen, a native of Massachusetts, and 
 of English descent, who followed the business 
 of a butcher, and died in Fall River, Mass., 
 when sixty-seven years old. He was a -man 
 of good character and business integrity, and 
 was the father of a numerous family. 
 
 Frank D. Kimball lived on his father’s 
 farm until he reached the age of sixteen, at- 
 tending the district school, and later the pub- 
 lic schools of Janesville. For four years he 
 worked at the trade of painting, and then be- 
 came a brakeman on the railroad. A year 
 later he was made a fireman on a locomotive, 
 and served the company in that capacity for 
 seventeen months. He was then given an en- 
 gine, and was an engineer for twelve years; 
 during the last six years of that time he had 
 charge of a passenger engine. Leaving the 
 road, he went into business as a dealer in fur- 
 niture, and, qualifying as an undertaker, soon 
 commanded a large and profitable trade. He 
 had as a partner in the inception of his busi- 
 ness career W. B. Brittan, the name of the 
 firm being Brittan & Kimball. Mr. Brittan 
 retired in 1888, and was succeeded by James 
 J. Hall, the new firm being Kimball & Hall. 
 A year and a half later Mr. Kimball purchased 
 the entire business, and under his exclusive 
 management it has assumed very large pro- 
 portions. It occupies three floors, each having 
 a dimension of 44x100 feet, while at the rear 
 is a store house 24x36 feet, two stories in 
 height and of brick construction. He also 
 owns a store house on W all street ; it has two 
 floors, is 44x100 feet, and is built of stone. 
 He carries all kinds of furniture, and has built 
 up a very extensive trade throughout the 
 county. 
 
 Mr. Kimball was married July 9, 1867. to 
 Miss Euretta Burdick, who was a daughter 
 of Rollin S. 'and Anabel (Greenman) Bur- 
 dick, and who died April 30, 1876, at the 
 untimely age of twenty-five years. She was a 
 woman of high character, and a devout mem- 
 

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 777 
 
 ber of the Baptist Church. Of the two chil- 
 dren born of this union, George married Miss 
 Elizabeth Pritchard, and is a partner in the 
 box factory, and Belle died in early child- 
 hood. Mr. Kimball entered into the matrimo- 
 nial relations a second time, Miss Sarah Hatch 
 becoming his bride on Nov. 29, 1877. She 
 is a daughter of William and Julia Hatch, 
 and is the mother of two children, Frank W. 
 and Euretta May. The family occupy a beau- 
 tiful and attractive home at 15 1 South Main 
 street, which is known throughout the city as 
 the center of a generous and gracious hospi- 
 tality. Mr. Kimball is a member of the Ma- 
 sonic fraternity, being associated with West- 
 ern Star Lodge, No. 14, F. & A. M. He is 
 a Republican, and though not a working poli- 
 tician exerts considerable influence on his par- 
 ty. He has lived in Rock county forty-five 
 3 r ears, and in that time has witnessed the con- 
 version of southern Wisconsin from wild prai- 
 rie and unbroken forest into the garden spot 
 and pride of the Northwest. 
 
 REV. JOHN ANDERECK, pastor of the 
 Baptist Church in Juda, and one of the leading 
 ministers of Green county, is eminent not only 
 for his pulpit abilities, but for his personal 
 character, and for his profound devotion to the 
 great cause committed to him. 
 
 Hon. Alexander and Margaret (Stanford) 
 Andereck, his parents, have lived in Marion 
 county, 111 ., many years. Alexander Andereck 
 was born April 9, 1822, son of Isaac Andereck, 
 who came to Pennsylvania from Germany 
 about one hundred years ago. To him were 
 born Alexander; Jacob, deceased; John, de- 
 ceased; William; Andrew, deceased; and 
 Catherine, deceased. In 1845 Alexander An- 
 dereck married Miss Margaret Stanford, 
 daughter of Esseck Stanford, a brother of the 
 late Leland Stanford of California. This 
 marriage has been blessed with the following- 
 children: Rev. John; Isaac, of Centralia, 111 .; 
 William R., a minister of the Baptist Church 
 at Kankakee, 111 . ; Sarah, who died in child- 
 hood ; Martha E., the wife of William South- 
 erland, of Illinois; Jacob, a resident of Cen- 
 Jxalia, 111 .; and Andrew, a farmer in Marion 
 "'County, Illinois. The father is now living re- 
 tired from the activities of farm life ; the moth- 
 er passed to the better land in November, 1899. 
 
 Rev. John Andereck was united in mar- 
 riage to Miss Catherine E. McClellan, of 
 
 Marion county, 111 ., who was born May 19, 
 1850, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Orr ) 
 McClellan, and a distant relative of the late 
 Gen. George B. McClellan. The marriage was 
 celebrated Oct. 31, 1869, and has been blessed 
 with four children : ( 1 ) W. E., who is in 
 charge of the First Baptist Church, at Plym- 
 outh, 111 .; (2) Eldredge, living in Juda, Wis. ; 
 
 ( 3 ) Jesse O., at home with his parents, and 
 
 (4) Daisy, who died in infancy. 
 
 Rev. John Andereck was reared on the 
 farm, attended the local schools, and then 
 went to the high school at Sandoval, 111 ., and 
 as he became a young man followed public 
 school teaching for a time. Entering the 
 Baptist College at Alton, 111 ., he prepared for 
 the ministry of that church. Beginning his 
 ministerial work in 1884, he came in 1888 to 
 Juda, Wis., and has filled the pulpit of the 
 Baptist Church in that village ever since, to 
 the genera] satisfaction of the community. 
 The parsonage is a fine residence. Mr. An- 
 dereck is a stanch Prohibitionist, and is a 
 member of the Good Templars. He has large- 
 ly made his own way in the world, and his 
 work has been crowned with fair success. Pie 
 is well read, well posted on general topics, and 
 is a man of character and influence in the com- 
 munity. He has many friends, b} r whom he 
 is beloved as a man of kind heart and generous 
 spirit, ready to help the needy to a better life, 
 and is a devoted worker in the Gospel field. 
 
 The First Baptist Church of Juda, 
 Wis., is one of the land marks in the re- 
 ligious history of the State. For more than 
 sixty years its name has lived in Green county, 
 and it has inspired noble living to a multitude 
 of men and women, whose lives have attest- 
 ed the reality of their Christian faith. 
 
 This church was organized earty in the 
 summer of 1840, by the Rev. Mr. Stillwell, a 
 devoted clergyman of the Baptist faith, who 
 came from Illinois, and had a membership of 
 fourteen people, including Mr. Stillwell and 
 his wife. That gentleman was in charge of 
 the movement for some years, and was suc- 
 ceeded by the Rev. G. R. Patton, who was the 
 beloved and venerated pastor of the church for 
 forty years. During his ministry he baptized 
 and married a vast number of people, and lift- 
 ed the church to a lofty and influential position. 
 The retirement of Mr. Patton was followed by 
 a season of supplies, and then Elder Prescott 
 served for three years as pastor. For thirteen 
 
77 « 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years the Rev. John Andereck has ministered to 
 this people, and in that time has won a hold 
 upon their hearts second to no man who ever 
 broke for them the Bread of Life. 
 
 The organization of this Church was ef- 
 fected in a school house, and for some years 
 it met for worship in halls and in private 
 houses. In 1847 a union meeting house was 
 dedicated in Juda, and there for twenty years 
 this church met for religious services. In 
 1867 it built for itself its present large and 
 convenient edifice, which is thought to be one 
 of the best and most substantial in the coun- 
 ty. The church organization at the present 
 time has a membership of 250 people, who are 
 among the most prominent and influential peo- 
 ple of this community. 
 
 The officers of the church and its various 
 societies are earnest and efficient workers, as 
 will be seen from the list here appended. 
 Deacons: Hon. Franklin Mitchell, Henry Rod- 
 erick, Marion Gaspin, Jacob L. Roderick, 
 William Baird, George Hemstreet, and John 
 Clemmer. Trustees: Hon. Franklin Mitchell, 
 Samuel Hutzell, J. J. Newman, Thomas Davis, 
 William Baird, and Gilbert Newman. Treas- 
 urer: E. P. Mitchell. Clerk: Jacob L. Roderick. 
 Sunday School: Superintendent, Miss Anna 
 Roderick; Assistant Superintendent, Mrs. C. 
 E. Andereck; Secretary, Miss Emma Wohl- 
 wend; Librarian, Miss Hattie Calvin; Organ- 
 ist, Miss Clara Roderick. Baptist Young 
 People’s Union: President, Mrs'. Edith Al- 
 len; Secretary, Mrs. Catharine Dininger; 
 Treasurer, Ross Roderick; Organist, Miss 
 Dora Dinwiddie. Woman’s Home and For- 
 eign Missionary Societies: President, Mrs. 
 
 Hannah Roderick; Secretary, Edith Allen; 
 Treasurer, Hattie Blackford. Ladies Aid So- 
 ciety: President, Mrs. C. E. Andereck; Vice- 
 president, Mrs. Martha Patton ; Secretary and 
 Treasurer, Miss Emma Wohlwend. 
 
 TFIOMAS CONVEY. Prominent among 
 the people of Rideway township, Iowa county, 
 whose period of residence here covers more 
 than forty years, is Thomas Convey, a well- 
 known citizen. Mr. Convey was born in Cana- 
 da, in 1849, but his ancestry came from the Em- 
 erald Isle, a land which has probably contribut- 
 ed more of her citizens to this section, than any 
 other, of equal population, and in an especial 
 manner is southwest Wisconsin indebted to 
 the sons and daughters of Ireland, for its ag- 
 
 ricultural, mineral and religious development. 
 In fact, her sturdy sons were most numerous 
 among those early pioneers who first brought 
 to light the rich mining interests and agricult- 
 ural possibilities of the State, and while the 
 first generation has nearly all passed away, 
 their children and the results of their labor 
 remain. 
 
 In the true sense of the word, Thomas 
 Convey was not a pioneer, but for many years 
 he has been actively engaged in ascertaining 
 and promoting the best interests of Iowa coun- 
 ty, especially in an agricultural sense. His 
 parents were born in Ireland ; his father, Thom- 
 as Convey, removing from Ireland, to Scot- 
 land, with his parents, in early life. With 
 them he came to America, locating in New 
 York, but about 1834 removal was made to 
 Canada and there his son, Thomas Convey of 
 this sketch, was born. In i860, Thomas Con- 
 vey, Sr., with his family, comprising wife and 
 two children, Thomas and his sister (who now 
 is Mrs'. Michael Barry, of Dodgeville town- 
 ship), came to Iowa county and settled on 
 Speculators land, in the township of Ridge- 
 way, Section 27. The farm originally con- 
 tained eighty acres, which was later increased 
 to 220, and here the devoted mother died, in 
 1877, and the father passed away in 1895, 
 about eighty years of age. 
 
 Thomas Convey was about eleven years 
 old when he came to Wisconsin with his par- 
 ents. As a boy he attended school, and assist- 
 ed in the clearing of the land, and after finish- 
 ing the common school course, in his district, 
 he became a student at the High school, in 
 Freeport, 111 . After completing a very thor- 
 ough course there, he began the profession of 
 teaching, and for twelve terms was one of 
 the most efficient educators' in Ridgeway and 
 Mifflin townships. However, it is along the 
 lines of farming and stockraising that Mr. 
 Convey has been so eminently successful, and 
 has earned the reputation of being an authority 
 as to the best methods in these industries. Ever 
 since 1888, Mr. Convey has been in great de- 
 mand as a lecturer at Farmers’ Institutes on 
 the subjects of dairying, stock-breeding, gen- 
 eral farming and kindred subjects. 
 
 Mrs. Convey was formerly Miss Martha 
 Miess, a daughter of Flenry Miess, a pioneer 
 of Ridgeway township, and a large and inter- 
 esting family has' been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Convey, consisting of nine daughters and three- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 779 
 
 sons. Mr. Convey is too well known to the 
 public to require more than a brief sketch. In 
 politics he is independent, a prohibitionist in 
 principle and is an advocate of whatever he 
 believes will best tend to promote the best in- 
 terests of the people. His mind is liberal, and 
 his culture broad. His fine library and his pat- 
 ronage of the best papers and periodicals at- 
 test his desire to keep in touch with the latest 
 thought of the day, while his excellent farm 
 displays thoroughness of cultivation and the 
 success of his theories, when put into active 
 practice. Although Mr. Convey has occupied 
 a prominent position in his neighborhood, he 
 has never sought political favor, has served 
 as chairman of his township and has often 
 filled local offices, but his life has been too 
 busy in other lines to permit him to accept 
 higher, or more engrossing positions. 
 
 FRANCIS M. CONFER, M. D. (de- 
 ceased), was one of the leading physicians of 
 the city of Monroe, Green county. He was 
 a deep student of his profession, thoroughly 
 posted as to its primary principles, and fully 
 abreast of the times. He had a large practice, 
 and brought to his patients the best that medi- 
 cal art and science offered. 
 
 Dr. Confer was born in Green county, 
 Wis., Dec. 18, 1854, and was a son of James 
 and Mary E. (Ziebach) Confer, both natives 
 of Pennsylvania. They had four sons: John 
 W., of North Ontario, Cal.; Dr. Francis M. ; 
 Jacob S., of Mason City, Iowa; and J. Ellis, 
 of Monroe. The father, who was a tanner by 
 trade, came West to Illinois in 1848, and. lived 
 in Winnebago county, not far from Rockford, 
 from that year until October, 1854, when he 
 moved into Green county, Wis., and bought 
 a farm of 160 acres in Washington township. 
 This farm became the family home for many 
 years, and here his sons were reared, taking 
 lessons of courage and endurance from the 
 hard work that necessarily came to them. 
 Mr. Confer sold his land in 1884, and moved 
 into the city of Monroe, to live retired the 
 balance of his days. He died Oct. 19, 1891, 
 when he was in his seventy-first year. His 
 widow still survives. They were originally 
 Baptists, but joined the Methodist Church late 
 in life. He was a man of considerable prom- 
 inence, and at different times had filled various 
 township offices. His father was a farmer, 
 and died in Center county, Penn., about 1835, 
 
 when quite a young man. Jacob Ziebach, the 
 father of Mrs. Mary E. Confer, was a native 
 of Pennsylvania, of German extraction, and 
 lived to be about eighty-five, dying in his na- 
 tive State. He reared a large family. 
 
 Francis M. Confer spent the first twenty 
 years of his life on the paternal acres, and 
 was reared under the fostering care of his fa- 
 ther and mother. He attended the local school, 
 was graduated from the Monroe high school in 
 1878, and when he was seventeen began teach- 
 ing, continuing several years with marked 
 success. He had fixed his mind on the pro- 
 fession of medicine, and for several years was 
 reading up for it. In 1879 he matriculated 
 at Rush Medical College, Chicago, and was 
 graduated from that institution with honor in 
 1882. He began his professional career at 
 Dayton, Wis., where he spent one year, then 
 moved to Monroe, and almost immediately en- 
 tered into a large and growing practice, which 
 steadily increased up to the time of his death, 
 Nov. 7, 1900. Monroe has lost an exemplary 
 citizen, the medical profession a worthy mem- 
 ber, and his family a kind husband and father. 
 The Doctor took a special course in the Poly- 
 clinic at New York in 1890, and five years 
 later went to Europe and studied in Vienna, 
 also visiting the various medical centers, par- 
 ticularly Munich and London. He was a 
 specialist in surgery, and in the treatment of 
 the eye and ear, was always progressive, and 
 did special work each year, thus keeping fully 
 abreast of the times. 
 
 Dr. Confer and Miss Carrie Isely, a daugh- 
 ter of John and Louisa (Germann) Isely, were 
 married Feb. 19, 1882, and they had three 
 children, Francis M., Jr., Edna L. and Rob- 
 ert R. The home is on the corner of East 
 and Merchant streets, where the Doctor bought 
 the ground and built a fine residence. Dr. 
 Confer was a member of Smith Lodge, A. F. 
 & A. M., and was highly respected in his Ma- 
 sonic affiliations. He belonged to the Ameri- 
 can Medical Association, and to both the Wis- 
 consin State Medical Society and the Central 
 Wisconsin Medical Society, anxious always to 
 come into contact with the best and brightest 
 members of his profession. Politically he was 
 an independent Republican. 
 
 ERNEST W. GORHAM. Among the 
 prominent and successful young farmers of 
 Sylvester township, Green county, is Ernest W. 
 
.780 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Gorham, who is esteemed and respected as a 
 representative man of the community. 
 
 William C. Gorham, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was one of the early settlers of Wisconsin, 
 coming to the State about fifty-six years ago, 
 and has seen its wonderful growth and de- 
 velopment. He is now one of the esteemed 
 residents of Monroe, where he lives in retire- 
 •ment. While a native of Ohio, born Aug. 31, 
 1825, his long residence in the Badger State 
 has made its progress and interests very dear 
 to him. The mother of our subject, Elvira 
 (Chaffee) Gorham, was born in Vermont 
 March 22, 1833, and married Mr. Gorham in 
 Ohio Jan. 3, 1853. Their two children were 
 born in Wisconsin, the elder De Witt R. Gor- 
 ham, born in 1854, being now a resident of 
 Monroe. With but limited means, his cash 
 capital being only $15, William C. Gorham 
 had a difficult future before him when he first 
 located in the wilderness of Wisconsin, but his 
 undaunted energy and industry enabled him to 
 push forward successfully, and at one time 
 he was' the owner of 600 acres of land, among 
 the best adapted to farming in the county. 
 During 1864-65 Mr. Gorham was a volunteer 
 member of Company I, 46th Wis. V. I., and 
 served until the close of the war, receiving an 
 honorable discharge. 
 
 Ernest W. Gorham was born Dec. 8, i860. 
 Through his grandfather, Elisha Gorham, a 
 native of New Haven, Conn., he is descended 
 from English and Scottish ancestry. Mr. 
 Gorham became early accustomed to the du- 
 ties of the farm, and when his district schooling 
 was completed began agricultural labor as his 
 choice of occupation, his father having deeded 
 him one of his farms. He has since success- 
 fully continued in general farming and stock 
 raising. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Gorham took place 
 on June 27, 1S95, to Miss Flora L., the esti- 
 mable daughter of Charles' and Rosina (Voss) 
 Brackenwagen, of Washington township, who 
 came to Green county from Germany, in 1862. 
 
 The birth of Mrs. Gorham was on Sept. 2, 
 1866, and she is one of a family of ten chil- 
 dren : Emma, Clara, Minnie, Charles, Made, 
 Otto, Frank, Jennie, Flora L. and Zena. Two 
 children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Gor- 
 iham: Elvira, on May 3, 1896, and Ralph, on 
 Oct. 23, 1898. 
 
 Since attaining his majority Mr. Gorham 
 has been a stanch supporter of the Republican 
 
 party, and is a willing worker in the same. 
 Although he does' not belong to .any religious 
 denomination, they all have his hearty support, 
 particularly the M. E. Church. His influence 
 is always cast in support of the cardinal vir- 
 tues, and he is widely known as a liberal and 
 conscientious man. His property in Sylvester 
 township is located three miles northeast of 
 Monroe, where the pleasures of both country 
 and city life may be enjoyed, and he is also the 
 owner of a fine farm of 180 acres in Adams 
 county. Mr. Gorham is a worthy representa- 
 tive of one of the old and respected families 
 of this locality. The death of his mother, on 
 June 10, 1894, removed from life one of the 
 best and most estimable women of this local- 
 ity, and she is well remembered for her many 
 kind and neighborly deeds. 
 
 FION. THEODORE W. GOLDIN, 
 though yet scarcely more than forty-five years 
 of age, has passed through more peril and en- 
 joyed more honor than usually fall to the lot 
 of men of twice his years. He is of English 
 descent although for many generations his for- 
 bears have been born on American soil. His 
 grandfather, George G. Goldin, resided many 
 years in the city of New York, where he car- 
 ried on business as an architect, as well as a 
 contractor and builder. He was the father of 
 four children, one of whom, Reuben W., be- 
 came the father of Hon. Theodore W. Goldin, 
 of Janesville. 
 
 Reuben W. Goldin came with his parents 
 to Wisconsin about 1848, a youth of sixteen 
 years. The family settled in the town of New- 
 ark, a’ few miles west of the present city of 
 Beloit, and there he attended school, and 
 learned the trade of a harness maker. After 
 a few years he found his way to Cincinnati, 
 Ohio, where he remained for several years, 
 and where he married, his wife being Eliza- 
 beth Bradfield, of Columbiana county, Ohio, 
 who was one of a family of five children. Her 
 father was a soldier in the war of 1812. Re- 
 turning to Wisconsin, Mr. Goldin located first 
 in Janesville, but soon took up his residence 
 at Albany, Green county, where he engaged 
 in business as a dealer in saddlery, harness, 
 trunks, and other leather goods. Later he re- 
 moved to Brodhead, where he passed the re- 
 mainder of his life, some twenty-five years, 
 dying in 1893, at the age of sixty-one. His 
 venerable widow yet survives him, her home 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 being at Brodhead. Mr. Goldin was a man 
 keenly alive to the public interests, and en- 
 joyed the full confidence and respect of his 
 fellow citizens, who elected him to various 
 town and city offices. Although brought up 
 under Quaker influences, it was his custom to 
 accompany his wife to the Methodist Church, 
 of which she was a member. 
 
 Hon. Theodore W. Goldin was his parents’ 
 only child. He was born in the town of Avon, 
 Rock county, July 25, 1856, attended the pub- 
 lic schools, and at an early age began to learn 
 the harness making trade. The employment, 
 however, was not to his liking. He desired a 
 life more stirring and full of adventure, and 
 after three years he entered the employ of the 
 Chicago & North Western Railway Co., first 
 as an office assistant, and later as a brakeman. 
 He was also for a time in the service of the 
 Chicago, Burlington & Quincy road. In 1S73 
 he enlisted in the 7th U. S. Cavalry, serving 
 for four years and eight months, first as a 
 private, and later as a sergeant. This was the 
 regiment formerly commanded by the gallant 
 and unfortunate Gen. Custer, whose sad fate 
 at the hand of the copper-colored savages of 
 the Plains plunged an entire nation into mourn- 
 ing. Mr. Goldin was with the General until 
 within an hour and a half of the time when 
 the gallant leader, with 257 of his men, was 
 so foully and cruelly massacred. At the time 
 of the carnage Sergt. Goldin was with Major 
 Reno, and he enjoys the distinction of being 
 the only one of that heroic band who escaped 
 slaughter. In commemoration of his partici- 
 pation in the affair Congress voted him a Con- 
 gressional medal of honor, which is one of his 
 most highly prized possessions. 
 
 After leaving the army our subject entered 
 the service of the Northwestern Stage & Ex- 
 press Co., with which he remained eighteen 
 months. Returning home, he entered into 
 business with his father, but when the latter 
 disposed of his store he once more began the 
 life of a railroad man, working first for the 
 Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Co., later for 
 the Wisconsin Central. In 1881 he again went 
 home to Brodhead, and in the autumn of 1882 
 was elected clerk of the Circuit Court of Green 
 county, which office he continued to hold un- 
 til Nov. 1, 1885, resigning to form a law part- 
 nership with Hon. B. F. Dunwiddie, of Janes- 
 ville, who at present occupies a seat on the 
 Bench of the Circuit Court. Later William 
 
 781 
 
 G. Wheeler (afterward district attorney for 
 Rock county) was admitted to the firm, which 
 was, however, dissolved in 1895, upon the elec- 
 tion of Mr. Goldin to the Circuit Court clerk- 
 ship for Rock county. This office he still holds,, 
 his native ability, painstaking accuracy and 
 long experience peculiarly qualifying him for 
 the discharge of its responsible duties. He is 
 known throughout the length and breadth of 
 the State, and is everywhere held in high es- 
 teem. Of strong personality and resolute will, 
 he leaves his impress on everything which falls 
 under his control, while his gentle disposition 
 and generous nature endear him to his friends. 
 
 Mr. Goldin is a thirty-second degree Ma- 
 son, and is at present Grand Commander of 
 the State of Wisconsin. He was initiated into 
 the fraternity in Smith Lodge, Monroe, and 
 his immediate affiliations at present are with 
 Western Star Lodge, No. 14, A. F. & A. M., 
 of Janesville; Janesville Chapter, No. 5, R. A. 
 M. ; Janesville Commandery, No. 2, K. T. ; 
 and the Milwaukee Consistory. Both he and 
 his wife are members of the Order of the East- 
 ern Star. He also belongs to Oriental Lodge, 
 No. 2, K. of P., and to the B. P. O. E. His po- 
 litical creed is that of the Republican party. 
 
 On Feb. 23, 1881, Mr. Goldin was united 
 in marriage with Miss Laura Dunwiddie, a 
 daughter of David and Cynthia (Mitchell) 
 Dunwiddie, of Janesville. To their union has 
 been born one son, Herbert D. 
 
 FRANK G. VILLEMONTE. Among 
 the prominent business citizens of Arena is 
 Frank G. Villemonte, a successful merchant 
 and progressive man who has -been identified 
 with the advancement of Iowa county for 
 many years. He was born in Detroit, Mich., 
 Nov. 24, 1842, a son of Exever and Mary 
 Villemonte, natives of France, where they were, 
 reared and married, coming to America when 
 they had but one child, an infant, who died 
 on the passage and was buried at sea. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Villemonte resided in Buffalo, N. 
 Y., for eight years, and then removed to De- 
 troit, Mich., where they made their home for 
 sixteen years. Their location in the latter city 
 was in 1834, 'when it was but a hamlet, and 
 when they left it, the growth and development 
 had already begun. In 1850 Mr. Villemonte, 
 with his family, started by way of the Lakes 
 to Milwaukee, and thence by team to Arena 
 township, where one of the fertile farms was 
 
782 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 purchased, and there the father of the family 
 died, in the spring of 1867, the mother surviv- 
 ing but one year. 
 
 Exever Villemonte was an industrious' and 
 esteemed citizen. Although possessed of but 
 limited means when he reached Iowa county, 
 by his energy and diligence he made of his 
 land one of the best farms in this locality. The 
 life the family led was that of the pioneer 
 and demanded rude strength and patience, as 
 well as calm courage, for often the husband- 
 man was required to struggle not only with 
 unknown conditions of climate, but also had 
 to be prepared for battle with fire, flood' and 
 the savages who still lurked not far away. 
 The subject of this sketch well remembers see- 
 ing 5 00 Indians at one time, soon after the 
 arrival of the family in its new home. Deer 
 was abundant in this wilderness — in fact was 
 the chief article of diet. There was little chance 
 for any intellectual life, as the nearest school 
 house was three miles distant, and the farm 
 houses far between. At death the parents left 
 six children, three sons and three daughters, 
 all of whom still survive, with the exception 
 of the eldest, Charles Villemonte, who died on 
 May 10, 1893, a resident of Helena, in this 
 county. The others are : Emily, who is the 
 
 wife of Charles Poutie, of Buffalo ; Mary Ann, 
 who is the wife of Charles Warner, of Bur- 
 lingame, Kans. ; Mary, who is the wife of John 
 R. Maffott, of Mount Vernon, S. Dak. ; Paul, a 
 resident of Winona, Minn., who was a mem- 
 ber of Company K, 33d Wis. V. I., and served 
 through the war of the Rebellion; and Frank 
 G., of this sketch. 
 
 Frank G. Villemonte was a lad of eight 
 years when he accompanied his parents to 
 Iowa county, and remembers the appearance 
 of the country as it was a half century ago. 
 Here he learned to swing an ax and drive a 
 plow, and with interest watched the develop- 
 ment of the country about their cabin, the ad- 
 vent of every neighbor being hailed with de- 
 light, for with settlement came good roads, 
 better school facilities and a social life which 
 inevitably broadened the mind and opened up 
 avenues for usefulness. 
 
 On Aug. 15, 1862, Mr. Villemonte en- 
 listed in the Federal army, becoming a member 
 of Co. C, 31st Wis. V. I. This regiment be- 
 longed to the gallant army which engaged in 
 the siege of Atlanta and made the famous 
 March to the Sea, also participating in the bat- 
 
 tles of Goldsboro and Bentonville, and in the 
 marching and skirmishing that preceded these 
 famous engagements. Mr. Villemonte was at 
 Raleigh when Gen. Johnston surrendered to 
 Gen. Sherman, when the war was practically 
 over. Then came the last important events of 
 Sherman’s march to Washington and the 
 Grand Review in that city. From there our 
 subject went to Fouisville, Ky., where he was 
 mustered out of a service he had willingly en- 
 tered, thence to Madison, where, on the 6th 
 of July, the regiment was discharged, the sol- 
 diers bade each other farewell, and scattered 
 over the country to their various homes. 
 
 Mr. Villemonte engaged in work on a farm 
 for a year after his return, and then went to 
 Necedah, where he was employed in the lum- 
 ber business for about five months, rafting 
 lumber down the Mississippi and Wisconsin 
 rivers to Hannibal, Mo., but gave up that la- 
 borious life to return to his parents who need- 
 ed his care and filial attention. They were then 
 living at Helena, in Iowa county, and he settled 
 down with them and learned the trade of shoe- 
 maker, with his brother, Charles, entering into 
 a partnership, which was later dissolved, and 
 he came to Arena and opened up a boot and 
 shoe store, conducting this business success- 
 fully for the succeeding seventeen years. As 
 his health seemed to be giving away, Mr. Ville- 
 monte then purchased a farm, and for the next 
 ten years met with prosperity as an agricult- 
 urist. Desiring again the comforts and recre- 
 ations of a more social kind, Mr. Villemonte 
 sold his farm and returned to tYrena, and here, 
 among old friends, he has successfully con- 
 ducted a mercantile business ever since. 
 
 On Tuly 6, 1869, Mr. Villemonte was mar- 
 ried to Miss Joanna Youlton, a native of this 
 county, who died on Jan. 31, 1895- Miss 
 Josie Murphy became his second wife. He 
 has become the father of ten children: John, 
 a farmer in New York; FeRoy is the assist- 
 ant cashier of the State Bank at Fennimore, 
 Wis. ; Phebe, a successful teacher, who was 
 educated at Fort Atkinson, Wis., high school; 
 Frank, a resident of Owens, Wis.; Veronica, 
 a resident of Farmer, N. Y. ; Edith; Grace; 
 William and Genivieve. One daughter, Josie, 
 died suddenly of appendicitis, while staying 
 temporarily at Mazomanie, Wis., on March 5 - 
 1900, at the age of nineteen, an amiable and 
 highly esteemed young lady. Mr. Villemonte 
 is a well-known and highly esteemed citizen 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7 33 
 
 and an honored member of G. A. R. Post No. 
 107, of which he has been commander for the 
 past two years, having filled all of the other 
 offices. Although he was with his regiment 
 during all of its activity he fortunately es- 
 caped unhurt. During 1863 he spent a short 
 time in the hospital and was given a short 
 furlough home during convalescence, but be- 
 fore long was back at duty. 
 
 CHRISTEN EVENSEN (deceased) was 
 during his brief but active career one of the 
 leading farmers of Jordan township, Green 
 county, where he passed his entire life, having 
 been born April 7, 1856, on the farm now oc- 
 cupied by his widow and family. 
 
 Ole and Rachel Evensen, our subject’s par- 
 ents, were born in Krodsherret, Norway, and 
 came to this country in 1848, settling in Green 
 county, Wis. They had owned one of the 
 prettiest farms in Krodsherret, which they 
 sold before emigrating. They first settled in 
 Kendall county, 111 ., where resided a brother 
 of Mr. Evensen, he having been one of the 
 first to leave his native home in Norway. They 
 remained there two years, and in 1850 located 
 in Wisconsin. Mr. Evensen was a thrifty, 
 industrious farmer, and a good manager, and 
 at the time of his death owned a fine farm of 
 200 acres — the old homestead now owned by 
 our subject’s widow, in Section 32, Jordan 
 township. Mr. Evensen passed away in 1897, 
 his wife in 1899, and their remains lie in the 
 Norwegian cemetery in Jordan township. 
 They were among the most respected resi- 
 dents of the township in their day, highly es- 
 teemed for their genuine worth and their hon- 
 orable, upright lives. Ten children were born 
 to them, five of whom grew to maturity : 
 Even, who resides in Norway Lake, Kandiyohi 
 Co., Minn.; Jane, wife of Peter Helgeson, of 
 Clayton county, Iowa; Christen, our subject; 
 Mary, wife of Antone Fryslie, of Clark county, 
 S. Dak.; and Nels, unmarried, who also lives 
 in Clayton county, Iowa. The others died in 
 childhood. 
 
 On March 22, 1883, Christen Evensen 
 married Miss Carrie Petterson, of Iowa, who 
 was born April 3, 1861, daughter of Torkel and 
 Gunnil (Knudtson) Peterson. The parents, 
 who were born in Norway, came to America 
 when young, settling in Clayton county, Iowa, 
 where all their children were born, and where 
 they died, the mother in 1866, the father in 
 
 1899. Their family consisted of seven chil- 
 dren: Anna, wife of Ole Severson, Jewell 
 
 county, Ivans.; Bell, wife of Knute Tolefson, 
 of South Dakota; Nellie, wife of Annult 
 Stenson, of Traill Co., N. Dak. ;Petter, of Clay- 
 ton county, Iowa; Carrie, Mrs. Evensen; Bet- 
 sey, wife of Even Glesne, of Clayton county, 
 Iowa; and Knute, of North Dakota. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Evensen were born five sons : Oscar, 
 born Jan. 8, 1884; Elmer, Oct. 25, 1885 (died 
 May 16, 1892); Theodore R., July 8, 1888; 
 Clarence, May 18, 1890; Christen, Jan. 30, 
 1892. 
 
 Christen Evensen passed away Dec. 24, 
 1891, sincerely mourned by his family and his 
 many friends and neighbors, to all of whom 
 he had endeared himself by a life of integrity 
 and honest endeavor. Though he had hardly 
 reached his prime he had made for himself a 
 substantial place among the prosperous farm- 
 ers of his locality, and he was liked and re- 
 spected by all who came in contact with him, 
 whether in business or friendly relations. His 
 political sympathies were with the Republican 
 party, and he was deeply interested in local 
 affairs, having served efficiently as member 
 of the township board and as school director. 
 He was a consistent member of the Lutheran 
 Church. Mr. Evensen left his family well pro- 
 vided for, and the property, under the ener- 
 getic management of his widow, who has 
 proved herself a woman of no mean business 
 ability, has continued to improve in appear- 
 ance- and value. A fine barn and stable have 
 been built, the residence has been improved, 
 and various other changes have been made on 
 the place, to which Mrs. Evensen has added 
 a tract of fifty-one acres, the farm now com- 
 prising 251 acres. 
 
 LORRAIN D. HULBURT. From the 
 earliest records it can* be proved that the life 
 of the farmer is the most certain of pursuits 
 as regards financial success, as well as the 
 groundwork for most of the prosperous en- 
 deavors in other lines. Scarcely a public man 
 of note can be found who, at one time or an- 
 other, has not had the mark of the soil on his 
 hands. 
 
 Among those who have successfully made 
 agricultural pursuits the business of life, and 
 now reap the reward of honest toil, is Lor- 
 rain D. Hulburt, the subject of this sketch, 
 who resides in a beautiful residence in Al- 
 
7 ^ 4 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD . 
 
 bany, Green county, living the comfortable life 
 of a retired farmer. His birth took place in 
 this State, in Decatur township, Green county, 
 Dec. 1 8, 1844, a son of Erastus and Laura 
 (Webster) Hulburt, both natives of Con- 
 necticut, who had a family of six children, four 
 surviving: John A., of Mt. Pleasant town- 
 
 ship, Green county; Lydia, wife of T. Kellogg, 
 of Seattle, Wash.; Hiram, of Peterson, Iowa; 
 and our subject. The paternal grandfather of 
 our subject was Philip Hulburt, who died in 
 Connecticut, on Feb. 22, 1824, aged sixty- 
 three years. The maternal grandfather, who 
 had been a Revolutionary soldier, was a native 
 of New York. Erastus, the father, was born 
 in Connecticut, and brought up a farmer, re- 
 moving to Green county, VVis., in 1839, where 
 he located and bought land in Sylvester town- 
 ship. The tract consisted of 227 acres of gov- 
 ernment land in Decatur township, upon which 
 his last days were spent, his death occurring 
 on Dec. 11, 1865, when he was sixty-two years 
 old; Mrs'. Hulburt had died in 1863, aged 
 fifty-seven, and both had been worthy mem- 
 bers of the Baptist Church. 
 
 Lorrain D. Hulburt was reared from child- 
 hood upon the large farm in Decatur town- 
 ship, and attended the district schools. Llis 
 education was as complete as the opportunities 
 afforded, and in his home he was taught those 
 principles of right living he has followed 
 through life. With his brother John he bought 
 the old homestead of his father, and later he 
 bought his brother John’s interest. He made 
 his home there until 1881, when he rented the 
 place, in the meantime removing to Clay coun- 
 ty, Iowa, where he engaged for four years in 
 farming and stockraising, but in 1888 he re- 
 turned to Green county and has since resided 
 in Albany, in 1892 erecting an elegant resi- 
 dence in this village. Mr. Hulburt owns 285 
 acres in the home farm, also owning Minne- 
 sota land, and but lately sold 160 acres in 
 Iowa. 
 
 On Dec. 15, 1870, Mr. Hulburt was mar- 
 ried to Miss Florence E. Smiley, a daughter of 
 Daniel and Ellen (Bemis) Smiley, natives of 
 Chautauqua county, N. Y., who had a family 
 of six children: Lorinda, wife of John Hul- 
 
 burt, of Mt. Pleasant township, Green county; 
 Sarah, widow of William Gould, of Minne- 
 apolis; Charles, of Albany township; Julia, 
 wife of Dr. Broughton, of Dwight, 111 ., now of 
 Rockford, 111 . ; Florence E., wife of Lorrain 
 
 D. Hulburt; and William, on the old home. 
 The parents were married in 1836, and in 1837 
 came to Rock county, Wis., and settled on the. 
 Culver farm, near Janesville, removing in 1841 
 to Exeter township, where they lived until 
 1 844, when they moved to what is now Albany 
 township, where Mr. Smiley took up 160 acres 
 of government land, adding to it until 'he 
 owned 280 acres. His death occurred in 1886, 
 when he was seventy-four years old. In 1866 
 he had been a member of the Wisconsin Legis- 
 lature, was supervisor many terms, and com- 
 missioner of poor for years. His father, Jo- 
 seph Smiley, a native of Mt. Plolly, Vt., was 
 an early settler of Chautauqua county, N. Y. ; 
 was a soldier in the battle of Black Rock, in 
 1814; had a family of eleven children, and 
 died at Ellery, N. Y., Nov. 7, 1862. Mrs. 
 Ellen (Bemis) Smiley, mother of Mrs. Hul- 
 burt, died in 1896, aged eighty-three, both she 
 and her husband having been consistent mem- 
 bers of the Baptist Church. Her father was 
 Charles Bemis, a native of Pittstown, N. Y., 
 born in August, 1 79 1 ; moved to Chautauqua 
 county, where he spent the most of his life 
 engaged in farming, and died at Jamestown, 
 N. Y. He reared a family of ten children, 
 and was a man of note ; a soldier in the war of 
 1812, in which' he held an official position. 
 His son, Col. George, was the last survivor of 
 his children, he being the great-grandson of 
 Totham Bemis, of Bemis Heights, Saratoga 
 Co., New York. 
 
 In politics Mr. Hulburt is a Republican, 
 and takes an active interest in the deliberations 
 of his party. Both he and his estimable wife 
 are members of the Baptist Church. 
 
 HON. JAMES WILSON SEATON is a 
 native of Oneida county, N. Y., born 
 May 28, 1824, in the town of New Hartford, 
 four miles south of Utica, at a place then known 
 as Kellog’s Mills. The family resided in 
 Utica while Gov. DeWitt Clinton was digging 
 the Erie canal. In 1829 they removed to a 
 place called Sauquoit, seven miles south of the 
 city of Utica, one of those bright, sunlit vil- 
 lages which everywhere dot and adorn the Em- 
 pire State. 
 
 Sanquoit is located on both sides of a lovely 
 creek of the same name, which flows into the 
 Mohawk river in the town of Whitesboro. The 
 valley is the seat of many large enterprises and 
 diversified manufacturing industries. The in- 
 
C-< 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7 85 
 
 habitants are for the most part wealthy, re- 
 fined and> enterprising, many occupying ele- 
 gant homes, gained by their prudence and fore- 
 sight. The valley was first settled, near the 
 end of the eighteenth century, by men of iron 
 nerve and strong wills', who came with their 
 families from New England, most of them 
 being soldiers of the Revolutionary war, and 
 still retaining their old flintlock muskets and 
 carton ch boxes as mementos of the “times that 
 :ried men’s souls.” Nearly all selected farms, 
 either in the fertile valley, or on the sides and 
 summits of the tree-covered hills which bor- 
 dered the valley on either side. As a conse- 
 quence, to meet the exigencies and social wants 
 of the farming community, a village sprang up 
 on the banks of the stream, meandering between 
 the hills on an old Indian trail, and was natur- 
 ally given the Indian name, Sadahquoda (by 
 which the creek was known to the natives), 
 which the settlers modified to the more eupho- 
 nious sound of Sauquoit (pronounced Sa- 
 quoit). The village was divided into 1 two 
 parts, known as the Methodist and Presbyterian 
 Corners, respectively, each denomination hav- 
 ing large and commodious churches built in the 
 primitive style of architecture. The Methodist 
 church boasted of a steeple and bell, which its 
 Exangelical neighbor had not. In addition to 
 church privileges each side had a school house, 
 tavern, store, blacksmith shop, and places for 
 other trades; a flour and saw mill was patron- 
 ized in common by both sides, as was also a 
 large factory called the Franklin cotton mill; 
 there were two cemeteries for the dead, but only 
 one post office, which, by the grace of John 
 Quincy Adams and other Whig Presidents, 
 was persistently and continuously held on the 
 Presbyterian side. 
 
 The subject of this sketch learned his alpha- 
 bet in the school house on the Methodist side, 
 in the year 1830. Ten years later, at the age 
 of seventeen, he was a “schoolmaster" in charge 
 of the same school. In 1841-42-43 he taught 
 school in West Exeter, Otsego county, and Ta- 
 berg, Oneida Co. He afterwards attended the 
 Oneida Conference Seminary, at Cazenovia, 
 Madison Co., N. Y., and had for classmates 
 such distinguished men as Gen. Joseph R. Haw- 
 ley, now United States Senator from - Connect- 
 icut; Bishop Edward G. Andrews’, of the M. 
 E. Church, and his brother, Charles Andrews, 
 now Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the 
 
 State of New York; Leland Stanford, the late 
 
 5 0 
 
 millionaire Senator from California; Gen. Slo^ 
 cum, who won distinction in the Civil war ; and 
 many noted ministers of the M. E. Church. In 
 1845-46 he taught select school at Lee Center, 
 in Oneida county, and afterwards studied law 
 with E. G. Parkhurst, in the city of Rome, N. 
 Y. The office adjoined that of Comstock & 
 Striker, a noted law firm at that time, Mr. 
 Striker being one of the early projectors 
 of the Michigan Central railroad, and Com- 
 stock, district attorney of Oneida county. 
 
 In 1847 Mr. Seaton took Greeley’s advice, 
 and came West to grow up with the country. 
 After voyaging around the lakes to Milwaukee, 
 and making a trip across the State by hack, in 
 company with Hon. Orsamus Cole, he arrived 
 at the “Wisconsin House,” in Potosi. It was a 
 hot, sultry day in July, and the dusty, yellow 
 ochre of the mines, covering everything, gave a 
 jaundiced appearance to the general aspect of 
 the country. The people wore ochre-colored 
 hat and breeches, the towels at the hotel were 
 ochre-stained, the hotel girls seemed to have a 
 saffron hue, and every room and floor in the 
 house was sanded with ochre. There were 
 bacon and roast beef with a yellow cast for din- 
 ner ; beefsteak, coffee and hot bread covered 
 with Babbitt’s saleratus for supper; he slept 
 in an ochre colored bed, and for breakfast had 
 ham and eggs of the same hospitable hue. 
 After this he went into the law office of Cole & 
 Biddlecom, wrote briefs, read novels, news- 
 papers, Blackstone, Kent’s “Commentaries” 
 and “Martin Chuzzlewit” for the next two 
 months, and was admitted to the Bar of Grant 
 county, in October of the same year. Judge 
 Charles Dunn wasl upon the Bench, and Samuel 
 Crawford (late Judge of the Supreme Court 
 of the State), Chief Justice Cole and George W. 
 Lakin (of Milwaukee) were the examining 
 committee. After getting his diploma Mr. 
 Seaton opened a selfect school in the brick 
 school house at Potosi, then just completed. 
 The next year he bought out Lucien B. Leach, 
 in the Potosi Republican, which he edited and 
 published until 1855, when the paper was sold 
 to E. R. Paul, who removed it to Dunleith 
 (now East Dubuque). Mr. Seaton did not 
 abandon his literary work, however, but has 
 ever since been a contributor to various: publi- 
 cations. For forty-five years or more, he has 
 been a correspondent of the county newspapers, 
 and his articles are read by more people than 
 those of any other local writer, especially those 
 
7 86 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 which have appeared in recent years, in the 
 Lancaster Teller. His contributions to the 
 History of Grant County (1881) formed one 
 of the most interesting chapters of that publi- 
 cation; his descriptions of the duel on the ice, 
 DeTantabaratz, the Senator, and other early 
 Settlers of the mines are samples of his best 
 literary efforts. His ..“History of the Bench 
 and Bar of Grant County'’ is also an able arti- 
 cle, which has been often quoted and referred 
 to by the best writers and public speakers of the 
 State. Mr. Seaton was elected the first town 
 clerk of the town of Potosi, when the State was 
 admitted into the Union, in 1848, and served 
 ten years in that capacity. During the same 
 time he held the office of justice of the peace 
 and town superintendent of schools, being the 
 only man in the State, as he thinks, who was so 
 highly honored as to hold three offices at one 
 and the same time. At a special election in 
 May, 1853, he was elected to the State Senate, 
 in place of J. C. Squires, resigned and served 
 during the impeachment trial of Judge Hub- 
 bell ; was elected to and served in the Assembly 
 during the years 1859 and i860; was a number 
 of years member of the town and county board, 
 and served one year as chairman of the latter 
 body, being on the building committee with 
 Hon. George W. Ryland, when the present 
 courthouse, jail and county poor house were 
 constructed. Pie served two or three terms on 
 the financial committee of the county board 
 with such men as W.P. Dewey, John Schreiner, 
 of Lancaster, and E. Bailey, of Platteville 
 (the last named was killed by a mad bull). 
 While the committee were examining claims 
 against the county, Sheriff Clice gave them a 
 sumptuous dinner in the jail, but the commit- 
 tee audited his claims' against the county, re- 
 gardless of the fact that they had been regaled 
 upon his roast turkey and oysters. In 1855 
 Mr. Seaton engaged in mercantile business at 
 Potosi, with hi,si brother, T. R. Seaton, and 
 continued same until 1879, U which time he 
 sold out and resumed the practice of law, which 
 he still continues, in connection with the fire 
 insurance business. 
 
 The most important event in our subject’s- 
 life was his marriage. This occurred at Cass- 
 ville, Wis., June 15, 1850, when he was united 
 by Charles L. La Grave, Esq., to Miss Amanda 
 F. Bushee, daughter of Brayton and Mary 
 Bushee, early settlers at the mines. Mr. 
 Bushee built one of the first stores in that part 
 
 oif Potosi known as LaFayette, and conducted 
 business there for some time. He afterward 
 removed to Cassville, and continued the mer- 
 cantile business, as well as smelting at that 
 place, where he died in 1846. Mrs. Seaton was 
 educated at St. Mathias' Academy, at Potosi, 
 and was an estimable lady of many virtues. 
 She died June 6, 1900, and the following 
 “Tribute to a Noble Woman,” by one who well 
 and personally knew the deceased, appeared in 
 the Grant County Herald of June 21, 1900. It 
 was much appreciated by the friends and fam- 
 ily of Mrs. Seaton, who still deeply feel the 
 great and irreparable loss of one who was the 
 light and life of their once pleasant, but now 
 desolate home. 
 
 Among the vast multitudes of people that inhabit 
 our sphere, there are some who, like the sweet violet, 
 modest, unassuming, hidden in verdant shades, diffusing 
 their fragrance to those only who are so fortunate as 10 
 discover these sylvan retreats, never seek public applause, 
 but in their innocence and purity shun the searching eye 
 of the public. It was thus that Amanda F. Seaton, wife 
 of the Hon. J. W. Seaton, who lately departed this life, 
 lived, and was respected for more than forty years among 
 the rugged hills in Potosi. Possessed of a gentle dispo- 
 sition, she was imbued with that innate tact to never lose 
 a friend. All those who ever were so fortunate to be 
 drawn in the circle of her home were life-long friends. 
 A model mother, she reared her five children with a 
 gentle hand and a God-fearing mind. All but one sur- 
 vived her. She, lovely Mary, generally known as “Pet," 
 passed to the “ unknown beyond ” many years before her 
 mother. It was the loss of this dear daughter that first 
 broke down this good woman; from that shock she never 
 fully recovered. Loyal to the core of her heart to the 
 Union, she proudly braved the displeasure of her sur- 
 roundings when dark treason, not only beyond Mason and 
 Dixon’s line, but in many towns and hamlets of the 
 North, sought to destroy our National Union. Like 
 Barbara Fritchie, she unfurled our flag out of her window 
 and flung it to the breeze when disloyal processions 
 passed beneath. She was a lady in the fullest sense of 
 the term — a mother and wife faithful to her family; a 
 patriot faithful to her country; a Christian true to her 
 religion. All who came in contact with her were fully 
 impressed with her excellent qualities; her family, neigh- 
 bors and friends will miss her; she left a vacant space 
 not easily to be filled. 
 
 “Of reason firm, of temperate will, 
 
 Endurance, foresight, strength and skill; 
 
 A perfect woman, nobly planned, 
 
 To warn, to comfort and command.” 
 
 JOSEPH BURTON, one of the brave 
 veterans of the war of the Rebellion, and a 
 resident of Annaton, Clifton township, Grant 
 county, may well be* proud of his record for 
 gallantry while serving under the “stars and 
 stripes.” 
 
 Joseph Burton was born in Ohio-, in 1843. a 
 son of Daniel and Sarah Ann Burton, who 
 brought our subject to Grant county when 1 he 
 was about four years of age. The father died 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 787 
 
 on April 14, 1898, but the mother died many 
 years before, when Joseph was but ten years 
 old. Three children were born to these par- 
 ents, and the only brother of our subject was 
 unfortunately killed at the battle of South 
 Mound, on Aug. 14, 1862, while serving- as 
 a member of the famous 17th Wis. V. I., which 
 was part of the Iron Brigade. The sister is 
 now Mrs. Emily Jane Shaw. 
 
 Joseph Burton enlisted on Aug. 14, 1862, 
 in Co. A, 33d Reg. Wis. V. I., upon the same 
 day that his only brother gave up his life in 
 defense of the Union. From the time of his 
 enlistment, Mr. Burton was with his regiment 
 until the Siege of Spanish Fort, in the rear 
 of Mobile. Here, March 30, 1865, Mr. Bur- 
 ton received wounds, from which no one, ex- 
 cept a man possessed of an iron constitution, 
 and as firm a will, would ever have recovered, 
 he having been struck by a shell, which not 
 only shattered his right arm, but also his side 
 so that a piece of viscera had to be removed 
 and the arm amputated. In spite of his ter- 
 rible injury, the following month Mr. Burton 
 had recovered sufficiently to return home on 
 furlough, and received his honorable dis- 
 charge, on Sept. 20, 1865. The record of the 
 33d Wisconsin is as' follows : The 33d Wis- 
 
 consin left camp Nov. 12, 1862, and in two 
 weeks was in the field under Gen. Grant in 
 his expedition in Mississippi, and took a prom- 
 inent part in the battle of Cold Water, Miss., 
 April 19, 1863, and in the siege of Vicksburg 
 from May 20, to its surrender; battle of Jack- 
 son, Miss., July 12, 1863; with Sherman in 
 his Meridian expedition through Mississippi 
 in February, 1864; the Red river expedition 
 in March, April and May, 1864, under that 
 brave old warrior, Gen. A. J. Smith. They 
 met the enemy in the following hotly contested 
 battles: Ft. De Russy, Pleasant Hill Handing, 
 Chancellorsville, Marksville, and Yellow 
 Bayou, besides several skirmishes. They par- 
 ticipated in the expedition of Gen. Smith at 
 Tupelo, Miss., July 13, 14 and 15, 1864, and 
 in the following October, led by the gallant 
 General Momers, they marched through the 
 swamps and across the bluffs in Arkansas in 
 pursuit of the rebel general Price. On Dec. 
 15 and 16, 1864, they were at Nashville, 
 Tenn., confronting the enemy under Gen. 
 Hood, and captured 600 prisoners. They pur- 
 sued the southern army to the eastern part of 
 Mississippi, and were present in the assault on 
 
 Corinth, Miss., in January, 1865. On the 6th 
 of the following month they started for Mobile, 
 via Cairo, New Orleans, Fake Pontchartrain 
 and Dauphin Island, and took an active part 
 in the siege of Spanish Fort, and in the reduc- 
 tion of Mobile. From Spanish Fort the regi- 
 ment marched to Montgomery and Tuskegee, 
 Ala., thence started for home via Selma, Ala., 
 Meridian and Vicksburg, Miss., arriving in 
 Madison Aug. 14, 1865, having traveled 
 
 9,000 miles, 2,400 of which were marched. 
 
 On March 16, 1867, Mr. Burton was mar- 
 ried to Miss Favina May Bartles, and four 
 children have been born to them ; Alburtus, 
 Sylvenan H. and Sarah Jane; also a daugh- 
 ter, Mary C., who died Feb. 28, 1882, aged 
 ten years. In spite of his fearful injuries, Mr. 
 Burton has been a hard working, industrious 
 man, and individually, as' well as for his brav- 
 ery as a soldier, he is highly respected. 
 
 WILLIAM C. BRATLEY (deceased) 
 was among the leading men of the town of 
 Cadiz, Green county, during his lifetime, and 
 is remembered as a thoroughly honorable and 
 reliable character. Born in Lincolnshire, 
 England, Feb. 27, 1824, he went when a lad 
 of sixteen years to sea from his English home, 
 with a worldly capital of one suit and two 
 shirts. Soon after entering upon the life of a 
 sailor, he joined an American sailing crew T in 
 New York, with whom he remained until lie 
 reached the age of twenty-six years. Mr. 
 Bratley was married to Miss Mary C. Ivain 
 Aug. 29, 1847, an< 3 to this marriage were born 
 the following children: (1) Melissa, who 
 
 married Isaac Denney, a farmer of the town 
 of Cadiz, and has the following children: 
 May, Charlie, Oscar, Elmer, Clara, Ivan, Lula, 
 Edwin and Frank. (2) Silas H., who was 
 born in Savannah, Ga., Feb. 10, 1857, and mar- 
 ried to Miss Emma Robb, of Cadiz township, 
 by whom he had two sons, Ray and Lee. Mrs. 
 Emma Bratley died and Silas married his sec- 
 ond wife, Caroline. They have six children, 
 four of whom are now living, Minnie,' Lena, 
 Grace and Atley. He remains on the old Brat- 
 ley homestead and has charge of the farm. In 
 politics he is a stanch Republican, and is an 
 honorable citizen. (3) Mary, who married 
 Thomas Lynch, a farmer in the town of Cadiz, 
 a sketch of whom appears on another page. 
 (4) Joseph, who married Eva Wright, of 
 Monroe, and has four children: Millie, Telsie, 
 
788 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Blanche and Nettie. (5) Elizabeth, who is the 
 Avife of William Ullom, a farmer of the town 
 of Cadiz, and is the mother of five children ; 
 Joseph, Bertha, Minerva, Stanley and Julia. 
 (6) Belle, who married Archibald Bechtold, 
 of Cadiz township, and is the mother of two 
 children, Orrall and William. (7) Edward, 
 who married Mary Fessenden, and is the fa- 
 ther of five children : Glen, Loise, Maude, 
 
 Alice and Mary. (8) Lena, wife of Harry 
 Morris. (9) Ruth, the youngest of the family. 
 
 William C. Bratley crossed the Atlantic 
 on the sailing vessel, “Stretlam Castle.” He 
 reached New York in 1840, and leaving his 
 ship, took a position as seaman on board an 
 American vessel. Continuing to follow the sea 
 until he had saved a fair sum of money, he 
 bought a restaurant in Savannah, Ga., and de- 
 voted himself to its development until 1854, 
 after which he became engaged in farming- 
 in the State of New York, but after three 
 years went back to Savannah, where he 
 again entered the restaurant business. In 
 the spring of 1859 he came with his family and 
 bought 120 acres of land in Section 14, in the 
 town of Cadiz. 
 
 Mr. Bratley was' a Republican in politics, 
 and' long a devoted member of the Methodist 
 Church, for twenty years serving as class- 
 leader. In the I. O. O. F. his name is not for- 
 gotten, for there also he was a hardworking 
 and faithful member. A successful farmer, 
 he owed his accumulations to unwearied in- 
 dustry and the utmost integrity. A man of 
 wide information, he had not only traveled 
 much with observant vision, but he was a 
 reader of many books and the best literature. 
 Twice he sailed around the Horn in the ’forties 
 in a sailing vessel. He came to Green county 
 a poor man, but he left at his death a well im- 
 proved and exceedingly valuable farm property. 
 
 SILAS W. MENZIE, of Beloit, Rock 
 county, is a leading member of the legal pro- 
 fession in that city, and his legal abilities com- 
 mand the respect which his personal character 
 and well-known integrity greatly intensify. 
 
 Mr. Menzie was born in Schoharie county, 
 N. Y., June 2, 1841, a son of Robert R. and 
 Rebecca (Thorpe) Menzie, both natives of 
 Scotland. They were the parents of three 
 children: Charles Id., a railroad engineer; 
 
 John E., of La Grange, Wis. ; and Silas W. 
 Robert R. Menzie began life for himself as a 
 
 physician, but soon turned to the practice of 
 the law as a more congenial vocation. He was 
 born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, April 1, 
 1809, and came to this country when ' only 
 eight years old, under the care of his brother 
 Adam. He spent his youth and much of his 
 early manhood in the counties of Schoharie 
 and Chenango, New York, and received a gen- 
 eral education in the public school, and in the 
 military academy at Lancaster, Pa. When he 
 was eighteen he began the study of medicine, 
 attending lectures in New Haven, Conn., and 
 was graduated just before. he attained his ma- 
 jority. He practiced about two years in the 
 county of Otsego, N. Y., and then gave it up, 
 turning to the law as a more thoroughly in- 
 viting and desirable occupation. He studied 
 law under the instruction of Messrs. Ely and 
 Bennett, at New Berlin, N. Y., for a year and 
 a half, and then at Hobart, N. Y., with La- 
 vinus Munson. Mr. Menzie was admitted to 
 practice before the Supreme Court of the State 
 of New York at the age of twenty-eight. He 
 became a solicitor in chancery, and two years 
 later a counselor in Delaware county, where 
 he practiced for several years. Later he was 
 district attorney in Schoharie county, and was 
 in office at the time of the anti-rent troubles 
 in that State. At the commencement of the 
 Mexican war he raised the 46th Infantry, and 
 was commissioned its colonel. In the spring 
 of 1846 Col. Menzie proceeded to Mexico with 
 his command, and served throughout the Avar 
 under General Taylor and General Scott. He 
 was a brave and distinguished officer. On his 
 return from the war he removed to Delavan, 
 Wis., and made his home in that place in June, 
 
 1849. He Avas admitted to practice the same 
 month, and formed a partnership with the late 
 Thomas McHugh. He was admitted to the 
 bar of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin in 
 
 1850, and to the United States Supreme Court 
 in 1857, and to the Supreme Court of Illinois 
 in 1865. From 1849 Mr. Menzie had been in 
 the practice of law at Delavan with the excep- 
 tion of a short time which he spent in Mil- 
 waukee, and tAVO years (1872-1874) which he 
 spent in Chicago. In his earlier life he took 
 up the trade of a shoemaker, though he never 
 followed it. He was an excellent mechanic, 
 and made at least one pair of boots for him- 
 self after locating in Wisconsin. He had his 
 peculiarities and Avas a man of strong physique. 
 His mental powers were of a wide range, and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7 89 
 
 he had an- active, retentive memory rarely 
 equalled. His varied learning and vast fund of 
 information made him a formidable rival be- 
 fore either the court or jury. No man ever 
 conducted a case against him, and left the 
 court room unconscious of his superior power. 
 Criminal law was his special study, and the 
 defense of those charged with crime was where 
 he displayed a forensic power seldom excelled. 
 He was a kind-hearted man, and often de- 
 fended the poor without pay, and his work 
 in their behalf gave no indication of the want 
 of a generous fee. Mr. Menzie buried the 
 wife of his youth in Delavan in i860. She 
 was then fifty-one years old. He married soon 
 after a Mrs. Hagaman, who survives him. 
 Mr. Menzie died May 3, 1882. His vigor of 
 mind was retained to an unusual extent to the 
 very last. He was a generous and sympathetic 
 friend and a well read lawyer. 
 
 Silas W. Menzie was eight years old when 
 his parents removed to Delavan, Wis., where 
 he attended the public school and attained his 
 majority. In 1861 he made a journey to Cali- 
 fornia, where he was in the employment of the 
 California Stage Company, and the Pacific 
 Mail Steamship Company. In 1867 the young 
 adventurer was homeward bound, arid on his 
 return to Delavan, took up the study of law 
 with his father, and spent a year in his' office. 
 He took a course of lectures at the Albany 
 Law School, and being admitted to the Bat- 
 in 1868, practiced law with his father as long 
 as that distinguished lawyer lived. He con- 
 tinued at Delavan until 1890, and achieved 
 some marked successes in the field of legal 
 controversy. He was district attorney from 
 1882 to 1886 in Walworth county. Mr. 
 Menzie came to Beloit in November, 1890, and 
 has been engaged in the practice of his pro- 
 fession in this city since that time. He filled 
 the office of city attorney two years, and was 
 alderman of the Third ward for three years. 
 
 Mr. Menzie and Miss Laura McCormack 
 were married June 15, 1883. Mrs. Menzie is 
 a daughter of Smith and Martha (Ross) Mc- 
 Cormack. By this union there is one daugh- 
 ter, Anna Thorpe. They live at No. 2 Cottage 
 Lawn. Mr. and Mrs. Menzie are members of 
 the Episcopal Church. He is a member of the 
 Masonic fraternity, and had his membership 
 for many years with Delavan Lodge, No. 21, 
 F. & A. M., and Delavan Chapter, No. 38, 
 R. A. M. He is now a member of Beloit Com- 
 
 mandery, No. 6, K. T. He is a Republican, 
 and is one of the recognized leaders of the 
 party in Rock county. Mr. Menzie was a pas- 
 senger on the ill-fated steamer, “The Golden 
 Gate,” running between San Francisco and 
 Panama, which was burned in August, 1862. 
 He was in the water eight hours with a little 
 girl on his back. He clung to a hen-coop, and 
 eventually was rescued. 
 
 THOMAS CROW, a well-known farm- 
 er of the town of Cadiz, Green county, resides 
 on his handsome and well-appointed place in 
 Section 13, some four miles southeast of 
 Browntown. 
 
 Born in Parke county, Inch, June 3, 1842, 
 Mr. Crow is a son of Abraham and Elizabeth 
 (Lewis) Crow, natives of Pennsylvania and 
 Ohio, respectively. The father was born Jan. 
 10, 1813, spent a number of years in Parke 
 county, Inch, and thence came to Green coun- 
 ty, Wis., in 1864, dying Oct. 15, 1895. The 
 mother was born Oct. 20, 1816, and died Nov. 
 13, 1900. They were married Jan. 29, 1839, 
 and to their union were born the following 
 children; Mary died unmarried; Thomas is 
 our subject; Nancy married Jacab Jones, and 
 both are now dead; John died unmarried; 
 Matilda married Joseph Woodle, and is now 
 dead ; Lucy is in Monroe ; Robert lives on a 
 farm two miles west of Monroe; three others 
 died in infancy. 
 
 Thomas Crow, the grandfather of Thomas, 
 whose name introduces this article, was born 
 in Pennsylvania, and died in Ohio. His fam- 
 ily consisted of five children: Abraham (our 
 
 subject’s father), John, Robert, Maria, and 
 Matilda. All are dead. The Crows come of 
 mingled Scottish, English and Irish blood. 
 
 Thomas Crow, whose honorable and suc- 
 cessful career in the town -of Cadiz deserves 
 commemoration, was married to Miss Mar- 
 garet Hartwig, of the town of Jordan, Feb. 
 18, 1873. Mrs. Crow was born Aug. io, 
 1852, daughter of John and Catherine 
 (Rabbe) Hartwig, who were among the early 
 settlers of the town of Jordan, and were born 
 in Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Crow are the par- 
 ents of the following children: Frederick, 
 
 born Dec. 22, 1873, married Miss Alice Cox, 
 of Clarno township; Frank L., born Jan. 19, 
 1876, lives at home, and has charge of the 
 homestead farm; and Edna, born April 12, 
 1879, married Jay W. Howe, a blacksmith in 
 
790 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 Cadiz township, and is the mother of one 
 daughter, Dorothy. 
 
 Thomas Crow came to Green county with 
 his parents in 1864, the family making their 
 first settlement in the town of Monroe. In 
 1873 our subject located on the eighty-acre 
 farm where he is now found, and he also owns 
 an eighty-acre tract one mile west of his home. 
 Beginning life as a poor boy, 'he has achieved 
 a very creditable success, and is widely known 
 as an honorable and trustworthy man. In 
 politics he is an ardent Democrat, and in re- 
 ligion seeks to conform his life to the great 
 principles of honesty, charity and neighborly 
 kindness. For more than twenty years he has 
 been school clerk, and for a number of years 
 has served on the town board. His place is 
 well improved, and he has recently built one 
 of the finest farm homes in the town of Cadiz. 
 Mr. Crow is a man popular with his neighbors, 
 a good citizen, and his life has been character- 
 ized by honest industry, manly principles and 
 high moral character. 
 
 JAMES W. RODERICK holds a con- 
 spicuous place among the successful and Ihighlv 
 respected farmers of the town of Jefferson, 
 Green county. Andrew and Lydia (Haden) 
 Roderick, his parents, were natives of Fayette 
 county, Penn., where the father was born July 
 14, 1803, and the mother on July 13, 1803; he 
 died April 17, 1871; and she passed away 
 April 27, 1892. They were married in 1824, 
 and had the following children : Elizabeth 
 
 (Mrs. J. N. Davis), born in 1825, is deceased; 
 Sarah (Mrs. Joseph Cans), born in 1827, is 
 deceased; Jacob, born in 1829, married Eliza- 
 beth Newman, and died Dec. 8, 1895; Jane, 
 born May 9, 1831, married James W. Clem- 
 mer, of Green county, and is now deceased'; 
 Mary, born Oct. -30, 1833, is the widow of 
 Samuel Newman and lives in Monroe, Wis., 
 Lucinda, born June 2, 1836, married the Rev. 
 G. R. Patton, and both are now dead. Lydia, 
 born Nov. 30, 1838, was the second wife of 
 the Rev. G. R. Patton, and now lives at Juda. 
 James W., born April 5, 1843; Miranda, born 
 Nov. 11, 1847, married J. W. Blackford, and 
 is now living near Albany, Wisconsin. 
 
 David Roderick, the grandfather of James 
 W„ was a thrifty farmer in Fayette county, 
 Penn., and a member of the Baptist Church. 
 To him were born many children. Andrew 
 Roderick and his family, on their arrival at 
 
 Monroe, Wis., in the spring of 1846, were in 
 such straitened circumstances that all the 
 family old enough were under the necessity 
 of working out for their board. This con- 
 tinued for nearly two years, when the family 
 was collected on the farm which the father 
 then purchased, and which is now owned by 
 James W. Roderick. 
 
 On Dec. 22, 1870, James W. Roderick 
 wedded Miss Hannah E. La Borde, a daughter 
 of Peter and Phcebe (Nofsker) La Borde, of 
 Juda Wis., and she has become the mother 
 of six children: Lydia, born July 18, 1872, 
 died March 31, 1874; Ross' R., born Nov. 10, 
 1874, married Miss Edith Hintzmann Feb. 13, 
 1901, and is living on the homestead farm; 
 Letha, born Oct. 7, 1879, died January 30, 
 1881 ; one that died in infancy in 1881 ; Clara 
 E., born April 8, 1884, is living at home, and 
 cultivating a special gift for music; Janies 
 Park, the youngest of the family, was born 
 May 2, 1887. 
 
 Mr. Roderick was reared on the farm, and 
 sought his education at “the poor man’s col- 
 lege,” the public school. Beginning as a poor 
 man, he now owns a magnificent farm of 280 
 acres, with fine dwellings, stock barns, and 
 other modern improvements. He is a Demo- 
 crat in politics, and a man of fine character. 
 Both he and his wife have been working and 
 efficient members in the Juda Baptist Church, 
 with which all the older members of the family 
 are connected. Mr. Roderick has served as 
 chairman of the town, treasurer, and school 
 clerk for more than twenty years. He has 
 always been a sincere advocate of temperance, 
 and the fact that for many years no saloons 
 have been licensed in the village of Juda is 
 due as much to his influence as to that of any 
 other individual. 
 
 JOHN JAMES MARTIN, Beloit, Rock 
 county, is a successful grocer in that city, and 
 his establishment at No. 216 State street is the 
 center of a profitable and growing patronage. 
 The proprietor is a man who knows the value 
 of a good name in the business world, and by 
 every possible means strives to please and re- 
 tain his custom. He handles honest goods, 
 makes reasonable profit, and is widely known 
 as an honorable and reliable grocer. 
 
 Mr. Martin was born in the town of Beloit, 
 Rock county, five miles northwest of the city, 
 June 3, 1849, and is a son of James and Lucy 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 791 
 
 (Pollard) Martin, natives of County Derry 
 and County Longford, Ireland, respectively. 
 They were the parents of six children, four of 
 whom are now living, John James, of Beloit; 
 Robert, Joseph and Sarah J. are also residents 
 of this' city. The father was a farmer and 
 came to this country many years ago. He 
 made his first appearance in Wisconsin in 
 1847. He took up government land, and 
 bought other land in the town of Rock, until 
 he owned about 160 acres. On this farm he 
 reared his family, and here he died in 1858, 
 when forty-eight years old. His wife was the 
 same age at her death in July, 1862. He was 
 a Presbyterian, and she an Episcopalian. His 
 father died in Ireland, and was the father of 
 one son and one daughter. Her father was 
 Robert Pollard, who came to this country in 
 1861, and lived on his own farm in Afton, 
 where he spent the remainder of his life. He 
 was the father of seven children, and died 
 when he was seventy-eight. 
 
 John James Martin was reared on his fa- 
 ther's farm, and attended the district school. 
 He was married in November, 1881, to Mrs. 
 Eliza McCrea, widow of William McCrea, and 
 daughter of John and Ann (Henry) Clinchy. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Martin are the parents of one 
 child, Lilly May, a graduate of the high school, 
 and now attending Beloit College. Mrs. 
 Martin was the mother of two children by Mr. 
 McCrea, Anna Bell and Robert H. McCrea. 
 Anna Bell is now Mrs. Jackson. Mr. Martin 
 belongs to the Morning Star Lodge, No. 10, 
 A. F. & A. M. He is a member of the Modern 
 Woodmen, and the Fraternal Alliance, No. 
 15. He is a Republican. He has lived in Be- 
 loit since the month of December, 1878, and 
 for about twelve years he has been engaged in 
 the grocery business with very satisfactory re- 
 sults. Mr. Martin has been honored by the 
 people of his ward with election as their rep- 
 resentative in the common council for the last 
 five years. He has a pleasant and attractive 
 home at No. 522 Pleasant street. 
 
 RUFUS HANNUM, of Lancaster, repre- 
 sents one of the oldest pioneer families in 
 Grant county, Wis., having arrived here Feb. 
 18, 1837. 
 
 Warren Hannum, father of Rufus, was 
 born in. Belcher, Mass., in July, 1797, and when 
 a young man went to Genesee county, N. Y., 
 where he married Miss' Laura Hamilton, a 
 
 native of Northampton, Mass., but whose fa- 
 ther died in the Bay State, and the mother and 
 daughter subsequently located in Genesee 
 county, N. Y. Soon after his marriage, War- 
 ren Hannum and wife removed to Cattarau- 
 gus county, N. Y., but shortly afterward re- 
 turned to Genesee county, remained there 
 a few years, and then went to Chau- 
 tauqua county, where he located in the 
 woods and partly cleared up a farm, which 
 he afterward sold and then came to Grant 
 county, Wis., at the date mentioned above. 
 He purchased a 400-acre tract of land in 
 Jamestown township, of which tract 160 acres 
 had been fenced, and 125 had been broken up 
 the previous year, and one crop taken off. The 
 tract cost about $4,500, and Mr. Hannum was' 
 allowed four years in which to pay for it, 
 which he succeeded in doing; it may be stated 
 that the money he had realized from the sale 
 of his property in New York was about ex- 
 hausted, but he succeeded in paying for the 
 land from the crops. The proximity of the 
 lead-mining district rendered agricultural 
 products a good price, and Mr. Hannum, be- 
 ing a good manager, prospered rapidly. In 
 
 1856 Mr. Hannum sold his farm to eastern 
 parties, who were not practical farmers, and 
 after receiving $3,000 partial payment on the 
 place, the land came again into his possession. 
 
 When Warren Hannum brought his family 
 to Wisconsin it consisted of himself, his wife, 
 three sons and four daughters. (Another son, 
 Marshall, was born in Grant county, but died 
 in Cassville several years ago.) The family 
 came in two wagons, the distance being about 
 800 miles’, and many weeks’ time was con- 
 sumed in making the journey. In the fall of 
 
 1857 Mr. Hannum was bereft of his wife, and 
 he later went to Le Roy, N. Y., and there mar- 
 ried Mrs. Martha Cook. After several years’ 
 residence in the East he returned to Grant 
 county, Wis., and died in Lancaster March 
 14, 1880; his second wife died May 1, 1884. 
 Warren Hannum possessed all the traits of 
 the true New England Yankee, was industri- 
 ous and economical and shrewd in managing 
 his affairs. He was originally a Whig in pol- 
 itics and afterward a Republican, was liberal 
 in his religious views, and so lived as to win 
 the unfeigned respect of all his neighbors. 
 To Warren Hannum and his first wife were 
 born nine children, eight of whom attained 
 mature years, and of these, two sons and four 
 
 I 
 
792 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 daughters are still living. Of the survivors 
 Rufus is the eldest and Warren is the next; 
 Laura is the widow of Robert K'ilbourn ; 
 Sophia is the widow of James Kilbourn; 
 Mercy and Mary are twins— the former being 
 the widow of Orrin Dodd, and the latter the 
 wife of John Howard, and both reside in Ar- 
 kansas. Two, Manley and Marshall, who 
 reached maturity, are deceased. 
 
 Rufus Hannurn, whose name opens this 
 biographical review, was born in Cattaraugus 
 county, N. Y., March 2, 1820, and was brought 
 to Wisconsin by his parents. His schooling- 
 opportunities here were somewhat circum- 
 scribed, and in the fall of 1839 he returned 
 to New York and made his home with an 
 uncle in Genesee county for a year, and in the 
 winter attended school, adding considerably to 
 his fund of school knowledge. In March, 1840, 
 he started on foot, on his return to Wisconsin, 
 and walked 100 miles from Genesee county to 
 the home of an uncle near Mayville, in Chau- 
 tauqua county, N. Y. Two days later he re- 
 sumed his journey on foot, and walked to Erie, 
 Penn., where he took a stage for Pittsburg; 
 and thence, by steamer, via St. Louis, Mo., 
 he reached Galena, 111 ., late in March, and 
 thence came home. For several years Rufus 
 Hannurn worked as a carpenter, and in 1847 
 and 1848 worked in a machine shop in Mil- 
 waukee. In 1848 he married Miss Amelia 
 Wells, and in 1850 went overland to Cali- 
 fornia, and for about three months worked i.11 
 the mines. He had been preceded to the 
 Golden State by his brother Manley, who 
 crossed the Plains with the first train from the 
 States in 1849. The two brothers' started on 
 the homeward trip together, leaving San Fran- 
 cisco in the fall of 1850, and arriving in St. 
 Louis, Mo., Jan. 1, 1851. 
 
 In the meantime, Mrs. Rufus Hannurn had 
 passed away, leaving one child, Amelia, who 
 died after reaching maturity. On June 8, 
 18^2, Mr. Hannurn married Miss Louisa M. 
 Powers, daughter of John and Eunice Powers, 
 the former of whom was born in Vermont and 
 the latter near Syracuse, N. Y., and after mar- 
 riage settled in Wyoming county, N. Y., where 
 Mrs. Hannurn was born April 6, 1826. When 
 a young women the present Mrs. Hannurn came 
 west to visit a brother and sister in Michigan, 
 and while there was offered a position as 
 school teacher, which she accepted. Her fa- 
 ther and mother soon afterward came to visit 
 
 their children in 1852, and on this visit were 
 taken ill and died, leaving four daughters and 
 four sons. At the death of her parents, the 
 daughter returned to the New York home. 
 She was there married to Mr. Hannurn, with 
 whom she had been acquainted in early life. 
 To this union have been born seven children, 
 of whom George and Frank are now residents 
 of South Dakota; Mary is still at home; and 
 Flora is the wife of Charles Bonham; the 
 three deceased children were Charles, Ella and 
 an infant that died unnamed. 
 
 Rufus Hannurn purchased the old home- 
 stead from his father and occupied it many 
 years. He was for a long time the leading 
 farmer of Grant county, and a successful 
 raiser of short-horn cattle. He brought to the 
 county the first imported draft horse ever 
 seen here, and was in fact the prime factor in 
 promoting- the raising of blooded stock in 
 Grant county. In the spring of 1882 Mr. 
 Hannurn retired from active farming and made 
 his home in Lancaster, where he has a hand- 
 some residence and is surrounded with all the 
 comforts of life, and where ibe and family en- 
 joy the respect, pure and unalloyed, of all who 
 know them. 
 
 DAVID W. CULVER is the eldest child 
 of Alvah Culver, a pioneer of Iowa county, 
 who was born in Cambridge, Chenango Co., 
 N. Y., March 23, 1811, a son of John Culver. 
 The family is of Scotch origin, and, according 
 to the genealogy of the Culvers, two brothers 
 emigrated from Scotland several generations 
 ago, and they have now numerous descendants 
 throughout the Union. Alvah Culver was 
 reared in his native State, and married Cath- 
 erine Foster. They migrated to Green Bay in 
 1837. and came in 1839, to what is now known 
 as Old Helena, in Iowa Co. This was soon 
 after Wisconsin was organized as a Territory, 
 and nine years before it became a State. Mr. 
 Culver, Sr., kept the first hotel at Helena. He 
 was a representative man of the county for 
 many years, and held various town offices. He 
 built two steamboats for navigating the Wis- 
 consin river, and operated the ferry at Helena 
 for a series of years. His death Occurred Feb. 
 28, 1885, his wife passing away on May 1 st, 
 of the same year. They had a numerous fam - 
 ily, of whom, as already stated, Daniel W. was 
 the first born. The other surviving children 
 are: DeWitt C. ; Abigail A.; George W. ; John 
 and an adopted daughter, Lizzie. Three are 
 
MRS. ALYAH CULYER ALYAH CULYER 
 

 
 
 
 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 793 
 
 deceased, Fanny, Sophrona, and Joshua, the 
 last named being- a twin of John. 
 
 David W. Culver was born in the town of 
 Tompkins, Delaware Co., N. Y., in 1834, 
 being about five years old when his parents 
 came to Iowa county. Old Helena and the 
 town of Wyoming have always been his home. 
 He remembers well the early days and interest- 
 ing incidents that cluster about Old Helena, 
 recalling- when the family’s nearest neighbors 
 were at Dodgeville, and when the Indians 
 roamed the country in cpiest of game. The 
 woman who became his wife was Miss Jane 
 M. Malleu, daughter of George Malleu, who 
 was from New York State. She died Dec. 13, 
 1897, aged fifty-nine years, a faithful member 
 of the Methodist Church. Mr. Culver is the 
 father of three sons and three daughters: 
 George A.; Joshua D. ; Frances; Cora A.; 
 Frederick G. ; and Martha A. A son named 
 William J. died in childhood. Mr. Culver has 
 seen the country grow from a wilderness to its 
 present advanced condition and is, perhaps, the 
 oldest living settler of this part of the country, 
 having been a constant resident for sixty-two 
 years. He is a well-known and highly re- 
 spected citizen in the community in which he 
 has lived so long. 
 
 EDWARD UNDERWOOD. Three days 
 after his marriage in England, his native land, 
 Edward Underwood migrated with his young 
 bride to America, and became a resident of 
 Wisconsin, in which State he has ever since re- 
 sided, now ranking as one of the old settlers 
 of Green county. He was born in Leicester- 
 shire, England, Aug. 13, 1831, son of Josiah 
 and Elizabeth ( Morris ) Underwood , and 
 grandson of John Underwood and Thomas 
 Morris, farmer and mason respectively, both 
 living to good old age and rearing large fam- 
 ilies. 
 
 Josiah Underwood, the father, was a butch- 
 er by occupation, and died in England in 1870, 
 aged seventy years and six months. His wife 
 died in 1855. They were close communion 
 Baptists. Seven children were born to them, 
 four sons and three daughters, of whom four 
 are now living, namely; Edward; Mary, of 
 Leicestershire; Emma and Elizabeth. 
 
 Edward Underwood was reared on a farm 
 in England, and indiis native land received a 
 fair education in the free schools. As a young 
 man he was for six years a member of the 
 
 Leicestershire Yeoman Cavalry, a thousand 
 strong, and known as "Prince Albert’s Own," 
 the insignia stamped on every uniform button. 
 He married, Feb. 25, 1857, Miss Mary Un- 
 derwood, who, though possessing the same sur- 
 name, was no known relative. She was the 
 daughter of Adam and Maria (Demscher) 
 Underwood, and granddaughter of Thomas 
 Underwood, who died in England in middle 
 life, leaving a large family. Adam and Maria 
 Underwood, her parents, had a family of nine 
 children, six sons and three daughters, of whom 
 five are living, viz. ; Mary (Mrs. Lhrderwood) ; 
 William, of Leicestershire, England; Sarah, 
 widow of Thomas Hc'bel, of Leicestershire; 
 John, of Asfordby, England ; and Charles, of 
 Monroe township, Green county, Wis. Adam 
 Underwood was a farm laborer, and died 
 April 11, 1893, aged seventy years, surviving 
 about a year his wife, who died aged sixty- 
 nine years. 
 
 The marriage of Edward and Mary Un- 
 derwood was solemnized on Wednesday, and 
 the following Saturday they set sail for Amer- 
 ica, reaching Monroe, Wis., in the latter part 
 of April, 1857. For about eighteen months 
 they lived in the north part of that town, then 
 in the west portion. In 1862 they moved to 
 the Pinney farm, and after making one or 
 two other residential changes, came, in 1870, 
 to the farm of sixty acres in Monroe township 
 which in that year Mr. Underwood purchased, 
 and where he has ever since resided, engaged 
 in general farming and stock raising. Politi- 
 cally Mr. Underwood is a Republican. Him- 
 self and wife are adherents to the close com- 
 munion Baptist faith, but are not identified 
 with any society, as there is none of that de- 
 nomination in the vicinity of their home. Mr. 
 Underwood is an industrious and capable 
 farmer, who has witnessed the rapid growth 
 of Wisconsin during the past forty-five years, 
 contributing to the same by his faithful and 
 well-directed efforts. He is highly respected 
 by his many friends and acquaintances. 
 
 JOSEPH ALTMAN, a prominent farmer 
 and cheese manufacturer in the town of Jor- 
 dan, Green county, where he has a desirable 
 farm on section 13, was born in Canton Glarus, 
 Switzerland, March 8, 1846. a son of Joseph 
 and Colombina (Abiev) Altman, both of whom 
 lived and died in Switzerland. They were 
 farming people, and were the parents of the 
 
794 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 following family: Baltz now resides in Can- 
 ton Glarus, Switzerland; Casper remains in 
 the old country; Henry is in Monroe; Joseph; 
 Jacob is in the Black Hills, South Dakota. 
 
 Joseph Altman was married Oct. 20, 1875, 
 to Miss Sibilla Hefty, of New Glarus, Wis., 
 and they have become the parents of seven chil- 
 dren, four of whom are now living: Joseph, 
 Jr., born March 19, 1877, is at home, unmar- 
 ried, and assists his father in the cultivation 
 of his extensive farm; Mary, born. Sept. 15, 
 1886, is at home; Henry, born May 19, 1894; 
 and Magdlena, born Sept. 10, 1896. Mrs. 
 Sibilla Altman was born in New Glarus, Wis., 
 Aug. 25, 1855, an estimable daughter of Henry 
 and Regula (Leglor) Hefty, both coming from 
 their native Canton Glarus, and making a home 
 in Green county in the early history of that 
 portion of Wisconsin. Their family of chil- 
 dren was as follows : ( 1 ) Matthias, now of 
 
 Monroe, Wis.; (2) Sibilla; (3) David; (4) 
 Magdlena, the wife of Joshua Kiassy, of Mon- 
 roe; (5) Regula. the wife of John Becker, 
 of New Glarus; (6) Henry, of New Glarus, 
 (7) Mary, the wife of David Kundert. 
 
 Joseph Altman came to New Glarus in 
 1866, and for some time was employed in 
 Dane county, Wis., and at Stevens Point, 
 working for wages. Coming back to New 
 Glarus, he bought a quarter-section in Exeter 
 township, and in 1884 removed to Jordan 
 township, where he now owns a choice farm 
 of 285 acres. 144 acres in Jordan township 
 and 151 acres in section 18, Monroe township, 
 the whole forming one continuous farm, now 
 in a high state of cultivation, and making one 
 of the most valuable farming plants in the 
 southern part of the State. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Altman are connected with 
 the Lutheran Church, where they are much es- 
 teemed for their good character and genuine 
 worth. They are honest, hard-working peo- 
 ple, and have come to their present comforta- 
 ble circumstances only by the exercise of in- 
 dustry, economy and wise management. Mr. 
 Altman is a Republican, and is regarded as 
 one of the leading farmers and stockmen of the 
 town. At the present time lie is milking some 
 fifty cows, and is in a company of farmers 
 engaged in a co-operative cheese work. His 
 reputation is that of an honest man, a good citi- 
 zen and a splendid neighbor. The farm on 
 which he lives is under a high state of im- 
 provement, and has a fine two-story dwelling 
 
 house and ample stock barns. He himself is 
 a leading and substantial citizen, while his wife 
 is a lady of high character, a devoted wife and 
 mother, and the family of children in the home 
 would do credit to any parentage. 
 
 HUGH McGAVOCK, now retired from 
 active business life, and residing at No. 805 
 Ninth street, Beloit, Rock county, has been a 
 potent factor in the development of that city. 
 He has always been an active and progressive 
 man, bound to push things, full of enterprise 
 and laudable ambition. His career is an in- 
 structive one, showing as it does what a brave 
 spirit can accomplish without adventitious aid, 
 if the man will only persevere and be strong 
 in himself. 
 
 Mr. McGavock was born in County An- 
 trim, Ireland, Jan. 26, 1828, a son of Alex- 
 ander and Sarah (Devlin) McGavock, both 
 natives of Ireland. They were the parents of 
 four sons and two daughters, and emigrated 
 to the United States in 1847, settling at Fox 
 Lake, 111 ., where the senior McGavock bought 
 an eighty-acre farm, partially improved, and 
 120 acres of government land wholly unim- 
 proved. There he spent the remainder of his 
 life, but died in Beloit, while on a visit to that 
 city in 1861, having reached the age of sev- 
 enty years. His wife died about 1854. Both 
 were loyal Catholics. His father, Patrick Mc- 
 Gavock, was a farmer, and died in Ireland 
 when eighty-five. He had a family of four 
 sons and two daughters. The father of Mrs. 
 Alexander McGavock, Patrick Devlin, died in 
 Ireland when about eighty years old. He was 
 a farmer, and reared a family of four daughters 
 and three sons. 
 
 Hugh McGavock received his schooling in 
 Ireland, and was a young man of nineteen years 
 of age when he accompanied his parents to this 
 country. He soon went into business for him- 
 self, and began contracting on the construc- 
 tion of the old Galena railroad, now a part of 
 the Northwestern system. This work proved 
 profitable, and he followed it for twenty years 
 or more on a large scale. In 1852 Mr. Mc- 
 Gavock came to Beloit and bought a farm of 
 444 acres in the township of Beloit, which is 
 still in his possession. He has taken much in- 
 terest in the development of farm property in 
 southern Wisconsin, investing his money freely 
 in it, and at one time owned as many as 800 
 acres. He has sold much of it, but still has 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 79 5 
 
 extensive real-estate interests in and around 
 Beloit, particularly a forty-acre tract that is 
 laid off in town lots. In the city he owns two 
 houses which he rents, and for the past nine 
 years he has occupied his present home on 
 Ninth street, built by him, and designed to be 
 his home as long as he shall live. 
 
 Hugh McGavock and Miss Catharine Buck- 
 ley were married in Janesville, Wis., Feb. I, 
 1857. Mrs. McGavock is a daughter of John 
 and Margaret (Fitzgerald) Buckley, of Janes- 
 ville, and has become the mother of nine sons 
 and two daughters : ( 1 ) Alexander, the first 
 born, is a grocer and market man at 3108 
 State street. Chicago; he married (first) Vel- 
 my Smith, who bore him six children, but one 
 of whom, John Francis, is yet living. She died 
 in 1886, and Alexander then wedded Kate 
 Eagan, by whom he has one son, Stephen. 
 (2) John is a grocer in Beloit, and is unmar- 
 ried. (3) Hugh, Jr., is a coal, wood and lum- 
 ber dealer in Beloit; he married Catharine 
 Findley, and is the father of five children, 
 Thomas, Genevieve, Lilah, Marion and Hugh. 
 (4) William (1), born May 5. 1862, died 
 Nov. 1, 1863. (5) William (2), a farmer 
 
 and stone quarryman at Beloit, married Maine 
 Cantwell, and has three children, Kittie, Mil- 
 dred and the baby. (6) Patrick runs a gro- 
 cery and meat market at 917 West 63d street, 
 Chicago ; he married Maude Lynch, and has 
 one child, Josephine. (7) Thomas, a merchant 
 in Chicago, is unmarried. (8) James is a con- 
 tractor at Chicago Heights ; he married Alice 
 McMiniment. (9) Charlotte is bookkeeper 
 and cashier for her brother Patrick in Chicago. 
 (10) Edward is in the meat business in Chi- 
 cago. ( 1 1 ) Mary is at home. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. McGavock are members of 
 the Catholic Church. He is a Democrat, and 
 is a stanch advocate of the time-honored prin- 
 ciples of his party. Kir. McGavock has been 
 a very successful man in all his business under- 
 takings. Starting in life a poor boy, he has 
 achieved results of which any man might be 
 proud. He has given all his children a good 
 start in life, and like him they are progressive 
 and enterprising. He has been a resident of 
 Beloit for forty-nine years, and has seen this 
 beautiful city develop from a small village. 
 He has friends in the South, where Gen. John 
 McGavock. a relative of his, was an officer 
 in the Confederate army. Mr. McGavock had 
 a great-uncle who was a soldier under Gen. 
 
 Washington in the Revolutionary army, and 
 in after years became an eminent civil en- 
 gineer. On his mother’s side he had relatives 
 who came to America in 1798, during the re- 
 bellion in Ireland. Mrs. McGavock’s parents 
 were early settlers in Janesville, coming from 
 Ireland and settling there in 1849. 
 
 JAMES S. HIRD, a retired farmer and 
 miner of the town of Benton, Lafayette county, 
 is well and favorably known throughout that 
 region, where his long and useful life has 
 given abundant opportunity to attest his gen- 
 uine worth and rugged manliness. 
 
 Mr. Hird was born in Yorkshire. England, 
 Jan. 7, 1825, a son of Edward and Elizabeth 
 Hird, both Yorkshire born and bred. The 
 father followed mining until he came to this 
 country with his family, in 1849, an d located 
 on a farm in the town of Benton, which is 
 still in the possession of the Hird family. 
 The father died three years after coming to 
 Wisconsin, and his widow in 1861. They 
 were both members of the Methodist Church, 
 and in their lives were true to their faith. 
 Their children were: (1) Jane, born in June, 
 
 1819, died in January, 1892, unmarried. (2) 
 Thomas, born in December, 1820, was mar- 
 ried in 1845 t0 Miss Margaret Thistlethwaite, 
 of England, and settled on a farm near Hazel 
 Green. He has recently moved to Galena, 111 . 
 They have four daughters, Elizabeth (wife of 
 James Virtue), Margaret (wife of Albert Cor- 
 nish, of Omaha), Barbara (wife of Frank 
 Striker, of Omaha), and Alice (of Galena). 
 (3) Edward, born May 14, 1823. was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary Pedalty, and settled on a 
 farm in New Diggings, where he died in April, 
 1873 ; his widow died nine years later. They 
 left nine children, Elizabeth, Mary A.. Ed- 
 ward, Barbara, William, John, Thomas, Mag- 
 gie and James. (4) James S. is our subject. 
 (5) Elizabeth, born in March, 1827, married 
 Christopher Franklin in England. They came 
 to Wisconsin, made their home in Hazel Green, 
 and at a later period moved to Montfort, where 
 they both died, leaving the following children, 
 Elizabeth (who married James Bunt, of Janes- 
 I ville), Edward. James, Samuel, Christopher 
 and William. (6) William, born in England, 
 Nov. 20, 1830, was educated in the public 
 schools of his native country, and after coming 
 to this country was married to Miss Elizabeth 
 Reed, in June, 1855. She was the daughter 
 
796 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of James and Elizabeth (Stephens) Reed, long 
 resident in Lafayette county. They came from 
 England, in 1849, locating first in Virginia, 
 then in Pottsville, Penn., and later in Ohio, 
 whence they came to Wisconsin. They set- 
 tled on a farm near Cuba City, where she died 
 in 1870, and he two years later. Five chil- 
 dren were born to them: Mary, who is the 
 wife of John Bray, of Chicago; Richard, of 
 Stockton, 111 .; Martha J., the wife of John 
 Jones, of Evansville, Wis. ; James, of Nevada; 
 Elizabeth, the wife of Mr. Hird, who was 
 born in Pottsville, Penn., and received her early 
 education in Wisconsin. After her marriage 
 with Mr. Hird they settled on a farm in Smel- 
 ser. Grant county, where they lived some years, 
 and then moved to Benton, where Mr. Hird 
 was an active farmer until a few years before 
 his death, in February, 1899. He left a widow 
 and five children: Barbara J., born in 1856, 
 is the wife of John Cameron, of Webster City, 
 Iowa, and the mother of three children, John, 
 William and Alvin ; Edward, born in Novem- 
 ber, i860, lives on the old homestead, and by 
 his wife, Alice Addison, has one daughter, 
 Bertie M. ; Samuel A., born in May, 1863, was 
 married to Myrtie Cameron, and lives in Mont- 
 fort with four children, Mary, Isabelle, Ellen 
 and William; James W., born Nov. 21, 1865, 
 a blacksmith of Benton, was married to Miss 
 Mary C. Cottingham, of Dubuque, Iowa, and 
 has two children, Beulah M. and William; 
 Elizabeth, born Oct. 24, 1869, is the wife of 
 William Bell, a farmer of Benton, and the 
 mother of four children, Oliver H., Elsie E., 
 Edna R. and Joseph S. Mr. Hird was a mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Church. (7) Barbara 
 Hird, born in England, Jan 3, 1834, is the 
 wife of John Stephens, a retired business man 
 of Montfort. (8) Mary A., born in England, 
 in February. 1836, married James Robson, 
 and resides in the town of Seymour. Lafay- 
 ette county; she is the mother of two children. 
 
 James S. Hird was educated in the public 
 schools of England before coming to the United 
 States. When a boy he worked on a farm, 
 and also washed minerals under his father’s 
 instruction. After his arrival in Wisconsin 
 for some years he was employed in the mines 
 of Lafayette and Grant counties. The first 
 investment which he made in land was after 
 the death of his father; he remained with his 
 widowed mother, and for twenty years he has 
 been actively engaged in the cultivation of 
 
 his broad acres. Mr. Hird owns some min- 
 ing property, and is a large stockholder in the 
 State Bank at Benton, the organization of 
 which was effected in 1896. 
 
 Mr. Hird has never married. He is one 
 of the active and leading business men of Ben- 
 ton, and in politics is a Republican. In re- 
 ligion he was reared in the Methodist Church, 
 and while never uniting with it, gives that 
 church a liberal support. To-day no name 
 stands higher in Lafayette county than does 
 that of Mr. Hird. His large wealth has come 
 through his honest toil and wise investments, 
 and he has always labored not only for his 
 own benefit, but for the improvement of the 
 community. 
 
 LEWIS BAKER, who holds an enviable 
 position among the thrifty and industrious 
 farmers and upright citizens of Green county, 
 resides on his farm, a beautiful place of 160 
 acres, in section 23, Jordan township, seven 
 miles west of Monroe. 
 
 Mr. Baker was born in the town of Mon- 
 roe, Jan. 27, 1856, a son of Henry and Cath- 
 erine (Rhinegroover) Baker, who were among 
 the early settlers of Green county, making set- 
 tlement here as early as 1840. The second 
 and third houses in Monroe were built by 
 Thomas Rhinegroover, uncle to Mr. Baker. 
 Henry Baker, father of Lewis, was born in 
 Saxony, Germany, and came to this country 
 when a young man, following shoemaking. 
 He died when Lewis was about four years old, 
 leaving a widow and four children: John, now 
 deceased; Henry, who lives in Kansas; Lewis, 
 whose name appears above ; and Lawrence, 
 now living at Fairmount, Minnesota. 
 
 Lewis Baker was married Jan. 28, 1883, 
 to Miss Emma L. Ableman, of Jordan town- 
 ship, a daughter of William and Martha 
 (Thompson) Ableman, old settlers of the town- 
 ship. Her father was born in Albany, N. Y., 
 May 6, 1800, a son of Christian Ableman, 
 who was of German parentage. Christian 
 Ableman was a soldier in the English army, 
 and was taken prisoner at the battle of Bunker 
 Hill. When he was paroled he remained in 
 this country, and made his home near Albany, 
 N. Y. William Ableman, the father of Mrs. 
 Baker, came from New York to Rock county, 
 Wis., in 1835, soon afterward making his 
 permanent home in Green county, where he 
 died March 30, 1895. 1 ° 1820 he was mar- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 797 
 
 ried to Miss Ellen Vanderberg, by whom he 
 had the following named children : Gilbert, 
 John, Stephen, Reuben. James, Christian, Re- 
 gina, Rachel, Joseph and Elizabeth. The 
 mother of these died in 1850, and Mr. Able- 
 man married, Oct. 25, i860, Miss Martha 
 Thompson, a daughter of Jonathan Thompson, 
 of New York, by whom he had three children: 
 Emma L. (Mrs. Lewis Baker, who was born 
 Oct. 31, 1861), Ephraim A. and Samuel. Mrs. 
 Ableman is still living on the old homestead 
 farm. 
 
 Lewis Baker was reared on the farm, where 
 his mother cared for her little family, and ob- 
 tained his education in the public schools, start- 
 ing out in life a poor boy. At the present 
 time he owns the old Ableman farm, a well- 
 tilled quarter section, with fine improvements, j 
 including a good dwelling house, and ample 
 barns and other facilities. In politics he is a 
 Republican. He is not connected with any 
 church, but squares his life by the Golden 
 Rule, and commands the hearty and unstinted 
 respect and confidence of the community. 
 Mr. Baker is engaged in general farming, and 
 gives special attention to creamery and dairy 
 interests. Both he and his wife are regarded 
 as fine people, reliable and generous-hearted, 
 honorable and upright, by all who know them. 
 They have had one daughter, Jennie L., who 
 is at home. 
 
 THOMAS PURVES, a retired cigar man- 
 ufacturer of Beloit, Rock county, has been iden- 
 tified with the business and commercial inter- 
 ests of this city for thirty years, and he has 
 proved himself in that long period of years a 
 thoroughly reliable and honorable man, of 
 sound judgment, good business instincts and 
 of unswerving integrity. 
 
 Mr. Purves was born in Galt, Canada, 
 March 27, 1835, and is a son of Joseph and 
 Catherine (Fraser) Purves, both natives of 
 Scotland. They were the parents of seven chil- 
 dren, of whom only two are now living, Isa- 
 bella, the wife of William Lafferty, of St. 
 Charles, Mich.; and Thomas, of Beloit. The 
 father was a merchant in Roxburghshire. Scot- 
 land, and emigrated to Canada when a young 
 man. He married in that country, and there 
 he bought an extensive tract of land, which 
 constitutes one side of the present city of Galt. 
 He sold it before the development of the city - 
 made it valuable. He was a blacksmith, and I 
 
 followed his trade for many years. He died 
 about fifty years ago in Harrisburg, Canada, 
 at the age of fifty-five. His wife died in 1843. 
 Both were Scotch Presbyterians. The pater- 
 nal grandfather of Thomas Purves died in 
 Scotland well advanced in years. He belonged 
 to a wealthy family, and he had five or six 
 children. Alexander Fraser, the father of 
 Catherine Fraser mentioned above, died when 
 past middle life in Canada, the father of five 
 children. 
 
 Thomas Purves was a child when his par- 
 ents moved to Harrisburg. He attended school 
 both at Harrisburg and at Linden, and began 
 blacksmithing when a young man and followed 
 it ten years. He came to Beloit in 1871, and 
 engaged in the tobacco and confectionery busi- 
 ness, and also manufactured cigars. At first 
 he was a partner of L. W. Kendall, and was 
 associated with him for nine years under the 
 firm name of Kendall & Purves. That gentle- 
 man retiring at the expiration of that period, 
 Mr. Purves continued alone in business until 
 September, 1899, when he retired, and is now 
 living without active business cares. 
 
 Mr. Purves and Miss Sarah Kendall, 
 daughter of William and Dorothea Kendall, 
 were married in 1866. Three children were 
 born to this union, Mary Dorothea, Luther E. 
 and Thomas W. Mary Dorothea is the wife 
 of John Fraser, of Burford, Canada, and is 
 the mother of two children, Walter and Flor- 
 ence. Luther E. married Miss Nellie Smith, 
 and is engaged in the laundry business in Be- 
 loit; his biographical sketch appears elsewhere 
 in this work. Thomas W. Purves married 
 Miss Myrtle Sage. Thomas Purves is a mem- 
 ber of Myrtle Lodge, No. 10, I. O. O. F., 
 and of the Knights of Pythias. He is a Re- 
 publican, and was alderman of the Fourth 
 ward in 1900. 
 
 William Kendall was a native of New York, 
 of English descent, and followed farming un- 
 til quite advanced in years, when .he retired. 
 He was the father of a large family, and passed 
 away at the age of ninety. 
 
 LUTHER E. PURVES, proprietor of the 
 well-known laundry at Beloit, Rock county, is 
 one of the hustling young business men of that 
 city, whose earnest spirit and modern methods 
 are a potent force in its advancement. He is 
 a pleasant and agreeable man, fully awake to 
 the value and necessity of good work and re- 
 
798 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 liable dealing, and makes personal friends of 
 his patrons. 
 
 Mr. Purves was born in Ceresco, Mich., 
 Jan. 10, 1870, and is a son of Thomas and 
 Sarah (Kendall) Purves, the father a native 
 of Canada, and the mother of New York. 
 They were the parents of three children : Mary 
 Dorothea, wife of John Fraser, of Burford, 
 Ontario; and Luther E. and Thomas W., both 
 residing in Beloit. The father came to Beloit 
 in 1871, and engaged in the wholesale leaf 
 tobacco business; he was also a manufacturer 
 and dealer in cigars. He was continuously in 
 business until September, 1899, when he dis- 
 posed of his various enterprises, and is now 
 leading a retired life. Mr. Purves has always 
 been a Republican, and was alderman of the 
 Fourth ward one term. Mrs. Purves was a 
 Baptist. [A sketch of Mr. and Mrs. Purves 
 appears elsewhere.] 
 
 Luther E. Purves was about a year and a 
 half old when he came to Beloit, and here he 
 has spent all his life. He was a student in the 
 city schools, and made his preparation for busi- 
 ness in the Spencerian Business College, Mil- 
 waukee. He was a bookkeeper until 1895, and 
 acquired a reputation for accurate and reliable 
 work which has stood him in hand to good 
 purpose many times. In 1895 he engaged in 
 the laundry business, and has built up a wide 
 and profitable patronage. 
 
 Luther E. Purves and Miss Nellie Smith, 
 daughter of William and Margaret (Kane) 
 Smith, were united in marriage Dec. 12, 1894. 
 and they are the parents of two children, Lu- 
 ther and Russell K. They live at No. 353 
 Highland avenue. Mr. Purves is a member 
 of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. He is a Re- 
 publican in political sentiment. Mrs. Purves 
 is a native of Beloit, born in 1874, and spent 
 her early life in Iowa, returning when about 
 fourteen to Beloit, where she has since resided. 
 
 JOHN E. WESCOTT, a representative of 
 one of the older families of Green county, was 
 born there Oct. 8, 1846, a son of Ezra and 
 Nancy (Brown) Wescott. His father was 
 born in Wethersfield, N. Y., in 1818, and was a 
 son of John Wescott, noted among the early 
 settlers of central and western New York. 
 
 Ezra Wescott, who came from his native 
 State to Green county, Wis., in 1840, taught 
 school for several years after his arrival in 
 this State. He was married Nov. 10, 1845, 
 
 to Miss Nancy Brown, a teacher in Lafayette 
 county for several years previous to her mar- 
 riage, and to them were born six children : 
 John E., whose name introduces this article; 
 Alta; Myra, married to D. K. Anderson, of 
 Woodford, Lafayette Co., Wis.; Dora, who 
 married James H. Walker, of Freeport, 111 .; 
 and two others, now deceased. Ezra Wescott 
 died June 16, 1865, and is remembered as one 
 of the leading and enterprising men of Green 
 county in his day. In 1863 he served as a 
 member of the State Assembly, and he was 
 register of deeds and county treasurer before 
 the Civil war. His services were in demand 
 for many years as commissioner, chairman of 
 the town board, and justice of the peace at 
 various times. 
 
 John E. Wescott was married to Miss Ab- 
 bie H. Collins May 4, 1869. Her parents, 
 George and Climena C. (Cleveland) Collins, 
 born and reared in the State of Maine, came to 
 Green county in 1867, but returned next year 
 to North Anson, Maine, where Mr. Collins 
 died in 1871. He was a miller all his life. 
 His widow, now aged eighty-two years, re- 
 sides with Mr. and Mrs. Wescott. Mr. and 
 Mrs. John E. Wescott are the parents of the 
 following children : Arthur B., born April 3, 
 1S70, died young; Ezra C., born Aug. 21, 
 1872, married Lottie Bangs, of Nebraska, Jan. 
 2, 1901, and is living at home; George F. is 
 also at home. 
 
 John E. Wescott was reared on the farm, 
 and obtained his education in the neighboring 
 district school. Since reaching manhood he 
 has taken an important part in the local affairs 
 of the day, and has f served at different times as 
 tax collector, road supervisor and school direc- 
 tor for many years. In 1864 he enlisted in 
 the Union army, becoming a member of Com- 
 pany I, 46th Wis. V. L, under command of 
 Col. Lovell, and serving through the stirring 
 scenes of the closing days of the great war. 
 He was honorably discharged in October, 1865, 
 He served for the most part in the Army of the 
 Tennessee, and in the Army of the Cumber- 
 land. 
 
 Mr. Wescott is now residing on the old 
 Wescott place, a magnificent country home of 
 300 acres, located in section 6, Cadiz town- 
 ship, all highly improved and furnished with 
 every convenience that modern agriculture de- 
 mands for the successful handling of the farm 
 in the most profitable and productive fashion, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 79 9 
 
 the place forming a striking contrast to its con- 
 dition when purchased by Mr. Wescott’s father 
 in 1851. With our subject is. now residing his 
 mother, a venerable lady of nearly eighty years, 
 who is passing her last days in an atmosphere 
 of loving care and tender devotion. John E. 
 Wescott is a man of quiet and unobtrusive 
 nature, a thorough gentleman, a good neigh- 
 bor; and is known as one of the leading citi- 
 zens of the community. Many are his friends, 
 who know and rightly esteem his many good 
 qualities. 
 
 John Wescott, the grandfather of John E., 
 was born in New York. He had four sons and 
 one daughter: Franklin died unmarried; Ezra 
 was the father of John E. ; Jefferson F. and 
 Walter S. are mentioned below; Eliza A. mar- 
 ried Peter Chandler, and died in December, 
 1892. Peter Chandler died in 1875. 
 
 Jefferson F. Wescott came to Green county 
 in 1840 and made a creditable history as a 
 farmer, a merchant, a civil magistrate, and a 
 member of the Wisconsin Assembly, and died 
 Feb. 16, 1879. Born in Wyoming county, 
 N. Y., March 26, 1826, he was still a boy at 
 his advent in Green county. He was married 
 March 26, 1856, to Miss Sarah Rogers, of 
 Lafayette county, and to their union were born 
 eight children: Mary E., the wife of Charles 
 
 E. Brooks; Frank; Charles, a resident of Ne- 
 braska; Clara, who was a school teacher be- 
 fore her marriage; May married Albert Love- 
 land; Nellie, married to Thurlow Patton; 
 Walter and Daisy are unmarried. 
 
 Walter S. Wescott was born in New York, 
 and came to Green county in 1843, making his 
 / first settlement in the town of York, but mov- 
 ing shortly to the town of Adams, where he 
 lived until 1864. That year he bought a farm 
 in section 26, town of Monroe. Thankful B. 
 Cleveland, his wife, was the daughter of James 
 G. and Edith Cleveland, well-known Green 
 county people, and to them were born three 
 children : Ida M. is the wife of Edward C. 
 Gibbons, of Nebraska; Eva M. is the wife of 
 C. D. Bragg, of Nebraska; and John J. resides 
 in Texas. Walter S. Wescott is now largely 
 engaged in Nebraska, where he has extensive 
 ranch interests, and while his residence was 
 unbroken in Green county he was one of the 
 most public-spirited men of the times, hold- 
 ing many public positions, and being honored 
 with election to the State Senate in 1863. Al- 
 
 ways a stanch Republican, he has been identi- 
 fied with the history of his party wherever 
 he has lived. 
 
 JOHN W. CARPENTER has been a resi- 
 dent of the city of Janesville, Rock county, 
 for many years, and in that time he has won a 
 standing in business circles, and as an intelli- 
 gent and progressive citizen, of which any man 
 might be proud. He has met all his business 
 engagements promptly, and his word has ever 
 been beyond question. He has built up a good 
 trade in the coal and wood line, and those 
 who have dealt with him longest are the best 
 friends he has in the city. 
 
 Mr. Carpenter was born at Northville, Ful- 
 ton Co., N. Y., Feb. 9, 1839, a son of Allen 
 D. and Alary Ann (Wadsworth) Carpenter, 
 both also natives of Fulton county. Children 
 as follows were born to them : John W. ; Laura, 
 wife of Nathaniel Ballard, of Evansville, Wis. ; 
 William H., of Evansville; Alary Ann, Airs. 
 McKinney, of Evansville; Josiah, of Lmion 
 township, Rock county; and Emma, wife of 
 Edwin Winters, Gf Evansville. The father 
 was originally a cabinet maker, but became 
 a carpenter and joiner. In 1855 he came to 
 Wisconsin and settled on an eighty-acre farm 
 in Linion township, Rock county. After a time 
 he acquired as much more land, and gave his 
 attention to the improvement and cultivation 
 of what speedily became a choice and valuable 
 farm. He died on that place Jan. 21, 1861, 
 aged about forty-six years. His wife survived 
 him until 1894, and was past seventy-six years 
 of age at her death. Joseph Carpenter, the 
 grandfather of John W., was a native of Ver- 
 mont, and was a carpenter and joiner by oc- 
 cupation. He was the father of a numerous 
 family. He died in New York when over 
 sixty years of age. Josiah Wadsworth, the 
 father of Airs. Mary A. Carpenter, was born, 
 on Long Island and was one of the earliest 
 settlers of Fulton county, N. Y., where he 
 reared his family of fifteen children. When 
 he died he was well on toward eighty years 
 of age. 
 
 John W. Carpenter was reared on a farm, 
 and received his elementary schooling in the 
 district school at Hope Center, N. Y. He 
 was sixteen years old when he came West 
 with his parents, and his home has been in 
 Rock county ever since. For the past twenty- 
 
8oo 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 five years he has lived in Janesville. On reach- 
 ing manhood lie started out for himself as a 
 farmer, renting land the first two years. He 
 bought a farm of 183 acres in the town of 
 Union, which he brought to a high state of 
 cultivation, and then sold. He bought another 
 farm, consisting of 280 acres, and made very 
 substantial improvements on this tract, which 
 he converted into a desirable home, dwelling 
 there some time. Some twenty-five years ago, 
 renting the farm, Mr. Carpenter moved into 
 Janesville to engage in the wood and coal busi- 
 ness. He retained the ownership of the farm 
 until a few years ago, when he thought it wise 
 to enlarge his business in the city. Our subject 
 is a Republican, and was supervisor of Center 
 township some two or three terms. 
 
 Mr. Carpenter and Miss Sarah Jane Par- 
 ker, daughter of Isaac and Maria (Soper) 
 Parker, were married March 20, 1861, and 
 they have had three children, Jessie, Charles 
 and Lulu. Jessie married David Creighton, 
 and has her home in Whitewater; they have 
 one child, Catherine. Charles married Huldah 
 Balke, and resides in Janesville; he is a brake- 
 man on the railroad. Lulu, formerly a teacher 
 in the Janesville public schools, married James 
 W addle. 
 
 WILLIAM ANDREW TRICKEL, the 
 genial proprietor of the ‘‘Eagle Hotel,” of 
 Browntown, Green county, is one of the enter- 
 prising and progressive business men in the 
 village. He is one of the fourteen children 
 of Andrew J. Trickel and his wife. Charlotte 
 Morton, and was born Sept. 14, 1863. 
 
 Andrew J. Trickel was born in Illinois 
 Sept.' 10, 1824, son of Robert Trickel, who 
 was a native of Virginia, and one of the pio- 
 neers of Illinois. Mr. Trickel' is now one of 
 the wealthy farmers of Clarno township, Green 
 county. He is the father of sixteen children. 
 He has been twice married, and his first wife, 
 Susan Crothers, bore him two children, Sarah 
 and John, the latter now deceased. His sec- 
 ond wife, Charlotte Morton, was the mother 
 of fourteen, namely: Sarah Ellen, born Oct. 
 3, 1858; Jesse, Dec. 14, 1859; Charley, Feb. 
 28, 1861; William A., our subject; Laura E., 
 April 11, 1865; Martha, Dec. 4, 1867; Ma- 
 tilda. Oct. 10, 1868; Charlotte, Nov. 12, 1869; 
 Louis, July 7, 1871; Clara, Nov. 26, 1872; 
 Olive, November, 1874; Joseph, Nov. 19, 1876; 
 Albert. Aug. 26, 1878; and Everet, Aug. 25, 
 
 1885, all of whom are now living except Sarah, 
 Charlotte and Everet. 
 
 William A. Trickel received his literary 
 training in the common schools of Clarno 
 township, and engaged at work on Iris' father’s 
 farm until he was twenty-one. He then went 
 to California, but after two years returned to 
 the East and purchased a sawmill at Rock 
 Grove, 111 ., later going to Belleville, Dane 
 Co., Wis., and thence to Blanchardville, La- 
 fayette Co., Wis., conducting mills in both 
 places. I11 1890 he came to Browntown, and 
 for a year conducted a bar room, in 1891 
 taking charge of the “Eagle Hotel,” which he 
 has since conducted with great success. The 
 pleasant smile of the proprietor has won for 
 him many friends among the patrons of the 
 hotel, as well as from the townspeople, and 
 he is one of the most popular citizens of the 
 railage. In politics he is a strong Democrat, 
 and has served on the village board and as 
 school director since making his home in 
 Browntown. 
 
 Mr. Trickel was married March 4, 1886, 
 to Miss Mary Keehl, who was born Dec. 31, 
 1866, a daughter of August and Minnie 
 (Brightskee) Keehl, natives of Germany who 
 located in Green county in 1845. Three chil- 
 dren have been born to this union, Florence 
 Elizabeth, March 6, 1887; Clarence Evert, 
 Nov. 15, 1888; and Andrew Jackson, July 
 25, 1890. 
 
 CHARLES HENRY VAIL (deceased) 
 was known in Beloit, Rock county, as early 
 as 1856, and though he shortly left the city 
 he retained such pleasant memories of it that 
 it became his home in after years, and here a 
 considerable portion of his business career was 
 spent. Lie was a man of lofty character and 
 strong moral convictions. He led his life sin- 
 cerely, and lived from the purest motives, and 
 his career fittingly forms a part of a work 
 like this, intended to tell of the men whose 
 worth and courage have made southwestern 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Vail was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., July 
 1 5 , 1837, and was the son of Benjamin Albert 
 and Martha (Conklin) Vail, natives of Long 
 Island. They had eight children, and were peo- 
 ple of more than usual character and standing. 
 Benjamin Albert Vail was a carpenter and con- 
 tractor. He lived after his marriage for a 
 time in Brooklyn, and then at Farmersville, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Soi 
 
 in western New York, for several years. About 
 1856 he brought his family to Beloit, and 
 lived there several years. Chicago became his 
 final home, and there he lived for a number of 
 years, dying in 1882, when sixty-eight years 
 old. His wife died prior to that time, when 
 sixty-one years old. Both were Methodists, 
 and he was a steward and class-leader in the 
 church. He was a fine singer, and while in 
 the East often led the church choir. He was 
 a prominent man in Beloit, and served as al- 
 derman. I11 Masonry he was deeply versed, 
 having risen to the thirty-second degree. He 
 is remembered as a genial and cordial gentle- 
 man, with a host of friends. His father, 
 Charles G. Vail, was born on Long Island 
 Dec. 25, 1786, and died Oct. 8, 1864. He 
 was of English stock and served in the war of 
 1812. He married Miss Polly Richmond Sept. 
 4, 1811, and his eldest son was Benjamin A. 
 Vail. The Vail family came to America early 
 in the eighteenth century. The maternal 
 grandfather of Mr. Vail was a Mr. Conklin, 
 a native of Long Island, of English stock. 
 He was a soldier in the Revolutionary army, 
 and died when past middle life, the father of 
 three sons and three daughters. 
 
 Charles Henry Vail was six weeks old when 
 his parents moved from Brooklyn to Green- 
 port, L. I., and twelve years old when they 
 located in Farmersville, where he grew to man- 
 hood. He attended the public schools, but, 
 having remarkable ability as a mechanic, he 
 gave up schooling while quite a boy, and took 
 up the carpenter’s trade. This was his life 
 work. He was an architect, and became an 
 extensive builder and contractor. He came to 
 Beloit in 1856, but went South before the war, 
 and spent seven years in that section of the 
 country, engaged in business as a general mer- 
 chant. At the expiration of that time he came 
 back to Beloit, where he was married. He 
 and his wife spent three months in Chicago, 
 and some years in Beloit. They lived six 
 months at Lawrence, Ivans., and a year and a 
 half at Leavenworth, and then again returned 
 to Beloit. By this time the construction busi- 
 ness of Mr. Vail had increased to large pro- 
 portions, and in 1885 he went to Kansas City. 
 Mo., where he put up a number of large build- 
 ings, for which he drew the plans and did all 
 the architectural work. While there he em- 
 ployed as many as one hundred men at one 
 time. He returned to Chicago in 1891, upon 
 
 51 
 
 the death of his daughter, Mattie May. He 
 did business in Chicago, but Beloit was his 
 home. He died Dec. 28, 1895. 
 
 Mr. Vail and Miss Celia Y. Laramy were 
 married Feb. 20, 1866. She is a daughter of 
 Philip and Lydia (Yandell) Laramy, and is 
 the mother of two children, Celia Evalena and 
 Mattie May. Celia Evalena married Edward 
 Stanley Watson Nov. 19, 1888. He is a hard- 
 ware and cold storage merchant of Beloit. 
 They have one child, Charles Munger, born 
 Nov. 10, 1890. Mattie May died June 3, 1891, 
 at the age of eighteen ; she was a bright and 
 beautiful girl, of a sweet and sunny disposi- 
 tion, and g'ave every promise of a noble wo- 
 manhood. 
 
 Mr. Vail was not identified with any church, 
 but believed profoundly in the Christian re- 
 ligion, and tried to put its best ideals into his 
 daily life. He was a Democrat, but never 
 would consent to hold a public office. He was 
 a man with a host of friends, and everywhere 
 showed himself a social, generous and kind- 
 hearted gentleman. He was kind and libera 
 with the poor and suffering, and those who 
 were privileged to know him in his home and! 
 family pronounced him a model man in every 
 respect. Among the great number of build- 
 ings Mr. Vail put up in Beloit may be men- 
 tioned the Carpenter block, the Second Na- 
 tional Bank, the Strong public school, the First 
 Baptist Church, the Opera House, and many 
 others, among them thirty stores. 
 
 Mrs. Vail, who survives her husband, is 
 a member of the Episcopal Church. She comes 
 of a wealthy and cultured family. Her par- 
 ents were natives of England, and lived at 
 North and South Molton. They had two sons 
 and seven daughters : Sarah, who married 
 
 Richard Reese, is now deceased ; Esther Lydia, 
 the second wife of Mr. Ree-e, is also de- 
 ceased ; Thomas William is a resident of Be- 
 loit; Harriet Rebecca married Edward A. 
 Loomis, and is deceased ; Maria Aim is the 
 wife of Plorace A. Brown, of Beloit; Celia 
 Y. is the widow of our subject; three died in 
 infancy. Mrs. Vail’s father was a very de- 
 vout member of the Methodist Church, and 
 her mother as strongly attached to the Episco ■ 
 pal Church. Mr. Laramy was first married 
 to Miss Ann Warren, and three children were 
 the issue of that union : Ann deceased wife 
 of William Warren, of Chicago; Mary, the 
 wife of S. J. Admire, of Salt Lake City, Utah; 
 
802 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and Betsy, the widow of William Laramy, a 
 lawyer in Batavia, N. Y. Philip Laramy had 
 a planing-mill and a tannery in Leroy, N. Y., 
 at one time and was very highly, regarded, 
 both for his personal integrity and his business 
 ability. He was a steward and class-leader in 
 the church. His wife was a worthy companion, 
 a sincere Christian and a noble woman. His 
 father died in England at an advanced age, 
 and was very wealthy. He owned 3,000 acres 
 of land, and kept large herds of flooded cat- 
 tle and sheep. He reared a numerous family. 
 The father of Mrs. Philip Laramy, Joseph 
 Yandell, was also an extensive farmer and 
 land owner. Lie had 250 men in his service. 
 He died in Nadrid, near Molton, Devonshire, 
 England, when quite old. He had a large 
 family, and his immediate descendants are still 
 living on the Devonshire estates. 
 
 OLIVER P. UNDERWOOD, of the town 
 of Pulaski, is a well-known representative of 
 one of the pioneer families of Iowa county. 
 Lie was born in the State of New York, on 
 Aug. 23, 1826, a son of Parker C. and Anna 
 (Baker) Underwood, and was about nineteen 
 years of age when he came to Wisconsin. 
 
 Parker C. Underwood was born in Dela- 
 ware county, N. Y., on Feb. 4, 1803, and wa3 
 a son of Dr. Oliver Underwood, cpiite an emi- 
 nent physician of his day, whose father, the 
 great-grandfather of our subject, was a noted 
 Fresbyterian divine of New England. Parker 
 C. Underwood was reared in his native coun- 
 ty; and married Anna Baker, who was also 
 born in Delaware county, a daughter of Jo- 
 seph and Eunice (Follett) Baker, the former 
 of whom was a soldier in the war of 1812. 
 Robert and Samuel Follett, brothers of Mrs. 
 Baker, were soldiers in the war of the Revo- 
 lution. 
 
 Parker C. Underwood removed to. Buffalo 
 Grove, 111 ., in the fall of 1834, but in the fol- 
 lowing spring he went to Dubuque, and thence 
 to Mineral Point, Wis., where he engaged in 
 lead mining. In 1845 h’ s two eldest sons 
 joined him at Highland, Iowa county, and in 
 the spring of 1847, Ids wife and two remain- 
 ing sons' joined the other members of the fam- 
 ily at Highland, and the reunited family set- 
 tled down to an agricultural life. The death 
 of the mother, in 1851, was a great grief, but 
 the father survived many years, passing away 
 in 1892, at the unusual age of ninety years. 
 
 Parker Underwood was a man of high char- 
 acter, possessed good judgment, and gained 
 the respect of every community in which he 
 made his home. He was a typical pioneer in 
 every respect. Of his four sons, two survive, 
 our subject and his brother Joseph, who is a 
 resident of Avoca. Madison served in the war 
 for the Union, but passed away many years 
 ago, and the youngest, Irving, was a member 
 of Company K, 14th Wis. V. I., and was one 
 of the martyrs of the war, at Corinth. 
 
 Oliver P. Underwood received an excel- 
 lent education in his early life, and began 
 teaching in his native State, when only seven- 
 teen years old, becoming one of the leading 
 educators in Iowa county. For thirty years he 
 instructed the youthful intelligence through 
 Pulaski and Highland townships, and has ever 
 been one of the leaders in educational mat- 
 ters in the county. In 1856 he removed to his 
 present farm, and is now numbered among the 
 large farmers and stock growers of Iowa coun- 
 ty, his finely cultivated farm comprising 500 
 acres. 
 
 Previous to her marriage with Mr. Un- 
 derwood, his estimable wife was Miss Helen 
 Brewster, a daughter of Justus Brewster, and 
 a granddaughter of Justus Brewster, a soldier 
 in the war of the Revolution, and thus Mrs. 
 Underwood and her daughters are eligible to 
 the exclusive society of the D. A. R. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Underwood have four daughters : 
 Anna, who is the wife of B. A. Telfair; Emma, 
 the widely-known educator, who so efficiently 
 filled the position of county superintendent for 
 two terms; lone, the wife of Dr. W. W. Ker- 
 lin, of Storm Lake, Iowa; and Clive Pauline. 
 
 Oliver P. Underwood has ever been held 
 in the highest esteem in the county, is a patri- 
 otic citizen and believes in America and Amer- 
 ican institutions. I11 religious matters he ad- 
 heres to no set creed, but believes that char- 
 acter and right living comprise the standard 
 by which each man will be judged. In his po- 
 litical views he has always, been a Republican. 
 
 GEORGE W. FENNEL, one of the early 
 settlers of Bloomington, was born in Poultney, 
 Vt., June 7, 1823, and died at his home in 
 Grant county, Wis., March 9, 1887. 
 
 Mr. Fennel became a resident of Grant 
 county in 1855. His father, Almond Fennel, 
 died when his son was about eighteen years 
 of age, and his only brother was drowned 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 803 
 
 when but nine years old. The first and 
 as it proved, the permanent settlement of Mr. 
 Fennel, in Grant county, was on the place 
 where his family still live, which is now a 
 fine farm and improved in every way, a most 
 delightful home. 
 
 On Sept. 16, 1856, Mr. Fennel was' mar- 
 ried to Miss Linda M. Cilley, a daughter of 
 William W. and Roxana (Castle) Cilley. 
 William W. Cilley was a native of Williams- 
 town, Vt., where he was born on Sept. 1, 1801, 
 was reared in his native State, and in 1829 
 was married to Miss Roxana Castle, who was 
 born and reared in Essex, Vt. Her death took 
 place in 1850. 
 
 George W. Fennel soon displayed an in- 
 dustry and energy that changed his unimproved 
 land into a fine farm, and is remembered among 
 the esteemed citizens of his township. The 
 family left to mourn his decease consisted of 
 his widow and three children: Rollin C., who 
 was born at the homestead on Feb. 26, 1858, 
 and married Miss Lizzie Powers, their one 
 daughter being Bessie E. ; Bert G., who was 
 born on June 12, 1871, and married Miss Lela 
 Sawyer; and Nellie M., who died on March 
 3, 1888, at the age of twenty-one. The eldest 
 daughter, Laura E., died at the age of six- 
 teen. 
 
 Mrs. Fennel, with her two sons and their 
 families, resides on the comfortable old home- 
 stead provided by the industry and persever- 
 ance of the husband and father, and are among 
 the most highly esteemed citizens' of Grant 
 county. 
 
 LEVI WHITEHEAD (deceased) was 
 one of the pioneer settlers of Cadiz township, 
 Green county, and is remembered as a man of 
 sterling worth and genuine character. Born 
 in Jackson county, Ohio, April 2, 1832, he 
 came to Green county with his parents in 1847, 
 and settled on section 13, in the town of Cadiz. 
 His parents, Edward and Delilah (Hawk) 
 Whitehead, were of English origin, and early 
 settled in Ohio. They were the parents of 
 four sons, John, William, Levi and Henry, the 
 last named being now the only survivor. 
 
 Levi Whitehead was married to Miss 
 Susan Hackworth, a native of Vermilion coun- 
 ty, 111., in 1854, and to this union were born 
 the following children: (1) Charles E., born 
 
 Dec. 11, 1853, married Rhoda Frame, and is 
 engaged in farming in Clarno township; (2) 
 
 Delilah, born Jan. 25, 1857, married Millard 
 F. Campbell; (3) John A., born May 3, i860, 
 married Melinda Bast, and is a farmer of 
 Cadiz township; (4) Mary Ellen, born Dec. 
 4, 1866, is the wife of Otto Priewe, a farmer 
 of Clarno township; (5) Frank J., born Oct. 
 8, 1869, married Dora Campbell, and now re- 
 sides in Monroe; (6) Bessie E., born March 
 4, 1872, is the wife of George Campbell, and 
 they now live on the old Whitehead home- 
 stead, with Mrs. Whitehead; (7) Nellie Belle, 
 born May 29, 1876, is the wife of Herman 
 Kohn, of Cadiz township. 
 
 Levi Whitehead died May 3, 1895. In 
 politics he was a Democrat, and in religion 
 a believer in Christianity, but never connected 
 with any church. Mr. and Mrs. Whitehead 
 began their married life poor in this world’s 
 goods, but rich in mutual love and trust, and 
 their working and waiting was rewarded in 
 due time with the possession of an ample com- 
 petence. When Mr. Whitehead died he left 
 a farm comprising 428 acres', under a high 
 state of cultivation, with ample improvements 
 of every kind. He was a man with many 
 friends, who admired his genuine worth, and 
 loved him for his many fine qualities. To his 
 wife and children his departure was a grievous 
 sorrow. 
 
 Mrs. Whitehead is a daughter of William 
 and Elizabeth (Morton) Hackworth, and the 
 third of a family of ten children, the others 
 being asi follows : Matthew, now residing in 
 Louisiana ; Mary A., the wife of Walter Divan, 
 of Seward county, Neb.; James, deceased; 
 William P., deceased; Thomas, of Lafayette 
 county, Wis. ; Alexander, in Seward county, 
 Neb. ; Clarissa, deceased ; Melissa, who is un- 
 married; and John, in Seward county, Neb. 
 Mrs. Whitehead still makes her home on the 
 old homestead, where she is passing her years 
 in an atmosphere of tender care and love from 
 the rising generation. She is a good woman, 
 has been a member of the United Brethren 
 Church for fifty years, and her life has been 
 full of deeds and genuine kindness'. She has 
 many estimable qualities, and is liked and re- 
 spected by all who come in contact with her. 
 
 GOODWIN LOWREY (deceased) was 
 long a well-known and esteemed citizen of 
 southwestern Wisconsin. Mr. Lowrev was a 
 native of Litchfield county, Conn., where he 
 was born in April, 1826, a son of Daniel and 
 
804 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 Abigail (Goodwin) Lowrey, and a descendant 
 from genuine American ancestry, both the 
 L'owreys and Goodwins belonging to early 
 New England families. When Goodwin Low- 
 rey was a boy he removed with his parents 
 to the State of New York, the family settling 
 on a farm near Utica, where they lived until 
 the death of the husband and father. Soon 
 after this sad event the mother and her two 
 sons, which comprised her family, removed 
 to the city of New York, and there the broth- 
 ers engaged in the wool business, and there, 
 too, the mother died. The brother of Good- 
 win, Daniel Lowrey, never came West, but 
 passed the rest of his life in New York. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Goodwin Lowrey came to 
 Wisconsin, and was for -some time engaged in 
 buying and shipping wool, with headcpiarters 
 in Milwaukee. In 1864 he settled on the farm 
 which he purchased in the town of Wyoming, 
 Iowa county, and from that time until lus 
 death was clearly identified with the interests 
 of his town and county. In the autumn of the 
 year he moved to Wyoming, he was married 
 to his most estimable widow, who was then 
 Mrs. Heloise Oakford. She is a native of New 
 Orleans, and daughter of Francis Gai, a native 
 of Italy but of French parentage; the latter 
 married, in Philadelphia, Jane Tree, who was 
 an aunt of Judge Lambert Tree, of Chicago, 
 and died at S't. Francisville, La., when Mrs. 
 Lowrey was a child. Her mother remarried 
 and died at Towanda, Pa., several years ago. 
 Mrs. Lowrey settled on the fine farm, where 
 she now lives, in 1863, and as this farm and 
 that of her husband’s adjoined they together 
 had about one thousand acresi. The immediate 
 home of Mr. and Mrs. Lowrey after their mar- 
 riage was on the farm that she had purchased, 
 and where she now resides. 
 
 Mr. Lowrey continued farming and stock 
 raising until his health declined. He was a 
 man of great native ability and highly culti- 
 vated, and was often urged to accept political 
 positions, but invariably declined, having no 
 inclination for office. Once the nomination for 
 member of the Legislature was so strongly 
 pressed upon him that he consented, and was 
 elected by a large majority, proving an excel- 
 lent legislator. He was a broad-minded, pub- 
 lic-spirited man and always had in mind the 
 interests of his' home community. He was a 
 very companionable man, and strongly at- 
 tached to his wife and home. He was a mem- 
 
 ber of no church, but gave liberally to the 
 support of religious training, was a regular 
 attendant at church, and was wont to apply the 
 principles of religion to his daily life. About 
 1884 his health began to break, and for the 
 benefit of his health and that of his wife sev- 
 eral winters were passed by them in the South. 
 Plis death occurred at Pass Christian, Miss.,. 
 Feb. 20, 1889, where he and his: wife had ar- 
 rived but two days previously. Although long 
 in poor health, the end was entirely unexpected, 
 as lie had been apparently much better for some 
 time, heart trouble being the immediate 
 cause of his death. Mrs. Lowrey was, at the 
 time, very ill of pneumonia, but at the earnest 
 solicitation of friends Mr. Lowrey’s remains 
 were brought home for burial, although she 
 was too ill to accompany them. 
 
 Mrs. Lowrey resides at her beautiful home 
 in the Wyoming Valley, Iowa county, where 
 she and her husband passed so many years 
 of happy married life. 
 
 NATHANIEL AUSTIN. Prominent 
 among the early settlers in Bloomington is 
 Nathaniel Austin, who well represents that 
 hardy class of honest, sensible and progressive 
 men who have made Grant county the desirable 
 locality it is. When first he located here, in 
 1854, a few houses represented what is now a 
 flourishing town. For more than forty years 
 Mr. Austin has taken his part in the develop- 
 ment of this section of the State of Wiscon- 
 sin. Nathaniel Austin is of Canadian birth, 
 although of New England parentage. He was 
 born Aug. 26, 1830, a son of Nicholas and 
 Harriet (Orvis) Austin, natives of Vermont, 
 who were of English ancestry, and the family 
 was founded in America in Colonial times. 
 For generations their religious belief was that 
 of the Hicksite Quakers. The father of Har- 
 riet Orvis served in the Continental army. 
 
 Nicholas Austin was a man of good edu- 
 cation, and was long a teacher by occupation. 
 Both he and his wife were reared in Vermont, 
 but after the birth of their first child removed 
 to Canada, and there passed the rest of their 
 lives. After locating in Canada, Mr. Austin 
 engaged in farming, clearing a heavily tim- 
 bered tract, and he was one of the first to suc- 
 ceed in raising apples in that part of Canada. 
 When he left his Vermont home, he took with 
 him seeds of various kinds, including the ap- 
 ple, and from these raised trees which became 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 805 
 
 productive and are still in fine condition. Our 
 subject was one of a family of eight children, 
 seven sons and one daughter. The old home- 
 stead farm in Canada descended 1 to the young- 
 est son and his next older brother. Later the 
 youngest disposed of his interest and 'removed 
 to Ohio, but the other brother still owns a part 
 of the land. Five of the family still survive : 
 William, a resident of Oklahoma; Nathaniel; 
 Sylvanus, on the old homestead ; George, a 
 resident of Ohio ; and Elizabeth, a resident 
 of Milwaukee. Hiram died at Wichita, Kan- 
 sas, in 1899, at the age of seventy-five years ; 
 and Alfred died at seventeen. 
 
 Nathamel Austin grew to manhood in his 
 Canadian home and, with his brothers, assisted 
 in the clearing up of the farm. The country 
 was unimproved, and his educational ad- 
 vantages were consecpiently limited. In the 
 fall of 1852 he left home and started out for 
 himself, coming to Fond du Lac, Wis., and 
 engaging in any honorable employment that 
 •came his way. His wages for his first winter’s 
 work were nine dollars a month. In March of 
 the next year he went to Lancaster, and there 
 and at Waterloo, Grant county, was constantly 
 employed until he was able to save the sum of 
 $500, which he applied as a first payment on 
 a farm which he purchased in the township of 
 Bloomington. Settling on the place, he in- 
 dustriously labored there for two years, mak- 
 ing many improvements, and then, as oppor- 
 tunity offered, he sold it and returned to Can- 
 ada. His health had failed, and, with the hope 
 of regaining it, he did not settle down again 
 for about a year, when he came back to Bloom- 
 ington, bought another farm, upon which he 
 lived for forty years. In February, 1899, he 
 removed to the village of Bloomington, where 
 he owns a pleasant home and enjoys every com- 
 fort of life. 
 
 On Nov. 12, 1857, Nathaniel Austin was 
 married to Samantha C. Lyman, a daughter 
 of William and Abigail (Chandler) Lyman, 
 natives of Vermont, but their ancestors came 
 from Connecticut. Mrs. Lyman’s grandfa- 
 ther, Rev. Amariah Chandler, was a noted Con- 
 gregational minister for over half a century, 
 preaching for thirty years in one pulpit and 
 for twenty years in another. William Lyman 
 and wife removed soon after their marriage to 
 Cattaraugus county. N. Y., and in 1853 came 
 to Grant county, Wis. By trade he was a car- 
 penter, but after locating on the rich lands of 
 
 this county he engaged in farming and later 
 removed to Fredericksburg, Iowa, where the 
 wife and mother died, in 1876. Mr. Lyman 
 remarried and moved to Kansas, where his sec- 
 ond wife died, after which he returned to 
 Wisconsin and made his home with Mr. and 
 Mrs. Austin until his own decease, on Feb. 
 27, 1901, at the age of eighty-six years. Mrs. 
 Austin was one of a family of ten children, 
 five sons and five daughters, and two sons and 
 two daughters survive at the present time, 
 these being : Mrs. Austin ; Mrs. Eleanor Au- 
 
 gusta Benedict ; William Azro ; and Ordello. 
 Two of the children died in infancy, and those 
 who attained maturity and have passed away 
 were: Susan C., Amariah, Charles and Frank. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Austin have three children sur- 
 viving, Eleanor C., Charles F., and Wilbur 
 A., while those who have passed away were: 
 Alfred Llewellyn, at the age of seventeen, and 
 Edgar at the age of thirty-three. 
 
 Mr. Austin had but limited advantages for 
 education in his youth, but has given his sur- 
 viving children liberal opportunities, all being- 
 graduates of the Wisconsin State University, 
 at Madison. His daughter is teacher of Latin 
 and German in the Hudson, Wis., high school, 
 and is a lady of high attainments. For some 
 time Charles has had charge of a military 
 school at San Antonia, Texas; and Wilbur is 
 a mechanical engineer, and resides in Chicago. 
 Mr. Austin adheres to the teachings of his 
 Quaker ancestry, while Mrs. Austin is a devot- 
 ed and valued member of the Congregational 
 Church. The family is one which possesses 
 the confidence and high esteem of all the people 
 of Bloomington. 
 
 HENRI AA IEDERKEHR holds a posi- 
 tion among the old settlers of Jordan township, 
 Green county, that bespeaks at once long and 
 unwearied industry and high moral character. 
 He was born in Canton Zurich, Switzerland, 
 Aug. 2, 1835, and his parents, Jacob and Anna 
 (Klein) Wiederkehr, died in their Swiss home. 
 Our subject is, as far as known, their only liv- 
 ing child. 
 
 Henry AA'iederkehr left Switzerland in 
 1855, and spent some ten years in Brazil, where 
 he followed various vocations, and gained 
 much knowledge of strange lands and customs. 
 In 1866 he went back to Switzerland, where 
 he remained only about three months, and then 
 emigrated to the LYited States, making his 
 
8o6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 home for some two years in Ne’w Glarus, Wis. 
 In 1870 he bought a farm located on Section 
 29, Jordan township, acquiring a place of 176 
 acres, which he has recently sold to his son. 
 
 On Feb. 18, 1861, Henry Wiederkehr was 
 married in Brazil to Miss Mary Martin, a 
 daughter of Rudolph Martin, of Canton 
 Glarus, Switzerland. To this marriage have 
 been born the following children : ( 1 ) Jacob, 
 
 born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Nov. 15, 1861, 
 is at home, and is unmarried. (2) Felix, born 
 in Canton Glarus, Switzerland, April 9, 1866, 
 married Miss Lizzie Youngblood, of Jordan 
 township, and is now the owner of the old 
 Wiederkehr home place. (3) Miss Rosa, born 
 in New Glarus, Green county, Aug. 14, 1868, 
 lives in Iowa. (4) Anna, born Sept. 4, 1870, 
 in Jordan township, married Charles Jones, 
 a farmer in Iowa. (5) Mary, born Feb. 10, 
 1873, i s the wife of Toseph Ginner, of Monroe. 
 
 Mr. Wiederkehr came to this country a 
 very poor man, but by unceasing industry and 
 the most careful economy, has accumulated a 
 very handsome property, enabling him to enjoy 
 well earned rest and comfort in his old age. 
 In his politics he is a Democrat, and in re- 
 ligion is a member of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 Mr. Wiederkehr, while deprived of school- 
 ing in his boyhood, has traveled much, and 
 gained that practical schooling of experience 
 that helps a man to know himself and to un- 
 derstand the world around him — the best of all 
 education. Three times he has crossed the 
 ocean. In his dealings with the world he has 
 displayed a substantial integrity that has won 
 warm recognition wherever he has gone. An 
 honest man, and one true to his convictions of 
 the right, he has never lacked friends. To-day 
 he is highly regarded in the community in 
 which he lives, where he is known as an up- 
 right man, a kind father, and a devoted hus- 
 band. 
 
 ARTHUR W. GRAHAM, of the town of 
 Wyoming, Iowa county, represents an early 
 and well known family of the county. His 
 father, John Graham, was a native of Prince 
 Edward Island, and came to Wisconsin with 
 his family in 1854, and died March 12, 1886, 
 at seventy-six years and six months. He grew 
 to manhood on his native island, and followed, 
 in early life, the business of ship-build'ing and 
 sailing. He married Ann Bernard, who died 
 in 1897. Upon coming to Wisconsin John 
 
 Graham first bought forty acres, on which the 
 only improvement was a log house, and but very 
 little of the land had been cultivated. As his 
 means allowed, he gradually increased his land 
 possessions until he owned 440 acres. He was 
 an industrious and respected citizen, and for 
 thirty-two years he was a resident of Wyom- 
 ing, doing his part to improve the country and 
 develop its resources. He and his estimable 
 wife are well remembered by old settlers for 
 their many excellent traits of character. They 
 were the parents of three sons and four daugh- 
 ters,, all of whom are living: Jennie, wife of 
 William H. Clark, of Ottawa, Kans. ; Ed- 
 ward, of Creston, Neb. ; Charles, of the town 
 of Wyoming; Sarah, wife of D. C. Franklin, 
 of Council Bluffs, Iowa; Miss Lettie, at the 
 homestead; Minnie, wife of Peter Phillips, of 
 Vancouver Island ; and Arthur W. 
 
 Arthur W. Graham owns and lives on the 
 old homestead of his father. He was born 
 there Jan. 1, i860, and has grown to man- 
 hood on the place. He married Miss Addie 
 VanBlaricom, a native of Ontario, Canada. 
 1 hey have five children, two sons and three 
 daughters: Pearl G., Edward E., Florence, 
 
 Lee Burton, and Joyce Gertrude. Mr. Gra- 
 ham has ever been held in high esteem and re- 
 garded by all as a worthy representative of 
 one of the pioneer families of Wyoming. 
 
 Mrs. Graham is a daughter of Peter and 
 Jennette (Davis) Van Blaricom. The family 
 came to Iowa county in 1879, and in 1885 Mr. 
 V anBlaricom was accidentally killed, in the 
 town of Wyoming, by a falling ladder. He 
 was born in New Jersey, and had reached the 
 age of sixty-five years. His widow, who sur- 
 vives, was born in Prince Edward Co., On- 
 tario, Jan. 3, 1822. 
 
 EDWARD HANCOCK. Character tells 
 in the upbuilding of home, social position and 
 financial success. It is one of the gratifying 
 and significant developments of American life 
 that immigrants from other lands, if imbued 
 with earnestness, faith and integrity, quickly 
 rise from positions of obscurity to leading so- 
 cial forces in the communities in which they 
 live. 
 
 About the year 1840 an English miner, 
 religious, honest, hopeful of a future for his 
 children brought his wife and their family of 
 children from Cornwall, Eng., and settled at 
 Scales Mound, 111 . He was William Flancock, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 807 
 
 the son of Stephen Hancock, a lifelong stone 
 cutter of Cornwall. In his native land he mar- 
 ried Susanna H. Thomas, the daughter of Ed- 
 ward Thomas, who died in England. The 
 family were devout members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and Rev. Joseph Hancock, 
 a brother of William, was for many years a 
 Methodist minister in Australia. William fol- 
 lowed mining through most of his life, and died 
 at Scales Mound in April. 1884, aged seventy- 
 three years. His wife died in August, 1868, 
 aged sixty-three years. By a first marriage 
 William Hancock had a daughter, Eliza, now 
 Mrs. William T. Perry, of Scales Mound, 111 . 
 By his second marriage to Miss Susanna 
 Thomas he had five sons, namely: Richard, 
 
 who died in Prescott, Ariz. ; Edward; Joseph, 
 who died at Scales Mound; William; and 
 Stephen. The survivors all live in the town 
 of White Oak Springs, Lafayette Co., where 
 they are highly respected. 
 
 Edward Hancock was born at Scales 
 Mound, 111 ., a few miles from his present 
 home at White Oak Springs, Lafayette Co., 
 March 6, 1845. He was reared on the farm 
 and received a good education, attending the 
 Slmllsburg high school. He then engaged in 
 teaching for ten terms in connection with farm- 
 ing, having through life followed the latter 
 vocation. For the past twenty years he has 
 lived in Lafayette county, and in 1891 he 
 bought his present farm of 240 acres, where, 
 in addition to general farming, he is engaged 
 in breeding Shorthorn cattle, Oxford Down 
 sheep and Poland China swine. He is largely 
 and actively interested in the White Oak Dairy 
 and Feed Company, which operates a creamery 
 and grist mill, and of which he is president. 
 
 He married June 14, 1866, Miss Grace 
 Jewell, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth 
 (Rogers) Jewell, natives of Cambourn, Eng- 
 land. The father was a man of strong char- 
 acter but limited opportunities. He was a 
 miner and farmer during active life, and after 
 reaching the age of forty-five he learned to 
 write by attending a night school. Later in 
 life he engaged in the 'real estate business to 
 some extent, and is now living a retired life at 
 Scales Mound, at the age of eighty-six years. 
 His wife, Elizabeth, died in 1853, aged forty- 
 five years. Of their nine children two died in 
 infancy; six were born in Cambourn, Eng., 
 and three in Illinois. The surviving children 
 are as follows : Elizabeth Jane, widow of 
 
 William Toy, of Eau Claire, Wis. ; Thomas 
 Henry, of Palisade, Neb. ; Mary, wife of Simon 
 Wren, Denver, Col. ; John, of Strawberry 
 Point, Iowa; Grace, wife of our subject; Pris- 
 cilla, wife of John Tregona, Larnont, la.; and 
 William R.. of State Line, Iron Co., Utah, 
 where he is interested in a silver mine, of 
 which he was for some time foreman. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Edward Hancock are the 
 parents of eleven children, and their grand- 
 children are ten in number. The children are 
 as follows : Minnie, wife of E. Arnold, of 
 
 Strawberry Point, Iowa; Ada, wife of Elof 
 Swenson, Monticello township, Lafayette Co. ; 
 Nettie, wife of John Smart, of Scales Mound, 
 111 .; Edward L., of Madison, Wis. ; Della Jane, 
 who died, aged fourteen years; Elizabeth S., 
 May and William T., at home; Fred, who died 
 aged five years ; Howard and Ethel, at home. 
 It has been the aim of the parents to fit their 
 children for responsible positions in life. Ed- 
 ward L. is a graduate of Wisconsin Univer- 
 sity, and is now a teacher of mathematics in 
 that institution. May is a graduate of the 
 Slmllsburg high school. The family are mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of 
 Monticello, of which Mr. Hancock is a trustee. 
 
 In politics Mr. Hancock has been a life- 
 long Republican. He served four years as 
 chairman of the town and has filled all the 
 principal township offices. Among the frater- 
 nal orders, he is a member of the Modern 
 Woodmen of America. His career is an ex- 
 ample of pluck and merit. Beginning life for 
 himself in comparative obscurity, he has made 
 his way to a place among the foremost citizens 
 of the township. 
 
 ALBURTIS A. GILLETT, one of the rep- 
 resentative citizens of Juda, Green county, is 
 of English descent. David B. Gillett, his fa- 
 ther, was born in 1801, and died Dec. 28, 1859. 
 He was twice married. To him and his first 
 wife were born the following named children : 
 Marcus, William, Edwin, John, Mary and 
 Amelia; to Mr. Gillett and his second wife, 
 Parthenia Milks, whom he married in 1853, 
 came only one child, Alburtis A., born in the 
 township of Mt. Pleasant, Green county, Nov. 
 10, 1854. 
 
 When he was but five years of age Alburtis 
 A. Gillett suffered 1 the loss of his father. In 
 November, 1867, he removed with his widowed 
 mother to Juda, where he has since resided. 
 
8oS 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 His mother was stricken with an incurable dis- 
 ease and died Jan. io, 1894, at the age of 
 eighty-two years. Our subject cared for her 
 tenderly and faithfully through her long and 
 painful illness, cheerfully granting her wish 
 to have him ever near her. Mr. Gillett began 
 life as a poor boy, but is now the owner of 
 considerable property in the village of Juda, 
 and a small farm with good buildings adjoin- 
 ing the village. He is devoted to mechanical 
 pursuits, and is a manufacturer of woven wire 
 fencing, gates, etc. He is a public spirited citi- 
 zen, and ever ready to lend a helping hand 
 to any measure that will be beneficial to the 
 community. Politically he is an accredited 
 Prohibitionist, but those who know him best 
 -a}’ he is entirely independent, both in his 
 politics and in his religion. 
 
 Mr. Gillett has remained single up to this 
 writing'. As a strictly self-made man he de- 
 serves honorable mention in this volume, as 
 he has made his way against great obstacles. 
 He has a genial disposition, and has a host of 
 friends, who have been quick to detect and 
 properly appreciate his modest but genuine 
 manhood, and sincere moral purpose. 
 
 HENRY LONG. This gentleman is a 
 well-known stock farmer of the town of Har- 
 rison, Grant county, and is an industrious and 
 honorable representative man in his noble call- 
 ing. He has had a long life in the West, and 
 it is with pleasure that the pen of the historian 
 records such a modest and unassuming, but 
 sound and substantial life. 
 
 Mr. Long was born near Dubuque, Iowa, 
 Aug. 12, 1837. His father, Casper Long, was 
 born in Pennsylvania, and his mother, Martha 
 (Hitch) Long, was born in Delaware. They 
 came West when young, and settled near Du- 
 buque, where they lived some time. They 
 moved to Potosi, Wis., where the husband 
 and father died in 1840, when only twenty- 
 five years of age, leaving a wife and two chil- 
 dren. Henry and Mary. The daughter mar- 
 ried Samuel Vannatta, and lived in Platteville, 
 where she died in 1897, leaving three children, 
 Effie, Edith and Charles. After the death of 
 her husband Mrs. Martha Long married Will- 
 iam Withrow, of Potosi, and after some years 
 they removed to the town of Paris, where she 
 died in 1885, leaving a family to Mr. Withrow. 
 
 Henry Long grew to manhood in the home 
 of his step-father, and received his early edu- 
 
 cation in the schools of Potosi and Paris. 
 When the Civil war broke out he made haste 
 to don the Union blue, and enlisted in August, 
 1862, in Company H, 25th Wis. V. I. They 
 were sent to Minnesota to suppress the hostile 
 Indians before their departure to the South. 
 They were afterward sent to the seat of war, 
 via Columbus, Ky. (where they stayed three 
 months). For two months they were a part 
 of the besieging force at Vicksburg, and were 
 then sent by boat to Helena, Ark. In Febru- 
 ary, 1863, they returned to Vicksburg, whence 
 they went to Cairo. From there they went to 
 Alabama and the disputed territory along the 
 Tennessee river. With Gen. Sherman they 
 went to Atlanta, and the young soldier bore a 
 stout hand in many bloody battles and skir- 
 mishes from Vicksburg to Atlanta, and from 
 Atlanta to the sea, returning through the Caro- 
 linas. Mr. Long was taken sick at Helena, 
 Ark., but bore up and refused to go to the hos- 
 pital. For four months he was seriously out 
 of health, but he recovered, and feels that 
 perhaps he owes his life to his indomitable will. 
 The history of the regiment covers many of the 
 most stirring scenes' of the war in Tennessee, 
 Alabama and in the Mississippi valley. It 
 was a part of the army that broke the back of 
 the rebellion, had a share in the glory of the 
 grand review at Washington, and was mus- 
 tered out at Madison, Wis., in June, 1865. 
 
 When the war had closed Mr. Long came 
 back to Grant county. He had extensive lum- 
 ber interests at Dubuque, and in October, 1867, 
 he married Miss Mary McMann, a daughter 
 •of Thomas McMann, of one of the old-time 
 families of Grant county. Mr. Long purchased 
 his present home very soon after his marriage. 
 He has cleared it up by unflagging labor, and 
 has added to it from time to time until he now 
 owns a fine estate of four hundred acres of 
 farm and timber land. For a number of years 
 he has been one of the large cattle dealers of 
 the southwestern part of the State, buying 
 largely, fattening and shipping to the Chicago 
 and other markets. Mrs. Mary Long died in 
 1873, leaving her bereaved husband with two 
 children, Gertrude and Dora. Gertrude died 
 when an infant, and Dora, born in 1870, was 
 educated at the State Normal at Platteville, 
 and for several years was a successful teacher, 
 but is now the wife of Samuel Vannatta, Jr., 
 of the town of Harrison, and the mother of 
 one daughter, Lela. 
 
MRS. MARY LONG HENRY LONG 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 809 
 
 In April, 1874, Mr. Long married his pres- 
 ent wife, Miss Mary Hinian, in the town of 
 Paris, who is the daughter of O. P. and Irene 
 J. (Louthain) Himan, an old pioneer family 
 iof the town of Harrison. Mrs. Long- was 
 born in Paris in August, 1853. She was reared 
 to womanhood in Grant county, and received 
 her education from the public schools. After 
 her marriage she settled with her husband on 
 his farm, and became the mother of two chil- 
 dren, of whom only one is living. Ida and 
 Bertha. Ida, born Aug. 26, 1878, died in 
 August, 1892; she was a bright, thoughtful 
 and loving girl, and her affectionate disposition 
 endeared her to her parents and her young com- 
 panions, and her loss left a vacancy in this 
 home that can never be filled. The mother is 
 a member of the Congregational Church of 
 Mt. Zion in the town of Harrison. Mr. Long 
 is a supporter of the Republican party, and 
 takes much interest in the cause of education, 
 religion, and every forward movement. Henry 
 Long began life on his own footing. He 
 formed habits of industry and prudence which 
 have attended him through life. What he 
 earned he carefully invested, and from a small 
 beginning he now owns one of the largest 
 stock farms in the town of Harrison. He 
 keeps large herds of fine cattle which go for- 
 ward to market at the most favorable season, 
 and he is a wealthy and prosperous farmer, 
 standing high in the esteem of the people of 
 Grant county. 
 
 JOHN WESLEY BAKER, a prosperous 
 and influential farmer of Linden township, 
 Iowa county, residing near Cobb, is a native of 
 that section, having been born April 28, 1846, 
 in Linden township, son of Francis and Mary 
 Baker. Mention of their lives will be found 
 elsewhere. 
 
 In his boyhood Mr. Baker attended the dis- 
 trict schools in the locality of his home, grow- 
 ing to manhood on the homestead. When 
 twenty years of age, in company with his 
 brother William H., he bought seventy acres of 
 land adjacent to the home place, to which they 
 added from time to time until they owned 323 
 acres, and our subject is still the possessor of 
 225 acres thereof. The land is diversified 1 — 
 timber, prairie and living streams making a 
 combination not to be boasted of in every farm 
 — and the natural advantages have been in- 
 creased and augmented by the care and im- 
 
 provements Mr. Baker has gone to the trouble 
 and expense of bestowing upon it. His build- 
 ings are convenient, and include a substantial 
 barn 30 by 66 feet in dimensions. In addition 
 to general farming he pays considerable atten- 
 tion to the breeding of Shorthorn cattle, of 
 which he has a fine herd, and Poland China 
 swine. I he success which has attended his 
 labors is the result of well-directed 1 industry, 
 and he is looked up to by his neighbors' as a 
 man deserving of the good fortune which has 
 come to him. 
 
 In 1877 Mr. Baker was united in marriage 
 with Miss Catherine Fox, who was born in 
 North Carolina, where her parents, James and 
 Mary (Crebo) Fox, lived for a short time after 
 coming to America, in 1846. They were na- 
 tives of Cornwall, England. Soon after the 
 birth of their daughter Catherine they came 
 to Wisconsin, settling in Iowa county, and 
 Mr. Fox died at Cobb, Oct. 13, 1897, aged sev- 
 enty-five years; his wife died on May 4, 1890. 
 aged sixty-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Baker 
 have two daughters, Ida Pearl and Lucy Myr- 
 tle, both of whom have received good educa- 
 tional advantages, the younger at present at- 
 tending high school at Cobb. In religious con- 
 nection the family are identified with the M. 
 E. Church. Mr. Baker has been a lifelong Re- 
 publican in political sentiment but never par- 
 ticularly active in party affairs. 
 
 W ILLIAM J. DYER, of Lancaster, Grant 
 county, represents one of the earliest of the 
 pioneer families of this county. His father, 
 Abner Dyer, was born on Jan. 28, 1817, near 
 Danville, Ivy., and moved to Fayetteville, 
 Tenn., at the age of three years, and remained 
 there until he was fourteen years old and then 
 removed to Huntsville, Ala. In this Southern 
 city he remained until he was seventeen, later 
 making a three-year visit in Illinois, and in 
 1837 locating in Platteville, Wisconsin. 
 
 The first work that Mr. Abner Dyer was en- 
 gaged in after coming to this State, was to 
 assist in clearing out brush and in building 
 the highway that now runs ’from Platteville to 
 Ellenboro, and at the latter place lie remained, 
 assisting in getting out timber for the building 
 of the Ellenboro gristmill, this mill still stand- 
 ing and doing business. On Nov. 24, 1840, 
 he married Rebecca Walker, who was born in 
 County Tyrone, Ireland, May 12, 1818. After 
 marriage he settled two and one-half miles 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 8 io 
 
 southwest of Ellenboro and remained there un- 
 til the fall of 1846, when he removed to with- 
 in five miles north of Lancaster, where he lived 
 until 1881. To his marriage were born six 
 daughters and two sons, all natives of Grant 
 county, and all of whom survive, these being : 
 Rebecca J., who was born in Potosi township, 
 on Jan. 17, 1842; Elizabeth Ellen, born in 
 Ellenboro township, on Sept. 19, 1843; Will- 
 iam J., born in the above township, on Aug. 
 10, 1846; Sarah A., born in Lancaster town- 
 ship, on Oct. 28, 1848; Eliza C., born on Jan. 
 16, 1851; Emma L., born on Jan. 23, 1853; 
 Bertha H., born on Oct. 10, 1855; and George 
 A., born on March 30, 1859. The death of 
 Abner Dyer was on Jan. 26, 1881, the mother 
 of the family surviving until Jan. 17, 1888. 
 
 Abner Dyer was a typical pioneer, honest 
 and industrious, and a man of strict integrity. 
 His industry and energy made him a large 
 landowner, at one time possessing 500 acres 
 of land, and much of this is still in the fam- 
 ily. A remarkable thing about this large fam- 
 ily is that all survive, having inherited robust 
 constitutions from their sturdy parents. 
 
 William J. Dyer, the third of the family 
 in order of age, was born in Ellenboro town- 
 ship, on Aug. 10, 1846, and was reared to the 
 occupation of farming, which he has ever since 
 followed as a resident of Grant county. Mr. 
 Dyer enjoys the distinction of being the pio- 
 neer horseman of southwestern Wisconsin, 
 having brought to this section Mambrino 
 Swigart, 2 130, the first standard-bred stallion 
 owned in Grant county ; he also brought here : 
 Victory, 2 125 J 4 ; Royalty, 2 125 ; Brown Frank, 
 2:35; Ivica, 2:23)4; Cedarwood, 2:2442; 
 Lumpwood, 2:14 ; and Tossie “D.,” 2:13. 
 These stallions have produced untold wealth 
 to farmers of Grant and adjoining counties. 
 Too young to enter the army, at the opening 
 of the Civil war, Mr. Dyer enlisted toward its 
 close in Company K, 47th Wis. V. I., and 
 served until the close of hostilities. 
 
 In 1869 Mr. Dyer was married to Miss 
 Sarah E. Borah, a daughter of James N. 
 Borah, who migrated from Kentucky to 
 Grant county in 1836 and settled in Lancaster 
 township, where Mrs. Dyer was born, on Dec. 
 23, 1847. Three children have been born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Dyer : William, a leading livery 
 man in Lancaster, Grant county ; Ruby, a suc- 
 cessful teacher and a graduate of the Lan- 
 caster high school and the State Normal school 
 
 at Oshkosh, in the class of 1900; and Laura, 
 who died in infancy. For many years Mr. 
 Dyer followed farming exclusively, but in 
 1895 he was elected sheriff of Grant county 
 and in all its history it has never had a more 
 efficient official. Four years of service as 
 deputy sheriff, previously, had prepared him 
 for .the duties of the position, and for eight 
 years his name in Grant county was a terror 
 to evil doers, while it was a source of confidence 
 to the upright. Mr. Dyer is one of the most 
 highly esteemed citizens of Lancaster, and has 
 been prominent in much of its rapid growth 
 and development. 
 
 WILLIAM SHEDWICK NEWMAN, 
 one of the well-to-do and prosperous farmers 
 of Green county, is the son of William and 
 Elizabeth (Kendall) Newman, natives of 
 Pennsylvania, who came of German and Eng- 
 lish origin. 
 
 William Newman, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was a farmer in Fayette county, Penn. 
 He married Elizabeth Kendall, who was born 
 in 1800, and died in 1846, the mother of seven 
 children, as follows : ( 1 ) Hannah, the wife 
 
 of John Batty, died in 1873. (2) Samuel, born 
 
 in 1825, died in Green county in 1876. He 
 married Mary Roderick. (3) J. J., born Nov. 
 2, 1829, is a thrifty farmer, whose home is in 
 Juda, Wis. (4) Ephraim Iv. died while serv- 
 ing in the Civil war. He was second lieutenant 
 of Company K, 22d Wis. V. L, and died at 
 Nicholasville, Ivy., in 1862, leaving two chil- 
 dren, William J. and Ida May. The son is 
 living in Illinois, and the daughter in Cheyenne, 
 Wyoming. (5) Elizabeth, widow of Jacob 
 Roderick, a prosperous farmer of Green county, 
 is now living in Monroe, Wis. (6) Nancy, 
 born in 1835, now lives in the town of Al- 
 bany, Green county. (7) William S. was born 
 Oct. 12, 1837. After the death of the mother 
 of these children Mr. Newman married Mrs. 
 Vashti De Bolt, and to this union were born 
 four children: (1) Jasper died in childhood; 
 
 (2) Louisa, Mrs. Scott Dora, died in Nebras- 
 ka ; (3) Josephine married Clinton Condon, 
 of Nebraska; and (4) Alice married Daniel 
 Dunwiddie, of the town of Jefferson. Will- 
 iam Newman, the father of these children, was 
 born in 1799, and died in April, 1864. His 
 parents, John and Elizabeth Newman, were 
 among the early settlers of Pennsylvania. 
 
 William S. Newman came to Green coun- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 8 1 1 
 
 ty, Wis., at the age of eleven years. Follow- 
 ing farming for his occupation, he has at- 
 tained high standing. On Dec. 27, i860, he 
 married Miss Esther Gifford, who was born 
 May 27, 1843, ' m Fulton county, N. Y., a 
 daughter of Robert and Susan M. (Foot) 
 Gifford, with whom she came to Wisconsin in 
 1856. Robert Gifford was a farmer and a 
 school teacher, and died in the town of Spring 
 Grove, April 18. 1898, aged nearly eighty-two 
 years. His wife died in Brodhead Aug. 30, 
 1895, aged seventy-five years. Our subject 
 and wife are the parents of eight children : 
 (1) Jay E., born Feb. 18, 1862, died in in- 
 fancy. (2) Irving G., born May 24, 1866, 
 resides in the town of Spring Grove, where he 
 is a well-to-do farmer. (3) Susan, born Jan. 
 22, 1869, married Arthur T. Preston, of the 
 town of Jefferson. (4) William F., born Nov. 
 22, 1870, and (5) Chester A., born May 7, 
 1874, are at home. (6) Lois E., born March 
 13, 1877, has been a teacher in the public 
 schools for a number of years, and lives at 
 home. (7) Samuel, born Sept. 22, 1880, and 
 (8) Ross B., born Oct. 20, 1883, are also at 
 home. 
 
 Mr. Newman was a volunteer in the Union 
 army, and served with distinction in Company 
 K, 22d Wis. V. I., enlisting in 1862, and serv- 
 ing until the closing of the war. He was with 
 Gen. Sherman in his March to the Sea, and 
 was mustered out as a sergeant, June 12, 1865. 
 Mr. Newman began life as a poor boy, and 
 has had to make his own way in the world. 
 While in the army he received injuries which 
 have disabled him for life. But against all the 
 hindrances of fate and fortune he has persisted, 
 and now owns over 530 acres of well improved 
 farm land, and its suitable equipments. He 
 is a consistent member of the Baptist Church, 
 and is pronounced by those who know him a 
 splendid citizen, a fairminded man, upright and 
 honorable, straight in all his dealings, and de- 
 voted to his wife and family. 
 
 LEONIDAS RICHARDSON (deceased), 
 one of the early settlers of southwestern Wis- 
 consin, was born in Nashville, Tenn., July 21, 
 1826, a son of William Steele Richardson. 
 
 William Steele Richardson was a man of 
 ability, and was a worthy, esteemed citizen. 
 He made his home in Nashville, Tenn., until 
 his son Leonidas was about fifteen years old, 
 when he moved to a farm about thirty miles 
 
 from St. Louis, Mo., and engaged in mercantile 
 business in that State. In 1845 he emigrated 
 with his family to Wisconsin, and settled in 
 the town of Wyoming, Iowa county, where he 
 lived for many years on the farm now owned 
 by his grandson, J. T. Richardson. He re- 
 moved to Avoca about three years before his 
 death, which occurred Dec. 22, 1878, when he 
 was aged eighty-four years. His wife survived 
 him a number of years, and passed away at the 
 age of eighty-two years, her remains now rest- 
 ing beside those of her husband in the Avoca 
 cemetery. William Steele Richardson was an 
 active patriot, and fought under General Jack- 
 son in the war of 1812, taking part in the 
 battle of New Orleans; he again fought under 
 Jackson in the Seminole war, and it was after 
 its close that. he removed to Nashville. He was 
 benevolent and generous, and ever ready, as 
 was also his wife, to minister to those in need. 
 In religious belief, a Methodist, he was a lead- 
 ing supporter of the Gospel in the early days. 
 Five children, two sons and three daughters, 
 blessed his home, and these all came to Wis- 
 consin with their parents, but have all since 
 passed away, the only survivors of the sons- 
 in-law and daughters-in-law being George 
 Parr, of Barron county, Wis., and Mrs. Leoni- 
 das Richardson, of Wyoming. 
 
 Leonidas Richardson was twenty years old 
 when he came with his parents to Iowa county. 
 While never physically a strong man, he made 
 farming his life work. That it might con- 
 tinue in the possession of the family, he pur- 
 chased, about 1870, the homestead where his 
 father first settled. This farm, which adjoined 
 his own, had previously been sold outside the 
 family. 
 
 On Sept. 23, 1849, Leonidas Richardson 
 married Miss Elizabeth Woodbury, who was 
 born in Jefferson county, N. Y., March 13, 
 1826, a daughter of Jerome and Lydia (Cool- 
 idge) Woodbury, the former a native of 
 Genesee county, N. Y., and the latter of Madi- 
 son county, same State. Mrs. Richardson was 
 reared in her native State, and educated at 
 Governeur Wesleyan Seminary, St. Lawrence 
 county. She came to Wisconsin Territory with 
 her parents in 1846, and for five years was en- 
 gaged in teaching, three years of this time in 
 the town of Wyoming, thus becoming one of 
 the earliest teachers of this town, and she now 
 is one of the oldest surviving teachers of 
 southwestern Wisconsin. Leonidas Richard- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 8 1 2 
 
 son died July 21 , 1875. He was a most es- 
 timable and public spirited citizen, and highly 
 respected. Notwithstanding his bodily ail- 
 ments he was always cheerful, and possessed a 
 most genial nature. He was a great reader, 
 and was active in the promotion of the educa- 
 tional interests of the community in which he 
 lived. His last work was to help locate the 
 new school house, and to make a contract with 
 the builders. He was especially fond of music, 
 playing the violin well, and he encouraged and 
 promoted the musical talents of his children. 
 He and his wife joined the M. E. Church 
 in 1849, being members of the first class 
 of that church in the vicinity. This couple 
 were blessed with ten children, eight of 
 whom grew to mature years, and six are 
 living at this time (1901). The children 
 were as follows : Ella Hortense, wife of 
 
 John J. Hughes, of Dodgeville, Wis. ; Lydia 
 Louise, wife of H. M. Levatie, of Wy- 
 oming; Jesse T., residing on tire old home- 
 stead of his grandfather; Albert D., of Wyom- 
 ing; George Irving, on his father’s homestead 
 in the town of Wyoming; Rosa May, wife of 
 Solon E. Knickerbocker, of the town of Wy- 
 oming. Two reached maturity before their 
 decease: Carrie Malinda, who died’ in 1880, 
 
 at the age of twenty-three years; Eddie Leoni- 
 das, who died in 1878, at the age of nineteen 
 years. The others deceased were Elmore Eu- 
 gene, the oldest son, who died at the age of 
 six, and Willie Jerome, who died in babyhood. 
 
 Of the family born to Jerome and Lydia 
 (Coolidge) Woodbury, five were living when 
 this was written (1901): Mrs. Elizabeth W. 
 Richardson, of Wyoming; Mrs. Sylvia H. An- 
 derson, of Iowa Falls, Iowa ; Alfred Coolidge, 
 of Darlington, Wis. ; Mrs. Mary Cline, in the 
 town of Fayette, Lafayette county; and Albert 
 Morris, formerly of Lone Rock, Wis., now of 
 Dakota, who served throughout the war of 
 the Rebellion ; Nathan, who died in the hospital 
 at St. Louis at the close of the war; and John, 
 who also served through the war, and died soon 
 after its close near Faribault, Minn. While 
 living in New York Jerome Woodbury joined 
 the volunteers for the “Patriot War” in Can- 
 ada, but returned to his home upon learning 
 that the United States government had not 
 authorized any hostile movements. Upon com- 
 ing to Wisconsin he settled at Fayette, Lafay- 
 ette Co., where he and his wife spent the re- 
 mainder of their lives. He was one of the 
 
 first temperance advocates in the county, and 
 always active in that cause. His wife was a 
 daughter of Daniel Coolidge, who served three 
 months in the war of 1812, enlisting from 
 Madison county, New York. 
 
 Airs. Leonidas Richardson, from whom was 
 obtained much information contained in this 
 sketch, is one of the oldest citizens of Wyom- 
 ing. She has led a very industrious life. Sev- 
 eral of her children were quite young when her 
 husband passed away and a great responsibility 
 was placed upon her, but she has been faithful 
 to her trust, and her children are all well set- 
 tled, happy and useful members of society. She 
 has ever been held in high esteem by her ac- 
 quaintances. The family are all members of 
 the AI. E. Church. 
 
 WILLIAM WEBB. From tillers of the 
 soil have arisen some of the most influential 
 and celebrated men of this and other lands, 
 and even cursory reading will demonstrate the 
 truth of the assertion that agriculture is the 
 surest path to affluence. Among the substantial 
 farmer-citizens of Albany, Green county, is 
 William Webb, who was born in Oneida coun- 
 ty, N. Y., May 16, 1819, a son of James and 
 Anna (Scott) Webb, both of whom were na- 
 tives of New York. They had born to them a 
 family of eight sons and five daughters, but 
 time has made sad inroads, and but three of 
 that large number still survive: William, who 
 is our subject; Lois, who married Harrison 
 Chase, resides near Utica, N. Y. ; and Anna, 
 who married a gentleman of Vernon, New 
 York. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of our subject 
 was James Webb, a native of New York, of 
 English descent, who followed a sea-faring life 
 and at death left one son and one daughter. 
 The maternal grandfather was Enos Scott, a 
 native of New York, born in the neighborhood 
 of Black river, where he engaged in farming, 
 lived to an advanced age, and was the father 
 of three sons and two daughters. 
 
 William Webb, the subject of this sketch, 
 Was reared on a farm in Oneida county, N. 
 Y., and was earlv taught lessons of industry 
 and honesty, which have been of advantage 
 to him in later life. The educational advan- 
 tages were those of a settled locality, 
 and in his youth our subject was well 
 grounded in the primary principles. At the 
 age of fifteen he accompanied his father to 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 813 
 
 Ohio, where the latter settled on a good farm 
 in Geauga county, where he died in 1841, aged 
 sixty-one years. The mother of our subject 
 survived him some ten years, being seventy-two 
 years old at the time of her death. She had 
 all her life been a devoted member of the Meth- 
 odist Church, while Mr. Webb had accepted the. 
 Universalist faith. During the war of 1812 lie 
 had been a teamster, and during his residence 
 in Oneida county served a long time as super- 
 visor of his town, and was a well-known and 
 respected citizen. 
 
 About i860 William Webb removed to 
 Wisconsin, taking up 160 acres of government 
 land, which he improved and' lived upon for 
 some years, but advantageously sold and then 
 located in Green county, where he bought 312 
 acres, which lie improved, this farm being in 
 Section 25, Albany township. In 1882 his two 
 sons, Charles and William, bought this farm, 
 and our subject retired to the village of Al- 
 bany, where he built a substantial and 1 comfort- 
 able residence, with twelve acres of land, and 
 now resides there, enjoying the fruits of a well- 
 spent life. 
 
 Mr. Webb was married April 26, 1842, to 
 Miss Fannie Rice, a daughter of Roswell and 
 Sarah Rice, six children being born of this 
 union : Albert, who married Mary Kibbie, 
 
 lives in Evansville, with four children, Arthur, 
 Frank, Nellie and May; Jane, who married 
 Hiram Brown, who died a number of years 
 ago, leaving six children, Clara, Myrtie, Will- 
 iam, Helen, and a pair of twins (who died in 
 Nebraska), and Mrs. Brown then married O.C. 
 Healy, and resides at Mapleton, Minn. ; Mary 
 E., who married Samuel Harn, is deceased, 
 leaving one daughter, Emma, who is now the 
 wife of F. L. Holiday, of Janesville; William 
 R., who married Dell Bump, and resides in 
 Albany, with five children, William, Rufus, 
 Homer, Fern, and Hazel ; Charles E., who mar- 
 ried Eva Harte, and resides in Evansville, with 
 one son. Mark ; and Emma, who married Ben- 
 jamin Sutherland, but is now deceased, leav- 
 ing one daughter, Jessie. The mother of these 
 children died on May 26, 1889, aged sixty- 
 nine years, having been a devoted member of 
 the United Brethren Church. On June 5, 1890, 
 Mr. Webb wedded Mrs. Sarah A. Hubbard, 
 the widow of Henry Hubbard, and her death 
 occurred in March, 1897. 
 
 An active and 1 prominent member of the 
 Democratic party, Mr. Webb has been called 
 
 upon to serve in many of the local offices for 
 some years, being supervisor and a justice of 
 the peace for many terms, displaying judgment 
 and discretion in managing the township af- 
 fairs that made him a valuable officer. Ever 
 since locating in Green county he has engaged 
 in farming and stockraising, but has found 
 time to be interested in all progressive move- 
 ments in his neighborhood, and willingly as- 
 sisting when he was convinced they were for 
 the best interests of all concerned. Much re- 
 spected, he is one of the representative citizens 
 of Albany. 
 
 HORACE J. LORD. Among the remain- 
 ing pioneers of Grant county, Wis., who has 
 been one of the leading citizens of Blooming- 
 ton for more than fifty years is Horace J. Lord, 
 who came to this locality on May 16, 1846. 
 Mr. Lord was born near Burlington, Chitten- 
 den Co., Vt., Dec. 15, 1822. His father, Austin 
 Lord, and his mother, Mary Ann (Chapin) 
 Lord, were natives of Connecticut, the mater- 
 nal grandmother having been born in Hartford 
 and the original ancestry in Colonial times 
 came from Great Britain. As an interesting 
 bit of family history, the following incident may 
 be related : At the battle of Lake Champlain, 
 the mother of Mr. Lord, with another young 
 lady, became frightened watchers of the great 
 struggle and sought safety in the belfry of 
 the church, where they saw the final victory. 
 
 Austin Lord and wife were married in Ver- 
 mont and there their three children were born. 
 When Horace was nine years old the fam- 
 ily removed to Chautauqua county, N. Y., and 
 there the father purchased 150 acres of land 
 on what was known as the Holland purchase, 
 which he cleared up and made there a very- 
 pleasant home, which would probably have 
 been a permanent one if he had not felt that his 
 boys would need a larger patrimony. The 
 great Northwest offered farms for all, and 
 thither the family, consisting then of the par- 
 ents, three sons and an adopted daughter, 
 turned their faces. The eldest son. Homer 
 Lord, came first to Wisconsin, in 1845, and 
 in the fall of the same year, the youngest, 
 Flenry, came also, in order that some prepara- 
 tion might be made for a family settlement. 
 
 In the spring of 1846 Horace J. >Lord and 
 his wife (whom he had but recently- married), 
 his parents, and his adopted sister started with 
 teams, with the intention of driving all the way 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 814 
 
 through to Wisconsin, but by the time they 
 ■had reached Cleveland, Ohio, they had changed 
 their minds, and shipped aboard the new steam- 
 er "Niagara,” for Chicago. This great city 
 was then but a hamlet, and seemed to be lo- 
 cated in a quagmire, the travelers regarding it 
 as a very uninteresting place indeed. 1 he 
 season was a very rainy one, and the country 
 for miles back from Lake Michigan was under 
 water, the roads being impassable, with any 
 load. The family accordingly left their house- 
 hold goods and started out with their two teams 
 and wagons, containing nothing but the travel- 
 ers and their wearing apparel, and safely 
 reached the sons and brothers, who welcomed 
 them warmly, and the first season was spent in 
 Beetown. 
 
 In the summer of 1846, the father and his 
 sons, Homer and Horace, located land in what 
 is now the township of Bloomington, and, that 
 becoming their permanent home, the family 
 has been identified with this township for fifty- 
 five years. The parents lived where they first 
 settled until their death, the father passing 
 away first, Oct. 15, 1849, an d' the devoted wife 
 and mother on May 14, 1858. Austin Lord 
 was a well known and highly esteemed citizen, 
 and was a typical pioneer, honest and indus- 
 trious. In his early days he was a Whig and 
 later a Republican. In his religious views, 
 he was very liberal and inclined to the Univer- 
 salist belief, although he was a man who need- 
 ed no creed to bind him, his upright life and 
 Christian spirit being a constant example to the 
 world of the exemplary life of a good man. 
 Homer Lord, the eldest son of the family, is 
 now a resident of the State of Missouri, and 
 the youngest son, Henry, owns and 1 occupies 
 the old homestead of his parents. 
 
 Horace J. Lord, our subject, was married 
 on April 15, 1846, to Betsey D. Tyler, a daugh- 
 ter of Ebenezer Tyler, who was born in east- 
 ern New York May 26, 1786, and' migrated to 
 Chautauqua county, N. Y., in 1812, passing 
 through Buffalo just after that city had been 
 burned by the British. Mr. Tyler located on 
 the Holland purchase, where he died in 1827, 
 leaving five children, three sons and two daugh- 
 ters, the eldest of the latter, Sarah B., marry- 
 ing Y\ illiam Cilley (she came to Grant county, 
 and died Aug. 17, 1866), and the youngest 
 being Mrs. Lord. Mrs. Polly (Edmund) 
 Tyler was born in eastern New Hampshire, 
 June 29, 1797, married Ebenezer Tyler Oct. 
 
 30, 1812, and passed away on May 23, 1872, 
 in Chautauqua county. Two daughters have 
 been bom to Mr. and Mrs. Lord : Mary Ann, 
 wife of John E. Connell, of the town of Bloom- 
 ington; and Nora, wife of C. W. Stone, also 
 of Bloomington. The second child, a son, 
 Milton, died at the age of two years. 
 
 Mr. Lord’s first farm consisted of forty 
 acres, and he gradually increased it as he be- 
 came able, and eventually succeeded in the 
 ownership of a fine home and farm of 120 acres. 
 In the summer of 1847 he cut and hauled the 
 logs for his first house, in which he and his 
 estimable wife lived for twenty-one busy, happy 
 years, at the end of which period he built a 
 more modern one. With his wife, he remained 
 on the farm until October, 1900, when, on ac- 
 count of advancing years, they removed to 
 the beautiful home in the village of Blooming- 
 ton where they reside in comfort, surrounded 
 by friends. As has been stated, but few of 
 the pioneers now remain who came so early 
 as did Mr. and Mrs. Lord. They can remem- 
 ber nearly all of Grant county's pioneers, and 
 recall the times when it was almost an entire 
 wilderness, and most entertaining are their 
 recollections of the various stages of growth 
 and development, so wonderful and extending 
 over so great a space of time. In his early 
 political life, Mr. Lord voted with the Whigs, 
 casting his first presidential ballot for Henry 
 Clay in 1844. Since the formation of the Re- 
 publican party, he has been an ardent sup- 
 porter of it, and has had considerable influence. 
 In their religious belief both Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lord are Universalists. Mrs. Lord is the only 
 survivor of her father’s family. She is highly 
 esteemed in Bloomington, and there she has 
 taken a prominent part in temperance work, 
 and is now the president of the Bloomington 
 branch of the W. C. T. U. 
 
 MATHIAS P. RHOADES, the successful 
 fruit grower and apiarist of Browntown, Green 
 county, comes of a family whose names for 
 three generations have been engraved high on 
 their country’s roll of honor, and who have 
 consistently been on the side of progress and 
 patriotism. 
 
 Nicholas Rhoades, his grandfather, was a 
 native of England, but having cast his fortunes 
 with the American Colonies, he assisted in the 
 struggle for liberty, and became one of the 
 trusted soldiers of the Revolutionary war, serv- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 815 
 
 ing under Gen. Washington, and enduring the 
 hardships of that terrible winter at Valley 
 Forge. He was the father of five children, 
 three daughters and two sons, the sons being 
 John W. and Walter. 
 
 Walter Rhoades was born in 1793, in 
 Maryland, and early moved to the West, for a 
 time living in Ohio, and in 1826 moved to 
 Champaign county, 111 . When the struggling 
 Republic was called upon in 1812 to engage in 
 a second war with the mother country, Mr. 
 Rhoades enlisted in the army, and served as 
 long as he was needed, and then returned to 
 agricultural pursuits. After his removal to 
 the West, there came Indian troubles that for 
 Illinois, Wisconsin and vicinity culminated in 
 the Black Hawk war, and Mr. Rhoades again 
 gave his country his services. I11 1824, just 
 two years prior to his location in Illinois, he 
 married Miss Mary Rhinehart, and by her be- 
 came the father of ten children, as follows : 
 Frances married James W. Boyd, of Illinois, 
 and both are now deceased; Isaac R., married 
 a Miss Heater, of Iowa ; Elizabeth married 
 William H. Adams, of Illinois, who now lives 
 retired in Iowa; Eliza J. married Benjamin 
 Aydlotte, of Iowa; Mathias P. is the next in 
 order of birth ; Nancy Ann married Jacob 
 Winkleman, of Iowa; John W. was a soldier 
 in the 39th Iowa V. I., and died in the Civil 
 war; Mary E. is the wife of J. W. Adams, 
 of Iowa; Phebe married Herman Dresser, of 
 Duluth, Minn. ; and Alfred N., of Greene 
 county, Iowa. With the exception of Frances, 
 all the children were born in Champaign coun- 
 ty, Illinois. 
 
 Mathias P. Rhoades was born Sept. 22, 
 1838, and was earlv trained in all the details 
 of farm work. His schooling was necessarily 
 neglected to a large extent, as the schools 
 were few and far between, and the time 
 for attendance in such as did exist was 
 limited, the work of clearing up a farm 
 engrossing the entire time. In 1855 he re- 
 moved with his parents to Iowa, and re- 
 mained there until 1870, when they removed 
 to- Sacramento county, Cal. In 1873 he came 
 to Green county. Wis., locating in Cadiz town- 
 ship. During the Civil war Mr. Rhoades en- 
 listed in 1862 in his country’s service, becom- 
 ing a member of Co. H, 71st 111 . V. I., and 
 was mustered out at the expiration of his term 
 of enlistment. When he returned from the 
 war he took up his former work, that of farm- 
 
 ing, and then engaged to some extent in mill- 
 ing. He now devotes himself largely to fruit 
 growing and to his apiary; in the latter he 
 runs from sixty to eighty hives a season, which 
 net him about $300 per year. He has been very 
 successful in his undertakings, and at this time 
 owns a fine two-story dwelling and seven acres 
 of ground, as well as having considerable per- 
 sonal property. 
 
 On March 4, 1863, Mr. Rhoades was 
 wedded to Miss Julia Trickle, who was born 
 Nov. 24, 1845, one °f the eleven children of 
 Ashford and Jane (Morton) Trickle, pioneer 
 settlers of Green county. Ten children have 
 been born of this marriage, all of whom are 
 yet living: Phebe, born April 5, 1865, married 
 Louis Brown, of Greene county, Iowa; Orpha, 
 born April 10, 1869, married Peter Frysley, of 
 Green county, Wis. ; Oren A., born March 20, 
 1871. at home, married Merta Sisson; Byron, 
 born Jan. 29, 1873, married Gusta Budkey, of 
 Merrillan, Wis. ; Alice, born March 5, 1875, 
 is the wife of Janies Faubel, of Green county; 
 Oliver P., born Aug. 24, 1877, at home; El- 
 mer, born Jan. 9, 1880, Effie, born Nov. 17, 
 1882, Mertie, born Feb. 17, 1884, and Walter, 
 born June 3, 1887, are all at home. 
 
 Politically Mr. Rhoades is a Populist, and 
 in religious belief has greater faith in charity, 
 honesty and upright living than in any de- 
 nomination or creed. He has striven to do his 
 duty to his country and his fellowmen, and 
 merits the high place he holds in the estimation 
 of men. 
 
 CRAWFORD BROTHERS, publishers of 
 the Iowa County Dcmocrat J at Mineral Point, 
 have been identified with that journal for over 
 thirty years, and have made it one of the most 
 popular and influential newspapers in south- 
 western Wisconsin. Its publication was be- 
 gun in 1866, by John Herron and William 
 H. Peck, and it has been under the present 
 management since 1877. Both gentlemen are 
 familiar with the printer’s art in all its 
 branches, and their plant, which is operated 
 by steam power, includes a first-class job de- 
 partment. They are also journalists and busi- 
 ness men of ability, and under their conduct 
 the Democrat has been conspicuous for its con- 
 sistent attitude in support of a low tariff, and 
 its liberal and patriotic policy on all public 
 questions has caused it to keep in touch with 
 the most progressive and popular sentiments. 
 
8 1 6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In recent years it has been distinguished for 
 its decided stand in support of the gold stan- 
 dard. 
 
 George Crawford, the senior member of 
 the firm, was born near Enniskillen, County 
 Fermanagh, Ireland, April 29, 1849, and the 
 next year was brought to this country by his 
 parents, Michael and Catherine (Tubman) 
 Crawford. The family settled in Lafayette 
 county, Wis., but in 1866 located in Mineral 
 Point, where Michael Crawford filled various 
 public positions, including that of city assessor. 
 He died in 1891, at the age of seventy-five 
 years. His wife died about two years earlier, 
 at the age of seventy years. When he was 
 eighteen years old George Crawford began to 
 learn the printer’s trade in the office with 
 which he has ever since been connected. The 
 paper was then known as the National Demo- 
 crat, published by Herron & Peck. In 1874 
 he became a partner in the concern, and three 
 years later the present firm was formed, and 
 the name by which it has since been known 
 adopted. In addition to his private affairs Mr. 
 Crawford has found time to discharge various 
 public trusts, including those of superintendent 
 of the city schools, and member of the city 
 council. During President Cleveland’s first 
 administration lie was appointed postmaster 
 and filled that office for four years. 
 
 On Sept. 9, 1873, George Crawford was 
 married to Miss Mary White, daughter of 
 James and Margaret White, of Darlington, 
 Wis. Their union has been blessed with four 
 children: Blair, George W., Harry T. and 
 
 James J. The family are communicants of the 
 Episcopal Church, and fraternally Mr. Craw- 
 ford is identified with the Mas-ons and the 
 Knights of Pythias. 
 
 Hon. Robert M. Crawford, junior mem- 
 ber of the firm, was born in Lafayette county, 
 Wis., June 7, 1854. He entered the office of 
 the Democrat at the age of fourteen years, 
 and became one of the proprietors in 1877 
 Idis activity and independent public spirit won 
 popular approval, and in 1890 he was elected 
 a member of the Assembly, for the eastern 
 district of Iowa county. He was appointed 
 chairman of the committee on Claims, and 
 gave close attention to the interests of his con- 
 stituents during the legislative session. Un- 
 der the second Cleveland administration he 
 served as postmaster at Mineral Point. 
 
 In 1880 Robert M. Crawford was married 
 
 to Miss Martha Goldsworthy, daughter of 
 Abram and Mary (Jenkin) Goldsworthy, early 
 settlers of Mineral Point. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Crawford are the parents of two sons, Robert 
 S. and Willard G., the former of whom is a 
 student at the University of Wisconsin, at 
 Madison. The family are members of the 
 Episcopal Church, and Mr. Crawford is a 
 member of the' Masonic fraternity. 
 
 JAMES LINDSAY, a respected and hon- 
 ored resident of Cuba City, Grant county, was 
 born in Scotland, Aug. 28, 1828, son of An- 
 drew and Elizabeth Lindsay, who were resi- 
 dents of Scotland until 1853, when they came 
 to Wisconsin and made their home with their 
 son, our subject, the mother dying in 1861, 
 the father surviving until 1876. The parents 
 were both members of the Free Church of Scot- 
 land, and were pious, worthy people. Their 
 children have passed away with the exception 
 of our subject and one sister, Elizabeth, now 
 Mrs. Elizabeth M. Naughton, of Lafayette 
 county. Of the others, Alexander came with 
 our subject to America, married, and died in 
 Lafayette county, Wis., in January, 1900, 
 leaving five living children — Alexander (of 
 Lafayette county), Agnes J. (on the old La- 
 fayette farm), Andrew (of Iowa), James (of 
 Iowa) and Margaret (wife of James Mace, of 
 Iowa) ; Andrew died in Canada, leaving four 
 children, all residents of the Dominion ; Mar- 
 garet married James Meiklejohn and settled in 
 Canada, where she died, leaving a family; 
 Janet died in Oregon, widow of Peter Liddle, 
 of that State; John, born in Scotland, came to 
 America after marriage, and settled at New 
 Diggings, Lafayette county, both he and his 
 wife dying there, leaving two children, Andrew 
 and Agnes, who live on the old home ; the rest 
 of the family passed away in infancy. 
 
 James Lindsay came from a country where 
 a good education is yaffil above riches, and 
 he was given every advantage in the free 
 schools of a land that has sent into the world 
 .some of the most scholarly men it has ever 
 known. While still a young man he learned 
 the trade of mason, under his father, working 
 at the same some few years after coming to 
 America. In the spring of 1852 he crossed 
 the ocean in a sailing-vessel, making his ob- 
 jective point the State of Wisconsin. In 1856 
 he married Miss Isabel Miller, a daughter of 
 James and Elizabeth Miller, who were settlers 
 
I 
 
 1 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 817 
 
 in Lafayette county in 1853. Mrs. Lindsay 
 was a native of Scotland, born there in Decem- 
 ber, 1835, and was well educated. Two of her 
 brothers live in Iowa and two in Wisconsin. 
 
 After marriage our subject settled on a 
 farm of 200 acres in Benton township, and 
 there during the course of his residence erected 
 a comfortable dwelling, barns and outbuildings, 
 making it one of the best farms in Lafayette 
 county, although Mr. and Mrs. Lindsay began 
 very modestly. Industry and economy un- 
 ceasing were at first required, but both pos- 
 sessed strict integrity and Scotch perseverance, 
 and they can now enjoy the results of a com- 
 petency honestly earned. The family remained 
 on the farm until 1895, when Mr. Lindsay 
 purchased a commodious residence in Cuba 
 City, where he and his wife live retired, en- 
 joying every comfort in their advancing age. 
 
 To Mr. and, Mrs. Lindsay were born chil- 
 dren as follows: Elizabeth, born in 1856, 
 
 married Charles Eustice, and died in Lafayette 
 county, leaving two children, Albert and Rus- 
 sel, who now live with our subject and wife, 
 and are attending the Cuba schools ; Isabella 
 married Charles McFarland, of Cuba City, 
 where they reside, with one daughter, Lila ; 
 William G. married Mary A. Harker, and lives 
 on the old homestead in Lafayette county, with 
 one son, Everett; Jane married Albert Harker, 
 and resides in Lafayette county, with two sons, 
 Lindsay and Wilbur; Mamie, born in Lafay- 
 ette county, married Martin Row. lives in Cuba 
 City, and has one son, Elmer; Campbell and 
 Mary died in infancy. 
 
 Religiously Mr. and Mrs. Lindsay are con- 
 sistent and valued members of the M. E. 
 Church, which it has been his pleasure to sup- 
 port, and in that faith they have endeavored 
 to bring up their children. Although never 
 aspiring to any office, our subject has been an 
 active and ardent member of the Republican 
 party. 
 
 JESSE BROOKS, or “Squire” Brooks, 
 as he is familiarly known, in Bloomington, 
 has been a resident of Grant county since 
 1849. Mr. Brooks was born in Norwich, N. 
 Y., in 1830, a son of Socrates and Lucena 
 Brooks, the former of whom was a native of 
 Massachusetts, and the latter of Connecticut. 
 
 When Mr. Brooks first came to Grant 
 county he located in Beetown, and there en- 
 gaged in teaching, and for seven years was one 
 12 
 
 of the leading instructors of the county. In 
 1864 he became a resident of Bloomington, 
 and immediately entered into the business of 
 collecting agent and conveyancer, and since 
 that time has followed the same, his business 
 now requiring the assistance of his son, Ernest. 
 For thirty years he has been a justice of the 
 peace. Real estate has been extensively 
 handled, and the firm of Brooks & Son is well 
 and favorably known throughout the county. 
 
 In 1855 Mr. Brooks was married, at Bee- 
 town, to Miss Josephine Hayden, a native off 
 Maine, and their children are : Herbert, pro- 
 
 prietor of a hotel at Niellsville, Wis. ; Mina. 
 B., a graduate of Hahnemann Medical Col- 
 lege, Chicago, and now the widow of Dr. 
 Glasier, of Bloomington ; Daisy, the widow of 
 Dr. M. D. Brown, and now a resident of 
 Bloomington; Ernest, a member of the firm of 
 Jesse Brooks & Son; Dr. Everett H., a grad- 
 uate of Hahnemann College, now in practice 
 an Bloomington; and Lavern, a student in 
 Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin, 
 
 Mr. Brooks has always taken a commend- 
 able interest in the progress and growth of h?s~ 
 town and county. Especially is he prominent' 
 in the order of Odd Fellows, being a charter' 
 member of the lodge in Bloomington, in wteeiu' 
 he has passed all the chairs and has also taken 
 the Encampment degrees. In his political af- 
 filiations he is an active Republican : for twen- 
 ty-one years he was town clerk of Blooming- 
 ton township, and is now serving a third term 
 as assessor. His business has made him well 
 acquainted with all classes of citizen-, and the 
 esteem in which he is held places him in the 
 front rank of representative men of this lo- 
 cality. 
 
 ISRAEL PHILLIPS. That the traveler 
 through the great and productive State of 
 Wisconsin, in 1900, should be willing to de- 
 clare that here, indeed, must be located the 
 garden spot of the United States, is not wonder- 
 ful, but that the men who came to the wilder- 
 ness in 1846 should have possessed foresight 
 to see the possibilities, of the country may be 
 considered remarkable. 
 
 Among those who proved their faith was 
 Israel Phillips, the subject of this sketch. Mr. 
 Phillips was born in Grafton, Rensselaer Co., 
 N. \ ., on Sept. 13, 1820. a son of Benjamin 
 and Phoebe (Smith) Phillips, both of whom 
 were natives, of the State of New York, where 
 
8 i 8 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD , 
 
 they were parents of eleven children, six sons 
 and five daughters, our honored subject be- 
 ing now the only survivor. The paternal 
 grandfather, John Phillips, was a native farmer 
 of New York, of English stock, lived to an 
 advanced age, and left a large family of chil- 
 dren. The maternal grandfather was Elkaney 
 Smith, also of New York, of English ances- 
 tors, and engaged in farming until old age re- 
 tired him. Benjamin Phillips was a native of 
 New Y’ork, where the family was well known, 
 and died there when about forty-seven, his 
 wife surviving until a number of years later, 
 when she passed away in western New York. 
 
 Israel Phillips, of whom we write, was 
 born and reared amidst the old farming lands 
 of his' native State, attended the excellent 
 schools provided, and grew to manhood sur- 
 rounded by the comforts of civilization. After 
 leaving school he spent three years in Vermont, 
 and in the fall of 1845 married Miss Lydia 
 S. Hill, of that State, and two children were 
 "born of this union : Charles, who married 
 
 Miss Elizabeth Gehr, and had two sons, — 
 .William Israel and Charles Elmer, dying on 
 March 17, 1878, his' widow living until 1892; 
 and Marcella, who married Henry Kelley, and 
 died in 1889, at the age of thirty-two. 
 
 After marriage Mr. Phillips settled in Wis- 
 consin, in the spring of 1846, taking up 240 
 acres of government land in Albany township, 
 Green county, buying the land from the gov- 
 ernment for $1.25 per acre. He has improved 
 it until it is desirable in every way, and by 
 additional purchases now owns 360 productive 
 and cultivated acres of land, where he found 
 only a wilderness. Mr. Phillips is a stanch 
 Republican and has been active in the ranks 
 of his party. For twenty years he was chair- 
 man of the county board of supervisors, and 
 for twenty-nine was chairman of the town 
 board of Albany. For twenty years he has 
 been connected with the Masonic fraternity, 
 where he is highly esteemed. During the 
 long years of his residence in Green county 
 he has lived an honest, upright life, and he is 
 appropriately styled a representative old set- 
 tler and prominent citizen of Albany township. 
 
 EDWARD DALE BAKER, a prominent 
 farmer of Edmund, Iowa county, was born 
 March 22, 1847, on the farm where he now 
 resides, a farm that has been the birthplace of 
 seventeen members of the Baker family. He 
 
 is a son of John U. and Elizabeth (Dale) 
 Baker, the former of whom was born near the 
 line between Cornwall and Devonshire, Eng- 
 land. 
 
 About 1836 John U. Baker came to the 
 Unitedi States, and lived in Pennsylvania and 
 New York until 1838, when he drove a team 
 from Canandaigua, N. Y., to Iowa county, 
 Wis. He learned the smelting business in a 
 furnace near Centerville, and later became fore- 
 man of a furnace at Platteville. In 1842 he 
 bought wild land in the present town of Lin- 
 den, which he began to improve, making his 
 home on section 21, the location of the present 
 home of our subject. He added to- his pos- 
 sessions until he became the owner of about 
 five hundred acres of fine farm land, highly 
 improved. He engaged in mining for some 
 years, but since 1876 has made his; home in 
 Madison. Although reared in the Episcopal 
 faith, lie has been a member of the Methodist 
 Church for many years and active in its work. 
 His wife, Elizabeth Dale, was born near Hels- 
 ton, England, a daughter of Edward Dale, who 
 came to Wisconsin and engaged in farming, 
 his death occurring in Racine county. Mrs. 
 Elizabeth (Dale) Baker died Dec. 25, .1899, at 
 the age of iseventy-five years. She was the 
 mother of twelve children, of whom ten are 
 living: Edward D. ; John T., of Duluth, 
 
 Minn. ; Elizabeth, wife of John Osborn, of 
 Scranton, Iowa; Anna, wife of Albert Wat- 
 kins, of Lincoln, Neb.; Joseph U., of Carle- 
 ton, Neb.; Nicholas D., of Madison; Osmon 
 C., of Scranton, Iowa; Alma, who married 
 S. W. Truesdale, and died at La Crosse, Wis. ; 
 Thomas Clarkson, deceased in infancy; Clara, 
 who married W. H. Flett, of Merrill, Wis.; 
 Carrie B., wife of George Oakes, of New 
 Richmond, Wis.; and Lilly, who married 
 Noble Warner, of Madison. 
 
 Edward D. Baker attended the public 
 schools and spent some time in the Platte- 
 ville Normal. In the fall of 1878 he went to 
 Dane county, Wis., where he lived on a farm, 
 until 1895, when he returned to Iowa county, 
 and bought 297 acres of the old homestead, 
 most of it being under cultivation. He pays 
 especial attention to the raising of Poland 
 China swine and other live stock. The village 
 of Edmund, which lies adjacent to his farm, 
 was named for his uncle, Edmund Baker. 
 
 On Oct. 3, 1876, Mr. Baker was married 
 to Miss Lida Ellsworth, who wasi born in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 8 1 9 
 
 Oregon, Dane Co., Wis., daughter of John 
 and Eliza Ann (Green) Ellsworth, of Mifflin 
 township. To this union have come the fol- 
 lowing children: John Ellsworth, a student 
 
 hr the Northwestern Dental College, Chicago ; 
 Lillian Dale, a teacher in Iowa county; Rachel 
 Della, a student in the Platteville Normal 
 School ; Osmon Dale, a student in the Cobb 
 High School ; Genevieve, at home ; and Lida 
 lone and Margaret Iris, both deceased. The 
 family are connected with the Methodist 
 Church of Edmund, which John Baker helped 
 to build, and in which he often served as a 
 local minister; he donated a site for the first 
 church and cemetery. Our subject is at pres- 
 ent serving as a trustee and as Sunday-school 
 superintendent. Socially Mr. Baker is a mem- 
 ber of Oregon Lodge, F. & A. M., and his 
 daughter Lillian is affiliated with the O. E. S. 
 at Platteville. Mr. Baker also belongs' to the 
 A. O. U. W. In politics he is a Democrat, 
 and sometimes votes for the Prohibition candi- 
 dates, and has filled a number of township 
 offices. 
 
 John Ellsworth, father of Mrs. Baker, was 
 born in Penn Yan, N. Y., and came to Wis- 
 consin in 1846 settling in Dane county, and 
 now lives in Mifflin township. His mother, 
 Amanda (Babcock) Ellsworth, was born in 
 Vermont, near Lake Champlain, a daughter 
 of Sherman Babcock, a soldier in the Con- 
 tinental army, who witnessed the inauguration 
 of President Washington 1 ; he was of Scotch- 
 Irish lineage. Kellogg Babcock, a brother of 
 Mrs'. Ellsworth, attained the advanced age of 
 ninety-three years, and passed away at the 
 home of his nephew in Iowa county, Wis. ; his 
 wife, Letitia Van Buren, was a cousin of Presi- 
 dent Martin Van Buren. The home of Mrs. 
 Eliza Ann (Green) Ellsworth had been in 
 Naples, N. Y. To John Ellsworth and wife 
 were born the following children : Amanda, 
 
 who became Mrs. David, of LTica, Montana; 
 Henry G., of Barron, Wis. ; John M., of Liv- 
 ingston, Wis.; Lida, Mrs'. Baker; Mary, wife 
 of W. S. Packard, of Paoli, Dane Co., Wis. : 
 Reuben, of Livingston, Wis.; Elmer E., of 
 Livingston, Wis. ; and Rachel, wife of M. 
 Preston, of Rewey, Wisconsin. 
 
 LARS O. GROVE (deceased) was' a resi- 
 dent of Jordan township. Green countv. for 
 almost forty years, and, at the time of his 
 death, one of the thrifty and successful farmer 
 
 citizens of his locality, where in his useful and 
 industrious life he won the good-will and es- 
 teem of all, and they were many who knew 
 him. 
 
 Mr. Grove was a native of Norway, born 
 Jan. 15, 1853, in Vossevangen, where his par- 
 ents, Ole and Sarah (Fenne) Grove, were also 
 born. The family came to America in 1858, 
 and settled on a farm in section 33, Jordan 
 township, Green Co., Wis. Our subject was 
 the only child. He was reared and educated 
 in his Wisconsin home, and followed farming 
 all his life, by good management and persever- 
 ing labor securing the fine farm which his 
 widow still occupies, a tract of 180 acres, well 
 improved, under a fine state of cultivation. 
 He passed away May 18, 1898. Mr. Grove 
 was a member of the Lutheran Church near 
 his home, of which he was a trustee for some 
 years. In political sentiment he was a Re- 
 publican. 
 
 On Feb. 16, 1875, Mr. Grove married 
 Miss Caroline Olson, of Jordan township, who 
 was born in Lafayette county, Wis., April 5, 
 1855, daughter of Rollin Olson, who is men- 
 tioned elsewhere. Mrs. Grove was reared in 
 this locality, received a good education, and 
 taught school prior to her marriage. She is a 
 woman of marked ability, which has been ex- 
 ercised to good effect in the management of her 
 fine property, and she contributed an article 
 to one of the farmers’ institutes, held a few 
 years ago at Monroe, which was published in 
 the Reports of 1897. She is no less noted 
 for her kindliness of disposition than for her 
 strong' mental qualities, and is a woman of 
 charitable impulses. Mr. and Mrs. Grove had 
 no children of their own, but they adopted one 
 son, John W. L., who was born Sept. 17, 1880, 
 in Oklahoma Territory, and was four months 
 old when adopted by our subject and his wife. 
 They also' reared two other children : Otto 
 
 Sandum, who was born Sept. 11, 1882, in 
 Dane county, Wis. ; and Magda C.- Hexum, 
 born Sept. 24, 1889, in Norway. 
 
 THOMAS DAVIES, of British Hollow, 
 Grant county, is not only a well-known pioneer 
 but also one of the most highly esteemed citi- 
 zen?' of the county. His birth took place March 
 t, 1821, at Aberffraw, Island of Anglesea, 
 North Wales', where he passed his boyhood. 
 When he reached his majority, in 1842, he 
 decided to- embrace the opportunities offered 
 
820 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to young and ambitious men on the other side 
 of the Atlantic ocean. Reaching America, he 
 found his older brother, William, in Marion 
 county, Mo., and there he remained for two 
 years, in 1844 coming to Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Davies was educated in his native land, 
 in the language of his own country, and one 
 of the first necessities that he realized in his 
 new home was that he must familiarize himself 
 with the English language. This he deter- 
 mined to do, and accordingly went to Dubuque, 
 Iowa, entered school, and soon after resolved 
 that lie would acquire other knowledge and 
 embrace other advantages for culture. With 
 this end in view he entered the Western Re- 
 serve College, in Ohio, eager, ardent and am- 
 bitious. Five busy years of mental training 
 followed, and in 1855 he graduated with honor, 
 and still cherishes his' membership in the Phi 
 Beta Society of his Alma Mater. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Davies was celebrated 
 on Sept. 12, 1859, to Miss Elizabeth Lyons, 
 who was born in England Sept. 26, 1829, a 
 daughter of John and Mary (Johnson) Lyons. 
 In 1836, with her mother and sisters, she had 
 joined her father in Potosi, and at that time 
 was but a child of tender years., of sensitive 
 disposition and 1 great intellectual capacity, 
 which, remarkable as it may appear, developed 
 rapidly, although its environment was that of 
 a rough mining town. As Mrs. Davies, un- 
 der her pen name of “Aunt Lizzie,” is so well 
 known and admired through Grant county, a 
 few words from the pen of one who knew well 
 her early surroundings, will prove interesting: 
 
 “In June, 1836, the father sent for them 
 (mother and daughters) to come to ‘Snake 
 Hollow,’ a'Si Potosi was then called. The place 
 was then a mining point, and the father had 
 obtained work there and had built, in anticipa- 
 tion of the coming of his family, a log cabin. 
 At that time there were no churches or schools 
 in the village, and the principal book that Aunt 
 Lizzie had fpr perusal was the Bible that her 
 mother had brought with her from the old 
 home in England, — the Book for the mind, the 
 conscience, the will and the life. It suits the 
 palace and the cottage, the afflicted and the 
 prosperous, the living and the dying. It is 
 simple, yet grand ; mysterious, yet plain ; and 
 though from God, it is nevertheless within the 
 comprehension of a child. Her mother was 
 the teacher, who taught her that there is a 
 .God, and to love the Bible; and thus was laid 
 
 the foundation of a Christian character that 
 increased from childhood 1 to womanhood, and 
 into more advanced years. In school she was 
 unusually bright in her studies. She was 
 finally offered a home with Rev. A. Kent, of 
 blessed memory, at Galena, 111 . She was' at 
 this time sixteen years of ag _ e. She graduated 
 from the Female Seminary, at Galena, in 1848, 
 and then engaged in teaching the Girls’ de- 
 partment of a public school in St. Paul, Minn., 
 where she remained one year. Returning to 
 Potosi she taught a school at this place for two 
 years.” Here ends the interesting record, 
 without mention of one of the greatest posses- 
 sions of this most estimable and lovable lady 
 — that of a voice of wonderful sweetness, vol- 
 ume and capacity. In her youthful days she 
 taught singing for a period, and at all times 
 through life this delightful gift has been at the 
 service of her friends, or ready to be used to 
 further any Christian or benevolent enterprise. 
 Mrs. Davies has long been affectionately 
 known as “Aunt Lizzie,” this being Ihe sig- 
 nature to her newspaper articles since 1889. 
 Her literary work has been all of an elevating 
 character and she can truly say, with another 
 author, that she has never written a word that 
 dying she would “wish to blot.” 
 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Davies have always de- 
 voted themselves to religious work. Mr. 
 Davies joined the Congregational Church in 
 Dubuque in 1848, and has been superintendent 
 of the Sunday-school at Potosi since 1855. 
 They have a very pleasant home in British 
 Hollow, and are honored and esteemed by all 
 who know them. 
 
 WILLIAM BINGER (deceased), one of 
 the noble army of pioneer settlers of Green 
 county, was a native of Ohio, born Dec. 25, 
 1815, a son of John and Sarah Binger, of Ger- 
 man and English lineage, respectively, and who 
 were among the early settlers of the State of 
 Ohio. 
 
 Our subject received his education in his 
 native State, and was reared to farming pur- 
 suits. In 1846 he came with his wife and 
 four children to Wisconsin, and purchased for- 
 ty acres of wild land in Cadiz township, on 
 which he, that same year, built a log house for 
 himself and family, where they resided some 
 twenty-six years. It is still standing on the 
 old farm, and occupied by a tenant. Mr. 
 Binger built a new house, which is still occu- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 82 1 
 
 pied by his widow. He was a life-long indus- 
 trious and successful farmer, and died on the 
 old homestead in Cadiz township in 1895, leav- 
 ing a fine property of 120 acres of well-im- 
 proved land. 
 
 On Sept. 30, 1837, nine years before com- 
 ing to Wisconsin, William Binger married 
 Miss Susan Divan, of Coshocton county, Ohio, 
 and to this union were born ten children — the 
 eldest four in Ohio — viz. : Jerry, Sarah, Mary, 
 Solomon, Lucinda, Alpheus, Hiram, Miranda, 
 Elmyra and Melissa. Of these, Jerry resides 
 in Wisconsin; Sarah is the deceased wife of 
 Aaron Allen; Mary is the widow of Joseph 
 Dale, of Cadiz township, Green county; Solo- 
 mon is mentioned mere fully later on; Lucinda 
 died in childhood; Alpheus is also deceased; 
 Hiram resides in Browntown, Wis. ; Miranda 
 is the wife of John Taylor, a farmer of Cadiz 
 township. Green county; Elmyra is the wife of 
 Albert Pattison, of Geneva Lake, Wis. ; and 
 Melissa is deceased. Solomon, the second son, 
 was born in Ohio in 1845. During the war of 
 the Rebellion he enlisted, Dec. 25, 1863, in 
 Company K, 16th Wis. V. I., and served until 
 the close of the war, having participated in over 
 thirty battles, among them being the engage- 
 ments at Nashville and Atlanta, and was with 
 Sherman on his' memorable march to the sea. 
 He now has his home in Geneva Lake, Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 Mrs. Susan Binger, widow of our subject, 
 was born July 6, 1818, in Coshocton county, 
 Ohio, a daughter of Henry and Mary (Shrake) 
 Divan, natives of Pennsylvania, and of Ger- 
 man extraction. They had a family of ten chil- 
 dren, eight of whom grew to maturity, viz. : 
 Emanuel (deceased), who was a prominent 
 farmer of Cadiz township, Green county; Al- 
 pheus, who died in Ohio; Susan, widow of 
 William Binger ; Samuel, who died in Ander- 
 sonville prison during the war of the Rebel- 
 lion; Margaret, widow of Simon P. Lynch, late 
 of Cadiz township, Green county (she is now 
 now living in Monroe, Wis.) ; Ruth, wife of 
 George Baker, of Licking county, Ohio; Wal- 
 ter, residing in Seward county, Neb. ; and Lu- 
 cinda, wife of Thomas Ryan, of Coshocton 
 county, Ohio. 
 
 In politics the late Mr. Binger was orig- 
 inally a Whig, afterward a Republican. In 
 matters of religion he was not a member of any 
 church, though a sincere believer in Christianity 
 in its broadest and purest sense. An excellent, 
 
 loyal citizen, he always took an active interest 
 m the welfare of the community, and when 
 he died he left behind an honored name and 
 an enviable record of good deeds. His widow, 
 a grand old lady of eighty-three years, still 
 makes her home on the farm of 120 acres, in 
 the arduous labor of clearing and improving 
 which she so well aided her husband, and now 
 passes the declining years of her honored life 
 m well-earned, peaceful rest. 
 
 JOHN BYRNE, a retired miner and farm- 
 er of Cuba City, Grant county, was born in 
 County Wicklow, Ireland, in 1824, a son of 
 Christopher and Catherine Byrne, both also 
 natives of Ireland, where Mrs. Byrne died. 
 After her demise Mr. Byrne emigrated to this 
 country, in 1849, settling at St. Rose, Smelser 
 township, in Grant county, Wis., where he died 
 in 1868. The following children came with the 
 father to America : Thomas, Edward, Henry, 
 Mary, Katie and Richard. 
 
 John Byrne, our subject, grew to manhood 
 in Ireland, where he received a fair education. 
 He crossed the ocean in a sailing vessel m 1846, 
 and after landing at New York crossed the 
 mountains, going to Pittsburg; came down the 
 Ohio ; up the Mississippi to Galena ; and 
 thence to Wisconsin, where he immediately be- 
 gan work in the lead mines at Hazel Green. 
 Believing there was a better prospect in the 
 gold fields of California, however, he worked 
 there for two years, and then returned to Wis- 
 consin. In 1852 he married Maggie Burn, a 
 daughter of William and Nancy Burn, natives 
 of Ireland, who resided in Hazel Green. Mrs. 
 Byrne was born in Ireland, and came with 
 her parents to Grant county. After their mar- 
 riage the young people settled down to life 111 
 Hazel Green, and the young husband found 
 employment in the lead mines. He soon after 
 purchased 120 acres of land in Smelser town- 
 ship, where he engaged in farming and mining, 
 From time to time he added to this home 
 until he had over 300 acres, and as he had 
 continually made improvements, this estate 
 became one of the finest in that section. As 
 his children grew to maturity Mr. Byrne divid- 
 ed his property among them, after having erect- 
 ed a beautiful home in Cuba City to which he 
 retired with his wife, and they now are en- 
 joying the comforts of life. Of the children 
 born to these good people four died in child- 
 hood. Mary, the pride of the home, a highly 
 
822 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 cultivated young lady, died some years ago. 
 William, born in Smelser, married Miss Mary 
 Farharty, and resides in Cuba City, retired ; 
 he has seven children, John, Delia, Maggie, 
 Nellie, Bernice, S., and Cornelius. Christo- 
 pher, born in Grant county, married Miss 
 Mary Hillard, and has one daughter, Mary; 
 he now lives in Smelser. Katie, born in Smel- 
 ser, married Samuel Whaley, and resides at 
 Benton, Lafayette county; she has one son, 
 Eugene. Annie, born in Smelser, married 
 Arthur Dickinson, and has one son, Joseph; 
 they reside at White Oak, Lafayette county. 
 
 Mir. and Mrs. Byrne are devout members of 
 the Catholic Church, to whose support they 
 have given generously, of both money and 
 time. Mr. Byrne was one of the founders of 
 the church at Hazel Green, and also of that 
 at St. Rose, where there is a fine edifice. All 
 of his family have been reared in the faith of 
 the church. Politically Mr. Byrne is a stanch 
 Democrat, and has always cast his vote for the 
 candidates of that party. He is a typical self- 
 made man, having attained his present ease 
 and high estate in the community through 
 hard unremitting labor and has made his name 
 highly honored in Grant county. 
 
 JAMES JACKSON, one of the time-hon- 
 ored pioneers of Green county, resides on his 
 well-kept farm of ninety acres, located two 
 miles northwest of the village of Browntown. 
 
 Mr. Jackson was born March 12, 1831, in 
 Rukken, near Drammen, Norway, a son of 
 Christopher and Camelia Jackson, who were 
 natives of Norway, and respectable farming 
 people. They had a family of five children: 
 James, John, Kate, Andrew and Surn, of whom 
 John, Kate and Surn reside in California, and 
 Andrew is deceased. The parents emigrated 
 to this country in 1843, fir®* locating near Mil- 
 waukee, thence removing to Illinois, and in 
 i860 to Green county, settling in Jordan town- 
 ship on the tract of land now owned and oc- 
 cupied by their son James. Here they passed 
 the rest of their days, the father dying Feb. 
 3, 1886, the mother March 11, 1888. 
 
 James Jackson, of whom we more par- 
 ticularly write, was reared on the home farm 
 in Norway until, when he was about twelve 
 years of age, the family came to the United 
 States. His parents being poor, he had but 
 little opportunity to attend school, hard 1 work 
 in the fields being his chief boyhood experi- 
 
 ence ; but, by assiduous' energy, industry, sound 
 judgment and strict economy, he has made a 
 ■success of life, and is now one of the most 
 prominent, well-to-do farmers of his township. 
 
 On July 24, 1861, James Jackson was mar- 
 ried to Miss Emily Evenson, of Rock county, 
 Wis., and seven children have been born to 
 them, three of whom are yet living. One son, 
 Charles Edward, reached the age of twenty- 
 nine years and eight months, dying Jan. 21, 
 
 1896. (1) Miss Eliza J. resides in Stock- 
 ton, Cal. (2) Amelia was married, Dec. 2, 
 
 1897, t° Andrew Anderson, o : f Jordan town- 
 ship, Green county, who 1 is now operating his 
 father-in-law’s 1 farm, with a bright future be- 
 fore him; he is a Republican in politics, and 
 a member of the Lutheran Church. He and his 
 wife have two children, Charles N. and James 
 E. (3) Franklin is a dealer in farm imple- 
 ments and all kinds of machinery, at Brown- 
 town, Green county. He married Sophia Iver- 
 son, daughter of Iver Iverson, who was the 
 second Norwegian to come to Green county. 
 
 Mrs. Emily (Eivenson) Jackson was born 
 in Seljur, Norway, March 17, 1842, and when 
 one year old came to this country with her 
 parents, Even and Margaret (Ostock) Oleson. 
 The family located at Muskego, Wis., where 
 the parents soon afterward died, of a fever. 
 They had three children, of whom Anna died 
 at Muskego nrior to her parents’ death ; Ole 
 died at Lake Station, Ind., in 1862; Emily was 
 adopted by Peter Helguson and family, and 
 spent most of her childhood near Or ford, Rock 
 Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Jackson, our subject, in his political 
 preferences has always' been a Whig and Re- 
 publican, and in religious faith is a consistent 
 member of the Lutheran Church. He is one 
 of the very few now living who came into 
 Green county in i860, when that section of 
 the State was wild and unsettled. Honorable 
 and fair in all his dealings, he is widely known 
 for his honesty and integrity, at the same time 
 justly recognized as a good citizen, an ex- 
 ■ cellent neighbor, a devoted husband, and a 
 kind father. 
 
 GEORGE ELLEFSON, who resides on 
 his farm two miles northeast of Browntown, 
 Green county, was born in the province of 
 Christiania, in Norway. Sept. 30, 1847, one 
 the twelve children of Ellef and Bertha (Peter- 
 son) Nelson, both also natives of Norway. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 823 
 
 In 1873 they came to Green county, Wis., 
 where the husband and father died. The wid- 
 owed mother has now reached the age of eighty 
 years, and makes her home in Iowa. 
 
 George Ellefson, whose name appears at 
 the opening of this article, was married to 
 Dorothy James, a native of Norway, April 15, 
 1876. To this union were born three sons: 
 (1) James Edward, born in the town of Jor- 
 dan. May 17, 1877, married Grace Woodle, 
 and has one son, George R. ; they live in Mon- 
 roe, Wis. (2) Anton B., born Jan. 19, 1881, 
 resides in Chicago, where he follows the car- 
 penter trade. (3) Peter Morgan, born May 
 19, 1884, remains at home on the farm with 
 his father. Mrs. Dorothy Ellefson died in 
 1889, and on Oct. 13, 1891, Mr. Ellefson was 
 married to Miss Leve Knudtson, of Burnett, 
 Wis., a native of the province of Christiania, 
 Norway. 
 
 George Ellefson was born in a humble 
 home, and had to make his way against the 
 hindrances of unfriendly poverty. When he 
 landed in America, in 1869, he had only fifty 
 cents, and was in debt to his uncle, Ole Peter- 
 son, for his passage money to this country. 
 After he had eaten his first meal here he had 
 only twenty cents left in his pocket. He had 
 a brave heart, however, and a stout arm. Af- 
 ter paying his own passage money he earned 
 enough to assist his parents and the other 
 members of the family to come to America. 
 Gradually he made his way to a competence, 
 and now owns a fine Wisconsin farm of 115 
 acres, with a good dwelling house and ample 
 outbuildings. The house in which he lives is 
 just across the township line in Cadiz, part of 
 his land being located in Section 33, Jordan 
 township, and part in Section 2, Cadiz town- 
 ship. 
 
 Mr. Ellefson is a Republican in politics, 
 and with his wife is associated with the Lu- 
 theran Church. One of the thoroughly hon- 
 orable and upright farmers of the town, all that 
 he has acquired has come by hard work and the 
 most careful management. He is noted for his 
 honesty and truthfulness, and much credit is 
 due him for the honorable position he has ac- 
 quired in his adopted land. 
 
 EDMUND W. RICHARDSON, a well- 
 known agriculturist of Waterloo township, is 
 one of Grant county’s native sons, and a worthy 
 representative of one of her honored old fam- 
 
 ilies, whose identification with her history 
 dates from an early period in the development 
 of the county. 
 
 Mr. Richardson was born in Lancaster 
 township Dec. 17, 1847, a son °f Harris and 
 Louie Richardson, natives of New York State, 
 who were among the pioneer settlers of Grant 
 county, where they passed their last years. 
 The father was twice married, and by the first 
 union had two sons, William and Walter, the 
 former of whom was in the Union service dur- 
 ing the Civil war, and died soon after its close. 
 There were five children by the second mar- 
 riage, three sons and two daughters. All of 
 the sons were among the defenders of the stars 
 and stripes during the Rebellion, Charles being 
 a member of the 10th Regiment and later the 
 50th Wis. V. I., and James, of the 2d Wiscon- 
 sin Cavalry. Both served through the entire 
 period of the war. They are both residents of 
 Boyce Prairie. 
 
 Edmund W. Richardson was too young to 
 enter the service at the beginning of the war, 
 being only fourteen years of age, but in 1864, 
 when seventeen, he enlisted in Company A, 
 41st Wis. V. I., and went to Memphis, Tenn., 
 his term of service being spent there and in the 
 vicinity. He received his discharge at Mil- 
 waukee, and then returned to his home in 
 Grant county. 
 
 On Aug. 8, 1870, Mr. Richardson was 
 united in marriage with Miss Josephine Chase, 
 also a native of Grant county, and to them 
 have been born five children : Laura, the eld- 
 
 est, married Charles Burnoise, and died in Jan- 
 uary, 1899, leaving five children, three of 
 whom are now living with their grandparents, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Richardson. Adelbert and 
 Ordeska (twins), Stella and William are still 
 living. The family is one of considerable 
 prominence in the community, and Mr. Rich- 
 ardson is widely and favorably known through- 
 out the county. 
 
 JOHN W. NICE, an honored veteran of 
 the Civil war, is a type of the true American. 
 Mr. Nice traces his descent from German fore- 
 fathers, his grandfather having come from 
 Germany to this country and settled in North 
 Carolina, later removing to Ohio, in its early 
 days; there he died. He had a family of five 
 children, but none of that generation are now 
 living. Two of the sons, David and William, 
 served in the Black Hawk war. Records show 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 824 
 
 that another son, John, died in Terre Haute, 
 Indiana. 
 
 The subject of our sketch was born in 
 Stephenson county, 111 ., Dec. 10, 1844, son of 
 Cornelius and Olive (Satterlee) Nice. Cor- 
 nelius Nice was born in 1806, near Raleigh, 
 N. C., accompanied his parents upon their re- 
 moval to Ohio, where he spent his young man- 
 hood, and there married, March 1, 1827. He 
 removed then to Indiana, later to Illinois, and 
 in the fall of 1856 located in Grant county, 
 Wis., in the town of Millville. Here the 
 mother of our subject died in 1865, living just 
 long enough to see the safe return of her four 
 sons from lighting their country’s battles. The 
 father continued to reside with his children 
 until his death, in 1892. This esteemed couple 
 were the parents of eleven children, six sons 
 and five daughters, all of whom grew to ma- 
 ture years, five of the sons and two of the 
 daughters living at the present writing. 
 
 The Nice family has an unusual record of 
 service during the Civil war. The eldest son, 
 Silas F., enlisted in the 25th Wis. V. I., and 
 was discharged for disability. Later he as- 
 sisted in raising a company, which became a 
 l^art of the 47th Regiment, and in which he 
 Avas commissioned first lieutenant of Company 
 G. At present he is a resident of La Crosse. 
 Another son, Daniel W. Nice, a musician, 
 served in the 25th Regiment ; he died Jan. 30, 
 1876. Robert Nice, now of Boscobel, served 
 in the same regiment as his brother Silas. 
 James and David, the remaining sons are resi- 
 dents of La Crosse and Wauzeka, Wis., re- 
 spectively, and the surviving daughters are 
 Mrs. Mary Potter and Mrs. Martha J. Delap, 
 of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. 
 
 John W. Nice spent his boyhood days in 
 the town of Millville, as he was not yet twelve 
 years of age when he accompanied his parents 
 to Wisconsin. His business was that of an 
 engineer, but he left everything to enlist, on 
 Aug. 9, 1862, becoming a member of Compan}^ 
 C, of what became the famous 25th Wisconsin 
 Regiment, under the popular commander Jer- 
 emiah Rusk. They participated in the im- 
 portant battles and operations which made 
 those years to be remembered, the Indian 
 troubles under Gen. Sibley, Vicksburg, Resaca, 
 the siege of Atlanta, and the march with Sher- 
 man to the sea, and were a part of the famous 
 old regiment when at the close of the war it 
 went to V ashington for the grand review. 
 
 After the war Mr. Nice found his health 
 so broken that it has been impossible for him 
 to engage in his old calling steadily. He was 
 married Dec. 24, 1870, to Miss Frances M. 
 Dexter, of Boscobel, and is hoav surrounded by 
 a pleasant family of four sons and two daugh- 
 ters : Herbert H. was born Nov. 19, 1871; 
 
 Wilbur H., Sept. 24, 1873; Ned £., May 7, 
 1876; Lulu M., Feb. 19, 1883; Daniel, March 
 5, 1889; and Rena May, March 18, 1893. Ned 
 E. served in Cuba during the late war, under 
 Gen. Fitzlmgh Lee, against whom his father 
 fought from 1862 to 1865. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Nice have resided for the 
 principal part of their married life in Boscobel, 
 where they have a pleasant home, and where 
 he is a worthy and esteemed citizen. 
 
 WILLIAM H. CAMPBELL. An agri- 
 cultural life seems favorable to longevity, and 
 poets have always celebrated the peace of mind 
 it brings and the serene and noble age to which 
 it leads. Rock township has a number of ven- 
 erable farmers whose peaceful and useful lives 
 carry out all that has ever been said about the 
 beauty of a career that has kept close to the 
 soil. Among them the gentleman who is the 
 subject of this article may be prominently 
 mentioned. In early life he was familiar with 
 the workshops and streets of the city, but 
 nearly thirty years ago he wisely decided to 
 spend his last years on the farm, and it has 
 been a hospitable haven to him. He owns a 
 valuable and highly cultivated farm in Section 
 4, Rock township, Rock county, and is gen- 
 erally recognized as one of the leading citizens 
 of that part of the county. 
 
 Mr. Campbell was born in Boston, Mass., 
 May 22, 1830, and is a son of Jeremiah and 
 Nancy (Hawes) Campbell, natives of Massa- 
 chusetts and New Hampshire, respectively. 
 They had six sons and three daughters, six of 
 whom are now living : Lovina, widow of 
 
 Charles Gibbs, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa ; Jere- 
 miah R., of Jacksonville, Fla. ; William H., our 
 'subject; Charles, of Boston; Sarah, Avife of 
 Eugene Millikin, of Providence, R. I. ; and 
 George, of Chelsea, Mass. Jeremiah Campbell 
 Avas a sea-faring man in early life, and later 
 kept a restaurant in Quincy Market, Boston. 
 His last business occupation was that of a 
 Avood and coal merchant! He died in Chelsea, 
 Mass., in 1872, at the advanced age of eighty- 
 two years, while his wife passed aAvay in 1875, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 825 
 
 at the age of , seventy-five. They were mem- 
 bers of the Congregational Church, in which 
 he was a deacon. His father, Jeremiah Camp- 
 bell, was of Scottish descent, though a native 
 of Massachusetts, and reared a large family. 
 He was a blacksmith, and lived to be over 
 ninety years of age. The father of Nancy 
 Hawes, who was a native of New Hampshire, 
 died in middle life. He also reared a large 
 family. 
 
 William H. Campbell was reared in Bos- 
 ton, and received a good education in the com- 
 mon schools. When he reached manhood he 
 was a painter for a time, and in 1861 he en- 
 listed in Company D, 17th Mass. V. I., and 
 served three years, participating in some of 
 the bloodiest scenes of the war, among them 
 the first battle of Bull Run and the Atlanta 
 campaign; he was also on the coast with But- 
 ler, in the battle of Kingston, Goldsboro and 
 others. After the war he came West to Chi- 
 cago, and lived in that city about four years, 
 working in the railroad shops of the Illinois 
 Central and the Rock Island railroads. In 
 1872 he came to Rock county, Wis., and located 
 in Rock township, buying forty acres in Sec- 
 tion 9, where he lived until 1897. That year 
 he removed to his present home in Section 4, 
 and is now the owner of a farm of 280 acres, 
 as desirable a tract of land as may be found 
 anywhere in the Northwest. 
 
 O11 Jan. 31, 1866, Mr. Campbell was united 
 in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Murray, who 
 was born Aug. 15, 1836. They have had two 
 children: George, born Oct. 3, 1867; and 
 
 William H., born Jan. 22, 1869. On June 22, 
 1897, George married Theresa McClune, who 
 was born Feb. 15, 1866, and they have had two 
 children — Etta May (deceased) and Alice 
 Elizabeth (born May 27, 1900). William is 
 unmarried, and with his brother is engaged in 
 the cultivation of the home farm. Mr. Camp- 
 bell belongs to W. TI. Sargent Post, No. 20, 
 G. A. R. He is a Republican in politics. All 
 his life he has been an active and pushing busi- 
 ness man, and since he came to the farm he 
 has devoted much time to< stock raising, direct- 
 ing his attention largely to Durham cattle. 
 
 Mrs. Campbell came to this country from her 
 native land, Ireland, when cpfite a young girl, 
 and found a home ini Boston, where she lived 
 a number of years, land where she married. 
 She is a member of the Catholic Church. Her 
 parents, Michael and Elizabeth (Murphey) 
 
 Murray, had three children: Martin (de- 
 
 ceased), Elizabeth (Mrs'. Campbell), and John 
 (of Ireland). 
 
 SAMUEL BINGER, the owner of a high- 
 ly improved eighty-acre farm one and one- 
 half miles southwest of Browntown, Green 
 county, was born May 5, 1850, a son of John 
 and Mary (Markley) Binger, who were both 
 natives of Harrison county, Ohio, of English 
 and German origin, the former being a son 
 of John Binger, a native of Pennsylvania, who 
 became one of the early settlers of the State of 
 Ohio. John Binger, the father, died when 
 our subject was but seven years of age, 
 leaving' his widow with eight children : Eliza- 
 beth married Isaac Russell, of Carroll Co., 
 Ohio; William, Oliver, and Mathias are de- 
 ceased ; Samuel ; Eva and Sarah are both de- 
 ceased; and John, Jr., is a farmer in Harrison 
 Co., Ohio. 
 
 Samuel Binger remained in Ohio until he 
 had attained to man’s estate and in 1874 came 
 to Green county, Wis., settling in the township 
 of Cadiz, where he now owns his own land 
 and is entirely out of debt. He began life in 
 poverty, borrowing the money needed to pur- 
 chase an ax and an iron wedge that he might 
 earn his living as a rail splittor. He contrib- 
 uted his small earnings to the support of his 
 widowed mother and when possible attended 
 the common schools to secure between times the 
 needed education. 
 
 Mr. Binger was married on March 28, 
 1875, to Miss Gryscilda Ann Michael, daughter 
 of Benjamin and-Cynthia (Billings) Michael, 
 who were among the earliest settlers in Green 
 county. Two children blessed this union: 
 Gertrude, born July 18, 1878, was married on 
 September 21, 1897, to Grant Dale, and has 
 one daughter, Alma May, born October 15, 
 1899; and Ervin, born May 1, 1886. Mr. 
 Binger was called upon to mourn the loss of 
 his wife July 1, 1891, at the 'early age of 
 thirty-five years. She was a faithful wife 
 and mother, and her death caused a break in 
 the little home circle that can only be repaired 
 on that Last Day. 
 
 In politics Mr. Binger is a firm believer in 
 the principles of the Republican party, and for 
 a number of years has held the office of school 
 clerk. He is not identified with any religious 
 body, but is a supporter of all good works, 
 regardless of the fostering denomination. 
 
826 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Socially he is a member of the I. 0 . 0 . F., of 
 Browntown, and as a citizen is most hiejilv 
 respected. 
 
 Grant Dale, son-in-law of Mr. Binger, 
 was born Aug. 25, 1868, a son of Joseph and 
 Mary (Binger) Dale, of Green county, and is 
 one of the highly respected young farmers of 
 Cadiz township. 
 
 WILLIAM ROSENTHAL. To the Ger- 
 man empire this country is indebted for many 
 of her most thrifty, industrious, successful and 
 loyal citizens, among whom we are pleased to 
 place the subject of this sketch. 
 
 Mr. Rosenthal was born in Prussia, Ger- 
 many, Jan. 19, 1845, a son °f Charles and Lou- 
 isa (Linderman) Rosenthal, both of whom 
 died in their native Fatherland. They had a 
 family of seven children : Augusta, Caroline, 
 Amelia, Elizabeth, Charles, William and one 
 that died young. 
 
 William Rosenthal was reared and educated 
 in Prussia, being brought up to agricultural 
 pursuits. In 1878 he came to the United 
 States, making his first New World home in 
 Cadiz township, Green Co., Wis., where, al- 
 though a comparatively poor man at that time, 
 he was able to buy a small farm. In course 
 of time, having by industry and thrift accumu- 
 lated a little more capital, he exchanged this 
 farm for his present place of 267 acres in Jor- 
 dan township, previously owned by Thomas 
 Bedford, of Cadiz township, our subject paying 
 the difference of price in cash. This property 
 is under good cultivation, and is provided with 
 a commodious dwelling and barn. In the 
 Fatherland Mr. Rosenthal served as a soldier 
 in the army, and participated in three wars — - 
 the one with Austria, 1866; war with Denmark 
 on account of Schleswig-Holstein, 1869; and 
 the Franco-Prussian war, 1871. 
 
 On Jan. 1, 1868, William Rosenthal mar- 
 ried Miss Austina Ackerman, daughter of 
 Charles Ackerman, a native of Germany, as 
 was also his daughter, and five children were 
 born to them, three of whom are living: Au- 
 
 gusta and Edward, at home; and Elizabeth, 
 wife of James Bedford, of Cadiz township, 
 Green countv, bv whom she has one son, named 
 Will iam, after his grandfather. 
 
 Our subject is at present engaged in gen- 
 eral farming, including stock raising and dairy- 
 ing, having a herd of thirty-five milch cows. 
 He is a self-made man in the purest sense of 
 
 the term, and is entitled to no small degree of 
 credit for his progressiveness, perseverance and 
 industry. In his political preferences he is a 
 Republican, and in religious faith he is a mem- 
 ber of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 JAMES T. TAYLOR. For more than 
 fifty-one years Mr. Taylor has been a resident 
 of Grant county, having first settled within its 
 boundaries at Hazel Green, on April 27, 1849. 
 He is a native of Cornwall, England, having 
 been bdrn in that shire on Aug. 27, 1826. 
 His family has played an important part in 
 the ecclesiastical and political history of his 
 native land. Jeremy Taylor, the saintly author 
 of “Lloly Living and Holy Dying,” was among 
 its early members, and not a few of his ances- 
 tors distinguished themselves in the revolt of 
 the common people against the encroachments 
 of the “Crown” in the days of Charles I. For 
 many generations the family had been devout 
 adherents and stanch supporters of the Estab- 
 lished Church, but tyranny subverts loyalty, 
 and persecution promotes free thought. 
 
 The first of the family to settle in Corn- 
 wall was Richard Taylor, the grandfather 
 of our subject. His son, Stephen H. Taylor 
 was born in that county, and died when James 
 was but four years old, leaving two other 
 children, Stephen, and a daughter, who 1 was 
 married in England, to Joseph Mathews/and 
 accompanied her husband to Australia. The 
 son, Stephen, emigrated from Cornwall to Con- 
 necticut in 1848, and 1 settled at New London. 
 He lost his life through injuries sustained by 
 the caving in of a bank from which a party of 
 men whose work he was overseeing was ex- 
 cavating stone to be used in the erection of a 
 church ; he was buried under the falling gravel, 
 and although extricated alive, died from the 
 effects of the accident, and was buried a,t 
 Bristol, Conn., in 1856. 
 
 Eight years after his father's death Mr. 
 Tayloir’s mother married a second time, her 
 husband being a mine overseer. Our sub- 
 ject learned the trade of cabinet maker, but at 
 the solicitation of his stepfather began work 
 in the Cornwall mines. At the age of twenty 
 lie determined to win fortune in a new field, 
 and in December, 1846, he first placed his foot 
 on American soil. Elis first employment was 
 as copper miner at Bristol, Conn. For a time 
 he followed the same pursuit in New Jersey, 
 and during 1848-49 he had charge of mining 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 827 
 
 operations at Hatfield, Mass. From that point 
 he departed, 1849, f° r Wisconsin, settling 
 first at Hazel Green, Grant county. There he 
 spent ten years; five years being devoted to 
 mining and five to work at carpentry. Two 
 years he passed in Lafayette county, and two 
 more in Hazel Green, thus swelling the number 
 of years of his residence in that township to 
 fourteen. Mr. Taylor has a fine, musical voice, 
 and in his younger days was a successful 
 teacher of vocal music. In the spring of 1865 
 he organized a singing school at Dodgeville, 
 and another at Mineral Point. The same year 
 he removed his family to Linden, Iowa county, 
 where he carried on a business as a cabinet 
 maker until the winter of 1868. On December 
 1, of that year, he went, alone, to Montfort, to 
 embark, tentatively, in business. The venture 
 proved successful and in the autumn of 1869 
 he brought his family there, and in that town 
 he has since made his home, a successful fur- 
 niture dealer and funeral director. In politics 
 he was first a Whig, and later a Republican. 
 In 1877 he was elected justice of the peace, and 
 has so continued nearly all the time since. He 
 is a member of the Methodist Church. 
 
 On Sept. 13, 1849, he was married, at 
 Hazel Green, to an English maiden whom he 
 had known in the country and county of his 
 birth, among the hills and dales of Cornwall. 
 Her name was Ann Wills. For more than 
 two decades they shared each other’s sorrows 
 and joys, but on Nov. 8, 1872, she fell asleep 
 in the glorious Christian hope of immortality. 
 Her husband still remains a widower. Their 
 seven children are all yet living as follows : 
 Tohn Wills resides at Linden, where he is 
 editor and proprietor of the South-Western 
 Wisconsin, being also a lawyer by profession ; 
 S. H. also studied law, and is a partner of 
 Hon. John G. Clark, of Lancaster; Samuel J., 
 one of God’s afflicted ones, was born a deaf 
 mute, but has received ten years’ instruction 
 in the institution at Delavan, is now living at 
 home, with his father; Abby A. married Isaac 
 G. DeWitt ; Margaret J. is the wife of Thomas 
 Kelley; Mary lives at home; and Lily J. is a 
 teacher in the Montfort public schools. 
 
 As the reader may readily perceive, while 
 Mr. Taylor’s life has been seemingly unevent- 
 ful, its story is full of interest. It is full of 
 both instruction and encouragement for youth 
 who, like him, must plan and complete the 
 architecture of their own lives and fortunes. 
 
 Integrity of purpose, industry that never tired, 
 and a fidelity that never faltered — these have 
 been the corner stones of his success. Each 
 day’s duties faithfully performed is sometimes 
 proof of a higher courage than is shown by the 
 volunteer for the “forlorn hope.” 
 
 JACOB GRUNENWALD, a thrifty farm- 
 er and cheese manufacturer of Jordan town- 
 ship, Green county, was born in Canton Berne, 
 Switzerland, May 12, 1853, and is a son of 
 Jacob and Susan (Stoalker) Grunenwald, both 
 also natives of Switzerland. In 1871 they 
 came to Oshkosh, Wis., from their Swiss home, 
 where William Grunenwald, the grandfather of 
 Jacob, had died many years before. 
 
 Jacob Grunenwald, father of our subject, 
 had a family of nine children, three of whom 
 are now living: Jacob, whose name introduces 
 this article; Katie, the wife of Chris. Perren, 
 of Winnebago county, Wis. ; and William, of 
 Oshkosh. Jacob and Susan Grunenwald are 
 still living in Oshkosh, where he has retired 
 from active business life, having now reached 
 the venerable age of seventy-nine years ; she 
 is seventy-six. In politics he is a Democrat, 
 and both are members of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 Jacob Grunenwald, our subject proper, 
 came to Wisconsin in 1869, when sixteen years 
 old, and began at once to make his own way, 
 working on a farm and in a cheese factory. 
 On Jan. 22, 1884, he married Miss Kate Gimp- 
 ler, a native of Canton Berne, and a daughter 
 of John Gimpler, who died in the old country. 
 To this marriage have come the following chil- 
 dren : Jacob, born Oct. 25, 1885; William. 
 
 Jan. 24. 1888; Frederick, Sept. 22, 1890 ; Mary, 
 July 6, 1892 ; and Kate, Aug. 10, 1896. When 
 Jacob Grunenwald landed in this country he 
 had not a dollar in his pocket, but by the exer- 
 cise of manly qualities of a rare degree he has 
 acquired a very substantial competence. The 
 farm on which -his home is made contains 306 
 acres, in Sections 13 and 14, with a fine home 
 and commodious farm buildings. On his 
 home farm he is operating an extensive cheese 
 factory, milking some forty cows, and making 
 some 4,000 pounds of cheese a year. In all 
 this he has been very successful, and his repu- 
 tation as a business man, a farmer and a cheese 
 maker is second to none in the county. 
 
 Mr. Grunenwald is a Democrat, and both 
 he and his wife are connected with the Lu- 
 theran Church. In the town of Jordan he has 
 
828 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 served as school director and treasurer. Soci- 
 ally he belongs to the I. O. O. F., the A. O. 
 U. AY., and the Germania Lodge of Masons. 
 All that he possesses he has made by hard work, 
 and Mr. Grunenwald is widely known as a 
 man who gets along with his fellowmen, has 
 no trouble with his customers, and is a good 
 neighbor, and one of the best men of the day 
 in all relations of home and society. 
 
 EVERETT PECK holds an undisputed 
 place among the wealthy retired farmers of the 
 town of Jefferson who have led honest and in- 
 dustrious lives, and had added materially to 
 the wealth of Green county. 
 
 Nelson and Polly (Cole) Peck, his parents, 
 were born and reared in Rehoboth, Bristol Co., 
 Mass., and in 1838 migrated to Geauga county, 
 Ohio, remaining there about fifteen years. 
 Then coming into Wisconsin, they settled on 
 the old home farm where Everett Peck is now 
 living. Nelson Peck was born in 1807, and 
 died Sept. 17, 1882. His wife died Feb. 21, 
 1899, aged nearly ninety-two. They were mar- 
 ried in 1825, and their union was blessed with 
 the following children : ( 1 ) Andros, born in 
 
 1833, married Lucinda Humphrey, and is liv- 
 ing in Monroe, Wis. They have a family of 
 five children, Otis C., Eugene, Willard, Hat- 
 tie, and George. (2) Everett was born March 
 3, 1838. (3) Arthur C. is a minister of the 
 
 Baptist Church. Nelson Peck was the son of 
 Cromwell Peck, who had two brothers killed 
 in the war of the Revolution. The Peck fam- 
 ily is one of the oldest in New England, and 
 its first representatives landed on the shores of 
 America nearly three hundred years ago, ef- 
 fecting settlements in Massachusetts and Ver- 
 mont. Several thousand Pecks can trace their 
 origin to the original three brothers. 
 
 Everett Peck married Miss Mary Camron 
 Feb. 24, 1862. Mrs. Peck is the daughter of 
 Hugh and Margaret (Hughes) Camron, of 
 Green county, whose biography may be found 
 in another place. Mr. and Mrs. Peck are the 
 parents of three children : ( 1 ) Sarah Ellen, 
 
 born Feb. 14, 1863, died in 1865. (2) Esther, 
 
 born Dec. 20, 1865, married Levi Raymer, and 
 is now living on the old home farm of her par- 
 ents. (3) AA'illiam, born July 18, 1871, mar- 
 ried Miss Nettie Winters, of Orangeville, 111 ., 
 and is living on his father's home place. 
 
 Mr. Peck was reared on the farm, and re- 
 ceived a common-school education. A lifelong 
 
 farmer, he followed the cultivation of the soil 
 continuously until about four years ago, when 
 he retired from active labor, and is now living 
 at his ease. Starting out in verv moderate 
 circumstances, he has come to own a handsome 
 and well-appointed farm of 317 acres, with 
 four good dwellings and all other needed build- 
 ings. Mr. Peck cast his first vote for Abra- 
 ham Lincoln in i860, and has acted with the 
 Republican party continuously since that time. 
 He has been chairman of the town board for 
 many years, serving also on the county board, 
 has served many years as a school director, and 
 has held other important local offices, making 
 a good reputation as a man of strong convic- 
 tions and business capacity. A member of the 
 Christian Church, he believes that the Bible is 
 the only creed ; for many years he has been 
 superintendent and teacher in the Sunday- 
 school at Polk. Mr. Peck is a well-read man, 
 and thoroughly posted on all the topics of the 
 times. Fie is generous and whole-hearted in 
 disposition, and is known as a devoted husband 
 and a kind and indulgent father. 
 
 REUBEN C. YEOMANS, an old and 
 prosperous tradesman of Janesville, Rock 
 county, has long been identified with the gas, 
 steam-fitting and plumbing interests of that 
 city and has, by strict attention to business, 
 industry, thrift and an accommodating dispo- 
 sition, accpiired a comfortable fortune, and 
 with it the respect of the public. 
 
 Mr. Yeomans was born in Otsego county, 
 N. Y., April 10, 1849, a son Cyrus and 
 Harriet (Tanner) Yeomans, both native to 
 the soil of that State. They were the parents 
 of six children, four of whom are now living: 
 Howard R., of Milwaukee; De Witt Ford, of 
 Chicago; Reuben C. ; and Cyrus E., of La- 
 Farge, Vernon Co., Wis. Cyrus Yeomans, 
 who was a farmer, came to Wisconsin in 1852, 
 and, locating at Whitewater, bought eighty 
 acres, following farming until the breaking out 
 of the Civil war. He enlisted in Company D, 
 28th Wis. V. I., and served throughout the 
 war, from 1861 to 1865, making an enviable 
 record, both as a soldier and a man true to his 
 convictions. He was strictly temperate, and 
 would neither drink nor play cards. Mr. Wo- 
 mans was with his regiment in all the battles 
 in which it participated, notably those at Little 
 Rock, and on the YHzoo river and Mobile Bay. 
 He lost his health from overdoing. When the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 829 
 
 war was over Ire returned to Whitewater, after 
 several years moving to Clinton, where he lived 
 some years. He died Feb. 14, 1896, at Elk- 
 horn, Wis., when seventy-six years old. His 
 wife still survives, making her home with her 
 son DeWitt, of Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Yeo- 
 mans were Baptists in their early life. He 
 was. a Republican politically. His father was 
 a native of New York, of Welsh and Scottish 
 ancestry, and was a millwright in his early life, 
 later becoming a farmer. He died when 
 almost eighty years old. He was in the war 
 of 1812, and his father was in the Revolution. 
 Schuyler Tanner, the maternal grandfather of 
 R. C. Yeomans, was a native of New York, 
 of German stock, was a physician, and died at 
 the age of seventy-seven. He was a man of 
 character and standing, and held various pub- 
 lic positions of honor and trust. His family 
 was a large one. 
 
 Reuben C. Yeomans was three years old 
 when his parents brought him to Wisconsin, 
 where his home has been continuously to the 
 present time. He received his education at 
 Whitewater, began his apprenticeship to the 
 plumber’s trade in 1868, and has followed that 
 business ever since. For twenty-five years he 
 has lived in Janesville, and has been intimately 
 associated with its history during that import- 
 ant period. He lived in Milwaukee five years, 
 and was a resident of Whitewater and Milton 
 for a time, but his business career has been 
 almost entirely in Janesville. 
 
 Mr. Yeomans and Miss Kittie Johnson, a 
 daughter of William Johnson, were married 
 April 10, 1877. They have one son, Floyd 
 Henry, who is in the employment of Hibbard 
 & Spencer, wholesale dealers in hardware, Chi- 
 cago. Mr. Yeomans belongs to Western Star 
 Lodge, No. 14, A. F. & A. M. ; to Janesville 
 Chapter, No. 5, R. A. M. ; and to Janesville 
 Commandery, No. 2, K. T. He is a Repub- 
 lican politically, and a man of the very best 
 standing in his home city. His comfortable 
 and attractive home is at No. 55 South High 
 street. 
 
 i 
 
 FRANKLIN CAMRON, a thrifty and 
 prosperous farmer of the town of Jefferson, 
 Green county, lives on his fertile and highly 
 cultivated place one mile north of the village 
 of Polk, and is known as one of the foremost 
 farmers and stockmen of his section. Person- 
 ally his standing is high, and he is widely 
 
 known as an upright man, progressive and well 
 versed in agricultural lore, and reliable in all 
 his business transactions. 
 
 Mr. Camron is a son of Hugh and Mar- 
 garet (Hughes) Camron, both of whom were 
 born in Virginia, of Scottish antecedents. 
 Their parents were among the earlier settlers 
 of the Shenandoah Valley. Hugh Camron 
 was born in 1809, and his first wife, Leah, in 
 1814. To this marriage were born two sons: 
 Alvin, now in Dakota; and George W, in 
 Montana. While still a young man Hugh 
 Camron moved into Ohio, and from there into 
 Indiana. In 1838 he married Miss Margaret 
 Hughes, and in 1848 Mr. and Mrs. Camron 
 came to Wisconsin, where lie bought the_ tract 
 that is now the farm on which his son Frank- 
 lin is living. Hugh and Margaret Camron 
 were the parents of four children : Sarah, Mrs. 
 Alonzo Griffin, lives in Illinois ; Mary is the 
 wife of Everett Peck, a retired farmer of Green 
 county, Wis., whose biography may be found 
 elsewhere; William died April 25, 1865, of 
 disabilities incurred while in the United States 
 service as a member of Company G, 31st Wis. 
 V. I.; Franklin is our subject. Hugh Camron 
 died in 1888, and Mrs. Camron on Feb. 7, 
 1890. 
 
 Franklin Camron was born Feb. 28, 1846, 
 and was brought into Green county by his par- 
 ents when he was only two years old. On Jan. 
 1, 1867, he married Miss Sarah E. Noll, of the 
 town of Jefferson, daughter of William and 
 Mary ( Diffenderfer) Noll, both natives of 
 Pennsylvania, of German origin. Mrs. Cam- 
 ron was born Nov. 7, 1849, Fi Union county, 
 Penn., one of a family of six: Mary (de- 
 
 ceased), William (deceased), Nathaniel, Ja- 
 cob, Sarah E., and Martha. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Camron have been born four children : ( 1 ) 
 
 Candace, born Jan. 3, 1868, married Franklin 
 Smith, of Green county. (2) Nellie D., born 
 in 1876, is the wife of Arthur Davis, a farmer 
 of the town of Jefferson. (3) William, born 
 in February, 1880, is living at home with his 
 parents. (4) Clayton, born in 1885, is the 
 youngest of the family, and is at school. 
 
 Mr. Camron was reared on the farm on 
 which he is now living, and acquired his edu- 
 cation in the public schools. In 1864 he en- 
 listed in Company G, 31st Wis. V. I., and 
 served in the Army of the Tennessee until he 
 was honorably discharged, in July, 1865. He 
 participated in the heavy fighting around At- 
 
830 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lanta, and marched to the sea with Gen. Sher- 
 man. Air. Camron owns a fine farm of 220 
 acres, which is worth at a low valuation sev- 
 enty-five dollars an acre. They live in a mod- 
 ern and up-to-date country home, and the en- 
 tire family is respected and esteemed for ster- 
 ling worth and genuine character. Mr. Cam- 
 'ron is a strong Republican, and a liberal and 
 enlightened citizen, of good standing with those 
 who know him best. 
 
 DENNIS W. WEST, who owns and oper- 
 ates a fine farm about two miles north of Juda, 
 Green county, is the son of the late Matthew 
 and Sarah J. (Decker) West, natives of the 
 town of Brant, Erie Co., New York. 
 
 Matthew West was the son of John and 
 Avis (Bowen) West, of New York, who wore 
 the parents of ten children, all of whom lived 
 to see their grandchildren. They were : ( 1 ) 
 George is a retired farmer of Brodhead ; his 
 sketch may be found elsewhere. (2) Susan 
 married Richard Sherman, supposed to have 
 been a relative of the celebrated Sherman 
 family. (3) Armida married Capt. Stephen 
 Esther, and is dead. (4) Matthew, father of 
 Dennis W., died in 1896. (5) Thomas resides 
 
 in Erie county, N. Y. (6) Sarah, who mar- 
 ried Peter Willoughby, is now dead. (7) 
 Elizabeth married Nelson Park, of Cortland, 
 111 . (8) John and (9) Jonathan, twins, live 
 
 in Erie county, N. Y. (10) Annis, who' mar- 
 ried James Hill, lives in Erie county, N. Y. 
 The name West is of English origin and they 
 are one of the old families of New England. 
 
 In 1847 Matthew West married Sarah J. 
 Decker, a daughter of George and Laura 
 (Churchill) Decker, of Dutchess county, N. 
 Y., and they became the parents of four 
 children: (1) Alfonso, born Sept. 25, 1848, 
 
 resides in Cerro Gordo county, Iowa, and is a 
 farmer. (2) Dennis W. is our subject. (3) 
 Susan, born June 12, 1859, is the wife of D. 
 Roderick, of the town of Decatur, Green 
 Co., Wis. (4) One child died in infancy. 
 
 Dennis W. West was born Aug. 15, 1854, 
 in the town of Sylvester, was reared’ on his 
 father's farm, and obtained his education in 
 the public schools. On April 7, 1875, he was 
 married to Miss Libbie C. Hall, of Juda, a 
 daughter of James Hall, of Green county, Wis. 
 Bo this union came the following children : ( 1 ) 
 Oceola. born Feb. 12, 1881, is a stenographer 
 in Chicago; (2) Matthew D., born June 7, 
 
 1882, is a clerk in the store of Mr. Hall, in 
 Juda. (3) Hazel, born Aug. 8, 1887, is living 
 111 Monroe with her grandmother. (4) Myron 
 was born March 7, 1892. Mrs. Libbie C. 
 West died Oct. 22, 1892, at the age of thirty- 
 nine years, three months. On November 3, 
 1895, Mr. West was married to Miss Louise 
 Weber, of Monroe, Wis., a daughter of Wil- 
 liam and Wilhelmina Weber, who were born 
 in Prussia, and came to this country about 
 forty-five years ago. To this marriage have 
 been born two children : ( 1 ) Lotus, Sept. 25, 
 
 1897, and (2) Weber, March 29, 1900. 
 
 Mr. West is a Republican politically. For 
 twenty years he has bought and sold live stock, 
 and has a reputation for honesty and fair 
 dealing enjoyed by few. For three years he 
 was located in Monroe, engaged in the live 
 stock and butchering business. In 1884 he 
 went to Nebraska, secured a homestead farm 
 of 160 acres, and also bought 160 acres, now 
 owning 320 acres in Boxbutte county, Neb. 
 The old West homestead of 132 acres has come 
 into his possession, and there he makes his 
 home. Mr. West owns a creamery building 
 in Juda, where at one time he operated a 
 creamery. He is a big-hearted, whole-souled 
 man, and has a host of friends who respect 
 him for his manly qualities. 
 
 FRANCIS O. BINGER. Among the 
 thrifty young farmers of Cadiz township, 
 Green county, may be mentioned Francis O. 
 Binger, who resides, upon a highly cultivated 
 farm of 246 acres, one mile west of Btrown- 
 town. 
 
 Solomon Binger, his father, was born 
 March 22, 1822, a son of John Binger, of 
 German origin, and died Sept. 29, 1881. He 
 married Harriet Lynch Oct. 17, 1847. She 
 was born in Ohio May 30, 1829, and died 
 April 15, 1896, the mother of eight children, 
 six of whom yet survive: Nathaniel married 
 
 Charlotte Austin, and now resides in Wood 
 Co., Wis.; Emily married Edmond Weldon of 
 Elburn, 111 .; Sarah is the wife of Thomas 
 Tomlinson, a farmer of Cadiz township; Brant 
 W. married Annie Stover and resides in 
 Browntown; Ulysses S. G., of Nebraska, wed- 
 ded Alvira Austin; and Francis O. Solomon 
 Binger came to Wisconsin soon after his mar- 
 riage and settled in Cadiz township, Green 
 county, in 1850, and became one of the leading 
 citizens of those early days. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 831 
 
 Francis O. Binger was born Oct. 28, 1857, 
 and was reared and educated in Cadiz town- 
 ship, which has ever since been his home. He 
 started out in life a poor boy, and chose farm- 
 ing for his occupation. By his energy and 
 economy, good judgment and natural business 
 ability, he has won for himself a firm financial 
 standing, and is the owner of one of the best 
 farms in the vicinity. 
 
 On July 2, 1885, Mr. Binger was married 
 to Miss Jennette Reinhart, who was born 
 March 10, 1864, one of the five children in the 
 family of William and Mary (Trickle) Rein- 
 hart, the others beng : Ira, who married Ra- 
 
 chel Dawson; Annie, wife of Edward Divan; 
 Myron, who wedded Grace Lynch ; and Lee, 
 at home. Five children have been born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Binger: Achsa May, born June 6, 
 1888; Benjamin E., Feb. 24, 1891; Joseph, 
 Dec. 14, 1892 ; Allie, April 30, 1897 ; and Reese, 
 Sept. 17, 1899. While not identified with any 
 religious denomination, Mr. Binger has always 
 led a Christian life, and has the respect of the 
 entire community. In politics he is a stanch 
 Republican, and among the offices he has held 
 may be mentioned those of school director, tax 
 collector, judge of election, and member of the 
 township boaird for several terms. He has 
 been an officer on the school board for the last 
 twenty-two years, which speaks volumes in 
 itself for his interest in the progress of edu- 
 cation. 
 
 EDWARD H. EMBERSON would be 
 readily named by anyone familiar with the per- 
 sonnel of the farming community of the town 
 of York, Green county, as a representative 
 young farmer of that district. 
 
 Mr. Emberson was born on Section 30, 
 town of York, three miles east of Blanchard- 
 ville, Jan. 4, 1862, and is a son of Hans and 
 Carrie Emberson, both beam in Norway. They 
 came to York in 1853, and made their home 
 on Section 29. The husband and father was 
 born March 13, 1832, and married for his sec- 
 ond wife Miss Carrie Loken, of the town of 
 Moscow, May 4, 1861. She was born in Nor- 
 way, Dec. 25, 1838, and came to make her 
 home in this country when a young girl. They 
 have had the following family : ( 1 ) Edward. 
 
 H. was born in York, on the farm where he is 
 now living; (2) Anton, lorn Sept. 23. 1867, 
 lives in Blanchardville ; (3) Helena, born 
 
 Sept. 19, 1868, married Henry Hanson, and 
 
 has her home in the town of Argyle; (4), 
 Joseph, born April 24, 1871, resides in the 
 West; (5) Matilda, born Nov. 19, 1872, is 
 the wife of Henry Gilbertson, of Webster, S. 
 D. ; (6) Emma, born June 29, 1874, is the 
 wife of Henry Olson, of Minnesota; (7) Car- 
 rie, born March 4, 1877, married Peter Sever- 
 son, of the town of York; (8) John, born 
 Nov. 12, 1879, resides on the home farm with 
 his father. Mrs. Emberson died at the old 
 homestead, Nov. 12, 1897, her remains being 
 laid to rest in the Ula Cemetery in the town of 
 York. She belonged to the Lutheran Church, 
 and derived much comfort from her faith. 
 Hans Emberson served in the Union army 
 during the Civil war, being a member of the 
 46th Wis. Vol. Infantry. In farming he has 
 made a large success, and is now one of the 
 large land owners of York. 
 
 Edward H. Emberson and Ellen S. Han- 
 son were married March 23, 1896. She was 
 living in the town of Moscow, and is a daugh- 
 ter of Alexander Hanson. To this union have 
 come three children : ( 1 ) Harry Elmer, born 
 
 March 12, 1897; (2) Olive, born April 26, 
 1898; (3) Casper, born March 3, 1900. Mrs. 
 Emberson was born Sept. 4, 1875, and was 
 reared in a family of eight children, six of 
 whom are now living : ( 1 ) Hannah, the wife 
 
 I of J. O. Johnson, of the town of Argyle; (2) 
 Henry, a farmer of Argyle; ( 3) Julia, the wife 
 of Halver Anderson, of Dane county; (4) 
 Emma is dead; (5) Carrie is dead; (6) Nora 
 is the wife of John G. Johnson, of Iowa county; 
 (7) Olaf, of Iowa county, unmarried; (8) 
 Ellen S., who is already mentioned as the wife 
 of Mr. Emberson. 
 
 Mr. Emberson is a Republican in politics, 
 and was reared in the Lutheran Church. Quite 
 extensively engaged in farming and stock rais- 
 ing. he takes much interest in dairy matters, 
 and furnishes the milk of thirty cows to the 
 neighboring cheese factory. In the community 
 he is a good citizen, and is honest and square 
 in all his dealings, and in his home is a devoted 
 husband and kind father. 
 
 CHARLES E. PHILLIPS, a prominent 
 and respected citizen of Browntown, Wis., was 
 born in the town of Cadiz, Green county, Jan. 
 4. 1862, a son of Isaac and Eliza (Layton) 
 Phillips, a family noted in the early history of 
 Green county. 
 
 Isaac Phillips was born in Ohio, and Eliza 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 832 
 
 Layton, his wife, in Kentucky, and their par- 
 ents were among the early settlers of the two 
 States. Isaac Phillips came to Green county 
 at a very early day, and bought government 
 land very extensively. He was married in 
 Ohio and became the father of a numerous 
 family: (1) John married Elizabeth Weldon, 
 
 and is living in Wilson county, Kansas; (2) 
 Mary J. married John Whitehead, and is now 
 dead; (3) William D. married Miss Mattie E. 
 Francis, and is a teacher in a college at North- 
 wood, Iowa; (4) Isaac and (5) Lewis are 
 dead; (6) Albert H. married Christina Hel- 
 len, and lives in Monroe; (7) Charles E. ; (8) 
 Edwin and (9) Edgar were twins. Edwin 
 married Emma Clarno and died Jan. 30, 1901 ; 
 Edgar married Agnes Mayhew and lives in 
 Wilson county, Kansas. Isaac Phillips re- 
 moved to Wilson county, Kansas, in 1872, 
 taking with him his wife and family. Two 
 years after his arrival in that State he died, 
 leaving the burden of the support of the wid’- 
 owed wife and mother very largely on the 
 shoulders of Charles E., who also had to care 
 for two younger brothers. 
 
 On Feb. 8, 1886, Charles E. Phillips was 
 married to Miss Hattie Loomis', who was born 
 May 29, 1859, a daughter of Cornelius and 
 Jane (Van Horn) Loomis. Her parents came 
 to Cadiz township, Green county, about fifty 
 years ago, and to them were born the follow- 
 ing children: (1) Mary, the wife of Charles 
 
 Brown, of the town of Cadiz; (2) Cordelia, 
 the wife of Isaac Michaels, of Cadiz; (3) 
 Ephraim, deceased; (4) Amelia, widow of 
 Jesse Raymer, mention of whose life may 
 be found on another page; (5) William, 
 of Cadiz; (6) Henrietta; (7) Cyrus, of 
 Cadiz (he married Eliza Michaels); (8) Plat- 
 tie, wife of Charles E. Phillips, as already 
 noted. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips have two chil- 
 dren, Earl, who was born March 9, 1887, and 
 Ora, who was born July 22, 1891, both being 
 bright and promising children. 
 
 Mr. Phillips followed farming in the town 
 of Cadiz until 1900, when he sold out and re- 
 moved to Browntown, where he has just com- 
 pleted a fine two-story residence, which cost 
 him about $1,500, and makes a very desirable 
 and home-like residence. A painter and a 
 weaver by trade, he has not worked at either 
 of these lines for a number of years. In poli- 
 tics Mr. Phillips aims to vote for principle, and 
 cares very little for party ties and obligations. 
 
 In religion he is a devoted member of the 
 Methodist Church at Browntown. Durino - 
 the Spanish-American war Mr. Phillips served 
 as a member of Co. H, First Wisconsin In- 
 fantry, and was stationed at Tampa, Fla., form- 
 ing a part of the 7th Army Corps, under com- 
 mand of Gen. Lee. He is a man of fine char- 
 acter and splendid business qualities, and all 
 his life has been energetic and hustling. 
 
 JOSEPH TRENARY, farmer, Belmont, 
 Lafayette Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 GEORGE E. HEMSTREET, a success- 
 ful young farmer of Jefferson township, is the 
 son of R. B. and Clarinda Hemstreet, of Green 
 county. The father was born about 1819, and 
 died in 1890. The mother was born in 1822, 
 and died in 1866. They were married in 1854. 
 The Hemstreets were of Dutch extraction, and 
 Mrs. Hemstreet’s people came from France. 
 To our subject’s parents came six children: 
 (1) Mary, born in 1856, died at the age of 
 eleven. (2) Mattie, born in 1858, is now the 
 wife of Byron Pierce. (3) William, born in 
 1S59, died in childhood. (4) Ella, born in 
 1861, is the wife of Owen Mitchell, of Iowa. 
 (5) George E. is our subject. (6) Florence, 
 born in April, 1865, is the wife of Charles 
 Lord, of Iowa. John Hemstreet, the grand- 
 father of George E., was a native of New York, 
 a farmer by occupation, and came to Wiscon- 
 sin in 1855. From this State he went into 
 Iowa, returning to Wisconsin, however, as the 
 Indians were at that time quite hostile. He 
 had a large family. 
 
 George E. Hemstreet was born March 30, 
 1863, and on Nov. 24, 1884, married Miss Em- 
 ma Roderick, of Juda, the daughter of Henry 
 and Mary Roderick. To this marriage have 
 been born two children: Bessie, Oct. 5, 1889, 
 and Mary H., June 24, 1893. Politically Mr. 
 Hemstreet is a Republican, and lie is a con- 
 sistent member of the Baptist Church in Juda. 
 The common schools have afforded him his 
 education. He is a farmer, was reared on a 
 farm, and now owns 250 acres of farm land, 
 which ranks among the most desirable tracts 
 in this section. For several years Mr. Hem- 
 street has been a member of the town and coun- 
 ty boards ; he has been school treasurer for 
 seven years, and has proved himself a good 
 citizen. He is a kind and obliging neighbor, 
 and enjoys the esteem of many friends. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 833 
 
 LEWIS BOYNTON, a prosperous young 
 farmer of Jordan township, Green county, has 
 passed his entire life there, having been born 
 Sept. 15, 1868, on the old Boynton homestead, 
 part of which he now owns and resides upon. 
 
 Lars L. Boynton, our subject’s father, was 
 the first Norwegian to settle in Green county, 
 coming there in 1844, with his first wife, Cyn- 
 thia (Skaug). Lars L. Boynton was born in 
 Norway, son of Lars L. Boynton, Sr., who 
 lived and died in that country. On first com- 
 ing to this county he located in Lafayette 
 county, where he lived for a year, and on his 
 removal to Green county he took up govern- 
 ment land in Jordan township, the homestead 
 of which our subject now owns a part. Mr. 
 Boynton became one of the leading citizens 
 of the township, and prospered in his agricul- 
 tural work, at the time of his death owning 
 220 acres of valuable land, well improved and 
 provided with substantial barns and comforta- 
 ble dwellings. His house was one of the first 
 in what is known as the Jordan Valley, and 
 was a large one-story log structure, which 
 stood for many years. Mr. Boynton had to 
 work some time to accumulate enough to bring 
 him to America, and as he commenced pioneer 
 life in this region without means, he saw many 
 hardships in the early days, but long before his 
 death he was in comfortable circumstances, 
 and lived many years in the enjoyment of the 
 competence acquired by his own industry. He 
 passed away Sept. 30, 1899, aged eighty-five 
 years, eleven months and eighteen days. 
 
 Mr. Boynton’s first wife died about 1858. 
 There were no children by that union. On 
 Sept. 16, 1867, he married Miss Martha Gor- 
 dee, of Jordan, and they became the parents of 
 children as follows: Lewis is the subject of 
 this article. Clara Amelia, born March 11, 
 1870, is the wife of Iver Ellingson, who is a 
 carpenter by trade, teaches in the local public 
 schools, and is also engaged in farming in 
 Jordan township; they have three children, 
 Mamie G., Lester and Florence. Emma S., 
 born Dec. 4, 1873, is the wife of William Ol- 
 son, of Jordan township, a farmer and teacher; 
 they have two children, Raymond L. and Ma- 
 bel. Mrs. Martha Boynton passed away Jan. 
 18, 1892. Mr. Boynton’s religious connection 
 was with the Lutheran Church, and he was a 
 Republican in political faith. 
 
 Lewis Boynton, whose name opens this 
 
 sketch, was reared in the township of his birth 
 53 
 
 receiving his education in the public schools 
 of the home neighborhood. He was early 
 trained to agricultural work, and chose farm- 
 ing as his occupation — a choice which he has 
 so far had no cause to regret. His farm, which 
 consists of no acres of the old homestead, 
 finely improved and cultivated, has rewarded 
 him well for the attention which he has be- 
 stowed upon it, and he has become known as a 
 thrifty manager and systematic worker. Mr. 
 Boynton takes a public-spirited interest in local 
 affairs, and has served as a member of the 
 township board. He is much respected wher- 
 ever known. 
 
 On Nov. 20, 1894, Mr. Boynton married 
 Miss Lena Tollefson, a daughter of Botolf and 
 Anna (Erickson) Tollefson, natives of Nor- 
 way, and early settlers of Jordan township. 
 No children have been born to them. Mrs. 
 Boynton has two half-sisters, Julia, who lives 
 in Sioux City, Iowa; and Gunnill, in South 
 Dakota. Mrs. Boynton is one of a family of 
 four, viz. : Thomas, unmarried, who resides 
 in Jordan township; Annie, wife of Golick 
 Golickson, of Jordan; Lena, Mrs. Boynton; 
 and Erick, of South Dakota, who married 
 Clara A. Olson. Mr. and Mrs. Boynton unite 
 with the Lutheran Church of Jordan. 
 
 EDGAR S. CASLER, a retired wagon- 
 maker and farmer, is now living in Evansville, 
 Rock county, and enjoys the freedom from care 
 and labor that comes alone from a wise and 
 useful life. He is widely known throughout the 
 northern part of this county, and has made 
 many friends by his honest dealing and genial 
 spirit. 
 
 Mr. Casler was born in Watertown, N. Y., 
 Jan. 15, 1824, and is a son of Henry and Mary 
 (Dingman) Casler, natives of New York. 
 They were the parents of seven children, and 
 four of this family are now living: Edgar S. 
 is the oldest member of the family; Daniel D. 
 is living at Seymour, Mo. ; Angel'ine is the 
 widow of Jacob Proper, and is living at Pier- 
 point, Mich. ; and Sarah J. is the wife of J. 
 Ramsey, of Lowville, N. Y. The father was 
 a blacksmith by trade, and died in the town of 
 Turin, Lewis Co., N. Y., about 1842, at the 
 age of sixty-four. His widow survived his 
 loss fifteen years, and reached the age of eighty- 
 two. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. 
 His father, Jared Casler, was a soldier in the 
 Revolution. He was a native of New York, 
 
834 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and of German descent. He was the father 
 of five children, and lived to be ninety years 
 old. Jared Dingman, the father of Mary men- 
 tioned above, was also a soldier in the Revolu- 
 tion. He was badly wounded and became to- 
 tally blind, living for forty years without the 
 light. He reached the great age of ninety 
 years, and was the father of four sons and four 
 daughters. 
 
 Edgar S. Easier spent his childhood and 
 youth in Jefferson county, N. Y., where he at- 
 tended the district school. He worked on the 
 farm until he was nineteen years old, and was 
 then apprenticed to the trade of wagonmaking, 
 which was his occupation for thirty years. He 
 came West in the fall of 1854, and made a 
 location seven miles west of the young city of 
 Janesville, Rock Co., Wis. He had a farm, 
 and cultivated it two years, selling at the ex- 
 piration of that time, and moving farther west, 
 into the town of Porter, where he made his 
 Rome some ten years. The war had raged for 
 a year or two when Mr. Casler was carried to 
 the front, by the flood of patriotic devotion that 
 swept the North, as a soldier of the Union 
 army. He enlisted in Company B, 37th Wis. 
 V. I., and served two years, making a credita- 
 ble record as a soldier. When he was mus- 
 tered out he went to wagonmaking in the vil- 
 lage of Rutland, Dane county. There he lived 
 and worked some fifteen years, and in 1879 
 transferred himself, family and business to 
 Evansville. This pleasant and beautiful island 
 Wisconsin city has been his home to the pres- 
 ent time. For about a year after his settle- 
 ment in Evansville Mr. Casler carried the mail 
 between that city and Edgerton, and then re- 
 sumed his trade of wagonmaker. For a num- 
 ber of years advancing age has kept him from 
 active business. 
 
 In 1847 Mr. Casler married Miss Zenana 
 Damon, daughter of Noah and Betsy Damon, 
 and they had two children, Ellen and Matilda. 
 The mother dying in 1850, the following year 
 Mr. Casler married Miss Theodosia Bennett, 
 a daughter of Larry and Mary Bennett. She 
 died March 3, 1897. at the age of sixty-five. 
 Eight children were born to this union : Clara, 
 Lucy, Alma, Jennie, Nellie, Ida, Henry and 
 Ernest. The family circle is yet unbroken. 
 Ellen married George Koehn, and lives in Chi- 
 cago ; they have a family of six daughters. 
 Matilda married Richard Brigham, who died 
 about 1880, leaving her with two sons. Clara 
 
 married F. D. Child, and lives in Bertrand, 
 Neb.; they have a family of two girls and one 
 "boy. Lucy is Mrs. Charles E. Shannon, and 
 lives in Edgerton. Alma and Jennie live at 
 home, and keep house for their father. Nellie 
 married Harley Saunders, and lives in Albion, 
 Dane Co., Wis.; they have a family of four 
 children. Ida married Carl Atwood, and lives 
 in Albion. Henry is single, and lives at Bert- 
 rand, Neb. Ernest is single, and lives at home. 
 
 Mr. Casler belongs to T. L. Sutphen Post, 
 No. 41, G. A. R., and is a man highly es- 
 teemed in his community. 
 
 I 
 
 SAMUEL E. HASSELL, M. D., of Lan- 
 caster, Grant county, is numbered among the 
 older physicians of the county in years of prac- 
 tice, as he settled in Lancaster in 1872, and 
 since then has been in continuous and active 
 employment in his profession. Dr. Hassell was 
 born in Platteville, Grant county, July 9, 1846, 
 and is a son of the well-known and venerated 
 pioneer clergyman, Rev. Richard Hassell, a 
 native of Leeds, Yorkshire, England, bom 
 m 1818. 
 
 Rev. Richard Hassell was married in Eng- 
 land to Ann Newson, and with his wife came 
 to the United States and located in Grant coun- 
 ty, Wis., about 1840. Here he officiated as 
 a Congregational pastor for a number of years, 
 and then removed to Dane county. He was 
 one of the earliest ministers of his denomina- 
 tion in the State, and was a co-worker with the 
 Rev. Samuel W. Eaton, who became pastor of 
 the Congregational Church at Lancaster in 
 1847, and afterward became famous as the 
 chaplain of the 7th Wis. V. I. in the Civil 
 war. Rev. Mr. Hassell was active in the min- 
 istry for the long period of fifty years, but 
 is now with his wife, who is but three months 
 his junior, living in retirement in Seattle, 
 Wash. They have had born to them six chil- 
 dren — five sons and one daughter, of whom 
 the latter died in early life. The eldest son, 
 Stoner, was a member of the 32d Wis. V. I., 
 in the war of the Rebellion, and died soon 
 after its close, from the effects of a wound 
 received while in the service; Dr. Samuel E. 
 is the second born of the sons ; Kenrich, the 
 third son, resides at Redfield, S. Dak.; Rev. 
 Richard Burton, the fourth son, is a Congre- 
 gational clergyman, and resides at Everett, on 
 Puget Sound ; Angel Janies, the youngest of the 
 family, is a resident of Seattle. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPEIICAL RECORD. 
 
 835 
 
 Dr. Samuel E. Hassell was primarily edu- 
 cated in the public schools of Dane county, 
 Wis., after quitting which he was, for three 
 years, a student at Beloit College, and then pur- 
 sued a course of study at Grinnell College, in 
 Iowa. He began the study of medicine at 
 Beloit, under Drs. Johnson and Taggart, in 
 1868, and was graduated from the Hahnemann 
 Medical College, in Chicago, in 1872. He first 
 practiced his profession at Jasper, Iowa, but 
 soon decided to settle down to practice in his 
 native county of Grant, Wis., where he has 
 ever since been 'favored with a large and first- 
 class patronage, and where he stands in the 
 front rank of the practicing physicians of the 
 county and State. 
 
 Dr. Hassell married Miss Ora Norwood 
 Cox, a daughter of George H. Cox, a pioneer 
 of Lancaster and its first postmaster, the duties 
 of which office he assumed in January, 1838. 
 Mr. Cox also erected some of the first build- 
 ings on the present site of Lancaster, and his 
 family were among the most prominent of the 
 early settlers of Grant county. To the Doc- 
 tor and wife has been born one child, Edith, 
 now the wife of Dr. W. T. Brown, of Platte- 
 ville, Wis. In politics Dr. Hassell is a Re- 
 publican. 
 
 OSCAR F. NOWLAN. The Nowlan 
 family originated in Ireland, whence John 
 Nowlan, the grandfather of Oscar F., emi- 
 grated to America, settling in Vermont, and 
 dying in his new home while yet in middle 
 life. Four daughters and three sons were born 
 to him, but this narrative is concerned with 
 only one, Thomas, the father of the distin- 
 guished and influential citizen of Janesville, 
 Rock county, whose name is identified with 
 so much of that city’s growth and develop- 
 ment. 
 
 Thomas Nowlan was born in Vermont, be- 
 came a farmer of Broome county, N. Y., and 
 died there in 1868, aged about fifty-eight years'. 
 His widow, whose maiden name was Sophia 
 Enders, survived several years, dying at the age 
 of sixty-four. Both were earnest and consist- 
 ent members of the Methodist Church, and he 
 was in politics an outspoken Abolitionist. 
 To Thomas Nowlan and his wife five sons' and 
 two daughters were born, four of whom are 
 yet living: Oscar F., who is the eldest; Ed- 
 
 ward, of Newark Valley, N. Y. ; Sidney, whose 
 home is at Windsor, in that State; and Mary, 
 
 who is now Mrs. Guyon, of Binghamton. 
 Mrs. Thomas Nowlan was a daughter of John 
 Enders, a farmer in New York, who died in 
 early life. 
 
 Oscar F. Nowlan was born in Broome 
 county, N. Y., Jan. 24, 1841. Llis boyhood 
 was' uneventful, his life alternating between 
 work upon his father’s farm and attendance 
 at the district schools, and in 1863 he came to 
 Wisconsin. His first year’s residence in the 
 State was spent at Milton College, and there- 
 after he embarked in business as a building 
 contractor. Among the first structures which 
 he erected were the “Central Hotel,” the Meth- 
 odist church, and several private residences at 
 Waterloo, Iowa. Returning to Wisconsin in 
 1865, he carried on the same line of enterprise 
 until 1897, when he received the appointment 
 of postmaster at Janesville, which office he yet 
 holds, and the duties of which he has dis- 
 charged to the entire satisfaction of the com- 
 munity by reason of his ready tact, his scrup- 
 ulous fidelity, and his keen, experiential in- 
 sight into the needs of a growing business com- 
 munity. Among the many buildings in the 
 city which he has erected under contract, and 
 which stand as abiding monuments of his skill, 
 may be mentioned the Rock County Insane 
 Asylum, the Davis' and Fredendall blocks, the 
 Central and Second Ward school houses, and 
 the Hanson Furniture Co.’s buildings. Lie was 
 also a contractor for the erection of the Deaf 
 and Dumb Asylum at Delavan, the poor house 
 of Walworth county, the court house and jail 
 at Black River Falls, the Fond du Lac court 
 house, an addition to the State Capitol at Mad- 
 ison, the insane asylum at Traverse City, Mich., 
 and the county buildings at Monroe, Wis. He 
 also did much work in the city of Milwaukee. 
 Since 1894, however, he has done little in the 
 way of undertaking new business of this de- 
 scription. 
 
 Mr. Nowlan is a man of broad, enlight- 
 ened public spirit, and his fellow citizens have 
 repeatedly honored him and themselves by ele- 
 vating him to public posts of trust. For sev- 
 enteen years he was a member of the board of 
 supervisors, and for four years he represented 
 the Second ward of Janesville in the city coun- 
 cil. In 1891 he was the Republican nominee 
 for the Legislature, receiving the unanimous 
 vote of his . party in convention, but was bur- 
 ied in the political landslide which followed. 
 In private life he is genial and generous, chari- 
 
836 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 table in his estimate of his fellows, and quick 
 to respond to deserving calls upon his purse. 
 His naturally social temperament has led him 
 to connect himself with several fraternal or- 
 ders, and he is a member of Janesville Lodge, 
 No. 55, F. & A. M. ; Janesville Chapter, No. 
 5, R. A. M. ; Janesville Commandery, No. 2, 
 K. T. ; and Oriental Lodge, No. 5, K. of P. 
 
 On March 22, 1866, Mr. Nowlan married 
 Jennie Marlett, daughter of Garrett Marlett 
 and Eliza (Blood). She is a devout member 
 of the Congregational Church. Seven children 
 have blessed their union — Minnie, Burton F., 
 Maud, Harry and Eloise, living; and Jennie 
 and Nellie, deceased. Minnie is a widow, and 
 makes her home with her parents. Burton F. 
 married Jessie E. Merrill, and has two children, 
 Louise M. and Hiram M. The three younger 
 children are unmarried, and live at home. The 
 family residence is at No. 53 Cornelia street, 
 where Mr. Nowlan built a tine residence in 
 1868. 
 
 JOSEPFI BUCHAN, the present popular 
 and efficient cashier of the Benton Bank, was 
 born in Ontario, Canada, Aug. 10, 1845, an d 
 is a son of James and Mary (Bird) Buchan. 
 The father was born in Scotland in 1819, and 
 the mother in England in 1824. 
 
 Robert Buchan, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, came with his family to Quebec at a very 
 early day, and there died an old man. His six 
 children are all dead except James, the father 
 of Joseph, and a daughter Mary, who is un- 
 married and is living in Quebec. 
 
 James Buchan grew to manhood in Quebec, 
 and was at one time an extensive land owner 
 in Quebec and in Ontario. His wife died in 
 1870, leaving a family of ten children, who 
 reached mature life. (1) Joseph; (2) William, 
 who was married and settled in Glasgow, Mis- 
 souri, is engaged in a hotel at that point. (3) 
 James is in business in Michigan. (4) Robert 
 resides at Steven’s Point, Wis. (5) Andrew is 
 a butcher in Minneapolis. (6) George is mar- 
 ried and in business at Steven’s Point. (7) 
 Charity and (8) Elizabeth died in early wom- 
 anhood. (9) Esther is the wife of Donald 
 Forbes, of Ontario. (10) Fannie is the wife 
 of Thomas Fansley, of Ontario. 
 
 Joseph Buchan was educated in the schools 
 of Canada, where in early manhood he was 
 engaged in lumbering with his father, also 
 working with him in the contracting and build- 
 
 ing business. In 1865 Joseph Buchan came to 
 New Diggings, where for some years he was 
 interested in the lead and zinc mines, and then 
 went into a mercantile business. This he con- 
 tinued in the town of Benton until 1894. That 
 year the bank of Benton was organized, with 
 Mr. Buchan as cashier and Judge P. A. Orton 
 as president. 
 
 Mr. Buchan was married in 1868 to Miss 
 Margaret Robson who was born in 1848, a 
 daughter of Thomas and Mary A. Robson, an 
 old and highly respected family in the town of 
 Benton, residing here since the pioneer days. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Buchan were born four 
 children: (1) William, born in Lafayette coun- 
 ty, was married to Miss Lillie Stephens, of 
 Benton, and is now a successful merchant in 
 Benton. They have one son, Luverne. (2) 
 Laura, a bright and scholarly young lady, born 
 in Benton, is a graduate of the State Normal 
 at Platteville, and is a teacher in Benton. (3) 
 Annie, born in Benton, is the wife of James 
 W. Metcalf, city marshal of Benton, and has 
 one son, James Lloyd. (4) Chester, born in 
 Benton, is a student in the local schools. 
 
 Mr. Buchan purchased a piece of real estate 
 in Benton, on which he erected a modern home, 
 and which to-day is regarded as one of the most 
 attractive homes in this part of the county. He 
 has dealt largely in real estate with the most 
 satisfactory results. He owns large tracts of 
 land in Wisconsin, South Dakota and other 
 States, and as his selections have been the re- 
 sult of long and careful study, they are proving 
 highly remunerative. . 
 
 Politically Mr. Buchan has always been 
 identified with the Republican party, and has 
 served as a delegate to several state conven- 
 tions. He has been on the town board and has 
 filled several local offices. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
 Buchan are members of the Primitive Meth- 
 odist Church. He belongs to the K. P. Lodge, 
 No. 134, at Benton, and is also an Odd Fellow. 
 Mr. Buchan came to this county with little re- 
 sources, and by energy and push has accumu- 
 lated a very considerable fortune. He has won 
 a standing ground in the world, and his meth- 
 ods have always been open and above board. 
 He has many friends in the town, and through- 
 out this part of the State. 
 
 ANDREW JACKSON PALMER was 
 one of the thousands who answered the call of 
 the country when she was in peril, and gave 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 837 
 
 his cheerful and willing service to her through 
 the best years of his life, and still bears marks 
 of that struggle which the years of peace since 
 have not effaced. He was born in Cabot, Vt., 
 June 10, 1826, a son of Galen and Mary Pal- 
 mer, the former of Scotch and the latter of 
 German descent. The family consisted of 
 eight children, Irving being the first of the fam- 
 ily to leave the old home for the west. In the 
 early settlement of Illinois Irving Palmer 
 came, a young man, to spy out the land, re- 
 turning for his parents and the two youngest 
 children, one of whom was our subject. The 
 home of the family in Illinois was at Grand 
 Detour, where the parents spent the remainder 
 of their lives. Of this family but three mem- 
 bers survive: Irving, at the age of ninety- 
 
 two; Mrs. Mary Ann Peck, of Burlington, Vt., 
 and our subject. George served with our sub- 
 ject in the same company and regiment during 
 the Civil war, but died in the fall of 1898 at 
 Beatrice. Nebraska. 
 
 On Aug. 14, 1862, Andrew Jackson Pal- 
 mer enlisted in the town of Willow Springs, 
 entering Co. B, 23d Wis. V. I. This regiment 
 rendezvoused at Madison, where they were de- 
 tained for three weeks, and then went to Cov- 
 ington, Ivy., by way of Cincinnati. An at- 
 tack by the noted Kirby Smith was expected 
 at Covington, and a large force of the Union 
 army was concentrated there, but no attack 
 was made. The regiment then made a march 
 to the Mississippi, a long and severe one of 
 250 miles, where it took boat for Memphis and 
 joined the troops in the operations around 
 Vicksburg. There a large force was organized 
 and descended the river to the vicinity of 
 Vicksburg, but this expedition was a total fail- 
 ure, and the regiment again ascended the 
 river to the mouth of the Arkansas, and a por- 
 tion of the army, including the 23d Wiscon- 
 sin, ascended that river, and there followed the 
 severe battle of Arkansas Post. Here Mr. 
 Palmer was severely wounded in the right fore- 
 arm, an ounce ball passing twice through the 
 bones of the arm, and, remarkable as it may 
 seem, broke neither of the bones. With about 
 1,200 other poor wounded soldiers, he was 
 taken back to Memphis, where he remained for 
 six weeks and received his discharge through 
 the influence of Mrs. Harvey, to whom so 
 many Wisconsin boys in blue owe their lives. 
 Mr. Palmer had been reared on a farm, and 
 after his return and the complete hea’ing of his 
 
 arm he resumed agricultural labor, continuing 
 until 1896, when he removed to the city of 
 Darlington, Lafayette Co., where he has since 
 resided. 
 
 On March 14, 1854, Mr. Palmer was mar- 
 ried to Miss Catherine McCoy, who was born 
 in Nova Scotia May 3, 1835. Her father, 
 Duncan McCoy, was a native of Scotland, 
 where he grew to manhood and married Bar- 
 ford McClellan, and emigrated to Nova Scotia, 
 thence to Canada, and later to Lafayette coun- 
 ty, Wis., about 1841, settling on a farm in the 
 town of Willow Springs, where they passed 
 their lives. Philip McCoy, brother of Mrs. 
 Palmer, served in the 23d Wis. V. I., in the 
 Civil war, and although his term of service 
 lasted three years, and included participation 
 in twenty-five battles, he was not injured, and 
 now lives in Missouri. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Palmer six children have been born, four of 
 whom are living: Dr. Charles, a dentist; Jo- 
 
 seph; Mrs. Frank McConnell; Mrs. Mary 
 Smith, of this county; Philip, deceased in in- 
 fancy ; and Allie, who married and died at the 
 age of twenty-six. Mr. Palmer was a faithful 
 soldier in the Civil war, and his wounded arm 
 entitles him to the grateful esteem of the gen- 
 eration which enjoys the prosperity and peace 
 won. In his pleasant home, where comfort 
 surrounds him, he can pass the remainder of 
 his days, satisfied that upon the roll of honor 
 will ever appear his name as one who has suf- 
 fered for the good of his beloved country. 
 
 CHARLES KEMP, a prosperous and 
 highly respected farmer of the town of Brad- 
 ford, Rock county, has made his way to his 
 present comfortable position in life through 
 hindrances that would have proved insur- 
 mountable, save to the most daring and perse- 
 vering natures. 
 
 William Kemp, grandfather of Charles', 
 was a citizen of West Kent, England, and fol- 
 lowed the occupation of lime burner. He was 
 the father of ten children, and died in 1830, 
 when about seventy-five years old. William 
 Kemp, his eldest son, was born in Bethersden, 
 England, Nov. 30, 1785. About 1814 he mar- 
 ried and moved to Biddenden, in the same 
 county. He served in the militia five years, and 
 in 1830 entered the employ of Capt. Cook Til- 
 den Patterson, a wealthy land owner, continu- 
 ing in his service until 1872. He died in July, 
 1874, held in the very deepest respect and es- 
 
838 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 teem by all who knew him. Rev. W. T. Pat- 
 terson, the eldest son of the family to whom 
 his services had been so long - rendered, asked 
 and obtained permission to mingle with the 
 family and follow to the grave the remains of 
 the family’s faithful friend. Mr. Kemp be- 
 came a member of the Church of England in 
 1831, and for many years was an active work- 
 er in the cause of Christianity. He married 
 Mrs, Lydia Miles, widow of John Miles, a 
 British soldier. Her family name was Walker. 
 She bore William Kemp four sons and five 
 daughters, only three of whom are now living: 
 Stephen, at Fort Atkinson, Wis., who was born 
 Aug. 29, 1821 ; Charles, our subject; and Jesse, 
 who was born April 11, 1831, and is now liv- 
 ing at Cranbrook, County Kent, England. 
 
 Charles Kemp was born at Biddenden, 
 England, Aug. 20, 1826. He left school when 
 he was only nine years of age, to work on the 
 farm at six cents per day. He continued as 
 a farm laborer in England until 1851, and 
 started for the United States on the day of the 
 opening of the World's Fair at London. He 
 landed in the city of New York, June third, 
 and made his way to Utica in that State, reach- 
 ing there with less than two dollars in his 
 
 <3 
 
 pocket. He spent some five years in that part 
 of New York, and was married there Feb. 26, 
 1856. Shortly after this the young couple 
 moved to Wisconsin, and settled in the town 
 of Oakland, Jefferson county, where they lived 
 four years. Mr. Kemp worked as a farm 
 hand, and his wife also went out to do house- 
 work for the neighboring farmers’ wives. In 
 i860 they moved into Harmony township, 
 where Mr. Kemp rented a farm and was en- 
 gaged in its cultivation two years. He was 
 on a rented farm three years in Jefferson coun- 
 ty, and again located in Harmony township, 
 Rock county, and then spent four years each 
 in La Prairie and Janesville. Harmony became 
 his home once more, thence he moved to Johns- 
 town, after which he bought land and settled 
 down on his present handsome place in Brad- 
 ford township. Here he has secured himself 
 a fine farm of 220 acres, furnished with ample 
 improvements, and thoroughly up to date in 
 every respect. As the story of early privation 
 is recalled, and the difficulties through which 1 
 this man and his noble wife have passed, the 
 reflection cannot be avoided that they have 
 shown the mark of nature’s nobility in the 
 
 struggle they have made, and the victory they 
 have won. 
 
 Mrs. Charles Kemp, born Mary Goodson, 
 is a daughter of William and Esther (Cook) 
 Goodson, who came from England in 1828. 
 they landed in New York where her father 
 narrowly escaped drowning in the harbor. 
 The husband, wife and three children — the 
 oldest four years and the youngest six months 
 of age — went to Utica, N. Y. Here the father 
 left his family with one English shilling to 
 support them for four days while he sought and 
 found work as a farm hand, walking to Mar- 
 shall, twelve miles away. Lie continued this 
 work until he had sufficient means to remove 
 his family and set uo housekeeping in that 
 town, where for seven years he was employed 
 by a Mr. Barton. He then began work for 
 himself by cultivating land on shares. He 
 did well, and his employer loaned him the 
 money with which to purchase fifty acres of 
 land in Oneida county, N. Y. In 1856 he came 
 west to Wisconsin, and settled in the town of 
 Harmony, Rock county, where he had his 
 home many years. He lived subsequently in 
 the town of Footville, in the same county, 
 making his home for twenty years with his 
 two daughters, and died in Janesville at the 
 age of eighty-eight. His wife died Sept. 22, 
 1873, when seventy-two years old. They were 
 honest and industrious people, and are highly 
 spoken of by those who knew them in pioneer 
 times. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Charles' Kemp are the par- 
 ents of eight children, Josephine, Llenry 
 Thomas, Henrietta, Esther, Emory William, 
 Philo H., Zada and Charles I. Henrietta died 
 when a young child. Emory is married and 
 is engaged in farming in the town of Har- 
 mony; he has two children. Josephine married 
 William Lamb, a farmer in the town of Johns- 
 town, and has one daughter, Marietta. Philo 
 H. married Miss Susan Jones, and lives in 
 the town of Bradford, where he follows black- 
 smithing. Zada married C. LI. Hackwell, a 
 farmer in the town of Bradford. Charles 
 Kemp belongs' to the Methodist Church, of 
 which he and his family are old-time sup- 
 porters. 
 
 CLIARLES LEE, a successful and much 
 respected miner of the town of Benton, La- 
 fayette county, was born in County Cavan, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 §39 
 
 Ireland, in 1835, and is a son of John and 
 Margaret (Carty) Lee, both natives of this 
 same County Cavan, where they were mar- 
 ried. In 1849 they emigrated to America, 
 crossing the ocean in a sailing-vessel, landing 
 in New Orleans. There John Lee was stricken 
 with cholera, and died, leaving a widow and 
 their seven children alone in a strange country. 
 After burying the husband and father, the 
 mother brought her family up the river to 
 Galena, 111 ., and then located at Benton, Wis., 
 commencing life in a new country with a 
 houseful of small children; she passed away 
 about twenty years ago. Her children were : 
 ( 1 ) Mary, the wife of Patrick Karl, lives in 
 Minnesota. (2) Margaret, unmarried, lives 
 in Denver, Colo. (3) Catherine died in New 
 Orleans at the time of her father’s death. (4) 
 Annie, the wife of James Corcoran (deceased), 
 of Aurora, 111 ., and the mother of one daugh- 
 ter, Margaret. (5) John, born in Ireland, 
 was reared in Benton, and enlisted in the 
 regular army, serving three years, and when 
 last heard from was connected with a railroad 
 in Illinois. (6) Bernard died in Benton when 
 a young man. (7) Charles. 
 
 Charles Lee had just begun attending the 
 local school when his parents decided to come 
 to America. After the family reached Ben- 
 ton, Wis., he worked in the old American hotel 
 at Galena, 111 ., and his wages were added to 
 the family funds'. When a little older he be- 
 came a miner, and was working in that ca- 
 pacity when the war broke out. In August, 
 1862, Mr. Lee enlisted as a member of Com- 
 pany C, 33d Wis. V. I., under the command of 
 Col. J. B. Moore, and Captain Gurley. The 
 regiment was sent to Memphis, and engaged 
 the rebel forces of General Price on many dif- 
 ferent fields of battle. In the spring of 1863 
 it was a part of the invading army thrown 
 around Vicksburg. At Haines Bluff it was 
 in battle with the army of General Hood, and 
 after him with General Forest. The regiment 
 was part of the command of General Banks, 
 on the Red River, and was then sent to Mo- 
 bile, where it was' marched through the State 
 of Alabama. Mr. Lee was steadily with his 
 regiment until the close of the war, with the 
 exception of necessary but short absence caused 
 by a wound received from a minie ball at Vicks- 
 burg. He was mustered out at Vicksburg in 
 August, 1865, and formally discharged at 
 
 Madison, where the entire regiment was high- 
 ly complimented by the Governor of the State 
 for faithful service during their long term of 
 duty. Mr. Lee at once resumed his mining 
 work at Benton, and closely followed it until 
 1879, when he took up a farm in Lincoln coun- 
 ty, Kansas, where he remained eight years, 
 securing title to a quarter-section of valuable 
 land. This he sold at a very satisfactory fig- 
 ure, and came back to Wisconsin again to 
 take up a miner’s life in Benton. This he has 
 continued to the present time, with much suc- 
 cess. 
 
 In July, 1893, Mr. Lee was married to 
 Miss Mary McGuire, of Lafayette county, 
 the daughter of James and Fannie McGuire, 
 pioneer people of the county. They were born 
 in Ireland, and came to the town of Benton 
 as early as 1849, where they spent their lives'. 
 Mrs. Lee was born in Lafayette county, and is 
 the only member of her family now living. 
 They have one daughter, Margaret E., who 
 was born Sept. 7, 1896. In 1896 Mr. Lee put 
 up his present home, which is one of the modern 
 and attractive residences of the town. Both 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lee are members of the Catholic 
 Church. In politics Mr. Lee has always been 
 identified with the Republican party, and 'has 
 served on the village board. Mr. Lee began 
 life as a poor boy, giving his small wages to 
 his mother for the common good of the fam- 
 ily. As a soldier lie made an enviable reputa- 
 tion ; and as a citizen he is respected for his 
 honest worth and manly character. His home' 
 is a mdd'el of beauty, and is the result of his 
 work and management. 
 
 CHARLES OLIVER, a well-established 
 real-estate dealer and tradesman of Beloit, 
 Rock county, conducts a wholesale cigar busi- 
 ness in that city, manufactures his own goods, 
 and has a continually increasing patronage, 
 not only because of the excellent grade of his 
 goods, but also because of his genial manner 
 and courteous treatment of all with whom he 
 comes in contact. 
 
 Mr. Oliver was born in Beloit Feb. 23, 
 1859, a son of Washington and Louisa (Mayo) 
 Oliver, the former of whom was born in 
 Pennsylvania and reared in Ohio. The mother 
 was born in Maine, and died in Beloit May 
 16, 1900. They were the parents of thirteen 
 children, of whom are now living: Nora; 
 
840 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Addie; Charles; Stephen, of South Dakota; 
 •Benjamin A., local manager of the Beloit 
 Telephone Co.; George, of Beloit; Laura, wife 
 (of Truman S. Morgan, of Pittsburg, Penn.; 
 Minnie, wife of E. R. Newton, of Beloit; and 
 Gertrude. Washington Oliver, who was a 
 carpenter and contractor, came West to Beloit 
 in 1847, and here he has followed his trade 
 many years, and is well known as an honest 
 and reliable man. For the past ten years he 
 has not been actively engaged in business, the 
 infirmities of advancing age compelling him 
 to relinquish many pursuits to which he has 
 been enthusiastically devoted all his life. He 
 has lived an active out-of-door life, and it is 
 not easy for him to give it up. In religion 
 he is a Methodist, as was also his wife. His 
 father, Stephen Oliver, was born in Pennsyl- 
 vania, of Irish parents, and was a sea captain. 
 In middle life he left the ocean, and went into 
 trade as a merchant. He turned to contract- 
 ing, and when quite advanced in years be- 
 came a gold miner, crossing the plains twice 
 to California, in 1849 and in 1852. On the 
 second trip he was killed by the Indians. He 
 was a man of prominence in the East, having 
 held several important offices in Madison and 
 Cleveland, Ohio. His family consisted of eight 
 children. The maternal grandfather of Charles 
 Oliver, Jacob Mayo, was a native of Maine, 
 and a fisherman on the coast. He came to 
 Beloit when the country was very new, and 
 lived there some years, making numerous trips 
 to the North, where he worked in the lumber 
 woods. He became a trader with the Indians, 
 and was prospering when he met an untimely 
 death in middle life, freezing to death while 
 on a trading expedition into the northern part 
 of the State. He had a large family. One 
 of his sons, Alfred H. Mayo, went to Alaska 
 in 1872, with a partner, Jack McOuestion, and 
 they have been in business there until the pres- 
 ent time. Mr. Mayo is now in Beloit, on a 
 visit, and will return to Alaska in the spring, 
 1901. He was one of the three men who 
 opened up the gold field of that country. 
 
 Charles Oliver was born and reared in Be- 
 loit. and that city has always been his home. 
 He attended the public schools until he was 
 fourteen, when he began to learn the trade 
 of a cigar maker. For about eight years Mr. 
 Oliver was a journeyman cigar maker, until 
 he started in business for himself, in which 
 he has been so successful that he now employs 
 
 usually about eleven hands, and, in case of a 
 “rush,” has called for considerable additional 
 help. Our subject is also engaged in the real- 
 estate and renting business, buying and sell- 
 ing city property, renting business blocks and 
 dwellings, and is himself the owner of a busi- 
 ness block in Beloit. 
 
 The marriage of Charles Oliver and Miss 
 Kate Flint was celebrated Sept. 2, 1885, and 
 two daughters were born of this union, Grace 
 L. and Flossie May. Mrs. Oliver, who was 
 a daughter of Perry and Abbie Flint, died 
 March 12, 1890, and is remembered as a lov- 
 ing wife and a kind and faithful mother. The 
 family live at 783 Brook street. Mr. Oliver 
 is a member of Morning Star Lodge, No. 10, 
 A. F. & A. M., the Modern Woodmen of 
 America, and the Fraternal Alliance. Politi- 
 cally he is a Democrat. 
 
 JOSEPH M. BURTON, although but 
 newly located in Cassville township, Grant 
 county, is well known in this locality, and is 
 now cultivating a fine farm of 160 acres. Dur- 
 ing the war of the Rebellion he served his 
 country bravely, and he is now an honored 
 member of the G. A. R. post at Lancaster, 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Joseph M. Burton was born Feb. 14, 1843, 
 in Vermont, a son of Ben and Nancy (Peck) 
 Burton, also natives of Vermont, who came 
 when our subject was but a year old to Bloom- 
 ington township, took up government land, 
 which they improved, and always followed 
 farming as an occupation. The father died 
 during the war, but the mother survived him 
 and resided until her death, in 1876, on the 
 old homestead. They were the parents of the 
 following children : James R., enlisted at 
 
 Bloomington, in 1862, in the 33d Wis. V. I.. 
 now resides in Glen Haven; William, who re- 
 sides at Battle Creek, Iowa ; Margaret, now 
 Mirs. Handy, of Mt. Hope; Jane E. died in 
 Bloomington township; Jacob lives in Cali- 
 fornia; Frank also resides in California; and 
 Joseph M. 
 
 Joseph M. Burton was reared and edu- 
 cated in Bloomington township, and always 
 followed farming as a calling. In 1863, at 
 the call of duty, he enlisted in Grant county, 
 town of Bloomington, in Company D, 33d 
 Wis. V. I., for three years, being mustered 
 into service at Madison, and assigned to the 
 1 6th Army Corps, participating in the battles 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 841 
 
 of Nashville, Montgomery, Kenesaw Mount- 
 ain and Spanish Fort. During his term of 
 service Mr. Burton received an injury from a 
 piece of shell, from which he’ has never fully 
 recovered, and he was honorably discharged 
 in 1866, and returned to Bloomington town- 
 ship. 
 
 Mr. Burton was married to Miss Jane 
 Weeks, who was born in Bloomington town- 
 ship, daughter of James and Martha Weeks, 
 pioneers of Glen Haven, both now deceased. 
 1T0 Mr. and Mrs. Burton live children have 
 been born: George L., born Oct. 4, 1865, 
 
 died Aug. 15, 1891 ; Luella, 'born Jan. 5, 1868, 
 married Mr. F. Read, of Beetown ; Elmira, 
 born Nov. 19, 1872, married Mr. Mayne, of 
 Beetown; Cora, born May 1, 1874, married 
 David Peacore, and resides in Dallas, Barron 
 Co., Wis. ; and Leslie, born Jan. 1, 1879, is 
 at home, caring for his father and mother. 
 In politics Mr. Burton, the father of these 
 children, is a standi Republican. 
 
 CHESTER L. TUTTLE, a popular livery- 
 man at Clinton, Rock county, is a native of that 
 county, the son and the grandson of its early 
 pioneers. The grandfather, Chauncev Tuttle, 
 was a native of New York State, of Holland 
 Dutch descent. He was a farmer by occupa- 
 tion, and in 1837 migrated to Rock county. 
 He was for many years a deacon in the Bap- 
 tist Church, reared a large family, and died 
 at Beloit, at the age of seventy-five years. 
 
 George M. Tuttle, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was a boy when, in 1837, he was brought 
 to Wisconsin by his parents, and introduced 
 to the wild life of a pioneer home in Turtle 
 township, Rock county. There he grew to 
 manhood and adopted farming as his vocation. 
 He married Miss Lydia Hallock, a native of 
 Canada, daughter of Richard Hallock, a farm- 
 er, who died in middle life while crossing the 
 Isthmus of Panama on his way to California, 
 leaving two children by each of his two mar- 
 riages. 
 
 Soon after his marriage George M. Tuttle 
 removed to Minnesota, where he lived two 
 years. Moving to Durand, Wis., he then lived 
 'for nine years in Buffalo county, from which 
 he removed to the southern part of the State 
 and lived on his farm of 220 acres in Winne- 
 bago county. 111 ., near the Wisconsin State 
 line, until, in 1887, he settled at Beloit, his 
 present residence. He was a soldier during 
 
 the Civil war, serving one year, from 1864 to 
 1865. Mrs. Tuttle, the wife and mother, died, 
 aged fifty-two years. She was a devout Meth- 
 odist, of which church her surviving husband 
 is a member. To George M. and Lydia (lial- 
 lock) Tuttle were born five children, namely: 
 Chester L., our subject; William F., of Ros- 
 coe, 111 .; Eugene, also of Roscoe; Rev. Charles 
 A., a Methodist minister, now located near 
 Fond du Lac, Wis. ; and Lillian, who died 
 aged three years. 
 
 Chester L. Tuttle was born in Turtle town- 
 ship, Rock county, July 10, 1851, and except 
 for thirteen years has lived in that county. 
 He was reared on a farm and received his edu- 
 cation in the district schools and in the public 
 schools of Beloit. Beginning life for himself 
 on a rented farm, he continued farming until 
 1898, when he purchased his present livery 
 business at Clinton. 
 
 He married Dec. 4, 1873, Miss Sarah Re- 
 ser, daughter of Joseph and Rachel (Adams) 
 Reser, and to them have been born three chil- 
 dren, namely: Mary L., George L. and Joseph 
 L. Mary L. is the wife of PI. A. Rogers ; they 
 live in Clinton township, and have one child, 
 Burdette. George L. and Joseph L. are at 
 home. Mr. Tuttle is a member of Good Sa- 
 maritan Lodge, No. 135, F. & A. M., and of 
 the Modern Woodmen, and, with his wife, also 
 belongs to the Royal Neighbors. Politically 
 he is a Republican. Pie has served one year as' 
 supervisor, and is one of the active, progressive 
 and successful business men of Clinton. 
 
 RANSOM W. EDDEN, M. D., has for 
 nearly a decade been one of the successful 
 medical practitioners of Janesville, Rock coun- 
 ty. His family is of English origin. His 
 grandfather, Richard Edden, was the father 
 of five children, and died in New York in 
 middle life, his 'wife surviving him and pass- 
 ing away in Minnesota. Both were born in 
 England, as was also their son Thomas H., 
 father of our subject, who after h'is father’s 
 death was reared in the family of Peter Antes. 
 The latter is still living in New York State, 
 honored and beloved in his declining years. 
 
 Thomas PI. Edden was brought to this 
 country by his parents when he was but nine 
 years old, and passed his early years as a 
 farmer’s boy. He served a year in Company 
 K, 185th N. Y. V. I., and was wounded in 
 an engagement. On Oct. 2, 1866, he married 
 
842 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mary M. Ransom, of Onondaga county, N. 
 Y., a daughter of Edward Ransom, who in 
 about 1866 settled on a farm some three miles 
 from Janesville, dying there at the age of 
 sixty-four; he left two children. Thomas H. 
 Edden after his removal to Wisconsin engaged 
 in farming near Janesville, and yet owns a 
 farm in the immediate neighborhood of that 
 city, at present making his home in Janesville. 
 He is a Methodist, and his wife a Congre- 
 gationalist, but difference in creed has never 
 parted them. They have been the parents of 
 seven children, two sons and five daughters, 
 four of whom are yet living, Ransom W., 
 Ida (Mrs. Clifford Akin), Nellie and Fred- 
 erick. 
 
 Ur. Edden was born Feb. 15, 1869, in 
 Rock county. His early educational advan- 
 tages were on a par with those of most farmers’ 
 sons, but a strong impulse led him to believe 
 that his vocation was the practice of medi- 
 cine, and to attain this he bent every power 
 and faculty of his strong young manhood. 
 Matriculating at Bennett College, Chicago, in 
 1888, he graduated therefrom in 1891, return- 
 ing at once to Janesville to begin a career the 
 success of which has attested at once his pro- 
 fessional skill and his manly fidelity. Beloved 
 and trusted by his patients, he is also esteemed 
 and honored by his professional brethren. He 
 is a member of the Wisconsin State Eclectic 
 Medical Society, holds the office of treasurer 
 in the Rock County Medical Society, and is 
 connected with the medical staff of the Palmer 
 Memorial Hospital, of which institution he is 
 also treasurer. He also belongs to the Medi- 
 cal Library Association of Chicago. Frater- 
 nally he is a Master Mason, in political senti- 
 ment a Republican. 
 
 In February, 1898, the Doctor married Miss 
 Lottie Ratheram, a daughter of Edward and 
 Sarah (Blay) Ratheram, of Janesville, and in 
 the year of his marriage bought his present 
 home, which is situated at No. 259 South 
 Bluff street. Mrs. Edden is a member of the 
 Baptist Church. 
 
 EUGENE W. VAN NORMAN. The 
 commercial interests of the flourishing town 
 of Monticello, Wis., are in the hands of pro- 
 gressive men who vie with each other to ren- 
 der that place a center for Green county. 
 Among those young men who have displayed 
 ability and energy is Eugene W. Van Nor- 
 
 man, the subject of this sketch, who is owner 
 and manager of the finely appointed drug store 
 of the town. 
 
 Mr. Van Norman was born near Moscow, 
 in Lafayette county, Wis., Oct. 20, 1874, a 
 son of Michael F. and Katherine (Deam) 
 Van Norman, who came to Wisconsin in the 
 early pioneer days. Michael F. Van Norman 
 was born in Luzerne county, Penn., Sept. 19, 
 1835, a son °f Jacob and Mary (Parks) Van 
 Norman, the former born on the Mohawk 
 river, near Philadelphia, Penn., in 1802, a son 
 of Samuel and Phebe Van Norman, natives 
 of Holland, who came to the United States 
 with their parents when very young, settling 
 in Pennsylvania, and died near Scranton, 
 Penn., the father aged ninety-five years, and 
 the mother ninety years. 
 
 Jacob Van Norman, the grandfather of our 
 subject, was engaged : in the lumber business 
 until forty-five years of age, when he purchased 
 220 acres of land in Chemung county, N. Y., 
 where he remained until 1854. In that year 
 he sold his land in New York and bought 
 320 acres in Iowa county, Wis., remaining 
 there until his death, at the age of seventy- 
 eight years. In his political relations he was 
 a Democrat until the war, when he voted for 
 Abraham Lincoln. He was a prominent man 
 and held many local offices. Mrs. Mary 
 (Parks) Van Norman, the grandmother of 
 our subject, died near Sioux City, at the home 
 of her son Jacob, when she was aged eighty- 
 four years. She was born in Pennsylvania, 
 a daughter of Joseph and Rebecca Parks, who 
 came from Newfoundland to the United States 
 and located first in Luzerne county, Penn., 
 where the father died at the age of one hun- 
 dred, and the mother at seventy-three. Sam- 
 uel Van Norman, our subject’s great-grand- 
 father, was a soldier in the war of 1812, for 
 which service he afterward drew a pension. 
 The family were noted for their longevity. 
 Jacob and Mary (Parks) Van Norman were 
 members of the Methodist Church for many 
 years, he being very active in church and Sun- 
 day-school work. They were the parents of 
 nine children, seven of whom are living, two 
 engaged in farming, one in the ministry, and 
 the rest, including our subject’s father, in the 
 stock business. Three of the sons were sol- 
 diers in the war of the Rebellion. 
 
 Michael F. Van Norman remained at home 
 until twenty-one years of age, attending the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 843 
 
 district school in winter, working his father’s 
 farm in summer, and, to gratify his ambition 
 for learning, studying at home. He was after- 
 ward employed in teaching during winters, 
 and attended the Evansville College, Evans- 
 ville, Wis., one term. Being then in his twen- 
 ty-third year, and in poor health, he went 
 overland to Kansas, and engaged in teaming 
 for the Pike’s Peak Express Co. While there 
 he drove four mules to a coach that hauled the 
 famous Horace Greeley from Manhattan to 
 Fort Riley, when on his overland trip to Cali- 
 fornia. In i860 Mr. Van Norman returned to 
 Iowa county, Wis., rented a farm, and, as the 
 State banks nearly all failed, and what money 
 he had saved for this occasion was State bank 
 currency, worth from ten to forty cents on 
 the dollar, he was obliged' to go in debt for 
 everything he bought. He remained there until 
 the outbreak of the war, when, in July, 1862, 
 he joined Company E, 31st Wis. V. I., under 
 Capt. Mason. He served until the close of hos- 
 tilities, was mustered out at Louisville, Ky., 
 and was discharged at Madison, Wis. At 
 Atlanta, Ga., July 24, 1864, he was wounded, 
 and remained in the hospital four days, when 
 he obtained transportation home, and returned 
 to his regiment about thirty days later. He 
 was in the Division Commissary Department, 
 and on detached service at Smoky Swamp, S. 
 C., and marched through to Washington, by 
 way of Richmond, with the 20th Army Corps. 
 After the close of the war he returned home, 
 rented a farm of 330 acres for six years, then 
 bought 100 acres in Primrose township, Dane 
 Co., Wis. Five years later he rented his farm, 
 moved to Middleton, same county, and re- 
 mained there about seventeen years. While 
 there he was engaged in the stock business, 
 owning some of the finest bred ! animals in the 
 country. He was also the owner of a 215- 
 acre farm in Middleton. He moved from this 
 town to Milwaukee, to engage in the live stock 
 commission business with his brother, George 
 B. O11 account of his health he was obliged 
 to leave Milwaukee, and then went on the 
 road soliciting for the firm, making many trips 
 to the far West every year. His family re- 
 moved to Madison in 1897, where they now 
 reside. In his political relations he has been 
 a Republican since President Lincoln’s first 
 term, but generally votes for the best man. 
 He is a member of the G. A. R. and the I. O. 
 O. F. To Michael F. and Katherine (Deam) 
 
 Van Norman were born five children: Ida, 
 who was drowned at Mt. Vernon, Wis., at 
 the age of sixteen; Etta M., wife of H. J. 
 Whalen, a commission merchant of Milwaukee ; 
 Eugene W., our subject; George W., who is 
 with his uncle, George B. Van Norman, in 
 Chicago, engaged in the live stock commission 
 business; and Paul, who attends the Madison 
 high school. Mrs. Katherine (Deam) Van 
 Norman was born in Bradford county, Penn., 
 July 31, 1837, a daughter of Henry H. and 
 Elizabeth (Ettleman) Deam, also natives of 
 that State, and of German descent. Mr. Deam 
 died at the old home in Iowa county, Wis., 
 at the age of forty-four, and his wife passed 
 away at Plano, Ilk, at the age of sixty years. 
 
 Eugene W. Van Norman was reared at 
 Middleton, Dane county. His educational ad- 
 vantages were excellent, as his primary educa- 
 tion in the common schools was supplemented 
 by a course in high school, from which he 
 was graduated in 1890, then entering the Wis- 
 consin Academy, at Madison, in which insti- 
 tution he took a two-years course. This was 
 followed by two years in the pharmaceutical 
 department of the State University. In Au- 
 gust, 1897, he came to Monticello, Green coun- 
 ty, and bought out the drug business of E. J. 
 Fischer, since which time he has been success- 
 fully engaged in that line. Mr. Van Norman 
 has a neatly appointed store, carries a large 
 stock of drugs, medicines, toilet articles, paints, 
 and supplies usually found in the establish- 
 ments of first-class druggists. 
 
 Mr. Van Norman is a member of the 
 Green County Retail Druggists Association, 
 also of the Wisconsin Pharmaceutical Asso- 
 ciation. He is personally popular, and during 
 his sojourn at the university was president of 
 his class, and also captain of the base-ball 
 team. In politics he is a Republican, but does 
 not force his views on any one, being peculiarly 
 fitted for a business life by the possession of 
 that tact which attracts all classes. His energy 
 and ability are recognized, and the citizens of 
 Monticello have complete confidence in him 
 as a pharmacist. 
 
 HIRAM L. DAVY. The rule that ad- 
 versity in youth brings success in manhood, 
 finds a fitting example in the career of Hiram 
 L. Davy, road contractor and farmer of Mil- 
 ton, Rock county. The father died when 
 Hiram was a child, shortly after the family 
 
844 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 had moved to Rock county from Canada. The 
 widow and her young children then settled 
 in Milton, and there, through sturdy effort, 
 the boys grew to lives of usefulness and in- 
 fluence. 
 
 Our subject was born in Canada Feb. 7, 
 1858, son of Thaddeus Lewis and Charlotte 
 (Adams) Davy, both natives of Canada. The 
 paternal grandfather, Michael Davy, was a 
 Methodist minister, a Canadian by birth and 
 of English ancestry. He reared a large family 
 and died at Beloit, Wis., in 1881, aged eighty 
 years. The maternal grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, Hiram Adams, was also a native of Can- 
 ada, of English lineage. He was a lumber 
 merchant, engaged especially in getting out 
 masts for ships under the Queen’s orders. He 
 was born in 1800, reared a large family, and 
 died at Chicago in 1880. 
 
 Thaddeus L. Davy, the father of our sub- 
 ject, acquired the trade of a carpenter and 
 joiner, which he followed for a number of 
 years in Canada. In the fall of 1864 he came 
 to Rock county, locating south of Janesville, 
 and in 1865 he removed to Rock Prairie, in 
 Harmony township, where he died Aug. 26, 
 1865, aged thirty-seven years. His widow 
 still survives, making her home with her chil- 
 dren. Both were Methodists. Of their eight 
 children, five are now living : Samuel, Orrin, 
 Hiram L., and John and Ezra (twins). 
 
 Hiram L. Davy was six years old when 
 brought by his parents to Rock county. Short- 
 ly after his father’s death the mother moved 
 with her family to Milton, where he has ever 
 since remained. Hiram attended the district 
 and village schools, and when about eighteen 
 he acquired the carpenter’s trade, which he 
 followed for eight or ten years, engaging also 
 in contract work. He then followed the livery 
 business for a time, after which he engaged 
 in farming on a tract of forty acres which he 
 purchased in Milton township. This he after- 
 ward sold and bought eighty acres in wood, 
 which he still owns. His present res'dence 
 in Milton he purchased in 1897. 
 
 Mr. Davy married Sept. 22, 1886, Miss 
 Mary L. Winch, daughter of Jeremiah and 
 Fannie M. (Montgomery) Winch. Her moth- 
 tr was born in New York State, daughter of 
 John Montgomery, who settled in Rock coun- 
 ty in 1849, rearing a large family and living 
 to an advanced age. Jeremiah Winch was 
 born in New Hampshire in 1809, and when 
 
 a young man came west as a soldier in the 
 Black Hawk war. He was an early settler in 
 Rock county, where he followed farming until 
 his death, May 30, 1868, aged fifty-eight years 
 and nine months. His wife died on Aug. 17, 
 1895, having almost attained her seventy-ninth 
 birthday. Both were members of the Meth- 
 odist Church. They had four children, Wes- 
 ley, of Milton Junction; George, of Lima 
 township, Rock county; Charles, of Fort At- 
 kinson, Wis. ; and Mary L., wife of our sub- 
 ject. Mr. and Mrs. Davy have one daughter, 
 Alice May. They are active members of the 
 Methodist Church. In politics Mr. Davy is 
 a Republican. He is one of the enterprising 
 and successful citizens of Milton, and is held 
 in high esteem by all who know him. 
 
 SAM. P. BROWN, present deputy sheriff 
 of Rock county, has been a resident of Janes- 
 ville since 1895. He is a man of ready re- 
 sources, alert in action, and resolute in the 
 performance of his duty. Fie has won high 
 standing as an officer of justice in southern 
 Wisconsin, and evil doers have learned to 
 dread his name. 
 
 Mr. Brown was born in Grant county, Mo., 
 June 28, 1874. His parents, John and Lovina 
 (Cadle) Brown, were natives of Kentucky and 
 Missouri, respectively. They had six children, 
 all but one now living: Sarah, the wife of 
 E. G. Gibson, of Marshalltown, Iowa; Sam. 
 P., whose name introduces this article; Alice, 
 the wife of E. D. Vandewalke, of Creston, 
 Iowa; Albert, of Janesville; and Grace, of 
 Creston, Iowa. John Brown was a farmer 
 nearly all his life. Fie moved from Kentucky 
 to Grant City, and lived there fourteen years, 
 thence removing to Creston, Iowa, where he 
 has lived for the past eighteen years. For a 
 number of years he kept a hotel in Creston. He 
 is a man of genial manners and upright char- 
 acter. I11 religion he and his wife are Meth- 
 odists. His father, Preston Brown, was a na- 
 tive of Kentucky, and died in that State about 
 1875, at an advanced age. He had seven 
 sons. Fie was a soldier in the Confederate 
 army, serving throughout the war. The father 
 of Mrs. Lovina (Cadle) Brown was a native 
 of Missouri, a farmer, and died in middle life. 
 He had a family of three daughters and two 
 son's. 
 
 Sam. P. Brown had reached the age of nine 
 years before his parents left Grant City. He 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 845 
 
 attended school in that place and in Creston, 
 where he grew to manhood. When he struck 
 out in life for himself his first move was to 
 go West, and he secured work on a cattle 
 ranch at Hermosa, S. Dak. He had a bold and 
 adventurous spirit, and the active outdoor life 
 pleased him well. Four years later, however, 
 he returned to Creston, taking a position as 
 clerk in a wholesale grocery store, and was in 
 the employ of the firm two years; he was doing 
 well, but the close confinement proved irksome. 
 In February, 1895, he had charge of trotting 
 horses in Janesville, and worked with them 
 for the season. His personal characteristics 
 made him many friends, and Sheriff Appleby 
 made him his deputy that fall. He held the 
 same position with Sheriff Acheson, and is 
 now serving his third term with Sheriff Ap- 
 pleby (who has been re-elected), proving a 
 capable officer. 
 
 On April 1, 1899, Mr. Brown married Miss 
 Grace Acheson, a daughter of Theodore L. 
 and 1 Jane (Martin) Acheson, of Janesville. 
 Mr. Brown is a Republican in political senti- 
 ment. 
 
 OSCAR R. OLSON holds a conspicuous 
 place among the thrifty and prosperous young 
 farmers of Green county, where his good sense, 
 kindly disposition and industrious habits have 
 won him many friends and made him a useful 
 and honored citizen of his county. He was 
 born March 24, 1869, a son of Rollin and 
 Mary (Peterson) Olson, both of whom were 
 born in Norway. They came to this country 
 in 1845, anf l were married in Lafayette county, 
 Wis., nine years later. By this marriage they 
 became the parents of the following family : 
 Caroline, the widow of Lars O. Grove, of 
 Jordan township, whose sketch is found else- 
 where; Morgan is dead; Clara is the wife of 
 E. B. Tollefson, of South Dakota; Oscar R. 
 will be referred to farther on in this sketch; 
 and William and Henry are both farmers in 
 the town of Jordan. 
 
 Rollin Olson was born Nov. 10, 1831, and 
 died in the town of Jordan March 31, 1898, 
 and within these limits of almost seventy years 
 lived an exceedingly active and useful life. 
 In 1861 he enlisted in Company E, 15th Wis. 
 V. I., and served throughout the war with 
 honor and distinction, being first lieutenant at 
 the time of his discharge. He took part in 
 some of the severest battles of the war, and 
 
 everywhere bore himself gallantly and well. 
 For many years he was one of the leading citi- 
 zens of the town of Jordan, and at different 
 times was called upon to fill many of the town 
 offices. In 1880 and in 1890 he served as cen- 
 sus enumerator, and was always a stanch Re- 
 publican. In religion he was a member of the 
 Lutheran Church, and his honorable and up- 
 right career brought no stain upon his faith. 
 A man of correct and unquestionable character, 
 he was highly esteemed in every relation in 
 which an active and honorable manhood may 
 manifest itself, as citizen, business man, hus- 
 band and father. 
 
 Oscar R. Olson, whose name appears at 
 ■ the introduction of this article, was married to 
 Carrie J. Johnson, Jan. 12, 1897. Mrs. Olson 
 is the daughter of John Johnson, one of the old 
 settlers of the town of York, and has become 
 the mother of two children, Irene (who died in 
 infancy) and Eva (born Jan. 8, 1901). Mrs. 
 Olson was born April 18, 1869, and was one 
 of a family of six children: John, of Green 
 county; Rachel, the wife of John Ordegard, 
 of Buffalo county; Lewis, of Dane county; 
 Carrie; Martin; and Sever, of the town of 
 York. 
 
 Mr: Olson was reared on the paternal es- 
 tate in the town of Jordan, and had his edu- 
 cation in the Green county public schools, com- 
 pleting his schooling at the Northern Indiana 
 Normal School at Valparaiso, Ind. For some 
 years he was a successful school teacher in 
 Green county, and in 1892 was elected register 
 of deeds in Green county, serving for six years. 
 Mr. Olson enlisted in Company H, 1st Regi- 
 ment, Wisconsin National Guard, in 1893, 
 and served through all the grades, and was 
 made regimental adjutant, with the rank of 
 captain, in 1895. This regiment was mustered 
 into the United States service as the 1st Wis. 
 V. I., on the outbreak of the Spanish-Ameri- 
 can war, and he retained his position as cap- 
 tain and adjutant of that command. .This regi- 
 ment was stationed at Jacksonville, Fla., dur- 
 ing the summer of 1898, and there he was 
 promoted to the position of acting adjutant 
 general of the brigade to which his regiment 
 was attached, and served in that office until 
 he was mustered out of service. 
 
 Mr. Olson purchased a part of the old J. 
 C. Ula farm in the spring of 1899. This is 
 one of the desirable farms of this section, and 
 consists of 241 acres in section 17, of the town 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 6 46 
 
 of York, twenty-five miles northwest of Mon- 
 roe, and three miles northeast of Blanchard- 
 ville. Mr. Olson is one of the prominent men 
 of the community in which his active and use- 
 ful life is passing. At the present time he is 
 chairman of the town board. Starting in life 
 without a dollar, he went to Dakota, where he 
 earned his first fifty dollars, which he spent in 
 going to school. In politics Mr. Olson is a 
 stanch Republican, and in religion a member 
 of the Lutheran Church. Personally he is a 
 man of high character, and is devoted to the 
 general welfare of his country and to his fam- 
 ily. Fraternally he is a member of the Inde- 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellows, being a past 
 grand of Monroe Lodge, No. 72, and is also 
 a member of the Jerry Rusk Garrison, Knights 
 of the Globe, also of Monroe. 
 
 FRANK VAN WART, a leading drug- 
 gist and pharmacist of Beloit, Rock county, 
 was born in the town of Porter, near Evans- 
 ville, Rock Co., Wis., May 12, 1865, and is a 
 son of David and Anna (Jones) Van Wart, 
 natives of New York and Ohio, respectively. 
 They were the parents of five sons. Frank, 
 Louis, Charles, Don and David. 
 
 David Van Wart was only a small boy 
 when he came with his parents to Wisconsin. 
 He grew to manhood near Evansville, and 
 when a young man twice made the journey 
 overland to California. There he had charge 
 of transporting gold from Marysville to San 
 Francisco for the companies in whose employ- 
 ment he was at that time. He remained in the 
 land of gold some four or five years, then re- 
 turning to Wisconsin, lie settled down for sev- 
 eral years as keeper of the old Ball tavern, a 
 well-remembered, old-time road house, three 
 miles east of Evansville. Retiring from the 
 tavern, he engaged in farming in the same 
 neighborhood, buying a farm of 200 acres, and 
 after a time eighty acres more. Here he 
 reared his family, and here he and his wife 
 still abide. It is a beautiful place, and a grand, 
 location for five growing lads. His wife is a 
 Methodist, and while he has strong religious 
 convictions he has never united himself with 
 any church. He is a Democrat, and has been 
 supervisor and president of the town board 
 several times. Bishop Van Wart, the father 
 of David, was of ITolland-Dutch descent, and 
 came from Chautauqua county, N. Y. He was 
 among the very earliest settlers of Rock county, 
 
 and located on a farm near Evansville, and 
 at one time had charge of the county poor-farm. 
 He lived to be eighty-six years old, and was 
 the father of four sons and two daughters. 
 The maternal grandfather of Frank Van Wart 
 was John Jones. He was born in Wales, and 
 emigrated to this country when a young man. 
 He was for a time located in a Welsh settle- 
 ment in Ohio, but came to Wisconsin in the 
 early days, and went on a farm in Union town- 
 ship, Rock county. There he spent the balance 
 of his life, and died at the age of eighty-two. 
 He was the father of two sons and three 
 daughters. 
 
 Frank Van Wart was reared on the paternal 
 homestead near Evansville. He had a thorough 
 schooling in the public school and in the semin- 
 ary at Evansville. He was a student of 
 the College of Pharmacy at Chicago, gradu- 
 ating in 1886, with a thorough knowledge of 
 his calling. The next year he came to Beloit 
 and entered the drug store of Ed. Smith. He 
 was also a clerk for Mr. Emerson and Mr. 
 Pollock, and in July, 1895, began business for 
 himself. That month he bought out the drug 
 store of Frank Foster, and has since then been 
 incessant in his- efforts to please the public, 
 and to secure as large a share of its trade as 
 honest dealing and genuine goods will com- 
 mand. 
 
 Mr. Van Wart and Miss Laura Bangs 
 were married Feb. 18, 1887. Mrs. Van Wart 
 is a daughter of Homer and Anna (Mills) 
 Bangs, and is a most estimable lady. She is 
 the mother of two children, Leona and Theron. 
 The family have a fine home at No. 333 West 
 Bridge street. Mr. Van Wart is a Mason of 
 high degree, holding membership in Morning 
 Star Lodge, No. 10, A. F. & A. M., Chapter 
 No. 9, R. A. M., and Beloit Commandery, 
 No. 6, K. T. He is also a member of the 
 Knights of Pythias. He is a Democrat, and, 
 while not a politician, takes an intelligent in- 
 terest in the welfare of his party. Mr. Van 
 Wart represents two families who were among 
 the very earliest settlers of the county. 
 
 WILLIAM H. CARPENTER. This gen- 
 tleman belongs to the firm of Carpenter & 
 Ballard, dealers in grain and coal at Evans- 
 ville, Rock county, and has long been favor- 
 ably identified with the business interests of 
 this city. 
 
 Mr. Carpenter was born in Hamilton coun- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 84 7 
 
 ty, near Northville, N. Y., March 22, 1843, 
 and is a son of Allen D. and Mary Ann (Wads- 
 worth) Carpenter, natives of Vermont and 
 New York, respectively. Four sons and three 
 daughters were born to them, of whom all but 
 one are now living: John W., of Janesville; 
 Laura E., wife of Nathaniel Ballard, of Evans- 
 ville; William H.; Mary Ann, the wife of 
 Alexander McKinney, of Evansville; Josiah, 
 of the town of Union, Rock county; Emma 
 J., the wife of Edwin Winter, of Evansville. 
 The father was a millwright, and came to 
 Wisconsin in the ’fifties, locating in the town 
 of Union, two miles east of Evansville, where 
 he lived until he died in i860, at the age of 
 forty-seven. His widow survived until 1893, 
 and was seventy-seven at the time of her death. 
 They were both Methodists. The paternal 
 grandfather of William Id., Allen D. Carpen- 
 ter, was a native of England, and came to this 
 country, settling in New York, where he died 
 at the age of eighty; he was the father of four 
 children. Josiah Wadsworth, the father of 
 Mary Ann mentioned above, is supposed to 
 have come from Ireland, and settled in Hamil- 
 ton county, N. Y., where he followed farming, 
 and died there an old man ; he was the father 
 of thirteen children. 
 
 William H. Carpenter was reared on the 
 paternal acres in Hamilton county until he 
 was eleven years of age. He came to Rock 
 county that year, and here he attained 1 his 
 manhood. He had his education in the district 
 school, and in 1864 he bought a farm of 120 
 acres, upon which he made many permanent 
 and substantial improvements, and was engaged 
 in its cultivation until 1882. That year he 
 moved into Evansville, and seventeen years 
 later he sold the farm. He was an active and 
 busy man through all these years, and though 
 there is but little of change and adventure in 
 his career, it has been honorable and credita- 
 ble throughout. 
 
 On Jan. 1, 1865, occurred the marriage of 
 William H. Carpenter and Miss Elizabeth Bal- 
 lard, daughter of Gailus and Sarah (Felt) 
 Ballard. They became the parents of three 
 children, William, Cora and Grace. William 
 died at the age of seven. Cora is at home, 
 and Grace is a student at the Normal School 
 in Milwaukee. Mr. Carpenter belongs to 
 Union Lodge, No. 32, A. F. & A. M., Evans- 
 ville Chapter, No. 35, R. A. M., and is a stanch 
 and devoted member of the order. He is a 
 
 Republican, and is highly esteemed by many 
 friends. He lives at No. 232 Church street, 
 Evansville, and has been a resident of the coun- 
 ty forty-six years. 
 
 WILLIAM W. RILEY, for several years 
 the genial and efficient agent of the American 
 Express Co. at Beloit, Wis., was born at Green 
 River, Vt., April 16, 1870. His parents, Will- 
 iam Id. and Anna A. (Head) Rdey, were na- 
 tives of New York, and had a famdy of three 
 children: William W., of Beloit; Franklin H., 
 of Milwaukee; and John Wesley, of Appleton. 
 The father was a farmer boy in New York, 
 and at the outbreak of the Civil war enlisted 
 in the 6th N. Y. Vol. Cav. He served four 
 years and three months at the front, and was 
 seriously wounded several times. He had a 
 bullet wound in the center of his forehead, and 
 a saber thrust through his arm into his left 
 side. He was thrown from his horse in front 
 of a cannon at the premature explosion of the 
 latter, and had his face filled with powder, 
 and was otherwise so seriously injured that 
 he was kept in the hospital for a half year or 
 more. He was in the battle of the Wilder- 
 ness, and many of the other bloody struggles 
 that marked the history of the Army of the 
 Potomac. When he came back from the war 
 Mr. Riley entered the employment of the 
 Boylston Manufacturing Co., at Green River, 
 Vt., and rose to be the head of the blacksmith- 
 ing department of their extensive factory. 
 That position he held until 1874, when he went 
 into business for himself at South Norwalk, 
 Conn., as a general worker in iron, at carriage 
 making and manufacturing oyster tongs, and 
 had a regular working force of about eighteen 
 hands. He came West to Milwaukee on ac- 
 count of his wife’s health, and died three days 
 later, May 5, 1883, at the age of thirty-five. 
 His wife still survives, and has her home in 
 that city. She married Robert C. Higgs for 
 her second husband, and they have two chil- 
 dren, Benjamin and Dean. William Riley, the 
 paternal grandfather of our subject, was born 
 in County Cavan, Ireland. He studied at Ox- 
 ford for the Episcopal ministry, but his father 
 disowning him, he married an English girl, 
 and emigrated to Ottawa, Canada, with the 
 intention of practicing law. His health failed 
 him, and he turned to farming, locating near 
 Ogdensburg, N. Y., where he died in middle 
 life during the Civil war, from injuries re- 
 
848 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ceived by being thrown from a buggy. He 
 was the father of three sons and three daugh- 
 ters. The maternal grandfather of William 
 W. Riley was James Head. He was born in 
 Lincolnshire, England, and was all his life a 
 farmer. He came to this country in 1833, 
 and served in the Civil war. He retired from 
 farming about 1872, and came West to Mil- 
 waukee, investing his money in lead mines in 
 the western part of the State. He died in 1889, 
 and his wife in 1896, the mother of thirteen 
 children. They were both born in 1800, within 
 one day of each other. 
 
 William W. Riley received his schooling 
 at South Norwalk, Conn., and at the age of 
 thirteen began his life work in Milwaukee as 
 a cash boy in a dry goods store. He was mes- 
 senger boy for the Western Union Telegraph 
 Co., and held successive clerical positions until 
 1890. That year he started in as second as- 
 sistant cashier of the Milwaukee office of the 
 American Express Co. He remained in the 
 Milwaukee office until February, 1896, when 
 he was sent to Beloit to take the agency of the 
 company in that city, and he acted as their 
 competent and trusted representative in Beloit. 
 
 Mr. Riley and Miss Gertrude Weaver were 
 married July 8, 1896. Mrs. Riley is the daugh- 
 ter of Thomas and Emma (Callear) Weaver. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Riley are members of the Meth- 
 odist Church, and are regarded as valuable 
 helpers by the church community. They have 
 a comfortable home at No. 122 E street. Mr. 
 Riley belongs to Morning Star Lodge, No. 10, 
 A. E. & A. M., and to Beloit Chapter, No. 
 9, R. A. M. He is a Republican in political 
 faith. 
 
 JOHN LYONS (deceased) was one of 
 the pioneers of southwestern Wisconsin. Born 
 in Manchester, England, on Aug. 15, 1801, his 
 early youth and manhood were spent in the 
 land of his birth, where he was reared to the 
 trade of cotton spinner, and in 1822, selected 
 Mary Johnson, a native of his own city, to be 
 his life companion. In 1832 he came from 
 England to Philadelphia, and it was not until 
 two years later that he came to Grant county, 
 Wisconsin, locating at Potosi or Snake Hol- 
 low, as the locality was then named, on account 
 of some local tradition. In 1836 he was joined 
 by the family, consisting of his wife and four 
 daughters, who had remained most of this time 
 in England. 
 
 Mr. Lyons engaged in mining and fol- 
 lowed this occupation as long as he was able 
 to labor. His death occurred at Potosi, on 
 April 11, 1874, and the wife and mother passed 
 away on Dec. 8, 1873. She was a devoted 
 Christian woman, and in all respects possessed 
 a most lovable character. Like her husband 
 she had been gifted with a most melodious 
 voice, and this has been inherited by several 
 of her children. Three of the four daughters 
 who accompanied her from the English home 
 yet survive, these being: Mrs. Sarah A. 
 
 Greene, of Potosi ; Mrs. Elizabeth L. Davies, 
 of British Hollow, Grant county; and Mrs. 
 Rachel Woodhouse, of Bloomington, Grant 
 county; the eldest, Mrs. Leah Jane Moreing, 
 died in Stockton, Cal., at the home of her son, 
 Cyrus, in 1875. Of the five children born after 
 the family settlement in America Hugh and Ab- 
 igail died in infancy; Edward and Jervis died 
 in early manhood; while the eldest, John 
 George, who was the first male white child born 
 in Potosi, is still a resident of that place. 
 
 John Lyons was a man of much natural 
 ability, and was the possessor of a high sense 
 of honor and of unswerving integrity. In 
 early life he was a consistent member of the 
 Methodist Church but, owing to the position of 
 the local church on the slavery question, he as- 
 sociated himself with the Primitive Methodist 
 Church, and his eloquent voice was often heard 
 against both slavery and intemperance. Not 
 only was he a man of fine presence, but a force- 
 ful and fluent orator. Gifted with a tenor 
 voice of remarkable power and sweetness, he 
 used it for the advancement of morality, and 
 in the interests of those who could neither 
 speak nor sing for themselves. Long will 
 his name live in the hearts of the earnest and 
 thoughtful citizens of Grant county. 
 
 ASBJORN E. STEENSLAND, a pros- 
 perous farmer of the town of Moscow, Iowa 
 county, has been a resident of that town for 
 over forty-seven years, and in that long period 
 'has established himself as one of the valua- 
 ble citizens of this locality. 
 
 Mr. Steensland was born in Norway in 
 1833, son of Erick and Ingeborg Steensland, 
 who brought their family to the United States 
 and to Wisconsin in 1854, settling at once 
 in the town of Moscow, Iowa county, where 
 the family is well represented at this time by 
 our subject and his brother Ole, who is men- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 849 
 
 tioned elsewhere. The family took up their 
 home on the farm now owned and occupied 
 by our subject, and there the father engaged 
 in farming until his death, in November, 
 1868. The mother survived until Septem- 
 ber, 1887. Of the large family born to this 
 worthy couple eight grew to maturity and still 
 survive. 
 
 Asbjorn E. Steensland was reared and 
 educated in his native land, and has engaged 
 in farming all his active life. In February, 
 1865, he enlisted in the Union service, becom- 
 ing a member of Company F, 46th Wis. V. 
 I., which regiment served in Alabama, on de- 
 tached duty, for the most part engaged in 
 guarding railroads. As a soldier Mr. Steens- 
 land faithfully discharged the duties assigned 
 him, and he received an honorable discharge, 
 being mustered out with the rest of his com- 
 mand. He holds membership in G. A. R. 
 Post No. 224, at Blanchardville. He has led 
 an industrious, useful life, and merits the re- 
 spect in which he is held by his fellow citi- 
 zens throughout the township, having done 
 his duty in all the relations of life— business, 
 social, public or domestic. He is a stanch 
 Republican in political faith, and takes a deep 
 interest in local affairs; he has served as town- 
 ship treasurer. 
 
 Mr. Steensland was married before he en- 
 tered the army to Miss Melena Storland, like 
 himself a native of Norway, who came to 
 America the same year as he did. Twelve 
 children have blessed their union, five sons 
 and seven daughters : Ingeborg Hegland, 
 
 wife of a farmer; Ivrene W. Severson, wife 
 of a lumber dealer; Judith; Erik; Iver; Ju- 
 lia; Susan; August; Elmore; Eunice; Mamie; 
 and Ferdinand. 
 
 JAMES HUFFMAN is one of the promi- 
 nent and prosperous farmers of Clarno town- 
 ship, Green county, residing four and one- 
 half miles southwest of Monroe. 
 
 Mr. Huffman is a son of Jacob and Eliza- 
 beth (Jones) Huffman, who were natives of 
 Pennsylvania, of German descent, and located 
 in Wisconsin in 1845. They became the par- 
 ents of eight children : Absalom, deceased ; 
 Solomon, deceased; William, 'deceased; 
 James, our subject, who was born Oct. 19, 
 1839; Ellen, who married Isaac Miller, and 
 died on the overland route to- California in 
 
 1862; Christiana, who married John B. Starr, 
 54 
 
 of Iowa; Elizabeth, who married Andrew 
 ITiserote, of Nebraska; and Jacob, of Clarno 
 township. The mother of these died in 1846, 
 and for his second wife Mr. Huffman mar- 
 ried Barbara Mowery, two children being born 
 of this union: Daniel, of Nebraska; and 
 
 Mary, who married E. Barnes, also of Ne- 
 braska. 
 
 James Huffman came to Wisconsin with 
 his parents when he was but six years of age, 
 and received his education in the rural free 
 schools,, which were then held in log cabins. 
 He was poor in purse, but he possessed energy 
 and hope. On Oct. 21, 1858, he married 
 Mary E. Downs, of Green county, daughter 
 of Jesse and Malinda (De Long) Downs,, 
 who were among the early settlers of the 
 county, coming here from Coshocton county, 
 Ohio, in 1845. They died while Mrs. Huff- 
 man was a child, she being reared by her 
 grandmother, Mrs. Susanna De Long. For 
 some time after marriage our subject and his 
 wife resided in a log cabin 18x16 feet, floored 
 with slabs, and covered with boards that were, 
 held by logs being laid on them, but peace,, 
 health and happiness filled the cabin, and now 
 this worthy couple own one of the fine farms' 
 and substantial residences of Clarno township. 
 Children as follows have been born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Huffman: Emma E. ; Albert, de- 
 ceased; James, a resident of Chicago; Anna, 
 deceased ; Alva S., a resident of Clarno town- 
 ship ; Minnie, who married Arthur Gilmore, 
 and lives in Cadiz township; Jacob C., who 
 married Nellie E. Meachner, now deceased; 
 and Lizzie, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Huffman 
 have six grandchildren, all boys, two of whom 
 have reached manhood. In 1862 Mr. Huff- 
 man made the overland trip to California 
 with a team, returning in 1863, and in 1865 
 migrated to Iowa with his family, in 1871 
 returning again to Green county, where he 
 has since resided. Pie is the owner of 160 
 acres of fine farming land, and also twenty 
 acres of orange land in Florida: Although 
 
 he has become a successful and prosperous 
 man, Mr. Huffman still enjoys looking after 
 his interests. For seventeen years he con- 
 ducted a dairy business in connection with his 
 farming, and now takes great pride in his 
 fine Shorthorn cattle. 
 
 In politics Mr. Huffman is a stanch Demo- 
 crat, in which faith he was reared, and he 
 has been called upon to serve in many of the 
 
850 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 local town offices, having been school direc- 
 tor, clerk and township assessor, which posi- 
 tions he filled to the entire satisfaction of the 
 community. Both he and his wife have been 
 consistent members of the U. B. Church for 
 twenty-five years, living exemplary Christian 
 lives, and esteemed by the whole neighbor- 
 hood. 
 
 JOHN LEGLER, one of the respected 
 and leading business men of Green county, 
 a dealer in live stock, grain, lumber and coal 
 at Juda, has not only made for himself a fine 
 reputation as a business man, but has accu- 
 mulated a very comfortable competence by the 
 exercise of those natural endowments of a 
 clear-sighted and practical mind, an honest 
 disposition, and industrious habits, that win 
 success anywhere. 
 
 Mr. Legler is a son of David and Eliza- 
 beth Eegler, of Green county, Wis., who came 
 from Switzerland in 1847, and settled in the 
 northern part of Green county, in company 
 with a large colony of their compatriots. 
 The father took up government land, and made 
 a farm in the wilderness, where he lived and 
 died. Of his sixteen children, seven were 
 born to his first marriage, with Barbara Leg- 
 ler. But two of these survive: Andrew, of 
 Green county, Wis.; and David, who is a 
 farmer in Nebraska. The others died in child- 
 hood. Of the children by his second wife the 
 following survived to maturity : John, whose 
 name appears above; Jacob, who is clerk in a 
 lumber yard in Green county; Fredolin, a 
 farmer in Iowa; and Elizabeth, wife of Peter 
 Classy, of New Glarus, Wis. The others died 
 in infancy. David Legler died in 1887, at 
 -the age of eighty-four. 
 
 John Legler was born April 5, 1852, and 
 on March 2, 1871, married Miss Mary Blu- 
 mer, of Green county, Wis., "a daughter of 
 John and Mary Blumer, of that county. They 
 have had four children : Elizabeth, born in 
 1873, wife of Albert Babler, of Monticello, 
 Wis. ; John L., born in 1879, in business with 
 his father; Wilma Iv., born Feb. 13, 1884, 
 now a student at Lawrence University, Ap- 
 pleton, Wis. ; and Mary, who died in infancy. 
 
 John Legler began life as a farmer’s boy, 
 with somewhat limited educational advan- 
 tages. His entire schooling was not more 
 than a year in all, but lie has had the teaching 
 of experience, and is a keen, observant charac- 
 
 ter. When he married he started out in life 
 a poor man, and followed farming until he 
 was thirty-five years of age. At that age lie 
 gave up farming and came to Juda to engage 
 in his present business. Mr. Legler has be- 
 come very well-to-do, and is one of the lead- 
 ing men of the village. 
 
 Mr. Legler is a stanch Prohibitionist, and 
 attended the national convention of that party 
 which was held in Chicago in July, 1900. 
 He belongs to the Good Templars. He has 
 served as town chairman and school director. 
 Mr. Legler is a man of fine mind, clear views, 
 and takes a strong interest in everything that 
 relates to the general good of the community. 
 His genial nature and accommodating spirit 
 have made him many friends. 
 
 PATRICK GRANT, at present (1900) 
 the register of deeds of Iowa county, and a 
 man held in high repute for both ability and 
 integrity, was born in Ireland, but has made 
 his home in southern Wisconsin since his 
 boyhood, in fact for half a century. Plis 
 father, Thomas Grant, was born in County 
 Kilkenny, Ireland, about 1815, and emigrated 
 to America in the spring of 1850, bringing 
 with him his wife, Johanna, and his three 
 sons, Patrick, John and David. The objec- 
 tive point of the family was the mining lands 
 of Iowa county, and thither they proceeded 
 immediately after disembarking at Montreal. 
 The voyage across the Atlantic was made in 
 a sailing vessel to Quebec, and thence they 
 proceeded by steamer to the historic city, 
 whence they started on their westward jour- 
 ney. Nearly eight weeks were spent on the 
 sea, and it may be readily believed that when 
 their wanderings ceased, on reaching the vil- 
 lage of Highland, the hearts of all were joy- 
 ful. The elder Grant at once began work in 
 the mines, but the tales of vast wealth, to 
 be had with little labor, in California, allured 
 him to the Pacific coast in 1852. He re- 
 mained there for three years, when he returned 
 •to his home and family in Wisconsin. He 
 died in 1874, at the age of about sixty years, 
 happy in the love of his family and the sin- 
 cere respect of the community. His widow 
 survived him until Oct. 5, 1889, when she, 
 too, passed away, at the home of her son, 
 Patrick, who, with his faithful wife, had de- 
 votedly and tenderly ministered to her in her 
 I declining years. Patrick was the first born son. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 851 
 
 John, the second, went from Highland to Illi- 
 nois in i860, and thence to Missouri, where 
 he began the. life of a steamboatman on the 
 lower Mississippi. Being in the Confederacy 
 at the outbreak of the Civil war, he was draft- 
 ed into the Southern military service much 
 against his wish. He availed himself of the 
 earliest opportunity which offered to escape 
 into the Northern lines, and passed the latter 
 years of his life in the territory of Wyoming, 
 dying there about 1888. David, the youngest 
 of the three sons of Thomas Grant, was a 
 blacksmith by trade, and settled at Dubuque, 
 Iowa, where he died in 1895. 
 
 Patrick Grant was a boy of twelve when 
 he crossed the ocean with his parents. He 
 grew to mature years in Highland, and in 
 early manhood married Elizabeth Gunn, 
 whose parents, John and Mary Gunn, were, 
 like his own, emigrants from Ireland. Their 
 earliest homes in America, however, were in 
 the States of New Hampshire and New York, 
 and the family settled in Highland about 
 1848. Mrs. Grant is the youngest of a family 
 of four children, the others being James, Will- 
 iam and Isabel, of whom William died in 
 Idaho in 1899; James served through the war 
 for the Union as captain of Company G, 27th 
 Wis. V. I., and since quitting the service he 
 has resided in various localities, in 1896 be- 
 ing elected to Congress from Idaho, and still 
 has his home in Washington, D. C. ; Isabel 
 married William Bambrick, of West Virginia, 
 who subsequently removed to Georgetown, 
 Col., where he died, and her present home is 
 at Haley, Idaho. Mr. Gunn, Sr., died in 
 i860, and his wife on Sept. 24, 1889. To 
 Mr. Patrick Grant and his wife nine children 
 have been born, five of whom are yet living. 
 Isabel, the eldest, is a stenographer, and is em- 
 ployed in Milwaukee ; Delia is her father's 
 deputy in the register’s office; Grace and El- 
 mer live at home; William, John and Thomas 
 died in childhood, or early youth. 
 
 No ; public man in Iowa county enjoys a 
 more enviable reputation than does the pres- 
 ent register of deeds, who is now serving his 
 second term in that office, his name being a 
 synonym for incorruptible integrity. Prior 
 to his elevation to this post he had held other 
 positions of honor and trust, among them be- 
 ing those of chairman of the board of super- 
 visors, town treasurer and member of the 
 school board. Prior to 1884 Mr. Grant was 
 
 a Democrat, but in that year cast his vote for 
 James G. Blaine and the Republican ticket, 
 and since then has affiliated with the Repub- 
 lican party. In religious creed he is a devout 
 Catholic, his life being a practical exempli- 
 fication of the vital power of the faith which 
 he professes. 
 
 DR. CARL STEIGER, physician and sur- 
 geon at Monroe, Green county, has a sound 
 and thorough medical education obtained at the 
 best European schools, and is one of the most 
 progressive, cultured and capable practitioners 
 of medicine to be found in the Northwest. 
 
 Dr. Steiger was born in Zurich, Switz- 
 erland, Feb. 12, 1861, and is the only child 
 of John Carl and Amelia (Grohs) Steiger, 
 both natives of Switzerland. The senior Stei- 
 ger began the study of medicine when he 
 was a young man, but broke off his medical 
 work to take up the business of a tradesman 
 for several years, returning, however, to the 
 practice of medicine. He was a great traveler, 
 and followed his profession in India and in 
 Spain. He served in the regular army in 
 Switzerland. His death occurred in 1886, at 
 the age of fifty-six. Elis wife died when she 
 was in her nineteenth year, leaving her son 
 then only seven months old. Peter Steiger, 
 the father of John Carl, was in early life a 
 clergyman, being called from the pulpit to 
 enter civil life, and became the governor of 
 the canton of St. Gallen, and for the rest of 
 his years he was a public character, in the 
 service of the republic. He had three sons 
 and one daughter, and lived to be sixty years 
 old. Johann Grohs, the father of Amelia, was 
 a native of Switzerland, and was a hotel- 
 keeper in Zurich, and reached the venerable 
 age of ninety-two. Amelia was his only child. 
 
 Dr. Carl Steiger, left a motherless child 
 when a mere infant, was taken into the home 
 of his maternal grandfather, and kept there 
 until lie reached the age of six years. At 
 that age he was taken to Marthalen, Switzer- 
 land, to another home, and sent to the public 
 school until he reached his twelfth year. Then 
 the young lad, as the custom was, entered 
 the gymnasium at Winterthur, where he stud- 
 ied for seven years. He went to the academy 
 at Lausanne, and took up the study of medi- 
 cine. He was in the academy three years, and 
 then matriculating at the University of Mu- 
 nich, spent two and a half years in its medi- 
 
852 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 cal department, receiving his diploma in 1887. 
 
 It represented long and laborious years, and 
 his standing in the university secured him the 
 appointment of assistant physician in the 
 Munich city hospital the same year. In 1888 
 he came to this country, and on June 15, that 
 year, he located in Monroe, Wis., immediately 
 engaging in practice as a general physician. 
 He is an able and careful practitioner, under- 
 stands his profession as closely as a hard- 
 working and observant student can, and is re- 
 garded as a reliable and successful physician. 
 His office is located on East Russell street, 
 half a block from the court-house square. 
 
 Dr. Steiger and Miss Belle Linder, the 
 daughter of John and Lydia (George) Lin- 
 der, were married May 27, 1889. The Doc- 
 tor has had three children born to him, Carl, 
 Max and Lluldah. Carl died when eleven 
 months old. Dr. Steiger belongs to Concordia 
 Lodge, No. 174, of the German Odd Fellows, 
 the Germania Wisconsin G. U. G., a mutual 
 life insurance fraternity, the A. O. U. W., 
 and the Monroe Turnverein. He is a genial 
 and popular gentleman. 
 
 WILLIAM CLARNO, who offered him- 
 self a willing sacrifice to his country in her 
 hour of peril, is now living retired at his com- 
 fortable home in Browntown, Green county. 
 In the dark days of 1862 he volunteered in 
 the Union army, becoming a member of Com- 
 pany C, 3d Wis. V. I., under Capt. Flood, 
 and took part in many of the hard fought bat- 
 tles of the war. His first enlistment dates 
 from March 11, 1862, and was for three years’ 
 service, at the end of which time he re-enlist- 
 ed, and was transferred to the Western Army, 
 lie participated in the battles of Winchester, 
 Cedar Mountain, Chancellorsville, Antietam, 
 Gettysburg, Buzzard Roost, Resaca, Dallas 
 and Lost Mountain. In the last named battle 
 Mr. Clarno saw his last service, as he was 
 wounded by a minie ball June 16, 1864, which 
 caused the amputation of his right leg. He 
 received an honorable discharge, and returned 
 home July 26, 1865, and now draws a disa- 
 bility pension from the government for his 
 gallant service. 
 
 Mr. Clarno was born July 6, 1841, in 
 Clarno township, Green county, son of An- i 
 drew and Mary (St. John) Clarno, and re- 
 ceived his education in the little log school 
 houses of that day. After his return from 
 
 the war he studied dentistry, and followed 
 the practice of that profession some eleven 
 years, but his health had been undermined by 
 his long service in the army, and he was un- 
 able to stand the strain of indoor life, so he 
 engaged in the well drilling business, continu- 
 ing in same for sixteen years. In 1882 he 
 removed to Browntown and has since lived 
 retired. He has taken an active part in poli- 
 tics, and has been a member of the village 
 board. Since 1876 he has supported the 
 Democratic party. 
 
 On August 8, 1868, Mr. Clarno was mar- 
 ried to Miss Elizabeth Peregoy, who was born 
 in 1849, daughter of John and Susan Pere- 
 goy, old settlers of Monroe, Wis. This mar- 
 riage has been blessed with seven children, 
 of whom the following is a brief record : 
 Emma, born May 5, 1870, married Edward 
 Phillips, who died Jan. 31, 1901, leaving his 
 widow with six children; William, Jr., born 
 Feb. 13, 1872, now residing in South Wayne, 
 Lafayette Go., Wis., married Miss Annie Ty- 
 ler, of Winslow, 111 .; Stella, born Oct. 10, 
 1873, is the wife of Carl Larson, of Brown- 
 town; Susan, born Sept. 16, 1875, married 
 Charles Tucker, of South Wayne, Wis.; Jean- 
 nette, born March 11, 1877, died in infancy; 
 Libbie, born Feb. 20, 1879, died in childhood; 
 and Jessie, born Aug. 30, 1887, is at home. 
 
 Mr. Clarno comes of one of the early set- 
 tled families of Wisconsin. His father, An- 
 drew Clarno, was born in Sangamon county, 
 111 ., in 1813, of German origin, his father, 
 John Clarno, being one of the pioneers of 
 Illinois. Andrew Clarno was married in Ste- 
 phenson county, 111 ., to Mary St. John, and be- 
 came the father of six children: Mary Jane, 
 Robert (a bachelor of Monroe, Wis.), Will- 
 iam (our subject), Valentine (now of Ham- 
 ilton county, Neb., was a soldier in Company 
 C, 3d Wis. V. I., in the Civil war), Andrew 
 (also- a soldier in the 5th Battery, Wis. Light 
 Artillery, and died of illness while in the 
 service), and Augustus. Andrew Clarno, the 
 father of William Clarno, was. killed by a 
 runaway team July 10, 1852, in Clarno, and 
 his wife died June 10, 1897. 
 
 Y^fcpderson St. Tohn, father of Mrs. Marv 
 (St, Baffin) Clarno, and grandfather of Will- 
 I iam Clarno, was a native of France, who early 
 located in Kentucky, whence he removed to 
 Sangamon county, 111 . He was a typical pio- 
 neer, bold, fearless and trustworthy. He had 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 853 
 
 taken part in the Revolutionary war, the war 
 of 1812, and in the Black Hawk war, besides 
 many of the skirmishes with the red men so 
 common to life on the frontier. He and his 
 wife, Nancy, were the parents of the follow- 
 ing children: Martin, of Dane county, Wis. ; 
 John, Matthew, William, Charlotte, Melinda, 
 Lucy and Mary. Mr. St. John died near 
 Orangeville, Illinois. 
 
 FRED DIVALL, a retired and honored 
 farmer and resident of Lancaster, Grant coun- 
 ty, where, with his wife, lie has made his 
 home since April 27, 1855, was born on the 
 South Downs, in the county of Sussex, Eng- 
 land, Jan. 11, 1830, and is a son of John and 
 Lucy (Haler) Divall, natives of the same 
 county, where they passed their lives on a 
 farm. They were the parents of five sons 
 and five daughters, of whom three of the sons 
 - — Fred, Edwin and Alfred — came to the Uni- 
 ted States. Of these, Edwin settled in Lan- 
 caster township, Grant county, and died many 
 years ago. Alfred came in 1862, lived in the 
 same township, but for some time prior to his 
 death, in August, 1899, had made his home 
 with his nephew, George Divall ; he left a son, 
 Roy Divall. The family of Edwin, however, 
 never reached America, although they had 
 made every preparation to come when the 
 news of his untimely death caused a change 
 of purpose. 
 
 Fred Divall was married Feb. 11, 1855, 
 in England, to> Mary Farncombe, born in 
 1833, a daughter of William and Mary Farn- 
 combe, of Sussex county, who were the par- 
 ents of thirteen children, nine of whom reached 
 maturity and three of whom are still living. 
 The father was born in 1791, and for twenty- 
 eight years served in the British army, and 
 took part in the battle of Waterloo; he died 
 at his home in Sussex, Feb. 21, 1890, his 
 wife, who was born in 1800, having previously 
 passed away. Four of the older of the thir- 
 teen children died in the West Indies, where 
 the father was stationed seven years while a 
 soldier ; the three surviving members of the 
 family are Mrs. Elizabeth Brown and Thomas, 
 both in England, and Mrs. Divall. 
 
 About two weeks after marriage Mr. Di- 
 vall and wife started for America, and were 
 seven weeks on the voyage from London to 
 New York, whence they came direct to Lan- 
 caster, Wis. The first land purchased here 
 
 by Mr. Divall was a cpiarter-section in Lan- 
 caster township, to which he added, a little 
 later, a quarter-section adjoining, but situ- 
 ated in the township of Liberty, and still later 
 purchased 185 acres more in Lancaster town- 
 ship, thus becoming one of the largest land 
 owners and most successful farmers and stock 
 growers in that part of the county. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Divall lived on this farm for thirty 
 years, and then he sold it to- his son-in-law, 
 Reuben Austin. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Divall had born to them 
 ten children, of whom one daughter died in 
 infancy, and the survivors are Mrs. Mary 
 McCormick; Frederick William, who resides 
 in Montfo.it township; Mrs. Lucy Weir; 
 George A., proprietor of the Lancaster Hotel; 
 James E., of Ellenboro; Mrs. Amelia Austin; 
 John E., in Liberty township; Albert T., also 
 of Liberty township ; and Mrs. Orah Kemper, 
 in Nebraska. There are twenty-nine grand- 
 children, and at Christmas-tide, 1898, the en- 
 tire family — sons and daughters and their 
 wives and husbands and children — spent the 
 holiday week with the parents and numbered 
 fifty-one persons. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Divall retired to Lancaster 
 in March, 1892, and have now been residents 
 of Grant county for forty-five years. They 
 have a most pleasant home, where they are 
 passing - the evening of life in peace and con- 
 tentment. They are consistent members of 
 the Episcopal church, and are among the most 
 esteemed old settlers of Grant county, in which 
 all but one of their surviving children reside. 
 
 ABRAHAM KEY, one of the defenders 
 of the Union during the Rebellion, and a rep- 
 resentative citizen of Patch Grove township, 
 belongs to one of the pioneer families of Grant 
 county, and for many years was a resident of 
 Wyalusing township. He was born in Pike 
 county, 111 ., in 1835, his parents being Mar- 
 shall and Sarah (Schall) Key. The name 
 Key is a historic one, and some of the repre- 
 sentatives of this family have attained to na- 
 tional fame. The branch of the family to which 
 Abraham Key belongs is along the same line 
 of descent, though a little remote, as was Fran- 
 cis Scott Key, the famous author of the “Star 
 Spangled Banner.” Philip Barton Key, who 
 was slain in Washington many years ago by 
 Gen. Sickles, was descended from the same an- 
 cestry. The parents of Abraham Key were 
 
854 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 married in Kentucky, and from that State 
 moved to Illinois, coming to the territory of 
 Wisconsin in 1841, and locating near Mont- 
 fort, Grant county. Subsequently they re- 
 moved to Lancaster, and still later to Beetown. 
 The father was engaged in lead mining for 
 many years, and in those early days the places 
 above mentioned produced large quantities of 
 lead ore. Later the family took up their resi- 
 dence in Wyalusing township, where the father 
 died in 1879, and the mother passed away 
 some years later. In their family were eight 
 children, three sons and five daughters, all of 
 whom are living at the present writing, in 
 1900, with the exception of George. The 
 others are Eliza, Amanda, Abraham, Surilda, 
 Nancy, Mary Ann and Benton. The eldest 
 daughter, Eliza, is now a resident of Min- 
 nesota. • | v 
 
 Abraham Key remained under the parental 
 roof until he entered the service of his coun- 
 try during her hour of peril. He enlisted Sept. 
 3, 1864, in the 1st Wis. Heavy Artillery, and 
 was in active service until the close of the 
 war. The command nominally belonged to 
 tbe Army of the Potomac, and a large part 
 of its service was in defense of the national 
 capital, being assigned to the fortifications 
 around the city of Washington. Its duties 
 were arduous, and often called for the exercise 
 of as much skill and bravery as did the more 
 active service at the front. After the war 
 Mr. Ivey; returned to the old homestead in 
 Wyalusing township. 
 
 In 1871 Mr. Key was married to Miss 
 Laura Pierring, also a native of Illinois, and 
 they have become the parents of eight chil- 
 dren, three sons and five daughters, namely: 
 Abraham, Jesse, Lloyd Fitch, Mary, Nellie, 
 Jennie, Wisconsin Belle and Millie. Mr. Key 
 was a faithful soldier in the war for the Union, 
 and as a citizen is highly respected by all who 
 have the pleasure of his acquaintance. For 
 more than a quarter of a century -lie made his 
 home in Wyalusing township, but is now an 
 honored resident of Patch Grove. Fraternally 
 he is a worthy member of the G. A. R. Post 
 of Bloomington. 
 
 OLE M. ERICKSON, blacksmith of 
 Browntown, Green county, is a native son of 
 Norway, who has found friends and fortune 
 in the New World. His father, Martin Erick- 
 son, located in Wiota township in 1857, and 
 
 there bought a small farm, where he made his 
 home until his death, in 1886, when he was 
 aged seventy-four years. He and his wife,. 
 Lena, were married in Norway, and became 
 the parents of twelve children: John, a farmer 
 of Wiota township, married Johana Smestad; 
 Caroline married C. C. Rood, a farmer of 
 Wiota township; Even married Bell Elifson; 
 Lena married Chris Olson ; Ole M. is men- 
 tioned below ; Martin resides in Wiota town- 
 ship; August married Lena Hanson, who is 
 now deceased; Peter wedded a Miss Ander- 
 son, who is also deceased; Henry is a farmer; 
 Joseph is deceased; Josephine married George 
 Denare, a farmer; and Oscar M. married 
 Hilda Paulson. 
 
 Ole M. Erickson was born in Norway Oct. 
 14, 1854, and coming to America as he did 
 in childhood, the greater part of his life has 
 been passed in Wisconsin. Pie was reared 
 on tbe farm in Wiota township, and received 
 his education in the common schools. As a 
 youth he inclined to the blacksmith’s trade, 
 and' determined to make it his life work. At 
 the age of twenty-nine he located in Brown- 
 town, and has there conducted a general black- 
 smith shop, and has also engaged in wagon 
 making, and in the implement business. Pie 
 started out in life as a poor man, and 'his in- 
 dustry and economy alone are responsible for 
 the substantial position be occupies to-day. 
 
 On Sept. 7, 1877, Mr. Erickson w^as mar- 
 ried 1 to Miss Mary Larson, who was born April 
 27, 1856, daughter of Oto and Anna Larson, 
 natives of Norway, who early settled in La- 
 fayette county. Mr. and Mrs. Larson had a 
 family of nine children, seven of whom are 
 yet living: Louis married a Miss Anderson; 
 Charles married Miss Dora Johnson; Mary 
 (Mrs. Erickson); Sophia married Elef Go- 
 lickson, of Jordan township; Nettie resides in 
 Browntown; Lena is deceased; Conrad mar- 
 ried Estella Clarno, who is deceased; Telah 
 married Dr. Osborn, of Chicago 1 . To the mar- 
 riage of Mr. and Mrs. Erickson have come 
 two children: Morgan E., born May 28, 
 
 1879, married on Feb. 21, 1901, Miss Lottie 
 Bing’er, who was born Feb. 21, 1877, daugh- 
 ter of Jerry Binger, an early settler of Cadiz 
 township ; and Richard Elmer, born Oct. 20, 
 1885, is at home. 
 
 The Republican party finds in Mr. Erick- 
 son a stanch adherent, and he has served his 
 town and township as school director and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 855 
 
 treasurer, and at present is a member of the 
 village, board. In religious faith he is a Lu- 
 theran. The family reside in the handsome 
 home he owns in Browntown, and are quite 
 popular among those who know them best. 
 
 CALVIN LADD, of Patch Grove, Grant 
 county, is an honored veteran of the Civil 
 war, who enrolled his name among the boys 
 in blue Sept. 16, 1861, becoming a member 
 of Company M, 4th Mo. Vol. Cav. He en- 
 listed for three years or during the war, and 
 served the full time, being honorably dis- 
 charged on Oct. 19, 1864. He participated in 
 all of the engagements in which his regiment 
 took part, never being off duty except for about 
 six weeks when ill in the hospital. He served 
 in Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennes- 
 see, in fact, generally throughout the South- 
 west, and took part in the battles of Pea Ridge, 
 and Guntown, under Gen. Sturgis. At Union 
 City, Tenn., he lost the second finger of his 
 left hand by accident. Though much broken 
 down in health, he remained at the front with 
 his regiment until his term of enlistment ex- 
 pired, and returned home with a war record 
 of which lie may be justly proud. 
 
 Mr. Ladd was born in Schenectady, N. Y., 
 in 1842, a son of Lemuel and Amy Ladd, who 
 came to Wisconsin in 1855, and located in the 
 Patch Grove settlement, where the father died 
 in January, 1879. The mother is still living 
 and) continues to reside at the old homestead. 
 In their family were eight children, seven of 
 whom are living at this writing, in 1901. One 
 son, Elijah S. Ladd, now a resident of South 
 Dakota, was also a soldier of the Civil war, 
 being a member of the 2d Wis. Vol. Cav. 
 
 I11 1870 Calvin Ladd was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Matilda Quick, a daughter of 
 Winslow and Ruth Quick. Her mother died 
 many years ago, but her father is still living, 
 a resident of Patch Grove township. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Ladd have four children, one son and 
 three daughters, namely : Mariette, wife of 
 Fred J. Arnsburger; Essie; Lemuel; and Leta. 
 The family have a pleasant home in Patch 
 Grove, where they delight to entertain their 
 many friends. Mr. Ladd is an esteemed mem- 
 ber of Bloomington Post, G. A. R., and by his 
 ballot is a supporter of the men and 1 meas- 
 ures of the Republican party. He was a good 
 soldier, and as a citizen is well worthy the high 
 regard in which he is held. 
 
 BEN. FRYSLIE, one of the enterprising 
 and successful young farmers of Jordan town- 
 ship, Green county, where he carries on gen- 
 eral farming, dairying and cheese making, was 
 born April 9, 1865, on the farm which he now 
 conducts and on which his parents settled in 
 1853 - 
 
 Andrew and Chestie (Gardalen) Fryslie 
 his parents, were natives of Norway, bom 
 about ninety-six miles from Christiania. Con- 
 cluding to try to better their circumstances 
 in America, they came hither, and after a few 
 years’ residence in Wiota township, Lafayette 
 Co., Wis., settled in Jordan township, Green 
 county, taking up land in section 28. At that 
 time they were blessed with very little of this 
 world’s goods, but they had health and ambi- 
 tion, and by industry succeeded in establish- 
 ing themselves comfortably in life, Mr. Fryslie 
 at the time of his death owning a fine farm 
 of 341 acres, with fine barns and a good two- 
 story dwelling. The land was all highly im- 
 proved and under profitable cultivation, and 
 he ranked among the leading well-to-do farm- 
 ers of this locality, where he was universally 
 respected. Air. and Mrs. Fryslie were mar- 
 ried in 1849, an d n i ne children were born to 
 their union, seven of whom survive, namely : 
 Ole, of Clark county, Wis. ; Inger, of Chicago, 
 111 . ; Henry, living near Chicago ; Anton, of 
 South Dakota; Peter, of Colorado; Carrie, 
 who resides with her mother and brother on 
 the old home place; and Ben., our subject. 
 Andrew Fryslie passed away Jan. 6, 1900, at 
 the homestead, where his widow still resides, 
 now aged seventy-seven years. He was a con- 
 sistent member of the Lutheran church, and 
 lived an upright life, was a valued citizen and 
 good neighbor, and much missed in the com- 
 munity where he had so long had his home. 
 His political support was given to the Repub- 
 lican party. 
 
 Ben. Fryslie, whose name opens this sketch, 
 was reared on the old home place, and received 
 his education in the local public schools. He 
 has always followed farming, and has been 
 •remarkably successful, being- apparently gifted 
 with unusually good judgment and ability in 
 the management of matters agricultural. He 
 is a hard worker, and his honesty and integrity 
 in all his dealings have won him the unquali- 
 fied esteem of his neighbors and fellow citi- 
 zens. It is his intention to buy out the heirs 
 to the home farm, in the cultivation of which 
 
856 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he is -engaged. Mr. Fryslie has not married. 
 Like his father, he is a Republican in political 
 sentiment. 
 
 PETER BELL was a hard-working and 
 upright farmer for many years, and with his 
 farming operations carried on his trade of 
 stone mason, tie is now living a quiet and 
 retired life at Albany, Green county, in the 
 enjoyment of a competence that represents in- 
 dustrious years and patient saving. 
 
 Mr. Bell was born in Clinton county, N. 
 Y., Nov. 12, 1821, and is a son of John and 
 Effie (Ash) Bell, both natives of New York. 
 They welre the parents of six children, of 
 whom four are now living : Margaret, the 
 widow of Jeremiah Burbank, of Castana, 
 Iowa; Peter, of Albany, Wis. ; Joseph, of Bas- 
 sett, Iowa; and Ann, wife of Amos Burbank, 
 of Castana, Iowa. The father was a farmer, 
 and came from New York to Wisconsin in 
 1848, locating in the town of Magnolia, Rock 
 county, where he lived five years, when he 
 moved to Dane county, where he died in 1863, 
 when nearly eighty-six years of age. His 
 widow survived him some four or five years, 
 and was an esteemed member of the Methodist 
 Church. In his political faith he was a Demo- 
 crat. The father of John Bell was a native 
 of Holland, and died in old age, leaving a 
 large family. David Ash, the father of Effie 
 mentioned above, was a native farmer of New 
 York, had a large family, and died in old age. 
 John Bell, father of our subject, had been twice 
 married. By his first wife, who was a Miss 
 Van Hining, he became the father of five chil- 
 dren : Rowland, Henry, Rebecca, Eva and 
 
 Cornelius, of whom Rebecca and Eva still live 
 at the age of ninety-five and ninety-seven years, 
 respectively. 
 
 Peter Bell was a small child when his par- 
 ents moved to Herkimer county, N. Y., where 
 they lived seven years. From that county they 
 moved into Wayne county, where his home 
 was had until he came West. He attended 
 district school in Herkimer county, walking two 
 and a half miles. Mr. Bell was married March 
 1, 1849, to Miss Huldah Miller, daughter of 
 David and Melvina (Wolven) Miller. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Bell became the parents of four chil- 
 dren, David Ansel, Maggie, Martha and Will- 
 iam. David Ansel died at the age of seven 
 months. Maggie married Francis Atkinson, 
 of Albany, and has one child, Francis. Mar- 
 
 tha married Seth Hewitt, and lives at Arling- 
 ton, S. Dak. ; they have two children, Effie and 
 Ivan. William is a tinner by trade, and lives 
 at Rolfe, Iowa. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bell have been members of 
 the Methodist Church for fifty years. He has 
 been trustee, class-leader and steward for many 
 years, but the increasing infirmities of old age, 
 and his desire that younger men should take 
 up the work, have led him to resign. He be- 
 longs to Erastus Hoyt Post, No. 69, G. A. R. 
 He was a Republican from the organization 
 of the party until 1884, when he became a 
 Prohibitionist, and has continued in that politi- 
 cal faith to the present time. He was super- 
 visor in Primrose township, Dane county, one 
 year before the war, and also served as justice 
 of the peace three years. 
 
 In 1851 Mr. Bell came to Wisconsin, with 
 his wife, by way of the lakes, and located in 
 Rock county, where he remained one year. 
 He was two- years in the town of Sylvester, 
 Green county, when he moved to Dane county, 
 where he and his brother Joseph bought a farm 
 of two hundred acres, which they cultivated 
 until the breaking out of the Civil war. Mr. 
 Bell enlisted Aug. 14, 1862, in Company K, 
 33d Wis. V. I., and served three years to a 
 day. He was at the siege of Vicksburg from 
 its beginning to the triumphal entry of the 
 conquering troops into the city ; under fire for 
 nineteen days in the Red River campaign ; par- 
 ticipated in the battle of Cane river ; and was 
 present at the siege of Spanish Fort. In all, 
 he was in fifteen hard-fought battles and many 
 skirmishes. In one of the skirmishes, in pur- 
 suit of Gen. Hood in Tennessee, he lost the 
 sight of one of his eyes. Mr. Bell has fol- 
 lowed stone mason and contract work for the 
 past thirty years. For twenty-seven years he 
 has lived in Albany, where he has a good home. 
 
 David and Melvina (Wolven) Miller, Mrs. 
 Bell’s parents, lived in Ulster county, N. Y., 
 and came west to Wisconsin in the fall of 
 1854, and located in the town of Mt. Pleasant, 
 Green county, where he died in 1865, at the 
 age of seventy-one. His widow died in 1881, 
 at the age of eighty-six. He served in the 
 war of 1812, and his wife received a pension 
 after his demise. In religious belief they were 
 both Presbyterians. They reared eleven chil- 
 dren, six of whom are now living: Eliza, the 
 wife of Franklin Bennett, of Albany, a sketch 
 of whose life appears in this volume; Maria, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 857 
 
 wife of Luke Edwards, of the town of Sylves- 
 ter; Peter, of Albany; Huldah, the wife of 
 Peter Bell; Louis, now in the Rocky Mount- 
 ains; and George, of Iowa Falls. Mrs. Bell’s 
 paternal grandfather was David Miller, who 
 was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and 
 was taken prisoner by the Indians ; he was the 
 father of a large family, and lived to be about 
 eighty years old. Mrs. Melvina (Wolven) 
 Miller was a daughter of Zachariah Wolven, 
 a native of New York, who died before the 
 Revolution. 
 
 JOHN W. HULBERT, a well-known citi- 
 zen and veteran soldier of Muscoda, Grant 
 county, occupies a well-cultivated farm on sec- 
 tion 11, and is one of the representative men 
 of this community. He is a native of New 
 York, having been born in the Empire State 
 Oct. 6, 1836, son of Ansel and Grisselle Hul- 
 bert, the former of whom was a native of 
 Vermont, and the latter of Scotch parentage, 
 and both were sturdy, honest people, good 
 types of the best pioneers, who have made the 
 “wilderness blossom like the rose.” In 1850 
 the family migrated from New York to Wis- 
 consin, settling at Stoughton, Dane county, 
 but afterward removed to Indiana, and finally 
 settled again in Wisconsin, the father dying in 
 1899, in Richland county, Wis., at the great 
 age of ninety-eight. The mother died many 
 years prior to her husband’s death, in Canada, 
 where the family were then residing. They 
 had three children: John W., the subject of 
 this sketch; Ansel, residing in Richland coun- 
 ty; and a daughter, who now resides at Fond 
 du Lac, Wisconsin. 
 
 John W. Hulbert enlisted in 1862 in Com- 
 pany C, 87th Ind. V. I., and served in his regi- 
 ment in the Army of the Cumberland, taking 
 part in some of the most important battles and 
 campaigns of the war, including Perry ville, 
 Munfordville, Stone River, etc. After about 
 a year of service Mr. Hulbert was honorably 
 discharged on account of disability, and has 
 never regained his health. Like so many of 
 his comrades-in-arms, he sacrificed his physical 
 well-being for his country, and can not re- 
 ceive too high praise for the years he has pa- 
 tiently endured the suffering thus entailed. 
 
 Soon after his return from, the army Mr. 
 Hulbert was married To Miss Rosana Fuller, 
 who was born in Ohio, a daughter of Curtis 
 and Betsy Fuller. Of the eight children born 
 
 of this union, two died in infancy; the others, 
 two sons and four daughters, are as follows : 
 Grant, Elsie, Charles, Maud, Edith and Nina. 
 Mr. Hulbert is a member of the G. A. R. post 
 at Muscoda, and in politics is a Republican. 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Hulbert are hospitable peo- 
 ple, and enjoy the friendship of a large circle 
 of friends. They are numbered among the rep- 
 resentative people of Muscoda, and are worthy 
 of the highest esteem. 
 
 CHARLES B. FINN (deceased) was a 
 faithful soldier in the war for the Union, and 
 one of the well-known and highly esteemed 
 citizens of Patch Grove township, Grant coun- 
 ty. He enlisted on Feb. 9, 1865, in Company 
 G, 47th Wis. V. I., and was discharged at 
 Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 4, 1865. Mr. Finn was 
 born in the city of New York, Sept. 25, 1835, 
 and was a son of Anthony and Catherine Ann 
 (Shuma)Finn, the former a native of the State 
 of New York, the latter of the city of the same 
 name. In their family were five children, 
 three sons and two daughters, but Charles B. 
 was the only one to enter the army during the 
 Civil war. From New York city the family 
 moved to Erie, Penn., and later Charles B. 
 Finn went to Ontario, Canada, where he was 
 united in marriage with Miss Lydia G. Allen, 
 who' was born in the town of Ipswich, Eng- 
 land, in 1843, an d when two years old was 
 taken by her parents, David and Harriet Allen, 
 to Canada, where they spent the remainder of 
 their lives. Mrs. Finn was the youngest of 
 the five children who came to America with 
 the parents. All but one are still living, name- 
 ly : Harriet, a resident of Windsor, Ontario; 
 Edwin, of Missouri; Orlando, of Ontario; and 
 Mrs. Finn. Elizabeth died in Ontario. 
 
 In June, 1861, Mr. Finn became a resident 
 of Patch Grove township, Grant Co., Wis. 
 He first located on a farm two miles west of 
 the village of Patch Grove, and some time 
 later purchased the farm on Which his widow 
 now resides. His death was an especially sad 
 one, being sudden and unexpected, as he was 
 killed by lightning Oct. 1, 1888. It was not 
 only a severe loss to his family, but a source 
 of deep regret to all who knew him. He was 
 an industrious and enterprising man, upright 
 and honorable in all the relations of life, and 
 highly respected and esteemed in the commu- 
 nity where he made his home. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Finn were born six chil- 
 
858 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dren, three sons and three daughters, namely : 
 Albert C., who married Laura Colby, the 
 daughter of a soldier; Lucius O. ; Olive Mary, 
 wife of R. S. Ryerson, of the State of Wash- 
 ington, where she now resides ; Carrie Eliza, 
 wife of Horatio Miller, of Denver, Colo.; 
 Jesse W. ; and Florence A. Mrs. Finn is a 
 lady of intelligence and culture, w'ho' presides 
 with gracious dignity in her pleasant home, 
 and, like her husband, makes many friends. 
 
 FRANKLIN BENNETT. Among the 
 older and more venerable agriculturists of Al- 
 bany, Green county, Mr. Bennett has long 
 been conspicuous by reason of his manly in- 
 tegrity, his upright character, and his life of 
 industry and honesty. 
 
 Mr. Bennett was born in the town of Char- 
 lotte, Chittenden county, Vt., Dec. 12, 1821, 
 a son of James and Fannie (Hall) Bennett, 
 natives of Long Island, and of Walpole, N. 
 IT, respectively. They were the parents of 
 seven children, of whom only two are now liv- 
 ing: Franklin; and Caroline, the widow of 
 D. B. Traverse, of Eau Claire, Wis. The 
 father was a wheelwright when a young man, 
 and when he became of age enlisted as a ship 
 carpenter on board the ship “Constitution,” 
 and then served in the army during the war of 
 1812. He located in Vermont after the clos- 
 ing of the war, and married in Williston, that 
 State, carrying on his trade of wheelwright. 
 In later life he moved to Canton, St. Law- 
 rence Co., N. Y., where he continued work at 
 hisi trade. There he died at the age of seventy- 
 six, his wife dying three years before, at the 
 age of sixty-three. She was a Methodist. The 
 father of James Bennett was a native of New 
 York, of English, Irish and Scotch descent, 
 and was a carriage maker by trade ; he was the 
 father of three children, and died in advanced 
 years. Elisha Hall, the father of Fannie Hall 
 mentioned above, was a farmer in his native 
 State, New Hampshire, where he reared a 
 large family, and died when old 1 . 
 
 Franklin Bennett was about twelve years- 
 old when his parents moved into New York. 
 He grew to manhood and received his school- 
 ing in Canton. In 1847 Mr. Bennett came west 
 to Beloit. He had a small farm of about forty 
 acres near Belvidere, Boone Co., 111 ., where 
 he lived ten years. He sold that at the expira- 
 tion of this period, and moved to Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Bennett married Miss Sarah Rounds, 
 
 daughter of Brinton Rounds, in 1837. Seven 
 children were born to this union, three of whom 
 are now living, — Ann, Emma and James. Ann 
 married George Bennett (deceased), and had 
 four children, two of whom are living, Rev. 
 Harry (a preacher in the Christian Church), 
 and Bertha (a teacher) ; Mrs. Ann Bennett now 
 lives in Monroe. Emma married Edward Ba- 
 con, and lives two miles south of Monroe; they 
 were the parents of five children, four of whom 
 are still living, Don, Bert, Ralph and Onrin. 
 James married and lives at Altoona, Wis. Mrs. 
 Sarah (Rounds) Bennett died in Illinois in 
 1856. Mr. Bennett was married Jan. 29, 1859, 
 to Mrs. Eliza Edwards, widow of Ansel Ed- 
 wards, and daughter of David Miller. There 
 were no children by the second marriage. Mr. 
 and' Mrs. Bennett belong to the Methodist 
 Church. 
 
 Mr. Bennett enlisted in August, 1862, in 
 Company F, 31st Wis. V. I., and served three 
 years. He participated in the battles of Atlanta 
 and Bentonville, and in many skirmishes, and 
 was on the celebrated march of Gen. Sherman 
 to the sea. Mr. Bennett returned to his farm 
 in Green county when the wa-r was over, and 
 continued on it until 1880. That year he sold 
 his farm and moved into Albany, where he 
 built a good home, and for a time followed the 
 work of a mason. Lately his advanced age 
 has necessitated a cpiiet life, and for several 
 years he has lived retired. Mr. Bennett was 
 a Whig in early life, and on the dissolution 
 of that party joined the Republican party, but 
 at the present time he is a Prohibitionist. He 
 is the senior vice-commander of Erastus Hoyt 
 Post, No. 69, G. A. R., and is highly respected 
 by all the old comrades. His present wife was 
 an early settler of Green county, and her par- 
 ents were natives of New York. 
 
 DR. EDWARD B. OWEN, a dentist of 
 Brodhead, Green county, widely known as a 
 master of his profession, well versed in all its 
 mechanical niceties, and thoroughly under- 
 standing the art of caring for the teeth, has 
 many friends in the community, and is re- 
 garded by all who know him as a reliable and 
 trustworthy gentleman. 
 
 Dr. Owen was born in Montgomeryshire, 
 Wales, Aug. 20, 1850, a son of Abram and 
 Mary (Jones) Owen. They were the parents 
 of five children, and' three of these are living: 
 John E., of Oregon, Wis.; David, of Redfield, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 859 
 
 S. Dak. ; and Dr. Edward B. The father was 
 a stockman and farmer, and died in Wales 
 at the age of eighty-two, a leading man 
 in his own community. His wife died in 1886, 
 at the age of seventy-three. He was a Meth- 
 odist, and she a Baptist. His father was a 
 farmer, and died in his native Wales, the father 
 of two sons. John Jones, the father of Mary, 
 w$s a farmer in Wales, and died in middle life; 
 he had two' sons and a daughter. 
 
 Dr. Edward B. Owen came to 1 America in 
 i860, and made his home at Oregon, Wis., 
 where he grew to manhood. He attended the 
 public schools, and was a college student at 
 Madison. Then he entered the Pennsylvania 
 College of Dental Surgery, at Philadelphia, 
 and was graduated in 1888. After this he took 
 a special course at the college of dental surgery 
 in Chicago. He began the practice of his pro- 
 fession at Oregon, where he remained a little 
 over two years. His health failed at Oregon, 
 and he was obliged to take a rest. When he 
 had partially regained his strength he came to 
 Brodhead and engaged in the practice of his 
 profession. Here he has continued to the pres- 
 ent time. Dr. Owen is a member of the Pres- 
 byterian Church, and is its Sunday-school su- 
 perintendent. He is a member of Bicknell 
 Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of the Monroe Chapter, 
 R. A. M., and of Janesville Commandery, 
 No. 2, K. T. He is a member of the Knights 
 of Pythias, where he has taken the Uniform 
 Rank. Dr. Owen is a Republican, and belongs 
 to the Southern Wisconsin Dental Society, to 
 the Wisconsin State Dental Association, and 
 the National Dental Association. He is a 
 stockholder in the Brodhead telephone ex- 
 change, and in everything that relates to the 
 progress of the community he has a keen and 
 persistent interest. 
 
 JAMES W. LYMAN, the present clerk 
 of Green county, and one of the most popu- 
 lar official occupants of the court house at 
 Monroe, Wis., is a native of the county he is 
 serving so well, and a fair representative of the 
 new generation that has come to take charge 
 of the State as the “old guard,” the early set- 
 tlers, fall away. He is enterprising and intel- 
 ligent, not afraid of a little trouble to oblige 
 a stranger, kind and courteous to all, and en- 
 joys a reputation for integrity and manliness 
 that would be creditable to any one. 
 
 Mr. Lyman was born in the town of De- 
 
 catur, Green Co., Wis., Oct. 3, 1865, a son 
 of George S. and Naomi (Mitchell) Lyman. 
 His father was born on Long Island, and his 
 mother in Fayette county, Pennsylvania. I hey 
 were the parents of five children, two of whom 
 are now living, Louise, the wife of T. J. 
 Blackford, of Juda, Green county, Wis., and 
 James W. The father was a tinner by trade ; 
 and came to Wisconsin about 1848, making his 
 home in Monroe, where he followed his trade 
 for several years. Then he rented a farm, and 
 cultivated the soil in the town of Decatur un- 
 til in 1870, when he bought a farm of eighty- 
 five acres in the town of Sylvester, one mile 
 north of Juda, and lived here until his death, 
 in 1897, when sixty-three years old. His wife 
 died in 1878, and he then married Mrs. Eva 
 Andrews, by whom he had one son, Clark, who 
 lives in Monroe, as does also his widowed 
 mother. The paternal grandfather of James 
 W. Lyman bore the name of Ashley Lyman; 
 he was a native of Northampton, N. H.. of 
 English descent, and passed his entire life as 
 a farmer, dying in early life, leaving one son, 
 George S. 
 
 Abner Mitchell, the father of Mrs. Naomi 
 Lyman, was a native of Pennsylvania, of Ger- 
 man descent, and he followed the occupation 
 of farming. He was one of the early settlers 
 of Green county, locating in the town of Spring 
 Grove, where he took up land from the gov- 
 ernment, and spent his life, dying on the old 
 homestead on his eighty-fourth birthda}^ ; he 
 ‘bad been a prominent man in his active days, 
 and in 1854 had represented this district in 
 the General Assembly, and from time to time 
 had filled various local offices. He became a 
 thrifty farmer, and owned farming land in the 
 towns of Sylvester, Spring Grove and Decatur. 
 In his family were nine children. 
 
 James W. Lvman was reared on his fa- 
 ther’s farm and received his education in the 
 district school and in the graded schools of 
 Juda, and being a close student, he became very 
 well educated. Leaving school when strength 
 and age counselled the taking up of some life 
 work, he took up the trade of a carpenter, and 
 followed it for some years. His inclination led 
 him to the South, and he SDent seven years 
 (1886-1892) farming in Jefferson county, 
 Florida. By this time he had seen enough of 
 the sunny South, and he was ready to come 
 back to his old home in Green county. This 
 he did, and for two years worked in and about 
 
86 o 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Juda as a carpenter. He lived on the farm, 
 and in 1898 he was elected county clerk, which 
 position he holds at the present time. Since 
 his induction into office he and his family live 
 in Monroe. 
 
 On April 22, 1896, Mr. Lyman wedded 
 Miss Louise Mitchell, a daughter of Franklin 
 and Jane (McVean) Mitchell. Two children, 
 Catharine Louise and Naomi Jean, have glad- 
 dened their home. Both Mr. and Mrs. Lyman 
 are members of the Baptist Church at Juda. He 
 is an active worker in the Sunday-school, and 
 takes a strong interest in everything' calculated 
 to help the world onward and upward. He 
 holds membership in the Modern Woodmen of 
 America, and the Royal Arcanum, and is a 
 strong believer in fraternal insurance. He is 
 a Republican, and served as assessor of Jeffer- 
 son township two terms. 
 
 JOHN O. HASTINGS, a retired farmer 
 and a veteran of the Civil war, now spending 
 his declining years on his farm two miles 
 southeast of Browntown, Green county, was 
 born in Mercer county, Penn., Jan. 29, 1844, 
 and is a son of Hugh and Saloma (Bearn- 
 heard) Hastings, both natives of Pennsylvania. 
 John Hastings, the grandfather of John 0 ., 
 was born in Ireland, and came to Pennsylvania 
 before the Revolution. In 1777 he settled in 
 Fort Pitt, and became the father of five chil- 
 dren, Abel, David, Eliza, Mary and Hugh. 
 
 Hugh Hastings was born in 1810, married 
 in 1832, and died in 1857. His wife, Saloma 
 Bearnheard. was born in 1812, and she became 
 the mother of nine children: Harriet; Jane is 
 dead ; Elizabeth Martha ; Margret, deceased ; 
 David ; Mary ; John O. ; Sarah K. ; and Phebe. 
 
 John 0 . Hastings was married to Miss 
 Barbara Spece, June 2, 1867. Mrs. Hastings 
 was born June 2, 1849, an 'd is the daughter 
 of William and Julia (Youngblood) Spece, 
 who came to Green county from Ohio in 1845. 
 To this marriage have come eight children : 
 (1) Frank O., born in 1868. married Lena 
 Brown, of Martintown. (2) Fred P., born in 
 1870, married Emma Warner, of Cadiz town- 
 ship. (3) Saloma, born in 1872, is the wife 
 of John Patrick, of Sioux county, Iowa. (4) 
 Wilhelmine, born in 1874, married Oscar D. 
 Curtis, of Browntown. Wis., a justice of the 
 peace, and a student of law, and also a can- 
 didate for the position of county clerk in 1900. 
 (5) Phoebe, born in 1876, is the wife of Joseph 
 
 Dale, a barber of Browntown. (6) Hugh, Jr., 
 born in 1878, is single and makes his home in 
 Browntown. (7) Ethel, born in 1880, now 
 living in Milwaukee. (8) Maggie, born in 
 1886, died in childhood. 
 
 Mr. Hastings is a Democrat, and a man of 
 fine character and deep religious convictions, 
 though he has never seen fit to unite with any 
 church. During the Civil war he served as a 
 soldier of the Union, enlisting in Company 
 B, in August, 1861, and was a member of the 
 1 8th Wis. V. I. until the following year. At 
 that time his enlistment period terminated, 
 and he reenlisted in the 92nd 111. V. I., and 
 participated in many of the exciting scenes of 
 the great war. He was with Gen. Sherman 
 in his March to the Sea, and had a part in many 
 hard-fought battles. He lost an eye in the serv- 
 ice, for which he is drawing a pension. His 
 discharge from the service was given him in 
 1865, so that practically he served throughout 
 the entire war. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hastings are spending their 
 declining days on their farm, and have that 
 peace and comfort that should rightly follow 
 their useful and well-spent lives. 
 
 THOMAS J. ALSOP, a prominent repre- 
 sentative of the agricultural interests of the 
 town of Brooklyn, Green county, was born in 
 Cayuga county, N. Y., May 25, 1844, the only 
 child of John and Kezia (Searing) Alsop, both 
 natives of New York. 
 
 John Alsop was a farmer and came to Wis- 
 consin in 1854, and settled in the town of 
 Janesville where he engaged in farming. After 
 a time he moved into the village of Brooklyn 
 where he spent his last days, dying at the age 
 of seventy-three ; his wife, Kezia, passed away 
 the same year, aged sixty-three years. Both 
 were Quakers in religious faith. John Alsop 
 was a son of Thomas Alsop, a native of New 
 York, of an English ancestry; he was a captain 
 of a whaling vessel, sailing the sea for seven- 
 teen years, but after his marriage he settled in 
 Cayuga county, N. Y., where he reared a large 
 family, filled an imnortant place in the com- 
 munity, and died at the age of fifty-five. John 
 Alsop, father of Thomas, and great-grandfa- 
 ther of our subject, was a prominent merchant 
 in the city of New York, and the founder of 
 the Chamber of Commerce. The history of the 
 family in America begins with the year 1624. 
 Kezia (Searing) Alsop was a daughter of John 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD . 
 
 861 
 
 P. Searing, a native of the city of New York, 
 where he began his business career as a hatter, 
 but in later years took up the occupation of 
 farming ; he came W est to V ernon county, 
 ,Wis., in 1857, where he died at the age of 
 sixty-three years. Mr. Searing was a soldier 
 in the war of 1812, reared a large family, and 
 was highly esteemed in his own neighborhood. 
 
 Thomas J. Alsop was ten years old when he 
 came with his parents to Wisconsin. Here 
 he attended the public schools, and began his 
 business career as a cultivator of his father's 
 farm. At the death of that gentleman this farm 
 came into his possession, but in 1885 he sold 
 it and bought 330 acres in the town of Brook- 
 lyn, which was formerly known as the Melvin 
 farm. 
 
 Mr. Alsop was married Feb. 2, 1871, to 
 Miss Frances, a daughter of Jesse and Mary 
 B. (Brooks) Smith, and they have become 
 the parents of the following children : Grace, 
 
 Mabel, Roscoe, Irving, LeGrand, Irene, and 
 Harold. In politics Mr. Alsop is a Democrat. 
 
 Jesse Smith, the father of Mrs. Alsop, was 
 a native of New York, and his wife, Mary B. 
 (Brooks), of Vermont. To them were born 
 three children : Stanley B., of Janesville, Wis. ; 
 Frances E., whose name is mentioned above; 
 and Mary K., widow of Warren Richardson, 
 of Leon, Kansas. Mr. Smith came from New 
 York to the village of Union in 1846, and es- 
 tablished himself as a merchant. He died in 
 that place in 1873, and his widow died in 1896, 
 at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. 
 She was a Baptist. He had been twice mar- 
 ried, and by his first wife, Betsy Wilmarth, 
 he had six children, all now deceased. In his 
 early days Mr. Smith was a man of prominence, 
 and in New York was a Colonel in the State 
 Militia. He was next to the youngest in a 
 family of eleven children. 
 
 Dr. John Brooks, of Bernardston, Mass., 
 father of Mary B. (Brooks) Smith, was born 
 in Worcester, Jan. 12, 1783, and in spite of 
 limited opportunities acquired a good educa- 
 tion and became a teacher. For a time he was 
 a book binder at Walpole, N. FI. In 1804 he 
 began his medical studies in Westminster, Vt., 
 in which he spent three years, and for four- 
 teen years was a successful and popular physi- 
 cian, at Newfane, Vt., and was elected the sec- 
 ond secretary of the medical Society of Ver- 
 mont. In 1813 or 1814 he represented his 
 town in the Vermont Legislature. In 1819, on 
 
 account of his health, he gave up the practice 
 of medicine and removed to Dummerston, Vt., 
 where he finally began preaching the doctrine of 
 Universal Restoration. It was in his capacity 
 of a clergyman and pastor that he settled in 
 Bernardston, in 1822. He died in 1865 at 
 the advanced age of eighty-two years. He 
 was twice married, and reared a numerous 
 family. 
 
 REV. ISAAC S. BUSSING, for several 
 years pastor of the local church of the United 
 j Brethren in Christ, is counted one of the strong 
 clergymen of Monroe, Green county. He is a 
 man of great natural gifts, strong character, 
 and deep devotion to the sacred calling in 
 which he is engaged. Well versed in its di- 
 vine lore, he is a Bible preacher, ever loyal to 
 his Master. 
 
 Mr. Bussing was born at Albany, N. Y., 
 May 25, 1855, a son of Harmon and Harriet 
 (Smith) Bussing, natives of New York. They 
 had a son and a daughter, the latter of whom 
 died when twenty-one years of age from the 
 effects of an accident. The father was a dry- 
 goods merchant in Albany, and lived there un- 
 til a year and a half before his marriage. His 
 first wife died about 1857, and he married Bet- 
 sey M. Smith, a sister of the first Mrs. Bussing. 
 To this marriage were also born a son and a 
 daughter, Alice B. and AValter. Mr. Bussing 
 died at the home of his daughter in November, 
 1891, at the age of sixty-three years. Mrs. 
 Betsey M. Bussing died June 30, 1900. They 
 were members of the Reformed Protestant 
 Church of America. The grandfather of Rev. 
 Isaac S. Bussing also bore the name of Har- 
 mon Bussing; he was born in Ireland, but was 
 brought to this country when a child, passing 
 the greater part of his life near Albany, N. Y., 
 engaged in farming. He was the father of 
 five children, and lived to be eighty-nine years 
 of age. John Smith, the father of Harriet 
 Smith noted above, was born in New York, 
 and was the descendant of Holland-Dutch an- 
 cestors. 
 
 Rev. Isaac S. Bussing was reared in the 
 city of Albany, where he attended the public 
 schools, and helped his father in the store in 
 the intervals of his school work. He was an 
 energetic, pushing lad of determined spirit, 
 and has taken entire care of himself since he 
 was fourteen years of age. In later years he 
 pursued his studies by the light of the midnight 
 
862 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 oil, so congenial to the scholarly mind. Mr. 
 Bussing is in every sense of the word a self- 
 made man; he has conquered difficulties that 
 would have overwhelmed and crushed a less 
 courageous soul. 
 
 , Mr. Bussing began life for himself as a 
 shipping clerk with Wood, Lewis & Hawley, 
 well-known collar and cuff manufacturers at 
 Troy, N. Y., and remained with them between 
 eight and nine years. It was while in their 
 employ that his strong religious nature as- 
 serted itself, and he became a recognized and 
 powerful worker in the cause of the Master 
 among the young men of that city, at one time 
 having gathered a class of seventy-five young 
 men under his instruction and inspiration. He 
 had been with them about a year when J. R. 
 Pratt, Wisconsin secretary of the Y. M. C. A., 
 induced him to come West, and enter upon the 
 duties of Lumberman’s secretary of the asso- 
 ciation. Mr. Bussing did so, and for several 
 seasons spent the winter season in traveling 
 through the various lumber camps of the north- 
 ern woods. This was an arduous life, and his 
 health became so undermined that he was 
 called in from the field, and assigned to the 
 office of general secretary at Lake Geneva, 
 Wis. Mr. Bussing remained at this point, and 
 discharged the duties of the position until 
 1892, when he entered the regular work of 
 the ministry of the Methodist Church, having 
 his first charge at Springville, Wis. He was 
 pastor there two years, and while he was there 
 a sweeping revival greatly advanced the cause 
 of the church. In Springville, to-day, there 
 is standing a beautiful church, which is a last- 
 ing memorial to the work of Mr. Bussing in 
 that community. From Springville he was 
 transferred to the church at London, Dane 
 county, in the fall of 1893, where he had a 
 pastorate of twelve months that was fruitful 
 in the strengthening of the church, the ma- 
 terial improvement of the property and the 
 lifting of all debt. In 1894 Mr. Bussing was 
 assigned to the church at Dartford, the county 
 seat of Green Lake county, and here his min- 
 istry was attended with large revivals and 
 many accessions to the church. 
 
 In the winter of 1896 ideas that had long 
 been working in the mind of Mr. Bussing be- 
 came convictions, and he realized that as a mat- 
 ter of conscience he should do his work as a 
 minister henceforth under the auspices of the 
 religious organization known as the Church 
 
 of the United Brethren in Christ. To break 
 away from a ministry that offered such larp _ e 
 attractions, and which had been singularly 
 agreeable to him was no slight thing, but with 
 the subject of this article right went before 
 any question of ease or comfort, and he ac- 
 cordingly hastened to identify himself with 
 this body as soon as he had become thoroughly 
 convinced that it was founded on the Gospel. 
 He resigned from the Methodist communion on 
 Easter Sunday, 1896, and entered almost im- 
 mediately upon his work as pastor of the 
 Church of the United Brethren, at Pickrell, 
 Neb. There his work was particularly no- 
 ticeable by one hundred three conversions tak- 
 ing place under his effective preaching at that 
 point. He was sent to Julian, Neb., at the next 
 session of the conference, where lie remained 
 a year and a half ; and from that point he came 
 to Monroe, where he has since resided. 
 
 Mr. Bussing and Miss Ella S. Burger, a 
 daughter of William F. and Cornelia E. 
 (Wyant) Burger, were married Nov. 6, 1874. 
 Three sons and three daughters are the fruit 
 of this union, William FI., Harriet E., Martin, 
 Benjamin T., Ruth Mary and Esther May. 
 Mr. Bussing is brigade chaplain of the Do- 
 main of Wisconsin. Knights of Pythias, hold- 
 ing the rank of major in that order, and also 
 belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. 
 He is the first vice-president of the Monroe 
 Ministerial Association. Mr. Bussing takes an 
 independent stand in all political affairs, and 
 aims to cast his vote at every election with a 
 view to the general good of his country, 'rather 
 than the promotion of mere party aims. 
 
 GILBERT T. HODGES, whose promi- 
 nence in the agricultural, financial and political 
 circles of Green county, Wis., easily places him 
 in the front rank of the popular and substantial 
 citizens of the State, was born in Montgomery 
 county, Ind., Jan. 6, 1841. 
 
 William Hodges, his father, was born in 
 Kentucky, of English descent, and when he 
 started out in life for himself was empty hand- 
 ed, but he pre-empted eighty acres of land in 
 Montgomery county, Ind., of which he cleared 
 five acres and built a log house, planting his 
 five acres in corn. This tract he traded for 
 another eighty-acre tract which w r as wholly 
 unimproved, which in turn he cleared and trad- 
 ed for a third, upon which he made his home 
 until 1846, when he sold all off and moved to 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 863 
 
 Wisconsin, where he purchased 260 acres in 
 Monroe township, Green county, and where he 
 built a good house. As the years passed on 
 he added to his possessions 160 acres three and 
 one-half miles northwest, but this he divided 
 between his two children, David and Rachel, 
 and also gave to Lewis eighty acres off the 
 home farm. He then purchased eighty acres 
 each on the south and the east sides of 
 the original place, and forty acres on the 
 west, and as the last named land was in 
 the corporate limits of the city of Monroe, he 
 sold it off in town lots. While he never had 
 enjoyed the benefits of an education, he was 
 a successful man. He kept no accounts, but 
 after his son Gilbert had attained the age of 
 ten years, he depended upon him to do any 
 necessary figuring. When he started out on 
 stock buying expeditions, he was always ac- 
 companied by Gilbert, who looked after the 
 numerical side of the business. Mr. Hodges 
 helped to survey the land in the neighborhood, 
 and it was said he was infallible when called 
 upon to settle boundary disputes. In 1856 he 
 purchased land in Davis county, Mo., and lived 
 there for two and one-half years, but at the end 
 of that time returned to Wisconsin, and passed 
 a year and one-half in straightening up his af- 
 fairs. He then returned to Missouri, where 
 he remained, however, but a year, the out- 
 break of the Rebellion making a home in Wis- 
 consin more desirable for a Northern sympa- 
 thizer. In the spring of 1877 he purchased 
 town property in Winfield, Ivans., and went 
 there expecting to make it his future home. 
 In August, 1879, he started back to his old 
 Wisconsin home, but was taken ill on the way, 
 and died the day after his arrival, in his eighti- 
 eth year. Just after he left his early home 
 in Kentucky and took up his abode in Indiana, 
 ‘he married Sarah Powell, daughter of Lewis 
 Powell, of Montgomery county, Iiid., and to 
 their union came eight children, three of whom 
 are now living: Rachel, widow of Thomas 
 
 Randall, makes her home in Winfield, Ivans. ; 
 William J., of Stillwater. Oklahoma; and Gil- 
 bert T. The mother of these died in 1884. 
 Both were faithful followers of the tenets of 
 the Christian or Disciples Church. Mr. Hodges 
 served for many years as a justice of the peace. 
 
 Lewis Powell, father of M'rs. Sarah 
 (Powell) Hodges, and maternal grandfather 
 of Gilbert T. Hodges, was a native of Virginia, 
 where he gained a livelihood chiefly by hunt- 
 
 ing. Game of all kinds abounded there, and 
 he was a typical and daring pioneer of those 
 early struggling days of our country. He 
 took part in the Indian war, and was called 
 Capt. Powell. His brother Decader was killed 
 in the battle of Tippecanoe. Lewis Powell 
 was captured many times, but always succeeded 
 in effecting his escape. He moved from Vir- 
 ginia to Tennessee, and thence to Montgom- 
 ery county, Ind., making his home there until 
 1844, when he located in Monroe township, 
 Green Co., Wis., and commenced to improve 
 a farm about four miles northeast of the vil- 
 lage of Monroe. This he shortly after divided 
 among his children, and lived with them until 
 his death, which took place in 1858, at the 
 home of his youngest daughter, Mary Anne 
 Clark, when he was aged ninety-nine years. 
 He was of Scotch descent, and was very re- 
 ligious, his home having been a meeting place 
 for religious discussions for many years. He 
 also held many minor offices, among them jus- 
 tice of the peace. 
 
 Gilbert T. Hodges has passed by far the 
 greater part of his life in Monroe, Green coun- 
 ty. He was reared on his father’s farm, and 
 received such education as the district schools 
 afforded, later attending a college in Madison. 
 His first essay in life for himself was as a 
 teacher, beginning this work when he was 
 eighteen years of age, by teaching three terms 
 in a school in Missouri. This was followed 
 by four winters’ teaching in his home in the 
 district schools of Clarno township. He met 
 with great success in this work, but having 
 been trained to farm work, he returned to that 
 as a life work, farming with his father on 
 shares, and buying stock. His first purchase 
 of land consisted of 105 acres in Clarno town- 
 ship, known as the “Stearns farm,” a portion 
 of which he sold in 1865, and the remainder in 
 1870. In 1868 he bought eighty acres of his 
 father’s farm of the heirs, and thirty-four acres 
 of his father’s land within the corporation, 
 and of the latter he sold ten acres to the Fair 
 Grounds Association. He has since bought 
 120 acres in Cadiz township. He continues to 
 buy stock in large quantities, and as he began 
 this business in 1863, he is now the oldest 
 continuous stock buyer in the county, and feeds 
 cattle on a large scale. He has also bought 
 wool for many years. His 'remarkable ability 
 as a judge of stock has made him an authority 
 in the community, and in the State Agricultural 
 
864 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Society, of which he has been a member many 
 years, and was an officer for about five years, 
 being superintendent of the cattle and dairy 
 departments. 
 
 Mr. Hodges has not confined himself en- 
 tirely to agricultural pursuits, but has become 
 a factor in financial circles, where his fore- 
 sight and his wisdom have made him an in- 
 valuable counselor. He is the largest stock- 
 holder and a director in the Citizens Bank, 
 and is a stockholder in the First National 
 Bank. In politics, too, Mr. Hodges has 
 played a prominent and influential part. His 
 ballot is cast in favor of the Democratic 
 party, and he has filled many offices. He 
 was chairman of the county hoard of su- 
 pervisors for ten or twelve years, and was 
 chairman of the building committee hav- 
 ing in charge the erection of the present hand- 
 some court house. He was a candidate for the 
 State Assembly in 1894 and 1896, being de- 
 feated the first time by only 160 votes. He 
 was a delegate from Milwaukee to Washing- 
 ton, D. C., Feb. 22, 1900, to secure the loca- 
 tion of the national convention of the Demo- 
 cratic party at Milwaukee, but was defeated 
 by the Kansas City committee. That year he 
 went to Kansas City as a delegate, and there 
 assisted in the nomination of William J. Bryan 
 for president of the United States, and in the 
 fall election, being a candidate for Congress, 
 suffered defeat with his chief in the general 
 landslide. Mr. Hodges has served as clerk 
 of the district school board in Clarno town- 
 ship. Socially he belongs to the Catholic Or- 
 der of Foresters, and for ten years he was 
 president of the Green County Agricultural 
 Society, and at present is one of its trustees. 
 
 On Feb. 13, 1866, Mr. Hodges was united 
 in marriage with Miss Annie F. Banks, daugh- 
 ter of James A. and Grace Mary (Walker) 
 Banks, and eight children came to bless their 
 union : Isabel and Grace both died in infancy ; 
 Lewis A., a graduate of the Monroe high 
 school, has been connected with the Citizens 
 Bank for thirteen years, now holding the po- 
 sition of assistant cashier (he married Cor- 
 nelia Mack, of Brodhead, and has two chil- 
 dren, Constance and Van Antwerp); Emma 
 Frances, who attended the LTniversity at Madi- 
 son two years, then entered Holy Angels’ 
 Academy, at Minneapolis,, and later attended 
 Conservatory of Music at Chicago, whence 
 she was graduated (she married Elmer Man- 
 
 ning, a machinist at Monroe, where they re- 
 side, and where she is now president of the 
 Woman’s Club) ; Gilbert T., Jr., a graduate of 
 the literary and legal departments of the Uni- 
 versity at Madison, is now practicing law in 
 Chicago; Annie died when nearly four years 
 old; James William (who was a member of 
 Company H, 1st Wis. Vols., in the Spanish- 
 American war) and Paul are at home. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Hodges are members of the Roman 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 James A. Banks and wife, parents of Mrs. 
 Hodges, are both natives of England, who 
 came to America in 1843, and located in Mas- 
 sachusetts, near Plaverhill, whence after sev- 
 enteen years they came to Monroe. During 
 his 'residence in England Mr. Banks was a 
 traveling man, and was interested in a woolen 
 and cotton factory there. In Massachusetts 
 he had charge of a cotton factory, later becom- 
 ing a shoe manufacturer in Haverhill. After 
 locating in Wisconsin, he engaged in business 
 until burned out, and then, as he was advanc- 
 ing in years, he retired. His death occurred 
 in 1886, at the age of eighty-three years, and 
 his wife died in 1881, at the age of seventy- 
 five. They were married in the Episcopal 
 Church, later uniting with the Roman Cath- 
 olic. In politics he was a stanch Democrat. 
 For a time he was a member of the militia 
 in England. His father had died early and his 
 early training was given him by his grandfa- 
 ther. Mr. and Mrs. Banks were the parents 
 of seven children, five of whom survive : Isa- 
 bel, wife of Edward Flanders, of Chicago; 
 James, of Jefferson, Wis. ; Annie F., Mrs. 
 Hodges; Grace Mary, wife of Robert Graham, 
 of Minneapolis, Minn. ; Sarah Alice, wife of 
 Charles A. Lytle, of Monroe, Wis, The two 
 last named were twins. Mr. Banks’ grand- 
 mother was a cousin of Thomas Jefferson. 
 Mrs. Grace Mary (Walker) Banks was a 
 daughter of Thomas Walker, a farmer and 
 mail carrier in England, where he died at the 
 advanced age of ninety years, the father of 
 thirteen children, eleven of whom grew to ma- 
 turity. 
 
 ELIAS J. HELGESEN, M. D„ a promi- 
 nent practicing physician and surgeon, and a 
 member of the well known drug firm of Helge- 
 sen & Godfrey, of New Glarus, Green county, 
 is a young man to whom success has come early 
 in life, won by skill and ability in his profes- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 865 
 
 sion, and by enterprise and upright methods in 
 the business world. 
 
 Dr. Helgesen was born in Moscow town- 
 ship, Iowa county, Feb. 2, 1866, son of John 
 and Ingobar (Docken) Helgesen, natives of 
 Norway. His education was all acquired in 
 the district schools, and he remained at home 
 until he had attained the age of twenty- 
 one. Then he matriculated at the Col- 
 lege of Physicians and Surgeons, at Keo- 
 kuk, Iowa, and was graduated in medicine in 
 1893. He had formerly studied under a pre- 
 ceptor, and for two years before receiving his 
 diploma he had practiced in Badger, Iowa. 
 He completed his professional training in Keo- 
 kuk, Iowa, and then practiced two years in 
 Forest City, Iowa. In 1895 h e located in New 
 Glarus, where he opened a drug store in con- 
 nection with his practice. Three years later 
 he associated with him in business, Mr. A. 
 Godfrey, a pharmacist graduate of the Uni- 
 versity of Chicago. His practice has been con- 
 stantly on tile increase, until at the present 
 time he has all that he can possibly attend 
 to. Nature endowed him with a kindly, sym- 
 pathetic nature that inspires his patients with 
 confidence, and makes his presence in the sick 
 room most welcome. 
 
 On Jan. 26. 1886, Dr. Helgesen was mar- 
 ried to Miss Josephine Wise, daughter of 
 John and Susan ( Winner) W r ise, and four chil- 
 dren have come to this union : John S., Walter 
 J. E., Reuben L. and William J. Both the 
 Doctor and his wife are Lutherans in their 
 religious faith, but as the only English speak- 
 ing church in New Glarus is the Methodist, 
 they attend that, and are active in its work. 
 Dr. Helgesen belongs to the A. O. LI. W. and 
 the M. W. A. Through his Alma Mater he 
 is a member of the Alumni Medical Associa- 
 tion of Keokuk, Iowa. Politically the Doctor 
 is a stanch Republican, and was delegate to the 
 State convention which nominated Gov. La 
 Follette. At present he is serving as justice 
 of the peace, and this attests the high esteem 
 in which he is held, as he is the first person 
 to hold office in New Glarus outside of the 
 Swiss people. He is progressive and public 
 spirited, and has endeared himself to all classes 
 of people. 
 
 John Helgesen. father of Dr. Llelgesen, 
 was a remarkably versatile man, being a shoe- 
 maker, carpenter and stone mason. In 1861 
 
 he left his native Norway for America, and lo- 
 ss 
 
 cated in Moscow township, Iowa Co., Whs.,, 
 where he bought a farm, and thereafter made 
 its care his life work. His father had accom- 
 panied him from their foreign home, and lived 
 until 1862, when he died at the advanced age 
 of ninety years. Mr. Helgesen was twice mar- 
 ried, and by his first wife he had four children, 
 as follows: Margaret, wife of Knute Ed- 
 
 monds, of Hollandale, Wis. ; Annie, widow of 
 John Cashman, of Manitowoc, Wis. ; Hannah, 
 wife of Frank Copeman, of Chicago; and Hol- 
 ver, of Iowa county. He later married Ingo- 
 bar Docken. daughter of Erick Docken, a na- 
 tive of Norway, who came to America in 1859,. 
 locating in Moscow township, where he died in 
 1867, at the age of fifty-five years. To this 
 second marriage were born ten children : Dr. 
 
 Elias J. ; Dr. Peter A., present mayor of Lake 
 Mills, la.; Dr. John M., of Barneveld, Wis.; 
 Thomas, of Moscow township, Iowa Co. ; Hen- 
 ry, of the same place ; Sever E., of New Glarus ; 
 and Albert, Paul, Mary J., and Clara, all of 
 Moscow township. John Helgesen served his 
 adopted country for some time as a soldier in 
 the Civil war, being a private in Co. H, 15th 
 Wis. V. I. He has a brother, Thomas Helge- 
 sen, a wealthy ship builder of Liverpool, Eng- 
 land. 
 
 GEORGE R. STEWART, a popular 
 young grocer at Brodhead, Green county, with 
 a good city and country trade, is rapidly com- 
 ing' to the front as a progressive and success- 
 ful business man. He is genial and courteous 
 in his manner, honest and reliable in his deal- 
 ing'. and has gained a reputation for unswerv- 
 ing integrity that goes unchallenged in this 
 community. 
 
 Mr. Stewart was born in the town of 
 Spring Valley, Rock county, Wis., Feb. 20, 
 1874, and is a son of Harmon and Kate (Bart- 
 lett) Stewart, both of whom were also born in 
 this State. They were the parents of five chil- 
 dren, George R., Harriet B., Anna L., Kittie A.. 
 andGenieM. The father was a prominent farm- 
 er in the town of Spring Valley, where he 
 owned a farm of two hundred and seven acres. 
 He had other real estate holdings that were very 
 valuable, and was one of the solid men of his 
 day. He moved into Brodhead, and there died 
 in 1887, at the early age of thirty-five years. 
 His widow still survives, and she and her fam- 
 ily are residents of this city. They were Pres- 
 byterians in their faith and sympathy, but were 
 
866 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 not identified with any church. He was a 
 member of the Modern Woodmen of America, 
 and a Republican. His father Herman B. 
 Stewart, was a native of Vermont, and one 
 of the earlier settlers of Rock county, where 
 he engaged in farming and milling; he had 
 four children, and died at the age of seventy- 
 five. Luke C. Bartlett, the father of Kate 
 Bartlett mentioned above, was a native of New 
 York, following the trade of wagon maker ; 
 he came into Wisconsin at an early day, first 
 settling in Rock county, but afterward mov- 
 ing into Green county, where for a time he 
 was in business at Albany; he has lived in 
 Brodhead for a number of years, and is still 
 engaged at his trade. He was the father of 
 seven children, six of whom are now living. 
 
 George R. Stewart was only some seven 
 years old when his parents came to Brodhead, 
 and here he has grown to manhood. lie ob- 
 tained his education in the Brodhead schools, 
 and prepared himself for a mercantile life, 
 upon which he entered as soon as he was 
 through school. He was a clerk for a time, 
 and then, forming a partnership with David 
 Gombar, began the grocery business. The part- 
 nership was dissolved at the end of two years, 
 Mr. Stewart buying out his partner, since 
 which time he has been alone. lie has a grow- 
 ing trade, and needs more help from time to 
 time as his business grows on his hands, but 
 he feels fully competent to manage it alone. 
 He belongs to the Knights of the Globe, and in 
 politics is a Republican. 
 
 ABRAHAM V. KNAPP, of Lima town- 
 ship, Grant county, was born in Seneca county, 
 N. Y., June 27, 1832, a son of James D. and 
 Lois (Ingersoll) Knapp, natives of the State 
 of Connecticut, where they were born in 1800 
 and 1 799, respectively. While both were quite 
 young they moved with their parents to west- 
 ern New York, where they were married. They 
 engaged in the mercantile business for a num- 
 ber of years, and later the family moved to 
 Monroe county. Mich., where the father 
 died in 1854. Soon after this sad event the 
 mother and family moved to Wisconsin, set- 
 tling first at Lancaster, and later at Platteville, 
 where the mother died in 1888. Four children 
 were born to this couple, all in the State of 
 New York: (1) Jerusha G. never married, 
 
 and died at her home in Platteville in 1898. 
 (2) Spencer crossed the Plains to California 
 
 in 1852, and died a short time after reaching 
 that State. (3) Riley I. was a farmer, en- 
 listed in Co. K, 47th Wis V. I., and at the 
 close of the war returned to his home in Wis- 
 consin, was never married, and died at Platte- 
 ville in 1900. (4) Abraham V. was the young- 
 
 est son. 
 
 From early boyhood Abraham V. Knapp 
 has been engaged in farming. On the break- 
 ing out of the Rebellion in 1861, he enlisted 
 in Co. F, 10th Wis. V. I., served as private, 
 second and first sergeant and second lieutenant, 
 under Generals O. M. Mitchel, Buel, McCook, 
 Rosecrans and Thomas, participated in a num- 
 ber of battles, of which Perrysville and Stone 
 River were the most important. At the lat- 
 ter battle he received an injury (ruptured veins 
 in the leg) that permanently disabled him for 
 military service, and in December, 1863, he re- 
 signed his commission, and returned to his 
 home. 
 
 The year following his return Mr. Knapp 
 was married to Miss Laura E. Waldorf, of 
 Grant county, a daughter of Jesse and Clarissa 
 (Jones) Waldorf, who were born and reared 
 in Trumbull county, Ohio. They both be- 
 longed to old pioneer families of that State, 
 and came West to Grant Co., Wis., in 1840, 
 taking up a tract of land, which they greatly 
 improved. Mr. Waldorf was chairman of the 
 board of supervisors for many years, and 
 served one term in the Legislature. Two 
 daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Waldorf, 
 Mrs. Knapp and a sister Mary, now deceased, 
 who married Amandra Miner, a resident of 
 Iowa, and left no family. Mr. Jesse Waldorf 
 died in 1871, and Clarissa Waldorf in 1884. 
 
 Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
 Knapp settled on the old Waldorf homestead, 
 where they now reside. To them were born 
 ten children : Fred W., of Fennimore, a tinner 
 by trade, married Miss Mary Streeter, of Grant 
 county; Frank S., mentioned below; Sidney 
 D. B. ; Clara L. ; Charles D. ; Jesse E. ; Horace 
 H. ; Lloyd P. ; Edna M. ; and Ernest N. Po- 
 litically Mr. Knapp has always been a Repub- 
 lican, casting his first presidential vote for Fre- 
 mont in 1856. Both Mr. and Mrs. Knapp have 
 long been members of the M. E. Church. Mr. 
 Knapp superintended the Sunday-school near 
 his home for twelve years, and had the satis- 
 faction of having one hundred scholars, all 
 of whom were members of the M. E. Church. 
 
 Frank S. Knapp was born in Grant county, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 867 
 
 in February, 1867, and grew to manhood on 
 the home farm, attending the district school. 
 Later he was a student at the State Normal at 
 Platteville, and also at the commercial college' 
 in Madison. For a short time he engaged in 
 teadhing, and then was engaged for about 
 eighteen months as bookkeeper for the lumber 
 firm of W* U. Taylor & Son, of Platteville. 
 During 1892 and 1893, he was enabled to pur- 
 sue his chosen study, that of dentistry, at the 
 State University of Iowa. The first location 
 Dr. Knapp made for the practice of his profes- 
 sion was in Alexandria, S. Dak., where he re- 
 mained a few months; then returned to 
 Platteville, bought Dr. Deffinbacher’s office 
 fixtures, and has since resided in this city, 
 ■where he built up a very desirable practice. 
 During these eight succeeding years Dr. Knapp 
 has become very well known among his brother 
 dentists, was for two years president of the 
 Southern Wisconsin Dental Association, and 
 is also a member of the State Dental Society. 
 Socially he is a member of the Masonic fra- 
 ternity, and the order of Odd Fellows, and is 
 a charter member of the K. of P. order of this 
 city, of which he has been C. C. Politically 
 he is a Republican and is now serving his sec- 
 ond term as alderman. The summer of 1900 
 Dr. Knapp spent in Europe, visiting England, 
 Scotland, Ireland and France, and attending 
 the Paris Exposition. Dr. Knapp has always 
 attended the M. E. Church, and contributes to 
 its support. Upright in all his dealings, thor- 
 oughly understanding hi? profession, pleasant 
 in manner, Dr. Knapp not only has attained 
 eminence in his work, but is also very popular 
 personally and is a yonug man of whom Platte- 
 ville may well be proud. 
 
 NILS KNUDSON. Among the honor- 
 able survivors of the old settlers of Adams 
 township, Green county, is Nils Knudson, who 
 is located on his fine farm, on Section 16, fif- 
 teen miles northwest of Monroe, Wis., and is 
 one of the leading and substantial men of this 
 locality. 
 
 Mr. Knudson was born in Walders, Nor- 
 way, on May 5, 1833. His father, Knud Nel- 
 son, was born in Norway, in 1804, and came 
 to Adams township, in 1856, and died in 1884, 
 having had a family of nine children : Bessie, 
 
 deceased; Mary, of Iowa; Nils, of this sketch; 
 Isabella, the wife of Ole O. Syaness, of Wis- 
 consin; Ivnudt, of Iowa; Ole, deceased; Annie, 
 
 the wife of Ole Anderson, of Iowa; Lena, the 
 1 wife of James Rassmuson, of Iowa; and 
 Thomas, of Iowa. 
 
 On March 7, 1861, Nils Knudson was mar- 
 ried to Carrie Olson, and three children were 
 born of this union : Ivnudt ; Ole, deceased ; and 
 Caroline, the wife of Oliver Brager, of Iowa. 
 Mrs. Knudson died in 1872, and in 1874 Mr. 
 Knudson was married to Miss Carrie Nelson 
 Avok, who was born in Norway on May 16, 
 1846, and who came to the United States when 
 a girl. Fivechildren were born to this marriage : 
 Nils, born Oct. 26, 1874, at home, single; 
 Martin, born on Feb. 12, 1877, at home, single; 
 Ingeborg, born on Feb. 7, 1879, married Gil- 
 bert Jordet, of North Dakota; Minnie, born 
 on Jan. 9, 1884; and Anna, born on June 30, 
 1888. Although now Mr. Knudson is one of 
 the leading and wealthy men of Green county, 
 when he came to America it was as a poor 
 young man, and naturally the reader would 
 ask how these intervening years have been 
 spent, the question being easily answered by 
 the neighbors of Mr. Knudson, who could tell 
 of his industry, his energy and good judg- 
 ment, his business ability, and also his honest 
 and upright dealing with all with whom he 
 has been associated in business. Mr. Knudson 
 has a high standing in Adams township, and 
 the family is one of the most hig'hly respected. 
 A prominent member of the Democratic party, 
 he has exerted considerable influence, and has 
 been called upon to serve the township in sev- 
 eral positions, notably as school director, mem- 
 ber of the school board, and as road supervisor. 
 His means are large, and he has recently pur- 
 chased a $16,000 farm in North Dakota. In 
 the Lutheran Church he is a valued and con- 
 sistent member, and is highly regarded, 
 through the community, as one of the most 
 esteemed of the old settlers. 
 
 SEVER CHESTELSON, who resides on 
 Section 11, Brigham township, Iowa county, 
 is a well-known citizen of his community, and 
 was a soldier of the war of the Rebellion, hav- 
 ing been a member of Company C, 12th Wis. 
 V. I. In January, 1862, he enlisted, and was 
 discharged July 16, 1865, having covered in 
 his experience as a soldier all that period of 
 the war in which systematic and continuous 
 efforts were employed to crush the insurrec- 
 tion. At the time of his enlistment, the Nation 
 was just beginning to realize it had a serious 
 
868 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and terrible war on its hands. With thousands 
 of other brave anti loyal men, Mr. Chestelson 
 took up arms against the sea of secession, as 
 soon as he saw the struggle and the principles 
 it involved. He was with his regiment during 
 the greater portion of his service, participat- 
 ing in some of the most important events of the 
 war. He took part in the siege and capture 
 of Vicksburg, followed Gen. Sherman in his 
 famous March to the Sea, and shared in the 
 glory and honor of the Grand Review at Wash- 
 ington. With his regiment Mr. Chestelson was 
 mustered out of the United States service at 
 Louisville, and discharged at Madison. 
 
 Sever Chestelson was born in Norway in 
 1831, and grew to manhood in his native coun- 
 try, coming to America after he had reached 
 the age of twenty-two years. For a time his 
 residence was at Stoughton, Wis., then at Blue 
 Mounds, and finally, in 1854, he settled on the 
 farm where he is found at the present time. 
 To this place he returned at the conclusion of 
 the war. and here presently lie, brought his 
 wife. Miss Anna Thompson, to whom he was 
 married in 1866. She was born in Norway in 
 1843, an d was brought to this country by her 
 parents when only two years old. Her parents 
 lived many years in Blue Mounds, but long 
 since passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Chestelson 
 have seven children living: Maria, Sarah, 
 Amanda. Randine, Carl, Sophia, and Curtis. 
 Two others passed away in childhood. Mr. 
 Chestelson's health was much impaired by his 
 army experiences, never having recovered from 
 the hardships through which he passed; his 
 heart was seriously injured, and this shuts him 
 out from active and continuous work. A good 
 soldier in the war, he is a good citizen at the 
 present time, and has maintained throughout 
 his life a high standard of character. 
 
 Mr. Chestelson had two brothers who died 
 in the war for the Union, Tarjei and Aslak 
 Chestelson, both members of the same com- 
 pany as our subject. They were fine young 
 men, and very reliable and trustworthy sol- 
 diers. Aslak died in the rear of Vicksburg, ■ 
 during the progress of the military operations 
 against that rebel stronghold. Tarjei, who was 
 taken ill, was on his way to the hospital, when 
 he died on a steamboat on the Mississippi, while 
 being taken North. Mr. and Mrs. Chestelson 
 have a pleasant and hospitable home, and are 
 held in high esteem in the community in which 
 
 their quiet and useful lives are passing. Mr. 
 Chestelson belongs to Gen. Dixon Post, No. 
 191, G. A. R., at Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin. 
 
 CASPAR W. KARN, proprietor of the 
 Browntown Mills, in Green county, is one of 
 those German-American citizens who have con- 
 tributed so much that is good to American citi- 
 zenship. He was born in Saxony March 15, 
 1843, a son of George and Mary (Fromholdt) 
 Kara, who were natives of the same country. 
 In their family were five children, three of 
 whom — George, Peter and Margaret — re- 
 mained in the Fatherland, while Valentine ac- 
 companied his brother, Caspar, to the new 
 World in 1867; he soon returned to his na- 
 tive land, however, and remained there. 
 
 Caspar W. Kara, had as a traveling com- 
 panion on his journey to America, Miss Cath- 
 erine Schmidting, daughter of Joseph and 
 Mary (Prouch) Schmidting. of Cologne, Ger- 
 many, the former of whom died in Germany. 
 The latter started for the New World with her 
 daughter, but the daughter becoming ill at 
 Bremen, returned to her old home, and later 
 came to her mother in Madison, Wis., accom- 
 panying Mr. Kara as above stated. On Sept. 
 8, 1867, Mr. Kara and Miss Schmidting were 
 united in marriage, and to their union have 
 come eleven children: Louis W., born July 
 
 13, 1868, is now living in Chicago; William 
 F., born June 8, 1871, now a farmer in La- 
 fayette county, married Edith Michael, and has 
 two children. Leah jnd Willie; Earnest A., 
 born Dec. 23, 1872, a farmer in Green county, 
 married May Foy, and has two children, Ella 
 and Amelia; Mary M., born July 20, 18 vu. 
 married Peter J. R. Post, a merchant of Dane 
 county, and has two children, Junita and 
 Leana ; Herman Joseph, born Sept. 21, 1876, 
 resides in Iowa; Frank A., born Oct. 1, 1878, 
 resides in Green county; George L., born Jan. 
 17, 1881. is at home, engaged with his father 
 in the milling business; Edward J., born Oct. 
 1, 1882, John Henry, born March 29, 1885, 
 Oscar PI., born Jan. 28, 1887. an d Amelia E., 
 born July 30, 1888, are all at home. 
 
 When Mr. Kara came to America he was 
 a very poor man, and his capital consisted 
 chiefly of his trade, that of milling, which he 
 had learned in the old country. He first 
 worked in Madison, Wisconsin, and later 
 in Middleton, and then began a series of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 869 
 
 changes which included Iowa county, Col- 
 umbia county, Mount Vernon, and Mil- 
 waukee, whence he returned to Mount Ver- 
 non, where he purchased a mill and put 
 in a roller process. In 1895 he sold 
 out there and located in Browntown, where he 
 owns a mill fully equipped with all the latest 
 machinery, and capable of turning out the best 
 grade of work. He also owns a two-story 
 dwelling and sixty-five acres of fine land, all 
 the result of his industry and careful manage- 
 ment, assisted by his good wife’s clear judg- 
 ment. In politics Mr. Karn is a stanch Dem- 
 ocrat, and has held a number of offices in the 
 various places he has lived, among them being 
 that of school director. In religious faith he 
 is a Lutheran; Mrs. Karn and the children are 
 Catholics, and they all take an interest in all 
 that pertains to the welfare of their churches. 
 
 Mrs. Karn has a sister who still makes her 
 home in Germany, and is now the wife of Will- 
 iam Brown, who was for a time a captain of 
 a boat on the river Rhine. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER MACABUS JACK- 
 SON. While perhaps most of the sturdy 
 settlers of Wisconsin came originally from 
 the East, or directly from the old country, a 
 few, here and there, may be found who rep- 
 resent the best blood of the South, sons and 
 grandsons of those brave and daring Vir- 
 ginians, who crossed the mountains, and in one 
 of the longest and bloodiest struggles with 
 ■the savage race, wrested from Indian occu- 
 pancy and control the fair lands of Kentucky. 
 One of the best specimens of that rare and 
 splendid type of American manhood is Chris- 
 topher M. Jackson, who is also' the oldest 
 surviving pioneer of Potosi, Grant county, 
 and with one exception its oldest citizen. 
 
 Mr. Jackson was born in Greenville, Muhl- 
 enberg county, Ky., Jan. 17, 1816, one of the 
 thirteen children of Jesse and Hannah 
 (Rhodes) Jackson, who were among the most 
 worthy pioneers of Kentucky, and the grand- 
 son of Christopher Jackson, who was prob- 
 ably of English descent, the family having 
 located in Virginia, in Colonial times. Chris- 
 topher had seven sons, Julius, Christopher, 
 Gabriel, Samuel, George, Leroy and Jesse, 
 one of whom entered the Continental army 
 at the age of sixteen years. Jesse Jackson, 
 father of our subject, was born in Virginia, 
 but migrated to the Kentucky frontier about 
 
 1785. The Indians were then very trouble- 
 some and the settlers often had to live in a 
 blockhouse, where to avoid surprise by the 
 savages, Jesse took turns with the others in 
 standing guard. He was a farmer and mill- 
 wright by occupation, and a man of command- 
 ing influence. He served as sheriff of Muhl- 
 enberg county, and was for many years a 
 justice of the peace. In religious faith he was 
 a member of the Baptist church. He died in 
 1847, aged seventy-eight years. His wife, 
 Hannah Rhodes, was a native of Pennsylva- 
 nia, of Dutch lineage. She was one of six 
 children, her four brothers and one sister be- 
 ing Solomon, David, Henry, Jacob and Cath- 
 erine. Of the thirteen children born to Jesse 
 and Hannah Jackson, two died in childhood. 
 The other eleven attained an average age of 
 over eighty years, Nancy being ninety-eight 
 at her death. They were Elisha, Nancy, Sam- 
 uel, Leroy, Elizabeth, Martha, Mary, Esther, 
 Christopher M., Susan and Harvey. Of these 
 Christopher M. and Harvey are the only 
 known survivors, the latter being a resident 
 of Sac City, Iowa. 
 
 Christopher M. Jackson, at the age of 
 nineteen, in 1835, left his native State for the 
 Northwest. He tarried for a short time. at 
 Dubuque, Iowa, then came to Wisconsin, 
 which was a part of the territory of Michigan. 
 In 1836 he located at Potosi, and was living 
 there when the territory of Wisconsin was 
 organized. Pie followed mining for several 
 years, then bought wild land and turned his 
 attention to agriculture. In 1850 he drove 
 team across the Plains to California, spending 
 about fifteen months in that State. While 
 there he discovered the famous “Yankee Jim” 
 mine, which in company with others he de- 
 veloped and for a time worked quite success- 
 fully. Upon his return to Wisconsin he sold 
 his interest in the mine. Since 1873 Mr. 
 fackson has resided in the village of Potosi, 
 where for thirteen years he kept the Banfill 
 House. For some years he was a partner with 
 his son-in-law in the leading store of the town, 
 under the firm name of Hunt & Jackson, 
 though he never gave personal attention to 
 mercantile business. 
 
 In 1846 Mr. Jackson married Miss Mar- 
 tha Bonham, a native of Pike Co., Missouri, 
 and the daughter of Captain Francis and 
 Mary (Neavill) Bonham, who were among 
 the prominent pioneers of Grant Co., Wis, 
 
870 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Capt. Bonham was one of a family of five 
 sons and two daughters, namely, James, Jos- 
 eph, Francis, Harvey, Martin, Isabella and 
 Mahala. He was born in Rye Valley, Wythe 
 county, Va., in 1806, and in 1818 removed to 
 Pike county, Mo., where he served during the 
 pioneer days as a captain of militia. Though 
 he possessed few opportunities for a schooling, 
 he had by extensive reading, aided by a re- 
 markable memory, acquired a broad and use- 
 ful general education. He died in Grant 
 county in 1892, aged eighty-six years. Among 
 the cherished heirlooms which he left to his 
 posterity was a sword, carried by one of his 
 ancestors, in the days of Cromwell’s Round- 
 heads, and which also did service in the Amer- 
 ican revolution. His wife was a native of 
 Shelby Co., Ky. Their eight children, four 
 sons and four daughters, were Martha (Mrs. 
 C. M. Jackson); Euphemia (Mrs. Utt) ; 
 William; James, who died in his youth; Cal- 
 vin; Carlos; Lenora (Mrs. Baldwin, de- 
 ceased), and Mary Frank (Mrs. Brooks). 
 Mrs. Martha (Bonham) Jackson, the wife 
 of our subject, died Nov. 6 ,1880, aged forty- 
 nine years. 
 
 To Christopher M. and Martha Jackson 
 were born eleven children, of whom two died 
 in childhood. The others are Anna Eliza, 
 who married M. L. Spaulding, and died in 
 1890, aged forty-one years; Lura Jane, who 
 married W. FI. Hunt, and' resides in Platte- 
 ville, Wis. ; Matilda Jeannette, who married 
 Adolph Kinney, and -resides in St. Paul, Minn. ; 
 Adella May, who died April 25, 1895; Minnie 
 Eva, who died April 15, 1893; Martha Lin- 
 coln, of Potosi ; Myrtle Belle, who- married 
 Herman Ott, of Preston, Minn. ; William 
 Christopher, of Wilton, N. D.; and Jessie 
 Frances, who married S. H. Hedges, of 
 Chicago. Mr. Jackson has also' fifteen 
 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He 
 is spending his declining years in one of 
 the most pleasant homes in the village, 
 where his comfort is carefully looked after 
 by his daughter, Martha L. Mr. Jackson cast 
 his first presidential vote for Zachariah Taylor 
 in 1848. Since the Republican party came into 
 existence he has been one of its stanchest 
 supporters, though never a candidate for any 
 official position. He has always taken a deep 
 interest in the development of Potosi, and he 
 has been a prominent factor in its material ad- 
 vancement. Though for some years past. 
 
 physical disabilities have prevented his active 
 participation in business affairs, his mind is 
 still active, and he is by no 1 means indifferent 
 to the progress which is being made in his lo- 
 cality, as well as in the world at large. 
 
 ADAM D. SCHMID, the present occupant 
 of the important and responsible position of 
 county treasurer of Green county, has been a 
 resident of Monroe for a number of years, and 
 of the county since he was a small boy. He 
 has been all his life an industrious and hard- 
 working man, moved by laudable ambitions, 
 and exhibiting a spirit of integrity and down- 
 right honesty in all business transactions. He 
 has greatly prospered, and is now the owner 
 of a very comfortable portion of this world’s- 
 goods. 
 
 Adam D. Schmid was born in Canton 
 Glarus, Nitfurm, Switzerland, March 4, 1836, 
 and is a son of Mathias and Catharine 
 (Schmid) Schmid, both natives of the moun- 
 tain republic. They had a family of eight 
 sons and five daughters, of whom six are now 
 living: Mathias, of Beresford, S. Dak.; Hen- 
 ry, of New Glarus; Adam D. ; and Thomas; 
 Melchior, and Catherine (the wife of Casper 
 Hauser), all residing in New Glarus, Wis. 
 
 I he senior Schmid, imbued with the love of 
 liberty, and hearing of the possibilities of the 
 New World, early determined to bring his chil- 
 dren to the United States, that they might have 
 opportunities to rise which Old-world condi- 
 tions denied them. Pie emigrated to America 
 in 1845, where he began a career as a real- 
 estate owner and farmer by purchasing twenty 
 acres. When he had paid for this more was 
 ■bought, until, at the time of his death, in 1854, 
 he owned a farm of one hundred and thirty- 
 five acres. He was only fifty-two, and his 
 widow survived many years, dying in 1877, 
 when seventy years old. They were both 
 members of the Lutheran Church. His father, 
 Mathias Schmid, was a native of Switzerland, 
 where he died well advanced in years. He 
 had a large family. The father of Catharine 
 Schmid was Henry Schmid, a native of Switz- 
 erland, where he followed the life of a shep- 
 herd. He died in middle life, being swept 
 down the mountain in a snowslide. 
 
 Adam D. Schmid was a sturdy lad of nine 
 years when his parents decided to seek their 
 fortunes in a New World, and he still retains 
 vivid memories of the voyage across the ocean. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 It was made in a sailing-vessel, and required 
 forty-eight days for its completion. A severe 
 storm was encountered, and the ship was blown 
 far out of its course. The family left their 
 Swiss home April 15, and it was not until 
 August 16 that they arrived at New Glarus, 
 Wisconsin, then the Mecca of the hopes and 
 ambitions of many of their countrymen. 
 Adam grew to manhood on his father’s farm, 
 and attended the New Glarus public schools. 
 When his father’s death, in 1854, called for 
 the mutual help afrd co-operation of all the 
 children, Adam was not found wanting. He 
 gave his time and labor freely to the task of 
 paying the indebtedness yet remaining on the 
 place. This was soon accomplished, and in 
 1855 the young man dared to contract for a 
 farm of his own. It consisted of one hundred 
 and thirty acres, and was increased by subse- 
 quent purchases until at one time Mr. Schmid 
 owned a large and valuable farm of four hun- 
 dred and sixty-four acres, all in the township 
 of New Glarus. There he made his home 
 until 1896, when he moved into the city of 
 Monroe, feeling that he was entitled to “take 
 it easy” the rest of his life. He has a neat 
 and attractive home on Railroad street, and 
 is amply provided for all the contingencies of 
 life. 
 
 Mr. Schmid is a stanch Republican, and 
 has been an earnest party worker for some 
 years. For many years he was a member of 
 the town board, and was town assessor for 
 one year. He was elected treasurer of the 
 county in 1898, and has proved a capable and 
 reliable official. 
 
 Adam D. Schmid and Mary Duerst were 
 united in the solemn bonds of matrimony April 
 29, 1858. and the union has proved in every 
 way a fortunate and happy one. Mrs. Schmid 
 is the daughter of Nickolaus Duerst and his 
 wife Maria (Streiff). They have had five 
 sons and six daughters, Nicholas, Kathrina, 
 Mathias. Adam (deceased). Mary, Theodore, 
 Rosalina, Anna. Bertha, Clara, and Wilhelm 
 Arthur (deceased). Nicholas, a farmer in the 
 town of Monroe, married Anna Babler, and 
 has five children, Mary Palma, Freddie, Nich- 
 olas. Alvin, and Alma. Kathrina married 
 Charles Kundert, lives at Beresford, S. Dak., 
 and is the mother of five children, Charles. 
 Walter, Wesley, Gladys and Apal. Mathias 
 lives at home, and is single. Adam died when 
 .nineteen years old. Mary married W. F. Leg- 
 
 871 
 
 ler; they live at American Falls, Idaho, and 
 have four children, — Nellie Dorothea. Arthur, 
 Adam and Johnnie. Theodore married Mary 
 Schmid, and later Iva Lizer, and lives in the 
 town of Monroe, Green county. Rosalina 
 married Eugene Nonenberg. lives at Catharin, 
 Colo., and has one child, Mabel. Anna mar- 
 ried James Budge, lives at Aspen, Colo., and 
 has two children. Russell and Orrin. Bertha 
 married John Voegli; they live in Exeter town- 
 ship, Green county, and have two sons, Adam 
 and Clarence. Clara married Peter Garfield 
 Wells, of Monroe. William Arthur died when 
 four years old. Mr. and Mrs. Schmid are 
 members of the German Evangelical Church, 
 and are valued citizens of the community. 
 
 JOHN FRANKLIN LITEL, a retired 
 business man of Albany, Green county, has had 
 a varied and eventful career in the commercial 
 world. He has been active and industrious, 
 and has always believed in hustling to get on 
 in the world. He is highly spoken of by those 
 who remember him as an active business man, 
 and is now taking his ease, which he has richly 
 earned by long and arduous years. 
 
 Mr. Litel was born in Bond county. 111 .. 
 Oct. 13, 1831, son of John Franklin, Sr., and 
 Lucretia (Dudgeon) Litel, natives of Ten- 
 nessee. They were the parents of fourteen 
 children, of whom five are still living at this 
 distant day, John Franklin, of Albany; Lewel- 
 lyn A., of Belleville, Ark.; Francis Marion, of 
 Conway, Mo. ; Rowena, wife of Mr. Whittier, 
 of Smith Center, Kans. ; and Ellen, wife of 
 Henry C. Boone, of Kansas. The father was 
 a farmer, and moved to Illinois in the early 
 days, settling in Bond county. In 1832 he 
 enlisted in the Black Hawk war, and while in 
 the service came to Wisconsin. He was en- 
 tranced with the country, and in 1833 brought 
 his family to Platteville, where he engaged in 
 lead mining. In 1841 he moved to Buchanan 
 county, Mo., and helped to survey the city of 
 Saint Joseph. Two years later he came back 
 to Platteville, and was engaged in farming for 
 two years. In 1847 moved to Highland, 
 and was established in farming there until 1867, 
 when he removed to West Bend, Iowa, and ten 
 years later located in Downs, Kansas, where 
 his wife died in 1880. at the age of sixty-eight 
 years. He and his youngest daughter then 
 went to Conway, where he died in 1898, at the 
 age of eighty-eight. He and his wife were 
 
872 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHIC AE RECORD. 
 
 members of the Methodist Church. William 
 Litel, the father of John Franklin, Sr., was a 
 native of Tennessee, and a farmer of Irish de- 
 scent; he had a small family, and died when 
 old. John Dudgeon, the father of Lucretia, 
 was a native of Alabama, of a French lineage; 
 he was a tanner by trade, and lived to be over 
 ninety years of age. 
 
 John Franklin Litel was a child of two 
 years of age when his parents moved from 
 Illinois into Wisconsin, and he attended 
 the public schools at Platteville, and then 
 followed lead mining until 1852. That year 
 lie crossed the Plains to California, and was 
 six months on the way. For four years he was 
 a gold miner, and lus efforts were crowned 
 with fair success. He came to Wisconsin in 
 1856, and in the spring of 1857 engaged in 
 the mercantile business at Highland. He was 
 successively in Avoca, in Lone Rock, and in 
 Footville, following the same line. At Afton 
 he built a flour mill, and in 1880 he came to 
 Albany, and went into a general store. In 
 1892 he retired from active business interests, 
 and, as it is possible for him to 1 do, he is tak- 
 ing pleasure and comfort in the passing years. 
 He has lately made a trip to California, and 
 another into Mississippi. 
 
 On August 16, i860, Mr. Litel was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary A. Mears, a daughter of 
 Michael and Mary (Maher) Mears, and six 
 children have come to bless this union: James 
 Edward, John F., Jr., and Cora May are liv- 
 ing; three died in early childhood. James Ed- 
 ward is mentioned elsewhere in this volume; 
 John F., Jr., is a banker in Oregon, Wis. ; and 
 Cora May married John Caraway, of Biloxi, 
 Miss. Mrs. Litel was a member of the Cath- 
 olic church. Mr. Litel was a Democrat in his 
 active years, though he is not taking an active 
 part in politics. He has been supervisor of the 
 town of Albany three terms, and was a member 
 of the village board for several years. 
 
 WASHINGTON F. SELLECK. Among 
 the brave men who devoted the opening years 
 of their manhood to the defense of our coun- 
 try from the internal foes who sought her 
 dismemberment was this gentleman, now a 
 prominent resident of Millville township, 
 Grant county. 
 
 Mr. Selleck was born in Canada in 1842, 
 a son of George J. and Zoa Selleck, who emi- 
 grated from Canada and settled at Waukesha, 
 
 Wis., several years before Wisconsin became 
 a State. A few years later they lo- 
 cated in Wyalusing township, Grant 
 county, and later moved to Ellenboro 
 township. The mother died many years 
 ago, and the father, who long survived 
 her, passed away at the home of his son Wash- 
 ington F., in Millville township, in 1896. In 
 his family were ten children, and three of the 
 sons served in the Union army during the 
 Civil war, namely : W ellington, now a resi- 
 dent of Hasty, Minn. ; George, who lives in 
 Beetown, Grant county; and Washington F. . 
 On reaching man’s estate the last named mar- 
 ried Miss Sarah Jane Huston, a daughter of 
 John Huston, and to them have been born 
 seven children, three sons and four daughters : 
 May, Louisa, Charles, George, Ethel, Henry 
 and Katy. 
 
 Early in the fall of 1862 Mr. Selleck en- 
 tered the service of his adopted country as a 
 member of Company M, 4th Missouri Caval- 
 ry, which company was organized at Boscobel, 
 Grant Co., Wis., as a part of Fremont’s body 
 guard. The command went to Benton Bar- 
 racks, St. Louis, where they were drilled, and 
 from there accompanied Fremont on an expe- 
 dition into Missouri, but, as is well known, 
 the General was about this time superseded, 
 and the command to which Mr. Selleck be- 
 longed joined in the campaign under Gen. 
 Nathaniel Lyon, taking part in the battle 
 of Springfield, where the gallant Lyon fell. 
 Mr. Selleck fought under Gen. Sigel at Pea 
 Ridge, after which the command was trans- 
 ferred to the 5th Missouri Cavalry, which was 
 consolidated with the 4th and thereafter 
 known as the 4th Missouri Cavalry. It 
 was then in active service in Kentucky, 
 Tennessee and Mississippi, and for six 
 months was stationed at Vicksburg, thence 
 going South. While at Vicksburg Mr. 
 Selleck performed an important and interest- 
 ing service, being sent as orderly to the famous 
 stockade at Andersonville for the exchange of 
 .prisoners. He had an opportunity of witness- 
 ing the horrible condition of the Union prison- 
 ers at that infamous prison, and also had the 
 satisfaction of assisting to relieve a small por- 
 tion of them by exchange, he returning with 
 them to Vicksburg. He continued to serve 
 until June, 1865, when he was mustered out 
 at New Orleans, and returned to his home in 
 Grant county, Wis., with a war record of which 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 &73 
 
 he may justly be proud. He is highly es- 
 teemed as an honorable, upright citizen, and 
 as a gallant soldier in the war for the Union. 
 
 THOMAS A. LYNCH, a well-known citi- 
 zen and successful agriculturist, residing three 
 miles south of Browntown, in the township of 
 Cadiz, Green, county, is a native of the Buck- 
 eye State, born in Coshocton county, March 2, 
 1849, a son of Simon and Margaret (Divan) 
 Lynch, both natives of Ohio. 
 
 Simon Lynch was born June 15, 1824, a 
 son of William Lynch, a native of Pennsyl- 
 vania, of Scotch-Irish and German origin, who 
 became one of the pioneers of Ohio. iSimon 
 Lynch was married in 1843 to Margaret Divan, 
 and became the father of twelve children, of 
 whom we have the following record : William 
 and Samuel died in childhood ; Elizabeth be- 
 came the wife of Frank Fullfs, of Sterling, 111 ., 
 who met an accidental death ; Thomas A. is 
 mentioned below ; Martha J. wedded Frank 
 Ullom; John W. died in 1890; Ellen is a 
 teacher in the public schools of Milwau- 
 kee; Annie M. is the wife of John Howe, 
 of Monroe, Wisconsin; Simon P., a farmer 
 of Cadiz township, married Mary M. Ty- 
 ler. of Martintown, Wisconsin; Hester, 
 the youngest, a music teacher, resides with her 
 mother in Monroe. George W. and Absalom 
 died in 1862. The father of this family passed 
 away April 2, 1901. and the widowed mother 
 makes her home in Monroe, lovingly cared for 
 by her children. 
 
 Thomas A. Lynch was early trained to the 
 work of a farmer, and has continued to follow 
 that calling all his life. His education was 
 obtained in the public schools, and the interest 
 in educational work then aroused has made 
 itself felt in later years by his work as a school 
 director. He has ever taken an active inter- 
 est in public questions, and in nolitics is a Re- 
 publican. When there is work to do for his 
 party, he can always be found ready to lay aside 
 any personal interest and devote his time to 
 the public weal. He has held the offices of 
 road master, collector and treasurer of his 
 township, and has given good satisfaction in 
 .every office he has held. 
 
 On Jan. 8. 1874, Mr. Lynch was married 
 do Miss Mary Bratley, daughter of William 
 and Mary C. (Cain) Ijratley, who came from 
 Savannah. Ga., to Green Co., Wis., in i860. 
 Seven children have been born to Mr. and 
 
 Mrs. Lynch; Grace E., wife of Myron Rine- 
 hart, of Cadiz township; Elsie A., wife of 
 Frank Tyler, a farmer of Cadiz; Altha V., 
 Raymond D., Ural B., Ethera C. and John 
 \\ ., at home. Mr. and Mrs. Lynch are 
 interested workers in the Methodist Church, 
 with which they united in early life. 
 
 William Bratley, father of Mrs. Lynch, 
 was born in England, and came to America 
 when he was twenty-eight years of age, after 
 having passed twelve years as a sailor. He 
 was the father of ten children, eight of whom 
 survive : Melissa, wife of Isaac Denny, of Syl- 
 vester township; Silas H., of Cadiz township; 
 Mary A., Mrs. Lynch; Joseph A., who mar- 
 ried Eva Wright; Eliza J.. wife of Willis Ul- 
 lom, of Nora, 111 .; Edward F., of Lena, 111 .; 
 Isabelle, wife of A. Bechtol. of Lafayette Co. ; 
 Lenora A., who married Harry Morse, of 
 Winslow, Illinois. 
 
 GEORGE F. SCHAAL, one of the leading- 
 farmers of Waterloo township. Grant county, 
 residing on section 36, is a veteran of the war 
 of the Rebellion, and was born in Wurtemburg, 
 Germany, in 1830, a son of Leonard and Ros- 
 ana (Weller) Schaal, natives of Germany, who 
 never came to this country, but lived and died 
 in the land of their nativity. Of the family 
 born to this worthy couple, George is the only 
 one who ever crossed the ocean, but he has 
 two brothers still living in Germany, Jacob, 
 six years his junior, and Christian, nine years 
 younger, while two sisters, Rosana and Chris- 
 tina, are also alive. A sister, now deceased, 
 was named Catherine, but she died in Ger- 
 many. 
 
 George F. Schaal was the eldest son, and 
 would have inherited his father's property had 
 he remained in Germany, but preferred to 
 make his own way in life, and landed in New 
 York, on June 7. 1853. Thence he went to 
 Connecticut, where lie worked in a rubber fac- 
 tory for eight months, after which he pro- 
 ceeded to Buffalo, N. Y.. and remained three 
 months. His next removal was made in the 
 spring of 1834 to Galena. 111 ., but went from 
 there, almost immediately, to the lumber region 
 a few miles north of Chippewa Falls, where he 
 worked for sixteen months, when he penetrated 
 further north, to a point above Wauson. and 
 remained for four years. After this he went 
 to the southern part of Grant county, and 
 worked for George Geyer for eight months. 
 
874 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 About this time Mr. Schaal returned to Ger- 
 many, but after staying a few months returned 
 to America, in the summer of 1861, after the 
 war had broken out. Although he endeavored 
 to enlist several times, he was refused, as the 
 quota was full, so Mr. Schaal located at Potosi, 
 and later at Barkers Prairie, where he was em- 
 ployed for several seasons. His next location 
 was at Waterloo, and it was while residing 
 here that he was finally accepted, Oct. i. 1864, 
 as a member of Companv Iv, 6th Wis. V. I., 
 participating in many of the important engage- 
 ments of his regiment. During the battle of 
 Hatcher’s Run, Feb. 6, 1865, Mr. Schaal was 
 severely wounded in the shoulder by a piece of 
 shell, and sent to the hospital at Petersburg. 
 When he had recovered sufficiently, Mr. Schaal 
 was detailed as a nurse, hut the duties were so 
 severe for him in his enfeebled condition that 
 he fell sick and did not recover until the close 
 of the war, when he rejoined his regiment, 
 marched with it to Washington, and partici- 
 pated in the Grand Review, after which he was 
 honorably discharged, June 23, 1865. After 
 the war Mr. Schaal purchased a fine farm at 
 Waterloo, where he still makes his home, and 
 through his industry and thrift he has amassed 
 considerable property. 
 
 Mr. Schaal was married in 1863 to Miss 
 Adelfena Kemich, who was born in Wurtem- 
 burg, Germany, in 1843, and made the journey 
 to this country alone. Mr. and Mrs. Schaal 
 are the parents of eight sons, of whom seven 
 are living: George F., August, Henry, Albert, 
 William, Edward and Gustave, and one, Otto, is 
 deceased. In addition they had four daughters, 
 now deceased : Rosana. Matilda, Lydia and 
 
 an infant unnamed. Mr. Schaal is a stanch 
 Renublican, and he and Mrs. Schaal are con- 
 sistent members of the M. E. Church. Their 
 home is a pleasant one, and they are highly 
 esteemed by a large circle of friends. 
 
 JAMES E. LITEL is a prominent and pro- 
 gressive citizen of Albany, Green county, 
 where he was formerly engaged as a general 
 merchant, having kept a good stock of goods, 
 carefully selected for the local needs, and, in 
 his business, won a reputation as a man of 
 honesty and integrity. 
 
 Mr. Litel was born in Avoca. Wis., Aup\ 
 29, 1861, and is a son of John F. and Mary 
 A. (Mears) Litel. The father was born in 
 Illinois and the mother in Ireland. Seven 
 
 children were born to them, three of whom are 
 now living: James E. ; John F., of Oregon, 
 
 Wis. ; and Cora May, wife of John Caraway, 
 of Biloxi. Miss. The father, when seventeen 
 years of age, started to California, and for sev- 
 eral years was a gold miner. On his return 
 he engaged as a general merchant at Avoca for 
 several years and then snent a year on a farm. 
 He was in business at Lone Rock again, and 
 from there he went to Afton, where he built 
 a gristmill. He was a general merchant at 
 Footville, after leaving Afton. In 1880 he 
 came to Albany, and continued the same busi- 
 ness for several years. In 1885 his son, James 
 E., succeeded to the business. 
 
 James E. Litel was three years old when 
 his father left Avoca and he spent his child- 
 hood and youth in the various towns where his 
 father was engaged in business. When old 
 enough he was taken into his father’s store as 
 a clerk, and had a thorough commercial train- 
 ing under his immediate supervision. As al- 
 ready noted, in 1885 he bought the store, and 
 was engaged in its management until Decem- 
 ber. 1900, when he sold out and went to Cali- 
 fornia. remaining several months. In August, 
 1899, James E., in company with his father 
 John F., and brother, John F., Jr., organized 
 the Bank of Oregon, located at Oregon, Wis.,, 
 which transacts a general banking business, 
 and is in a prosperous condition. 
 
 On Jan. 11, 1880. James E. Litel was mar- 
 ried to Miss Ella Beach, daughter of Hopson 
 and Lydia (Rush) Beach. They are the par- 
 ents of four children, two of whom are living 
 at the present time, Hazel and John B. ; Sidney- 
 died at the age of five months ; and one died 
 in infancy. Mrs. Litel belongs to the Metho- 
 dist Church. Fraternally Mr. Litel is a mem- 
 ber of the Knights of Pythias. Politically he- 
 is a Democrat, and during the administration 
 of President Cleveland was postmaster of Al- 
 bany ; he was chairman of the Democratic cen r 
 tral committee during several campaigns. He 
 has been a member of the board of trustees of 
 Albany several terms, and is a gentleman of 
 character and standing at home and wherever 
 he is known. 
 
 W. FI. and B. J. BENNETT are the able 
 and popular proprietors of The Mineral Point 
 Tribune , which was established in 1847, the 
 first number appearing as The Wisconsin 
 Tribune, on Sept. 4, of that year. George W. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 875 
 
 Bliss, the founder, learned the printing trade 
 in the State of New York, for a time being a 
 co-laborer with Horace Greeley. Mr. Bliss 
 came to Mineral Point, with his family and 
 part of the material for his newspaper, in an 
 emigrant wagon. Overcoming many difficul- 
 ties that have obliterated so many like enter- 
 prises, the publication was continued, and not 
 half a dozen weeks have since passed in which 
 the paper did not apoear. Mr. Bliss was pro- 
 prietor and editor continuously for over twentv- 
 one years. From 1851 to 1854 he had a nart- 
 ner, Josiah B. Cheney, and from 1858 to i86q 
 his son, Edward U. Bliss, was associated with 
 him, but the founder was at all times chief 
 editor and manager. On June 1, 1869, the 
 Blisses sold the plant and business entire to 
 W. H. Bennett and John B. Teasdale. The 
 firm of Bennett & Teasdale continued until 
 1871. when Mr. Teasdale sold his interest to 
 Mr. Bennett. In 1889 B. J. Bennett, brother 
 of W. H., purchased a half-interest in the busi- 
 ness, and in 1891 became sole owner. In 1894 
 W. H. Bennett repurchased a half-interest, and 
 since then the brothers have conducted it in 
 partnership. 
 
 It is a peculiar circumstance that in the 
 fifty-four years since the founding of this ven- 
 erable paper, only two families have ever had 
 control of its columns, and in every issue since 
 the first, in 1847, the name of Bliss or Bennett 
 has appeared as proprietor. Both of the pres- 
 ent proprietors learned the printing trade in 
 the office, W. H. Bennett having begun with 
 the original proprietor, Mr. Bliss, in 1857, 
 B. J. Bennett having entered the office as a boy 
 in 1869. 
 
 W. H. Bennett was born at Platteville, 
 Wis., Dec. 27, 1839, and moved, with his par- 
 ents in 1841, to Mineral Point, where he re- 
 sided until Sept. 27, 1861, when he enlisted as 
 a soldier for the Union in Company E, nth 
 Wis. V. I. He was discharged from the army 
 in October, 1864, and worked as a printer in 
 New Orleans, La., and Mobile, Ala., until 
 June, 1866, when he returned to Wisconsin 
 and became foreman of the Mineral Point 
 Tribune. On Jan. 1, 1867, at Boscobel, Wis., 
 he established The Appeal, and conducted it 
 for two years, and then returned to Mineral 
 Point, where, the following year, he became 
 a proprietor of the Tribune, on which he began 
 work as an apprentice in 1857. 
 
 Mr. Bennett has held a number of important 
 
 positions; among those may be mentioned 
 deputy revenue collector, 1874-1876, and State 
 superintendent of public property, under the 
 popular Governor Rusk, 1882-1888. He is an 
 active and prominent member of the Grand 
 Army of the Republic, and was assistant adju- 
 tant-general for the Department of Wisconsin 
 from June 1, 1897, to June 1, 1898. 
 
 B. J. Bennett, the junior member of the 
 firm, was born in Mineral Point March 6, 1854. 
 At the age of fifteen he began working with 
 his brother, W. H., on The Tribune, and has 
 been constantly with it for the thirty-one years 
 succeeding, as printer, foreman, editor and 
 proprietor. He early developed taste and skill, 
 as a printer, especially in the job and adver- 
 tising departments, and for years has been rec- 
 ognized as the best workman in that line in 
 southwestern Wisconsin. 
 
 These brothers are sons of Matthew and 
 Grace Bennett, who emigrated from England 
 and settled in Wisconsin in 1836. The father 
 followed mining generally. He early became 
 thoroughly American in sentiment, and famil- 
 iarized himself with her system of government. 
 He served several terms as assessor and treas- 
 urer of his town, and for several years as dep- 
 uty county treasurer. 
 
 W. H. Bennett was married, in 1867, to 
 Miss Louisa Andrews. Four sons have been 
 born to them : Edgar Powell, Alex. George, 
 
 William Bryant and Vivian Andrews. 
 
 B. J. Bennett was married, in 1877, to Miss 
 Hattie Hosking. Their family consists of one 
 daughter, Yeta L. 
 
 DANIEL WICHSER, senior member of 
 the firm of Wichser & Babler, somewhat ex- 
 tensively engaged in business in Monticello, 
 where they handle all kinds of agricultural 
 implements, windmills, pumps, tanks, heaters, 
 pipes, fittings, gas engines and almost any- 
 thing a modern and well-conducted farm may 
 need, is a hustling and energetic young man 
 with a host of friends throughout this section. 
 
 Mr. Wichser was born in Canton Glarus, 
 Switzerland. Oct. 8, 1S69, and is a son of Cas- 
 per and Sarah (Blumer) Wichser, both na- 
 tives of the canton just mentioned. They 
 were the parents of twelve children, of whom 
 nine are now living: Magdalena (the wife of 
 Franz Hefty), Sarah (who married Jacob 
 Kundert), Elsbeth (who married Melchior 
 Zwiky), all three still making their homes. 
 
8/6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in Switzerland; Jacob (who lives in Italy), 
 Fred (of Switzerland), Melchior (who re- 
 mained in Switzerland until 1S83, when he, 
 too, came to America), Rosa (the widow of 
 Jacob Schindler, of Switzerland), Daniel (who 
 came to Wisconsin), and Balz (who is lo- 
 cated in Beloit). The father worked in a cot- 
 ton factory in the city oh Betschwandan, where 
 he died in 1894, at the age of sixty-four 
 years. Flis widow still has her home in that 
 city. They were both members of the Swiss Re- 
 formed Church. The paternal grandfather of 
 Daniel Wichser was Melchior Wichser, who 
 was killed by a fall in the mountains in middle 
 life; he was the father of four children, and 
 was engaged in various occupations. The 
 maternal grandfather of Daniel Wichser was 
 Jacob Blumer; he died in Switzerland at the 
 age of seventy years, and left a small family. 
 
 Daniel Wichser was reared in Canton 
 Glarus, where he received the benefit of the 
 very excellent common school system that pre- 
 vails in the Mountain Republic. After his 
 school days were ended he entered a cotton 
 factory, where he was engaged for three years. 
 He worked a year in a sawmill, and another on 
 a railroad. This terminated his career in 
 his native land, as he came to America, making 
 his home in Monticello, Wis., where he has 
 lived to the present time. He crossed the 
 ocean in 1888, and his successful career in this 
 country is but another illustration of the value 
 of pluck and determination, which the lives of 
 thousands of his compatriots have already given 
 to the world. For the first three years after 
 his arrival in this country Mr. Wichser worked 
 on a farm, and was then employed in the 
 town of Monticello as a machinist. By this 
 time he felt competent to engage in business 
 for himself, and, forming a partnership with 
 Tames E. Moore, they operated together for 
 a year in the windmill and pump business. 
 For two years he carried on this business alone, 
 and uniting with Ezra L. Babler, under the 
 firm name of Wichser & Babler, the two have 
 carried on business together up to the present 
 time. They are doing well, as they are both 
 capable and reliable workmen, understand 
 their business thoroughly and have the confi- 
 dence of their patrons to a marked degree. 
 
 Mr. Wichser was married March 8, 1897, 
 to Miss Sarah Zweifel, a daughter of Fred 
 and Sarah (Voegeli) Zweifel. To this union 
 have come two children, Wilbert Lincoln and 
 
 Nina. Mr. and Mrs. Wichser are members 
 of the Swiss Reformed Church. Politically he 
 is an active Republican, and his standing in 
 the community is attested by his election to the 
 .village board. He owns his own home in the 
 village and has built a very complete shop. 
 While still a young man, he is regarded as one 
 of the leading business men of this section. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON BULFINCH, 
 of the town of Sylvester, is well known among 
 the pioneers of Green county. He occupies a 
 well-improved farm about four miles north- 
 west of Juda. 
 
 William and Mary (Sherman) Bulfinch, 
 his parents, came of old Massachusetts stock. 
 They were married Feb. 19, 1821, and became 
 the parents of nine children : Oscar C., born 
 
 Dec. 3, 1821, died an infant; Joseph, born Nov. 
 14, 1822; William S., born Sept. 13, 1823, 
 died April 21, 1850; John A., born Sept. 5, 
 1826; Marshall L., April 12, 1828, a resident 
 of Grant City, Mo., where he has followed the 
 tailoring trade; George Washington, our sub- 
 ject; Mary O., born Aug. 25, 1832, died July 
 I 5 - 1 § 3 / : Edward E., born March 28, 1835; 
 and Eunice, born May 28, 1836. This family 
 have all passed away except George. W. ancl 
 Marshall L. 
 
 George W. Bulfinch was born June 11, 
 1S30, and came West with his parents in 1844. 
 1 hey subsequently spent some time in Illinois, 
 remaining there until 1847, when they made 
 their home on Section 22, town of Sylvester, 
 all of this land being now included in the farm 
 on which Mr. Bulfinch is living. Mr. Bulfinch 
 was married, Mav 14, 1861, to Alice, a daugh- 
 ter of George and Agnes (Atkinson) Fletcher, 
 from Cumberland, England. Mrs. Bulfinch 
 came to Green county with her parents when 
 she was ten years old. In 1856 her parents 
 removed to Kansas, where her father died. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bulfinch have had three chil- 
 dren : (1) Erwin Marshall, born March 16, 
 
 1862, is a civil engineer, and has his home 
 in Guatemala, Central America. (2) Mary 
 A., born Oct. 2, 1870, is a graduate of the Uni- 
 versity of Wisconsin, and is a school teacher. 
 (3) Arthur F., born Jan. 5, 1872. is also a 
 graduate of the University of Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Bulfinch was reared on the farm, and 
 obtained his education in the local schools. In 
 1853 he took a trip to Oregon and California, 
 making the journey overland with six yoke of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 S 77- 
 
 oxen and trail wagons. He returned to Wis- 
 consin in 1856, by the Isthmus route and 
 steamer to New York City, from which point 
 he came back to his home. This journey cov- 
 ered about twelve thousand miles. Later Mr. 
 Bulfinch made a trip to Montana, and still later 
 a second trip tb California. In 1867 he was 
 again in Montana, and once more returned to 
 Wisconsin in 1869. Mr. Bulfinch remained 
 on the home farm until 1875, when he went 
 to the Black Hills, and in 1876 he again made 
 the journey, coming back late in the same year. 
 He has also been in Arizona and 1 New Mexico. 
 Since 1876, however, he has devoted himself 
 steadily to home farming, and has been very 
 successful. Mr. Bulfinch is an honorable and 
 upright man, a patriotic citizen, and well in- 
 formed on everything that relates to farming. 
 
 JOHN HARTWIG, Jr., a progressive and 
 prosperous agriculturist of Jordan township, 
 Green county, resides on his farm of 220 acres, 
 improved land', located on Jordan creek, four 
 miles north of Browntown, and some eight 
 miles northwest of the city of Monroe. 
 
 Mr. Hartwig was born Dec. 28, 1859, in 
 Ohio, a son of George Hartwig, who was born 
 in Berlin, Germany, a son of John Hartwig, 
 who died in Germany, the father of six chil- 
 dren, viz.: George; John, Andrew and Mag- 
 
 gie, all three living in Canada; Eliza, in Cin- 
 cinnati, Ohio ; and Christena, in Germany. 
 George Hartwig was married in Ohio to Eliza- 
 beth Hunsberger, a native of Switzerland, and 
 of their children we have the following record : 
 (1) John is mentioned farther on. (2) George 
 is in Minnesota. (3) Louis, a sketch of 
 whom appears elsewhere. (4) Matilda is the 
 wife of Frank Keil, of Martintown, Wis. (.5) 
 William is on the old home place in Green 
 Co., Wis.; he married Helen Stark. (6) 
 Henry, of Jordan township, married Lena 
 Starkie. ( 7 ) Andrew, a farmer in Jordan 
 township, married Amelia Stark. (8) Lizzie 
 is at home in Monroe. (9) Mary is the wife 
 of Thomas Swievel, of Pittsburg, Penn. In 
 1856 the father of this family came to the 
 United States, locating first in Ohio, thence, 
 in 1862, removing to Jordan township, Green 
 Co., M is. He and his wife now reside in 
 the city of Monroe. 
 
 John Hartwig, the subject proper of these 
 lines, was reared on the home farm in Jordan 
 township. Green county, receiving - his educa- 
 
 tion at the public schools of the neighborhood. 
 A lifelong farmer, he has made a success, and 
 now owns, as already related, 220 acres of 
 first-class land, doing general farming, includ- 
 ing stock raising and dairying, his herd now 
 numbering sixty head. 
 
 On March 1 °>, 1885, John Hartwig was 
 married to V_ 3 s Lizzie Schneider, of Monroe, 
 Wis., born Nov. 28, 1866, a daughter of Rudy 
 and Elizabeth (Beller) Schneider, natives of 
 Switzerland, who were among the early set- 
 tlers of Green county, Wis. They had a fam- 
 ily of thirteen children: Lizzie, Emil, John, 
 
 Rudy, George, Martha. Louis, Otto, Lena, Ed- 
 ward, William, Freida and Samuel (who died 
 at the age of ten years). To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hartwig have been born five children, whose 
 names and dates of birth are as follows : Em- 
 ma, Oct. 23, 1886; Samuel, June 15, 1888; 
 Lena, Feb. 8, 1890; William, Sept. 16, 1891; 
 and Lizzie, May 10. 1893. politics Mr. 
 Hartwig is a Democrat, and he has served as 
 school director and road overseer. In relig- 
 ious faith he is a member of the German Lu- 
 theran Church, while, socially, he and his wife 
 enjoy the esteem and regard of the community 
 at large. 
 
 De WI I I C. CULVER, of the town of 
 Wyoming, Iowa countv. is a son of Alvah Cul- 
 ver, one of the pioneers of that part of Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 Alvah Culver was a native of New York, 
 where he was born in 1811, and there he grew 
 to manhood. He married Catherine Foster, 
 and in 1837 the young - couple emigrated to 
 Green Bay, Wis., thence, in 1839, to Iowa 
 county, and were long residents of what is now 
 known as Old Plelena. He engaged in hotel 
 keeping and farming, and also worked some at 
 carpentering, and operated the ferry at Helena. 
 His death occurred Feb. 28, 1885. The wife 
 and mother survived but a short time, passing 
 away on May 1 the same year. He and his 
 wife were the parents of nine children, six of 
 whom are living at this time. 
 
 De Witt C. Cul ver was born at Green Bay, 
 Wis., March 19, 1838. having been but a small 
 child when he came with his parents to Iowa 
 county. With the exception of two years in 
 Missouri, he has constantly been a resident of 
 Iowa county since 1839, a period of over sixty 
 years. Mrs. Culver was formerly Mrs. Mary 
 Ann (Donnelly) Hogan, and she was born in 
 
878 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Prince Edward Island in 1836. As her father 
 died when she was a child, she came to Iowa 
 county with relatives, and in 1864 wed- 
 ded Mr. Culver. They have five children, 
 four daughters and one son; Sophrona M., 
 wife of Ole Olson; Mrs. Mary Catherine 
 Overland, of Minneapolis, Minn.; Jane 
 Eliza, wife of Edward Mitchell, of Dodge- 
 ville, and Anna and George. Mrs. Culver 
 has a son by her first husband, Thomas 
 Hogan. Mr. and Mrs. Culver have a pleasant 
 home, and are numbered among the respected 
 people of Wyoming. 
 
 BARTIiOLOMEUS A. KUNDERT, of. 
 the firm of Hefty & Kundert, general mer- 
 chants of New Glarus, Green county, is one of 
 the progressive and public-spirited citizens of 
 Swiss descent, who have done so much toward 
 the upbuilding of Green county, Wis., from 
 both moral and material standpoints. Broad- 
 minded, liberal and upright, he belongs to that 
 class of men who command respect wherever 
 they go. He was born in New Glarus town- 
 ship Oct. 13, 1858, son of Paul Kundert, and 
 grandson of John Thomas Kundert, the latter 
 known as “Baumeister.” 
 
 John Thomas Kundert was born in Switz- 
 erland, a son of Oswald Kundert, and fol- 
 lowed various occupations there until 1853, 
 when he came to America and located in New 
 Glarus township, Green Co., Wis., where he 
 purchased 140 acres of land and engaged in 
 farming. He continued in this for several 
 years, and then sold out to his sons, Paul and 
 Balz, and passed the rest of his life among 
 his children. He died in 1893, aged ninety- 
 three years. He married Elizabeth Voegeli, 
 daughter of Balthasar Voegeli, who passed his 
 entire life in Switzerland. Seven children were 
 born to John Thomas Kundert and wife, but 
 three of whom survive : Rosina, widow of 
 
 John Hess, of Monroe, Wis. ; Paul ; and Bar- 
 bara, wife of Bernhard Zweifel, of New Glarus. 
 The entire family belonged to the Swiss Re- 
 formed Church. John Thomas Kundert had 
 belonged to the regular army in his native 
 country, and for a time was a soldier in Hol- 
 land. 
 
 Paul Kundert was raised in Switzerland, 
 and earned his livelihood by whatever honest 
 labor he could find to do. He accompanied his 
 father to America in 1853, and as they landed 
 here without money Paul again was willing to 
 
 work at almost anything. He worked on farms 
 and on the railroad, and his first purchase of 
 land was, as stated above, in connection with 
 his brother. After some time they sold this 
 and purchased 530 acres in New Glarus, four 
 miles west of the village. Mr. Kundert lived 
 there many years, and in July,' 1888, divided 
 his land between his sons, Paul and Jacob, and 
 moved into the village, where he has since lived 
 retired. 
 
 On April 26, 1857, Paul Kundert was 
 united in marriage with Mrs. Sybilla (Ivnobel) 
 Kundert, daughter of Bartholomew and Sybil- 
 la (Kundert) Knobel, and widow of Thomas 
 Kundert. To this union were born nine chil- 
 dren: Bartholomeus A. is mentioned below; 
 Elizabeth married T. C. Hefty, and has four 
 children, Lillian S., Esther, Clarence and Paul; 
 Sybilla married John Babler, now of Council 
 Bluffs, Iowa, and has four children, Henry, 
 Herman, Esther and Clara; Paulus married 
 Barbara Legler, and lives on the old home- 
 stead; Jacob married Dora Legler, and has 
 six children, Lydia, Lillie, Bertha, Paul, John 
 and Gilbert; Barbara married Peter Legler, of 
 Argyle, and has four children, John, Paul, 
 Felma and Victor; Balthasar married Annie 
 Legler, and lives in Monticello, Wis. ; John 
 married Emma Sweeney, and has one child, 
 Una; Anna Katharine is the deceased wife of 
 J. U. Babler, and had three children, Alice 
 Mane, Katharina Anna, and Esther Sybilla 
 (the last two being twins, and the last named 
 deceased). The family are members of the 
 Evangelical Church Association. Politically 
 Mr. Kundert is a Republican. 
 
 Bartholomeus A. Kundert has passed his 
 entire life in New Glarus township. His boy- 
 hood and youth were passed on his father’s 
 farm, and his education acquired in the com- 
 mon schools near his home. In 1882 he start- 
 ed out in life for himself, locating in New 
 Glarus, and entering into partnership with T. 
 C. Hefty in a general merchandise establish- 
 ment, which they have together conducted ever 
 since. They are among the leading business 
 men of the place, and their store has been en- 
 larged from time to time, as their increasing 
 trade demanded. The stock now consists of 
 dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, wall 
 paper and notions. They are careful in the 
 selection of their goods, always aiming to carry 
 the best goods on the market, and ever seek- 
 ing to please the good taste of the best class 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 879 
 
 of trade. In 1893 Mr. Kundert, in connection 
 with his partner, Mr. Hefty, was instrumental 
 in organizing the Bank of New Glams, in 
 which they are both largely interested, and of 
 which Mr. Hefty is at present the cashier, Mr. 
 Kundert being identified therewith as a di- 
 rector and depositor. 
 
 On Jan. 21, 1886, Mr. Kundert was united 
 in marriage with Anna Maria Elmer, daughter 
 of Werner Elmer and his wife Barbara Durst, 
 and one daughter, Alma Sybilla, has been born 
 to them. They take an active interest in the work 
 of the Swiss Reformed Church, Mr. Kundert 
 belonging to the choir, called the“Liederkranz,” 
 and their hospitable home is always open to 
 the entertainment of their friends. Socially 
 Mr. Kundert belongs to the Modern Wood- 
 men of America ; politically he is a Republican, 
 and on May 6, 1898, was appointed postmaster 
 of New Glarus, which office he still holds. He 
 has also served as town clerk, proving a most 
 acceptable official. 
 
 Werner Elmer and his wife, Barbara 
 (born Durst), parents of Mrs. Kundert, were 
 both natives of Switzerland, and early settlers 
 of Green county, where the former engaged in 
 farming for many years. Mr. Elmer is now- 
 living retired from active work, but still takes 
 an important place in the life of the community, 
 and has served several terms as supervisor, 
 and is an active member of the Swiss Re- 
 formed Church. Mr. and Mrs. Elmer were 
 the parents of six children, namely : Anna 
 Maria, Mrs. Kundert ; Werner, of Dane coun- 
 ty, Wis. ; Barbara, wife of Dietrick Stauffach- 
 er, of New Glarus; Nicholas, now business 
 clerk of Hefty & Kundert, of New Glarus; 
 Verana, wife of J. Fred Legler, of Primrose 
 township, Dane county; and Jacob Herman, 
 now remaining on his father’s farm. Nicho- 
 las Durst, father of Mrs. Elmer, was a farmer 
 in Switzerland, and early located in Green 
 county, Wis.; his wife, Maria Streiff, is still 
 alive, and is now ninety-one years old. 
 
 DAVID MANI, a retired farmer and 
 cheese maker of Browntown, Green county, is 
 one of the typical self-made men who have 
 found home and fortune in an adopted 
 country. 
 
 Mr. Mani was born in Canton Berne, 
 Switzerland, a son of Jacob and Susanna 
 (Knitti) Mani, natives of that country, where 
 they passed their entire lives. The former, 
 
 born in 1815, died in 1888; and the latter, 
 born in 1824, died in 1889. They were the 
 parents of fifteen children, seven of whom 
 lived to maturity: David, our subject; Rosa, 
 who married Jacob Carlen, of Ohio; Susanna, 
 Lena and Margaret, in Switzerland; Jacob, 
 who married Miss Annie Swefel, and is a farm- 
 er at Farmers Grove, Wis. ; and Mary Ann, 
 who died in Switzerland. Jacob Mani was a 
 son of Rudolph Mani, a native of Switzer- 
 land, who was the father of seven children, 
 as follows: John, Jacob, Rudolph, David, 
 
 Elizabeth, Rosa and Catherine, all now de- 
 ceased, arid all of whom except David re- 
 mained in Switzerland. David, son of Ru- 
 dolph, came to America, and passed the re- 
 mainder of his life in New York State. 
 
 On March 1, 1872, David Mani, subject 
 of this sketch, sailed from Hamburg, Ger- 
 many, for America, and after a very stormy 
 voyage landed in New York April 1, 1872. 
 When he landed he was immediately confront- 
 ed with a serious financial question, as his 
 available capital consisted of exactly one dol- 
 lar, but a pair of willing hands soon found 
 employment, and the increase of capital fol- 
 lowed as a natural sequence. He remained in 
 New York State four years, engaged in cheese 
 making. Good management and close atten- 
 tion to business brought prosperity in sight, 
 and in 1876 Mr. Mani sought a new field of 
 labor, locating in Wisconsin, where he contin- 
 ued to follow cheese making until 1890, when 
 he purchased a farm of eighty acres of land, 
 one-half of which is in the village of Brown- 
 town. He improved this with a good cheese 
 factory and other buildings, and ten years 
 later sold out for $4,800, and removed to 
 the village, where he is the owner of a fine 
 two-story dwelling and considerable other real 
 estate. During his parents’ lifetime he regu- 
 larly contributed to their support, paying the 
 rent for their home in Switzerland and about 
 $20 annually besides, which to them was a 
 large sum. 
 
 On Feb. 7, 1878, Mr. Mani was united in 
 marriage with Miss Lisetta Teuscher, of Mon- 
 roe, whc accompanied her parents, Christ and 
 Rosa (Mani) Teuscher, from Canton Berne, 
 Switzerland, in 1871. ■ Mrs. Teuscher is de- 
 ceased, but Mr. Teuscher is still living at his 
 home in Monroe. Mr. and Mrs. Mani have 
 become the parents of nine children, namely : 
 David and Lisetta, both deceased ; Mary, born 
 
8So 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Nov. 26, 1881, now makes her home in Mon- 
 roe; Jacob, born May 1, 1884; David J., born 
 May 17, 1886; Lillie, born April 26, 1888; 
 Rudolph, deceased; Rosa, born April 23, 1892; 
 Ernest, born May 7, 1899. In his political 
 preferences Mr. Mani is a stanch Democrat, 
 and in religious faith, while a member of no 
 church, inclines to the teachings, of Luther. 
 
 ROBERT HULL, one of the early pio- 
 neers of Grant county, has been prominently 
 identified with the growth of Platteville, which 
 he has seen advance from a small village 
 to its present proportions. Many are the enter- 
 taining accounts he can give of the days when 
 the great commonwealth of Wisconsin was 
 principally a vast tract of unbroken land, cov- 
 ered with the virgin forest; when the voice of 
 man was not heard; when journeys were 
 made with teams, and only the barest necessi- 
 ties of life obtainable. Such days as these de- 
 veloped the character of the pioneers, and 
 laid the foundations of a mighty State, whose 
 sons and daughters are a credit to it, and whose 
 voice is heard among the great ones of the 
 nation. 
 
 Robert Hull was born in Northumberland 
 county, England, in November, 1821, and was 
 the son of John and Jane (Graham) Hull, 
 natives of England, where they lived and died. 
 Of their large family of eleven children, but 
 two now remain, our subject and a brother, 
 Jesse, who resides in England, the former be- 
 ing the only one who ever left his native 
 land. Growing to manhood in good old Eng'- 
 land, Mr. Hull became convinced that there 
 was more opportunity in America for his ad- 
 vancement, and in 1854 he made the passage, 
 via New York, to Galena, 111 ., where he resided 
 a short time, then removed to what was then 
 known as the “New Diggings,” in Grant 
 county, and here' remained eight years. The 
 next change was made to Platteville, where 
 Mr. Hull purchased a comfortable and pleas- 
 ant home on the corner of Third and Cedar 
 streets, and has since resided there. By oc- 
 cupation Mr. Hidl is a miner, but since com- 
 ing to Platteville he has been engaged on city 
 contracts 
 
 Just before embarking for America Mr. 
 PTull was united in marriage with Mrs. Jane 
 (Lee) Philipson, a daughter of George Lee, 
 who died in his native land, England. Mrs. 
 Hull was born in Northumberland county, I 
 
 England, in May, 1821, and was a lady of 
 unusual graces of mind and character. Gentle,, 
 loving and charitable, she made her home a 
 heaven upon earth, and endeared herself to a 
 large circle of appreciative friends. On 
 March 20, 1894, occurred the tragedy of Mr. 
 Hull's life, for on that day death claimed the 
 deeply loved wife, and: since her decease Mr. 
 Hull has felt sadly bereft. No children were 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Hull, but Mrs. Hull’s 
 son, Matthew Philipson, was reared by Mr. 
 Hull as his own, but, just as the young man 
 was emerging into a happy, useful life, he 
 died, Nov. 26, 1868, aged nineteen. 
 
 Politically Mr. Hull is a stanch Republican, 
 always voting the ticket of that party, and is 
 also a consistent member of the Congregational 
 Church, with which Mrs. Hull was also identi- 
 fied. Mr. Hull is a man who brings his re- 
 ligion into his daily life, and by his example 
 teaches the great lessons of Christianity and 
 morality. 
 
 COL. CHARLES MAPPES (deceased) 
 was one of the most prominent men in busi- 
 ness in his day to be found in Lafayette coun- 
 ty, Wis., and for many years was a resident 
 .of the city of Belmont. He had extensive ex- 
 perience in various commercial enterprises, was 
 well versed in human nature, and was moved 
 by large ambitions. 
 
 Charles Mappes was born in Prussia, Aug. 
 4, 1826, and grew to manhood in his native 
 country, receiving, after the custom of his peo- 
 ple, a solid and durable education. In 1846 
 he went to Mexico, where he served in the 
 Mexican war seven months. After that he 
 accompanied Gen. Harney to Florida, and as- 
 sisted in the operations against the hostile 
 Indians. In the fall of 1848 the adventurous 
 young German made his way to California, 
 and, taking a hand in the gold mining of 
 the time won out a large fortune and brought 
 back to the East with him on his return, in 
 1851, a very considerable sum of money. With 
 this Mr. Mappes built a hotel in Indianapolis, 
 and kept hotel for several years in the capi- 
 tal city of Indiana. In 1855 he moved to Terre 
 Haute, in the same State, where lie followed 
 the same business. In i860 he came west to 
 Dubuque, Iowa, and kept hotel for two years 
 in that stirring city. Mr. Mappes was then a 
 year at Mineral Point, Wis., and following that 
 lie made a journey into Idaho. There he 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 88 1 
 
 discovered the first gold found in the terri- 
 tory, and was instrumental in the formation 
 of a police and military force known as the 
 Idaho Rangers, of which he was elected colo- 
 nel and commander. His family now holds 
 a deed for 8,200 feet of quartz ledges, and 
 they have been offered $40,000 for 600 feet. 
 
 'Col. Mappes and Miss Minnie Faust 
 were united in marriage in 1855. Mrs. Mappes 
 was born in 1824 in Germany, daughter of 
 John and Irene Faust, who came to this coun- 
 try at an early day and located on a farm 
 in Indiana, where they died. She grew to 
 womanhood in the State of Indiana, where she 
 was married. In 1864 the young couple 
 came to Belmont, which was their home as 
 long as he lived. When the village was in 
 its infancy he embarked in business, and was 
 a hotel-keeper for several years, owning his 
 own establishment In 1884 Col. Mappes put 
 up the St. Charles Hotel on the site of his 
 first building, which had been destroyed by 
 fire, and conducted it with marked success, 
 until his retirement from business, in 1891. 
 During his residence in Belmont he made 
 and spent a fortune, and had he realized on 
 some of his mining investments, in which he 
 was an extensive dealer, as he had reason to 
 expect, he would have become one of the weal- 
 thiest men of the day. He was always open- 
 handed and enterprising, ready to take hold 
 of anything that had a promise of results in it, 
 and was one of the most popular men of the 
 county, with many friends. He died in Feb- 
 ruary, 1900. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Mappes were the parents of 
 six sons, and two daughters : ( 1 ) Lewis, 
 
 born in Indianapolis, married Miss Mollie 
 Garden, and resides in. Sioux City, Iowa, 
 where he is in business; he has three children, 
 Rudolph. Nellie and Marie. (2) Frederick, 
 born in Dubuque, married Miss Millie Wood, 
 of Georgetown, Wis., and is a conductor on 
 the Union Pacific Railroad; he lives at Grand 
 Island, Neb., and has two children, Daisy and 
 Frederick. (3) Nettie, born in Illinois, is now 
 the wife of Edward Schriter, of Darlington, 
 Wis., and is the mother of five children, 
 Charles, Lewis, Bertha, Mamie and Bay. (4) 
 Charles, born in Menominee, Wis., was edu- 
 cated in the normal school at Platteville, and 
 is now a railroad man at Rawlins, Wyoming. 
 (5) Minnie, born at Belmont, is now the wife 
 of Frank Webb, of this city, and is the mother 
 
 56 
 
 of four children, Hazel, Roy, Edith and 
 Frankie. (6) George, born in Belmont in July, 
 1873, attended the Belmont school until he was 
 fourteen years old, when he secured a posi- 
 tion as brakeman on the Chicago, Milwaukee 
 & St. Paul Railroad; he is now a brakeman on 
 a main line passenger, and is a popular and 
 capable young man with a bright future before 
 him. (7) William, born in Belmont in 1875, 
 grew up in his native town, where he learned 
 telegraphy; he followed this occupation some 
 few years, and then went to Philadelphia, 
 where he had secured a desirable position in 
 a grocery store, remaining three years, but on 
 the outbreak of the Spanish- American war left 
 it to enlist in the heavy artillery, and is now 
 in Manila, fighting the insurgents in the wilds 
 of that country. (8) Otto, a bright and prom- 
 ising young man of eighteen years of age, was 
 drowned in the Pecatonica river in Lafayette 
 county. 
 
 Col. Mappes was a Democrat, and during 
 his life held a number of local offices in the 
 town of Belmont. He was one of the stock- 
 holders of the water works, and a member 
 of its board of management a number of years. 
 He and his wife were consistent members of 
 the Lutheran Church. 
 
 LOUIS HARTWIG, one of the thrifty 
 and successful young farmers of Jordan town- 
 ship, Green county, is a native of that town- 
 ship, born Jan. 6, 1864, on the old George 
 Hartwig homestead. 
 
 George Hartwig, his father, was born in 
 Berlin, Germany, a son of John Hartwig, who 
 died in Germany, the father of six ch.ldren: 
 John, Andrew and Martha, all three living in 
 Canada; George; Eliza, in Cincinnati, Ohio;, 
 and Christena, in Germany. George Hartwig 
 was married in Ohio to Elizabeth Hunsberger, 
 a native of Switzerland, and of their children 
 we have the following record : ( 1 ) John, a 
 sketch of whom appears elsewhere. (2) 
 George, in Minnesota. (3) Louis, of whom 
 more extended mention is made farther on. 
 (4) Matilda, wife of Frank Iviehl. of Martin- 
 town, Wis. (5) William, a farmer of Jor- 
 dan township. Green Co., Wis.; he married 
 Helen Stark. (6) Henry, of Jordan township, 
 married to Lena Starkie. (7) Andrew, on the 
 old home place in Jordan township, married 
 to Amelia Stark. (8) Lizzie, at home in 
 Monroe. (9) Mary, wife of Thomas Sweivel, 
 
882 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of Pennsylvania. In 1856 the father of this 
 family came to the United States, locating first 
 in Ohio, thence, in 1862, removing to Jordan 
 township, Green Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 Louis Hartwig was reared on the home 
 farm in Jordan township, and received a good 
 common-school education. Choosing the occu- 
 pation of farming, he at the age of twenty- 
 one commenced lus life work on his own ac- 
 count, and from that time forth prospered, 
 until now he owns a fine farm of 167 acres, 
 all under a good state of cultivation, and 
 equipped with a commodious dwelling and 
 first-class barns. Here he is engaged in gen- 
 eral farming and stock raising, besides dairy- 
 ing. 
 
 On April 11, 1889, Lord's Hartwig married 
 Miss Mary Butts, of Jordan township, Green 
 Co., Wis., born July 20, 1870, a daughter of 
 George Butts, of Jordan, who had the follow- 
 ing family of children: William; Herman; 
 Minnie, wife of Samuel Blumer; Augusta mar- 
 ried, and is living in Monticello, Wis.; Mary, 
 wife of Louis. Hartwig, our subject; Annie, 
 wife of Charles Patterson; Lena, now Mrs. 
 Stauffacher, of Iowa; and Dora. 
 
 To Air. and Mrs. Louis Hartwig have been 
 born five children, their names and dates .of 
 birth being as follows: Rossie, in January, 
 
 1890; John G., in October, 1891; Frederick 
 M., in July, 1894; Dewey H., March 29, 
 1898; and Lida, in January, 1901. Mr. Hare- 
 wig enjoys the respect and 1 esteem of a wide 
 circle of friends and acquaintances, and is 
 highly popular in the community in which he 
 lives. 
 
 THOMAS LONGBOTHAM is numbered 
 among the leading business men of Platteville, 
 Grant county, where he owns and operates 
 finely equipped livery and boarding stables. 
 
 Mr. Longbotham was born in Fidlers 
 Green in July, 1846, a son of Thomas and 
 Hannah Longbotham, who were born in Eng- 
 land in 1807 and 1822, respectively. After 
 their marriage the parents came to Grant 
 county, Wis., in 1841, selecting Potosi as a 
 place of residence. Here the father pursued 
 his trade of weaver for several years, and then 
 engaged in smelting ore, owning smelting 
 works at Potosi. After some years he sold 
 the smelting works, purchased a farm at Fid- 
 lers Green, where he resided until his death, 
 which occurred in 1895, his wife having passed 
 
 away several years previously. These two 
 good people were earnest members of the M, 
 E. Church, and very devout Christians. Of 
 their children we have the following- record : 
 
 <25 
 
 William, born at Potosi, is now a farmer in 
 Nebraska; Elijah, born in Potosi, married Miss 
 Taylor, of Grant county, settled on his farm 
 at Rockford, Iowa, where he died in 1888, 
 leaving a wife and two children, Ellen (wife 
 of Fred Tibets, of Iowa) and Thomas L. (of 
 Rockford, Iowa) ; Rebecka, a graduate of the 
 State Normal, has been a teacher for a num- 
 ber of years in Grant and Iowa counties; 
 John, born in Grant county, is now a prominent 
 banker of Cuba City, and is also interested 
 in the bank of Stevens Point; Joseph, born in 
 Grant county, was educated at the State Nor- 
 mal and a business college, is now cashier of 
 the Cuba City bank, married to Sarah K. 
 Mathews, of Dickeysville, by whom he has 
 three children, Leslie, Pearl and Mary IT, 
 now students of the State Normal, and all 
 residents of Platteville; Hannah E. ; George, 
 who died in childhood; and our subject. 
 
 Thomas Longbotham worked upon his fa- 
 ther’s farm, attending the district school dur- 
 ing the winter months, until he attained to ma- 
 ture years, when he purchased a farm in Floyd 
 county, Iowa, on which he erected buildings 
 and made many improvements, remaining there 
 for eight years. At that time Mr. Longbotham 
 sold his property, located in Nebraska, where 
 he engaged in farming. He returned to 
 Grant county in 1896, and the following year 
 removed to Platteville, where he purchased 
 and now operates one of the finest livery sta- 
 bles in Grant county, known as the Brick Liv- 
 ery Stables. A full line of modern and stylish 
 carriages, barouches, carts, sleighs, etc., is car- 
 ried, and the horses are of excellent stock. 
 Mr. Longbotham personally superintends his 
 business, and every detail is carried out under 
 his direction, while his corps of assistants is 
 carefully selected. 
 
 In April, 1896, Thomas Longbotham mar- 
 ried Alvira L. Gilmore, daughter of Lysander 
 and Jula Gilmore, of Georgetown, Grant 
 county. The Gilmore family is among the 
 oldest in the State, and originated in America 
 in Virginia. Airs. Longbotham was born and 
 educated in Grant county, and is a very pleas- 
 ant and estimable lady. To this union one 
 son has been born, Thomas G. Air. and Airs. 
 Longbotham reside in a comfortable home on 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 883 
 
 Water street, where they receive their many 
 friends. A Republican to the core, Mr. Long- 
 botham takes a deep interest in the workings 
 of that party, and socially is connected with 
 the I. O. O. F. Although not a member of 
 any religious denomination, Mr. Longbotham 
 has always contributed of his means to the 
 support of church work, and is public spirited, 
 kind hearted and liberal. Commencing the 
 struggle of life poor in purse, but rich in pluck 
 and energy, he has attained his present solid 
 position, although still a young man, by his 
 own unaided efforts, and can not be too highly 
 commended for his industry, thrift and perse- 
 verance. 
 
 MALACHI SIMONS, of the town of 
 Fennimore, Grant county, represents one of the 
 old pioneer families of the community. He 
 was born in Cornwall, England, Feb. 9, 1833, 
 a son of Nicholas and Christina Simons. In 
 1848 the father and his eldest son, Nicholas 
 Simons, crossed the ocean, and came to Wis- 
 consin, and went to work in the mines at 
 Hazel Green. The next year he sent for the 
 another and the remaining four children, and 
 about two years later they all settled on a 
 farm in the town of Jamestown. In 1856 
 the father pre-empted land in the town of 
 Mount Ida, and there made a homestead, re- 
 siding there until his death, Dec. 30, 1879, 
 at the age of eighty-three. In his early life 
 he was a steward for a lord of a manor, and 
 at a later period was overseer of mines. When 
 he came to this country he naturally turned to 
 the mines for an immediate living. His wife 
 died July 30, 1873, at the age of seventy years. 
 Their children were: Nicholas, who died Jan. 
 10, 1871, at the age of forty-three, leaving a 
 wife and six children; Malachi was the second ; 
 Frederick died Dec. 12, 1864, at the age of 
 twenty-seven, leaving a wife and one child ; 
 William resides on the old homestead in the 
 town of Mount Ida; Jane married Elijah Rog- 
 ers, and died in 1874, leaving a husband and 
 five children. Malachi and William are the 
 only members of the family living at the pres- 
 ent writing. 
 
 Malachi Simons was about sixteen years 
 old when he came to the United States, and 
 has lived in Grant county since that time, hav- 
 ing been a resident of Mount Ida for more than 
 half a century. For many years he followed 
 mining. Mr. Simons purchased a farm in 
 
 the town of Mount Ida April 4, 1857, and 
 here he lived for four years, when he moved 
 to Fennimore, where his home has been to the 
 present time. 
 
 On May 11/ 1852, Mr. Simons wedded 
 Mary Elizabeth Semmens, a daughter of 
 Richard and Elizabeth Semmens. She was 
 born in Cornwall, England, in 1827, where her 
 parents lived and died. Mrs. Simons was mar- 
 ried in England to William Row, in 1848; 
 soon after their marriage they came to this 
 country and located in Maryland, remaining 
 nearly three years, and then settled in Du- 
 buque, Iowa, where Mr. Row died in 1851, 
 during the cholera epidemic. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Simons have two children, a son and a daugh- 
 ter, Richard, on the home farm; and Katie, 
 the wife of Adam Hill, of the town of Mount 
 Ida. A daughter, Grace, died Sept. 14, 1863, 
 when ten years old. Mrs. Simons had two chil- 
 dren by her first husband, Mrs. Elizabeth Ann 
 Dempsy, of Fennimore, and Mrs. Mary Jane 
 Rogers, of South Dakota. 
 
 THEODORE L. ACHESON, whose 
 home is at No. 262 South Bluff street, Janes- 
 ville, is one of the leading citizens of Rock 
 county, and exerts a strong influence in its 
 political and business affairs. He has filled 
 various public positions in the county, dis- 
 charging every duty with the utmost fidelity, 
 is an honorable and upright man, and has a 
 multitude of friends.. 
 
 Mr. Acheson was born in the town of 
 Newburgh, Orange Co., N. Y., Oct. 3, 1849. 
 His parents, William B. and Margaret (El- 
 liott) Acheson, natives of the same county, 
 had a family of ten children : David A. ; 
 
 Robert B. ; Alexander; William E. ; James C. ; 
 Theodore L. ; Alfred S. ; Mary Ann, wife of 
 Thomas Harper, of Magnolia township; Han- 
 nah J., wife of Robert B. Harper, of Spring 
 Valley; and Sarah Margaret, wife of Wallach 
 Cochran, of Janesville. The father served an 
 apprenticeship as a tanner with an uncle. After 
 he had grown to manhood and married he 
 became a farmer. He made his first appear- 
 ance in Janesville in 1861, and, liking the 
 country, purchased a farm of 240 acres in 
 Magnolia township, Rock county. He did 
 not long survive his change of location, dying 
 in September, 1863, when fifty-one years old. 
 His wife attained the age of seventy-four, 
 and died in July, 1891. In early life they 
 
884 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 were identified with the old Covenanters, in 
 later years attending the Presbyterian Church. 
 His father, Robert Acheson, came from the 
 North of Ireland, where he was born of 
 Scottish parentage, and settled in the city of 
 New York, where he died. He had a family 
 of five daughters and two sons. Her father, 
 William Elliott, was born of Scottish descent 
 in the North of Ireland, and was a farmer all 
 his life. He died in Orange county, N. Y., 
 well advanced in years. 
 
 Theodore L. Acheson came to Wisconsin 
 in 1 86 1, and to Janesville in 1883. At the 
 date first mentioned he was a well grown 
 lad, and had been a student in the public 
 schools of his native county. In his Wiscon- 
 sin home he went to a district school in Mag- 
 nolia township, and continued fi> live on the 
 paternal homestead until 1883. That year he 
 became deputy sheriff under R. B. Harper, 
 and served two years with that gentleman. 
 Sheriff Hanthofn continued him in the same 
 capacity in 1885 and 1886. The city council 
 of Janesville then appointed him constable of 
 the Third ward, and retained him in that po- 
 sition until 1891. In 1889 and 1890 he was 
 under-sheriff for G. C. Babcock. In 1891 he 
 was chosen city marshal, and served the pub- 
 lic very efficiently in that office for six years. 
 In the fall of 1896 he was elected sheriff, and 
 held that responsible office one term. 
 
 The wedding ceremonies of Mr. Acheson 
 and Miss Jane Martin, daughter of Hugh 
 and Jane Martin, were celebrated March 12, 
 1881. They have had three children, Grace, 
 Nina and Arthur L. Grace married Samuel 
 P. Brown, deputy sheriff of Rock county. Mrs. 
 Acheson is a member of the Episcopal 
 Church. Mr. Acheson belongs to the Knights 
 of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd 
 Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America, 
 and the liome Forum. Fie is a Republican, 
 and a man of strong convictions. His home 
 on South Bluff street was purchased by him 
 in July, 1899. 
 
 THEODORE FRELINGHUYSEN 
 HART, a prominent veteran of the war of the 
 Rebellion now residing in Wyalusing town- 
 ship, Grant county, was born in Dupont, Jef- 
 ferson Co., Ind., Nov. 13, 1843, a son of 
 Orrin L. and Eveline (Houghton) Hart. 
 His father, who was of strong Whig procliv- 
 ities, named him for Frelinghuysen, a well- 
 
 known statesman of that day, and who, the 
 following year (1844), was the candidate for 
 vice-president on the ticket with Henry Clay. 
 Mr. Hart's maternal grandfather, Joab 
 Houghton, was a native of the highlands of 
 Scotland, and in early life came to America. 
 He was a soldier in the second war with 
 England, known in history as the war of 1812, 
 and fought with Gen. Jackson in the famous 
 battle of New Orleans. 
 
 Orrin L. Hart, father of Theodore F., was 
 born in Massachusetts, but when a small boy 
 was taken by his parents to Pennsylvania. 
 His mother belonged to one of the early Mo- 
 hawk Dutch families of eastern New York, 
 and was one of the few that was spared in the 
 famous Indian massacre in the Mohawk Val- 
 ley. She lived to the advanced age of ninety- 
 three years, passing away in 1863. In Octo- 
 ber, 1852, Orrin L. Hart and family emi- 
 grated from Indiana to Wisconsin, and lo- 
 cated in the town of Millville, Grant county, 
 where the wife and mother died in 1864. The 
 father is still living but has been an invalid 
 for a number of years. Of their children we 
 have record of Theodore F., of this review; 
 Wallace, who was named for the well-known 
 clergyman, Rev. William Wallace, and is now 
 a resident of Chicago; Abigail, wife of 
 George H. Foster, of Millville; Mrs. Adeline 
 Day; and Josephine, wife of Michael Gillon, 
 of Ontario, Vernon Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 Theodore F. Hart was a lad of about 
 nine years when he came with his parents to 
 Grant county, which has since been his home. 
 On Aug. 11, 1862, he donned the blue, be- 
 coming a member of Company C, 25th Wis. 
 V. I., and was discharged from the service 
 for disability in March of the following year. 
 A severe rupture received in the service was 
 the chief cause of his discharge. However, 
 he had not yet seen enough of army life to 
 'satisfy him. and he determined if possible 
 again to enter the service. But not having 
 yet recovered, it was necessary for him to use 
 considerable strategy in order to pass the re- 
 quired examination. In this he was success- 
 ful, and he was a second time enrolled as one 
 of Uncle Sam’s soldier boys. He expected to 
 be assigned to his old company in the 25th, 
 but in this he was disappointed, and was en- 
 rolled as a member of Company C, iSth Wis. 
 V. I., in July, 1863. His regiment formed a 
 part of the 15th Army Corps. He took part 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 885 
 
 in some of the most important events of the 
 last two years of the war, fighting under Gen. 
 Corse at Allatoona Pass — one of the most 
 thrilling- engagements of the whole struggle, 
 lie was one of the 143 who were on the skir- 
 mish line when the battle began, and of whom 
 only thirty-one succeeded in getting back to 
 the fort. It was on this occasion that Gen. 
 Sherman signaled from Ivenesaw Mountain 
 “Hold the Fort for I am coming,” which has 
 given rise to the famous religious song with 
 that title. Mr. Hart with his regiment 
 marched with Sherman to the sea and thence 
 to Washington, D. C., taking part in the 
 Grand Review in that city. Fie was finally 
 discharged July 13, 1865. 
 
 After the war Mr. Hart was variously 
 engaged for some time, working for a time 
 in the pineries near Grand Rapids, Wis. In 
 September, 1866, he erected a shingle mill at 
 Wyalusing, which he operated for some time. 
 
 Mr. Hart was married, in March. 1867, 
 to Miss Nancy Scarf, a daughter of Samuel 
 Scarf, one of the pioneers of southwestern 
 Wisconsin and a soldier of the Black Hawk 
 war. He was a well-known early settler of 
 Prairie clu Chien. Mr. and Mrs. Hart have 
 five children : Willard, Caroline, Maud, Ma- 
 
 bel and Euphemia. Mr. Hart is an influen- 
 tial citizen of his community, and very promi- 
 nent in Grand Army circles. Fie is a member 
 of W. K. Forshey Post, No. 23, of which he 
 was commander four years, and has been 
 twice appointed assistant inspector of district 
 17, and was one year on the staff of Col. A. 
 E. Watters. Mr. Hart is a man of extensive 
 and varied reading, and is well informed on 
 the general issues of the day. He and his 
 wife are members of the Congregational 
 Church, and are quite prominent socially. 
 
 GEORGE MILLER (deceased) is remem- 
 bered in Hazel Green, Grant county, as an hon- 
 orable and upright citizen, and was born in 
 Baden, France, in 1817. In 1S40 he came to 
 Wisconsin, and for a time worked in Jo Da- 
 viess county, 111 . In 1848 he married Miss 
 Katherine Reiser, a lady born in France, in 
 March, 1830, the daughter of Nicholas and 
 Christine Reiser, both born in that country. 
 In 1833 they came to America and settled in 
 Jo Daviess county, 111 ., where he lived until a 
 short time before his death, in 1862, at the 
 home of his daughter, Mrs. Miller. Airs. 
 
 Reiser died in 1847, being 108 years old at the 
 time of her death. Mrs. Miller is the only 
 representative of this family now living. 
 
 Mr. Miller was a shoemaker by trade, and 
 worked for a time in Hazel Green. In 1849 
 he bought forty acres of wild land in the town 
 of Hazel Green. To this he added by purchase 
 from time to time, until at his death lie was the 
 owner of 190 acres of fine farming land. A 
 good house and ample barns were erected by 
 him, the land cleared and brought under high 
 cultivation, and the entire property made one 
 of the most valuable in this part of the State. 
 To Mr. Miller and his wife were born eleven 
 children, of whom four are now living : ( 1 ) 
 
 Catherine, born in 1855, is the wife of John 
 Kuntz, who resides near the Miller homestead. 
 Mrs. Kuntz was married to Joseph Yorkshire 
 before her present marriage, and to him she 
 bore four children, George, John, Joseph and 
 August. By Mr. Kuntz she has four children, 
 Leo, Mary, Charles and Agnes. (2) Peter, 
 born in 1858, married Miss Christina Nalice, 
 of Galena, 111 ., and is now living on his 
 mother’s old homestead. (3) Christina, born 
 in 1873, is now the wife of Henry Schnow- 
 denberg, and has her home in Jo Daviess 
 county; there are three children in this family: 
 Orvil, Gladys, and Adele. (4) Clara, born 
 in 1875, i s now the wife of Peter Cabanas, 
 of Hazel Green. They have one daughter, 
 Lea. Mr. Miller, like his wife and family, 
 was a member of the Catholic church, and 
 all have been liberal supporters of same. In 
 his political affiliations Mr. Miller was a Dem- 
 ocrat. 
 
 JOHN BECKER enjoys an enviable 
 standing among the older and most respected 
 farmers of Green county, both on account of 
 his years and his high character. He is mak- 
 ing his home on a large farm four miles 
 southeast of Monroe, which has become, 
 thanks to his industry and management, one 
 of the most desirable country residences in 
 the southwestern part of the State. 
 
 Mr. Becker is a son of Casper and Annie 
 (Elmer) Becker, both of whom were born in 
 Switzerland, and were emigrants to this 
 country about 1848. They came to Wiscon- 
 sin, and were among the earlier settlers of 
 Green county. To them were born children 
 as follows: Jacob, who is a farmer in the 
 
 town of Washington; Casper, who died in 
 
886 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1S91 ; Peter, a farmer in the town of Wash- 
 ington; John, born Jan. 18, 1854; Annie, the 
 wife of John Bloom, of Monticello, Wis. ; 
 Rosa, wife of Jacob Marty, a farmer in the 
 town of York; and Fannie, wife of D. Zim- 
 merman, of New Glarus, Wisconsin. 
 
 John Becker grew to manhood under the 
 parental roof, and was married to Miss Mary 
 Ann Karlen in 1880, who was born in Canton 
 Berne, Switzerland, Jan. 27, 1863, and was 
 brought to this country while still a child. 
 Jacob and Mary Ann (Zwahlen) Karlen, her 
 parents, came from Switzerland, now reside 
 in Monroe, where Mr. Karlen is engaged in 
 business as a cheese-maker. They are men- 
 tioned elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and 
 Mrs. John Becker became the parents of the 
 following children : Mary Ann, born Oct. 
 
 15, 1880; John S., born Nov. 8, 1884, is at- 
 tending school; Jacob E., born Feb. 15, 1888; 
 Emma S., born Oct. 2, 1893; an d Herman 
 W., born Nov. 17, 1897, all living at home. 
 
 John Becker was reared on the home farm, 
 and received his education at the hands of the 
 teachers of the public schools of the town 
 of Washington. When he married the united 
 resources of his wife and himself, save their 
 youth and strength, were small indeed. But 
 their hearts were light, and they were willing 
 to work hard, endure poverty and practice self- 
 denial, that by and by they might come to af- 
 fluence. They now own a fine farm of 268 
 acres, all highly improved, and in a fine state 
 of cultivation. In 1901 he built a large barn, 
 32x70 feet with basement, and 20-foot posts. 
 In politics Mr. Becker is a Democrat. He is an 
 honorable and upright man, and believes in 
 the Golden Rule, and the law of honesty and 
 fair play, as the essential part of all creeds 
 and churches. ITe is a man with a warm 
 heart, is a good neighbor, and a genial, com- 
 panionable citizen. 
 
 NICHOLAS ANDERSON, who ranks 
 high in Jordan township, Green county, as an 
 all-round farmer, dairyman and cheese manu- 
 facturer, is a native of Ivrydsherets, Christi- 
 ania, Norway, born April 15, 1849. 
 
 Anders Narveson, his father, was born 
 Aug. 18, 1825, near Christiania, Norway, a 
 son of Narve Narveson, who died in Norway 
 at the age of ninety-six. Maria Ellingson, wife 
 of Anders Narveson. was born in 1818. and 
 died in 1897, in Cottonwood Co., Minn. They 
 
 had four children: Nicholas, who will be 
 
 more fully spoken of farther on; Julia, wife of 
 Anders C. Anderson, of the town of Ann, Cot- 
 tonwood Co., Minn. ; Mary, wife of John 
 Svenson, living in Minnesota; and Jennie, de- 
 ceased in childhood. Anders Narveson still 
 lives in the town of Ann, Cottonwood Co., 
 Minnesota. 
 
 Nicholas Anderson, whose name introduces 
 these lines, when twenty-one years old, in 1870, 
 came to the United States, settling in Wiscon- 
 sin, where, in Green county, he took up farm- 
 ing pursuits. In 1875 he and his entire fam- 
 ily removed to Cottonwood county, Minn., but 
 in 1884 they returned to Green county and set- 
 tled on the old Erickson homestead, where he 
 has since made his home. He owns a fine farm 
 of 160 acres, under excellent cultivation, and 
 supplied with a comfortable dwelling, also com- 
 modious barns and other outbuildings. 
 
 On Jan. 28, 1872, Nicholas Anderson mar- 
 ried Miss Julia Erickson, of Jordan township, 
 Green county, born Sept. 18, 1851, a daughter 
 of Thore and Annie (Olson) Erickson, the 
 former of whom came from Norway to Green 
 county, Wis., in 1848. They were married 
 Feb. 5, 1850, and settled on the farm now 
 owned and occupied by our subject. They had 
 seven children, five of whom are yet living: 
 Julia, wife of Nicholas Anderson; Erick Erick- 
 son, in Rockford, 111 .; Ole, in North Dakota-; 
 Mary, the wife of Ole Johnson, of Cottonwood 
 county, Minn. ; and Andrew, a farmer of Wi- 
 ota township, Lafayette county. The father 
 of these died on the old home place in Jordan 
 township, Green county, in 1885, the mother 
 passing away in 1893. T° Nicholas Anderson* 
 and his wife have been born fourteen children,, 
 eleven of whom are still living: (1) Albert, 
 
 born Jan. 20, 1873, married Clara Jacobson,, 
 and they reside in Argyle, Lafayette county. 
 (2) Thomas, born Aug. 8, 1874, lives in Mon- 
 tana. (2) Edward, born Jan. 7, 1876, mar- 
 ried Amelia Jackson, of Jordan township, 
 Green county. (4) Carl J., born Jan. 1, 1878, 
 is at home. (5) Olaf N. was born Sept. 5, 
 1879. (6) Nettie G., Oct. 7, 1881. (7) Em- 
 ma A., May 6, 1884. (8) Gena Maria, Aug. 
 
 14, 1885. (9) Alma Laura, Jan. 20, 1889. 
 (10) Otto L., Feb. 26, 1890; and (11) Clara 
 M., Nov. 6, 1893. Among those deceased was 
 Anna Lenora, a twin sister of Alma Laura. 
 Mr. Anderson is a firm believer in practical 
 education for his children. Thomas and Ed- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 887 
 
 ward attended the short course of Agriculture, 
 at Madison, Wis., in 1895-1896; and Olaf N. 
 attended the Toland's Business University, at 
 Monroe, Wis., in the year of 1899-1900. 
 
 Mr. Anderson is a member of the Lutheran 
 Church. He is a Republican in politics, and 
 has served in Jordan as school director, road 
 overseer and in other offices with ability and 
 fidelity. While living in Cottonwood county, 
 Minn., he served as chairman of the town of 
 Ann, supervisor, and justice of the peace. He 
 has participated in many political conventions, 
 including the State Republican convention of 
 1900, at which he was one of the sturdy sup- 
 porters of Gov. R. M. La Follette, and has 
 always exerted a marked influence in the local 
 affairs of his community. 
 
 TOHN McBRIDE, a retired farmer resid- 
 ing in Platteville, Grant county, was born in 
 Elk Grove, Lafayette county. Wis., April 13, 
 1837. His parents, John and Rosa (McCar- 
 tin) McBride, were natives of Ireland, who 
 in 1820 settled on wild land in Lafayette coun- 
 ty, where the father cleared up a large farm, 
 on which he and wife passed the remainder of 
 their lives, both dying in the faith of the Prim- 
 itive Methodist Church. In politics the father 
 was a stanch Republican. Of their children, 
 ten in number, seven died young; of those who 
 lived to mature years, Mary, now deceased, 
 was married to William Robinson, of Grant 
 county, where several of her children still live ; 
 Robert, also deceased, retired from his farm 
 in Lafayette county, and died in Platteville in 
 1890, leaving a widow and four children; John, 
 whose name opens this sketch. 
 
 John McBride was educated in the district 
 schools of his native village and at the Platte- 
 ville Academy. He grew to manhood on the 
 home farm, and in October, 1865. married 
 Miss Mary E.. daughter of Lorenzo and Roxie 
 (McCumber) McNett. of Elk Grove, Lafay- 
 ette county. Mr. and Mrs. McNett were born 
 in New York State, and came to Wisconsin in 
 1835, settled on a farm and reared four chil- 
 dren. two of whom are still living, Mrs. E. B. 
 Barnes, in Platteville, and Mrs. John McBride, 
 the latter of whom was graduated from the 
 high school of Hazel Green and was for some 
 time a very successful school teacher. 
 
 After marriage Mr. and Mrs. McBride 
 lived on the McBride homestead until 1894, 
 when they came to Platteville, where Mr. Mc- 
 
 Bride erected a fine dwelling, but still owns 
 the old farm in Lafayette county. To the 
 union of Mr. and Mrs. McBride have been 
 born three children, viz.: (1) W. L., born in 
 1866, in Lafayette county, was educated in the 
 State Normal School of Platteville; in 1894 he 
 married Miss Lucy Churchill, of Platteville, a 
 cultured lady who had been a school teacher 
 for several years. One daughter, Helen, blessed 
 this union. The family reside on their own 
 property on Pine street, adjoining that of the 
 father, John McBride. (2) Rosanna M., daugh- 
 ter of John McBride, was born in Lafayette 
 county in November, 1868, and was a student 
 in the State Normal school until her marriage 
 in 1889 to Elmer E. Herron, the present dep- 
 uty sheriff of Le Mars, Plymouth county, 
 Iowa, where they reside and have a family of 
 four children, viz. : Clay, Lloyd, Lenna, and 
 John. (3) Elsie A., born in Lafayette county 
 in September, 1883, is a well-advanced student 
 in the State Normal school of Platteville. Air. 
 McBride and family are members of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, and in politics he is 
 a Republican. While a resident of Lafayette 
 county he served as treasurer of his township, 
 as chairman of the town board, and also filled 
 several other local offices with credit to him- 
 self and to the entire satisfaction of the public. 
 A descendant of one of the old pioneer fam- 
 ilies of the State, he enjoys the respect of all 
 the inhabitants of Platteville and Grant 
 county, and he and his wife are still fondly 
 cherished in the memory of their old friends 
 in Lafayette county. 
 
 ABEL C. FOWLER, a well-known car- 
 riage maker of North Andover, Grant coun- 
 ty, and an honored veteran of the Civil war, 
 Avas born in Westchester county, N. Y., in 
 1820, a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Alonte) 
 Fowler. The father, who was a native of 
 England and a carpenter by occupation, moved 
 his family from New York to Connecticut, and 
 there died. The mother’s death occurred when 
 Abel was a small child. He is the third in or- 
 der of birth in a family of four children, the 
 others being Thomas, Isaiah and Alary, and 
 is the only survivor so far as known. Isaiah 
 was also in the Union army, being a member 
 of the same company and regiment as Abel C., 
 and died at the Soldiers Home in Togus, 
 Maine. 
 
 In May, 1861, Abel C. Fowler enlisted in 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 888 
 
 the 4th Conn. Y. L, which was afterward 
 changed to the ist Connecticut Heavy Artil- 
 lery, and was commanded by Col. R. O. Tyler. 
 Mr. Fowler’s service covered a period of three 
 years, and he took part in the seven days’ 
 tight in the Peninsular campaign under Gen. 
 McClellan, and the battle of the Wilderness 
 under Gen. Grant. 
 
 While Mr. Fowler was in the service his 
 wife, whose maiden name was Mary L. Eootlie, 
 came to Potosi, Grant Co., Wis., with their 
 three children, and upon receiving his discharge 
 he rejoined his family here. His first wife 
 died many years ago, leaving two children, 
 who 1 still survive, namely : Henry W., a resi- 
 dent of Coles, Neb.; and Mrs. Ella Bannock, 
 of Denver, Colo. Since the death of his first 
 wife Mr. Fowler has been twice married. He 
 has a pleasant home in North Andover, and 
 is successfully engaged in carriage making. He 
 is widely and favorably known throughout the 
 community, and has a host of friends in Grant 
 county. 
 
 LEWIS W. SHULL, now doubtless the 
 oldest native born resident of Lafayette coun- 
 ty, Wis., is a son of one of the earliest pio- 
 neers of the Territory of Wisconsin, and has 
 himself played no insignificant part in the de- 
 velopment of the country. 
 
 Jesse Shull, his father, left an ineffaceable 
 imprint in the early history of the Northwest. 
 He was born in Pennsylvania April i, 1785, 
 and passed his early life at his home in Cen- 
 tre county, that State. The first important 
 break which occurred in his life was the war 
 of 1812, in which he participated. He had 
 been trained to the trade of a hatter, but when 
 the war was over he came immediately to St. 
 Louis, Mo., and began buying furs for the 
 American Fur Co. This business requTed him 
 to go up the Mississippi river to trade with 
 the Indians, and he finally located at Dubucpie, 
 Iowa, soon after going to Galena, 111 . In the 
 fall of 1818 he severed his connection with 
 the fur company, and, removing- to what is 
 now Shullsburg, in Lafayette county, he en- 
 gaged in business on his own account, buying 
 furs, and also in investigating the mining 
 lands. It was through his discovery of the 
 valuable mineral ore in Wisconsin that the 
 mines were so early developed. The little ani- 
 mal known as the badger, so numerous that 
 Wisconsin is yet known as the “Badger State,” 
 
 was everywhere to be found then, and in dig- 
 ging holes in the ground threw out pieces of 
 mineral ore. This led Mr. Shull to investi- 
 gate, with the result of the discovery of price- 
 less mining interests. He at once gave up the 
 fur trade and devoted himself exclusively to 
 mining, becoming so successful that he soon 
 added smelting to his work, thus becoming the 
 first miner and smelter in the State. The news 
 of the rich mineral fields discovered by Mr. 
 Shull in southwestern Wisconsin soon spread 
 abroad, and in a short time the miners began 
 to come from all over the country. 
 
 Among the many who came to engage in 
 mining was A. P. Van Mat-re, who was ac- 
 companied by his sister, Melissa. They were 
 the children of Mr. and Mrs. Morgan Van 
 Matre, of Highland county, Ohio, and arrived 
 early in the spring of 1826. O11 Aug. 20, 
 
 following, occurred the marriage of Jesse Shull 
 and Miss Melissa Van Matre, whose brother 
 (also a hatter by trade) had become a partner 
 of Mr. Shull’s. This partnership lasted until 
 1835, and they devoted themselves to mining 
 and smelting. After the dissolution Mr. Shull 
 removed to what is now the town of Cadiz, 
 in Green county, there to engage in farming 
 during the remainder of his life. The only 
 change of occupation he had permitted himself 
 had been to do what he regarded as the para- 
 mount duty of every citizen, of sound body 
 and suitable age — to enlist in dfis country’s 
 service when needed. In 1828 he had gone 
 forth as a soldier in the war with the Win- 
 nebagoes, and in 1832 in the Black Hawk war. 
 
 For his services in the war of 1812 Mr. 
 Shull received a land warrant from the gov- 
 ernment, which he sold to a Mr. Malone, 
 who with it located land in Black Hawk coun- 
 ty, Iowa, on a part of which now stands the 
 city of Waterloo. When lie moved to Cadiz 
 township, Green county, Mr. Shull purchased 
 400 acres of land, which he had nearly all 
 improved when his death occurred, Feb. 12, 
 1864. Mr. Shull was a typical pioneer, rugged, 
 honest and industrious, strong in his convic- 
 tions and fearless in their expression. In 
 politics lie was a Whig of the old school, in 
 religion an earnest Christian, identified with 
 the Christian Church. The town of Shullsburg 
 was named in his honor, and well it might be, 
 inasmuch as he was the first miner and smelter 
 in the region, and his was the first marriage 
 celebrated in what is now Lafayette county. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 889 
 
 Mrs. Melissa (Van Matre) Slnill was born 
 Aug. 11, 1811, and passed away July 3, 1893. 
 She bore her husband nine children ; those yet 
 living are as follows: Lewis \Y. is the oldest; 
 Morgan is a resident of Clay county, Iowa; 
 John resides in Oregon; Mrs. Sadie Martin 
 lives in Nebraska; and Mrs. Elizabeth Rode- 
 baugh makes her home in Indianapolis, Ind. 
 Those who have passed away are as follows : 
 Andrew P., Jesse, Mrs. Nancy Edwards, and 
 Marietta, the last named dying at the age of 
 thirteen. 
 
 Lewis W. Shull, the only one of the family 
 now residing in Wisconsin, was born in 
 Shullsburg, Aug. 12, 1831, and has always 
 made his home in Lafayette county. His gen- 
 eral occupation has always been farming, 
 though at present he is engaged in keeping 
 the Hotel Watson, at South Wayne. 
 
 In April, 1863, Mr. Shull enlisted in Com- 
 pany Iv, 16th Wis. V. I., and served until the 
 close of the war. His regiment was assigned 
 to the 1 st Brigade, 3d Division, 17th Army 
 Corps, and he took part in the battles of Re- 
 saca, Marietta, Ivenesaw Mountain, siege of 
 Atlanta, the march to the sea, and then, after 
 all was over, took part in the grand review 
 in Washington. He was discharged from serv- 
 ice at Madison. At the battle before Atlanta 
 he was wounded by a minie ball, which, just 
 as he was reloading, cut the bayonet of his gun 
 entirely off, struck the star on the strap of his 
 cartridge box, passed through it, and cut a rib 
 on his left side partly off. There it lodged until 
 it poisoned the wound, and erysipelas followed, 
 •which caused his confinement in the hospital 
 for some time, and in fact lie has never fully 
 recovered from the effects. 
 
 In 1869 Mr. Shull was united in marriage 
 with Miss Mary Buchanan, who was born in 
 the town of Cadiz, Green Co., Wis., daughter 
 of Benjamin and Isabel (Robb) Buchanan. 
 Five children have come of this union: Mrs. 
 Melissa Bell Gearhart, of Amber. Iowa; Min- 
 nie; Mrs. Sadie Stites, of Winslow, 111 .; Ed- 
 na ; and Thomas. The family are honored 
 members of society, and have proven them- 
 selves worthy of the respected name they bear. 
 
 R. S. JACOBS, one of the enter rising 
 business men of Clifton township. Grant coun- 
 ty, is the proprietor of a flourishing harness 
 and saddlery establishment, and was born in 
 Canton, Fulton Co., 111 ., in 1833, a son of 
 
 George and Elizabeth (Johnston) Jacobs, na- 
 tives of Franklin county, Penn., who came to 
 Illinois in 1828, and settled at Canton, but in 
 1844 removed to Linden, Iowa count)', and 
 opened up a farm. Here the father died in 
 1876, aged seventy-six. The family were 
 among the first settlers of the township. Of 
 their children, we have record of John, who 
 died young; Cyrus and George, both deceased; 
 R. S., our subject; Sarah Ann and Mamie, 
 both deceased; Susan, now Airs. Marsden; Eli- 
 za; Nathan, a resident of Linden, served three 
 years in the 30th Wis. V. I., during the Civil 
 war. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated in 
 Linden, and engaged in farming for several 
 years, then, in 1881, came to Livingston and 
 learned the trade of saddler and engaged in 
 business for himself. At the first call, in April, 
 1861, Mr. Jacobs responded, enlisting at Min- 
 eral Point, Wis., in Co. I, 2d Wis. V. I., 
 for ninety days, and then re-enlisted at Madi- 
 son, Wis., for three years or during the war, 
 being in the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 1st 
 Army Corps, participating in the battles of 
 Bull Run, South Mountain, White Sulphur 
 Springs, Gainesville, and was honorably dis- 
 charged in 1863. After this he returned to 
 Linden and took up his ordinary pursuits. 
 
 In 1865 Mr. Jacobs married Miss Nancy 
 Vickerman, born in Pennsylvania, a daughter 
 of Job and Rebecca (Tyler) Vickerman, na- 
 tives of Pennsylvania and pioneers of Linden, 
 both of whom are now deceased. Six children 
 have been born of this union : Elizabeth, wife 
 
 of Mr. Andrews, of Clifton township; Mary 
 Lois, now Mrs. Prior; George, a teacher; 
 John; Amy; and Rex. Mr. Jacobs is a mem- 
 ber of George F. Legate Post, G. A. R., at 
 Mineral Point. Steadfast in his support of the 
 Prohibitionist party. Mr. Jacobs has been hon- 
 ored by appointment to the school board ; he 
 is a justice of the peace, and in every walk of 
 life proves that he is an honest man. and a loyal 
 citizen. 
 
 A. C. LTLA, who was born in the town of 
 York, Green county, May 12, 1865, is a son 
 of J. C. and Thora (Anderson) Ula, and be- 
 longs to those Wisconsin farmers whose work 
 is so much an expression of character and pro- 
 nounced integrity that it gives a name to the 
 State as the home of a bright and progressive 
 class of agriculturists. Among these A. C. 
 
890 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ula has a distinctive right to be reckoned. 
 His home is on a farm of 120 acres in section 
 15, of York township, five miles east of Blanch- 
 ardville, and about twenty-five miles northwest 
 of Monroe. 
 
 J. C. Ula, his father, was one of the leading 
 citizens of his time, and was born in Norway 
 Aug. 31, 1840, and was a son of Christen 
 and Olaug (Olson) Ula, who came to Green 
 county, Wis., in 1852. They made their home 
 in Albany township, that county, and the fol- 
 lowing year they took up government land in 
 the town of York, making it their home as 
 long as they lived. Christen and Olaug Ula 
 were the parents of five children : (1) J. C., 
 mentioned above as the father of A. C. Ula; 
 (2) Julia, who married E. L. Soper, of the 
 town of York; (3) Hans, of the town of 
 York; (4) Ole, of Buffalo county, Wis.; and 
 (5) Inger, deceased. Christen Ula died in 
 1888, and his widow in 1891. Both were laid 
 to rest in the Ula cemetery, on the old home- 
 stead. They were among the very early set- 
 tlers of the town of York, and are remem- 
 bered by the old settlers as people of good 
 hearts and kind spirit. 
 
 J. C. Ula was married to Miss Thora 
 Anderson, of the town of York, June 27. 1864, 
 by whom be became the father of the follow- 
 ing children : A. C., whose name introduces 
 this article; Andrew, born July 17, 1866, died 
 in September, 1889; Lena, born Dec. 7, 1867, 
 married Edward Iverson, of Emmet county, 
 Iowa; Gertrude, born April 10, 1869, married 
 Melvin Eidsmore, of the town of Moscow, 
 Iowa Co., Wis.; Nettie, born Dec. 17, 1870, 
 died in 1886; Olie, born May 2, 1872, is the 
 widow of John Elstad, and the mother of one 
 son, Norman J., being now an inmate of the 
 home of her mother, on the old farm; Hannah, 
 born March 19, 1874, is the wife of A. O. 
 Burger, of North Dakota; Peter O., born Feb. 
 5, 1876, is unmarried, and is engaged in cul- 
 tivating the old farm; John, born Feb. 1, 
 1878, is at home; Tena, born Dec. 5, 1879,. 
 is unmarried, lives at home, and is in charge 
 of the postoffice at Eda; Clara, born Jan. 30, 
 1884, is at home; Anton, born Feb. 27, 1886; 
 Oscar F., born Dec. 9, 1888; Alma, born Feb. 
 17, 1893, is the youngest of this interesting 
 family of sixteen children, two of whom died 
 in infancy. J. C. Ula was a leading man in 
 his time in the community in which he lived. 
 For many years he served at different times as 
 
 justice of the peace, and chairman of the town, 
 assessor, school director and constable of the 
 town. I11 the course of his active and busy life 
 he was called upon to administer many estates. 
 
 Mr. Ula was a member of the 46th Wis. 
 V. I., entering the service in 1865, and serving 
 until the close of the war, when he received 
 an honorable discharge. Mr. Ula was a stanch 
 Republican, and a consistent member of the 
 Lutheran Church. His death occurred Jan. 
 24, 1898, and his remains are resting in Ula 
 cemetery, on the home farm. Mr. Ula came to 
 Green county, and began his struggle for suc- 
 cess here under very depressing circumstances, 
 but rose from poverty to> own a fine farm of 
 400 acres, well supplied with creditable dwell- 
 ing house, farm buildings, and all the requi- 
 sites for intelligent and profitable farming. 
 His loss was deeply felt by his family and by 
 the community in which he lived, for he was 
 a good citizen, a courteous and obliging 
 neighbor, and a loving husband and father. 
 
 A. C. Ula was married Oct. 2, 1887, to 
 Miss Jennie E. Davis, a daughter of David 
 and Agnes (Olson) Davis, of Argyle, Wis., 
 and has become the father of three children, 
 two of whom are living; John D., born Feb. 
 18, 1889; and Ada, born April 10, 1892. Mr. 
 Ula has remained on the farm, and had his edu- 
 cation in the public schools. When he be- 
 came a young man he engaged in the mercan- 
 tile business, and was located in Argyle for 
 eight years. Leaving the store at the end of 
 that period, he resumed the work to which lie 
 was reared, and is now engaged in general and 
 stock farming, devoting much attention to the 
 dairy business, and has become one of the fore- 
 most young farmers of the town. 
 
 Like his father, Mr. Ula is a stanch Re- 
 publican, and has served his town as school 
 clerk and treasurer, justice of the peace, and 
 for the last three years has been township 
 assessor. He is a devout follower of the teach- 
 ings of Luther. Mr. Ula is one of the most 
 respected and useful men of the town, and 
 both he and his wife are counted good neigh- 
 bors and kind friends. 
 
 JACOB BIOOSER (deceased) was for 
 many years a resident of Grant county, Wis., 
 and played a man’s part in the giant endeavor 
 his generation was making to reclaim the wil- 
 derness for the home for a happy and prosper- 
 ous people. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Hooser was born in Sumner county, 
 Tenn., Oct. 25, 1807, and was a son of Jacob 
 and Catherine Hooser, who came from Ger- 
 man}' and made their home in Tennessee for a 
 time. They moved to Philadelphia, when 
 somewhat advanced in life, where he worked 
 at his trade, that of a blacksmith, for some 
 years. In 1820 he transferred himself and his 
 family to Sangamon county, Illinois, where 
 they lived until both husband and wife had 
 passed away. Six children were born to them : 
 Ambrose, their eldest son, came to Grant coun- 
 ty, and followed farming in the town of Platte- 
 ville until he died; Jacob; Polly married a Mr. 
 Hass, and died near Dubucjue ; Rolina married 
 and died in Illinois; John died in Illinois; 
 Katie is Mrs. John Finley, of Nebraska. 
 
 Jacob Hooser came to Galena previous to 
 the Black Hawk war in 1832. He was en- 
 gaged in that uprising, was in many fights with 
 the Indians, and had several narrow escapes 
 for his life. He married Elizabeth Knox, of 
 Illinois, who died at his home in Platteville 
 in 1867, the mother of four children. Justice, 
 John and Amanda are dead, and Jacob is liv- 
 ing in Oklahoma. Mr. Hooser purchased from 
 the government a section of land in Platteville 
 township, and in 1848 built a stone house, 
 which is in good preservation at the present 
 time. He also built a stone house for one of 
 his sons on the same property. This is now 
 owned by Fred Klinger. Mr. Hooser made 
 many improvements on these houses during his 
 life. He dealt largely in real estate, and 
 owned considerable land in different parts of 
 Grant county. He was a Republican during 
 his life, and filled a number of local offices, and 
 was a prominent man in the affairs of the 
 township. He was brought up a Baptist, but 
 never united with the church. At the age of 
 ninety-two he passed away, dying in March, 
 1899. 
 
 In 1875 Mr. Hooser and Miss May Ben- 
 nett were united in marriage. She is the 
 daughter of Levi and Mary (Jacobs) Bennett, 
 and was born in Lafayette county April 11, 
 1847. To this union four children were born: 
 Mary E.. born in 1S75 at their present home- 
 stead, was educated in the high school at Platte- 
 ville, and is a young lady of culture and refine- 
 ment, an inmate of her mother's home ; Archie 
 B.. born in 1879, educated in the Platteville 
 high school, and for some time a student of 
 the State Normal, is the manager of the fam- 
 
 891 
 
 ily estate, and is a young man of much ability, 
 highly spoken of in the community; Sarah B., 
 born in Platteville, in September, 1882, is now 
 a student in the Platteville school; Lester W., 
 born Feb. 4, 1877, was a promising young 
 man and had many friends, and died July 22, 
 1894. Archie, the only surviving son, is a 
 stanch Republican ; he is a member of the Mod- 
 ern Woodmen of America and the K. of P., 
 of Platteville. The members of this family 
 are very much respected, as was their father 
 before them, and are useful citizens of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 STEPHEN SWAN, who has a pleasant 
 country home on Section 19, in the town of 
 Brooklyn, Green county, was born in Cheshire, 
 Eng., Aug. 11, 1825, and is a son of Samuel 
 and Sarah (Barber) Swan, both of whom were 
 natives of England. They were the parents 
 of four sons and three daughters and three of 
 their children are now living: Taylor, of the 
 
 town of Spring Valley, Rock county; Stephen; 
 and James, of Maryville, Missouri. 
 
 Samuel Swan was a hatter, and owned a 
 farm, where his children were reared, ten miles 
 from Manchester. In 1846 he came to this 
 country, and settled on a farm in the town of 
 Spring Valley, Rock Co., Wis., where he died 
 about i860, aged seventy-five years; his wife 
 had died in England twenty years before. In 
 religious faith they were Methodists. He be- 
 came prominent in local affairs, and had served 
 as supervisor in Rock county for the town of 
 Spring Valley. Taylor Swan, the father of 
 Samuel, and the grandfather of Stephen, was 
 an English farmer, and was born and died 
 in Cheshire; he lived to be eighty years of 
 age, and was the father of four children. 
 
 The maternal grandfather of Stephen 
 Swan, Mr. Barber, was a small farmer, and 
 died in England about seventy-five years of 
 age, the father of two daughters and one son. 
 
 Stephen Swan, whose name appears above, 
 was reared and educated in England, and in 
 1845 came to Wisconsin, where he bought 
 land in Rock county. This he afterward 
 sold to his father and brother, and eight years 
 later bought a 200-acre tract in Green county, 
 about i860, aged seventy-five years; his wife 
 acres, and now owns a farm of 280 acres, 
 which he has improved in accordance with the 
 most modern ideas of progressive farming. 
 
 On Dec. 14, 1852, Air. Swan was married 
 
892 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to Miss Isabel Taylor, a daughter of Robert 
 and Mary (Smith) Taylor. To this union 
 were born twelve children : Robert, Frances, 
 
 Mary, Eliza, William, John, Archibald, Ralph, 
 Annina, Sarah, Walter and James. Robert, 
 who is engaged in farming in Minnesota, 
 married Helen Nye, and 1 has three children: 
 Sarah, Jessie and Robert. Frances married 
 Edward Farnsworth, of Dayton, Wis., and 
 has five children, Dollie, Eliza, William, John 
 and Roy; Mary died when twenty-eight years 
 old; Eliza is the deceased wife of Henry 
 Kingdom, by whom she had four children, 
 Isabel, William, Henry and Robert; William 
 is single and lives at home; John, who lives 
 in the town of Brooklyn, married Kate Noo- 
 nan and now has two sons, Roy and Arthur; 
 Archibald married Catherine Deremer, now 
 deceased, and has three children, Raymond, 
 Archie and Rosa; Ralph of the town of Brook- 
 lyn, married Myrtle Bartlett, and they have 
 two children, Isabel and Marion; Annina 
 married William Thomas, of the town of 
 Exeter, and has two children, Esther and 
 Wilner; Sarah is the wife of James Mc- 
 Kinney, by whom she has two children, Bur- 
 dette and Isabel; Walter married May Mc- 
 Gee and lives in Exeter; and James married 
 Fannie Watkins, and makes his home in 
 Brooklyn. Mr. and Mrs. Swan have two 
 great-grandchildren, Gladys Greatsinger and 
 Bernice. 
 
 Stephen Swan was formerly not identified 
 with the Republican party, but voted for Mr. 
 McKinley in 1900. For four terms he was 
 chairman of the Board of Supervisors, and 
 was called on the grand jury a number of 
 terms. Both he and his wife are members of 
 the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 Robert Taylor and wife, Mary (Smith), 
 parents of Mrs. Swan, were natives of Scot- 
 land. In 1840 they came to America and 
 located in the town of Spring Valley. They 
 were the parents of seven ch'ldren, of whom 
 four are now living: Isabel; William and. 
 
 Peter, of Brodhead ; Mary, who is the wife 
 of Charles White, of the town of Porter, 
 Rock county. Mrs. Swan’s father died May 
 10, 1885, in the town of Spring Valley, when 
 nearly seventy-eight years of age. His wife 
 died in 1890, at the age of eighty-five. They 
 were both members of 'the Presbyterian' 
 Church. John Taylor, father of Robert, died 
 in Roxburghshire, Scotland, when he had be- 
 
 come old. Archibald Smith, father of Mary, 
 died in Spring Valley, at the age of seventy- 
 five. 
 
 SAMUEL B. VANNATTA was for many 
 years prominently identified with the agricul- 
 tural interests of Grant county, but is now liv- 
 ing a retired life in the city of Platteville. A 
 native of New Jersey, he was born in Warren 
 county, Oct. 29, 1834, a son of Aaron and 
 Elizabeth (Ivishpaugh) Vannatta, who were 
 also born in that county. In 1846 the father 
 removed with his family to Virginia, and ten 
 years later came to Grant county, Wis., lo- 
 cating in Harrison township, where he trans- 
 formed a tract of wild land into a good farm, 
 making it his home until his death, in 1880. 
 Throughout life he followed agricultural pur- 
 suits. His wife died in the same township 
 in 1889. They were the parents of ten chil- 
 dren, nine of whom are still living, namely : 
 Mrs. Jane Massy, of Virginia; Samuel B., of 
 this review; Mrs. Travis, of Nebraska; Mrs. 
 Channing, of Dubuque, Iowa; Morgan, who 
 was a member of the 25th W. V. I., during 
 the Civil war and died at Helena, Ark., in 
 1864, his remains being brought back to Grant 
 county for interment; Silas, a farmer of Har- 
 rison township; Mrs. Otera Wilson, of Platte- 
 ville; Ann, wife of E. J. Marvel, of Platte- 
 ville; H. L., a farmer, of Platteville township; 
 and Mrs. Allie Kies, of Lafayette county, Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 The first twelve years of his life Samuel 
 B. Vannatta passed in his native State, and 
 then accompanied his parents on their removal 
 to Virginia. In 1S56 he came to Grant county, 
 Wis., and opened up and improved a good 
 farm in Harrison township. He successfully 
 engaged in general farming and stock rais- 
 ing until 1884, when he removed to Platteville, 
 and is now living in ease, retired from active 
 labor. 
 
 During the war of the Rebellion Mr. V an- 
 natta responded to his country’s call for aid, 
 enlisting at Platteville, in 1862, for three years 
 or during the war. He became a member of 
 Company E., 25th Wis. V. 1 ., which was as- 
 signed to the Western Army, and was under 
 the command of General Sherman in the siege 
 of Atlanta, the battle of Decatur, Ga., and on 
 the March to the Sea, as well as the Carolina 
 campaign. Mr. Vannatta participated in the 
 Grand Review at Washington, D. C., at the 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 &93 
 
 close of the war, and was honorably discharged 
 from the service at Madison, Wis., in 1865. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Vannatta was married in 
 Grant county to Miss Mary Luce, a native of 
 Wisconsin, daughter of Perry and Nancy 
 Luce. By this union there was born a son, 
 S. B., now a resident of Harrison township. 
 The wife and mother died in 1863, and in 
 1866 Mr. Vannatta was again married, in 
 Grant county, his second wife being Miss Cyn- 
 thia Kies, who was born in this county, a 
 daughter of David Kies, one of the first set- 
 tlers of Grant county, where he took up gov- 
 ernment land and continued to make his home 
 here until death. Mrs. Cynthia Vannatta died 
 in Harrison township, in 1877, leaving four 
 children : Elias, now a resident of Grand Rap- 
 ids, Wis. ; Arena, also of Grand Rapids ; Alma, 
 at home; and Daniel, who lives on his father’s 
 farm. In 1880 Mr. Vannatta wedded Miss 
 Jane Sprague, a native of England, and a 
 daughter of Thomas Sprague, a pioneer of 
 Grant county, where he died in 1853. This 
 wife died in Platteville, June 23, 1898, leaving- 
 one child, Bessie. 
 
 Mr. Vannatta is an earnest and consistent 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 and is also connected with the Ancient Order 
 of United Workmen, and W. T. Sherman 
 Post, No. 66, G. A. R. He is an earnest ad- 
 vocate of Republican principles, and, while a 
 resident of Harrison township, filled the offices 
 of township treasurer and assessor to the en- 
 tire satisfaction of all concerned. His ster- 
 ling integrity and honorable, upright manhood 
 fully entitle him to the position which he holds 
 in the estimation of the people of his com- 
 munity. 
 
 GEORGE ECIv, one of the well known 
 and prominent veteran soldiers and pioneers 
 of Liberty township, Grant county, is a man 
 well known in his section of the country, as 
 one deserving of praise for his industry and 
 thrift, and as a good representative of our 
 German-American citizens. Mr. Eck was 
 born at Havre, Germany, in 1S26, being a 
 son of George and Wilhelmina (Calder) 
 Eck, both of whom were natives of Germany, 
 where they lived and died. A brother of our 
 subject, Fred Eck, came to America, and dur- 
 ing the Civil war served in the 43d Wis. V. 
 I. and died in service. 
 
 George Eck came to Grant county in 1854, 
 
 and engaged in plastering and painting, and 
 later purchased a fine farm oi forty acres, 
 near Btitzer, Liberty township, where he now 
 resides. Since coming into possession of this 
 property, Mr. Eck has improved it greatly, 
 erecting new buildings and keeps everything 
 in excellent conditon, and as a result his crops 
 show the effect of his labors. 
 
 In 1865, Mr. Eck enlisted at Hazel Green, 
 Grant county, in the 44th Wis. V. I., for one 
 year, or until the close of the war, and was 
 stationed at Nashville, Tenn. Here the cli- 
 mate so affected Mr. Eck that he was taken 
 sick, and was honorably discharged, after 
 which he returned to Lafayette county, and 
 on account of the injury to his health, from 
 which he has never recovered, he now re- 
 ceives a pension of $16 a month. 
 
 Before coming to America, Mr. Eck was 
 married to Wilhelmina Kalder, born in Ger- 
 many, and to this union eight children have 
 been born : William, a farmer of Liberty 
 
 township; Hannah Rowena, who died in 
 1899; Margaret; George Frederick Wilhelm; 
 Mary Wilhelmina; Katie;, Henry Ludwig; 
 and Emma. Socially, Mr. Eck is a prominent 
 member of the G. A. R. Post, and politically 
 adheres to the teachings of the Republican 
 party. Having been a resident of Liberty 
 township since 1862, Mr. Eck is one of the 
 oldest inhabitants, and enjoys the esteem of 
 his neighbors, as well as a wide circle of friends 
 outside the immediate vicinity of his home. 
 
 W. D. BL'RR, merchant and postmaster 
 at the village of Ellenboro, Grant county, was 
 born in Rock county, Wis., Dec. 9, 1852, son 
 of B. F. and Nancy A. (Barnard) Burr. 
 
 Mr. Burr’s parents were both natives of 
 the state of New York, the father horn July 
 20, 1816, and the mother June 18,1820. Both 
 grew to maturity in New York, where they 
 were married in April, 1846, and where they 
 continued to make their home for some five 
 years. Mr. Burr was educated for -the min- 
 istry and followed that profession in connec- 
 tion with farming all his life. In 1850 he 
 and his wife came West to Rock county, where 
 he purchased a farm, which he cultivated 
 when not engaged in clerical labors. There 
 our subject was born. In about 1856 Mr. 
 Burr bought a farm in Jefferson county, Wis., 
 which became the family home some nine 
 years. At the expiration of that time the 
 
894 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 family removed to a farm in the town of 
 Lima, Grant county, which was their home 
 until 1869, when Mr. Burr bought a farm in 
 the town of Ellenboro, one male east of the 
 village. He cultivated this place until 1879, 
 in the intervals of his preaching, and in the 
 year named it was sold to W. D. Burr, the 
 father removing to South Dakota, where he 
 followed farming and preaching until his 
 death, in 1894. His noble and beautiful- 
 spirited wife, who had shared with him all 
 the hardships and privations of pioneer life, 
 died May 4, 1888, at the home of her son, 
 W. D. Burr. To Mr. and Mrs. Burr came a 
 family of seven children : ( I ) Irving, born in 
 
 New York in April, 1847, died at the age of 
 fifteen years. (2) Frank, born in New York 
 in 1848, married Miss Katie Richards, of At- 
 lantic, Iowa, and is a boot and shoe merchant 
 of that city. There are eight children in their 
 family. (3) P. A., born in New York in 
 January, 1850, married Miss Lizzie Landon, 
 and they live on his ranch in Lincoln county, 
 S. Dak., with their two children, Minnie and 
 ,Orla. (4) W. D. is our subject. (5) Sophia, 
 born in Rock county, YVis., in November, 
 1855, was educated in the Normal School, 
 and died Dec. 9, 1873. She was much 
 thought of by those who knew her. ‘(6) 
 Catherine O., born in Jefferson county, Wis., 
 in November, 1857, was educated in the State 
 Normal at Platteville, and was for some time 
 a teacher. She died in 1875, a bright and 
 charming young woman. (7) Helen D., born 
 in Jefferson county, in June, i860, married O. 
 J. Anderson, and moved to South Dakota, 
 where she died in March, 1897, leaving a fam- 
 ily of four children. She obtained her educa- 
 tion at the State Normal, and was a teacher 
 for several years in Grant county and Iowa. 
 
 W. D. Burr remained with his parents in 
 their various locations until he was grown, and 
 received a district-school education. In 1879 
 he came into the ownership of his father’s farm 
 in the town of Ellenboro, on which he made 
 his home for two years. In May, 1883, h,e 
 married Miss Ida Nichols, daughter of Leon- 
 ard and Elizabeth (Bell) Nichols, old pioneers 
 in Grant county. Pier father, Leonard Nich- 
 ols, was superintendent of the Rand & Laflin 
 Powder Mills. at Platteville for some years, and 
 was killed in the explosion at the mills in 1870. 
 Mrs. Nichols died in Iowa, and four of her 
 children are living : ( 1 ) Carrie is the wife 
 
 of James Lynn, of Dubuque, Iowa; (2) Ida is 
 the wife of \V. D. Burr; (3) George is a resi- 
 dent of Buffalo Gap, S. Dak.; and (4) Lillie is 
 the wife of O. E. Clubb, of St. Paul, Minn. 
 Mrs. Ida Burr was borni in Ulster countv, 
 N. Y., in 1861, received a good education in 
 the State Normal at Platteville, and was a 
 successful teacher in Grant county for some 
 five years. For about two years after their 
 marriage Mr. and Mrs. Burr lived on the 
 farm, and then moved to Montgomery county, 
 Iowa, where he farmed for about the same 
 length of time. In 1886 they came back to 
 Ellenboro, where Mr. Burr went into business 
 as a merchant, continuing thus to the present 
 time. In 1887 he was appointed postmaster 
 under President Cleveland and has held this 
 office ever since. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Burr are the parents of eight 
 children: Mabel, born Feb. 10, 1884; Lillie, 
 
 in October, 1885 ; Walter D., in January, 1888; 
 Harry, in January, 1890; Florence, in Feb- 
 ruary, 1892; Eva, in June, 1894; Vera, in Aug- 
 ust, 1896; and Catherine, in November, 1898. 
 Mabel is a student at the State Normal in 
 Platteville. 
 
 Mr. Burr is a Republican, has been assessor, 
 and is now treasurer of the town. He has 
 been one of. the delegates to the county conven- 
 tion on several occasions. He belongs to the 
 local camp of the Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
 ica at Ellenboro, and to the Knights of the 
 Maccabees. In religion this family are all 
 identified with the Baptist Church. Mr. Burr 
 is a leading and enterprising business man, and 
 has the respect of the community. 
 
 PETER SAMBROOK. This active and 
 enterprising tradesman has been in business in 
 Belmont, Lafayette county, some thirty-five 
 years, and has largely contributed to the gen- 
 eral prosperity of this portion of Wisconsin 
 by the character of his relation to his patrons. 
 He is an honorable and upright merchant, car- 
 ries a stock, of honest and reliable goods, and 
 has a habit of making personal friends of his 
 patrons. 
 
 Mr. Sambrook was born in Birmingham, 
 England, in January, 1827, and is a son of 
 James and Sarah (Millard) Sambrook, who 
 were born, reared and died in England, leaving 
 a family of six children: Jane and Paul still 
 remain in their native country; Philip went to 
 Australia, where he is now living; Joseph en- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 895 
 
 listed in the English army, and died some years 
 ago; Sarah came to Chicago in 1870, and died 
 there twenty-two years later, having never 
 married. 
 
 Peter Sambrook had his education from the 
 local schools of his native land, and their work 
 at that time was neither very broad nor deep. 
 In 1855 he emigrated to America, a strong 
 and sturdy young man of nearly thirty years 
 of age, and entered a plow factory at Platte- 
 ville, Wis., and put in some five years at that 
 laborious but useful trade. He had learned 
 the milling trade in his own country, but some- 
 how the opportunity never seemed right to 
 take it up after arriving in Wisconsin. Mr. 
 Sambrook left the factory in i860, and made 
 investments in a store, and very soon decided 
 that he had found his life work. He discov- 
 ered natural aptitude for trade, and devoted 
 himself to it with energy and success. The 
 business was maintained in Platteville five 
 years, and was then sold, that the enterprising 
 young merchant might transfer himself and 
 all his interests to the new town of Belmont. 
 This was a new trade center that had just been 
 started, as a result of the completion of plans 
 for certain railroad construction. The Mil- 
 waukee railroad did not penetrate this section 
 of the county, however, until 1869, and the 
 growth of Belmont, rapid and substantial, lag- 
 ged and halted before the advent of the iron 
 horse. Mr. Sambrook was on the ground, and 
 patiently waited improved conditions which he 
 was sure would follow the completion of the 
 railroad, and he was quick to take advantage 
 of the change for the better, and has held the 
 situation to this time, a success both in trade 
 and in character and standing in the commun- 
 ity- 
 
 In 1850 Mr. Sambrook wedded Miss Eliza 
 Woodward, daughter of Thomas and Anne 
 Woodward, who lived and died in England. 
 Mrs. Sambrook was born in England in 1828, 
 and received her education in her native town. 
 No children have come to them. Mr. Sam- 
 brook purchased considerable real estate after 
 his arrival in Belmont, where he has erected a 
 store and a dwelling house, and is the pro- 
 prietor of one of the leading commercial estab- 
 lishments in this part of the State. He has 
 always been a Democrat, and has served on 
 the town board a number of years. Both Mr. 
 and Mrs. Sambrook have been consistent mem- 
 bers of the Episcopal Church from youth, and 
 
 are highly esteemed by all who know them 
 personally. Mr. Sambrook came to this coun- 
 try without means, and by his own industry 
 and thrift has accumulated a handsome com- 
 petence. He has been identified with the 
 growth of Belmont, and he and his wife are 
 counted among its best people. 
 
 NELSON OLSON (deceased), late of the 
 town of Fennimore, Grant county, was a 
 soldier of the war for the Union, Scandinavian 
 blood being ever loyal to the cause of liberty 
 and the progress of men. 
 
 Mr. Olson was born in Norway Dec. 3, 
 1825, and grew to manhood in his native coun- 
 try. He came to America in 1847, landing 
 at New Orleans, and traveling up the river to 
 Jefferson City, Mo., where he found work a 
 short time. He soon went to Chicago, and 
 from there to the pineries of Michigan, where 
 he spent two years. On July 15, 1851, Mr. 
 Olson was married at Racine, Wis., to Miss 
 Betsy E. Hogle, who was born in Middlebury, 
 Genesee Co., N. Y., June 3, 1825, a daughter 
 of Andrew and Hannah (Reed) Hogle. An- 
 drew Hogle came to Grant county, Wis., in 
 1837, and was one of the very earliest settlers 
 of Potosi; he returned to New York, and in 
 1843 brought his family to this State. In 
 1864 l le and his wife removed to Fennimore, 
 and in 1878 to Le Mars, Iowa, where he died 
 Nov. 20, 1893, at the venerable age of ninety- 
 eight; his wife died in 1894, at the age of 
 ninety. They were the parents of six daugh- 
 ters and one son, the latter dying in California 
 many years ago. All the daughters are living 
 but one: Mrs. Susan Fetter is deceased; Mrs. 
 Patience Powel lives in New York; Mrs. Betsy 
 E. Olson; Mrs. Amanda N. A. Crouch, of Le 
 Mars, Iowa; Mrs. Mehitable Crow, of the 
 same place; and Airs. Jane Duncan, of Mar- 
 shalltown, Iowa. 
 
 Mr. Olson worked in the pineries the win- 
 ter following his marriage, and the following- 
 spring he and his wife came to La ’Crosse, and 
 soon after settled in Houston county, Minn. 
 He enlisted in August, 1864, in Company K, 
 nth Minn. V. I., and served until about the 
 time the war closed, when he was discharged. 
 His health was badly undermined by his army 
 experiences, and he never fully recovered his 
 former strength and vigor. In 1865, soon 
 after the termination of the war, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Olson removed to Grant county, Wis., and set- 
 
896 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tied in the town of Lancaster, later moving to 
 their Fennimore home. Three of the four 
 sons born to them are living: Andrew J., 
 
 William H. and Charles W. One son, Frank 
 N., died at the age of twenty-six. They were 
 very worthy people, highly respected in the 
 community for genuine worth and unassuming 
 goodness. The death of Mr. Olson was a 
 cause for genuine sorrow in the community. 
 
 F 1 ENRY MARTENS, a well-known fur- 
 niture dealer of Platteville, Grant county, 
 was born in Hanover, Germany, Dec. 9, 1847, 
 and is the eldest of the seven children that con- 
 stituted the family of Henry and Helena Mar- 
 tens, who came to this country in 1854. 
 
 Henry Martens, the father, was a carpenter, 
 landed in the city of New Orleans, came up 
 the Mississippi river to Galena, 111., and thence 
 across the prairie by wagon to Platteville, 
 then a small village, and the ground on which 
 the house of Henry Martens, the younger, 
 now stands, was then heavily timbered with 
 hard wood ; it was situated near the site of 
 the present high school building. Although 
 his property was slightly improved when he 
 bought it, Mr. Martens erected a new dwell- 
 ing and other buildings, and on this prop- 
 erty he and his wife passed the remain- 
 der of their days, devout in the faith of 
 the Lutheran Church, of which they were 
 the first members in Platteville. Of their 
 seven children, Ida and Frederick died young; 
 Catherine was born and educated in Germany, 
 and after coming to Wisconsin was married 
 to John Shambo, a wagon-maker in Platte- 
 ville, and is the mother of two children, Henry 
 and Frank; William, born in Germany, is a 
 cabinet-maker, is married, and has an adopted 
 child, Lillie (they reside in Platteville); 
 John, born in Platteville, married a Miss 
 Peterson, and has four children, Clarence, 
 Sophia, Laura and Lillie (he works in the 
 store of his brother Henry) ; August, also 
 born in Platteville, and working at cabinet- 
 making for his brother Henry, is married to a 
 Miss Shepherd, and has five children. 
 
 Henry Martens received a good German 
 education, and after coming to America ac- 
 quired the English language, making a spec- 
 ialty of its study, though he did not attend 
 school, as his father required his services as 
 a manufacturer of furniture in his shop. In 
 1870 Henry went into business on his own ac- 
 
 count, adding the manufacture of organs and 
 other musical instruments to that of furni- 
 ture, and now has the largest establishment in 
 his line in the city. 
 
 In 1873 Henry Martens married Miss 
 Bertha Hillman, a highly educated lady who 
 came from Germany to America in 1870, and 
 was for many years her husband's book- 
 keeper. After the death of her parents Mr. 
 Martens purchased the old family residence, 
 in which Mrs. Martens died, in January, 
 1887, leaving her husband with one daughter, 
 Helena, born in 1879, who- graduated from 
 the Platteville high school, and is well edu- 
 cated in music. Mrs. Martens was a sincere 
 Christian, a devoted wife and loving mother, 
 and was greatly missed in the community in 
 which she had lived. On Sept. 12, 1900, Mr. 
 Martens was married to Miss Charlotte Wilke, 
 of Platteville, daughter of Gottlieb Wilke. 
 
 Mr. Martens continued to reside in the old 
 homestead until 1898, when he sold his dwell- 
 ing and purchased a very fine residence on 
 Virgin avenue, where he and his family are 
 surrounded with every comfort in life. They 
 are all members of the Lutheran Church, in 
 which Mr. Martens has been an officer for 
 thirteen years, and a member of the choir for 
 over twenty years, and to the support of which 
 he has ever been a most liberal contributor. 
 In politics Mr. Martens has been an ardent 
 Republican ever since he was entitled to a 
 vote, has been a member of the city council, 
 and has been largely instrumental in adding 
 to the improvement and general progress of 
 the city. Although but a poor boy when he 
 began life in Platteville, he has risen to a 
 place of distinction and financial prosperity, 
 and has won; the unfeigned esteem of his 
 fellow citizens in all stations of life. As a 
 business man his name is beyond reproach, 
 and his musical instruments, in the construc- 
 tion of which he exercises the most conscien- 
 tious care, have secured him an enviable 
 celebrity, and are in general use throughout 
 the West. 
 
 GEORGE KIELER, a retired merchant 
 of the village of Kieler, in the town of James- 
 town, Grant county, was born in Prussia, Ger- 
 many, Sept. 20, 1845. 
 
 Mr. Kieler’s parents, John and Catherine 
 (Plube) Kieler, were both also born in Prussia, 
 he in 1800, and she in 1806. There they ob- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 89 7 
 
 tained their education, and there they were 
 married. Mr. Ivieler was a stone mason and 
 contractor in his own country. In August, 
 1855, they came to this country, making the 
 voyage across the ocean in a sailing vessel, 
 and landing at Quebec. They came to Wis- 
 consin by way of the lakes, and settled in 
 Jamestown, Grant county, where he bought a 
 tract of land and made a home near what is 
 now known as Kieler, named after the family. 
 This was the home of this honest and worthy 
 couple as long as they lived. The husband and 
 father died in 1882, and the mother in 1888. 
 Both were devout members of the Catholic 
 Church, and lie was instrumental in the estab- 
 lishment of the first Catholic church built in 
 Kieler, in 1856. A new rock edifice has taken 
 its place, the old building being now used for 
 a school house. Children as follows were born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Kieler : ( 1 ) Gertrude, born 
 
 in Prussia, married John Richter, of Germany, 
 and came to this country three years previous 
 to the arrival of her parents. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Richter settled near Kieler, where she died, 
 leaving five children, Joseph, John. Annie (wife 
 of Bernard Dubie, of Potosi), Mary (Mrs. 
 John Kelly, of Potosi), and Dorathea (wife 
 of Charles Jacobs, of Iowa). (2) Dorathea 
 was born in Germany, married Joseph Rich- 
 ards, and settled near Kieler, Grant county, 
 afterward moving to Paris, same county, where 
 he died, leaving four children, John, Henry, 
 Lawrence, and Catherine (wife of Frank Lud- 
 wig). Mrs. Richards lives at Kieler. (3) 
 Barbara, born in Germany, became the wife 
 of Frank LThe, of Germany. They made their 
 home at Paris for a time, while Mr. Uthe went 
 to California in search of gold. They made a 
 permanent home at Dickeysville, where he 
 died, the father of eight children, Henry, 
 Frank, John, Joseph (deceased), Charles, Ma- 
 tilda (deceased wife of George Schumacher, of 
 East Dubuque), Elizabeth (who married Jo- 
 seph Witherhold), and Catherine (wife of 
 Martin Houser, of Harrison, Grant county). 
 (4) Lawrence, born in Germany, received his 
 schooling in the old country. He married Miss 
 Elizabeth Collogan, of Grant county, and for 
 some years he lived on a farm in the town of 
 Jamestown, and is now a farmer in the State 
 of Iowa. His children are John, Thomas, 
 Frank, Joseph, George, Benno, Rosie (Mrs. 
 Thomas Lenstra, of Iowa), Louisa, Dora 
 
 (wife of John Flanagan, of Iowa) and Bar- 
 's? 
 
 bara (at home). (5) Frank, born in Germany, 
 acquired his education in the old country. He 
 married Miss Margaret Ivothe, of Jamestown, 
 and their home is now in Paris. Their children 
 are Lawrence, Matilda, Louisa, Dora, Annie, 
 Edward, Charles, and Arthur, all unmarried 
 and at home. (6) George is our subject. (7) 
 Louisa, born in Germany, is the youngest of 
 the family, and received her education in this 
 country. She married Henry Schumacher, of 
 East Dubuque, and has a family of children — - 
 Henry, Katie (wife of Thomas Hicken, of 
 Minneapolis), Annie and Angeline. 
 
 George Kieler was partly educated in Ger- 
 many, and had a few years’ instruction in the 
 district school in Jamestown. He learned the 
 trade of shoemaker in East Dubuque, and 
 worked at it while he was a young man. Mr. 
 Kieler married Miss Dorathea Montage, a lady 
 of Grant county, and the daughter of Karl and 
 Mary Montage, natives of Prussia, who were 
 long settled in Grant county. They died in 
 Dickeysville. Mrs. Kieler was born in Ger- 
 many in 1849, an d grew to womanhood in. 
 Grant county. 
 
 George Kieler first settled in the town of 
 Paris, where he worked at his trade some two 
 years in the town of Dickeysville, and then 
 went to Iowa, where he bought a farm, culti- 
 vating it some two years, until driven out by 
 the grasshopper plague. Coming back to 
 Jamestown, he followed his trade for some 
 years. In 1882 he purchased real estate, put 
 up a store building, and handled general mer- 
 chandise in connection with his shoe trade for 
 many years, becoming very prosperous. In 
 1883 he established the first postoffice, under 
 the administration of Arthur, holding it until 
 1899. Mr. Kieler has been a notary public 
 for some fourteen years. In 1890 Mr. Kieler 
 bought a farm, which he still owns. In 1899 
 Mr. Kieler sold his store, and purchased the 
 “Jamestown Hotel,” at Louisburg, which he 
 is now conducting, though in October, 1900, he 
 sold the hotel, expecting to move shortly to 
 his farm in Kieler. There are eight children 
 in his family : ( 1 ) Katie, born in Dickeys- 
 
 ville, in 1872, was educated in the school at 
 Kieler, and is a young lady of more than or- 
 dinary ability, being her father’s assistant in 
 the store and postoffice for a number of years. 
 (2) George W., born in Jamestown in 1874, is 
 now employed as manager of a creamery at 
 Lebanon, Ohio, having graduated from the 
 
898 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Dairymen’s Association at Madison, Wis. (3) 
 John H. was born in Sac county, Iowa, in 
 :i 876; (4) Lawrence, in Jamestown, in 1878; 
 (5) Carl, in Jamestown, in 1880; (6) Lou- 
 isa, in 1886; (7) Agatha, in 1892; (8) Ma- 
 tilda, in 1894. 
 
 Mr. Kieler is a Democrat, and has held 
 the office of town treasurer and school clerk 
 for a number of terms. He has been one of 
 the leading business men of his community, 
 and has made his mark for honesty and up- 
 rightness. All the family belong to the Cath- 
 olic Church, and our subject has. given liberally 
 to its support. He is a member of the Cath- 
 olic Knights of Wisconsin. 
 
 NORMAN CHURCHILL, now retired 
 from active business, was born in Troy, Madi- 
 son Co., 111 ., Jan. 17, 1827, a son of William 
 B. and Almira (Humes) Churchill, both na- 
 tives of the East. They were the parents of 
 two sons and three daughters: Caroline E., 
 
 the widow of Judge Bingham; Norrrtan; 
 George; Lucina Ann, the widow of William 
 Sykes ; and Maria. 
 
 William B. Churchill was a farmer, and 
 one of the early settlers of Madison county, 
 Illinois. With his brother George, he was ac- 
 tive in keeping Illinois from becoming a slave 
 State. Mr. Churchill lived a few years near 
 Alton, but spent his last years in Madison 
 'County, where he died at the age of sixty years. 
 His widow survived many years, and came to 
 Monroe, where she died when about eighty- 
 six years old. He was a Methodist, and his 
 widow a Universalist. Living in Alton at 
 the time the Love joy printing press and ma- 
 terials were thrown into the street, his influence 
 and sympathy were given to the Abolitionists. 
 These were stormy times, and it required 
 strength and courage to resist the enemies of 
 human liberty. Mr. Churchill served in the 
 war of 1812, and in the last years of his life 
 drew a pension for his services. His brother 
 was a member of the Illinois Legislature sev- 
 eral times, in 1817 and 1818, when the Capitol 
 was at Vandalia, and afterward when it 
 was at Springfield. Jesse Norman Churchill, 
 father of William B., was a native of New 
 York, and came of English stock. A Con- 
 p’regational minister, he was twice married, 
 and died in the East. 
 
 Norman Churchill was reared on the farm 
 in Madison county, 111 ., until he was fourteen 
 
 years old. Elis education was acquired in the 
 old-fashioned subscription schools. After 
 spending some two years in Alton, he came 
 with his parents to Green county, Wis., and 
 has lived in Monroe since the spring of 1840. 
 At that time there were but one or two log 
 cabins and one frame house erected in what 
 is now a handsome and beautiful city. The 
 frame house passed into his possession, and 
 he continued to own it until 1888, when he 
 tore it down and rebuilt. For thirty-two years 
 he was engaged in the manufacture of sash 
 and doors, and the preparation of all kinds of 
 cut lumber, running a saw and planing mill 
 in connection for general custom business. 
 
 Mr. Churchill was married Feb. 27, 1854, 
 to Miss Ann E. Sherman, a daughter of Dr. 
 Weaver O. and Amy (Terry) Sherman, na- 
 tives of New York. To this union were born 
 six children: Charles B., Dolly and 1 Ivittie 
 
 (twins), William W., Minnie Beatrice and 
 Erni N. Charles B., a plumber and steam 
 fitter, and also a brick maker in Monroe, was 
 married to Amelia Wood, and is the father of 
 four children : Ethel, Lottie, Helen and Nor- 
 ma. The twms died in early childhood. 
 William W., a consulting engineer for West- 
 inghouse, Church, Kerr & Company, of New 
 York, married Pearl Dadman, of Boston, now 
 dead. Minnie Beatrice married Dr. William 
 G. Cole, lives in Guerneville, Cal., and is the 
 mother of one child, Margaret. Erni N., a 
 plumber and a steam fitter, was married to Miss 
 Edith D. Harris, of Postville, Iowa, and lives 
 in Monroe. 
 
 Mr. Churchill is a Unitarian, but has given 
 his support to the Monroe Universalist Church, 
 as did also his wife, assisting in the building of 
 the edifice used by that church before the war. 
 He has been a member of the Independent Or- 
 der of Odd Fellows since 1853, an d is the only 
 charter member of Monroe Lodge, No. 72, now 
 living. Always a strong temperance man, he 
 was for many years an active worker in the 
 Good Templar order, and for thirty-six terms 
 was Worthy Chief of the local lodge. He was 
 the first chief of the Monroe fire department, 
 having been a member of that organization 
 for more than twenty years. Always a Whig, 
 when that party gave way to the newly formed 
 Republican party, he became as active in the 
 latter, and has been a Republican since the or- 
 ganization of the party in Wisconsin, in 1854. 
 For two terms lie was a member of the board 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 899 
 
 of supervisors, and served as chairman of the 
 board one term. Mr. Churchill was a mill- 
 wright in his young manhood, and built a brick 
 flouringmill in Monroe, with a capacity of one 
 hundred barrels of flour a day, which he op- 
 erated as long as this was a wheat-growing 
 district. He owns a good home and five acres 
 of land in the city of Monroe, where he has 
 lived for thirty-two years, and has owned the 
 land for over fifty years. He owns the hard- 
 ware store building now occupied by Capt. 
 Kundert, and has a half interest in the Perine 
 Farm. He is a well-to-do and highly respected 
 citizen, and has always taken a leading part in 
 local affairs. Mrs. Norman Churchill was the 
 only child of Dr. Sherman, who practiced medi- 
 cine in Monroe from 1849 until his death in 
 1884, at the age of eighty-two. His wife, Amy 
 (Terry) Sherman, died in 1872, at the age of 
 seventy. Mrs. Churchill began reading medi- 
 cine under her father when about fourteen 
 years of age, and was graduated from Hahne- 
 mann Medical College. She practiced medi- 
 cine until her death July 26, 1896, at the age 
 of sixty-four. 
 
 JEFFERSON CRAWFORD is president 
 of the Crawford Mining Co., of Hazel Green, 
 and one of the stirring, energetic, business 
 men of Grant county. 
 
 Our subject was born in Hazel Green Oct. 
 14, 1851, a son of Jefferson and Catherine 
 (Harper) Crawford. The father was born at 
 Carmichaels, Greene Co., Penn., in 1809. and 
 the mother in the same county in July, 1816. 
 Their earlier years were passed in the East, 
 and they came to Wisconsin previous to their 
 marriage, which took place in 1841. The fa- 
 ther was a farmer and a miner, a keen and 
 pushing business man, and he was a member of 
 the mining firm of Hewlet & Crawford, which 
 became one of the most important mining and 
 smelting firms in Hazel Green and Galena, 
 111 . In later years Mr. Crawford was connect- 
 ed with other mining enterprises, owned large 
 tracts of land, and carried on farming and 
 stock raising on an extensive scale. In 1854 he 
 built a large store, and, as a member of the 
 firm of J. L. Crawford & Go., embarked in 
 general merchandising, in which he was re- 
 markably successful. His sales for one year 
 amounted to over one hundred thousand dol- 
 lars. In 1862 the business was merged into 
 the new firm of Crawford, Mills & Co., which 
 
 soon became the Crawford & Mills Mining 
 Co. The business was continued until the 
 death of Mr. Crawford, in 1868. The career 
 of this honored and successful gentleman in- 
 vites scrutiny and suggests thought. Coming 
 into the county without means, he first made 
 a living as a day laborer, but by thrift, economy 
 and wise business management gradually be- 
 came wealthy, and left his family a large es- 
 tate acquired by clean methods, without a taint 
 of dishonesty. In early life Mr. Crawfford 
 was a Whig, later became a Republican, and 
 was nominated by that party for the position of 
 State treasurer, but he was impelled to decline 
 the proffered honor in consideration of his ex- 
 tensive business interests, which demanded his 
 closest attention. Mr. Crawford was a warm 
 friend of Gen. Grant, who came to his home 
 a number of times during our subject’s last 
 sickness. Mr. Crawford was one of the found- 
 ers and warm friends of the Presbyterian 
 Church in Hazel Green, of which his wife was 
 a devout member. He died leaving his wife 
 with four children : ( 1 ) Salome died when 
 
 four years old. (2) Mildred L., born in Grant 
 county in 1845, obtained her higher education 
 at Clinton, N. Y., becoming highly accom- 
 plished in both music and the classical studies. 
 She makes her home with her sister, Mrs. 
 Jennings, in Pittsburg. (3) Catherine died when 
 four months old. (4) Alice R., born in 1847, 
 was educated in Chicago, and at Jacksonville, 
 111 ., and is now the wife of W. K. Jennings, a 
 prominent lawyer and wealthy citizen of Pitts- 
 burg. They have a family of three children, 
 Clara C, Florence C., Dale C., the last named 
 a graduate of Yale College. (5) John J., born 
 in 1856, acquired his education in the Cum- 
 berland Presbyterian College at Lincoln, 111 ., 
 and in 1876 engaged with his brother in the 
 management of the home business. In 1882 
 he became engrossing clerk of the Legislature, 
 serving two terms. In 1884 he secured a po- 
 sition with the Pennsylvania Railroad Co., 
 holding same about two years, and he now 
 lives at Randolph, Mass., where he is the man- 
 ager of an extensive banking institution. In 
 1884 he married Miss Josephine Turner, a 
 daughter of Seth Turner, a wealthy banker of 
 Boston, and there are three children in their 
 family, Turner, John and Judith. (6) Jeffer- 
 son is our subject. 
 
 Jefferson Crawford received his early ed- 
 ucation in the private schools of Hazel Green, 
 
900 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his father preferring- that method of instruc- 
 tion. When the father died the management 
 of the extensive estate fell upon him and his 
 brother John, as noted above. Since the fall 
 of 1883 he has had sole management of the 
 mining interests, which have developed into 
 immense proportions. On 558 acres Mr. Craw- 
 ford has at least 450 ore-bearing crevices and 
 in addition he is working a large amount of 
 leased land. 
 
 Mr. Crawford and Miss Bessie N. Crowle 
 were married in 1883. Mrs. Crawford is a 
 daughter of James R. and Elizabeth Crowle, 
 who, in 1871, came from England, where she 
 was born, to Grant county. Mrs. Crawford 
 is a lady of much culture, and before her mar- 
 riage was a teacher in the city of Lancaster 
 for one year, and in Hazel Green and vicinity 
 for several years. Mr. Crawford and his wife 
 settled at the old homestead, which is one of 
 the fine residences in this part of the county, 
 and which has been much improved, and made 
 thoroughly modern in all its appointments since 
 Mr. Crawford’s marriage. They have two chil- 
 dren : Ellen J., born in 1885, attended the high 
 school in Hazel Green, being a member of the 
 class of 1901. John J., born in 1890, is a 
 student in the home schools. 
 
 Mr. Crawford is one of the stalwart Repub- 
 licans of his county, and has taken an active 
 part in political work for the last quarter of a 
 century. He has served as a member of the 
 village board, though never an aspirant for po- 
 litical honors. Mr. Crawford belongs to the 
 Masonic fraternity. He is a popular and suc- 
 cessful man, of a genial and kindly spirit, and 
 has a host of friends. Mrs. Crawford is a 
 worthy companion to such a husband, and is a 
 lady of many gifts of mind and heart, and most 
 attractive personality. 
 
 JAMES W. MURPHY, an eminent attor- 
 ney at law of Platteville, Grant county, is a 
 native of this city, was born in April, 1838, 
 and is the only survivor of the six children 
 born to William and Catherine (O’Sullivan) 
 Murphy, the former of whom was born in 
 Adrigole, county Cork, Ireland, January 15, 
 18J4, arid the latter in Kenmare, county Kerry. 
 
 Dennis Murphy, father of William Murphy, 
 and grandfather of James W., came to the 
 United States in 1839, accompanied by his 
 daughter Mary, the eldest of his children, his 
 destination being Dubuque, Iowa, where a mar- 
 
 ried sister had resided since 1834. On arriv- 
 ing at the port of New Orleans, Dennis and 
 his daughter were attacked with yellow fever,, 
 to which the former succumbed, but the daugh- 
 ter recovered and reached Dubuque in safety, 
 but later came to Platteville, Wis., where she 
 was married to the late David Gardner, whom 
 she survived several years, expiring in 1894, 
 at the age of seventy-two years. 
 
 The principal occupation of William Mur- 
 phy in Ireland was farming, but for a time 
 he was employed as bookkeeper and clerk on 
 the board of public works at his native town,, 
 where he married Miss O’Sullivan in 1849. 
 In 1853 he and wife came to America, tar- 
 ried a few months in Ulster county, N. Y., 
 and the same year came to Platteville, Wis., 
 arriving at the home of his sister, Mrs. Mary 
 Gardner, on what was then known as ‘‘Irish 
 Hill.” A brother, James, had preceded him 
 to Platteville, and was mining here when the 
 Mexican war opened, for which he at once 
 enlisted, serving until its close and dying short- 
 ly afterward. 
 
 William Murphy first went to housekeep- 
 ing in Platteville in a house that had been 
 previously used for hotel purposes and was 
 known as the “Braly House,” now occupied 
 by N. Henning. For a short time he worked 
 in Mr. Avery’s brickyard and next at various 
 employments, principally mining, and it may 
 be said that in this he was very successful, hav- 
 ing taken out, with sundry partners, nearly 
 one and a half million pounds of lead ore; in 
 company with Mr. Henning he discovered and 
 worked the lead bearing their names, on the 
 lands of Dr. Davis, south of town, taking out 
 nearly 700,000 pounds. In company with 
 John Stephens Mr, Murphy discovered and 
 worked the lead bearing their names, on land 
 owned by himself adjoining that of the former. 
 In 1857, accompanied by a miner from Potosi, 
 he went on a prospecting tour through the 
 townships of Mount Hope and Woodman, 
 Grant county, and discovered lead ore at dif- 
 ferent points, but the country was sparsely set- 
 tled and transportation difficult, and they 
 abandoned the intention of developing their 
 “finds.” Mr. Murphy is still of opinion that 
 valuable mines will yet be developed in that 
 region, and in this opinion he is sustained by 
 many old mines and by the legend of the last 
 mine worked in the territory by Spaniards, 
 and which is now known positively to be sit- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 901 
 
 tiated there , the secret of its location being 
 guarded by parties who are awaiting a favor- 
 able opportunity to develop it. 
 
 I11 1859 Mr. Murphy purchased the lot at 
 the corner of Elm and Cedar streets, on which 
 the residence of H. M. Gribbee now stands, 
 the lot being then covered with heavy timber. 
 Cedar street was then practically the north line 
 of the village, there being but few houses be- 
 yond it in that direction. Mr. Murphy had 
 lived for a short time in the old frame house 
 now called the Shoneback place, near the 
 Roundtree branch, on the Cheever Mill road, 
 but on acquiring the corner lot mentioned, he 
 cleared off the timber, with which he erected 
 the log house which was his home until 1866. 
 
 Since coming to Platteville Mr. Murphy 
 has made it his constant home, with the ex- 
 ception of ten years, which period he spent on 
 a farm one mile south. Twice has he visited 
 his na_tive land, each time resting at his old 
 homestead, which was erected in the early part 
 of the eighteenth century. 
 
 James W. Murphy was graduated from the 
 State Normal School of Platteville with the 
 class of 1873, and holds the record to-day as 
 the youngest graduate of the State Normal 
 School in Wisconsin. For five years he was a 
 teacher in Grant county. Pie studied law with 
 A. W. Bell, of Platteville, was admitted to the 
 Bar in 1879, an d then attended the law depart- 
 ment of the University of Michigan, at Ann 
 Arbor, from which he was graduated with the 
 class of 1880. In 1886 he was elected district 
 attorney of Grant county, and filled the posi- 
 tion for four years. He has practiced law at 
 Platteville since April, 1880. In January, 
 1881, he formed a copartnership with A. W. 
 Bell, under the firm name of Bell & Murphy, 
 which continued until July, 1882. From this 
 time until January, 1887, he practiced alone, 
 and then formed a copartnership with D. J. 
 Gardner, under the firm name of Murphy & 
 Gardner, this relationship continuing until 
 1895, since which time he has practiced alone. 
 
 In 1881 Mr. Murphy was joined in mar- 
 riage with Miss Elizabeth Jones, daughter of 
 John W. and Catharine Jones, prominent res- 
 idents of Lafayette county, Wis., where she 
 was born in i860. To this marriage have been 
 born five children, four of whom are living: 
 Catharine M., Lyola, John W., and Bessie. 
 Mary Agnes, the youngest child, died in in- 
 fancy. The family are all members of the 
 
 Catholic Church. In politics Mr. Murphy was 
 identified with the Republican party until 1896, 
 when his views of the financial issues of the 
 day brought him into the William f. Bryan 
 fold. 
 
 PAUL RUDOLPH. This name will 
 be readily recognized by those familiar with 
 the local affairs and business personnel of 
 Janesville, Rock county, as that of the propri- 
 etor of the well-known grocery house at the 
 corner of Center street and Western avenue, 
 in that city. Generations of German trades- 
 men and artisans have transmitted commercial 
 instincts to him. and he has developed business 
 habits that insure success. He is a thorough 
 workman, everything he does is l'eliable, and 
 his integrity and worth are conceded. 
 
 Mr. Rudolph was born in Germany Feb. 
 6, 1855. His parents, Herman and Sophia 
 (Stein) Rudolph, were both born and reared 
 in Germany. They had two children : Paul, 
 
 our subject; and Adelheid, wife of John 
 Kohler, of Janesville. The father was a mer- 
 chant in Germany, where he died in 1878, at 
 the early age of forty-nine, and three years 
 later his widow came to this country; she is 
 now living in Janesville. They were Lu- 
 therans, and of excellent standing in every 
 relation of life. His father, who was a gold- 
 smith, died in middle life, leaving seven 
 children. Johann Stein, the father of Mrs. 
 Sophia (Stein) Rudolph, held a government 
 position, that of district overseer. His family 
 consisted of two children. 
 
 Paul Rudolph was educated in Germany 
 after the thorough-going old-country fashion, 
 and when fourteen began clerking in a gro- 
 cery store. Upon the attainment of his ma- 
 jority he emigrated to the United States, seek- 
 ing that large success in life which invincible 
 conditions made doubtful if not impossible in 
 his native land. Landing here in 1876, he 
 made Monroe, Wis., his first stopping place, 
 securing a position as clerk in a grocery store 
 in that city, and remaining there until 1878. 
 He then journeyed West to Pottawatomie 
 county, Ivans. The next year he came back 
 to Wisconsin, opening a grocery store in 
 Janesville, which has proved a decided suc- 
 cess, and he is still at the old stand, do- 
 ing business in the same honorable and 
 upright fashion that has been a character- 
 istic of the family. I11 1894 he embarked in 
 
902 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the leaf tobacco business, and ships to all parts 
 of the United States, also exporting to Europe. 
 
 Paul Rudolph and Miss Amelia Biasing, 
 daughter of Carl Biasing, were united in mat- 
 rimony July i, 1878, and she has proved in 
 every way a capable and worthy helpmeet to 
 her husband. They are the parents of six chil- 
 dren : Otto, Alfred, Ella, Ethel, Edwin and 
 
 Gertrude. In politics Mr. Rudolph has taken 
 an independent attitude, and at every election 
 judges for himself what is best for the times. 
 
 DAVID THOMPSON. Among the prom- 
 inent, progressive and influential citizens of 
 Belmont township, Lafayette county, is David 
 Thompson, who commands the esteem and re- 
 spect of the whole surrounding neighborhood. 
 Mr. Thompson was born in Knoxville, Tenn., 
 July 26, 1822, a son of Daniel and Rosie 
 (Cathcart) Thompson, both of whom were 
 born in North Carolina, where they grew to 
 maturity and married. Daniel Thompson was 
 a soldier in the war of 1812, taking part in 
 the battle of New Orleans. 
 
 Daniel Thompson was of Scottish ancestry, 
 and his father, James Thompson, served in 
 the Revolutionary war, under Gen. Washing- 
 ton. Daniel settled in Tennessee after his 
 marriage, and the family remained there until 
 our subject was nine years old, removing then 
 to near Lexington, Ivy. When sectional feel- 
 ing ran high, about the time of the opening of 
 the Civil war, Mr. Thompson, being a Union 
 man, returned to the old home in Tennessee, 
 where he and his wife died, but a few days 
 apart, in 1863. The family born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Thompson consisted of nine children : 
 Polly married Nicholas Felker, of Pennsyl- 
 vania, who moved to Iowa, where his wife died, 
 leaving four children. Isaac married- and set- 
 tled in Illinois, dying in 1858, leaving a family. 
 Joseph was born in Tennessee, married Eliza 
 Cathcart, and moved to Sanborn, Iowa, where 
 he died. Jane married John Goings, of Tennes- 
 see, and settled in Kentucky. William married 
 and settled at Edwardsville, 111 ., where he be- 
 came a wealthy stock dealer, later buying 1,400 
 acres of land in Jackson county, Mo., where 
 he spent the last years of his life. Sarah mar- 
 ried Alex Goings, and died in Tennessee. Our 
 subject is next in the family. James, born in 
 1826. was a soldier, connected with the 33d 
 Wis. V. I., and served through the Civil war; 
 he married Annie Gooden, of Nashville, Tenn., 
 
 and came West to Grant county, where they 
 lived at the time of the Civil war, but later 
 moved to East Missouri, where he lives retired, 
 he and our subject being the only survivors of 
 this fine old family (two daughters of James 
 are living, one in California, the other in Mon- 
 tana). Rhoda married in Tennessee, and died 
 soon after. 
 
 Our subject received his early education in 
 the district schools of Tennessee and Kentucky, 
 and in 1840, with his brothers Isaac and Will- 
 iam. removed to Edwardsville, 111 ., where he 
 engaged in farming. In 1844 he was married 
 to Miss Sarah A. Scoggie, a native of Ten- 
 nessee, the daughter of Lemuel and Sarah 
 (Webb) Scoggie, natives of North Carolina, 
 who resided in Tennessee until 1832, when 
 they moved to Madison county, 111 ., and later 
 purchased a farm in Bond county, remaining 
 thereon until the time of their death. Of their 
 family of twelve children Mrs. Thompson is 
 the only one surviving. 
 
 In 1851 Mr. Thompson, with his wife and 
 two children, moved from Illinois to Lafayette 
 county, Wis., where he purchased a tract of 
 land and settled down to make a home. At that 
 time the country was totally unsettled — noth- 
 ing but unbroken prairie from Hazel Green, 
 Wis., to the Iowa line. With limited means, 
 Mr. Thompson, like many another pioneer, had 
 come to the new country to make there a per- 
 manent dwelling place, and was willing to en- 
 dure the burdens of its exacting life, facing 
 droughts, hot winds, Indians and floods, with 
 an equanimity which told of indomitable spirit. 
 At the outbreak of the war, however, our sub- 
 ject left his personal affairs in the hands of his 
 capable wife, bravely shouldered his musket, 
 and marched away in defense of his country. 
 Linder Col. Moore, of the 33d Wis. V. I., he 
 went first to Memphis, Tenn., and soon was 
 initiated into the dangers of the soldier's life. 
 His first engagement was at Cold Water, 
 Tenn., in 1862, the others of the year being 
 Hollow Springs, Yockney Station, and Mos- 
 cow. fighting a path through to Meridian on 
 the line of Georgia and thence marching to 
 Plum river. After giving the enemy a lesson, 
 the regiment marched back to Memphis and 
 then fought their way to Vicksburg, taking 
 part in the famous battles there. At Jackson, 
 Miss., they captured the city, went thence to 
 the mouth of the Red river, capturing Fort 
 DeRussv, thence to Yellow Bayou, and later 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 903 
 
 marched to meet Gen. Banks at Alexandria. 
 For the following two weeks they fought until 
 the enemy surrendered, and then went after 
 Gen. Hood's army, which surrendered at Nash- 
 ville. Our subject was wounded in the foot, 
 at Memphis, while on detached duty, and was 
 sent to the hospital at Nashville, where he was 
 kept until his discharge, at the close of the 
 war. Returning to his home in Lafayette coun- 
 ty, he recommenced his life of farming, mak- 
 ing improvements and erecting comfortable and 
 substantial buildings upon his land. In the 
 meantime the development of the country had 
 advanced, neighbors were more plentiful, and 
 the conditions of life had grown much more 
 easy. A man of intelligence, he was called 
 upon to fill many of the local offices, and soon 
 became identified with the most important in- 
 terests of the town. 
 
 Of the children born to our subject and 
 wife, some died in childhood, Nancy J., born 
 in Illinois in 1857, married David Ashmore, 
 who was a member of the 7th Wisconsin, part 
 of the Iron Brigade, during four years of the 
 Civil war; they now live in Iowa, on his farm, 
 with a family of twelve children, Judson, An- 
 nie, Dora, Robert, Augusta, Manny, Ollie, Ed- 
 ward, Ben Butler, Tames, Lavina and Grace. 
 Tohn W., born in Illinois in 1859, died when 
 a young man, much lamented. Mary, born in 
 the present home, married William Enlow, a 
 prosperous farmer of Belmont, and has a fam- 
 ily of seven children, Elmer, Stephen, Fern, 
 Wilda, Jess, Raymond, and Robert M. Charles, 
 born in Belmont, married Abbie Eyslica, of 
 Grant county, and they live in Pocahontas 
 county, Iowa, where he is a stock farmer ; they 
 have the following family, Ora, Mabel. Justin, 
 David, Ira, Eugene, Bernice, Ruby and Mary. 
 Emma and Eva, twins, were born in Lafayette 
 county ; the former married W att Enlow, and 
 lives in Iowa, with two children, Owen and 
 Claud. Eva married Thomas C. Davis, of 
 Platteville, and has three children, Myrtle, 
 Clyde and Merlin. Eugene married Nellie 
 Robinson, a daughter of Rev. Joseph Robin- 
 son, of Platteville, one of the old-time ministers 
 of Grant county, and they are residing in 
 Plover, Iowa, with their two children, Mill- 
 ford and Leonie. These children and grand- 
 children make up a family in which Mr. and 
 Mrs. Thompson have reason to take pride. 
 
 Politically Mr. Thompson has always been 
 identified with the Republican party, has been 
 
 a member of the town board, and has held vari- 
 ous local offices, efficiently performing each 
 duty. Both he and his wife are consistent 
 members of the M. E. Church, where they 
 have worshipped for sixty years, and have 
 taken an active part in church work during 
 their whole lives. His ideal for the progress 
 of his town is high, and he has shown a hearty 
 interest in all that has promised to be of benefit 
 to it. Our subject and his family enjoy the 
 esteem of the community in the highest degree. 
 
 JOHN McLIMANS, who passed away in 
 Sherburne, Minn., June 21, 1899, was a veteran 
 of the war of the Rebellion, and a settler of 
 Grant county in the early days. He was born 
 in Mercer county, Penn., May 26, 1831. and 
 was a son of John McLimans, Sr., who was 
 born Dec. 12, 1799, and died Dec. 18, 1848. 
 His mother was Nancy (Mitchell) McLimans, 
 who was born Nov. 12, 1800, and died in Fen- 
 nimore township, April 10, 1852. The grand- 
 father of John McLimans was a youth when 
 the war of the Revolution was being waged, 
 and took part in it as a teamster, and did other 
 duty such as a boy could render; several of his 
 brothers were active soldiers in that great 
 struggle. John McLimans. Sr., and wife were 
 the parents of fourteen children. All these 
 children came to Grant county, but only two 
 sons, Henry and Robert, and two daughters, 
 Elizabeth, a resident of Washington, and Mrs. 
 Harriet Kinney, are living. John McLimans 
 came to Grant county in 1849 in the company 
 of two brothers. William and Patterson. John 
 Mitchell, an uncle, was established here, and at 
 his invitation the brothers came. They were so 
 pleased with the prospect, they went back to 
 bring the other members of the family out the 
 following spring. The mother died in 1852. 
 John McLimans settled on government land 
 in the town of Liberty, and immediately be- 
 gan a series of extensive improvements. On 
 April 15, 1856. he was married to Miss So- 
 phronia A. McGhan, who was born in Erie 
 county, Penn., March 14, 1837, daughter of 
 Silas and Mary (Potter) McGhan, who came 
 to Grant county in 1847. They began house- 
 keeping in the home Mr. McLimans had al- 
 ready prepared on his farm. Mr. McGhan 
 took up government land, and made a farm 
 which was his home until his death. April 30. 
 1863 ; his widow survived many years, and died 
 Oct. 23, 1889, at the age of eighty-three. They 
 
904 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 were the parents of six children : George, a 
 
 resident of Colorado ; William, of Sherburne, 
 Minn. ; Owen, a resident of Cedarville, Minn. ; 
 Merritt, of Colorado. These brothers were all 
 members of Company H, 7th Wisconsin Vol- 
 unteer Infantry, and completed full three years 
 of enlistment. Mrs. McLimans had a sister, 
 Mrs. Jane Groshong, of Montana, who died 
 August 4. 1898. 
 
 John McLimans enlisted in the Union serv- 
 ice Sept. 4, 1862, as a member of Company H, 
 7th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, which 
 formed a part of the “Iron Brigade,” and was 
 mustered out May 31, 1865. He was with his 
 regiment in all its engagements down to the 
 battle of Gettysburg, where he was taken pris- 
 oner on the first day of that famous battle. 
 He was confined in Libby prison and at Belle 
 Isle, but was paroled after a month, and re- 
 joined his regiment at Fredericksburg. He 
 parsed through the campaign of the Wilder- 
 ness and the siege of Petersburg, where he was 
 taken sick and sent to Whitehall hospital at 
 Philadelphia. There his wife helped to care 
 for him. She secured a furlough for him and 
 took him home with her, where he remained a 
 month, and then came back to his regiment. 
 From that time he continued in active service 
 until his time expired. 
 
 Coming back to peaceful life, our subject 
 resumed his farming occupations as soon as 
 his health would permit, and was on the farm 
 for many years. In 1891 he moved into Fen- 
 nimore, where he lived until he passed away. 
 He died in Minnesota, where he and his wife 
 had gone to visit their children who were set- 
 tled there. He was a great sufferer from dis- 
 eases that had followed him from the army, 
 though he was a man who made little com- 
 plaint. He was a gallant soldier, making a 
 record that was without spot or stain, a good 
 citizen and a kind and faithful husband and 
 father. His wife and ten children survive, 
 Mrs. McLimans and two of her sons now living 
 in the pleasant residence in Fennimore. Mrs. 
 McLimans is a most estimable lady, and is 
 greatly respected by all who know her. Of 
 the children, Silas married Christina Kramer. 
 John R. married Lena Whaler, and they have 
 had seven children, Sophronia, Riley, Lena, 
 Thomas', Glenn, Blanch and Ethel. Nellie 
 L. married Philip Keller, of Liberty, Grant 
 county, and has six children, John, Rav, Har- 
 rie, Edgar, Cora and Mabel. George O. live's 
 
 with his mother. Marv J. married William 
 Latham, and has three daughters, Fern, Flat- 
 tie and Lula. Huldah S. married William El- 
 lis, and has five children, Orin, Martha, Carrie, 
 Oscar and one not yet named. James I. mar- 
 ried Adda Hannan, and they have four chil- 
 dren, Ira, May, Fern and Adda. Hattie E. is 
 the wife of Norval Walker, and has one son. 
 Tanner. Irene was married May 30, 1900, to 
 Tanner Walker, of Preston, Wis., where he is 
 engaged in farming (he and Norval Walker 
 are brothers and their father, Thomas Walker, 
 was in the same company as John McLimans 
 during the Civil war). Robert M. lives with 
 his mother. Nancy died in infancy. 
 
 GEORGE S. WHITCFIER (deceased), 
 for many years a prosperous and successful 
 dairy farmer, was born in New Hampshire 
 May 4, 1830, and was a son of John and 
 Annie (Culver) Whitcher. The father was 
 born in Maine, and the mother in Vermont. 
 
 For a time after their marriage our sub- 
 ject’s parents lived in New Hampshire, and 
 then moved to Michigan, where they lived some 
 years. They moved to Ohio, and spent some 
 years there before coming in 1844 to Wis- 
 consin, where they settled on land afterward 
 owned by their son, Georg'e S. They reared 
 a family of well-educated sons and daughters, 
 the older daughters teaching school in Ohio, 
 and for a number of years being prominent 
 in the educational work of Grant county. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Whitcher both died in Grant 
 county. 
 
 George S. Whitcher crossed the Plains to 
 California when only eighteen years old, and 
 was very successful in the gold mines of that 
 distant land. Returning with ample funds, he 
 purchased the property where he lived and died. 
 In 1859 he married Miss Rhoda L. Cooley, of 
 Belmont, Lafayette county, a daughter of 
 Sherman and Diana (Day) Cooley, and from 
 a prominent old New England family. TTie 
 father was born in Hartford county, Conn., 
 in 1806, and the mother in Vermont in 1811. 
 Mr. Cooley was a man of good education, and 
 was a school teacher in his native State, where 
 he learned surveying. Moving to Ohio in 
 1833, he was often called upon to do surveying 
 in that State. Mr. Cooley married before lo- 
 cating in Ohio, and in' 1856 moved to Wis- 
 consin, where he bought a farm near Belmont, 
 Lafayette county, engaging in its cultivation 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 905 
 
 until 1869. That year he bought a farm in the 
 town of Lima, and made his home thereon un- 
 til his death, in 1887. Mrs. Cooley died in 
 1897. She was the mother of eight children, 
 seven of whom are living : ( 1 ) Mary is Mrs. 
 
 Nathan J. Everett, of Cortland, Ohio. (2) 
 Frank B. died in 1893. (3) Rhoda L., Mrs. 
 
 Whitcher, was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, 
 in 1836, and obtained her education in that 
 State where she taught school several years. 
 (4) Roswell, born in Ohio, is now a resident 
 of Waverly, Neb. (5) Richard, born in Ohio, 
 spent three years as a soldier in an Ohio regi- 
 ment during the Civil war. and is now a farm- 
 er at Waverly, Neb. (6) Alfred S. lives at 
 Eagle, Neb. (7) Timothy, born in Ohio, lives 
 at Brainarcl. Neb. (8) Edward L. born in 
 Ohio, graduated from the Platteville State 
 Normal, and is now principal of a high school 
 in Oklahoma. 
 
 After his marriage George S. Whitcher set- 
 tled 011 the quarter-section he had purchased 
 from the government, and gradually added to 
 it from time to time until he owned over six 
 hundred acres, the greater part well cultivated 
 land. Here he had a fine home, barns, and 
 other outbuildings needed for farm work. In 
 1880 he built a large cheese factory on the 
 farm, and a stone creamery building in the 
 town of Lima. As superintendent of this he 
 kept close watch of its operations until his 
 death. July 31, 1898. Mrs. Whitcher 
 
 was left a widow with five children : ( 1 ) 
 
 John F., born in Lima, in September, 
 i860, was educated in the State Normal 
 at Platteville, and was a teacher some 
 three j^ears. His father had purchased him a 
 farm in Nebraska, and he spent several years 
 in its cultivation. When his father died he 
 returned to the home, and is assisting his 
 mother in the management of their extensive 
 business interests. (2) Fannie L., born in 
 1863, had a normal school training, and was a 
 successful teacher previous to her marriage to 
 Peter J. Conner. They live in Lincoln, Neb., 
 and have four children, George W., Clay, 
 Blanche and William McKinley. (3) Lee, 
 born in 1866. married Miss Mercy Lymburger, 
 of Nebraska, and they now reside on a portion 
 of his father’s estate, with their three children, 
 Frank, Oris, and Walter. (4) Nora, born in 
 1872, married John Kenny, a farmer in the 
 town of Lima, and is the mother of two chil- 
 dren, Ira G. and Catherine. (5) George S., born 
 
 in 1876, prepared for teaching at the Platte- 
 ville State Normal, and for several terms was 
 engaged in the school room. At the present 
 time he is assisting his mother in the manage- 
 ment of their extensive estate. 
 
 George S. Whitcher was always a Demo- 
 crat, and frequently took a prominent part in 
 political gatherings. He was interested in the 
 work of the local churches, and freely contrib- 
 uted to their support. For many years he was 
 a member of the Masonic fraternity, and took 
 an active interest in its work. Mrs. Whitcher 
 is a lady of character and ability, and, though 
 she mourns the loss of her kind and indulgent 
 husband, finds comfort in her honorable and 
 industrious family of children, trained in the 
 ways of right and truth. They have an ex- 
 tensive estate, and give its management much 
 care and thought. 
 
 PHIL. McGOVERN, a retired farmer, is 
 one of the best known and most highly es- 
 teemed citizens of Grant county, a gentleman of 
 benevolent actions, genial in disposition, and 
 numbering friends by legions. The birth of 
 this good man occurred in the North of Ire- 
 land, in March, 1823, and he was the son of 
 Thomas and Bridget McGovern, who died in 
 Ireland some years before our subject crossed 
 the ocean. Prior to his making the journey two 
 of his brothers, James and Patrick, had emigrat- 
 ed, the former purchasing land near Milwau- 
 kee, where he resided until his death, in 1894. 
 Patrick was among the brave pioneers who 
 braved untold dangers in the gold fields of 
 California, was successful, married in that 
 State, and died there some years ago. 
 
 Phil. McGovern was educated in his native 
 country, and hearing such glowing accounts 
 of the opportunties offered by the New World, 
 he came to New York in 1840. thence trav- 
 eled to Mauch Chunk. Pennsylvania, and later 
 located at Lancaster, that State, where a cousin, 
 Edward McGovern, was living. The next re- 
 moval was via Buffalo to Platteville. Wis., 
 where he engaged in mining for eight 
 years. In 1851, fired with stories of the dis- 
 covery of gold in California, Phil. McGovern 
 crossed the Plains to that State, and worked 
 very successfully for four years. He then re- 
 turned to Platteviile, purchased prairie land 
 east of town, and improved a large farm which 
 he still owns. In 1895, ^ r - McGovern retired 
 from active farming, and, purchasing a fine 
 
go6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 building site, erected his pleasant home, which 
 is supplied with all modern improvements, and 
 finished throughout with hard wood. 
 
 In July, 1857, Mr. McGovern was married 
 to Miss Margaret McGovern, horn in Ireland 
 in 1837, a daughter of John and Margaret 
 (Morrow) McGovern. John McGovern came 
 from Ireland in 1847, settling on a farm in 
 Grant county, where he died. To himself and 
 wife were born five children, whom he broug'ht 
 to America with him, their mother having died 
 prior to leaving Ireland. Of this family the 
 wife of our subject and two brothers alone 
 survive: John McGovern, Jr., of Lacrosse, 
 
 Wis., and Thomas, of California. Those now 
 deceased are: Katie was the wife of a Mr. 
 
 McMaran, of Dubuque, Iowa; Ellen was the 
 wife of Thomas Mont Clair, of St. Paul. Nine 
 children were born to Mr. and Mrs. McGovern, 
 of whom three died in infancy : ( 1 ) Henry, 
 
 born in Grant county, in 1859, is a resident of 
 Whittemore, Iowa, where he is engaged in 
 conducting a nursery. (2) Thomas F., born 
 in Grant county, attended the State Normal 
 for several years, and assisted his father on his 
 farm in Iowa, and now resides in Whittemore, 
 Iowa, engaging in a real estate and loan busi- 
 ness, and is also a notary public, is also vice 
 president of the Boyce Land, Loan & Live 
 Stock Co., of Whittemore. He married Miss 
 Kate Cullen, of Iowa, and has three children, 
 Alice, Lloyd and Meda. (3) Philip C., born in 
 February, 1864, was educated in the State 
 Normal, and now resides in Omaha, Neb., 
 where he is engaged in the tobacco and cigar 
 trade ; he is married, but has no family. ( ' 
 
 Benjamin, born in Grant county, was educated 
 in the State Normal, and resides on the home 
 farm. (5) Maggie, born in Grant county, was 
 well educated in the State Normal, and is now 
 residing at home; she is one of the most culti- 
 vated and accomplished young ladies of Platte- 
 ville, and a great comfort to her parents. (6) 
 John, born in Grant county, is now a student 
 in the State Normal. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. McGovern and family are all 
 devout members of the Catholic Church, and 
 have always been liberal contributors to it. 
 Not only did Mr. McGovern subscribe very 
 generously to the erection of the old church, 
 but also towards the new one, built a few 
 years ago. Politically, Mr. McGovern has al- 
 ways identified himself with the Democratic 
 party, and loyally supports its candidates. Few 
 
 men deserve success more than' Mr. McGovern, 
 and his prosperity is but the just reward of 
 his years of effort. Never has he turned a 
 deaf ear to the needy, but gives liberally, not 
 only of his means, but also of his time and 
 sympathy. The family Mr. and Mrs. McGov- 
 ern have reared, is one that does credit to their 
 care and good example, and each member of it 
 is entitled to high esteem. 
 
 JOHN A. SMITH. Among the necessary 
 adjuncts to a progressive town is the news- 
 paper, and since 1888 Monticello, Green county, 
 has had in The Monticello Nezvs one of the 
 most complete and satisfactory sheets published 
 in the county. This enterprise was estab- 
 lished, and has been ably conducted, by John 
 A. Smith, who was born in Jefferson county, 
 Wis., on Oct. 3, 1864, a son of John M. and 
 Eva (Summers) Smith, both of whom were 
 born in Pennsylvania. A family of one son 
 and five daughters was born to them: Nora, 
 
 who married Hullett Hutson, of Edgerton, 
 Wis. ; Susie, who married John Bowen, of 
 Edgerton, Wis.; Ella, who is the widow of J. 
 D. Hoffman, of Rockford, 111 . ; Christie, who 
 married Robert McGill, of Oregon, Wis. ; John 
 A., our subject; and Retta, who married New- 
 ton F. Wells, of Whitewater, Wisconsin. 
 
 The paternal grandfather was an old resi- 
 dent of Pennsylvania, as was also the maternal, 
 both of them living to advanced age. The 
 father, John M. Smith, was a carpenter and 
 builder in early life, and after locating at Hel- 
 enville, Jefferson Co., Wis., continued to be oc- 
 cupied in the same way, but has now retired 
 from active business. During the Civil war 
 he was a member of Co. F, 29th Wis. V. I., and 
 served faithfully in the ranks for three years. 
 In politics he belongs to the Democratic party. 
 
 John A. Smith was reared in Jefferson 
 county, Wis., and attended both country and 
 town schools, later entering the Northwestern 
 Business College, at Milwaukee. He then be- 
 gan to learn the printer’s trade, under his 
 brother-in-law. at Edgerton, Wis., on the 
 Wisconsin Tobacco Reporter, following this 
 trade a number of years. At various times he 
 has had charge of newspapers, and has taken 
 part in the preparation of some of the most 
 important in the country, finally forming a part- 
 nership with M. C. Russell, in the publication 
 of The Whitezuater Nezvs, continuing this for 
 one year, at the expiration of which time he 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 907 
 
 bought the interest of Mr. Russell, continuing 
 one year longer, and then sold out. The fol- 
 lowing year was spent by our subject in re- 
 cuperating, but in 1888 he located in Monti- 
 cello and established his present successful 
 paper. In politics our subject is a Republican, 
 but his paper is conducted on independent lines. 
 
 Mr. Smith was married in November, 1889, 
 to Miss Fannie L. Barney, a daughter of Milo L. 
 and Anna (Burtiss) Barney, and two children 
 have been born of this union : Lela B. and Ray- 
 mond. Socially Mr. Smith is connected with 
 the A. O. U. W., Knights of the Globe, and is 
 past master workman in the former order at 
 this place. He has shown marked ability in 
 the conduct of his paper, being energetic and 
 progressive, while at the same time he is diplo- 
 matic and careful in his selection of the news 
 of the day, aiming to make of his paper an 
 ideal home journal. 
 
 A. KNAPP is one of the leading and influ- 
 ential citizens of Cassville township, Grant 
 county, who has taken an active part in nro- 
 moting its substantial improvement and ma- 
 terial development. An adopted son of Amer- 
 ica. his loyalty is above question, and for three 
 years he fought for the old flag and the cause 
 it represented during the Civil war. 
 
 Mr. Knapp was born in Germany, in 1S40, 
 a son of Conrad and Mary Knapp, who came 
 to America in 1846, bringing with them their 
 nine children, but of this once numerous fam- 
 ily only two members are now living, in 1900, 
 these being our subject and Jasper, a resident 
 of Lancaster. Wis. One son, Philip, served 
 with our subject in the war for the Union, a 
 member of the same company and regiment. 
 
 In August, 1862, A. Knapp offered his 
 services to the government, and became a mem- 
 ber of Company H. 25th Wis. V. I. When 
 hostilities ceased he was honorably discharged, 
 June 27. 1865, after almost three years of ac- 
 tive and faithful service on southern battle 
 fields, never being off duty with exception 
 of six weeks, when confined by sickness in the 
 hospital at Memphis, Tenn., during which time 
 his regiment was stationed at Helena, Ark. 
 Mr. Knapp took part in Sherman’s xAtlanta 
 campaign, the famous March to the Sea, and 
 then marched on to Washington, D. C., where 
 he participated in the Grand Review. Like 
 most old veterans, he feels the effect of his 
 long army service more and more as the years 
 
 go by, his chief troubles being rheumatism, 
 caused by exposure, and partial deafness, 
 caused by the explosion of a shell. 
 
 On Dec. 31. 1865, Mr. Knapp was united 
 in marriage with Miss Edie L. Roberts, a 
 daughter of Herman and Elizabeth Roberts, 
 natives of Kentucky and Ohio, respectively, 
 and early settlers of Beetown, Grant Co., Wis. 
 They left the county after many years resi- 
 dence here, and the mother died in Colorado, 
 the father in Missouri. Airs. Knapp is a na- 
 tive of Illinois, and is one of a family of ten 
 children, five of whom are living in 1900. Mr. 
 Knapp and his wife have five children, three 
 sons and two’ daughters, namely: Alice L., 
 
 Perry IT., Nettie M., Clav W. and Park. In 
 1897 Air. Knapp, with his family, moved to 
 Kansas, thinking that a change of climate 
 would be beneficial to his health, and after one 
 year spent in that State, went to Iowa, where 
 he remained two vears. but receiving no ap-' 
 parent benefit from the change, he returned to 
 Wisconsin in March, 1900. Here he is com- 
 fortably situated on a fine farm in Cassville 
 township, Grant county, and enjoys many of 
 the comforts of life. In his political views he 
 is a Republican. He was one of the faithful 
 soldiers in the war for the LTiion, and is to-dav 
 one of the most highly respected citizens of his 
 community. 
 
 HENRY E. RANOUS. though yet a 
 young man, has attained prominence as a drug- 
 gist and pharmacist in Janesville, Rock coun- 
 ty, and stands high among the younger busi- 
 ness men of the city. With a thorough prepa- 
 ration for his calling, his future is secure. He 
 has those personal qualities that win popular 
 favor and attract patronage, and his friends 
 anticipate for him a successful career. 
 
 Mr. Ranous was born in Watertown. Wis., 
 Sept. 5, 1870. His parents, Clark and Lydia 
 (Lindon) Ranous, also natives of this State, 
 had three children: Henry E. : Nellie Mary, 
 wife of Charles Schaller, of Jan'esville; and 
 Francis Andrew, of Fond du Lac, Wis. Clark 
 Ranous is a railroad man, being freight agent 
 for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad in 
 Janesville, of which city he has been a resident 
 since 1872, and his manly and upright qualities, 
 joined to his thorough business abilities, have 
 won him a large circle of friends. He was a 
 soldier in the war of the Rebellion, enlisting 
 from Jefferson, Wis., and while in the service 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 908 
 
 suffered from prolonged and serious sickness. 
 After he came back from the war he secured 
 a position with the Northwestern, and has re- 
 mained with that road to the present time. 
 Politically he is a Republican. His father was 
 born in the State of New York, came West, 
 located in Palmyra, Wis., and died in middle 
 life; he had a large family. The maternal 
 grandfather of Henry Ranous, Edwin Will- 
 iams. a native of New England, came to Co- 
 lumbus, Wis., many years ago, and died soon 
 after. His widow married Joseph Lindon, and 
 her daughter took his name. Airs. Ranous is 
 an Episcopalian. 
 
 Henry E. Ranous was two years old when 
 his parents brought him to Janesville, and here 
 he spent his childhood and youth, attending the 
 city schools. He was graduated from the 
 Janesville high school in 1889, and began the 
 study of pharmacy with Frank Sherer, spend- 
 'ing two years under his supervision, was a 
 student in the Chicago College of Pharmacy, 
 and came back to Janesville to go into business 
 with W. T. Sherer, under the firm name of 
 W. T. Sherer & Co. This partnership contin- 
 ued for five years, and was terminated by the 
 withdrawal of Air. Ranous, for the purpose of 
 uniting with Dr. St. John in the purchase of 
 the drug business of Prentice & Evenson. 
 They took the firm name of H. E. Ranous & 
 Co., and the business associations thus formed 
 have proved in every way profitable and pleas- 
 ant, and are still unbroken. Mr. Ranous is a 
 member of the Episcopal Church ; fraternally 
 is a Alaster Mason, affiliating with Janesville 
 Lodge. No. 55, A. F. & A. AL ; and in political 
 sentiment is a Republican. He lives at home 
 with his parents. 
 
 JOHN KEA 1 P, a venerable representative 
 of the farming community of Jamestown, 
 Grant county, is not now engaged in active 
 work, spending his last days in well-deserved 
 peace and rest, and leaving to other hands 
 the duties which he so well discharged through 
 a long and useful life. 
 
 Air. Kemp was born in Cornwall, England, 
 in June, 1830, a son of John and Elizabeth 
 (Watts) Kemp, both natives of Cornwall, the 
 father born in 1797, and the mother in 1795. 
 Soon after their marriage they came to the 
 United States, and in 1842 settled near Cleve- 
 land. Ohio, where they lived some two years. 
 They then came West to Wisconsin, settling 
 
 at Hazel Green, Mr. Kemp finding work in the 
 lead mines, which occupation he followed some 
 years, after which he bought 120 acres of wild 
 land from the government, paying for it $1.25 
 an acre. This land he cleared up, erected 
 buildings thereon and made a home for his 
 family. Airs. Kemp died while they were re- 
 siding in Hazel Green, leaving him one son, 
 John, and one daughter, Elizabeth. The lat- 
 ter was born in England in 1828, and is now 
 the widow of Joseph Varker, of Cuba City. 
 Ider family consists of seven children : ( 1 ) 
 
 Caroline, widow of William Champion, of 
 Cuba City; (2) John R., a farmer in the town 
 of Hazel Green; (3) Elizabeth, wife of Joseph 
 Daniels, of the town of Hazel Green; (4) 
 Philena, wife of Robert Wilkinson, of Iowa; 
 (5); Frank, a resident of the old .home in 
 Hazel Green; (6) Ida, at the home in Cuba 
 City; and (7) Russell, a resident of Cuba 
 City. 
 
 John Kemp came with his parents to Wis- 
 consin in boyhood, and his education is some- 
 what limited on account of the fact that the 
 settlements in Wisconsin had outrun for the 
 moment the development of the school sys- 
 tem!. When twenty years old he went to Cali- 
 fornia to seek his fortune in the gold fields, 
 making the journey across the plains by way 
 of Fort Laramie. For about four years he 
 remained in the gold fields, and came back to 
 Wisconsin in time for the burial of his father, 
 who died that fall. 
 
 On Alay 5, 1855, Air. Kemp married Miss 
 Jane Roberts, of Hazel Green, daughter of 
 Daniel and Anna Roberts, both of whom died 
 in Cornwall, England. Mrs. Kemp was born 
 in England in 1835. When a young girl she 
 came to her brother, John Roberts, at Alin- 
 eral Point, where he is still living, retired ; 
 Mrs. Kemp and her brother John are the only 
 living members of the Roberts family in this 
 country. After their marriage Air. and Airs. 
 Kemp settled on his father’s old homestead in 
 Hazel Green. In 1862 Air. Kemp crossed the 
 plains for Oregon, taking with him his wife 
 and two children, worked in the mines at Au- 
 burn, that State, one year, and then moved 
 to Boise City, Idaho. While in Auburn their 
 eldest son, John, was drowned in one of the 
 mine prospecting holes. Mr. Kemp and his 
 wife remained in the gold fields four years, 
 and then returned to Wisconsin to make their 
 I home on the old homestead, which has been 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 909 
 
 their abiding place to the present time. Mr. 
 Kemp has since spent a year in California for 
 the benefit of his health, taking his wife and 
 family with him, and making the journey by 
 rail. Coming back to Wisconsin, they pur- 
 chased a home near Louisburg, where in 1872 
 he erected a new house and other buildings, 
 now owning one of the choice homes in this 
 section. 
 
 To Mr. Kemp and his wife have been born 
 ten children, six of whom survive : ( 1 ) 
 
 Charles, the eldest living, was born in Octo- 
 ber, 1865, and obtained his education in the 
 Wisconsin schools. He married Miss Fannie 
 Riker, of Dubuque, where he is a telephone 
 manager. They have four children, Hazel, 
 Francis, Floyd and Charlotte. (2) John H., 
 born in August, 1868, was educated at the high 
 school at Dixon, 111 ., and the Platteville State 
 Normal, and for several years has been a 
 teacher in the public schools. He married 
 Miss Alice Shepherd, of Maine, and they are 
 living on his farm in Jamestown, Grant coun- 
 ty. (3) William A., born in California in July, 
 1871, was graduated from the college at Dixon, 
 111 ., and is a resident of Jamestown. (4) 
 Royal R., born in the present home in October, 
 1873, is the manager of the home farm. (5) 
 Alfred H., born in Jamestown in December, 
 1876, grew up at the homestead, where he still 
 resides. (6) Edna B., born at the present home 
 in August, 1878, was educated in the home 
 and Dubuque high schools, and is an intelli- 
 gent young lady. 
 
 Mr. Kemp is a Republican, but not a seeker 
 for office. In religion the members of the 
 family are identified with the Congregational 
 and M. E. Churches. Mr. Kemp was one of 
 the founders and builders of the first church 
 in his section of the country, and has always 
 taken a great interest in church work. He is 
 a member of the Masonic fraternity. 
 
 JOSEPH PINCH (deceased). One of 
 the prominent and successful men who assisted 
 materially in the development of Smelser town- 
 ship, Grant county, was Joseph Pinch, who 
 passed out of life in January, 1891, when he 
 had reached his sixty-fourth birthday. He 
 was born in Cornwall, England, in January, 
 1827, a son of Joseph and Nancy Pinch, both 
 of whom were reared in England, where the 
 former died. The mother decided to remove to 
 America, and with her six children took pas- 
 
 sage and finally located in Grant county, Wis., 
 m 1849, where she remained until her demise. 
 The family is not a large one now, two daugh- 
 ters dying in New Jersey, where the widowed 
 mother first located, two (Elizabeth and Ma- 
 ria) in Wisconsin, and Elias, the survivor, 
 lives in Iowa. 
 
 Joseph Pinch was reared in his English 
 home, and was given educational opportunities 
 there, and in 1851 married Miss Ann Jane, 
 who was born in 1829, a daughter of Thomas 
 and Nancy (Knight) Jane, who were residents 
 of England until 1808, when they came to 
 America and settled in Galena, 111 ., where they 
 made their home until they died, some years 
 ago, leaving Mrs. Pinch as the only survivor 
 of the family. After our subject came to 
 America he settled on a farm at Dover, N. J., 
 and there was employed in the iron works, 
 in that State. In 1852 he removed to 
 Cherry Valley, 111 ., making the trip by rail and 
 boat, with teams and wagon, thus taking all 
 means of travel at that time possible. Mr. 
 Pinch later moved to Jamestown, Wis., and 
 bought a farm and improved it, upon which his 
 family lived for fourteen years, until he pur- 
 chased his farm in Smelser township, where 
 he resided until his death. This event called 
 forth many expressions of sorrow and regret 
 from the whole community, for Mr. Pinch had 
 lived a life of honesty, industry and good works 
 and was highly esteemed. Religiously Mr. 
 Pinch was a member of the M. E. Church, 
 and had been since boyhood, always taking an 
 active part in the religious work in his neigh- 
 borhood. Politically he was identified with the 
 Republican party. To himself and wife were 
 born: John, born in New Jersey in 1852; 
 Annetta, born in Grant county in 1854. mar- 
 ried James Jane, of Idaho Springs, Colo., and 
 has four children, Frederick, Albert, Mable and 
 James; Marqueta, born in Grant county in 
 1857, married William Ketto, and went to Col- 
 orado, where she died in 1889, leaving seven 
 children, William, Walter, Joseph, Frank and 
 Harry (twins), Jennie, and Millie, who are res- 
 idents in the home of their grandmother: Jo- 
 seph, a farmer here, born in 1862. married a 
 Miss Heil, of Smelser, and has six children, 
 Frederick, Frank, Henry, Elmer, Bessie, and 
 Estella; Jennie, born in 1867, married Sylves- 
 ter Florine, a mining engineer of Smelser, and 
 has four children, Walter, James, Lillie and 
 Etta; and James, born in 1872, married Estella 
 
9io 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Finnigan, and resides on the home farm in 
 Smelser. 
 
 The widow of our subject resides among 
 her children and old friends, enjoying the com- 
 forts provided by her husband during life, and 
 is known throughout the community as a lady 
 deserving the sincere affection and respect 
 which she inspires. For very many years she 
 has been a consistent member of the M. E. 
 Church-, and is one of the leading spirits in 
 charitable work, within the circle she is able 
 to reach. The family is respected, and none 
 in Grant county are more highly entitled to it 
 than the children of the late lamented Joseph 
 Pinch. 
 
 MARTIN HAYDEN is a farmer and 
 miner now residing in the town of Platteville, 
 Grant county, and though somewhat advanced 
 in years, he is still a hale and hearty man, 
 bearing- himself with the strength and vigor 
 that naturally belong to an earlier period in 
 life. He is a man of character, and is well 
 and favorably spoken of by those who know 
 him best. 
 
 Mr. Hayden was born in the south of Ire- 
 land in 1832, and was the son of John and 
 Mary Hayden, who lived and died in Ireland. 
 Mr. Hayden’s somewhat limited education was 
 acquired in his native island, and in 1847 he 
 emigrated to this country. Pie crossed the 
 ocean in a sailing vessel, landing at the port 
 of New York, and found his first employment 
 in this country as a laborer on a railroad, and 
 as a farm hand in Connecticut for several years. 
 In 1849 fi e went to Frankfort, Ivy., where he 
 did railroad work for a year and a half. He 
 went from Kentucky to St. Louis, and did gen- 
 eral work for two years, more anxious to be 
 employed than to pick his work. He then came 
 north as far as La Salle county, 111 ., and there 
 he was employed for three years in railroading 
 and steamboating, and then entered Wisconsin, 
 locating at Platteville, Grant county, mining 
 in the winter and working on the farm in the 
 summer. At this place he made a modest in- 
 vestment, buying eighteen acres of land one 
 mile north of Platteville, and made some sub- 
 stantial improvements. At a later period he 
 bought eighty acres of land two miles south- 
 west of the town of Platteville, and converted 
 this into the fine farm where he now lives. 
 He has made extensive improvements, putting 
 up a handsome and attractive house, a large 
 
 barn, and such other improvements as are 
 needed in a modern and up-to-date farm. 
 
 Mr. Llayden and Miss Mary Cummings 
 were married in Platteville. She was born in 
 Ireland, and is the mother of nine children: 
 John, born in Grant county, is married and 
 lives with his family in Madison, Wis. ; Mary, 
 now the wife of Charles Homison, of Minne- 
 apolis, has a family; Thomas, a resident of 
 Platteville, married and has a family; Ellen, 
 unmarried, lives in Chicago ; William is a resi- 
 dent of his father’s home; Lizzie lives in Chi- 
 cago; Martin is also in Chicago; Hannah mar- 
 ried Edward Newman, of Chicago; and Janies 
 lives at home and follows the trade of a painter. 
 Mr. Hayden came to this country poor, and 
 landed in New York with only five dollars in 
 his pocket. By his industry and prudence he 
 has amassed a considerable fortune, and owns 
 a fine farm in Grant county. Politically he is 
 a Democrat, and in religious belief belongs to 
 the Catholic Church, as do all the other mem- 
 bers of the family. Pie was a contributor to 
 the first church of his faith in Grant county. 
 He is a natural student, and is especially well 
 posted on the history and geology of Wiscon- 
 sin, and his memory is remarkably retentive 
 for one of his years. He has a kindly dispo- 
 sition, and his neighbors speak highly of him. 
 
 LEWIS MORGAN OKEY (deceased). 
 Among the representative business men of 
 Grant county none were more deserving of 
 representation in this volume than Lewis M. 
 Okey, the well-known president of the Cass- 
 ville Bank. For many years he was connected 
 with the agricultural interests of the commun- 
 ity, and through his well-directed efforts 
 gained a handsome competence that numbered 
 him among the most prosperous and wealthy 
 citizens of Cassville. Keen discrimination, 
 unflagging- industry and resolute purpose 
 were his salient characteristics, and thus he 
 won that prosperity which is the merited re- 
 ward of honest effort. 
 
 Mr. Okey was born in Woodsfield, Monroe 
 Co., Ohio, Jan. 3, 1823, and died at Cassville, 
 Wis., July 7, 1900. He was a son of Henry 
 and Minerva (Baldwin) Okey, natives of Ver- 
 mont and Massachusetts, respectively, and pio- 
 neers of the Buckeye State. The father opened 
 up and improved a farm in Monrce county, 
 Ohio, where his wife died in 1844, and he 
 subsequently came to Cassville, Wis., where his 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 9 1 1 
 
 death occurred in 1856. To them were born 
 six children, four sons and two daughters, of 
 whom our subject was the eldest; Wilson came 
 to Grant county, Wis., in 1854, but died in 
 Hull, Iowa, in January, 1901 ; Cornelius 
 came to Cassville in 1854, enlisted in 1861 
 in the 7th Wis. V. L, served through 
 the Civil war, and was in the government 
 employ at Washington, D. C., until his 
 death, Feb. 2, 1901 ; Mrs. Jane Weimer 
 
 is a resident of Pike county, Mo. ; Mrs. Belinda 
 Yockey makes her home in Hull, Iowa; and 
 one son died young. 
 
 Lewis Morgan Okey was reared and edu- 
 cated in the county of his nativity, and in 
 1850 came to Cassville, Wis. The trip was 
 made by water, down the Ohio river to Cairo, 
 111 ., and up the Mississippi to Cassville, where 
 he landed April 7, 1850, from the first boat 
 that came up the river that year. The town 
 at that time was a mere hamlet. For two 
 years Mr. Okey made his home in Waterloo 
 township, Grant county, and then purchased 
 480 acres of prairie and 160 acres of timber 
 land in Cassville township, making a full sec- 
 tion, which he improved and placed under a 
 high state of cultivation. For many years he 
 was extensively engaged in general farming 
 and stock raising, making a specialty of blooded 
 stock, and became one of the most substantial 
 agriculturists of Grant county. At his death 
 he still owned three large farms near Cassville, 
 aggregating 1,180 acres. In 1892 Mr. Okey 
 purchased a full interest in what is now the 
 Cassville Bank. It was organized as the First 
 Commercial Bank of Cassville, in August, 
 1889, by M. A. Creglow and Lewis M. Okey, 
 and the bank building was erected the same 
 year. When Mr. Okey became sole proprietor 
 he changed the name to the Cassvdle Bank, 
 and from its inception served as president. As 
 a financier he ranked among the ablest, and 
 his executive ability and excellent manage- 
 ment brought the concern with which he was 
 connected a high degree of success. He was al- 
 ways distinguished for punctuality and meth- 
 odical habits, a characteristic which was empha- 
 sized during; his last sickness, when he took 
 pains to arrange all the details of his business 
 in anticipation of his death. 
 
 Before leaving Monroe county, Ohio, Mr. 
 Okey was married, in 1842, to Miss Caroline 
 Titus, a native of Norfolk county, Mass., and 
 a daughter of Samuel Titus, who died in Mis- 
 
 souri. To this union were born five children, 
 namely : Samuel, who is married, and lives 
 on the old homestead in Cassville township ; 
 William, who is postmaster at Cassville, hav- 
 ing had charge of the office for his father, 
 who was postmaster from 1898 to June 27, 
 1900, when he resigned in favor of his son, 
 the latter's bond being approved on July 9, 
 just two days after his father's death; Lewis 
 H., who is married, and follows farming 
 in Cassville township; Minerva, wife of 
 George H. Groom, of Storm Lake, Iowa; and 
 Dora, who died in 1854, aged eleven months. 
 
 Socially Mr. Okey was a member of Cass- 
 ville Lodge, No. 255, F. & x\. M., R. A. Chap- 
 ter, of Lancaster, Commandery, K. T., of Bos- 
 cobel, and Wisconsin Consistory, of Milwau- 
 kee. He cast his first presidential vote for 
 Henry Clay, the Whig candidate, but from the 
 organization of the Republican party had been 
 one of its stanch supporters; and had served 
 as chairman of the board five years and as a 
 member of the city council at Cassville. Mr. 
 Okey was practically a self-made man, whose 
 success in life was due entirely to his own 
 well-directed and energetic efforts. On first 
 coming to Wisconsin he worked in the lumber 
 woods, at day labor, or anything which he 
 could find to do. Since 1889 he had made his 
 home in Cassville, where he was regarded as 
 I one of its most prominent and honored citizens. 
 
 JAMES McWILLIAMS. Among the 
 well-known and highly esteemed citizens of the 
 city of Darlington, Lafayette county, is James 
 McWilliams, whose birth took place in county 
 Derry, Ireland, the oldest of four children, his 
 parents never crossing from the old country. 
 Our subject was the first of his family to tempt 
 fortune away from home, and he arrived in 
 Shullsburg, Wis., on March 20, 1851. When 
 he reached New York he was almost without 
 means, but he was anxious and willing to work, 
 and soon found employment in the iron works 
 at Safe Harbor, Lancaster Co., Penn., where 
 the labor was hard and laborious, but was 
 well paid for. Continuing his work there, 
 where he married Miss Catherine McWilliams, 
 he saved a few hundred dollars and resolved to 
 move West and devote his time to the more 
 congenial pursuits of agriculture. 
 
 The first purchase of land made by Mr. 
 McWilliams was of eighty acres, in the town 
 of Seymour, and here he built a small house to 
 
912 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 shelter his family and then began to look about 
 for some work that would enable him to live. 
 In those days the grass grew wild and rank 
 on the prairie, and our subject conceived the 
 idea of cutting a large quantity and selling 
 the hay, later contracting with some mining- 
 company at New Diggings for seventy-five 
 tons, at $5.00 a ton. it was customary in those 
 days, as at later times, for neighbors to assist 
 one another, especially in threshing time, and 
 thus Mr. McWilliams secured Ins hay, and 
 naturally expected a rich reward. Having been 
 called upon to assist a neighbor in threshing,, 
 it was necessary to be away from home over- 
 night, and what was his disappointment and 
 sorrow to find on his return that fire had 
 broken out and destroyed all the hay and 
 nearly everything he owned, except the land. 
 This was a terrible blow, but the following 
 morning he started for Shullsburg and started 
 to find employment. When he reached there, 
 after much deliberation, he accepted the hard 
 offer of a Mr. McNulty, who engaged him 
 for fifty cents a day, “from the time he could 
 see in the morning until he could see no longer 
 at night,’’ to wind a windlass at the mine, 
 the distance which he had to walk from his 
 home being eight miles', and he continued at 
 ■this labor all winter. With these meager wages 
 he supplied food for his family, and saved 
 enough to buy twenty-four bushels of seed 
 wheat at a dollar a bushel. Later our subject 
 engaged in work for a religious denomination 
 known as “The Brothers,’’ near Dubuque, 
 Iowa, being all the time looking for work when 
 his own land did not demand his attention. 
 About this time a man came into the neighbor- 
 hood to buy stock, and our subject engaged to 
 go with him, Mr. McWilliams calling at one 
 place as they passed through the country, and 
 his employer at another. On one occasion he 
 bought of a farmer three mules, and his em- 
 ployer at the same time bought the same of 
 another man, the bargain suiting the latter so 
 well that he engaged Mr. McWilliams to ac- 
 company him over Missouri, Iowa, and else- 
 where, our subject all the time gaining valua- 
 ble experience and becoming a good judge of 
 live stock. Increasing his land, which he placed 
 under fine cultivation, he engaged in raising 
 stock, finally becoming noted for his fine stock 
 and cattle, breeding English Shorthorns. 
 
 After many years actively engaged Mr. Mc- 
 Williams is now practically retired, although 
 
 he still owns his land and takes great interest 
 in fine cattle. The wife, who had come from 
 Pennsylvania, died many years ago, leaving 
 two children, John and Mary. Four sons 
 blessed his second marriage, James, Joseph, 
 Thomas and William. Mr. McWilliams has 
 always been an industrious and respected citi- 
 zen, and has shown by his own life what may- 
 be accomplished by energy and industry. His 
 whole family are valued members of the Ro- 
 man Catholic Church. 
 
 J. B. PENN, a most respected retired hard- 
 ware merchant of Platteville, Grant county, is 
 a native of Henry county, Va., born in 1817, 
 and was reared to manhood and educated in 
 the common schools in Kentucky, whither his 
 parents, Abram and Sarah Penn, had removed 
 in an early day, settling in Christian county. 
 
 In 1839 J- B. Penn came to Grant county, 
 Wis., followed lead mining for some years, as 
 well as other pursuits, and in 1850 went over- 
 land to California, where he worked in the gold 
 fields two- years. In 1852 Mr. Penn returned 
 to Wisconsin and married Miss Samantha Col- 
 lins, at that time a resident of Jamestown, 
 Grant county, and a daughter of Aquilla and 
 Mercy (Smith) Collins, of Boston, Mass., 
 whence they removed to^ Genesee county, N. 
 Y., where Mr. Collins followed farming until 
 a short time before coming to Wisconsin, and 
 here he and his wife passed the remainder of 
 their lives. Mrs. Penn is the youngest and 
 only survivor of a family of eight children, 
 and was educated in the State of New York. 
 Mr. Penn, after marriage, lived in Platteville 
 a short time, and then purchased a farm a 
 mile from town, on which he and family re- 
 sided fourteen years, and which he then sold 
 and bought a fine home in Platteville, and at 
 the same time embarked in the hardware 
 trade, which he conducted with unvarying suc- 
 cess eight years, when he retired on a com- 
 petency. 
 
 To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Penn 
 have been born two children, namely: (1) 
 Emma G., born and reared in Platteville, was 
 here married to Thomas Bass, and has three 
 children, viz. : Horace H., now principal of the 
 high school at Yankton, S. Dak. ; Helen M., a 
 teacher in the high school at Cassville, Wis. ; 
 and Georgie P., a student in the State Normal 
 School of Platteville. (2) James B.. also born 
 in Platteville, was educated in the high school, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 9i3 
 
 and at present lives- in Sherman county, Kans., 
 where he is engaged as dealer in live stock, 
 and also as butcher; he married a lady of 
 Goodland, Ivans., but has no children. 
 
 In religion Mrs. Penn is a Congregational- 
 ism while Mr. Penn is a member of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, to the support of which 
 he -is a liberal contributor. He has been identi- 
 fied with the prosperity and growth of Platte- 
 ville from its infancy, has served one term as 
 its mayor, has filled various other local offices, 
 has lived to see it grow from a mere village 
 to a city of fair proportions, and has been large- 
 ly instrumental in promoting this growth. He 
 is still one of its leading citizens, and stands 
 high in the esteem of those who have known 
 him so many years. 
 
 CHRISTIAN A. THOMPSON was born 
 in Whitewater, Wis., June 29, i860, son of 
 Thomas and Mary (Mason) Thompson, both 
 natives of Norway. They had a family of 
 four daughters and two sons, all but one now 
 living: Hans, of Forest City, Iowa; Josephine, 
 wife of Fred Johnson, of Beloit; Carrie, Mrs. 
 Peter Meyers, of Janesville; Christian A.; and 
 Anna, Mrs. Huntley, of Huron, S. Dak. 
 Thomas Thompson was a farmer. He came 
 to America with his parents in 1839, at the age 
 of three years, and they found a home in the 
 township of Whitewater, Walworth Co., Wis., 
 where he grew to manhood, married and en- 
 gaged in farming. He died in 1878, at the 
 comparatively early age of forty-two. His fa- 
 ther, Hans Thompson, was a farmer, and died 
 in Walworth county when about fifty-five years 
 old, leaving a small family. Christian Mason, 
 the maternal grandfather of the gentleman 
 whose name introduces this article, was a farm- 
 er, and died in W alworth county at the age of 
 sixty-five. He had a family of six children. 
 
 Christian A. Thompson grew to manhood 
 under his father’s roof, and remained on the 
 family homestead until eighteen years of age. 
 He had a very good education, finishing at the 
 Whitewater Normal. He learned the trade of 
 molder, which he followed for twelve years. 
 Having attractive business qualities, he was 
 offered a position as clerk in the grocery at 
 Janesville, Rock county, which he afterward 
 owned, and held same for a year and a half, 
 when he went into business for himself as a 
 grocer, on River street. He was in business at 
 that location for three years, when, in Octo- 
 
 58 
 
 ber, 1898, he moved to West Milwaukee street, 
 carrying a large and well-selected stock of 
 goods. Air. Thompson is a stockholder in the 
 Fuller & Johnson Manufacturing Co., of Madi- 
 son, Wisconsin. 
 
 On June 7, 1887, Mr. Thompson married 
 Miss Bertha Vandewater, a daughter of Jo- 
 seph and Elalia (Ellis) Vandewater. They 
 have no children. Their home is at No. 159 
 Madison street, Janesville. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Thompson are members of the Congregational 
 Church, in which he serves as junior deacon. 
 He is a Mason of high standing, belonging to 
 Western Star Lodge, No. 14, A. F. & A. M_, 
 and Janesville Chapter, No. 5, R. A. Ad.; is 
 also a member of the Modern Woodmen of 
 America, and the Ancient Order of United 
 Workmen. He is a Republican, and a good 
 citizen, highly respected by all who know him. 
 
 CHARLES RITER, a retired farmer, now 
 making his home in Belmont, Lafayette county,, 
 belongs to that mighty generation that won 
 the county from the wilderness, and, with no» 
 friend except his strong arm and honest liearR 
 has wrought out an ample competence from 
 hard conditions that attended his early man- 
 hood in this country. It requires courage of a 
 high order to leave one’s native country and 
 cross the ocean to find a home among strange 
 people, with a different tongue and alien ways, 
 to take the hard work, and do the heavy tasks, 
 never to lose heart or be discouraged, but to 
 struggle on, even when sure that the day will 
 dawn soon, and the coming of the morn will 
 be all the brighter for the present darkness. 
 Yet so this man wrought that now in his old 
 age he is not a stranger in poverty and dis- 
 tress, but an honored and respected resident of 
 a town and county he has helped to make, 
 with means at his command, and friends to re- 
 joice at his prosperity. 
 
 Mr. Riter was born near the river Rhine, 
 in Germany, June 24, 1828, son of Joseph and 
 Alaria Riter, who were born and reared in 
 Germany. His grandfather, Joseph Riter, was 
 born in Germany, and died there. Ide married 
 Maria Istricken. Our subject’s father died in 
 Germany in 1848, and the mother came to 
 America, locating in Buffalo, N. Y., where she 
 lived some three years, thence moving to Erie, 
 Penn., where she died in 1891. She was the 
 mother of five children, of whom Christine 
 died in Germany, -and the others came to this 
 
914 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 country and settled in different States. Mar- 
 tin, the eldest son, lives in Minnesota; Marie 
 married and settled in Minnesota; and An- 
 drew, for many years a captain on a Mississippi 
 river steamer, died at Dubuque, Iowa. 
 
 Charles Riter came from his native land 
 to the United States in 1850, and spent a year 
 working in Albany, N. Y. In 1852 he trav- 
 eled on toward the West, and found a home in 
 Grant county, \ Vis. , where for a number of 
 years he was employed in farm work. In 1855 
 Mr. Riter and Miss Mercy Farr were united 
 in marriage. The bride was born in Corn- 
 wall, England, and has proved in every way 
 a helpful companion to her honorable and hard- 
 working husband. After their marriage the 
 young couple first settled at what was called 
 the “blockhouse,” in Grant county, and in 1865 
 they bought a farm in Kendall township, La- 
 fayette county. This farm was the family 
 home until 1892, when our subject purchased 
 a home in Belmont, and, moving into town, 
 retired from active farm labors. Mr. Riter was 
 a hustling and successful farmer. The small 
 estate with which he began in 1865 had ex- 
 panded into a magnificent farm of 460 acres 
 in less than thirty years thereafter. He wrought 
 •valuable and extensive improvements upon his 
 place, put up commodious and suitable build- 
 ings, and made one of the model farms of the 
 southwestern part of the State. 
 
 In 1873 Mrs. Mercy Riter passed away, 
 the mother of ten children, two of whom 
 Eliza and Benjamin, died in childhood. The 
 names of the others are also briefly given : ( 1 ) 
 Charles Riter was born in Grant county, mar- 
 ried Miss Mary Moody, and lives on a farm in 
 Lafayette county; they have five children, 
 Sarah, Ella, Lester, Albert and Charles. (2) 
 Etta, born in Grant county, is now the wife 
 of Charles Daugherty, of Chicago, and has 
 three children, Edith, Maud and Clare. (3) 
 Susan M., born in Grant county, is Mrs. John 
 E. Simmons, of Belmont, and is the mother of 
 two children, Charles and Orval. (4) George, 
 born in Lafayette county, married Miss Anna 
 Mankey, and is a prosperous farmer of Ply- 
 mouth county, Iowa ; they have four children, 
 Elsie, Harold, Ruth and Laura. (5) Joseph, 
 born in Lafayette county, married Edith Sim- 
 mons, and lives in Belmont. (6) Frank, born 
 in Lafayette county, married Miss Rose Met- 
 calf, and lives in Lafayette county on his fa- 
 thers old farm; they have one child, Harley. 
 
 (7) John, born in Lafayette county, married 
 Miss Mamie Garvey, and lives on part of his 
 father’s old homestead farm ; they have one son, 
 Leroy. (8) Laura, the youngest child of the 
 family, was born on the Lafayette county farm 
 and educated, as were the other children, in 
 the public schools; she has remained with her 
 father since the death of her mother. Mr. Riter 
 entered into matrimonial engagements a sec- 
 ond time, Mrs. Mary A. Stout, the widow of 
 Thomas Stout, being the other contracting par- 
 ty. She is now deceased. Mr. Riter is a Re- 
 publican, and has held the office of roadmas- 
 ter in Kendall township some years. He is a 
 member of the Lutheran Church, while his 
 family are mostly associated with the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church. Mr. Riter landed at 
 New York a penniless lad, and has absolutely 
 made his own way in the world. He is a man 
 of sterling worth and genuine character. He 
 has passed through many trials, and his faith 
 in religion has been tested by that Grim Reap- 
 er who has cut down the earthly life of several 
 of Air. Riter’s loved ones, but he holds to the 
 deep truths of the immortal life, and feels with 
 every passing year the nearness of the better 
 world. 
 
 GEORGE R. HODGE. This worthy and 
 esteemed citizen of Wyalusing township, Grant 
 county, was one of that vast army of young 
 men who, during their country’s peril in the 
 early ’60s, responded to the call of duty and 
 risked their lives in defense of the Union. 
 He is a native of the Empire State, his birth 
 occurring in the town of Clymer, Chautauqua 
 county, November 21, 1840, and is the eldest 
 in a family of nine children, whose parents 
 were John Ripley and Phebe (Cassler) Hodge, 
 natives of Vermont and New York, respective- 
 ly. His brother, William A. Hodge, served 
 with him in the same company during the war. 
 
 On Aug. 31, 1864, George R. Hodge was 
 enrolled as a member of Company G, 15th 
 New York Engineers, and received an honora- 
 ble discharge from the service on June 13, 
 1865, at Fort Barry, Va. He was rejected as 
 a candidate for military duty earlier in the war 
 on account of a severe injury to a toe joint, 
 but later, as has been seen, succeeded in enter- 
 ing the service. His regiment was assigned to 
 the Army of the Potomac, doing duty chiefly 
 at City Point and Petersburg, Va. When Sher- 
 man marched to the sea they were ordered 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHIC AE RECORD. 
 
 9>5 
 
 South to meet his command, but before reach- 
 ing that general were recalled, going to Rich- 
 mond, and thence to Washington. They were 
 finally stationed at Arlington Heights, where 
 they remained until the war ended. The serv- 
 ice of this branch of the army was of such 
 a nature that it was called frequently from 
 place to place, as their services were required. 
 
 After the war Mr. Hodge came West, and 
 has since made his home in Grant county, Wis. 
 On Dec. 29, 1875, was united in marriage 
 with Miss Alice Gulick, who was born at Patch 
 Grove May 29, 1850, being the first child born 
 in that village. Her father, Joachim Gulick, 
 was a native of Montgomery county, N. Y., and 
 when a lad moved to Chautauqua county, that 
 State. Receiving a good education, he engaged 
 in the occupation of teaching for some years, 
 and in the capacity of teacher went South 
 when a young man. While there he met and 
 married Miss Caroline Perry, the ceremony be- 
 ing performed at Christianburg, Henry Co., 
 Ivy. In the fall of 1849 they came to Wiscon- 
 sin, and took up their abode in Grant county, 
 Mr. Gulick becoming one of the pioneer teach- 
 ers of this region. He followed that profes- 
 sion during the winter season, while through 
 the summer months he engaged in farming. 
 He finally located in Wyalusing township, 
 where he purchased his first farm, previous to 
 this time having rented land. In 1854 the 
 present township of Wyalusing was set aside 
 from Patch Grove, and the same year Mr. Gu- 
 lick was chosen chairman of the board of su- 
 pervisors. He was one of the most prominent 
 and influential men of his community, and in 
 his death, which occurred Sept. 28, 1872, the 
 township realized that it had lost a valued citi- 
 zen. Mrs. Hodge is the eldest of his ten chil- 
 dren, all of whom attained mature years and 
 married, while the wife and mother and eight 
 of the children are still living, in 1900. The 
 two deceased were James, who died at the age 
 of forty-four years; and William, at the age of 
 thirty-three. The mother still lives on the old 
 homestead, where she has resided since 1853, 
 and is one of the few remaining pioneers of 
 that part of Grant county. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hodge have no children of 
 their own, but have reared two sons of her 
 sister, Mrs. Marian Willard. Like her es- 
 teemed father, Mrs. Hodge was a successful 
 teacher before her marriage, and her work as 
 an educator covered a period of ten years. She 
 
 is a lady of culture and refinement, and of much 
 ability, and presides with gracious dignity over 
 her pleasant home. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hodge 
 are worthy members of the Methodist Church, 
 and wherever known are held in high regard. 
 
 RICE D. GORHAM, a prominent and rep- 
 resentative citizen of Monroe, has been a life- 
 long resident of Green county, and possesses 
 the public confidence to a marked degree. He 
 was until recently in the grocery business, and 
 commanded a flattering patronage. 
 
 Mr. Gorham was born in Green county, 
 Wis. , April 11, 1854, and is a son of William 
 C. and Elvira M. (Chaffee) Gorham, both na- 
 tives of Ohio. They were the parents of two 
 sons, Rice D. and Ernest W. The father has 
 always been a farmer, and established himself 
 in Wisconsin in 1844, locating in the town of 
 York, and taking up a quarter-section of gov- 
 ernment land. He bought seventy-five acres 
 later on, and still later 140 more, making a 
 magnificent rural estate. of 375 acres, which was 
 his home for twenty years. In 1894 he 
 rented his land and moved into Monroe, 
 where he still resides. His wife died 
 two years later, at the age of sixty-two. 
 She was a woman of fine spirit, and a 
 devout member of the Free Will Baptist 
 Church. William C. Gorham served in the 
 Union army for nine months during the Civil 
 war as a member of Company H, 46th Wis. 
 V. I., doing his principal military duty in Ten- 
 nessee. In the spring of 1867 he sold his farm- 
 ing property in the town of York, and bought 
 240 acres in the town of Sylvester. He has 
 increased this by subsequent purchases, so that 
 at one time he was the owner of 520 acres. 
 He now owns 300 acres in Sylvester, and also 
 several houses and lots in Monroe. His father, 
 Elisha Gorham, was a native of Ohio, and was 
 born of English parents. He was in the war 
 of 1812, and was a life-long farmer; he came 
 to Wisconsin in 1844, settled in the town of 
 York, and lived to be over ninety years of age. 
 He was twice married, and became the father 
 of two sons by his last wife, William C. and 
 Henry C. Orville Chaffee, the father of El- 
 vira noted above, was a native of Vermont, 
 and a settler in Ohio at an early day. finding 
 a home in Geauga county, where he followed 
 farming. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, 
 reared a large family, and lived to be eighty- 
 l six years of age. 
 
gi6 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Rice D. Gorham has always made Green 
 county his home. He grew to manhood under 
 the parental roof, and received his education 
 from the local schools and the Whitewater 
 Normal. When he attained his majority his 
 father presented him with an eighty-acre farm, 
 and the young- man succeeding as a farmer, 
 was presently able to purchase another eighty, 
 and was a farmer for nine years, having his 
 home in the town of Monroe about two and 
 a half miles from the city. In 1884 Mr. Gor- 
 ham rented his place, and, moving to the city, 
 engaged in the hardware business, which was 
 his main occupation for tlnrteen years, with 
 the exception of one year spent on the road as 
 a traveling salesman for farm machinery. Mr. 
 Gorham was a member of the incorporated 
 hardware company known as the Kundert 
 Hardware Co. for eight years, and made his 
 beginning in that line as a clerk on a salary. 
 He was a successful salesman and a good busi- 
 ness man, and has acquired a very comfortable 
 competence. In May, 1899, he bought a stock 
 ,of groceries, queensware, and everything usu- 
 ally found in a first-class establishment of that 
 kind, and as long as lie was thus engaged met 
 with the success his efforts merited. 
 
 Rice D. Gorham and Miss Emma C. Bragg 
 were united in marriage Dec. 31, 1874. Mrs. 
 Gorham is a daughter of Thomas J. and Emily 
 (Nobles) Bragg, and is the mother of two 
 children, Addie E. and Nellie E. Addie E. 
 died April 6, 1891, and Nellie E. is now a 
 bright and winsome child. Mr. and Mrs. Gor- 
 ham are members of the Universalist Church, 
 tie belongs to several fraternal orders, and is a 
 faithful worker in the 1 . O. O. F., the Knights 
 of the Globe, and the Knights of Pythias. In 
 this last order he has taken the uniform de- 
 gree, and is assistant inspector general of tiie 
 state of Wisconsin. Mr. Gorham is a Repub- 
 lican, and has held a number of offices — 
 chairman of the Monroe town board for three 
 terms and alderman from the first ward in 
 Monroe five years, tie is also a veteran mem- 
 ber of the National Guard of Wisconsin, has 
 filled all the offices of his home company, 
 served thirteen years and resigned with the 
 rank ' of captain. He has his home at 309 
 East Russell street, where he built a fine resi- 
 dence in the winter of 1899-1900. 
 
 Thomas J. Bragg, Mrs. Rice Gorham’s 
 father, was a native of Virginia, where he was 
 left an orphan when only four years old. He 
 
 removed from Virginia to southern Illinois 
 when quite young, and at the age of twenty 
 came to Wisconsin, and made his home in the 
 town of Monroe, four and a half miles north 
 of the city. He married in southern Illinois, 
 but reared his family in this county. He had 
 two daughters and three sons, and all but 
 one of his children are now living: William 
 
 P. ; Thomas J. ; Emma C., wife of R. D. Gor- 
 ham ; Charles D. Mr. Bragg continued farm- 
 ing until 1878, when he divided his land 
 among his children, and moved into Monroe,, 
 where he is still living. 
 
 FRANK WITZIG is one of the most prom- 
 inent farmers of Mount Ida township, Grant 
 county, and a veteran of the Civil war. He 
 was born in Germany, April 15, 1831, being 
 the son of Martin and Anna (Patchkonsky) 
 Witzig, both natives of Germany, who came 
 to this country in 1854. They reached Chi- 
 cago, thence went to Milwaukee, Wis., where 
 they hired a team to go to Waterstown. At 
 the latter place Mr. Witzig bought a yoke of 
 oxen, and proceeded to Mineral Point and 
 Clifton. Remaining in Clifton township for 
 a short time, he then removed to Liberty, where 
 he entered 160 acres of land, which he culti- 
 vated most successfully. The good couple made 
 this their home until Mr. Witzig’s death, which 
 occurred July 31, 1862. His remains rest in 
 the cemetery at Highland. His wife survived 
 him until May 27, 1900, when she passed away 
 at Fennimore in her ninety-second year. Of 
 the children born to Martin and Anna Witzig 
 we have record of Adam; Josephine, now re- 
 siding in Fennimore township; Peter, who died 
 in Fennimore in 1871; John, who enlisted in 
 an Illinois regiment in 1862, and died in a hos- 
 pital the same year; Frank; Joseph, of Clifton 
 township; Johanna, Mrs. Bonsall, died in Iowa 
 county in 1888; Rosa, who became Mrs. John 
 Krefal, and resided in Chicago for some time, 
 where she died ; and Catherine, who married 
 Abraham Minsky, of Chicago. 
 
 Frank Witzig attended the common schools 
 at Liberty, is a man of natural ability, 
 and he has always made the most of his 
 opportunities. He enlisted in the 41st Wis. 
 V. I., for one hundred days service, being sta- 
 tioned at Memphis, Tenn., on garrison duty, 
 and was honorably discharged in the fall of 
 1865. Mr. Witzig re-enlisted in Clifton town- 
 ship, and cherishes highly a record of honor- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 9>7 
 
 able mention signed by President Lincoln, 
 which he received during his last enlistment. 
 In 1884 he came to Mount Ida township, and 
 purchased the farm upon which he now resides. 
 
 In the year 1865, in Iowa county, Wis., 
 Frank Witzig married Catherine Bonsall, 
 daughter of Andrew and Anna Bonsall, both 
 natives of Germany, who came to America in 
 1858, locating in Highland township, where 
 the former opened up a farm, on which he re- 
 sided until his death. To Frank and Catherine 
 (Bonsall) Witzig have been born five chil- 
 dren : Frank ; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Steinforth, 
 of Fennimore township; Newman; Mary; 
 George. The family are among the early 
 prominent pioneer-citizens of the county, and 
 Frank Witzig has always been identified with 
 its interests. They enjoy the respect of their 
 neighbors, and their friends are numbered by 
 legions. 
 
 WILLIAM MORGAN (deceased) was 
 long a popular and successful farmer in the 
 town of Hazel Green, Grant county, where he 
 was widely known and universally respected 
 for his sterling worth and manly cjualities. 
 Mr. Morgan was born in Monmouthshire, 
 England, a son of Thomas Morgan, a native 
 of England, who died there when William was 
 a small boy. Mr. Morgan came to this coun- 
 try in 1850. and made his way to southwestern 
 Wisconsin, where he worked for several years 
 among the farmers. In i860 he married Miss 
 Margaret J. Kitto, of Hazel Green, who was 
 born in England in 1828, a daughter of William 
 and Mary Kitto, the former of whom died in 
 his native land in 1832. The widowed mother 
 came to this country, and settled at Hazel 
 Green, Wis., soon after her husband’s death, 
 and there Mrs. Morgan was reared and edu- 
 cated. Mrs. Kitto brought six children with 
 her to the New World : Elizabeth, born in 
 
 England, married Richard Williams, and is 
 now dead; William is a resident of Benton, 
 Lafayette Co., Wis. : Jane married Joseph Pas- 
 eoe, of Illinois, and is now dead ; John was one 
 of the early California and Australia gold 
 miners, and died unmarried in Hazel Green ; 
 Henry, deceased, married Miss Martha An- 
 drews, and settled in Hazel Green, where he 
 died, leaving two sons, William and Robert ; 
 Margaret J., wife of William Morgan, had a 
 district school education. 
 
 After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Morgan 
 
 settled on a farm in Benton, Lafayette 
 county, where they lived twelve years. At 
 the end of that time they sold out, and 
 Mr. Morgan bought a farm of seventy 
 acres one mile south of Hazel Green, where 
 they lived until 1886. That year Mr. Mor- 
 gan sold out, and bought a farm of 227 
 acres two miles west of Hazel Green, where 
 they lived until the death of Mr. Morgan, in 
 December, 1897. Seven of their children lived 
 to grow up: (1) Mary H., born in i860, is 
 
 the deceased wife of J. W. Pascoe, of Jo 
 Daviess county, 111 ., and left four children, 
 who are being reared in the home of their 
 grandmother, Mrs. Morgan. (2) Merib, 
 born in 1862, is now the wife of William H. 
 Decker, who is a prominent attorney at Allen, 
 Neb., and has three children, Berryl M., Ly- 
 man and R. (3) William B., born in 1864, 
 married Miss Nettie Mabe, and lives on the 
 old homestead in Hazel Green. They have 
 two children, Hannah and Elma L. (4) 
 Thomas, born in 1866, married Miss Clara 
 Stock, of Galena, and is now living in Colo- 
 rado, where they have three children : Elmer, 
 
 Edith and Edna. (5) Gustavus C., born in 
 1871, had a high-school education in Hazel 
 Green, and is living unmarried at home. (6) 
 Henry E., born in 1875, was a graduate of the 
 high school at Hazel Green in 1897, and is liv- 
 ing unmarried at home. (7) Roland L., born 
 in 1877, is living unmarried at home. 
 
 Mr. Morgan was identified with the Re- 
 publican party. Fie began his career in Wis- 
 consin with small means, and by his energy - 
 and indomitable will succeeded in amass- 
 ing a considerable fortune, which provided 
 nicely for his family after his demise. A 
 record of his life in its detail would be that of 
 character and integrity. The family are identi- 
 fied with the Methodist Church. 
 
 ROY JABERG, the popular and hustling 
 proprietor and manager of the Monroe 
 Steam Laundry, at Monroe, Green county, 
 was born in New Philadelphia, Tuscara- 
 was county, Ohio, September 6, 1872, a 
 
 son of Frederick and Eliza (Moser) Jaberg, 
 the former born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, 
 and the latter in Canton Glarus, Switzerland. 
 They were the parents of two children, Roy 
 and his older sister, Cora, who is the wife of 
 W. R. Sharp, of New Philadelphia, Ohio. 
 
 Frederick Jaberg was a farmer up to the 
 
9 1 8 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted 
 as a private in the Union army, and bore him- 
 self as became a valiant soldier fighting for his 
 country. After the war he returned home 
 and ran a fire engine until his death in August, 
 1885, at the age of forty-six years. In politics 
 he was a Republican, and in religious belief, 
 a Methodist. He and another man built a 
 church at Mineral City, Ohio, and he, as is also 
 his wife, who is still surviving and has her 
 home in New Philadelphia, was active in 
 church work. 
 
 Jacob Jaberg, the father of Frederick and 
 the grandfather of Roy, was a native of Swit- 
 zerland. Coming to America when he was 
 quite young, he settled in Tuscarawas Co., 
 Ohio, when it was infested with the Indians, 
 and engaged in the vocation of farming, be- 
 coming locally prominent. He was the father 
 of thirteen children, and died in Ohio at an 
 advanced age. Jacob Moser, the father of 
 Eliza, whose name appears above, was also a 
 native of Switzerland, and came to America 
 at an early day, locating in Tuscarawas county. 
 He was a tailor by trade, and was well estab- 
 lished in business at New Philadelphia, where 
 he died at a great age, the father of eight 
 children. 
 
 Roy Jaberg was reared in New Philadel- 
 phia, and when lie was sixteen years old, left 
 the public school to enter a machine shop for 
 the purpose of learning- the trade. This he did, 
 and for a number of years was a machinist of 
 good standing, working in several shops. In 
 July, 1899, Mr. Jaberg came to Monroe, and 
 bought the steam laundry, which he has oper- 
 ated to the present time with marked success. 
 
 Mr. Jaberg was married May 10, 1894, to 
 Miss Huldah Hoehn, a daughter of Henry 
 and Eliza (Ivaterly) Hoehn. To this union 
 have come a son and a daughter, both of whom 
 are now deceased. Mr. Jaberg is a Methodist, 
 while his excellent wife was reared in the Lu- 
 theran faith. He belongs to the order of the 
 Knights of Pythias, and is a Republican. 
 
 Henry ' Hoehn, mentioned above, was a 
 native-born Swiss, and his wife, Eliza (Ka- 
 terly) IToehn, was born in Ohio. They had a 
 family of four children: Huldah, who is now 
 
 Mrs. Jaberg; Albert, a commercial traveler; 
 Ida, who is Mrs. Edward Bengston, of 
 Freeport, 111. ; and Sophie, who married J. 
 Karlen, of Monroe. Henry Hoehn came to 
 Wisconsin in 1845 with the company who 
 
 settled New Glarus. During the Civil war he 
 enlisted in the Union army, and became cap- 
 tain of his company. Serving throughout the 
 war, he returned to Wisconsin at its conclusion, 
 and started a clothing store at Monroe, and 
 built the block where Discher & Schneider are 
 now found. For the past few years he has 
 led a retired life. With his wife he belongs 
 to the German Lutheran Church. 
 
 Mr. Jaberg is full of enthusiasm and en- 
 ergy, and has already built up a fine trade, 
 which has come partly as the result of his 
 skill as a workman, but also from the desire 
 to please his patrons. 
 
 JAMES W. REDMAN represents an early 
 Wisconsin family, and now resides in the town- 
 ship of Beetown, Grant county. On Jan. 26, 
 1837, he was born in Dubuque, Iowa, his par- 
 ents being James and Margaret Redman, pio- 
 neers of that city, the former of whom died 
 when our subject was a child, but the mother 
 still survives, and resides in Cassville. After 
 the death of her first husband Mrs. Redman 
 married Hiram Currant (now deceased), a 
 pioneer of the Northwest and a soldier in the 
 Black Hawk war. Two children were born 
 to the parents of our subject, one sister, Ma- 
 tilda, passing away in early life. Six children 
 were born to Mr. and Mrs. Currant, four of 
 whom are living. 
 
 James W. Redman 'removed with his 
 mother’s family to Potosi, Grant county, and 
 has lived in this locality ever since, excepting 
 the years spent in defense of his country. En- 
 tering Co. A, 43d AVis. V. I., at Prairie du 
 Chien, he went to Milwaukee, where the regi- 
 ment was organized. Going to the front, his 
 command served principally in Tennessee and 
 Georgia, where they did good service in scout- 
 ing, this being particularly hard on a soldier. 
 For a time our subject was confined to a hos- 
 pital, at Clarksville, Tenn., but recovered and 
 rejoined his company, and was honorably 
 discharged at the close of the war. 
 
 In 1854 Mr. Redman wedded Miss Susan 
 Atkinson, a daughter of William Atkinson, of 
 Grant county, also a pioneer. Five sons and 
 two daughters have been born of this union : 
 Edith, William, Ely, Perry, Henry, Mary and 
 Lester. Hard service broke down Mr. Red- 
 man’s health, and he has never recovered from 
 the privations and exposure of his army life. 
 In his township he is a useful and respected 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 919 
 
 citizen, and takes a commendable interest in 
 educational matters, being now the efficient 
 clerk of school district No. 31, Beetown town- 
 ship. 
 
 f 
 
 HARR\ AMES, the proprietor of the 
 “St. Charles Hotel” at Belmont, is one of the 
 most popular and successful hotel men of 
 Lafayette county. He keeps a neat and tidy 
 establishment, and caters to the wants of his 
 patrons in a hearty and taking manner. 
 
 Mr. Ames was born in Albion, N. Y., in 
 October, 1847, a son of George W. and Sa- 
 rah (Howell) Ames, who were born in Eng- 
 land, and brought to this country when young. 
 George Ames learned the painter's trade in 
 New York, and after some years of married 
 life in that State, moved to Detroit, Mich., 
 where his wife died in 1857, leaving him 
 three children, who are grown up and resid- 
 ing in different parts of the United States. 
 After the loss of his wife he returned to Al- 
 bion, New York, and is now engaged in the 
 grocery business in that city. Of his children, 
 his oldest son, William, was for some years in 
 the service of the Detroit & Bay City railroad, 
 and is now engaged in the real estate business 
 in Bay City, Mich. ; he married Miss Ida 
 Barns, of Lapeer, Mich., and is the father of 
 four children. Lizzie Ames was born in New 
 York in 1845, a student of the high school at 
 Erie, Penn., and married Bernard Good, who 
 is the superintendent of the dead letter de- 
 partment of the postal service at Washington, 
 D. C. ; they have five children, who were born 
 at Detroit, Michigan. 
 
 Harry Ames received his education in the 
 schools of Erie, Penn., and began to take care 
 of himself very early in life, earning his way as 
 a newsboy. For two years he was a driver 
 for Charles Read on one of his canal boats, 
 navigating the Erie canal. In 1871 he se- 
 cured a position on the Philadelphia & Erie 
 Railroad, running from Erie to Kane, Penn., 
 being on that division eight years. 
 
 Mr. Ames and Miss Mary Powers were 
 married in 1885, in Janesville, Wis. She is 
 the estimable daughter of Anthony and Ellen 
 Powers who were born in Ireland, and are 
 still living in Janesville. After his marriage 
 Mr. Ames located in Rockford, 111 ., where he 
 was a contractor for seven years. In 1892 
 he opened a restaurant at Belvidere, 111 ., and 
 made his home in that city for two years. In 
 
 1894 he moved to Beloit, Wis., remaining two 
 years, and then passed a similar period in Mon- 
 roe. In September, 1898, he came to Belmont, 
 and assumed the management of “St. Charles 
 Hotel,” which he has successfully conducted 
 to the present time. He has a livery barn in 
 connection with his hotel, and that is an im- 
 portant part of his business. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Ames were born three 
 children: Pearl, born in Rockford, 111 ., in 
 
 August, 1889, is now a student in the Belmont 
 schools, and is well advanced in music for a 
 child of her age ; Hazel was born in Rockford 
 in 1891; and Harry W. was born in Beloit, in 
 1893. Mr. Ames is a Republican, and is a 
 member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive 
 Firemen. He fired the first engine that ran 
 from St. Paul to Aberdeen, over the Id. & D. 
 railroad. He was brought up in the Baptist 
 church. Mr. Ames is one of Belmont’s genial, 
 whole-souled landlords, and he has made many 
 friends among the people of this region by his 
 manly and courteous ways. 
 
 LIEUT. W. H. OETTIKER, a valiant ex- 
 Union volunteer and a thriving hardware mer- 
 chant of Platteville, Grant county, was born 
 near Pittsburg, Allegheny county, Penn., in 
 August, 1841, and is the oldest of the four 
 children that constituted the family of Jacob 
 and Mary (Brighenstein) Oettiker, natives of 
 Switzerland, who came to America when 
 young, and for some years lived in Allegheny 
 county, Penn., where the former engaged in 
 merchant tailoring. 
 
 In 1848 the Oettiker family came to Wis- 
 consin by boat from Pittsburg, Penn., down 
 the Ohio river to Cairo, 111 ., thence up the 
 Mississippi river to Galena, 111 ., and thence bv 
 wagon to Lafayette county, Wis., where Jacob 
 Oettiker purchased 160 acres of Government 
 land, on which he reared his four children to 
 farming and on which he resided until advanc- 
 ing years called for a surcease from labor, 
 when, in 1894, he purchased a home in Platte- 
 ville, where he is now living in retirement, at 
 the extreme age of ninety-nine years, his wife 
 being seventy-nine. Of the children, John and 
 lacob own good farms, and live in Lafayette 
 county ; Dr. James Oettiker practices in Platte- 
 ville ; and W. H. will now be further spoken of. 
 
 W. H. Oettiker received his education in 
 Wisconsin, at the common schools, and until 
 twenty years old lived on the home farm. In 
 
920 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1 86 1 he enlisted, at the call to arms, in Com- 
 pany E, 1 1 th Wis. V. I., and was assigned to 
 the Western Army. He saw service at Vicks- 
 burg under General Grant, at Peach River, 
 Jackson, and dozens of other desperate and 
 hard-fought battles, and in 1864 was com- 
 missioned second lieutenant, and served as 
 such until the close of the Rebellion ; he then 
 re-enlisted, and for one year served on the 
 frontier in subduing refractory Indians. 
 
 After his final discharge Lieut. Oettiker 
 returned to Lafayette county, and in 1867 mar- 
 ried Miss Eva Libert, an accomplished young 
 lady of Grant county, and at once settled down 
 to farming on the Lieutenant’s homestead in 
 Lafayette county, where they lived about 
 twelve years. In 1879 the Lieutenant sold his 
 farm and removed to Platteville, where he em- 
 barked in well-drilling and pump-making, but 
 later sold out his business and bought a farm 
 near the city, resumed agriculture, and re- 
 engaged in well-drilling and pump-making 
 until 1899, when he again sold out. He then 
 entered upon his present prosperous trade in 
 hardware, having the largest store and carry- 
 ing the best-assorted stock of heavy hardware 
 in the city, and also handling all kinds of water 
 pump supplies. The four children born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Oettiker are Mary, William, 
 Evalina and Katie, all born in Lafayette county 
 and now living in Platteville, and all still 
 single, with the exception of Evalina, who is 
 the wife of Charles Smith; she has no children. 
 In religion the family have been reared in the 
 Presbyterian faith, but are not members of any 
 congregation. In politics the Lieutenant is an 
 active Republican, and fraternally is a mem- 
 ber of Sherman Post, G. A. R., of Platteville. 
 The family are all held in high esteem, and 
 associate with the best people of Platteville. 
 
 HENRY IvETTLER, retired farmer and 
 highly esteemed citizen of Platteville, Grant 
 county, was born in Hanover, Germany, in 
 1828, a son of Henry and Louisa (Krause) 
 Kettler. The parents, natives of the same 
 place, came to the New World in 1857, and 
 made their home with their son in Smelser 
 township, Grant Co., Wis. The father died 
 in 1877, the mother ten years later. In the 
 family of this worthy couple were four sons, 
 of whom Llenry is the eldest ; Conrad came to 
 Grant county in 1857, and died in November, 
 1899; August is also a resident of Platteville; 1 
 
 Frederick was single on coming to America, 
 was married in Grant county, and now resides 
 in Nebraska. 
 
 Henry Kettler was reared and educated in 
 his native land, and there continued to make 
 his home until 1856, when he took passage at 
 Bremen on a sailing-vessel, landing after a voy- 
 age of fifty-two days in New York, whence he 
 came direct to Grant county, Wis. He pur- 
 chased a farm in Smelser township, and to its 
 improvement and cultivation devoted his en- 
 ergies for njany years. Meeting with excel- 
 lent success in his farming operations, he was 
 at length able to lay aside all business cares 
 and live on the accumulation of former years, 
 moving in 1892 to Platteville, where he has 
 since lived a retired life. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Kettler was married in Smelser 
 township to Miss Mary Ivnipping, also a native 
 of Hanover, Germany, and to them have been 
 born three children, namely: Henry, who now 
 lives on the home farm ; John, who is married 
 and resides on the same place ; and Louisa, 
 Mrs. Wise, who lives on a farm in Belmont 
 township, Lafayette county, Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Kettler are active members 
 of the Lutheran Church, in which he has held 
 office for the past fifteen years, and in politics 
 he is identified with the Democratic partv. 
 He is one of the prominent and well-known 
 men of Grant county, and is highly respected 
 and esteemed by all with whom he has come 
 in contact. 
 
 TILDEN S. ROOT, a prominent farmer 
 of Wyalusing township, Grant county, was a 
 faithful soldier of the war of the Rebellion, 
 being a member of Company C, 48th Wis. V. 
 1 . He was enrolled Feb. 11, 1865, and dis- 
 charged March 24, 1866. He is one of three 
 brothers who fought in defense of the old flag, 
 all of whom were members of the same com- 
 pany, entered the service at the same time, 
 and returned safe to home and friends. Til- 
 den S. was with his regiment in active duty 
 during the whole time of his service. The 
 48th did guard duty much of the time. On 
 Anril 14, 1865, Company C arrived in Law- 
 rence, Ivan., and on Sept. 5, the same year, 
 left that point for Colorado. Returning to 
 Leavenworth, Ivan., the following March, the 
 regiment was mustered out of the United 
 States service at that place, and soon after- 
 ward was discharged at Madison, Wisconsin. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 92 1 
 
 The Root family is iof English origin, 
 but Vermont claims several generations prior 
 to the emigration of Jared E. and Siena L. 
 (Lamb) Root, the parents of Tilden S., who 
 left Windham county, that State, in 1837, 
 and removed to Twinsburg, Summit county, 
 Ohio, where Tilden S. was born in 1843. In 
 the family were nine children, four of 
 whom were born in the Green Mountain 
 State, the others in Ohio. The first to come 
 to Grant county, Wis., were the oldest son, 
 Jerome Root, and his sister Lydia, the oldest 
 of the family, who came here in the early fif- 
 ties; John F. came next, in 1857; and by i860 
 all of the family had arrived, including the 
 parents, who passed the remainder of their 
 lives in Wyalusing township, and who were 
 [widely known and highly esteemed people. 
 Six of the children are living at the present 
 writing, in 1900, including those who took 
 part in the Civil war, namely ; John F. and 
 Tilden S., both residents of Wyalusing town- 
 ship; and Addison L., of South Dakota. 
 
 After the war Tilden S. Root returned 
 to Grant county and resumed farming, which 
 lie has made his life work. On Jan. ir, 1872, 
 he was united in marriage with Miss Delilah 
 'Boorman, a most estimable lady, who was 
 born in Grant county, in 1854, her father, John 
 Boorman being one of the pioneers and re- 
 spected citizens of Wyalusing township. By 
 this union were born four children, as fol- 
 lows : Mrs. Ella Beer, Mrs. Estella Heaton, 
 
 Edward and Carson. Mr. Root has to his 
 credit an honorable war record, and as a cit- 
 izen is held in high regard by all who know 
 him. He is an honored member of the Grand 
 Army of the Republic, and socially is cprite 
 popular in the community where lie has so 
 long made his home. 
 
 GEORGE W. HALE (deceased). 
 Among those who> have largely contributed 
 toward the upbuilding and development of 
 this portion of the great Northwest, there are 
 many who no longer dwell among us, having 
 passed to their just reward, leaving behind 
 them, however, a memory richly fraught with 
 good deeds, and hallowed 'by tender associa- 
 tions. Of such, is no one more truly a shining 
 example than George W. Hale, who at one 
 time was one of the largest farmers of Grant 
 county. 
 
 Mr. Hale was born in New York, in 1820, 
 
 and twenty years later came West, purchased 
 forty acres of land in Smelser, where he 
 erected a log cabin. The first site of the old 
 homestead was near the present one, and it 
 was made bright and pleasant by his young 
 wife, who, in her maidenhood, had been Sarah 
 Blanchard, of Fairplay, Wis. Their marriage 
 occurred in 1840. Before the new home was 
 built, Mrs. Hale died, leaving her husband 
 three sons, Marshall, who married Mary 
 Rouse, and now has three children, Rosy, 
 William, and Susan; Alonzo; Lafayette died 
 in childhood. Some years later, Mr. Llale 
 married Mrs. Hickman, who was born in 
 1823, a daughter of Joseph and Sarah Eaton, 
 and brought to Wisconsin about 1832, prior 
 to the Black Hawk war. Mr. Eaton located 
 for a short time in Illinois, then removed to 
 Smelser, purchased a farm, and remained 
 there until his family had attained maturity, 
 when he and his wife returned to Illinois. 
 George W. Hale entered into rest in March, 
 1864. 
 
 Alonzo Hale, second son of George 
 W. Llale, and still a resident of the old home- 
 stead, was born in 1S44, Smelser. Grow- 
 ing rapidly to manhood, working hard on the 
 farm during the 'summers, and pursuing his 
 studies in the winters, he soon assimilated 
 the knowledge taught in the country schools, 
 and probably would have pursued his educa- 
 tion in higher institutions of learning, had not 
 the Civil war just then engrossed the attention 
 of all and fired the patriotism that saved cur 
 nation’s honor. He enlisted in Co. I, 25th 
 Wis. V. I., being mustered into the service at 
 La Crosse, Wis., on Sept. 14. 1862, and 
 serving through the remainder of the war. 
 The regiment served on the frontier in 
 Minnesota, and at Fort Snelling, and was 
 ordered to Indian Territory. After much 
 skirmishing, they were transferred to Col- 
 umbus, Kentucky, and joined Sherman’s 
 army, from whence they participated in 
 Johnston’s raid, and other engagements, 
 to Atlanta, thence to Raleigh, through 
 the Carolinas, and finally witnessing John- 
 ston’s surrender. On the victorious army 
 marched, through Virginia to Washington, 
 where Alonzo Hale was one of the gallant 
 soldiers to participate in the Grand Review. 
 In June, 1865, he was honorably discharged 
 at Madison, after which he returned to his 
 old home to be met with the sorrowful news, 
 
922 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 that during the time lie himself was 1 fighting 
 his country’s enemies, the aged father had 
 met with his honorable discharge upon the 
 battle-field of life. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Hale is a stanch mem- 
 ber of the Republican party; is a member of 
 Sherman Post, G. A. R., of Platteville, and 
 is very popular in this organization. Owing 
 to his long service in the war, Alonzo Hale’s 
 health has never recovered its former good 
 condition, but he does not regret the sacrifice 
 he made, and is highly respected as one of 
 Smelser’s veteran citizens, and also' as one of 
 its progressive and successful farmers. 
 
 BERNARD STOCKEL, a well-known 
 Grant county farmer, was born in Hanover, 
 Germany, Dec. 21, 1843, a son of Henry and 
 Christina (Kimpee) Stockel, ’both native 
 Hanoverians. 
 
 Henry Stockel was married in his native 
 land, and emigrated to the United States in 
 1852, coming with his wife and children to 
 Council Hill, 111 ., where Benjamin Stockel, a 
 brother, had already established himself. They 
 lived in Illinois a short time, and then moved 
 to Sinsinawa Mound, in the town of Hazel 
 Green, Grant Co., Wis., where Mr. Stockel 
 bought a tract of wild land, and by hard labor 
 and persistent industry converted it into 1 a de- 
 sirable home. The first improvements in that 
 region were made upon this farm of 160 
 acres, and here Mr. Stockel passed his entire 
 life, dying in 1895, and leaving his aged wife, 
 who is still a resident of the place. To day she 
 is one of the very oldest pioneers of this part 
 of the State. Six children were born to them, 
 and they are still living: (1) Bernard is the 
 eldest. (2) Mary, born in Germany, is the wife 
 of Garrett Bussan, of Illinois. ( 3) John, born in 
 Wisconsin, married Miss Loveland, of Illinois, 
 and now resides on the old farm of his father. 
 (4) Henry, born in Grant county, married 
 Miss Christina Schonhof, who died, leaving 
 four children all of whom live in Iowa. (5) 
 Joseph, born in Illinois, is single, and lives 
 on the old homestead. (6) Christina is the 
 wife of George Speiker, and lives in Jo 
 Daviess county, where she has a family. 
 
 Bernard Stockel was eight years old when 
 his parents moved to this country, and had his 
 education in the district schools of Illinois, 
 and in Grant county, growing up on the home 
 farm, which he managed until his marriage 
 
 in 1867, to Elizabeth Huls, who was 
 born in Jo Daviess county, 111 ., in 1850, a 
 daughter of B. H. Huls, an old-time resident 
 of that county. After his marriage Mr. 
 Stockel purchased the “Mathew Burk home,” 
 of 160 acres. A large stone house, good barns, 
 and many substantial improvements render 
 the farm very attractive and desirable. To 
 their union were born five children: (i)i 
 
 Henry, born in 1871, had his education in 
 common with all the other children of the fam- 
 ily in the Hazel Green schools, and is now at 
 home unmarried. (2) Annie, born in 1873, 
 is a young lady at home; (3) Joseph, born in 
 1875; (4) Julia, born in 1880, is a young 
 lady at home; and (5) Frank, born in 1885, 
 is still a student at school. 
 
 Mr. Stockel and his family are all devout 
 members of the Roman Catholic Church. 
 In politics he has always been a Democrat, 
 and has served as a member of the town board 
 for three years. Like a host of his country- 
 men who have greatly prospered in the United 
 States, Mr. Stockel began at the foot of the 
 ladder, has already become prosperous, and 
 is now one of the respected citizens of the 
 town. 
 
 JOHN W. PETERS, one of the leading 
 contractors and builders of Janesville, Rock 
 county, is a good example of what can be 
 accomplished by earnest, persistent effort, di- 
 rected along the proper channels. 
 
 John W. Peters was born Jan. 18, 1854, 
 at Whitewater, Wis., son of John and Lydia 
 (Frost) Peters, natives of Devonshire, Eng- 
 land. The paternal grandfather of our sub- 
 ject was William Peters, a native of England, 
 a contractor and builder, who died in his na- 
 tive land in middle life. He had a family of 
 five children, all now deceased. The grand- 
 father on the mother’s side, John Frost, was 
 also a native of England, came to America, 
 and located 1 at Whitewater. Later he re- 
 moved to Janesville, dying there at the age 
 of eighty years. * While in Whitewater he 
 pursued the occupation of farming, but after 
 coming to Janesville retired from active labor. 
 A large family was born to himself and wife. 
 
 John Peters, the father of John W. Peters, 
 immigrated to America about 1852, locating 
 in Whitewater, Wis., and came to Janesville 
 in 1854, dying in that city in March, 1876, at 
 the age of fifty-two. His wife, who still sur- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 923 
 
 vives him, resides at Janesville. By occu- 
 pation Mr. Peters was a contractor, and he 
 was very successful at his calling. In relig- 
 ious opinion he was an Episcopalian, while 
 Mrs. Peters is a member of the Methodist 
 Church. Four children were born to them, 
 three daughters and one son : Eliza, Mrs. 
 
 Perkins, of Elgin, 111 .; John W. ; Miss Mina 
 Peters, of Elgin, and Tillie, wife of Henry 
 Davis, of Pullman, Illinois. 
 
 John W. Peters, our subject, was reared 
 in Janesville, attending the excellent schools 
 of that city, and when fifteen began learning 
 the trade of mason and builder, which he has 
 successfully followed ever since. For fifteen 
 years Mr. Peters was with the Chicago & 
 Northwestern railroad, constructing bridges, 
 buildings, etc., after which he engaged in 
 business as a contractor and builder in Janes- 
 ville. However, his efforts are not confined to 
 that city alone, as he has contracts through- 
 out the State. Among the substantial struc- 
 tures in Janesville which bear evidence of his 
 skill are the county buildings, including the 
 Rock county jail, the latter constructed in 
 1899; in 1893 Mr. Peters constructed the high 
 school at Clinton, Rock county, a modern 
 edifice. In addition to this contract, the same 
 year Mr. Peters and his partner, O. F. Now- 
 lan, had others, amounting to some $80,000. 
 The work of this firm is not confined to public 
 structures, as they have erected many of the 
 finest buildings in Janesville, including Mr. 
 Peters’ own home, No. 101 Fourth avenue, 
 corner of Hickory street. Possessing a 
 thorough insight into their work, command- 
 ing unlimited facilities for the prompt and 
 efficient carrying out of their contracts, Mr. 
 Peters and his partner are well equipped to 
 handle the enormous volume of business which 
 annually is awarded them, and are destined 
 to become one of the leading contracting 
 firms of the State. 
 
 On Dec. 23, 1875, Mr. Peters married 
 Miss Mary Kate Ward, daughter of D. C. 
 and Mary Ward. One son and two daughters 
 have been born to this union : John Dewitt, who 
 died in March, 1890, Myrtle and Kathryn. 
 Mrs. Peters and her two daughters are mem- 
 bers of the Episcopal Church, in the work of 
 which they take an important part. Socially 
 Mr. Peters is a member of the Royal Ar- 
 canum; Western Star Lodge, No. 14, F. & 
 A. M. ; Janesville Chapter, No. 5, R. A. M.; 
 
 Janesville Commandery, No. 2, K. T. ; Wis- 
 consin Consistory, S. P. R. S., at Milwaukee; 
 and Tripoli Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., Mil- 
 waukee; and he and Mrs. Peters are also 
 members of the Eastern Star. Politically 
 Mr. Peters is a Democrat, and has represented 
 the Second Ward in the city council. 
 
 WILLIAM HAWK, now living retired in 
 Platteville, Grant county, was born in Corn- 
 wall. England, in September, 1840, and one of 
 the six children born to George and Johanna 
 (Rolins) Hawk, also natives of Cornwall, 
 where they were married. On the voyage of 
 George Hawk, wife and children to America, 
 Mrs. Hawk was taken sick and died, her body 
 being buried at sea. Mr. Hawk, with his chil- 
 dren, finally reached Potosi, Wis., where he 
 worked in the lead mines until his death, which 
 occurred in 1869. The children all attained 
 maturity in Potosi, where they were educated, 
 the five besides William being born and named 
 in the following order : George, who was a 
 
 soldier in the 21st Wis. V. I. during the Civil 
 war, is married and is a resident of Platteville, 
 Wis. ; Johanna, widow of William Gilbert, re- 
 sides in Pittsburg, Kans., with her daughter, 
 Elizabeth; Elizabeth, wife of Philip Knapp, 
 resides in Oregon, and has several children; 
 Alice, widow of William Chester, lives in 
 Missouri, and has four children, and Mary, 
 widow of John Forsythe, of Central Illinois, 
 also has four children. 
 
 William Hawk enlisted in 1861 in the 
 Lrnited States Volunteer service, was assigned 
 to the Army of the Cumberland, under Gen. 
 Thomas, and took part in a number of hotly- 
 contested battles, including those of Murfrees- 
 boro, Chattanoog'a, Chickamauga, and all those 
 in Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama and 
 through the campaign under Gen. Sherman, 
 inclusive of his historical march through 
 Georgia to the sea, and at the close of the war 
 was honorably discharged with the rank of 
 corporal. 
 
 While home on a furlough in May, 1864, 
 Mr. Hawk married Miss Mary Grinrodd, 
 daughter of Edmund and Elizabeth Grinrodd, 
 formerly of New York State, but both now 
 deceased. After the close of the war Mr. 
 Hawk lived on a farm east of Platteville one 
 year, and in 1867 retired with his wife and 
 children to his handsome residence in Platte- 
 ville, where he still resides in ease and com- 
 
924 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 fort. The following is the record of the seven 
 children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hawk : William 
 A., who died a young man; Etta M., wife of 
 John Broadback, a butcher in Vandalia, 111 ., 
 and the mother of three children— William, 
 Girdon and Gladys; Fannie E., a graduate 
 from the State Normal School at Platteville, 
 and now a teacher at Warsaw, Mo., where she 
 has been for the past five years ; Edwin G., who 
 married Miss Laura Pitts, and has one son, 
 Kenneth, and now resides in Platteville; Jo- 
 hanna, wife of Thomas Julian, of Montfort, 
 Wis. ; John J., a resident of Vandalia, 111 . ; and 
 Alice S., who received a college education, and 
 is in the millinery business in her native city 
 of Platteville. 
 
 Religiously Mr. Hawk and family are 
 Episcopalians, and politically Mr. Hawk is a 
 Republican, under the auspices of which party 
 he has held the office of town treasurer six 
 years. He is an enthusiastic member of Sher- 
 man Post, G. A. R., and socially he and fam- 
 ily are among the most respected residents of 
 Platteville. 
 
 A. B. CHAPMAN. For over sixty years 
 this gentleman has been a resident of Grant 
 county, and has witnessed almost its entire de- 
 velopment. He has seen its wild lands trans- 
 formed into beautiful homes and farms, its 
 hamlets grow into villages and flourishing 
 towns, and all of the interests and evidences 
 of an advanced civilization introduced. As a 
 farmer he has met with success in business af- 
 fairs, and is now living a retired life in Cass- 
 ville. 
 
 Mr. Chapman was born in Sherrell Moun- 
 tain, Dubuque Co., Iowa, in 1836, a son of 
 Ammyson and Mary (Dunlard) Chapman. 
 The father was born in Connecticut, the mother 
 in Canada of French Huguenot extraction. 
 At a very early day in the development of the 
 State, Ammyson Chapman moved to Iowa, and 
 took up a tract of government land, at one time 
 owning 160 acres of land where the city of 
 Dubuque now stands, but was driven off his 
 claim by United States troops, after which he 
 came to Grant county, Wis., in 1838, and 
 opened up and improved a farm in Harrison 
 township. He was a soldier of the Black 
 Hawk war, and was prominently identified 
 with the early development and upbuilding of 
 this section of the State. He was born Sept. 
 1, 1800, and died in Cassville township, Grant 
 
 county, in 1881, having long survived his wife, 
 who passed away in 1865. Their children 
 were Mrs. Mary Knox, who went to Califor- 
 nia in 1850 ; A. B. ; Mrs. Lois Lang, a resident 
 of Dakota ; Peter, a veteran of the Civil war, 
 
 ' and a resident of Grant county, Wis. ; Collin, 
 who was a member of a Wisconsin regiment 
 in the same war, and is now a farmer of 
 W aterloo township. Grant county ; and Mrs. 
 IT. Schuelter, a resident of Cassville. 
 
 Being only two years old when brought by 
 his parents to Grant county, A. B. Chapman 
 was reared in the wilds of this State, and re- 
 ceived a limited education, as schools were few 
 and widely scattered in this locality during his 
 boyhood. His early life was spent upon the 
 home farm in Harrison township, and through- 
 out his active business career he engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits, becoming owner of a 
 good farm of 120 acres in Waterloo township; 
 which he still owns. He moved to Cassville 
 Feb. 22, 1899, and is now living a retired life, 
 enjoying a well-earned rest. 
 
 At Dubuque, Iowa, in 1864, Mr. Chapman 
 married Miss Josephine Oshea, a native of St. 
 Paul, Minn., and a daughter of Lewis Oshea, 
 an early hunter and trapper of the Northwest, 
 and his wife, a Sioux Indian. Her uncle, 
 Link Comas, was chief of the Sioux tribe. Of 
 the fourteen children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Chapman, the following named are living: 
 Birdsell, a resident of Waterloo township, 
 Grant county; Arizona; Mrs. Alvaretta Cow- 
 der; Mrs. Jane Wilmot, of Cassville; Ernest, 
 who took a course at Bailey College and is now 
 on the home farm ; Orlando ; Josephine ; and 
 Jessie. 
 
 During the war of the Rebellion Mr. Chap- 
 man enlisted at Potosi, Grant county, in the 
 49th Wis. V. I., for one year, and as a part 
 of the Army of the West was on detached 
 duty, being stationed most of the time at Rolla, 
 Mo., and he now holds an honorable discharge. 
 As a Republican he takes quite an active in- 
 terest in political affairs. As a prominent pio- 
 neer and worthy citizen of Grant county, he is 
 certainly deserving of honorable mention in 
 this volume. 
 
 WILLIAM HOFFMAN, a representative 
 of one of the old families of Grant county, 
 was born in 1844. in Louisville, Ivy., son of 
 Peter and Mary (Easier) Hoffman. 
 
 Peter Hoffman, his father, one of the re- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 925 
 
 spected pioneers of southwestern Wisconsin, 
 was born in Germany in 1815, and sought a 
 new home in the New World, in 1833, settling 
 first in Pennsylvania, thence removed to Ohio, 
 where he married Mary Easier. Three of 
 their children survive: William, our subject; 
 
 Henry; and Louisa, who is a resident of St. 
 Paul, Minn. From Ohio the family removed 
 to southern Illinois, locating near East St. 
 Louis, and in 1847 located in Benton, Lafay- 
 ette Co., Wis., where the father worked at his 
 trade as a shoemaker. Through industry and 
 thrift he was able within ten years to become 
 the owner of a considerable tract in Grant 
 county, and thither, in 1857, he removed wiu 
 his family. A part of this land now forms the 
 farm of William Hoffman. 
 
 William Hoffman has passed the greater 
 part of his life in Wisconsin, and he now owns 
 a fine farm of 208 acres. He enlisted in Com- 
 pany K (Capt. Baxter), of the 47th Wis. V. 
 L, early in the war of the Rebellion, and 
 marched and fought with his regiment until 
 the struggle was ended. His health was seri- 
 ously impaired, but he escaped wounds, and 
 the memories of his years in the service are 
 full of pleasant recollections. He is an 
 esteemed member of Tom Cox Post, G. A. R., 
 of Lancaster. 
 
 Mr. Hoffman married Mary Baker, who 
 has become the mother of ten children, three 
 sons and seven daughters. I11 politics Mr. 
 Hoffman is a stanch Republican, and works 
 faithfully for the interests of that party. 
 
 JOSEPH WATTERS, now a retired 
 farmer of Hazel Green, Grant county, was 
 born in Cornwall, England, only son of Jo- 
 seph and Mary (Spargo) Watters, who were 
 born, reared and passed their entire lives in 
 England. The father was an old-time miner in 
 Cornwall. 
 
 After the death of his parents Joseph Wat- 
 ters came to this country in August, 1848, 
 and settling near Hazel Green, Wis., engaged 
 in lead mining, following that work for some 
 years. In 1851 he went to California by the 
 ocean route across the Isthmus to San Fran- 
 cisco, and from there to the gold fields, where 
 he remained some three years, then coming 
 back to Hazel Green, where he had left his 
 wife and family. When Mr. Watters had re- 
 turned to his home he bought wild prairie 
 land in the town of Hazel Green, and began 
 
 life as a farmer. To this original tract he 
 afterward added a quarter-section, and now 
 owns a fine place of 240 acres. Here he 
 erected a fine home, with good barns and 
 comfortable outbuildings. Mr. Watters has 
 followed stock raising quite extensively, his 
 farm being well situated for that purpose. 
 
 In June, 1848, Mr. Watters married Miss 
 Lizzie Williams, who was born in Cornwall, 
 England, in March, 1830, a daughter of 
 Thomas and Mary Williams, the former of 
 whom died there, but the mother came to this 
 country and died in Hazel Green. To this 
 union have been born six children, one of 
 whom died in childhood: (1) John, born in 
 
 1849, married Miss Sarah Bartle, of Hazel 
 Green, and is a farmer in the town of Hazel 
 Green; there are two sons in this family, Vir- 
 gil and Lloyd. (2) Peter, born in 1858, mar- 
 ried Miss Elizabeth Stephens, and resides on 
 a farm in the town of Hazel Green, where two 
 daughters have come to them, Hannah and 
 Grace. (3) Edward, born in 1868, married 
 Miss Katie Mills, and they lived with his 
 father on the old homestead, where she died 
 in 1896, leaving one son, Clifford. (4) Mary 
 is single, and at home with her parents. ( 5 ) 
 Grace, born in 1872, is at home with her par- 
 ents. 
 
 Mr. Watters has been for many years an 
 active worker in the Republican party. Both 
 he and his wife are members of the Method- 
 ist Church, and he was one of the builders of 
 the first church of his denomination in Hazel 
 Green. Fie is a member of the Masonic fra- 
 ternity, being affiliated with the Blue Lodge at 
 Hazel Green. Mr. Watters came to Grant 
 county when a young man, without means. 
 The country was a wilderness, with but few 
 homes on the prairies, and these miles apart. 
 There was courage in his heart and strength 
 in his muscles, and he has hammered out a 
 large success in life. Mr. Watters is a man 
 of strong affections and deep friendships. 
 These are not lightly placed, but to be his 
 friend once is to be always his friend. 
 
 J. B. MURPHY, one of the prosperous 
 farmers of Marion township. Grant county, 
 enjoys the honor of being chairman of the town 
 board, and was born at Hastings, N. Y., on 
 Jan. 10, 1839, being a son of Arthur and Delia 
 (Cotton) Murphy, natives of Ireland. 
 
 The father came to New York at the age 
 
926 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of eighteen, while the mother was brought to 
 this country when but an infant. In 1856 the 
 family came to Grant county, and although the 
 father was a stonemason by trade, he took up 
 land in Woodman township, which he greatly 
 improved, and resided upon the farm until his 
 death, which occurred in 1878, his wife sur- 
 viving him until 1896. To them were born 
 children as follows : Mary, clerk in the land 
 
 office at Washington, which position she has 
 held for twenty years; Edward, of Woodman; 
 Caroline, Mrs. Ballinger, of Bloomington 
 township, Grant county; Kate, of Colorado; 
 Anna, Mrs. Lewis, of Iowa ; Alice, of Bloom- 
 ington township, this county; Walter, of 
 Bowen county, Iowa; our subject. 
 
 J. B. Murphy was reared in Waukesha 
 county, Wis., and then moved to Iowa county, 
 whence in 1856 he accompanied the family to 
 Woodman, Grant county, later going to Mill- 
 ville, and finally to Marion township, in 1866, 
 where he purchased a farm of 200 acres, now 
 counted as one of the finest pieces of farming 
 property in Grant county. In August, 1861, 
 Mr. Murphy enlisted in Co. H, 7th Wis. V. I., 
 for three years or during the war. The 'regi- 
 ment was mustered in at Madison, Wis., and 
 was assigned to the Army of the Potomac, 
 forming part of the famous “Iron Brigade.” 
 During his term of service Mr. Murphy par- 
 ticipated in the battles of Gainesville, second 
 battle of Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, 
 Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, 
 \\ ilderness and Petersburg, and also took part 
 in the capture of the Weldon railroad. On ac- 
 count of a gunshot wound received in the hand, 
 Mr. Murphy was honorably discharged in Sep- 
 tember, 1864, having served bravely and been 
 promoted to the rank of sergeant. 
 
 In 1866 Mr. Murphy was married, in Fen- 
 nimore, to Miss Alice Graham, born in Ve- 
 nango county, Penn., daughter of William and 
 Eliza (Dixon) Graham, natives of Pennsvl- 
 vania, who came to Mount Ida township in 
 1858, opening up a farm, where the mother 
 died in 1879, and the father in 1888. They 
 were prominent pioneers of Mount Ida town- 
 ship, and will long be remembered as repre- 
 sentative farmers. Five children have been 
 born to our subject: Lillian, Mrs. Smith, of 
 
 Republic, V ash. ; Frank, married, and resides 
 in Mason City, Iowa; James, of Mason City; 
 Alta and Grace. Mr. Murphy is an active 
 member of John McDermott Post, G. A. R., 
 
 No. 101, Boscobel. In political matters, Mr. 
 Murphy’s sympathies are with the Democratic 
 party, and he has acceptably served as chair- 
 man of Marion township for ten years, prior 
 to the present term. Few men are more pop- 
 ular in Grant county than Mr. Murphy, and 
 he may well be regarded as one of the leading 
 exponents of the best agricultural interests of 
 the great commonwealth of Wisconsin. 
 
 E. D. BUSHNELL, deceased. The vic- 
 tims of war cannot be counted by the list of 
 those slain upon the field of battle. For years 
 after the close of strife, in any country, noble 
 lives pass out of existence whose decease can 
 be directly traced to the terrible exposure, the 
 deprivations and rigors of the prison, and the 
 horrors of the army hospital, these martyrs 
 deserving the crown of laurel just as surely 
 as if the death blow had come through sword 
 thrust or musket ball, in front of the enemy. 
 Among those who were thus sacrificed while 
 yet in the prime of life was the subject of our 
 sketch, E. D. Bushnell. 
 
 The birth of our subject occurred in Ohio, 
 on Jan. 19, 1834, his parents being Daniel 
 and Minerva (Cole) Bushnell, who came to 
 the State of Wisconsin at a very early day. 
 The only survivors of their family are Hiram 
 and Mrs. Lydia Watchom, of Grant county, 
 Wis., and Daniel, a resident of Dakota. 
 When the first call was issued for volunteers 
 for service in the Civil war our subject was 
 among the number to respond, enlisting in 
 Company C, 7th Wis. V. I., and participated 
 in all the battles of his regiment until the time 
 of his capture by the enemy, near Broad Run, 
 on Oct. 9, 1863. His prison life included 
 confinement in five places, each one. worse 
 than the previous one, Belle Isle, Florence, 
 Savannah, Milan and Andersonville, release 
 coming just in time to send home a wreck 
 of the sturdy, ambitious young volunteer 
 who had so bravely gone forth. Although 
 he never recovered his normal health, he re- 
 cuperated enough to follow his quiet occupa- 
 tions. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Bushnell married Miss Eliza- 
 beth J. Austin, a daughter of Samuel R. and 
 Minerva (Ashmore) Austin, and a member 
 of one of the old and prominent families of 
 Lafayette county. Mrs. Bushnell was born in 
 Belmont, near the Mound, in March, 1849, 
 and was educated in the schools of her native 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 927 
 
 place. After marriage our subject purchased 
 eighty acres near the line of Iowa county, 
 in the town of Belmont, and remained at this 
 place until his health completely failed, his 
 death taking place in a hospital, where he was 
 placed in order that the very best and most 
 skillful care could be afforded him. Mr. 
 Bushnell was noted for his kind disposition, 
 and, to the close of his life, for his devotion 
 to his family. 
 
 The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Bush- 
 nell were: Samuel, born in 1868, died in 1892. 
 Charles, born in 1870, was educated in the 
 Platteville Normal School, and became a teach- 
 er; in 1897 he married Lillie Rundle, of Iowa 
 county, and settled upon a farm, but he is 
 now a student in the Northwestern College of 
 Dentistry, in Chicago ; they have, one daughter, 
 Florence. Lewis E., born in 1873, was edu- 
 cated at the Platteville Normal School, and 
 /remained at the old home with his mother 
 until his marriage, in 1898, to Nettie Enloe, 
 who was a daughter of an old veteran of Wis- 
 consin ; they now reside on a farm in Iowa 
 county. Lillie, born in 1875, graduated from 
 the State Normal School, and now follows 
 teaching in Evansville, Wis. Mary, born in 
 1 8 77, graduated in the class of 1899, and is 
 one of the intelligent and charming young 
 teachers of Oneida county, Wis. Rose, born 
 in 1879, is also a graduate of the Normal 
 School, class of 1899, and is one of the suc- 
 cessful teachers of Lafayette county. Archie, 
 born in 1881, is a student at the Normal School, 
 where he promises to be as brilliant as the 
 other members of this very intelligent family. 
 
 An ardent Republican all his life, Mr. 
 Bushnell was never robust enough to take upon 
 himself the cares of office. Mrs. Bushnell and 
 the family are connected with the M. E. 
 Church, and all enjoy the esteem of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 WILLIAM S. BLACKFORD. This es- 
 teemed and influential citizen of Monroe town- 
 ship, Green county, is one of a family of seven 
 children born to William and Rachel (Johns) 
 Blackford. 
 
 William Blackford, his father, was a potter 
 by trade, and was of German lineage, while 
 his mother’s ancestors were Welsh. Both par- 
 ents were born in Pennsylvania, where they 
 married, and lived until 1845. I 11 that year 
 
 they determined to seek better fortune in the 
 
 West, and set forth, with their children and 
 household goods, for Delphi, Ind. Proceeding 
 by covered wagon from Fayette to Browns- 
 ville, Penn., they continued their westward 
 journey by water, going by steamboat to Mo- 
 nongahela, to Pittsburg, and the Ohio to Cairo, 
 111., at the junction of that stream with the 
 Mississippi. As has been said, it had been their 
 intention to ascend the Wabash to Delphi, but 
 low water forbade this, and forced them to con- 
 tinue their journey in the manner described. 
 They sailed up the Mississippi to Dubuque, 
 thence went to Galena, where they hired a 
 wagon and proceeded to Green county, Wis., 
 making their first stop with William Goodell. 
 The land chosen by Mr. Blackford on which 
 to build a home for himself and his family 
 was heavily timbered, and was situated in the 
 township of Jefferson. To clear it was no easy 
 task, but sturdy thews and sinews can accom- 
 plish much when to their strength is added a 
 firm resolve, inspired by love. On this farm, 
 thus reduced to cultivation by the axe of the 
 woodman and the plow of the pioneer, the par- 
 ents passed the remainder of their lives, the 
 mother dying about 1859, and the father in 
 1871. Of their seven children, two have died 
 — Thomas and Lavina. Enoch, the eldest of 
 the five, yet living, resides in Juda, in Green 
 county; Rebecca is the wife of Stephen Mann, 
 of Page county, Iowa; William S. ; Rachel is 
 Mrs. Peter Roub, and lives in the South; and 
 Samuel is a resident of Louisiana. 
 
 William S. Blackford was born Feb. 3, 
 1833, in Fayette county, Penn., and was conse- 
 quently a boy of twelve years when he accom- 
 panied his parents to Green county, Wis., which 
 has been his home ever since. In' i860 he 
 was married to Nettie Hedge, whose native 
 State was Indiana. Mrs. Blackford died in 
 1877, and he has not married again. Pie has 
 three daughters: Jennie Florence, the eldest, 
 the wife of Charles Hartwick ; Nellie Joseph- 
 ine, whose home is in Carroll, Iowa; and Rose, 
 who lives with her father in Monroe- township. 
 Mr. Blackford is well known as a worthy rep- 
 resentative of an honored pioneer family, and 
 is highly esteemed for his own good qualities 
 of head and heart. 
 
 CORNELIUS HOWARD is numbered 
 among the prosperous farmers and veteran citi- 
 zens of Watterstown township, Grant county, 
 and resides on a fine farm in section 11, which 
 
928 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he has brought up to a good state of culti- 
 vation. 
 
 Mr. Howard was born in what was then 
 Morgan (now Elliott) county, Ky., in 1847, 
 being a son of Thomas and Nancy Howard, 
 natives of Kentucky and Ohio, respectively. 
 The parents removed from Kentucky, where 
 their children were born, to Illinois, and after 
 living in that State a short time they pushed 
 further into the wilderness, and in 1863 lo- 
 cated in Grant county, Wis. Here the mother 
 died, but the father still survives, and resides 
 in Kentucky. Five children were born of this 
 union, four sons and one daughter, and all 
 of them, except Cornelius, reside in Ohio. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated in 
 Kentucky, and always followed the occupation 
 of farming, with the exception of a few years 
 spent in working on a railroad. By his own 
 efforts he finally amassed sufficient money to 
 purchase his present comfortable farm. At the 
 outbreak of the Civil war Cornelius Howard 
 was too young to enter the service, but in Janu- 
 ary, 1865, when but eighteen, he enlisted in 
 Company E, 47th Wis. V. L, and remained 
 until the close of the war. During his term 
 of service Mr. Howard’s health became seri- 
 ously impaired, and he has never recovered 
 from the effects of the hardships he suffered. 
 
 To Cornelius Howard and his wife, Caro- 
 line, four sons have been born: Fred, George, 
 Charles and John, but the last three died in 
 early childhood. Having been a good, brave 
 soldier, Mr. Howard naturally takes a deep 
 interest in all matters pertaining to the veterans, 
 and is an active member of the G. A. R. Hon- 
 est, thrifty, industrious, Mr. Howard has 
 gained for himself the respect of his neigh- 
 bors, and is justly regarded as a substantial 
 man, and a good representative of the agricul- 
 tural interests of Grant county. 
 
 FRED A. MEYER, postmaster of Bos- 
 cobel, Grant county, is also 1 a member of the 
 firm of Meyer & Johnson, editors and publish- 
 ers of the Boscobel Dial-Enterprise, one of the 
 most widely-quoted and influential local papers 
 of the State. Both members of this enter- 
 prising and stirring firm are young men, but 
 have won their spurs as newspaper men on 
 hard-fought fields of journalism. 
 
 Mr. Meyer was born in Boscobel Dec. 29, 
 1871, son of Edward A. and E. Josephine 
 (Honn) Meyer. The father was a native of 
 
 Westphalia, Germany, and the mother of Ohio, 
 where she was born in 1843. Frederick A. 
 and Henrietta Meyer, the parents of Edward 
 A., came to this country in 1848, bringing 
 their family with them, and settled on a farm 
 near Waukesha, where Edward A. was reared 
 to manhood. In 1858 he came to Boscobel, 
 and spent several years in this city. In 1861 
 he went back to Waukesha, and in 1866 once 
 more became a resident of Boscobel. This time 
 he engaged in business as a member of the 
 firm of Meyer, Hildebrand & Co., dealers in 
 general merchandise. After a time the firm be- 
 came Meyer Brothers, Gustave, a brother of 
 Edward A., purchasing the interest of the other 
 parties. Meyer Brothers were in business for 
 many years, and became one of the best-known 
 firms in southern Wisconsin. Their patronage 
 was very large, and their goods most attractive 
 in quality and price. When the firm went out 
 of business Edward A. turned his attention to 
 manufacturing. His marriage took place at 
 Madison, Wis., in April, 1867, and has been 
 blessed with four children: Bruce M., a manu- 
 facturer at Rockton, Wis.; Richard F. 'died in 
 1894, at the age of twenty-five years ; Fred A., 
 of Boscobel; and Charity Belle, who is now the 
 wife of Dr. C. F. Rodolf, of Muscoda, Wis. 
 Mrs. Meyer is a member of the Congregational 
 Church, and a lady of high standing in the com- 
 munity. Mr. Meyer is a man of considerable 
 prominence, and is an influential Democrat, his 
 advice being often followed in party matters. 
 He was mayor of the city for a term, served 
 three terms as chairman of the board of super- 
 visors; has also served four years as treasurer 
 of the school board, and has been an alderman 
 several terms. 
 
 Fred A. Meyer was a graduate of the 
 high school of Boscobel in the class of 1892, 
 and while attending school learned the printer’s 
 trade, and liked it so well that it has become 
 his life work. In 1893 he purchased the paper 
 known as the Leader, in company with Har- 
 lan J. Johnson, and entered upon a career that 
 has met with marked success from the begin- 
 ning. The newspaper history of the firm ap- 
 pears in the sketch of his partner, published 
 elsewhere in this work. Mr. Meyer was mar- 
 ried Sept. 8, 1898, to Miss Nellie E. Pengilly, 
 a daughter of Rev. R. Pengilly, a minister of 
 the Methodist Church. She was born in Ar- 
 gyle, Wis., and is the mother of one daughter, 
 Josephine E. The young husband is a mem- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 929 
 
 ber of the orders of the M. W. of A. and 
 the Foresters. He is a strong Republican, and 
 at the present time is the postmaster of Bosco- 
 bel, and is conducting his office to the emi- 
 nent satisfaction of the community. 
 
 FRANK E. TRENARY, a well-to-do 
 stock farmer in the town of Platteville, Grant 
 county, attends closely to his business, and has 
 not only succeeded in accumulating a very 
 handsome competence, but has won and holds 
 the confidence and respect of his fellow towns- 
 men. 
 
 Mr. Trenary was born in his present home 
 in Platteville in April, 1862, and is a son of 
 Philip and Isabel (Lower) Trenary, both 
 born in Cornwall, England, in 1812 and 1814, 
 respectively. They, grew to maturity in Corn- 
 wall, were married there, and had four chil- 
 dren before they came to this country. In 
 1844 they located in Grant county, and set- 
 tled on a farm in the town of Platteville, where 
 they made a home for their family. Mr. 
 Trenary purchased a large amount of land, 
 leaving to his sons productive farms. He 
 erected buildings suitable to his needs on two 
 of these places, and the one where our subject 
 lives was his first improvement. The other 
 farm, which he improved later, is now owned 
 by his son William. He was one of the oldest 
 and' most scientific agriculturists in this part 
 of the country, and brought the best knowl- 
 edge of the times to help him in his business. 
 He died in September, 1896, and his widow 
 still survives him. They had a family of 
 eleven children. John P., the eldest, was born 
 in England in 1837, and married Miss Bessie 
 A. Stephens, and they reside near Belmont, 
 where he is an extensive stock farmer. Mary 
 H., born in England, became the wife of Henry 
 Pierce, of Pomeroy, Iowa, and was the mother 
 of eight children, all living in that State, 
 Charles, John, Frank, Sylvester, Jessie, Phil, 
 Robert and Arthur. Charles, born in England, 
 married Miss Carrie Greenrod, and resides on 
 his farm in Pomeroy, Iowa. Emma, born in 
 England, and educated in the Platteville 
 schools, is now the wife of John Ware, of 
 Big Patch, and is the mother of one daughter, 
 Clara B. Ellen, born in Wisconsin, married 
 John Rickard, and resides in Platteville, where 
 her husband is the engineer of the Normal 
 School building. Robert, born in Grant coun- 
 ty, married Miss Lizzie Henry, who died soon 
 59 
 
 after marriage, leaving no family ; later he mar- 
 ried Miss Carrie Hawk, and for a time re- 
 sided in Pomeroy, Iowa, until a short time be- 
 fore his death, when he returned to Grant 
 county, and d.ed in 1894, leaving three chil- 
 dren, Myrtie, Seanson and Earl ; one son, Or- 
 rin, died young. Henry, born in Grant county 
 on the old homestead, married Miss Agnes 
 Jeffrey, and lives in Austin, Minn., where he 
 is engaged in business; they have two children, 
 Loren and Floyd. Carrie, born in Grant coun- 
 ty, died at the age of nineteen years. Bryara 
 F., born in Grant county, married Miss Selina. 
 Huntingdon, and is a farmer in Lafayette coun- 
 ty; they have had two children, Clyde, who is 
 at home, and Laura, who died when eight years, 
 of age. Will and Frank E., born in 1862,, 
 are twins ; Will married Miss Carrie Raisbeck, 
 of Platteville, and resides on one of the paternal 
 farms in Lafayette county; he is the father of 
 three daughters, Cleo, Lenice and one not 
 named. 
 
 Frank E. Trenary grew to manhood under" 
 the parental roof, and received his education, 
 in the Platteville schools, finishing his school! 
 days at the Normal. In 1886 he married Miss 
 Annie Huntingdon, daughter of Robert and 
 Mary (Stephens) Huntingdon, an old and 
 prominent family of Grant county. Pier father 
 died in 1872, leaving a wife and three chil- 
 dren. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
 Trenary settled on the farm where they are 
 now residing. They have had two children, 
 Estella M., born in October, 1890, and Lloyd 
 E., born in October, 1897. Mrs. Trenary was 
 born in 1865, and obtained her education in the 
 Platteville schools. 
 
 The entire Trenary family are Republicans, 
 and their honored sire held to the same politi- 
 cal faith. Mrs. Trenary is a member of the 
 Primitive Methodist Church of Platteville, and 
 her husband, while not a member, supports the 
 church, and gives his influence for everything 
 good and noble in the community. .He is one 
 of Grant county's enterprising farmers, and is 
 thoroughly respected, not only for his good 
 business equalities, but for his good and kind 
 personal character. 
 
 RICHARD F. ELLIS, a leading up-to- 
 date and prosperous farmer of Jordan town- 
 ship, Green county, is a native of New York 
 State, born July 12, 1837, in Chautauqua 
 county. The first of the Ellis family in this 
 
930 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 country were three brothers, who, about 250 
 years ago, came to the New England colonies 
 from England. 
 
 George and Hulda Ellis, grandparents of 
 our subject, were natives of the State of Maine. 
 1 hey had a family of ten children, named re- 
 spectively : Benjamin, Richard, Nehemiah 
 
 (sketch of whom follows), Sewell, George, 
 Abel, John, Hulda, Amie, and Abbie, all now 
 deceased. Hulda, Amie and Abbie married 
 three brothers by the name of Deveroux, and 
 their families averaged twelve children each, 
 the majority being boys, all, except three, of 
 whom served in the war of the Rebellion. 
 
 Nehemiah Ellis, father of Richard F., was 
 born Aug. 4, 1804, near Bangor, Maine, 
 whence, in 1819, he removed with his parents 
 to Chautauqua county, N. Y. In 1828 he 
 married Rachel Osgood, and to this union were 
 born twelve children, six of whom reached 
 maturity, viz. : Mary, wife of William Kins- 
 ton, of Monroe, Green county; Eliza, widow 
 of Samuel Shook, formerly of Iowa; Richard 
 Iw, our subject; Lewis, a farmer of Pocahon- 
 tas county, Iowa; Laban, residing in Denver, 
 Colo.; and Samuel, of Hastings, Neb. Nehe- 
 miah Ellis, the father of this family, migrated 
 from New York State to Stephenson county, 
 111., in 1838, and purchased a farm near 
 Orangeville. In 1847 he removed to Green 
 county, where he bought a farm in Jordan 
 township, which he continued to cultivate until 
 1875, in that year removing to Buena Vista 
 county, Iowa, where he passed the rest of his 
 life, dying March 15, 1891. Thus, in his time, 
 he was a settler in three States of the Union’ 
 and was a typical frontier pioneer. 
 
 Richard F. Ellis, whose name opens this 
 sketch, was an infant when his parents went 
 from New York State to Illinois, and about ten 
 years old when they settled in Green county, 
 Whs. Plere he received the greater part of his 
 education, and was reared to farming pursuits. 
 In 1864, during the Civil war, he enlisted in 
 Battery D, 1st Wis. Lleavy Artillery, in which 
 he served until June, 1865, being stationed at 
 b ort Jackson and Fort Berwick, La. On his 
 return from the front, in 1865, he sold out his 
 first farm, and in 1870 bought his present one 
 of 240 acres, on which he has made his home 
 •e\ ei . since, engaged in general farming. In 
 politics he is independent, and for over twenty 
 years has served as school director, and has 
 also been treasurer, etc. In religious faith he 
 
 and his wife are members of the Church of 
 Christ. 
 
 On Aug. 29, 1864, Richard F. Ellis mar- 
 ried Miss Emma Bowden, of Monroe, Wis., 
 born Dec. 15, 1844, in Knox county, 111 ., and 
 brought to Green county, Wis., when about one 
 year old. Pier parents, Samuel and Elizabeth 
 (Virtue) Bowden, had a family of eight chil- 
 dren, five of whom are yet living: Elizabeth, 
 widow of George Norris, formerly of Chicago, 
 111 .; Ellen, widow of Ephraim Miller, and now 
 living in Monroe, Wis.; George, in southern 
 Missouri; Emma, wife of Ricliard F. Ellis; 
 and Richard, a resident of Chicago. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. R. F. Ellis have been born seven chil- 
 dren, a brief record of whom is as follows : 
 (1) William, born Sept. 15, 1866, married 
 Catherine Laubaugh; he is a farmer in Jor- 
 dan township, Green county. (2) Flora, born 
 May 20, 1869, is the wife of Charles Smith, 
 of Monroe, Wis. (3) Edwin, born March 
 26, 1872, married Anna Brazd , of Adams 
 township, Green county. (4) Franklin, born 
 Oct. 12, 1874, married Rosa Stauffacher, of 
 Jordan township, Green county. (5) Lee, 
 born Dec. 25, 1876, is on the home farm. (6) 
 Louis B., born Sept. 3, 1882, is at home. (7) 
 Ida May died in infancy. 
 
 JAMES F. SCHRODER. This is the 
 name of one of the stirring and capable ydung 
 men who are pushing to the front in business 
 and agriculture. He lives in the town of 
 Platteville, Grant county, and is both enter- 
 prising and successful. 
 
 Mr. Schroder was born in Montfort, Iowa 
 county, in November, 1875, and is a son of C. 
 F. and Mary I. (Harms) Schroder. His fa- 
 ther was born in Germany in 1840, and his 
 mother was born in Grant county. After their 
 marriage his parents settled at Montfort, Iowa 
 county, and followed farming until 1882 in 
 that locality, when he purchased the Hunting- 
 ton farm, two miles south of Platteville, which 
 farm became his home for the rest of his life. 
 He died March 17, 1894, leaving his wife with 
 three • children. The widow did not remain 
 on the farm long after her husband’s death, 
 but moved into the city of Platteville, and is 
 still a resident of that place. They were the 
 parents of four children : ( 1 ) Anna, born in 
 
 Iowa county, was educated in the Montfort and 
 Platteville schools, as were the other children; 
 she is now the wife of Jacob S. Brugger, and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 93i 
 
 resides on a fruit farm one mile east of Platte- 
 ville. They have four children, Clarence El- 
 mer, Fernie Isabelle, Hazel May and Herbert 
 D. (2) Ellen Jane died when ten months old. 
 (3) James F. (4) George William, born at 
 Montfort, married Miss Anna Scheel, and re- 
 sides in Plymouth county, Iowa, where he is 
 engaged in farming; they have three children, 
 Mabel Gertrude, Ethel Isabelle and Bessie 
 Helen. 
 
 James F. Schroder was educated in the dis- 
 trict and normal- schools at Piatteville. He 
 lived on the farm until the death of his father, 
 when he accompanied his mother into Piatte- 
 ville, the charge of the farm falling very 
 largely into- his hands. In May, 1898, Mr. 
 Schroder married Miss Etta Johnston, a daugh- 
 ter of John and Mary Johnston, old and promi- 
 nent residents of Grant county, but formerly 
 of Germany. She was born in Piatteville in 
 June, 1875, and had her education in the local 
 schools. Mr. and Mrs. Schroder lived in 
 Piatteville until 1900, when they moved to the 
 old Schroder farm, which is one of the finest 
 rural estates in the town, containing about 400 
 acres, in a high state of cultivation, and thor- 
 oughly kept up. Mr. Schroder is a Democrat. 
 All the family are members of the Reformed 
 Lutheran Church. The father of James F. 
 Schroder was one o'f the old-time Californians, 
 crossing the plains during the gold excitement 
 there, and returning some years later to Wis- 
 consin, where he invested his money in real 
 estate and became one of the independent farm- 
 ers of this county, and a man of real worth, 
 with many friends. His widow and children 
 are all prominent members of society, and 
 count their friends among the best people in 
 the community. 
 
 SAMUEL MELANCTHON SMITH, 
 M. A., is a young attorney of Janesville, Rock 
 county, whose knowledge of law and general 
 business ability have been fittingly recognized 
 by his appointment as attorney and secretary 
 of the Janesville Machine Co. He is rapid 
 and accurate in everything that relates to the 
 interest of the company with which he is asso- 
 ciated, and in a general way is regarded as 
 one of the abler and more progressive mem- 
 bers of the Rock county Bar. 
 
 Mr. Smith was born in Galena, 111 ., Tune 
 29, 1869, and is a son of Rev. Dr. Ambrose 
 C. and Hannah L. (Slaymaker) Smith, both 
 
 natives of Pennsylvania. Dr. Smith was pas- 
 tor of the South Presbyterian Church of Ga- 
 lena for twenty-three years, until 1889, when 
 he was elected president of Parsons College, 
 at Fairfield, Iowa. He held that position until 
 1896, when, by reason of broken health, he 
 had to give up wjoirk. Mr. Smith has two 
 brothers: Henry S., a physician of Negaunee, 
 Mich.; and Edward A., a dentist of Madison, 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Samuel M. Smith was educated in the 
 schools of Galena and under the private instruc- 
 tion of his father. He was a member of the 
 graduating class of 1890 from Beloit College, 
 receiving the degree of B. A., and three years 
 later received the degree of M. A. Lie made a 
 good record at school, both as a gentleman and 
 as a student, and on his graduation secured a 
 position as teacher in the School for the Blind, 
 at Janesville. This position he held for one 
 year, and was then made bookkeeper for the 
 Merchants & Mechanics Savings Bank in that 
 city. He had read law to a considerable extent 
 while in the bank, and attended the law school 
 at Madison, taking the course to within three 
 months of completion, leaving the law school 
 to accept the position of assistant cashier of 
 the Merchants & Mechanics Savings Bank of 
 Janesville. In the spring of 1894, while still 
 connected with the bank, he was admitted to 
 the Bar, and a year later became the junior 
 member of the law firm of \\ hitehead, Mathe- 
 son & Smith, entering upon the practice of his 
 profession under very favorable auspices. In 
 October, 1897, he was selected as attorney for 
 the Janesville Machine Co., and. as noted 
 above, was soon afterward chosen secretary of 
 same. 
 
 Mr. Smith and Miss Margaret Sheldon 
 were married Nov. 11, 1896. Mrs. Smith is a 
 daughter of Alfred PI. Sheldon, and was born 
 and reared in the city of Janesville. She is a 
 lady of many gifts and graces. Mr. Smith 
 is a Republican, and is a member of the school 
 board from the Third ward. He is a mem- 
 ber and trustee of the First Presbyterian 
 Church, and at the present time is serving as 
 a member of the board of directors of the 
 Young Men’s Christian Association. He be- 
 longs to a college fraternity. Mr. Smith owns 
 his home at No. 305 South Third street. 
 
 Since the above sketch was written Mr. 
 Smith, in March, 1900, resigned his position 
 
932 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 with the Janesville Machine Co., to accept the 
 position of secretary of the Wisconsin State 
 fax Commission, at Madison, and in April, 
 1901, left the latter position to take the sec- 
 retaryship of the Board of Control, Endow- 
 ment Rank, Knights of Pythias, in the head 
 office at Chicago ; this position carries with it 
 the management of the insurance branch of the 
 order. 
 
 JAMES E. BOWEN is a name prominent 
 in the records of the town of Sylvester, Green 
 county, where he has lived an honorable and 
 upright life for many years. 
 
 Mr. Bowen is a son of Davis and Rachel 
 J. (Brown) Bowen, natives of Virginia, the 
 former of whom was born about 1795, and his 
 wife in 1792. They came to Wisconsin in 1838 
 when it was teeming with Indians and wild 
 beasts, and settled on section 27, town of Syl- 
 vester. Here they lived and died, his death 
 occurring in 1867; his widow survived until 
 1876. l'hey were married about 1820, and 
 were the parents of three children: James E., 
 whose name introduces this article; Robert C., 
 who died in Wisconsin; and Annie M., who 
 married Reuben G. Fleek, of Brodhead, and is 
 now deceased. Davis Bowen was a son of 
 Samuel Bowen, a captain in the militia of the 
 colony of Virginia. He had a reputation as a 
 born Indian fighter, and participated in all the 
 combats with the savages in the Upper Ohio 
 Wiley during the Revolution. In history he 
 is recorded as one of the very first settlers to 
 cross the mountains and penetrate into West 
 Virginia. The ancestors of Capt. Bowen were 
 of Welsh nativity. 
 
 James Edgar Bowen was born Sept. 25, 
 1825, in West Virginia, near the mouth of the 
 Cheat river, near the Pennsylvania line. He 1 
 came to Green county during his thirteenth 
 year, and spent his older boyhood among the 
 scenes and hardships of pioneer life. In 1859 
 he married Miss Martha Ann Clark, a daugh- 
 ter of Joseph Clark, whose name figures in the 
 pioneer records of this State. Two of their 
 children lived to maturity : Davis, who was 
 born in 1864, and resides in Montana; and 
 Susan, born in 1868, who married James Sher- 
 man Shafer, of the town of Sylvester, and is 
 the mother of two children, Vivian Jeanette 
 and Martha Vara. Mr. Shafer and his family 
 live near Desmet, South Dakota. 
 
 Mr. Bowen first lived on the farm in Green 
 
 county at a time when very little opportunity 
 was given the average youtn for schooling. In 
 all he attended school less than a year, and his 
 education, which is by no means meager, has 
 been acquired very largely by home study and 
 contact with the world. He has in years past 
 been an extensive traveler. In 1851, in com- 
 pany with some friends, he drove an ox-team 
 overland to Oregon and California, in 1854 
 he returned home, by way of Panama and the 
 steamer route to New Orleans, and thence home 
 via the Mississippi river. Mr. Bowen has been 
 in some thirty-five States of the Union, as 
 well as Mexico and South America. He is a 
 man of retentive memory and wide reading, 
 true and honest in his convictions, and frank 
 and outspoken in their expression. Politically 
 he is a stanch Democrat, and his father before 
 him was a strong and earnest supporter of 
 Andrew Jackson. Our subject cast his last 
 vote for William J, Bryan in 1900. He was 
 a States Rights Democrat during the Civil war. 
 
 Mr. Bowen comes of a family of pioneer 
 settlers in every generation from his great- 
 grandfather to his own son, who early moved 
 to Montana. 
 
 HENRY PITTS, one of the prominent 
 citizens of Mineral Point, Iowa county, and an 
 important factor in the G. -A. R. post of that 
 locality, in which he serves as adjutant, is one 
 of the brave veterans of the war of the Rebel- 
 lion, who is deserving of high honor as a de- 
 fender of our nation’s honor. The day is com- 
 ing when the badge of the G. A. R. man will 
 not be seen ; and then, like children who have 
 lost a dear parent, we will mourn that we did 
 not do sufficient homage to our brave one while 
 he was permitted to be with us. 
 
 Henry Pitts was born in Bavaria, Ger- 
 many, in 1847, a son Philip and Catherine 
 (Soper) Pitts, also natives of Germany, where 
 the father died, but the mother came to Amer- 
 ica, passing away in Ohio 1 in 1887. One 
 brother, Philip, served in an Indiana regiment 
 during the war, and now resides in Wabash 
 county, Ind. Our subject was reared in Ger- 
 many, where he received his education in the 
 public schools, and came to America, landing 
 at New York, on May 26, 1861, from whence 
 he went to Wabash county, Indiana. 
 
 In 1863 Mr. Pitts enlisted in Company H, 
 113th Ind. *V. I., for three years or until the 
 close of the war, being mustered in at Indian- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 933 
 
 • apolis and assigned to the Western Army, par- 
 ticipating- in the battles of Blue Spring, Cedar 
 Mountain, Watkins Ford; then was placed on 
 detached duty near Stevenson, Ala., where he 
 received a wound that forced him to remain 
 in the hospital at Nashville, Tenn., where his 
 hand was amputated. In July, 1865, he was 
 discharged, and returned to Wabash county, 
 Ind. Here he remained until 1873, when he 
 went to Milwaukee, thence in 1892 to Mineral 
 Point. Mr. Pitts is a notary public, has been 
 a justice of the peace, and is a man of whom 
 nothing but good is ever spoken. 
 
 In 1875 Mr. Pitts married Barbara Remy- 
 ze r, born in Milwaukee, a daughter of Freder- 
 ick and Frances (Alterman) Remyzer, natives 
 of Germany, who, in 1830, came tO' Buffalo, 
 later moving to Detroit, and in 1838 to Mil- 
 waukee. The father was a shoemaker by trade, 
 and died in 1878, in Milwaukee, his wife pass- 
 ing away in 1887. To our subject and wife 
 were born four children : W. C. enlisted in 
 Company E, 1st Wisconsin, for the Spanish- 
 American war, was stationed at Jacksonville, 
 Md., in October, 1898, and in March of the fol- 
 lowing year he enlisted in Company B, 3d U. 
 S. I., and is now in the Philippines; Albert J., 
 at home ; J. C. and Anna G. Mr. Pitts is an 
 active member of Geo. H. Legate Post, G. A. 
 R., in which, as before mentioned, he fills the 
 office of adjutant; is a life-long Republican, 
 and takes a deep interest in politics. Kindly, 
 genial, accommodating, Mr. Pitts has made 
 many friends, and is regarded as one of the best 
 representatives of our veterans in this part of 
 the State. 
 
 GEORGE W. BUSSEY, a thrifty and ven- 
 erable citizen of Green county, Wis., is a re- 
 tired farmer now spending the closing years 
 of a useful and industrious life in the village 
 of Juda. Mr. Bussey is the son of Hezekiah 
 and Fannie (Cross) Bussey, of Brown county, 
 Ohio, who came to this State in 1846, and 
 made their home here as long as they lived. 
 Hezekiah Bussey was born Aug. 5, 1789, and 
 died Dec. 27, 1871. Fannie Bussey, his widow, 
 was born March 20, 1790, and died Oct. 30, 
 1 87 9. John Bussey, the grandfather of George 
 W., was a native born Englishman, who came 
 to America before the Revolution, settling in 
 Virginia, where he became the father of four 
 children : John, who was killed in the war of 
 1812; Hezekiah, named above; Mary married 
 
 Amos Black, of Virginia ; and Annie, who mar- 
 ried Benjamin Ashby, of Kentucky. 
 
 Hezekiah Bussey and Fannie Cross, daugh- 
 ter of John Cross, of Ohio, were married July 
 12, 1810, and to their union came the follow- 
 ing children: John R., born March 20, 1811, 
 was a farmer in Oklahoma, and died June 19, 
 1885. William C., born Aug. 22, 1812, died, 
 unmarried, in California, Dec. 6, 1884; in 1846 
 he went to California, making the voyage in 
 a sailing vessel around Cape Horn. George 
 W. Elener, born Aug. 8, 1818, married Elizer 
 Tracy, of Green county. Nelson, born July 
 29, 1 822, married Orra Dyer. Mary Ann, 
 born April 30, 1826, married the late William 
 Cooley, and died in April, 1899. 
 
 Mr. Bussey was born Dec. 19, 1816, and 
 was married Aug. 26, 1836, to Miss Emily 
 Gaby, daughter of John Gaby, of Maryland, 
 and became the mother of these children : ( 1 ) 
 Phoebe E., born April 9, 1839, married Jere- 
 miah Ostrander, of Green county, and dief? 
 Aug. 10, 18 — . (2) Ada J., born March 13, 
 
 1841, married William J. Ostrander, and died 
 
 Oct. 30, 1879. ( 3 ) Mary Ann, born Dec. 19, 
 
 1842, married Oct. 25, 1857, Charles Van 
 Buren, a farmer of Green county, now residing 
 with her father in Juda. (4) Fannie H., born 
 April 26, 1844, married John Myers, a farmer 
 of Green county. (5) Mahlon, born Nov. 4, 
 1845, married Miss Lena Clark. (6) John N. 
 and (7) Orra E., born April 8, 1848, twins; 
 Orra E. is the wife of Nathan Ainsworth, of 
 Green county. (8) Susan C., born May 24, 
 1850, is Mrs. John Schemmerhorn. of Madi- 
 son. Mrs. Bussey was born Feb. 7, 1813, and 
 died March 7, 1888. 
 
 Mr. Bussey started out in life without a dol- 
 lar, and with but a meager education. He 
 came with a wife and two children to Wiscon- 
 sin in the fall of 1842, while it was still a 
 territory. When they crossed the Wisconsin 
 line there was not a dollar in the family treas- 
 ury. Having learned the shoemaker’s trade 
 when a boy in Ohio, he followed it at night, 
 working by the light of a tallow candle. Dur- 
 ing the day he was a carpenter. For some 
 years he worked in this most industrious fash- 
 ion, and then bought a mill of his brother, 
 which he operated for seven years. At the 
 end of that time he sold it and turned the 
 proceeds into a small farm, and after a time 
 traded that for a woolen mill. This plant he 
 managed for a number of years, when he ex- 
 
934 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 changed it advantageously for a very valuable 
 farm. Here Mr. Bussey farmed for a number 
 of years, and then selling part of the place, 
 bought his present very handsome and conven- 
 ient home in Juda, where, as already noted, 
 he is living retired. Mr. Bussey owns this 
 quarter-section farm in the town of Spring 
 Grove, and also has a farm of 160 acres in 
 Kansas. Mr. Bussey is not connected with any 
 church. High moral ideals determine lus life, 
 and he affirms that honesty and square dealing 
 are the principal parts of religion. As a vol- 
 unteer in the Union army during the war of the 
 Rebellion he displayed a lofty patriotism, and 
 ito that key his life has been attuned. He 
 served as a member of Battery D, 1st Wis. 
 Heavy Art llerv, and enlisted in 1862. Mr. 
 Bussey served at Fort Jackson, in Louisiana, 
 and at other places, and received an honorable 
 discharge at the close of the war. From the 
 country he helped to rescue at the cost of im- 
 paired health, he is now receiving a pension 
 of $16 a month. In politics Mr. Bussey is a 
 Republican, and has been justice of the peace, 
 road supervisor, assessor, postmaster at Oakley, 
 and is a capable and efficient official. Belong- 
 ing to the Independent Order of Odcl Fellows, 
 he has striven to exhibit in his life the princi- 
 ples underlying that noble order. He has been 
 a Mason in good standing' for forty years. 
 At the age of eighty-four years, it is given him 
 to* look back over a long and useful life which 
 lias been lived for the welfare of the world 
 and the happiness of those around him. 
 
 JAMES BALLANTINE (deceased) was 
 one of the pioneers of Grant county, and' its 
 record would be incomplete without his life 
 history, connected as he was with its growth 
 and development since 1846. 
 
 Mr. Ballantine was a native of the State 
 of New York, born in Delaware county Feb. 
 22, 1822. His father, David Ballantine, was 
 born in the highlands of Scotland, and came 
 to- America in his youth. His mother, Ann 
 (Grant) Ballantine, was also of Scotch parent- 
 age, but she was born in Albany, N. Y., and 
 in that State, she and her husband passed their 
 married life, both dying in Bovina. David Bal- 
 lantine was a prominent business man in his 
 town, where for many years he carried on a 
 mercantile enterprise. 
 
 James Ballantine was one of ten children, 
 the family comprising seven sons and three 
 
 daughters. One son died in infancy, but all the 
 others reached mature years, although now 
 this, once numerous family is represented alone 
 by Thomas Ballantine, a farmer near Sedge- 
 wick^ Kansas. James Ballantine was in his 
 twenty- fourth year when, in 1846, he came to 
 Grant county. Immediately he entered a large 
 amount of land, and engaged extensively in 
 farming and stockraising, becoming one of the 
 most successful agriculturists and 'Stock men in 
 Grant county. In 1863 Mr. Ballantine met 
 with a serious accident that changed to some 
 extent his course in life. By the running" away 
 of his team, one of his limbs was so badly 
 injured that amputation was necessary. Fol- 
 lowing this accident, he disposed of much of 
 his land, and then made his home, until he 
 married, with his brother, David, and together 
 they engaged extensively in the live stock busi- 
 ness and became very prosperous. 
 
 On Feb. 13, 1867, Mr. Ballantine was mar- 
 ried to Miss Abbie A. Pennock, a daughter of 
 Samuel and Sarah Ann(.Dubell) Pennock. Mrs. 
 Ballantine was born in Albany, Ohio, and came 
 to Grant county, Wis., with her parents in her 
 tenth year. The family first settled at Mill- 
 ville, where Mr. Pennock worked in a cabinet 
 and furniture shop, having the trade and skill 
 of a mechanic, but his death occurred 1 three 
 years after his arrival, and he left his wife 
 with seven children, the oldest of them but 
 fourteen years old and the youngest but three 
 months. The mother of Mrs. Ballantine, al- 
 though left in limited circumstances, reared 
 her family carefully and faithfully to be worthy 
 citizens, and all of them lived to maturity. In 
 her declining years she resided with her de- 
 voted daughter, Mrs. Ballantine, and there died 
 on April 29, 1899, at the advanced age of 
 eighty-four years. 
 
 After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Ballantine 
 settled in the village of Bloomington, and here 
 Mr. Ballantine continued in the stock business', 
 and also loaned money. His death occurred 
 on July 18, 1895, in his seventy-third year, 
 his widow and five children surviving to mourn 
 the loss of a devoted husband and kind father. 
 Four of the children are now living : Duncan 
 Grant, who continues his father’s business ; 
 Grace May; David Walter; and Edith Virtue. 
 Two children have passed away,- — Anna Mabel, 
 at the age of twenty-six, and John Robert, at 
 the age of three years. Mr. Ballantine was a 
 most successful basin ess man and useful citi 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 935 
 
 zen, and was ever held in high esteem. In his 
 political views he was a Republican for many 
 years, but in his later life he was a Prohibi- 
 tionist. Mrs. Ballantine has one of the most 
 beautiful homes in Grant county. The stately 
 brick residence is a monument to the taste and 
 liberality of her husband, by whom it was 
 erected for the pleasure and comfort of his 
 family. Mrs. Ballantine is a lady of culture, 
 prominent in religious and philanthropic work, 
 and is superintendent of the evangelistic work 
 of the Bloomington branch of the W. C. T. U. 
 
 O. P. DAVID, retired farmer, Montfort, 
 Grant county, Wisconsin. 
 
 OTIS F. WELLS, one of the prosperous 
 farmers of Jordan township, Green county, has 
 resided in that township since 1850, and is 
 justly classed among the pioneers whose in- 
 dustry and perseverance have made the locality 
 what it is to-day. 
 
 Mr. Wells is of Irish origin several genera- 
 tions back, his ancestors having lived in the 
 Eastern States for many years. His grand- 
 father was lost while serving his country in 
 the war of 1812. In his family were children 
 as follows : Philip, Warner, Caleb, Nelson, 
 
 Eliza and Liful, all now deceased. Of these, 
 Philip Wells, father of our subject, was born 
 in New York State, and in about 1818 married 
 Nancy Tanner, who was also a native of New 
 York, and of Irish descent. Ten children 
 blessed this union, viz. : Lorinda ; Addison ; 
 
 Melissa, who married Simon Ewing, of Cali- 
 fornia ; Maria, who died in California ; Otis 
 F., our subject; George, who married Susan 
 Sanborn, and now lives in Iowa; Jane mar- 
 ried James Blunt, who lives in Monroe ; Thom- 
 as, who married Susan Starr, and lives in Iowa ; 
 John, who married Minerva Clark, of Jordan, 
 Green county; and William, who married Cor- 
 delia Morton, of Cadez township, Green county. 
 Mr. and Airs. Wells' migrated to Y\ isconsin in 
 an early day, and later lived in Stephenson 
 county, Illinois. 
 
 Otis F. Wells was born Feb. 19, 1831, in 
 Geauga county, Ohio, where he passed the 
 first few years of his life. In 1837 he moved 
 with the family to Stephenson county, 111 ., 
 and was reared on the frontier, with little or no 
 opportunities for education, his days being oc- 
 cupied with hard work from early boyhood. 
 As above stated, he came to Green county in 
 
 1850, and for a number of years he was en-. 
 gaged in freighting, with oxen and horses, 
 hauling goods from Milwaukee and Chicago 
 to Stephenson county, and in the lumber dis- 
 tricts in the northern part of the State, often 
 making trips of two or three hundred miles. 
 Air. Wells was without means when he com- 
 menced life for himself, and at the time of his 
 marriage his belongings consisted of a few 
 shillings and an old rifle, which he traded for 
 three hogs. However, he has been hard-work- 
 ing and judicious in his management of affairs, 
 and he now owns a fine farm of 200 acres in 
 Jordan township, well improved, besides three 
 nice dwellings in Alonroe, all acquired by his 
 own well-directed efforts and economy. Air. 
 Wells attributes his success to his temperate 
 habits. He is highly respected in his neighbor- 
 hood, and his fellow citizens have shown their 
 confidence in his honesty and ability by elect- 
 ing him to various township offices, such as 
 treasurer, etc. He is a stanch Republican in 
 political faith. 
 
 On Sept. 16, 1850, Air. Wells married Aliss 
 Harriet Sharrard, of Jefferson township. 
 Green county, who was born in 1832 near 
 Camillus, N. Y., and in 1843 came with her 
 parents, E. H. and Eliza Sharrard, to Green 
 county, the family settling in Sylvester town- 
 ship, and later in the town of Jefferson. Her 
 father was born in Canada, her mother in Con- 
 necticut. Of the chddren born to Air. and 
 Airs. Sharrard only one son and one daughter 
 reached maturity. Airs. Wells’ brother, James 
 Sharrard, is a resident of Atchison, Ivans. 
 Four children have been born to Air. and Mrs. 
 Wells: Ella, born in 1854, is the widow of 
 
 John Trickel, of Monroe, Wis. James F., born 
 Jan. 17. 1858, married Julia Taylor, of Jordan 
 township ; he is engaged in farming. Lillis, 
 born June 20, 1868, is the wife of Edward 
 Conery, of Alonroe. Clarence, born April 28. 
 1873, married Aliss Minnie Baughman, and 
 resides on his father’s farm in Jordan town- 
 ship. Air. and Airs. Wells have occupied this 
 place for over fifty years. Our subject has 
 never connected himself with any particular 
 church, but he is a firm believer in Christianity. 
 
 WILLIAAI BINGER (deceased) was en- 
 gaged in farming at the time of his death, and 
 was rapidly coming to the front in his calling. 
 A bright young man, with more than ordinary 
 endowments and high moral aims', he was rec- 
 
936 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ognized as one of the most promising members 
 of the community in which he lived. 
 
 Mr. Binger was born Aug. 21, 1863, and 
 died July 21, 1899. Jeremiah and Sarah (Mc- 
 Cauley) Binger, his parents, were old settlers 
 in Cadiz, Green county, Wis., and his father is 
 still residing in that town. A sketch of his 
 grandfather, William Binger, may be seen 
 elsewhere. On Sept. 19, 1885, Mr. Binger mar- 
 ried Eva Benage, who was born Oct. 20, 1864, 
 a daughter of Abraham and Barbara (Wise) 
 Benage, both members of prominent families. 
 This union was blessed with two children: 
 Roy, born July 8, 1887, died Nov. 22, 1892; 
 and Rossie, born Nov. 27, 1893. 
 
 Abraham Benage was born Nov. 6, 1838, 
 in Union county, Penn., son of Samuel and Eva 
 (Dersham) Benage, also natives of that State, 
 the former a veteran of the war of 1812. In 
 1841 the family removed to Ashland county, 
 Ohio, where Abraham married Barbara Wise, 
 a native of that county, born May 29, 1841. 
 Samuel Benage came to Wisconsin in 1865, 
 and died near Twin Grove, Green county, when 
 over eighty-five years of age; his wife reached 
 the age of seventy-two. Mr. and Mrs. Abra- 
 ham Benage came to Wisconsin in 1869, and 
 he now owns a well improved farm in the town 
 of Jefferson; he gives some attention to fruit 
 culture. He and his wife were the parents of 
 four children : ( 1 ) Elmira married Douglas 
 
 Bradley, of Stephenson county, 111 . (2) Agnes 
 married Eugene Hall, a farmer in the town of 
 Spring Grove. (3) Eva is the widow of Will- 
 iam Binger, as noted above. (4) Lillie, the 
 youngest, married Archie Ostrander, of the 
 town of Jefferson. Mrs. Barbara Benage Hied 
 Feb. 7, 1899. She had always been connected 
 with the Lutheran Church, with which Mr. 
 Benage united Nov. 14, 1858. 
 
 William Binger was a Republican, and a 
 hard working citizen. When he married he 
 did not have a dollar ; but by industry, economy 
 and wise management he made a good living 
 for his family. Mr. Binger was reared on the 
 farm, and received his education in the public 
 schools. An honest and true-hearted man, he 
 was liked by all who knew him, and his taking 
 away, in the very prime of life, was greatly 
 deplored by a wide circle of friends and rela- 
 tives. Mrs. Binger has rented her farm, and 
 is devoting herself to the education of her only 
 son. She is a good and kind-hearted woman, 
 highly respected by all who know her. 
 
 JOHN C. BELLMYER (deceased) was 
 a native of Germany, came to this country 
 when a young man, and applied himself to his 
 trade of blacksmithing. He worked hard, de- 
 nied himself many of the pleasures and recre- 
 ations which young men were wont to regard 
 as necessary in his time, and became fore- 
 handed and prosperous. All his life he sus- 
 tained a high reputation for honesty and verac- 
 ity, and now that he has passed on to the 
 better world those who knew him long and 
 well bear willing testimony to his native man- 
 liness and genuine worth. 
 
 Mr. Bellmyer was born in Germany in 
 1S14, and after coming to this country 
 worked at the blacksmith’s' trade in the coal 
 mines of Pennsylvania. In 1853 he entered 
 Wisconsin, and not long afterward married 
 Miss Minna Kuehnn, of Platteville. Her par- 
 ents, Casper and Minna Kuehnn, lived and 
 died in Germany, where Mrs. Bellmyer was 
 born in May, 1828. She grew to womanhood 
 in her native country, and when she reached 
 the age of twenty-five came to Wisconsin, liv- 
 ing in Kendalltown, where her brother, Fred- 
 erick Kuehnn, had purchased a farm. Mr. 
 Bellmyer bought a farm near Platteville, and 
 made extensive improvements. He owned 200 
 acres, which he developed into a fine rural 
 estate, on which he made his home until his 
 death, in 1873. He was a consistent mem- 
 ber of the Lutheran Church, and lived the life 
 of a good man. He was always a Whig, and 
 after the organization of the Republican party 
 acted therewith. 
 
 Mr. Bellmyer was twice married, and by 
 his first marriage had two children, Lizzie 
 and Dennis, the latter a farmer in the town of 
 Platteville. Of the children born to his second 
 union, Fred, the eldest, is mentioned below. 
 Albert, after reaching manhood went to Ari- 
 zona, and resided there until after his death, 
 being killed by the Indians in 1893. Carrie, 
 widow of John Harms, lives in Platteville, 
 and has three children, Dennis, Fred and Nellie. 
 Minnie, now Mrs. John Boldt, of Platteville, 
 is the mother of five children, Frank, Charles, 
 Jesse, Edwin and Benjamin. Charles married 
 Lillie Bailey, of the town of Platteville, and 
 is now living in Elk Grove; they have four 
 children, John, Adelbert, Lenys' and Estella. 
 Mary is now the wife of Frank Habel, of 
 Platteville; they have force children, Shirley, 
 Delmer and Lester. Henry married' Louisa 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 937 
 
 Mehren, and lives at Platteville, where he has 
 a fine farm ; they have three children, Edwin, 
 Pearl and Emerson. Dennis has a family of 
 six children, Gertrude, George, Nellie, Frank, 
 Albert and Sarah. All the family were born 
 in Platteville. 
 
 Mrs. Bellmyer is a member of the Lutheran 
 Church, where she and her husband worshiped 
 since the building of the new church, Mr. 
 Bellmyer being one of the original supporters 
 of the denomination here. He was' an old 
 pioneer, and a highly-respected citizen of the 
 county. The family are all well-to-do, and 
 hold an enviable place in the community. 
 
 Fred Bellmyer was born Dec. 16, 1857, 
 on the farm where he lives, and of which 
 he is now manager and part owner, owning 
 227 acres of valuable land. He was educated 
 in the public schools. Mr. Bellmyer is largely 
 engaged in farming and stock raising — Short- 
 horn cattle and Poland-China hogs — and 
 ships to the Chicago markets about three car- 
 loads of hogs and one carload of cattle annu- 
 ally, usually going to the market himself and 
 taking charge of the sales. He raises large 
 quantities of corn and hay, all of which is fed 
 out on the farm, .thus keeping the soil at its 
 best continually. Politically Mr. Bellmyer is 
 a Republican, and is treasurer of the school 
 board of his district; he attends the Lutheran 
 Church. He is unmarried. 
 
 WILLIAM POSTEN, of Millville town- 
 ship, Grant county, Wis., has an excellent 
 record as a soldier in the war for the LTnion, 
 taking part in many of the most famous en- 
 gagements in which the Army of the Potomac 
 participated. He enlisted Oct. 13, 1861, in 
 Company D, 51st Penn. V. I., and was in act- 
 ive service until mustered out on July 27, 
 1865. His service included the disastrous 
 battle of Fredericksburg, and the operations 
 of the 9th Corps under Burnside in the Shen- 
 andoah Valley. He fought with his regiment 
 in the Wilderness, at Spottsylvania, and Cold 
 Harbor, and during the siege of Petersburg 
 his command formed a part of the troops who 
 charged the Confederate works, following the 
 famous mine explosion. As is well known 
 their efforts proved disastrous to the Union 
 army, owing to the dack of support to the 
 attacking force. Mr.{ Posten took part in the 
 charge on the Confederate works in front of 
 Petersburg, on April 2, 1865, which resulted 
 
 in the capture of the outer works, and the 
 rapid flight of Lee’s army and Jefferson 
 Davis from Petersburg and Richmond, and 
 with his regiment followed Lee to the end at 
 Appomattox. . 
 
 Mr. Posten was born in Pennsylvania, 
 Nov. 9, 1844, a son of Elihu and Elizabeth 
 (xTrlingburg) Posten, also natives of the 
 Keystone State, where the father’s death oc- 
 curred. Subsequently the mother came to 
 V isconsin and died in Crawford county. 
 This worthy couple were the parents of twelve 
 children, but only three are living at this writ- 
 ing in 1901, while William was the only one 
 in the army during the Civil war. 
 
 When hostilities ceased, Mr. Posten re- 
 turned to Pennsylvania, and in the spring of 
 1866 came to Wisconsin, but a year later re- 
 turned to his native State, where he continued 
 to make his home two years. Since then he 
 has resided uninterruptedly in Grant county, 
 Wis. He was married, Feb. 22, 1873, t° 
 Miss Nettie Foster, who was born in Millville 
 township, in 1853, a daughter of Simon R. 
 Foster, and they have become the parents of 
 nine children, four sons and five daughters. 
 Fraternally Mr. Posten is an honored mem- 
 ber of the G. A. R. Post No. 134, and is one 
 of the highly esteemed citizens of his com- 
 munity. 
 
 REV. J. P. CROKE has been the esteemed 
 and honored pastor of St. Joseph’s Catholic 
 Church, at Gratiot, Lafayette county, since 
 1 888.’ The church edifice at this place is the 
 result of the consecrated labors of the Rev. 
 John T. Kinsella, who was then the resident 
 pastor at Shullsburg, a brother of the Rev. 
 James F. Kinsella, and who died at Franklin, 
 Milwaukee Co., Wis., March 4, 1879. 
 
 The first resident pastor in Gratiot was the 
 Rev. W. Bernard, who came in 1873, and re- 
 mained about three years. He was succeeded 
 by the Rev. J. Tiernan, who was pastor from 
 1876 to 1880. The Rev. R. S. Tucker, his suc- 
 cessor, died here in May, 1886. Rev. R. T. 
 Smith followed him, and had charge of the 
 church until 1888, when he became a professor- 
 in St. Francis’ Seminary, and the present in- 
 cumbent was appointed to the pastorate. 
 
 St. Joseph’s Church is one of the strongest 
 in southwestern Wisconsin, as its parish in- 
 cludes over one hundred families' strongly de- 
 voted to the church and its admirable pastor. 
 
93 § 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Father Croke also attends a mission church at 
 South Wayne that numbers about twenty 
 earnest and devoted families. 
 
 Father Croke is a native of Wisconsin, born 
 in 1858, a son of Daniel Croke, who settled in 
 Milwaukee about 1849, making that city the 
 home of himself and his wife as' long as they 
 both lived. Of their three children, one son is 
 deceased, and the only daughter, Mary C., 
 makes her home with our subject. Father 
 Croke was educated in the Milwaukee schools 
 and at St. Francis Seminary, which institution 
 he entered in 1880. He was raised to the 
 priesthood June 24, 1887, his only other work 
 before his advent in Gratiot having been at 
 Shullsburg, where he ministered to the congre- 
 gation while the regular pastor visited his na- 
 tive country, Ireland. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER ANDERSON belongs 
 to the great army of hardy men and industrious 
 toilers, the contribution of Norway to the mak- 
 ing of Wisconsin, and his 1 earnest nature, pa- 
 tient and persistent labor, unswerving honesty 
 and genuine manhood indicate the best strain 
 of the old Norse blood. Mr. Anderson has 
 long resided in the town of York, Green coun- 
 ty, but was born in Norway, near Christiania, 
 Nov. 10, 1844. His home is on section 9, in 
 the town of York, about five miles east of York, 
 where he has made a creditable place for him- 
 self in the public esteem, both as a man and a 
 farmer. 
 
 Anders Christopherson and his wife, 
 Bertha, the parents of Christopher Anderson, 
 came from Norway to America in 1851, set- 
 tling first in Dane county, Wis., and then buy- 
 ing a farm in the town of York three years 
 later. They were the parents of four chil- 
 dren : ( 1 ) L. M., who married Rhoda Hal- 
 
 verson, was a soldier in the Union army dur- 
 ing the Civil war, enlisting in the 46th Wis. 
 V. I. early in 1865. He was a farmer, and for 
 some twenty years was a teacher in the Dane 
 county schools, making a fine reputation for 
 himself as an enlightened and intelligent citi- 
 zen. His death occurred in 1898. (2) Chris- 
 topher. (3) John C. is unmarried, and lives 
 in Minnesota. (4) Caroline Maria is the wife 
 of Hans Carlson, of Lafayette county, Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 Anders Christopherson was born in 1808, 
 and died in 1883. His wife was born in 1822, 
 and died in 1871. Both were buried in the old 
 
 Norwegian cemetery in the town of York,, 
 and are remembered as honorable and upright 
 people, with kindly hearts and neighborly 
 spirit. 
 
 Christopher Anderson was married to Miss- 
 Mary Lee, a daughter of Ole H. Lee, Nov. 
 '22, 1871. Mrs. Anderson was born July 28, 
 
 1853, and has become the mother of the fol- 
 lowing children : ( 1 ) Andrew B., born Sept. 
 
 10, 1872, remains on the home place; (2) 
 Annie B., born Dec. 6, 1874, died unmarried; 
 (3) Martha O., born Oct. 29, 1877, is the wife 
 of Anton Lien, a thrifty young farmer of the 
 town of York; (4) Clara Josephine, born Jan. 
 20, 1882, is at home unmarried ; she is a bright 
 young woman, and an accomplished musician, 
 having graduated from the Dixon ( 111 .) Col- 
 lege of Music, and is a teacher with bright 
 prospects; (5) Lina S., born March 3, 1888, 
 is the youngest of the family. 
 
 Mr. Anderson had his education in the 
 public schools, and early determined to be a 
 farmer. At the present time he owns a fine 
 place of some 180 acres, with a good dwell- 
 ing house and ample farm buildings. In poli- 
 tics' he is a Republican, and in religion a de- 
 voted member of the Lutheran Church, of 
 York, with the organization of which he was 
 closely associated. In town affairs he has al- 
 ways been greatly interested, taking an active 
 part in everything that looked to the public 
 good. On the town board his services were 
 valuable, and for thirteen years he has been a 
 school director.. All his life Mr. Anderson has 
 been a hard working and painstaking man, 
 and is engaged in general farming and dairy- 
 ing, milking about twenty cows, proving by 
 his useful life and successful management the 
 truth of the statement already made that he 
 is one of the most estimable and leading .citi- 
 zens of the town. 
 
 Of the people who were living in York at 
 the time of the coming of Mr. Anderson in 
 
 1854, there are very few now to be found 
 here. In the intervening years a wilderness 
 has been converted into a populous and highly 
 cultivated section, and in this transformation 
 the Andersons have played an important part. 
 
 MARTIN LARSON, one of the respected 
 farmer citizens of Moscow township, Iowa 
 county, where he has passed the greater part 
 of his life, was born in Norway April 19, 1844, 
 a son of Lars and Bertha Christopherson, and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 939 
 
 was about nine years of age when his parents 
 brought their family to America. Their first 
 location was in the town of Argyle, Lafay- 
 ette Co., Wis., whence they removed to Iowa 
 county, settling on the farm now owned and 
 cultivated by our subject. This was the fam- 
 ily homestead for a number of years, the par- 
 ents finally removing' to Dakota, where they 
 ended their clays, the father dying in Septem- 
 ber, 1884, and the mother surviving until April, 
 1893. Twelve children were born to them, six 
 of whom died in childhood, the others all at- 
 taining maturity. One son, Christopher, en- 
 listed in August, 1863, in the 33d Wis. A". I., 
 and died Nov. 9, 1864, while in the service. 
 Among our subject’s most valued possessions 
 is a bundle of letters written him by this 
 brother while away in the army, recording his 
 experiences, pleasant and unpleasant, the hard- 
 ships, privations and sufferings he endured in 
 the service, and other matters now especially 
 interesting. 
 
 Martin Larson grew up on the paternal 
 farm, receiving such education as the local 
 public schools afforded. On Feb. 14, 1865, 
 he enlisted in Companv C. 50th Wis. V. I., 
 which was commanded by Col. John G. Clark, 
 of Lancaster, and served with the command 
 until he received an honorable discharge. The 
 50th rendezvoused at Madison, Wis., and went 
 thence to St. Louis, Mo., after some experi- 
 ences; along the Mississippi river receiving or- 
 ders to proceed to Jefferson City, Mo. They 
 ■were next stationed at Fort Leavenworth, 
 Ivans., whence they were ordered to Lawrence, 
 that State, a place made famous earlier in the 
 war by the brutal massacre of its inhabitants 
 by the noted guerrilla, Quantrell, and his forces. 
 From Lawrence they went to Fort Rice, Dak., 
 to keep the Indians in check and use force to 
 subdue them, if necessary, and they left that 
 place for home May 21. 1866, after fifteen 
 months of continuous service. They were dis- 
 charged at Madison June 18, following, our 
 subject returning to his home in the town of 
 Moscow. He has since carried on agricult- 
 ural pursuits, and his life has been a success- 
 ful one from something more than a financial 
 standpoint, for, while gaining a competency for 
 his declining days, he has, by his' industry and 
 honorable methods, won the high esteem and 
 good-will of all who know him. His health 
 has not been particularly robust since the war, 
 but he has by good management accomplished 
 
 as much as many who have had no such draw- 
 back. 
 
 In May, 1867, Mr. Larson was united in 
 marriage with Miss Caroline Larson, and their 
 family consists of eight children, three sons 
 and five daughters: Emma, born June 
 
 8, 1870, married Chris. Sorum, a farmer at 
 Yellowstone, Wis.; Sam, born April 30. 1872, 
 married Emma Hanson, and is engaged in 
 farming at Hollandale, Iowa Co., Wis. ; Belle, 
 born Aug. 8, 1874, married Joseph Watrud, 
 a merchant of Blanchardville, Wis. ; Laura, 
 born Dec. 6, 1876, married David Peterson, a 
 farmer at Perry, Dane Co.. Wis.; Charles M., 
 born Oct. 30. 1879, is a photographer at Hol- 
 landale; Mary, born March 8, 1882, married 
 Peter Jackson, a farmer at Hollandale; John, 
 born June 18, 1884. is at home ; and Clara, born 
 Aug. 21, 1890, is also at home. The entire 
 family are members' of the Lutheran Church. 
 Socially Mr. Larson is an honored member 
 of G. A. R. Post No. 224, at Blanchardville. 
 He has a highly prized memento* of his service, 
 a Bible given him by Rev. Edward Morris, 
 chaplain of the regiment, and bearing the date 
 of presentation — -Mav 21, 1866, the day the 
 command left Fort Rice. 
 
 JOHN A. MEACHAM, a prominent re- 
 tired 1 farmer residing' on his fine farm two and 
 one-half miles south of Browntown, Green 
 county, on the Browntown and Martintown 
 public road, is a representative of an old New 
 England family of Scottish descent, the first 
 of the family having emigrated from Scotland 
 to New England over two hundred years ago. 
 
 Lyman Meacham, grandfather of John A., 
 was a native of New York State, and was 
 killed by falling- down the hatchway of a steam- 
 boat. on Lake Erie. He married a Miss Good- 
 speed, also a native of York State, and became 
 the father of thirteen children. 
 
 Hosea Meacham. son of Lvman, was born 
 Tan. 9, 1809, and died in Cadiz township. 
 Green county, Wis., A^ril 11, 1890. an honored 
 and esteemed citizen of the community. His 
 wife, Mary (Nichols), whom lie wedded about 
 1829, was born in 1811, and died in 1886. 
 For over fifty years they were consistent fol- 
 lowers of the teachings of the Methodist 
 Church, and for over half a century of mar- 
 ried 1 life dwelt happilv together, beloved bv 
 their friends and their family of eight chil- 
 dren, the latter being as follows: Lyman R., 
 
940 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a retired farmer of Clark county, Wis. ; Cor- 
 delia, wife of Reuben Burrington, of Brown- 
 town ; William R., who died at Fort Jackson, 
 while serving in the Civil war in Battery D, 
 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery; Fannie B., 
 wife of Jacob Deitz, of Monroe, Wis. ; Horace, 
 of Clark county, Wis. ; Walter W., a farmer 
 and teacher of Rock county; John A., subject 
 of this sketch; and Helen, who died in infancy. 
 
 John A. Meacham was born in Crawford 
 county, Penn., May 20, 1841, and was reared 
 to manhood in New York State, his parents 
 having returned to their native State soon after 
 his birth. In 1857 he came to Wisconsin and 
 for fourteen terms was engaged in teaching — • 
 ten in his home district. Farming has always 
 been looked upon as Iris occupation, and he 
 has won for himself from the native forest a 
 fine farm of 200 acres that will bear com- 
 parison with any other in the township. It is 
 well fitted with all modern improvements, good 
 buildings, etc., all the result of his own taste 
 and labor. During the Civil war he was a vol- 
 unteer in Company M, 4th Wis'. Vol. Cav., en- 
 listing in February, 1864, and serving in the 
 Army of the Gulf until the close of hostilities'. 
 
 On Aug. 1, 1867, Mr. Meacham was united 
 in marriage with Miss Mary E. Robb, who 
 was born Feb. 25, 1843, in Ohio, a daughter 
 of Andrew and Helen (Richel ) Robb, and five 
 children have been born of this union, name- 
 ly: Frank A., born Feb. 27, 1869, died in in- 
 fancy; Ed. L., born July 22, 1870, is at home; 
 Nellie E., born Jan. 2, 1874, married Jacob 
 Huffman, and died in 1899, leaving an infant 
 son: John Arthur, born Nov. 4, 1876, married 
 Mabel Ullom, of Cadiz township : and Mary 
 Alta, born Nov. 25, 1880, is the wife of An- 
 drew Meythaler, Jr. Mrs. Meacham was 
 brought by her parents to Wisconsin about 
 1851. In politics Mr. Meacham is a stanch 
 Republican, and he has. held a number of town 
 offices, among them those of chairman of the 
 township board, for four years ; town clerk, 
 for twenty years ; treasurer ; and school director 
 for many terms. Socially he has been a mem- 
 ber of the I. O. O. F., at Browntown, Lodge 
 No. 275, for many years, and is also identified 
 with Smith Lodge, No. 31, F. & A. M., of 
 Monroe, Wisconsin. 
 
 JOSEPH RICHARDSON (deceased), 
 late a farmer of Benton township, Lafayette 
 county, with a period of residence dating back 
 
 to pioneer days, was a native of County Dur- 
 ham, England, where he grew to manhood and 
 married. In 1841 he bade farewell to familiar 
 scenes at home, and, boarding a sailing ves- 
 sel, started out in quest of home and fortune 
 in the New World. He crossed the Atlantic, 
 landing at New Orleans, and then by way of 
 the Mississippi river reached Dubuque, Iowa, 
 thence to New Diggings township, Lafayette 
 Co., Wis., where he engaged in mining for a 
 short time. After a while he purchased a tract 
 of government land on the line between New 
 Diggings and Benton townships, and passed the 
 rest of his life clearing and improving this farm. 
 He erected good buildings and made of it one 
 of the desirable homes along the river. His 
 death occurred in 1872, and was greatly 
 mourned not only in his family but by the 
 entire community. He was a man of sterling 
 integrity and honorable dealings, of great wis-- 
 dom in counsel, and of great and unswerving 
 fidelity to dutv. In politics he always voted the 
 Republican ticket. 
 
 His wife, whom he married in England, 
 was, in her maidenhood, Miss Elizabeth Wat- 
 ters, and she was born in Yorkshire, England, 
 the daughter of William Watters, who 
 died in England. Her mother came to Wis- 
 consin and made her home with her daugh- 
 ter until her death some years ago. A large 
 family of children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Richardson: (1) John, born before the re- 
 
 moval of the family to the New World, now 
 resides in Nebraska. (2) Mathew, also born 
 in England, married Mary A. Craig, and now 
 lives in Greene county, Iowa. (3) Ann, born 
 in New Diggings, married John Coates', of 
 Lafayette county, and lived ini Benton until 
 her death. She left one daughter, Emma, 
 now Mrs. Leonard Penniston. (4) Mark is 
 married and lives' in New Diggings. (5) Luke 
 married Mary Lethlane, of Jo Daviess county, 
 111 ., and now lives in Nebraska. He has a 
 family of four children, Ben, Joseph, Angeline 
 and Meda. (6) Toseph is married and lives 
 on his farm near Galena, 111 . He has four chil- 
 dren, Nora, Hattie, Annie and Ida M. (7) 
 Sarah is now the wife of Thomas Coulthard, 
 and resided at White Oak Springs until his 
 death. She has eight children, Cora (now Mrs'. 
 John Seater, of White Oak Springs), Annie, 
 Barbara, Jennie, Rev. Wesley, Webster, Bes- 
 sie and Mabel. (8) Elizabeth married Henry 
 Hall, of Lafayette county, and has six chil- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 94 1 
 
 dren, Joseph, Henry, Everett, Vinnie, Roy and 
 Robert, (g) Barbara wedded Sidney Sedg- 
 wick, of Galena, 111 ., and has seven children, 
 Benjamin, Flora, George, Barbara, Reuben, 
 Percy and Russell, (io) George died in early 
 manhood. ( 1 1 ) William married Miss Liz- 
 zie Curwin, of Benton, and moved to Dakota, 
 where she died, leaving three children, Annie, 
 Maud and Joseph. (12) Thomas' married 
 Miss Louisa Hawkins, of Benton, in which town 
 they reside on his farm. They have seven 
 children, Thomas, Benjamin, Joseph, Willard, 
 Lewis, Edmund and Reuben. (13) Grace L. 
 was educated in the home district schools and 
 later in the Darlington high school. She now 
 has charge of the home and is giving her 
 mother the tender ' care her advancing years 
 require, and is greatly beloved in the commu- 
 nity. (14) Benjamin was educated in the high 
 school at Darlington, and is now manager of 
 the old homestead. 
 
 In their religious belief the family have 
 been raised in the faith of the Church of Eng- 
 land, and have led Christian lives, liberally 
 supporting - church work. Mrs. Richardson has 
 ever been one of the highly esteemed ladies 
 of the community, and many are the tales told 
 of her kindness in times of illness, and of her 
 ready sympathy toward the afflicted and dis- 
 tressed. 
 
 ADOLPH PRUSSING. This gentleman, 
 who spent his early manhood in active busi- 
 ness, mainly in agricultural pursuits, is now 
 living a retired life in Platteville. A man of 
 great energy and more than ordinary busi- 
 ness capacity, his success in life is largely due 
 to hi'$ own efforts, and to the sound judgment 
 which has enabled him to make wise invest- 
 ments and take good advantage of his resources. 
 
 Mr. Prussing was born in Holstein, Ger- 
 
 #0 * 
 
 many, Feb. 28, 1845, and there spent the first 
 fourteen years of his life. In 1859 he came to 
 the United States' with his parents;, J. and 
 Catherine (Nipp) Prussing, also; natives off 
 Holstein. They took passage on a steamer 
 at Hamburg - , and after a voyage of twenty- 
 one days landed in New York, whence they 
 proceeded at once to Galena, 111 ., and from 
 there to Grant county, Wis. In his native land 
 the father had followed biacksmithing and 
 farming, and purchasing a farm in Platteville 
 township he devoted the remainder of his life 
 to agricultural pursuits. He died in Lafayette 
 
 county in 1875, and his wife passed away at 
 the same place in 1893. Both were earnest 
 members of the Lutheran Church. Of their 
 three children Adolph is the oldest; William, 
 a farmer by occupation, died in Platteville 
 township, in 1889, leaving a widow who now 
 resides on Water street in Platteville; Lena is 
 the wife of T. W. Schroeder, of Elk Grove, 
 Lafayette Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 Adolph Prussing was educated principally 
 m the schools of his native land, but also at- 
 tended school in Platteville for a time. 
 Throughout his active business life he followed 
 the occupation of farming with marked suc- 
 cess, and in 1868 purchased an improved farm 
 of eighty acres in Elk Grove township, Lafay- 
 ette county, to which he added from time to 
 time until he now owns 320 acres of valuable 
 and productive land, which he has placed un- 
 der excellent cultivation. He also has 160 
 acres in Belmont township. In connection 
 with general farming he also followed stock- 
 raising, and in that branch of his business also 
 prospered. In 1894 he moved to Platteville, 
 and has since lived a retired life, enjoying the 
 fruits of former toil. 
 
 In Lafayette county Mr. Prussing was' 
 married, in 1866, to Miss Lena Kay, also a 
 native of Holstein, Germany, and a daughter 
 of Klaus and Lucy (Nipp) Kay, who came 
 from that country to America in 1857 and lo- 
 cated in Lafayette county, Wis., where the fa- 
 ther died March 11, 1897, the mother De- 
 cember 13, 1866. In religious belief Mr. and 
 Mrs, Prussing are Lutherans, and in politics 
 he is an ardent supporter of the Democratic 
 party, who: takes an active . interest in public 
 affairs, having efficiently served as a member 
 of the town board while a resident of Elk 
 Grove township. He has become one of the 
 leading citizens of Platteville, and is widely 
 and favorably known throughout this section 
 of the State. 
 
 REV. J. A. E. NAESS, Evangelical Lu- 
 theran minister, Boscobel, Grant county, Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 GUSTAV OLSON was born near the city 
 of Christiania, Norway, March 13, 1853, a son 
 of Ole Olson, who came to America in 1872. 
 He has risen to prominence in the agricultural 
 circles of the town of York, Green county, 
 where he owns a fine farm, and is -very pros- 
 
942 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 perous. His home is three miles east of Blan- 
 chardville, and twenty miles northwest Oif Mon- 
 roe, on section 29. Recently lie has purchased 
 a tract of bottom land, consisting of twenty- 
 two acres, paying for it $75 an acre, and has 
 refused $50 an acre for his entire farm. Mr. 
 Olson arrived in Green county in 1870, work- 
 ing for wages for two years', and then went 
 to* Clear Lake, Iowa, but on account of the 
 hard times returned to Wisconsin and bought 
 a small place of forty acres, but soon sold this, 
 and for two years rented a farm in the town of 
 Moscow, Iowa county. He then bought a 
 place of 100 acres; this again was sold, and 
 the proceeds invested in his present home. 
 
 On Sept. 11, 1876, Mr. Olson was mar- 
 ried to Miss Bertha Anderson, who was born 
 in Norway April 8, 1855, a daughter of Chris- 
 tian Anderson, a noted clockmaker of Nor- 
 way, who made the clock in the Main street 
 tower in Christiania, and she accompanied her 
 parents on their removal to Green county in 
 1869. To this marriage have come the fol- 
 lowing children: (1) Clara H., born Nov. 
 
 19, 1877, is the wife of Lewis Wahl, of the 
 town of York; (2) Oscar, born July 4, 1880, 
 married Lena Peterson, of York; (3) Alfred, 
 born June 16, 1882, is at home; (4) Ida Hel- 
 lena, born Jan. 5, 1885, is the wife of Carl 
 Skindingsrud (both born twins), of the town 
 of York; (5) Ella O., born Jan. 29, 1886; 
 (6) Clarence, born May 23, 1888; (7) Bennie, 
 born March 15, 1890; (8) Nellie, born, April 
 22, 1893; (9) Mary, born Sept. 18, 1896; 
 (10) Lydia, born Aug. 26, 1899. Twoi chil- 
 dren not mentioned above died in infancy. 
 
 I he children are bright and intelligent, most 
 of them natural musicians. Mr. Olson has 
 two sisters now living: Johannah (the wife 
 
 of Gilbert Paulson), and Caroline (the wife 
 of Christian Anderson), both living in South 
 Dakota. Mrs. Olson has a brother and two 
 sisters: Alfred (who lives, near Blanchard- 
 
 ville), Helena (the wife of Ole Thompson), 
 and Andrenna (the wife of Knudt Pederson). 
 
 Mr. Olson came to' this country a very poor 
 boy, but his success in this country illustrates 
 the possibilities of life in this country to the 
 children of hopeless old world conditions'. The 
 farm which he owns and cultivates is one of 
 the best in tins part of the State. On it is a 
 handsome three-story dwelling house and two 
 barns, and it is supplied with every convenience 
 for profitable and progressive agriculture. It 
 
 has one orchard; containing 200 apple trees. 
 Mr. Olson has always done his own work, 
 even to shoeing his horses, and Mrs. Olson has 
 proven herself a most valuable helpmeet in the 
 accumulation of this world’s goods, as she has 
 done all her family sewing, made all her own 
 carpets, and, with the exception of nine weeks 
 during illness, has never been obliged to hire 
 assistance. Their competence is the result of 
 their united effort, and is a source of just pride 
 to 1 them. At the present time Mr. Olson de- 
 votes hiisi attention not only to general farm- 
 ing and stock raising but to dairying on an ex- 
 tensive scale, being a partner in a cheese fac- 
 tory located on his farm, for which be fur- 
 nishes daily the milk of forty-five cows. 
 
 In his politics our subject is a stanch Re- 
 publican, and both he and his family belong 
 to the Lutheran Church. 
 
 MRS. LEVINIA GLASSON, the es- 
 timable and popular proprietor of the “Hotel 
 Glasson,” an hostelry known throughout the 
 southern part of Wisconsin as being one of 
 the best and most attractive of the excellent 
 houses of entertainment to be found at Bel- 
 mont, Lafayette county, was born in Corn- 
 wall, England, in September, 1852. 
 
 Rev. William and Mary A. Harris, her 
 parents, were both born and reared in her na- 
 tive country, and came to this country the year 
 of her birth, locating near Mineral Point, Wis., 
 where they lived two 1 years. In 1854 Mr. 
 Harris' was called to a church in Iowa county, 
 Wis., where lie was in the active pastorate 
 twenty-seven years, dying while still “in the 
 harness,” in 1881. His devoted wife survived 
 until 1892, and reached the age of seventy- 
 seven. Mr. Harris was well educated in his 
 native country, and commanded the personal 
 esteem and affection of the large congregation, 
 to which lie ministered for that long period. 
 His family consisted of eight children : Mary, 
 the eldest, born in England, is now the wife of 
 William Tremain, of Cobb, Wis., and has four 
 children, John, William, Francis and Charles. 
 Mariah, born, in England, is the wife of 
 Johnston Rule, of Linden, Iowa Co., Wis., 
 and has four children, Emily, Thomas', Clara 
 and Rilla. Thomas, born in England, mar- 
 ried Caroline Rule, and now resides in Ma- 
 son City, Iowa; he is the father of five chil- 
 dren, Minnie, Thomas, Millie, Clara and Caro- 
 line. Betsey, born in England, married George 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 943 
 
 Stephens, and resides at Cleg-horn, Iowa; they 
 have four children, Grant, Elmer, Willie and 
 Frederick. Jane, born in England, married 
 James Larch, and lives in Dane county, Wis. ; 
 they have one, son, Frank. Levinia its the 
 sixth in the family. Ellen, born at Mineral 
 Point, Wis., resides with her sister, Mary, at 
 Cobb, Wis. Henry, born in, Grant county, 
 married Miss Mary K. Williams, of Mont- 
 fort, and is now a farmer in Iowa county ; they 
 have three children, Lela, Irvin and Ray. 
 
 Mrs. Glasson received her education mainly 
 in the public schools in Iowa county, and re- 
 mained under her parents’ care until her mar- 
 riage with John Glasson, in 1866. His parents, 
 John and Mary Glassion, came from England 
 and settled in Iowa county, Wis., at at early day. 
 Mr. Glasson was a loyal soldier of the Union 
 during the Civil war, serving as a member of 
 the nth Wis. V. I., and making a good record. 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Glasson 
 settled in Iowa county, where he engaged as 
 a barber, following that vocation until 1872, 
 in which year they moved to Belmont. Mr. 
 Glasson died in 1878. Their only son, Linus', 
 born in 1872, is now an active and energetic 
 young business man, and is employed at the 
 hotel, with his mother. He received a fair ed- 
 ucation, but on account of ill health was com- 
 pelled to leave school early. Mrs. Glasson lost 
 her house in 1883 by fire, a dire disaster, which 
 left her without means and without a home. 
 By perseverance, however, she has rebuilt, and 
 is now on the high road to a competence. She 
 has connected with her restaurant a good stock 
 of confections and groceries, and some time ago 
 she opened her home as a boarding house and 
 hotel.' From the start this proved a most suc- 
 cessful move, and our subject has a good pat- 
 ronage, and is doing well. She is a woman 
 of energy, a good business woman, and: has 
 those qualities that command success. Mrs. 
 Glasson belongs to the Methodist Episcopal 
 church, and is respected for her many virtues, 
 being a good friend and kindly neighbor. 
 
 JAMES F. CARNS (deceased), in his day 
 one of the most esteemed residents of Grant 
 county, was born in Ohio, in November, 1811, 
 and was a son of Abram and Catherine Cams, 
 both of whom were bom in Ireland, and came 
 to this country at a very early day. They 
 moved late to Illinois, where their last days 
 were passed. 
 
 In 1849 Mr. Cams came to the State of 
 Wisconsin, with the intention of mining, lo- 
 cated first at Jamestown, and later at the Fair- 
 play mines, remaining there a number of years. 
 While a resident of this place he married, in 
 1851, Miss Ann Litton, daughter of Smith and 
 Sarah (Gilland) Litton, of Jacksonville, 111 ., 
 where they were very prominent residents. For 
 some time Mr. Litton was mayor of Jackson- 
 ville, and he was a man widely known and 
 well remembered. His birth took place in Ten- 
 nessee, in 1810, and he died in 1848. Mrs. 
 Litton was born in Kentucky in 1811, and 
 passed away in 1884. They reared four sons: 
 Burton died in Illinois; James resided in Min- 
 neapolis, where he died some yeans ago ; Al- 
 bert resides in Georgetown, Grant Co.', Wis., 
 with his sister (in 1861 he became a volunteer 
 in the 61st 111. V. I., and served faithfully un- 
 til the close of the war, losing his health in 
 the service of his country) ; Charles, is a resi- 
 dent of Wood county, Ivans., where he lives 
 with his family. Mrs. Cams was the only 
 daughter. 
 
 Mrs. Ann (Litton) Cams was bora at 
 Jacksonville, 111 ., Aug. 12, 1833, and received 
 a superior education in the excellent schools 
 of Jacksonville, becoming a teacher in the pub- 
 lic schools for a short time. Her marriaoe 
 
 . o 
 
 with Mr. Cams took place in Wisconsin, but 
 they returned to Jacksonville, where they lived 
 during three years of the Civil war. Return- 
 ing to Fairplay, Wis., Mr. Cams followed his 
 occupation of lead and zinc mining. In 1872 
 lie purchased a farm in Smelser township, re- 
 moved his family to it, and there his death took 
 place in May, 1884. While a resident on the 
 farm he made many general improvements, 
 erected new barns, fences, etc., and rendered 
 the place most comfortable and attractive. Mr. 
 Cams was well known in this section as an hon- 
 est and upright man, who could count every 
 neighbor a friend. His family of wife and 
 children still survive him : ( 1 ) Burton was 
 
 born in 1856, grew b> manhood, engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits, married Samantha Van- 
 netta, and still resides on his farm, with four 
 children, Lester, Roy, Harry and Lennis'. (2) 
 Edward, born in Wisconsin in 1858, married 
 Glenn Vannetta, resides on his farm in. Smelser, 
 and has two children, Gladys and the baby. 
 (3) Ella, born in Illinois, in i860, married 
 Rudolph Luce, who was principal of the Bel- 
 mont schools at the time of her death, in 1892. 
 
944 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 She left five children, Elsie, B. W., Frankie, 
 Roscoe and james, these children all making 
 their home with their grandmother, except 
 Roscoe, who resides with his uncle Edward. 
 (4) Lizzie, born in Wisconsin in 1863, is a 
 graduate of the normal school at Platteville, 
 and for eight years was a successful teacher in 
 Grant county, four terms being in Big Patch. 
 She is now the wife of George Reige, of Big 
 Patch, and has three children, Maud, Guy and 
 Mildred. (5) Frank, born in 1868, was well 
 educated in the Platteville Normal School, and 
 for some time was manager of the home farm 
 and was also a teacher in the district school, 
 teaching some five years in Smelser and George- 
 town. Grant county numbers no brighter 
 young man among her many youths. In vari- 
 ous ways he comes to the front when some 
 one of brains is needed. His services were re- 
 quired for census' enumerator, in 1900, and the 
 duties were performed with accuracy and en- 
 ergy. With his mother be retains the home 
 farm in Smelser township, but with her re- 
 sides in Georgetown. He is a member of the 
 Masonic fraternity, Georgetown lodge, and also 
 of the Modern Woodmen. (6) Bertha, born 
 in December, 1875, was a student at the 
 Platteville Normal School, where she was fitted 
 for the position she now holds as teacher in 
 the graded schools of Belmont, Lafayette coun- 
 ty ; for several years she was an acceptable 
 teacher in the high schools of Benton, being a 
 cultured and intellectual young lady. In poli- 
 tics Mr. Cams was a stanch Republican and his 
 sons follow the example of their excellent fa- 
 ther. Mrs. Cams was. carefully reared in the 
 doctrines of the Christian- Church and there 
 she still holds her membership, although her 
 children are of various denominations. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Cams well represent the best element 
 of Grant county’s pioneers. The family as a 
 whole is- a prominent one, and no- history of 
 this part of the State would be complete with- 
 out a record of it. 
 
 JOHN C. MARTIN, one of the prosperous 
 business men of Mineral Point, Iowa county, 
 and who as an advocate of temperance has a 
 reputation that extends throughout the country, 
 is a native of Scotland, born in Aberdeenshire 
 in 1845, a son William and Mary (Lums- 
 den) Martin, also natives of that county. 
 
 The family sailed from Glasgow; Scot- 
 land, in 1852, and after a voyage of seven 
 
 weeks and four days landed at New York, 
 whence they proceeded to Waukesha county, 
 Wis. After remaining there two- years they 
 removed to Rock county, Wis., and in 1855 to 
 Waldwick township, Iowa county. Here the 
 father opened up a farm and remained for a 
 number of years, the mother dying on that 
 place in i860. The father survived her until 
 1886, and died in Lafayette county. To- them 
 were born children as follows: Jane is now 
 
 Mrs. Joseph Van Matie, of Lafayette county. 
 William enlisted at Mineral Point, in 1862, 
 in Company E, 30th Wis. V. I., became sec- 
 ond sergeant, later was promoted to captain, 
 serving in the Red River campaign and at 
 Ft. Blakely, and was honorably discharged in 
 March, 1866; he died at Peterson, Iowa, in 
 January, 1895. George F., now a resident of 
 Clayton county, Iowa, was a member of Com- 
 pany D, 40th Wis. V. I., enlisting from the 
 University of Wisconsin. Mary died in Mil- 
 waukee in 1871, unmarried. Samuel enlisted 
 at Mineral Point in Company E, 30th Wis. V. 
 I., and died Jan. 5, 1863, at Camp Randall. 
 Isabelle died in childhood. John C. is our sub- 
 ject. James P. enlisted in Milwaukee, in 1864, 
 when but seventeen, in Company H, Heavy 
 Artillery; he now resides near Sutherland, 
 Iowa. Franklin and Alex L. also reside near 
 Sutherland, Iowa. Abram W. died in Peter- 
 son, Iowa, Aug. 12, 1897. 
 
 John C. Martin, though but ten years of age 
 when he came to Iowa county, began work in 
 the lumber woods at Mineral Point, driving 
 an ox-team. Later he worked by the month, 
 and then entered the service of his country. 
 After the war was over Mr. Martin settled in 
 Waldwick township, where he purchased a fine 
 farm of 120 acres and improved it, in the 
 meanwhile teaching school and running a 
 threshing machine. Finally he sold his farm 
 and purchased another, of 134 acres, in Min- 
 eral Point township, upon which he erected a 
 comfortable residence, barn and other outbuild- 
 ings. This, too, he sold, and bought a third, 
 0-11 the line of Io-wa and Lafayette counties, 
 comprising 265 acres, of which 105 acres are 
 in Lafayette county. This place is still owned 
 by Mr. Martin, although in 1892 he moved to- 
 Mineral Point and embarked in the milling 
 business, operating a large feedmill, and build- 
 ing up a flourishing trade, which is constantly 
 increasing. 
 
 In 1864 Mr. Martin enlisted in Company 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 943 
 
 H, ist Heavy Artillery, for one year, or dur- 
 ing the war, being mustered in at Madison, 
 Wis., and was on garrison duty at Washington, 
 
 D. C. He was mustered out at Alexandria, 
 Va., and honorably discharged at Milwaukee 
 in 1865. 
 
 In 1869 Mr. Martin was married to Mary 
 
 E. Schellinger, who was born in Mineral Point 
 
 township in November, 1842, a daughter of 
 Henry and Martha (Bigelow) Schellinger, na- 
 tives of Mercer county, Penn., and New York, 
 respectively. The father came to Kaskaskia, 
 111 ., and m 1835 removed to Iowa county, 
 Wis. After settling at Mineral Point Mr. 
 Schellinger married, his wife having been a 
 resident of Mineral Point from the time she 
 was eight years of age. There he opened up 
 a farm, and he died in Platt eville in 1872, his 
 widow surviving until November, 1896. The 
 Schellinger family was of Dutch descent, and 
 inherited the traits iof economy and industry 
 so common to that nation. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Schellinger were born twelve children : Au- 
 
 gustine, now Mrs. John Graham, of Eureka, 
 Kans. ; Mary E., Mrs. Martin; Silas H., a resi- 
 dent of Boulder, Colo. ; George, of Pierre, S. 
 Dak., assistant State superintendent of schools; 
 Charles L., of Colorado Springs, Colo.; xATbie 
 A., Mrs. Robert Mass, of Kansas City; Clara 
 
 L. , Mrs. W. N. Cooley, of Yankton, S. Dak.; 
 Eunice, principal of a public school at La 
 Crosse, Wis.; Edith, Mrs. William Pierce; 
 and three who died in infancy. Nine children 
 have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Martin : Wal- 
 ter S. (married), who lives on the farm; Katie 
 
 M. , Mrs. Albert Johnson, of Lafayette county; 
 Robert B. (married), an evangelist of Rich 
 Hill, Mo. ; Agnes C., a teacher in the public 
 schools; Nellie J., attending school; John C. ; 
 William Henry; Hattie G. ; and Mary Anna. 
 
 Mr. Martin is an ardent Prohibitionist in 
 politics, was candidate for State treasurer on 
 that ticket, and was also mentioned very favor- 
 ably for governor. During the campaign he 
 canvassed the State, making one hundred 
 speeches in the interests of his party, held tent 
 meetings', and was a delegate to the W. C. T. 
 U. convention at Chicago. Mr. Martin has 
 held the office of supervisor of Mineral Point, 
 and other local positions, and is regarded as one 
 of the leading exponents of his party in the 
 county. In religious matters he takes an active 
 interest in the Primitive M. E,. Church, of 
 
 Avhich he is a member. He has been connected 
 60 
 
 with George H. Legate Post, No. 125, G. A. 
 R., and has been its chaplain for seven: years. 
 Fraternally Mr. Martin is a member of the 
 Knights of the Globe, is chief ranger of the 
 Order of Foresters, and has taken an active part 
 in the Grange. Being so widely known, he 
 has made many friends, and by them, and by 
 all who have come in contact with him, he is 
 regarded as a man of great ability, keen grasp 
 of whatever subject is under discussion, ancf 
 a convincing orator. The good he has accom- 
 plished by his untiring efforts cannot be fully 
 estimated, but he is destined to occupy a high, 
 place in the future workings of his party. 
 
 ELIJAH P. WIXOM, one of the wealthiest 
 farmers and largest land owners of southern 
 Wisconsin, has a fine home at No. 153 Milton 
 avenue, Janesville, Rock county, where he 
 dwells amid the comforts that rightfully at- 
 tend the closing years of such a singularly use- 
 ful and successful career as his has been 1 . 
 
 Mr. Wixom was born in Putnam county, 
 
 N. Y., Feb. 15, 1835, a son of Robert and 
 Charity Maria (Barrett) Wixom, both of 
 whom were born in that State. They were 
 the parents of three sons and six daughters, 
 five of whom are now living: Elijah P. ; Julia 
 Ann, widow of Henry Kidder, of Fulton town- 
 ship; Phebe, widow of David Kelly, of Mil- 
 ton Junction, Wis. ; Deborah, wife of J. W. 
 Austin, of Janesville; and Benjamin D., of 
 Fulton township. Another brother, Robert 
 Wixom, enlisted in Company B, 36th Wis. V. 
 I., for service in the Civil war, and twelve 
 days after he had gone to the front was 
 wounded and taken prisoner. He was incar- 
 cerated in the prison at Richmond, where he 
 died. The father was a cattle driver when a 
 boy, following that work eleven years. In 
 mature life he was a farmer, and combined 
 with the cultivation of the soil the trades of 
 carpenter and millwright. He is remembered 
 as a natural mechanic and a genius with tools. 
 Coming West to Wisconsin about 1850, he 
 located in the town of Fulton, Rock county, 
 where he bought a tract of eighty acres, and 
 after a time as much more. He improved this 
 farm, and made it one of the most valuable 
 places in that part of the county, and, becom- 
 ing greatly interested in stock culture, devoted 
 more and more attention to that as the years 
 w’ent by until stock raising was the main 
 branch of his agricultural operations. He died 
 
946 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in 1868, at the age of fifty-seven. His wife 
 survived him many years, and died in 1894, 
 aged eighty years. They were both Baptists. 
 He wasi justice of the peace many years while 
 in the East, and served in that position after 
 coming into' Rock county. He took much in- 
 terest in school matters, and was a useful citi- 
 zen. 
 
 Elijah Wix'om, our subject’s grandfather, 
 was a native of New York, of Holland-Dutch 
 descent, and was a farmer by occupation. He 
 served 1 in the American army during the war 
 of 1812, as a private. He died in middle life. 
 He had seventeen children, by two marriages. 
 His father was a Revolutionary soldier. Jo- 
 sephus Barrett, the maternal grandfather of 
 E. P. Wixom, was a native of New York, 
 of English and Irish descent, and was a life- 
 long' farmer. He was the father of twelve 
 children, and lived to be eighty years of age. 
 
 Elijah P. Wixom was fifteen years old 
 .when he came with his parents to Rock coun- 
 ty. He was given the usual amount of educa- 
 tion for the times;, obtained principally at the 
 neighboring district school, and applied him- 
 self to the work of the farm. He has' always 
 followed farming and stock raising, from an 
 early age, and when a boy was accustomed to 
 ship poultry to New, York. He has always 
 displayed the instincts of a natural born trad- 
 er. He made his home with his parents until 
 he came of age, when he bought a 1 60-acre 
 farm in Fulton township, in partnership with 
 his brother Benjamin. They bought it entirely 
 on credit, and paid for it in two years'. Elijah 
 sold his interest to. his brother as soon as the 
 title was cleared, and purchased for himself 
 a farm of 100 acres in the same township. This 
 was his home for thirty years, and it has' been 
 added to from time to time until he now owns 
 about 600 acres of land in Fulton and Janes- 
 ville townships. Besides this tract he owns 900 
 acres in Rock county, and 100 in Dane county, 
 his entire real-estate holdings in southern Wis- 
 consin thus aggregating' more than 1,600 acres, 
 the agricultural possibilities of this vast body 
 of land being fully utilized. In 1801 Mr. 
 Wixom moved into the city of Janesville, and 
 built one of the finest residences, to be seen in 
 that center of fine homes, and here he has 
 lived to the present time. He has about 150 
 head of fine cattle upon his place, and many 
 horses. Pie rents' his farms on shares, but takes 
 
 a close interest in their management, and is 
 active in conserving his best interests. 
 
 On Nov. 5, 1863, Mr. Wixom married 
 Miss Clara M. Hurd, daughter of Silas and 
 Cynthia (Cowan) Hurd, natives of New York, 
 who 1 came to. Wisconsin in 1836, and located 
 in the town of Fulton, Rock county, where 
 they died. They were interred in the cemetery 
 at Edgerton. Three children have been born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Wixom : Claron W., Ella 
 
 May and Silas H. Ella May married James 
 R. Lamb, and has her home in Janesville; they 
 have one son, Stewart James. Silas H. is at- 
 tending the high school. Mr. and Mrs. Wixom 
 attend the Unitarian Church. He is a member 
 of several fraternal orders, uniting with West- 
 ern Star Lodge, No.. 14, A. F. & A. M. ; the 
 Knights of Pythias; and the Patrons of Hus- 
 bandry. He was formerly a Republican, but 
 now acts with the Democratic party. Pie has 
 held various important local offices, was super- 
 visor of Fulton township isix years, and has 
 been school clerk and director many years. 
 
 MRS. JOHN RICHARDS. One of the 
 highly esteemed and beloved residents of Ben- 
 ton township, Lafayette county, widely known 
 for her life of Christian works and; beautiful 
 character, is Mrs. John Richards, who was born 
 in Cornwall, England, March 11, 1820, a 
 worthy daughter of Richard and Ann Eustice, 
 both of whom died in their native country. 
 She was one of five children, all of whom have 
 passed away. Her only brother, Richard, was 
 a resident of Hazel Green, where he followed 
 mining until his death in October, 1900. Mrs. ' 
 Richards grew to womanhood in England, be- 
 coming a type of the fair daughters of that 
 land, and in 1842 married John Richards, who 
 was born in Cornwall in 1815. After mar- 
 riage the young couple resided in England 
 some years, but in 1845 decided to cross the 
 water to* seek a home in America. Their first 
 location was in Missouri, but later they re- 
 moved to Hazel Green, in Grant county, where 
 our subject with three children remained, when 
 Mr. Richards crossed the Plains in 1849 tc 
 the gold fields of California. After two years 
 of mining along the Pacific coast Mr. Richards 
 returned and engaged in lead mining until 1854, 
 at which time he purchased a farm at Meeker’s 
 Grove, Lafayette county, and there the family 
 resided at the time of the lamented death of 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 94 7 
 
 Mr. Richards, in January, 1880. When he 
 was called from earth the community lost one 
 of its leading citizens. His acquaintance was 
 large and, as he was a man of great intelli- 
 gence, he was always prominently identified 
 with public affairs, being- politically connected 
 with the Republican party. 
 
 Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Richards : Elizabeth, who was born in Eng- 
 
 land, married Henry Yager, of Grundy county, 
 Iowa, where he died in 1899, leaving his wife 
 and three children, — William, Eva, Kittie, all 
 of Cedar Rapids; Thomas H., born in Eng- 
 land, died while crossing the ocean; Christi- 
 anna, born in Hazel Green in 1848, married 
 Thomas Dixon, of Iowa, and they have five 
 children, John, Lewis, Mabel, Hudson and 
 Clare; Mary J., born in Hazel Green, married 
 John Jenkins, of Cuba City, and has four chil- 
 dren, Victor, William, Minnie and Lester ; 
 William J., born at Meeker's Grove, married 
 Louisa Fervene and they reside with his mother 
 in Meeker’s Grove f they have four children, 
 Edith, Alma, Albert and Lorena). 
 
 Previous 1 to Mr. Richards’ death he pur- 
 chased the large stone house at Meeker’s Grove, 
 in which his wife now resides, having sold the 
 farm. Before coming to America Mrs. Rich- 
 ards. united with the Primitive Methodists and 
 has since consistently lived the life of a Chris- 
 tian. Many trials have beset her path, but 
 through all she has kept her way, doing good 
 to all who have come within her influence. 
 Many acts of charity and generosity have 
 taught her neighbors the truth of her profes- 
 sions, and few old residents, are more highly 
 esteemed. 
 
 WILLIAM T. BRIGGS, one of the repre- 
 sentative men of Muscoda, Grant county, can 
 trace back his family history to the very early 
 days of this country. Mr. Briggs' was born in 
 Addison county, Yt., April 24, 1823, a son of 
 William and Kasiah (Richardson) Briggs. 
 William Briggs, Sr., was a native of Massa- 
 chusetts, and the son of Owen Briggs, a soldier 
 in the Revolutionary war, which fact entitles 
 the subject of this sketch to membership in the 
 order of Sons of the Revolution. According 
 to the history of the Briggs family, the grand- 
 father, Owen Briggs, was one of three brothers 
 who emigrated to America prior to the Revo- 
 lution, and their descendants can be found in 
 great numbers throughout the eastern States. 
 
 The father of our subject, William Briggs, 
 Sr., was a soldier in the war of 1812, partici- 
 pating in the battle of Piattsburg, and in an- 
 other important engagement. His wife was' of 
 Scotch ancestry, while the Briggs family orig- 
 inated in England. 
 
 Taking with him his wife and four chil- 
 dren, in 1831, William Briggs, Sr., migrated to 
 the Western Reserve, in Ohio; in 1845 removed 
 to Mason county, 111 ., and about 1850 settled 
 m Eagle, Richland Co., Wis., where this 
 worthy couple passed the remainder of' their 
 lives. Mr. Briggs, Sr., was a collier by trade, 
 but during his later years was engaged in 
 farming. Upright and honorable in all his 
 dealings, he gained the hearty respect of his 
 fellow citizens, and he and his wife were con- 
 sistent members of the Methodist Church, in 
 which Mr. Briggs was a class-leader for nearly 
 half a century. Physically this grand old pio- 
 neer was one of the most powerful men of 
 his day, and possessed a constitution of iron, 
 dying at the advanced age of eighty-nine. Of 
 the four children of this worthy couple, three 
 were living in 1900: Maranda, widow of T. 
 
 R. McClaflin, of Oberlin, Ohio; William T., 
 the subject of this sketch ; Daniel, of Eagle, 
 Richland Co., Wis. ; and Lucy, deceased, who 
 married Levi Coat, and passed her life in Ma- 
 son county, Illinois. 
 
 William T. Briggs, the immediate subject 
 of this biography, lived at home until twenty- 
 one, then started out in life for himself. In 
 1855 he removed from Mason county, 111 ., to 
 Dane county, Wis., and in 1862 located in 
 Richland county, where he remained until 
 1883, at which time he came to Muscoda, and 
 has since resided here. 
 
 On Oct. 14, 1844, Mr. Briggs was married 
 to Miss Mary Jane Burrington, born Oct. 15. 
 1828, in •Vermont, a daughter of John and 
 Irene Burrington, who removed to the State 
 of New York, and later to Ohio, with their 
 family. Later they migrated to Windsor, 
 Dane Co., Wis., where the parents- passed their 
 remaining days. Mrs. Briggs was one of a 
 family of twelve, six sons and six daughters, 
 eleven of whom grew to mature years, but only 
 five survive (1900). namely: Daniel F., 
 
 Riol and Charles, all of Richland county ; Mrs. 
 Briggs. and Kaziah, wife of W. W. Hall, also 
 of Richland county. 
 
 Mr and Mrs. Briggs have three children, 
 two sons and a daughter : Marvin, of Mus- 
 
948 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 coda; Willis, of Eagle, Richland county; and 
 Irene, wife of John Mathew, of Richland 1 coun- 
 ty. Their grandchildren are nine in number, 
 and it is a remarkable fact that during the 
 fifty-six years Mr. and Mrs. Briggs have been 
 married death has not visited any of their fam- 
 ily, not even in the second generation. Con- 
 tented and happy, knowing that their children 
 and children’s children are well and prosperous, 
 and looking back over well-spent lives, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Briggs are slowly descending the hill of 
 life, in religion Mr. Briggs is a Restoration'- 
 ist, while Mrs. Briggs is a member of the M. 
 E. Church. Mr. Briggs is a Master Mason, 
 having joined the fraternity in 1864, and- is as 
 prominent in his lodge as he is in the social 
 and religious' life of Muscoda, while Mrs. 
 Briggs is equally esteemed among her circle of 
 friends. 
 
 MARTIN IvUEHNER, of the town of 
 Potosi, Grant county, is one of the well-known 
 German-American citizens of southwestern 
 Wisconsin, where he has made his home since 
 1861. 
 
 Mr. Kuehner was born in Wittenberg, Ger- 
 many, May 26, 1825, and grew to manhood 
 in the Fatherland, where he married his first 
 wife, in 1854 he brought his family to Amer- 
 ica, and located in the State of Ohio, making 
 their home in Pike county, that State, until 
 their removal to Grant county, where, for over 
 forty years, Mr. Kuehner has tilled 1 the soil, 
 and made for himself a home in the New 
 World. 
 
 On Jan. 12, 1882, the wife who had ac- 
 companied him from Germany, passed to her 
 last rest, leaving her husband and five children, 
 four sons and a daughter, to mourn her demise. 
 In 1883 Mr. Kuehner wedded his present wife, 
 who in her maidenhood was Amelia Koellar. 
 She was a native of Germany, and came to 
 America in 1881. To this union have been 
 born 1 three sons and two daughters, namely : 
 William. Louisa, Adolph, Annie and Leo. 
 They reside in their pleasant home on Mr. 
 Kuehner’s fine farm, where they are held in 
 high esteem by their neighbors and friends. 
 Mr. Kuehner owes his present comfortable cir- 
 cumstances entirely to his own industry and 
 good management, and his standing in the 
 business world is that of an honest and up- 
 right man, and a thoroughly progressive cit- 
 izen. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER GULSON( deceased) 
 was in his lifetime an active and honored citi- 
 zen of the town of York, Grant county, com- 
 ing here in 1852 from his native country, Nor- 
 way, where he was born Sept. 17, 1817. In 
 1843 h e was married in his native land to Miss 
 Thora Haugen, by whom he had one child, 
 Mary, born Feb. 24, 1845, who accompanied 
 her parents to this country when she was seven 
 years old. 
 
 When Mr. Gulson came into Green county 
 he settled on government land, and commenced 
 with but little to aid him beside his strong arm 
 and stout courage. Beginning under the most 
 restricted conditions, and in the greatest pover- 
 ty, he became, by hard work and unremitting 
 industry, the owner of an extensive and valu- 
 able tract of land, consisting of nearly 400 acres 
 in Section 8, about four miles northeast of 
 Blanchardville, with good dwellings and first- 
 class barns. He sustained a fine reputation as 
 a neighbor and business man, and was known 
 to be honest and scpiare in all his dealings. 
 He was a member of the Lutheran Church, 
 in which he was an officer for twenty-five years 
 before his death. In political sentiment he was 
 a Republican. 
 
 Mr. Gulson served in the army in his na- 
 tive land, and brought to this country an en- 
 lightened and enthusiastic love of liberty. He 
 was highly prized in all the social and do- 
 mestic relations of life, and was much missed 
 at bis death, in 1883. His remains were in- 
 terred in the old Norwegian cemetery in York. 
 Mrs. Gulson still survives, and is living on 
 the old place, making her home with her 
 daughter, Mary. For the last two years she 
 has been blind. Mary Gulson and Andrew 
 Barger, a native of Norway, were married 
 June 10, 1888, and to them has come one son, 
 Christopher, born April 15, 1889, a bright and 
 promising young lad. Mr. Barger is a Re- 
 publican in politics, and a Lutheran in religion. 
 He and his wife are engaged in the manage- 
 ment of the farm. Mrs. Barger is a hard- 
 working woman, possessed of unusual busi- 
 ness qualifications. She belongs to the Lu- 
 theran Church, and carries the spirit of her 
 faith into her daily life. 
 
 HUGH FLANNERY, a well-known citi- 
 zen of Avoca, Iowa county, was one of the 
 bravest soldiers of the Civil war, and sad to 
 record, one of its greatest sufferers. His birth 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 949 
 
 took place in County Mayo, Ireland, where his 
 parents died, and he was brought when a child 
 to this country by his brothers and sisters. 
 He resided in Chicago until 1853, and then 
 went to California, there remaining until Au- 
 gust, 1859, when he returned to Chicago for 
 more than a year, after which he became a 
 resident of Avoca. 
 
 On Sept. 7, 1861, Mr. Flannery enlisted 
 in the 6th Battery, Light Artillery, Wis. Yols., 
 which command rendezvoused at Racine, Wis., 
 and early in March, 1862, left for St. Louis. 
 From there they went to New Madrid 1 , Mo., 
 taking part in the siege of Island No. 10, go- 
 ing from there to Ruggle's Point, and thence 
 to White River, the object in these movements 
 being to disperse the guerrillas who were con- 
 tinually committing depredations in that vi- 
 cinity. The command, however, was almost 
 immediately recalled to re-enforce the troops 
 at Shiloh, but did not reach that historic field 
 until the famous battle was over. Mr. Flan- 
 nery took part, with his battery, in the siege 
 of Corinth, the command following the enemy 
 after the evacuation, and then returning to its 
 former position. On Oct. 1, they advanced 
 again on Corinth, and took an active part in 
 the operations at that place, and here, on Oct. 
 4, Mr. Flannery was severely wounded, this 
 serious accident ending his operations in the 
 field, and very nearly ending his life. He was 
 injured by a bursting shell, one fragment of 
 which struck him on the left side of the face, 
 cutting it severely and destroying the left eye. 
 Another fragment injured badly his left hand, 
 and while thus severely wounded, and en- 
 deavoring to rise to his feet, he was struck 
 by a ball in the left hand, receiving also several 
 shots in the right thigh and other portions of 
 the body, including the neck and left side; the 
 ball which produced the latter wound has never 
 yet been taken from his bodv. That anyone 
 so frightfully wounded could recover seemed 
 impossible; he was removed from the battle- 
 field 1 to the field hospital, where he was given 
 the best treatment available at that time, and 
 a month later was removed, on the cars, to 
 Columbus, Ky., and there was placed on a hos- 
 pital boat and sent to Keokuk, Iowa, where 
 he remained until March 2, 1863. the date of 
 his honorable discharge. Mr. Flannery had 
 asked for this in order that he could find im- 
 proved treatment for his severe wounds. Go- 
 ing to Chicago, he placed himself under the 
 
 medical care of the celebrated Dr. Holmes, 
 and was treated by him for three years, but 
 even the skill of this great oculist did not 
 iavail to save the left eye, and it was finally 
 removed in order that the other could be suc- 
 cessfully treated. The partial recovery of Mr. 
 Flannery is remarkable, and he must have had 
 a constitution of iron to have endured the 
 strain. For a time he was entirely blind, but 
 he is now able to see slightly with the right 
 eye, and can distinguish large type, with the 
 help of a magnifying glass. 
 
 On Dec. 4, 1863, Mr. Flannery was mar- 
 ried to Miss Marcella Quinn, a native of his 
 own land, and they have five children living: 
 Mathew J., Hugh F., James S., Mary Eliza- 
 beth, and Catherine. Two children died, 
 James Walter, in infancy, and Marcella, at the 
 age of twenty. 
 
 WILLIAM WOMACK, farmer, Platte- 
 ville. Grant county, Wisconsin. 
 
 JOHN HARTWIG, Sr., who holds a very 
 prominent place among the older and more suc- 
 cessful farmers of Green county, was born in 
 Germany, Feb. 12, 1824, and is a son of John 
 Hartwig. His brother, George, is a retired 
 farmer in Monroe, and of his sisters, one re- 
 sides in Cincinnati, one in Canada, and one 
 in Germany. 
 
 John Hartwig, Sr., whose name introduces 
 this article, remained in the old Fatherland 
 until he reached full age, and in 1850 came to 
 this country. For some fifteen years he was 
 employed as a coal miner near McKeesport, 
 Penn., and in 1866 made his appearance in 
 Wisconsin. That year he bought a farm of 
 120 acres on section 1, Jordan township, eight 
 miles northwest from Monroe, and here he is 
 found at the present time, but slightly hindered 
 from active work bv his advanced years, and 
 still bearing himself with the strength and vigor 
 that we scarcely expect to find in one whose 
 years have passed the allotted three-score and 
 ten. 
 
 Mr. Hartwig was married in Germany to 
 Miss Catherine Rabbe, and to this marriage 
 were born nine children, three of whom are 
 now living: Maggie is the wife of Thomas 
 
 Crow, of Cadiz township, and his sketch ap- 
 pears on another page; George is at home en- 
 gaged in the active farm work, and is unmar- 
 ried ; and Catherine is at home, keeping house 
 
950 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 for her father and brother, as the mother died 
 Jan. 15, 1S99, at the advanced age of seventy- 
 six years. 
 
 Mr. Hartwig is a Democrat, and in re- 
 ligion is a member of the Lutheran Church. 
 His career in this country illustrates the pos- 
 sibilities of life it offers to a poor man, who is 
 whiling to work and save. Landing here with- 
 out a dollar, and, coming from a childhood 
 and youth of extreme privation, he has be- 
 come, if not wealthy, at least very comfortable 
 in his circumstances. Wealth is a variable 
 term, and in an earlier day the property Mr. 
 Hartwig has amassed would have been re- 
 garded as wealth, and, as it is, it lifts him far 
 above all possible want. 
 
 It is a quiet, industrious and peaceful life 
 that has been lived by John Hartwig — a life 
 in which he has proved himself an honest man, 
 a devoted husband, a kind father, and a good 
 neighbor. In all these relations he has been 
 tried and not found wanting, and now in the 
 evening of his days, it is a great comfort to 
 him that his industrious and useful life has 
 been lived to such excellent effect. Many are 
 his friends, and his character is above question. 
 At his advanced age lie is still strong and 
 vigorous, and though seventy-seven is able to 
 do a fair day's work on the farm, where he is 
 engaged in farming and stock raising, and 
 wdiere he expects to spend the remainder of his 
 days. 
 
 WILLIAM Id. DENTZLER, one of the 
 prosperous farmers of Liberty, Grant countv, 
 and a well-known veteran of the war of the 
 Rebellion, is not an American by birth, but bv 
 choice; and, like so many who have sought 
 our shores, he has proven himself a worthy 
 citizen, a faithful soldier and a successful ag- 
 riculturist. 
 
 William H. Dentzler was born in Saxony, 
 Germany, on Feb. 18, 1831, a son of Gotlieb 
 Dentzler. The latter, with his wife and the 
 remainder of his family, came to this country 
 about two years subsequent to the arrival of 
 William H. Dentzler, and they all resided in 
 Philadelphia for several years. The next re- 
 moval was to Liberty township. Grant county, 
 Wis., where a farm was purchased, the same 
 being now the property of our subject. Here 
 the good father and mother resided until their 
 death, the father passing away at the age of 
 eighty-two, and his wife some ten days prior 
 
 to his demise, she being eighty-four. Eight 
 children had been born to them, of whom six 
 are still living. 
 
 Few people who have not participated in 
 the excitement during the war between the 
 North and South, have any conception of the 
 wild enthusiasm which spread over the country. 
 Men abandoned everything to rush to the de- 
 fense of their flag - , and among them was Will- 
 iam H. Dentzler, who had been in America 
 but ten years. Enlisting on June. 22, 1862, at 
 the Newhall House (which was afterward 
 burned, causing a loss of many lives, to which 
 disaster our subject was an eye witness), in 
 Milwaukee, he served faithfully until the close 
 of the war, rendering efficient aid to his regi- 
 ment as baker, he having learned' that trade 
 some years prior to enlistment. It was not an 
 easy task to provide so many soldiers with the 
 “staff of life,” but although often wearied and 
 almost discouraged, Mr. Dentzler never failed, 
 and his fine bread is still remembered by his 
 comrades-in-arms. The regiment was sta- 
 tioned the greater part of the time at Oswego, 
 N. Y., and was honorably mustered out at the 
 close of the struggle. 
 
 During 1864, while on a furlough, occurred 
 the romance of Mr. Dentzler's life, and he mar- 
 ried Miss Catherine Field, of New York. 
 Four children have blessed this union : George, 
 Edwin, Louise and William. Mr. Dentzler is 
 an active member of Sam Montieth Post, G. 
 A. R., Fennimore, and in political matters ad- 
 heres to the teachings of the Republican party. 
 Having toiled long and faithfully, Mr. Dentz- 
 ler is certainly entitled to highest praise, and is 
 ,a man who enjoys in marked degree the re- 
 spect of his neighbors and friends. 
 
 REV. EUGENE M. McGINNITY, the 
 scholarly and devoted pastor of St. Patrick’s 
 Church, Janesville, Rock county, is now at the 
 very flower of his manly powers ; and whether 
 in the pulpit, expounding the Gospel of Life, 
 or by the bedside of the sick and dying, pre- 
 paring for the flight of the soul to the better 
 world, he is always the faithful priest and con- 
 secrated pastor. He commands the respect and 
 holds the love of the entire city, not only for 
 his professional ability, but for the purity and 
 sweetness of his personal character. 
 
 Father McGinnity was born in County 
 Monaghan, Ireland. Sept. 1, 1840, a son of 
 Eugene and Alice McGinnity. The family 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 95 1 
 
 came to this country and settled in Lafayette 
 county, Wis., in 1847. The father was a 
 farmer, and on his arrival in this State pur- 
 chased a farm, whereon he made his home as 
 long as he lived. He had little mercenary 
 taint in his disposition, and preferred to spend 
 his money on the education of his children 
 rather than to store it in useless accumula- 
 tions. He gave them all good schooling, and 
 yet when he died left a very fair competency. 
 Both he and his wife passed away in Lafayette 
 county, Wis., where they settled on their ar- 
 rival in the State. They were the parents of 
 nine children, three of whom died on the voy- 
 age across the Atlantic. Of the others, James 
 and Thomas are farmers in Wisconsin; Daniel, 
 twin brother of our subject, was ordained a 
 priest, and died after six years’ service as a 
 clergyman (he went to the Rocky mountains 
 in the hope of restoring his health, but without 
 success) ; Mary married Michael Kierns, of 
 Lafayette county, Wis. ; John, the only one 
 born in Wisconsin, is a lumber merchant in 
 Denver, Colorado. 
 
 Father McGinnity grew to manhood on the 
 homestead farm, attending the district school, 
 and displaying a deep love of learning'. At 
 the age of sixteen he and his twin brother en- 
 tered St. Francis Seminary, Milwaukee, and 
 on Dec. 27, 1863, both were ordained to the 
 priesthood by the Right Rev. Bishop John 
 Martin Henni. The young clergyman, now a 
 notable figure on the streets of Janesville, 
 was sent to take charge of St. Isadore Church, 
 in Manitowoc county, Wis., and one year later 
 was transferred to Darlington. Lafayette 
 county, where he served until 1869. In 1871 
 he had leave of absence to accompany his 
 brot'her to the Rocky mountains in search of 
 restored health, and the latter's death was a 
 severe blow to our subject, who cherished him 
 in an almost ideal affection. However, he re- 
 turned to his work with a brave spirit, and 
 was given charge of the church at Lake Gene- 
 va, where he remained for ten months. From 
 there he went to Monroe, where he spent seven 
 years in his Master's work. In 1880 he took 
 charge of his present work, after he had done 
 a great work at Darlington, building houses of 
 worship both there and at Seymour and Wiota. 
 He greatly reduced the debts, and proved him- 
 self a wise and careful manager at all places 
 where he has served, and at Janesville he has 
 made a noble record. When he came here the 
 
 church property had passed into the hands of 
 a non-Catholic under mortgage foreclosure, 
 and many other debts hung over the congrega- 
 tion. The property was redeemed at a cost of 
 $20,000. Several thousand dollars have also 
 been spent in church improvements — an altar 
 put in at a cost of Si, 200, the church frescoed, 
 and many other needed improvements made. 
 Father McGinnity has built a parsonage at a 
 cost of $6,000, containing all modern improve- 
 ments, and which, with all the other church 
 property, is entirely free from debt. The con- 
 gregation comprises 450 families, and maintains 
 a very fine parochial school, under the charge of 
 the Sisters of Mercy, whose Mother House is 
 located here. Father McGinnity is an active 
 temperance worker, and devotes much time and 
 thought to the advancement of this great re- 
 form. He has served as president of the Cath- 
 olic Total Abstinence Society of Wisconsin, 
 and has delivered many forcible and effective 
 addresses on this theme throughout the State. 
 
 JEFFERSON DRAKE, a time honored 
 and pioneer settler of Green county, Wis., was 
 born in Jefferson county, Virginia, Dec. 22, 
 1812, a son of Robert and Margaret (Park) 
 Drake, early settlers of the Old- Dominion, of 
 English descent. When our subject was but 
 four years of age he accompanied his parents 
 from Virginia to Ohio, and there grew to man- 
 hood. He was one in a large family of chil- 
 dren born to Robert and Margaret Drake, the 
 others being Abner. Amos. Park. Mendenhall, 
 Samuel. Rena and Sarah, and Jefferson is the 
 only survivor. 
 
 In 1840 Mr. Drake came to Wisconsin and 
 located in Green county. He did not remain 
 on his first trip, but returned to Ohio, and did 
 not make a permanent settlement in the Badger 
 State until 1845. 'vhen he located on Section 
 17, in Clarno township. This was "his home 
 for upwards of thirty years, when he sold out 
 and purchased 120 acres of land in Section 2^, 
 Cadiz township, of which he afterward sold 
 forty acres, and now resides upon a well im- 
 proved tract of fifty-six acres in the village 
 of Cadiz. He has ever been a highly respected 
 citizen, bearing a good reputation for fair deal- 
 ing and strict principles, and his pleasant dis- 
 position has won him many warm friends. 
 
 In 1857 Mr. Drake was united in marriage 
 with Miss Mahala Moore, who was. born in 
 Ohio in 1834, and came to Green county with 
 
952 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 her father, Thomas Moore, in 1846. This mar- 
 riage has been blessed with six children : Laura, 
 born in 1858 is at home; Lincoln, born in i860, 
 is a farmer, and married Manzella Austin, who 
 bore him two children, Theodore and Otha; 
 Ida May, born in 1862, married Daniel How- 
 der, of Cadiz; Thomas, born in 1864, married 
 Sarah McCamant, and has two children, Iva 
 and Glenn; Eli, born in 1867, married Eva 
 Robb, of Cadiz township, and has three chil- 
 dren, Floy, Lena and Bernice; and Dora, born 
 in 1869, is now deceased. In politics Mr. 
 Drake has been a Republican from the time that 
 party first presented a presidential candidate. 
 His first vote for president was cast in 1836, 
 when Martin Van Bitten was his choice, and 
 he has never missed a presidential vote up to 
 the present, his last vote having been cast for 
 William McKinley, making nineteen different 
 elections. He is now the oldest resident of the 
 county, and is hale and hearty, with a remark- 
 able memory that makes him a most pleasing 
 companion, and one much sought by the local 
 historian. 
 
 CHARLES GANT, who is now living re- 
 tired in the village of Waldwick, Iowa county, 
 was one of the early settlers of Waldwick town- 
 ship and for many years one of its most suc- 
 cessful farmers, being still the owner of a 
 large amount of land in this section. 
 
 Mr. Gant was born in 1830 in Norfolk, 
 England, son of James and Dina Gant, who 
 spent all their lives in that country. They 
 were the parents of seventeen children, of 
 whom but three now survive: Samuel, a resi- 
 dent of Taylor county, Iowa ; Harriet, who 
 lives in England ; and Charles, our subject, who 
 was the youngest of the family. Charles Gant 
 came to America about 1857, and has since 
 made his home in Wisconsin. For a time he 
 lived at the “Twelve-Mile House,” an historic 
 place between Hazel Green and Cuba City, in 
 Grantcounty, andhe was subsequently employed 
 by Harker Spensley, at Mineral Point, prior to 
 Inis settlement in Waldwick township, Iowa 
 •county. His first purchase was a tract of 
 eighty acres, on which he and his wife lived 
 for thirty years, their home the first several 
 years being in an old log school house which 
 stood on the place. Mr. Gant then bought 120 
 acres, and they moved to the house on that 
 place. He later bought a farm of 116 acres, 
 adjoining, and a farm of 160 acres in Mineral 
 
 Point township, as well as forty acres of timber 
 land in Waldwick township. When Mr. Gant 
 commenced farming on his own account he was 
 in very limited circumstances, and the outlook 
 was often gloomy and discouraging, but by 
 hard work, and with the help of his devoted 
 wife, he has succeeded in overcoming all ob- 
 stacles, and, as may be judged from the 
 amount of property he has acquired, has be- 
 come quite prosperous. Our subject continued 
 to actively engage in the labors of the farm 
 until January, 1901, when he and his wife 
 moved into the village of Waldwick, there to 
 enjoy in peaceful retirement the ease and com- 
 forts which a long life of industry has en- 
 titled them to. They have ever been held in 
 the highest esteem by all who know them, and 
 Mr. Gant has, by bis upright and useful life, 
 attained a high standing among the best citi- 
 zens of the community, for the rewards of his 
 active business career represent something 
 more than the selfish pursuit of gain. 
 
 On July 3, 1868, Mr. Gant was united 
 in marriage with Miss Ann Jackson, who was 
 born in April, 1839, ' n Yorkshire, England, 
 daughter of James and Margaret Jackson, and 
 eight children — six sons and two daughters — 
 have blessed their union, viz. : Edward, James 
 W., Thomas S., Hattie D. (Mrs. Harris), 
 Samuel D., Charles, John R. and Sarah M., all 
 married but the last-named, who is still with her 
 parents. They have a pleasant home in Wald- 
 wick. All the children have been finely edu- 
 cated, and have become worthy and useful 
 members of society. In religious connection 
 Mr. and Mrs. Gant are identified with the 
 Methodist Church. 
 
 JAMES JACKSON (deceased), one of the 
 early settlers of Waldwick township, Iowa 
 county, and in his day one of its most respected 
 citizens, was a native of Yorkshire, England. 
 
 Mr. Jackson was reared and educated in 
 England, and there married Margaret Sunter. 
 In 1853 they came to America and to Wiscon- 
 sin, locating first in Shullsburg, Lafayette 
 county, and later in Benton, that county, where 
 they resided for three years. Their next move 
 was to a place near Cuba City, in Grant county, 
 whence they came to Waldwick township, Iowa 
 county, here making their permanent home. 
 Mr. Jackson was a local minister of the M. 
 E. Church, and he was much esteemed through- 
 out this locality, where he became well known. 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 953 
 
 He was in poor health for several years prior 
 to his decease, which, occurred when he was 
 fifty-three years old, and he was the first one 
 buried in the Waldwick cemetery, where his 
 wife also rests. She survived him many years, 
 passing the last fifteen years at the home of her 
 daughter, Mrs. Charles Gant, in Waldwick 
 township, and died Jan. 3, 1892. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Jackson were the parents of seven children, 
 five of whom survive at this writing : Ann 
 
 (Mrs. Charles Gant), Richard, John, James 
 and Peter. Mary, who married Thomas Hird, 
 died at Galena, 111 ., Sept. 5, 1899, leaving a 
 family of four children. 
 
 WILLIAM WILKINS, one of the success- 
 ful farmers of Wingville, Grant county, and 
 an honored veteran of the war of the Rebellion, 
 is now residing upon his well cultivated farm, 
 where he is enjoying life, surrounded by com- 
 forts his own toil has procured. 
 
 Mr. Wilkins was born in Wiltshire, Eng- 
 land, in January, 1833, a son of James and 
 Ann Wilkins, who lived and died in England. 
 Our subject was reared to the occupation of 
 farming, and when yet a young man came to 
 America, locating at Linden, Wis., and after 
 working at several places, finally accumulated 
 sufficient money to purchase his present pleas- 
 ant home, which he has greatly improved, un- 
 til it is now one of the finest farms in Wing- 
 ville township. 
 
 The war record of our subject is a very in- 
 teresting one, he enlisting. August 4, 1862, at 
 Georgetown, in the 25th Wis. V. I., this regi- 
 ment being the one with which General, after- 
 wards Governor Jeremiah Rusk was identified. 
 Mr. Wilkins was one of the first to be enrolled 
 in his companv, and was mustered into the 
 service at La Crosse, Wis. The first assign- 
 ment of the regiment was at New Ulm, Minn., 
 to assist in quelling the Indian disturbances, 
 and' it was sent via Winona and La Crosse to 
 Madison, and thence to Columbus, Ivy. From 
 here they were sent to Vicksburg, and the reg- 
 iment participated in the famous siege, keep- 
 ing Gen. Johnston from relieving the Con- 
 federate forces. After the surrender of Vicks- 
 burg the regiment was ordered up the Missis- 
 sippi river to Cairo; up the Ohio to Paducah, 
 Ky.. and across country to Montgomery, Ala., 
 joining the army under Gen. Sherman. The 
 regiment participated in the famous March to 
 the Sea. However, Mr. Wilkins was so un- 
 
 i 
 
 fortunate as to be wounded in his left arm at 
 the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, and as it was 
 very severe, being four inches long and two 
 wide (so described by the surgeon), he was 
 o*bliged to have it treated in the field hospital. 
 In those days the facilities for caring for and 
 transporting the sick and wounded were poor 
 and meager ; the weather was unbearably hot, 
 and Mr. Wilkins suffered untold agonies with 
 his arm. Later he was taken to Resaca, where 
 he had been previously engaged in battle, thence 
 to Chattanooga, on to Nashville and Louisville. 
 The next removal was to Mound City, and from 
 there he was taken to Keokuk, Iowa, where he 
 was honorably discharged, on June 21, 1865. 
 William Wilkins was not the only one of this 
 family who did gallant service for his coun- 
 try, as his brother, Stephen, enlisted in the 7th 
 Wis. V. I., was wounded at the second battle 
 of Bull Run by a fragment of shell. How- 
 ever, he recovered, and is now a resident of 
 Mineral Point, Wisconsin. 
 
 On Nov. 9, 1869, Mr. Wilkins was mar- 
 ried to Miss Jane Blaine, a daughter of James 
 F. Blaine. Of the children born of this union, 
 two sons are now living : George and Charles ; 
 Edwin B., James, Elmer and Nellie died in in- 
 fancy. Mrs. Wilkins passed away June 13, 
 1897, leaving two sons and her husband to 
 mourn her loss. She was a good, Christian 
 woman, loving wife and mother, and in her 
 the community lost a sympathetic neighbor. 
 Mr. Wilkins is a consistent member of the M. 
 E. Church, of which his wife was also a mem- 
 ber. Genial, kind hearted, generous, Mr. 
 Wilkins is liberal in his donations to the 
 Church, ready in his support of all movements 
 tending towards the advancement of the com- 
 munity, and he enjoys the respect and confi- 
 dence of a wide circle of friends. 
 
 ISAAC DIVAN, a venerable and highly 
 respected retired farmer of Cadiz township, 
 Green county, is a native of Ohio, born July 
 25, 1816, in Coshocton county. 
 
 Leonard Divan, his grandfather, was a na- 
 tive of Germany, whence he came to this coun- 
 try when a young man, settling in Pennsyl- 
 vania. The names of his children were as fol- 
 lows : Jacob, Henry, John, Pollie, Barbara, 
 
 Catherine and Sarah. Of these. John was born 
 in 1790, in Pennsylvania, and was a dis- 
 tinguished soldier in the war of 1812. He 
 became one of the early settlers of Green coun- 
 
954 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ty, Wis., having- previously lived in Coshocton 
 county, Ohio. In 1813 he married Catherine 
 Shrake, also a native of Pennsylvania, and 
 they had a family of -fourteen children, eleven 
 of whom reached maturity, named, respective- 
 ly : Margaret, Isaac (our subject), Jacob, 
 
 George, Frederick, John, Urias, Henry, Abi- 
 gal, Drusilla and Lucinda. The others died 
 in childhood. The father of this family died 
 in Clarno township. Green Co., Wis., in 1862; 
 his wife, who was born in 1796, passed away 
 in 1891, at the patriarchal age of ninety-five 
 years. 
 
 Isaac Divan, the subject proper of this 
 memoir, was reared on his father’s farm in 
 Ohio, and in his boyhood and youth had to 
 work so hard, early and late, that the only 
 education he was able to receive was extracted 
 from a three-months experience in a country 
 school. In 1845 he came to Green county, 
 Wis., when the country was wild and un- 
 cleared, and here, July 8, 1846, he settled on the 
 farm he still owns, and which at that time was 
 covered with timber. It now comprises 120 
 acres of well-improved land. While a young 
 man he had learned the trade of carpenter, and 
 in his new Western home he found it useful, 
 for he was enabled to build his own house, the 
 one he still lives in. He had also learned 
 cabinet-making in the East, which trade he 
 also followed to some extent in Wisconsin, be- 
 ing one of the first undertakers in Green coun- 
 ty, though he never followed that business reg- 
 ularly. 
 
 On March 15, 1839, Isaac Divan married 
 Miss Christenia Jones, born in Coshocton 
 county, Ohio, Jan. 22, 1819, a daughter of 
 William and Christenia (Bright) Jones, of 
 that State, who removed thither from Mary- 
 land. To Mr. and Mrs. Divan were born 
 twelve children, a brief record of whom is as 
 follows: Margaret, born Dec. 26, 1839, is the 
 deceased wife of David Howder; Alexander, 
 born May 18, 1841, was a volunteer during the 
 Civil war, in Company G, 5th Wis. V. I., and 
 died in the service ; Catherine, born Dec. 30, 
 1842, married Peter Wagoner, of Illinois; 
 Eliza J., born Aug. 1. 1844, married Jacob 
 Wagoner, of Illinois; Elizabeth, born Jan. 17, 
 1846, died young; Abigail, born April 18, 
 1848, died in childhood; Mary Ellen, born Oct. 
 18, 1850, married Rev. J. B. Rife, a minister 
 of the Evangelical Church ; Arabella, born 
 Sept. 15, 1852, died young; Isaac, Jr., born 
 
 Nov. 27, 1854, is a minister of the Evangelical 
 Church; Christenia, bom April 28, 1857, is 
 the wife of Alfred Sanders, of Cadiz township, 
 Green county; John, born Aug. 26, 1859, is 
 a minister of the Evangelical . Church ; and 
 Charles R., born Oct. 23, 1861, married MJn- 
 nie Ackerman (he is farming the old home- 
 stead). The mother of this numerous family 
 was called from earth March 16, 1897, after a 
 married life of fifty-eight years. Mr. Divan 
 has twenty-six grandchildren and sixteen 
 great-grandchildren. 
 
 Mr. Divan is a member of the Evangelical 
 Church in Cadiz township, well and' wid'ely 
 known for his Christian philanthropy. In pol- 
 itics he is a stanch Republican, originally a 
 Democrat, his first presidential vote having 
 been cast for Martin Van Buren in 1836. He 
 was the first clerk of Cadiz township, and 
 served as justice of the peace, and held other 
 offices of trust during his fifty-five years’ resi- 
 dence in Cadiz township. For a man of his 
 advanced age he is in excellent physical condi- 
 tion, has a most retentive memory, and is an 
 interesting conversationalist. 
 
 EDWARD JOHN PERKINS needs no 
 introduction to the citizens of Iowa county, es- 
 pecially in Linden township and vicinity, where 
 in his long and faithful service as superintend- 
 ent of the Iowa County Asylum for the Chronic 
 Insane he has become widely and favorably 
 known. 
 
 Mr. Perkins has occupied his present re- 
 sponsible position since 1881, and the length 
 of his incumbency alone is sufficient proof of 
 the satisfaction he has given in discharging 
 the many and difficult duties thereof, to say 
 nothing of the improvements which have been 
 effected during his regime, curtailment of ex- 
 penses, etc. Iowa county has one of the best 
 kept institutions in the State for the care of its 
 poor and chronic insane, and it is not saying 
 too much to admit that a large share of the 
 credit is due to Mr. Perkins, who by his effi- 
 cient management has brought the affairs of 
 the farm into a most systematic and business- 
 like condition. In 1881 the old poorhouse con- 
 tained about thirty-five inmates, and the farm 
 comprised 120 acres. Now (1901) the farm 
 comprises 400 acres, in a body, and 120 acres 
 of woodland about two and a half miles dis- 
 tant; the buildings, including the new poor 
 house, built in 1901, with a capacity of fifty 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 955 
 
 inmates, are all line brick structures with mod- 
 ern improvements and conveniences, and about 
 130 insane and thirty paupers are cared for. 
 Iowa county was the third county in the State 
 to establish an asylum for the insane. There is 
 no doubt that Mr. Perkins’ natural adaptabil- 
 ity has much to do with his continuously suc- 
 cessful management, for he has the faculty of 
 securing considerable assistance on the farm 
 and about the institution from those under his 
 charge, thus making them, as far as possible, 
 self-supporting, though at the same time his 
 treatment of all is most humane and kindly. 
 His popularity is not wondered at by those 
 who know him intimately. 
 
 Mr. Perkins is a native of Iowa county, 
 born July 20, 1850, in Dodgeville, son of Jo- 
 seph and Grace (Sincox) Perkins. His father, 
 a native of Cornwall, England, became a resi- 
 dent of Dodgeville in 1845, and he died there 
 in August, 1900, at the advanced age of about 
 eighty-four years. The mother passed away 
 in August, 1895, aged seventy-seven years. 
 Edward Perkins was reared and educated in 
 Dodgeville, and prior to assuming the duties 
 of his present position was engaged in a gen- 
 eral store. On June 29, 1871. he married Miss 
 Elizabeth Elliott, a native of Lockport. X. Y., 
 and daughter of William Elliott, and to her 
 efficient assistance attributes a full share of the 
 success which has attended his efforts. In ad- 
 dition to tireless industry Mr. Perkins is gift- 
 ed with an energy and good judgment which 
 inspire all around him with confidence in his 
 ability to carry to satisfactory completion any- 
 thing which he undertakes, and this spirit is 
 a power for effective work in his particular po- 
 sition. The farm is located five miles from 
 Dodgeville. the county seat, and nine miles 
 from Mineral Point. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Perkins have one child, Mary. 
 Fraternally our subject belongs to the Odd 
 Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, and the Ma- 
 sons, and in the latter has attained the thirty- 
 second degree, belonging to Wisconsin Con- 
 sistory, at Milwaukee. 
 
 HENRY B. GIFFORD. M. D„ occupies 
 an honorable place among the medical practi- 
 tioners of Green county. At his home in Juda 
 he is known as a man of exhaustive informa- 
 tion, large medical experience, and high char- 
 acter. 
 
 Dr. Gifford is a son of Rev. J. C. and 1 Julia 
 
 (Balis) Gifford. The father was born in 
 Cayuga county, N. Y.. Dec. 8, 1826, and has 
 been a clergyman of the Free-Y\ ill Baptist 
 Church for fifty years ; "the mother was a 
 daughter of Abitha and Maria (Cloughs) 
 Balis, both of New York. To their union 
 were born four children: Nellie M., the eld- 
 
 est, is the widow of Oliver C. Dunwell, of 
 Rock county, Wis. Josephine died in child- 
 hood. Henry B. is our subject. Joseph B., 
 who was born April 1, 1870, resides at Brod- 
 head, Wis. Alden Gifford, the grandfather of 
 Dr. Henry B., was born in Massachusetts, and 
 moved to New York, where he reared a family 
 of thirteen children. He was a Presbyterian 
 in religion, an upright man, and a most suc- 
 cessful farmer. 
 
 Henry B. Gifford was born on a farm at 
 Orfordville, \Yis., April 12, 1859, ancl ob- 
 tained his general education in the public 
 schools. At the age of nineteen he took up 
 the study of medicine, and graduated from 
 Rush Medical College. Chicago, Feb. 20. 1883. 
 The first location he made for the practice of 
 his profession was at Cherry Valley, 111 ., where 
 he resided for three years, having an extensive 
 patronage throughout the adjoining country. 
 He then practiced in Orfordville for ten years. 
 In 1895 the Doctor moved to Juda, Green coun- 
 ty, where he has established himself as a thor- 
 oughly competent and successful physician. 
 
 Dr. Gifford and Miss Lydia A. Cramer 
 were married Feb. 20. 1884. Mrs. Gifford is 
 the daughter of Brook and Catherine ( Lov- 
 ette) Cramer, of Cherry Valley, 111 ., honorable 
 and upright people, of German ancestry. To 
 this union have been born one son and one 
 daughter. V. M.. July 12. 1886. and Harry 
 G., March 30. 1892. Dr. Gifford is a stanch 
 Republican. He is a Royal Arch Mason in 
 good standing, a member of the Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellows, the Woodmen, and the 
 Home Forum, and, as might be expected, be- 
 longs to the Central Wisconsin Medical Asso- 
 ciation and the Wisconsin State Med'ical Asso- 
 ciation. He is local medical examiner for all 
 the leading life insurance companies. The 
 Doctor has made his own way in the world, and 
 has met with marked success. He came to 
 Juda without the assurance of the least patron- 
 age, and, by his courteous manners, manifest 
 devotion to his profession. and the masterv of 
 its details, has won for himself a very large 
 practice. He is a good citizen, and attentive 
 
956 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and kind to all, and seems to present in his own 
 personality, in a striking degree, the qualities 
 that make for success in his profession. 
 
 GEORGE PAULSEN, ex-treasurer of 
 Iowa county, and a leading representative cit- 
 izen of Moscow township, where lie has re- 
 sided for over forty years, is one of the many 
 valuable contributions which Norway has made 
 to the personnel of this progressive and 1 thriv- 
 ing community, having been born in that coun- 
 try in 1835. 
 
 Mr. Paulsen is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul 
 Paulsen, likewise natives of Norway, who came 
 to America in 1853 with their family, then 
 consisting of four children, and first located in 
 the town of Christiana, Dane Co., Wis. About 
 two years later they removed to Iowa county, 
 and purchased the farm in Moscow township 
 now owned and occupied by their son George, 
 who, when the parents advanced in years, pur- 
 chased the homestead, in the cultivation of 
 which he has ever since been engaged. After 
 many years’ residence on that place they re- 
 moved to Winnebago county, Iowa, where the 
 father died in 1887, the mother surviving un- 
 til January, 1901, when she, too, passed away, 
 at the advanced age of nearly ninety-two years. 
 Of the five children born to this worthy couple 
 three survive : George, who is the eldest ; Ole, 
 a resident of Perry, Dane Co., Wis. ; and Elsie, 
 Mrs. Johnson, of Winnebago county, Iowa. 
 Another son, Ivittel, who died in August, 1896, 
 at his home in Worth county, Iowa, was a 
 Union soldier in the war of the Rebellion, 
 serving as a member of Company C, 37th Wis. 
 V. I. ; he was severely wounded June 17, 1864, 
 at the siege of Petersburg, this wound ulti- 
 mately causing his death, and the bullet that 
 did the injury is still preserved — a sad though 
 highly-prized memento — in the family; it 
 passed completely through his body. 
 
 George Paulsen passed the first eighteen 
 years of his life in his native country, receiv- 
 ing rather limited educational advantages, as 
 his parents’ circumstances obliged him to sup- 
 port himself from an early age. Pie was but 
 ten years old when lie left home and went to 
 live with an uncle, for whom he worked, and 
 he has paid his own way ever since. Though 
 he came to America with the family he stood his 
 own expenses for the journey across the ocean 
 and to Wisconsin, and he engaged in manual 
 labor for others a number of years before se- 
 
 curing enough to justify him in starting out 
 for himself. Employment of any kind, if it 
 was but honorable, was always welcome to him. 
 For some time he was engaged by the Mineral 
 Point Railroad Co., and when that concern 
 went into bankruptcy he lost the wages due 
 him. However, all his experiences were not 
 quite so discouraging, and in time he purchased 
 the homestead and began its operation on his 
 own account, in which he has continued' to the 
 present day, with what success may be judged 
 from his financial standing among the solid 
 business men of his section. Ability such as 
 he displayed in the management of his own 
 affairs could not long go unrecognized by his 
 fellow townsmen, who have solicited his serv- 
 ices for some of the most important and hon- 
 orable local offices. In 1883 he was elected to 
 the position of treasurer of Iowa county, to 
 which he was twice re-elected, serving three 
 terms in a most acceptable and 1 efficient man- 
 ner. He has filled most of the township of- 
 fices, and is at present chairman of the town 
 board, an incumbency in which he has been 
 retained for a number of terms. Mr. Paulsen’s 
 continuous public service is sufficient testi- 
 mony of his value as a promoter of the gen- 
 eral welfare, but bis career has been equally 
 useful and honorable in all the other relations 
 of life. When he came to Wisconsin, nearly 
 a half century ago, she had but recently reached 
 the dignity of Statehood, the population was 
 comparatively sparse, and what are now her 
 best resources were almost or entirely undevel- 
 oped. There was but one school house in the 
 town of Moscow. Mr. Paulsen may justly 
 take personal pride in the rapid strides which 
 have been made in the fifty years intervening, 
 for he himself has taken no unimportant part 
 in the development of his town and county, 
 and has always maintained a reputation for 
 giving his influence on the side of progress 
 and improvement, whether interested or dis- 
 interested in the special movement on hand at 
 the time. His political support has ever been 
 given to the Republican party, with which he 
 has been identified since its organization, hav- 
 ing cast his first presidential vote for Fremont, 
 in 1856, and never missing a National election 
 since. He is an honored member of G. A. R. 
 Post No. 224, at Blanchardville, being a vet- 
 eran of the Civil war, for which service he 
 enlisted in September, 1864. He became a 
 member of Company E, 22d Wis. V. I., with 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD . 
 
 957 
 
 which he served until the close of the war, 
 receiving an honorable discharge. They were 
 much of the time on detached duty, as train 
 guards, the work being arduous and at times 
 dangerous. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Paulsen married Miss Mar- 
 garet Gulickson, who was born in 1838 in 
 Norway, whence she came to America in 1844 
 with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Gulick Gulick- 
 son. Four children have been born to this 
 union, Henry, Albert, Carl and Edward. 
 
 CHARLES W. WISCH. For thirty-five 
 years this gentleman has been a resident of 
 Janesville. He has seen it grow from a coun- 
 try village into a substantial and elegant city, 
 and enjoys a personal acquaintance with many 
 of its very best people. His occupation is that 
 of a barber, and his habits and character are 
 beyond question. 
 
 Mr. Wiseh was born in the kingdom of 
 Prussia, near Kolberg, Oct. 9, 1849, an d is a 
 son of John and Henrietta (Brack) Wisch, 
 both natives of Germany. They had five sons 
 and one daughter, four of whom are now liv- 
 ing: Charles W. ; Herman F., in Chicago; 
 
 John F., of Fort Atkinson, Wis. ; and Mary, 
 the widow of John Bohm, of Beloit. The fa- 
 ther was a farmer, and sought a home in this 
 country in 1853, locating near Watterstown, 
 Wis., where he continued his life labor of farm- 
 ing. He remained on the farm fourteen years, 
 and then moved to Plymouth, Rock county, 
 where he lived until his death in 1892, at the 
 age of sixty-two. ITis widow is still living. 
 Both were members of the Lutheran Church. 
 His father was John Wisch, born in Germany, 
 and a‘ cattle herder by early training; he came 
 to this country in 1858, and located at Watters- 
 town, where he lived with his son until his 
 death at the age of sixty-six. He had four 
 children. The father of Henrietta (Brack) 
 Wisch was a soldier in the German army, and 
 died in middle life, leaving a small family. 
 
 Charles W. Wisch came to America with 
 his father and mother when about four years 
 old. He was reared on the farm, and attended 
 the schools of Watterstown, both public and 
 parochial. When he was sixteen he began life 
 for himself as a workman in a broom factory; 
 later he clerked in a grocery store, and after 
 his marriage he learned the barber’s trade, 
 which he has followed for many years. On 
 Nov. 1, 1872, Mr. Wisch was married to Miss 
 
 Clara E. Middaugh, daughter of Eliezer Mid- 
 daugh and his wife, who was a Miss Marble. 
 Two children have blessed this union: Charles 
 P., who married Miss Edith Dick, and is the 
 father of one child; and Alice. Mrs. Wisch 
 is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, and 
 is a lady of many attractive qualities. Mr. 
 Wisch is independent in his political action. 
 Socially he belongs to the Mystic Workers of 
 the World. He has been in the barber busi- 
 ness for twenty-five years, and now has three 
 chairs in his shop, and his patronage comes 
 from the best citizens of Janesville. He is an 
 intelligent and respected gentleman with a host 
 of friends. His home is at No. 63 Milwaukee 
 street, Janesville, in which city he has resided 
 since 1865. 
 
 MICHAEL A. TORPHY, of Barneveld, 
 is a well-known teacher of Iowa county, and 
 represents one of the early families of his lo- 
 cality. His father, Thomas Torphy, was born 
 in County Tipperary, Ireland, about 1828. and 
 came to America in 1848, but his parents lived 
 and died in the old home. Three brothers and 
 two sisters came later to America, and two 
 of the former survive, John and Michael Tor- 
 phy, residents of the town of Ridgeway, in 
 Iowa county; the other brother, Patrick, lost 
 his life on Lake Michigan in 1855. 
 
 Thomas Torphy landed in New York, and 
 went thence to Chicago, where he remained 
 for a time, later migrating to Milwaukee, Wis., 
 and one and one-half years later becoming a 
 resident of the town of Ridgeway. Previous 
 to becoming a citizen of Iowa county he had 
 been engaged in railroad construction work, 
 being a stone mason by trade, and this occu- 
 pation he followed in Iowa county, in connec- 
 tion with farming. Near Albany, N. Y., he 
 married Ann Vaughn, a connection of the 
 famous family of that name, of which Cardinal 
 Vaughn is a representative, the name long hav- 
 ing been prominent in. both religious and army 
 circles. From February, 1865, to. the follow- 
 ing June, Thomas Torphy served in the Union 
 army, and proved himself a brave soldier. His 
 death, on April 27, 1868, was occasioned by 
 an accident, his' team of horses running away 
 while he was returning to his home. Seven 
 years previous to this time his first wife had 
 died, and he had contracted a second marriage. 
 At the time of his death he left a large fam- 
 ily of children, all of them under fifteen years 
 
953 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of age, and thus it became a necessity for the 
 older ones to care for themselves early in life. 
 
 Michael A. Torphy was the eldest son, and 
 the eldest but one of the family, and he started 
 out to make his own way in the world immedi- 
 ately after the death of his father. Ambitious 
 to obtain an education, he engaged in farm 
 work during the summers and attended school 
 through the winters, and in 1873 had an op- 
 portunity to receive instruction, for a time, 
 from Prof. L. D. Harvey, a prominent edu- 
 cator, and the present State superintendent of 
 the public schools of Wisconsin. By this 
 means he was enabled to receive a county su- 
 perintendent’s third-grade certificate, and en- 
 gaged in teaching in what is now the town of 
 Brigham, then a part of Ridgeway township. 
 For two years he remained in the same dis- 
 trict, and then attended the Darlington high 
 school, at all times being a careful and con- 
 scientious student. Since 1876 Mr. Torphy has 
 been engaged in educational work in one lo- 
 cality, in the town of Ridgeway and vicinity, 
 and in 1898 he was rewarded with a life State 
 certificate, which sufficiently attests the suc- 
 cess he has gained in the educational field. Mr. 
 Torphy is justly considered one of the lead- 
 ing educators in his county. He has been a 
 candidate at county election several times, but 
 being a Democrat, in a Republican county, has 
 been defeated, although he has always run 
 ahead of his ticket. On one occasion his town, 
 which gives a Republican majority of 150, 
 gave him a majority of 119, and other town- 
 ships, where he had become known, also gave 
 him majorities. While Ridgeway included the 
 town of Brigham Mr. Torphy was elected town 
 clerk, and served six consecutive terms in that 
 capacity; for a number of terms he was as- 
 sessor and justice of the peace, and he has been 
 a notary since 1882. His first appointment to 
 the latter position was made by Gov. Jeremiah 
 Rusk. 
 
 Mr. Torphy was married, July 18, 1883, 
 to Miss Mary Jane McCloskey, one of his 
 former pupils, who was born in the town of 
 Brigham, a daughter of James McCloskey and 
 wife, who were among the early settlers of 
 Iowa county. Mr. and Airs. Torphy are the 
 parents of eight children, three sons and five 
 daughters^, two children dying in infancy. Our 
 subject’s literary attainments are of a high or- 
 der. and he is well informed on the live issues 
 of the day, believing that in this way he can 
 
 best direct the intellectual progress of his pu- 
 pils. As a citizen he is held in esteem, and 
 as an official he performs the duties which de- 
 volve upon him in a most satisfactory manner. 
 
 MRS. SARAH MANCHESTER holds an 
 assured position among the venerable citizens 
 of Green county, where she is highly regarded 
 as one of the oldest settlers of this part of the 
 State. There are few now living whose mem- 
 ories of pioneer times are more vivid, or more 
 prolonged into the early days than those of this 
 venerable lady, whose years are far beyond the 
 Psalmist’s limit. 
 
 Airs. Alanchester was born in Pickaway 
 county, Ohio, March 16, 1816, daughter of 
 Isaac and Catherine (Patterson) Kline, early 
 settlers of that State. She was one of a fam- 
 ily of eight children, of whom but two now 
 survive, Airs. Alanchester and her sister Mary, 
 Mrs. Clemmens, who lives in Kansas. Our 
 subject’s brothers and sisters were named John, 
 Eli, James, Catherine, Mary, Jane and Pollie. 
 Sarah Kline first married Samuel Myers, who 
 was born June 15, 1807, in Pennsylvania, of 
 Dutch descent. While his parents were mov- 
 ing into Ohio from Pennsylvania his father 
 died on the way, and his mother came into the 
 State with him alone. He married Sarah 
 Kline Nov. 17, 1831, and they became the par- 
 ents of ten children: (1) Isaac, born Sept. 1, 
 
 .1832, married Miss Elizabeth Smith, of Illi- 
 nois, and moved to Wisconsin, where he died 
 July 27, 1895. (2) George, born Feb. 16, 1836, 
 died Dec. 27, 1882. (3) John, born March 
 
 22,. 1839, was the first white child born in the 
 town of Spring Grove, Green Co., Wis. (4) 
 Eli, born Sept. 29, 1841, resides in Fayette 
 county, Iowa. (5) Jane, born March 8, 1844, 
 is the widow of Franklin Barnum, whose 
 sketch is found elsewhere. (6) William, born 
 May 10, 1846, died Nov. 10, 1869. (7) James, 
 born Alay 20, 1848, is a resident of Story 
 county, Iowa. (8) Miles, born Oct. 15, 1851, 
 is a farmer in the town of Jefferson. (9) Sam- 
 uel, born April 28, 1854, is a farmer in the 
 town of Spring Grove. (10) Frank, born 
 April 13, 1857, is a farmer in the town of 
 Jefferson. Samuel Alyers died Alay 2, 1863. 
 He was a resident of the town of Spring Grove 
 for a number of years. Mrs. Myers remained 
 a widow for over twenty years, and: was mar- 
 ried in 1884 to Alexander G. Manchester, a 
 carpenter in the town of Spring Grove, who 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 959 
 
 died in 1896. Of Mrs. Manchester's thirty- 
 three grandchildren twenty-four are living, and 
 she has nineteen great-grandchildren. 
 
 Mrs. Manchester came to the Northwest 
 when it was a wilderness peopled with wild 
 beasts and wilder Indians. In company with 
 her father and husband she came to Wisconsin 
 in 1837, and they made their home on a tract 
 of land, part of which now constitutes the site 
 of the village of Oakley. Mrs. Manchester is 
 the owner of a considerable portion of the real 
 estate on which the village has been built. The 
 house in which they lived during their first 
 summer in Wisconsin was made of logs, roofed 
 with clapboards, and lacking both a chimney 
 and a floor. A fire would be built in the cor- 
 ner, and over it Mrs. Manchester cooked the 
 scanty food on which they lived through the 
 summer — mostly mashed corn, and what wild 
 game they could kill. When they settled here 
 Chicago was a lake of mud and ice, and the 
 nearest railroad was east of the Allegheny 
 mountains. There were no habitations between 
 their home and the site of the present city of 
 Monroe. 
 
 Mrs. Manchester, after passing through the 
 various hardships and trials of pioneer life, is 
 still hale and hearty at the age of eighty-five 
 years, and lives on the farm where she and her 
 first husband, Samuel Myers, settled sixty- 
 three years ago. She is a lady of the most 
 estimable character, and commands the un- 
 measured esteem of the community. 
 
 EDWARD FIELD, a substantial farmer 
 of New Diggings township, Lafayette county, 
 is a man whose high standing in the community 
 is based upon his integrity and manly princi- 
 ples. He was born in that township July 11, 
 1842, son of William and Sarah (Sanford) 
 Field. 
 
 William Field was born in Louisville, Ivy., 
 and about 1827 or 1828 located in New Dig- 
 gings township. The greater portion of the in- 
 habitants at that time were Indians, and the 
 early settlers’ lives were filled with exciting 
 experiences of treachery, bloodshed, wild 
 beasts, etc. Mr. Field purchased some twelve 
 or fourteen hundred acres of land near the 
 town of New Diggings, and became one of the 
 large shippers of ore. He was a very prom- 
 inent business man up to the time of his death, 
 which occurred in 1856. His wife. Sarah 
 Sanford, was a native of Canada, and shared 
 
 bravely with her husband the hardships of 
 frontier life. She died at the old home in 
 1892. Politically Mr. Field was one of the 
 old Jacksonian Democrats, and religiously he 
 was connected with no denomination. Eleven 
 children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Field, 
 eight of whom are yet living : ( 1 ) George, 
 
 born in New Diggings, operated one of his fa- 
 ther's farms; he married Annie Harker, and 
 was accidentally drowned at New Orleans, just 
 after he had returned from an European tour. 
 (2) Elizabeth married John Chambers, of 
 Iowa, and both are now deceased ; they left a 
 large family. (3) Fannie married Abner Rock, 
 of Shullsburg, Wis., and has 4 number of 
 children. (4) William, a farmer of New 
 Diggings, married Grace Hurley, and has a 
 family of children. (5) Martha married Will- 
 ard Townsend, a farmer of Shullsburg, Wis., 
 and both are now deceased ; they left one 
 daughter, Ada, now the wife of Blake White, 
 of Illinois. (6) Emily is unmarried and re- 
 sides at the old home. (7) Benjamin, a farm- 
 er of St. Cloud, South Dak., married Emeline 
 Williams, and has a large family. (8) Ed- 
 ward is the next in order of birth. (9) Alice 
 is the widow of a Mr. Dixon, of Beetown, 
 Grant Co., Wis., and has two children. (10) 
 Annie married Frank Bailey, of New Dig- 
 gings, and has six children. ( 1 1 ) Cyrus, re- 
 siding on the old home farm, married Bell 
 Meccer, and has a number of children. 
 
 Edward Field received his education in the 
 winter schools, in the days when three months 
 comprised the winter term. The first seven- 
 teen years of his life were passed on the home 
 farm, and then the threatening war storm 
 broke forth in all its fury, and young Field be- 
 came a member of Company Iv, 20th Wis. V. 
 I., enlisting in July, 1862. His regiment was 
 assigned to the Western army, and served un- 
 til the close of the war, taking an important 
 part in a number of engagements, among - them 
 being Prairie Grove, of Missouri, Van Buren, 
 on the Arkansas river, Vicksburg, Miss., Ya- 
 zoo City, Miss., Brownsville, Tex., Atchafa- 
 laya. La., Fort Morgan. Ala., Franklin Creek, 
 Miss., and the Spanish Fort, Ala. The regi- 
 ment was discharged at Galveston. Tex., and 
 sworn out at Madison. Wis. In 1865, after the 
 battle of Brownsville, the regiment was taken 
 to old Mexico to guard the American Consul 
 during Maximilian’s siege of Matamoras. 
 After the close of the war Mr. Field returned 
 
960 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 to Lafayette county, and settled on his present 
 farm, which he cleared and improved, erecting 
 good and substantial buildings. He has also 
 added 150 acres adjoining, to his original 
 farm, and now has a large tract of land under 
 a high state of cultivation. 
 
 In 1866 Mr. Field wedded Miss Hannah 
 Codings, who was born in England in 1849, 
 daughter of Cornelius and Johanna Codings, 
 natives of Ireland, who located in Lafayette 
 county in 1865. Mrs. Field was educated in 
 England, and was one of a family of four 
 children, the others being, Cornelius, Timothy 
 (who died in Colorado), and Catherine 
 (widow of Samuel Carter, of New Diggings). 
 Twelve children have been born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Field: Harry and Fannie both died in 
 
 childhood; William, born March 3, 1867, 
 moved to California in 1886, where he is en- 
 gaged in mining in Angle Camp, and is quite 
 successful (he married in California) ; Ed- 
 ward, born Jan. 18, 1869, now residing in Hazel 
 Green, Wis., married Rose Rodgers, and has a 
 son, Raymond; Charles, born in March, 1871, 
 is now a ranchman in Iowa, unmarried; Cath- 
 erine, born April, 1873, married William Mc- 
 Grain, of Shullsburg, and has one son, Homer; 
 Gerald, born in 1875, now manages' the home 
 farm; Timothy, born September, 1877, now 
 residing in Dubuque, la., married Maggie Mur- 
 phy, and has a daughter, Margaret; Benja- 
 min, born in 1878, married Lizzie Bright, of 
 Shullsburg, and lives on the old homestead ; 
 Mary E., born in June, 1881, married Joseph 
 Morgan, of Seymour township, Lafayette Co. ; 
 Arilley, born Feb. 26, 1890, a student in the 
 home schools; and Arthur, born March 7, 
 1894. The family are members of the Roman 
 Catholic Church, and in his political belief, Mr. 
 Field is an uncompromising Republican, and 
 has been a member of the town board for a 
 number of years. . He and his family are highly 
 esteemed citizens, and are very popular in the 
 social life of the community. 
 
 JOHN P. TRENARY, one of the promi- 
 nent and substantial citizens of Platteville, 
 Grant county, and one of the largest land- 
 holders in Lafayette county, is of English birth 
 and parentage. Flis parents, Philip and Isa- 
 bel (Lower) Trenary, were natives of Corn- 
 wall, England, born in 1816 and 1820, re- 
 spectively, the former a son of William Tren- 
 ary, the latter a daughter of Eber and Mary 
 
 (Hockey) Lower. All were residents of Eng- 
 land. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Philip Trenary came to this 
 country in 1845, soon making a permanent 
 settlement in Platteville, Wis. Mr. Trenary 
 spent his whole succeeding life on the farm, 
 in his later years retiring from active duties. 
 In politics lie embraced the principles of the 
 Republican party, was a good citizen, and left 
 his family the record of an unblemished life. 
 His death occurred in 1896, and his widow 
 still resides in Platteville, at the age of over 
 eighty years. The family born to the parents of 
 our subject was a large one : John P., the sub- 
 ject of our review, Was the eldest; Mary A., 
 born in 1839, married Henry Pierce, of Iowa, 
 and at her death left eight children; Charles, 
 born in 1842, married Caroline Greenrod, and 
 lives in Pocahontas, Iowa, with a family of 
 ten children; Emma, born in 1844, married 
 John Ware, and resides at Big Patch, with 
 one d'aughter; Ellen, bom in 1847, married 
 John Rickard, and resides in Platteville; Rob- 
 ert, born in 1849, married Caroline Hawk, and 
 lived in Platteville, where he died in 1895, 
 leaving two children ; Henry married Agnes 
 Jeffery, and resides at Austin, Minn., with 
 two children; Carrie is deceased; Bryan F. 
 married Selina Pluntingdon, and resides in 
 Platteville, with one son; William married 
 Carrie Raisback, resides in Platteville town- 
 ship, and has three daughters; and Frank E. 
 married Annie Huntingdon, and resides on 
 the old homestead, with two children. 
 
 Our subject is by birth an Englishman, 
 but America has claimed him so long as one of 
 her worthy citizens that, to all intents and pur- 
 poses, he belongs on this side of the Atlantic. 
 In Cornwall, England, he was born Feb. 19, 
 1837, and there remained until he accompanied 
 his parents to America, in 1845. His educa- 
 tion was acquired in the district schools, and 
 until he had reached maturity he continued on 
 the old homestead, engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits. After his marriage he purchased a tract 
 of partly improved land in Kendall township, 
 Lafayette county, which he cultivated for a 
 number of years, and by substantial and con- 
 tinued improvements made of it one of the best 
 farms in the county. Mr. Trenary believes 
 thoroughly in the best methods of farming, and 
 from long experience has discovered that the 
 best is none too good in the way of buildings, 
 implements, stock or cattle, hence has been 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 96 1 
 
 eminently successful. He has given particular 
 attention to stock, resulting in a reputation for 
 his farm which extends over a wide section. 
 His estate covers 600 acres of the best and most 
 finely cultivated land in Lafayette county. 
 Since 1900 Mr. and Mrs. Trenary have made 
 their residence in Platteville. 
 
 On Dec. 31, 1859, occurred the marriage 
 of Mr. Trenary to Miss Elizabeth A. Stephens, 
 the worthy daughter of Michael and Mary 
 Stephens, this family being one of the old and 
 prominent ones of Grant county, naving come 
 thither from England in 1842. Mr. Stephens 
 crossed the Plains to California, making two 
 trips, but finally locating in Platteville. Five 
 of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Stephens still 
 survive: Jane, wife of James Stevens, of 
 
 Platteville; Fannie, wife of John Bonson, of 
 Platteville; John, of California; Samuel, of 
 Sioux City, Iowa; and Airs. Trenary. who was 
 born in England, Feb. 1, 1837, and grew up in 
 Grant county, Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Trenary have had a family of 
 six children: Thomas Edgar, born in 1861, 
 
 married Lizzie Lillick, of Kendall township, 
 and they now reside in Montana, where he 
 is engaged in lumbering; they have two sons, 
 Guy and Ellis. Otis L., born Sept. 21. 1865, 
 was educated in the Platteville Normal School, 
 later graduated from the Bryant Commercial 
 College, of Chicago, and is now a professor 
 in the Kenosha Commercial College ; he mar- 
 ried Lula Colvin, of Scranton, Penn., and has 
 one child, Gladys. Isabel, born March 20, 
 1864, married John Ruskell, of Kendall and 
 has four children, Charles, Bessie, Maud, and 
 Mary. t Emory, born in 1868, resides on the 
 farm in Kendall. Fannie is at home. Dennis, 
 who married Millie Kilpatrick, of Kendall, 
 resides on the old home farm in Lafayette 
 county. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Trenary has long 
 been identified with the Republican party, and 
 both lie and wife are consistent members of 
 the M. E. Church, to which he has given 
 liberally, enabling much benevolent work to 
 be carried on. His early married life was 
 hampered by want of means, but his energy 
 and industry have enabled him to pass his 
 last days in affluence, and he and his estimable 
 wife have reared a family of which the com- 
 munity has every reason to feel proud, its 
 various members ranking among the represent- 
 ative citizens. 
 
 61 
 
 MARSHALL B. LEWIS, an enterprising 
 and highly popular young farmer and school 
 teacher of Jordan township, Green county, is 
 a native of that township, having been born 
 May 12, 1862, on the old Lewis farm in Sec- 
 tion 8. 
 
 James Lewis, his father, was born in the 
 North of Ireland, of Scotch and Welsh ances- 
 try, a son of John Lewis, who died in his 
 native land. James came to this country in 
 1848, settling in i860 in Jordan township,. 
 Green Co., Wis., where he took up agricultural 
 pursuits, and is now the owner of a fine farm 
 of 300 acres, well cultivated and yielding good 
 crops. He is one of the few living old settlers 
 who came here some forty years ago. In pol- 
 itics he is a Republican, in religious faith a. 
 Presbyterian. 
 
 In April, 1852, James Lewis married Miss- 
 Anna Hood, and eight children blessed their 
 union, six of whom are yet living : ( 1 ) 
 
 Andrew, of the firm of Strieft 8: Lewis, hard- 
 ware merchants, Monroe, Green county; he 
 is the present county chairman, and for some 
 time was clerk of the circuit court. He mar- 
 ried Miss Kate Dickson, of Argyle, Wis. (2) 
 Elizabeth was the wife of Ernest Rankin, for- 
 merly of Argyle, Wis., and died in Fresno, 
 Cal. (3) Margaret married William Mitchell, 
 of Lafayette county; she died in Blanchard- 
 ville, Wis. (4) John is register of deeds for 
 Green county, and makes his home in Monroe ; 
 he is unmarried. (5) Marshall B. is the sub- 
 ject proper of these lines. (6) George lives 
 in Plainview, Neb.; he married Janet Watson. 
 
 (7) Ella is the wife of J. H. Britt, of Illinois. 
 
 (8) Miss Mary lives at home, and is house- 
 keeper for her aged father and her brother Mar- 
 shall. The mother of this family died Jan. 30, 
 1897, aged seventy years, and her remains 
 rest in the Lewis cemetery, town of Jordan. 
 Mr. Lewis has eleven living grandchildren, and 
 one great-grandchild. Andrew Lewis had 
 three children, Leo and Grace, living, and one 
 that died in infancy. Elizabeth left one liv- 
 ing child, Millie. Margaret left one son, Al- 
 len Ernest Mitchell, now in business with his 
 father at Monroe. George has four daughters, 
 Emily, Mary Dale, Phyllia and Luella. Ella 
 has three, Raymond L., Marie and John. 
 The great-grandchild is Wallace Peck, of 
 Fresno, California. 
 
 Marshall B. Lewis was reared on the home 
 farm, and received his education in part at the 
 
962 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 common schools of Jordan township, in part 
 at the Argyle: and Monroe high schools. For 
 the past ten winters he has followed teaching, 
 farming during the summer months, and he 
 owns a hue farm of 240 acres adjoining the 
 homestead of his father, where he carries on 
 general farming, including stock raising and 
 dairying. In addition to this he conducts the 
 homestead farm, having, altogether, charge of 
 540 acres. 
 
 In politics Mr. Lewis has always been a Re- 
 publican, and in religious faith a Protestant. 
 Fie has ever taken an active interest in the 
 affairs of his township, and has held the offices 
 of school clerk, while at the present time he 
 is clerk of the township board of supervisors. 
 Socially he is a Freemason in good standing, 
 a member of Monroe Lodge, No. 21, and is 
 also affiliated with the K. of P., Monroe 
 Lodge, No. 41. He has not yet enrolled him- 
 self in the noble order of Benedicts. A genial, 
 well-iread, sociable gentleman, Mr. Lewis has 
 many warm friends, and enjoys the respect of 
 the community at large. 
 
 GEORGE T. SPAULDING, dealer in 
 farm machinery, carriages, wind mills, etc., 
 Brodhead, Green county, Wisconsin. 
 
 EDWARD NELSON. To the man who 
 is not afraid to work success does not always 
 come unless the industry is accompanied by 
 business tact and good judgment. Edward 
 Nelson, the popular young postmaster of 
 Browntown, Green county, is one of the suc- 
 cessful men of the county, with business acu- 
 men and wisdom far beyond his years. He 
 was born in Norway, son of Peter and Emma 
 (Thompson) Nelson, who came from Norway 
 to America in 1869, locating at Argyle, Wis., 
 where they reared their ten children : Thomp- 
 son, who married Augusta Hanson, of Lafay- 
 ette county; Nels, deceased; Martin, deceased; 
 Peter, who married Bessie Anderson, and 
 is now register of deeds at Darlington, 
 Wis.; Edward, mentioned below; Andrew, 
 deceased ; Severn, who is in the employ of 
 his brother Edward, at Browntown ; Mary, 
 who married Louis Anderson, of Darling- 
 ton, Wis. ; Tillie, who married A. Chris- 
 enton, of Lafayette county; and Chris, who 
 lives with his parents. Peter Nelson was 
 very poor, but by hard work and strict economy 
 he has acquired a fine farm of 300 acres in 
 
 Wiota township, Lafayette county, and has 
 greatly improved it with good buildings. In 
 politics he is a strong Republican, and is re- 
 garded as one of the substantial citizens of his 
 town. 
 
 Edward Nelson was reared to hard work 
 on his father’s farm, and obtained such edu- 
 cation as he could in the common schools of 
 the neighborhood. Naturally bright, he quick- 
 ly learned all that was given him, and at an 
 early age began to learn the tinner’s trade 
 at Darlington. In 1893, in connection with 
 his' brother Thompson, he opened a hardware 
 and general store, and the next year purchased 
 his brother’s interest, since which time he has 
 conducted the business alone, giving evidence 
 of business sagacity that is most phenomenal. 
 His pleasant manners and honorable dealing 
 have won him friends and customers, and 
 made him a social favorite as well. 
 
 On March 10, 1895, Mr. Nelson was 
 united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Trickle, 
 who was born March 10, 1878, daughter of 
 Edward and Matilda (Hawthorne) Trickle. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Trickle were the parents of the 
 following children, besides Mrs, Nelson: 
 James, of Freeport, 111 .; Annie, of South 
 Wayne; George, of Browntown; Alfred, of 
 Grand Rapids, Mich. ; Elmer, of Brown- 
 town ; and Ben and Charles, of Browntown. 
 lo Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have been born 
 two interesting children, Galey and Mamie. 
 Mrs. Nelson is one of the cultured and 
 accomplished ladies of Browntown society, 
 and is greatly beloved by her friends. Mr. 
 Nelson is a Republican in politics, but in 
 religious matters is identified with no de- 
 nomination, although he takes an interest 
 in church work and is a willing contributor 
 to all worthy causes. Socially he is a mem- 
 ber of the M. W. A. and the I. O. O. F. As 
 a citizen his interest in public affairs is an 
 active working interest, and he has served as 
 township clerk, supervisor of roads, and suc- 
 cessfully administered the affairs of Brown- 
 town as president of the village board. 
 
 RUDY M. KUNDERT, one of the weal- 
 thiest and most progressive general farmers 
 and cheese manufacturers of Jordan township, 
 Green county, is a native of New Glarus, 
 Green Co., Wis., born June 5, 1861. 
 
 Jacob Kundert, father of Rudy M., was 
 born in Canton Glarus, Switzerland, in 1830, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 9^3 
 
 and for five years before coming to this coun- 
 try, in 1854, he worked in a cotton factory. 
 On May 16, 1851, in Canton Glarus, he mar- 
 ried Barbara Kundert, and they had a large 
 family, of whom mention is made of the fol- 
 lowing, three having died in infancy : Jacob, 
 a farmer of Monroe township, Green county; 
 Sarah, widow of Frederick Luther; Barbara, 
 wife of Mathias Meier, a farmer of Jordan 
 township; Abraham, a farmer of Lafayette 
 county, Wis. ; Rudy M. ; Henry, residing in 
 Monroe City, Wis.; Maggie, wife of Jacob 
 Nichols, of the State of Oregon; Thomas, de- 
 ceased; Frederick, a farmer in Monroe town- 
 ship, Green county; Annie, wife of John Lee,, 
 of Monroe; John, also of Monroe, the youngest 
 living. The mother of this numerous family 
 was barn in 1830, and died Nov. 10, 1899. 
 The father died Aug. 15, 1895, having lived 
 retired for several years prior to his decease. 
 When he came to this country he owed one 
 hundred dollars passage money, but eventually 
 he became one of the leading wealthy farmers 
 of Green county, at one time owning 1,200 
 aores of land, and was also an extensive cheese 
 manufacturer. On his arrival in Wisconsin 
 he remained some fifteen years in New Glarus, 
 Green county, then removed to Monroe town- 
 ship. During the war of the Rebellion he 
 enlisted. Sept. 12, 1862, in the 9th Wis. V. I., 
 and participated in the battle of Prairie Grove, 
 also in the Red River campaign. 
 
 Rudy M. Kundert was reared to manhood 
 on his father’s farm, at the same time receiv- 
 ing a liberal education at the public schools of 
 the neighborhood. A lifelong industrious 
 farmer, he has accumulated a fine property, 
 comprising 200 acres of highly cultivated 
 land situated some three miles north of the 
 village of Browntown; he has also for several 
 years carried on a cheese factory on his own 
 premises, and at the present time he owns 
 some forty head of milch cows. 
 
 On Feb. 7, 1888, Rudy M. Kundert mar- 
 ried Miss Susan Shear, born March 22, 1864, 
 a daughter of Joseph and Josephine (Lutz) 
 Shear, natives of Germany, who came to 
 Green county, Wis., in early times. They had 
 a family of eleven children, nine of whom are 
 yet living: Amelia, wife of Andrew Rine- 
 
 hart, of Cadiz, Wis.; Ferdinand, in Jordan 
 township, Green county; Frederick, in South 
 Dakota ; Helen, wife of Thomas Dowd, of 
 South Dakota; Louisa, wife of George Ault; 
 
 Susan, wife of our subject; Annie, wife of 
 Joseph McCarty; Lawrence, in Monroe town- 
 ship, Green county; and Andrew, in Monroe, 
 Green county. 
 
 Six children, all yet living, have been born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Rudy M. Kundert, their 
 names and dates of birth being as follows : 
 Helen E., Dec. 11, 1888; Thomas, June 21, 
 1890; Clara, Aug. 31, 1891; Frederick, Dec. 
 12, 1892; Charles, March 20, 1895; and Lena, 
 March 24, 1900. In his political preferences 
 Mr. Kundert is a Democrat, and for several 
 years has served as school director and treas- 
 urer, also as road supervisor; at this writing 
 he is a member of the township board. In 
 religious faith he is identified with the Lutheran 
 Church, and in all the relations of life he is 
 looked upon as an excellent, trustworthy citi- 
 zen. 
 
 C. L. BARLOW, Monticello, Green Co., 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 JOHN HALE (deceased), who passed his 
 last years retired in the town of Lima, Grant 
 county, was born in England in March, 1S15, 
 son of John and Esther Hale, natives of that 
 country, who lived and died in their island 
 home. 
 
 Our subject was one of three sons. He 
 worked in the coal mines of England and 
 Wales up to 1841, when he came to America, 
 locating in the lead mining district of Grant 
 county. Here, two years later, he married 
 Miss Isabelle McCullough, who was born in 
 Scotland in 1819. After their marriage they 
 settled for a short time at Hazel Green, and 
 he then purchased a farm in the town of Lima, 
 engaging in its tillage for many years. Airs. 
 Hale died on this, farm in 1864, leaving nine 
 children: (1) John, born in 1844, was a sol- 
 
 dier during the war of the Rebellion, going 
 out on the first call for volunteers, and was 
 severely wounded in one of the many battles 
 in which he participated, but survived. In 
 1866 he migrated to Montana, where he mar- 
 ried, and died leaving two children. He lost 
 his life by suffocation in a mine while engaged 
 in the rescue of one of his companions. His 
 widow died a few years ago, leaving two sons, 
 both residents of Montana. (2) Margaret, 
 born in 1846, is now the wife of Alex Graham, 
 who is engaged in the dairy business in Min- 
 nesota. (3) Robert C., born March 28, 1848, 
 
964 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 is mentioned below. (4) Sarah M., born in 
 January, 1850, is now the wife of Thomas Cal- 
 oway, of Kansas, and all of their children are 
 in that State. (5) Elizabeth J., born in March, 
 1852, married John Caloway, a farmer in the 
 town of Lima. They have six children. (6) 
 Lafayette, born in 1854, lives in Kansas, where 
 he is a prosperous farmer. He married Jane 
 Poland, and has a family of seven children. 
 (7) Alvin H., born May 21, 1856, resides on 
 his fruit farm near Platteville. He married 
 Nellie Johnson, and has one living - child, Ste- 
 phen O. (8) George F., born in February, 
 i860, when a young man went to Kansas, 
 where he married and engaged in agriculture. 
 Tie became very prosperous, and in 1894 moved 
 to Oregon, where he owns a large firuit farm. 
 He has no children. (9) Jacob A., born in 
 April, 1862, is married, and lives in Iowa. 
 They have one son, Virgil. 
 
 In 1864 John TIale, our subject, married 
 Mrs. Sarah Graham, the widow of Gustavus 
 Graham, who died in California. Mr. Gra- 
 ham, a native of New York, in 1835 married 
 Miss Sarah Quick, who was born in 1815, a 
 daughter of Jacob and Sarah Quick, both na- 
 tives of New Jersey, and residents of Sullivan 
 county, N. Y., where they died. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Graham came to Wisconsin the year of their 
 marriage, and settled on a farm in the town of 
 Lima, where he lived and reared his family. 
 In the fall of 1849 he went to the mines of 
 California, where he died within a year of 
 consumption. Mrs. Graham was left with six 
 small children to battle the world alone. ( 1 ) 
 Robert H., the eldest of her family, was born 
 in Grant county in September, 1838, and is 
 now a resident of Platteville, where he is en- 
 gaged in mining. (2) Alex, born in 1840, 
 married Mr. Hale’s daughter Margaret and 
 lives in Minnesota. (3) William, born in 
 1842, lives in Iowa. (4) Mary J. died in 
 childhood. (5) Louisa is now the wife of 
 Orlando McOuisten, a resident of Montana. 
 (6) Emma M., born in 1848, is the wife of 
 Edwin Bullock, a hardware merchant in Kan- 
 sas. (7) Sarah A., born in 1850, is now the 
 widow of Joseph Van Meeter, and lives in 
 Chicago with her three children. Mr. Hale 
 had no children by his second marriage. In 
 1864, after his marriage to Mrs. Graham, he 
 purchased the interest of the Graham heirs 
 in the family homestead, and here he and his 
 wife lived happily and contentedly, surrounded 
 
 by every comfort, and putting every day of 
 their lives to the best possible use. 
 
 Air. TIale began as a poor boy in his adopt- 
 ed country, and by his own efforts made a 
 standing among the people of Wisconsin that 
 could not be questioned. As a Republican he 
 was elected to several local positions in the 
 town of Lima, and he was a member of the 
 Christian Church, with which his widow also 
 unites. 
 
 Robert C. Hale, the second son of our sub- 
 ject, was born at Hazel Green in 1848, and 
 received a good district-school education. 
 When a young man he made a purchase of land 
 in Alinnesota. Improving this somewhat, he 
 sold out and returned to Grant county, where 
 he found good business openings. In 1873 he 
 married Airs. Martha (Condree) Reed, of 
 Wayne county, Ohio, and settled on a small 
 farm in the town of Lima, where he bought 
 a portable mill, manufacturing sawed lumber 
 foir a number of years. In 1886 he purchased 
 a farm in the town of Lima, on which he has 
 put up a bank barn and made many other 
 valuable improvements. This place, which 
 contains 200 acres, has become a fine farm. 
 Mr. Hale is largely interested in stock rais- 
 ing, having seventy-five sheep, one hundred 
 hogs, and a large number of cattle. Three 
 children have come to Air. Hale and his wife: 
 ( 1 J William F., born in January, 1875, is a 
 farmer in the town of Lima, where he owns 
 160 acres of well-cultivated land. He is un- 
 married. (2) John J., born in 1877, gradu- 
 ated from the State Normal at Platteville in 
 1898, has taught school, and is now a clerk 
 on one of the Mississippi river steamboats. 
 (3) Jessie AT, born in 1880, prepared herself 
 for teaching in the State Normal at Platte- 
 ville, and now holds a State certificate. I11 
 politics Air. Hale is a Republican, and is a mem- 
 ber of the Republican town committee. He 
 has held the office of chairman of the town 
 for four years', for twelve years was school 
 clerk, and six years school director. He be- 
 longs to the Odd Fellows, and in religion lie 
 and his wife are members of the Congrega- 
 tional Church. 
 
 WILLIAM POHLE, Sr., a well-known 
 and highly esteemed German-American citizen 
 of Grant county, resides on section 33, in the 
 town of Bloomington. For more than thirty 
 years he has been a resident of the county, 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 965 
 
 and with interest has watched and assisted in its 
 growth and development. 
 
 The birth of Mr. Pohle took place in West- 
 phalia, Germany, on April 12, 1S29. His fa- 
 ther, Hermann Pohle, never came to this coun- 
 try. In his own land our subject received a 
 good education, as all boys are required to re- 
 main at school foir a certain length of time. 
 In 1852 he married Miss Ilsabein Storlman, 
 and the following year they came to America ; 
 at that time they had one daughter, who is now 
 a resident of Iowa. An uncle of our subject, 
 Casper Pohle, who resided in St. Louis, Mo., 
 with his wife made a visit to Germay, in the 
 hope of restoring her health, and upon their 
 return our subject and family came with them, 
 another uncle, Henry Wiedman, also joining 
 the party. This family group landed in New 
 Orleans, and went thence up the [Mississippi 
 as far as St. Louis, which was the home of 
 Casper Pohle. It was the first intention of our 
 subject and his uncle Henry to settle in Mis- 
 souri, but the Kansas border troubles had al- 
 ready begun, and much excitement existed on 
 this account, so they determined to continue 
 on up the river and land at Guttenberg, Clay- 
 ton Co., Iowa. Henry Wiedman settled there, 
 and there' remained until his death. Mr. Pohle 
 was also pleased with the locality, and 1 bought 
 100 acres of land in Clayton county, remain- 
 ing upon it until 1868, when he came to Grant 
 county, arriving in February of that year. 
 His first purchase of land was on section 34, 
 from Mr. Benham, and immediately he began 
 operations which through industry and good 
 management enabled him to continually in- 
 crease his possessions, until he has become one 
 of the most extensive farmers and stock rais- 
 ers in the county. His present home is one 
 of comfort and beauty, and here he and his esti- 
 mable wife live a life of ease, although always 
 usefully employed. As previously noted, Mr. 
 Pohle had excellent educational opportunities, 
 and he has always been prominently identi- 
 fied with the intelligent movements of his lo- 
 cality. His parents had but two children, and 
 as he was the only son, he was exempt from 
 military duty, but he is still of the opinion 
 that the United States offers the best opening 
 to young men. During his life in Bloomington 
 he has won the respect of the community, 
 and is esteemed for his recognized honesty 
 and integrity, which were shown in three years’ 
 service on the town board ; he has been admin- 
 
 istrator of several estates. In politics he is a 
 Democrat. 
 
 The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Pohle 
 numbered ten, seven sons and three daughters. 
 The eldest, Louise, born in Germany, resides 
 in Garnavillo, Iowa; Henry resides in Frank- 
 lin county, Iowa; John lives in California; 
 William and Hermann live in Bloomington ; 
 Anna resides in Patch Grove; August resides 
 in Bloomington ; Alary is in Hancock county, 
 Iowa; Louis farms the homestead; and Ed- 
 ward is a dental surgeon, a rising professional 
 man of Guttenberg, Iowa. 
 
 JOB HAMPTON CRABTREE is a pio- 
 neer resident of Bloomington, Grant county, 
 who made his home there when that thriving 
 and busy locality was almost a wilderness, and 
 who has been conspicuously identified with its 
 growth and development. 
 
 By birth Air. Crabtree is a Kentuckian, the 
 name being an old and honored one in the 
 South. His parents, John and Middy Ann 
 (Goff) Crabtree, were natives of South and 
 North Carolina, respectively. John Crabtree 
 was a boy at the beginning of the Revolutionary 
 war, but, like Gen. Andrew Jackson, whom 
 he knew well, he fought against the enemy 
 during the closing scenes of that great strug- 
 gle in his native State. He attained the age 
 of eighty-four, and at the time of his death 
 was about to receive a pension from the gov- 
 ernment on account of his services. From 
 South Carolina he went to Georgia, where his 
 residence was burned, and in that fire he lost 
 his discharge from the Patriot army. His first 
 wife, who belonged to the Hawkins family, 
 died in Georgia, the second wife being the 
 mother of our subject. From Georgia Air. 
 Crabtree removed to Kentucky, but both he 
 and his wife passed away in Montgomery coun- 
 ty, 111., he at the age of eighty-foui, and she 
 at the age of seventy-five. John Crabtree was 
 the father of twenty children, twelve of whom 
 were born to the second marriage. All the 
 children of the first marriage have passed 
 away, and but five of the second survive, viz. : 
 Job H., of this record; Isaac Jackson, a weal- 
 thy resident of California, where he located 
 in 1850; Alidcly Ann, a resident of Litchfield, 
 111 . ; Nancy Jane, of the same place; and xAJlen, 
 who settled in California. 
 
 The birth of Job H. Crabtree took place 
 in Aluhlenberg county, Ivy., Alarch 14, 1819, 
 
966 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and he was about ten years of age when the 
 family removed from Kentucky to Illinois, 
 where he resided until he came to Grant coun- 
 ty, Wis., in 1845. On March 6, 1846, he 
 was united in marriage to his present esti- 
 mable wife, whose maiden name was Mary 
 Ann Walker, and vvho is a daughter of George 
 Walker. They have been permitted to pass a 
 happy life of fifty-five years together, and to- 
 gether have borne the deprivations and hard- 
 ships of pioneer life. 
 
 By trade Mr. Crabtree was a carpenter, 
 and he followed same for some twenty years. 
 When he first came to Grant county and land- 
 ed in Potosi. in 1845, be was possessed of 
 twenty-five cents in money, his other capital 
 being his trade, his health and his determina- 
 tion to succeed. Pawning his trunk for his 
 first week’s board, he searched for any kind 
 of employment, as laborers were more plenti- 
 ful than employers, but by dint of strict econo- 
 my, industry and his pleasing personality he 
 soon became occupied, and his present fine 
 farm of 320 acres is a testimony to his success. 
 His first entry of land ’was eighty acres, and 
 as he was able he increased it, cultivating, 
 clearing and improving as the years went by. 
 Since his marriage Mr. Crabtree has been a 
 resident of Beetown and Bloomington. The 
 surviving children of our subject and wife 
 are: Allen, Frank, Eddie and one daughter, 
 Mary Jane, the wife of Webster Cook. Mr. 
 Crabtree and his wife were deeply bereaved 
 in the death of their son, John Quincy, in 
 1876, at the age of twenty-two. His life was 
 just opening into manly usefulness, and he 
 was an estimable young man in every way. 
 Emma died in babyhood, Charles in childhood, 
 and the eldest child died at birth. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Crabtree are among the old- 
 est living pioneers of Bloomington, and are 
 ranked with the most worthy and highly es- 
 teemed citizens in southwestern Wisconsin. 
 Their recollections of that life of yesterday 
 are vivid and interesting, and 1 admiration is 
 not wanting for those who so bravely strug- 
 gled against adverse conditions and so suc- 
 cessfully overcame almost insurmountable dif- 
 ficulties in the way of making life easier for 
 their descendants. 
 
 Webster Cook, of Bloomington, the son-in- 
 law of Air. Crabtree, was born in Buffalo, 
 N. Y., in 1841, and came West with his father's 
 family about 1844. The father was a miller 
 
 by trade, and his first location in Wisconsin 
 was in the town of Waterloo, where he ope- 
 rated a mill for some time, but later he came 
 to Beetown, Grant county. There he engaged 
 in farming for some years, finally removing to 
 Platteville, where he and his wife passed their 
 last years. 
 
 Oh Aug. 19, 1862, Mr. Cook enlisted for 
 service in the Civil war, in Company F, 7th 
 Wis. V. I., which regiment formed a part of 
 the distinguished Iron Brigade, and took part 
 in many of the most severe campaigns and 
 battles in the war for the Union. These in- 
 clude Gainesville, Chanceliorsville, Fredericks- 
 burg, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and the siege 
 of Petersburg. As the army was forming for 
 the great attack for the possession of the Wel- 
 don Railroad, which was the key to the ene- 
 my’s position, Air. Cook was prostrated by a 
 sunstroke, which rendered him unfit for fur- 
 ther service, and from the effects of which he 
 has never fully recovered. He is a member 
 of the Will Hickok Post, No. 134, G. A. R. 
 A brother, William Cook, now a resident of 
 Boscobel, served in the Civil war as a member 
 of the 10th Wisconsin. Webster Cook mar- 
 ried Aliss Crabtree in 1865. They have no 
 family. 
 
 EDMUND S. FESSENDEN, M. D., of 
 Albany, is one of the reliable physicians of 
 Green county, who has added experience to 
 theory, and has supplemented the study of 
 books by the study of men. He lives up to 
 the best ideals of his profession, and has many 
 friends in Albany and through the adjacent 
 regions. 
 
 Dr. Fessenden was born in Columbiana 
 county, Ohio, Nov. 19, 1835, a son of James 
 and Alary (Young) Fessenden, natives of New 
 Hampshire and Connecticut, respectively. 
 They were the parents of five sons and six 
 daughters, and the following children are still 
 living: Dr. Edmund S., of Albany; Sylvanus 
 C., of Sharon, Wis.; Emily, the wife of Dr. 
 Sutherland, of Nebraska; Laura, the widow 
 of Ransom Phelps, of Aurora, 111 . ; Rebecca 
 Ann; Airs. Nancy Hall, of Cresco, Iowa; Joel, 
 of the same place; and Priscilla. The father 
 was a cooper in early life, and became a farmer 
 in Trumbull county, Ohio. He came to Wis- 
 consin in 1856, where he located on a farm 
 in Lafayette county. Some years later he 
 moved to Howard county, Iowa, where he died 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 967 
 
 in 1898, within two months of his eighty-first 
 birthday. His wife died about two years pre- 
 viously, when seventy-seven. They were mem- 
 bers of the Disciple Church. His father, prob- 
 ably a native of New Hampshire, had died of 
 typhoid fever when about forty-five years of 
 age; he was the father of eleven children, all 
 of whom lived to be over fifty-six years of age. 
 Philo Young, the father of Mary (Young) 
 Fessenden, was a native of Connecticut, of En- 
 glish blood, and followed farming as an occu- 
 pation ; he passed away in advanced years, the 
 father of a numerous family. 
 
 Dr. Fessenden lived on the farm in Trum- 
 bull county with his parents until he was ten 
 years of age, and then went to Holmes county, 
 m the same State, where he grew to manhood. 
 His education was acquired in the district 
 schools. In 1856 he came to Wisconsin with 
 his parents, and here he attended the old Platte- 
 ville Academy, after which he taught school 
 four years. He began the study of medicine, 
 but the Civil war postponed his preparation 
 for his profession, and in December, 1863, 
 as a member of Company E, 30th Wis. V. I., 
 he marched to the front and served until the 
 close of the war as a corporal. He was em- 
 ployed on detached service much of the time, 
 and in 1864 stood guard at Fort Wadswo/rth, 
 in Dakota. He was mustered out at Louisville, 
 Ky., and resumed the study of medicine at the 
 Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati in 1865, 
 remaining through the following year. He 
 began his professional life in Grant county, 
 Wis., and very soon moved into Richland Cen- 
 ter, where he practiced for twelve years. He 
 then came to Green county, and with the ex- 
 ception of four years at Mineral Point, his 
 old home and the place of his marriage, he 
 has continued to practice in this county, four 
 years of the time being spent at Monroe. In 
 December, 1899, Dr. Fessenden located in Al- 
 bany, and contemplates a permanent residence 
 here. 
 
 On March 25, i860, Dr. Fessenden and 
 Miss Henrietta Maria Howe, daughter of Hen- 
 ry and C'amelia A. (Davidson) Howe, were 
 married at Mineral Point, Wis. To this union 
 were born three sons and three daughters, 
 Irene, William N., Marion, Henry Howe, 
 Katie and Edmund L. Irene married M. J. 
 Chryst, of the town of Sylvester, and has seven 
 children, Zina Muzette, Harold Clayton. Mar- 
 jory, Neal Cleveland, Rexford, Archie Mc- 
 
 Lean, and the baby. William X. is a painter 
 and printer at Freeport, 111 . Marion married 
 Edward F. Bratley, of the town of Cadiz, 
 Green county, and has five children, Glenn, 
 Lois, Maude, Alice, and the baby. Henry H., of 
 Mineral Point, a painter by trade, married 
 Miss Anna Libby, and has two children. Katie 
 died when nineteen months old. Edmund L. 
 is a painter. Dr. Fessenden and his wife with 
 their two daughters are members of the Chris- 
 tian Church and are active workers in the 
 Church and Sunday-school. They are both 
 well informed in the Scriptures, of which 
 he is a profound student. He belongs to the 
 George H. Legate Post, No. 125, G. A. R., at 
 Mineral Point, and in his politics is a Prohi- 
 bitionist. 
 
 REV. GEORGE W. CASE, the present 
 pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church at 
 Monroe, Green county, is one of the most ad- 
 vanced and earnest men in the ministry in the 
 West Wisconsin Conference. 
 
 George W. Case was born in Erie county, 
 N. Y., Sept. 30, 1835, a son of James H. and 
 Mary (Powers) Case, natives of Connecticut 
 and Vermont, respectively, and passed his early 
 life in that State. He was one of a family 
 of six children, three of whom— James and 
 Samuel, both of Hart Prairie, Wis.. and him- 
 self — are now living. James H. Case was a 
 man whose life was characterized by sterling 
 manliness and integrity. By trade he was a 
 blacksmith, but on his coming to Wisconsin, 
 in 1849, h e bought a farm of 200 acres in 
 Walworth county, and devoted himself to its 
 cultivation. After a time he increased this 
 by the purchase of 240 acres, and upon this 
 magnificent rural estate he lived until the year 
 1881, being eighty-three years old. His wife 
 passed away in 1864, at the age of sixty-four. 
 They were members of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church. William Case, father of James 
 H. Case, was born in Connecticut, and settled 
 in Oneida county, N. Y., in 1800.- He was a 
 soldier in the war of 1812, and died well ad- 
 vanced in years. The father of Mrs. Mary 
 Case was a farmer, and died in Vermont at 
 a venerable age, the father of a numerous fam- 
 ily; he had a son, Samuel, who was the pro- 
 prietor of large foundry works at Schenectady. 
 
 Rev. George W. Case came to Wisconsin 
 with his parents, and grew to manhood on the 
 Walworth county farm. He enjoyed the most 
 
968 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 liberal educational advantages of the times, 
 completing the course of study afforded by the 
 local schools, and then attended Milton Acade- 
 my, being a member of the' first graduating 
 class of that institution. Later he was a stu- 
 dent at Lawirence University, Appleton, Wis., 
 continuing his studies to the junior year. His 
 collegiate education was completed at Hillsdale 
 College, Hillsdale, Mich., in 1862. Returning 
 home, he secured the charge of the academy at 
 Watertown, which he held for one year, and 
 from there passed to the principalship of Bron- 
 son Institute at Point Bluff, Adams Co., Wis. 
 But these were the times that stirred men’s 
 souls, and the young man could not resist the 
 tide of patriotic devotion that was sweeping 
 the young and brave into the hosts of freedom, 
 to war for mighty treasures. Air. Case en- 
 listed in 1864 in Company Iv, 43d Wis. V. I., 
 and was made orderly sergeant, later promoted 
 to the second lieutenancy. After the war he 
 returned to Bronson Institute, and was at its 
 head for a year following its removal to Kil- 
 bourn, Wis. He was principal of the high 
 school at Columbus, Wis., and from that posi- 
 tion entered into the active work of the Meth- 
 odist ministry, and consecrated his future years 
 to the blaster's service. He joined the West 
 Wisconsin Conference in 1863, and for thirty- 
 four years, commencing with 1867, has been 
 in the active work of the ministry. He rep- 
 resented his conference in the General Confer- 
 ence at Omaha, Neb., in 1892, and for ten years 
 has filled the office of presiding elder. 
 
 On July 27, 1863, Mr. Case wedded Miss 
 Nancy E. Nash, daughter of Francis and Cath- 
 erine Van Bergen (Curtis) Nash. Four chil- 
 dren have blessed this union: (1) Jennie W. 
 
 is the wife of W. W. Smith, and lives in Aus- 
 tin, Minn., where her husbafid has charge of 
 the Standard Oil plant; they have two children, 
 Gladys and Elbridge. (2) James F. married 
 Miss Helen Smith, and has his home in Port- 
 land, Oregon, where he followed the vocation 
 of a civil engineer, he having had the con- 
 struction of several important railroad and 
 street bridges. He is now a major in the 40th 
 Regiment, U. S. V. I., and is serving in the 
 Philippine islands. They have one son, Archie 
 W. (3) Mary Belle married Edward Gray, 
 and lives in Sparta, Wis. (4) Baby, who died 
 in infancy. 
 
 Fraternally Rev. Case belongs to Northern 
 Light Lodge, No. 68, A. F. & A. M., and to 
 
 Marathon Chapter, R. A. AT, both located at 
 Alauston, Wis. He is also a member of O. F. 
 Pinney Post, No. 102, G. A. R., at Alonroe, 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 DANIEL DUNWIDDIE, one of the hon- 
 ored pioneers of Green county, Wis., is now 
 living retired from active participation in busi- 
 ness, in his comfortable home in Brodhead, 
 surrounded by loving children and grandchil- 
 diren, as well as by a host of warm friends. 
 He was born in Greene county, Ohio, Jan. 6, 
 1822, son of John and Ruth (Bets) Dunwid- 
 die, the former of whom Avas a farmer in 
 Delaware and an early settler of Greene county, 
 Ohio, where he purchased a tract of timber 
 land, and fairmed there until his death, in 1826; 
 his wife, Airs. Ruth (Bets) Dunwiddie, was 
 the daughter of a Delaware farmer, and sur- 
 vived her husband several years. John Dun- 
 widdie was a soldier in the war of 1812, and 
 he and his wife were both Baptists in relig- 
 ious faith. They were the parents of eleven 
 children, ten sons and one daughter, but two 
 of whom are now living — Judge Brooks Dun- 
 widdie, of Alonroe, and Daniel, of Brodhead. 
 
 Daniel Dumviddie grew to manhood on 
 the farm in Greene county, Ohio, and made 
 farming his life work until 1896. His first 
 schooling was in the old-fa, slhioned subscription 
 schools, and after his mother’s death he made 
 his home with his sister Susan and .her hus- 
 band, Ezra Haines, remaining with them until 
 he had attained the age of twenty-one years. 
 In 1843 he first came to Wisconsin, and made 
 his home in Jefferson township, but a little 
 later he gave up this land and purchased 160 
 acres in Spring Grove township, and twenty 
 acres of timber land in Decatur township, mak- 
 ing his home in Spring Grove until his retire- 
 ment in 1896, since when he has lived with his 
 daughter, Airs. Alonzo Barnes. 
 
 On Dec. 18, 1844, Mr. Dunwiddie married 
 Miss Rebecca Austin, daughter of Joshua and 
 Priscilla (Everly) Austin, and they became 
 the parents of nine children : Priscilla mar- 
 ried John Swan, of Juda, Wis., and has five 
 children, Pliny, Ivan J., Otto, Victoria and 
 Franklin; Louisa died in childhood; Ezra, of 
 Coldridge, Neb., married Fannie Gifford, and 
 has five children, Gertrude, Charles, Esther, 
 Annie and Robert; Celista married Alonzo 
 Barnes (who died in 1900), and has had two 
 children, Rockwell, and one deceased; Theressa 
 
commemorative biographical record. 
 
 969 
 
 married William F. Holcomb, of Brodhead, 
 and has one son, Frederick N.; Minnie 'died 
 in childhood; John Milton, of Jefferson town- 
 ship, married Lucinda Davis, and has one 
 child living - , Ned Elmer; Idella married C. F. 
 Cronk, of Madison, Wis., and has two chil- 
 dren, Forbes B. and Margo ; and Myrtle mar- 
 ried Ross C. Murdock, of Brodhead, and has 
 two children, Hazel and Marjorie. Mrs. Dun- 
 widdie was born April 8, 1825, in Burlington 
 county, N. J., and died March 23, 1895. Her 
 marriage to Mr. Dunwiddie was celebrated in 
 Warsaw, Kosciusko Co., Ind., and the cere- 
 mony performed by Judge Miller. On Dec. 
 18, 1894, they celebrated their golden wed- 
 ding at their comfortable home in Spring 
 Grove. Of the forty-five guests present the 
 greater number were children, grandchildren 
 and great-grandchildren (at that time there 
 were three great-grandchildren, and at present 
 eight). Many were the good wishes spoken 
 on that memorable occasion, and few realized 
 then that before another anniversary had passed 
 the beloved mother and grandmother would be 
 waiting for them all in the land that knows 
 no care. 
 
 When Mr. Dunwiddie made his first ap- 
 pearance in Wisconsin, in 1843, he came on 
 horseback. In 1844 he went to Indiana, where 
 he was married in December, and in the fol- 
 lowing March he returned to Wisconsin, this 
 time making the trip in a “Democrat” wagon, 
 built somewhat after the manner of a prairie 
 schooner, and drawn by two good horses. The 
 team was driven by Mrs. Dunwiddie’s brother, 
 Isaac, and the trip required about ten days. 
 The young couple began life as pioneers, and 
 soon became inured to the hardships on the 
 frontier. Their house was built of logs and 
 plastered both outside and in. The roof was 
 formed of slabs, held in place by hangers, 
 and the floor was made of the same material, 
 but dressed smooth. Milwaukee was the near- 
 est available market for farm produce, and the 
 outgoing team could make the trip in three 
 days, returning in two. Marriage in those 
 days, to be followed by pioneer life, meant 
 a practical severing of all home ties. Years 
 must come and go before there could be any 
 hope of another meeting. Aside from the 
 Brother who drove the team in 1845'. Mrs. 
 Dunwiddie saw no one of her people for thirty- 
 five years. At the end of that time this same 
 brother visited Wisconsin, and brought with 
 
 CD 
 
 him his sister Elizabeth. Time had wrought 
 its changes. The old log cabin had given way 
 to a pleasant, well-furnished and comfortable 
 home, the unbroken wilderness to well-culti- 
 vated fields. Mr. and Mrs. Dunwiddie were 
 earnest members of the Baptist Church in Juda, 
 taking an active part in all Christian work. 
 After the death of his wife Mr. Dunwiddie left 
 the old home hallowed by many a sacred mem- 
 ory, and is now passing the evening of his life 
 in Birodhead. 
 
 THOMAS BAN FI ELD (deceased) was 
 an extensive farmer of Smelser township, Grant 
 county, and is remembered in this locality as 
 one of the substantial men of the community. 
 He was born in County Wicklow, Ireland, 
 Dec. 10, 1841, a son of William and Ann (Kil- 
 bride) Banfield. When about three years of 
 age he was brought by his parents to Smelser, 
 where the family has since ^resided. The par- 
 ents were very prosperous, and died wealthy 
 and highly respected, after having had five chil- 
 dren, four sons and one daughter. 
 
 Thomas Banfield was educated in the dis- 
 trict schools of Smelser, where he gained a 
 very fair knowledge of the branches there 
 taught. 1 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Banfield married Julia Doyle, 
 who was born in Ireland on March 10, 1845, 
 daughter of Andrew and Mary A. Doyle, a 
 pioneer family of Grant county. Mrs. Banfield 
 grew to womanhood in Grant county, and re- 
 ceived her education in the schools of Hazel 
 Green. Mr. and Mrs. Banfield were the par- 
 ents of eleven children, as follows: (1) Will- 
 iam A., born in November, 1867, received his 
 preliminary education in the home schools, and 
 then spent two years in St. Francis Seminary, 
 Milwaukee. For five years he was a student 
 in St. Joseph’s College, Dubuque, Iowa, where 
 he was graduated, and afterward entered a 
 theological seminary at Montreal, and was or- 
 dained a priest in 1S91. For one year after 
 his consecration as priest he was assistant in a 
 parish at Clinton, Iowa, and fhen assumed 
 charge of his present parish at Bankston, same 
 State, where he is the founder of a fine church, 
 and is very popular. (2) Mary A., born in 
 1869, died at the age of six years. (3) An- 
 drew, born in September, 1871, was educated 
 in St. Joseph’s College, Dubuque, and married 
 Maggie Byrns, daughter of John A. Byrns, 
 an old-time resident of Grant county, and has 
 
9JO 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 four children: Julia L., born in March, 1896; 
 Thomas A., born in August, 1898 ; John Oscar, 
 born in July, 1899; and Agnes L.. born Feb. 
 19, 1901. They reside on a farm near the 
 homestead. (4) Lizzie A., born Sept. 6, 1872, 
 died Dec. 6. 1875. ( 5 ) Catherine C., born 
 
 Aug. 11, 1875, is a graduate of the Cuba City 
 high school, and is at present living with her 
 brother, Rev. W. A. Banfield. (0) Charles 
 M., born March 19, 1877, died in childhood. 
 (7) Charles P., born May 15, 1878, was for 
 six years a student of St. Joseph’s College, 
 Dubuque, Iowa, graduating in classics and phil- 
 osophy June 18, 1901. (8) Nellie K., born 
 
 Dec. 19, 1881, was a student of St. Clara’s 
 Academy, Grant county, Wis., and at present 
 is a student of the Visitation Academy, Du- 
 buque, Iowa. (9) Margaret, born July 5, 
 1883, died in childhood. (10) Stella J., born 
 April 19, 1885, is a student of the home school, 
 St. Rose. Wis. ( 1 1 ) Thomas N., born Sept. 
 7, 1887, is also a student of the home school. 
 At the time of his marriage Mr. Banfield had 
 a farm of 120 acres, but subsequently additions 
 increased it to 360 acres. Many improvements 
 were made, and he finally became the owner 
 of one of the finest horse breeding farms in 
 the county. In 1896 Mr. Banfield suffered 
 great loss of property by fire, but through his 
 energetic efforts soon recovered. The death of 
 Mr. Banfield occurred Oct. 29, 1897. It was 
 the cause of deep sorrow to the family and 
 entire community, as he was a friend to all 
 who ever had the pleasure of his acquaintance. 
 At the time of his death he was a consistent 
 member of the Roman Catholic faith, and 
 a liberal supporter of same. Politically he was 
 a Democrat, and one of the influential members 
 of his party. 
 
 The Banfield family is one of the best edu- 
 cated and most influential in this community. 
 All have nobly borne their parts in the develop- 
 ment of Smelser, as well as Grant county. 
 As business men they are ve/ry substantial ; in 
 politics they adhere strongly to the creed they 
 consider as beneficial to the welfare and to the 
 upbuilding of their country. Mrs. Banfield 
 has the honor of having a brother, Hon. Arthur 
 Doyle, who fought bravely for the nation’s 
 cause in the Civil war, and also a nephew, Mr. 
 Shane Doyle, who was a defender of the same 
 dear flag in the Philippine islands, where he 
 was shot by mistake Nov. 22, 1900. His re- 
 mains were removed to his old home in Grant 
 
 county, Wis., and on July 20, 1901, was held 
 one of the grandest military funerals ever wit- 
 nessed in this part of the State. Both in their 
 homes and in social circles the Banfields enjoy 
 a large circle of friends. 
 
 J. H. PEACOCK, farmer and local minis- 
 ter, Lead Mine, Lafayette Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 FRANK D. TAFT. Among the enter- 
 prising and successful business men of Monti- 
 cello, Green county, who have lived in this 
 pleasant little city all their lives, is Frank D. 
 Taft, who was born Oct. 20, 1862, a son of 
 S. C. and Electa M. (Fluent) Taft. 
 
 S. C. Taft, of Monticello, a prominent mem- 
 ber of G. A. R. Post No. 1 13, was born in 
 Springville, Susquehanna Co., Penn., Dec. 29, 
 1819, and was, a descendant of Samuel Taft, a 
 native of England, who came with a brother 
 to America, the latter mysteriously disappear- 
 ing soon after landing. Samuel Taft, our sub- 
 ject’s great-grandfather, had four children, 
 born in Rhode Island, Jonathan, the grand- 
 father, being born at Smithfield, that State, 
 on March 13, 1772, and moved to Pennsylvania 
 about 1812, where, on Dec. 17, 1817, he mar- 
 ried Nancy Fox, eldest of the four children 
 of Nehemiah Fox. In 1824 he moved to New 
 York, where he died on his farm in Virgil 
 township, Cortland, county, June 11, 1851, his 
 wife dying at the home of her son, at Monti- 
 cello, Wis., March 11, 1862. They had reared 
 three of their four children, of whom our sub- 
 ject’s father was the second; John L., born 
 June 25, 1822, resides in Fort Worth, Texas; 
 Daniel B., born Sept. 28, 1826, died in Mon- 
 ti cello in 1862. 
 
 The father of our subject passed his youth- 
 ful days under the parental roof, and when 
 old enough learned the lucrative trade of car- 
 penter and millwright. His marriage to Eliza- 
 beth Grey, of Cortland county, N. Y., took 
 place Sept. 28, 1S43. She was a daughter of 
 Ogden and Susan (Barnes) Grey, and died 
 June 28, 1846. The second marriage of Mr. 
 Taft took place in Addison, Steuben Co., N. 
 Y., on Oct. 25, 1849, to Electa M. Fluent, who 
 was born Jan. 27, 1825, a daughter of Joseph 
 and Gannie (Dickinson) Fluent, the former 
 being a native of Maine, and the latter of Pom- 
 pey Hollow, Onondaga Go., N. Y. Mr. Taft 
 removed to Janesville, Wis., in 1853, and on 
 March 19, 1854, went to Monticello, Wis'. Here 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 971 
 
 he resumed his trade, also engaged in farm- 
 ing and led a useful and busy life until the 
 time of his death, on May 16, 1897, at the 
 age of seventy-seven. During the Civil war he 
 enlisted at Monticello, on Dec. 2 2, 1863, in the 
 5th Wis. Light Artillery (some unaccountable 
 blunder registers his enlistment Jan. 7, 1864), 
 was mustered in at Madison, and was sent 
 thence to Chattanooga. Connected with the 
 14th Army Corps, Mr. Taft saw some hard 
 service, moving with his regiment to Ringgold, 
 through Snake Creek Gap, and assuming posi- 
 tion for the battle of Resaca, on May 14, 
 where he with his companions fought all day 
 until ammunition became exhausted. On the 
 15th he served his gun all day, and on the 16th 
 he was at Rome ; on May 26th went on the 
 quick march to join the troops at Dallas, where 
 the Union forces were successful. At Big 
 Shanty, Ivenesaw Mountain, and other engage- 
 ments in this neighborhood, Mr. Taft’s bat- 
 tery did most effective service, participated in 
 the fight at the crossing at Chattanooga, and 
 followed in the battle of Peach Tree Creek, 
 and taking part in the siege of Atlanta, where 
 the brave Gen. McPherson met death. This 
 battery did service through the siege, and then 
 engaged in a three-hours’ fight at Jonesboro. 
 Returning to Atlanta, he remained with his sec- 
 tion until in November (voting there for presi- 
 dent), when he became a victim of typhoid 
 fever, finally, after making many refusals, be- 
 ing forced to enter hospital. On Nov. 5 he 
 was sent to a hospital at Chattanooga, and 
 after two weeks he was transferred first to 
 Nashville, then to Jefferson Barracks, St. 
 Louis, thence to Prairie du Chien, and finally 
 to Madison, expecting to go to New York, 
 but illness forced .him to the hospital again, 
 at Madison, and in February, 1865, to Prairie 
 du Chien, where he was obliged to remain until 
 the return of the regiment to Wisconsin, where 
 he was honorably discharged June 7, 1865. 
 
 Returning to Monticello, under the tender 
 care of his family, he recovered health, and 
 again took up the peaceful pursuits. Three 
 of his family of six children are deceased : 
 Lucius E., born Sept. 21, 1850, died March 
 18, 1854; Elizabeth A., born Aug. 12, 1852, 
 died March 20, 1855; John O., born Nov. 20, 
 1854; Appleton R., born Sept. 12, 1857, men- 
 tioned below; Ogden G., born Oct. 7, i860; 
 and Frank, born Oct. 20, 1862. Mr. Taft was 
 the first commander of his post, and served 
 
 until his death. In December, 1848, he be- 
 came a member of the Masonic fraternity, at 
 Addison, N. Y., and in 1889 was worthy mas- 
 ter of the lodge at Monticello, acting for ten 
 years as an official. His first vote was cast for 
 James K. Polk, after which he joined the Free 
 Soil party, and naturally followed into the Re- 
 publican ranks, becoming a stanch and active 
 member of the latter party, being a member 
 of the club of Monticello. As a prominent 
 citizen he was called upon to serve in many 
 important official positions, and for some years 
 was a justice of the peace. Long will he be 
 remembered as one of the leading citizens of 
 this place. 
 
 Frank D. Taft, our subject, has lived in 
 this town all his life, with the exception of two 
 years spent in Kansas. His educational advan- 
 tages were those of the common schools, and 
 when he reached man’s estate he learned his 
 father's trade. For a number of years he en- 
 gaged in contracting. His marriage occurred 
 on Sept. 5, 1889, to Miss Rosa Marty, a daugh- 
 ter of Henry and Fannie (Durst) Marty, na- 
 tives of Switzerland. Mr. and Mrs. Marty are 
 the parents of the following children: Fannie, 
 who married Fred Gerber, of Monticello; Ur- 
 silla, who married H. L. Babler, of this place; 
 Rosa, Airs. Taft; Fred H., of Madison ; J. 
 Henry, of New Glarus; Matt S., of New Gla- 
 rus ; Annie, who married William Preston, of 
 New Glarus; and Nicholas C., of Monticello. 
 Mrs. Marty was but five years old when 
 brought by her parents from Switzerland. Air. 
 Alarty came over in 1851. Two children have 
 been born to Air. and Mrs. Taft, Louisa A. 
 and Herbert. 
 
 Appleton R. Taft, brother to our subject, 
 was one of the soldiers who gave up their lives 
 at Camp Cuba Libre. He passed away on Aug. 
 18, 1898, aged forty-one years, lacking but a 
 month. His wife, Mrs. Nora Taft, had his 
 body brought home for burial, and it was in- 
 terred with military honors in the Alonticello 
 cemetery. He belonged to 1 Company H, 1st 
 Wis. Vols., and with high hopes had marched 
 away beneath the same flag under which his 
 father had so bravely faced danger. 
 
 Mr. Taft erected a very desirable residence 
 in 1894, but has traded that for another, build- 
 ing several others, having the advantage of be- 
 ing able to build a new house when the old 
 one does not suit. In politics he could be 
 nothing but a Republican, and is socially con- 
 
972 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 nected with the Modern Woodmen of America. 
 Mrs. Taft is a valued member of the Swiss 
 Reformed Church. 
 
 DAVID BALLANTINE (deceased) was 
 one of the early settlers of Grant county, and 
 during his long life one of its most prominent 
 citizens. His birth occurred at Bovina, Dela- 
 ware Co.,N.Y., Jan. 15, 1816, and his lamented 
 death at his home in Bloomington, Wis., Feb. 
 5, 1899. With his four brothers, Robert, 
 George, Thomas and James, he came to Wis- 
 consin in the early days, and all of this family 
 grew to be honorable, representative citizens. 
 All have passed out of life with the exception 
 of Thomas, who is a resident of Kansas. There 
 were two more brothers, one of whom died in 
 early life, and the other, Duncan Ballantine, 
 passed his life in the State of New York. The 
 parents were David and Ann (Grant) Bal- 
 lantine. 
 
 David Ballantine, our subject, was mar- 
 ried to Miss Nancy Ellis, Nov. 13, 1878. She 
 was a native of Grant county, a daughter of 
 Washington and Elizabeth (Cox) Ellis, who 
 came from Virginia, and were early settlers 
 of Grant county, locating first in the town of 
 Ellenboro, and later in the town of Potosi. 
 Mrs. Ballantine was only about two years old 
 when her mother died, and she remembers 
 nothing of her. The father remarried, and 
 survived until 1880. Mrs. Ballantine was one 
 of eleven children, nine of whom grew to ma- 
 ture years, and six still survive. 
 
 For many years the late David Ballantine 
 was successfully engaged in business in Bloom- 
 ington, in association with his brother James, 
 and acquired large means, as well as a reputa- 
 tion for strict integrity. He was among the 
 most highly esteemed citizens when called from 
 the scene of his active labors. Two children 
 were born to Mr. and Mrs. Ballantine, one 
 son and one daughter. The former, Robert 
 G. Ballantine, died April 1, 1895, when in his 
 sixteenth year ; the beloved daughter, Jeannette, 
 has been spared, and is the wife of Dr. L. H. 
 G'iffen, of Webster City, Iowa. After the 
 death of their son Mr. and Mrs. Ballantine 
 adopted a child named Orville Fuller, who is 
 being carefully reared by Mrs. Ballantine. She 
 resides at her beautiful home in Bloomington, 
 which was. erected by her late husband in 1896, 
 and is held in high esteem by the citizens of 
 this community. 
 
 LLOYD-JONES. In the southeastern 
 part of Iowa county, Wis., in the township of 
 Wyoming, is a very unique farming commu- 
 nity, located in what is known as the Helena 
 valley. Nature has done much for this little 
 valley, for it is one of the most picturesque 
 spots in the State, and it has been called the 
 “Berkshire” of Wisconsin. In harmony with 
 the natural beauty of the place are the large 
 and tasteful homes of the intelligent farmers, 
 who live here — made up principally of the 
 Lloyd-Jones families, seven in number. The 
 industry of the community is cattle raising 
 and dairying. There is a co-operative creamery 
 in operation under the name of the Hillside 
 Creamery Co., and steps have already been 
 taken toward a co-operative laundry and 
 bakery. This little valley seems to hold the 
 happy combination of what is best in country 
 and city, for not only is it a model farming 
 community, but it is also quite an intellectual 
 center. Here is located the Hillside Home 
 School, which not only dominates the life of 
 the vicinity about, but also draws pupils' from 
 all parts of the country. There have been rep- 
 resented in its catalogs over seventeen dif- 
 ferent states, and territories, reaching from 
 New Mexico to the Dakotas on the one hand, 
 and from Vermont to Tennessee on the other 
 — besides a representative from the distant 
 Hawaii. The location of this' school removes 
 it from the distractions of the city, and sur- 
 rounds the pupils with the ennobling influences 
 of Nature. Abundant pure air and water, the 
 excellent ’sanitary arrangements of the home, 
 and such food as the large garden, green 
 house, and well-stocked farm afford, make 
 the conditions such as insure the physical well- 
 being of the family. The buildings' are large 
 and commodious, equipped with modern con- 
 veniences, heated by steam, and the plant has 
 a fine system of water works. The school 
 laboratories and libraries are well supplied and 
 the corps of teachers, large in number in pro- 
 portion to the number of pupils, make the con- 
 ditions quite ideal for the best development 
 of the pupil. The school aims' to inculcate 
 simple habits of life, and an independence to 
 the debilitating conventionalities. It seeks to 
 be devout, but non-sectarian and open in its re- 
 ligious spirit, hospitable to all forms of thought, 
 seeking the underlying unities of faith in di- 
 versities of creed and form. It tries to realize 
 that culture which ripens into reverence, and 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 973 
 
 that rationalism which is earnest and helpful. 
 In short, character-building is its aim. It has 
 special teachers for domestic science, manual 
 training, art and music — including instructions 
 in singing, piano and violin. 
 
 The school is on the accredited list of the 
 Universities of Wisconsin and Chicago for all 
 the courses of these institutions. Its graduates 
 have also been admitted to the Northwestern 
 University and the University of Illinois with- 
 out examination. Lectures and musical enter- 
 tainments are frequent throughout the school 
 year, for the benefit of the school and the com- 
 munity; and during the months of July and 
 August the Tower Hill Assembly, under the 
 leadership of Jenkin Lloyd-Jones, gives ample 
 opportunity for summer refreshment and up- 
 lift. as' well as the pleasant and profitable inter- 
 mingling of, country and city people. 
 
 One of the attractive and unique features 
 of the valley is the quaint and picturesque 
 little chapel with its surrounding church yard, 
 in which are seen the modest head stones mark-, 
 ing the resting places of the near relatives and 
 friends. This building is a memorial chapel 
 erected by the Lloyd-Jones family, with the 
 aid of friends, to the memory of their father 
 and mother. It was erected under the direction 
 of a grandson, Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the 
 leading architects in Chicago. 
 
 Richard Lloyd-Jones and Mary Thomas 
 Lloyd-Jones emigrated with their seven chil- 
 dren from Wales in 1844. They were well 
 connected in Wales, being direct descendants 
 of some of the leading literary people of their 
 country. For many generations the Llovd- 
 Jones family has been represented by ministers 
 of note, conspicuous for their eloquence, as 
 well as their broad sympathies and helpful 
 services. This pioneer family spent that first 
 winter of 1844 and ’45 in Utica, N. Y., where 
 they lost by death one of the children. In 
 the spring Air. Lloyd-Jones took his famih 
 into the then wilds of Jefferson county. Wis., 
 and settled in Ixonia, where a home had been 
 partly prepared for him by his brother, Jenkin 
 Lloyd-Jones, who had preceded him by two 
 years for that purpose. Here the family lived 
 the heroic, unselfish life of the pioneer,, often 
 facing need themselves, by sharing with those 
 . who had greater need, until the Lloyd-Jones 
 homestead became the synonym of hospitable 
 refuge for the needy. The life of the family, 
 like all pioneer life in the steamless age, was 
 
 full of thrilling incidents, hardships and self- 
 denial, but sweetened by the sympathetic, 
 brotherly, almost communistic, feeling, peculiar 
 to the early settlers in a new country. 
 
 Richard Lloyd-Jones was the leading mind 
 of the little colony, and often acted as the lay 
 minister of the community, while it was be- 
 yond the reach of an ordained minister. One 
 of the sad offices that became necessary for him 
 to perform was the conducting of the burial 
 rites for his beloved brother Jenkin, who died 
 two years after the arrival of the family. 
 
 In 1856 Air. Lloyd-Jones moved his family, 
 now numbering ten children, to Spring - Green, 
 Sauk county, where they remained for four 
 years, when they moved into Helena valley. 
 Richard Lloyd-Jones bought the homestead, 
 which is now the site of Hillside Home School. 
 Thomas L. and John L. each purchased an ad- 
 joining farm. Later the other children, yield- 
 ing to the pleading of the mother, bought 
 surrounding farms, until, before the father’s 
 death in 1886, sixteen years after the beloved 
 mother had entered into rest, four sons and 
 two daughters occupied comfortable homes, in 
 Helena valley. This large family are now ad- 
 vancing in years, and their lives are a fitting 
 tribute to the noble self-sacrificing lives of their 
 pioneer parents. 
 
 The eldest son, Thomas Lloyd-Jones. closed 
 a useful and honorable life in 1894. The sur- 
 viving brothers are John Lloyd-, Jenkin Lloyd-, 
 James Lloyd- and Enos Lloyd-. Jenkin Lloyd- 
 Jones is a prominent minister in Chicago, and 
 has his summer home on Tower Hill, where 
 he yearly spends the greater part of his sum- 
 mer vacation. The other brothers are resi- 
 dents of the Valley, and have been prominent 
 in town and county affairs. John Lloyd-Jones' 
 was for eight years a member of the county 
 board, and seven years superintendent of the 
 poor. During these years he served on many 
 important committees appertaining - to county 
 affairs. He was census enumerator in 1880. 
 During the time of his public service, as in his 
 private life, he won the reputation of possessing 
 incorruptible integrity. James Lloyd-Jones 
 was eight years on the county board, and dur- 
 ing this period he served on the equalizing 
 board of the county. He was held in high re- 
 gard by his fellow members and constituency. 
 Enos Lloyd-Jones. the youngest of this large 
 family, is one of the leading men of his town- 
 ship. He has served for several years as a 
 
974 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 member of the town board, and as justice of 
 the peace. He is full of public spirit, and a 
 leader in co-operative enterprise. 
 
 Of the five surviving daughters Mrs. Mar- 
 garet Jones and Mrs. James Philip, the two 
 eldest, have their homes in the valley; Mrs. 
 Anna Lloyd Wright has a home in Oak Park, 
 111. ; while the two youngest, Ellen C. Lloyd- 
 Jones and Jane Lloyd-Jones', are the pro- 
 prietors and principals of the Hillside Home 
 .School, where for thirteen years the second 
 generation of the American Lloyd- Joneses have 
 been, and are being educated. Many of these 
 have already won distinction for themselves. 
 
 DWIGHT D. SAWIN, a leading pros- 
 perous farmer of Jordan township, Green 
 county, was born Sept. 17, 1854, on the old 
 homestead in that township, and comes of one 
 of the best and oldest families in the county. 
 
 Mr. Sawin is descended from John Sawin 
 who was born in Box ford, Suffolk, England, 
 about the year 1620, coming to* America and 
 making his home in the New England colonies. 
 The line of Dwight D. Sawin’si descent is as 
 follows: John (the emigrant), John (2), 
 
 Munning, Daniel, Abijah, Abijah (2), biorace, 
 and Dwight D., our subject. Abijah (2) and 
 his wife, Polly, were born in Connecticut. 
 
 Horace Sawin, father of Dwight D., was 
 born July 18, 1812, in Ellington, Tolland 
 county, Conn., and on July 28, 1839, married 
 Elvira Burnett, of Munson, Ohio, born Jan. 
 28, 1817. In 1850 they settled in Jordan 
 township. Green county, where they passed the 
 rest of their days in farming pursuits. He 
 was a successful agriculturist, and owned 215 
 acres of good land. Children as follows were 
 born to this pioneer couple : William A. served 
 in the Civil war as a soldier in the 1st Wis- 
 consin Heavy Artillery, and died at Ft. Ber- 
 wick, La. ; Calista E. married William Trot- 
 ter, a farmer, and in early times a minister of 
 the Christian Church of Jordan township, 
 Green county; Harlow H., a carpenter by trade, 
 married Chloe Stilson, and is now residing in 
 Iowa; Chester C., of Redfield, Iowa, is mar- 
 ried to Mrs. Nancy Benson ; Seldou S. is a resi- 
 dent of Iowa City, Iowa ; Dwight D. comes 
 next in the order of birth; Newton E. mar- 
 ried Mary Hautbv, and is a farmer in Juneau 
 county; Matilda married G. N. Hill, of Ar- 
 gyle, Wis. ; and Jane E. is the wife of Charles 
 E. Walker, of the State of Wyoming. In 
 
 politics the father of this family was an old- 
 line Whig originally, later giving - his allegiance 
 to the Republican party. He died Feb. 19, 
 1891, the mother on May 28, 1875. On Oct. 
 10 1877, Mr. Sawin married Roxana M. 
 
 Cutler. 
 
 Dwight D. Sawin, the subject proper of 
 these lines', was reared to manhood on his fa- 
 ther’s farm, which he now owns, having bought 
 out the heirs. The place consists of 215 acres 
 of as fine land as can be found in the town- 
 ship, well equipped with comfortable dwelling, 
 commodious barns and other outhouses, and 
 here Mr. Sawin devotes his time and energies' 
 to general agriculture. In politics he is inde- 
 pendent, has served as a justice of the peace, 
 and was appointed as one of the Wisconsin 
 enumerators to take the census of 1900. In 
 matters of religion he is a believer in the Chris- 
 tian faith, but not a member of any church. 
 Socially he is affiliated with the Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellows (being a member of 
 the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin), and the 
 Knights of the Globe. He is generally looked 
 upon as an excellent neighbor, a loyal citizen, 
 honest and reliable in all his dealings. 
 
 On March 31, 1891, Dwight D. Sawin was 
 united in marriage with Miss Ida M. Hil- 
 ton, of Lafayette county, Wis'., born Feb. 6, 
 1856, a daughter of George and Wealthy 
 (Hill) Llilton, and one child, Edgar IT., was 
 born to them Jan. 12, 1892. Mrs. Ida M. 
 Sawin was one in a family of four children: 
 George E., a carpenter by trade; Mary, wife 
 of F. C. Hatcher, of Burlington, Ivans. ; John 
 E., a farmer of Beloit, Wis. ; and Ida M. The 
 last named is a consistent member of the Bap- 
 tist Church, and shares with her husband the 
 respect and esteem of the community. 
 
 JOHN SWAN is one of the more influen- 
 tial citizens of Juda, Green county, where he 
 is known as a very intelligent and well-read 
 man, and is a son of William and Mary (Mur- 
 dock) Swan, of Greene county, Penn. In 
 1846 John Swan came with his parents to 
 Wisconsin, when it was a wild and unsettled 
 wilderness, and his memories of the early days 
 are very interesting. He was born Sept, r, 
 1834- 
 
 William and* Mary Swan were the parents 
 of the following children : Thomas, Charles, 
 Daniel, Elizabeth, William, Samuel, John, 
 Isaac, Sutton and Richard. Mr. Swan mar- 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 975 
 
 ried Miss Priscilla Dunwiddie March 28, 18 66, 
 and has reared the following - family: Pliny, 
 of Chicago; Otto W., of Brodhead, Wis. ; Ivan 
 J. ; Victoria, the wife of Daniel Rosier, of 
 Mineral Point, Wis.; Frank, who is home with 
 his father, and is now teaching school in the 
 town of Jefferson. Mrs. Swan is the daugh- 
 ter of Daniel and Rebecca (Austin) Dun- 
 widdie. 
 
 John Swan was reared on the farm, and 
 had his education in the public schools. He 
 has won for himself, in the years that have 
 passed since his advent in the State, an honora- 
 ble position. He is a justice of the peace and 
 a notary public. For many years he has been 
 a painter and contractor, and has acted as jani- 
 tor of the Baptist Church. He is the sexton 
 of the Juda cemetery. 
 
 Mr. Swan was a soldier in the Civil war, 
 where he served chiefly in the Army of the 
 Tennessee four years and nine: months, and 
 received an honorable discharge. In Juda Mr. 
 Swan was a general merchant for eighteen 
 years, and during this time was postmaster. 
 For about twenty years he has held the posi- 
 tion of justice of the peace, and has been clerk 
 of the school board many years. Mr. Swan 
 belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
 lows, and is one of the most devoted members 
 of the local post of the Grand Army of the 
 Republic. For the hardships and injuries of the 
 Civil war he draws a pension of twelve dollars 
 a month. Mr. Swan is a stanch Republican, 
 and belongs to the Baptist Church. He has 
 a high standing for his honesty and capacity, 
 and is known as a reliable and trustworthy citi- 
 zen. He is always willing to lend a helping- 
 hand, and is marked by the possession of a high 
 moral character. 
 
 MRS. SOVENIA VANDERBILT was 
 born Feb. 21, 1833, daughter of Evin G. and 
 Barbara Ann (Strickler) Young, of Knox 
 county, Ohio. She was married, July 24, 1851, 
 to John W. H. Vanderbilt, of Green county, 
 Wis,, son of Daniel and Annah (Hopkins) 
 Vanderbilt, of New York, the father being of 
 English origin, and a cousin of the late Cor- 
 nelius Vanderbilt. He had four children : 
 
 (1) Ann married Osker Allen, of Michigan; 
 
 (2) Zelphia married Thomas J. Boxler ; (3) 
 Electy died at the age of eighteen; (4) John 
 W. H. 
 
 John W. H. Vanderbilt was born July 28, 
 
 1828. He volunteered in the 36th Wis. V. 
 I., and died while in prison at Andersonville, 
 Dec. 4, 1864, leaving a family of six children, 
 of whom (1) Daniel W. S., born Nov. n, 
 1852, married Caroline Clark, of Spring Grove, 
 Wis., and is living in California, on an ex- 
 tensive farm; he has two children: Mettie 
 
 M. and Rilla B. (2) Evin M., born Nov. 
 12, 1854, married Alice Kenyon, and is a 
 farmer in the town of Spring Grove; he has 
 one child living, Ettie M., born Aug. 10, 
 1886. (3) Nina, born Dec. 31, 1856, mar- 
 
 ried William A. Reid, an editor of Minnesota, 
 and has two children, James M. and Floyd L. 
 (4) William S., born May 18, 1859, resiuc. 
 the old home farm in the town of Spring 
 Grove; he married Urisulia Cushman, of Mon- 
 roe, Wis., and is the father of two children now 
 living: Floyd L. and Wayne. (5) Ettie M., 
 born Feb. 7, 1862, married Frank Cain, of 
 Juda, and has one child, Delta D. (6) Edith 
 B., born July 23, 1864, married Charles Sco- 
 ville, of Juda. 
 
 Mrs. Vanderbilt comes of a German fam- 
 ily. Her father was born Aug. 25, 1799, and 
 died in 1880. Her mother, born in 1806, died 
 Jan. 6, 1881. They were the parents of the 
 following family: (1) Nancy, born Oct. 30, 
 
 1825. is Mrs. Joseph Millich, of Ohio. (2) 
 Elizabeth, born April 4, 1827 (died Feb. 21, 
 1893), was the wife of Andrew Riley. (3) 
 Catherine, born Feb. 5, 1829, died June 14, 
 1840. (4) Rosina, born Feb. 2, 1831, died 
 
 Dec. 27, 1832. (5) Sovenia is our subject. 
 
 (6) William, born Feb. 27, 1835, died March 
 28, 1835. (7) Lavinia, born March 19, 1836, 
 
 died Aug. 12, 1839. (8) Samuel, born Aug. 
 
 9, 1838, is now living in Kansas. (10) Isaac 
 
 W., born Sept. 14, 1840, is a farmer of Spring 
 Grove township. (11) Martha, born Feb. 27, 
 1843, died Dec. 23, 1881. (12) Zenas, born 
 
 Feb. 2, 1845, died Aug. 26, 1845. <H3) Jo- 
 
 seph, born April 18, 1846, resides in Brown- 
 ville, Neb. (14) May J., born May 1, 1848, 
 resides in Ohio. (15) Alice J., born Oct. 
 
 10, 1850, married Cyrus Hiller, and is living 
 in Superior, Wisconsin. 
 
 Mrs. Vanderbilt was left a widow in 1864, 
 with six small children. She had a farm of 
 eighty acres, which she still owns, and' has 
 reared her children in a sensible and whole- 
 some manner. She commands universal respect 
 in the community, beloved and admired by all 
 who come in contact with her. She is pass- 
 
976 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ing her last days in her home in Juda with her 
 daughter, Mrs. Scoville, ‘and is in receipt of a 
 pension from the country her husband died 
 to save. 
 
 JAMES PAUL, a prominent citizen and 
 honored pioneer of Patch Grove township, 
 Grant county, Wisconsin, dates his resi- 
 dence here from 1842. At that time the land 
 was all wild and unimproved, and the few 
 settlers that had located in this part of the 
 county have nearly all passed away, while he, 
 with a very few others, remains, a living wit- 
 ness of the crude condition of the country 
 nearly sixty 'years ago. He has seen the un- 
 broken wilderness transformed to its present 
 advanced condition, and has always been 
 prominently identified with this growth and 
 development, having done his part in convert- 
 ing the wild land into fruitful fields and beauti- 
 ful homes. 
 
 Mr. Paul was born near Aberdeen, Scot- 
 land, in March, 1823, a son of Alexander and 
 Jessie (Mair) Paul, who never came to Amer- 
 ica, but spent their entire lives in Scotland. In 
 their family were eight children, three sons and 
 five daughters. The first to come to America 
 was Alexander Paul, Jr., a brother of James, 
 who crossed the Atlantic in 1838, and by way 
 of Chicago went to Prairie du Chien, Wia., 
 where he remained about two years. He then 
 came to Patch Grove, Grant county, where he 
 became possessed of considerable land, and for 
 more than thirty years served as' postmaster at 
 that place. A number of years ago he removed 
 to Brown’s V alley in western Minnesota, where 
 he engaged in merchandising. 
 
 James Paul followed his. brother to Amer- 
 ica in 1840, and came to Patch Grove by way 
 of Chicago and Galena. As he remarked to 
 the writer. Galena at that time was a larger 
 and more important place than Chicago, but 
 after a lapse of sixty years it has less popula- 
 tion and importance than it had then, while 
 Chicago has' its two million inhabitants, and is 
 the second largest city in the Union, all of 
 which has been accomplished in the compara- 
 tively short period of three score years. Mr. 
 Paul entered the land on which he now resides 
 from the government, and in the years that 
 have passed has converted the wild tract into 
 a beautiful farm. 
 
 On June 21, 1849, he married Miss Ange- 
 line Adams, who was 'born in New York State, 
 
 in 1824, and in 1S48 came West with her par- 
 ents, Samuel and Jemima (Judd) Adams, who 
 made their home in Grant county until their 
 death. Of the four children born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Paul, two are living: Angeline, wife 
 
 of Carson Scott; and James. Those deceased 
 were Christina, who died at the age of twenty- 
 four years; and John, who died at the age of 
 fifteen. 
 
 Mr. Paul has long been one of the lead- 
 ing farmers and stock raisers of Patch Grove 
 township, where he and his wife have a beauti- 
 ful home and are surrounded by all the ma- 
 terial comforts of life, the reward of industry 
 and good management. Great have been the 
 changes that time has wrought since he be- 
 came a resident of Grant county. Mr. Paul 
 served as clerk of Patch Grove township, 
 when it included the present townships of 
 Patch Grove, Wyalusing, Glen Haven, Mill- 
 ville, Mount Hope and Bloomington, much 
 of the land at that time being assessed 
 as unknown. For his work as clerk, which 
 necessarily involved traveling over a large 
 area of country, he received $60 per an- 
 num. He held that office for several years. 
 In his political views Mr. Paul was a 
 Democrat until 1861, when he became a Re- 
 publican, but of later years has been inde- 
 pendent in politics. Pie is a public-spirited citi- 
 zen who gives his support to all worthy en- 
 terprises for the public good, and commands 
 the respect and confidence of all with whom he 
 comes in contact. 
 
 PETER A. HUBBARD. A well-known 
 and honored citizen of Ridgeway township, 
 Iowa county, is Peter A. Hubbard, who resides 
 on section 22, and who has been a resident of 
 the State of Wisconsin for more than forty 
 years. The Hubbard family is of English an- 
 cestrv, and the name is known in the early 
 annals of New England. 
 
 Peter A. Hubbard was. born in Windsor 
 county, Vt., Jan. 4, 1828, a son of Peter and 
 Anna (Trask) Hubbard, both of whom were 
 natives of Vermont, where they passed their 
 lives. They had a family of eight children, 
 but only two of these survive, one of them 
 being the subject of this biography, and the 
 other, his brother, Varsil Hubbard, an es- 
 teemed resident of Rochester, Vt., where he 
 lives retired, at the age of eighty-six. 
 
 The only one of his family to make a 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 977 
 
 home in Wisconsin, Peter A. Hubbard came 
 to the State in 1850. He was reared and edu- 
 cated in his native State, and there, too, was 
 he taught the principles of farming. At the 
 age of twenty-two, tilled with the restless en- 
 ergy and enthusiasm of youth, he came to this 
 country, which was then almost a wilderness, 
 and first located in Columbia county, two years 
 later going to Madison. That imposing and 
 beautiful city was then but a hamlet, with no 
 railroad connections. From Madison he came 
 to Iowa county, and during the winter of 
 1857-8 he drove the stage between Ruggles 
 and Arena, at a time when adventure and ex- 
 citement were the order of the day. In 1858 
 he was married to Miss Ann Maria, the es- 
 timable daughter of John Williams, and when 
 he decided to enter the army, in defense of his 
 country, in August, 1862, he realized that he 
 must leave not only a devoted wife but also 
 two helpless little children. In those days true 
 patriots did not pause to consider the ties of 
 family or kindred, and on Aug. 14, 1862, Mr. 
 Hubbard was enrolled as a member of Com- 
 pany C, 31st Wis. V. I. The regiment was 
 sent to Fort Halleck, at Columbus, Ky., where 
 it remained during the summer of 1863, but 
 was then sent to: Tennessee, and during the 
 winter of 1863-64 did provost duty at Nash- 
 ville. It was then attached to Sherman’s army, 
 and was present at the evacuation of Atlanta, 
 and continued in the famous March to the 
 Sea. On Aug. 9, 1864, Mr. Hubbard was de- 
 tailed in connection with the supply train, and 
 remained in that capacity until the army reached 
 Savannah, Ga., where he was given a six-mule 
 wagon, which he drove to Washington, this 
 long and laborious duty taking from January 
 17 to the beginning of the month of May. 
 He was discharged near Louisville, Ivy., on 
 June 20, 1865, and he gladly returned to the 
 comforts of home. Through this long service 
 Mr. Hubbard was in ill health, the trouble be- 
 ginning at Racine, before he left the State, 
 where he was attacked with the mumps. Not 
 yet recovered, he insisted upon accompanying 
 his regiment when it went South, and in his 
 weakened state easily became a victim of rheu- 
 matism and chronic diarrhea. However, he 
 continued to perform his soldierly duty, al- 
 though his health was shattered, and he still 
 feels the effects of the exposure and hardships. 
 
 After the war Mr. Hubbard resumed farm- 
 ing and is the owner of a very pleasant home, 
 62 
 
 the family now consisting of four children, one 
 son and three daughters : Ella, who married 
 
 Reuben Calkins, of Montfort, Wis. ; Eva 
 Louise; Herman F. ; and Hattie A., the wife 
 of Joseph W. Owens, of Barneveld, Wis., and 
 the mother of two sons, Norman and Bertram. 
 Eva Louise was born in 1861 ; through a severe 
 illness in early childhood she became entirely 
 deaf, and was educated at the Deaf and Dumb 
 Institute at Delavan, Wis,; later she married 
 Edwin Ernst, also a deaf mute, who was' edu- 
 cated at the same institution. Mr. Ernst also 
 took a course of instruction in Washington, 
 D. C„ was a skilled mechanic, learning the 
 trades of carpenter and cigarmaker, and was 
 also a fine taxidermist; their home was in 
 Oshkosh, Wis., and there Mr. Ernst 'died, in 
 1891, and his widow and two children re- 
 turned to the home of Mr. Hubbard. 
 
 In politics Peter A. Hubbard is a stanch 
 Republican, and both he and his wife are mem- 
 bers of the Mill Creek Congregational Church. 
 Socially he is connected with Williamson Post, 
 No. 109, G. A. R., of Dodgeville, where he 
 is highly esteemed. Both as. soldier and civilian 
 Mr. Hubbard has always commanded the re- 
 spect of the community, and is a representa- 
 tive citizen of this part of Iowa county. 
 
 SAMUEL FILMER CUCKOW, a pros- 
 perous and successful farmer of the town of 
 Bradford, Rock county, belongs to the new gen- 
 eration of tillers of the soil, who work with 
 their brains as well as their muscle, and now. 
 in the very prime of life, is a fine specimen of 
 that noble class, the American farmer. 
 
 Mr. Cuckow was born May 26, 1854, on 
 the farm he now occupies, a son of Samuel 
 Jarvis and Eliza Simmons (Filiner) Cuckow, 
 and had the surroundings in his boyhood days 
 that belonged to farmer lads of that time. He 
 worked on the farm, attended the district 
 school and the Emerald Grove high school, 
 and the academies at Marshall and Walworth. 
 After his school days had passed the young 
 man remained at home, working first for his 
 father, and later for himself, and his broad, 
 well-tilled fields attest the intelligent care be- 
 stowed upon them. His land is located in 
 section 17. 
 
 On Dec. 17, 1884, Samuel F. Cuckow was 
 united in marriage with Mrs. Ida H. (Crump) 
 Leap, widow of William E. Leap, and 
 daughter of Josiah Harrison and Julia (Stuart) 
 
978 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Crump. They have an adopted son, Fil- 
 mer Stuart Cuckow, born Nov. 27, 1893, 
 who is the son of Mrs. M. E. Northrup, 
 a deceased sister of Mr. Cuckow. Mrs. Ida 
 H. Cuckow was born in Utica, N. Y., the 
 eldest in a family of seven children. She is 
 a lineal descendant of Anneke Jans, and be- 
 longs to the oldest family, in the line of suc- 
 cession, of heirs to her great undivided estate 
 in New York. She is hospitable and very pop- 
 ular in the community, and presides over her 
 happy home with all a woman's grace and re- 
 finement. 
 
 Josiah Harrison Crump, the father of Mrs. 
 Cuckow, was a native of England, and came 
 to this country in early manhood, locating at 
 Utica. He became an architect, and rose to 
 prominence in his chosen calling. In Utica he 
 married Julia Stuart, and soon afterward re- 
 moved to Niagara Falls, where he built the 
 “Mount Eagle House,” most of the public 
 buildings in that city, and some of the finest 
 residences, his own tasteful home being among 
 them. From Niagara Falls he went to New 
 York City, where he made his home for many 
 years, but his last days were spent in Toronto, 
 Canada, with one of his sons, where he died 
 in 1891, at the age of seventy-three. His 
 good wife had passed away two years pre- 
 viously. 
 
 PETER WOODHOUSE. Among the 
 prominent citizens of Bloomington, Grant 
 county, is Peter Woodhouse, the senior member 
 of the banking firm of Woodhouse & Bartley, 
 and a worthy representative of one of the pio- 
 neer families of southwest Wisconsin. 
 
 John Woodhouse, the father of our sub- 
 ject, was born about 1793 in Staffordshire, 
 England, where he was reared, and where he 
 married Ann Newton, who was born there in 
 1791. In 1830 Mr. Woodhouse left his fam- 
 ily in England and crossed the ocean with the 
 intention of providing a new home. By occu- 
 pation he was a miner, and immediately after 
 landing in America he made his way to Potts- 
 ville, Penn., the heart of the anthracite region 
 of that State, where he secured employment, 
 working industriously for two years before he 
 thought it advisable to send for his family. 
 In 1837 the family came to Wisconsin, set- 
 tling in Grant county, where the father had 
 been a short time previous to the arrival of the 
 others. For years afterward he engaged in 
 
 lead mining, being very prosperous. His land, 
 on what is now known as Blake’s Prairie, was 
 obtained from the government, and this became 
 the permanent home of Mr. Woodhouse, who 
 died there in March, 1859, his widow surviving 
 until February, 1868. Being among the ear- 
 liest of the pioneers, they endured all of the 
 privations and hardships incident to those early 
 days, patiently awaiting the time when their 
 labors should be rewarded. They were held 
 in high esteem, and their memory is reverenced 
 by those who now profit by the trials which 
 they passed through. They became the parents 
 of a large family of children, all but two of 
 whom were brought from England. Of their 
 six sons and four daughters, three survive : 
 Mrs. Jane Hadley, of Bloomington; Peter, 
 subject of this biography; and James, who is 
 a resident of Lancaster. Mrs. Maria Fox died 
 in Pennsylvania, never having come to Wiscon- 
 sin, and soon after her death her husband, 
 Henry Fox, was accidentally drowned in the 
 mines, while he was at work. The first of the 
 children to pass away after locating in this 
 State was Levison, who died of typhoid fever 
 in 1869, and his wife died two days later, 
 leaving a family of nine children, the young- 
 est but two hours old. Hannah became the 
 wife of John Clegg, and died in 1865, at the 
 age of thirty-two, leaving eight children; her 
 husband survived many years, dying on May 
 20, 1901. Rev. John Woodhouse, a Method- 
 ist minister, was the next to pass away, and 
 he was followed by Simon. The latter kept 
 a hotel in Bloomington for many years ; he 
 left a wife and five children. Samuel died at 
 Maxwell, Iowa, several years ago, and May 
 Ann, Mrs. Hollenbeck, died at her home in 
 Legal, Indian Territory, leaving four chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Peter Woodhouse, our subject, was born 
 in England Sept. 11, 1824, and was about 
 eight years old when he came to America. 
 Coming with the family to Wisconsin in 
 1837, this State has been his home ever since. 
 For sixty-four years his hopes and fortunes 
 have been bound up with those of Grant coun- 
 ty, and very little of its development has been 
 unobserved by him. Since 1849 his 'residence 
 has been at Bloomington (at that time known 
 as Tafton), and he previously lived in both 
 Potosi and Beetown. For many years he en- 
 gaged in both farming and mining, and he is 
 considered one of the most substantial citizens 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 979 
 
 of the county. In 1883 Mr. Woodhouse estab- 
 lished the banking house in Bloomington in 
 which he is the senior partner, and has been 
 successful in its management. All of the 
 brothers were successful men of business, and 
 were estimable and honored citizens. 
 
 Mr. Woodhouse was married Jan. 11, 
 1858, to Miss Rachel Lyons, who was born 
 April 11, 1832, in Manchester, England, a 
 daughter of John Lyons, and came with her 
 parents to America when but two years old. 
 The family lived two years in Philadelphia, 
 and then removed to Potosi, where the parents 
 passed the rest of their lives. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Woodhouse have four children: Lily G., 
 Mrs. Bartley; Rose, wife of Harry Grant; 
 Milton F. ; and Bertha, Mrs. Martin. Three 
 children have passed away : Bessie, who died 
 at the age of six years ; Anna Mary, at the 
 age of eight days; and Daisy, at birth. 
 
 Peter Woodhouse has traveled much, and 
 has an interesting fund of information. In 
 1852 he went to California, and on the way 
 had a most thrilling experience. Going by 
 way of the Isthmus, he was a passenger on the 
 ill-fated steamer “North America,” which was 
 wrecked on the Pacific coast, about thirty 
 miles below Acapulco. The 1 steamer was a 
 total loss, and the passengers had a narrow 
 escape. At Acapulco they were transferred to 
 a sailing vessel, and after many hardships 
 reached San Francisco in safety. Mr. Wood- 
 house remained in California about five years, 
 and returned by the Panama route to New 
 York. 
 
 Mir. Woodhouse is a progressive and pub- 
 lic-spirited citizen. In his early voting days 
 he 1 was a Whig, but he has acted with the Re- 
 publican party since its organization. Mrs. 
 Woodhouse is a member of the Methodist 
 Church, and he is liberal in his religious views. 
 
 PATRICK BARTLEY, the junior mem- 
 ber of the banking firm of Woodhouse & 
 Bartley, of Bloomington, is one of the well- 
 known citizens and business men of Grant 
 county. Mr. Bartley has the distinction of 'rep- 
 resenting one of the early families of his coun- 
 ty, and also of having been a soldier in the 
 war for the preservation of the Union. His 
 coming to Grant county dates from 1853. 
 
 Mr. Bartley was born in County Sligo, Ire- 
 land, Jan. 19, 1841, a son of Miles Bartley. 
 In 1849 his parents, with three of their six | 
 
 children, emigrated to the United States, our 
 subject remaining with a relative in Ireland; 
 shortly afterward, however, he rejoined the 
 family in the State of New York. From New 
 York Miles Bartley removed his family to Ga- 
 lena, 111 ., later moving to Wisconsin, where he 
 entered land in the town of Patch Grove, on 
 which he settled and resided many years, dying 
 in Larned, Ivans., at the advanced age of 
 ninety-one years. His wife had passed away 
 in Patch Grove in 1873. 
 
 As a boy Patrick Bartley engaged in farm 
 work during the summers, and attended school 
 in the winters. Soon after the outbreak of 
 the Civil war, although but a youth of twenty 
 years, he resolved to enter the service in de- 
 fense of the Union. Accordingly, in Septem- 
 ber, 1861, he enlisted in what afterward be- 
 came Company G, 5th Missouri Cavalry, which 
 was organized in Milwaukee, Wis., as Mil- 
 waukee Cavalry, with the understanding that 
 it was to constitute a part of Gen. John C. 
 Fremont’s body guard. Gen. Fremont, how- 
 ever, was superseded, and in November, 1862, 
 the organization, then known as the 5th Mis- 
 souri Cavalry, was consolidated with the 4th, 
 and was thenceforth known as the 4th Mis- 
 souri Cavalry. The regiment seryed with dis- 
 tinction in the Southwest, under Gen. Curtis, 
 taking an active part in the campaign against 
 the Confederate Gen. Price, and on March 6, 
 7 and 8 was engaged in the severe battle of 
 Pea Ridge. It marched thence down the White 
 river to Helena, Ark., where the regiment ar- 
 rived in July, 1862, and here Mr. Bartley was 
 taken severely ill, as the result of an injury 
 received in the battle of Pea Ridge, and which 
 finally occasioned his honorable discharge at St. 
 Louis, soon after. 
 
 After his return from the army Mr. Bart- 
 ley was for three years engaged in farming, 
 following which he entered the Patch Grove 
 Academy, where he was a student for three 
 years, in preparation for the profession of 
 teaching. For twenty years he continued to 
 be one of the leading instructors of this part 
 of the State, and at one time was principal 
 of the school in Bloomington. In 1883 the 
 present banking business was established, and 
 Mr. Bartley became a partner in the same, 
 which has continued until the present date. In 
 1877 he was admitted to the Bar, and has since 
 practiced more or less. 
 
 On April 2, 1879. Mr. Bartley was mar- 
 
980 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ried to Miss Lily Woodhouse, a daughter of 
 Peter Woodhouse, his business partner, and 
 four children have been born of this union : 
 Frank L., Bessie R., Milton M. and Leo Paul. 
 Mr. Bartley is a Democrat in his political affili- 
 ations, and an honored member of Will Flickok 
 Post, No. 134, G. A. R. 
 
 Mr. Bartley is practically a self-made man, 
 as he began life a poor boy, and was thrown 
 upon his own resources at an early age. En- 
 tering the army in the 1 service of his country, 
 before he had attained his majority, he served 
 as a faithful soldier, and later, by determina- 
 tion and energy, he fitted himself for the pro- 
 fession of teaching, and was successful in his 
 endeavors. As a business man he has pros- 
 pered, and his integrity has never been called 
 into question, while as a citizen he is held in 
 high esteem. 
 
 JOHN HANSON is one of the prominent 
 citizens of Jordan township, Green county, 
 though one of the younger members of that 
 prosperous farming community, in which all his 
 useful, active life has been passed. He was 
 born Dec. 13, 1864, on the farm which he now 
 manages. 
 
 Nathan T. Hanson, our subject’s father, is 
 well remembered by the older as well as the 
 younger residents of this locality as a man who, 
 in his day, took rank among the intelligent 
 and successful men in this part of the county. 
 He was a native of Maine, born in 1827, near 
 Portland, and was of English origin. About 
 1850 he came West to Wisconsin, and at once 
 settled on the farm in Jordan township. Green 
 county, now owned by his children, where he 
 successfully engaged in farming for the greater 
 part of his remaining days. But though a 
 hard-working agriculturist and the owner of a 
 large property, he took equal interest in the 
 advancement of the community in general, was 
 public spirited in all local affairs, and was hon- 
 ored by his fellow townsmen with election to 
 various offices of trust, in which he displayed 
 the same abditv that characterized the manage- 
 ment of his own affairs. For a number of 
 years he served as school superintendent of the 
 township, was clerk of the township for some 
 time, and served as chairman of the board two 
 terms. He was well read, and kept himself in- 
 formed on all current events of interest. Mr. 
 Hanson was as popular as he was well known, 
 was beloved for his neighborliness as much as 
 
 he was esteemed for his integrity and good 
 citizenship; his death occurred in New Haven, 
 Conn., in 1894. He left a. valuable farm of 185 
 acres, all improved and under a fine state of cul- 
 tivation. Mrs. Hanson, whose maiden name 
 was Mary Jane Smith, was born about 1834, 
 in Pennsylvania, and was of Quaker origin ; her 
 parents, John and Ann Smith, also natives of 
 Pennsylvania, came to Green county many 
 years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Hanson were mar- 
 ried in 1859. She passed away in 1881. Seven 
 children were born of this union, viz. : Emma, 
 who is unmarried and resides in Monroe; Paul- 
 ine, also unmarried, who lives on the home 
 place; John, our subject; Charles, who is un- 
 married; Ruth, deceased; George, living on the 
 old place; and Edward, who married Hattie 
 Stuntz, and resides at Whitewater, Wis., where 
 he follows his trade, that of printer. Nathan 
 T. Hanson had one brother, Simeon, who died 
 in Maine'. 
 
 John Hanson, whose name introduces these 
 lines, has followed in the footsteps of his hon- 
 ored father in many ways, taking a leading 
 part in local civil administration, and his serv- 
 ices have proved highly acceptable to all con- 
 cerned. He was reared on the home farm, 
 educated in the local schools, and has become 
 an intelligent, energetic man, noted for his hon- 
 esty and integrity, his fairness in all his deal- 
 ings, his temperate habits, and his stanch ad- 
 herence to his convictions of what he thinks 
 right. He is engaged in farming and dairy- 
 ing on the old home place, and has displayed 
 business ability of a high order in its man- 
 agement. This record would not be complete 
 without special mention of the offices which 
 Mr. Hanson has held : For six years he was 
 clerk of the township ; for two years member 
 and chairman of the township board; has 
 served as assessor and in other positions, be- 
 sides supporting, by his means and influence, 
 all projects for the improvement and advance- 
 ment of his township and county. Like his 
 father, he is a stanch adherent of the princi- 
 ples of the Republican party. Socially he is a 
 member of the I. O. O. F. lodge at Brown- 
 town. Mr. Hanson has never married. 
 
 ALLISON W. STOUT. The evolution 
 of modern architecture is based upon the con- 
 scientious work, high ideals and artistic tastes 
 of the designer and builder. Among those who 
 have successfully engaged in a business of this 
 
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 981 
 
 kind, in the beautiful town of Monticello, 
 Green county, is Allison W. Stout, who was 
 born, near Orangeville, Stephenson Co., ill., 
 Dec. 20, 1849, son °f Samuel and Mary (Win- 
 ters) Stout, natives of Pennsylvania. In their 
 family were five sons and two daughters, six 
 of whom are now living: Carrie, wife of 
 
 Benjamin Musser, of Jewel City, Ivans.; Ed- 
 ward, who lives in Stephenson county, 111 ., on 
 the old homestead ; Cyrus, who resides at Si- 
 loam Springs, Ark.; Stephen, of Novelty, Mo. ; 
 Allison W., our subject; and Alice, who is the 
 wife of Frederick Nihart, of Dewey, Utah. 
 
 Samuel Stout was a cabinet-maker, carpen- 
 ter and joiner, and came to Illinois in 1844, 
 first locating in Peoria, and a year later settling 
 in Stephenson county, 111 ., where he bought a 
 farm, sold it, and bought another, whereon he 
 reared his family. His death occurred April 
 22, 1897, at the age of eighty-four. His wife 
 had entered into rest in 1896, in her seventy- 
 third year. They were good and worthy peo- 
 ple, devout members of the Evangelical Church, 
 and Mr. Stuot had been active in everything 
 for the interest of his locality. Christopher 
 Winters, father of Mary (Winters) Stout, was 
 a native of Pennsylvania, of Pennsylvania- 
 Dutch stock, and located in Stephenson coun- 
 ty, 111., at an early day, where he engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits. 
 
 Allison W. Stout was reared on his father's 
 farm in Stephenson county, where he attended 
 the district schools. At the age of twenty he 
 beg'an to learn the carpenter’s trade, and find- 
 ing it congenial to his taste and natural ability, 
 he made this his life work. For some ten 
 years he has been engaged in contracting and 
 building, and in the erection of his own ele- 
 gant mansion, as well as those of others in the 
 town, Mr. Stout has made use of his own de- 
 signs. 
 
 On Sept. 12, 1894, Mr. Stout marrie 1 Mrs. 
 Lizzie Tone, widow of the late George Tone, 
 and daughter of Richard and Ann (Pickup) 
 Barlow. 
 
 Richard Barlow and his wife were natives 
 of Manchester, England, who came to America 
 in 1854, locating in Jefferson township. Green 
 Co., Wis., and engaged in an agricultural life 
 until the breaking- out of the Civil war, when 
 Mr. Barlow enlisted in Company D. 35th Wis. 
 V. I., and faithfully served his adopted coun- 
 try from August, 1864. unt’l February, 1866. 
 Before the war Mr. Barlow followed the trade 
 of tailoring, but since then he has been engaged 
 
 in mercantile interests, and for twenty-three 
 years filled the office of justice of the peace. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Barlow were the parents of 
 twelve children, ten of whom are still surviv- 
 ing, and they are honored and beloved resi- 
 dents in the home of their son-in-law, our sub- 
 ject, and his estimable wife. 
 
 Politically Mr. Stout casts his vote with the 
 Republican party, conscientiously believing its 
 principles to be the best for the country. For 
 two years he was an efficient member of the 
 village board. Socially he is connected with 
 the Knights of the Globe. In addition to his 
 own beautiful residence, Mr. Stout can point 
 with pride to many of the most substantial 
 buildings in this growing village. Although 
 so many years have passed since he was an in- 
 mate of the old home, in Stephenson county, 
 111., around which gather memories of his boy- 
 hood, he still has both a sentimental and finan- 
 cial interest in it. Mr. Stout is considered a 
 'representative citizen of Green county 7 , where 
 ■both he and wife have many friends and possess 
 the esteem of all. 
 
 JOHN B. HORE, a well-known citizen of 
 the town of Little Grant, Grant county, was a 
 soldier in the Civil war, and has an honorable 
 record for bravery. His birth took place across 
 the ocean in 1826, in Cornwall, England, from 
 which country have come some of the best citi- 
 zens of the State of Wisconsin. 
 
 Reared in his native land, Mu*. Hore did 
 not come to America until 1847. Landing in 
 New York, he went first to New 7 Jersey, and 
 there engaged in mining, later going to Penn- 
 sylvania. where he followed the same occupa- 
 tion. Subsequently he went to Maryland, 
 thence back to New York, and then to the cop- 
 per mines of Michigan, where he rema'ned sev- 
 eral years, but ever since the close of the Civil 
 war he has been one of the esteemed citizens 
 of Grant county. Mr. Hore went into the 
 army in 1864, in Company F, 1st Wisconsin 
 Cavalry, joining his regiment . in Louisville, 
 Ivy., and at once entered into active service. 
 As it is well remembered, the 1st Wisconsin 
 Cavalry was a part of the force that captured 
 the fleeing Confederate president, and Mr. 
 Hore was with his regiment at that time, and 
 had the pleasure of seeing the noted prisoner 
 at Macon, Ga. There our subject was taken 
 sick, from the effects of sunstroke, which ren- 
 dered him unfit for any regular service. He 
 was finally discharged in the fall of 1865. 
 
982 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Soon after the close of the war Mr. Hore 
 was married to Miss Mary Coffman, a native 
 of Ohio, and a daughter of Peter and Sarah 
 Coffman, who had migrated to Wisconsin when 
 Mary was about twelve years of age. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Hore have eight children : Albert, 
 James, Nettie, Jay and May (twins). Maria, 
 Elizabeth and Era. During the war Mr. Hore 
 was a faithful soldier, and since that t'me has 
 won the respect of the residents of his locality 
 as an industrious and most worthy citizen. 
 
 J. J. TRENERY, retired farmer, Bel- 
 mont, Lafayette county, Wisconsin. 
 
 WILLIAM B. GNAGI, M. D. Bereft of 
 a mother’s care in early infancy, Dr. Gnagi, 
 now a rising young physician of Monroe, 
 Green county, was reared in the family of Peter 
 Gnagi, and under the fostering guardianship of 
 this prominent citizen he was educated, and in 
 gratitude he adopted the name of Gnagi when 
 he attained his majority. He made his home 
 with his benefactors until his marriage. 
 
 Dr. Gnagi was a native of Green county, 
 Wis. He was born in the town of Clarno 
 Feb. 3, 1870, the only child of Joseph and 
 Maria (Hawthorn) Bender. The father, Jo- 
 seph Bender, a native of Pennsylvania, had 
 served through the Civil war as first lieuten- 
 ant. Coming to Wisconsin at the close of the 
 war, he married Maria Hawthorn, daughter of 
 James Hawthorn, a native of New York, of 
 Holland descent, who in early days had mi- 
 grated to Green county, Wis., and there reared 
 a large family. The young wife died a few 
 days after the birth of their only child, Will- 
 iam B., and the father, after finding a home 
 for the motherless son with Peter Gnagi, re- 
 turned to the East. He entered Johns Hop- 
 kins University, wheire he completed a course 
 in medicine and surgery, and is now a practic- 
 ing physician at Penn Yan, Yates Co., N. Y. 
 He married again, and by his second marriage 
 had three children, only one of whom, Estelle, 
 is now living. William B., at his graduation 
 at Rush Medical College, in 1893, met his fa- 
 ther for the first time since their separation. 
 His medical education was obtained partially 
 by his own efforts. Reared on the farm of 
 Peter Gnagi, he was given good educational 
 advantages, and when twelve years old he ac- 
 companied Mr. and Mrs. Gnagi to California, 
 where they remained two years on account of 
 
 Mrs. Gnagi's ill health. Returning to Wis- 
 consin, William B. entered the Monroe high 
 school, and was graduated in the class of 
 1887, at the age of seventeen years. He taught 
 district school for two terms in Clarno town- 
 ship, then took a business course in a school 
 at Valparaiso, Ind. Choosing medicine as his 
 profession, he began study in the office of Drs. 
 Loofbourow and Confer, of Monroe, where 
 he remained two years. He then entered Rush 
 Medical College, at Chicago, and was gradu- 
 ated in the spring of 1893. Dr. Gnagi began 
 practice in that city, and: continued it success- 
 fully for seven years. In November, 1900, he 
 came to Monroe, succeeded to the practice of 
 Dr. Confer, his brother-in-law, and now occu- 
 pies the same office. 
 
 Dr. Gnagi married June 2, 1891, Miss 
 Louise Isely, daughter of John and Louisa 
 (German) Isely. John Isely was a native of 
 Switzerland, and for many years was a school 
 and music teacher. He came to Green county, 
 Wis., and there met his future wife, who was 
 a native of Wisconsin, of Swiss parentage. 
 For a number of years Mr. and. Mrs. John Isely 
 conducted the “Green County Hotel,” in Mon- 
 roe, and later moved to a fairm near Oneco, 
 111 ., about seven miles south of Monroe. Here 
 he died, and his widow subsequently married 
 David Stucky. Nine children were born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. John Isely, of whom six are now 
 living, namely : Carrie, widow of Dr. Confer ; 
 Mary, wife of Henry Duerst, of Monroe; 
 Louisa, wife of Dr. William B. Gnagi; Annie, 
 wife of Fred Wettengel, of Monroe; Alice, 
 wife of Rev. J. L. Haach, of Milwaukee; and 
 Dr. John E. Isely, a dentist in Milwaukee, 
 who for a time lived with Dr. Gnagi in Chi- 
 cago, and there practiced dentistry. To Dr. 
 William B. and Louise (Isely) Gnagi have 
 been born four children : Elvira Louise, who 
 died in infancy; Zelma Irene; Gladys; and 
 William B., Jr. Mrs. Gnagi is a member of 
 the Lutheran Church. Politically Dr. Gnagi 
 is independent. While practicing at Chicago 
 he served for a year as health officer and small- 
 pox inspector, under Dr. Reynolds, the city 
 physician. He is now a member of the Wiscon- 
 sin Medical Society. Among the fraternal or- 
 ders he holds membership in the Canadian In- 
 dependent Order of Foresters, the Columbian 
 Knights, Royal Arcanum and Chicago Turn- 
 verein. He has succeeded admirably in his 
 Monroe practice, and already ranks high in the 
 medical profession of Green county. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Abell, Frank W 419 
 
 Acheson, Theodore L 883 
 
 Adams, Henry 489 
 
 Adams, John.. 680 
 
 Akin, Edward 75 
 
 Akin, Morgan J 74 
 
 Alexander, Frederick 325 
 
 Alexander, Hugh 484 
 
 Alexander, James S 484 
 
 Allen, Asaph J 423 
 
 Allen, Prof. Benjamin D 256 
 
 Allen, Henry R 423 
 
 Aller, Peter 28' 
 
 Aller, William 28 
 
 Alsop, John 860 
 
 Alsop, Thomas J 860 
 
 Altman, Joseph 793 
 
 Ames, Harry 919 
 
 Andereck, Rev. John 777 
 
 Anderson, Andrew. 889 
 
 Anderson, Christopher 938 
 
 Anderson, Henry S 753 
 
 Anderson, John (deceased).... 498 
 
 Anderson, John 118 
 
 Anderson, Mrs. John 498 
 
 Anderson, Nicholas.. 886 
 
 Andrews, Charles 174 
 
 Andrews, Rev. George W. . . 174 
 
 Andrewson, Miss Annie T. . . . ,5 
 
 Andrewson, Henry O 5 
 
 Andrewson, Rev. Ole, D. D. . . 4 
 
 Anthony, John 713 
 
 Anthony, John E., D. D. S. . . . 92 
 
 Appleby, George M 103 
 
 Appleby, William H 252 
 
 Armstrong, Charles A., M. D. 730 
 
 Armstrong, Leroy G., M. D... 45 
 
 Armstrong, Robert 45 
 
 Arthur, Evan 545 
 
 Arthur, Samuel 561 
 
 Atherton, Walgrave 386 
 
 Atkinson, Francis 428 
 
 Atkinson, Richard 428 
 
 Atwood, Charles 823 
 
 Atwood, Volney 210 
 
 Austin, Nathaniel 804 
 
 Austin, Samuel R 543 
 
 Bacon, Charles A., M. A 216 
 
 Bainbridge, Mathew 618 
 
 Baker, Allen S 131 
 
 Baker, Edward D 818 
 
 Baker, Francis 656 
 
 Baker, Francis A 274 
 
 Baker, Henry 298 
 
 Baker, John T 132, 212, 274 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Baker, John W 809 
 
 Baker, Lewis 796 
 
 Baker, Mrs. Mary 657 
 
 Baker, Stephen J 212 
 
 Baldwin, Julius 404 
 
 Ballantine, Mrs. Abbie A. . . . 934 
 
 Ballantine, David 972 
 
 Ballantine, James 934 
 
 Ballantine, Mrs. Nancy E 972 
 
 Banfield, Thomas 969 
 
 Banfield, Mrs. Thomas 969 
 
 Banks, James A 864 
 
 Barber, 'A. H„ M. D 2-7 
 
 Baremore, Alfred 573 
 
 Baremore, Mrs. Nancy E 572 
 
 Barger, Mrs. Mary (Gulson). . . 948 
 
 Barker, George R 150 
 
 Barker, Job 150 
 
 Barlass, Hon. Andrew 128 
 
 Barlass, Mrs. Margaret 128 
 
 Barlow, C. L 963 
 
 Barlow, Richard 981 
 
 Barlow, Richard H 142 
 
 Barnard, Elliott D 88 
 
 Barnard, Shasta E 126 
 
 Barnes, Henry 206 
 
 Barnum, F rank 462 
 
 Barnum, Mrs. Sarah J 462 
 
 Barrett, David 736 
 
 Barron, James 697 
 
 Barrows, George W 602 
 
 Barrows, Joseph 602 
 
 Bartlett, Joseph 431 
 
 Bartley, Patrick 979 
 
 Basford, Hon. Luther 42 
 
 Basye, I. N 513 
 
 Basye, J. J., M. D 513 
 
 Batchelor, William 502 
 
 Bates, Allen C 85 
 
 Bates, Joseph W 85 
 
 Baumgartner, Jacob 458 
 
 Baxter, Hon. Charles Henry. . 344 
 
 Bayley, Ariel K 193 
 
 Beals, Charles W 13 
 
 Beals, Mrs. Johanna. 13 
 
 Bean, Alburtus C 708 
 
 Bear, James 446 
 
 Bear, Joseph L 446 
 
 Beaumont, Ramsey 334 
 
 Beaver, John O 19 
 
 Beaver, Ole J 19 
 
 Bechtolt, Rev. Albert B 709 
 
 Bechtolt, Daniel B 546, 709 
 
 Beck, John 369 
 
 Becker, John 885 
 
 Beilharz, Frederick 726 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Bell, John S 706 
 
 Bell, Peter 856 
 
 Bellmyer, Fred 937 
 
 Bellmyer, Mrs. John 936 
 
 Bellmyer, John C 936 
 
 Benage, Abraham 936 
 
 Bennett, Anson 669 
 
 Bennett, Byron 224 
 
 Bennett, B. J 874 
 
 Bennett, Chester C 147 
 
 Bennett, Clay W., M. D 740 
 
 Bennett, Felix C 331 
 
 Bennett, Franklin 858 
 
 Bennett, George 148, 451 
 
 Bennett, Hannah C., M. D. . . . 352 
 
 Bennett, James 223 
 
 Bennett, James, Sr 223 
 
 Bennett, Judge John R 9 
 
 Bennett, Hon. Joseph 691 
 
 Bennett, Lewis F., M. D 451 
 
 Bennett, Orrin J 669 
 
 Bennett, W. H j 874 
 
 Bergheger, Herman 581 
 
 Berkey, Joshua H 694 
 
 Berry, Edward E., M. D 736 
 
 Bevan, Johnson 683 
 
 Bevan, Mrs. Johnson 683 
 
 Beveridge, James 128 
 
 Billings, William N 641 
 
 Binger, Mrs. E. B 936 
 
 Binger, Francis O 850 
 
 Binger, Samuel 815 
 
 Binger, Mrs. Susan 821 
 
 Binger, William (Cadiz) 810 
 
 Binger, William 935 
 
 Bingham, Mrs. Caroline 409 
 
 Bingham, Judge John A 4C8 
 
 Bintliff, Gen. James 361 
 
 Bird, Joseph R 298 
 
 Birkbeck, 'Samuel, Ph.G.,M. D. 587 
 
 Bishop, Alonzo 616 
 
 Bishop, Myron A 616 
 
 Blackford, Enoch J 541 
 
 Blackford, William S 927 
 
 Blackman, Elisha 654 
 
 Blackman, Oscar L 654 
 
 Blackstone, Judge John W.181, 345 
 
 Blackstone, Joseph 181 
 
 Blakeley, Edwin 411 
 
 Blakeley, George A., M. D . . . . 411 
 
 Blakely, Charles 214 
 
 Blakeslev, George. . . 315 
 
 Blakesley, Mrs. Ruth 315 
 
 Blanchard, Alvin 680 
 
 Blanchard, Asahel 680 
 
 Blanchard, C. D 525 
 
984 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Bleasdale, Ralph P 
 
 Bliss, Howard F 
 
 Bliss, James H 
 
 Blotz, John 
 
 Blumer, Esajas 
 
 Blumer, John, Jr 
 
 Blumer, John, Sr 
 
 Bohn, Syver H 
 
 Bonham, Alexander G 
 
 Bonham, Charles S 
 
 Bonham, Capt. Francis 
 
 Bonham, Joseph 
 
 Bonson, Charles E 
 
 Bonson, John. 
 
 Booth, Charles A 
 
 Booth, John R 
 
 Borden, William H., M. L) 
 
 Bossi, John A 
 
 Bowell, Mrs. Catherine 
 
 Bowell, Thomas A 
 
 Bowen, James E 
 
 Bowmer, William. 
 
 Boynton, Lars 
 
 Boynton, Lewis 
 
 Bracken, Gen. Charles 
 
 Bracken, Thomas 
 
 Bradford, Frederick M 
 
 Bradley, Rev. Nathaniel C 
 
 Bragg, Thomas J 
 
 Brant, Andrew J 
 
 Bratley, Mrs. Mary C 
 
 Bratley, William C 
 
 Brewer, Lasell C 
 
 Bride, Patrick J 
 
 Bridge, Mrs. Anna 
 
 Bridge, John 
 
 Bridge, Joseph T 
 
 Bridges, Dudley C 
 
 Bricges, John 
 
 Bridgman, Charles R 
 
 Bridgman, John J 235, 
 
 Briggs, William T 
 
 Brockhaus, Rev. H. H 
 
 Brooks, Jesse 
 
 Brown, George M 
 
 Brown, Nicholas H 
 
 Brown, Sam. P 
 
 Brugger, Jacob S., Jr 
 
 Brunson, Delford B 
 
 Brunson, Ira W 
 
 Buchan, Joseph 
 
 Buck, Erastus J., M. D 
 
 Buckley, Cornelius 
 
 Buckmaster, Samuel B., M. D. 
 
 Buckmaster, Samuel R 
 
 Bulfinch, George W 
 
 Bunbury, Thomas 
 
 Bunker, Mrs. Blanche 
 
 Bunker, William B., M. D 
 
 Bunt, Mrs. Elizabeth 
 
 Bunt, John 
 
 Burdick, George 
 
 Burdick, Justin H., M. D 
 
 Burgess, Henry 
 
 Burgess, J. Martin 
 
 Burns, Edward E 
 
 Burr, B. F 
 
 Burr, W. D 
 
 Burrington, David 
 
 Burrington, Reuben 
 
 Burrows, William 
 
 Burton, Joseph 
 
 Burton, Joseph M 
 
 Bushnell, E. D 
 
 141 
 
 33 
 
 231 
 
 692 
 
 405 
 
 406 
 405 
 772 
 
 51 
 
 52 
 869 
 
 51 
 
 722 
 
 722 
 
 368 
 
 239 
 
 96 
 
 598 
 
 474 
 
 474 
 
 932 
 
 241 
 
 833 
 
 833 
 
 442 
 
 442 
 
 761 
 57 
 
 509 
 
 190 
 
 787 
 
 787 
 
 142 
 588 
 392 
 391 
 391 
 
 647 
 
 648 
 235 
 437 
 947 
 528 
 817 
 574 
 333 
 844 
 737 
 207 
 207 
 836 
 424 
 351 
 224 
 224 
 876 
 621 
 
 762 
 762 
 559 
 559 
 
 17 
 
 17 
 
 173 
 
 173 
 
 610 
 
 893 
 
 893 
 
 717 
 
 717 
 
 490 
 
 786 
 
 840 
 
 926 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Bushnell, Mrs. Elizabeth J. . . . 926 
 
 Bussey, George W 933 
 
 Bussey, Hezekiah 933 
 
 Bussing, Rev. Isaac S 861 
 
 Butson, Thomas 537 
 
 Butson, Mrs. Thomas 538 
 
 Buxton, John ' 447 
 
 Buxton, Joseph 447 
 
 Byers, Frederick W., M. D.... 603 
 
 Byrne, Edward 159 
 
 Byrne, Mrs. Esther 159 
 
 Byrne, John 821 
 
 Cabanis, Hon. James H 332 
 
 Caldwell, Mrs. Ella M 102 
 
 Caldwell, James 101 
 
 Callaway, George A 670 
 
 Callaway, John 575 
 
 Callaway, Sampson H 575 
 
 Calvert, William H. 398 
 
 Camp, M. T 175 
 
 Campbell, Hon. Archibald ... . 619 
 
 Campbell, Hugh 242 
 
 Campbell, William H 824 
 
 Carnron, Franklin 829 
 
 Camron, Hugh 829 
 
 Candler, Gustav 569 
 
 Cargill, Capt. William 151 
 
 Cams, Mrs. Ann 943 
 
 Caras, James F 943 
 
 Carpenter, Alvin B 33 
 
 Carpenter, Edwm F 318 
 
 Carpenter, John W 799 
 
 Carpenter, William H 846 
 
 Carr, Joseph G 364 
 
 Carr, Hon. Solomon C 272 
 
 Carrier, Terrence 214 
 
 Carrington, Elisha 18 
 
 Carthew, Mrs. Mary L 171 
 
 Carthew, Thomas 171 
 
 Case, Rev. George W 967 
 
 Casler, Edgar S 833 
 
 Cavanaugh, J. L 427 
 
 Chamberlain. James A 210 
 
 Champion, Charles B 232 
 
 Champion, Mrs. Ellen 233 
 
 Chapman, Amyson 463 
 
 Chapman, A. B 924 
 
 Chapman, Collins 463 
 
 Chapman, Faithful W 265 
 
 Charlton, Edwin A 336 
 
 Charnness, Isaac 638 
 
 Chestelson, Sever 867 
 
 Churchill, Norman 898 
 
 Clare, John 574 
 
 Clark, Elijah N„ M. D 104 
 
 Clark, Jabez 644 
 
 Clarke, Charles C 109 
 
 Clarno, William 852 
 
 Clary, Joseph H 372 
 
 Clemens, Christopher 394 
 
 Clemens, John 394 
 
 Clements, James W 307 
 
 Clementson, Hon. George 16 
 
 Clemmer, Jasper 390 
 
 Clemmer, John A 390 
 
 Clifton, Bascom 430 
 
 Clifton, Isaac N 430 
 
 Cline, James 195 
 
 Cline, John 277 
 
 Colburn, T. J 373 
 
 Colburn, Willis P 373 
 
 Colebeck, Henry 540 
 
 Collie, George L., A. M., Ph. D 160 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Colson, D. L 196 
 
 Coltman, John 420 
 
 Coltman, Martin E 420 
 
 Comfort, Isaac C 640 
 
 Comfort, Thomas 640 
 
 Confer, Francis M., M. D 779 
 
 Conley, Capt. P. H 416 
 
 Convey, Thomas 778 
 
 Cook, A1 /in S 307 
 
 Cook, John H 621 
 
 Cook, Webster 966 
 
 Cooley, Francis A 324 
 
 Cooley, William B 324 
 
 Coombe, Thomas 449 
 
 Coombe, William 449 
 
 Cornelius, Nicholas 674 
 
 Correll, John 646 
 
 Cottingham, John M 550 
 
 Cottingham, Miles D 486 
 
 Cottingham, Timothy 550 
 
 Covert, George, M. D 24 
 
 Covert, John A 24 
 
 Cowduroy, William 112 
 
 Cox, Hon. George G 633 
 
 Cox, James P 614 
 
 Cox, Judge James P 614 
 
 Crabtree, Job H 965 
 
 Cram, George H 648 
 
 Craven, William 107 
 
 Crawford Brothers 815 
 
 Crawford, George 816 
 
 Crawford, Jefferson 899 
 
 Crawford, Hon. Robert M 816 
 
 Croke, Rev. J. P 937 
 
 Cronin, Edward, M. D 728 
 
 Cronin, F. M.,M. D 728 
 
 Crow, Thomas 789 
 
 Crull, George M 734 
 
 Crull, George W 734 
 
 Cuckow, Samuel F 977 
 
 Cuckow, Samuel J 168 
 
 Cullen, George 745 
 
 Cullen, Joseph 745 
 
 Culver, Alvah 792 
 
 Culver, David W 792 
 
 Culver, DeWitt C 877 
 
 Culver, John 792 
 
 Culver, Joshua N 139 
 
 Culver, Lyman D., Esq 139 
 
 Curkeet, E. M 443 
 
 Curkeet, Mrs. E. M 443 
 
 Curkeet, John 443 
 
 Curry, William M 291 
 
 Curwen, John 505 
 
 Curwen, William W... 505 
 
 Cushman, Barnabas 686 
 
 Cushman, Harvey 685 
 
 Cutts, Rufus I 270 
 
 Dailey, Herman P 731 
 
 David, O. P 935 
 
 Davies, John D 758 
 
 Davies, Thomas 819 
 
 Davis, Benjamin J 698 
 
 Davis, David 395 
 
 Davis, James 457 
 
 Davis, James N 395 
 
 Davis, John 682 
 
 Davis, William W 468 
 
 Davy, Hiram L 843 
 
 Day, Rufus M 544 
 
 Deller, Joseph 627 
 
 Dempsey, Rev. Thomas 595 
 
 Dennis, Robert W 516 
 
INDEX. 
 
 985 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Dennis, William 516 
 
 Dentzler, William H 950 
 
 Derrick, Franklin H 355 
 
 Derrick, Franklin R 561 
 
 Derrick, Rodolphus 355 
 
 Devereux, Charles C 127 
 
 Devereux, Edward 127 
 
 DeWitt, Isaac G 567 
 
 Dick, John 496 
 
 Dick, William H 496 
 
 Dickinson, Charles C 600 
 
 Dickinson, Ensign P 600 
 
 Dinsdale, John Ill 
 
 Divall, Fred 853 
 
 Divan, Isaac 953 
 
 Dixon, Ora A 216 
 
 Dixon, William R 215 
 
 Dobson, Rev. Frederick 273 
 
 Dodds, James J 635 
 
 Dodge, Ammi 500 
 
 Dodge, Hon. A. Clarke 136 
 
 Dodge, Charles F 500 
 
 Dolan, James 465 
 
 Dolan, Owen 465 
 
 Doty, Edward P 183 
 
 Doty, Ezra P 167 
 
 Doty, E. Philo 323 
 
 Doty, Zuri S 167, 323 
 
 Dowling* Rev. Sylvester J. . . . 749 
 
 Doyle, Andrew 719 
 
 Doyle, Arthur 719 
 
 Draggs, John 424 
 
 Drake, Jefferson 951 
 
 Dunn, Frederick C 454 
 
 Dunwiddie, Daniel 968 
 
 Duthie, William 301 
 
 Duxstad, Knud B 414 
 
 Dyer, Abner 809 
 
 Dyer, William J 809 
 
 Eager, Almeron 130 
 
 Earl, Harmon H 6 
 
 Earnest, James H 620 
 
 Earnest, Mrs. Mary E 620 
 
 Eastman, Amos 355 
 
 Eastman, Andrew 203 
 
 Eastman, Darius. ..A 354 
 
 Eastman, George W., M. D. .. 1 
 
 Eaton, Edward D., D.D.,LL. D. 32 
 
 Eaton Family 349 
 
 Eaton, Mrs. Martha A 348 
 
 Eaton, Rev. Dr. Samuel 32 
 
 Eaton, Thomas H 348 
 
 Eck, George 893 
 
 Edden, Ransom W., M. D. . . . 841 
 
 Edden, Thomas H 841 
 
 Eddington, Edward E 347 
 
 Eddington, Mrs. E. E 348 
 
 Edwards, James 494 
 
 Edwards, T. L., M. D 81 
 
 Eidsmoe, M. 0 747 
 
 Eidsmore, A. M 747 
 
 Einerson, John 758 
 
 Einerson, Martin J. 758 
 
 Einerson, Sever 758 
 
 Eldredge, Barnabas B 30 
 
 Eldredge, William M 224 
 
 Eley, Henry 416 
 
 Elgar, William 213 
 
 Ellefson, George 822 
 
 Ellis, Rev. Leroy 356 
 
 Ellis, Nehemiah 930 
 
 Ellis, Richard F 929 
 
 Ellis, William R 237 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Ellsworth, John 770 
 
 Ellsworth, John M 771 
 
 Ellsworth, Reuben 771 
 
 Elmer, Conrad K 491 
 
 Elmer, John A 492 
 
 Elmer, Werner 879 
 
 Elston, A. C. Vanderwater.. . . 260 
 
 Elston, S. B 260 
 
 Elwell, F. A 626 
 
 Elwell, James 626 
 
 Emberson, Edward H 831 
 
 Emerson, Mrs. Helen B 121 
 
 Emerson, Joseph, D. D., LL. D. 120 
 
 Eplett, John 449 
 
 Erickson, Ole M 854 
 
 Etter, Rev. John T ... 471 
 
 Evans, Evan J 320 
 
 Evans Family 40 
 
 Evans, John M., M. D., Sr. ... 8 
 
 Evans, Jonathan H 41 
 
 Evensen, Mrs. Carrie 783 
 
 Evensen, Christen. 783 
 
 Eversoll, Rheinhard 623 
 
 Ewing, Mrs. Jane A. . 275 
 
 Ewing, Mary L., M. D - 87 
 
 Ewing, Thomas H 275 
 
 Farrey, William 275 
 
 Farwell, George 609 
 
 Farwell, Russell 609 
 
 Fassbender, Henry H 594 
 
 Fathers, James A 771 
 
 Fawcett, David 661 
 
 Fennel, George W 802 
 
 Fennel, R. C 803 
 
 Fessenden, Edmund S., M. D. 966 
 
 Field, Edward 959 
 
 Field, William 283 
 
 Field, William S 283 
 
 Finley, J. L 125 
 
 Finn, Charles B 857 
 
 Finn, Mrs. Lydia G 857 
 
 Flannery, Hugh 948 
 
 Flint, John 379 
 
 Flint, Capt. Thomas 378 
 
 Flower, Dwight, M. D 396 
 
 Foley, John 418 
 
 Folts, David 594 
 
 Folts, Ransom B 594 
 
 Fowler, Abel C 887 
 
 Frank, Major George R 15 
 
 Fredricksen, Frederick 622 
 
 Fryslie, Andrew 855 
 
 Fryslie, Ben 855 
 
 Fuelberg, Frederick 687 
 
 Funk, Benjamin 395 
 
 F unk, John E 395 
 
 Funk, Nicholas 567 
 
 Funk, Nicholas H 567 
 
 Funston, W. J., D. D. S. 169 
 
 Ganshirt, Lawrence 387 
 
 Gant, Charles 952 
 
 Garden, William 480 
 
 Gardner, David 586 
 
 Gardner, Dewey 440 
 
 Gardner, D. J 586 
 
 Gardner, John W 744 
 
 Gardner, Warren E 440 
 
 Gassett, Lucius 471 
 
 Gehrand, G. W 753 
 
 Geiger, John 354 
 
 Geiger, Otto F 354 
 
 Gerber, Frederick 437 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Gerber, Nicholas 437 
 
 Gerhart, Phillip 547 
 
 Gibson, William F 435 
 
 Giesel, Rev. E. O 39 
 
 Gilford, Henry B., M. D 955 
 
 Gilkey, Herbert S 98 
 
 Gill, Isaiah 538 
 
 Gillett, Alburtis A 807 
 
 Gilmore, Mrs. Judith J 241 
 
 Gilmore, Lysander 241 
 
 Glasson, John 943 
 
 Glasson, Mrs. Levinia 942 
 
 Gleason, John E 79 
 
 Gnagi, Peter 466 
 
 Gnagi, William B„ M. D 982 
 
 Goldin, Reuben W 780 
 
 Goldin, Hon. Theodore W. . . . 780 
 
 Goldmann, George H 97 
 
 Goodrich, Elijah 139 
 
 Goodrich, Ezra 48 
 
 Goodrich, Joseph 48 
 
 Goodrich, Lemuel M 60 
 
 Goodrich, Mark 139 
 
 Goodrich, Wilbur F 60 
 
 Gorham, Ernest W 779 
 
 Gorham, Rice D 915 
 
 Gorham, William C 915 
 
 Graham, Arthur W 806 
 
 Graham, John 806 
 
 Grant, Patrick 850 
 
 Grant, Thomas 850 
 
 Gratiot, Charles C., M. D 383 
 
 Gratiot Family 381 
 
 Gratiot, Henry 382 
 
 Graves, Benjamin A 116 
 
 Graves, Roswell..... 116 
 
 Gray, Alonzo C 21 
 
 Gray, Mrs. Catharine. 30 
 
 Gray, Charles S 429 
 
 Gray, James 29 
 
 Gray, John 68 
 
 Gray, Nathaniel. 421 
 
 Gray, Samuel 68 
 
 Gray, William H 421 
 
 Green, Henry W 12 
 
 Green, Paul M 12 
 
 Griffith, Samuel 310 
 
 Grimm, Aloys 262 
 
 Grimm, Hermann 146 
 
 Grimm, Philip C 141 
 
 Grindell, Lieut. John 165 
 
 Grindell, Mrs. Margaret A 504 
 
 Grindell, William 504 
 
 Grinnell, Robert P 374 
 
 Grinnell, Willard E 374 
 
 Grove, Mrs. Caroline 819 
 
 Grove, Lars 0 819 
 
 Grunenwald, Jacob 827 
 
 Gulson, Christopher 948 
 
 Gundry, Joseph 6(J5 
 
 Gundry, Miss Mary R 606 
 
 Gundry, William R 606 
 
 Gunn, William 100 
 
 Haffele, Jacob 422 
 
 Haggert, James 115 
 
 Hake, George W 580 
 
 Hake, Lycurgus 580 
 
 Hale, Alonzo 921 
 
 Hale, George W 921 
 
 Hale, John 963 
 
 Hale, Robert C 964 
 
 Hale, Mrs. Sarah 964 
 
 Hall, George W., Sr 122 
 
986 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Haman, Samuel H 526 
 
 Hancock, Edward 806 
 
 Handy, Addison 228 
 
 Haney, Mrs. Mary 436 
 
 Hannum, Rufus 791 
 
 Hannum, Warren 54, 791 
 
 Hansen, Carl A., M. D 105 
 
 Hanson, John 980 
 
 Hanson, Nathan T 980 
 
 Hanthorn, George 280 
 
 Harcleroad, James M 743 
 
 Harker, Mrs. Mary A 460 
 
 Harker, Simon 459 
 
 Harms, Dedrick 499, 664 
 
 Harms, Miss Emily 665 
 
 Harms, George L 665 
 
 Harms, James W 499 
 
 Harms, John 666 
 
 Harms, Louis L 337 
 
 Harris, Hon. Joseph 144 
 
 Harris, Rev. William 942 
 
 Harrison, James 333 
 
 Hart, Orrin L 884 
 
 Hart, Theodore F 884 
 
 Hartford, W. P„ M. D 434 
 
 Hartwich, Gottlieb 545 
 
 Hartwig, Christ F 725 
 
 Hartwig, George 877 
 
 Hartwig, John, Sr 949 
 
 Hartwig, John, Jr 877 
 
 Hartwig, Louis 881 
 
 Hartwig, Mrs. Sophie 566 
 
 Hartwig, William 566 
 
 Flarvey, Mrs. Caroline 39 
 
 Harvey, Rev. William 38 
 
 Hassell, Rev. Richard 834 
 
 Hassell, Samuel E.,M. D.... 834 
 
 Hastings, John Q 860 
 
 Hawk, George 689 
 
 Hawk, William. 923 
 
 Hawley, Albert G 518 
 
 Hawley, Daniel S 518 
 
 Hawley, Mrs. Mary L 519 
 
 Hawthorn, Alfred H ... 511 
 
 Hawthorn, James 511, 583 
 
 Hawthorn, John E 583 
 
 Hayden, James M 685 
 
 Hayden, Martin 910 
 
 Hayden, Samuel 685 
 
 Hayes, John 180 
 
 Fleathcock, John 624 
 
 Heathcock, Joseph J 624 
 
 Heberlein, John F 507 
 
 Helgesen, Elias J , M. D 864 
 
 Helgesen, John 865 
 
 Helm, Ernest C., M. D 83 
 
 Helm, Arthur C., M. D. 84 
 
 Hemstreet, George E 832 
 
 Hern, Arthur.. 757 
 
 Hern, William 757 
 
 Hetherington, W. M 24 
 
 Hettman, Jacob R 263 
 
 Hill, Silas 287 
 
 Hinn, Charles P 693 
 
 Hinn, Joseph, Sr 693 
 
 Hird, James S 795 
 
 Hird, William 795 
 
 Hoare, James A 738 
 
 Hoare, John 738 
 
 Hodge, George R 914 
 
 Hodges, Gilbert T 862 
 
 Hodges, William 862 
 
 Hoffman, William 924 
 
 Holcomb, Reuben T 526 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Holford, U. L., M. D 754 
 
 Holford, William H 754 
 
 Holmes, Edward A 383 
 
 Holmes, Harvey 383 
 
 Holmes, William 211 
 
 Holmes, William, Sr 762 
 
 Holmes, William S 466 
 
 Hooser, Jacob 890 
 
 Hooser, Mrs. May 891 
 
 Hore, John B 981 
 
 Hornbeck, Cyrus A 577 
 
 Hornbeck, Mrs. Mary 577 
 
 Horner, Matthew 253 
 
 Horner, Rodger 253 
 
 Horsley, Henry 462 
 
 Horsley, William 462 
 
 Horton, George H 483 
 
 Hosier, Evan A 392 
 
 Hovey, Alfred 765 
 
 Hovey, Eleazer 765 
 
 Howard, Cornelius 927 
 
 Howe, William E 117 
 
 Hubbard, Peter A 976 
 
 Hudson, Henry 421 
 
 Hudson, James 338 
 
 Hudson, William H 338 
 
 Huey, Rev. Samuel G 739 
 
 Huffman, Jacob 530 
 
 Huffman, James 849 
 
 Hughes, James 303 
 
 Hulbert, John W 857 
 
 Hulbert, Lorrain D 783 
 
 Hull, Robert 880 
 
 Hungerford, Ulysses M 317 
 
 Huntington, Richard 94 
 
 Huntington, Robert M 93 
 
 Hutzel, Samuel 592 
 
 Ingersoll, Chalmers 91 
 
 Ingersoll, John W A 482 
 
 Irish, Horatio P 227 
 
 Irish, Stephen B 227 
 
 Israel, George W 322 
 
 Jaberg, Roy 917 
 
 Jackman, Claremont S 63 
 
 Jackman, Timothy 63 
 
 Jackson, Alfred A 56 
 
 Jackson, Christopher M 869 
 
 Jackson, James (deceased). . . . 952 
 
 Jackson, James 822 
 
 Jacobs, David E 727 
 
 Jacobs, R. S 889 
 
 Jacobs, Wilder B 723 
 
 Jacobson, Iver 570 
 
 Jacques, William Henry 527 
 
 Jameson, Rev. James 19 
 
 Jameson, William K., M. D... 19 
 
 Jeffery, Francis 62 
 
 Jeffery, James 62 
 
 Jeffris, David 248 
 
 Jeffris, David K 252 
 
 Jeffris Family 248 
 
 Jenkin, Samuel 551 
 
 Jenkins, Benjamin 460 
 
 Jenkins, Hon. Thomas, Jr 460 
 
 Jeremiason, Ole 613 
 
 Johns, Frederick 164 
 
 Johns, John 164 
 
 Johnson, Edwin 444 
 
 Johnson, Edwin A 444 
 
 Johnson, Farnum 403 
 
 Johnson, Harlan J 717 
 
 Johnson, Henry W 403 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Johnson, John A 707 
 
 Johnson, Stephen 305 
 
 Johnson, Warren 403 
 
 Johnson, William 652 
 
 Johnson, William F 535 
 
 Joiner Family 293- 
 
 Joiner, Stanley H 293 
 
 Jones, Benjamin G 441 
 
 Jones, Chauncey 438 
 
 Jones, James... 731 
 
 Jones, Jesse S 187 
 
 Jones, John 196 
 
 Jones, John H 271 
 
 Jones, John W 271 
 
 Jones, J. W 285 
 
 Jones, Mrs. J. W 285 
 
 Jones, Lloyd 972 
 
 Jones, Lloyd, Sisters 974 
 
 Jones, Obed K 438 
 
 Jones, Rev. P. J 590 
 
 Jones, Richard Lloyd- 973 
 
 Jones, Thomas J 161 
 
 Karlen, Jacob 440 
 
 Karn, Casper W 868 
 
 Keen, Joseph 415 
 
 Keene, Oliver F 258 
 
 Keene, Samuel B 258 
 
 Keith, Adam 18 
 
 Kemler, A. W 20 
 
 Kemler, James C 21 
 
 Kemler, John 20 
 
 Kemmerer, Charles W 481 
 
 Kemmerer, John F 284 
 
 Kemmerer, S. H 481 
 
 Kemp, Charles 837 
 
 Kemp, John 908 
 
 Kempton, Rev. Arthur C 699 
 
 Kendall, Luther W 77 
 
 Kendall, William 77 
 
 Kenney, Edward 714 
 
 Kenney, J. PI 714 
 
 Kettler, August 532 
 
 Kettler, Henry 920 
 
 Key, Abraham 853 
 
 Key, Marshall 853 
 
 Kieler, George 896 
 
 Kieler, John 896 
 
 Kies, Allen 533 
 
 Kies, Daniel 533 
 
 Killam, Kimble 98 
 
 Killam, Rush 98 
 
 Kilpatrick, James 257 
 
 Kimball, Fermer 776 
 
 Kimball, Frank D 776 
 
 Kinsman, Thomas 530 
 
 Kirkpatrick, Mrs. Caroline. . . . 325 
 
 Kirkpatrick, James C 650 
 
 Kirkpatrick, James G 325 
 
 Klindt, John A 129 
 
 Klinkhammer, F. W 243 
 
 Knapp, Abraham V 866 
 
 Knapp, A 907 
 
 Knapp, Frank S., D. D. S 866 
 
 Kmll, Harold 103 
 
 Knobel, David 755 
 
 Knudson, Nils 867 
 
 Knutson, Albert G 99 
 
 Knutson, Gulick 100 
 
 Kolb, Philip 549 
 
 Krog, Fredrich 582 
 
 Kubli, Joderich 644 
 
 Kuehner, Martin 948 
 
 Kumlien, Ludwig, M. S 89 
 
INDEX. 
 
 98 7 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Kumlien, Thure T. L 89 
 
 Kundert, Bartholomeus A 878 
 
 Kundert, Jacob 962 
 
 Kundert, John T 878 
 
 Kundert, Paul 878 
 
 Kundert, Rudy M 962 
 
 LaBorde, Peter 452 
 
 Ladd, Calvin 855 
 
 Lane, Henry C 66 
 
 Lanyon, William 608 
 
 Lanyon, Mrs. William 664 
 
 Lappin, Mrs. Mary J 82 
 
 Lappin, Thomas 82 
 
 Larson, Martin 938 
 
 Laughlin, James W 670 
 
 Leadbetter, Mrs. Ann 756 
 
 Lee, Charles 838 
 
 Lee, George.. 477 
 
 Lee, John .477 
 
 Lee, Truman T 80 
 
 Legler, David 850 
 
 Legler, John 850 
 
 Leser, Peter 606 
 
 Levitt, John 149 
 
 Levitt, Luther B 149 
 
 Lewis, Edward F 304 
 
 Lewis, Franklin F 312 
 
 Lewis, James 961 
 
 Lewis, John 59 
 
 Lewis, Marshall B 961 
 
 Lewis, Stephen B 304 
 
 Lewis, Thomas 568 
 
 Lewis, William, Sr 59 
 
 Lewis, William 649 
 
 Libby, C. A 38 
 
 Libert, Frederick 385 
 
 Lichtenwalner, Albert F 725 
 
 Lichtenwalner, Joseph S 725 
 
 Liddle, Miss Elizabeth A 195 
 
 Liddle, Ralph 195 
 
 Lincoln, Azariah 413 
 
 Lincoln, Joseph H 413 
 
 Lindsay, James 816 
 
 Lipman, Ernest 456 
 
 Lippolt, Peter B 568 
 
 Litel, James E 874 
 
 Litel, John F 871 
 
 Little, John 102 
 
 Little, Thomas 169 
 
 Little, Walter 556 
 
 Livingston, Joseph 644 
 
 Lloyd, Thomas J 249 
 
 Lloyd-Jones 972 
 
 Lloyd-Jones, Richard 973 
 
 Lloyd-Jones Sisters 974 
 
 Loewi, Adolph 531 
 
 Loney, Charles W 134 
 
 Long, Henry 808 
 
 Long, Louis 157 
 
 Long, William H 157 
 
 Longbotham, John 716 
 
 Longbotham, Thomas 716, 882 
 
 Longfield, Rev. Arthur 742 
 
 Loofbourow, Nathan A., M. D. 358 
 
 Loomis, Oscar M 327 
 
 Loomis, Samuel B 450 
 
 Loomis, Miss Sara E 451 
 
 Looney, Abraham 360 
 
 Looney, James S 360 
 
 Lord, Horace J 813 
 
 Lord, lames A., M. D 10 
 
 Lord, Simon Lock 10 
 
 Lothrop, Jason B 276 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Loucks, Adam H 481 
 
 Lovejoy, Hon. Allen P 36 
 
 Loveland, Argalus 593 
 
 Loveland, Edwin A 593 
 
 Lowrey, Mrs. Heloise 804 
 
 Lowrey, Goodwin 803 
 
 Loy, William, M. D 506 
 
 Luchsinger, John 673 
 
 Luckey, R. B 718 
 
 Ludlow, Mrs. Arabut 328 
 
 Ludlow, Arabut 328 
 
 Ludlum, William M 380 
 
 Lunn, Ole J 359 
 
 Lyke, John J 240 
 
 Lyman, James W, 859 
 
 Lyman, George S 859 
 
 Lynch, Thomas A 873 
 
 Lyons, John 848 
 
 Lytle, Charles A 774 
 
 McBride, John 887 
 
 McBride, Mrs. Robert 546 
 
 McBride, Robert 546 
 
 McClain, John 565 
 
 McDermott, Capt. John 149 
 
 McDermott, Thomas E., M. D. 150 
 
 McDonald, Alpheus N 066 
 
 McEwan, James 14 
 
 McGavock, Hugh 794 
 
 McGinnity, Rev. Eugene M.. . 950 
 
 McGovern, Phil 905 
 
 McGowan, Emmett D 64 
 
 McGowan, Tames S 64 
 
 McGranahan, William 230 
 
 McGregor, Duncan, M. A., 
 
 McKahan, Lewis 625 
 
 McKellar, Archibald, M. D. . . 525 
 
 McKenna, Mrs. Mary L 445 
 
 McKenna, Michael 445 
 
 McKinny, James E 522 
 
 McKinny, Joseph 522 
 
 McLaughlin, William W 405 
 
 McLimans, John 903 
 
 McLimans, Mrs. Sophronia A. 903 
 
 McMurray, John 504 
 
 McNeil, Martin 590 
 
 McNett, Mrs. Amanda 548 
 
 McNett, Edwin L 548 
 
 McNett, Lorenzo 548 
 
 McPherson, Alexander 571 
 
 McPherson, George W 732 
 
 McPherson, John 732 
 
 McWilliams, James 911 
 
 MacDonald, Edward, M. D. . . 560 
 
 Maher, Thomas 564 
 
 Manchester, Mrs. Sarah 958 
 
 Mani, David 879 
 
 Mappes, Col. Charles 880 
 
 Mappes, Mrs. Minnie 881 
 
 Marcussen, F. W 748 
 
 Marsden, Henry 469 
 
 Marsden, Thomas 469 
 
 Marshall, Francis C 198 
 
 Marshall, George A 197 
 
 Martens, Henry 896 
 
 Martin, Hon. Harry. C 232 
 
 Martin, John C 944 
 
 Martin, John J 790 
 
 Martin, Nathaniel 755 
 
 Mar! el, E. J 279 
 
 Marvin, Joseph T 279 
 
 Mates, William 350 
 
 I Mayhew, William A 296 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Mayne, Dexter D 188 
 
 Meacham, John A 939 
 
 Meehan, John 411 
 
 Meinert, Christopher 363 
 
 Melvin, Alonzo 557 
 
 Melvin, Fordyce R 557 
 
 Menzie, Charles H 303 
 
 Menzie, Robert R 788 
 
 Menzie, Silas W 788 
 
 Metcalf, Frank W 753 
 
 Metcalfe, Francis 774 
 
 Meyer, Fred A 928 
 
 Meyer, William C 528 
 
 . Miles, James 400 
 
 Miles, John F 400 
 
 Mill, Henry 266 
 
 Miller, George 885 
 
 Miller, Harvey M 374 
 
 Miller, Jacob 523 
 
 Miller, Mrs. Katherine 885 
 
 Mills, James, M. S., M. D. _ . . . 208 
 
 Mills, Judge Joseph T 631 
 
 Minor, Capt. Orrin E 479 
 
 Mitchell, Abner 491, 859 
 
 Mitchell, Hon. Franklin 491 
 
 Mix, E. N 666 
 
 Mix, Homer P., M. D 666 
 
 Monroe, William, M. D 536 
 
 Monroe, William B., M. D.. . . 537 
 
 Moore, Aaron T 145 
 
 Moore, A. W 622 
 
 Moore, Frank 1 587 
 
 Moore, George A 145 
 
 Moore, Isaac 587 
 
 Moore, Col. John 622 
 
 Morgan, William 917 
 
 Morgan, Mrs. William 917 
 
 Morrell, Lee 12 
 
 Morrell, Ruel 11 
 
 Morris, John I . 188 
 
 Morrison, Mrs. Catherine E.. . 419 
 
 Morrison, Joseph 419 
 
 Morse, Mrs. Angelett 23 
 
 Morse, Calvin 630 
 
 Morse, Hilen C 23 
 
 Morse, Mrs. Martha A 631 
 
 Morse, Milton M 630 
 
 Morse, Reuben S 229 
 
 Morton, Alexander 535 
 
 Moseley, Lucius S 357 
 
 Mouat, Jeremiah 200 
 
 Mouat, Peter J 200 
 
 Mueller, Prof. Rudolph H. . . . 276 
 
 Muesse, Henry 659 
 
 Muffley, John R 563 
 
 Mullen, John 453 
 
 Mullen, Samuel 453 
 
 Mullen, Mrs. Samuel 454 
 
 Mulrooney, James 202 
 
 Munger, Augustus C 191 
 
 Murdock, Edwin 131 
 
 Murdock, Floyd D 131 
 
 Murphy, Dennis 752 
 
 Murphy, J. B 925 
 
 Murphy, James W 900 
 
 Murphy, Matthew 752 
 
 Murphy, William 900 
 
 Myers, John. 489 
 
 Myers, Samuel 958: 
 
 Naess, Rev. J. A. E 941 
 
 Nagle, John 102 
 
 Nagle, Thomas 738 
 
 Nagle, Thomas D. . . . 738-' 
 
988 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Napp, Conrad 222 
 
 Napp, Mrs. Conrad 222 
 
 Neely, Benjamin F 677 
 
 Neely, Robert 677 
 
 Nehls, Henning 695 
 
 Nehls, William H 695 
 
 Nelson, Edward 962 
 
 Newhall, Elisha 23 
 
 Newman, Jefferson J 480 
 
 Newman, John 325 
 
 Newman, William S 810 
 
 Newton, E. Frank 487 
 
 Newton, Isaac W 645 
 
 Newton, John 645 
 
 Nice Family 824 
 
 Nice, John W... 823 
 
 Niehaus, Bennett W 593 
 
 Nolan, Thomas S 254 
 
 Norcross, Hon. Pliny 35 
 
 North, Thomas 199 
 
 Nowlan, Burton F 278 
 
 Nowlan, Oscar F 835 
 
 Nuti, Charles J. F 61 
 
 Oettiker, Jacob 294 
 
 Oettiker, John 294 
 
 Oettiker, Lieut. W. H 919 
 
 Okey, Lewis M 910 
 
 Oliver, Charles 839 
 
 Oliver, Washington 839 
 
 Olson, Gustav 941 
 
 Olson, Mrs. Mary 769 
 
 Olson, Nelson 895 
 
 Olson, Oscar R 845 
 
 Olson, Rollin 769, 845 
 
 Orton, Hon. Philo A 166 
 
 Ortscheid, John B 773 
 
 Osborn, James 61 
 
 Osborn, Capt. S. W 152 
 
 Ostrander, James 675 
 
 Ostrander, John H 675 
 
 Owen, Dr. Edward B 858 
 
 Owen, John 688 
 
 Owen, John H 688 
 
 Owrey, Jacob 375 
 
 Pace, Jackson 151 
 
 Page, George 133 
 
 Palmer, Andrew J 836 
 
 Pape, Rev. Peter 94 
 
 Parker, Charles H 86 
 
 Parker, Dwight T., Jr 368 
 
 Parker, Dwight T., Sr 366 
 
 Parker Family 366 
 
 Parker, L. Holden 86 
 
 Parkinson, Col. Daniel M 720 
 
 Parkinson, Peter 721 
 
 Parkison, William B 679 
 
 Patch, Henry 211 
 
 Paterson, David B 54 
 
 Paterson, Hugh B 5 
 
 Patterson, Cyrus W 626 
 
 Patterson, Franklin 493 
 
 Patterson, Parious P 626 
 
 Paul, Homer M 119 
 
 Paul, James 976 
 
 Paul, Lemuel 119 
 
 Paulsen, George 956 
 
 Paulson, Jacoby 760 
 
 Paulson, Rev. Ole 255 
 
 Peacock, J. H 970 
 
 Peacock, Thomas H 585 
 
 Peacock, William 585 
 
 Peake, E. D., Esq ... 558 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Peake, Rev. Thomas D., A. M., 
 
 Pearsall, Charles J 135 
 
 Peck, Everett 828 
 
 Peck, Nelson 828 
 
 Peck, Walter W„ M. D 720 
 
 Peckham, Abel 343 
 
 Peckham, Mrs. E. M 344 
 
 Peckham, Winfield S 343 
 
 Pedley, John S 170 
 
 Pedley, Mrs. Mary A 170 
 
 Pedley, Peter S 515 
 
 Pedley, William 516 
 
 Pengra, George H 733 
 
 Pengra, George S 741 
 
 Pengra, Hon. Marshall H 760 
 
 Pengra, Wallace A 741 
 
 Penn, J. B 912 
 
 Perkins, Edward J 954 
 
 Peters, John W 922 
 
 Phelps, Abram 172 
 
 Phelps, Mrs. Elizabeth C 178 
 
 Phelps, Frank B 172, 176 
 
 Phelps, Milton M 172, 177 
 
 Phillips, Allen F 308 
 
 Phillips, Charles E 831 
 
 Phillips, Daniel W 407 
 
 Phillips, David. 436 
 
 Phillips, Elmer 818 
 
 Phillips, Israel 817 
 
 Pierce, James 143 
 
 Pierce, Richmond B 53 
 
 Pilling, Elias 251 
 
 Pinch, Mrs. Ann 909 
 
 Pinch, Joseph 909 
 
 Pitts, Henry 932 
 
 Pohle, William, Sr 964 
 
 Pollock, David H 268 
 
 Pollock, Robert 295 
 
 Pool, Francis 183 
 
 Poole, Albert 539 
 
 Poole, John, Jr 539 
 
 Porter, William 90 
 
 Posten, William 937 
 
 Powell, Lewis. 863 
 
 Preston, Mrs. Charlotte 571 
 
 Preston, Matthew 488 
 
 Preston, Nathaniel 570 
 
 Prior, August C 492 
 
 Prior, Gottfried 492 
 
 Proctor, Eli 412 
 
 Proctor, George A 412 
 
 Prussing, Adolph 941 
 
 Prytchect, John 162 
 
 Puffer, Prescott W 498 
 
 Purves, Luther E 797 
 
 Purves, Thomas 797 
 
 Putnam, John J 371 
 
 Qualley, Bernt W 712 
 
 Raisbeck, John 417 
 
 Raisbeck, Leonard 417 
 
 Ralph, William 47 
 
 Randall, A. N 768 
 
 Ranous, Clark.. 907 
 
 Ranous, Henry E 907 
 
 Ransom, Samuel C 302 
 
 Raymer, Mrs. Amelia 701 
 
 Raymer, Jesse 700 
 
 Read, William H 119 
 
 Rear, G. E 730 
 
 Rech, John C 158 
 
 Redman, James W 918 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Regez, Jacob 517 
 
 Rhoades, Mathias P 814 
 
 Rice, Moors 727 
 
 Rice, M. M 727 
 
 Richards, John 946 
 
 Richards, Mrs. John 946 
 
 Richards, Orson M 221 
 
 Richards, Mrs. Orson M 221 
 
 Richardson, Edmund W 823 
 
 Richardson, Mrs. Elizabeth... 940 
 Richardson, Mrs. Elizabeth W 811 
 
 Richardson, Hamilton 44 
 
 Richardson, Joseph 940 
 
 Richardson, Leonidas 811 
 
 Richardson, Marshall P 701 
 
 Richardson, William S 811 
 
 Riege, E 301 
 
 Riggs, John M 363 
 
 Riley, William W 847 
 
 Rindlaub, Martin P 352 
 
 Riter, Charles 913 
 
 Robb, Davis 642 
 
 Robb, Nelson 642 
 
 Robbins, James C 233 
 
 Roberts, George W., M. D 764 
 
 Roberts, Mrs. Jane 201 
 
 Roberts, Jonathan 764 
 
 Roberts, William D 201 
 
 Robinson Family 433 
 
 Robinson, George H 124 
 
 Robinson, John 678 
 
 Robinson, John M 124 
 
 Robinson, Judson L 433 
 
 Robinson, Thomas 124 
 
 Robinson, William 484 
 
 Robinson, William J 484 
 
 Robison, James 445 
 
 Rock, Abner S 469 
 
 Rock, Charles H 469 
 
 Roddick, Arial 268 
 
 Roddick, John 268 
 
 Roderick, Henry 533 
 
 Roderick, James W 790 
 
 Roderick, William G 660 
 
 Rogers, James D 747 
 
 Root, Tilden S 920 
 
 Rose, J. M 147 
 
 Rosenthal, William 826 
 
 Ross, Augustus 470 
 
 Ross, John J ... 740 
 
 Ross, Leonard 507 
 
 Ross, Marion F 470 
 
 Ross, Samuel C 740 
 
 Ross, William H 507 
 
 Rote, Alvin F 715 
 
 Rote, Lewis 715 
 
 Rountree, Hon. John H 541 
 
 Rowe, Frank 226 
 
 Rowlands, William 267 
 
 Rovce, Rev Fayette, D. D. . . 7 
 
 Rudolph, Paul 901 
 
 Rundell,John S 643 
 
 Rundell, Samuel 643 
 
 Rush, Henry 576 
 
 Ruskell, Edward 359 
 
 Rmsell, C. IT, M. D 581 
 
 Russell, Dr. George W ... .243, 581 
 
 Russell, George W 243 
 
 Ryan, Edward 286 
 
 Ryan, Edward H., A.B., LL.B. 286 
 Ryland, George W 629 
 
 Sambrook, Peter 894 
 
 Sawin, Dwight D 974 
 
INDEX 
 
 989 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Sawin, Horace 974 
 
 Scadden, Richard 742 
 
 Schaal, George F 873 
 
 Scheel, Henry 472 
 
 Schenck, Nicholas 371 
 
 Schenck, William 371 
 
 Schindler, Andreas 601 
 
 Schindler, Jacob D 601 
 
 Schmid, Adam D 870 
 
 Schmitt, Anton 573 
 
 Schneider, Charles P 597 
 
 Schreiner, John 254 
 
 Schroder, James F. 930 
 
 Schroeder, Christopher F 713 
 
 Schroeder, Mrs. Christopher F. 712 
 
 Schuelter, Hubert 667 
 
 Scott, Robert W 264 
 
 Scott, Thomas 314 
 
 Seaton, Hon. James W 784 
 
 Selleck, George J 65 
 
 Selleck, Rev. Wallace L 65 
 
 Selleck, Washington F 872 
 
 Sendelbach, Charles R 314 
 
 Severson, Bryngel 681 
 
 Severson, Sever O 748 
 
 Sheffer, Rufus B 219 
 
 Sheldon, John P 55 
 
 Sheldon, Thomas H 55 
 
 Sherman, James T 501 
 
 Sherman, T. B 148 
 
 Sherwin, Nicholas 664 
 
 Sherwin, Will 664 
 
 Shinoe, Benjamin 562 
 
 Shinoe, Mrs. Elizabeth 562 
 
 Shinoe, Lewis 572 
 
 Shinoe, Mrs. Mary J 571 
 
 Shockley, David C 454 
 
 Short, Rev. Wallace M 92 
 
 Shortney, Mrs. Isobel M 26 
 
 Shortney, John 25 
 
 Showalter, Hon. Reuben B.. .. 448 
 
 Shull, Jesse 888 
 
 Shull, Lewis W 888 
 
 Side, John 250 
 
 Sifford, John M 409 
 
 Sifford, Mrs. Sarah J 410 
 
 Simmons, Henry 259 
 
 Simmons, Jacob 667 
 
 Simmons, Thomas 667 
 
 Simons, Malachi 883 
 
 Simons, Nicholas 883 
 
 Simpson, Jefferson B 426 
 
 Simpson, Philemon B 426 
 
 Slack, Miss Elizabeth 656 
 
 Slack, Job 655 
 
 Smalley, Daniel N 69 
 
 Smelker, I. C 388 
 
 Smelker, J. W 388 
 
 Smiley, Daniel 704 
 
 Smiley, William 703 
 
 Smith, Aaron ... 400 
 
 Smith, Amos S 690 
 
 Smith, Asahel P 292 
 
 Smith, Charles M., Jr., M. D. . 29 
 
 Smith, Charles M., Sr., M. D. . 26 
 
 Smith, George J : 540 
 
 Smith, Henry 217 
 
 Smith, Isaac T 402 
 
 Smith, Jesse 861 
 
 Smith, John 326 
 
 Smith, John A 906 
 
 Smith, John B , 326 
 
 Smith, Hon. John M 512 
 
 Smith, Jonathan 699 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Smith, Mrs. Laura R 543 
 
 Smith, Mark 540 
 
 Smith, Mrs. Mary M 94 
 
 Smith, Melford Pratt 269 
 
 Smith, Samuel M 931 
 
 Smith, Scott 402 
 
 Smith, Simon 476 
 
 Smith, William R 512 
 
 Sneclode, John H. C 457 
 
 Snowden, Randolph 702 
 
 Snowden, W. R 702 
 
 Sparks, Joseph 246 
 
 Spaulding, George T 962 
 
 Spears, William R 508 
 
 Spellman, Jacob L 584 
 
 Spencer, John C 763 
 
 Spencer, S. B 109 
 
 Spensley, Hon. James 658 
 
 Sprague, Almerin 552 
 
 Sprague, Burr 552 
 
 Stanton, Daniel 705 
 
 Stanton, S. W 705 
 
 Stark, Charles W 137 
 
 Stark, William H 137 
 
 Starr, Frank P 340 
 
 Starr, James 340 
 
 Stauffacher, Abraham 766 
 
 Steensland, Asbjorn E 848 
 
 Stehl, Charles E 297 
 
 Steiger, Carl, M. D 851 
 
 Steinhoff, John H 729 
 
 Steinhoff, William F 729 
 
 Stephens, Amo C 672 
 
 Stephens, Chester 520 
 
 Stephens, Mrs. Jane 378 
 
 Stephens, John 554 
 
 Stephens, Michael 723 
 
 Stephens, Mrs. Rosa E 520 
 
 Stephens, Sylvester R 461 
 
 Stephens, Col. Thomas 376 
 
 Stephens, Williamv 554 
 
 Steuert, Sigmund 110 
 
 Stevens, Casper 510 
 
 Stevens, Charles D 696 
 
 Stevens, Herman J 510 
 
 Stevens, William 127 
 
 Stevens, William E 105 
 
 Stewart, Mrs. Carrie 689 
 
 Stewart Family 865 
 
 Stewart, George 244 
 
 Stewart, George R 865 
 
 Stewart, John 689 
 
 Stewart, John W 689 
 
 Stewart, Robert 684 
 
 Stewart, Thomas 683 
 
 Stillman, Jairus M 2 
 
 Stockel, Bernard 922 
 
 Stockel, Henry 922 
 
 Stockman, James 313 
 
 Stockman, John 313 
 
 Stone, Franklin 386 
 
 Stone, Gustavus 204 
 
 Stone, Oscar 386 
 
 Stott, Matthew 385 
 
 Stout, Allison W 980 
 
 Streeter, Horace H 306 
 
 Strong, Judge Luman M 636 
 
 Strong, Orville 636 
 
 Strong, Rolla M 701 
 
 Strong, Thomas 701 
 
 Strong, William B 316 
 
 Stuart, Ezra H 434 
 
 Sumner, Burton 163 
 
 I Sumner, Joshua 163 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Sutherland, George G 122 
 
 Sutherland, Quincy O., M. D... 121 
 
 Swan, John 974 
 
 Swan, Stephen 891 
 
 Swi:zer, John 487 
 
 Sylvester, Caleb 432 
 
 Sylvester, Eben W 432 
 
 Taft, Frank D 970 
 
 Taft, S. C 970 
 
 Talmadge, John F 521 
 
 Talmadge, Rudolph 521 
 
 Tarrant, Henry 218 
 
 Taylor, James T 826 
 
 Taylor, Prof. John S 288 
 
 Taylor, Robert 892 
 
 Teasdale, Alonzo B 524 
 
 Teasdale, Wilson 524 
 
 Tennant, William 522 
 
 Terry, Lewis W 591 
 
 Thomas, Hannibal 58 
 
 Thomas, John 247 
 
 Thomas, Josiah 247 
 
 Thomas, Samuel, Esq 663 
 
 Thomas, Walter D , A. M 245 
 
 Thomas, William, Sr 58 
 
 Thompson, Christian A 913 
 
 Thompson, David 902 
 
 Thompson, Joseph 410 
 
 Thompson, J. W 340 
 
 Thompson, Knudt 682 
 
 Thompson, Ole K 682 
 
 Thompson, Otis 700 
 
 Thompson, William 340 
 
 Thorburn, Adam 78 
 
 Thorburn, George 78 
 
 Thorson, Knudt 669 
 
 Thorson, Mrs. Sarah 669 
 
 Thurber, Lauren L 415 
 
 Thurman, George W 581 
 
 Tighe, Thomas 475 
 
 Tindell, Isaac 223 
 
 Todd, J. A 657 
 
 Tollefson, Botolf 634 
 
 Tollefson, Thomas 635 
 
 Tomkins, Charles W 464 
 
 Torphv, Michael A 957 
 
 Townsend, Absalom 233 
 
 Traber, S. W 407 
 
 Treat, Hon. Cornelius M 220 
 
 Treat, Hon. Joseph B 375 
 
 Treat, Nathaniel 375 
 
 Treglown, Henry 746 
 
 Treglown, L. H., M. D 746 
 
 Tregoning, Sampson L T ren.. . . 534 
 
 Trenary, Frank E 929 
 
 Trenary, John P 960 
 
 Trenary, Joseph 832 
 
 Trenary, Philip 929 
 
 Trenery, J. J 982 
 
 Trevitt, Edwin 475 
 
 Trickel, Andrew' J. ; 455 
 
 Trickel, William A 800 
 
 Trickle, Mrs. Mary E 672 
 
 Trickle, Robert W 672 
 
 Tripp, William H 185 
 
 Trollope, Elijah 118 
 
 Trousdale, Rev. Samuel W., 
 
 Trow, John 502 
 
 Trow, John A 502 
 
 Trumm, Daniel 393 
 
 Tuffley, George 555 
 
 Turner, George W 495 
 
990 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Tuttle, Chester L 841 
 
 Tuttle, George M. . . . 841 
 
 Tyler, Dayton D 552 
 
 Tyler, Luallen A 427 
 
 Ula, A. C 889 
 
 Ula, J. C 662 
 
 Ula, Mrs. Thora 662 
 
 Ullom, Elisha 759 
 
 Underwood, Edward 793 
 
 Underwood, Oliver P 802 
 
 Underwood, Parker C 802 
 
 Unosh, Joseph 584 
 
 Vail, Mrs. Celia Y 801 
 
 Vail, Charles H 800 
 
 VanAllen, Matthew 238 
 
 Vance, Daniel W 578 
 
 Vance, John B 599 
 
 Vance, Samuel 578, 599 
 
 Vandenburg, William G..281, 293 
 
 Vanderbilt, John W. H 975 
 
 Vanderbilt, Mrs. Sovenia 975 
 
 VanGalder, Mrs. Eliza H 192 
 
 VanGalder, Jacob 76 
 
 VanGalder, Jacob O 76 
 
 VanGalder, Samuel C 192 
 
 VanMatre, James 215 
 
 VanMatre, Morgan J 215 
 
 Vannatta, Aaron 892 
 
 Vannatta, Samuel B 892 
 
 Van Norman, Eugene W 842 
 
 Van Norman, Michael F 842 
 
 Van Wart, David 846 
 
 Van Wart, Frank 846 
 
 Vedder, A. W 125 
 
 Villemonte, Exever 781 
 
 Villemonte, Frank G 781 
 
 Vinger, Christian 750 
 
 Vinger, Gulbrand 750 
 
 Virgin, Col. H. H 342 
 
 Vivian, Stephen 162 
 
 Vogel, Herman 752 
 
 Voigt, Peter 239 
 
 Waddington, Judge James S. . 191 
 
 Walker, Mrs. Anna R 639 
 
 Walker, David B 596 
 
 Walker, Joel W 639 
 
 Walker, John 596 
 
 Walker, J. Newcomb 588 
 
 Walker, J. R 588 
 
 Walker, Thomas 290 
 
 Walsh, John 612 
 
 Walworth, George 420 
 
 Wamsley, Charles 503 
 
 Wanamaker, C. H 179 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Wannemaker, H. L 179 
 
 Ward, William A 617 
 
 Ware, John F 339 
 
 Waring, Charles 310 
 
 Warren, Eugene F 319 
 
 Warren, Lemuel 653 
 
 Warren, Lemuel H 653 
 
 Warrick, John 599 
 
 Warwick, Shannon W 751 
 
 Warwick, William C 751 
 
 Washburn, Frederick A 495 
 
 Waterman, Anson P 300 
 
 Watson, Thomas 646 
 
 Watt, David W 334 
 
 Watters, Joseph 925 
 
 Webb, William 812 
 
 Webster, George H., M. D . . . . 704 
 
 Weil, Henry S.. 744 
 
 Weittenhiller, Charles 711 
 
 Weittenhiller, Conrad J 676 
 
 Weittenhiller, Sebastian .. 676, 711 
 
 Whllers, A. W 710 
 
 Wells, Otis F 935 
 
 Wescott, Ezra 798 
 
 Wescott, Jefferson F 799 
 
 Wescott, John E 798 
 
 Wescott, Walter S 799 
 
 West, Dennis W 830 
 
 West, George 341, 735 
 
 West, Samuel 735 
 
 Wheeler, Hon. Guy 46, 184 
 
 Wheeler, Justus P 46, 184 
 
 Wheeler, Hon. William G . . . 184 
 
 Whitcher, George S 904 
 
 Whitcher, Mrs. Rhoda L 904 
 
 Whitcomb, James. 390, 632 
 
 Whitcomb, Rufus C 632 
 
 White, Bartimeus 67 
 
 White, William 289 
 
 Whitehead, John 467 
 
 Whitehead, Hon. John M 27 
 
 Whitehead, Levi 803 
 
 Whitehead, Lewis 618 
 
 Whitehead, Mrs. Olive L 618 
 
 Whitehead, Mrs. Sarah 467 
 
 Whitehead, Mrs. Susan 803 
 
 Whitfcrd, Albert, M. A 54 
 
 Whitford, Rev. William C. . . . 153 
 
 Whiting, Joseph B., M. D 72 
 
 Whiting, Joseph B., M. D., Jr. 80 
 
 Whitman, Hon. Joel 611 
 
 Wichser, Daniel 875 
 
 Wiederhold, George 282 
 
 Wiederkehr, Henry.. 805 
 
 Wight, Rev. C. A 687 
 
 Wilder, Calvin H 161 
 
 Wilder, Percy C 161 
 
 Wiley, JohnS 608 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Wiley, Thomas 608 
 
 Wilkins, William 953 
 
 Wilkinson, David 106 
 
 Wilkinson, George 175 
 
 Wilkinson, George C 175 
 
 Wilkinson, James 71 
 
 Wilkinson, John 108 
 
 Wilkinson, John T 70 
 
 Willey, John F 389 
 
 Williams, Isaac L 589 
 
 Williams, John P. (Linden) .. . 628 
 
 Williams, John P 642 
 
 Williams, John S 384 
 
 Williams, Mrs. John S 384 
 
 Williams, Capt. Matthew 329 
 
 Williams, Matthew J 329 
 
 Wilmott, Edward M 671 
 
 Wilmott, Isaac 671 
 
 Wilson, John 398 
 
 Winkley, Darius D 767 
 
 Winskell, H. L 579 
 
 Winskell, Joseph 579 
 
 Winter, George 652 
 
 Wisch, Charles W 957 
 
 Wise, John E 117 
 
 Wiseman, Christopher 487 
 
 Wiseman, Thomas 487 
 
 Witherbee, Erasmus.. 1 113 
 
 Witherbee, Hiram 113 
 
 Withrow, John 398 
 
 Withrow, Mrs. Margaret 398 
 
 Withrow, William 706 
 
 Witzig, Frank 916 
 
 Witzig, Joseph 517 
 
 Wixom, Elijah P 945 
 
 Womack, William 949 
 
 Wood, Frank 114 
 
 Wood, Royal 115 
 
 Woodbury, Jerome 812 
 
 Wo'odhouse, Peter 978 
 
 Woodle, Alpheus H 478 
 
 Woodle, Mrs. Hannah 478 
 
 Woods, Edmund F., M. D. . . . 236 
 
 Woodside, William W, 265 
 
 Worthington, David B 93 
 
 Wright, George W 349 
 
 Wright, John P 401 
 
 Wright, Mrs. Nancy E 350 
 
 Wright, Samuel 401 
 
 Yarwood, John 519 
 
 Yeomans, Reuben C 828 
 
 York, Hon. H. D 198 
 
 Youmans, David 230 
 
 Young, John A 496 
 
 Zimmermann, George 563 
 

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